Apparently a lot can happen in 2 months!! This is what I get for not keeping up with my blog, but in my defense I have had some big things going on!

Biggest news of all being Steve and I getting engaged on 4/5/12!! Not that this is new news since it's spread all over my family, friends, and Facebook (the big 3, haha). But now I can actually take some time to write down (and for me, remember) exactly how it happened. :)

Read on if you're interested.

I found out after the fact that he planned to propose the previous day (Wednesday) while we were going for our usual Wednesday run. He had conspired with his roommate and his fiancée to have them set up everything along the Katy Trail and then hide to take pictures. But thank goodness he's quick on his feet and could make a new plan because it completely fell through!! At that time, I was dealing with a lot of personal drama between myself and a few others, and that Wednesday was a particularly painful emotional day. I ended up texting Steve while he was still at work telling him that we couldn't go running because I might have to go to a meeting. That was then cancelled but by that point I was crying and kind of hysterical, so the run was still called off. Poor Steve!! All his planning and he ended up coming to my apartment to comfort me ... a true testament to how loving and patient he is.

In an attempt to cheer me up (or so I thought that was his motive), we planned for a date night the next night (Thursday) ....... he's so sneaky.

I called him on my way home from work, like I always do, and I knew he was at my place walking Bailey, like he always is. So I was pretty surprised when I walked up to my front door and saw a note sticking out; it was so sweet, telling me how we were going to have a good night to make up for the day before, how he wanted me to take 10 deep breaths before coming inside so I could put all that happened out of my mind. So here I am, standing on my welcome mat, actually taking the deep breaths, thinking he's probably watching me through the peep hole! I was so confident of this, I tried to barge through the door and was taken back when it was locked. I remember standing there like, Hello, unlock the door. ;)

Anyway, 10 seconds of stubbornness later, I unlocked the door, went in, and see this!

Flowers in vases, candles, my bride-to-be memory book I'd bought (yes, I am type A enough that I already started buying things in preparation for being a bride to be .... this should not shock anyone). So pretty! There was a note on my memory book that said "Read me" and inside Steve had written all these sweet things about how we met, what his first impression was, and when he knew I was the one for him. I'm reading all these things and getting teary-eyed, all the while thinking he's probably hiding in my bedroom waiting for me to get done so we can go on our date (I never said I wasn't a little dense sometimes ... apparently I'm slow to catch on).

On the page with "How he proposed" was a note that told me to meet him out at the pool when I'm done. Oh, and he also reminded me to blow out the candles before I left to prevent a fire .... so prepared. ;)

Longest walk ever!

But there he was, at the railing by my pool, with two candles at his feet. He smiled at me, I smiled at him ... and then we both looked over at the leasing office people who were just hanging out talking right beside us ..... waiting for them to leave ...... still talking ..... taking forever. Bless his heart, he looked so nervous, but he told me he wanted to wait for them to go away so we made really awkward nervous small talk. It was kind of hilarious!

Finally they left .... geez, Louise! And Steve got down on his knee, told me how much he loved me, and asked me to marry him. :) Complete the picture with the most gorgeous ring ever. :)

The reenactment photo we took a month later!

Huge hug, kiss, random old man walking by us to check his mail .... it was cute, funny, and perfect.

A pool date just like our first date. And to finish off the night like we did that first date too, he took me to Deep Sushi. Our waiter found out we had just gotten engaged, so we got free champagne and some really nice people took our picture.

Apparently when I'm really happy, large veins pop out on my forehead.

God has a perfect plan for us, and that was obvious in how it all worked out. I can truly say I've never been happier or more excited about my future!! :)


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I need a missing person ad

And from 3 years ago .....

I feel like I haven't been part of the real world in forever. I don't know how people work nights all the time

Worst weekend plans ever.

Found this today, from two years ago .... life has changed so much.

This is my weekend to be stuck in the PICU, taking call and pretty much spending all my time here.  What a life suck.  I have to admit that it's so hard to care most days ..... I'm exhausted, and emotionally battered, and dredging up the energy to put a lot of thought into the kids here is so difficult.  I really need a break, and I mean a real break.  I'd love to have one full day of sleep

Who would have guessed? Not me ...

So (obviously) I survived my 13.1 mile trek through New Orleans. ;) It was a fantastic weekend! I couldn't imagine it being any better than it was, despite some mood killers that tried to creep in! :)

We landed kind of late Friday, and Steve's poor parents, who are used to Eastern time, stayed up to pick us up from the airport and visit some. Then bedtime ..... Or so we thought. Holy bar hop, the noise!! Little did we know our hotel was across the street from a bar (really a few bars) who apparently really like live bands with their doors open for all the wild and crazy spring breakers who just got into town.


This is the culprit, jerks. ;) No amount of sleeping pills, white noise machine, and relaxation techniques could block out the screaming and wall-vibrating bass. Finally I fell asleep at 3:00 and woke up at 7:30. I downplay how incredibly frustrated and disheartened I was (apparently that's not getting popular reviews from the people), but if you can imagine and sympathize, you can understand. I was mostly scared for getting sleep for the race ....

No matter, we were all up and at 'em Saturday ready to see how much touring we could do with the least amount of walking possible - a fun and interesting concept. ;) But guess what - New Orleans is crazy busy packed on the weekends!! I've only been there for Mardi Gras in the past, so I didn't know what to expect on a normal weekend. It was insanity! Fun insanity though, for the most part.

We started out trying to go to Cafe du Monde that morning, but it was so busy that we gave up (after Steve's dad was creeping trying to get a table). ;) Then it was on to the Expo. Steve's poor parents, they basically just had to pay for parking multiple times a day every day because it was kind of the only option if you wanted to go anywhere. But we made it to the Expo (thank goodness for my Google maps, haha)! Check in - done. Swag bags - picked up. Ready as ever! Bib #20289. :)


Our next adventure was attempting to ride the trolleys. We figured there were places in NO that we wanted to see, but we didn't want to stress our legs so they seemed perfect. But the downside of this plan: 1) The weather called for 78 and rain on Saturday, but it turned out to be 55 and windy with some showers. No one really brought clothes for coldish weather, so we were all kind of freezing. 2) Apparently a lot of people also have the same plan when they visit NO. We rode a few of the trolleys but the one we really wanted, St. Charles, we decided to pass on.

But that's ok because we had an awesome night hanging out at the hotel! We were in a small suite with a kitchen, so we decided to just buy food to cook instead of paying for food out. Steve's parents made us spaghetti with turkey meatballs (aka, the onion balls) for lunch, so for dinner we decided to go breakfast! And thus was born the PANcake (emphasis on the pan).

It all started with the skillet, which we didn't know was not non-stick. Mix up all the pancake batter, stove turned on, time to make the pancakes. Except they all stuck to the pan and turned into terrible messes. Since we had no backup plan except all the non-carby side dishes, Steve's dad went out for pizza while Emily and his mom got creative. Can you pour all the batter into a flat cooking dish and bake it? It turns out you can, and it's fantastic! We even considered opening a restaurant to serve said PANcakes .... Maybe some day. ;)


After a good dose of silliness, time for bed. And this time I succeeded in falling asleep by like 11:30 with only a few wake ups before my 5:00 wake up call. Turns out the stove vent fan on high is a nice addition to the white noise machine when you're sleeping on the couch!

Race morning! Note to self for future races, if you're in a corral closer to the end, you don't have to get there so early. But it was a nice crisp 50 degrees and sunny. And we were all excited!!


We managed to run together almost the whole race, stopping for water at each water station (I'm a fan). I only had to stop and pee once, which I had hoped to avoid but that's actually pretty good for my tiny bladder. And we got to run the line of the St. Charles trolley too, so the scenery around us was gorgeous, and we didn't end up missing out! Besides the road conditions, aka the really old cracked asphalt streets that tore up my feet, I was feeling pretty good. :) We walked a little bit for poor Em's knees, but she was a trouper and did a great job!

Running a marathon is great people watching, and there were some interesting people to look at! People in costumes, funny homemade t-shirts, the spectators drinking early in the morning ... I even saw some medical students holding up the dreaded Step One book (eek).

All in all, it was over before I knew it. I got to run with Steve for about 12.5 miles, and then kissed him and told him I loved him when he ran off to finish his second half alone. Emily and I didn't get to finish together, so I crossed alone but it was still an awesome feeling!! My first! And I achieved all my goals! Kept it at 12 minutes/mile, no slower, ran almost the whole thing, finished around 2 1/2 hours. :)

And it was so awesome to get to be there for Steve when he crossed the finish line. It made up for San Antonio when we didn't get to be there when he had to stop or at the finish line to show him support. He made it in under 5 hours!! Which means that, if you factor in the slow speed he ran the first 12.5 with me and Emily, he sped up significantly for the whole second half of his race! I'm so proud of all three of us!





Post race, we decided to indulge in a Pat O'Brien's hurricane ...



And we finally made it to Cafe du Monde. :)



That night we had an amazing dinner at Emeril's restaurant!! Our legs were so sore and tired, but it was worth it to congratulate ourselves!



Monday morning it was time to go home, and we were all sad but looking forward to rest. You should've seen us all hobbling around, hahaha! We could barely get up to walk, and when we did we all looked ridiculous! I wouldn't recommend sitting still for a whole plane ride when you've just run that far, ouch! ;) But we all made it back safely with a whole day of lying around on the couch and resting before going back to work. :)

So now I've promised my parents that if they train for and sign up to run the Dallas White Rock half, I'm in with them. :) And maybe I'll eat my words and consider a full in the future. Disney World, anyone?

It's almost time!!

I'm (mostly) packed and (basically) ready for New Orleans this weekend! It's so hard to believe we're leaving tomorrow night .... already!! I'm super stoked, although I think the reality of the actual race hasn't hit me yet. As in, I'm so excited about going to New Orleans with Steve and his family, but the whole 13.1 miles seems really kind of surreal.

The weather looks great for the race so far too, high in the upper 60's with about 60% humidity (which is good for the Gulf coast!). Saturday, on the other hand, not so much .... 70% chance of rain. Fingers crossed it doesn't rain because I finally bit the bullet and bought something I've always wanted and thought would be perfect for this trip .....





Yay!! I've been wanting one for so long!! I thought it would be perfect for the trip too because, hello, site seeing in the city with a new camera! And I've been reading the book Steve bought me for my birthday and practicing, and now it might rain! I guess we'll play it by ear. At least I can get some nice action shots at the race.

Saturday (weather permitting) we're going to tour New Orleans - Cafe du Monde, the trollies, the cemeteries, pretty houses ... Yay! And even though we'll be sore and tired on Sunday, we have reservations for a congratulatory dinner at Emeril's restaurant - yum!!

Spending the weekend with Steve's family is going to be fun too. His parents are so sweet ... His mom has been researching high carb meals to cook for us, and his dad has already asked about getting us whatever we need for race morning like food or Gatorade. I'm so glad Emily is running the half with me too! It'll be nice not to run that last 1/2 mile alone after Steve breaks off from us.

Who knew? 3 1/2 months ago I almost threw up when I ran 1.5 miles .... And now I'm attempting my first half marathon!

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Best birthday!

I have to post a continuation blog about my night last night!

After I got home from work (in a rush to have time to get ready), Steve was waiting at my apartment with my birthday presents. Well, he was actually about 10 seconds away from having my birthday presents set up when I surprised him. ;) He bought me a book about photography since I've been researching buying a nice expensive camera and because he knows I want to learn more about it. Sweet!

I also got another cute book and some candy hearts since they are my favorite Valentine candy and he did not know that at Valentines. Plus, and it's the best, some lotto tickets - because he's so lucky to have met me, he hoped I would get lucky with the lotto. Haha, so cheesy, I love it!

We got all fancied up, and he took me to Stephan Pyles, a restaurant I've been wanting to go to for years. So nice! After we are seated, the waiter brings this huge bouquet of pink flowers to our table with a card - and it turns out Steve ordered flowers to be delivered to the restaurant for our dinner!!




I didn't even know you could do this!! It was incredibly sweet and thoughtful, and I was completely surprised - the presents at home and the dinner were more than enough; I never expected him to have flowers waiting for me. Honestly made me feel like the most important person in the world. :)

Dinner was delicious!! I recommend the six-course tasting menu, fabulous! And the restaurant brought our dessert course out with a little birthday message.




Hands down, amazing birthday!

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Am I an old lady yet?

It's my birthday again! Haha, funny how that keeps happening. Another year gone by, and even better than the one before that. Theoretically I should feel old getting a full year into my 30's, but in all honesty I couldn't feel better. Well, I probably could but it's hard to imagine.

It's already been a great day because I work with such amazing people. It's a far cry from where I worked and who I worked with a year ago (*cough, cough, *hint, hint). Granted, I'm learning what it's like to work normal hours and get home at 6:00 in the evening, so I still haven't adjusted to that. Or to having fewer days off (ie, to myself) each month. But the environment where I work isn't toxic, and I don't go home from work waiting to get fired. I'm so much happier here than I was there, despite the commute .... :oP

These are my lovely cupcakes, handmade card, and flowers with balloons from two of the nurses!









Tonight Steve is taking me to Stephan Pyles for dinner - hello, fancy! He has really tried his hardest to make this the most amazing birthday for me, and it means the worlds to me. He's been scheming behind my back and making all kinds of plans, telling me that I don't need to worry or think about anything, that it's all taken care of. He and my friend Jac are planning a dinner with friends followed by a roller skating party a la elementary school style for Saturday! I'm so excited!! And I guess it's good that running hasn't shrunken my butt because I'll need the padding when I fall on my skates!

Really though, best boyfriend ever ....

I have rarely in my life met someone more loving, patient, understanding, kind, humble, even-tempered, and thoughtful. For Valentines Day I had to write down 52 things I love about him, and it took like 15 minutes, and only because I was at work at the time.

Side note: cute Valentines idea, write something you love about the person one each card of a 52 card deck, then title the deck box. Simple and really sweet.

Anyway, he inspires me every day to be a better person, the kind of person God calls us to be, and I don't even think he knows how much I admire him. He thinks I'm the amazing one! I am beyond blessed to have someone like him in my life.

And he's a huge nerdy bookworm who likes to make silly dorky jokes just like me!





And let me just say, no offense to anyone, but I have some of the best friends too. :) My friends are an amazing blessing in my life, and they probably don't know it, but I'm often overwhelmed by their love. It's just crazy how many fantastic people I've met in the past two years! This time two years ago I was going through the worst time of my life with only a small cluster of great friends to help me share this burden. I never thought God would bring so many more awesome people into my life. :)

Plus, icing on the cake, I'm going to be an aunt! Kris and Rachel are having a baby, and I'm pretty dang excited about it. Couldn't be happier for them, and so happy that we are talking and loving each other again!

Ok, more to follow after dinner tonight ..... And surprises. ;)

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Location:Am I an old lady yet?

Finally!

So after jumping through an insane amount of hoops, I finally got my Rozerem approved from the insurance company.

First they flat out said no, and sent my doctor prior authorization forms and then denied that. I called the insurance company personally to ask why they were refusing, and of course it's because they needed to hear that I'd failed Ambien therapy first. I don't know what it is with insurance companies and wanting you to take Ambien. It's like their gateway drug.

Anyway, I called my sleep doc's office and told them this, but apparently the insurance company sent him forms to request an appeal and he didn't know how to fill them out. I don't think he understood that part of the reason they denied me is because he said, "No, I did not prescribe the patient Ambien first" on the original forms. Lots of confusion.

So I called the insurance company AGAIN to find out how to get this prior authorization since I have actually failed Ambien therapy in the past year. I was told someone just needed to call and give them the dates I took it. Amazingly enough I actually got ahold of my family doctor's medical assistant to get those dates since she had originally prescribed it (before referring me to the sleep doc). I called the sleep doc's office for probably the 20th time, and they called the insurance company to give them the dates ..... But then my insurance said they wouldn't approve it for 2 weeks because I had just picked up another prescription a week ago! Which I only got because they wouldn't approve the Rozerem!! Aaahhhh!!!!

But the office manager there is really awesome and sweet, and she was able to expedite the approval. Which means I filled the prescription with my $70 copay ..... Oh, well, better than $211.

What a ridiculous process!! Let's hope it works or I'm going to feel really bad. ;)


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I'm glad no one can see me right now because I have Kleenex stuck up my nose. I'm sitting at my desk at work, with my back to the nurse thankfully, and I figure it's more economical to stick one piece of tissue up my nose than to keep using one after another to wipe my nose. Makes sense to me.

My annual respiratory illness has struck for this cold and flu season, and right now I'm in the copious snot with lots of sneezing phase. Next will come the persistent painful congested cough, stay tuned.

The second half of Westminster is tonight!! Happiness is watching those cute dogs on my TV every year. And Steve has been suckered into watching it with me, love that he is totally willing to do nerdy things with me. :)


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Birthdays

Not my words of wisdom, but definitely something I agree with!

"Birthdays are so important. On our birthdays we celebrate being alive. On our birthdays people can say to us, "Thank you for being!" Birthday presents are signs of our families' and friends' joy that we are part of their lives. Little children often look forward to their birthdays for months. Their birthdays are their big days, when they are the center of attention and all their friends come to celebrate.

We should never forget our birthdays or the birthdays of those who are close to us. Birthdays keep us childlike. They remind us that what is important is not what we do or accomplish, not what we have or who we know, but that we are, here and now. On birthdays let us be grateful for the gift of life."

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