a new little clark

Since the cat's out of the bag with some... we've got an announcement!

We've added to our little family with....

Snowflake the corn snake!!

Zach got her from school back in April and we've been having fun getting used to another pet in the house. She's a whole nother deal when it comes to feeding. So be warned! If you are afraid of spiders, scorpions or snakes (the 's' trio) you won't want to spend too much time at our house. So with Snowflake, that brings our little family to Zach, Stef, Jethro, Shiner, Lily, The Cuteness, The Rock and Snowflake. That's right, we live in a zoo and we love every second!

slowed down

Hello again from the Clarks! I'm amazed I made it over a week without posting again, much to the chagrin of Miss Mouton, I dare say! We hadn't had a very eventful week up until Saturday, so I thought I'd hold off a little longer until I really had some things to say.

Zach's Equine Lameness is going quite well- they don't do a whole lot, they don't have a huge number of clients and so they always get home before 5 pm. What a welcome break from the first rotation, when we didn't even really start looking for Zach before 6:30! He'll be moving on to Zoo Medicine on Monday and that will mark his first rotation in the Small Animal Clinic. I'm hoping that his first day there doesn't turn out too long because we've got big dinner plans that night!

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend- we decided to spend it lazily. Saturday Zach's parents came for a day long visit and we had a lot of fun. We had some great food, we played around, we went to the new Indiana Jones movie (which we all enjoyed very much!) and we went and found where Zach's cousin is getting married in two weeks. I tell you, I'm glad I found a breezy cotton dress for the wedding because it looks like it's going to be outdoors and I wouldn't want to be too hot. Saturday was just fun and Jethro and Shiner were very happy to have the company.

Sunday and Monday we vowed not to get dressed until we had to. It's always a relaxing thing. Zach spent Sunday playing video games and I spent it reading. I got hooked on a trilogy- The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray and finally was able to find the time to reread the first two since I needed to remind myself what was going on before reading the third. I read the third book-- all 70 some chapters-- in one day. So good. They're making a film out of the first book, and I'm hoping Ms. Bray doesn't let the movie makers ruin her book. Monday was vastly enjoyable. MTV knew how much I longed for an American Gladiators marathon and when I got up they were running all of season 1 until the new episode came on at its regular time. I was very happy. All season long, my favorite competitor was Evan, and since he won season 1, he came back as a gladiator in season 2. It was fun watching his run as a competitor and then getting to switch channels to watch him as a gladiator. He's tied for my favorite male gladiator, along with another newbie, Xen Wuku. The guy is insane. Maybe I like them because they don't look like He-Man... they look normal. Go figure.

That really was what we did this weekend. I had planned on making Zach work with me in our "gym" which is still a "guest room" but I never had the heart to tell him to drop his fun and help me move furniture. Poor guy works hard all week, I thought he deserved his three day weekend! I think I'm going to try and get in there today- since I have so much stuff to put in there. I've got Zach signed on to go and get 4 100 lb sand bags from Home Depot on his way home tomorrow so we can set up our heavy bag and stand. I bought pink boxing gloves, I need to use them!!

Finally, to close out, I have to tell you all about an exciting thing that is happening this Saturday night. If you know us very well, you know that both Zach and I are very into Mixed Martial Arts. Well, usually we're at the mercy of Spike TV to let us see the fights long after they've happened. You see, UFC (our favorite company) does all its big fights via pay-per-view. We've ordered one, but they're so expensive! Well, some of the other MMA companies have inked deals with the major networks to have their big fight cards on national television. The first of these is to take place on May 31st! And it's going to feature Gina Carano-- who plays American Gladiator Crush. She's Zach's favorite gladiator and she's just a beast in the cage. She's got a winning record, and we'd encourage all of you to tune into watch this girl fight, it's going to be a good one!!

from goats to horses.

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had wonderful weekends. Ours was great- Zach still had to get up early and be in the clinic by 7:30, but we were fortunate in that he never had to go back in come evening. We were able to spend plenty of time together in the afternoons, after he got home from the clinic, and Jethro was thrilled to get to spend time with his Daddy. Since I said I started this so you could keep updated on Zach, I'll report on him.

Today he starts his second rotation-- Equine Lameness. Yeah, that's what I said! Essentially, he's said he doesn't expect to be allowed to actually do too much on this rotation because it's a subject that really requires that you know your horse gaits. And Zach hasn't had much experience, so he really doesn't. You put a cat or a dog in front of him with some sort of lameness and my hubby can tell you which leg and which part of the leg is hurting the animal. But not horses. I expect him to learn a lot on this rotation, and I feel bad for him because he never is going to get a lunch break! But he's said that he gets to come home early, which will be nice because for the past week, it was pushing 7pm by the time he'd get home. That's an awful long day when the poor guy is getting up at 5:30 every morning!! Compound the hours in the clinic with the fact that he's not sitting at a desk, he's on his feet the whole time, and you'll understand why he falls asleep every evening on the couch.

Zach really enjoyed the food animal rotation. He loved the clinicians he was working with, he got praised profusely for one of his cases and that made us both very excited. He had so much fun, he didn't want to leave the rotation at all. I know he learned a ton, he got to do a de-horn surgery on a goat or something like that... he described the procedure and let me say, I'm just glad that my only part in it is cleaning the blood off of his coveralls every night. And trust me- there is blood. I suppose most women would be grossed out if their spouse came home from work every day with blood on his clothes, but I already can tell that being the wife of a veterinarian has desensitized me. A little. All in all, though, I think this was the perfect rotation for Zach to start out on. He had numerous patients and the majority were sent home happier and healthier and I know it was rewarding for him to see that his hard work these past six years has not been in vain. I'm so proud of him!! It's less than a year now until I'm married to a fully fledged Doctor! It's going to be so strange to hear people call him Doctor Clark. But I think it's wonderful and, as I've said to him, he'll be Doctor Clark until the day he dies and nobody can take that accomplishment away from him.

On a totally different note: my mother left yesterday for the Happiest Place on Earth! That's right, for a whole week my Mom's going to be living it up in Walt Disney World. She isn't alone, she's there with her younger sister, Leslie who is not only celebrating her first Disney visit, but is also celebrating her 50th birthday! I got a call from these silly ladies last night and they sounded so giddy. Mom's already gotten Leslie into the pin collecting and they were sitting on the curb in the Magic Kingdom waiting for the SpectroMagic parade to start. I know they're going to have a wonderful time, and how special that they get to spend this trip together?

My Dad, if you picked up from the last post, is also not in Houston at the moment. Which, of course, wouldn't be the norm right now anyway- but he's not in Qatar either! He signed up for a training conference in Stavanger, so on Friday he arrived in our former home. I've been rapid fire texting with my Dad and it sounds like Norway is still just as wonderful as it was when we were living there. He rented a car so that he wasn't tied down, and I gave him a long list of things to go and do-- silly little things but things that mean something to me. He's promised to go out to ISS and see what's changed there (I already know that they built a cafeteria-- seriously, the bomb shelter was good enough when I was there! Spoiled new kids!) and he's going to go down to the walking street where we spent our weekends. If I remember correctly, there was rarely a weekend we didn't end up down there at some point, whether it was going to McDonalds (the only one in the city!) with the Duncans or hitting up our butcher's and the one store we knew of that imported Jif peanut butter, Oreo cookies and Dr. Pepper. I'm envious of his trip, but as I've told all who will listen, I want to go back at Christmas time- that's when Norway is at it's best... and darkest but that's no matter.

We also are glad to report that Zach's dad, Roger, has completed another chemotherapy treatment. That means 11 down and only 1 more to go (hopefully!). We're so happy that we've gotten to this point, and that Roger has handled everything so beautifully. He's getting close, the final treatment should be scheduled for next week, and we know Roger's looking forward to RINGING THAT BELL! Keep at it, Rog- we love you!

All in all, I think it's been a rather momentous week(end) for the extended Clark family. I'm just hoping to hear about employment this week so I can get out of the house! I've made plans to go visit Bradley, who's stuck alone in Sugar Land with my mom's dogs. Poor boy. I've also got to start planning for his birthday cake, but unless your name starts with an S and ends in arah and your last name rhymes with Mormon, you're not going to hear details because you don't speak cake decorator. Besides, I want it to be a surprise, I can't have Brad just checking the blog to find out what goodies he'll get when the whole family can celebrate his birthday with him! And on that note, I'll say good afternoon, I hope everyone remembers that the masterpiece that is American Gladiators is back on tonight!!

Syttende Mai

"Seventeenth of May,

Constitution Day,

Hooray, Hooray,

Hooray for Norway!"

I used to chant that every Seventeen of May of my elementary school life.

HAPPY SYTTENDE MAI!

My daddy's in Norway RIGHT THIS MINUTE-- I don't need to communicate how insanely jealous I am-- and so I hope to wish him especially a happy happy day.

AND I'D LIKE TO MAKE A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO THE HAAVIK FAMILY! I LOVE YOU ALL AND MISS YOU ALL VERY MUCH! WE THINK OF YOU OFTEN!

in case of thunder...

What a day yesterday was!! I had checked the weather before going to bed and noticed quite the line of storms coming through Texas, but since it looked like the storms were dissipating, I paid it no mind when I went to bed.

At about 6:45 in the morning, I was woken by a large body leaping into the bed with me. Sure enough, moments later a huge clap of thunder and not only was my bed bouncing with my boy's panting but it was also shaking under the force of his shivers of fear. Oh yes, you readers who know us know exactly who jumped into bed with me so early in the morning!

My poor baby Jethro! Would you imagine that 105 lbs of dog could be so afraid? The poor boy shook that bed so hard that it made the headboard thump against the wall. He was scared to death. I tried to go back to sleep, but his panting and shivering was moving the bed so violently that I started to get sick to my stomach! So Jethro and I moved into the living room where I settled on the couch and he pressed himself up against the couch on the floor. There was still shaking but not so much. The next clap of thunder brought a white streak from the bedroom and Lily firmly planted herself underneath said couch.

All in all, the storms passed by noon and we were able to go about the rest of our day in a somewhat normal manner. Zach and I had spent the evening watching television-- yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the death of Frank Sinatra so TCM was playing some of his best films-- and so I hadn't been on my computer lately. About 10:30 when Zach got into bed, I saw the radar on my desktop and noticed another line headed our way.

Surely enough, those storms came through and I was up until 2 in the morning with Jethro! There are a few options: you can either let him alone in which case he will plant himself in front of our bedroom door and drool all over himself and leave a nice wet puddle on the floor that will take a day at least to dry. Or you can let him in the bed- but I've already told you how that goes. The final option is to take him out of the bedroom and let him climb up on the couch with you and squash himself up against you and shiver and whine. I chose the last choice.

I'm sure it seems so silly to some people, to sit up late with my dog, but you have no idea how utterly pittiful the little (not so little) angel is when there's a storm. He also has the tendency to hyperventilate, which I must admit, scares me to death. He's so pathetic, and it just pulls at your heart strings. It's so sad, because the poor thing is so terrified and you just can't explain it to him, you can't tell him that you won't let anything happen to him. So I sit with him, I lay on him and I pet him and tell him it's okay. Lord knows, I will be well practiced if our future children are afraid of thunderstorms!!

why monday nights are our favorite

TV time is our time together. We sit and we watch something that we both (usually) agree on. For the past few months, Mondays have belonged to Dancing with the Stars. I love Kristi and Zach loves Edyta. She wears the smallest costumes known to man. But we're about to kiss Kristi, Mark, Jason, Edyta, Christian (love him!) and Cheryl goodbye and turn our eyes another direction.

American Gladiators returns to TV tonight!

Picture from the official website :)

Zach and I are not big into the shows that everyone else covets- and to this day NONE of Zach's classmates believe that I don't make him watch Gray's Anatomy. No- we're not into 24 or Lost... we prefer good 'ol reality TV- but not stuff like The Bachelor or Survivor. Our favorites are (obviously) American Gladiators, Deadliest Catch (Sig Whoo Whoop!), The Girls Next Door, Dancing with the Stars... you get the idea. We're not big fans of American Idol either, but we were watching religiously to see how my classmate was doing. Oh, and we love The Ultimate Fighter- of course most of you know that Zach's all for Team Rampage, while I prefer to go the winning route and root for Team Forrest. We're up 4-1!

We love American Gladiators, and it really has motivated us in a positive manner. I heard too many people last season who complained about bringing back a 'barbaric' show from a by-gone era. I think that this show is... empowering to an extent. I can't explain it per se, but I think it's exciting to watch people who are beautiful and strong compete in a regulated arena that promotes healthy self esteem. There's not a person on that show, gladiator or competitor who doesn't deserve to be there and who isn't as good as they're guaranteed to be and who isn't trying 150% all of the time. There are no tall poppies on this show (though Crush stands out in the looks/accomplishments department!) and nobody who's got an inflated sense of self.

So tonight, I get to sit down with my husband and enjoy two whole hours of pure entertainment. It's my favorite time with Zach, Gladiators night. So what looks to some like two people watching a totally silly television program, is in fact us spending quality time together and becoming even closer. I just have to hope that Zach's upcoming rotations don't keep him late on Mondays. There's something so utterly lonely about watching alone something you look forward to watching together!

happy graduation to a perfect friend

Today at 2:00 pm, our dear friend Cory O'Brien graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Sport Management. We're so happy for him, he's been a wonderful friend and a huge part of what's made college so wonderful for us. We're going to miss him as he starts his new life in Lubbock in the fall.

maiden voyage.

Hello cyberspace!!

Well, this is new for us, and we're very excited to have a new means of communicating with people. I decided to start a blog when Zach started his fourth year in Vet school. Since he'll be so busy at the clinic every day, I thought it might not be a bad idea to have a place where people can read (from my perspective) about Zach's escapades. I have to admit, I became more than a little interested in the blog atmosphere when Mrs. Meredith Tichenor started her blog to keep people posted on her baby boy, Carson. I'm addicted to her blog, but it would be hard not to be. She has the planet's most adorable baby. Seriously, I didn't now children could be as cute as Carson is. Then when I realized how many other friends were active in the blogging world, I figured it might be a fun thing to try!

Today actually marks the end of Zach's first week in the large animal clinic. He's on a food animal rotation right now so he's working with cows and goats- that sort of thing. He gets up every morning at 5:30 and comes home every day some time after 5- just depending on the work load and the needs of the clients and patients. He's having fun, I can tell, but it's hard for me and the animals to get used to his new schedule. He's dead tired when he gets home, and has been passing out on the couch as soon as we're done with dinner. Poor guy. From what I understand, his rotations last for two weeks, so we've got another week of the food animals before he moves on to the next thing. He'll start an externship at the end of July that will last for the month of August in Richmond, and before that he says he's got 8 rotations. He's excited about actually working as the doctor in a clinic, but I know he's a little nervous because he's only got two rotations out of those eight where he'll be working in the small animal clinic. But he's doing well and that's a brief overview of his first week of fourth year.

Jethro, Shiner and I are having a harder time adjusting, I think. We're used to him being home for lunch and at around 5 every day the dogs start to get antsy and anxious. They're ready for him to be home, just like I am. But about 5:45 they start to calm down when he's not home yet. They just don't understand. Jethro's becoming more and more attached to me- he likes to know where I am every minute we're in the house together. Of course, there are a few in the house that Zach's changes have no impact on-- Lily, The Cuteness and The Rock. Mainly because Lily's my cat and doesn't care too much about Zach until it's dinner time and because The Cuteness and The Rock don't have brains being arachnids and what not.

I need to sign off on our first post though, I have my husband (awake!) and our best bud out in the living room playing baseball on Wii. I might need to go challenge somebody to some bowling... cause that's the only thing I win at!