The End.

I just worked my last night shift. Feels pretty good. Although, I have to admit, I did like being a night nurse. Just like I'm sure this girl does. Check out those "scrubs". Our are completely different, as you can imagine. They're blue, not white. :)



Good night!

Tired

Yes, we've been back from California for 3 days. No, I haven't had a chance to do any blogging. Yes, it makes me sad. But all I've done since we've gotten back is work, sleep, rinse, repeat. That means the gigantic piles of clean laundry are still left untouched, and the piles of now dirty laundry are growing by the day. I don't even know where to start.

The weekend started off with wedding festivities. Friday morning we drove from Mountain View up to Sacramento, where we checked into our pimp motel, the Econo Lodge, and then hit up Jamba Juice and tried the secret White Gummi Bear that Lindsey mentioned. It really did taste like a White Gummi Bear, too! Very tasty.

We drove out to the Sacramento Temple for the wedding that afternoon and saw Brian and Sara get married, which was awesome. The temple was beautiful, Sara was beautiful, but the weather? Not so beautiful. It was pretty cold almost the entire time were were in California. One should not have to dress like this on Memorial Day weekend:



BOO CALIFORNIA. I swear, it's always cold when I go there. People rave about the beautiful weather in Cali, and I have yet to truly experience it. Every year when we go to the beach, it's freezing. Freezing on the beach. Such an atrocity would never happen in Florida. Derrick says I complain about California's weather too much so California gives me the big middle finger by not being warm for me on purpose. But I severely digress....

The wedding. It was great. The dinner afterwards at The Old Spaghetti Factory was fun and yummy.



The reception was the next night up in Yuba City. Another frigid night, but all was well with a trip to Sonic at the end of the night!

Sassy Bridesmaids

The wedding party

With Scott, Sara's bro, and the happy Abby!

With the new couple

It was really great to be able to go out and be a part of the wedding. I was telling Derrick that we go to a lot of weddings, but they are mostly his friends who get married in the temple. I've really only had one good friend (Maria) get married in the temple. So it was really neat to be able to see another one my best friends do the same.

Hopefully soon: San Francisco!! Yay!

We're off to California....

...to marry our life-partners!! No, not really. It's Sara's wedding in Sac-town and then fun in the city by the bay, San Fran, with Kaylynn! I'm sooo excited!! See you in a few days, and Happy Memorial Day!!!

I'm still alive

All I've been doing since Thursday is working. I did have Monday off, which felt like a freaking holiday. In fact, we even turned it into a date night. We went to BodyWorlds, the anatomy exhibit on tour at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Sara and I saw a similar one in Vegas but this was way cooler. I love anatomy--I always have. I even became an anatomy TA while at BYU. I loved it. I didn't love smelling like formaldehyde, but I loved teaching others about our bodies. What I loved about this exhibit was pretty much everything. Seeing our bodies like that, with simple explanations about their complex functions, I felt so strongly how blessed we are to have our bodies. It also made me wonder how people can deny a creator when such divine workings are staring them straight in the face. I mean, how can you say that we are here by chance?? It's just not possible. Our organs and tissues work together in perfect harmony...that's not a coincidence. It was a strange place to feel the spirit to strongly, but it was very cool nonetheless.

After the exhibit, we made a quick stop at Trader Joe's and then ate some delicious avocado egg rolls from The Cheesecake Factory. Then we came home and crashed on the sofa. So nice to be home for once!

Only one more week of nights, and then I'm switching to days!! I only had to put in 3 months of nights before the switch, so I can't complain. At first I was pretty bummed to switch--I love the night nurses, the pace, the vibe of nights so much more than days. But days is just so much more conforming to living in an 8-5 world. I'm not looking forward to getting up at 5, but I am looking forward to sleeping in my bed every night!!

Crazy work moment of the week: Walking in on my patient, who delivered 2 days ago, and her husband getting busy in her hospital bed. I knocked, she answered, walked in and they abruptly sat up and sat on opposite sides of the bed facing away from each other. Uhh....awkward!! She asked for Percocets, I left to get them, came back to the room, knocked, she answered, I walked in, and caught them again!! They pulled away from each other, and then I noticed the baby was in between them!!! What is with these people???

Who's thinking of that after pushing out a kid? Eeps.

I could watch these all day long

More misheard lyrics. "Yellow Ledbetter," Pearl Jam

Remembering Fallen Mascots

This morning on my drive home, I took a detour due to road construction. Driving past Lloyd street, which, let's face it, is the most unfortunate name, the rhymer in me thought of The Noid, and then all sorts of 80's mascots flooded my memory.

Who doesn't remember The Noid? Domino's Pizza mascot? That pesky....whatever he was....was always trying to foil Domino's plan to make a tasty pizza. And we all know he failed.


Next up, Cool Spot. 7-Up's cool guy of the 80's. This guy was on mud flaps, made into telephones, he was on everything. I don't really remember him talking. He was that cool.


Last, but certainly not least, was Kool-Aid Man. The big, red jug of sugary fun. Back in the day he had enemies, The Thirsties, who were always trying to keep him down. This spawned an entire comic series, and I remember reading them all the time. This was also the time when Kool-Aid points were cut out and redeemed religiously. Who didn't have those cheap plastic mini Kool-Aid Man cups in every color?? Hey! Kool-Aid!!

I think the best part about the 80's and brand mascots was that almost everything got turned into a video game. They were the new technology, and everyone wanted in on it. I played each and everyone one of these games.


Really, are there better classic games than the ones you find on the original NES? No, the answer is no.

Anyone remember the Intellivision?? Technology at it's finest.

A favorite at my Aunt Cheryl's house, us cousins would always play the Kool-Aid trivia game. We bust it out occasionally when we all get together. I should steal it next time I'm there....

Anyone care to add more to the list??

I must have missed the memo...

So, according to American Idol and Ford, heaven consists of platinum records, swimming pools with your picture on the bottom, mansions, and cars.



And all this time I thought it was made up of clouds and pearly gates, and eternal happiness.

Don't I feel silly.

The results are in....

So I've tried the Neti Pot twice now. It's a little weird, I'm not gonna lie. But boy howdy, does it clear you out! It's amazing! I am feeling a little better, but I can't tell if that's the Benadryl Sinus I took at the same time.

I think I'll keep giving it a snot, er, shot.

You want me to pour it where??

I don't remember really having problems with allergies or sinuses growing up. I know my parents always did, but I sailed along breathing normally.

Enter Wisconsin.

I've had horrible allergies and sinus problems ever since we moved here. Right now, I've been miserable for 3 days because of them. It's terrible. I can't sleep, I can't breathe. My throat hurts, my eyes itch, I have crazy pressure in my head.

I've heard about people using Neti Pots for awhile now, and swear by them. I've been intrigued by them for awhile, but let's be honest, the thought of pouring salt water up my nose kind of freaks me out a little. I mean, does this look natural to you???


But I can see them being the kind of thing that I love and try to push on everyone I meet with allergy problems.

I finally bought this snazzy little model today at Wal-Greens. Who knew I needed to have "daily nasal hygiene"? I thought blowing my nose in the shower was hygienic enough. C'mon, admit it. Everyone blows snot rockets in the shower.
And now I'm working up the courage to actually use it. I hope I don't drown.

Feliz Dia de Madres!

Happy Mother's Day! Where would we be without our mom's? Probably running with scissors in dirty underwear.

Hope all the mother's out there, especially mine, have a great one! I sure am lucky to know so many great ones...they're teaching me a lot. Hopefully one day I can be as great a mother as my own and my friends!

Eureka!

For some unknown reason, I have not been able to find Martinelli's anywhere around here. And it is the superior sparkling apple cider, in my opinion. So instead, for holidays and other special occasions, we've had to settle for Welch's, and then grape, not apple.

So what does one do when one finds a plethora of Martinelli's on sale at Wal-Mart for a dollar a bottle??

Buys 10 bottles, of course. With plans to go back for more!

The post that will create enemies

I have to make this public. Derrick says that I will be excommunicated for thinking this. But I don't care.

I do not like David Archuletta.

There, I said it. Publicly.

Yes, I will give you that he has a good voice. But holy mother, he is soooo boring. SO boring. I can't even stand it. And his droopy puppy dog eyes drive me crazy. Every song the kid sings sounds the exact same. I'm over it.

He is not an American Idol. You will not hear his songs on the radio. And if you do, they will suck. I mean, just look at who loves him: pre-teen girls, mothers, grandmothers. I am neither of those. But apparently Derrick is. He wants to marry the young tadpole.

If he wins this thing, I will be sooo disappointed in the American public. Clearly David Cook is the superior entertainer/performer.

End of story. No discussion.

Happy Nurses Week!

Yes, it's nurses week! Hooray for us! What did my employer give me as an appreciation gift?? A CPR kit. What's that, you ask? What exactly does one need for CPR besides arms and a mouth? My thoughts exactly. Apparently in order to perform CPR properly you need:

• gloves
• an alcohol wipe
• a band aid
• a hand sanitizing wipe
• a face shield

All contained in a little zippered pouch with a clip.


Yeah, like I'm gonna hook that thing to my belt in case I see someone passed out on the street. They're unconscious, but before I save their life, let me first sanitize my hands and put on my gloves. Yeah, right. I know it's the thought that counts and all that, but please! At least Cinnabon is giving out free cinnamon rolls to nurses this week!!! That's what I'm talking about! Open wide!


And speaking of gifts better than CPR kits, this came in the mail for me yesterday from my sister-in-law Daneise and her family!!

Daneise is a nurse as well, and has had to endure countless questions from me. This was a completely unexpected and totally LOVED graduation gift! I've been wanting a Christus for so long! Thank you SOOOO MUCH!!!! I absolutely love it!

So if you know a nurse, give them a hug! They do a lot! And they do it because they love to. I know I do!

Market Schmarket

People talk of a bad housing market. "It's a buyer's market," they say. "Oh, not a good time to sell," they say. I'm gonna call a big fat bull$%!t on that one. Twice now the house we were planning on buying has been snatched out from under us. Twice. Seems pretty easy to sell a house, if you ask me!

Just not to us.

What image does your name give???

Here at work we have all sorts of baby name books floating around. Tonite I found a new one: The Baby Name Survey Book: What People Think of Your Baby's Name. Of course, the first thing I do is look up my own name. Then Derrick's. Since it's ridiculously slow, I look up the names of people I know, and proceed to hand write them down on a sheet of paper. (Yes, I get paid the big bucks to do this. Don't be jealous.) Some of them are right on, some not so much. This will obviously be much more entertaining if you actually know people with these names. I think I shall allot a scoring system. One through five, with one being not so accurate to five being spot on. If you're looking for a reference, all of these people have blogs linked to the left.

Karen: People think of Karen as a plain, brown-haired woman who is dependable, fun, and a good friend. 4/5. Plain???

Derrick: Derrick is described as a tall, good-looking, masculine and athletic blonde who is either tough or quiet and shy. 3/5. Tall?? Blonde?? Good-looking??? Just kidding!

Joel: The name Joel calls to mind a small, sensitive man who is very popular and nice, though a bit conceited. 5/5. Ding, ding, ding!!

Whitney: People picture Whitney as a tall, thin, pretty, young black woman who is talented, chic, rich, outgoing, and successful, like Whitney Houston. 4/5. Pretty sure the Whitney I'm thinking of is not black. Haha.

Linda: Pretty?? You bet! People expect Linda to be a blue-eyed blonde who is sweet and quiet. 3/5. Linda is neither blonde nor quiet. :) But she is sweet and pretty.

Mike: Mike is pictured as a strong masculine guy who is either friendly and easy going or tough & bullying. 5/5. But which is he? Easy going or a bully?? You be the judge....

Lindsey: When people think of Lindsey, they imagine a small, cute athletic girl who is popular and outgoing. 4/5. Thinking of the verde Lindsey here...outgoing might not be my first choice of words. However, cute definitely is.

Casey: Casey is pictured as a good-looking Irish athlete who is a fiery competitor, but warm and friendly off the playing field. 5/5, and I don't even know his ancestry!

Cassidy: Cassidy brings singers Sean and David Cassidy to mind, so it's no surprise that music is strongly associated with this name. People picture a tall, thin girl who's very nice, friendly, and outgoing--a musician or athlete, perhaps. 4/5. Cassidy...are you tall??

Grant: People describe Grant as a tall, handsome, sophisticated professional who is well dressed, well liked, witty, and sexy. 5/5 Grant Lundgren I'm sure would agree with this description 100%. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he wrote it.

Amy: People picture Amy as a small, slender woman who is quiet, calm, educated, and refined. 5/5. Lab, you are all of those things!

Jim: Jim is described as a good-looking athletic blonde who is friendly, quiet, and ordinary. 3.5/5. Gotta take a point off for the blonde bit and a half point for the ordinary.

Ashley: Ashley is described as a very beautiful professional woman who is shy but friendly with good values and taste. Ashley may play the piano, enjoy the company of an exquisite cat or schnauzer, and wear long, flowing dresses designed by Laura Ashley. 2/5. Mrs. Johnson, while indeed very beautiful, is not what I would consider shy, nor can I imagine her hanging out with "exquisite cats." Do those even exist??? Docking points for piano skills and long flowing dresses.

Ryan: Ryan is described as a strong, active man who is extremely good-looking, though shy, like Ryan O'Neal. 4/5. Not only is Ryan good-looking, he's EXTREMELY good-looking. Just ask his wife, Ashley. But not shy.

Jody/Jodee: Jody is a unisex name that calls to mind a cute, athletic, freckle-faced girl with a cheerful disposition and a high level of energy. Girls named Jody tend to be regarded as tomboys. 4/5. Jodee, you don't have freckles, do you???

David: David is described as a strong, handsome, intelligent man who is friendly, good-humored, and dependable. 5/5. I think Jodee's hubby is all of these, don't you think??

Caitlyn: Caitlyn is pictured as a cute, slender woman of Irish descent who might be either a trendy yuppie or a friendly, charming country woman. 5/5. Caitlyn, yuppie or hick? Hmmm...it's a toss up.

Dave: People say Dave is a real fun guy--a tall, good-looking, well-built man who is easy-going, outgoing, and popular. 5/5. Again, I'm sure Mr. Reid wrote this description himself.

Chris: Chris is described as a clean-cut, average, all-American blonde guy who is smart, likable, and lots of fun. 4/5. Not so average, not so smart. I mean blonde. ;)

If your name is not on here, it's because I probably had to do some actual work. But I will take requests. I work tomorrow night.. I'm sure I'll have time to get back to you.

Concert Review

We started out the evening with dinner at Great Dane. They brew their own beers, as well as root beer and cream soda, which were both very good. The best part about Madison? Everything is smoke free. It's so awesome. Milwaukee needs to catch on and join the smoke free party. Then maybe I can go bowling again.

The entire concert can be likened unto a dinner at a fancy restaurant. The main course, is of course, Rooney. Not only is it the main course, but it's the best of the best, the filet mignon. However, it's like I've only had take-out filet, having only heard them on CD, never live.

So we get to the venue, which looks to be a shady little bar/nightclub, and I put on my bib, ready to partake of some delicious musical eats. We wait to get in, and the hall is pretty small. Smaller than a basketball court maybe? Very intimate. We find some barstools and wait for the opening act.

First course: The Bridges. The warm bread and butter, if you will. A chick band from Alabama, I was a little skeptical. However, it was great. Just like bread, it was wholesome and comforting. They had great harmonies, and catchy little tunes. And everything about their sound was very clear and clean. They are like a folksy Wilson Phillips. They play a 30 minute set and call it a night. We liked them so much, I bought an EP for $5. I'm all about supporting the little guys, or girls in this case, and shamelessly raping the big bad giants. After sufficiently whetting our appetite, I was ready for the next course. So far I'm really liking this restaurant, even though I have to work my way through a few courses. But I'm totally anticipating the main course.

Second course: Locksley. Local band from Madison. All dudes. The soup portion of our meal. They were ok. Not awesome, but not awful either. You can suck down a few spoonfuls of the pea soup, but after awhile it starts to get cold, and congealed, and this gross little film on top, and you're just ready for the server to take it away. I did check these guys out online and their recordings sounded better than their live performance. To top it off, they had the most annoying stage presence. Just making stupid jokes and being dumb. The had an almost Beatles-esque sound to them, but I won't give them that much credit. Their sound was muddy. Not very clean. I was waiting for them to end. 45 minutes and they finally stop. Most of the crowd leaves, which surprised me a little. However, I realize the people leaving are all over 40, and probably parents and friends of parents of the band. By now I'm getting scared that maybe Rooney won't be any good live. Maybe the main course will be terrible, and we'll have to stop at McDonald's on the way home just to fill up. I prayed that wouldn't be the case.

Main course: Rooney First bite and I knew I was in love. Perfectly balanced, crystal clear, and just heavenly. They were amazing. They played a mix of songs from both of their albums, including a few covers. They played for an hour and 15 minutes, and it went by way too fast. And the lead singer is just adorable. It really was so good. And it's so sad more people don't know about them. I only know about them because of The O.C. And halfway through the show I realized that that would be the closest I might ever get to Adam Brody.



And speaking of The O.C., there was a guy there who looked identical to Johnny from The O.C. You know, the surfer guy who falls for Marissa then gets drunk and falls off a cliff and dies? I was sure it was him. I practically stared at him the whole night debating. Finally, it was driving me so crazy, I just went up to him, and asked him if he was an actor. He wasn't, but he did say that he got that a lot. So I'm not the only crazy person.



Overall, great night. I left feeling full, but not stuffed. Perfectly satisfied. Seeing them live made me love them even more. I love going to concerts. I love the live music feel. Summerfest is coming up, and I can't wait to see who's playing. And of course then I'll be bummed b/c all the bands I want to see will play while we're in California at the beach. Vampire Weekend plays in Chicago July 19. NKOTB plays in Chicago October 4. Panic at the Disco, Maroon 5, Jack Johnson, and Asia are just a few other ones that are coming. I could spend my entire life going to shows. Who wants to join me?

Blog links: a response

I've been emailing Derrick some of the comments I've gotten from the linking of the blogs debate post, and this is the response I got back:

i dont care to be a damn contributor, i just want the world to know im married to the best blogger around!!!


Haha! Sure do love that kid!

I HATE Billy Mitchell

I signed up for a free month of Netflix (if you would like the same deal...let me know...I can hook you up) and received my first three movies today: Once, Little Miss Sunshine, and King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. I have been dying to see King of Kong since I heard about it, and it did not fail to deliver. I loved it. Probably because I am a gigantic video game geek, especially classic video games. This tells the story of two men in a battle for the world record high score in Donkey Kong. Like any story worth telling, there is a good guy, Steve Weibe, and a bad guy, Billy Mitchell. Don't worry, I won't spoil the ending.



There are so many things I love about this movie. The nerds, first and foremost. It's their life. They live for it. It never ceases to amaze me, too, how many random sub-cultures exist that we have no idea about. I also love how engaged I got in the characters, and how I was literally on the edge of my seat wondering how it would all end. I love the supportive wife. It's such a great movie, if video games are your thing. Or if they used to be your thing.

Apparently there is a website, Twin Galaxies that lists all the top video game scores. Of course, I had to check the Tetris top scores for my own curiosity. I wondered if my recent Tetris game would have had a chance at the record. And wouldn't you know it? My 179 lines would have put me in 7th place. And I would have been the only chick on the list. Don't believe me? Click here! I would totally be all over this site, except you have to submit your score via video, and we are video camera-less. However, my motivation to get one has now just increased by a LOT.

Watch this movie.

31 cent scoop success

Last night the O'Neill's joined us as we went to Baskin Robbins to take full advantage of cheap ice cream. Let me just say I've never met anyone get so excited about ice cream as Joel does. I mean, I was excited about it, but my excitement looked like sheer boredom compared to how amped he was. We were expecting the line to be huuuuuuge, but it wasn't at all. They set a 10 scoop per bill limit. Derrick, Whitney, and I each maxed out with 4 scoops, but Joel trumped us all with 8 whopping scoops. Which he practically inhaled. Quite impressive. How awesome is it to get 8 scoops of ice cream for less than 3 bucks? Pretty awesome. In case you were wondering, my 4 flavors were rainbow sherbert, heath bar crunch, rocky road, and jamocha almond fudge. Mmmmmmmm.....

Bravo, Baskin Robbins, bravo. Keep these events coming!