Airplane Rides

Spring Break is here and I am in Florida!  It amazes me that just being in warm, sunny weather improves my outlook on life so much.

I really enjoy traveling/flying.  When I am flying, I do not like sitting on the aisle, but for both of my Saturday flights, I was blessed with aisle seats.  On the flight from Escanaba to Minneapolis, I sat in 7C (there were 10 rows total on the plane) next to Michelle, a nice woman who is an occupational therapist in Ontonagon.  She was telling me about her incredible journeys as a traveling OT.  I shared with her my dream to one day be a traveling nurse, and she filled me in on some of the secrets of being a traveling professional.

1. You will work harder than the "regulars" because you are an outsider and they probably won't like you very much
2. Know the weather patterns of where you are traveling (stay out of the south/east during hurricane season, Oklahoma during tornado season, etc)
3. Traveling with a friend is the best thing you can do
4. Take full advantage of ALL days off to explore the state/country

Michelle was a good seat companion.

On the flight from Minneapolis to Ft. Lauderdale, we had a 3 seats per side plane, which is a nice change from the propeller planes in the UP.  My seat companion was not very chatty, but she seemed nice.  The middle seat in our row was empty (yay for extra room).  It was a long 3 hour and 20 minute flight, but when I arrived in Florida, I had a very warm welcome (literally).

Today, we went to the beach and it was so enjoyable to be able to just sit without having to think of projects, homework, and real life for a few hours.

I know that in 4 days, I will not be ready to leave his glorious weather, but I will be ready to get back to school and power through the next 7 weeks until graduation.

Real life starts soon.

Overflowing

God has been so incredibly good to me lately and I have been filled with so many emotions.  He has provided me with my dream job for after graduation.  He has provided me with a house to live in back home that is close to the hospital, fully furnished, and an incredibly reasonable price.  He has provided me with a deep appreciation for this place, because for the past 3 years I have been so bitter about being here, but now I can see that this was His plan all along and I am here because I am supposed to be. 

Today is an incredibly gorgeous day in the UP in the middle of February (which rarely happens).  The sun is shining, the snow is melting and the air is so sweet with the scent of spring.  This weather plasters an ear to ear smile on my face and fills my heart with pure happiness.  I have been reminded so many times lately that God creates these little moments for me and I am learning to thank Him for the small things like gorgeous days and good coffee. 

Someone posted this video on Facebook and I decided to take a listen.  What a beautiful song and so encouraging when I need some encouragement.

I know that God is for me, and the He will not forsake me in my weaknesses (which are much more often then I like to admit).

When I work out, I listen to worship music.  This morning Barlow Girl's "Average Girl" popped up on my iPod and it really touched my heart because I have been struggling with waiting for my prince (and often wondering what's taking him so long to get here) for awhile and even more so now that "everyone" seems to be in a relationship, getting married, or having babies.  I just need to remember that God is writing my love story and when I get tired of waiting, I need to rest in His arms.

22 Things To Do While I'm 22

With a little encouragement from a friend, I have decided to make a list of 22 Things to do while I am 22 years old. 

1. Graduate from college
2. Move in to my own place
3. Pass the NCLEX
4. Start my new job as a PICU nurse
5. Stay in touch with college friends
6. Play soccer again
7. Get better at taking pictures
8. Run a 5K
9. Travel to a state I have never been to
10. Buy a beautiful recipe box and fill it with recipes
11. Read my Bible more
12. Reach my goal weight of 135 pounds
13. Ride my bike to work every day for a month.
14. Find an organization to volunteer at regularly
15. Make homemade baklava
16. Start a collection of something meaningful
17. Make a t-shirt quilt to commemorate my college years
18. Give up buying clothing for Lent
19. Visit 5 restaurants in Sioux Falls that I have never been to
20. Stand up for something I believe in
21. Save enough money to make a substantial down payment on a new car
22. Pay off at least 1/4 of my student loans

Here is my list, my endeavors begin today.  It will be a year of great accomplishments and I will try to document the check off of each item here.

Exciting Day for a First Blog Post

I have been wanting to start a blog for quite some time, but today I decided that it was time to join the club.  I recently turned 22 (4 days ago), and I know that there are MANY new adventures coming my way in the next year and I thought that a blog would be a great way to share & document them.

To start the great adventures to accompany me in my 22nd year of life, I got to volunteer for the President of the United Sates today.  What an incredible opportunity.  I was contacted a couple days ago to ask if I was available to volunteer for the event, and of course, I said I was. I was finally informed Tuesday night that I had been chosen to be a volunteer for the event.  At this point I was excited, but it wasn't real yet.  This morning when I arrived at the Superior Dome, it was becoming more real and it was finally hitting me that today, I would be seeing the President.  I texted my daddy and told him how excited I was for this opportunity, he gave me some good words that I pondered all day.  He said, "Stay calm, he is just a man."  Those words were very powerful for me today and they helped to keep things in perspective.  As I continued to get excited throughout the day for the President Obama's arrival, I reminded myself that he is just a man, but also that he is a man that God created to do great things for our nation, which is incredible.  During his speech, President Obama mentioned South Dakota and the technology we is used in Wagner, SD at the hospital so that physicians in Sioux Falls can monitor their vitals and such.  It was a beautiful way for me to feel so connected to not only my school and Marquette, but to feel connected to my home.  What an incredible day of events that I feel so honored to have been a part of.  I did get some good pictures, but the memories are way better than any picture.

Speaking of pictures, I bought a DSLR camera.  It was very spur of the moment.  I saw a flier in the photo lab for a Nikon D40 in good condition.  I e-mailed the girl and offered her much less than she was expecting, but she said that she would accept my offer and I pick up my new camera and all of its accessories tomorrow afternoon.