I'm home!

The entire apartment is sparkly and shiny. Thanks pookie!

I'll post the pics of my reunion and trip on Friday when I have time and am not jetlagged. Yes, three hours does make a difference, especially since I have been up since 1:30 am California time.
Isn't it time for bed yet?

I'm hoping and praying.....

...that my airplane pilot takes off on the correct runway tomorrow morning. Just a thought.

I LOVE REAL STORMS

I am here in Indiana right now, listening to the rain pouring outside the window. The lightning is bright and the thunder is loud. Just found out that there's a tornado watch out tonight. For those of you who do not know what a tornado watch is, basically the conditions are perfect for a tornado to form but none have been spotted.

It's been a really long time since I have enjoyed a good Indiana summer rain storm, and I'm loving it! The good thing? Atleast if a tornado comes in the middle of the night, I can see now (without relying on my glasses) to get myself into the hallway or into our crawlspace. The crawlspace is probably filled with spiders and that would be way too much for me to handle. I prefer our hallway, although dragging the mattress out to cover us is a pain.

I miss "my" Randy and wish he was experiencing this with me.

Enough ramblings for now. Gotta go to bed so I can listen to the rain and drift to sleep.

See at last! See at last! Thank God Almighty, I see at last!!!

Today, I got Lasik done on my eyes. And I can see! For the first time since 3rd grade, I have been able to see without any correction whatsoever. The procedure itself was pretty quick with a little bit of discomfort, and my eyes are still a little itchy/swollen, and I had to keep my eyes closed for 4 hours afterward to let my eyes heal (thanks Pookie for leading your blind wife around and feeding her. And for taking pictures- which will be posted later). It was all worth it to be able to look at the trees and see leaves again without glasses. I can look at the horizon and see the fine line where the ocean ends and the sky begins. I can read things farther than six inches from my face. Woo Hoo! This has been the happiest day of my life since I married my best friend.
Things didn't start out so great with Jacquie falling and breaking her arm this morning. We went in for our surgeries at the same time- me for repairment of sight and her for repairment of a crushed radius. She's doing ok now, all doped up post-op at the hospital , recovering.

What a day!

It's about time!

Our porch is FINALLY getting redone thanks to our apartment complex's handyman Jason. We were promised this when we moved in in March and a miracle occurred and our landlord actually sent the guy over today to do it. And we didn't have to threaten her or anything, but I was just about to.
Y''all are gonna have to come over and check it out once I get some flowers and stuff out there.

A GREAT TIME CAMPING

We went to Mammoth to camp this past weekend and I think everyone had a blast. Between the rain, freezing cold nights, beautiful sights and sounds of the mountains and Yosemite, and the snow/freezing rain that we got to play in, it was an AWESOME vacation!!!!
There's never a dull moment with our group. Even to the end, when we woke up to a bear in our camp, we had our fill of excitement. Woo hoo! We saw a bear!
Click on the bear below to see the rest of the pics.

All Cleaned and Ready for Inspection, Ma'am!

Yep, my mom is coming to town. And she's staying with us (thank you Randy- I love you pookie!). This is the first time since our wedding that she will be out here in good ol' Ventura. I have spent the last 2 days cleaning things as spotless as they can get in our old apartment building that hasn't been painted in years. Four words: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. The thing is a M-I-R-A-C-L-E!!! I don't know what they put in those little sponges, but whatever it is, works really well on all the black marks on the walls.

It's Officially Official!!!!

The one and only bugg is a real REGISTERED NURSE!!!!! I found out today! Check it out! (just enter my name and viola!).

And, I would like to say that I LOVE my job. It's awesome. I'm learning so much and can't believe I am where I'm at. Cottage is a great place to work, and I feel as though I'm making some small difference in this crazy world.

I did almost puke due to the stink of one of my patient's poop the other day. If you think that regular poop smells bad, you should smell chemo poop.
WOO-EEE!!!!!!

I love the other nurses I work with and feel like I'm meant to be there. And, the good thing is, the 12 hour shifts go pretty quickly. My feet and legs kill me by the end of the shift though. I have very Dr Scholls orthopedic shoes but sometimes the most comfortable shoes at the beginning of the shift just don't cut through the tiredness of running around for 12 hours.

I was able to talk to a 50 year old cancer patient the other day who has a 15 year old son (hits pretty close to home for me). I told him my experience with my dad and he told me that he's having trouble talking to his son about his cancer and how it's getting worse. I was able to give some insight as to what I went through, what feelings his son might be having, and how to approach the subject of having hope but being realistic. We both had tears in our eyes when we finished our talk (even though he didn't see my tears). I think it may have helped me as much as it helped him. It showed me that my dad will never be far from me, and that I should always take advantage of those moments that I can use his life and my experience to help other people.

I love being a nurse. God please give me the strength to never stop loving what I do, because I was created to do this.

The Doodlebops

I am not usually a Disney Channel watcher, but this morning I came across a show titled "The Doodlebops". Maybe all of you parents out there have heard of the show, or your kids may watch it everyday, but as a non-parent, I was actually impressed by it. At first glance, I thought that someone would have to be either very young or too high on LSD to watch the Doodlebops. But, I was captivated (and I fit neither one of the categories I might add) and thought that it was a great show for kids. Do any of you parents with young kids ever watch this show? It seems to be very educational and entertaining. All I kept on thinking was how much Levi would love it. Check the Doodlebops out!

HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY!!!!

From all of us here at Pretty Is as Pretty Does, thanks to you viewers and readers for making our first year in Blogland absolutely splendid. It was one year ago today that we first made our mark on this world through interesting thought and exhilarating visuals. And a bunch of mindless ramblings.

Here's to many more years of at-the-edge-of-your-seats-blogging!

CHEERS!

Those Crazy Japanese!

Wish our American pranks were this funny!

By the way: this link should be working now. I've kept you all waiting in suspense.

I Want To Do This

Traveling, or should I say dancing, around the world.

I'm (unofficially) an R.N.!!!!!!

That's right! I passed my test! It's unofficial though because my school hasn't mailed our transcripts yet to the Board of Registered Nursing (B.R.N.) and they can't send me an official license until they get those (GRRRRRRRR!!!!). But, I passed irregardless. :-)
Whew! Sorry to all my friends and family for driving you crazy in my nervousness. I love you all for believing in me when I didn't necessarily believe in myself. I couldn't have done it without you. Snuggleupandkiss, I love you so much and I'm so sorry you are married to such a neurotic wife. xoxo
On to our next endeavour!

Great News!!!!

As of today, there are only 187 days until Christmas! Fa la la la la, la la la la!

Summer Fun: Five Things

5 Things in My Fridge:
Apples
Coke Zero
Lettuce
Slim Fast
Chicken marinating in BBQ

5 Things in My Closet:
Clothes hamper
Jewelry box
3 pairs of sunglasses
4 empty champagne bottles
Clothes hung on hangers

5 Things in My Car:
Randy's shoes
Nurse bag full of dressings, catheter kit, etc...
Nursing careplans
Umbrella
Toy figurines of Elvis and Darth Vader

5 Things in My Purse:
Receipt from Vons
Purell anti-microbial hand gel
Pair of latex gloves
Elvis wallet
Advil

I love my sister

Keri, in the words of Stevie Wonder: "You are the sunshine of my life..."

This blog post is devoted entirely to you, since you don't think I blog enough. Maybe this will keep you from complaining for a little bit. :-)

I love you and miss you!

God is Good, Life is Good

Psalm 65:5-7
You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.

How Many States have you been to?

I have been to 41 (80% of the USA). Only 9 more to go!!!


create your own visited states map

Cruisin' May 2006

I had an awesome time with all my friends on the cruise this past week. Besides forgetting something and having a stressful late start, everything was smooth sailing. We had a total of 18 people in our group (including babies): Me, Randy, Martha, Jared, Nate, Kristen, Conrad, Whitney, another Kristen, Sara, Dan, Avery, Alex, Celeste, Ann, David, Mikee, and Vera. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate a big milestone than with all of you. Thank you for making this trip so special for me....can we do it again next year?!?

Randy and I FINALLY got all of our pics titled and uploaded, just for your viewing pleasure. Click on the pic above and enjoy!

Kristi Went to Indiana...

...and brought back these exhilarating pictures. Take a look!