freakishly quiet in my head today..

Wow, I think this is the first time in the last three years I have nothing to stress about.

#Oola

There has been a lot going on with me lately, and I have caught myself off balance.
I need to balance these chakras right up.

Starting today I'm going to take steps every single day to do better at taking care of myself so I can better take care of others. I feel so weighed down right now (and not just from vacation burritos haha). I am starting to feel all the mad stress of new career/moving out/getting married/adulting etc.

"What is to give light must endure burning." //Viktor Frankl -- perfectly sums up how being a new nurse is going for me.

I think it has been the most traumatic, yet most rewarding thing I've done with my life.
It is such an emotional experience to be there at the most exciting, life changing moment between a family. Whether it's first time mommy and daddy, or just another angel baby for the family. Human life is a true miracle. It's been incredible to share so many intense and humbling moments together.

Being a nurse is a lifestyle. I need to set a good example, and contribute to the team, and that means I need to take better care of myself so I can endure more. Physically and mentally.

"Ongoing self-care practices are absent." //Eric Gentry.

Lessons from Nurse Residency 03/01/2016: ABC's of prevention: Awareness, Balance & Connections.

MY goals as an RN on the team:
be present, and alert.
take a deep breath and things through.
be a collaborator.
practice gratitude every shift [Say thank you at least 3x daily.]
deal with things as they come up, and stay on top of charting & strip reviews.
learn to SPEAK UP and be confident!
communicate clearly.
be hyper aware of the environment and any trends or changes.
after every shift; think of something I have done well, and something I want to work on.

I love my job!

September thirteenth, two thousand sixteen

Six months from yesterday, on our three year anniversary.
Cannot wait to marry my soulmate. <3
Visit our wedding website here.
#EatDrinkandbeOlsen.
#llamas.

nutella stuffed red velvet cupcakes!

Guys, I made these for my friend's birthday and they were the biggest hit!
I think the best part is the frosting-- and that is usually my least favorite part.
Here is how to blow some minds:
Make cupcakes according to box instructions:

Let cool for a few minutes, and take a spoon or scoop and scoop out a chunk in the middle (save the chunks!)

Stuff them with as much nutella as your heart desires, and replace the cake chunk.

Now for the frosting! I came across this recipe on pinterest! I'm telling you, this is the best part!
Frosting Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups milk
3 heaping tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (NOT confectioners)
1 1/2 cups butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine milk and flour in a small saucepan. Cook, over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth and thick. Remove from heat, pour the mixture into a clean bowl and cover the surface with saran wrap. This stops the cooking and also prevents a skin from forming on the surface. Set aside to cool.

In stand mixer cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla and mix.
When your milk mixture is slightly cooled, add one tablespoon at a time to the butter mixture, whipping thoroughly in between.

Whip until you have a fluffy, white and buttery frosting.
Frost immediately! Refrigerate to solidify the frosting and it tastes better cold!

Enjoy them! Share them! Let me know if you like them?

Hey stranger.

Whoa, I cannot believe I haven't updated my poor, little, neglected blog since AUGUST 2015!!
Sorry to all of my non-existent readers! ;).

In the last five months a lot has happened, you could say I'm "growing up" fast.
Some of my favorite highlights by month!

AUGUST 2015
♦ Pickling spicy pickles.
♦ Taste of Wasatch for Justin's birthday.
♦ SLIPKNOT with some of my all time favorite people.
♦ Book of Mormon the Musical!!
♦ Running through the sprinklers.

SEPTEMBER 2015
♦ Carrying on the Swiss Days tradition.
♦ Making Salsa (and my first ever solo batch.)
♦ Getting to go to the KBER studio to see A Lily Gray live on the radio.
♦ Oktoberfest!
♦ Celebrating two years with David! 
♦ Going to Jenny's cabin.

OCTOBER 2015
♦ Celebrating a LOT of birthdays!! [David's, Mom's, Grandma's]
♦ Picking & carving pumpkins.
♦ Finishing my capstone clinicals in three weeks!
♦ Dressing up like bums at school!

NOVEMBER 2015
♦ Family pictures.
♦ Mastering my resume & portfolio. (really, it was a highlight lol.)
♦ Making some KILLER cupcakes. (stay tuned for recipes!)
♦ Thanksgiving.

DECEMBER 2015
♦ Not only graduating, but FINISHING nursing school!!
♦ Getting ENGAGED!!! :D
♦ Becoming an Auntie!
♦ Celebrating Christmas with the family.
♦ My first interview for a NURSE position.

JANUARY 2016
♦ Passing my NCLEX and officially becoming a REGISTERED NURSE!!
♦ Being offered my first [and dream] job as a nurse, in Labor and Delivery!
♦ Snowboarding in our KILLER powder!
♦ Seeing my first two Sundance films.

NANDA

Spent 10 hours on a care plan today.. hopefully the last one I ever have to do for school.
Got me feeling like:

Mouse Ears and Magic.

Hi there! :)
Sorry, same old usual stuff: busy, busy with SCHOOL!!
I had another successful quarter, kicking ped's butt this time with an A!

I had almost two weeks off for summer, and I spend 90% on a much needed vacation.
David and I headed down to St. George on Wednesday night [6.24.2015] to start our vacation a little early. When we got there we shopped, grubbed and headed to bed early for our drive to Cali in the morning. I had to show David the incredible Jazzy Java's before we hit the road Thursday morning, and he was definitely impressed.

We had one hot, [my AC doesn't like to work on road-trips] yet smooth drive to Anaheim. Once we checked into our hotel, we walked across the street so I could show David what Downtown Disney was all about. Guys, this man gets so excited-- just like me!! It makes everything so much more magical. While we were there, we bought our Disneyland tickets & some mouse ears of course; then grabbed some dinner at ESPN and headed back to our hotel for some quality zzzs.

The next day we experienced the magic of Disneyland! David had been there only once when he was a child, so it basically was his first time. I did my research and we managed to hit everything we wanted to by the afternoon! We met up with my friend Anna and her boyfriend Tim later in the day, and they said we couldn't miss the parade and the fireworks. I am so glad we listened, that alone was worth the trip by itself!!

When our feet could no longer handle it [just before closing-- almost a sixteen hour fun filled day], we drove to our Newport beach house for some much earned sleep.
The next two days we relaxed on the beach and even did some SUPing [stand up paddle-boarding] in the pier. Monday [6.29.2015] we took a boat to Catalina Island. Dave had never been on a boat in the open ocean, [let alone never even seen a real cruise ship!] so it was very special and so much fun. Gosh, I just love that man. While in Catalina we checked out the island, and did some more SUPing and fish seeing in Lover's Cove. It was an wonderful little adventure with the whole fam.

Tuesday [6.30.2015] was a marvelous day spend at California Adventure. We rode everything we wanted to [twice even], and indulged in some lobster nachos and ice cold fulfilling brews [and more brews]. The rest of the week we lived it up as much as we could at all our favorite local by-the-beach spots. Our last night at Newport, David made the whole family a spaghetti and homemade meatball dinner. It was a smashing hit, they all loved it-- and all seven pounds of meatballs were devoured.

Friday, the last morning of the beach [7.3.2015] David and I tried to sleep in, but it was too hard when everyone was leaving. We were the last ones to check out of the empty beach house. We decided on a last breakfast at Charlies Chili one of the local favorites. After breaky we drove to Vega$ for one last night of fun. My sweet Glen got us a room at the Downtown Grand, which was right across the street from the Fremont Street Experience. We didn't have a lot of money left by the end of this long adventure, but we managed to win some cash to pay for our adult beverages. :)

Now we are home, it is kind of depressing actually. I have finished the first week of school already, and I have to remind myself that I am going to school so I can have more magical vacations like that.

I want stuff!
I want to play!
I want to travel!!

So I must work hard and study harder. Hopefully only five months and two weeks until I can start my dream journey as a Registered Nurse.