Fell Behind...a Little

It's been about a month since I last posted. I've been busy with work, taking care of the boys, and getting stuff ready for medical school. I've got all the info in for med school that I need to have in. I have an apartment set up. Someone has been found to take over the lease on my apartment here, so I am all set on this front, thank goodness.
The rats are doing unbelievably well. They are both so healthy and happy. They really love all sorts of fruits and vegetables. So far they've had Cheerios (their favorites), strawberries, blueberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, and dry pasta. They really like the healthy stuff which is good. Today Rex was throwing his ball around his cage today. It was so cute. Yesterday was really warm so I put a mason jar with ice in it in the cage so they could use it to stay cool. They had no idea what to do with it. They tried to eat it, walked all around it. Finally, they curled up around it to stay cool.
Not sure what else is going on...Just trying to keep working until I move.

Back to my Roots...

I am a writer at heart, but the inspiration has been running cold for just about 6 months now. My fingers are paralyzed as they try to create as they had some many times before. The cog wheels of my brain are rusted over, barely moving, as they wait for the WD-40 to loosen them up again. The last story I wrote was in December 2008 about the history of Chapel of the Cross. It was creative, but it wasn't fictional. I have not written anything truly fictional since junior year. The joints begin to regain their usual agility, but it will take a while, like a runner out of practice. Each step feels like the first. You have to refind that rhythm that you cherished and took advantage of in the peak of training. It's harder now to push through the pain because you've only just begun to remember what it felt like. It's an uphill battle on flat ground. One foot in front of the other, remember to breathe. Bring in the cool crisp air that burns your throat and lungs, yet another reminder of what it really feels like to be alive. One step. Two steps. Breathe. Eventually you hit that time when you start to feel the rhythm again. Not the point where it's easy, but the point where you can begin to think about more than just where your feet and legs are and where they should be.
I feel like I've lost my rhythm in a lot of things: writing, reading, life, exercise. I used to swim, run, play sports. Now, it's just so hard to find the inspiration and determination to keep going. I'm honestly not sure where to start. I guess I have to find my beginning and start there, perhaps one day to find the finish line...or make my own.

Here we go...

So yeah...about staying in Chapel Hill for the next year or so. Not going to happen. I got my acceptance letter from Wake Forest SOM, so I'll be there for the next 4 years. YAY! I'm excited and terrified all at the same time. It's crazy! It's been something of a roller coaster the past week since I got the letter. Pretty much everything is in order, just need to get one more TB test and I'll be good to go.
The boys are doing great. They are getting so big! I weighed them yesterday at the 9 week old mark. Cody now weighs 261 grams (87 g increase!) and Rex weighs 311 grams (97 g increase!). This is good. It means that they are both growing rather steadily. I'm not sure when they reach their full size, but they've got about 500-600 grams to go (roughly). At any rate, they are going to be big boys. Their cage seems to be fitting them better than when they were just tiny little guys. They are both pretty good with their names which is really great. Even better, though, they both know what Cheerios are and will come running to break down the door of the cage when they know they are gettin some! It's the cutest thing!
Lifeguarding has been going well. Both teams are amazing! The YMCA is nice because the rules are in place which makes it easier to just have to enforce them. The Briar Chapel pool is amazing, though, because it is brand new and more laid-back in terms of enforcement just because we are still trying to get a feel for everything. The people are really nice both other guards and patrons. It's been pretty relaxing which is nice since it won't be come July 23rd when orientation begins for medical school :-P It's just another adventure and I have to keep in mind that it's just a new experience that I will get through no matter what!

Update

I know it's been awhile since I posted. It's been sort of busy with getting everything set up and put together. I did not get into ECU School of Medicine so I will be able to spend the next year (at least) in Chapel Hill which is really exciting for me. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do, but I have some things in mind. I spent a couple of days in Wallace last week and will be going home to Shelby for the Memorial Day weekend.

The boys are doing so well. They are growing so quickly. I've decided to keep track of their weights so I can see as they grow. They are so funny and are getting used to me and seem to know their names. Last week we did a major play time on my bed. I have some pics from that. This week was a major cage cleaning and introduction to water since Cody had gone to the bathroom on Rex and both had messy feet. They, like most rats, do not like the water...at all. However, they were willing to let me pour water over them and neither tore up my arms too much.

As for their weights. I'm weighing them once a week. I just started last week when they were 6 weeks old. At that time Cody weighed 131 g and Rex weighed 167 g. This week (7 weeks old), Cody weighed 174 g (43 g increase!) and Rex weighed 214 g (47 g increase!). Needless to say, Rex is a piggy boy. He eats anything and everything. Cody is smaller, but his appetite is growing. He likes to steal Cheerios from Rex when Rex is being careful enough. I guess Cody is getting Rex back for all the times Cody shared his Cheerios. Both are extremely curious, and rex does well outside the cage...once you get him out of the cage that is...Cody will just run right out of the cage and up my arm. He has taken to sitting on my shoulder and observing the world from the higher perch. Rex just likes running around and trying to find as many Cheerios as he possibly can :) Both are adorable and have a great following!

This is it...

Well, I'm officially a UNC graduate and officially on my own. It's a little scary. I'm not used to being by myself like this. I'll definitely have to find people to hang out with so I don't get lonely. At any rate, I've gotten the apartment cleaned up for the most part. I still need to work on my closet and desk, but other than that, everything looks really nice. It's definitely going to take me a little while to get used to not having my family or Austin around. I'll probably try to get several visists in...
The rats are doing fine. Rex is getting so big. Cody's pretty big but no where near as big as Rex. However, I think that Rex is a softy because he still gets beat by Cody when they wrestle. I really like having them around. They are getting used to me slowly. Today is the first day I'm going to try out weighing them. It could be interesting. At any rate, they are really sweet boys and everyone in my family thinks they are adorable!

Cleaning Day

Just an update. The boys went through their first official cage cleaning. They didn't like being taken out of their big cage only to be shoved into the little travel cage. Rex tried to make a run for it and scared me to death! Fortuntately, he ran under my desk where there's really no place for him to go. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I traumatized him in the retrieval process. He'll surivive. He got some Cheerios when he finally got into the travel cage with Cody. Needless to say, after that fiasco, everything else went smoothly. The cage was really easy to clean. Just pulled out the middle half racks, and replaced all the liners. I pulled out the dustbuster to sweep out the bottom of the cage, then it was back in with all the toys, hammocks, pillow, food, and the boys. They ran around a little, then went right to their favorite spot in the tube hammock.
Also, during free play today, Cody spent a lot of time on my shoulder it was really cool, though his whiskers tickled my neck. Now my right ear is very clean thanks to him :)
I haven't gotten around to weighing them yet...

Growing Up...

The boys are doing great! They are both so full of energy. They get in these spells where they run all over the cage like they've been given caffeine. It's so funny to watch! I've been having free play with them in the bathroom since it is the smallest room in the apartment and the most rat proofed. They love it. Yesterday, Cody took to climbing up my boyfriend's shirt and tickling him. It was so funny. Rex is slowly warming up to me. He will crawl out on my arm now with only the coaxing of a single Cheerio which he LOVES. I have never seen a creature that loves something as much as he loves Cheerios. He'll even steal Cheerios from Cody. The first time I took them out for free play, Rex wouldn't leave the bonding pouch so Cody would go out the get the Cheerios and bring them back for Rex.Now they both enjoy exploring me and the bathroom. It's a lot less stressful to interact that way than in my room where there are so many places they can get lost and hurt. They also enjoy play wrestling with each other. Sometimes they scare me because they look like they are playing so roughly, but neither one has any injuries. At first Rex wouldn't leave the green igloo. Now both boys sleep in the tube hammock together. Cody has also taken to climbing out on top of the cage when I open the door for them. It's fun to watch them climb around all over everything. They have a lot more energy than Petey ever did. It sounds like in a couple of months they'll start to become "squishier" and lazier. I can't wait for the point where most of what they want to do is be held. Next Wednesday they'll be moved out to my new apartment. I'm really excited about it. I'm sure they'll do just fine and they'll have so much exploring to do. Tomorrow will be the first cage cleaning as well as the first time they get weighed. It should be interesting...

The Boys...

I have to post this picture. It is the cutest thing. So, for all of yesterday and the better part of today, Rex (the charcoal) simply would not leave the green igloo. I was hard pressed to find away to get him out of it. Thanks to the brilliant discovery that he LOVES Cheerios, I finally coaxed Rex out of the igloo and he has spent little time in there since about 3 this afternoon. On the other hand, he has taken to staying in Cody's sleep spot now. They've had a few scuffles some of which have caused Cody to let out some squeaks (the only noises either of them have made I might add). However, I don't think that Rex has caused any real damage to Cody, and Cody doesn't really seem to mind that much. He can fight back anyway.
So tonight, I got Rex all riled up so that he was running all over his cage like a maniac. A few more days, and he'll probably be more than willing to come out of the cage which is good. I don't want them to be afraid to come out of the cage. At any rate, Rex took some food up to the top level of the tube hammock and was eating it while Cody was in the lower part. I decided to pull out the camera and take some pictures because it was really cute to see the boys all stacked up like that. So a took a couple of pictures of the both of them, then, I went to take some pictures of just Cody. Well, Rex just had to come over to see what was going on...i.e. he couldn't just be left out. So here is the result:

They are finally home...

I went and picked up Cody and Rex yesterday at about 3. They are so tiny and very shy! In fact, Rex (the charcoal one) is just unbelievably shy. They both got in the bonding pouch this morning and neither freaked out too much. Cody (the Himalayan) did try to make a run for it, but I caught him. I think it scared both of us pretty bad because he was more tentative to leave the pouch after that. I'll keep working with them, though. I'm hoping to have them more comfortable in the pouch by the end of today. I'm only taking them out in it for about 20 minutes at a time. I may go longer, but it depends more on them.
Cody is definitely more outgoing and adventurous. He is also a climber. I just watched him climb from the middle full level all the way up to the tube hammock that is hanging from the top of the cage. His eyes are definitely red, but they aren't that jarring once you get used to them. He is so cute anyway.
I'm trying to figure out which kind of treats they like. Right now, they've both tried the Ratatouille biscuits and like those. I've also got grapes, dried apricot and raisins to try next. I need to find one that they will do anything to get. It will definitely help get them out of the cage...
I took some pictures today as well. We'll see how well they come out. If some are good enough, I'll post them.

Update

Well, sometime tomorrow or Tuesday I'll be bringing my boys home :D I can't wait! I still don't have any new pictures of them, but once they get settled in and used to me, I'll try and take some myself. I'm so excited. Tired right now, though. I've spent all weekend getting my new apartment set up. I think I have most of the important furniture in or ordered. Can't wait to get my bed and dining table! I have some work to do tonight, and then I'll probably be going to bed...early :)