The FINAL COUNTDOWN

I officially have 12 shifts to go (or 4 weeks) in the ICU. It can't come soon enough; my last day is a day shift almost immediately following 3 nights in a row (rude) and you better believe I am going straight to a bar and drinking until I black out. Or yak...whatever comes first. Either way, I'm spending the night on the bathroom floor and I'm totally ok with it. I see the light.

3.16 I went to Cavendish/Ludlow to see Granny, Cora, and Diane for dinner and a visit. Had a lil conversation with Brandi during the ride to discuss our Boston/Red Sox outing in June with Kelly (Wahlburger's here we come). Had a good time visiting. Granny made a delicious pasta casserole which of course went well with cocktails and wine. Diane had just been released from the hospital so she wasn't able to join us but we catered each course to her in her apartment. Coming off 3 nights, I crashed after I got home. St. Patrick's Day was the following day. I met Dayna at SH for a beer then we went to Koto's for dindin.

3.27 CALIFORNIA! After a long day of travel, which included car, bus, plane, AND train, I arrived at the Byrne (temporarily Mike's also) household. I had to get up, get ready, finish packing, drive to ctown to drop off precious cargo then head to NL to grab the coach down to Logan. Nonstop to SF then it got a little tricky but easy enough managing the BART and Caltrain to San Jose. Phew, tired. But, the warm, sunny week in CA with delightful people was awesome. It went by rather quickly...vacation is great but I always miss home and especially Xander Barnaby. We did all sorts of fun things...Saturday was a relaxing day, slept in, got brunch at a nearby cafe. Met James in Half Moon Bay then took one car into the city so they could go to the convention center to pick up stuff for the Rock N Roll Half Marathon the next morning. Jamba Juice! After a trip to Trader Joes (looooove that store), Suzy made chicken and rice for dinner. Sunday was an early morning...Mike and I drove into the city to get a good place at the finish line so we could cheer on our runners. We got breakfast after the race with a circle of their friends/other runners and the rest of the day was pretty relaxed. I had dinner that night in Los Gatos with Cynthia, Annie, Frank, and Nathaniel at a yummy mexican restaurant. We walked around for a bit and went into some cute shops afterwards.
Monday, Suzy and I went into the city early and had breakfast at Mission Beach Cafe. We did a little sightseeing, a lot of walking and boarded the ferry to Alcatraz island at 130. The tour was awesome. Suzy made spaghetti and balls for dindin once we finally got back to their townhouse. Tuesday, we headed to Livermore to meet a friend of hers for wine tasting at a local vineyard (called Wente). Homemade chicken pot pie was on the menu for dinner. (I ate well on this trip). Suzy was scheduled to work Wednesday but couldn't get the day off despite her best effort. I slept in a little bit, finished my leftover Mexican then headed out to make my way to Palo Alto by way of Caltrain to hang out with Cynthia. We hung out, chatted, had dinner and Suzy picked me up on her way home from work. We did some shopping the next day at some amazing outlets nearby and I grabbed my first pair of Newton's (half marathon training here I come?) on our way home. Just like that, the week was done. Packed, airport (so happy to be flying out of SJ). Car, plane, bus, car, Xander, car, HOME. Hey girl, I just took a nappy, yo.

I went to hang out with Simone Saturday because I couldn't stay long Friday and I wasn't planning on going to Easter dinner but Merm convinced me to have Easter dinner before we headed to Burlington for the night. Dayna experienced a family dinner with us then we headed to check into our hotel (smart choice this time). Got pretty, headed to the concert (awesome as always...AND they played both Dark Angel and In Your Eyes). Met up with Gonzo after the show and boom we were back on the bus. Awesome, as always. Stumbled off the bus and back to our hotel at 4. Passed out. Hung over Monday and I may have slept for 12 solid hours Monday night. Worth more than a million bucks lol.

One week down, 4 more to go. I can do this. I have fun things to look forward to each remaining week. We did trivia Sunday night and I hung out with the Goss' yesterday. Errands in the family van and burgers and homemade fries and onion rings. Good stuff. And I may have destroyed a whole pint of chocolate peanut butter ice cream after I got home. I also taught Gary how to take a blood pressure yesterday. And I've ran twice in my Newton's. Go me.

Listening to: Sunshine by Atmosphere and Hits from the Bong by Cypress Hill. Good stuff.