yeah for lazy Sundays

Well, this week has been quite eventful and productive. the biggest news is that Michael and I found out we are both medically cleared to join the Peace Corps. Now, we just wait for our invitation which will tell us when and where we are going to serve. It is a great weight lifted off our shoulders. It is so exciting. This means we are definitely going to serve in the Peace Corps, we just don't know where or when yet. YEAH for that!!!

This week at work was very tough. There were a few days in there that were very emotionally draining. One baby was very very sick on Wednesday and I spent several hours with the mom and dad providing support. it was a very draining day. also, the NICU translator (who is the best most amazing sweetest woman I know) went to the hospital with chest pains this week. She is ok now, but it was tough for a few days there. That was also very tough emotionally. Anyway, I made it through and i am to my full emotional level today. :)

Yesterday, Michael and I went to my parents house to celebrate an early Easter. It was so much fun. We only planned on staying for a little while and we actually stayed the whole day. We got there around 11 am and stayed till a bit after midnight. It was wonderful. We colored eggs and ate great food. I did some shoe shopping with my mom and sister, while michael and the men stayed home and watched tv. Then, in the evening, I wanted to get some more shopping done since my mom and May (a good friend of the family) were both there. So, the men went to the movies and we hit the mall. Overall, it was an excellent shopping day, thanks to my mom and May. I was able to find my wedding shoe (which is totally beautiful), a wedding slipper just in case the shoes become too uncomfortable, three other pairs of shoes to go with all the amazing clothes we found at Macy's. I feel like I have a whole new wardrobe and it was all so reasonably priced. They were having an amazing sale. :) I have outfits for the rehearsal dinner, for the shower, for my sister's graduation party, my sister's graduation, and for many other events that haven't even been put in the books yet. i hate shopping, but it was such a fun time shopping with my mom and May. It made it so much easier. It is like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders because i was really dreading shopping for all that stuff. Oh yeah, i also was able to find the undergarment i needed to go with my dress. That was also a big concern. Anyway, overall it was a wonderful day. After the shopping and the movie, we all played some texas hold em. I won $1. YEAH!! Anyway, it was a great day full of family fun and good times.

Well, today has been a lazy day, which is something i really needed. I woke up late and have just been taking care of things around the house, replying to emails and i am going to hit the grocery store pretty soon. peace out.

Great News!!!

I know this post is unusual since it is not Sunday, but this was such good news, I wanted everyone to know. Michael and I are getting married...Oh wait, you guys already know that. :) Here it goes...Michael and I have both been medically cleared for Peace Corps service. Now, we just wait to reiceve our invitiation which states when and where we are going to serve. Yeah!!! I believe this deserves a celebration, so Pirahna, here we come. :)

Since I promised, here I am

Well, this week has been a busy one as usual. Monday night, we hung out in the hot tub, eating spiced meats (for those of you who know Will Ferrell, you will understand the spiced meats :) with Michael's cousin, Gabe and his fiance and some of her friends. It was a fun time. we even took the hookah down to the hot tub. Good times.

Thursday, we celebrated St. Patty's Day at the Fox and Hound with some of Michael's coworkers. It was also a very fun time. I had to turn in early in order to make it to work on friday, but it was nice to meet some of Michael's co workers.

Saturday, we headed up to my parent's house to celebrate Michael and my mom's birthdays since they are both in March. We ate a fancy smancy steak at the III Forks. I didnt eat steak, but my dinner was also delicious. It was fun times. Then, we headed back to my parents house to finish up the evening with some Texas Hold Em. It was so much fun even though we lost almost all of our money. :)

Today, i tried to do some wedding shopping for shoes and stuff, but i had no luck. I think out of all the wedding stuff, the toughest part for me is going to be all the shopping for clothes and accessories. Anyway, i am sure i will make it through. well, i am off to bed to start another week. see you all later.

Back for week #2

What a weekend it has been? Full of fun times with good company. Well, Michael and I both took Friday off of work to celebrate Michael's birthday. We did some shopping in the morning and ate lunch at La Madelene's and enjoyed each other's company. We began the major celebrations with dinner at First Chinese BBQ with some good friends and then finished up with a party at the apartment. We talked, drank, played some Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and poker and just had a jolly good time. We also hooked up the hookahs with some new shisha we bought that was quite delicious. We even sang happy birthday and had Michael blow out some candles. Our good friend, Miriam, was in town from Albuquerque and it was so good to see her. I really hate how all of the good friends I have made over the years seem to be scattered all over. I miss you all very much.

Saturday, Michael and I had another day off together. Imagine that two days off in a row. That never happens for us. Anyway, we went to the Dallas Aboretum and it was a beautiful day to be there. The spring flowers are blooming and it was wonderful to see. We ate at Fadi's and then went to catch the Merchant of Venice at the Anglika. dinner was great, the movie was ok. overall, it was a fabulous weekend. I am so glad that Michael had so much fun at his birthday party. I believe birthdays should be full of fun and good times with friends and family.

Well, the wedding planning is still coming along. I am definitely feelings overwhelmed with stuff to do right now, but i am sure it will all get done. we are trying to figure out where we want to go for a honeymoon. We want to rent a log cabin somewhere in the moutains and do some hiking and rafting and outdoorsy stuff like that. we are leaning towards a few places in the Arkansas Ozark Mountains that look very beautiful. I will keep you all posted and if you have any ideas of beautiful places, please let me know. :)

Still havent heard back from the Peace Corps. I have heard back that they want me to get a baby molar i still have pulled and replaced before we can leave. It seems that to get a tooth implant, it costs several thousands of dollars and most insurance companies dont cover that yet. Anyway, i am going to look into a few options on monday and i will let you all know what i find out.

Well, I am off to finish up my weekend with a workout and some grocery shopping. See you in a week.

First week back :)

As promised, here I am. Well, this past week has been as crazy as usual. Work has been going well, the days and weeks at work seem to be flying by. I have met and worked with a lot of interesting families since I started working at Parkland Hospital. This past week, I lead a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Parent Support group for the parents of the babies in the NICU. It was amazing. It went so well. There were veteran moms there whose babies had been in the NICU for 3-6 months and there were also very new moms whose babies had just come to the NICU about a week ago. The new moms were so sad and were crying and were asking for advice on how to make it through this tough time. I gave them some support, but since I am not a mom and my baby is not in the NICU, it is not the best support they can get. Fortunately, the veteran moms started giving support to the new moms. It was amazing to see. Anyway, it was a good Friday at work because a few of my veteran moms were getting to go home with their babies. It was a good feeling to see that. Also, in the support group, a few of the veteran moms thanked me for all my support. That was also a good feeling since this job can be very thankless at times.

Life outside of work is also going very well. The wedding planning is coming along great. All the vendors such as DJ, cake baker, florist, photographer, have all been picked out and contracts have been signed for the big day. The invitations are all done. My mom has so very kindly addressed all the envelopes and all we have left to do is stuff, stamp, and seal them. Michael and I have met with Dr. Cobb, the officiant and one of our old professors at UTA. We are currently working on how we want the ceremony to go and what we want Dr. Cobb to say. We have also spoken with Rabih, the manager at the Fadi's in Frisco, and we have the date set for the rehearsal dinner. He is going to close the whole restaurant and just have it for us. It is going to be quite a fun evening. So, there is still a LOT left to do for the wedding, but most of the major things have been taken care of. My mom has been a life saver when it comes to help with the planning.

I am taking my first official Paid Time Off (PTO) day at work this week. I am taking Friday off to celebrate Michael's birthday. I am so excited. Miriam is coming into town and Marla is going to join us to party it down. I can't wait, it is going to be a blast.

Friday night, Michael and I checked out this new sushi place, Lava Asian Grill, that one of Michael's coworkers recommended. It was very delicious. I think I still like Pirhana more, but this place wasn't bad at all. Then, we headed up to the Inwood theatre and had a few drinks at their bar and then caught The Shining at the midnight showing. It was as scary as the first time I saw it. Jack Nicholson can be a very crazy, scary looking man. It was all good times.

Yesterday, Michael and I did a bunch of shopping. We went to Custom Jewelers because we are custom making my wedding band to match my engagement ring. Did any of you ever think you would hear words like that come out of my mouth? "custom made wedding band to match my custom made engagement ring" Crazy stuff, I tell you. :) We did some looking at wedding bands last weekend and it is actually cheaper to custom make it. How crazy is that? Anyway, we are still looking to see what ring Michael wants. We are thinking a ring made of Tungsten would be great since it is the most scratch resistant metal they have. And with Michael being a nurse and all, he needs a scratch resistant ring. :) We also went to REI and I bought a pair of much needed running shoes. My running shoes are so freakin old I cant even remember what year I bought them. :) Then, we hit Target for a couple of items I needed. Then, we went up to Plano to hang out with my cousins from Houston, they are in town for their spring break. It was a great time. We all went to eat at Fadi's and then went back home and played cards all night. It was a lot of fun to spend some time with family. My family and Michael are really getting along well and that is a great thing. They really love him so much. Anyway, it has been good times all around lately. Well, today, I am going to work out, work on the ceremony some more, run some errands, and head up to Plano to hang out with my cousins some more. Anyway, hope you are all well and I will talk to you in a week. :)

Oh yeah, one more thing. The peace corps process is still in the works. Michael and I have both sent in our medical packets, so now we are just waiting to hear back from them. Michael is also taking an accelerated French class this semester because you have to have either 2 semesters of French or Arabic to go to Morocco and that is where we are hoping to go now. They have told us there is a couples placement in Morocco in September of this year. We are both really interested in that placement, so please keep your fingers crosses for us. :)

I'm Back!!!

Ok, so hear's the deal. My goal (so as not to be overzealous) is to write a blog every Sunday with updates of my week. I am really going to set my mind to this, so hopefully i can really do this. Things have been way crazy busy with applying for the Peace Corps and planning this wedding, but that is not excuse for my lack of blogging. Well, I'll be back on Sunday. Wish me luck.