lightning strikes

Merry Christmas from the Lopez casa

2009-12-19T02:26:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time but here's some recent pictures of us ........

Here's us at the Shoppes about to watch the snow .........

Kaylee Jo and Asher with Nana

Kaylee Jo trying to place some ornaments ... or trying to take them down :)

Kaylee and Apple with Santa .... Kaylee Jo was traumatized ...

Kaylee Jo with Lucas and Jayden at the Chapparal Christmas program

oh they grow so fast!

Kaylee Jo is taking steps

2009-05-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

Kaylee Jo is starting to take steps! she's getting a lot braver! she is also trying to get off the couch by herself. but she's got a lot of padding when she falls :p

soon it will be time for a baby gate! crazy how time flies!

what a weekend ...

2009-05-10T22:59:00.000-07:00

so we took our first trip with the baby ... and we had such a good time! we drove up Thursday night to go to Mina's graduation on Friday and she slept most of the time! on Friday we walked around, hung out at the pool, then we got ready for My's graduation. what a proud group we were! then off to dinner! then Kaylee Jo slept so My's mom watched her while we went to the Blue Martini bar to celebrate! oh what fun!

then we got back on Saturday and celebrated Mother's Day all day on Sunday! now we're tired :p

my first Dodger game

2009-05-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

I went to my first Dodger game last night and had so much fun!!! I got really scared of the crowd though - those Dodger fans are SOOOO LOUD!!! and that hand dryer in the bathroom scared me too! but the Dodgers won! yay!

Here's me and my daddy ...

and me hanging over Dodger Stadium ...

Gomez was at the game and came by to say hi!

and then here's me and my mommy ...

and then me, mommy and daddy .... i got really tired in the car and fell right asleep!

I wonder when my next game will be .... maybe cooler bag night :)

hanging with my homies ...

2009-04-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

so we went to visit Sabrina Grace this weekend ...

here's me waiting to meet her ..

then hanging with big brother ethan ...

there's Sabrina with her mommy Frances and me and mommy ...

and then daddies and their girls ...

and the whole Chuy family! congratulations!

and last weekend i finally met my friend katie. mommy kept telling me about her and we finally met.

me and katie sitting on the table ..

me and my dada ...

auntie pia and lara ... waiting for her baby sister to come!

and then me and my cousin asher eating bananas ...

and here i am teaching apple the ropes about walking ... she's a good listener ...

my First Easter

2009-04-14T00:32:00.000-07:00

it was my First Easter! Alleluia! Alleluia!
We sang lots of songs at Easter Mass but there were so many people that I had to take a nap at Mass!

Then we headed over to Smith Park to see my Nana, Grandpa, aunties, uncles and cousin Asher...

here's me and my mama and dada right after Mass

then here's me with Manny in the wagon ...

then they put the ducky hat on me ...

here's my nana and cousin Asher and me ...

here's me hanging out with my daddy ... he took me on the slide and helped me find lots of Easter eggs! I was so excited!!! I love my daddy!

my mommy posed with me and the eggs after! it was so much fun!

then we headed over to my lola lola's house in this place called the LBC to have some more Easter fun! I watched daddy hide some eggs up top but i couldn't reach them!

I got one! I got one!

there's my cousins looking for eggs ...

and then we took pictures of all the cousins ... Sara Joy, Kuya Jayden, me and Kuya Lucas ... I think it took the longest for me to smile because everyone kept calling my name. in all the hulabaloo, i think i pulled apple's ear. i didn't mean it, i promise...

then we went back to my nana's to pick up my pink car. we went to visit my nino next door and they had a doggy at the house! i got so excited i took my first three steps trying to catch him! it was so exciting! i'm trying to convince mommy and daddy to get me one so i can chase it but i don't think they'll take that excuse! anyway, i'll see you later!

my busy week

2009-03-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

boy did i have a busy week! these past 8 days were so hectic!

First we went to my cousin Bella's 2nd birthday!

and I met my cousin Jordan Chase...

my cousin Asher came over and I gave him a ride on my walker!

and then we went to the park in my pink ride!

and i was laying out with my daddy

and then i had my first dental chair visit ... tita mina looked at my mouth but she was really checking out my daddy's mouth ... mine was just for show ...

then i fell asleep before we got my ears pierced ...

i was even sleeping when they marked me!

but boy did i have a rude awakening with the piercing!

then i chilled with my nino ....

and then i went to my first wedding! my mommy was a bridesmaid so she was super excited when she saw how well daddy dressed me!

and there's me with my mommy and daddy! we clean up pretty well huh?

and here i am with my daddy and my tita joan... isn't she a beautiful bride?

and here's my new tito chris with my tita joan .... oh the happy couple!

and then i danced the night away with my daddy!

boy i'm tired!

my bath and my family

2009-03-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hi! it's me! Kaylee Jo! I've been busy growing and here are my latest pix:
I've come to enjoy my bath nowadays. my hair is getting so long mama can make a mohawk in my bathtub!

Here's me and my cousin Asher. we're only a pound apart!

Here's me and my great grandma spot. i really do have some okie blood in me - promise.

here's me and my filipino side. my lola and my lola lola, my ninang jenn and my cousin sara.

here's my uncle gabe and my dada with their two favorite girls ...

here's my lola and lolo with their favorite granddaughters ...

and here's me and my mama and my ninang jenn and sara joy. and uncle gabe snuck in the background. he's so silly ...

my lonely neighborhood

2009-03-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

i felt so bad yesterday. the economy hit next door. actually next next door. next door too i guess because that house never sold at all. they even took the light fixtures down last month. anyway, when i was leaving my house yesterday there was a uhaul truck in front of their house and they were moving out. i saw the lady in the passenger of the uhaul and she just looked sad. my heart tore in two. i guess the house has been on the market since january and hasnt sold yet. i was saddened. i hope it gets better for everyone.

they even ash the babies

2009-02-25T22:24:00.000-08:00

we didn't know if there was an age limit on ashes, but they ashed Kaylee Jo. it was only a little dot but she still got one. she didn't mind it at all. we sent the picture to her nino and the response we got was "her hair looks like alfalfa."
but her hair us getting so long and in her face!

Here I Am

2009-02-23T13:29:00.000-08:00

so times have been tough lately ... the economy sucks and unfortunately we've felt part of the crunch. but we go along day by day. and then we get sad. but God really knows how to keep a girl's spirits up... so yesterday at Mass I think He was really trying to talk to me and tell me everything will be ok. tbe whole homily was about "He Ain't Heavy ... he's my brother," you know, carrying people along their way. and then we said a prayer after the procession of faith, praying for the world and its state, not to despair. and my heart started to feel heavy. and then of course the song before communion is Here I Am, Lord - my favorite song from St. Johns - always has and always will be. and of course I started to tear. and then came the song during Communion - my favorite song from Liwanag - Refiner's Fire. There were the words right there - "my heart's one desire, is to be holy, set apart for you, Lord, I chose to be holy, set apart for you, my Master, ready to do your will." ok Lord. so here I am, ready to do your will.

Welcome Sara Joy!

2009-01-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

Welcome Sara Joy aka apple! She weighed in at 7 lbs. 15 oz and 19 inches! Yay baby!

Welcome to our newest Catholic!

2009-01-05T01:26:00.000-08:00

ok maybe not newest because there were probably baptisms this weekend but newest from our family! welcome kaylee jo! love you!

sorry these are late

2008-12-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

so for part of erwin's BIG 3-0 they ordered the De La Hoya vs. Pacquaio fight and we reigned supreme! Manny! Manny!

So here are some shots of ...

the losers ...

then the WINNERS!! Kaylee Jo had to be in both pix since she's half and half ..

then there's other .... Korean, Vietnamese and Thai

and then those that dominate .... the Chinese ...

Can anyone find Erwin?

Kaylee Jo borrowed Ethan's chair and started lounging ...

Good times... happy 30th Erwin!

our little kings fan

2008-11-30T16:14:00.000-08:00

joey has now turned our daughter into a kings fan and a poker player ... here they are in their kings gear ready to play poker ...

this is taking it back to last year ...

one year ago today, we took this ...

and one year later .... this is us ....

crazy huh? hope everyone had an awesome thanksgiving!

cereal

2008-11-30T15:36:00.000-08:00

so this was kaylee jo's first try at cereal this week.... she loved the spoon and yesterday she actually liked the cereal. but i think she's an immediate gratification kind of girl because i think she didn't like having to wait to be fed. that's when she cried. she's so funny ...

i amnot thankful ...

2008-11-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

for this ...

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/people-earned-medical-2234986-uci-football

you can put any name of an employee of the UC system and find out how much they make. if they have access to this, what else do they have access too? kinda scary

i am thankful ...

2008-11-25T09:01:00.001-08:00

i am thankful for so many things this year ... i can't believe it's thanksgiving already. God has really blessed me with so many things and so many people. I am thankful for ...

my wonderful family ... my husband and my baby girl... they really do complete me ...

my family .... all of them ... most of them pictured here. can't wait to take lots of family pictures at Christmas with all the babies.

my in-laws ... all of them pictured separately ... we don't have one big picture together. our families mean so much to us and they've helped us so much this year, especially with the baby, can't thank them enough.

my girlfriends ... oh how i miss them all. but when we get together, it's always a good time. oh how i miss thee!

all of our friends ... together we've made lots of memories and can't wait to make more

and for work friends ... it helps to have rays of sunshine in such a stressful environment. i couldn't survive work without them and lots of people literally wouldn't survive without them.

i can't complain too much. i've got wonderful family, wonderful friends, a roof over our head, food on the table, a job to go to, a car to take me there, my health, and a wonderful God that has blessed me with it all. Happy Thanksgiving all!

the little one is growing

2008-11-18T09:55:00.000-08:00

so every morning now kaylee jo starts out her day in her little activity thingy. i don't know what it's called. but her favorite part of it is the part with the three things that move and you can line them up so that there's three notes or three bunnies in a row. and they make noise. it reminds me of a slot machine. i said she takes after her grandmas. both of them ;p

here's another one ... she's a drooler ... just like mommy ;p

then she sleeps so peacefully when she's napping ...

and then with her little beanie. in her favorite place. daddy's arms.

so she will soon be on the road to eating cereal. the doctor said that since she was a preemie, to wait a couple weeks before we start with the cereal so we'll start next week. she can eat with us on thanksgiving ;p she's growing well. she weighed in at 14 lbs. 12.5 oz and 24 inches. she probably weighs more now because that was about 2 weeks ago. the doctor said she was in the 77th percentile for weight and that's not considering she's a preemie. she caught up fast! anyway, she's growing, laughing, smiling, trying to turn (with encouragement). hard to believe she was just a little peanut a year ago. wow. how time flies!

the fires

2008-11-17T10:07:00.000-08:00

the fires were crazy this weekend. i guess they were even crazier because they were around us. so much around us that all the freeways were shut down. the 71, 91 and 57 were all closed on saturday. it took me 3 and a half hours to get to work on saturday. i tried to go through diamond bar to rowland heights to fullerton road to harbor blvd. guess that's what everyone else tried to do. it took me almost 2 hours to get to nogales. at that point, i hopped on the 60 to the 605 to the 5 to get to work. i left the house at 5 and got to work at 8:30. it was crazy. a fire that started in corona off green river - i pass that every day going home from work - to anaheim hills and yorba linda which i also pass every day coming home from work - to diamond bar, chino hills and brea - cities i grew up in and around. it's crazy.our area's been in the news too much this year - first the earthquake this summer and now the wildfires. i prefer to be out of the news. j mo was so cute. he called from hawaii yesterday morning said he saw stuff on the fires and saw the diamond bar fire. asked about my parents and if they needed any help moving his mom had the truck. very thoughtful that j mo. anyway, everyone was in the clear and safe at home. prayers for all those that lost their homes though. they were beautiful houses that they were showing in anaheim hills and yorba linda. thoughts and prayers for all.

this darn virus

2008-11-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

there's a virus going around my family.
first joey's dad.
then asher - joey's nephew
then michelle - joey's sister
then kaylee jo
then joey.
now my mom.
basically it's making them spew out of both ends. it lasts for 24 - 48 hours but they are a long 24- 48 hours. joey called me on thursday when i was on my way to work saying the baby had spit up. i said she probably overate. he called me again and said she spit up again and she pooed. i said maybe my milk was bad. then he said she kept crying and crying. she spit up a few more times before he took her to his mom's. she said to let her stomach rest. she was so tired from all the throwing up that she slept the whole night. she ate that morning and was still having watery stools but was in a better mood and able to keep down her milk. so she started on the road to recovery. i knew it was bad for joey when he came home from work on saturday morning. joey has never called in sick in his life. he always works. saturday morning he said he threw up about 3:30 AM and then when he woke up around 5 to go to work i was talking to him and he again threw up but he proceeded to go to work - which started at 6:30. i was up with the baby at about 8 and i suddenly heard the door swing open. he came in as pale as the wall. then he was in bed all of saturday until sunday morning. poor thing. but he's getting better. then my mom called me earlier and said she called in sick today because she got this stomach thing. here's hoping that my immune system can withstand this nasty virus because it doesn't sound fun.

happy shower

2008-11-10T15:38:00.001-08:00

Baby Apple will be here before we know it so we threw my sister and Gabe their baby shower at my parents' house this weekend. It was a hot November day so we got to bbq and wear sundresses for the occasion! There were tons of people, food, and fun for all! We can't wait for the next little one to be here!

Here's some pix ... the rest are on gbox.
i didn't take a picture of the invitation. darn. it's so cute and it matches their theme perfectly. thanks cynthia!

yummy desserts courtesy of mon and laura ... congratulations jenn and gabe!

cool decor courtesy of ellaine. those are handmade little shirts. they were awesome. i didn't get a picture of the flowers. darn.

apple giveaways from baby apple.

the paintings that are going in little apple's room courtesy of matt and patty. aren't they talented? it must be nice to be talented.

ate and gabe. gabe measured his waist for the belly string game and just measured his own and he was the closest one but they disqualified him because he's the daddy.

the infamous bbq grill. john and gabe spent 3.5 hours barbequeing and it was delicious!

group photo shots ... these are all of the friends with their kiddos ...

these are gabe's cousins or someone said "now the ones without the kids" but natalie snuck in =)

and here's four generations of camu women. meaning my mom's side. lola (1st generation) mom (2nd generation) me and ate (3rd generation) and kaylee jo and apple (4th generation) can't wait until she's here so we can take another one!

happy halloween

2008-10-30T22:32:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween from our little pumpkin!

becoming a monkey ...

2008-10-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

so we took kaylee jo to get her halloween pictures taken and they took a couple other poses too. she did such a good job! she's smiling in a lot of them and of course we ordered pictures so we can finally decorate our walls! we were so bummed that after we had ordered everything did they tell us that the pictures weren't going to be ready until november 4th - AFTER halloween! what a bummer! but they came out really cute. since she was in her costume we took some of our own for preview. here you go ...

here's her tail ...

posing with mama ...

and with dada ....

then all by myself ...

is it over? she looked so sad when we took off the headpiece... but too cute!

jayden's birthday

2008-10-23T11:33:00.001-07:00

my nephew and godson turned 6 on saturday! six! here are some pix from his party ...

we start with cake ...

and sing a happy birthday song ...

kaylee jo's just hanging out ...

our present ... the transformers voice changer... it was cooler than i thought ...

kaylee jo and auntie jenn and her favorite bib =)

Happy belated bday dada!

2008-10-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

Here are pix from dada's 30 years of Excellence party.

Me and my dada looking cool before we head out to nana's ...

our family portrait with dada blowing the cake ...

a shot for a dodger first round victory!

me and my buddy addisyn

until next time ...

happy 2 month birthday

2008-09-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

Happy 2 month birthday Kaylee Jo!! She had her 2-month appointment today and got 3 shots =( and the rotovirus orally. She did so well with her shots though! She cried a little bit at the office but then she was okay after we gave her some baby tylenol gtts. She's gaining weight well - she is actually a little chubba wubba weighing in at 10 lbs 9 oz! She's gained five pounds since birth! and she's 4 inches longer - growing well! anyway, she hit a couple of milestones...

she can smile and coo now ...

kaylee jo can lift up her head. she can go from this ....

to this ....

she looks around and wants to see the world. the only thing that we have to get her to work on is sleeping in her crib. and that takes more discipline from mommy than her. she's growing so fast! and then i have to go to work soon =(

Happy Anniversary!

2008-09-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary my love! One year ago today I married the most wonderful man in the world. He makes me happy every day. and I grow to love him more and more each day! I love you Bubba!

So here's what we did at the beginning of our anniversary. We took pictures of our little girl ...

took a family portrait ....

took a picture of our wedding cake ... frozen in my sister's freezer for a year. we did take 4 bites of it together and neither of us have thrown up yet ...

and we reminisce upon that wonderful day ...

love you bubbas!

Motherhood

2008-08-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

wow... weird... now me and that word go together ... so strange ... everyone always asks how we're doing and honestly, we're good. kaylee jo has a spunky side, let me tell you. she's funny. not doing any tricks yet as people may say, but she lifts her head up and looks around. it's so crazy. she's a little person that depends on you. and there's a whole level of trust to be fed and changed and cleaned and cared for. it's so wonderful. joey's doing a wonderful job too. our nights are sleepless and our house is untidy, but we've got a beautiful baby girl. we went to our lactation appt last week and they weighed her when she was done with her feeding and she's up to 8 lbs! she has full cheeks and thighs and everything now! i'll post more pictures when i can!

Congratulations are in store to
JOAN & CHRIS on their engagement
ATE & GABE - they found out that Kaylee Jo is having a baby GIRL cousin
REG - I wish I could be at your graduation this weekend but it's my mom's bday. I can't believe 18 months passed by that fast. Go ICU nurses!

Happy 1 month birthday!

2008-08-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that our baby girl is one month old today - but she is! wow! time really does fly! here is her picture from last night! Her cheeks are getting fuller and her thighs are getting nice and plump enough to eat! she is very much her daddy's daughter as she eats, burps and toots like him =) but she's up to seven pounds now and growing every day. i can't imagine her still being inside of me! anyway, this was just a quick getaway! hope to talk to you all soon!

Here I Am ....

2008-07-09T00:50:00.000-07:00

I think I got the date wrong. Mommy and Daddy said that I was a little early but I had heard about this thing called Independence Day and I wanted to BE FREE =)
My name is Kaylee Jo. I arrived on July 4th at 0701, weighing in at 5 lbs. 9 oz. and 18 inches long. Mommy and Daddy said that everything happened so fast. I'm sure they'll tell you about it later. I have to go take a nap now because I sleep 18 hours of the day. I hope to meet you all soon if I haven't met you already. Good night!

Kaylee Jo's Baby Shower

2008-07-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

so the first of Kaylee Jo's baby showers happened on Saturday. Thank you to Auntie Jenn, Auntie Dana, Grandma Susan and Grandpa Joe for hosting the shower. Auntie Mina always comes up with some hard games, but they make for great thinking. Auntie Roxanne and Auntie Joan decorated the place to make it cute and girly. And of course, Lola and Tita Beth always make the food so yummy. SO a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who hosted and of course, to all of you who came to make it such a good shower! Mommy and Daddy have time to recover because the next ones are not for at least three weeks. Mommy and Daddy have a tendency to pick the hottest weekends for their shindigs so thank you for tolerating the heat. We posted some pictures up to try to recap the shower. They're all out of order but hopefully you get the gist. Thanks for coming everyone! Hope to meet you all soon!

Uncle Erwin, Auntie Frances and Ethan

Auntie Lauren and Uncle Rob

Uncle Robert and Auntie Christina

Uncle Mark, Auntie Audrey and Uncle Brian in the shade

opening presents

Auntie Joan gave us a bib for when she's around - read carefully

Auntie Jenn and Uncle Gabe. Uncle Gabe made it to the right house eventually =)

Mommy and Auntie Steph - the next time we see them, little Addisyn will be out of the womb =)

Our yummy cake

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Mina and Cheryl are attacking me

Alexa, Ate Joy, me, Ate and Mom

Joey's practicing with his bag

Kuya and Ate Joy posing

Auntie Teresa and Auntie Cassie

me and Lola

We like to take pictures together

We're posing with baby KATHRYN - what a lovely name!

Grish is practicing with Asher

Bella and Lolo Ben

Brian is playing the "guess how fat Kay is" game - nice title Day!

Look - we're all reunited!

Joey and Em are reunited too! they always took these pictures when we went to all the weddings and they would have their dance offs to see who would get more video time!

Here's her welcome sign courtesy of Auntie Jenn:

Joey had to BBQ as new dad role:

Asher and Grandma

I pose by the BBQ but Joey did all the cooking

Grandpa Joe and his grandsons - it's Lucas and Jayden

week recap

2008-06-20T02:04:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BELATED FATHER'S DAY!!!

Happy soon-to-be daddy's day to my Bubba!

Happy Father's Day to Pa!

so this week went by pretty quickly and i still have 2 more days of work ... boo ...
sunday was father's day ... happy belated father's day everyone! when i was little everyone used to call me my dad's shadow because i was always following him. we were like peas and carrots, always together. so i guess you can say that i've always been daddy's girl. love you pa! all my baby pictures are at my parents' house so i can't show you the shadow pix but that's ok. we had a pretty busy father's day actually. we went to joey's parents' house for breakfast with the family, then went to chino buffet to meet up with our family, then went to dana's for her graduation (CONGRATS ON YOUR MBA DAY!!! We're so proud!!!!) and then went back to my parents to watch the game. went to bed pretty early because i had to work a day shift on monday. it was my last day of heart training. now i get to work on fresh open hearts. they are the scariest patients that you'll ever get. they can bleed and go down really fast. hope you can catch it early so that they can go back to OR but they are the scariest patients to take care of because they are so fragile. we have to stay the whole night by the bedside to watch all of their numbers. but they wanted to make sure that i was heart trained before i left on maternity leave. talk about stress. anyway, when i work day shift it wearts me out to no end because i have to wake up at 5 AM, leave by 5:30 to get to work on time, leave the hospital at about 8 PM, drive home, went to the store for some dinner supples, took a nap, made dinner joey got home, hung out and then finally got to bed after midnight. long day. but i've been off since then.
tuesday was catch up day. catch up on sleep, clean the house. do laundry. pick up painting supplies. cook dinner. watch the lakers lose. how sad. actually, there's alwasys next year. we'll have everyone back and bynum will be back so we can be at full strength.
wednesday was painting day. i didn't paint. joey and his dad painted the baby's room. it's called "pink reef." it looks good. they did a very good job. his mom and i were watching asher as they painted upstairs. we went to lunch after they were done and asher was asleep in his carrier. he was in the chair between me and joey so when he woke up while we were eating, i was the one that picked him up out of his carrier. i think the people at the other table thought that i was crazy because i was picking up this 9month old out of his carrier and am currently 33 weeks pregnant. they were probably thinking i needed some birth control! anyway, then we dropped off stuff at my parents, went to babies r us and the uptown fsrmers market for lots of fruits and fresh peanuts. we later went to go watch joey's uncle johnny play at the crazy horse in west covina. there were some strange looking folks in there. grandma was with us and she had to leave because this one girl was dancing and making strange faces while she was dancing, i think it was making her sick. she told joey to maske sure that i wasn't looking at her because the baby might start to look like that. we left with them.
today was another day of lamaze. the stories about the episiotomies were disgusting and joey got to see the video with the placenta - which was disgusting. i think the best line of all the videos was when one lady is pushing and they said to look down so she could see the baby's head. the baby's head is full of white vernix and the mom - who's still pushing - says "that doesn't look like a baby!" it actually didn't because the baby was facing down and all she saw was white goop but it was a classic line and a classic face. anyway, the next 6 days are going to be crazy. wotk friday and saturday, sunday has a birthday part and a baby shower, and then work monday, tuesday and wednesday. here's to a lot of rest! good night!

date night

2008-06-12T23:21:00.000-07:00

so joey and i had wed and thurs off together this week. its been a long time since date night so we had date night on wednesday. we slept in - i worked on tuesday night and then got ready and had dinner with nikki and amin first at chilis. i had fajitas and they were yummy. they weren't sizzling when they got to our table, but they were yummy nonetheless - steak fajitas with onions and poblano peppers with applewood bacon and shredded jack cheese - yummy! and i even had one of those sweet shot things for dessert. they have these desserts that come in little shot glasses so it's just enough to satisfy your sweet tooth craving. i got the cinnamom bun thing. it was yummy. then we checked out what was at the movie theatre. joey said it was my choice, but i said whatever he wanted to watch. it ended up to be my choice. so we watched satc. everyone kept telling me that they cried during the movie and before going in i couldnt understand why anyone would cry. but now i understand. i'm such a sap. good thing i had napkins with me because i cried. at different times and for good reason because apparently a lot of people cried. but i enjoyed it. it was enjoyable. it was a nice date. then today was lamaze. im having this internal struggle between having an epidural or not, but i'm really leaning toward getting the epidural. why go through the pain? but they say recovery is better without the epidural. i guess i get to make the decision when i get there. joey's a good coach. very soothing. calm, cool and collected. he balances me out. hehe. anyway, have a good rest of the week! happy almost friday and happy early father's day!

Dude

2008-06-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

when a bench player gets more free throws BY HIMSELF than the ENTIRE laker team, do you think they need to re-evaluate their foul calling? these officials are KILLING ME! and despite all that, the lakers got the 24-deficit down to 2!!!!! crazy! but we have A LOT of work to do. Games 3, 4, and 5 better have the same home court officiating that the celtics had in boston! anyway, have a good week all! go lakers!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

2008-06-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

Congratulations are in store!!

Congratulations to Ate on her graduation!!!

Congratulations to Ate and Gabe on their new announcement!!! EDD 01/06/09!!!

Congratulations to our expanding family portrait!!!

Congratulations to Dana on her new job!! We're going to miss you but you're going to be awesome out there!!

WE'RE GOING .....

2008-05-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

TO THE NBA FINALS!!!!

not we, but THE LAKERS!!!! YAY!!!!!!
4 more games! 4 more games and then ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
CAN'T WAIT!!!

vegas in a nutshell ...

2008-05-29T19:33:00.000-07:00

so we went to vegas for j mo's bday and here's just a glimpse ...

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day (belated)!!!
But really every day should be mother's day! We wouldn't be here if we didn't have mothers because they gave birth to us - so of course every one has a mother and they should be appreciated for all that they do! I know it sounds cliche, but really, words really can't describe how much my mom means to me. The picture is from Christmas but moms are the core so I thought this was appropriate. I love you Mom!
can I make a little side note that I love my hubby? he's so awesome. so i worked on Friday and Sarurday night and had one of the hardest weekends that I've ever had as a nurse. You know when they call CODE BLUE on those hospital shows like Grey's Anatomy and ER. well, we had to call a Code Blue on my patient - we pushed a lot of drugs (7 amps of epi), did a lot of CPR, bagged her and intubated her - we resuscitated her for an hour and put her on alot of blood pressure medications - and to top it all off, she's the mother of one of the attendings! in our hosptial it's similar to Grey's, there are interns, residents, chief residents and attendings. their attendings are a lot younger than ours bnt anyway, this is totally tangent, but it would be like treating Derek Shepherd's mom. but anwyay, we had that crazy night on Friday and Saturday was not better because the same thing happened - not to that extent - but still there were 20 people in my room helping me - but she is alive! Thank God! I prayed at Mass before I went to work on Saturday and even her son asked me if I thought that she would still be here when I came back. I prayed hard and we worked hard and hopefully she'll be there today when I come back but talk about stress! anyway, hence we haven't had a chance to do much let alone clean the house. and when I came home on Sunday morning, I received the most wonderful mother's day-to-be present. the house was immaculate! kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom ... the counters were cleantd, the floors were cleaned, the table was polished and shiny with flowers in a vase on top, the floor was mopped, the carpet vaccuumed and in the living room sat a new glider and ottoman with a card that read "From Your Baby." i just melted. and of course i cried. damn hormones! but it was so sweet. i'll take a picture and post it. and when i sit in the glider, the baby kicks a lot. i'm trying to convince her that this is the seat she's going to be in when she's supposed to be falling asleep but this is where she likes to kick. she's funny. anyway, i love my hubby. have a beautiful day all!

and here she is .............

2008-05-08T22:15:00.000-07:00

so here's the 4d pictures .........
these were the best that we could get .............
she's shy .... and when she's asleep in a comfortable position, she doesn't like to be bothered .......... just like daddy ...

Enjoy!

HAPPY NURSES WEEK!

2008-05-08T01:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Nurses Week everyone!
I know all of you know someone who is a nurse so celebrate them this week. When I think nursing, I always think of my childhood. I grew up at the hospital. As most ofyou know, I aspirated a peanut when I was 3 - meaning instead of the peanut going into my stomach it lodged into the lower left lobe of my lung. I kept getting sick and coughing and the doctor had diagnosed me with croupe - another kind of lung disease. well, we then went to Childrens Hospital in LA and they found that it was a foreign object in my lungs. Because of that peanut, I went to the doctor's office ALL the time, first every three months, then every six months, then once a year. I would have to take PFT's - pulmonary function tests every year to see how my lungs were developing. This was all between the ages of 3 - 18. Imagine driving to LA - Sunset Blvd every three to six months to get my lungs checked. and we lived in Baldwin Park and Diamond Bar. Anyway, back to why I started this story, I had the same RN, Lucy, from the time I was diagnosed with bronchiectasis at 3 until about 15. Then she started doing research. But every time I went in - which had increased to once a year at that point - from the age of 15 to 18, they would page her and she would come down and see me during my visit. She really saw my grow up. And I always wanted to establish that kind of relationship with my patients. I don't know why I denied it for so long. I always thought I wanted to be a pediatrician growing up. Then I got to school and realized that it was way too competitive and too hard and too long. I even called Cal State Long Beach during my second year at UCI to see if I could transfer to their BSN program. But then I got comfortable and said that I could do something else with my BS in Applied Ecology - environmental and public health. and then it all came back to nursing. worked for a little bit and found my way bnck to where my heart has always been - the heart of a nurse. I was working at the nursing home and I would do my rounds every morning, check the change of condition reports, check the rooms, talk to the patients and one day there was one pt sitting in the middle of the hallway, I bent down, straightened her wheelchair into her spot and looking straight into her eyes and said "Good morning, Mrs. B." and she never really talked, but that morning she looked me straight in the eye and said "You're nice." and my heart melted. and I again realized that I wasn't made to work behind the desk. I know I complain a lot or vent a lot about work. it's stressful. it's hard. and it is very tiring. but it is so worth it. So anyway, to all of my fellow nurses, happy nurses week! you truly keep the caring and compassion to the bedside that no one else can provide.

so we finally know ...

2008-05-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

its a ...................................

GIRL!

yay!

we saw a hamburger as opposed to a hot dog

yay!

next week is the 4d pictures so we can post them and freak dana out! i wish i was in hawaii with you gals! miss you!

anyway, see you guys later!

random thoughts ...

2008-04-09T23:25:00.000-07:00

so let's see what's been going on lately ...
- i'm getting bigger. actually at my last doctor's appt, the nurse midwife said that i was right on the button. i was 22 cm at 22 weeks when she saw me but i feel like i'm bigger than i should be. but then everyone at work says that i'm incredibly small. i think it's because i'm in scrubs that don't accentuate my curves :p anyway, this second trimester has been good. definitely more energy than the first and then i get to be a lot more productive. i even get to work extra. speaking of working extra ...
- work's been crazy. we've gotten some pretty sad patients lately. i think the saddest part about them is that they're so young and all of this stuff happens to them that isn't their fault. one is riding his bike and gets hit by a drunk driver, and the other two are just passengers in the car and they get critically injured; one of the drivers was drunk and the other one got rear-ended. so it's been pretty sad at work lately.
- i miss hanging out with people and i enjoy it when i do. the past couple of weeks have been fun catching up with people. i had lunch with mina and dana one weekend and it's been forever since the three of us were together. our lives have been all on different paths lately but whenver we get together we still gel together. we're like glue. then i got to hang out with the kims, the o's, dexie, jimmy and kristin. from Mass to dinner to starbucks, didn't feel like we were there as long as we were. i think we were there until starbucks closed. time does fly when you're having fun. and both encounters either started or ended at st. liz. i think i find a comfort at that church for some reason. joey and i go to Mass there a lot and it's just comfortable. for some reason it makes me feel at peace. i can't place it but there's just something about it.
- we've been to the clinic a lot lately. i had to take my 3-hour glucose test one week and i passed (yay!) joey had a bad case of sore throat and the flu. the doctor said that usually 70% of people come in with a sore throat and it's nothing really. he looked at his throat and said "your throat looks like hell. you're going to need some antibiotics." guess he didn't fall in the 70%. then we went in for our monthly prenatal check-up. it's nice to be able to go to the clinic with someone; i always feel taken care of :p
anyway, i guess that's life in a nutshell. still other things going on but this is getting long :) talk to you later...

there's a bump ...

2008-03-29T23:42:00.000-07:00

i woke up and there was this bump in front of me :p last week was the first time that some stranger came up to me and asked about my baby bump. so i think i finally look prego. and i bought some maternity clothes finally because my pants don't close :P anyawy, hope you all have a nice weekend!

He is Risen!

2008-03-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! He is Risen!
at Mass today the priest kept emphasizing the importance of faith as Easter and the Resurrection are the foundations of Christianity. and then he started talking about the guards saying that there were robbers that somehow moved the body and it was funny because today was one of the first times that I ever noticed that the clothes for His head were folded in a different place. they must have been neat robbers. anyway, rejoice today. and every day for our Savior has blessed us with his Rising. Alleluia.

i thought of angie today at Mass. we were singing "Be not afraid" and it always reminds me of angie playing this in acton as we walked in the dark, through the fog, amidst all of the weird noises in the background, from screams to crying to reggatone and the look on her face when she continued to play and sing as loud as she could so we could make it to the room. it makes me smile. hope you're doing well ang. miss ya.

anyway, hope everyone had a beautiful day!

and the answer is ..........

2008-03-17T23:12:00.000-07:00

we don't know :(

the baby was moving at the beginning of the ultrasound and then yawned and found a comfortable spot and went to sleep. the ultrasound tech tried to prod it to move but it was comfy and had its legs crossed indian style for the rest of the appointment. and thus, we have to wait until next time.

so far we've been getting that it's a girl and that she was trying to be a lady ... we'll see ...

san francisco was fun ... the weather was cool, definitely cool but sf is one place where you can where flip flops with a peacoat. i'll try to post pictures soon. ok folks, talk to you later.

so place your bets

2008-03-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

so tomorrow is our ultrasound date and there are already bets on the sex of the baby. one of my co-workers, an older filipina lady who is our unit secretary had this theory.
benita: kay, i think you're having a boy
me: why?
benita: because you're pangit (which translates into ugly)
how sad! but she said it goes away, it's the hormones ... how nice huh?
then the other theory was that because my butt is getting bigger, i'm having a girl .... so which old wives' tale holds up? we'll see tomorrow ....

in other news, i saw my first open heart surgery on monday. it made me want to stop eating. first i saw the veins being harvested endoscopically, so they just used a small camera-esque thing instead of cutting all along the legs to harvest the vein. so it's pretty cool because the pt only has a tiny suture by the knee instead of a huge incision all along the leg. and then i got to see the poor, diseased heart - the pt had previously had a heart attack so you could see the necrotic part and plus you could see all of the fat too. and you saw it beating and the lungs breathing up and down on this open chest. and then they used this other machine called a cps in which they stop the heart and the cps acts as the heart and lungs of the patient while the ct surgeon performs most of the surgery. he was on the pump for 3 hours! then i saw the same vein that was harvested from the leg be sewn into the heart to bypass the coronary artery that was so damaged. then i got to directly recover the patient on our floor. the surgery lasted from 0700-1500 - a very long case - but i am now 3 more orientations away from being a heart nurse - scary!

i actually got saved on tuesday night too. both of my pts had transfer orders and low and behold, they found rooms for both of them by 2200. so i went to break after that and then helped settle in another pt for one of the other nurses. then i got report that i was getting a pt transferring from the VA but they were going to go to the cath lab first. sounded ok. then the house supervisor came up to our floor to find out who was getting this new transfer. i said it was me. and she said the pt is crashing in cath lab and they need the icu nurse. our charge nurse said that i can't go down there because i'm pregnant and may be exposed. so aileen, one of the other nurses, volunteered to go down. i thank God for being pregnant! when she got down there the pt's blood pressure was 30! they had to start cpr and then she was calling up so that we could mix some meds for him to try to get the blood pressure up. we had to mix 3 different bags of drugs! then the cardiothoracic attending called and said that this pt was going to need cps - the same machine they use for bypass surgery but was going to need it continuously on the unit and a balloon pump that pumps for the heart. there's only a few nurses that are certified to do it and so they had to pull another nurse that had an orientee, another one from the other floor and our charge nurse to go down to the crashing pt. so all together there were 4 of our nurses, the ct attending, a perfusionist, 3 residents and the cath lab nurse. they were gone from midnight until 3 am! and they came back up with the patient and all of the stuff and we were pumping blood and getting lines. it was nuts! if i wasn't pregnant, then i would have been the one coding the patient, doing the cpr and mixing the drugs! so aileen says that i owe her big time and if the baby's a girl, i have to name her aileen.

anyway, that's been my week .... we're going up to san francisco tomorrow so have a nice weekend everyone!

so i can't help it

2008-02-24T09:34:00.001-08:00

... i need to blog about the lakers!
everyone knows i'm a laker fan - heck, our wedding was purple and gold! (this was purely coincidence, promise :)
but it's so fun to watch them nowadays! i was watching the game yesterday and was telling joey that they weren't playing well (even though they were up by 15 at the time!) but the way they play, especially that game against phoenix - it was so good. yeah defense may have been a problem considering they scored over 250 points between the 2 of them but still! it was an awesome game! even the commentators were like "please let these two teams meet in the playoffs because they are so exciting to watch!" i was so bummed when bynum went out, it was like, oh no! we're out of a big man for 8 weeks! but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. kupchak said bynum going down was the reason they picked up gasol. wow. what a turn of events! and then the whole western conference went crazy trying to trade someone before the deadline. our trade was still the best because we essentially lost no "big names" for it. but anyway, so i love the lakers. but right now, i love them even more =)

there's only one ...

2008-02-10T20:53:00.000-08:00

look ... there's only one.. and all ours =)

the baby was doing somersaults and backflips while trying to do the ultrasound and finally settled down for this shot. if you look above the head, baby was trying to wave =) crazy huh?

so i guess i should update a little. we're 15 weeks pregnant today. wow. 15 weeks. we found out on november 30th - brian's birthday actually. i volunteered to drive the girls to the liwanag banquet the next day so i would be the dd. they just thought that i wanted to be the dd, but i had other reasons. i was super hungry at banquet and francia asked if i was pregnant. i had to say no because i hadn't gone to the doctor yet. so that monday, i went to the doctor and they confirmed our pregnancy. i told my sister, my parents and his parents that week. i talked to my mom the next day (after the doctor's appt) and she said she had seen one of our ninongs from our wedding at Church and he was asking if i was pregnant and she said not yet. then she asked me if i was and i hesitated and i told her i would tell her next month. joey and i went to my parents for dinner the following day and we gave both sets of parents these pillows from hallmark that said "babies are precious gifts from God." my mom opened it and said "I knew it!" because i had hesitated in the conversation just the day before. i'm such a bad liar. We then went to Joey's parents' house. He said we were going to pick up mail. His mom's funny. We gave them the bag with the pillow in it. She opened and was like "oh, how cute - how come you guys didn't wait until Christmas to give it to me?" because she thought it was for Asher, Joey's baby nephew. Joey and I both kind of looked at her and then she said "Is this for you guys?" and we both started to laugh. Joey said "it wasn't THAT subtle." haha.

we wanted to try to tell everyone in person so we waited until we saw people to tell them instead of over the phone. We wanted to wait until our Christmas party to tell our circle of friends. But the week before our friends' Christmas party, Joey's sister, Cassie, Teresa, Rob, Lauren, Cel and Vincent came over. at that time, cassie, teresa and vince were the only ones who knew. so joey even asked me before they came over, what if someone says something? and i said, they won't. later in the evening, lauren was going to teach teresa how to stitch. i was sitting on the couch and lauren wanted teresa to sit next to her so she could see. so i moved to sit on the floor. so teresa says "you can't sit on the floor in your pregnant state." and i sat there ... on the floor ... with a pomegranate in my mouth as lauren and cel asked "WHAT? You're pregnant?" Joey was outside putting up Christmas lights so i didn't know where to look. so i sat there. on the floor. pomegranate in my mouth. and silence. so they repeated the question "You're pregnant?" and at that time, Joey walked back in the house and so they asked him "Kay's pregnant?" and he looks around and was like "who slipped?" teresa felt so bad. she's agreed to buy the baby's stroller since she slipped. she's so funny. anyway, so we still wanted to tell everyone at the Christmas party since that was the original agenda. so we asked them not to say anything and actually made them part of our plan. we all knew cel had me - thanks rich! and the plan was to describe 3 things about the Kris Kringle you had before you gave them your present so everyone could try to guess who you had by your clues. we told cel that her last clue had to be that "she's pregnant." everyone knew steph was pregnant so they would automatically think it was steph. so at the Christmas party, it was time to exchange presents. So cel gave some clues that would make sense for both me and steph:
1) this person has changed addresses this year
2) had a wedding at a country club
3) has a bun in the oven
steph was sitting right next to cel and was like oh - that's me! meanwhile ray, who really did have steph, was like, what the heck? did steph's name get put in twice?
but cel got up and took her present to me. and that's how everyone else found out. it was kind of funny.
again, we wanted to try to tell everyone in person. when i told joan, she almost fell down the stairs. we were at a dress shop and she wanted to get coffee. i said i can't get coffee but i can get tea. and she said 'why? are you pregnant?" as she proceeded to walk down the stairs. and i followed and nonchalantly said, 'yeah." and that's when she almost fell. she turned around and was like "are you serious?" and i said yeah. and she said at least it would make for a good story - her falling down the stairs when she found out i was pregnant.
anyway, this is really long. so i'll post more later. have a good one!

i stole ...

2008-01-14T23:55:00.000-08:00

this from pia and fran ... thanks guys ... i guess this is the year in review that i never did ...
so much happened last year that it would be so hard to describe otherwise. i know this is two weeks late but better late than never =)
thanks for all the prayers this weekend guys ... please keep them up, it's a long road to recovery ... but with all of our prayers, hopefully it can be an easier road.

1. what did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
got married =)

2. did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
i don't think i made any... i never really do. maybe i should. not now though ;p

3. did anyone close to you give birth?
joey's gf had baby angie in march and frances had baby ethan in april and michelle had asher in september

4. what countries did you visit?
just mexico - but on two different occassions ;p

5. what would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
a side yard that's landscaped and a lcd tv to take the place of robert horry

6. what date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
september 1 - i wonder why =) i married the love of my life and was surrounded by my family and friends to share.

7. what was your biggest achievement of the year?
closing on the house the same week that we got married, talk about stress...

8. what was your biggest failure?
that's a tough one. maybe thinking about just me.

9. did you suffer illness or injury?
nothing serious.

10. what was the best thing you bought?
along with my hubby, our house.

11. whose behaviour merited celebration?
i think i agree with fran - definitely the firefighters

12. whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. they're whores.

13. where did most of your money go?
the wedding and the house.

14. what did you get really, really, really excited about?
getting married, going on our honeymoon, getting the keys ...

15. what song will always remind you of 2007?
that stupid umbrella song

16. compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder? happier.
older or wiser? older.
thinner or fatter? fatter.
richer or poorer? poorer

17. what do you wish you'd done more of?
spending quality time with people

18. what do you wish you'd done less of?
stress

19. how will you be spending CHRISTmas?
jumping from house to house to spend with family

20. did you fall in love in 2007?
i've been in love

21. what was your favorite tv program?
it would still have to be grey's anatomy ... and all laker games

22. do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
definitely.

23. what was the best book you read?
if you ask book club, i buy them all but i don't read them.

24. what was your favorite film of this year?
i don't think i watched enough. something with matt damon - i think we watched all his movies this year.

25. what did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
turned 28. went to dinner with friends at grazianos. nothing big.

26. how would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
scrubs, jeans and dresses to go to weddings =)

27. what kept you sane?
knowing i have someone to share every day of my life with =)
having family and friends with me through every step of the journey - it was a long twisted journey last year, ups and downs and lefts and rights but there was always someone there to pick me up and for that i am thankful - and sane

28. which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
derek fisher - he came back to la for his daughter's health. a father's love

29. tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
there is a dichotomy of life. with life, there's death. it was so weird. within the span of 24 hours there was both and it was one of the most gut-wrenching emotional turnarounds. to be sad and then to be happy but to just be there. for both. and try not to let one affect the other. keep strong. for there will again be happiness for all.

Merry CHRISTmas!

2007-12-27T02:42:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone had a very Merry CHRISTmas! Hope it was filled with family, friends and love! I can't wait to upload pictures! I think that should be my new year's resolution -start uploading pictures again! anyway, hope everyone had a beautiful day and left their cares away :)

joey and i went to midnight Mass together and then went to Denny's with Joey and Ritanna and didn't sleep til 4 AM. got up to go and opened our stockings - we had to fill each other's stockings in the house (he even got a tea kettle to fit in mine - just kidding - he added a backpack and put a tea kettle inside) and then went to his parents' house to open presents, went to my parents' house to eat, watch the Lakers game and take lots of pictures, went back to Joey's parents to eat some more and play the Wii, went to Grish's restaurant to have Christmas with friends, then went back to Joey's parents' a third time to take family pictures. Then we finally got to go home and sleep. what a day! but filled with family and friends! MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!

needed an update

2007-12-12T14:53:00.000-08:00

so my blog was looking too brown for me. so i changed it. apparently reg is very protective over her template. sheesh. just kidding reg! anyway, i needed some color. and a picture. and some links. i think it's ok now. anyway, happy wednesday!

CHRISTmas is coming

2007-12-10T00:33:00.001-08:00

CHRISTmas is coming all! let's not forget: Jesus is the reason for the season! Hope you're all having a good season!

so many things going on ...

2007-12-05T14:59:00.000-08:00

there have been. last week i think was the craziest.
sun: work
mon: work
tues: book club
wed: work
thurs: bridal shower
fri: vince's bday
sat: liwanag 10-year gala
sun: work
mon: work
every night was full of something. and hence we've done no christmas shopping yet. actually, no. we have got the boys something. but that's it.
so i had yesterday off and just kind of vegged for the first time in a while. did some laundry. cooked dinner for the hubby. watched my retarded show that i'm addicted to - i'm kind of embarrassed to admit what i watch but i am so addicted. anyway, the past two days have been better. actually time to slow down and breathe.
i got to pick up our wedding dvd today. we tried to get it delivered to the house but since we're not on the map yet, they called us for directions on thursday. i called them back on friday and gave them directions. monday rolled around and they still hadn't delivered so i called them back. they said they would check and call me back and still nothing. so i called this morning and they asked if we coudl pick it up in ontario. so we finally have it =)
the liwanag gala was cool - very interesting to see everyone again. it really is amazing because praise and worship was awesome - i wish i knew the songs though. we were stuck in the front - thanks fran - and i didn't know the words. but all the same, it was still awesome.
so at banquet we saw ray and ann and milani. then on tuesday i saw them at costco.
the pablos: hi!
me: hey!
me: so where do you guys live:
p: in chino, you?
me: in college park
p: us too!
me: which one?
p: auburn
me: no way! that's the one i live in too! we're neighbors
they really live down the street! small world. yay we have neighbors besides the cows!
anyway, that's all for now. talk to you all later.

stuck

2007-11-27T02:07:00.000-08:00

sometimes it's hard because there comes a point where you ask yourself where do you draw the line? faith and hope play a big part in this life. but working in the icu is so hard. we've had patients that have been in the hospital since september and october - specifically in the icu - and are so sick - their bodies rotting from the inside out or wasting away to a cachectic state yet their families still pray for a miracle, something that will help them turn the corner. as a clinician you want them to say it's ok to let them go because they really are rotting from the inside out. but in your heart, with all of your faith and hope, you do hope that they can somehow get better. how do you balance? that's when it's hard. where do we come in? and hence i get stuck.

life changes

2007-11-05T00:57:00.000-08:00

so i was talking to j mo last night and we were talking about life changes. so many people around us are going through life changes right now and it's crazy how we're all caught up in it - some good, some bad, but definitely life changing. i always come to realize more and more how we can't ever take things for granted in this life. we do have to take one day at a time. and it's much easier when we have support.
in brighter news, thanksgiving and christmas are almost upon us! how fun! can't wait for the holidays! i think we're supposed to have a housewarming some day soon but that takes planning that i have yet to do =)

seeing grey

2007-10-29T02:39:00.000-07:00

so i finally watched grey's anatomy this afternoon before i went to Mass and then work. i really love our DVR - i get to watch my grey's all over again. i didn't like one episode this season - the one when momma burke came and cristina wouldn't talk to her. but all of the rest of them have been great. so this afternoon i watched grey's and i cried like a baby. especially when bailey was talking to george about things being in black and white. marriage or any relationship can't be black and white - they have to sometimes be gray or grey in this matter. it's kind of where we're stuck and you have to see things from the other person's point of view. like bailey said, it takes two. now what side the other person sees is up to the other person. maybe they don't want to see gray. i don't know if i like the izzie/george storyline too much. i like that dr. hahn is back and there will again be a ct surgeon. and i don't know what i would do if i needed a heart transplant if i could take my child's - that must have been so hard. and that callie and cristina have somewhat bonded. i guess they have a common bond. wasn't sure if i liked the alex/ava thing because that was a bunch of adultery too. so i don't know if i like that part but so far it's been a good season. there's so many other things that i need to write about. congrats to dorothy and henry on their wedding! i have to post up pictures soon. and the housing market sucks right now but that's a whole different story. anyway, my break's done. talk to you later.

signs

2007-10-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

so i've asked myself if i believe in signs ... not the mel gibson movie that i saw with the o's and dana years ago, but kind of like real signs. i guess i should explain. there's two instances right now that i can think of. i was at work last week and talking to one of the girls about going back to school, maybe i think i'm ready to start again. and then i went to pick up my mail at my parents' house and lo, and behold, there's a flyer from the ucla school of nursing for their applications to the bridge program. i brought the mail home and we've had a lot of mail that hasn't been sorted through so i told joey to take a look at it on his day off and to see what we need or what we can throw away. i told him i had a question for him and he says "you want to go back to school?" i said, "how did you know?" and he said that was the first thing at the top of the pile. we have to see - we're not sure yet because we need to think about family planning.
our next sign was a conversation with gomez the other week. he said he had a proposition for days. he asked if we would be interested in going on a mission trip to jamiaca - similar to what mustard seeds do. actually, going down to the mustard seed place in jamaica. i thought about it. and then joey and i were at Mass yesterday and the homily was about prayer and action. how we could pray and pray but if there was no action to what we were doing, then what are we really doing. so what do you think guys? anyone interested in going on a mission trip? we would have to do some fundraising but it would be "fun"draising! think about it and let me know

fires across the southland

2007-10-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

it's crazy how one fire starts and then it just spreads. first it was malibu and agua caliente, and then irvine/ portola ranch / santiago canyon, and then ontario. i called my sister to see how they were and she said that they could see the flames prety far away so they were ok. apparently you could see the fires from our stairwell at work last night. then when i saw the news where there was a fire in ontario off of schaeffer i thought about our house (schaeffer is about 4 main streets away from us). so i called joey and he said that he didn't see or hear anything. so he took a stroll outside and it was mass wind and dust/ ash but he didn't see flames but all of the little trees that they planted in our neighborhood have blown over. as i was driving home this morning, the sky was completely gray - it was so nasty. and then the sky was red again - just like in lord of the rings - when legolas notices the red sky and says "blood has been shed this fortnight" he's so hot when he says that ... anyway, hopefully these things get contained because it's seriously getting hard to breathe.

these are a little delayed.... sorry

2007-10-17T00:23:00.000-07:00

i haven't been posting on gbox lately because my hard drive crashed and we only have joey's laptop right now so i can only really go online when he's home. and when he closes, i don't really use the computer until after midnight and then i'm too tired to post hence the lack of pictures so that's why you've been seeing more pictures on this thing ...
this was joey's 29th birthday ... if you've been following along, we usually play poker. i think joey's last 3 birthdays have been poker parties, ever since he got chips at the penn house. so it was no different this year, we played poker, if you lost you played wii in the loser lounge, and then there was flip cup during the intermission so you could get lightly tossed before playing the second game. i really sucked at that game so i don't know if i'll ever play that one again =)

hawaii in a nutshell

2007-10-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

our week in waikiki ....
weddings and birthdays in paradise ... good times ...
these pictures posted all out of order but i think you get the picture ...

congratulations!

2007-10-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Rob Duran!

Welcome to the club!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

2007-10-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

Happy 29th Birthday Bubba!!!

Hope you have an awesome birth week! Love you!

happy one month!

2007-10-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

wow! i've been married for a month ... time really does fly when you're having fun! i tell joey every day "it's fun playing house!"
and he always looks at me and says "playing?" well, you know what i mean.
i've been amazingly blessed with great family and friends and a wonderful husband to share the rest of my life with. in two weeks will be the anniversary of our engagement. i asked joey if he thought that when he proposed last year, did he think we'd be married and playing house in a year. he said no. i had no clue either. but God has really blessed us. so much happening still ...
joey turns the big 2-9 tomorrow ...
we leave on thursday for hawaii ...
rob and lauren get married on saturday ...
then finally next week the real work starts again ...
i've been playing way too long. it's been fun =)

i miss ....

2007-09-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

first fridays ...

i was at holy family yesterday for mark's lola's funeral and there i sat at holy family and i really missed first fridays... then i was there with pia and jerome reminiscing about first fridays ... those were fun ... all those late night singing nights and then eating the nice yummy grub that all of the aunties would prepare. it was yummy ... wow ... that was over 5 years ago ... crazy how time flies!

we're leaving for hawaii on thursday! yay! can't wait to see waikiki and honolulu and be able to hang out with everyone to celebrate rob and lauren's wedding! yay destination weddings!

sisters

2007-09-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

i always used to look at those "sisters" frames and wonder. there are never any "brothers" frames. and then i thought about it. the connection's different. i also saw other cards that say "sisters are the best friends." and they are. it's just that unwritten law somewhere. the past few months have been pretty crazy and through it all, my sister's been right beside me. i really have been blessed.

we clean up well huh? hahaha

welcome

2007-09-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

please meet my newest nephew: asher albert torres - Born September 17th, 2007 at 2303, 8 lbs. 7 oz and 21 inches. Congratulations!

our honeymoon in a nutshell ...

2007-09-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

introducing ...

2007-09-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

Mr. and Mrs. Joey Lopez ...

one more day

2007-08-31T08:40:00.000-07:00

one more day ... i woke up this morning to get ready for the spa day and was doing some stuff with the seating chart because we had to change a couple tables for a couple reasons but it all worked out and thought it was 8:30 and realized that it was 7:30 and then realized that i had been awake since 6:45 and not 7:45. geez i'm retarded sometimes. anyway, rehearsal was nutty. the a/c wasn't on and it was steaming and the lady was not very helpful but gomez said that he does it his own way anyway so we should be fine. all right all is well in almost Lopez-ville =)

yay

2007-08-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

yay! we got funded today!! yay! we can pick up our keys tomorrow!! yay! so excited!!

seven more days

2007-08-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

seven more days ... one more week and then it's official ...
the past two days have been full of stuff!! yesterday was hair, dance, church paperwork, shopping for attendants ... then today was fire / house / car insurance stuff, final walkthrough in the house, dropping off escrow paperwork and payments, going to the escrow office three times to finish so we can fund on monday, home depot runs, macys runs and spray painting. tomorrow is pinning and then i just have to start some major cleaning.... but it will all be worth it =) can't wait!

11 days

2007-08-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

so there's 11 days left until become i mrs. lopez and there's so many things happening! favors are almost done, name cards and programs are being printed and need to be brad-ed, curly willow has to be spray painted. then we're good. and then we have to sign the escrow papers and move in before we say i do! talk about stimulation overload! just keep us in your prayers! thanks!

Unbelievable weekend

2007-08-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

i had such an unbelievable weekend - it was unbelievable! i can't thank the ladies that hosted enough- it was awesome - especially my wonderful matron of honor who planned everything in her pregnant state - love you ate! i could have done without getting rear-ended on the way home - that sucked hard core. but my sister went to the ER and was cleared and is following up with her primary care today.

but this weekend was crazy! we went down to san diego for my bachelorette party - there was 11 of us total and got to the hotel and got ready where i was accesorized with a penis crown and penis veil, a pink sash, a boa and a penis straw. and then i got the cutest scrapbook a girl could ask for - thanks day! and then i got scratcher dare cards that i had to do throughout the night and we made our way to dick's last resort. took lots and lots of shots and i think i only got through 3 dares but boy were those entertaining! found out that there really are witches in england! and found out that 8 to 9 shots may be too much for my body! we made our way to the carne asada fries place where i proceeded to puke on the side of the cab AND i cleaned it up myself - i'm a nurse i can't help it. my sister was in line to get me more water and then the guys were there and were like, "look she's puking again! and her friends made her clean it up the first time. they suck" and my sister stood there non-chalantly. i can't blame my sister - she'd get more nauseous with it. i didn't mind. even in my drunken stupor i was able to do my job. we made it back to the hotel where i continued to pray to the porcelain god all night. then we woke up on saturday morning and i was good. all night i tried to re-hydrate myself - apparently cheering myself on throughout the night. but i wasn't alone in my vomiting - i had two partners so that's good.
we went to the Grand Hyatt Spa and it was awesome! all the girls said it was the best massage or treatment they ever got! i got a facial and a body wrap and it was awesome! we went shopping and then got ready for dinner. had dinner at stingaree where we couldn't call anyone by their real name. if you did, you had to do a dare - mina and dana both had 5! franny picked us up from stingaree and we went to some tavern where we proceeded to do the dare cards and saw grish, brian and the guys outside where dana told them to go away! no throwing up that night - yay!
woke up sunday, checked out and went to extraordinary desserts - they were awesome and soooooo yummy! then on our drive home i was looking at pictures and all of a sudden hear my sister - who was driving - say "what's this lady doing?" and BOOM! we get hit from behind. crazy lady! we were going about 60 - 65 and she ran into us! we think from the damages she was trying to change lanes and missed. the damage to her car is the front passenger and ours was the driver side rear and quarter panel. and it was her company vehicle. it sucked. we were ok - actually dana saw us standing on the side of the road and they exited the next exit and we met up with them after. we went to SCRIPPS to get my sister checked out because of the baby and they cleared her by 6 and to follow up with the OB. it was scary. but thank God there was no air bag deployment - that would have been really scary!
anyway, thanks for a wonderful weekend. pictures to be posted later - not on my site but on my sister's. love ya ladies!

wine galore

2007-07-26T20:56:00.000-07:00

i'm sitting in joey's grandma's back room and am surrounded by liquor. Saturday's theme is "A Night in Naples" and there's 10 different kinds of wine but there is also 2 different kinds of tequila, 2 different kinds of rum, vodka, jack, beer and smirnoff. i told grandma i wanted to try all of the different wine and she said "good girl." i would pass out. maybe i'll grow an appreciation for it.

showers galore

2007-07-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

a big thanks to all the ladies that threw the bridal shower on saturday - it was awesome! there was so much food and the chocolate fountain was so yummy and there was purple and gold everywhere - i loved it! this was like wedding shower games for the advanced because they were tough! but everyone had a good time and i can't thank our bridesmaids enough! next up is joey's side of the family plus the couple friends. and then my co-workers are throwing one for us the week after - then the showers are done and the big day approaches! still so much to finish but it's in the works. anyway, i haven't posted pix from the shower but my wonderful matron-of-honor aka my sister did

gabe.gbox.org

it's under the photo gallery section.

have a good day!

my civic duty

2007-07-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

so i finished jury duty today. i've been on jury duty since last wednesday. we sat in the box until today and we settled the case today. it was a civil suit and we were just awarding monies. i'm actually happily surprised that we ruled the way we did. i thought it was going to take a while longer for the 12 of us to agree on such things. our forewoman lady was really pushy - she came into jury duty stating she loved jury duty and she felt like she was on vacation. apparently this is the 4th time she's been on a case and she actually calls if she doesn't get her notice - how weird! the plantiff was asking for $1.5 million - from medical bils (past and future) and pain and suffering (past and future). i think they were a little disappointed when we awarded $27,074 - and $11K was for medical bills alone. that's too bad really because a third is going to the attorney. what a waste of time - the accident happened 5 years ago. anyway, six and a half more weeks til i become mrs. lopez - ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

so the countdown begins

2007-07-07T01:38:00.001-07:00

eight more weeks until the big day ...
so many things done, but so many more things to do
A BIG THANK YOU TO THE O'S - the most awesome friends and paper people ever with even more patience than an elephant (do elephants have patience?) when i saw the printed version that they had to work with and that they had to individually cut each one - i would have strangled myself. you two are wonderful!
so now all the other nitty gritty stuff comes along and that process has begun too ... so it's ok, all is good. mark said he was surprised i wasn't stressed. i said i don't really get stressed. ha!
had breakfast with mark and dana this morning and that was awesome. we were making fun of dana because she's so sappy now. haha. just kidding. but you know you are. hehe. it's always good to hang out after so long and just kind of continue like there wasn't even a gap, an understanding between friends of different ways of thinking but so much to the core of their very being that we know how they work and why they would feel the way that they feel. it's nice.
anyway, had more dance lessons today. i got really dizzy spinning but all in all i think it was a good productive lesson.
we finished all of the pictures to give to gabe so we can check that off.
i told joey's mom that i didn't want lingerie at my shower and she said that i had to have some - that's what a "personal" shower is for. she wants to get me the crotchless panties - she's crazy. or she suggested the swing to go in the poker room - i said yeah, it would definitely be a "poker" room. she said that we had to be creative and open to ideas in the beginning with sex. i'm telling you - it's so weird having this conversation with your mother-in-law.
anyway, our new nephew has a name - asher albert. we get to go to his shower tomorrow. i hope he comes on time or late because if he shows up 10 days early i don't think i can make it to the birth and i'd be missing one bridesmaid.
my first nephew is now 7! wow 7! he turns 7 on 7/7/07. i told my brother to buy the lotto because today could be his lucky day.
anyway, the next couple weeks are going to fly by. we still have a couple things left to do with the loan that we should fax in next week and then we have to fill out the papers that the escrow officer sent us this week and hopefully we can close sometime late july / early august. we're hoping the latter so it's easier on the pocketbook with all the finishing payments with the wedding.
there's so much stuff going on and it's all so exciting. scary. but exciting and new. and we've only just begun ...

wow

2007-07-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

as i was talking to joey we said in two months we'll be opening presents =)
anyway, just wanted to say hi! since i haven't in a while because everything's been so busy lately ...
on this week's agenda ...
work and work ...
stuffing and mailing ...
food tastings ...
breakfast / lunch dates ...
dance lessons ...
nephew's birthday party
new nephew's baby shower ...
brother's birthday ...
more work and jury duty calling ... blah ....
and it's so hard to do in the flippin heat.
i usually always wear a long sleeve shirt under my scrubs but yesterday and today i couldn't do it because it's so flippin hot...
anyway, we'll continue at another time. have to go to my floor.

day by day

2007-06-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

so it's been a hard couple of weeks lately ...
my dad was in the hospital last week ...
chest pain and then he was admitted to the hospital for 3 days
he had another angioplasty with 3 additional stents placed ...
the last time this happened was in November 2005
my sister made a joke that that was 2 months before her wedding and now this happened three months before mine ... at least i'm the last one to get married.
so we celebrated father's day on sunday and pa was able to go out to dinner with us and everything
sunday was a long day ... went to Mass and then went to Joey's family's lunch for father's day, came home and got ready to go to my dad's father's day dinner at cheesecake and then went straight to work ... talk about being tired ...
anyway, lots of stuff to say in so little time ... thanks for the prayers everyone for my dad and now he's actually back at work today.

dana and i were talking last night and i carried on the same conversation with joey. i told them (during our seperate conversations) that i knew that even before joey and i officially started dating that if we started dating, i knew i was done. i knew that if we decided that we were going to go out, i would be with him for the rest of my life. we both knew - we had dated before and we knew what we were looking for and if we made that decision to be together, that was it. and looking back, we both knew. and we're happy with the love we found. so yes, you can know right away. scary huh? but exciting.

is he really leaving?

2007-05-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

is Kobe really leaving the Lakers?
for real?
I don't know how to take this ...
the team that supported you durung your whole rape trial?
the team that took a risk for an 18 year old kid?
and then you sell them out on the radio?
after 10 years?
i'm supporting my team, but not this player ...

so much to say

2007-05-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

and so little time ....
maybe tomorrow ....
so much going on ...
we took our engagement photos last week and i'm waiting for the proofs
we tasted lots of cakes and decided on our cake ...
4 tiers .... that's a lot!
we signed our papers! yay!
but wayyyyy scary ....
couldn't really concentrate while doing so ....
and joey was more than his quiet self
so scary ...
went to brenda's bday ...
we watched chuck liddel lose ...
had a bad case of stomach something ...
had a bbq at lola's ...
this week we have to finish planning our honeymoon ...
michelle's church ceremony and shower ...
lara's bday ...
figuring out invites ....
and the worst part ....
budgeting ....
why does it always have to come to budgeting????

what a weekend

2007-05-23T18:40:00.001-07:00

Grish and Steph got married! yay!
and we put down our deposit! Ahhhh!!! i'll blog more about that one later...

didn't we almost have it all

2007-05-17T23:14:00.000-07:00

what a title
this is the first time that i've watched grey's anatomy live in a long time
and every time i do, it makes me cry
and this one made me cry on all levels
geez ....
burke's vows made me cry
bailey not getting chief resident made me cry
izzie - george - callie thing made me cry
meredith - derek made me cry
everything made me cry
i'm a big cry baby
but that lexie grey is probably meredith's half-sister. that's my thinking.
but what about all the other characters?
did burke really leave?
where is george going to go?
what is bailey going to do not being chief resident?
so many questions ...
but i guess we'll see addison on private practice ....
and find out the rest next season
wow ... already season 4 next season ...

dead phone

2007-05-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

i guess i should have let you guys know this before but my phone is / has been dead for a week.
i had to re-activate my other phone because my current phone cannot charge and my upgrade doesn't happen until october and my old chargeri can't find so i had to order but it still hasn't come in after a week. so if ur texting me, i'm not getting it. i do check my voicemail though but if i don't know ur number by heart, and u don't leave it, i won't be calling u back until i get my old charger back. if anything, call joey and hopefully he'll relay the message. all right. have a good one.

what a girl needs

2007-05-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

so i couldn't sleep yesterday because those stupid policies kept bugging me
so i went to sleep at 11 and woke up at 1 and kept researching but i think i was still right
anyway, i've been sick lately and i was really sick on monday night that i had my own tissue box with me the whole night and finished it throughout my shift - it was the kind with lotion so my nose isn't too red
anyway, i was supposed to work extra tuesday night because we were short and we need the money but after monday's terrible experience i took myself off
when i talked to joey, he was very supportive and we went on a date - on a tuesday.
we went to outback for dinner - had some nice comfort food of cheddar fries, pasta and meat - and talked about his beloved Robert Horry getting suspended. then we walked over to the mall and did some shopping. we're looking for a new suit for him for michelle's wedding. and then we went to the movies. we watched fracture with anthony hopkins and ryan gosling - ryan gosling is sooooo hot. plus he has that southern twang. and he's a really good guy in the movie. anthony hopkins is very intelligent and the movie is very good. recommended. i had been venting and crying all day long and we were in the car and i said "thanks honey"
Joey: "for what"
me: for today
for listening to me tell the same story ten times
for letting me cry
for being you ...
joey: you needed it
me: i know i did and i appreciate you knowing that ... and then i started crying again ...
joey looks at me and i say
me: "don't worry, these are happy tears"
he smiles...
what more could a girl ask for?

i really hate

2007-05-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

feeling dumb ...
and it bothers me that when given an answer they tell me "it's in the policy
so i looked up the policy and guess what? it's not in the policy!
arrrgggghhhh .....
really frustrating
my pt was on a temporary dialysis machine that we have to manage
a ventilator
2 drips (continuous IV's that we have to titrate) to keep his blood pressure up
one to control his heart rate
another for sedation
another for pain
another for clotting
another for his blood sugar
total parental nutrition and lipids
something to look at is heart fluid status
so there's 12 IV pumps in my room along with all of this other stuff
and i manage everything until 0500
then the one thing - the dialysis thing - clots off at 0500
and when the docs come in at 0630 that's the one thing they notice
not that everything else is stable
just that one thing made it seem like i did nothing the rest of the night ...
i hate it

defense mechannisms

2007-05-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

i've seen them put up a lot lately - not only with myself but with other relationships around me.
sarcasm?
blame?
anger?
denial?
avoidance?
these are all the bad ways to deal with them and this is what i see.
i want to be able to have good coping mechanisms
acceptance
progression
and all that good stuff but it's so hard when i see so much of everything else
weird.

Happy Nurses Week

2007-05-07T23:55:00.000-07:00

Make sure you wish all the nurses in your family

HAPPY NURSES WEEK!!!

Hosana

2007-05-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

Pia made me cry at Mass yesterday. Choir was small - Jimmy, Fil, Gil, Jerome, Pia and I - and Annika too. But the Hosana in the Highest is my favorite Mass part because of the little solos that Pia /Dexie and Fil do that resonate and linger. The sounds are just so beautiful. And Saturday when I was standing next to Pia and heard her sing it - it was so beautiful in my ear. It made me realize that God has truly blessed me with His love and I see and hear Him through these people and their musical talents. And they will be there to sing that same Hosana at our wedding. and that day it will probably make me cry even more. I can't wait

it doesn't get old

2007-05-05T01:02:00.001-07:00

with all the worries and all of the stresses in life right now, words that i never get tired of hearing

" i know it will be ok 'cuz we're in it together"
" i love you"

I'm thankful God has blessed me so much. There's a couple things that are happening right now that I don't fully understand and I know one day that I will. But God has blessed me thus far that I will indeed trust in Him.

quote of the day

2007-04-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

"you are my penis fish"

Dr. Izzie Stevens
- Grey's Anatomy 4/26/07

getting back on track

2007-04-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

ever since wed night when we withdrew care on my pt, i've been very doubtful of my nursing skills. is there something i could have done more? after he had died i was bawling like a baby. i was crying in the bathroom and joey called me and i told him what had happened. he asked "did you do anything that made him die?" i said "no" and he said that it wasn't my fault. and that's true. he had been sick for so long. anyway, monday night i had a neuro pt. neuro pts scare me because they can change so fast. he kept complaining of a headache and i called the dr to make sure because headahces are classic signs of increased intracranial pressure. doc said both his head scans were negative. i called him again to make sure 2 hours later and he said the same thing. i had given the pt vicodin and two doses of morphine within 3 hours and his headache still wasn't going away. and then he threw up. and then he felt much better. the rest of the night was pretty unveventful but more headache and i told the doc and he said they were ok with pain because he got whacked in the head. but everything else was normal. he was answering appropriately, moving all extremities, his pupils were reactive. even when the docs came in at 0630 their assessment was the same. and then when i came back last night they said at 0800 he became unarousable. they placed a drain in his head and sure enough there was fluid in his brain that needed to be drained - that was causing the headache. i knew there was something else wrong. so i asked my charge nurse and she asked if i documented everything and i had. we checked the neuro doc's assessment at 0630 and pt was fine at that point - his assessment was the same as mine. i gave report at 0715 and he was ok. so much can happen in that span of time. but it just made me doubt myself. the same doc that was there wed night to pull the vent on my pt had this pt this morning. he was so nice. he asked me how i was doing after that night because he saw me crying like a baby. it was very thoughtful and we kind of tried to figure out how we could have made it easier. he's a first year resident and he's learning well. he said "those 45 minutes are going to be instrumental in my career." me too.

Sukob

2007-04-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

so I found this on someone else's blog. it didn't happen for them so I hope it doesn't happen for us either. Superstitions and faith just shouldn't mix. I truly believe that marriage is a triangle - our relationship, with God as the other point of our triangle. and we're working on it and it's been so beautiful to have him ask what time we're going to Mass and where and talk about what we've been praying about. I still want to watch the movie though ;p

anyway, here's what it means ...

http://aboutmyrecovery.com/2006/08/02/sukob-a-movie-about-superstition/

Sukob – a Superstitious Belief

No I haven’t watched Sukob but my daughter thinks it’s a more horrific film than The White Lady. Notice how the Philippine Movie industry is spewing Filipino film horror genre like its Asian counterparts? As the movie’s title (“Sukob”) states, the movie is about all the horrible things that happen when two siblings are married within the same year.
Well fellow bloggers, my sister B and I married on the same year, 1985. Another sister , M got hitched in 1986 and another sister, L in 1987. And guess what? We all encountered marital problems like most marriages. But how would I know it back then? The year 1985 was originally reserved for me. Oh yes, we had to book our wedding dates in advance as my father is overly superstitious. Dad was a typical traditional Filipino father. Also, we wanted to play it safe. M wanted to get married in 1985 as well but gave in to me because I was the older sister. Besides , Butch and I were already steadies for 7 years. M and her fiancee just met that year. M thought we should get the wedding date of May 1985. I had seniority and first priority. One day in October 1985, B suddenly announced her wedding plans for November 1985. M and I were furious.
How could you? Don’t you know one of us will have bad luck? I cried.
M protested “ I gave in to Noemi because I didn’t want both of us to be married the same year”
B argued “That’s just a superstition!”
Shock and disappointment was our initial reaction . B remained adamant. She pushed through with her wedding plans and got married in November 1985. My father forgot all about the superstition because he suffered a stroke a few days after my sister asked permission.
If B didn’t insist on marrying in 1985, her wedding date would have been slated for 1987. Imagine 2 more years. And L would have protested too. That’s what happens when there are 4 sisters in the family. How can one predict wedding dates anyway?
Twenty-one years later, my attitude towards superstitious beliefs changed. Superstitious beliefs are so negative and it means one does not even have faith in God. If one continues to foster negative vibes about marriage, then it will lead that way. I had to remove the “sukob” belief in order to lead a positive attitude of my married life. I have learned that a marriage is about imperfect people doing their best to nurture and minister in love. Caring, long-term commitment, integrity, togetherness and maintaining a positive focus are qualities of character that foster lasting love. God is also the center of our married life. He controls the details of our life and we lift our problems and plans to Him. Of course, I only knew this much later in life after much pain and trials.
Inspite of my initial disappointment, I learned to let it go. M forgot about it. May all the sisters in the world continue to live in love and understanding. Pooh “sukob”. It’s not true.

i love fedex

2007-04-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

it's the one time that i enjoy waking up to the doorbell.
the first time was the friday before christmas when joey's PS3 arrived.
but then he saw the box that afternoon and ruined his surprise =(
then the fedex guy would wake me up with my various online wedding purchases.
still waiting for one of those to come on may 4
but this morning, the same morning that i was getting ready to go to the country registrar's office to get a birth certificate, good thing i was lollygagging - the fedex truck came with something from the department of the state
i got my passport from fedex - yay!

on a sadder note, i had to go through my first red packet on wed night / thurs morning. i hate working extra. it's a bad omen. it's always a harder day. my pt that i was praying for died. family decided to withdraw. and it was one of the saddest things to see. i was crying like a baby. but afterwards, he did look so peaceful. i'm glad you're now safe in His arms mr. s. all my prayers to your family.

this is simply ridiculous

2007-04-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

seriously this is retarded. i've been on hold for 30 minutes to check on my passport status. and when i made the reservation for the cruise they said that starting in January we would have to get our passport going on the cruise. now it says that we only need it if we're traveling by air. the problem is that they would need to see our birth certificate. and in order to apply for a passport, they take your birth certificate. so i just got off the phone with the lady and she said that my passport is being processed in south carolina. she knows that i called last week but the only back up plan now is to go to the county clerk's office and to get a new birth certificate. all she can do now is call the agency in south carolina and tell them to hurry up. and that's all she can do. and to call back monday. ridiculous. seriously ridiculous. glad we got the insurance.

let us pray.

2007-04-17T17:35:00.000-07:00

for all those that died at virginia tech yesterday. may they all rest in peace. who would have thunk that in blacksburg, virginia such a tragedy could occur? it's so sad. the poor victims and their poor families.
for all the dying in the world. there's one pt at work that is almost near death. they're waiting for his brother to fly in before they take him off the ventilator. he's been in and out of the hospital for two years. when i first met him last year, he was walking and talking and just a nice man. when he came in almost a month ago, he was septic and just plain sick. and now they've decided to make him a DNR. his family is so nice. they said they've been to several different hospithals but ours is the best. they said that the level of care he's received on our unit doesn't compare to other hospitals including UCLA. it made us all t to know we care and we appreciated it but all of our hearts sank when we found out they made him a DNR. he's such a nice man and young, only 55 with a loving wife and 3 kids.
please also pray for stroke victims. their lives are changed in an instant. ladies be careful with those birth control pills. those warnings are true. our pt is only 42 and had a stroke and they're assuming it's from prolonged birth control use. so please. watch yourselves.
and for the world in general. that there may be peace somewhere but most especially in our own lives and our own hearts.
in this we pray. Amen.

congratulations!

2007-04-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Mark Lombos!

i really hate

2007-04-12T17:11:00.000-07:00

the post office. and this computer right now.
uhhhhh.
please pray i get my passport in time.
i just called because they said i have to wait until 2 weeks before departure before i can even call
so i called
waited for 15 minutes on the phone
the lady says that they are currently processing people that need their passports at the end of the week and next week.
she can't tell me the status of mine - all she knows is that it's being processed.
what's the point of telling people they can call 2 weeks ahead of time when you can't do anything about it?
and they need to educate the post office workers
if someone asks if they should expedite, tell them to.
don't tell them that they don't have to and then they have to go through this mess.
and when you tell the passport people that they said that it was all over the news and media and we should have listened. that's bull. they should re-inforce when we apply at the post office because they're a lot closer of resource than the damn media. i hate this. really i do. and i don't hate much.

a mike tyson inspiration

2007-04-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

Jesus Christ by Brand New

Jesus Christ that’s a pretty face
The kind you'd find on someone that could save
If they don't put me away
O' it'll be a miracle

Do you believe you're missing out?
That everything good is happening somewhere else
But with nobody in your bed
The night's hard to get through.

And I will die all alone
And when I arrive I won't know anyone.

Well Jesus Christ, I'm alone again.
So what did you do those three days you were dead?
Cause this problem's gonna last
More than the weekend.

Well Jesus Christ I'm not scared to die,
I'm a little bit scared of what comes after.
Do I get the gold chariot,
Do I float through the ceiling?

Do I divide and fall apart?
Cause my bright is too slight to hold back all my dark
And this ship went down in sight of land.
And at the gates does Thomas ask to see my hands?

I know you’re coming in the night like a thief,
But I've had some time alone to hone my lying technique.
I know you think that I'm someone you can trust,
But I'm scared I'll get scared
and I swear I'll try to nail you back up.
So do you think that we could work out a sign?
So I'll know it's you and that it's over so I won't even try.
I know you’re coming for the people like me.
But we all got wood and nails
we try n’ tear down hate and factory.
Yeah we all got wood and nails
don't tear down hate n' factory.
Yeah we all got wood and nails
And we sleep inside of this machine.

I don't know if these are the right words because when they were posted, they said that they weren't sure if they were the right words. anyway the lead singer of Brand New was on the radio trying to explain the song and he said that it was inspired by mike tyson. the lead singer had heard in interview of mike tyson and how people especially the media had portrayed him as a monster and mike tyson wondered how jesus would treat him if he was here today. would he befriend him and eat dinner with him like he was a normal person instead of the animal that the media thought he was? the lead singer got inspired and thought how would Jesus be if he came down now? Would we recognize him? Would he sit and have dinner with us? Are we worthy of his presence? I thought it was quite interesting and an appropriate release around Easter time. so He is Risen, Alleluia. Alleluia. Have a blessed Easter week!