Housewarming 2011..."Stock the Bar"

Once the tree and tinsel came down and the gingerbread house disappeared (AKA slowly nibbled down to its foundation) it was party time.  My cousin threw a "Stock the Bar" housewarming party for us...with a theme like this, it was a late night!

 

First Christmas on Vacuna - 2010

So nothing says Christmas more than a tree with some disco lights?!?  We didn't realize we had chosen the dance party version of Christmas...that was bright enough to light up the street!

And what adds to the holiday spirit...a giant homemade gingerbread house!  I'd love to say that the house was for children or some other good cause, but as it turns out I am just an adult who really hearts gingerbread houses!

 Yes it was built on plywood while enjoying old episodes of the office.

 Not sure if 2011 will bring such an ambitious holiday spirit with the ever growing belly in the way!

 And Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the family party!

First Year Transformation

A whirlwind of projects began the first few weeks and months we were home.  Greg became quite the do-it-yourselfer during the fall.  His painting skills were definitely put to good use!


We don't want to make assumptions, but we are going to assume that the owners had leftover "cool cucumber mint" from the outside of the house and continued the color palette inside...on the walls, as in 95% of the walls. 

And then the deconstruction became just plain destruction! A man and his sledgehammer...became a man and a pile of bricks!  Bricks for a future endeavor...outdoor fireplace anyone?

The second to go were the floors!!  Don't get us wrong, we were thrilled that we had floors and that they were in good working condition.  Functional laminate is nice, but carpet and hardwoods seemed like a cozier choice.  One surprise we did find, they covered the original hardwoods with laminate?!  Didn't matter though, destruction continued...

Things started to come together (phew!)  

 Some paint on the walls, a new fireplace, and new cozy floors!  We quickly learned it was time for a break from the "light cosmetic" changes.  Time to get rid of the plastic tubs and bins and get some real furniture!

But amongst the makeshift furniture, unfinished changes, and settling in...Thanksgiving happened!  Just enough seating for all and even some room for dancing!  Now about those outdated windows...

 

Better Late Than Never?

So this might be a little late.  We bought a house in SW Portland and moved back to the "Lower 48" in the fall of 2010.  It's pretty 1987-ish, but we're working on that.  And whose to say that a pink and teal bathroom circa Miami Vice won't be back in style next year?  And yes that is a cool cucumber green if you were wondering.

Officially PA-C

So the results are in and I passed my board exam, so I'm officially a PA-C. Am I excited, um YES!!!! Greg and I are in Seattle staying the night before our flight tomorrow to DUTCH HARBOR!! All of our belongings are on a barge at the moment and we'll see them in another week. I take off for San Diego on the 15th of September for my first medical conference........life is pretty good :) I logged onto the clinic's website today and this is what I found.....crazy!

sorry this picture got deleted...

Hope everyone is doing well.......and a big congrats to my classmates for all of their -Cs as well........cause without the -C part of PA-C you can't get a license!!

Graduation Day!

So the day finally came and it was awesome! Now that the day is over it is time to study for boards like a mad woman......pass and then pack! We head out of town on Sept 6th and land in Dutch on the 7th! My first day is the 10th of September......can't believe it is time to start my career. Greg is looking into substitute teaching in Unalaska. He's pretty excited to move up there and get settled in.



A few pics from yesterday...

Master's Project Complete!

This is my completed poster for my Master's paper that I did with my classmate Brian Allen......figured it is better to look at a poster than read through 50 pages of a not so exciting study!!

Graduation right around the corner

Can't believe that graduation is right around the corner......literally a few days away. Not sure where the last 27 months have gone. With all of our ups and downs in life during the last two years, I can't believe we've made it and we're not pulling our hair out!! We have had a lot of help along the way with keeping our sanity.......so thanks to friends and family for that!!!!!! :)

We had an amazing time in Hawaii. Greg got some golfing in. I actually studied a lot and managed to read through 4 enjoyable novels! People here look at us like we're crazy when we say we're moving to Alaska......especially the Bering Sea. We try to explain it is island life, but just a little colder and a bit breezier :)

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer......or what is left of it.
Take Care!!

Hawaii Here We Come!

Hawaii Here We Come!

Well with all the chaos of this summer.......we're going on vacation! We're headed back to the Big Island tomorrow and will be gone through the 10th! It's where we spent our honeymoon, so it will be a great way to spend our 4th anniversary :) Yep 4 years, can't believe how freakin fast it has flown by!

We've been working for my cousin and her friend at Plate and Pitchfork. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, they do farm dinners to promote eating local, organic, and sustainable foods. Their website: plateandpitchfork.com We've been able to spend a lot of time with family while volunteering, which has been A LOT of fun!

Greg is officially done with work, which means it is time for us to start packing up and sorting through what stays in oregon and what goes to AK with us! Pretty crazy it is just a little more than a month away before I start work at the Iliuliuk Clinic in Unalaska and we'll be settled in to our new place.

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying summer!!
Natalie and Greg

Home for good!!

I'm home 1 week early from Ohio!! The doc I was working with said we could work our hours however we wanted, so I crammed them into 3 weeks and got home early! We're both pretty excited about finally living together again :)


I still have one rotation left. It's our last rotation where we work 20 days however we want. But, since they messed up my rotations and I didn't get a hospital/inpatient rotation, I'm doing that during the month of May. Luckily it's in Salem so I get to be home everyday!! I also have to finish my master's project and study for boards.....but being at home and having things to do is soooo much better than packing my bags and getting on another plane!

Hope everyone is doing well!