Me is nurse

So unbelievably I am a nurse already. It seems like it took forever, and then again it flew by! Somehow, Brandon and I ended up in the very spot we had our eyes on, Carson City, Nevada. It's a town of less than 50,000 people, surrounded by mountains. Every time I leave the house for an adventure, I find one! Tonight we went for an evening hike in the hills on the west side of Washoe Lake. I found a trail just by driving through a neighborhood, and we found gorgeous views of Carson and washoe lake, up in the trees and granite rocks. Eight miles in you can see Lake Tahoe, but we didn't get that far before dark. The hike area is pretty cool... Just on the other side of the valley is the rocky, more desert-like terrain, without trees.

I love it all! There is mountain biking , hiking and all kinds of other fun stuff to do. Recently I've been wanting a big dog. Brandon works 5 days a week (ha!) so I need a buddy to come play with me!! Before we get a big dog, we need a big house, and before we get a big house we need to pay off some big debt. Pooey.

Renorenoreno!!!

We have landed in Reno! Well, Carson City actually, and it was about a month ago. But damn, it's nice to be back out west!! For all the friends and fun I had in Kentucky, I don't think I'll miss that place for a long long time. There's just so much to do out here! So little time!

Nine screws!

This weekend was the sweet little break between semesters here at nursing school. Looks like I haven't posted in a few months, and it figures. They keep me busy here. Last week actually marked the halfway point! I am halfway to being a nurse! It's pretty amazing. To celebrate, I had a major nesting weekend, where I stayed close to home (except for a 1 day side trip to Cincinnati for some shopping with a friend!) and fixed up the nest. I got little extension cords that I have been meaning to get so I'll have light at the kitchen table. I got a dish drainer, I polished my furniture, etc. It was awesome.

For my birthday I got myself a nice big mirror. I have always had those flimsy door ones that make you have skinny days or fat days depending on how it's leaning. I found this great one that is BIIIIG for only $50, so happy early 30th b-day to me!!

Then....I spent half of today trying to hang the thing. It's BIG. And I have no stud-finder, no power tools, I couldn't even find a tape measure. I ended up screwing NINE holes in the wall before I finally hung the damn thing straight. For a while I was questioning my decision to be a nurse--how can I take care of seriously sick patients if I can't even hang a mirror straight?? I laughed out loud. A lot. Then I was sad.

First it was cockeyed to the left, then to the right, then I just got confused and started punching random holes. I finally realized that my bargain basement mirror's hooks were crooked. Ah. Shoulda thought of that first. After that it still took me 2 more holes. But now it's great and my house is totally feng shui for me! Yay for weekends with no studying. My next post shall be in December!!

Craaaazy rain!

One minute it's hot and humid. Ten minutes later you step outside and it feels like someone has laid a hot, wet blanket across your chest. Then the lightning comes. From every corner of the sky. Every 15 seconds. No thunder. Then the wind, strong and blustery.

Finally, the rain. And MAN it comes down! In sheets, cats and dogs, sideways... all the metaphors that try to explain rain that makes umbrellas completely useless! The drops are so huge that when they hit the ground they splash back up as high as your waist. The drops are so huge that one drop on your head soaks your hair completely, and runs down your face and into your cleavage!

Where I'm from.... it doesn't rain past May!

Free concert in the rain!

This weekend I got to see George Clinton play in little old Kentucky! It was Louisville's 4th of July festival, and I swear, I am so taken with this little city. They find sponsors to host these free concerts at the waterfront--right on the Ohio river. For Derby week the B-52's were here, and there's been music pretty much every weekend since then. It's all free, and parking is incredibly easy. Beers are under $5, and you don't even have to have a wristband or wait in ungodly lines. It's unbelievably easy to have fun here!

Anyhoo, George Clinton played for hours on Friday, and didn't stop when the rain started pouring down. They didn't stop when the fireworks started, and they didn't even stop when the fireworks ended and the city blasted canned patriotic music trying to drown out the band and get the crowd to leave. It was great!

You look great for your age!

Seems like I have been getting this more and more lately, and I don't quite know how to take it! I mean, I know it's a compliment...but it also means that I am older than I look, which means that I look young but I am....old? Or something. I don't know. When I hear it I cringe.

Kentucky culture!

This weekend we had our first break from nursing school. It was a whole 3 days long, but it was really, really nice. I got to escape to Cumberland Lake in the southern part of Kentucky, and got in some boating, some drinking and some guns.

Lake Cumberland just happens to be THE houseboat capital of the U.S.! Some of these things are ridiculously obscene. They've got swirly slides coming off all which ways, some are 3 stories tall, with 10,000 square feet, and get 3/4 miles to the gallon. Rad. We didn't have a houseboat, but I was lucky enough to go with some friends that had 2 motor boats and could get us to the little inlets and creeks all over the lake. There was fantastic swimming, and I am 10 shades darker even though I wore 50SPF the whole time, AND a hat. That's a result of kentucky summer + portland winter. EEghh.

Anyhoo, friends brought guns. I mean, that's the thing you do in Kentucky. So I got to handle them for the first time-- I practiced with a bbgun, and a 22 gauge thingy. There was also a 45 caliber pistol, but I wasn't really into that one. It's noisy and kinda scary. We shot Miller Light cans. I missed 7 times, and nailed it on the 8th. I rock!

$20,000

So it's just 8 weeks into school, and my bill is already at $20,000! Not a problem, I know I have to repay this whether I finish or NOT!!!!

First Bill

Today I got the bill for my first semester of nursing school. It's thousands more than my car cost. On the bright side, I don't think that in 10 years it will be outdated!