Home Sweet Home

     A few weekends ago, B* and I made a quick trip to Philadelphia to go house hunting.  Thanks to B's hard work and preparation before the trip, when we got there everything was all lined up and ready to go.  Our real estate agent showed us 12 houses in one day, with plans to see more if necessary.  Luckily, we found one on the first day we really liked.  We made an offer, and are currently under contract.  Everything has been going smoothly so far: the inspection, the appraisal, etc.  So if all goes according to plan, we officially close and get our keys on June 6th! Holy crap, we're gonna be home owners!

     I can't believe I'm gonna co-own a home so early in my life.  I would have never thought it'd be possible, but the amount we're gonna pay in mortgage is actually less than what we would be paying in rent.  Granted, we're not living in Center City, where all the action is.  However, we're still living in a super cute up-and-coming neighborhood that is still plenty close to everything.

Finished basement - aka my new lady cave

    I'm so happy with the house we got.  It's a recently renovated 3 bed/1.5 bath, with a good sized patio and a finished basement.  I can't WAIT to decorate.  Also, I somehow convinced B to let me have the entire basement as my office/craft room/lady cave... HAHAHA!!! (insert evil laugh here)

                              

                                      Master bedroom

Upstairs bathroom

Upstairs bathroom

Gorgeous kitchen

Gorgeous kitchen

Living room

Patio (small, but good sized for Philly)

     Since when did I become a grown-ass adult?!


* Now that BF and I are engaged, I'm going to just refer to him as "B"

I Can't Wait To Be A Fur-Mom

   I've been wanting a dog for some time now, and now I don't want to wait anymore.  In pursuing a career in medicine, we are constantly settling for "delayed gratification" - putting in countless hours of work and sacrificing having lives for our hypothetical futures we desire.  While other people our age have jobs, houses, cars, marriages, and sometimes kids, we hold off because we don't have the time yet.  BF and I were planning on waiting until our fourth year to get a dog, because we figured we'd have more time.  But the more we think about it, the more we realize that fourth year is going to be busy too, and why wait if there is never going to be a "good" time.  And since we both have less demanding rotations after the holiday break, it will be a perfect time to introduce a new four-legged family member into our home.
   We've been hunting online for puppies, but haven't found a match yet because all the puppies are ready to go home now, and we aren't quite ready for them yet.  We are looking to get one right after we get back from our holiday trip to the east coast, and I'm sure something will work out.

   I was feeling desperate for some canine-time, and it just worked out perfectly that a family friend needed a dog-sitter this weekend!  So this weekend, I brought Cody over to my house to hang out.  He is so adorable, and we've been having a blast.  And I've been practicing my fur-parenting skills haha.

Baby Z and Sif - Besties Fo Life

   I should be studying for my surgery shelf exam on Friday, however, I have decided that updating the world about my cats is more important at the moment.  I just hope I pass the stupid thing - after all, I hear it's not even surgical, but more of a test on medicine.  I haven't had my medicine rotation yet, so I'm screwed no matter what! Yay!

    Anyway, enough about that.  As you all know, Zoey and Sif got off to a bit of a rocky start, but they have come a long way, and now they are more like besties.  Well, "besties" may or may not be a stretch, but they are getting along really well.  Z has stopped hissing at S for the most part, and they enjoy laying in the same room as eachother.  They even play with eachother by chasing eachother across the house and swatting at eachother's faces.  It's hilarious.  This week, they progressed to rubbing eachother's faces together occasionally, and Sif started biting Zoey's ears/neck, and she'll tolerate it for about 30 seconds, and then she hits him... 

Rubbing faces - geeze, will you guys get a room already?!

King of the throne

Home Is Where The Heart Is

  

   It's official! I'm all moved in with BF.  The move wasn't too painful - I brought over a box here and there for the weeks leading up, so we didn't have too much to take care of on moving day.  Unfortunately, I still have lots of unpacking and organizing to do on top of studying for surgery, but we'll get there.  BF and I are still really excited about the whole thing, and I love living together so far!  Well, it's not much different than what we've been doing for the past months...

    Anyway, the kitties are getting along fabulously.  Baby Z has calmed down, and her "I'll-hiss-at-you-if-you-come-any-closer-radius" gets smaller and smaller every day.  In the end, I think they'll both grow to enjoy eachother's company, especially when BF and I are gone for long hours in the hospital.  

Staredown

                    

They like to sit in the doorways to block eachother's paths, just to mess with eachother

Hey look - everybody's happy!

Zoey, Meet Sif, Your New Little Brother...

   I'm still somewhere in moving limbo these days because we haven't found a replacement roommate for me yet.  Hopefully, that will get resolved soon.  Anyway, I've begun moving a few things here and there over to BF's place, and this weekend, I moved Zoey (my cat) over.  Zoey, aka Baby Z, is a 16-pound, outrageously fluffy, super sassy, 11-year-old ragdoll cat who used to be my family's pet.  She tends to be on the more irritable end of the mood spectrum, but she has her cute and cuddly moments too. 

Sif on the other side of the screen

    BF and I have been a little nervous about the two kitties meeting because I already knew Z hates other cats.  We started them out with a screen between them, just in case Z got violent.  Slowly, she has been getting used to Sif (Bf's cat).  She started out aggressive and angry, but a few days later, she is just annoyed by him.  Sif, on the other hand, is super adorable, and just wants to play.  He keeps following her around because he is curious about her, which pisses her off - and it's HILARIOUS.  

Staredown across the screen

Zoey - hissing at Sif

   She'll come around.  She's already made some pretty good progress.  Pretty soon they'll be besties!

One Small Move, One Huge Step

   As promised in an earlier post, I have an announcement.  I am moving in with BF!  It's happening a bit suddenly, but it's something we had both been thinking about on our own for a while.  And then when we were in Oregon camping, watching the sunset on the beach, we said, "Why not now?!"

   We figured this would be as good a time as ever, since we both hadn't yet signed our leases for the next year.  It's not exactly an ideal time in terms of rotations, but really, when is there a good time for anything?  Also, we told my roommate she could have a few months to find a replacement if she needed.

   I've never even considered living with a significant other before, so this is a pretty big step for me.  This time is different though.  We already "live together" for all intents and purposes, we just switch back and forth between our houses every night.  The only time we spend apart is while we are at work.  We take turns cooking for each other every night, and even help each other with chores, so I think it will work out very nicely.  I'm very excited to be taking this next step in our relationship.  I wouldn't have even considered moving in together if I didn't see this going somewhere long term.

    I'll miss my cute little house and my roommate, but I'm excited for this new adventure!  More stories to come!

Blast from the Past

One of the best parts about the holiday season is when a bunch of old friends come back to town to see their families, because then I get to see them!  A few of them actually live close to me normally, so its a shame we don't see each other more, but we are all busy bees.  Anyhoo, we had a few get-togethers in the last couple of days.  It was really lovely seeing everyone.  I just love to hear what everyone is up to and about how they are doing.  :)

Sister & Chewy

Today, my sister and I took Chewy for a little stroll.  It was pretty cold, but I think he enjoyed it :)

Someone stepped in dog poop before we left... 

My House

So here are some pics of my place.  I know its taken me a while to post these, but I had been waiting to finish decorating my room, and let's just say who knows when that will be finished?!

There is my room.  I will add other pics later.

Five weeks left of this particular chapter of my life

First week of my short summer vacation: done.  There was a lot of couch-sitting and tv-watching, but I managed to get a few things accomplished.  Found some furniture online for the new place, set up utilities for when we move in, spent time with my sister, got a free spray tan from my amazing cousin, etc.  Not bad, not bad.  Towards the end of the week, I was just starting to get a little bit bored.  So I am gonna have to start forcing myself to do more with my precious time.

Have you ever felt extremely bored, but at the same time, you are too lazy to do anything and nothing really sounds fun... yeah I hate that.  Sometimes I get like that.  But I think next time that happens I will take the dogs for a walk, go on a bike ride, or something.  :)  Problem solved.

Relaxing has been really awesome.  I will probably never get to do nothing to this extent again, so I should savor it!!!

Tomorrow, Juliette and I are adventuring to the University Falls, which is a really cool hike a little past Auburn.  I have been there a few times, but its been a long time since I've gone and I have never driven there on my own or been the "guide" per say, so it should be interesting.  I think the two of us can manage though.  We are both pretty street smart.

Six Weeks of Nothing

 So today is the first day of my six weeks of break before starting my first year of medical school.  I watched ER and a bunch of other mindless tv, tool my sister to the mall and then to her friends house, and took a three hour nap.  My life is boring.  Haha, not gonna lie, it kinda feels nice to do absolutely nothing though.  My goals for these few weeks I have off are:
-wash my car
-read a shit ton of books
-watch a shit ton of tv/movies
-exercise
-shop for furniture/stuff for my new place
-move in / decorate my new place
-get my vegetable garden in the backyard started
-hang out with family and friends
-video chat with a special someone
-go to SF to see Avery, Jackie, etc
-go to SF with Juliette, Tara, Leigh
-go to the waterfalls with whoever
-go to Yosemite with my dad and sister

Here's to having no responsibilities, no schedule to follow, and no obligations for six weeks.  I know it's gonna go by fast!

Home is Where the Heart is!

My roomie and I have found a house for next year!  It is a fabulous two bedroom right down the street from the med school, and its so cute! I will post pics as soon as I move in.  The only downside is that the landlord needed to rent it ASAP, so our lease starts May 15th.  That means we have to start paying rent for a month before I can even move in!  Oh well, we really like the place, so it will be worth it in the long run!  I can't wait to start buying furniture and decorating!  And hopefully I will get to bring my cat! (Crossing my fingers that my roomie isn't allergic).  So as soon as I move back after graduation, I can already start moving in and getting things situated, but also living with my parents and spending time with my family before school starts.  At least I will for sure have something to do now! :P  Steph and I want to start a vegetable garden, so I am definitely going to take that time to read up on gardening and maybe start things off! Exciting!!!!!

We are already heading into 7th week here at UCLA... 7th week! Can you believe it?!  This quarter is going by way faster than I ever anticipated!  I have been trying to spend lots of time with all my friends before I leave... I'm really gonna miss everyone!

Tomorrow Howard is taking senior portraits if Juliette and I, so that should be fun! I am excited!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: I went to Vegas last weekend with 9 Gamma Phi's.  It was a blast!  Here are a few gems from the trip:

HAHAHA Poor Marrin.....