Commuter Chaos Concerns

Luxury Living vs. Commuter Chaos....That is the question.

We currently live 45 minutes away from Adam's work...and less than 5 from my work. Although our apartment has been good for the first 1.5 years of marraige...we are ready to bid it farewell.

There are many luxury apartment and townhome options if we move much closer to Adam's work...but seeing as I am not in the position to leave my job it would now place me in the position of a 45 minute commute tacked onto a 12-13 hr work 'night.' The job is tiring enough...is it safe to drive home after staying up all night??
Pros: great living space (laundry room, garages sometimes, great kitchens, etc etc etc).
get to explore a new area (shopping and restaurants!!)
could possibly see Adam for lunch now and then.
Adam would get home an hour earlier and leave an hour later.
great living space (counts as 2 because its such a plus!)

Cons: further away from friends and family
further away from...everything except the desert.
hot hot hot in the summer
possibly an (even more) exhausting shift and dissatisfaction with the job
Adam would save gas and I would use more gas.
Have to leave earlier for work and would get home later. And still go back to work that night.



WHAT DO YOU THINK???

WHO AM I??

Who Am I?

I am under 45 years old,
I love the outdoors,
I hunt,
I am a Republican reformer,
I have taken on the Republican Party establishment,
I have many children,
I have a spot on the national ticket as vice president with less than two years in the governor's office.


Did you guess?


I am Teddy Roosevelt in 1900

Sleepless in Pasadena...

Well, its been a rough month for my sleep cycle. I am working full time nights now in the hospital. Really, I am grateful to have such a good job at this stage of life, but for many reasons working full time nights is really difficult. I tend to sleep a lot these days, but many times I still don't feel rested. I work 6 shifts every 2 weeks...so it averages out to be about 3 a week. I try to work two nights then have 3 days off before the next set of 2. Unfortunately, I lose the day before shift sleeping and usually it takes me 2 days to fully recover. I have to nap during the day and then I stay up really late at night...which in turn, makes me feel like sleeping in.

I also really miss Adam when I have to go to work. It feels like such a bummer that I don't get to spend the evening with him! We try to make up for it and do fun things on my days off..but it just is totally sad not having normal weekends with him and different weeknights. I've heard it takes 6 months to get used to a new job...and I'm in that stage I think. Hopefully there will be a day shift open. Now, if only I didn't have to work on weekends!! I think a Doctors Office is calling my name in the future. I really like the unit I work in...but it can only be this way for so long!!

Phelps Phan!

WELL, I hope you all are watching the Olympics. I think it is literally one of the best things that exists. That being said, I think the most interesting person in the Olympics is by far: MICHAEL PHELPS. He is definitely an amazing athlete. Each time I watch him swim (or just stand there hehe jk) I am amazed at his ability to ROCK the socks of everyone else in the water. In Saturday's race, his weakness (breaststroke) was stronger than all the others' strengths. Then, in Sunday's relay....well I hope you have heard about that by now. UH-Mazing. Tonight, he will attempt the 200 freestyle (an event which he only made bronze last year)...My guess is he perfected it and will continue to SPANK the competition!!! BUT my favorite thing about him is how he shows excitement when he wins!! I love how he comes out of the water smiling and looking for his mom! Haha. Now, all of you who are worried about what Adam thinks of my gushing...have you seen the girls' volleyball this year? He completely understands my Olympic Crush :-)

Coming to a blog near you...

Well, for those of you who actually look at my blog more than once a year..I want to let you know that I will SOON be posting pictures from our totally fun vacation to Lake Powell. There are literally thousands of pictures and I have been working like a DOG (wait...do dogs work??) so I haven't had a second to get them all organized. But sadly, that post will not be this one, because I am off to the gym to try to keep my arms strong since they got a jumpstart waterskiing.

R.N= Real Nurse!!

Last Monday (June 9th) was a big day for me. I went and took my Boards in order to get my licensed R.N! (As if four years of nursing school isn't enough~!!). Well, I felt as good as can be expected after taking the test. I finished at 75 questions, which is the minimum the computer can give you. It means either I passed with strong certainty, or I failed miserably! I figured that I wouldnt have failed miserably so I felt pretty good about it. Then I had to play the waiting game...I checked online at the Board of Registered Nursing to see if I was listed on there as a licensed nurse! Finally on Thursday morning I was listed...EXCITING!!! A few days later in the mail I received a cute light blue card (shape and feel of a credit card) that is actually my license card. I didnt know we got one of those...so fun! I start my job in Maternity on July 7. You can be praying that it will go smoothly, I will meet some nice people, the managers will like me, and that the scheduling doesn't knock my socks off!!! I am nervous about working nights...but hopefully it won't be forever!!!

Another Weekend Away

Sara got married to Matt on Monday (which was also Adam's and my first year anniversary!!!) We drove to Arizona on Friday and got there mid afternoon. We had an anniversary date that night and went to a nice dinner and a movie. Adam surprised me with a diamond anniversary band for my right hand which I'm in love with. It is engraved with our wedding date :) If you are wondering what I got him...its a bit of an inside 'joke' between us-but he got to pick out any really nice luxurious pillow he wanted from any store. That is because I stole his favorite pillow because it was really comfortable and he has been suffering with cheap pillows all year!! The weekend of events was very fun and we had a great time at the wedding. I was a fan of the color of the dresses paired with the white longstem rose bouquets. Sara's dress was the same designer as mine and had some similar components...I loved it on her. She added some fabric from the bridesmaids dress to accent it which was neat. The weather was perfect (could have been really hot) so all in all I enjoyed it. It is very nice to be home again though after two long weekends of driving and events in a row :)

Melanie and Joe's Wedding

This past weekend Adam and I were up near Modesto for a college friend's wedding
that I was in. We carpooled up there with other friend's Matt and Sara (who are getting married
monday the 26th :) If you have never been up to that area it is definitely farm/cow land.
This weekend was record breaking heat...and humidity. The flowers were hanging on for dear life
but they were beautiful. Friday was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, Saturday was the wedding, and on Sunday we drove back home. They had a very short ceremony in a church and then we all drove to a
gardeny area where the reception had been set up. It was perfect for a country girl...elegant yet outdoorsy. I battled skeeters and ants all night but all in all had a very nice time and am very happy for them to be married after a 20 month engagement!!! Yowzers. On Friday Adam and I will be driving to Arizona (scottsdale area) for Matt and Sara's wedding. I am also a bridesmaid in that and am so happy for them to be finally married as well. Sadly, both couples will be moving out of state so we will have to visit them over the years!

Daydreaming....

Well, for anyone who knows me...I am someone who absolutely loves vacations. Last year for our honeymoon Adam and I went on a fabulous trip to NYC and all over the Carribean. BUT a year has gone by and I've got the itch again. This year, I have responsibility...and my lavish desires must wait. I will live vicariously through my parents, who, this coming week are traveling to FIJI!!! Then, in the Fall, my in-laws will be cruising through Greece and Italy (I think I gave them that idea since its on my top wish list). WELL, I wish them both the best time ever. Oh and happy 30th anniversary to my parents :)

Huntington Beach

Adam's cousin had a birthday recently and so we joined him and his friends/fam at a beach party. It was a lovely evening and had been a warm day so it didnt get too chilly. We had lots of fun and I would love to spend some more time there this summer. Shopping and tanning anyone??

DIamond Necklace

My mom and dad gave me this diamond starfish necklace...once again..Im a crappy photographer...but its so
adorable and SO me!!! I love it :)

Huntington Memorial Hospital

Well, this is where I will be working...i.e spending my nights :) These pictures don't really do it justice because it has really become a beautiful hospital. The entrance looks more like a hotel than a hospital. Anyhow, its about 3-4 blocks from our apartment which is nice. In fact, I took these pictures from the parking lot of our Vons grocery store. I like feeling like Im working in the community...its kinda nice! I will be in the Postpartum/Maternity unit there working with moms and newborns. That unit is located on the bottom left of the building.
I love that I can finally wear cute scrubs...I got a few as gifts for graduation and Im totally excited to wear them and buy some more!!

Nursing Pinning Ceremony

Friday afternoon we had the Nursing Pinning Ceremony. Getting your pin is a very special right of
passage into being in the profession! Our pin has a cross in the middle of it and it says Azusa Pacific University, BSN etc...
Again, like with the graduation photos...my dad has way better pictures but I was too antsy and wanted to post
now :) Hey, aren't you proud of me for adding pictures???

Nursing Themed Grad Party

My Mom was so cute and creative and threw me a graduation party with a nurse theme :) I didn't want to have a large party but mostly had family and some very close friends who supported me a lot during the four years! I was so thankful that people were able to come and celebrate. Its always nice to have an occasion to see those you love! It was a beautiful afternoon in Thousand Oaks..not too hot and not too cold!

We played a fun game where my mom took all sorts of candies and placed them in a glass container. They were pretend "pills" that "nurse amy" would give to "her patients." You had to guess how many pills were in there as well as how many different kinds..and then list the different kinds! I was very competitive with this game :) What was the best was that Anna (my brother's girlfriend) was only 20 pills off from the actual number! Later, she said that she used the formula for the area of a cylinder....WOW!!!

My mom ordered all these cute "syringe" pens... and made the votive table arrangements stuffed with different medical supplies.

THANKS TO ALL WHO CAME AND ALL WHO SUPPORTED ME OVER THE YEARS!!!

WE GRADUATED!!!!

On Saturday evening, APU's class of 2008 graduated under a beautiful sunsetting sky. It was a great ceremony, and although the handing out of diplomas was long (700 students), it was a very fun event for those of us who were graduating. I was completely swimming in my graduation gown thanks to my tall height and unisex sizing..blah...but thank goodness they were black bc that's slimming, right?? JK. Graduating was a huge accomplishment for me as well as my friends and we are feeling bittersweet as to the end of an "era."

Im hoping to get some more pics in my hands soon...right now I only have these that I got from Lisa's camera. I tried to burn a CD of my dad's camera's pics which are really nice but I was in a hurry and for some reason when I tried it this morning it looks like it didn't copy!!



US three girls were roommates last year.

Job Possibilities...

WELL, these last few weeks of college are flying by and I am quite busy!
At this point, I am looking into working at one of three different hospitals in the area (more or less). One of them is Huntington Memorial Hospital right here in Pasadena. Its overall a really nice hospital, a "teaching hospital", affiliated with USC, and probably the best is that it is like 3 blocks away from our apartment. I am interested in a position in the Maternity department there. Another hospital I am applying to is Children's Hospital Los Angeles which is in Hollywood off of Vermont and Sunset. That is the negative...is that it is a little ways a way although I have gone there many times before for clinicals. It is a pediatric facility that is the "mecca" for all serious pediatric cases. I am applying to keep my options open. They have a 22 week New Grad residency starting in September. The last hospital is also nearby and its called Glendale Adventist Hospital. Its only 10 or so minutes away and our neighbor had her baby there in the fall. Actually quite a nice facility even though APU has not done clinicals there. Again, I would prefer a Maternity position there but those units are "full" for now...but I am going to continue the application and out of all three hospitals see what ends up being the best situation! Keep me in your prayers as the process goes on... Yikes.

Work in Progress

Well, I've been wanting to play around a little with this whole blogging thing and see if I can edit our page at all...I'm new at this whole blogging thing! HOWEVER, we both have a lot of work to do this weekend so it might have to wait...for now, I did finally figure out how to add friends' blogs to our site!...but I don't have enough time to add them all! Im also trying to figure out how to add a picture to our header but its always too big..hmmm. Difficult. Well, keep reading and look forward to hearing from you!

Gemina Giraffe

This is a bit of a late post but I thought it was necessary. Some of you may know the sad news that Gemina the giraffe at the Santa Barbara zoo died at the age of 21. She was born at the San Diego Wild Animal park in 1986 and was brought to the Santa Barbara zoo when she was about a year old. What makes Gemina special is the near 90-degree kink in her neck.

The kink in her neck never seemed to impede her life. X-rays never showed what caused her neck to grow this way, but it never seemed to matter. It only made her a famous giraffe...at least to nearly everyone in Ventura County and Santa Barbara. She shall be missed as a "landmark" of the Santa Barbara zoo.
NOW, here is why I cared about Gemina Giraffe. Some of you may know that I have scoliosis and when I was 13 years old I started having to wear a back brace for 23 hours a day, everyday. It was really uncomfortable and it disfigured my body in clothing which was embarassing as a 13 year old. I wore it for 2 years straight and when my treatment was done I couldn't ever have been happier. My brother affectionately called me Barbie (bc the brace looked plastic like barbie) and Turtle (bc it was my turtle shell). I remember going to the zoo and seeing Gemina...and I always liked her because she had a crooked spine too! Also, I was born in 1986 and so was she...so she's my buddy. Plus...who doesn't like giraffes?

Daffodils and Dad

When I was younger I lived in a bedroom of my parent's house that looked over the side yard. I had a cute springy bedspread and a matching bedroom set with a pretty canopy. It was a little girls' dream. My dad planted beautiful daffodils because I loved them. Every early spring I could look out my window and there would be my own beautiful garden outside. Adam and I went home this weekend and I smiled to myself seeing the beautiful daffodils in the yard blooming. I love being married and living with my husband. Our apartment is cute and cozy...but I love the fact that I can look back at my childhood years with such fond memories and know that I truly am loved. When Adam and I started to get serious, my dad knew that it would be easy (and normal) for me to feel like Adam loved me more than anyone else in the world. My dad didn't want to lose that title though so he always liked to remind me that he loved me first. Thanks dad :)

Remembering when life was simple...like this picture

Well, the past 9 days or so have been pretty crummy in my book. Last tuesday I came home from school with a tiny cough and then by evening I was all out sick with the Flu...and probably was the sickest I have been in a few years for the next 3 days or so. When the body aches left, the cough came back which was so bad it left me with more body aches... (for the record...I'm still coughing). THEN last night (Tuesday again) at around 7 pm, my Honda which was parked in the parking spot here at our apartment was broken into. The robbers smashed my front window and stole a GPS system, Adam's electric guitar (a gift from his groomsmen at the bachelor party) and his brother's laptop. We found out because our neighbors heard the car alarm and they came to tell us and let us know. When we went down to see it the glass from the window was everywhere and the back door was open. UGH it was such a violating feeling...
We figure that they must have seen me driving into the complex and seen the GPS unit. My car is parked way in the back of the parking garage and so its not like out there for everyone to see. The computer and laptop were in the backseat with tinted windows so it must have been the GPS unit they were going for. The police verified that this was a hot ticket item...so ya. Anyways, the police found smudged prints so that didn't help much. We are still waiting for the window to be able to get fixed...which obviously causes a rough situation for me getting to class and adam to work during the day. Hopefully by tomorrow it will be fixed. Its frustrating because I missed so much class last week and feel just like behind anyways...now this is on top of it. And poor Adam is busy working at his new job so its not a good idea for him to miss work to help me out. BUT we are dealing for now.
On top of that, Im pretty sure I just got pink eye...which makes sense since Ive been so sick...so that's not fun either. I wasnt sure I was allowed to go to clinical tomorrow but it looks like I'll be able to after all! Phew.
Well, usually our posts are fun but seriously for now..we are just ready to have this week be over with and get caught up on life. Does one every get caught up on life? Certainly not on weeks like this.

The Whalley Wedding

Well, my best friend Kara Angel is now officially married to David Whalley...making her Mrs Whalley! I am so excited for them. Their wedding was beautiful and really special to be a part of. Each of them have great friends and family and it was wow..it was emotional to see my childhood friend be so happy and become a wife!
They are now off in Hawaii having a great time...and I just heard from her which was really special!

The Holidays

Hey, so we've taken a break during the Holidays...which were SO much fun by the way. My sister in law Erin came into town from New York. It was so much fun going from the Broughton house to the Voorman house where everyone was in town. My brother and Anna were at my parents house too and so we just had lots of fun. We had five Christmas celebrations in a row...and Im sure we must have gained weight from that!!!
We also were so excited to get to go to Park City, Utah for a week with my family. Its a trip we have always loved since we had been dating and it was just so fun to be there together again! We hadn't expected to be able to go this year because of "responsibilities" but since Adam's start date for his new job was after the trip we were able to go!
We loved our first, busy, cozy, Christmas together and are excited for the many to come!