Nature Photographs

Beautiful Skies! Photo Credits to Jenny Hixon

Beautiful Skies! Photo Credits to Jenny Hixon

Pictures from my house in Naperville.

Don't my mom and dad do a great job?!

Catching Up (Part 4)

The Transition from Naperville to Peoria in Photographs...

Lot's of time with my two favorite girls before I left :)

Halle #28 kicking butt and taking names on the soccer field!

Bonfire and Sangria with the Family

No bonfire is complete without s'mores!

Apple Pie made at Halle's Request

Road trip food!

Celebratory lunch at Jimmy John's!

I'm official! 

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What I am looking forward to now....

Working at OSF! Orientation is TOMORROW (May 21st). Fun scrubs to wear :)

Celebrating my 21st Birthday! May 22nd :)

Watching lots of The Office with Ross!

My Summer Wish List

Catching Up (Part 3)

Mother's Day in Photographs

My Momma :)

The Family at Kuma's Asian Bistro in downtown Naperville

The Boys :)

The Girls :)

Molten Lava Cake with Ice Cream!

Green Tea Ice Cream

The Main Course!

And a side of Green Beans :)

My momma and I before church. Can you see the resemblance?

I was SO grateful to be home on Mother's Day. I spent the whole day with my mom. We went to church in the morning with Dad and Halle. Then Mom and I road tripped up to Camp Henry Horner to pick Adam up from Snowball. Adam drove us home (only slightly terrifying!) and we spent the rest of the evening together as a family. Dinner at Kuma's was absolutely delicious. We all LOVED our meals. I think it might be a new family favorite :)

Happy Mother's Day to the world's best mom. I love you momma :) You made me who I am today and I am forever grateful for your love and support. You mean the world to me <3

Catching Up (Part 2)

The Last Week(s) of School


The last week (or so) of school was completely and totally hectic. Hence the need to play catch up on my blogging. It has been an absolutely fantastic, horrible, exhilarating, stressful and spiritually strengthening semester. God must've thought I was pretty strong to give me what I was going through (to quote a popular Christian music song). This semester I learned to lean on God to give me strength. I would NOT have gotten through without his love and mercy. I saw and felt his love through the people he has placed in my life....

Scripture that inspires perseverance.

Every week, my Baba (aka Aunt Alicia) sent me an encouraging card in the mail. I think I kind of freaked her out with an early semester mental break down. Opening my mailbox every Monday and seeing a hand written note from her was practically the best part of my week.

My family (Mom, Dad, Adam and Halle) all remained incredibly supportive through my mental break downs, lack of phone calls, neurotic habits, etc. I saw them once a week for the last 8 weeks of the semester. I had clinical 10 minutes away from home, so every Monday night I went home to spend time with them :) They even came out to DeKalb for a soccer game and I got to see them AGAIN! Mom also came and spent a day with me to help move out all of my dorm stuff and we said GOODBYE to the dorms forever!!!

Family visit after Halle's soccer game in DeKalb.

My friends, especially those in the nursing program with me, were my sounding boards for the entire semester. Only they could truly understand the stress and frustration I was going through. We all went through it. We had to stick together and support each other. I wouldn't have survived the semester without them!

Free stuff and a study break at Last Fling!

More free goodies and goofiness!

Ross, on the other hand, struggles to fully comprehend the stress of nursing school, but he seriously deserves an award for putting up with my crazy mood swings, nonsense rambling and hysterical crying fits. He calmly listened to me rant, asked questions when appropriate and never once complained when I ditched him to go study (again). He came up to visit during finals week and I was SO glad he did. I have officially turned him into a coffee drinker. He doesn't want to admit it yet, but he actually finished his coffee before me the other day! The coffee soon wore off, though, and I managed to snap of picture of him while he was napping later in the day...

Snap shots of Ross's visit to DeKalb.

The last few days of the semester were a blur... I got to meet my co-workers new daughter! She is quite adorable :) It was really fun to witness her transition from pregnancy to motherhood. On the walk home from her place, I snapped a few pictures of my favorite place on campus. The weeping willows are just so romantic! I always thought it would be nice to get married under a weeping willow...

And finally, it was time to head home. The girls and I grabbed one last cup of fro yo at Aspen leaf, I packed my car and headed home. It was ridiculous to see the amount of STUFF I have sitting all in my room. Before the summer is over, I plan to have a huge purge and give a bunch of stuff away. I do NOT need all of this! Plus it's a pain in the butt to move all of the time. Speaking of moving, my friends and I are preparing to move into our new apartment in August. We each picked out our rooms and I am already planning how I will decorate my 8ft x 10ft space :) All creative, space saving decorating suggestions are appreciated.

Catching Up (Part 1)

A trip to Chicago!


On April 30th, I went to Chicago for my pre-employment physical at Children's Memorial. I really felt like a big girl driving to the train station, riding the metra and taking public transportation in Chicago ALL BY MYSELF! It wouldn't have been possible with my trusty iPhone! The iPhone has a maps application that provides public transportation directions based upon your current location. How awesome!!!

At the Route 59 train station.

I made it to the Route 59 train station JUST in time to buy my ticket and get on the train. Once in Chicago, I took a bus to the Children's Memorial Occupational Health building. I was about an hour early, so I grabbed a delicious lunch and cup of joe at the Einstein's Bagel across the street. Once again, feeling like a big girl in the city.

Sight seeing and lunch in the city.

After my physical, eye exam, drug test, TDap vaccine, and blood draw... I spontaneously met up with my friend who lives downtown. Hope and I met through Ross. She graduated last May from Bradley University's theatre department. She's currently living in Chicago, auditioning for shows, working as an actress and working as a nanny. She is an great actress with an amazing set of vocal cords. We met up after her call back that was only a couple of miles away from where I was. I walked (yes, WALKED!) the couple of miles over to her and we grabbed a cup of coffee and caught up.

Rainy day travels downtown.

Then, it was back to union station to catch an express ride home to Naperville. Phew! What a whirl wind day. Being downtown made me really want to live there... at least for a couple of years :)

Union Station Chicago, IL

Happy National Nurses Week!

National Nurses Week 2012
Nurses: Advocating, Leading, Caring

National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6, also known as National Nurses Day, through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.

People like to think that we chose nursing because 

med school is "too hard" or that we "weren't smart enough".

People ask nursing students questions like, "Are you going to med school after you graduate?"

Are you NUTS?! 

I did not just work my butt off learning how to create a nursing diagnosis, write nursing care plans, memorizing nursing interventions and practicing therapeutic communication to become a doctor.

Our commitment to this life style often baffles others, but to us, it is the only clear choice.

Nurses are the #1 most trusted profession in the United States. 

Nurses prevent medication errors when doctors write questionable orders.

Nurses educate patients and their families about their new diagnosis.

Nurses use compassion, not medical jargon, when speaking with patients.

 

Our patients know the truth....

Read Original Article: HERE

Funny, Amusing, Inspiring

As I gear up for finals week (eek!) I am needing a bit of all of the above...

I'd like to share a few with you :)



A book that tickles my funny bone! English version HERE

Inspiration gearing up for the farmers market this summer!

Nursing school funnies #1 and #2

Photos and a blog that ooze inspiration and joy.

A funny one for Ross....



Enjoy folks!


I'll be back after finals week is over and I'm officially a senior in college (yowza!)