awkward & awesome thursday.

On Thursdays, Sydney at The Daybook {one of my favourite fashion blogs that I read... which just got even more exciting when she announced she was expecting a baby boy and now all her outfits include her bump} writes a post about awkward & awesome things that happen in her everyday life and because there has been so many crazy awesome and crazy crazy things that have happened in my life recently, I decided to link up with her today! 

I have included these awkward {because I am petrified of heights and was so scared to be hanging off the edge of a cliff!!} and awesome {would ya look at that view?} pictures of me attempting to get a cool photog at a dangerous angle in Bryce Canyon over the weekend! You can't really tell but I had to walk off the path, over the edge and hold on to a tree that had fallen and was suspended on the side of the canyon about ten feet down. I kept trying to relax enough to smile but a panic attack would kick in and I would run back up before I could even convince myself to smile. AWWKward. But equally AWEsome.=) 


Awkward:

• Getting a pedicure and the aesthetician asking me if I went to the high school nearby. Me: BAHHAhhaaa.... awkward silence... Oh, you're serious. No, I graduated high school seven years ago..." 
• Giving the cashier $50.05 for a bill of $49.04 and getting $0.91 back. A little confused but not overly concerned about the 10 cent difference in the change I should have received, I clarified: "How much did I give you?" $50.05. "And what was the total?" $49.04. "And my change is... $0.91?" Yes! That's what I gave you! ... That's what I thought. Buy a calculator. 
• Trying very hard to be an adult and suppressing how scared I was to get an intramuscular vaccine around my new colleagues today yesterday. Hyperventilating and shaking, I finally broke down, proclaimed "I'm a wimp!" and begged the girl sitting next to me who I had just met to hold my clammy hands while it was being administered. The nurse's response, "Did you know a wimp actually means a young lady? So yes, you are a wimp! How young are you exactly?" My response: Old enough for it to no longer be socially acceptable to cry while getting shots... like it was back in high school. {See bullet #1} 
• Feeling frantic on my first day of work yesterday, I was running around in the dark rummaging through suitcases and boxes for something that smelled clean to wear. I remembered I packed a black sweater in my Canada suitcase so I dumped it's contents on to the floor and picked up the first cotton wad of black fabric I saw and shoved it in my tote. Fast forward 2 hours later to the cold hospital orientation conference room: I am discretely trying to slip on my sweater without looking behind me to not lose eye contact with the lecturer who was demonstrating how to revive a patient. When I couldn't find the sleeves, I finally turned around out of frustration and gasped when I realized I had grabbed my CHEMISE and NOT a sweater. I'm pretty sure I will be remembered at my new job as the chick who tried to put on negligee during orientation...  
• Coming face-to-beak with a pigeon in the towel aisle of Target. A real live pigeon... just waddling down the home goods section, looking for an escape. It completely threw me off shopping amongst the wildlife... which is why when a really unsmart lady ignored the escalator-for-carts signs and brought her cart on the escalator-for-humans, it inevitable tipped over... and then pinned her underneath... and I naturally kept shopping. I had the best view of the fiasco in the store as I escalated to the third floor and watched this drama unfold on the floor below me. I would have ran back down but as I exited the escalator, the pigeon flew past me nearly clipping my head with a wing and landed on a flat screen TV on display. Winged birds indoors trump nursing skills any day. 
• Getting the keys to my new apartment yesterday and really having to pee after a long road trip. {T.M.I.? It gets better.} Glancing over midstream at the t.p. holder, I realized new apartments don't come stocked with rolls and I had not purchased any yet. After I shamefully shook my lettuce, I walked 12 blocks {uphill} to Trader Joe's to buy a few groceries, returned home and did not realize I had completely forgotten to purchase toilet paper until I sat down... again. {Sigh}.
• Spending many hours neglecting everything else I was supposed to be doing to write this post yesterday because I thought it was Thursday.
• My double-jointed arm in the photograph below. Lovely.

Awesome:

• Living the Seattleite dream... in a cute, little apartment on Capitol Hill... two floors above a Starbucks. AND its free! Because that is how I roll as a traveler nurse. You know what else is free? Their WIFI that I'm currently stealing borrowing from the comforts of my couch. Overcharge me for a cup of coffee now, suckas.
• I am in love. I am so very in love with the University of Washington. I walked across the gorgeous campus to the UW library after work today and it felt so fabulous to swipe my student ID and print off a shit ton of double-sided notes for the class I am taking. There's something incredible about being a student that I can't quite put my finger on well enough to translate in to words... yet.    I'll get there.
• Getting to see my sister, BIL, and the entire Duffley clan to cheer on Mister Christopher as he sings the National Anthem at a Red Sox game in a week from today! =) 
• My discovery of piloxing, a combination of kickboxing and Pilates. The hardest workout I have done in a super long time. 
• Being back on the West Coast and being able to continuously breathe in the ocean breeze. Even though I can't always see it, just knowing it is there in the distance {twelve bustling city blocks away} puts my mind at ease.
• New friends. It's a Small World started playing in my head when a staff nurse I worked with at Tampa General sat down next to me in hospital orientation on the first day. Small world, indeed. Not to mention, my new best friend that I haven't met yet who lives two hours away in Vancouver. Cannot wait to meet you soon, Sammi! =) 

a hummingbird & her nest.

 Like the hummingbird sipping nectar from every flower, I fly joyfully through my days, seeing beauty in everything. 

Location: Arenal Volcano, La Fortuna, Costa Rica

the first day of the rest of my life.

When I left you in Nashville last week, I headed over the rocky top and into the corn fields of Kentucky. I pressed on through Southern Illinois and fittingly under the St. Louis Arch (the gateway to the West) in Missouri... and that was the direction I headed in for the next three days! 

I picked up Sydney in Kansas City where we spent a fabulous night with her college roommate who took us out to the local watering holes where we enjoyed house brewed bevies and lobster springs rolls!

The next morning, I squished everything in to the trunk to make room for my navigator and we drove straight West on I70 through the midlands for many hours stopping at quintessential diners for vanilla milkshakes and fries along our route.

After the long trek across the entire state of Kansas, the scenic route through Colorado was incredible. The train winded on one side of us while the Colorado River snaked around the opposite shoulder; the water was rapidly rip roaring. The view became increasingly spectacular around every bend as we ascended up the Rockies to an elevation of 10,000 feet. 

Windows rolled down breathing in the fresh, cool air listening to a little John Denver... we were truly on a rocky mountain high, something fabulous. We stopped in a little I70 odyssey outside Aspen named Glenwood Springs. In search of somewhere to grab a bite to eat, we ended up on an impromptu pub crawl where we danced with the locals in their historic downtown 'til the wee hours of Saturday morning. It was a fabulous stop at a completely unassuming little town right off the major highway a little past Vail.

Stopping only to grab a bagel and the most delectable cup of hazelnut coffee my taste buds have ever known, we continued on our way to Utah the next morning. 

We pulled off at every vista from Colorado to Utah to Arizona to take in the breathtaking views along our very scenic route.     

We spent some time in Bryce Canyon on a mini hike around the natural amphitheater. This picture does no justice for how remarkable the uniquely formed hoodoos were that covered the canyons' floor. 

Four more hours through the desert of Nevada and we finally arrived in Vegas where we carried on a Jocelyn-Sydney Tradition of seeing Britney Spears at MGM... followed by a little Kitty-Glitter-style gambling. 3 words: Britney's back, b*tch. 

Yesterday, I took a break from driving and veged out on the couch at my old casa, Club 424 in Glendale with my old roomz. We went school supply shopping + ate Mexican food before calling it a really early evening and getting back on the road early this morning to conquer California and Oregon. 

The redwoods peppered around emerald green lakes. Snow peaked mountains in the distance. The smell of fresh pine permeating the air at the rest stops. So inspired by the scenery in NorCal, I drove well past the minimum point I wanted to reach today trying to take it all in before the sun set.

I'm 3.5 hours from the starting line of a very exciting change in my life. Feeling on top of the world, I can hardly wait to unpack and settle in before I start work in the morning! 

Three cheers {of vintage pepsi} for making it to the first day of the rest of my life. First day as a {downtown} Seattle resident. First day of living on my very own for the {first} time. First day of being a UWMC employee. First day of being a real UW grad student exploring campus, flashing my student ID + getting vaccines. 


It's a very exciting new chapter that is being written. Hip Hip Hooray! 

first stop: nashville.

After flying home yesterday evening from Canada, I loaded my life in to my car {again} and said a very tearful good-bye to my sweet Reese, Kara + Creed. It hit me that I was moving to the exact opposite side of the Earth country last night when I drove 2.5 hours to Nashville to have one last sleepover with my bestie, Jess {she was my date for a fairytale wedding a few weeks back... is she not just radiant with that beautiful pregnancy glow?} before we are no longer roommates by proxy.

 Next time I see her she will be a mama for the very first time, I will be a roomaunt for the very first time + I'll get to meet Baby E for the very first time! All of the slumber parties and lunch dates I have been able to spend living so close to Jess the last several months have made my heart so smitten... most of our time together consisting of the two of us just staring in awe as Ella kicked and punched and danced around in Jess's tiny baby bump! =)


Off to Kansas City this afternoon to pick up my co-pilot & map out the rest of our route... so excited to see you Sydney!! =)


P.S. Sooo in love with my new blog design! Thank you, Katy, at Life Made Lovely for making the Burb simply fabulous!

much-to-celebrate-Monday.

Hello, Monday!

I am just so excited to see you that I am briefly stepping out of my {oh my, uninspired!} blog hiatus to throw some confetti around and suck the helium out of a few mylar balloons to properly commemorate {in Munchkin-voice fashion} the little celebrations that are happening around here this day/week/month/rest of my life... even if it is sans photogs because this child of the 21st century does not have the patience for "wireless sticks" & therefore you will be left to the limits of your own imagination to provide a lil guided imagery in lieu of the visuals that usually accompany this post! =)

I am celebrating that my Masters Program starts today. Say whhaaat? Last night {when I was carefully planning out what to wear on my first day of school} I started to panic when I realized  its an online class and therefore my graduate uniform will consist of pajamas and sloppy pony tails  that I might have forgotten how to be a student. What if I can't remember how to read? Or write? What if my brain lost the ability to memorize massive quantities of information at one time sometime over the last three years? What if I can no longer pull all-nighters by continuously consuming junk food and washing it down with Rockstars? Here's to hoping being a grad student is like riding a carousel...

I am celebrating being home.  It's been a {bittersweet} week-long celebration of reuniting with friends and family who I have missed tremendously. Lunch dates with old friends. Meeting new babies. Long runs down country roads. Short inhales of the most invigorating bursts of the freshest air. No summer would ever be complete without my lazy days at the lake. Here's to hoping I can convince every important person in my life to move to the same place one day so I can have them all as neighbours and abolish "the goodbye"...

I am celebrating that today is Kristy's birthday and I'm celebrating the fact that I get to celebrate it with her tonight. Good morning, Tristy! Here's to hoping you have a fabulous day! =)

I am celebrating that my little {cyber} space is getting a much needed blog lift this week by the incredibly talented Heather at Life Made Lovely Designs. Here's to hoping knowing that creative genius will give the 'Burb the fanciful makeover she deserves! =)

I am celebrating that I am on day twelve {out of fifteen} consecutive mornings of waking up to the sweet sound of Reese squealing in the living room... Everyday is a celebration when there is a beautiful baby in the mix. Learning to crawl. Getting new teeth. Saying "mama" + "dada". Here's to hoping that these two weeks of Reesey-goodness will carry me through to August...

I am celebrating that when I fly back on Wednesday, I will be jumping in my car to embark on a very, very long road trip and am so excited that Miss Sydney will be joining me along the way! While the exact {scenic} route is a little up in the air still, I know the amount of laughter that will be had will make the thousands of miles fly by. Here's to hoping that the final destination will feel like home when I arrive...

And oh so sadly, I am celebrating the life of my only first cousin, Ian, whose life was tragically taken from us last week. He was only eighteen-years-old. A good kid with an incredibly kind soul, I am hoping he is at peace teaching an angel to play video games...

So, here's to GOING BACK. Back to the basics. Back to work. Back to school. Back to the West Coast. Back to where I started from... and still knowing that it is right where I belong.

Happy Monday, friends! The paradigms are a shiftin' and I can hardly wait to start celebrating!

free bird.

I have about 47,000 pictures on my desk top of the amazing places I have been in my blogger absence the last couple of weeks. I have a major change in life plans to report. I have a secret that I've been keeping since March and it's getting harder and harder not to post about it, especially now that I have physical proof. I have nine gazillion thoughts running through my head. I have been the guest of two dream weddings. I have guest posts in the works. I joined a very awesome blogher network today. I have drafts saved about tutorials, recipes and a real life Julie & Julia. I have two and a half letters and a soulcast I wrote on the 8 planes I've been on in recent weeks... but for some reason, I cannot coherently lasso any of those ideas in to a well thought out post...

Mostly because I can't stop staring at these photogs I snapped earlier when Kara showed me this sweet nest of baby birds hidden under a leaf in the gerber daisy pot at her front door today. I just keep saving everything relevant and meaningful as a draft and coming back to these adorable little birdies.


oh. my. word. don't you just want to pinch those cheeks & crawl in to the nest with them? {Cue heart melting.}

a room with a view.

my goodness, do i miss waking up to this amazing view every morning...

...and showering under the sunshine that rises through the lattices at an invigorating 5AM...


...and walking amongst the flora and fauna...

... down to the hot spring pools...

to enjoy freshly blended sandia {watermelon} and amazingly smooth cafe con leche.

If paradise were a place, this is it. Pura Vida, baby.

baby love.

live-like-you-are-dying-adventures.

I got home super early (like 430 am) this morning from the most incredible trip and I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT wait to share my 500 pictures and write about all the pretty plants and awesome wildlife and beautiful people and breathtaking beaches and amazing fruits + all the incredible things I did while I  was in Costa Rica the last seven days but apparently a macbook is worthless without its charger (Note to self: Quadruple check I have my cell phone/computer/camera chargers before I leave anywhere anymore.. who forgets all 3 in various places in one trip?!) and as gracious is Megan is to let me borrow her computer,  after dealing with DELL for four years in college, 3 years an Apple-addict and I am suddenly PC-retarded and quite frustrated by how long its taking me to navigate non-Apple applications. But today is the first day of a new month, one that smells a lot like summer!!, and as if a little vacation to Central America wasn't enough to kick off my mini-retirement (28 days left!) June is about to get a little craazzy! Starting with a road trip in the early morning in which I say Farewell! to Florida, sleep over with Katie and get a taste of the West Coast for the weekend with my three other halves... but it's only the beginning of essentially four weeks of traveling awesomeness including two countries, planes, trains, automobiles, grad school starting, a bloglift for the 'Burb by a professional and a little of my girl, Britney in la la la Las Vegas! but before the celebration continues (and I really lose track of all my thoughts), I wanted to give you a little sneak peak of  just how incredibly, amazingly fabulous my freak was freaked in Costa Freaka!  

Road a 2,500 pound bull? Check.

Ziplined through rainforests above the clouds 1 kilometer at a time? Check.

Drank muchos cervesas + pina coladas + sangrias + micheladas + mojitos always mixed with fresh fruit and drank out of pineapples adorned with real hibiscus flowers? Check.

Surfed off the coast of Costa Rica? Check... that right off my bucket list! See the vertical speck in the righthand corner?? That's me!! & I'm really surfing!! I might be partially deaf, slightly suburned, incredibly sore and badly bruised... but it was definitely worth it! =) eeeee.... yaaay!!!

Happy first day of June, friends! Here's to many more live-like-you-are-dying-adventures that are sure to be had this summer! =)