Status Check!

We are 4.5 months away from my 30^th birthday. Shit is getting real. And yes, its been basically a year since I’ve put anything solid up here. My excuse is life with work, school, clinicals, moving, relationships, friends, family, etc has been crazy but no more excuses!! I’m moving into the final countdown of school, clinicals and my 20’s and that needs to be documented!

So I’ve made a shortcut of where I’m at with my list. Those crossed through have obviously been accomplished and the ones in red are the ones I’ve managed to blog about. So now I have two major tasks: finish the ones not marked off and blog about everything in black! Luckily some of them I can combine so maybe these won’t be massively long posts…or knowing me, they probably will still be.

1. Get my last tattoo.

2. Learn conversational/medical Spanish.

3. Kiss in the rain.

4. Get SCUBA certified

5. Lose 3 inches from my stomach/hipline.

6. Go ziplining.

7. Finish/almost finish my MSN.

8. Take a pole dancing class.

9. Visit California

10. Start journaling again.

11. Complete my Disney DVD collection.

12. Go whale watching.

13. Try vegetarianism for 2 weeks.

14. Learn to knit.

15. Do something that scares me.

16. Donate $50 a month to 12 different causes I feel strongly about for one year. 

17. Swim with the manatees.

18. Make a budget.

19. Make a detailed plan for my trip to Africa.

20. Learn how to change a tire.

21. Get a facial.

22. Go wine tasting.

23. Learn how to curl my hair.

24. Go horseback riding on the beach.

25. Go to my 10 Year high school reunion.

26. Try Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.

27. Participate in a charity event.

28. See a Broadway show

29. Finish the Game of Thrones book series.

30. CELEBRATE MY 30TH IN STYLE!

So lets ease you back into this gently with items that don’t require a lot of explanation…

#3. Kiss in the rain. It happened. It was good. I didn’t worry about my hair. That’s all the details you get! ;)

#11. Complete my Disney DVD collection. I don’t have them all but I have all my favorites and all the ones that didn’t terrify me as a child. Plus I have most of the Pixar (basically Disney) and How to Train Your Dragon 1&2 because they were so good they should be Disney classics, even though they’re Dreamworks. The only one I still might need to get is Tangled. Nate and I just watched that a few weeks ago and it was super cute! His friend’s little girl said the ‘prince’ (well, thief) in it reminded her of Nate so of course we had to watch it!

#21. Get a facial. I was so relaxed I was basically asleep so definitely no way to document that! Will be getting another one at the end of the semester!

Alright, three more documented. Unfortunately Pediatrics lecture is looming so that’s all for now, but more shortly!

2014 to date

To see such an extensive lapse in my blog is such a bittersweet feeling. I miss being able to write 20-30 posts in a year and enjoy looking back on changes both big and little in the last few years. Yet, these long voids in posts means my life is busy and full. Both good and bad, always, but still full and in constant motion. 

So what has happened in my life over the past 6 months? 

Well first of all, my family has continued to grow. I mentioned Clara in my last post, the sweetest, loudest deaf cat you ever will meet. Well she's continued growing from a measly 1.5 lb kitten to a full grown 10 lb cat and celebrated her first birthday at the end of March. My baby is a baby no longer! *sniff* 

However, Clara's birthday wasn't the only big event last month...she also got a brother! I've become really accustomed to having more than one pet over the years and always felt bad that I have to leave her alone for 14 hours a day when I work, not to mention nights when I'm out with friends, or running errands, etc. So I've very much wanted to get her a sibling. I've spent weeks on petfinder.com searching rescues. Normally I gravitate to the older, more 'needy' animals that I know may not get adopted otherwise, but with Clara being so young, I wanted to find her a companion she could bond and live out her life with. Yet not one so young she could boss around (which she would definitely be prone to do!). 

So I knew I was looking for males between the ages of 2-5 years. Plus, I knew I was partial to orange tabbies after Peanut, but wouldn't make that a deal breaker. I went out to shelters a few times and found some promising cats, but none that I felt were "the one." Finally, one weekend my sister came down and she, Nate, and I devoted the entire day to visiting rescues. We had no luck at the first few places and decided to make one last stop at the Clearwater Humane Society. There we found this sleepy, orange guy making his bed by holding the blanket in his mouth and purring away. He took to all three of us right away and we knew the decision had been made. The only problem was his name...Chuck just wasn't going to cut it. Nate pointed out he was a bit 'two-faced' because of the line running down his nose. This of course made Nate think of the Batman character Two-Face who's real name is Harvey Dent. So now our little guy had a new name...Harvey! It's been about a month since he moved in and it was a bit rough at first but now he and Clara are openly curious and tolerating each other and I can only hope that they'll be best buds in the near future!

view of the city from my hotel room

Two months ago, one of my best friends Tiffany turned 30 and her husband planned a surprise trip to New York for her. Of course there was no way I was going to miss this trip, but I wanted it to be a genuine surprise! I spent a month convincing her (with some outside help!) that it wasn't possible for me to come, only to receive a "talk" from her the day we were supposed to leave that she was really disappointed that she had figured out I wasn't coming and how she thought out of everyone I would be the one person she knew would come. It was all I could do not to give in and tell her right then and there! But when she burst into tears after seeing me as she was coming through the security gate at the airport, it was all worth it. We met two more of her friends in the airport and a few others in the city and had a blast of a weekend! We shopped (almost literally until we dropped), ate the most amazing food, deciphered the subway, visited the 911 Memorial, went to Broadway, and did a few authentic New Yorker activities like the equally cool and creepy Sleep No More interactive show. Plus, I got to see my amazing friend Diana who recently made the brave decision to drop everything and move to the city - I miss her so much!! It was freezing, but an absolutely blast and I was so glad to be there to celebrate with Tiff!

You caught that I mentioned Broadway, right?? Aka #28 on my 30 Before 30 list? And we didn't just see any show, we saw THE show. THE show that I have wanted to see since I heard the first notes of the soundtrack at age 11: Phantom of the Opera. It blew my mind and almost brought me to tears. Definitely an amazing experience I wouldn't trade for anything!

You couldn't wipe the grin off my face that night if you tried!

Other than that, life has been pretty status quo, mainly revolving around work and school. At the end of next week I will officially be at the half-way point in my ARNP program. I am astonished and proud to admit, barring anything crazy happening in the next 1.5 weeks, I will have continued to maintain a 4.0 so far in the program, far surpassing my academic achievements when pursing my BSN. It's such a great feeling to have made it this far in the program, but its also terrifying because next semester begins what I have been dreading for awhile now...clinicals. Don't get me wrong, once I get in a groove, I actually think clinicals will be great. And I'm not that nervous about interacting with my patients in a student-ARNP role, but what I am concerned about is meeting my preceptor. I feel so confident about some of my skills and like I know practically nothing in other areas...I just hope that I get someone who is passionate and smart and empathic and really values their role as a preceptor because I very much want to learn. And besides being nervous about meeting my preceptor, I'm anxious about handling my time management. I have 180 clinical hours I am expected to complete within 2.5 months, all while working and taking class. I've already dropped down to part-time at work to help compensate for the time I will be 'working' for free...but then that adds on the added stressor of money management. So I guess goal #18 Make a Budget is going to become a critical factor in my life soon. Lets just pray I can manage it all while still being a healthy, happy, functioning human being!

I've got some fun things planned for my 30 Before 30 list coming up and one more thing will be checked off this weekend! So stay tuned for that!

Until then....

Love,

KayCee

Updates galore!

I have been a busy, busy bee working on my list lately. I'm sure it probably seems as though there's not much else going on in my life, but quite the contrary - I've been a busy bee in all areas of my life lately! I completed my first month of grad school in April and got A's in both Pathophysiology and Health Promotion! I'm about two weeks into my second semester now...taking Pharmacology and Health Systems this summer. Haven't gotten a good feel for either of them yet, but I've gotten full credit for everything so far. Outside of work and school I've got plenty going on as well. Yesterday I completed my very first "fun run"which is quite an accomplishment for a girl who does not only NOT run, but very much DISLIKES running. But I always said if I was going to do one of those, it would be a color run because who doesn't want to look like they've been smeared around on an artist's pallet, right? Haha. So when Color Me Rad came to Tampa and a big group of my friends decided to do it, I bit the bullet and signed up too. As you can see below, we started off very clean but it didn't take us long to get colored!! In fact I think at least half our group got color bombed before our heat even begun!

So back to the list! One thing I put on the list that I thought would be incredibly useful, but that I wasn't sure how to learn or if I would be able to remember it was #20 Learn how to change a tire. Well, thank goodness a friend remembered it was on my list because about a week ago I got a call to prepare to get dirty because he was on his way over and was ready to teach me to change a tire!

I admit I was a bit apprehensive because, lets be honest, even though I had complete faith in his teaching abilities, I wasn't necessarily confident in my own (questionable) mechanical skills. But he took his time, showing me not only what to do next but explaining the rationale behind everything. The two biggest things I took away: if I have to jump on the wrench to loosen the lug nuts, I should probably jump on the wrench to make sure they're secured as tightly as possible when I put them back on (i.e. Kristen isn't known for her upper body strength). And two, make sure when I put the lug nuts back on, I should reattach them in a "star pattern" and this needs to be done TWICE to make sure the wheel is secure. 

Admittedly, I did make him ride with me in the car for my first trip after my wheel was reattached just in case something went wrong, but I have been riding on it for a few weeks now with no problems! I'm very exciting about my newly acquired handy-girl skill!

And lastly, I did my first day of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred (goal #26)! I'm going to be up front...realistically its going to be a 40 Day Shred or so for me because a) I was so sore after my first day that I had to skip a day before being able to do day 2 and b) no matter how good my intentions, I doubt I'm going to get up 20 mins early before EVERY 12 hour shift for the next month to make sure I get the work out in. But I'm going to do my best! I took my weight and measurements and I'm hoping between that and working out an additional diet/exercise plan with Tiffany this week, I will also be on my way to #5 Lose 3 inches off my waist/hipline. Wish me luck!!

 

Thumbs up after sweating it out to my first SHRED session!

Coming in June: #6 Go zipling and #25 Go to my 10 Year High School Reunion! I'm getting excited!!

Love,

KayCee

30 Before 30: California Edition!

9. Visit California

I could probably write a whole series of blogs about my trip to California, but I won't bore you with too many of the minute details. My friend and I decided to celebrate having a spring break again by planning a last minute trip to California. We spent time in both San Francisco and Napa Valley, as well as a couple days with her aunts who live just south of Napa in Petaluma. I definitely felt right at home on the west coast where so many people are as green-thinking and liberal-minded as me. And her aunts were a hoot! We began our trip with a hike up the coast and ended it in the city. I have to say, the rural areas we saw were by far my favorite parts of the trip. San Fran was a fun experience and I'm so glad we did it, but I guess I thought it would be less of a typical big city than it was. But it was fun to see all the winding streets and ride the trolley nonetheless. Here's a mini album of our adventures: 

 Tiff calls this my So You Think You Can Dance moment

 Tiffany and I after our 8 mile(!) hike to the coast

 beautiful views!

 first trip to the Golden Gate

 Lombard Street was a little terrifying to drive down!

 riding the trolley on our last day in San Fran!

 view of Alcatraz from on the trolley

Fisherman's Wharf

But of course thats not all we did! One of our main reasons for going to California in the first place was:

22. Go Wine Tasting!

The wino in me was in heaven in Napa Valley! This has been a top reason for me to want to travel to California for years and, looking back, Tiffany and I both agree that we would've been perfectly content for our entire trip to have been spent in Napa. We spent two full days exploring and were able to hit up about 6 wineries, plus some delicious food stops (ahi burgers!) and get our very first mud baths at the end to boot! I love all wines but tend to prefer more sweet (though not dessert) wines or, at the very least, the less dry wines. So I was kind of surprised to find that probably 70% of the wines featured at the wineries were red and a significant portion of the white wines featured were Chardonnays...which is usually among my least favorite of the whites. Not one to discriminate though, I tried a bit of everything and happily expanded my palate to include many more reds. 

The wines weren't the only great thing about Napa though. The people and the scenery were amazing too. We made friends with one of the sommeliers at the Robert Mondavi winery and at the end of the shift, he gave us the unfinished tasting bottles for free! And how to describe the views... my pictures will not even come close to doing it justice, but it was one of my favorite landscapes to date. Needless to say, I don't think a trip to California in the future will ever be complete without a day or two in Napa.

 the wine wall at Rutherford Ranch Winery

 V. Sattui Winery

 Robert Mondavi Winery

 the wine caves of Del Dotto Winery

 the castle of Castillo di Amorosa Winery

gorgeous view from atop Sterling Winery (you had to take a cable car to get there!)

12. Go Whale Watching

From the very beginning when Tiff and I were planning this trip to California, I told her my one non-negotiable thing I wanted to do while there was go whale watching. First, because it just seemed like such an amazing experience and second, because whales have meaning in my family. So this was the first thing I researched and booked, even before the hotels. Our first morning waking up in San Francisco, we were up by 6 am, in time to get coffee and cab it down to Pier 39 to meet with our tour. I was practically bouncing off the walls I was so excited. It was cold and windy and the sun was hiding, but I didn't care - I was going to see some whales! The trip started off normal enough, they told us what to expect, pointed out the 'sea sick' corner of the boat, and away we went. 

Well, the tour itself was 6 hours and it took us 2.5 to reach the Farrallon Islands, which was supposed to be our best bet of seeing any whales. I had never been seasick in my life and cruised along just fine for the first two hours, so I never gave taking any medicine a second thought. Unfortunately, after 2 hours of staring at grey seas and skies, I decided to go inside to rest until we got to our destination. That was my biggest mistake. The enclosed area added with the very rocky boat finally caught up with me and I joined the half of the boat who were already turning green. By the time we made it to the Islands, most of us on the boat had been sick at least once. The sun was finally out and we floated for a bit keeping our eyes peeled for any sight of a whale. The captain came on the loudspeaker a few times exclaiming about seeing a tail or two, but to be honest, maybe only a handful of people actually caught the tail. All in all, I managed to see a few spouts and the last few inches of a few tails before they entered the water and that was it. And then back around we turned for the 2+ hour journey back, while once again, most of us hung over the side of the boat, our stomachs losing the battle against the 20 foot swells we were fighting. 

The view on the way back was gorgeous, with the sun finally out and getting to see views of the coast as we got much closer to land, but unfortunately we were barely able to enjoy it. We passed a number of giant buoys in the water with countless sea lions on them that I wish I'd gotten a picture of. And it was cool to see the Golden Gate from underneath and cruise by Alcatraz. (Side note, every time I go to write 'Alcatraz' I almost always think 'Azkaban' first. Ah, the Harry Potter fandom runs deep in me apparently) We finally made it back around 2 pm and it was all Tiffany and I could do to wave down a cab and crawl back up to our room. I spent most of the rest of the afternoon in bed, while she spent it desperately trying to get enough fresh air outside. So all in all, whale watching...not exactly the experience I expected. But would I do it again given the opportunity in different conditions? Absolutely. I'm still determined to see a whale in my lifetime!

 So pumped!! Little did I know...

 I came up for air long enough to snap one photo of the Farrallon Islands

 view from under the GG

 Azkaban I mean...Alcatraz!

one pic to summarize our experience

So that was my trip! I had a great time with my girl and was able to cross 3 more things of my list. I can't wait to go again, but next time: San Diego and southern California!

Love,

KayCee

30 Before 30 Catch Up - Part 1

I've been making a ton of progress on my 30 Before 30 list over the past few months so I wanted to take some time to share what I've done with you! However, there was too much to put in just one post, so here's the first couple!

23. Learn to curl my hair

Going all the way back to Dec/Jan, I decided to tackle this one on New Years Eve. Don't ask me what inspired this decision, considering NYE is my favorite (non-family based) holiday and I didn't leave myself enough time to try something else should my attempt fail, but luckily I'm going to call the results a success. My years of dousing my hair with as much Keratin as possible, as well as me having enough hair on my head to easily make 3-4 wigs, made this a bit of a difficult task, but using the techniques my sister taught me a few years ago, I wound my hair into some tight ringlets...which promptly fell to loose waves within 2 hours. Regardless, I was proud of myself for spending the 2+ hours it took to put it together (no, thats not a joke!) and happy with how it turned out. Not sure when I'll find the time or determination to try it again, but I had some compliments so maybe soon!

On the left you can see the tighter curls (this was pre-make up stage people!) and on the right, the finished look, with the much looser curls.

28. See a Broadway show.

Alas, it is doubtful that I will actually make it to New York before I turn 30, so when I found out Wicked was coming through town and my friend wanted to see it for her birthday, I jumped at the chance! I read the book years ago, so I can't accurately state how similar it was to the book (though I'm pretty confident in stating it was just a loose interpretation) but I absolutely loved it! If I'm ever given options to see a live show, I'm indubitably going to ask to see Phantom over, and over...and over again, so it was nice to see something fresh, and not have expectations, but still be vaguely familiar with at least some of the music (thank you Glee!). I definitely recommend this show if anyone ever has a chance to go see it!

I accomplished 3 more tasks out in California, but I figured those deserved their own post! (Largely because the amount of pictures I'm likely to include) But I'm also making progress on other items I haven't finished yet: I have someone lined up to teach me to change a tire. I bought Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, I just need to commit to an official starting day. My sister is going to take me ziplining next time I'm home. I finished the third book in the Game of Thrones series. And I've bought my ticket to my 10 Year Reunion which is taking place next month! It's exciting to see all these checkmarks starting to appear on my list!

Love,

KayCee

Puppy Love

My Percival passed away last week. He'd been having many health problems over the last 6 months and eventually his little heart just couldn't take it anymore. But I like to think that his heart just wasn't big enough for how much love he tried to hold in it. I got him as an older adult from a rescue group 3 years ago because I wanted to give my love and home to an animal who needed me, but who didn't necessarily require the time and attention a new puppy would. Little did I know, Percy would reignite my passion for those who have lived unfortunate lives and cannot speak for themselves. He'd been picked up as a stray and it was obvious by his weight and the length and state of his hair that he'd been fending for himself for quite some time. It took a little bit of time for him to grow accustomed to knowing he could trust me, but once he did, he showed me why dogs really are (wo)man's best friend. Never have I felt such amazing, pure, unlimited love from such a little creature. And I will forever be thankful for all the cuddles, nub-wags, and happy squeaks awaiting me every time I would come in the door. He was the highlight of my day over the last three years and the apartment feels so much emptier without his little 6-pound body. Percy, your mama loved you so much and misses you every day. But I find peace knowing you're at rest now, without pain, and that Prancer was across that rainbow bridge waiting for you.

Percy cuddling up on his warm mountain of freshly washed sheets

Bravely showing off his bandage after one of his procedures last fall

My little man and I getting ready to celebrate New Years Eve 2013

The two of us cuddling the day before he died. In his last few days, resting on my chest seemed to be the only thing that helped him breathe easier. Today, I am so thankful for this last picture with him.

So, number 16 on my 30 Before 30 list is to "Donate $50 a month to 12 different causes I feel strongly about for one year." In honor of Percy, January's donation went to Florida Little Dog Rescue which is the rescue group I adopted Percy from. I cannot say enough good things about this group. All of their animals are dogs that they've saved from Death Row at animals shelters. Every single one of these dogs would be put to sleep if FLDR hadn't of stepped in. And not only do they save the healthy dogs, but they are not afraid to step up and save the special needs dogs, the animals with problems that need medical or surgical attention before being placed for adoption. These are the animals that are usually put down without a second thought because they're not "worth" the time, attention, or money it would take to rehabilitate them. These are the animals that need us the most! Here are some of these animals stories:

Here is Houston, who was dubbed a "throw away" dog because his owners literally just discarded him. A lab mix, he came in incredibly underweight at only 26 pounds with gashes on his ear, a fever, skin rashes, and actively throwing up. FLDR gave him the vet care and medicine he needs and he's now being fostered until they find his forever home.

Above is a before and after of Rojo, who came in severely underweight and suffering from pneumonia. Look at what a turn-around he made in less than a month of just a little TLC!

Above is a picture of Liam, who picked up by Animal Control, unable to walk due to a shattered pelvis and two broken back legs. Through FLDR and their donations, Liam had extensive surgical repairs and is on his way to a full recovery. And here he is, all happy and healthy after a bath:

These are sweet, loving, beautiful dogs that don't deserve what life has dealt them. FLDR unselfishly donates time and money to the rehabilitation of these animals. Each dog will be individually fostered in a home so when that dog is adopted out, the foster parent can accurately account for the dog's likes, dislikes, fears, behavior, etc. And when you adopt a dog, whether its from FLDR or another rescue organization, you are paying $75-300 for an animal that comes fully vetted with all their shots, spayed or neutered, and the knowledge that the money you're paying is directly going towards the care and rescue of another animal in need. You can't get that confidence or feeling from a breeder or pet store! 

I urge you all to go to the FLDR website and take a look at all the work they do. Their special needs cases are chronicled so you can read updates and all their adoptable and recently adopted dogs are showcased with pictures and stories. Additionally, there is a place where you can make donations. Forty-five dollars can save a dog from Death Row. Seventy-five dollars will not only save a dog, but will guarantee the care of a special needs dog who just needs a little extra help to get their life back. 

In honor of Percy, once known to FLDR volunteers as Snowflake, I am donating $75 to kick off my year of donations. I know Percy would be proud to know the people who once saved him from a life on the streets are being provided the means to continue to save the lives of more deserving souls. 

Love,

KayCee