Tag: travel nurse blog
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New England (Chapter 9)
I can’t make biscuits. I have tried many times over the years without success. I can bake bread and pies, though. People request my pies just so that they can eat the crust alone. It makes no sense that I can’t conquer biscuits, but trust me, one batch of biscuits that I made were not…
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Seeking Clarity
To say that being home has been a struggle is an understatement. Adjusting has been difficult financially, physically, and emotionally. Financially because I took a pretty big cut in pay to find a job at home and because all of my income is now taxable instead of being supplemented by stipends; Physically because I had…
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Is This Really The End?
I took this picture of a water puddle yesterday morning. I had to fight the dogs off of it so that I could capture it before they crushed it’s beauty (they always get in the middle of everything that I do). The joys of having pups that want to be helpful. I am packing up…
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The Great Plains (Chapter 4)
I will be making another quick trip home this week (one day home and two days traveling). I am always so excited for the opportunity to go back home. I envision rest and relaxation, but really, it is always another competing prioritization situation, no different than work right now. Should I spend the day cooking/baking,…
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The Great Plains (Chapter 2)
I have knitted Wookie a couple of new sweaters and I am now working on some winter gear for my husband. He found a trainer nearby to bring his horses to and requested something to keep his neck warm. A scarf isn’t practical for someone riding a horse down the arena, so… I designed a…
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In a Border Town II
I had the opportunity to return to the facility on the border. This time I spent the 8 hour drive listening and learning Spanish instead of crying. I felt very excited and proud of my accomplishments when I left last week. I went into this assignment with confidence, but I was quickly humbled. I had…
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In A Border Town
I spent a few days this past week working per diem at a facility on the Texas border (8 hours from home). I have a few possible opportunities pending at home, but I wasn’t able to find any local per diem shifts to work while waiting for one of them to come to fruition. I…
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The Island (Week 8 & 9)
It has been difficult the past two weeks. So many things… The positive: I made plans for a quick trip home. I couldn’t wait to see Wookie. It had been 8 weeks since I had seen him and prior to this, we had never even gone 8 days without seeing each other. I took him…
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The Islands (Week 7)
This past week was the one year anniversary of my twin sister’s death. It forced me to re-acknowledge that she is gone, which brought up a wealth of emotions. I realize now that I have spent this entire past year angry at her. Very few people know that. The anger has been strong enough that…
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The Islands (Week 4 & 5)
There are no pretentious people here. I mean that. I have yet to see one person in a suit and tie, high heels, or carrying a brand name purse. It is refreshing. There doesn’t seem to be a “rat race” and no one is chasing “the next best thing”. I have never been around a…
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The Islands (Week 2)
We have been our own tour guides here. Every day, we utilize the internet to find our next adventure. Every place/beach/hike has at least two names here, so it requires some digging to piece it all together, but we always find something to do. I think that is my favorite thing about this place. I…
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The Midwest (Week 11)
Happy Nurse’s Week! My sister sent me this cup as a gift to celebrate. It’s a time in which we honor Florence Nightingale (The lady with the lamp) and commemorate her birthday. She was a legend in her own lifetime and one of the most famous women in British history. She became a nurse despite the…
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The Midwest (Week 10)
My husband is here for a visit which allows us the ability to explore (see previous post for more information). We visited the center of the contiguous United States this past weekend. It was a quiet little place with a covered area and picnic tables. We would have packed a lunch if we had known!…
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The Midwest (Week 3 & 4)
I have found myself feeling sentimental about home and reminiscing about the beginning of this journey. It was almost exactly one year ago that we packed up the camper and started off across the country to my first assignment. It seems like forever ago and yesterday at the same time (time is strange that way).…
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The Midwest (Week 1)
There was snow on the ground when we arrived this past week, much colder than where we had come from! I had to unpack Wookie’s little fleece suit. He was very excited to see it. We had not used it since being in the high desert. I think he had forgotten all about it (it…
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The Gulf Coast (Week 15)
I don’t always have the opportunity to stay at an assignment long enough to see the official results or impact of my presence. I usually get verbal affirmation for the positive impact, but since that is subjective I don’t place too much value in it. I prefer to have both subjective and objective data for…
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The Gulf Coast (Week 14)
I made a trip back home last week and was greeted with this (ice). I forgot how cold it could be! I was quickly missing the tropical weather on the gulf coast. The trip home was eventful. Of all the miles that I have traveled (driven) over the past year, I have not been stranded…
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The Gulf Coast (Week 13)
I had to make an emergency trip back home this past week. My husband had another horse accident which resulted in multiple rib fractures and a collapsed lung. He doesn’t own any horses that buck but apparently when you put on a brand new saddle (that doesn’t fit quite right), it can end with a…
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The Gulf Coast (Week 11)
For my entire life I have been asked what it was like to be a twin. I don’t really have a simplistic answer to that question, so I usually answered it by telling them that “I don’t have anything else to compare it to” or “I don’t know any other way”, because I don’t. Let…
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The Gulf Coast (Weeks 9 & 10)
I always struggle with gift giving expectations during the holidays. I love giving gifts to friends and family throughout the year as I see special items that they would enjoy, but it is often difficult to find something personal under pressure during the holidays. What do you give your parents/spouses/grown children that have everything or…