preparing for africa

Around the same time I was getting more settled in Temple renewing my nursing contract and getting to know new friends at church, I was also busy applying to serve with the charity Mercy Ships in Sierra Leone. It was a lengthy application, but I finally got it all sent in and at the beginning of November I was accepted to work as a ward nurse on board the hospital ship Africa Mercy for 6 months starting in June! Ever since I spent a month working in a mission hospital in Zimbabwe 5 years ago, I've been hoping for another medical missions opportunity, and am so excited to be returning to Africa!

Anyway...that's another reason I've been dead to the blogging world these past few months. In-between my regular nursing job here in Temple and spending as much time as possible with Pat, I've been preparing for this next adventure. So far I've raised a large portion of the finances I'll need, and this week should have my plane tickets purchased.

Getting all my travel immunizations has been a chore. I discussed it with my doctor a few months ago, and she suggested going to the health department to get my shots, since they're more expensive in the doctor's office and my insurance doesn't cover adult immunizations. After calling around to various travel clinics and health departments, I drove 45 minutes up to Waco to get my first round of shots. Technically I could have gotten all my shots at once, but the idea of getting stuck 6 times in one day just isn't a very pleasant thought. I'd rather not risk a drug reaction, and quite frankly, I don't think my deltoids could handle that many needles at once. So last week I went to get the most important immunization - Yellow Fever. It's the only one that's required (all the others are just suggested, and I'm getting them to be on the safe side). I didn't think much of it until the nurse handed me my yellow WHO card (the form that comes with your passport that you document all your health information on) and said "Now, be very careful not to lose this. Not only will it get you INTO Sierra Leone, it will also get you OUT. If you misplace it, you'll have a hard time getting home." Wow. Scary thought.

yes, i'm still alive

so...i realize i've been MIA from the blogging world for even longer this time. a picture's worth a thousand words, so long story short:

i dare you

hello, little neglected blog. sorry i've been MIA for the past month. things have been a little crazy. i guess i'm due for a "life update." i have a pressing appointment to get to (well, really i'm just late for my Sunday afternoon nap), so i'm gonna stick with the short version for now.

first of all, i have a dare for anyone who might be reading this. i dare you to tell God you're not going to do something, to say to Him "no, never, not me." seriously, just try it. He has a wacky sense of humor. although i'm not in the habit of shaking my fist at the sky and saying no to God, i have definitely had the "not me, never, no way" attitude with some things before that is basically the same as saying no to God. when i make those decisions before even consulting with Him, without even praying about things, but then later try my hardest to get my life aligned with His will, i find that His will often takes me right back to the thing i had already decided against. and then i have no choice but to throw up my hands, laugh at myself, and go where He takes me. a few examples:

when i went to school out of state, i had no intention of returning to Texas, except on vacations to visit family. over the course of 4 years God changed my mind, and after graduation i wound up in Austin, Texas for 2 years.

from my very first anatomy & physiology class to the day i walked across that stage, i hated cardiology. i had to study the heart twice as much as anything else to understand it, and i vowed never to be a cardiology nurse. those 2 years i lived in Austin were spent as a nurse on a cardiology/telemetry floor.

when i first heard of the concept of travel nursing my senior year of college, i thought "that will never be me, it's a crazy idea, i would definitely hate that kind of life." i've been a travel nurse for over a year now.

in June, 2010 i took a job in Temple, Texas - it was the first job offer i got after 3 months of unemployment due to a broken ankle, and i was getting desperate for work. i arrived in Temple, took a look around, and immediately thought "yeah, i'll stick this out for my 13-week commitment, then i'm outta here. this is not the town for me." after a very hectic summer i didn't have the energy to look for another job, so i extended my contract, thinking "3 more months - i'll save up some money, then head to New Mexico or someplace." well, the 3 months have gone by very quickly, and i'm blown away by how much has happened in such a short amount of time. to an outsider looking in on my life it may not look like much has happened, but it really seems like it has - in my life, in my heart, in my relationship with God and with new friends He has given me. so...long story short, i'm staying in Temple...for another 3 months :)

"The Lord will accomplish what concerns me." ~Psalm 138:8

my eyes are bigger than my stomach

Lately I've been trying to do more reading and creative projects and less vegging out watching movies or tv shows. I've also been cooking more instead of buying frozen meals or fast food. It's much more satisfying to use my free time to work on my ever-growing reading list or make something new, and it's cheaper and healthier to make my food from scratch (usually). My only problem is, I get a little overly ambitious in my projects, which in the past has caused me to get overwhelmed and burnt-out and give up.

For example, I'm currently reading 4 books. One is my read-while-I'm-on-break-at-work book, one is my read-before-bed book, one is my read-while-eating-dinner book, and one is a book I started months and months ago that I can only read a little at a time of because it makes my brain hurt. I have this entire weekend off from work, and I've barely read at all. I spent today in Austin, visiting my sister and a friend, and shopping. And guess what I bought. 2 more books! AAAHHH!!! It's a disease! For fear of burning out to the point that I stop reading all together, I've decided to put my 2 new books away on my shelf, and I'm not allowed to start reading them until I finish one of the ones I'm reading now. We'll see how that goes.

As far as projects go, I have fabric draped over my ironing board in the living room, calling out to me to begin working on the messenger bag I want to make. I have been doing pretty well at "stash-busting" my collection of yarn. But on the way home from Austin, I almost stopped at Hobby Lobby to buy more yarn, when I had 2 unfinished knitting projects waiting for me at home! Thankfully, I stopped myself before it was too late. Once I see the rows and rows of beautiful yarn, it's all over for me.

I recently took a trip up to Arkansas to visit my brothers and new sister-in-law. After eating Janna's yummy homemade meals, I became more motivated to start trying out new recipes myself. The problem here is that I'm cooking for just one person. Most recipes make at least 4 servings, usually more - if they didn't make lots of servings, it wouldn't feel like they were worth making anyway. I've already found lots of recipes I want to try, but it takes me forever to finish eating just one of them, even if I freeze half. My freezer is quickly filling up, and I've had to stop cooking for awhile.

Well, all that to say, now that the craziness of summer is over, I can focus on other things. The list of things I want to do goes on and on, far beyond reading and cooking - like finally get involved in a church here in Temple, start exercising again, write letters to people more often, dust off my guitar and try to re-teach myself some cords....too much to do, too little time. And before I know it it'll be time for me to start looking for another travel assignment. *sigh*

I'm going to go read a book now.

random picture, just for fun

sigh of relief

as i try to make my way in this grown-up world of being a responsible adult, i keep discovering that various things i believed as a child were actually lies. for instance, that my acne would clear up after adolescence. also, that after i finished school for good, summertime would just be like any other time of the year. summer was always a crazy time of campouts, vacations, swim team, random activities, and disrupted schedules when i was growing up. and although i loved it, it was always kind of nice to go back to school in the fall, and back to a normal routine. i guess i assumed that it would change after i finished college and entered the real world. i was sad that i wouldn't have the long breaks in the summers anymore, but also looked forward to having a somewhat normal schedule year-round. boy was i wrong. in actuality, adults get to deal with all the craziness of summer (trips, vacations, events, etc) AND continue going to work each week, paying bills, juggling life, etc. which is why i've been dead to the blogging world the past couple of months. i don't remember ever having such a full summer in my life. and although it was great, i'm welcoming the first cool breeze of fall with a sigh of relief.

summer plans

so Temple isn't such an exciting place to live. i like my job so far though, and it's nice to be making money again, after 3 months of racking up medical bills. the hospital has been crazy busy, and i've been able to pick up some overtime. also, Temple is a convenient place to be for the summer, as it's sort of in-between the 3 cities my various family members live in: Houston, Dallas, and Austin. i won't have to buy a plane ticket to go to my little brother's wedding in 3 weeks (aaahh! 3 weeks! really??? trying not to hyperventilate...) and on my days off i can visit friends and family.

while i'm not working as much overtime as i can stomach or going on road trips around Texas, i have a few other things to do this summer. first, write a novel. 2 years ago i joined a writing group with some friends that takes the month of July to write a 50,000 word novel. crazy, but fun. it's based on this book:

there is actually an official writing group started by the author of the book, but they write their novels in November, while the group i'm in writes in July.

another summer goal: make a dent in my ever-growing stash of yarn. if i don't get a handle on it soon, it's going to come to life as a gigantic yarn monster and strangle me in my sleep.

any suggestions? here's the result of my first attempt at my summer stash-bust:

and here's my current project:

i found this gem of a book at the library yesterday. once i finish the above project, i'm going to start on one of these one-skein wonders.

thankful for my feet

after 2 air splints, 3 casts, 1 walking boot, 1 ankle brace, multiple x-rays, doctor's appointments, physical therapy and medical bills...my ankles are now back to normal. and my 3 months of unemployment are finally coming to an end! next stop: Temple, TX for travel assignment #3.

back in magnolia...

snowboarding is lots of fun. i'm just not very good at it. i sprained one ankle and fractured the other a couple of weeks ago. so now i am jobless, homeless, and somewhat legless. the good news is, my family has an overabundance of wheelchairs. and a twisted sense of humor.

quick update

so i guess i'm not very good at the blogging thing. sorry. i'll try to be better.

just a quick update/recap on my life, so i can move on and my millions of readers (ok, maybe 2 or 3 readers) won't be lost:

i just spent 3 months on my first travel nursing assignment in Lafayette, Colorado. that's in the suburbs in-between Denver and Boulder. it was a good first assignment, not too challenging or overwhelming. i was doing the same type of nursing i got trained for in Austin - telemetry/cardiac. it was my first time working night shift, and that was tough. i was tired almost all of the time, since i still tried to do stuff during the day on my days off. but half the time i just slept on my days off, so i didn't get to do everything i wanted to while i was in Colorado. i did get to learn how to snowboard though, which was hard but awesome. i discovered muscles i never knew i had, fell on my face a million times, and sprained my wrist, but had a great time. oh, and my family came up for Christmas, which was wonderful.

anyway, now the Colorado job is over and i have 2 weeks off, which i'm spending in Texas visiting family and friends. then on February 6 i'm going to start another 3-month job in Reno, Nevada. doing the same type of nursing, but this time day shift - hooray! :) Reno looks like a fun place, despite all the drinking and gambling. when i was at the doctor for a check-up the other day, i mentioned i was going to Reno and he just starting laughing and said "haha! sin city number 2!" that's not why i'm going there - i promise.

well, i'll try to be more faithful about updating my blog over the next few months. oh, and Hannah and i are having a costume party this weekend. i'll be sure to post pictures. :)