Finally Spring

Finally.

This is how it feels to put this last school semester behind me. 

{totes stolen from Nate without permission}

As I already recently mentioned, this semester was a tough one for me. But now its over, i'm still alive, and there is much to be excited about in the upcoming months. In this post I talked about good things on the horizon. Lets take a little looksie at what I was referring to:

Robby and Diane are about to make me an aunt again! Literally any day now. My 6th niece will be here by this weekend, and I couldn't be any more excited about it. Babies are the best. Counting 10 baby fingers and 10 baby toes is the best. Soft baby skin is the best. Big baby eyes taking in the world for the first time is the best. Cuddling babies is the best. Being an aunt is THE BEST.

Mom and dad get here on Thursday. I haven't seen the good old (I meeaaaaannn... not old) parents since Christmas. And I won't get to go home until the end of July. We FaceTime... but you know, its just not the same. So them coming here to see us is going to be a great time!!

I am running my first full marathon on Saturday. Scared, excited, terrified, anxious, nervous, pumped, ready, so not ready, happy, antsy, thrilled, enthusiastic, fired up, intimidated, petrified out of my mind. I just want to finish it. Without dying. Yep, thats the goal.

{An encouraging gift from the daddio}

I don't believe I have mentioned this yet... I am going to Tonga!! For BYU's nursing program, there is a Spring semester set aside for doing a global studies trip. It is like a study abroad for nursing students. I have been looking forward to this since before I even applied to the program. A few months ago, we chose our preferences for where we would like to go for this experience. The choice included Finland/Russia, Taiwan, Ghana, Ecuador, India, Washington DC, the Navajo Nation in Arizona, a few different local Salt Lake locations, and yes, TONGA! I originally thought Ghana was my top pick for sure, but after learning about the different places, I felt strongly about putting Tonga as my first choice. Within a few weeks we were given our assignments, and I was told that Tonga was the place for me! I leave in just over 2 weeks to embark on what I am sure will be one of the most exciting month-long adventures of my entire life. Its not a vacation, but a time to learn about and become involved in the nursing process within another culture. We will be working in hospitals, teaching in schools, setting up clinics in the weekend marketplaces, and traveling around to rural communities that have limited healthcare access. Along with that we will also be blessed with the chance to attend church, go to the Nuku'alofa temple, kayak around the islands, swim in the clear blue ocean, hike to some waterfalls, go to some super cool dinner shows, and much more that we don't even know about yet. The word "excited" is such a gross understatement. There are no words adequate enough to describe how much I am looking forward to this. And I am sure I will have much more to say about it as the time approaches! :)

After Tonga, the fun still isn't over. I have a job working as a counselor for week long BYU Sports Camps on campus. It will be amazing to have fun, get paid, make new friends, and get to know some great kids over the course of the summer!

Then the end of July comes, and one of my lifelong besties is getting hitched. I am thrilled and honored to be one of her bridesmaids! Then, soon after, another lifelong bestie (who just happens to be the sister of that other lifelong bestie) is having her first little baby. I am so excited for these girls! Love you chicas! 

Whew. Then, it'll be August. The last month before my last year of college kicks off (say whaaat?!). I don't know yet what that last month of freedom will hold... but the options are feeling pretty endless, so we will see what happens! Until then, i'll take my planned adventures one day at a time! 

And of course... i'll eat my Hokulia Shave Ice one day at a time. But literally... i've had one every single day since they opened this season. Not lying. Best shave ice in the world. I'm addicted. As always. Hokulia does it best.

What Do I Even Blog About?

I had a friend find out yesterday that I am "a blogger" and he asked me what kinds of things I blog about. I didn't even know how to answer. I feel like its all so random. Sometimes its serious. Sometimes is spiritual. Sometimes its self centered. Sometimes its all about other people. Sometimes its just an update on whats been going on lately. A lot of the time its just random things that I find funny or entertaining.  Its pretty much like a public journal that I actually want other people to read (haha as opposed to the daily/weekly journaling that I do on paper that is strictly for my eyes... until my posterity comes along and sneaks them away from me). My goal is to give you something nice and uplifting or entertaining or inspirational or just something weird to look at or watch or read every once in a while. I've even been told a very small number of times that some people look forward to my posts. For whatever reason that is always quite the thrill for me. Who knows, maybe I just like the attention ;-) Okay well anyway he told me he'd come and read my blog now that he knows about it (hi Austin!), so I guess today i'll just give a little taste about what this blog is all about and include a little bit of everything! :)

Since today is Sunday and this day is one for things of spiritual nature, i'll start off with highlights from one of my favorite talks from last week's General Conference. The whole weekend was awesome. I love hearing from the leaders of the Church and being uplifted and instructed in just about every way possible. I am looking forward to studying all the talks over the next six months until we are treated again with latter-day guidance from on high.

My favorite shoes died. My $9, one half-size too small shoes from Ross. Honestly they died quite a while ago, but we have had such a good, long, loving relationship that it was just so hard to let them go. So I kept wearing them anyway. But now, i've accepted the fact that we just weren't happy together anymore, and it was time for them to move on to a happier place. Uh, aka the dumpster...

As long as we are talking about shoes...

Running shoes. I have a lot of them. I use them, I wear them out, I get new ones. And as you might have learned about me about two seconds ago with the overly worn and loved Keds, I have a hard time letting shoes go. So I keep my old running shoes and turn them into "etc" shoes for hiking and clinical and such. They stopped making the purple version of my favorite Brooks, so I guess i'm a white shoe girl now. Not sure yet how I feel about the adjustment.

And then there's this. I find it quite entertaining.

Moving on from the shoes theme... There's this movie. Very enjoyable. I was introduced to it for the first time last night by Austin and Nate. If you've seen it, you'll know why I now feel the sudden need to go watch Chicken Run again for the first time in years.

 The keep saying Spring is here. We have bonfires and camping and class outside. And then it snows again. Come on now Utah, you're killin' me here.

I got to watch this movie. FOR CLASS. Best assignment ever.

This. What the what? Sure did give me a laugh when it popped up on Pandora the other day as I was getting ready for school.

I changed my major!!

Haha. Joke. I would never do that. EVER. But I did get to pretend to be a neurologist for about ohhhh... 10 minutes. And yeah, I took a picture. Because thats what I always do.

For the second time this month my mind has been blown because stories and songs that my father told/sang to us kids have popped up in random places and I was confused because I thought dad had been the inventor of those stories! Twenty years later, I find out none of it was original! Hurts real deep.

Done with clinical for the semester. OB and Peds rotations are now complete. Wonderful learning and life changing experiences. No more 4 am mornings... at least until my ICU rotation at The U in the fall! I love these girls and all the other girls (and the very few males) in my semester. They've become my friends and sisters over the last few years. Can't believe we only have 2 more semesters together!

We celebrated the last day at Primary's by going to eat at The Pie in Salt Lake. SUCH good pizza.

 I ran 22 miles yesterday. And I didn't die. It was a close call though. 3 weeks until marathon day! Anyway, as previously noted, I take pictures of everything, so yeah I sent a picture 11 miles into the run to my sister and told her to pray for me to be able to make it all the way back to Provo from Mapleton. And then upon looking at the picture, I was once again reminded that I am my mother's clone. Which is great, because that means I am going to age well and always have nice hair. Thanks, mamma!

Baby showers. You just never know what you're going to encounter.

I know a certain someone who likes to make fun of some of the music that I listen to. And he would have sent this to me if he had found it first. So i'll just beat him to it.

So what is this blog all about? 

Heck, I still don't even know. It's about nothing. It's about everything. It's about life.

Hope ya like it!

When 4 Weeks Becomes 3

I don't know how many times I said these words to my fellow nursing students yesterday: "Only four more weeks guys. Four weeks from today and we'll be done with this semester." And then I came home and said it again to Christie. And then Christie said, "You mean three." And in my head it was all like "oh yeah man I wish only three" and then I pulled out a calendar and guys its only three more weeks. 

So I got a little... well, lets use the word ambitious (could be substituted for stupid, thoughtless, crazy, overly-confident, any of those would fit just as well) this semester. I believed that surely after surviving what is commonly known as the hardest semester of the nursing program last fall, this semester would be a piece of cake. So what'd I do? I registered for 18 credits. I got 3 jobs. I decided to start training for my first marathon. I continued my calling in the Relief Society presidency. Oh, and I decided to try and maintain some semblance of a dating and social life as well.

To say that it has been a challenge would be quite the understatement. Unfortunately, I have done way too much complaining about how hard my life is, when really I brought this challenge upon myself. I literally signed myself up for it. My most common and accurate description of how i'm feeling this semester can be summed up in one word: drowning. Then in a conversation with one of my church leaders, I explained my frustrations and feelings of inadequacy and stress. He pointed out that every single one of my "burdens" is in fact quite a blessing:

• I go to my dream school.
• I am in the major that I have always wanted to be in, learning how to do what I love. 
• I was able to find steady employment that pays well and provides for my monetary needs.
• I have a healthy body that is free of illness and injury. I get to push my body to new and exciting levels of running.
• I am active and involved at church. I am part of an organization that has allowed me to form new friendships, talents, and an appreciation for leadership of the church.
• I have wonderful friends who I get to have tons of fun with. I have people who love me and make my life a better, happier place.

How thankful I am for such a blessed life. I have so many good things going for me, there is just too much to even keep track of. That being said, I will never, ever, do this to myself again. The stress just isn't worth it. In three short weeks, I get to leave this beastly semester in the dust. The question now is, can I really survive for that much longer? The next 21 days in my planner are exploding with due dates, projects, exams, service hours, clinical hours, work commitments, church obligations, baby showers, miles that need to be run, trips to the bank and grocery store, bills to be paid, and much more. My head just might explode before the end of the semester comes...

But wait, that just can't happen, because there are good things on my horizon. Actually, there are FANTASTIC things on my horizon. I'll tell you folks all about it in another blog post real soon. I just gotta hunker down, make it through the rough seas that i'm in right now, and before I know it there'll be a period of smooth sailing into those exciting horizons. I can't wait.

Like I mentioned before, despite my challenges I have countless wonderful blessings in my life. And yes, those blessings really do manifest themselves on a daily basis. They are really what keep my going. They are my fuel and my motivation for getting up out of bed every morning instead of pulling the covers over my head and decided to give up because its just all too hard. Each day, despite the stress, there are little gems that make the day worth finishing with a smile on my face. 

Its a card from home. Its free funny glasses from the wilk. Its sleeping under the stars and waking up to a gorgeous sunset over the mountains. Its gigantic bananas. Its a surprise Easter basket from my brother and sister. Its ironically placed stores. Its a water fight in a car. Its a letter from a longtime buddy of mine who gets home in 4 months. Its a text from a friend who says he just loves your blog. Its Rachel's comment on the envelope of her first missionary letter. Its a message that made me laugh out loud in the middle of class. Its a friend covering for me at work so I could enjoy an Easter dinner with my family. Its free J-Dawgs. Its achieving success in an April Fool's Day joke. Its a hilarious snapchat. Its surviving scary, stressful days. Its counting down to general conference this weekend. Its the big things, the little things, and all the wonderful things in between.

Life is good, my friends.

THREE more weeks.