Sitting in church today, my bare legs peeking out of my pencil skirt almost froze off. And my poor feet, shoved into some flats, were still damp from running into a puddle in the parking lot. Oh well for June.

Otherwise, my day consisted of a good morning pot of french press, eggplant from Vien Dong [a Father's Day lunch], playing with my dad's smudge sticks [a Father's Day gift], a delicious 2 hr nap, church again in the evening [Pastor Rayburn' sermon on King Solomon's wealth and the visit of Queen Sheba was quite enlightening.], and then a few hours of rummaging through old papers, notes, drawings, and pictures. I smile when I look back on things I've written; notes friends have written to me in the past. While I feel like my childhood years were not too far into the past, when I look at these old "pieces of my history" it feels ages and ages ago. When in reality, it went by in a blink of an eye.

I smile when I think about tomorrow. My day is planned. Another good morning pot of french press [thank the lord for Kathryn and her weekly mark outs given to me as generous gifts], gym, Seattle friends for the afternoon with a much-needed happy hour stop.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll be ready to start work again on Tuesday. We'll see...

post-grad

Post-graduation... my life as of late:

Summer reading has commenced. Before mentioning the titles I'm currently sinking my teeth into, I must not forget the overriding literary work of the many nurses and physicians that have written [can you sense the sarcasm?] the 2010-2011 edition of the NCLEX-RN strategy book. This work of art will be a part of my daily life; now until mid July. ---- In between times, however, I've got "My Life in France," [by none other than Julia Child], "The Ragamuffin Gospel," [a must] "Into Thin Air," [highly recommended by my dear friend, Sara] "Three Cups of Tea," [because I've heard so many good things] "The Red Tent," [another must read, this one recommended by my OB professor], "Living Stones of the Himalayas," [because I can never have enough global health], and "Fast Food Nation," [for fun... and to get me fired up]. 4 of these were picked up from the cute little book man at the Fremont Sunday Market for an insanely cheap price.

Check one off the bucket list. Yesterday afternoon, I walked down to the Korean supermarket a few blocks away and purchased some boba. Carefully preparing it according to the exceptional English directions on the back, I also made a blueberry/banana smoothie [with coconut milk]. Complete with boba straws and all, it wasn't as great as I suspected. I don't know what goes into making boba sweet... because mine was not. However, I made boba! We'll see if I stick to WOW and yunnie [I will!].

KICKBOXING & WEIGHT ROOM. Enough said. I'm back into the routine I love. Day 3 of the "let's get Erin's back ripped" routine has commenced. And perhaps, just perhapss, my poor knee that has been inured since March will decide to heal up on it's own accord [now that I'm not continually pounding it on the pavement.]

Despite the gloominess of this WA June, I've welcomed summer in. How? I ate the most perfect apricot known to mankind last night. It's now officially summer [aka: stone fruit season].Studying is not over, but I'm in the dreamlike state of spending my days listening to Bon Iver, working out when and where I want to, drinking french press all day, cooking my own food out of the wondrous vegan-inspired Arkin fridge. Today after coming home from the gym, I made a quinoa, green pepper, and asparagus salad. DIVINE.

[oh, and I'm on call at TG until July 13th... when my Nurse Tech license expires. But, I prefer to think of only lounging around; because on August 3rd.........

I'll be Erin, Residency RN in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit beginning a 12 week residency. I received a job offer for a .8 night position one week after my interview! Coming right out of college, I am not surprised by working nights [I've been preparing myself for this all year, unfortunately]. However, having an offer to go straight into a specialty that provides critical care experience in addition to OR experience is one that is entirely a privilege and honor. In talking with the clinical nurse specialist, I was also told that I may have the chance at working variable shifts [non-night!]. We'll see... I will take what I can get. I am so, so blessed and blown away by this offer. Praise God!

All for now. Nap time for me.

4 years ago...

This girl packed up all her stuff and moved 40 minutes away to beautiful Queen Anne. 4 years at Seattle Pacific University have produced 2 roommates, 4 different residence hall floors, 1 appearance at the Women's NCAA Rowing Championships [5th place!], 3 1/2 marathons, dozens of beautiful friends, approximately 2500 gwinn meals, thousand of class hours, 2 years of being a Peer Advisor, 2 wonderful PA staffs [I love you, Ashton and Emerson], hundreds of 1.1's, 1 degree [BSN!], hundreds of clinical hours, many instances of crying over chemistry, many instances of joyously celebrating over triumphs, and the growth of one little girl into what can now be called... a nurse? A university graduate? It's in there somewhere.

4 Years later, my car is packed. I'm sitting on my stripped bed, in an empty room, on an empty floor. Not quite ready to leave Seattle. I've decided to fill my last hour in Seattle with a run... bridge to bridge [my usual jaunt I've completed at least a hundred times]. Very fitting. And then one more stop at Macrina. And then home for now. I hate goodbyes, so this run will suffice.

Hello to a transition. I'll try to figure you out.

intermittent sunshine.

Today is a sunshiney Seattle day. A week of rain, a sunshine day, and then forecast for more rain. The sunshine makes my last Saturday of studying for finals bearable. I keep telling myself I'm almost done; a half-truth really. Once graduation festivities are complete, studying for the NCLEX begins. I'm telling myself to take just one step at a time though; finals first, then NCLEX.

Met up with MM at her boat for a run this morning. We planned on a Lake Union loop, but decided to run to the Space Needle instead. MM just bought some vibram's and is still getting used to running in them, so we took it easy on the mileage. And instead ran a fast pace... ouch. Between stopping at crosswalks and running around pedestrians, I remembered why I generally run on the Burke: NO TRAFFIC. The change of scenery was nice though.

After our run, we went and sat out on the bow of her boat and soaked up some vitamin D. I never get enough....
Errands, lunch, and now I should probably shower. And studying. [breathe] Here we go.

running highs.

I am a sucker for running highs. I'm selfish. I never want them to end. I usually tend to love them so much that I over work myself, inevitably running me into a running low.

Regardless, on the treadmill yesterday, I knew that my body was breaking into a running high. It's been a rainy, pouring mess outside lately, so that [and the fact that most of my runs end up being at 9pm at night] has me running on the treadmill. I generally enjoy running on a treadmill; I'm not necessarily a concrete purist. While I do tend to get bored, I keep pace much better. Last week was bad as far as running goes. I barely had the time to run, and when I did, I felt like I was running underwater. Yesterday, before dinner, I ran a hard 5 miles and it felt good! Future running plans include a bridges run (Ballard Bridge/Fremont Bridge loop) tonight and a Lake Union loop this weekend.

So here's to running highs. A perfect way to get through my last week of finals. Ever. [at least undergraduate finals].

5th emerson love.

Thank you to the many beautiful ladies who put so much effort into making me feel so appreciated yesterday.

I woke up yesterday to streamers, pictures of my face blown up all over the wall, a boquet of flowers, cupcakes, brownies, sweet notes, and jelly bellies [a favorite] outside my door! So very, very sweet.

On my way to breakfast, I discovered that the sidewalks of SPU had been graffitied with messages, acronyms, and drawings for ME. I had a constant blush as I made my way throughout campus.

My day ended with my girls taking me out to Queen Sheba [a fabulous Ethiopian restaurant] on Capitol Hill for injera and gomen sans utensils. We inevitably found our way to Molly Moon's. Heaven equals salt licorice and salted caramel in a waffle cone.

Result: Food baby extreme and studying put off until after my usual bed time. Worth it? YES.

Four things.

1) I love my mama. I loved spending time with her this weekend; going to see Babies, eating pizza at the Hub, and picking up spring rolls at Vien Dong.

2) I love sleeping. After a particularly sleep deprived week, I slept for 9 hours on Friday night, and then took a 2 hour nap on Saturday afternoon. I felt wobbly and almost hung over when I woke up. Almost too much sleep; beautiful though it was.

3) I love baseball/softball. And am proud of my intramural team, even though we're 1-3.

4) I love sitting in the sun, reading, and counting the freckles as they pop out.

5) I love the view from the 520 bridge; rain or shine. This morning though, it was particularly beautiful, sun-filled and all.

6) I love free haircuts. One of my residents gave me a coupon for a complimentary hair cut/style at 7 salon in Bellevue Square. I was completely out of my element, getting my head massaged and sipping on a free cappucino while wearing a black robe. I usually attempt at cutting my own hair over my sink. Seriously. It was nice though, I'll admit. I could get used to it.

Oops. That was six things. My bad.