my best friend is engaged!!

Well, like the title says...

MY BEST FRIEND IS ENGAGED!!!!

Christina Zabala is engaged to Matt Thomas.. and I couldn't be MORE EXCITED for her!! Oh my gosh. This is so exciting.. haha. I haven't yet heard allllll the details because Matt is still in California for spring break and they are celebrating over the weekend. But I can't wait to hear everything!

My spring break was great. No engagements, but still great ;) We spent Sunday through Thursday in Destin, Florida and had a wonderful time. The weather was gorgeous three out of the four days, which was greatly appreciated. Besides the wind that would blow while on the beach, it was warm, sunny, and perfect.

It was wonderful seeing friends (like Robbie) that I hardly ever get to see. I miss my friends from home, so getting to spend four days with him was like old times.

We spent Wednesday night at McGuires (an Irish pub/restaurant) for St. Patrick's Day, and it was a blast. It was insanely (and I do mean INSANELY) crowded, but it was well worth it. Dinner was delicious. I had an Irish Wake. And we got fun hats and beads. How fun!

And like always, I wish my dang computer wasn't broken so I could share some pictures. I'll have a post soon that will be just pictures. It will be one in-depth post :)

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week!

It's SPRING BREAK!!

Well, it's officially SPRING BREAK!! I worked the past three days at the hospital, and they actually weren't bad at all. I worked Wednesday 7am-3pm, Thursday 7am-7pm, and Friday 7am-3pm. The days didn't drag on miserably, and I had some pretty adorable patients this week, so it was a good ending before a relaxing few days at the beach (and week and a half off from work :) ).

For spring break, me and 7 other friends are going to Destin! We've rented a condo on the beach between Destin and Sandestin, and I'm really looking forward to it. I hope hope hope it's pretty. Last year was absolutely amazing for spring break. We had gorgeous weather and a beautiful ocean, and I'm hoping it will be at least half as pretty as it was last year. Hmmm.. I just can't wait to have this view... :)

These are some pictures from last year's spring break, and I hope it's just as pretty this year.

So, this week has been a pretty good week. The weather here in Tuscaloosa has been moody. It's sunny and beautiful, then flooding and horribly ugly the very next day (or even later the same day). Monday was gorgeous, though, and I got to lay out for the first time this year.. and boy did I need it. Not that I was actually able to get tan. I think it's going to take quite a few sessions of laying out to make a dent in my pale-ness, but any amount helps I guess :) It was so pretty on Monday that I went running after laying out, too. I just absolutely adore warm weather.. it puts me in such a better mood than the bitter cold does. This week, the warm weather allowed me to wear shorts outside for the first time this year, drive with the windows down, go running outside in the beautiful sunshine, lay out, get attacked by bees (no fun, though luckily I didn't get stung.. just got caught between two bees either fighting or mating and they landed on me!), get new sunglasses, and new flip flops. Now, don't tell me that all those things don't just make you smile :) Hallelujah for spring weather!

What else is new..

Oh! My very good friend from high school, Christina Zabala, has been narrowed down to the top 2 finalist for a position on the soap opera "One Life to Live"! If you go here, http://cheer.promo.eprize.com/brightenbay/, you can vote for her! She's auditioning for the role of the town titan. She's wonderful, too. She graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, California, and has been doing background work until she can qualify for her SAG card. If she gets this role, she will automatically get the SAG card which allows her to have speaking roles in television shows, etc. So, it's a HUGE step for her career. She's where God wants her to be and she's doing a career that she absolutely loves, but she needs some help! So, if you're reading this, please please please VOTE! It would mean a ton. You have to register the first time, but once you've registered you can vote once a day until sometime mid-April. And when you register, you become eligible for a prize yourself! So, please, vote for my beautiful Christina :)

Here is a picture of us from either 2 or 3 summers ago.. I can't remember. Love her!

I've also gotten to talk to my good friend Whitney Hind a lot lately. She's in school at Lee University in Cleveland, TN. I've realized lately that friends from home and from high school share something important with you that friends you make at college don't necessarily share. Most college friends know the you that exists outside of home.. the you that exists in a college town, away from family, and away from the normals of home. But the friends you've known for years, that are there when you are home, know a piece of you that others may not. It seems small, but a lot of who I am is my life at home, around my family, being ME. That's me in my comfort place.. and my friends from high school know me in that realm more than my friends from college do. I'm not saying that my college friends don't know the real me or that they don't know me as well, because they do! It's just.. different. ANYWAY, talking with Whitney lately has been good :) She's random and funny and I enjoy talking to her. And, plus, she always has some crazy story to tell me that keeps my life interesting ;)

Here's an ooooold picture of us from high school. Not our most gorgeous days, but still fun :) This was taken on Mission Tour with church the summer after high school graduation (I think). Like I said, not to flattering, but it's fun to go back and look at old pictures!

Whew. Well, now that I've rambled on and on and on, I think I'm done. And as soon as I get a new computer (I'm dreading the process.. hmph) I'll stop boring you with old pictures and actually clue you in on my current life :)

Hope everyone has a blessed and happy weekend!

Katie and Cameron :)

Today, I helped Cameron move out of her apartment. We moved and put some boxes together yesterday, and then today her family came down and moved everything out of her apartment. Everything. Her bed, her green chair we would sit in to study, and her mirror that hangs over to door that I would get ready in front of when I would spend the night over there. Her pictures are gone that had pictures of me and her in it. Her bulletin board that had the cards I gave her on it. It's all gone! And yes, this is super cheesy sounding, but it's sad. It's sad because she won't be living in Tuscaloosa anymore. It's sad because I spent soooooo many hours of the last two years at that apartment. Studying, eating dinner, spending the night on her infamous couch/chair, and so many other things.

This is a picture that was taken Fall of 2008, second semester of nursing school. We had just gotten our uniforms and were actually proud to wear those things.. now they are annoying. But regardless, it's a picture of her room and us when we were new-ish friends.

Cam even told Ben (her boyfriend) today that, "Me and Katie are about to celebrate our two year anniversary." And it's true. We've only been friends for almost two years, and yet she knows me more than almost anyone. She's JUST like me, yet completely different than me. We had the weirdest beginning to a relationship and yet it actually lasted. We've been best friends since June 2008 and I seriously could not have gotten through nursing school without her.

See? She's hilarious.

Those are the arms we practiced giving shots on during our first semester in clinicals. We had some down time one day :)

And though I annoy her like crazy about skipping out of some football games, she still loves me.

So, anyway. I just was sad today because Cam moved out. It's one of those friendships that you know will last. I know in a few years that it's likely we won't be living in the same town. We'll both be married to two wonderful guys. We'll both be nurses. She'll be a preacher's wife, and we might even be thinking about kids before too long. But the one thing I DO know about my not-so-clear future is that Cameron will be the first person I call when I get engaged. And she'll be on the top of the list when I get pregnant years down the road (after the fam, of course..). And I can always count on her to cook me a nice dinner or bake me a delicious cake when I've had a bad day or when I need to come visit her.

It's amazing how God puts people in your life that you need to encourage you and bring out the best in you. I never, ever would have thought when I applied for nursing school that I'd graduate nursing school with a best, best, lifelong friend.

So, Cam. You're the best. And I love you, boo :)

Trying this out...

So, I think I'm going to try this whole blogging thing. Even if no one reads it or finds it amusing, it will be a way for me to remember the happenings in my life a few years down the road. Ideally, I'd have my own computer and add pictures day to day to keep you (and myself) entertained, but my computer decided to break on me a month or so ago, so I've bummed off Chuck for a while now. I'm sure he's about as ready for me to have my computer back as I am.

So, what's been happening lately? Well, lots. Where do I start...

I've been super busy the past few months. With school and tests and everything else imaginable, it's nice to finally have a period where I can just simply.... relax. School has been overwhelmingly busy. I've lived my life behind textbooks, binders, highlighters, notes, coffee, Mountain Dew, case studies, etc for so long that NOT having to do all of that is.. weird. I don't know what to do in my spare time anymore. After PASSING HESI!!!!!!!!!! and taking all of my finals and being DONE with the semester, I can relax, like I said. All I have left to do until graduation is my preceptorship. And it's been great so far.

I started my preceptorship on Tuesday. I'm following a nurse on the Pediatric floor of DCH. The kids on the floor are absolutely precious. It's not intense like an ICU, but it's rewarding. The children make it enjoyable, and it's a nice experience where I can figure out if I really would like Pediatrics as a career.

You can't tell me working with kids like this everyday wouldn't make going to work a whole lot more bearable.. :) This photo was taken at a health fair at a local elementary school in Tuscaloosa (not on the Pediatric floor at DCH where I'm precepting). But my patients are still as precious as he is. One of them the other day said, "You're Katie, right? Can I have a popsicle?" and I've never seen a boy with the stomach bug and IV fluids running into his arm in such a good mood. That popsicle was the best thing he'd seen all day.

Anyway, like I said, I'm just trying this out. I'm going to see if I like it. And if I can figure out how to edit all these details, like adding pics to the blog and links, etc. It's confusing.. but hopefully I can figure it out. I'm not exactly computer savvy, but it can't be THAT hard..