"All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children's peace."

Oh baby!

I am so excited for this semester...we're doing Women's Health, meaning I get to play (oops I mean work) with the babies!
I'll do rotations in various areas of the hospital:
Mother/Baby- where the mothers and babies stay for 2-3 days after delivery
Labor & Delivery
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)- taking care of premature/high risk babies
Social Work- perinatal bereavement (for mother's that lose their babies), adoption services, and foster care

I would love to work in either Labor and Delivery or NICU. For me, I enjoy babies because they are so fragile. The nurses and doctors that work with the babies have to be really good at what they do..even the equipment is "baby size" so it requires a lot of manual dexterity and skill. Also, babies are so innocent. I love looking at them and wondering what they will be when they grow up.
Also, the whole birthing process is such a miracle...it will be amazing to participate in a human being's first moments of life. I will say a prayer for each baby born. =)

"I get by with a little help from my friends..."

I am truly blessed to be surrounded by amazing people in my life. Whether it's friends from swimming, college, church, or nursing school...there are people that motivate me everyday.

One person, in particular, comes to mind toda. My friend Sara from school. She remains so kind and thoughtful, despite all of the stress from class, clinicals, and attempting to have a life with friends and church. She will call me to check in on me, actually wanting to know how life is....not just the typical, "how are ya?" and then people turn around before you answer. She even remembered how much I love elephants...and bought me this excellent journal from The Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company.

















That's not the exact journal she gave me..but you get the picture. Believe it or not, the entire book (cover and all) is made of elephant poo poo. Obviously, washed, boiled and recycled...mixed with a little bit of pineapple, too! The Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company makes pretty much everything a normal stationary company makes: journals, notebooks, stationary, even picture frames and photo albums! The picture frames are very cute...Tomas gave me one for graduation.











The product is not only good for the environment, but also helps protect the elephants!

I recommend you check out the website, but if you're still not convinced...here's their purpose:

Products With a Purpose

Our purpose is to successfully sell our goods in order to complete a truly creative sustainable cycle:

where raw materials with little other use are utilized to make a useful and functional product all the while providing jobs and opportunity along the way and ultimately selling our goods at a profit from which a portion is directed to a worthwhile cause: elephant welfare and conservation.




I am so thankful that I have people, like Sara, in my life...she brings a smile to my face every day...and so do all of you.

"Way over yonder, that's where I'm bound..."

I love routines. It's probably my favorite thing to have a weekly ritual. Like our Monday night Burrito Nights.
My parents like routines, too. And boy, do I love my parents. So they pick up the New York Times every Sunday and go to Barnes and Noble to read the paper. Sunday, I was lucky enough to join them in their routine activity. I was particularly interested in the Travel section, because as most of you know, I love traveling.

I miss traveling. (This year will be the first time in 6 years that I have not left the country to do service or travel).

The Travel section had a major article:

The 44 Places to Go in 2009.

You'll never believe what was #2.

Washington, DC. And not for the election.
Now…as a resident of the area…I would not make that number 2. Really, they ranked D.C. above Vienna? And Latin America? Why? Because of the food. Yes, DC has an eclectic array of restaurants. Anything your heart desires, DC has got it. Ethiopian- got it. Vietnamese- yup. We even have North Carolina BBQ if you want to satisfy your craving for some good ole’ Southern Comfort. But that would NOT rank as number 2.

However, a few other places DID catch my eye:

1) #12: Phuket, Thailand.
Yes, the name definitely made me giggle...but I think the picture says it all...really.

















2) #20 CUBA
Duh.
Hopefully, Obama will loosen ties so I can actually go in the near future.

3) #7 Hawaii
I know, it sounds so cliche. But I really wanna go for the surf.


















4) #34 South Africa


















5) This isn't on the list...but New Zealand.
I just had a good friend come back from NZ; he spent several months there. I've already heard about how pretty it is, but there are tons of activities to do as well: rock climbing, bungee jumping, caving, surfing, snowboarding, rafting...everything sounds amazing..


Guess I should start saving...I have a lot of traveling to do once I'm out of school.

Apple humor

My family is Apple-addicted. Everything we have is Apple. In fact, I don't even know what it's like to have a computer other than Apple. I still remember our huge old computer, with the little icon that had a smiley face when you turned it on.

So you can imagine my excitement when I found this on The Onion...


Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

It's hilarious.

"Each song getting better all the time..."

It’s a brand new year and a brand new semester.
Like most people, I have high expectations of this year…and I enter this year with new resolutions. After all, it is 2009…and this will prove to be a big year for me. This year, I will graduate from nursing school. I will enter into my profession. Heck…I’ll be considered a “health care professional.” This path and career that I have chosen will finally become a reality.

And…I will turn 23 years old, yikes. Now, I know 23 is still young. But I’m on my way to an adult. Let me correct myself: a professional adult (?). With that, I guess I need to make more adult-like resolutions.

1) Read the newspaper everyday.







Every morning, with my starter cup of coffee, I will read the paper. Electronically, that is. I've gotten in the habit of skimming a few articles a few times a week...but I really need to stay more informed.

2) Improve my health
And no, not just for appearance...after learning all about coronary artery disease, hypertension, and atherosclerosis, it is time that I really pay attention to my diet. Growing up as a swimmer, I got accostumed to eating whatever I want whenever I want. My metabolism is finally catching up with me...which means so are my arteries, probably.
At the risk of sounding cliche, I'd like to lose 10 pounds. I'd like to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my diet.
To make sure that I'm staying in shape, I've decided to run a half marathon yearly. Last year, I did the Raleigh Rocks 1/2 Marathon with Kylie.


















This year, I'm doing the Shamrock 1/2 Marathon in Virginia Beach with Ally, Kim, Mindy, Abby, and Kylie.

3) Finding my passion for hobbies
During undergrad, I was so busy with school, volunteering at Rex Hospital, the Caldwell Program, Nursing Club and Dance Marathon....along with trying to have a social life. I've recently discovered that up in DC, if I'm not studying/working out...I get bored rather easily. I'm working on hobbies. And I've already learned the hard way just how expensive hobbies can be.

Photography.
I love it. I'm not very good at it yet. But I did get a lovely camera for Christmas: The Canon Rebel XSi.

Snowboarding.
Blame it on my brother. David and I went on a trip to Snowshoe Mountain over Christmas break. Despite a severely bruised and damaged body, I loved it. I loved it so much that I bought myself a new snowboard and I am already planning another trip in February.













Reading for FUN.
Believe it or not...I have had the urge to just read during my free time. I've recently picked up A Thousand Splendid Suns. I loved The Kite Runner, but I have yet to see that movie. I'm very excited to finish his other book.

4) NURSING
I am going to commit myself to my studies. I want to graduate with a strong GPA to improve my chances for graduate school. I want to be the best nurse that I can possibly be.

5) Loving every day
LAST but not least...I want to enjoy every minute of every day. Despite the struggles, or the stress...I want to put that all aside and enjoy it all.


"Let's go driftin through the trees
Let's go sailing on the sea
Let's go dancing on the juke-join floor
And leave our troubles all behind, have a party

So easily forgotten, are the most important things
Like the melody and the moonlight in your eyes
And a song that lasts forever
Each song getting better all the time"- Keb' Mo'