Highlights from a Jam Packed Week

I'm currently in the middle of my 70 hours in 6 days! Ugh! Between picking up extra shifts at the pregnancy center and switching my schedule so that I can have time off for the Marcus Fair, I will have worked 8 out of 9 days which might not seem too bad but with 7 of those days being 12 hour shifts it gets to be pretty tiring. However I really shouldn't complain because right now I'm getting paid as I sit here blogging and sipping on Mountain Dew (yes I know it isn't Paleo..but I needed something to keep me going).

I like this quote to the left because I often find myself praying right before work so that I can be used as the Lord's hands and feet. But the second half of the quote makes me really think of my dad and the great ethic he has instilled in his children.

My dad cracks me up!!
 

I texted my dad last night at the beginning of my shift and told him of all the hours I will be putting in. He told me Mike got a new car for college and that Meg was coming home for Creekfest. I tried to facetime with Megan on Tuesday but we didn't have a very good connection. She is pretty excited about only having one more week up at Mayo and finally returning back home for a few weeks before college (And I am really excited to have her one state closer to me!!) We talked on the phone for almost an hour about various things that sisters talk about :) I can't imagine not having a sister and I really don't know how people make it through life without one! Know that I'm getting to the age where I can start having kids, I think about how badly I want 2 girls close in age so that they can have the kind of relationship that I have with my sister. But having 2 consecutive girls isn't really up to me I suppose ;)


Monday Alex and I ate at Blue Planet after he had golfed all day with the big wigs at Omaha Home for Boys. I had never been to Blue Planet before but it is really good and has a lot of all-natural menu items that are perfect for my paleo diet. Alex had the cheeseburger (that he wouldn't even let me have a bite of!) and I had a grilled chicken salad with fresh fruit on it. We also ordered a side of sweet potato fries that were delicious! After that we stopped by Jones Brother's Cupcakes to pick up some celebratory treats for Alex's dad since he landed a job as editor of Omaha Magazine! We talked about our Chicago trip with his parents and also picked up a piece of art that Alex's dad made us for our entry way. I am in love with this piece of art and it is almost as tall as me so it adds a lot to our entry way :)

Top R - Dinner at Blue Planet // Bottom R - grilled pineapple & cucumber Tuesday night

Tuesday I went for a 3 mile run and pushed myself to see how well my time would be for the Marcus 5K next Saturday. I want to beat my personal best time which is 29:30 that I got 2 years ago at the fair. My goal is to get 28:30 and hopefully the flat course will help ;) Tuesday nights are of course "Catfish" nights and I am pretty addicted to that show because it always surprises me. If you haven't watched it you should check it out! Wednesday I had an overtime shift that went by pretty fast. One of my patients had a bouquet of flowers delivered that had white carnations in the shape of a puppy and it was just too cute not to take a picture of! Thursday night after working at the pregnancy center I finished up a wedding gift for Shelby and Brady that I made with Sharpie Marker on ceramic mugs. I read afterwards though that you should probably use "painters pens" on ceramic so that it stays better. After you are done making the design you just put the mugs in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Puppy Bouquet / DIY Sharpie Mugs / Guess that Movie / 159 days till the Beach!

 

When Alex got home from work we watched Hollywood Game Night which is also one of my new favorite shows! They had a category called "Picture Purrfect" where they take photos from movies and replace all the actors heads with cat heads...OMG! Funny stuff! Thursday while I slept Alex and Kyle went to the travel agency to book our vacation to the Dominican Republic for Kyle and Dacey's Wedding in January! So of course I made a countdown with an app on my phone... only 5 short months to go!
So usually peoples' highlights of their week are during the weekend but for me I will pretty much just be living at the hospital. I hope you have a great rest of the weekend and I will be writing soon about our Okoboji vaction we took a couple weeks ago!

5 Reasons why we Love Wall Drug!

Our last stop on our family vacation was to Wall Drug in Wall, SD. If you haven't heard of this famous stopping point them I am very surprised! The Black Hills/Badlands and Wall Drug go hand in hand and I'm so glad my dad and I decided to stop there! The rest of my family was ahead of us and we were supposed to meet at Wall Drug for lunch but they went past the exit so it was just Dad and I that experienced this wonderful tourist site. So here are five reasons my dad and I came up with that make Wall Drug so great!

 

Dad enjoying lunch at Wall Drug after a long motorcycle ride.

 

1 // It all started with a prayer. Ted & Dorothy bought a little drug store in a town that was sworn to be "Godforsaken" by their relatives. Times were tough and in December of 1931 it didn't seem like business would pick up but with Dorothy's idea of advertising "Free Water" business soon began rolling in. Their determination came from lots and lots of prayers and they vowed to believe no town was ever "Godforsaken" - there was always Hope!

 

2 // Free Coffee & Donuts for Veterans Any company that values our veterans is a great one! Not far from the Historic Mount Rushmore, Wall Drug takes pride in the Land of the Free and the people that have sacrificed their lives for America. I strongly believe in any type of perks for our soldiers. Even though free coffee and donuts might not sound like much..I'm sure it is greatly appreciated by anyone who has served our country.

 

3 // Workers from all over the world. Have you ever been to a National Park or an Amusement Park that has college age students from all over the world working for a summer there. I love those types of places filled with different dialects and friendly faces! I like to look at the name tags that have their home country listed and see how far they have come for just one summer internship. We had servers from Thailand and the Czech Republic when we went there!

 

4 // Free Ice Cold Water & 5 cent Coffee. What a steal! Now I know what you are thinking, "Water should always be free and I'm sure that 5 cent coffee tasted horrible" But some places make you pay for a cup of water and don't get me started on bottled water. And the coffee was delicious! (and I know my coffee!)

 

Free H2O, cheap Coffee and World Famous Doughnuts! (oh and Beer for dad)

5 // Genius Advertising. Their first sign was for free ice cold water which got Wall Drug on the map. But their simple yet steady advertising as you drive along the interstate is pretty smart. I like to think of it in comparison to an info-commercial because the advertisement doesn't say a lot of fancy stuff, it just repeats it over and over again and by the end of the commercial you're thinking...I should probably check that out just for curiosities sake! Wall Drug even has signs in Japan and Africa stating how many miles to the Famous Wall Drug Store! All those signs cost the company an estimated $400,000 on billboards every year. Not to mention the bumper stickers found on thousands of cars in America!

 

 

So if you are in the Wall Drug area be sure to stop by because you won't be disappointed!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday Everyone! {Link-Up}

I'm linking up today to share 5 random things with you!

[ONE] is the number of shifts I have before a 3 day weekend and I'm pretty excited! I was also excited last night when I got to work and was just starting to get report and found out that they had forgotten to mark someone down on patient assignments sheet and turns out I was free to go back home! Which makes for one very happy sleep deprived night nurse!

[TWO] The number of miles I ran today in this blazing sunny weather! Thank goodness there was a breeze! I rode my bike to the high school track that isn't too far from our house and then ran a couple miles before heading back home. I was tuckered out afterwards but it was a great workout! It doesn't help that my bike (free from my aunt) is just a tad small for me so it really gives my quads a workout.

[THREE] things I'm thankful for Prayer, My home and My job. I'm very thankful to be able to connect with God daily. We have a wonderful home that I am so glad Alex found while it was on the market. Something as simple as having a roof over your head makes you feel like a very blessed individual. And my occupation and job and the hospital and pregnancy center really are a big part of my character and I'm glad to have such a rewarding and stable career. 

[FOUR] It may be odd but I find myself saying little mantras in my head to get me through my workout.  Sometimes I say "just one more mile" or recite a bible verse like "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" Other times I'm thinking of the individuals that can't run and making sure I get in a lap for them. But I recently found this on Pinterest and it is so true! 

[FIVE] Happy Early Father's Day!! I have the best dad in the world and even though I won't get to spend father's day with him I will probably me spending it with my new Father-in-Law and then next weekend seeing my dad! I got him an awesome gift so I'm excited to see his face when he opens it! My dad has been my strength during times of depression in my life and is always there when I call! During planning for my wedding I really appreciated all the effort he put into making things just right! He was like my fill in wedding planner ;) From the music to making steps for the wedding aisle (which he called an alley-way..haha) he just out does himself again and again! When I had my bachelorette party last August I was worried about the little details and he said to me "Don't worry about a thing, everything will be taken care of and you will have a great time!" He drove my bridesmaids and I on the boat and picked us up from the bar in the pouring rain! 

P.S. I will be thinking of my Dear Friend Kendra this Sunday as it is the first Father's Day without her Daddy. His life on this earth was far too short and I can't even begin to imagine the pain she is going through every day! If you are a praying person please say an extra prayer for her and her family!