Merry Christmas to me....

So for all of you who are in the medial profession you will not be grossed out by this and actually find humor in it.. for those of you who are not in the medical field, I hope you find humor as well. I had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas day morning. I slept at my Sisters and got to be there in the morning when the little girls opened there presents. We were all snuggled up in our PJ's playing with new toys when I got the phone call... (I had found out the day before I was on back-up call for my hospice job.. in back-up.. I took it as.. it sounds.. back up. So I would get called as a last resort.. well not the case.) So I get the phone call that I need to call a patient because he has not pooped... I thought to myself are you kidding me? So I called, the pt is uncomfortable and I need to come right away. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!! I thought as I was driving out there. I won't go into exact details.. but let me just paint you a picture of how I DID NOT imagine myself spening Christmas Day.. I pull up to a trailer park... go inside.. where they are all hanging out drinking beer... I can't see through the cloud of smoke.. and they point to the back.. "He is back there!" One gruff sounding man says. So I go back to the bedroom and this little, old, VERY GRUMPY, man is getting out of bed in his wife beater and his tightie whities.. with his buisness hanging out. At that moment in time.. I thought to myself as I have many times before... I do not get paid ENOUGH for some of the things I do. Luckily I only got a few more calls that day and had a very enjoyable Christmas. Pictures to follow. Hope everyone had a great holiday and looks forward to a wonderful new year!!!

Halloween...

For years my friends have had a Halloween party where we all get together.. all of us from High School. I always seem to have to work.. except this year. I finally got to go. It was a blast! I am so lucky to have such great friends.. Even though they are all married and have babies.. and well I get to play Auntie Jessie to all of them.

To be.. or not to be.. an MD

So since day one in nursing school.. i have always had the feeling of " I want more." I am the nerdy one who goes home after work and looks up a bunch of new things I heard at work. Well I have been having the overwhelming feeling of being a doc... what do you think??? Despite what you think.. I have pretty much made up my mind..I think up until now I have allowed others opinions, good and bad... of persuading me one way or another. I figured even med school, residency and specialziing I could be done by 35??? That's not that old folks. Besides everybody needs a good MD in the family right?? Give me your thoughts???

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Just say NO!!!

I am determined to grow out my hair. I always say I will, but always end up cutting it off. I think it is time for a change and I am curious to see how I would look with my hair longer, I can't remember the last time it was long. So all of you are to help me just say no!!!!!!!!!!! When I talk about cutting my hair! I got it cut about two weeks ago, she had to straighten up the hack job I had received in D.C., so from now on it's only trims. For those of you that really know me.. I love cutting and changing my hair.. so this will not be an easy thing for me.

Isn't he cute...

I had to post a few of these pictures because.. yes I have turned into a crazy lady who's dog is like her child. When I say bedtime, he runs in and gets in my bed just like this..I think it is hilarious. He is like a little human being.

Five year old could do better!

The apartment complex I moved into offers to paint an accent wall for $50. I thought what a great deal! Little did I know that I was going to get a pain job that looked as if a five year old could have done better. Needless to say.. they will be back in to fix this..it's the first thing I notice when I walk in my house. As Sophie said "they need to learn to color in the lines."

Quiet is never good...

He is obsessed with this box. I need to fix a drawer on my dresser so for now I have my socks in this box. I hide it in the closet because he is constantly trying to get my socks and tear every pair out of the box. The same goes for puppies as it does for little kids, if it all of a sudden becomes quiet.. be alarmed.. quiet=up to no good! He got into the closet, got out the box, and was having a great time with my socks. I had a hard time getting mad at him when his ears look like this!!!

Strange noise...

Sophie and Angie told me they kept hearing a starnge noise while they were at my house. I listend and listened and didn't hear a thing. Well later that day me and my Mom heard it also.. we couldn't figure out what in the world it was. Later on my mom was over by my favorite vase and saw it was cracked... we looked at it and it was cracked all over!! For those of you who know me well, know that I love this vase(yes I know its just a vase) but I lsove decorating, and this was my favorite. It was a costco special!! Well I was the dumb one that decided to move it with the rocks in it and needless to say the banging of the rocks on the vase during the move.. probably contributed to the shattering of the vase. We decided to leave it as is, as I looked for it's replacement and would eventually have to get rid of it. I walked around carefully for days just waiting for it to spontaneously shatter and scare me to death! I knew it was going to happen when I finally forgot about it, and it would scare me! Well it did, one quiet day, I was sitting working on my computer when CRASH!!!! Time of death 22:27.

I hate moving!!

Moving time again! This time for good! Because of the cute little furry thing I picked up along the way in Virginia, I needed to move once I got home to a place where I could have a pet. Can I just say I hate moving!!! The packing.. the heavy furniture and the cleaning the new place(it can never be too clean) and cleaning the old!! I was lucky to persuade my brother, brother-in-law and cousin to help me with the big stuff. I hated to tell them, but thought it was nicer than to suprise them, but I found a place with a great view of the mountains and over looking the golf course. One draw back... it is on the third floor!!! Sorry boys!!!!!!!!!! They were great sports... they only gave a few dirty looks, and complained every so slightly!! I don't know how they did it, because after the first day of me just moving boxes by my self.. my legs were burning!!!! It was done in just a few hours.. and I was unpacked in two days thanks to the worlds best organizer, my MOM! Believe it or not, I had a tremendous amount of help from Sophie Rose, she was such a trooper. She loves packing! She didn't want me to do any without her. It is amazing the amount of stuff and junk one single person can accumulate!!!

So what would you think if you went in the kitchen in the dark.. to get a glass of water. You get on a chair to reach the top shelf to get a plastic cup (all others are packed) and once you get eye level with that shelf this is what you see....
what you would you assume this was.. remember.. its dark..



No its not a spider!!!! After falling off the kitchen chair.. and scrambling for the light.. I discovered it was a VERY old potato!!!

My little monkey...

35 hours and 2,100 miles later....

This post is long over do! I have plenty of things to catch up on.. so bare with me.. As most of you know by now.. I am home! Let me tell you what a LONG drive it was! I had good music... lots of books on tape.. and lots of dog toys and treats. I even tried Benadryl with the puppy hoping it would help him sleep. However, it back fired and he threw up in the hotel and the car! Back East was beautiful... but once I hit Nebraska and Wyoming it was so boring it was painful!!It The car was packed and the only place left for the puppy was the front seat. He was actually pretty good in the car.. the only problem is he likes to be close to me.. so every time he tried to get closer to me he would shift the car from drive to neutral.. I thought this picture was hilarious.. here I am doing everything possible to keep my eyes open and he gets to lay back and relax.. tough being him!

Suprise!

Dad came to visit me for my birthday! For a suprise for him, me and Mom decided to get him tickets to the Yankees game to see a game since this is the last season they will play in this stadium. What a adventure. 7 hours on the bus later we arrived in New York and saw about two hours of the game before we had to catch our bus home. He loved it! Although we didn't get to spend a lot of time there, it is a birthday I will never forget!

He passed!

Yes, you can all go ahead and laugh at me now! I have turned into one of those dog owners that treat their dog like their children! I used to make fun of them, but now I am one of them! I see how easily it can happen, when you don't have children, they tend to become your children. Chance was put in puppy kindergarten to learn a thing or two about obedience. From day one the trainer was very impressed about how well he behaved for being in the shelter since a little puppy! He was so good some weeks I had to wake him up from his nap on the floor to participate! Well.. it was his last week and he passed! ( You know I am making this as cheesy as possible so you can all mock me!)He is such a good boy!

Girls night out...

So this girls night out was actually our first night out here in VA. So needless to say I have been really behind in my blogging. This was way back in June but thought I would post anyway, because of the experience we had. We went to this great dinner downtown and after wanted to go to a fun place and just hang out and talk. The woman at the restaurant told us to check out this lounge.. it was like an old "speakeasy lounge." She told us to look for the blue light by the door and that would be the place. Well we head down this dark road, and see this blue light, surely this cannot be the place to go. There is not another person in site... how do we get in there? Where is the lounge? It looks like a regular apartment door, but with a blue light. I am not going anywhere near it.. but my friend Sasha decides to go up and knock. She knocks.. then we hear heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.. we think oh great we just woke someone up... this lady opens this little sliding peek hole door on the front of the door, and about makes us pee our pants! We go upstairs and it ends up being a lounge in an old apartment. It was actually really neat. Guess it does not sound as bizarre as it actually ended up being, one of those instances that I guess you had to be there.

Mount Vernon

Double Trouble...

Did I forget to mention that I named our house the animal planet. While going to look for a dog, without planning on it, my roommate fell in love with a little kitten. Needless to say we have a new cat and a new dog. They actually get along really well, however, the dog sometimes does not realize he is bigger and stronger, and the kitten is not fond of him engulfing her head in his mouth....They are double trouble!! She knows what he is not supposed to have and does what she has to to let him get it. She knocks things off the table so he can have them. It is fun to watch most of the time.. but does get frustrating when you have worked a night shift and come home to two little naughty children that are out of control!

What got into me???

So...I can't really explain why I chose to do what I did. I have always wanted a dog.. however, I knew how much work they were and never really had the oppurtunity living out on my own to get one. Well I was laying on the sofa one day watching TV and kept seeing these ads for the local shelters and how crowded they were becoming and how many animals were having to be euthanized due to no room being available at the shelters. Well I had a day off and decided I would go look at the shelter.. just for fun. My friend hates going to shelters but I talked her into going with me. We spent a few hours at the shelter looking at dogs and taking them out of the cages and playing with them. I absolutely fell in love with one named Jerry. She was a beautiful brown and while pitbull terrior. I filled out an application and was contacted a few days later saying my apartment would not allow that breed. I was afraid of that.. so I gave up on the idea a little bit thinking it was probably for the best, too much work, and maybe not the right time. However, I had heard of one more shelter someone at work told me I needed to look at. I once again took my friend with me. The first stall I looked at my eyes immediately caught the attention of a bright blue eyes pup. Quietly sitting by the door just waiting for someone to come pet him. I looked at all the other dogs, but he was the one. I took him out and instantly fell inlove. I filled out all the paperwork, had an interview (yes you would think I was adopting a child with the whole process. A few days later they called and said I had been approved and I could pick him up in a few days. Many said it was not the right time to get a dog.. but hey I am the one that is oging to have to potty train, crate train, walk him, feed him etc. Right? I iam very lucky I have such a great friend and roommate that is willing to help me train him and put up with the drama of a new puppy....

Bad thing about traveling....

So far traveling has been great... there have been more positive things than negative to traveling. However, I have ran into a BIG negative thing... finding a hair dresser. If anyone knows me well, they know that my hair is my thing. I like to change it up often and my hair dresser always teases me because I go in and complain about how much " re-growth" I have when there is nothing! I actually lucked out in Arizona. I was brave and went to Super Cuts! (I was desperate!) Despite my hesitations they did an amazing job no one could believe I had got it done at super cuts.

I have not been so lucky here in D.C. I was referred to a salon by someone at work called BANG!!!! It seemed to be a nice enought place, nice people, nice salon.... Well.. I was sick of the blonde thing, so I wanted to go darker. I said, I want to be dark with some redish hightlights.. maybe a little funky and fun.. but nothing extreme... well little did I know I would end up getting red highlights that made me look as if I should be standing at the corner selling my self! I was mortified.. in fact I wouldn't go to work like that!! Not only was it hidious.. I don't know what it was, but I kept telling my roommate I don't think it was made for hair! It seemed toxic!! By the time I got home my scalp was itching so bad.. despite the warnings of not washing my hair... I had to to try and relieve the burning.. (Plus I hoped I could wash away some of the crazy red)... by night time I had a red rash along my hair line and my scalp was peeling!! Now.. I am not a beautician.. but I am smart enough to realize.. that ain't right! I of course was mortified to go in public.. I know realistically that people have better things to do than look at my crazy red hair.. but I felt as if EVERYONE was looking at me... I should know by know that there are far more crazy and entertaining things here in DC to look at than some white girl with crazy hair.

So I made an appointment, and got it fixed... the stylist had a little chip on his shoulder saying that he told me it was going to be red, and I said I knew it was going to be red.. but 1. I didn't know it was going to be looking like poster paint in my hair, and 2. I didn't know it was going to have some toxic affect on my poor scalp 3. I didn't know I was going to spend the MOST I have ever spent for my hair, and have it look like a job I could have done at home myself, 4. I didn't know that leaving a huge chunk of blonde on one side of my head (that I have affectionatly named my skunk strip) was supposed to look good. I talked him out of re-charging me.. I have never been charged for a redo before in my life!!! I left the store with a BANG and don't plan on going back. Here is a before and after.

THOUGHT I WOULD SHOW THE DECENT ONE FIRST....



YES.. THIS IS REAL.. NO PHOTO SHOP EFFECTS HERE!

In Case You Were Wondering...

So...just in case some of you actually check my blog to see what I am up to you may be curious as to where I am and why I have not posted for quite awhile. Well I accepted a job in Washington DC working in a Surgical/Trauma ICU and live in Alexandria VA. Time has flown by! I have already been here six weeks! It seems there is so much that has happened that it would be hard to blog about all of it, so I am going to do the best I can. Let's just say it has been an eye opener moving and working here! It is beautiful here. Work is good. It took awhile to get some of the people I work with to warm up. There are the sista's on the night shift and the philipino mofia during the day... I usually never have had a hard time warming up to people and getting them to accept me. So, it was very hard for me to accept the fact that I was not instantly accepted with warm fuzzies! With time, I was accepted and I love the people I work with. The unit itself is ok... not really as interesting as I thought however I get to float a lot to other units such as the burn unit and I LOVE what I am learning there. It is hard being a traveler... you know you are not a new nurse.. but others don't know that. Here they have a stranger coming in to their unit.. and they don't know what experience you have or that you are not a new nurse.. to them you are new there. Needless to say you don't exactly get the sickest patients, which I love (obviously not good for the patient), so it can get a little old, but oh well. I love where I live. My hospital is only 8 miles from my house, but on a good day it takes at least 30 minutes to get there. Night shifts I have to leave about an hour early. We think traffic is bad in Utah!!! You have no idea how good we have it! Literally, when you are sitting in traffic for 30 minutes and you are not even on the highway yet! Needless to say.. it is very frustrating! When you need to go three miles and it takes 30 minutes!I tried the metro for awhile.. however.. the supposed "most reliable public transportation" decided to become not so reliable once I moved here. The breakdown of the metro that rarely happens, started making a habit once we moved here, therefore it not becoming so reliable.

Our complex is nice. It was a disaster when we moved in here. It was not even clean when my roommate showed up. There was a hole in the bathroom door, blinds ripped down and down right disgusting! It is very close to many biking/running trails and very close to Oldtown Alexandria which I will post about later, but is turning into my favorite place to be, which you will see why when I post! All in all I am glad I am here! There is so much to see and do here! It is a great place to live!

A few people from Arizona to remember....

Little late posting these pictures but these are a few of my favorite people I met while working in Phoenix.

Home in Utah for a few days.

We love to play at the cave...

It has become a tradition every year for Memorial Day for everyone to load up and head to the cave for a weekend of fun, sun, games, 4-wheelin, and just enjoying being together. For the past four years, it seems I always have to work. This time however, it worked out that I was just ending my job in Az, and got to join the family. As usual, we went for hikes, played games, enjoyed relaxing and visiting, and of course 4-wheelin. Sophia would have ridden that all day into the night had we let her. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for providing us with such a great tradition and memories we will cherish forever!

Mixed emotions..

So I am down to my last two days here. One of which I have to waste at work :( I am filled with mixed emotions. I am excited to go home and see my family for a brief time and excited to move on to the next assignment(which is a suprise for those of you who don't know). However, I have made some good friends here that I am sad to leave. I am also sad that I finally sort of learned to navigate my away around here now only to have to leave! I will miss my roommate Kim and my nephew Jackie Wackie (the dog) the most! I have loved living with them. We have had some good times, and maybe we will get to do an assignment together in the future! I hope Jackie Wackie does not forget how much I love him!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! I know I am not a mother (hope to be one day), but I do know after watching my Mother and my sister and other mothers around me that it is the hardest job that does not get the recognition it deserves. My mother is the most amazing woman. She is so compassionate and thoughtful. She will do anything for anyone in my family and those around her. She works hard to make every holiday and occasion such a special occasion. My sister is also another amazing woman. She works all day at school and goes non stop when she gets home. She always has such a positive attitude no matter how tired she is or how badly she wants to kick little Oliviahs butt! All the women in my family are amazing Mother's. I want to let them know that their hard work and dedication does not go unrecognized. I Love you ladies!

Random Thought

So when asked when we were moving down here what floor we preferred I thought I was so smart in saying the 3rd of course! That way you don't have noisy neighbors above you... well it only took ten minutes after arriving here and unloading my car that I did not think it all the way through. This has continued to be a pain... I will tell you what .... it is a great diet plan. You really plan accordingly when grocery shopping about how much food and what food to buy, knowing very well you have to haul it up three flights of stairs! This has been a source of irritation the whole time living here, don't get me wrong its not laziness, it's just a bit inconvinent at times. However, tonight was the final straw when I was carrying in groceries and the bags broke. Let me tell you how happy I was to watch my cans of tuna, apples, water bottle, and girly personal items go rolling down three flights of stairs!!! Next time... I might chance the noisy neighbors and ask for the first floor.

City Slickers...

So we are driving and driving and driving.... I feel as if we have been driving so long we should be at the Grand Canyon! We are going to watch my friend Jaimes compete in barrell racing. Him and his horse Bentley are so good they are on their way to the world championship! We pull up to this arena and he says to me on the phone " Look for my white truck and my big horse trailer." He should have been a bit more specific! We pull up and every truck there is white with a white horse trailer! It was pretty funny. We fit right in.. not! We pull up in our Mercedes... get out with our capris and flip-flops! It felt as if everyone there stopped what they were doing and looked up and stared at the city girls. Jaimes assured us it is because they were jealous (what a good liar he is), we knew it was cause they thought we were crazy! Even if we stood out.. we had fun!

Swimming anyone?

I was really disgusted when I saw this pool at the Motel 6. I have such an amazing view from my balcony overlooking the Motel 6, and this pool that looks as if it has not been cleaned for months is ruining my beautiful view! Just kidding, its bad enough overlooking the Motel 6, but this is just down right disgusting. One day it was blue... and over the next few days I realized it was green, and getting greener!I don't even want to know why it is turning green....