Finally Seeing SF

Well, tonight it's back to work.  But I've had a good few nights off.  The first day, as it always is with night shift, was spent mostly being lazy in front of the computer with Netflix on.  Yesterday Bela and I decided to drive my car into San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge, and visit Muir Woods to see the Redwood trees!  Definitely one of the coolest experiences I've had yet!

^^^Just driving through SF, I thought all the wires were really interesting.

 ^^^We went to a cool place called Fred's Coffee Shop in Sausalito.  Here is a spinach and feta cheese omelette with potatoes and toast.  Delish!

^^^We went to Muir Woods and got to see the Redwood trees!  Something that has always been on my bucket list, and I'm glad I can cross that off!  I think I'll definitely go back to see them again sometime.  Beautiful.  And so quiet and peaceful. 

^^^We got to see the Golden Gate Bridge!  We walked about half of it, and drove over it as well.  Pretty cool!

We went to a cool coffee shop called Philz Coffee.  Not the greatest service, but I think I had the best coffee I've ever had in my life there.  It was called Philtered Soul.

So, things with work are still pretty stressful.  I'm still really anxious about going in tonight, and have had some interesting and somewhat unpleasant experiences with some of the staff there.  But we are definitely trying to make the most of our days off, and that is honestly what travel nursing is about.  We knew it would be stressful going in... maybe not quite as stressful as it's been.  But we definitely were preparing ourselves for the worst when we started this.  Somehow it has still been more stressful than I expected.  Anyway, after tomorrow night I'll have completed my first full week on my own, and maybe I'll feel better about things then... we shall see.

Not Much to Say

I've gotten really bad about keeping up with this blog regularly.  I've actually been on here several times the past few weeks, but every time I start to write something I can't.  I have things to say, but most of the time these thoughts swirl around in my head, unable to be put into words.  I don't know why.

I've had a busy couple of weeks, that's for sure.  Work held me captive for 10 out of 13 nights until Wednesday of this past week.  I was pretty miserable for a lot of that time, just wishing for more of a break so I could get some rest.  But I got through it, and thank goodness!

And afterward, my sister Allison and I went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween at the Magic Kingdom!  It was so much fun!  (so much so, that I didn't take any pictures)  I have wanted to go to this for years, and it finally worked out this year!  We didn't dress up, but we did go trick or treating all through the park and got a ton of candy.  That's what I love so much about Disney.  You get to be a kid again.  I think that the Halloween Boo to You parade was my favorite Disney parade yet.  Maybe even more than the Main Street Electrical Parade.

I hung out a bit in Orlando before and after our time in Disney, which was fun.  It's been awhile since I got to hang out down there.  We had fun eating, talking, and watching some of our favorite TV shows. Just fun to enjoy the time that we have.  I wish there was more time for that kind of thing.

I've got some fun plans coming up, which I'll be blogging about another time.  In the meantime, I hope you have a great Monday and rest of the week!

Color Me Rad 5K

I had a lot of fun today running the Color Me Rad 5K!  It's a great way to take what might otherwise be stressful and competitive and make it loads of fun.  How often do you get to throw colored starch in the air and not care how messy you get?  My sister Hannah did it with me, and though we didn't run the whole thing, we still had a ton of fun.  I know I'll do it again the next time it comes to town.

Before, in our sparkly white t-shirts 

During the race.  We got to run through Everbank Field!

The aftermath 

We had so much fun throwing color bombs at each other.  I think I got the most color after the race. 

 Triumphant!

A Great Week Indeed!

I am coming off of a great week!

First of all, I finally, after four years of being a nurse, got my ACLS certification!  That stands for Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support.  I feel all nursey and ready to save a life now!  Just have to keep myself refreshed on the material so I'll remember it.

Second, I spent a few days in Orlando at Universal Studios with my wonderful friends Bela, Priti (and her husband Brad), and their mom Miss Gita.  Bela is my best friend from nursing school, one of the few I've kept in touch with.  She has become one of my very best friends for life, and we had such a great time hanging out in Orlando!  I was sad to come home, but there are always lots more good times to come!

We picked a great time of the year to go.  The crowds were minimal (for a theme park) and the weather was hot but not too hot with very little rain.  You can't win with Florida weather even in September, so you take what you can get.  I have to say, after this week I can finally say I love Universal Orlando.  I am a Disney girl through and through, so it was difficult for me to love Universal even though I've been three times before this.  I was always comparing it to Disney in the past, but I think it takes being with the right people to learn to love something like this.  I had a blast!

Here are some pictures from our time there.

 The first night, at the hotel getting ready to go to dinner.

 Me and Miss Gita, Bela and Priti's mom.  One of the most genuine, sweet ladies I have ever known!

 A pretty typical moment for us.

 Enjoying yummy nachos and queso.

 Miss Gita, Bela, and me.

 All aboard the Hogwarts Express!  The conductor declared us to be his wives, upon which Bela and I were excited to discover we are now sister wives!

 Flying brooms.  Or trying to.

 In front of Hagrid's Hut

 On a ride (similar to Teacups at Disney) with Miss Gita.  I got called out over the loudspeaker on this ride to put away my cell phone.  It was worth getting this picture!

 Hogsmeade.  Wish this was a real-life place!

 I feel like I could join the Ministry of Magic with this hat.

 Just goofing off

 I've always wanted to take a picture with these since the first time I went to Universal.  So we took one.

 Getting photo-bombed by a t-rex

 We went to the Animal Actors show.  It was pretty cute!

 Just before the Despicable Me ride.  It was one of my favorites!

 We got to meet Lucy Ricardo!  She was slightly drunk.

 We had tons o'fun at Universal Orlando!

Our last meal out before leaving at Pastamore at City Walk.

Charleston, SC

 I spent this past weekend in the beautiful city of Charleston, SC.  I have to say, I had no idea I lived so close to a city so beautiful and full of culture.  How have I never visited there before?  Four hours is a short drive.

My sister Hannah decided to plan a weekend trip before her school semester started up again.  She invited me to come along, as well as one of her best friends Shadai.  What a fun weekend!  Tiring, of course, because we loaded up the car and left only two hours after I finished working three nights in a row.  Though I was tired, I still managed to have a lot of fun.  (Just paying for it now with exhaustion... oh well, it was worth it!)

I decided to upload some of my pictures.  I took a lot and yes, this is me paring it down quite a bit.  There was just so much to take in in such a short time!  Enjoy!

One of the first things we did was go to the Charleston City Market.  This market spans about 4-5 blocks and sells just about everything.  Definitely a fun experience! 

Ok, no purpose to this picture outside of the fact that I love cobblestone streets. 

Statue of George Washington.  Loved learning the history of the city! 

Ok, another random picture that means nothing.  Except I thought this was a romantical staircase so why not take a picture on it?! 

We found this cute little alley and decided to take some fun pictures in it. 

Another cute alley.  We like alleys.

 Down by the harbor.  I'm not really sure what the purpose of a pineapple fountain is, but it seemed like a good photo op for the three of us.

 We went to this bar called "Wet Willie's" (gross, I know!) where they sold frozen mixed drinks.  I'm drinking a sex on the beach here.  Pretty good, though I'll be ok if I never have one again.

Ok, I took a lot of pictures of food.  And was instructed by my sister to NOT instagram all of them.  And I didn't.  But this was one of the best meals all weekend-- fried chicken, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, biscuits, and collard greens.  Southern much? 

Whisk Bakery-- had a great blueberry scone from here for breakfast! 

At Magnolia Plantation-- I just couldn't get enough of the natural beauty of Charleston.  Ok, so in FL we have the live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss... but somehow it just isn't the same.  Maybe it's the fact that we also have ugly pine trees and palmetto bushes ruining the effect?  It has just such a cleaner, more beautifully natural look in Charleston than here.

Angel Oak- a tree that is estimated to be over 300 years old with a circumference of more than 29 feet.  Wow! 

And now a picture of me with food.  A delish triple decker sandwich from East Bay Deli! 

Sunday night we had great plans to go back into the city and find a honky tonk bar.  We ran out of energy and instead ran up to Piggly Wiggly for some pink Moscato Rose and brie.  Classy ladies. 

 At Old Charles Towne Landing-- this bear was very friendly!  I felt like he would have let us pet him if we could.

Avenue of Oaks at Charles Towne.  Beautiful! 

A replica of an old cargo ship, The Adventure.

Here we are learning how to pull up the anchor.  We did this for about five minutes before the tour guide told us there was no anchor.  Thanks a lot!

Trying on clothes that the English settlers might have worn.

Ah, more oak trees.  I love Charleston. 

Ok, one last foodie picture!  We went to a place called The Early Bird Diner.  It has been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  I had to jump on the bandwagon and try the Chicken and Waffles.  I was unsure about it, but let me tell you-- DELICIOUS!  I will be dreaming of them for a long time  to come.

I loved this weekend.  I love this city, everything about it.  I feel like I left a little piece of my heart there, even after only spending a few days there.  I have a feeling this wasn't the last time I will be there.