Good morning!!!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!!! We certainly did...

We've been so busy packing and moving stuff to the house we will be renting, it has been really hard getting into the Christmas spirit! But when you are with family and the kids are so excited, it's hard not to join in and get caught up in the moment!

Mark had to work on Christmas Eve and his office was having a breakfast potluck, so I packed up my griddle and headed to work with him so I could make french toast for the office! They are all so much fun and were so appreciative of me coming out to make them breakfast... It was lots of fun....

We spent Christmas Eve with my mom and sisters as usual. It was great, we all came to my moms place in our pajamas... Jay and I rocked our old school jammies... Me with my feetsie jammies and him with his butt flap jammies.... It was too funny! We had a traditional dinner of posole and tamales... Tons of sweets.. well plenty of food.... We opened presents and just hung out enjoying each others company for a while... I think we got home around 1:30am... and Santa had visited our place, so we opened presents and then headed to bed around 2....

On Christmas morning Noah woke up at 6am and decided to put together the lego set Santa had left for him. We had breakfast and relaxed for a while... I had to make a few things for Christmas dinner at Marks brothers place, so I got to baking and prepping... It was such a rainy day! We got ready to go and headed out to the OC.... Our drive was miserable! I thought for sure it would hail, and for once I actually saw everyone driving carefully on the 91 freeway.... Amazing!

Christmas dinner was great. All the food was awesome and you can't beat hanging out with family. I even got some snuggle time in with my father in law!!! He's the sweetest! The kiddos opened all their gifts, and then we even played a little guitar hero world tour... I just cannot get into this game.... If I'm playing guitar or drums, it's OK, but the singing is just awful.... Ehhhh... Can't win them all.... After all that, we headed home and went to bed....

Friday was busy for Mark and I. We spent all day packing, moving as much of the little things as we could. Our apt. is so bare now. It's basically beds and couches. Everything else is gone. Mark must have driven 8 or 9 carloads full of stuff over there.... He hates packing and organizing, so I do that and I hate loading the car up so he does that.... We are in sync... A perfect team!

I was on call last night but luckily didn't get called in. Today I came to work and we had 3 cases scheduled..... and as soon as one surgeon walked in, we got a phone call saying we were getting 4 more cases added on.... So while my partner does her case, I thought I would get a quick blog in before my case starts next...

After work, I am going to head to the house and start putting things where they belong and unpack as much as possible. We will be sleeping at the new place Sunday, so I better get moving!

Have a great weekend everyone..... and a Happy New Year too!!! I'll post pics of the place when we get settled....

Goooozzzfraba.....

You feelin' me on this one??? My anger management reference??? I love that movie... and it is soothing to say it... Just makes me smile thinking about the word....

Today has felt like an emo roller coaster for me.... My mind runs wild when there are opportunities in the air. Sometimes you just have to sit back, chill and say it....

Goooozzzfraaaaabbbaaaa.....

Yesterday I never heard back from the guy I left a message for regarding that job position... So this morning while I was busy running some forced-day-off errands (like dropping Noah off @ school and my cousins @ Disneyland) I was feeling kinda glum that I hadn't gotten a phone call especially since my doc said the guy was expecting my call. After I dropped my cousins off to Disneyland, I decided to go visit Mark for lunch since I hardly get the chance to do that.... I hung out with my father in law and Marks friend Todd for a while, and just when we were going to leave for lunch, my phone rang.... Marks eyes opened so big, and I fumbled to grab my phone out of my purse... It was him!!!! I rushed out of Marks office because we get horrible reception there and practically ran outside to take the phone call. We chatted for a little while and he asked me to email my resume to him (which I had updated last night figuring he would want it) and that he would want to meet sometime next week to go over my resume and talk to me and see if I would be a good fit for the jobs available... So I agreed and told him I would email my resume later this evening.

Mark and I were full of things to talk about at lunch... We went to JT Schmidts @ the District that is close to his office.... They have a great Monte Cristo sandwich there.... Mark and I talked for an hour and a half about this opportunity, what it means to us, what we are happy about, and what we worry about... I texted my doc to let him know I had talked to the guy... and the response I got blew me away even more.... Vague, as it was.... He said there was something else... That he would talk to me about later.... Another opportunity..... WHAT??? That has kept my imagination running for the rest of the day....

It has been a great few days, as far as I'm concerned. To know that all my hard work.... and I do mean HARD WORK is not going unnoticed, unappreciated, and now unrewarded.... Just the recognition makes me gush. I am horrible at taking compliments... Ask anyone that knows me well. I blush, I deny it... It puts me on the spot and makes me want to change the subject.

So there is my update... Thank you for the thoughts, prayers and well wishes.... I know my blog has not been allowing comments... I don't know what happened, but I think I fixed it....
Time to catch up on tivo'd shows and maybe play a little RB... Goodnight...

Isn't it funny???

I've blogged lately about plans and goals that I want to set for myself and follow through on... Isn't it funny that as I am thinking of taking steps to change my life that something just drops out of the sky and into my lap, to possibly jump start the process???

Today, after much trepidation... I was told of an exciting opportunity that I may be able to take advantage of. One of my docs said that there was an immediate opening as a sales rep for a very big orthopedic and trauma company... And that if I was interested that he would put me in contact with the right people to talk to about landing this job... At first, I hesitated because I'm not certain that I would be a great sales rep...and who wants to just be ok at anything.. I hate salesmen, going to car dealers and buying cars gives me hives and heart palpitations... So how could I think of doing it myself???? Then after I marinated on it for a bit, I thought to myself, if my doc didn't think I would be good at it, he wouldn't have told me about it at all. And after he assured me that he wasn't trying to get rid of me :) I told him I would definitely take the time to talk to the boss man of this company and see what the whole job entails and all the details... So I've called and left a message and am now just waiting for a call back.... I must admit nervousness... Job interviews always have made me nervous... And especially to look into something that I've never done before...

So please just pray for me that if this is meant to be, it will go well and without too much strain... Thank you Dr. G for the recommendation... Thanks for the vote of confidence....

So as I wait to hear from this company, I just wanted to get out my anxiousness out of my head and into a quick blog post.... Phew, I feel better already...

Holiday Spirit....

I love the holiday season.... Putting on a warm jacket and enjoying the cool weather (well, SoCal cool anyway).... Smelling spice in the air, baking yummy goodies, putting up the tree and decorating... The true holiday spirit is well and alive in me... I have been baking like a fiend lately... Cakes, cookies, cupcakes... I just love it... My labor of love... I have been lucky enough in life to find many things that I can do that make me happy... and I'm not bad at them either!!! My job, baking, and a few others... I am grateful for the talents that I have been given. I definitely appreciate them and use them as often as possible.

Shopping... ehhh not so much... It's funny to admit that most of the time Mark does the Christmas gift shopping since I have shopping crowd rage.... I hate being elbow to elbow with people that are giving me eye daggers because they think I am going to grab the toy they want... Oh no... Not for me.... If I can find something cute online or in a catalog... I am all over it.... My specialty is wrapping all those lovely gifts.... I love wrapping, tying bows, making it cute... Sign me up....

Well as Christmas moves closer... So does our move... Mark is actually going over today to sign the lease agreement and iron out all the final details... This makes me sooo excited.. I'm an organizer... I love to plan and arrange things... So as soon as I get details I am all over making a plan of attack so this move will be as easy as possible.... I've already got some of the plan together... I'll be taking boxes with me to work everyday so I can drop them off in the garage on my way home.... Unpacking things inside as soon as they have the carpets done and final painting done... This way we only will have a few big things to move when we have people to help us... I don't want to waste a whole day for any of our wonderful friends that are willing to help us... (We appreciate the help sooooo much) Hopefully this month long slow move will reduce the stress of moving from a third story apartment.... I remember how tough it was for us to move down from a second floor and up to a third floor.... We physically were both sick for nearly a month after and I think it was due to the fact that we did it all in one day...

The rest of our weekends for this year are filling in.... My sister and cousin get back from Vegas today and we may go take a walk around the Mission Inn again tonight so my cousin and her family can check it out too... Tomorrow we will be headed to Knotts Merry Farm.... Next weekend we have the annual Christmas program at my in-laws church then dinner at their place after..... Sunday we are going to the Rose Bowl Flea Market, and maybe IKEA... I love IKEA.... So many cute and unique things... Can't wait!!! If we can squeeze it in, we will be doing a baking night at my place with some of my friends... Nothing like a bunch of girls getting together to bake, laugh and just be girls!!! The rest of the weekends are filled with moving, holidays, parties and even a concert tooo!!! Phew.. 2008 is going out with a BANG!!!

As usual, I get those lovely inspirational and motivational emails with wonderful little quotes to make you reflect on life... Here is the one that stood out the most to me lately....

“It is never about how good your voice is; it is only about feeling the urge to sing, and then having the courage to do it with the voice you are given.”
-- Katie in ‘True to Form’ by Elizabeth Berg

I love it... Everyone knows Mark and I are RB and GH junkies... So what better quote to speak to me than this one... I've been so frustrated with GHWT lately because it's scoring is so much more brutal than RBs... Last night Mark and I played it for a few hours and even though my scores were only in the 80's I had such a great time just pretending to rock out and singing really loud... I sang so loud I had no voice left by the time we finished playing... After my squeaky apology to Mark for blowing his ears out, I finished our game with a smile on my face.... It was simply fun..

Do I Say Good Times A Lot???

I sure do... But what else can you say when you have an awesome family, great friends, and cool places to spend time with them....This past weekend I was able to have a few days completely off, spend lots of time with my family and even go out with friends AND best of all have one on one time with Mark too.... Sound like a packed weekend??? It was...

Wednesday we ended up working a whole day instead of just half... Oh well, that's just the way it goes when you work at a surgery center... Things change by the minute and you just have to adapt! Well, I went home and started baking for Thanksgiving with the DeMers.... I made sweet potato praline and carrot cake and even snuck in some salsa for my "dad" (father in law) and Bri (brother in law)....

Thursday was great... We slept in a bit... Relaxed at home then got ready to go spend Thanksgiving with the fam... If you know us, you know how AMAZING this next sentence is... We were on time to the Thanksgiving family event.... Did you get it??? ON TIME... us ... Enough said... Dinner went great.. Lots of yummy food, great conversation... Grammy (my mother in law) even bought the wine we had tried on the company cruise... Vouvray... It was delicious! After we all binged on some awesome dinner and dessert, we all hung around chatting for a while... We headed home and rested our full bellies!!!

Friday I woke up so full, I couldn't even think of food... I just relaxed all morning... Mark Noah and I hung out... It was awesome!! Then we decided to decorate the house... We put up our tree, other decorations and Marks personal fav... The Raider Village!!!! We cleaned up our decorating mess and showered up for our next adventure which was going to the Riverside Mission Inns annual lighting ceremony with my mom and older sis Terri. It was so beautiful!!! We always make a night of going to walk around the mission inn every year, but this is the first time we've ever gone to the official lighting ceremony. It was great chilly weather, they did a fun countdown and had a great fireworks display! After the lighting, we headed out to Canyon Crest for dinner at a great Mexican place.... It was a great way to kick off the Christmas season...

Saturday, as usual, I worked... We were pretty busy for the morning... I was able to first assist our surgeon on a big bowel case... We've been having a run on those lately... Well, he let me assist him which was tons of fun!!! Put a smile on my face for the rest of the day.... After work, I headed home and vegged on the bed for a while.... Later in the evening Marks big brother came through in a pinch for us and watched Noah for the night, so Mark could come out with me to The Vault Martini Bar in Redlands... Our little band Hobo Jazz was there, and a bunch of my friends from work came to hang out... We had drinks and laughed till 2am!!!! On our way home, I threw out the idea of going to the beach since Noah was gone for the night... So from Redlands we drove out to Newport...parked and walked out to the water... We climbed up on a lifeguard tower and just hung out like we did almost 10 years ago... It was an awesome time.... We haven't done that for such a long time... We sat out there for quite a while, well, at least till we couldn't stand the cold anymore!!! LOL..... We hopped back in the car and headed back home... We decided instead of going all the way home and then driving back to Corona in a few hours, we would just park outside of Marks brothers house and chill for a few hours till it wasn't rude to call and pick up Noah... We ended up sleeping in the car for an hour!!! Hahah... So we picked up our boy, and headed home to sleep....

We slept in until 11am which really wasn't too long considering we didn't get home until nearly 8?? I think it was somewhere around 8.... I woke up and started baking for my family Thanksgiving dinner at my moms... For this dinner Mark and I made frog-eye salad, carrot cake cupcakes, sweet potato praline, stuffing and corn.... Terri and Jay deep fried the turkey and we ate like Kings!!! After dinner we played a couple rounds of Catch Phrase which was SOOO much fun... I think Mark and I are going to buy that game.. We had a blast!

When we got home we did a bit of cleaning focusing in Noah's room.... Then I finished a cake I made for dinner but didn't get to frost, so I took it to work today... It was a spice cake with molasses cream cheese frosting and coffee toffee... Sound rich??? It was!!! I actually got a sugar headache from it being so rich and sweet... But it was yummy so I sucked up my headache!!!

Work was awesome today... Monday is my usual pain management day... Today we had a full line up including two permanent spinal cord stimulator implants... We figured it was going to be a "full" day as in it would take us 8 hours to complete everything on the books... Well, we finished right around 230!!!! I was so proud of my doc!!!! We have two more next week too... I love those cases!!! They are so fun for me AND I get to hang out with a few of my rep buddies!!! Good times!!!

The rest of this week is work as usual... Call a couple nights this week and work through Saturday. Today I went to our leasing office here at the apts. and gave them our 30 day notice...YAY!!! This weekend we will be meeting up with our new landlord to sign our lease agreement and next week I will slowly start moving things over to the house!!! They will be cleared out of the house hopefully in two weeks time, but for now I can start filling the garage with our storage things. Thank goodness for my two weeks off from the surgery center for Christmas and New Years... I am going to spend that time moving stuff, painting furniture and getting projects done at the new place.... I'm starting to do the moving purge... you know??? Clean, pack, throw stuff away, give stuff away.... It's fun.....

My cousin, her husband and their kiddo will be flying out from Costa Rica tomorrow night and will be hanging out for 2 weeks!!! I'm so excited to see them!!! I know they have a few lay overs so I pray that they will have a safe and uneventful flight.... It's hard traveling with a young kid!

Well, it's pretty late and even though I am still finding that I have energy, I better try to get some sleep....

Still Alive....

....and kicking!!!

After my rough Friday night and Saturday morning at work... I was able to come home for a few and sleep before we headed out to Todd and Anns place. We played from nearly 6pm to almost 2am!!!! Die hard RB players!!! It was such a fun time.. I love hanging out with Todd, Ann and the rest of the gang.. Everyone is sooo much fun!!!!!!! Here are a few pics from the night.

We headed home and found ourselves in a huge fog bank.. There were times where we could barely see in front of the car... But once we got onto the 91, it cleared up a lot so I felt comfy enough to fall asleep... When we got home, I CRASHED!!!! I hadn't even hit my head to the pillow and was already snoozing!!!

I didn't wake up until nearly noon when Mark made me breakfast in bed.. (He's so awesome!!!!) I relaxed in my jammies most of the day.... Didn't even think twice about going wine tasting... Just wanted to relax and chill all day... So I did... I worked on a crochet project I've been meaning to do... Watched a little football with my hubby...Caught up on Housewives of ATL and Top Chef...... Finally watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall with Mark (which was too cute...I loved it) and had dinner with my boys... What more could a girl ask for????? Just another good nights sleep... and I got that too!!!

I was kind of nervous and hesitant to go to work today because I was requested to be in the OR of a coworker of mine... She was having surgery and asked if I would be her scrub tech.... That is like the Godfather... It's an offer you can't refuse.... It's an honor to have someone pick you as the person they want to help their surgeon... Yet, on the other hand, it's a lot of pressure...... Well, I took a deep breath as I walked into work today and pep talked myself through it.... This is the second time this month I've scrubbed a case for a coworker of mine... Both have been my bosses.... Scary.... Both surgeries went well, and the ladies look great!!!! I hope I did them proud!

The rest of this week should be very mellow... Tomorrow is a easy day.... Wednesday we are only working half day.... Thursday is one of my favorite days of the year. THANKSGIVING!!! It's so meaningful!!!! I love the fact that I get to get together with my family without having to worry about who is buying what gift and all that stuff... Gifts are not the reason for the season... The more I hear what people want, I get so disturbed. So commercial and so lost is the meaning of Christmas, so I love to focus on Thanksgiving... Thursday we will be spending with Marks side of the family, and on Sunday we will revisit Thanksgiving with my mom and sisters....

Friday morning, I'm guessing we will be decorating for Christmas... and in the evening we are heading out to the Mission Inn where they will be holding their annual lights on ceremony at sunset. They decorate it so beautiful there, I love it!!!! Then after Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, we will head out to the annual Christmas train at the Metro link station where Santa arrives on the train to visit with the kids....

And finally our good news!!!! We will be moving to a house next month!!!! We are going to rent it but the great news is, it is seriously across the street from my older sis, and just a few minutes away from my mom!!!!! I'm so excited to have this opportunity!!!! Our landlord is really cool, and since they will have moved out of the house by this weekend, they are going to let us slowly move stuff in all through December and we will officially start renting it Jan 1, 2009!!! It's going to be great!!!!

Well, its time for me to go watch PrisonBreak... So have a great night everyone!!!!!

Good Morning to all....

It's 507am as I begin this blog and guess what??? I am already at work!!!! I've been working since 11pm last night... I just clocked out and in an hour and 40 minutes I will clock back in for another 8 hours of work here at the old regional med center..... Funny thing is I am so wide awake... I can't sleep right now, so I figured I'd blog for a little while, see if I unwind.....

It has been a hectic day from the get go..... I forgot to stop by my wonderful Winco last night to pick up some pizza dough for my friend, so I went this morning on my way to the surgery center... When I got to work, I found out our orderly/materials manager didn't come in to work today!!! Grrr... That makes us angry because yesterday he didn't stock our OR's and that made life even more difficult for us.... Then we had equipment issues... We thought we had everything, then our doc changed his mind, then it was all OK again... Back and forth, back and forth.... Well, we made it through the day and I left there around 540pm... I headed out and picked up Noah from sparring class.... Went home and made a few pineapple upside down cakes for various people... Hopped in the shower, had a little dinner, played a set list on RB with Mark, and decided it was time to try to sleep.... About 15 minutes after I laid my head on that pillow, I was called in to work...

Crazy day..... So as of now, I have been awake for 24 hours, worked 15 of those and by the end of today will have worked 8 more.... Oh my....
Today, other than work, Mark and I will be headed over to Todd and Ann's place to have some dinner and play some RB and GHWT... It's been a while since we've gotten together, so we are due for a jam session!!!

And hopefully Sunday, we will be able to go wine tasting in Temecula with a group of friends... Maybe some sushi after that and maybe (big maybe) have everyone over for movie night to watch Tropic Thunder. Mark and I saw it in theaters and loved it immediately so we bought it right away.... Can't wait to see it again.
OK...It's now 545am... Starbucks is open, right??? I think I'm gonna take a trip over there and get me something warm and yummy to start off my new day....

Hope you had a great nights sleep and hope you have a great rest of the weekend!!!!

While checking emails.... Multitask!

While opening emails... I figured I would multitask and post some of the stuff I've received...

1. Five names you go by:
1. Kathy
2. Momma
3. Kat
4. Kath
5. Madre


2. Three things you are wearing right now:
1. Red Shirt
2. Blue Jeans
3. Underwear


3. Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. A seed to the money tree (amen sister...thats a keeper)
2. Time and money to go to school


4. 2 People who will probably fill this out.
1. Melissa
2. Kimmy


5. Two things you did last night:
1. Made almond joy bars
2. Watched animation domination with my hubby


6. Two things you ate today:
1. Salad
2. Almond Joy bar


7. Two people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Hubby
2. Mom


8. Two things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Work
2 . Be on call.... so possible more work!


9. Two longest car rides.
1. Here to Vegas????
2. Here to Sacramento.....


10. Two of your favorite beverages:
1. Diet Coke.... lotsa lemon...
2. A good ol' lemon drop martini

The One Flaw In Women

My older sis emailed this to me the other day and I couldn't believe how truly inspirational it is. Read on my sisters!!!! And realize your flaw!


By the time the Lord made woman, He was into his sixth day of working overtime.
An angel appeared and said,'Why are you spending so much time on this one?'
And the Lord answered, 'Have you seen my spec sheet on her?
She has to be completely washable, but not plastic,have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable and able to run on diet coke and leftovers, have a lap that can hold four children at one time, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart -and she will do everything with only two hands.'
The angel was astounded at the requirements.
'Only two hands!? No way! And that's just on the standard model? That's too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish.'
'But I won't, ' the Lord protested. 'I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can work 18 hour days.'
The angel moved closer and touched the woman. 'But you have made her so soft, Lord.'
'She is soft,' the Lord agreed, 'but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish.'
'Will she be able to think?', asked the angel.
The Lord replied, 'Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason and negotiate.'
The angel then noticed something, and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek.
'Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one.'
'That's not a leak, 'the Lord corrected, 'that's a tear!'
'What's the tear for?' the angel asked.
The Lord said, 'The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love, her loneliness, her grief and her pride.'
The angel was impressed. 'You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything! Woman is truly amazing.'
And she is! Women have strengths that amaze men. They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy. They smile when they want to scream. They sing when they want to cry. They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous. They fight for what they believe in. They stand up to injustice. They don't take 'no' for an answer when they believe there is a better solution. They go without so their family can have. They go to the doctor with a frightened friend. They love unconditionally. They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards. They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding. Their hearts break when a friend dies. They grieve at the loss o f a family member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left. They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart. Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you. The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning. They bring joy, hope and love. They have compassion and ideals. They give moral support to their family and friends. Women have vital things to say and everything to give.
HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE TINY FLAW IN WOMEN, IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Awesome, right??? We are that strong and amazing!!!! Everyday of our lives.

My little brother.

I'm really so sad that tonight was the last time I'll see my brother for at least a few months. In the short time that I've known Teddy, I gotta say my heart really adopted him as family. He is going home for a while and I definitely think it will be a great experience for him, but selfishly, I will miss hearing the stories from Mark about him, and hearing his awesome laugh when we get together.... Oh I will especially miss hearing his excuses on why he can't come out to the IE to visit.... Priceless!!!

Sad as it may be, I'm glad I was able to go out one last time and toast a Heine with my bro....

Love ya and will definitely miss you. Be careful out there... I hear they like to kidnap young people and make them prostitute.... Heeeheeheee....

Non-Motivational

...so often we look at a calendar of days as merely a symbol of the passage of time. We forget why we are on this earth. We forget that there is a reason for all of the pain and all of the struggle. We forget that we were put on earth to learn something. If everything were perfect in this life, we would never learn anything new. We would not be able to elevate our spirits through the events that happen to us.
Author: Lynn V. Andrews

I believe... I believe in continuous learning, healing, loving, growing... All these attributes make life so amazing.

At work, learning a new surgical technique motivates me and puts a huge smile on my face. You can ask my hubby... When we do something new at work, I can't seem to shut up about it for a long time. Poor guy... He has to hear the stories over and over.

At home, learning, healing and growing together with Mark and Noah is such a great feeling. As teenagers and young adults so many of us become so selfish and adopt the "know it all" attitude... Just to learn a few years later that we didn't know much at all. Then you get into a relationship and begin a family and you realize everyday is a new day and you will learn new things everyday for the rest of your life. Be it patience with your spouse or kiddo.... or just dealing with the undeniable differences between men and women..... My favorite example is how a man can sit and watch football for hours and women can sit and watch project runway for hours....

If as a human you are not constantly learning, than you are stagnant. Not growing....

My goal that I am setting for myself is to make time and take the extra effort to start my prerequisites at the com-coll even if it is online to begin with. I REALLY need to find the time and the money to get this going. If I don't start now, I will just keep beating myself up about it and never actually do it. So I am setting a deadline and making an appointment by the end of November to see a counselor and sit down with them to make a plan of attack for these pre-req classes. I want to take as many as I can online so I can do them in those late hours that I can't sleep.


You can't expect to prevent negative feelings altogether. And you can't expect to experience positive feelings all the time...The Law of Emotional Choice directs us to acknowledge our feelings but also to refuse to get stuck in the negative ones.
Author: Greg Anderson


My new philosophy.... I refuse to get stuck in the negative feelings that I am surrounded with lately.

Mark and I were talking last night about me... lol.. I know. We talked about how I really try to be there and help my friends so much that I totally get emotionally involved with them. Their issues and their drama affects me. I get emotional about it. I fixate on something until it resolves or dissolves. So Mark and I chatted and I've decided that I have to take a step back and not get stuck in it anymore.

I refuse to let my emotions get the best of me. I am emotional. Especially lately since I've been working so many hours, the holiday season quickly approaching, and other things in the works.... I have to remember that I can't help anyone if I am a wreck myself. I love myself and I love the person I have become. I am definitely unique. I definitely have more to accomplish in my life, and since I acknowledge this, I must move forward and take the first and hardest step to begin that journey.

Motivational??? Nahhh.... This certainly wasn't meant to motivate anyone. But now that I've written (typed) it, I have set my goal in black and white. I can't look back.

Never look back... Just move on, move forward, and make it happen.

Catching up and Keeping Busy....

I never posted an update on my call story so here is the gran finale! Dr. Chin finally showed up around 330am and we did our appendectomy without any complications... I didn't finish until nearly 5am because after our cases are done we still have to clean our room and wash our instruments!!!! So I layed down in my bronch room suite (Lol... not a suite at all!!!Remember, the dead people room?)for about 45 minutes then got up, got dressed, brushed my teeth, did my makeup and off I went to my day at the surgery center. We did a facelift, endoscopic brow lift and fat injections on one patient... Then we did a buttock lift on the next... Good times!!! My doc and anesthesiologist kept me laughing all day so I didn't really feel super tired until we were done for the day.... Thats when it hit me and I couldn't wait to go home.... Even though I was tired, I wanted to again review all my notes and techniques for the hip arthroscopy that we were going to do on Wednesday. So I had something to eat, reviewed, played a little GH with Mark, and went to bed.

Wednesday was the big day. I was so super excited to do this hip scope that I've been waiting months for.... We got the patient (who was a big boy-nearly 300 pounds) on the regular OR table, but when we went to set up the table modifier that dislocates the hip, the table started to tip!!!! Oh my!!!! We got a little scared, but figured that we just needed to weigh down the base of the table. We grabbed every sand bag and weight available in the building and placed them on the base of the table. We propped up the other leg holder with a stand, and off we went to prep and start the surgery. I think we took almost three hours in the surgery. Not bad for our first time here. We did a labral resection which should help the guy with some joint pain. We almost removed some loose bodies he had floating in his joint which could definitely cause some pain. All in all, it was a great learning experience, and I'm one of a very few people that can say they've done a hip scope! Woohoo!!! Can't wait for the next one....

The rest of the week has been pretty uneventful. It is getting dark so early now that it feels so late when I get home to walk the dog, but we are still going... Just to be safe though we are doing laps around our apartment complex.. We do about 4 laps in one hour... Not too shabby... I love it when Noah and I get to walk the dog together because it's our special time to just chat and reflect on whats going on. Mommy son time... Love it!

I want to send a Happy Birthday out to my great friend Christi... She turned the big quarter century!!! LOL.... She is inVegas right now celebrating her 25th!!! Wish I was there sister, but I know you will party enough for all of us that aren't with ya!

"To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart" -Pearl S. Buck

This quote was one of my daily emails I receive... It sparked a smile on my face... True true true.... I definitely think that your actions should be your own, and never done expecting reciprocation or any kind of return from others. If you expect those kind of things, you will often be let down. It is so very important to me that the actions I do be for no other reason than because I want to do them... Be it a gesture of friendship, love, helpfulness... I do them because I want to do them.... I feel like too many times people act selfishly and try to make their actions seem unselfish and giving, like there is no other motive even though there is. Its sad. This is why people have trust issues. It's so hard to tell sometimes who is being genuine and who is not.

On that note, I better get going... We just booked another OR case, and I have to get ready for it.... Have a great weekend... More pics and some really great news comin next time....

Sleep is for the birds!!!

Well, I guess I'm only saying that because it's 215am and I'm at work waiting for my surgeon to show up so we can do an appendectomy.... They called me from the hospital at 120 and said he was on his way.... Liars... He lives closer than I do and here I am waiting after driving for 25 minutes, clocking in, and pulling all of my supplies and opening them all on my table.... Guess that's the way it goes.....

Hopefully everyone had a great weekend.... and a great Halloween.... I did!!!!

On Friday, Noah had a minimum day, so I left work after half day and picked him up.... What a nice treat!!!! I never get to pick him up from school and certainly don't ever get to go out to lunch with him.... We went to one of our favorite places, Portillo's.... We got our usual cheeseburgers and cheese fries... Noah got his chocolate shake and we sat on the open balcony and enjoyed!!!! It was so much fun... He told me all about his Halloween party that he had at school, and was expressing his excitement about going trick or treating that night.... After lunch, we went home and relaxed till it was time to go to my moms... It's our little tradition to head over to my moms for pizza and dessert and then go out trick or treating in her neighborhood..... Terri and another couple have been coming with us for years now!!!! Noah and Brayden looked so cute.... Noah was the joker and Brayden was Scooby-Doo.... After we trick-or-treated there, we were off to a party at our friends Frankie and Wills house. We ate, drank and were merry!!!!! Noah was the first one to pass out!!! He was so tired from such a busy day that he pooped out right on Frankie's couch! We hung out there till 2am or so... and then headed home.... It was time for bed!

Saturday, we slept in and then did some cleaning and relaaaaaxed most of the day... I went to Costco with my sis and found 2 new cookie magazines!!!! So I tried a recipe from one of them for apple pie bars..... AWESOME!!!!! I made 3 pans of them, and they were amazing!!!!! After my baking spree, we three headed over to my moms for a little surprise 19th birthday party for my younger sister Mellyza..... We had a great time just hanging out and cracking jokes like we always do..... It was a really fun time..

Sunday, we did absolutely nothing!!!!! How awesome is that???? Pretty cool I would say! I caught up on loading my pics onto my ex. drive, played a little GHWT, and even watched a little football with Mark.... The only bad thing about the day is the fact that I broke a tooth!!!! AARRGGHHH!!!! This tooth has been nothing but trouble.... It started years ago as an emergency root canal that unfortunately was botched when the dentist drilled all the way into my sinus.... Ouchie!!!! So after that guy screwed it up, I switched to another dentist, who had to re-drill... That was bad news because the tooth became very thin around the edges. The new dentist told me that there was a chance the tooth could break because the re-drilling made it so thin, but they would do what they could to save it. Well, after all their effort, the tooth broke anyway.... BOO!!!! So Monday after wearing a mask ALL DAY at work, I went to my dentist and they did a temporary patch and made it look decent until I can get the porcelain crown. Should be next month. Oh well....

In other news, I am so excited that this Wednesday we will be doing our first hip arthroscopy at the surgery center!!!! YAY!!!! I've been re-reading all my guides, information, surgical techniques and even just my basic anatomy on the hip so that I can be as knowledgeable as possible when we do our case. I will have two docs during the case, Dr. G and his partner Dr. D.... I'm really excited.

Well, here we are 245 and still no doc.... I am going to lay down on a gurney and get some sleep while we wait for my dear Dr. Chin. My sunshine! Till next time, have a great Election Day. Get out there and do your duty!!!!!!

Life is just complicated.... SMILE!!!

It is isn't it???? You can't help it, even if you try to minimize and stay as simple as possible.. Life is just complicated and those complications will find you sooner or later. You can't hide from them... You don't ask for them.... They just come when it's inconvenient.... I've recently learned that even though you can pour your heart and soul into something, someone, anything.... There is never a guarantee that it will be everything you hoped it would be... No matter the amount of effort you put in. Sometimes there are just circumstances beyond your control that alter the course that you thought you were clearly on. It's sad and disheartening, but going through the process, I guess the bigger lesson is that you have to continue on, make those hard decisions, press on with life, and persevere. Smile, and be yourself, don't lose yourself trying to achieve something or please someone.....someone will appreciate you for you.. all faults included.... This past weekend, I decided to let go of something like that and move on. I can't help the way circumstances have played out... It's obviously beyond my control.


Enough of that... Lets try to catch up on pics now...... Lots to share.... Enjoy.

We finally got our family pics back, and they are awesome!!! The whole experience with the awesome photographers, the viewing session and their quick print time was a favorable one. I'll definitely go back to them and would recommend anyone I know to go there.... Here are the 2008 Castro-Corona-De Mers-May family pics :)

Late in September, we went to the beach with my friend Edy and her hubby and kiddos. It turned out to be a bad beach day... Really overcast and cold...But we didn't let that ruin our fun. The boys enjoyed the sand and water... Yes, Noah did too.... Here's a few pics....

Earlier this month we did an ankle repair on one of Dr. G's kite boarding friends.... He is one of those "Jackass" kinda guys... so he wanted pics of his surgery.... But since Dr. G is so dang good...his surgery was nearly bloodless and less than 45 minutes long.... We fixed this guys ankle through 2 holes... AMAZING!!!! I tell you, it is such a pleasure to work with this doctor!!! Here are the pics we took for him. The clamp Dr. G is holding is lovingly nicknamed the KING KONG CLAMP... It's huge!!!

A little over two weeks ago, another one of our docs was having an open house of his new office.... So Christi and I headed over there to check it out... His office is amazing... So sophisticated and beautiful!!!! Our Dr. Rho, we love him, but he's known for his foul mouth... I've personally heard him tell patients that they can F*** off..... So I had to go to his office just to see him wear a tie!!! There he is in all his glory!!!! Wait... is that a burger in his hand??? I thought he was a vegetaarian??? Hahahaha.... just another classic Dr. Rho moment...

Two weeks ago was my brother in law and sister in laws Halloween party. Everyone was dressed up which was really cool!!!! Vero, Daniel and Christi came with us too which was really awesome of them... They are just like family to me and Mark..... Love them mucho mucho!!!!

Friday night was the Harvest Festival at Noahs school. So we got him dressed up as the Joker and headed over for some games, food and quality fam time.... Even my older sis Terri and Little B came too.... Noah played games, we ate some "carnival" food, and even decorated cupcakes!!!! It was a fun night.. Noah looked pretty cool for me doing his makeup in about 10 minutes....We were in a hurry!!! It'll look way better this Friday!!!

At work on Saturday I worked with one of the most difficult docs at the hospital, which is always so nerve wracking because no matter what I do, I am a girl and will never be good enough for him. Did you guess it, Ortho doc... Yup.... They are stereotypically the most male chauvinist of all the specialties... Well he had a big hip case... One of the ones I only get to do every once in a long while at the hospital... When I walked in I dreaded it.... When I scrubbed in I got nervous.... When the doc came in, I went into "Phelps" mode... and made myself proud. I got this sudden burst of awesomeness and completely rocked this case!!!! I was throwing instruments in this docs hands like I knew what I was doing!!! Hahahaha.... I impressed myself to the point of impressing him too and I even got a handshake and a thank you out of him!!!!! Nothing could ruin my day.... I felt like I was on top of the world.... Grinning from ear to ear... I'm on my way up....

In the evening, me and my chicas were going to celebrate another friends birthday with a girls night out dinner and dancing..... After I got home from work, I got ready, and headed over to Veros house to meet up with her and Christi so we could carpool to dinner... We hung out for a while, had some wine...(mmmm Stella Rosa) and then headed out to dinner... We went to a place in Redlands called China Bistro. It's a cute modern restaurant that has a DJ and dancing at night. they even had a hookah lounge. So in our usual "lets try something new" attitude...we tried it.. The flavor we picked was strawberry... and I have to admit, if I was a smoker, I'd buy a hookah.. It was pretty cool..... Happy Birthday Vanessa!!!! Dirty thirty baby!!!!

Sunday was a day of relaxation!!! I woke up and made Mark the pancakes he had been craving for a few days... They were extra yum, and I think that's because we had been waiting and thinking about them for a few days... After breakfast he went to go pick up GH On Tour.... The GH version of Rock Band... Since we already have the mic and drums for Rock Band, we decided just to get the guitar pack for it... It's pretty much the same (there's even a lot of the same songs on it as Rock Band) except the singing is more difficult... I got a bit frustrated with it, but am going to keep practicing it.... I'm determined..... In the evening, Mark had this awesome dinner idea... We went to the Melting Pot for our anniversary dinner and enjoyed the dinner fondue so much!! Mark got together some veggies, pork and shrimp and we had family fondue night... Mark Noah and myself!!! It was such a blast!!! I think what made it better for us was how much Noah was enjoying it.... He was so excited he had 5 forks cooking at once!!!

So today when I walked into work, to my surprise, everyone noticed that I was in a much better mood than I had been the week before. They said I looked so happy and well rested. Even a rep-in-training that I just met today for the first time EVER said how nice it was to come to a new place to learn and have the person they have to work with be all smiles and friendly. It warmed my heart and made me feel renewed!!! It was such an awesome feeling... The rest of our day at work went really fast.... We got work done and that was that...

Tonight I tried a new recipe for dinner.... Coconut batter shrimp over some coconut cashew rice.... Coconut overkill??? Yeah, a little, but still yummy... I even had some batter left over and made Mark some onion rings he had been craving for a while.... Dinner was great!!!! And since I had some some spare time, I decided to hop on here and blog about all this that I have just not been caught up on..... If I have some energy left I think I will dye my hair tonight.... And if I can scrounge up some more energy I will try and get up early and take Obi for a run in the morning before work....

I've even given up my daily RockStar... I was feeling too addicted, they were becoming a neccessity, so I decided to say goodbye. I don't want anything to have a hold on me like that. Since each one of those drinks equals nearly 8 cups of coffee, I've cut down to one cup of coffee and maybe a diet soda.... It's been a little tough, but I am definitely sleeping better.... I'll survive the withdrawal.... It's pretty lame when people know you are at work by the open RockStar can on the lounge table..... Only gonna party like a RockStar when the real need arises.....

Can you feel the change?

I hardly ever have a chance to blog anymore!!!! I don't remember the last time I actually sat down at my computer.... I just can't find the time to do it all lately and I'm actually OK with that.... I'm learning that I don't have time to do it all and I can only get done what I get done... Goooozzzzfraba!!! (Anger Management reference) So my blogging suffers even though I have so many thoughts and pictures to share... Now that I have a chance to blog, it's going to be really random as I really only have a limited amount of time to get out everything I've stored in my head!!!!



I am absolutely loving this cooler weather we have been having the last few days... It makes me feel like things are changing, and change, even though for the most part is hard, is a good thing... My favorite days are the cool ones, where the evenings are nice and cool... Running has been so awesome lately because it's not blazing hot... Obi wants to run more and that motivates me to run faster and further!!!! Gotta get back on the wagon.... Cutting calories and running more aggressively is my plan.....



Last weekend we had a few friends over for dinner / drinks and movie night, and it was awesome!!!! I came home from work and made 3 pizzas... Pepperoni, Meat Lovers (for Matt hahah...) and a BBQ chicken one.... Wow, I am now addicted to my BBQ chicken pizza... It was a big hit!!!!! We had a variety of beers to choose from since lately I have been into sampling foreign beers... We had Hoegarden, Stella, Fat Tire, Newcastle, and Lindemans Framboise... If u haven't had Framboise... go to your nearest BevMo and grab a bottle.... It's raspberry beer and is awesome!!! After dinner, I made monkey bread for dessert with some fresh whipped cream and vanilla ice cream.... We were all so full!!! But we still threw a movie in and watched Iron Man..... All 6 of us snuggled up on the couch, turned on the fireplace, and I think only 2 made it through the movie... The rest of us dozed off!!!! It was a great night!!!! Something has to be said for just being able to chill at home and hang out with some really awesome people..... Love that!!!



This past week at work has been semi-rough... There are a lot of changes going on at our surgery center and as it happens from time to time... group moral goes down a bit and tensions get high.... So we are all trying to work through these days the best we can and not kill each other in the process..... I love most of my coworkers, and luckily the ones I love are some of my closest friends!!!! So if we have issues we can get together outside of work and talk about it and work through our issues... We stand united!!!!!



Halloween is right around the corner... We've got tons of plans for this year..... So Mark and I have gotten our costumes already and are excited to go out!!! He is going to be Lt. Dangle from Reno 911, in all his glory!!! Tight shorty shorts and all!!! That's so awesome!!!! I am going to be a beer garden girl (oktoberfest kinda thing) in my shorty skirt and thigh high stockings... Still contemplating getting a blonde wig... Just not sure about that detail yet.... It's gonna be fun... Noah has decided to be the Joker from The Dark Knight which is awesome!!! I loved that character in the movie...

Can't Get Enough.... Good Times....

It's been a while since Mark, Noah and I have had a great family filled couple of days.. This weekend was certainly one of those...



Friday night we spent with my older sister Terri and Little B...... She is such an artist!!!! She is sweet enough to always do awesome designs on my toenails.... My personal pedicurist!!!! This time she did pink, silver and white zebra stripes on my toes!!! I love them!!! After we left her place, we came home and it was time for me to pack my overnight bag and get some rest since I was on call starting at 11pm..... Luckily, I didn't end up getting called in to work, but unfortunately I slept really crooked on the couch and woke up with a sore neck!!! hahahah.... Just can't win!!!



Saturday was work as usual.... We were pretty busy but no huge cases... Just got through the day... After work, it was a family reunion at our place.... Marks mom, grandpa, uncle and his girlfriend are down from Alaska.... So we decided to take this opportunity and have everyone get together so we could all visit.... It was a great time, ate, watched football, got grandpa drunk, played a little Rock Band.... Even my mom stopped by to say hello to everyone which meant so much to Mark and myself.... It was a great night... After everyone left, Mark and I played some more Rock Band, and then we called it a night!!!! I was soooo tired by the last song, I was literally falling asleep while I was supposed to be singing!!! LMFAO!!!! I knew it was time for bed when I popped up and didn't remember what song I was supposed to be singing....



This morning we got up, had some quick breakfast, and headed out to Carlsbad to meet my friend Edlyse, her hubby and @ 2 kiddos at the beach.... We went, played a little football, watched the kids get in the freezing water and play in the sand.... I know, I know.... You never really hear about us going to the beach... Maybe once or twice a year.... I gotta tell you... I am not a beach person, and luckily for me, neither is Mark.... and well up until today, Noah wasn't either.... Today Noah and Edy's son Alex played in the water for hours!!!!! Mark took some really great pics that I'll load later... We were so happy to see Noah having a great time with his new friend...we didn't want to leave and make him get out, but it was getting chilly and I promised I would make a cake for someone, so I had to get home!!!

Tomorrow after work, I am going to hang out with Edy and her kiddos at a shallow river that they visit down in Temecula.. I guess it's really beautiful and unspoiled.. Something you would see in a movie... Big shady tree hanging over the water with a rope swing on it.... I'm excited... So after work, I'll zoom home, grab Noah and head over to the river, then to Edy's place for a BBQ..... What a great end to a great weekend, and an even greater start to a new week....

This week I will be able to get back on my running regimen.. Lately I have truly been so busy that I've completely slacked on my routine.. This week that will end... That's my promise to myself... Gotta get back to my 4 days running, 3 days walking and hopefully some weights at home.... I have to!!!!

OK, my cake is almost done and I gotta get the frosting together, so I will load pics soon.... Really... I will.... Have a great Monday!!!!