Additions to the Living Room

So life has been pretty crazy lately. School is ramping up again and the projects are getting harder and harder (no work has been done on that awful wall paper). So let me apologize for the lack of posts, I'll keep trying.

So we did manage to do a bit more in the Living Room in terms of decorating. Since we took out all of the carpet, Lucy has been quite upset about it. She enjoys digging and rolling in the carpet and this was limited to the Master Bedroom. Well that is no more. We picked up this fluffy guy at Ikea. Although he is a bit whiter than would be ideal for this room, it does make the room look more finished. But more importantly, Lucy now has somewhere to roll and dig on the main floor:

And yea, I still have not refinished the Kidney Bean table and despite looking for the perfect coffee table nothing is up to our standards (and down to our budget)...yet, I am holding out hope that we will meet the perfect coffee table and ride off into the sunset together. 

Also in the Living Room, we (mostly Chris) finally hung up the picture we picked up at Ikea months ago:

It is centered above the couch and features five sketches by Picasso (or so Ikea tells me). There is a flamingo, chick, horse, and more importantly a penguin. Oh, and the center one is titled "Sausage Dog." Winning!

I Love Lucy

I guess I have gotten to the point of being a crazy dachshund lady because a larger percentage of my Christmas gifts this year have been Lucy/dachshund themed...And I love them. One of the most creative ones was from Jenna:

It is a canvas of Lucy that fit perfectly in the frame that was left over from the headboard ideas. We have been really slow about hanging up stuff around the house (like ridiculously slow), but this one went up in record time. I found the perfect sized wall in the hall into my study:

It is the perfect width for this sized frame and this hallway needs some love. Now for the after:

Perfect if you ask me. Thanks again Jenna - Lucy and I love it. 

Committed! A Half Marathon

So I have been running more regularly, especially since I found a group of other runners at my medical school. We have been running about twice a week and over 4 miles the last two times. We are even going running tomorrow. This makes me excited about running all over again and it is helping me keep my new years resolution to take better care of myself. 

Well, I recently decided to join the bandwagon and set a running goal. Along with quite a few of my peers, I signed up for the Rutger's Unite Half Marathon. 

So there is 13.1 miles somewhere in my future, April 21st to be exact. So while Chris will not be joining me as there is neither puppies nor soldiers involved, I will have plenty of company. There is still plenty of time to train and make sure that this race is enjoyable. Wish me luck!

Medical School Update: Renal and Endocrine

We took our Cardiopulmonary exam on December 21st and were already back at school on January 2nd. That was a short break, but I'm only complaining a little. I really enjoy school and learning new things, so other than the fact that school is cutting into my sleeping and leisure reading time, I'm happy to be back.

Another gift on our first day back was our grades for Cardiopulmonary. The class did well, although our means were lower than normal, but more importantly I PASSED! Whoo, 100% personal pass rate so far. Unlike many of my classmates, I really enjoyed the topic and found it really interesting how your body systems compensate for changes. 

But now that is over and it is on to new things...more specifically Renal and Endocrine. Three days of classes so far and I have decided that I am already sick of the kidney...j/k. Those silly organs do a lot more than I thought, so while I am not as excited about this unit as the last, I think that it can only get better. So it is back to studying for the next exam, which is soon! There are only three short weeks between now and then. 

Merry Christmas from Lucy!

So Lucy's doggie day care was offering free photos with Santa. Plus you got a free goodie bag. Even though Chris insisted it was going to be a disaster  we went, and guess what...it wasn't a disaster. It was awesome. Here's proof:

Yes, she is the cutest thing ever and we are super proud. They were also kind enough to print us an official one (titled with Happy Howlidays), which is already on the fridge.