Happy Thanksgiving! Arizona, Round 2

At 8:34 this morning, I sit in my bed having already enjoyed 8 and a half hours of this Thanksgiving. Here's an early morning perspective. 

I cleaned something very stinky out of someone.

I gave pain medication all night long to a guy addicted to Oxycontin.

I watched an 89-year old sweetheart sleep her heart out. 

I got told at 7:30 this morning by a lady that she "would never forget me" because I was so sweet and wrote down her insulin dosage for her. And she was the first to wish me "Happy Thanksgiving!" as we slowly walked with her walker to the bathroom.

I was told Happy Thanksgiving for the second time to a lady with bad back pain and no legs who I woke up this morning with the news that her IV had gone bad and I had to give her another one.

So today, I'm actually very grateful. I'm grateful to be sitting in this bed. I'm grateful that I've had 5 car accidents and I have no scars. I'm grateful for Neosporin and Band-aids to heal up my arms from the air bags.

I'm grateful that I have a family to go see in 2 days. 

I'm grateful that Bridget is so thoughtful to bring me food home from the Matheson's today. 

I'm grateful that I live with a brother who writes me thank-you notes when he notices that I've been picking up a little bit of slack lately. 

I'm grateful for John buying me the 7-layer bean dip for my work potluck last night. 

I'm grateful that Ariana could loan me her zippy 1989 Wagovan at the spur of the moment to get to work on Tuesday.

I'm grateful for the economic bubble that I work in and that in a year that's really rough for so many people, I'm working mad overtime with holiday pay. And I'm so so grateful for that. 

I'm also grateful that the Tundra we are renting did not drive over that maroon Taurus I couldn't see because she was so short. 

I'm grateful for all my faithful blog readers that make my life seem just that much more exciting. 

Love you guys. Love this country. Love this day. 

Six Quirks

Ashley McGavin tagged me for this, and it's taken me forever to come up with them!! Not that I'm not quirky for sure, just that pinpointing them is difficult. So here's a few. Feel free to add your own :o)

• I have an amazingly crappy sense of direction. And yet I moved to Phoenix without a map. I always manage to make it, but I'm glad gas was cheap when I moved here because I drove for hours and hours that were completely unnecessary. I think I've seen the entire Valley because of this. I have however, learned N, S, E, and W since moving here. This will not apply in any other city. I did great along the Pacific Coast Highway. Because I knew the ocean was on the West and I could usually see it. :o)
• Along the same vein, I have no idea where most countries are. For awhile I subscribed to The Week, which gave the world news along with a map and arrows to the applicable country. This was genius, in my opinion. I thought Massachusetts was west of New York and as big as Pennsylvania until after I booked my trip there. I always think Colorado is one state West (or maybe south?), which throws off my brain to every state surrounding it. I bought a kids' US puzzle 3 months ago to try to remedy this situation. I can spell United Arab Emirates, where Dubai is, but even though we looked it up 3 days ago, I probably couldn't pinpoint it again. 
• Speaking of spelling, I'm a little neurotic about it. Phone calls from family members in the middle of the day to ask how to spell a word are par for the course. I routinely tell store employees when their manager has posted a sign with a misspelled word. And proofreading is one of my very favorite pastimes. 
• Speaking of magazine subscriptions, I've had a few in my life. Jessica and I at one point had 13 between us. Which ones, you ask? Here we go: The Week, The Ensign, Real Simple, Glamour, People, Outside, Fitness, Women's Health, SELF, Oprah...ok, I don't remember the rest. It was a little crazy. I still get 5 of those. And getting Glamour is still usually the highlight of the month. 
• Wounds. Ok, I'm a nurse, which we all know. And I am fascinated by bodies. I could study faces for hours, and I love how bodies work (or don't). Nothing really doesn't fascinate me about them, at least on some minor level. This applies to all things infected and oozy as well. Leaving my band-aids on from this car accident has been excruciating. I went through 5 "adhesive pads" in 2 days because I kept pulling them off to see how the healing process was coming along. I had to leave the same one on all yesterday because it was Sunday and it was the last one. Ahh!! One of my favorite parts of my job is changing dressings on wounds and, well, I'll save you the details. Suffice it to say, I think it's way cool. 
• On the other end of the spectrum, I love expensive, trendy, and unique hotels. Nothing is more of a buzzkill for me than (for example Dad) staying at a Motel 6 in Los Angeles. Hello!! I need to experience the feel of the city. I already love my bed at home, I might as well love the one I'm borrowing for a night or two. I love turquoise velvet pillows and the thought that I'm staying on Italian linens. The $100 more I no doubt spend for this experience is completely worth it to me every time. I'll eat peanut butter and jelly in my room for lunch, just let me stay someplace fun. But don't get me started on restaurants for dinner.... :o)
• Oh, and bonus quirk, sometimes I laugh so loud I scare myself.

I tag Jessica, Emily Udy, Camille, Travis, and Ashley Minkalis.

And Then There Was One....

Now my little Bel Air is all by its self. Just a month ago, we had Brad's ghetto Toyota Camry, my Altima, the Cadillac, and the Bel Air. The Camry is getting fixed. Candice and Adam have the Altima. Oh, and the Cadillac, you ask. Where is the Cadillac? Well, now it's been towed by All-state towing.
I wrecked the Cadillac tonight. Less than a mile from home. A white Altima turned in front of me, I slammed on the brakes, and plowed right in. Thank goodness there wasn't a passenger.
The airbags exploded and scraped up my arms pretty bad. But luckily that was all. I did find out from the paramedics that my normally 106/68 blood pressure goes up to 141/93 under pressure. Even though, if you know our family well enough, this is not exactly my first rodeo. (This makes exactly 5 accidents where the police have been called to the scene. For me alone.)
Anyways, here's a few pictures of the cars, my wounds (didn't I just heal up my arms?!), and my artwork on the accident report.
Just another memorable blog entry. Thank goodness.

And Then There Was One....

Tribute to the Little Red Purse- A Diligent Companion Through the Years. (Don't Miss the Music...)

Music for the Slideshow

Replacing Perfect...

On Saturday night, the crew all went to Dave & Busters (like a grown up place with little games and tickets and prizes and a restaurant and bar). For those of you from Texas, it's adult Mr. Gatti's. The point of this being, I set my purse down on the floor for 5 or 10 minutes and it got stolen. I'm still in a bit of shock, but it apparently happens "a lot" there, from the people I talked to. Which is ridiculous. Post a sign! Warn people! Get security tapes! People shouldn't have unlimited access to other people's purses. Grrr!!
The Denial that I will never get this back has almost worn off. The most perfect little red Kenneth Cole purse that after 4 years people still commented on. The cheap little best Nokia cell phone in the whole world. Gone. 6 years of random contacts and phone numbers of people I'll never talk to again. My guy wallet that I loved. That probably wasn't perfect but I loved anyways.
I spent 4 hours yesterday finding a purse that was close to as perfect as my Kenneth Cole. And I do hope the person who stole it gets a nice wallop to the nose in the afterlife.
I'm getting a new sweet Nokia today. I have a new drivers' license with a cuter picture than before. In three days I'll have my debit card back.
Life will return to normal.
It's just hard replacing perfect.

Phoenix Ranch Market

Last night I was going through the random junk mail and coupons that so quickly accumulate in our home when I stumbled upon this announcement.

Phoenix Ranch Market Grand Opening. Prize to first 1000 customers Wed-Sunday. 6am-11am. 

Now, I had only recently found out what Phoenix Ranch Market was. It's a Mexican Grocery Store. A HUGE one. With buckets of lard, all signs in Spanish, and produce from Mexico proudly displayed. This place is truly a marvel. Especially if you speak Spanish. Which Brad does. And his friend Vanessa, who originally introduced Brad to this place. 

Well, they opened another location. And this morning, Brad and I woke up after 2 whole hours of sleep, picked up Vanessa and drove to PRM. For our prize. We were so excited wondering what exactly they give someone when not describing a prize. 

Chiclets?

Tortillas?

A churro?

A spinning plastic top?

We were cracking ourselves up wondering what treasure we woke up for this morning. We bought fruit drinks and donuts and pan (bread) and avocados for 25 cents and paper towels for 33 cents. And then we went outside for our prizes.

I got a canvas bag. Brad chose the hat. And Vanessa got Rancho, the mascot of PRM, a bull. Such an exciting morning.

Next on the agenda was IKEA for our free breakfast with THAT coupon, but apparently they don't open until 9. And we arrived at 7:30. So instead we went home and went to bed. We'll do IKEA another day. :o)

I've become an Insomniac

I may have actually thrown my body off enough to not sleep. I've slept for maybe 3 hours today, and my body won't nap! I need to play tonight! I need to work out today! And I'm tired! I just can't sleep!

Forced Into Silence

In 1st grade, I was shy. I couldn't speak up, and my handwriting was so tiny no one could read it, a small sign of my child-like insecurity.

At Some Point This Wore Off. 
Today I woke up and was forced into silence. Something had taken over my vocal cords, rendering my generally loud and clear voice a pathetic and tiny whisper. This has proven to be completely paralyzing. 

And completely hilarious to everyone else. 

I made it through church, making no comments whatsoever. I had considered bearing my testimony. But could not. Brad refused to make the comments I whispered to him during Sunday School, completely altering my church experience. And making me a better listener, I'm sure. 

The volume in our home has dropped drastically, even with company. Apparently when one person who talks a lot whispers, a universally reverent tone becomes the standard. 

And people expect me to talk. Our neighbor came over to give us some extra cantaloupe. And nobody got up. They just waited for me to do it. Even though I didn't answer the door and I didn't have a voice!! Eventually I got up and whispered to our neighbor. I guess I've set some kind of pattern that's hard to break. 

While making cookies in the kitchen while Brad and friends talked in the living room, I occasionally couldn't help it and made a little comment. Only to be greeted with, "What? What is that noise? Is Christin talking? Somebody go in there and see what she said." 

Brad finally said, "Christin, just clap when you're getting ready to talk so we can be listening." 

Ok.

So sad. 

I'm not used to people saying "What?" Ever. 

And that's all I've heard the past 24 hours. I feel like I'm fading already. 

A Sinful Bagel & A Visit to the Witches

We only had a few hours together on Monday, so we maximized it. First, we woke up early and went to Panera Bread for a Caramelized Cinnamon Bagel with Hazelnut Cream Cheese. Yep, they take cinnamon & sugar and make it caramel-y and spread it all over this bagel. And we all know how I feel about hazelnuts. I also bought 2 cookies for the plane because I love these cookies (Ok. So I had only had one before. In California. On my way to the triathlon. Very very delicious.).
Next. To the Witch Museum.
"Witch" was totally cheesy and VERY dramatic about Satan taking over people's souls. But I sure know about the witch trials better than I did. Apparently Tessa does not scare easily. I think my niece's eyes would have popped out of her head. And then she would have asked A LOT of questions. About why they were so mean to the old lady and put her in jail. Yep. I got Brad a cool witch shot glass (he collects them) and John a happy face lollipop from there that I think should have been free but they charged me a quarter.


Off to the warmth....
Thanks, em. It was such a great trip and we had so so much fun. :o)

Sunday

We went to church. I played in Nursery. The ride was gorgeous. We went to the shore at Marblehead. And, shockingly, it was breathtaking.

November 1st Time to Explore Downtown Boston

Tessa is a trooper. What other toddler can spend 9 hours exploring downtown and just nap in her stroller and be happy all day long?!
Today we went to Boston. We took the T train in and just walked around. We explored the Italian North End, which was so absolutely picturesque I could have died. The doors, the window boxes, the brick buildings, the tailoring shops, the utter poetic-ness of the whole area.
We ate lunch at a delicious Seafood place. Emily and Aaron had pasta, but I couldn't resist. I was near Boston Harbor. I was having LOBSTER!! For $18 (I was shocked) I had 1/2 a beautiful lobster, the best mussels of my life, and delicious clams. Just as I finished, a guy walked in with a cardboard box full of more lobsters! Talk about fresh!

And then the sailors walked by. I couldn't get out of the restaurant fast enough to get my picture taken with them. I could have even kissed one and crossed "Kiss a Stranger" off my list. They were in blue and white and they were so so cute. We tried later to hunt them down, but we couldn't. This will be my one regret in Boston. So sad.

Next, to Mike's Pastry. Where I decided I love Bostonians. I took a picture of the crowd that was there, and two of the guys about our age said, "Hey, we just got paparazzied!" So I introduced myself and we talked for awhile and they were just so cool. We got chocolate mousse cannolas (that's plural cannoli) that were to die for. Even Tessa loved them!

We then went to the USS Constitution (in hunt of sailors), but did not find them. Instead, I got my picture taken with a very friendly tour guide with a very thick Boston accent. So Cute!!

We saw the church where Paul Revere lit the laterns as a warning. Apparently you had to buy a pew in this church and you had a little pew box for your family. I had to take a picture. 

We also walked around Boston Common (Boston's central park. Much smaller. Quite beautiful.) And down Newberry street, home of Chanel, Ralph Lauren, and Valentino. 

Good Times. Go Boston. 

(Oh, and I got some actual Boston Red Socks here. Fun Fun.)

This is us at Hay Market. Where all the Fruits & Veggies that don't sell during the week come. 50 cent asparagus!! Whoo-hoo!!

Concord and Halloween

Oh, this was an awesome day.
First, off to Concord. Or "Concawd" if you're from Boston. This is where "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" was fired. We sat through a cool little movie at the visitors' center with a clock that moved to what time stuff happened and little colored LED lights on a map that showed where all the troops came from. It was pretty sweet. We walked to the bridge where the shots were first fired, which had a definite feeling of history radiating from it all.

Then we stopped at Downtown Concord, which was quaint and beautiful. We ate at the Main St. Cafe, where we had huge sandwiches (or half now, half for dinner) and I had New England Clam Chowder.
Which was delicious. Almost as delicious as the cornbread that came with it (oh my GOSH!). I wanted to try everything there; everything looked so delicious. One of my favorite parts of Boston was my constant internal chuckling that came with the accent. We sat next to 3 local ladies having the best conversation, and I could have listened to them talk all day.

Oh, but there was more.
The CHEESE SHOP, making cheese since 1860. This guy was so cool. Ariana is in a food class where she was told that she hadn't lived until she'd had Parmegiano Reggiano with crystals. Ok. So I went in. I asked if they had Parmegiano Reggiano with crystals. He did. Not only that, he broke a piece of, gave me a little taster of Balsalmic vinegar with it, and said, "Now this is how you want to have your fun." I wish that everybody realized my motivations so quickly. All I was in Boston to do was to "have my fun." Not to be enlightened, not to impress anyone, not to check it off my 101 things list (ok, maybe that was part of it), but really, my rationale for lots of things is to have the most fun possible, and I could have kissed this guy for realizing that the cheese shop stop was all about having fun. 

The cheese was delicious. He sliced me a bit for Ariana. He didn't want my debit card for a slice of cheese, and knowing full well I wouldn't be back from AZ for quite likely a few years, he gave it to me, telling me to come back next visit. Oh, Guy at Cheese Shop, I will. 

Next Stop. Walden Pond. Who knew it was so close? Thankfully, the little map at Concord. Walden Pond is one of those things that I knew was somewhere in New England and planned to see at some point, but I really had no idea where it actually was. It was about this time that Tessa tuckered out, so em stayed in the car and gave me about 15 minutes to go exploring alone.

I walked through the water near the shore, I (quickly) contemplated my existence and how I got lucky enough to be where I was right then, I collected leaves, I walked a path, I met a couple from Florida. I talked to a triathlete. Eight of them had their wetsuits and were training in Walden Pond. (How's that for motivation!?) Then I went to the bookstore and got shamelessly hit on by the bookstore guy who was cute enough and got a free honey stick and my first Thoreau book "Lessons for a Spiritual Seeker," which came highly recommended from the history-degreed-Thoreau-playing bookstore worker. Thanks Robert.

Then we bought Goldilocks some socks and headed back.Time for Trick or Treating. Oh, this was so fun. It was so fun using my sister's curling iron and discovering ringlets again. It was so fun watching the Bear Family getting dressed up with their fuzzy pants, cute ears, and little noses. It was even more fun walking down Chestnut Street to go trick-or-treating to 200 year old houses on brick sidewalks. To the friendliest people and exciting wine parties passing out candy and very excited to be a part of the coolest trick-or-treating street ever. Because. Hello. This is Salem. This is Halloween. This is History folks. Every single year. Tessa was darling. There was no saying trick-or-treat, but she figured out how to choose a piece of candy real quick. We had a blast.

And dad, I made my dress. Brad sewed in the zipper for me. He also took out 10 inches of the skirt material when we found out we didn't have enough ribbon to go all the way around the bottom and he helped me do the darts. I did cheat in some places. I didn't line the top. I'm still not quite sure what interfacing is. All I know is that I didn't buy any. I should have basted more before sewing so the little gold trim looked way better. The apron was nixed. The gold trim on the bottom was nixed. I still did it. And I still totally loved it. :o)

Then em and I walked the streets of Salem. Like 75,000 other people did! It was way less slutty than Scottsdale Halloween (maybe it's the cold?) and very creative. We didn't bring our dollars, so we didn't do haunted houses or hang at the bars, but I was already getting tired (At 10!), and all of our feet were (em switched me for slippers mid-way through). But I loved the fact that we were in Salem for Halloween. I'm quite certain there's no cooler place I could've been (even if I missed the nudist, the gangster, the 70's rock star, Jackie-O, and Jem the Rock Star). 

Boston Begins, October 30th, Thursday

So I can't sleep right now. Trust me, I want to, but I can't. Oh well. TIME TO BLOG!!

Thursday I flew to Boston. On 1 hour of sleep. I sewed. I packed. And then I didn't sleep. Oh well. The flight was great, and I arrived at about 5:30. It was so fun to see Em and Tessa (for the first time!). She is so cute and so chill. I love that little girl!
The drive home, I was completely in awe. With all her visitors, I couldn't help thinking in Emily's mind was going, "Yep, the leaves. The leaves are great. So beautiful. Yep, those houses are amazing. Still amazing. Every day amazing. If I hear about these leaves one more time...." , but she lovingly tolerated my gushing all week long. Maybe it's the brownness of Arizona that makes you appreciate any color in the landscape, but I was totally in love all the way home. So gorgeous.
Then we went GROCERY SHOPPING! Which was awesome because Emily said, "The thing I love is that I know you will be UP for grocery shopping," which was totally true. I love grocery shopping in general, and it's just that much more fun with friends.
During this grocery shopping trip, Em helped me discover Whoopie Pies.

Whoopie Pies are a New England specialty. Two delicious pieces of cake stuck together with cream. Oh, so healthy. Oh, so delicious. But I learned maybe a 1/2 a whoopie pie each day is easier on the stomach than a whole one! Wow.
I went to sleep early. Crazy early. So here, you know I work nights and almost always sleep from 3am to noon. There I slept from about 9pm to 5:30am every day. Which, in my time zone, is 6pm to 2:30 am, which makes it all the crazier. But my body switched back as soon as I got home. Thank goodness! I worked the next night. Moving on...

it only gets better.
This was my view every morning waking up of the Salem Sunrise.

:o)

Oh, and since I have Seven comments on the temporary posting, I can't delete it. I'm paralyzed from that motion. It stays. 

Temporary Posting

I'm going to delete this post in 3 days. It's only here so that you will know that:

I just spent an amazing 5 days in Boston. It was awesome and I loved every minute of it and to do it justice requires some time.
So does re-setting my time clock from days in New England to nights in Phoenix. And I work for the next three nights. I'm posting one picture, then I'm taking a nap and hoping I make it through the night. Posting of the trip on Friday!

cc

Who Is This John?

Ok, so I realized a few days ago that the reason my last post was not being commented on was because friends were using every other type of communication media to contact me regarding John. Apparently it has not escaped anyone's attention that he is pretty much a part of every blog post. So even though I am still in Massachusetts and in a minute will be at the Salem Witch Museum, I'll do a quick little explanation.
John has quickly become one of my very best friends. No, we are not dating. We don't think we would be great that way long-term. But, yes, I think he is darling. And yes, when I do something fun around here, there's a very good chance it will include him. And yes, I know it seems crazy, but in truth, as insane as it might sound, he actually brings quite a bit of sanity to my life.
And that is who John is. :o)