today is exactly

one month 'til my birthday.

and one week 'til I move into a house that i love. 

and maybe one day closer to me posting pics of the aforementioned house? 

There's No Such Thing as the Real World?

If there's no such thing as the real world, then I'm not really sure what I'm about to jump into. Because I'm pretty sure it's about the closest thing to the so-called "real world" as I can get. No more being a professional student, and onto the job. To be honest, I don't really know how to not be a student, so this should be interesting! I'm sure I'll adjust really quickly! ;)

With that said, I think it's time to tell y'all what's up. I've made some minor adjustments to the original plan, but not without a lot of thought and a couple agonizing days of decision making. So what will the next step be for me? (umm, I feel a drum roll is necessary here....)

Welllll, I recently accepted a position as an EMERGENCY ROOM NURSE in AUSTIN, TX! I will be working at a hospital in downtown Austin starting this summer. I had two interviews a couple of weeks ago, and will be going back to ATX tomorrow morning for all of the new employee paperwork and other fun stuff, plus a new employee nursing test. (which I need to study for tonight!)

I am excited about Austin, what a fun place to live! Yes, I am bummed that the majority of my friends are in Dallas area and I won't be, but that just means I will have to take lots of trips to visit you all! (And I have a feeling this will be a lot easier without the school nonsense tying up my schedule.) And y'all came come play in ATX!

I have an appointment with a realtor on Tuesday to find a house. Oh yah, I forgot to mention, my current roommate will also be moving to Austin, which will be great! Roommates again, and a friend in Austin :) 2 other classmates are going to be in Austin too, so that's fun.

I'm excited about having a yard. And having Baylie back with me. And having random Austin places to hang out. Weird, hole-in-the-wall, random local band type places. And living in a place equally as weird as Galveston. And living closer to my cousins and uncle. (and a little bit closer to Waco). And getting to spend a lot more time with Alex and Kylie because they're growing like weeds. And getting a bike. And taking Baylie to dog parks and for walks at Town Lake. (or Lady Bird Lake, excuse me). And going to ACL. And just doing my part to...

So that's the plan! I'm moving to Austin! Yay! I'll keep you posted on the house hunt, so you can plan your first visit to ATX with me :)

a sick little piggy went to mexico...

...so we did not. That's right, no swine flu for me. Or should I say H1N1? This is the only pig we encountered this week, compliments of Jorge :)

The cruise ended up being THE CRUISE TO NOWHERE, thanks to the CDC for their recommendation of avoiding all "non-essential travel to Mexico." While I feel this was essential, apparently Carnival cruise lines and the US government did not, and who am I to argue? So we had 5 "Fun Days at Sea" instead. I can't complain though, they were five days of relaxation! 

This is where I've been all week? Maybe? Somewhere out there?

Meet NANCY! She's our fun friend we met our first day. We love her, she was so cute! This is a little glimpse of her and MA in the ABBA Dancing Queen class. :)

  

One of MA's DC roomies (Courtney) and her mom and gma were on the cruise too, so that was an added bonus! Fun people!!!

It was a fun trip, and I'm so glad we were able to go!

Now I'm back on land, but feel like I'm still on a boat. Anybody have a solution for sea-legs? 

all aboard!

first, i want to thank you all for the congratulations, sweet messages, and encouragement these past couple of days...and for joining me in celebrating my final farewell to UTMB! :)

now onto the good stuff...want to know one more good thing about living in Galveston? it is home to several cruise ship terminals, and there just so happens to be a cruise leaving from here tomorrow. and here's where the past couple of days come into play...

wednesday night: my roommate and i call carnival cruise lines on a whim just to check it out

same wednesday night, 10 minutes later: phone call ends, with our names are on a waiting list, deposits paid, with the promise of a phone call if a room opened up.  no obligation, we can decide then if we really want to go or not.

thursday afternoon: sally from carnival calls with an opening, we realize this is really the only week we know we won't be able to take NCLEX, and we tell her to book it. we're going on a cruise. :) 

friday: graduate!

saturday: play time with fam and friends

sunday: realize we have no summer clothes here, and frantically go shopping. "swine flu in mexico" becomes the most popular news story.

tomorrow: leaving for a cruise!!!! :) 

so that's the story. yaaaay we're going on a cruise! i'm so excited. it's random. i'm looking forward to just relaxing! (and i know my pasty white skin is looking forward to a little sun as well, it neeeeds it!). so there ya go, open water here i come! and don't worry, i won't be making out with any pig farmers in mexico during this vacation. (guess i'll have to save that for next time? ha)

but seriously, how ironic is it that the swine flu is taking over now of all times?  antibacterial hand sanitizer will be my best friend for sure!!!

anybody know what today is?

my graduation day!!!

the day i thought might never come is here and i could not be more ready! yes, it was just one year, but oh how a year can drag on and on, and be full of so many 'wonderful' surprises! and a whole lot of school was packed into these past 12 months! and today, it's over, and the next chapter can begin! (well, i still have to take boards and yada yada yada, but...). my parents drove in last night and katie's here too! we have a pinning ceremony this morning (a traditional nursing graduation ceremony), and graduation tonight. except i'm not going to the actual graduation, just the pinning...decided the beach (or anything really) would be more fun than a loooong graduation ceremony! but the point is I'M GRADUATING! YAAAAY!!!

weird weather

yesterday i got caught in a monsoon. it was insane. i had no real plans yesterday, and decided it would be a great day to nerd it up. i left galveston right after lunch to hit up hobby lobby for supplies, and maybe rent a movie. hobby lobby is up the interstate only about 20 miles from galveston. my quick trip turned into hours when the sky apparently had a huge seizure about 10 minutes in and slammed I-45 with ridiculous amounts of thunderstorm rain, lightning, wind, and zero sunshine. we're talking pitch black at 2 in the afternoon. tornado anyone? interstate traffic completely stopped, signs falling on cars, access roads flooded and tons of cars stuck and flooded. it was weird weird. i ended up in houston because i couldn't get off the interstate (you thought i was being dramatic about the access roads flooding? nope). and what better place to take refuge from the storm than by shopping at the galleria? haha. but didn't even buy anything. anyways, it was weird. and kinda scary. and makes me want to live in a place that doesn't flood just that much more.

in other news, we just turned on the AC. the AC and heater haven't been turned on even once since the end of october. open windows with the breeze (ocean breeze at that) has been enough on hotter days, and lots of blankets when it was pseudo-snowing. knowing me and my major aversion to being hot (and my deep love of the AC), you realize this is momentous. the electricity bill has been our friend lately. buuuut welcome back air conditioner, how i've missed you.

some call it OCD...

...but I call it drive. Or excitement. Or vision. Or something. Whatever you call it, my fixation lately is SEWING! I don't think it quite meets the requirements of OCD yet, dad, but thanks for the suggestion. ;) 

So, can I sew? Well, no, not exactly. But that's not the point. Because I WILL learn to sew. Soon. I have my own private tutor named Laura...I pay her in kolaches and sonic slushies. It works out well for both of us! I have a book from my mom, and fun random things from my grandma. And as of tonight, thanks to a sale on amazon, I will soon have this.....

This beauty should arrive sometime next week. And once I get my hands on this thing, your grannies better watch out! Cuz I'm for sure going to give 'em some competition! ;)