Whoops

And it has been a while. Sorry about that. Just too much fun stuff going on, it seems. Here's an update of what we've been up to.

1. I had a great trip home, although it was so quick. Lots of thanks to Emily for shuttling me around and helping me get pretty for the bridesmaid activities. It was lovely chatting with her in the car, when I was awake. The wedding was awesome, April was a gorgeous bride and it was a laid back and charming event. The extra effort to get the bridesmaid dress fitted was well worth it and it was great to see old friends from high school and college. Outside of the wedding it was wonderful to see my niece Anna and hang out lots with my parents. Emily and my mom helped me sort through my boxes of notes/cards/pictures from my past which was pretty hilarious. I had some awesome friends in high school, we were so naive, so good to each other, and have all grown up very well.

2. Lots of summer parties since I've been back, costume and otherwise. I have a pretty sweet gang of friends here.

3. The kitchen works! The sink, the oven, it is amazing. And I have been on a cooking spree. I made the No-Knead bread, this amazing eggplant bake, biscuits, pinto beans, everything. It's been extra fun to use goodies from my garden, tons of fresh herbs and more cucumbers than I know what to do with.

4. Sadie's been awesome. We took her on a day long rock climbing trip with a couple other dogs, and she was great. She's been loyally running with me nearly every morning and gaining her confidence off the leash in the forest behind our house. She's a keeper!

5. Last Thursday we had our first big group of people over to the house. I had 10 lovely ladies for an evening of wine and snacks (we meant to craft but got too busy chatting). I am so lucky. There were 7 scientists, in various stages of graduate school from my rotation student to Emily who is about to leave. Also our awesome neighbor Amanda (crew coach's girlfriend), Jamie from Raleigh (go internet!), and lovely Linda to help balance out the conversation. Steph and Linda hadn't seen the house since they were helping knock down walls so it was fun to hear everyone be impressed with the renovations. It is starting to look really nice, and I am looking forward to many more groups.

6. I've been running like a champ and feeling ambitious and excited for the Outer Banks Marathon.

7. I received an email today out of the blue that had me hyperventilating with joy and could possibly have huge repercussions on my professional career. More details to come, I don't want to jinx anything.

8. My science is going well, I have settled on a project for a while and have had some good success developing a neat new assay that will hopefully be the base of my thesis.

9. I currently have more mosquito bites than I have ever had. And I once lived in Costa Rica and refused to use bug spray because it would have prevented me from picking up amphibians. And that just can't happen. I guess I could use more bug spray here.. but who knows when that frog will wander by, gotta be ready.

10. Trent is awesome, working hard on a million different things but always willing to dress in crazy costumes with me, have breakfast at Weaver Street, let the dog out in the morning if I am just too exhausted, making me dinner, and all sorts of wonderful little ways of being fantastic.

Lots of pictures to post soon!

I'm off!

In just a few hours (yikes!), I will be heading cross country for a busy weekend in paradise. I want to have wonderful meals and conversations with my parents, be the best bridesmaid I can be to my wonderful April, play in the ocean, eat lots of Mexican food, hang out with my niece, and go to my sister's fabulous shower.

Should be a great weekend. Although I will miss Trent terribly. He has lots of festivities planned, however. HOpe you all have a great Fourth of July!!

Happy July!

I am determined to make it a good one. Here's what is on my list;

1. A wonderful weekend home with my family in California!
2. Being a party of my beloved April's wedding day.
3. Watching my garden grow and hopefully harvesting some goodies.
4. Starting my training program for OBX marathon. I've decided to really train for this one, just to see what will happen. I am thinking 3:20, but I don't want to ruin running with worrying. We'll see.
5. Getting a shed! No more tools in the kitchen!
6. Hanging out with with our awesome friends, Elizabeth's champagne party, Adam and Joanna's housewarming, Tri Prof's summer celebration, Crew Coach and his fiancee's new engagement!
7. Our awesome dog. She is hilarious!
8. More rowing and tennis.
9. Finishing Emily's cake topper and ring bearer pillow. I want to make them super special for my super special sista.
10. Getting lots of science done, with the goal of taking my oral exams this December/January to get them out of the way. And hopefully start writing a paper!
10. Spending time with my favorite person, Trent. All this house stuff and our busy schedules tends to get us so wound up and busy we forget how lucky we are to have each other. I really want to make an effort to have mini-celebrations/vacations whenever possible.