Yee-ha, y'all!

This blog finds me deep in the heart of Texas. I am visiting my friends, Janitha and Josh, who I have known for years. Josh and I went to highschool together, and when he was still dating her, Janitha and I became friends. I was in their wedding, but I will spare her having more pictures of her put up on the internet. You are welcome, Janitha!

We goofed off downtown Dallas, and headed over to Fort Worth and had fun making fun of the cowboys and girls and trying on the hats. No, we didn't buy any of them! Next up will be St. Paul in Minnesota. I can't wait!

Jet Setting

So it wasn't prom, but it sure felt like it! Getting dressed up and taking pictures at the house, then taking a taxi to a "fancy restaurant" and then for a night out dancing, what fun! I had 1 night off and some of my friends were in Las Vegas, begging me to join them. So I did! I was there a full 14 hours! It was great! I flew in with my dress and shoes on a hanger, my purse filled with lipstick, a compact, keys, ID, credit card, some cash, contact case and glasses, and a pair of flipflops and shorts and a tank top. That's it! Checking in was a breeze and I was on the plane in no time.

You simply must take any opportunity to pose with a dead deer head. These were my cohorts, Noah on the left and Donovan on the right. If you haven't seen the movie "Swingers," you may not understand half the references I am about to make, but don't they look money?

Of course, we had to pose and take way too many pictures. Danielle is the other beautiful baby in the picture.

This was before we stepped out on the town in Vegas, baby. Vegas!

I simply love Mermaids and the club we went into had this painted on the wall.

Dinner was at Rio's VooDoo Lounge and Steak House. The food was amazing! The view was amazing! You can see Vegas behind us. The company was pretty good too! We had filet mignon, rack of lamb, and a porterhouse steak and pretty much all shared trying each others dishes. They were all fantastic!

After our wonderfully drawn out dinner, we headed up to the rooftop club for some dancing under the stars. Again, the view was sureal, the temperature was perfect, and the company was great!

About half way through dancing, my right shoe strap broke! No biggie, I headed over to the VIP section and the bouncer let me go in so I could sit down and try to fix my shoe. Being the resourseful gal that I am, I pulled out the Mardi Gras beads I had obtained in the lounge and tied it around the shoe, securing it to my foot. Then I did the same to the other just so it would match a little better. AND THEN, after a little more dancing, my dress strap broke! Being the resourseful gal that I am, I pulled up the "hanger strap" and pulled it on. It worked. You can see in the picture on the left that the strap has been broken, but the new one was working quite well.

The story gets worse! Later, the second shoe broke! Good thing I had already tied it up! It still looked good.

It really is good to be me! I had a really good time and got back to the airport at 4:30 in the morning so I could fly back, go to sleep, and go to work that night! Good times, good friends, and good views. What more can a girl ask for?

Happy Birthday to Me Part 2! Or...Thank God I'm still alive~

I did it! I finally went sky diving and I'm alive to tell you about it and it was GREAT!!!
You can see the plane wing in the background...



I was strapped in and had a blast!

It really does feel like you are flying...

And then suddenly, they pull the cord! Thank God 'cause I would have forgotten since I was having soooo much fun!

Coming back down to the ground is such a peaceful, incredible feeling. I envy the birds of the air.

Luckily, the cameraman did not catch the following 3 seconds after this picture was taken! I had my feet up, like he told me to, until the last moment, thinking we were on the ground. He wasn't! I ended up on my knees and then my face! Not too bad though, just a little bruise and a scrape. I'm always getting into scrapes though!

Speaking of which, after the jump, I went shopping for a bit, and when I came out to my car, the battery was stone dead! Luckily the security guy was able to help me out and then gave me a ride over to where I decided to take myself out for dinner. Nice hat, eh Mom?

At dinner, they brought me a "Birthday Tiramisu," which was very nice of them. A very nice waiter guy then sang Happy Birthday to me with his spectacular voice. (Kicking myself for not having video taped it) I hated to tell them I really do not enjoy Tiramisu. The manager came over and, noticing I had not eaten any of my tiramisu, save a bite, she asked if anything was wrong with it. I admitted that I did not like Tiramisu (I think I am the only person in the world who does not...) and she was so sweet as to bring me a raspberry and lemon italian ice cream!

So all in all, it was a very, very nice birthday. Thank you to everyone who called, wrote, texted, and sent their best wishes for my birthday. They came true, and it was a truly unforgettable day.

Happy 29th Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday to Me!!! (Part 1)

Happy Birthday to Me!!!! I am having a fabulous day so far! So many cards!
I got all dressed up and went out for Birthday Crepes at Bodgies (although I like to pronounce it "Boogies" since that is one of my many nicnames). I had a Scotish crepe with smoked salmon, brie, and capers as well as a Nutella crepe. Yum! Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of those. They were delicious!

I sat outside eating and talking to my friend Valerie, a fellow traveler who is currently in Florida. Next, I got to talk to my grandparents and got sung to!

These are my promised pictures of the ring I bought myself in Estes Park at an antique jewelry shop last weekend as an early birthdat present to myself. Inside is etched "Bob to Polly 8-16-26." The pattern is worn down, but is titled Orange Blossom, which happens to be the same pattern as my Grandpa Spriggs! His is so worn down though that you cannot tell that there ever was a pattern!

This will be my very first time turning 29! How exciting!

Taking Lovella's sugestion, I decided to do EVERYTHING!!!!

I went whitewater rafting,

to a rodeo,

got a massage,

went camping,

did a dance (so what if I didn't have a partner!)

bought myself a ring,

and finally, today I am going skydiving! That's why this is part 1. I hope I am alive to post my part 2! So keep an eye out! I'll be posting pictures!

It really is good to be me!

Ortho nurses. Again.

I got floated up to, drum roll please, the ORTHOPAEDIC floor. Now, quick quiz for those who have known me for a long time.

1. What is my impression of Ortho nurses?
2. How much do I love ortho?

Easy quiz, I know. Just 2 questions. Well, the answer to both questions is "Tons." The first is literal. The second, sarcasm at it's best.

No offense to all you wonderful, lovely ortho nurses out there. I am "writhing on the floor" grateful for your services. You could not pay me enough to do the things you do!!!

It is so hard to be sympathetic to the guy who broke his leg playing football and can't reach his water or change the channel, and why don't we get ESPN in the hospital, and can you fluff my pillow and can I have another one cause 6 is not enough. It's hard to be sympathetic to the crazy 82 year old lady who fell and broke her hip because she was changing the lightbulb herself and keeps climbing out of bed and yelling cause her foley hurts (i bet it does if it's attached to the bed and you are trying to get across the room!) for the 20th time but we don't have the staffing for a sitter and frankly, she isn't confused, just extremely forgetful but soo, sooo sweet. It's hard to be sympathetic to the 47 year old hippie princess who still cannot believe we will not allow her to burn her insense and has what I like to call "feng-shui disorder" which compels her to call multiple times an hour so that we can put her tray table a half inch closer, and then the blinds more closed, no not that far closed, more open, no too far, not far enough, no, just, yeah, right there, and that magazine needs to be over there under that other book, turn it just a little more, and the cup needs to be a little closer, and the sheets are not hypoallergenic and can we turn the bed so it faces more to the east to let in the energy from the sun in the morning and auuuugggghhhhh!!!!!!

I'm not good at trivial. I am good at life and death! I am good at "yes, it does suck that you are stuck here in the hospital for your son's birthday," and "no, that isn't a good sign," and "i am sorry to hear that your brother just passed away, i am glad your wife can at least go to the funeral since you are stuck here," and "things will get better, but they will probably get worse first. we will be there every step of the way with you." I'm good at holding buckets while my patients vomit into them and then clean it out and wait with them with a cool washcloth for the nausea meds to finally work. I'm good at holding their hand or just listening to them cry after they hear that they relapsed. I'm good at cheering when their counts finally bump up from zero.

But enough seriousness.

I am on the Ortho floor.

It is worse than the last time with the elephants chasing after the naked man with pendulous, ahem, balls.

Okay, so we have a little of that still. We've got the crazy lady getting naked. We've got the young cocky guy who thinks this is a day spa. We've got it all.

And the new aspect to love about the ortho floor, is,............ drum roll again please,......

That new intoxicating stench of the nurses! That's right, they smell!
I don't know if it is from all the running around they do, or their cultural practices, but they stink! And not just one of them! It's horrible!!!

Most, or rather nearly all, the nurses on transplant are all so clean! So neat! So clean! We can't wear perfumes, but we don't stink! We believe in the power of deoderant! We believe in daily (or in some cases, twice a daily) showers. We encourage our patients to bathe regularly. We have them do mouth care 5 times a day! What is wrong with ortho?!?
I know my grandfather is just rolling at this post, and I deeply apologize to any ortho nurses out there. Please, please prove me wrong! But every time I am floated to an ortho floor, I am so grossed out! It makes me appreciate my floor sooooo much more! The charge nurse even apologized to me for sending me here. The few other nurses I encountered on my way over all scrunched up their faces and uttered some form of "ew!" when I mentioned where I was floating to.
Oh, I do hope I have not offended anyone.

It is good to be me since I have gotten my floating out of the way and it is someone else's turn next time.

Heather

My dear friend Heather, whom I met in nursing school and have remained friends with over the years and miles, is turning 30 today!!! Woo-Hoo!!!! So this is my tribute to Heather! Heather recently became engaged on March 8th overlooking the ocean at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego at sunset. Her now fiance had chosen the day to propose so it would be on their 2 year anniversary.
Heather's fiance, David, is British. She is Texan. Cheers, y'all!

They looked long and hard for the perfect ring, and she found it!

The wedding is set for October 20th, 2007 down in Texas.

Heather and I have traveled litterally from one coast to the other together. The majority of my roadtrips have been with her. From the U-haul loaded with her things and her car in tow, to a sping break getaway to go skiing in New Mexico, we have had great times! It is good to be me, since I have great friends like her.

That's her ring. Pretty, eh?


Happy 30th Birthday, Heather! It's going to be a great year!

More Nice Texas Bar-B-Q

I am getting so excited about visiting Texas in just 2 more weeks. In preparation, I am taking a virtual visit, remembering all the good things. Do you just love how we drown our brisket in BBQ sauce? Texas really does know how to make BBQ sauce. My mouth waters at the thought.