To: [INSERT NAME HERE]

New Job Postings at Hampton!

2010-08-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

During these hard economic times, finding a job can be tough and many places aren't hiring (or they can be so darn picky). We had two new positions released at Hampton (where I work) today and I thought I would throw it up here on Facebook just in case someone is looking for a job. I can personally say that Hampton is an awesome place to work at, and the benefits alone are worth working there alone. While you do have to work hard at Hampton 120% of the time (especially April through October...aka our busy season) all the rest of the months are pretty low key and enjoyable. Pretty much every year you get a raise AND a bonus. Plus you get medical and dental benefits plus 401K with matching.

What's even more special is if you apply for this job and get it, you will work with me in the sales/marketing department! How awesome is that!?!

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you feel might meet the requirements listed below and have them send their resume to: hr@hamptonproducts.com

Good luck!

The following position is currently available at Hampton Products:

Mid-West Sales Manager (National Accts. Manager)

Reporting to the SVP-Sales, The Mid-West Sales Manager manages sales activities of assigned accounts by performing the following duties:

· Develops and implements strategic sales plans for assigned customers and prospects to accommodate corporate goals.

· Assumes responsibility for overall profitability of assigned accounts to ensure they obtain targeted and acceptable level of profitability.

· Oversees the maintenance of customer SKU files and pricing schedules.

· Advises assigned accounts concerning sales and advertising opportunities. Responsible for developing and presenting annual promotional schedules to all assigned customers.

· Analyzes sales performance to assist customers in maximizing their sales and profitability. This includes eliminating unprofitable items from their product mix.

· Delivers sales presentations to assigned customers and prospects.

· Attempts to expand product categories with existing customers to increase Hampton’s sales and position with each customer.

· Meets with key clients to maintain relationships and negotiate programs.

· Coordinates liaison between sales department and other sales related units.

· Prepares annual sales forecasts for each assigned customer and provides information internally to assist in developing purchasing planning.

· Monitors and evaluates the activities and products of the competition.

· Attends customer trade shows as deemed necessary.

· Takes responsibility for coordinating trade shows for all assigned customers.

· Assists with finding solutions for excess and obsolete company inventory.

· Other duties as assigned.

· Position requires extensive travel in excess of 50%.

The ideal candidate will possess a Bachelor's degree (B.A.) from four-year college or university; 10 years sales experience minimum and at least 3 years in sales management over direct and/or indirect sales people or equivalent combination of education and experience.

If you are interested please email your resume to Human Resources in MS Word format, or if you know someone who may be interested we are accepting external resumes through hr@hamptonproducts.com.

West Coast National Accounts Sales Manager

The West Coast National Accounts Sales Manager manages sales activities of assigned territory, manufacturer representatives and accounts by performing the following duties: Oversees, except where noted, the Retail, OEM, Commercial/Industrial and Governmental business channels. This position reports to the SVP-Sales and will be based in Foothill Ranch, CA.

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree (B.A. /B.S.) in Business or related field from four-year college or university or 10 years sales experience minimum and at least 3 years in sales management over direct and/or indirect sales people.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

· Responsible for building and maintaining relationships with both retail and distribution based organizations. RSM oversees and directs the implementation of “Brand” strategies, maximize sales and meet customer demands in a cost effective and timely manner. Duties include providing product and procedure training to all levels of those organizations and negotiating terms that will be mutually profitable and efficient.

· Will manage and direct manufacturer representative sales forces without having direct control over their operations. In managing these forces the RSM is to also provide leadership and encouragement to achieve high quality performance and pride of representation.

· Attend national, regional and customer trade shows and exhibits as required and approved by VP-Sales, FSO. RSM will be responsible for coordinating trade shows for all assigned customers and events.

· In conjunction with HPI sales/marketing and independent sales reps, customers and customers’ sales force and marketing departments will develop, present and execute creative retail programs, ideas and tactics that will help over-deliver company growth targets and grow our customers’ confidence in the Hampton Products International Corporation.

· Develops and implements strategic sales plans for assigned customers and prospects to accommodate corporate goals.

· In conjunction with VP-Sales, FSO analyzes sales performance to assist customers in maximizing their sales and profitability. This includes eliminating unprofitable items from their product mix.

· In conjunction with VP-Sales, FSO advises assigned accounts concerning sales and advertising opportunities; develop and present annual and timely promotional schedules to all assigned customers.

· Functioning both independently and as part of a team, managing and coordinating sales throughout the region. Communicate and coordinate the needs of the customer base with the internal sales support, marketing, technical and financial departments in a clear and timely manner.

· Regionally forecasting and play both a dynamic and proactive role in the ability of HP to meet the product demands of the customer. Compile data on marketing trends, competitive products and pricing and reports to company.

· RSM position requires extensive travel in excess of 60%

If you are interested please email your resume to Human Resources in MS Word format, or if you know someone who may be interested we are accepting external resumes through hr@hamptonproducts.com .

::::::::::Stanford's 10th Annual 5K Race Against PH::::::::::

2010-08-15T21:04:00.001-07:00

November is quickly approaching and most of us think of Thanksgiving, turkey dinners, family get togethers...but a small population of us are in full mode fundraising mode! November, for a small population of us, is Pulmonary Hypertension awareness month. This year I have decided to add on an additional task to the month, a 5K run!

I have never done a run before, but this year I think it is a excellent reason to get myself out of the office and up to Stanford, CA!

I will be doing this wonderful run with my PHriend Ornah Levy...who has done an excellent job training herself for our upcoming 5K. I am soooo proud of you Ornah!! I can't wait to see my other NorCal PH PHeeps there as well.

Here is some info about the race if anyone will be in town. I am hoping Ornah and I can get up there a little early and do some site seeing as well. Hope to see some of you guys there!

Info regarding Stanford's 10th Annual Race Against PH!

Official race info page!

::::::::::PHA's Patient and Cargiver Mentor Program::::::::::

2010-08-12T22:49:00.000-07:00

I am super stoked that PHA has a new program being created and I was invited to be a part of it! The goal of this new program is to connect experienced patients and caregivers with community members who are looking for one-on-one, email-based support.

Supposedly I was selected to be a mentor based on my "rich knowledge of the PH community and your ongoing commitment to the support of PH patients and caregivers in need". I guess that is kinda true but I am just like any other PH patient...someone that has this terrible, irritating illness that is looking for a cure.

The Mentor program is scheduled to launch on PHA’s website in mid-September. Patient and caregiver mentors will be searchable in an online directory by gender, age or related condition. I think this particularly awesome because mentees will be able to find someone similar to their personality to talk to...I just can't wait to meet new PHriends and help people who have any PH questions.

My mandatory training for this program is in a few weeks. My info packet should be coming soon. I can't wait to promote this new mentoring program. I think lots of people can benefit from this awesome service from PHA. I know most of my PHriends are pretty outspoken but I know some feel shy, embarrassed or lonely and never have the courage to talk to other PHers. Hopefully this service will a source that those PHers can utilize.

I can't wait for September to roll around and get this service going. I feel really privileged to be a part of it. :)

:::::::::::::::PHA Conference 2010:::::::::::::::

2010-07-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

Conference was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G....

This year conference was in Orange County which made it even better...no hotel rooms, no flying, no car rental...I finally saved lots of money on a PHA Conference! Whew! (Do they realize how expensive conference is for the typical PH patient (and most of the time their caregiver??)

Thursday

Conference activities started this year on Thursday and unfortunately I had to work but the real activities didn't start until that night. I walked in a went straight to registration. I ran into "Little Saggar" while in line. We chatted for a while and he said to look for Rajan (my doc) on Sunday (he was on call until then). I saw Noel and she checked me in and Sally Maddox was right there when I was checking in. We both said howdy and I was on my way. I picked up my volunteer and speaker badges at the walk-in table and was on my way. I saw the SoCal welcome table in the lobby with Chris Morres running the show. I chatted for a while and continued on. I found the Generation Hope table right in the beginning of the "Hallway of Hope". I helped setup the booth with Emma Bononami from PHA (she pretty much had the whole thing setup by the time I got there). The booth looked fantastic and went to the bar with Chris Morres and Tina Powney to start our drink extravaganza...as soon as I turned around Ornah Levy and Jonathan were there! We went to the secret PHA staff room and went to Ornah's fashion show fitting. There I ran into Kimberlee Ford with her mama and Liz Brigam with her daughter. I met Rynna and her sister who always plan out the most wonderful PH runway shows. About 2 hours later Ornah and I were out and went down to the meet and greet party at the pool. I saw all of my wonderful PHriends there and chatted for hours. We pretty much shut the place down. Then I decided it was time to go home. I had been up since 5 am at work...I was beat...and I needed lots of rest the next day because it was going to be a long day with the Generation Hope (GH) party and my patient led session I was leading. Whew! Day one done!

Friday

Seriously...why are we starting these conferences so early in the morning? Don't they know us PHers need our beauty sleep? Got there early in the morning, I dropped my things off at the GH table and decided to stick around the table for a while. I met some wonderful people, a couple whose daughter has PH. They were from Israel, and unfortunately their daughter was so sick she couldn't attend. her parents expressed how their daughter felt so lonely and sad because she had no one her age to relate to. We swapped our digits and I am hoping to get in contact with their daughter to introduce her to the GH team! :)

Soon Colleen Brunetti and Sean Wyman joined me at the table and we were fielding questions left and right. Lets just say we were so busy, we ran out of candy by noon! AHHHH! The most famous question was, "Where's the restroom?"...luckily I knew where it was at! Time for the 2nd meet and greet rolled around but we were so busy at the GH table I could leave. So I fielded the questions alone and caught up on my emails from work on the down periods.

One point I must make is that it was kinda disappointing not having lunch on Friday afternoon...a lot of PHers were looking for food to take with their meds, or to boost their insulin, or just to stay anti-grouchy. I think this why we ran out of candy...we became the living vending machine! I was glad we had the candy. It was a lifesaver. Literally. So Ornah, Jonathan, my mom and I decided to grab some grub at the bar in lobby. Food was a 7 on a 10 point scale. Amy Samuelson and Christine Kramer rolled up and we chatted for a while. We finished up and went the opening ceremony to here Carl Hicks start the conference off with some words of wisdom (I came with tissue in hand). I ran into Evan White while waiting for everything to start. She looked fantastic and was her perky self.

Next was my patient led session! I was ready to get this over! I found the room and everyone showed up, ready to go, as planned. Emily Mitchell, Sean, and Carson Smith were ready to go...bad thing was that our room assistant/moderator/whatever want to call her...had over slept and missed her training. Ugh. WTH. So we pretty much told her what to do and we started. Everything went well and lots of people got to ask questions. One father said it was nice to hear that the panelists seemed to be living successful and "normal" lives and that it inspiring to see that his young daughter has life to look forward to. It gave me the warm and fuzzes. Mission accomplished!

After that I ran over to the Flolan and Remodulin support group ran by my buddies Doug Taylor and Liz Brigham. After a wonder support group session it was time to do a little buzz around the exposition booths. I stopped and talked to Robyn at Crono5 pump station...she asked me if I would be willing to write a blurb about my PH story and how I got the original C5 pump. Just add it to my to-do list! I grabbed my conference t-shirt and some goodies from Accredo, Caremark, and Actelion.

Now for dinner! Ugh...I must admit...dinner was terrible the first night. Dried up chicken, polenta paste, and some hard veggies...no bueno. I scarfed up the salad and ate the inside of the tart dessert and was out the door.

Finally the Generation Hope After Dark party started. I jumped into my comfy jeans, t-shirt and scarf and was ready to party. I order a Miami Vice and was on my way to mingling. Cute boys were there from the research lab (I should have gotten the number of one of them...whew...he was a cutie). Stu generously bought my second drink and after hours of mingling it was time to leave. I didn't even get home till 12:30 AM. Mucho sleepy!

Saturday

I decided to skip the breakfast and sleep in. I met Ornah and Jonathan later that morning and we started going to our scientific sessions. We went to some fantastic sessions this year as well as some oldie but goodies (like Women, Sex, and PH). Lets just say...I am majorly fearing menopause now...lol...

The journey's luncheon is always interesting because you get hear not only the patient's view of their PH Journey, you also get to hear the story from their doctor's point of view. My fabulous friend Amy Samuelson whom I had met at the 2008 PH conference was one of the selected speakers and I was so proud to see her up there on the stage owning it, and I was proud to see how far she had come from her timid and shy 2008 personality to a happy, blossoming woman and mother. I was very proud to say the least. :)

I made my way to day two of the flolan/Remo support group and then went to dinner. Dinner tonight was steak and fish...much better than the previous night but my steak was still mooing while it was sitting in front of me. My pudding dessert wasn't set as well and literally poured out of the cup. I found a second one and scarfed it up. Ornah was participating in the fashion show during dinner...she looked fantastic all dolled up with her hair and makeup done. She worked that runway like a Pro! And I was proud to have my Five Cent Designed bag up on the stage. The runway show was a huge success and Jonathan and I got lots of photos for our Top Model!

Like usual...I had conference burnout and went home a little early. I needed that extra sleep if I was going to make it one more day!

Sunday

I skipped the breakfast again (the food was highly disappointing this year) and slept in for a little bit. I wanted to go to the liver session even though I don't have any problems with my liver but my doc was leading the panel and I wanted to support him as well as see him! I chatted with him before the session started and Jonathan was gracious enough to take a photo of us together before he left to go home. I took some final pictures with my PHriends and said my goodbyes to a lot of them. It's sooooo sad that I won't see most of them for another 2 years. Ugh.

I was soooo tired I went home and crashed. I needed to rest and not think for at least a few hours. I went home and napped my way to sweet dreams.

Monday

The next day I picked up Amy and Ornah and we went out for lunch. We did our usual girl chatting and eating by the beach. The weather was perfect for eating outside and the food was yummy. We hopped in the car and drove down PCH. We went through Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach...showing Amy special spots along the way. We stopped in Laguna Beach by Las Brisas and took Amy down to the shore. We collected shells for Amy's girls and watched the cute surfers do their thing. Time flew by so fast and I didn't even realize it! We took Amy up the steepest hill and down to Laguna Niguel and I took them to a fantastic lookout spot that I used to go to in high school. The view of northern OC was amazing and definitely worth the stop. We decided to go to my house because Ornah had yet to see my new house and we wanted to get some yummy Mexican food at Avila's El Ranchito by my house. :)

I gave them the 5 cent tour and everyone got to do a pee break. We munched our way through dinner...Chips and salsa, soup, tacos, nom nom nom....it was yummy. Jonathan came to take them home so I didn't have to make the huge trek back to northern OC for like the 8th time in 4 days. My poor little Lexus had a very long weekend. Whew.

Now conference has passed, pictures are popping up like crazy on Facebook and Flickr...we are planning for the next conference which is 2 years away which sounds like a long time but it will roll around sooner than later. I can't wait to go to Orlando. The hotel is a Marriott so I will be cashing in some of my Marriott points from work for my room which will hopefully save me some dough. Ornah and I are dead set on trying to go to another destination after conference...maybe the Bahamas...or Aruba...we will see. I know the Olympics will be going on in London...maybe I will continue on my journey after conference and Aruba. We will see. Good thing is that I have another 2 years to save up and plan!

Next stop....PH Forum in San Francisco in June...and the Stanford 5K PH Run/Walk with Ornah!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Designing::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

2010-03-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

Designing, or home decorating, when your are not a "Designer" is a daunting task.

When I bought the new house in October, I had the opprotunity to a) create my own bathroom, b) design my own room even though I redesign it every few years, c) design my own craft room. When we bought this house, we had 3 extra rooms we didn't really need. My Dad took the downstairs bedroom and made it our home office. Mom took her room and made it a guest room. I got the third spare room and made it my craft/sewing room. I was stoked that I finally didn't have to store all my crafting supplies in my own room. :)

Months later, we have finally moved in and my Etsy business is now rolling and have actually sold 15 items (and even more offline to co-workers, friends and family). I am in desperate need of having my craft room finished, if anything, I need to start on it. I have been searching for the right basics for the room: a large table with some storage, a cabinet/shelf to store my fabrics on, a chest to store my finished products that haven't sold quite yet and a thread/bobbin storage solution.

So far this is what I have come acrossed that has perked my interest:

I am going to need two of these to hold my sewing books and all my fabric. Not in stores as of 3/26/10 @ Ikea.

Love, love , love this table @ Ikea. It is huge and heavy. 65" x 37" in size! Retail price: $399.99 Lindsay's Price: $59.00....yes, I got 85% off!!! On sale as @ Ikea starting 3/26/2010. Sold!

I hate bar stools that have backs to them when I am crafting. At a bar they are excellent, crafting...no. I bought myself this little Sune bar stool for $19.99 at Ikea. It fits perfectly under the open side of my craft table. :)

I would like to get two of these dress forms. One black and one white for photographing my product for Etsy. Found these online here for $99 each.

My new favorite love!! Japanese Washi Paper Tape!! I bought these two items from Happy Tape online. They have excellent prices for this kinda of tape (it can be very expensive). These items should be arriving next week. My goal is to use the teal and lime family on canvas for art pieces for my walls in my craft room. Love these!!

::::::::::::New Patterns::::::::::::

2010-02-15T19:38:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, it's been kind of fun bringing out my sewing machine again and creating new items to a) sell or b) keep them for myself (which is what usually happens because I can't part from my lovely creations).

My recent sales on Etsy (and offline through friends and random people on the street) have given me some extra money to buy additional fabric and a little extra motivation to try some new patterns. I decided to bust out my Jandotter, "Sewing Simple" book and try out a new pattern. I thought I would try out the bib pattern in the book because I had just received some wonderful Michael Miller laminated fabric in the mail that I ordered online. My first bib turned out ok...not my best, but not my worst by far. I have very little experience working with bias tape so I found this to be the most daunting part of making the bib. I read that the trick to getting bias tape to "bend" around curves is to iron it and steam it to the shape of your item. Oy vey!

It was daunting but I think it came out worthy of selling on Etsy.

I have also tried making a few yoga totes. Now, I haven't taken a yoga class in my life (I won't be keeping these items...ha ha)....so I was a little nervous about making a tote for something I would never use or neverless seen one in my entire life. I found out that they were pretty simple to sew (using Jandotter's explainations of course) and the most daunting task was how to attach the carrying handle at the end so that it looked pleasing to the eye (and didn't look plain downright ugly). I grabbed some extra thick canvas from Michael Miller and a yoga tote that I picked up at Borders Books (who knew they would have yoga mats on clearance there??) and I got down to business. I thought long and hard about how to make the handle look snazzy (Jansdotter's explaination was a little vague and confusing...probably my lack of sewing was the real problem). Here is how the little guys turned out:

...Michael Miller Home Decor Weight Fabric...

...A little pocket for your keys and cellphone...

::::Valentine's Day, New House and All Things Snow:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

2010-02-14T22:41:00.000-08:00

OK OK....I know...I am days behind on this post...

This poor entry has been stuck in "draft" mode all week! Eek!

This past weekend was a fun (but long) weekend! There has been so much going on it's hard to keep up with PH and all. Going to work seems to be my "rest period" and my time to recoup from the weekend activities!

Friday night (Feb. 12th) was the most fun I have had in a long time. After work I went to the new house and paid the workers for this week's work. Then I locked up the house and jetted over to Mack's for his Winter Olympics Party that he was co-hosting with his brother. I just about died when I saw that we were supposed to arrive in our "Olympic" gear (noted on the bottom of the invite weeks ago. Being the slacker that I am, I busted out my 2010 Winter Olympics jacket that I picked up when I was in Vancouver this past summer. I wore my beanie and my snowboarding goggles and was ready to go. I cracked up all night when a new person came in through the door. My favorite outfit was Tim's by far. He came decked out in Spandex and a helmet ready for his bobsledding event. It was a blast to watch the opening ceremonies with close friends and especially Mack. :)

At the top of Whistler Mountain in front of the Olympic Statue (close to where the downhill/alpine skiing area is)...

Saturday seemed to fly by so fast, I can barely remember what I did...must be that PH memory loss working...hmmm...I did sleep in because I didn't get home until 2am (ugh...I am just not that good with late nights anymore...lol). Mom and I went to JC Penny's (one of my least favorite stores) to pick up some dishes she saw on sale. Mom is a major dishes addict. I think she has about 40 different sets of dishes. It's ridiculous. So we went and picked them up...12 person place setting for 60 bucks was a pretty good deal I thought so I didn't throw much of a fuss. Then we went to Home Depot to pick up our handles for our kitchen cabinets and we also picked up the outlet covers and light switch covers for the entire house. We went to the new house next where Carlos was painting away still and Kenny and his future son-in-law were installing the billion kitchen cabinets and all the bathroom cabinets through out the house. They looked fantastic I must say. It was so exciting, we were one step closer to the big move. Then dad took us to Outback for dinner and then we raced home to watch the Olympics.

Sunday was a blur too now that I think about it. More house stuff (additional cabinet install, more painting, etc. ). Mack came over and helped dad install sinks, ceiling fans, and a bunch of other little things.

Is it almost over? I keep asking myself that and the true madness hasn't even started.

This week at work has been pretty slow overall. Some of the sales guys are in so I have been creating lots of spreadsheets, attending lots of meetings, and other mindless things that are pretty much routine. Working on Home Depot's online catalog has been the most challenging thing to complete this week. Only because I really don't want to have to do it. I keep pushing it off but I am going to have to address it at some point.

Etsy sales have been kind of slow this week but profitable. Wedding girl from previous blog has decided to take the fabric and run. Which, is in the end, is probably the best thing (who has the time to sew 20 table runners and 2 tablecloths?...surely not me). So I tripled the price of the fabric that she is in desperate need of and made a sweet little profit of $200.00. Woohoo. And I didn't have to sew a darn thing...just a quick drive to IKEA and the deal was done! That was the easiest sale ever. I kinda wanted to sew them...just so I could get the extra business if someone asked where she got them, but....I just don't think I have the time to do it with work, PH conference stuff coming up, and the big move.

I did have some extra time though to crunch out a few new items for my Etsy shop...most came out pretty gosh-darn cute and are up for sale. Here a few pics for your enjoyment (and because I believe no blog should ever be posted without a picture!).

One of the cutest baby blankets I have ever made! (I kinda wanna give it to Ayden!)

Easy Wipe Away Bib in Michael Miller Fabric!

Yoga tote in Michael Miller fabric!

House updates coming this weekend!

:::::::Let Wedding Season Begin:::::::

2010-02-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got a request via Etsy to create 20-25 table runners and 3-5 tablecloths for a young lady who is getting married in June.

This young lady has been searching for the fabric to do it herself but she lived near 1 store where they sell this fabric and I live by 6. She wanted to know if I had enough fabric to make 25 runners plus tablecloths for her buffet table, etc. I had made 2 table runners already with this fabric for my store and I knew this fabric was on clearance and was one of the most popular fabrics at this store. (See 20 yards of this fabric in the picture in this entry.)

I had to act fast.

I started calling around like a mad woman and the only place that had it was a store in Carson. I drove up there (during rush hour BTW) and bought 20 yards of fabric. This was the last bolt of it in the state of CA. Yes, I called each store in Cali.

Now I have to come up with a price and hopefully I will land the deal. I can't wait to make them. Just think...if I can get just a few of her friends to visit my store afterwards, that will be a lot more clients. I really...REALLY want to land this deal. This would be a great way to get some exposure (over 200 people will be coming to her wedding). Now I just need to get some custom satin labels with my store name and Etsy addy on it to put on each item. Anyone got any good resources for this (I am hoping my PHriends/Etsy peeps know a connection)?

This could be a huge profit and a great project for exposure.

Wish me luck that she gives me the A-Ok! :)

:::::Just One of Those Days:::::

2010-02-09T22:52:00.000-08:00

Ugh.

It was just one of those days.

This morning I dropped off my car @ my 'regular' mechanic to get some new brakes. Lexus was claiming that I needed brakes AND roters. Yeah ok. Roters after my first set of brakes??? Come on. So my friend John took a look at them (now that my car is back from getting it's warranty fixes at the Lexus dealer). He looked at them and said they looked perfectly fine. What's up with that?? I think Lexus was trying to get some money out of me now that they spent over 6K on fixing my engine, fuel rails and dash. Nice try buddy!

As many of you know, my little car has been at the Lexus dealer since Thursday. I got a recall notice (by the government) in the mail saying that my Lexi needed a new fuel rails for the fuel injection. Lovely. So I thought this would be the perfect time to mention this strange noise that I keep hearing when my car starts when it's cold out. Kinda sounds like change falling through the engine. Something was definitely not right. I also mentioned the squeaky inside of the dash on the passenger side. Every time I hit this one bump on my drive into work each day, the dash sounds like it is coming off.

I was smart because I was expecting the Lexi mechanic to not her the noise because the car would be in the garage at the dealer. I told him to keep it overnight (it was supposed to be cold and rainy that night...a perfect time for it to make it's little noise. They replaced the fuel rails and the dash on day one and day two would be the true test. I researched the TSB (technical service bulletin) for what I thought was this noise. I thought it was either the starter or the cam gears (according to the TSB). I wrote the TSB number down just in case.

Of course my little Lexi made her noise that morning and they told me it was the cam gears weren't getting oil and thus the gears were bad. Ah ha...thank you TSB! So I told them to keep the car and fix the damn thing. So it took them all Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday to fix it and replace everything that was broke regarding the bad cam gears. The replacement list was long and in the end, it would have cost over 6k in labor and parts. Yikes. Thank the lord for warranties!! :)

Now that my car is back, Lexi got her new brakes and is running awesome. My fuel mileage is up 4 miles per gallon and it feels good to give Tustin Lexus their IS250 back and enjoy my spacious GS350.

Then I had to go to Lowe's after work to pick up somethings for the art department. Of course, they only had 2 of 6 items they needed so I whipped out my Hampton Credit Card and charged it.

Then I got this email from a buyer on Etsy saying that she would like me to make her 20 or more table runners for her wedding. OH MY GOSH!! Yay but yikes! Only problem is that she wants it in fabric that is discontinued and I only have about 3 yards left in my stash. Now I am on a desperate search to find this fabric. Lots of calling I will be doing tomorrow!

Dad then called and told me to meet mom and him at the new house. The kitchen cabinets were delivered by Kenny today (he has been making the cabinets from scratch at his home). All I have to say is that they looked awesome! Now our garage is full of kitchen cabinets, crown molding, and the old home owner's new fridge that they left behind. Carlos and his sons are about halfway done with the painting. Carlos says my room looks awesome so far (just the ceiling is painted right now). That reminds me that I need to call Porcelanosa and see where my sink is at. All I know is that the sink is swimming across the Atlantic from Spain. :)

As for the Etsy store, sales are a little slow this week. Since I posted new items up today, visit numbers went up. I put up a few items on sale for valentine's Day so hopefully that will get some items moving. I need to sell some items in order to make room for my new baby items I have made. Store showcase is on the 19th so I need to get going on sewing those totes!

Tomorrow will be pretty quite at work. I packed up the product for the True Value Hardware show next month. No meetings are planned (yet). Big Boss is out of town on business still. This will give me some time to cut fabric at work hopefully.

Tomorrow should be a good day. :)

:::::::Stitch by Stitch::::::::

2010-02-08T22:13:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, last week was the first week my Etsy store (Five Cent Designs) was open. We had a fantastic opening week with 4 sales. I was able to sell two sets of placemats, a table runner and a purse that I was actually tempted to keep for myself. :)

I got my first review today. Danielle, the buyer of the black/brown/white honeycomb placemats received her placemats today and has already put them on her table. How do I know this, you must be asking? Because she left a photo of her placemats on her table and they looked wonderful! She left me an awesome review and was very pleased (and excited) about her purchase.

As most people probably are with their first sale...I was a little nervous. I knew I sent her a beautiful set of placemats but I kinda wondered if they were what they she was expecting and I also wondered if she felt they were worth what she paid (I only charge 15 bucks for a set of four). My confidence was a little low...because sewing things for the public for money and sewing things for your family and friends is a whole other animal.

By her positive response, her photo, and her obvious excitement she showed in her response, I think she thought they were worth what she spent and met her expectation levels.

...Here are Danielle's new placemats on her kitchen table...my confidence just went up a notch. :)

:::::::Life in a Nutshell::::::

2010-02-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

It's almost embarrassing to say that my last post into this blog was in September! So much has happened since then and now so this particular entry might be long, but I will try to keep it short. :)

In October I got to visit the wonderful state of Georgia. I had to do some Home Depot training in Atlanta and then decided to take a few extra days off and venture over to Savannah and North Carolina. Both areas were beautiful. One of the few highlights of the trip was going to the Savannah-style Oktoberfest and have lunch at Paula Deen's restaurant. All I have to say is yum!!

Once I got home, the fam concentrated on finding a new house. We love the condo, but it's starting to get a little cramped. Going from 3200 sq. ft. to 1700 sq. ft. is a large adjustment. We made it work but we really wanted to be settled. So on our quest, we found a nice home. Kinda older (which is surprising because my parents never buy used homes) but it was the perfect size, the perfect layout, and very close to work. Overall it just needs some TLC. In other words, in the terms of the Nicol fam, it had to be gutted, and that's what we did!

...Before Demo...

...After Demo...

Now months later, the house is in it's final stages of being finished. The new cabinets are going in this weekend (and the first part of next week). Carlos (the painter) and his crew are prepping and priming. The staircase is finished and so is my bathroom (minus my cabinet which is still swimming over from Spain). The downstairs bath is looking good and the granite we picked out for the kitchen and the bathrooms in the house is gorgeous!! There is still a lot left to do, but we are get closer! In 3 weeks, we will be in our new house!

...New House from the Outside...

In the meantime, mom and I (well really I for now...she is slacking on her creations because of the packing...but I will give her a break...lol) opened our own Esty store called Five Cent Designs. The first 3 days I had 4 sales! I couldn't believe it. So once what was a somewhat full store of goodies...is down to 12 random items. Ugh! Time to sew!

...One of my latest projects...

So in a quest to sew bigger and better things, I picked up this most adorable sewing book by Lotta Jansdotter called "simple sewing". I am totally in love. Her patterns are modern and sleek and best of all, easy (for us novice sewing peeps). My favorites are the reversible apron, the all-day tote and the magazine holder....shoot everything in there is a love of mine! My goal is to do at least one of each item over the next few weeks to see what people seem to be interested in. I can't wait!

So in order to have items made you have to have supplies right? So I trekked down to Ikea (love the fabrics...wonderful prices) and picked up a few yards of different fabrics. I was lucky enough to hit up the 1.99 per yard rack and scored some great deals (cheaper the fabric, the more profit you make right?). And now I am fabric obsessed. I ordered some laminated fabric online in hopes of making some baby bibs and I also got some modern design cotton fabric to make some snugly baby blankets. I am swinging by Barnes and Noble this afternoon to pick up Lotta Jansdotter's "Simple Sewing for Baby" (can't you tell I just love her stuff).

All of this sewing frenzy is happening (right in the middle of our move of course) because our little Etsy store is going to be showcased on the 19th of Feb. So that means I only have 2 weeks to make a ton of stuff so people can buy, buy, buy! :)

So that's everything so far. Well, that's not everything but that is a large chunk of what's going on. Will post more soon (I promise)!!

St. Thomas and St. John

2009-09-10T21:30:00.000-07:00

Let me first start off by saying what a great deal I got from cheapcaribbean.com. For $249.00, I got 4 nights (we could only use 3 due to work) at the Marriott Frenchman's Reef Resort on Morningstar Beach and a RT ticket from LAX to St. Thomas. So if you are looking at going to the Caribbean, check out the site for awesome deals.

Day 1

My friend Lisa was unable to go on the trip due to medical issues that she is having (such a bummer, I was totally missing my partner in crime!). I bought my mom a ticket instead. It cost $1,200 for her ticket for the same flight. I was so pissed but my mom really needed a vaca and I just wanted to go because I had never been to the Caribbean. So we flew the red eye and finally arrived in St. Thomas at 3pm the next day. I reserved a Jeep Wrangler a while back and didn't realize that it didn't come with windows. Now keep in mind, Tropical Storm Erika just passed 3 hours before and it was still a tad bit wet. The Budget lady said she would down grade me to a Jeep Liberty for less money. Woohoo. It was actually bigger and the windows were a big help. We got in the car and started driving. Now in St. Thomas they drive on the left and the steering wheel is on the left (eye roll), so it took about 10 seconds for me to adjust and then it was no problem. Mom was freaking out though...lol...so then we were driving down the main highway (single lane and packed). Natives drive fast and wild, tourists drive slow and tend to stop for no reason. We got half way through downtown and there was the first accident. A tourist went on the wrong side of the road and had a head-on with a native. Both cars were totaled. Glad it wasn't me. We arrived at the Marriott about 5 minutes later and we checked in. We received our free ocean room upgrade and a gift certificate for $50 at any restaurant in town (thanks cheapcaribbean.com!). We took a shower and a quick nap and then went to dinner at the hotel. We had a total 180 view of the harbour and had a wonderful meal. We stopped at Rumbar on the way back to our room and had a delicious pina colada. Yum yum yum.

Day 2

On day 2 the last bit of tropical storm Erika passed through (dumped about 6" of rain in a hour) so mom and I decided to go and get some food (no lunch, since we slept in until 11am). We ate again at the hotel while the storm passed through. We jumped in the car and drove down to Kmart. There was a rumor in the hotel that the next day was going to be sunny and warm (definitely a beach day) so we went to Kmart to get a foam cooler and some towels. I brought my US Diver gear with me so no need to purchase that. It started to clear up a little and we continued our adventure around the island. We arrived at Magen's Bay, a beach that was rated in the top 10 by numerous travel mags. The nice gentleman at the gate let us in free because the rental shack and restaurant were closed because of the rain (which completely disappeared at that time). Mom and I looked around and we were the only two on beach. It was calm and peaceful. So I disconnected my line, put on my Aquaguard, got on my snorkel gear an dove in. I say a baby octopus, numerous yellow tail, and a few eels. There was also a white fish that kept digging itself in the sand every time we got closer to it. It was amazing. When I got out of the water, mack was there. He totally surprised me and flew in (he was at Atlanta for business and flew in that morning). Mom got to relax on the beach while we snorkeled. We then visited a ice cream shack and had the most amazing Rum Raisin Ice Cream. We went to Coki beach next, which was rated the top snorkeling spot on St. Thomas. I would definitely agree!! A little boy was feeding the fish Pringles and we decided to get in on the action. The fish were jumping out of the water to get them. Bob, with a Jamaican accent of course, was there making $4 drinks with fresh fruit. They were wonderful. We went back to the hotel for dinner and then back to the bar for happy hour. Mom went back to her room while Mack and I enjoyed a Mojito and played Wii with others at the bar.

Day 3

On day 3 we drove over to St. John. The storm had finally passed, we boarded the ferry and arrived in St. John 20 minutes later. We decided to go to Trunk Bay first because we were told it gets busy as more people make their way over there. Trunk Bay has a underwater trail that you follow that describes the fish and plant life in the bay. We did the trail while mom relaxed on the beach and then we continued on. We visited the old sugar plantation, and visited a half dozen other beaches. We took the ferry back to St. Thomas and went back to Magen's Bay. This time the beach was packed. Parties of hundreds were there of locales. We could barely find any space on the beach. We hung out for a while and then decided to go back to the hotel to chill out. Mack had to leave that night (tear) but it was an awesome surprise to have him there. Mom and I went and got dinner and turned in night because we had to get up early for out 8am flight. On day 4 we woke up at 5:30am (ugh) and made it to the airport at 7am. We turned in the rental car and went through immigration. We were lucky enough to upgrade to bulkhead on both flights home (thank you AAdvantage card). We got home around 6pm (our flight was delayed a half hour due to a broken screw on the door latch in Miami). I have such bad luck with planes. We picked up mom's car at The Parking Spot at LAX (the best deal ever...print a coupon off online and you can valet your car for $13.95 a day). They had the car pulled up when we arrived so I jetted home in 26 minutes (I beat dad's record of 38 minutes...hahaha). We had the next day off from work which was a blessing. It allowed my sunburn to cool down a tad before returning back! Overall, we had a wonderful trip and it was well worth the small amount of money that I actually paid. Best of all, I earned 5,200 mileage points. So close to that free flight!!

America's Best Hospitals 2009-2010- GO UCLA!!!

2009-07-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

UCLA Rocks...I love my doctors there!

America's Best Hospitals: 2009-10 Honor Roll
They're the best of the best—the 0.4 percent of all hospitals with high scores in 6 or more specialties.
By Avery Comarow, U.S. News & World Report
Find more

America's Best Hospitals
America's Best Children's Hospitals

America's Best Hospitals, an annual ranking of the country's elite medical centers, is a tool for patients who need medical sophistication most facilities cannot offer. Unlike other rankings and ratings that grade hospitals on how well they execute routine procedures like outpatient hernia repair or manage common conditions like low-grade heart failure, the U.S. News approach looks at how well a hospital handles complex and demanding situations—replacing an 85-year-old man's heart valve, diagnosing and treating a spinal tumor, and dealing with inflammatory bowel disease, to name three examples. High-stakes medicine.

This year, the 20th for Best Hospitals, institutions are ranked in 16 specialties, from cancer and heart disease to respiratory disorders and urology. A total of 4,861 hospitals were considered; 174, or less than 0.4 percent of the total, were ranked in even one of the 16 specialties.
In 12 of the 16 specialties, those in which quality of care can spell life or death, hospitals were scored on reputation, death rate, patient safety, and care-related factors such as nursing and patient services; the 50 highest scorers were ranked. Scores and complete data for unranked hospitals are available as well. In the other four specialties—ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation, and rheumatology—hospitals were ranked on reputation alone, because so few patients die that mortality data don't mean much.

Here are a few of the details: Reputation, which counted as 32.5 percent of the score, was based on three years of specialist surveys—a total of almost 10,000 physicians were asked to name five hospitals they consider among the best in their specialty for difficult cases, without taking into account cost or location. A mortality index, also 32.5 percent of the score, indicates a hospital's ability to keep patients with serious problems alive. Patient safety, new this year, made up 5 percent of the score; it indicates how well a hospital minimizes harm to patients. And a group of other care-related factors, such as nurse staffing and available technology, accounted for the remaining 30 percent.
Of the 174 hospitals that are ranked in one or more specialties, 21 qualified for the Honor Roll by earning high scores in at least six specialties. This demonstrates unusual breadth of excellence. Johns Hopkins Hospital tops the list, as it has every year from 1991 on. (The Mayo Clinic was No. 1 in 1990, Best Hospitals' first year.)
Hospitals are listed by total points. A hospital got 2 points if ranked at or close to the top in a specialty and 1 point if ranked slightly lower.

Rank Hospital

1 Johns Hopkins Hospital — Baltimore, MD
2 Mayo Clinic — Rochester, MN
3 Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center — Los Angeles, CA
4 Cleveland Clinic — Cleveland, OH
5 Massachusetts General Hospital — Boston, MA
6 Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia— New York, NY
7 University of California, San Francisco Medical — San Francisco, CA
8 Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, PA
9 Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University — St. Louis, MO
10 Brigham and Women's Hospital — Boston, MA
10 Duke University Medical Center — Durham, NC
12 University of Washington Medical Center — Seattle, WA
13UPMC-University of Pittsburgh Medical Center — Pittsburgh, PA
14 University of Michigan Hospitals/Health Centers — Ann Arbor, MI
15 Stanford Hospital and Clinics — Stanford, CA
16 Vanderbilt University Medical Center — Nashville, TN
17 NYU Medical Center — New York, NY
17 Yale-New Haven Hospital — New Haven, CT
19 Mount Sinai Medical Center — New York, NY
20 Methodist Hospital — Houston, TX
21 Ohio State University Hospital — Columbus, OH

ATTENTION PHRIENDS!!

2009-07-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

OK...all of my PHer PHriends listen up!!

If you guys are interested in getting more involved with PHA and meeting others that have PH and/or caretakers of PHers...this is your chance! We need your help!!

Focus groups are being formed to help PHA develop points of connection, targeted information and programs that meet their specific needs for the following groups. If you feel you fit in one of these groups please click on the link below and take a quick 3-4 minute survey.

Newly diagnosed patients
Patients whose PH is related to another disease
Families with children with PH
Caregivers of PH patients
Young adults (18–30) with PH

This is your chance to make a difference and get your voice heard. If there is something you want to bring up to PHA that could help others out, TAKE THIS SURVEY. If you have creative ideas that you feel other PHers and their caretakers would be interested in, TAKE THIS SURVEY!! A small group of people will be selected to participate but all will be informed about the outcome of the first focus group. PHA needs our help. They have done so much for us, it's an easy way to return the love!

To participate, click here or click on the link below:

http://www.phassociation.org/focusgroups.asp

Thank you and love to you all!!

No more IV Remodulin?

2009-07-01T23:15:00.000-07:00

I saw this on the PH message boards...I find it very interesting...especially for those of us who fear line infections from IV or site pain from Sub-Q...I wonder if UCLA is in on the trial...if anyone hears how this goes or is part of the study, can you let me know how it goes? Thanks!!

My doctor told me at my visit that in August they will probably be starting a trial using an implanted pump for Remodulin. It will be the stage one safety study and 10 PH centers will be participating.All I can tell you is that the pump would be implanted in the abdomen and it would be refilled once every 3 months by a PH nurse from Accredo, Caremark, or at the PH center. It would have an internal catheter going directly to the heart, similar to IV. However, there wouldn't be the risk of being dislodged, site infections, or pain that exist with the current pump delivery systems. Forgive me if this has been posted before, but I haven't been on the boards for months and I don't feel inspired to go back and search. If anyone knows more about this new pump method please feel free to chime in.

I wonder what the risks are for this "implanted" pump...hmmm...I would also like to know the study name for this...

Question for my PH peeps!!

2009-06-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

So I called Accredo this week. I usually order my supplies 2 times a month because they always send 14 days worth of supplies each time. So I called my girl Anita and left her a message on her voicemail that I needed to put in a new supply order. I usually do it on the 1st and 15th of each month. Because I am going to Arkansas at the end of this month, I ordered next month's supplies a little early so I would get the box while I am still in California. So Anita called me back the next day...which kinda peeved me. What kinda customer service is that? I even called her supervisor who said she was in that day. Hmmm...coming from a customer service background, I am a little picky about other company's CS styles. Bad habits are hard to kill. :)

So when she calls me back she says I can't place a order because I can't place 3 orders in one month.

...Cricket....Cricket....

When did this start?? I used to be able to order supplies anytime I wanted. Does anyone know if Accredo is tightening their policies on supply orders??? I found this kinda irritating.

So I of course threw a fit with Anita on the phone and they let me order my supplies early. But come on, I was down to half a vial left, which is 2 more line changes for me. If I dropped the bottle and something happened to it, I would have no backup (which always makes me nervous). Plus when traveling, I always bring an extra week of supplies with me in case I get trapped where I am at, sometimes I bring an extra 2 weeks of supplies if I am out of the country.

I just found this kinda irritating that I pay good money through work to get better benefits through Blue Shield than the typical employee at Hampton, yet I get this crap all of a sudden. So I called Blue Shield and they said they had no problem with me ordering 3 times a month if I needed to. So this must be a new Accredo policy.

Has anybody tried ordering 3 times in one month lately? Just wondering if anyone else got the same "lecture" that I got.

Hmm...I am talking to Dr. Saggar about this BS...

Micheal Jackson 1958-2009

2009-06-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

I was shocked to hear that Farrah passed away this morning (even though most of us have heard and watch her personal struggle with cancer). But I just about dropped on the floor when I had heard that Michael Jackson passed away today in the afternoon. I can remember as a kid dancing to his music, watching the Thriller music video every Halloween, and listening to heartfelt songs such as "Childhood" which he described as his own childhood autobiography in a musical format and "Man in the Mirror" which to this day, I still listen to on my ipod. I don't know if I believe all the rumor that were told about him, such as the skin bleaching, the sexual abuse of kids, mystery illnesses, the drugs, etc. It is so sad that everyone was so quick to assume today that he overdosed on meds, which in the end may be true, but cut the poor man some slack. But one thing was for sure, he struggled throughout his life, dealing with one thing after another, and all he was looking for was some sense of being "normal" and a sence of acceptance. He was a tortured soul. But you can tell, anytime he was around his fans, he felt loved, accepted, and at peace. He was one damn good singer and song writer. No one will ever match his brilliance in the music industry.

I believe that Andrew Sullivan best describes Michael:

"There are two things to say about him. He was a musical genius; and he was an abused child. By abuse, I do not mean sexual abuse; I mean he was used brutally and callously for money, and clearly imprisoned by a tyrannical father. He had no real childhood and spent much of his later life struggling to get one. He was spiritually and psychologically raped at a very early age - and never recovered. Watching him change his race, his age, and almost his gender, you saw a tortured soul seeking what the rest of us take for granted: a normal life.
But he had no compass to find one; no real friends to support and advise him; and money and fame imprisoned him in the delusions of narcissism and self-indulgence. Of course, he bears responsibility for his bizarre life. But the damage done to him by his own family and then by all those motivated more by money and power than by faith and love was irreparable in the end. He died a while ago. He remained for so long a walking human shell.
I loved his music. His young voice was almost a miracle, his poise in retrospect eery, his joy, tempered by pain, often unbearably uplifting. He made the greatest music video of all time; and he made some of the greatest records of all time. He was everything our culture worships; and yet he was obviously desperately unhappy, tortured, afraid and alone.
I grieve for him; but I also grieve for the culture that created and destroyed him. That culture is ours' and it is a lethal and brutal one: with fame and celebrity as its core values, with money as its sole motive, it chewed this child up and spat him out."

May Ed McMahon be introducing Michael Jackson in private performance to Farrah.

It has been a tragic week for the entertainment business. May all rest in peace in heaven.

Jon and Kate: The Saga Continues...

2009-06-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

Didn't we all know it would come to this? Sad thing is that they are going to drag 8 kids through all their crap...just wait until they are in their teens and they can google their parents name...that is when it becomes shameful...

For facebook users...click here to see video.

Did You Know? (Part 3)

2009-06-18T22:31:00.001-07:00

Another excellent did you know video, this time on the enviroment....enjoy!

For Facebook friends...click here to see the video.

If you are on my blog, you will see the video below.

Great marketing...Part 2

2009-06-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

So as a follow up to my pitch about T-Mobile, Trident went and copied them and did "Single Ladies" on Picadilly Circus. What is up with this type of marketing in the UK?

Hmmm...

For Facebook Users...click here to see video.

Great marketing...

2009-06-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

As a marketer, it is always amazing to see how companies get so freaking creative when they have an unlimited budget. My budget on the other hand is very small (about 10K a month) and most of that goes to consumer research for up and coming meetings.

Here is one of the best marketing idea ever (in my eyes). T-Mobile spent soooo much money on it, but it was so worth the investment. Hence, one of the reason's why our company's cell phones are contracted with T-Mobile.

Liverpool Train Station:

Here is the preview movie to their marketing experiment:

For Facebook users...click here to see the video.

Here is how it turned out:

For Facebook users...click here to see the video.

The public's reaction:

For Facebook users...click here to see video.

Did You Know (Part 2)

2009-06-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

This is another awesome "Did You Know?" video from our marketing meeting yesterday. Obviously my favorite part was the song. I think this one is my favorite to date. Enjoy!

For my Facebook users....click here to see the video.

If you are on my blog, you should see the video below:

Did you know? (Part 1)

2009-06-18T21:47:00.000-07:00

At work we always start our meetings with a new "Did You Know?" video...

In our marketing meetings this week, we were shown another movie that was just fantastic. So I thought I would share all the past "Did You Know?" videos over time. They are quite fascinating. And as a marketing team trying to sell new innovative products, it always opens up our eyes (or at least my eyes) to what the world is really like, and not just how I perceive it.

Feel free to leave your comments regarding the videos if you would like. :)

For Facebook users...you won't see the video below....click here to see the video.

If you are on my blog...you should see the video below:

What we really do at work...

2009-06-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

Sadly, this is what we really do on casual Fridays at work...let's just say, not much gets done!!

This is Suzie (one of our two fabulous production artists at work) and I testing out my new

Flip MinoHD....

Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

2009-06-12T22:47:00.000-07:00

I was once told that when things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

My professor stood before our philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked his students if the jar was full. We agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full...we agreed it was. Our professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. We responded with an unanimous 'yes'. The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. We all laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions--things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.

If you put the sand into the jar first, he continued, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. So...pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter.

Set your priorities. The rest is just sand. One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. Our professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Tomorrow, have a cup of coffee with a friend. I know I will!

It Came!!

2009-06-10T23:23:00.000-07:00

I love my Flip MinoHD. It's awesome. The design I created looked awesome (kinda feared it would looked cheesy...but it doesn't). The 'rents were surprised on how awesome my design turned out. I will film a video tomorrow at work and see how things go. Tomorrow I am going to be slammed at work (TONS OF FREAKING WORK TO DO). So I will try my best to get something up here.

Well I am going to bed...Farm Town is totally addicting. I am trying something out for the first time tonight. I think I have learn that if I plant potatoes at around 9pmish, they will be ready tomorrow when I get home from work. I am slowly getting higher up in the ranks...not as fast as some but just doing it steadily.

Laters!

The Flip is Coming...Yay!

2009-06-10T08:03:00.001-07:00

It's on its way! Find my house this time Mr. UPS Guy!!! Pray that no one steals it off my front door step!!

ALISO VIEJO,CA, US
06/10/2009
4:38 A.M.
OUT FOR DELIVERY

ALISO VIEJO,CA, US
06/09/2009
8:30 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN

LONG BEACH,CA, US
06/09/2009
7:40 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN

06/09/2009
5:36 P.M.

ARRIVAL SCAN
LOUISVILLE,KY, US
06/09/2009
4:13 P.M.

DEPARTURE SCAN
06/09/2009
12:02 P.M.
ORIGIN SCAN Tracking results provided by UPS: 06/10/2009 11:02 A.M. ET

My Flip is almost here...

2009-06-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

Can't wait...should arrive tomorrow...time to start making videos!!! Yay!! Pray that UPS doesn't loose this package!!

States I Have Been Too...

2009-06-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

Put an X by the states you have been to. The average is 8; how do you match up?Should you choose to play, here's what you do:Copy my note. Click on “notes” under tabs on your profile page. Select "write a new note" in the top right corner. Paste the copy in the body of the note. Delete my X's and O's and add your own. Change the number at the top, and add your title. Once you've saved, don't forget to tag friends (including me) on the right. Tag the same # of people as the # of states you've been to. Just for fun, put an O beside the states where you have lived.Airports don't count!Neither does driving straight through.

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona X
Arkansas X (this summer...sigh)
California OX
Colorado X
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida X
Georgia X
Hawaii X
Idaho X
Illinois X
Indiana X
Iowa X
Kansas X
Kentucky X
Louisiana X
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota X
Mississippi X
Missouri X
Montana X
Nebraska
Nevada X
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico X
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma X (this summer...sigh)
Oregon (this summer...woohoo)
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas X
Utah X
Vermont
Virginia
Washington (this summer...woohoo!)
West Virginia
Wisconsin X
Wyoming X

My New Baby-Flip MinoHD Camcorder

2009-06-04T21:02:00.001-07:00

Thanks Mom and Dad for the AWESOME birthday gift. It was exactly what I wanted and I even got to design my own MinoHD. I took this picture in Laguna Beach last year and I slapped on my photography logo right on it.

I love it.

I can't wait to post some videos up here (especially when Lisa and I go to St. Thomas in September!).

Thanks again Mom and Dad...I love you and you're the best parents EVER!!...but you already knew that...

First Celebrity Case of the Swine Flu

2009-06-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

First Celebrity Case of the Swine Flu

Poor Kermit. I think we know who gave it to him....

Just heard that the swine flu can now be found in every state in the contiguous US. I also heard that a group of kids have the swine flu at our local elementary school about 5 miles away. It's amazing how fast things spread. I did see this picture on facebook (I think) and I found it to be hilarious. It cracks me up every time I see it.

Jon and Kate- Episode 2 and 3

2009-06-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

I was dying to watch the new episode of Jon and Kate this week. I have been watching the show for the past 3-4 years now, and I think the kids are absolutely adorable, that Kate is a total bitch towards Jon, and Jon is such a wimp for never saying anything back to Kate when she makes her snippy comments to him 24/7.

Lets first address Kate's birthday weekend. It totally cracked me up that the kids and the show totally got her when they surprised her with her trip to Ace of Cakes. I thought she was going to chew off the heads of the producers or the bus driver if they didn't tell her where they were going. Some of us know that a cake made by Ace of Cakes is at least 1k (that is their minimum amount). When I met Duff and Mary Alice last year, they were totally awesome and their cakes in "real-life" are worth every dime. Plus they taste awesome as well. So I can't image what it cost for all the "kids" cakes plus her cake to be made by Duff. Cha-ching!

I thought it was hilarious that Jon just happened to be gone the exact same weekend as her birthday. What husband does that???? So to me, it is SOOOO obvious that they are no longer together but staying together just for the show. Little did they "forget" to mention that he was there with the chick that he is seeing (I think her name is Deanna). It was plastered all over online. And it's obvious that he did the charity work with the handicap just for press and to get the trip for free from TLC. I get that his dad worked with handicap kids and he looked up to him for that, but come...he was just there to spend time with his girlfriend on vacation. See more info about this here...

http://www.usmagazine.com/news/kate-gosselin-spends-birthday-with-kids-while-jon-hangs-with-girlfriend-200975?page=3&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily

So when Kate goes on vacation with Maddie and Jon stays home with the kids, it cracks me up. Again, they are separated...will they ever show a episode of them, together, in the house??? I thought it was interesting that Jon put the swing set together but said he would "finish it next time"...when is next time?? When you come over next?? Obviously he isn't living there anymore if he is making this comment.

**Sigh**

It's just interesting how TLC spins the show to make it look like they are still together when most viewers can plainly see the lack of being together, the lack of romance, the lack of togetherness (anyone else notice how far apart they were on the chair again!?!). To me, it is obvious that there is nothing left in their marriage to save.

Awesome movies...

2009-05-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

Since getting our new extended cable service I have been watching some pretty awesome movies recently. I thought I will list them here so in case you are looking for a new flick to watch, check these out (most of the time you can find them on HBO or Cinemax).

Movie: 27 Dresses

I have seen this movie a couple of times and I enjoy it each time I watch it. Even though I am not too big of a fan of Katherine, the story is pretty good and moves along. I give it 3 out 4 "Lindsay Movie Stars".

Movie: 88 Minutes

I have only seen this movie once. I am usually a fan of Al Pacino so I figured it would be good. If you like suspense and things that run on a time line (like "24", etc.), this one is for you. And of course, if you like Al, you will like this movie...he is awesome as the lead actor. Leelee Sobieski is also in it if you like her. I would give it 4 out of 4 "Lindsay movie stars".

Movie: Made of Honor

I have seen this movie a couple of times as well. Story line kinda moves slow, and reminded me a lot of "My Best Friend's Wedding". Virtually the same story line but takes place mostly in New York and Scotland (not Chicago for those who watched MBFW). I would give it 3 out of 4 "Lindsay movie stars".

Movie: Far and Away

I have seen this movie so many times and I just love it. I am a big fan of Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, so put them together and you know you will have an awesome movie. If you like romance and adventure movies put together, especially "love conquers all" movies, you will like this one. I would give it 4 out 4 "Lindsay movie stars".

Movie: What Happens in Vegas

Another good movie with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. Story has lots of humor plus the romance element. I would give it 3 out of 4 "Lindsay movie stars".

Other good movies:

The Brave One- Jodie Foster

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button-Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett

The Other Sister-Juliette Lewis

The Others-Nicole Kidman

The Other Boleyn Girl- Natalie Portman and Scarlet Johansson

Bedtime Stories- Adam Sandler (good for kids)

Bee Movie- Good for younger kids

The Golden Compass-Good for older kids and up...another Nicole Kidman movie

A Perfect Murder- Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow

Save the Last Dance- Julia Stiles

Rendition- Reese Witherspoon

Just Like Heaven-Reese Witherspoon

Sweet Home Alabama- Reese Witherspoon

The Secret Life of Bees- Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifa and Alica Keys

Man on Fire- Dakota Fanning and Denzel Washington

Summer 2009 Travel...

2009-05-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for the summer vacations to begin...last year we (mom, dad, and I) had an awesome time Europe (England, France- Nice, Paris, Cannes, Provence, Lyon and Monaco and Monte Carlo). This summer we got some awesome deals on flights ($29 each way after taxes) through Allegient Air. Our first trip is happening at the end of June. We are going back to Arkansas to visit my Aunt and Uncle as well as my cousins and second cousins. We will only be there for 4 days but lots happen in the South within a few days! Then we are going to cash in our free night in Vegas at the Hilton for my dad's birthday in July. It will be nice to lay out and get some sun. After that we have our company picnic for 450 people that mom and I are planning along with a few other people from the Activities Committee at work. Then in August, we are going to Bellingham, Washington which will be very exciting because I have never been to the Northwest before. We are going to be there for 8 days and while we are there we are going to drive north to see Vancouver and then we are driving down to see Seattle. Then in September, Lisa and I will be going to St. Thomas and St. John's for a week for a little R & R...we are renting a jeep wrangler soft top and we are going to explore the islands. So I am glad I saved up all my vacation time through out the year for this summer. I am actually shocked that I have enough hours but I will just squeak by with 17 hours left over in September. It will be nice to have a break from moving and house hunting. It will be my first time visiting the Northwest and Canada so it will be big milestone that I get to mark off this summer too (first time to Europe was last summer). Well that's it for now. Lots of little stuff in between...PHA on the Road, birthday's, etc.

Memorial Weekend...

2009-05-24T22:59:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend it has been so far, and it's not even over yet!! :)

Yesterday I got to sleep in for the first time in weeks (usually I am up early helping mom box stuff...dad is really clumsy so we try to keep him away from packing things...so on that note, who else is going to help her?). I slept in until 10am, took a shower and made my way downstairs. In the kitchen is my mom trying to line the drawers with liners (we used to call it Contact paper, I haven't a clue what they call it now). She totally sucks at this so I take over (my neat-freak OCD side comes out). I look over and there are two guys working on getting out the HUGE scratch (more like dent) out of the top of our dining room table (thank you moving guys). They did a pretty good job...I was impressed and can't even see it now. Saturday was filled pretty much with unboxing the kitchen stuff but we did take a break because we ran out of soap for the dish washer. Mom has to wash every dish that is unpacked ("it might be dirty" is her rationale...see where I get my OCD-like tendencies now?). So we walked over the shopping center next to our neighborhood. We stopped in Pavilions and got the soap and then we decided to grab a bite to eat at Pacific Whey Cafe that is right next to use. Lunch was sooooo yummy. I got the ham and cheese sandwich with soup and it was yummo! Mom copied me and got the same. So once we got back we finished unboxing the dishes and food and put the dishes in the newly lined shelves (thank you very much) and just had enough room for the dishes we brought (half of them are in storage, crazy...I know). Then dad came home and we went to Outback Steak House. He signed another large job up so we had to celebrate (and after cleaning all day we were in no mood to cook). When we got home we watched 7 Pounds with Will Smith. That was definitely an interesting movie. I can't tell if I liked it or not. It was so-so I guess. So then dad went to got see Men at Work with his buddy George at Coach House (yes his second concert of the week...Jimmy Buffet was on Thursday). Mom and I watched 88 minutes. It was really good.

Today I was the first one up (very rare...usually dad is up by 5am but I think his partying this week is catching up to him). Went to Lowes to look for Mom's birthday gift...a BBQ. Yes, that is what she wanted. So no luck finding an affordable gas grille that also had a rotisserie (which is "must" for mom). So then we go to Tommy Bahamas for lunch. Yum! I got the flat iron steak with salad. It was delicious. Mom got a free desert since it was her birthday. She picked out a upside-down, pineapple cheesecake and dad and I shared the key lime pie (our fav). We used our $200 gift certificate that our realtor's gave us for having our business for selling our house (hell they make 50K off it, $200 is the least they could give us back). It was a generous gift though, don't get me wrong. Then we went Wal-Mart and Home Depot and had no luck. I went to Aymee's grad party then and they continued on to Costco and Sears. Finally at Sears they found the BBQ on sale with everything she wanted. I, in the meantime met Aymee and the gang at Lonestar for her grad party. Had a great time and spent a little bit of time with my little godson. :)

Then I came home and got in my PJ's and watched "21" another excellent movie but I had already seen it, and then caught up on my shows that I recorded. I started to watch "daisy of Love" which I find to be totally ridiculous and stupid but so addictive. I think the whole "Daisy" chick is such a freaking bimbo and she acts like she is in high school. She has the maturity level of a 15 year old. And the guys that she is dating on the show think their shit doesn't stink but come on dudes, you look like freaking idiots!! But when a new episode comes on, I am totally addicted to it.

I am excited for tomorrow. First off, no work...yay...so more sleeping in! Then I need to plant my bulbs and plants that I stole from our old house that I wanted to keep (my prized iris clumps, etc.). I am going to clean my room some more (needs a little reorganizing) and then I am going to start on Ayden/Lisa's room/Office so if anyone visits, they have a spot to stay. I also have to refill my bird feeder (they ate all the seed out of in 2 days...such little pigs compared to my finches at the old house). I did see the baby hummingbird today drinking out of it's feeder. It was so stinkin' cute. It was probably the size of half my finger. I am going also help mom clean the back patio, set up the patio furniture and put the BBQ in it's new home, and then hopeful go to the grocery store...get some real food (I am so tired of eating out 24/7) and maybe having a little fish for dinner with mom's famous fried rice. Then I am going to watch the season premiere of Jon and Kate plus 8 which is going to be fantastic. I love the drama of their relationship. It's so stupid. He cheated on her. He just needs to come out and freaking confess it. The body language of the both of them sitting in the chair gives it all away that they marriage is in shambles. Before he used to but his arm behind her while in the chair, now you can fit a third person in between them and they can barely stand each other. I hope they really address the issue instead of saying, "We're working on it". So tired of hearing that. And seriously, if you want to be out of the public's vision....stop the show. But even now, you are too late. It isn't like you didn't know fame was going to be like this. And Kate says she is doing it for the kids...well duh. That's the only way they can afford to pay for things for the kids be neither have a job. And she didn't write that freaking book, she just incorporated her ideas into it. Check out the inside cover and you will see.

Well that is enough for tonight. Hope everyone has a fantastic holiday tomorrow. Mine will be busy with more unpacking and arranging of furniture.

Nite nite! :)

The Wednesday after "the move"...

2009-05-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

So today is officially the last day we own our house on Topanga Canyon. It's kinda bittersweet. Good memories happened at that house (getting ready for HS prom, graduation from UCI, having Mickie (adopted grandmother) and Pebbles (family pup) both there...but the time has come along to move to a new house. Still can't afford to get my own place yet (darn 401K needs to grow faster)...but I will get there someday. Plus with my IV line, I still need to live with someone that is trained to do my meds in case I can't make a syringe up on my own. The move went well on Monday, only thing that got damaged was our dining room table got a HUGE scratch on the top of it. Allied Moving Co. is sending a gentleman out on Saturday to fix the table (mom was pretty pissed that they scratched her new dining room table that she adores). Boxes are everywhere and are driving me nuts. At least on this move, I was smart. Anything vitally important to me (laptop, cellphone, work clothes, charges, meds) were hand-carried over and are safe and sound. Tonight I am working on setting up the tivo. This time a have a new HD cable box and it is going to make it a little bit more challenging this time because I never had to set it up with a cable box before. As a backup, I have setup the DVR downstairs just in case I miss my precious shows. Juan is going to be coming by today to help fix things up at the condo again. Mostly hang photos. I might take it easy today and just direct and watch the Mentalist that I recorded last night. I sure hope the episode was good. I love that show. And Simon Baker is quite a hottie...his wife is a lucky woman!...hehehe...

Well, I better be getting back to work. Nothing much going on over here today. I did my project that I was assigned this morning (took me a whole 15 minutes to do it). So now I am just a lost little puppy with nothing to do until 4pm. I did take my lasix today, and like usual, I feel like crap and I have to go pee every 10 minutes. Lisa would have been proud of me that I didn't just blow it off...

Back to websurfing...oh...I mean "work"...

I will write later...

Goodbye Dino...Hello LCD...

2009-05-16T23:46:00.000-07:00

Well after 10 years my dino Magnavox 36" TV is going away. I am dumping "dino" and I bought my first LCD High Def TV at Costco. I got it for 1K at Costco (at Wal-Mart it was 1600 for the exact same model). It's 47" which I can almost guarantee that I will be able to see the titles of the shows on my Tivo without squinting like an old lady. Best part is that it has the new advanced surround sound system from Vizio.

Cox cable man comes to the new condo tomorrow at 8am to install the TV's and hook up the new cable lines etc. and hook up our wireless internet as well as our land line telephones.

Last items in the house are being boxed tomorrow and then we are ready to move to Newport beach on Monday at 7:30am. Allied better take good care of my stuff on the ride over!

Nite nite peeps!

American Idol Finale Tickets...

2009-05-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

Damn I was just too slow...should have checked my email earlier...oh well...name is still on the top of the list for next year....

Congratulations! Due to your place on the waiting list, we are notifying you of seat availability to the final tapings of American Idol at The Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles, next Tuesday, May 19th and Wednesday, May 20th!!

IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ ALL INFORMATION CAREFULLY! THIS CHECK-IN VOUCHER HAS NO MONETARY VALUE TO ITS HOLDER AND MAY NOT BE SOLD OR EXCHANGED UNDER PENALTY OF LAW; ANY SUCH ATTEMPTED OR ACTUAL SALE OR TRANSFER OF THE CHECK-IN VOUCHER INVALIDATES IT AND IS GROUNDS FOR SEIZURE OF THE VOUCHER.

On Tuesday, May 19th we are taping both the full dress rehearsal and the live performance finale. The full dress rehearsal is a taping of the entire show including all performances and Ryan Seacrest. The only thing you don't see in the rehearsal is the judge's comments. On Wednesday, May 20th we are taping the live results show.

YOU MAY ONLY REQUEST TICKETS TO ONE OF THESE TAPINGS. Please remember vouchers are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Thank you and enjoy the show!!

PLEASE NOTE: All vouchers are free. Due to the immense popularity of the show, there is a system in place to ensure that as many fans as possible get a fair chance to see the show. Therefore you will only have this one opportunity and then you will be removed from the waitlist. We are unable to make special accommodations. Therefore, if you click on the following link and are sent back to the waiting list because the shows are already full or if you are receiving this email and are unable to attend this date, please rejoin the waitlist any time after Wednesday, May 20th. Thank you for your understanding. Please use only one of the links below and make sure to enter your information correctly and choose the correct number of vouchers. If all links are full, please check back periodically over the next few days as we may releasemore tickets. Please use the link below for the rehearsal on Tuesday, May 19th (12 PM arrival):

Please use the link below for the live performance show on Tuesday, May 19th (1 PM arrival):

Yeah Right, sorry peeps...not letting anyone screw up my place in line!

Please use the link below for the live results show on Wednesday, May 20th (1:30 arrival):

Yeah Right, sorry peeps...not letting anyone screw up my place in line!

If you aren’t able to request tickets to one of these tapings, tickets are available to Idol Extra! Join us after the finale on Wednesday for an intimate interview with the Idol contestant to be voted off. Idol Extra will wrap up the results and the season and gives you one last look at the most recent Idol contestant to get voted off.

Tickets are also available to live tapings of America’s Got Talent next week! May 18th-21st at The Orpheum Theater downtown. Join new host Nick Cannon and judges David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osbourne, and Piers Morgan in the live audience as the best amateur performers from around the country compete! judge!

THANKS FOR A GREAT SEASON!!

DAMN....

TGIF!!

2009-05-15T21:10:00.000-07:00

You would think starting off your Friday at the DMV would be a clear signal, omen, smoke signal, whatever you might call it...that today was most likely going to be a crappy day. Luckily I turned it around and it wasn't too bad. So here was my day...kinda boring but somewhat entertaining in a sense:

6:45am: wake up to my enemy...the alarm clock...no good looking man next to me in bed...damn, just a dream and not reality!

6:50am: shower

7:15am: Clothes on and heading out the door

7:30am: Set off alarm to our side of the building...quickly put in code before police come. I as successful today! Work starts...put on the first pot of Starbucks breakfast blend coffee on for the team. I don't even like coffee. I grab my cup and make me some yummy Orange Spice Tea.

8am: Check email. 57 emails in my inbox. Zero were junk mail. Lovely.

9am: Co-workers trickle in. Angry that they get to come in later...but happy when I get to leave at 4 and they have to stay later on a Friday night. Lindsay...happy hour...coworkers...no happy hour!

9:15am: Create merchandising unit for Wal*Mart. Created 8 foot planogram in 30 minutes. New record!

9:45am: Send planogram to president of company and VP of sales. Grab purse and drive to DMV.

10am: Arrive at DMV early. Appointment at 10:20. Got number and started waiting.

10:05am: Number called, got new plates in hand, new registration card but have to wait in second line for tags.

10:07am: Man lets me cut in line, hands me tags, out the door. Yay...quickest time in DMV ever!!!

10:30am: Back at work. Extension 204 ringing. Hello mom. Mom notifies me that she is driving to rental to let carpet guys in. The lady who owns the rental never showed up with the key. What a dim-wit.

10:35am: Create 8 FedEx shipping forms for boxes that I am shipping out later.

11am: Go home, put on plates so I don't get pulled over or have issues with the toll road. Call mom and ask her if she wants me to bring her lunch. She says to bring her Del Taco.

11:20am: Drive to Del Taco, got food, hopped on Toll Road and drove to condo.

11:35am: Saw carpet that the owner picked...mom and I shake heads...why did she pick that color...oh well...we are only there for the summer.

12:00pm: drive back to work.

12:20pm: Arrive at work, start Home Depot project. Must create packaging for 23 skus.

2:20pm: Done.

2:21pm: Pack items. Lots of bubble wrap and boxes. Slapped on the FedEx forms and push the boxes in lobby for pickup.

3:30pm: Meeting with Kim (President at work). Learn that my research got us 16ft of retail space in the home improvement dept at Wal*Mart. Ya baby!

3:45pm: Learned that we are getting bonuses and raises. I love our company.

3:50am: Spoke to CMO and he says there is a good chance of getting a promo. Manager sounds good to me.

4:00pm: Grab laptop and go home. Pick up dad and extra paint. Talk to neighbor about moving. Neighbor sad to see us go. Oh well...everyone has there time. Ours in now! :)

4:20pm: Leave for condo. Mom calls 3 times between here and there. Geez mom!

4:35pm: Dad sees carpet and shakes head. Says...why did she pick that color? Our thoughts exactly!

5pm: Carpet guys are still working on second floor. They guess they will be there until 11pm. Eek! Mom arrives and we decide to walk over to Taco Rosa for happy hour. Yay!

5:05pm: Ordered a blended margarita (first drink in 5 months). Yum. Got chips, salsa, and guacamole for 4 bucks. What a deal.

6:15pm: Walk back home. Check out the new pool in the complex and notice they have a section for toddlers. Ayden will love that. Can't wait to see him soon. Checked out tennis court. Brand new. Eyebrow raises. Dad says we will have to get some rackets. Find shortcut to shopping center we just came from. hmmm...very cool. Dad says he will go this way to Starbucks for morning coffee or to taco rosa for happy hour. Dad is so funny. Check out spa. Looks nice. Can't wait to move in.

6:30pm: back at condo. Carpet guys are still on second floor. Still have the staircase left and the family room. The rest has wood floors. *sigh* we decide to leave.

7pm: Back home. Hit a little traffic on the 405. Speedy toll road got us home quicker though. Ran inside and started the shower. Ahhh....long day....got on PJ's, helped mom pack two boxes before her show came on (ghost whisperer)...I crawled upstairs and jumped on the laptop. Flipped on the Tivo...

9:42pm: Still answering emails. Working on PH stuff. Now starting to look for flat screens on sale to go buy this weekend. Costco looks the best. Our TV from there now works pretty well. Hmm...now typing blog...

So that's my day in a nutshell...it was busy...tomorrow will be just as busy. **sigh** I just loving moving...fun times. :)

Work...work...work...

2009-05-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

Has anybody else ever noticed that you can go weeks with nothing to do at work and then all of a sudden...BAM!! A ton of work comes your way....egh...it is so frustrating. On Monday we are moving, mom and I are trying to pack all the crap we have, and of course I get 3 new survey projects at work. Normally I'm busy just doing one. But now I have 3 at the same time and I have to create a PowerPoint presentation for Mr. Kelley, our president at work for his Wal*Mart meeting next week. That's due on Friday. Eek! No pressure!!! Yeah right...**sigh**...Out of 250 employees, he picks me to do it. I feel it's an honor that he thinks so highly of my presentations but come on, just this once, couldn't you have picked someone else? Oh well...another "atta-girl" for my yearly review...I better get bigger raise this year or a promotion! :)

I know I can do it, just means that I have to be quick and make sure I dot my "I's" and cross my "T's". I am just thankful that I have next Monday off (at least for now) and maybe next Tuesday, depending how the move goes and how much we can unpack on Monday. The grout guy came today to redo our showers at the rental. The owners of the rental picked the guy (we got our own quote for 560 bucks...yes it was that bad...but it included both showers). This guy came in and only did my mom's shower and he only went half way up. He totally did a half-ass job (excuse my french). So it looks like I will grouting my own shower tomorrow. But we did get our new trash compactor today in the kitchen (which the owner replaced because the previous tenant broke it). It work really well so at least that was a trade off. Window cleaners come tomorrow. They are cleaning all the windows, high-pressuring the house walls, and then cleaning all the screens and shutters through out the house. We have used, "Window Valet" before at our house now and they do an excellent job. Juan from work and I are going tomorrow to install more door hardware, bath fixtures, cabinet hardware, shower heads, etc. Should be fun and Juan is such a nice guy to help us out for free. It will be awesome once the new carpet is in Friday (that will make a big difference). I am hoping to oil the wood floors tomorrow too. Can't forget to do that!

I can already tell that the house cleaner that the condo owners hired to come on Saturday aren't going to a good enough job for mom's standards. So I can only imagine that I will be there with her on Sunday, cleaning everything they miss or going over the house twice. Why does my mom have to be such a neat-freak? At least she doesn't iron the sheets anymore. But that's why I love her...we always have a clean house to come home to. I can't figure out how people can live in a dirty/messy house. Yuck! Plus for some odd reason, I think she thinks a clean home, lowers my rate of infection. I can see how that can help. I really think she is trying to figure out some way to help me. Every little bit counts.

OK...I am done rambling. Goodnight everyone. Busy day tomorrow. If I have time I will post an update!

My Silent PHriend...

2009-05-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

Check out new videos I found on Pulmonary Hypertension from my peeps on Facebook...the more information that is released, the higher the chances an undiagnosed PHer will find treatment!

Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rot22kHXO0

Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RE8pCia2UY

Part 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2uq3YxB50Q

Mother's Day...

2009-05-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day was definitly interesting this year...

We went to Las Brisas for brunch...I had a yummy Filet Mignon which I get every year, mom got the same thing, and dad tried the Lamb Filet. Afterwards we visited the condo and did a few minor repairs with Mack's help. Then we went home and packed...and packed...and packed! We did 2 trips to the storage unit and one trip to Goodwill. I organized my clothes today...about half is now going on the next trip to Goodwill and I packed up the guest closet and office. Mom and Dad focused on the garage and filled up the dumpster that we got over the weekend. I was proud of Mom because she threw away a lot of her holiday crap. She is very sentimental and has a hard time parting with her crap. She did good though and got rid of a lot of stuff we don't even use to decorate anymore.

Tomorrow is another day at work. We have a usual monday marketing meeting at 10am till 11am. Then I have a meeting with Alex (our CMO) regarding a research project for Wal-Mart. They are seeking new research regard future products that we are trying to pitch to them. So that means lots of work coming up. Then we have our Consumer Intercept Project coming this wednesday in Chicago, IL. We are testing out the new Wright's new logo design (the company we just bought out). It will be interesting to see how consumers respond to Vertis' crappy design. I personally think we could have designed something better "in-house" but oh well...not my department. But come on, think about it, men buy screen door closures 99 percent of the time...so why would we create such a feminine logo? (The new one is in a "girly" font type...I hate it...can't you tell?) So I hope the guys in the intercept hate it so we have to start all over again with a new logo. Here's an idea...let's focus our marketing and brand towards the consumer!! What a concept!! Oh well...

Other than that, it should be a slow week at work. Rumor has it, action is going to happen though. I think some people will be fired this week. I am getting the "vibe".

As for the condo...window washers come on Wednesday and they are going to high-pressurize the siding of the house as well. Thursday the grout guys are coming to redo the grout in all the showers. Friday the carpet team is coming in and installing the new carpet...Saturday the cleaners come to clean the place from "head to toe". Sunday mom and I will come in and get the last few things cleaned, probably bring some organizational things over as well as the things we want to hand carry. I am hoping to get my bathroom setup by Monday. I found some wonderful things at HomeGoods...I got a modern looking shower current that is robin's egg blue and chocolate brown. I also found a chrome magazine rack and a chrome shower curtain rod by Moen that gives you a little bit more room (it's curved). I also got some new modern looking accessories like a soap dish, tissue box cover, trash can, etc. as well as these adorable towels that were imported from Australia. They are so soft and best of all they were six bucks a piece. I got new hardware and light fixtures through work and I am going to switch out all the cabinet hardware as well.

Well...I am heading off to bed...this is me signing off!

Nite nite!

Mother's Day Weekend!!

2009-05-09T20:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend is Mother's Day and the fam has a lot going on. Yesterday I had Evelyn @ Bell Tower Florists create a beautiful bouquet for mom in her favorite vase. It turned out awesome (like usual). I was kinda suprised about how few flowers you get now for 100 bucks. Before you used to get quite a bit, but now...it seems to get to be fewer and fewer. Evelyn says it's because of the increase prices in gases and I know flowers cost more at the flower mart too (I was just there with my aunt mom's ago and it looked like the prices went up again by 10-20%). So it all makes since. Tomorrow we are going to Las Brisas for brunch. I made my reservations 5 months in advance. Most people know that after february you can't get in on mother's day. I learned that the hard way one year. After that we will be visiting the condo and do some repairs. We will be replanting the front yard next week. Yay to new flowers! :)

This is the arrangement that Eveyln made...you did an awesome job girlfriend!

Today mom and I went to the new beach condo to do some clean up in the yard (4 trash cans later) while Mr. Kim and his crew (his wife and two other guys) finished painting our house. They re-stained the fireplace, the cabinets and the staircase as well. They repainted every room and even hit the front door. We got two qoutes for the job...3500 and 2000 from Mr. Kim. So the choice was obvious. Mr. Kim was neat, quite and precise as well. Juan from work is coming over next week to install the new door knobs, cabinet hardware, shower heads, light fixtures, etc. The window cleaners come on wednesday and they are going to power wash the outside of the house as well. The new trash compactor is coming thursday. Friday the new carpet is being installed and the grout guy is coming to re-grout all the showers. Saturday the cleaning crew is coming in and monday we move in. So it's going to be a busy week next week.

On top of that I have to pick up my new personalized plates that my doctor got me for my 4 year anniversary of my survival (that's we call it) on friday from the DMV. I saw Saggar last week and he said my blood tests looked awesome. Everything was "normal" including my liver enzymes. This is the first time in 5 years they have been normal. All through out my treatment, my enzymes always remained high. Now they have finally dropped. he listened to my heart and still heard the S4 reguritation but over all I was doing well. He said I didn't have to come back for a year and he gave me the ok to go swimming in St. Thomas with my PICC line. Yay!

Next week I start my big research project at work on behalf of Wal-Mart. The buyers at Wal-Mart want consumer research that proves that shoppers want one-stop shopping in our catagory: hardware. That's an easy duh! We want to get the bath hardware account, the home lighting, security lighting, portable security, and cabinet hardware accounts there at Wal-Mart. I just have to prove that consumers want to find it all on the same aisle. It should be no problem. I just have to run a new survey through InsightExpress and make sure that the results are bias to our products!

So busy week next week. I am hoping to take two days off so I can help mom unpack. I think I am going to take off the 18th and the 19th. I know I have over 100 hours of vacation at work so it should be no problem.

Ohhh and I got 4 season tickets to a Angels Game coming up...I am hoping Lisa will feel well enough to go.

That's the update...

We sold the house!!

2009-04-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

We finally sold the house...so yay to no more open houses! Now we are in full packing mode and it's tiring but so worth it. In the mean time we are renting a condo in Newport Beach (yay to cooler summers) and looking for a house to buy in Coto de Caza. While we don't care for the stigmatism of living in "Coto", it's the best area to buy per square foot and we are looking to flip the next house. So our goal is buy a cheap foreclosure, fix it up a tad and sell it, and bank a few bucks. There are definitely some great buys and pocket listings in Coto if you can find them.

Our rental in Newport is fantastic (see picture of the rental to the right). It's above Spyglass Hill and a wonderful cool breeze comes off the ocean each night. It's 3 bedrooms and has 2.5 baths. It kinda has a Cape Cod kind of feeling. While it needs a little clean up (new paint, carpet and door hardware/fixtures are going in this week) it is going to be perfect for us, especially since it is only $1,400 a month. This will allow us to save $3,700 a month compared to our house payment now. Plus the house is smaller and this will allow us to travel easily in the summer (we already have a ton of vacations planned)...so when we think about it, we won't be there in the rental that much. It will be fun though to go to new restaurants, take new walks around the area, and to meet new people in the area.

Next up: More packing, getting rid of a lot of furniture that we have now, Dr. Saggar appointment next week, rental cleanup and the big move (on May 15th)!

My Tarot Card Reading...

2009-04-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

You gotta love this crap!

Monday: Starting the week with the Magician is like starting a meal with lobster and caviar: there's nothing better. This card, a symbol of energy turning to achievement, represents beginnings; it fills you with confidence, ambition and the will to succeed. If you have plans for your private or professional life, they will get off to a flying start this Monday. Watch out for an eventful day that marks the start of an ambitious scheme, or the opening chapter of a love story that begins with a promising encounter The cards are in your hands, friend - its up to you to play them!

Tuesday: Strength is on your side come Tuesday! You are armed to face the days events with determination, courage and ambition. Your confidence shelters you from reversals of fortune, because you have no fear of failure. If it happens, you'll know when to bow out, keeping your head high. Your composure and knack for making quick decisions wins admiration at work and among those close to you. The high regard you're held in allows you to kindle events, so don't hesitate to act boldly and call on influential people to help move your endeavors forward.

Wednesday:The presence of the High Priestess in the spread for Wednesday means that you have a surprise in store. An event, or some unexpected backup, may help you to escape the sense of despondency that tends to overcome you when you're faced with an obstacle. You need others support to move forward and this Wednesday, someone puts out a helping hand. Don't refuse this assistance, because it will get you out of a difficult situation at work or in your personal life. It may even be, if you are single, that a friend decides to play matchmaker and set you up with someone rather attractive .

Thursday:You're secretly the one pulling the strings on Thursday, friend. The Moon grants you a powerful intuition that allows you to perceive a colleagues intentions or judge the eventual success of an idea with a single glance. You're therefore able to take pre-emptive action and wrong foot your rivals. Your brains working overtime, you're imaginations firing on all cylinders and you solve problems in completely unexpected ways. You can look forward to stunning those who don't know you well and shooting up in the estimation of your superiors. Go ahead the Moon will light your way.

Friday: Friday is a day of uncertainty; you find yourself wavering between two directions or assignations. The Lovers signify a period of crisis resulting from your inability to resolve a dilemma. Its possible that the intervention of your family or acquaintances will enable you to resolve the situation. Your heart is advising you to listen to the advice of one friend ahead of another and you follow your intuition in making the next move. That's if you ever make a move! For its highly likely that you'd rather put off your decision in the hope that some unforeseen event will come along and tip the scales one way or the other. This Friday, you don't want to make up your mind!

Saturday: Time to turn the page should be your motto on Saturday that's what the skeleton depicted on the card of Death is telling you! This symbol is the indicator of a separation, the breakdown of a relationship, or a change welcome or otherwise in your position. It marks the end of one chapter of your life, and this brings in its wake its fair share of sadness and regret. But this inevitable transition doesn't have to be a negative experience. The scythe clears your path, freeing you from the obstacles and difficulties blocking your way. It allows you to be reborn in spirit, ready to embrace the new.

Sunday: Like the triumphant and confident young man forging ahead in his Chariot, conquering all obstacles, you're brimming with energy this Sunday. If you play a sport, sign up for a competition. Your conquering mindset will help you triumph in a tennis tournament, beat your personal best over 100 meters or run faster than your dog! Burn a few calories, friend; do something physical. You feel assured of success, as if nothing can stand in your way. Great stuff! With ambition and courage, people can do great things!

The ABC's of me...(a nice time waster...)

2009-03-18T14:57:00.001-07:00

ABC's of Me...Give it a try, but you have to do it right.

Copy this whole thing, go to your profile/notes/new note, right click and paste, put the subject back in the title line.Then comes the hard part. Replace my answers with your own!

Then over to the right you can tag as many of your friends as you'd like…include me too, please, so I can see.Come on, you're already here, what else have you got to do? :)

A-
Available: Maybe :P
Age: 25
Annoyance: There are so many....slow computers...dirty diapers....
Animal: Dogs, especially shitz tzus and pugs....

B-
Beer: Yuck...I hate beer...if I have to I will drink a Hef...I am more of a hard liquor kinda girl...
Birthday: June 2, 1983
Best Friend(s): Too many too list...I could never pick a number one
Body part(s) on opposite sex: Hair, Eyes, (ok, I'll behave)
Best feeling in the world: Being on a high dose of morphine for a week (worst feeling in the world-->the week after the morphine...lol)...oh, being on vacation and still getting paid...
Blind or Deaf: Deaf
Best weather: Warm but not hot...
Been in Love: sure...
Been on stage?: yup...long time ago...
Believe in Magic: nope

C-
Candy: Gobstoppers, anything chocolate, anything fruity...
Color: Blue, Green and Gray
Chocolate/Vanilla: I prefer them swirled
Chinese/Mexican Food: Mexican or Chinese...I don't care, I love them both...
Cake or pie: Cake
Continent to visit: Been to Europe...so Africa...
Cheese: Cheddar or pepper jack...

D-
Day or Night: Day
Dancing in the rain: Nah...over it

E-
Eyes: Mine are blue...dad's blue eyes beat out mom's green eyes...
Everyone's got: drama

F-
First thoughts waking up: Already? Work? ...Sigh....
Food: I love it, it doesn't not like me...

G-
Greatest Fear: Line infection again...they are such a bit**
Goals: Try to keep my PICC line for 3 years this time, no infections, and to travel more...
Gum: Extra...fruity, then mint
Get along with your parents?: 99.9% of the time

H-
Hair Color: dark blonde
Height: 5'6.5" (according to my medical records...who cares about .5? Are they serious?)
Holiday: Thanksgiving and Christmas
How do you want to die: quickly and it my sleep...I don't think I really will though...I think it will be a heart attack. We will see!

I-
Ice Cream: Mango Yogurt
Instrument: Synthaziser

J-
Jewelry: bracelet or watch
Job: boring sometimes (obviously...I am doing this aren't I?) but I love it...

K-
Kids: Not now, someday though...even though I can't have them, I will adopt...
Kickboxing or karate: yuck...neither
Keep a journal?: this...lol

L-
Love: not interested now, but down the road...maybe...lol...men=drama
Letter: Email, yo.
Laughed so hard you cried: All the time...

M-
Milk flavor: Low fat or Reduced Fat
Movies: Titanic, comedies, drama, I love them all but stupid humor...
Motion sickness: Nope
McD’s or BK: Wendys
Music: Everything

N-
Number: any number that is double digit and the numbers have to be the same (i.e. 11, 22, 33)
Noodles: yum

O-
One wish: no more PH
Octopus: yuck

P-
Pepsi/Coke: Pepsi
Perfect Pizza: Pepperoni and pineapple
Piercings: Just ears

Q-
Quail: yuck...I do have one sitting on a nest on my fountain by my front door...each year it lays new eggs in the same nest. I think this is the 3rd bird...hmmm...I will miss them when I move.

R-
Reason to cry: Fustration...not doing something right...
Reality T.V.: Oh so many to list: ANTM, Real World, Make me a supermodel, anything with Tim Gunn, Project Runway, etc.
Regrets: sure
Radio Station: I listen to CDs...only 640am if I have to...
Ring size: 7,8,9
Song: Girl's Like Boys by Lady Gaga (for right now)
Shoe size: 9.5,10,10.5, sometimes 11 (rarely though)
Salad Dressing: ranch
Sushi: I like faux sushi, CA roll, Cucumber roll, Tempura Roll
Skinny dipped?: Hahahah...ya....
Strawberries/Blueberries: Strawberries first...then blueberries

T-
Tattoos?: Nope
Time for bed: depends...usually between 11-12. sometime 1 or 2 am...
Thunderstorms: I love them.

U-
Unpredictable: sums up my life...

V-
Vacation spot(s): Europe, Idaho, Hawaii, Mammoth, next...the carribbean...woohoo

W-
Weakness: a good looking/smelling guy....is one of them...
Wine: yuck
Which one of your friends acts the most like you: None really...we are all different...I would guess Rachel, then Lisa. I seem to be the only one with little or no drama though...Lisa you come close though...
Worst feeling: Knowing you have a blot clot in your line or a line infection...PANIC!
Wanted to be a model: ha ha ha...never!
Worst Weather: Blizzard/Hurricane

X-
X-Rays: a TON...face, back, numerous chest x-rays, foot...

Y-
Year it is now: 2009
Yellow: submarine?

Z-
Zoo animal: I love the San Diego Wild Animal park....

Selling your home...

2009-02-15T20:55:00.000-08:00

**Sigh**

Where do I even start. I need to vent.

I hate it when my parents decide to sell the house. We are doing it again...and we are going on our 6th week of being on the market. Usually my parent move every 4-5 years and bank about 200,000-300,000 each time. This time, we have lived here almost nine years and we are looking to bank about 600,000 to 700,000 this time around. It's been tough though...

I hate open houses. It forces me to keep my room clean each day and to make my bed every morning because you never know when someone is coming to check out the house. I have to hide everything that is of some worth to me so no one will steal it...(i.e. hide all wii games, controllers, lap tops, computers, etc.). If we are going to have a open house (like we have had for 6 weeks straight), it forces me to waste one day of my two days off to clean the house so it is immaculate for the open house. Grrr...

Then you have to find something to do during those 5 hours that the open house is going on. It gets so boring...you can only go to the movies so many times. Then there are the realtors that show up with their clients the moment you get home after work and don't even tell you they are bringing a client.

Then there are the bogus offers. There is a reason why we have $1,270,000 FIRM on the listing. Don't give us a low ball offer of one million and expect us to take it (at least not right now). Now there is an executive from Black and Decker (one of our big competitors at work...so every time she comes over, I have to hide all my work stuff as well...sigh)....back to this lady...she is being transferred from North Carolina and wants to make a offer on our home but has 2 other homes on her list too. So we are anticipating on getting another offer this week. I am praying that we get the offer and not the other homes. And please lady, offer somewhere around 1.27. So this misery can stop and I can go find my new home.

The plus side to all this though is the following:

A) we get to start a new adventure
B) mom and I get to design a whole new home
C) I get to design my new bedroom (yay)
D) there is a chance that we can rent a beach house during the summer this year. Dad is open to the thought of renting a place on balboa island until we find the right home.
E) the next home might be a flipper...which means that if the next house is crap...we might move out of soon.

We looked at a home in Foothill Ranch today during our open house. The house was a foreclosure and bank owned. It had potential to be worked on and flipped. It was kind of exciting to actually look at homes. The rat turds in the carpet was a nice added touch to the house...just lovely. Let's just say, if we do eventually buy that home, we need to get a rat exterminator before we move in.

We had 43 people look at the house this week. 3 sets of couples came back more than once. 2 came back twice. And the Black and Decker lady came with her husband 3 times and spent 2 hours each time in our house. Buy the damn house people!!!

The market is definitely picking up. All I have to say is that we need to sell this bad boy soon or I am going to go nutty!

I will keep you all posted...especially if we get an offer this week!!

Memories...

2009-02-11T22:58:00.000-08:00

Leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! Don't send a message, leave a comment on here. Next, re-post this in your notes and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. Repost as "memories".

25 Things

2009-02-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

Rules:Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.(To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people, then click publish.)

So I have been tagged in 9 people's notes regarding this one topic ("chain-note") so I decided that I am going to do one and one...and I am going to do it in my blog so I kill a 'few birds with one stone'. So here it goes...and these are in no particular order...

1. My favorite movie ever is Dirty Dancing. I LOVE IT!!! I have probably seen it 20 times or more (all the way through too). When I was younger, I would always try to convince my parents that we needed to go to a family resort just like Baby and her family. And my favorite quote from the movie is, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner" and my favorite song (well, it is actually a tie) "She's like the Wind" and "Overload" (by Zappacosta)...which most people don't know but I really love it! And sadly I can sing every song off the CD from memory and I always have the CD in my car (so sad!).

2. With the help of Tivo, I have the lamest addiction to "reality" TV shows. The Bachelor, ANTM, Jon and Kate + 8, Little People/Big World, Real World, Celeb Rehab/Sober House, The City, The Hills, Project Runway, Top Chef, Kitchen Nightmare, etc. etc. etc....it's pathetic and ridiculous but I just can't stop the addition!

3. I am secretly in love with Simon Baker. The Australian accent, the curly blond hair...it gets me every time. He is sooo cute. Too bad he is married!

4. I have this "creepy" relationship with my doctor...and when I say "creepy", I mean "creepy". When I was younger, I would dread going to the doctor. Now I see one every 2 months and I talk to my PH doc at least 1-2 times a week. To me...that is "creepy". But when you have the dumbest disease ever with no cure, what do you expect? I have 2 Rheumatolgists (Dr. Furst and Dr. Charles,UCLA) , a Pulmonary Hypertension Specialist (Dr. Rajan Saggar), a secondary Pulmonary Hypertension Specialist (Dr. Shapiro/Dr. Ross), a third Pulmonary Hypertension Specialist (Dr. Rajeev Saggar- Rajan's little bro) a Cardiologist (Dr. Kean UCLA), a primary doctor (Dr. Rokhshadfar) and a secondary doctor (Dr. Trihn), a case coordinator (Anne-Marie Harvey) and a transplant coordinator (Stephanie Lackey UCLA). And then there is my team at my Pharmaceutical provider, Accredo (the list just gets longer). The saddest fact is that my medical file is 6.3 inches thick (yes, we actually measured it last time) and someone's sole job at Blue Shield is to work only on my medical case. Her name is Anne-Marie Harvey and she's the best. She probably knows more about me than I do...ha ha ha...

4. I get paid about $363,000 a year at Hampton. Yes, it's true. With my medical benefits and my two 401K plans...I really can't lose my job! I have a life insurance policy, a 401K plan, a great HMO (with specialist access for free--thank you Dr.Saggar and Anne-Marie!), a awesome dental plan, a special insurance that allows me to have a nurse at my home 24/7 when I need one. Its a extra 10 bucks a month. It's well worth it if you have a terminal disease like myself. Especially if my parents still have to work, when I can't and I need assistance when they are gone. Every year I get a account "summary" from Blue Shield. Here is what my bills kind of looked like the past 2-3 years and I only had to pay 2-3K total. You will see why I can't lose my job!

Heart Cath (one done in 2005 and another done 2007)- $52,000

26 days in ICU fourth floor at UCLA- roughly $427,000

2 weeks at UCLA and 2 weeks at Saddleback Hospital for line infections-$86,000

2 Hickman Catheter insertion surgeries at UCLA-$32,000

2 PICC Line inserts-$12,000

2 Hickman Cath removal Surgeries-$17,000

4 years of Remodulin- 2 bottles of Remodulin per week ($10,000) x 4 weeks x 12 months x 4 years=$3,840,000

Saline, syringes, needles, tubing and 2 pumps for Remodulin (each pump is $10,000) x 4 years= $460,000

Pills (Lasix ($14,400) , Revatio ($86,000), Ultram ($51,840), Postassium ($20,160), Digoxin ($24,750))=$197,150

And I haven't even hit the appointment fees for all my docs that Blue Shield pays for...Dr. Saggar alone gets $200 bucks for every 15 minutes. Yikes...

So no, I can't loose my job!

5. I love to travel. The only problem is most of my income goes towards my car, medical co-pays, shopping...that I don't have much dinero for travel. But I started a travel savings account that pulls from my paycheck every time and I have 1k already saved up for my next destination.

6. I get irritated really easily. Slow drivers in the fast lane, people who ask thousands of questions, people who show up late, people who are lazy, people who never work...all irritate the hell out of me. Especially people who live off of the State. Umm...I pay my taxes to pay for your booty...grow up and get a job and also, don't have more kids than you can afford or pay attention to (hello octa-mama and others!!).

7. My mom says that I have this weird habit of getting interested in something (i.e. knitting, wii, a car) and I am obsessed with it for like 2-3 weeks and then I move onto something else. What's strange about that?...lol

8. I got better grades in college than I did in high school. I guess I learned my lesson.

9. I have "only child syndrome". I like to be by myself most of the time. I excel at video games and arcade games. I hate sharing. I rely on nobody. I am extremely independent and I probably will never live with roommates. I will be lucky if I get married....who wants to deal with relationship drama??

10. I have never done any drugs that are illegal or even smoked a cigarette once. I think it is disgusting. Yet I am on the heart and lung transplant list. Figure that.

11. I love water...I used to swim 2-3 times a week. Now I can't even take a "real" shower because I fear that I will get another line infection from water.

12. It is estimated that about 25,000 people in the world have Pulmonary Hypertension. I am one of them. Seeing that there are BILLIONS of people on Earth, that is a very rare disease.

13. Dr. Saggar says that I should have a tubal ligation (permanent birth control) because I can't have kids having PH. The pill increases your chances of having blood clots due to hormones which can be deadly for me. I am hesitant to do it because I still want to believe that eventually they will find a cure in time and I will be able to have my own kids. Surrogacy and private adoption is always on my mind too. I don't think I will be able to do normal adoption because of my status on the transplant list. The real question is whether I will be able to afford all this?? Till then Ayden will have to be my wanna be child. =)

14. I have learned that my parents are right. All the time. Regarding everything. I think it is due to old age...I mean "experience".

15. I love to decorate...numerous people think I have some kind of talent in it and I think I am pretty good at it. I actually got to decorate our office at work and everyone loved it.

16. I love photography. I don't think I am as good at it as people think I am but I still love taking photos. If I am doing something...my camera is no far away.

17. I am a awesome party planner. But I never do it enough! =)

18. The best date I ever went on was a mini weekend vacation to Santa Barbara, where we got lost on the way up, talked the entire way up, he stopped any place I wanted to take a photo and we stayed in a private home on the beach in Pismo and he cooked EVERY meal while we were there. It was awesome.

19. It do better in small groups than larger groups. I hate talking in front of people. Most would never know that though.

20. I am constantly looking for a home to buy. I would like to buy a beat up Joesph Eichler Home in Orange and redo it in a contemporary style that fits the 60's era that the homes were built.

21. I definitely believe that life experiences=your level of maturity.

22. I love my friends and family like no other. They are my ultimate support group.

23. I love my car. It was the most expensive thing I have ever purchased. It might have been extremely expensive but was worth every dime. I saved my butt off for it and I worked Longo Lexus like no other. 10K off the fleet price (my mom retired from Toyota in 1990 so I got her discount on top of what I worked off)...I think I did a great job at lowering it's price!

24. I love dogs. Only small furry ones though. I have had one dog in my life and it lived 19 years. Oh and by the way, I am allergic to cats AND dogs. Figure that.

25. I would rather give than receive. I hate it when I get presents but I love giving others presents. Especially kids. And I always think about the gifts I give. They usually are unique, or homemade, and usually trigger some memory of a good time for the recipient. I always put a lot of time and effort into them. Here's a tip: How it is wrapped is half of the wow factor!

I got tagged...

2009-02-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

I am - dying to go on a vacation with friends and not have my parents there! (and not have my mom worry that something is going to happen to me...)

I want - a wii (thanks Rachel for getting me addicted!)

I hear - drama from people all the time and it annoys the hell out of me. Why do you people put yourselves in these situations!?!

I work- all the time, even when I don't have to...

I travel- less than I want to...

I often- feel sick to my stomach literally from all my medications but I won't say anything because nobody likes a whiny woman!

I wonder - if some people will ever grow up...

I learn- new things everyday...somethings are useful somethings are just mindless clutter...

I eat- very little, but always gain weight...and I hate it!

I take- photos all the time...because I want a way for myself/my parents/my friends a way of remembering the good times when I am no longer here...

I usually - do the same thing day after day...isn't that boring? But I get paid to do it so I don't care.

I search - for new information about Pulmonary Hypertension all the time...even when I shouldn't (i.e. work)...I think its an obsession...

I am not - as confident as other's think I am.

I dance - terribly and I HATE doing it...

I wish - I was able to have my own kids...because I don't think I will qualify for adoption or have enough money for a private surrogacy...

I go nutty- when people say one thing and do another, cause drama when they don't have to, get into a unhealthy relationship when they shouldn't, drag their kids though unhealthy relationship, continue to be in relationships that are obviously not healthy or productive.

I get angry- with stupid people. Don't drive in the fast lane if you are going under the speed limit. Don't get pissed at me when YOU cross the solid white line and cut me off causing me to get angry and tailgate you.

I rarely - doing anything for myself and would rather do stuff for others...but I am going to change that this year!

I miss- having a dog...

I think- I should have boyfriend by now and I really wish I did but I don't think that it is fair to have a guy fall in love with me and then I get really sick and die. It's just not fair...

I cry - rarely...

I get pissed off- when people lie and don't think I can see right through it (I can detect bullshit a mile away) and don't think I don't know it...

I can't- do everything I wish I could..

I am not always - truthful...I tend not to say things that bother me in fear that I will hurt some one's feelings.

I lose - stuff all the time...and I hate it...

I fear - the Hospital all the time/that Remodulin will stop working one day/ that my IV line gets infected (again...)/ that something happens to my IV line...there is too much to list...

I'm confused - as to why, out of 20,000 people who have PH in the world...why do I have to have it?

I need - to get a will so I can make sure that my parents get my life insurance policy when I die (am I the only 25 with a life insurance policy?)

I should - take it easy/take more PH drugs...but I don't want to live my life taking 20 something pills each day...

I dream - about nothing...because I wake up due to sleep apnea due to my PH...

I hate- that some people don't have to work for anything and yet still survive, while at the same time I have to work all the time just to survive (literally)...

I remember- very few things because it is a side affect of some of my drugs...

I really- want to get married one day and have kids but I don't think that will happen.

I have - goals and ambitions but I know most likely I won't live long enough to accomplish them all...

I hide- lots of stuff (especially from my parents) like how I feel about things, how I am physically feeling, test results, etc. so I don't scare the people around me...

I know- that I am sick, and I feel sick everyday, even though most people can't tell and I don't say anything...

I think- people don't realize how good they have it/ people whine too much/people really don't know how hard life can get unless they go through something extremely traumatic.

I am- the youngest of most of my friends but I think I am the most mature because of what I have gone through already in my life...

I dislike- A. messy homes/rooms/bathrooms...yuck! B. People who argue with others because 1)they just like to hear the sound of their own voice 2) they always think they are right 3) they love to argue 4)they have to always prove themselves C. People who try to act like they are smarter/better/wiser than they really are D. Fake people E. Lazy people F. People who waste money on things that are pointless when they really need to spend it on more important stuff. G. People who can't get their life together when other's depend on them.

I regret- that I didn't go away to college/doing more during college (i.e. study abroad, travel, take "fun" classes like photography, pottery, etc.)

I love - my family and friends and my little godson more than anything else in the world...

My Bucket List...

2009-02-01T21:03:00.000-08:00

Ever see the movie "The Bucket List"? I would like to knock some more things off my bucket list this year. Last year I killed quite a few (go to Europe, ride a high speed train, stand underneath the Eiffel Tower, ride in a pod on the London Eye, go to my first PH conference, start my 401K, etc.). So here is my partial and forever growing list for 2009, I might not get to it all but I can always try. These are in no particular order...

- Take a cruise with best friends though the Caribbean (in particular, the Southern Caribbean).

- Live to my 26th birthday

- Go to the Aquarium of the Pacific
- Go back to the San Diego Wild Animal Park

- Go back to Sea World

- Go back to Julian for apple/pumpkin picking

- Drive up to San Fran/Sonoma

- Drive to the Grand Canyon and stand on the rim

- Go to the annual Eichler Home tour

- Go to the 2009 PH midway-to-conference on the road tour in San Fran

- Go back to Hawaii

- Find a new home! (which requires us to sell our old one)

- Decorate my new room once we move using my "metropolitan home" as my inspiration

- Enter photos into the OC fair again (but this time win!

- Do group xmas photos again in Laguna Beach (they came out so well last year)

- Make another 12 payments on Mona (my Lexus)

- Get a raise at work (no matter how small it is!)

- Apply for my Master's in Marketing (based on whether Saggar gives me the ok to go back to school and work at the same time).

- Go to Joshua Tree for the first time

-Finish knitting Ayden his blanky (half way there!)

- Master Photoshop (or at least learn some new tricks on it...)

- Come up with a battle plan with my financial advisor on how to buy a place of my own

- Get Saggar to say it is OK to live on my own...

- Continue to live my life the way I want to and not be pressure to find a boyfriend in order to be "happy"...I say screw that...if he comes into my life so be it...but I am only 25 and I am not rushing out to get married just to say "I'm married"...foolish young people getting married now...

- Try to solve/address my Sleep Apnea issues due to my PH

- Try to get back on Revatio

- See a massage therapist

- See a chiropractor

- Solve my liver issue (aka go see Saggar's Liver specialist)

- Research genetic testing on PH and see how I can get a DNA test to see if I a connective tissue disorder, if I have primary pulmonary hypertension, or if I have PH from something else.

- Meet at least one new friend and one new PH friend

- Take Ayden and the boys to the beach this summer (and pray that Ayden doesn't eat the sand)

-Go to another Angels game

- Host at least one party this year

- Go see a play up in LA

- Treat myself to one thing each month that I want, no matter how big or small it is...because I deserve it...

- Learn more about photography and enjoy every second of it...

- Get at least one new lens for my Rebel XTi

- Create a online cookbook of all my mom's recipes that I enjoy so that I have them to keep for as long as I live

- Investigate adoption/private surrogacy for the future so I can incorporate it in my future

- No line infections!

- Expand my photography portfolio

- Participate/Co-Host at least one PH fundraiser

- Buy a Wii

to be continued....

Chit Chat with Dr. Saggar

2009-02-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

So Saggar gave me a call this week...I needed to vent to him regarding my crappy week I had and of course the man had to call right in the middle of one of my favorite shows "The Mentalist". So Saggar said that he spoke to the heart/lung transplant team about my file the other day because my case number was up for review. He told them my progress and gave him the latest results of my blood work and my heart cath I had done earlier in the year. In return he gave me a nice little Christmas present (it was a tad bit late but I still accepted it...lol). So he mailed me a disability form for the DMV so I can get a handicap placard for my car when I am having more crappy days or I get stuck at a concert or something and I can't walk that far to my car. My eyebrow raised...wow, a plus side to this disease from hell. I think that is the one and only plus side to this disease. So in order to get it, you have to have your doc sign it saying that you have class 3 or 4 heart failure (bingo!), you have to stop to catch your breath (nah...), you have permanent lung disease (bingo!)...so I hit 2 out of the 10 different things you can have (missing limbs, COPD, etc). Saggar said his wife (who lost their twins in August) was going through another round of in vitro next month and he said his little brother (the other Dr. Saggar) was driving him nuts. Little Saggar is his fellow this year and he said that he loves his brother but he spends way too much time with him. I told him that his brother is better than the other little twit that he has in there that drives me nuts. She looked like she was 12, and asked the stupidest questions (So why are you here? Duh, I have PH... Do you show any symptoms? Duh, ya! Are you on the transplant list? Duh, ya...look at my file woman...its 6 inches thick but you could quickly read it!) OK back to the story... So I went to the DMV on friday afternoon. Since they have closed the DMV on Saturdays, Fridays are now packed but it was the only time I could go since I get off at 4 and I only get an hour lunch. So my boss Kim let me leave work early since they are re-doing our computer systems and there is nothing we can do until it is back up and running. So I bulleted down Lake Forest and jumped in line. Almost 2 hours later I came back home with placard in hand.

Of course the first thing out of my dad's mouth was, "Now I don't want you using that unless you are having a bad day, or you're at an event and you have to park far away, or if the parking lot is completely full". Um...duh! I am not going to deny a poor old man a spot when I can walk it. But I am sure as hell going to use it when I can't find parking! So that was kind of exciting. Then I get an application in the mail on Saturday from Saggar for a discount on my energy bill...eyebrow raises again... wow...another plus... I get 30% off my electricity bill and protection from blackouts because my IV medication has to be refrigerated all the time and if the power goes off the medication spoils. Then during the winter I run the heat all the time so I don't get sick. And during the summer I run the AC all the time so my breathing is easier...plus my body tends to shut down in high heat... So that was great news too...because that would same the fam about 2K a year...which is awesome since dad very little work coming in. So ya... I had some perks actually happen this week! Work is picking back up though...we have a chance of getting 8 more feet of retail space at Home Depot and we are buying another company next month so we are really going to start rolling! Oh and I have 10 trade shows that I have to plan for in the next 2 weeks. My favorite being in Vegas at the beginning of March. So watch out Vegas because I'm comin'!

I am such a slacker...I know!

2009-02-01T20:41:00.000-08:00

(I originally wrote this post 3 days again...)

OK, it's a Friday night and I am at home doing this! What is up with that? Could be the 11 hours of work I did today...

...or it could have been the 150 people Chinese New Year party that mom and I hosted at work today...
...or it could have been the 3 Home Depots I went to looking for competitor product for our new account...
...or least of all, it could have been the one hour twenty minute line that I stood in at the DMV (enough said).

So ya, I am pooped...beyond belief...and the past few days (really the past week) has been full of "bad days" health wise...I thought I had the flu, then I thought I might of had a line infection, then I was just really tired. I dunno, maybe I just wore myself out...so I went and took a blood test to make sure that I didn't have an infection that I didn't know about (blah blah blah)...so like usual my liver enzymes were a tad high but lower than usual (probably do to my new Milk Thistle regimen)...but my BNP was high!! That isn't good and Saggar won't be happy to see that. For those of you who don't know what BNP means here is the definition below: A brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) test measures the amount of the BNP hormone in your blood. BNP is made by your heart and indicates how well your heart is working. Normally, only a low amount of BNP is found in your blood. However, if your heart has to work harder than usual over a long period of time, such as from heart failure, the heart releases more BNP, increasing the blood level of BNP. The BNP level will drop when treatment for heart failure is working. Eek! Ya...now lets come back to reality...4 years ago, my BNP was off the charts (like in the thousands=your dying) and then dropped under 100 (which is normal) after I got treatment...but it is slightly high again...grrr! I think it is took much stress on my heart=too much stress in my life! So that kind of freaked me out... Then I looked at my carbon dioxide...it was low! That is probably from the Lasix though... My red blood cell count was high... (due to the transfer of extra oxygen to my lungs) My Hemoglobin was one point too high (again due to extra oxygen transferring throughout my body... Twice this week I woke up with heart palpitations during the middle of the night... So it looks like my heart failure might be causing this "sluggish" feeling that I have had all week. I think it is time for a vacation... Ok that is my medical update for the week...

Mike and Christine's Wedding...

2008-09-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

As much as I dreaded going to Mike and Christine's Wedding (partly because I was going alone...Mack you suck!...joking!) I really did have a good time. The ceremony occurred at rock bench at Laguna Beach. It was sunny...a tad bit foggy (it was at 4pm) but the sun was shinning and it was somewhat cool. Mike looked very handsome in a simple suit and Christine looked elegant in her wedding dress. They both said their "The Top Ten Things I Love About You". Both were very clever. They also said their vows, and had a couple's prayer with their Minister. They did what I call the "pouring of the sand" in both green and tan sand (very nice touch to the beach theme wedding). The ceremony was very informal and everyone gathered around the couple during their ceremony. The wedding was modern but had classic flair...

The reception was at La Casa de Camino...on the roof top...many of us know La Casa for it's awesome rooftop bar and complete 180 view. There was an open bar (with a very cute bartender I must add...) and guests were greeted with a beautiful but simple sign-in table. On the table, there was beautiful dahlias, roses, jasmine, etc. and a very creative book with images of Mike and Christine was presented as a wedding gift from the photographer. We scribbled in a small "good luck" note in the pages of the book. I grabbed a classic mojito from the cute bartender and asked Christine's BFF where I was sitting. I got to sit right next to the couple!!! (Clever planning on Christine's behalf...I must add). I met Christine's mentor (Christine is a breast cancer survivor and went through her treatment with her mentor) as well as her husband who is some famous architect in Southern California (I got to hear some fantastic stories of Joesph Eichler and the Fairhaven homes...the tract I plan on buying in)...I also met a stylish and VERY talkative woman, Donna and her husband who worked with Mike when he worked with Verizon Wireless...

Just at that time a very cute waiter came up to me and asked me if I wanted a appetizer (yum!...and yes that is to the man and the food...see Mack you should have been there to save me!)... I talked to the server for awhile (like 10 min I would guess...long enough for the food to get cold on his tray...he kept asking questions though...I didn't want to be rude!). The three piece band started...a woman in her 40s/50s was the led singer and two men in their 60s played the cello and the guitar. She sang classic Sinatra songs as well as your typical wedding songs. Mike and Christine arrived after their photo session, which happened to be around sunset...they looked so happy and could not keep their lips off each other. I danced with Christine on the floor for awhile since Mr. Shy (aka Mike) would not dance....before I knew it, dinner was being served (cute waiter arrived again!)...our first course was a HUGE walnut, dried cranberry, blue cheese salad...the main course was next: Filet Mignon and Salmon, grilled asparagus and carrots and mashed potatoes....YUMMY!!! It was delectable!

Next was the family toast...Mike's brother was hilarious but his speech was very loving...the couple cut the cake and Christine threw her bouquet to the single ladies (I opted to stay out since the IV Line might get in the way of all of the grabbing). Mike and Christine finally danced through a few songs and by 10:30 it was time to go. Christine gave me this huge beautiful bouquet from her table for me to take home...

As for their wedding gift I decided to give them a photo album of my pictures that day in a Kodak Book, and a CD of the images. Christine is a huge photo fan so I know she will love it. I think she will appreciate the photos I took because the photographer's she hired were missing a lot of great shots that I captured (they weren't even there when she got out of the car for the ceremony!!!!).

Overall I had a great time, I got some awesome photos for my "Lindsay Nicol Photography" website...and I had a great time sharing Mike and Christine's big day with them. Now they are off in Tahiti for their Honeymoon and I am house watching for the couple. Mike is such an awesome guys and has really been a great family friend over the years. I am so glad he met Christine...Christine has this exceptional way of making you feel as if you are just another member of her family. She is going to be an awesome new neighbor as well. Yay for Mike and Christine!

Christine coming out of her ride for the Ceremony...in a classic Royales Royce

Mike and his niece (who was the flower girl)...

Christine giving her "Top Ten"

The wedding from the flower girl's point of view....

Such a cute moment in the ceremony....

Christine is so pretty...

Lavender was the theme color....

Laguna Beach is such an awesome place to get married at...

Christine NEVER stopped smiling...

Look at that gorgeous ring...

Pouring of the sand.....

Tan and green...

Couples Prayer....

Just Married!!!

The pressure is off!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Moore

The kids after the ceremony...

So pretty...

I got to keep this arrangement!!!

The reception at the famous La Casa De Camino was on the rooftop....

Yummy cake...

Mike and Christine's Guest Book....Very clever idea!!!

Three piece band...

Entering the reception...

I sat at the "Hawaii" table...

Me...

2008 PHA Conference

2008-09-05T22:36:00.001-07:00

The 2008 Pulmonary Hypertension Association Conference was in Houston, Texas this year. I Had a blast and it was great to meet other people that have PH. Best thing of all was that the Saggar brothers were there (I <3 you both!). It was awesome to hear everyone's story and it was really inspiring to listen to an 80 year old survivor tells us young ones not to give up in life. Here is my day by day breakdown:

Thursday-

Plane landed in Houston in the AM. Checked into the Hilton. It was AWESOME!!! The rooms were great, the beds were really great, and I already saw PH peeps in the elevator. I drove my rental car down to the famous mall in Houston and did some shopping with mom. That night was the Conference "meet and greet" and registration. Mom and I got our free stuff and our badges.

(View from my hotel room at the Hilton, Downtown Houston)

Friday-

Conference opening speach was that morning. 7am. Waaaaayyyyy to early for PH peeps. Carl Hicks spoke first about his daughter's PH story and his reason for being on the board of PHA and why he wanted to be President. I think there wasn't a dry eye in the place. That afternoon was the medical sessions for doctors. I found little Saggar (Dr. Saggar's fellow and little bro) and he told me to come in if I wanted to. So I went in while mom rested in the room. Big Saggar was there and gave me a big hug. After that, every doctor we ran into, he had to tell my case to. After awhile, I left and went and got mom for dinner. We went to a local place and got some awesome food.

(At one of the many dinners that weekend. Caroline, Monica, and Myself)

Saturday-

Breakfast again. Met Monica and Caroline who are PH peeps from UCLA. They see Dr. Shapiro though. Caroline had seen Saggar though for a PH episode she had a few months ago. We all became best buds. We then met another young girl from Montana that was just diagnosed. She looked very frail. I felt bad for her. Then we met another girl from Mass who has had PH since birth due to a heart defect. Her brother had died from PH. Her mom was one strong woman.

We all went to the the same patient classes and learned about new meds, new I.V. prep techniques, and all different kinds of things. There was even a class on sex and having PH....Wow...I know. Then there was the fashion show and people showed others how they hide their I.V. pumps and dress up for special occasions. Then their was dinner and more speakers from around the world.

Sunday-

Last day of conference. We had our last sessions and had our final conference meal (all were prepared by the Hilton and were YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I said goodbye to the Saggars, my new friends, and others that I had met in my Remodulin Support group. One of the members of the PHA board asked me if I would be willing to go to Capitol hill with her next summer and speak. I told her to give me her card and I would call her, or she could call me. Little did I know that Joanne also ran the PH support group system for NY and was the EXECUTIVE board of PHA.

I am definitely keeping her in my Blackberry.

Over all I had a great time, met some wonderful people and can't wait to go to the next one: IN ORANGE COUNTY!!!! (I will definitely be volunteering for that one!)

Ayden's Baby Contest....

2008-09-05T22:26:00.000-07:00

I just found these cute photos of Ayden in y files on my laptop...so darn cute...except for his hair! God what were they thinking???

Ayden and his proud papa...

Ayden and his trophy....

Gag me...another wedding!

2008-09-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

So don't be a hater...I love a good wedding just as much as the next person, but it seems that almost everyone I know either:

a) was in a wedding

b) had a wedding in which I had to attend

c) had a wedding and I wasn't invited (How rude!...joking!)

and the thought of going to ANOTHER one tomorrow is kinda exciting but kinda of annoying at the same time. Exciting in a sense because I

get to do photography at this one (yay for my

portfolio) but then again I have to get all dressed up and stuff...and I so want to be just casual tomorrow on my day off from work.

Oh well...what I do for Mike and his Wifey...

New Office

2008-08-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

I am so excited. At work I am finally getting a ***NEW*** office!!!!

We have taken over the other side of our building and the engineers at work have decided to build like 15 new offices! Instead of me sitting in the middle of the showroom at my desk, I will have 4 brand new walls. What was really awesome was that we got to pick our own paint colors for our offices. I picked a really bright Tiffany-blue color that will take some time to adjust to but I love it. It's bold and it's crazy. I am going to paint some tropical colored stripes on one of the three walls which will be a daunting task when the ceilings are soooo freaking high. We all get to pick new pictures for our offices as well so I am getting some great Andy Warhol black and whites.

Mom and I designed the rest of the common areas such as the 4 new meeting rooms, the creative services design room and the new showroom. I will finally have a clean showroom! Dustin and I have created a great program that will track items in the showroom so I finally know who is steal my crap (which I HATE!!). I will have to post pics once I take them. Three new refrigerators come next week as well as the area rugs mom and picked out and the new couches.

The Innovation Center- as it is called is going to be so freaking awesome. I can't wait to move.

Laters!

Labor Day Weekend

2008-08-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

I am outta here suckers! I will be gone for just one day but I am really looking forward to it. I am hoping to go to La Jolla Cove Beach and take some awesome photos. First Lisa and I are going to meet Ben and his single friend **wink** for lunch. Then we are going to shoot over to the beach. I am hoping that the beach won't be bad plus I heard you have to park kinda far and walk over (sigh) so I am hoping that I don't have to drag my equipment with me a long distance.

We will see. Pray for no crowds and sunny weather.

Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau Photo Contest

2008-08-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I entered a photo contest and I actually won! I won the "OC Lifestyle" catagory. As a reward, I received a $100 gift card from American Express and I get to be in a 2-page spread in "OC. The Place" Magazine. Yippy! It is going to be in the September issue. I will try to post a copy of it when I can. Above is my winning photo. If you check out the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau's website at the link below you can see the other photos that won as well.

www.anaheimoc.org/Articles/Archive/Webpage101196.asp

If you click the "Meet the Winners" link you with see my "mug" on the page. They butchered my paragraph but at least I look good in the photo.

Well I am off to find another contest to enter. Wish me luck!

Linz

Dinner at Claim Jumper (September 2006)

2008-03-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

So the "extended group" (which included Lisa, Peggy, Gabe, Aymee', Ayden (in womb), Robert,Cody, Dan, Laura and I) decided to go together one night after work to dinner at Claim Jumper. We had the best time ever. The single ladies were hitting on the Bartender (well really it was I alone, but everyone got a kick over it) and we had some delicious food and had a great time catching up with each other.
Photo 14. Me, Gabe and Aymee' waiting for our table.

Photo 15. Aymee' and I...and no we are not related!

Photo 16. Lisa and I at the bar...drink #3

Photo 17. Lisa laughing over her "Asian Glow"

Photo 18. Lisa and Peggy

Photo 19. Poor Fishy!

Photo 20. Somebody is getting full after the 4th round at the salad bar!

Photo 21. Aymee' and Gabe (and Ayden in womb)

Photo 22. Laura and I

Photo 23. Laura and Dan

Robert's Birthday (April 28th, 2007)

2008-03-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

Robert that year had his birthday at Place Park. He had a TON of friends come with him to help celebrate his birthday. Of course, I quickly volunteered to watch Ayden that day while everyone else did all the crazy rides and stuff. Plus, I know I got the better end of the stick (watch 40 nine year old kids or watch one baby that sleeps all the time...I didn't even have to think twice).

Photo 8. Devilish

Photo 9. Hand the boy his cake.

Photo 10. Typical Robert style...he sprayed the cake in spit...lovely....

Photo 11. Aymee' and Robert

Photo 12. Ayden at 3 weeks.

Ayden is Born! (April 2007)

2008-03-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

My bestfriends Aymee' and Gabe had their first child together in April of 2007. Ayden Jonathan Patrick (my god son) was born On "Good Friday" April 2007 (of course the little guy had to come when I was in Arkansas at work...little stinker!). He was such a little ham back then...and he still is. I flew back home the day after he was born. These were pictures I took that Saturday.

Photo 1. Me and my god son!

Photo 2. I think he likes me!

Photo 3. Auntie Lisa

Photo 4. Mama and Papa
Photo 5. Proud papa

Photo 6. Auntie Lisa with Baby Ayden!

Photo 7. Sleepy little Ayden!

Note:

OK...so I am going to start posting all of the photos people...now I have over 16,200 photos on my computer now so I won't have time to post them all but I will start with some of the most requested photos and work my way around...I apologize for the random dates ahead of time. As I catch up, the photos will be more recent! See you all soon!

Linz

Lindsay Nicol Photography

2008-03-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, I have a huge passion for photography (I am in love with my Canon Rebel XTi) and I rarely leave my house without my camera. I catch many of you in my photos and you often ask where you can download them. Well...soon I am going to have my own website where you can download them but until then I am going to post the best photos on here first and if you want a copy I can send it to you! Just give me the photo number below each image and I will send it to you in Jpeg or Tiff format or any other format you prefer! Hope that works!

PROPOSITION 3-17

2008-03-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

OK PEOPLE!!!!

LISTEN UP!!!

If you love St. Patrick's Day, beer and want the day off from work next year sign prop 3-17!!!

You will rarely see me support anything political....but come on! This is Guinness we are talking about, and we all deserve an extra day off from work! I have already signed it twice (you just have to use a different email address each time). All signatures have to be collected by Monday. They needed one million people to sign it and we are down to the last few hundred thousand 245,000 when I signed it.

So people take a second to support the Irish and our favorite beer....GUINNESS!!

Cheers!

Click the link below to sign!

http://www.proposition317.com/

Peace out!

A cutie at UCLA with Pulmonary Hypertension....

2008-03-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

Check it out....the guy is so cute!

http://www.uclahealth.org/body.cfm?xyzpdqabc=0&id=403&action=detail&ref=963

Life as we know it...

2008-03-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

Life as we know it...

When you think about it, life can be of three things:

1. Really Crappy
2. Lackluster
3. Phenomenal

Friday my friends, would have been one number 1...

Let's first start off with the idea that I had to use 8 hours of vacation time at work to go and have a medical procedure done that I don't find, in any sense, a "vacation". I have been dreading this day for....ohhh....lets say 2 years and have been able to put it off for over a year (I am the QUEEN of bullpoopy excuses)...and the time had come for the dreaded.....drumroll please...

...right heart cath.....

Now normally, a right heart cath involves pucuturing a large vein in your groin, inserting a plastic tube up the length of your body until the line ends up in your heart (lucky you!). Sound lovely to you? Well let me set the picture for you...

Thursday I got off of work at 6:18 PM....2 hours behind because I had to make up for the work I was going to miss while on my so called "vacation". So I got home: grumpy, tired and hungry. I chowed down, what my dad endearingly called, "my last meal". Thanks dad, really appreciated that one.

So I went to bed around 9:45 PM with the worst headache ever, popped (2) 50mg of tramadol and 2 tablets of sidefil, and stayed asleep until 8am the next morning. Ahhhh sleep...

The plan was to leave at 9am to be at UCLA at 11AM for pre-op. I was cool with that...I can deal with not eating in the morning till around noonish usually so I thought I was going to be fine. Well was I wrong.

So I got admitting and sat next to an older lady who was about ready to hack up her left lung and an young guy probably around 28 or so, bitching out his girlfriend how she was a real bitch for not showing up on his surgery day.

...nice...

So I got my wristband on, and signed away my life to UCLA saying that they are free to bill me for anything they want from here on out... (Blue Cross and I like BFF's)...

The nurse takes me to the elevator and we go down to the basement level for the heart cath lab. Now right there, something freaks me out about going to a "basement" for surgery...it's just weird...now I have been to the basement many times in my previous visits to UCLA and have found it to be always busy, loud, and really smelly...it's just gives me "the creeps". So I wait 45 min (it is now around noon and my stomach is growling and surgery is 1 hour away).

So the next nurse tells me that I have to go to p.o. (pre-op) to get ready. So I strip down to the fashionable attire of a perwinkle UCLA gown. Mom and I are twiddling our thumbs until 1:15p. OK...like usual Saggar (my pulmonary Hypertension specialist and Heart-lung transplant doctor) style...we are running behind. Brian (the lab tech who works for him exclusively) then comes over and says "oh your here already, nobody told me" ...ummm yeah duh....here and hungry!

Side note: Brian is, as Randy Jackson would say it, "my dawg". He hooks me up with all the good meds and stuff during pre-op.

So I get my I.V. in, he gives me a new tatoo with his Sharpie "No IV, No BP" on my left arm because of my PICC line in my left arm. Just a friendly reminder for all.

Tick-toc....tick-toc....we sat there until 4:20 people!!!! Brian and I started playing 21 because we were so freakin' bored. Saggar had a code blue on the 4th floor, then he had to go to ICU....blah blah blah...just get to my damn surgery already. So Saggar called Brian on the cell and told him to wheel me up to the forth floor. On the way, I ran into the lady who gave me my PICC line in July in the elevator, had to chat with her for awhile. Then I ran into my neighbor who works for Johnson and Johnson, talked to him for a while. Then I ran into the nursing team that helped me my during my 26 day stunt there 2 years ago and then I had to give an update to them. So then I see Mekalia (Saggar's assistant) who had all these damn forms for me to sign about giving 120mL of blood for their study...sure whatever....lets just get this bad boy going. Then all of a sudden I see little Saggar (Saggar's left hand man...and also his cute, but not as good-looking little brother)...he says that he is going to do the heart cath along side of his bro. OK no problem. So they strap me down to the table. Pour Iodine all over my neck (no one is putting a wire anywhere near my groin/vajay-jay area)...and then tells me,"whatever you do, don't move"....ummm ok! So he gives me 3 shots of numbing crap to my throat (the worst part of it all...the stuff burns way worse than a bee sting). He inserts the Swan-Granz cath in my jugular, then puts the wire through and starts taking measurements of my pulmonary pressures and cardiac output...then walks in big Saggar...and sits right infront of my face (MY SAVIOUR!!!)...he looks at me with his big beautiful blue eyes and asks how I was doing (I melted at that moment). I was thinking well....my throat is on fire from the numbing solution...my neck is cracked over on it's side at 45 degree angle, I smell like Iodine, and my heart feels like it is fluttering like crazy and is about to explode....so he grabs my hand as his bro gives him the run down...I really do love this man...I think he is the best Doc a girl could have. So, he tells me that I am doing great, but I could tell on his face that he wasn't happy. So they wrap up the test....1.5 hours later....they walk outside while Brian covers my stitches and cleans me up. They went into the back room and then went outside to talk to my mom. They came back in and big Saggar sits next to me on the table and says,"well we are doing well but not as well as expected". Oh man....that sucks!!! So we go over my results and he says that I have 2 options...keep increasing the Remodulin, or increase the Remodulin and introduce a third medication. Damn....

Everyone with PH knows that every new therapy comes with side effects so I choose to just keep increasing my remodulin. He said that that works for him and that we will look at going on Tracleer (the pill version) next summer after my heart cath next year (I was hoping to start it this year).

How freaking depressing. I went from 142 mmHg 2 years ago to 105mmHg this year (a normal person is 15 to 30 mmHg) and a cardic output of 3.08 liters per min (noraml is 4 to 6 liters). We all looked pretty sad coming out of that Heart Cath lab. I think I really let down both of the Saggar brothers. I know "I" personally didn't do it...but they had such looks of disappointment on their faces, and when I started to get all updet, Big Saggar got upset. We were a bunch of crying freaks. So he gave me a big hug and told me that the good thing is that now he knows my stats so he can try to give me more agressive therapies that he thinks will work better. Saggar and I did a 6 minute walk test and I did the best I had ever done (over a thousand feet) which is farther than a average person does in 6 min...and he was suprised to see that my O2 levels increased when I walked. He looked a little puzzled.

So as mom and I were walking back to the car she said that Saggar came out and said that the Cath went well but my result were not that great. He said that it wasn't anything I was doing but it was the drugs weren't high enough. He said that I was still in heart failure and that I was still "a very sick person" and that we still have a long way to go before I can go off the I.V.

When we left it was 7:30 PM, we were stuck in nasty-ass LA traffic and I still had my headache.

So ya....this weekend was a told crapper weekend. Stitches, a black and blue neck, and a killer headache. Work will be a bitch tomorrow when everyone asks what the hell happened to my neck. I should just send out a mass email saying that I was not in a bar fight or anything I was just sliced and diced at UCLA.

Good thing is, I increased my meds yesterday, my headache went away, my redness went away and I had a heck of lot easier time breathing on this new dose.

Well peeps, we are one step closer but many feet away...

Europe is only 2 months away...something to look forward to....

and the trip with Saggar to Houston for the PHA 2008 conference! =)

Just another "peep" from the bird on the wire...