Life and Veterinary Adventures

My brother, Austin, recently took a bus from Milwaukee to stay with me in Chicago for his spring break. We snapped some sibling photos for our mom just before heading to the movies. We saw The Grand Budapest Hotel and we loved it. I love most of Wes Anderson's films, but this one will definitely make you laugh. Go see it if you haven't yet! We also spent a lot of time eating at some of my favorite local spots. Austin got brunch at Flying Saucer while I was at work one day. I love their pancakes. Tristan also took Austin to Jeni's Ice Cream, because how could we not introduce him to some of the best homemade flavors of ice cream? We of course had plenty of pizza, and even ordered Indian food one night. (I'm new to Indian food, too, but this was Austin's first time trying it.) On Sunday, our uncle who also lives in the city, picked us up and took us back to Milwaukee for Easter. We enjoyed a nice dinner with family before heading back to take care of t...

This Christmas was really great. It started off with Tristan's work's holiday party on a boat at Navy Pier. It was so much fun. I took advantage of the open bar, danced with friends, and took lots of silly photos at the photo booth. The party theme was Yacht Rock, by the way... My work party was an ugly sweater party at a bowling alley (and not nearly as exciting) but there were also free drinks and pizza. I also got a bonus!! My new job just treats me so well. On Christmas Eve, I grabbed my friend Veronica's car from her roommate, Brianna, to use for holiday travels while she was in Mexico with her family. Tristan and I dropped our dogters off at Megan and Anton's and headed to my uncle JJ's (who also lives in Chicago, yay!) We exchanged gifts with my immediate family, and then everyone drove to the burbs to my great uncle Rock's to meet up with the rest of our family. We all caught up, played fun gift exchange games, and at...

This year, Tristan and I stayed in the city instead of traveling in a big triangle to see our families in a short period of time. We missed them, but it just made more sense for us, the dogs, and our finances, to stay home. Our lovely friends, Megan and Anton, invited us to their home to have a delicious Thanksgiving meal. Our friend Corey also joined us. We had a great evening listening to music, watching the parade, and eating some of the best Thanksgiving food I've probably ever had. (The Dangs know how to cook!) We also played a few games that made us all laugh extremely hard. I'm so thankful to have friends like these.

This blog has taken quite the hiatus (and I can't promise I'll get better at updating it). Here's what I've been up to since I last posted: I passed the VTNE last December! Preparing for that test was one of the most stressful things I've had to do, but all my hard work paid off and I got my little certificate in the mail a couple months later. Since my college is so small, they only hold graduation ceremonies for 3 cohorts at a time. So, even though I graduated last August, my ceremony was in the spring. My mom and my Nana Toni traveled from WI to see me walk across the stage and get my diploma. We also went out to eat at one of my favorite local spots, Bite Cafe, after we got back to the city. I'm so thankful to have such strong ladies to look up to. I couldn't have done it without their support. My mom and I took a little vacation in the Florida Keys to celebrate. It was so fun and relaxing and it was nice to spend some quality time with my m...

I recently spent a week up north with some of my family at my great aunt Mayme's house in northern Wisconsin. It's a summer tradition in my family that has been known as "Ladies Camp," even though my little brother Austin has been a part of it since he was a baby. (He is now sixteen.) My uncle JJ even joined us this year. I drove to my mom's so I could carpool with her, Austin, and our dog, Molly. We rode in my mom's work vehicle, which is an HHR covered in a Jelly Belly wrap. Oh, the looks we get. After about 4 more hours of driving, we saw this sign and knew we'd be out of the Jelly Belly mobile very shortly! On one of the first days there, a family of deer wandered into my aunt's yard. I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped away at their faces. I was amazed by how they let me get so close to them before they ran away. We spent a great deal of time on the lake. We read and sunbathed on the d...