December Evening Celebrations

After Work Hospital Unit Party

December is usually a busy month when groups get together and celebrate outside of usual activities. This year, I skipped the holiday luncheon at work because I do not work that day (the 11th) and it was my son's birthday. We, in the intensive unit group, had a separate celebration on the 12th. It started before my shift was over, but I joined after work. I had one hour left of a 6pm to 9 pm all-you-can-eat-limited-choice drinks and appetizers as Paul and I arrived at around 8. With the time we had, we had 2 servings of alcohol, and a few bites of appetizer. I am thankful for days like this. It is great to just relax with co-workers outside the walls of the busy hospital in the intensive care unit.

Daughter's 2oth birthday (In Nike army shirt)

Saturday was my daughter's 20th birthday. She is my baby and looks young for her age, I think. She is still my sweet, fragile, sensitive little girl. We went to an arcade place but that night was an especially busy night. We did not even get a table to sit for appetizers and drink. The savvy prepared for this possibility and had the family have the cake and supper at home before we left. We played arcade games for 2 hours and spent at least half an hour claiming junk  toys with their tickets. I played a few piano games thinking my grandson would punch the keys too. He is 8 months and the keys are huge. Most of the time, I walked around carrying him with me and we went to visit the "big kids" playing.

Son's 21st Birthday

Last Wednesday, was my son's 21st birthday. I am surprised he is spending it with family and not doing some wild party somewhere with his friends. I got him his first legal drink at legal age. Surprisingly, he ordered a mixed drink and not some hard alcohol. Each of us had 2 drinks and we all "Ubered" home. I am thankful for Uber for keeping us safe.

Looking back, this year's December birthdays are the first in a long time we were all together. Nobody was on the run. They are too old for that anyway. My daughter and son were both home and not thinking about spending all day, all night with their friends instead. I am thankful for the togetherness. I am thankful that their wild, young days may be over, or did not happen this year, yet(?).

Happy December

Christmas party of PNACO
the whole family is welcome

Ho,ho, ho

Here we go

With my favorite nursing group

of P-N-A-C-O

We're the volunteer group

Here in Colorado

Please join our clan

Come on and follow

I am thankful for this month

It's been good so far

I am grateful for my family

Food, health, and my little star

My little star is my grandson

Who was the highlight of this party

He was so well-behaved

And was such a cutie

He stayed behaved throughout the day

And not at all fuzzy.

He was our little Santa

And he won the best-dressed too

Among other children

Of Santa's little crew

My whole family also won

The best-dressed for the day

We're the "We love Santa" group

We just don't have our sleigh

Speaking of the sleigh

I am glad my car is back

After a long wait for a repair

It's finally back on track

I'm also thankful for the weather

No more snowstorm for now

The road is now better

The drive feels much safer.

Kauai Vacation

Kauai vacation pictures outdoors

Paul and I are lucky enough to go out of the mainland and visit Hawaii's Kauai island. We prepared for this trip with money-saving in mind (we cooked most meals and did not order drinks when we ate out). We also lost weight before leaving. Here is my gratitude list.

1. Losing weight and getting fitter. We tolerated short moderate to difficult hikes to go to the smaller and more private beach to avoid the crowds. 
2. Beautiful beaches we enjoyed for free. The beaches are all public in Hawaii.
3. The beautiful, lush, and shady hikes to complement sunny days.
4. Natural rocks to sit on to watch the waves and enjoy the cool breeze for hours.
5. Jojo's shaved ice with macadamia ice cream on the bottom. We enjoyed the tropical breeze flavor almost daily!
6. Hawaiian feast and show called Lua. That was fun to watch.
7. The company of friends from Colorado. Of all places, we got to meet in Hawaii after many years. How odd but nice. They stopped over from a cruise.
8. The pink sarong Paul encouraged me to get. It is so versatile wrap/dress/top/or skirt! I never had one. It is a must, especially when going to the beach and going somewhere else right after.
9. All the beautiful experience we had on vacation. It made me more resilient facing problems waiting at home. My neighbor "mistakenly constructed a fence" some-20 feet passed her property line into my lot. This is partially resolved. Thank goodness in part for my children 19- and 20- year olds adulting. This issue started the next day after I left for an 8-day vacay. Oh, and also, my daughter slipped driving my car on a snow day days later. My car is still in the shop. 
10. My daughter is not hurt in the car accident. The other party did not get hurt either.

Halloween Gratitude 2019

Halloween 2019

 It is the month of November. Halloween just passed. Next comes Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then the New Year 2020. The year is almost over. I haven't finished my goals this year yet. I still have time. But I should not procrastinate.

Anyway, just as important, I have many blessings to fall back on this fall. Here is my list of gratitude.

1. A moment to enjoy my grandson's Scooby-Doo picture. Isn't he the cutest Scooby-Doo baby this year? All that I asked agrees with me!
2. Just eight years ago, my son, now a father, still dressed for Halloween. You can't see it here but he was a wounded skateboarder. (He had left his costume at a friend's house an hour away. . . ) How can he have a kid already? He is only (still) a/my kid!
3. Snowball was younger then. He is still cute now but he is missing a lot of teeth and his tongue always hangs on the left side. I love old pictures.
4. My daughter dressed up for Halloween this year still. She is 19 and still going to college. I am happy about that.
5. I work last Halloween. I am thankful nothing scary or gruesome happened at work that day.
6. I am thankful for a good talk with my boss last week. It makes me nervous sometimes when bosses make an appointment with me "just to talk." 
7. I am thankful for the reimbursement from work for my expenses obtaining a second nurse certification.
8. I am thankful that so far I am not behind taking two college courses at the same time while working fulltime. I am still alive and not buried with tons of homework. I am keeping up.
9. I am thankful for my health. I remember this every time I hear about another young woman diagnosed with breast cancer. I get sad then cheer up for MY HEALTH. 
10. My presentation went well in nursing education day. Speaking in front of others makes me nervous but I did alright.

May you have a list of gratitude to think about. Have a good week!

September Morning

My not-so hectic week in pictures

It is the month of September. It is getting cooler. We have two months left in the year when the weather is still tame and every morning is still good for a nice stroll in the park. I have some things to be thankful for. I will try to list ten.

1. Sweet cookies from the Donation Alliance for the nurses.
2. A cute pose by Velvet in the morning. Isn't she cute, up-side-down or right-side-up?
3. Twin Lakes Open Space walking trails. This trail has lots of shades!
4. Paul walking with me.
5. We are still shedding some unwanted pounds.
6. Healthy food to help us lose weight. Paul does it with reducing fat intake mostly and walking alone.
7. An exercise coach to motivate me to do my home workouts. Paul and I are hoping to shrink one size smaller to look good in swimsuits for a future trip to . . . 
8. My daughter and I doing well so far in college. 
9. Installment plans to pay for college.
10. Sprouts grocery store for refunding me my money for a bad service one day.

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. 

Time with Family and Friends

Indoor fun times with son and grandson +

Hello. It is the month of July. I have not blogged for a while. I did have thought about writing many times. I did not get into sitting down and writing my thoughts and gratitude in this medium. I did have a few entries in my planner. I have many reasons to give thanks for especially to the friends and family around me.

We are social human beings. Most of my gratitude links to family and friends—the time I spend with them and the time they lent to me. They are precious and cannot be bought by money. This includes a hike with daughter and our dogs — no money spent on shopping. OK, we did stop by Starbucks on the way home to pick up cold caffeinated drinks and some Puppy-ccino for free. They are whipped cream for the doggies in a cup.

I have a new (and only) grandchild. He is three months old, so tiny, precious, and bubbly. He would give me his little smiles and make baby sounds that I think means, “hi grandma.” We with his parents went to the mall last week as the park was not an option. It was raining outside. We had a good time, just the same. We got in for free as my little grandchild was less than a year old. Parents and grandparents get in for free with a child! “We” got to play in an indoor playscape with inflatable slides and foam-floored crawling areas with large puzzles and colors everywhere.

My grandson was looking around. He seemed amazed by the beautiful colors. My son, the dad, commented, “this is so nice.” He was referring to the time in general in the mall on a slow day, pushing little Josiah around in a stroller while stopping at some interesting shops. The restrooms are just there close by ready for a quick diaper change. They played some games and earned little toys for Josiah. We ended the day with dinner in a Mexican restaurant right in the store.

Fun times outdoors with family

In the fourth of July, we get to see spectacular fireworks in the city. My kids have plans on their own, but Paul and I went and had a good time snacking and watching the show. We are glad the fare was controlled. Each entrance had a checkpoint checking bags. Alcohol was sold inside, but nobody could take them out. Police were around just in case. It was clean fun with no crazies getting drunk and causing trouble.

That night ended with heavy rain. I had a poncho and did not get very wet. Paul, who refused to bring one got soaked with cold rain. He did regret his stubbornness. LOL.

Speaking off us people wanting to spend time with others, I would like to mention about my nursing group. We are getting together this coming Saturday for wine tasting. Every month Philippine Nurses Association of Colorado get together for fundraising, social time, or meeting. I once heard from my college professor in dental assisting that whatever specialty you have or profession, look for an excellent group to belong to. And do not just sign up. Participate. Contribute. Make a difference. Being part of a functional group gives more meaning to your profession.

One of the groups I pick (in nursing) is the PNACO. We do more than volunteering our time; we spend fun times together. This group of educated people inspires me to continue serving as a nurse, paid, or unpaid. Nursing is hard, but each day I see reasons to continue doing what I do. It is not all about money but the happiness it gives me knowing I touch someone’s life every day.

If you can, and if you are a nurse or nursing student in Colorado, you can join us in Denver for wine tasting this coming Saturday. Just contact me if you are coming.

Thankful Saturday

The blizzard last Wednesday might not have caused an accumulation of a lot of snow.  It was scary, nonetheless. The wind knocked down electrical lines that led to power outage in several neighborhoods including mine. We did not have power from 11 am till 3 am the next day. Our house was getting cold. We did not have hot water. We could not heat our food or cook. I am glad the power is restored and the storm is over. I am also glad I was off from work that day and did not have to drive.

I am doing my Miracle Morning routine again to energize me in the morning. The list of SAVERS (Silent meditation/prayer, Affirmation, Vision, Exercise, Reading (motivating books), and Scribing/journaling) changes my mood and feelings from grumpy and tired to cheerful and energized. No longer did I look like the tired old lady who does not have the energy to drink coffee in the morning.

I just donated blood today. I am just grateful I can do this.

I am thankful for payday so I have the budget for a gym membership. The gym is one of the few places my teen daughter and I go together (well besides the mall and food stores). I also have the money to get an automatic car wash. I do not have to touch the freezing cold water from my hose. I don't know about you, but a squeaky clean car gives me joy. 

That's all for now. Please visit our gratitude group below.

Time Together

          Do you have those moments when you just don't feel like getting out of bed? I had that day today. I kept thinking I should get up and start my day since 7 a.m. but just could not imagine that energy until 10. I was in bed for ten hours. My body felt heavy. My muscles were not sore or achy. 

          I got up, ate brunch and looked at social media for a long time. This is a lazy habit that kills time. It does not necessarily make me feel good but it is a habit that is hard to break. I ended watching the short videos and ads with a purchase of an e-book on my personality after answering a long questionnaire. I am a mediator, an introvert, an artist, a like-to-write, and a like-to-help kinda person. I bought it in hopes that I will learn how to improve based on my behavior. I am just so lazy lately that I disappoint mostly myself.

          I had a good week, actually. Many little good things happen. Last Saturday was my birthday. The following weekdays, I got to celebrate with my son with a lunch date and had a gym time with my daughter. With them being young adults, it is not easy to find a common schedule to do little things together. They also do not enjoy picture-taking when it is me taking their picture. But with selfies, they don't have a problem. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the time with them. The gym we frequent gave me free bottled water for my late birthday gift. What a surprise. 

          I do have apps on my phone, inspiring Podcasts to listen to, and that book that I purchased for self-improvement. FlyLady sometimes inspires me to be like a fairy, flying around the house making cleaning magic. Many days, I wish I can just buy the fairy to do the tasks for me. Why do I have to be the fairy? Or can I just buy the wand? I know, I should not be complaining. At least I have a house to clean. This reminds me of the incident last Wednesday night. when a toxic fume, headache, and nausea woke me up at 11 pm. I found my daughter spray painting the furnace room wall on a winter night! I screamed and she stopped immediately. We then aired out our house with fans and opened windows on a 20-degree winter night. We are lucky our house did not explode before I woke up. 

          Anyway, should I be thankful we have intact bodies, a house, heat, and each other? I think I should be.