Six Months

How the hell is this year already halfway over?! Seriously, where did the time go?

I am majorly failing at my New Year's Resolutions. I just went back and read my update from May and I'm pretty sure that I could just copy and paste that here. Oops!

Financial
1. Put $x in savings.
Nope. This is a failure. I have been horrible about putting money in savings, but I'm really focusing on paying off loans, so savings has moved to the back burner.
2. Pay off $y of loans.
Loans are still never-ending and still the bane of my existence! And I'm still behind. If I did the math right (and it's quite possible that I didn't), I am at about 38% of my goal, which means I am 12% behind. I am never going to catch up. But on a brighter note, I did pay off another loan last month. 2 more to go! Plus my car, which isn't too bad. So I am making progress. Just not as fast as I want to. 
3. $z monthly cash budget.
This isn't going too bad, actually.

Mental/Professional
1. Read 20 books.
I've read 14. And I am semi-reading 3 right now. I'm not great at reading multiple books at one time though so I may need to slow down and pick one to read before moving on the others. If you have any good book suggestions though, send them my way!
2. Attend a conference.
Went to New Orleans this month! You can read about it here.
3. Choose a research topic.
I think I have picked one. I'm still thinking about it. But (surprise, surprise) I heard a podcast about this topic and thought it was interesting and that some more research needed to be done on it, so I'm thinking about it. Now to just find the time...

Emotional/Personal
1. Travel.
I went to New Orleans this month. I think my Napa trip is getting pushed back to September, but it may still happen. And my dad is talking about going back to Costa Rica in September/October so I may tag along for a week of that trip!
2. Be a better friend.
Ha! This is only funny because of a disagreement I had with a friend. But in general, I am working on it. I am making plans and trying to meet new people and commit to doing things. Doing things is hard though! lol
3. Be selfish.
This is going... okay. Not great. But I am learning to work on me. And in the process, I am learning that my coping skills are at an all time low.

Physical
1. Work out 4 times a week.
I have failed miserably at this recently. I know it's an excuse, but I blame it on dog-sitting. My gym is literally across the street from my house- less than half a mile, but I wasn't really home for the entire month of June. After work, I felt like I had to go home and take care of the dog because she had either been inside for 10+ hours and needed to go out or had been outside in the heat all day and needed a break. After driving all the way there, I had zero desire to turn around and drive back to the gym. I did walk some with the dog, but definitely not like I should. But I'm back home now, so hopefully can get back to a good schedule!
2. Run 300 miles.
Another thing that I am slacking on BIG TIME. I just check the official report and I am 17 miles behind schedule- which is actually a lot better than I thought I was doing. I am running a 5K on Friday night so that will be a good kickstart to getting back on track!
3. Train for and run a half marathon.
Well, it's not going to be the destination run that I initially envisioned, but I did register for the St Jude Half in December. Now that I have actually signed up and paid my money, I should probably start training, huh?

Spiritual
1. Create a prayer board.
Finished! Check it out here. It is currently beside my bed, so I can see the requests and pray for them in the morning and at night.
2. Memorize scripture.
I am still using SheReadsTruth as my weekly scripture memory so it is going pretty well, although this could definitely be a whole lot better.
3. Find a church home.
I think I'm finished. At least for now. I wrote about it here.

So there you have it: my resolution update.
How are your New Year's Resolutions going?

Sunday Smiles

{Source}

Above everything else, guard the affections of your heart; the emotional attachments you make determine the course of your life. -proverbs 4:23

InstaFriday

Apparently I took no pictures this week. None at all.

I even had family come in town. I played at the pool with my nieces all weekend. Still no pictures.

Oh well, enjoy your weekend!

Want to Go to Bed?

I do!!

This post is late. Sorry.

And it's going to be rant-y. Feel free to skip to a more upbeat read.

I have already talked many times about how I like my routine and my natural habitat. And I wrote last week about being emotional, partially because I have been out of my element and not able to sleep in my own bed. And it is really getting to me! My cousins came back in town on Saturday. Saturday was the first day in 3 1/2 weeks (3 1/2 long weeks). Friday, I got a text from my roommate that said they were redoing the kitchen floors this week and we couldn't walk on the kitchen floor until Wednesday. That is annoying, but not a huge deal because we can get upstairs to our rooms without walking through the kitchen. But then they said that we couldn't be in the house Monday night because of the fumes. More frustrating. as of Monday morning, they hadn't finished the bathroom upstairs. As in, there is no toilet. And we can't get to the other bathrooms without walking on the kitchen floor. So that's another 3 days.

My roommate seemed to be handling it fairly well. I may have dropped the F-bomb. But we already know that I have less than stellar coping skills...

I went home on Saturday and slept at home for 2 nights. On Sunday, we walked around and looked at some of the work that's been done and it's... not great. There are some issues with the cabinets in the bathrooms and the trim around the baseboards. Oh, and the bathroom floor upstairs. The grout looks awful. The tiles are loose. My roommate picked up a tile in the middle of the bathroom. So they are going to have to redo that.

Yesterday morning, I packed my bag for the 800th time and loaded up my car before work. After work, I went to the dentist and then to my parents' house. After cursing being in the car for 18 hours, I tried to relax and unload my car. Turns out my sister and my nieces decided to stay an extra night so they were all at the house. Don't get me wrong, I love my family, but after work I want to come home and unwind and not talk to anyone. Instead, I had precious children that wanted to play and talk and be energetic.

I also got the lovely news from my roommate that because of the things that they were going to have to redo, she didn't think that they were doing the floors until today. So I could have stayed their last night after all. I'm just frustrated. I told her that I was at my parents' house and told her to just let me know when I could come home. I'm hoping tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath for anything this week.

I'm so over this. I just want to go home and sleep in my own bed!

*End rant*

Sunday Smiles

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord

InstaFriday

The second race of the MTown series was the Harbortown 5K. It was approximately 900 degrees. Approximately. But it was a lot of fun! We ran through the neighborhoods and there were a lot of people out on their porches cheering us on. There were also some sprinklers which helped a lot. And some people were giving out Jell-O shots at mile 1, so I'd say that's a win!

I picked my parents up from the airport when they got back from Costa Rica. Then I spent the weekend out at their house relaxing and enjoying the weather. My mom made me some delicious guacamole. I'm pretty sure that I could eat guac everyday!

I'm a little bit a lot 100% Type-A. This is a typical time of me scheduling my life. Google calendar. Written calendar. Excel spreadsheet. Perfect!

Wednesday was my roommate's birthday. She is celebrating in the Dominican Republic, but I had to do a little something to honor her. I tried to pick the best pictures. Ha!

This is the bathroom in my office at work. Someone put up a new magazine rack. There is also poo-pourri and air freshener. And mouthwash, just like they have at the sketchy bars...

Emotions

True story... This has been an emotional week! I have gone through all the feels. So. Many. Feelings. I have probably said more 4-letters words this week than I have since I was a rebellious 8th grader. I'm only slightly embarrassed to admit that. I clearly don't have the best coping skills...

In my minuscule defense, I haven't slept in my own bed in 3 weeks. Between house-sitting for my parents, my cousins, a week in New Orleans and then back to my cousins, I haven't been home in 3 weeks. Can I at least blame part of my emotions on that? I have probably been a little more on edge than normal by not having a normal routine. I get to finally go home on Saturday and I can't wait! Who knew I would be so excited about returning to a construction zone? Oh yes, I've been gone for 3 weeks and my house is still under construction. They did drywall and painting, but there is still no bathroom upstairs and the carpet hasn't been replaced yet. The carpet is the only thing that they are doing in my room so of course they wait until I get back to start on that. C'est la vie!

So my emotional week started on Friday or Saturday in New Orleans. I was tired and missing my schedule so I was probably more fragile than usual, but it just hit me like a ton of bricks. I also felt like I was too tired to cry. Is that a thing? I was just so worn out and shocked that I didn't have the energy for tears.

Driving home was a good time of reflection though and then I was thrown back into work and life and busyness. Until Monday, when I felt like I got punched in the gut. I seriously felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I was still too worn out to cry, but I did manage to say a few choice words in my car while I was driving back to my cousins' house. It's better to say them to myself than to other people, right?

Yesterday, I woke up with a shooting pain in my back. It would come and go with no obvious aggravating factors. In the morning when it first started, it was debilitating. There was lots of colorful language while I was getting ready for work. It eased up some as the day went on. By lunchtime, I was no longer grimacing with each step I took so that was progress. And so far this morning, there has been no pain so we'll see...

There is more that happened. One thing after another. I'm ready for this week to be over. Or maybe I want to rewind it and have a redo. But I'm trying to work on being present in the moment. It's hard though when the moment sucks!

#NursesTakeNawlins

Just got back from New Orleans. It was a busy week and internet connection was spotty so I didn't post an InstaFriday. This can make up for it...

I drove down on Tuesday morning. It was a pretty uneventful drive thanks to Anna Sale from Death, Sex, and Money and, of course, Ira Glass, my personal driving companion. Although there was some rain as I was driving in and the water looked pretty high as I drove across the bridge. I got into town, went straight to the convention center, registered for the conference, and went to a workshop. After the first workshop, I went to the hotel to check in and drop off my stuff (and take a 30 minute power nap) before going back to the convention center for a reception. The reception was for first-time attendees and after a short presentation, we were divided into regions (Tennessee, Kentucky, North and South Carolina). I met a few people, ate some food, and headed back to the hotel.

Wednesday, I woke up bright and early- around 4:30- so that I could hit the gym before the conference. There was a shuttle that ran to and from the hotel that I took this day, but most days I just walked it. There was an opening session and then the exhibition room opened. It was full of vendors- drug companies, hospitals, schools, etc. AKA lots of free swag! While I was waiting to go into the exhibit hall, I ran into some of the girls that I had met the night before, so I ended up walking around with them some. We had signed up for separate workshops, so we exchanged numbers and decided to hang out later. After the workshops, we met up and walked to a brewery for drinks and appetizers. We ate, drank, listened to music, and talked. And talked some more.

We stayed on the patio for about 4 hours before we decided we were all tired and called it a night around 10. I walked back with towards the hotel with 2 girls from North Carolina and we decided to run into Pinkberry for some dessert on the way home. Delicious!

Thursday was another full day of workshops. Liver failure, anemia, fun stuff like that. I went to an industry lunch on Xarelto. It was actually pretty interesting. There was also free food. At the end of the day, I met up with all the girls again and we took the trolley to the French Market. It was only like 3 stops and we totally could have just walked, but the trolley ride was fun. We walked around the French Quarter and looked at all the architecture. And listened to some street music.

Then we decided to stop in a little restaurant called Tableau for drinks and appetizers. We made it in at the perfect time because it started raining once we got inside. We sat at the bar and ordered drinks and a couple appetizers to share. We got tuna, truffle fries, and some Burrata bruschetta that was absolutely heavenly! Seriously, I can still taste it! There was also a live band to provide some background music. So fun!

After drinks, we just walked around and checked out some shops. We went into a chandelier shop that was incredible! They didn't allow any pictures, but just imagine a room filled with the largest, most ornate chandeliers! Once we got hungry, we wondered into another restaurant for dinner. We all decided to go full New Orleans. I got shrimp creole that was delicious. We wandered around aimlessly some more before deciding to walk back to the hotels.

Friday morning came early, but I still somehow managed to go down to the gym before heading to the convention center for the conference. I went to my morning workshops and then met the girls for an industry lunch. There was a break after lunch so we decided to walk over to the mall. I shopped a little, while 2 of the girls got pedicures. Then we went back for another session. This was the Acute Care Forum and it got a little heated. There were some interesting points made though.

That night, we started by going straight to Cafe DuMonde. The beignets were amazing, as usual. I could have eaten like 7, but I decided to refrain. I also got a iced cafe au lait. Yum! After that we meandered towards a restaurant for dinner. This place was amazing! The waiter recommended chargrilled oysters. I've never had oysters before, because they are slimy, but I tried them and they were great. The chargrill gave it a smokey flavor and everything is good with butter and garlic, right? For dinner, I got the seafood pescatore. Incredible!

Then, because it was Friday night, we made the decision to hit up Bourbon Street. We walked around before ending up at a karaoke bar. I think there were 4 separate bachelorette parties there! I obviously did not sing, but it was a lot of fun. One of the girls did sing which was hilarious!

After hours of karaoke and dancing, we were exhausted! We called it a night and walked back to the hotels. Here we are before and after...

It was a busy day with lots of walking!

It was hard to wake up on Saturday morning, but with some extra coffee, I made it to the conference on time. The workshops ended about 4 and the North Carolina girls flew out that night, which meant that I was on my own. It was nice after the busy week! I read and watched some TV and went to bed early.

Sunday, I packed up and got on the road early, but not before I got a few pics of the view from my room...

It was a busy week, but a lot of fun and I learned a lot! I made it back to Memphis around 2 and had time to do some laundry and clean up before getting ready for the long week of work...

Sunday Smiles

{Source}

He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

- Psalm 18:19

Superpowers

I'm in New Orleans for a conference. I'll be back on Sunday and be sure to eat lots of beignets and drink at least one hurricane. But in the meantime...

You get one superpower. What do you choose?

Flight or Invisibility?

Answer in the comments and tell me why you chose what you did. I'll give my answer next week...

My Response to Memphis

There has been an article floating around on the internet called 17 Things Nashvillians Will Never Understand about Memphis. Maybe you've seen it. I have had multiple friends post it on facebook.

First of all, let me say that Memphis is home. It is absolutely not perfect, but it's like family. You can complain all day about your own family, but when someone else does it- it's on! Memphians have been upset about the article- and rightfully so. I won't comment on all 17 points, but here are my thoughts...

3. You have "residents" who won't travel inside the I-240 loop.

I'll assume that someone from Nashville didn't write this one. Brentwood, Franklin, Spring Hill, etc. You think those people ever go into Nashville?!

4. You have metal detectors on Beale Street?!

Are you questioning the City's choice to protect its residents? Also, I've been to the trauma unit at Vanderbilt...

7.  You literally turned a pyramid into a sporting goods store.

You have the Parthenon. We have the pyramid. At least it fits in with our city's name. And yes, we did decide to put something there that would help the economy. Is that a problem?

8. You glorify a dirty river and a muddy island.

No one is glorifying anything. But this is my Mississippi...

10. How the hell did you get an Ikea before we did?

I have no response to this jealousy. #sorrynotsorry

11. You still patronize the Rendezvous when there is so much better in BBQ in town.

Yes, there are better barbecue spots, but Rendezvous is a Memphis landmark. And did you ever think that maybe we send tourists there to keep them out of our favorite spots?

12. All your Grizzly love.

Seriously?! We will never apologize for our basketball love. It unites our city like nothing else. Sometimes people ask me if I like basketball. My response: "I'm from Memphis." So, I'm sorry that Memphis got their own basketball franchise and you have to share your football team with the whole state.

13. Why does the package I'm FedExing to Chattanooga have to go through Memphis?

Because it's FedEx. Interesting tidbit: Memphis has some of the freshest seafood for this reason. It ships straight here. Everything else has to go through the hub before reaching it's final destination.

14. West Memphis is in Arkansas?

Yes. It's west of Memphis, obviously. And Memphis is so cool that other cities wish they were us!

15. Memphis Barbecue Co. is actually in Mississippi?

See above.

16. That ranch house on Elvis Presley Blvd.

Anyone else singing Rick Ross right now? Apparently Nashville is knocking Elvis now too.

17. There are ducks in that hotel's lobby.

It's called the Peabody. And it's a tradition.

Sunday Smiles

{Source}

Experiencing God's grace in our brokenness remind us that His love never fails.

InstaFriday

My parents are in Costa Rica. I was dog sitting and stayed at their house over the weekend. Which meant that I did a whole lot of nothing. I stayed by the pool and read a book in 2 days. Glorious!

I wore my hair curly. For real. Sometimes I wear my hair curly, but it's always when I have nothing to do and am just running errands. And it's usually thrown up in a messy bun on the top of my head. But I decided to embrace my curls and wore them to church on Sunday. Maybe I'll start wearing them more. Maybe...

After church, I ran by my cousin's house to pick up her dog, Sophie, and we all made the trek out to my parents' house. They are out of town so I'm dog sitting for them too. Monday, I decided to take them for a walk. It was an adventure, to say the least...

Hard Stuff

Therapy is hard. I mean, I knew that it wouldn't be easy, but it's really hard. I think that I am just now realizing how really messed up I am. Every time we talk about another new topic and another one of my many issues I realize how much I have to work on. Oh well, it's all a process, right?

I went again yesterday and I cried once again- which is a lot of fun, let me tell you. And I got homework. It's going to be hard. I already did it once and cried and laughed through it. It's going to require a lot of introspection, but I like homework because I like having measurable things to check off a list.

Therapy is going well over all though. I have opened up and shared some things that I haven't ever really talked about and there is such freedom in the truth! Who knew? Ha!

Changes

No, it's not time for an official New Year's Resolution update, but I thought I would give a little update anyway. 

My number one priority when looking for a church was true, authentic community. If I found that, I only wanted to make sure that they preached the truth of the Bible. That was it. I wasn't looking for the greatest preacher that I connected with and loved their sermons. I honestly didn't care if I liked their preaching at all (as long as they were preaching Truth.) That makes it sound like I don't like this new church. I do. Thankfully. That's just not what I was ultimately looking for. I've had great preaching. I can get great preaching on a podcast any day. That's not enough to get to me to wake up early on Sunday. I wanted more.

So I visited a couple places and tried out some different classes. And I think I have found a church. I have at least found a church that I am committed to going to in the foreseeable future. I have been going to the Young Adults class. It is taught by a young married couple and they are great. We are talking about the Holy Spirit right now, which has been great. He often uses an intellectual approach to things which I appreciate. But he also gets to the heart of the topic. He asks open-ended, thought-provoking questions that allow us to open up and be vulnerable. And people are! I know I'm still working on it, but it still surprises me sometimes when people are just open and honest and say what they feel! But that allows us to actually open up and get to know each other on a real level.

There are some fun things planned for the summer, including some trips, which I am going to try to do so I can get to know people better and form deeper connections. I think that it will be good though. Another answered prayer!