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Las Vegas Sunrise

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:32:00 +0000

I put sunset pictures on here around a month ago. . .Well here are the sunrise pictures! I was actually awake enough at 5am to remember I'd wanted to take these pictures and to (amazingly) get out of bed to do it!

Las Vegas Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:12:00 +0000

We recently did a little more sight-seeing around our new home town! Check out the slideshow below to see where we went on our touristy explorations around Las Vegas. Click on the button at the bottom of the slideshow that says View All Images if you want to view the pictures one at a time, and in a larger format. . .

Las Vegas Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:50:00 +0000

Las Vegas is surrounded by mountains. . .I've been meaning to get some pictures of them on here for a while, but only just got Sean to take some during our date night last Friday. These are the mountains to the west and northwest of us (the one's closest to our house) with the sun setting behind them. . .

A Lovely Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Celebrating Dani's 32nd birthday

Sean's Phase 2 Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:36:00 +0000

I met with the director of Sean's Phase 2 clinicals recently to get a rundown of what his schedule would be like and to find out how I can best help him to be successful throughout this part of the CRNA program. It sounds like things are going to get serious and stressful very soon. Here's a list of what all Sean will be experiencing throughout the next 18 months. . .

Sean's Average Day:
*Arrive at hospital around 4:00/5:00am
*Follow-up with his previous day's patients in their hospital rooms
*Get his anesthesia equipment etc set up in the operating room (OR)
*Meet with his supervisors to go discuss the anesthesia cases for that day
*And also for a verbal quiz on the previous night's reading assignment
*Work in the OR, anesthetizing patients until mid to late afternoon
*Find out who his patients are for the following day and write care plans for their anesthesia needs
*Check with his OR staff and supervising CRNA to make sure his care plans are appropriate
*Read his daily reading assignment

During the next 18 months, Sean will also be required to:
*Receive daily evaluations from his supervisors (they don't hold anything back in these)
*Spend about 2 months in Mississippi and in Germany for anesthesia experience specific to those locations
*Keep track of each anesthesia case he is in charge of in order to get his required number to graduate
*Take and pass 5 sets of oral exams/boards
*Take and pass 18 computerized test on anesthesia
*Write several papers on various anesthesia topics
*Do several presentations at various hospital meetings
*Work on his continuing research project from Phase I
*Attend at least one (that we know of so far) anesthesia conference

OK, so the good news is that Sean will get government holidays off and will also have 20 days of leave (time off) that he can take. Also, according to his program director, he should have time (and, in fact, she highly recommended this) for a night of relaxation with the family on Fridays. I'm trying to focus on these little good things right now. We'll see how it goes. We're both a little more than anxious about the next 18 months.

12 Year Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:14:00 +0000

Celebrating our anniversary at Paris Las Vegas!

Living in Las Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:03:00 +0000

We made it to Las Vegas last Monday and since then it's been a busy time! Now with most of our major move-in projects complete, we thought it was time to share some pictures! Click on the button at the bottom of the slideshow that says View All Images to view the pictures one at a time, and in a larger format. . .

Sean's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:04:00 +0000

Thirty-one isn't so bad! Below are picture from Sean's birthday fun. Click on the button at the bottom of the slideshow that says View All Images to view the pictures one at a time, and in a larger format. . .

3 Weeks & Some Change

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:09:00 +0000

In just a little over three weeks from now, our movers will be here! The movers will pack up our stuff on May 6, they'll load the truck on May 7, and we'll leave town on our way to Las Vegas the afternoon of May 8. Judging from how quickly the weeks have gone by since the last time I blogged here, we'll be on our way in no time at all! In between now and then, we have the following important occasions coming up:

*Sean's birthday this Friday (Happy 31st B-Day sweetie!)

*Sean's finals the last week in April

*Sean's research proposal defense before the faculty, clinical directors and his fellow classmates the first week in May

I'll be handling the moving preparations as well as the days with the movers while Sean is finishing up at school.

We're excited to get on our way! It will be nice for Sean to have a few weeks off between his classes here in Maryland and his CRNA clinical/residency in Vegas. We're both looking forward to a little R&R together during that time, as well as to be moving closer to our family and friends in the Western part of the country once again! We'll let you all know when we've arrived safely at our new home!

The Rundown

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:53:00 +0000

Tomorrow it is March, which marks the beginning of a busy time for Sean and I. . .

*Within a week or two, Sean will be getting his orders from the Air Force regarding our re-location to Las Vegas so that he can begin the clinical portion of his CRNA masters program there.

*Shortly after that, I will begin a serious search for a home for us in Vegas, as well as handle the process of ending our rental lease here, and we will hopefully finalize our moving details.

*In mid March, I will be taking a trip up to Pennsylvania where I have family I want to visit one last time before we move away.

*Sean will be on spring break when I return from PA, and hopefully he'll be able to get away from his research project long enough for us to do one last fling of fun around the DC area.

*Toward the end of Sean's spring break week, we will have a fellow Air Force friend who will be starting the CRNA masters program in June visit for a few days to do some apartment hunting and to tour the university she'll be attending.

*Toward the middle of April, I'll start weeding through all of our stuff, taking things to Goodwill and organizing everything to prepare for when the movers come.

*Finals week for Sean is the last week in April. . .Aaagh!

*Within the first two weeks of May, we hope to have the movers come and plan on leaving town immediately after.

So, now you all know the rundown! Please understand if we're a little difficult to reach or seem a bit preoccupied during the next 9-10 weeks. We're excited about what's ahead, but we'll be glad when it's all over too!

A Wonderful Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 20:58:00 +0000

Sean did an amazing job this Valentine's Day! He surprised me with goodies in the morning, had reservations for dinner at a surprise restaurant in the evening, and then we ended our day with our traditional Valentine's Day movie. It was wonderful!

A slideshow of our day is below! Click on the button at the bottom of the slideshow that says View All Images to view the pictures one at a time, and in a larger format. . .

50th Anniversary Surprise

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:59:00 +0000

My parents 50th wedding anniversary was this past weekend. My sisters, my Dad and I all planned a surprise party for my Mom in honor of the occasion. All of the family came to town, and assembled in their house on Saturday morning to yell "Surprise!" when my parents came home from their usual weekend grocery shopping routine. After the initial surprise and tearful greetings, we told my mom we were bringing in their pastor for a marriage vow renewal ceremony and my Dad asked her to "marry him again". We sent them upstairs to get all dressed up for the ceremony, and then they came back down for some family sharing time during which my Dad read my mom a special poem. Then we had the ceremony, followed by cake and champagne. The rest of the afternoon was filled with all of their friends and loved-ones coming by the house to wish them well. It was a crazy, exciting and wonderful day!

A slideshow of the key events of the day is below. Click on the button at the bottom of the slideshow that says View All Images to view the pictures one at a time, and in a larger format. . .

Inauguration Day Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:53:00 +0000

My friend, Ali, and I braved the crowds and went into Washington DC on Inauguration day. We had hoped Sean could go, but because he's medical military personnel, Sean ended up having to be on-call for the National Naval Medical Center an had to report to duty and remain on base all day. We missed him, but talked to him at several points throughout our trek and got his take on things as he watched it all online. It was quite a day!

Click on the button at the bottom of the slideshow that says View All Images to view the pictures one at a time, in a larger format.

Starting at the far north end of the metro's red line, and ending near the heart of Washington, we emerged from the metro at street-level and into the crowd near Capitol Hill. We somehow managed to get closer than we had hoped, and were able to get some great pictures of the Capitol before moving along on our journey.

We made a valiant attempt to enter at a parade route entry point near the National Mall, but ended up stuck in a massive crowd that had gathered after the checkpoint was closed. So, we changed our plan of action and decided to take the metro north, only to find out that the parade route had become filled to capacity at all locations and they had stopped admitting people onto Pennsylvania Ave.

Any disappointment we might have felt over this was soon erased, however, as we stood near a security checkpoint with a crowd of people listening to the Inaugural Address over loudspeakers. The crowd around us was attentive and interactive as Obama spoke. It was very cool!

Then we headed to a nearby Italian restaurant and bar to warm up and celebrate. At the bar, we saw the rest of the ceremony on their TV and participated with the other patrons at the restaurant by standing for the Star Spangled banner and having some lively discussion about the events of the day.

We decided to return home to watch the parade, and on our way to the metro, we discovered a group of people carrying on the message of change that is much-needed in our country and our future. All in all, it was a pretty awesome experience and a great time of interaction with a diverse range of people! Wow! What an amazing time to be living near DC!

Sight-Seeing and Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:37:00 +0000

We had a lot of fun during Sean's 3 week Christmas break from his masters program. We were able to do more sight-seeing in our area, as well as just hang-out and relax together. Here are a handful of pictures from our time together between semesters.

Click on the button at the bottom of the slideshow that says View All Images to view the pictures one at a time, in a larger format.

Final Semester

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:39:00 +0000

Well, we've made it to Sean's last semester of classes! They start up again on Monday, January 5. His Spring semester finals will take place the last week in April, followed by two weeks in which he and his research group will complete their project and defend their findings to a panel of medical professionals. Sean's clinicals begin on June 8, so it looks like we'll have about 3 weeks to get packed, moved and settled in Las Vegas.

Sean's Spring schedule of classes is (of course) a busy one. On most mornings, his classes begin around 7:30. He has found that traffic is easier to deal with and parking is easier to find the earlier he goes in, so he'll probably continue to go in to school around 6:00am to study or work-out during the time before classes start. He'll probably remain at school, either in class, lab or study sessions until either 1:00 or 4:00 each afternoon.

Sean's classes consist of the following:
Anesthesia Lecture, Anesthesia Simulation Lab, Medical Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology, Policy and Ethics, Research and Statistics, and Research Lab. He will also have a few military Operational Readiness lectures.

I will continue volunteering at the National Naval Medical Center throughout Sean's final semester here, as well as taking care of all things "home related", and will also begin looking for a place for us in Las Vegas.

Sean's Spring Break is the last week in March, although he will spend the majority of that time working on his research project. An Air Force friend of ours who will be starting classes in the CRNA program in June will be coming to visit us during this time, and I will get to show her around the area and help her do some house-hunting while Sean helps her get familiarized with university stuff. I may also need to take a trip to Las Vegas around this time to do some house-hunting of my own.

So, we're back to the busy school schedule and stress. And although it's sort of daunting, we also know it's just one more semester and we can make it through. I can't believe how fast the time has flown! I'll continue to post updates as Sean's final semester progresses.

New York City!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:31:00 +0000

We finally made it to NYC with the help of our fantastic tour guide, Drew (Dani's nephew).

Anyway here are the pics.

Celebrating Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 20:50:00 +0000

Sean and I were recently discussing that the last time we got to celebrate Christmas together was 2 years ago since he was deployed to Iraq last Christmas. We are so thankful to be together this Christmas season. We are also grateful that we got to spend some of the holiday with my sister and her family at my nephew's home in Pennsylvania. Being with family makes Christmas so special! We hope you enjoy seeing our pictures as much as we enjoyed being together to take them! Merry Christmas!

Click on the button at the bottom of the slideshow that says View All Images to view the pictures one at a time, in a larger format.

Holiday Fun with Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:18:00 +0000

My Mom recently visited for an extended weekend. We took the opportunity to see the holiday sights around the DC area. I also took her to The Melting Pot, a favorite fondue restaurant of mine, and to our church Christmas party. Fun times!

Oh Christmas Tree!

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:04:00 +0000

Our traditional tree trimming fun the weekend after Thanksgiving!

Morbidly Humorous

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:48:00 +0000

I remembered the following poem this morning after hearing the news about two people shooting eachother in a Toys R Us store on Black Friday. My Dad used to recite this to me when I was a kid. He had similarly learned it from his father. After a little research, I discovered on a British Columbian folklore website, that variations of this poem have been passed down from generation to generation since at least the early 1900's. The poem is called "Two Dead Boys", author unknown.

Early in the morning in the middle of the night
Two dead boys got up to fight

Down on the corner in the middle of the block
In a two story building on a vacant lot

Back to back they faced eachother
Drew their swords and shot eachother

Two deaf policemen heard the noise
They came and killed the two dead boys

Thanksgiving Day 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:49:00 +0000

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day! Best of all, Sean didn't study all day long!! We slept in, had a leisurely breakfast, cooked our Thanksgiving meal together, and stuffed our stomachs with good food. Here are some pictures from our day. . .

The Power Of Great Art

noreply@blogger.com (Sean) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:52:00 +0000

If you love great art, you may have been curious to know who was behind those amazing pop-art-esque Obama posters and t-shirts. His name is Shepard Fairy.

World Wide Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:06:00 +0000

After seeing the world's overwhelming reaction to Obama's election to the US Presidency, I thought it would be good to further develop my worldview and experience by finding an online site where I could view and participate in discussion on a variety of topics with people from all over the world. So, I've found a website that looks promising and is easy to navigate and I'll give it a try. The website is calledAll Voices and is grouped by region, as well as topic. I'll have to update everyone on how this venture is progressing later on.

Maybe some of you will even decide to take on a similar endeavor of your own. . .

Christian Civility

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:47:00 +0000

We recently got our November issue of Sojourners magazine, and in it was a very enlightening and much-needed article by the chief editor. He began by talking about certain issues that he thought Christians needed to consider when voting for a candidate in this election. Then he pointed out that, based on people's different views and interpretations, there would be those of Christian faith voting for both sides - Democrat and Republican. He continued by stating "Five Rules of Christian Civility" in light of this fact. They are as follows:

1. Christians should not be in the pocket of any political party, but should evaluate both candidates using a biblically based moral compass

2. We should vote all of our values based on biblical foundations

3. We should advocate for a consistent ethic of life from the "womb to the tomb" (meaning ALL human life), challenging the selective moralities of both conservative and liberal views

4. We need to respect the integrity of our Christian brothers and sisters in their sincere and thoughtful efforts to choose a candidate, realizing that people of faith and conscience will be voting both ways

5. We should not attack one another, but should "expect and respect the practice of putting our faith first", even as we reach different conclusions

This article had perfect timing in my opinion. Sean and I have gradually been leaning toward a different worldview over the years. One which has been considered by some of our family and friends to be more "liberal", but which we felt was more in line with our ever-growing and changing faith as Christians. In some cases, we have been criticized and have also had the validity of our faith questioned because of this change in values. It's been somewhat insulting, as well as frustrating since our faith is such a large part of our lives and something we are excited about as it relates to us personally, and to the world around us. It's sad to me that on some of the occasions when we have shared our excitement about these things, people have viewed it as a threat to them personally. We never intended or suspected they would feel this way, and certainly never said anything bad about their views. We only stated our views which, granted, happen to be (respectfully) different than theirs. Not better. Just different. . .which is not a bad thing.

Fortunately during this time, we've found a church which holds a worldview similar to our own, and which expresses an interest and excitement in common with ours about how a person's faith should impact the world around them. It's been so refreshing to find Christians we can relate to! But not only that, through our changing views, we have found a whole new group of family and friends (religious and not) who share our worldview and whom we've been able to grow closer to as a result. We value these people so much! They are our support group, and we hope we have been able to return the favor in some small way. We also hope, at some point, to find or re-establish a common respect and understanding among those who we differ from in these matters. . .In the spirit of "Christian Civility."

Just a side note: The above-mentioned article is NOT advocating that Christians should vote only for "Christian" candidates, and neither are we. There are plenty of good and wonderful people in the world who actively and passionately support values that fall within Christian standards without actually professing specific, or any, religious preferences. In fact, there are quite a few other religions out there with standards similar to those of the Christian faith, as well as additional standards that could make this world a better place. What this article IS saying, is to educate yourself about what the candidates support and stand for, and then (if you are a Christian) to consider if those things line up with what the Bible as a whole stresses to be important, regardless of where the candidates values may or may not come from. The same considerations would be necessary for any person who holds a set of moral standards (religious or not) as to how people should live and treat one another.

Pumpkin Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Dani) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 23:35:00 +0000

To view the pictures in a larger format, click on the "View All Images" option at the bottom of the slideshow window. This will take you to a separate page where you can have a little more control over how long, and in what order, you are able to view the pictures in their larger size.

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