The End of an Era...

I know it's going to probably be a while before I post again, so I figured that I better do one now while I have a second. Thanksgiving was awesome!! Of course, it was way too short and there wasn't nearly enough time to spend with the family, but the time we did have was fun! We had a huge dinner on Thursday and then my mom and I got up to go shopping at Wal Mart on Friday morning. Yes, we are crazy! And we got some great deals!! I spent $150 on...myself. Kinda dumb, but some deals you just can't pass up! And my mom got my Christmas present. Since I'm not going to be surprised by it, you will be! I'm not telling what it is, but I'm so excited! Amaria and I made a gingerbread tree on Friday. It turned out so cute! And it was so much easier than those flipping gingerbread houses! Unfortunately, even though my mom saved our gingerbread house from last year and was beyond careful with it, it didn't make it through the year very well. I salvaged it as best I could, but it looks like we will have to make a new one next year. Boo!! If Amaria didn't love doing it so much, I would not even bother with it. Oh well.

Robert carving one of the turkeys. YUM!!

Me and Amaria and our finished gingerbread tree! So cute!

My mom and I also went shopping on Saturday. It was fun to spend some time with her and get a little shopping done so I don't have to ship everything back to Las Vegas! I got to see Ralph and Gladhes, but only for about two seconds. There's never enough time to see everyone!!

So, after I got back, I got a text from my cousin Linda. I haven't seen her in probably 5 or 6 years. She lives in Portland, but she joined the Marines and has been in boot camp until a couple of weeks ago. We had talked about getting together, and Linda told me that she was going to come up and see me! I was so excited! I had Thursday, Friday and Saturday off and some friends from work were planning on going out on Thursday, so she decided to come up Thursday afternoon. We went to dinner and then out to a karaoke joint. We played some pool (I observed!) and sang a little karaoke...Kim even talked me into joining her for a song!! I have really come out of my shell, haven't I? So, here are a few pictures from our FUN night out!

I work with Amie, Kim, Emile and Trish and that's Linda on the right. Emile thinks he's pretty cool!

Me and Linda.

Me and Kim jammin out to Journey's Don't Stop Believing. It was so fun!

So, I had a blast with Kim (and everyone else), as always. But it made me realize how much I am going to miss her! We hung out last night, too and I am so sad that it could possibly have been our last chance to hang out outside of work. She has become such a great friend and we have so much fun together! We were going to try and get an assignment together, maybe in California, but some things have come up for her and she needs to be close to home for her next assignment. I am thinking about maybe heading back east for my next assignment so that we can get another assignment together, but I don't know if I want to be that far away from my family and friends. Also, we all know the economy sucks right now. People are still getting sick, but hospitals are cutting their budgets just like everyone else is and travelers are pretty much the most expensive employees there are. So, it looks like a lot of hospitals are cutting traveling positions as much as they can. I probably will be able to find an assignment, but it might not be exactly where I want to go. So, everyone keep your fingers crossed....so far I've only been submitted to a hospital in Glendale, California which is near Hollywood. Definitely not my first choice for places to live, but California usually has a good pay scale and I would only be about a 5 hour drive away from my mom. So....who knows what is to come for me! I am headed to Salt Lake on Wednesday! I'm so excited to see everyone. And to get my hair done! It's a scary mess right now. I might be going to Las Vegas to see my mom again before Christmas the next week, but I'm not sure. Of course, I have to work on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. CRAPPY!!! New Year's Eve is my last scheduled day at this assignment. My dad is supposed to be coming up here for Christmas, and at least I'll be getting time and a half, on the holidays right?? I knew I would have to work holidays when I went into nursing school, but it still sucks.

I guess that's about all the excitement in my life for now...please keep your fingers crossed that I don't end up somewhere like Bismarck, North Dakota for my next assignment!