4-day work week

Woohoo!! Going to Reno and Lake Tahoe on Friday (the 13th....eek!) to have a girl's weekend with my friend L. She is 20 weeks into her 2nd pregnancy, and she needs a vacay away from her DH and child, and I need some girl time! Since moving here from Texas 3 1/2 years ago, I don't have many girlfriends. So I'm really excited about this! We plan on seeing a couple of chick flicks:
He's Just Not That Into You and Confessions of a Shopaholic. Maybe one, maybe both, we'll see. On Saturday, we're getting massages and I'm doing a body wrap while she gets a facial at The Lighthouse Spa on North Lake Tahoe. We'll have lunch on the lake, do some shopping, and then I fly back on Sunday. It's the things like this I'll miss most once there are kids in the mix. But it will be completely worth it.

Drinks, Dinner, and a Dance Lesson

Friday, 2 p.m. The red light on my work phone indicates a new message. Usually a patient or doctor's office calling....but it's Mr. Stacia (who has another day off this week..11 days of work in a 12-day period for Stacia, 7 days out of 12 for Mr. S.....ughhh) "Hey, honey. I hope you're having a great Friday, and I just wanted to tell you I love you so much and can't wait for our date night tonight. I'm making dinner, and then we're gonna do something really fun together. Bye."

First thought: Oh, what a great hubby I have.
Second thought: He's really cooking?
Third thought: What in the heck are we doing after that?

I get home, he welcomes me with a fat glass of wine, a foot rub, and a california roll appetizer. This, followed by yummy crabcakes over a healthy salad. Awesome! Then:
"Be cute and ready to go with comfortable shoes on at 6:45. You won't know anyone."
I had no clue what was in store for me. We pull into the local Elks lodge parking lot at 6:55. WTF??? The Elks lodge??? What are we doing here???

Friday night dance lessons followed by an open dance. At first, I was slightly urked because:
1. I was wearing grungy jeans, tennis shoes, and didn't feel "cute". I was prepared to go bowling.
2. We are the youngest people there by 20 years.
3. All the other ladies are in their "dancing outfits", complete with "Dancing With the Stars" sparkly heels and fake smiles.

I pick myself up by my bootstraps, and tell myself I'm going to have a blast! Last year, I told G that I thought it would be fun to do dance lessons for a little bonding, and he looked at me like I just grew a third nipple. We've never talked about it since. So after the initial shock, I was excited! It turns out, one of G's patients does this every Friday night and invited us to come. We learned the foxtrot, a few line dances (cheesy, but fun), the West Coast Shuffle, the Horseshoe, and a cha-cha. I do have to say, I picked it up a bit quicker than G did, and at times I (the one who likes to be in control) ticked him off for not being a good "follower". But after dancing for almost 4 hours, we were laughing, sweating, thirsty, and a stronger couple. It was a subtle reminder of the fact that marriage is like a dance, and we have to work together to succeed. It was a great night that continued once we got home....

Hello, my name is Stacia, and I'm a....

chocolate addict. Those cute little Hershey's kisses in their shiny silver wrappers call my name from the pretty Crystal bowl we got as a wedding present 3 years ago....and I FAIL at restraint.

Tax Time Troubles

So we did our taxes (I should say dear hubby did taxes), we had come to peace with giving the government our fair share of taxes, and then we get a letter from the IRS. Our claim was REJECTED!!! Apparently, the stimulus check we all so happily got last year was actually an advancement of this year's tax return. Now, G and I have great jobs that require us to pay the government (even though we shell out over 25% of our paycheck twice a month), instead of us getting money back each year (gosh, I miss college!). So that nice little slice of dough we used to go to Mexico last year is the same dough we have to pay back this year ON TOP OF what we normally owe (about $700). How deceitful has our government been with us? G claims that he knew this was how the stimulus plan worked (because, of course, he knows EVERYTHING)...(love ya babe)...but I didn't realize that's what was happening... I guess I'm clueless. And pissed off.
I start to think of all the patients I know that are not working, are milking the worker's comp system to get paid and not work, are receiving welfare, and drive freaking BMWs to their appointments. Those of us who actually struggled to make it through college to actually get a wonderful education, and in turn, have a job that pays more than minimum wage, are getting screwed from both ends! We're paying for those people to drive their BMWs, and we're paying into a Medicare/Social Security system that will not exist when we're in our "golden years" and in need of the payback.
I am normally not a politically-fired-up gal, but this whole tax thing sent me over the edge! I really need a child to get more of a tax credit! (And to love and cherish and teach and support and all of that nice stuff.) :)

I want my 21 year-old body back!

Today is my only day off this week, and I am taking full advantage of that. Besides doing laundry and a light housecleaning (the floors and windows can wait a day or two), I'm enjoying my "cookie pants" ala Scrubs, a warm fire, the 'net, and my DVR.

My mom called out of the blue today, and that was an unexpected but welcome surprise. It was a short conversation to save phone minutes, but it was really nice to remember that I do have a mother who actually thinks about me sometimes. For those of you who have strong bonds with your mother, I am hugely jealous.

I am currently at war with the scale, but I'm attributing my 5-lb weight gain recently to AF being here (I couldn't help but stand on the hospital's huge digital scale yesterday, but who am I kidding? Weighing myself on the 1st day of AF? Crazy!!!)...Las Vegas was likely a contributing factor, as well. So I've been trying my best to cram as many veggies down my pie hole before every meal to limit high-calorie food intake. Drinking enough water is a daily battle, considering my work schedule is so packed that I rarely have time to pee....but I'm trying!!!

I'm also doing a combination of different workouts to keep things interesting:

I always seem to be one of those people who gains weight during the wintertime(10-15 lbs), then I lose it in the spring/summer. Definitely living in the Northwest has affected my body more than I expected...I think I do get a bit of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and I have no motivation to get out and move, move, move when it's dark out by the time work ends. But, the days are getting longer, it's not as dark when I get off of work, and I feel my energy coming back! Woohoo!

I have the sweetest husband ever.

To make up for spreading his sickie germs to me, he brought me a latte to work at 2 pm today. The perfect pick-me-up to a long, draining day. He even made it full-fat as a real treat. That creaminess just does not come with those nonfat, Splenda please lattes I usually get. He totally rocked today and will be greatly rewarded.
Nighty night!

Loosen up my buttons, babe

You get the point.

Enjoy.

Ironic picture of the day

If only it were that easy.

Pink Tacos

We left on Monday the 9th...got to Vegas, snagged our rental car, and headed to the strip. First stop: lunch at the Pink Taco. It's at the Hard Rock Hotel, and our favorite pick for mexican food in Vegas. I started off the trip right with a nice cold margarita on the rocks (with salt, of course) and a rockin' burrito. We left there, stopped and picked up a few snacks/waters from the CVS, then made it to Mandalay Bay to check in. We made it to our room, unpacked and rested for a while, then went to our first function of the week at the P.T. Conference (our whole reason for going to Vegas). That ended at 8 pm, then we walked through the Mandalay Bay shops and made a stop at the famous Fat Tuesday's to get a bong full of strawberry/pina colada daquiri. (Holy Cow, by the way). I managed to stumble my way along to the Luxor tram with Glen in tow (who at this time was also sipping on my huge-ass daquiri). It was not working, but we did manage to meet a nice couple from England (with Scottish accents), with whom we had a very adult conversation about the state of our economy compared to other countries. Apparently, the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket when it comes to money. We said our goodbyes and decided to just start walking the strip...we made it to New York New York so Glen could grab a slice of pizza, then slowly made our way back to the hotel, dropping some cash at some slots along the way. No big wins, unfortunately.

Tuesday was full of workshops 8-5, then our school (Texas Tech) had an alumni "mixer" at 7, and afterwards we headed to the House of Blues for dinner. We were seated at most definitely the worst table in the place (next to the hostess station and around a corner where we couldn't even see the live band). There were other empty tables front and center, and I wasn't going to take that without a fight. So, I did my magic with the hostess (it is Vegas, you know...wink, wink), and we got a perfect spot in the front! We enjoyed a lovely dinner with a lively request band who rocked! Their name is Acoustic Soul, and if you ever get the chance to see them, go! They played from requests (with a tip, of course), but they rocked the house for 3 hours straight.

Wednesday: more classes all day long, then we went and visited my aunt, uncle, and 2 cousins who live in LV. It was a wonderful visit...we went to Boulder Station and had (more) mexican food and a heartfelt, fun, sad, visit. These are my mother's family, and I hardly got to know them growing up. I am thankful I have a chance to do that now. Carol, it was a great visit! I wish I could have seen you, too!

Thursday: more classes, yada yada. Free cocktails and gambling to follow. Still, no money won, no money lost. Then I got all dolled up for our early Valentine's Day dinner at TAO. It's an Asian fusion restaurant/nightclub at the Venetian, and oh so hip. We felt out of place! Cocktails were certainly overpriced ($22 for a lemon drop and an Amstel light), but their dragon roll was excellent! Glen surprised me with a card that said, 'Ask me about Tahoe'. Of course, I asked. It turns out, our LV airfare reduced 3 weeks ago, so we got a credit for the difference. G bought me a ticket to Tahoe to meet our good friend Lori for a girl's spa weekend, complete with massages, manis/pedis, and a facial. Yummy! I have the best husband! I don't deserve him at all. I'm leaving in about 3 weeks for that. Yahoo!

Friday: no classes, checked out of hotel at 11, went to a sh!thole casino/restaurant off the strip for lunch, the we checked out the Miracle Mile of shops at Planet Hollywood. Reminds me of the shops at Caesar's Palace, so nothing special. We walked and walked and walked, went through the M&M factory, made it to Paris, then left for the airport. Short/long trip. Packed with lots of activity, lots of food, more lemon drops consumed than I care to admit, and a body ready to rest.
(and frightened to fly after seeing a plane crashed in New York the night before).

Now I'm back to work, same crap/different day. I was humbled today, though. While doing an ultrasound on a patient, I started small talk:
Me: How many kids do you have?
Him: I had one. He and my wife were killed in a car accident 15 years ago.
Me: I'm so sorry. (thinks to myself: why the hell did I ask him that?)
Him: It was a drunk driver.
(silence)
Him: It was 3 days before Christmas.
(silence)
Him: We were driving to my grandpa's, got a flat tire, pulled to the side of the road. As I was getting out of the car, he hit us. The car went down a 50-foot embankment, I was thrown out of the car, and my wife and son were instantly killed.
Me: Oh, no. (what do I say?)
Him: he was sentenced to life in prison. So was I; this is like prison living without my family.
Me: (speechless)

The conversation was awkward, and I shed tears silently (he was face down on the table and couldn't see). How terrible, to not only lose your life partner, but to lose your child at the same time. I am truly, truly blessed to have the life I have. For that, I am thankful.

Vegas Vacation

Ok, Ok, Ok. After a couple of nudges, I shall tell all about Vegas! After I walk the dog. :)