As promised....

I thought I would just write a quick little note. We made it home from Fresno on Sunday evening, taking about 6 hours to return home, due to traffic. It was an exhausting trip. There is no real "good" way to get there (except maybe be plane). The drive does take you through some of the many landscapes of California: the city, the mountains, the high dessert (really out in the middle of nowhere), and the large San Joaquin Valley. Anyway, we made it home and headed back to work on Monday, which was a real drag after a 4 day weekend! It looks like our clinic has exploded Christmas, with numerous Christmas trees, wreaths, signage, AND XM Satellite radio Christmas music. I was about puking by the end of the day, and I like Christmas music! I have to say that it has been especially hard getting into Christmas when it is in the 70s and sunny everyday. I don't even have to put a coat on! I realized that my parents will be here 3 weeks from Thursday and I am freaking out, because I have so many things to do! Cleaning, as always, and making everything "mommy ready" will take a lot of time, plus getting all of the baking done! I'm sure it will get done quickly and be here as soon as I know it. I was able to manage to get my little Christmas tree up and it looks really cute. I was hoping for a small real one, and we may get one yet-we'll have to see! Anyway, here are some pictures of Peterson's gardeners (or are they?) that we took this weekend! Have a great week everybody!

An awesome concert

Last night, we went to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert here in Fresno. I am sure everyone has heard of them without knowing it. Here is their website http://www.trans-siberian.com/ and the link to the You Tube video that I think everyone has seen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdpjVfGeM1w and http://www.metacafe.com/watch/45390/wizards_of_winter/ We had really nice seats and the concert was really fun. They had great music, lights, lasers, pyrotechnics and even fireworks at the end. It was a really good show-I recommend it to anyone who likes their music and a good show. The show was split into 2 halves basically. The first was a story-like opera type of thing, where they had a story and then would play their version of Christmas songs and some originals. The second half was really unique because they played some classical pieces in their arrangement, which was really neat. Like I said, the show itself was really cool and one of the island stages was right in front of us. Some of the performers were on that and, also some of the pyrotechnics. I do have some pictures that I will post, but we forgot our camera cord for our trip, so you’ll have to wait until we get back to Riverside tomorrow. That’s the last time we will do that! Have a good rest of the weekend everyone!

A Day of Detox

Yesterday we had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal here in Fresno. Everything turned out really nice, except my dinner rolls!!! I will have to look for a new recipe! We all ate until we were stuffed. Nick's parents, Barb and Mike, were nice enough to do most of the clean-up, while we stood on the sidelines. After dinner, we went out for a walk in the neighborhood and went by some really huge mansions. Probably $3-4 million mansions. It was fun to do. Today, the biggest item on the agenda is tonight's Trans Siberian Orchestra concert downtown. We may do a little shopping this afternoon when the crowds die down. Otherwise, I am going to try to drink lots of fluid, eat healthy and maybe get in a little exercise! Guess I shouldn't have eaten those 2 pieces of lefse with cinnamon sugar on them for breakfast! Whoops!

Bring on the turkey!

We're all ready to take off on our 4 day weekend in the morning! I just have to pack my clothes. I think we will be leaving around 6:30 or 7:00 to beat most of the bad traffic. We had a ton of goodies at work today-pumpkin pie from Coco's (absolutely the best and I don't even like pumpkin pie!), fresh rolls, free water, among other goodies. Too bad it was slow all day! Our cancel list was huge-it was 2-3 pages! I was happy because I got to catch up on a lot of work, which was much needed. I only have to finish up a few evals, which I might do tonight or in the car. I have to do one on the computer (the baby eval), as none of our forms matched it. So, I will just design my own.
I think I will try to switch out my closet tonight, as I have to pack some warmer clothing for central California. It is only going to be in the low 60s! That sounds cold, believe it or not!
Congratulations to Ryan and Julie on the presentation of their new daughter Sophia in Columbia! She is absolutely precious! Good luck with the rest of the process and return home safely (and soon!)

I made it to the finish line!!!

Well, I have made it to Sunday night, and almost everything on my to-do list has been accomplished! I accomplished every thing on my list, except switching out my closet, but that was literally on the bottom of my list. I also managed to sneak in a little extra cooking-pizza and spaghetti-that wasn't on the agenda.


I had a very successful time at Gottshalk's and found two really cute tops that will go great with either jeans or dress pants. I was unable to find a pair of dress pants that I was looking for, but that's alright. Nick and I also went into Target yesterday, as he wanted to pick out a pair of new sunglasses. Thirty minutes later, we came out with a new pair and some new jewelry for me.


Last night, I was longing for a White Russian, but we didn't have any of the ingredients, so I went to Ralph's and purchased one of the pre-mixed bottles with the alcohol already in it. It wasn't too bad-but the original is definitely better. While I was there, I picked up Sierra Mist's cranberry splash, that is only available during the holidays. It is soooooooooo yummy.


Today we did some shopping at K-Mart in Mission Grove (another neighborhood near to us) while the car was getting an oil change. Neither one of us had been in a K-Mart for a long time, so it was fun to look around in there. This afternoon, we were able to slip away to Starbucks for an iced raspberry mocha frappucino. So good!


I am really happy with my results of my cooking. I think the apple pie has turned out the best ever (at least appearance wise). Everything went smoothly and I didn't have to re-do anything, which is always great. Now, I am confidant in starting the week-especially since it is such a short one! We will be heading up to Fresno on Thursday morning, most likely, as I have to work until 7 on Wednesday. We will have a nice 4 day weekend up there, which is badly needed!


I'm hoping this week will be as nice as last. We had beautiful blue skies, clean air, and temps in the low to mid 80s. Let's hope that the 70s (at least) will hold on!!! This is the type of weather that is the pay-off for putting up for all of the other inconveniences that southern California has!
Thinking of everybody else back in the cold Midwest! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

A quick note....

I just thought I would put up a quick note before I write a longer one for the week. I have a lot of things to do this weekend to get ready for our trip and Thanksgiving. Here's a short list:

• Go to Gottschalk's across town to pick up some make-up that I'm out of and look for a new outfit for the holiday. While I'm there, I will hit up Trader Joe's, because we only have one here in town and it is way over there. I have to get some pie crusts there because they have the best ones!
• Take the Malibu in for an oil change and check up. With us making a big trip, it has to be running well!
• Grocery shop for and bake a few Thanksgiving treats (pies, bread/rolls, and salads)

In addition to those things for the holiday, I also have a few other things on my list work related. I found out that I have to do a peds eval on Monday, which is horrible, because I am clueless! I can deal with an ordinary toe walker, but this is a full-out delayed milestone event! I am not sure how old the kiddo is, so I guess I will have to do a crash course in peds!

I would also like to swap some of my very warm weather clothes out for moderate temperature clothes in my dresser and closet. Even though we've had temps in the 70s and 80s this week, I think I am past tank tops and can take out a few more long sleeve things.

This with all of our normal weekend things-grocery shopping, Wal-Mart or Target run, charts and Nick would like to do some hiking-this sounds like a regular work week! Maybe the weekends should be 5 days and the work week should be 2! Plus-there is a Christmas sale at the Joann Fabric Superstore that I would like to check out and it ends today! Aarharh!

More later!!!

A good start to the week

I hope everyone is having a good week. We are off to a good start here in Riverside. I've had a good week at work and haven't been too crazy. I had some extra time today, as one of my one on one patients didn't show up. She was a stroke patient that I just started working with last week. Anyway, she and her daughter didn't show up, which I thought was kind of strange. I was excited, because I got to catch up on my paperwork. Later, I find out that the patient has passed away! I felt horrible! It's so crazy how people can be in therapy one week doing well and then dead the next! Well, hopefully the week will continue to go well. I am anticipating a weekend of heavy cooking and baking to gear up for the big Turkey Day!

A Calm Weekend

After a hectic week at work, we have had a very relaxing weekend, which translates into doing nothing. Friday evening, we went out to eat at Mimi's Cafe, which is a favorite of mine, but Nick didn't remember eating there in the past. I had a great chicken cordon blue, which was very filling, but Nick was less than thrilled with his food. It was still nice to get out and have a nice meal.

Saturday we got up to watch the Iowa vs. Minnesota game-civil war in our household. Since Minnesota's record has been less than stellar and they have the worst defense in college football, I wasn't too optimistic. The game turned out to be 21-16, in favor of the Hawks, which wasn't so bad. It is good for the Hawks, as they will probably go to a bowl game, which is always exciting.

After the game, we decided we would try going to the grocery store on Saturday afternoon (instead of Sunday morning), as last Sunday, it was really busy and there were hardly any cashiers. We went and, of course, it was busy, but when it came check-out time, we sailed out of there, as there were more cashiers working. So, it was a nice surprise. After being home for a while, I headed to Kohl's to find a possible new outfit, as I haven't bought anything new in at least 6 months, since I wear a uniform to work. I was severely disappointed, but I did find some nice towels on sale for a good price, which was worth the trip. We had a laid back dinner of leftovers and watched "Frida" with Selma Hayek, which was good, but not great. A very interesting story though.

Today has been extremely low key. I have been hanging around all day working on some work paperwork, watching TV, and working on my paint-by-numbers painting. No big activities planned for the rest of the day. One thing that we will do is watch the Youtube version of last week's episode of the Amazing Race, as we we just found out today that it was back on the air. I can't believe CBS doesn't have their episodes on their website-come on! Get with the times!

The upcoming week promises to be a busy one for me at work, but the end is in sight, as we only have a 3 day week next week. I can handle that!!!! We will be heading up to Fresno for Thanksgiving, but we're not sure when we're leaving, as I have to work until 7 pm Wednesday night. We're looking forward to seeing Nick's parents and getting out of Riverside for a weekend!

Happy Veteran's' Day everyone!

Seriously tired

Just for the record, I worked 7 to 7 today due to a sick therapist on my team. For those of you who do this every week for an extra day off during the weekend-YOU ARE CRAZY! I am going to bed!

A Beautiful Weekend...

It is hard to imagine leaving California on a weekend like this. We have been enjoying phenomenal weather, thanks to those Santa Ana winds kicking up again. Today, we had a high of around 87 degrees, which made it a great day to be outside. We did take advantage of the weather this afternoon by having lunch at Rubio's, a Mexican restaurant by UCR (University of California at Riverside), which was the first time we had eaten there. It was just alright-for fast food Mexican, I still like Chipotle and Qdoba better, respectively. We then went to the UCR botanical gardens, which has some great hiking and walking trails through a wilderness type area. They had several different varietals of trees, which was nice, as we don't see a lot of green around here. They also had a rose garden and turtle pond. We had a really nice time. After we finished there, we wanted some Italian gelato, which we thought was just down the road in the University Village, as we had been there before-but hail! When we got there, the business has been shut down. So, we went up to Canyon Crest (a neighborhood center close to our home) and settled on some sorbet at Cold Stone. It was a nice afternoon.

This morning, we got up and watched the Iowa/Northwestern game, which ended up being a fun game in the end, as the Hawks ended up on top. We're really looking forward to next week, as it is Iowa vs. Minnesota-so you can be sure we will have our war vests out! I don't anticipate the Golden Gophers beating the Hawks this year, but a girl can hope ;).

Tomorrow, we have nothing planned but regular Sunday errands and I have to attack a mountain of paperwork for work on Monday. I am going to be pretty busy this week, and I don't want to start the week with 10 unfinished evals on my desk, so I will be busy for 2-3 hours on Sunday finishing those up. Our clinic is staying busy, which is a blessing. A lot of the clinics around the area have closed, due to poor reimbursement from insurance companies. I think southern California is one of the worst places to be for that. Even the outpatient therapy at the hospital had to close, which is a huge shock. Our owner had to take a $500,000 loan out to have our clinic stay afloat, as she is waiting on that much money from insurance companies. Our clinic has had to let a few therapists and staff go, and have had to cut back the hours of an assistant. They are trying to get us therapists to eval as many people as we can, so we can give that assistant back her hours in order to treat all these new people. So-that means lots and lots of paperwork for me!

Thanksgiving seems to be right around the corner and I can't wait! I love turkey, and even better, 4 day weekends! The count is on! Have a great week everybody!