Dear Blog....

Its been a crazy week. A stressful week! Can I just say that?! But the week is almost over. Thank goodness. And I am so grateful to have friends that I can just spew and vent with. I will call them my double-checkers in life....like the times I wish I could talk to my Mom and Dad. I am sure glad to have these wonderful people in my corner! :) I know that i'm not given anything that I can't handle, but it doesn't always look like sunshine and roses...although sometimes I wish that it did. But isn't that what chocolate is for? Oh anyway. If any of my friends or fans :) are reading this looking for some inpiration..i'm tapped out. But I did like the last post, so go to that. I'm off tonight, i'm going to attempt those canning skillz once again...because I need to stay awake. I'm so tired. I hate having a day off in between my night schedule! It throws me off.  Anyways. Off to the showers, and to my kitchen table to pit my cherries...

Livin' the goodlife. Or Provident life.

Be back to report on the success or failure of my latest adventure. Until then, TTFN. Ta Ta For Now!

Monday Inspirations...

When I woke up this morning, I asked myself, "What is life all about?" I found the answer in my room...the fan said, "Be cool." The roof said, "Aim high." The window said, "See the world!" The clock said, "Every minute is precious." The mirror said, "Relect before you act." The calendar said, "Be up to date." The door said, "Push hard for your goals." The floor said, "Kneel down and pray."

~Thanks Kathy

Sugarland!!!

I should be napping now. But here I am...again. My weekend was fun, but I am super pooped. I worked my usual Thurs night, no big deal. Then for some reason I couldn't sleep at all! I mean go figure. I usually have no problem. But we are having our heat wave I guess...but in Las Vegas, thats our normal. I I find it amusing they have heat warnings now, I mean where were they when I was growing up? Its called you live in the desert, you goof. Deal with it! So, I didn't go to sleep until noon..and I overslept big time, till like 730pm. I had so much to do when I got up...and it kind of went down the toilet. So..I ran to the post office, after eating my dinner after 10. And then I didn't go to sleep till 3am. I tell you, I felt so backwards....and then...got up at 730 am, again. I was  waiting for banks to open, and i'm so glad mine are on satudays :). Went to breakfast..and then got my banking stuff done...then off to get Jessie up.  Phew!

I was home like for an hour. Then I get a call from my grandma, who wants to stay somewhere cooler than her home which is a swamp cooler...house was hotter than haiti, I ran over a key, invited her over...she went to a church mtg. Went to a mexican store...

Seriously....a party in a store. Aye Caramba! :)

  Unfortunately..when I go into these mexican stores, sometimes I land myself into trouble. I had the pleasure of holding up a line for what seemed like forever because they couldn't run a check that I wrote. My debit card had been tampered, and I was awaiting the new, so for now...checks it is.  I must admit...I would much rather use my card. Don't realize how much I miss it until its gone. :(

After I loaded the groceries...I saw the skies above, and the rain smell in the air....     
To Henderson. Of course! Time to pick up Joeleene. To Sugarland we go!!!

But first...back to my house to get ready, and put groceries away. And I get a call from my grandma, who tells me she fell again.  I'm freaking out a little...I have somenone go look in on her cause i'm on my way out the door...she is doing ok. NOW....off to dinner, i've been waiting for this...:)

Texas de Brazil at Town Square. Do you see the windows there?

Oh dear. Joeleene, didn't get the full shot, LOL. But here I am. :) See the guy opening the door?

After we took pictures...we walked around the ENTIRE restaurant trying to find the front door.  ;)

                                   "Where's the door?"  :)

I didn't know how much influence I had...because I turn around to see a big group of people following us. Hahaha! The first picture I took of the restaurant, the window was the door. I amuse easy!

Texas de Brazil is a Churrascaria. Churrascario is Portugese for grilled meat.

First go grab your grub from the salad bar...

                                         Then when you are ready...flip your card, Green means go, Red means stop.
                                                   Stop what? You ask.....

Waiters come...one by one and keep offering you cuts of meat. I think I might go vegetarian this week, LOL. I do love steak!

My tiny diet coke. When offered refills...I asked "Do you charge per bottle?" Waiter: "yes."  Me "Then I will drink water." :P

It was so good! I ate here at the reccomendation of friends that have been here multiple times. But, its pricey...it maybe a one time thing for me. But you can get coupons on their website. But come hungry!!

 Next, time for the concert.....

Our seats were high in the sky high....rafters high. But it was still great!

                                              But at least I was the top row against the wall...its a party. ;)
                                                     First up....Sarah Barrelis

I love this song.

Next up was the main act....Sugarland!!  :D

I can see them now....

Our view....

It was such a good concert.  Thanks Joeleene, had a great time!

Great service comes from the heart. Will you be a Johnny today?

A Heart to Heart.

In Relief Society, we were given the opportunity and challenge to read this book

As we do our visiting teaching each month, we are reminded to have a  "Heart to Heart" moment.
This book is about taking time out to make room for God's love in your life. If you have an inspiring list, I encourage you to add this to your list.

The Experiment is this: One thing that the book stresses is not to do anything out of the ordinary in your day. I.E baking a loaf of bread, or a plate of cookies, in order to succeed in this experiment.
From the book  it says this-

1. I will become more aware of the condition of my heart, and with that awareness, seek to keep it more open toward others
2. I will do this in the normal course of my life, in other words, not feel pressured to put any extra activities into my day-no extra visits, casseroles,etc.
3. I will notice the Spirit and be willing to honestly report what happened or didn't happen. In doing so,  I will try to understand my personal stumbling blocks and strengths.

We were given these cute little journals to write down our thoughts...but I am just gonna post what I have noticed this first week into my experiment, having read the book...and just living my day to day. First, at work..I am in the service industry, ahem...nursing! And, the hospital is trying to improve their service excellence...in particular the HCAP scores...which are based around the customer's perception of our staff. One of the things they are having us write down on the little board in the patient's room is "We are here to listen and meet Your needs." I do my part, and with every patient I now write this down on the board. I think its a nice idea, and personally I have always strived to treat the patient how I would like to be treated, professional, caring, listening, etc. But, I think it takes more than writing down on the plastic board to carry this out. Maybe its supposed to serve as a reminder...then how about this one: Remember Who You Are.  I had two patients yesterday just thanked me for all that I had done, which wasn't out of the ordinary for me, but to them it was huge. Because according to them, the day nurse that took care of them, never made the time for the little things, like passing towels out, or juice. Sometimes, in our lives we get "too busy" to notice these little things.

I went visiting teaching with my new partner, can I just say how nice it is to have a vt partner? And we visited with 2 out of the 3 sisters. I'm going to be honest...I wasn't prepared. But I went out and visited with them, asked them what they were interested in, and we just had a nice time visiting. Fast forward today, I REALLY overslept..like waking up at 6 o'clock at night to a knock at my door, which was my vt teacher, who was exceptionally ready with a lesson..and a treat, to myself, who is in my modest pj's...I told her I was usually up after 4, but not today. And I told her, if she didn't mind if i'm in my pajama's to come on in. It was a very real moment. But that was one of the heart to heart's for me today. It made me realise that our vt's are here for us, no matter if we have an immaculate home, or we just rolled out of bed. ;) I promise to be more presentable next month.

And just in my day to day...somethings I'm just trying to practice, I guess are just to observe people around me, and to realise how I come across with my patients, coworkers, friends, church family...person walking down the street. No matter where you are from , no matter what you practice, or if you don't practice anything at all...its a good experiment.

Once Upon A Time in Mexico....

November, 2009

Here comes a blast from my past. In 2009, I went on a Mexican cruise. I blogged about it, except for this. While I was in Puerto Vallarta, not only did I experience a real Mexican Wal Mart...which is a dream all in itself  ;). I got to swim with dolphins! I had a picture disk and everything. And I totally forgot about it. I am making it a seperate post, so that it will make it into my next blog book.

Lets Travel Back in Time....to 2009!

Goin' Dancing!

I wouldn't kiss a dolphin, or open my eyes, LOL. Say Queso!

But Lilly did!

Gabby

  Today was a good day. Started by having a donkey in my lap when we got off the ship. A lovely trip to Walmart, and I was alive and well to experience it. I had caught a virus while on the boat the first few days. I could barely drag myself up out of bed. I didn't eat too much during those days. But it was one of those things that you just have to pull yourself up and just go anyway. And I am so glad I did. I never got that up close to dolphins before. They are one of my favorite sea creatures. It was such a neat experience to swim with them. I will never forget it. Mexico was so beautiful. Yes, there were places that were a little ghetto....just like here. You just drive right on through.  That is all for this experience, glad to have had it.

Tales from the Kitchen....

This week, I have channeled my inner Betty Crocker or is it Sara Lee?   When I went to Ohio last February , I discovered something. 

Pepperoni rolls...its an Ohio thing, I guess, because i've never had them before. We found them at    Walmart, and they were so good! I've been on the hunt for a recipe, but waited till now to try them out. I am sometimes scared of baking, but not so much anymore. But I have a really easy recipe and I will share with you here.

First you need one loaf from this...

And of course ....

           You can use either sharp or mild...I like mild.

                      Some oregano to taste.... 

               And lastly, you can't get enough!

      Rhodes Bake-N-Serve Frozen Dough, Pepperoni Rolls (phew, that was enough)

1 loaf Rhodes White Bread Dough, thawed and risen 1 tsp Oregano 4 oz Pepperoni, chopped 4 oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated Parmesan Cheese, grated Thaw dough until soft and risen. (4-5 hrs at rm temp.) On a floured surface, roll out dough into 12x16 rectangle. Sprinkle oregano over dough.  Spread with pepperoni and cheddar cheese. Starting with long side, roll up jelly-roll style. Cut into 12 rolls.  Place on a 9" x 13" pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle rolls with parmesan cheese. Cover with plastic wrap that has also been sprayed. Let rise until double in size.   Remove wrap.                                Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.

And they were so much better than Walmart's!

   Here's what happened after. The frozen dough comes in a three pack. I made these on Sunday, I had thawed the entire package on my kitchen counter , and I split it into thirds and put the remaining back in the fridge. On Tuesday, I noticed the entire bag of leftover dough had risen! Shoot, what do I do with this I wondered. It was one of those moments that I  wished I could ask my mom for advice. But then I chuckled.  My mom baked even less than I do.  So it was kind of sad but humorous at the same time. I do love to cook, I am learning to like baking. It takes time and patience. I see blogs of friends of mine and they are so incredibly talented. And I recognize my own talents as well, but I am not nor do I wish to be a perfectionist.  Its trial and error. I have succeses and failures, and its all good. So what happened to my risen dough, was there a second coming, or rising? Why yes....and the cinnamon rolls were divine.  First time too...kind of guessed at it. But the dough is a miracle!

Last Day....Disneyland California.

Time to head to Disneyland California! They redid the entrance. It reminds of the front of the rollerskating club in the movie XANADU. If you've never heard of it, I encourage you to watch. It has Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton- John. Its great!

This is Paradise Pier...the one ride I rode the last time I was at California, was the Ferris Wheel. And we got stuck, LOL.

                                                                      Over here is Ariel's Grotto. Where we are headed to dinner.  Its got a beautiful view...and we get preferred seating for The Wonderful World of Color show. I am SO excited to see this!!

The new Little Mermaid attraction. Here's hoping we get to see it.

Since we didn't do Dumbo. We did this rocket ride, I forget the name. Kinda Dumboseque? Lilly was nervous abt how fast 15 mph was. And I said " Well. I at least go 30 down your street. You can do it." So we got on and spun around again, it was a breezy ride. But something happened to me when I got off...

The dinner reservation was around 630 and we got there abt 15 minutes early. I didn't think we could get back to our reservation on time if we tried to go on a ride. So we waitied inside. When I sat down inside, I swear I felt like I was on a boat...just rocking back and forth. Funny thing was, it wasn't on water, LOL. So I closed my eyes and rested till we were called, and I think I know what happened. I don't think I took my medication in our rush to get out of the rm. So I decided to take it.

The lights were jellyfish.

The meal came in three courses. One of the best meals I ever had at Disneyland. So much fun. The first plate on top was antipasto...olives, artichokes, peppers...second plate was heirloom tomatoes and pears and cheese, and a salad at the bottom.  Lilly went for the salad, I was more adventerous. It was so good!

Seriously....how do they make these? Talent!

Dumbo! In white chocolate.

Dinner was an experience for all the senses. So worth it! By the time it was done, we had to go in line for the show. With the amount of people there unfortunately did leave time for alot of things to do at California...we trudged through Disneyland mostly.

My pictures didn't turn out that well. But here's one I got from the internet.

The show was amazing. It is so worth it. Just stunning. I want you to experience...so enjoy this download from Youtube. Its around ten minutes. I sat by some local people. The one girl loved it so much, she wrote her thesis around this production. Its amazing!

And we did make it to Little Mermaid after...

It was so cute. Afterward the park closed and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE headed back to Disneyland. Unfortunately so did we because I had to get our belongings out of the locker we decided to go back to the room because the bus was picking us up at 8. Early day. So I tried to leave the park through downtown disney back to where the cab pickups were and I didn't even make it pass security...meanwhile it got a little chilly and lilly was freezing! So after I pleaded with management and had to almost promise Disneyland my first unborn child I was able to wheel down through Downtown Disney back to the cabs, its about a mile I think. Anyway pleaded with Korean cab driver to let her sit in the cab.  Got her in...and walked the wheelchair back to the maingate. And walked back again. I was so done. Then when I came back I saw lilly almost sitting on the curb, to find out he kicked her out of the cab because apparently I took to long? SERIOSLY?!  What a jerk! Lilly was put in a minivan and apparently he wanted the fair with the larger party and told her to go, but not before asking for five dollars first. Classless. Thats all i'm going to say. We got in another cab and left.  But it was a fun time for the most part!