I want to fall into the Fall and never come out again Part 2

Here are some more fun photos from our trip:

Here are feathers I hid in my mom's hair during the drive. Meredith and I giggled for a while about it. Bwa ha ha she had no idea!!!


Here's me with my Dad


Here is Meredith, Hannah, Adam and my Dad.




I had plans this weekend (Labor Day) to visit my long time friend, Linda, in Nashville. Two weeks ago, she got a job for the semester in Guatemala. So my latest travels to DC and Virginia must last me a while longer. Traveling is so great. I mean really, soooo wonderful.


So over the summer, I'd been having a hard time concentrating on my job.

I'm just ready for a new challenge. For several reasons I knew this would mean a move. I didn't see myself working at one of the three hospitals in Gainesville was one. I would love to explore a different state. I would also love to be out of debt. Assuming many things (like I will still be here and the states will too-in the future) I'm putting the exploration on hold. I decided to start applying for jobs in the Tampa Bay area and my home of Pinellas County.

Upon my return from the family trip, I got an interview set up here. I made a list of must haves. I made a list of questions (for them). It was a night position which I didn't really want. I had come to terms with working nights short term if I had to to get the job I wanted. The floor is a medical surgical floor with an emphasis in oncology.

Allow me to say that I've never worked in oncology and it scares me.

So the interview was good, it had a good sense of community and it's in Tarpon Springs, which is a town I love. Not to mention that even though I grew up approx. 10 miles south of this area, I feel as if it's all completely new to me. Because it is.

The next week they called and offered me the job. Oh yea and a day position. Talk about God giving us the desires of our hearts. I could have cried. I accepted. I'm moving back in with my parents for a temporary amount of time. Then Rose and I are planning on living together. Oh I feel so grown up...and I'm getting tired thinking about it.

I'm VERY excited though. I don't really know what to expect over the next couple of months. I will be returning my leased vehicle and purchasing a beater with some savings (God help me). I'm getting rid of my desktop-finally, and getting a laptop. So many things will be changing around me, but those are just things.

So here I am, falling into Fall.

I want to fall into the Fall and never come out again Part 1

The Summer is over...FINALLY. It was looooooooong for me this year. You might be thinking I could have helped the time pass by blogging more frequently but I plead hot weather and a sluggish attitude.

Have you ever been walking on a sidewalk that randomly ends? Okay maybe not so random because from however many feet back you can see that it will end. This, however, does not change the fact that when you get there you're like "uhh I guess I'll walk in the grass now, or the road? or maybe I should just turn around?" I mean what exactly do the Path Pavers of America have planned for you then? These questions have been creeping up on my randomly starting and stopping sidewalk of a life this summer. What does God have for me next? What exactly am I doing? Why am I even asking these questions when I'm not sure I can handle the answers?

Well to catch you up this is what my summer consisted of:

I turned 24 and celebrated here with approximately 14 friends and family (which really surprised me considering I planned this at the last minute!). The evening was long and I learned (thanks to Jackie) that I'm the kind of gal people stay out late for on Tuesday nights. Here I am blowing out my pazookie cookie cake thingy. Yum.
I submerged myself into the world of Twilight only to resurface with a fresh perspective on those dwelling in the NW. Hmmm. While I was talking about reading these books, at lunch after church one Sunday, my friend Barry says " Oh my gosh you are the biggest nerd." Haha I absolutely LOVED the series.

I bought a new camera! I look forward to camera's coming with their own photographers one day. Maybe like a camera gnome to follow you around and remind you when it's an appropriate and important time to be capturing memories. I had a canon which I loved but I branched out and went with something new to me. It's small. It's black. It's hot. When I use it, it makes me want to talk with a southern twang and say things like "K gatha 'round now and let's shoot em (meaning pictures) all up." Having said that I guess it takes away from the sleek hot factor. I would like to advocate that being cheesy and hot is possible-I'll save this argument for another post.

I had a VERY girly weekend with these fine ladies.

Two of my very own highschool BFF's.
Risse, who is more fashion forward than I could ever hope to be, accompanied Liz and I in buying our very own Bump-It's. Sigh. I love being a girl.




















I also went on a fast and furious 4 day trip to DC and VA with my parents, sister, brother in law and neice. All in the same car...yes that's right. Here are my parents in the chapel they were married in 33 years ago. They met in DC and I had such a great time learning more about their love story. I love my parents!


















To be continued...

What a GLORIOUS Day!!!!

Today I realized how much I relate to Rachel Ray.

And this cat...


... And this child




Indeed on this day that I found out I passed boards
I looked like this most of the day.



Ahhh what a glorious day indeed.
Goodnight.

I can't fall asleep

It's 1:34am. I work at 745am...ugh. I've been giving into naps lately and it's catching up with me. Oops. I just love a good nap, is that so wrong? Not to mention that my mind is racing at a million mph tonight AND once 1am rolls around it's been 7 hours since dinner, so my stomach starts growling. Now here I sit with some granola and this blog.

Check this out...pretty disturbing. I would expect this from Alabama or Texas but Arizona? Weird.

I'm contemplating jumping onto the Twilight bandwagon. Eh I just don't know how I feel about those sneaky vampires.

This weekend!

I'm SO EXCITED to see my best friend this weekend :-) :-) :-) Our plans are as follows:

*Drink wine
*lay shamelessly on the corduroy for hours
*watch a very cheesy feel good chick flick
*eat out at BJ's Brewery which I'm super excited about because I haven't been there yet
*...maybe drink more wine.

Are you here yet?

What the?

This ABC winner-of-a-show stole my idea for a new family reunion game.

.........is this FOR REAL?...........barf

Who knew the handbag would give it away?

Picture this. I'm studying at the library yesterday very much to myself. Then comes this guy who sits right next to me when there are plenty of other seats available. I'm thinkin "Oh great I really want to get some studying done and here's this chat-it-up Charles who is obviously mistaking this library for a bar." So I'm trying not to look up because I know that as soon as I do he's going to say something. So I'm sticking to the plan and thinking about the plan and whether or not it will work.....crap....I'm not getting any studying done this way either. Sure enough he starts asking me questions.

Okay and one thing to keep in mind here is that I'm like a crack addict when it comes to socializing with people. I cannot nor do I wish to blow people off ever.

So here I am talking to this guy becoming genuinely interested in who he is and thinking to myself "maybe he could use some encouragement or maybe I should invite him to church." He proceeds to tell me that he knew I would be nice when he saw my handbag and that is why he sat next to me....oh and then casually throws in "oh yea your fingernails gave it away too." (if you're wondering, my nails are manicured and clean...plain? well yea I guess) Me- "So by my purse and nails you could tell I was nice?" Him- " Yea I could tell you were low maintenance."

LOL........wow

To me this was so funny even though it is true. I am low maintenance by the worlds standards and I'm happy it shows. I just hope it doesn't come off as shabby or something. I hope none of my friends or family are secretly nominating me for What Not to Wear. If you think I need help with style will you tell me?

One year ago...

I was just getting to know this little girl. My precious niece Hannah had just been born. This weekend we celebrated her first birthday. It was making me think about the last year and how my life has been changed by having her around. First of all it's still surreal to me sometimes that this is my sisters offspring. I was hesitant to be living with an infant at first; now I realize how special of an opportunity it's really been. When I've had a long day and I come home to her big smile (she always smiles at me!) it really helps keep things in perspective. Hannah has also helped me realize how much I really do want to be a mom. Not that I'm in a rush but motherhood is so awesome. It's another part of God's creation that I'm in awe of. I don't know how much longer I'll be living with Hannah but I think we will always have a special connection. Man oh man I love this girl!

Here's to Monday

It's 9:30 which is bed time-ish for me, so I probably shouldn't take the time to write this (those are always the best kind of blogs). I guess I feel like I have so much to say. About what I don't really know. Nothing and everything. I wish I were better at writing so I could convey my thoughts more eloquently. Like Linda or Liz or so many others I know. Luckily I have bullet points to assist! So here we go with some of the latest happenings.

* In February I fulfilled my new years resolution by going on a date with someone I was actually interested in! Even though it didn't turn into forever it sure was a good experience and a great way to get back into the whole dating scene. Hot damn :-)

*Last weekend I got to see the moon through a telescope. I had never been to an observatory before and I really liked it. Nerd alert.

*I've thoroughly been enjoying my job since school ended. Being there 100% mentally makes a difference and I love my kids so much. Somedays I wonder if I can ever leave peds.

*I still have no idea where I will be working in a couple months but I'm not worried about it at all. That is definitely part of the freedom my faith provides. I'd be such a wreck without it.

*Baseball season started today and I'm excited. I'm also not sure who I am or how I got this way.

*More often than not this year I catch myself thinking I don't want to move out of Florida. Refer to the above bullet, second sentence. Seriously

*I recently read the Shack. I didn't find myself as into it as many others I know have been. Overall very interesting though. Maybe if I hadn't read the book review on discerningreader.com first it would be a different story. My advice is read it for yourself. Not while you are at the gym though. Crying on the treadmill is really confusing to anyone near.


However cheesy this sounds: I love where I'm at, what I do, who I know and what I'm learning.

This part of the journey is really exciting.

Thank God for Humor

...because over the past week or two I've been feeling so vulnerable. To what specifically I cannot say. I wanted to get a job at the VA in Gainesville and last week I learned that door closed. I'm not particularly upset about it because it's providing some direction. I'm applying to one other hospital here and if that doesn't work out then what? Will I actually end up moving out of Gainesville?

So now I'm thinking of applying in Clearwater, Tampa and maybe Orlando and Jacksonville. I have never desired to live in Orlando but they have such a large variety of really good hospitals (it seems). Jacksonville...eh at least it has beaches. AND I could work anywhere for at least one year.

God sure is keeping things interesting. If I didn't have Him to rely on then what would I do with myself? Xanax perhaps? I should drop that into my cocktail anyway and then I'd be in really good shape! haha nah

I LOVE CARDS

Giving and Receiving. Today I bought an encouragement card for a friend saying,

"A smart person once said 'When you are standing in the rain you can always look through the drops to see the Rainbow.' (inside) ' An even smarter person said 'If you are getting wet then get the hell out of the rain!' "

It was the perfect card for the perfect person in the perfect moment. Oh what sweet harmony.

being a woman is something I love

and men?....I'll save that for another post but I will say this...wonderful and yes please?

Whats been goin on

At the end of February I traveled to Albany, NY for the last exams for school. I had to work at St. Peter's Hospital for the weekend. It was stressful but it's so great to have it over with :-) I stayed at a Bed and Breakfast for the first time and it was AWESOME! What a cutesy town.
Now I will begin studying for the state boards which I hope to take sometime in May. Also I am scoping out jobs for the VA here in Gainesville. The whole hiring process takes a few months. Fortunately enough I have a great job with a great schedule that I don't mind sticking with for a little while longer. I do need something more challenging though and look forward to what's next!

It's funny how plans change

There are times when I can't believe I will most likely be staying in Gainesville. This is a brief review of my moving plans during my residence here.

Year ONE : Planned on moving to Ft. Collins, CO after year TWO.
Year TWO: Decided to stay in Gainesville to finish school.
Year THREE: Planned on moving back to Clearwater with my parents to save money and
pay off debt. There I would apply for jobs overseas under the VA umbrella
(aka department of defense). I also wanted to pursue the idea of living in one
of the bigger US cities. What can I say I love to travel.

So here I am nearing the end of year 3 and my heart has once again been changed. Over the
last few months I have decided that I want to start out at a local VA hospital
which narrows it to Gainesville or Tampa. I thought Adam and Meredith (and Hannah)
would be moving out in May so I figured I would have to come up with living arrangements
either way. Turns out they aren't moving at least for a little while. So this very cheap and
comfortable living situation can continue for a while. Did I mention how much fun we all
have together too! AND it's more time I can love on Hannah.

I definitely see God's hand in all of this and have been relying on His promises. A friend
asked me the other day where I see myself in 5 years. HA! I know better than to plan that.
I can't complain because I haven't been disappointed yet. He's provided a great church and
group of friends I can connect with. Also now that it's March I am appreciating our lovely
weather. I have no idea what's next but (dare I say it) if God wants me in Gainesville for
the rest of my life then that's His choice.

so far away

Hey just stopped by to let ya'll know I am (and have been) on a little blog-break. I am finishing up some school stuff and needed to minimize distractions. I look forward to returning shortly. Life is exciting!

Flowers in her hair...

The end of August was incredible as I took a trip to visit Jessica in San Francisco. What a beautiful city filled with endless things to see and do. Could I live there? If the situation were right, yes. I still feel drawn to the NE big cities like Boston, Chicago and of course NYC. It was really fun to spend time with Jessica and meet her friends. Here were some of my most memorable moments

*Experiencing the wide variety available for public transportation. I think having a car is nice, yes. Not having a car (and responsibilties that go along with it, which reminds me I'm due for an oil change)...even better.

*Visiting a wide variety of local bars and restaurants. The food was delicious, I experimented with beers I've never had and the atmosphere was everything enjoyable. I even indulged in tiramisu twice. So very sweet that was.

*Meeting J-mo's friends. I feel so privileged having opportunities to make new friends and develop connections with others all over the world. People are so fascinating.

*Our sight seeing adventures over the golden gate and up the hills.

*Shopping at the coolest thrift store I've ever seen (located in the Mission). Such a treat!

*Singing karaoke with the most amazing crowd and fellow singers I've experienced so far when it comes to that beloved hobby.

*The folk art (i think thats the name of it?) musuem where we learned all about the Shakers! My question for them (if they were still with us) is if you don't believe in having sex or reproducing then did you just plan on the religion dying out? Very cool furniture though.

*Watching Gilmore Girls as we rested in J-mo's great studio apartment! Also it was impressive that no matter what question I had about the show, Jessica knew the answer. The girl has mad skills!

I hope everyone who wants to go to SF makes it happen. Definitely worth it.

the effect of professional female body builders

While winding down from my workout on the treadmill today I changed channels to TLC just in time to catch the end of What Not to Wear. Next begins a story of a woman from England who is now 1 of 70 female professional body builders in the world. I understand that some women thrive off of this life style. I've never met one nor do I know someone who knows one but I accept they are out there.

Suddenly I became aware of every muscle in my body and they felt 10 times bigger. Watching this muscle woman literally made me stop working out for fear of bigger hamstrings or biceps. I stretched and drove home. Clearly that is not my calling. I was going to post a picture of her but I can't stomach seeing it on my blog.

We share the same birthday

Please keep in mind that I do not consider myself to be a good critic of music whatsoever. I bought this album today and thoroughly enjoy every song on it. Seriously...just love it. :-)

The Dark Knight and gall stones

This weekend I enjoyed the company of a long time friend. Krystal drove up from Spring Hill to engage in good food, lengthy serious convos and meet Hannah. Since I don't have any pictures yet to post I will sum it up here :

*We saw the Dark Knight.... I'll admit the previews slightly frightened me and the Joker is a scary villain. I was not disappointed. Look forward to seeing it again when it comes out on dvd.

*We dined at Yamato's Japanese steak house. Eh I wasn't very impressed. The atmosphere is so crowded for the price. Not the Arigato's and Kobe's I'm used to but the food was indeed delicious.

*We laid around on the never failing corduroy of comfort doing absolutely nothing.

*We talked about inappropriate yet hilarious names for her unborn love.

*Saturday night while Krystal slept I took Meredith to the ER for gall stones. Meredith and I proceeded to watch about 2 and a half hours of punk'd while she received care there (we laughed probably more than anyone should in an ER especially during the episode with Jon Heder). Meredith does need to get a cholecystectomy but thankfully it can be planned as an outpatient procedure.


That was a great weekend. :-)

For all you book lovers

I've been shown a very useful site. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I had to laugh particularly about the reviews they gave Joel Osteen.

Jerk

I spent the morning at the library. After the library I cuddled with and loved on my niece (who is precious). When I showed up for work at 1pm I was half asleep. Right about then, this conversation took place.

me: "Hey how is your day going today? Everything alright?"
coworker: "Shitty, I just found out an ex who I shared a bank account with took out all the money I deposited yesterday. Now I have no money, I can't buy gas and I'm running on E."
me: "Man I'm really sorry"

Why is it that I couldn't give this coworker the $9 cash I knew was sitting in my wallet? I feel like a douche bag. I kept trying to justify it and thinking douche bag like things like "Well maybe you shouldn't have a joint account with your ex" and "I'm on a tight budget, I only have a 1/4 tank of gas to last me the rest of the week" or "I have debt I could put that 9 dollars towards" and "I barely know this person"

Why was it so hard for me to show some grace? I hate that. I want to just love freely and not feel so held back by worldly thoughts and silly rationalizations. I really should apologize to that person tomorrow. Will I? Will I feel too embarrassed or uncomfortable? Even though I know those feelings don't matter will I be tricked into believing they do? I find no pleasure in walking away from those experiences thinking "What the hell was that about Lindsay? Why were you such a jerk?"

Tomorrow will be better. I know I can do better. If I commit to loving others then I know I really have to commit to loving them even when it's uncomfortable. I know this is a life long process. So I am sorry if you happen to be one of the learning lessons!

Standing next to the open oven

I swear that's what summers in Gainesville are like. Actually probably worse. It's freakin hot. You get the idea. Maybe I can spend next summer in Alaska. Unless it's the time of year where they have absolutely no sunlight. Anyways Summer 08 = Somewhat Serious Lindsay. I'll explain.

* I seriously got on a budget ; I am seriously paying off debt and loving Dave Ramsey.

*I'm serious about my workout schedule.

*I'm seriously studying a lot when I'm not working or working out.

I also recently went through what I like to consider the American right of passage for becoming an adult:

While driving, I got sick of music and wanted to hear people talk. Yes, I've been listening to talk radio. I feel very adult like. I love it.

Besides all the seriousness I'm still having fun! Hannah is way cool and it's a neat experience being here so far. Watching Adam and Meredith with her makes me want to passionately love people. It's really beautiful.

I have noticed lately that I don't feel as friendly in public as I used to. If I feel that way then it's probably true and thats a crappy realization. I need to work on that.

I saw Sex and the City last weekend with Evelyn, Heather and Maribel from work. It was AWESOME! Yea I know that I don't live that way and that few people do. I would never spend $500 on shoes. Watching those women makes me love dresses and high heels. It also makes me appreciate my friendships. Even though the show is a show and not real, it dealt with real problems women face and it made me hurt for those women who relate. Just another reminder of how sad the world is. It also made me want to move to NYC that night.

The newest addition...

I would like to introduce you to my niece

Hannah Lynn Doyle

May 21st 1:43am

7lbs 15oz

21in long