Actual Birthday

Taken at 9:01 pm...the exact moment she was born (although that was on Cali time). And her father and his wife were there to celebrate that moment, so that was nice. She and I celebrating her birthday again Tuesday night.

Girlfriend's birthday was on a Tuesday this year and that was the day of the week she was born...brought back alot of memories. I just love this kid. Girlfriend wanted a buttload (that's for you Unc) of stuff but REALLY wanted a Sleeping Beauty Talking Head Styling Vanity which I found days before her birthday...talk about luck. I did take on of she and I...I told her that it was about 5 years ago that time when we had our first picture taken together...I'll spare you the pictures (5 years ago and now). I think I look more worn out but definitely happier now! ;)

Not too many strikes!!!

We had girlfriend's 5th birthday party at Rainbow Lanes Bowling a couple Saturdays ago, and it was a blast...some people said they hadn't bowled in 30-40 years...too much fun.

Girlfriend and her "salty dog, best buddy" Dying to get those princesses in her hands and off the cake!

With one of my best friends (Sarah- nurse of the year) and her husband.

With my freakout friend from nursing school. :)

Amazing what a little flat-ironing and Aveda products can do for a girl! And yes, I let her use my Bobbi Brown skin care stuff, too...the girls at the Bobbi Brown counter LOVE this kid and everytime girlfriend, Sarah and I go they put blush, lip gloss and eyeshadow on her...doesn't hurt to have fun! :)

It was a fun time and she was EXHAUSTED by the time it was over!!! Thanks to everyone for coming and having a good time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GIRLFRIEND!!

Today is my baby girl's 5th birthday! I'll post the pictures from her birthday party this past Saturday at the bowling alley soon. Everyone had such a good time. It is hard to believe that my baby is 5 years old. My life has been so much better because of this little person who loves me more than I think she should at times. I love you, girlfriend.

Homecoming

We went to Homecoming at OU down in Athens this past weekend. The kids loved the parade and all of the free stuff they were able to score! The game was good and the weather cooperated nicely. It was a good time! Odd to think I graduated (the first time thank you) from college 7 years ago! ;) And yes, we were total dorks with the boys wearing grey OU shirts and the girls wearing green OU shirts. We looked quite nice, and okay, MAYBE a little dorky but so did everyone else cause they were all dressed like us!

I want to play goalie...

Girlfriend is playing soccer again; she played in spring and was able to stick with the same team this fall which has been a good thing. She really enjoys it and has learned alot. I love watching her play, or watching her when she is zoning out (which happens alot with 3-5 year olds), or when she is helping the other kids who get hurt...she is a compassionate child. I love this kid. :)

Preschool...for real

Girlfriend has essentially been going to preschool/daycare for the last 2 years, but this is the "official" year for it. After FOUR MONTHS of summer break, it started again this past Monday. I went out after work to take her and mom told girlfriend to stand "pretty" so that I could take her picture.

I'm going to be a mess next year when she starts Kindergarten. Although, I was the only parent who was like, "See ya, bye." and didn't linger. Nor, did girlfriend cling to me, so we should be fine.

In case you didn't know...

if you live in Ohio, the rule is that you have to wear OSU gear every Saturday that they play. We went to the Clippers game 2 weeks ago (after OSU hammered Youngstown) and were all decked out in our OSU gear. And, yes that was me being a bad mother and letting girlfriend get her cotton candy all over her face. So, anyway that's what we'll be wearing each Saturday until the end of November! :)

Holla!

So, we'll refer to this man as PD (you give me guesses as to what it stands for), his homeboy is 11 years old and his homegirl is 6 years old. That makes PD, Yourmom, Homeboy, Homegirl and Girlfriend...makes for interesting times!

So, I've been a slacker

and enjoying the summer WAY too much to update this thing. Plus, I decided not to get a computer just yet b/c I'm too cheap to pay for phone, internet and cable. Why add that on when I only use my cell phone?

Anyway, we've been to Kings Island for our annual go-to-Kings-Island trip at the beginning of the summer, getting out apartment squared away, zoo-ing and swimming like no one's business. Girlfriend has a kickboard which she calls, "my surfboard" and I think it's so hilarious that I cannot correct her! ;) The apartment is just about done, except that I need to get my glider cushions recovered and I am striking out with all of my options, any suggestions?

I've got tons of pictures to post, but still haven't taken the time to figure out the problem. It's been too much fun enjoying our apartment and the summer!

Have a fun summer!

We moved...

We were a month and one week shy of living with mom and dad for 3 years...that was not the original plan, but that's what it ended up being. We are so grateful to them for helping us get things straightened out and allowing us to have a better life...this is not a slam to anyone, just that I was able to finish my masters and nursing degrees and get myself back together thus allowing us to have a good life. The unpacking is coming along...see you soon!

I stole this idea

from glittersmama. I, too, was impressed by how closely this relates to me.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.You are incredibly wise and perceptive. You have a lot of life experience.

You are a natural peacemaker, and you are especially good at helping others get along.But keeping the peace in your own life is not easy. You see things very differently, and it's hard to get you to budge.You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.

You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous.You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things.Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times.You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life.

You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home.You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble.You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out.Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia.Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person.

Patience, Patience

My camera still won't cooperate and upload my vacation photos, but I'm working on it.

Psy 101

Due to the lovely patient population at work these days, I have these two words stuck in my head: word salad and echolalia. I find myself repeating them and loving how they sound...I hadn't thought about them much since my psy clinical 3rd quarter of nursing school which was almost 2 years ago.

Here are a few of my favorite Easter pics

The Easter basket is a Longaberger one that I bought in 2004 for girlfriend's first Easter; I get at least one picture with it each Easter so I can see how she grows! :)

We're back...

exhausted, sun-burnt and loving Spring Break in Cali. We went, we partied and we flew home first class. More later.

New layout skills

Bear with me as I'm trying to increase my knowledge of layouts and such. Let me know if something doesn't feel or look right about this new layout. As for the "things you've said for the millionth time" in the comments section, that's all b/c girlfriend told me the other day, "I know, I heard you for the millionth time." And then I realized, that she was just repeating what her mother says...humbled in an instant.

Girlfriend and I are headed to so Cal on Monday for a week of Disneyland, beaching, shopping and catching up with old time friends and relatives. Girlfriend keeps saying, "We're going to California, baby!" Oh, and I ended up waiting too long and totally overshot my budget of $1100 for tickets, but could care less because we need this vacation! Our flights won't be too bad...we're taking the red eye (which I have ALWAYS wanted to do by the way) on our way back. I branched out and bought my own, new digital camera, and I am excited to see how the pictures turn out. We cannot wait, and we are so in need of warm weather, Disney characters and old friends!

I'll try to check in before take-off! :)

New Camera

I need a suggestion for a new digital camera...

Nurse-to-Nurse Communication...

This is the conversation that went down Wednesday morning about 3:30 am between another nurse and me...no lie.

ME: "Hey, Jane, remember Mrs. So-and-so, the patient who comes in all the time."
JANE: "Yeah, the cracked up one?"
ME: "Yes, anyway, she just asked me if I was seeing anyone, and when I stupidly said no, she said, "I have a REALLY nice paramedic friend whom you would get along well with. He's 36 and a lot of fun to be around. Think about it and let me know.'"
JANE: "Hmm..."
ME: "And then she says, "He's got a little bit of a limp from a hip thing that he'll get fixed once he has the money."
JANE: "Dude, if he can't afford to get his hip fixed, how's he going to buy you dinner?"
ME: "Good point."

Cheap Tickets

Stupid nightshift...I should be asleep, but between all the partying for my birthday and my body being used to nights, I am awake and in search of cheap flights...I don't know where to look. I've looked at skybus, orbitz, jetblue, expedia and yahoo. Not that I'm opposed to spending like $1100 on flights and a car to Cali next month, I would just rather be a little more frugal about it. Any ideas?

Linkin Park

I love this group. I fell in love with them back in Cali in late 2002/early 2003...a friend from middle school had the band linked on her and her husband's blog, so I checked them out and was hooked! This group is from Riverside, CA, and if you ever have the chance to roll through Riverside, do it and shop at the Galleria at Tyler....you won't regret it! I am hoping girlfriend and I will make it there next month on our vacation.

Anyway, I saw Linkin Park at Nationwide Arena with my nurse friend from work, her brother and his friend. In a word: AWESOME. I regret that I waited so long to see them. We had fantastic seats 12 rows up and slightly at an angle. If I was technologically savvy, I would post my video from my phone, but I have NO idea how to do that. We even bought t-shirts...not the ones with the tour dates and such, but fairly cool, girly ones. Being the good nurse that Sarah is, she said, "Look at that guy, he's going to have a stroke or heart attack because he's singing so hard...look at his jugulars!" Thankfully, he did not. These guys are so awesome!

This was the first time in awhile that I've done something that's totally my interest only, you know what I mean? I mean I get much so much enjoyment from girlfriend, but this was something I enjoyed by myself. For the first time in a very long time, I caught myself spontaneously smiling because I was enjoying myself. That hasn't happened very much over the last few years. I decided last night that because I'm in a place where I'm done with school for now, make good money, and am over much of what has happened over the last 8 years, I need to reclaim my life. I make the money to do pretty much whatever girlfriend and I want (and yes, we are moving out in May once her preschool year is over so that we have our own space), don't have any ties to anyone/anything, and have given ourselves time to heal, that it's time to reclaim my life and LIVE it. I lost myself over the last 8-9 years, and the girl who was smiling last night realized how much she has missed, and that's okay because I wouldn't trade girlfriend for anything in the world. But, I need to get back to living--girlfriend and I deserve that.

Who would have thought that a band like Linkin Park would cause so much commotion?!? :)

Baby Fever

The count has been upped by one more baby for my friends and family for babies in 2008! I suppose we're on to the fall babies now that winter babies have been born and spring babies are on their way. I'm interested to see how many babies will be born in fall or early winter 2008...I love picking out baby gifts, so this has been good!!! I'm not supposed to say who yet...but their baby is due in October and I LOVE October babies! :)

Happy February Birthdays

Here's to my February birthday posse: Debbie, Maya, Stephanie, Loni, Lea, Jennifer from 9th grade, myself, Angela from middle school who shared my birthdate, birth city and state (Groton, Connecticut--although I was born on the navy base), Collin Rowe from 7th grade (ha!), Lauren, Sandy Miller--who isn't a day over 39, I swear...I know I'm forgetting someone...help me out here, people.

I LOVE HOCKEY!!!

I really got into hockey while going to OU; there was a year where I'm pretty sure that I didn't miss a single home game. Through the years, I've been to a few games here-and-there just because life gets busy, and you can't go to every game. Rochelle and I have made a tradition of going back down to OU once during the season to see a game, and the boys don't disappoint! Anyway, Jeff and Rochelle had 2 extra tickets to last night's Blue Jackets game and so girlfriend and I went along. Jeff's dad has KILLER season ticket seats at the "club level" and we had so much fun! I have always been a fan of the goalie, so I had to include an obligatory goalie shot...I love it when they first come out on the ice and warm-up. Ah, good times. Girlfriend had a good time with her blue cotton candy, Diet Pepsi and 3 adults to boss around! :) Thanks for a good time!

Baby Fever--Round 2!

Here is baby number 2! My friend, Cookie and I have been friends about 13 years, and this is her 2nd baby...a baby boy. He was so tiny!!! Girlfriend just loved him, too. Congratulations!

**Oh, and it turns out that two of my friends actually had their babies within 6 hours of each other. This is all becoming too much!!** :)

Baby Fever!

So, three of my friends have had babies within one month of each other, and I have 2 more due within 2 months of each other. That is my last count...seriously, I cannot remember when there was a boom this big! Girlfriend and I have enjoyed buying baby gifts, and on Saturday we made the trip to Cleveland to meet the first of the bunch. Girlfriend loves babies, and she was insistent on feeding and holding Baby Tusberg. :) This is Hallie's third son, so she's an old pro at this! Her other two boys are 5 and 6, soon to be 6 and 7...it's hard to believe how big they are now! I remember seeing her oldest son when he was just a few days old. Hallie is one of those sickening people who was "made" to have babies and she recovers well, and does it quickly. Congratulations!

Hallie and I have known each other for about 8 years, and hadn't seen each other in a LOOONG time! On the left is our friend Loni who is pregnant with her 4th son due in May (she has boys 3, 2 and 1--William is the 1 year-old pictured here with us). I was able to hook up Loni and Hallie when Loni and her family moved to Cleveland this past summer for her husband to finish medical school. They've become friends and it never hurts to have a friendly face around when you're new somewhere! Anyway, that's my dissertation on the first baby meet-and-greet. Girlfriend and I are meeting Baby #2 tomorrow, so I'm sure girlfriend will have to help feed and hold this baby, too! :)

Freeze Tag

As it's been ridiculously cold here (and I do try NOT to complain about the weather), and I am dreaming of our vacation to Cali in March, I'll play a game of freeze tag here.

Two names you go by:
1. Lizbeth (for some reason, it's a stretch for people to say all four syllables)
2. Mommy

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. Cal State Hoodie...I may be buried in this thing, I love it so much.
2. Flannel Pajama pants...did I mention it's cold here?

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. Watch girlfriend do new things, and old things, too.
2. Read.

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. I would LOVE to be at the beach.
2. Well, the other is personal, but probably obvious.

Two favorite pets you have or have had:
1. BonBon was my dog I got after a friend of mine in middle school passed away (1993) and she BonBon died in Cali (2003). I didn't think I would be so upset about a dog since she spent a lot of time at my parents' house. I was glad to be able to take her to Cali, and she just died out-of-the blue on Memorial Day Weekend 2003.

Two people who will respond
1. ?
2. ?

Two things you ate today:
1. I have rediscovered Boca Burgers w/jalapenos.
2. Strawberries and Cool Whip--I put it in the freezer at work last night and had it for "lunch" about 2 am...so good!

Two people you last talked to:
1. My dad.
2. Girlfriend.

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. Taking girlfriend to preschool.
2. Saving lives again tomorrow night! :)

Two longest car rides:
1. Columbus, OH to San Bernardino, CA by way of St. Louis, Denver, Salt Lake City, Reno, San Francisco and Vegas. That was a fantastic road trip!!!
2. San Bernardino, CA to Salt Lake City, UT...doing that trip in a 3-day weekend is a lot of time in the car!

Working out with the mayor...

So, yesterday on New Year's day Rochelle, girlfriend and I were at the gym hammering out our resolutions almost as soon as the gym opened. Yes, you should be jealous that we're THAT good! :) Anyway, about halfway through the elliptical rotation, I looked over to see who was coming in, and lo and behold it was the Mayor of Columbus. I said to Rochelle, "Is that the mayor?" Rochelle said that because he lived in Bexley, it wouldn't be unrealistic for him to be at our gym. Anyway, we just kept on with the elliptical and weight machines all the while thinking it was funny he was there. Anyway, that was my brush with stardom yesterday! :) Just think about what this year is going to be if I'm already working out with the Mayor on day one!!! :)