Too many GOODBYES

Enjoying one of our last happy hours at Rootdown!

The last couple of weeks, I have had to say goodbye to two nurse's that are absolutely amazing!  Last week we said goodbye to Karen and this week we said goodbye to Ann...these two women have taught me so much in the last year and half that I have worked with them!!  I know that their future will be bright!

Karen is that person that could never hurt a fly!  She is nicest, sweetest, most caring person that I have ever met!  She is out to do her job 110%!  Not to mention she is the most fashionable person on the planet!  Good luck in your new job, move across the states, and in school!!!  I know that you will be great!  We have suffered a loss, but know that you are spreading your wings an flying!!!  I will miss you!!!

Ann is the greatest person ever!!!  She is so talented and Germany will be gaining a fabulous person and nurse!  Ann and her husband are making their way back to Germany after having their first child! You were my go-to girl when I wasn't quite sure of my knowledge as a nurse!!  I have asked you so many questions that you could have probably been my nursing professor!  Thank you for all you knowledge an help!! Take care of little Johanna, she is the most precious little girl EVER!!!  I will miss you so much!!

Sarah and I with baby Johanna!

Sabra and I never miss a party!!! :)

Isabel and Johanna just love each other!!  

Teacher Love

Teacher's and Nurse's share the same week...being a nurse, there is no better profession than teacher's to share this appreciation week with!  My mom has said several times that she is proud that her daughters all chose a profession that is caring, giving, and compassionate.  I listen to the stories of that my sister's and mom have when they spend 5 days a week in a classroom, and I begin to imagine if I was a teacher...and there is no way!

Dealing with those children that aren't mine for 8 hours/day, 5 days/week...NO THANK YOU!!!!  

But, my sister's and mom love their career and they are the best people for it!  They are amazing at what they do, they enjoy it, they work hard to be the best, they put the children's needs before their own, and they go home every night just to get up and do it again the next day!  Their effort to help the children of the future is amazing!  

There are those teacher's through out my life that I will never forget whether it was elementary, middle school, high school, or college...some believed in me; others did not, some cared; others did not, some worked hard to get me through; others did not, some understood; other's did not...but I made it...and without the ones that gave me their all because they knew that I would make it in this world are the ones that touched my heart and will never be forgotten! Not to mention, I had three teachers that were always behind me 100%!

Teacher's make many sacrifices and are are special kind of person.  My life is was blessed with amazing teachers that helped me to get through school and begin my career, as I go through my career they are still there educating me on things that I need to know to take better care of my patient's!

My personal life is blessed with the 3 best teachers in the world.  My sister's and my mom, I love their stories, their heart, and their sacrifice they make to be the best darn teacher's around!

My older sister, Jera is a gifted teacher in Sioux Falls, SD.  Even though she is teaching children that are smarter than me, she holds her own and is the best as they come!  Her passion for teaching is AMAZING!!!  I look up to her more than she knows!!

With my favorite teachers in Vegas!  Teachers gotta have fun every now and then!!!

My mom has been a special education teacher for over 35 years!  She is the epiphany of teachers and puts her whole heart and soul into her profession!  

My baby sister, Tori, is in her 3rd year of teaching!  She is teaching in the elementary school that all 3 of us girls went to and teaching along side teachers that were her elementary teachers!  She is amazing at what she does and strives to be the best!

HAPPY TEACHER'S WEEK!!!!

What do I do....

There is a link-up floating around the blog world with a topic for each day of May.  This is the first day that I have participated, but I thought it would be a good day to start since it is nurse's week and the topic is "What do I do".

When I think about my career, where I am, how I got there, what I hate the most, what I love the most...the list could go on and on, but basically I AM A NURSE...however to me, it is so much more.

When I am getting ready for work I often wonder how my night is going to go.  Will I have a super sick patient and run around like crazy for 12 hours, will I have a needy patient or family that will be on the call light every 5 minutes, will I have a dying patient that just wants me to sit in silent prayer with them, will I have a patient that will eventually become someone I look forward to seeing every day I come to work...you just never know what you are going to get...some nights are better than the night before, and some nights you wish you would have called in.

For me, my job is holding the hand of a dying patient that doesn't have family as they take their last breath, recover an open heart patient from the OR while explaining all the lines and tubes to their family, hugging the 14 yr. old girl that is losing her dad to brain death while trying to explain to her how many people he will help by making him a donor, helping the young adult realize how much they have to live for and to not give up, being an ear to listen to a mother as she sits at the bedside of her child that is on life support after an overdose, giving silent prayer to the family that can't get along when their loved one is critically ill, teaching the young man about having a heart attack.

For me, my job is cheering for the patient that passed gas, giving praise to the open heart patient that is walking for the first time after surgery, encouraging a patient to push themselves even though it's painful, teaching a patient things about their disease that they never knew, praying with a patient, making sure that my patient has the best care they have ever received, learning something new every day that I go to work, looking forward to going to work, sitting in church every week and praying for the patients, staff, and family members that I encounter, dreading the holidays and weekends because I have to work and miss time with my family.

But it is more...
It is so much more...
More than I can physically type...
More than I can think about at this moment...
More than I can express on this blog...

My career has made the person that I am today.  I have learned about myself, other people, life, heart ache, happiness, and most of all compassion.  I often wonder...would I be as caring as I am today if I didn't chose this profession...would I be satisfied with life if I wasn't a nurse...would I love my job...

There are many times I wonder what I would be doing if I wasn't a nurse, and I can not think of one thing that I would rather do than be a NURSE!!!

Snowy day in Colorado

This morning I sit on my couch with a cup of coffee, my warm zebra fleece blanket, my little Mia cuddled on my lap, catching up on my DVR...Army Wives that is!  It has snowed about 3 inches as far as I can tell since last night and I'm just trying to stay warm!  It's quite depressing actually...it's April 23rd and there is 3 inches of snow on the ground (insert gun to head)!!!  However, I don't mind cuddle days with my little girl!!!

Catching up on a few things...

While I was in Kansas City for my half marathon we celebrated one of my friend's 30th birthday!!!  We had sushi, drinks, dancing, and laughter!  I went to college with these girls....so you can imagine the nights out we have had together...and I would say this night was a lot more low key than previous nights we have hit the town.  I think it's a sign that we are getting old!!!  UUGGGG!!!  I don't like that word!

Jenny wasn't brave enough to try sushi for the first time!!  Maybe next time!

Karisa and I split this plate of sushi...yum-o! Gotta love rainbow roll!

A little pomtini and sparkling sake...even more yum-o!

BIRTHDAY GIRL!!!

Fab Friends!

With the pretty birthday girl!

Something never change...this was so Jenny years ago in college!!!  Love it!

Love these girls!!  

These girls and I are sorority sisters from college....and you know when I look back on all my friendships...my sorority sisters and I have a unique bond!  There are times when we don't talk to each other for months at a time because of our busy lives, but when we get together it is like we talk everyday since graduation and for that I am grateful!!  I have the best friends in the world...and being with them in Kansas City recently has made me cherish them even more!  They didn't have to give up time with their husbands and children to come to KC, wake up at the butt crack of dawn to cheer me on or run with me in my first half marathon, but they didn't think twice and they were there, supporting me to the end and for that I am grateful!  I thank God for blessing my life with a group of women that I get to call me friends!  

Happy 30th Birthday Karisa!!!!

This week I went to the new Jackie Robinson movie "42", and it was good!!!  Like super good!!!  It was a long movie, but never really lost my interest!  For those of you that know me well, you know that I am not a movie person...if I'm watching a movie on my couch within 5 minutes I am watching the movie through my eyelids!  In fact, I cringe every time my nephew asks me to watch a movie with him because I know that I have to try so hard not to fall asleep, but I do....every time!  I pretend that I am not sleeping by quickly opening my eyes when it feels like someone it watching me, and he catches me....every time!  I have also been known to fall asleep in the movie theatre....talk about all time failure at watching a movie!  But, I didn't fall asleep during this movie!  Like I said it is good and worth going to see!!!  

Alright, now I am praying for warmer weather!!!  I have bought a couple cute dresses and shirts that are spring/summer clothing and I WANT TO WEAR THEM!!!  This weather is overrated and I am ready for some warm cycling weather!  I can't wait until I can cycle without looking at the weather first!  I rode 50 miles this last weekend, but now there is snow on the ground!  Can't wait for the warmer, sunny Colorado weather to arrive!!!  

I found this little saying a while back and I read it everyday...I cherish and look up to the greatness of Mother Teresa so much.  She did so many great things in her lifetime, and I know that if I can do just a quarter of what she did, I will make it in this world!  With this saying she reminds me how insecure, unloving, and judgmental some people can be, but I know that with reading this it reminds me that I can do good despite those people and someday they will be more acceptable to the people in this world that try to make it a better place all while expecting NOTHING in return.  I hope it touches your heart as much as it touches mine!

Happy April Snow Day!!!!

13 POINT FREAKING 1

As I sit down to write about my experience running my first half marathon, I don't even know how to start! It was an amazing weekend....a huge thing accomplished with the best friends ever...and I have so much to be proud of!

The weekend started with the race expo at the Overland Park convention center....Lexie and Mel. took off work early, picked me up at Lexie's house and off we went!  We got our packets, shirts, took some pictures and headed off the drive the race course!  We had a few wrong turns, but we got the idea of what we were in for!  

Rock the Parkway Expo

Driving the course route!

We are ready!!!  Bibs in hand!

Saturday morning the alarms started going off at 5 am...and I was over that damn alarm!!  I saw 11:28pm on the clock the night before while trying to fall asleep, I woke up at 2:22 am and had to pee (Damn you, Mel. for making me drink all that H2O), and then at 5 am that thing started none stop until my body was outta that bed!!!  I got ready and met Lexie in the kitchen for a pre-race breakfast that consisted of a hard boiled egg, toast, coffee, and my pre-workout energizer!  At 5:50am Mel showed up and we were loaded and backing out of Lexie's driveway at 6 am to meet her parents at their hotel!  We rolled up to the parking lot at 6:40ish and we were to find Mel a bathroom...that girl and her pre-race pee and poops!!!  Gotta love her!  

We ordered these 13 point freaking 1 tanks from Ruffles with Love!!!  They were quite cute!

Lexie, Mel, and I then headed to the starting line...we left behind Lexie's parents, and our friends Jenny and Karisa to find a place to cheer us on! The race started in waves...2 minutes apart...each wave had 600-1,000 runners in it...now you do the math....it was the same as starting everyone at once!  We ran together for the first couple of miles and then Lexie and I got barricaded in by a wall of people...we had to jump the curb and get around them on the grass...somehow Mel was able to get ahead of the barricade....once we were all together again, I decided it was time to set my own pace and whether that be faster or slower than Mel. and Lexie it was ok.  So my pace came...and I was finding that happy pace...but I could always see Mel. and Lexie ahead of me...until I hit mile 4...and they were gone...just vanished and I got a little anxious...I was ok when I could see them, but when I couldn't see them anymore I wasn't sure that I wanted to be running, I wanted to be with them, but they were gone...the crowd was massive, the street narrow, and I wasn't going to be able to catch up with them...and I knew that...but I still wanted to be with them!  As I was coming up on mile 5, I needed to see someone that I knew, someone that was there for me, someone that woke up at the butt crack of dawn to cheer us on...at 5.6 miles I saw a sign that said "Go Mel, Lexie, Allison, Chrisie", and I thought "Oh shit, those are my people!"...sure enough there stood Mel's husband, mom, mother-in-law, and daughter...they were there for us and only us...it was the boost that I needed!!!  At mile 5.76, Mel called me to give me some encouragement...and they were 0.3 mile ahead of me...so I knew that I could keep going!  When I hit mile 7, there was a hill...and it was the biggest hill of the run...and it was tough...I just kept telling myself..."You didn't train this long and this hard to walk this damn thing, keep those legs moving!"...and I did....but I hated it!  At mile 8.1 my phone rang again...and it was my friends Jenny and Karisa...but I just couldn't talk...my breathing was erractic and it wasn't happening...so I hung up on them!  When I rounded the corner at 8.6 miles, I knew that it was a straight shot...there were no more turns...I was staying on this road until the finish.  At mile 9.3...I saw that same sign again....and there was Mel's family again!!!  At mile 10...I saw Jenny, and Lexie's parents...it gave me the little boost I needed to make it 3.1 more miles. At this time I really wanted to catch up with Mel and Lexie so that we could finish together, but I couldn't find it me to kick it up a notch...and I was really getting mad at myself...and then something overcame me and this thought ran through my head..."No, stop it, stop being mad that you can't go any faster, this is your race, you trained for this and this is yours, screw those girls up there!" After that went through my head, I was ok with where I was...but I was struggling...I was tired, my legs hurt, my right foot was cramping, I had blisters, and I was just DONE!!!  It is true that if your body can make it 10 miles...the last 3.1 miles is completely mental because I would have been done had I not just seen people I knew cheering for me or stopped talking to myself about all the training I did and how hard I worked for this.  With that mental focus, I was able to kick it up a little bit.  When I hit mile 13....I just wanted that 0.1 mile to be a step in front of me, but when I looked up it appeared like it was another another freaking mile ahead...but it wasn't and it came sooner than it looked like it would!

 and I FINISHED...

Those 13.1 miles were mine...

ALL MINE!!! (without walking one step)

And I am PROUD!!!  

I accomplished something that I never thought I would ever accomplish in my life...I was never a runner...in fact, I hated it...with a passion....

But here I am...A RUNNER!!!  

Spectators go to races to cheer for people...running is one sport that there is no booing at, all you hear when you are breathing heavy, sweating like crazy, and wishing you were done is CHEERS...and they cheer for everyone...yes, they are a little louder when the person they know is coming up, but they still cheer...for a complete stranger with pain in their eyes, sweat running down their face, cramps in their legs...and those cheers....they keep you going...they keep the mental focus that you need...they keep the  thoughts of how hard you trained in your head...they make those blisters forming on your feet seem small...and you keep going...one foot in front of the other for 13.1 miles. 

                                     

Rock the Parkway stats:

Time: 2:17:30

Average Pace: 10:45/mile

Place in age group: 331/524

Place Overall: 3047/5500

Finisher medal!!!!

After the race, I just needed to walk...if I stood for too long my legs would cramp and that doesn't make for a happy runner...I enjoyed chocolate milk, a banana, and a bowl of mac & cheese. All yummy goodness...and just want I needed!!!  I was sore for a couple days, but recovered quite nicely!!!  

13.1 miles...CHECK!!!!

The signs that gave me that boost that I needed!

Our fabulous supporter that drug herself out of bed to cheer us on!!!  Love you Jenny!!!

DID IT!!

After it was all over, I couldn't stop saying..."I ran 13.1 miles today." I would say it over and over...never really getting emotional...until....

I was driving home...that long 5 hour drive back to Oakley to my parents...

I received this text...

"Just want to tell you again, that I am so proud of you, Jo! It takes balls to train solo and then rock 13 point freaking 1 miles!"

....and I cried.

No, I sobbed.

My friend's know how to get to me...and Mel. got to me with that text message.

I cried because....I was PROUD....proud of what this race and training has done to me, proud that I accomplished something I never thought I would ever do, proud that I didn't walk one time, not one, proud that I actually did it (last time I bailed), proud that my friends were proud of me, proud that I ROCKED THE PARKWAY!!!! 

So what does a person do when they completed their first half marathon, when they ran a distance they never thought was possible, when the aches and pains are gone...they sign up for the next half marathon!!!

Rock 'n Roll-Denver - 10/20/2013

Half Marathon Update: Week 11

Here I am, on the last week of my half marathon training...I can't believe that I started this training on January 21st....thinking that April 13th would never get here...and here I am a week away from the one event that I have spent countless hours training for, thinking about, planning, hating, yet loving, sweating, looking forward too!  I never thought in a million years that I would be less than a week away from on the biggest events in life that I never thought I would EVER do!  I have had great support as I have ran my heart out for the last 11 weeks...
*my mom: she is always asking me how it is going and how I am feeling!  When I got done running my 10 miles yesterday she met me at the door asking me if I was ok, what she could get me, and told me to sit down.  An hour later she was asking the same things!
*my baby sister:  she has been asking how my runs are, how far I had to run this week or that week, and I know that she wants to be in KC on Saturday cheering me on, but she just had a baby a week ago.
*my great friends, Lexie & Mel.:  these two girls are running the half with me and have kept me motivated all these weeks!  With all the facebook posts, keeks, texts, and phone calls, these girls have kept me going!!!  I can't wait to actually run beside them this weekend instead of hearing about their runs via keek!
*my fabulous friend Rosa:  she has kept me going by doing some of my runs with me!  She motivates me to keep going just by running herself!!  She has made great strides since she started running and I am so proud of her!

Week 10:
Monday: Strength & Stretching:  I ran my 5 miles that I was supposed to run on Tuesday
Tuesday: 5 miles:  I didn't do anything because I had an eye appt.
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 5 miles: I didn't run because I was busy doing laundry, cleaning, and packing for my trip to KS
Friday: REST
Saturday: 60 min. cross training....again I did nothing because all my family was at my mom and dad's and I didn't want to miss one minute of time with my older sister and her family!
Sunday: 10 miles....yup, I ran 10 miles in the wind...and it sucked!  But I did it and I was so proud of myself! yes, my legs were jello, my lips were wind burnt, my feet were on fire, my arms were sun burnt, but I DID IT!!!  When I was done I had this sense of accomplishment overcome and it was an amazing feeling!!!

My watching is proof that I finished the whole 10 miles!!!

I decided to run my 10 miles in the country...and well...it was BORING!!!  These 3 pictures where my view for 90% of the time!  Running on the gravel wasn't that bad, it was just that I didn't have anything to look at!

10 miles....D-O-N-E

True Story!!!

Owen Zachary

At  0526, on Tuesday April 2nd, I got a phone call from my baby sister's phone, and it was my brother-in-law telling me that my new nephew Owen Zachary had arrived in the early morning hours!  I was estacic!  Owen was born into this crazy world and made our family increase to 10 members!!  Even before little Owen was born, my sister asked me to be in Godmother, so I have a new Godson!  My second one little godson as I am my other nephew,  Hudson's Godmother.  Oh the joys of being a Godmother!  It wasn't something that I really thought about until I was asked to be Hudson's, and now I am Owen's and it is a role that I hold very dear to my heart!
It's something that:
*I want to be the best at.
*I can't wait until they understand what it means to have a Godmother.
*I will never let fall to the way side.
*I will work so hard at keeping them walking beside Jesus.
*I won't forget to remind them of the times when prayer is the one thing that settles the soul.
*I will forever be honored that I was asked to be an example of a good Christian and show my nephews the way when the fall off the path.

Friday, I got up at 0430 and headed back to KS to see this precious little fella!  We snuggled all day long and he has my heart!  I spent the whole weekend with little Owen and since I am on a two week vacation I will spend the rest of the week with him!  He is the most precious thing ever!!!

Little Owen and Auntie Alli

Love this little boy!