Hello Washington!

So a few weeks ago I went up to Washington to check it out and hang out with my friend Emily. Thanks Emily for letting me stay with you and show me a great time!! This is kind of long but I figure that I'm documenting for journal purposes as well as informing all my blog readers. So enjoy :)

To be honest, I was little weary about Washington. I guess most of my thoughts about Washington were from reading Twilight and knowing that it rains ALOT up there. I wasn't sure how I would feel about living in the rain with hardly any sunshine. Someone actually told me that I should like it because I'm not an outdoors person. Um excuse me, I totally am. Even if I'm not water skiing or rock climbing or swimming 24/7 I'm a Cali girl at heart and LOVE the sunshine. So with that said, I wasn't sure how I would really feel about Washington AND the possibility of me living there...don't worry I'm getting to that.

So my friend Emily's mom works for a hospital in Washington. I can't remember exactly what she does but hey she has an office and is important so that's all that matters :) My mom has been bugging me ever since I told her that Emily's mom might be able to get me a job there or at least help me. I think with all the bugging about it, I was less willing/wanting to go. But when my mom found out Emily was up there she was like, well you should go. So we booked me a flight and I asked Emily if it would be alright to come visit for just a few days to check things out.

I flew from Ontario to Salt Lake City and had like an hour and half layover. Kind of sad I didn't get to see any of my family and friends in Utah but hey I waved to you at the airport :) The next leg of the journey was to Washington of course. Both of my flights there were fine...nothing too worthy to tell happened while flying haha.

I arrived in WA and texted Emily to let her know I was there. I only had a carry on because I was only staying for two days but the flight from Salt Lake to WA I had to check my carry on so I had to pick it up at baggage claim. It actually all worked out because my flight ended up early and Emily was planning on being there on time. The airport there was different and I was a little confused. When you fly Delta there (and I'm sure other airlines) you get on this like bus thing that takes you down to baggage claim. It was kind of cool. I actually felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie getting on it. Weird I know...but that's how I felt..so get over it :) While waiting outside Emily found me and we along with Anthony (her friend in WA) went to dinner.

I arrived when the sun was setting and it was BEAUTIFUL! We went to this Mexican Restaurant called Cactus and it was awesome. I only got an appetizer because I wasn't super hungry BUT it was good food! After that we drove to a golf course kind of by Emily's house (or so I think...it was dark and I don't know my way around haha) and it was up on a hill. It was really beautiful seeing the cities with the lights and stuff. I tried to take a picture but sadly it didn't turn out :( Just take my word for it that it was beautiful. We went to Emily's house and ended up staying up into the early hours just doing girl talk. It was fun. Thanks for that Emily I needed it!

The second day we got up and went to Emily's mom's work at the Swedish Hospital in Issaquah. Let me just say it is a beautiful hospital with a fantastic view! It's not even open yet! It opens in November and it's awesome!! They have a cafe there where we ended up eating lunch and it was all healthy food. I LOVE that! Emily's mom introduced me to a few people whom we talked to about how I was a new graduate RN and one lady gave me her email and the email of the nurse recruiter in charge of hiring new grads. Later we met up with Anthony who had gotten off work and went to the city. Alright here are some pictures to post of this fun day:

Trophy Cupcakes

Me with of course Red Velvet :) 

Anthony works for Microsoft so he took us to one of the buildings and this is the view on the 27th floor. Can I say AMAZING! :) 

Me and Emily 

We had dinner at Dick's ...kind of like their version of In N Out

Anyone Grey's Anatomy fans?? This is the REAL view. Beautiful!

I loved the skies! The weather was chilly that night but during the day it was so beautiful!

Me and Emily 

After all our fun in the city we went to Emily's grandparents and played a card game. It was a lot of fun and I had a great time! 

The next day we got up and went to the Children't Clinic in Seattle where Emily's mom used to work. They have an MA job there which is under an RN but her mom figured it wouldn't hurt to go and at least talk to them. So we went out to Seattle and met with the staff at the children's clinic. The one RN there was super nice and gave me a lot of advice. I definitely got a lot out of this trip that's for sure. 

Another view overlooking the city :)

Ferry boat!!! I see them all the time in Grey's Anatomy and now I saw one in real life! What can I say I'm a nerd lol

The Space Needle

These two seriously made me laugh. They were so funny and so fun to hang out with. It was my first time really meeting Anthony and he is such a gentleman! I wish all guys were like him!

For my favorite family :) Had to post! LOVE LOVE LOVE the Harrison Family

Beautiful Temple! When Emily asked what I wanted to see there, the first thing I said was  I HAD to see the temple! It was beautiful! I wish I could've done a session there. Next time for sure :) 

We went to this park and isn't this gorgeous?! Heck yes!! LOVED it! 

Overall it was a fabulous short trip. I didn't want to take up too much of Emily's time with her family so it was only two days but those two days we did ALOT! Oh and I'm NOT moving there. Well as of right now I'm not. I emailed the lady about new grad info. She was very helpful and I applied. Still waiting to hear back but even if I don't get it, it's okay. I will still go back and visit WA again. It's beautiful. And there was sunshine. It's not like Cali but it actually reminded me a lot of San Francisco which I love so that's awesome. All in all it was a great trip and I got a lot of good advice and got to spend some one on one time with Emily. It was a win win situation :) 

My flight however on the way back home was terrible. Between my two flights I had a woman next to me say our pilot was a terrible driver because he "shook" the plane too much...aka turbulence. It was obvious she hadn't flown before. That same flight I had a GROWN woman kicking my seat for 2.5 hours straight. Um hello... not cool! Then in Phoenix I had like a 4 hr layover or something like that which was fine. I like having plenty of time in between flights.. I hate being rushed. I watched Twilight...don't judge. Anyways, I board the plane and sit down (window seat) and it's hot. Come to find out there was a problem so they turned the air off in the plane while we sat on the tar mac in 110 degree weather. NOT fun. Not to mention the fact that the guy seated next to me was wearing a full business suit and proceeded to undress as much as he could with what tiny space he had possible. I felt sorry for the guy though, b/c it was HOT. So the captain gets on and says that they charging something (kind of like a car battery so we can fly) and we'll be on our way. We finally took off for my 1 hour flight. As we our landing the lady behind me said that she would've much preferred to fly at 60 miles per hour the whole way because that was ridiculous. Really? at least we had air once we were in flight. Goodness. Let's just say I was GRATEFUL to finally be home. The trip itself was GREAT the getting home...not so much. But hey...life is an adventure worth taking so it's worth it :) 

Life is all about choices.....

Life is full of choices. What we choose could determine something good or bad happening next. I'll be honest though, life seemed MUCH simpler as a child. It wasn't until high school when choices I made I realized would affect the rest of my future. Like for instance, choosing which college to go to. That wasn't really a hard choice for me because I always knew I wanted to go to a small college to start off with. But the choices we make, don't always affect us in negative ways. If I hadn't chosen to go to school nearby then I would have never met some of the amazing people I have as friends today. Of course if I had gone to some big university then I'm sure that I would have met some amazing people there as well. I believe everything happens for a reason and that God has a plan for all of us. Once I graduated I thought I had my whole life planned out. Boy, was I sure wrong. The past few years I've felt like nothing has turned out the way I wanted it to BUT I realize now that there's a reason I'm going through all of this. I chose this path. I may not physically remember doing so but I know that this is the path I'm supposed to be taking. Life isn't easy. It's not supposed to be. But the choices we make can help us get through life and also learn life lessons in the mean time.

I remember writing in my journal at the beginning of 2011 and saying that I felt like this was going to be a GREAT year. Well to be honest, it hasn't been the greatest but the year isn't over yet! But I have chosen to let come what may and learn to love it! That's my new motto. So I just wanted to share that with all of you :)

Oh and I found this awesome quote I thought I would share:

“One gift that will help us navigate our lives is the gift He has given to all, the ability and power to choose.

“Our choices have the undeniable power of transforming our lives. This gift is an extraordinary sign of trust in us and simultaneously a cherished personal responsibility to use wisely. Our Father in Heaven respects our freedom to choose and will never force us to do what is right, nor will He impede us from making mediocre choices. His invitation, however, concerning this important and vital gift is clearly expressed in the scriptures: ‘But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which  inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.’ ”

Jose A. Teixeira, “Gifts to Help Us Navigate Our Life,” Ensign, May 2009, 104 (click on the link to read the whole talk)

Hope you all are having a fabulous week!! I know it's only Tuesday but still :) Here's a picture of what my fabulous weekend was like :) I'll blog about that later :) 

Hello Motivation!!!

So I have been doing this personal challenge.... and the past few weeks have been difficult in trying to get motivated to keep going. Thankfully I have some wonderful people in my life who are constantly rooting for me. I have to give a shout out to my cousin Carissa though. She is constantly amazing me with her sweet words of encouragement and motivational pep talks. We help each other out a lot!! Thanks Car! I've been doing pretty well at eating right and I even make the whole family eat right with portion control. My brothers hate it but hey it's working for me and I'm losing pounds so that's good. Don't worry I always make a little bit extra for those growing boys so they don't starve :)

I issued this challenge way back in May and while I didn't really reach that goal, it's still a work in progress. My goal is to workout every day M-F and on Saturdays when Bret doesn't have Soccer super early in the morning or Saturday evenings when it's not too hot. During the week it's not problem because everyone is at school and I have plenty of time to do it in the AM. So anyways, my cousin and I are challenging each other and motivating which really helps. It's nice to have a buddy doing it with you :) I wrote down my schedule for this week and so far so good!!! It's been a crazy week emotionally (see last post) but I'm doing good! I really should write more about my progress here but it's embarrassing when nothing happens. Oh well. I will keep you all posted on my progress! Hope you all are having a great week!!

Happy Heaven Day and 100th Post :)

Exactly two years ago my Dad passed away. It still seems so surreal and I don't think it's something I will ever get used to. I loved my Dad and talking with him about things going on in my life. Especially boys ;) but I mainly just LOVED to talk to him and hang out with him. If you remember  my Father's Day post then you will remember some of things I wrote in my journal. I've written a lot of thoughts about that day that changed my life forever and while I don't understand the way God works sometimes, I know he works in mysterious ways and has a plan for each and every one of us. My sister came up with the idea that this is our Heaven day. It's a day to celebrate my Dad's life and the fact that he is in Heaven now watching over all of us.

One of my favorite pictures of us as kids with Dad :) 

So in honor of today I'm attempting to make cake balls. It's something I've been wanting to try for a while and we'll see how it goes. I figured Heaven day was a pretty good excuse to make something sweet :)

And how cool is it that this post is my 100th post as a blogger?? I think it's pretty awesome. Not that I have a lot of blog readers but I love to blog and share my thoughts. Even if it doesn't help anyone else it helps me :) Happy Heaven Day  Dad. I know you are watching over us and my heart aches you aren't here physically but I know you are in a better place!

Today..

I have been re-watching the Twilight movies the past few weeks to get me ready for the 4th movie part 1 in November. Don’t judge me for that. I know I have a lot of close family/friends who are not Twilight fans but don’t hate me because I am one. This post has nothing to really do with Twilight anyways so keep reading :) 

Since I’ve been watching the movies I was reminded of a line in the movie. Bella states that Death is peaceful, easy but LIFE is so much harder. I kind of have to agree with that statement. Life is a constant struggle but there is also happiness and peace. People make fun of me because I prefer to live in my “bubble” but you know what, I don’t have to be “in” the world to know what’s in it. I see and hear terrible things and it makes me so sad. Children who are without parents, suffering in other countries. People who have incurable diseases, those who barely have enough to eat for the entire week. Kids who think they should follow in their peers footsteps and do drugs and other bad things. It’s a terrible thing. I hear things that go on at my brother’s high school and I wonder wow... how did things get so bad? I don’t want my brothers/cousins to grow up in world full of terrible things. I don’t want my future children being exposed to all the horrible things that go on in this world. But fact of the matter is, at some point in everyone’s life, we will be exposed to things we don’t necessary choose to be a part of. Things happen. Terrible things. But God is a loving God and is always there for us if we turn to him.

I was talking to a good friend of mine about how I honestly believe everything happens for a reason. I may not necessarily know or understand what the reason is but what I go through, what I experience, might help someone out somewhere down the road. God doesn’t give us what we can’t handle and when we’ve had enough, He takes care of the rest IF we let him. 

So today I choose to live in my bubble. Where life is somewhat better. Where I’m not constantly reminded about all the horrible things in the world. I am fully aware and I pray to God daily for all those who are suffering. That their pain may be taken away and that they can find peace and happiness in this life. People think that if I’m in my bubble I will never know what’s going on in the world. Believe me. I’m fully aware of things--- but we can live in the world but not OF the world. So I choose to live in the world but I don't have to hear about all the bad things ALL the time. I'm aware and I pray daily for  those suffering more than I could ever possibly imagine. 

 If I could buy homes for all the homeless and cure diseases and help those little children who are hungry or cold, I would. I donate to Charities, I help whenever I can. And I can still be somewhat shielded by all the other horrible things that happen. So today I look at the good things in life. The good friends, beautiful places God created, Family, and I pray that I will know and be guided to make a difference in the lives of those who are struggling, less fortunate or just need a shoulder to cry on.