the clock is ticking

jim and i - in typical jim and catherine fashion - are looking for a house. to hopefully buy and move into before school starts (fat chance). school starts august 24, so a short 3 weeks from now, really. we applied for the loan today - and we'll know what we're pre-approved for within 3 days. everyone keep your fingers crossed. because we're debt free and have a nice chunk of change in the bank, as well as a very good credit history, we should be able to qualify for a 100% mortgage loan. that would leave us only having to pay the closing costs - and moving costs. which yes - can be substantial. but we should be able to swing it. it would be exciting, except for the stress surrounding the whole event. living with another person is hard, especially when you've been living out on your own so long. it's just not working. so that's stressful in and of itself. but now, we're trying to move fast before school starts (again - THREE weeks) - and in that 3 weeks, i have to finish this disc for the 1st years, which is taking a long time, start my plant/herbarium notebook (collect samples, etc), help with orientation, and a myriad of other duties. instead of relaxing before school starts, i'm going to try and have a nervous breakdown. we'll see how it works out.

i'm also a tad anxious - to my surprise - about the start of school. i didn't expect to be, but i've looked at our schedule. we start surgery this semester, and i expect it to be challenging and scary. and anesthesiology, too - which i know nothing about.

this past weekend was maniacally hectic. i hosted alison's dinner party on friday night - which involved cooking an all homemade feast for 8 (french onion soup, herb marinated flank steak, mashed potatoes, oven-roasted veggies). that was a mess to clean up, and i drank way way too much red wine. the next day, we drove to Gvegas for a baby shower/birthday party, then drove back for a dinner party to celebrate sharon's birthday (belatedly). sunday was phillip's birthday, which was back in Gvegas. suffice to say, i haven't accomplished much of my 'to do list' this weekend. hopefully, since i'm not working this week, i can accomplish a lot. we'll see. nothing much else to report.