Seren's Wedding

Here are more pictures that I have been working on. I have been learning more about Photoshop CS3 and practiced some techniques on her pictures.

Democratic National Convention

So, this week is the DNC and there are many people excited about it being here. Nick and I not so much. Our work lives will be turned upside down because of it. Poor Nick has to work (6) 12 hour shifts. They start tonight and don't end until Friday. Law Enforcement has to be on high alert incase chaos happens. He is dreading this. What is getting him through this is the money will get at the end of this.

For me the convention will make my commuting a nightmare. Obama wants to speak at Invesco Field so for security purposes the freeway will be completely shut down for several miles both directions during the afternoon commute. The freeway they are shutting down is my way of getting north from my office. So everyone will need to find an alternate route. I understand why they are doing it, but the Denver area will be a mad house. They will also shut down other roads and that will make my travel time much longer. That's all I need to be stuck in my car in traffic and trying get to my destination.

I will update you next week at how the convention went and how Nick survived all those hours.

Attention Colorado Drivers.... I think we have more Utah drivers in Colorado

Ok, so I need to complain a little bit right now. Nick and I love living in Colorado for the scenery, the lack of a large religious organization, friendly people and better drivers. Drivers in Colorado are so much better than the ones in Utah. Here in Colorado, people will actually let you merge into another lane. In Utah, they speed up. People here in Colorado will go the speed limit or 5-10 mph more. Utah, they go under. People here won't stop traffic because you missed your turn lane, they will turn around. Utah, not so much. Sorry for all you who live in Utah, but your drivers stink.

Anyways, here is my complaint about drivers today. I would have sworn they were transplants from Utah and didn't get the memo that you don't have to drive like you are from Utah anymore. Another side note... now back to my story.

So, I am heading home and someone is going about 15 mph under the speed limit and I had to change lanes around them. There is driver number 1. Then I started heading towards downtown Littleton and the driver in front of me is driving great. She is going 5 mph over the speed limit. Next thing I know she is slamming her brakes because she drives in front of the Littleton Court house and the speed limit is now 25. She decides to go 20 mph because cops pull you over going the speed limit. So, I then passed her. That is driver number 2. Next I am behind this gorgeous Audi. Yeah, you think nice car, he must be a good driver. Nope, not so much. He stopped at a GREEN LIGHT and when I honked my horn, the light turned yellow and he just stayed there. Driver number 3. I then passed him and was again behind another person who thought they had to go 10 mph under the speed limit because you get in trouble for going the speed limit. I then passed him. Driver number 4. This has all happened in a matter of 10 minutes. So, I am now free and clear with no cars in front of me and I am coming to another stop light that is GREEN. Next thing I know the SUV in front of me stops right at the light and is trying to get into the turn lane and stops traffic. For about 5 seconds they didn't move and then slowly tried to move to the turn lane. I then of coarse almost missed the green light. That is Driver number 5. So, I am almost home and some idiot is blocking my lane of traffic because he is pulled out too far on the cross street and can't move because the light is already green on my street and the cars behind him are too close and he can't back up. This is driver number 6.

I swore that everyone was out to get me today and made me lose faith in the drivers in Colorado. I am convinced they are all from Utah and just decided to all drive at the same time and be in my same direction. My drive home is only 20 minutes away from work. I have never had this many issues in one drive home.

I feel much better now. Thanks for listening and I really hope I didn't offend anyone from Utah. Like I said, your drivers stink.

Can't believe July is half over

Nick and I have been busy since our last update. Nick and I were excited to celebrate our 6 year wedding anniversary on July 13. To celebrate we had friends over on July 12 and 13 for the Irish Festival. We had a lot of fun with my friends from work on Saturday and Nick's family and friends on Sunday. Good times were had by all. This was our first time going and it was fun to hear the Irish music and drink Irish drinks. I of coarse don't drink beer, so I had "Irish" Margaritas. We would go to the festival for a while and then come back to our home for a bbq. Nick made his fabulous beer brats and we ate and drank the night away. Nick and I decided that going two days in a row was way too much. So next year, I think we will just go Saturday instead both days. We were exhausted last week and glad to have finally recovered.

Nick and I are 90% done with the front room. Carpet will be installed on Friday and furniture will be here on Saturday. We can't wait to be out of the back room and in the front room that we have been working on since we moved into our home. We will have picture up next week when everything is finally in place. We have been looking forward to this for a long time and it is finally here. Now, we are finished with projects on the home for the summer and plan to do more during fall and winter.

The best game ever!

Nick and I went to a Colorado Rockies game July 4th. It was a last minute decision and we found cheap tickets online. They were fireworks obstructed seats, but they were very close to the field (hence why they were cheap). The game started horrible. It was the first pitch and the Marlins hit a home run. Then by the bottom of the 4th we were down by 9. Nick and I contemplated leaving and stay downtown then watch the fireworks later. But we decided to stay and I am glad we did. We were able to come back and beat the Marlins 18-17. It was incredible. We were cheering and yelling. It was so much fun. Nick and I also enjoyed the stadium food. I especially wanted nachos and dip n' dots. Nick had never had dip n' dots as a child, and I thought he had truly missed out.



After the game we moved to another place to watch fireworks. There were certain seats in the stadium where you were allowed to sit on the field to watch the fireworks. We of course did not have that privilege , but it seemed to take forever. So I took pictures of my legs to look distorted. Nick of course just laughed at me, but i was really bored.



We decided to walk to the light rail station and watch the fireworks from there to avoid crowds. We made it to the station in time to watch the fireworks. They were the best I had seen in Denver. No where close to Cal Expo in California, but pretty good. We were glad we watched from the station because we beat the huge crowd from the stadium and we weren't right under the fireworks. If we would have stayed at the stadium the fireworks would have been too close for my comfort.

New Mexico

I had a blast in New Mexico. It was so fun to see Juliana and Bella. I miss them so much. I also loved seeing Seren Gale get married and now Seren Jackson. There were some weather issues the day before and day of the wedding, but that didn't stop anyone. It was so much fun to take many picture of everyone getting ready and the wedding. I will have to say it has taken me a couple days to recover from the trip, but it was so much fun to go there.


Seren wanted me to take some pictures of her wedding dress. I was stuck in the bathroom while all the girls were getting ready and playing with different lighting. There are many pictures that I need to fix, but I for sure had no problem being stuck in the bathroom


This is Shelby, Seren's Maiden of Honor. I just love candid shots!


Here is Seren and all of her attendents. I knew everyone but one from church and high school. It was fun to be reconnected and meet new friends


This is one of my favorites of Seren getting ready.


Another cute picture!


Seren and Damon are married!!!!!

A real eye opener

Nick and I were grocery shopping last night and found a book called "Eat This, Not That" by David Zinckenko. He is the editor in chief of Men's Health magazine. This book shows the calories in the foods we eat at restaurants, fast food places, and supermarkets that you may not know how bad they really are for you. This book shows things that restaurants wants to keep you from knowing. This also helps break down all the choices within a certain group to help decide what is better. When we thought we were okay in calories because it is chicken or turkey ended up being the worst for us. Some things we have tried or eaten in the past were anywhere from 1000-2000 calorie a serving! Nick and I realized a lot about what we choose and what we won't choose ever again. This book showed a lot to us that we have a lot of work to do to improve our diets. Like I said this book was a real eye opener for both of us. We recommend this to everyone whether or not you are trying to lose weight. This book is jam packed full of nutrition facts and choices that it is kind of overwhelming. Good luck if you choose to read this book. I know I am going to share this book with all my friends and family. We all probably could improve our health one way or another. There is also a kid section which breaks down ages and what should be ordered if eating out at restaurants. You will LOVE AND HATE the book at the same time. I know we did. I thought ignorance was bliss, but when it comes to my health, that shouldn't be the case. This book showed that a Big Mac has 200 calories less than a Whopper with Cheese. That one tortilla has 250 calories!

Pictures

Last weekend Nick and I and the dogs went to a friends home to let our dogs play and just get together. I work with these guys and I will have to say are among the best coworkers that I have ever worked with. There is no drama and we are just good friends to be there for eachother. I am so glad for where I work and the friends i have. Here are some pictures I took there.

Good to be home

We just got home yesterday from Las Vegas and we had so much fun. The weather was perfect, we didn't push ourselves too hard and did alot of relaxing. I still have today and tomorrow off so I will be cleaning and finishing laundry. Poor Nick has to go back to work tonight, but he is ready. This vacation was exactly what we needed and now we are recooperated and ready to start back up to work. Thanks to a friend of mine who watched our dogs so we didn't have to kennel them. Overall this was one of the best vacations that we have taken in a very long time.

OH Bruno!

Well, this morning could have been one of the worst things that could happen to one of our dogs. I was getting ready upstairs and Nick had just arrived home from work and was making breakfast. Next thing I knew I heard Bruno barking and growling so fierce and I didn't know what happened and then I was hearing Nick yell at the top of his lungs outside. Things quieted and I went on with my business. Then Nick came upstairs to go to bed. He said he was making breakfast and saw Bruno at the fence just barking and growling at something and the next thing Nick knew Bruno was over the fence and lo and behold he was going after a coyote. Luckily and I mean luckily the coyote was scared of him and ran off but Bruno continued to chase. Nick was able to call Bruno back and the coyote disappeared. These animals travel in packs and thank God there wasn't more of them. Bruno was not backing down and things could have been very ugly. I have friends who have dogs that attacked coyotes and ended up very hurt. Sometimes it is nice backing up to a wooded area, but with times like these I wished we had a home behind us. I am glad Bruno has a enough sense to listen and came back.

What a slow week!

Well, I have only been working for 2 days now and I am ready for it to be over with. It feels like this week has gone by so slow. I have to work 3 more days and then it is vacation time. I can't wait! Nick is off starting tomorrow and doesn't have to go back to work until June 1. I am off Saturday and don't have to go back until June 3. Memorial Day will be spent with friends at the Boskovich's Memorial Day party and then we leave Tuesday afternoon for Las Vegas. Nick and I have done research and have decided on 2 shows that we want to see. The first one is called Defending the Caveman. It basically discusses the differences between men and women. Everyone can probably guess I picked that one. Nick chose a comedian which he thought I would like. His name is the Amazing Johnathan. As Nick put it, "he is hilllarious." We will see on that one. We can't wait to relax, eat great food and just have a great time. We have never been to vegas together so this will be an experience. For Nick and I it was has been 9-10 years since we have been back. I've heard Vegas has changed. Can't wait to lounge by the pool and see these great shows. I will have tons of pictures to show when I get back.

My Allergies

This time of the year is the worst for my allergies. I love seeing everything grow and bloom, but being outdoors is miserable for me. These past couple days my allergies are getting the best of me. First of all I am exhausted. I have been going to bed earlier and waking up in the middle of the night coughing and sneezing. Not to mention my eyes itch so bad. I wear contacts and really try to keep my fingers from my eyes but i can't help it. The mornings and evenings are the worst for me. So now I am on my flonase, claritin and eye drops routine inorder to survive the day. I will need to start benadryl at night to see if that will control my allergies more. It is so dry here and there hasn't been alot of moisture which people are saying is the reason for the horrible allergies. We are suppose to get some moisture this week and I can't wait. It will be 40 and rain with possible snow. I can't wait for the break. I don't know how much worse my allergies can get. Everyone I talk to say this has been a hard year for them too with their allergies so I am glad I am not the only one.

Denver Botanical Gardens

My shutter finger was fluttering and I knew I needed to go out and take some pictures. I decided to go to the Denver Botanical Gardens and practice taking floweral pictures. I have never been there and knew that what I was doing would not appeal to Nick at all. So, I packed everything and headed to Denver. The gardens are very pretty. I think I may have gone to early in the season because many things were still brown. I of coarse had a blast no matter what and plan to go next month to see more flowers in bloom. The weather wasn't cooperating very well, it was pretty windy. I practice patience and waited for the wind to die down before taking a picture. I was going to make the most out of my adventure.

Snow again!

We have been above 70 for most of the week. It has been great. I enjoyed wearing sandals, capris, and short sleeved T-shirts. Well, all that changed today. Today was the high of 45 which we hit at 0900, and we are suppose to get anywhere from 1-3 inches of snow and some areas possibly 5-10 inches. I decided I was going to enjoy the snow and practice taking snow pictures. After I got home from work I bundled up and made my way through a couple parks. Actually a couple shots I didn't even get out of my car. I thought that was pretty creative. I truly loved walking through the snow and finding cool areas to photograph. I think everyone who saw me thought I was crazy, but I certainly didn't notice or care. I was going to find a way to enjoy the weather, and I found my way. You won't find me skiing or playing in the stuff, but I will certainly photograph it.

Nick at his finest

I am writing this with the man of my dreams sitting next to me and pondering how do I quote his finest words and love he has for me. Well, people who know me know I love photography and Nick of coarse loves his motorcycle.

I have been very unhappy with my small point and shoot camera. The red eye reduction doesn't work and the flash is so slow. I went to Wolf Camera because I had some down time between meetings and found the camera that I love. It is the Nikon Coolpix S600 and it retails $300. Now I know I can find it cheaper elsewhere but I wanted to share my excitement with my wonderful and loving husband.

Well, Nick has also been looking at a new motorcycle. It is a Harley and retails new at $14,000. Nick likes his bike now but wants to upgrade. He always likes to mention how he is saving us money because his current bike gets good gas mileage.

So, now that you have the background to our conversation. Here it goes.

Camie- Honey, guess what I found a new point and shoot that I like
Nick- What is it?
Camie- The Nikon Coolpix S600. I found it at Wolf Camera today
Nick- How much is it?
Camie- (becomes very quiet) $300 but i can find it cheaper elsewhere
Nick- That is too expensive and you know you can find a very nice point and shoot for $100-$150.
Camie- I know but I really like this camera
Nick- Well, you know what.
Camie-What?
Nick- If you get the Nikon then I get my new motorcycle next spring?
Camie- What? How can you compare the two?
Nick- My bike pays for itself.

Implying that his bike brings us money and is more important than my happiness and desires.

(This is Nick defending myself) Camie likes to make me sound like the bad guy to make her stories more interesting. I simply gave a compelling argument for my motorcycle and asked her to give one for the camera.

Aghh, the dog hair!!!!

Well, everyone we meet at the dog park mention they loved growing up with german shephards but hated the dog hair and I have to concur. Bruno's shedding is horrible. A couple of nick's friends who are K-9 officers recommended the Ferminator. I also had a friend recommend this to me too so we decided to try it. We found it on Amazon for half the price of Petsmart and decided to try it. I would have to say it is the best invention. It gets rid of dog hair so well and when nick brushed Bruno for the first time he said there were tumble weed size hair balls blowing in the wind outside. The only problem is Bruno won't let us brush him for very long before he gets upset so we have to do it daily. I can't wait for all this hair to be gone. We are keeping the dogs in the sunroom and outside more due to the shedding and my sanity. I hope this invention will get rid of the hair sooner so the dogs can spend more time inside. I have never had this much dog hair in my house since getting Bruno.

Accomplished

I have been a hospice nurse for about a total of 2.5 years. I love doing hospice work and I know most give me, "I don't know how you do it". Well I don't know how a nurse can work in labor and delivery so hah. Anyways, my company is wanting all nurses to be nationally certified as hospice and palliative nurses. It means we know alot about hospice and being certified helps the company show that many of their employees know what they are doing. It consists of taking a long and hard test. I am in the first group to take the test. I have been studying for the past couple months and took the test today and passed it with flying colors. It was a very hard test and brought back many memories of nursing school. There was always 2 right answers it just was which one was the most correct. So now I can sign CCarr, RN, BSN, CHPN. I don't think I will ever sign like that, but at least I can now. Just studying for the test showed I had many more things to learn and glad I took the test. They say the pass rate is very low so I feel very accomplished to have passed. Just another load off my shoulder. My company paid for me to take the test so there was alot of pressure to pass. Hopefully my cohorts will do equally as well.

First Attempt

I had this monday off and I met with my friend Amy and her little boy Eli. I have wanted to try posed pictures with a newborn and thought that day would be great. It was so fun to take pictures. It was hard but I learned more about lighting and posing. Eli was a trooper but he towards the end he did get real tired of it.

Lare the Bear

Today I was just itching to get out and take some pictures. Nick ofcoarse gets too bored when I comes with me, so I took Rusty. He did such a good job. I let him off his leash and he would explore but stay close while I take pictures. I have loaded a group of them that I took at Lare the Bear Open Space and areas along the road on the way back. It was so nice to get out and just relax. Taking pictures is so relaxing for me and I absolutely love it.

Work update

Well here is the latest update on my job dilemma. After pitching a fit for long enough we kindof got our way. When upper management heard we were leaving our positions there were some uphappy people and then for them to find out it was due to scheduling reasons we were able to negotiate and compromise some. So, now the sw and I are working rotating weeks were one week we work mon-fri and the next is tue-sat. So, every other weekend I get 3 days off in a row (sat, sun, mon). Not bad. We did agree to work 9-6. Our manager really wanted us to work 10-7 but we were not budging on that. We have things in the evenings we want to do like me hang out with my husband before he goes to work. So, right now this is where we stand. She wanted to move us to hourly not salary which is not good at all. We were afraid if there were no admissions on Saturday and no visits to be done, then we don't get paid. So, we negotiated that we take 6 months and look at the "data" based on our time sheets and see if we were worked over 40 or less than 40 on average. She was good with that. Both the sw and I really didn't want to go back to the field. They wanted to start giving me new admissions to transition into the new position and my heart sank. I knew moving was not right for me. I am glad we waited things out and were able to negotiate some things. I love working in admissions, it is a different pace and different type of nursing that I love.

Kohn-Barber Wedding

I have posted some pictures of their wedding. It was very beautiful and we had a great time. I think Nick had more fun than I did. By the way I don't like our little camera. The red eye reduction is horrible with at least 3 sec delay. I need a new little camera!!!!!

Oh What ta do

Well I have been in my new position for a week now and loving it but there are quite the snags that has surfaced that makes me question the change in position. When I was hired for the position back in December it was a mon-fri 8-5 schedule. Perfect for Nick and I. Well, since this last week many changes are coming. There is a new manager who was not hired before I agreed to take the position who now wants to change things. The company is wanting to grow and in order to do that we need to be very flexible. I am to a point, but I am not going to sacrifice my weekends or evenings with Nick for my job. My family will always come first. So, they are proposing instead of working mon-fri 8-5 they want us to work mon-fri 9-6 with rotating weekends. And depending on how busy the week is I may work the weekend but not be able to flex my hours due to the week before. I don't want to work 6 days a week. That is the beauty with salary. The only time I have with Nick is a couple hours in the evening and our saturdays. So, after some talking with Nick, friends and family I decided to leave that position and go back to the case management position. It won't be my same patients or same team so it will be a change. The area won't be far and new change in pace. I was afraid that I would agree to the change and down the road decide it won't work for me there wouldn't be a position for me to demote.

I really wished I had known these changes were coming and I would have never applied for the position. The SW and I proposed working (4) 10hr shifts a week and hire just a nurse for the weekend and she wouldn't do that. So, because I wasn't willing to budge my schedule I decided for the company it would be best for me to step down. They can hire someone who is willing to have more flexibility and work rotating weekends. If I wanted rotated weekends I would be working somewhere else.

I know there is something in store for me and I am just being patient. I hope they find someone as flexbible, but in the mean time I have to deal with this position until they find someone else to fill it. We will see. I am hoping upper management catches wind of it and they can do something else. We will see.

Living with coyotes

I would have to say I am exhausted after last night. See, a couple friends and I are taking a yoga class on wednesday nights and last night was my first night. It is an intense yoga with the heater up to 85-90 degrees and it is a fast paced yoga. Anyways, I came home very tired after my yoga class. I ate dinner and got ready for bed. I went to bed early because of how tired I was. I was sleeping so soundly until about 0200 I was woken up to Bruno's barking. He would not stop. I tried ignoring it for a half hour and had enough. I decided to look outside to see what was out there. The dog was barking at a shadow. There was a shadow of a pole hitting the fence that looked like a dog. I thought it was a dog at first and then I put my glasses on to see it was shadow. Well, there isn't anything I can do if my dog sees a shadow because I cannot remove a 30ft pole because my dog is paranoid. So, I finally fell back to sleep but Bruno kept barking about every half hour and by 0600 my patience was gone. The sun was starting to come up and Bruno was still barking. The shadow should be gone by now. So, I went running down stairs and I could see him pacing and barking. I slammed my hand on the glass of sun room. And right when I did that I saw a coyote curled up on the ground on the outside of our chainlink fence. That was what he was barking at. No wonder he was going nuts in our sun room. I felt bad for scaring the dog because he was barking to protect his turf. I tried yelling at the coyote to leave, but he just looked at me and kept doing what he was doing. Within a minute he got up and walked away. The coyote was pretty big because he was the size of Bruno. I appreciate Bruno being the protector but I wished we could teach him different barks so I know what he is barking at.

One More Week

Back in December I applied for a management position within my company. At first when I applied I really thought it was the job for me. I interviewed for the position but as time went on part of me knew I really didn't want the job. I think I was applying for the position because of the encouragement from coworkers not necessarily my heart. I knew God had something else for me. I was getting burned out from case management but I didn't want to leave Agape. My desires to become a photographer has become stronger and knew that is the direction I wanted to take my career. So while waiting to hear whether or not I got the job a new position had opened within my company that was perfect. It was the admission nurse position. I would be responsible to admit new people to our services. I wouldn't have a case load, no more on call and maybe 1 holiday. It would be a salary position and a more flexible work schedule. I knew that is where God was leading me. So I removed myself from the group applying for the managment position and applied for the admissions nurse. Luckily no one else applied so it was mine. Now it is February and the nurse who is taking my caseload is working and next week is the last week I work with these patients. There is a few that I will dearly miss but I know they are in good hands and I am still with the company so I can help the nurse with any questions. I praise God for opening these doors and that I listened and went with my feelings. When I removed myself people were very surprised but thought it was the healthiest thing I could do. Even if I had gotten the position I would burn out alot sooner and then end up quitting. Why not save the company money and time when I know I really didn't want the position. I will start my new position on Feb 11 and I can't wait.

I need sleep

Well I thought maybe the Nightquil would help me sleep and I would start getting better, but no such luck. Last night the Nightquil didn't help me and I coughed most of the night. Everytime I moved I coughed and I finally fell asleep after 1am. When I woke up this am I was feeling ok, exhausted but had this naggy cough that wouldn't go away and I sounded horrible not to mention a sore throat. I just worked from home and went to the doctors. And what do you know, I have bronchitis. So, now I am on antibiotics and on a cough suppressant. Hopefully this cough will go away soon and I can feel better.

Sickness and Love/Hate Career

I have been sick for almost one week with this annoying cold that just won't go away. Nick and I went out Friday night with friends and that night I started losing my voice. My voice never returned Saturday and Sunday the cold finally hit. I spent most of the day in bed. I couldn't go to work Monday or Tuesday because who wants a sick person seeing very fragile people. I would be mad if someone who was visiting my loved one was coughing and obviously had an active illness. I was finally feeling ok to work yesterday. It was more boredom than anything. I worked all day yesterday and was to be on call that night. My coughing is the worst at night and the only thing that works is Nightquil to help my cough and help me sleep. I couldn't take it that night so I decided I would probably be up all night coughing. Instead I was up all night working. Here is the saga of my night.

We were planning an admission on Thursday of a man dying from cancer. Him and his wife had gone to California on a business trip and he ended up in the hospital due to complications related to his cancer. He was declining so fast that the family did not want him to die in California, but in Colorado. So, the family was paying for this man to be life flighted from California to Centennial Airport and transported to his mother's home in Littleton to die. Suddenly plans changed and this man was coming that night (wednesday). He was to arrive at the home at 600pm. My job was to admit him and make sure he was tucked in. We had all the equipment there and important medications were there. We thought everything had gone so smoothly and little did we know the mother had completely different plans that what we thought. She thought she was getting an RN at bedside 24hours a day not a nursing assistant. She wanted IV fluids which we didn't order and she wanted everything done right then and there. These tasks are very hard to coordinate at 7pm. I was so frustrated that the lack of communication was putting alot of stress on the mother. To make a long story short I spent over 5 hours with this family getting medications, IV fluids, getting help etc. It was so frustrating and so exhausting for me because all of this could have been done before 5pm if we had known. I finally got home around 1145pm. I spent 2 hours coughing and not sleeping. Then I got the call at 200am that this man had died. And suddenly all my frustrations and feelings had changed. I realized that my company had helped this family and this man get his wish to die in Colorado not California. The family was so stunned that he had died so quickly but you would be amazed at people's will to live to achieve a certain goal. All that stress with coordination, getting meds, making sure certain people would be there tomorrow all went away because of fullfilling someone's wish. This is why I love my job.

I ended up getting home at 445am and only sleeping a couple hours the rest of the night and needless to say... MY COLD IS BACK!!!!! I am not feeling as good as I did wednesday and had to stay home from work today because I was first exhausted, and second I am coughing like a chronic smoker. I was able to get some sleep today and plan to take 2 Nightquil tonight and hope to be well enough to work. Those nights rarely happen and having cold did not help my siuation at all.

To have a day off together

Nick and I finally have one day off together. He switched to working sun, mon, tues, and wed. We now have saturdays off together. It has been over 8 months since we have had this schedule. Yesterday was fun running errands, going out to breakfast and being with friends. I love this work schedule. Nick loves this schedule too. He loves his new team and just seeing me more. Can't wait for the rest of this year.

Out with the old and in with the new

I had Nick laughing yesterday because of my excitement over my new toy. Now I am sure you are thinking it was a new camera, ipod, or something great like that. Nope, it's a vacuum. I LOVE vacuuming. It's the greatest feeling when you have a dirty room and it becomes clean in a matter of minutes. I love seeing all the dirt that gets sucked into the vacuum. We are Dyson lovers. We bought our first Dyson about 4 years ago. It was great to get all the dog hair and dirt up. Our Dyson was getting old and we needed a new one. It has been serviced, parts replaced and cleaned several times but still wasn't vacuuming well. Now when you have 3 dogs you need strong vacuum. What is nice about the dyson is you can take the whole thing apart, clean it, and then put everything back together. Nick did that last week and I vacuumed yesterday and it was hardly picking up any hair. So I devised a plan. Nick really didn't want to spend the money on a new vacuum so I needed to be creative to him when I presented we needed a new vacuum. I found another Dyson. It is the DC17 specifically designed for people with pets. It came with several attachments to clean furniture and stairs. I had read several reviews and everything was pointing at this specific dyson. I had checked all over the internet for prices and everyone was comparable. I had a 20% off coupon to a local retail store so I called them and sure enough they only had 2 available. They sold 4 yesterday so I made sure my name was on that Dyson. When Nick woke up yesterday afternoon I told him the sad tale of the vacuum not working and how we needed a vacuum. He of coarse moaned in disgust. I told him I did research and found this specific Dyson and told him the price. Then I threw him the clencher. I said I have a 20% off coupon at this specific store and it would save us alittle over $100. He then perked up and said that was a good idea and we should get the vacuum. I said good, because I already have one on hold for us and it is ready this afternoon for pickup. Nick ofcoarse just laughed.

When we brought the vacuum home I immediately wanted it put together so I can vacuum. I was heading to a friends house to hang out so I wanted to try before I left. We got it together and I vacuumed the family room, which I had already vacuumed earlier. I picked up so much more dirt and hair that the last vacuum left behind. I am so excited to finish vacuuming the rest of the house today and try out the new attachments. I know everyone is thinking I am weird. Let's just say Nick isn't disappointed that he can't vacuum the house.

Reflection on 2007

Looking at this past year I realize so many things happened and so many changes have occurred. I started a new job, gained so many new and wonderful friends through my work and Nick's work, seen family's health renewed, seen friends die and seen babies born. My friends and I reflect on this past year and many are ready for the new year because it brings on change and they can live differently in 2008. Many want to forget 2007 as if it never happened. Me, I don't. I learned more about myself, gained a stronger relationship with my husband and made some very strong friendships. I wouldn't want to change that. I look forward to this new year with positive outlook and can't wait to see what happens in 2008. I am excited for 2008 because I am also starting a different position with my company and that will bringn different challenges and a change in mindset. This job will bring flexibility and opportunities for me to work on photography and less responsibilities. I can't wait to start. 2007 was good, even though it brought lots of stress, anxiety, and fear, it was still a good year.