Shauna's World

A Real, Live Update!

2011-01-26T15:11:00.000-08:00

Boy, where does the time go? Oh wait, it's wasted studying my life away....it will all be worth it in the end, I guess. Not too much new in my life. Back in Salt Lake, got a real live steady job in the ICU at Pioneer Valley Hospital. I know, I know, Pioneer Valley? you say. Things have changed there and I think it's a great hospital. Not to mention my coworkers are freakin' amazing (for the most part). It was actually OK to have to work on Christmas Eve. Hmm...what else? I have successfully completed 18 credits of graduate school! Yeah! However, I have a feeling this semester could be the worst. I got a nice lecture from my advisor yesterday about how I should not be working full time while going to school full time. Well, guess what? That would be great, but in the real world most of us have bills to pay. I was then told that the preceptor that I have searched long and hard for since September for my clinicals this semester isn't good enough. Really? So, now I get to start all over again with that annoying process. I thought advisors were supposed to be supportive, not discouraging? Oh well. Sometimes I feel like I just want to drop out of school and forget all of it! But you know what, not only will I proceed with school AND work full time, I will kick ass and show this advisor that she's got no idea who she's talking to. Then in two years, all of these academics can kiss my butt!!! That's all.

Christmas this year was AMAZING. I was supposed to work but got called off. Which really worked out nicely because my dad showed up on Christmas Eve night and surprised me. And my mom and Brent were here. So I got to spend Christmas with both of my parents (well, all three since Brent is pretty much a parent, too) for the first time in more than twenty years. Pretty freakin' cool. I have to say, there was a time when I thought that would never happen, but I sure am glad I was wrong! I got an Amazon Kindle which I love and a Shark steam mop, among many other awesome things. It really was a great Christmas.

Well, I am about as boring as it gets, so I can't say that I have any other exciting news. Same crap, different day. Perhaps I can scrounge up a few photos to make this post a little more interesting...

BEST Halloween costume EVER!

I got my Christmas lights up and didn't even die of fright! Quite an accomplishment if I do say so myself.

My sweet Christmas tree. I never did think to get a picture with all the presents under it. Oh well.

Levi (ugly sweater winner!) Amanda, Ashlie and Bryan in their sweet sweaters.

Me and Kell enjoying the great outdoors at Alta. I didn't even break any limbs.

Summer!

2010-08-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

It's been a while! I've been busy....but not. Work has been excruciatingly slow, but that has given me plenty of time to work on homework! Things would be so nice if I could just concentrate on school and didn't have to work! Oh well. I guess that's what I get for buying a house and a car, among other things. Really not too much is new. Brycie left for boot camp at the end of July. I can't believe he has already been gone for almost 4 weeks now! I am almost done with my first semester of grad school. I have to turn in one final case study for pathophysiology and take a final exam on Monday and then I get a whole week and a half off. Yay. Too bad the case study is a group project and one of my group members has failed to do her part in a timely manner so I am waiting on her before I can turn it in. How annoying! And, I am heading to Las Vegas again to work for a while. Like I said, work here has been pretty much non-existent. As in I worked 0 hours this week, 18 hours last week and 16 hours the week before that. So. Needless to say, that doesn't quite pay the bills! Apparently Las Vegas has quite a bit more need so I guess for now I have to go where the work is! I have been able to work a deal with my current agency so I don't even have to change employers which is sweet!! I'm excited to be able to spend time with all my friends and family in Vegas! I am, of course, sad to leave my house but I am fortunate to have some amazing neighbors who I have no doubt will keep a close watch on things. And I think it will be much better to actually have a place to come home to. I am hoping to make it home at least once a month to check things out and sleep in my own bed. And hopefully in a few months, things will pick back up around here and I can come back. Come on people, get sick!! Kidding. Anyway, headed to Milford tomorrow for my grandparent's 80th birthday celebration and then off to Vegas where riches await!!! Well, I hope they do. Anyway, here are a few random pictures from the past few months.

The start of the summer, for me at least, was Brett and Julia's wedding! What a fun weekend!!

The happy couple!

Beautiful bridesmaids!

Daniel and Marija

Ralph and Glad

Marija, me, Glad. Nobody bothered to tell me my necklace was crooked.

Me, Julia, Glad

Erin's little sister, Casse, had her baby on the 19th of July. She is such a cutie!!

Erin, Lia, and Talon

Me and Lia

And of course there was a farewell party for Bryce.

Bingham family!

Happy Summer! I can't believe it's almost over........

Got Yard?

2010-05-27T14:13:00.001-07:00

I finally do!! And what a nightmare it was to get! Well, I guess the actual getting of the sod wasn't bad, it was everything leading up to it and the week after. UGH. I don't even want to think about it! It all started on May 2. I got sick sick sick!! It must have been a 24 hour bug or something but I just wished for death during those 24 hours! It was so nice to have an appetite again and not feel nauseous. Brent got there Monday night and on Tuesday Brent and his son finished the rock wall in the back yard. It actually went a lot quicker than I thought it would. And it turned out awesome!! I worked Wednesday and Brent and I spent the rest of the week preparing and leveling the yard (and tilling up some ginormous rocks!!!) and planting trees and bushes.

These are the before pictures of my back yard. Quite a mess. Except for the rock wall looks GREAT!

This is the planter Brent put in. I love it! He did an awesome job! All of my neighbors were jealous!

These are all of my trees and plants. Fortunately I had a certificate for these from my builder because they are NOT cheap! I only went $8.00 over and I got lots of stuff!

Trees in the front planted!!

My dad got here on Saturday night, the 8th. We picked the trencher up and were ready to go first thing Sunday morning!

Trenching! I was surprised at how quickly this went.

I didn't take too many pictures the next few days. The sprinklers ended up taking a little longer than planned and my dad had to leave. It rained on Monday, Tuesday and then off and on Wednesday and Friday so that really slowed down our progress. And I got stung by a wasp or a hornet or something on Monday! That's only the second time in my life I have ever been stung and it was NOT fun!! But we did finally get everything buried and re-leveled just in time for the sod. We were even able to get all the rest of my shrubs and flowers planted.

Ready for sod in the front!!

Flowers in the flower bed!

Sod arrived Friday afternoon, the 14th. My crew showed up at 9:00 am Saturday morning and we had the sod laid in about four hours. Not too bad! Thanks to the Linnells and Allreds! They came through for me on the sod laying and I think we made a pretty great team!

Finished product!!

The sod laying went really well. I thought I was good to go! WRONG! My sprinklers didn't work quite as planned. After a large amount of trouble shooting on my part, I decided that I was not going to be able to solve the problem on my own. Brent had to come back up and after a large amount of trouble shooting on his part, we determined that the problem was not the water pressure but water volume. So after some minor reconfigurations and changing out all of the big sprinkler heads, things seem to be working! My lawn is still a little dry from not getting as much water as it should have those first few days but it is making a come back and I have no doubt that I will have the greenest lawn in the neighborhood soon!! I am just glad this nightmare is over! I only hope that if I ever have to do this again I will be able to pay someone! I don't know if I will ever be able to move from here after all the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into things!

In the midst of all this, school started. Because I wasn't having enough stress with the yard situation! I only have one class for the moment (nursing theory, BORING). Pathophysiology starts on June 1st and Nursing informatics starts on June 8. It's sure to be a stimulating summer. NOT. I never thought I would be excited for a patho class, but I am now after all the reading I have had to do about theory! And I have no doubt that informatics won't be much better. But, they will be over in a few months and hopefully the worst will be done! Yeah right. Anyway.....headed to Julia's wedding in Vegas on Wednesday, and then up to Boise to pick up a truck on the 12th, then my birthday party on the 19th. Busy month coming up. No doubt the summer and these boring classes will be over before I know it!!

SLACKER! And...Some Big News!

2010-04-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, I never thought I would be this big of a slacker when it came to blogging. But really, what can I say. My life is boring. And I am not even going to post any pictures to spice this up. I guess I have been lazy in all aspects of my life lately, including picture taking.

I went to Las Vegas in March and I didn't take one single picture! How pathetic. I got to see Julia, who I haven't seen in........entirely too long. Like a year and a half maybe? That's just sad. I also spent some quality time with Glad, Marija, Carrie and my mom. Brent got my landscape design for my yard done and I submitted it to my association. It was even accepted! A true miracle! Anyway, mostly I just hung with friends in Las Vegas. I ended up staying two extra days because, well, that's how I roll. It was lots of fun! The weather was perfect! Except for the wind the first few days. But seriously, I was complaining about being hot while on my way to the airport (I think it was 75 there) and then I get home to dreary, rainy, cold weather! BOO!! I was happy to drive my car even though it was absolutely filthy. When I got home I was feeling a little sorry for myself. I mean, you should feel sorry for me, too. I had just spent a week in Las Vegas, I have awesome friends, a good job, a sweet place to live, etc. etc. It is so easy to take everything great in my life for granted and just worry about stupid things that aren't a big deal in the long run anyway. Wow, enough of that tangent. So anyway, I was feeling a bit sorry for myself by the time I arrived home. I got a week's worth of mail from my mail box and began sorting through it. I noticed that there was a letter from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (which I will forevermore refer to as UMass because that is entirely too much to type) Graduate School office of admissions. It was thin. Usually when you apply to school, a thin letter is not good news. But I am getting ahead of myself since I told almost nobody that I had applied to grad school again. After applying last year, telling everyone and their dog, and then not getting in, I decided to just keep it mostly to myself. Although I am eternally grateful that I didn't get into school last year, it is still a little humiliating to have to tell people that I was wait listed. Obviously their loss, but still. So, I applied in January to UMass Amherst. It is an online Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. Apparently, a thin letter from UMass is good news because I was accepted! I'm so excited! My first class starts May 17. Obviously I will have to do real live clinicals here in Salt Lake, but I think the online thing is going to be awesome! Well, that's if I can figure out how to pay for it. I do know that grad school is expensive, especially if you are paying out of state tuition, but I am blown away by how much just my tuition is going to be this summer. I will have easily surpassed the total cost of my entire undergraduate degree within the first year. It's sickening, but it will be worth it......right?

Anyway, that's really all that's going on in my life. I am beyond anxious for nicer weather! I can't WAIT to get my yard done. Brent will hopefully be coming up in a few weeks to finish the retaining wall in my back yard and then (again, hopefully) I can get started on the fence. Which is going to cost more than my tuition this summer. Oh well. My dad will hopefully be here the second weekend in May to get the sprinkler system in. I'm hoping to do sod the same weekend. Perhaps I am a little too optimistic but I want to get it done while I have some guaranteed help here! Anyone out there reading this who wants to help..........I will even feed you lunch! :) That's a huge incentive to do several hours of backbreaking labor, I think. Regardless of what actually happens, my yard must be in by May 31st so I will be posting pictures of that, I'm sure. And knowing me, that will be the next time I update this thing! Thanks to anyone who hasn't given up on my blogging and is actually reading this. I love your comments! And I can't WAIT for Summer!!!

Holiday Wrap Up! (Just a Little Late.......)

2010-01-30T18:01:00.001-08:00

Well, I officially suck at blogging. What can I say? So much to do, so little time! Christmas was great! I went to Cedar City and spent it with family, some of whom I don't get to see often at all. We had some seriously great food including the awesomest greasiest Christmas breakfast ever!! We had an awesome Christmas Eve dinner of bbq'd mutton steaks and my mom made the most fantastic prime rib roast for Christmas dinner. I think I probably gained 10 pounds or so. But it was definitely worth it!

Christmas Eve dinner!! Aunt Helen was there, too but I couldn't get everyone in the picture. My photography skills leave a bit to be desired...

Hicks and Sundi.

Aunt Cathy got a new iPod for Christmas!!

Hicks and his amazing (and cute) trick baby!!

Grandma Manda and Jack.

It was a rough morning for Uncle John....

Mom and Brent peeling potatoes for the BEST Christmas dinner ever!!!

I also had a little Christmas party/housewarming party a couple of weeks before Christmas. I have some great friends! We had a lot of fun, as usual.

Levi and Brekyn.

Eric, Mike, Allison and Erin. Definitely some of my favorite peeps!!

Bryce, Karsten, Tavian, Jayden, Jade, Ashlie.

Bryan and Amber.

So, after coming home for Christmas, I went to get my oil changed. I ended up coming home with a new car. I'd say I got a little more than I bargained for, huh? This was the last picture I took of my car. Obviously not a great picture but there was some guy from the dealership about to get in and drive off in it. Kind of a sad moment. Anyone who even sort of knows me knows how much I LOVED that car. I thought I would never get rid of it!!
And this is the new ride! Not a great picture, but I was in a hurry to get back to the dealership so I could get the snow tires off my old car. And ever since this day my car has been filthy thanks to all the snow and salt! So, yes, this is the same thing I had before. But I have always wanted a black Charger with black interior. And now I have one! LOVE it! This one also has remote start. Not an option that I would have at all picked out but now that I have it, I don't think I can live without it! It's so awesome in the winter time! I have had the windows tinted but I want to get new wheels. I liked the wheels on my first Charger better. Not sure if I am going to go with chrome or black on this one?

New Year's was a lot of fun!! Lots of my peeps got together for a party at Jared and Alisa's house! Always fun with these guys!!

John and H Town (aka best insurance broker EVER!!!)

Our host and hostess for the big bash!! Jared and Alisa!

Me and Alisa.

Me and Amber. My face looks totally swollen in this picture. No, I did not just have my wisdom teeth removed.

The girls!!

So, I guess that was my holiday season in a nutshell. I am finally done putting my entire house together! And by done I mean that I am going to be totally changing it tomorrow. Really. The thought kind of makes me sick, but it must be done. My dad is coming down (he was unable to make it for turkey day!) and he is bringing me a new desk, bookshelf, bed for the spare room, shelves for the basement, lawn equipment, surround sound, etc. etc.... He started driving big rigs in September and has had most of his stuff in storage. I figured it's better for him to put it in my basement which is practically empty than to waste money on a storage unit every month. And of course I get to loot through it all and use what I want! Yeah! I'm excited! Other than the mess that is sure to result. Oh well. I am also excited to see my dad!! I haven't seen him since last August. I am cooking a belated Christmas dinner tomorrow since he didn't get one out on the road. I only hope mine turns out as good as my mom's did! I have begun planning projects for springtime as well. I have to have my front yard in by May 31st and a fence around my back yard by July. I would like to have a bigger patio and a concrete pad poured on the east side of my house before the fence gets put in.........the list of projects is endless, as every homeowner knows. I can't WAIT to have a yard again!!! I'm sure I will have my work cut out for me. Hopefully it isn't another two months before I make a post again, but I am not making any promises. Hope everyone had a great January! It will be Spring before we know it!!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like.....

2009-12-07T18:50:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas. Cute little questionnaire I stole from Amera and Christina.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year? Hmmm....surprisingly, I don't really know. Stuff for the house is always good! A Bose speaker for my iPod (not happening, I'm sure). A bookshelf (also not happening). A blu ray player. A Dyson (another one that isn't happening). Gift cards to Home Depot and such.

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received? Anything from Amaria. She always makes cute pictures and drawings and she has also made me a really cute picture frame, although it wasn't for Christmas.

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle? I just wish I could hand make something and it would actually turn out like I picture it in my head....

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child? I got a blow up tent one year that I thought was the coolest. I also got a Cabbage Patch Kid every year from my parents.

5. What items are on your kid's wish lists this year? Well, since I don't have any kids....Amaria wants a zhu zhu hamster (who doesn't??) a Barbie Motor home and various Littlest Pet Shop things.

6. What is your favorite holiday food? I like the traditional stuff...turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie (and roll) etc. etc. etc.....

7. What will you be hand crafting for the holidays? I'm sorry to say, probably not a darn thing.

8. What is your favorite holiday movie? Probably A Christmas Story. I also like Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys.

9. Favorite holiday song? O Holy Night.

10. Favorite holiday pastime? Shopping! I just love buying things for others! I always get carried away and spend way too much!

So, I am done with everything in the house but my office! I finally got my couch and love seat from the storage unit in Las Vegas! I even splurged and bought myself the TV to go in the niche above the fireplace. And it's a perfect fit! I don't know how I watched anything but HD. What a difference! I'm excited for Christmas this year, although I don't even know what my plans are. I don't have a lot on my list (mostly big things that I'm sure I'll buy myself later). I just love this time of year! I love the snow, I love the music, I love the lights, I love the gifts! Today was the first real storm of the season (out here in EM at least) and I got to use my new snow blower! Slick as a whistle! I cleared my driveway, my neighbor's driveway and the sidewalks in less than 20 minutes. I should have made that purchase years ago! I also got to use my snow tires on the way to work this morning. Too bad it took me 1.5 hours to get there! But I felt safe the whole way there. And I guess that's what's important. So, nothing else to report. At the rate I'm going, I probably won't make another post before Christmas so everyone have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! And a Happy New Year of course! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!!

U2 360

2009-11-13T10:25:00.000-08:00

Yes I know this concert was several weeks ago. I can't believe how busy I have been!! I have either been gone or had people in town since the second weekend after I moved into my house. So every minute I have free I am either trying to catch up on sleep or get my house organized. I have a never ending to do list!! My mom and Brent came to town Halloween weekend. We got all sorts of chores done! Brent put in my garage door opener (HUGE pain in the rear!!) installed the rest of my blinds, hung pictures, fixed my lamp etc. etc. etc.......I am having Thanksgiving at my new house this year! I'm totally excited! But kind of freaking out! I have my kitchen, living room and spare bathroom done. I have set a goal to finish my bedroom/bathroom/closet today. Which still leaves the office and spare bedroom. My dad is bringing me all sorts of fun treats when he comes down at Thanksgiving, including a queen size bed for my spare bedroom. So the pressure is on to get that room cleared out in time! I have a feeling I will just end up piling everything out of the way so that I can fit the bed in. Whatever. I have the rest of my life to get things organized, right??

So, on to the concert! U2 always puts on a good show! Our seats were not as good as I had hoped, but it was still awesome! There was also a drunk guy getting entirely too close but Marija put her anger to good use and he got thrown out! Yah! U2 is touring again next spring/summer. They have yet to announce a date in Salt Lake but I have heard rumors. Of course I will be going! I suspect that I will be on my own this time because I think I am going to spring for the expensive seats which are over $200. I know that is an exorbitant amount but U2 is my all time favorite band and I may not have many more chances to see them live! On to the pictures!!

Forget the Black Eyed Peas!!! We want U2!!!

"The Claw"

Bono.

Marija and Daniel. And his peanuts which handily doubled as a weapon against obnoxious drunk guy.

Best. Band. EVER.

During Sunday Bloody Sunday.

"One."

During my all time favorite song...."With or Without You." Absolutely amazing.

Moved!

2009-10-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

It has been quite some time since I posted! Well, I have been a little bit busy with other things, as I'm sure you can imagine! First of all, I think everyone thought I was exaggerating when I said I had been sleeping on a cot since May (not counting the time I was in Las Vegas). So I took some photos just so everyone could see how much fun it was! I even took a picture of it folded up so that it is clear that, yes, it really was a cot. Excuse the poor quality, I had the camera on the wrong setting. I just figured that out, literally like one minute ago. Duh.

Please excuse the mess...it was moving day. So in any case, I went from that to this........
Oh how I missed my bed!! It has been fantastic to sleep in it again after over a year! I have been sleeping quite well! You can also see that I am not exaggerating when I say that my bed weighs hundreds of pounds. It's no wonder nobody wants to help me move any more!

And everyone has been asking for pictures of my house with furniture in it, so here you go! I am a little ashamed to be posting a picture of such a mess, but we have all moved before and know how it is, right? Right now I am done with the kitchen, and hoping to finish up the living room today. Then on to my bedroom (the bathroom is the biggest chore there)! and then to the extra bedrooms. Only problem is that I cannot find the screws to my spare bed or to the legs for my desk. I guess that is what happens when things have been packed for over a year! I'm sure I put them in a "safe" place somewhere and I'll run across them....eventually. The move went really well, especially considering that most of the people I was counting on ended up not being able to help! Thank heavens for the Linnell family and Mike, who seem to be the ones there helping me every time I move! My cousin also showed and her husband came and hung my blinds the next day, so kudos to them, too! Things are coming along slowly but surely. I have been working (gotta pay the mortgage now!) so I'm sure it will still be a while before I get everything put away. Not to mention that I am headed to Las Vegas for the U2 concert on Thursday! I can't believe it is finally time for that concert! I have been waiting for that longer than for my house! I don't want to leave the fun of having a new house, but I know the concert is going to be awesome!! So, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, just having fun getting settled! Hopefully Iwill be ready for a housewarming party soon so I can show everything off! :)

FINISHED!! Part 2.

2009-09-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

My house is all the way done now!! I wondered if I would ever get to say those words! It just needs to be cleaned!I am so happy with the way it all turned out! I think all the colors look great together! I think these last two weeks before I acutally get to move are going to be killer! But what do you do, right? My final walk through is scheduled for this Friday. Can't wait!! I just ordered the blinds for my bedroom, bathroom and living room today and I got my garage door opener. Things are moving along! Now if these next two weeks will just go quickly.......

FINISHED!!

2009-09-24T17:47:00.001-07:00

At least the outside is! As you can see, there are still stickers on the windows so it obviously still needs to be cleaned on the inside. But, the outside is DONE!! I am so excited! And happy with how it turned out! I was out there on Tuesday and the door was painted a somewhat hideous red/brick color that I did not like at all! Not to mention I picked a dark blue color. Anyway, my builder realized the mistake before I even brought it to their attention and apparently it is already fixed. The inside is done also except for the carpet. Obviously the carpet is a big deal, but really only a one day job. So....looking like we are right on track for the walk through next Friday! I can't believe I am a week away!! I'm going to head out on Saturday and hope to see my carpet. But trying not to get my hopes up too much! Definitely an exciting couple of weeks coming up!!!!

Summer Lovin!

2009-09-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

I was reminded today that it's the last day of summer and I started thinking about what an awesome summer it was! Summer isn't my favorite season. I LOVE fall and the holiday season, but I really did have an absolutely amazing summer this year! First of all, I was in the process of building my very first home this summer. Really, it doesn't get more exciting than that! In May I went to Boston and New York for the first time ever. In June, of course I turned 30 and had a fabulous birthday party! In July I headed to Las Vegas to work for 9 weeks. It was so much fun to hang with all my Vegas friends and my family down there. I mean, really! Who gets an opportunity like that? I basically got paid to go on vacation! And of course I have been staying with my AWESOME cousins while my house is being built. It has really been perfect and I am going to miss them a lot when I finally move into my house. Good thing I am so excited for my new house or I might really be sad! So thanks to everyone who made my summer so great and memorable. Hopefully things will only get better from here! Of course I have new pictures of my house. Hopefully blogger will cooperate and let me post them properly...

I finally have a driveway! The outside is almost all the way done!
I'm pretty excited about the cookie sheet divider in my cabinet!

They finally took the packing off the "logs" in my fireplace! I even turned it on!

My kitchen with the light fixtures and appliances in! Gotta get a new kitchen faucet, this one is pretty ghetto! But other than that I LOVE it!

As I'm sure happens with every new home, the dates that I am supposed to do my final walk through and closing keep changing. Right now, my walk through is supposed to be on October 2 and closing on October 6. But of course that could change! In any case, I am so close I can almost taste it!! I can't wait to sleep in my very own bed again!!

Viva Las Vegas!!!

2009-09-10T15:27:00.000-07:00

Amber and the birthday boy!

Kind of blurry, but the whole crazy group! And some guy with a Michael Jackson glove!

Check out my new tattoo!!!

Brycie got a new tattoo as well!!

Mike and Amber.

Amber, Sandee and me.

Again, I am having some issues with blogger and my pictures going in the right place. Anyway, Amber's little brother Bryce turned 21 on Sept. 1. And no 21st birthday is complete without a trip to Las Vegas, right? Conveniently enough I was already here! There ended up being a group of about 15 of us. Gladhes joined us for a lot of the fun as well. Everyone arrived on Thursday night but since I am an old fogey, I was way too tired to join them for any sort of action on Thursday night. We did a little bit of everything the rest of the weekend...soooooo much fun! Some of the highlights were a trip to Pure, Fremont Street, and the Stratosphere where everyone but me rode all of the rides. This is definitely the funnest group of people I know! I can't wait to hang with all of them again!

Moving in the Right Direction!

2009-09-10T15:21:00.001-07:00

First and most importantly, I have cabinets and countertops! It is starting to look like a real live house! Well, at least from the pictures. I have yet to see it in person.

I don't know what the deal with blogger is, but I am having trouble moving pictures into the proper position....is anyone else having issues? Anyway, I will be heading back to Salt Lake on Monday and of course Eagle Mountain will be my first stop! I have a tentative closing date of October 7. I can't believe it is that close! I will potentially be sleeping in my very own house one month from this very day. So exciting! Notice in the top picture my drop in sink! I am beyond excited about it. It might even be my favorite option that I picked out. It wasn't cheap but I think it will be more than worth it!!

I Love Color!

2009-09-01T21:24:00.001-07:00

Colored stucco, that is! Not much was different when I was out at Eagle Mountain on Sunday. I did take one picture because I had to get one of the AWESOME rental car I was driving! ha. Try not to be jealous of my sweet ride! haha. I was so happy to get home to my own car. It actually goes when I push on the gas. I got an email from the community manager today and I have colored stucco! They always do things the day after I am there! Oh well.

Woo hoo! Pretty exciting! Cabinets should be going in any day now! At that point I will be 4 weeks out. It's so close to being done I can almost taste it! I don't know how I am going to wait until it's done, I'm so excited!

I went to a boring orientation class at the U yesterday. What a long day! I am back in Las Vegas now and working the next two days. My friend, Marija, went to Italy with her boyfriend for two weeks so I am staying at their condo while they are gone. It is so convenient! Not to mention it is on the 28th floor with a fabulous view of the west side of the valley.

This is the view I'm forced to look at. It's a tough life.

I have extended again, but this time just for a week. So I will be back in Salt Lake two weeks from yesterday. The 15th, I think. It's definitely bittersweet. I am excited to get back and hang with all my Salt Lake peeps again, but it has been so fun to be here in Vegas and hang with all my friends here. I have missed them so much! And the time has flown by. I haven't had nearly enough time to do as much as I want to do. Oh well, my house will be done within weeks of my return!!! And I will be back in Las Vegas at the end of October for the U2 concert! I can't believe it is less than two months away! A bunch of friends are coming to Vegas this weekend for one of their 21st birthdays. It is sure to be a fun and crazy weekend!

Rock Solid!

2009-08-26T21:49:00.001-07:00

I have sheetrock and the beginnings of stucco! I was out in Eagle Mountain yesterday and they had just put a fresh coat of mud/tape on the walls. How exciting!! Then I got back to Las Vegas today and had some new pictures from the community manager....they painted today!! Yah! It seems like my house might really be done some day!

I am really happy with how the fireplace mantel and "art niche" turned out!

The view from the front door.

Start of the stucco!

I am already back in Las Vegas. Working tomorrow and heading to SL for yet another quick trip on Sunday. Hopefully this will be the last one! The Poison/Def Leppard/Cheap Trick concert was awesome!! I just love USANA! Traffic was ridiculous so we ended up being late enough to miss Cheap Trick. Poison's bass player was sick so their set was pretty short. But Def Leppard played almost all of the good songs in a really long set. They sound awesome live! We met up with some IHC friends Heidi and Allyson and also Levi and Amanda were there. It was so fun!

Allyson, Heidi and me.

Me, Amanda, Erin and Levi

Def Leppard!!

Party on Amanda!!

I am on call at 5 am tomorrow so I am off to bed. More pictures to follow after my next rush trip out to Eagle Mountain.

Put on a Happy Fascia!

2009-08-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since my last update. I guess I have been putting it off because the internet here is HORRIBLE! But, here I am. I decided not to put it off any longer. And I know everyone has been dying for an update! Right?? In the house department, I now have a roof and fascia. My fireplace and bathtubs are installed! The HVAC, plumbing and electrical are all done. Sheetrock was supposed to be done at the end of last week, so we shall see. I am heading to Salt Lake to see Poison/Def Leppard/Cheap Trick on Tuesday so I will of course take a trip out to Eagle Mountain to see how things are progressing. I suspect they have started the process for the stucco on the outside as well. Here are a few pictures from the last time I was up. Shingles and fascia are done! Looks like they are getting ready to start on the outside. The community manager sent me this picture on Thursday. The fireplace!! I can't wait for winter and sitting in front of the fireplace!The tub/shower in my bathroom. One thing I do not like about this house is that the bathrooms aren't nearly big enough. However, my closet is the same size as the bathroom! I guess you can't have it all, right?

This is looking from the front door down the hall into the living room. I LOVE that big window.

Like I said, I am headed to Salt Lake on Tuesday for the concert and I am coming back to Las Vegas on Wednesday. Unfortunately, there is an orientation class for University Hospital on the 31st. I would just say screw it but I have to have this class to work at the U and they haven't had one since January! SO....I get to fly to Salt Lake again on Sunday the 30th and back to Las Vegas the next day. UGH! Too much airport time! Oh well, hopefully I will be assured all the shifts I want with so much variety of where to work.

I also had a family reunion the weekend of the 15th. I was able to take Amaria with me and she had a blast! The reunion was in the mountains up near Lehman Caves. It was actually a really nice place with plenty of room for the entire family. We did a tour of Lehman Caves on Saturday. I had been there once before but I think I was maybe 5 so I don't remember it. It was really cool! Here are a few pictures...

This is a picture of some aunts, cousins and Amaria swimming. I think this was probably her favorite activity of the weekend! These two were joined at the hip pretty much the whole weekend. Amaria and Josie at the entrance to Lehman Caves. Me and Amaria in Lehman Caves. Amaria, grandpa and great grandpa inside Lehman Caves. Inside Lehman Caves. Pretty freakin cool!

This is the teepee that we slept in. I think Amaria thought it was about the coolest thing ever to sleep in a teepee! It was a good weekend and fun to catch up with the family, some of whom I hardly ever see.

Well, now that it has taken me the entire morning to upload all those pictures to this blog, I am off to pack and get ready for the week of work and travel. I'm sure I will have some more house photos to share when I get back from my latest trip to Salt Lake.

A Roof Over My Head!

2009-08-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, I went from nothing ever being done on my house (or at least that's what it seemed like!!) to the whole thing being framed in like two days! Woo Hoo!!

I'm thinking the guy standing in the garage needs to get off the phone and get back to work! Right? Anyway. My pre drywall walk through is on the 10th of August. Yes, that's a week from Monday! I'm so excited! Of course, that meant that I had to book a last minute flight to Salt Lake on Sunday. Not cheap! Oh well. I am going to the Lion King at Mandalay Bay with my mom and Amaria on Saturday. I can't wait! I think it will be a lot of fun! I guess that's it for now. More updates to come soon!!

I've been FRAMED!!!

2009-07-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know you can see where I'm going with the title of this post here. They day I thought would never come has finally arrived!! They started framing my house! (You know, the infamous they). I think lumber was just delivered on Monday, or sometime late last week and already they have made what looks to me like a lot of progress!

This picture was taken by the community manager and sent to me on Tuesday, so I'm thinking this was the view on Tuesday night.

By the way, shout out to Erin for taking the rest of the pictures!!! It's the next best thing to being there myself!!

View from the front west side. I wish they'd leave the port-a-potty there for when I have people over! haha.

View from the back west side.

The view from the basement.

Of course there are several more photos, but I'm pretty sure that nobody is quite as excited about it as I am and interested in seeing a bunch of pictures of wood. In any case, it almost feels real now! I am kind of sad that I am not actually there myself to see and witness all the things that are going on, but I am very happy to be sleeping on the tempur pedic mattress at my mom's house here in Nevada! :) I'm hoping to find out when my pre drywall inspection is really going to be tomorrow...and I'm getting close to locking in my interest rate finally!

Things here in Las Vegas are going great! The first three weeks of my contract have just flown by! I just found out yesterday that they want to extend me for four more weeks. Yeah! So I will be here through Labor day weekend. I am really really liking the floor and hospital I am working at here! It's a nice break from sick patients to work with the post partum moms. Not to mention I only ever have 5 patients and NO BABIES! What could be better?? Almost every one of my patients has been awesome and I had three tell me yesterday that I was the best nurse they had had. Sometimes I question why I ever went into nursing, but it is days like that that remind me! Everyone I work with has been really nice, too. They have been patient with me and all my stupid questions! :)

I have been able to spend quite a bit of time with my niece, too. She is the cutest little girl EVER! (and no, I'm not biased!!) We went up to southern Utah last weekend to see my mom's family and I even took Amaria over to see my dad's parents over in Milford. A busy but productive weekend! I'm hoping that Amaria will be able to go with me to my family reunion next month. I know she would have a blast! Not to mention that it's more time I get to spend with her!

On a tasty side note, my dad went fishing in Alaska last week and brought home 98 pounds (YES! 98 pounds! Freakin crazy!!) of fish. Mostly salmon and some halibut. Hopefully he will be able to bring me some the next time I see him. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I suppose that is the extent of my life for now. Hopefully it won't be quite as long before I update again. However, my mom's internet is agonizingly slow so I can't make any promises....

How Firm a Foundation!

2009-07-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

So...........I have a foundation!!!

How excited am I!? Words really cannot describe! From what I understand, they have to do a bunch of things that won't really look like much progress (sewer, gravel, etc.) before they pour the basement and garage floors. After all this, the framing will finally begin! My pre-drywall inspection, which is when the framing, HVAC, electrical and plumbing are all done, should be around August 17th. At that point, I am about 60 days from closing so it looks like it will probably be more like October instead of September before it is actually complete. But, time is really racing!

So, the agency that I am working for here in Salt Lake submitted me for a contract in Las Vegas. It's not technically a "travel" contract so it doesn't include reimbursment for travel expenses or a living allowance each month, but it's still guaranteed hours and a very good hourly rate of pay. I never in a million years thought that I would even get a phone interview, but they called me today and offered me a contract!! It is only 4 weeks, but I think that will be a perfect amount of time to spend in Vegas and see my mom and cousin, and catch up with friends. Amaria is there for the summer visiting her mother too so hopefully I will get to spend quite a bit of time with her! I will be at Mountain View hospital on the post partum floor. It is day shifts (YAH!!!) and the need is mostly during the week so it looks like I will have most of the weekends off. It almost sounds like it is too good to be true so I hope it's not! I'm heading out on Sunday or Monday and will be starting on Wednesday. So, everyone wish me luck! I am kind of bummed to be missing the progress on my house, but the community manager goes out daily and takes pictures of things so hopefully I will not feel like I am missing too much! Fortunately mostly everything I own is already in boxes so it shouldn't be too hard to pack and move!

I am off to bed for now, but I will be sure to update with all my exciting adventures in Las Vegas!

Got Concrete?

2009-07-01T19:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I sure do! They have finally poured the footings for my house!!

I know, I know, everyone is totally excited to see some pictures of dirt and concrete. But I can hardly believe that things are progressing! I have so much going on this summer that I'm sure my house will be done before I know it. It's so freakin exciting to see any sort of progress! They have the window frames, window wells and rebar all ready to put in place so I'm hoping they pour the foundation in the next day or two. Maybe that's a little optimistic, but I can always hope, right?

I took a fantastic trip to Yuba Lake this weekend! The weather was finally decent on the weekend! In fact, it was down right hot. I used a lot of sunscreen and still got a little burned. As much as I have decided that I don't think beach camping is for me, I always have a blast every time I go anywhere with the Bingham/Malave/Peebles clans and of course, Erin.

Levi was so excited about boating, he couldn't even wait to get it in the water! Haha. Really, he was fixing the seat. It got really windy right about dinner time on both nights! The first night was horrible. I couldn't even keep my grill lit! So I cleverly fashioned a tin foil tent and was finally able to finish cooking our meal! I cooked some bacon on the grill Saturday morning. As you can imagine, the abundant bacon grease caused a few flare ups of the grill. So, I burned a hole in our kitchen. Ooops! Sorry Levi!

Erin went wakeboarding for her first time! It took her a few tries, but she finally made it up! Go Erin!! And of course Amanda was pretty much a pro wakeboarder.

And Levi even found a friend while we were there!!

I had a fantastic time although I was very happy to get home and take a shower and wash my hair three or four times. What a fun weekend! I don't have any big plans for the 4th, probably a bbq and some fireworks somewhere, but I'm sure to have fun since I will be with my friends! I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday weekend!!

Happy Birthdays!!!

2009-06-29T11:20:00.001-07:00

Three of my favorite people in the whole world are having birthdays this week!

Today is my mom's birthday! I have the greatest mom in the entire world!! I know a lot of people say that about their moms, but with mine it's really true! My mom is one of the most giving, caring, loving (insert adjective here) people I know. My parents got divorced when I was 10 and my mom was a single mother to me and my brother. I'd say she did a pretty good job of raising us, too! I think we turned out pretty darn good! If my brother, my niece or I ever needed anything, she would do whatever it took to make sure we got it. I know it's hard for my mom having all her kids live so far away, but I love her more than she will ever know and I hope she has the best birthday ever!!

Tomorrow is my cousin Carrie's birthday. Where to begin about Carrie......I most certainly would not have made it through nursing school without her! She has always been behind me when I needed support and has given me numerous gems of infinite wisdom! Carrie is one of the most fantastic cooks ever!! I miss living just down the street and going over for dinner or dessert or just to bs. Carrie's always there when I need someone to talk to or laugh with. She is the one who I can tell anything to! It has been entirely too long since I have seen her and I am grateful that we have still managed to stay close despite being seven hours apart.

And last but most certainly not least, my niece Amaria. She is going to be 7 on Friday and I just can't believe it! Amaria is one of the smartest, sweetest, most well adjusted kids I have ever met. She never wants to hurt anyone's feelings and is always making cute pictures and fun crafts for the people she loves. I love talking to Amaria on the phone and giving her a hard time until she laughs. She loves science and reading and pink and purple and the littlest pet shop, among other things. I am so lucky to have such an amazing thoughtful beautiful little girl to call my niece! The only thing wrong with her is that she is growing up too fast! I can't wait to see her again, hopefully soon. I hope she will always think that all the fireworks on the 4th of July are for her, because she deserves them!

A HOLE lotta progress!!

2009-06-22T20:58:00.001-07:00

Can I just say how glad I am that my hole has finally been dug so that I can use the title of this post? I seriously thought of it like a month ago. Yes, I am lame and apparently have too much time on my hands. But seriously, there is a hole in the earth where my house is going to be!!!! I am so freakin excited that I can hardly stand it! It actually seems real now and it makes me hopeful that they started exactly when they said they would. Hopefully that means they will be finished when they say they will be! I never thought I would be so excited about a simple hole in the ground, but it's amazing how real it all is now! They are supposed to start framing next Tuesday, so more pictures to come soon!

Pictures, Pictures, and more Pictures!

2009-06-19T17:30:00.001-07:00

As promised, here are several pictures from my birthday bash!! Top picture is me and Ralph, middle picture is me and Erin, and bottom picture is Ralph, Glad and me. And here is me and Caroline! Erin, Ralph and Amber. Some of the best friends a girl could ask for!! My cake!! Not sure what the heck that dress is the princess is wearing, but it sure tasted good! Oh yeah! I can blow out candles with the best of them! It's a good thing that it was just a 3 and a 0. That's probably all these old worn out lungs could handle!! My IHC peeps. Me and Tessa. Isn't she cute!! Glad's chillin like a villian in Eric's jeep. Me and Levi are the bomb.com at karaoke! oh yeah! Yes, I tipped my chair over. All those years of my mom telling me to quit tipping in my chair obviously had no effect. And do you think I learned and stopped tipping so that I wouldn't fall over again? Of course not. I took Ralph and Glad to the Training Table (a Utah original!) before they left on Sunday. They were so excited that we got to order our meal from the phone at the table.

And of course, the parting shot in the parking lot.

Oh so much fun!! Thanks again to everyone who came out!

Marija arrived to spend my birthday with me on Monday morning. It was a laid back awesome day!!! We went to lunch at Joe's Crab Shack (I highly recommend the seafood enchiladas!) We went to the mall, where I lost my car key in Nordstrom! Fortunately I had just left it at the shoe counter. How ironic! We went up to Park City for a bit and Marija insisted on buying me a birthday gift even though her coming up was more than enough!

Is that the cutest bag you have ever seen! Yeah, I have the greatest friends ever. After our little shopping excursion, I took Marija out to see my home builder's model and my lot. Kinda fun even though the lot is looking exactly the same as it always has. After that, we went and got a hotel downtown. We stayed at the Salt Lake Plaza (I think). It was right across the street from temple square. This is the view from our room. Pretty freakin sweet!! We had dinner at the Olive Garden and went back to the hotel and watched TV. I think I was passed out by about 11:30. I know, I am a party animal. I dropped Marija off at the airport on Tuesday morning. I was so sad that the weekend and my birthday were over. Back to reality! But, I did finally get to see an actual model and not just a drawing of the house that I am building! Some guy is building the same house over near Thanksgiving Point and they let me go in and take a look around. Of course I was too dumb to actually take my camera in the house, but I did get a picture of the front. My elevation is a bit different and I have rock instead of brick, but I think the color of the stucco is pretty close to what I picked. I'm so excited!!!!! And if all goes as planned, I will even have a hole on Monday! (fingers are crossed). SO.....I guess that's it for now. I have to work this weekend. Blech. But I am headed to Yuba Lake next weekend with the Bingham clan and Erin. It's going to be a blast, I'm sure! If I actually have a hole on Monday, I will be sure to post pictures!

Going Out With a Bang!

2009-06-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

I had the most fantastically fun birthday party last night! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to post because I was busy mingling and I left Gladhes in charge of the picture taking. I'm sure she will get them sent to me soon, but for now I just want to say that I really have the greatest family and friends anyone could ask for. Erin and my cousin Allison (who I am living with until my house is done) threw me the best party ever last night!! I really can't think of a better way to have spent my birthday than with all of my good friends and some bbq! Anyone who is here in Salt Lake knows the weather has been CRAP for the past couple of weeks and yesterday was really no exception. It rained pretty hard earlier in the day but it cleared up in time for the party. Although it was a little chilly, we only got sprinkled on once and it was dry the rest of the night. I have to say that the entire night was made by one of my bestest friends from nursing school, Gladhes and her brother Ralph. They completely surprised me and drove all the way from Las Vegas to come to my birthday party! They are two of the coolest people I know! Funny as can be and everyone just loves them! I am so lucky to have them for friends and for them to go to such an effort for me was awesome! Close to twenty or so other good friends showed up and I so appreciate everyone putting up with the cold to come out for my birthday! There were burgers, dogs, pasta salads, cobblers, cookies, fruit, chips and salsa from Chili's (YUM!!! thanks Sara!!) and Erin's dad made the most fantastic baked beans ever! Of course there was birthday cake, a fire, makeshift karaoke. Really, I couldn't have asked for a funner night. I cannot believe that I am going to be 30 in just over 4 hours! I thought I might be a little sad, but I had such a fabulous birthday party with the best friends in the world that it helped me realize that my life is just getting started! Marija is flying in tomorrow to spend the day with me (I mean really, I don't think anyone's friends are anywhwere near as great as mine are!!) I am feeling a little nostalgic thinking about the last 30 years and all the things (good and bad) that have happened in my life. But I really am blessed. I have a great career, I am building my first house, I have a hot car! And of course I really have the best, most loving family and friends ever. I couldn't have hand picked each and every one of you any better if I had been able to see into the future. I am so lucky to have so many great people who care about me in my life. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who came out to help me celebrate and to everyone who has been a part of my life at all. I truly am blessed! And my 30th birthday has been awesome!! (Although technically I am still 29.) Sorry for such a mushy post, but I guess that is what happens when you turn 30....you turn into an old sap! I love you all, and I promise to post photos of the fabulous night as soon as I get them from Gladhes.

The Neverending Waiting Game

2009-06-07T18:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally have news from Westminster. Unfortunately, it is not what I was wanting to hear. They called me on Friday and told me that I have been put on the waiting list. Really?? I mean, I guess I am okay with it but it is so frustrating to me that I waited this long and now the answer is basically no. Obviously I knew it was a possibility that I wouldn't be accepted, but I can't help but wonder why I wasn't good enough? If I would have said or done something different in my interview or if my grades or GRE scores were just a little bit better, would that have made any difference? I guess wondering isn't going to do me much good. Like both of my parents pointed out, perhaps it is for the best. Now I can concentrate on getting settled into my house, work on getting a few things paid off and not be under so much pressure to feel like I need to work so much at the same time I am in school. So....technically there is still a very small chance that I will get into the program this fall but I am really not couting on it. But I am still stuck waiting because I guess you never know, right?

To conter the crap news I got from Westminster on Friday, I finally got some good news on the house later that same day! I went out on Thursday to see if any progress had been made. I was very frustrated to see that my lot looks the exact same as it did 6 weeks ago when I put my earnest money down. How annoying!!! I stopped into the model to see if I could get some dates and find out what the heck is going on, but of course the girl who I have been working with wasn't there and the guy who was there didn't have any idea what was going on, although he was pretty cute! So I got a phone call on Friday and finally got some dates! They are not going to dig until June 22!! What?! Apparently, everyone has been having trouble with the construction loans and that is what is holding my start up right now. But barring any unforseen complications with the bank (cross your fingers) they will dig on the 22nd, pour my foundation on the 29th and start framing on the 30th!! Wooo hoooooo!! Happy late birthday to me, right! She gave me an estimated close date of September 9th or 10th which is kind of what I had been thinking it would be from the beginning. So, even though we are being held up by the lame bank, things should move along quite quickly once they get started. I am so excited and can't wait to see any sort of progress!

As for the job situation, I have been out of week for three weeks now! What a pain in the rear! Who ever thought that a nurse would have a hard time finding a job?? I guess technically I could get a job if I wanted a crap staff job that paid next to nothing, but I really don't want to have to do that. The agency that I was originally working with really seemed to be dragging their feet so I sent my resume out to a few other places last week and got a call from another agency. This one seems to have a lot better idea of what is going on. They already tried to get me to work on Thursday night but unfortunately I didn't have all my required education complete so I couldn't do it. Hopfully it is a sign that there are a lot of available shifts! I am also taking the HCA charting class on Wednesday so that should open up more options as well.

So, there you have it. Even though I have an "answer" from Westminster I am still technically stuck waiting. I do have a lot more info on my house now, but I am obviously still waiting on that. My life is just one big waiting game right now. I am excited for my birthday bash next weekend! Can't believe I am going to be the big 3-0! Crazy! Marija is coming to spend the day with me on my actual birthday. Sure to be a good time! I guess my life consists of a lot of waiting for the next little while, but I have all sorts of fun things planned this summer and I'm sure it will fly right by!

I Heart NY (and Boston)!

2009-05-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

If you look up "slacker" in the dictionary, chances are you will find a picture of me! But seriously, I have been quite busy these past couple of weeks! I finally left Salem on May 15. I drove to Boise, then Salt Lake, then flew to New Hampshire, drove to Boston and then drove to New York. A crazy couple of days for sure but SO MUCH FUN!! This promises to be a lengthy post, so buckle up!!

I flew into Manchester on Monday night. Kim picked me up and we drove to her house which is just outside of Boston. Tuesday we went to Boston and did all sorts of fun things! I have never been to Boston so everything was a fun, new experience for me! We went to Faneuil Hall Marketplace and looked around and shopped a little. We walked almost the entire Freedom Trail and saw some cool historical sites, including Paul Revere's house and the Old North Church.

That's me in front of some random fountain in Boston. Notice my sweet wannabe Coach sunglasses that I got for $12. I also had my first cannoli while in Boston! YUM! I think people thought I was a little weird for taking a picture of a pastry, but it was quite a momentus occasion!

We also saw the USS Constitution which was really quite cool!
We then decided we were kind of hungry. We were walking around in Boston and saw a sign advertising a 1 lb. lobster meal for $13! I couldn't believe my eyes! Apparently prices like that are common back east, but you're lucky to get a lobster tail for $35 in Utah or anywhere else I've lived! So we went on in and had some delicious lobster! Unfortunately, we showed up about .5 second before some pub crawl! Needless to say, we couldn't even hear ourselves chewing. The lobster was still awesome and the waitress even gave us a free piece of Boston Cream Pie to make up for the noise we had to endure. I got a little discombobulated with all the commotion so I failed to take a picture of my friend before I ate it. It was only the second time that I've had whole lobster so Kim had to give me a bit of help to get it all open. All in all a fantastic experience! Kim is a HUGE Red Sox fan so she took me by Fenway Park after we ate. There was a game going on so it was all lit up and the streets around the park were closed down.

I even saw the famous Citgo sign!
We were pooped by the end of the day and went back to Kim's house and crashed! On Wednesday, Kim took me to a fantastic seafood joint up in New Hampshire. It was right near the ocean and the lobster was only $11.99 per pound! Again, I was astounded at the price!! We each ordered up a 1.5 pounder and Kim got some steamers. I thought the lobster in Boston was good! This lobster was to die for! They were live and walking around before we got there. The guy picked them out of the tank and weighed them live right before us! Talk about an amazing meal! Again, I was slacking on the photography and didn't get a picture. I don't know what the heck was wrong with me! We also had some lobster bisque soup. Also delightful!! Kim took me over to the beach and the weather was not the best but we saw some really nice houses. We decided to head over to Salem (Mass, not Oregon!) and check out the witch history there! On our way there, Kim spoke to a friend who had some Red Sox tickets that she wasn't going to be able to use. So we scored some tickets to the game that night against the Blue Jays for $30! I was so excited! I had never been to a major league baseball game. Unfortunately, we had to make just a quick drive through Salem so we could get back to Boston for the game. I only got a couple of pictures.
We ended up being late to the game, but I got a Fenway Frank!! We showed up in the fifth inning right in time for all the action! The Red Sox scored 5 home runs in that inning right after we got there! And our seats were pretty darn good! We were 11th row right up behind the bullpen. Kim was pretty excited because Papelbon was down there warming up for a bit. I was just excited all around because it was my first MLB experience! And to have it at Fenway Park was awesome!

What a fun night!! Definitely an experience I will never forget!

On Thursday, Kim drove me out to Long Island to my brother's house. It was kind of a long day, especially for Kim! Traffic near NYC and out to Long Island was pretty crappy. So what should have been an 8 hour round trip ended up taking Kim close to 12 hours. Ugh. I'm just glad she finally made it home! I got to my brother's around 4:00. I was so excited to see my niece, Amaria! I haven't seen her since Thanksgiving. She has grown about a foot. We hung out in the back yard and then picked my dad up from La Guardia later that night. My dad and I stayed in a hotel so we wouldn't crowd my brother and everyone else in the house! On Friday, I went to New York City for my very first time! It was amazing! I am already anxious to go back. My brother wanted to go to the Empire State Building first. Apparently he has tried to go several times but the weather has always been crappy so visibility has been zero. We arrived at Penn Station and walked over to the Empire State Building. I think we waited in line for over 2 hours so everyone was a little cranky by the time we got to the top. But of course the views were amazing!

As you can see, it was slightly crowded up there! After we finally got down from the top, we are all starving. Fortunately, there was a genuine hot dog vendor out on the corner! So we all got hot dogs and drinks, and Robert got some meat on a stick. Amaria was pretty excited about her hot dog! So was my dad! This is them in front of the hot dog cart.
We took a cab up to Central Park and the Museum of Natural History. We walked through the park and went up to the Jackie Onassis Reservoir. The weather was beautiful and there were a lot of runners and joggers and people just enjoying the sun and the park.

This is me and Melissa in Central Park.
And of course cute Amaria in the park.
We went to the Museum of Natural History next. They had a butterfly exhibit in there and Amaria about died! She loves butterflies! It was actually really cool. There were all sorts of colorful butterflies flying around everywhere. The room was kept at 80 degrees and humid so my hair was nice and frizzy by the time we were done.

We made it over to the dinosaur exhibit but after that the museum was closing so we didn't get to see the other exhibits we were looking forward to. Oh well. Maybe next time.
By this time, our hot dogs from earlier had pretty much worn off. We decided to take a cab up to Times Square and then catch the train back to Long Island where we were going to eat at a bar b que joint that my brother really likes. I got to ride in the front seat of the cab. Just a little bit scary!! This is a picture of Robert looking like a convict in the back of the cab.
We were almost to Times Square when Melissa spotted the Stage Deli. If you haven't heard of the Stage Deli, it's a fantastic deli where the sandwiches are named after celebrities who have actually come in and designed the sandwich. And the sandwiches are HUGE! The cabbie pulled over and let us out. My sandwich was awesome!! I had the Mel Brooks (turkey, pastrami and swiss).
Don't worry, I only ate half of it! It was so good! And their Russian dressing topped it off nicely! After our gigantic meal, we walked over to Times Square. There were about a million people there even though there wasn't really anything going on. This is the crystal ball they drop on New Year's Eve. Not anywhere near as big as it looks on TV!

By this time we were all pretty beat. We walked back to Penn Station and rode the train back to Long Island. A productive, awesome and exciting day!

Saturday, we went out to Montauk which is at the very end of Long Island. There's a lighthouse there.

There's a tour of the lighthouse but we didn't go on it because we were all pretty hungry. We stopped at a seafood joint on the side of the road and everyone had a different kind of seafood. I had lobster salad on a roll (yes, I love lobster!). It was delicious! We drove through some ritzy long island towns including the Hamptons. Talk about some mansions! We went back to Robert and Melissa's and had some authentic New York pizza! I don't think I will ever be the same! Pizza Hut just isn't going to cut it anymore! Sunday was a pretty laid back day. Melissa's mom had a gigantic bbq, and we just hung out at the house and played in the yard. My dad left on Monday night so it was also a pretty laid back day. We did some more hanging out and a little shopping. The weather had been perfect for my entire trip!! On Tuesday it started clouding up and even rained that night. Tuesday and Wednesday I just hung out with my brother and we went to White Castle for some burgers! yummy! We played some Trivial Pursuit on the Wii and just had a good time! My flight left on Wednesday evening and I finally made it back to Salt Lake late Wednesday night!

So here I am in Salt Lake! I was supposed to take a charting class for HCA facilities (St. Mark's) on Thursday but it was full. So as a result, I haven't been able to work at those hospitals with the greatest need, which means I haven't been working at all! It is definitely nice to have some time off, but unfortunately bills still have to be paid! The next class isn't offered until June 10th so hopefully I can get some shifts at other hospitals in the mean time. We shall see. It is definitely good to be back home! There are about ten million birthday parties and other things going on in June. It promises to be a busy month! I went out to my home site on Thursday and they haven't even broken ground yet! How annoying! I don't have a frame start date yet so I don't have an estimated date of completion. Hopefully I will get that in the next couple of days. And of course I haven't heard a peep from Westminster. They are now telling me that I should have an answer by June 8th. I will believe that when I see it!

Whew! Talk about a marathon post!!! That is my life for the past couple of weeks! A fabulously fun vacation! Hopefully I can get back to work soon and my house will at least get started!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

2009-05-11T00:46:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry to say that I don't have any pictures to post, but I am going to make a post anyway because I have a feeling it will probably be a long while before I have time to post again. I wonder if I could have said post a few more times in that last sentence? Anyway...things are moving along at lightning speed! And going quite well, too! I made an exceptionally quick trip to Salt Lake last Tuesday to Thursday. I finalized all my choices for the inside and outside of my house. It was so much fun! I also met with them and finalized the plans for the house. This was a little over my head, but I chose placement for all the outlets, phone jacks and tv boxes, among other things. It was so great to have my dad there with me for all of these meetings! He gave me a lot of helpful insight not only from someone who has owned a house but someone who has built them, too. I think I probably would have made some different decisions that I wouldn't have been as happy with in the long run. I also wrote a very large check which means they should be starting on the house any time now! I can't wait for any progress at all! I'm so excited! The house next door was just being framed the last time I was in Salt Lake if I remember correctly. Now it is almost all the way done. I snooped around inside and it looks like all that is left to do is lay the carpet and the paint touch up stuff. My lot remains unchanged. Otherwise I would have taken photos! I know how much you would all love to see a hole in the ground, right?

I have a mere two shifts left here at Salem Hospital. This is the light at the end of my tunnel! I really have liked working here and I have enjoyed everyone that I work with. I am just anxious to get home and get on with my life, I guess. I am also heading to Boston and New York on Monday. Can't wait!! I'm sure there will be pictures to post after that trip. Unless my stupid camera breaks right the middle of it! So...I am leaving Salem for good this Friday morning. I'm going to spend Friday night and probably Saturday in Boise with my dad and then head to Salt Lake. My cousin and her husband are being so kind and have my room all ready! I think it will be a fun four months! However, I am not excited for it to be revealed to others how lazy I really am! Oh well.

I hope everyone had a great mother's day!! This is the first mother's day that I haven't been with my mom. Kind of sad but I guess we will all live.

Everyone have a great couple of weeks and think about me while I am living it up in Boston and NYC!!

Decisions, decisions!

2009-04-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

It has been a rough couple of days! I drove to Boise on Sunday and spent the evening with my dad. The weather was perfect! It was 78 degrees. We sat outside and chatted and, of course, we grilled. My dad made some fantastic spare ribs and baked (well, bar-b-qued, actually) potatoes. Deeeeelightful! I also discussed all my options/upgrades on my house with my dad and got his opinion since he knows a heck of a lot more about it all than I do! I am feeling very good about my choices! I am headed back to Salt Lake May 5 for house and mortgage meetings on May 6 and 7. My dad is going to meet me in Salt Lake and go to the meetings with me. I am so relieved that I will have someone there who has half a clue about what is going on. All my choices will be final on May 7th! And I will give them my construction deposit so hopefully they will get started on the construction shortly after that. I drove to Salem on Monday and it was just horrible traveling weather! Ok, so it could definitely have been worse, but I HATE traveling when it is sunny and hot...and there was record heat here in Oregon. It was only in the 80's, but it was enough to make traveling miserable. Thank heaven for air conditioners! My car was covered with bugs. I had to stop and wash my windshield in Pendelton because it was getting difficult to see! I did make it home though, and then I spilled water on my computer shortly after. Yes, my brand new laptop that I have only had for 3 months!!! It was like, seriously, one drop. But it was apparently enough to do some damage. It started acting funny shortly after the spillage, so I turned it off and decided to let it sit overnight. When I went to turn it on in the morning, it wouldn't even power up! I was so mad! Long story short, I took it to a computer repair place who kept it overnight and then told me it would cost $500 (!!!!!) to fix. Really?! Every cent for the next several months is going to house expenses. I surely cannot spend $500 to fix a brand new computer right now! So, I picked it up (and paid a $49 diagnosis fee) and prayed that I would be able to limp along with it until I can get it fixed. Well......I turned it on and voila!!! It works! YAH! All except the mouse on the computer. Which is no big deal really since I use an external mouse anyway. So, hopefully that is the only bad effect from the water. I am such an idiot!!! No more water or other liquids within 10 feet of my computer!! And, advice I was given after the fact, if you ever spill something on your computer, turn it off immediately and let it dry a day or two before trying to turn it back on again. I am headed back to work tomorrow for four in a row (ICK). But, I will be half done with all the shifts I have left here by next Thursday! Yah! I went to the Dr. while I was in Salt Lake and I am soooooo glad I did. I got things under control and am feeling so much better. Not getting headaches all the time and sleeping like a log! Hopefully that doesn't get all screwed up again when I go back to nights. Ugh. At least I only have a few more weeks of this crap schedule. Hopefully I will never have to work nights again!

I went to the design center on Saturday and picked out most of my carpet, cabinets, counters etc...I will finalize all of these choices at my meeting on May 6. Here are a few pictures.This will be the kitchen. Cabinets are knotty alder with cherry finish. The light wood is the flooring in the kitchen/entryway. Counter sample is on the left and carpet sample is on the right. I might change the carpet, although I really like this one. This is the bathroomn selection I like the best. Cabinets and carpet are the same. Linoleum has a bit of blue in it. I really like the counter but it is a bit dark...Bathroom again with a more neutral countertop. I don't like this one as much, but again, it's more neutral.

Close up of the bathroom counter I like best.

So...that's that for now. Things are going to be crazy the next few weeks while I am finishing up work and trying to get the rest of my stuff packed up all while going to Salt Lake again to finalize all my decisions and hopefully get construction started. But I can't wait to be back home again and move on with my life! Still no word from Westminster. Try not to be shocked!

AND!!!! I almost forgot (I'm not sure how! I'm totally excited!!) I got tickets to the U2 concert at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas on October 23!! Pretty good seats, I think. They ought to be for $118 a pop! I'm going with Marija and her boyfriend Daniel. I know it is going to be so much fun! Not to mention an amazing show!

Lot #0414

2009-04-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

You might be wondering why I have posted a photo of a patch of dirt. Or, perhaps you have put the title of this blog and the picture together. In any case, some pretty big news in my world today! And NO, I haven't heard from Westminster! I am building a house!! It is in Eagle Mountain in the Ranches subdivision. I can't even express how excited I am! I put the deposit on my lot yesterday and picked out the colors for the outside today. I even took pictures!

This is the color scheme for the outside. Not that you can tell really well from the picture, but the stucco is a dark brown and there will be rock accents. I picked the blue color for my front door and the beige for the garage door and accents. The other colors are accents and fascia, shutters etc. The shingles are obviously black. Pretty dang exciting! Tomorrow I am going to the "design center" to pick all my other stuff for the inside. I am definitely going to upgrade the carpet and pad and I am getting a gas stove. Other than that...who knows what they will be able to talk me into. So that's my exciting news! Obviously I have been having a great time here in Salt Lake! I have also found a job...which I kind of already had. I will be working for an agency here in Salt Lake going to different hospitals. I told the lady that I would probably be living in Eagle Mountain and she said they also do some hospitals in Utah county, so hopefully I will be able to stay close to home. All in all, things are falling nicely into place...if only Westminster would cooperate! But I suppose if they don't, things are going great anyway and I will just apply again next year.

Easter was really good for me! My best friend, Erin's, family had a BBQ. Of course I was in charge of all the grilling and the kids had an easter egg hunt! The Easter bunny even brought me a really cute shirt and some candy. Erin's family is pretty much my family so I was happy to be able to spend Easter with them. I also went over to my cousin's house for another BBQ on Easter night. All in all it was a fun and productive day!

I feel like I need to post a picture of some of the windmills I encountered on the way to Salt Lake from Salem. For some reason I am fascinated by them!! So I took about a million pictures from my car (can't believe I didn't wreck or something!)

I am headed back to Salem on Sunday. I am going to spend Sunday night and possibly Monday night at my dad's in Boise. Then back to Salem and work on Thursday! I am actually not dreading it! I am looking forward to working, picking up a few extra shifts and getting my things packed up and moving back here for good...and of course looking forward to finishing my house!! I will probably move in sometime at the end of August or beginning of September. In the meantime, I will probably bum a room off my cousin. So! I'm sure I will be throwing a big housewarming party at some point! Something for everyone to look forward to!

Spring has Sprung!

2009-04-05T23:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I am officially out of my funk. I think Marija paying me a visit helped a lot! We had so much fun! We went out to Tillamook and went to the cheese factory. It was so freakin sweet! I love cheese.

There was a viewing area where you could watch them packaging the cheese. It was so cool! I wanted to jump through the window and take a big bite of cheese.

This was a gigantic vat of curds. They press these into the big blocks and then they let them age.

How bad would this job suck?? But it was cool for us to watch!

Tillamook also makes ice cream which I have been hearing wonderful things about ever since I moved here. So of course we had to try the ice cream! Marija got the Oregon strawberry and I got blueberry cheesecake. BEST ice cream EVER! And I don't even like ice cream! We then drove up the coast. Too bad the weather sucked bad. It rained off and on all day and it was windy and cold. But there was some seriously awesome scenery! We stopped in a town called Cannon Beach and had dinner and then drove home. I think we drove like 400 miles that day. I was pretty happy to be home!

Oregon coast...as you can see the weather sucks, but it was beautiful!

Me and Marija getting blown to smithereens. I look like a moron in this photo, but we were having fun!

This was on the way home. If you could see a little more to the right, there was like a total junk yard house there. I mean seriously....if you live somewhere with scenery like this, perhaps you could limit yourself to one or two cars up on bricks in the yard. Anyway, the rest of the time Marija was here we lounged around and went shopping. It was fun to have some time off and actually have someone to hang with!

I worked last night and Friday and I have not been sleeping worth a CRAP lately. I mean, I never thought I would say those words. This whole night time gig is kicking my butt. Hopefully I only have a few weeks left of this. The weather yesterday and today was awesome!! Today it was 75 degrees! I actually managed to sleep until 4:00 and then I got up and decided that it would be a good day to wash my car. And was it ever!! I was just going to do a quick wash, but once I got started I thought it would be nice to wax it...and polish my wheels...and condition my seats....so I spent a good 4 hours on my car, but man does it look good! Of course I took pictures.

I am so proud! And it is supposed to be sunny here until Thursday. I think that's some kind of record! So hopefully I will get to enjoy the fruits of my labor for a couple of days at least.

I can't wait for my road trip on Thursday! I'm sure Thursday and Friday will be some very long days full of driving, but I'm looking forward to jammin down the road with some awesome music! Of course I have procrastinated with packing. But I guess it will get done eventually.

I have also booked my tickets to New York Memorial Day weekend. Hopefully it will work out this time! My dad is going to be there at the same time and I'm sure it will be a blast! I'm told that's the best time to visit the city anyway. So....that is the latest and greatest. No word from Westminster (try not to be shocked). I should probably finish packing and try to get some sleep. I can't wait to see everyone in SLC!

Still Waiting!

2009-03-28T00:40:00.000-07:00

So, unfortunately I don't have any wonderful news to post. I don't really have much of anything to blog about for that matter. Which is why I haven't lately. Seems like I have been working and trying to catch up on my sleep lately. I think I am just getting too old for nights. I can't believe I don't get sick more often!

I have a lot of fun things to look forward to, but I have really been in a funk lately. I don't know if it is all the rain....or I just miss my friends and family or what. Even as I sit here typing this I feel like I want to cry and I really have no idea why. Other than I am a girl, which I guess is excuse enough. But I am not usually like this. Hopefully I am just missing everyone, which will be resolved (for a while at least) by a lovely road trip to Salt Lake in a couple of weeks! I'm pretty excited! The bad part about it is that I am coming when I was supposed to be going to New York. Sooo bummed that I'm not going. My brother called and told me that it's not a good time for them. Kind of sad since I was going to be there on Easter and on my brother's birthday, but oh well. I am hoping to go in May. Maybe Memorial Day weekend. I'm trying not to get my hopes up because who knows if it will work out! Anyway, I already had the time off work and I feel like I am desperately in need of a break, so I decided it might be wise to go to Salt Lake and take a load of my crap and explore some job options, look for a place to live, get my hair done and just see everyone. I'm leaving on April 9 and I'm going to stop in Boise and spend the night and see my dad who I am also missing a lot right now. I would kind of like to spend more time there but I have a concealed carry permit class on Saturday morning at 9 in Salt Lake. Anyway, I'm excited to see everyone....let me know what your schedule is!

One of my good friends from nursing school, Marija, is coming to visit me on Monday! I'm so excited! Hopefully that will help bring me out of this crappy rut I am in! I finally got my disgusting apartment all cleaned today and ready to go! I have to work tomorrow and Sunday and then she will be here. I'm sure the time will fly by...amazing how that works. 4 days off always goes way faster than two days of work!

I went out in Portland with some friends on St. Patrick's Day. It was quite a last minute thing but we really ended up having a great time! And we ran into like the 2 other people we know in this town! Here are a few pics... This is me and Amy, one of the other travelers I work with. Me and Michelle, one of the other nurses we ran into.

And this is Joe, another one of the travelers I work with.

I went out with another friend from work on the Saturday after St. Patrick's Day. We went up to Portland and went to the Portland City Grill which is on the 30th floor of some building. Pretty cool view but kind of a hoity toity place. We roamed around the streets of Portland and went to a couple of other places. It was a lot of fun! Other than Cat's husband ran her black Yukon into a white pole. Ouch. She wasn't very happy about it, but they are getting it fixed so I guess it is all going to work out!

Kathy, Cat (who I work with) and me at one of the many stops on our trek!

And I had a little visitor out on my deck the other day. I took this picture because I knew my niece would love it, but I guess it's good blog material too...

I always thought squirrels or chipmunks or whatever were cute, but there have been a couple out on my deck and after seeing them up close, I think they are kind of gross. Beady eyes, claws, they kind of make me think of rats. And they just run around like idiots and it takes them forever to figure out how to get off the deck.

I am planning a trip to Mexico (probably) for my birthday. Anyone who talks to me knows that I really wanted to go to Hawaii, but I just can't bring myself to spend that much money on a trip. We all know the economy sucks and it feels nice to have some money in the bank and it would be foolish to spend it all on a vacation. So I think I'll be going to either Can Cun or Cozumel June 13-June 17. Anybody want to go??

So, that's my life in a nutshell lately. Get it? Chipmunk? Nutshell? haha. I'm hilarious. Anyway. Obviously I have yet to hear from Westminster. Which is probably a big part of the reason I am feeling so weird lately. I absolutely positively hate not being able to plan things out and this is kind of big. Like, my whole life. It's irritating to me that I really can't 100% plan what I'm going to do after this assignment is up (May 14! I can't wait!!) I think I will probably be going back to Salt Lake regardless of whether I get into school or not, but there is a small chance that I will do some more traveling if I don't, so I guess it would be nice to know. I know I am blessed, and like I said I do have a lot of fun things to look forward to soon but we all have to whine every now and again, right? So thanks for listening!

...but then again

2009-03-14T00:37:00.001-07:00

Since I actually have a signed contract in my possession, I thought it might be safe to update. Apparently I am going to be staying in Salem until May 14. Yes, I decided to extend my contract. And apparently the "higher ups" have decided to extend me, too. As much as I am sick of nights I think it will be worth it to have a guaranteed job with guaranteed hours for another month. The job I will most likely take when I get back to Salt Lake is an agency job with no required nights, weekends, or holidays. Yeah! Obviously I am not guaranteed hours, but the lady there told me as long as I am willing to be flexible I should have no problem working 3-4 days a week. I also explained the situation to her (the possible extension) and she said she would not blame me at all for extending and that they would be happy to work with me regardless of what I did. So, hopefully it will all be for the best.
I finally planned my trip to New York! I'm so excited! I'm leaving on the 11th of April and coming back on the 20th. I guess that's the beauty of extending my contract...I get to tell them when I want to work. So really I will only end up working for an extra three weeks here. And I will have more time to pack and prepare to move although knowing me I will still do it all at the last minute anyway.

Anyway! Of course I have heard nothing but crickets chirping as far as Westminster is concerned. Still keeping my fingers crossed. Technically it has only been two weeks because of their spring break so I'm sure I just need to be patient.

I guess that's the latest and greatest for now. I will be here until May 14 (the hospital is thrilled, of course. I'm awesome, can you blame them?!) I hope to head back home after that and possibly explore home ownership. Which means I may have to do a little couch surfing while checking out my options. So anyone with an extra couch to spare..... :)
Everyone take care, hopefully I will be updating with great news soon!

...Or NOT

2009-03-10T17:04:00.000-07:00

Seriously! I am so sick of getting the run around. I have been trying to get a hold of my agency since Friday to make sure the the extension is a done deal. I got a message today that they still want to extend me, but the "higher ups" (a bunch of management idiots who have no freakin clue what it is like to work on the floor of the hospitals they are running) are putting a hold on it for now. Well lah de freakin dah! No worries about the people who were thinking they had a job for a while longer and are now going to have to move in less than a month!!! This is the reason I HATE traveling. I'm sure it's not like this in times of economic stability, but come on!! So....I immediately got on the phone and have looked at a few permanent jobs in Salt Lake (talk about counting my chickens before they're hatched....I still haven't heard word from Westminster). There are a couple of prospects that could be promising, so we will see what happens. I am so sick of not knowing what's going on in my life, I can't even plan my trip to New York next month because I don't know what's going on! Maybe it's for the best. Just wanted to vent a little frustration here. Thanks for reading....I'll be sure to update.

Randomness

2009-03-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

So, I don't really have anything exciting to blog about or even any pictures to post, but here I am anyway! I am currently STILL waiting to hear back from Westminster. Surely they know how suspenseful it is for those of us who have applied and don't know their decision yet! I am trying (unsuccessfully) to be patient. Hopefully no news is good news, right?

I found out last week that the hospital here wants me to extend. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to...I'm so anxious to go home! But in any case, I have agreed to extend until May 14. I figured I should be very happy to have a job (and a good paying one at that!) and I am so not ready to move in a month! It would be a month from today, in fact. No thanks! So, as much as I don't particularly like Salem, I do like the floor I work on for the most part and the people are pretty darn awesome! I was planning on taking the week after my original contract ended in April and going to New York, so hopefully it will still work out that I can go. I have never been and I'm totally excited to go! I will have my own personal tour guide and I get to see my niece!!

In other news, I LOVE the new U2 CD, No Line on the Horizon (as if there was ever any doubt). They announced their 2009 tour dates today and I'm sad to say that Salt Lake is not on the list. However, I've read that they will also be doing another American leg of their tour in Summer 2010. Too far away as far as I'm concerned, but it's better than nothing! I feel like they might add some more cities to the list as what is listed now is pretty slim pickings! So hopefully Utah will be among those added. If not, I am going to attempt to get tickets to the show in Las Vegas on October 23. Well, even if they do, I will still try to go to the Vegas show. It sounds like it is going to be a phenomenal show! And U2 is always worth seeing more than once if you ask me! And who the heck knows where I will be this fall anyway! If all goes as planned, I will be back home. But, story of my life, I don't even know where I will be two months from now.
I hope everyone has a fabulous week!!

No Line on the Horizon

2009-03-02T15:35:00.001-08:00

I am beyond excited for U2's new album tomorrow!!!

Fast Cars

2009-02-26T16:02:00.001-08:00

I feel like I have been neglecting this lately! Well, that's probably because I have. Weird how that works out. Anyway, things have been kinda crazy around here lately. I got my grad school application submitted to Westminster on February 6 and they called me the next Friday (the 13th) to set up an interview....for the next Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday! Perhaps I neglected to mention that I am 13 hours away from them?? Anyway, I knew I was going to do whatever I had to do to get to that interview, so I did. I was actually already planning on coming to Salt Lake that weekend anyway, but I had to rearrange my schedule at work a bit and get an earlier flight. Fortunately everyone at work was beyond awesome and I easily got my Thursday night shift covered and picked up another shift earlier in the week. I also managed to find a sweet $260 suit for $60, and a pair of shoes (like I need any more, right) and get my portfolio together on my one day off. So.....my interview was Friday morning (the 20th) at 9:00 am. I have seriously never ever been so nervous for anything in my life! I was like 20 minutes early and I just sat there sweating bullets. It would have been interesting to know what my blood pressure was! And I was practically hyperventilating. I can't believe how freaked out I was! I think the interview itself went pretty well. I had a quick (and awesome!!) answer to all of their questions and I even pulled a few questions for them out of thin air. I was really so nervous I just wanted to get out of there! They are having spring break this week and they told me that I would probably know if I am accepted sometime next week. It is obviously out of my hands now, but I keep going back and forth between "of course I'll get in!!" to "I'm going to die if I don't get in, all my plans will be ruined, etc. etc...." I suppose all I can do now is wait...and wait... The rest of the weekend was pretty good. For everyone who I didn't get to see, let me apologize. It seems like there are so many people I want to see and never enough time!! I promise when I am back you will all get your turn with me! haha. Anyway, Saturday was awesome!! I hung out with some old school friends.

That's a picture of all of us...Amber, me, Erin, Caroline and Chamberlee. They are just as much of a riot as they were in middle school! We had tons of fun!

And this is what Mike (Amber's husband) does while the rest of us are dancing and singing and just being crazy in general. Seriously.

And here are Amber and Caroline showing off some moves!

And I just had to include this photo...Erin has found a new place to store her water bottles! Awesome!!

Anyway, we had a blast on Saturday night, went to breakfast with Heidi and dinner with my cousins on Sunday, went shopping/running errands on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Never a dull moment it seems like. Now I am back in good old Salem and I get to work the next four nights. Yuk. I hate working nights and I really really hope this is the last assignment that I have to do it. I guess we shall see... It also snowed here this morning! I thought I was done with that! Fortunately it was only about a half an inch and it appears to mostly be melted at this point but still. I do not want to have to drive in the snow again without snow tires! Speaking of which, the one bright spot to returning "home" and going back to work is that I get to drive my car again!! I know, it sounds totally lame! But I was so excited when I got on the freeway and just...took off. I do love the power! Again, I know it sounds lame and it's just not something that I can explain but it's definitely a small comfort when I have just left all my "stuff" and my best friends behind. What can I say??

Now that I have rambled on and on yet again, I suppose I should go get ready for what is sure to be an AWESOME four nights at work!! not. Please keep your fingers crossed for me, and hopefully I will know my fate sometime next week!!

My Name's Hidden Meaning...

2009-02-02T00:51:00.000-08:00

Here I am at work, bored out of my mind, and I happened across this quiz somewhere in my blog stalking and I thought it was pretty funny! I can't figure out how to get it to post quite right, but I guess you can get the idea. And this is quite accurate...I mean, I am suave, sexy, smart, and strong, am I not? I don't know that seductive and ruthless are the nicest descriptors, though. Whatever, I think it's kinda funny. Or maybe it's just because it's 1:00 in the morning?

You Are Seductive and Ruthless

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.
You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.
You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.

You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out.
Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia.
Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person.

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic "Type A" personality.

You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way.
And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life.
You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Heavy sigh....

2009-01-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

I am sad to report that I am indeed back from Mexico. What a fabulous trip!! The girls I was with are amazing, and contrary to what I thought before going, it was so fun to have such a large group of singles on the boat. We were meeting new people every time we turned around! The weather was as perfect as it gets! We had sea days on Monday and Tuesday so we pretty much just laid out by the pool until it was time to get ready for dinner. I even got a little bit of a tan! Too bad I probably won't see the sun again for 4 months so I'm sure I will lose it all. I have to say that I was quite disappointed in the food. However, we had the AWESOMEST people at our table for dinner and it more than made up for the food! And of course there was the 24 hour soft serve ice cream...you can't really go wrong with that! On Wednesday we were in Puerto Vallarta. Perhaps I mentioned that we decided to go zip lining....and I am terrified of heights. So, we were on our way and I was a little bit nervous, but I thought I would be okay. Once we got there and started going up the windy (windey, whatever, I don't know how that's spelled) rickety metal staircase to the first line, it pretty much took everything I had to not start crying. I was so scared! My friends were awesome, encouraging me. I pretty much felt like a little kid. Once I got up and got the first few lines under my belt, I really wasn't too scared any more. I even ended up going backwards with the camera guy filming me. What a rush! It was so much fun!! I totally recommend it to anyone, and I'm sure I'll be doing it again! I was going to post some pictures, but I just realized that I don't have any because my camera broke yet AGAIN!!! I was so very mad! Luckily Sara had her camera and we hauled that around everywhere and took tons of pictures. She will be sending me a CD of all the photos but I don't have it yet. I think I got like 75 pictures on my camera before the stupid thing broke on Tuesday. How annoying! Anyway, we were in Mazatlan on Thursday. First we went to a really nasty market. They had the usual souvenirs and crap in it, but there were also several different meat markets and such as well. It stunk so bad, I thought I might puke! There were pig's heads and whole fish and all sorts of nasty stuff. Not to mention there were flies and bees on everything! We pretty much hightailed it out of there quickly. As usual, we ran into some people from the cruise who informed us that everyone was going over the the resort El Cid. So we hopped in a taxi and hung out at the beach over there. Sara and Normandy even talked me into parasailing! It was an absolute blast! I thought I might be a little afraid of the initial takeoff, but I had no problems at all. It was absolutely breathtaking! I definitely want to do that again, too. We went over to Senor Frog's for some lunch and had a ton of fun there, as well. I think we took about ten million pictures and Patty got fondled by the waiters! And it was all captured on film! We took an open air taxi back to the boat and yelled and waved at people the whole way there. Friday we were in Cabo. Erica and Patty went whale watching and over to lover's beach and Sara and Normandy and I went shopping and found a nice little Mexican joint and had some lunch. I think it was a great day for everyone and a nice end to the trip. Saturday we were at sea again and the weather had been perfect up to that point, but it was a little chilly. We had planned on hanging out by the pool again but it was only in the 70's and windy, so we kind of just hung out around the boat and got things ready to go. Sara decided to get a massage and talked me into getting one, too (she really had to twist my arm). What a fab way to finish off the cruise! It was kind of sad to have to say goodbye to all the friends that we'd met during the week. It's amazing how close you can get with people in just one week. Hopefully we can all get together when I am back in good old Salt Lake!

Me and Sara at the lifeboat drill. Who knew orange life preservers could look so HOT!

Patty, Normandy, Sara, me and Patty's birthday cake on Sunday. What a great start to a fabulous week!

Patty, me and Sara on our first formal night.

Me + towel dog.

And...that was pretty much the end of my lame camera. Looks like I will be sending it in for repairs again. Perhaps when I get Sara's pictures I will post a few more.

In less important news, I did finally get the GRE out of my hair. What a lame test! Seriously! I don't know that I did that well on it but I'm not even sure that it's that big of a deal. I am almost done jumping through all the hoops for my application for grad school. I got fingerprinted for the ten millionth time in three months today for yet another background check. I took my drug test, got my recommendation letters, paid their fees...etc etc etc. Now I just need to finish up my statement of professional goals (another lame waste of time!) and get my resume put together and I will be good to go! Everyone please please please keep your fingers crossed, pray, call your friends with connections at Westminster, whatever! I want this so badly and I'll be pretty upset if I don't get in. Not to mention I'm missing all my Salt Lake peeps and I'm looking forward to heading back for another long, hard winter. Okay, so I'm not looking forward to the winter part, but I do miss everyone there.

I also made it to my grandparent's 60th anniversary party on the 17th. It was a really quick trip but it was nice to see everyone, if only for five seconds.

AND....I finally finally got my Oregon license!! Of course I got it on Wednesday, the day I left Oregon for Las Vegas. Whatever. I feel so blessed that those morons in Oregon decided to grant me the oppportunity to practically give up my first born child so that I can practice nursing in their state. What a joke that whole process was! And speaking of jokes, I learned the hard way that there is a $500 fine for pumping your own gas in this state! Seriously? No, I didn't get a fine, but the gas station attendant made sure to point out that I was basically the biggest moron he'd ever come across in his life. So, if you ever happen to be coming up to visit me (hint, hint) whatever you do, DO NOT pump your own gas! You are far too stupid to be able to figure it out on your own and the gas police will hunt you down! There's my rant for the moment. As for the job, I started on Monday and worked last night as well. I was supposed to orient on both days but they "cut my orientation short" (translation: no orientation at all) so it was kind of interesting trying to do my job when I don't even know where the thermometers are or how to work their med machine (it's an omni cell here. why can't they just be the same everywhere?) But everyone that I have worked with so far has been awesome! Apparently there are a bunch of new travelers who will be working the night shift. When I asked who would be charging if all of us were new, I was told it would be me!!! Or another newbie (or rent-a-nurse as a fellow colleague called me this morning). So let's hope we don't get sued for malpractice.

Whew! That is probably the longest most rambling post EVER! It might explain a bit to say that I worked last night and haven't slept today yet, so I'm terribly sorry if I don't make any sense. Anyway...it has been an eventful and fabulous couple of weeks! It kind of makes it hard to come back to reality. Actually, it doesn't kind of make it hard, it REALLY makes it hard. But I suppose we have to work hard to play hard, right? Next step.........admission to grad school!! Wish me luck!!

Viva Mexico!!

2009-01-11T21:01:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a long and crazy week!! I woke up last Monday morning knowing that I had to move that day but not knowing exactly where I was going to be moving to! Luckily, I got a call from my agency around 9:00 before things got into full swing. Turns out that I was able to come to Salem and do all my classroom orientation (three days! ugh!!). I still don't have a license, but we're hoping it will be active by the end of this week...just in time for me to leave for Mexico! Whatever, I had pretty much decided that I was going to be totally out of work for three weeks anyway, so I was glad to get some hours in and I also got the boring orientation out of my hair. I was fortunate enough (please note the sarcasm here) to live in a Super 8 motel until my housing was ready on Wednesday. What an experience! I have to say, I am so very thankful that my dad was here. Not only did he help me keep things in perspective and prevent an inevitable meltdown, but when my computer died in the middle of all this (great timing!!) I was able to use his to keep in touch with the real world and keep in contact with my agency. Once I got settled into the plush and fabulous Super 8, he helped me pick out and purchase a brand new laptop. Not to mention all the grilling and cleaning and everything he did while I was at work and to help me get ready to move. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done without him! I know he will probably never read this, but I don't think I can ever repay him and I am beyond grateful to him! Not to mention the rest of my fabulous family and friends!! Everyone was very supportive and I had many offers of places to stay if I ended up homeless. So thanks to everyone! :)

So...here I am in Salem! I have almost got all of my crap put away. I even signed up for my GRE finally! I am taking it on Thursday in Las Vegas. I haven't studied AT ALL for it, so everyone please wish me luck. I am planning on doing some studying once I get my place all clean. I can't stand a mess! I'm leaving for Portland on Tuesday to hang out with my cousin and then going to Vegas on Wednesday. GRE Thursday, then heading to my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary in Southern Utah Friday night, then back to Vegas Saturday night so I can catch a flight to LA for the cruise first thing Sunday morning! It's sure to be a busy week! I downloaded pictures from my dad's camera from our trip to Canada...onto my other computer! Fortunately it is just the screen that went out so I will probably be able to retrieve all the stuff off my hard drive and get it transferred onto the new computer....someday! Needless to say, I don't have many good pictures, but I do have a few from my camera.

This is the cute Christmas tree that my dad got and put up in my apartment! I loved it!

This is the Empress Hotel...quite a landmark in Victoria, apparently.

We went to the Seattle Aquarium and the Seattle Underground (look it up on google, it's a really cool story!) tour on the Saturday before I left Tacoma. I took this picture of Seattle from the aquarium. Pretty cool, huh?

Can I just say that I just uploaded those pictures and it was about 10,000 times faster than on my other computer! Awesome! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a fantastic January! When it seems like things can't get any worse.....they do! But for me, everything has fallen very nicely into place and I couldn't be happier! It has been a stressful couple of weeks and I am definitely ready for a vacation! Can't wait for Mexico! I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures to share!

We're not in Kansas anymore...

2008-12-31T22:51:00.000-08:00

So.....once again I am slacking on updating! Things have just been busy, busy, busy in these parts since Christmas. My dad drove up on the Tuesday before Christmas after braving all the snow and closed roads on the way. Fortunately he is used to driving in lots and lots of snow so he made it here in one piece, just extra extra slow! Of course I worked on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so we celebrated Christmas on Friday. My dad has been driving me to and picking me up from work because Kim's car got broken into on Christmas Eve morning and pretty much everything she owned was stolen. So, needless to say, I am a little paranoid and have been requiring my own personal chauffeur. Fortunately my dad was here to fill that role! Anyway....my dad picked me up from work on Christmas morning and when we got back to my apartment, my dad had put up a little tree and some Christmas lights. It was so awesome! I was kind of sad because I didn't have a tree or decorations or anything. So I was pretty happy. We went to breakfast on Friday and opened gifts. My mom got me a Wii. YAH! I also got some DVD's, games for the wii, new MAC, and cash which is always good. My dad and I decided to head up to Victoria, BC on Saturday. We took the ferry over and stayed at a hotel in town. We went to the Butchart Gardens on Saturday night. It was all decorated up for Christmas and it looked AWESOME! My dad has a great camera and took lots of pictures. But, seeing as I'm at work, I won't be uploading any to this post. But I will definitely post some pictures later. We came back on Sunday, and I am rounding out 2008 by working! yah! Unfortunately, I just got some bad news this morning. My agency called and told me that the Oregon State Board of Nursing has been closed for two weeks because of this storm we had. So....I don't have a license in Oregon and I can't work there. I was planning on leaving on Friday for Salem, but I guess that's on hold for now. My agency is looking at some short term options in other states where I have a license or states that will honor a license I already have. Apparently there are some available in Texas, Colorado and Kansas. Like I want to go to any of those places!! But whatever, I've got bills to pay and I guess I'm going to have to go where the work is. I just hope this doesn't screw up my cruise or anything else I've got planned. So, I am unemployed as of 0700 on January 1st. Who knows what is going to happen. Everyone please keep your fingers crossed!! I will keep you updated. And....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Oregon Trail

2008-12-21T18:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I know you have all been waiting with bated breath to find out where my next assignment will be! Drumroll please.........I will be going to the fantastic and luxurious Salem, Oregon! Okay, so I have no idea if Salem is either fantastic or luxurious because I have never been there! But it is a job and it's on the west coast! And only about 2.5 hours from here so hopefully it won't be the move from hell like moving up here was! My last day here is on December 31st (what a way to ring in the new year! yah!) and I start there on January 6th. I will be in a "recovery unit" which apparently means they do procedure prep (like say, lung biopsies, laparascopic procedures, cardiac cath etc.) and the recovery for a few hours to overnight after the procedure. They do some inpatient overflow from the telemetry unit as well. For now, they are not open on Sundays but I guess they are going to start taking more inpatients so they will probably start opening 7 days a week. Anywho...it pays three dollars an hour more than here, so that's nice! And the manager didn't have a heart attack about me needing time off for my cruise and to go to New York in February (I hope!) so I think it will be a good thing. The manager also seemed pretty laid back unlike the butthole manager here, so we shall see! All in all, this has been a great experience and I have met some awesome people here! But I am definitely ready to move on...

So, I did make it to Salt Lake last week. I didn't realize how much I missed it there! I almost shed a tear or two when I stopped by my storage unit. I really miss a lot of my "comforts of home" as Kim calls them. Especially my amazing bed and my washer and dryer. I went to lunch with a lot of my IHC peeps on Thursday. So much fun! I miss everyone so much!! here's a picture of most of us.

Patty, Sara, Me, Tessa, Elsha, Heidi, Sadie, Normandy, Erica and Hunter

Patty, Sara, Elsha, me and Tessa.

I took a trip to the MAC counter in the blizzard on Saturday with Erin and we stopped at PF Chang's for some lemon pepper shrimp while we were there. Yum! I made the mistake of eating some leftover Mountain of Meat pizza from the Pie on Saturday afternoon. Let's just say it did NOT agree with me! I ended up meeting up with some friends that night and of course it was fun, I just wish I wouldn't have felt so crappy. I guess we will just have to do it again next time I am there and I will try to avoid any food with "mountain" in the name. I was happy that it snowed while I was there, but I was even happier that I got to come back home and not have to drive in the snow. Oh, how wrong I was! I came back to....snow! Apparently Seattle/Tacoma does get snow occasionally, but they are calling this one the Blizzard of '08. Don't get me wrong, if we were in Utah or somewhere equally as prepared for the inclement weather, this would really be nothing. But these people don't have plows and they don't spread salt on the road. Not to mention they DO NOT know how to drive in the snow. I thought they were bad drivers when the roads were dry! HA! I was thisclose to getting stuck in my parking lot on Thursday thanks to a bonehead move by a lady driving in front of me. Fortunately I was able to get myself out of the situation after screaming a few choice words! People just don't think sometimes! In any case, it snowed off and on all day today and I was happy to stay in and finish cleaning my apartment!

I had another adventure on Friday. I took a fun day trip up to Forks with Kim and another traveler I work with, Trish. What a trip! I have to admit, Forks really wasn't anything all that exciting but I am very happy to be able to say that I have been there!

This is on the way to Forks...it was pretty awesome scenery most of the way there!

Yes, you are reading that sign right, there was a road called kitchen-dick. And if you'll notice, the sign down in the corner is for weaner pigs. I couldn't make this up if I wanted to! We saw several interestingly named roads, but this one was definitely the best! We laughed about it for the entire trip!

Crescent Lake on the way to Forks. So quaint!

Finally made it to Forks! I wanted to pose with the famous sign, but it was kind of up on a hill and as you can see it was snowy and pretty darn cold, so I didn't want to climb up the hill.

This was a hotel with a clever sign!

We also found Forks High School.

Me and Kim, apparently Forks is the logging capital of the world? I mean, that's great and everything but really the most important thing is Twilight! Right?

We stopped at the ocean on the way home and did a little self photography. It was freezing, but totally breathtaking! I just love the ocean. The sound and watching it....I could sit there for days if only it was a little warmer. It was a fun trip with some fun friends and I'm glad we got to do it!

Saturday night I went out on the town for one last time with Kim and Emile. The town was pretty dead since the "blizzard of '08" was in full force. But we found a karaoke joint yet again and again, Kim talked me into singing a few songs with her. It was fun, as always! I'm definitely going to have to go to Boston and sing some more karaoke and have Kim show me around!

I can't remember what Kim and Emile were singing but they were really feelin' it!

This picture doesn't really do justice, but this is the gigantic hill on the way to our house. We have pretty much been avoiding it since it snowed, but I thought it would be fun if we drove down it. Kim agreed and down we went! It was fun, sliding all around on the non plowed roads. It was late enough there were not very many people out, so Kim could drive as crazily as she wanted. This is what all the roads in town looked like as well. Good times!

My dad is coming up tomorrow to hang with me for Christmas! I'm so excited! And we are going to head up to Canada on Friday or Saturday. Yay! I just wish I wasn't working on Christmas Eve and Christmas day....but I will live and I will be making time and a half. I hope everyone has the merriest Christmas ever! Thanks to everyone for being such great friends! I am truly blessed to know all of you!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

SHOES!

2008-12-09T22:33:00.001-08:00

So, I got cancelled from work tonight. Random. I didn't think that they could cancel travelers. Whatever! It worked out nicely since I am leaving for Salt Lake tomorrow and I haven't even started to pack yet. Plus, it's always nice to get some sleep before I travel. Anyway, I was perusing my blog today and I realized that there is something vital missing!! There is not even the slightest reference to shoes anywhere on my blog! I'm pretty disappointed in myself! Anyone who even sort of knows me knows how much I love shoes! I was pretty devastated to have to leave most of my shoes behind in a storage unit in Salt Lake. Maybe that's why I'm so excited to go back...I get to visit all my shoes!! I'm probably going to buy a new outfit for a Christmas party I'm going to and I know I won't have to worry about shoes to go with it. That's if I can get to where they are in the storage unit. Anyway...I also purchased a new pair of shoes the other day! It has been far too long since I have fed my addiction. And the best part is...they were free! In fact, I got 8 cents back. That's right, just call me bargain shopper! I knew you would all want to see them, so I had a little photo shoot...
I mean, really, how cute are these shoes! I'm going to be honest. I have like three other pairs that are very similar to this one, but I just couldn't resist. And like I said, they were free! (I had $10 Kohl's cash and a $25 gift card!). So, now that I look crazy since I posted an entire blog related to shoes, perhaps I will go pack my bags. I only hope I can find an outfit that will do these shoes justice!

The End of an Era...

2008-12-07T02:18:00.001-08:00

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!

Making up for lost time!

2008-11-22T21:28:00.000-08:00

Wow!! Two posts in one day! I stole this from Amera! Ah, memories...

1. Did you date someone from your school?
The question here should really probably be did you date anyone? period. And the answer is really no. Yes, I know, sad story.
2. What kind of car did you drive?
I had a freakin sweet Honda Prelude for part of my junior year and then I had a not so freakin sweet Mazda truck. But it was decent, I really can't complain.
3. Did you pass your driver's license test your first try?
Sha! Of course I did! Coach Cowan loved me!
4. Were you a party animal?
Hahahahaha! No. My mom never set a curfew for me...because she didn't have to. I was pretty lame.
5. Were you considered a flirt?
No, I don't think so. I was waaaay too shy for that. I also was everyone's friend (I think?)
6. Were you in band, orchestra or choir?
Not in high school. But I played the Clarinet in middle school!
7. Were you a nerd?
Considering that I lettered in academics, I'm going to have to say YES.
8. Were you on any varsity teams?
No, but I thouroughly enjoyed watching them!
9. Did you ever get suspended/expelled?
No, I was a nerd, remember?
10. Can you still sing the fight song?
I don't think I ever knew the fight song.
11. Who were your favorite teachers?
Hmmm....Mr. Nordfelt my drafting teacher, and you can't help but love Coach Gross! hahaha
12. Where did you sit for lunch?
I can't remember? Wherever probably, if I was there for lunch.
13. What is your school's full name?
Copper Hills High School
14. What is your school's mascot and colors?
GO GRIZZLIES!! green, blue, and silver
15. Did you go to Homecoming and with who?
Maybe you need to refer back to #1. NO! Thanks for the reminder.
16. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
No, probably not. But like Amera, I LOVED high school! I had some of the greatest friends and were were all so united! It was awesome!
17. What do you remember most about graduation?
Um, I was crying and then we all went and looked that the Grizzly statue that was the gift from our senior class. And I know there were pictures taken, but I never saw any???
18. Where did you go Senior Skip Day?
I had senior skip day pretty much every week and Erin and I would go to my house and sleep.
19. Were you in any clubs?
NHS and VICA I think
20. Have you gained some weight since then?
yes! And I thought I was so fat in high school!
21. Who was your prom date?
Really? See #1 AGAIN. Not everyone went to this stuff people!
22. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion?
I already did. That's right, I've been out of school for over 10 years! I can hardly believe it!
23. Did you have a job in high school?
I worked at Bruegger's Bagels, then Bugle Boy, then Great Expectations.
24. Were you an Honor Student?
Of course! My gpa was like .00001 away from graduating with tassles. However, I did get to wear my NHS collar.
25. Did you take seminary? If so who was your favorite teacher?
You bet! I loved Brother Barringer and Brother Reading. However, I slept a lot in Brother Reading's class. I feel horrible about that, but I couldn't help it. I was a sleep deprived teenager!
26. What would you consider your most fun times in High school?
Probably going to all the basketball and football games! Such fun times!!
27. Were you considered shy or outgoing?
Shy in groups of people or around people I didn't know. But quite outgoing around my friends.
28. Any last memories you'd like to share?
I also loved that school was safe back then. And junior year was the very first year of CHHS...poor Jed Nielson was stuck having a locker in between me and Erin! But it was an experience that I'm so glad to be a part of! Everyone who was at Copper Hills wanted to be there. We had an awesome student body! And I had the greates friends EVER! I'm feeling so nostalgic right now!

Now, I want everyone else to complete this! :)

Portland! (And other things)

2008-11-22T21:01:00.000-08:00

I am still relatively new to the world of blogging, and already I am slacking in my posting! What can I say, I am a busy girl....not. I really haven't done too much lately, just work and....work it seems like. I did go to Portland a couple of weeks ago. It was fun to see some old friends! Here are a few pictures.

Caroline apparently has a green fetish. She claims that she didn't plan to pack everything green yet somehow she did.

We like to call this one "Where's Caroline?" Between the green wall, Caroline's green ensemble and the greenery at the bottom...well, you get the idea.

We went on a hike in this really cool foresty area and did a little self photography while we were at it!

There was on old building along the trail. Here, I am trying to demonstrate my lack of proper attire as it was kind of rainy and very muddy and slippery. Yes, I am wearing short pants and thongs (or slippers or sandals or whatever the crap you are supposed to call them these days). But, I must say that I hiked Diamondhead in Honolulu in these same shoes! For those of you who are unfamiliar with Diamondhead, it is supposedly a 0.8 mile hike. WRONG! Well, maybe it is 0.8 mile, but it was pretty much straight uphill. Let me post a picture of the fabulous view...

You get the idea, I'm sure. Needless to say, never underestimate the power of my spice girls shoes! They are apparently equivalent to some decent hiking boots. Ah, in posting that picture I am longing for Hawaii more than ever!! I am planning on returning for my 30th birthday (it's next year!!! Yikes!) Anyway, the rest of my visit to Portland was great. Me, Caroline and Anne went to a class on herbal remedies and then ate at this awesome old school that had been redone by some company that apparently buys old schools and churches and things and restores them. My rambling is probably making no sense, but this school (Kennedy School) was awesome! I was just fascinated by all the history. There was a great restaurant, meeting rooms, a soaking pool and even hotel rooms. I was quite impressed. That's really all that I've done lately besides spending too much money at the MAC counter and watching a lot of old ER! I am planning to go to a fabulous Mexican restaurant tomorrow and then.....going to see Twilight! I am quite excited! I can't believe I am kind of acting like all those screaming annoying little girls. But what can I say? They were good books!

I'm sure I won't post again before Thanksgiving, so I hope everyone has a good one. I am headed to Las Vegas to be with my mom, brother, step dad, sister in law (practically) and most importantly my niece!! I can't wait!! It kinda sucks being this far away from family. My assignment is more than half over already and I can't believe it! I don't know where I'm off to next. Somewhere without snow!

Everyone have a happy Turkey Day!

Mt. "Rainy"-er

2008-11-07T19:21:00.001-08:00

I broke down and bought another camera. I just couldn't be without a camera for any longer! It would be one thing if I were just hanging in Salt Lake or whatever, but I'm traveling the world here! Come on! So, it's nothing fancy, just something to get me by until I get my camera back. And who knows when that will be!

So....Kim and I attempted to see some tourist attractions yesterday. I don't think we could have picked a worse day! Don't get me wrong, it rains here quite a bit, but it's usually what we like to call a "Washington Drizzle" and it's just that, a drizzle. Well, not yesterday. It rained in sheets pretty much all day and all night. So, in our attempt to see Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier (hence my clever play on words in the title!!) we pretty much saw....clouds and trees. I did get a few pictures, but the day was kind of a disappointment. We tried to go up the east side of Mt. St. Helens and I'm kind of surprised we didn't ge stuck in the snow. It was a little scary for a minute! Once we got through that, the biggest emergency was the lack of bathrooms! Luckily tragedy was averted on that one, but it was a long way back to Tacoma (after a detour in Olympia looking for a restaurant...apparently they don't have any there??) and some food! We devoured what felt like a seven course meal at Outback. I don't think I've ever eaten a better steak! We made it home in one piece and I wrapped the night up by watching the new episode of ER. So, the whole day wasn't bad, I was just really bummed that we didn't get to see really anything that we had set out to see. I've looked Mt. St. Helens up on the internet and it looks like going up the west side is the way to go since there is a visitor's center and observatory over there. So, we will have to try to go back on a day that has a little bit better weather! Here are a few pictures....

I'm pretty sure that's not Mt. Rainier but it's really the only mountain that we were able to see that wasn't covered with clouds!

This is a waterfall we encountered somewhere along the way...

And the snow that better stay in the mountains! I do not want to drive in this crap again anytime soon!

Proof that we were actually near Mt. St. Helens. It was too cloudy and foggy for pictures of anything else.

I am headed to Portland tomorrow to see some old friends from middle school. Yes, that was like 20 years ago, save the rude comments! So I'm sure I'll have some crazy pictures from that. Stay tuned...

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-30T23:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this post really has nothing to do with Halloween. And my camera is officially broken! I had to send it into Sony for service so I am without a camera for who knows how long! I did take my memory cards into Wal Mart and got my pictures put on a CD so here are a few! But who knows when I will be able to take more pictures :( . These are some pictures from the very first Starbucks in Seattle!

And I'm sure no visit to Seattle is complete without a picture of the Space Needle!

This last weekend was my good friend Ralph's 21st birthday in Las Vegas. They had a "little" house party. Wow. Those people know how to throw a party!! There was a DJ, tons and tons of food, and of course what seemed like thousands of people! So here are a few pictures from that...

The party was tons of fun!! But a few of us stayed up all night. I am getting too old for that! It took me two days to recover. But like I said, it was lots of fun!

So...I would just like to rant for a moment about the drivers here in Washington. Nobody here is in a hurry. EVER. And I think the highest speed limit I've seen is 35. The speed limit on most roads is 30! Come on! Who drives 30?! Old people maybe. And everyone in Washington. I was coming home from Costco today and I had to go 20 almost the whole way home! Maybe it's all the time I spent driving with all the crazy freaks in Las Vegas, but these people drive unreasonably slow. That is one thing I will not miss on my next assignment!

On a happier note, I found a Jimmy John's here! For those of you unlucky enough to have never experienced Jimmy John's, it is a fabulous sandwich place! People in Salt Lake, there is a Jimmy John's on the northeast corner of 72nd South and 9th East. And for those of you in Las Vegas, there is one on Charleston and Rancho. I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones that I frequented. I love the Tom Turkey and a pickle. Mmmmmm! You all need to try it.

I hope everyone has a great Halloween! I will be working, of course. So everyone keep your fingers crossed that all the freaks stay in instead of coming out and ending up at the hospital!

Oh Snap!

2008-10-21T23:43:00.000-07:00

So...I did get some pretty sweet pictures in Seattle this last weekend but I went to turn my camera on to download them....and it won't turn on! Tragic, isn't it? Needless to say, my camera is only 10 months old so it better be covered by warranty!! I'm kinda ticked because I'm going to Las Vegas this weekend for Ralph's bday and I'm sure I'll want to take some pictures. AND I had a blazing fire going (with real wood and everything) in my fireplace tonight. I wanted to take a picture of it but nooooooo. Stupid camera isn't working!

I had a great time in Seattle! We visited the original Starbucks in Pike Place Market and the Space Needle but we got there kind of late and apparently Seattle rolls up the carpets relatively early. So, we found a seafood restaurant right on the water and ordered up some crab. I was so excited! Crab, right on the ocean! I figured there really couldn't be anything better. Wrong! WORST crab ever!!! And I mean horrible. I ended up complaining to the manager so our meal got comped but still. What a disappointment! And then it was raining when we left the restaurant (imagine it raining in Seattle! Weird!) We decided to stop at a place called the Nite Lite to hang and people watch and listen to some tunes. Kind of an interesting crowd, but we made a few friends and ended up closing the place down. So all in all a good night! If only I had pictures to post! Ah well, hopefully I will get my camera up and running and I'm sure Gladhes will take care of the picture taking for this weekend. In the meantime, enjoy this boring pictureless post. I promise I will post some pictures as soon as I can. Everyone keep in touch!!

Nothing New...

2008-10-16T23:43:00.001-07:00

Nothing new is really going on around here, but I know everyone is DYING for an update! haha. My traveling friend, Kim, and I are planning on going to Seattle tomorrow, so hopefully I will have pictures to post soon! I'm pretty excited. I love being a tourist! And I was just watching some lame show on VH1 and apparently Bill Gates and Matt Stone (Southpark guy) both have houses/condos in the Seattle area so perhaps I'll be a stalker. I also went and applied for my passport today! I'm really excited for some reason. I'm going to Mexico in January, but I don't technically need my passport since it will be on a cruise, but you never know when you might want to leave the contry at the last minute, right?

Work is going okay. The bullcrap of hospitals is the same everywhere! But the beauty of this one is that I'm only attached for 3 months! Nothing bad has happened and the people here are really nice. But it's just frustrating to not be able to do more for patients no matter where you go. And Kim and I were given a pretty big guilt trip for trying to take our HUGE 30 minute lunch break somewhere besides on the floor last night. That's right. We don't work hard enough, they seem to think we should sit at the nurse's station and eat our food while listening to all the annoying beeping hospital noises. So, I'm sure I'm not the favorite of that charge nurse but whatever. I work my butt off and I'm taking my damn 30 minutes! I don't really think it's too much to ask. So anyway....enough of my complaining. Really, work is not going too bad, just that one lame incident. Even the "go live" of the new computer system that everyone was freaking out about went pretty well. It helps that Kim and I are practically super users since we are so darn smart! However, my strategy of keeping my mouth shut and sitting in the corner has been quite effective and nobody has really asked me any questions about anything. So...enough of my rambling! I guess it's obvious that I only slept 3 hours today and I'm off to bed! Hopefully I will have some awesome pictures to post after tomorrow!

PS I really really really love the song Crush by David Archuleta! I have never watched American Idol, but I should have watched and voted for him last season! What was I thinking??

Pictures!!

2008-10-09T00:28:00.001-07:00

It seems that I have figured out how to post pictures, so here are a few from the trip up here...some lovely self photography of me and my mom in front of Horsetail Falls in Oregon, me in front of the same falls and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge which is mere moments from my house. I really really really wanted to go across the bridge...so I did only to find out that there is a $4.00 toll to get back to the other side!! Cheap jerks! But it was definitely cool going over. I did the last of my BORING computer orientation at the hospital today. So I actually get to spend the rest of my time here being a nurse. What a novel idea. My first day on my own on the floor is Monday, so wish me luck! I am going to Las Vegas/LA this weekend for an allergy treatment class (because apparently I haven't spent enough time in classrooms lately) but I will at least get to see my mom and my niece. My new friend, Kim and I have plans to go sightseeing next weekend (if it doesn't rain ha!) so hopefully I will have more cool pictures to post soon. I'm still so happy I did the traveling RN thing!! Loving it!

Here Goes Nothing

2008-10-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I promised several people that if I ended up doing the traveling nurse thing I would start a blog, so here I am!

I made it to Tacoma, Washington a little over a week ago for my first traveling assignment. So far, so good! Contrary to what everyone says, it does not rain here every single day. I love the rain, so even if it did, I would be okay! My apartment is about 2 minutes from Puget Sound, so I'm sure I will be doing a lot of things outdoors. I've met another traveler who works on the same floor as I do and lives in my apartment complex, so it's nice to have someone to hang out with who knows exactly what I'm going through! We have many grand plans to visit Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Seattle, etc...maybe I'll even go up to Forks! haha. Anyway, this has definitely been a learning experience, but overall things have gone pretty smoothly. I have mostly been in hospital/computer orientation so far here. I've been on the floor only two nights and things seemed pretty calm even though there was a rapid response called the first night I was there. It is nothing like the 8 or 9 patients (excuse me, couplets!) that I'm used to! I just hope I can keep myself busy. So, I guess that's it for my first blog ever! I have some pictures but I have yet to upload them, so hopefully I will do that soon.

Come back and visit!!