The Tulips Fairy Arrives Again!

Every year my Mom sends me a bouquet of tulips (my favorite) for my birthday. I've started calling it the Tulip Fairy because even the few times I've been away from home on my birthday, she manages to have them sent. So today I not only got a beautiful bouquet from my parents, but also received a beautiful tulip bouquet from one of my closest friends, Tammy. I was so surprised to receive her flowers and was so touched she would think to send them! I miss her!!!

Here are pics of the bouquets...

From My Parents

From Tammy & Sau

Job Update

Matt and I are still in the process of deciding where to go. After our Walla Walla visit, we are very impressed with the area and the Clinic. The Clinic has told us that we've got the job if we decide to take it, so it's great knowing that we definately have something.... especially such a great job!

Matt also has been in talks with a doctor in Colorado Springs who owns his own practice with 2 clinics and seems to be very successful. After our trip to Washington, and after Matt talked with several friends, we almost planned on just accepting the Washington offer. However, in talking with the doctor from Colorado Springs, Matt feels it would be best to go out to Colorado and at least meet with this doctor and see his clinics. I understand not wanting to just jump on a first offer, however part of me feels that it'll be very hard for this Colorado doctor to be able to match the offer from Washington. So Matt and I will be heading to Colorado in early May. After going to Colorado, we should be able to make our decision.

Matt has even brought up the idea of going back to California where he could do Locum work (basically Doctor temp work). Most likely this would be internal medicine and my concern is that it wouldn't necessarily be full time work. While I am incredibly tempted to be back in California near family and friends, it just seems like too much uncertainty for Matt to have Locum work in an area of higher taxes, higher home prices (compared to WA or CO) while having to pay bills and loans... also I hate the idea of Matt not being able to practice Allergy after all the years of hard work he's put in. I would rather go to WA or CO for a few years, be able to save a good amount of money, and if we can or decide to come back to CA, we'd be able to come back much more financially secure and maybe even have enough for Matt to start his own practice and not have to rely on a position being open.

I have a feeling we'll end up in Walla Walla, however it's not completely decided yet. There is a chance CO could really impress us, but we'll see. I'm just looking forward to the decision being made so we can start making our plans to move!

Our Walla Walla Weekend

Matt and I went to Walla Walla this weekend for his interviews and to check out the town. I have to admit that when we first flew in, I wasn't so sure about this place. It is in the middle of nowhere, but it's surrounded by the beautiful Blue Mountains that still have a bit of snow on them. Of course, I brought my camera, but totally forgot to take any pictures!!!

The Walla Walla Clinic (where Matt interviewed) was amamzing. This entire process has made me impressed with them... from their quick responses to emails, sending a package of information to us about the area, and then paying for both of us to fly out. They set up dinners for us each nights when a few doctors and their wives, set us up with a real estate agent to get a tour of the area and see some houses and were so welcoming!

On Friday, Matt spent all day in interviews meeting with a different doctor every half hour! It was a busy day for him, but he aced them! I spent the day walking down Main Street and driving around town. I was glad that we ended up with a real estate agent to take us around, because the streets I was driving around were not impressing me!

On Saturday, after our meeting with real estate agent (who was so great... she even had a bottle of wine and tickets to the Taste of Walla Walla left at the restaurant we went to the night before we met her!), we went to the Feast Walla Walla (aka, Taste of) where we sampled many wines and a little food. It was great... unfortunately, this area specializes in red wines and I'm a white wine drinker, but we did find a few places that had some great whites. Afterwards, we went out and went to a couple of wineries and ended up buying a bottle.

After dinner with the CEO that night, he let us know that all the comments he's heard about both Matt and I have been very positive. Then he said that the decision on this job would basically be ours... meaning that if we decide to take the job in Walla Walla, they would most likely vote to hire him!!! We were so excited to hear that... and so relieved to know that Matt has not only most likely found a job, but an AMAZING job at that. It's really one with so many perks and is really practically his dream job that we just can't pass it up.

We head to Colorado Spings in a few weeks to meet with one other clinic. This is one is owned and run by one doctor and he's looking for someone to eventually take over his practice. We are going just for a "2nd opinion", but basically we think there is no way he can really compete with the Walla Walla position.

So it's not official yet, but I think Matt just found a job and we just found a new home!!! There are over 100 wineries in Walla Walla so I hope that will entice many of you to visit!!!

Update

Since I haven't blogged in awhile, just thought I'd give an update...

First, I'm going to be an Aunt!!!!!!! Bethany and Ryan are pregnant and everyone is soooo excited!!! She is due only about 3 weeks before the wedding, so they were really cutting it close! It'll still be a few more weeks until they find out the sex of the baby... she says she wants a boy, so I guess we'll find out soon! My Dad would be so thrilled to finally have a boy in the family to wrestle with!!! :) Bethany is felling really well and has recently heard the heartbeat and gotten a great ultrasound picture!

Wedding planning on still my focus at the moment. I've got the florist, photographer and DJ hired. I made my decision on my dress, but haven't yet officially ordered it... I'm kinda hoping to negotiate a deal... I've got 2 dress shops (one in CA and one in CT) I'm trying to have bid against each other. So far, I've got the dress more than $200 off retail! Our Save the Date magnets have come in and we'll be mailing those out this week... hopefully! They turned out so cute and I'm excited that this is the first step to annoucing the wedding and making things more "official".

Job hunting is still Matt's biggest priority. This weekend we are both being flown out to Walla Walla, WA for Matt to interview with a multi-specialty clinic and for us to be able to check out the area. We are really excited to finally see Walla Walla in person after all the online research we've been doing! We are scheduled to have dinner with different doctors from the clinic each night, so I guess I'm being "intereviewed" too!!! We are also meeting with a realtor who is going to show us around the town and give us an idea of neighborhoods we might be interested in living. There is another opportunity in Colorado Springs as well, and that doctor is also interested in flying us both out for interviews and checking out the area. We haven't yet set a date on that, but I think it'll be sometime in early May. So with any luck, Matt will have a job offer soon and we'll finally know where we are going in July!!!

Matt also just got back from a week in Grenada. He did his first two years of medical school there at St. George's University and this it the second time he was asked to teach in Grenada (he's also taught twice at the school's Newcastle, England campus). Unfortunately I couldn't make the trip... SGU didn't offer to cover my expenses this time (I got to go the first time he taught about 2 years ago), and with my new temp job, I didn't feel I should take a full week off, especially when I had been there before. Matt had a great time teaching, but unfortuantely the professor who asked him to teach is crazy and now he's not interested in teaching for her in the future. Her reputation is one of being completely unreasonable and crazy, but apparently SGU doesn't care and she continues to be the head of the Allergy/Clinical Immunology Department! Hopefully Matt will still get another chance to teach there, but within a different department. He was amazed that all the students have cell phones and he had wireless internet in his hotel room. Grenada is finally catching up!

So lots going on with us and with the Netro family! Please send good thoughts our way for this weekend while we are in Walla Walla!!!

Walla Walla???

So Matt FINALLY has found a GREAT job opportunity and has been speaking with a couple of people at this clinic in Walla Walla, WA. This is the first job opportunity where we actually see it as a true possibility. Matt has been really stressed the last couple of months because the job positions available have either been in an area we have no desire to live (ie, North Dakota, Arkansas, etc), have gotten no response from submitting his resume or gets a "thanks, we'll let you know" response. It's been really frustrating and frustrating for me because there is nothing I can do to help. But finally....

He got his resume submitted to a multi-specialty clinic in Walla Walla, WA (the SE corner of WA... about 4 hours from Seattle). Over the last week he's spoken to the CEO and one of the Dr's to learn more about the position. For Matt this would be such a PERFECT job... he would be basically getting a chance to start an Allergy practice without having to put up any money! This clinic wants to start an Allergy practice within the clinic and would allow Matt to run it how he wants, including hiring his own nurse to assist. We had concerns that he might not even get to practice Allergy right away and now he'll get the chance to learn how to run a clinic and what works and doesn't work for him. And looking online at the Walla Walla websites, it looks to be a great little town.... 3 colleges, growing wine country (currently 100 wineries!), a great downtown/Main Street, no income tax and a lower cost of living.

The clinic is sending us a package that includes information on the position, the clinic and the area. Then next week, they'll call Matt to discuss further and then I think they will fly us both out there to talk more and let us check out the area. I'm actually really excited about this. Even though it's not California, where we wanted to be, this seems like such a great position for Matt which is the most important part for me.

For now, if he gets the job, we will move there this summer and just see how it goes. If we don't really like it there, then we'll just plan on staying until an Allergy position opens up in Southern CA. If we do love it up there, then there is a chance we could stay. Who knows at this point.... but please keep your fingers (and anything else) crossed for us! Getting a job (and a GREAT job at that) settled would be such a huge relief for both of us.... and then we can truly concentrate on our wedding and our plans for moving!

Official Wedding Planning Has Begun!!!

This past weekend I went back to California to watch the Oscars with my Mom (we have a deal to watch them together every year) and to officially start wedding planning! I had a full itinerary of meetings with florists, a photographer, trying on dresses, officially asking girls to be my Bridesmaids and just hanging with family. By the end of the weekend I was exhausted but felt it was a good start.

Friday I spent the day meeting with Florists and took along my Mom and future Mother-in-Law, Maggie. Maggie once owned a flower shop and since I don't know anything about flowers, she was a huge help in making suggestions of flowers or letting me know which ones would hold up during the day. At the end of the day, there were 2 florists that I felt would do a great job. I finally made my first official wedding decision yesterday and picked one. While I think both would do a beautiful job, I ended up with the florist that is closer to my parent's house and is very familiar with the wedding location.

Saturday was Dress Day!!! Although I have an idea of what I think will work for me, I'm keeping an open mind and am trying on different styles. But it doesn't turn out to be as fun of a day as I had thought it would be. First, trying on these dresses is exhausting!!! They are big, heavy and not easy to get on and off. I've narrowed it down to a few, but am going to keep looking and wait for that "this is the one" feeling I hear so much about.

Saturday night I went to my sister and brother-in-law's house for dinner and had a great time! Often on my visits back home, I get to spend a lot of time with my parents (because I'm staying with them) and I often see my sister, but we don't always get a lot of quality time together. We had such a great time having dinner, talking and catching up.

Sunday I met with Tammy, Georgette and Gretta (Matt's sister) at The Hacienda (our wedding location). I wanted to show them around and officially ask them to be my Bridesmaids. Bethany is Matron of Honor. Thankfully they were all so excited and said yes! So now both Matt and I have our bridal party chosen. It's exciting that a few decisions have been made and people are so excited for us. After meeting with the girls, I met my Mom and Sister at David's Bridal to do some shopping for bridesmaid dresses. Pretty much everything Bethany put on looked great on her, which wasn't surprising! I'm hoping to get all the girls together the next time I come out to have them choose dresses. I think I like the idea of each of them wearing a different style dress to work with their body type, but we'll see.

Sunday afternoon and evening was dedicated to the Oscars! My Mom and I love watching the hours of red carpet pre-show as well as the actual show. This year was one of the best ever! Although the red carpet wasn't quite as exciting because many of the big stars came through a back entrance so they were a surprise, it still was great. Most dresses I loved although there were a few misses. Hugh Jackman was absolutely incredible... although I think he could just stand on the stage in a tux and read the phone book and be amazing, but the singing, dancing, jokes and just look of pure enjoyment on his face made him great! I hope he continues to host many times!

Monday was a slower wedding planning day, which I was happy about. I had focused so much on planning during the weekend that I was already feeling a bit burned out. So my Mom and I just met with one photographer, who takes amazing pictures, but as I thought was out of our budget. Luckily, I've already found another photographer that will be great, so I'll probably officially hire her tomorrow. Then we met Bethany for lunch so I could see her again before leaving. Then Mom and I cruised around Crate & Barrel and Macy's Home stores just to see what kind of registry items are out there. Matt and I will have to check out some items and see if we can agree on dishware and things. Although I think we do have some differences, I think we are pretty good about being flexible and we'll be able to make some compromises.

All in all, it was a tiring weekend, but so much fun to actually be wedding planning! We have less than 7 months to the wedding now and there is still a lot to do, but I felt it was a good start. I hope to be back in CA in a few weeks for a friend's wedding and hopefully be able to do some more dress shopping and make some more decisions!

I Got a Job!!!!

So it's not a permanent job, but at this point, with only a little over 4 months in Connecticut, it's actually the perfect job. The last month or so I've been working at Energizer and helping them create their PO process. Just this week, I've found out that I've gotten a position within the same company covering a 16+ week maternity leave! I'm so excited because it's full time and will go through the end of June, when is exactly when Matt finishes his Fellowship at Yale.

At that point, we are hoping to be coming back to California, however with the economy and job market these days, there's a good possibility our return to California could be a bit delayed... keep your fingers crossed Matt can find something in CA so we can come back this summer. We both are hopeful that will happen, but if not, I'm just hoping Matt finds a position he will be happy in and hopefully in a state that isn't too far away from California!!!