Randoms...

Last weekend we took off for West Virginia again to meet the inspector on the house and do some things for the hospital (like get put on the payroll!). Inspection went alright...a couple things came up that we negotiated with the sellers and we finally signed the final contract today! The last hurdle is waiting for the appraisal and making sure the contract we settled on isn't more than what the appraised price is. Given the deal we got on the house, we should be alright, but fingers crossed until we know everything for sure!

I've got some pictures of the house but I'm not going to post them until it is officially "ours." Barring any unforseen circumstances we should be closing on June 4th!!! It's so exciting and we are both ready to move on to the next phase of our life! Zach has already printed blueprints and rendered drawings of all that he wants to do to upgrade the house. I am truly marrying Mr. Fix-it and he can't wait to get his hands on it! He looks at the Lowes and Home Depot websites everyday for tool bargains! We've already bought 4 nail guns this week and it's only Wednesday!!

Wedding details are slowly getting done. We ordered all the candy for the candy buffet and I must say...it is going to be awesome!!! We have around 16 containers for the candy and ordered so many different kinds! We also are working on getting the placecards finished and today we went and bought fabric for the guests to sign. I am cutting out 3x3 inch squares for the guests to leave their well wishes and then my grandma is going to sew them into a tapestry quilt that we'll be able to hang in our new house!

Just want to send a shout out to my brother...they ran at the Southern Conference championships last weekend and his 4x400 team placed first! His 4x100 team was third and he placed 6th individually in the 100 and 200 and was named to the All-Freshman team. Keep up the good work Dano!! We are so proud of you! I can't believe you are almost done with your freshman year at The Citadel!

I'm off to watch my trashy reality shows since Zach is STILL working nights on transplant! I think tonight is America's Next Top Model...and of course American Idol results!

Wedding in 3 weeks!

Today is the first time I have ever linked to another blog to share my story. I follow Kelly's Korner and she does a Friday Show Me Your Life and today's topic is "How you met your husband...." Well since the wedding is 3 weeks from today I figured it was a good time to tell the story of how Zach and I met! With him being born and raised in Utah and me being born in Iowa and moving to Georgia...we had to head even more south...to the Caribbean to meet.

It was Augusta of 2006 and I had just arrived on the island of St. Maarten to begin medical school. I was anxious, scared, excited and clueless!! During the first 2 weeks of school the incoming first years have a "white coat ceremony" where we get our short white coats for the first time on our way to becoming a true doctor. After the ceremony we had a huge celebration at one of the local spots on the island. Drinks were shared and it was a huge meet and greet since MANY of us did not know each other well at all. Needless to say this is the night I met Mr. Zachary. I knew of him because he was the head Anatomy TA for my class so I had seen him in our cadaver lab. That night we struck up a conversation and with the help of a little tequila (by me...not him) we talked for many hours. Now let me interject and be honest about my situation....when I had left the US I had started dating I guy I had met while nannying in Vermont and we were still together. However, here I was in St. Maarten talking to this blonde haired, blue eyed, skiing cutie from Utah. To my embarrassment we ended up going out to a gazebo just outside the bar and kissed. Well....this became the talk of the WHOLE school. Island life was much like being in a small high school. It was catty and gossipy and all around miserable at times. Everyone knew Zach since he had been on the island for a year already, but no one knew this "new girl" that he was kissing. Not to mention the fact that I had a boyfriend....
In leu of keeping with the honesty of this blog and for my memories....Zach and I proceeded to get to know each other all semester. We hung out a ton and most of the time he was helping me study which was also scandelous given that he was the teaching assistant. And this whole time I still had the boyfriend...I was scared to death of how I was feeling for Zach and he was always completely honest in how he felt about me. I was certain that my feelings were "situational" and that the only reason I cared about him was because we were both on the island, in medical school, facing the same obstacles. Also some of my class had ostersized me given that I was hanging out with Zach. It was a really rough beginning to a relationship, that really wasn't a relationship in my mind. He was slowly becoming my best friend and confidant and we spent MANY, MANY nights on gchat talking about all the things you talk about when you are getting to know someone.
Now I know this isn't my proudest moment...essentially cheating on the guy I was "dating" back in the US. And I'm not going to defend my actions. This is our story and I want to be real.

Christmas break came and went and I thought about Zach every second of every day. I told my mom and Steve about him over dinner one night and unbeknowst to me, mom told me later that she looked at Steve that night and said "that's the man Krystal is going to marry." I had tried to convince myself that after Christmas break I was going to distance myself from him and we would just go about being friends. I tried that approach for the month of January and on January 30th I got a call from my "boyfriend" back in the US saying he was coming to visit. I panicked! I headed over to Zach's and immediately told him that I couldn't do this anymore. I left him crying on his bed and as I drove away I knew I had made the biggest mistake of my life....
The whole month of February was a changing point in my life. I finally broke it off officially with the guy back in the US and then I spent the whole month trying to repair my relationship with Zach and actually have it start on a honest, real level. He forgave me for everything, told me he was waiting for me and we began this journey! The time from August 06 to February 07 was the toughest, most confusing, most regretful time in my life. Regret because of the person I was and my dishonesty. I am not proud of this time but I know in my heart that "it all happened for a reason." I met the man of my dreams and he stood by my side when I needed him the most. He just loved me even when I wasn't worthy of his love. He definitely didn't understand what I was doing through most of that time, nor did he agree with it, but he believed in us. And for that I am eternally grateful.....

And now 3 weeks from today we are getting married! We talk almost weekly about that time in our lives and what we were thinking and feeling. We are incredibly honest and open about it and I think that is tremendously important. It is not a "pretty story" but it is our story and in the end I met the man of my dreams.

I love you Zachary Paul Baker!!! Thanks for "just being" :)

News!

Wow a lot has happened since I last blogged....we are UNDER CONTRACT on a house!!! It's an amazing feeling and we are so excited! We spent all of last weekend in Morgantown and I'm not kidding when I say that we probably saw over 30 houses on Friday and Saturday. Our real estate agent was awesome! She was born in raised in Morgantown and has lived there her whole life. She is an older lady but we felt so comfortable with her and really trusted her! The house we decided on was one that we had seen the first day and put it on our "consider" list. It has great space but hasn't been updated since it was built in 1957! Blue carpet, blue bathtub and older kitchen. However it has a basement and a great front and side yard. It is 3 minutes from the hospital and property values in this neighborhood are fantastic! After a full day of searching on Saturday and not feeling that there were a whole lot of viable options we went back to this house and suddenly saw all the possibilities.

See...Zach is EXTREMELY handy when it comes to home projects. He can do electrical work, plumbing, move gas lines...you name it! So after we talked about it we decided to tackle the project and spend the next 5 years up dating and then sell it for a profit! With Zach doing the work himself we will save so much money and it's something we can truly be proud of! It's a completely livable space it just needs cosmetic updates.

We put in an offer Tuesday morning that was 50,000 less than the asking price given the work expense. We were expecting them to meet us in the middle somewhere which we would have been thrilled about....but last night our real estate agent called and told us they had countered back....and came down to only 2,000 above what we had offered!!!! Needless to say we jumped on this offer and signed the paperwork today!

We are headed back to Morgantown this weekend and I'll take some pictures to post on here when I get back....

Lots of exciting things going on in our lives right now....wedding in 3 weeks!!!!!

Weekend in Chicago!

One of my great friends, Allison, got married this weekend in Chicago and my med school gals and I made the trip! We had so much fun!

I flew in Friday and met Anna at Midway and we took the train into downtown. After a couple mishaps (we missed our stop...twice) we finally made it to the Four Seasons! Johanna and Janice met up with us and we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a French bistro...and proceeded to drink 2 bottles of wine!

That night everyone was invited to the rehearsal dinner but no one knew where it was! We all piled into the buses and drove through the city and ended up at......



Wrigley Field!! The sign read "Allison and Aaron No Longer Free Agents!!"

We were met by these cute little men!



They played all night long! We ate hotdogs and brats and had ice cream sundaes in those little baseball caps! A bunch of us went out to a bar later that night and the fun continued!

Saturday we woke up and had a fairly lazy morning and then once we regrouped we at brunch at a restaurant called Feast. The bloody mary's were great and it was a nice start to the day! We went down to Navy Pier and decided to do the Chicago River architecture tour. The city is beautiful and clean and some of the buildings are amazing! I did get one good picture of the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears tower) but during most of the boat ride we were chatting and drinking our beer!





Best girlfriends ever...minus Britt and Ally....they had more fun things to do....like hair and makeup!


And here is the whole reason we went to Chicago....

The beautiful bride! We had so much fun dancing and drinking and laughing together....Congratulations Ally and Aaron! The wedding was gorgeous and you two looked blissful! Wish you nothing but happiness and laughter!!

I also came home to the best fiance....Zach wasn't able to go this weekend cause he was on call Sunday but he spent Friday night at the outlets buying me the cutest dresses and sandals for Italy! He kept saying I needed new clothes for the honeymoon and totally surprised me yesterday with a bag from Cole Haan and BCBG! He got some great deals including a great pair of sandals originally $325 for $40!! He is the best! I'm marrying my own personal shopper!

Tournament Time!

I LOVE the Masters! In my opinion it is the single greatest sporting event. And golf isn't my favorite sport. The reverence, the beauty, the prestige of the course and it's history is breathtaking. We moved to Augusta in 1997 and I never really understood "it" until I was there. I worked in the golf shop on the course during the tournament in high school and even though it was only for 1 week out of the year, it was an amazing job. To be able to walk on the course before anyone else at 7 in the morning and feel like you have literally stepped into a piece of heaven is unbelievable! It should definitely be on everyone's bucket list if you you don't love golf. The beauty is that amazing and the peacefulness is overwhelming at times.

I love the way ESPN handles the coverage, like a gentle, precious piece of glass if they are not delicate in their voice and careful with their words. They praise and are so respectful of the course and it's history and it's place in the golfing world. There is no better place to be on a Sunday afternoon than on your couch listening to the commentators and the "masters" music...unless of course you were lucky enough to have tickets! And I'm not ashamed do say that I am cheering for Tiger this weekend. Despite his personal life crisis, golf is better when he plays. He is dynamic, emotional, mentally tough and the best golfer in the PGA. Regardless of his moral and ethical choices (which I definitely DO NOT agree with!), you can't help but admire the way he approaches the game of golf.

I'm off to Chicago tomorrow for a friend's wedding...but I'll be home in time Sunday to find my place on the couch for 5 great hours of championship Sunday at the Masters!!

Easter Weekend

I had a wonderful Easter weekend doing some non traditional "Easter" activities. Zach was post call on Friday and it was beautiful outside so we took a drive out to Cockeysville Maryland and went for a hike. The park was beautiful and my friend Janice who is doing a rotation in Baltimore
came with us. We packed a picnic lunch and then took off on our walk.

Mos loved the stream we found!


He proceeded to stick his tongue out at Zach!

We hiked for about an hour and 30 minutes in Mos began to look like this....




Hiking isn't really a Bulldogs thing but he did great and was having so much fun being off the leash and running in the mud! We did manage to get one "family" picture at the end of the day!


On Saturday Janice and I headed to NYC for Harper man's 1st birthday fiesta! We had a great time making tacos and drinking sangria! Harper was the only little one there so it was mostly an "adult party" but we made sure he opened his presents and ate his cake! We even had a pinata. I stole a couple pictures off of Britt's facebook of the festivities! It was a great time and I can't believe that little boy is 1! He is so precious and has the best parents!!

He's ready to party!!



Rockin' the sombrero and sitting in the chair that Zach and I got him!



Slightly overwhelmed by all the festivites!




Making tacos with Britt! She's a great mom!



Yay for birthdays and cake!



Love this family!!! Happy 1 year!



And the grand finale is when Britt proceeded to kill the pinata!



On Sunday we all meet up again in the West Village for brunch. It was delicious and filled with champange, mimosas and bloody mary's! It was a fantastic weekend and more fun will continue this weekend when one of my great friends, Allison gets married in Chicago....we're taking the party on the road!!!

House Hunting

It really isn't as fun as I thought it would be :( The cost of living in WV is definitely lower than Baltimore but since Morgantown is a college town, it isn't as low as the rest of the state. Also since there is always such a high turnover in housing there, the architecture and homes really aren't that great :( There are tons and tons of townhomes available but Zach and I really want a single family home with a yard for Mosley. Then there is the question of location and type of home. I don't have a problem driving 10-15 minutes to get to the hospital but Zach has been so spoiled by where we live in Baltimore that he doesn't want a commute AT ALL!! With that being said, all the character, older homes that we like are in a part of Morgantown where there is a higher traffic flow. Granted traffic is relative especially coming from a city, but Morgantown has no major roads so it is all small city roads that have stoplights and aren't conducive for college traffic sometimes.

Then there is price....Zach and I are somewhat at odds over this. Again, if you go 10-15 minutes outside the city you can get alot more for you money! I don't want our mortgage to be more than we pay in rent right now....

I also think I am sick of looking at places on the internet. Zach has every house memorized he has looked so much! I get bored on the internet and really just need to SEE the houses! We are planning a trip for the weekend of the 17th and really want to find something before the 30th of April when the homebuyers tax credit expires!!

This is adding alot of stress in our already stressful lives but we are trying to enjoy the process and we are incredibly grateful that we get to do this together and be in an area that we both love!

On a fun note, I had my wedding hair trial run done on Tuesday and it was so fun! We have to tweak the front a little but the back is perfect! Now it's time to pick out music...any suggestions for ceremony music I'm all ears!!!

Headed to NYC again this weekend for the little squirts (Harpers) 1st birthday!!! Can't wait to celebrate with friends again!!!