Just another day in Atlanta

So everyone knows I'm all about the exploring life, I decided I'd make a sort of "Atlanta Bucket List" of all the things I want to do while I'm here. Will I be here 2 years? 5 years? 10? I have NO idea! So I might as well just live life livin it up!

*Disclaimer* I basically googled things you MUST do in Atlanta and got all these ideas from various blogs and websites

• Georgia Aquarium✓
• Visit the MLK historic site
• Explore the Beltline ✓
• Visit the College Football Hall of Fame
• World of Coca Cola
• Run through the water fountain rings at Centennial Park
• Ride the ferris wheel downtown
• Write my name on Krog Tunnel
• Find all of the Tiny Doors ATL
• Grant Park Farmers Market✓
• BBQ at Fat Matt's✓
• Go to a Braves game ✓
• Go to Six Flags over Georgia
• A show at the Fox✓
• Go to the original Chick Fil A✓ 
• Governor's Mansion at Christmas
• Calloway Gardens
• Games at Ormsby's
• Take a skyline picture on Freedom Parkway  ✓ 
• Go apple picking in the North Georgia Mountains ✓
• Hike at Amicola Falls (...and climb all 600 stairs) ✓
• Run in the Peachtree Road Race
• Hiking in Dahlonega
• Wine taste in the North Georgia Mountains ✓
• Live music at Eddie's Attic
• Concert at the Tabernacle
• Concert at Phillip's Arena
• Concert at Aaron's Amphitheater
• Concert at Chastain
• Ice cream at Jeni's ✓, Jake's✓and Butter & Cream ✓
• Jimmy Carter Library and Museum
• Atlanta Botanical Garden✓
• Music Midtown
• Atlanta Hawks Game
• Taste of Atlanta
• Free beer Friday at Diesel at 5:37
• Burger's at Ann's Snack Bar
• Blast 600 Workout class ✓
• King of Pops ✓
• Coffee at Land of a Thousand Hills✓
• King of Pops free Outdoor Yoga✓
• Flywheel ✓
• Dad's Garage
• Holeman and Finch Burger
• Eat at all the burgers: Yeah! Burger ✓, Farm Burger, Flip Burger
• Drive in movie at Starlight
• Eat at all the jenny's: Souper Jenny, Cafe Jonah, and Juicy Jenny✓✓✓
• Hike Stone Mountain
• Martini's and IMAX
• When it rains we pour at Park Tavern
• Eat ethnic food on Buford Highway
• Go to the Mall of Georgia
• Eat at the Vortex
• Go thrifting in Little Five Points
• Beltline Lantern parade
• Kayak on the Chattahoochee
• Historic 4th Ward Fall Festival ✓
• Decatur Farmer's Market
• Peachtree Road Farmer's Market✓
• W rooftop pool
• Run in the Hot Chocolate 15K
• CNN Center
• Coffee at Octane
• Ice Skate at Park Tavern
• Zoo Atlanta
• Summerfest in the Highlands
• Tour the Oakland Cemetery
• Food Truck Park
• Grocery Shop at Your Dekalb Farmer's Market ✓
• Eat at the Varsity ✓
• PureBarre✓, Pink Barre✓, Barre3✓
• Brew at the Zoo
• Hike at Sweetwater Creek
• Christmas tree lighting at Lenox✓
• JUICE: Arden's Garden, Juicy Jenny, and Kale Me Crazy✓✓✓
• The Glen Hotel Rooftop Bar
• Victory Sandwiches (+spiked slushies)✓
• Dinner at Bartaco
• BRUNCH: Highland Bakery✓, Murphy's, Sun in my Belly✓, Buttermilk, Joy Cafe
• Dogwood Festival
• Fernbank Museum
• Drinks at Brick Store Pub✓
• Dinner at Mi Barrio
• Night out at MJQ
• Northside Tavern
• Top Golf
• Empire State South-drinks and bocce
• Bantam and Biddy! ✓
• Dancing at Johnny's Hideaway✓ SO FUN
• Prohibition
• Star Bar 80s dance night
• Drinks at the Sun Dial
• Buy something at Paris on Ponce✓
• Lucky Fest
• Lunch at Chai Pani✓
• Fox Bros BBQ
• Arepa Mia
• Screen on the Green
• Milkshakes at Woody's
• Stone Mountain Laser Show
• Eat at the Ponce City Market Food Hall✓
• Eat at Krog Street Market ✓
• Shake Shack
• Fireworks at Lenox
• Dinner at Six Feet Under
• Piedmont Park Arts Festival
• Bowling at the Painted Pin
• Eat at the original Mellow Mushroom
• Eat at the original Moe's
• Candler Park Fall Fest ✓

Graduating Preschool?

Well guys, I'm graduating preschool again! At least that's what I feel like is happening!

So the hospital I'm working at has this incredible new grad nurse track which I had the opportunity to spend my first month of work on the Cardiac Step-down Unit before moving to the Cardiac ICU. My oh my it has been such a blessing! Rather than jump right into the craziness of the ICU world, I had the chance to ease myself to the workflow of being a nurse. I had the chance to learn and see and ask and do so many things. Some of which I won't do in the ICU, but most of the time I was learning things that I hope will give me an awesome foundation to jump off from when I move to the Unit. Which is tomorrow LOL. Hence the "graduation" part. I had my last shift on the Step-down Unit a few days ago! Just looking back to my first day I started, whew I knew nothing hahaha. I can't even imagine looking back to here a year from now, I'm sure I'll be like "uhhh how did I make it through the past year?!?!"

So next on deck, the CICU! It's a crazy crazy world and I couldn't be more excited!

Adult? Can I adult?

So change has been the name of the game lately. And that might actually be the understatement of the year.

In the past two weeks, I have ended my career with NSLC, moved to a new city, started my first nursing job,  AND bought multiple major pieces of furniture (as in the over $300 kind). Am I an adult  now or what?!?!

Obviously, a lot of changing going on and I'll be the first to admit it's been a wee bit stressful. Okay a lot bit stressful lolz. I keep reminding myself how pumped I am to have taken this big ole leap and moved here on my own for a job I already love and how proud I am of myself that. If you would have asked me for years ago if I would have moved out of Arkansas, I would have said heck no! Now don't get me wrong, I know it's probably going to be difficult somedays, but I know nothing but growth is going to come from it and I could not be more stoked.

So amidst all the chaos, I really want to start using this blog to chronicle my first year in my new city and my first year as a nurse. Why not start right this very second?!

First off, totally sold on working here. Why you ask? Because, a true sorority girl's dream...I can wear t-shirts to work! Not only can I wear t-shirts, but I can wear any t-shirts I want! Bring on the superhero/spongebob/frozen shirts! And who doesn't love wearing scrub pants? It's like pajamas with pockets!

Okay, real talk, this job is going to be an insane rollercoaster! Like the kind that goes topsy turvy and you feel like you're about to fall out and goes upside down and side ways and backwards and the whole shabang. I think my experience so far has been a perfect example of the ebb and flow of emotions I'll most likely experience in these next few months. I go from one day in class playing with one of the incredibly adorable therapy pups and making bead necklaces to the next class talking about dying children for 4 hours. The good is going to be really good and the bad is going to be really bad. Babies with congenital heart defects have a super long road ahead of them. These are some sick little babies with some sick little baby hearts. The most adorable, cute, precious, tiny sick little babies of course--nothing is going to stop me from loving on them as much as I can while I'm taking care of them!

So I had my first day on the floor this week. What is totally amazing and I didn't fully appreciate until this week was the opportunity I have to spend my first month on the cardiac step-down unit as opposed to jumping straight into the CICU. The abbreviations, the doctors, the medications, the charting, the conditions, the procedures, the policies. Literally everything is new to me. If I would have started straight in the unit LOL totally would have floundered around like a fish out of water LOL. It's awesome having the chance to get used to how things work and how things are done and what these kids start to look like when they're on the path to going home. I'm pretty sure no nursing school anywhere spends as much time on pediatric cardiology as I would have needed to be fully prepared to jump straight into work on the unit. But thankfully, the support for new graduates is INCREDIBLE at this hospital!! Literally everyone I meet is so friendly and will do anything to help me out. It of course helps that I have to wear this yellow ribbon on my name tag that is the not so subtle way of letting all the staff know "I'M A NEWBIE" without having to broadcast it to parents and visitors and such. I'm tempted to keep wearing it longer than we're supposed to so I have an excuse for not knowing the answer to something haha

So my first patients were the cutest little bundles of cute. LOL that at first when I looked at their charts I thought my patients were 14, 7, and 10. LOLOL more like 14 days, 7 months, and 10 days. Aka BABIES! They were all so tiny and such little troopers and the perfect first day patients. It was so bizarre, I kept feeling like I was in nursing school and I would need my precepting nurse to sign off on things and such, but NOPE! I could do things all on my own. Which is #terrifying. Overall it was an awesome day and I never once felt overwhelmed or lost or up the creek without a paddle which is way better than I thought I'd feel so I'm calling it a win!

Alright, that's all for now folks. Time to go take a nap or fall asleep before 10 or something.

just a little celebratin'

Well, alas its been awhile. I made a little detour on my blogging adventure into the realm of paper journaling. Seeing as it has been more than an entire year, there is almost no use in trying to play catch up. Much better to just start back up where life has me at right now. Sheesh sheesh sheesh a lot has been happening lately!

For starters, I GRADUATED NURSING SCHOOL! So I've officially crossed over into the post grad life. How do I feel about it you may ask? Still haven't decided. Although I'm going to go ahead and through that denial feeling out there. I've gotten so comfortable in my lovely little life here in my favorite little town of Fayetteville. As excited as I am to move on, this place holds a special little place in my heart that I'm not quite ready to let go of yet. However, time keeps ticking whether I want it to or not so something tells me I'll be much better off embracing whats ahead. So the fact that nursing school is over might actually be more scary. Still not sure if I feel qualified to be taking care of real people yet (by people I mean cute babies) but I guess at some point, I just have to rip the Bandaid off!

So graduation weekend was a huge success. My best friend and her momma came into town, the whole Williams clan was there (a rarity these days) and we just hung out. Lots of food (would not be a family gathering if it was any other way), lots of desserts (including the one the puppies ate), and lots of laughing. Just the way I like it. In addition to my graduation, we also were celebrating Mother's Day, three other graduations, three birthdays, a new job, and a new business venture. What can I say? We go big or we go home.

Now for the exciting news...I have a job! Well actually, it's my second job but that is another can of worms. I accepted my dream dream dream job in Atlanta in a Cardiac ICU!! So so so so so so so so so so crazy. When I had finally decided I wanted to experience live outside of Arkansas for a little bit, I never ever in a million years imagined I would be moving to ATLANTA! Not exactly sure when the "I'm terrified I know no one I'm moving to a strange city" freakout will occur, but I'm hoping my mother will be ready for it.

More to come on everything above plus some, I just figured this would be a good jumping off point to get back into remembering to blog more often. I have to have some way of staying in touch with everyone once I'm off on my little adventure!