Michael and Abby Lee

Vita-Mix 5200

2009-09-05T00:33:00.000-07:00

It has finally arrived.. Vita-Mix 5200! I'm guessing you are wondering what in the heck that is... Well, let's just say it is a blender on steroids! It is difficult to explain, so just go to this website to see for yourself. http://www.vitamix.com/ I am finally going to get my daily recommended fruits and vegetables! SWEET! We were witness to what this machine can do over our mini vacation. My eyes lit up when i realized that I could enjoy a smoothy that had cabbage, carrots, peaches, strawberries, and whatever else you want to add. I mean, amazing! Go check out the link and watch the videos. Go try and find a store that is holding a seminar and see for yourself.. Enjoy, because we sure are!
Well, now that I preached about the Vita Mix 5200, let me catch you up to our most recent excursions. A few weeks ago we went to Charleston, SC to visit with my family. This was the first time, since our wedding, that my family has gotten together. We all met in Charleston, SC for a few days. We had a blast. Did some tourist things, but unfortunately the rain stopped us from fully taking advantage of what Charleston has to offer. After my family left, Abby's parents came to town for a night. Then we stayed in Charleston for a couple of more days to spend time with Abby's oldest brothers (Jay) family. We had a blast visiting with family. Now we are back to the grind and looking forward to our trip to Dallas for the Cowboys vs. Panthers Monday night football game on Sept 28th. Should be a great game. Go panthers!!!! We were able to get tickets in section 247, row 3... for all those wanting to check out our seats.. pretty sweet seats!!! Going to wear our panther gear with pride.. GO GIANTS! :) After that trip we will anxiously await our trip to Portland Oregon in October. There we will be staying at the Riverplace Hotel in downtown Portland. Check this website out... http://www.riverplacehotel.com/ We will arrive on Thursday the 15th, stay close to my sister Dawn's house. Friday night we are going to my nephew's Friday night football game (it's homecoming). Should be an awesome time. Saturday we are checking into the Riverplace hotel and staying there until we leave on Tuesday. Can't wait for the cool air. Houston is still very hot and humid. I'm ready for a change in weather!
Work is good. We have been dealing with a lot of swine flu kids already. Good times! So far so good... No swine flu for either of us.. keeping our fingers crossed! haha.. Our work friends/co-workers threw us a "welcome to Houston" party a few weeks ago. It was suppose to be our going away party, but since we extended once again, it was our welcome party. They can't seem to get rid of us! We had a great time. We work with some amazing people who have really taken us both in! They will surely be missed whenever we decide to head to a new hospital.
Well, I guess it is about that time to check on my kiddos... I do hope everyone is doing well.. It's football season ya'll!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am.. I hope you are too! Love and miss you all... Remember, GO GIANTS, and GO PANTHERS!!!
In His peace,
Love,
Michael and Abby Lee

Wedding season is officially over!!!

2009-07-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

3 months later and several weddings attended, Abby and i are officially done traveling back east for weddings (until 1 more wedding in November). We had a wonderful time during all of them, but it is now time to sit back and enjoy what Texas has to offer. Thanks to everyone for throwing awesome weddings, and sorry to our friends whom we were unable to attend. Congratulations to everyone and we wish you many blessings in your future endeavors together!

Now it is time to see what Texas has to offer. Throughout the summer we were heading back and forth to partake in wedding events. Well, mainly Abby, but I had to attend a few. We had to strategically plan our time off from work so that we could make said events. Now that we are officially done with all that, we can use our time off to venture out into the great state of Texas. We already have plans to head up to Dallas to attend the Monday night football game between the Carolina Panthers against the Dallas Cowboys! Go panthers! We already have the tickets, just waiting on them to arrive in the mail. So so excited. We also have plans to attend a Houston Texans football game. Sometime soon we are going to be heading up to Austin TX. I'm trying to push for a Texas football game while up there. Wish me luck. Just need to talk that over with the wifey because Texas football tickets are really expensive. We also plan to head down to New Braunfels, TX to visit the #1 rated water park in the country, Schlitterbahn!!!! That is going to be awesome! We are hoping to visit Galveston as well. We hear that there is still tons of devastation from last years Hurricane. Oh yea, Abby and I are on the hurricane relief ride out team in the event of another major hurricane. That means that we will have to stay in the hospital for a minimum of 3 days or until relief can reach us. Should be a blast!!!! haha..

Other trips planned: We are traveling to Charleston, SC on the 12Th of August to visit with my family. I am very excited because this will be the first time that my entire family will be together since my wedding. Should be a great time. Then in October Abby and I are flying out to Portland, Oregon to visit Dawn. Also, in November my brother and I have a tripped planned to NY to watch the NY Giants take on the San Diego Chargers. This will be Sean's first trip to the Meadowlands. Can't wait for this trip! The weekend of the 21st of November we fly back to NC for another wedding. When there, we are going to catch the Panthers game vs. the Dolphins!

Wow, we have a lot planned this fall. Should be a great time! Especially with all the football games we have lined up! So so so so so glad Abby has been raised by a football loving father! Don't think this relationship would have worked out as well if that wasn't the case. ;)

Okay, now for the important stuff in life. Abby and I have decided to extend, once again, here in Houston. We just could not pass up the opportunity to have a good paying job that we both enjoy. We were thinking about venturing out to another city, but there just wasn't much to choice from. So the plan now is to stay here until the end of November. When that time comes we will look for a job, but if one doesn't come about that we like....... we are just going to take off all of December! haha.. that's my hope! Will know more come November!

Well, time now to get back to work. 9 more shifts until our next week and a half vacation! Should be a blast. Hope all is well with everyone. We love and miss you all...
Michael and Abby Lee..

p.s. Hello Birdsong!!! ;)

What should we do?????

2009-07-16T01:24:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! How are you doing? We are great. Thanks for asking! Well, we are at a point in time where we are very conflicted on what to do next with our travels. We thought for sometime now that we were going to have to move on to another city. Texas Children's was not offering us an extension, but they were offering an opportunity to sign on full time! I don't think so! If we did that we would lose our free housing, monthly tax free stipend, free furniture and bills. Even though the pay would be pretty nice, it wouldn't make up for losing all the wonderful perks of being a traveler. Make sense? So, we have been talking with our recruiter about upcoming travel opportunities. Basically there isn't much out there right now. We have been patiently waiting and hoping for something good to come along. St. Thomas, VI has 2 positions open for peds jobs. We did apply there, but it is a long shot as we were late to get our paperwork out to the hospital. Other than that, we haven't heard of much. Now..... Yesterday, Texas Children's offered Abby and I the option to extend here as travelers (which we didn't think they were going to do). They told us that we can sign on for however long we would like. Be it 6 weeks, 8 weeks, or 3 months. We are both very excited about this, but we now have the bug to head to another city and explore another part of the country! So, there in lies the problem. Part of us wants to venture onward, and part of us wants to stay for the security of having a job. What do you think? Do we risk a new job with the possibility of being unemployed for a short time. If that were to happen we would move in with Abby's parents while we still attempt to find another travel job. So we do have that option. I don't know.... We are going to talk with our managers to see how long they will give us to make up our minds. That might help us out. Will keep you posted... On another note, Abby and I will be officially out of debt come this Friday. HIP HIP HOORAY, HIP HIP HOORAY!!! haha... It has been a long process, but one we have diligently worked on achieving! Now time to save for a new house, and dare I say future Hinchy's!!! ;)
Love you all and thanks for all the prayers!
Michael and Abby Lee

A few photos...

2009-06-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

Officially a southern poser...

2009-06-26T00:42:00.000-07:00

Well.... I have finally caved in to the southern living... I guess that's what you would call it.. Or I would like to call it, pretending to be a southerner when my heart is still a YANKEE!!! This past weekend I broke down and purchased a pair of cowboy boots!!! haha.. that's right people, a set of Justin cowboy boots! They are SWEET!!! I wore them only once since getting them, but I liked it and plan to rock them a lot (as soon as the heat drops below 100). Be on the lookout for poser pictures!
This past weekend Abby's parents came in town to visit. They arrived in Houston on Saturday morning. We showed them around town or at least the area of town we were familiar with. Went to Freebirds (the greatest Burrito place know to Texas) for a late lunch. We then decided to venture to the see a movie. The term Venture is key! Abby's parents haven't been to a movie in about 8 years! It was an adventure. We decided to see Taking of Pelham 1,2,3 (which was awesome). We treated them to the movie tickets, so Jonesy (Abby's dad) decided to pick up the snacks. He ordered 2 large popcorn's and 4 medium drinks. The lady said, "that will be $30 please." I thought Jonesy was going to have, another, heart attack. haha.. He did admit that it was the best and most expensive popcorn/diet coke he has ever had. Both Jonesy and momma Jones loved the movie and the experience. So much in fact, they plan on going to see another movie back in Charlotte! Hope you both enjoy! I recommend "The Hangover." (a must see if you are over 18). :) Sunday we decided to venture to this neat little town called Old Town Spring. It's an old railroad town that features many little quaint shops and restaurants. We wandered around this town for a couple of hours then decided to head back to Houston. Sunday night we at at this amazing Mexican restaurant called Teala's. Stuffed our belly's, then proceeded to get ice cream at Swirl. Swirl is by far the best yogurt ever! I was extremely full before swirl, but as we all know, there is always room for dessert. Monday we went to walk about Rice University. We visited the bookstore and enjoyed the beautiful campus. (Rice University is across the street from Texas Children's Hospital). That night we went to Taste of Texas. Check out this website... www.tasteoftexas.com AMAZING!!! We celebrated my birthday, father's day, and her parents 40th wedding anniversary! The restaurant was kind enough to give us 2 free desserts. We tried their snickers pie and their key lime pie. This key lime pie was the greatest key lime pie EVER!!! Sorry to tell you that Van. Wish you could have been there to enjoy it with us! The snickers pie was also delicious! Abby and I both shared a 32oz porterhouse steak. Along with this steak we were given the option of 2 side dishes and also 2 salad bars. I an not a huge salad guy, but there were different kinds of cheese, delicious rolls, pastries, and everything else you could ever want before indulging into a delicious steak! All of us stuffed ourselves... Hard not to! If you ever make it to Houston, you HAVE to visit a Taste Of Texas! We did take pictures of our time there, so will definitely get those up soon! Tuesday was their last day with us. We had to take them to Poppa's Barbq. Texas barbq is different than NC barbq. It is mostly beef, not pork. They have a sweet barbq sauce, not a vinegar based sauce. It was still delicious! Oh I almost forgot. When we picked them up from the airport we decided to surprise them with a Texas delicacy... Kolache's! haha, i know that sounds weird, but they are incredible. They are breakfast pastries filled with all sorts of goodies! Ham, Sausage, Eggs, Potatoes, cheese, cream cheese, fruit, etc... They are so so good. I believe we ate Kolaches at least 3 times in the 3 days they were here. haha.. visit here to check out what I'm talking about... www.kolachefactory.com
We ate an obscene amount of food, but when in Houston.... Houstonians eat out all the time. There are more restaurants per capita here in Houston then any other place in the country. I mean it is my dream city!!! :) We truly enjoyed their visit, and hope to have more visitors in the future. Now it is back to work for the next 5 out of 6 days. Time to earn back that money we spent over the weekend. Cowboy boots are not cheap! Did I mention that Momma Jones also bought herself a pair of cowgirl boots! Rock those boots Momma Jones!
Our next city is still up in the air. We are probably not going to extend here in Houston. We are probably not going to head back to LA, so that leaves us with ???? Not much! We will begin our search come mid July, so will know more then. We are both hoping for the Northeast. I'm pulling for NY or Boston. NY would be incredible for the fall. GIANTS GIANTS GIANTS!!!! enough said...
Do hope all is great with everyone... We miss you all and thanks again for checking in on us.. sorry if my wording/grammar/spelling is garbage.. It is 3am and it has been a busy night... or maybe just because I'm not that bright and the smart one (Abby) in this relationship is at home enjoying wine and a movie after getting a pedicure and eating sushi... I'm not bitter.. ;) haha.. Okay people, time to get to work... Be good and God bless...
In His peace,
Michael and Abby Lee...

Where to next???

2009-06-12T00:49:00.000-07:00

Howdy y'all.... Hope everyone is just peachy! Abby and I are doing great. We are still in Houston, TX for the moment. We are here until the second week in August, then who knows. Here are our options so far. 1. Take a permanent job here at Texas Children's Hospital. The nurse manager offered Abby and I jobs. Exciting i know! 2. Try to stretch out another travel assignment here instead of accepting a permanent position. 3. Go back to LA to work at LA Children's hospital (the hospital we worked at prior to Houston). 4. Play the waiting game on a new city/hospital. The problem with 4 is that the jobs are few and far between. They are usually hiring nurses for the following week start dates. That seems a little to risky at this point. We both really want to venture somewhere new, but we are coming to realize that we may just need to be a little more patient and wait this slow time out. LA would be sweet because we love the hospital, but we are not the biggest fans of LA. If we go back we are hoping to live somewhere outside of downtown LA. The money is great in LA, so there are advantages of heading back west. We just don't know!!! Still some time to figure this out, but it is beginning to weigh on our minds! Will keep you posted.

Texas is beginning to show it's ugly head... The weekend it is suppose to be in the high 90's with very high humidity. Should be in for a rough stretch of weather as Abby and I haven't really been in the humidity since our summer days in NC. Supposedly Houston will teach a new level of hot humid summer days... Good times! Not good for my newly found obsession for golf... We plan to play early next week, but it might take a lot of convincing to get Abby to play with me!

Lately times have been a bit rough for my family. My grandfather passed away last November and just a few weeks ago my Grandma passed. They were amazing individuals and they will be deeply missed. We thank everyone for their prayer and support.

Well, Abby and I currently at work. Lately we have had a little more time at work to just relax and play on the internet. TCH recently approved 1 more nurse on our floors. That means that instead of taking 6 kids at night, we will be taking 4 kids. A much needed break as my waiter legs were getting the best of me. To many families to cater to and way to many kids to care for like they should be cared for! (if that makes sense)

Next weekend we are expecting the arrival of Abby's parents. We are extremely excited to have our first visitors while on our little road trip across the country. We have a lot of fun activities planned for the Jones family! Hope to have lots of fun pics to share.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Our love to all...
In His peace,
Michael and Abby Lee...

New apartment...

2009-05-19T01:15:00.000-07:00

Hello to all.. Abby and I are back in Houston after a great vacation. We went to Disneyworld with Abby's family for about 5 days. Afte disney, Abby was suppose to go to a bachelorette party but unfortunately got sick. I headed up to Raleigh to put in flooring in my house. Time to rent that joker out! I actually think I have found a lady to rent it from me. We are in discussions now.. Keep your fingers crossed because she seems like a perfect fit. Just her and her dog. She is actually a nurse at UNC. That would be sweet! We'll see...
We came back to Houston last tueday, then worked the rest of the week. While working 3 nights in a row, we had to move out of our apartment by saturday. It was a very tiring process, but well worth it as our new apartment is awesome! We had to leave a part of Houston that we loved, but are willing to give up location for comfort. We are now living in an apartment about 230 sq ft bigger than out last. Before i forget, our new address is:
7200 Almeda Rd #803
Houston, TX 77054

The area we live in now is consider the medical housing area for Texas Children's and the other hospitals near by. There are a lot of resident housing around us. We are about 1 mile from Reliant Stadium (home of the Houston Texans, and the old Astrodome). I hope to sneak over there at times to watch pre-season practice. We have yet to make it to a Houston Astros game, but we still have time. I think we will try and make an Astros vs. Mets game! Would be sweet as I've grown up loving the Mets. Enough of that...

We are working tonight, then we are off until friday night. Work 5 of the next 6 days, then home to Charlotte for a wedding! That's about it for now.

Not much going on. We hope to have pics up of Disney and possibly our new place. Who knows really. We are so bad about taking pics... Do hope all is great with everyone.. Thanks for keeping up!

In His peace,
Michael and Abby Lee....

We need a vacation!!!

2009-04-27T23:33:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone.. Abby and I are doing great. Sure hope you all are doing great as well. Our 1 year anniversary was awesome. Abby surprised me with a round of golf. Ever since getting my new golf clubs, I have been itching to play. Abby also has new clubs, so we both played. We had a lot of fun. Abby has an incredible looking swing, but has not yet put together the swing and solid contact portion of golf. She is getting there! We played at a golf course about an hour north of Houston. We didn't want to play where it was crowded, so that meant leaving Houston as Houston's courses are all crazy busy! The following day Abby surprised with with a wonderful couples full body massage! IT WAS AWESOME!!!! Very relaxing and probably the best massage I've ever had! The best surprise was that Abby cooked me a Steak, twice baked potato, and asparagus dinner! She went out and bought the juiciest steaks and also treated us to a wonderful bottle of wine! 2005 Louis M. Martin. I think that is the name of it... Incredible! A great 1 year... Looking forward to another anniversary celebration! ;)
We are currently working our last 3 nights before our 2 week vacation! These are going to be very long and frustrating shifts. It becomes very difficult to deal with the things we deal with on a regular basis when all you can think about is the vacation you are getting ready to go on. Say a few prayers for us... haha... We are heading to Orlando, Fl with Abby's family! Disney world here we come! We will be down there with all her nieces and nephews. Should be a blast because none of them have ever been to Disney before! Can't wait! We will be there for 4 days, then I'm heading to Raleigh to put down laminate flooring in my home. I will be in Raleigh for 3 1/2 days. Should be a very busy trip to Raleigh, but hopefully a very productive trip! Abby is heading to Southport for a bachelorette party.
We recently found out that we are switching apartments when we get back from vacation! Our current apartment is tiny! I think it is just under 650 sq ft. The one we are moving to is going to be 857 sq ft! A drastic change. Still a 1 bedroom, but we can finally use our dining room table. Right now, our dining room table and chairs back right up to our couch, so only 1 of the 4 chairs are usable! Crazy! We really like the location of our current apartment, so leaving that area will be a bummer! The location of our new apartment will be only 1.5 miles from the hospital, so that is a nice bonus!
This past weekend Abby and I attending a friends Alabama BarBq.. It was great. Then on Sunday, I played golf with 3 other buddies as Abby went shopping for clothes! A great weekend for both. Now back to work for the next 3 nights... Hope they hurry up and end because we are really looking forward to our upcoming vacation!
Hopefully we will have great pics from Disney... be on the look out!
Much love to all....
Michael and Abby Lee...

Happy Anniversary to my Beautiful Wife...

2009-04-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

Well Abby and I celebrated (if you can call it that) our 1st anniversary on Easter Sunday. Happy Easter everyone! Unfortunately we had to work all weekend, so we will hope to do a little more celebrating this coming week. Abby has some fun things planned for us. Can't write about them, because she is being very sneaky! I'm sure we will have a blast. We are currently working out 3rd shift and then back on a 4 day vacation. This is my 4th or 5th straight weekend working, and my 4th straight week of having 4+ days off in a row. That part of it has been really nice! Since my last post....
We didn't make it to the Houston Astros baseball game. Instead we went over to a friends house to watch the National Championship! Congrats UNC! Although it was a very boring game, it was exciting to see the Tarheels win. The following day we headed to Golf Galaxy and, well, let's just say we spent a few dollars on new golf clubs! :) (My early birthday present). Abby also got a set of clubs. We have been to the driving range a couple of times, and having a blast doing so. There are a lot of nice, relatively inexpensive golf courses around here. Abby and I, after practicing on the range for a while, plan to play a lot. There are also a few guys friends around that want a piece of the Hinchy 3 Iron off the tee! Inside joke! Looking forward to playing a lot of golf.
We found the most incredible fast food burrito restaurant. Freebirds is our new Moe's. You all know our obsession with Moes. Well, lets just say I think this place is much much much better than moes. That says a lot! can't wait to go monday night to celebrate our 4 day vacation!
Other than that, not much new! Oh almost forgot.. We did make it out to the friday round of the Shell Houston Open! Was a lot of fun, but unfortunately they didn't allow cameras. Did manage to get one photo right before we went into the gates. Will post said picture soon.
We do hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. We truly missed being with our family. To all those who get to see family on a regular basis.... DON'T TAKE THAT TIME FOR GRANTED!!!! Love and miss you all.... Hope to have some great Anniversary stories for you next week... ;)
In His Peace,
Michael and Abby Lee

I miss my wife...

2009-03-31T02:17:00.000-07:00

What's up world... Great to see you here! I am once again at work. Actually my last of 4 nights. Working 4 nights in a row is really taxing on the body and mind. Needless to say, I'm exhausted. To top it all off, this weekend was loaded with great basketball. If you know me, I will cut short my sleep to watch some sports... Go Heels!
Abby and I haven't spent much time together lately. Last week we had opposite schedules, then she went home to Charlotte for a wedding shower. I spent all weekend in the hospital trying to pay for Abby's expensive travel! Na, just kidding... Trying to pay for her expensive clothes shopping! Na, just kidding... trying to pay off our little bit of remaining debt!!! We are almost there! :) I Picked her up from the airport yesterday, then she took me straight to the hospital. I am now off until Saturday, but guess who has to work the next 2 nights? Abby Lee! haha.. So we will not be able to spend much time together until Thursday evening. Sad I know... Will have to plan a cool date night. I am going to stay busy this week as Abby does her share of working. On Tuesday I plan on heading to the driving range. Possibly after purchasing some new golf clubs!!! On Wednesday I'm headed to watch the Rice University Baseball team. Rice is literally right across the street from Texas Children's Hospital, so I'm going to drop Abby off at work, park in the hospital deck and walk to the game. I'm going to meet up with a couple of guys, so that should be fun. On Friday, Abby and I have tickets to catch the 2nd round of the Shell Houston Open golf tournament. 15 of the 20 top ranked golfers will be there... unfortunately no Tiger... Then a week from yesterday (April 6th) we are heading to opening day at Minute Maid Park to watch the Houston Astros take on the Chicago Cubs. That date might change as Monday night is also the National Championship game! Go Heels!
So, we have lots planned and hopefully will take lots of pictures... Other than that, not much new. Oh dang, I almost forgot.... I almost left out the most exciting news!!!! We have extended at Texas Children's Hospital through mid August.... We are both extremely excited. We love TCH and we have grown to love Houston! It will be a very hot and humid summer, but at least we have jobs. The travel nurse job market is horrible right now! So, if you have any desire to experience Houston, you have a place to crash!
Well, just a quick update for all you Hinchy followers... I do hope you are all great. We sure miss everyone! Thanks for reading and look forward to some fun and exciting post to follow... till then...
In His peace,
Beauty and the Beast...

Houston Livestock and Rodeo...

2009-03-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

Howdy ya'll.... I hope everyone is doing great. We sure are. We had a very fun week. It all started off with a trip to the Houston Livestock show and Rodeo. Let me just say, you haven't lived if you haven't been to the Houston Rodeo! haha. It sure was interesting. Let me first begin by telling you how we ended up getting in. Abby and I thought that we could just roll up there around 6pm and buy tickets. Right before we left our house around 4:30 I realized that the ticket windows closed at 5. We were hurrying down there and noticed it was 5pm and we still had a while to go. Well, as we were sitting at stoplights and waiting on people to make left turns and right turns (you know how it is.. when you need to get somewhere you hit every light, wait behind every person making a left or a right), I was listening to 97.5 (the local ESPN radio station) and Abby was reading a book. 97.5 was airing from a local Hooters. They were talking about the rodeo and they were talking about March Madness that started this weekend. They then mentioned how you could get free tickets to get into the Rodeo and to see Darius Rucker (lead singer from Hootie and the Blowfish turned country music star). They said, "come on down to Hooters and mention the secret word Bracketology and receive free tickets to see Darius Rucker." SCORE! We had already passed hooters, but quickly made a u-turn. They ended up giving us 2 free tickets to the rodeo/darius rucker concert, 2 97.5 cozies, and a 97.5 towel. haha. Pinch me now! :)
The tickets were not quite nosebleed tickets, but they were up there. Heck, they were free. These tickets allowed us to get into the carnival, livestock section and the concert. We entered into a whole new world. We saw kids carrying around lasso's, tight jeans, cowboy hats, and huge belt buckles to name a few of the Texan ways. (I was going to rock all the aforementioned articles of clothing, but....) Needless to say, Abby and I had a blast people watching. The concert ended up being pretty sweet. It followed the Rodeo portion. The rodeo was something else. The best part of the rodeo was at the end. They had 4-6 year old kids trying to ride on sheep! These sheep would come barrelling out of the gate with these little kids hanging onto the sheep's fur for dear life. It was awesome. Kids would get up crying, laughing, giving the rodeo clowns high fives, but mostly they came up crying! Who does that to their 4 year old... haha... My boy would be down, that's for sure! haha.. Darius Rucker was pretty good in concert. He sang some of his country "hits," and also rocked out to some old school hootie! We didn't stay for the entire concert as we wanted to experience the carnival portion of the rodeo!
The carnival was rather small, compared to the NC State fair, but it was pretty sweet. We didn't play any games or ride any rides, but we did enjoy watching all the unique individuals that were around us. Very very interesting I tell ya!

We did enjoy some of the great Texas food! We had to work the next couple of days, but had Thursday and Friday nights off. Friday we had to hit up Verizon to get Abby a new phone! Man her phone is sweet! Not sure what it is, but it's very fancy! Friday night we met up with 3 other couples for dinner at this amazing Italian restaurant. After enjoying dinner, we headed over to Swirl. Swirl is an amazing yogurt bar with the best toppings ever! Toppings like cookie dough, Reese's cup, m&m's, etc... They weigh your cup by the pound. My yogurt weight is about 1/8 the total weight of the cup... why you ask? 2 words for you.... REESE'S CUP!!! good thing there is no Peter pan Peanut butter! I would be broke! We have been very blessed with the couples we have met. They are all young and a lot of fun to hang out with. Hoping to continue getting together more often. Now we are back to work. I have had a very busy night. Funny story... so I'm taking care of this 5 year old girl who just had an operation on her right knee. Well 5 year old are very very proud of being potty trained! We told her that it would be easier and less painful to just pee in her diaper. let's just say she is not down with that. I had to pick her up and carry her into this tiny bathroom so that she could use the toilet. Okay little girl, let's go! I have her hold onto my neck as I gently pick her up. I'm being very gentle because of her knee. She has a little drain coming out of her knee that is collecting all the blood that is draining. So, I have this 5 year old around my neck, one hand is carrying her by her back, the other is under both her legs trying to mind this drain. I finally get her to the bathroom which is about 5 feet away and TINY! I shimmy her onto the toilet and I'm standing to her left. My right foot is to her left side and my left foot is right in front of her. I thought I had a great position to keep her safe and secure as she was a "BIG GIRL" and used the toilet. Before I know it, she is peeing straight forward like a dang boy! All of a sudden her mom was saying "watch out she is peeing on the ground!" I look down and sure enough it was all over the ground and all over my brand new MBT work shoes! (look up MBT shoes, they are the best for your body when you are on your feet for hours) DADGUMMET!!!!! I never knew girls can pee straight ahead.. I guess you learn something new every day! Till next time......
Love to you all...
In His peace,
Michael and Abby Lee....

"I went Skydiving, I went...?"

2009-03-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone... well well well.. if you haven't heard already, let me tell you. Abby and I did the un-thinkable on Friday. We went skydiving! That's right people, Abby and I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane at 14,000 feet. The reason for our madness, well it's a long story. When Abby and I first started dating, we did the.. you know, likes and dislikes game to find out more about one another. We discussed how both of us wanted to try skydiving, at least once in our lifetime. That same year, for my birthday, Abby surprised me with a voucher for 1 tandem skydive adventure to be used anywhere in the country. I was so thrilled. She mentioned at the time that she was unsure about whether or not she would go, but I knew I had time to convince her. At that time I weighed a little over 240 lbs. (I was chunky) I called up one skydiving place and they told me that their weight limit was 240 lbs. Let's just say I wasn't about to test fate while testing the weight limits. I decided to wait and go some other time. Well, about a year and a half later, I'm still chunky but only 216 lbs of chunk and knew I could now use my voucher with confidence. This voucher had a 2 year expiration date, so the time was approaching. I looked up the places to cash in said voucher and sure enough there was a sweet skydiving facility about 30 miles south of Houston called Skydive Spaceland. I called them and made the appointment. We were originally scheduling to go last Wednesday, but it was to windy in the Houston area. We decided to push the testing fate back to Friday.
Friday is upon us and I had to wake Abby up early to get there by 11am, our scheduled jump time. We arrive and fill out lots and lots of paperwork that continuously said how we can't sue for damages, i.e. DEATH or SERIOUS BODILY HARM! Abby and I were not amused, but knew we had to sign and sign and sign away. After finishing all the paperwork we watched a 30 minute video about how we were putting our lives at risk and how we can't sue skydive spaceland. So not only did we have to read pages and pages of information about this, this guy also spent a good 10 minutes of the 30 minute skydiving instructional video explaining possible death. SWEET! We finished up the video to learn that our jump time was being pushed back due to high gusting winds. A little knowledge for all you skydiving novices. Certain facilities will only allow jumps if the wind gusts are below 30 m.p.h. Certain skydivers will only jump if the wind gusts are below a certain level. Some require below 25 mph, others 30 mph and some brave 35mph gust. We later learned it all has to do with the landing part of the jump and how experienced your instructor is at landing with such gusts. So, when there is a measured gust of wind greater than 30mph, you have to wait 30 minutes from that point without having another gust of wind greater than 30mph. Make sense? These 30 minute increments were testing on the psyche! We waited a few rounds of 30 before we had confirmed lift off. Not only was this our first time, but we also had the enjoyment of having to deal with gusty winds. A sure fire way to increase our already apprehensive minds.
Finally we get the call. Will all skydivers jumping at said time please report to so and so area. This is it... Time to get ready to jump. We suited up, took some pictures, filmed some scenes, listened to all the tandem skydivers tease Abby about how her suit was unsafe, and after some last minute pep talks we were off to the plane. Said Video (scenes) will be up as soon as we figure out how to burn what's on our dvd onto the computer.
The plane is taxing as 4 tandem groups, and 3 videographers pile into this tiny plane. Abby and her partner are in first, I'm in second. We sit side by side as the other groups join us. We are jammed into this small plane. Nuts on butts is a fair term for most of the groups! The bay door closes and we are off. We take off on the runway heading up to 14,000 feet. We joke some more on the way up, trying to shake off the nerves. We film some more video, take more pictures, the time is near.... Our instructors begin to attach us to themselves joking that they hope they have done a good job. "Not funny dude!" We run through our responsibilities one last time. Abby tells her instructor, "I'm not jumping out of the plane, you are going to have to push me!!!" "No problem," her instructor tells her with a laugh.
"60" the pilot yells out. 60 seconds until we reach 14,000 feet. 60, 59, 58, 57 my mind starts to count. The bay door opens and we all get this rush of cold air upon us. Man it was cold!!! The first couple of groups begin to jump. "I love you Abby," I yell. "I love you too," Abby says. We grab hands and give each other one last kiss! Our instructors tell us to grab hold of our harnesses as they proceed to push us closer to the door. Abby goes slightly ahead of me. I watch her get closer and closer to the bay door. There she is standing at the edge! Her instructor begins to yell, 1, 2, and 3...... "GO ABBY!!!!" I yell and she "gets pushed" out of the plane! She begins to fall and fall and fall as I creep up to the bay door. It's my turn! The wind is howling around us, which makes it hard to hear. 1, 2, and 3.......
I jump and begin to flip all over the place. I don't know where I am. Am I up, am I facing down, "where am I!" I am soon tapped on the shoulders by my instructor which signals that it is okay for me to let go from my harness and assume the "flying position." Hands out to the side in a 90 degree angle. Also at this time I am suppose to push my pelvis downward kicking my legs back. I didn't remember to do that. I was also suppose to check my altimeter. didn't do that either. Are you kidding me with all this crap! I just jumped out of an airplane at 14,000 feet and i'm looking straight down at the EARTH... I begin to realize that I was falling at around 120mph. The wind was flying up my nose, (you can only imagine what kind of cold air was going up this huge nose) I had to concentrate on breathing, and I was freezing! It was honestly very hard to breath. I continue to yell in excitement. The camera guy is flying down with us trying to capture my fall. He approaches me and I give him a high five! I try to pull a superman pose, but quickly go back to the "falling position" in fear of sending us in a tumble. What a rush! I finally remember to check my altimeter (which I was suppose to check every 10 seconds or so). I think I remember for the first time about 30 seconds into my free fall. 9000 feet, 8000 feet, 7000 feet... At this point I am suppose to fixate on the altimeter because time to pull the chute is 6000 feet! Thank God I remembered this much! At 6000 feet I am suppose to wave off the camera guy to signal my need to pull the chute! Oops I forgot... Right arm back, "where is the knob, where is the knob..." I found it. PULL, PULL... It is a lot harder to pull then I thought. At this point I thought to myself, "surely my instructor is helping me out." (come to find out by the video that he DIDN'T help me pull the cord. He was saluting for the camera! Sorry joker) 5000 feet! I GOT IT... I quickly felt the cord release and away the chute goes! "PLEASE OPEN," I thought to myself... This is it.. Live or Die! At that point I felt us quickly slow down. I look up, and what did I see....? The most beautiful picture in the world. One beautiful fully extended parachute! PRAISE GOD! As Jonesy once said, "I defeated Death!" haha... Almost 1 full minute of free falling has come to an END!
I went from falling at 120+ mph (I give it a plus because I was the last to jump out of the plane, but the first to land. I was moving!)
Once the chute opened, it was a completely different feel. You could hear, it was peacefully calm, it was warm... What a difference! My instructor and I just chatted about skydiving and life. It was awesome. After about 5 minutes of descending, trying to steer the parachute (harder than it looks), and enjoying the peace and quiet, it was time to prepare to land. We went through a quick recap and then it was game time. Here we go... approaching approaching approaching... We push down on the parachute to slow us all the way down, planning on landing on our feet.... well we didn't slow down and we didn't land on our feet.. CRASH.. right on my coccyx! I mean we ate it hard! We come sliding in landing right on top of an ant hill. Thank God I did what I was suppose to (keep my legs and feet straight out in a pike position) or else I would have broken my legs. The people who were helping with the landings (because it was so windy) quickly began gaining control of our parachute and then all I hear is, "GET UP GET UP, You are sitting on an ant hill." haha.. Some lady started slapping my butt! YEAH BABY! ;) We quickly got on our feet and rejoice with glee! My feet and coccyx hurt, but I was so pumped from the entire jump that I didn't care! I made it.... I quickly run through a post jump interview with my videographer while trying to locate Abby! "Here she comes," I thought to myself. She too made it... A successful jump! What do I see with Abby's landing, you might ask? Well, she and her partner landed safely on their feet as if they were landing on a pillow! What happened to me was this. You remember way back in my story where I talked about the gusts of wind? Well, let's just say I hit one of those gusts which held us up and then "dropped us!" Or at least that's what the other people said. They told me it rarely happens! Well thank God it happened to me! What and experience!
I ran over to Abby and gave her a huge hug and kiss... We starting reliving our experiences with one another... "We did it!" haha... Skydiving! What an experience. I hope I was able to recreate just a hint of what we experienced. I definitely recommend trying it. Everyone asks this question... Will you do it again? We tell everyone that we would definitely do it again. Not so much on a whim to go skydiving, like "hey Abby you want to go skydiving today?" I don't think so... But, if a group of people wanted to go, we would go! Not sure how many times I want to test Fate! Although our instructors each had over 4000 jumps to their names! They go up, on average, 3-5 times during the week and 5-10 times during the weekend days. That is insane!
Well, I hope you all enjoyed a recap of our skydiving experience. Be on the lookout for pictures and hopefully a link to view the video of our jump. We hope you are all doing great. We sure are.. We are loving Houston and loving Texas Children's. Next week Abby heads home for an engagement party and I fly to Vegas with Corey and Van. We should both have wonderful trips! We love and miss you all....
Michael and Abby "the bad ass" Lee
until our next amazing adventure.....

Sorry...

2009-03-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

Howdy ya'll.... we have arrived in houston. let's be honest, we have been here for about 3 weeks now. I have been extremely slack on my duties to update this post. Honestly, I thought that no one really read it anymore, but I was proven wrong. thanks Jenny! I hope everyone is doing great. We sure are! We had a wonderful trip to Houston. We ended our assignment in LA and immediately went on a cruise! We found that we were going to be homeless because our assignment start date in Houston was going to be 2 1/2 weeks from our end date in LA. Unfortunately we were only allowed 2 days of lodging in our LA apartment before we were kicked out! The good thing is that we found a cruise deal. I think I talked about this in my last post. A recap: We went on a 7 night cruise to Mexico for roughly just under 400 a person! It left from Long Beach, CA which is about 15 minutes south of LA. DONE DEAL! We had a wonderful trip! We ate a ton, play lots of 3 card poker (and actually paid for one of our trips with our winnings), lounged around the pool, and explored some new areas of Mexico! Cruises are awesome....

After the cruise was my big 1/2 marathon! I finished with a time of 2 hours 3 minutes and 13 seconds! I know that time is not record breaking, but for someone who hates to run, I was pleased I finished! We stayed in Newport Beach, CA for about 3 days leading up to and after the 1/2 marathon. Newport beach, Huntington beach (site of 1/2 marathon) and Long beach are all very close together. You basically drive down the Pacific Coast Highway and go from one beach town to the next. The most incredible little cities I have ever been to. We hope to one day head back there for an extended stay. Very rich towns though. I think I saw more Bentley's in my 3 day stay in Newport Beach then I have ever seen in my entire life. Unreal money out there! Had a great time...

We left that CA area reluctantly heading towards Houston. Our drive from LA to Houston consisted of 1 road... Interstate 10 was going to be our friend for the next 1600+ miles. We made a quick stop right outside of Phoenix to visit this restaurant my boy Snacks told me about. You all need to google this restaurant, or better yet go on youtube and watch a special some food channel did on it. Type in the words, "Heart attack grille." You will be amazed. I was a wimp and went for the double cheeseburger. I couldn't even finish it. It wasn't because of the size (although it was huge). It was more of the grease! The first few bites were the best bites I have ever had when it comes to eating a burger! INCREDIBLE!!!! The longer it took to eat, the greasier the burger and sloppier the bun got. haha.. You took a bite of this burger and you can feel the grease squirt into your mouth! I guess I just knew how much junk I was putting into my body, and I started grossing myself out. If I weren't just in a mind set of trying to train for a 1/2 marathon and trying to be all healthy (well as healthy as you can be without eating vegetables) I probably would have been more apt to finish it. Oh well, an experience non the less.

We continued our venture down I-10 stopping a couple of times before reaching San Antonio. At this point we still had no place to live. We knew we had an apartment to move into on Saturday, but it was now tuesday and we had to make a decision to park it for a few days. San Antonio was right along I-10 and we heard nothing but great things about that city. Well let me tell you that all we have heard was correct.. An amazing and very fun city, well at least the Riverwalk and Alamo portion of town. We stayed just a couple of blocks away from the Riverwalk for a few nights. We had a great time eating in the great restaurants along the river and even ventured out dancing one night. We had a blast. Then it was on to Houston.

2 1/2 hours later we arrived in Houston, thankfully not hitting traffic as we searched for our apartment. We have heard that Houston traffic is bad, but heck nothing will ever be worse than LA. We open the door of our apartment in the Rincon Apartment complex to find a dirty and very small apartment. Abby had a quick little melt down, but quickly bounced back to realize that we have no choice but to pile in this little place for the next bit of our travels. It is about 650 sq ft. Not bad for 1 person, but when you count the both of us, it gets cramped. Thank God we love being around each other, or this would not be so fun! The area of town is great. We live in "Midtown." From what the locals tell us, this area is very trendy and fun with a younger crowd. SWEET! We do love it here and have ventured out only a few times so far. Restaurants everywhere! Supposedly Houston has the most restaurants per square mile (or something like that) then any other city in the US. What i'm trying to say is this: there are restaurants everywhere! I hope to frequent all of them! :) We have already found an amazing Italian restaurant, Tex-Mex restaurant, and a Pei Wei. All ideal for survival... haha..

We made it to the hospital which is about 4.5 miles away. So far so good! We love it there. A completely different form of nursing then we are use to. Let me try to explains. Our recent assignments have been with very sick kids. We had the extra worry about them not making it through the night. Here, the worry is more of task oriented. We have 6 kids which is 2 more than we have ever taken, but they are not very sick kids. Our patient population is like this. A healthy kid steps on a nail and needs medication through an IV. They have to come into the hospital to receive such medication. There you have it. A brief and simple explanation. A different busy, a different mind set. We love it! haha.. We are working on different floors for the first time in our travel career, but they are run by the same nurse manager. They have been amazing with working with our schedule and they have been very open and friendly! We are known as the "married couple!" :)

Let's see.. what fun things have we done in Houston so far. Well, the Houston Zoo is about the only thing. We plan on going to the HOUSTON RODEO sometime this. We are going to head down to Rice University. That campus is supposedly beautiful. There is a lot to do around here, so hopefully I will have some fun posts for you to read. We have off until saturday, then work saturday, sunday, monday, tuesday nights. I then head to Las Vegas with my 2 best friends, and Abby heads home for an engagement party for her best friend. Then it is back to work to pay off my loses in Vegas. Well, let's hope not! Thanks for reading and once again I'm sorry for not keeping up with this over the past month. Now that I have been reminded that people actually read it and care about what we are doing, I will keep it up! We love and miss you all. thanks so much for keeping in touch with us. You have no idea how much we appreciate it. When you are away from everyone you love, it gets really important to hear from your friends and family on a regular basis. Have a great week and we will chat soon!

In His peace,

Love to you all...

Michael and Abby Lee

p.s. We are going skydiving this friday (had to change it because of the wind). Just don't tell our parents! They know we are going, but don't want to know when so they don't have to worry! Aren't they great!?

Howdy Ya'll...

2009-01-16T21:32:00.000-08:00

No that is not my attempt to sound southern, it is my attempt to sound TEXAN!!! That's right people, Abby and I are headed to HOUSTON TEXAS... We received the good news earlier this week and are currently working on getting a contract written. The reason for the contract delay is due to vacation time we are requesting. You see, when we sign contracts with hospitals we can enter time off for upcoming events. We are heading to Disney world with Abby's family sometime in the spring, so are trying to get the dates so that we will be assured that time off. The life of a travel nurse... Makes it nice! Speaking of vacation.... Abby and I booked at 7 night cruise to Mexico. We are heading out next Saturday (the 24th of Jan) for a nice getaway! We found a steal deal for this cruise through Norwegian! WE are very excited. We are being kicked out of our apartment on the 26Th of Jan and have to find a place to live until Feb 1st (the 1/2 marathon). We were thinking about heading to Las Vegas, but this cruise deal we found would be the cheapest! So, off we go! Just trying to do our part in helping to stimulate the economy! :) The rough part of this trip is going to be this.... I still have to run 13.1 miles on Feb 1st. We get off the cruise on Jan 31st.... What does that mean? Well, if you have ever been on a cruise before, you know how much food you can consume! I need to try and limit the binging. haha.. that's a joke, but i figure i can run a few times to help keep in shape! Yep, I am still on schedule to run my first 1/2 marathon. Abby, unfortunately, is going to have to back out of this race due to hip issues. Hoping she rests up to try again! Don't worry, she will be there supporting me and taking lots of pictures of me being out run by 80 year old men... Thank God for picture cropping! :) After the 1/2, we will try to find somewhere to watch the Superbowl.. Although, what a disappointment for both the Giants and Panthers! I truly was depressed after last weekend. Then on the 2nd we will begin our venture to Houston. We figure it will take us about 1100 miles. We hope to stop off in Phoenix to see old friends, then slowly make our way to our new home. Well, we are at work and I am needed by one of my patients. I do hope all is great with you. Please keep in touch. We love and miss you all...
In His peace,
Michael and Abby Lee....

Sorry for the Delay...

2008-12-24T00:21:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone.. Happy Christmas Eve to all... Abby and I are currently at work. Work is good. Not much new. We are constantly reminded of the fact that we are not yet ready for kids. We have 3 to 4 screaming kids every night we work, so that causes us to keep putting off our desire to have kids. Sorry to disappoint all family who are hoping for some little Hinchy's running around this world. Although that day will be a very special and amazing day! Come on Boy!!! :) It has been about a month since I last put up a post. We have done a lot since then. The main focus of mine over the past month has been Fantasy football. I am happy to report that all my hard work at studying and preparing for the weeks paid off. I won my fantasy league! A nice payday! However, I broke our computer this Sunday. Dang Diet Dr. Pepper! Come to find out, computers don't enjoy that tasty beverage as much as I. We ended up purchasing a MacBook on Monday. We love it. Not real sure how to use it, but we love it. Mac's are incredible. We are looking forward to learning all the neat features and putting the computer good use. We continue to prepare for our half marathon. We had to sign up for the surf city 1/2 marathon on Feb 1st because the 1/2 in Carlsbad on the 26th of Jan was sold out. Never realized that 1/2 marathons were so popular. I recently ran 7 miles on a 8:47 min pace. Not to bad for your boy! We head down to Santa Monica for our long runs. They have paths all along the beach that seem endless. When I ran the 7 miles, I ran from Santa Monica down into Venice Beach, then back. Venice Beach was really neat. Lots and Lots of freaks down there, but very lively! We hope to head down there to enjoy all the shops and to people watch (a favorite of ours). The weather remains unstable. We continue to have 60 degree weather, but lately we have been dealing with rain. Hopefully this will blow over soon, as LA just doesn't function well with rain. We continue to shop and eat at our local hot spot, The Groove. When we were there last we met this guy (guy in the middle) http://www.criticsrant.com/Images/criticsrant_com/TV_How%20I%20Met%20Your%20Mother/himym_logo.jpg Funny story. We were walking into the movie theatre and I spotted him waiting outside. I stopped Abby and we secretly watched him for a bit. I noticed that he had money hanging out of his pocket. Well what better way to strike up conversation than "sir you have money falling out of your pocket." A classic Ice breaker. He was quick to walk over to us as he pushed the money back in his pocket. He was confused at first, so we had to repeat ourselves. "You had money falling out of your pocket." He thanked us as Abby throws out, "we love your show." Nice Abby.. He thanked us as we strike up conversation about how my friends at home love his show. "I wish I had a piece of paper so that I can get your autograph for all my friends back home." What a smooth line by yours truly! He laughed and apologized, then sign his autograph in the air and said, "there you go," with a smile. Wow, what a great conversation and moment in our lives. Most of you probably don't know who this guy is, but he is a star on one of the greatest TV shows out right now. "How I met your mother." Check it out sometime, you won't be disappointed. Comes on CBS. Not sure when, but google it. Abby thinks it is on Mondays at 8:30pm. We recently went and saw "Twilight" and "Seven pounds." Both great movies. We also have been blessed by the opening of ESPN Zone near the Staples Center (which is about a 5 minute walk from our apt). I have frequented this restaurant, enjoying many sporting events while enjoying great food and a new found beverage, Fat Tire. Abby and I plan on heading down there this Sunday around 10am to catch the Panthers game. Speaking of the panthers, HOW ABOUT THOSE GMEN!!! Big win, HUGE! It was an intense evening as Abby sat there with her Julius Peppers jersey on as I sat there with all my Giants gear on! We kissed and made up after the game, so alls well now. We are anxiously awaiting Christmas so that we can open up all the presents we have been blessed to receive. We will miss our family this Christmas, but having each other will make it a little easier. Our contract is up on Jan 24th, and we are currently looking for our next assignment. We really have no clue where we will be heading, but some of the possibilities are Las Vegas, Little Rock Arkansas, Boston, Seattle, Idaho, and a couple of other locations. We will know more after the holiday season. I hope we haven't lost our readers with this delay. We hope to start back up with weekly blogs and pictures. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.
In His peace,
Love to all,
Michael and Abby Lee...

Pounding the pavement...

2008-11-24T03:51:00.000-08:00

Hey Hey Hey... How are you all doing out there? Hopefully well. How is the weather? LA weather is great. It has been in the 70's lately, with lows at night dipping into the upper 50's. Beautiful weather... Since I last wrote to you, we really haven't done much. Shocking I know... LA is just not conducive to random fun trips as it takes an entire day to make a short trip to the mall, or target, or the gas station, or to get lunch.. Dang traffic... haha.. It is really unbelievable! Not going to get on that soap box.. Moving right along.......... I am still on pace with my training for the 1/2 marathon we are running at the end of Jan. I ran 5 miles on Saturday at a pace of 8:50 a mile. Now before you hate on my pace, just remember that I'm still a little chubby. The great news is that my body seems to be holding up. I usually have a lot of pain in my knees and right hip.. None to report at this time.. keep those fingers crossed. How is Abby's training you might ask! Well, I'm pleading the fifth. Ask her. :) Okay Okay, enough about running and traffic.. What else is going on with us. Abby had a good birthday. Yep, that's right, her birthday was on the 21st. If you forgot to call her, shame on you! We didn't do much on her birthday because we worked the night before and the night after. We did celebrate with the people at work the night before. There was a potluck dinner that night with lots of goodies! We were a little down with our co-workers at first, but we have slowly come to be one of them and they are great! We have been working a lot lately. Trying to pick up overtime to make up for a slow transition from Phoenix to LA. At one point I worked 5 out of 7 days and Abby worked 4 out of 5 days. Working that much really wears on your body. We are both really excited about our vacation this weekend. Looking forward to seeing our families. Well, not much else going on. Sorry for the lack of substance, but will try to have more next time. We really are planning on travelling and seeing the sights, we are just really focused on getting back on our feet financially, then it's off to play!
Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Abby and I will be spending thanksgiving in our apartment. Abby is going to attempt to bake her first turkey! Should be an adventure, but one that we will cherish and enjoy for some time.
Hope to hear from you soon...
In His peace,
Michael and Abby Lee...
p.s. How about those GIANTS?!!!!!

Fire Fire Fire...

2008-11-16T01:17:00.000-08:00

Hello all.... How goes it? Abby and I are hanging in there. We are at work right now. Good times! Tonight is shift 4 in 6 days. I'm very tired to say the least. Abby has been sick the past couple of days, so she has missed a shift trying to recover. We think she is finally getting better, so keep your fingers crossed as it is very lonely and boring when the other is sick. We depend on each others company so much, that it is not fun when the other is down and out. Come on Abby, you can do it!!! :) As most of you have probably heard by now, LA is surrounded by wildfires. The smell of the air surrounding us is very strong. We are about 20 miles south and 20 miles north of where the fires are. Those santa anna winds sure do create a stir. I just hope Oprah's puppies are safe.. Take shelter little yappers..
What have we been up to you might ask?!!! Well, lets see. I surprised Abby with a little romantic dinner action on Tuesday night. We went to this place called Yamashiro's in North Hollywood. http://www.yamashirorestaurant.com/ You have to travel up near the Hollywood sign to get there. It was amazing. The view was awesome and the food was too. We enjoyed a couple of cold beverages, then went to the second part of her surprise. We saw "Wicked" at the Pantage theatre on Hollywood Blvd. I'm not the biggest play fan, but this play was awesome. Go see it if playing in a theatre near you. http://www.wickedthemusical.com/ It was really fun because we got dressed up and just enjoyed a romantic night out together. Always fun to do. Afterwards we just headed back to our apartment and crashed. that night Abby became sick, and so the past few days have been uneventful. We are both training for a 1/2 marathon at the end of January. Abby has been slowed due to being sick. My last 2 runs have eclipsed 3 miles each. I'm proud of myself, but a big 4 miler looms near. If you don't know me, lets just say that I'm not the most accomplished runner. "Let's be honest (a favorite saying by my beautiful wife)" i hate running, but figure this would be a good way to get back in shape. The average man would probably just be like, hey lets train for a 5K. Naaaa, i skip that silly crap and head straight to the 1/2 marathon! High aspirations by yours truly! Wish me luck.
Enough of the good news... I have been asking everyone to keep my Grandpa in their prayers, and I thank you all for doing so. I just received notice that he has been placed on Hospice a couple of days ago. We are waiting for THE phone call, and then we will probably be heading to upstate NY for a few days to be with my family. Very sad times in my family, but he will be 94 at the end of this month, so he has lived a very amazing, full filled, and wonderful life. He sure will be missed by all whom have had the opportunity to meet him. By far the greatest man I have ever known! Keep praying for easy and pain free travels to a better life! Also, please pray for my grandma and family as we go through this time. Also, please be praying for my oldest sister as she too is sick.. thanks for the prayers.. sorry for having so many!
I am picking up an overtime shift tomorrow (Sunday) night, then will have a few days off. A much needed break. Oh don't worry, i will be staying awake after tonight's shift to pull for the Giants against the Ravens.. One of the few perks of the West coast.. Football comes on at 10am. CA actually has been very accommodating to a Giants fan. In NC the Giants games are ALWAYS blacked out due to Panthers or Redskin games. It's nice having 2 really crappy teams (raiders/chargers) out here. CA football fans want to watch good football I guess.... ;) haha.. at least that's what i think...
Hope everyone is doing great.... Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Till next time....
In His peace,
Michael and Abby Lee....
p.s. thanks for the many prayers!
p.s.s we are going to try and make 1 of 2 or both movie premies this week. "Bolt" and "Australia" are both having movie premiers right down the road from us. We hope to be in attendance. Not in the audience, but in the audience to watch the stars arrive. I sure do hope Oprah's dogs make it...

Stars sighting...

2008-11-07T23:11:00.000-08:00

It's official... Abby and I have officially spotted our first stars in Hollywood. The first star we spotted was Travis Stork (well, he's not really a star, but he's been on TV a bunch). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Lane_Stork We sat next to him outside a coffee shop while we were waiting on go on The Price is Right. The next star we spotted was later that night. We were finishing up dinner at Maggiano's in Hollywood and as we started to walk out Abigail Breslin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abigail_Breslin She was a cute little girl who seemed so excited to be at Maggiano's. She must have seen us and been just beside herself... after all, we are stars now! haha.. Then after dinner we headed to a local star hot spot called The Grove. http://www.thegrovela.com/ We were just walking around enjoying the shops and people watching after dinner when we spotted Tom Bergeron. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0074477/ He was eating dinner at a restaurant in the Grove shopping area. So, as you can see the stars are out. I know that all but 1 are b-list stars, but stars nonetheless. Sorry no pictures or autographs at this time.

So, the PRICE IS RIGHT!!! Now that was a blast. We spent all day there, but unfortunately we weren't picked to be participants. We did however get VIP seating during the early show which was aired today, Friday the 7th. We stayed up this morning to watch and see if we could spot ourselves and sure enough we were able to. Pretty neat I tell ya. The process of getting on the Price is Right is very lengthy. You have to arrive early that day to get a "order of arrival" pass to assure your spot in the audience. If you are lucky enough to get there early enough to get an order of arrival pass whose numbers are called, then you get in line to fill out a few forms and receive your name badge. Then you get in another line to get interviewed. What happens is this: They line you up in groups of 10-15 people and these 2 people chat with you about who you are, where you are from, what you like to do for fun, etc.... It takes only a few minutes and from this interview they choose the lucky participants to appear on that episode. I guess Abby and I weren't interesting or spunky enough to get picked. We used our travelling pediatric nursing line and talked about saving lives, but I guess that is boring to them. We will come up with something good next time to attract their attention. After the interview you go through a metal detector and then wait in another line. So, you arrive no later than 8 or so in the morning and then you are waiting in line until around 12:45 when they decide to let you into the studio. A long day, but well worth it. Once inside you are placed in areas to make sure the entire audience is filled. The studio is very small. I believe someone said it seats just over 300 people. The stage is also very small, which makes for a nice viewing of the show. They have loud music playing and everyone is very excited and having a great time. Then you are greeted by the announcer who gets you even more excited. Remember, at this point you still think you have a good chance of being called. Then the show starts... The announcer starts calling the first 4 people down... You get even more excited... Then Drew Carey comes out and the place goes nuts.. You can't really hear how loud that place is when Drew Carey is speaking, but believe me it is extremely loud. Let the games begin. To be honest, when the show is just about over and you realized that you are not going to be a contestant, you develop this hurt inside you. You become bitter and you just want to leave. Don't get me wrong, watching the show is a blast, but your expectations are shattered. Better luck next time! We then decided to stay for the second taping of the day to try our luck again. Still no luck. We will get those people who pick the contestants if it's the last thing we do!!! haha.. That's pretty much about it.

On Wednesday we ventured just outside of Los Angeles to beautiful Santa Monica. We first went and walked around on the Santa Monica Pier, then ventured up to this place called the Promenade. There we found a strip of shops, restaurants and more people watching. It was a nice night away from LA. We hope to venture there again. Check out these websites for pictures as Abby and I didn't do a great job in taking pictures ourselves. We will do better next time. http://www.santamonicapier.org/ Also check out: http://thirdstreetpromenade.org/visitors/index.html

there you have it.. Abby and I had 6 days off and took full advantage. We also began our training for this Half Marathon... http://www.carlsbadmarathon.com/site5.aspx That's right people, we are going to run this joker. I tried once before and never made it, but I'm going to make this one. We printed out a running schedule on runnersworld.com and hope to dominate this race, that's if running doesn't dominate us. Week 1 down, now starting week 2 of 14. haha.. Good luck with that is right. We just need something to look forward to when working out, so hopefully this will be the motivation we need. We will keep you posted on our conditioning.

Well, that's about it. Back to work! We finally received a paycheck, so we are very excited. I am going to pick up a couple of Overtime shifts the next few weeks to help bolster the bank account. It is just about Christmas time and between my family and Abby's family we have an extensive list of nieces and nephews to look out for. Remember that it is Abby's Birthday coming up on the 21st of this month.. Send her something nice! I am going to surprise, her with something she will love, this coming Tuesday. A little early, but it will be our only chance to do what I have planned. Stayed tuned. We love and miss you all. Hope to hear from you all very very soon! till then...

In His peace,

Michael and Abby Lee...

Come on Down... or not

2008-11-04T23:37:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone.. Just a quick update. I wanted to get this out to you ASAP because of time sensitive material. Abby and I went to The Price Is Right on monday. We actually saw 2 episodes, but the first one will be aired this coming Friday, November 7th. I am not sure what time the price is right comes on, but I think it is around 11am. Check your local listings. When you look in the audience Abby and I are sitting 3 rows from the stage almost right behind the 4 contestants that bid. When you look at the 4 contestants, look just to the left of them and you should see Abby and I right there. I had a blue NY Giants sweatshirt on and Abby had a blue and white stripped sweater on. We had a blast eventhough we weren't called to be contestants. It was a very fun and exciting time and an experience we will always remember. I will write more about our experience later this week. Set your DVR's to record it if you will not be home. Enjoy and please check back later this week. Till then....

Nap Time!!!!!

2008-10-26T23:20:00.000-07:00

The news of the week is this: At our current hospital, the night shift crew encourages hour naps! That's right people, nap time like we did back in preschool.. They have this one room where everyone goes. In said room you have a large couch and sofa chair with a coffee table to put up your feet. The lights get turned off, blankets get passed out, then you set your alarm so that you don't sleep the night away. Abby and I have only worked 2 shifts so far, but Abby was quick to try out this amazing perk. She liked it!!! :) Other than the nap time, this hospital is pretty similar to the others we have worked at. The patient load is going to be tougher then we are use to coming from a pretty chill hospital in Phoenix, but Abby and I are both ready for the challenge. You really don't worry about the high acuity when you have great teamwork and a great hospital that encourages great patient care! We will be caring for many transplant kids, heart kids, and other stepdown caliber kiddos. We should learn a lot, which is what we want.

Before arriving in LA we stopped over in Palm Springs. I think I mentioned this before, but we stayed at this amazing resort for cheap. Hookups I tell ya! I posted a couple of pictures from the resort. Unfortunately we were really not into the photo deal while there, but we were able to capture a couple of scenes. The waterfall shot was from where the pool was, and the golf course shot was right along our path to walk to and from the pool, etc.. to our room. This place was amazing, and we plan on going back. Our trip to LA was a quick drive from Palm Springs. We arrived to find ourselves stuck in our first bout of LA traffic. The rumors are very true! LA traffic is horrific. We drive 5 miles to work and it takes up 30 minutes. This is with taking the back roads. Crazy! There are many perks to living in downtown LA. Everything we need (grocery store, restaurants, shopping, starbucks, etc...) is within walking distance. This area seems very safe, so hopefully we will not have much trouble.

Since our last post, we have been really concentrating on saving money. Going from assignment to assignment you get this delay in work which equals delay in pay. We will go about a month without receiving a paycheck, so times are tough. Having said that, we really haven't ventured out to see the sights. The only Star news I have for you is this: Jennifer Love Hewitt and her fiance were at LA Children's on Saturday to sign autographs and throw a party for the kids. Didn't get to go or meet her because we worked the night before and then the next night, but hopefully we will catch other stars throughout our time. We have been talking with the "locals," with whom we work with, about areas to visit. I must say that we are establishing a very long "to do" list. Hopefully we will get to play a lot once we get paid. The best thing about this area is the weather. To get a feel for what we will be enjoying, please visit http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/90089?from=dayDetails_bottomnav_undeclared

The last picture we posted was one taken from our balcony at our apartment. It is a really bad picture as we couldn't use the flash, but you can get an idea of our view. It is pretty awesome! You can kind of see the Staples Center directly over Abby's head. Whenever there is a game or event taking place there, the building lights up purple! We intend to cheer for the Lakers during at least one game. The only down side of our apartment is that we are right along Highway 101. You can hear the traffic when you sit outside, but thankfully our apartment is well built and we really can't hear much inside. What other news can I tell you???? How about the NY Football Giants!!! :) oh and congrats panthers... :) Na, I'm very happy for the Panthers! Guess I should start to develop a love for them as Abby and I plan to end up in Charlotte one of these days. I guess that's about it from LA. Sorry we really don't have much to write about. Come payday, the constant vacation continues!!! Do hope everyone is great. We love and miss you all....

In His peace,

Michael and Abby Lee

Not quite the hills...

2008-10-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone.. Greetings from Los Angeles California!!! Haha.. Wow, have Abby and landed in a different world... I'll get back to that. We had a wonderful trip to NY as you can tell from the pictures I posted on our last post. NYC was a blast, but honestly the best part was spending time with my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins. We enjoyed what upstate NY has to offer. We went to a local cider mill to purchase fresh cider, we went to local winery's to enjoy some fresh wine and grape juice. We drove around the countryside and enjoyed the view of the changing leaves! We played a lot of cards, and enjoyed some amazing home cooked food! We went rowing and canoeing on Lake Ontario and enjoyed spectacular views from Lake Ontario. As you can see we really enjoyed our vacation and made the most out of our time in upstate NY. We were very sad to leave, but are happy to continue our journey across this amazing country! We had to say goodbye to my family which was extremely difficult knowing the state of health my grandparents are in. The flight home was extremely long which made our departure that much harder. We were delayed in the plane at the Syracuse airport for about an hour. We had to sit on the plane as Newark's airport grounded all incoming flights. We finally made it to Newark to enjoy a 3 1/2 hour layover then once we made it into the plane we were once again greeted with delay. We had to wait in line to take off for about an hour because of the traffic leaving that airport. Word to the wise, never fly in or out of Newark or NY city airports. The flight home was a quick 4 hours and 45 minutes putting us back in Phoenix around 1145pm. We made it home to our cat pee apartment and quickly went to bed. We woke up on tuesday excited to pack up. We were out of that apartment on wednesday morning quickly headed to our next piece of vacation before heading to LA. We were hooked up, by an old buddy of mine, at this amazing resort called Westin Mission Hills Resort and Spa in Palm Springs, CA for a couple of nights. We truly enjoyed the relaxation. I have been extremely loaded down with stressful times as of late, so this was a nice treat. Abby and I both enjoyed the 1/2 price food, drinks, and an upgraded room, all compliments of my buddy's hook-up. We lounged at the pool and soaked up some sun. Not to much sun though as we haven't seen the sun in a while. I know what you are thinking, dang Mike and Abby you lived in the desert for months now. You are correct, but we made a conclusion on phoenix. In most parts of the country you put on your winter weight because it is to cold to exercise and your lack of motivation drops due to the bad weather. Well, in phoenix you put on your summer weight. Why you ask? Well because it is so dang hot all the dang time and the sun never sets... You become agoraphobic! Meaning you never want to go outside! I know it is not really agoraphobia, but you get my drift...
Now we are in LA. The traffic is unbelievable. It took us 30 minutes to drive 5 miles today. It is a 5 mile trip to and from our work driving on all back roads. Doesn't really matter here! If you are on a road, you are in traffic. The great thing about this place is that we are living in downtown LA. We have just about everything we need within walking distance. The Staples Center is 1/2 mile down the street. USC is 3 miles away and our gym, 24 fitness is only 0.9 miles away. Starbucks is 1 block away, pizza another block away, Macy's Center (lots of shops) is about 3 blocks away.. You get my drift. We kid to each other that we will probably never drive unless going to work. Just nuts out there I tell ya! Our apartment is actually feeling homey. Our travel company hooked us up with a nice very comfortable king size bed. They supplied us with a kitchen table, full sofa and matching chair, a night stand, coffee table, end table and dresser. We have a lot of space in our living room and we are getting free cable. Okay, listen this this crap.. As an avid sports fan, I have gone without ESPN for about 2 months now. We get cable and search through the channels. We get 2 HBO channels, but NO DADGUM ESPN. A little bitter, but at least it's free! No bills to live! Nice! We did, however, have to buy all the cleaning supplies, cups. bowls, knifes, forks, etc... from Target! $300 later we think we have everything. We also had to make our first run to the grocery store! $180 later we have our first round of groceries! Please send donations to..... :) As we moved in we noticed a common trend... The tenants in our apartment complex fit the bill of LA girls. They are young, good looking and show off as much skin as they can get away with. Boys get out here quick! haha.. We felt as if we were getting weird looks from everyone. I think it is because we are both young (well I still claim to be young) and we are married! I don't think that concept has entered the minds of many here. Everyone is in great shape, which acts as major motivation for us to get back in shape! We actually went for a run through downtown last night. Hoping to make it to the gym tonight, but it's not looking so hot as we are both really sore from our 1 jog. We will get there! We think we will enjoy this place once we settle down. There is so much to see and do in LA. Well, sorry if I've bored you with the details of our past couple of weeks. We are both hanging in there and excited to get back to nursing. I guess that says something about our jobs. We do really get to a point where we miss taking care of kids. I hope you are all doing great. We miss you all and we hope to hear from everyone sooner or later. We have a big living room floor to accommodate our guests and we also have a queen size air mattress. Come one come all. Till next time....
In His peace,
Michael and Abby Lee...
p.s. Please continue to pray for my grandparents and family. Thanks!
Aunt Adelle, Uncle Rick, Jesse and Val.. thanks for such a great time... We really enjoyed spending time with you all..

Very Busy Times

2008-10-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Sorry about not getting a post up recently, but we have been extremely busy with vacation, packing, moving, and everything else. We just wanted to drop a quick note to tell you that we will get up a detailed post in a few days. We just got back from NY on monday night and we leave for LA on wednesday. Tuesday was spent packing and really trying to figure out how we are going to get all of our stuff in the camry! The pictures below are from our recent trip to NY. I will explain them when I write our next post. Thanks for checking in and please check back soon. We are both very excited to get to LA, but we are going to make a stop at Westin Mission Hills Resort and Spa in Palm Springs CA tomorrow through friday. You should go online and google this resort. It looks incredible! We will have pictures from that part of our trip on our next post. We love and miss you all....
Michael and Abby Lee...
p.s. Our new address will be 722 S. Bixel St. Apt A1059, Los Angeles, CA 90017. We are staying at the Medici Apartments. You can google that as well. Bye for now!

90210

2008-10-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone... I come to you with great news! Abby and I found out today that we will be going to work at LA Children's hospital. Hollywood here we come! We are both very excited to have found a job as time was running out. We will be working on a unit similar to the one I worked on at UNC. We will be taking care of post heart surgery kids, lung transplants, kidney transplants, liver transplants, among others. Should be very challenging, but we are both ready for it. We start on October 20th (and work through the beginning of Feb), so when we get back from our NY vacation, we need to pack and get on the road. We are still unsure about where we will be living, but hopefully somewhere close by the hospital as the traffic, in LA, is horrific! Our doors will be open for visitors!
Well, we are currently in NY having a blast. We have done so much in the few days we have been here. We arrived in Newark on friday night and quickly headed to the racetrack. We went to the Meadowlands racetrack to test our luck. We bet on a few races, but lost them all. The racetrack is actually a lot of fun. Saturday we headed into NYC via the NJ transit to Penn Station. We are fortunate to have a free shuttle from our hotel to the NJ train station in Seacacus, NJ. It is about a 15 minute journey to get into NYC, but well worth the time when we are saving over 1000 on hotel costs for 4 nights. On saturday we went to the Metropolitan museum of Art (Abby pictured above next to a Picasso painting, me pictured next to a formidable statue, and Abby pictured on the stairs leading into the Met), went to Times Square where we ate dinner at the ESPN Zone, and we spent lots of time in the subway (me pictured coming through the gate) trying to find our way around. If you have never been to an ESPN Zone, you have to. It's an adult chucky cheese! Abby and I tested our skills in a hockey game, football game, basketball and horse riding game. Lots of fun I tell ya. After eating and playing, we ended up at the bar to enjoy the UNC football game and the most incredible Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie sundae!

We made it back to the Hotel around 9pm as we knew Sunday was going to be a long day. Sunday morning arrived and I quickly jumped out of bed like a kid on Christmas morning. The NY Giants football game was at 1pm, so of course we had to get up early to get prepared. Abby, however, was not as thrilled about getting out of bed as I was. It took a hot second to get her up, but in all fairness to her, she was up and out of the hotel room on time. We donned our Giants gear (yes, Abby rocked a newly purchased Giants sweatshirt) and headed downstairs to eat breakfast. Much to my liking, there were so many Giants fans all decked out with their Giants gear! Go Giants!! haha.. Sorry for my elaboration on this subject, but I was just so thrilled to have finally made it to a Giants game! We quickly walked to the stadium from our hotel and took lots of pictures. We posted a few, but be on the look out for others. Our seats were incredible once we found them. I must admit that we spent about an hour down in the front row watching the Giants and Seahawks warm-up. We spotted a few legends of the game as we observed warm ups. Carl Banks, Harry Carson, and Warren Moon to name a few! When we were finally kicked out of our seats by the season ticket holders, we made our way to our seats. We were on the first level directly behind the goal posts about 36 rows up (see picture of Abby and I below). We could see everything. We were under the over hang which was awesome because it threatened to rain and we had a review TV directly above us. Great job on the tickets Abby! The start of the game was upon us and I had lots of goosebumps. A kids dream has come true!!!

Saturday night we just lounged around our hotel room watching the other games across the league. Abby is such a sport when it comes to watching football... I sat in a chair with my fantasy football stat tracker in my lap and watched my fantasy team dominant one of Abby's brothers team. I definitely got lucky to win this week, but I will take it. Sunday night we headed to a local restaurant for dinner and to watch some of the sunday night football game. As you can see, our family is quickly becoming a sunday football only kind of family. Gosh I hope I have boys!!! :) Well that is it for now. We spent all of Monday back in NYC, but we did way to much to write on this post. Tomorrow we head to my home town of New Hyde Park, NY to show Abby were little, chunky Hinchy spent his first 12 years growing up. We will add more pictures and write more later this week. We hope everyone is great. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. Till our next post....

In his peace,
Michael and Abby Lee...
Please keep those prayers rolling for my grandparents, thanks!
p.s. the last picture was taken on our last morning at Phoenix children's Hospital with some of the other nurses, and other great staff we worked with.

Bad news...

2008-10-02T00:49:00.000-07:00

Well where do we start... We were cancelled at the hospital in San Diego. What does that mean you might ask! Well it simply means, Abby and I are out of a job, we are working our last night at Phoenix Children's Hospital, we head to NY on Friday for 10 days, then we have to be out of our apartment the day we get back from NY. What does that mean you might ask? We are jobless come 0730 on Oct 2nd, we are homeless come 0730 on October 14th, we are broke come 0730 on October 20th (rough estimate with our spending habits), and we are now accepting donations. "Abby get off that street corner!" What a whirl wind we have been through the last few hours. Our recruiter told us that there are positions available, but not many. Most hospitals have staffed through the holidays, so only positions open are in January. We only had a few minutes to chat with her before heading into work, so thursday will be a big day of figuring out what to do. We have options, but not ones that we are excited about. LA has positions open, but I'm scared of Britney Spears or Shia Lebuf hitting my car; Dallas has a few positions, but i'm afraid of getting beat up when I rock my NY Giants football gear; we could head home to live in my soon to be vacant house! Who knows really. We are both very disappointed with this news, but we will make it. Thanks for checking in. Will have more informaton soon. Love and miss you all...
Michael and Abby Lee

2 more shifts...

2008-09-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Do hope this message finds you all doing great. Abby and I are very very excited about having 2 more shifts left at Phoenix Children's Hospital. I know I have mentioned this before, but we are almost done with our time here in Phoenix. I think the best part about that is the fact that we can actually enjoy the outdoors again. We are very tired of having to hide from the sun. San Diego here we come.
I write to you from work where I'm all alone! Abby was fortunate enough to get called off tonight, so she is at home drinking a glass of wine and catching up on laundry and thank you notes. My night is great. I am working with some great nurses tonight. I must say that as much as Abby and I dislike the workings of this hospital, we have been very blessed with our co-workers. The other travel nurses here and several of the core staff have been amazing to work with. We actually had to say goodbye to one of our favorites the other night. It was harder then we thought. What a great experience we have had here. We have learned a lot of new ways to do things, and we have learned a lot of bad ways to do things. The relationships we have established will stay with us forever and we do hope to keep in touch with several of the nurses here and perhaps one day run into them again.

This past weekend Abby and I were able to experience Sedona, AZ. I must say that many of the people we have talked to were getting this place confused with Senoma, CA. Very different. Sedona is a gem here in AZ. We were told by many people to visit there, many of whom recommended Sedona over the Grand Canyon. Now, I must say that we found that hard to believe because the Grand Canyon was amazing! After visiting Sedona, we will agree with the beauty of Sedona being much greater than that of the Grand Canyon. However, the sheer awe of the Grand Canyon was much greater than Sedona. Come on y'all, it's the Grand Canyon! It's 1 of the 7 natural wonders of the world. http://www.bobspixels.com/kaibab.org/misc/gc_7wond.htm I will credit Sedona in beauty though. The beautiful red rock mountains were amazing to view. We tried to capture this beauty with photo's, but honestly you will have to see these in person to understand. The rocks would turn different shades of red depending on how the light hit them and certain viewing angles would offer different looks as well. An experience we will always remember. What made this trip amazing was the fact that we went on an ATV tour of the canyons. The ATVs were old, but the mud slinging, scenery, and tough terrain made up for it. Abby rode on the back with me, so I did my best to cover her with mud (it rained the night before) and jump as many hills as I could. We were led and followed by guides, but lucky for me (not so much Abby) we were in the middle. There were many trails where we weaved in and out of bushes so the front and back guides couldn't see us. This is when I would hang back from the people in head of us and then fly through puddles, jump jumps, fish tail, and whatever else I could think of to up the excitement of this tour. Good times I tell ya. I wish we would have taken a picture of before and after. My plan to get Abby muddy back fired as I was the one who got soaked. We had to wear something to cover our faces because it was so dry along many of the paths that the dust being kicked up from the people in front of us was very thick. Supposedly there is a ton of wildlife living out on this terrain, but unfortunately we didn't see any of it. The Javelina is a very common animal in these parts. http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/game_javelina.shtml Check them out. They are ugly jokers who are very aggressive. I was hoping to spot one, but no such luck. Very similar to wild boar, but actually part of the rodent family. Interesting stuff I tell ya! We did this ATV tour on Saturday morning. Friday night we just went for a walk on the streets of Sedona and ate Buffalo at a local Cowboy saloon. They had rattlesnake, elk, and cactus on the menu. We thought about trying these, but they were actually very expensive items. We also caught a couple of jazz bands at this one strip mall. Here they had several galleries offering wine and finger foods. After dinner we ended up in the hot tube chatting about life and observing the beautiful clear sky. We were trying to hunt down Abby's first falling star. How romantic I know! Then you know what we did on Saturday morning. After showering we ended up at "Sedona Jazz on the Rocks, 2008." It was a neat event. Here we sat on the lawn (picture shown), listened to some good Jazz music, and enjoyed people watching. We stayed there for about 40 minutes or so, then headed to Javelina Cantina for dinner. We made a dinner reservation for 5:45 so that we could catch the sunset. Supposedly this was the place to have dinner and watch the sunset as they have a neat little patio that overlooks the west side of Sedona. We arrived on time, sat down on time, then much to our dismay a storm was approaching. This pretty much canceled the sunset, but we really enjoyed the cool breeze and the delicious Mexican food. After dinner we drove back to Phoenix, The End!

Sunday we were pretty lazy. Like I mentioned earlier, we really don't like to do much during the day. We watched the second season of "Lost." For those who haven't ever seen the show, it's Awesome! We hope to start season 3 when we get to San Diego. To be honest, I don't know how people keep up with this show weekly. The show does such a great job leaving you hanging after each episode, that I would go crazy waiting until the next weeks show. We started to talk about what we needed to pack up and ship back home (because we have accumulated a lot of stuff over the past 5 months. Mainly clothes). We work tuesday and wednesday nights, then leave on Friday for New York. On sunday I will attend my first New York Football Giants game. I have been such a huge fan for such a long time, and I finally get to attend a game. Thanks Abby (my Bday present). Don't worry, we will take a lot of pictures and post them when we can. We will be in NYC for about 4 days, then we are heading upstate NY to visit my grandparents, aunt and uncle. Should be a great time. To explain the pictures posted here. The picture with Abby's back to us was where Javelina Cantina was. The picture of just the mountain view was from outside our Hotel room. The rest of the pictures are pretty self explanatory. We posted more pictures from our trip on facebook. Well, that is about it from here. It is 0400 and time to check on my kids, give meds and start to think about charting. Hope you enjoyed the post. We love and miss you all... till the next time...

In His peace,
Michael and Abby Lee

p.s. keep the prayers rolling for my grandparents... thanks

6 more shifts...

2008-09-23T02:24:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone... Do hope this message finds you all doing great. Things are wonderful in the life of the Hinchy's! Abby and I are extremely excited to head to San Diego. I think the anticipation is making the last few weeks seem much longer then should feel. We are still waiting to hear from our travel company regarding where we will be staying when we move to San Diego. We should know in the next week or so. Will update you to our new address as soon as we find out. Abby and I are both working tonight, tomorrow night and Wednesday night. We then have off until next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, then we are done! Abby just came over to me and told me that she booked a room at a Best Western in Sedona, AZ. She was able to get a special rate combined with an ATV tour of the Sedona Canyons. Check this out. http://www.sedonaoffroadcenter.com/ATV1.html Abby will be riding on the back with me. Hold on tight Abby! Should be a lot of fun. We are only going to be heading up for one night, but hope to also catch an art/jazz festival either Friday or Saturday afternoon. Would love to stay up there longer, but the funds are limited these days. Why you ask? Well lets just say that we have been to a lot of expensive football games, we are going to NYC and upstate NY for 10 days, Abby has new diamond earrings, then we will have a couple of weeks without work. Add these up and you will understand why we have to cut down on our fun activities for a little while. Don't worry, they will resume once we become established in San Diego.

This past weekend was very relaxing. We were invited out on Friday night with a few other nurses (pictures will be posted later). We had a blast. On Saturday night we were invited over to another nurses house for dinner. David is his name. David wanted to thank us for being team players, and for being so easy to work with. It was a very nice offer and that is always nice to hear. As a traveler, you always wonder if you are fitting in and if the core staff like you. Glad to hear at least one person likes us! haha... It was a great home cooked meal. He had twice baked potatoes! Enough said! Sunday was a guy day for me. I met up with a couple of male respiratory therapists at a local sports bar to watch football. We met up at 11am (1pm East coast time) to watch the early football games. We ate some great food and enjoyed a few cold beverages. Abby had a personal training appointment at 1, then went to Target. After Target she met up with me at another sports bar (because I was dropped off there due to not having a key to get into our apartment) to watch more football and to get some food. Sunday night Abby watched the Emmy's and I watched the Sunday night football game. BOOOOOO DALLAS!!! We went to bed around 11:30 Sunday night. I woke up around 8am, went and worked out, then we had to pee in a cup for our new travel assignment at 2pm. Funny story about that... Abby gets there and she was called in first. 5 minutes go by, no Abby. 10 min go by, no Abby. 15 min go by, no Abby. 20 min go by, no Abby. I'm thinking to myself, "what in the world is she doing? Is it just that crowded back there? Why haven't I been called in to pee in a cup?" 25 min later, "Mike Hinchy." "Finally," I said to myself. I walk through the door and guess who I see sitting on the bench next to the water fountain? Yep, you guessed it Abby! "Hey Abby, what are you doing?" haha.... Abby was unable to pee enough for the specimen needed. She was sitting there this entire time drinking water. I would venture to say that it took her about an hour of drinking water to finally get the urge to pee enough for the test. I can't forget to mention that this waiting area was freezing. Her legs were loaded with goosebumps and she was wrapped up with her fleece. Her nose was ice cold and she was shivering. I had to leave a couple of times to pee myself and to head outside to warm up. Oh Abby.... haha.. She makes me laugh. The ladies in the lab office were extremely nice and constantly asked her if she had to pee. We arrived at the Lab office around 2pm and left a little after 3pm. The waiting room was packed out when we got there, and was completely empty when we left. We finally made it home after getting Pei Wei and a few things from the grocery store. We took a nap from 4 to 5:30, then headed into work.

So there you have it... A weekend and a day in the life of Abby and Mike. Sorry for boring you, but this is the most exciting stuff that has happened since our last post. Good times here in Phoenix. The weather is actually cooling down. We only have 2-3 days of 100+ weather a week. It's funny because you can honestly tell a difference in air temp when the high is 100+ compared to high 90's. Crazy I know. Well, it is 5:15am and it's almost time to finish up my duties for the shift. Be right back, patient calling out.... Okay I'm back. I was just called into a patients room so that he can tell me that he pooped and peed. We measure everything going in and measure everything coming out of our patients, so think about that when I say he pooped and peed. Good times. The beauty of being a nurse! YUCK! Okay, signing off for now. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and have a wonderful week. We love and miss you all....

In His peace,
Love,
Michael and Abby Lee

p.s. Please keep praying for my grandparents! Thanks

We love some football...

2008-09-16T17:48:00.000-07:00

As you can see i'm trying to get the hang of displaying pictures with my text. I kind of figured it out last week, but this week is a new story. For some reason they are clumped together. Oh well, you can still view them! Moving right along...

To start with, Abby and I went to the Arizona Cardinals vs. Miami Dolphins game this past sunday! As you can see by the pictures, I was a Cardinal fan for the day. Partly because we currently live in Arizona, but mainly because I had the Cardinals defense and a cardinals wide receiver on my fantasy football team. I have $110 invested in this league, so I was cheering hard for the aforementioned. The defense played well yielding 1 field goal and a late touchdown, but my wide receiver didn't get much love on the receiving end. Having players on different teams allows you to be a general football fan and pull for many teams as long as they aren't playing my beloved Gmen! Abby was quite embarassed during the game because I constantly cheered for the defense and constantly yelled to throw Breaston (my receiver) the ball. Oh well, it was fun to cheer for the home team and my players! This stadium was incredible. Right when you walk in you are in awe of how massive this place is. Our seats were awesome for $60 a ticket. I had an aisle seat which is especially nice. The picture with Abby and I and the picture of the Arizona end zone were taken at our seats. Not to shabby... There is a company I went through to get the tickets. www.ticketexchangeusa.com They actually have fair prices for many games. The guy I went through told me that he will beat the lowest price I find on my own. He will probably get lots of business through me as I continue my quest to attend every major sporting event and every major college football event in the areas we live. A great goal that Abby is very willing to support. We were going to try and attend the Arizona State vs. Georgia football game this weekend, but since ASU lost I am not as excited about getting to that game.

Okay enough about football and sports... The countdown continues! Only 8 more shifts at PCH and then we are heading to NYC for 1 1/2 weeks! Then it is off to San Diego. We googled the temps in San Diego and the average temp year round is 70 degrees! Hot damn! Get us out of this HEAT!!! So, interruption for a second.. I just had this lady (a patients mom) come up to me cursing and yelling because we just placed a patient in the same room as her kid. What the heck? Why do parents think they can curse and yell at us! I told her to not curse at me and then I proceeded to ignore her! I'm tired of being abused when I care for your kids! Just flat out rude. Anyhow, enough with my soap box. Back to the happy thoughts by Mike Hinchy... Football... haha... Na, I think I was talking about San Diego... We are waiting to hear about our apartment living. We decided not to rent a place on our own because it is way to expensive for a half way decent place. Hopefully we get a nice place with lots of room because we are hoping to have many visitors! Hint Hint...
Next weekend we are planning a trip to Sedona, AZ. We hear the country up there is beautiful. There happens to be a Jazz festival going on in Sedona at that time, so we are also going to attend that. http://sedona-attractions.10-best.info/sedonaparks.html Check this site out to see what we will be enjoying. Slide Rock is suppose to be lots of fun, and taking jeep tours of the canyons is also suppose to be amazing. We will take lots of pictures, so be on the lookout. Well, I guess it is time to check up on my 3 babies. Let me tell you, 3 babies is not fun. I have changed so many dang diapers tonight. Let me tell you that working as a Pediatric nurse is excellent birth control. Abby and I joke all the time about never having kids. We have 3-4 different kids every night we work. Plus, we are having so much fun traveling all over and enjoying this amazing country. Who has time for kids, right? Na, we will most definitely have kids, but not for a while. Thank God I married young... haha... Thanks again for reading. The nurse manager on the floor is talking w/ that rude lady right now. I hope I don't get in trouble for telling her to chill the heck out... haha... who cares right.. 8 more shifts! :) Anywho, ya'll be good and please don't forget about us! Remember to cheer hard and loud for the GIANTS and the PANTHERS!!!!!!...
In His peace,
Love to you all,
Michael and Abby

p.s. please continue to pray for my grandparents...

One more month...

2008-09-08T00:17:00.000-07:00

The title refers to our time left in Phoenix. Abby and I are both ready to get out of here and venture into California. Things have been pretty boring since we last spoke, well I should say until this past weekend. We got back from the Grand Canyon and it was back to the grind of working, sleeping, sweating, and running from scorpions. Work is work. Not much going on there. We are both really tired of Phoenix Children's Hospital. We have come to learn that this hospital is more about the paperwork and JACHO, then their interest in the sick kids. A sad but true realization. Kaiser Permanente here we come! Once again Abby and I found ourselves in need of a break from the daily grind that only Phoenix has to offer. Like I mentioned in my last blog, I surprised Abby with the tickets to go watch the Panthers take on the San Diego Chargers. We left Friday afternoon and arrived in San Diego around 9:30pm. It was a nice drive, and a bit lonely at times. Abby tried to stay awake after working the night before. She went to get a pedicure, went shopping at ULTA (for the guys out there, ULTA is a girly girl store; full of makeup and girl products). She made it home, showered, then fell asleep on the couch for about a half hour before I came in trying to wake her up to get on the road. She figured it would be easier to just get everything done before leaving and just sleep in the car.

She slept all right, but a sacrifice I was willing to take for her to get packed and on the road in time to miss the afternoon traffic. About half way into the trip we arrived in Yuma, AZ. Have you seen 3:10 to Yuma? If you haven't, see it. If you have, that is what Abby and I were expecting. Silly us for thinking that because it was closer to a hillbilly town in NC then what we had envisioned. You are not missing much my friends. After getting lost in Yuma, trying to find dinner, we made it the rest of the way to San Diego. Needless to say we crashed early that night trying to rest up for a fun filled day of touring San Diego.
We tried to wake up early on Saturday because we knew we wanted to try and visit the city and also tour the possible apartments that we could potentially live in when we head there in October. To make a long story short, we made it to Ocean Beach, CA around noon. We were amazed by the beauty of the Pacific. The sand was soft and pure and the air was actually cool and fresh. There was a dune right where we parked. On the right side of the dune was a dog park. We were amazed by the number of dogs and their owners having the time of their lives. The dogs were running up and down the beach, splashing in the water, and chasing each other all over. On the left side of the beach we found countless beach volleyball courts, surf boards and people laying out. Abby and I quickly moved down to the water so that Abby could step foot in the Pacific Ocean for her very first time. The water was cold but tolerable. We then decided to toss the football around for a bit. What is a trip with me without throwing the football?

We stayed and took in the sights for a bit, then heading to Newport Ave to look for surf shops in hopes of buying something cool. No luck there, but it was neat to just walk around this neat little surf town. After enjoying Ocean Beach we decided that it was time to check out all the apartments. I won't bore you with the details of that, so moving on....

That night we decided to get dressed up and head downtown San Diego. Before getting dressed, Abby cut my hair. My genius brain thought it would be a good idea to use the towels as a catch all for the hair, then wash the hair down the drain of the shower. You probably know where this is going. After I took a shower, I noticed hair backing up. Yep, you guessed it, I clogged the shower. Knock Knock, Abby frantically tries to hide (due to the embarrassment of my feat), it's the repair man for the hotel. Yep, I had to make the call to the front desk because I could not fix the problem myself. It was an easy fix, but embarrassing as I watched this man pull clumps of my hair out of the drain. I'm not the brightest man. Come on now, I know you all have tried that. I thought if you washed bits at a time, it would easily flow down the drain. Let's just look at this as a learning lesson for all those reading. It kind of reminds me of Petedude's story of flushing Q-tips down the toilet. If you haven't heard this story, 1. try to hear it, 2. don't ever do it. Enough said. Abby quickly got ready and we headed downtown. From the area we will be living, downtown is about a 10 minute drive. Very pretty downtown and neat to walk around. We headed to the Gaslamp district and ate dinner at this quaint Italian Restaurant. Incredible food, but still not as good as Casa Carbone! We stuffed ourselves, walked around a bit more, then headed home because Sunday was shortly upon us.

As you probably seen from the picture above, we made it to the Chargers vs. Panthers game. Abby was decked out in her Peppers Jersey and as you can see I tried my best to dress as a tried and true panters fan, but we all know where my allegiance lies. We quickly heard boo's and shouts about our choice of team. We arrived at Qualcomm Stadium about an hour before kickoff. We walked around and watched the panthers warm up. We were surprised with how good our seats were, but we were still surrounded by Chargers fans. The game was the most incredible football game we have ever witnessed. An instant classic and a shot to the egos of the chargers and their fans. We left quickly, watching our every move. Everyone was yelling at us and the other panther fans, but we simply smiled and moved on. The stadium was extremely loud, and a very fun atmosphere to experience. We hope to catch a few more games when we move out there.

We made it home around 11:30pm. Now we are just sitting on the couch watching TV. What are we watching you might ask? Well, let's just say it's unfortunately not ESPN. (our apartment is like living with the cavemen. Since Jay thinks I'm a direct descendant, I guess that analogy is only that much more fitting. Only basic cable, a constant cat pee smell, the most uncomfortable couches, and extremely grumpy neighbors) As you can see, we are ready to get out of this place. We work tomorrow night, then Wednesday and Thursday, then 3 more weeks left. We are heading to NYC come the beginning of October for another football game. This time, we are heading to East Rutherford NJ to watch the NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS!!! We plan to spend about 4 days in the city, then head to upstate NY to spend some quality time with my grandparents, aunt and uncle. Should be an incredible vacation before coming back to Phoenix to pack up and move to San Diego. 4 more weeks people, that is it! How exciting. I guess that is it for now. Thanks for reading. It is about time to head to bed. We hope you all had a great weekend, and we hope you all have a wonderful week. We love and miss you all.... Till the next post...

In His Peace,

Love to all,

Michael and Abby Lee...

A breath of Fresh Air...

2008-08-21T01:50:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone... Do hope this message finds you all doing well. Abby and I are both back at work. I guess we can't be to disappointed because we have only worked 1 day since July 29th! Much to our dismay we both became sick the night of our last blog. I had a pretty nasty sore throat with a head cold and Abby was feeling more malaise with an on again off again sore throat. We definitely attribute our sickness to the lack of sleep over the past couple of weeks. I know I know you are probably saying, well dang they have been on vacation for the past month. This my good friend is true, but unfortunately we have been working night shifts for the past 3 months, so trying to adjust to day shift and to Eastern Standard time kicked our butts! If you have never tried to orient, un-orient, then reorient to night shifts before, you just don't understand. Okay, enough of the pity party, to the good stuff. After a weekend of being sick, Monday morning rolled around.

Around 11am on a beautiful HOT Monday morning here in Phoenix AZ, Abby and I were sitting on the couch watching the Olympics and discussing how much we hate the desert, I brought up the fabulous idea to head north. "Let's go to the Grand Canyon today." So we did. We left Phoenix around 2pm and made it up to Flagstaff, AZ around 4pm. Much to our enjoyment, Flagstaff was beautiful. The first thing we noticed was that it was in the low 80's. There was a nice cool breeze and there were trees all around us. (We honestly watched the thermometer in the car the entire way up, enjoying seeing the temp drop and drop and drop) We were saying that Flagstaff reminded us a lot of Boone, NC. A nice little college town surrouned by green mountains. NAU, Northern Arizona University, sits in downtown Flagstaff. We went into an Embassy Suites to just pick up brochures on where to possibly stay (since our trip up was being made without hotel reservations), and the first question I asked was "where do the Arizona Cardinals practice." The lady quickly responded with "right next to the dome on the campus of NAU." "Do you have a practice schedule?" "Why yes I do." she replied. I looked with great excitement... Why I'll be, they were actually practicing right at that moment. Abby and I rushed over to the practice field and watched about 30 minutes of practice. There wasn't a whole lot going on, but I was able to spot many of the players. Matt Leinert, Anquan Boldin, Edgerrin James, and Kurt Warner were a few of the players spotted. I have pictures, so will try and get them up ASAP. The practice was very chill. They only had on shoulder pads, helmets and shorts. I guess when you get to that stage, there isn't much to do in the way of learning how to tackle, etc... they were basically running through plays. #11 Larry Fitzgerald made an amazing catch down the sideline to beat the DB covering him. It was then that I was able to witness my first ever NFL trash talk session. Larry definitely let that DB know that he was beat. Good times! Dark clouds were rolling over head so they cut practice short. I said "what's up man," to Anquan Boldin #81, and he said "what's up" back! I also said hello to Kurt Warner. I tried to get Abby to take a picture with Matt Leinart, but she chickened out. All this after saying to me "you know Matt Leinart is going to want to marry me when he sees me right?" What a chicken. I have to admit, I'm not sure what I enjoyed most. Was it watching the quarterbacks compete in their end of practice passing challenge, or the cool breeze coming in from the storm, the beautiful plush scenery, or taking my flip flops off and feeling the cool GREEN GRASS between my toes? Tough to choose.

After watching all the players exit the field, we headed back to the Embassy Suites to get a room. After getting all settled in we headed to the lobby for a managers cocktail session. We enjoyed some free adult beverages and some popcorn while watching the Giants romp the Browns. We were referred to this one bar/restaurant for food and to watch the Olympics. After dinner we headed home and were in bed by 11pm. The next day I quickly woke from the sounds of a nearby Train motoring down the track. I think it was around 6am when this train decided to lay on it's whistle like if they were trying to scare Hancock off it's tracks! I mean seriously, 6am?!?!?! Ridiculously loud! We got out of bed around 8am and went for the delicious breakfast offered by Embassy. A full breakfast, made to order omelets and all, the USA today outside our door, and the night before cocktail hour made Embassy Suites a must stay. Then it was off to the Grand Canyon...

We arrived at the Grand Canyon around 11am. We ran into the Village for some lunch and to get some postcards, then it was off to the trails. We stopped at many overlooks to catch a glimpse at one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It was incredible. I have been there once before but back when I was 10, but I really didn't remember much. I will not try to describe in words what we saw, you will just have to wait for the pictures to see for yourself. We headed down the road to this place called Grandview Point to hike one of their "steep" trails. 40 minutes down we looked back and realized that we better turn around because it was practically straight up! We probably hiked about a mile down into the canyon before heading back up. Honestly, 1 mile down wasn't getting us anywhere near the bottom of the canyon. There were signs for other trails warning people that a hike to the river and back in 1 day is strongly NOT recommended. There was a poster hanging by the entrance of this trail talking about a marathon runner getting stuck on the trail because of shear exhaustion and lack of supplies. Not the kind of stuff you want to read before venturing down into the Grand Canyon. Abby and I were stacked with water and Fiber One bars, but honestly we knew our limits and only went down a short way. We were able to take many amazing photos all of which we will try to post (once again our Internet is horrible where we are staying). To our surprise it only took about 35 minutes to hike up. We then headed back to Flagstaff to eat dinner and to check out more of their downtown area. The drive to Flagstaff from Phoenix was about 1:45. The drive to the Grand Canyon from Flagstaff was about 1:30, so it really wasn't a bad day and a half trip. We got back to Phoenix around 9pm Tuesday night. To be honest, we were contemplating staying in Flagstaff Tuesday night and then heading to Sedona on Wednesday morning, all because we really didn't want to head back to the desert!

This trip was a great refresher for us. We both are ready to get out of this hospital and the area. A new scene is definitely needed. We both discussed how this trip has reenergized our desire to be travel nurses because of great opportunities like this one. A much needed trip to say the least.

Back in the desert... :(

2008-08-15T02:04:00.000-07:00

Hello to all. Sorry it has taken so long to get up a new post. Abby and I have been really busy these past couple of days. We arrived back in Phoenix on Monday night, headed straight to chicfila for some late night dinner, then crashed out. Tuesday morning quickly came. We were both up around 8am due to being on east coast time. We packed and cleaned, then moved into our new apartment all by 1pm. Tuesday was spent buying supplies for our new place. We spent a lot of money on products to help with the "cat piss" smell. Needless to say, we jumped into renting out this apartment. This place is a piece compared to the place we were renting. The place smells really bad, there is no cable box (i.e. no sportscenter for 2 months), no DVD player, and the people below us hate us already (when i was moving stuff in, the guy said they are going to move out because they hear every noise). On the bright side, we don't share our place with random people, its dark during the day so sleeping will be great, and we "had" to go buy a DVD player (my pushing :) ). Abby was very upset when we first moved in because the place just isn't worth what we are paying for it, however she warmed up to the place and we think we can make it work for the 2 months we will be there (even though there is no sportscenter). The DVD player is nice! Just one more thing we have to try and pack into our already packed out car. I'm thinking if we buy any more clothes, toys (new TV and DVD player), and the golf clubs I want, I'm going to have to kick Abby out of the car and fly her to our new destinations. Packing the car is going to be an engineering miracle! We tried to stay up late Tuesday night to watch the Olympics, but we were just so tired from orienting to the east coast time for a week and a half, that we fell asleep fairly quick. We were up by 8am the next morning! Not a good thing since we were suppose to work Wednesday night. I was teasing Abby because we were at Circuit City (looking for our new DVD player) before they opened. A definite first for Abby (she likes her sleep). We did more shopping before heading home around 1pm to try and nap for our first night shift in almost 2 weeks. Neither one of us slept much. Maybe 2 or so hours then we were wide awake again. Luckily we received the bitter sweet call from work saying that we were on call. Meaning we didn't have to go into work at 7, but had to call back around 930pm to see if they were going to need us for the rest of the night. We didn't end up having to go in that night, so we tried once again to stay up late to watch the Olympics. The reason it was bitter sweet was because we really didn't get much sleep to warrant a safe night of work. On the other hand, we really need the money because if we don't work, we don't get paid. We already took off the week before for our vacation back to NC, so losing another shift of pay isn't going to be good for the wallet. Anyhow, we enjoyed our night off by sipping on a glass of wine, ordering out to this great Italian restaurant called Tutti Santi, and lounging on the couch watching the Olympics. I must apologize now for my sporadic thoughts and my horrible grammer and spelling. 1. It is 230am and I'm not feeling to good. 2. the call bells (from patient rooms) keep going off, so I keep getting up trying to assist all the sick. 3. Abby is working on a different floor, so I don't have the smart one in the family proof reading my work. Now back to the good stuff...

Our vacation was amazing! We realized how much we miss North Carolina, but most importantly our family and friends. We arrived in Greensboro on Thursday July 31st. Abby's dad picked us up from the airport and we headed straight to her brother Craig's house. They ordered Chinese food which looked amazing. I was unable to eat because my stomach wasn't agreeing with me. Let's just say I threw up on the airplane from Memphis to Greensboro. We flew in a puddle hopper, so trying to aim in the toilet wasn't easy. I'll stop there! Friday Abby had her appointment with the eye doctor and that night we went to hang out with her best friend Betsy. Okay, so I just received a phone call from the floor charge nurse. I am going to be getting this 16yr kid with stomach pain. Supposedly he has had gastric bypass. Can't wait to see this admit. So, I will hopefully get this post in, if not I will hope to finish later. Saturday we left for the beach with her family. We arrived at Holden Beach that afternoon quickly hurrying to the beach. The weather was beautiful all week. Her entire family was there. Let's just say that the beach trip was wonderful birth control. Lots of little ones ruling the roost. The following saturday, Abby and I took off to Raleigh to visit my mom, brother and friends. Andy was nice enough to let us borrow his car. We had dinner with my mom and brother saturday night, then headed over to my house to see all the guys. It was great seeing them all. We made home made ice cream and just sat around trying to catch up. Chuck made it back from Iraq so he told us stories about his travels and showed us pictures and videos of our tax dollars hard at work! To make a long story short, Chuck got stranded on a mountain and it took the US army to rescue him! F16's and all. Crazy story, but if you know Chuck you will understand. Fix my screens Chuck! Sunday we headed over to my brothers new house to swim in his pool and hang out with my mom, Sean, Corey and Van. After some delicious pizza Sean and I jumped in the pool. Woo quickly showed up to join us. The water was pretty cold, so Abby didn't stay in for long. Sunday night we joined a few folks for dinner at Los Tres! A great mexican restaurant in Raleigh. We then had to make a quick trip to Goodberry's, then it was home to spend some more time with my mom. Monday morning came and it was time to say goodbye and head back to phoenix. Sorry to those whom I wasn't able to see. The trip to raleigh was a short one, and I really tried to spend as much time with my mom and brother as I could. It was a great trip and it was so great to see my mom, my brother and all my buddies. We had a great time at the beach with Abby's family. So great seeing them as well. This trip made us both really sad. We just love our family and friends so much and hate that we are so far away. We are really enjoying our time on the west coast, but we are really looking forward to the day we get back to the east coast. In October we have another trip planned, but this trip will take us to NYC and to upstate NY. GO GIANTS! When we get back from NY, we will be moving to San Diego for our second travel assignment. We believe our contract there runs through the beginning of february. I told Abby earlier tonight that I have a surprise for her. I haven't told her what, and I probably won't. I am going to tell you all what I have up my sleeve, so Abby won't find out until she reads this blog. You can't tell her, she has to find out on her own. We'll see if she is keeping up with what I write! The San Diego Chargers play the Carolina Panthers on September 7th in San Diego (first game of the season). I am going to get us tickets to the game!!!! We will spend a few days in San Diego and then head to the game! Should be a great trip. I figure it will also give us a chance to try and hunt down a place to stay when we move out there. It should be a great trip! Abby packed her Panthers jersey, so this will give her a great chance to show off her Panther pride! GO GIANTS! Just remember, you are not allowed to tell her!

Well time to get ready for my admit. I hope you are all great and thanks again for keeping up with us through our blog. We don't have internet at our new place, so not sure when we will get new pictures up, but will try. We love and miss you all. Keep in touch.
In His peace,
Love Abby and Michael.
p.s. please pray for my grandma and grandpa! thanks!

Vacation here we come...

2008-07-29T05:47:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to write a quick message to let everyone know that Abby and I are heading to North Carolina on thursday. We are flying into Charlotte for Abby's eye appointment on friday, then heading to her families yearly beach vacation at Holden Beach. We will be there saturday through saturday then hoping to make it to Raleigh to visit my mom, brother and friends. We fly out that following monday, so our visit will be short but sweet. Abby and I have been working at getting prepared for our San Diego trip, figuring out our move into our new home when we return from vacation, and making plans to head to NY in October. All involve spending money. A problem we can't escape at this time. I hope everyone has a great week. We will have lots to write about when we get back and hopefully many great pictures to share. Much love to all.
In His peace,
Michael and Abby

San Diego here we come...

2008-07-22T05:37:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update... Abby and I interviewed for a jobby job in San Diego Monday morning. By Monday afternoon we were offered a position working the night shift at a Kaiser Hospital in San Diego. We are both extremely excited to be heading there for the winter. We start October 20th and work there through the beginning of February. Having said that, we had to sign on for another 2 months in Phoenix putting us here until October 4th. In October we are heading to NYC to watch the NY football Giants take on the Seattle Seahawks on the 5th of October, then we are heading upstate NY for a week. After returning from NY we are going to take a few days to get settled into San Diego. We are not sure where we will be living, but hopefully we will know before long. Don't worry, we are travelling with a queen size air mattress in hopes of having visitors! The housing stipend for San Diego is $1600 a month, so we are hoping to both take the stipend and try to find a place to live for cheaper than that. Craigslist didn't seem to promising as San Diego is very expensive to live. Worse case scenario, one of us takes the free housing and the other takes the stipend. We will be taking a pay cut, but well worth it to live in perfect weather for the winter. Keep checking for updates on our San Diego move. Our night shift is almost up. Promise to write more later!
Much Love to all...
In His peace,
Michael and Abby
p.s. Prayer requests. My grandma, and Mr. Richardson. Thanks!

Viva Las Vegas!

2008-07-16T01:02:00.000-07:00

So surprise, surprise...this is Abby writing the latest post! Mike thought my description of our vacation might come better from virgin Vegas eyes. We headed out to Las Vegas last Saturday for a 4-night, 5-day vacation, with my parents flying in on Sunday to meet up with us. The 4 1/2 - 5 hour drive was dominated by true desert - lots of cacti and very few cars on the road. About 30 miles outside of Vegas we stopped and visited the Hoover Dam. An impressive site - especially considering how long ago it was built. It looks as if they are building a bypass bridge and the construction equipment was amazing - they are building the bridge over a huge canyon and these cable-care looking things were hanging across the canyon so the workers could go back and forth. Finally we pulled in to Vegas - luckily it was turning dark so my first views were with the lights on! I'm not exactly sure how to put Vegas in words. I'm just glad I wasn't driving as I would have surely wrecked - I'm pretty sure I sat in the passenger seat with my mouth hanging open. So we get to TI (Treasure Island for those of you not in the know), checked in, went to our room and realized we had an amazing strip view - looking straight down Las Vegas Blvd - it looked postcard-esque.

First lesson I learned in Vegas....food is extremely EXPENSIVE (and not always that good!) We went to a restaurant in the hotel the first night - Kahunaville. It was decent - not great, but not bad. We had one of those gigantic drinks that comes in a fish-bowl sized glass and washed that one down with another (smaller) drink. At this point I'm ready to see the town. We meandered up the strip all the way to the Bellagio and back down. I was astounded by many things - a. the grandeur of Vegas b. the number of people out and about and c. the amount of kids that were in Vegas and out so late! I was very hesitant to gamble straight away as Mike and I succeeded in losing on a video roulette table in a matter of minutes. So we walked around some of the casinos and he explained craps to me as we watched a man making and losing hundreds of dollars at a $100 minimum table. We also wandered through the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace and the Shops at the Venetian. Dang - the shopping is incredible in Vegas, but really only for those with deep pockets. Overall, an awesome introduction to Vegas.

The next day was spent with some time at the pool, a little gambling, and dinner and a movie before we went to pick up my parents. Did I mention how phenomenal Vegas is for people watching?! That actually may have been my favorite part (seeing as how I lost a disappointing amount of money - more about that later.) There are definitely all types in Vegas - the drunken guys looking to pick up some booty, the drunken girls looking to do the same (in much less clothing then the boys), the old couples who love to gamble, the families, and the high rollers. We watched one guy drop $5000 in about four minutes at a $10 blackjack table. We think we overheard him on the phone saying he was down seventy thousand!!! What?! Some people have entirely too much money! Anyways, we picked my parents up around midnight and it was fun to watch my mom's face as we drove down the strip. My parents had a little trouble checking in and ended up getting a suite for the night! We crashed out after that and woke up the next morning to start some serious gambling!

My mom stuck to Wheel of Fortune the whole trip. And darn if she didn't get addicted to that slot machine! Every morning we found her playing Wheel of Fortune and one night she stayed up past us to play! Even at the different casinos, Mom stuck to Wheel of Fortune. Too bad there wasn't much fortune with the game. Mike tried to introduce Dad and I to craps, but we lost miserably everytime we tried to play so it didn't stick with us. I became a fan of 3 card poker. I was able to win little bits of money that I inevitably lost. Mike lost money at craps, roulette, poker, and slots. Let's just say Vegas wasn't too good to him. Nor was it to any of us - we all lost our money. I have to say, gambling is fun. I think I liked 3 card poker so much b/c I could start with a reasonable amount of money and play for a long time before I lost it.

Aside from losing all our money, we did enjoy some other draws of Vegas. We saw Mystere (a Cirque de Soleil show) on Monday night which was incredible. I don't even know how to explain how those performers did what they did. And of course we caught the Sirens show at TI. And you can't go to Vegas without seeing the Bellagio fountains. We also ate (and ate and ate...) - even made a late night trip to McDonalds! And of course, if you know the Jones' - we did some shopping. Mom and Dad gave us a wedding present - a beautiful globe we picked out - we'll have to attach a picture so you can appreciate this globe! Thanks so much Mom and Dad!!! I think that pretty much sums up our trip. I hope to return to Vegas sometime - I've got some money to earn back!

Other than that we've been trying to figure out where our next assignment will take us. I think we've decided to stay in Phoenix for another 8 weeks (til beginning of October) and then possibly head to San Diego or Littleton, Colorado. We have interviews/possibilites with both these areas. We are going to move to a different apartment. We found a one bedroom condo close to where we live now and will move after our beach trip in August. The roomate is just getting weirder and we are having to be conscious of air-conditioning use which is frustrating (and hot!) living on a second floor surrounded by windows and french doors! It will be nice to live on our own (finally!) We are headed to the Jones/Lowe beach trip the beginning of August - we can't wait to be home for a little bit and see some family! And then in October we are heading to New York - a few days in the city and to see the Giants game and then up to the Catskills to spend some time with Mike's grandparents and his aunt and uncle!

We hope all is well with everyone. Being away is definitely getting harder as we miss our family and friends more and more. Please keep in touch - we love hearing from you....and haven't heard from some of you in entirely too long....
In His love,
Abby and Mike

Internet is up and running...

2008-06-30T02:59:00.000-07:00

Great news... We are finally able to get on the Internet in "our" house. John, the owner, made a surprise visit this past week to fix the Internet. We have recently been blessed with a roommate who needs the Internet. She is a 48 yr old awkward lady who works on developing websites. I guess she was threatening to leave because John made a 5 hour trip to just work on the Internet. Abby and I were joking about sabotaging the Internet so that she would leave. We were definitely getting use to living alone. I guess you can say that we were spoiled, but what can we say... We are honeymooners looking to be alone, not share a sofa with a random 48 year old. Oh well, we are only here for a little while longer. I think we have 5 more weeks of work and then we move on. We are not sure where we will be next, but hopefully we will find out soon. We are really working on getting to Denver or Portland for the end of summer beginning of fall. Keep your fingers crossed. We learned that there are a lot of pediatric positions out there, but unfortunately there are an abundance of pediatric nurses. Abby and I are at a disadvantage because we both need positions at a certain hospital. Our recruiter is working really hard on placing us in a desirable location. We have also talked about just staying in Phoenix for another 3 months. If we do that, we will most likely move out of this house and into an apartment. We would take a pay cut, but at least we would have our OWN place to live for the first time since we've been married! Will keep you posted.

As you can see we've put up pictures of our hike up Squaw Peak. It is a strenuous hike that takes a good 30-40 minutes to hike 1.2 miles. The view from the top is amazing. I have to admit that the 360 view is about the same. Houses, dry land, spiked mountain tops, and cacti. We were able to catch a sunset the last time we both went up. Pictures really don't show the beauty of this sunset, but as you can see it was pretty neat to be on top of this mountain during that time. The trip down was a little hairy. The trail runs down both sides of the mountain, so when we were on the East side, it was quite dark. Abby, and her new found obsession with scorpions, was pretty nervous about running into one of the little creatures (they are nocturnal).

We also put up a picture of us at the Arizona Diamondbacks game. Yes, I was slowly developing man boobs. Now you know my obsession with losing weight. The game was a lot of fun. Randy Johnson tied second all time on the strikeout list. He tried and tried to get that last one to put him alone at second but constantly failed. They pulled him in the 6th. He eventually got that mark, just not at home. I also put up a picture of Abby in a phone booth. Don't see those much. This phone booth was outside one of our favorite restaurants, 5 & Dinner.

Okay okay, I know you've all been on your seats waiting to find out what my big surprise was for Abby. Here it is... I surprised her with 4th row seats to the Ringling Brothers and Barney and Bailey Circus!!!!! It was an amazing show. I don't remember it being so entertaining. We definitely recommend it to all. Just watch out for the protesters outside the arena passing out flyer's on how the circus abuses it's animals. My favorite part of the show was the 6 bikes in the ring of steel. Amazing!!! Abby's favorite part were the elephants. They had about 6 huge elephants and 1 little baby elephant. After the show, as we were walking to our car, we spotted the trainers giving the elephants water and a bath. They were having a blast drinking from huge trash cans and trying to spray the crowd with water. Playful jokers. It was really neat seeing such amazing animals so close up. Go see the circus if it comes to a city near you!

We had a long week of work. I picked up an overtime shift on Monday, then we both worked Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Saturday I woke up early to climb the mountain and then i headed to play golf with John. Abby slept in then went to this huge mall near by. She has been told that this mall has every store she likes, so she wanted to check it out. She told me that they have a store solely about peanut butter! We are going tomorrow! Today we didn't do much. Neither one of us could sleep last night. We went to bed around midnight. I woke up around 2am and just couldn't fall back to sleep. Decided to get up and watch TV till 5am. I then got dressed and headed to Squaw peak. I was able to catch the tail end of the sunrise as I hiked the mountain. I was amazed with how crowded the trail was. I guess the locals know that they need to get their outdoor exercise in as soon as the sun rises. I then came home and slept till 2ish. We both got our lazy tails out of bed, went bowling, ate supper, then caught a movie. We saw "Wanted." Mixed reviews. If you like Kill Bill, you will probably like this movie. Midway through the movie Abby started feeling nauseous. She is currently lying on the couch watching TV as I type this post. It is almost 3:30am and I'm not tired. I think I might go hike the mountain again at 5am. The weather at that time is in the 80's with a nice breeze. This night shift gig has our sleeping patterns all messed up. Hope Abby feels better.

Restaurant of the week: NYPD pizza! Amazing NY style pizza.
Movie of the Week: Definitely, Maybe. We only started this movie, but it looks really good. A chic flick.
Weather: This week was the first time in about 2 weeks were the high temp was under 110. I think it was 106 and above. I "nice cool trend" (some weather guy).

This week we are trying to pick up an overtime shift on Tuesday, then we work Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Saturday we head to Las Vegas. Abby and i are going Saturday night and staying at Treasure Island. Abby's parents fly out on Sunday and we all will be staying at Treasure Island until Wednesday. We are both very excited to see her parents. We miss our families a lot. Hope to have a lot of luck. Keep your fingers crossed...

Have a great week everybody. We love and miss you all. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!

In His peace,
Michael and Abby Lee

Uneventful Weekend...

2008-06-24T01:14:00.000-07:00

Hello to all. Man, these posts get more and more boring as the weeks go on. Sorry about that. Since I last wrote not much has gone on. We had off from Thursday until today but Abby came down with a little illness all weekend. She is better now, but it really knocked her out all day Saturday and Sunday. Poor Abby. We don't know what it is out here, but we constantly get a little bug that knocks us out for a day or two. Who knows what is causing it.. We have another long weekend coming up, so we'll see if either one of us gets sick.

Before Abby became ill, we went shopping. Surprise Surprise Surprise.. haha.. we have money now, so what do we do? that's right, we shop! Banana Republic was having their big sale, so we dropped a couple of hundred there. Then we headed over to Cole Hahn and dropped a little bit there. I laugh at us really. If you could have seen our car when we were driving across the country you would have laughed. Slam packed!!! But yet we shop! haha.. Oh to top it off, I bought a new TV on Sunday. A 32" Samsung. We were going to wait until we travelled to our next assignment, as we don't really need one here, but it was a deal I couldn't pass up. We have serious problems I tell ya. So other than shopping, we really haven't done much. I am working tonight (an overtime shift. to support our shopping habits) then we both work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Friday we are going to the surprise for Abby. It will be awesome, then we hope to pick up a couple of more overtime shifts before we head to Vegas on the 6th of July. We work on the 4th, but why not... Great pay...

Restaurant of the week: The Fish market. We ate there Sunday night and it was delicious. they had the freshest Mahi Mahi. So tender you could cut it with a fork.

Movie of the week: "Get Smart" A very funny movie. We had our doubts, but we laughed a lot.

Weather forecast: Sunny and Hot. I think we are going on our 14th straight day of Temps over 110. Good times!

Well, I hope to bring you more fun and adventures someday. I guess once we stop shopping we might have money to take a fun trip. Seriously, after Vegas we hope to take a few trips through July and august. We are going to head to San Diego, the Grand Canyons, Sedona, and Flagstaff. We truly aren't taking advantage of our location, and that is unfortunate. Will keep you posted. Hope you are all doing great. We love and miss you all. Till the next time...

Love to you all,
In His peace,
Michael and Abby...
p.s. I have lost 14 pounds since moving out here. Climbing that mountain I tell ya. Tough work!

Competition breeds results...

2008-06-18T00:44:00.000-07:00

Hello to all... Do hope this post finds everyone doing well. Abby and I are back to work. This week we work monday, tuesday and wednesday (nights). Then we have off until next monday night. I am picking up an overtime shift monday night, then Abby and I work tuesday, wednesday and thursday! On Friday I have a very special treat for Abby. She does not know what it is, but I assure you she will love it! I'll keep you posted...

This weekend was a pretty fun and relaxing weekend. We worked last tuesday, wednesday, and thursday, and we were suppose to work saturday. We ended up getting called off, so we had the entire weekend off. I was thrilled because that meant that I could sit on the couch all weekend and watch the US Open! Congrats Tiger... Although I was pulling for rocco near the end. Tiger has been there done that! He is amazing though. Sunday we went to climb Squaw Peak. It constantly takes me close to 40 minutes to climb the mountain. Abby and I broke 40 minutes a couple of times, but nothing to brag about. On sunday I offered up a friendly bet to Abby. I was on my high horse about how competition brings out the best in people. Hence the title of this post. I told her that she should get a head start and have me try to catch her so that it may push us to climb harder and faster. At first she was asking for a 10 minute head start. Now mind you that the hike only takes about 40 minutes, so I wasn't to keen on that idea. We worked it down to a 5 minute head start. She began to climb the mountain quickly disappearing out of my sight. I started my hike 5 minutes later. It took me a while to actually spot her climbing the mountain, but I did about 1/4 of the way up. I kicked it into gear and just kept climbing. I only stopped a couple of times until I was getting close to the top. I was pushing myself so hard, that I stopped a few times to catch my breath and hold off from throwing up! Okay, so I'm trying to make this a long story. I will get right to it. I did not catch Abby, although I was close. She ended up climbing the mountain in 34 minutes, a personal best. I finished in 30:15, also a personal best. We both destroyed that mountain. We were very pleased, but very very tired! We were able to take some awesome pictures of the sunset while on top of the mountain. I hope to put those pictures up along with the others that I've promised. Sorry about that! So now we have a new personal best to beat. I'm pretty sure that will not happen for sometime. The heat is getting out of control. When we first arrived in Phoenix we had highs in the 90's - low 100's. In that heat, you can tell that there is low humidity and actually function throughout the day. Well let me tell you. the 110's are no joke! I don't' care what the humidity is, it is HOT!! When we climbed the mountain, we got back into our car around 8:30pm and the temperature gage was saying 110. The temperature today was 115 and that trend is suppose to continue throughout the week. I hope to make it back to Squaw Peak when we get off work to try and escape the heat, but listen to this. We were on our way home from work yesterday around 8am. The news was already saying it was 93. 93 at 8am. What is that? Anyhow, we will survive near and in the pool all week. For those keeping up with the "biggest loser" between Brother Bear and I, I am happy to report that I'm down from 238 lbs to 228 lbs. Guess the heat has some advantages! haha.. In phoenix I feel like a wrestler, with his sweat suit on, sitting in the sauna! Good times!

The Abby and Hinchy movie review: "The Happening" Worst movie ever! If you pay money to see this we will laugh. Marky Mark's acting is worse than when he was making his music video for "good vibrations." haha.. I make myself laugh. I usually like him as an actor. Who can forget Planet of the Apes and Fear. Classics.. haha.. In all seriousness, a terrible movie. Sorry to disappoint, but trust us on this one!

Restaurant of the week: 5 & Diner... This place is a nice little diner open 24/7. It is a old 50's style joint that has delicious breakfast food. Chocolate Chip Waffles! A fat kids dream.

Weather forecast... To quote Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam: "I just want to begin by saying to Roosevelt E. Roosevelt, what it is, what it shall be, what it was. The weather out there today is hot and shitty with continued hot and shitty in the afternoon. Tomorrow a chance of continued crappy with a pissy weather front coming down from the north. Basically, it's hotter than a snake's ass in a wagon rut." How true!

Abby was just over here ready my post and she was going to interrupt with some words of her own. I told her that she needs to write a post so you can all experience this adventure through her eyes. I know it is usually one sided, but it's probably the best side! haha.. j/k.. I hope Abby doesn't read that. Let me hurry up and finish and post this... Okay where was I.

We came
We saw
we did this
we did that
We enjoyed
thanks
love ya
goodbye!

"All Hail the New York Giants!!!"

2008-06-13T01:02:00.000-07:00

So my birthday is officially over... Sad! I had a great day and I thank everyone for the phone calls, facebook posts, cards, and text messages. I slept all day so I tried to call everyone back. I apologize if I didn't get back to you, but I promise I will. The day before my birthday Abby and I went car shopping. Why you ask... well just to tease ourselves I guess. We will one day need to buy a new car, so we thought we would get a head start. After car shopping we decided to head to Tempe, AZ, the Home of Arizona State University. There we ate a late lunch at PF Changs and went shopping along their main strip. We then headed home because Abby needed to go shopping for my birthday. Unbeknownst to me I was getting sick. I tried to catch a quick nap before Abby came home, but i was quickly woken to a screeching call "MIKE, MIKE, GET DOWN HERE NOW!" I head downstairs to a frantic Abby telling me that there was a scorpion in the hallway. I head down the hall and sure enough, there was this scorpion just chillen in the hallway. One second it was alive, then it was dead.. I had to bring the thunder of my flip flop to it's head... Abby then had me check out the other rooms because she was using these rooms to create a scavenger hunt for me to find my birthday presents. She's a very creative gal. After killing the scorpion I proceeding back upstairs to finish my nap as Abby finished putting together my birthday surprise.

A few minutes after I fell back to sleep Abby is calling for me again. This time it is to start my birthday celebration! I know it is only June 11Th, but we are now working on my birthday, so we decided to celebrate early. I went downstairs and received my first clue. "Go to where we spent our first night." (the first night we arrived in phoenix we had to sleep in a different bedroom because John was getting our master suite set up) I found my clue. "Go to where we enjoy many nights watching movies." there was another clue. "go to where I like to primp." (upstairs near her bathroom sink) There I found my first gift. It was a bottle of Polo cologne! The next clue led me to outside near the pool. There she left me a clue stating "I left you a little something on the car, I hope to add onto these one day." I head to the car and there were 2 stickers to place on the car to symbolize her and I. We always crack on people when we see those stickers on the back of cars showing how many people are in their families. This present was a joke of course. The next clue led me to her sitting in the hallway with balloons and more note cards. She handed me the first card, it read "now go to 101 36" the next card read "East Rutherford" the next card read "new Jersey." At that time I lost it. I have to admit I broke down and teared up. Abby bought me 2 tickets to see a NY Giants football game on October 5th. For those of you who know me well, the NY Giants are my most favorite sports team ever! I have never had the opportunity to make it to a Giants game. Abby just made one of my dreams come true! She rocks. On top of all this she bought me a sweet NY Giants Superbowl Champions t-shirt.

So you see, my birthday was a blast until the clock struck midnight (then it was officially my birthday). I became very sick and my stomach was upset. I had to "pull the trigger" to help alleviate the nausea. After that I felt a little better, but still not feeling right. We played a little Mario cart (a present from the Jones family) on Wii, then called it a night. I woke up around 530 still hurting. I went downstairs to watch TV. After a few hours on the couch I figured I should try to head to bed because we had to work tonight. I fell asleep around 10am and slept till a little after 5pm. Then it was off to work. Hooray!

We work tonight, then we are off till Saturday night, then we work monday, tuesday, and wednesday nights. We should have the rest of the week off. We are not sure what we are going to do since we are trying to save up for Las Vegas. We might head to a baseball game, or try to do some 4 wheeling in the desert. Will let you know.

Abby is doing great. She is tired of the scorpion population, but hopefully she will get through the summer here. We are not sure where we will be for our next assignment, but we hope to know by the end of this month. We talked with our recruiter and applied at a hospital in San Diego. If we get this job then we will extend in Arizona through september then start in San Diego September 29th through January 4th. Will keep you posted. Well, time to sign off for now. Thanks again for all the wonderful birthday wishes. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Watch out for wild fires, humidity, and scorpions! With love to you all...
In His Peace,
Abby and Michael
p.s. GO GIANTS!!!!

"It's getting Hot Hot Hot!"

2008-06-10T02:29:00.000-07:00

Back at work and back on the computer. This no internet at home business is getting old. Need to crack down on John to get it working again. I promise new pictures are coming just as soon as we can get online! Hi to all. Do hope this post finds everyone doing great. I hear the weather in North Carolina has been insane! 100+ with that carolina humidity!!! No thanks! Abby and I are enjoying our 100+ days, but no humidity is a life saver!

Last week we picked up an overtime shift. Well, I should say that we both signed up for an overtime shift, but Abby was lucky enough to get called off. They did not need her that night, so she stayed home watching TV and I came to work. She was actually miserable. It is not fun to sleep all day anticipating work that night, then getting called off. Guess what? Yep, you guessed it, she was up all night. She actually was able to stay up and call her mom in charlotte right when her mom woke up to wish her a happy birthday! Happy Birthday Mrs. Jones. Her age is a secret. You know how those women are about their age! Speaking of birthdays!!! Are you ready for this? My birthday is June 12th! Happy Birthday to me. I will be a very young 32 on thursday. Not really sure what we will be doing to celebrate, but Abby has something special up her sleeve. I constantly ask for clues. Here are the clues she has given me (your help is needed to figure them out). 1. There are 3 gifts. 2. One gift relates to another, but is different. 3. One gift will be life changing. 4. One gift is electronic. 5. I have recently talked about said gifts. Any ideas? I have no clue, but I'm very excited. Instead of going out to dinner to celebrate, the jock in me has decided to head to a Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game. The games are very relaxing and a lot of fun. Should be a great time. The unfortunate thing is that we work on my birthday, so festivities will be taking place either before or after the 12th.

Since our last post, we really haven't done a lot. We have been working and sleeping a lot. Our weekend was cut short due to this heart class, we took for work, on saturday. The only real interesting and fun thing we did this weekend was going out to dinner at Rock Bottom, then we headed over to Dave and Busters. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Dave and Busters, let's just say it is an adult Chuckie cheese! We had a blast. After there we headed to Casino Arizona! We were going to try our luck at blackjack and roulette, but it was really really crowded. We waited around for a while to get a table, but just nothing opened up. We are going to try again this week. I am really hoping to sit abby down at a table to get her feet wet before Vegas. We are heading to Vegas July 6th with Abby's parents. Wish us luck!

We are still climbing Squaw Peak. However, we really try to time our climbs to when it isn't 100+ out side. I think i'm going to head that way after we get off work. The morning time is probably the best time to go. I know we haven't really made full use of Phoenix yet, but we hope to venture out sooner than later.

Good Bye for now! Loving and missing everyone...

In His peace,
Love
Michael and Abby Lee

"Bees, Ants, and Scorpions... Oh My"

2008-06-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

Hello to all. Abby and I are back at work after a nice few days off. We work tonight (Sunday), Monday night, Wednesday night and Thursday night. Wednesday is an overtime shift, so hopefully we will have a nice easy week as picking up just 1 extra shift is hard work. Tonight has started off on the slow side. No complaints here, although come 3 or 4 in the morning we are going to be looking for stuff to keep us awake. Neither Abby nor I slept well today. I think we were up around 11:30 with no afternoon nap. Abby tried to sleep, but she couldn't. I was wide awake, so I played in the pool and watched golf. Congrats Kenny Perry! We went for a quick run before work. I think the high was 105 today, so our run was short and sweet. We are both really trying to get back in shape. I was hit with a harsh realization a few days ago! I was looking into going to the grand canyon and riding the donkeys. Well, let's just say I exceed the weight limit! So no go on the donkey exertion. I also have been looking to use up Abby's Gift certificate for skydiving in the near future. The weight limit for that is 240! Not quite there, but was heading that way fast... Just want to report that I'm down from 238 to 230 and feeling good. I have a goal of 220 by the Jone's Beach trip in August. Trying to cut down the LB's but also cut down on the fat kid jokes by the "slim" Andy "Bear" Jones! Wish me luck!

Abby and I had a great few days off. We went to our first Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game. We witnessed Randy Johnson tie Roger Clemens for second all-time on the strike out list. Abby ate a hot dog, I ate 2. We shared peanuts and a couple cold beverages. Chase field is beautiful. They have a retractable roof which was open during this game. Absolutely beautiful night to watch a baseball game. We hope to frequent that park and catch many games during the next couple of months. Downtown Phoenix is really nice. We hear from the locals that it is a nice place to go for dinner, but after dark you want to get out. Supposedly they are revamping downtown. The stadium, which is in downtown, is only about 15 minutes from us. A really easy and quick drive. We took a few pictures and will get those up as soon as we get our Internet working. Hopefully soon.

We both climbed Squaw Peak a couple of times. John "the owner of the house" keeps asking us if we have climbed it in under 40 minutes. Supposedly it is really hard to make it in under 40 minutes. The first time I went by myself I made it in 44 minutes (pre camelback and hiking shoes). I am happy to report that Abby and I made it in 36 minutes (post camelback and hiking shoes). Not bad not bad! "I wanna be like Mike!" We hope to continue clocking ourselves as it's another way to push our limits. We were hoping to climb this other mountain, (camelback) but were unable to get there. We hear that mountain is a lot harder of a climb. We are up for the challenge!

Last night we got all dressed up and went out for a nice dinner. We ate at this restaurant called Phoenix City Grille. I ate the most amazing Mahi Mahi. Abby ate Salmon. Delicious! At night we watch movies. Since we are on the night shift schedule we find ourselves staying up till 3 or 4 in the morning. Movies are a good way to pass the time. Recommendations from the Hinchy's. Charlie Wilsons War, Ironman, Lions for Lambs and National Treasure 2. My friends tell me that my taste in movies is pretty weak, but I would have to admit that even though these movies are no "Drumline," they still are a joy to watch!

Okay Okay Okay, now to the good part of this update. As you were probably wondering, the title of this post is a nice little homage to the wildlife surrounding us daily. Near the pool we have lots of pretty flowers which lots of bees like to frequent. We have a stream of ants that travel back and forth along the pool edge, and most importantly, we had our first scorpion sighting! Wow, was it ever a sighting! We were leaving late one night to head to blockbuster. The way it works is, we are able to park in the garage but it is a tight fit. I usually drop Abby off right before I pull in the garage and I usually back out of the garage then Abby gets in. The reason for this is because there is really only room to get out of the car when I pull all the way to one side (no fat kid jokes). So, now to the good stuff. We were getting ready to leave to head to blockbuster, I pull out of the garage and here comes Abby walking up to the car. Just past the garage door she SCREAMS SCREAMS SCREAMS, JUMPS IN THE CAR, SLAMS THE DOOR, SCREAMS SCREAMS SCREAMS, her legs moving up and down a mile a minute, then she begins to Cry. All along she is yelling "SCORPION, I ALMOST STEP ON IT. KILL IT MIKE, KILL IT." At first I couldn't see what she was talking about, but after careful surveying of the ground I see it. It was a little guy, but that's the bad news. It was a Arizona Bark Scorpion. Please read attached website. http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/insects/az1223/ I ran over it with the car and that was the end of that scorpion. It truly scared the mess out of Abby. Needless to say, she was messed up for the rest of the night. Hopefully she will not see another one! Those jokers are pretty scary looking! Please little scorpion, leave us alone! The next day Abby was just fine. It unnerved her a bit, but after a good night sleep she was better in the morning. Hang in there Abby, the "desert environment" has "got nothing but love for ya baby." Hopefully that will be our last scorpion encounter while we are here. Wish us luck with those little ugly jokers!

Well that just about wraps up our last few days. The pool is getting warmer by the day (easy to do when it is constantly in the 100's), the sun gets hotter by the minute, and we miss our friends and family more and more by the second. Thanks for keeping up with us through here and the phone calls and emails. Keep it up people! We love you all and we hope to hear from you soon. Till then....
Signing off for now...
In His peace,
Michael and Abby

"Show me the Money"

2008-05-29T04:27:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Abby and I are at work. It is currently 4:30am, so i'm assuming most of you are just about to wake up to start your day. So, here's to you! Have a wonderful day at work, or in Jim Jones world, have a fun day being retired! We are finishing up our last of 3 days of work. We have off until sunday night so we plan on actually playing this weekend. The reason for the fun weekend is because we get paid on friday. Abby and I just reviewed our first travel nurse pay stubs and guess what?!!?!?!?! Abby made more in 1 paycheck then she did in 1 month at UNC. I made about the same in one paycheck then i was making in 1 month at UNC. Isn't that crazy! For all those still slaving away for pennies at UNC, GET OUT NOW!!!

Tonight we plan on heading to a Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game. We purchased tickets last night to be on the 3rd baseline. I think Abby is more excited about the food then the game, but it should be a blast. We will definitely take pictures and hopefully post them along with the pictures of Squaw Peak. I apologize for not posting more pictures, but our internet is currently not working at our house. Friday night Abby is heading to see "Sex and the City" with a couple of friends from work. I think they plan on going out to dinner beforehand. Not sure what I will be doing that night, but a whole lot of nothing sounds pretty good. Saturday night I have a fun night planned for Abby and I. It is a surprise for her, so i'm sorry I can't tell you right now. I will be sure to tell ya'll next week. I hope she likes it! Then, sunday we are back to work.

Next week we are picking up an overtime shift. We work sunday and monday nights, then wednesday and thursday nights. The money will be great, but i'm sure we will be worn out. The following week we also picked up an overtime shift. Shoot me now! Just kidding. We both really enjoy the floor we are on. We have our pros and cons of the floor, but for the most part we don't mind coming to work.

Well, i'm signing off for now. Sorry there wasn't much to write about this time. I promise there will be more next time. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Much Love to all....

In His peace,

Michael and Abby

Working hard...

2008-05-22T03:22:00.001-07:00

Greetings to all. I come to you from the wonderful Phoenix Children's Hospital. Abby and I are currently working. Working hard as you can see! It is 3:20 in the morning; only 4 more hours. This is our last of 3 night shifts in a row. We are both catching on quickly. Lots to learn. We are both very confident in our nursing skills, but learning the different charting, pumps, protocols of a new hospital takes time. Our first 2 nights we were with a preceptor, and tonight is our first night on our own. The people we are working with are a lot of fun. We work with a lot of other travel nurses. One may think that this is a disadvantage, but actually it is a great help because other travelers are very quick to help each other. A nice bonus when we are so new to the routine's of the hospital. When we walk out the door at 730 this morning we will be off until next Monday night. We really don't have big plans this week due to our lack of money in the bank. We still haven't received a paycheck since the beginning of April, so we are hesitant to travel anywhere. Hopefully we will find some fun things to do that doesn't require spending to much money.

Last week was a very relaxing week. Since I wrote last....... well, not much new happened. We were actually in class everyday last week (Monday - Sunday). Abby is slowly shaking off this cough that she has had for 3 weeks now. She went to the urgent care for antibiotics, a chest xray, and a bill of $300 dollars. Dang she is good at spending money! :) Hopefully this cough will be gone soon so that we can get back to being active. I find that climbing squaw peak by myself is getting less and less enjoyable. I was able to take pictures of the hike, but I will have to wait until I get home to post the pictures. As you all know, pictures don't always portray what is really being seen, so realize that the views from the hike are amazing. I saw my first lizard on the path, but still no rattlesnakes or scorpions. There are countless signs stating "please stay on path." I wonder if those signs are more for the animal population, or more for the danger of falling off the cliff. Needless to say, I stay on the path. I must say that I'm officially a mountain hiker with my camelback and hiking boots. Yes that's right, Abby and I went out and bought hiking boots. They actually make a huge difference with traction and comfort when walking on rough terrain. Abby's are still in the shoe box! Good news though, she said she is going to hike with me today after we wake up! That remains to be seen. I give her a hard time, but she has actually been amazing with this cough thing. I couldn't imagine having a cough for over 3 weeks. Her back has been hurting due to the constant cough and somehow her feet are hurting also. Well, maybe not, but for some reason her feet and back are what I constantly rub to help make her feel better. I think the word sucker needs to be thrown in there somewhere. Hoping she shakes this soon. There is so much to been seen in the phoenix area, and so much that we want to explore. Once we finally get paid, I think we will venture out a lot more.

The house is still incredible. As of right now, the house is still ours, but John has been allowing a couple of interested parties to come see what they could rent. We'll see what ends up happening. The latest guy who came over last night is a travel nurse also (another gaylord fauker). I woke up early today (for no apparent reason) so decided to visit the pool. It was extremely windy with wind gusts of up to 40mph. I found one of our towels at the bottom of the pool, lots of debris, and a couple of Budweiser cans floating around in the pool. I decided not to go swim, but hopefully I'll get the pool cleaned out tomorrow, then lots of pool time this week. The weather is crazy down here. Monday and Tuesday were record highs of 106-108. Today it's suppose to be in the low 80's for a high, then on Friday it's suppose to be in the low 70's for the high, then back to the high 90's for the weekend. What? Should be an interesting few days of weather.

Well not much going on as you can see. I'm sorry for the boring read, but I'm just not the most animated or thoughtful at 3:45 in the morning. I'll write more when I get the pictures up of Squaw Peak. Oh a few more things that I remembered. Abby experienced her first round at In and Out Burger; (For those who aren't familiar with In and Out Burger.... well lets just say you have to experience it for yourself. Amazing burgers!) We are both Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certified; We were given 10 packages of 15 1.5L bottles of water for free; Life is good. Continued thanks to all those who keep in touch with us and for all those who constantly think and pray for us. We love being out here, but definitely miss all of you. Please please please keep in touch through any form of communication you like. Phone call, written letter, electronic mail, text messaging, and/or pony express are all acceptable forms of communication! We love you all. Time to check on my patients. Get to work people.......

Much Love,
In His peace,
Michael and Abby Lee

Finally back to work...

2008-05-12T17:41:00.001-07:00

Hello to everyone. It is around 5:40 pm pacific standard time. Abby and I are waiting till closer to sundown to go for a quick 2 mile run. Well, lets be honest... the word "quick" might be exaggerating some. The high for today was 97 degrees! Tomorrow it's suppose to be in the 80's, then suppose to break 100 by the end of the week. Now for you easterners, you are thinking, dang that is hot! You are right, it is Hot. However, there is actually a 20 degree difference between being in the sun and being in the shade. There is no humidity out here, so you don't walk out the door and begin to sweat immediately! It is really weird I tell ya!

This weekend was really relaxing. John (the owner of the house) worked diligently to get this house ready for us to live in. While he worked, we swam in the pool. Kind of messed up I guess, but we have been on vacation since April 1st, so working just hasn't made it back into our vocabulary! That all changed today, as I will elaborate on later. John introduced us to desert mountain hiking this weekend. He took Abby and I up to Squaw peak (photo enclosed). Abby tried the ascent, but unfortunately she has this nasty cough which restricted her from completing the hike. John and I continued to climb the mountain. Let's just say it is not fat kid friendly. I was getting passed by ladies, children and really old men with sticks! I'm okay with that, because according to the Jones' family, I rock a 46 waist... What can I say, they are all (except for Craig) my idols! The mountain was amazing. It is 1.2 miles straight up! The locals say climbing this 1.2 miles is equivalent to running 4-5 miles. Not sure if I quite believe that, but for my psyche's sake, it's like running 4-5 miles. The funny thing about that is, that at times I feel like I'm going to throw-up, my heart is beating a mile a minute, but yet my clothes are dry! You really don't sweat all that much because it is so hot, the water just evaporates immediately! Once you step foot in the shade or sit in your car, the flood gates open! The first time I climbed the mountain, john told me to carry a water bottle. I refused, quickly regretting my decision. I went up to Squaw peak the next morning to climb by myself and decided it was best to carry water as I wasn't to fond of the cotton mouth or the feeling of "seeing the light at the end of the tunnel." Now, you know I'm being fairly dramatic, especially about having a 46 waist (it is actually a 38) but Arizona is a completely different way of living (in terms of outdoor activity). (after climbing twice, Abby and I went to REI to purchase camelbacks because the need for water is great). The owner of this house is a really cool guy. Besides hiking with me, he cooked Abby and I dinner one night. Another night we ordered pizza, and really just enjoyed our last few days of being "on vacation." In the middle of all of the eating and swimming, Abby decided to unpack. No wait, she still hasn't unpacked. -Yes I have.- As you can see we are quickly adjusting to our new surroundings and really enjoying all that it has to offer. John left yesterday afternoon, so now it is Abby and I. To be honest, we are not sure how that feels. Ever since our honeymoon, we have either lived with someone/somebody, or we've been on the road. Now we hope to settle into married life and get back to the grind of working.

Today we had our first day of orientation. For all those who have never been to a hospital orientation I'll give you a brief synopsis... 8am "Hello everyone, I'm so and so from Phoenix Children's hospital, today we are going to talk about blah blah blah. Blah Blah Blah, HIPAA, blah blah blah blah. HIPAA blah blah blah. Blah Blah HIPAA blah. Blah Blah Blah Blah HIPAA blah HIPAA blah HIPAA blah blah blah. I hope you enjoyed your time today learning about phoenix children's hospital. See you tomorrow for more of the same." 4:30pm. If you are unfamiliar with HIPAA keep it that way (and I apologize for the attempt at hospital humor). You will save minutes of your life. Let's just say it was a very long boring day. We have orientation 8-5 for the rest of the week, then this weekend we have that PALS class on Saturday and Sunday, then we will finally make it to the floor. We are both very excited, but nervous because we have to learn a completely new way of operating to adapt to the our hospital surroundings. Hopefully next time I write, I can give you some cool stories of Abby freaking out when she sees a scorpion, me falling down the mountain side, or some cool stories about the amazing children we get to interact with.

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers as we begin our amazing journey. We have received countless emails from many of you and let's just say we both look forward to getting home to check our email. We both truly miss everyone and we hope to continue hearing from you often. I have posted a few pictures of the house and Abby with her first cactus. Abby told me that she has never seen a cactus (like these) up close. She is very excited (as you can tell). I hope to carry the camera up to the top of Squaw peak to get some amazing pictures of Phoenix and the surrounding desert. Till our next update......

Much Love to all....
The hinchy's