Grateful for August 2019

August 2019 comes to a close. Just looking at this past week makes me feel lucky. It is a good month with some simple reasons to be thankful. 

• A nurse wine glass from Paul he got from the wine tasting event. He got some wine too but the glass is especially cute. Why doesn't the nurse have eyes, I do not know.
• Free cactus vegetarian tacos from the employee recognition day with melon juice. I especially like the juice. It refreshed my dry mouth on a busy day in the hospital.
• A smile from my grandson quenches my thirst as well in a different way. Many times at work, in the intensive care unit, I feel stressed, depressed, and helpless dealing with critical patients. My grandson, however little, cures all the negative feelings. 
• Nature hikes this weekend feeds my soul while I get my work out. It is nice to see the great outdoors in Colorado.

• Flowers brighten my day. The red ones are from the Farmer's market Paul got me today. The others are from the hike at Pella Crossing Trail this morning around the lake.

• Here are more flowers from yesterday's hike at Apex and Enchanted Forest trails.

• Pella crossing trail hike was nice around 7 to 8 am this morning. The trail can be heavily trafficked by the locals but the earlier hours are not crowded at all.
• Yesterday afternoon, my daughter and I got 15-year old Snowball, our miniature poodle his shots and renewal of dog license. We spent $75 for everything in the clinic. That is pretty good price, we think.
• I have yet to thank some of my fellow nurses. They helped me a ton trying to stabilize my patients last Wednesday and Thursday to prevent them from crashing. Everybody's effort helped make a difference in my patients' life. I feel lucky to be apart of a highly efficient and helpful team.
• And last but not least, the All Trails app that helped me find easy to moderate trails in my area. It is a great app in the U.S. I heard you can use it too in other countries like Mexico, China, the Philippines, France, England, and Ireland. It is available for free and paid pro-membership as well.

Fresh Dahlia

Hello. Another week, another time to recognize my blessings. My family went to our regular schedule this past week. It is back to college for my daughter and me. We have no vacations planned so far. Life is smooth and we plan to keep it that way. Smooth is fine and we feel grateful. Here's my list.

1. A $1 dahlia from the farmer's market because even a single stem puts a smile on my face.
2. The farmer's market on good weather to get local veggies from.
3. A table for studying as I am back to school again to get my master's in nursing.
4. Leftover flowers from the week prior and carrot leaves (LOL) to make a bouquet with my dahlia.
5. Coffee candle to keep me awake while studying.
6. My last lipid panel result. I got my total cholesterol and LDL within healthy limits finally.
7. Losing five pounds and keeping it off.
8. Thanks to the Noom app to help change my mindset about food.
9. The slimming coffee my sister gave me. Between Noom and that, I lost weight without struggle.
10. My kids helping around more around the house. They even did the lawn in the front and back of the house.

Thankful for the Great Outdoors

The Main Reservoir walk in Colorado

The Rooney Trail before the bikers and runners came

I feel proud of myself for making time to post in a few weeks streak. It just means one thing. I focus on gratitude for weeks now. What a great feeling.

This week, I am thankful for:

1. The beautiful mountain views in my city, just over ten minutes drive.
2. 60-degree mornings, so the hike felt very refreshing.
3. The energy to rise early and avoid the crowd.
4. My dog joining me in the otherwise solitary walk.
5. The effect of going outdoors has on me--wonderful happy feeling.
6. Calories used for exercising. 
7. Days off to enjoy life outside work.
8. Coffee to keep me going on my workdays in the hospital.
9. My son adulting. He paid for his two old tickets!
10. Apps to motivate me and lose a few pounds. 

Summer Outdoors

Beak Creek Nature park

While visiting the beaches in California, my former state before Colorado some 20 years ago, I realized how I took for granted the beauty of the large body of water when I was living there. How could I not appreciate the beautiful waves and sunset kissing the water when I was minutes away from it? How could I not walk the warm sand at least weekly, the same way I enjoyed it now massaging my feet as I walked? Now I can only do it rarely unless I fly to the west (or east) coast weekly. 

Last June while in Florida, and had a few days by the beach, I did not think about it. I used to live close to the beach, in California, that 's where I stayed for over ten years. Anyway, now that I am back to beautiful Colorado, I told myself not to take for granted the beautiful weather, mountains, and lakes we have here. We have numerous parks to visit, some only a few minutes away. 

Here, my nursing volunteer friends and family visited Colorado Springs. It is over an hour away from Denver but we visited for different scenery and to eat in a Filipino cafe afterward. We squeeze in our Philippine Nursing Association of Colorado (PNACO) monthly meeting to talk about our next project of offering a day of the health fair for the Denver community.

Here is my gratitude list for this post.

1. Beautiful California beaches 
2. Scenic Bear Creek Park
3. A day off to spend with nurse friends
4. My own health and I am glad I can volunteer some time to help others
5. Filipino cafe where I can eat native cuisine I did not cook. I had pancit noodles.
6. Cooperating weather. We did not get rained on.
7. Smooth traffic on the way and back 
8. Hat
9. Sunscreen
10. Money to buy school supplies for my college daughter

That's all for now. What do you like about your surroundings?

Summer Gratitude 2019

Hello from the hot summer in Colorado. I just got back from a vacation with my family. I attached my recent pictures down to my graduation. I finally finished my bachelor's in nursing. I had an associate degree for many years but not I can officially say I am a bit smarter. :)

Look at me hanging out with the stars in Los Angeles, California, the wax museum, that is.

A visit to California is not complete without the scene of the Pacific Beach. Here we are in San Diego with the water warm enough, we could actually go wading comfortably.

Paul and I are back in Colorado shopping at the farmer's market. 

The other pictures are with my family in California for a mini-reunion. 

I can't help but notice that sign on the white truck in La Jolla, "People are important." Yes, indeed, no matter what race or color, I should add. 

 More beach pictures. Can you spot the seals and sea lions?

And look at how we positioned ourselves in the picture as a family? We did not plan that special line up.

And here are more family pictures. I have to post a picture of my grandson. He is now 4 months old. The last one is, of course, my graduation day before I headed to a much-needed vacation.