90 Days of Activity

A while back a friend of mine started posting her daily activities on Facebook with the goal of doing something "active" every day for 90 days straight (Bel, if you're reading this please correct me if I'm wrong). At the time I think I was sick or on vacation or probably moving, so I didn't jump on the chance to join in on a fitness challenge like I usually do. Well, we're moved now and have been here for almost 2 months so I decided it was time to jump back on the exercising bandwagon. So yesterday I drug myself out of bed at 5:30 (AM) and went for a jog. Not just any jog though, the week 5 day 1 of my 10k training program jog. That's 68 minutes of heart-pounding sweatiness. Mind you, I haven't run since mid-June, and before that I'm thinking the last consistent running I did was back in March on a treadmill (because we were still in Wisconsin and the snow doesn't melt until June).

Let me tell you, coming back into wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We have been leading a fairly active life out here in California. We've been to the beach a dozen times, walked around Disneyland for hours on end, gone fishing, and cleaning or moving on down time. Plus, I've been cooking more since our new kitchen is so conducive to cooking (pictures to follow eventually). Cooking takes a lot of energy. Who knew?

At any rate, day one is done. Today is day two. I'll try to post weekly updates on my progress, but if I forget please do forgive me. :)

The stat's so far:

• Day 1: Couch to 10k day 1 of week 5
• Day 2: Physique 57 DVD

June Update

Well, things are finally starting to get settled down around here. Most of the boxes are unpacked and all that's left is mostly books or office supplies. We both started working which is providing structure to an otherwise structureless life. We spent most of June splitting our time between trekking back and forth from the beach or Disneyland and our house. Rough life, I know. :) But hey, soon residency will get really busy and I'll never see Spencer again (well, at least that often). I'll get busy with work and we'll have less and less time to run around doing fun things. So even though we've neglected the unpacking/organizing/cleaning in favor of running around and having fun for the past few months, I don't feel too bad about things. There will be time to clean and unpack later. Those things are nice, but not essential.

Speaking of updates, my new job is at Loma Linda University as the research coordinator for the Cardiothoracic Surgery department. I know I swore I'd never work for surgeons again, but the job is great for what I need right now and the people are great as well. The whole feel of the department is much more positive than the other surgery department I worked for and I'm really liking it so far. It's part time, about 15 minutes down the road, and it's nice to be working at the same place that Spencer is again. We can commute together! And have lunch! And...well, you get the picture.

Stay tuned for more to come!

We Made It!

A few quick thoughts before I resume the arduous task of unpacking.

1. After 5 days of travel (some were short days and some were rest days), we pulled into our new place in California.
2. I called the ward when we were in St. George to see if we could get help unloading the truck.
3. About 6 hours later, at least 10 people had shown up and our truck was unloaded in an hour.
4. That means we got to sleep in our bed the first night!!
5. With the exception of my friend's boyfriend in Wisconsin, we loaded the truck ourselves. Having people to help is waaay better.
6. There is an abundance of Mexican food here and we are loving it.
7. Also, you can get horchata everywhere and we are both totally addicted.
8. We still have too much stuff.
9. Next time we are going to pretend to be gypsies and just leave everything instead of moving it. Except maybe the couch. And the books. And the kitchen gadgets. And the...oh, well. You get the picture.
10. Fridges are expensive, but having one makes life oh so much better. Eating out only maintains its charm for so long before you're just plain sick of it.  

Well, there you go. The house is getting slowly unpacked. We are getting slowly settled in. I am getting to sleep in and may or may not be still in my pj's at 10:30 in the morning. (I know that last one sounds kind of lame to all you stay-at-homers who are used to being in them all day, but as a recovering work-aholic it's a big deal). We love it here so far and don't expect to stop. Unless it hits 100+ degrees, which it's quickly on its way to doing...

Moving Realization(s) #4

Image from here.

A few brief (and random) thoughts while I'm supposed to be working...hehehe, what can they do, fire me? :)

1. We are leaving in 3 days. 3. Wow. How did that happen?
2. The closer we get to moving, the less nostalgic I get about "stuff."
3. Hopefully, I won't later regret this temporary "declutter bug" that's taken over.
4. How is it that I'm still dealing with crazy projects at work when I only have 2 more days?
5. Wisconsin is getting humid. Perfect time to leave for dry heat.
6. I gave my hamster away (the demon one). I am both elated and sad all at the same time.
7. I am probably not going to get another hamster since I just gave away all of his hamster "stuff."
8. A dog would be nice. Spencer, can we please get a puppy? Pretty please? Yes? Awesome.
9. I'm about to join the ranks of the unemployed and I feel {mostly} calm about that.
10. We are about to embark on a 36+ hour car trip where we will both be driving the WHOLE time.

Life sure is full of uncertainty. Isn't it exciting?

Moving Realization #3

I have less stuff than I thought I did. At least, that's how it seems. Maybe our current place could more storage or maybe I was just really, really bad at storing it. Whatever the case, I'm glad since we rented a kind of smallish truck. Here's to hoping that everything fits...

New Title

In honor of Spencer's new title, I've dropped the "future" from the header/title of this blog. After 5 years of marriage I can finally say I'm married to a doctor! Now we just have to wait about 5 more for him to start making the big bucks! Until then...a job huntin' I will go. :)

Graduation and Such

Well, it's official. We done gradu-a-mated. The ceremony was last Friday and we had almost all the family in town from brothers and sisters to grandma and grandpa. The weather was lovely for a change. Our families were spoiled! After they left it dropped back down to freezing after having been a pleasant 60-70 degrees all weekend. At some point I may or may not share more pictures, more information, and just more in general about graduation, but for now I'll just sum it up.

Thursday night we had an awards dinner for Spencer's medical class. We went and were sat (assigned seating) at a table with one of his classmates and her parents, grandparents, boyfriend, and boyfriend's parents. They all were meeting for the first time. Fun! The dinner was excellent, but the awards were, well, boring. Maybe because Spencer (or anyone else I knew) didn't win anything. But hey, that's how awards ceremonies are, right?

Friday morning the assorted relatives gathered at our place for breakfast, we took pictures, and my mom, dad, and sister headed out with me for the graduate student lunch. The lunch, again, was excellent. They even had complimentary campagne (they didn't for the medical students the night before). Our table must have looked kind of funny though because half of us don't drink, and a few also didn't like champagne. Wisconsin is a very alcohol-heavy environment though. They even gave my 19 year old sister one! At the lunch we were also put on the spot to say something so I got up and thanked people, and made a joke about not eating cereal anymore. After that, we lined up, marched in, sat for about 2 hours (or rather napped), got the diploma, took pictures, and went out for dinner at Carabbas. Afterwards we treated the non-natives to frozen custard, which was an instant hit. Spencer's dad started out with 2 scoops then went back for 2 more!!

Saturday and Sunday were spent with the family seeing the sights, shopping, and lots and lots of eating. All in all it was great having everyone around. It was crazy, but we had a really good time with everyone and got to do a lot of touristy type things that you don't normally do when you live somewhere.

Phew. And that was the short version. So much for that. :)
Now, it's onward and upward to the next big phase of our doctoring lives: residency!