Our humble home

I sorta blew it. We had our one-year anniversary with our condo on October 15th and I forgot to celebrate via blog. I thought about post-dating this. Or back-dating, or however you say it. But then I thought, well that's not very ethical. So I am being honest. I forgot. Oh well.

Our home is one of our big blessings. I am so thankful for our little condo. Two parking spaces and laundry. Those were the requirements. And everything else has been an added bonus.

Here are a few memories from the beginning.

We got the keys!
J installing our new doorknob. Safety first :)
My little magic machines.
Stripping the wood in the bathroom... our first remodel project.
My red and yellow room after we put stuff in it, minus wall decorations. I think it is happy. Our first Christmas in our new home. We got to have an 8 foot tree. We probably won't do that again. But it was fun to try :)

We are so blessed to have our own place. Thank you Lord for working out all the cracks last year. Thank you for our home.

Just what I needed

Today at school, I clicked on my Bible gateway link on my internet browser to see the verse of the day. This is what came up.

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a
willing spirit to sustain me.”
Psalm 51:12

This is my prayer.
Thank you Lord for meeting me in this moment.

A bigger cause

Today I had the opportunity to walk in the breast cancer walk sponsored by the American Cancer Society. My RD from college (also my boss when I was an RA) had breast cancer before I knew her that was in remission. Last December, it returned and had metastasized to her bones, liver, and lungs. She has been fighting it for the past ten months with chemotherapy and radiation, and has had the best attitude.

When I think of her and her struggle, I am reminded how fortunate I am. And how I have a responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves. Which is the first reason I ever wanted to be a nurse. Knowing what I know now about cancer and the body, and how it can be attacked by disease, I have such a better understanding of what people go through when they fight disease.

So, this year, a couple friends from my class and I walked in the walk for Breast Cancer. There were thousands of people all walking together for a common cause. I love being a part of something bigger than me.

This is me with Nancy, Mahea, her fiance Jade, and their dog Chloe. She was such a trooper!
And we're off! Headed through Balboa ParkYou have to give us some credit. This was taken while walking with Chloe between all of our legs.This was my first time walking on the freeway. We walked for two exits down the 163 south. People were honking on the north side - so cool!We made it!My fellow nursing stars. We raised $545 between the two of us. Thank you to those who supported us and the cause.

I really recommend picking a cause and doing something for it. There are walks for pretty much anything you can think of - suicide prevention, all cancers, MS, animal adoptions... I was humbled today as I realized that although I am small, every person can make a difference. Be a part of something big.

Simple thoughts on this lazy Saturday

Some would say my life is boring. I go to school, and I come home. John goes to work, and comes home. We eat. We hang out. We take Emma for a walk. And we go to bed. And I mean, I get tired early, like, by 9pm. I usually can hold out until 11 (J's such a late nighter ;). And I feel like I'm living. Some people are just getting started at 11pm.

But I love our simple life. I love our modest home and our psychotic puppy and my sweet, mellow husband. I don't mind going to school (I mean, J and I would definitely prefer just not to work or go to school at all, but this works). I don't mind that my excitement for the day may be getting Starbucks with J, taking Emma for a walk, and giving her a bath. That's how today started. J and I leashed our little Bigs up and took her to the park. But first, J ran into the little coffee shop down the street and got us a couple frappuccinos. (ps...they raised their prices. ahhhh). And Emma waited for him patiently.
Then we went to the park. And Emma actually played with the other dogs. We were so proud. She's usually more interested in the ball she found within the first 10 seconds of us being there.
It didn't last long though. She took her ball and staked out a tree and she was happy.
When we got home, we filled the bath, plopped her in, and scrubbed her up. She's definitely getting better at that. She stands still in the tub. And she is so happy when she's clean.
We went to dinner. Olive Garden salad and appetizer. Some might say Olive Garden is boring. Not me. I am always content with Olive Garden. I am thankful we are able to do things like go out to dinner. Yah yah, it's not the "healthiest" thing in the world. It's so good though.
And then we went to Guitar Center. This is common for us, to go walk around a store after Olive Garden. I have become quite the Grossmont Center We usually go to Target and walk around and come up with something we need, like shaving cream or highlighters. Today we went to Guitar Center and J played the pianos. And found his favorite set-up. One day we will have a keyboard by our iMac between our two big yellow speakers, and J will record some beautiful music. Because truly, he is one of the most gifted people. He taught himself how to play piano. That is amazing to me. For now, we have the guitars and that is great. But one day we will have a piano again. For now, we will visit Guitar Center. :)
I really love my family and my home and my life. I am so blessed. We end most evenings with House episodes. And Emma on my or J's lap. And then we get ready for bed. Some say it is boring. I say, it is the best.

It's the little things

It's John bringing home pizza, breadsticks, and diet coke for dinner.
It's ice cream for dessert.
(yes, I admit ... not-so-good-for-me food makes two very-happy-Js. and it's Tuesday.)
It's Emma waiting for us for bed.
It's the simple things.

"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart." Proverbs 15:30a

Rainy days

Most people would hate to discover halfway through the drive from El Cajon to Oceanside that it is raining.
Not me.

I love the rain. I love opening my "big jacket" closet to grab my cozy jacket that I only get to wear when it rains. I love watching the drops start slow and get closer together and bigger in size. I love to turn on my windshield wipers, and then turn them up... and up. I love to get wet and then say, "wow it's raining out there."

So when it got progressively grey-er as I drove north, I smiled.
And when the sky broke open in Carlsbad, I cheered.
Most people would pull into work (or school or whatever you wanna call clinical) and run inside, trying not to get wet, and then announce with a frown, "it's raining." (someone did that today).
Not me.

I went to the beach, got out of my car, ran down to the water, got all wet - even wet jeans - and took a picture in the rain.
Because how beautiful is it when the ocean turns grey to match the sky. Pretty beautiful.
My God makes beauty from ashes. He is stronger than the storm.

"Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding ... praise the LORD."
Psalm 148: 7-8, 14b

On the up-side

Another 15 hours of med-surg studying this weekend...
another med-surg quiz down the drain.

J and I have spent some time discussing the option of quitting our jobs/school and moving somewhere far away, like St. Lucia or Italy, where the grass is green, the food is amazing, and the people have great accents.

Maybe we can go see Aristoula in Greece for awhile. That sounds fun.

Unfortunately, that sort of requires a bit of money. Hence, the jobs (well, my almost-job).

On the up-side, it's cloudy today.
Have I mentioned I love the clouds?

A special lady

Today is John's grandma's birthday. We celebrated with lunch, reeses ice cream cake (yum!), presents, pictures, and of course Emma. I am so blessed to be a part of this family and get to celebrate this special woman with everyone. Thank you, Grandmama, for your sweet spirit and great sense of humor.
Happy 92nd birthday!

Blessings in a weekend

While the majority of the weekend was filled with med-surg...
...it wasn't all bad. I was even a little bit productive! (we'll see how that plays out on the quiz and presentation tomorrow...)

Brunch with Ali at the cutest little place overlooking the ocean in Del Mar
Time with Luigi
and Emma
Car rides with my family
My amazing husband bought me the cutest little laptop mouse ever - I didn't realize what I was missing! Everyone must have one. Thank you honey!
I have a wonderful home, an amazing husband, animals who love me, family who cares, the ability to go to school, the future of a great job, a husband with a current job that provides for us, food, the ability to make Target runs, House episodes, a car that runs (and holds a lot of stuff), a Heavenly Father who died for me... I am pretty blessed.

Blessings in two evenings

So far my favorite things about having clinicals switched to Thursday and Friday mornings instead of nights include:

being home when J gets home
dinner with J
bedtime at a decent hour
love sesh with Luigi
being done Friday at 1400 instead of Friday at 2100
not having to use military time when charting
evening walks with Emma
running back inside with Emma to get the camera
watching the sunset