Work

I am just finishing up my 3rd full week of work at my new job! Time has that crazy effect of making time fly by, yet at the same time, making it feel like I’ve been working there a long time already. Any way… It’s going…well. The first week was tough. Not like case-load tough, but emotionally tough. I was more or less shadowing the owner, getting a feel for how his hospital runs/their protocols/the clients/patients.… and I have to be honest, shadowing sucks! I am such a hands on person that not getting to do things myself was torturous.
The second week I was there mostly by myself, and in 4 days I had 2 emergency Pyometra surgeries to perform (that’s when the uterus is infected and FULL of pus or necrotic and literally shredding into dead-smelling pieces). Mmmmmmm. Both those surgeries went great! I love to cut! And it was nice to have 2 HUGE surgeries to ‘show off’ some of my skills. The owner was impressed and said that he was shocked that I had 2 pyo’s, since he hasn’t seen one in more then 5 years! (I just kept waiting for the third, since things always seem to come in 3’s).
This week was pretty mellow in comparison to last week. Just steadily busy. I have had a slew of new clients come in, so that’s really nice.
I don’t feel like I’m at home when I walk in the door… as I did at the last hospital. I feel like I’m there as an employee, like I’m there to work on animals (which is still fun) and to earn a pay check. I’m sure most of you are thinking, ‘Uh, that’s what a J.O.B. is,’ but not for me. It had always been someplace that I couldn’t wait to go to and wasn’t ever in a huge hurry to leave. Oh well, so things are a little different now. That’s ok. I’m still just getting the hang of it, right?

All Grown Up

A few weeks ago we got together with Dave, Rebecca and Cody. I love, love, love this picture because Matthew and Dave have been best buddies for just about ever and when they get together they still act and talk kind of like they are in junior high school, but yet here they are as Daddies!!!! It’s kind of a mind trip. For all your Healdsburg Higher, all you have to do is think back to our senior year and giggle when you think of the things they did (or ‘didn’t’ do).
But somehow these two hoodlums turned into wonderful husbands and loving, attentive, gentle fathers. I am so proud of them both. Becca, we did well!
Speaking of Fathers…. Matthew just got to celebrate his very first Fathers Day! We all had a wonderful time! Matthew got to pick how we spent the day, and all he wanted to do was be with Mallory and me and see the dad’s. So in the morning we opened a few gifts… Mallory had to break him in right and got her Daddy the obligatory ‘ties for fathers day gift.’ We then went and hung out with my dad at the folk’s house, eating, playing horse shoes and swinging in the (new) hammock. That afternoon/evening Robert came over to out house to play. Mallory had a great time showing off in her ‘Crab Pool’ (I’ll post pictures about that soon), while we all enjoyed some frozen beverages and BBQ.
We all had such a great time. It made me realize what a blessed life I lead, having such a wonderful husband to be the father of my baby girl AND to live within minutes of both my Daddy and my Pops! I love you all.

Sorry

Sorry that I have been sooooo behind on posting... I don't know when I got so busy. It may have something to do with a new job, a toddler who is into, on top of and under EVERYTHING (all at the same time), a husband who I feel should get some of my time, animals that are seeming neglected, and a house that seems to constantly need cleaning/repairing. Besides that I have LOADS of free time.
I promise I'll get around to blogging... soon....ish.

Vacation #4

The last day of your little cruise was in Nassau (pronounced like a southerner saying N.A.S.A.). It’s the capital of the Bahamas, so one of the most populated islands in the Bahamas. Countless building were painted either pink or yellow (after the national bird the Flamingo or the national flower the Yellow Elder)… it was quite a sight. We had the entire day to spend there, so in the morning we ended up finding a cabbie to take us on a 2 hour tour of Nassau. It was super interesting. After the tour we got back on the boat, ate some lunch then headed back out for a little ‘swim’ with stingrays!!!! Cool, I know! We had swum with them in Tahiti and I LOVED it, so I jumped at the opportunity to do it again. This time it was a little different, not bad just different. Instead of cruising in a boat to the stingrays local hang-out spot (as we did in Tahiti), we were taken by boat to another little Cay (key) where they have bunch of them all corralled up (they do breeding/studying/translocation with them). So it didn’t quite feel as ‘natural’ but was neat to see the pregnant ones and to learn all about their breeding/behavior/gestation… all that ‘nerdy’ stuff that I love. Then it was back to Nassau and back on the boat. The next morning we woke up in Miami and were back in San Francisco by 10:30 that night. It was a whirlwind trip but it was wonderful! The best part was that Matthew and I got to spend some much needed US time. Its amazing how instantly (and permanently) a couple goes from their life revolving around each other/themselves to revolving around a child. Not that it’s a bad thing at all, but it was wonderful to see Matthew as someone other then just an amazing father to Mallory and remember him as my doting husband and lover. (yeah, you all can puke now).

The next day we caught the tender boats to the Norwegian Cruise Lines private island called Stirrup Cay (pronounced Key). It was… nice. Nothing AMAZING since about ¾ of the island was under construction and we couldn’t even explore it. But we spent the day snorkeling, laying out on the beach and reading so that was nice. So there we were, just relaxing on the beach while the worst things we had to think about were when to re-apply sunscreen and remembering not to miss the last tender back to the boat. Life’s tough, I know.

Vacation #2

That next morning (Monday) we woke up in the Bahamas! (Not like it’s that far from Florida). The weather was warm, humid and WONDERFUL… especially when you remember that it was still raining cats and dogs here! We were on the Grand Bahama Island. Just a little tid-bit of trivia for you all… The Bahamas are made up of 700 islands (including teny-tiny little ones) but only 23 are inhabited. WOW! Who knew.
Any way, we caught a cab who took us to meet up with our scuba guide, along the way got to hear some of the history and see a bunch of the island. The Bahamas are not all the beautiful white sand beaches that you see in the movies/tv/adds. Nope, most of it/them are sort of run-down, ram-shackle-like with multiple families living in one small house, some without running water or electricity. The largest house on this island is HUGE and owned by the guy who brought McDonalds, Burger king, KFC and some other fast food joint to the island… go figure.
I had set up the dive with some scuba man I found online… and besides a little hic-up in the timing it was WONDERFUL! Fred and his wife took us out for 2 dives both at about 70 feet deep. It was wonderful and nerve-racking to be back under the water. Sadly the fish and coral were NOTHING in comparison to our diving experience in Honduras (thank you Joel and Melissa), but it was still great. Seriously I think that I just like diving and would even be happy even diving in a pool, so I’m not complaining.
After that we headed back to land, just to drive back and get on our ship again.

Vacation Part 1

After deciding to take the job at Santa Rosa Veterinary Hospital, Matthew and I realized that for the first and (hopefully) the last time I had some time off without having to deduct it from my vacation/sick days and his work had been pushing employees to 'take vacation time' (since they have been slow). So we started talking about taking a little spur-of-the-moment vacation before I started my new job (in 10 days at that point). We first thought that maybe we could visit family in Colorado (that didn't work out). Our next thought was family in Oregon (that didn't work out either). We then were throwing around Las Vegas or something like that. It was during that search that I found an AMAZING deal of a 4 night cruise to the BAHAMAS! So I booked it on Thursday and we were set to fly to Florida (on Sunday night which ended up costing more then the cruise) and be on the ship Monday morning!!! It was kind of a mad rush of adrenalin as I tried to set up Mallory-watching shift (which was pretty much covered by my mom, dad and Joyce.... THANK YOU). And of a whirlwind next few days as we packed, printed out boarding passes, found all our travel documents, packed up Mallory’s stuff and Sonny’s stuff.
We dropped Mallory (and sonny) off at my parent’s house Sunday evening; I knew it was going to be hard to leave her... I just didn't expect it to be THAT hard. I felt like I couldn't breathe! Like a piece of me was getting ripped off. Like I wanted to cry and vomit. It was nuts. Maybe it gets easier (since that was really the first time I've been away from her for any significant period of time. Who knows?
Anyway, I was finally able to tear myself away and off Matthew and I went on our vacation. The flight to Miami was HORRIBLE. I couldn’t sleep, which meant I was wiggling to much so Matthew couldn't sleep. The other guy I was sitting next to was lounging into 'my' space. I just kept reminding myself that in 6/5/4/3/2/1 hour(s) I was going to be off the plane… And onto my ship!
We Arrived in Miami at about 9 am and couldn’t board the sip until noon, so we thought that we’d kill so time by getting a cab and going to a café for some coffee and breakfast. So we throw all our stuff in a cab and ask about a café or diner that is close (ish)…. As the cabby is driving us around we notice that despite the fact we are in downtown Miami at 9:30 there is NO cafes/restaurants/venders… Pretty sure that people in Miami don’t eat. The place the cabby dropped us off at didn’t even have one (even though he was sure that there was one… wrong).
Anyway at noon we got on the ship and our real vacation began.

Up and Running

Yipee the computer is back! No more crashing, no more black screen, no more looooooong load up time, no more running slow! I have so much to tell you all, but right now I am shoveling yogurt into Mallorys mouth, listening to Sonny whine (because he's hungry too) and I've got to head out the door for my second day of work shortly. But rest assured that I'll fill you all in on life here shortly.

Sick Computer

Stupid computers! Seriously, I can fix a sick animal, but I am at a total loss when computers are 'sick'. Yesterday, I turned on my trusty 5 year old laptop (which had been running slow for a while now) and all I got was a black screen followed by all these error warnings! Sure it was all written in English, but beats the heck out of me what they were saying! The messages could have been in Japanese, since that is about how much of it I understood! Uhhhggggg! So I found a computer guy (that that was open on the weekend and sounds as though he isn't dead set on trying to financially rip me off). But we'll see. Good thing I have a job. ;)

Just A Small Task

Ok, I feel as though I may be loosing my brain! No, really. It's leaving and I don't know how to stop it! :)

On Monday I started doing some deep cleaning... so I was scrubbing the baseboards of the house, which then lead to cleaning the walls and doors. It was then that I realized that there were quite a few nicks in the paint/small stains in the wall. So I thought why not do a little touch up painting. Suuuuuuuuure sounds easy enough. So I grabbed the living room color and touched that up, then went to grab the hallway/entryway/dining color. As I was walking out the the garage I was saying to myself 'don't grad the glossy paint, don't grab the glossy paint' (because when we bought the house it was all one color, kitchen and bathrooms were the same color but in glossy). Any way. I went about the touch-ups, happy that all this little tasks was almost done. When I was just about finished I realized that yep, I HAD grabbed the glossy paint! Grrrrrrr! So annoying, but not a big deal. I went and found the right paint and went about painting over the dried glossy paint. After I finished I realized that for some reason the new coat of paint was actually a few shades lighter then what the walls were! (Sorry the pictures not great).AHHHHHHHHHH! I don't know if it was because the paint had been siting there for 3 years or what (Yes it was TOTALLY mixed). Soooooo.... I ended up painting the entire entryway, hallway, dining area! No easy feat with a toddler that wants to help! So much for a small little task!

The Dr. Is In

I am back in business! Yep, it's official, I have a job! After a few great interviews and a little negotiating back and forth I am officially going to be a veterinarian for Santa Rosa Veterinary Hospital! It's going to be a little bit of a change not being in Healdsburg, but hopefully lots of my clients wont mind the drive and I get to work very close to my home! The other exciting part is that (once again) I am going to get to expand the range of animals that I work on. Approximately 25% of the patients seen at S.R.V.H (Santa Rosa Veterinary Hospital) at exotic (birds, reptiles and pocket-pets). So I am really super excited about the range of new animals that I'll be learning about and now treating!!!!! I start in 2 weeks, so I get 2 more wonderful weeks of Mallory-filled days.

Life is good!

Passing

Yesterday Matthews grandmother Helen Bridgman passed away.

So sad.

Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Pass The Buck

Honestly, one of the added perks to having a husband is that there is someone else to help take the blame... or to put the blame on :) Here is a perfect example...
Yesterday Matthew, Mallory and I attended our friend Anne's 30th b-day bash. Mallory was not supper happy about being there (I'm not sure if she's teething, or it was all the people, or the fact the yard wasn't baby-friendly or what, but she was being a little fuss-bucket). So we called in reinforcements. Yep, the grandparents! (Thank goodness for them). Anyway they showed up and we passed off the little whiner along with her snacks and diaper bag, and Matthew and I enjoyed a few child-free hours. Ahhhhhhh! At about 6:30 we thought that we should probably rescue my folks and so we started saying our 'good-byes'... that's when Matthew came up to me and asked if I had the keys. After giving my pockets a quick pat-down I remembered that I had put them in the diaper bag for safe-keeping! The diaper bag that HE gave to my folks! :) See someone to help share/take the blame. What could be better?! :) I love you Matthew!!!!

I Scream, Your Scream, We All Scream....

A few weeks ago we were all in the city for Matthews rugby game. While there, we thought, hey, let’s go for ice cream! Since we were in San Francisco there was no question as to where we would be getting our little treat... Ghirardelli Square!!!! WooHoo! Up until that point the Little Miss had not really had sweets, so we were all excited to see what she thought. Needless to say, Mallory LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it! The ice cream, the whipped cream, the banana, the fudge! The whole kit and caboodle! Granted she is a combination of Matthew and my sweet-loving genes, so I guess we shouldn't have been shocked!

What Are The Odds?

How cool is this! I was map questing an address in Windsor and as I was looking at the map, I saw that there was a Jessica Dr.... so just for fun I followed that and low-and-behold it T'ed into Mallory Ave!!!!! So of course I had to go there for myself and take a picture. I want to bring Mallory next time and take a picture with both of us under it.

Walk On With Your Bad Self!

I have been a very bad blogger-er, because almost 2 weeks ago little Miss Mallory took her first steps (and I was too wrapped up in my pity party to write about it). Oops!
Soooooo... zheres the story; Mallory and I were at the park and she had climbed to the top of the play structure (this kid is fearless) and was banding on some pipes. I was sitting a few feet away (yes I was on the kiddy play structure too) watching. She turned and looked over her shoulder and smiled at me... not just any smile, but one that I think I am going to have to get used to spotting very soon... you know the one that says 'I'm about to do something and there is nothing you can do stop it'. Yup, that smile. She then turned her body, let go of the pipes and took a step, brought both feet together and then just sort of fell into my arms! It was so cute! But to be honest I wasn't even sure if that classified as 'walking' until she did it again in front of both my mom and Joyce and both confirmed that she is now officially walking! Since last week she has progressed from 1 to 2 steps before falling into my arms and giggling wildly. She thinks walking is so funny, and i cant help but laugh at her. I do feel very blessed for getting to be here with her to watch her grow-up...

Splish Splash

I'm not sure who has more fun at bath time... Mallory or us! Ok, who am I kidding, I do know, it's us! :)

Copy Cat

It's so funny, now that I have my own child I am in total ahhh of the things that she does and I have to keep reminding myself that just about every other person has done just about the same thing she is doing.... maybe they just weren't so darn cute about it.

Well, it's officially here! The time when Mallory has started to copy things that we do and sounds/words that we say. Yesterday Mallory was playing with a toilet paper roll (cheap toy I know.... but hey, I don't have a job, what do you expect). Any way, I took it from her and put it to my mouth and made a trumpet noise and gave it back to her. She looked at me like I was crazy... so I did it again. But this time when I gave it to her she brought it to her lips and made a trumpet sound! Soooooooo cute!!!! She spent the rest of the day making me take turns with her playing the T.P trumpet. When Matthew got home I told him about it, and for once Mallory actually took a request and played the trumpet for her daddy. Matthew was duly impressed... as he should be! :)

Now we'll just have to remember that we can't do/say anything we don't want HER to do or say!

Eeeewwwww

So without fail... literally the moment that I hit "publish post" Mallory screamed as a wet-liquid poo fired out of her, soaking though her diaper, onsie, pants, shirt, up her back and down her legs! I contemplated cutting the clothes off her, it was sooooo messy! :) Eeeewwww! Me and my big mouth.

Stinky Pants

So my Friday work day went great! It actually wasn't a working interview but I was doing relief work for them (Because they were short one dr). They kept saying how they wished there was another position available because I seemed to fit right in, but sadly there is not. At least I had fun and know that they'll ask me back to do relief work again, and I made a little money (which is always helpful when you're unemployed) :)
This weekend Mallory had a stomach bug! Poor baby! We went through around 20 diapers yesterday alone (poor us), she took 5 naps in one day, had a fever and such bad gas. I was all prepared to take her to the dr. this morning, but when she got up she was happy as ever, normal poo and no more fever. Hurray!
I promise to start posting cute pictures of every ones favorite little baby girl again soon... maybe tomorrow.