Sydney in SoCal

la bucket list

2010-03-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

Last March I published a post on here of my "LA bucket list" ...so I thought I would go ahead and scratch off what I've done this year. The stuff in bold I crossed off last year, this year they are crossed off in green...

List of thing to do while living in LA:
-See a movie at Mann’s Chinese Theatre
-Go to a movie premiere
-Be a fan outside the red carpet at either The Grammy’s or The Academy Awards
-Go to the Hollywood Wax museum*
-Go to Griffith Observatory*
-Hike in Griffith Park*
-Go to Disneyland
-Go to Universal Studio’s
-Go to Knott’s Berry Farm
-Go to Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach*
-Get bottle service at a Hollywood club*
-Be an extra in a TV show or movie --(I was actually ON Ellen...so I think this counts :)
-Walk the boardwalk in Venice Beach*
-Ride my bike on the bike path in Venice
-Go surfing
-Go skiing in the mountains
-Meet a celebrity*
-Walk the Santa Monica pier*
-Ride the ferris wheel on the Santa Monica pier *
-Go to the Farmers Market in Hollywood on Sunday
-Go shopping in Fashion District*
-Go shopping on Melrose*
-Go shopping on Robertson
-Go shopping on Rodeo Drive
-Go to the Getty Museum
-Explore Catalina Island
-Drive to Vegas*
-Drive to Mexico
-Go to a taping of “The Price is Right”
-Go to a taping of “Jimmy Kimmel Live”
-Go to the LA Zoo
-Go to the San Diego Zoo*
-Go see the La Brea Tar Pits
-Go to a Laker’s game ...
-**I went to a Clippers game at Staples, doesn't count but I thought it should make the list*
-Go to a Dodger’s game --Cards won!!!*
-Go to the California Science Center
-Go to the San Antonio Winery in downtown LA
-Drive to to Northern Cal and visit the wineries
-Go to “The Magic Castle” in Hollywood
-Go shopping in “The Grove” at Christmas time
-Go to “Hollywood Forever Cemetery”*
-Go horse back riding on the beach
-See a show at “Pantage’s Theatre”....Jocelyn & I saw "Leagally Blonde"*
-Touch the 'Hollywood' sign
-Visit Chinatown*
-Visit Little Tokyo
-Go on a studio tour of Paramount Studio's
-See a movie at El Capitan theatre...We saw Disney's "A Christmas Carol" in 3D*
-Go skydiving in San Diego or Santa Barbara
-Go sailing/boating & fishing in the Pacific

March

2010-03-26T01:09:00.000-07:00

I have been a horrible blogger!! It's hard to find time to write a couple paragraphs in between work and my time off. During my time off I find myself either A) wanting to sleep, or B) not wanting to do anything but lounge or go out with my friends. I really should set time away to blog more, it kind of serves as sort of an autobiography that I can look back on..

So quick update on my life:
Still living with my 2 best friends and loving it. Still loving our beautiful home! We are planning on getting a grill sometime soon so we can grill on our back patio :) The job is going great and I'm still working night shifts. I really love taking care of my kiddos...even though I throw out the occasional complaint about work, I really couldn't ask for a better job. I'm getting more comfortable and confident on my own as an RN, but still have lots of growing and learning to do (it will just come with the experience).

I still love Los Angeles and am gradually finding my favorite nooks and crannies in this crazy city. The weather has been warming up lately and have opened up opportunities for convertible rides (which is one of my favorite things to do)!

I will be coming home in a couple weeks to see Ethan & Kamdyn turn 1 (wow that year went fast!) and to surprise Hannah at her bridal shower! Can't wait to see everyone, even though I will only be in town for about 72hrs.

I'll leave you with a pic of Rachel & I on St. Patricks day. We went to the Cat & Fiddle in Hollywood for dinner and drinks. They had bagpipers there (which I didn't really understand because that's Scottish...right?). Which also reminds me...I'll be going to Europe in less than 2 months! Ireland, Scotland & England here I come!

christmas in california

2009-12-01T23:50:00.001-08:00

fall

2009-10-04T04:34:00.000-07:00

In 5 days I will be in ILLINOIS! I'm so excited to be Aunt Sydney all weekend and be surrounded by my family and friends from home. I'm also looking forward to a taste of fall! I had to go buy a couple of hoodies yesterday to be prepared for my trip home. It's starting to cool off a bit in LA also. As I sit on my couch typing this, I am feeling the 58 degree breeze coming in through my windows. I love it. It's also 4 in the morning...by 4pm it will be 80 degree's again.

On Tuesday Rach, Nicole and I are going to the Ellen Degeneres show again! She is having Ellen Page on the show. It will air on Wednesday so look for us in the audience!! Hopefully we win something good :)

Jocelyn moved out this past weekend :( She found out that she was able to write her Canadian Boards on Wednesday so it happened in a whirlwind. She is moving to Canada to live closer to her family and friends there. I am so happy for her because this is what she really wanted! Of course, us girls are going to miss having her around. We have already planned a trip to Canada sometime in the month of February to go see her...so it wasn't goodbye, just see ya soon :) Good luck on your boards, Joc! We miss you already!

my home

2009-09-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics of the house that i took a couple days ago. Enjoy, we sure are :)

Nicole's room (she painted over the pine walls)

Rachel's room

sunroom

living space/dining room

paiz

2009-09-19T03:23:00.000-07:00

About 9months ago, I blogged that my dear friend Hayley Kotner had her baby. I just had to upload a new picture of Paisley. She is such a doll and growing so fast! Can't wait to see her when I come home to visit.

my room

2009-09-19T02:57:00.001-07:00

Here's a quick pic (from my iphone) of my room in the house. I apologize for not putting up pics of the house all fixed up yet! I need to get on that. I figured I would go ahead and just post this quick pic of my bedroom to tide you over until I get pics of the whole house added on here. Oh yeah...and I am going to try and start back up blogging more. I turned into a bit of a blog-slacker in August.

Isn't my bedding great?? I got it from Anthropologie. It's super comfy and I loooove it. I splurged, as it was a birthday gift to myself. Mom got me the throw pillows for my Bday.

One of the luxuries...

2009-09-19T02:26:00.001-07:00

...of living in LA is that you can drive to Vegas just about anytime you want. We went to Vegas for a couple nights during a few nights off work. We went to old downtown Las Vegas (Fremont St.) which I had never been to. Actually, I think I might've been when I was younger. We took a family trip to LV for Erins 21st bday...so that would have made me 11. Some of the sights down there I could've sworn I had seen on that trip. Anyway, it was a really fun but short trip (2 nights) and I got some sun from the convertible ride there and pool time. I got back yesterday and on the way home I didn't feel so good. I think I might be getting strep throat again. I am notorious for that illness. It seems to get me at least once or twice a year. I called into work tonight and will probably have to tomorrow. Can't be getting my youngsters sick. Even though at work now, we are required to have everyone on "droplet precautions" meaning we must wear a mask into everyone's room whether or not they have a respiratory illness. It's to reduce the contamination of the flu. We have a lot of kids coming through the ED and PICU with the swine flu (not on my floor).

I am getting so excited to come home in a few weeks. I REALLY can't wait to see everyone. I will hardly recognize all the babies I imagine. I'm also excited to get a taste of fall weather in Southern Illinois. Oh yeah...and I cannot forget about my dog!! I got my tickets for the ELLEN show in the mail today. I can't believe I won them! We are so excited (Rach, Nicole, and I). I got lucky last time that Jocelyn had an extra ticket. I never thought I would win a set of my own. The show is recorded on Oct. 6th so it will air on Oct. 7th. We're not sure who the guest will be just yet. I'll let you know when I find out.

Harrisburg bound in 20 days!!

yum

2009-09-15T03:51:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night my 3 fabulous roommates and I went to dinner a couple blocks away from our house to a Mexican restaurant called Frida. It was amazing. I felt the need to take a photo of my dinner because it was so beautiful! Can't wait to take my family here when they come visit!

A chile relleno stuffed with beef, pears, & raisins covered with a walnut cream sauce and pomegranate seeds. Yummmmm!

roomates

2009-09-07T04:53:00.001-07:00

el matador beach

2009-09-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Rach and I drove to a place called El Matador beach. It's about a mile outside of Malibu and took about an hour to get there. It was totally worth the drive!! It's a small, semi-secluded beach that (apparently) not a lot of people know about. I did a little bit of internet research on LA beaches and decided to try this one out. We felt like we were in Mexico!! It was so beautiful. Here are a few pics of our day at the beach. After our afternoon in the sun we relaxed our sun-kissed bodies on the sea-side deck at Duke's in Malibu for a relaxing drink.

colorful starfish & mussels attached to the rocks

hot hot hot!

2009-08-30T16:43:00.000-07:00

LA has been SOOO hot lately! We have been fighting 103degree weather in Glendale and are about to roast alive. Thank god for fans. The hot weather make conditions favorable for wildfires, which LA has also been affected by. Here in Glendale we can see the smoke and fires in the mountains while driving to/from work. I'm sure it doesn't help the heat situation any either. They canceled school today in Glendale due to the smokey air. We haven't been affected by the air yet...we can't even smell it in our house. Hopefully it will be gone soon.

(A pic I snapped on my phone. The smoke is coming from the hills. This is taken from my neighborhood area.)

The house is still fabulous and we are loving living here. We have walked over to the Americana and Galleria a few times. The girls have been here almost a month and are still loving it. They are liking their jobs and enjoying exploring the city with me :) We've been going out a lot on the weekends and Rachel and I went to Manhattan Beach yesterday to cool off by the ocean. The waves were HUGE (8-9 feet). We got in but quickly got out after we got beat up by a few waves, ha.

I can't wait to come home in October and see all of my family! Especially Mal, Ben, and Ethan! It's going to be a good time. I am thinking we should do an early Thanksgiving, because I doubt I'll be able to come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year... Thoughts??

all moved in

2009-08-14T16:11:00.001-07:00

Wow I haven't updated in forever. It's been a crazy busy couple of weeks! I promise to post pictures soon. I worked 9 shifts in 11 nights the week before I moved into the house, then Rach & Nicole arrived in LA, then Mom & Dad got here, spent all of last week moving into the house, and I turned 23 somewhere in the middle of all of that.

The house is wonderful and it's so great having my best friends in LA with me. Mom and Dad were HUGE HUGE HUGE help with the move. I couldn't have done it without them!! Special thanks to my Dad for hanging all the curtains in my house (I love my blackout shades in my bedroom! Keeps my room cool & dark during the day for excellent sleeping conditions :) The house is looking great but we still have lots of work to do. I'll post pictures as soon as we get the place looking just like home! Rach and Nicole had their first night of work lastnight and all is well so far. I've been back at work the past couple of nights...working again tonight and then off for another 4. My good friend Theresa (a friend from SLU who now lives in Chicago) is coming into LA tomorrow so I'll get to spend some time with her this weekend. Rach, Nicole, Theresa and I are planning on going to the Cards vs. Dodgers game on Monday night here at Dodger Stadium. Go Cards!!

I'll update more later...off to work...

counting crows

2009-07-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night I went to the Crounting Crows/Augustana/Michael Franti & Spearhead concert at the Greek Theatre. This was the first time I've been to the Greek Theatre and it was sooo beautiful! It's nestled in the hills right under Griffith Observatory, within walking distance from my apt. It's an outdoor venue with a beautiful view of the mountains behind the stage. We got to watch the sunset and enjoy the great music under the stars. It was the perfect summer night in LA! I can't wait to go back.

A clip from the concert: Counting Crows "Mr. Jones"

zodiac

2009-07-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe...

2009-07-13T02:44:00.000-07:00

....that I've lived in California for almost a year now! I'm still as excited about living here as I was even before I took my NCLEX exam. There is still so much I haven't seen and so many places I want to go. However, I feel like I've learned so much this year (about everything! from how to purchase & haggle prices on a new car...to paying bills on time...finding affordable insurance companies...and budgeting my 401K into my paycheck)...I am such a grown up! When did that happen? I have accomplished a lot this year...most notably, I feel like I have become the nurse that I hoped I would become. CHLA has molded me into a knowledgeable, detailed, and proficient RN.

So, 3 minor earthquakes, only 4 rainy days (yes...only 4!!), and 2 code blues' later...I am still in love with this city!! I can't wait to move into my new house in 3 weeks and see what my next year in LA brings me :)

independence day

2009-07-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. I spent mine at work and watched some of the fireworks with my kids from the 6th floor windows (not a bad view actually). I had a great night at work. My kids were stable, sleeping, and in no pain. I had an easy admission (pancreatitis). It was the kind of night I wish I had every night at work! We had a potluck and I brought little pre-made sandwiches from Vons and ice cream. Yum! Now I'm going to enjoy the next 5 nights off working on packing up for the big move (3.5 weeks!).

corpus christi

2009-07-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

Texas is an interesting place! It seems like almost every woman has tattoos of looney tunes and their kids baby feet on their backs! Ha...but seriously, besides the urhm..well, interesting folk down in Corpus, we had a fun time. I went down to meet up with Nicole, who has a bunch of friends at the Navy base down there. The guys were super fun. We grilled out one night and went to a dive bar (which reminded me somewhat of Pooreboys in good ole' Hburg). Dancing to 90's hair band music played by a local band and drinking jagerbombs ensued. The next day we lounged at the pool & went to the beach. The water is SO warm in the gulf! It felt like bath water. It was really nice actually, compared to the frigid pacific waters in SoCal. The temp outside though was EXTREMELY hot. Maybe I'm spoiled and too used to LA weather, but damn...I felt like I was in hell...literally 115 degrees and humid! We went to SeaWorld the next day which was super fun (minus the heat)...and surprisingly enough I managed not to get sunburned! Overall we had a really great time. It was a good mini getaway and now I can mark Texas off the map of states I've been to. YEE-HAW!

mj!

2009-06-30T00:10:00.000-07:00

Can you believe he is gone? What a legend.

There is no denying this man had some of the best moves ever!!

There is art and memoirs all over Hollywood commemorating the late artist. A painting on the side of an entire building in West Hollywood says "Michael Jackson: You Rocked Our World".

My favorite episode of South Park EVER:

Rest in Peace Michael! ...sha-mone!

third eye blind

2009-06-29T23:32:00.001-07:00

Best. Show. Ever.

On Wed (the 24th), I was lucky enough to get tickets to the sold out Third Eye Blind show in Anaheim. I've been wanting to see them forever but they have never been performing near me...something told me to check for tickets last week, and low and behold...they were going to be in SoCal 7 days later! Since I wouldn't be in town for the LA show, my friend Jason and I drove down to the Anaheim House of Blues and enjoyed the show there. It was EXCELLENT! They played all of my favorite songs and a few new ones. The place was crowded and it was definitely worth the extra $$ I payed for the tickets. I'll be at every Third Eye Blind show I can get to from now on...you can count on it.

fathers day

2009-06-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day to my wonderful Dad! Thank you for teaching me how to be financially responsible ;-), for your never-ending advice, and your unconditonal support. I don't know what'd I'd do without you! I love you so much!

Dad @ age 15months (my guess)

Ben at age aprox 14 months

.... I think we know where B-man gets his good looks from!!!

ode to summer

2009-06-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

I love summer. I just do...always have, always will. Maybe it's because I was brought into the world in the peak of summer (aug 9th,1986)...or maybe it's because some of my most vivid and fond memories growing up happened in the summer. When I think back to my childhood, my mind seems to always wander to my backyard in Carterville. Running around the yard in my red Coca-Cola swimsuit, Natalie tap dancing with Erin Shasteen in the garage, Dad putting rocks around the lake, Mom laying out in the backyard with her feet in my baby pool, riding my blue (Duqoin state fair-won) bicycle with Laura up to the orange building that was once Veach's Short Stop for a slurpee, playing tri-c softball at the park, and Erin and her friends making tropical snows for me & my little friends after a game. I feel my best in the summer. I think I look better too. Why is this? Maybe it's why I moved to California in the first place...because it is sort-of an endless summer here. Call this post pointless if you want, but I just wanted to declare my love for summer :-)Enjoying my Pinkberry (pomegranate frozen yogurt with pineapple & cherries) on a nice summer evening in Los Feliz...a favorite summer treat!

a new place to call home.

2009-06-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

As of August 1st, this will be the new place that I call home! Nicole, Rachel, and I will be moving in the first week of August. It's the perfect place for us. Within walking distance to Americana on Brand (a huge/beautiful outdoor mall) in Glendale and only a few miles from work...we couldn't have found a better place to call home.

beach bum.

2009-06-12T00:45:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the beach with a book and enjoyed my afternoon outside. Something of which I rarely do now that I work nights. I forgot how nice it is to be awake during the day, I got so much done! Back to work tomorrow night....
If you're curious about the book I'm reading, it's "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. I wanted to read the book before the movie comes out later this month. So far its good but I'm only half way in.

st.louis.

2009-06-10T09:13:00.001-07:00

My trip to STL was short but sweet! It was exciting and a bit refreshing to spend 4 relaxing days in the city I once called home. I got to see some of my best friends, drink great wine, and catch up on some much needed rest. The first night I got in, we went to Bar Louie in the Central West End (a bar that I used to frequent quite a bit). Luckily, I got to meet up & see a bunch of my Delta Gamma sorority sisters there, some of them celebrating graduation. On Friday, we went to Montell Winery. The view of the trees, barns, and cornfields were beautiful...the wine was great and the conversation was better. We went to Oyster Bar that night, which is one of my top 3 favorite places in St. Louis. The rest of the weekend we spent catching up on each others lives and talking about our future plans.

Hot Damn Delta Gam

Montell Winery

Rachel & Nicole have officially been hired onto CHLA and I couldn't be more excited!! Rachel will be working in the PICU (with Adam!) and Nicole will be working on 6North, a rehab & general medicine floor. They are moving out on August 5th and I have started the process of apt (or house, if we are lucky) hunting. I always felt like the one thing missing from making LA perfect was the fact that my best girl friends are 2,000miles away. Of course I have made wonderful new friends out here the past year, but nothing will replace my best friends!

Speaking of best friends, my sister Natalie is celebrating a birthday today. Happy Birthday, Nat! I love you and miss you lots. Have a wonderful day celebrating your first birthday with Ethan!

a few zoo animals

2009-05-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

My camera died half way through the day...but here are a few good pics from the zoo.

san diego

2009-05-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

Jocelyn & I had a fabulous memorial day weekend in San Diego. After we both put in a 12 hour night shift at CHLA, we packed up the Eos and headed south on the 5. One iced coffee and one monster energy drink later, we arrived in the beautiful city of San Diego! We took a quick power nap, showered, and met up with Jocelyn's sister, Kara and a few of her friends (who were attending a physician assistants conference in SD during the weekend). We spent the next day walking around the world famous San Diego zoo, had dessert instead of dinner at a place called Extraordinary Desserts, and drank "big ass beers" at a dueling piano bar. We stayed at the Marriott in downtown SD on the harbor, and we had a balcony with a beautiful view of the sailing boats. The weather was a little chilly so we didn't hit up the beaches, but there is always next time! Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I'm working this week and then I'll head to St. Louis next weekend (June 4-8)...can't wait!

health is wealth

2009-05-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Not a lot going on lately. Getting back into the swing of work and catching up on running some errands. I'm heading to San Diego this weekend with Jocelyn. We're going to hit up the Zoo and the beaches. I kind of forgot it was memorial day weekend, so I bet San Diego will be hoppin'. We're leaving Saturday afternoon since we both work Friday night and we'll be back Monday night. Other than that, no new news. Work has been going good. My first night back to work after my visit home, I took care of a 3 week old and 4 week old. They both needed shunts in their brains to drain the extra cerebral-spinal fluid that they were producing (a condition known as hydrocephalus). It really made me thankful for my healthy nephew and cousin. A wise taxi driver (those are hard to come by in LA) once told me, "Health is Wealth"...I believe that to be true.

We've had 2 notable earthquakes in 3 days. The first was a 5.0 on Sunday night. I was at work (on the 6th floor) and everyone stopped what they were doing. Our hospital is on wheels apparently, so we sway back in forth. I was caring for a quite annoying & healthy (only in the hospital to get IV antibiotics due to an infection in a bone) 13 year old boy who thought it would be funny to scream his head off once he realized what was going on. For a little while I thought I actually wanted to have boys one day...caring for this kid 3 nights in a row confirmed my thoughts of only wanting girls. Maybe it was just his age, I'm sure 13 year old girls can be quite annoying too..but man, let's just say I only went into his room when I absolutely had to! Otherwise, I was bombarded with questions : "If you could have any super power what would it be? If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? If you had a millions dollars what would you buy? How many earthquakes have you been in? 1? 2? 3? 4? 5? You can say you were taking care of me when you were in your 5th earthquake after I join the NBA and get famous!".....Are all boys like this at 13? Geez. They are so cute when they are babies. We had another earthquake today, a 4.3 or something, but I slept through it.

My Great Aunt Dorris passed away on Sunday evening at the age of 84. She lived a long life and touched many peoples hearts. Below, is a picture of the last quilt she made for Ethan before she passed. Rest in peace, Aunt Dorris! You will be missed. See you when I get there.

Looking forward...

2009-05-14T03:10:00.000-07:00

....for this movie to come out this summer.

"My Sister's Keeper" in theaters June 26, 2009

Chloe

2009-05-12T17:31:00.000-07:00

"A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It is really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. As I wrote that farewell column to Marley, I realized it was all right there in front of us, if only we opened our eyes. Sometimes it takes a dog with bad breath, worse manners, and pure intentions to help us see."
— John Grogan, Marley & Me

home is where the heart is

2009-05-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

I had the best trip home! It went by way too fast, but I am so grateful that I was able to spend 7 days with my family and friends in Southern Illinois. Ethan and I bonded, and I have to say he is absolutely perfect. Such a sweet baby boy. I miss him already!! It's funny and heartwarming to see Nat & Dave as parents. They are doing such a great job. I took some great pictures of him while I was home. He loves his Aunt Syd.

Ethan Joseph Fry

After fighting and recovering from what I think was pneumonia (I slept the first 2 days I was home until I fully recovered and was able to see the baby), I had dinner & drinks with "Cousin Kate" (Kate Nelson) in Carbondale. It was so good to catch up with her! We chatted over a bottle of wine and a steak dinner at Global Gourmet. Later that night, I headed back to Harrisburg to hit up a short road trip with Maegan, Larra, Tyler, and Grady. We got home just before a heavy spring thunderstorm (which I loved!).

Kate & I

Grady & I

The next day, Nicole drove down from St. Louis to spend the night in So. Ill with me. She is such a good friend! I feel so lucky that we have become such good friends. She makes an excellent travel buddy (we are heading to Corpus Christi at the end of June). We hung out with the Harrisburg crew that night, did the usual road trip, and fell asleep trying to watch Benjamin Button. The next day we witnessed the INLAND HURRICANE OF 09'. I got a little bit of it on video, but the video doesn't do it justice & really isn't even that great. Marion was destroyed (seriously looked like a hurricane hit) and Nat and Dave came to live with us for the next 3 days because power is still out in Marion (It worked out nicely though because I got to spend more time with them). We didn't have power for about 12 hours at the house in Harrisburg, but luckily we didn't get hit as hard as Marion did. Pretty sure they are STILL without power in some parts. Here's the clip I got of some of the 100mph wind gusts. We met up with the Gaskins, Maegan, & Hayley at the elks for catfish and beer that night. Gotta love going to the Elk's on a Friday night with some of your favorite people...there's nothing better!

Inland Hurricane 09': View from the Gardner House

Maegan & Hayley

Darlene & Mom

Grady & I

We had a Mother's Day celebration at my house which was nice. We grilled out, sat by the pool, and enjoyed each other's company. I am so grateful and lucky to have such a wonderful (and gorgeous) mother and grandmother!! I also got to meet my new cousin, Kamdyn - who is sweet as ever! His red hair is so adorable and he smiles so much! I got some good pics of him too. Destiny & Kory are doing well & are doing a great job at parenting. It's funny seeing Kory as a dad. His comment's are hilarious...

Kamdyn Ray Stricklin

My trip home was short but sweet. I enjoyed seeing my family and friends. Home truly is where the heart is. I have the best family ever! I miss everyone so much already!! I'm back in LA and headed into work tonight. Hopefully I will get back on my normal schedule soon! My sleep schedule is a little whacked out right now with the 2 hour time difference and being awake during the day. I am getting back into my normal routine for the next 3 weeks and just gonna take it easy. I feel like I haven't worked in forever...I was in Vegas, then got sick, and then went home. I love my job schedule though! I cannot complain a bit ;) I'll be visiting St.Louie in 3 weeks for my friend Linsday's birthday. Can't wait to head back to the ol' stomping ground!

britney pics

2009-04-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

Vegas Vacation

2009-04-29T19:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have'nt updated in forever, but I have been busy relaxing poolside with a drink in hand at the MGM lazy river. I got back from Vegas yesterday. It was a great trip! So great in fact, that Nicole and I extended our stay for 2 extra days. We started out by flying out of the Burbank airport (1o min from my apartment). We each had our own entire row of seats on the plane ride there! Plus free tv & free snacks. If you can fly JetBlue...do it! It's a great airline.

We arrived at our hotel (The Tropicana) which is located on the northern end of the strip next to the MGM grand (where our friends were staying). We had a nice little room for a cheap price. That night, we met up with Adam (my roomate), his friend Jenn who travelled from PA, and Adam's brother and his wife. We went to a club called Tabu in the MGM and just enjoyed good drinks, good company, and lots of dancing. Nicole and I met some new Australian friends that night, and hung out with them for a lot of the trip. They were very fun!

Friday we went to a place in the MGM called "Wet Republic". It's a day-time club next to the pool. They played music, lots of dancing, lots of drinks, everyone is in their bathing suits. It was an all day event. Very fun! There was a surprise performace from the guy that sings that old song "The Humpty Dance". Ha...it was interesting.

On Saturday night, I attended the Britney Spears "Circus" concert. It was a blast. She didn't interact with the audience much, but she looked great and the effects/circus-esque performances of the show were really great. Nicole and I decided to stay in the night of the concert and catch up on our rest. So we went to dinner (split some chicken strips) and an hour later we both ended up with food poisening! It was awful. So, our night of rest turned into us fighting eachother for the bathroom the rest of the night. Not a pleasant thought, I'm sorry. We took it easy by the pool the next day and recovered.

We had a great time!! I flew back yesterday and landed in LAX. I talked to mom the day before, and I was picturing walking into a zoo of mask-wearing people! I only saw 4 people wearing masks in LAX, one lady had on a gas mask!!! It was hilarious!! I think this Swine Flu stuff is a little over-exaggerated, but that's just my opinion. We aren't really even talking about it at work, although I know the ED has been FLOODED with people bring their kids in at the first sign of a cold! Nothing in LA....yet.

I'll be home on Monday! I can't wait to see everyone! Especially my new nephew, Ethan!!!

venice

2009-04-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot has been going on lately. I have been working a lot, which is going really well. I'm still loving my job! Took care of my first "celeb child" the other day. Can't say who though, privacy policies of course. The hospital gave us a "gift" the other day...it was an emergency kit. Kinda creepy, I think they are preparing us for "the big one" ....earthquake that is. Who knows, maybe they're just trying to keep us happy during this economic crisis. Construction on the new hospital has come to a halt at this time, and merit increases on pay have been postponed for 1 year. The economy has finally hit the medical field! The merit increase isn't really a big deal to me, I will still get my raise when I am promoted to "RN II". Merit increases are at the end of each year, when they go over your performance at work.

On to more uplifting news.... nephew Ethan is soooo perfect! I can't wait to meet him. Also, my new second cousin Kamdyn is beautiful! I cannot wait to meet them both when I come home, which is in 24 days...woo hoo! I'm excited to head back to So.Ill for a few days. I'll be home May 4th-10th.

Nicole is coming in next week to check out UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital and CHLA. After that, we are roadtripping to Vegas in my convertable for the weekend! Should be a blast! Saturday is the Britney Spears concert, which is getting good reviews.

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter! I worked and we had Greek food for lunch (at 1am), so that was my Easter dinner. It was really good though. I'll leave you with a few of my favorite pictures that I've taken in Venice Beach. It has come to be one of my favorite places in LA. It's so ecclectic and vibrant. Very laid back and super chill. I love walking down Oceanfront walk just taking in everything... seeing all the things people are selling and listening to the music people are playing. A great place for people watching.

counting

2009-04-10T13:44:00.000-07:00

12 days til Nicole comes in town,
13 days til Vegas,
21 days til Southern Illinois,
55 days til St.Louis,
110 days til I turn 23,
111 days til Rachel moves to LA!

....lots to look forward to!

Ethan Joseph Fry

2009-04-09T06:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the world,

Ethan Joseph Fry

8lbs 15oz
April 9th, 2009

Everyone is happy & healthy! Ethan was delivered via planned c-section around 7:30 this morning and I am a very proud Aunt! Will update more when I get more info!! Destiny is at 9+, so it looks like she's gonna go within the next hour or so. Little cousins born on the same day in the same hospital! How funny, family is running from room to room!

baxter.

2009-04-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

My neighbors, by coincidence (or by FATE!) have an Old English Sheepdog! I used to see the woman walking her dog (without a leash, the dog running up ahead of the owner but never leaving her behind) when I drove to class in the mornings during my residency. Sometimes just looking at the dog would almost bring tears to my eyes- I miss Chlo Ann so much! One evening a few weeks ago, I saw her walking her dogs and I worked up the nerve to pull over and say Hello. I am so glad I did! Robin (the owner) & her husband (never got his name) were super nice! I told them I had an Old English Sheepdog back home and that I've seen her walking her dog on my way to class in the mornings. She said "Well get out & meet him!"...I didn't hesitate! His name is Baxter and he is a rescue OES (I still haven't gotten the full story). He's super sweet. I gave her my phone number and told her if she ever needs a dog-sitter to call me up! She and her husband told me to stop by the house anytime to say 'hello'. After work this morning, I was on a walk and saw some lawn workers in the yard and the door open, so I decided to stop in and say Hello. Robin was on the phone when she answered the door, but happily greeted me by name and told me to come on in. She went and got Baxter out from the backyard and told him he had a visitor. Baxter greeted me with a paw shake and a couple of kisses. I felt a little awkward because Robin was on the telephone and I didn't want to bother or intrude, so I loved on Baxter for a few minutes and then snuck out the door. I'll stop by again another time, and hopefully take him on a walk. They live in a super nice house just up the hill. But anyway, Baxter is super sweet, just like my Chloe. It's funny, because I rubbed his ears and he let out a sigh EXACTLY like Chloe does. I think that Chloe would be absolutely smitten if she met him. I took a little picture of him (because I knew Mom would want to see!), but it's not very clear because all I had was my iPhone.

ELLEN!

2009-04-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

Ellen was amazing!! It was an absolute blast. Jocelyn, Kara (Jocelyn's sis), Carly (Joc's roomate), and I all got seated in the very front row! We arrived at the show around 11:30am...check in wasn't until 1pm, but we decided to play it safe and get there early. We parked at the Warner Bro's studio parking lot, got our hand stamped for the Ellen show and waited until they called everyone for check in. Kara (being super excited to see Ellen, too) jumped in the check in line before they announced it, which caused everyone else to line up too. Kara got our numbers for the show #1-#4 to be exact :) and we had to wait some more. It was a lot of waiting. They had a seating area and played the previous days episode of Ellen while we waited. They also had an "entertainer/enthusiast" to get us pumped up for the show. During waiting they had an audience talent show, which none of us girls participated in. We watched though. After that, a couple of ladies who work for the show went around and picked out certain people to meet in the back parking lot. They chose us 4 girls and when we got back there, they asked us our names and asked Carly to stay. Carly was picked to be on TV (one of the audience participants) BUT she had to decline because she called in sick to work!! Bummer! She works at a studio for the Carson Daly show, so they would have probably seen her. After more waiting, they finally lined us up and took us over to Ellen's studio in groups of about 30. We were one of the first groups to go and when we got inside they pointed out where they wanted us to sit. FRONT ROW! Couldn't have been more excited! After everyone filled up the studio, they played upbeat music and the "entertainment guy" pumped everyone up. Finally, Ellen came out and the show started! It was awesome!! It felt like the camera's were in our face the whole time and it turns out we were on tv a few times! I think Ellen was sick though, because during the commercial breaks she kept blowing her nose and they had to retouch her make-up around her nose. Her eyes looked kinda watery and she seemed a little tired. She still kept up her tempo though. After our filming they rushed us out, handed us our prizes (Slumdog Millionare on DVD and Martina McBride's new CD), and we headed back to our car. They film 2 shows on Thursday, the second one was filmed right after our episode and will air on Monday.

All in all, Ellen was a blast!! It was almost exhausting...all the dancing (they made us dance during the commercial breaks too), screaming, and yelling...but sooo worth it!! I was SO tired afterwards but headed straight to work to play nurse for the night. Camera's weren't allowed in the studio, but I *snuck* this photo on my iphone!

excited!

2009-04-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am going to see ELLEN!! I am SO excited! My friend Jocelyn has an extra ticket and invited me to come along...I have wanted to go to her show forever! Hopefully we actually get to sit in the studio. Like most talk shows, they oversell the tickets to insure a full house. The overflow of people go to the Tom Hanks "Riff Raff Room" where they project the show activity on tvs. So keep your fingers crossed that we get in the studio!! Here is the description of the show from her website...including a special give-away ( I wonder what it could be?!?!?!) It airs the next day- So tune in on Friday, April 2nd!!!

From: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/thisweek/

Friday, April 3
MARILU HENNER

Today I’m trying a new twist on my ice cream game! Contestants will still use their arms to grab food and shove it into their partner’s mouth, but this time we’re using peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Of course, everybody will still be blindfolded! (Just the way I like it!) I’ll also play some videos of the best pranks we’ve ever done on my show! There might even be one that was pulled on me! And I’m giving away something special to my audience! Here’s a hint: It requires the help of four Bollywood dancers!

MARILU HENNER (“Wear Your Life Well”): She’s always so full of energy and very competitive! I hear her family has Game Night every Friday, and somebody once ended up in the emergency room -- from playing Charades! (I have got to learn that version for my show!) She also gives helpful advice when she’s here. In her book, she tells people how to “use what you have to get what you want.” I’ve spent years trying to figure out how to do that!

LIL’ KIM & DEREK HOUGH (“Dancing with the Stars”): She may be lil’ but Kim’s got some very big dance moves! Gilles and Cheryl blew me away on Monday and now it’s Kim and her partner Derek Hough’s turn! They’ve got a tough act to follow, but the smart money has them pulling it off! You be the judge of who’s the best dancer of the week!

MARTINA MCBRIDE: She was up for a Grammy earlier this year, and last month she sang at The White House! (That’s always a good “warm-up” for my show…) She’s got a new hit single called “Ride” -- and if you guessed she’d be singin’ it for y’all, you guessed right!

one night in vegas.

2009-04-01T03:29:00.000-07:00

After working a 12 hour night shift Sunday night, instead of going to bed...I hopped in my friend Jocelyn's car and we headed to Vegas for the night! Her sister & sister's friend are in town visiting, so they inviting me to come along for the overnight road trip. We had a blast!! We went to "Thunder From Down Under"...the world-famous Australian male strip show. It was hilarious, and cheesy....but so much fun. After watching the Aussie's dance around on stage half naked, we went to a club in our hotel (Planet Hollywood) called "Prive". It rained money (literally) and we saw Steven Adler (the drummer from Guns N' Roses) perform. We danced & sipped on cocktails all night (true Las Vegas style) and left our hotel at 11am this morning. I got home around 4pm and went straight to bed. It was so much fun!

Casino in Planet Hollywood...
At Prive' in Planet Hollywood...
Jocelyn & I with one of the Australians...

Steven Adler from GNR...

Happy Birthday Mom.

2009-03-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Wishing my wonderful, awesome, beautiful, amazing, and PERFECT Mother a very Happy Birthday today! I love you so much, Mom! You are my hero!!

Earth Hour

2009-03-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to turn your lights off from 8:30-930pm tonight! Respect mother earth :)

Click HERE for more info.

nat's turkey hunting experience

2009-03-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

So Natalie..37 weeks prego decided to go on a little turkey hunt on her way to work this morning!! Seriously...as she was buzzing down the highway to school a HUGE turkey flew into her windshield!! She said that she knew she was going to hit it, so she just gripped on tight to the wheel and took it on full force...check out the damage!! She is really lucky that the only thing damaged was the windshield...could have been bad! Unfortunately, for the turkey, well let's just say he flew off to turkey heaven. Seriously, this could only happen in Southern Illinois! Check out the pics below.
After she pulled off to the side of the road, a few IDOT workers noticed she was pregnant and came to the rescue. They found the turkey and once the cops arrived to file a police report, everyone wanted to take pics. The cops thought it was hilarious. While it's a funny story, Nat & Ethan are very lucky to be OK! Everyone talked her into going to the doctor, so she did. They monitored Ethan for about 30mins and everything is A-OK. Watch out for the wild turkeys people!! Scary.

Now that I think about it, Amanda and I saw a wild rooster off the 101 in downtown LA hiding out in the brush....where are these wild birds coming from??? Weird!

a word from the wise.

2009-03-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

"I believe that uncertainty is really my spirit's way of whispering, "I'm in flux. I can't decide for you. Something is off-balance here"." -Oprah Winfrey

I saw this quote and I think it's so true! Nothing is more important than trusting your own instinct, I've learned.

A picture I took one evening in Venice Beach, California.

rewarding.

2009-03-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

As I was leaving work today, something pushed me to check my work mailbox (something which I never do). Part of the reason I was probably wanting to check it was in hopes to see that little white sheet of paper decorated with palm trees around the edges (my vacation request form)...hoping it would be signed and approved by my manager. Well, I got the paper back and my vacation is approved! I also got 3 other surprises. One, an evaluation on CHLA from a student nurse at West Coast University who had clinicals on my floor. She complimented me specifically and I guess my manager made me a copy and stuck it in my box so I could see it. Another, a thank you note and school picture from the single mom and her 15 year old son (who has cystic fibrosis) that my friend Laurel and I "adopted" through our "Holiday's From the Heart" program. It was a heart felt letter thanking my friend Laurel and I for the warm clothes we provided them at Christmas time. And last, a letter from "R's" family -- the boy I wrote about a couple of posts down, the boy who bit me and whose brain shunt failed on my shift. I thought I would share the note with you, since I shared the details and experiences of my nights caring for him.

"Sydney,
We can't imagine how difficult & frightening it must have been trying to care for R. After all the clawing & biting, you stood firmly beside him. We really appreciate what you have done for R. You truly have made our experience much easier & gratifying for all of us. My wife wants to thank you especially for your effort trying to advocate for us. Thanks a mil!!!
- R's Family"

How awesome is that?! It brought me to tears, and then I felt a little guilty for secretly getting really mad at R when he bit me during the CT scan. I'm so glad they felt like I was a good nurse to their child. What a great feeling!!

I also won some really beautiful flowers at work last night. It was "Mary Duque Day" so the hospital held an ice cream social and I put my name in a drawing for one of the prizes. Mary Duque played a pivotal role in the hospital's history by greatly enlarging the support of CHLA, so they have a day honoring her every year. Here's a picture of my flowers!

So, my vacay got approved and I plan on coming home May 3rd-10th, so mark your calendars! 7 nights in Illinois, folks. I can't wait to meet the 2 new male additions to our family!!

my pseudo spring break.

2009-03-23T00:02:00.000-07:00

Amanda & I had a really great time! We explored Hollywood, got a tour of the universal stuido's backlots, had fancy LA dinners at Sky Bar & Geisha House, did lots of shopping, and got to catch up :) Although dissapointed that we didn't get to see Andy Samberg & Jimmy Kimmel, we made up for it. I guess they oversell the tickets online for the show (they are free but you have to make reservations) in order to insure that enough people show up. LA is packed with spring breakers right now, and I guess everyone and more decided to show up for the taping. We were 5 people away from entering the studio when they announced that the house was full. We'll just have to do it next time! Here's some pictures from the weekend. I'd write more but I'm super exhausted and am heading to bed! Back to the real world tomorrow.
Also, I put in a vacation request at work for may 2nd-10th, so once it gets approved I am gonna book a flight home! I'll keep you updated.

happy st.patty's day.

2009-03-17T22:17:00.000-07:00

I declare this my unofficial spring break! I have the next 5 days off and will be spending them with my best friend and old roomate, Amanda! She is on spring break from teaching and headed out to visit. I am picking her up at LAX tomorrow morning at 9am. First on the adgenda is shopping in fashion district, then we are heading to see Jimmy Kimmel. I cannot wait to see Any Samberg! He is so cute I can hardly stand it. Maybe he will pick me out of the audience and fall in love with me?? Hey...a girl can dream! It airs at 11pm back home, so watch for us in the audience (I'm not sure if they will even pan over us or not)...but at least you know I'm there! Hope everyone had a fantastic St.Patricks day!

And now, I will leave you with this live news clip (from Mobile, Alabama circa 2006) for your St.Patty's Day viewing pleasure...

work & play & showers.

2009-03-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

Lastnight was probably one of the most stressful nights at work that I've had thusfar. I had 4 patients, one of which I had the 2 previous nights before. He was a pretty critical case and a lot of work to take care of. Needless to say, the shunt draining the fluid in his brain decided to stop working on my shift, causing all sorts of problems. Before finding out that this was the case, we needed a CT scan, so my assistant & I took him down to radiology. He wouldn't stay still and 3 people couldn't hold him down to get it done (usually with these kids we give sedation meds, but sedation meds make this kid more agitated). He bit my finger so hard I almost cried! Then the rad tech told me to leave the room because she ASSUMED that I was pregnant. OMG! RUDE! I don't even look pregnant, in fact I've lost 5 lbs in the past 2 weeks! Whatever. So we take the kid back upstairs and I let the doc know that the CT scan was unsuccessful. I was informed to give some benadryl & zyprexa (an antipsychotic med that relaxes). I did so, and took the kid back down about an hour later. We got the scan done, and the results came back indicating shunt failure (the ventricles in his brain were swelling). NOT a good thing, obviously. From then on I was pushing meds, hanging fluids, giving boluses, and monitoring vitals. I did really well and kept everything under control. The doc that I was working with was great and we made a good team. The other nurses helped out with my other kids while I was busy in my other room. We ended up taking the kid to emergency surgery when the on-call neurosurgeons arrived and I think everything will be fine. I overheard the charge nurse saying "Sydney takes her challenges and doesn't cry, works hard". That made me feel good. I know it's overwhelming at times. I've seen nurses cry before on my floor when overwhelmed. I just take everything one step at a time and prioritize, it's what you've gotta do. The doctor (hospitalist) that I was working with called me at the end of my shift and thanked me for all my help, she said that I was awesome to work with and she hoped that everytime she has kids like that, that I would be the nurse she was working with. That felt really awesome because doctors hardly ever take the time to call just to thank you and tell you how much they appreciate you. I felt really good about my night, and then when I was giving the day shift nurse report, she was incredibly rude to me which sort of sent me over the edge. I held it in until I got to my car and then just let it out. It was a long 3 nights! I got some good sleep and I have tonight off (thank god) so I'm relaxing!

On to more exciting things....

Amanda is coming to visit in 3 days!! I can't wait! We are going to see Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday night. Andy Samberg is one of the guests- I love him! For those of you who don't know, he is one of the newer additions to Saturday Night Live. He wrote/co-performed the "D*ick in a Box" skit with Justin Timberlake. He's hilarious! Watch the video below. It'll air on TV on the Wed night that it's taped (the 18th). I think it comes on in Illinois around 11 or 11:30? It's on after the news, I think.

Natalies Baby Shower was a success, I wish I could of been there to celebrate! I got her a growth chart to hang on the baby's wall, an American Red Cross health kit for baby, a baby vintage tee (elmers glue), and a cute hoodie from American Apparel. Ethan will look so cute in it! Here's a pic of the growth chart, with Mal helping open gifts.

dg.

2009-03-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

Abby and I had a really good time while she was here. It was really great to catch up and fill eachother in on our lives. She fell in love with LA and didn't want to leave. I can't blame her!

My LA "bucket list"

2009-03-07T16:58:00.000-08:00

I'm working all weekend, then on Monday I get to see my little sister from my sorority at SLU. SLU is on spring break, and she's out visiting me & a friend of hers that attends UCLA. I'm so excited to see her, we haven't seen each other since I graduated from SLU last May. It'll be so nice to catch up with her and hang out like old times. We've still kept in pretty good touch... she is just one of those people that I will be friends with and remember forever. We don't have set plans, but I think hiking up to the Hollywood sign is one of them. It's slightly illegal to walk up there and touch it, but people do it a lot! I will be sure to take pics if we manage to do it. It's on my "LA Bucket List" of things to do while I'm living here (which I guess I could post on here so you all could see it). I hope the weather is nice while she's here! From what I've heard it's been really nice back home...70degrees?? Crazy!

Ok, let's start the betting for Nat's due date!!! I'm gonna go ahead an guess April 11th. Winner gets a prize!! Add a comment to my post and take a guess at when you think baby Ethan will enter the world. Her official estimated due date is April 18th.

So I'll leave you all with my "LA Bucket List". Things I want/will do while I am living in LA. An asterick* means that I have checked it off the list and already done it! Of course, there are new things that I learn about and add to the list quite often....and there are things that I've done and didn't add. If you have a suggestion for me, let me know.

List of thing to do while living in LA:
-See a movie at Mann’s Chinese Theatre
-Go to a movie premiere
-Be a fan outside the red carpet at either The Grammy’s or The Academy Awards
-Go to the Hollywood Wax museum*
-Go to Griffith Observatory*
-Hike in Griffith Park*
-Go to Disneyland
-Go to Universal Studio’s
-Go to Knott’s Berry Farm
-Go to Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach*
-Get bottle service at a Hollywood club*
-Be an extra in a TV show or movie
-Walk the boardwalk in Venice Beach*
-Ride my bike on the bike path in Venice
-Go surfing
-Go skiing in the mountains
-Meet a celebrity*
-Walk the Santa Monica pier*
-Ride the ferris wheel on the Santa Monica pier
-Go to the Farmers Market in Hollywood on Sunday
-Go shopping in Fashion District*
-Go shopping on Melrose*
-Go shopping on Robertson
-Go shopping on Rodeo Drive
-Go to the Getty Museum
-Explore Catalina Island
-Drive to Vegas*
-Drive to Mexico
-Go to a taping of “The Price is Right”
-Go to a taping of “Jimmy Kimmel Live”
-Go to the LA Zoo
-Go see the La Brea Tar Pits
-Go to a Laker’s game
-Go to a Dodger’s game
-Go to the California Science Center
-Go to the San Antonio Winery in downtown LA
-Drive to to Northern Cal and visit the wineries
-Go to “The Magic Castle” in Hollywood
-Go shopping in “The Grove” at Christmas time
-Go to “Hollywood Forever Cemetery”*-Go horse back riding on the beach
-See a show at “Pantage’s Theatre”
-Touch the 'Hollywood' sign
-Visit Chinatown*
-Visit Little Tokyo
-Go on a studio tour of Paramount Studio's
-See a movie at El Capitan theatre
-Go skydiving in San Diego or Santa Barbara
-Go sailing/boating & fishing in the Pacific

Happy 1st Birthday Ben!!

2009-03-03T18:58:00.000-08:00

My beautiful nephew, Benjamin George Barton is 1 year old today!! Happy Birthday B-Man!! Love you so much!

A pink dolphin!!

2009-03-03T07:56:00.001-08:00

You have to check this out...it's so interesting! A PINK dolphin was spotted in a lake north of the gulf in Louisiana. It's actually an albino dolphin, and has reddish eyes. So neat!

CLICK this link to read the full article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4927224/Pink-dolphin-appears-in-US-lake.html

Work and a New Car

2009-02-20T21:34:00.001-08:00

I'm off work tonight with nothing to do (not complaining)...so I thought I would update! I meant to get up early today and go down to Fashion District and buy a new purse but I ended up sleeping all day because I was up all night. My schedule is opposite of the rest of the worlds! I've been on my own at work for 4 or 5 shifts now and everything has gone pretty smoothly. I feel confident walking into work, and I know that if I need help or have a question my fellow night shift nurses are right there to help me out. I really love my job and the people I work with are great. So far I think I'm doing a pretty good job of being an RN I, I even got a written compliment from a family and also from a student nurse on the floor (my manager showed me).

Here's a video that Johnson & Johnson produced about nurses. All of the pediatric patients (babies, children, & teens) were filmed at CHLA and were cared for by nurses at my hospital. This video makes me SO proud to be a nurse and know that I can make great impacts in peoples lives. It makes me want to tell everyone what I do for a living!

It has rained almost everyday since I bought my new car! Everyone has been asking me to post pictures of it, but I haven't had a chance to take a pic of it outside in the sun. February is the rainy month here in SoCal. Here's exactly what it looks like though...it's a black 2009 Volkswagen Eos. It's sooo hot! I absolutely love it. The convertible top is hard and you can hardly tell it's a convertible when the top is up. All you do it press a button in the car and the top goes down in 22 seconds...pretty sharp!!My little sister from my Delta Gamma sorority is coming to visit me the first week of March. She has a friend that goes to UCLA, so she will be spending a few days with her and the next few days with me. I'm super excited to see her! Then the next week, Amanda will be coming to visit me. I'm so lucky to have such good friends that come visit me all the time!

One of my best friends from nursing school, Rachel Terhaar was offered a job at CHLA in the PICU. I think she's going to take it!! It won't be til August that she moves out, but I am SO happy that she is deciding to do this! We will probably end up living together. It's not for a while, but hopefully things will continue to work out for her and she'll end up in LA with me.

Nat's baby shower planning is coming along, and I'm dissapointed that I won't be able to be there. I plan on coming home to see baby Ethan and Nat after he is born. Probably the 2nd week in April or the first week in May, I have to discuss my schedule with work. Hope everyone is doing well, miss and love you all.

RN Residency Ceremony

2009-02-17T17:23:00.001-08:00

Since the links aren't working for you at home, I've gotten some requests to post a few pics from the residency "graduation". It was a really nice ceremony. Click on the pics directly to make them bigger.

6 East RN Residents (my floor)

Mom, Dad, and I outside before the ceremony.

Out of State RN Residents (from L to R): Minnesota, Florida, Delaware, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Illinois

All of the Sept 08-Feb09 RN Residents

Cupid's month

2009-02-12T16:50:00.000-08:00

3 of my favorite love songs, in light of Valentines Day :)

#1. Coldplay- Yellow
#2. The Flaming Lips- Do You Realize
#3. Foo Fighters- Everlong

pics/links

2009-02-11T01:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a link of the slideshow presented @ our ceremony:

http://web.mac.com/tracykumono/iWeb/slideshow/chlarnresidency2008cohort/

Here's a link of the professional photographers slideshow pics:

http://web.mac.com/tracykumono/iWeb/slideshow/chlarnresidency020509/

And here's the link to more pictures that the photog took: (event ID: chlarnresidency020509)

http://web.sendtoprint.net/proofbook/login.asp

I'll post more later! :)

Sunset @ Griffith Observatory

2009-02-04T10:20:00.001-08:00

SUNSET

Reunited at last

2009-02-04T09:54:00.000-08:00

Well, this has certainly been a busy week for me! My 3 best friends from nursing school came out to visit from Friday through Tuesday. It was the best/most fun weekend I have had in a long time. We did LOTS. On Friday we started off the day with a nice lunch on Venice Beach, then shopping @ the Santa Monica promenade and Melrose. At night we went to The Standard Rooftop Bar, on the 13th floor of The Standard Hotel in downtown LA. The view was beautiful, the sky was clear and full of stars, and we were surrounded by the glowing lights of the surrounding skyscrapers. LOVED IT and definitely added that place to my faves list.

On Saturday, we woke up & drove to Malibu for a day at the beach and lunch at my favorite beach side restaurant, Dukes. We layed/walked around the beach, and then we drove to West Hollywood and got milkshakes at a place called "Millions of Milkshakes" on Santa Monica Blvd. They were sooo good. Sat night we did sushi dinner at Geisha House and we decided to get bottle service @ Boulevard 3, a dance club in Hollywood. It was Rachel's birthday so we splurged a little. We had the VIP treatment and it was super fun!! We danced all night and ended up getting a sweet deal on our bottle of PINK vodka :)

Sunday we did nothing but lay around, order take out, and watch dvds.

Monday night we went to aopen mic comedy show right here by my apartment @ a mexican/cuban restaurant called "Cuba Libre". We had a good dinner, and even Adam came along. Then we walked across the street to the Dresden, one of my favorite bars here in my neighborhood. I had class the next day and the girls flight left kind of early, but our weekend was great!!

I'm picking up Mom & Dad at LAX in about an hour. I can't wait. I called in sick today so I could spend the day with them. Oh well! I have sick time and I figure this is a good enough excuse to use it. My "recognition ceremony" aka transition from RN resident to RN I is tomorrow. I will make a post about it! Miss and love everyone.

New Car, possibly?

2009-01-28T21:38:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking about making my first "big girl" purchase....a car! I'm looking at the Volvo S40 (used of course). Thoughts?

Photos & Such

2009-01-20T15:26:00.000-08:00

My friends Micah & AJ came to LA last weekend to visit. We had a nice lunch at Duke's in Malibu. Here's a few pictures I took on my iPhone on the way home (driving down the PCH).

There is nothing better than the California sunset.

Obamacon

2009-01-19T19:46:00.000-08:00

Make your own "obamacon" inspired by Shepard Fairey's iconic Obama "Hope" poster.

http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/

Happy inauguration!!! Yeah Obama!

just an update.

2009-01-16T15:51:00.001-08:00

Hi! Sorry it's been awhile since an update...I just haven't found the time to catch up on here. The weather in LA has been FABULOUS lately. It's a sunny 82 degrees in Hollywood today and I LOVE it. I hear it's REALLY cold back home, and I'm sorry about that :) I "graduate" from my residency in about 2 weeks. Mom & Dad are coming out for the recognition ceremony (is what they call it) and it should be a good time. My first day on my own is Feb 8th. I think I can handle it, but it'll be a little nerve-racking the first couple of shifts. The new round of RN residents start in March and we will be getting 3 males on our floor (no out-of-staters this time!). I think the second cohort of the year is generally smaller in size.

My 3 best friends from nursing school are coming to visit in 14days! I'm SUPER excited to see them and show them around LA. We don't have any set plans yet, probably just lots of girls nights out. Amanda is planning on coming to visit sometime in March and I'm really excited about that too :)

Nat and Dave have decided on a baby name for their baby boy! Ethan Joseph Fry. I can't wait to meet him! Erin, Mom, and I will be busy planning a baby shower for Nat and baby Ethan. The date will be Sat, March 14th at Mackies in Marion, so mark your calenders!! Invitations to be sent out shortly.

I met the Queen of all Media, and the author of Hollywood's most hated website - Perez Hilton! Amanda and I have been obsessed with reading his celebreity gossip website for the past 3 years, so I was really excited. He had a book signing in a bookstore atThe Grove (mall in bev hills area) on Wed, so my friend Becca and I went right after work. He was really nice! (Pic below)

Happy 2009!

2009-01-02T12:34:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, everyone! I had a wonderful Christmas visit in Southern Illinois. It was wonderful to see everyone and I can't wait to come back and visit in the spring. New Years Eve I went to the Paramount Studios backlot in Hollywood where a party was being held. Katy Perry was there and performed live at midnight. Also, I went shopping on Melrose and in Fashion District in downtown LA for the first time since I've moved out here... I LOVE IT. Mom- I can't wait to take you to fashion district (TONS of shoes!!).

As we say goodbye to 2008, I have to say it was probably the most eventful year of my life so far.
-I graduated at 21 years old with my Bachelors Degree of Science in Nursing from Saint Louis University, left my friends & family in the midwest to begin a new career at CHLA, made new friends, have seen things I thought I'd never see, and watched myself grow from a college girl to a working woman. I'm excited to see what 2009 will bring! What are your new years resolutions?

Happy Birthday Chloe :)

2008-12-15T17:50:00.001-08:00

Well, I survived my first night shift! It was rough around 5am but I made it... back at it tomorrow night.

My BABY aka CHLOE is 8 years old today!! How sweet!

nocturnalizing myself

2008-12-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

Well as of tonight I will official become nocturnal!! I start nights and I work from 7p-7a...I heard the first night is the hardest to get through, then you just kind of get used to it.

I'll be home in a week and a half! I cannot wait!!! So excited to see everyone.

Here's a picture of the garden area at CHLA. It's all decked out for Christmas. We had an acapella group of men come sing to the nurses/kids on our floor last week. One of the men was Stephen Collins. He is pretty famous. I believe he's doing "Spamalot" on broadway and he was the father/reverend in the show "7th Heaven"...also lots of other movies. Another guy was a famous comedian but I'm not sure what his name was. They came to show their appreciation to the nurses around the holiday season, it was nice and they were actually really funny.

That's all for now, I miss everyone so much and see you soon!

Happy Birthday Mal!

2008-12-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

My favorite little girl in the whole world turned 4 today. Happy birthday, Mallory!

Paisley Alexandra Henley

2008-12-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the world,
Paisley Alexandra Henley

December 3, 2008
7 lbs. 2oz.
19. 5 inches long

My dear friend (and neighbor from home), Hayley Kotner, gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby girl yesterday. Both are doing well! Paisley is gorgeous.

"A new baby is like the beginning of all things- wonder, hope, and a dream of possibilities."
-- Eda J. Le Shan

santa visted apt#27 a little early

2008-12-02T19:17:00.000-08:00

Today I got a wonderful surprise in the mail...a VACUUM! I needed one soooo bad. I haven't been able to vacuum the apt since we moved in. Needless to say, it needed it BADLY. Luckily, Santa (aka Mom) came to the rescue and sent my Christmas present a little early. What a good surprise :) Adam immediately assembled it and I got to work.

I went Christmas shopping in Beverly Hills today..fun! Don't get your hopes up...I didn't buy much, ha. Send me what you want for Christmas, everyone! I need to get some shopping done because I'll be home in 22 DAYS!!! I'm dreaming of a white Christmas (since there isn't such a thing here). Miss and love everyone!

mom&nat

2008-11-29T16:11:00.000-08:00

I stole this picture from Aunt Missy's email to post on here. I think it's so cute! Mom & a very pregnant Natalie on Thanksgiving. You look gorgeous, Nat!

Turkey Day in Tinsel Town

2008-11-28T23:20:00.000-08:00

This was the first year ever, in 22 years, that I wasn't able to spend Thanksgiving with family in Illinois. Although disappointed that I wasn't able to share the day with the people that I am most thankful for, I still had a great holiday. I gathered with a very random group of people (friends, co-workers, actors, and a cousin or 2 of the hostesses) to celebrate Thanksgiving. My friend Jocelyn, who I work with, had people to her apartment, as did her roomate. There were about 13 of us. I took a few dishes (including Aunt Missy's salad that I loooove). Everything turned out well and the food was great. We ate outside in the courtyard area at their apartment complex (eating outside on Thanksgiving, that's a first!). It was lovely weather. After dinner we played a game, had a cocktail, and desert. After everyone left, I helped the girls clean up a little bit and we went to see the movie "Four Christmases" - it was funny.

I lost my phone at work, but now I have a new one that is up and running. If you tried to call and I didn't answer, I apologize! Hope everyone had a happy thanksgiving and have a good weekend!

1/2 way there

2008-11-18T17:44:00.000-08:00

As of today, I'm officially half-way done with my residency :)

Vegas Vacay

2008-11-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

So last Tuesday my friend Becca and I packed up the Jetta and went on a little road trip to Las Vegas. It took us 4 hours to get from my apartment to the LV strip. The drive there was interesting (kind of). Basically drove through the desert the whole time (The Mojave Desert). A whole lot of nothing but hills, mountains, cacti, joshua tree forests, and sand dunes...a very pretty drive that appears pretty lifeless. It is home to mountain lions, bobcats, rattlesnakes, lizards, mule deer, jackrabbits, and roadrunners though(I did some research). There were also a few abandoned "ghost towns" ..one of which Knott's Berry Farm bought and preserved it. You can go on tours there now & supposedly it's haunted. Kind of weird. The drive reminded me of something you'd see in a horror flick, with a random old shack off the side of the highway..with 1 gas pump from the 30's. Just really weird. Anyway, the drive was very easy and smooth, we arrived in Vegas and enjoyed the next 2 days seeing the strip, playing blackjack at the tables, and enjoying room service. We saw a "hypnomagician", David Barry, one night. Becca got pulled up on stage and he did some magic on her. It was a fun show. I don't think I spent over $200 on the whole trip. A very cheap and quick getaway to Vegas- one of the perks of living in LA!

It was pretty smoky outside of my window yesterday, definitely smelled the smoke too. I think the wildfires have been contained for the most part now. The smoke just seeped over here from the Valley. It's much clearer today.

Lastnight I got to hang out with Andrew which was really nice. It was like having a little slice of Eldorado right in my own Hollywood apartment :) It was nice to catch up and chat about life. We might even end up on the same flight back to LA from Eville over Christmas time if he can get the flight. I'll post a pic, but it's a little blurry. #1 thing on my Christmas list this year is a new digital camera (a good one).

And for some exciting news, Nat & Dave are 100% sure they are going to be parents to a baby BOY! Can't wait for my new nephew!!! He is going to be so adorable, I'm picturing him with tons of dark curly hair!!! A little Corey Matthews (Boy Meets World tv show, remember?). Anyways, I'm thrilled that I am going to be an Aunt again. Can't wait to meet him! ..And I'm sure Ben boy will be thrilled to have a male buddy around his age in the fam.

Prop 8 Protesters

2008-11-09T21:09:00.000-08:00

I left work on Saturday night around 8pm, walked out of the building to cross the street (Sunset Blvd) & head to my car. All of the sudden, cops on motorcycles and helicopters swarmed the hospital area. I looked down the street and here come THOUSANDS of protesters against Proposition 8 (the prop that eliminates gay marriage rights in the state of CA) . The proposition passed at 51% for, 50% against. A lot of people here are VERY unhappy, as you can imagine (especially in Hollywood). Personally, I am against Prop 8. I have gay friends whom I think should be granted the right to marry the person they love, just as I have the right to marry the person I love one day. But enough about my opinion on the subject. I have never seen anything like this before. Sunset Blvd was overtaken by protesters shouting and screaming phrases about equal rights, jabbing their picket signs up and down in the air angrily. Helicopters were flying overhead shining their spotlights down on the crowd, police on motorcycles were monitoring from the side, and thousands of people were packed into the street. CHLA was almost unaccessible from the front entrance. I made it across the street just in time so that I didn't have to fight through the crowd to get to the parking garage. The crowd was about 1 mile long down the street. I took pictures from the top of the garage with my iphone (the quality isn't that great). From what I hear, the plan is to protest like this until they get their way. We'll see what happens! I can't imagine they can do much about it if the prop has already passed? It'll be interesting to see how it unfolds.

Congratulations to our new president, Barack Obama. I think this election has changed the way future elections in our country will go forever. It's so exciting having a new president, and this is the first year where I completely understood the election process and followed it. Definitely ready for that change Obama is talking about! And I love that during his speech he told his daughters that they had earned the new puppy he promised them if he won. I just imagine the girls screaming in excitement & hugging each other when he said that.

Off of politics, I'm headed to Vegas next week for 2 nights during the week. I am going with a girl from work who also relocated out here to work at CHLA (she's from the east coast, Connecticut I think). I'm excited to get out of LA for a few days and relax in Vegas!! We got a great deal on a hotel (The Tropicana) which is right next to MGM grand. I'll be sure to take some pics and let you know how the trip goes.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-03T11:50:00.000-08:00

I worked on Halloween day, and it was a lot of fun. The hospital had trick or treating for the kids, and everyone dressed up. They also had costumes available for the children and all kinds of toys, candy, balloons, etc for the kids during trick or treating. Here's a picture of one of my patients and I on Halloween. We had permission to take her picture from her mom, and she loved the attention from everyone :) She dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Carribean). I took her down to the trick or treating area and we went through her bag of goodies and played a little bit. We had fun. I dressed up as a cat (with my black scrubs, cat ears, and whiskers). The kids loved it. I wasn't too busy in the morning and everything was sort of laid back because of the Halloween party, but when afternoon rolled around I realized I was a little behind and things got super busy with a complicated admission, so I ended up staying a little later than usual at work. No big deal, but now I'll know to keep on top of things when I'm working a holiday :)

After work, Adam, Troy (from work) and I went to West Hollywood for the Halloween festivities. We didn't really know where we were going/what we were doing so it was kind of an adventure. It took an hour to go 4 miles because the traffic was so busy, then we ended up parking in the wrong place and taking a cab another mile to the actual "party". By the time we got there things were kind of ending, so we ended up just grabbing a drink at a nearby bar. It was fun to see everyone dressed up though! Lots and lots of neat costumes. They blocked Santa Monica Blvd off and it kind of reminded me of Bourbon St. in New Orleans (with a lot less boobs and a lot more abs!! haha). Next year I'll know to leave earlier and where I'm going, but I'm glad we got to see what it's like.

I booked my plane tickets home...I'll be flying into Evansville on Dec 24th at 3:00pm and leaving on Dec. 29th at noon. I am SO excited to get home for awhile, I'm really starting to miss home. I think this is the longest I've gone without seeing my Mom. Can't wait to have Christmas with my family and dog and catch up with my friends from home (especially Mal, Amanda, Maegan, & Hayley (and her new baby girl by that time). Erin's in the talks of coming down with Ben and Mal...that would be sooo awesome :) (hint hint).

Oh, I got to see my first LA rainstorm (with thunder included) 2 days ago! It was kind of refreshing, I think we needed it. I'm sure the trees were happy, lessens the fire risk. I had the day off so I opened my windows and took a nap..it was so nice and for a moment I felt like I was in Illinois.

Congratulations to my best friends and sisters, Hannah and Rachel Holmgren...they both got engaged last week!

weekend pics

2008-10-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hola familia y amigas!

2008-10-22T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hola! Is a familiar word that I have been saying daily it seems. I am starting to pick up a little bit of Spanish working around the hospital, and my friend Adri is teaching me some words. A lot of the patient population is Spanish speaking out here (obviously) and it makes things a little bit tough when trying to communicate with families, BUT LUCKILY a lot of the nurses speak spanish on our floor so it's all good :) I'm going to take a Spanish class after the residency, I decided. I took care of a 9 year old girl the other day, who traveled here from Guatemala. Her mother and her were lucky to be a part of this "international faces foundation" group which takes children from countries that don't have the services/surgical care that we do here in America. She was born with facial deformities, and she was flown/housed here by this foundation to have a cranio-facial reconstructive surgery. When they got here they didn't know how to use a toilet/telephone/etc, etc. I guess they are from a super small underdeveloped village. It's really crazy but puts things into perspective a bit. It was quite funny because they only speak Spanish, but the little girl watched TV all day in English...I guess because she was so mesmerized by the idea of television. But anyways, she is healing well and will soon be headed back to her home country and able to lead a more normal life with a more normal face :)

On to other things, I went on the most beautiful hike last Thursday in Griffith Park (about a mile away from me). I went with my friends Adri & Afton (from work). It was nice to walk through nature and see trees, rocks, hills, and grass. The walk up was pretty much a complete incline, which took quite the toll on my out of shape body (ha). But when we got to the top (to the viewpoint) we could see EVERYTHING...and I mean the ENTIRE city. We were able to see the ocean, the hills, all of LA's buildings, and behind us into the valley. It was complete silence at the top and very peaceful. It was so beautiful and I can't wait to take friends and family when they get out here to visit. It took about 1 mile to get up to the top and 1 mile to get down.

On Friday I went to see Andrew Clore's band in Santa Monica. It was good to see a fellow Eldorado-an in the big city of LA. It was a good show and my roomate went with me. Aunt Missy had asked me in an email if Santa Monica was close (I haven't gotten replied yet) but the answer is yes, it's pretty much LA territory. I am actually headed there tonight to have dinner with Jason. They have really good shopping too.

I am very happy because one of my best guy friends from SLU moved to LA on Monday!! Micah is living with his brother and looking for a job in LA. We are meeting up and going out on Friday night, along with another guy from SLU (AJ) who is stationed out here. I'm really excited to seem them and catch up. I have the next 3 days off so I'll try to upload some new pics from my weekend on here soon. Hasta luego!

persimmon

2008-10-15T18:01:00.001-07:00

Today I ate a fruit that I had never heard of before, called Persimmon. It is the hybrid of a tomato and an apple. It's an Asian fruit that was first introduced to California in the mid 1800's. It's a "thanksgiving-type" plant in Korea...they eat it as a holiday fruit. Kind of like our pumpkins, I'm assuming. It's hard, but not as hard as an apple...and looks more like a tomato. There's not much taste to it, it kind of reminded me of a hard pear...with a more dull and less fruity flavor. It was interesting and I had never heard of such a thing, so I thought I'd share with you guys who live in areas that aren't able to grow it.

Wildfires and Cooler Weather

2008-10-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

Everytime I turn on my TV to watch a show, the only thing that's on the tube is "SoCal Wildfire Updates." LA has been plagued with blazing flames and up to 70mph winds that are making it spread. Luckily, I haven't seen any effects of the fires and it hasn't impacted my life or my part of the city at all yet. The fires aren't close to me, so no worries! I'm hoping it hasn't impacted anybody at work, but I'm sure that it has. I go back to work tomorrow so I'm sure I'll be hearing about it. They've closed off parts of the freeways due to the heavy smoke and many people have had to evacuate their homes while the LAFD fight off the flames. Yesterday, Jason and I went up to Griffith Observatory at Sunset. The pictures that I've posted I took lastnight. You can see a little bit of the smoke from the fires in the right-upper part of the picture above (the smokier color mixed in with the sunset). California sunsets are the best!! They are so pretty and colorful.. and the backdrops couldn't get any better.

The weather has been cooling off and I'm actually curled up in a blanket right now. It's really cool in my apartment in the morning and late night, but it warms up to almost hot as the afternoon rolls around.

Amanda texted me lastnight and asked me if I had seen Natalie Portman around the hospital, supposedly she visits 3x a week to cuddle with the sick kids. I haven't seen her, but will be keeping my eyes peeled now. I hear celebs tend to frequent the hospital, but I have yet to see anyone famous at work yet. I do enjoy seeing the therapy dogs though, they are so cute and we get so many of them visiting our floor! The kids love the dogs and they get their pictures taken with them. I love them too (sometimes more than the kids do, haha).

3 of my best friends; Rachel, Nicole, and Lindsay (all SLU nursing students) are coming to visit me at the end of January, I'm sooo excited. I really miss them so I'm looking forward to their visit.

It's a little weird that all of my friends are so spread out everywhere now. Amanda is teaching her own 3rd grade class in Kansas City, MO. Molly is living in downtown Chicago venturing through her first year of Law School at DePaul. Rachel Holmgren is living with her boyfriend (Ned) in Chicago, working as a secretary in a medical clinic and doing her own online projects on the side. Rachel and Lindsay are working at St. Johns hospital in STL (Rachel in the PICU and Linds in Labor&Deliv). Nicole just got a new job at Children's Hospital St.Louis in the neurology unit. Mal is working towards her accounting degree in Evansville, IN. Then of course, I still have a lot of friends that are still at SLU enjoying the college life. (I can't wait to go back and visit SLU sometime this year and see some of my friends and DG's!).

my first "blog" entry

2008-10-12T23:38:00.000-07:00

As I began to type my usual "LA Update" email tonight, I decided that maybe it was time I try something new. I never thought I would be one to "blog", but seeing as I'm so far away from my family and friends, it makes perfect sense to have one. So from now on, if you want to catch up on what I've been up to, pictures I've taken, or thoughts that I have...you can come to this page and read away. I will try to post pictures often too. My goal is to update this once a week...we'll see how it goes!

I have been enjoying a nice 4 days off of work. It's been good so far and I've been able to catch up on a lot of things. Today I ventured over to Burbank, CA (only like 2mi from my apt) and bought some little things for my apartment. My apartment is coming together and starting to look really nice. My next goal is to paint 2 of the walls in my living room (olive green). Tonight, Adam and I had a few friends from our residency program over to our apartment. We cooked out on the grill and had hotdogs, hamburgers, shrimp, and portabello mushrooms. It was a nice get together. The weather is starting to cool off a bit here, which I'm happy about. I miss the fall smells and colors of Southern Illinois!

A few new friends from the CHLA RN Residency. My roomate is the guy I'm standing next to. All of us in this photo are from out of state (CT, TX, NY, PA, MI, FL)...from all across the US! This was taken in Long Beach after visiting the Pacific Aquarium and enjoying happy hour on the pier.

Taken at the Griffith Observatory (about 2 miles up the Hollywood Hills from my apartment) . The view is amazing! That is the city of LA lit up behind me.
Griffith Observatory is also right next to the Hollywood sign (fun fact: The Hollywood sign doesn't light up anymore at night because the environmentalists argued that it disturbed some of the animals natural habitat).