Huntington Beach

My friends and I decided to go to the Huntington Beach Singles Conference this weekend. Today was so incredibly much fun. We went and played beach volleyball. What a total blast! I actually did better than I thought I would. That is always nice when you surprise yourself like that. Then I had to go and cool my feet off in the water. The sand was very hot! This pic is one I took from the water. I wasn't about to complain about the view. Gotta love the lifeguards! Afterwards, I had to go put some clothes on and sit in the shade. It was seriously so incredibly hot, I thought I was getting fried. The beach was so much fun.
Tonight we have group dinner. Basically we got to choose a place to eat and when we show up, we find out who we are eating with. It was a great way to get to know several different people. We had ten people on our table at Joe's Crab Shack in Newport Beach. It was tons of fun! We had a great group of people, and Joe's is a fun place to eat. They have loud music, dancing and lots of craziness going on constantly. I was able to chat with some great people from all over. After, they had a dance at the church. They also had different rooms where you could play the wii, play rock band, eat yummy snacks, and sing karaoke. It was a good night. I had a lot of fun today.

Beautiful So. Cal

So, I came to Southern California for the weekend. Can I even tell you how absolutely beautiful it is here? It is sunny, warm temperatures, nice sea breeze, and beautiful palm trees. I could not be more happy. It is so incredibly great to be here. Since I got here this morning, I was able to go to the Irvine Spectrum and do a little shopping. Well, more like window shopping. I saw a ton of things I would love to own, but did not buy any of them. Again, I have to comment on the beautiful weather, absolutely fantastic!
After shopping I headed down to Newport Beach. I wanted to do a quick run. It was so much fun. It felt so good to run and it is even better that it was on the beach. You cannot go wrong with that. I seriously loved it! I think it is 100 times better than running at Tempe Town Lakes. The beach is just so refreshing.
Since I am an absolute photography fanatic, I had to take photos after my run. I found these cool flowers on the beach. It is cool that they grow in the sand on the beach.
What an absolutely fun day! I had such a good time, and it was so relaxing. Since I am considering Southern California for my next job, it was good to come and see how much I love it here. It has been great! I absolutely love it here. How could anyone not love it here? So, now the hardest part comes, finding the right job.

Notice: Sex Offender

I just thought that this was so incredibly funny (it probably isn't, but I had to laugh). We got this in the mail the other day. I can honestly say that I have never in my life recieved a sex offender notification in the mail. I mean, what am I supposed to do with this? Move? Oh wait, I am a traveling nurse. I can move in a few weeks!! I guess it is a good thing to know what kind of neighbors you have. In some cases what you don't know can hurt you. It is also good that as a traveling nurse, you can move when you want.
Anyway, life here continues to be so much fun. The weather is starting to get a little hot, but for the most part it is fantastic! We are still doing the same old stuff. Going on walks everyday is my ablsolute favorite things to do. I think Jack tends to agree.

BiPolar Utah

So, I went to Utah this past week so that I could get my house ready to sell. I flew out on Sunday and was there through Thursday. Utah can be beautiful this time of year. On Monday, it was absolutely amazing there. It was 81 degrees and sunny all day. It was a fantastic day! I was able to get a lot done. However, this is where the whole bipolar disease comes in. On Tuesday it started out as a gloomy cloudy day, and went downhill from there. Before I knew it, it was an absolute blizzard out there. Are you absolutely crazy?? It went from 81 yesterday to 30's today. It is ridiculous! I am absolutely freezing to death here. Who knew that I could become acclimated to the warm weather in AZ so fast. The picture does not do the storm justice. It really was a blizzard.

I am selling my house. I just decided that I wanted to be able to travel without worrying about the casa. While I was at home, my mom came down and helped me paint and clean my house. I really appreciated her help. I could not have done it all without her. I must admit though, the house looks better than it has ever looked. I am excited to get it on the market and get it sold!

Otherwise, I had a great time in Utah. I worked a couple shifts at the LDS ED. It was so much fun to go and see all my friends there. I also was able to go out to breakfast, lunch, and dinner with friends. I had a total blast. It was great. Although, my stomach will be sick for a week after eating out so much.

It was so nice to go back to Utah for a visit, but at the end of it all, I was excited to get back to the good ol AZ.

The Professor

Have you ever in your life seen a cuter dog??? Maybe it is just a mom / owner thing to do to think that your dog is the cutest one on earth, but I honestly do. I like to refer these pictures of Jackie Wackie (which were taken by my roommate Jessie) as "The Professor".

I mean seriously, don't you remember one of your college professors looking exactly like that. All smart, handsome, and distinguished. He looks so completely charming. These pictures made me laugh so incredibly hard. I was only imagining what he was thinking as he sat there with her glasses on. He is a very patient dog.

This also just goes to show, dogs are a lot like children. Always better for someone else than they are for their moms. I could probably never get him to pose like that for me. He would have immediately knocked them off his face. But for Jessie, he sat there like he had all the time in the world. I mean, he sat through an entire photo shoot! I must admit though that she is a great photographer. She got some great shots of the dog.

My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Brown paper packages tied up with strings, These are a few of my favorite things.

Your singing now, aren't you? Some of my favorite things are photography, my dog Jack, and doing anything outside. Tonight we combined all three in a great sunset walk.

Jackie Wackie and I went to Tempe town lakes. It was a great night. The wind started blowing this afternoon and it dropped the temperature by about 10 degrees. It was nice and cool (well, cool for AZ anyways.....it was probably still 70s) It was such a great night for a walk.

I was able to get several great shots with my camera. I love to take pictures. It is honestly why I take vacations. It is also how I decorate my house. I mean, honestly, how do people find stuff to put on their walls without taking pics. Anyways, I was able to get some great shots of downtown Phoenix with the sunset. My favorite pic of Jack is of him looking through the hole in the bridge. He had been looking at the water, and just as I took the picture, he looked up at me. It turned out really cute. Although, I think that if I would let him, Jack would jump from the bridge into the water. He loves it!!

Lastly, the walk was one of the most enjoyable things I have done today. It was so relaxing and so fun. I love to be outside with the fresh air and the blue skies (ok, obviously orange tonight). This is what makes living in AZ in the winter so appealing, the weather is fantastic.

The Scorpion Incident

I have loved living in AZ. It has been a ton of fun and the weather is fantastic! I love being outside and love the sunshine and the blue skies. I love living near family. It is nice having Brooke and the kids a short ride away. However, as I was getting ready the other morning, I was reminded of one of the bad things about living here.

The other morning after I took my dog running at tempe town lakes, I came home and took a shower. I felt really good. I was getting ready in the bathroom and as I was getting ready, I picked up my sports bra and towel from the counter. I was combing out my hair when I see something moving out of the corner of my eye in my bathroom sink. I look down and found one of my least favorite things on this earth in my sink. A scorpion!! HOW ON EARTH DID IT GET THERE?? I immediately jumped back. Because, you know, it might be able to jump out at me. I was finally able to muster the strength to go back towards the sink and turn the water on. The scorpion was frantically trying to climb out of the sink, but kept slipping on the porcelain sink.

The water wasn't helping though!! The scorpion was just trying harder and harder to get away. I was running around trying to think of what to do. What do you do with a scorpion that you didn't want in the first place? Water! That is the answer. I grapped a cup of water and poured more water in the sink and eventually the little (2 inches long) thing went down the drain. I then left the water running for about 10 minutes. I think I took care of him.

So much for taking a shower. I was itching for the rest of the day. And, now I dont feel safe in my bathroom. You ever have to pee in the middle of the night and walk barefoot into the bathroom without ever turning a light on? Me too. Used to. Can't do it anymore. Now I have to wake up, check that my slippers don't have any visitors in them, turn on the light, check the floor and sink of the bathroom for any unwanted visitors and finally can pee. This is not the way I want to live.

Jack's Adventures

Jack is having a great time living here in AZ. As you can tell from the picture, Jack is our little watch dog. He keeps things under a close watch and barks at things that aren't right. He is also having a total blast going running with me. Tempe town lakes is a short 2 mile drive from our house and is a great place to get outside for some fresh air. It is a big man made lake with running trails around the whole thing. It is a great workout for both of us!

Jack has a tendency to get bored when I am not around. If I am at work

or out shopping, he finds that he has too much time on his paws, and finds a way to create a little trouble. Most of the time, he is a great dog!! But every once in a while, I come home to some trouble. Like last night when I came home from work, I had an unpleasant suprise waiting for me. I open the door and find a brand new box of tampons completely ripped up and destroyed. I don't know what he thinks they are or why he thinks they are a toy, but they were all over the place. It was so funny. I made him pose for this pic. I think he was embarrased. My favorite part, is that he knows when he does something wrong. I walk in the house and all I have to do is say, "Jack" in a shocked voice, and he immediately sits down and his ears lay flat to his head. His little tail is wagging like crazy on the floor and he just hopes that I will forgive him. He is my baby, so I do forgive him. I just have to remember next time to shut all the doors before I leave.

The Pottery Experience

Friday night was so much fun! My roommate Jessie and I went to dinner at this restaurant called Cadillac Ranch. It is a fun BBQ place with crazy loud music. Afterwards, we had a total blast painting pottery. What an experience!! I started out by choosing what I wanted to paint. They had picture frames, vases, platters, plates, chips and salsa platters, large bowls, etc. I chose to paint a vase. Then you have to choose your paint. You know, they shouldn't have so many choices, for people like me who can't make a decision to save her life. It is a hard place to be in. As many of you may know (just by knowing me) or may be able to tell by reading my blog, that I absolutely LOVE the color orange. I chose to paint my vase brown and orange. The only problem with painting pottery, however, is that I am a perfectionist. It is pretty hard to get exactly what you want when you are painting pottery......I mean for me anyway. The pottery shop guy gave me some great tips and I was off and painting. I had to learn to accept imperfection.

Honestly, it was so therapeutic! I had the time of my life. It was very relaxing and peaceful.....except for all the times that I got upset cuz the painting wasn't turning out like I thought it should. I felt truly creative, which is a huge jump for me, considering I have no artistic talent at all.

This is something I definitely plan on doing again. Surprisingly, I found that I was pretty good at it, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. What a totally fabulous way to spend a Friday night. I mean, I guess if I am not going to have a date, I might as well have a total blast!

The picture of me painting my pottery came from my cell phone. I thought it would be nice to have photographic proof of my work.

My Job

Sometimes I wonder how I ever got myself into this career of mine. I mean, honestly, who in their right mind wakes up one day and says to themselves, "you know, I think I would like to stick things in people that they don't want in them (needles, foley cathethers) and wipe their bums while I am at it". I am not a betting type, but if I were, I would bet that not one person would choose this job (based on above requirements). But alas, here I am doing the whole nursing thing day in and day out.
I have come to the decision that nursing might not be for me. I like people. I like them a lot. I just don't like sick people. And I HATE germs. Can I emphasize that enough? This is where it all went wrong in my life. How can I be a nurse if I hate germs? It is something that I have had to come to terms with, this whole germ-hating thing. I am not winning the battle. You can only wash your hands so many times in one day. My hands look like blue-collar man hands. Not the best look when you are trying to get a date for Friday night.
Honestly, I think the only reason that I do the things that I do, is that every once in a while you get a really rewarding experience. Like my patient I had today. After being intubated (breathing tube for you amateurs) for an extended period of time and incredibly sick, I was able to talk to him and get him up into a chair and start his rehab process. And you know what? He was the most enjoyable guy to talk to. He had the best sense of humor and had me laughing all day. I guess in the long run, that is why I do it. To be able to see someone near death one week, and then three weeks later see them cracking jokes like we were old friends. And I guess we are.