picnic at the beach

I know I haven't posted any pictures of our place yet, but I promise I will very soon!  We have been busy lately with boring stuff; car repairs, car shopping, excise taxes, studying and working to name just a few.  With Joe back in the country (and state) and Emily finishing her last day of work, it was high time for some nature.  After a failed attempt to catch the ferry to Peak's Island, we regrouped and made a new plan.  Joe, JP and I biked across the bridge to South Portland and over to Willard Beach for a little sunset wine and cheese.  Emily met up with us, and we just relaxed, munched and took in the scenery. We have landed in quite a beautiful place, and I for one feel extremely lucky to be back near water again.  Mountains are gorgeous, but I just love me some water. 

Joe just got back from a tour in Europe and his love of cheese his been ignited.  We feasted on a few new (to us) varieties and sampled some salami and prosciutto as well.  This was all a lead up to a homemade Joe Walsh risotto dinner back at our place.  The evening was completed with carmel salted maine ice cream, a perfect ending to a great day, and another great way to welcome this new city into our lives.

snow and beaches

 

In the face of a ridiculous snowstorm that amassed us something like 20 inches, I thought I would share some Costa Rica pictures.  Bring back all those memories of hot weather, cool ocean and bicycles.   I think I will just show you a few photos in this post, and in the next one I will post all the animal and wild life shots.  We have been so busy since getting back that it feels like our trip was months and months ago!  As with every post, the pictures will look better if you click on them... blogspot photo distortion is the thorn in my craw.  Enjoy!

Beaches, hammocks and biking were the essence of our vacation.  As a Walsh, the whole purely relaxation thing is kind of hard for me.  I constantly feel the need to be productive, not waste time, especially coming off of a hard semester/year, so this vacation we focused on just getting away from the stress of everything.  JP did need to remind me a few times that it didn't matter what time it was, when we were hungry we ate, hot we swam, and when it rained we read our books on the deck. 

With the next two years booked up solid in terms of relative free time, I know we will be able to look back on this trip and glean some laid back relaxation vibes.  The good news is that we will be living in a city that is right on the ocean, and in a brand new state/coast to boot.  Our next adventures will involve exploring Maine, checking out what the East Coast has to offer us, and learning new winter sports.

 

The times, they are a changin!

I have been in a constant ridiculous state of ecstatic happiness since Wednesday, and am overjoyed to tell you that I now am an official member of the University of New England's PA class of 2014!!!  PHHEEEEEWWWWWWW!!!   What a tumultuous, and crazy ride this has been.  To prepare for so long, to study so hard and to log all those hours doing a million different things to become the best possible candidate I could be...hoping and praying and screaming for it to all be worth it.  AND IT WAS.   Ohhh never have I felt such overwhelming relief after reading an e-mail.  I think a large part of me is still in disbelief. 

As you can probably tell, the interview went really well.  I was again a bit reluctant to share that because as the ultimate decision day came closer and closer I was realizing how terribly embarrassing it would be to have to explain to everyone how my interview was amazing and yet I wasn't accepted.  So, I hushed on up and kept it in the family for the most part.  BUT now that decision time is over I can finally tell you that it was GREAT!  I just loved the campus, the faculty, my interviewers, the tour...it just really, really felt like a good fit.  JP and I went to the pre-interview mixer the night before and I am so glad that we did.  It was a tremendous help to both of us I think, helped to allay my anxiety about the coming day and really helped to give JP a sense of what we were getting into and what I would be doing for the next two years.  He too thought that even with his limited time on campus, it really felt like a good fit for me and us.  The interview itself was pretty laid back and nice.  I was interviewed by a faculty member and a PA in the community.  The three of us sat in an office overlooking the campus as fresh fat flakes of snow fell outside.  It was pretty picturesque.  And before you can ask, yes I did in fact talk about Harry Potter during my interview and I STILL got in! Gotta let your inner (or not so inner) dork shine!  In any case after intros and interview and essay writing and tour, Joe picked me up and we swung by the wharf to grab some fresh seafood for lunch.  That is living.  We had mimosas and lobster rolls to celebrate and then I promptly fell asleep on the couch due to piled on lack of sleep and an early morning wake up from last minute jitters.  It was lovely.  Did I mention the decadent GF bakery we stopped at that was all things GF and was absolutely delicious?!  Well, there is such a place and it was so good.  We had whoopie pies (apparently they are a real thing, and started us on some really lame Whoopie Goldberg jokes) and lemon bars, as well as a tasty loaf of fresh bread to go.  Mmmmaine.

We are now in the process of deciding the best time and method for us to move across the country.  This requires all kinds of adult decision making, and we are figuring out how to work it all.  We need to find JP a job (this forever student needs someone to support her!), find an apartment, decide when all this will happen, figure out what to purge from our lives in Denver, and then heave hoe everything into a moving van and drive away!  Suffice it to say, there will be lots of exciting changes coming our way soon!!  We are both incredibly excited and nervous about the next few months, but I am confident that we will find a great place and settle in with relative ease.  Having Joe and Emily there to welcome us to our new city will be the icing on the top!

So, thank you all for your continued support and encouragement during this entire process.  It has been very uplifting to know that there were so many people pulling for me, praying for me and sending me their thoughts.  I feel incredibly blessed to be able to start this journey in May, and I owe a lot of it to the people in my life.  Thank you for being one of them!