Welcome to beyond middle of 2010. Where did time go?

Well, time went. Last time I posted I believe that I was just finishing baking some awesome Christmas cookies. I haven't made cookies since then. BUT... I HAVE made multiple multiple pies.

More than pies has happened since December. I've met new friends. I dated men. I watched almost every Flyers playoff game and cried when I listened to them lose on the radio on my way to fly home for my brother's 30th birthday. I ran a 5K. I went to Yosemite 2 more times. I visited San Diego for the first time in 8 years. I turned 27. I lost 8 pounds. I discovered new music. I caught up on all the episodes of Big Love and True Blood. I went skiing. I spent a weekend in Monterrey. I became an honorary aunt to a calf. I started horseback riding again. I performed a prolapse surgery on a french bulldog. I performed my first c-section on a cow. I had myself convinced that I broke my arm. I'm still not so sure. I went to the chocolate festival, the asparagus festival, and the apple blossom festival. I went to the county fair twice and the state fair once (so far). I filed my taxes for the first time by myself. I discovered paradise.

And those are just the little things. The bigger things of the past 6 months are those that I consider milestones. First, I've been out in the working world for an entire year. In April, I switched from a mixed animal practice to join my previous colleagues as bosses in their new Dairy exclusive practice. I'm loving it.

I recently put offers out on two houses in Riverbank. Hopefully we'll know soon! These are links for the houses:
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Riverbank/5701-Dainty-Ct-95367/home/19879637
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Riverbank/2531-Bordona-Dr-95367/home/19921261

I ran my first 10K. I hope to run my second in September, but body is starting to hate me. Just when I found something that I absolutely love doing, something has to rain on my parade.

Goals for the near future: Take a trip to LA. Book a vacation to a foreign place. Getting back on the horse for another 10K. Buying a bike. Cantering at two-point. Keeping up with this blog.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hi All... I hope you received my Christmas cards! The past month has gone by quickly and I cannot believe it has almost been six months since I've been in California!! I'm also quite excited to be going home 10 days from today. I sit here and update my blog with a nice glass of Lodi Zin and my DVD of A Christmas Story.

Within the past two weeks, I have been getting into the Christmas spirit. I chopped and decorated a tree. I put lights on the house. I also made my own wreath with Jen's tree clippings, some wire, and fake berries. I made cookies--sugar cookies, Aunt Wanda's break-aparts, and Rugulach (spelling?). I've been trying to give them away and have been quite successful. I took my favorite neighbor a Tupperware full. They must have been pretty damn good, as the next day he told me that he was coming over to rake and mow my lawn next time he grooms his own. Yay! for a season of giving. Must have been the sugar cookies ;).

The first weekend in December was my first weekend on call... by myself. I was looking forward to finally showing myself that I have the skills necessary to be confident on my own. I now have a temporary truck, with a box...while I wait for my boss to retire and grant me his truck. My first night, I came home from work, changed clothes and headed to my friend Liz's house, about 30 minutes away (and in the direction of most of our farm clients) for dinner and a movie. This was also her first weekend on call, so we figured it would be fun to hang out. About 5 minutes from her house, I remembered that my pager was on the belt of the pants that I changed from earlier. I had to go back and get the pager (no calls, of course), and on the way back to her house, my truck ran out of gas. After making several phone calls and rummaging for a key to the gas tank, I was set. The night was quiet and over the next two days I visited two more of my friends, finished a load of wash, cleaned the entire house, bought several christmas gifts and re-linened my bedroom.

The following Monday at 7:30am it snowed!! Okay, maybe just flurries for about 10 minutes, but it still was exciting. Everyone complains a bunch here when it gets cold, I just am thankful that it'll never be as cold as it was in Ithaca

We had two holiday parties at work, both of which were really nice. We had dinner at one of the nicest grills around town, and I had some amazing salmon. We played the white elephant gift exchange game. I received an Oakdale phone book and a giant universal remote. Oh well, better luck next year. For our in-clinic party, everyone gets a "stocking" (aka rectal palpation sleeve), and everyone must buy 21 small gifts to put in these stockings. In the end, you have an awesome goody bag of trinkets, cookies, etc. It was fun!


One of my goals for the upcoming year is to run a 5K race on my birthday. Today I made it half way there without stopping: 1.5 miles running on the treadmill, 40minutes on the elliptical. What isn't really helping are all of the great cookies, cheesecakes, brownies, chocolate, etc that are being sent to the clinic. I also have a tub of the best coffee icecream in my freezer.

Within the past week, I met two pretty intellectual and well respected people who were quick to comment on how young I looked. I am quite tired of the "you are too young to be a vet" comment. I tried the makeup... and it doesn't seem to be working... tomorrow, I'm getting my hair highlighted (and maybe chopped). We'll see if it puts some years on me. Too bad the current state of fog (literally) prevents the sun from pruning my face...

Plans for Christmas aside from being on call include: going to Sherlock Holmes (for those who have not seen Incredible Mr. Fox--highly recommend it!), and having prime rib dinner with my friends Angela and Jake. I get to make Tiramisu (don't quite know how, but I'll tell you how it goes!)

The Months are Flying by!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while! Halloween is long gone and we are now approaching Thanksgiving. Being on call for Halloween wasn't bad. My friend Liz and I did dinner and a movie here while handing out candy to the kids. We likely had over 100 trick-or-treaters, as I had to turn the lights out at 8:30pm (I really wanted to give out raisins just to continue to see the costumes, but Liz convinced me turning out lights was a better idea). A house down the street turned their garage into a haunted house, so tons of people were parking and treating in our neighborhood. The dogs didn't have costumes this year, but I did buy them shirts.

Phoebe got spayed about 3 weeks ago, then promptly tore her sutures bee-lining around the backyard. Funny how you realize how difficult it is to follow most of the recommendations you provide to your own clients!


A list of firsts: Since July I have experienced many new tastes. I have had my first "Dutch Crunch" roll, my first persimmon (yuck!), and my first whole pomegranate. I've also eaten "Tri-tip," which I am convinced is just a fancy name for roast beef. This week I'll cook my first whole turkey (courtesy of River Oak).

Last week, my brother visited me! We had a fantastic time. We spent an entire day in Yosemite doing a strenuous rock-laden path up to a beautiful waterfall. Thus begins our training for hiking the half-dome next summer?

The following day we visited the vineyards in Lodi, about 45 minutes from here. They all happened to be having an event that day, so we were able to hear some live music and taste some wine-related foods at each of the vineyards. I bought some great bottle of wines and really look forward to uncorking them. My favorites were Jessie's grove blanc and Lobo Loco port. We discovered that many of the vineyards had some crop still left on the vine. After questioning, we were told that many of the vineyards did not have enough funding to harvest the last of the grapes. What a waste.

One evening we also went to a brewery in Stockton and headed down the street for a Stockton Thunder game

On Sunday we went through the mystery house in San Jose before Steve left for LA (picture below).

As far as work goes, the large animal hospital has been slow. I therefore am getting a lot of time and experience with the pups and kitties, and I'm really having a great time with it. I almost had my first bowel resection surgery (removing a portion of intestine), but the kittie had a malignant cancer so we didn't continue the surgery. Next week I finally get a vet truck!! and will have my first weekend flying solo on call. Nervous, but excited.

More excited to head home after the holidays. Keep your eyes out for our holiday cards. If I don't have your address, please email it to me!



Happy Thanksgiving!

Camera Shy

Hi Everyone! I've been bad with using my camera, so no cool pictures for you this time. Not much has happened since I last posted. I finally went on the emergency cow call that I have been waiting for this morning (a uterine prolapse--pictures inappropriate). Much easier than I thought it would be! I finally have an on-call schedule for the next month. Bad news: No halloween parties for me :(. Good news: booked my flights to come home to Jersey. I will be home from the 26th of December to the 3rd of January.

I kept the boxer pup from the last blog. Her name is Phoebe. She's doing great, but I think she's going to be the alpha dog in this house. Tuck better start standing up for himself!

This weekend was great! I had a date on Friday. Went to a "Psychobilly" concert on Saturday night. Picture women dressed in 1950s style dresses/skirts with very made-up faces (bright red lipstick, heavy shadow and mascara). Hair clips with skulls on them, lots of tattoos and ripped fishnets. The music: elvis era rock'n'roll (large acoustic style basses) with lyrics about murder and small stints of screaming. The scene was nothing that I have ever experienced before.

Sunday was the wine and cheese festival in Riverbank. I attended with my friends Angela and Liz. We had a great time tasting Gallo wines, Barefoot wines *yes! it's from my local town!*, and some micro-wineries in the area. We also endulged in some tasty fair food and some local cheese--including cheese from the Hilmar factory. My favorite was the Queso Chipotle. Sabrina would be happy as I have purchased my first house plant--a beautiful yellow "dancing lady" orchid. Hopefully I'll keep it alive!

Bring on the torrential rains!

Promise I'll be a bit better with the camera, but for fun, check out the links embedded in the blog.

Fall is Here!

Wow! It's the end of September already! Lots has happened since I last blogged. #1: I stopped watering my lawn. Haha... my water bill went up $20/month and I decided it's more environmentally friendly to conserve water and kill my lawn. That being said, the foxtails (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxtail_(diaspore)) are now over-running my backyard.

I now have a TV (with 5 channels..woohoo!), curtains, a guest bed, and a filing cabinet. Job-wise, my name is now typed into the appointment book, and they finally ordered me a nametag. Now...if only for those business cards!

The weekend after my parents left, I went galavanting with some friends looking for Redwood trees. We found some of the smaller 3rd generation trees, but had fun hiking about 7 miles on a Sunday with all of the pooches. One is my friend Helen's new chi/russell; the other, Henry, is a friend of Tucker's since he was 3 months old.


For the past two + weeks I have had an extern from SoCal/Kansas State staying with me. It's been fun having some company. We took a trip to Yosemite (no wildfires this time!) and were able to hike up a giant rock dome. It was nothing like anything i have ever experienced, and was well worth the trip. The views were amazing and every step made me nervous. After our hike we drove up to Tioga Pass. I'm so lucky to live so close to such a magnificent place.

Yesterday I went to the Folsom Festival in San Francisco. http://folsomstreetfair.org/ Way to see old hairy naked people walking in the streets! Anyway, it was quite an experience, all 5 minutes of walking through the crowd before we had enough. No pictures, sorry! I got to see some friends from school and rode the BART for the first time.






I am having a pretty positive experience with my third trial pup. I should know by the end of the week whether we'll have a new furry family member. If she stays, we'll call her "Phoebe Alexandra" She is a 6 month old boxer. Her and Tuck are stuck like glue.



Can't wait for Halloween...I have a feeling this one is going to be fantastic! Being in farm country, we have all of the pumpkins and cornmazes you could imagine. Now I just need a NJ devil style haunted walk! Two weeks from yesterday is the wine and cheese fair in Riverbank. Will write soon!

Totally unrelated to California, my sister and her boyfriend recently bought a house. Congrats Jenna!!!

My First Overnight Vistors

Both Furry and Family!

I have had a great two weeks. Last weekend I went to a concert in Stockton--Fun. previously The Format. I had one of the best times I have had here...until...

My parents came one week later. I was excited to show them the new place, my neighborhood, and explore new areas of California. The only thing that put a damper on the weekend were the wildfires.

Places visited:
Monterrey Bay. A quieter town than San Fran, but just as beautiful. There were two major areas, the Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row. Fisherman's Wharf was stocked with thousands of yachts, fishing boats, etc. There was one major pier loaded with restaurants trying to pass free
samples of clam chowder to us. We consumed an entire lunch of free samples and moved to Cannery Row. Cannery Row was a few blocks of businesses along the bay, mainly small candy shops, restaurants, wine shops, and souvenier places. This area was previously known for it's sardine canneries and many of the original buildings were still standing. Monterrey Bay is also known for it's sea otters (which we did not see) and it's aquarium (which we decided to save for another visit). However, we did get to see some seals!


Saturday we ventured toward Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately a controlled burn that was started the previous week (sequoias need burn to reproduce) grew out of control so much of the park was inaccessible. Luckily, the most touristy part, "Yosemite Valley" was open to visitors (except for the historic hotel that was plagued by rock slides and was closed to traffic). Part of our drive was on route 49, one of the most loopy, tight-turned roads that I have ever experienced. The SUV in front of us actually needed to stop a few times to allow one of their children to puke on the side of the road! As we approached the valley, we got to experience the sight of helicopters dipping into the Manteca River in their attempts to control the fire.


Inside the park, the views were amazing! See page http://picasaweb.google.com/amyrauf/Summer2009# for pictures of El Capitan, Brideveil Falls, The Half Dome, Three Brothers, etc.




Other excitement during the weekend was the cooking! I got a new grill.... what an awesome new toy!


I also was able to try cooking a few new dishes: Pork with a mushroom wine sauce, and chicken and scallion ravioli (totally awesome!). Mom also made two containers of my favorite meal (Ham and Potato casserole). I'm set for the next two weeks!


In weekly news: I joined the gym down the road. It has something like 4 pools that are outside, open, heated in the winter, and open from 4am to 10pm. Can you say pool party??!! I also was encouraged to try a new one-eyed monster: a 10 week old pug. He was absolutely adorable and reminded me of my "nephew" Murray "Bean" Rauf. He slept on my chest the second night and snored away. He had the best personality a puppy could have. Made me miss my sister and her boyfriend :(. I realized yet again that I can't handle a puppy. One of our office managers took him so he'll stay in the River Oak family. Now they are trying to convince me to take a tiny kitten that they found out in the parking lot...

I recently attended a nutritionist meeting at the local feed company and met some more young vets from the area. I hope I'll be able to hang out with some of them this weekend. Tomorrow I go hiking with two of my friends from vet school, and I have a half day on Monday, so I'll have to find something fun to do! Hope you all are doing well. Enjoy your Labor Day weekends!

Fun.

First, Happy Birthday to my Mom!!! Oh... and a shoutout to the sis who just had a birthday last weekend. Wish I could have been home for both.

This week has been great! Last weekend I went to one of the downtown "festivals." It was probably the biggest upset I've had so far regarding the social scene here in Modesto. I was imagining an Ithaca Applefest like event with lots of vendors with local food/baked goods, contests, wine tasting, dancing, and blocks and blocks of people enjoying the day. The Modesto Art and Wine fest was all of one large tent with 20 or so advertising wineries (charging $2 per tasting--as in, one sip of one wine) and about a block and a half of people's artwork. Bummer.

Sunday I made a discovery about my house. My awesome neighbor (who, as a family man, knows exactly when people come and go to my house) was helping me load my dining room table into the house. He came inside and commented on how he hadn't been in the house for a while, the last time being when a young gentleman named Adrian lived here. I said, "Oh, do you know why he moved out?" He continued to describe how the cop that used to live one house down busted Adrian for growing Marijuana in my house. Guess that would explain the halogen lightbulbs in the kitchen drawers and the odd guy that knocked on my door earlier that day!

Tuesday I went to a horse boarding place to check out lessons. It looks promising, and I would have a group of 3 ladies to ride with. All ride english and are at my level. Just have to figure out if it'll fit the budget.

Work has been slow. My palpating is getting quicker, I am gaining confidence, realizing my flaws and trying to improve on them. I'm still feeling quite not quite on top of my learning...and I'm awaiting the next paycheck so that I can buy some books. Not getting any surgeries :( or emergency calls... which is frustrating.

I'm entertaining the idea of this little guy--what do you think??

This weekend I am going to a weightlifting class with my friend Angela, a housewarming party in San Mateo, and a concert (which I am thrilled about) with my friend Helen in Stockton. Check out this band: http://www.myspace.com/fun. One more week until I have official visitors!