Ask The Housewife

Always wanted to know something about Las Vegas? Have a question about parenting? Or blogging? Or just want to be a smart ass and have nowhere to let it out? I know I feel like that ALL the time!

Welcome to Ask the Housewife! A blog where I will answer any question you throw at me.

Come on, make it a hard one. I will guarantee an answer to your question...I just dont guarantee what the answer will be. Hee hee

Then and Now

Welcome to the second edition of Then and Now! If you missed the first one, go here to catch up and then come back. This week's topic...bras!

Here's an advertisement from the 50s: THEN


Nice, eh? Okay, first of all, this bra reminds me of how my boob looked at the Chef's Dinner...pointy! And what's with the creepy animal heads she's wearing? Is that a masquerade party, 50s style? Eww. That wouldn't have been be sexy and fun for me, it would have just given me nightmares...

Who wants to sleep with a hippo with pointy tits?

NOW

This is called the "plunge bra". Have you seen one before? A couple of my Vegas girlfriends have this bra, so I've seen it in action. I love my girls because, any time they get a new and improved bra, they are happy to share the news and show me how well it fits. We've had meaningful conversations about this bra! It looks amazing with a low-cut dress. I need to get one for myself.

The point of this bra blog? Bras have changed a lot in the last 50 years. Thank god.

I've been tagged!

Looking at this picture just makes me laugh out loud. This is the 6th picture in my 6th album. This was in early 2006, right after Ava was born. You can see a little Jack sitting in the toy container. I was taking the picture to prove what a mess kids can make when left alone. HA! If I only knew this kind of mess was just child's play....this is nothing compared to now!

I'm tagging whomever wants to show the 6th picture in their 6th album! Have fun!

Gobble Gobble

The Housewife is wishing you and your family a safe, warm holiday week! Here's some old pictures of our holidays gone by:

Thanksgiving 2006 with my husband and a little Ava. Isn't she precious?

Also Thanksgiving 2006- this is my mom- with her fire hat and martini in tow, playing with Jack. The holidays are never boring in my house!

March of Dimes - Nurse of the Year - Update!

I want to first send out a HUGE thank you to Gary Fox from the March of Dimes for inviting me to this incredible event! I had such a great time, and it was amazing seeing so many nurses from all over Las Vegas in one big room! Everyone was dressed to to impress, and I was happy to drink champagne and mingle among the beautiful people.

Nurse of the Year is held to appreciate the best and the brightest, and has been produced by the March of Dimes for the last few years. It started many years ago with a single award, and each year it continues to get bigger and better. I'm told Las Vegas has the biggest party of them all! This year, hosted at the Orleans, there were 24 awards given out. A nurse may be nominated by anyone- a fellow nurse, a doctor, a patient...and then the winners are chosen by other nurses. I think the awards mean that much more to the winners because they're voted on by their peers. I talked to a few nurses that said that there isn't a harder judge than a fellow nurse!

The night started off with a silent auction, and after the Chef's event, I feel like a silent auction pro! Most of the items up for sale were created and donated by the nurses involved. To me, that just made each item extra special. There were some really incredible things to bid on, from a hand-made quilt with pictures of little nurses on it, to gift baskets of goodies, to jewelry, to paintings and photography. My hubby and I bid on a few things, but my husband only had eyes for an large, artsy photograph of a Las Vegas building. We eventually won the picture (yay!) and it's now hanging in our kitchen.

Matt guarding the picture he bid on with his life. He wasn't going to let that one go!


The most appropriate item; A diaper bag.

Once the auction ended, we were invited into the main dining room. Again, the color of the night was purple! The tables were beautifully set, and salads awaited us when we sat down. There were people everywhere- I'm told there were 800 guests celebrating the evening! Each table had a sign telling which hospital was represented. It was incredible to see how many different practices were involved with the event. You can read a list on paper, but seeing the crowd in person makes it much more real.

Some of the nominees enjoying the night.

One of the coolest parts for me? I got to sit at the March of Dimes table! So, even though I'm just a blogger, and I sat among a crowd of amazing nurses, I felt like I belonged. It was a good feeling. For the past five years, I've been the arm candy for my husband's functions. This time, it was my turn to lead the way. I was wondering if the day would ever happen! Hallelujah.

Dinner was chicken stuffed with roasted red peppers (yum!), with baby squash and asparagus. It was complimented with a cornmeal side that was soooo good. I finished my whole plate (surprise surprise). Pumpkin pie with fresh berries was for dessert. They also served some of the best after-dinner coffee I've ever had. I must have crap coffee at my house because this coffee was SO much better than what I'm used to.

Each nominee received a beautiful carnation and a ribbon when they arrived. Each category had a runner up and a winner. To see the list of winners, click here. I was so touched watching the winners walk up to claim their plaque and give their speech. Most of them were in tears. You could almost drink their pride in. And listening to their passion for what they do, and hearing their voices crack with emotion was so amazing. I feel really lucky that this amazing group works in my city!

To sum the night up, March of Dimes throws one hell of a party. And they are such a generous, thoughtful organization. If you would like to volunteer for March of Dimes (there's lots of work to be done!), or want to donate to helping premature babies, click here to go to their website.

To read about my other adventures with March of Dimes, click here.

What did you just say?

Jack has started saying "seriously, mom" to me on a pretty regular basis. This sounds so bizarre (but kind of funny) coming from a 5 year old boy, but I think he got "seriously" from me. Here's what I'm thinking to myself when he says this-

Do I seriously say that? Oh shit....I just said it, didn't I? Oh shit, I said shit. I really gotta work on that swearing thing, too. I don't want my kid to grow up being an effing potty mouth....because I'm not a fucking potty mouth. Oh shit...I did it again. Did I seriously just say shit again?

My girlfriend and I were talking the other day, and the subject of our kids came up. She said "don't you hate it when your kid starts to say things that you know came from you?"

Shit, yes! I answered.

These funny things come out of Jack's mouth, and I seriously don't realize how silly they actually sound until he says them. Seriously. I'm raising a boy with a valley-girl vocab.

Sweet. Like, totally gag me with a spoon.

Rosemary's Restaurant review is up!

Remember I said I was reviewing my favorite restaurant for my column at Living-Las-Vegas.com? Well, I'm pleased to say the article is up!

Click here to read the article!

Leave a comment and let me know what you think. If you ever come to visit Las Vegas, call me and we'll go eat at Rosemary's!

March of Dimes - Nurse of the Year

The March of Dimes' Nurse of the Year awards were a hit! A great time was had by all.

Stay tuned for all the details!

Nurse of the Year - The winners and runners-up!

Here are the 2008 Nevada Nurse of the Year Winners and Runners-up! To read the blog that belongs with this, click here.

Winners

Category Winner Facility

Advanced Practice - Cristy Thomas - University of Nevada School of Medicine

Case Management - Victoria Licklider - Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center

Charge Nurse - General Medical & Surgical - Sharon Oliver Mountain View Hospital

Charge Nurse - Specialty - Christina Baker Sunrise Hospital

Critical Care - Debra Marlow - Southern Hills Hospital

Education - Alma Angeles - UMC

Emergency - Robert Reynoso - Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center

General Medical & Surgical - Cecilia Fleming - Sunrise Hospital

Hospice/Home Health & Palliative - Allison Zieglmeier - Nathan Adelson Hospice

Infection Control & Occupational Health - Harsha Dave - St. Rose Dominican Hospitals – Siena Campus

Managed Care - Sandy Hessler - Southwest Medical Associates

Nursing Administration - Alice Chernich - Sunrise Children’s Hospital

Nursing Management - Mary Lou Haslach - LaGrutta Valley Hospital Medical Center

Oncology Nursing - Debbie McKinney - UMC

Pediatric Critical Care - Jennifer Quiner - Sunrise Children’s Hospital

Pediatric Nursing - Chris Mariano - Sunrise Children’s Hospital

Peri Operative Nursing - Una Jensen - Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center

Public Health, Ambulatory Care - Kay Godby - Southern Nevada Health District

Behavioral Health Quality & Risk Management - Sarah Lopez - North Vista Hospital

Rehabilitation/Long Term Management - Marie Guevarra - UMC

Women’s Health - Paula Hutchison - UMC

Nurses Choice – Administration - Sam Kaufman - Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center

Nurses Choice – Support Staff - Phyllis Stead Spring - Valley Hospital Medical Center

Distinguished Nurse - Minta Albietz - Sunrise Hospital Medical Center


Runners-up

Category Runner-up Facility

Advanced Practice - Jennifer Buitrago - Children's Center for Cancer & Blood Diseases

Case Management - Grace Jamison Gregory - UMC

Charge Nurse - General Medical & Surgical - Karen Kerkstra - Sunrise Hospital

Charge Nurse - Specialty - Linda Stacy - Sunrise Children's Hospital

Critical Care - Nancy Legaspina - Summerlin Hospital Medical Center

Education - Judi Carrion - Sunrise Hospital

Emergency - Joy Stoops - St. Rose Dominican Hospitals - Siena Campus

General Medical & Surgical - Haidee Rivera - Kramer Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center

Hospice/Home Health & Palliative - Lisa O'Driscoll - Nathan Adelson Hospice

Infection Control & Occupational Health - Giovanna Santovito - Carducci UMC

Managed Care - Serena Summerson - United Health Group

Nursing Administration - Ernie Stegall - Valley Hospital Medical Center

Nursing Management - Lynn Ray - Summerlin Hospital Medical Center

Oncology Nursing - Jane Edelman - Sunrise Hospital

Pediatric Critical Care - Cheryl Hayes - Sunrise Children's Hospital

Pediatric Nursing - Neely Sylvia - Sunrise Children's Hospital

Peri Operative Nursing - Vela Maria Orozco - Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center

Public Health, Ambulatory Care - Susan Michael - Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center

Behavioral Health Quality & Risk Management - Renee Christensen - Sunrise Hospital

Rehabilitation/Long Term Management - Anita Dioquino - Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center

Women’s Health - Sheila Hiramoto - Sunrise Children's Hospital

CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners!

The Housewife's Colorado Vacation- Part 3

As I mentioned before, I hadn't been back to Columbine since a few weeks after the massacre.

Clement Park is sprawled over a large area, including a lake, multiple playgrounds, and lots of open trails for walking or biking. Columbine High School (home of the Rebels) is right next to the park, and the school's "Rebel Hill" stands as the marker for the memorial. Isn't it a beautiful park?

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Here's what Rebel Hill looks like from afar. It's hard to miss! The trees to the left of the hill is where the memorial stands.



When you get to the actual memorial, there is an infinity fountain and a crossed ribbon etched into the cobble stone sidewalk. The memorial itself is a circle that you can walk into, and it has the names of each victim on it. Under each name is a personal note from their family about the victim. There is a larger wall surrounding the names with quotes from the students who experienced the day with the victims.


Rebel Hill stands over the memorial, and it's a short hike to the top. It's taller than it looks!

And at the top, you get an amazing view of the memorial....

...a view of Columbine High School.....

...and of the rest of Clement Park and its lake.

Although the Columbine massacre happened almost ten years ago, I don't think anyone who lived there, and saw what the entire city went through, will forget that day anytime soon.

It was comforting to me to see how beautiful the park and scenery are. Even though it's a dark day, it's a part of Denver's history, and I wanted to share it with all of you.

If you want to visit the memorial for yourself, you can get directions to Clement Park HERE.