I took my blog offline for a while; I really needed to reflect if blogging was something I wanted to continue or if it was something I wanted to give up. With my work's social media policy, it really had me thinking. Do I want to possibly say something on the inter-webs that could interfere with my employment? Probably not, but I've decided that was easily fixable. Don't talk about work on my blog. DUH! At least not in a negative light. We all have bad work days, no matter how much we love our jobs or our coworkers. Bad days just happen. My blog won't be the place for that.
In the time that my blog has been offline, I've had a lot happen. I moved into my own house; husband and I are finally home owners x2 now living in our spacious 2500sq foot southern home here in the Jacksonville area near Camp LeJeune. I completed my BSN so now, I am finally Sarah, BSN, RN and not Sarah, RN anymore. I love my extra three letters! Right now I am taking some time off to focus on my work, and my family before I jump into an MSN program which is in my future, I'm just not sure where in my future just yet.
I've fallen in love with ER nursing. I love it, I want to get better at it. My employer is fantastic with education opportunities and has given me the opportunity to get all kinds of certifications and classes to help me be better at my job. I jump at every chance I get to learn more about my specialty. IN.LOVE.WITH.WORK! (how many people can say that?)
I found out WHY I wasn't loosing any weight. Huzzah! It's a start, and I even cried about it because I don't want something wrong with me, but now that we know the cause, we can come up with a solution. I have hypothyroidism, and that makes a lot of sense and really as I look back and think about it, I've had a lot of the sublte symptoms for YEARS! I just wish someone would have caught it before I gained 60lbs and then it wouldn't come off. I'm hoping now that continuing with eating healthy and being active I might actually loose some of it. It's been a long road with me and my weight gain, and it's slow progress. Hoping I get there...
I can't promise I will be back blogging as much as I used to, but I am back. Nice to be back. Hello everyone!
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The Atlantic
Yesterday, I went to Wrightsville Beach, NC. It was my first time in the Atlantic Ocean. I must say, I was surprised it was not quite as cold as I was expecting.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Intimidated
As I come to a close with my RN-BSN program, I find myself wanting more. I know I am capable of more and am capable of making a better difference with an advanced degree. I really want to advance my education as a Nurse Practitioner. Currently at this time, I have two schools in mind, both local. I'm looking into The University of North Carolina at Wilmington and Eastern Caroline University. Not gonna lie, I kind of like the idea of having a pirate as a mascot, but I know that's not a good enough reason for picking a school.
My biggest fear at this moment is taking a graduate entrance exam. Both schools require a minimum score on either the GRE and the MAT; I don't know which one to choose. If you have any input, please share! I have about five weeks left to complete my BSN program and then I am going to hit the books and plan and prepare to take a graduate exam and start the process of collecting recommendations and gathering transcripts. YIKES!
In other news, I was just notified that I earned Deans List recognition for the Fall 2012 semester. I am hoping to be invited into Sigma Theta Tau, which is the nursing honor's society; I'm sure it will only help with graduate admissions. squeee! I'm such a smarty pants with my 4.0 in BSN coursework. *happy dance*
My biggest fear at this moment is taking a graduate entrance exam. Both schools require a minimum score on either the GRE and the MAT; I don't know which one to choose. If you have any input, please share! I have about five weeks left to complete my BSN program and then I am going to hit the books and plan and prepare to take a graduate exam and start the process of collecting recommendations and gathering transcripts. YIKES!
In other news, I was just notified that I earned Deans List recognition for the Fall 2012 semester. I am hoping to be invited into Sigma Theta Tau, which is the nursing honor's society; I'm sure it will only help with graduate admissions. squeee! I'm such a smarty pants with my 4.0 in BSN coursework. *happy dance*
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Wife 2 Wife Wednesday
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| [Wife to Wife Wednesdays] |
What is one challenge experienced in military marriages that you have been able to work through or overcome?
Like many of you who are married to the military, separation has been my biggest challenge. Unique to my own life, in the last part of 2012 my husband and I had to make a big decision. He had PCS orders to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. At the time we were stationed at MCRD, San Diego in California. As I write this, my husband still lives in California, and I'm living in North Carolina. For once, we decided to put my career first. My husband isn't scheduled to check into his new command here in North Carolina until "no later than May 16, 2013" according to the copy of orders we received.
So, what the heck am I doing here all alone?! Our decision involved me accepting a job that I was offered early on (There's only ONE hospital in the local area), or take the risk in not having one and move together at the same time. It wasn't without great consideration that we did this. It meat big sacrifices on my part; living without my husband, and my pets, I moved before Christmas so I missed the holidays with my family and friends. It was my first time spending a holiday truly alone. We knew what it meant before I embarked on my adventure, but it was going to be the best for me and for us in the long run.
I'm fortunate to have such a resilient marriage. We've made it through year long separations, we've had good times, and bad times. Times when I turned to the Deacon at our church for advice because I didn't know what to do next, times when I wanted to toss my husband off to the side and run away... but, I didn't. We stuck together, we overcame, we prayed together; for one another. We made a commitment to one another, FOREVER. Something that I don't think many people appreciate anymore.
I made a decision in my early 20s to marry a man, and I did so in front of God and everyone; I took a vow that in essence says that no matter what, no matter how crappy life gets, no matter how crummy I feel about you, we stick together!
For all the good times we've had, for as much as I love that man, I'd walk through every minute of the bad all over again if I had to just to have him.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Snow in North Carolina
Saturday night, I had a pleasant surprise when I woke up to get ready for work; SNOW! I love snow, but I'm a California girl, and you have to remember, we drive to the snow, we don't live in the snow; nonetheless it was exciting to see, especially since it's such a rare thing here in North Carolina. Of course I took some photos. My least favorite part of the snow, was the fact that my car door froze shut; luckily I found one of the techs in the parking lot to ask "Now what?", turns out all you have to do is PULL! :)
Thursday, February 14, 2013
From Iwakuni to my Nursiversary in one post
When we first had orders to Iwakuni, I wanted to die. I thought it was the worst news in the world. It was going to mean one of two things; giving up my dogs, or living without my husband for two years, neither of which was a good option as far as I was concerned. Somehow, by pure luck, or faith or whatever you want to think, the orders were changed to Camp Lejeune. Again, either I'm really lucky or the big guy upstairs really has a soft spot for me right now; I was offered an opportunity to move to North Carolina for a nursing job. That meant that I would have to move ahead of my husband, but it also meant that once he arrived, I wouldn't have to worry about not having a job. I went ahead.
Many people thought I was crazy to move ahead without my husband, to take a job in another state I had never been to, and navigate alone. Paying rent on top of our mortgage, and accepting pay that was half of what I was making in California sounds like a horrible idea, but in the long run, it was what was best for my husband and I. I don't regret any of it, but none of it has been easy.
Buying a second home in North Carolina has been a small production. When I originally contracted with the builder to build my home, I was not aware that I did not have enough VA eligibility left to finance the entire home; It wasn't until after I made a non-refundable deposit with the builder that I was told a $21k down payment would be required if I wanted to go the VA route. To make a long story short, I ended up going with an FHA loan because the down payment was less than half of what I would have needed for VA, the only downside to that is my payment went up about $300 a month from what I anticipated. Still not a hardship at this point, but nonetheless an added expense we had not anticipated.
On the work front, It's going great. It has not been easy for me, but it's been good. Transitioning into ER nursing has been one of the most challenging things I have ever done, next to nursing school. My learning curve is steep! I feel like, everything I've known about nursing up until this point is useless. The ER is definitely it's own world. It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I just didn't know anything, and I needed to open up my mind to learning a new way of nursing. Working the ER has really allowed me to expand my skills; I think I've done more in just a couple months in the ER than I ever did as a floor nurse in a year's time. It's pretty amazing. I'm determined to excel in this specialty and love that my employer has so many educational opportunities to help me get where I need to be.
On that note, today is my one year Nursiversary! If you remember, exactly a year ago today I passed the NCLEX and became an RN. I once had a professor in nursing school that knew the exact date she passed boards so many years ago, and when I asked her how she remembered that date she said "It's the day that changed the rest of my life". That's how I feel about 2.14.12, it's the day that changed my life for the better. Deciding to become a nurse really was the best decision I have ever made. I only regret not doing it sooner.
Many people thought I was crazy to move ahead without my husband, to take a job in another state I had never been to, and navigate alone. Paying rent on top of our mortgage, and accepting pay that was half of what I was making in California sounds like a horrible idea, but in the long run, it was what was best for my husband and I. I don't regret any of it, but none of it has been easy.
Buying a second home in North Carolina has been a small production. When I originally contracted with the builder to build my home, I was not aware that I did not have enough VA eligibility left to finance the entire home; It wasn't until after I made a non-refundable deposit with the builder that I was told a $21k down payment would be required if I wanted to go the VA route. To make a long story short, I ended up going with an FHA loan because the down payment was less than half of what I would have needed for VA, the only downside to that is my payment went up about $300 a month from what I anticipated. Still not a hardship at this point, but nonetheless an added expense we had not anticipated.
On the work front, It's going great. It has not been easy for me, but it's been good. Transitioning into ER nursing has been one of the most challenging things I have ever done, next to nursing school. My learning curve is steep! I feel like, everything I've known about nursing up until this point is useless. The ER is definitely it's own world. It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I just didn't know anything, and I needed to open up my mind to learning a new way of nursing. Working the ER has really allowed me to expand my skills; I think I've done more in just a couple months in the ER than I ever did as a floor nurse in a year's time. It's pretty amazing. I'm determined to excel in this specialty and love that my employer has so many educational opportunities to help me get where I need to be.
On that note, today is my one year Nursiversary! If you remember, exactly a year ago today I passed the NCLEX and became an RN. I once had a professor in nursing school that knew the exact date she passed boards so many years ago, and when I asked her how she remembered that date she said "It's the day that changed the rest of my life". That's how I feel about 2.14.12, it's the day that changed my life for the better. Deciding to become a nurse really was the best decision I have ever made. I only regret not doing it sooner.
