Arizona and cabin trips

I went down to Phoenix to visit my sister and my mom a couple of weeks ago. My mom flew in from Salt Lake the day after I got there. We had a lot of fun. One of the highlights was dinner in this revolving restaurant above the Phoenix skyline. We sat and watched the changing scenery and even saw the sunset. We went with a group of my sister's friends who are all very funny and cool.

This picture of me and my sis was taken in the restaurant. It looks like I photo shopped my blog page picture into this one but I totally didn't. You all must think I wear that necklace constantly...like I can't take a picture without it. But I seldom wear that necklace, honest!

We had breakfast at that cool breakfast place that I can't remember the name of and also visited with some of Jeri's kiddos. My mom had plenty of energy and she kept right up with us.

We also did some stuff at Jeri's house like painting some touch-up areas on her livingroom walls and getting some flowers for her outdoor pots...pretty tame stuff but fun. It was over before I knew it and I was back on the plane home.

I caught up with Kevin at the cabin this past Saturday. He took off on Thursday to open it up. Turns out there was a broken pipe but he fixed it like the handy-man that he is and then went fishing!

Chelsie and Michael came with me and we went to West Yellowstone that first evening to goof around. I love that little town. Here they are in a store trying on hats...

We had fun just doing stupid stuff like that.

What else happened...my neice's hubby fixed dutch oven food in a major rain storm, and Kevin shot a squirrel in our basement (totally unrelated events).

Dirt and dust, beautiful views, and the occasional spotting of a cool animal. We saw a bald eagle, a coyote, and some antelope this time. No moose, sadly. Then back in the car! Drive Drive Drive. The end.

Still alive

Yes, i'm still alive and kicking. I'm on a break right now so I thought I'd throw a quick note up here.

Laura's last day with us is today! She takes off for home this afternoon. We will miss her. She's probably glad...driving away she's just so relieved to be OUT OF THERE! What with our crazy "reality tv" habits...

Speaking of which...what an upset! I was totally off. Chris Allen wasn't even on my radar when I posted about a-MER-ican Idol. Just goes to show you...something. I'm glad he won though. He deserves it. He was SO shocked. He kept trying to give the statue back or give it to Adam. You could tell he didn't think he'd get there in a million years.

It's CABIN time! Kevin is already up there. He went up early to make sure we can still get water and that there aren't any bears taking up residence in our house. I head up on Saturday with Chelsie, Michael, and Jasper. Should be fun.

Well, gotta go...p.s. Arizona was fun...tell more later.

Updates

Blog:
Updates:
Chelsie’s house hunting is still underway. The one for 59,000 that we were so excited about was bought with a cash offer that Chelsie couldn’t compete with. But she hasn’t given up. Her and Michael are still out there most weekends looking at fixer uppers of the most extraordinary kind…one such house we all went to take a look at was filled floor to ceiling with junk…little pathways through the house, just like those crazy hoarders you see on Oprah. (Ok I’m exaggerating just a little but it was pretty amazing).

They have put an offer in on one that seems within reach if someone else doesn’t snatch it up, 75,000 for a three-bedroom 1400 sq ft house in a halfway decent neighborhood. It has a full basement and a huge back yard. It looks to be a ton of work, I mean a TON of work. But the upstairs is mostly livable with a few little details like finishing the kitchen remodel that was started and putting in a working bathroom. Other than that, it’s only a matter of a few windows. Oh, and the hole in the ceiling and the leaky area under one wall. But it has a new roof! And this awesome (I mean it) gazabo thing outside built with log poles and a fireplace. So, at best a mixed bag. But it’s an opportunity for growth and learning to say the least, and a hell of a cool house when it’s done to say the most. I’ll post before’s and after’s if they get it.

Pop tarts: Just kidding, I promised no more pop tarts.

Chickens: sadly no chickens yet, but I did see this Dateline special about how these huge chicken farms are polluting America’s waterways and causing “dead zones” in the water where fish and plants can’t survive. Just another reason for everybody to have a few chickens in their back yards.

Laura:
I can’t believe Laura only has three more weeks with us, and then she’s on to a different clinical site. She’s been great to have around. As an example of how awesome she is, tonight she’s making tortilla soup and a layered dip for Cinco de Miyo (however you spell it) and we are all watching Dancing With the Stars and A-MER- ican Idol together while we eat. I got to sit and watch her participate in an online chat with her classmates last night…too funny. It brought back a lot of memories of school for me. She’s going to make a great anesthetist.

Work:
Wow, it’s so weird to have my schedule. I end up working about 40 hours a week but I have a ton of time off too. This last weekend, I worked Saturday and Sunday nights and slept both nights in the call room…no cases except for a labor epidural. But my schedule gave me yesterday and today off. I don’t even know what to do with my time. I should probably still be studying but I got so burnt out in school that cracking an anesthesia book is almost the LAST thing I want to do. I did look something up the other day though because I needed a refresher.

I am sitting in Barnes and Noble (my old haunt when I was in nursing and anesthesia school) typing this to just feel a little more comfortable in my own skin…a little more familiar than sitting at home typing this. Besides, the cat will NOT leave me alone for a second when I’m at home. He is the neediest cat I’ve ever seen. You know how cats are supposed to be all aloof? Not Mafia. He will YOWL at the door if you shut it against him. I was upstairs a little while ago and he didn’t know where I was so he wandered through the house crying until I called him. He probably spends his days crying when I’m not home, poor little thing. (Notice, this did not make me feel bad enough to stay home with him).

I am heading down to Arizona in a couple of weeks to spent time with my mom and sister. We are going to do fun stuff like eating at this cute restaurant that serves breakfast food and getting jamba juices in the mornings. We may even run up to Sedona for a day or something depending on how mom feels. She has Parkinson’s and it’s hard to predict how she is going to feel from one hour to the next. But we’ll have fun just sitting around talking so it doesn’t matter.

Well, that’s it for updates. In the near future, I may be mentioning a kitchen remodel with some pics…we are getting our cabinets redone and maybe a new countertop.