I'm really sore

Doug said it would happen, but I am not sure I totally believed him. However, I am now really sore. It must be the 90 minute workout two days in a row, when I am not used to such long workouts, and not used to lifting. I sort of feel like jello. It is a fun feeling. Funny when I can't sit up to get out of bed. Funny when I cant even walk out of the gym because my legs dont want to work. Funny when it hurts to do normal stretching, so I can't even stretch my muscles to help with the soreness. I am laughing really hard. It is going to be hilarious when I can't pick up my babies at work tonight. Jokes on me.

Doug

is my personal trainer. He has huge arms. He keeps up with the pretense that he is not one of those macho guys that is totally obsessed with his body. Lies. He is incredibly obsessed. He drinks those protein drinks all the time, and he takes these supplements like 6 times a day which help burn fat and build muscle. I guess all of this is okay, because he is my trainer. So today I had my first workout with him. I was pretty sure that I was going to feel really stupid and weak. Luckily, he was either really good at tailoring the workout to my level, or I am stronger than I thought I was. Needless to say, I was able to do everything I asked, and he said I did really well. He said I have really good "mind power" because I pushed through the fatigue. How can you not push through the fatigue when a huge man is standing over you. Intimidation does it for me every time. The beauty of it is I walked away feeling like I was really doing good at the weights. I guess that is why you get a personal trainer. I guess I can overlook his huge biceps. This is not what I am going for, but can you imagine!?:

yuck

New Shoes

I went crazy today. I bought a gym membership and 3 pairs of new shoes. I seem to shop like this. It is all or nothing with me. I go weeks on end without purchasing anything, then buy everything in one day. I don't know that it is a very good thing to do. Oh well.
New things:
1. 24 Hour Fitness membership
this is great because I can go anytime, which fits my crazy night/day schedule. I also went for the new member trainer deal. I get 5 sessions with a trainer. It will probably be a good thing for me. So Doug and I will be meeting bright and early (5:15) tomorrow to begin our training. I will let you know how that goes.
2. New Balance Running Shoes
I wear my current running shoes to the hospital, which means they should not be worn anywhere else. What goes to the hospital stays at the hospital. Lots of bugs, rather not subject the healthy public to what is on my shoes.
3. Black Mudd flats. They have cute flower and butterfly cutouts at the toe. They are black and have a strap over the top.
4. Brown casual Mudd flats. For some reason the Mudd shoes just fit me right. I am not buying stock or anything. Lots of stitching on these and a strap over the top.
Overall, I am pleased with my purchases. My bank account is a little smaller today, but my feet and body are a little happier. Good trade off.

Made me cry

I like to look at other people's blogs, then link to other blogs, etc. That is how I found this.
Read it.

High School Musical 2

Yesterday was the premier of High School Musical 2. This whole weekend is what I like to call Premier Weekend. In order to get ready for HSM2, I watched HSM yesterday, and listened to the Soundtrack. I wanted to be in the perfect mood for the big event. I even got my mom to watch both movies with me. My dad had no interest whatsoever. His mocking got him kicked out of the room by my mom and myself. If you remember my discussion on HSM, I didn't really like it the first time, but have come to LOVE it. Well, this one had a similar, but less dramatic, trend. When I watched it last night for the first time I thought, "pretty good, but they made this one even cheesier than the first." After seeing it again today I thought, "this is amazing, I had no idea that they could make a sequel this good!" So, I love HSM2. I am approximately 13 years old. I have found, however, that most females I talk to (of all ages) also love HSM. Some are quiet about their obsession, but most are open about it. Everyone has some sort of secret/open obsession with HSM. It is only going to get stronger with HSM2.

So now, I will give you my top 5 songs from HSM2 (subject to change with additional viewings):

5. Bet On It
Troy reminded me of Justin Timberlake in this one. Not sure if that was a good thing or not.

4. You Are the Music In Me
I love that they know the song, even though they have supposedly never heard it before.

3. Gotta Go My Own Way
I love that she doesn't just run back to him when he says he doesn't want it to end.

2. I Don't Dance
I am pretty sure they stole the first line of this song from the Trace Adkins song hey batter batter hey batter batter swing
The dancing during this song is awesome.

1. All For One
I am not sure if it is because it is at the end of the movie, or because it is just a great song, but this is the one that sticks in my head longest.

Family Search Indexing

So I read the Ensign this month, and it had an article encouraging people to Index. I have thought about it in the past, but have decided not to do anything about it. Until today. I was thinking of Sabbath appropriate activities for the day, and decided to try indexing. I actually really enjoy it. Essentially, you just type what you see. It is pretty easy. I only did 100 names, but I made a goal to do 1000 by the end of the year. You should go check it out. I may not be good at genealogy, but at least I am finally doing something to work toward finding ancestors. Happy Sabbath!

B5

If you know what B5 is, props to you. I had no idea that B5 was a music group until yesterday when I was listening to my High School Musical soundtrack (I know, I have the musical tastes of a 13 year old). B5 is a group of 5 brothers that sing together. From their website: "B5 does it there way, with clean lyrics, age-appropriate content, and good old-fashioned charm. Add to that, the boys' good looks, and you clearly have the recipe for the next big boy band sensation." It looks like they sing a lot of things for Disney, they have remade the Siamese Cat Song and Whose Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf among other songs. They have a fun feel about them. They sing a song with Bow Wow called Hydrolics, which I like. Go onto itunes and listen to their stuff, you just might like it.

nah nah nah nah hey hey hey...

This morning I woke up really really early. I'm not sure it even counts a sleeping if you wake up at 3:45. I didn't mind waking up that early because I got to see Chris, Liz and Connor. So, we all went to the airport together. Technically, I was the chauffeur. I documented the entire drive with my camera. I didn't use the flash because it would have been distracting to the driver, so the pictures are all very modern-art. We got to the airport and went inside. We even got one of those luggage cart things. I never get those, so it was really exciting. We got in the Southwest line. Who knew that it didn't open until 5? We stood there for a while until the line opened. They checked their bags and got in the security line. Unfortunately, this is where I had to separate from the group. Stupid airport security only lets passengers go past security. Chris, Liz and Connor left. I cried. I am really sad that they are gone. This stinks. It really really stinks. I don't get to see them all the time now. This stinks. I cried when we said goodbye. Then I cried the whole way home. It was probably a bad thing considering it was dark, I was tired, and I was driving a really big car. Then I got home and cried some more. I am a big baby. I am going to South Bend every other week. It is decided.

Doesnt it look like we are on 24
The freeway
More of the freeway
The skyline at 4 in the morning
Loading the luggage
Liz and Connor
Connor with Chris
The fam
To Phoenix at 06:10AMWhere I stop. Where the crying began.

Confession

I love Gilmore Girls. I am obsessed with Gilmore Girls. I could watch it over and over and over. I know, I am 24, and a little old for this kind of obsession, but what can you do.
It all started back in my freshman year. The first time I remember hearing about Gilmore Girls was in a magazine my roommate had. I think they were on the cover of the magazine. I read the article. That was as far as it went. I think I saw a couple episodes here and there over the next couple years. I didn't start seriously watching until season 5.
This last Christmas, I got seasons 1-3 on DVD. Then I bought seasons 4-6 about a month ago (they were on sale). I have watched every episode every week for the last couple years. I just really like the show. The show ended this season. It was very sad, but good. It is time to move on with my life. Or at least my Tuesday nights.
There it is. I have let it out. Although, anyone who knows me in the slightest knows that this is no surprise, at all.
Anyone else have a confession? Something you are addicted to? Do share.

Treasures from RS

Classic Relief Society. One for the history books.
Lesson topic: Divorce.
Yes, I am sure at this point all of you are having the same thoughts as I did: "are you serious?!?", "this is going to spur some interesting conversation," "are we for or against?", "who decided this was going to be a good lesson for a bunch of women to discuss together (especially since some are very very bitter about it)?".
As is always the case in relief society, rather than actually using the lesson material (in this case, Elder Oaks' conference talk) we decided to merely use the topic and go from there. Always a mistake.

Some of my favorites:

• the "you should always stay married because it is best for the children" comment that was shortly followed by the "I have a friend who..." story about how the kids can get seriously messed up by having a false sense of security.
• "he is still verbally abusive, but at least now they only talk every week or two"
• personal anecdote explaining bitter feelings about x-husband and how he "will stand at the judgement bar and will have to explain why he abandoned me and my kids."
• my comment to my neighbor "wow, this lesson is a real upper."
• my neighbor's comment in response "yeah, I feel like I can't comment because I am married and have never been divorced." very wise of her.
• my dad, when I asked him why he chose the topic of Divorce. "no, that is not what I chose, I chose Elder Oaks' talk, it was about communication or something." No dad, it was all about Divorce." He said that he must have been confused because the title was deceiving. He looked up the talk. Title: Divorce. Oops. We need a review committee.
• the uncomfortable looks of many in the audience.

Moral of the story: #1 be careful when you choose a lesson topic. #2 when approaching a potentially controversial subject, always, and I mean ALWAYS let the scriptures/general authorities do ALL of the talking. I promise, it is much much safer. And the Spirit will be there.

I am still laughing. What a good day at church. Oh, and Sunday School was fun too. It involved me making comments about how we are reading into the story of Peter's denials. Bad plan. Very heated. My comments were immediately shot down. That is why I don't comment. Heaven forbid I give Peter the benefit of the doubt. And, my comments were all related to the 2 week study I had done to prepare for this lesson since I was really excited about it. Apparently it is a better plan to talk in depth about Peter's weaknesses. I strongly encourage everyone to read "Peter, My Brother" by Spencer W. Kimball (pretty reliable source if you ask me). I have a print copy, if you would like a copy. Otherwise, you can listen to it online.

The Evils of Power Point

On the surface, it seems like a useful and practical tool. Turns out, PowerPoint is not good. See, PowerPoint is the only way presentations are given any more.
Problem #1: You have to dim the lights to get good clarity in the slides. With the lights off, it becomes very difficult to stay awake, no matter how charismatic the presenter.
Problem #2: PowerPoint has made people lazy. How many times have you watched a PowerPoint presentation where the presenter reads the presentation verbatim from the slides. Is it just me, or is this a HUGE waste of time. If they are just going to read the slides, they may as well just give us the text and call it a day.
Problem #3: Lets face it, people try to make their slide shows all too "exciting". The sound effects are annoying, the crazy slide transitions waste time and are distracting. I would much rather cover the material in half the time, if it means we get rid of the extra stuff.
Problem #4: Most people are not PowerPoint proficient. If you are going to use it for a presentation, at least know the basics of how to start and end the presentation. The audience tends to lose a lot of confidence in the speaker when they can't even start their own presentation.
That being said, lets take a break from PowerPoint. It makes me tired and cranky just thinking about it.

Nicole Miller

My really great insurance will pay for new frames and lenses every other year, so I got new glasses this year. My prescription hasn't changed, so this means I now have three choices for eyewear. I am really excited about this. I still have my cute brown frames. I just bought a pair of plum colored frames. They have pink, purple and yellow stripes in the sides. They are super super cute. I have found that I love Nicole Miller eyewear. Both my glasses are Nicole Millers. My third choice is my contacts. Aww, the feel of accessorizing on the insurance company's dollar. Next, a new nose. Although, this will be much more difficult to get insurance to cover...

Old frames:New frames:
I'm in love.

5K

So my sister-in-law, Liz, and I "ran" a 5K on the 4th. Neither of us had really trained for it. We weren't exactly racing. Mostly we were just there to finish. This is my 3rd or 4th 5K, and her 1st. We finished, which is the important part. The unfortunate part: the t-shirts are really quite ugly. Oh well. We did have a good time laughing as we ran. She is moving, which is sad. I guess there are no more 5Ks in our future. Shoot.

Riding along

So I was on TRAX on Wednesday morning after work. I was really tired. I ran to catch the train, and ended up being about 3 seconds too late. I was almost hitting the side of the train as I ran alongside to catch the train. Well, missing the train meant that I had to wait 15 minutes for the next departure. Luckily, the next train was only about a minute away, so at least I got to sit down. I got on the train and the driver started talking to me. He said I looked good for having worked all night. He asked me where I worked, and if I had kids of my own. Essentially, we had a get-to-know-you conversation in the early morning hours. Well, I was very tired, so I set the alarm on my phone to wake me up before I needed to switch trains. I held the phone in my hand so I would feel the vibrations, and I fell asleep. There is something you need to know about the TRAX lines, the University line runs from the hospitals to the Energy Solutions Arena. The Sandy line runs from the Arena to Sandy. So, I was on the University line, and planned to change trains at the Galivan Center. I closed my eyes. The next thing I know, the nice driver was tapping me on the shoulder to tell me we were at the end of the line. I was sitting on a stopped train outside of the Energy Solutions Arena (way out of my way). At this point I was really glad that I had built a relationship with the driver so that he felt comfortable waking me up. Next time I think I will ask him to wake me up at my stop. The sad thing, the two times on the train before this, I also overslept my stop. This however, was a much longer ride than the others turned out to be. I don't think I said anything to the driver after he woke me up because I was so out of it. I might have stumbled over a "thank you" or perhaps a "oops". Very classy of me. And, the driver guy was really attractive, 20s-ish and had a great accent. Maybe I will see him again, and next time not make a fool of myself. There is always the hope.

Andrea, RN

So, I have a new title. I took my test, and I passed!!! I am super excited. I no longer have to stress about this and get to be a Registered Nurse. It is so exciting. I already said that. I found out on Thursday, then immediately went to bed, having worked a night shift Wednesday night. Then, I woke up and went camping. It has been a fabulous weekend.
We went rafting on the Snake River in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Now Wyoming in general, not that great. But, rafting, awesome. We left Thursday afternoon and got back Saturday night. It was so so so much fun. I have a bit of a sunburn, but that will fade into a nice tan. It was nice to get out of town for a couple days. And, I love camping, so that helped. And, I have a new best friend, Nicole. I met her on the trip and we had a blast. Pretty much inseparable. People probably got pretty annoyed with us, but we didn't care. Lots of good one liners out of the trip. Lots of memories. Good times, great oldies.
And then yesterday I got to see some friends from high school again. It has been a while, and it is great to see them again. I realized I have missed them. I am getting sentimental, time to stop. Funny tidbit- my friend Michelle who is in my ward was with me when I saw Dan and Bryndon (a couple guy friends from high school). Michelle is completely convinced that Bryndon is interested in me. I am completely convinced this is not true, as he is seriously waiting for a missionary. The funny part is, I had a huge crush on him in High School. My how things come full circle.
Oh, and I have August 17 off of work so that I can watch High School Musical 2. If you want to join me, just let me know. It is going to be a serious party.

Whelmed

To quote the truly great: "I know you can be overwhelmed, and I know you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?" I think you can. That is what I am today. Last night I transferred my second kid to the PICU in the last 2.5 weeks. Yes, that is much much higher than average. I am not sure if this is a personal problem, or just really bad luck. But, whatever the reason, at least I am getting better at the procedure. And last night, everyone was really good about it and I didn't have to fight the doctors to get my kid to PICU (normally it is somewhat of a fight, especially at times like this when the hospital is full full full). Anyways, I am tired. I didn't get enough sleep yesterday, and had a crazy night, and didn't sleep long today. So, I am whelmed. Another reason for this state of being: waiting for NCLEX results. Could be today. Could be tomorrow. Could be the next day (which means I won't know until Saturday because I am going camping.) This test will hugely impact my future. Especially the next 45 days. So, wish me luck. Have all the good vibes possible. And, also, send some good vibes my way so that my kids will be okay tonight and we won't have any crazyness. It makes me tired. (Oh, and 10 points if you know what the quote is from.)
And, one other thing, be careful when you sleep. Somehow yesterday while I was sleeping I actually tried to get up, slipped and slammed my head into my dresser. It hurt like crazy. I just put my head down on my pillow and wanted to cry. Kinda think I might start wearing a helmet when I sleep.

My fault?

Yesterday I had a meeting at work. My part-time work. The meeting itself was fine. The highlight, however, was when I got reamed by the HR lady for not picking up my pay stubs. A little background, I have tried to pick up my pay stubs at least every two weeks for the last couple months. I have talked to the receptionist, she has referred me to the director of nursing, who has referred me elsewhere. Lets just say, every two weeks I have talked to several people to get my check stub, but to no avail. So yesterday the HR lady comes in to the nursing meeting with a stack of envelopes. She said, "lets see who isn't picking up their checks". Apparently she thinks public humiliation is a good method of teaching. So I said, "I think you have some of mine." She handed me a stack of 4 and then with a disapproving look said "you really need to pick these up every 2 weeks." To which I responded "I have tried every two weeks to pick them up, I have talked to several people throughout the building in an attempt to find them. The people I am told to ask, have no idea where to look." She said "you pick them up from the director of nursing." I responded, "I have tried that several times, she has never had them, and has not known where to get them." At this point the conversation turned and she left the room. Later, I decided that I would try to get my pay stubs mailed to me. Afterall, they come in an envelope ready to mail. The other nurses said they don't mail out the checks because people move too often, so the addresses are bad. Here comes round two. I went into the HR lady's office (by the way, aren't HR people supposed to be nice?). I said, "I work evenings, which makes it difficult to pick up my checks. Will you please mail them to me." And then, without pausing, I continued "My address is never going to change, it is my parent's house, and they wont be moving." With a look of disgust, as if I was putting her out, she replied "well, I guess I can do that." I said "thank you," with an annoying cheerfulness, and walked out of the room.
We will see if my pay stubs ever get mailed to me. I kind of doubt it, but who knows. And, I sincerely hope that my parents don't move, or they will make me into a liar.

Good Idea, Bad Idea

Remember Animaniacs? Great show. This crazy looking skeleton mime character did little sketches called Good Idea, Bad Idea. The one I can remember right now-- Good idea: stop to smell the roses. Bad idea: stop to touch the roses. So, here is one of my own.
Good idea: eat pineapple to get all the good vitamins and minerals and other benefits to your body.
Bad idea: eat lots of pineapple on an empty stomach. (makes for a pretty wicked stomach ache).
I really love pineapple, and this one was fresh. It took me back to my days in Africa. I think I got a little too excited about the pineapple.

High aspirations, Low cash flow

Yesterday I looked up the broadway attractions coming to SLC. I have made a list of those I am interested in seeing. The list is not all inclusive, but may appear that way. So, I bring you my list of shows I want to see, in date order. If you would like to see any with me, please let me know.

Momma Mia, July 31-Aug 5, 2007
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Feb 26-Mar 2, 2008
Annie, April 8-13, 2008
The Drowsy Chaperone, June 25-29, 2008
High School Musical, July 29-Aug 3, 2008

I love musicals. I love plays. I love concerts. Unfortunately, they are all expensive. I am saving up for way too many things to be spending all this money. I actually considered season tickets to the Capitol Theatre, but refrained. I knew it would be painful to see the price, so I just moved on.

Oh, and if anyone hears of Urinetown coming to SLC anytime soon, let me know, because I really want to see it (this based on short clips of the songs that I have listened to on iTunes).

I'm bored

Yesterday, my back started spasming. It started out pretty innocent. You know, just the usual spasm, a little pain here a little there when you move. Throughout the day it increased exponentially. By the time I left the hospital (2pm), I wasn't sure I was going to make it all the way to the train. Luckily, I slept the whole train ride, so I didn't think about the pain. When I got off the train, the pain had increased even more. By this point I had kind of figured out how to walk to cause the least amount of pain. And don't you worry, I looked like a fool. I got across the bus path and began walking up the stairs. I honestly did not think I was going to make it up the stairs. There was someone behind me, so I had to keep going, despite the spasms. Getting across the parking lot was nothing compared to going up the stairs, so I was feeling pretty good. I drove home, and apparently the 4 minute car ride was enough to exponentially increase the pain. There are exactly 3 stairs to get into my house. The first one hurt, the next one worse. The third, at the threshold of the house, was an obstacle I did not think I would be able to concur. I actually made 2 or 3 attempts before scaling the stair successfully. At this point, moving was hilarious. I was actually laughing with each step. I was doing quite well, I could walk one or two steps before having to take a break. And, I was only partially hunched over. It was either laugh or cry, and I chose to laugh. So, I went and got some medicine and got ready to spend a long long time on the couch. My sensitive stomach requires that I eat with medicine, and the two trips between the couch and kitchen to get food and water nearly did me in. I honestly did not think I would be able to carry something in my hand while moving at the same time. I finally got to the couch with all supplies, and rested. Whew. Unfortunately, not too long later, nature called. The very long walk to the bathroom nearly did me in. At this point, I was very hunched over, and only able to take one step before resting (sometimes I couldn't even get through a full step without a rest). My dad made the useful observation that you learn how to not go to the bathroom when the pain gets bad enough. It is all about priorities. I will spare you the painful details of sitting down and standing up in the bathroom. I got back to the couch and stayed horizontal for the next 4 hours. I felt slightly better when I got up. I then went to bed. All pain returned in the morning. Luckily, the pain eased throughout the day. I went to the doctor and got some good meds for the pain and for the spasms. He thinks I will be good as new by Monday. I wish you could have seen me, it was really funny.