Diversion

Moving sucks. And the thing is, it's only the little things that are left. And I just can't bring myself to do it. So, here I am giving you the ABCs of me... something I saw on Jill's blog a while back and haven't gotten around to it. (Are you sensing a theme... ;) )

The ABCs of Me Right Now

Ambition:  To see. I want to see everything. Go everywhere. Travel is my current ambition addiction. (do I get bonus points for adding an additional 'a' word?)

Bad Habits:  Um... procrastination?

Celebrity Crush: Ian Somerhalder

Drink:  Coconut Water. I'm obsessed.

Education:  Associates of Science in Nursing from USU/WSU, Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science from Utah State, Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the University of Washington. Next up: Georgetown... tossing around the ideas of a Doctoral degree or a dual masters in clinical nurse education and public health with an emphasis in tropical medicine... I have a problem... :)

Food: Blame it on my liberalization from living in the PacNW, but I'm totally in to the whole organic, nothing artificial, no preservatives, good for you stuff. I crave vegetables. I believe that food should go bad if you don't eat it soon enough. I believe that you should know where your food came from and what is in it. I also believe in chocolate.

Guilty Pleasures: The Vampire Diaries. I'm a 31 year-old professional who saves lives for a living and I can't get enough of a teen drama about vampires. Don't knock it till you've seen it. Besides, you know I'm a sucker for a good love story and OH boy is this one epic! (not a word I use often)

Hometown:  North Logan, UT --although I did my young adult growing up in New York City and Seattle

Ice Cream: I actually found one that I like! Only one. And it was a limited edition. Go figure. But it was Ben 'n Jerry's Key Lime Pie (remember my ethical food rant earlier? Kudos to you B&J!)

Jonesing For:  A place that feels like home, and someone to share it with.

Kryptonite:  A man with a guitar... oy...

Look-a-like:  Pretty sure I don't have one. Except my dad and his mom --those are some strong genes!

Movie:  Last one that really moved me was 42. Last one I saw in the theater was White House Down --awesome. Next one I want to see... not sure. Suggestions?  All-time favorite: Dirty Dancing

Nickname: Depends of which one of my patients you ask and how many restraints they were in... (I really don't have one)

Obsessions:  Travel, family, friends.

Perfume: Dolce and Gabana Light Blue -Walking in Portofino

Quirk:  Temperature settings. My car or house always have to be set to an even number. 68, 72, 74...

Regret:  I believe in living life without regret. I'm terrified of regretting the road not taken, so I always take it when the opportunity arises. Challenges are part of life, and I don't regret those either.

Saver/Spender:  Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

The Last Book You Read: The best 't' word we could come up with is the?  Really?  The last book I finished was Beautiful Ruins. 

Unique Feature: I don't have a cleft in the cartilage at the tip of my nose. Put your finger on the end of your nose (you can sing head shoulders knees and toes if it helps) and rock it side to side. Feel that ridge between two bumps of cartilage? I don't have that. My nose is perfectly smooth and rounded.

Vacation:  Next up is Nashville TN this fall. Next big one is England/Ireland/Scotland hopefully next fall.

Wardrobe: Sun-dresses and khakis --not together of course

Xrays:  I've worked in emergency medicine for eight years, I look at xrays every day. If I can tell what's wrong with it, it isn't good. Last one I had taken was sophomore year of college (the USU one) when I thought I broke my thumb, Turns our I just shredded all the ligaments and tore a tendon instead.

Years:  I just finished a daily photo blog capturing 365 days of my 30th year. The way I feel about years --any way you group them-- can best be summed up by the note I authored on the cover page. But if you don't want to wait for the book to come out, it goes something like the following. There's a million different ways you can measure a year... Thank you lyrics to RENT...

Zen: Meditation. Deep breaths. I'm obsessed. It works.

Seasons of Love

I'm afraid my heart is in one of those mooshy gooshy girl moods where everything feels soft and warm and I just want... something. My brain is craving something besides the peanut butter m&ms I left in my camping bag in the trunk of my car. The thing is, it's cold out there now, it's warm in here, and honestly, I don't want to put pants on... Anyway, back on track. My brain is craving a workout. A real barn burner of a think puzzle. Last time I felt like this I signed myself up for a second bachelors degree. Oy. I even downloaded a brain training app that's supposed to "give your brain a daily work out." And it does, but it's not enough. I need something. Something. I think it's the fall. There's something about the chill of fall that makes a girl long for a great pair of boots, a soft warm sweater, and a calloused hand to hold while walking down a tree-lined street. This is not an ideal time to watch Midnight in Paris in the absence of someone to curl into during the movie. Yet it's all that sounded good on my DVR tonight. I've been craving something lately, I can't put my finger on what exactly it is. I've dove into books that quench the thirst for adventure in a far off land, and movies that do the same. There is a stack of nine, yes, count them, nine books on my nightstand. Some I've finished and just haven't moved to my finished basket, some I'm in the middle of, and a couple I've started and then decided I wasn't in the mood for. ADD much? :) Each tale I read or play I see just makes me want to read and see more. My appetite for fantasy and adventure is becoming insatiable. It's a beautiful thing to be able to dream, no? Bring it on fall, I welcome you with open arms!

First photo by yours truly, second two from Pinterest

Idle Hands

Do you ever feel like you're simply existing?  I've had several moments recently where I catch myself doing things and think, "What on earth are you doing?!"  Nothing is the answer. Nothing or mindless tasks that waste being awake time. How easy it is to become stagnant and complacent. How quickly a 'break' can turn into habit.  There's nothing wrong with taking a little me time and with just doing absolutely nothing every once in a while.  However, I generally like to fill my 'me' time with a nice walk or workout, a good book, cleaning something, etc. Tonight after I got home from a delicious sushi dinner I found myself lounging on the couch, Sportscenter on in the background, staring mindlessly at my facebook screen. I snapped out of it, and wondered why I was wasting my precious time zombied out in front of not only the tv, but my computer as well. (Don't worry, my cell phone was not far away either.)  Off went the tv, away went the computer. I soon found myself in a bubble bath with the remainder of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. It didn't take long before I found myself a teenage girl in 1910s Brooklyn, New York.  A much more scintillating way to spend the evening. Much more stimulating for the mind and soul.  Once I was sufficiently prune-y I wrapped myself in a fluffy warm towel recently out of the drier and finished getting ready for bed.  After all, if I have nothing better to do than practice my zombie impression in front of two dimensional screens with little imagination, I may as well go to bed so I can wake up at a reasonable hour and spend some exercise time with nature :)  Along these same lines, I recently committed to a triathlon next spring with a friend of mine ...yikes!  But it will be good. For the times when working full time and school full time aren't enough to keep me from being too idle, I'll have more to do!  Apparently it's needed. AND training for and completing the triathlon will get my bum in great shape for my 30th birthday extravaganza next summer in Greece!  Who wants to look squishy in Greece?!  Not this girl!  Soft I'll always be, and proudly so, but no more squishy!  Wish me luck folks!!

On another note... the love of my life, my sweet little nephew turned 1 yesterday!! Happy birthday little man! Look forward to pics and party info soon :)

Tada!

So this is what comes of me being too bored. I'm sitting here in my apartment in Seattle, and it's raining ...which is great. I love the rain. Really. The thing is, I've had the last three days off work, and most of my work friends have not. So, I've read two entire books (that I've already read twice) ran 24 miles on the treadmill, watched so much SportsCenter I could quote it, scrapbooked until all remaining creativity dissappeared, checked all my email accounts, read every update available on the Yankees, and spent hours on facebook. Oh, and during the few hours of sunshine yesterday I walked all over downtown Seattle and Pioneer Square. Essentially, I've ran out of things to do inside, and it's to wet to do anything outside. So I've been inspired by all my great blogging friends, (and a little by all the boredom :) ) to start my own blog. I actually had a recent conversation with one of them about how I didn't feel the world was ready for another websited dedicated entirely to me :) I'll try to keep it updatedfairly often.

For those of you who I havent' talked to in a while, I suppose I'll give you the rundown. I'm currently in Seattle working as an RN in an Emergency Room. I'm a travel nurse, which essentially means I get paid to live on vacation. I tell the company I work for where I want to go, and they find me a job and an apartment, and then bankroll the whole project :) I contract with each hospital for 13 weeks, and have the option to extend my contract if I choose. I absolutely love it! So far I've been to Long Island NY, Orange County CA, and now Seattle WA. Don't ask me to pick a favorite, I've loved them all!

So, the title. I pondered for an unbelieveable amount of time over what to title my blog! I wanted something that reflected me. I love things that sparkle, shine, smell nice, and feel good ...and I love trauma! The more blood and guts and spouting chest wounds the better! Intereting dichotomy, I know :) For all the sparkly shiny stuff, I'm really not a pink frilly person, I like to keep it real. I love all things Yankees, Ocean, and Sunshine, and now I have to go! Dinner plans on the pier ...did I mention I love Seattle?!