Phoenix, Palm Trees, errr …Sweaters!

So Phoenix wasn’t all gloom.  I did have fun!

First, I packed WARM clothes, as I was going to Phoenix.  Hello desert!  Not so much.  It got down into the 40s at night, with a high in the 60s during the day.  I had to go buy a sweater!  I had planned on wearing a black dress to the funeral, but it was too cold.  I had to go get pants and a sweater!  Crazy!

I flew into the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport.  Wonderful place!  It was clean, open, and had all my favorite places, which ended my 9 year absence from Einstein bagels . . . oh yum!  The car rental building is located apart from the actual airport terminal, and once again is a wonderful place!  My rental was from Dollar rent a car, which was efficient and quick.  The staff was great too . . . but I had issues with them later with billing.  

Not knowing where to stay (Tracey had offered us a place, but I didn’t feel comfortable doing that), I searched online and found Best Western Inn and Suites on 16th and Northern.  It was quick and easy to get to from the airport. I have had good and bad experiences with Best Westerns in the past, but this place was wonderful!  Check in was quick, the room was great!  We had a junior suite, which gave Mom a private bedroom, and I slept on the fold out couch.  It was roomy enough for the two of us.  We were right outside the pool and hot-tub, which sadly we didn’t get to partake.  I kinda wished I got a chance to look at the big suites!  The continental breakfast was fantastic!  Not only did they have the normal cereal, fruit, toast, etc.  But they had a FRESH Belgium waffle maker!  YUM!  Biscuits and gravy, eggs, sausage and bacon were also there.  The hotel also offered a cocktail hour with drinks and hor d’oeuvres (again, we didn’t have a chance to participate in this).  It was a great place today, for a cheap cheap price!

The evening of the funeral we went with some of Mom’s old friends to a Vietnamese restaurant, which I’ll have to get the name of later.  But Beverly (who is my age, daughter of Mom’s friend Lou) was great in helping us decide what to get!  Enjoy the pictures, because the food was as good as it looks!

We then did some shopping, at Nordstrom’s Last Chance.  What an awesome store!  You do have to dig, but I found a cute Coach bag, and two pairs of adorable UGG boots!  Love that store!

And of course, being women, Filipino women at that, we had to eat again!  We stopped for some dessert and coffee!  :)

 

W!WW!!!! (WOW! WHATTA WEEKEND!!!!)

I love weekends like this, full of activities and family time! 

The kids and I spent most of the week in the water, either at Magic Springs, or the lake.  It’s been so hot though, that the lakes feel like warm bath water.  

On Fridays Craig is off, which is a treat for us!  We went to Degray, to the Shouse Ford area (one of my favorite places to camp).  It was nice, but the water is way down, making the swim areas smaller (I found this to be true on Lake Ouachita  the week before).  But, we swam none-the-less!  And fished.  My poor pink fishing pole has seen lots of water and castings, and yet no fish.  Someday I’ll get my first fish! 

Friday night we got some movies, Book of Ei, Pink Panther 2, and Missing Lynx.  The last one wasn’t anything to remember, but the kids loved it.  PP2 was funny, but predictable (very Steve Martinesque).  The Book of Eli was AWESOME.  Really awesome.  Not blu-ray worthy or anything, but the story was wonderful.  If we all took that dedication and purpose to our lives!  Wow, what a different place the world would be. 

 

  

Saturday morning I think we bummed around, ran som errands and such.  We stopped at the Goodwill store, which is my favorite new place!  Talk about bargains!  We bought: 

Mens suit jacket (made in Italy) 

2 king pillow shams 

king bedskirt 

new with tags womans dress 

2 pair mens athletic pants (nike and adidas) 

queen bed sheet set 

3 books 

4 pieces of girls clothing 

TOTAL:  $33.40 

Not too shabby eh???  Try checking out your local Goodwill store, Savation Army, DAV, or whatever you have in your area! 

 

  

Saturday afternoon I watched a beautiful bride walk down the aisle!  She’s one of my great friends, Anna.  It was a sweet touching ceremony, as Anna and Matt were marrie by Anna’s Mother.  I know the stress and pressure of a wedding, and I know that as they are laying on the beaches of Mexico, it was all worth it!  

  

  

 

  

  

After the wedding, we ran home, changed and went to Magic Springs, a local amusement park.  I’ll do a review on it later, but it’s a pretty good deal for locals who buy season passes.  One the greaat benefits is the summer concerts they have on Saturday nights.  And since I pretty much work all Saturday nights, I never get to go.  This year they did have concerts during the week, but we never got to go to one.  So . . . this was my first concert at the amplitheater . . . and who was it?  Randy Travis!  An oldie but goodie!  It was great, and the boys’ first concert too.  He was funny and sounded awesome! 

 

Of course, Sunday was another relaxing day, with a bit of school clothes shopping (only 18 more days!) and of course work    But that’s ok, I’ve got all 4 kids all week.  

Gotta take Coco to the vet for some shots, poor puppy . . . I still need to show you her! 

Love Y’all! 

 

I have a problem

If you know me, then you know of my addictions.  My wants that I cannot say NO to.

If you don’t, then let me help you get to know me a bit better.  Take a glance here:

Problem, Problem,   Problem, yeah, see where I’m going here?  Problem .  See where I’m going with this?  I have two other issues, dresses and books, but we won’t discuss those here.

Sooooooo, I leave work the other night, after seeing a friend who was in the hopsital, and I stop at the uniform shop and gift shop, only because they are never open when I normally leave at 7:08 AM.  I didn’t find any shoes I REALLY needed, although I really did want those Danksos!  But alas, the gift shop held something special for me.  Sigh!  LOVE!

 

 

 

Isn’t she pretty! Yes, she’s big and GAUDY!

p.ily

 

Amazing!

Amazing!  My shopping is D-O-N-E!  And I even found a Wii!!!  WOOT!

 

Most amazingly, I found THIS HERE!  I can’t wait!

 

Merry Christmas! 
Love ya!

 

Day By Day

 

 

I don’t know how long it takes to get over stuff like this, but each day I’m a wee bit better.  I know the upcoming holidays will bring more emotions on, which will suck, but I’ll deal with it.

I haven’t bought a thing for the holidays.  I’ll go at the end of this week.  With all the other crazy people doing last minute shopping.  Blah.   Ok, I did by myself stuff, lol.  I bought a new camera, my bedding, and some, ummm, toys.  LOL!  I need to go get the perfume I want, and some sexy pjs.  Yeah me.

Work.  I still love it.  The other night I was on my old floor, the cardiac floor and it was rough.  Besides the fact we were short an RN, leaving me with 15 patients, I followed a nurse who had NO clue what was going on with her patients.  No idea of resulted lab work, when the next lab work was due, no clue of the results of CT scans, venous dopplers, etc.  No idea of what the doctors had planned.  Nothing.  One of them she didn’t even realize was on a cordarone drip.  Uhhh hello?  Her documentation of the patients were horrible.  But I still love my job.  I can’t wait til I can go to weekend option after Christmas.  Work 24 hours, get paid for 34!  WOOT!

What else?  Not much.  I worked a bunch the last 2 weeks, and am ready for my break before Christmas.  Because of the holiday rotation and switching a shift with someone, I work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday than I am off until Christmas night.  SEVEN days.  WOOT!

Tomorrow I’m calling a therapy chick that is through our work (=free).  I’m just going in to talk to her, sort some feelings out and listen to her suggestions.  We’ll see if I learn anything.

My current gym membership is up in January, and then I’m switching to the bigger, nicer gym in town, where my dear friend Karen goes to.  We’ll be sexy bitches soon.  Holla!

Celexa.  I have to say it has helped.  I don’t know what kind of emotional train wreck I’d actually be in if I wasn’t on it.  Thank goodness that it is cheap!

ok, I’ve hollered (hollared?) at the boys many times to go clean their room, now I must go enforce my Mommy Powers!

 

P.S.  I don’t know what the picture has to do with day by day, but it was on google.  I ain’t hatin’!

 

I’m going to eat my arm off

Dude.  Seriously.  I need foodage.  For a person who eats all day, anything and everything, I’m really going to eat my arm.  I had tuna on a bagel for breaky, a Arby’s salad for lunch, and now one singlette popcorn chicken (yes one single piece from the whole bucket) from Sonic.   The water thing, eh  I drank one bottle.  I do have a Route 44 diet sprite, that counts right?

Nothing to do with starving to death, but DAMN IT!  I charged my eBay stuff on the wrong PayPal stuff and have THREE overdrafts for $25 each!  So much for saving money on eBay!  But I did get a sweet deal on an 8GB mp3 playa!  Holla!