Karaoke!

Last night I had a blast hanging with my girls! We ate a delicious dinner at Luna Grill (they also make fabulous mango mohitos), followed by a few hours of singing and dancing at the Muse karaoke place in Annandale. Its great! You get your own little booth to sing with your friends, no need to get up in front of a room full of people in  a bar, or having to wait forever for  “your turn” to sing. It was so much fun, I can’t wait to go back! Here are a few pics…

Me and Janelle

 

Christine and Kim

dancing to Hey Ya!

Shake it, sh-shake it!

NKOTB!!!

Starting fresh

I love January! (Despite the frigid temperatures we’ve been experiencing here in DC) This time of year provides the opportunity to relax after the craziness of the holidays, reflect on the happenings of the past year, and start out with a clean slate for the new one. I’m not big on new year’s resolutions, mostly because I can never keep them, but as I’ve been reading several blogs and magazine articles on the subject, I found a few that I thought were both practical and reasonable. 

1. To update people’s contact information in my phone and address book as soon as I receive the update.

2. To take action on mail when I receive it, instead of letting it pile up on my desk. (This includes filing important docs)

3. And finally, to fold laundry as it comes out of the dryer, and put it away. (I really have a hard time with that last part)

I think I will try to do these this year…but don’t hold your breath. 🙂 

As I look forward to what 2009 has in store, I can’t help but be excited! I will complete my graduate management project (the paper I’m always working on), finish grad school, travel, enjoy spending time with family and friends, move to Italy, and that’s just the beginning! 

I know God has amazing things planned, and I am so excited to be growing in my relationship with Him. I joined a small group through McClean Bible Church a few months ago now, and I am really enjoying getting to know the women in my group and watching how God is working in each of our lives.

Holiday Update

Ok, so I know this is a review for some, but I want to make sure everyone gets a chance to catch up on what I’ve been up to over the past year…

2008 began with a wonderful new addition to the family – Rusty – a puppy I adopted from the animal shelter where I volunteered while living in Texas. He and Titus get along great, and I love having them around.

Rusty and me

In April I completed my first triathlon, the Lonestar Sprint Tri in Galveston, Texas. I also competed in the Iron Babe Super Sprint Tri in May and the Brierman Sprint Tri relay in October – My team took first place in the women’s relay division! (I should point out that we were the only team in that division, but we still got our first place medals! – Go Navy Chicks!)

 

Tracy & Natalia after completing our first Triathlon

Tri #2

1st Place Champions!

This year I was afforded several opportunities to travel home to Maine to visit, enjoying a week at the lake this summer, my 10-year high school reunion in the fall, and almost 2 weeks for Thanksgiving. It’s a good thing too, since I recently got my orders and will be moving to Naples, Italy in July 2009! I hope to come home to visit at least once in the spring, and am also planning a trip down south to visit family in the Carolina’s before I leave as well.

Relaxing at the Lake

September 08

As I look forward to 2009, I am excited to see what the future holds. I am almost done with grad school and should be graduating in August with a dual Master’s in Healthcare and Business Administration. I’ll be moving to Naples to work at the Naval Hospital, and I plan to do lots of traveling around Europe while I’m there. I also expect to begin training soon in order to compete in a few more triathlons this year as well.

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and a happy holiday season.

Happy New Year!

Update…

SO…it’s been a while.  Since I left Texas I have been busy: I traveled home to Maine and spent a week at the lake, went white water rafting in West VA, attended my 10 yr high school reunion, competed in a tiathlon relay, and traveled home to Maine for a few weeks at Thanksgiving too.

Life back in the DC area is great! I found a great condo to rent, and have a great roomate to share it with. THe boys are doing well and love the new area too. There is a dog park within walking distance of our place, so we try to get down there a few times a week.

School/work is going well. I’m doing my residency for grad school at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in DC, and in July, I’ll be moving to Naples, Italy for a few years. I can’t wait!

My hope for 2009 is to be more diligent at posting updates… we’ll see what happens!

Arlington…Here we come!

   Well, the past few weeks have been a bit crazy, but they are over.  I successfully completed all my final exams and projects, and I passed my oral examination boards. That basically means that I passed the didactic phase of my graduate program and can move on to my residency. It also means I earned my alumni card!  Whoo hooo! 

   Even better news, is that I finally found a place to live in Arlington!  Kim and I have decided to be roomies again and found a great condo to share in Fairlington. I can’t wait to get there and get settled in. The movers will be here next week to pack up all my stuff, and then it’s time to hit the road!

   Mom will be flying down for the graduation ceremony here, and then driving up to Maine with me. It should be quite the trip with the 2 dogs in the back of the car, but we’ll have fun. Then, after a week of R&R at the lake, I’ll be back in the DC area once again.  I’m not sure how much internet acess I’ll have after next week, so this may be my last entry until I arrive. See ya’ll soon!

Only 3 weeks to go!!!

Wow!!!  I can not believe how quickly the past few months have flown by!  I have failed terribly at keeping this updated regularly, and I apologize.

Since my last entry, I finished my third semester in school and I’m almost done with the fourth one too! Only 2 more weeks of classes, and then a week of finals..Whoo hoo!  Then I get 2 weeks to pack up all my stuff and get on the road for a new adventure back in DC.

I will be taking a detour on my way to head up to Maine for a visit during the week of July 4th. It should be quite a trip with the 2 pups in the car, but I’m looking forward to a week on the lake and a chance to rest and relax. Then we’ll be off for DC. I’m still looking for a place to live there, so househunting is taking up a lot of my time right now. I did find someone to rent my house in San Antonio already, and I am very happy about that!

In addition to being very busy with school, I have also be doing some triathlons. I did the Lonestar Sprint Triathlon is Galveston back in March, and then the Ironbabe Super Sprint Tri last weekend in Houston. They were both great, and I can’t wait to do my next one when I get to DC!  See below for pics of me, Natalia, and Kim…

Lonestar Tri:

 

Ironbabe Tri:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s a few pics of da boyz:

 

Where did January go?

Wow! These past few weeks have flown by. School is keeping me busy as ever, but it’s been managable so far. Titus and Rusty are still getting along great. Here are a few more pics of the new pup…

    

Update and new pics…Finally!!!

   Soooo, I’m not even going to try cover all the details of what has happened since my last entry, because I’ll probably never get caught up to the present. Let’s just say that last semester was busy, but went well, and I’m happy to report that I am halfway done with school already.

   Let’s see… I celebrated my  B-day in November, spent Thanksgiving at Natalia and Christopher’s house, and met up with Janelle for a weekend in Austin just before finals in December. My trip home to Maine for the holidays was great. It was so nice to have a white Christmas, and to see all my friends and family. I really enjoy volunteering at the Universal City Animal Shelter. Most of the time I walk dogs and help out with various other tasks as necessary. I’m averaging about 8-10 hours a month, so it’s not too much. I have also started training for a triathalon with some classmates. We are going to do an Olympic distance, so it shouldn’t be too difficult. The race is at the end of March in Galveston.   

   I decided to do the MHA/MBA dual degree program for school after all, so these next 2 semesters are going to be even busier than the first 2. I also decided to get Titus a new little brother, so he’ll have a playmate while I’m studying. The new pup’s name is Rusty, and he is too cute! I adopted him from the shelter where I volunteer.

           

 

Rusty and Titus get along great! They love to play, constantly! 🙂

I think this is the beginning of a lifelong friendship!

OMG!!! I am such a punk!

I can not believe it has been months already since I updated this! I was scolded the other day by Christine, so I am posting an update. My last entry was about 1st semester midterms being over, and now I’m in the middle of 2nd semester midterms already. School is going well, the time is flying by. I am enjoying my time here in San Antonio, and trying to make the most of it.

Since my last post I have had a few visitors from out of town. In August, Janelle came down from DC for the weekend. We had a blast! It was sooooo great to have her in town. I am still waiting to get the pics from her so I can post them. The month of September was mostly spent writing papers, working on group projects, and preparing for finals. I made it through first semester unscathed, we’ll see how the rest of the year goes.

My Mom and Grammy came down from Maine in the beginning of October. We did a lot of shopping and played tourist downtown.  We even took a riverboat tour!  I’ll post pics later 🙂

I have recently taken up golf, and so far I am really enjoying it. I bought my own clubs since I am a lefty and a woman. It was nearly impossible to rent a decent set of clubs given these circumstances.

I have decided to volunteer at one of the local animal shelters ( You know, in my free time!). A few of my classmates and I decided we wanted to do something to get involved in the community while we’re here, so we are all vounteering at the shelter. I am so excited, but its going to be tough to not want to bring those adorable little pups home with me. I will primarily be walking dogs when I go in. I start training next week. I may even get to help with some of the photography of the animals for their adoption adds.

Ahh, what else???   Oh!!!!  I found out that I will be moving back to DC next summer!  I am soooooo excited! I miss it and all my friends there very much. I can’t wait! 

I will try to post some more pics soon, and I am really going to try to be better at updating! 

Whew!…Midterms are done!

Now I can take a momentary breath, and then get busy on my projects and papers, and prepare for finals. I finished my last midterm this morning, in healthcare law. Most of my papers and projects are due in  a couple weeks, and then finals are the 3rd week in September. My goal is to complete my projects and papers around Labor day, then I’ll have 2 weeks to prepare for finals…I usually wait until the last minute, but I’m trying something new with regards to school – being proactive.

 In addition to studying, I did get to have a little bit of fun this week. One night the study group went to the lion and the rose (an English pub) to study, and Friday night I met up with a few friends for dinner and drinks at the fox and the hound (another pub). On Saturday, Natalia (one of my classmates) and I decided to have her husband, Christopher, drive us up to Gruene, TX, so we could go shopping at the market. On the way there, we studied for our law midterm while Christopher drove.  As often as possible, we try to mix socializing and studying, to keep things from getting too boring. The market was great! I bought an awesome pair of earings, and some Texas Redneck BBQ sauce. It is the best!We also checked out a few antique shops and did some wine tasting at the Grapevine. Then we met up with a few friends from class for dinner at the gristmill.

The best BBQ sauce, EVER!

 

The Gristmill was great! Excellent food at a very reasonable price, and the best lime Margarita’s in town!

  

After the day trip to Gruene, I came back to San Antonio and met up with a few classmates to celebrate Jim’s birthday at the Flying Saucer. It was a great night! I tried this one Belgian beer that was banana flavored! It was superb! Really sweet for a beer, but I liked it.

Sunday was spent doing laundry and preparing for the week ahead. I also met with the study group for one last law review at Natalia’s house. We were well prepared for the test this morning. We all walked out with smiles on our faces. I won’t actually get my grade until Thursday, but I feel good about it.