Graduation!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Me and Monica

This is me and my precious friend Monica. She is from Picayune and went to school at Southern Miss. Monica and I met and got to be good friends working together in the MICU at University Medical Center in Jackson. I have been begging Monica to travel with me, and finally after a year of tales of good times she decided to come along. I am so glad that she is here! We have had so much fun! We took this pic not too long ago at a Seattle Mariner's game. Wow...fun times in Seattle!! The stadium is really nice and is supposedly one of the best places in the leage to watch a game. It is no Dudy Noble Field, but it is really nice and definitely a great time!

Rafting the Colorado

After sunrise, we were starving so we hit the "town" to find continental breakfast at one of the hotels. No luck. Forced to starve. Note: if you ever go...take food. And then, off for more. Yes...we made it to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. No...we did not hike it there. We thought about it. But we stoped thinking about it when one of the park rangers told us that we were not as in shape as we thought we were. Jerk. Seeing as how we are "not in shape" fpr the 9 mile one way hike, we had to figure something else out. The mule rides were all sold out for the day, so we opted for the leisurly raft trip through the canyon. :) It was wonderful! Maybe not so much of a "rafting" trip as a "float" trip. No white water. No rapids. We literally floated 20 miles through the canyon down the Colorado River. It was beautiful! Very relaxing and a really neat way to see the base of the canyon.

Pink Jeep Tour

Hello all of my faithful blog readers! I hope that both of you are doing well! : ) I'm doing great! Phoenix has been so much fun! It is beautiful! I'm not sure what I was expecting to find coming into the desert, but I have literally been overwhelmed. It is so completely different than anywhere than I have ever been before. Work is good too. The people are great, unit is really nice and clean, doctors arewonderful and there are tons of travelers. But enough about work...

This week Maggie and I both had several days off and we decided to do a little exploring. We grabbed some friends from work and headed up to Sedona for a day- a small town in northern Arizona. It was absolutely beautiful! We hopped in the back of a hot pink jeep and went for a ride...a very curvy, bumpy ride up and down a very narrow trail. The tour was 7 miles and took us close to three hours! It was pretty scarey...but really fun! Here are a few pics...

A Chapter Closed

My time in Washington DC has come and gone. I have tried, but I am able to come up with any combination of words to describe how amazing the three months spent there were. It is a beautiful city, full of history and opportunity. It is a story that will have to be told in pictures...

Washington's "Fabulous Five"
We experiened DC together, saw the sites together. We went to New York City together and drove to work together. We cooked each other diner, ate slice-and-bake together and went to the gym together. We lived together, cried together and laughed at each other. We went to church together, spent lots of money together and even yelled at each other. DC will never be the same.

A Visit From Old Friends

Over the past few weeks I have had some incredible time with old friends who headed up to DC for a little quality time for yours truly. Reid and Big Al drove up for a night on the town and a whirlwind tour of DC. Two of my most favorite people in the world! By far one of my most favorite weekends in DC. We went from the top of the Washington Monument to the Tidal Basin to the Declaration of Independence. It was an incredible weekend! Here are a few pics! Me, Big Al, and Abe

Reid and Ally Sabin

Me, Maggie, and the Sabins on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Me and my dear friend Jenn Makins

Jenn and I met and became good friends working together at Camp Redcloud in Lake City, Colorado. After our summer at Redcloud, I convinced Jenn to head to Mississippi and work with me at Twin Lakes...she will never be the same. In more ways than one. ; ) Jenn is an amazing person and her friendship is absolutely priceless to me. Unfortunatley, it has been several years since Jenn and I have actually been able to look each other in the eye. I was not able to spend much time with Jenn while she was in town, but I am thankful for what time we did have. Our glass of wine and death by chocolate cake was way overdue! It was wonderful to see you, Jenn! Let's not let it be so long next time!

Meet My New Friends!

Meet Liz and Maggie. They are both Neonatal ICU nurses that live in my apartment complex. Liz is on the left--she is from up-state New York and is one of the most kind, genuine people you will ever meet. She is travel nursing while her fiance is over seas with the military, but he is coming home this spring and they are getting married this summer. Maggie is officially my first friend from South Dakota. We have a lot in common and always have a great time. She and I work for the same agency and are hopefully going to be able to travel together for a while.


Donica and Maggie again. Donica is from south Georgia. Not just Georgia. South Georgia. She is an ER nurse and is also living in our apartment complex. Absolutely hysterical! She keeps us and going! Never a dull moment with Donica and her 3 dogs. Don't you dare lose that southern accent, Donica!!


This is my roommate, Daniella Hartung. She is a pediatric nurse from Charlotte. Wonderful roommate! She tends to handle my anal tendencies well and she always remembers to TiVo our shows for me. Fabulous roommate!

The National Zoo

This is Maggie, Liz, and Donica at the front entrace of the National Zoo.
We had a great time! Definitely on the top 10 list so far.




This is Tai Shan, DC's VIP panda. He was born last fall and you still have to buy tickets to see him. He even has his own security detail...pretty big deal apparrently.

A Few Charlotte Highlights...

Road trip! On one of my weekends off, I headed up to Virgnia Beach to visit my good friends Reid and Big-Al Sabin.

We had a great time! I'm suddenly craving some bar-b-que chips...
This is Big Al, me and Sarah Biz at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina.

Absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait for our next girls weekend at the Grove Park!
Jerry and Rebecca--Go Steelers!
Me and the Bumgarners at the Coldplay concert

My Charlotte Roomie

This is Rebecca Waldrop, my fabulous roommate while I was travel nursing in Charlotte. We had a wonderful time together! I could not have asked for a more gracious and welcoming friend to live with. Thanks for everything, Bec! I had a wonderful time and I miss you tons! How's the rat situation lately? ; )

Hhas Kenny Called Yet?

My most memorable weekend in Charlotte was by far the weekend that Big Al and Sarah Biz came to visit. A few highlights? We kicked off the weekend with lettuce wraps and chocolate cake at P.F. Changs (one of my new favorites). Saturday morning it was off to Southpark for some shopping and the Cheesecake Factory for lunch (and no, we did not share 1 piece of cheesecake...we shared four pieces of cheesecake). And Saturday night....well, let's just say that it is when it got interesting.

We were in the mood for some football and fried pickels so we headed to a local bar called Alexander Michael's (interesting, I know, but what do you expect from 4 southern girls raised on SEC football and fried food? And we actually had to ask the bar tender to find a game for us to watch!). So there is this waiter...he's gorgeous. Not just good looking, gorgeous. We accidently listened in on the conversation he was having with the table of old ladies beside us: His name is Kenny and he is new in town. Perfect-I'm new in town too! For about the next hour, we worked it...and he loved it! And finally...the moment of truth, I am going to stop him to ask him for some ketchup. Here he comes. He's slowing down, he's smiling, we're working it. Wait a minute...he's stopping and I haven't even said anything. What is he doing? Oh my gosh, he's stopping. He's putting his arm around my shoulder and he's pulling me close. He's handing me something...a pack of sugar?? "Excuse me," he very seductively whispers in my ear, "I think you dropped your name tag". Oh my gosh!! Hysterical! I got set up while I was in the bathroom! Absolutely hillarious. Oh well, can I keep him? Oops...I accidently wrote my number on the pack of sugar that Katie just handed him. Hillarious!!!

And then we were off to the Corn Maze. Yes, you heard me...a maze cut through a corn field. Warning: the effects of this maze are greatly intensified with high heels and 3 ultras on board upon entering. Has Kenny called yet?

And no girls weekend is complete without a day at the spa. We finished our weekend off with a roadtrip to Asheville and a night at the Grove Park Inn. Absolutely amazing! I just wish Kenny could have been my masseuse ; ) Thanks for an incredible weekend, girls! I love you !!

Assignment 1: Charlotte

I began my travel nursing adventures in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte is a great city to live in! It is not a small city, but not a big city either...it has that little big town feel to it (you Mississippi girls know what I am talking about!). It is 10 hours north but still in the south. The people that I met were so much fun to be around and always welcoming. My favorite part of Charlotte? Katie and Brad. God is so good! What a gift it was for me to be able to spend six months so close to such a precious friend and her new husband. I truly cherish the time of fellowship living together in Charlotte that God so graciously gave us the opportunity to have.