annual event

My second annual event of the year. SALSA FESTIVAL @ tempe town lake was saturday-

I love!

I love both salsas- one i can stuff my face with and the one that spins you around a dance flood.

saturday offered the first - 6 hours of sun. booze and salsa. double bonus its for a good cause. It raises money for hemophilia research. typically every year my work has a booth but for whatever reason this year we did not :( but I don't miss this event so Hayley, I and a big group of friends ventured to mill first for the suns game ( which we are not going to discuss because we lost game 4) and then the festival. The only thing missing this year the mango salsa that won my heart last year !

Something infectious about the spanish culture. We were just discussing at clinicals the other day what fabulous medical people that culture makes because they have immense compassion ingrained in them and are hard workers. Not to mention their food rocks and salsa dancing you can feel in your soul. -

CONFESSION : I LOVE the dip - its both fun and sexy!

whats new

Change .

I'm a creator of habit I can't help it.

I make decisions constantly. All day. Im good at it. UNTIL it involves a change.

Recently i have discovered about myself that I have minor anxiety over big decisions. I HATE decisions that make me feel like its final. its deep routed in my Sagittarius blood to need an

strategy before I feel comfortable.

Wrong? perhaps. but its what I need .

Today I made a big Change. MOVING. I'm walking the fine line between excited and

freaking out.

At 24 i feel like I should really be venturing from the nest. Especially because I don't want to immediately go to living alone which is what would occur if I waited till i got a nursing job ( i then could afford to live alone) but now that I've decided to make that leap. . well it makes me a bit sad. I love my mom. and i love living with her. I love my house. and my pool. I love the location.

I could wait till school is out and then not work through block 2. instead....

but I know myself. Im merely dreading a drastic change and this feeling wont be any different a year from now. Ill still love my house. my pool. living with my mom. So why not now. after all

" if your waiting for the perfect moment, it just passed you by"

How do you deal with BIG changes ?

Lets hear your pro / con opinion of my latest choice. ?

B is for ...

So I know you are thinking - I should be using F for friends but I'm really going for the b for " BEST" friends
I always had high expectations for friends but I believe thats why I have ended up with AMAZING people I call' my best friend' . I know most people reserve that statement for one, so they don't understand how I give that distinction to a few. They don't have to understand - I know I'm lucky. God's been good to me.

This week has really made my 'B' friends SHINE! I've said it before but I'll say it again words don't do justice for the friendships I've been blessed with.My best friends are

Genuine. Funny.Loyal. HONEST. Understanding.Encouraging.FUN

I love you !

"Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher."

"A true friend is someone who knows there's something wrong even when you have the biggest smile on your face."

Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things.

happy day

Now I have indulgences, things that make me happy, things that relax me, things that cure frustration things that make me laugh. so this weeks blog challenge. ' GUILTY PLEASURE ' -

so lets hear it !

my top 5 Guilty pleasure

1. SUGAR - particularly pazookie cookies from oreganos - I don't even want to think about how many calories are in these sinful desserts but they satisfy my sweet tooth . - ill take a Twix. a float. man a shake from johnny rockets. chocolate carmel squares. brownies. cheese cake.

2. High Heels - Ill call this one a guilty pleasure because typically i despise shoes. I would rather walk around barefoot even if that means walking on AZ sidewalks in the dead of summer.

3. Juicy novels - two of my bests friends have me hooked on the sookie steakhouse books. ( thanks mom for the surprise of the next one in the series ) but he res theSECRET pleasure. cowboy romance novels. yep.

4. Presents for no particular reason - now this goes for either receiving or giving them. I get giddy when I get a ' made me think of you ' present and even more so one i have one as a surprise for someone. - a shout out to my madre who does this CONSTANTLY :)

5. Facebook/ blogging : easiest way to keep up to date with friends these days while i live at school and work. Plus lets be honest.. i love fb chat while im stuck in class listening to power points be read verbatim.

maybe i should do one on top 5 pet peeves.

last but not least

6. Sky photos - ok ok so I couldn't resist this last one which i thought of just as i was about to post. this make my heart>

MAN this was harder to narrow down then I thought.

FrOm A to Z

decided I enjoy this blog so, I'm going to play along. for

I choose Attitude. Lauren has quoted Lou Holtz for years and its words to live by

“Life is 10% percent what happens to you and 90 % how you respond to it.”

in memory of one my brothers best friends and one best examples of devine character

Matty G -

" take the hand you're dealt and play it like aces "

cheers to you Matt. ( yesterday was 2 yrs) may we all be blessed with your out look. and may we all be loved so much for the happiness. and genuine character that you have and is proven on your memorial page which people still write on daily.

I believe it takes more energy to be angry/bitter then to be happy. An attitude that " everything happens for a reason " whether we see the reason or trust it to GOD, it makes coping a million times more tolerable.

a good attitude and character . thats what makes you win.

Back to reality

Hello Tuesday -

I apologize I've been slacking HaRdCoRe but I'M BACK.

I just caught up on what you have been up to- here is why I've been M.I.A. let start with

CLINICAL STORY OF THE WEEK - Day 2 of meeds was las wednesday . I saw the second most intense wound. the dreaded pressure ulcer ! - this one however was unstageable I actually saw the mans coccyx bone -the killer part, he chooses this because he refuses to get up and being of sound mind you can't over rule his choice. it's his life. but wow PAINful. - originally in lab I was DREADING wounds. they made me literally gag, but oddly enough in 'real life' i have found them fascinating.. perhaps the ER is where i belong.

disclosure. my clinical stories of the week are mellow and short because A i can't give out details. and

B I'm in a long term care facility so everyone is pretty stable ( for their conditions) and the good stuff is well... why they are there - which is covered by HIPPA.

anyway , I got a lot of exposure with Chris but i must say I really loved following Joe - Joe is the " utter guy" nothing phases him. I am taking two things away from my day with Joe

1. get an organized routine - not my typical habit but one I'm determined to create. ( chris had zero breaks. Joe had an additional few - my kind of day )

2. The patients LOVED him. Why? he talked to them like family/friends, it wasn't a you rely on me kind of thing if that makes sense.

so the BEST part of the week was Thursday afternoon! OH COUNTRY THUNDER how i wait for you all year! in one simple sentence - Overall. this was the best year yet.

we were late headed out so i missed Joe D. and our RV had NO AIR and I had someone actually think a serious conversation at CT was appropriate. however I LOVED every other moment. People always ask my ' how can you love country music' or ' what is so appealing about ct' - there really are no words that do it justice. Its just something you would have to experience to completely understand but I'll give it a shot

Camping at country thunder everyone is friendly. you can leave your doors to the rv unlocked at night/ et strangers wander in to use your restroom or sleep off their drunkenness in your bed ( yep both of those happened) You leave your coolers of beer out because your offering anyone who wonders through a beer anyway. You hop camp sites and someone feeds you. ( had best steak fajita ) our rv had no air/power so the guys behind us let us charge our phones in their camper. offered the shower. ( i know what your thinking of course you're girls - but they wouldn't even be at the camp site when we would use it. ) when their friend decided leave early guess who came and moved our RV so that it was close to their generator and they could plug us in. It's a whole different mentality/ culture out there. No one thinks about all the things that stressed them out hours before arriving. No one worries what time it is, its all go go go and relaxing at the same time. PLUS the boys dance! from twirling and dipping to slow and sweet. Gentleman . well least ones vie met the past few years.

Saturday was by far the best day.

old friends. day drinking. new friends. ROCKING concerts. smooches and dancing -does it get any better?

363 days till CT 2011

( and guys looking like this. nuff said. )

Lets see what else. .. the dog is clean . We scored more then half our money back and a discount for next yr.'s RV. :) SCORE! - My boss has finally taken the directness and backed off. Managed to get my laundry done. attend a study group. - pray for my care plans and exam on monday.

AHHH school.. Im holding on for dear life to my B. I know my instructors keep tell us to be happy with C's. to accept them as A's. but I just cant grasp that concept. . my teaching project is on vascular dementia so anyone who knows anything about it let me hear it :) -- I'll be honest I'm having EXTREME spring fever, that was until block two instructor tilly came to register us and give us the ' heres what to expect' SHIT. so block two is really where life ends. Friends all i have to say is either get ready to study with me or become serious pen pals.

HAPPY :)

My car didn't cost my any money on its 3rd visit to the shop! thank you vergil! perhaps as celebration ill go get it detailed on sunday .

the SUNS - are winning 98 to 72 right now. In IMPERATIVE we win this one. only two teams have come back from a 2-0 stat during playoffs. I have always loved watching games with my dad. He does this Indian yell when he gets excited. and lol he honestly believes his negative energy throw with a sound effect during the other teams free throw shots works. :) if only we had tickets....

alright friends its time to get some homework done. chat soon !

Mission

Recently I started attending Mission church with the Franke's. -

I think we finally found our home.

We have been church shopping for years. - Every church has been nice but nothing really pulled us in. They all lacked something that until now I couldn't have really pin pointed what it was

but Mission feels like home. Their values match my values and what my parents taught me growing up. My parents both grew up in a very 'religious' atmosphere and they felt that religion in todays culture doesn't meet what God is asking of us. they live by this -

For example the last church went to previously is doing a seven campus's in seven years. - I still cant grasp the reason for so much money to be spent on buildings. My grandmothers church just did same thing they spent millions on a activity center for the children. but you had to be a member of the church to get in. how does that represent Jesus.

At mission they are all about the bible. Open your book and read the word then take action !

So the week before easter they had their grand opening of the new building ( which they built because they were continually over capacity in the previous center) my point. - after spending that money on a building they decided to supply one year of water to a needy person in haiti for every person that walked through those doors that day. So many people showed up that an entire community for the rest of their lives will have clean water. -

health and sanitation

Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses.

90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation.

check out: www.charitywater.org

Then This week speakers from the different ministries Mission church supports came to share their stories and the impact the people of the church have made, making and continue to make. One ministry is in central america and the goal is to rescue girls from sex trafficking. Did you know that they have no idea down there that incest is not normal! -

the second speaker was a chief in malowi and she discussed all the changes occurring there and how donations we make here change lives there. He speech was encouraging and rewarding .

She talked about how it may feel like your not changing anyones life by being here at mission but because of missions goals and partnerships the money donated changes lives and that each and every person has helped change lives. She added a side note that she is astonished and brings her to tears to see the youth of this church do ministry.

Baptisims a few weeks ago were done by friends and family and each person had to give a testimony as to why they wanted to be baptized.

My point - I simply want to share my excitement of finding a church that truly believes and demonstrates what I believe the good lord asks of us. To say that despite all the despair, violence, religion being a subject people avoid their are still so many good people, people who are trying to make a difference . It still amazes me the faith, hope and happiness that the oppressed contain. its truly inspiring.

last but not least because im excited about next week :)

COUNTRY THUNDER '09

ok so I picked this one in honor of ct next week! STOKED
1. CT is what we look forward to all yr.
2. The Anderson family has the same values mine does
3. I always have a good time with these two

hahah that was my first beer bong EVER! I rocked it. - thanks boys for supplying the entertainment.

ok so.. I had way to much fun doing this weeks theme. so i think ill add a picture i love to the bottom of o whatever blog i write :
but here's the last one that gets its own blog.

I just simply love this photo!

( I know what you're thinking. and NO. Im not being nostalgic )

I love it because you can feel how happy we were. when I look at the picture I can remember the feeling like it was yesterday.

Plus - the two on the left I LOVE. They have been good to me the last 4 years .

Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.”

I was a nurse today

Clinicals started last week. FIrst couple days were orientation and basics. Yesterday, I spent the day doing CNA work . Making beds, feeding the residents, and by the end of yesterday I had been in the shower 5 times.
God bless CNA's. Their job is physically demanding and without them a nurse wouldn't get the other half of care completed. I didn't mind 5 showers. Everyone's personalities really came out in that 20 min time span. - go figure, I mean your naked with a stranger and relying on them- no suprise you get comfortable real quick.
yesterday was a good day.

TODAY WAS A GREAT DAY !

TODAY I got to be a nurse. THANK YOU CHRIS ! - Chris was the RN " med man" I shadowed all day. thanks to him I got to give 2 injections. crush meds. pass a million PO meds. lots physc meds and narcotics. - took blood pressures. performed glucose checks. listened to a shunt . I did wound care on the most phenomenal wound ill probably see in my career ! We had to report a hematoma and call a doc. - lets be honest most of today I felt dumb and like a chicken with no head but things stop being fun when you stop learning. this is going to be a good job for me. I can't wait for whats next!

Today is my day of thanks.
Thank you mom for letting me borrow your car
Thank you Chris - he was patient and a good teacher!
Thank you padre for running around getting my ac installed
Thank you josh for hooking me up with my two tires.
Thank you mom for dinner
Thank you GOD for all that I'm blessed with today and everyday .

Next

Sky photos make me happy EVERY TIME.

Day 3

ok ok so I cheated and posted two but these two photos come as a pair.
Alaska cruise 2 years ago.

so I picked it for a tri-fold reason
1. That was one of my favorite vacations. - i hadn't seen any of the family that went in such a long time; i met 4 guys 2 of which still friends with and the place was heaven
2. I love pictures that captures peoples spirits. This photo does just that. my aunt Emily is TINY. she barely could rest her head on the rail. She is a ' lady' to the core and a genuinely good person - sweet natured. she was in heaven.
My aunt June is feisty and sarcastic and I LOVE HER. she was also enjoying the peace. - these photos go together because they were sitting on the same balcony in silence
(do they not look like the descriptions I gave lol ) entirely content in the moment .
3. Last - I envy the relationship these two have. A family bond ( sisters) and a best friend mentality. They talk daily. Fret over one another . Will cry at the sight of the other crying and still try to make each others dreams come true to this day!

- perfect day to post this. My aunt Em pulled through surgery great and will be released in a couple days. (We have heard from June twice ) xoxo

My Saving Grace

Day 2 of favorite photos - ( these are in no particular order for the record

My mom at my age- mid 20's. Everyone says I am the spitting image of her. All I see is my mom .

I love this photo for reasons other then its simply my mom . This photo captured her essence. I can hear her signature squeal laugh . When I think of my mom I think of this -happiness, radiating and contagious.

plus - I love that she still owns that necklace and its the single piece of jewelry I really associate with her immediately .

"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother. ~Abraham Lincoln "

One of many FAV's

My dear friend Nicole had this idea to post one picture ever day for a week that we ABSOLUTELY loved. Being a photo addict I LOVED this idea.

Picking only seven is going to be a real challenge.

First absolute favorite photo



For the life of me I can't remember what was so funny but looking at this photo makes me happy. It was a good birthday. we did dinner at sushi restaurant then headed to Scottsdale . we had a limo, booze and everyone had to dress up. ;) Both my loyal life long friends and a whole new group of people celebrate with me. This picture reminds me that 2007 winded up ending very well.

pictures will never replace having been there, and words can never replace feelings.”

pict

Name that bitch .

This is a game - thank you how i met your mother -
Timmy ( who is barney in how i met your mother - Help us out ;)

1. Stephens 28th birthday " the bitch" bought everything on the menu which is fine except she was ordering for timmy's siter - who she just met
a. rain
b. claire
c. Jeannette

2 Holloween party ( the very first one) - date showed up in cowboy chaps not wearing anything under neither.

a. brittany
b. sara
c. nichole

3. Holloween party 2 years ago - She cleaned my kitchen ( I liked this one)
a. beth
b. nicole
c. ERin

4. The one he met at my birthday this past year - small world i went to school with
a. brooke
b. rachel
c. kim


5. The ' other' girl at the christmas party
a.nicole
b. jackie
c.L.B

6. the girl who is only known by her nickname
a. we thought you'd be a one nighter
b. the blondie
c. the cutter

7. The one he had sex with while I ( nicole) was in hawaii
a. dont know her name
b. sally
c. maggie

we will stop there - sometimes you have to kiss a few frogs...







1. c 2. a 3. b 4. c 5. c 6. c 7. a