Ready for the NEW YEAR!

So most orthropeadic doctors will tell you that and Ortho's December is like a tax accountant's april. And let me tell you how right that is!!!

This month we have about doubled how many surgeries we normally do. For about the last two months I have been working 50 -60 hrs a week and I am beat!! I am physically and mentally exhausted! We have no food in our fridge, my house is messy ( and if you know me- you know that drives me crazy) and I miss my husband.

Just this tuesday, I was at work from 5:45 am to 10:15 pm as an anesthesia tech.... which pretty much means I spent the day running. By the end of the day my feet were just pounding they hurt to bad. Let's just say I better have lost weight that day cause I walked/ran for almost 17 hours, and harldy ate anything. Also on tuesday, one of the coolest things I've seen here at work happen. I can't share too much info cause of patient confidentiallity... but basically this really tuff guy came in for an arm surgery.... he could not move his hand, fingers or thumb up at all. Then I watched the surgery where the surgeon with a microscopic needle sewed the guy's nerve back together. Then in post-op, as the guy was waking up the first thing he did was try to move his hand. He was completely amazed that he could move his fingers up(he, along with some of the staff... people who are lucky enough to get feeling back normally can't do it that fast, so he was lucky).... and he had the look of pure relief and joy. That was really really COOL to witness. He almost started to tear up!

Anyways, I get tomorrow off, and I am doing NOTHING but cleaning my house and watching TV (until we go play dodgeball with the Houghton's).

Casey's New Job

CASEY GOT A NEW JOB!!!

This is the most exciting news that us Houghton's have had in a while!! (besides my dyson, of course).

So for a while now Casey has been wanting a new job. He's been working as a counselor at a place called Heritage Schools... it's a treatment center for troubled youth. It's a pretty intense job and Casey has been there for two and a half years now. When he feels like he's really been able to help one of the kids, it can be really rewarding.... but most of the time it is basically just a really stressful job. He started there thinking that was what he wanted to do with his life... become a Recreational Therapist and help people. While he still wants to help people in some way, he does not want to be a rec therapist- they don't make much money and you deal with ridiculous problems all day long. Working at Heritage has been a priceless experience for him, but it's time to move on. Casey said he was starting to get sick of being cursed at every 5 minutes.

SO.... I was looking at the jobs available here at Intermountain Healthcare (where I work) and there was an opening for a Landscaping Specialist. Before working at Heritage, Casey worked for American Fork City as a landscaper and LOVED it. So I applied for the job for Casey. Not only because of the economy, but because IHC has a policy of hiring from within...it is SUPER hard to get hired at IHC. The chances of him getting the job were super small, so not only did we not get our hopes up, we didn't even think he would get an interview. So my surprise, he got an interview!!
He said he felt good about the interview and he felt good about his possible managers (he also wore his SUPER hot new coat). Shortly after the interview, we got a call from Human Resources offering him the job!! The human resources guy said that Casey had really impressed the managers, and they were really excited about working with him. He also told Casey he would be getting paid more than the job was even posted for!

So besides really liking what he's gonna be doing, here is what is awesome about this new job- He's getting paid more than he was at Heritage, he will be eligible for tuition reimbursement (basically a scholarship where IHC pays for his school), there is room to move up in the company, his hours are great for going to school and my favourite: we can have lunch together and even ride to work together sometimes!!

So needless to say, we are very happy. And I am SUPER proud of him. Just this morning this lady I work with whose husband works over there.... was totally shocked to find out Casey got the job. She said there were over 100 applicants for the job!!

Just in time

Casey and I have a LOT to be thankful for this thanksgiving season!! We are both heathly, we live in a home that we LOVE and we both have great families!! Not bad!

So my first story happened Thanksgiving day. I have been planning for a while now to wake up early on black friday to get a Dyson vacumn. I have been wanting one for some time now... and it was finally time! So Casey has known for a few weeks that I was planning on being at target at 4am to get one. We were all sitting around the dinner table when I was telling the family this and Casey and of nowhere told me that I wasn't allowed to go the next morning. I looked at him very confused... and he told me again not go to. Then, with everyone starring at us he broke down and told me that he worked out with a lady that Jody (his mom) works with whose husband works at sears and gets in early on black friday... that they would get me a dyson. Casey was planning on surprising me with it on my birthday. It was the same vacumn, only cheaper.

Anyways, the next morning when we knew the lady was able to get one for us, I was THRILLED that I got a dyson and I didn't even have to get up early, and Casey and pretty much just as THRILLED that he was able to find a better deal than me :)

On to the next recent story....

So Casey and I had both been in the kitchen for most of the night... this was just last night, Sunday. We had been eating dinner, doing dishes, doing laundry and making muffins. Well about 5 minutes after I went in the bedroom to put the laundry away and Casey went into the very opposite side of the condo where the TV is to put his X-Box back together, we hear a HUGE crash. One of the scariest noises ever. I run into the front room and the chandelier has fallen. Glass EVERYWHERE. In the kitchen sink, in the couch, even on the walls. There is a kid that lives above us that jumps from the couch to the floor ALL THE TIME. It's super annoying, really. Casey and I both feel very fortunate that we weren't in the kitchen and neither of us got hurt. Anyways, the Dyson couldn't have come at a better time!

To end the post, I'd like to let everyone know that Casey got a job offer today!!! He is happy with his job at Heritage, but has been wanting a change for a little while. Working with those kinds of kids everyday can really weight on ya. Anyways, there was a landscaping job that opened up at the hospital that I work at and since Casey has worked landscaping before and LOVED it... we thought it might be the perfect opportunity for him. Can I just say how proud of my husband I am? IHC is a wonderful company to work for and there are SO SO SO many people who apply for jobs here. My boss told me not too long ago that jobs here (at least lately because of the economoy) normally get at least 80 applicants. I mean, you are lucky if you even get an interview. Even at that IHC tries to hire in-house. So for my cute hubby to even get an interview was fantastic... let alone the job!! This means that Casey and I will be able to have lunch together everyday, see each other more often, and there is a lot of room to move up for him here.

Like I said, Casey and I have a lot to be thankful for :)

Oh- and I just found a piece of glass in my shoe.

PARK CITY!!!

I had a fabulous weekend with my friends up in park city!!

Check it out at: http://homemakers--anonymous.blogspot.com/.

My knee

I got an infection in my knee. It's under control now but it was scary there for a minute. It started out looking like just a small pimple on my knee. Then it started to itch really bad. Then the redness started spreading and it started to hurt all over my knee. Then it started to hurt from my knee down!!! I showed it to an orthopaedic surgeon at work when it was small and he said it was probably an infection and that if it didn't get better quick that I needed to go see him. Well the next day I happen to run into him and he looked at it again. Without hesitation he kinda freaked and pulled out his prescription pad. He put me on some anti-biotics. My whole knee was swollen and red to about mid-calf. It hurt just to touch...(just ask KC, I learned that he touches my knee all the time) Well, luckily with the first antibiotic prescription it started to go down. Seriously tho, it was some of the worst pain i have ever felt.. A nurse that I work with worked on it for a little the other day... squezing it to get the infection out. Tons of crap and blood came out... NASTY. I think what it is is cellulitis. I still have it and I'm going to be on antibiotics for the next few days, but the pain is going away so that is good. My my knee is only a little swollen and the redness is going away :). I would post a picture, but 1- I didn't take any and 2- that's gross.

The Other Guys

The other guys is very possibly the funniest movie I have ever seen. Casey and I were laughing out loud for the whole two hours. I don't always appreciate Will Ferrel's humour, but let me tell you- he was HALARIOUS in this one.

Some of our favorite lines (that we could remember at least):
-If I were a lion and you were tuna, I would come and eat you
-Let's have a fresh start. We could be like febreeze brothers. So fresh.
-Who would roast a dog's ahole and serve it to thier husband? Oh yah, you would.
-Appartment POP!

Trust me, there are SO SO many more. Halarious!

Real Salt Lake

So last year Casey and I really got into playing soccer. At one point we were on 3 teams! My favorite is indoor. I absolutely LOVE playing. My favorite night of the week are the nights we have games. Since our regular team decided to take a break this session, Casey and I started playing a some new people. Even though we were hesistant at first to play with people we didn't know, it has turned out to be really fun. It just took us a few games to figure each other out and know what to expect from each other on the field.


We have also been getting to be Real Salt Lake fans. We have now been to two games and had a blast both times. At the last game the team store was having a sale... 52% off. Some of thier nice work out shirts ended up being cheaper than what you can get them at just about anywhere so Casey and I each got a long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt and a training jersey. Casey has slept in his long sleeve shirt every night since we got them.

Last Saturday I had a Halloween work party on the same night as a Real game. We thought it would be perfect to dress up as soccer players and sport our new jerseys.

Happy Birthday Casey!!

I really splurged this year for Casey's Birthday. He has been wanting a TV since before we even got married... and we have only had a 19 inch one that made watching him play his xbox very entertaining ( he had to get up super close). So we have been saving up for a TV for at least a year now and for the past few months I have been looking very seriously- I have been to every store that I know of that sells tv's in the area (let me just tell you- shopko, target, costco, walmart (2), RC Willey Outlet, RC Willey, best buy...) not to mention countless hours online.



So Wednesday before Casey's birthday I found a TV on KSL that looked like a really great deal. I had this whole plan worked out with Casey's friends - they would help me get the TV and put it in our place to surprise Casey with it. I was getting really excited... and actually started to want a TV too. Anyway the guy on KSL lied about a few things and we didn't end up getting that TV and I got super bummed.

So the next day, once again I was looking online and I found one on Bestbuy.com that I had never seen before. It looked like a really great deal.. it was 1200 and on sale for 900. So I started looking into it and it was an outlet item that would require 7-10 days to ship. I didn't have that much time before Casey's birthday so I called the store to see if they by some miracle had one at thier store or would give me a similar deal. They had two! One that was brand new and one that was the display tv. So i get to the store and the guy that helped me told me that he had just sold the new one.. like 10 mins before I walked in... so the only one left was the display one. I agreed to buy that one cause they give you a 5% discount and told them I would come get it after my soccer game. Meanwhile, I was having Casey's friend Ryan get Casey out of the house so I could get the TV after the game and hurry and get it in the house to surprise Casey.



When I got back to Best Buy Cody (our new friend at Best Buy) told me that they actually couldn't sell me the display TV or LG would sue them, but he knew I was in a hurry and he had already kinda put me threw a lot so he would sell me the exact same TV except it was an inch bigger for $200 less!! It all kinda happened really fast but I agreed... and because that took a while I had to have Ryan trick Casey into coming to Best Buy where me, the tv and three Best Buy workers were waiting for him. He came to the back of the store where we opened the doors and screamed SURPRISE!!





Needless to say, Casey was very happy with his TV. It's an LG 1080p, 120 Hz, LCD TV. And I was very happy with the price... origially 12,000 and we got it for 600. I even looked online the next day out of curiosity and I couldn't find it online (which is cheaper than stores) anywhere for less than 888.





It looks good in our new place with our new entertainment center too :)

On another note, this past weekend my Mom, sister and I went up to snowbird. Every year they have a day where for a can of food they will let you ride the tram up the mountain. Michele and I have gone for the past two years so it's becoming a tradition!

That night after we went up to snowbird we went out to dinner for my dad's birthday and then to the Real Salt Lake soccer game. Since we got married Casey and I have really been into playing and watching soccer. Our friend Randy knew one of the players... Andy Williams. We got his autograph and a picture with him.

Going Private

Hey friends!!

So I decided it would be a good idea to go private...

Would you mind giving me your blogger e-mail address so I can add you to my private list??

Nicole

Home and Native Land

O Canada!!

I have always loved Canada and had a fond appreciation for many high calorie food items that came from Canada, but let me tell you, I love it even more now-because it is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!

So Michele, Rich, Casey and I started off our trip last wednesday by flying into Seattle. We got picked up by our aunt and uncle and stayed with them the first two nights. In the morning before Casey and I headed to downtown Seattle Jacinthe told us a lot about my mom's childhood and my grandparents. I have always wanted to learn more about my mom's side of the family, her siblings and her upbringing and it was really fun to hear some stories from someone other than my mom. I learned that my great grandma and great grandpa were cousins, kinda funny! Also that it took awhile for my grandma and granpa to get married because my grandpa wanted to have what he needed to support her. That was a wonderful start to an amazing trip.

Then Casey had a wonderful day in Seattle. We went to Pike Place Market, walked around the shops and town, and visitied my uncle's work. I hate clam chowder, so Casey got "best clam chowder ever" for lunch, and Casey hates lasagna so I got lasagna for lunch. Casey was pretty bummed he couldn't finish off my plate like usual. Then Casey headed to a Mariner's game with Rolf (uncle) and I went and hung out with Jacinthe and Stefanie where I got go play volleyball.

The next day Casey and I got a taste of the Seattle transit system.. we jumped from bus to bus to make it up to Mt Vernon to meet Rich and Michele who were spending time with Rich's grandpa so we could continue our trip northward to Canada. As we were crossing the border into Canada we were already getting into trouble... did you know that pepper spray is an illegal weapon? Well, mine got confiscated... and Casey wasn't very hapy about it. First thing we did once we were in the country was hit up SWISS CHALET. I wasn't sure if the years of absence and the build up in my head over just a restaurant would meet my high expectations... but don't worry, it did. It was absolutely delicious! Worth the decade and a half of waiting. After swiss chalet we headed up to a mall where we went to RW and Co and roots.

Vancouver. Most of you who know me well, know that I'm kinda dramatic when I tell a story. Well just picture me saying this: VANCOUVER IS AWESOME!! Especially Stanley Park. We started off by heading to the granville island public market. That was really cool with a lot of different kinds of restaurants, tons and tons of fruit and a lot more. We got there just as it was closing so we didn't get to spend too much time there. Then we headed to Stanley Park. It's this absolutely breathtaking park that from the outskirts you look over water to downtown Vancouver. I would be skinny if I lived in Vancouver cause I would rollerblade/bike there every single day. We saw people using some really cool ski/rollerblade thingys. The park even had totem poles that you know Casey was very fond of. In the city they have it set up so there most of thier high risers are appartment complexes, and underneath them is shopping. Don't worry, this is one conversation we had:

Nicole: Michele! An RW and CO!!

Michele: RICH, stop, I want to go there

Rich: Didn't we just go there???

We walked up and down the very busy streets and got to try different foods and stores. We had chinese people serving us our food in both mexican and pizza restaurants. We went over some spectacular bridges and saw some really cool sky scrapers. On our way back to our hotel we were all talking about how tired we were when we drove by a nightime china town- we were all out of the car within seconds to check it out. Favourite part: Tuna and octopus balls. In vancouver we stayed in a very trashy hotel... where we needed our room key to operate the elevator and I broke the waffle maker at the continental barf-fast. We were so tired when we got back from a busy day in Vancouver that Casey literally fell asleep as his head hit the pillow. He was suposed to take a shower after me but he was gone... street clothes, shoes and all.

The next two days we spent in Victoria - also absolutly wonderful, except this time out room at Chateau Victoria got upgraded to a SUITE!! Let me tell you, for as trashy as our hotel was in Vancouver, it was nice in Victoria. And each couple got our own rooms! It was right downtown next to the very cool castle/hotel, the Empress (which we helped ourselves to a self-guided tour). We also visited the Capitol, the Buchart gardens, Craigborochchchchchchck (that's the correct way of pronouning the name) Castle, and walked around town. Three great finds/stops in Victoria were Fish of 5th (thanks to a recommendation from mike) , Market on Yates, and a delicious mexican restaurant (also run by chinese people).

After Victoria, we headed to Whistler. If any of you like Park City, than you will love Whistler... it's like Park City on some killer steroids. We did the "peak to peak" which consisted of taking a couple ski lifts up the mountain, a gondala to the top of a different mountain, then climbing that mountain even higher. There views were breathtaking. It was really fun to be in Whistler because it was definately the most relaxing part of the trip... besides going on a few walks (and running into bears-okay, maybe that wasn't so relaxing) we pretty much hung out at the condo and spent time with Rich's super cool sister and husband.

So if you got thru reading all of that, you can move on to the "writable downables" of the trip... this is only the very few we could remember:

-chinese hotel receptionist: "If you need in the garage, horn me"

-nicole: "should we ask her what restaurants are good" michele: do you speak chinese?"

-rich: "loonie=nooner=uni"

So basically....

Canada trip=2 flights, 2 ferrys, 1 rental car, 12+ bridges, 2 hotels, 1 condo, 2 bears,