This is Marcos now...at the heart transplant picnic. He's so cute and doing great!

Remember this picture? This is Marcos, my heart transplant buddy at about 4 months of age. This is actually taken before he got his heart.

I hate packing.

I'll say it again. I hate packing. It's horrid, nasty stuff. There's no possible way I can pack and get rid of things and plan for a garage sale all at one time. It's madness. Our garage sale is in 9 days...HOORAY! This house is going to be absolutely pitiful after that. I think it's going to be funny. We'll have no couches, no dressers, nothing to sit on at all! :) Michael and Jennifer are coming the weekend afterwards...I told them we would have to have a movie party on the floor in the empty living room with the only remaining television. I've got the Salvation Army coming on the 13th to take all the remaining wares. It's really hard asking these companies to come pick up all the crap that no one wanted to buy. Anyways, the Salvation Army is always loving free stuff...so they can have it all. As long as I don't have to move it, I'll be okay!

I hired someone to come and clean the house so I don't have to do it. We'll still have to shampoo the carpets, but that is nothing compared to the thought of having to clean this place. I figured, we could use the money from the garage sale to help defray that expense. It's well worth it.

Becca is busy vacuuming all the air out of her space bags stuffed with her linens. This means that all the puppies are all in my room, quivering and afraid. They hate the vacuum. Weenies.

I should probably be doing something productive. But I don't wanna. So I'll sit here, doing nothing, for awhile. I love that! :)

Exhausted.

It's over. I hate three in a row, but it's over! It wasn't as bad as it could have been. I wasn't floated, and I was able to have my same kids three days in a row. It always just drains all my reserves! Nathen and Kerrie are having a party tonight, and I'm just so exhausted that all I wanted to do was come home and rest. That's what I did! :) I'm not normally one to miss a party, but I needed some rest! :( I didn't end up getting as much rest as I would have liked, mostly due to the Oliver who just decided to vomit in my sheets. EW. Instead of sitting quietly and typing, I had to get up and do a load of sheets, blankets, and mattress pads...since they were all soaked. Now the washer is unbalanced and is making the most terrible racket. The dogs are all barking at it. Okay, it stopped...but they haven't. HUSH EVERYONE! Oliver is doing his manly bark...which is actually quite wussy. Big baby.

Our garage sale is in less than 2 weeks! Hooray! I am SO hoping to get rid of all this furniture that I've been toting around for 7 years. It's going to be interesting to see how little stuff is left in the house afterwards! My mother is coming to help us with the garage sale, thankfully. I have no idea how to price things..and she's the expert. I'm sure by the end of the day, we'll be throwing crap at people...PLEASE TAKE THIS AWAY!

Liberty is licking the bed. Why does she do this? She's nasty. I've yelled at her twice already. She's laying at Oliver's bootie, as if it comforts her. I'm sure she missed him. She was un-harassed all weekend. Now she's resting her head on his butt. Weirdo.

I'm sure I'll be spending tomorrow folding laundry and other random tasks. Hopefully, it won't be too thrilling!

2 of 3 days

I'm having a fabulously fun day already! I'd much rather be having fun away from work, but at least today is going well. I've been really busy, but it hasn't been too bad. I'm working with great people today, and that always makes it better. I work with the most wonderful people! They are always ready to lend a hand! :)

Becca's out of town this weekend, so Grace has been ruling the roost alone. She was so happy to see me yesterday when I got home! It's always a good feeling to have someone dancing and thrilled to see you. She and I had some quality time together...and then I went to sleep as soon as I hit the pillow. That's probably going to happen again tonight...and tomorrow. I think I have off until Thursday, so that will be a nice break for me!

Things for the move are coming along. We have our storage room reserved and can start moving things in there on June 12. We're planning on renting a truck and just having friends come help us move stuff there later that week. I'm not too sure I feel comfortable moving a washer and dryer alone! :) We are scheduled to move on the 19th. I hired someone to come clean the house after we leave it (cause that's just not something I wanna do!) and we'll do the walk-through with the landlord on the 23rd and be out of there! :) I'm so excited not to have my name on that house's electric bill anymore! It's a money pit! My brother and sister-in-law are coming into town the weekend before, and maybe I'll convince Michael to help lift things. They are finishing all the details of their own move, getting the apartment stuff figured out, and all that very exciting stuff. I can't WAIT until they are here! :)Becca was looking at the calendar yesterday and figuring out that we move three weeks from tomorrow. I think it's just crept up on us. June is next week! INSANITY!

Well, I'm probably supposed to be doing something. (It seems like I'm bored today..believe me, I'm not!) Have a fabulous holiday weekend!

Care for me...and Nessie

So, you're probably bewildered by the title of my blog. It's okay. It's hard to understand the inner workings of my twisted and mostly confused mind! :) Who is Nessie, you might ask? If you've read my blog at all, you know that Nessie is my very beautiful SUV. She's absolutely gorgeous in all her Nautical Blue glory. Anyways, while I was in Austin this past weekend, I noticed that someone had very rudely put some scratches on Nessie's driver door. I'm currently sitting at the Aqua Zoom, having Nessie waxed so the scratches go away. They are just very light scratches, hardly even noticeable...but I notice them! She's also been washed and vacuumed, and is now very happy, I'm sure.

Last night after work, some friends and I went to Gloria's for Margarita fun. :) I am not a big drinker, but it's always fun to go and hang out and drink a wee bit! It was really nice to go and kinda debrief about things that have been going on lately. We always get the same waiter when we go...I think he's very brave for continuing to be our waiter. We get a bit rowdy at times! Anyways, today we're going to go visit our friend who is in the hospital. I love to visit people in the hospital...is that weird? I love to take balloons and stuffed animals and things. I figure, at least they should have something nice to look at. Whitney's only going to be in the hospital overnight..but surgery always has pain, so say a prayer for her when you read this.

I can not figure out what color to paint my room. It's a conundrum. I've got all these brilliant ideas, but am afraid that none of them will actually match my bedding. The problem lies in that I have two completely different types of bedding. I have this fabulous red/tan winter duvet thingy and a spring/summer quilt that's purple/green/cream. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PICK WITH THAT!? Any suggestions? Ideas? 'Cause I have none anymore.

Well, Nessie's ready for me (did I mention this place has free internet? LOVE IT!). Must get going...

Sorrow and joy.

My job is emotionally draining. I absolutely love being with my families...to see them go through all the steps of becoming new parents to having their child operated on and finally get to go home. I do not love when they move into the realm of having to say goodbye to their precious child. I sat in a room today when a patient was lovingly ushered into the arms of Jesus. What a precious moment...and yet, so devastating. I have taken care of that child since she was born, and she passed on right after her 1st birthday. What a truly humanizing experience it is to be with someone when they are saying their final goodbyes...and so humbling as well. The amazing fact is that they wanted us all there. They felt they needed the support of those who loved them and their child. You've never seen grief until you've seen someone actively lose a child. It's heartbreaking and tearjerking. There was not a dry eye in the room..nurses..chaplain..techs..doctors. Even now, I still am in absolute awe of the entire situation. All we could do was tell these parents how much we loved the child, and all they could do was to thank us for all we did for her. What an amazing family. I am so thankful that I have another nurse working with me today, or else I would have had to go home. I had nasty raccoon eyes. EW!

Other than that, I've just been doing nothing but working. This week has been much more relaxed than last, and I am so thankful for that! I don't work until Saturday, and I plan to do nothing but deprogram during the break! This weekend should be quiet, since it's a holiday. Of course, now that I say that...the weekend will be icky! I just love to jinx myself!

Must return to work...do I have to?

Too cute.

Happy family...minus Kim!

Waiting for graduation to start....

Busy weekend!

I'm back! Michael's graduation is over, and I know he's excited about it! It was absolutely fabulous to see all my family and celebrate Michael's accomplishments. The ceremony was a wee bit boring, except for the 30 seconds where they talked about Michael! That time was spent with loud screaming and cheering! :) Anyways, Michael starts his bar review class today (and for the next 6 weeks!), takes the bar at the end of July, and then moves to DALLAS in August! Hooray for moving! It's going to be absolutely great to have them in town! The three of us are a wild bunch when we get together. We even started talking about taking a cruise together sometime next year...that poor boat would never be the same!

I took Liberty with me, and she did so well! She rarely barked at the hotel, and only once decided to escape. To her defense, she was chasing after some toy poodles that she saw. She thought they were her poodle sister. She was sadly mistaken. Other than that, she pottied where she was supposed to and was generally behaved. The hotel had Wifi, so that kept me pleasantly entertained since they only had about 10 TV stations. I'm so spoiled rotten with my friend TIVO! :) Michael, Jen, and I spent the evening last night at Dave and Busters, playing video games to our heart's content! I think we ended up getting about 2000 tickets during the couple hours we were there. We then came back and watched Beauty and the Beast...or I should say "sang" it. There was a lot of singing and quoting going on. I came back home this afternoon, ready to go back to work the next two days. HA! I'm never ready to go back to work!

ANYWAYS. Must go find food. I'm off to find some.... :)

This day was CRAP!

EEKS. I am so glad to be home. This entire week has been absolutely crazy. I have no idea what made it so crazy...but it was. It's not like I don't love my job, but this week, I really wanted to be somewhere else. I can't imagine if I didn't have a nurse orienting with me. She's the reason I'm not completely crazy! How much bad news can one nurse take in a week? Here's a sample...precious baby with head bleed, another one has probably had a mild stroke and is now blind, another one has a big nasty blood clot in his heart, then another one is going to die. SEE? All this happened in the last two days! This is nonsense. Life just is not fair.


Tomorrow, I am going to Austin for Michael's law school graduation. It's absolutely nutty that my brother is going to be a lawyer. Of course, this isn't the end..he still has to take this bar review class, and then the bar in July...but we all know he'll fly through with ease. Smarty pants. I have ABSOLUTELY no idea what to get him for graduation. I'm sure he'd say not to get him anything, but I just can't do that. I'm at an absolute loss though. It's a mystery.

I don't have to be back at work until Tuesday. Hooray! It's just not long enough...

Liberty and Sadie's favorite new spot in the car...they are CREEPY

This one is good too...but sadly, I got NO pics of Hootie!

This is The Fray....you can see it better if you make it big..

Oh, the humanity

It is SO noisy in here. The puppies, namely Oliver and Liberty, are tearing around my bed in some sort of fight/playtime. Oliver gnaws on Grace's butt, who then proceeds to bear her teeth and shriek. Oliver then smacks her on the head with his giant paws, only to draw out biting, more shrieking and some sort of whining noise. Now Oliver is upset because Liberty won't play with him. Big babies.

I am so glad I don't work tomorrow. I was just SO stinking busy today. Thank GOODNESS I had another nurse with me! I would have gone crazy if it wasn't for her! :) I had a family that is just SO high maintenance...and it can wear on your nerves after awhile. They are very sweet, but a quick 2 minute medicine turns into a 30 minute thing. Drama, Drama, DRAMA! :) Anyways...I'm just glad to be home and that I don't have to be back tomorrow! The bad thing is I know this family likes me, so I'm afraid they will want me to be their nurse all the time. My poor spirit can't handle that! :)

I have no idea what I'm going to be doing tomorrow. I'll figure out something. I'm gonna guess that it will involve some sitting around time. And laundry time. And clean up the nasty house time. That's pretty much it. My life isn't interesting today!

Little taste of Heaven

SO...for all of you who have never been to Taste of Addison...GET IN YOUR CAR AND GO! It's a food lovers paradise! Amanda and I went yesterday, mostly to see some fabulous bands...but also eat ourselves silly. We paid our admission, were excited to see the carnival, and then the madness began. There were at least 50 restaurants there, all with a sample of their foods for less than 5 dollars. Mexican, Chinese, Italian , Sandwiches, Burgers, Sushi, Seafood, EVERYTHING! :) We walked around for an hour before we finally could make ourselves decide. For starters, we shared sweet potato chips from Blue Mesa. Yum. Then we got fajita nachos from Cantina Larado...SO good. I need to go to that restaurant..I've never been! We took our food and pulled up a spot on the grass for the show. The first band, the Fray, was really good! I'd heard them on Manda's myspace page, but never all the way through. I enjoyed the concert, and Manda had never heard them in concert before...so happy for everyone! After the first concert, we ran into more friends who are child life specialists from work. We hung out with them until they had to meet up with more friends. Then HOOTIE. Let me tell you..what a memory. It was like I was transported right back to my freshman year at LU. It was a fabulous time. If I was going to be in town tonight...I would absolutely go back. Tonight, the Go Go's and the Gin Blossoms will be there. SO fun! ANYWAYS...

I'm not back to work until Monday...ta DA! :) Next week should be good because I have a new employee with me. That always is fun when there are two of us taking care of the kids! :) Next weekend, my brother graduates from law school. It will be a rockin' good time...but calm. We've been threatened to receive ill fitting socks at Christmas for the rest of our lives if we misbehave. I have no idea what they are so worried about...I'm the picture of calm and quiet.

I called my insurance company yesterday. They got the information from my doctor's office on May 3..and it will take 30 days for them to evaluate it. PRAY PRAY PRAY! I'm nervous about it, but am really trying hard to remember that I'm not the one in control right now! :)

WELL...must be going. I'm getting hungry. Must eat. OH! I forgot my fun news! I weighed in yesterday...I'm now up to 78 total pounds gone! TA DA! :) I can't even fathom having all that weight back on. That's like an entire 5th grader...or one of our anorexics at work (that's so sad!)

Hope your Saturday is full of wonder and excitement...I'm sure mine will be!

Recovered!

No more puking! Hooray! :) Okay, so that's pretty much old news, but I'm so sure you were excited to read it! Nothing much has gone on in my crazy world. I spent yesterday floated to another floor of the hospital. It was not the funnest time I've ever had (oh yeah, I said funnest!) The charge nurse was not helpful and I had a wee beastly child that really liked to scream. Enough said. Thankfully, even though the day was horrific, it went by quickly!

I am getting my hair cut off tomorrow! I have no idea what to do with it...but I'm sure my hairdresser will think of something. I don't want to look in those hairstyle magazines because 1. they are never for curly hair and 2. even if they have curly hair, it's never like mine. I'll probably just spend some time looking on the internet for this mystery hairstyle. Hopefully I won't look stupid. I'll make sure to post it.

After I get my hair cut off, a friend of mine from work are going to this thing called Taste Addison. I really don't know what to expect, but there are going to be some bands there that are fun and exciting. Amanda's really excited about this group called the Fray. I've heard them before, and they are good. Both of us are elated because the second band that will be there is HOOTIE and the BLOWFISH! When was the last time they were ever famous enough to be in concert? This is mind boggling to me. I remember singing to them on the radio my freshman year in college. We even had a girl on the floor that we used to torture with "Hold my hand". Can you imagine torturing someone with Hootie? My life is sad. :(

I keep having these horrible dreams about the dogs. Last week, I dreamed we had to put Sadie down. In my dream, Becca wouldn't hold her and I had to. Her little face was so pitiful! In my dream last night, Oliver jumped over this railing into a ravine. Over the railing was a river 100 feet down. (no idea why i remember this) Oliver couldn't swim and I couldn't get to him. Later on, we walked down to the river and his little body was on the rocks. HOW AWFUL IS THAT! Why do I dream this crap! Scary!

Well, better be off. The weather is beautiful...so of course I'm at work! Have a lovely day!

The lure of reality TV

At this very moment, I'm watching David Blaine attempt to stay underwater for 9 minutes. Never mind that the freak has been underwater for a week...letting his skin schluff (is that how you spell it?) away into the very water you are consistantly floating around in. Never mind that he pees through a catheter or is fed through a feeding tube. Never mind that the longer he holds his breath, the more brain cells die. The American people love this kind of crap. We love to slow down to see if we see bodies on the road for car wrecks. We love to watch people "fall in love" on TV only to have those relationships crash and burn in the real world. We love medical shows that show us the "freaks of the world" and all their deformities. No wonder the rest of the world thinks we are crazy...we ARE!
On a side note...David Blaine did NOT make it the 9 minutes...only 7 or so. He was pulled from the water by divers and he was actually BLUE. More blue than the heart babies I take care of. Not pretty! A crazy hypnotist guy is talking in quiet hushed tones, attempting to reassure the man who just failed at his stupid task...and to make sure he's not going to die right there. Maybe not die...but he'll certainly be more stupid after this. People are CRAZY.

What does your birthday mean?

Your Birthdate: September 15

You take life as it is, and you find happiness in a variety of things. You tend to be close to family and friends. But it's hard to get into your inner circle. Making the little things wonderful is important to you, and you probably have an inviting home. You seek harmony with others, but occasionally you have a very stubborn streak. Your strength: Your intense optimism Your weakness: You shy away from exploring your talents Your power color: Jade Your power symbol: Flower Your power month: June

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Yikes.

SO...let's see. I have had the most fabulous 36 hours in quite awhile...and they were all spent in the bathroom! I've acquired some sort of puke bug from somewhere..and I don't like it! I absolutely hate throwing up. I hate it so much that I refuse to drink for days afterwards so I don't have to even chance throwing up. I was actually sent home from work yesterday because I couldn't stop. I came home, took my last Zofran pill that I've been saving, and went to sleep for about 4 hours. It was a good time. I woke up still queasy and dizzy, and I don't think that work wants me back feeling like crap, so I called in for today. I'm still really weak today, but I'm not running back and forth to the potty. That ended sometime in the middle of the night. Now I'm just trying to convince myself to drink! I'm proud to say that I have had three sips of 7 up this morning. I rule!

Other than vomit, I haven't really done anything noteworthy the last couple of days. Becca spent some time at our new house yesterday. Her parents brought a special type of beam to install in the house, and they spent yesterday doing it. Becca tagged along for moral support (cause you know we don't lift heavy things!) and got the scoop on the house renovations. We'll probably be moving the last week of June...so anyone who wants to come help will greatly be appreciated! :) ANYWAYS. Must be going now. I'm sure Becca will try at any moment to make me drink more. MUST DRINK BUT MUST NOT PUKE!

Hooray for cleaning!

Last night, around 10pm...there was time for great celebration! The lost has been found! Okay, there is a story here! About 6 months ago, I realized I had no idea where my Nursing school diploma and license were. I tore my room apart with no success. I had resigned myself to the fact that it was gone. I'm not excited about the idea of attempting to get a duplicate degree from El Centro. They were pretty stingy with the last one! :) Back to last night. I was cleaning out a box from the bottom of my closet. I was all the way down to the bottom of the box and there it was! The familiar envelope! I checked and BOTH items were in there! The missing has returned! :) One of these days, I'll get all my degrees professionally framed...but for now, Walmart frames will have to do. I still have my LU diploma in a Walmart frame. I figure I can get frames for these and then I'll have something to hang in my new room in our new house! :)

That's pretty much it. Lots of packing. Celebrations. Framing. The end.

Spring cleaning...maybe.

The weather today is so weird. It's sunny..then cloudy...then sunny...then cloudy. It's nuts! It's actually not really that hot, but it's rather humid. There's a breeze...which is fabulous! :) I've been outside for about an hour hacking the bushes up. We've got this teeny tiny hedge trimmer that I like to wield as my own personal weapon. I do a terrible job, and the bushes are uneven, but at least they are trimmed!! I rule! :) I haven't thrown away all the clippings yet, so they are still laying all over the yard. I'm thinking I might save that for later...when the sun goes down..and when Becca is home! :) The puppies hated the trimming, and attempted to hide in the back of the yard. I didn't chase them with it. I figured that was too mean. I already torture them with the vacuum cleaner.

I had my eyes checked today. I finally have new contacts! They feel fabulous! I think my old ones were about 6 months old, and that's nasty. I hate how the eye doctor always wants you to come in for a follow up. I think it's their excuse to get you back into their offices. "I'm sorry, but you can't have your prescription until you come back and attempt to bleed more money out of you."

I'm also doing laundry right now. NOT fun when you're hot! I really don't want to touch those clothes...but I think they eventually have to come out of the dryer. Stupid hot dryer.

I need a vacation. I know, I know, I just had one. This matter not. I want to go on another cruise. They are SO much fun. Becca and I were talking about the Carnival Destiny (may she rest in peace) yesterday during water aerobics. I would cruise all year round, I think. Maybe I'll go work on the ship as the ship RN. What a fabulous idea! :)

The puppies have finally recovered from this weekend. There was a lot of sleeping the last couple of days...but now, I think we're back to normal. Oliver did major frenzy last night. He was tearing around the room snarling and panting. He's a nut.

Anyways...not quite sure what I'm going to do the next couple of days. I do know that I'm going to finish cleaning up the yard so that our fabulous lawn boy can come and mow it. It's quite safari like. Hooray for mowed yards! Besides that, I'll hopefully get some things packed. I think my mom is going to come the 2nd weekend of June to help us price stuff...since we know nothing. Anyways...have a fabulous day!