Thoughts on Being a Nurse, Time, Life and Death

     I just finished my last shift at the assisted living I was working at. It's bittersweet. I've worked for 4 years now towards being a nurse, and now that I finally am one (soon to be licensed that is) I feel excited and terrified that I am actually going to be a real nurse. The assisted living I worked at was so great as far as my schedule, or lack there of one, went while I was in school. I worked with a lot of cool people, but really I think it is the residents that I'll miss the most. Working with elderly people truly gives you such a new appreciation for life. Every time I work, I'm reminded that I'm young, my body works so efficiently although I so often complain of minor things, that I have so much left to experience in life and that it goes by so, so quickly. I love to see old photos in their apartments and when I ask them about the pictures, their faces just light up.

      I have seen beauty in so many ways working with these people. I truly believe that it has made me even gentler and a more patient person (which a nurse always should be). I have seen love shown in so many ways as well. Almost all of the residents there are warm hearted and truly happy people. They realize that there is no point in being bitter. And the ones that are bitter have such sad, pinched faces. You can feel the lack of warmth in the room. And it's not as though there was never love in their hearts. Many of them are just terribly broken and ready to be done with this physical life. The residents watch out for each other. And they care about each other. 

     I can't help but think of when I am old and frail, it comforts me to think that every one else will be too. I will have lived a full and loving life because I know even now at 22, that every day is a blessing and every breath is a gift. I am so often humbled when I am at work. I never thought that I would want to do hospice care as a nurse, but I actually now think that I would really enjoy it. It's something very special to be some one's caretaker and know that every single thing you do for them is significant. Everything you do makes a difference in their life. And to take care of some one at the end of their life is a privilege. 

     That is one of the things that most pleases me about the healthcare profession, that every single work day, you are directly making a difference in someone's life. To leave this world a better place than it was when I got here is really what I want in life. I want to make other's lives better. Happier. Fuller. I honestly feel privileged to be able to call my self a nurse. And to think that I didn't even consider being a nurse for the longest time! It actually kind of randomly hit me (while I was in Sweden I believe), so I just went with it and found out that I really like nursing and am good at it too! Funny how these things work huh.... :) Anyways, I'm feeling very thankful and humbled at this moment. One of my favorite things that one of my residents said to me was "Nurses are the angels of the world." I have already had amazing experiences and I can only imagine what the future holds for me.

Experimental Oatmeal Banana PB "Cookies"

I was inspired by a few different recipes on Pinterest that I found (energy-bites, breakfast cookies.. etc) to make these "cookies" up. They are almost more similar to a scone than a cookie in my opinion, but you can make up your own mind as to what you would like to call them. This was my first time actually making up my own baking recipe, but there aren't many ingredients at all, no baking powder or anything like that to worry about. These are definitely on the healthier side of the cookie healthiness spectrum, and you can always add or leave out ingredients that you don't like (or don't have!).

Healthy Oatmeal Banana PB "Cookies"

2 ripe bananas
2 tablespoons flax seed
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter (roughly)
1-2 tablespoons honey depending on how sweet you'd like them
chocolate chips (optional- they are obviously healthier with out or with a vegan substitue)

Preheat oven to 350.
Peel and mash the ripe bananas.
Add flax seed to bananas and mix well.
Add the oatmeal and mix well.
Add in the peanut butter and honey, mix well.
Lastly add your chocolate chips (I didn't even measure, I just poured. I like me some chocolate) and mix it up together.
Plop them onto a greased baking sheet. This recipe made 9 (odd number I know) large cookies for me. You could certainly make them smaller and get a dozen out of them. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes depending on how crispy you like them to be. Like I said earlier, they are almost more like a scone in my opinion, so don't expect the middle to get really crispy. They'll be nice and soft.

Note: You could try adding almonds or walnuts. Also some coarse sea salt might also be really good with these cookies to give it that salty sweet flavor. Let me know what you guys think! 

A Spring Maternity Shoot

A few weeks ago, I did a beautiful maternity shoot with my sister (who is going to have this sweet little baby any day now!!). She lives out on a beautiful old farm with her husband. Their house is over 100 years old, so it's very quaint. This is their first baby, and also the first baby between us sisters, so that makes me a first-time Auntie! I really am so super excited to meet this little girl! (PS- please click the pictures to enlarge them!) Enjoy!

*Note- the boot in the belly was Russel's idea...

Friday Inspiration

It's Friday!

I decided to throw together some of my favorite vintage glam images that inspire me for a nice quick post. We'll be out of town having fun all weekend so I'll be back next week!

(Note: almost all of these images I came across on tumblr)

 Joel McCrea and friend- California 1929

 Flair Magazine, May 1950

 Flapper Circa 1927, photographer unknown

My favorite photo saved for last:

Dorothy Sebastian, photo by Ruth Harriet Louise

Happy weekending!

Living Quarters

Until I got married last year, I had never moved in my entire life. My parents moved with out me at one point last year and allowed me to live in the old house until they could figure out what to do with it. That was an odd expierence. The house wasn't huge by any means but it was plenty big for one person plus a cat and a dog on the weekdays (we sort of had joint custody of the family dog in a way- I was home more often during the weekdays so I took care of her then, and my parents brought her to their new house on the weekends).

I definitely miss living with them a LOT. Especially my cat because she's my baby. When we moved into our apartment last year, they had to go live full time at my parents new house (which they do love it there so that's good), as our apartment does not allow animals. If they did, I would probably try to persuade my parents to let me keep the cat. But I do still get to see her now and again when I visit my parents.

So currently we are in an apartment in St. Paul. It's located right by Como Zoo and the State Fair, which is awesome because we can walk so many places. We are also right by Rosedale Mall/Shopping center which is also awesome, but maybe not so much for my wallet. Our apartment is really not too bad for an apartment, I've put a million holes in the wall to decorate as we can't paint any of the walls. We will probably be here for a while yet. Buying a house isn't in our immediate future. My husband is going onto grad school so we don't really want to buy anything before we know where we'll both be working.

Most of these pictures are from last year, we have made some changes as well but I'm sure I'll have many more posts featuring my DIY decor.

Two vintage trunks I got from my neighbor serve as a TV stand for now.. I'm hoping to at some point cedar line them and use them for blanket storage/ottomans!

My favorite lamp- a vintage find from a thrift store in Arkansas!

Thanks for reading & I hope you have a lovely day!