Julia, Tyler, Harvey, Penny, Runt, and Huey

Christmas 2011!

2012-01-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year because my family came down here to spend it with us. My mom, kai, nick, and ruben drove down to Texas and were here from the 23rd through the 1st of January. We spent time over at Tyler's parents house for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas dinner, had flautas for multiple dinners at home, went ice skating, frequented several malls, and put out many fires (Ruben is in love with firefighting). We had a great time and played lots of games of bananagrams, monopoly deal, and watching the series the "Good Wife". It was a great time and hope to have many more!

Harvey and his toy alligator

Ruben and his fire. He was scared of it at first!

Kai and Ruben

Fire Fighter Sam aka Ruben

Kelsey (toots), Ruben, and Lindsey

Thanksgiving

2011-11-20T12:46:00.001-08:00

With thanksgiving coming this thursday I am thankful for a couple days off of work. I haven't had a day off since I last got sick in August and that was not enjoyable at all. We get the 24th and 25th off and also per manager's approval an early 1pm release on wednesday. We are just staying in town for the holiday but plan on camping friday night. Haven't picked out a place yet though I don't think there will be any competition since everyone is visiting each other. As an update I am doing pretty good working everyday. Tyler is almost finished with his semester. Harvey just had his wellness check up exam and did well except that he weighs 61 pds and has some dental tartar. Guess he needs to brush more regularly! All the cats are doing well Penny, Runt, and Huey. For Christmas we decided in order to save money we would stay home this year. My family will come down and spend the holiday with us. That's it for now.

Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon When You Take the North "Poll"

2011-11-16T18:30:00.001-08:00

Melissa & Doug want you to tell them which of their educational toys you think is the best! Just click on the image below to place your vote in the North "Poll!" You'll Get a Melissa & Doug 25% Off Coupon** to use at MelissaAndDoug.com just for voting!

Handy Manny!!!

2011-08-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

The first couple pictures are of Ruben wearing his sunglasses while we are driving to Tyler's house. He never wears them correctly and you can always find him wearing them upside down. He gets a big kick out of it and wanted me to take a picture of him wearing is glasses. Ruben got a new toy at Tyler's parent's house yesterday. It's a handy manny workbench that talks out loud and makes real circular saw noises and all sorts of cool noises. He was so excited and proud of it as you can tell from the pictures.

Handy Manny in Training

Hammering

Trip to the mall and Lego Land!!!

2011-08-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

Ruben at Lego Land
We unfortunately were unable to go to Lego Land because of the hour wait but were still able to get this cool picture of Ruben with Buzz lightyear. We also went on the carousel together and went to toy stores. Had a great time together.

Ruben's a cowboy!!!

Loves the carousel!

In an ice cream truck

Happy 4th of July!!!

2011-07-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ruben and I went to the Coppell Fourth of July Parade this morning. He had a great time watching the police and fire truck go by and was very happy to find out that they give candy out to all the little kids. He got quite the loot! Ruben had a great start to 4th of July and will be seeing fireworks later today.

Trip to the Fort Worth Zoo!!!

2011-06-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

I bought tickets to the zoo from my work several months ago at a discounted price in anticipation of going to the zoo with Ruben this summer and the day finally arrived for us to go together. We got to the zoo about 10:30am and left at 2:00 pm. We saw so many different animals and they were very active. Nice zoo!!!

Fishing for the 1st time!!!

2011-06-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

We took Ruben fishing for the first time on June 20th in Flower Mound, Texas. We bought him a spider man fishing pole and he was so excited to fish.

Ruben!!!!

2011-06-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

Tiger!!!!

Having fun at the splash park!

Very excited to have Ruben staying with us for the summer. Here's a few pictures of him having fun at his school party last week. He is having a great time at school and loves going. We love having him here with us and look forward to more fun times!

Kitten Update

2011-04-27T17:39:00.000-07:00

We are both happy and sad to say that two of the kittens are now adopted.
They both went to good homes and we are excited that they have a fun, safe, future ahead of them.

ADOPTED by a Drama Major

ADOPTED by a mom with two pre-teen girls

Kittens Galore!!!

2011-04-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Tyler and I have a few new additions to our family. They are temporary but we want to share pictures of them since they are so cute!!!

RUNT

We call the one on the far Left Godzilla!!

White and Gray (BOY)

godzilla (girl)

Jet adopted by our friends (girl)

little white one (boy)

If anyone would like to adopt them please let us know!!!!

Harvey's Graduation

2011-01-23T12:08:00.000-08:00

Harvey, our proud graduate

We are proud to say that Harvey has passed his Advanced Training class at Petsmart on 1/15/2011 and is now ready to pursue his dream of the Canine Good Citizenship Award. Harvey has surpassed the expectations of his parents and we are very proud of his accomplishments.

Merry Christmas!

2011-01-03T16:44:00.000-08:00

Tyler and I went to St. Louis this year to celebrate our first Christmas together. We were also able to celebrate Ruben's 3rd birthday on Christmas Eve. We had a good time with my family and enjoyed the pretty snow we had on Christmas Eve and Day. We also had a delicious Turkey dinner and flautas the following the day. Here are a few pictures from our time there and from our own home.

Harvey in front of our tree in Texas

Penny cat in front of the fireplace

Julia and Tyler in front of our tree

Tyler and I had a great time and we hope to be back there next year as well!

Happy New Year 2011!!!

2011-01-02T21:31:00.001-08:00

I am excited to post for the New Year and am looking forward to all of the adventures it has in store for us.
2010----Just wanted to mention all the good things that happened during that year.
1. Engaged-Tyler and I got engaged on April 16, 2010 after 2.5 yrs of dating. We were so excited to finally be getting closer to get married.
2. Job-finished my first year as a nurse practitioner and I have to say it was one of the hardest. Just like being a new grad RN it is even ten times harder as an NP. But, I survived and am doing well in my position.
3. Married----Tyler and I were married on August 14th, 2010 in the St. Louis Temple in Missouri. We had a small intimate reception and were able to visit with all of our close family and friends. We went on a honeymoon to Florida and spent a week visiting disney world and driving up and down the coast checking out different beaches. By far our favorites were Casperson Beach, famous for fossilized shark teeth and Sanibel Island world famous for shelling. Overall, we had a blast.
4. Future Aunt----after a long time, my sister is finally going to have a baby and am I super excited to see what this baby is going to look like and become one day.
5. Nick-he finally graduated from Purdue as a nuclear engineer and is now job hunting. We are so proud of him.
6. Tyler----accepted at UT Dallas and pursuing an electrical engineering degree and is training Harvey to be a scent hound.

Looking forward to 2011, I have a big milestone that I am approaching......I will be turning 30!!!
Hard to believe am I going to be that age but time flies I suppose when you are busy. We are hoping to be able to celebrate this milestone by going back to where it all started.....SEATTLE!!!!
Anyway, not much else to report at this time. I haven't transferred Christmas Pictures yet so I will hold off on that post. Right now I am sick with bronchitis and have been since the 23rd and am slowly recovering. Had to switch antibiotics as the one I was put on wasn't working.
Happy NEW YEAR!!!!!

Fall Fun!!!

2010-12-18T12:09:00.000-08:00

Haven't recorded anything in awhile because I got lazy about it. Since my last post, Halloween came and went and thanksgiving as well. Its only a few days until Christmas and we still haven't had our picture taken with Santa. Harvey and Penny cat are both doing well. Harvey is completing Advanced Training at Petsmart today and if he passes the 3 minute stay he qualifies to take the Canine Good Citizenship test. This will qualify him to start therapy dog training if we want to pursue that path. We are very proud of him! Penny cat is doing well and loves to play at night all over the house and sleep next to Harvey on the couch when we are gone. Whenever one of us is gone they both sit at the top of the stairs in the afternoon to wait for us. They are really good friends and get along so well. She keeps Harvey in line!!

Harvey enjoying the property

Wet from swimming

Harvey looks like a giant muskrat or beaver swimming

Harvey anxiously waiting to see if he won the Halloween costume contest....He didn't :(

Tyler's Birthday!

Tyler just completed his first semester at University of Texas at Dallas after transferring from the community college. He has decided to pursue Electrical engineering and is excited to start classes again on January 10th.
As for me, I was recently in the Dallas Morning News with a picture of myself with a picture for an article about the hospital I work for Parkland's Kidney Transplant Program. It was for the most part a positive article for us. Tyler and I are headed to visit St. Louis for Christmas and to celebrate Ruben's 3rd birthday on the 20th.

Otherwise, we are just working and having fun with our pets. I hope to post more in the next few weeks about our Holidays!!

1 month

2010-09-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

Tyler and I have been married for a little over a month now and are adjusting well. We are both busy with school, work, and our jobs. Harvey is still in his advanced training course which is held every saturday. The past few weeks we have been taking him out to the dog park for exercise at night.
I am going out of town to go to Rita's Baby shower in Granite city this coming weekend. The following weekend is Leigh's wedding so I will be gone for that as well. Two weekends after that I am headed to Nashville for a transplant nurse practitioner's symposium that I have been waiting all year to go to and am excited to attend. Lots of travel which I am not really looking forward to since I like to just be at home. We really haven't done much since the wedding besides have Tyler's birthday. And we really didn't do anything for that except by a cheesecake for his cake and I baked a yellow cake with chocolate frosting for his real birthday.

My back has been hurting a lot since about last thursday. I can't explain why it is hurting and maybe think its due to a combination of poor sitting posture at work to stress, and possibly just being overweight. I am headed to the doctor's after work to see what she can do for me about this pain. Otherwise, I am doing well. That's about it for now.
I do realize that the above picture has nothing to do with the post but I like this picture.

I'm married!!!

2010-08-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

I finally have the chance to write a post about the recent events. Tyler and I were married on August 14th at 2:30pm in the St. Louis Temple. It was such a beautiful ceremony and we were lucky to have the people we love be there with us to witness our sealing. Only a couple funny things to mention about the events prior, Tyler forgot to shave in all the excitement so we had to procure his dads electric razor 10 minutes before the sealing. I was so hot in my dress I thought I was going to pass out and had to have a drink of water before proceeding cause I was getting all nervous and anxious about passing out cause I was so hot. Other than those two things, it all went well. We were greeted outside by everyone and we then had dozens of pictures taken.

After all the pictures were taken about 4:45pm we managed to head to reception site which was at the 9th street abbey in Soulard. We had a great time visiting with all our family and friends and had a delicious meal of either chicken saltimbocca or chili rubbed porkchops. We had cesear salad and for dessert delicious lemon wedding cake and raspberry cake along with chocolate cake. The grooms cake was all chocolate with two strawberries as a groom and bride. To accompany the wedding cake, we also had Ted Drewe's Frozen custard station with a ton of toppings to choose from. We had a wonderful guitarist who played throughout the event and we had our first dance to "Making Memories of Us" by Keith Urban. After all the goodbyes at around 9pm, we took more pictures and finally left for the Hilton Homewood Suites where we were greeted with Sparkling peach drink, brownie bites, petit four carrot cake, keylime pie, apple streudel bites. My sister Katherine did a wonderful job! The next morning we headed over to my mom and dads and spent the afternoon with them before having my mom and brother drop us off at the airport to head off to our honeymoon in Florida.

We are happy to be home now and enjoying being together and setting up our house though that really means finding a place for Tyler's stuff! We went to our church for the first time today and we were warmly greeted and everyone seems to be really nice. Overall, this whole wedding experience was very good and though I would never want to do it again I am glad that it is finally over.

Wedding Week

2010-08-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

So, my wedding is now in three days and everything seems to going well. I have come to the conclusion that something won't go well and to just go with it and not get worked up about it. Tyler and I went and got our marriage license on Monday and paid the photographer our last payment. Otherwise we are just hanging out here in IL with my family enjoying their company. Tyler and I went to Cahokia mounds yesterday. It is a national historic site that is about 10 miles from my house. It is an area with large mounds of dirt build by people over a 1000 years ago. We were able to go to the museum and watch the movie, walk around the exhibits and at the end we walked up Monks Mound which is 100ft tall and has over 100 steps to climb. We had a great time and I loved showing him the place since it was a very frequented field trip spot when I was growing up. Though walking through the museum there were only 3 new exhibits.
Anyway, not much else to report. Just hanging out until the big day.

Wedding Plans

2010-07-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

I have to admit once again that I am horrible at keeping up with a blog. I like to read other people's and get upset when they don't update them and then I think of mine and feel bad. With only 33 more days to go, all of the wedding plans are finally coming together. The dress is altered and ready to wear, the cake is ordered, flowers are picked out and ordered and wedding rings have been purchased. Tyler's came in already but mine is yet to be completed. The menu and reception site are done and invitations were sent two weeks ago so if you haven't gotten one then you aren't invited. So far I have only received two can't make it's and all the rest are going to be there. Deciding on who to invite to this wedding was hard and in the end I just had to make some difficult choices. I hope everyone understands. I wanted to keep this wedding small, intimate and celebrate with the people whom I care about and have kept in close contact with me during the years.
In other news, we have decided on where we are going for our honeymoon. ..........FLORIDA!!!! Yes, that's right. In the end, I really just want to go to the beach and swim in an ocean and go fishing so this was cheap and since the oil spill tickets are affordable. I am super excited to go and hope to make a detour to Disney World for a couple of days.
So, with only a month away till the big day I will make some concluding thoughts about my reign as a single lady in my twenties. It was the best and I wouldn't change any of it for the world!!! I am so happy that I was able to experience everything that I did and become the person who I am today. Thinking back to all the dumb guys that I thought would be great to be married to back when I was 21 and 22 yrs old I now can see that I would have never tapped into my true potential. Moving to Seattle and going to graduate school at 25 yrs old was a huge turning point in my life. I was living over a thousand miles away from anyone I knew and studying to become something that many my age aren't even considering. I made some great friends and many memories in Seattle and gained confidence in myself that I would have never had if I had married at such a young age. Looking back on my twenties I can say without a doubt that I have no regrets. Besides, had I not moved to Seattle I would have never met Tyler. He is my best friend and I wouldn't change that for anything. Now that I am 29 I am now ready to be married and ready to allow someone else in my life. Though I believe I have integrated him into my life over the past two and half years and am now ready to go all the way. I am excitedly looking forward to this new phase in my life and I know that it will be hard and that there will be many challenges but at least this time I won't be going in alone. I will have Tyler and all of my experience from my twenties to draw from to overcome anything.

2010-05-16T16:13:00.001-07:00

Wedding Countdowns at WiddlyTinks.com

I'm Engaged!

2010-04-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know Tyler and I are engaged! He proposed to me on Friday April 16th. I have a beautiful, gorgeous ring and a very handsome fiance. We have been dating for 2.5yrs now and will be getting married on August 14, 2010 in St. Louis Missouri. We are both very excited!

Christmas Time!

2009-12-27T12:19:00.000-08:00

I haven't kept up to date with this blog but I am going to try to get it to present. In the past month Harvey completed his training and graduated from puppy kindergarten. He weighs about 30pds now and loves the snow. For Christmas this year, Tyler surprised me with a brand new pool table! All he told me was that it was a game. I had no idea what it was until I went down to the garage and saw it there all set up. It has been so much fun having my own pool table. We are actually improving a lot now. It's great not having to play for each game and sacrifice our lungs to secondhand smoke anymore.

Also, we were given tickets for the Dallas Mavericksvs phoenix suns game and had a blast. We won 102-101. Lots of fans and good support for the team.
I was able to get some time off to come down to Illinois for Christmas this year. I am here until the 28th. Its been a lot of fun playing with Ruben and hanging out with mom and the family. We having been playing lots of Band Hero, Super Mario Bros Wii, eating lots of cookies, tamales, flautas, and cake. Ruben got a bunch of new toys, a cozy coupe car, little kitchen, tools, etc. We are having a lot of fun playing with him.

It's been pretty cold here with snow on Christmas and snow this morning when we woke up. Overall, its been a pretty enjoyable holiday!

Oklahoma

2009-11-15T10:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to the property in OK that my mom and dad own. Since owning for over 35 yrs, they haven't done a thing with it. Well since I live 3hrs away from the land I decided to change that. I bought a gate so we could actually drive into the property instead of lifting the barb wire fence. We spent the whole day saturday digging a driveway and constructing a new fence and installed a new gate that we bought off craigslist for real cheap. We did all the work with a shovel and our own muscles! There is no water or electricity out there so we did the best we could.

Harvey had the best time ever out there. He acted like he owned the place and ran wild like the puppy he is. He was going non-stop until he got spooked at night and we put him in the truck to go to sleep. While we were there two other dogs came over and played with Harvey. A big pregnant dog we named "baby mama" hung out with us all day. We fed her every piece of food that we had brought for Harvey except for a handful for him to have for dinner. She is very big and will probably have puppies soon.

We finished the gate and hope to go back very soon. Next time we are going to work on a fire pit and mow down some of the grass.

6 Months!!!!

2009-11-08T16:12:00.000-08:00

I have come to the conclusion that I am not good at keeping a blog. So in a renewed effort, I will try and update this once a week or so. Six months have gone by and my life has changed dramatically. Since, my last post I was hired at a new job, moved from Seattle, have a new apartment (living by myself!!!) and have a brand new puppy named Harvey. So far, I am enjoying my job and find it very challenging and rewarding. I like all my co-workers and my boss is the nicest lady I have met. She is very positive and willing to do anything to make sure my job experience is the best. Since getting my new job, I have finally been able to pay bills and stop using my credit card for groceries! I now actually have a savings. Though the best thing I think has been that I finally have health insurance again. Going for a 1 1/2 yr without insurance was hard but I was fortunate to never get sick so I had to only go for health maintenance appts.
I really like my new apartment and have nearly made it the way I would like it. I have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room and a two car garage. Its like a town house. I also have a balcony that I have been decorating with lots of plants so I can have my own little garden sanctuary.

Harvey is the best thing that has happened to me in a long time. I found Harvey on accident at a animal shelter. I had orginially planned on getting another puppy but when I got there two days later someone had already adopted her. So I looked around and saw a small cage with three little puppies in it. I asked if they were for adoption and they were. Apparently they had just been brought in that morning and I wanted to hold them right away they were so tiny. The first one I held was Harvey. I didn't think he was very beautiful at first but after holding him and feeling his gentle personality I knew he was the one I was going to leave with. Tyler and I looked at all three puppies and ultimately I chose the little brindle colored puppy. I love this puppy so much and take such good care of him. He came from a horrible dilapidated shelter and I am so glad I was there to rescue him from having to spend the night there in the heat. Harvey is now 15 weeks old, healthy, bouncy, loving puppy who loves to chew and follow you every where. He is very loyal and always looks to please me. He is never alone and if so only for a couple hours. Otherwise he is with either me or tyler. He is now going to puppy training school and doing well. He can sit, lay, walk on a leash, leave it and stay. He is doing well for being the youngest in the class. On Halloween Harvey dressed up as a bumble bee and went to the Petsmart parade. He had his picture taken and was able to socialize with other dogs.
Currently, he was just fixed so he is laying low for the time being. Poor guy. He is now officially cone head!

Well that is all of the update for now. I am just busy working and taking care of my puppy. My family will hopefully be able to visit me for Thanksgiving. Other than that I will post more next week.

The Completed Arbor in My Backyard!

2009-05-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

So, I posted pictures of the completed arbor but I wanted to post pictures of the arbor in its final resting space...in my backyard. I went to Ace Hardware and bought two hanging flower baskets and a bunch of flowers and decorated the arbor. I took a ton of pictures and the arbor is definitely the centerpiece of the yard now. I love looking at it and can't wait for it to be filled with vines and flowers.

Orcas Island

2009-05-31T15:23:00.000-07:00

Visit from Philly

2009-05-31T15:12:00.000-07:00

From May 12th-May 17th, Rita came out to seattle to visit me. She likes to do this a couple times a year and only during good weather. So,when I complain about the crappy weather and then she comes to visit it always turns into being the nicest weather and her wondering what my problem is with the weather. This time we went to Orcas Island and spent the night at a B&B at Otter Pond outside of Moran State Park. On the Ferry over to Orcas we had the rare treat of seeing a three pods of killer(Orca whales) on our way over. It was magical! We also saw lots of wildlife at the B&B pond and on our hikes. We also did a lot of shopping at Uvillage and got manicures and pedicures at a salon near my house. Overall, it was a fun time that we got to spend together.

Presenting the Arbor!!!!

2009-05-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

For the past several weeks this has been mine and Tyler's project for all those rainy days last month. So, finally after several sandings, stain, and polyurethane the pine arbor is finished at last!!!! It was a beautiful day yesterday at least for two hours so we had the opportunity to take some pictures of it outside of the garage in the natural setting where it might likely get to reside one day. FYI, the arbor will be heading to Seattle to be in my backyard as we are cleaning it up and hope to have BBQs and dinner parties out there this summer. Tyler handcrafted it himself and I designed the lattice diamond pattern and all the dimensions of the arbor. Tyler is currently finishing the lattice on a cedar arbor that he is about finished making and hopes to sell it soon.

Tulip Festival

2009-04-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

Today Tyler and I went to Skagit Valley for the annual Tulip Festival. We started off the day at a Salmon BBQ at the Kiwanis Lodge at Hillcrest Park. We each got a piece of Salmon, baked potato, garlic bread, cole slaw, pink lemonade, and ice cream. We sat outside on a picnic table and enjoyed the sunshine. We headed next to the fields of Tulips. They were rows and rows as far as you can see of red and yellow tulips. There were also fields of yellow daffodils. It is a pretty amazing sight to see. Definitely worth it to go up there and see the blooms. After taking pictures, we made friends with a cat that I wanted to take home with me. He was hiding and lounging in between rows of tulips. We almost didn't get home without him!! He followed us for quite awhile before finally giving up on us. He was so cute! We drove around the countryside and we then went to the Farmhouse Restaurant which is famous for their mile high lemon meringue pies. Tyler and I decided to eat dinner there and he got BBQ Ribs and I got Turkey pot pie and we both got ceasar salads. The pie was so good and very delicious! We then drove home in which Tyler proceeded to sleep the whole way home. It was a very nice day and very relaxing. Lots of sun and very enjoyable!!! Wish everyone could have a chance to see the flowers.

My New Table Completed!!!

2009-04-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

Fun times

2009-03-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a pretty good day. Tyler and I decided to go to Home Depot and buy more supplies for the arbor that he is building. While we were there I said,"How bout we get some wood for me to build a coffee table with so I have something to do while you build the arbor". So, we bought some poplar wood and cedar for the legs and I got started on it right away when we got back to his garage. I believe it only took about 3 hours or so to build it. It's not completely finished. I still need to add a bottom shelf and leg supports and also I need to polyurethane it for a nice glossy finish but for the most part its finished and could actually function as a table if need be. Its the first item of furniture I have actually ever built by myself and I have to say that it is quite impressive!

Igloo-Sonic

2009-02-24T15:20:00.000-08:00

Igloo's, Sonic, and snow!

2009-02-24T15:02:00.001-08:00

So, we have been planning for months to go out to Steven's Pass in the Northern Cascade mountains to go and try and build an igloo. Unfortunately, Tyler's truck was not running for about 3 weeks until we repaired it. It had a broken water pump, leaky gaskets, and hose. After many months of wanting to build this igloo, we finally headed on our way up there to build it. We bought our molds at Target and were on our way. We got up to the pass around 2-3pm and had to find a good place to build it. We decided to try near the Nordic run and found a nice place in between some power lines and hidden in some trees. We started building the igloo and the snow was perfect!!! Sadly, we realized that we really didn't know how to build this and that when we neared the roof that it was going to most likely collapse. So after about an hour and feeling the temperature start to drop and it gradually getting darker we called it quits. We decided to go eat at the 59er Diner up near Leavenworth. At this point, I had a brilliant idea. I told Tyler that we should just head over to Wenatchee and get Sonic. You know that delicious restaurant with awesome Strawberry Limeade and Ex long chili cheese Coney dogs???
He thought the idea brilliant and that it would be a great B-day present for his little sister. So we drove another 40-50 miles or so to Wenatchee and bought a ton of food, drinks, and icecream. We bought a cooler and filled it with ice and put it in the back of the truck where it stayed nice and cold due to the snow that fell when we were driving back home. We got back around 9:00 and his little sister and brother couldn't stop jumping and giving him hugs for getting them Sonic. They miss it a lot.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T18:12:00.000-08:00

I had a really good date last night. Tyler came over around 9 and took me out to my favorite restaurant Duke's Chowder House. For those who know and have eaten there I am sure you are drooling and very jealous. We went to the one at Alki Beach and started off the meal with warm sourdough bread, traditional clam chowder, and for the main entree Stuffed Salmon stuffed with dungness crab and oregan bay shrimp along with yukon mashed potatoes, and fresh asparagus. Tyler got the Cedar plank salmon with yukon potatoes and asparagus. It was such a delicious meal and I savored every bite! I gave him a Valentines gift of dove chocolates and ghiradelli's in a red sparkly bag with a CD of his favorite country songs that I made for him and 3 homemade cards. Tyler got me a large balloon in the shape of a light bulb that says "You turn me on" and a potted plant with daffodils, a type of african violet, and flowers that are pink magenta that seem to grow backward. It was such a fun night!

Job Searching!! Ugh...

2009-02-03T16:34:00.001-08:00

Well, I can't say that I have been up to much good lately. Same old stuff. The past month went by pretty uneventfully except for the fact that I am job searching and get phone calls every day from recruiters. These people are very cheerful and friendly though and seem to brighten your day even when the job sounds horrendous and they are doing their best to sell it to you. Haha! Last Friday I had a job interview and it went very well. I am just waiting to hear back. Fortunately, if I get the position I will be able to stay where I am at currently and not have to move anywhere. Phew! I don't like moving. Other than that I am just working at the hospital waiting for the day when I can give my two weeks notice and never have to deal with crazy patients again. Wait... I will still have to deal with crazy patients I just won't have to spend 8 hours continuously with them for two straight days. About the most exciting thing so far this past week was going to shopping at Banana Republic and buying $300.00 worth of clothes for only $50.00 bucks. Awesome sales! Well, that's it for now and I can't wait to wear my new clothes, except for the fact that I have to wait until the 9th cause all the pants have to be shortened. Ugh!!!

Back in Seattle

2009-01-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I am back in Seattle after a fun time back home. Not much has changed since getting back. Just going back to work and hanging out with Tyler. Tyler made a really good meal of corned beef and hash for me on friday night. It was so good! We then went to Gameworks downtown and played some old school games like pacman, frogger, basketball, and more. We didn't get to play too long because of a special event for middle schoolers that night. We are definitely planning on going back. That's about it for now.

Weekend Fun

2009-01-04T12:51:00.002-08:00

We headed off to church this morning. Only about a 1/2 hour late!! Whoops! Nick and I got to see a bunch of our old friends. The remainder of our day will be spent playing nintendo wii and sleeping.
Yesterday we headed to Sears to get Benny's 1 year old birthday pic taken. He was dressed up as Santa, a birthday outfit and a nice sweater outfit. We then trucked over to the mall and just went shopping for some socks. Yeah right. I ended up buying a new pair of brown heels and my sister got a black pair of heels. I also got some socks. Anyway, afterwards we were supposed to head over to some mexican's house who invited us over to dinner and we get over there and nobody's home except all the men. Apparently, they had all went to the mall. My mom was feeling very frustrated with her friend. So, we headed home and mom made some sloppy joe's and mashed potatoes and green beans. It was super delicious!! Well, it all turned out in the end.

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

I am happy to report that I survived the many ups and down's of 2008. Lots of things occurred during that year and the end of 2007 that were great and some that were not so great.
My accomplishments and good things that happened this year:
1. Graduate from UW Nurse Practitioner program
2. Completed my thesis project on Medication tools for Transplant Patients
3. Rita and Jed came and visited me in Seattle
4. Mom, Dad, Kai, and Benny came to my Graduation
5. I got a job as a staff Nurse at a hospital
6. I went crabbing and salt water fishing for the first time and loved it!!
7. I passed my Nurse Practitioner Boards Exam in November
8.I have a nice boyfriend who loves and cares about me and we do lots of fun things together.

Not so good things:
1. Lots of stress from finishing up Graduate school
2. Lack of money
3. Looming student loan debt
4. Economic Hard ship
5. Gas price up to $4.50 in Seattle. Made driving almost non-existent and pricey
6. Ali my neighbor's Boxer died
7. Car accident ticket(not my fault) will contest in a few days
8. Snow storm in Seattle (had to walk to work and it was awful and walk back) Don't ask for details!
9. Job searching; difficult and stressful
10. Paying for things like license's and tests that are ridiculously expensive

2008-11-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

Jobs, Twilight, and Nails

2008-11-22T14:29:00.000-08:00

The past 3weeks have flown by. Right now, I am just working at the hospital a few times a week trying to make money to pay the bills. On the days off, I have been working on my resume and recently applied for a job here in Seattle working in Nephrology. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I might have the opportunity to have an interview. If anything it would be great practice. Last night, I went to Tyler's house to go to his sister's Lindsey's Twilight party. It was 6 13yr old girls, her mom and me. We had pizza, sprayed sparkle over everyone's hair, except mine and they all wrote on their faces. We then headed to the theater and stood in line for an hour so we could get a good seat. Finally, we got our seat dead center in the theater. We got a huge tub of popcorn and we got ready for the movie. Overall, the movie was pretty cheesy and sappy but cute. I had just finished reading the book that morning so maybe that had something to do with me not liking the movie that much. Oh well.
I also have some great news. Rita and I have been looking for the O P I Sephora color Metro chic and last night I got a call from the store saying that they had it in stock. I was super excited!!! I went down to Uvilage and bought the last one!!! I painted my nails right away and they look gorgeous!! Also, on a happy note its actually sunny today and not raining. A huge relief because I am ready to go walk around Greenlake for some exercise.

Finally It's Over!!!

2008-11-07T13:55:00.000-08:00

I am so happy and excited to say that I am now a Board certified Nurse Practitioner as of today. I took my exam this morning from 7:45a.m till 9:55a.m and was so excited to find out that I had passed. I was so nervous and shaking when I was standing there waiting for the results. The first person I called was one of my best friends from school, Amy. She was super surprised to hear from me so early. After talking to her, I surprised Tyler by going to his work and telling him that I passed. I actually tricked him. His co-workers were in on it. It was super funny!
Well, now I am just spreading my good news and heading for a nail manicure appointment. I think I deserve it.

Halloween

2008-10-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

2008-10-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome!

2008-10-26T16:50:00.001-07:00

I am just starting a blog because it seems everybody else has one and I am feeling out of the loop, so in that case here it goes. I will update this probably on a weekly basis. Definitely not daily. I am not even sure what I am going to put on here. Wish me luck!