Making a living or Making a life?

So okay, it's been asked of me in recent days, Can't you just slow down? Why do you work so much they ask? The truth is, yes, I'm a workaholic or so I have been told. I enjoy working, I feel useful and productive. I enjoy earning a great living and I enjoy making a great life for myself. I believe I can have and do both, make a great living and make a great life.

Truth be told, My job with Prevent, Inc is a great dream come true. I have many moments while working with Prevent where I just have to pinch myself and wonder if this is really work? I get to travel to some of my favorite cities, see some amazing sites, stay in nice hotels, enjoy different people, drink spirits in cool bars, and eat meals out til my heart is content. How lucky am I?

I still pick up shifts at the hospital near my house. Working at the hospital is definitely different from my experiences with Prevent, but I like it nonetheless. Nursing in an acute setting has changed in the years, but I'm still very challenged and I'm honored to say that I'm still in awe of the miracles I see performed in that ER. I still believe I make a difference in people's lives whether large or small.

So yes, I probably put in way too many hours and work much harder than I really need to, but I really enjoy. The older I get, the more I realize I can't really sit still, my mind is constantly wondering what I will do next. I do enjoy hanging out with my husband and my friends, I don't miss out on much.

Work hard, play hard....a way of life!

Enjoy your view!

Family Affair

It's always great to be surrounded by family in good times and/or bad. Although, I can honestly say, I prefer the good times (birthdays, weddings, vacations, anniversaries, etc) over the bad (funerals, hospitalizations, etc). However, over the past weekend we had a bad occasion that gathered us all together.

Bill's Dad, David passed away last week and we had the funeral on Monday. Truth be told, he's been ill for some time and he's gotten progressively worse over the last few weeks. Safe to say he's in a better place now and it's the best for all involved. I'm sure the boys (Bill's brothers) will miss him very much but they have a wonderful bank of memories made with him to draw upon.

I guess it's true....Life really is a series of hellos and goodbyes. Cherish both!

Enjoy your day!

Wife

Yes, it's true, I am Bill's wife. That in itself is very scary to me, I enjoy being married and we have a great life together. I must say it's nice to be a wife but many times I wish there were two of me. Which led me to a brillant idea. I should take out an ad looking for an extra wife. Yes, that's right, I need a wife as well.

Bill tries to help when he can and has the time, but he's very busy too. So I decided, I need a wife to cook, clean daily, organize, straighten up, run errands, do chores, water plants, etc. I doubt anyone would really want this job let alone apply for it. However, if you think of it that's the job of a wife, all the above plus get kids to various locations at the same time, soccer, golf, tennis practice, ballet, dance, etc. Kinda scary.

I wish I had the time and/or ambition to complete all the duties of a wife. All this stuff just catches up with you and then you are instantly overwhelmed at all of the "stuff" that lies ahead. Maybe I need to plan a little better. That will be my goal for the month of March, to not let things pile up and then stress out when looking at all the stuff that needs my attention.

That's right, more planning and less stress. Bill's not sure I'm capable of not stressing about things that need completed but we will see...

Enjoy your view!

"Is a bell necessary on a bicycle"

When I first heard this phrase, I died laughing. Strange collection of words to put together. Well, I first heard this when my great grandmother whose name is Isabelle Leo told us her childhood chums would tease her about her name and ask "Is a bell necessary on a bicycle"? Aspen and I thought that was too funny. I share this story because on February 16th Gram Leo passed away at the ripe old age of 99.

Sad day for all who heard the news. The truth of the matter is she has been ready to go for the last 20 years. As kids, she has spent many winters with us, I think 14 in all. Everyone loved her, our friends and family always welcomed her arrival. She was Gram to most, and some called her Iz or Izmo. I have many fond memories of her when she spent those winters with us, she would eat green gummy mint leaves, orange slices, and pork chops with mint jelly. She would fold endless baskets of laundry and tidy up our rooms. We had a pool growing up, and she would do many laps around the pool deck for her "exercise." She loved to watch Regis and Kathie Lee with a cup of tea and a hearty breakfast and on Sundays she would watch Robert Schueller religiously (no pun intended). She and my mom were the best of buds, and my mom treasured those winters she spent with us. Another fond memory was when we took Gram to Franes Fashions where she would load up on new clothes, slacks, blouses, and some pearls. We always encouraged her to get brighter colors so we could see her coming. For the most part, she obliged.

I will miss Gram terribly but I also will cherish those great times and they will be with me forever. I don't know many people who can say they knew their great grandma let alone had a great relationship with her. She lived a great life, 99 years old is quite an accomplishment. I hope they are having a huge party up in Heaven and she is catching up with her husband and all her friends...they have waited a long time for her arrival. We will miss you and you know we loved you so much.

Enjoy your view!

Full Cycle

I feel as though my life has come full cycle in just 29 short years of being on this earth. I was born in 1978 at Baylor Memorial Hospital in Dallas Texas. Well this past week I spent working at Baylor Memorial Hospital in Waxahachie Texas. Same Baylor facility, different city. I chuckle at that and realize just how far I have come.

Now I'm not really a boastful person, however, I love my life and I'm very proud of the life that I have made. Granted, Bill and I now share everything about our life and what we have with each other. It's ironic how things work out. Before I met Bill, I was looking for the piece to complete my puzzle. I had a great professional life and I was just looking for someone to share my personal life with. I have a beautiful house and lots of great "things" but I was missing that special someone to enjoy all this with. Now I have him and we are doing remarkably well. Like everyone, we have bumps to work through but it's now done with more ease.

Who would have guessed that this baby born in Dallas Texas at a Baylor Facility would eventually get to return to Baylor a positive, productive member of society. Pretty cool!

Enjoy your view!

Car Shopping

I never knew that car shopping could be so stressful. I mean you are looking at beautiful new autos to purchase, bring home, and live happily ever after with them, right? Well, Bill and I are in the market for 2 new cars this year, not really anticipated but our cars are 10 years old and we are ready to have newer and more reliable cars.

Luckily, we have purchased one car (mine) an 08 honda crv and we have one to go with Bill's car. We did not encounter any trouble in purchasing mine, friendly sales staff, reasonable price, and the exact car we wanted. We had test driven the car one time, did our "homework" on price points, researched gas mileage, reliability, and reached at price point we would be happy with. All in all, a nice experience. Thank you honda!

Fast forward a few days, Bill and I go again to car dealerships and I am anticipating a similiar experience with the others. Not so much. We first enter the Nissan Dealership to look at the 09 Murano. First we are damn near mugged as we get out of the car. A pushy sales person runs over to us asking "is anyone helping you guys?". No, no one is helping us, as you saw we just are getting out of the car, so he shows us the Murano, very nice but not what Bill really wants. After sharing that with him, he then asked, "What can I do to get your business today?" well, we told we aren't looking to buy the exact same day we saw the vehicle, we are doing some comparsion shopping.

We then go to the Ford dealership to look at Bill's favorite the Ford Edge. He loves this car and will most likely get it. So another sales person comes out of the woodwork, informing us he's relatively new with Ford (since January) but he's willing to help us with anything he can. Bill drives the Ford Edge and is really pleased with it. He's choosing the model he wants, color, interior, etc. So for grins, we have the guy run the numbers again for comparison reasons. Much to Bill's dismay they aren't going to give him what he wants for his trade in and the sales person's price point is a lot higher than we want to spend. When we tell him we are unhappy with the price, he then says, "Well, what can I do to get your business today?" These sales people must obviously be trained to say that when people aren't happy with what they originally said. Like I'm gonna change my mind and give you my business today because you are going to go above and beyond the call of duty and give me this Fantastic Deal when I originally said I was unhappy with what you originally said. Does that make any sense?

So we leave and proceed to another Ford dealership because Bill really wants the Ford Edge. Here's the silve lining in all of this car bull shit. The third and final sales person is not pushy, non intrusive, doesn't ask for our business repeatedly, and is generally a really nice guy. Bill's struck the jack pot. He loves the car, likes the salesperson and is very happy.

So we will be bringing home a new Ford Edge for Bill. The best news of all is we are set for cars for awhile now. Thank god!

Enjoy your view!

Negative Results!!!!!!

My test results came back and they are NEGATIVE!!!! No chance of breast cancer. That's the best news I have heard all week.

I'm so thankful and I want to thank all my friends and family for all the thoughts and prayers!!!!

Enjoy your day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Prayer Request

Today is the day I will get my results from my biopsy. I'm not horribly religious but I do have many candid conversations with God and I do pray frequently. I would appreciate any prayers and positive thoughts you could send my way.

In my heart, I believe the results will be good...it's just the fear of the unknown. Thanks for the prayers in advance!

I'll keep you posted.

Enjoy your view!

The next 10 years...

In the midst of a very benign conversation the other night. Bill asks, "Where do you see us in the next 10 years?" Every once in awhile we have these conversations where we come up with these "dream scenarios" of where we see ourselves and what our life would look like in the future. I asked Bill to answer the same question. When we did, our answers were very similiar.

We would both like to move pursue new beginnings, changes of pace, new scenery, and essentially a new start. He then asked, wouldn't we miss our friends and our family, clearly I said yes. But that's the beauty of being married, we are our own family. Truth be told, we would miss everyone but we could come and visit. Bill's family lives here and we rarely see them, they have their own things going on, marriages, kids, careers, and life. We see my parents when we can. My sister moved to Colorado to pursue her "new life" which is great, and truth be told we will see her once or twice a year as she too, has her own things going on.

Bill and I were thinking and talking about how great our life is now and we can't wait to see what happens in "the next 10 years."

Here's to being our own family!

Enjoy your view!

Family Weekend

It's nice to be surrounded by the people you love the most and love you the most. My folks are in town spending the weekend with Bill and I. It's always nice to have them around and do things around Orlando. We can do anything or nothing and have a good time.

Family is like comfort food, when you are down they are the ones you look toward for some relief, some comfort, and "to make everything alright." I'm blessed with a great family and a great life. I just need to remind myself of that daily....happy to be me and be in my position!

Enjoy your view!