Rats!!!!!

I know this is kind of a random blog, but I would like to dedicate this blog to my pet rat whiskers. Yes, I have a pet rat. The purpose of this blog is to let people know what such good pets rats are. No not just any rat. Not the ones on the street. A pet rat that you can find at a local pet store. The reason why I even considered a pet rat was because for two years I have been working with lab rats and doing research studies on their response to things. After handling them everyday for 2 years I completely fell in love with these animals. They are such smart, intelligent, and docile little creatures.
Let me give you an example, when I get home from work everyday, whiskers always knows when her mom is home, she runs to the window of the cage and puts her two little paws on the window and gives me that sad look. Just like a puppy in a puppy store or a baby waiting to be carried. Once she suckers me into carrying her, she sits comfortably in my arm or on my shoulder. I can be studying or watching TV and she will just sit calmly in my lap, and yes she even gives me kisses. She is so smart that when her water bottle runs out of water she will knock it down to tell me to refill it!!! When her bedding needs to be changed she will pile it up in a corner. They are such clean animals. No one would believe.
I really want to change peoples views and disgust towards rats. Research has shown that they are more similar to human beings than anything. That is why they always do research on them. They experience fear, love, affection, and they even know when they are spoiled. Some reaserch has even shown that they can take tests!! No not written. But next time you come across a domesticated rat, Please think twice about saying ewww or yuck. They are just like dogs. You can train them and they even respond to their name! Here are some pics below :)

Chili cook off

So tomorrow I am going to first ever chili cook off. I'm not sure exactly what expect but I am sure it will be a good time. Of course, as always, I am going with the group, Dom, Kati, and Craig. Craig's parents are actually in town visiting and the will be joining us. They are such nice people. Last night we went to dinner at Texas De Brazil with my parents. I was honestly really nervous and didn't know what to expect being that my parents are completely different from the Luehrs. But in the end it actually turned out very well. So well in fact that they were sooooo deep into their own conversation that when i would speak no one would listen!! I honestly think this is a good sign that Craig's and my family will get along very well no matter about the culture difference. I am sooo happy. He is the love of my life and I am so thankful for him. He brings out the best in me. So back to this chili cook off thing, if any one has any comments as to what I can expect or what to wear please leave me a comment :).
So another exciting thing happened to me a couple of days ago. I gained a new friendship with someone who i thought disliked me. It meant a lot to Craig and I. I made the effort to reach out and bring up the topic about a misunderstanding that we had. It just always felt uncomfortable to hang around that person becuase i always felt ostracized. So i would always run and hide. But in summary, I'm glad I approached the situation and all misunderstandings are cleared up. I can finally add a new friend to my list in this book called life.

My new hobby

So this is my first official blog ever. I have been kind of searching for a new hobby and saw one of my friends blog pages and got inspired to create my own. In nursing school it is extremely hard to have any hobby at all. I find it so hard to even have the time to communicate with friends and family. So this is another reason why I wanted to create a blog. Also, just recently I met my boyfriends family and thought that they were so amazing and made me feel very welcomed. Being the new girl in the group this can be very intimidating and I honestly didn't know what to expect when meeting them, but I was so happy I did. I am so in love with Craig and I am very determined to get to know and bond with his friends and family. In planning a future together, hopefully one day I can call them my family as well. So I guess I can say that this blog is also for them to get to know me as well.

I used to have many hobbies such as playing volleyball, soccer, softball, and golf. Unfortunately, in 2005, I was in a horrible car accident that left me unable to play sports. So, I decided to pick up a couple of new ones! Another one of my hobbies is to belly dance. I love belly dancing and I'm currently taking classes here in Miami, Fl. I'm so excited to keep everyone updated on my life but for now, I have homework to do. :)