Winter is finally here!

Alright... so life has been busy here at home, so I missed writing something entirely in November! :)

We had the privilege of watching Beth during the end of October/beginning of November, while her parents were travelling. It was so much fun to have her around, with all of her busy activities! We carved pumpkins, and she had friends over here. She kept us entertained with the stories of her school days! :) I would post a photo or two... but these are on my "old" computer!

Which brings me to my next item... We had a major computer breakdown last month. Both Pete & I lost our computer monitors. So, Pete decided to improve our computer set-up. I was without a computer for a few weeks last month while the necessary parts were ordered, and assembled. Pete built a new computer for himself and set-up network storage. He was so excited to complete his new computer -- it's a solid state hard drive, for those techies reading! I now have his old computer... and it runs much quicker than the last relic I was using...

Shortly after the computer upgrades were completed, we journeyed to Minnesota. We celebrated Christmas as a family on Tuesday -- complete with a fantastic prime rib dinner, trade names, and Christmas decor. A good time was had by all!

On Thursday (Thanksgiving) my mom's side of the family got together to celebrate Thanksgiving -- most of the family was around, and it was fun to see most of my aunts, uncles, and cousins at this dinner.

Black Friday, my sisters, mom, and I went shopping. We were on the morning news (but can not seem to find the clip any where online). Later that day while we were still shopping, a lady came up to us and exclaimed, "I saw you on the news this morning -- you're famous! You all look like so much fun.". It would be fun to see this clip and what exactly was shown... only my mom looked put together; the rest of us were a conglomeration of messy ponytails, and sweatshirts. But shopping with my mom and sisters is always a good time!

I would post photos of our trip to Minnesota, however... I neglected to use my camera.

We arrived home from Minnesota on Sunday morning at 3 AM. As much fun as it is to be away, it always feels good to return home. We picked up our dog, and settled back into our routine. I was happy to find that we still have a cat.

Last Tuesday, however, I came down with the flu. As an adult, this bug certainly packs a punch! I was down for the count through the weekend... today, is my first day out of pajamas and vertical for any length of time.

Sometime during this last week, we had our first snow fall... winter is finally here!

So, tonight... I am updating this long neglected blog, and trying to teach myself to play a few guitar chords by the fireplace. My hope is that someday, maybe... I will be able to play a song in its entirety... but for tonight, I am happy to learn finger placement for the A, C, and G chords.

Happy December to all! I hope to update this more often.

What October means...

October certainly has been a busy month... It was the end of the regular baseball season, hailed with a the end of the baseball "powerlock" between Pete and his dad. Pete was ahead in the number of games won right up until the end of the season, when his dad made a come back and won. The above picture shows the exchange of the trophy (but does not show the red "carpet" upon which the trophy was presented). Fun for all involved! :)

October also meant a trip for me... I went to Boston for a few days for work. During this trip I discovered the Twilight series, and read all 4 books in a period of 5 days. Seriously good books!

I stayed across from Boston garden and Boston Common. I took advantage of my location -- touring the parks and going on a guided hike of the Freedom trail.

Did you know that Mother Goose was a real person? I saw her grave on the tour... Her headstone is below...

I also found out the Greek Revival style of home (the style of my house) is very popular around Harvard Square... I saw many homes with this styling... Interesting to see them in another color other than white! :)

I also had the privilege of having dinner with this lady when I was out East. She brought me to a fantastic place for dinner called Fire & Ice. It was fun to catch up and see a familiar face! :) Thank you again!

Since returning from Boston, we had a bit of excitement. Last weekend was the Detroit marathon. Unfortunately, all the pictures I took at the marathon are on a non-digital camera (and will not be included on this blog). Congratulations to all the runners & it was fun to see those who came into town for the race.

Sunday after the marathon, Hondo developed an ulcerated cornea. He gets to wear this e-collar for a little while (to prevent him from rubbing his eye and further irritating it). He looks so pathetic, its cute!

Finally, this weekend we get to spend with this little person! We are looking forward to a fun weekend with her! :) I got to pick her up today after school -- she had gone on a field trip to a one room school house and was all dressed up!

Under any circumstances... we have not been getting too much in the way of projects done around the house. Our current project is splitting and stacking wood (from dead trees on our property) -- a physically demanding job that heats us twice (once when we split and stack, and once when the wood gets burned).

Updates on Life

Since I last wrote... we have celebrated our 4th anniversary, Pete's 26th birthday, Pete's dad's 50th birthday... and I caught a fish! :) We had a great time fishing with Pete's family! :)

We continue to chop wood nearly every weekend. Our wood pile keeps growing; we should be able to heat at least this winter with the supply we have on hand now!

Decisions, decisions... ?

I recently read a post on Evelyn's blog that inspired me to add this post, about my current plans to apply to medical school.

While in college, I toyed with getting a PhD, or MD. However, shortly after I graduated, I decided to work as I did not want to commit 4 years of time (and money) into an advanced degree when I might not work until retirement age. This year when Pete & I were travelling home from MN on New Year's Day, we discussed future plans, projects, etc. During this car ride, we made a decision that I would (try to) go back to school to become a physician. Obviously, this is a decision that was not made lightly, due to the significant time and financial commitment's involved with this process.

Since New Year's Day, I have been working on trying to get into medical school for Fall 2010. I have taken the MCAT (this test is scored similar to the ACT for admission to college for an undergraduate degree). I got my score back on August 2nd, and was very happy with it. Now, I am in the process of completing the primary application and requesting letters of recommendation from past professors and a few physicians that I work closely with at my current job. I need to complete 2 more sections (essay/personal statement, and finalize my 15-item resume), and confirm 1 more letter of recommendation before I can submit my primary application.

I sincerely hope that I do get into school, however this is something that both excites and scares me. It has been 6 years since I was last in school and regularly took exams, studied, and/or did homework. It has been about 3 years since Pete & I were broke college students living on a single income with school bills. And if I do get in, I am looking at about a decade of time commitments between medical school, residency, and perhaps fellowship before I am "done". But, I do want to be a doctor.

As this is a something in our lives right now, I think I will include bits of my progress from time to time. Maybe, if I get accepted(chance = 33%), I will join the host of students returning to school next fall.

Evidence of a new coat of paint

Here are the photos -- I could show the shots of me with paint everywhere (including a few dots on my contacts), and a few bruises (from falling off the ladder & bumping into things) for added color... if I had taken the pictures. Or of the off-white flecks of paint that dotted Pete's already white-blond hair, and the camel-colored wood filler dotted on his blue jeans. Or I could just show you our latest projects. Let's go for the last one -- I think it's the most interesting.

The bathroom sink where we washed all of the paint brushes -- note all the lovely paint colors. The photo immediately below the sink, is the newly painted bathroom. Looks essentially the same as it did before -- but the paint job is a bit better.
This is the photo of the primed post. We are in the midst of finishing the trim (stripping and re-painting), in an effort to sure up the house. These little projects keep Pete & I nicely entertained.
The last 2 photos are of Hondo's room. The color is called French Gray -- both pictures lie. The color is neither that gray nor that blue, but a color in between.

Good Morning!

This is a 2 minute update... Since putting in the windows, Pete & I have been staying out of trouble by keeping busy with house projects. Over the weekend, we finished 3 projects... removal of paint, and priming of the first of four posts around the house; finished painting Hondo's room (ceiling, walls, floor & trim), and finished painting the main level bathroom (trim, walls and ceiling). Hondo's room is now a blue-gray color called French Gray. The main level bathroom remains the same light purple color. It's amazing how quickly a new coat of paint can brighten a room!

In addition to the recent paint jobs, we made a trip out to the coast this past weekend. Sure felt good to listen to the waves, and feel the sand & sun. I will post pictures of the recent house updates soon. Have a good day!

New Windows and Pets

This week we got new windows on the first and second levels of the house. I am totally enjoying them right now! It feels good to open & close the windows. It also has cut down on the amount of traffic noise that we hear... All good things!
This is our main level bathroom. This probably had the biggest improvement! Before, there was a mirror on the back wall. Putting a window in this room has made this bathroom feel more like a room & less like a closet!
I finally was able to take a picture of our kittens. The top picture is of Hondo (our 2.5 year old dog), and Halo. The bottom picture is of Nala. These kittens get along well with our dog, which is a nice surprise! Also, they are both friendly (and still alive). All good things!
Enjoy your day!