Fishing!!!

We went to NC for some fishing and relaxation. Here is Chris and our friend Angelo with Chris' 50 pound Mahi-Mahi. He'll end up with a citation from NC govenor and fishing board. It's one of the hardest fish to get a citation for in NC. Here we are getting ready to take a walk on the beach at sunset. It was so nice and relaxing. We had fun looking for cool shells and rocks too.
Here are the guys with their catch. Chris' dad and his dad's friend Leo went too. They caught over 50 Mahi-Mahi.
Here is the beautiful sunset we saw while walking on the beach. So peaceful!!
Here is the capt and Chris trying to weigh the Mahi-Mahi. It was a challenging task!!

Graduation

Chris & I Some of the RN Class
Dad Chris & Betty with me
With my parents and bro
With my good friend Mona

Today was my graduation!!! So exciting!!!

Pinning

Chris & I My class
With my clinical excellence award & my professors!!
With Dad & Betty
With my parents & bro

My pinning was May 16th! So glad to have it done!!! :) I was surprised and excited to be awarded the Clinical Excellence Award for the RN class!!! Such an honor!!

End of a chapter....

I am now officially a graduate nurse!!! I passed my last nursing final with an 81% and a B for the semester!!! I am SO happy!!! Now just gotta pass the boards....(took a predictor test that said I have a 98% chance of passing them!!) I have another interview on Friday....hopefully I get that job!!

Springtime!!

Yay! I think Spring has finally decided to come!!! This weekend has been absolutely beautiful!!! How awesome to see the sunshine again!!!! My daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths are blooming!!! I love this time of the year!!! Oh, and only 15 more days until the final!!!! :)

Easter Pics

Easter Sunday Chris and I went to our church's Sonrise Service at 7:30 am. We grabbed a quick breakfast in the gym and then headed over to Pennsylvania. We made good time and I was able to help mom get food around. After lunch, I hid eggs for the boys to find. Mom had put change in them. Vincent had a lot of fun finding them and Colson enjoyed putting them in his mouth! :) Then some of us watched the Veggie Tales Easter DVD. I say some of us, because several of the others were napping! Matt & Miriam (my cousin) came over with their family in the early evening for supper. It was good to see everyone again!

Vincent in his Easter basket!

Colson in his Easter basket!

Colson is almost walking and loved to

push this toy around. Of course Vincent

wanted it too when he saw how much

attention Colson was getting!!!

Vincent peeking through the stair railing.

Here are the boys going through

their eggs to get the change G'ma

put in them.

Dieting

What are the odds? I had a trip to the ER today. I had the brilliant idea to try NutriSystem to help me lose weight. I figured it was a fool proof plan....the meals were all there, I just had to pick which one I wanted for that specific meal. No thinking of healthy foods to eat, just focusing on my school work. (Only 38 days until the final, by the way!!!!) Today was my second day eating their stuff. I ate their chicken salad on melba toast today for lunch. Approximately 1/2 hr later I noticed my scalp was extremely itchy. Then I happened to look down at my arms and saw big welts forming. Then I looked in my rearview mirror and saw my neck was covered in hives and my face was starting to itch and turn red as well. I quickly stopped by Stop & Shop and picked up some Benedryl (the kind you put on your tongue to dissolve....I figured the quicker it gets in my system the better). I quickly called my doctor/boss and he told me to take 2 and call him if it wasn't better in 10 minutes. I continued to drive home and by then my tongue was starting to swell and my chest was feeling tight. The itching was getting progressively worse and my face was all red & puffy. So, I took a detour to Putnam Community Hospital ER. After 2 1/2 hrs in the ER, 500 mL of saline, 50 mg of Zantac, 125 mg of Solumedrol and a nebulizer treatment of Albuterol & Atrovent I was released. Thank God for the TV in the room - it helped pass the time! The whole episode was definitely scary! (Side note: my dad has been rushed to the ER on several occasions for anaphlyaxic reactions and I don't want that to be handed down to me via his wonderful genes!) As soon as I got home I called NutriSystem and cancelled my account and got the okay for a refund (after I send it all back). I'm sure the shipping isn't gonna be cheap....imagine....a huge box filled with 5 weeks worth of food! Oh well....at least I'm not trached and on a vent somewhere!! :) Oh....and I'm STARVING!!!! Thankfully I have lots of fruits and veggies to eat!!

More Pics

More Thailand Pics! :)

pics from thailand

Here are some pics from my trip to Thailand. Enjoy!

FALLING

i almost died today!! well, actually i was very safe but felt like i was going to die!!! trina asked me if i wanted to bungee jump with her (no one else was crazy enough to) so i said ok. we went today and it was the scariest thing EVER!!!!!!! she was laughing as we're falling and i was screaming! we jumped in tandem and i had a death grip on her! needless to say, i will not do that again! after that we went off roading in some dune buggy thing. that was fun, a little scary, but fun! i think i may have lost some of my sense of adventure......is it because i'm getting older?
we had a nice time on trina's 24 hours off. we left yesterday afternoon, checked in at the resort and then went to for mexican food (not very authentic, but mexican none the less). afterwards we went to night bazaar and then got massages again! :) it was SO nice not to have kids screaming around you all the time and actually sleeping until 9:30 am, not 6 am!
yesterday morning we took the kids to the elephant camp and monkey school. it was pretty cool. the elephants did a show for us and then we went for a ride. took some fun pics!
well, i better sign off for now. can't believe my time here in thailand is almost done! wow, it went fast!!! i'll post more pics later.

Thailand

Well, I'm finally adjusted to the time (I think). Last night Trina and I went to Night Bazaar and got a 2 hour massage for $18. Was wonderful!!! :) We definitely slept very well last night! :) This morning we took the kids to the pool. On the way we stopped at the open air market and got some sticky rice and pork kabobs for lunch. They were yummy! I saw some fried bugs they were selling. Disgusting!!! The pool was a little cold, but we soon got use to it. Unfortunately the sun hasn't appeared yet! Trina said they're burning fields so it is very hazy! Definitely nice and warm though! We're sleeping with the air con at night! When the kids get up we're going to the mall. It'll be interesting to see a Thai mall! :) In the morning we're planning to go to the elephant camp. Hopefully I can ride one! :) Tomorrow afternoon starts Trina's 24 hours off. We're going to a resort for the nite. Should be fun! I think we'll check out the Night Bazaar again and actually do some shopping this time! :) Okay...I'll post more another day! Enjoy winter! :) LOL!

thailand

made it safely thank God!!! i sit here typing one handed with a sleeping preemie who has cleft lip & palate. he also seems to have some reflux issues, poor little guy! he's only 2.8 kg & can't have the lip repaired until he's at least 5 kg & his palate after 1 yr. it sounds like the "gang's" dutch blitz is winding to a close.....means i can hit the sack soon! :) ttyl!

Midterm

I HAD to take a break from studying!!! My poor hand was cramping and my neck and shoulders hurt so much from the intensity of studying for my midterm. There is light at the end of the tunnel....only 73 days until graduation, 64 days until finals and 5 days until I leave for Thailand to see my sis & her kids!!! I can't wait! :) Thank God for spring break!!! :)
Back to the studying.......

More Pics of Aussie

Here are some misc pics from our Australia trip.....enjoy! :)

Australian Botanical Garden

Here are some pics from the Botanical Gardens in Cairns, Australia.

Australia

We had a wonderful time in Australia! We arrived home on the 13th. I'll try to post some pics, not sure how many though.

Australian Sunshine & Back Pain

Hi all!
This trip is DEFINITELY NOT going to plans for poor Chris. He is still in so much pain with his back. He's been to a several different chiropractors and massage therapists to no avail. He finally went to the 24 hour urgent care center and the doc gave him Australian equivalent of Ultram. Unfortunately that doesn't cut the pain either. He was able to fish yesterday though. (I went along in case he hurt himself worse). He caught 4 wahoo & a mahi mahi. I caught a wahoo, but spent most of my time feeling sea sick on the "couch."
Our first full day here I found out the hard way that the Australian sun is VICIOUS!!! I had my tanning/suncreen stuff I sprayed on a few times. I was out in the sun for about 2 hours and got such a BAD sunburn. The next morning my right eye was almost completely swollen shut!! I'm finally starting to peel, so now I look like a different monster....not just all swollen & RED, but peeling and red! I've been putting aloe on diligently....hopefully I'll be better before the trip to the US. I can't stand to sit in one place that long in this condition!
All in all, Australia is beautiful & the people are really friendly. (They think WE have the accent! he he he!!) Right now we are in Brisbane and it is raining. Chris is out on the boat. I stayed at the hotel and will go to the mall soon. Tomorrow I want to go to this Koala Zoo while Chris is on the boat. Looks pretty cool.
Hope everyone is having a great New Year!!!
Later....

Australia At Last!!

Wow! What a trip!!! It started off on the wrong foot with Chris throwing his back out minutes before we had to leave for the airport. After madly scrambling through the phone book to find a chiropractor (ours was out of town) we finally found one and got him in. Thankfully we made it to the airport in time. We had a 7 hour layover in San Francisco so did some sightseeing. Then began our 14 hour flight to Sydney. Boy, were our legs swollen & sore. Gotta remember to walk around more on the flight home!!! We made it to Sydney without problems & then after a little confusion got on our flight to Cairns! But, unfortunately, they lost my suitcase with all of my clothes!!! So, got to buy a new outfit! :) We're comfortably settled in our hotel now. Chris is getting a massage & will go to the chiropractor today. Hopefully it'll all be better by then!!

Martin Christmas

Saturday we had our Martin Christmas get together. It was a fun time! Definitely missed Trina, but we all got to talk to her on the phone. Here are some pics from the day....