Life is good...

So..... as some of you know and some of you dont know, there has been a certain someone that has come into my life and really spiced things up! The name of this certain person: Aaron. Therefore, my life really has been a lot more exciting so I thought I would share with you all some pictures of the fun times had here in Phoenix...

One of the things that I loved when I first moved here was the whole 'desert' feel. I loved that there were cactuses/cacti (whatever!) and palm trees everywhere! However, with time I realized that I had become so used to seeing them that it really wasnt so special anymore. Now, when Aaron came to visit back in December, he helped me remember and re-recognize the beauty of Arzona again. We spent a lot of time driving and soaking in the beauty that Arizona has!

Of course I had to share with Aaron the amazing 'new' invention called guitar hero. I am not quite sure what it is about it that I love so so much... but I do! So we headed off to an arcade (another favorite of mine) to try it out! He was such a good sport about it. I had to show him the moves of how to get it done!

I kinda think that Aaron was a little jealous of my rockin skills- so he tried to make up for it on the air guitar. Maybe he got some inspiration from the frog!

In all the driving that Aaron did while I was at work (poor poor Aaron- left all alone in Phoneix!) He found signs with both of our names on them! Random huh?!

Notice however, that below the 'Aaron' sign it says "Not a through street". I think he felt hurt at what the sign was insinuating, so I had to take matters into my own hands to help him see that that is not the case :)

After he left, I went to see what I could do! I would like you to first take a minute and look at the picture above. Doesnt that Aaron sign appear to be maybe just a few feet up? And the yellow sign looks about the size of a speed limit sign? Right?! All I am saying is that when we pulled up and I walked closer, I realized it was far above my head. I mean- come on! I just wanted to put my sign over it and clear things up a bit! Was that too much to ask?! I had to stand on my tip toes and still couldnt cover it all- even with stretching with all my might! Plus, the yellow sign- yeah. Much wider than my 2 pieces of computer paper could handle. Oh well- sometimes it really is the thought that counts! :)

We also headed off to see the Motorcross races. In our minds, it was going to be dirt bikes doing tricks. We thought..."Cool!" so we headed downtown. (note to all of you... driving downtown Phoenix is the quickest way to increase your blood pressure in a matter of seconds! I can feel my heart racing just thinking about it!)

So we learned... Motorcross does have dirt bikes indeed. But the focus wasn't on doing tricks, it was on speed! They raced around and around and the crowd seemed to really get into it when they crashed. Why is that always a fan favorite?! It all turned out pretty fun though. We just had to figure out all the rules.(I even tapped the lady's shoulder in front of me to get the low down. It was her first time too though, so we just had to figure it out on our own!) Once we got it down, we had a great time!

Here is a heads up for all you soon to be motor race car fans. Jimmy Stewart apparently is THE MAN in this sport. Just throw that name out the next time you're there and you'll be sure to impress all around you! (That way you wont look silly when you're looking around for the actor that well... died a few years back!)

We also went and saw the beautiful temple and the lights that were up for Christmas. It was so fun to continue the Christmas tradition of going to see the temple lights, that I did each year back in Salt Lake. However, the great part was that I could still feel my nose when it was all over and I didnt have to worry about driving home in a blizzard! I am really learning to love Arizona in the winter! They did a great job and the temple looked amazing!

It really was such a blast to get to know Phoenix( I know, it took Aaron coming here for me to finally explore my surroundings!)

And it was especially fun with such an amazing travel companion like you...Aaron!!!

Happy Valentines Day! My dear Aaron!
You truly are a keeper! :)

Estoy agradecida que estas en mi vida!

Um...Excuse me?!

So...I dont know if any of you recall that when I moved down here to Arizona last May, I was a little warm. Okay- lets be honest. I was HOT! But, the thing that kept me pluggin away was the thought of a nice cool winter with no snow, no worries about waking up to a blizzard, no scraping my car windows etc... Those beautiful thoughts got me through those rough days...

And I have to say, that has been the case. Each morning the thing furthest from my mind is snow! It was always a weird thought each time I talked to my famliy or friends in Utah and they told me of yet another blizzard that dumped 5+ inches the night before. Lets face it, I forgot that it is winter since each morning there are blue skies that welcome me and no snow in the forcast.

This morning my worlds collided. I was running a little bit on the late side (in my defense, it was only about 5 min!). I ran downstaris, grabbed a granola bar for breakfast and sped outside to drive off and catch up to those 5 min that I had lost. After I locked the front door, I turned to run to my car and BOOM! It felt like I hit a brick wall. There in front of me was an inch of frost on my car! WHAT?! This is not possible. I looked around to see if I was in actuality still is Arizona and didnt by chance get teleported back to Utah during the night. Yep. It was Arizona alright- Arizona with frost bite!

Well, since I had happily given all my scrapers away when I moved here, I sat pondering in my car what I should do. Then it all came flooding back to me. I opened my wallet and got some random card that I didnt need and got to work. As I was scraping the window with my safeway grocery store card, my thoughts were taken back to those many mornings in Utah. Those mornings when I felt like my lungs were going to collapse as I scraped the windows, trying not to scrap my knuckles in the process, and sitting in my car as I waited for my heater to heat up.

It really only took a few minutes and I was on my way. I am sure that from most of you out there, I am not going to get any sympathy... especially from those of you who spent hours shoveling this weekend!

In reality it was just shocking. Who knew?! Now I might begin to have those thoughts again about needing to wake up early "just in case" I have to scrap those darn windows again.. However, it was good to see- I still got it! :)

Totally Redeemed!

So yesterday I decided to brave the lucky charms shirt again! It was the first time since "the incident" that I have put it on. As soon as I pulled it out, I was taken back to the awful smell and sight of what had been over it previously days. Good thing it all came out in the wash!

As I slipped it on, I hoped that this time it would in deed turn out to be lucky...and was it ever!

Throughout the day nothing too out of the ordinary happened. At about 5:00 a nurse approached me about "a situation" in the lobby.

Heres the background. In our pediatrics department we have an amazing lobby. It has tables and chairs, a piano (which I would prefer to get rid of... but thats for another post) and it has a projector with a big screen. This projector is normally off in the slow months of the summer. However, winter is a different story. Because of so many respiratory illnesses on the unit (RSV, pneumonia, brochiolitis etc...) Siblings under 12 can not enter where the patient rooms are. They have to stay in the lobby. The patient, if not contagious, can go to the lobby and they can have a movie night. Its all fine and dandy... IF the projector works . And well, for some reason the responsibility of "knowing it all" and fixing it seems to have fallen on....well....ME! Those of you who know me are thinking...what?! I know- I think that same thing each time the come to me. Why me?!

So when the nurse came to me with a situation in the lobby with the projector, I simply shook my head and asked "what now". In the past, it has been something "simple"... no sound, or no picture. This time the problem led me to wonder why some people are allowed in public places.

She informs me that a dad of a patient couldnt get the projector to turn on, so he re-programed the remote and now the picture is playing, but playing UPSIDE DOWN! "Oh really" I said with a half smile and a tad bit of sarcasm. "and I'm supposed to know how to solve this..hmm..." In my head I actually thought "What?! Why?! Why was this man allowed in here?" The nurse said a few "nice" things about the man, and I headed off to "fix it!"

I walked in and he said "Oh look! Lucky charms is here to fix it!" My head was flooded with a lot of things that I wanted to say... "Why do you think you could re-program this? Is it yours to re-program? Do you think you're a super hero? Next time- ASK for help. And also- this lucky charms shirt doesnt have a very good history- so watch out! " But I kept that all to myself as I smiled and said "Sure am!" as he handed me the remote.

There is a great phrase "Fake it til you make it!" and I did exactly that. I started pushing buttons and asking questions trying to fix the 101 dalamations that was playing upside down. I had about 10 kids looking at me with those pleading eyes to help the situation. I couldnt let them down! This was serious business. I joked around and said, "Maybe if I turn the remote upside down it will work!" See, I think that I am so funny and cracked myself up. The mom laughed, but the dad said "Or, I'll just take the projector down and put it back up upside down as well!" I simply raised my eyes from the remote, and looked directly at him. "Um... I dont think so...but thanks!" I said with humor in my voice, but I also was thinking- yeah right! You've done enough...I think you should stay seated buster!

I asked him to tell me exactly what he pushed and I proceeded to work backwards. I pushed the same button as he did and got some menu. But of course it was upside down- so in order to read it, I had to be upside down. Somehow in that position, I pushed something and it all flipped around and worked!!! I received a round of applause from the kids and I felt like doing a victory dance. (and well... I did! ) Because in all honesty I did not feel like I was going to triumph! See prayer works!!!

When I left the lobby, I looked down at my shirt and told it that it was totally redeemed from the lack of protection from the diarrhea the month before.

Now dont you all think that that definitley deserves a gold star?! I thought so! ;)

Hospital dayz....

Life in the hospital is never dull. Behind each door lies an adventure and you never know what its going to be! That is one of the things that I really love about my job. Each child is different which means buckle up!

Right now we have a little 10 months old who has been in all week with cellulitis around her eyes. Therefore her face is swollen and her eyes are swollen shut. When I first met her, I felt my heart break! She has been alone for the majority of the time because of a hard family situation at home. Thankfully I've been able to be with her through the many tests and procedures. She's been in a way, like my little girl! I chose to set up a routine with her in my soothing techniques so that she knew that it was me each time since she couldnt see me!...hoping to give her some consistency and predictability.

On Friday I wore a lucky charms cereal shirt that one of my friends gave me for Christmas. Therefore, I believed that it would be my lucky day! Well at least I fully expected it to be! I went in to see my cute little munchkin and she was laying on her stomach with a blanket over her. As soon as I said hello she lifted her head and through those little slits in her eyes she saw me and gave me the cutest smile! (The first sign of a happy emotion during the whole week). Of course such cute behavior needs to be rewarded... I picked her up, kept the blanket on her and snuggled her for a little bit. Then I smelled something.

Hmm.... I looked at the crib and right there before my eyes...diarrhea everywhere! "Nice" I thought. I then realized that that was right where she was laying, but she was disguising it by laying on top of it. Now here I was holding her- with the same side that was just laying on the blanket, snuggled against ME! I didnt even want to look under the blanket and see what my shirt looked like. The little girl was still smiling (fully knowing what she did to me, I am sure) and playing with my name badge. I pulled her back slightly and looked down. Sure enough- right there over the "Lucky" part of Lucky Charms- filth! Diarrhea with who knows what in it. Well- the lesson there....lucky charms...not so lucky! She got all cleaned up with a bath and my shirt did as well. Thankfully we have extra clothes here at the hospital for such occasions!

Yesterday when I went in to see her and she actually opened her eyes and again gave me that award winning smile. Being the smart girl that I am... I checked under her and the coast was clear! I did her hair and took her on a walk and to the playroom. This right here is one of the reasons that I love my job... I love seeing the kids get well, play- and well... be kids again!

Fun at Home!

Well sadly the holidays are over but luckily there is an amazing invention called the camera that helps keep those wonderful holiday memories alive!

Favorite moments include...

Sledding

Here we are- dressed up for the cold! Little did we know that a monstrous hill was awaiting us!

Therefore, I jumped in with Lucille and we headed down to find a smaller hill. However, as I "jumped in" I realized that the sled was a little bit on the 'toddler size' and my long legs were left out! Luckily with some quick thinking I managed to get all of me in there with a little room left for Lucille!

Side note... you see that boy in the back ground? Yeah- he decided to heighten my stress level. Right as I got set to slowly go down the hill, he decided to take off running in front of us! Which wouldn't be so bad if what I thought would happen (slowly glide down the hill) happened. Instead, we went careening full speed ahead toward the little boy running in front of us! I dug my hands in the ground trying to steer away from him as well as the "cliff" on the other side. Of course as I was panicking, Lucille was laughing hysterically and loving every moment of it!

This picture may be a little deceiving- sure he looks cute and innocent- but don't stand 5 feet from him as he flies down the hill! Just trust me on this one- he leaves no survivors! I have the bruises to prove it!





Temple Square:

We all bundled up as we headed out to see the lights on possibly the coldest night known to man. Thankfully, I was smart and left my winter coat in UT for such occasions as these! I was wondering how to invent a nose protector that wouldn't make me look like Rudolph!

GAMES!!!


Finally!!! After years of waiting, I got to try out the Wii. Bowling, Tennis, and Golf... without leaving the comfort of my own home!

Do I really look like this when I bowl?! I think that I need to work on my form!

Board games are usually included in our family- and I dont mean to brag, but Candyland is my forte! I think I intimidated the little ones because half way through they were ready for hide n seek!

Whenever Lucille hid she would stay there for maybe a minute and them run out to me with a big "surprise" look on her face. Tanner would make noises so that I wouldn't have to search very long! They like to make like easier for their Aunt Jill. Aren't they so thoughtful?!

This was the thorn in our side this Christmas. We always put a puzzle together. As we started we were all smiles. However, day after day those smiles turned into grimaces as we forced ourselves to work on a never ending puzzle. The problem was that there were only 3 colors and 1000 pieces. Impossible. We'll continue on it next year---maybe.

and last but not least..... Being with my family!!!

Could there be a cuter Nativity scene? Only if my three other nephews were there. They all did superb! I was very proud of them!

All in all it was a cozy Christmas with lots of fun and laughter! I truly am so thankful for such a wonderful family!

I learned!

This is simply a follow up blog to inform all of you that even though I have to learn lessons the hard way...at least I learn them!

In reference to my blog about being pulled over, I have taken the good officers advice to 'not speed on the reservation' to heart. I make sure that I KNOW what the speed limit is and that I only go a little itty bit over, if at all. People have even passed me and sped off into the wild blue and I wonder..."where's my cop friend now?"

Well last week I turned the corner and eased into my slow motion speed of roughly 36 mph. Everyday that I pass that dreaded spot where he pulled me over, I make sure I have my licence (which would probably be best BEFORE I got to that spot, preferably in my house before I leave...but nonetheless, that thought crosses my mind) and then I look to see if the cops are waiting for me. Well this day he was! However, no slamming of the break was required. I simply drove right past him and went on my way as he stayed put!

Isn't it funny that I still thought that he would find some reason to pull me over. I thought that maybe my speedometer could be broken and in reality I was going 75 and had no idea!

Hallelujah!

Oh happy day! The results are in... I passed my certification test!!! All of you can now sleep better knowing that I dont have to retake this stinky thing ever again! :)


When I graduated from college, I remember thinking how happy I was that I wouldn't have to take any more tests. Then I started working in Pharmacy and certification was required. So off to the books I went again. Studying and agonizing each day for the months before the test. Then there were the weeks after- fretting and worrying each day that I saw the mailman. When the results finally came and I passed- I was happier than I have ever been before. Now for sure, I thought to myself, no more tests! It was a happy time.

Then I got into Child Life and again certification was required. Again, the late night cramming sessions came into play. And these past few weeks have been filled with moments of surety that I passed and moments of doubt when I thought that I didn't.

I got a call today from a girl who took the test with me. As soon as I saw her name on the caller ID, I knew that's why she was calling. "Did you get your results?" She asked. Now, you see I work Saturdays so the answers was "ahh!!! NO!!!!" She passed, so the pressure was back on. For the next 5 hrs I had to wonder what kind of night I would be having... good or bad? As I drove home my stomach was in knots. I was sure that I didn't pass. I went to the mailbox and saw a tiny little slip of paper. Surly, I didnt pass. They would be sending me a certificate if I passed. I opened it up and read, "Your test score appears below." Of course I read that to mean -below the allotted number to pass. (not below, as in later on in the letter.) Then it said, "Congratulations! you passed!" I was so confused, I had to read it a few times!

Tears filled my eyes as I realized the wait was over. I am now certified and the best part- I will be getting a raise! oh Happy day!

Heres the lesson I have learned...If I decide to change careers it will be one that will NOT require certification. I dont think my heart can take it anymore!