Out in Virginia with the travelers at AMC

This is my new hospital, Augusta Medical Center, in Fishersville, Virginia for 13 weeks. I started work on January 5th and will be done April 5. I started with 3 other travelers.

We all met for dinner after about a month to discuss how the assignment is going and what the plan is for after April. Lynn is from SC, Wanda is from KY, and Kim is from FL.

A week later, 3 of us- Lynn, Kim, & myself decided to drive to Charlottesville and check it out. We stopped along the interstate on a scenic overpass to snap a picture. 

Dinner started at the South Street Brewery in Charlottesville. The food was not great, but the beer was good. 

As you can probably see from all the glasses in front of us- Kim tried the sampler of all the beers so we could try them all. Some were a little too strong to drink, but most were good. 

We decided we better check out some of the other bars. This bar was called Miller's and we stopped in for a little while since it was cold outside. The waitress told us to make funny faces. :)

We stopped into the wine bar to use the restroom and decided that a glass of wine might help us warm up before going back into the cold. 

It was a fun night out on the town. It's nice to know that civilization is only 30 miles away if I need it. 

Wine Tasting In NC- November 2008

Amie and I decided that we wanted to check out the vineyards close to where we lived. We brought Thomas along with us to take pictures and drive since he was on medication and couldn't enjoy the wine with us. We went to 5 vineyards, including the Glen Marie vineyard. This man was super sweet and he even named one of the wines after his wife, "Sweet Marie".

We asked if we could take a picture with him and he loved it. He told us he was thinking about selling the vineyard, and maybe we should come back and buy it.  

At the Iron Gate vineyards we got a tour and got to see where they keep there wine. Then we had a 30 minute tasting session with 12 different wines. 

At the end of the day, Thomas ended up driving us home because we tried and bought several different Carolina wines. My mom, sister, and Thomas' mom got to enjoy several bottles of the wine. 

30th Birthday in Vegas- November 2008

I decided that for my 30th birthday I wanted to go to Vegas. I thought that it would be a great place to go to get away and forget that I was getting old. Originally some of my friends were supposed to come along, but there were a lot of circumstances that didn't allow anyone but my sister Leesa, and my cousin Blaine, and 2 of Leesa's friends came. This is our first night in Vegas. We ate at the MGM to start the night. In this picture are Leesa, Blaine, me, Nikki, and Acalia.

Blaine left us to go play poker and we hit the clubs at the Wynn. We started at Blush and drank champagne.

Next we moved on to Tryst at the Wynn. I'm not usually a club person, but Leesa really wanted to club it up for at least one night, so I made the best of it. 

The first night went late into the morning and it took a long time to recover the next day. We needed to take it a little bit easier so we headed to the piano bar, The bar at Times Square, which is one of my favorites in Vegas. I have never had a bad time there. 

We were all pretty tired, and we only made it till about 12:30, so I could say that I was out for my birthday at midnite, and then turned in for the night. I can tell I'm getting old. 

The next morning we got up and did some sightseeing. Blaine has not seen a lot of Vegas so we took him to some of our favorite hotel and casinos. 

Blaine had to leave to go back to Seattle, so Leesa and I had dinner at NYNY in an Italian restaurant. We had a great meal with a bottle of wine, and the waiter brought me dessert with a candle in it. Thank goodness they didn't sing to me again. :)

It was a good start to the night. We had to go up to the room and take a little break after a bottle of wine, but then we were determined to go out for our last night on the town. 

A trip to Vegas wouldn't be complete without the Carnaval court. When I lived in Vegas and people came to visit we always made it here. The bartenders stand on the bar and pour shots into your mouth. I made Leesa do one after I had to take several. 

She got the good flavored ones and I got the crappy ones of course. But since it was still my birthday I said what the heck and let them pour it down. 

After the Carnaval court we headed upstairs to the Toby Keith "I Love this bar" in Harrahs. It's nice to listen to some music and not have to be on your feet- especially after wearing heels around town for 3 days. 

The next morning we left Vegas and stopped at the Hoover Dam so Leesa could see it on the way back to Phoenix. 

It was a beautiful day and it was nice not to have to rush back to Phoenix. We took our time and wandered around the dam. 

It makes for some great pictures. 

Before leaving Phoenix, we had lunch with Erica Quissell. Erica is one of Leesa's friends in Phoenix who was also supposed to go to Vegas with us. 

After actually turning 30, I realized that it wasn't so bad. The 6months leading up to the actual day were horrible, but somehow I survived. Thank goodness I have a great sister that didn't let me down by making me go by myself. :)

Christmas at home 2008

This year for Christmas was a little bit different at the Johnson house. Leesa had to work in Phoenix so she wasn't home and I brought Thomas with me to South Dakota for 2 weeks in the cold. These are just a bunch of random pictures from the 2 weeks at home. Here we are in the limo heading to the airport in Raleigh, NC at 5:00am to catch our flight.

1st stop in SD- Midland for Jenna's welcome home party from Korea. Thomas got to meet a lot of the family his first full night in South Dakota. 

I think that he was a little bit overwhelmed but he did ok. 

Of course we had to take in a "teacher party" while we were home. So, Thomas got to meet some of the teachers that mom and dad hang out with on a regular basis. 

Christmas Eve we had to make several stops to see people. Both of the Joy boys, Josh & Jaremy were both home so we went out to see them for a little while. 

Next stop- the Allison house. I hadn't seen their house yet, so we got the tour from Rob and I loved seeing some of my favorite kids, Avery, Alex, & Andie. Chad had to be in the picture with me too.

Final stop before getting ready to head to Midland for Christmas eve- had to stop to see the Christmas trees at the capitol. They are always so beautiful.

Thomas & I at the capital, posing in front of the trees. 

Christmas day morning at home before we opened presents, after a late night in Midland As you can see, Thomas is not a morning person. It was only 8:30 so it wasn't too early. 

After having a quick breakfast at home, we headed for Watertown for Christmas day at Grandma & Grandpa Johnsons. Here is a picture of me and Judy just sitting around relaxing. 

Grandma Johnson, along with Thomas, me, & Chad on Christmas day. 

Back in Pierre, I had to take Thomas to my favorite restaurant-The Cattleman's Club. I don't usually miss a trip there for a great prime rib when I'm home. Leesa and I usually call each other and rub it in that we're there and the other one isn't. We're so mean to each other about it. 

A trip home to South Dakota wouldn't be a trip if I wasn't traveling all over the state to see everyone and everything. I took Thomas to Mt Rushmore so he could see one of the things that SD is famous for. 

I hadn't been to see "the faces" for a long time. It was a nice day-about 50degrees in December so it was a great day to take pictures. 

We drove through Keystone but unfortunately almost everything was closed for the season. 

We spent the night in Deadwood. We ended up giving the town a little bit of our money but it was fun to show him around. We also got to meet up with my friends Lyndsey & John, as they were home visiting her parents, but I didn't get a picture taken. I don't know how I forgot. Probably because we met them for breakfast and I'm not a morning person. :(

After we got home from the hills, stayed in Pierre one night and then headed to Sioux Falls to see my girlfriends from high school & college. We stayed with my friends Mollie & Paul and their girls, Ellie & Emory. It was my first trip home since Emory was born in October. She is already getting so big!

That night we went out for dinner to catch up with the crew at Champps. I love coming home and seeing my friends. It was so cold out though-brrr. Almost everyone was there. Paul was home with the girls, and Anne was 3 weeks from having Jack so her & John were at home in Dells. In this picture are Mollie Lems, Troy & Desiree Hokeness, Ambuer & Bret Jaacks, Erin & Nathan Fossell, and Thomas & I.

We always take a picture of all of us girls to keep me happy and going until the next time that I'm home. (Mollie, Laurie, Desiree, Erin, & Ambuer)

The Lems girls- Mollie, Ellie, & Emory

Before heading back to Pierre, we had coffee with Anne in Sioux Falls over her break. She is such a cute pregnant lady. :)

You know that you're getting old when you spend New Years Eve with your parents and their friends. Our last night in Pierre was at a teacher NYE party before heading back to Omaha to fly out on new years day. We made it to 12:05 and then headed home to bed so we could make the 5 1/2 hour trip. Mom & dad were nice enough to come and get us and take us back to Omaha. 

It was a great trip home. Thomas went ice fishing with my dad, brother, uncles, and cousins the day after Christmas in Watertown. He didn't really know what to think about it, but it makes a good story to take back to NC where they do not do that. Not sure when I'll be home next, hopefully sometime when it is warmer! 

Winter weather in Virginia

As most of you probably know, I'm not a fan of cold weather. This is in fact the first year since I left South Dakota in 2002 that I've lived where it has snowed. In January one night, I had no idea that it was supposed to snow. This was the scene when I walked out of my apartment to go to work. I was not very excited at all. 

After walking across a large parking lot, this is what I had to look forward to after working all night. It took me 1/2 hour to unbury my car with the ice and snow that had accumulated over night. I'm glad that I finally bought a scraper after I arrived in Virginia. Scraping your windows with a credit card is not very fun...

If the weather would have been a little bit warmer it would have been a beautiful morning. This is a picture of the hospital, Augusta Medical Center, that I work at in Fishersville, Virginia. 

When I got home to my apartment I had to admit that the snow and frost on the trees was gorgeous so I took the time to snap a couple of pictures of the snow. People at my apartment complex probably thought I was crazy out snapping pictures at 8:00am, but I knew it would be melted before I woke up that afternoon. 

This is where I live in in Stuarts Draft, Virginia. I have a 2 bedroom townhouse in the Brittany Knoll apartment complex. I have an end unit so it's not too loud, which is a major upgrade from the first apartment they put me in here.