Sandy C.'s Profile

In a form of review, I want to take you back to a  few snap shots of my life. Sooo, lets rewind and take a looksie back...at what happened 9-months-6-weeks-3-days ago...

We were literally waiting to start the IVF cycle when I found out I was pregnant. Having gone through a tubal ligation reversal, we had been told to see a doctor right away, to rule out any possibility of a tubal pregnancy. This of course means that my normally impatient self was even MORE impatient to get in and see a doctor...

3.5 weeks and Scott and I were able to get in for an appointment with Dr. Cho, even though they don't normally see a patient so early in a pregnancy.

Dr. Cho is shocked that I even know that I'm pregnant so early on. He even asked me why I took a pregnancy test so soon and I just sort of shrugged and laughed, which was much better than having to admit that I buy them in bulk and take them like they had become my new hobby.

Since 3.5 weeks was too soon to see anything on an ultrasound, the doctor sent me for blood work. My HCG levels came back and yup... pregnant! Feb 22nd they were 323 and on the 25th they jumped to 1453! (They're supposed to double every couple of days.)

5 weeks in I developed a HUGE cold. Obviously I didn't take anything for it, just spent the weekend in bed blowing my nose and feeling miserable. 5 and a half weeks in I am feeling better, but decided to stay home from work and get a little bit more rest. I was walking to the kitchen when I realize that something wasn't right. I was bleeding. I called my doctors office and they told me they could get me in later that afternoon. I just knew that I'd lost the baby. I sat down on my sofa and cried....

Later that day in my doctor's office, the doctor dimmed the lights and performed an ultrasound. And we got to see that the baby was located in the right spot and after magnifying the image, the doctor said that he could see what looked like heart activity. He said this made him "Cautiously optimistic" and things were probably fine and the baby was ok.

I spotted for a week and a half. Each day that I spotted I was miserable. Scott was patient with me as I had several emotional ups and downs.

At 7.5 weeks in and we have another doctor's appointment. This time there is no doubt about seeing a heart beat! The baby is the appropriate size and has a heartbeat. The doctor tells us that after seeing a heartbeat, the risk of miscarriage goes down.... However, because of my age- there is still a higher risk for me. But, again, he's optimistic.

FAST FORWARD to present day...

I have a beautiful 6 week old baby boy!!!

I have nothing butgreat things to say about Dr Cho and his office staff. I found everyone to be exceptionally friendly and helpful. Each month at our doctors visit, when we met with Dr. Cho, we felt we had his undivided attention and we never felt rushed.... I've been to dr's offices where I feel like I'm on the clock the second they walk in the door and they have other places to be. You won't find that at Dr. Cho's office, he always made sure to ask if I had any questions and took the time to answer them when I did.

Having a baby is a very personal experience, one of the most important (AND STRESSFUL) events in a couples life... having the right doctor is important. I highly recommend Dr. Cho, I wouldn't even hesitate to see him again for future pregnancies!

After seeing Memo's on Check Please Bay Area, we knew we had to check it out. AND, this place didn't disappoint!

As vegetarians we were very impressed with the vegetarian options available. We had the Chile Relleno's and must say they lived up to the hype from the tv show!

The wait staff were very attentive (but not enough to be annoying) and very friendly.

The only reason why I'm giving it 4 stars, instead of 5, is because we have a salsa fetish and the salsa was nothing special. We LOVE us some salsa and chips, but the salsa they served before the meal fell flat. BUT, that happened to be the only item of the night that we didn't particularly care for. Otherwise, is was awesome!

Last weekend my boyfriend treated me to a "you're turning 40" weekend. To kick it off, we enjoyed a Gears and Grapes day trip.

What an awesome gift!! I had such a great time! Sam and Devin were awesome guides and really knew their way around bikes and wine.

The 10-ish miles bike ride through the Russian River area was truly an enjoyable way to go go wine tasting.  There were enough hills to make it feel like a real bike ride, but not too many to make it feel like a work out and not a wine tour! haha.

It was truly a memorable way to kick off my 40's.

I love the Dragon's Lair! It's a wonderful place to find inexpensive gifts, sterling silver jewelry, have your fortune read, or find unique clothing items.  Though they do not have a huge selection of items, what they do have is reasonably priced. I've been able to find many unique gifts here and didn't break the bank doing it!

Tonight I took home a burrito large enough to feed a family of four! Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it's not an exaggeration to say it can easily it can feed two.  Unless I'm feeling greedy and hide the other half in the back of the refrigerator behind the salad, then it's only feeding one, but on two days....

Regardless of the size, their food is consistently yummy, their service always polite, and the price you can't beat!

This review is not so much about Verizon as a national company, as it is about the local sales reps that you'll find here in the Ukiah store. I've been doing business with the Ukiah store for right around two years and I've had the best experience every time I go into the store.

I've shopped phones, made returns, upgraded, downgraded, and have gone in to pay my bill. Each time I've visited I've been greeted by the friendly team, willing to help.  

With the launch of the very high profile Motorola Droid phone, I was one of the many who had my mind set on owning one. Never having owned a "smartphone",  I had lots of questions. In fact, I showed up with a whole list of questions!  One of the first people to greet me was the store manager Chuck Sitnik. As I was waiting for a salesperson to help me, Chuck was very willing to show off his newly acquired Droid phone. Explaining the features, the ease of use, and how fun it is.

I truly appreciate the help, explanations, and demonstrations.... they are very much a helpful and friendly bunch!!

When it comes to cars, I'm sure I have a neon light flashing behind me that reads: SHE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS THING SHE IS DRIVING, BEYOND INSERTING KEY AND SHIFTING GEARS..... CHA-CHING!!!!

My point is anything auto is NOT my strong point. I rely solely on my auto-knowledgeable friends to steer me in the correct direction! So, armed with the knowledge that I needed to replace only my front tires, but not my back.... I was off to tire shop. (btw, a big thanks to auto-knowledgeable-friend-Dan!)

Les Schwab sales guy probably saw my neon sign, but he promptly ignored it and without hesitation pointed out that I only needed to replace my front two tires. He explained my buying options, and provided me with a printout listing the prices and warranties of each tire option. He was polite and answered my questions without trying to influence my purchase.

This friendly-HONEST-no-hard-sale-attitude is why I happily give them five stars. Buying tires for my car was something that I was dreading.... but they made it painless and easy!

Oco Time rocks. R-o-c-k ..... rocks.

I'd say, "nuff said..." but, perhaps it's not enough said. So, I will elaborate...

I'll admit that when it comes to food, I am easily satiated. Practically anything that does not require my cooking/doing dishes and I'm won over! My boyfriend, however, is not as easily impressed.

For example... here is a usual reply, when asked for his opinion regarding a restaurant :

Me: What do you think??
Him: It's o.k.

Me: Pretty good, eh?
Him: It's all right.

So, when he does have a "wow" moment with a restaurant, you can bet on it as being something wonderful!  Oco Time has produced the  "WOW" moment over and over again, making it one of our favorite places to dine when my boyfriend is in town for a visit.

Some WOW examples????

1. Vegetarian friendly!!!
2. Reasonably priced dining!!
3.Green Tea ice cream from the gods!!!!

And finally, I would suggest that you might want to call ahead for reservations, because my boyfriend and I are not the only ones who recognize the WOW factor of Oco Time!

I liked it... AND be bop a lula I don't mean maybe!!

From the moment the neon sign went up on the outside, it was obvious that a lot of time, money, and thought went in to the creation of Be Bops. The results? A bit nostalgic for some, fun for others, and maybe a bit loud for a few.

Personally, I found the 50's décor and music to be festive and the wait-staff friendly. I enjoyed when, at the top of the hour, the music was turned up and the waitresses enthusiastically ran into the isles and started doing the twist!

The low prices, atmosphere, and THE MILKSHAKES definitely make Be Bops a family friendly restaurant!

As we drove past the pay booth the sign read something about $15 per car containing two people and $20 per car containing three or more people.

No limit.... did you catch that?? I do believe that if you read between the lines, this is an undeclared challenge!! How many people can you fit in your car?? Think: clown car. Think: sardines. Think: if I fit enough people in my car, this is only costing me fifty cents to see a movie!! Friggon hell, that's even better than Redbox!!

The reason that I give this five stars is NOT because of the state of the art equipment, because frankly there is none.... but because this is just plain old fashioned relaxing fun.
Here is my Top Five reasons why you should load up your car with lawn chairs, blankets, boom box, snacks... and take the drive to Lakeport Auto Movies:

1. It's like having a picnic AND a movie!
2. You see shooting stars
3. You get fresh air
4. You can pretty much set up a mini living room in front of your car, minus the remote.
5. They have a FM station you can tune your radio to, for those who are anti-AM

IF you truly want to see a certain movie in all it's movie glory..... go see it at an indoor theater. However, if you're looking for a great night out with friends and family, this is a fun option that you might keep in mind!