Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! I am blessed to have such a wonderful example of marriage. Things I've learned from my parents about marriage:

1. Never refuse an invitation from your spouse (Honey, want to go on a walk? Come cook with me? Come watch the sports channel with me? etc...)

2. Support your husband in everything that he does and sets his mind do

3. Pray for each other

4. Make spending time together a priority. Have frequent date nights!

5. Have fun together

  Thank you for providing all who meet you with an admirable example of marriage. Love you both!

On another note, I'm working night shift tonight (7pm-7:30am) and am still figuring out when I should sleep/how to prepare for an all nighter.  Over the past 4 years of nursing school and having early shifts, I've turned into an early bird....

Any advice for effective sleeping habits for night shifters?

Rooftop Bliss

Welcome to PORTLAND!

This is a newly found happy place of mine! Our apartment building has this beautiful rooftop garden. 

Future plan: do morning yoga work outs up here. Also, this is the perfect reading spot! I just purchased the C.S. Lewis books and can't wait to begin my reading.

We live in the perfect part of town that is just "down-town" enough, but not busy or hectic or crowded. It's simply perfect and truly a blessing. Looking forward to exploring more.

Take-out Chinese food with our siblings on the roof last weekend

 Coming soon: Reflections from my first week of working on my unit as a nurse.

Birthday, Birthday, Bon Voyage!

This past Sunday, Andrew's family celebrated his belated birthday, my Father-in-law's birthday, and my sister-in-law's last few weeks in town before leaving for college (Bon Voyage). Since I couldn't be there because I had to work (my first night shift!), I decided to attempt to make a cake!

So, I made this chocolate cake with a peach filling and butter-cream frosting. Ever seen peaches in a chocolate cake? Yea... me either... But, it was the only thing we had in the fridge that had potential...

We used the food processor to mush the peaches and simply added sugar... 

 As you can see,  cutting the cake in half was a challenge...not too pretty...

 I made this little flag set to add a little decoration on my poorly frosted cake.

 All in all, I don't suggest making a chocolate peach-filling cake... But, Andrew and his family were gracious enough to try it. And, this whet my appetite to try new recipes that hopefully both taste and look much better! Furthermore... I hope to refrain from slicing any more fingers at my next baking adventure. Andrew came to the rescue for his first ER patient (me). After holding my pinky up for 10 minutes with pressure, it FINALLY stopped bleeding (no worries, no blood got into the cake, only love!). Luckily, I had some stashed medical supplies to bandage my poor little pinky and my sweet hubby took over the baking. I'll have a re-do baking day soon!

Pizza Time!

Andrew and I had some good friends over this weekend along with some of our siblings. Both times, we had pizza! First off: homemade pizza crust (using our new mixer that we got as a wedding present- Thanks!). This was a basic, cheese, mushroom, onion, yellow-pepper pizza. We later made english muffin mini pizzas for a little snack with our siblings. Both great options and quite tasty! 

 

 

Need a quick snack? Or a quick little lunch idea? Try these english muffin mini pizzas. You can add veggies, any pizza toppings, &/or just add regular pizza sauce and cheese! Broil for a few minutes and Voilà! Serve with some salad and fruit and you've got a full meal. 

You can also spritz them up to be more fancy for guests.

Night·in·gale [nahyt-n-geyl], noun

Florence Nightingale- ( “the Lady with the Lamp”), 1820–1910,  English nurse: reformer of hospital conditions and procedures; reorganizer of nurse's training programs.

  

To all those with a nursing background, Nightingale is familiar jargon to essentially mean the first nurse who truly made nursing what it is today. Realizing that most others probably think of a bird or a song, I figured a bit of explanation was called for. 

I named this blog Northwest Nightingale to reflect my time living in the great northwest and my journey as not only a new wife but as a new professional nurse. I'm also working the night shift.... an unintended play on words! 

I am an RN at a fabulous local hospital's Antepartum/Postpartum/GYN unit to also include their extended care nursery for sicker babies. Basically, I have the best job ever and get to be a part of bringing new life into the world and guiding & educating families in this endeavor. I feel extremely blessed to have a position as a new graduate so soon and do not take that for granted for one moment. I am even receiving nearly 6 months of intense training unique to this program for new grads. With over 700 people interviewed and 32 nurses hired, I know how lucky I am. Truly thankful and looking forward to the next few months!

Trip to the Moon with my Honey

We enjoyed a lovely honeymoon week in northern California. We stayed at a condo/resort in Clear Lake and spent some time in San Francisco, the Napa Valley, and nearly everywhere within 2 hours driving distance from the lake. Below are some photos of some of our favorite activities to include: Delicious mexican food, HOT AIR BALLOONING with a delicious breakfast to follow, SEGWAY riding, time on the warf in San Fran, Horseback ride, and lots of drives through beautiful scenery including the redwoods! The next posts won't include as many photos, I promise! Just so much to share and catch up on!

Most of all, we thoroughly enjoyed just being together. I completely understand why honeymoons are so valuable now! The couple needs time to process the past crazy few months, the wedding, the wonderful yet HUGE step they've just made, and to REST! So thankful for a relaxing, enjoyable week with my husband! To add to the numerous changes happening in my life, following morning after we returned from our trip, I started my first real NURSING job!

Tying the Knot: July 16, 2011

It was raining during much of our photo time and all before the ceremony. Thankfully it brightened up just in time!

 

After waiting 7 years and 11 days, we finally tied the knot! We enjoyed a beautiful and fun celebration with dear friends and family and couldn't have been more thankful for the sun-break right before the start of the ceremony! Enjoy a few photos below from our special day.

Pouring down rain for our portrait time and right before the ceremony... It brightened up just in time!

 

The bouquets are adorned with old buttons from my grandmother and grandfather. My bridal bouquet included buttons from my late Granddaddy's US Air Force uniform.  

So many of our favorite people!

Waltz & Rumba time!

A cake on every table as centerpieces! Not only was this a beautiful center piece, but was extremely convenient & cost effective. All bridal party members and the Bride & Groom served the guests.

Salem's Kroc Community center was a perfect venue for our wedding. The staff was fabulous and so gracious.

I wore my grandmother's wedding dress as a "going away" dress. A bit tight, but a true special delight to be able to wear.

We drove away into the sunset in my 1967 Austin Healey Sprite that was rebuilt by my granddad for my 16th birthday. Most of all, we absolutely loved the opportunity to be united in front of so many people that mean so much to us and that have given so much to both of us. There are many more details to share, but this will do for now. What fabulous and fun memories we made.