Checking In

I thought I would write a quick post tonight. I don't have much to report or say!
This past weekend we had our eye exams. I needed one correction in my R eye contact and Nick needs a new prescription altogether for his glasses. He didn't find any frames he liked, so he may do some shopping around!
Sunday we purchased most everything we need for our upstairs bathroom tiling project. We found some nice white/blue tile that will look really nice in our extra bathroom upstairs. I guess the plan is to do that this coming weekend (if it's not too hot!)
Other than that, we've been watching the Olympics, best we can, like everyone else. The coverage goes until so late, that I usually can't stay up to see the things I want! Last night when I went to bed at 10:30, I had barely seen any gymnastics! I just catch what I can!
Work continues to go well. Everyone is carrying their weight, which is good. Starting next week and all through September, we will have someone on vacation all the time, so it's going to be a long month and a half. I am enjoying working on my lymphadema patients and I am going to be attending a continuing ed class in Oakland on vertigo in September.
We haven't had any bad heat, but still the summer is a long season. We have another a month and a half! It's hard to believe that everyone is heading back to school soon! That's all for now!

Birthday and the beach!

A lot has happened this week, but what can I expect when it's my birthday! Friday, all the therapists (and some others) all went out to lunch at Portillo's, which is a Chicago based restaurant (famous for hot dogs and such)that just happens to have its only CA location about a mile away from us. I absolutely LOVE their food! Since it was my birthday, I decided to totally pig out and have a bacon cheese burger, fries, onion rings, a Coke, AND a chocolate shake! I also had agreed to work late on Friday (I'm such a sucker), but in exchange I got a free massage! I was planning on getting one anyway, but my boss said she'd give it to me for free if I stayed late. Even though it was a bummer to stay late, it was an easy end to the week.
When I got home Josh and Erin had come over and we all went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory (yes, I was still stuffed from lunch-but oh well!) We had an excellent time and food, except I was so full, I really thought I was going to burst any second! But hey-it's my birthday!
Saturday, Nick and I took the Metrolink train out to the beach. It was fun to take the train, but not so fun to be with all the other IE people going to the beach. We took the train to San Clemente, in northern San Diego County, and the train literally drops you off on the sand. The beach was packed, as one can imagine. We walked on the pier a bit and around the shops (not a whole lot) and grabbed a quick lunch, which was surprisingly reasonable. Even though it was still quite overcast, we joined the masses on the sand and relaxed. I didn't get in the water, but it did feel good on my feet! We didn't stay real long, as that is not Nick's idea of a good time, but it was nice and relaxing. As soon as we knew it, we were back on the train to Riverside. It really was fun to use the train and avoid the crappy traffic and parking. It's hard to say if it is really cheaper, but it certainly is more convenient. Oh-and of course I got sunburned/tanned, even though it was super cloudy. I had put sunscreen on, but not enough apparently!
Today has been a clean-up day around the house. We're still putting some things away from the move. Last weekend, while I was away, Nick put down baseboards in the master bedroom, which look really nice now. He just needs to touch them up. We are slowly chipping away at our projects, but I think that the next one will definitely be tiling the bathrooms upstairs. I can't wait to get rid of that awful carpet in the bathrooms!
This morning I also tried out my birthday present from Nick-a new waffle iron (the flipping kind from college days). I have been wanting one for some time, but finally got one this birthday. It's nice to be able to have waffles, as we had nothing before!
We have nothing out of the ordinary on board for this week either at work or home. We are hoping that August does not get real hot like last year and continues to stay in the 90s each day. We have really been lucky with the heat this summer. We really can't afford to go to the beach EVERY weekend! ;) Enjoy the photos!

Earthquake survival

Just to let everyone know...we did feel the earthquake, but no major problems here in Riverside. The house is fine, although one of the items on our bedroom wall was tilted a bit after it happened.
I was at work, and it was definitely a longer shake than what I'm used to. I was in between deciding to run for a doorway myself or getting the patients there when it stopped. It was the largest quake we've had while we've been here, but like I said-nothing too scary.

From Minnesota...

Sorry that I haven't been good about updating my blog everybody! I am writing this from Minnesota, where I have had a fun weekend. I arrived early Friday morning and drove down to Mapleton. I thought I was good to go, as I slept on the plane a bit and had had some coffee. So, Lisa and her fiance Brian came by and picked me up and we went to Mankato where we did a few things and then had lunch at the Green Mill. Heather also drove down from Minneapolis and joined us. After that, Heather drove me home and I was feeling pretty faint due to the lack of sleep. I did manage to stay up a few more hours to visit with her and our neighbor, Gay.
Saturday was another busy day. After a quick Wal-Mart trip in the morning, Stacy came down from Minnetonka and we had a nice visit. Her wedding is next August, so it is good to hear about her plans as well. In the afternoon, Julie and Sophia came down from the cities too and we had a really nice visit. It was so fun to see Sophia and what a delight she is to everyone. We said it's hard to remember what we talked about before she was around! Saturday night, we went over to Rices' for dinner and visited with them and Jody. I rode back to Mankato with Gay to drop Jody off at her house. We also stopped by Hy-Vee, so I could get my wonderful sandwhich meat! The manager opened the meat and cheese island up for me, like I knew they would. I really have been enjoying the meat though.
Today, we went to church even though it was pretty hot since there was no AC in the church. It was nice to hear Pastor Salge one more time before he retires in the fall. We have had a lazy Sunday afternoon. It has been a bit stormy (which I love) and just a good day to take it easy. I have been helping my parents get their new computer up and running, so that has been fun as well. Today was also my dad's birthday, so it was nice to be here for that and have a nice birthday meal.
Tomorrow I will leave mid to late afternoon to head up to the cities to catch my flight. I want to make a quick stop by Ikea to check a few things out, since I'm right there. I always like to know what things look like in person and we have to drive at least 30-40 minutes to the closest Ikea, so I can look at a few items and decide if they are worth the drive!
Tuesday it's back to work and Friday is my birthday already. We haven't made any plans for the weekend, but I want to go to the beach or San Diego (or both), so we'll see. We also want to see "The Dark Knight" again, since we loved it so much the first time. I want to go see in in iMax, but we'll see!
I don't have too many pictures from this weekend, but I promise I will be better about taking them! Have a good week everybody!

Left Hanging....

Today was a challenging day at work, as I came in at 8 and found out one of the therapists who gave her month's notice when I was on vacation, decided not to come into work anymore. I was pretty surprised she did this, as she was pretty responsible and thought of us (as co-workers) most of the time. As my boss said, she didn't hurt me by doing this, she hurt you guys.
So now-we have to completely scramble to cover all her patients, which is not always an easy task, as she did wound care and lymphadema. This now makes me the most senior therapist on my side of the gym, which is fine, but it would have been nice to have a couple more weeks to transition into the role.
It's going to be busy, but I think my boss has given me enough help to deal with it! Hopefully I can work off those five pounds I gained on vacation!

Fourth in Fresno

I'm blogging from Fresno, where Nick and I have been since last Wednesday. Nick's grandparents were down from Vancouver, Washington and his sister and nephew are here from Iowa. We have been keeping busy shopping and swimming in the pool. The weather has been nice, but not hot. Yesterday we had a nice 4th of July. We made ice cream in the morning for our holiday treat and then went to Fresno's Chaffee Zoo for a couple hours. We also had a nice picnic lunch in the park surrounding the zoo. Tomorrow, we are planning on going to Sequoia National Park for the day, which will be fun. Amy and Aaron have never been there and it is always a fun place to revisit. We are heading back home to Riverside on Monday, but have had a very relaxing vacation thus far! Hope everyone had a good 4th of July!

I'm so sorry...

that I haven't updated this blog! We are officially moved into our house and living amidst chaos! We have only the kitchen and master BR/bath unpacked, because our carpet will be installed soon! We can't have anything out on the walls or on furniture, so we're just waiting until they get that $J$H$(# carpet in! Then, I will be happy! Of course, I have been busy painting the hallway (still not finished-need to borrow a ladder) and doing all the baseboards. Still have a ways to go! We leave on Tuesday or Wednesday next week for our little vacation to see Amy and Aaron up in Fresno. It will be HOT HOT HOT! We will definitely have fun though! Nick has the next 2 weeks off and will be doing some projects around the house-probably tiling the master BR and maybe the kitchen. We also need to do the spare bath in the upstairs and install bamboo flooring in the living room and dining room. NOT TO EVEN MENTION THE YARD! But, it's too hot to think about that.
It's been blazing saddles hot here! Up and over 105 most of last week and this weekend! We're not used to this kind of heat until July/August/September! Usually, this time is known as "June Gloom" because of the cloudy mornings from the ocean! Not this year! This week is supposed to cool off down to the 90s, which is much more manageable! All that heat and we are still able to have our windows open because we're close enough to the ocean to get the sea breeze! That's nice!!!
Happy Midsummer's! (late!)