Merry Christmas!!!

Crazy Two Days!

yup, just as the title said.. it has been crazy for the past two days for me! well, for the month so far...

since the year is about to end, and we have 11 months to go for the wedding, i decided to try and finalize a couple more things before the end of the year. so far we have booked our reception, videographer and photographer and that's it. even our entourage isn't finalized yet!

anyhoo... i decided that since horacio and i have totally different schedules and i have to try (so hard) not to sleep all day long on the days that i am off.. to schedule seeing vendors even on the days after i work.. (get my drift?) the only thing was that i told horacio that he would be driving in silence, since i would probably be asleep most of the drive! and that eh would have to make sure i am well fed. (hehe)

so, on wednesday, the 17th, as soon as i got home from work, horacio and i got ourselves ready to head out to long island to see a jeweler that customizes rings. our appointment was at noon, i got home around 8:45... as i said, i had to be well fed... we stopped by ihop first to have a hearty breakfast and were on our way to the jeweler by 11:30. we met with the owner of the place herself... talked about possibly changing the setting of my (engagement) ring, which i then realized i had a hard time parting with it and that i had this sinking feeling know that they would be "harming" my ring. so, i guess, we had to scratch that idea! then we proceeded on talking about wedding bands.. i now know what i like for me! but we didn't purchase anything yet. she told us to come back next year, to look aorund for other places just to be sure that we are really comfortable and really know what we want. it was a good consultation, since we were really able to sit down with someone and talk about rings in more details and weren't rush. the place is only by appointment, they don't accept walk-ins (which i think says a lot about the store - plus, they have been in business for more than 20 years and have had the same policy since day one).

after the jeweler, horacio and i headed out for our next destination - a dj company. we were early for our appointment and the location of the dj was just a walk away from woodbury commons (no, not the same one in jersey). we saw a sale sign on the banana republic window and thought.. let's just check it out to kill time. since we both knew that we are on a tight budget and that BR prices even on sale are still something that we would think twice spending on. were we wrong! we left the store with a dress, a blouse and a bag for me and some dress shirts for horacio! the sale was so great that we couldn't resist! we got our stuff from the sale rack plus we got $50 off on every $125 that you purchase!!! basically, i got a $250 bag for merely $70!!!

back on the dj hunt... we met with the guy... he showed us a video of what they do and all... the company is great and all, very professional. yet, the price was something that we really had to think about. besides, they were the first dj company that we have met... we have planned to see two more. so, we left the place, liking them, having them as a good candidate for the wedding.

then it was time for us to head back home... get ourselves ready for WINTUK!! yep! horacio got us tickets from the hospital (for a discounted price)... again, i fell asleep on the drive back home, giving me a total of at least 1 hour of sleep! thank God i wasn't that grouchy though but i still wasn't in the greatest mood. and didn't really feel like talking...

anyways, we got ready for wintuk and left the house by 6:30... wintuk was amazing! too bad we couldn't take pictures though.. but i was gutsy enough to take at one shot by the end of the show!!

then we headed straight home, ordered some chinese food... and when we are about to hit the hay, we realized that the gifts for his family needed to be wrapped since we were gonna pass by the following day. so, i stayed up until about one, wrapping gifts and all and went to bed (finally!).

then the morning came, i woke up at around 6am... tried to go back to sleep... but couldn't! so i just decided to get up, bake the dough that was sitting on the fridge so we could bring them to horacio's family. we had three appointments for the day. by 9, horacio and i were rushing to leave for our 10am appointment with a pastor in long island. we had mickey ds for breakie, drive-thru! i was up all the way throughout the way. we got to the church about half an hour late... which, i think, the pastor didn't mind. the church was nice, it was something that horacio and i just had in mind. after which, horacio and I headed out to check-out yet another dj company.

The dj company was great, the price was just (about) right… so we booked the dj right then and there. It may seem like a hasty decision, but the deal that we got was just so good.

After booking the dj and placing our deposit… we had time to kill until our next appointment. Since we were nearby and love their food.. horacio and I decided to have lunch at the cheesecake factory! It was a really great meal! We had the chicken thai wraps, I had their very sumptuous shrimp scampi and horacio had their tons of fun burger – which didn’t leave any room for dessert!

As soon as we pulled out the parking lot for our next destination, I got myself comfy underneath the blanket, and fell asleep almost immediately. Horacio woke me up, for he wasn’t sure the name of the church that we were looking for… the gps gave us a different location and we ended up by a school… good thing the church was just about four blocks away… and we didn’t get lost by much. The pastor confirmed with us that a lot of people make the same mistake, hence the 15 minute tardiness! The church was nice… but it had some elements that I didn’t like. After chatting with the pastor, he recommended another church that was located couple of minutes away. He gave us directions, and horacio and I decided to check it out as well.

As soon as we got to the church, we fell in love with the place. The church itself was nice. Unfortunately there was no one that we could talk to about having a possible wedding ceremony there… so, hopefully they are open to having a wedding with an outside pastor officiating the wedding.

After that, horacio drove around while I slept… then we headed towards his parent’s place. Where, embarrassingly enough, I fell asleep on their couch… thank God horacio’s family understood why I was falling asleep!

It was indeed a very long two-days for me… but thank God that I am ok and that we were able to do and cross out some of the things off our list. I wouldn’t recommend other people to do what I did… but I sure wouldn’t mind doing it again. If it means not losing a day, and be more productive… or maybe I should really just switch my shift at work?

days vs. nights

so here i am... been on nights for a good month already. i like it, i adjusted well.... it has it's crazy moments... especially between the hours of 8pm and 11pm. after that, things starts to quiet down (unless you have those severely sundowning patients and severely confused, demented patients!). i still stay awake for the whole 12-hours that i am in... i like nights. i like it for i know it gets busy, yet it quiets down after a while, you get the chance to catch up with whatever it is you have to do. the textbook nurse that has the time to speak to patient and hear what they have on their chest, the "therapeautic communication" as the called it... i actually was able to apply it on nights... after working on the field for about 2 years now, i actually was able to stay in a patient's room for a good 10 minutes and talk to him. today, he just told me that that night we talk was the first night he slept happy. it just feels so rewarding! i finally get it when God said that we meet people for a reason. that each one of them will bring something in our lives. and i believe that i was that person for him.

on the downside... i have been feeling the exhaustion... i have been losing days wherein i just sleep through it and will be up all night even on my day off.. which is so unproductive of me. am so sluggish! on the days that i am off, i have to force myself to stay awake and be away from my bed... but then, after a 12-hour shift, all i long for is the bed... don't get me wrong, i could stay awake as long as am doing something and someone is next to me helping me stay awake! but it's just hard... i would be actually be awake for more than 24-hours!! sometimes, i miss the busy-ness of days.. of not being able to sit down, being stressed out... coz i know that's what keeps me on my toes. i know that i am being productive, instead of sitting here waiting for time to come for the next medication or to just find something to do as to not fall asleep.

i miss spending time with horacio (i miss going to and coming home from work with him or have lunch together)... i want to make plans to see family and friends... i actually kinda owe the kids hang-out time... haven't called or spoken to my mom since i don't know when... and i still have to fix my place up and ready it for christmas... there's just so many things to do that my sluggish self is just too sluggish. maybe i would switch to days... but then, there goes the therapeautic nurse that i could be on nights.... *sigh*