i'm done with this one.

onto the next!

http://triciamolina.blogspot.com/

It's been so crazy at work, so I'm extremely thrilled to say that I am now on vacation until the 24th of this month. I need the time away from that place. I feel myself being more angry, bitter, and more bitchy every time I'm there. The break will do me some good, I think.

What am I doing during my time off? I'm taking my dress to the tailor. I'm getting my invitations together and out! I'm going to get a couple of other wedding things done. I'm going to clean and organize. But most importantly, I'm going to take some time for myself to do whatever the eff I want to do!

I will add...sashes are ok. =)

So I was browsing random pictures on fb and stumbled onto a girls pictures from her friend's bachlorette party. The album was titled "fat girls wear tiars." LOL

So with that being said, I am going to re-establish this. NO TIARAS FOR ANY OF US WHEN WE GO OUT FOR MY BACHLORETTE PARTY IN OCTOBER! I repeat: NO TIARAS! I hate them.

kgreatthanks.

best conversation....ever!

Keenan and I are driving to Modesto to see his cousin in the hospital. I notice he has a crescent-shaped scar on his left inner arm.

Look at your scar. It looks like when Bella got bit!! EEEEK!
Kee: You're probably wanting me to bite you, aren't you?
OMG! Yes! Please!
Kee: I can't. I'm too worried about your soul.
Did you just make a Twilight reference?
Kee: Yes. I want you to be human for as long as possible. I care too much about your soul.
screw my soul! i wanna be a vamp!

i just thought that was pretty amusing.

Last weekend we went to Lake Tahoe for our friends, Kenny & Janae's, wedding. It was beautiful! It was at a golf course on the lake front. We had an amazing time. And we had fun gambling. I won over $200 and Kee won over $550!

The following Monday, Tiffany, Stevi, and I had the brilliant idea of hiking Mt Diablo for Tiff's bday. What was supposed to be a 1 hour, 3 mile hike turned into a 5 hour, 8-9 mile hike...all because we took a wrong turn and got lost. And then ultimately had to get picked up by the park ranger.

We had an awesome first 4th of July at the house. Lots of yummy food and tons of friends. And dad even came over and drank with all of us! Good times. It was probably one of the best 4th's I've ever had!

I can't believe it's July already. It's crazy how fast this year has been flying by...and there are soooo many things to look forward to, from weddings and showers and receptions and tons of activities! I'm so excited...and even more excited and honored that all of my best girlfriends get to share in these times with me. LOVE YA! =)

bridesmaids dresses...check! and my ladies look amazing...such awesome dresses to fit each person's individual personality/style.

My dress is finally here!!! I've been waiting for it since February. Trying to get a girls day together with mom and sister face to see/fit my dress and go shop!

**HOPEFULLY** sending the the STDs this week. So keep on the lookout for those.

After today's 12 hour shift (7 more hrs to go!) I have 2 days off, then a 12hr and 8hr, then 4 days off! Which includes Tahoe for a wedding and hiking for Tiff's bday. Can't wait to have some days off and to get away.

Florist...check! AND I get to keep my vision and theme w/o spending a crapload of money.

Save the dates...check! Got pink & brown photo magnets so be on the lookout for those soon! Love them!

Cake...check! The baker is awesome and knew exactly what I wanted from my description. And the cake was super yummy, too!

Mom's dress...check! FINALLY got her dress today! She goes for her first fitting in September. The dress is beautiful on her.

Crystal headpiece...check! LOVE IT! I wanted it and soon as I saw it. I don't care that it was $165 for a headband. It's my wedding and I'll do what I want to. haha

Love shoot next month in Livermore. Can't wait to take pics with our photographer. It's going to be so much fun.

...still to do...

...bridesmaid dresses
...find shoes and jewelry
...order invites
...book rehearsal dinner restaurant
...book transportation
...get pics together for slideshow

....there's more that I know I need to do, but those are off the top of my head. everything is coming along nicely, so I can't complain.

It's been so long since I've posted something that I had to look back at my blog and see when I wrote and what I wrote about. ha.

Obviously we are in the new house now. It's still crazy to believe that I am a homeOWNER. It's been so much fun slowly getting the place together, adding new furniture. When you drop a downpayment, it's tough to completely furnish your place the way you want to. But we're getting there. We brought Kee's pitbull, Rosie, to the house a few weeks ago and her and Nilo are getting along well. The commute from here to work isn't bad either. I actually enjoy the drive sometimes because it's the only hour and (at the most) 30 mins that I get completely to myself do think, sing, or just enjoy the silence.

Work is going well. Still on day shifts since February and loving it. I definitely like the overall vibe on days better. People are awake, a little more upbeat, which totally makes me feel like a normal person. Plus some of my favorites are on days, so it's awesome to be able to work with them. I ALWAYS look forward to our Friday margarita nights after a hectic day of work.

Wedding planning is going well. We booked our photographer. Her name is Brittany Dewester and is a friend of my co-worker. As soon as I met her, I felt so at ease and felt like I was talking to a good friend. We decided what better person to capture our most intimate and special moments of our day than someone we felt extremely comfortable with. We booked our DJ, Jeff of Amos Productions. Fun, energetic wedding specialist. I am all about having a big dancy party and he will deliver that. YES!

Had a meeting with a florist on Monday. Shoooooot...flowers are expensive! I want to stick with my vision, but I think I may need to reel myself back in and do some trimming. I am meeting with another florist just to compare, we we'll see what we come up with and hopefully will book that this month.

Cake appointment is on May 15th. CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT! The food tasting we did back a while back was sooooo fun, so I can't imagine how fun cake will be! Hopefully they'll be able to do the cake design that I want. Then after eating cake I get to head to SF for Bay to Breakers with the girls. This should be interesting. ha.

June will be pretty busy as well. Dress shopping on June 19th! Still trying to figure out exactly what look we will go for. Just know the dresses will be brown. Another engagement photo shoot will be done in June. Not to mention A's vs Giants on the 11th followed by Plate to Plate 5k on the 12th. And then a wedding in Tahoe the 25-27th. I'm tired just thinking of this.

Side note: So so so happy I got to see Mary & Caroline last week. Thanks for driving out, seeing the house, my wonderful gifts, and for just being you. Love you both times infinity.

Picked up the keys yesterday! Starting moving whatever I could fit into my car. Little Nilo loooooves the house...especially the stairs! It was so nice....Kee and I laying on the family room floor in front of the fire. Still can't believe we are homeowners.

So I'm at work today, while the boys do all the moving. Ha. Gonna spend the night in the house tonight and drive to work tomorrow. Gotta get used to it and might as well start now.

Can't wait to have everyone over! =)

House Update!

We signed our escrow documents yesterday so yes it is officially...Keenan and I are homeowners. The whole deal closes tomorrow. Plus, the bank ended up covering all of our closing costs, so the final costs needed were only the balance of our downpayment! We were supposed to pick up our keys today, but are instead picking them up Friday evening. Sooo excited!

Kee and I started packing up the condo today. It's amazing how much stuff I've accumulated in the little over 4 years I've been living here. Besides my parents house, this has been the place I've lived the longest after moving out of their house when I was 18. It's kind of sad in a way, but the whole thing is very exciting. Can't wait to build our little love nest!

AAAANNND Kee and I got a puppy on Saturday. His name is Nilo, and no not like "KNEE-LOW" b/c he's so small and comes up to your knees (that's for my buddy Wes haha). He's so precious. He's a 3 month Lhasa Apso mix, has the best personality, and is a goofball. We love him so much already and can't wait to bring him to our house and start our little family! =)

Buying a house is STRESSSSSFUL! Especially when you're loan lady can't speak effin English. haha. Can't wait til this is all over and done with.

Talked to the realtor last night. Estimated date of closing...first or second week of March. Didn't think it was going to be that quick! Kee and I are soo excited. Everyone MUST come to our house as soon as we get settled. Our little nest of love is soo cute.

I BOUGHT MY WEDDING DRESS TODAY! It was the second one I tried on. I tried on 5 more after it but they just didn't compare. I'm adding an ivory crystal belt, maybe a crystal headband, chunky earrings, a chunky bracelet, and maybe a veil. I can't wait for the BMs to see it come all together at the final fitting. I absolutely heart this dress. Momma and sister cried. haha

Funny convo:
ME: So what will be my something old?
Mom: You. You're old.
ME: Thanks. How about something borrowed?
Mom: You can borrow my underwear.
ME: Eww.

We found the BM dresses and my mom's dress too. Gotta love Trudys!

Just got informed last night that the bank approved our short sale offer! OMG does this mean that Kee and I are homeowners?! SOOO stoked. We are now getting all the loan/downpayment stuff taken care of. Also need to find a contractor to inspect the house. This is nuts. We could potentially be in our new home by March/April. So thrilled.

I'm feeling quite ill this morning. Good thing Car didn't partake in the patron with me and Ashley. Patron + Pizza = all bad. Mare, I cannot wait until you are home to join us.

Going wedding dress shopping on Saturday with mom and Joc. Exciiiited. I'm going to try on the dress I decided on before, but definitely want to try on others. You never know. And Joc and I are going to see if they have the BM dresses that I like from JLM Couture. Gorgeous dresses. If I like them in real life, I will send them out to the rest of the BMs to look at.

Speaking of weddings, Joc is the best MOH anyone could ask for. She has the fab idea for all of the bridal party and some close gfs to take a pole dancing class in a couple months as a bridal activity. I've already let everyone know and they love love love the idea. Woooooo. And we are thinking Vegas for a bachlorette? Watch out now!

Mare & Car, if you two have any other fun ideas, let me know! <3

Just ordered p90x. Gonna start that bad boy hopefully next week if it comes in by then.

Wedding website is ALMOST done. Just waiting on Kee to finish up his bio...although I already started it for him so I don't know what's so hard about finishing it. There will be two unfinished sections...hotel info and the gift registry. We will hopefully start registering next month, and I still have to figure out which area hotels have the best rates that I can reserve a block of rooms for.

I loved working on the website. Web design was something that I used to do in my high school days. It was a lot of work. The reason I chose to not go with those wedding websites that you can just fill the info was because honestly I didn't like the designs. And I'm a control freak and I like things exactly the way I want them. So hey! I came up with the brilliant idea of buying webspace and a domain name, making my own graphics, and building my own site. Can't wait for you guys to see it! Soon I hope!

I've been off for the past 5 nights. Tonight is my last, then 3 on. I have been a big ball of lazy. Although I've done a lot of cooking, so I guess I can say I've been productive!

The other night I had my first post-op open-heart surgery patient...and just my luck he's on an Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump. He had poor left ventricular function. The IABP basically rests his heart and augments pumping by inflating when the ventricle relaxes to allow more blood in then quickly deflating right before the ventricle closes to increase pressure to push blood out. This decreases the SVR (afterload) and increases Coronary Artery perfusion to perfuse the myocardium. Ha. I THINK I got that right.

So the night I have this guy I'm orienting to the IABP...thank goodness I wasn't on my own. His pressures were labile, SBP 80-90s, MAPS 65-70. He was on 4 pressors: Dopamine, Phenylephrine, Epi, and Vasopressin. LOVE IT. Plus he has a HUGE drug history, so he was on high amounts of Fentanyl & Versed. The usually stern & scary Cardiothoracic Surgery Attending was unusually pleasant and humorous.

See his tattoos? Count how many he has, multiply that number by 10 and THAT is how much Fentanyl he should be on. I definitely was less nervous after that encounter...usually I want to pee my pants when I see him walking my way. HA.

Orienting for 12 hours went okay. Then I get the "Ok. You're going to have him all by yourself when you come back tonight. Good luck."

Okay.

So that was last night. Thank goodness he was a little bit more stable. Neo, Dopa, & Vasopressin were titrated down. By the end of my shift I was able to wean Neo to off and Vasopressin to a very miniscule dose. I even weaned his sedation to minimal doses without this guy freaking out on me.

I feel like a big grown up ICU nurse now that I'm able to take the post-op hearts on my own. Yay me. =)

Just got a call from my realtor. The sellers accepted our offer of $310,000 for the short sale! So now she is submitting the offer to the lender for approval. This is going to be the longest part...but hopefully not toooo long! I'll keep you updated! Eeeek!

Just wanted to say that I loved loved loved seeing Mary the other day and having breakfast with her, Car, and Amber. Lovely ladies! =)

Kee and I put an offer on a house yesterday! It's a short sale going for $288K. We put an initial offer of $290K and then our back will be $310K. It's a 2006 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2501 sqft home with granite and tile througout. And it's across the park and near the wildlife area...so I pictured the area perfect for tons of running and training for runs!

The backyard is kind of smaller than what we wanted and it's not done yet, but that's okay. We went to Home Depot yesterday to look at landscaping ideas and to get paint swatches as well!

This is a MUCH better deal than the house we were originally trying to buy last summer. So we'll see what happens. So exciting all the things going on right now. 2010 is off to a great start!

October 23, 2010 @ Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore. Tweeking the wedding website a bit right now and ordering my STDs. (ha that cracks me up) and looking for a DJ and photographer.

Seriously, Kee and I were talking...there's waaaay more stuff we have to do this time around with this venue, but it's much more fun this time around, too. :)

And I'm sick again. Boo.

A couple of you know what I have been going through these past couple of months. It wasn't easy. It was full of confusion, drama, stupidity, fun...you name it. But it was something that needed to happen. I realized what I have and what I want.

A while back ago Kee and I pushed back the wedding. At that point it was decided that we weren't going to get married in May and we, no, I, wasn't trying to talk about setting another date. I felt a like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders once that was decided. He was hurt and we barely talked or saw each other. And of course there were other things going on too, things that Mary & Caroline know about.

So after I finally got my head out of my ass...I realized that I missed Kee. I missed what we had. I realized that I had a wonderful person who loved me for me and actually put up with my crap. That's huge. And, even though I get annoyed with little things...I never got sick of him after 9 years. I realized I didn't want to be with anyone else but him and how good I actually had it.

So a couple of weeks ago I told him all this. And all he did was smile. And I swear I saw saw tears although he may deny it. I told him I want to marry him. He slid that ring back on my left hand and asked "will you marry me again and spend the rest of your life with me?" and of course I said "yes...I do." :)

And here I am now. Re-thinking of all things wedding, making it about him and me b/c I lost sight of that through the first time around. Today we are going to look at a venue in Livermore nestled in the wineries. We are both in love with this venue and are thinking if we book it, our new wedding date will be Saturday, October 23, 2010. It will be the fall wedding that I wanted with the colors I wanted. It will be the type of venue he wanted. So we will see.

I just want to thank my sister and Mary for being so supportive and being the awesome MOH/BM that you are. Never once did you judge me and you let me follow my heart and supported me the entire way. Love you.

And Caroline...Congrats to you and Chris on your engagement. I am thrilled for you. And now I feel bad for giving him a hard time everytime I have gone over there. I think it would be fun to go through the wedding planning process with you. And I have a question to ask you when I see you next. :)

That's it folks.