5,4,3,2,1

Evening walk with my two favorite people

5- is the number of weeks we have lived in Washington!
4 -is the number of weeks The Germ  has completed of school
3 -is how many boxes of fruit I have frozen and dehydrated the past two weeks 
2 -is the number of times I have driven our stick shift on the road since moving here (sick peanut = stuck at home)
and sadly we have only eaten at miners 1 time (soon to change)!

I cant believe that this week we have lived in the grand ol' state of Washington for a month. Some days the time is goes ever sooooooo S L O W L Y but sometimes it seems to fly by! Overall, we have loved living here, meeting new people, and going new places.

Farewell picture of our old apartment

The first week and a half we lived here we only had what could fit in our little car. We slept on an air mattress in the living room, sat in camp chairs, ate a LOT of tuna sandwiches, washed our clothes in the bath tub, and just enjoyed the Germ's last few days of freedom. I was a nice break from the back to back vacations we went on right before we moved here. By no means would I want to live like that forever but it was nice not unpacking before the Germ started school. The other nice thing was that the first week of school was mostly orientation so when our stuff finally arrived the Germ and all of our extremely awesome and wonderful neighbors (who are also med students) were able to help! Making it so my Grandparents and my Mom didn't have to worry about helping unpack when they got here! Double win! That same night the Germs parents, 2 brothers, and sister in law arrived so they could go to the the White Coat Ceremony the next day.

taking a break to eat lunch on our way up

We felt so blessed to be able to celebrate the Germs hard work thus far (and the hard work he has left) with family. Often the love and support we have received from our family made it possible for us to jump all the hurdles life has thrown at us. After the White Coat Ceremony we went and ate some dinner as a big group.

The next day Peanut and I went with my family to eat our way through Seattle while the Germ stayed home to start his first intensive week of school. I eased my conscience about leaving the Germ behind by eating more food! You might think I am exaggerating on the eating part but I am not. Often our day consisted of waking up, going to pikes market, eating, walking (to burn calories thus creating more room for food), eating again, more walking, eating, walking, eating, and going back to the hotel so sleep to start it all over the next day. It was GLORIOUS! BLISSFUL! and a taste of HEAVEN! Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Although, it was probably in the best interest of my arteries and pants that this good thing ended! Besides I always go through Germ withdrawals after a day or so away from him (I try not to think about what life will be like during residency).

High fives from Seattle

I then said goodbye to my amazing grandparents, practically perfect Mom, and  my two wonderful sisters. Words can not even begin to describe how much we appreciated them loading our belonging in a trailer and driving them to Washington for us. The hardest thing for me has been not being close to family (I have always been within walking, biking, or five minute driving distance from them). Thank goodness for texting, face-time, and phones in general.

Since then I have been unpacking, organizing, and taking care of a sick Peanut (probably from licking the Light Rail's windows). Side note: I am happy that we were so organized when we packed up because all but 3 boxes ended  up in the correct rooms. Thus making it so all but five boxes were unpacked and put away within a week (and I was out of town for 3 of those days). Our apartment is starting to feel like a home! I have also been working on items for my Etsy shop that I will be opening soon:)

-Dooney

The results are in...

I remember when the Germ and I were dating (pretty seriously) and he told me that he was thinking about going to medical school. At first I felt really nervous because the processes seemed endless and the challenges we would face during schooling and residency were not something to be looked forward too. His uncle who went the physical therapy route, told him that medical school may be a challenge on his marriage and who ever he married would have to be flexible, understanding, and willing to do things on her own. "Am I that girl? Can I do that?' I remember wondering (and have wondered off and on since). The answer I received then (and now)  was "Yes!" Yes, I can do hard things! Yes! I can adapt, change, and do the things required of me! Yes! I can do my part to make sure our marriage stays healthy and strong during this time and always ( side note-I hate it when people give me "advice" and tell me about the increased chances of divorce with him going though medical school because that is not "advice"). I can do what is required to help my husband and our family reach our goals. Does that mean it is going to be easy? NO! I have no illusions about that because the process thus far has not been easy. There were many conversations about the "what ifs" such as, "what if we don't make it in." The added class load, working full time, endless studying for the MCAT, the hours of shadowing and volunteering, applications, interviews, and the endless waiting game have not been easy either. By far that has been the worst part has been the endless waiting game,  waiting for the MCAT score, waiting for interviews, and waiting for acceptance (and rejections), and so on. The last seven months we have been waiting to find out where we were going for sure, unable to plan on where our future will lead us. FINALLY, we are able to make that decision! We are going to....

YAKIMA WASHINGTON!

We could not be more excited! It is such a relief to be able to say where we are going. The last few months of being in "limbo" was not our favorite stage to be in.  We have been tremendously blessed! The fact the he was accepted to three schools is pretty amazing especially, considering that the amount of medical school applications turned in this year were up by 30 to 40 percent, making it even more difficult to get in. I am proud of the Germ and all the hard work the he has put into this process.  I am excited for our new adventure ahead of us!

The moral of the story is, "Life is going to be challenging no matter what, so work toward your goals!'

-Dooney

PS. We graduate in just a few weeks :)

    

Wedding day - when our adventure started