Happy Birthday Kid!

Today is my little brother's birthday, so happy birthday KID, I couldnt have asked for a better baby brother!

The east river and costco

central park, he scrunched down so both of our faces could be in this picture
yes he really is that tall
the subway... gross

Looking back

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you step back and think, "I never thought I would be here".  Let me explain, as all of you know I have spent the last year in an MPH program. As pretty much all of you know I was a little nervous about this, not the classes so much as the other students. I am not sure what this was my primary concern but whatever that is another issue, I was so convinced (and poor Brian had to hear about it) that my cohort wouldnt like me, that I wouldnt like them, that this was going to be the longest 18 months of my life. I was really worried about this, I went the first day and thought, oh crap they are all going to be friends with each other and I am going to be the odd one out, I am never going to have a partner for group projects, I will never have anything to talk about with them, they are going to think I am just an immature child. I will be the first to admit that these fears were irrational and unfounded, and that yes I did find friends. I realized this is Philadelphia this last week, maybe it was MaryAnne talking about the "breaking up of the fellowship", or Pete talking about how 18 months ago he wouldnt have made some of his comments, or maybe it is the fact that after 18 long months we have become friends, but something made me grateful for this experience despite the frustrations, feelings of inadequacy, poverty, and living away from Brian. You might even say that yes the grinch's heart grew three sizes that day, whatever happened, I have to admit there is a part of me that is sad this is coming to a close. Dont get me wrong I am excited to get going with my non student life, I am excited for the friends that are starting their careers, families, and moving across the country, but part of me will miss the cohort once we are scattered across the US, and yes MaryAnne there is a part of me that might get a little teary eyed in December. In honor of the cohort, and one of our latest presentations here is a song for your listening pleasure

Finally!

I thought this day would... never come. Yesterday  we went up to our house and guess what, it is finished. It is beautiful, if I could love a house I would love this one (until something breaks). Maybe I am just enamored, maybe it really is just that wonderful of a little place, either way the house is done and ready to move in. Brian has the final meeting tomorrow morning (thanks for driving out there before work) and we close and move in on Wednesday afternoon!!!!!!!

Home sweet home... and yes this is actually our house... "landscaped" and everything

Our house... two trees (or sticks I should say) and all. 
The office, this room is going to be green in the very near future
The laundry room, and yes this room is also going to be green, we are getting the washer and dryer delivered two days after we move in to give me sufficient time to paint this one wall (yes Brian is wonderful)
Cupboards, can I just say this space alone is probably 4 times that of any other place I have lived since moving away from my parents house
I know this picture is hard to see but this is our dishwasher, yes we have one, this is the first time since I was a sophomore that I have had one. We purchased the detergent weeks ago in anticipation 
we have appliances! (and a backsplash)
The pretty arches
the dining area with the fixed tile. 

The living room. This well is going to be green by Sunday. I bought the paint already so just you wait it is going to be awesome.... well not awesome it is going to be rosemary

This is where the entertainment center (that we dont have) will go. the wall above the fire place is also going to be green...
The headknocker cabinet... this seems like an odd location for a cabinet to me, but I wont argue with more storage

The view from what will eventually be a kid room... sorry guests the kid room is bigger and has a walk in closet...

Guest room closet... sadly this is much larger than any closet I have ever had
The guest closet, not sure what I took so many pictures of this, I must have started taking pictures in this room and gotten bored when it came to other rooms
Guest room... this will be empty until we have a reason to fill it... like people coming to visit us. 
Guest bathroom... look all nice and clean, never been used, em arent you jealous

Looking at the front door from the front walk, we have a front door!
The view from the front door... okay it's texas so view is a relative term but still if you were to stand at our front door this is what you would see, not too thrilling but we have a front area so I cant complain (I never thought that day would happen)
The backyard. If you were to stand at the back door this is what you would see... nothing too thrilling but we have grass... well to be fair we have sod on mud, but we hear by april it will actually be a lawn, cross your fingers. 
More backyard, this corner is where I would like to put a tree and possibly a garden, I am still trying to convince Brian. 

A Quick Trip to the City of Brotherly Love

I spent part of this week in Philadelphia attending the annual APHA conference... I am sure you are all thrilled to hear about how that went, since you arent here are some pictures of the trip (which are more interesting than me telling you what I learned). Independence Hall, this is where the Declaration of independence and constitution were signed. 
Have you ever heard the Brian Reagan donut skit (it is one of the 5 I have heard), anyway he talks about a donut with sprinkles on just one part, it turns out they do sell them... which is ridiculous. 
Our poster, lovely
Snacks at Benaluxx, can you say over rated, and over priced... lame. 
Independence Hall at night, yes this is where they filmed part of the first National Treasure, and yes this is where the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were signed.
Independence Hall from across the street
The liberty bell and Independence Hall
Sadly these pictures are backwards. We went to lunch in China town and someone who will remain unnamed decided to order sushi for everyone to try. The first stuff was really good (and cooked), the second round involved raw salmon. Some of us were a little bit hesitant to try it, so we decided to do it together, nothing like a little bit of peer pressure to motivate you. So now I can safely say I DO NOT like sushi. 
I cant figure out why my mouth was so wide, maybe i thought this would make it easier to eat it, it didnt
Chinatown, philadelphia
Downtown philly
Have you ever had a dinner where you wanted to physically hurt yourself so you could leave? Yeah this was one of those occasions, wow that was a long night (no offense guys)
The fun indoor market we went to lunch the first day
This is basically what we spent our time doing. 

While Ashley's out of town

So, Ashley is out of town this week at her APHA (American Public Health Association... I think...) conference, so I'm sure she can't write on the blog until this weekend. At least one person other than Ashley (cough... db... cough...) has been telling me to get more house pictures up. Well, I went to the house on Saturday and took a few more pictures. Carpet should be in tomorrow (Wed), and we'll probably see the house again on Thursday. If all works out well, we should be doing our final walkthrough next Monday morning. From there, if our loan gets processed quickly enough, we should close the house late next week. Okay, on to the pictures:

Looking into the dining and kitchen areas from the living room. As we progress, keep in mind that much still needs to be cleaned up (paint, floor, tile, counter, sink, etc.) before we close.

Dining from the living room.

Dining from the hallway area.

The Kitchen

Kitchen from another angle.

Sink with faucet and backsplash.

Where our oven and microwave will be, with backsplash finished.

Okay, let's leave the kitchen now.


Backyard view from the field behind the house. Notice the fence posts.

Our house from the left. Notice the two trees and very small bushes in the front. Now we're just missing sod, which was actually installed yesterday. Sprinklers are already in.

Closer view of front yard... minus the grass.

Home sweet home

...minus the grass.

Made For Each Other- I think I just threw up

I have often heard people say that they were made for their spouse, every time I hear this I wonder if that is true. I think there are some couples that are better suited than others but I dont think I agree that there is one person for each of us and that person compliments us perfectly. I love Brian (really I do), but there are some ways that we clash, all the couples I know have something like that, something that doesnt mesh perfectly. I think we have that for a reason, if life were perfect, if our spouses were perfect, if we were perfect, what would we work on, what would we strive to improve, how would we progress? Every time i hear this phrase I think the people saying it must not be married, or if they are they must not have a realistic perspective, there will always be clashes, always be things you disagree on, and always be that one part of the other person's personality that isnt your favorite attribute, in my case i would guess brian could live without the constant high stress nagging.  I wonder if this is just me, or if other people think this way too, I am going to go with that they also think that way, I think that will make me feel better. 

Oh well, I have come to the conclusion that the people that see life through the rose colored glasses are unrealistic and well maybe have more problems to deal with than just me disagreeing with them. 

Cheesy

I think I have mentioned this before, but just in case I havent, I have to say I love cheesy country songs, love them. I love the songs that tell a story, you know, the couple meets, falls in love, gets married, I love those songs. I love that they are happy, that they focus on being grateful for what you have, the people in your life, and well basically the important things. Anyway, as I have had a long drive this semester I have had the opportunity to hear plenty of cheese on the radio (you know in between Glenn Beck, Dr. Laura, Talk of the Nation, Diane Reams, and Morning Edition). I recently ran across a song that...well you should hear if you love country cheese.