The (New) Adventure Begins

I think my writing block has ended just as our new adventure begins. We've just settled in to our new home in Tucson, Arizona. I've begun my new job, and so has Dashing. There is so much to share! I am looking forward to writing regularly. Enjoy your wonderful weekend, and I'll see you Monday!

Try this summer treat from the Pioneer Woman: Chocolate Almond Mousse! It's delicious.

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Sara on Pinterest

A Little Victory Dance

It has been one year since my last treatment. I've been thinking about it for the past two weeks. The twist - apparently everyone I know was too.

On Saturday, Dashing and I were supposed to have dinner with his parents, his sister, her husband, and 2 family friends from out of town. We spent that day hanging out with our friend Zach watching the fantastic Butler basketball game at a great pizza place enjoying the 70 degree air and warm sun (sitting in the shade to avoid UV rays though !). Slowly, we made it to Dashing's parents' house and Zach went to "dinner with his grandparents". However, I didn't find the family ready to go to dinner, instead, I found a backyard filled with family and friends.  I wasn't sure quite what was going on. I turned to Dashing and he was just smiling, not surprised at all, so I stood there in a little bit of shock. I said something to the effect of "what's going on?" and he replied, it's for you - you're one year past your treatments, this is to celebrate you victory. WHAT?! Excited and shocked, I started greeting and thanking everyone for coming one by one only to find a friend from Texas and another from Colorado who had come to visit followed by my Dad from Indiana. How incredibly special. I was so humbled that all of these friends and family were there to celebrate me. I truly should have been throwing them a party in thanks for all of the support they have given me through my journey. I turned to Zach, who we spent the entire day with, and said YOU KNEW THE ENTIRE DAY? How long have you all been planning this ....."Oh, for about 2-3 months." I am SO impressed that 75 people were able to keep a secret through baby showers (Miss E's), birthday parties, and family get together. I had no idea my friends and family could be so sneaky. And another fantastic surprise of the day, Dashing (the eternal non-planner), with the help of his family, put it all together...and kept it a secret! Ok Dashing - you did earn some bonus points here. Kudos.

Thank you to all who celebrated with me or sent me cheers electronically. I love you all.

I'm just glad I wasn't wearing something ridiculous!

The Harder You Work, the Luckier You Get

My father-in-law uses this phrase ALL the time. Although, I actually don't mind hearing it over and over again as I think he is totally right. Yesterday, Dashing and I were given an envelope by his College of Medicine informing us of where he will be completing his residency in Emergency Medicine. (It was double-ly fun as I planned the event for the College!). We Dashing has put in lots of time and effort into his education and building relationships over the past four years, and it has paid off. We matched at our number one choice, The University of Arizona, University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona. This was not luck on the lucky day of St. Patrick's, but a result of hard work and dedication. We are thrilled to begin this new journey that will start in June 2011.

It is done.

Much of the past four years has been dedicated to Dashing's successes with medical school. Hard work, sacrifices, long nights, early mornings, study sessions, you name it - we made it happen - together <3. But it all kind of came together as of yesterday - the deadline to submit Residency Program Rank Lists. For you sorority gals out there, this process is EXACTLY the same. They interview, rank the programs 1, 2, 3, etc. The programs have an A list and then a B list in ranked order. If your your #1 program puts you on the A list....MATCH! Then, at a later date, they will receive an envelope to open with the name of the program where they matched.

This date will be March 17 - ironic that this is a lucky day, St. Patrick's Day! The other twist is that my job is actually to plan this event for the medical school. Pretty sweet. I cannot wait to post pictures of this moment (also to show you my endless event planning talents - hehe). So, I've now been asked if a weight has now been lifted off my shoulders. The answer is no. There is still a lot of waiting to do.....

February = Hearts

Whether you choose to celebrate Valentine's Day or not (Dashing considers it is a Hallmark ploy), it seems to be a month of red and pink hearts galore. I think it is a great reminder to celebrate the ones you love. Yes, I said that plural. I mean whatever relationships you love - including pet babies - celebrate and relish them. So, as the month goes on, I plan to discuss a few "heart" topics.

My first topic, the traditional escape of the newly married couple...the honeymoon that is. Regardless of its potential historic beginnings, I  We want one, and we haven't had one.

Photo from e-how

Dashing and I lived together (at his place) before we were married on July 10, 2010 . We had been together for 4 1/2 years at that point. Our finances were muddled together. We shared ownership of a car. We weren't moving into a place of OURS. So the vision of a honeymoon was one that whisked me off my feet - not that the wedding didn't, but I guess I always put the two together. It was like a round 2 of the wedding in my mind. Dashing doesn't quite see it the same way, but appreciates the opportunity to spend time together doing out-of-the-norm vacation-y things. However, due to Dashing's medical school schedule, he went back to the wards the Tuesday after we were married. This is just one of the small kinds of sacrifices medical families make.

Now, we are looking for that special spot to travel to to celebrate our marriage (1 year out). This will be our first full blown vacation together as we have always taken family vacations. So what's the problem? We are on a budget and have no idea where to go! We love tropical places (I'm not talking about the jungle, more like resort style tropics with an day adventure option). We live in Phoenix, can travel in late March or late May/early June, and are open to suggestions. Hawaii, the Islands, the unknown......

Dear readers......please share with us where you have been or suggestions for a fabulous vacation on a budget!