Four more days

We enjoyed a weekend of the 'official' final hockey game of the season {in an indoor hockey rink that was just as cold as the outdoor rink}, a good run on Saturday, movie time, and yummy food, all while Z's sister was in town visiting--it was fabulous.  We also got to meet her boyfriend, who was perfectly kind, funny, and easy going.  We approve.

Today began with a visit to the chiropractor.  I am a big fan of chiropractors.  Sometimes I wish my husband was a construction man and a chiropractor...it would really save us some money and be extremely convenient {c'mon hun, it's a good idea}.  Lucky for me, my chiropractor doubles as a running mentor.  He is a sports chiropractor and helps keep me on track with my training, heals my IT band when it acts up, and heals other injuries and discomforts that inevitably arise.

In other news, there are only four more days until the big day.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........       

The big day of 26.2 miles.

That 'ah' was a mix of excitement and anxiety all rolled up into one big, mexican burrito.  With extra excitement on top.  Did that make sense?  Hope so.  I'm waiting for a crock pot full of tortilla soup to finish cooking, so I have mexican food on my mind {my excuse for the burrito comparison}.

Have I mentioned Z is running a half-marathon when I run my full marathon?  My dad and I are running the full, my mom and Z are running the half, and my two youngest brothers are running the 5k.  This means it'll be a very memorable day.  This also means we are flying to Texas to run our races!  We fly out Thursday morning and I am so excited.  

The team before their final game

A smile on his face while waiting out his 2 minutes in the penalty box...

Way to finish the season with a victory boys!

Mrs. Fix-it

Alright, the title may be a bit deceiving, but let me explain...  Since Monday morning, Z's truck started making weird and not-so-good noises.  My orders were to not drive the truck.  So I bummed a ride from the ambulance to get to the funeral on Monday.  Yesterday, my orders were to still not drive the truck.  But I had to go to the grocery store for a few crucial items.  And I was getting cabin-fever.  So I risked it and drove the truck.  

The first mile or so, the truck actually didn't sound too bad...but it was short-lived.  Soon enough there was loud squealing and knocking sounds.  I thought the truck might sort of explode, then collapse from exhaustion.  I was too nervous to pull into the nearest car shop in fear of being taken advantage of for my {lack thereof} car knowledge, only to be stuck there because my truck couldn't go on any longer.  I decided the better option would be to pray the truck could make it to my work.

Hallelujah!  I made it to work and walked in as a desperate I-know-nothing-about-cars-so-please-help-me girl.  They felt sympathy and two guys who knew enough about cars to help me, helped.  

Almost three hours and $106 later, the truck had been revived from its despicable state.  The alternator was replaced by a new, shiny, non-squeaky alternator and the tire was patched and filled with air.  Muchas gracias to the fire department!  Honestly, truly they are life savers {referring to our truck in this instance and not necessarily the citizens of this community}.  Not to mention they probably saved me a couple hundred precious bucks.

As a teeny, tiny way to somehow show them my gratitude, I spent a chunk of my morning making cookies with a friend and her baby.  Now once I finish {or start} folding this pile of freshly clean laundry, I'll take a few plates of these cookies over.

Did I mention that throughout this entire process, Z was left in the dark?  I tried calling and would text him updates, but with no response from him at any point, I did the entire process without his input.  Scary, but exciting because I was taking care of "car stuff" all on my own.  Never again.  Luckily, he was thrilled when he found out the good news about his truck!

It turned out to be a good day and was even better with a proud husband.  Hope you enjoy the cookies boyz.

A little bit of grieving with some added hope

Yesterday I attended the funeral of a coworker.  He worked as an EMT and paramedic before returning to school and receiving his nursing degree.  For the next 20 years he split his time between the ambulance as a paramedic and the emergency room as a nurse.  After over 30 years of working on the ambulance, he retired to allow more free time to do other things he enjoyed.

The funeral service was lovely and emotional.  I never knew him on the ambulance, but knew him as an emergency room nurse.  While going through the paramedic program I did many ER shifts with him and he taught me skills and told me exciting stories as a paramedic.  He was very smart, kind, and was always willing to tell a joke or two.  Since becoming a paramedic, I'd see him as I brought my patients to the ER and he would still be telling jokes.

Because he was a former member of the fire department, the department was fairly involved in the funeral.  It was a neat and memorable experience to be a part of it.  The color guard, pipe brigade, a fire engine, an ambulance, other department members and police officers were all involved.  It was a special ceremony and I'll never forget that with the pipe brigade playing behind us, we stood in our uniforms, saluting the casket as it passed by to be lifted onto the fire engine.  Once the casket was secured, the processional of emergency vehicles, family, and close friends drove to the cemetery for a lovely burial service.

Death is hard, but I find hope and comfort in my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ that families are eternal, and that each of us will live again one day.

Day "off"

Today is Presidents Day.  Know what that means?  Me neither.  However, I'm almost positive it's Washington's birthday.  

The not-so-distant 'student mentality' of mine recognizes Presidents day as the reason for a long weekend, which meant I had an extra day of studying.  My current 'I'm a college grad mentality', forgot {slash didn't know} it was a holiday.  And Z is at work, probably completely oblivious as well. 

Although we're not being particularly festive or patriotic today, we did enjoy our weekend.  Friday consisted of "the usual".  

I took a picture of Z while we were window shopping because 

sometimes I just can't help it--look at that face.

And these are my cute flowers I bought for $2.88...because how could I pass that up?  

They're just so happy.

Saturday, I worked.  Aka, I was "on call" with the first ambulance--meaning any medical emergency for those 12 hours, the crew and I were responsible for.  It was a surprisngly slow day in the 911/emergency world, so I spent a good portion of my shift at home.  While at home, I decided that we had lots of roma tomatoes and I knew they'd be rotting soon if I didn't use them.  So naturally, I had to make pico.  What can I say, it's the hispanic side of me that screams for attention now and then.

Just ignore the creepy face and focus on the pico...

 

And this is the snow storm that came through this weekend.  Despite what the picture may depict, the snow was quite beautiful.

He and the dog wanted a closer look at the snow

Thank you snow storm for putting us in the mood for movies and popcorn.  Really, thank you!  But instead of an actual movie, I talked Z into watching a show with me...  It's called 'Once upon a time'.  A couple people had told me about it and the movie mood reminded me of it.  We ended up watching the first three episodes that night and loved it {well, I was all over it and Z teased my enthusiasm}.  I got all giddy and excited that we finally "have a show" again.

Sunday consisted of sleeping, church meetings, and little service opportunities that the hubby and I stumbled upon.  Sundays are splendid and definitely a time of rejuvenation to start off a new week. 

Hope you all are enjoying this Presidents day as a day off from whatever your typical days demand of you!

Canadian blood

Fact about Zuriel:  He is Mexican.  

Second fact:  He is also Canadian.

How rad is that?  A Mexican Canadian.  He was born in Ontario, but his entire family {on both sides} is from Mexico for many generations, with a little bit of Spanish and French blood mixed in at some point.

He lived in Canada until the 2nd grade, when his family moved to Germany for just over a year.  After living in Germany, they moved back to Canada where he lived until the 7th grade.  While living in Canada, he played the beloved sport of hockey.  Z says there were ice ponds all over where they'd play "pond hockey" {because naturally, every kid had hockey gear}.  When they couldn't play on the ice, they would play street hockey.

The last four winter semesters, Zuriel has played intramural ice hockey for the University to get in touch with his roots.  Just kidding about the roots...but, he really enjoys playing, even though he's no pro.  

So Thursday night was probably their last game of the season because of the abnormal winter weather conditions we've been having lately.  And unfortunately, it was the first game I was able to watch this season.  I tried to make up for it by yelling lots of loud, obnoxious {but mostly encouraging} things, and took about 50 pictures.  Fortunately for you, I'm only posting about 15 of those phone pics.  

Here's to a close win {they went into overtime} and a good season overall!  

Side note... Z is number 53 and, naturally, practically every picture is a semi-close up with him in it--I'm the wife, I'm supposed to take pics of my husband.

 

And of course, we forgot to get a picture together.  Surprise, surprise.

My Valentine

Dear Valentine,

I love how you sweep me off my feet and into your arms.

I love that if I get into bed after you've already fallen asleep, you instinctively cuddle me without even knowing it.  I guess your subconscious is just as in love as the conscious you.

I love how excited you get when I make you your favorite cookies {extra raisins is a must}.

I love the way you look into my eyes and smile the biggest smile.

You're the greatest Valentine anyone could ask for.  And you're mine.  For eternity.

Love you forever and ever and ever,

The Luckiest Wife

While Z was out

My first evening alone I decided to make tacos.  Because, why would anyone not want to eat some chips, salsa, and tacos if they were in front of them?  I took these pictures and sent them to Z.  Needless to say, he was a bit jealous and wishes he could've been home with me for more reasons than one.

The following day I ran errands with my sister and it only made sense to include a lunch date.
Love you girl

Friday night, one of my very good friends from Texas came to visit with his girlfriend.  It was very, very fun to have them keep me company while my lover was out. We went to dinner Friday night and the following day we took off to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the evening.  Jackson was an evening of greasy burgers and waffle fries, a walk in the park, pictures around the town, a wanabe snowball fight, and an 'adventure' trying to drive home in all that snow.  Thanks for a fun weekend guys!

It's always sad when we're apart but, thanks to family and friends, I ultimately had an enjoyable weekend!