Happy 23rd Birthday Clay-don!!

Happy, Happy Birthday to my incredibly adorable boyfriend!! (it was actually on the 28th of November but I haven't had time to post yet. . . yikes!!)

I hope you had a wonderful birthday weekend! (we went to Monterey/Carmel with my mom, dad and brother and enjoyed a one man performance of "It's a Wonderful Life", goofed off, thrift shopped and ate massive amounts of cake) :-)

You are Awesome!!

Welcome to the World. . . . Part II

Romalise Kelbatyrov!!!

Born November 27th 2008 weighing 7lbs 6.5oz.
I can't wait to meet this precious angel!
I LOVE the Kelbatyrov family!

Welcome to the World. . . .

Raelynn Paige Azvedo!!!

Born November 22, 2008 weighing 7 pounds 5 ounces and 19 inches long. She is adorable!!! Im so happy I am an aunt once more ;-)

The Sound of Music ~ A Review

Janell, I stole your parents for the evening. . . . and I liked it!! mwuahahaha!!!!

Ok, so a group of us attended The Sound of Music at the 24th St. Theater last weekend. . . it was delightful! Many of plays have I seen at this theater, and all are worth the $20 admission price (with the exception of one which I will not name but which we left after the first scene and were able to get our money back). If you are unaware of the story line, here is a synopsis:

“In 1930's Austria, a young woman named Maria is failing miserably in her attempts to become a nun. When the Navy captain Georg Von Trapp writes to the convent asking for a governess that can handle his seven mischievous children, Maria is given the job. The Captain's wife is dead, and he is often away, and runs the household as strictly as he does the ships he sails on. The children are unhappy and resentful of the governesses that their father keeps hiring, and have managed to run each of them off one by one. When Maria arrives, she is initially met with the same hostility, but her kindness, understanding, and sense of fun soon draws them to her and brings some much-needed joy into all their lives--including the Captain’s. Eventually he and Maria find themselves falling in love, even though Georg is already engaged to a Baroness and Maria is still a postulant. The romance makes them both start questioning the decisions they have made. Their personal conflicts soon become overshadowed, however, by world events. Austria is about to come under the control of Germany, and the Captain may soon find himself drafted into the German navy and forced to fight against his own country.” Written by LOTUS73

If you would like to attend this performance you must hurry!! The last showing is on November 23! (also, I would recommend dining first at Crepeville, across the street from the theater)

Disney. . . a look at the past. . .

About a week and a half ago some beloved friends and I decided to go to Disney on Ice at Arco Arena in Sacramento. I have been to Disney on ice in AGES!!! It was Disney’s 100 years of magic show and included Finding Nemo, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, It’s a Small World, Aladdin, and many more!!! It was actually quite fun and entertaining (others in our group through it was silly and a waste of money . . . no names mentioned). You should have heard the way Clayton hollered “YEE-HAW” along with Woody in Toy Story, or Nolan Boo-ing the bad guy in Mulan. . . all of us were caught standing up and marching to the Mickey Mouse Song . . . you know the one. . M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E (spelled out) hehe. . . It was a step back in time for me. I think it is always good to do something like that every once in a while and just be a kid for a night. Sometimes it gets tiring being a grown up . . . . and sometimes it is wonderful! :-)

(At half time the smoke and fog from the production had an adverse reaction with my eyes, causing burning, itching and watering. Cool compresses had to be applied, thus the red appearance in the photos)

Doesn't Clayton look like he is having such a good time?? :-p

Ryan and Kelly ~

Nolan and Krista ~

Me and Biff~

Nemo!!

The Crew ~ Princes and Princesses

The light parade~

I love this weather!

Maybe it is just the new excitement that comes with the start of a new season. . . but I absolutely love this weather!! I love the rain, the cool chill to the air, the falling leaves, the coziness of being at home while the wind howls through the window panes. . . wonderful bliss! I will probably be quite ready for the wamth and freshness of spring come February, but for the moment I am reveling in the season of Fall.



Here are some alternatives I found to the traditional "umbrella"

Fictional Findings Discussed

I am a book fanatic. When I am in my “reading zone” I shant be disturbed or interrupted for any reason . . . it takes away from the impact of the words I have just processed. My family can attest to my reaction should one try to interrupt my rumination.
The written word is a powerful thing. . . It can transport one from the “real world” into a world of excitement, fantasy, dread and anticipation . . . that is also why one must be extremely careful in what they read. It is a dangerous thing to get caught up living through and in the fictional findings of literature and forget to live your own life which can be just as exciting and fulfilling (if not more so). With that being said, there are only a handful of things that I find more enjoyable than curling up on the sofa, in front of a fireplace, with a fuzzy throw blanket and a cup of hot coco reading a wonderful novel. Whether it is mystery, murder and intrigue (I would recommend Mary Higgins Clark), love, life and trust (Nicholas Sparks), thrilling with a medical perspective (Robin Cook), or one of the good ol’time classics (Lord of the Rings, Gone with the Wind, Jane Austen, Little Women, etc), I find pleasure and enjoyment in most everything I read. . . . . .which leads me to the purpose of this post. I have just finished reading the third book in a wonderful series, in my opinion, written by Christopher Paolini. The fourth book in the Inheritance Cycle will not be released for some time and I am currently looking for more literature with which to satiate my cravings. The readings must be worthwhile with wholesome content and highly recommended. Has there ever been a book or series that you have read that has changed the way you view something or has had some sort of impact on your life??? or maybe it was just a great read and you would recommend it to others? If so, please let me know :-) Feel free to comment and post on your favorite pieces of literature and why you would recommend them. . . . it will not only help me immensely, but also others who might be in the same quandary as I.

As for myself, I would recommend all of the above books and series as well books written by Francine Rivers (Mark of the Lion series is incredible!), The Count of Monte Cristo (written by Alexander Dumas), and some of Frank Peretti’s creations. I know there are many more that I have read and would recommend but at the present have slipped my mind.

Nurses, Think Twice. . .

Crabby Old Man

What do you see nurses? . . What do you see?
What are you thinking . . . . . when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man, . . . not very wise,
Uncertain of habit . . . . . . . with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food . . . . . . and makes no reply
When you say in a loud voice . . . . . 'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . . . the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . . . A sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not . . . . . . . . . lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . . . . . The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? . . . . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . . . . you're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am, . . . . . . . . as I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, . . . . . . as I eat at your will
I'm a small child of Ten . . . . . . . with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . . . . . . who love one another

A young boy of Sixteen . . with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . . . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty. . . . . .My heart gives a leap.
Remembering the vows . . . . . . that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . . . . . . I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . . And a secure happy home.

A man of Thirty . . . . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . . . . . . With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons . . have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me . . . . . . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, . Babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . . . My loved one and me .

Dark days are upon me . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future . . . . . . . . .. . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing . . . . . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . . And the love that I've known.

I'm now an old man . . . . . . and nature is cruel.
Tis jest to make old age. . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . . . . . . . . . grace and vigor, depart.

There is now a stone . . . . . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . . A young guy still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . . . . . . . . . . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . . . . . . . . . life over again.
I think of the years . all too few . . . . . gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . . . . . . that nothing can last.

So open your eyes, people . . . . . . open and see.. Not a crabby old man . Look closer . . . see . . . . . . . ME!!

~author unknown

The Annual Shot! Do you have it??

The Flu season is here!! Have you received your flu shot yet?? I got mine today while at work. . . I have to admit it was slightly painful and left my arm a little sore, but I figure it will be well worth the inconvenience and pain if it will perhaps protect me from illness and several days of missed work. I, along with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommend that everyone receive a yearly flu vaccination. Here are some interesting facts I compiled from the CDC website:

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccination each year.

Every year in the United States, on average:
• 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu;
• more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications
• about 36,000 people die from flu.

Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), are at high risk for serious flu complications.

Symptoms of flu include:
• fever (usually high)
• headache
• extreme tiredness
• dry cough
• sore throat
• runny or stuffy nose
• muscle aches
• Stomach symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea

Flu viruses spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose. Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 5 days after becoming sick. That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.

It is recommended that everyone recieve the vaccine, but especially high risk populations such as people over 50 years old, pregnant women, and health care workers.

Some people should not be vaccinated without first consulting a physician. They include:
• People who have a severe allergy to chicken eggs.
• People who have had a severe reaction to an influenza vaccination in the past.
• People who developed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) within 6 weeks of getting an influenza vaccine previously.
• Children less than 6 months of age (influenza vaccine is not approved for use in this age group).
• People who have a moderate or severe illness with a fever should wait to get vaccinated until their symptoms lessen.

CDC Flu Website: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

The Evolution of Music Videos

When was the last time you viewed a music video such as this? Ahhh. . . these were the "good ol'days". . . it is sad to see how far our society has sank within the last 50 years

Fashonista ~ Def: Mika Leann Hammonds

Congratulations Ryan & Kelly!!!!

This weekend my wonderful brother asked his beautiful girlfriend to be his wife. . . and she said YES!!!! I am so excited and thrilled for them as well as for myself, gaining a sister!! YAY!!

The Wizard of Oz ~ A Review

Ok. . . a little late on this post, but a couple of weekends ago the gang (Hammonds’ Family, Moya Family and Mr. Wyatt) went to Monterey and Carmel for the weekend. Among other things, we enjoyed the performance of “The Wizard of Oz” at the Forrest Theater. I have written about the Forrest Theater before and most of my reviews were great!! (exception: Evita) This review will be no different. . . I give The Wizard of Oz a rating of very entertaining and pleasurable.

Because of the fact that we went on the very first night of this theatrical performance (were able to get the tickets at ½ price), some of the props were not all the way completed and there were some small mistakes throughout the play. . . nothing that couldn’t be overlooked, however. Dorothy’s voice was just a tad bit annoying, but the Wicked Witch was AMAZING!! She did a really, really good job. As Dorothy makes her way through the land of OZ she encounters many different individuals. . . Glinda, the good witch, arrives and leaves most of her scenes airborne on a glittery swing, the Munchkins were adorable, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow were all in character quite well and the Wicked Witch and Flying Monkeys are also airborne throughout the performance. There was an overall “good” feeling to this performance and I would definitely recommend it!!
Toto was ADORABLE!!! and such a good actor too!


The following day, we enjoyed some of the sights around Carmel/Monterey: Carmel beach, Lover's point, Shopping in downtown Carmel (met some interesting people in a certain "soap" store), listening to Louis Lamour stories on the beach, so on and so forth! :-)

An Employee At Last!!

I am here to inform you all that I am no longer unemployed. I have received an offer of employment and have accepted the said offer to work at Lodi Memorial Hospital in the Medical/Surgical floor. This full time, night shift position was offered to me last Friday and I readily agreed to the conditions. Although I really wanted to work in Labor and Delivery, I feel that this position will allow me to develop as a nurse and provide me with much needed skills for my future. I am excited, yet nervous at the same time. I will start working this week and continue in my orientation to the hospital/floor for about 8 weeks. Lodi Memorial is only about 15 minutes away from home and is expanding to a brand new wing which will have all private rooms (said to be opening late next year). YAY!!!

Sweeney Todd ~ A Review

Ok. . . Sweeney Todd has captured my attention for a while now. It perhaps started when I heard Josh Groban sing “Not while I’m around” live in concert. I then met Josh and learned that his dog’s name was Sweeney . . . “as in Sweeney Todd??” said I.

I learned about a month ago that Sweeney Todd, the Broadway musical, was coming to Sacramento and was playing at the Music Circus, Wells Fargo Pavilion. I was determined to get a group together to see this well known musical. Several of my closest buds had agreed to go and we set the plan in motion.

First of all. . . I had never been to the Music Circus before. It was great!! The theater was situated with seats surrounding a small stage in the center. The actors/actresses would enter from several corridors making it a bit more interactive with the theater goers. The atmosphere is quite a bit more relaxed than the Sacramento Community Theater . . . one may purchase food and beverages in the outside pavilion (complete with waterfall) and bring these goods inside the theater!

Ok . . . on to the story of Mr. Todd. According to Wikipedia, “In Stephen Sondheim's 1979 stage musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, based on the 1973 play of the same name by Christopher Bond, Todd was known as Benjamin Barker, a middle class barber, married to Lucy Barker with an infant daughter Johanna. The villainous Judge Turpin exiles Barker to Australia on false charges in order to have Lucy to himself. Mrs. Lovett tells Todd that Lucy poisoned herself and that Turpin adopted baby Johanna as his ward. By the time Todd returns to London, Johanna has become a young woman and falls in love with a sailor, Anthony, with whom she plans to elope.

In the Sondheim musical, Mrs. Lovett takes in an orphan boy, Tobias Ragg, after Sweeney kills Toby's previous guardian, Adolfo Pirelli, who turns out to be a former assistant of his that tries to blackmail him. Toby is the first character to catch onto Sweeney Todd's crimes and also is responsible for Todd's death in the finale.”
Benjamin Barker, Sweeney Todd, is full of hate, vengeance and murder. His sole purpose is to kill Judge Turpin but after the first killing of Mr. Pirelli, Sweeney cannot stop his lust for blood. He begins to kill all of his customers and Mrs. Lovett then makes meat pies out of them to sell in her shop . . . “Seems an awful waste...I mean, with the price of meat what it is, When you get it...If you get it...” she argues.

It was actually quite funny, yet gorey and morbid. While my good buddy Chris would argue with me on this subject, I believe that the moral of the story is what sin, vengeance, bitterness and hate can do to a person. Mr. Barker was not an animal with murderous intents when the whole story started. Yes, he was done wrong . . .very wrong, but he allowed thoughts to enter his head and after the first taste of blood he could no longer control his hunger for vengeance and was eaten up with it. (this could deffinitely preach!!!) It just shows how low humanity can go without even really realizing it . . . This man no longer cared who he killed, when he killed them, or how. . . . . Think good and hard before you let bitterness and hate creep into your heart. . . . dumm dum dum dum duuuummmmmmm (scary music)

Go ahead Chris. . . I know you are ready with a rebuttle. . . ha!!

HAPPY 28TH BIRTHDAY RYAN!!

Today is the best brother in the world’s birthday . . . he just so happens to be MY brother!!! Not only is he the best brother in the world, but also a best friend! If you don’t know this guy . . . you are missing out!! I am so glad that we have remained close throughout the years and we can tell each other just about anything . . . you are an amazing person and am happy to be “ryan’s sister” :-)

Results: NCLEX

I PASSED!!!!! I PASSED, I PASSED, I PASSED!!! No more teachers, no more books. . . . .

I have officially passed my NCLEX and am now a licensed registered nurse in the state of California!! I took the test some weeks ago and should have found out my results two days after the fact but I had some problems with the school and my transcripts. I had to call Sacramento State and get that worked out and then the Board of Registered Nurses then took a couple weeks to process them. Sigh. . . the thought of "oh no. . .what if I didn't pass" has constantly been in the back of my mind these last couple weeks. I have faithfully checked on the BRN website every morning (late morning actually!! ha) to see if I, by chance, had a license number yet. This morning was no different. . .the difference came when my name popped up with a license number next to it and the label of "RN"!!! I ended up running outside, barefoot, around our house with three dogs chasing after me and biting my feet/clothes. . . it was an exuberant sight I am sure. . . I still can’t quite believe it!! My goal over the last 8 years is finally accomplished! Now I just have to find a job. . . . . .

Evita. . . A review

Evita. . . .hummm. . . what can I say about Evita??

According to the description of Evita on the Forest Theater Guild’s website:

“Argentina's controversial First Lady is the subject of this dynamic musical masterpiece. As an illegitimate fifteen year old, Eva escaped her dirt-poor existence for the bright lights of Buenos Aires. Driven by ambition and blessed with charisma, she was a starlet at twenty-two, the president's mistress at twenty-four, First Lady at twenty-seven, and dead at thirty-three. Eva Peron "saint to the working-class, reviled by the aristocracy and mistrusted by the military" was destined to leave a fascinating political legacy unique in the 20th century. Told through a compelling score that fuses haunting chorales with exuberant Latin, pop and jazz influences, EVITA creates an arresting theatrical portrait as complex as the woman herself.”

Well. . . The description sounded great so I was anxious to see the production. I invited several of my friends to join me, one of which is now living in Pennsylvania and was desperate for some good theater while she was out visiting, and we made our way down to Monterey/Carmel for the day. We ate lunch on Fisherman’s Warf in Monterey and headed down to Carmel for some shopping and a little beach time. . . . . it was very enjoyable and the air was clean and sweet (compared to the Sacramento air) . . .The time came to make our way to the grocery store to pick up our dinner and head over to the theater.



The play started off with the announcement of Eva Peron’s death to the people of Argentina. It was a little weird. . . . it only got worse. Eva started off as a singer/actress and worked her way up the latter by doing a variety of different things (some not so good). . . she then met Mr. Peron, a captain in the army, and smoozed him. . . she convinced him to run for office and convinced to people to vote for him. . .at that point, it was half time and our group decided that it wasn’t worth the time to stay for the ending. LOL!! The singing was horrible, the dancing was atrocious, the acting was pitiful and the music was awful!! We had fun laughing at it all though. I was oober embarrassed because my brother and I were the only ones to have seen a play at the forest theater before and had bragged about how great it was!!! It was quite a let down. . . .come to find out, there are two different acting groups that use the theater and the good one that we usually go see doesn’t start until the fall! I may be able to redeem myself when we go see the Wizard of Oz in August. . . sigh. . . .
The Stage. . .
The band. . . uhhhh. . . yeahhh

By the way . . . I don’t recommend this production. :-)