Off to Texas

As is our yearly tradition, I am heading to Mimi's to have Thanksgiving with her and her husband. They live in Texas so that I where I am heading. Typically Thanksgiving vacation to Mimi's involves she and I doing lots of shopping, cooking Thanksgiving dinner while watching the Macy's parade, then watching Christmas movies and putting up Mimi's Christmas tree...all while Ian plays video games in another room of the house! This year we are going to of course do all our regular stuff, but we have a special treat! Mom and Eric are coming too!!! Woohoo! Of all the times this trip is needed for me it is now! I really need the distraction and what a better way to do that than by speding time with 3 of my favorite people in the world! Anyway, I fly out today and back on Saturday. I am taking my camera so we should be getting lots of pictures. I'm sure I will have a blast with the dogs too, even if it means I will have to wash everything I take with me when I get home to get all the dog hair off of me! haha!

Not ready to say goodbye...

I received some terrible news yesterday. One of my best friends ever and someone that I spent 4-1/2 years with in high school and college was killed in a car accident. Leif Nissen was a great person and a great friend. I have so many happy memories that involve him and I am just not ready to say goodbye yet. I don't know if that is just me being selfish, but I just can't do it yet. The news came as a complete shock and I am devastated. I have never felt a pain like this before and I hope I never have to again. Over the past few years we didn't get to see each other much, but when we did we always had a great time. Even when it had been months since we'd talked or seen each other, we were always able to pick up just as if it had only been hours. He was someone I could always talk to so easily because I knew he wouldn't judge me. Leif was someone I would trust with the deepest aspects of my soul and I have always cherished his friendship. He has been such a huge part of my life for so long and I still have so much I want to tell him that I just can't say goodbye yet.

I have so many memories of Leif that I could share and I need to talk about him to help myself grieve, so here are some of the things about Leif that made me love him. Leif was my annoying Physics lab partner in high school and he always messed up all our data! When we got our pictures back from the first dance we went to together he showed everyone who walked by us so he could tell them how much he liked the picture of us. He was my first love and the reason that I enjoyed college so much. He convinced me to go to IU with him so we could stay together after high school, and in the process we met some fantastic people that have become true friends. He was the one who made me realize that although I had the potential to be a doctor I would be happier as a nurse because it would allow me to have a family and still help people. He helped me move my grandparents stuff in a moving truck from Miami to Indiana (and he only complained a little - haha). He always pretended that my cooking was as good as his mom's, even though I new he was full of shit! He gave me my beloved Chandler as a gift, and to this day I have never received a gift that I have loved so much. He always knew what to say to make me feel better, even when he was the one who had caused the pain. He always opened his home to me and my friends when I wanted to come to visit. Even when our lives moved in different directions, when we lived in different states, had different friends and different relationships, we remained close friends.

Leif will be in my heart always and forever.

Work, Win & Wedding

I started work this past week! Yay!! It was basically all the boring orientation meetings that you have to do at every hospital when you're new. They want to teach you about the hospital and have someone from most of the departments come talk to us. It was mostly pretty boring, but I did learn some interesting things about hospital funding, Medicare & Medicaid, as well as some demographics about the patient population that we serve. The community surrounding my hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital, is a very low income community but some of the statistics were shocking to me! The worst part of the week was having to wake up so early in the morning! I haven't had to set an alarm clock for almost 5 months except for once or twice, then I had to be up at 515 am every morning this past week! BOO!! Now I start working 12 hour shifts this week so I will only have to wake up early 3 days this week. I will probably be on days for a month or 2 though, so the waking up early isn't going away any time soon :(

As you all know there was a general election this week. I am very happy with the results and I don't care who knows it! I voted for Obama/Biden and I think that our country will see some great things happening over the next 4 years. As a healthcare provider I am very excited with the Healthcare Reform that Obama has discussed and I really hope that we see some good changes. I thought that the crowd at McCain's concession speech was incredibly rude though! If you watched it then you know what I mean. It looked as though McCain was irritated with the behavior of those present as well. I only want to say one more thing about the election at this time...Thank the Lord and the American voters that we are sending Palin back to Alaska and not to Washington. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if she had been given any kind of control in the our national government!

This weekend Shawn and I went to a wedding in Mishawaka, IN. One of Shawn's friends from home got married and Shawn was asked to be an Usher in the Wedding. A few of Shawn's closest friends from home were also in the wedding so we got to spend the weekend with them and it was really fun! His friend Brendon, the groom, is in the Air Force currently stationed in Georgia but he is supposed to get stationed in England soon so Shawn was really glad to have had a couple of days to get to see his friend. Here are a few pictures!

Shawn and I at the wedding.

Jordan, Jonah, Brendon, Caleb & Shawn

Mr. & Mrs. Brendon Vanzile