A Breath Of Fresh Air

A few pictures

2010-06-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

Avie making a kissy face with her hot pink stripes in her hair. (It faded before we even got to the car which was ok by me!) Such a little Diva girl!!

We had a playdate recently at the pool with some coworkers of mine. Avie, Josey and Eliana and a great time swimming and splashing! I discovered that Avie loves the pool... the deeper the water the happier she is. She enjoys walking in up to her chest and putting her face in. This little girl has NO FEAR!

Eliana and Josey watching Avalynn pitch a fit because I wouldn't let her go into the deep water!

Rochesterfest is going on right now and this past Thursday they had a free kids carnival with carousal rides, games, bouncy things to jump in and more. Here is Avalynn and her friend Wyatt splashing.

A picture of Adrienne and I on our cruise, here's the view from our rooms balcony. It was great!

Miss Avalynn posing with her serious face.

Catching up

2010-06-09T03:48:00.000-07:00

So I've been told numerous times that it is time to play catch up with my blog! I seem to have fallen quite a bit behind. So here I go!

Miss Avalynn is now 17 (almost 18)months old and is a busy little bee. Her separation anxiety is quickly fading, I am happy for her but sad for me. I miss my little baby girl who's being rapidly replaced with a busy vocal toddler. She has started putting words together. While watching Elmo on tv she'll say "Hi Elmo its me!". Her favorite words are currently "c-ya/bubye" "lets go" "GO away!" "I know, I know, I know (always in response to my asking her to do something or a question)" "stow-eee (story)" "pleeeease" and of course... "cookie". Anything edible that is circular in shape is called a cookie, including her whole wheat organic baby waffles. This is such a fun stage. Literally every day she learns a new word or phrase. Monday she learned that kitty cats say meow and she practiced her meows for a looooooong time. We'll have to find some kitties to visit. Avalynn still LOVES stories. She recognizes her books now and picks each one up with a word or two with what its about.

Avalynn is now learning more focused tasks. She's accomplished her very first puzzle and I was so proud of her. I'm amazed that she can pick up the puzzle piece, match it to the correct spot and get it fit. Its takes a lot of work and fine motor skills to figure out a puzzle!

I've discovered that my sweet little girl has a stubborn streak and the temper to boot. The word NO is now a huge part of her vocabulary. "Avie are you hungry" NO. "Avie are you thirsty?" NO "Avie do you want to play with the ball?" NO than this is immediately followed by "peeeeeease Cookie" and a starving baby girl look. There is no keeping up with her! Discipline is difficult. Its a constant internal battle for me. Did she hit me because she is frustrated and swinging her arms or because she is mad and wanting to lash out. Is she whining because she's bored, tired or hungry? Than there is always her frustration. She wants to do more than she's physically able to.

Life for me has been busy as well. I took a cruise with one of my best friends in May which was a fabulously relaxing vacation. We swam with the stingrays, dolphins, snorkeled, went para sailing, laid out on the beaches and on the boat and had a 'few' cocktails. I've never been so lucky as I was on that boat! We were magically given a VIP ticket for reasons unknown to us, we were given a better room than we expected, upgraded our massages to a massage AND facial, and all in all we had an amazing time. I can't wait for Adrienne's and my next vacation!
I leave this Thursday for a few days to go to Denver for my friend Rachel's wedding (I was QUITE honored when she asked me to be her maid of honor) and I'm applying for a new position at work (wish me luck I interview on Wednesday!). Between Avie, work, house work and play dates I haven't had much time to sit around but that's OK being its SUMMER and I love love LOVE it! The only thing I dislike are all these rotten storms we've been getting. Wishing I had a nice basement to hangout in every time the tornado sirens go off. It makes me nervous that to get to my basement I have to go outside. I'm starting to seriously consider moving so we can have more space and a safe basement.
That's the update, a little long I know but as you know I'm a chatty person!

Warning: Avie on Juice

2010-01-04T00:41:00.000-08:00

Avalynn is slowly being switched to whole milk these last two weeks. As a result we've had a few issues with her being, as they say, backed up. I decided to introduce her to some juice to help her out with this little problem. Its pretty obvious that my child isn't allowed sugar as this video shows...

Needless to say, I will not be adding juice into her diet anytime soon!

Our lives have been so busy lately. With family, Christmas, my working, Avie's daycare, nights at grandma's, babysitters, last weeks birthday, this weeks birthday and our upcoming trip up north... Avalynn has not spent an entire day at home for about 2 weeks and will not be until next week sometime. Both Avalynn and I are EXHAUSTED. I've noticed the last few days that she's been throwing more temper tantrums and has gotten a lot more stubborn. I'm hoping once this week has passed we will be able to take a few breaths and relax a little. I'm looking forward to it. It also helps that I a switching to day shifts at work (yay!), I've been on nights for way to long. Its going to bed at 7am one day and getting up at 7am the next with my early riser has taken a toll on my sanity :) I think this change will be good for both of us. Sadly its only for the month...

2009-12-28T23:17:00.000-08:00

Oh yes... before I forget. Avie got her two front teeth for Christmas.

The holiday rush.

2009-12-27T20:03:00.001-08:00

Not sure who is more worn out, Avie or myself. The crazy, busy and exhausting week full of family and fun has finally passed. Lots of exciting presents, fattening foods and laughter. We have officially outgrown the toybox (basket). Moving might be easier than finding room for all of Avies new gifts! The new word this week is "hiding" said by Miss Avie while hiding behind mommy's curtains with a cheesy grin on her face. "Avie, are you hiding?"Auntie Amy asks after spying Avalynn behind the curtains. "Yeah... hiding" Avie replies in her little girl voice. Love her! We celebrated both Christmas and her 1st birthday this weekend. We had a small family gathering for her birthday held early while family was all in town. I made her a healthy zucchini/applesauce chocolate cake only to find it covered in frosting. Well, now I know how much she likes sugar! I love this baby girl :) who becomes a TODDLER next week. Wow.

Now that the big holiday rush has passed I find myself trying to normalize our routine. I'm hoping to not fall back into our previous cycle but instead set a new 'norm' for us. Call it my New Years Resolution. Healthier eating, more organized, more playdates and mommy/Avie time, more time overall spent being productive followed by some time spent being "healthy lazy". LoL, healthy lazy, if such a thing exists. These past few years I picked up the habit of zoning out in front of the tv during my free time. Its like a black hole and it just sucks you in, one good show leading to another. Really, I find that black tv hole rather annoying. I cut out cable a few months ago and so far I don't miss it but I still haven't had the opportunity to read much. Maybe its the holidays or stress or the fact that I've been BUSY but I'm seriously just craving a good book. Time for a trip to the library if I can ever get my card back from the baby sis.

The holidays were very good to us. Back to the grind of the real world now.

Daycare

2009-12-18T20:04:00.000-08:00

Well Avalynn's first week of daycare was a success! She went three days this week. Rochelle, the daycare provider, stated that Avalynn is very good and well behaved (yay Avie!). She also stated that Avalynn is a good little helper by distracting and amusing another crying infant. Avie plays with the toys on Camber's (a 3 month old girl) swing which always stops her from fussing AND Avalynn hasn't tried to steal Camber's bottle... yet. She's starting to interact more with the bigger kids which is good to hear, usually she plays by herself and avoids the other kids. I'm proud of my big girl but also a little sad that she's becoming a toddler so quickly.

Mike and I brought Avalynn to meet Santa Claus on Thursday. Avalynn has always had a fear of white hair, Santa is no exception! When Santa saw the look of terror on her face he told me to drop and run... hoping we could get a snap shot before the tears fell. No such luck. Santa cried right along with her :) Santa informed me that she'll only need 2 years of therapy after this encounter. Poor Avie.

Avalynn finds the bathtub to be a fascinating toy. The bathroom door must be shut at ALL times or else she begins dropping things into it or tries to crawl into it herself. She finds the tub most amusing as I fill or drain it. I've dug everything out of that darn tub including nonwater toys, shampoo bottles, onesies, her toothbrush, hand towels and her favorite... rolls of toilet paper... As soon as I think I've picked every last TP square out of the tub and moved everything moveable out of reach, I'll discover she's found something else to drop into it. She finds this game more amusing than her mama!

I'm slowly getting ready for Christmas thanks to Avalynn being in daycare. Its amazing how fast I can move with two free hands but I find I physically have to remind myself not to go pick her up early. I figure its best to stick to the routine until Avalynn is comfortable being in the new environment. Darn... I miss my baby!

All she wants for christmas are her two front teeth!

2009-12-16T03:19:00.000-08:00

It looks like Avalynn will be getting her two front teeth for Christmas. They are right there.... and are oh so close to breaking free. I look forward to her new smiles but will miss the gummy gums and my fang baby! As of this week Avalynn has reached the double digits with her vocabulary. Surprise? Not really, she does come from a chatty family :)

This last Saturday was Amy's baby shower with the theme Two Pea's in a Pod. It went really well! Everyone seemed to have a great time and we had plenty of food and fun. She received lots of great gifts and I'm sure she's getting anxious for these little guys to make their appearance.... in March. For her shower I made my very first diaper cake which turned out pretty well and it provided her with a box of diapers. I also made sugar cookies with green frosting (to go with the pea theme). It took THREE attempts to make the cookies before I finally gave up and bought slice and bake cookies. I love to cook but apparently I suck at baking.

Here's my big news of the week, I made the splurge and purchased an SUV today. I always thought I'd be fine with a car until I got stuck. Then I slid and then I slid some more. While thanking the lord once again that Avalynn was not in the car with me as I slid around the corner, I came to the conclusion that I wanted something much safer than the little Mazda. I'm sick of being in cruddy weather with a light little car while riding cramped and practically on top the steering wheel (the carseat requires the front seats be pushed WAY forward). Also, as a single mom, I've become rather independent. I have absolutely no desire to sit and hunt down people to help me move big items (example, a tv from my sisters house to my house and a baby swing from my house to her house). So I started hunting for an Impala. From there I found an SUV and than I met the newest addition to our family. An Equinox. I will pick it up today around 4pm... I will start my cursing over its gas mileage around 6pm I'm sure. This could get interesting. Wish me luck.

I am getting really, and I mean REALLY, excited to cook Christmas Dinner. At some point I'll attempt cookies... but after the disaster of Amy's baby shower cookies I'm rethinking Christmas treats. I hope everyone is well!

A quick catch up!

2009-12-06T23:18:00.001-08:00

Miss Avalynn is eleven months old now. The days just keep going faster and faster... It may have something to do with Avalynn moving faster. She's learning how to run now and its quite funny watching her body try keep up with her little legs. We've had a few bumps and bruises but after she learned how to walk she thankfully taught herself how to fall. All of those bumps and bruises made this mama sad.
Avalynn's 2nd eye tooth came in right after Halloween... She sure is a cute little vampire baby. Currently, her two front teeth are working their way out. It doesn't seem to bother her mood as much this time around but she has all the symptoms of teething. The drooling, runny nose, and occasional cough. Her nose is turning red from being wiped so often. Hopefully these teeth make their appearance soon.
Avalynn and I made an unexpected trip home over the Thanksgiving weekend for my grandmothers funeral. We were sad for the reasons to be home but thankful for the opportunity to see so many family members and friends. I was able to plan a 5 day trip home which gave plenty of time to visit. I am always amazed at how well behaved my daughter can be. She was a happy girl despite all the new people and places. It wasn't until the very last day that she started becoming grumpy and that was the same day that her teething process started again. What a good little girl I have! I am so happy to be her mama :)
We had a play date on Thursday with 3 of my coworkers and their daughters at the House of Bounce. Avalynn loved all the bouncing, exploring and she discovered the wonder of slides. She would go down them laughing only to turn around and try climb up again. Rarely does she have the opportunity to be around a lot of kids so she is nervous and quiet around them still. I'm sure that will change quickly being she starts her daycare this month!
Its been a very busy month so far and its only going to get more and more hectic as the holiday season and birthday season continue!

Visiting with Auntie Tena

Going down the slide all by herself!

Playing with Josey

3 of the 4 girls crying when we tried to get a group picture LoL

A Britta picture of Avalynn eating her new favorite toy, a bead necklace.

My little vampire baby!

Sick Girl

2009-11-20T23:20:00.000-08:00

Well Avalynn is finally on the mend. We had a rough 4 weeks of her being ill. The coughing, runny nose, unhappy child and really REALLY high temps having finally passed... thank goodness. I almost forgot what she was like when feeling well! These last few days she has been bouncing off the walls, full of energy and just plain happy. Its so much fun. Today while getting ready for work ran in circles from Mike, to the couch and than to me while laughing so hard she was screaming. Pretty darn cute, made it difficult to leave her for another long night shift. Things have been going pretty well in the house now that she's feeling well. She's actually sleeping almost through the night! She'll wake up once or twice but put herself back to sleep quickly so I can do the same. She's starting to eat better as well. Me on the other hand, I'm happy to finally have made the big desision to put her into a daycare. The babysitter is to expensive to use as often as I need and I'm to tired to keep this up much longer. Hopefully we find a good, safe and fun daycare soon. Not looking forward to future illnesses though...
I'm starting to get into the Christmas mood. Contemplating setting up my decorations this coming weekend but I worry that Avie will tear them down and try eat them, worse yet she might break glass bulbs and hurt herself. I'll figure something out I'm sure. I'm sad that I work Thanksgiving but I was lucky enough to have Christmas off along with New Years AND her birthday. I am looking forward to a lot of fun!

Sweet baby girl

2009-11-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

Avalynn loves books and she loves to be read too. Today she was putting together my words so that when I would say 'turn the page', she realized that it was time to actually turn the page. One of her favorite books is Skippyjon Jones, when I get to the part of the story where the kitty sniffs near and far, she always sniffs her little nose. Its great! She's also started hunting for her blanket when I ask her where her blanket is. When she spies it, she goes to get it, picks it up with a huge smile on her face and is so proud of herself. I love it! It's so amazing watching her soak in the world around her. I know that babies grow and learn so much in their first year but I didn't actually put together how it would happen. I didn't realize you could physically watch the information 'click' in their heads. One minute she has no idea what 'turn the page' means and than all of the sudden BAM she's turning pages and is moving on to the next thing. I'm amazed by how much and how fast she is learning and I love being here, seeing it happen and being a part of it. Couldn't ask for a better baby girl than the one I have :)

Reading her stories. She tells her own story and turns the pages as she goes! Super cute :)

Playing in her 'fort'.

10 months old today!

2009-11-05T15:30:00.000-08:00

Avalynn is 10 months old today and had a great time at the park! Here is some video...

FOOD!

2009-11-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

Its been awhile again, I apologize! Life just keeps me busy these days. Esp now that sweet girl has learned how to walk. She's pretty busy and I love watching her toddle across the room. Each wobbly step amazes me. I can't figure out how she maintains her balance as she lifts foot and her whole body weaves back and forth before placing it down again. Somehow she's figured out her own method and can make it across the house all on her own. Crawling is still preferred for speed but not for long I'm sure.
As she's getting older I'm slowly starting to give her some table foods. She's getting things like banana's, rice, avocados, tofu, Cheerios, potato's, pea's and ect for finger foods and she loves it. No 'tastes' of pop and ice cream... she is MUCH to little for that. So far my method has kept her healthy. No eczema, asthma or allergies all of which are linked to foods being introduced to early. Other things can cause these problems I know but I'm not taking any risks with her health. Luckily she's been healthy, in fact she is sick with her first bug ever right now at (almost) ten months of age.

As I introduce more foods into her diet I am starting to have to eat healthier myself being she is tasting things off my plate along with her baby food. No chicken nuggets for my kid. I'm experimenting with new recipes that are yummy for both of us along with easy on her tummy. Here is what I'm making for supper tonight... yummy! http://www.sophistimom.com/spaghetti-squash-soup/

Music Baby

2009-09-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

My daughter adores music. She LOVES it! Today we've been listening to some of moms favorites, everything from Yael Naim, Ani Difranco, Joshua Radin to Jack Johnson and Colbie Caillat along with a little of Taylor Swift for good measure. A little variety LoL. My little peanut sings and dances to it right along with mom. Its absolutely a riot to watch.
Yesterday I shot some video of her watching the Little Mermaid. Now I promise I don't allow her to watch a lot of t.v. but there is something about the Disney movies that make me feel that its not REALLY t.v. Maybe its just that I love Disney movies and she gives me the perfect excuse to watch? She doesn't really pay attention to the movie but once the songs come on she either goes completely catatonic....

or she sings and dances right along! This isn't the best example of her dancing and singing but she gets so distracted by the camera that its the best I can record.

I apologize for not knowing how to turn my videos. :(

2009-09-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

8 months!

2009-09-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

I believe its time for an update. My computer crashed awhile back and I have yet to take the plunge and purchase a new one. One of these days I'll get around to it.
Sweet girl Avie is now 8 months old. That's right EIGHT MONTHS! I can't believe my baby girl is growing so fast, she is getting wiser, bigger and more beautiful every single day. Each day she's learning and than practicing newly acquired skills right in front of my eye's. One of my favorite parts of being her mama is physically watching her learn and explore. Just a few months ago she was newly in my arms peeking out through her squinty eye's at this world and today she's touching, holding, feeling, tasting and experiencing it. She is learning about things, places, words and making friends. Avie has no fear. Good girl!
As she has gotten older she has started to show her affections. She tries to share her toys with me by pulling them from her mouth and trying to put them in mine. She'll sit by me, rest her hands/head on me and climb into my lap just to be close. She gives big wet kisses, she'll reach when she wants to be held and after putting me through a cuddling freeze she's starting to cuddle again. I missed her snuggles. She loves reading stories (she fits right into my family!) and LOVES music. She dances and 'sings'. She mimics words now, her favorites are UP and ALL DONE! She doesn't quite understand what they mean yet but its so cute, I really need to record that. Who knew being a mom would be just this wonderful?

Night Shifts

2009-07-19T04:03:00.000-07:00

I have found that there are a lot of pros and cons to working overnight shifts with a little one at home. Pros include being home during the day to see the things she learns, to spend time with her over breakfast and supper and to work while she sleeps. All in all, I miss less of her baby years. Cons include working overnight, missing our time together when I put her to bed (which right now I could probably put onto the pros list being she fights bedtime like a champ) and here is the biggie... sleep deprivation. Yes, I get to spend all this quality time with my baby girl during the day but how much of this time with her is actually "quality time"? I'm awake all day, work all night, sleep 3 hours and repeat this 3 days in a row. I really start to wear out. After that first day I find that I just can't be as relaxed/excited/playful as I would like to be with her. I find myself thankful she can amuse herself and than later I'm sad that she's having to play by herself. Obviously her learning how to amuse herself is a very good thing. I just wish I had more energy to spend time bonding with her while I work my 3 overnight shifts. On the otherhand, I'd probably feel just as guilty (if not more-so) having to put her in day care 3 days a week for twelve hours at a time. How do you decide which is the lesser evil???? On a happier note I traded my schedule this week so I will have Monday-Thursday off to catch up on energy and all those bedtimes I missed this weekend.

Busy Bee's

2009-07-15T00:56:00.000-07:00

(Two blogs in one! I didn't post the one I wrote yesterday.)
As Miss Avie practices her crawling I am forced to reassess our living situation. Our house is suddenly appearing a bit smaller as Avie acquires the ability to disappear from the spot she is set in and magically reappear with her hands on the glass TV cabinet doors (which I will be removing tomorrow). Now that she's becoming more mobile I will be blocking off hallways and rooms so I'm sure it'll soon be feeling even more cramped. Although my home will be feeling a bit smaller in these days to come I find myself having no desire to find a new place. Sure, someday I'd love to buy a HUGE house with a perfect location, but until I can afford the mortgage I think I'll stick to my current place. Its warm, cozy and homey. With my crown molding, angled ceilings, large bathroom and perfect kitchen I can't really complain. Besides, its home. We can easily wait on finding a new one.
Summers somehow always seem so busy to me. Maybe its because we try to pack so many activities into such short Midwest summers. I find myself falling behind on things easily during these months. To compensate I try catch up and get a little ahead all in one day. I sometimes get a little to much zest in the process. Such as laundry, when I fall behind I tend to go overboard in catching up. I'll do ten loads in one day. A few loads of clothing of course, than I'll start with all the heavy bedding, rugs, curtains, and pretty much anything that can be washed in the washing machine. On other days I go crazy cleaning closets. I've been known to spend entire days cleaning my closets and throwing stuff out. To bad these days are few and far between!! Good thing I'm not a pack rat... Today I find myself preparing for a baby day. I will be spending my entire day focused on finishing baby proofing, packing up small baby clothes, reorganizing her closets and hopefully work on her baby book. Oh yeah, can't forget keeping the actual baby occupied and happy :) Looks like a busy day ahead!

The evil scale

2009-07-09T18:55:00.001-07:00

My scale and I have a love-hate relationship. I hate it and it loves to make me hate it. I must admit to being lucky enough to have not gained much while pregnant and to have lost the weight quickly. My problem is that my butt and thighs seem to have shrunk and that weight went straight to the belly. So I would LOVE to lose about 5-10 more pounds just to feel at my best and a bit more confident. Its petty I know but well, don't we all want what we can't have? Reading my friend J's blog always cheers me up. She has such a great personality and just following her updates gives me a bit of motivation to keep working towards my goal. Thanks J :) Starting tomorrow morning I'm gonna push myself a bit harder so I can look in tip top shape during my vacation to Boston... or where ever I end up going. I still need to plan that out. I'm going to start keeping a food diary and take daily walks with Avie in hopes that being more conscious of what I'm eating will make me eat a bit less unhealthy. Hope it works!

My Shrinking Peanut

2009-07-08T00:45:00.000-07:00

So Miss Avie is 6 months old... woo hoo!! Time just goes faster and faster. My big girl has hit a few milestones this week. She started laughing uncontrollably at her silly mommy (she laughed before but never randomly to the point where its hard to sit), she woke up yesterday morning and somehow during the night figured out how to do the army crawl, and than she had her 6 month checkup which included a weigh in and THREE shots. Poor peanut. It was her dads first time seeing vaccinations and it just about broke his heart. I had to pry her out of his arms so I could get some snuggle time in with her. I had a few tears again, as always.

At her check up we learned that she's slowing down on the growing routine. She moved from the 80% mark for weight and length to 50% for weight and 28% for length. She's slowed down a little but I was always in the 20% range when I was a wee one (or so my mother informed me when I called her all worried). So we will watch her to be sure she's eating enough and growing properly.

Tomorrow I finish baby proofing the house. The way she's moving I figure in a week or two she'll be all over. She's a little spitfire these days and in her eye's there is nothing off limits! Oh yeah, the cloth diapers worked their magic. Her butt is soft and peachy once again. Its official... Miss Avie is allergic to her diapers. Glad we got that problem fixed up!!

My sleeping princess after her shots!

Our backyard friend... Dori the Deer. She was across the street in the neighbors yard for this photo.

Pseudo-crunchy mama

2009-07-03T19:17:00.000-07:00

So today as I hung my clothes out to dry I was informed that I am becoming a "crunchy mom". Now I had absolutely no idea what "crunchy" meant, but I assumed she wasn't talking about texture being she hadn't tried to take a bite out of me... so I replied thank you. It seemed to be the appropriate response being it was said by a very sweet girl and in the manner of a compliment. After the clothes were hung to dry the first thing I did, well second thing after changing a diaper, was search to find out what this meant. According to urbandictionary.com it is a

"Mother who supports homebirth, breastfeeding, baby wearing, cloth diapering, co-sleeping, gentle discipline, etc. One who questions established medical authority; tends to be vegetarian and/or prepare all-organic foods."

Being I opted for the epidural, would never consider withholding vaccinations and I eat meat I wouldn't exactly fall into the crunchy mommy category. Is there such thing as a pseudo-crunchy mom? Perhaps I would fall into that category! I breastfeed, she goes to bed in her crib and than we co-sleep when she wakes up around 11pm, I try to feed her organic food when possible and as of this week we started cloth diapering (it seems Miss Avie may be allergic to disposable diapers). Apparently hanging my clothes out to dry pushed me into the crunchy category in her book, LoL. I am a strong believer that what is best for Avie is what I will do. I know nursing is of course the best option, organic food has less chemicals in it thankfully and if it takes cloth diapers to get rid of her red itchy bum than I'll do it. I think I like being a crunchy mommy. Not only is it good for Miss Avie it also helps with the penny pinching. Not a bad deal!! Happy 4th everyone!!

Here's a picture of Miss Avie's first experience with Avocado's... not a big fan I guess! On our second attempt I mixed them in with her rice cereal and we had a lot better luck with that.

A very long weekend.

2009-06-30T21:48:00.000-07:00

I am currently working one of the slowest night shifts I have ever experienced... only one or two nights have felt slower. Its starting to make me feel a bit loopy! The worst part about it is I have one more night shift just like tonight. As much as I love working 12 hour shifts, working 12 hour shifts 3 days in a row on a weekend like this feels like ETERNITY! In exchange for the 12 hour shifts from h**l on a holiday weekend, I will get most of this upcoming week off. In fact I'm glad to say that after tonight's shift (Sunday) i won't be back to work until Thursday than I'll be off again till Monday. I love that. Working 3 days a week is really nice for mommy Avie time.

Well I think I feel one of my "creativity" days coming on soon. For the last few days I've had this urge to do something creative. Every so often I'm hit by a creativity bug and I can see potential in almost anything. A view that needs to be photographed, a quilt to be sewn, an instrument to learn, a book to be written or just to follow any artistic route that can be taken. On these days everything has potential from oddly shaped rocks to random notes floating through my mind. I find myself listening to music I don't normally listen to and making stops at stores I don't normally frequent. I just want to touch and experience everything. Its hard for me to put this feeling into words being I'm not actually a creative person. Sad that I crave something that I just can't figure out. I really wish I had that creative gene my mother has but sadly I missed out on it! So to compensate for not being able to paint the next Mona Lisa or compose a piece to rival Mozart I will more than likely go crazy cleaning and rearrange my home, take Avie for long walks someplace new, get some pretty flowers and maybe blog more than I need to! Sorry guys!

Dancing Queen

2009-06-30T01:40:00.001-07:00

Avalynn's Auntie Susie believes that every little girl needs her very own tutu. Being the crafty auntie she is, Susan made Avalynn 3 tutu's all her own. What a lucky girl! Its a good thing we have so many tutu's now because my little dancer LOVES music. She dances (kicks her legs/swings her arms) and sings (well... she chatters) along with the music. Avalynn's always very attentive when her aunt Tena practices the guitar, the guitar is Tena's 'quick fix' for a fussy Avie.
The ABC song is Avalynn's very favorite. When we sing that song or Twinkle Twinkle we can calm her cries every time. Not sure what it is about that tune but it works like a charm and always gets us a smile no matter how upset she is, weird right? Its like magic! Today she was a little fuss butt for her momma so they got put into use a few times... Did you know that ABC, Twinkle Twinkle, Baa Baa Black Sheep and a few other songs all have the same tune? The tune comes from a French folk song, apparently Mozart also wrote a variation of this song. Just a little tid bit for you! Enjoy the pictures!

Lazy summer days

2009-06-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

Today is my day off and its absolutely beautiful outside, but I'm laying around the house watching movies on tv and playing on the internet. I do have an excuse for my laziness and its a rather good excuse actually... Baby girl is sleeping :) She's wearing a little smile which makes me think she's having happy dreams. I sure hope she is. Maybe she's dreaming of all those things that make her happy but I never actually let her do. Like eating grass, pulling kitties hair or chewing on the swings at the park. Hopefully she's dreaming of such things so that when the sweet girl finally wakes she will no longer feel the urge to poke her fingers at mommy's eye or eat random things that have fallen into her reach. I suppose some things won't change but I love her even more for trying to learn about it all. Right now I can see that she's having happy dreams and that alone is enough to make her mama have a good day. When she wakes I think we'll go for a walk and enjoy the sunshine...

For your enjoyment

2009-06-23T21:34:00.000-07:00

So just for giggles I decided to post a comparison for you. Here are three pictures of Avie at 5 months followed by three pictures of me at around 3 months. Obviously she's such a cutie but I like to think she looks at least a little like I did!

A Breath of Fresh Air.

2009-06-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

So after 4 weeks of fighting a small but stubborn diaper rash using powders, ointments, old wives tales, and lots of naked baby time I finally threw the towel in and dialed the doctors office. Might I add that its not a bad diaper rash, she was rarely ever bothered by it, but it just WOULD NOT go away! I mean really, after all the hours I spent painting my daughters bum with creams, lotions and powders (not to mention the times I had to clean the carpet) I was pretty bummed (haha) to admit my defeat. All in all I was even more disappointed to hear the doctor say that its not exactly a diaper rash... its just her ultra sensitive skin getting dry and chaffed. His recommendation to fix it is too do exactly what I've been doing but in a different way. How frustrating is that? He also recommended giving her bum A Breath of Fresh Air, which I do, but his comment reminded me that I need to update my blog. Two times in one month, pretty good right?
Anyway, while we were at the doctor we talked about starting her on some baby food besides the rice cereal she gets. The thought of feeding her something new made the mama in me get all excited. Instead of going home we went right to the grocery store and bought her some yummy organic baby veggies! Within minutes of getting home, the groceries were put away and she was in her high chair. Mama was pretty excited for her very first taste of squash. Yeah! I wish I had gotten some pictures... She wasn't to excited at first and she threw a few nasty looks but after a few bites she was begging for more. In fact she would throw her whole body into the spoon. When her mouth missed the spoon the squash would spill down her cheeks, chin and sneak down into the crevice of her neck. I never knew squash was so yummy! Good thing she likes baths so much :) We finished our night off with a bath, a cuddle and with some slathering of the creams. So here's to hoping that an inch of butt paste, an inch of vanicream and a breath of fresh air gives my baby's bum that 'oh so soft' baby skin that I love so much!

A little late!

2009-06-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

Well time has come and gone and I am months and months behind on my little blog! Baby Girl Avalynn Marie was born Jan 5th at 620 am. She was a big little peanut just over 8pounds. I lucked out with a pretty easy delivery, 6 hours from the start of my contractions until she was born. My epidural made the time go by quickly and easily, delivery went by so easily with it!

I can't believe how fast time is going... she is already 5 months old! She's learned how to roll over and sit all by herself. What a good girl. :) Our next step is to learn how to sleep through the night. Since she turned 2 months old she's been waking up once a night to eat and than goes back to sleep. Can't complain about that really. She's lively and full of energy, she is constantly kicking her legs and swinging her arms. She's very alert and studies everything! Even the doctors were impressed with how far ahead she is compared to other infants her age.

I went back to work when she was 9 weeks old, that was pretty hard on both mommy and Avie. Being I had only moved back in July I didn't have enough PTO to take my full 3 months off. I was pretty disappointed. Luckily I only work 3 days a week 12 hours overnight, so I miss her sleepy hours and enjoy her during the day (between my naps!).

We've made a few trips north to visit the family. She does REALLY well with the 7 hour car rides, only once did we have a fussy trip. That was easily fixed with a mirror so she can see mom still... I think she felt abandoned in the back seat all alone! Well that's my quick update. I'll update again soon!

28 and a half weeks!

2008-10-14T22:20:00.001-07:00

By popular demand (Judy!!) Here is an updated belly photo. Yup it was taken at work :)

I'm currently 28 weeks already! time is going by fast and there is still so much to do. I'm living in my new apartment and I love it. I am just getting started on my babies room but I still have a long way to go. I can't wait till its all done! Mike and I finally finished our registry at babies r us and we also ordered a crib. Hopefully its as nice as I think it is. Now we are hoping we get it and can put it together next week! So far the pregnancy has been really calm and I haven't had any problems besides some with my back. I've been really lucky! As she's getting bigger its getting harder to breath. While giving report at work the other morning I was practically panting cuz I had just taken the stairs. Oh the joys of pregnancy :) But I do love feeling and watching her kick and move around in there. Its pretty much the coolest feeling ever! Moving off of the subject of baby, one of my good friends and coworkers passed away last week after a really short battle with esohpageal cancer. It was really sad and happened earlier than anyone expected. We are thankful she went peacefully, quickly and without a lot of pain. Don't ignore pesky little health problems!

Hunting

2008-09-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

So for the last few weeks I've been looking for the 'perfect' place to live. Its not as easy as I'd hoped! Everything I have found is either to much or to shabby. Its extremely frustrating! And its all about location! I've found same extremely expensive yet crappy apartments priced just for the neighborhood. Than a decent place thats cheap but located in a bad neighborhood. Yes. Its not fun. Hopefully I find a place before the little peanut arrives!! Other than that life has pretty much consisted of work, sleep and other boring activities. Nothing to exciting. I did join the gym, I'll take it slow and easy right now but just enough to stay healthy. Hopefully I can stick with it and not lose my motivation to fast. Thats about it for now!! Take care!

Belly Pic's

2008-08-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

Ok so I haven't posted belly pics. I know. I'm sorry! But to be honest I haven't been taking any. I always forget to do it when I have the time to do it and remember that I want them when I'm to busy to take the photo's! I took some last week (which are on my friends camera still) and so I took some more tonight since I have time to post them. This is me at 21 weeks, 22 weeks tomorrow. I put up a few for ya all to get the full impression of my big ole belly! I'm starting to grow out of my clothes but I'm still able to wear all my jeans as long as I let them sit under my belly. Enjoy the pics!!

New pics

2008-08-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest ultrasound pics! Our little GIRL is due on Jan 3rd and she measured EXACTLY to her due date which is pretty cool. She wasn't a fan of the ultrasound probe and kept kicking and trying to push it away. When she did finally settle down she was happy to show off for the camera and gave us a few cute poses... sadly we didn't get to pick which pictures to take home with us! Guess we'll just have to settle for the creepy ones where it makes her look more like an alien than a little girl. So far things are going perfectly well, both baby and I are healthy. I'm keeping busy being back in Rochester and love working full time again at the Clinic. I missed it here! I'm in the process of finding a new home and in the meantime I'm staying with some good friends. Things are pretty hectic for me these days but are going great!

summertime photo's

2008-07-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day! I surprise myself sometimes! Just thought I'd add a few pics from the cousins lake house. Enjoy!
Errin

Moving Day!

2008-07-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

So today is yet another moving day. I must admit I've gotten a lot better at it this past year! The amount of 'stuff' I can fit in my little itty bitty trunk is truly an amazing feat. Mom would be so proud to see it :) I'm almost done, just my computer left and a few random items. Than the clean up begins. Once emptying out all my things its always a bit of a surprise to see how dirty things are... I mean I'm not a super messy person or anything but hidden in corners and behind dressers things always seem to accumulate. Like a few random bobby pins and hair ties in the bathroom cupboards or under the bed (how do the bobby pins get under the bed?!?). I've only been here 13 weeks and I still have a lot of cleaning to do. Plus I still need to clean out the fridge. I tried to keep up in that area so it shouldn't take to long. Tonight I stay with the family for my last east coast bbq and tomorrow I start the drive... the long LONG drive. Only one more move after this into a town home I hope to find and than hopefully I can settle into my own place for awhile. Cuz to be totally honest, moving is exhausting even without having to move all the furniture!!
Errin

Catching up!

2008-07-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

Ok so apparently I'm not what you could call an 'avid blogger' but I'm working on it!! I can't believe its already time for me to be packing up again. The 13 weeks went by so fast. I leave Sunday night, I'll make a stop for one more night at cousin Jill's and than start the looooooong drive home. I'm hoping to accomplish it in two days with one night at the hotel but realistically I'll be requiring 2 nights in the hotel. I wear out so fast these days! I'm pretty bummed that my summer in Salem is over but I am really looking forward to moving back to Rochester at the same time. I've missed everyone!! I'm definitely excited for some summertime bbq's with the girls. I've missed a lot this summer away including Justin's wedding and 'baby' sister Tena's big trip to Europe.
I spent this last weekend up at cousin Jill and Marty's lake house in New Hampshire. Its a very nice place they have right on Lake Winnipesaukee, its the perfect little get-away from reality. The lake is HUGE and very nice. We took the boat out a few times and I was pointed out Adam Sandlers lake house... its quite large by the way. We spent all day Saturday lounging on and off the boat in the water and trying to keep with with the little ones followed by a bbq and some s'mores. All in all I spent all weekend relaxing, eating and catching up with friends and family. Makes it hard to come back for my final 3 shifts of work! I'll have to post a few pic's from this weekend, I didn't take very many though!
All in all my summer has been pretty great out here I just wish I'd had had more time. I love living downtown Salem and spending my spare time on the beach. I've met a lot of great people and will be sad to leave. I will also miss my family out here. I'm already trying to plan a trip out here next summer. So that's what I'm up to, I'll try to post again later!

A Random Travel Mix Slide Show

2008-06-18T05:21:00.001-07:00

Life Changes

2008-06-05T05:17:00.000-07:00

This whole 'growing up' bit is not really what I had in mind! Suddenly those loans I took out in college that would be easy to pay off once I had a real job no longer seem so trivial. My real job with a real paycheck don't seem impressive anymore when I try to figure out how to pay off my school loans, car loans, rent, utilities, cell phone bill and all those other pesky bills every month. What once was thought to be a HUGE paycheck somehow seems to look like less and less money each month, even with the raise! Yes, in all honesty this isn't quite what I had planned! I make ends meet and I know it'd be much easier did I not have this addiction for travel and fun. I remind myself, as I look at my insignificant savings account, that as I get even older I won't have the opportunity to hop a ferry into town (Boston) or swim with Beluga Whales (my next planned adventure coming soon). I've been enjoying my 20's and you can tell with a look into my bank account!
As I'm growing up my conversations with friends are changing as well. Its no longer "Did you know so and so and so and so are hooking up?!?". Now its "Did you know they are having a baby? And they just bought a house!". Goodbye long nights of partying in the clubs for fun, we now find ourselves going for a walk or having a simple dinner before running home to bed. Our girls night out doesn't consist of a limo to the all night dance club, but instead we get a table and order ONE Margarita so we can head home before 11... we need to work in the morning! Calling in sick isn't an option anymore. Its kinda strange how all these changes snuck up on me.
So I've enjoyed being so young but my responsibilities are starting to add up and are beginning to outnumber the adventures. So I guess its time to start counting my penny's a little more carefully and say goodbye to Coach purses, weekends on the beach and all nighters with friends and instead say hello to monthly bills, weekends of overtime and bedtime at 9... Yup, growing up and responsibility isn't as cool as I thought it'd be when I was 7!

An old note reposted

2008-06-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

I wrote this a few months ago and sent it to a few of my friends. Do to a few requests I'm posting it in on here. Enjoy!

So I don't know if I would call this a "note", its more of a crazy woman's sleep deprived ranting. I'll start off by saying I really enjoy being a Respiratory Therapist. Its an amazing and rewarding job. Sometimes the little things add up, you need to blow off a little steam and than go back to work feeling a little better. So if you are offended in anyway by this rant of mine, I must admit that at this moment I do not apologize but I probably will later.
I would like to point out to you all just how selfish and stupid people have become. When I care for people in their 20's, 30's and 40's I am always shocked and amazed at how rude, bitter and completely selfish they can be. I'm sure you all have seen it. Now for a little background I would like to tell you that I work in a hospital and care for people of all ages from newborn to geriatric. No one is better than anyone else, but some are sicker than others. At any point from 11pm-7am you are likely to find someone like myself along with one other respiratory therapist caring for the respiratory needs of the entire hospital (approximately 300 patients). On some nights we maybe slow whereas others we may be emergently called to several area's at one time. Its absolutely necessary to prioritize. Obviously patients who are not breathing come first. Right??? Well according to my younger (and healthier) patients this point is in fact incorrect. Let me introduce you to a fictional but ever so realistic patient... Miss X.
Miss X is 34 years old and came into the hospital for a gastric bypass. Like oh so many others she is overweight and admits to never trying to work out, she believes that bypass is a 'quick fix' to her problems. Wrong. After surgery she discovers that her wound and staples in her stomach hurt, eating makes her ill, medications make her woozy, we can't completely treat all of the pain and we expect her to do her own personal cares when possible. What a shock for our young and oh so incompetent friend. She begins to realize that this 'simple' surgery has many drawbacks. Miss X goes home only to return a few days later with pneumonia and an ulcer on her buttocks, it hurt to take deep breaths so she didn't, in fact she didn't do anything while home... not even move herself into a restroom. Now that she has returned she blames the hospital for not giving her the correct treatments. I am required to treat her. One of her medications is Albuterol to help treat her pneumonia and this is due at midnight. At eleven thirty a 56 year old woman is brought into the emergency room and is in respiratory arrest. I along with the ER staff stabilize her. My coworker is called rapidly to another patient in the Intensive Care Unit. I stay in the ER with the woman who unable to breathe without the assistance of the respirator. I take the patient to CT scan then back to the ER where she progresses to go into cardiac arrest and we struggle for yet another hour trying to keep this woman alive. None-the-less when I am finally able to see Miss X it is now 2am, I am 2 hours late. I apologize for being late while setting up her medication, Miss X is hostile and complains about my tardiness. She states that its because of people like me that she is in the hospital. I keep my cool and try to explain my situation in the ER (in my head I am screaming... "did I make you eat all those extra Twinkies lady? Did I make you lazy? NO!"). Now granted, if Miss X had been in any respiratory distress I would have been sympathetic and would have somehow figured out how to get her the medication sooner. But Miss X was in no distress and was in fact sleeping comfortably when I arrived. A late Albuterol treatment has little to no implications on her current condition. Miss X demands to see my supervisor and shouts "I am just as important as your lady in the ER and I deserve the same timely attention she gets". I am astonished how someone could be so unkind and uncaring about another human-being who is dying. When she began to make personal comments on my work ethic I finally walk out of her room. Maybe I am incorrect in feeling this way, but people like Miss X royally piss me off.You come to the hospital to get better, right? Well apparently that's not so. So many people, like my Miss X expect their hospital stay to be comfortable like a hotel, easy and pain free. That is not the case. You are sick and being sick is hard work, we will do our very best to make you comfortable and well but it takes time and patience to heal. Here is my take on 'hospital etiquette'
- Do NOT refuse needles because they hurt, or medications because they taste 'yucky'. You come to the hospital to get better. Refusing help is just stupid.
- The previous point is followed by this... we can't make you better until we know what's wrong. Do not expect us to know what is wrong by looking at you. Tell us your story and let us do our tests
-Do not come into the hospital expecting service you would receive at a 5 star hotel. Not going to happen. We also have many other patients needing the exact same things at the exact same time.
-Be considerate if another patient is needing more immediate critical care.
-Yelling will not make us do what you want faster. In fact it may slow us down just to spite you (unless you really do need immediate care).
-Its hospital food... seriously you should know better than to expect gourmet food! Seriously people, get a grip
-Do not expect surgery not to hurt afterwards because no matter what... you WILL hurt at some point
-Gastric Bypass is NOT an easy surgery or quick fix.
-If you are able to yell at me... you are not dying. Remember that.
-Don't complain about your roommates gassy state, its embarrassing for them and they really can't help it.
-I'm not trying to hurt you when I am drawing blood. In fact I'd rather not cause you pain because I am actually a nice person trying to make you feel better...so don't give me that look!
-Be considerate, don't smoke in the bathroom while wearing oxygen. I don't care if you want to die but personally I don't.
-Oh and if you somehow get away with smoking in the hospital, don't attempt to cover the smell with cologne or perfume. It doesn't hide the smell and makes a nauseating stench that only makes your smoking more obvious. Plus your smoking and cologne may push someone over the edge and literally kill them.
-Always bear in mind that the hospital staff are professionals and you are not. When it comes to your lungs, I am smarter than you.
-Please do your best to warn me BEFORE you throw up. I know its not always possible but please at least attempt to aim your projectile vomit in another direction. I'm really sick of cleaning that nastiness off my shoes.
-Don't ask for a breathing treatment because you can't sleep. It's not going to help unless you have reactive airways.
-Don't act crazy for attention, don't spit, bite, scratch or yell at us. If you do you'll end up in the ICU with a breathing tube down your throat just so we don't have to deal with you. Trust me I've seen it.
-And my final note to you my friends is this, absolutely do NOT push the "Code Blue" button because no one is coming fast enough to answer your call light, if you do this I WILL come and hurt you...

So reading this you probably think I hate my job. Actually I love my job. I love making people healthy. I like playing with the kids as I give them their medications. I enjoy the adrenaline rush you get when saving a life. Its a real upper to one day be doing chest compressions on a patient and later have them thank you for saving their life as they walk out of the hospital. This ranting of mine was a long time coming and now I feel better. LoL thanks for letting me vent! Now to bed so I can continue to kick ass and save lives tonight.

Whale Watching

2008-05-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

So to end our weekend in Boston Mary and I decided to do a whale watching tour. The sun was out, the weather was calm and the whales were out playing! We couldn't have asked for a better whale experience. We saw 3 types of whales, Humpbacks, Minke's and Fin's. Here is just a sampling of some of the whales we saw.

They see the one in front often I guess, her name is Etcha Sketch.

There are 4 whales in this photo. Momma and her baby in front and than 2 adult whales in the back.

Smile pretty for the camera!
This whale was either waving at us or doing fin rolls.
Eating.
I really seriously thought the whale was going to knock over their boat! If they weren't having a panic attack I'm guessing they got some great photo's!

Right at the dock is the New England Aquarium. I thought these harbor seals were adorable!

Boston

2008-05-28T15:22:00.000-07:00

So this last weekend a fellow traveler friend from MN, Mary, drove up from her assignment in Connecticut for some weekend fun. To save money we veto'd the hotel idea in downtown Boston and decided to take the local ferry that runs between Salem and downtown Boston. Ends up it was really inexpensive and a lot of fun so we took it back and forth all weekend. It took about 40 minutes to get into Boston but it's a fun relaxing ride where we got to catch up on each others lives. Plus who knew the ferry would serve food and 'adult' beverages at so early in the morning?!? Once in Boston we turned into complete tourists with our camera's out and ready. We even bought the Boston sweatshirts! To get an idea of where things are at we booked a ride on one of those trollys where you can get on and off at the different stops. We also did the freedom trail walk. The food was great and the weather was perfect, well a little chilly but nothing the sweatshirt couldn't fix. All in all it was the perfect weekend! Here are some pics...

Mary enjoying her bloody mary and chips for breakfast... the breakfast of champions!

It was the perfect day for a ferry ride. Nice and sunny!

Boston from the water, it was a little windy that morning.

Another shot of Boston from the water.

Boston Public Gardens

Boston Public Gardens
Boston Public Gardens
Cheers! We had lunch and had to try their 'famous' burgers.

Walking the freedom trail.

Revere's gravesite

Old North Church
Inside the church, all the pews are little cubicles which helped the families stay warm in the winter.

What are YOU looking at?!?

Mary and I after a long day exploring enjoying our dinners.

The Good Life

2008-05-17T19:47:00.001-07:00

Salem is a pretty awesome place to live. I'm loving the atmosphere and being so close to the water! Its also nice to be close to some of the family that I don't see often. Jills kids are so cute! Carly is full of smiles and energy and Colbie is just pure energy! They are both a handful for Jill and Marty but they keep things under control like the pro's that they are. Work is good and I'm enjoying my coworkers. I'm pretty excited to be learning new medical practices and techniques. I've been out and exploring a bit here and there around the area and its been a blast. I haven't done quite as much as I've wanted due to the sour weather but thats all about to change according to the weatherman. Tomorrow I go out exploring a bit further north of Salem and I'll be sure to bring my camera. Next weekend Mary and I are taking in Boston for the weekend, look out here we come! Also I'm pretty pumped to learn that while I'm here one of my coworkers may take me out sailing. I've always wanted to get on a real sailboat!
So my life has taken a spin for the crazy these days and I'm not sure how to keep it under control but I'm doing my best. The best laid plans... you know the quote! So I'm taking life one day at a time and following my life motto that things always work out in the end. So far so good! I'm looking forward for my adventures to come and further blogs will follow. Here are a few recent pics, enjoy!

You don't see random witches on the street in MN in May, well occasionally you do.

The Salem Witch Museum. I fit right in!

I love how the streets end at the water downtown. I need to get a waterfront apt I think! Any donations for me?

I love springtime smells and colors!

Choppy rainy lovely day.

Lobster cages.

I found this house in Marblehead. Its pretty cool looking, but made creepy looking by making it fuzzy and b&w.

Its built right into the hill. I really am curious about what it looks like inside!

Little Carly! Cute chubby cheeks and a body that never stops moving.

I love the internet!

2008-05-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

I was lost without being to check my email daily. Once again I am online, it only took a week to get it fixed up in my new apartment. My apartment is nice. Its 2 bedrooms so I can have weekend company again! Plus I still am getting housekeeping once a week. I'm definitly going to be spoiled by the time I'm done. :)

Salem, MA

2008-04-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well its been just over a week since I last posted and I figured I should let you all down slowly... (read this very slowly) I am safe and sound in Salem, MA. Are you ok? Still breathing/reading? Good. Well after a dreadful, never ending drive I made it. 21 hours of actual driving time and over 1300 miles crossed. I did it by myself with only the company of the Mazda 3 which doesn't have much to say. I will be the first to admit that I'm not very good company. I am still sane somehow (well I THINK I am still sane but I guess that is up for debate because I am in fact the judge of whether or not I'm sane and I guess I'm somewhat biased). I arrived in Salem last night sleep deprived and hungry. The only problems I had on the drive was a break down in LaCrosse WI (an hour from home) but that was fixed quickly and I was on my way. Other than that, it was an uneventful drive. First thing I did when I arrived last night was check into the hotel being my apartment isn't ready yet, second thing I did was find myself a lobster roll. Totally worth the 1300 mile drive! Its just as busy here as I expected and remembered but I still think I'm going to have a blast! This weekend I hope to really get out and take some pictures. Today I haven't been feeling well (I blame the bad company in the car) so I haven't done much. I took a little walk along the waterfront which was relaxing and other than that I've slept a lot and gotten addicted to the show Lost which I've been watching online. Not a very exciting blog!! Haha sorry, well I start work tomorrow morning so wish me luck!

A few more pics

2008-04-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

Well I made it 'home' to MN safe and sound. As I was leaving Houston I was surprised to find an old friend of mine had just come into Houston at the gate directly next time. I could see his plane from my window seat but unfortunately couldn't see IN the window to wave. We missed each other by a matter of minutes! Weird how things work like that. I accepted a position in Salem, MA and its been decided that I start on Tuesday. I'm getting very excited for my next move but not so much for the 21 hour drive out there... Well now that I made it home safely I figured I could put up a few more photo's for you. Enjoy!

The Plaza

The Plaza

This little Alpaca baby thought the camera was more interesting than posing with me!

Watching the women weave was great! They put a lot of time and effort into each piece and do it all by memory.

One of the only pics of the convent that turned out. It was dark so my camera didn't acknowledge the scene. I liked this one because it shows the vivid blue's I love so much!

Heading out, saying goodbye to Jesus, one of the translators for the trip and one of the group that took Carla and I out to the Karaoke bar.

Carla and I. Gypsy chic for the airlines.

My new little friend Carmella!

Out and about singing "oops I did it again" with new friends

What day is it?

2008-04-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

So I just typed a nice blog with everything I wanted to say... than when I went to publish it, it disappeared! So its not been the best of mornings but I will try again. I'm currently stuck in the Houston airport. I missed my connecting flight by 5 minutes! What a bummer. Customs was moving a bit slower than I had hoped for. So here I am online wasting a few hours before the next flight. By the time I arrive home I'll have been traveling for 23 hours and will be in desperate need of a shower and a nap.
My last few days in Arequipa were perfect. It was warm and sunny (i have a sunburn to prove it) and I had great company. We did some shopping and went to some great restaurants. I avoided the banana and rum crepes... I really didn't want to get sick again. While shopping I found some great buys. I got a baby alpaca blanket that I can't wait to snuggle into, a few scarves and earrings, some gifts and I also picked up wooden masks to hang on my wall. I realized later that I don't have a wall to hang it on! I'm kicking myself for not buying more jewelery, it is absolutely beautiful. At the same time I'm glad I didn't buy it being I really need to be tight fisted with my money. Having not worked much this last month, the cost of the airline ticket and my upcoming move I am pinching pennies where possible.
Friday night Carla and I joined the translators Fiorella, Gloria and Jesus at the Karaoke Bar. What a blast! It was very trendy and full of people my age being loud, happy and having fun. Being a larger group we got a corner comfy couch worthy of being jealous of. After two pitchers of Pisco and soda we were up for singing Britney Spears "Oops I Did it Again". We may not have been in tune and we didn't get all the words right but we sang with zest! When Carla left I found myself being the only white girl in the bar. Its always a little weird when your unable to speak the language of everyone around you, but it didn't bother me a bit being my friends all spoke English well. I wasn't quite brave enough to put my new Spanish phrases into use. That's probably a good thing!
I'm a little sad sitting here in the airport. Peru was a learning experience and a lot of fun! I must admit I won't miss the church bells at 5:45am, the courtyard noise at 6:30am, and the 1000's of incessant taxi horns at all hours. I won't miss the smell of the fish market, not being able to drink the water, the cute but annoying Peruvian music group that follows you around constantly, people trying to sell their wares to the gringo's and marking up the prices, and I definitely won't miss the poor hospital care. I already miss my friends, the views, the food and shopping and I'm missing my SWAT team and bodyguards. I'm so used to being protected that being all alone in the airport seems a little weird. So Peru is over for now. Its not so hard to leave knowing that I made a difference and that more than likely I will be returning. This trip is already starting to seem like a dream...
My next move? Salem, MA. I move this weekend.

Sick.

2008-04-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

So I spent my day sick in bed. Not cool. I had a few days where I wasn't a 100% while here but today definitely knocked me down. I blame the banana, sugar cane and rum crepe I had last night. The other two who were sick had eaten that same meal. Who knows for sure... I'm finally starting to feel a little better and even ate a little soup so thats progress I guess! Everyone here has been so incredibly great. Bringing me water, soup, crackers and compliments. LoL. I've never been offered so many fluid IV's in my life! I was pretty bummed that I missed my lecture today. I was actually kind of excited to do a presentation. Maybe if I get the chance I will go into the hospital tomorrow and see what I can do. Today was actually the last official day of Cardiostart. They return in September and I may come again if the same people decide to go! We had a successful trip and literally saved a few lives. I hope we were able to leave some good things behind and maybe the hospital is slowly working its way up. So I leave Saturday and a few of us just plan on shopping and sight seeing until then! Oh yeah, Gloria is taking us out to the disco again on Friday night. Hopefully I'm feeling better. Other than that not a whole lot going on except saying goodbye as more people start to leave. Saying goodbye is definitely hard to do but I think I'll see many of them again on future missions. They are all such sweet caring and wonderful people!

This is a long one!

2008-04-09T21:31:00.001-07:00

I feel like I keep giving you all a play by play account of my activities in Peru. So before I give you today's experiences I thought I would maybe tell you about some of the little things I experience here that I normally wouldn't talk about.
On my bed stand, in the bathroom, on the table and everywhere possible I have lined up large and small bottles of water. The altitude, dry air and the sun makes us all very thirsty. I keep my toothbrush in my bottle of mouthwash to keep it fresh and from getting wet with tap water. My suitcase is long overdue for a cleaning. On that note I think tomorrow I will send out my laundry. The courtyard in the hotel is very beautiful but it echo's the sounds of my fellow team members waking me up around 6:30 or 7am every morning. I drink two cups of hot Coca tea with a Peruvian bun and jam every day for breakfast. I drink my Coca Cola warm from glass bottles. I feel sad when seeing all the local wild dogs on the streets and on rooftops. Most are very friendly and will sit and wag their tails hoping for food or some love. The colors of Peru make me happy. I will never again see the color azul without thinking of the montestary or ride in a yellow taxi without remember the feeling of immanent death. For me the experience is just as much about these little experiences as it is about the big life changing ones.
Now onto today. I spent a few hours in the Pediatric Ward with a translator. Once again I am astounded by the differences between America and Peru. I had gone down to see what supplies I had that I could donate. One of the student nurses/translators (and my good friend) Gloria asked for me to come and see a patient with her who was blue. By the time I came into the room they had already inserted a breathing tube (which is apparently reuseable here). I asked if they needed help with the 2 month old infant or if I could set up the ventilator. I was informed they don't have ventilators. Basically they take turns squeezing the breathing bag sometimes for days. Not only is this stressful on staffing but its also VERY bad for the patients. This two month old baby is going to die but if he were at home in the states he wouldn't. His parents were unable to afford the drugs to help him relax or to take away the pain and his lungs will be damaged from the prolonged use of a breathing bag. Yes, I dropped a few tears again. I spent a long time in this room. I provided nursing and physician education on different equipment I had found to donate and tried to help in anyway I could. I am going to try and help this pediatric unit, maybe try to email around for a donated pediatric ventilator. This is the largest public hospital in town serving thousands and thousands of people and they don't even have monitors or ventilators for their babies.
On to a happier note so I can leave you in a better mood. We all went out to dinner to celebrate Janine's birthday. I couldn't finish eating my meal due to the fact that I was laughing so hard my stomach had cramped up. Gloria, her mama and another translator, Vincente, decided to teach me some more spanish. I learned very important phrases tonight such as "Dame un beso papasito" (kiss me gorgeous), "Te Quiero" (I love you), "Teine Condon" (do you have a condom?) along with a few more phrases that I am unable to spell! Needless to say I burned more calories than I ingested due to severe laughing spells. Gloria's mamacita suggested I put my phrases to use with the very good looking intern at the pediatric hospital. No mom, I do not plan on putting these phrases into use!! Off to bed, tomorrow I give a pediatric respiratory presentation to the nursing students, nurses and a few MD's. Wish me luck!

A few pics

2008-04-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

So it takes a long time to put up pics here in Peru. They don't always come through, but here are a few!

Dancing at the disco with our perfusionist Eddie!!!
We did a cardioverison for the grandfather of one of our translators. He was a riot!

Adrienne, Zev, myself, Janine and Jorge checking out an ICU patient
Marissa and I

Doing my best to read to this little man while the docs explain the surgery to his parents. It was a learning experience communication, he speaks spanish I speak English. It was fun!
One of the volcano's from the hotel deck, we can see 3 from here. This is what I wake up to each day!

Peruvian beer! To bad I don't drink beer... I'll stick to the Pisco Sours.

Probably one of the most amazing views I've seen. This is the place that reminds me of Jack and the Beanstalk. Its a bit to cloudy so you can't see the two HUGE volcano's in the back.
Part of the group at the resort in La Joya.

Busy!

2008-04-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

It has been a very busy past few days, sorry I haven't updated! So Monday morning/afternoon was great! I got to sleep in all the way until 8am. What a great feeling that was LoL. I spent my day reading on the deck in the sun, shopping, and visiting with two other team members. It was exactly what we needed. I had been getting frustrated with some of the politics of the mission and a morning off to do what I wanted was both relaxing and theraputic for my 2 group members and I. We finished off our little day sipping coffee at this great till French Bistro we had found which faces the montesary and the mountains. Mount Misty was in full form. We went into the hospital around 7pm that night when they were finishing up surgery.
The patient turned out to be a very sick man who initially did very well with surgery but than we started to have some bleeding problems. We brought him back to the OR (always interesting to watch open heart surgery!) and didn't get home till 3:30am. The next morning I was up again at 7:30am. No wonder I feel so worn out all the time! Yesterday the rest of our pediatric team arrived and we did our first pediatric patient surgery which was the first bypass ever done at this hospital. A 4 year old boy with a VSD. Turned out great.
I was bummed last night. The adult team ended up leaving a day early due to a flight change. They are a great group and I'm going to really miss them!! We all worked well as a team and the patients got great care. Hopefully I can end up at their hospital for a few months on assignment! I'm really happy that I was able to join them for their going away dinner. Zev convinced me to try a bite of Cuy at dinner. It is a local specialty, otherwise known to us as Guina Pig. Tastes a lot like chicken but one bite was enough! Alright I better get working again.

La Joya

2008-04-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a crazy day with my going back and forth between the two hospitals, but things were accomplished which is always good! Last night a group of us went to a place called Zig Zag for dinner. It was amazing! I was brave and tried the trio of meats... I had Ostrich, Alpaca and Steak. Didn't care much for the Alpaca but everything else was great. Than we headed out to the disco, what a blast!! Our doc's, translators, nurses and I were all out in full form. Nonstop dancing for two hours straight. Zev, the surgeon, was a bit sore this morning from getting jiggy with it (LoL) and our cardiologist Phil gave us instruction on how to properly do the funky chicken. Pictures will be interesting to see :)
Today I went to La Joya. To get there it was about an hour drive through mountains, mines and the desert. I did not expect the desert to be so beautiful. The sand and mountains were multi colored from the copper and volcanic rock. Than suddenly in the midst of the desert we'd come across a patch of green lush farm land that was watered via irrigation systems. Apparently their water comes from the mountains (20 kilometers away) and requires much cleaning before drinking. It made me worry about the poor. We went to the La Joya hospital, last year this little tiny hospital treated over 40,000 patients. A doctor informed me that on a normal 12 hour shift he sees at least 40 patients. The hospital doesn't have proper supplies, drugs or equipment. They can't afford it. The equipment they do have is locked up and only the director has the key... he's rather rude and is rarely there meaning the life saving equipment (including respiratory equipment) is never accessible. The town seems so destitute. People make homes out of branches, cardboard, wood, brick or whatever they can find. One room huts, no plumbing or electricity of course. In the middle of all this is a beautiful resort with step horses, pools, and a green lush landscape. The difference between the poor and rich is outstanding. This is definitely a new experience, one that is unforgettable.

2008-04-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry all no blog tonight! Much to tired. Today was busy a busy day. Ever see a cardiac surgeon and cardiologist dance at the disco? Its a must!

A better day.

2008-04-04T19:48:00.000-07:00

So this morning I woke up feeling a little iffy... not sure if I drank some water or what. That's a BIG no no! By mid morning I felt well enough to get back to work, slowly of course. I started stocking my pediatric unit and than headed over to see if they needed help with today's adult post-op patient. Everything is a tug of war still with the nurses at the adult hops ital but its getting better after a long hard talk with the director. All in all things were laid back today which was great. Than over dinner my new adoptive family (a group of people working with me who are all from the same hospital have adopted me) discussed all of the problems so hopefully we can work out the kinks and make a bigger impact here. We want to leave it better than when we came without hurting anyone's feelings. Dinner as usual was amazing and was followed by sangria and chocolate! The Sangria (wine with fruit and juice) led to some crazy antics... I've been informed what happens in Peru stays in Peru!! LoL we're not allowed to get TO crazy with the body guard and 2 SWAT guys following us! Oh yeah, apparently I'm a hot commodity in Peru. One the of the SWAT team guys passed his phone number along to me via the interpreter. To funny. Off to bed for another busy day!

I've had better days.

2008-04-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

So today was a success and a failure both. A success because our patient survived his surgery and is currently recovering in the ICU. It was a failure because every step along the way we have been fighting with nursing staff. The administration wants us here, but the charge nurse of the ICU clearly does not want us to be here. I will state again that we were asked to come here to educate the hospital on open heart surgeries and heart valve replacements.
Every thing that I have done this week this charge nurse has disagreed with me. I try to explain things but the language barrier makes it difficult even with a translator. Tonight she did not like how our ventilator was working so instead of working with me to come to an agreement, she took another SICK patient off a ventilator so she could use it on the open heart surgery patient. When I left the ICU tonight, that other patient was not doing well off the ventilator. By doing this she gained control over the ventilator. She discussed nothing about a ventilator change with me or my team. She put the patient on settings that research has shown to be inappropriate. It is so frustrating because we are trying to help her but she has this complex that she is right. In no way are we saying that what she does is wrong, because it is not, but we just want to show her a better ways to do things. Safer ways, more effective ways and ways that are more comfortable for the patient. I won't get into how horrible today was for me, because it was pretty bad. Unless things are changed, and nursing and administration decide together that they want help, I can honestly say that I will be spending the rest of this trip helping people who want help at the pediatric hospital.
Highlights of my day included the amazing views of the volcano's this morning and that I got an arterial line in our patient to measure blood pressure during surgery that the anesthesia doctor and resident couldn't get. They called me in as a last ditch effort before they took more invasive measure, I don't think anyone expected me to get it. Off to bed so I can get up early so I can not teach nurses who don't want help.

The set backs grow...

2008-04-02T18:58:00.001-07:00

So at first I thought that this trip was going to be a piece of cake for me. I had almost nothing to do with the adult hospital, nursing staff is pretty well educated and prepared. Things that need to be changed won't be changed due to the staff being so set in there ways. Those situations are delicate because you can't be pushy and be all "My way is better than your way". So I pretty much helped where possible and went exploring in all the spare time. Easy breezy! This afternoon I was brought to the 2nd hospitals pediatric ICU for the first time. We are supposed to interview patients on Saturday and start surgeries on Monday. Key word SUPPOSED to. Well I have my work cut out for me. I may have to pull some all nighters trying to get things together. The ped's ICU has nothing I need, I mean NOTHING. They have two vents. One is broken and is so old I wouldn't use it on a kid even if it worked, the other vent is probably older than I am but is still functional. I haven't tested it yet to make sure it doesn't blow out the kids lungs. That is all the ICU has. No supplies... nothing!! So I along with only ONE nurse have to sit down and pretty much build a pediatric ICU from the ground up. We have till Monday. I need to write out everything I need and send it to the appropriate people hopefully by tomorrow so they can send me supplies from Lima. If we get our crate (still in customs) I may find much of what I need, if we don't get it we may cancel the surgeries and focus on ICU growth and education. Thats why we are at this 2nd hospital... to help build an ICU, educate and hopefully do a few surgeries to teach. I must admit its a bit of a load but I'm here so I'll do what I can. The ICU here is brand new which is nice... just not set up.

Its been a long day! It started at 3:30am when the city's sirens started blaring. My group all opened the doors and were questioning what the sirens meant... Earthquake? Attack? Fire? Who knew!?!? We found out at breakfast over our morning cup of coca tea that it is a fire alarm calling the firemen into work. So we all freaked out and lost sleep over nothing! I spent the morning at the adult hospital and sat in on some consults with potential surgery candidates. I decided to stop sitting in the consults when one patient broke my heart. She is a single mother with 2 small children, she cannot afford surgery on her own and there is no one to care for her children when she dies meaning they'd probably end up in an orphanage. When she learned that she was a good candidate and that we'd fix her heart she broke down crying. I, along with a few others, were trying hard to not let her see the tears run. She couldn't thank us all enough. These surgeries that are somewhat common place for me are impossible here leading these people to certain death. For every person we save (hopefully the surgery saves her) there are thousands that die. The town I visit on Sunday is a 15 bed hospital that serves 40,000 people. How lucky are we in the States? Its not that they don't work hard or don't deserve the care, its just the way things are here. Its impossibly sad.

Set Back

2008-04-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

So we are having a bit of a set back for surgeries. Cardiostart sent over a crate full of equipment necessary for the surgeries and its not been released by the Peruvian Customs people. We can not perform pediatric surgeries without it and its making our adult surgeries more difficult. So that along with the set back of our Cardiologist stuck in Lima has definitely changed this trip. Our cardiac surgeon Zev is doing his best to make a difference here by assisting in surgeries with local doctors to help with education. Everyone in our group is doing what we can with what we have and providing education. Hopefully we get our crate soon!
With all these set backs we have found ourselves with more free time. Today we went to the Sainta Catalina Convent (Monastery), it is by far the most magnificent thing I have ever seen. Its a paradise surrounded by white volcanic rock walls. My mom and cousin Britta would never leave! It is called a city within a city and it truly is, its huge. It was built in 1579 and has had many reconstructions after earthquakes. The gardens are a paradise and the building has such amazing architecture and history. It was originally for nuns coming from wealthy families and they were each given their own 'house' with servants. I will try to post pictures but it is literally indescribable. We went at night when they light the candles and all the character comes out. because of this my pics may not come out well. Being its only across the street I plan on going back a second time during the day. Its worth every penny. If it weren't for the self mutilation and all the solitude I'd probably consider becoming a nun myself! Some still live there in a closed off section (no more mutilation of course).
Today I met my match... I discovered the worlds best hot cocoa. It was absolutely perfect and this is coming from a chocolate connoisseur!! I wanted to learn how they made it but once again the language barrier got in the way. The nurse who often translates for me became the first one of the group to get ill and be subjected to IV fluids. So far so good in my case, which is surprising cuz I've eaten everything! You only live once. :)
Buenas noches!

The hospital.

2008-03-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

I don't know where to start! My harrowing life threatening ride from the hotel to the hospital or the state of health care here... both of these made for a VERY interesting day.
I have driven through times square during rush hour, that in NO WAY compare to traffic here. People are yelling, honking and fighting there way into any little space they see open. There are no stop lights, traffic signs or anything. On the rare occurrence there is a sign no one pays attention to it. I almost died several times during the ride today and that is with the SWAT teams ahead and behind us trying to get us through. When things got harrowing with traffic they'd use their SUV's as protection for us from oncoming traffic by cutting the oncoming cars off. More than once I heard people yelling out their windows about the Gringo's, probably a good thing I couldn't here what else they said about us. The guards really treat us as VIP's and are very serious about their job.
Now on to my actual mission, the reason I am here! Today we went to the hospital and meet the people we'll work with and provide the education to, we set up our work area's in the OR's and ICU's. I was literally DIGGING for my equipment, I'm missing important things and I'll be up late tonight trying to figure out how to pull things together. In the hospital the ICU is brand new, this is due to a fire on a previous Cardiostart trip caused by a ventilator fire. It's actually surprising no one died, the fire had blocked the exit to the ICU and was so hot it melted the metal of the ventilator. In the end it was a good thing because the new ICU is great! The rest of the hospital is run down, with cracked walls, old broken equipment, only one out of four elevators is functional and I even saw a guy so sick he couldn't make it up the stairs and people just kept walking past. Thats how it is. Also, people here are required to pay out of pocket for care. If you are going into surgery you are required to come prepared with all the drugs needed for surgery. The patients come to the hospital with sedation drugs, pain drugs, heart drugs, or whatever is needed. If you don't bring it, you don't get it. There are some drugs in the ICU and OR for unforeseen events, but IF they are given the drug they are required to pay for it. The hospital received money and built a new cancer center here a few months ago but are unable to open it because they can't afford to pay for the staff. Its a very humbling experience. Things I take for granted are impossible here. Now I understand why donations are so important to these places.

That was my day. After getting home we all broke open the wine, cheese and crackers to celebrate arriving alive and later went out to dinner. Once again, the food is well prepared, presented with style and WONDERFUL. Good night!

Another day, another adventure.

2008-03-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

I admit I assumed I knew what to expect while in Arequipa (pronounced air-keep-ah), I thought it would be somewhat of a 3rd world experience. Like what you see on TV and in the feed the poor commercials. I confess to being wrong with my prejudgement. Everything I expected has been incredibly incorrect. On my journey so far I have found Arequipa to be a beautiful, friendly, warm and cultural city. The views are breathtaking leading me to go way overboard with the photographs, but I just can't seem to capture what I am seeing. The camera doesn't portray the smells, colors, the attitudes, and the feeling of being here. Its frustrating! Today we went to a spot so our local Cardiostart member, Vicente, could show us some views. They reminded me of fairytales... the happily ever after moments of the stories. One canyon in particular brought the story of Jack and the Beanstalk to mind, it was the colors, clouds and mountains. I half expected to suddenly find a beanstalk growing up into the clouds.
I want to remember every moment but I'm doing so much I know I won't. Between yesterday and today I have seen so many things and participated in so many once in a life time experiences that I will never remember it all! Today I learned some more spanish, played with Alpaca, watched local weavers work, saw street jugglers, went shopping, ate strange foods and ordered things I can't pronounce (delicious by the way!!). I also sampled the Peruvian national drink, Pisco Sour, and fell in love with it! Its VERY potent stuff but almost reminds me of a Margarita or long island tea. Its made with Pisco, lemons, egg yolk whipped on the top, Cinnamon and some other ingredients. All these strange foods we may regret eating as of tomorrow! So worth it today though...
Something that I find surprising is the security we are given. We have the local SWAT (spelled SUAT here) team following us with 2 SUV's and also 2 bodyguards following us who are trained in Marshall arts such as Judo. This same group follows visiting ambassadors. Its not because they think we are at risk, in fact we are quite safe it seems. The security has been helpful in keeping us from getting run over by the INSANE drivers, getting pick pocketed and from getting lost. Also they keep us from being stupid. All this security gives us quite the entrance when we travel as a large group. In small groups usually only the bodyguards follow.
The hospital wasn't ready for us today, so we will go to work tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to it! We did meet our translators who are very sweet and friendly. Now I'm off to bed after the most amazing day. This is by far the best trip I have taken and I've only been here 2 days. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?!?

I made it!

2008-03-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

So here I am, in Arequipa Peru! I arrived bright and early this morning around 6:20am and was greeted by the local members of Cardiostart. I was more than happy to finally arrive after 24 hours of travel. Everything went well along the way. When I arrived in Lima I had a slight freak out session as the plane landed. That's when it hit me that I was all alone in a foreign country where I don't speak the language. I started worrying about getting through customs, getting onto my next flight and wondered what I would do if something went wrong in Lima. Figured this time mom and dad wouldn't be able to bail me out! Plus being one of the first to arrive there was no one to call from Cardiostart yet. By the time I got off of the plane I was collected, I figure what happens happens and its to late to turn around now (and I probably wouldn't of even if I could!) and I was definitely excited again.
Lima was beautiful at night. I will have to come back sometime during the day. You could see all the boats and barges on the water as we flew in and the city just kept going. The airport in Lima was nice, which is good being I had a 7 hour layover. I had problems getting checked into my next flight, they lost some of my info so that took awhile. I discovered that language is definitely going to be a barrier. Luckily so far everyone is friendly. I had my first 'adventure' in the Lima airport! Once I finally settled in there an earthquake hit! That was definitely cool, not scary. It wasn't a very big one and didn't even last a full minute... but it definitely shook things up. I was talking to the local cardiostart members and they said that here in Arequipa earthquakes are common due to the volcano's. I look forward to some more... small ones of course! The altitude hasn't affected me at all which is nice, found out I am getting 18% oxygen in the air here verses the normal 21%. Once we go on some tours we'll go higher and than I may notice the effects more.
My hotel it amazing. It is more than I had hoped for. I was lucky enough to get my own room. Its clean and quaint and has free wi-fi :) I'm an Internet junkie. There is a nice courtyard which is where I am at currently as I type this and visit with everyone. The floors here are all tiled and the building is made of white volcanic rock which is very pretty. There are bright red geraniums everywhere you look which make the white stone appear even more white. On top of the hotel you can see the city and 3 volcano's with their snow caps. Plus you can see the monastery which I hope to visit tomorrow(pics will follow).We already did a little exploring to stockpile water and see the city. I love it! I'm so glad I signed up for this. Tomorrow morning I go see the first hospital. I better get going, time to clean up, meet more people and than we are going out for dinner on the town. More to follow!

I'm off!

2008-03-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

Well in just a few hours I will be off on my way to Peru! I'm so excited! My last few days here in Rochester have been hectic. Paper work, doctors appointments, trying to set up my next job assignment (yet to be decided upon) and packing have kept me running. On top of all that work was beyond busy on Thursday. Two of my girls and I went out for drinks Thursday night. Nothing like ending a hard shift and preparing for a big trip with some Perfect Margarita's! Well everything but my laptop is packed up and ready to go. I fly into Lima and than into Arequipa arriving Saturday early morning. I've got some long flights and layovers to look forward to tomorrow. So on my trip I plan on doing one week of adult open heart surgeries followed by one week of pediatric surgeries, I'll be managing the ventilators and post operative patients and of course I will be doing a LOT of education. I was informed that we will go into La Joya for a day and will also be spending some time at an orphanage that Cardiostart assists. A few dinners are planned along the way and also some time for me to just be a tourist. My camera is charged and sunblock ready. I'll try keep in touch along the way!
Errin

Easter Weekend

2008-03-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I made what seems like the never-ending drive (7 hours) up to my parents to spend Easter with them and to celebrate Aunt Kelly's surprise 40th birthday party. I arrived just in time to join Dad and Amy on the trip to pick up supper (pizza) at the oh so famous Lightening Bar. They decided to get some drinks, being I don't drink beer and didn't want to buy a large bottle of hard liqour I was pretty much out of luck. That is until the bartender offered me a glass of Captain Diet to go! Oh yes... the perks of small town living.

Its always nice to go home for the weekend and see the family. I don't get to see them nearly as much as I'd like. When I do make it home its always jam packed with activity so Amy and I always end up visiting with mom till 2-3 in the morning leaving us exhasted the next day. None the less we repeat the night every night we're there! I always leave totally exhasted and wiped out. After the usual whirlwind Johnson weekend I was lucky enough to fit in a night at Britta's before coming back to Rochester. For those of you haven't seen it, Britta's new house is great! A visit with Kris and Britta is always so refreshing and puts me in a great mood which is sure to last a for a few days.

Anyway, 'Baby' sister Tena took a bunch of pictures over the weekend, here are a few of them.

~Group pic of the sisters and Grandma... we almost got a smile out of her!

~Part of the Johnson crew waiting to surprise Kelly

~The sisters and brother...

~Us girls....

~A couple of the cousins

I caved...

2008-03-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

So I finally caved and decided to start a travel blog. You will all finally have an opportunity to follow along with me on my random adventures as a Respiratory Therapist moving across the states. This could be an interesting undertaking for me! I'm not exactly known for my writing skills so I apologize in advance. For those of you who are wondering where my current location is I am staying in Rochester with some good friends while I try to cram in a few hours of work. My next adventure... Peru. I leave Friday! Well I must go, but I will try and be a good blogger and update everyone tomorrow.