Christmas in San Jose

I joined Crista and Sean downtown to play and check out the holiday events. I worked the entire weekend of Xmas which was nice money, but it really didn't feel like Xmas until.... my Megan. Thank you Megan for making Christmas eve feel like the true holidays. We had a mix of foods but shared a great evening together chatting it up about traveling and nursing and our crazy families!!!

Cavalia and flowers in San Francisco

Andrea and I spent the day together and had a blast at Golden Gate Park, the Conservatory of Flowers, the de Young Museum and Cavalia show in San Francisco.

Brunette

I loved my blonde highlights, but I had to admit to myself I'm not that foo foo kind of girl that wants to maintain hair dresser appointments so my roots don't show! I'll go there again when the greys come in and I have no other choice. Till then, I'm all natural color again...well at least what my roots are telling me. You like???

I went to Marinello Beauty School. The crazy thing is that it is the same school that my mom went to hm@*##ph number of years ago to become a licensed beautician. Cool!! I love going to beauty schools for cuts/colors. You save money and help someone gain experience. Just give yourself a bit of time...time is something that you don't save in this situation. :)

Amy's NoCal Visit

My girl Amy came to San Jose and we hit the road! San Jose is alright but it's no place to play!! Santa Cruz and it's famous Mystery Spot was our first adventure. Thanks Sean for meeting us for dinner! Amy and I took off to Lake Tahoe for a day of snowboarding/skiing. We didn't have much time but we rocked the time we did have!!! We also went south to San Simeon and toured the Hearst Castle which was absolutely gorgeous! I love it when Amy can visit me in my various locations in the US and Europe when I lived there. So much fun. Friendships like ours I truly cherish. When we are together it's as though time hasn't past much. Love you Amy! Here are some of our cool pics!

Napa Valley

My dear friend Shawn and his business buddy Chris came into town and we hit up wine country while the guys mixed business and pleasure. (SoCal LoCal mix is the bomb!!!). What a 3 day adventure!

We spent a day and a half wine tasting and a fantastic evening the San Francisco meeting new people and having mini adventures. :) Chris, I'm so happy that you were able to cool off and not drown especially in your condition!

I must say the evening in San Francisco was quite entertaining and I'm so happy to have such a sweet friend. Shawn, you are a hot mess! You crack me up. Now, don't let the compliments go straight to your head cuz regardless you're a punk for making fun of me and Chris' musical talents. :) True, we are no Johnny Cash, but cut us some slack! ;) The NoCal ladies were so sweet and it was an absolute pleasure meeting them. We can forgive them for kidnapping Chris...for he knew not what he was doing.

The wineries of Napa and Sonoma Valley were phenomenal! Robert Mondavi was a perfect start of our touring. The 3 of us received a private tour with an amazing gentleman that was so passionate about wine and wine making it really set the stage for great wine touring in the valley. We enjoyed fine wines at Ravenswood, Gundlach Bundschu and Prager wineries, just to name a few.

I'm so grateful for the protein bars and tons of water that I had available to me. Wine tasting can be a bit difficult to manage as an all day event.

It was sad to leave such good company but it was such a blast to spend with new and ole friends. Thanks guys for hanging with me! May we all continue to love and honor good wines and not be too snobby about it all.

Winchester and Curvy SF streets

I've been quite the tourist that past couple of days. My fellow travel nurse and I went to SF to explore Fisherman's Wharf and have some good Indian food. We were craving ourselves so mean curry! Yummy!

Along the way we came upon San Francisco's famous curvy street, Lombard. It's a street yes, and yes I took a few pictures! :)

Yesterday I got a bit spooky an went to the Winchester Mystery House. Nothing really mysterious about it other than the fact the Mrs Sarah Winchester was a crack job who believed evil spirits were messing with her and required her to have her home in a constant state of 'in construction" or she'd be miserable. So for 38 yrs, this woman built and added to her already gi-normous home. She tried to trick out the evil spirits and build stairs to nowhere and doors to nowhere. It's pretty humorous. It goes to show you that when you have an unlimited amount of money you really can do absolutely ridiculous things and people will make it a historical landmark one day! ;)

Off Days

When the weather starts to get a bit chilly it's somewhat of a challenge to figure what to do on the off days. Best thing is to get someone/something to cuddle with in front of a fire. The girls sadly only like to cuddle for a little while although laying on top of me is no problem for them. :)

On some of my off days I was able to be a bit productive. I took a hike in Castle Rock with a friend and it was a stunning view. The rain and cool started to get to us though and we soon headed back to the car. An hour and half was just enough to still feel your fingers, toes, and nose. Also I went to the Aquarium in Monterey. It's such a soothing place to be where you are surrounded by water and all its inhabitants. The San Jose Museum of Art was very eclectic and I enjoyed the exhibitions. Next week...it's more scary mansions!!!

Now its time to go back to work. :( I just wanna play!

(this was at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant in Monterey...lol! )

Getting out there

San Jose...Man Jose...Mecca of well something interesting. You're an interesting place. You charge an arm and leg for everything. Often it's worth it in the end. Salsa clubs have been found. Museums are starting to be visited and ocean I've seen you although you are f*#$ing too cold to get in to. I'm looking to buy booties and a thicker wetsuit if I want to venture out in to this blue blanket.

Everywhere you look there is either a Korean or sushi joint and then a Safeway. Techies & Engineers with their PCs and gadgets fill the chairs at any coffee shop. Hilarious. Such people watching. It's gonna be a great winter.

First Week at Kaiser

Kaiser...hopefully your reputation towards travel nurses will be untrue. It began by being hours upon hours doing online testing and module watching. Then we had hour upon hours putting those modules into practice. Not rocket science! So after lengthened hours of all that I was able to grace the halls of Kaiser San Jose. Nice hospital and thankfully nice staff. The South has invaded...Georgia, Texas, Alabama and even Florida were popular origins. Of course I fit in right away. Plus we travelers bond quickly as well. You still hear some horror stories but I'm looking forward to the next 12 weeks of whatever Kaiser has in store for me.

But work is still work. I'm serious when needed and more often than not, I'm a big goof.

(Our not to interrupt sash...seriously.)

I love it, but sometimes to just have to...well decompress

SF pics day trip

Photo montage of a day trip to SF...

These pine trees are insane...

Cliff House version 4

Sunflowers in front of my apartment

Gorgeous view of Ocean Beach, SF

Hello Golden Gate Bridge, you are a beauty.

I love me some Alya