Hearst Gardens and Vistas

I think California State Parks at Hearst Castle has been reading my blog.

Why, you ask? Because they have a new tour, just for me! It's the Garden and Vistas Self Guided Tour! BEST THING EVER! All these years, I have dreamed of wandering around the grounds at my own pace! All those paths not taken? They have officially been taken! WOOOOOOOOOHOOOO!

This is one of my favorite paths. I have my camera out, I'm taking a video, and I am so excited!


If this next picture doesn't look familiar to you, it's because you have never seen it before. It isn't accessible on any of the regular tours, so of course you've never seen it.



This is of the same area.


And the same area, again.


I'm obsessed because I've never seen this terrace before, which means I've never seen the fountains, both with newly gilded statues on top, one with a woman holding a rose, another about to kiss a frog.

Also, a bonus with this tour is that we got to sit on stuff! Appropriate things only, of course, but at least we got to sit down, and just soak it all in!




The ticket price includes the movie, so we saw the movie before we went up the hill. You can be up there for four hours, if you wish. We were on the hill about 2.5 hours, I think, and it was the perfect amount of time for us. I particularly wanted to be up there for the sunset. At sunset, the bells in the two towers ring, which is a great bonus.


Father waiting for the bells to ring.





Did you spy me in that last picture? I'm sure you didn't, because my Greek Pool Goddess pose is so natural.

Speaking of pools, I was able to walk all around it. This has simply been unheard of before. This tour was like a ticket to freedom.



See those stairs behind us? I've never been able to walk on them, but the other night I did. Twice.

July Recap and Reunion!

July was a very busy month. It started with a baseball game and Dad teaching Bryn how to chew sunflower seeds. We biked to the zoo, ate a lot of Popsicles, went swimming, and had a reunion. Also, I had my last day of work, which naturally resulted in a scrub burning:


It was a very satisfying activity. The next week I went to the beach, where I got burned in all the spots I forgot about (behind the knees) or couldn't reach and forgot about (center of back) and had to spend the next week suffering the consequences. That was also the week I went on my packing spree. Have you ever packed up your whole life while the backs of your knees were on fire? It is very uncomfortable, and not at all recommended.

At the end of that week was Stake Temple Day. It was da bomb dot com.


The next week found me a bit depressed, as I hadn't completely finished packing. I would pack a little bit, and then go out to the living room to see how the skyline was coming. Then I would pack a little bit, then back to the living room. Then I would get out the trash can and finish packing.

Mary and Mother made this skyline wallpaper for the Chicago party.


The Chicago party was scheduled right in the middle of the Cohen family reunion. We kicked things off with an Opening Ceremonies all-comers track meet at the high school.

The next day we went to the fair where everyone enjoyed looking at the animals, watching pig races, mutton busting, an auction, and eating snow cones.

This reunion was also the first time I got to meet Cooper, my nephew.
You can meet him too. Here he is:



Friday was my Chicago Party. We had deep dish pizza and Chicago hot dogs, but perhaps my favorite part (besides the skyline, the jeopardy game and the awesome invitations I made) was the blackberry lemonade served from my Great Grandmother's punch bowls and cups.

The next picture is of the kids enjoying their dogs. They didn't prepare them Chicago Style, which I forgave because they are kids, but with everyone else, I made sure they prepared their hot dogs appropriately. Those who omitted an ingredient had to leave.

I take my theme parties very seriously.

(PS, you might be able to see the blackberry lemonade cups in the picture as well.)


On Saturday I went to the Fresno temple with Mother and the brothers. We were so inspired that we came up with these super cool poses:


Also, we found this fabulous Japanese restaurant where we ate lunch out of boats. It was awesome! I love a good boat lunch.

Sunday was the big show: Double Baby Blessings. Yup, both Torah and Cooper were blessed on Sunday. It was a very cool experience, and I am so glad I was still around to witness it.


Marissa busted out her skillz and made these adorable dresses for all the girls.


She made them out of Paul's old shirts. It was convenient that he had so many pink dress shirts to choose from. Thanks, Paul! Good work Marissa!

After Church we had a nice luncheon (notice use of the word luncheon) and then moved on to the great family picture taking extravaganza!


Later we played darts, chased each other around, and erected a tent.


The next couple of days were good too, however I'm choosing not to document them.

I will leave you with a picture of me and the local Cohen kids. We are trying to cheer up Wade by doing "cut the pickle".

Tickle tickle.

Friend Betting

As many of you know, I will soon be moving to another area. Anytime you pack up and leave, you start off with zero friends. Over time, you will acquire friends, the kind of person you would feel comfortable calling to go get dinner, see a movie, go exploring or the like. The question is, how much time?

I have already had one bet placed at seven weeks.

What is your wager?

I will keep everyone posted on my friend status, and you can see if you win.

Place your bets!

Cheers! And other Last Day type things.

Tomorrow is my last day at work.

While I was spouting off information to my coworker while entering memorized passwords into the computer, it hit me that all of this information will suddenly become irrelevant on Saturday. More specifically, 5:00 on Friday afternoon.


Never again will I need to know where the Immigration Physicals are kept, how much they are, or how to schedule for one.

I won't need to use memorized passwords to get onto all of the different insurance sites to check a patient's eligibility.

It doesn't matter that I know when using certain programs, you can only bill for certain things within a specified amount of time.

I no longer need to remember the names of dietitians, general surgeons, gastroenterologists, cardiologists, podiatrists or the like. I don't need to have pharmacy phone numbers memorized.

It doesn't matter that I know how much the yellow fever vaccine, HPV vac, TB, and Tdap cost.

My brilliance at acquiring ICD-nine codes will no longer be needed.

I will have slim opportunity to use the relationships I built with other businesses. My coworkers will be able to use those, so I guess that's good.

After 5:00 on Friday, I probably won't need to know the amount of time one should abstain from sexual activity after being treated for chlamydia or gonorrhea. I won't really need to know the signs or symptoms or STI's, and I certainly won't need to discuss them any more.

After Friday, I probably won't need to know how to explain to a patient what a "back up method" is, the pros and cons of an IUD, or how many hours after unprotected intercourse should one take emergency contraception.

I'll never again need to explain to someone what exactly a colposcopy is, and why they should stop freaking out and just take a calming breath.

Also, with the end of this job comes the end of word puzzles. I will present to you a few uh, hypothetical questions, and you must figure out who needs to be tested for STDs, who is possibly pregnant, who needs emergency contraception, and how best to advise the patient.

Question: Uhm, my friend told me she skips her period all the time by skipping the little white pills, you know the little white pills? So I tried it and it didn't work. How come it worked for her and not for me? I mean, we take different birth control, but that doesn't matter, does it?

Question: Okay, so on Sunday I went to a BBQ, and I had a good time, and I had some chips, and I forgot to take my Yaz, and that night I messed around with my boyfriend, and the next day I remembered that I didn't take my pill, so I wasn't sure what to do, so then I forgot, and then I forgot again that night to take my pill, and I slept with my boyfriend but he kept his boxers on, so what do you think? I'm probably safe, right?

Question: Okay, so I haven't gotten my period yet this month. It's like, 2 hours late. and I slept with my boyfriend last night. A couple times. We had just had a fight, but we were making up. So do you think I'm pregnant?

Question: Um, I'm going out of town in an hour, and I need my birth control refilled, like, yesterday. I HAVE TO HAVE IT. GO GET IT FOR ME.

Question: Well I had kind of a crazy night last night, and I was drunk, and he was drunk, and we were at a party, and we kinda hooked up, and I don't think we used condoms, and then my friend came over, and like, went down on him, and then we all kinda messed around, but then we started using condoms, I think, so do you think I should come in for an appointment? Do you think I could be pregnant?

Question: So I need to be seen. For an exam. I think maybe I have something, but that's impossible, because I've been with my boyfriend for like, 2 weeks, and we haven't slept with anyone else.


Oh, sigh. The joys of the word puzzles. I hope I get some good ones tomorrow. I think that would be a nice way to celebrate my last day.

Cheers!

Baby Torah

Wo0ohooo0ooooo! Baby Torah has arrived!