I have been tagged by: Kerstin of Snowflakes and BlackVampires.
Go loose yourself there for a while as I like to do! She's a young woman in Germany and her post always enthrall me.
I've listed the rules below but as those who know me, I rarely follow rules so I'm going to do my own thing here. Like some of the other "tagged" artist have stated: If you haven't been tagged consider yourself tagged by me and let us know when you post so we can all get to know each other better.
My list:
1. I live everyday passionately. Be it by wrapping myself around my man to tell him I love him. Always eating ice cream from a cone because there is something sensual in it dripping down your arm. Eating pommagrantes while naked in the bathtub or jacuzzi; ripping the rough skin off to get to the little gems. Never wearing pajamas...which was a problem once when we had an earthquake in the wee hours of morning. I now keep a robe nearby. Reminding myself daily that I am beautiful even though I've added an extra 12#s this past year. Having music (via my ipod) aound me all the time even while working on the pediatric oncology unit: I dance for myself, the kids and my fellow nurses and doctors.....most join me to indulge the "crazy nurse". I am passionate about my life, my work, my love for family and friends and my creativity. I better move on to the next:
2. I love the outdoors. I grew up near the beach in southern california and grew up spending weekends on the shore with my family. I don't think I could live anywhere that was more than a 4 hour drive to the ocean. I have backpacked the desolation wilderness in the Lake Tahoe, Ca. area with a group of women I had only met online. We packed for 6 days and all got along and had a great time. I have skinny dipped everywhere from the ocean, my swimming pool to cold mountain lakes....nothing like the feel of water against every part of your body. I have hiked to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park and made my husband hysterical when I crawled out to the "diving board" to peer over the edge to the valley over 8,000 ft below! I felt like I was looking out an airplane window except for the breeze blowing in my face! I have climed the pyramid in Chichen Itza, Mexico and hiked the Virgin River in Utah's Zion National Park. I love to kayak and have my own beautiful boat that I put up on my car roof rack and head out to Newport Harbor to commune with the wildlife. I must remember to take a sketch pad next time!
3. Getting bored yet? I go on......I was born with congenital glaucoma and lost the vision in my left eye when I was 6 months old. My vision (right eye) began to detriorate when I turned 30 and now at 51 I am blind as a bat without my glasses. This fustrates me to no end. Even with glasses I wear a magnifying glass necklace so I can read fine print on medication bottles at work. I can no longer read a novel or magazine articles or newspaper late in the day. So I love to listen to books on my ipod and consider myself a voracious book listener! These eye problems got worse last summer when the glaucoma came back after 50 years and I had to have surgery again. Right around that time I began to pick up my art again. I can't see details but am learning that for my watercolors maybe this is a good thing.
4. I grew into my career when my second child, Sarah was born with Down Syndrome. We were young and so scared. She had inherited my glaucoma and severe heart defects. For the 2 short years of her life I matured beyond anyone's expectations. I look back now and wonder who that young woman was...ME?...I went to put her to bed one night and somehow couldn't lay her down, so instead I laid her on a quilt near my bed and sat and watched her all night long. She slept peacefully and around 3am I thought myself silly for doing this. I thought I should just go to bed but as I thought this she gasped and stopped breathing. I tried to get her heart going again till help arrived. She was pronounced "gone to heaven" at the local hospital. Before long I was back in school with the encouragement of Sarah's pediatrician, my husband and mother who cared for my other little ones while I studied. I graduated with high honors from nursing school and here I am now. I said I never wanted to do pediatric oncology because of the death factor, but now, I can't imagine any other kind of nursing.
5. I am a rebel and in my old age I just say what I think and do what I want. I think I have earned that right although I suspect most don't see it that way. I have always put myself first because I believe if I am at my best then I can do my best for others. So with this comes my self pampering: monthly spa visits, pedicures, fine dining, a sexy fast car (I have taken it to 140 mph on quiet Sunday mornings on my way to work) and lots of good sex.......I'm latina so it comes with my ethnicity.
6. One day about 3 years ago I woke up and announced to my husband that I had to go to Paris. He didn't believe me that I HAD TO GO. But being the gem that he is he took me that very day to get my passport photo and apply for a passport. He had no desire to go and couldn't understand my "passion" but went along with it. I asked an aquaintence of mine whom I knew had a desire to see Paris to come along. 3 months later we were in Paris for a week! I taught myself French and found it not difficult to communicate. I decided then that traveling would be my new passion. I mostly work now to save $$$ to travel. Last summer one of my former cancer patients, Stephanie who is 19 years old invited me to go to Europe with her. I jumped at the opportunity and we spent 3 weeks in July touring. We had so much fun together with our best day being when we took a local bus to a marina near Sorrento, Italy and I hired a young man, Guiseppi to take us out for the day on his boat. We swam in the mediterranean sea, ate lunch on the shore in Positano and explored a grotto. It helped that I had learned Italian for this trip! In October I am returning to Europe to London, Rome, Florence, Barcelona and Paris for a month long visit with my husband and daughter Amy. I am excited about showing them my favorite places and hoping to meet up with Casey, Ronell and Robyn and anyone else on EDM where I might be visiting!
7. OK, so I'm long winded. I love story telling and when I was little and my cousins and siblings were out playing I was at my grandma's knees listening to family stories. This is a good thing since now I tell the stories to my nieces and nephews. I keep family scrapbooks and have done some geneology research. I connected with a distant relative and now we stay in touch....we shared the same great-great grandmother. As for my immediate family: I have been married for 31 years to my cute firefighter who works for the city of Long Beach, CA. on a fire boat. I have 3 living children: Adam (29) who is graduating from UCLA with high honors to pursue law school next year. Amy (25) who graduated from UCSantaBarbara and has been working in the bio-tech field for 3 years now as a research associate. She lives in San Diego, Ca. and my Aaron (23) who is still figuring out life and what it will hold for him. He comes by often to hug his mom and do laundry!
So, this is me.
The rules:
List 7 random facts/habits about yourself.
Choose another 7 bloggers to tag and list their names in your blog.
Leave your 7 tagged bloggers comments to notify them of their tagging and to direct them to your blog for tag instructions.
List 7 random facts/habits about yourself.
Choose another 7 bloggers to tag and list their names in your blog.
Leave your 7 tagged bloggers comments to notify them of their tagging and to direct them to your blog for tag instructions.
Marta - you are my hero. We should all embrace life the way you have...through tragedy and triumph...incredible!!
We should travel together and see if our personal, hard-wired GPS units get us into some adventures! :-)
Wow! Marta, you have such an incredible life and I really admire your braveness. I had thought so the first time I read about your work in your profile, and now I confirm it. You really deserve to live not 100 but 300 years as you are an example for many! Sensitive and brave post. All my best wishes to you and your family. A huge hug, MartÃn
Marta, may you live to be 100 and continue to be the inspiration that you are to all around you. Wow! You go, girl. Geez, maybe I should just decide to go to Paris...hmmmmm.
Marta, you are marvelous! This is the best seven things I've read. We really must get together for a face to face.
Marta - I am enthralled! You sound like the most facinating woman, and such an inspiration. I aspire to have the zest for life you do by the time I hit 50 (better get cracking, not that far to go! grin). BTW - I'm with you on the backpacking. Nothing like a few days of walking with all your belongings on your back to put things in perspective. Maybe I'll see you in the mountains sometime - juj
What a fun post to read with such interesting facts! And if you and Diahn go travelling together, I want to come along!
(We one-eyed monsters have to stick together now...)
:-D
Nice to "meet" you, Marta. You've had an inspring and admirable life. That picture of you on those big rocks would be perfect for this weeks EDM challenge...
Marta, what an inspiration you are and, as Diahn said, we should all embrace life the way you do. It's obvious you're not afraid of heights and, while I don't like heights at all, I have a similar pic of me sitting on rocks. Thanks for sharing a part of yourself with us. :)
Wow, Marta! You're so inspiring! You should go on girl weekend with my best friend and I when we go. We love doing outdoor stuff. I want to go do stuff now that I read your tagged post. You have lots of courage and I really admire that. I'll bet you are a wonderful nurse and that's good for the kids that need you. Thanks for sharing these things about yourself. I'm very happy to know you!
Hi Marta, it's been great fun to read your 7 things about yourself. I also love the photo! You are such a remarkable woman. Thanks for sharing with all of us.
Hi Marta,
I´m sorry for commenting sooooo late. I´ve had this post open on my mac since May 17, but haven´t managed to read it yet. The pic you posted is wonderful and what a nice comment that my blog entries enthrall you. I had to check out that word in my dictionary. ;)
Your first fact is very passionate indeed. Love it.
I´m surprised about your sight problems. I would have never thought that, looking at your drawings.
I´m glad that you could spend the last night at the side of your daughter.
Wow. I knew that you were an interesting person, but now I know that there is a lot I can learn from you. Thanks for posting all this.