Christmas 2008

We celebrated Christmas early this year. Bobby and Maribel were going to be with her family in Sedona, and Christina was invited to join Rory's family in El Paso, and since I was scheduled to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, we decided on an early Christmas celebration on the 20th. We invited family and friends, and had a successful party. There was lots of food, and lots to drink! We had a great time!

We had our annual department Christmas party at Holy Cross Hospital. Here I am with our tech Anna, Dr. Duran, and Terry. We were setting up one of the birthing rooms for our potluck. As always, we had tons of food, and left here feeling stuffed. But can't complain, all the food was pretty tasty.

Sedona

Although we didn't stumble into a vortex (maybe next time) we did see some beautiful landscapes. Here is a view of the Chapel of the Holy Cross from a distance.

Trip to Prescott

Bob and I took a short vacation to the Prescott, Sedona area in northern Arizona. We met with Bob's cousin Ceci, who lives in Prescott and attended the Christmas parade on Saturday Morning, and later the lighting of the Courthouse in the evening. It was a nice, different way to begin the Christmas season. The next day we drove to Jerome and took a train ride through the Verde Canyon. We spent the night in a hotel that was way over 100 years old, pretty creepy, but thankfully, no ghosts were present. The next morning we drove to Sedona, which I had driven through in the past, on our way back from Flagstaff or the Grand Canyon in past years. However, on this trip, I got to see more, and I was blown away at how beautiful it is. We're going to have to plan another trip to spend more time there sometime!

Thanksgiving 2008

We spent Thanksgiving in Tucson this year with Bobby and Maribel. We spent the afternoon at Marisols house where Bobby deep fried a Turkey, that turned out delicious. Maribel's Mom and sisters made the side dishes, and we took the deserts. Actually Anna made all the deserts, and they were all so good! This is the first Thankgiving where I have not lifted a finger in the kitchen. For that, I am very thankful!

Road trip with Olga

After getting off the night shift, Olga and took off for our road trip to San Jose and Santa Cruz. I was tired from the night before, but I managed to drive us to San Jose, where we visited the Winchester Mystery House. This was interesting, not one of my choices of places to go to before I die, but interesting never the less. From there we drove to Santa Cruz, but by the time we got there, I only had enough energy to find a hotel and crash! I slept until about 9:00, showered, then we drove to the boardwalk to see if we could see anything interesting, but by then it was closed for the day, so we went back to the hotel and had dinner. The next day we went to the boardwalk and walked around the beach area and pier where we had a nice breakfast. The rides on the boardwalk opened at 1:00, and we had a ball riding on the different rides. We turned 12 again that day!

Wendy's Trailer Trash Party

Wendy, my fellow travel nurse, recently purchased an RV for her new adventure in Travel Nursing. She found a trailer park across the street from the hospital, where it makes it easier for her to come to and from work. We've all teased her about how she as now joined the ranks of white trailer trash, so in her honor, we had a trailer trash theme party at work. The menu consisted of all the trailer trash delicacies of pigs in a blanket, pork rinds, kool-aid, twinkies, and other junk food snacks, needless to say, we all had belly aches by the end of the shift!
We helped her dress the part with brief underware halter top, flashy hat and glasses, and tramp stamp tattoo! We had a good time, and laughed alot.

Back to California, with Olga

My dad was still in the hosptal when I came back to California, but his is so much better! He will be staying for a couple more days, because he is still a little weak, but he is definitly feeling much better.
I was able to get a flight back with Olga, who had already made reservations to come see me. Unfortunately since I had to switch a few days to the end of the week, she had to be on her own while I slept for the first couple of days. She made a trip to Old Sacramento by herself, I was impressed!

My Dad's taken to the hospital!

Bobby, Maribel, and I had spent the morning on Alcatraz Island, when we got back to Fisherman's Wharf, we got a call from Anna telling us that my Dad had passed out and was taken to the hospital. After a few more phone calls, we learned that he may not make it, and we needed to wait and see what would happen. Our trip back to Roseville was in silence, because we were all in shock. I kept thinking in my head that I had to go home, but needed to see if I could make necessary arrangements. As soon as we arrived at the apartment in Roseville, I made a call to work to see if I could move some days around, so that I could go home, but still be able to keep my obligation at work. I was very fortunate that they understood, and allowed me to take a few days off. (I love this place)
I was able to catch a flight on the same plane Bobby and Maribel were going home in. Bob picked us up at the airport, and we went straight to the hosptal. My Dad was in the ICU, and looked like he had been in a train wreck, but the prognosis was good. He had a pacemaker placed due to an irregular heart rhythm. Thank God he was going to be OK.

We did San Francisco

We took a tour of San Francisco today. We started at the Ferry building at the Embarcadero. We killed some time before boarding the ferry at the Farmer's Market, Maribel found a delicious pickle there, and we also munched on fresh strawberries and other snacks. I wish we could have stayed longer, but we had to board the ferry that took us to Sausalito. From there we spent the rest of the day cruising through San Francisco. We saw lots of places, and learned alot about the area. We had a good time.

Bobby and Maribel come for a visit

Bobby and Maribel are arriving today, they took the train and I will pick them up in Stockton where we will drive to Rosana's where we will be spending a couple of days. It will be good to see them.

Vacation's over....

I'm back in California after a week in Arizona. The trip was short and sweet, and a milestone that I am half way through my assignment. I look forward to working at Sutter Auburn. The workload has been low, but I have a good time with my co-workers. We talk, laugh, and try to keep eachother awake!

Home for a visit

Today I will be going home to visit, and to work my required shifts at HCH. I'm excited to go home and see everyone again. I worked 4 shifts in a row, and I'm pretty tired, but the excitement of going home will keep me awake while I drive to the airport!

Ricky has his surgery

One of the problems about being away from home is not being able to be with family during stressful times. My brother Ricky had gastric bypass surgery today, and although I know he will be fine without me there, I would still like to be there to support him.

Road Trip to Lake Tahoe

I got to show the girls a part of the area where I have been living, we took a road trip to Lake Tahoe after visiting San Francisco. There we got to go to a concert of Flogging Molly, then hit the casino and threw our money away on the slot machines. We had fun, but were pretty tired by the time we arrived home. The next day, I drove them to the airport. It was a good visit.

My girls are coming for a visit!

I'm so excited! Anna and Christina are coming for a visit. They will arive today in San Francisco, Rosana will drive them to the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero, where they will join a tour group, while I get a couple of hours sleep after working the night shift. After some sleep, I drove to San Bruno, where I met with Rosana, then we went to pick up the girls and went to have dinner. It was nice to see family again!

Lake of the Pines

Today I went to a party to celebrate one of my co-workers recent marriage. Hannah lives in an area called Lake of the Pines, and had an informal post wedding celebration. It was nice to have a social event outside of work. The area was beautiful and the sky was clear of all the smoke that had plagued the area for weeks. I finally met my fellow traveler Wendy there. We had not worked together yet, so it was nice to finally meet her. I had a really good time.

I have a visitor!!!

Rosana came by to visit for a few days. It's nice to have someone to talk to at home. We mostly stayed home, although one day we did take a drive out to Truckee. I enjoyed getting to know this little town, we were in the Downtown area, where there are some cute little shops. We had lunch there and later enjoyed some Ice Cream. It was a good day.

Bob's Birthday

Today is Bob's birthday, and the kid's had a party for him at Bobby's house. I wish I could join them. I talked to them before heading off to work, and they all seemed to have a good time, but just as I'm missing them, they are missing me too. I assure them I'll be home soon.

4th of July

I'm homesick, wish I could be at home to celebrate the holiday with my family, I could kill for a barbequed meal right now!

Wild Fires

The California Wild Fires are taking a toll on everyone. The sky is so smokey, people are advised to stay indoors. This picture is of the sun taken from my apartment

My temporary home

I'm into my third week here, and I'm settling well here. I'm slowly but surely making my apartment feel like a home, although I don't want to get too many things, because then that only means I will have to take it home. I got some plants so I could have some other living thing here with me.

Happy Anniversary

Today is my 31st wedding annniversary, it's too bad we are not together to celebrate it, but we'll be together again soon.

First day of work at Auburn Faith

Today was my first day at Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital. I started the day with the orientation process, which involved lots of tests, videos, reading, etc. I was taken on a tour of the hospital. I was very impressed. The hospital is bigger than Holy Cross in Nogales, but still small enough to give it that personal feeling. The Labor and Delivery floor, also includes the nursery, and this department is known as the Family Birthing Cener. I met some of the nurses and techs, and they were all very friendly and welcomed me with open arms. What a relief that was!

Bye Bob..

Today I dropped Bob off at the airport. As soon as he walked away, I got a hole in the pit of my stomach. I felt this awful loneliness I have never felt before, I couldn't help but wonder if I had made the right decision in taking on this new adventure. So to feel better, I went shopping! I found an Ikea store on my way home from the airport and got a few things for my new home.

Old Sacramento

Rosana and Gabriel came by to visit, then took us to Old Town Sacramento. We had fun walking through the old town streets, reminded me of Old Tucson, but with more shops. We stopped for a drink and a small cantina and had the best Mojito I have ever had! After driving us around the downtown area, we had lunch on J street before parting ways....

late start

Bob and I left Nogales in my trusty Toyota 4-Runner on June 11, 2008 in the early morning hour of 6:00 a.m. (2 hours behind schedule), but that's ok, because after all, it's not like we had to be anyplace at a certain time. The only reason we wanted to leave earlier was to beat the heat driving through the desert during the highest temperatures.

We crossed through the Arizona/California border during the early afternoon and had lunch in Indio, it was there that we started to feel the wrath of high gas prices! We decided to fill up when the gas tank was at the half way point. The avg price of gas was about $4.50/gal. Yikes!

Thanks to some Mountain Dew and Red Bull, Bob decided he wanted to get as further north as possible. We traveled through some really pretty areas, unfortunately I didn't take pictures. We ended our first day in Fresno, CA at about 8:00 that evening.

The next morning we started out trek early so that we could enjoy Yosemite Park for a good chunk of the day. The drive there was quick, thanks to Bob's insistance that we get as far as possible the previous day. We enjoyed the Park very much. We saw a different area from our previous visit about 4 years ago, and although we did, there was still so much more to see there. Hopefully we can make it back there sometime again.