So far, a year of firsts.....

To start things off, at midnight, on December 31st of 2009, I got my first New Years kiss from a very special man. We are still dating, and it's going pretty good. He is a pretty private person, so I won't disclose too many details... Except he is absolutely wonderful to me, and I have a hard time trying to not ask "what did I do to deserve this guy?". The reason is this: I DO deserve this guy! I have spent a lifetime doing things for others without ever asking anything in return, and unfortunately became a doormat for being walked over and taken advantage of... And I am finally being repaid with the care and affection of someone who almost seems to be a dream.

Enough gushy stuff.... I am now part of a hospital committee that is in charge of what goes into our intranet system for patient education. It's a nice sense of empowerment to know I am in charge of something important, since I am lower ranking on the totem pole since I am an LPN....

There has been plenty of drama too, but right now, some of it is so private, I was instructed to tell no one, and as part of my New Year's resolution, if someone asks not to say it, I will follow through and keep my lips zipped.

I have decided to begin my prerequisites for the nursing program up here that starts next year. As of now, I think I have 12 credits to obtain before then, and I think I can do it. They are only accepting 4 nursing students, and I have a leg up since I am already an LPN who has 10 years of nursing under my belt. Plus, I work for the only hospital in the region, PLUS I have great letters of recommendation! I am pretty excited about this and I hope with patience and prayer and support I can accomplish something I have been dreaming about for nearly a decade.

More to come, but that was my quick brief on catching you guys up! Hopefully I will be better at making more frequent posts! God Bless!!

Merry Christmas! I give the gift of blog...

Wow, I haven't blogged in a looooong time! Alot has happened since August, so I will try to give the shortest synopsis I can.

June- At the end of the month, Brian broke up with me. I was devastated, and became very depressed. I couldn't eat for weeks and ended up losing 30 pounds. I am ok now, and am no longer depressed about it. We have both moved along. I have no animosity towards him whatsoever, and I am happy for him. He is with someone now who is 10 times better a match for him than me. They both seem very happy, and that is wonderful.

July- I still wasn't doing very well with the eating, and to be honest, really don't remember much, as it all became a haze. I did however start going to church, which was exactly what my shattered heart needed.

August- I went to Anchorage for 2 weeks to learn labor and delivery.

September- Went home to visit for 2 weeks on my birthday and had a great time. Was really nice to get away from Nome...

October- Halloween was the pinnacle.

November- Made some new friends, got to go to California and visit some old ones, and had a spiritual awakening and received the gift of a cleansed and whole-filled inner spirit.

December- Started to get a little home sick, but I was blessed to spend some good quality time with my Nome family.

Christmas, and there you have it!

Anchorage Update

Well, I thought I was going to be updating daily on here with my trip so far, but the weariness of the night shift got to me, and I said 'screw blogging' as soon as I got back to my hotel room each morning.

I am going in for my 7th shift tonight, and will be done Wednesday night. So far, out of 6 shifts, I have delivered 5 babies. It hasn't been as hopping as I had hoped it to be, but nonetheless, I have learned alot in the passed week and a half.

The night shift has worn me out and I look back in reflection wondering how the heck I did it for so many years. Yep, I think I will stick to day shift.

I have had lots of fun as well. I was able to meet up with my good friends Mary Beth and Carmen a few times, and had lunch with some friends from Nome who were in Anchorage for a few days. Not to mention see a few of my hospital friends from Nome at ANMC who medevaced patients to Anchorage.

There is a small 5% part of me that misses Nome, for I have fallen in LOVE LOVE LOVE with Anchorage! I am however happy to return to Nome and use my new skills that I have learned while here in Anchorage, as well as see my awesome friends again.

I am happy to say, I bought everything I needed for my Nome home whilst here in Anchorage, which saved me some money considering they don't have a tax on anything in the city limits. I got a bookcase, end tables, a nice double shoe rack, a new alarm clock, a new DVD player, got a few little souvenirs, and of course a new cell phone. ANd the grand daddy of them all is my new laptop, which I had been looking for for a while.

I however am not happy to return to Nome and have to pay the other half of my rent and my utilities, and phone/cable bills :( But I guess that is all part of being a grown up I guess. I can't wait to dig in my new boxes and make my new furniture!

Ok, well I am in need of a shower and to get into high gear for there are things I need to get done before I leave for work in a Little bit.

Hope you all have a Blessed day!

ANCHORAGE!

I will give you guys a real posting tomorrow...
As for now, I safely arrived in Anchorage this morning, had very full day of fun and not-so-fun, got to spend time with 2 very good friends, met people at the pool at the hotel I am at that proves this is a small, small world, (will explain later)and now I need to go to bed so I can make it to work on time in the morning....
Good night and God Bless!

I have learned...

That you cannot change yesterday, or even plan out the next day. But I can live for today.

*I will not now, nor EVER burn any bridges.

*I will be the best friend I can to any whom seek me, even those who do not wish for it.

*My business or anyone elses will remain private, and the only person who will know otherwise is God.

I am here in Nome for a reason. A reason I have no idea yet. A reason other than getting my finances and education in order. A bigger reason than all of that.

I have learned that I really DO believe in God. And I beg anyone of who has fallen away from Him, or have never accepted His grace, to bargain with him. Miracles happen every day, even in the smallest of forms. If you ask, you will receive, and if you challenge God for the things you want, you will be rewarded, for He wants you to know Him.

I am putting all my faith in God now, and I am going to live each day to the fullest I can. I am not trying to sound all Bible-thumpy, as that absolutely drives me crazy. Everyone needs to think for themselves and shoving things like that in peoples' faces is a turn off. So, I will not do that to anyone else. Each one of us has to know and meet Him on their own.

Everything works out in the end. A friend said to me, "Everything is good in the end. If it isn't good yet, it's not the end." And I believe it.

Have a blessed day.

student loan woes

I talked with a bill collection agency on Friday that handled my student loans 2 years ago to get me out of default. Turns out, I am in default again :(
Ironically, I was planning on calling MOHELA (loan company) Friday to see what I could do to work on paying my loans back.

I am trying to get out of default so I can get another loan so I can get my RN online. It strikes me as ruthless that in today's economy we cannot ask for a hardship. We'll see. I plan on calling MOHELA tomorrow, to try and sort this all out. I want to start school soon so that I can better my life with an extended education and the title of RN behind my name.

I have been doing quite well with my finances since I have moved to Nome. I am saving quite a bit of money, and I managed to buy my plane ticket home and not flinch too much at the cost. ($909!) Ok so I flinched, but I am glad it's officially official that I am leaving for St. Louis on August 24th! Only a few weeks away!

And a week from today, I will be on a plane to Anchorage to work for 2 weeks at ANMC and learn labor and delivery. I am excited for the chance and happy to learn the art of bringing babies into this world. I get to stay at the Spring Hill Suites (my favorite hotel ever) and have 2 weeks of gorgeous sleep on their awesome mattresses. I have had to stay there before coming to and from Nome, and I have to say, Marriott hotels take the cake in comfort.

Not to mention I am going to rake up quite a bit of Alaska Air miles for the trip. I earn miles for the flight, the hotel stay, and the rental car! Woot! Plus I earned a lot of them for purchasing my ticket to go home next month. So hopefully, I should have an adequate amount of miles to get a free round trip home for my next trip, or God forbid, an emergency. Having less to worry about is good.

All right. Well, gotta go and get ready for my day, and spend it wisely as I have to take a nap later to work the night shift.

God Bless your day.

rot gut

I have been suffering from a stomach malady for the passed week and a half. I have had the typical symptoms of things coming out both ends and also tacked on the inability to eat. I finally had to go to the clinic on Thursday and get treated. I got an IV put in and they gave me a liter and a half of fluids. Not fun.

I am feeling slightly better. I was so proud of myself yesterday that I was able to eat solid foods. Amazing the things you are proud of after you are sick for that long. I never thought eating solid foods would be on a priority list of things to do....

I am a little queasy today, but I will definitely make it I think I will make it through the day.

I am happy to announce to all of my family and friends in the St. Louis area that I will be coming home for 2 weeks at the end of August, 1st week of September. I think I may have posted this in the previous entry, but there is no harm in repeating myself :)

I will be leaving 2 weeks from today to go to Anchorage for 2 weeks and train at Alaska Native Medical Center to learn the art of labor and delivery. I'm pretty happy to go, as I love to learn new things, and I will be able to see some of my friends who live there. In addition, I will finally be able to go shopping for some furniture for my apartment! I am desperately in need of a real bed as I have been sleeping on an air mattress for the passed 2.5 months. It got old about 2 weeks after I got back in April...

Well, I must go, things to do.

Hope all is well with every single one of you, and may the Lord smile on you through your day.

Happy 4th!

I am sorry I have not posted in a month, but things have been a little tumultuous over here for me.

I have been working alot, and trying to get enough money saved for the at least $1,000 plane ticket ride home to St. Louis. I was originally planning to come home in October with a group of friends, but they unfortunately cannot make it. So I am going to try to get my leave time in the end of August and 1st week of September so I can be home for my dad's 60th birthday, and my 30th.

I started going to church last week, and it feels really good. I have bee wanting to go for a while, but had either put it off, or felt ill that morning and didn't go. But the day I did go, I needed it the most. And it's usually so that particular day is the day you needed to be there, and what is preached pertains to what is going on in your life RIGHT NOW.

I am a tad homesick as well. I miss my family and friends. And of course it doesn't help that everyone seems to be crying that I am not at home. It is hard to explain why Nome is so fantastic to me. Of course as a nurse at the hospital, I see the worst of it all, and I have to be reminded of the beauty this place holds at the end of the day. The unfortunate thing is that I do not have a vehicle at this time. I would love to have a 4 wheeler so I can get up and go whenever I please. Get out into the country/tundra...Go berry picking, fishing, hiking, etc... So on top of the homesickness, I am feeling claustrophobic.

Hopefully today will be good for that. A friend of mine is picking me up around 11ish to go out to the country in a camping town called Cottonwood today. I was hoping to get out with some friends yesterday to Council, but there wasn't any room. But nonetheless, I am getting out of town, if just for one night, and I am glad to be free of the cabin fever I have been suffering from.

I hope everyone who reads this has a happy and safe holiday, and remembers that this is the birth of our great nation. Remember what our forefathers went through just to make it ours. Although it can be crappy at times, we are still on a beautiful piece of land that we call America, and I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

Happy Independence Day, and God Bless.

the weather report

Well, Nome finally had it's official first nice day yesterday. It got up to 60 degrees, and the sun was out in full motion. Unfortunately, it was very windy, and I had errands to run. Whilst in the midst of my errands, I collected quite a bit of dust and dirt in my mouth in the process. Not fun.

So I also picked up 2 boxes at the post office from my mother. I had a ball of a time taking it all out and trying to stuff it in my bookbag. Of course it all did not fit, so I had to walk down Front Street with one of those white carry boxes from the post office.

So the day was so nice all the drunks were out, and this of course is a true testament that summer is commencing. Yay, oh joy.

But of course, the day became a little gray, and it started to rain around 9:30 last night. And it's wet today, and it's supposed to be rainy all week. Booooo. I just hope this means a great yield for berries and fireweed this summer.

More to come, but today is my day off, and I have plenty of housework to do.

Until then......

long overdue update

I have been happily in Nome now for the last month, settling in, and getting back to the working grind. I really haven't been out much since I have been back. Mainly this is due to the fact that I have been tired the whole month, as I had predicted.

The hospital is the same, everyone is the same, it's business as usual. Things seem a little different since I am now paying rent and utilities, other bills, and now having to watch what I spend my money on. I have been doing well so far, and I actually have already been putting money in my savings. Feels good to be amongst the realm of grown ups again. This is good considering I will be turning 30 in a mere 3 months! Yowza!

Anyhow, nothing really exciting to report other than the ocean has finally broken up and you can see a big mass of beautiful blue open water, new birds and animals out of hiding from winter, and the ability to wear less layers. Except for the passed few days, because it has been insanely colder than the norm.

Now that summer is approaching, there will probably be more to report on, but until then....

This is Swartzie, signing off...