Tagged

I know, I know, I'm the worst blogger ever....but who says there are any rules to this business anyway! So, I've been tagged by my sister, Sarah and her Sermons...so here is my response.

4-Jobs you have had in your life.
(these are the most interesting ones)
1. Attendant and Hot Springs Pool in CO ($4.25 an hour baby!!!)
2. Green house planter/water/ trimmer
3. Nurse Extern on a Renal and Oncology floor in Virginia
4. Labor and Delivery Nurse in Phoenix Arizona

4-Movies you would watch over and over again.
1.The Miracle of Life (yes...The conception movie)
2.Gladiator
3.50 first dates
4.Labrynth

4-Places I have lived.
1. El Jebel, CO
2. Palisade, CO
3. Virginia (on the DC border)
4. Phoenix, AZ
I can't t leave out Silt, CO---IT HAPPENS !

4-TV shows you love to watch.
1. American Idol
2. House
3. Fear Factor
4. Over Hauled

4-Places you have been on vacation.
1. Mexico
2. Dominican Republic
3. Hawaii
4. Does Colorado count?

4-Websites you visit daily
1. Sermon on the Mount (of laundry)
2. AOL.com
3. azezevents.com (not really, but I had to throw it out there)
4. That's all there is, there aint no more!

4-Favorite foods.
1. Steak
2. Creme Brule'
3. Oriental salad from Kona Grill
4. Spinach Canneloni

4-Places you would rather be right now.
1. Colorado
2. Spooning with my hubby
3. Retired
4. Hawaii

4-People you tag to complete this.
I think that the only other person that reads this is my mother...so go for it MOM!
My friends Jessie, Beth and Marissa have read this in the past....But think I have lost my following fans! If you feel the need... you could tag yourself.


I will be going to Colorado in two Days!! I am so excited. I wish my husband could go with me. This was us there in Feb 2005.

Explanation needed:

All I have to say for this week, is OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!! :)

Merry Birthday Comes Early

I am a December baby. I was born the 22nd, just three days before Christmas and the question, "doesn't that suck?" always gets asked. My answer is mostly "NO" and really the main reason why is because I often get to choose to combine my gifts into one BIG gift that I wouldn't have gotten for either one.

However, the important thing is this must be MY decision and the not the decision of the gift-giver...Because then it just looks like a cop-out. (just being honest, folks)

The real point to all this is that I already got my Merry Birthday present for this year and You all wanted me to send some pictures.

FINALLY an entertainment Center!!

I really wanted to have it before Christmas, so I could decorate .....

So now that we are on the decorating topic, since most of you wont get to see my home during the Holidays, I will show you some tid-bits of my Christmas decorating.

The Nativity Scene

This was a wedding present...I thought it was such a great idea. It is all pewter and HEAVY

Of course, the Christmas Tree

We moved our table, so now the tree is in our kitchen. I actually really like it there. It is a fake tree which is still hard for me. I miss the fresh tree smell and not to mention the actual hunt to get a tree up in the mountains. Supposedly fresh trees don't last very long here in Phoenix. It is pretty warm here still.

The whole house is finally decorated. My mother in law came over to help me which was so fun. I am used to decorating with my sisters and singing the twelve days of Christmas-- opera style during the whole process. I didn't get to sing with my mother in law..(.But I did by myself later when no one was around! haha)

So now I just need to figure out what to get everyone for Christmas, which seems to be more difficult this year. But the cool thing is that I get to do it in.....

MY NEW CAR!!!

It was a surprise from my husband..Just because. Well, not really, I needed a new car and he got a good deal through the dealership he works at, so it just worked out very well for me. It is a 2001 Pontiac Bonneville. The good thing is is that its an automatic--good for city driving, it has tinted windows--good for Phoenix driving, it has room for growth---don't get excited, no kids yet.

So, that's what is new in my life. I hope the pictures will satisfy for another month or so when I get around to blogging again. In the mean time, I am always reading everyone else's!

Tagged... (more like, Hint...hint)

Well, assuming that the last time I blogged was September 27 th. I can take a few seconds here to fulfill my tagging responsibility. I used to know how to put links into my text, but now I've forgotten, but Sarah (my sister) from Sermon on the Mount (of Laundry) tagged me to write 20 random things about myself, so I guess now "I'm IT!"

1. I'm having a brain fart it has bee so long since I've done this.
2. I wish I was the little sister Sarah was talking about staying over tonight.
3. Im helping a friend with last minute wedding plans which happens to be in 3 days and she is just planning the decorations for her tables, today.....Did I mention she has been engaged over a year?
4. I think WAY to deeply for these kind of things. It will take me forever to finish. And I thought I was "random."
5. MY husband and I own an Inflatables company, AZeZ Events that is doing pretty well. We've only been in business since September.
6. Check out our website at www.azezevents.com. We are only based in Arizona, so, Colorado folks. You'll have to wait till I talk my little sister and her husband into to opening a branch out there.
7. My husband and I found a new church two weeks ago, that is just a huge blessing to us and a amazing answer to prayer.
8. I literally just realized that the post I wrote, titled FAITH, was about the patient that God used to bring my husband and I to Orangewood Church of the Nazarene!!!!
9. I'm speechless right now....I cannot believe the way God works sometimes! I guess I have to write a blog with the WHOLE story now... It is SOOOO good and it will be Titled God Works in Mysterious Ways.
10. Maybe it will be called The Peace That surpasses All understanding....
11. I have to stop here, I am moved so much by the way God works, I need to get away from the computer...Stay tuned for my new blog that is rapidly growing in my head.
12. I have to call my sisters and my mom now!

Another dose of Random

When the average time spent on my blog site changes from 3-5 minutes to barley even 2 full seconds, it shows that I have become terribly uninteresting. Actually, my life has become much more interesting and I just have been too busy sorting it out to even update my family over the phone, yet even think about posting a blog about it. It will all balance out soon enough.( I hope!)

Thyroid update: After several thousand questions, tubes of blood, and urine samples given, my diagnosis is that every thing is "normal". OK-- that's great. My thoughts to the physician: "Then why don't you (the doctor) just give me a prescription for laser hair removal so my insurance company will cover it, and while your at it you might as well put in my chart that I am crazy, loco, because I DON"T FEEL NORMAL.":)
I think that I will do some of my own stuff, like eating food rich in iodine and such, to see if that helps. Thyroid function tests can be be wrong. OH and PS..My doctor is Craig Phelps, and my insurance company listed my doctor as Russell Phelps, so my visits and labs will not be paid for. Yippe skippee.

AZEZ events: Yeah! We are rolling! It has been hectic but all the work is producing good fruit. I am still getting the hang of building quotes, faxing people, and scheduling all this stuff, but I like doing it. It is a change of pace and something different. I guess I like it because it is a new challenge and the process still needs to be perfected-- which is my kind of thing. It is great because I am in yet another situation that I get to interact with people that are looking for a good time and I get to help them out. Our first official event is on Labor day. Which is actually a "pro-bono" type of event that we are doing for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of America. It should be fun, we are glad that we are able to help them out.

Labor and Delivery: I love my job more and more every day. We are extremely busy at work because of all the folks that get romantic during the holidays. August-September are the busiest times of the year. I have had so many great experiences that it is hard to keep track. I need to just make my blog about that. I would just have to be creative in not exposing personal info about my patients.
Just a couple of neat things: I met a guy form New York that was a retired police officer that actually worked with my youth pastor, Tom. In a police force of over 3,000 NYPD, what are the chances!
I had this patient about 6 weeks ago who was so great and wonderful. She wanted to pray for me before I stared her IV. I was shocked, but so blessed to have met someone like her. At the time she did not know I was a Christian. We had a discussion bout how we pray before we go to work and her prayer was very similar to mine. We decided that me being their nurse was a God thing and we bonded very well but I did not get to delivery their baby. Last week I had another wonderful couple and after she delivered, her family came to visit. Well, her sister in law was the IV prayer lady form 6 weeks earlier. It was so exciting to see her little baby and she remembered me too. My patient at the time said that she had wondered all day if I had been her sister in law's nurse as well. She said I reminded her of the nurse her sister in law had talked about so much. It was such a blessing. I don't always remember all of my patients but I had thought about the IV prayer girl that very day and several times since then. God is so good.

Well there is a nutshell of what is going on. Hopefully soon I will have my life down to a science! hahahahahahahaaaa. I guess it would be more like I hope I will be able to pretend sanity soon here (sorry Ali...Had to borrow the saying).

Sorry

Sorry I am always long winded. I just realized that When looking at my blog. Perhaps that makes up for my inconsistent blogging? PS. I finally got a cable connection for my internet so I should be more apt to post pictures! Yeah!

Faith

It is hard for me to put into words what I am passionate about. Most often my passion is shown through stories of amazing experiences that happen at work. I want to share these great stories, but without stepping over the boundaries of my patients' privacy. However, after much consideration, I have a wonderful story to share:

Every day as I drive to work I say a prayer. I try to pray for what I feel God is laying on my heart at the time. There have been many prayers for Darin and I's grandparents recently, my friend Sarah who was in Russia and for my parents, sisters, family and friends. I always conclude with a prayer about my day at work. It usually goes similar to this:

Lord I pray that you will use me for your will today at work. I pray that you let me be a light to my patients and that they will see your love through my actions. I pray that you will allow me to bond with them. Allow me to contribute effectively so that they will have the best birth experience ever. I pray that you will bless my hands as I care for them. I pray that you will keep my mind clear, if a tough situation arises I pray that you will guide the patient through and that you will guide me in making the right decisions. Amen

The prayer really prepares me for work and reminds me that God is in control of everything and every situation that may come my way, good or bad.

Yesterday, I had such a spiritual experience and answer to prayer with my patient and her family that I had to talk about it.

When receiving report about my patient I was informed that she was "religious" like it was going to hinder my care or something. I was kind of disappointed that the night shift nurse felt obligated to "warn" me about that. I was excited and credited me choosing this patient as a GOD THING. When I met my patient I did the usual assessment and questioning and discovered that this woman's prior birth experience was traumatic and that fueled her questioning and possible distrust of the night shift nurse.

Right away we bonded. I figured it was because I listened to her and explained to her what the day would hold for her induction of labor and what the outcomes may be. When her OB came in he did exactly what I had predicted him to do and that gained some more trust for my patient. She informed the physician that I was a great nurse and he agreed, which is always good to hear. (Sorry if that sounded cocky, it wasn't supposed to.) It was then she asked the doctor to pray with her and her husband. We all prayed together over the induction and delivery. After this point, it was as if the Lord was said, " DON'T YOU SEE I ANSWERED YOUR PRAYERS!" The patient informed me that she had prayed for a Christian nurse. I told her she definitely got one, and that I had prayed for her too! So our bonding had nothing to do with my nursing care, it was all God's planning.

With the praise and worship blasting over the stereo all day, we talked about our churches and lives and our beliefs, and so much more. It was really a blessing to see how much faith this family had. Without going into detail, their previous experience with birth was so traumatic that it was a miracle that they where having another child. They had given it up to the Lord so much that they did not even use birth control for 2 and a half years because they knew that they Lord would give them what they could handle and when they could handle it. So now their kids are spaced 2 and a half years apart...Perfect!

When it was time for her to start pushing a friend of the patient called knowing she needed to pray for her, so we prayed again. It was amazing how strong the presence of the Lord was in the room. We were all moved to tears and the patient was reaffirmed that she was going to be taken care of. She only pushed just a little while and then she delivered a beautiful baby girl, without out any complications or major repairs to the mom!

What a joyous thing for this family. It was such a blessing to be a part of it all. To top it all off their baby and I share a middle name, FAITH. Which was so evident through out the day, it was only appropriate. I love what I do!

Interesting Day

So the other day I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone or something. The day started out with my going to the Gyno, which actually is a Nurse Practitioner. Well, as you know I wanted her to check my thyroid. She Confirmed that yes, she believe that I do have a thyroid issue, but she cannot order any test for me because my Health Insurance wont cover it unless I have a freaking referral from my Primary Care Physician. So, we'll have to be moody, and tired for a few more weeks till I can get another appointment. I already know what I need, it is so annoying that I have to pay someone else to tell me what I already know. But, the new great thing about the Gyno was that I realized how beneficial being happily married was when receiving a pap smear! Not a problem! Yeah!
On my way home I stopped to get gas and I also needed milk. So I decided that I would buy my milk for an arm and leg at the gas station. This way I wouldn't have to get out in the 100+ degree weather again. Well, to make a long story short, when I got back to my car I put the milk in the back and drove away.....Without pumping my prepaid gas! I soon realized this when I saw my gas light on and I turned the car around to find someone already parked at the pump. I approached this older gentleman and tried to describe what I had done . He looked at me like I was a crack head or something. So I tried to explain to him again that I had already paid for my gas but had drove away before pumping. Come to find out he thinks that I am a beggar asking him for twenty dollars for gas!! How embarrassing! I finally got it across to him that I wasn't and he kindly moved his truck for me.
That evening Darin and I went to our good friends reception. They had gotten married in Syria and were having a reception here for all of us that couldn't make it out! hehe. Anyway it was in their huge beautiful back yard with lights, candles, lanterns and tiki torches. After dinner we were all sitting back enjoying the cool evening (believe it or not) when I look up at the Palm tree to notice that it was on FIRE. So, without thinking I yelled "FIRE! The tree is on fire!!" It seemed like everyone was standing there not knowing what to do, including myself. Thankfully my husband hoists his bestfriend up in his hands so they can turn the propane lantern off and their other good friend (who happens to be a brain surgeon) ran and grabbed a hose and sprayed it down. What excitement! The tree is a little scarred but not to big of damage. The lesson here: don't' hang a propane lantern on the dry leaves of a plam tree, especially when the rest of the state is already on fire!
What a odd day.