Oregon Zoo

On Friday, Jeremy and I went to the Oregon Zoo - which is right near downtown Portland. It was a very crowded day, with lots of kids running around (typical) but also there was a lot of construction going on at the zoo and a few things were closed... Needless to say, we still had a lot of fun and I took a lot of pictures!

Here are a couple:

Camping at Lost Lake

Jeremy and I just returned from a quick camping trip out to Lost Lake, which is about an hour or two past Hood River, Oregon. It was absolutely gorgeous out there. The weather ended up being just about perfect as well! I decided to make a quick list of things I liked and disliked during the trip, just an easier way to blog instead of writing out a big long story :)

Likes.

• wine tasting/free cheese samples
• waking up to warm sunshine
• dill pickle sunflower seeds
• salt and ground pepper kettle chips
• canoeing (but only when we take rest breaks, my shoulders get tired!)
• bacon, eggs, and french press coffee by the morning campfire *Jeremy's favorite
• laying on the ground, looking up at the star filled sky

Dislikes.

• being in a cell phone dead zone
• billions of gnats
• tons of bees (seriously, they were everywhere)
• waking up with no air left in our mattress on hard ground
• the out-house running out of toilet paper
• deflating the floaties (takes foooorever!)

"The fire is the main comfort of the camp,

whether in summer or winter,

and is about as ample at one season as at another.

It is as well for cheerfulness

as for warmth and dryness."

~Henry David Thoreau

Why I'm Not Blogging As Much (besides that i was getting in 250 hours at the hospital in 5.5 weeks)

On my days off Jeremy and I take full advantage of this amazing summer weather Oregon has been having! We pack the cooler full of beer, throw on our swimsuits, make sure the floatie toys are in the truck and we head off for the closest river or lake! Here are a few pictures:

"all you really need this time of year

is a pair of shades and ice cold beer

and a place to sit somewhere

near water"

~Brad Paisley

August?!

Well here we are already, its just about the middle of August so that means I am just about to GRADUATE from nursing school! I finished my senior preceptorship on Saturday the 8th, and to my surprise they informed me that the nurse manager had opened a position for me - so it looks like I have my first job all lined up as well! It is a surgical floor, meaning that I care for people about to have surgery, just back from surgery, or re-admitted for complications related to surgery! Its a mixed bag of people and diagnoses.

I can not believe how this fell into place, I had been very worried that I would not find a job (since all my online applications had not been responded too, and recruiters I tried to reach had also not responded). I do not have details on the job, but I am just excited to have something to look forward too after graduation and taking the NCLEX (nursing boards).

Jeremy is still working on becoming employed - he currently has two strong leads, so we will keep you posted. Keep your fingers crossed for him as well :)

"Nurses dispense comfort,

compassion,

and caring

without even

a prescription"

~Val Saintsbury

A Birthday and a Wedding!

Its been a busy couple of days... Friday was my birthday (holy moly I'm 25?!) and yesterday was Jared and Alisa's wedding. Both fun filled sunny days! I loved taking pictures at the wedding, I think I have found my new love... my camera :) Here are a couple pictures:

The gorgeous bride, Alisa

First dance as husband and wife

Jeremy and some buddies

Yup, he caught it!

Nope, I didn't catch the bouquet this time :(

"It's not always easy,

And sometimes life can be deceiving,

I'll tell you one thing,

its always better when we're together"

~Jack Johnson~

Finally Updating!

I just keep getting so far behind on blogging that I just keep putting it off further... and as much as I would like to blame school for taking all my time, I will admit that I have been very much enjoying myself on my days off!

Long story short, I have been working 30-50 hour weeks at Providence Hospital in NE Portland... I'm 112 hours down (out of 250)! I am on a surgical floor, which basically consists of patients who have just had or are about to have surgery of some kind (usually abdominal... so, appendix, gallbladder, stomach, intestines, you get the picture). I am learning quite a bit, but even more so starting to feel like I really could handle being on my own. I still find myself relying a lot on my nurse Elaine, but I keep trying to get away from that -- and she forces me too by disappearing into her other patients room! Despite her and other c0-workers encouragement that I am doing extremely well, I still feel like an idiot most hours of the day :) Just another perk of being a student I guess! Some nurses say the feeling continues for a few years too... great... ! Haha.

Jeremy... well, he has a short story so far: moved back to Forest Grove, looking for jobs but mostly just helping around his parents house and on their property.

And, growing out his "unemployment beard" which I am not much a fan of! I'll let you be the judge:

So with both of us having some free time (the perks of being a nurse working 12's = multiple days off in a row) we decided to hit the Oregon coast last week. We had a blast! We drove down to Lincoln City: did some crabbing and beach bonfire (and at Mo's clam chowder of course, yum!) then the next day drove up to Seaside and took fun Old Tyme pictures on the boardwalk then took our bottle of wine we bought along the way (at a winery near Tillamook) and watched the sunset from the back of Jeremy's truck on the beach. It was cloudy but awesome. The next morning we dug up a few razor clams and drove back to Forest Grove where Jeremy cleaned them up and fried them... YUM!

*Check out a bunch of pictures from that adventure on my shutterfly site!

This weekend is going to be another fun one -- I have 4 days off (and so does Jeremy!) and the weather looks like it is going to be awesome.... But I can't believe I'm turning 25, so we'll see how that goes ;)

"and its 2 bare feet on the dashboard

young love in an old Ford...

perfect song on the radio

sing along cuz it's one we know

it's a smile, it's a kiss,

it's a sip of wine, its SUMMERTIME"

~Kenny Chesney~

we made it!

Well as most of you know, both Jeremy and I made it to Oregon this past week! It has been pretty non stop busy for me, so I have not really had a chance to post... but we have been having a lot of fun already! Well I guess I wouldn't call being at the hospital for 52 hours last week FUN, but its been interesting. And, I'm sure Jeremy wouldn't call driving his truck and U-Haul 1600+ miles in the hot sun FUN, but again, interesting :) More from us both soon!

Hope everyone had a HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!