Yikes!

Well, even though Pete hasn't gotten a pay check yet, we decided to get iPhones and a new 2 bedroom apartment closer to Pete's work! The iPhones are fun and sure take time out of your day but the apartment is amazing. We have so much more room and yet every crevice is full. How did all this fit in out tiny one bedroom? Aside from moving into a new apartment and getting iPhones, we have been a very busy couple. Katie and Joe came back from their 6 week adventure in Europe so we spent most of our weekends with them because Katie has already left for Boston and Joe will soon follow. I did get my first message with my Mom and sister which was absolutely amazing. I was sore for a few days following though. Last weekend Peter and I spent our time in Victoria, BC. It was gorgeous weather to walk around and see the city.

Work is going pretty well. I move into my own office this Tuesday. I had my first meeting with just me and two other physicians. I think it went well and I feel more confident about hosting them in the future.

Pete and I look forward to visiting Andy B. down in California. We will be going to a Giants game, see the farm that he works on, hike in Yosemite, and celebrating his birthday! After that Peter will start work and life may slow down a bit. But that's a big MAYBE. Pete is hoping to get a coaching position for his High School's basketball and baseball teams. Cross your fingers that it works out.

Job Job Job

Pete got a job

Pete got a job

Pete got a job

Hey Hey Hey Hey....

Pete has achieved the impossible and landed himself a teaching job!

Now, the list of things I want, that I have mentally been forming, can come true.

This list includes things like an iPhone, a new (2 bedroom) apartment closer to Pete's job, a new computer, a washer and dryer, a new car, and eventually a house.

**Notice Kids are not on that list yet. Nope, not yet. Sorry Julann.

July?

Wait, when did July get here?

June was busy busy.

We spent our first Anniversary at Eagle Crest, it was 80 degrees, and absolutely beautiful, and came complete with a spider in my bed.

We decided to ride our bikes more so the following weekend we went on an easy 12 mile bike ride with Bob and Julann. Since then, Pete has ridden his bike to baseball practice (a good 9 mile ride).

I then went to a conference in Tennessee for work while Peter coached more baseball. My first conference was fun. Lots of free food, free office supplies, and people looking at me thinking I'm looking for my Mommy. The hotel was huge, 52 acres all undercover. Needless to say, I got lost.

We then went to the beach with the Shultz/James crew. Lots of games, good food, sun, whales, seals, rain, beer pong, and searching for treasure.

June's grand finale for us was spent in Hawaii! We absolutely loved it there. We spent a day driving through a rain forest looking at many magical waterfalls. The beaches we visited were all beautiful with coral, white sand, and sun. We rented snorkel gear and swam with sea turtles, bogey boarded in the waves, and took sunset strolls. We were apart of the best comedy/magic show. We were dumbfounded by the tricks we were took part in. How they do it, I don't want to know.

At Hawaii's end came July. And the beginning of July means spending 3 full days at Dani's Beach house. Seventy-five and sunny every day. The wind was also present but when nestled next to a large tuft of dune grass it was perfect. Pete even skim boarded. After a night filled with 360 degrees of sparkling, glittering, noisy (Oregon Illegal) fireworks, I went back to work and Pete back to baseball.

Will July be any slower? I'm guessing not.

Katie and Joe come back from their adventures in Europe in a week, Tom has baseball games we plan to attend, and cross your fingers that Pete gets a summer job. Scratch that. If you are crossing your fingers for Peter let it be for a teaching job in the fall.

I plan on showing pictures of our June adventures. I just need to buy a cord to connect our camera to my computer.

Birds

Over a month ago, Peter and I were woken up, on a Saturday morning at 6am, to what we thought was a soft pounding hammer. We tried to sleep through it but it was very obnoxious. We live in a corner apartment on the second floor, so when we discovered the sound was coming from a wall that had no neighbor, we knew it had to be a bird. Peter spent the next few days trying to scare it away by throwing rocks at it. He never hit it, don't worry. It did eventually fly further North for the Summer (I'm guessing). About a week after the pounding stopped,  we heard some rustling/scratching noises from that same neighbor-less bathroom wall. We figured it was either another bird or a squirrel but it was soft and could only be heard in the bathroom. The rustling continued on until last Monday when we came home after the weekend to hear about 3 baby birds chirping very loudly (and at a high pitch!). They do quiet down at night and I wake up before them so its only between 5pm and 9pm that they are really annoying. I'm not sure how long they will take to leave the nest but, whenever I walk into the bathroom the floor creaks and they go bananas!

May

In the month of May I

worked out 19 times for a total of 14.9 hours and 64.16 miles

celebrated Mother's Day at the beach

attended two BBQs (rained at both)

celebrated Father's Day
got my husband back from baseball only to share him with his homework (two more weeks!)

attended Joe's graduation (and all the activities that lead up to it)

celebrated my sister's birthday

AND said good-bye to a good friend for 6 weeks (too long but its just a warm up for when she goes to Boston.)

Survival

I survived a whole week of work while my boss was on vacation. Granted I was continuing work on a project I started while she was there but still!

Does this mean the crutches are gone and I can walk on my own?

Free Cake

I just called the bakery we used for the wedding.

We get a free 6" cake for our one year anniversary!

Do we want red velvet with butter cream, Boston cream, or Marionberry?

You're right..... RED VELVET it is.

YUM

Grown Up Moment of the Week

Grown Up Moment of the Week (even though its only Wednesday)

All this week my boss and I have been meeting with a company consultant.

Working with a consultant makes me feel like a grown up. Just saying it makes me feel like a grown up.

Boy am I a nerd. But, after 16 years of being a student, joining the adult working world is exciting.

Too bad working with a consultant means ten hour days....

Easter Sunday

How many people can say they went to Church on Easter Sunday?

Lots, which is great

BUT

How many people can say they made out with an egg on Easter Sunday?

I know of three and yes one of them was ME!

OK, I didn't really make out with an egg. Katie, Julann, and I did what is called "egg blowing." Its where you puncture a small hole on both ends of an egg, blow into one end of the egg so that the guts come out the other. The purpose is to create a lighter egg that you can decorate and then hang. We ended up painting all of them instead of, the more traditional, dying. They turned out beautiful and it was a lot of FUN!

Student Loans

As of today at about 8:09 pm PST


I paid off all my student loans. I am no longer in any sort of debt.


Peter, however, is a whole different story.

Raise!

After working at my job for only 4 1/2 months...

I GOT A 45% RAISE!!!!

AND they are back logging it to January.

First order of business.....   

Pay off student loans.

How exciting!

Car Rental

I have never rented a car before. To rent a car one must have a credit card and that person will be the primary driver. Of the four of us going to Hawaii, only the two girls have a credit card and both do NOT want to drive over in Hawaii. Yes, we could just pay the $12 a day extra to have a second driver but that is just too much money. Our solution: I am finally adding Peter to my credit card after being married for 10 months. It has taken this long to add him only because I have never had a previous reason to add him and I am just lazy. Another area I am lazy in, changing my last name. Changing my last name will be confusing, costs money and time, and I have been warned that it is very frustrating.

Likes and Dislikes

Likes:

salads with salsa dressing

working out

walking in the sun

sleeping in on the weekend

coffee

Yahtzee

making weekend brunch with Peter

Dislikes:

long car rides

cleaning the apartment

deciding what to buy for dinners at the store

knowing I can't change the channel because an important game is on

bugs in my apartment

Memory

One day I called my Mom on her cell phone.

She answered and I said, "hi."

She immediately said, "Shhh, Stop Yelling!"

I said in a whisper, "But, I'm not yelling."

Her response, "Whitney, you are yelling and everyone in this waiting room is staring at me!"

Then it dawned on me, "Mom, is your speaker phone on?"

Mom- "What is a speaker phone and how do I turn it off?"

I love my Mom!

Nashville, Tennessee

My boss informed me Monday that I will be flying out to Nashville in June to attend a conference.

How grown up does that sound?

I've never been to Tennessee. Not that I'll have much time to sight see but, I can't wait to go. Too bad Pete has finals to give.

Spring Break

This is the first March that

I don't get a spring break.

Pete is spending his

coaching while I work.

YAY to adulthood.......not.

Daylight Savings

I am really enjoying going to work when it is light out. Stupid daylight savings taking it away. Not only that but I have to wake up an hour early. That's an hour less of my already short weekend. I can't wait till we fall backwards! I found this article very interesting though. Ya spring time.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/11/110311-daylight-savings-2011-time-savings-when-does-spring-forward-nation/

What is it's Purpose?

This morning while making breakfast I grated my pinkie finder with our box grater. It wasn't very bad, more like a scratch, but boy did it hurt. Anyways, I scratched it on the one side I never use or even know its purpose. Its not the side that would coarsely or finely grate your cheese (like for tacos) and its not the side that you would slice your cheese (like for a sandwich). It the side that looks like it would make a mess and leave the majority of your cheese on the grater than on your food. I say this because the holes on this side have metal sticking out on the top, bottom, and sides. SO, how is your cheese supposed to grate into the inside of the grater when the metal is stopping it from all sides? Ok, in case I suck at explaining this side I found a picture....

When I googled "four sided box graters" clicked on one, then read the description, most didn't explain or even mention its purpose. One did say that it grates cheese "coarse, fine, and super fine."  I'm still not sure which of those descriptions is for this odd looking side. Someday, when I'm feeling adventurous, want to waste some cheese, and don't mind making a mess, I will use this side and see what happens. For now, it is the stupid side that has no purpose but to scratch me while I use its other three useful sides.

Freezer

I put candy and cookies in the freezer.

Out of site out of mind, right?

Plus, the apartment is cold.

So, if I'm cold I won't want to go into the cold freezer to get cold candy right?

Time

Peter started assistant coaching for his high school's baseball team this week.

Now, I have a lot more "me time" or should I say "me and DVR and gym and books time."

I am a happy girl.

Don't worry I still look forward to him coming home :)

Hawaii

Peter and I are going to Hawaii!

My friend Megan's parents have a time share in Hawaii for 6 nights and us kids are taking advantage of it. Just the four of us, some beaches, a rental car, some fruity drinks, snorkel gear, sun, swimsuits, a boat, the jungle, and a magic show.

I can't wait.

This doesn't count as a honeymoon.....

Christmas Breakfast

By the way....

I wore the onsie to my Christmas Breakfast for Work. I was honked at as I walked downtown on my way to the Restaurant. Surprisingly I did not win the contest :(

Cars

Within a few weeks of each other, both Pete's car and my car died. Not the 'I need jumper cables to restart my car' died but Pete's antifreeze was leaking into his oil and the leak can't be fixed, died. AND my transmission went out as well as something with an exhaust manifold and some other expensive things.

SO, how is Pete getting to school and I to work? Well, we are borrowing Pete's Dad's 1980 something Toyota that has no radio and the windows don't roll up all the way. And he is so lucky because he gets to drive me to work in the morning and pick me up after. The only issue is..... he can't pick me back up from work on Tuesdays and Thursdays so looks like I'm walking home the 3.5 miles :)

We also decided to pay to fix my car. Yes, it is a few thousand dollars but the transmission is "guaranteed" for three years. Cross your fingers for us.

Being a grown up and paying for things isn't fun.

5 years ago

5 years ago I was a senior in high school who just started dating her future husband :)

Weird Fact: Peter and I got married after dating for 4 years 4 months and 4 days. I promise this was not planned.

Norm?

Since when is it normal to go shopping at Nordstrom in downtown Portland with your dog?

Granted it was clothed and being toted around in a stroller like a baby but....

its a dog......

oh and the women and her dog matched

grey sweat suits!

Resolutions

This year I will:

learn to graciously accept compliments

and

stay in better touch with my friends and family

ready go.....

Public Things I Do Secretly

3 Things I Always Do When Exiting a Public Restroom (secretly of course)

• Make sure my shirt is in no way tucked into my pants
• Check that my pants are in fact zipped
• Make sure there is nothing stuck to my shoe and trailing behind me

I usually look behind me casually to see if someone is there (allowing my eyes to drop to the back of my shoes) then pull the bottom of my shirt down/straighten it ( to confirm that it is not tucked in) and in doing so I brush by my pants' zipper to ensure that it is closed.

Starburst

Our first pet as a couple has passed away after 3 1/2 years

Our glow fish, Starburst

Step Lightly

Our apartment has become a storage unit of furniture for our future home.

Work Week 6

This week was the most stressful so far.

It had the most projects

the shortest due dates

and no explanation on how to do any of it

On the good side it is Friday tomorrow

On the not so good side, I have one day to finish a lot more projects

Glug glug

I went swimming today.

Some laps went by.

I quit because I felt the lactic acid building in my legs and arms and it hurt.

I came home.

Stirring noodles into the crock pot hurt my triceps.

It will hurt but I will go swimming again tomorrow.

I will look good for Hawaii!!!!

Christmas Vacation

Days Peter had off.....16

Days Whitney had off.....10

Days Whitney had to work.....6

Nights spent away from our Apartment.....8 out of 16

Nights spend at Eagle Crest for New Years Celebrations.....2

Number of Christmas breakfasts/dinners attended.....8

Number of Days where presents where exchanged.....7

Number of Christmas movies I watched.....6

Number of lbs I have gained.....7

Number of presents still left under the tree.....1

Number of relatives seen.....29

Number of alcoholic beverages enjoyed.....7

Number of Christmas gatherings still left to attend.....1

Number of days until the festivities begin again next year.....348

Hope You Had A Happy Holiday Season!