babysitting

 

a "robber"

 

a "strong king"

 

a "patient"

girl's day

coffee with a friend

reading by the ocean

the vacation before the vacation

As I mentioned before, I spent almost a week in Seattle and Tacoma.  Before I left, however, I spent a wonderful couple of days with one of my very favorite people, Cassie.  She came up from San Diego, and we worked on whittling down our Los Angeles "bucket list."  We definitely made a dent in it, and while doing so managed to enjoy some delicious food, great conversations, and some of the best coffee I have ever had.:o)

Venice canals

 

 Full of gorgeous houses and gardens

 

And (without question) less expensive than traveling to the originals:o)

 Venice beach

My bias is still toward Santa Monica but Venice is absolutely beautiful

Cass learning the cha cha cha at a local park

 A vanilla latte @ Cafe Luxxe

And for non-coffee drinkers there was apricot tea

And (of course) there was a visit to our fave local spot

Santa Monica

Breathtaking

Come again soon Cass! I miss you already.

the miracle of flight

Today I went from here:

To here:

In 4 1/2 hours.  And because my first flight was not until college (and my family frequently drove from Washington to Los Angeles), the novelty of it all was not wasted on me. :o)  It was a wonderful week and one that left me refreshed and ready for the next couple days of work. Now I'm off to bed so that I don't wake up feeling "jet-lagged", but rest assured that photos of my trip will be coming soon!

and now back to days

Well my month of nights is over and I'm back to day shift. And it's a Saturday. And I'm off work! This week I survived what my sister (after having it herself) referred to as the "plague." This particular illness was one that my niece brought home from the nursery and can only be described (for the purposes of this audience:o) as a rather terrible flu. For some reason the immunity to disease that I've collected during my time at the hospital has not extended to pediatric bugs. And not only am I susceptible but I always seem to have a worse version of them than other people do. Curious... But I'm always thankful for illnesses...after the fact. They force me to slow down. To sit (or curl up into the fetal position) on the couch. To read. To watch a movie. And to think.

And as I thought I considered how busy I have been. Then I thought, "But what have I been doing?" A lot of what I've been doing has included fun memories, laughter, and of course my wonderful family. But then I thought of other things. Not necessarily bad things, but things that could have been skipped. Things that failed to maximize that time God has given me or to glorify Him. And I prayed. That God would give me wisdom in all that I do and that I would live each day to the fullest. Not that I need to be busier, but I do need to leave out things like time spent on Facebook or Youtube or any of the other time wasting and unedifying activities I choose to invest my time into. There are plenty of things to fill that time with and I can already think of a few. One is this blog. So here I am seven months later picking it back up again. And now I'm off to see what else the day holds. Thankful for my health but thankful also for all God taught me in this illness.:o)

A Saturday morning of crepes, coffee, and quiet time spent in God's Word.

Cooking for One

There are so many things I love about my new place.  I love that I can hear birds outside in the morning.  I love that I can walk to Starbucks in about 5 minutes.  I love that I can have people over any time.  I love that my manager and his wife are incredibly sweet and go the extra mile to make sure I have everything I need.  I love how close it is to work and the beach.  I love the layout.  I love the wood floors.  I love that it's starting to feel like home.  One thing I don't love, however, is cooking.

I've always loved to cook.  I started in junior high and haven't stopped since, but cooking for one is an entirely different matter.  When I lived with my aunt and uncle I tried to cook once a week, and it was so fun to be able to cook for them.  When I'm at my sister and brother-in-law's house, cooking is always a blast.  They are always great "patrons," and we have very similar tastes.  When I was there Thursday Rebecca and I made Chicken Spaghetti and lemon bars.  They were delicious and so fun to make.  When I'm home though, making a whole casserole or dessert just isn't an option.  The casserole because I'd be tired of it, and the dessert because I'd eat it.:o)  Part of the problem is I lack variety in ingredients at the moment, but I also lack recipes ideal for one.  So - I suppose it's something new to work on and a challenge to overcome.  Regardless, in case you hadn't noticed, I love my new place!

P.S. - I did make something yummy tonight!:o)

I Think I'll Go Walking More Often...

My Dad

Today I had the immense privilege of hosting my first (hopefully of many) visitors.  That is, visitors that do not have the last name of Brown and thus do not really count as visitors.:o)  Today my dad, mom, sister, and my sister's fiancé all came to see my new place and go out to dinner.  It was so fun to see them, and since they all heartily approved of my new place they have been invited back!  We went to Wahoo's Fish Tacos for dinner (all I can say is if you haven't been: go!) and then came back to my place for brownies, ice cream, and coffee.  It was my first opportunity to use my oven, so quite the momentous occasion!

The most interesting part of the visit, however, was my dad's assistance with the evil non-user friendly corporation known as Verizon.  Now let me state for the record that I have had a Verizon cell phone for years and constantly recommend it to all my friends (mostly because I want to be able to talk to them for free within the network:o).  But...my experience with their land line/internet service has not been the same.  I'll spare you most of the long, boring details and just say that I have lost track of the number of times I have talked to them, gotten different answers, and waited on hold for over 45 minutes.  As of yesterday I would have said the most annoying part of the whole thing has been still not having internet two weeks later, but then today I opened my mail and found a bill for $230.  Say what?  You want me to send to you a check for $230 for internet and phone service I don't have?  Enter my dad.  My dad is amazing.  In so many ways really.  One of those ways is his ability to navigate the world of "consumer."  He can purchase things for far less than anyone I know by pointing out a blemish or problem or somehow haggling with them, but does it in a way that the person selling it to him feels that it was a terrific sale and probably adds him to their Christmas card list.  No, I'm not exaggerating.

It's incredible really, and sadly not a trait I inherited.  I'm more of the, "What's that?  You want to rip me off and sell me that broken item for much more than it's really worth?  Ok, but can't I pay you a little more for it?"  Really.  I'm bad at it.  If you'll recall, the only reason I am paying less than the listed price for my apartment is because Becky was there when I applied.  Anyway, when I opened the bill I panicked.  I called Becky and Justin who were super helpful and supportive and told me to call Verizon right away.  Then I happened to talk to my dad to give him directions to my apartment and mentioned it to him.  He offered to help and given his history, how could I refuse?  He actually sat on the phone for close to 2 hours, and they have now dropped all of those charges and are billing me less per month for my service.  And I'm related to him - by birth!  I also have to point out that the rest of my family was so gracious, and didn't complain about going to dinner far after the time we had planned.  Kate made a few noises when she realized Wahoo's was going to close (which is reasonable considering how amazing their fish tacos are!), but they were just as gracious about eating late as they were about sitting on the floor to eat dessert.  Oh family, aren't they just wonderful?

8 Minutes

     In 8 minutes I can cook pasta, run a mile (or at least half a mile:o), and now - drive to work.  Yes ladies and gentleman, the rumors are true.  My commute time is now 2/15ths of what it used to be.  And that's just in the mornings!  In the evenings it's about 1/32nd of what it once was.  People have been asking me, "What will you do with all of that extra time?"  Well today I got a library card, checked out a classic Carey Grant movie, bought something at Goodwill, took a walk on the beach, and drove home in the amount of time I once spent commuting.  Location, location, location...:o)

 

The view from my walk.

Amazingly refreshing after 8 hours in a computer class.:o)

Thank You Starbucks for Free Internet

     I love setting realistic goals.  They're just so easy to meet.  For example, I made a goal of blogging within a year of my last post.  And look: I'm a whole 2 1/2 months ahead of schedule!:o)
     Not to worry though, you're not too far behind.  My niece (who was not yet born in the last post) is now 9 months old, has two teeth, is eating solids like a pro, and will soon be crawling. 

     I graduated from nursing school, got hired on my first choice unit - neuro/trauma ICU - in their new grad program, finished my job as a care partner and said goodbye to the float team and vascular surgery, and started classes for my new job (this morning).  I moved out of my aunt and uncle's house, moved into and out of my sister and brother-in-law's condo, and moved into my own apartment.  I celebrated another birthday, celebrated snow in L.A. in January, celebrated passing my boards and becoming a fully licensed nurse, and celebrated becoming a car owner. 

     I had a few months between finishing school and starting the new grad program so I went on fabulous adventures with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece (including, but not limited to, the Getty museum, apartment hunting, my first meal at Chick-fil-a, driving from NorCal to SoCal after Christmas, and grocery shopping trips).  Everything is exciting with an adorable baby.:o)  Between these adventures I squeezed in a trip to Seattle to visit a former roommate and her family, a trip to San Diego to see a friend in the Coast Guard, and a trip to New York (my first visit to the east coast!) with friends.

     Whew!  Well I think you're up-to-date now, but there is a slight possibility that I may have missed an event or two.  Through every one of these adventures I saw clearly God's grace and sovereignty prominently displayed.  Not sure how I managed to be surprised by how awesome He is yet again, but somehow I find my limited human understanding requires constant reminders.  He provided in ways beyond anything I could have imagined and I hope to someday go back and share a few specific examples.  For now, however, I am considering myself caught up on blogging and will be moving on to tales of adventures as a new grad and other current events.  At the moment my internet is not working, so my ability to check e-mail and blog will be limited by my ability to fit Starbucks into my budget.;o)  Oh, and for all of my faithful readers, you should excited to hear that my current rather ambitious goal is to post within the next 6 months.  Just kidding...I think.:o)

Technology

Today I am blogging from a hospital room.  Technology.  It's a beautiful thing.  Speaking of beautiful and hospital rooms...my lovely older sister has been in this room since she was admitted last night.  It turns out that my precious niece seems to be on a different time table than the rest of the world, and as a result Rebecca started having contractions on Thursday evening that just didn't seem to go away.  She and Justin came in to have them checked out Friday afternoon and have been here ever since.  The story for now is that they are going to be giving her some medication to try and slow down the contractions and then have her on bed rest for a couple of weeks.  The goal is to keep my eager niece in for another two weeks.  I'm not sure that my sister is seeing bed rest as the best invention in the whole world at the moment, but I am hoping to have the privilege of spoiling her rotten for the next couple of weeks.  Laundry and dishes here I come!:o)  Lord-willing she will be discharged tonight and will get to be home for the remainder of the pregnancy.  However, as the last couple of days have shown us, the Lord's timing is perfect and no amount of calculations or medical science can predict a due date.  I am eager to meet my beautiful niece, but am hoping that she'll stay put for a little longer.  Prayer for Rebecca and the baby would be appreciated, as well as for Justin while he tries to get through two more weeks of a summer class he's in.  Oh, and sorry for the lack of pictures.  We did actually take one this morning while we were eating the breakfast I brought with me, but I don't think I'm authorized to post it.  And, since I really want to be able to see my niece when she's born and someday babysit, I probably shouldn't attempt it.:o)  Hope you're all enjoying the weekend!

Dinner Thursday (Until I Think of a Better Title...)

This week I made a recipe which I found on this website.  I've found this website to be an incredible resource.  Both in terms of yummy recipes (have I ever told you about the mocha icing brownies?) as well as cooking techniques and just feeling more comfortable with "ad libing" on a recipe.  Tonight I tried out her "Chicken Spaghetti," which is actually a lot more exciting than the name suggests.  And speaking of ad libing, I made a few alterations to the recipe tonight.  I'll try to remember them all and include them below.  I'm not sure if I've already addressed this on here, but I often feel like I am cooking at a grocery store.  When I first looked at this recipe I saw "1 jar diced pimentos" and thought "Who has those?"  Then I went to the cupboard and there it was.  What a joy it is to have the privilege of cooking here!

Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 2 cups, Cooked Chicken (I used boneless skinless chicken breasts rather than a fryer chicken)
• 3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
• 2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
• 2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• ¼ cups Finely Diced Green Pepper
• ¼ cups Finely Diced Onion
• 1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
• 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot (I pulled out some of the chicken bullion for this before cooking the spaghetti)
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• ⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper (I didn't have any Cayenne Pepper so I used chili powder instead)
• Salt And Pepper, to taste (I actually didn't need to add any salt or pepper)
• 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente (I used chicken bullion to cook the spaghetti in). Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.
Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

Serves 8.

And voila!  

Dinner is served.:o)

At the end of a long day...

...there are few things more incredible than getting a care package in the mail.  I'll post more about that when I'm not in the middle of three shifts in a row at work, but wanted to post a quick, "Thank you!!!" on here.  Happy Monday!

Traffic and Sunsets

Two weeks ago I came to the realization that I may have lived in Los Angeles too long.  I had gotten off of work at 4:30 pm (rather than my usual 7:00 pm), and found that the freeway was not moving.  Not even a little.  In fact it took me a good 30 minutes just to get to the on ramp, which is only a few blocks from the hospital.  As I took in the brake lights and smog, and simultaneously began to feel my left leg complaining from the constant in and out of the clutch, I decided I couldn't take it any more.  I simply couldn't fathom sitting on the freeway for another 90 minutes.  So, I instead made a spontaneous trip to the beach.  It's really not that far from where I work to the beach.  One hospital I work at is within walking distance (and I so enjoy walking there on my lunch break!), but even the other one is much less than 90 minutes from the ocean.  So I quickly put on my left turn indicator and eased back into the traffic which was actually moving.  As a result of my spontaneity, I had the incredible opportunity of sitting on the boardwalk and feeling the ocean breeze on my face while I read a book I've been wanting to read for a while.  And as the sun began to set over the ocean I sat there completely in awe of God and His creation, and the words to the wonderful hymn "How Great Thou Art" came to mind.

 O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works Thy hands have made,

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, 

Thy pow'r thru-out the universe displayed!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:

How great Thou art, how great Thou art! 

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:

 How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

So, did this:

beat this?

I think so, but maybe I've just been living in Los Angeles too long...;o)

Inspiration and Burnt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Webster defines being inspired as, "outstanding or brilliant in a way or to a degree suggestive of divine inspiration."  I define inspiration as those bursts of energy and ideas which inevitably come to me after the clock has dinged twelve times to remind me that we are officially entering the a.m. and the beginning of a new day.  In this case, I was inspired to blog.  I have been remiss in my blogging for quite a while now (as in a trip to my blog last week revealed pumpkins as the header...) so why I felt the need to finally catch up while most sane people are sleeping we may never know.  But here I am, so if you're reading this early Friday morning please know that I do plan to edit after getting some sleep.:o)

Much has happened since I last blogged in...yes, October.  Apparently the big news back then was that I was approaching midterms.  I have since survived those midterms, two quarters, and have made it into my last three quarter of nursing school.  God is so good!

As you can probably tell from the picture above the big news right now is that my sister and brother-in-law are expecting a baby and that in a few months I'll be an aunt!  Wow.  Those nine months really fly by.  Especially when I don't get around to making the announcement until she's in her 7th month.:o)  I actually can't remember if I knew about the baby by the time I last blogged, but if I did I had been sworn to secrecy.  Whenever I get into trouble with Justin now, he reminds me that he has the power to have their little girl call me Auntie Em.  Apparently if I'd seen the Wizard of Oz his threat would have more of an impact...

In case you've forgotten who I am, or at least what I look like, here is a recent picture.  Justin's brother Micah took quite a few pictures at our Easter celebration last weekend.  The picture above started out as a picture of the caramel apple pie I had made.  Then suddenly I was in the picture.  And then it was supposed to look candid or something to that effect.  And by the time everyone had contributed their assistance in setting up the picture, it appeared as if I was "removing the pie from the oven" with my bare hands.  Ah photography.:o)

What a blessing each of these sweet girls are!  Sarah and my parents were here for Easter which was such a treat.  They're now back up in Northern California, but the other two I saw today.  Kate came over to Justin and Rebecca's condo and cut our hair.  I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have a home salon where I feel 100% comfortable asking my hairdresser to make changes if I want them.  Plus, she'll work for free or Starbucks.  Even with their expensive coffee, it's hard to beat that price at a salon!:o)

Before that Becky helped me with plans for her upcoming baby shower so that I wouldn't be too overwhelmed.  I've tried explaining to her that the guest of honor is not expected to contribute in any way, but I can't deny that I've appreciated her input and creativity.  Perhaps in the next couple of years I'll get around to posting some pictures from that event.;o)  And then I in turn thanked her for her assistance using up the last of her butter in a batch of burnt chocolate chip cookies.  I really dislike burning cookies.  It's just such a waste of perfectly yummy cookie dough!

Well now you're pretty much caught up on my life, or at least as much of it as I'm feeling up to typing out at 12:30 am.  I look forward to (intermittently) sharing fun memories and how God's been working in my life as I finish up my last year of nursing school!

If you have to take a midterm...

Pajamas and hot chocolate is the way to go.:o)  Aren't online tests the most amazing invention?

Two midterms and one 70 questions "quiz" down.

One midterm next Tuesday.

 By God's grace, another round of midterms is almost behind me.:o)