Refurbished Cradle

This past week, I refurbished our old cradle. My brother Marshall and his wife are expecting their firstborn here in ~5 weeks. Baby Thor. We don't know what they are naming their child (it's a surprise) so he will forever be my little Thor :-) Anywho, this is the cradle that my parents had for my brother's Kevan and Reece. After years of it being in storage, with the announcement of the arrival of the first grandchild, it was pulled out. This week I refurbished it. I filled the cracks on top with wood filler, sanded her down, and then stained her.

 Workin on the cradle

 That sander and I are becoming fast friends!

 Wood filler on the cracks

After hours of sanding, I thought maybe I had the finish off. Alas when I started staining I found out very quickly that I hadn't indeed taken the finish completely off (one can tell this by whether the wood absorbs the stain or rather it gets pushed around and around on top). Either way I found a technique to try to darken the stain without sanding it back down. I'd put the stain on with a foam brush and let it dry for 20 mins, then wipe it off with a clean old rag. The coolest part was that the stain wasn't absorbed well in the bigger areas where I couldn't get the finish off but the edges were well sanded and absorbed the dark stain very well!! Overall the wood looks mismatched which gives it a really cool rustic look. I love the way it turned out!! Now just need to find or make a mattress for it and await Baby Thor's arrival :-)

 The finished product

The other side of the cradle :-) you can definitely see the contrast 

The other projects that I've finished are painting a side table, doing some hand-dipped vases (which by the way, those tutorials on other blogs don't explain just how hard it is to get the paint even and looking nice), and finishing up some decorative pillows. 

Next up on my list: refurbish an old highchair, build a baby blanket, and build a vanity!

Are we there yet?!

Rarely an extra minute anymore to simply stop and think anymore. Accelerated is an understatement right now of the nursing program.

I can't help but count down the days until our first break. Two weeks! Two weeks and I can sleep in and not worry about anything being due currently. Wowsers. Talk about a crazy 13 weeks it's been.

My latest adventures have been in the world of Med/Surg clinicals. Actually not so much adventures. More just crazy chaotic stress. But I will update about that in a couple weeks. For now, just a couple pictures that speak louder than words about what's going on in my world.

 My favorite part of work is watching the helis...

 Only those in my program understand this...just because I started in Med/Surg does not mean I'm any smarter!! Just the luck of the draw for my tract...

 This is becoming more and more how I feel as we get closer to our break....

 Wine is SERIOUSLY becoming my best friend and stress reliever....mmmm.....

 Just so exhaustipated...

 It's officially spring...if I've jacked up my foot it means spring has officially sprung...also think I broke my pinky toe, it no longer moves properly

 the glove of MRSA!!

 poster boards are the new notecards

just a friendly reminder on the door every morning as we head out to clinicals...Kenny Powers!!

Update to come in a few weeks!! Catch ya on the flip side!

Snapshot

It's hard for me to capture life as a nursing student. It's inexplicable chaos being in the accelerated program. I spend my days trying to figure out what's going on half the time. It's no big deal to have three exams in one week. I spend a significant amount of time going over pwpt's and searching through reems of paper (powerpoints, activities, etc).

But with this week having been so delightful to us, I do have some snapshots of a few moments of relaxation spent out on the grass in the commons area at Regis U. I've been thoroughly enjoying getting to wear flip-flops and the warmth of the sunshine on my face!! Here's a few snapshots I've been able to quickly snap with my camera phone!

 Just a snapshot of me actually wearing makeup and my hair done up 

(before my brother's wedding)

 a day spent studying with J meant some EtOH was involved :-) 

mmm Gimlets!

 oh how i love that flip-flop weather!!

 isn't it bliss to just sit underneath a tree, relax, and look up at this brilliant blue sky?

sure is a nice way to breathe in between exams!

apparently those minnesota-ins aren't used to this weather nor being so close to the sun!

J protecting himself and appearing like he has kyphosis

after a day spent taking 3 exams...WOOT done with that! 

Beaver Lake Trail

Today I drove just up the road to Beaver Creek Resort to hike up to Beaver Lake. I parked in Beaver Creek Village, took 5 Senses Trail which connected to Beaver Lake Trail which lead all the way up to Beaver Lake. The hike itself proved to be very difficult for me. I have come to figure out that there is probably something wrong with the tendons and ligaments on the inside of my right thigh as every time I've hiked this summer, that is an area that throbs from almost the get-go and then when I get home it is SO sore. The climb up was quite steep and more strenuous than I expected. I found I really had to dig deep to keep pushing myself along the hike....it's easy when you're with someone else to just keep going. The other person motivates you. But when you are by yourself, well it has to come from within.

And this was what motivated me: if I don't finish this hike, no one else will care. But if I don't do make myself keep going then I've allowed myself to give up on me and fail knowingly. Well this just wasn't an option once I stopped bitching to myself about how bad my right leg was killing me and how bad my lungs were burning. I HAD to keep going and I HAD to get pictures of that lake as proof that I made myself do the whole hike!

I spent the walk talking to God about a lot of things. About all the battles that I have had in my heart and in my head recently. And wouldn't you know, God just listens. And then He responds!

I hiked all the way up to Beaver Lake, and decided to keep going on the trail to get to the other side of the lake. Well unbeknownst to me it just keeps going up and so after awhile I went a little off the path and sat on a fallen tree trunk covered by Colorado's version of moss to journal and think. Once I decided to head back down the path to the lake again, I started praying fervently to God: "God PLEASE just take my problems, please I can't handle them. Yes I know I'm being too damn independent again but Lord, really, I need and WANT you to take them. This weekend has shown me that I just don't know how to handle them..."

And voila, up popped the path to go down to the lake. (Ok God, I know you heard what I was saying and am responding to my prayers....you're helping me find my way to the part of the lake I want to go to.)

As soon as I got down there I saw two fisherman that I didn't want to bug. I knew going down there I was going to dip my feet in the lake and as soon as I saw the shallow areas of water at the mouth of the lake with a little waterfall I just KNEW I had to go down there. So I took great lengths to not go near any water that the fisherman were next to. Instead I put down my pack about 100yds away, quietly took off my socks and shoes and rolled up my pants, picked up my camera and started traversing in the freezing cold water. WOOOOO how cold was that water!! When I say cold I mean COLD! Well after a little while of them probably finding it amusing of me hopping around in the water and getting my feet stuck in the mud, one of them asked me to take a picture of them. HA! Of course I had to pipe up and say that I was a Canon fan as he had this REALLY fancy Nikon camera on him. And then somehow we got to talking. Turns out Andrew Slowenski manages the Beaver Creek area of a company called SharpShooter Imaging. After a half hour of talking about everything under the sun, he told me that if I was interested, in the middle of October to call him and I would have a job for the ski/snowboard season as a photographer with them. He told me "consider this your interview, you are hired, if you call me you have a job. you have the mindset, you have the drive, you seem hardworking and obviously you have no problem talking to anyone, and you want to learn. you're hired if you come to me."

So I might have a job in a couple months depending on whether I get into nursing school or not!

So there it is, God took my problems, led me, opened up opportunities, and He allowed me to enjoy the beauty of this small majestic lake and all the serenity that it can offer for the afternoon.

It proved to be a tiring but peaceful and rejuvenating day for me.

And of course, I got to take some really cool pics :-)

(pics coming soon whenever i can get them to upload to!)