Home-sick and Tiago

So I had my first major episode of home-sickness last night. Who would have ever thought I would miss the loud Septa buses or that stench you get a whiff of walking down Chestnut Street so much! I think I've just been too busy until now for everything to sink in. We are definitely more settled now and everything is being put in it's place.

So I have more bad news for everyone who knows Tiago (our chinchilla). He most definitely has cataracts :( His eyes have been cloudy for a while and we've been trying to find a vet to take him to. When Tom lets him out of his cage to run around he like crashes into the wall and stuff....it's sad. But he seems pretty happy still when he's in his cage. And of course Tom wants to get him a "friend" because he thinks it will make him feel better. So we're going to have 2 chinchillas it looks like. I feel like it's going to be a never ending cycle because when Tiago dies then our new chinchilla will need a buddy because she's so used to having Tiago. (The average lifespan for chinchillas is 9-11 years). I want to get a border collie (which we probably will get after Christmas) but Tom doesn't think that Tiago and our new puppy will be friends. We'll see ;) Here's a pic of the little guy....awwwww







Oh yeah, my birthday is on Sunday....Happy Birthday to meeeeeeeee :)

Another update

We have internet and cable at the new apt! Yay! It was a pain in the butt, but the technician guy came out today and took care of everything. Anyways....we are almost all unpacked. All of my stuff is in it's place and most of Tom's stuff is. We just have to get rid of all our boxes and put up pictures, etc. Not too shabby. I can't wait to have his friends over and hang out, drink some beers, or some wine (Tom put together our awesome wine cabinet...Thanks Jennette!), etc.

So I got an official offer from Children's Hospital and I will be starting July 10! I'm really excited! Not only do I get to work with the patient population that I'm interested in, but Tom's lab happens to be right across the street from the Children's Hospital. Which turns out to be pretty convenient considering we only have one (awesome) car.

We're making a trip home already too! A very short one though...we're going to Tom's friend Chrissy's wedding July 8. We're getting in Friday night at 10:30 and leaving Sunday morning at 6:45. And we're actually flying out of Nashville instead of Birmingham because we got really cheap rates.

Let's see, what else....Oh! They sell beer/wine in Walmart down here! It's awesome! We got a 12 pack of Yeungling last night for like $8!! Also all of the restaurants in Birmingham are smoke-free...which is awesome. I hear Philly is going completely smoke free in January....hopefully the bars will be smoke-free soon enough down here. Probably in like 3 years when we leave.

Just felt like including a honeymoon pic! I'm obsessed with this one!

New apartment!

We are officially in the new apartment! Yay :) Our new bed came yesterday....I LOVE it. We moved all of Tom's stuff in today. His awesome friends helped us and we moved him in record time....plus everyone got a good workout carrying everything he owns up 3 flights of stairs. Luckily for us it was a "cool day" today in Birmingham....only 87 degrees. Great moving weather....ha. We also just went to Target to get random furniture that we needed....and a drill to put everything together. I can't wait until everything is unpacked and in order so I can just go lay by the pool all day :) Until I start working that is......which should hopefully be July 10, so keep your fingers crossed. If I get this position at Children's Hospital I would essentially be doing the same thing I was doing at CHOP so that would rock. Ok, time to start the never ending unpacking process. Talk to everyone soon!

Honeymoon pics are up!

Honeymoon pics are up!!!


http://community.webshots.com/album/551630981ikXZJW



Key West and Rehearsal Dinner pics are up too
http://community.webshots.com/user/awesomeanne/3

Quick Update

Quick Update.....

It's HOT down here. It's been like 99 degrees for the past 2 days! We have been borrowing his friend's jeep to get around (Thanks Anne...I don't know what we would have done without it!), but it doesn't have AC....ick! We've been so busy the past couple days but have gotten so much accomplished: We got our apartment, changed my name at the SS office, got car and renters insurance, my movers came, got a car (Saturn Vue....LOVE IT!!), got a suit...for my interview tomorrow @ Children's (yay!), opened a joint bank account (weird!), got a bed, and we ate at Chili's :) We still have to go to the DMV (yuck), go to the courthouse, move Tom's stuff into the apartment, unpack, (and write our Thank You notes...sorry!), and probably some other stuff. I realize as I'm writing this that nobody probably cares or wants to read about our to-do lists (as Tom is laughing at me as I'm typing) but it's good for me to see it in print :) Ok! Talk to everyone soon!
A :)

We made it to Alabama

Hi everyone! Tom and I finally made it (back) to Alabama yesterday around 6:00 after our kick-ass wedding and amazing time in Mexico. Today is going to be crazy and I have so much running through my head I can't sleep! My movers are coming (which is amazing considering today is the actual delivery date...aren't they always like 3 weeks late???), we have to buy a car today (exciting!), and I have to do ALL of that name change stuff....ugh, it's so much work! So anyways, I decided to keep a blog so everyone could keep up to date with what's going on in my life now that I'm in Alabama! I'll give two recaps in this blog, one wedding (for those of you who weren't there and for those of you who were there as well....considering the fact that we went through 37 (yes, 37) cases of beer, you might not remember everything too clearly ;) And the second recap will be the honeymoon....which was awesome.

Wedding Recap
One word....PERFECT! Beautfiul weather, beautiful church, beautiful reception site. THANKS to EVERYONE who helped make this day so perfect for us! If you have pictures, PLEASE send them to me at alb245@yahoo.com !!! There were so many things I loved about our wedding day I don't even know where to start so I'll just list a few of the highlights..... -My "pre-wedding" getaway to Key West compliments of my completely amazing and awesome MOH Mags!!! -Spa day for the girls -Rehearsal Dinner @ Uncle Dan's -Hotel after the rehearsal...Tom jumping into the pool with his clothes (and shoes) on! -Getting our hair & make-up done pre-wedding -Getting dressed and seeing everyone all "done up" -Willow! She was tooo CUTE! -Hearing everyone laugh as Willow & JT walked down the aisle....I laughed out loud and that eased any nervousness I felt before walking down the aisle! -Exchanging our vows & rings -Leaving in our awesome "Something Borrowed" car from Carrie & John -Having an "alone moment" before going to the reception & drinking a bottle of Verdi in the jeep with Tom O:) -Getting pictures outside....it was so beautiful....I can't wait to see them -Tom SINGING to me in frong of 200 people! He was awesome!!! It was amazing!! -VELVEETA!!! SOOOOOOO much FUN!!! Best decision we ever made! Okay, so that was more than "a few" and there are many more. Honestly, I could not have asked for anything more. Everything was just perfect! (P. S. One thing I would change...my cousin Sarah lost her camera...so if anyone found a Sony Cybershot please let me know ASAP)


Honeymoon Recap
AWESOME! We went to Riviera Maya in Mexico and stayed at Secrets Excellence Resort! It was AMAZING! It was all-inclusive, and the place had like 6 different restaurants, 9 bars, GIANT winding pools, hammocks in the pools above the water, A SWIM UP BAR, was right on the ocean, 24 hour room-service, jacuzzi's in every room.....it was awesome. I could be their new spokesperson! Tom and I completely relaxed and enjoyed every minute of it. We layed on the beach and by the pool, swam up to the bar in the pool, played water volleyball and Tom played water polo & beach volleyball. The restaurants were amazing too! They all went all out with presentation and everything! Seriously, the one restaurant would have been like a 5-star restaurant in the states....it was soooo nice! The only bad thing about the resort (not even bad, just annoying but we were able to avoid it for the most part) was the DOP (Drunk Old People). These people were 40-somethings (no offense) reliving their spring breaks! They hovered by the pool bar and I know they peed in the pool....with the amount of alcohol they consumed, they definitely did not get out of the pool enough to go to the bathroom. But whatever, Tom and I got a good laugh out of them (especially when we saw them when they were sober-and sun burnt- the next day and they had no idea what a fool they were the previous day) and just ignored them. ANYWAYS......
Some very special people in our lives (C & J) gave us some money as a wedding present to do something together on our honeymoon. We were going to get couples massages, but Tom got a little sunburn on the first day (on his back, of course) and there was something about spending money on massages in Mexico when we could get them at home.....so we decided to go snorkeling and it was AMAZING! (Thanks C & J!!!) We went on a whole-day trip. First we went to this fresh water sink hole where we got to jump off of a 20 foot cliff to get in the water (see pictures in webshots). So cool. We saw a lot of fish and the water was so clear too. After that we went snorkeling in CAVE! Yes, snorkeling in a cave! The water was FREEZING (or "refreshing" as they say in Mexico. Our tourguides-who were really funny-kept making jokes about people being on their honeymoon....cold water....you get the point). There were only a few fish in the cave water (and bats...ewww) but it was still really cool to be snorkeling in a cave! He took us through this really tight spot and showed us the holes in the bottom of the cave where the divers go through....I could never do that! After lunch, we went to this lagoon/inlet that connected to the ocean. The lagoon was pretty and we saw some really cool fish in it. When we got closer to the ocean, our tourguide gave everyone the option of coming out to the ocean with him....of course Tom and I were game. The waves got pretty choppy and it was hard work getting out there but COMPLETELY worth it! We saw a GIANT stingray!!! I know people usually exaggerate, but seriously, this thing was HUGE! It was like 3 feet across, just hanging out at the bottom of the ocean (it wasn't that deep at all where we were). Okay, so if that weren't cool enough, one of the other tourguides told us to snorkel over to this other spot......AND WE SAW A GIANT SEA TURTLE!!!! It was seriously the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my whole life!!! I couldn't believe it! This thing was HUGE!!! I probably wouldn't have even been able to put my arms around it if we got close enough it was that big! It was seriously so amazing just to watch him (or her) swim through the ocean. Although I have to admit, even though we weren't that far out in the ocean, if we were seeing giant stingrays and sea turtles, what else could have been lurking in that water???? Eeeek! On the way back to the lagoon and in the lagoon it was some pretty cool snorkeling. We saw tons of fish....Tom tried to swim with some schools, but as he said...."They didn't accept him." :P

So all in all, everything was WONDERFUL! Pictures will be up soon, I promise.....just as soon as we get settled! Talk to everyone soon hopefully!!