A Bunch of Everything... This is a long one!

Here is what we have been up to:

 

CAKES!

 1) i obviously have too much time on my hands 

 2) i find any reason to make a cake - i love it!

 3) can't wait to make cakes for my babies!

Practice cake-  put a little of everything on there 

Chocolate Ganache- enough said!

 Football b-day cake. It was ginormous - but it was for the Avianos, so I knew I had to go big :)

I replicated (on a smaller scale) the top tier of
our wedding cake for us to cut
on our first anniversary.  

- used same ribbon and velvet underlay from
our wedding : )

Whipped this us for a dinner with some friends

Caramel Apple Cake for Thanksgiving
( inspired by a cake on Pinterest)

WORK/SCHOOL 

1) the reason why we came here - tyler's dental schooling... he actually really enjoys it and did extremely well his first semester. We recently found out that he got the air force scholarship.

                                         

                     Tyler's white coat ceremony for dental school,

                                so proud!

                             my first day of work- didnt know what i was

                                    getting myself into haha

2) i thought it was a sick joke, but no, 

they make all the thousands of nurses that 

work here wear ALL white- no color allowed. 

im getting used to it, but i miss color! 

3) Cleveland Clinic Neuro ICU summed up in ABC:

                   Assessments (neuro- often ordered every hour...)

                   Baths

                   Charting

     A tech I work with told me this, I would say add stat Cat scans and tubes coming out of peoples brain, and then you have the jist of CC Neuro ICU.

4) i can now say i knew nothing about neuro starting this job - alot of nurses dont know enough about neuro i am discovering. i have learned so much, and i am so grateful! i feel i have an awesome new skill set that i can take with me to any other field of nursing. all that i've learned has come at a price, my orientation has been very hardcore - sometimes i want to cry!   

5) they call it NICU...  i will never call it NICU

6) the hardest part of working here is that most of the patients i take care of will never get better. we withdraw life support on a lot of patients ranging from their 20s-90s (did that last night), its common to see/hear about a death on the unit every time i work. ive never seen anyone that was really sick get better. it gets frustrating/depressing...

Gems of Ohio:

1) kirtland, ohio... do your church history- there is tons here! 

   come visit me and i will take you!

I went with Stephanie when she came to visit me!

Tyler went with his brother Jarom (was on a church history tour with BYU)

 2) Put-in-Bay... Another adventure of Steph and mine.. We took a ferry boat to this small island in lake erie.  Most people drive around golf carts, including us. it was so randomly fun!  

                                                                    who needs hawaii?

cars lining up to get on ferry - i wasn't brave enough to drive my car onto a boat

3) CLEVELAND- the biggest gem of all!...well, not really, but we are enjoying it so much more than we expected.

                          We are renting the second floor of this classic, it feels like home!

our neighborhood, Little Italy, during the annual feast

We are grateful for everything in our life, our blessings and trials! We are excited about going back to Arizona  for Christmas - cant get better than that! Hope everyone has a happy holiday!

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

Yesterday was Stephanie Wong's b-day!!  Normally I would have taken her to lunch at Goodwood (our birthday tradition) but I am 1700 miles too far to do that this year!  Stephanie is one of the best friends I made in Utah and I miss hanging out with her. Here are the things I love/appreciate about Steph:

 * I met her the first day of nursing school, (we learned how to check a pulse on each other) and since then we helped each other get through school.  I would not have survived without her.

*She is very level headed and non-dramatic

* She is a good listener - I can talk to her about pretty much anything

*She is amazingly brilliant! -  I have always looked up to her for this

*She visited me in Ohio, just for the fun of it... Who does that -  Seriously!   She has a way of making people feel special.

*She takes joy in random, small things, like driving a golf cart!

*She puts up with me trying to set her up with people in Cleveland so  I can get her to move here with me! (so far I am striking out)

*She is GORGEOUS!  This  lady asked me once, "Where's your friend, ya know the really pretty one..."   Plus she has the cutest clothes, shoes, purses, and watches (totally  unlike me!)

*She  is  a dare devil!  She wanted to go on all the tallest, scariest rides at Cedar Point--and dragged me on them! (Except when it comes to haunted houses, she is a scaredy cat just like me).  She was also the designated photographer when we went to the amish country.  So bad! - we were driving around looking for the people in  horse and buggies, we would drive by fast and try to get a picture without getting shunned... haha


She is pretty much awesome and I am so grateful to have her as a friend. Hope you had an awesome birthday Steph-  Lets go to Goodwood soon!

Job News!

I am sooo grateful that I finally have my employment all lined up.  No more online applications, interviewing, and the DREADED waiting for the call- at least  for the time being...

I am grateful for all the family and friends that have been praying for me to get a job. I've had the opportunity to interview for some amazing jobs here - I feel really blessed.

Thursday morning I got the call.  I did not get the NICU job.  Honestly, I was pretty hurt.  I was so confident that I was going  to get it.  It just seemed like everything had lined up too perfectly for me not to get it.  I got served a very large piece of humble pie.

The next day I got to go to a relief society fireside with Barbara Thompson.  I felt the spirit so strongly and just felt at peace with everything.  I ended up sitting next to young mother from Utah.  She had traveled here to Ohio so her little son could get brain surgery at Cleveland Clinic, other hospitals had told her there was nothing that could be done.  The more I spoke with her  about her story, the more comforted/excited I felt with the prospect of working in a neuro ICU at CC.

I might have given it away, but yes today I got the job in the Neurological ICU (NICU) at Cleveland Clinic- I was ecstatic.  In a strange way, I feel like this is where I need  to be.  That  doesn't change the fact that I'm scared to death and have ALOT to learn!  I would never have guessed  I would have ended up working on this unit at such a high acuity hospital - with such stark white walls! (so different from NICU) I keep asking myself, how did I get this job!?! I don't like adult ICUs, I like babies! But seriously, how can I even complain when I have this opportunity- I can't - so I'm going to embrace it and learn as much as I can... I can't wait!  Now I'm going to get me some new nursing clogs to celebrate.

WISH ME LUCK!

I have faith that this is where Heavenly Father needs me.  NICU - I hope we can meet again in the future :)

NICU

One year ago today was the first day of my capstone in the Newborn ICU.  I remember it well, it was a extremely busy shift.  My lovely preceptor, Alice, was the transition nurse for the day, which meant we got to go to all the c-sections and take care of the baby right after birth.  Frankly, It was overwhelming and I had no clue what was going on.  After a few more shifts, I got a better feel what NICU nursing was all about and I was hooked. It was my niche and I felt that it was the perfect outlet of nursing for me.  I even shed a few tears after my last capstone shift because I didn't know when I would get  the opportunity to work in NICU (in this economy, it can be tough to get a job there).  

Now its crunch time...  I had an amazing opportunity a few days after coming to Cleveland  to interview for a  NICU position.  Not only is the hospital walking distance (!!!) , it is consistently ranked in the top 4 NICUs in the country---they write  textbooks for goodness sake   

I am supposed to hear back anytime now and I feel soooooo anxious.  I have mixed emotions, I keep analyzing  the interviews in my head, I am preparing  myself for not getting it, but constantly praying that I will!  

Please Please call me and put me out of my misery!

Whatever should be, will be.

~Grow Where You are Planted~

So my excitement about moving to Arizona was shattered when Tyler was put on waiting lists at both schools he interviewed there (what are the chances!).  Turned out he was never taken off those lists and here we are in Cleveland, Ohio at Case Western.  I spent a lot of time, before coming here, worrying about moving to an unknown place - so much farther from family and even worse winters, leaving my jobs to find new employment with limited RN experience and starting a new life in a place with, lets say, not the best reputation... Despite all this, I had faith and confidence that this is where Heavenly Father wanted us to go, so we went.

Honestly, pulling into our new neighborhood was exciting. I loved it immediately.  Our new home is  in a historic district called Little Italy.  It is lined with cute little shops and family-owned restaurants, completed with cobblestone roads. Most of the houses are historic and so charming - they remind me of the row houses in San Francisco. We live on the 2nd floor of a home built in 1903.  We love our charming space, we love our landlords, and we love our location (walking distance to Tyler's school and University Hospitals,  and a short drive to Cleveland Clinic (a world famous healthcare system).

Little Italy

Our transition here hasn't been perfect, but it has definitely gone well. We really like it here! Thereare of course some really sketchy areas, but otherwise I don't know why this city has such a bad rep.  I have found many nursing opportunities here in some top-notch hospitals.  I am obviously nervous about taking care some of the sickest patients in the country, but I'm excited about all the knowledge and experience I can gain here.  I did get a job at Cleveland Clinic on a surgical floor, but I am still waiting to hear back from some other interviews (NICU as in Neonatal ICU and NICU as in Neuro ICU).  Hopefully by  the end of this week I will know for sure where I will be working.

Tyler has started dental school and he is doing well. He has to wear custom scrubs with  his name embroidered etc...  It was so cute  to see how excited he was when he got his scrubs.  Haha, reminds me of when I got my first pair of scrubs for nursing school-I felt so cool!  Well that feeling definitely fades, but I didn't tell him that. Its seems like he has learned a lot in a short amount of time, he is already starting to speak in a different language. I'm really proud of him!

Above all, I believe the reason for us being here is for missionary work.  There are not very many members here, and most of the members are here for grad school and come from Utah or Idaho.  A lot of people here haven't even heard of Latter-day Saints.  I'm excited about sharing the good news of the gospel here!

 I have a lot more to tell, but the dishes in the sink are calling my name.  I'll update more and hopefully post some pictures soon.  I miss everyone so much!

Hawaii or BUST!

By no small miracle, we were able to secure plane tickets to Hawaii from Tylers company and a free week stay after listening to a dreadful sales presentation...  I never thought it would all fly, but it officially has!  We are going to Kauai in 19 days!!!!!

I am seriously so excited to go on a vacation for once and  get a break from 60-72 hour work weeks. Additionally, I have been a little sad at times lately...  my dear Grandpa Barr passed away recently, I have the impending doom of moving yet farther from family and the sun to Ohio for four years, and since graduation many of my friends have left me for bigger and better things.  12 days in Hawaii is just what the doctor  ordered!

Midwestern vs. ASDOH!?!



This is a tough choice... NOT! Either one!
They both are in Arizona!
Tyler had interviews at these school in the last couple weeks. We have not heard back if he got in or not yet, but hopefully (and most likely) he will get to at least one of them. Which means.... I will get my wish of moving back to ARIZONA! These happen to be great schools, so it works for Tyler too! Not that I regret moving to Utah, but I have always hoped I would move back closer to family again. I am grateful for all the memories I have made here, the awesome education I got at BYU, and of course meeting my Tyler. I just gotta get out of this cold and closer to my family! I have felt out of the loop for too long. I hope we get in soon! (I have already started packing)!

Midwestern University
Glendale, Arizona

A.T Still University
Mesa, Arizona



ANOTHER UPDATE!

We are now just workin a ton and enjoying our time together as newlyweds. We don't know where life will take us this summer, but we  are excited about the prospects of moving and starting a new adventure in the real world!  Here's what you may have missed....

Tyler got accepted to dental school at Case Western in Cleveland,  Ohio. Apparently there is some awesome architecture there!  Still waiting from other schools...

I got my first winter coat. Tyler got it for my birthday!

My valentine's gift to Tyler, chocate goodness inside

Still always making quirky faces at  tyler...

   Graduated from BYU Nursing in December!

We got married in August! Best day ever!