A Much Needed Warm Up!!

I would love to say I have been sooooo busy that I haven't had time to blog over the last six weeks, but that just isn't true. Although I have been working regularly, I have had some time for fun.

Just two weeks ago, I was in San Diego and Los Angeles for 7 days. As much as I have enjoyed the opportunity to experience winter at it's coldest, it was nice to be back in the warm southern California sun for a few days.

After getting my rental car, "The Hooptie" as Diana so loving referred to it, I headed to my old roommate Stephanie's apartment for some much needed sleep. (Note to self, when booking a flight on an airline that has recently been bought out and has been so lovingly referred to as 'America's Worst,' check that your seat assignment does not change when they combine their flights with the new airline.) After 2 hours of sleep before heading to the airport, I was looking forward to my window seat, so I could rest my head and go to sleep!!! Unfortunately, I got stuck with the middle seat and proceeded to fitfully attempt to sleep for the next 4 hours!!

I drove down to San Diego on Thursday and had lunch with my friend Michelle. We enjoyed Margarita's and mexican food under the warm afternoon sun - it doesn't get much better than that!! I then met Diana at our hotel in the Gaslamp district. We headed to happy hour at a local bar to start the night off. From there it was back to the hotel for a quick nap. Our friend Kelly joined us for dinner and a night out on the town. The 3 of us met last summer when we were all travel nurses at Tri-city Medical Center - we had a great summer. Since then, Kelly has moved back to Kansas, gotten married and is now back in San Diego for another assignment while her husband is finishing up officer training school in Virginia. Diana has traveled to Tacoma, WA, Pheonix, AZ and is currently on her way to Palo Alto, CA. It was great to catch up!!

Dinner was a lot of fun - my friend Julia, who is currently finishing up her Pediatric residency in San Diego was even able to join us for dinner. I have known Julie since college - it was great to have dinner with her too - she is still trying to get me to move back to Cali.

On Friday, I got up and met my cousin Brent for brunch. His son Brendan is 6 weeks old and I got to meet him for the first time. Unfortunately I had a bad cold and the NICU nurse in me allowed me only to admir him from a distance. He is a wonderful little boy and I think I even managed to get a little smile out of him!!

From there, it was time to head back up to LA. I was meeting Diana near the Petsmart, where she had boarded her cat for the night(whom she travels with) and we where going to follow each other to my friends house in LA, dropping the cat at a kennel of the way. Easier said than done!! On my way to meet her, she called to say the cat was very upset and was refusing to come out of the cage. When Diana would get close to her, Shiner would hiss and attempt to bat at her. It took over an hour to get her out of the cage and into her crate. With this development it was determined it was best for Diana to get a hotel room for the cat!! That's right - the cat!! She and I were staying at my friend Lisa's place because it was more centrally located to the things we wanted to do. So we checked the cat into the LaQuinta Hotel near LAX, where she enjoyed a weekend of luxury!! The funny this was that in the 3 months since Diana last stayed at the hotel they have gone through a complete remodel - meaning they no longer allow cats!! We had no other options, Diana didn't think she would do well around lots of people, since she was still pissed off from being lock in a cage for 24 hours, so we snuck her into the hotel. Set her up with food and water!! She did great and when we saw her on Sunday she seemed much happier!! The things we do for our pets!!!

Well - more to come in the next post!!

Alla's Visit

I can't believe almost an entire month has gone by and I havn't updated the blog!! So much for my New Year's resolution to add an update once a week, I guess I will just have to strive for once a month!

Well, after returning from Illinois after Emma's arrival, I had to work all weekend. Having a week off comes with a price and for me it was 4 days (or rather nights in a row) of work. Although it was exhausting, working my days all together also benefited me, because the following weekend I got to spend time with Alla, my old roommate from LA.

Alla came in to Boston for a friend's Golden 29th Birthday celebration. She and I both stayed at our friend Emily's place in East Boston. It was a bitterly cold weekend, but we still managed to get out and party. On Friday night I pick Alla up from the bus station - hey it's only $30 round-trip from NYC to Boston!! Then we went to a cocktail party - part of the birthday party festivities - this was one of the biggest birthday parties I have ever heard of, especially for 29!! After the party we headed to Boyolston St. to hit the bars. I didn't know 29 could feel so old, until I stepped into a college bar - where have those 10 years gone!! Even though we were "old" - we managed to party like we were in college again!! And Emily even discovered her new favorite drink - a Greyhound!! Well, at least she discovered she didn't like it!! Apparently sugar didn't even make the drink taste good!!

Saturday was a relaxing day. We didn't do much - it was way too cold to be outdoors!! However, in the evening, it was another night on the town. The three of us had a great dinner downtown before Alla headed off to her party. Em and I proceeded to bar hop - checking out different places downtown!! Around midnight I met back up with Alla, as her party was getting over and we headed to the Beantown Pub for one last drink!! We had a great time, right up until we had to hail a cab, along with the hundreds of other patrons leaving the bars in the snow!!! Who knew it would take 30 minutes to hail a cab in Boston - I sure didn't. Thanks to James, Alla's friends brother we finally got a towncar (don't even ask how much this cost!!) and we headed to a friend's for pizza!! I now know to leave the bars in Boston before closing to ensure I have a ride home!!

Lunch with Em N Jack

My trip to Illinois for Emma's much anticipated arrival included a few extra visits, as well!!

One of my oldest friends, Emily, and I have tried to see each other the last couple of times I was home, but our schedules never seemed to match.

Well, thanks to Monday being a holiday, Emily had the day off. I joined she and her son Jack for lunch at Cheddar's and it was nice to finally catch up.

Emily is a social worker with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. One of her big projects each year is organizing and running a summer camp for children afflicted with this disorder. During our lunch it came up that she is looking for a second nurse to volunteer at the camp during early June. I have been interested in working at camps, like this one. And with my current travel lifestyle, it might just be possible. So, if everything works out, we might get to spend an entire week together this summer!!

Thanks, Em and Jack for lunch! I had a great time - can't wait to see you, again!

Just a reminder: if you click on the title of each post, you will be linked to other photos!

Drinks with Our Moms!!

When I was home at Christmas, my sister and I were out Christmas shopping and we stopped for dinner. While we were eating, our friends Angie and Cindy Chamness showed up and joined us for dinner.

When my family first moved to Rochester, when I was in 5th grade, Angie and Cindy were our first friends. So having dinner with them was great. When we left that night, we had planned to see one another again before I left for Boston. That never happened, so when I came home this time, I made sure to call Ang.

This time our moms joined us for drinks. My mom, Debbie, was just finishing work and Angie's mom, Peggy was coming from Yoga class. It was great to catch up and I think we will have to keep it up everytime I am home!!

Okay, I'll be happy with at least every other time!!

A 7 Hour Layover.....

........in the middle of the night at Philadelphia International Airport - not a bad airport, if it were the middle of the day and I could enjoy the resturants and mall that is located in the center!!

Yes, that is correct, I am currently sitting in the airport awaiting the 6:30AM departure of my flight to Boston. I have been here since last night at 11:30PM.

Apparently, I was soooo excited to get the news last Wednesday, that my niece Emma was going to be arriving on Thursday, that when I booked my flight I didn't look at the connection times. I was just glad I was going to get to spend most of the day, yesterday, in Springfield!!

No worries though, thanks to the time difference and the fact that my friend Diana, another night-shift nurse currently on assignment in Phoenix, AZ, was up most of the night, the time went rather quickly. We were on the phone for almost 3 hours of the time - it is amazing what you can talk about, when you have all the time in the world! WiFi and my laptop kept me entertained the rest of the time. And now with just over 1 hour to go, I am off to get breakfast!!

Hopefully there are no travel delays, because I hear my bed calling my name!!

Introducing.......

Emma Kate!!! (Click on the title "Introducing" and you can see more pictures!!)

This is Emma at only about 4 hours of age - fresh and clean from her first bath. Unfortunately, I did not get to see her until today, but my dad did a great job capturing her first day of life!

I arrived in Springfield this morning after taking a boat to the airport, 2 flights (one delayed because of weather problems in Chicago), renting a car and making an unexpected overnight stay at my Gram's house because of freezing rain in Springfield. All of this was after getting off work at 7:30a yesterday morning and sleeping about 3 1/2 hours! I told Emma, I love her so much, I would travel by land, sea and air just to meet her!!

Mom and baby are both doing well. 2 hour feeds are exhausting for all those envolved, but Missy is taking advantage of my night shift sleeping pattern and the fact that I am a "baby nurse." Looks like I am staying here tonight - she is worried she won't be able to wake up on her own for the feedings, especially since Emma is a very good sleeper!!

Well - more to come and hopefully I will figure out how to put more pictures on each post by then!!

Welcome to the World....

........Little Emma Kate Best!!!

Yes, that's right my sister, Melissa and her husband Brett welcomed Emma Kate into the world last night at 8:14pm. Although, she is only about 37 weeks gestation - she is a strong 6 lbs 11oz and 19.5 inches long!!

Both mom and baby are doing well!! Missy was induced at about 9am yesterday morning and once she was ready to push - the baby "popped" out in about 30 minutes - not bad for the first time!!

I am very excited to meet my little niece and after I finish work at 7am, it is home for a quick 3 hours of sleep before I head off to the airport. I should be cuddling little Emma by 10:30pm tomorrow night!!

I am at work right now, so no pictures to post yet, but by Saturday morning I expect to have several up for all to see!!

Happy New Year!!

Greetings from Boston and Happy New Year to all!!


I arrived safely in Boston on the 29th. After finding the local Target (it took 1 1/2 hours to get there and 30 minutes to get home - I love exploring new places) and unpacking my car, I headed to my hotel for much needed sleep. Yes a hotel - my furniture arrived today and it is nice to be home, finally.


On Saturday, I headed in to Boston on the T to meet my friend Emily for a little shopping. The T was easy to navigate and I will be using it frequently. Emily and I started our day by enjoying a nice breakfast on Charles Street. As we ate, it began to snow. Just a light dusting, but if you ask me, it is all that I need to see while I am here.


After breakfast, we headed across Boston Common and dove into Filene's Basement where we both found new dresses (note picture above) for New Year's, at very reasonable prices. After a little more shopping, we saw Dreamgirls - what a great movie!! My vote for the Oscar is definitely Jennifer Hudson!!! We completed our day in the city with appetizers and a couple glasses of wine! I am definitely liking Boston, so far.


Thanks to Emily, I did not have to sit alone in my hotel room on New Year's Eve. We went to her friend Laura's party in Cambridge - the drinks were festive, the food gourmet and the company was very nice. After ringing in 2007 in style we then tried to get a cab back to East Boston. Easier said than done!! After 15 minutes on the phone, while walking in the rain and trying to hail every full cab that drove by, we finally got a cab. Except, that when we got in, Em realized somewhere between the party and the cab she had lost her entire purse - house keys, cash and all!! Thank goodness her parents were staying in East Boston (a few blocks from her house) at her sister's house. Two phone calls and 3 door buzzes later, we got keys and cash for the cab!! I only had $10 and the ATM would not take my card - many thanks to Emily's parents.

Hope everyone had a wonderful 2007 celebration!! Happy New Year!