I'm (nearly) half a nurse!!!

I'm am so blessed to be already (almost) done with my first year of nursing school! In the midst of this program it has felt so difficult and long lasting, but now at the end of this year it seems to have flown by, it's a strange feeling. I am ready for a nice long summer break to refuel for my second year but I can't believe that next year at this time I will be graduating from the RN program! I still feel like there is so much I need to learn! 

God has been so faithful in my life as well as through this program, so many times I have been filled with anxiety, nervousness, and fear but He has held me up! I always want to reflect on this blog His goodness toward me and what He is doing in my life.

I have come to the realization once again that He is my power source and apart from Him I can do nothing! In light of nursing school this means that I cannot be the nurse that my patients need if I'm not connected to Him. His love, His healing, His grace are what they truly need and all I hope to be is His tool that He uses to bring them to Himself. 

I always want to wrap up my semesters with this type of journal post so I can remember what I was feeling and hopefully encourage somebody!

Much love, Cait

Fit Challenge

Tuesday: Day 3

Sorry I've already gotten behind, but on Tuesday I chose to do some relaxing and gentle Yoga because Tuesdays are my longest day of the week. 

I have been following this adorable Yogi on YouTube and I absolutely love the way she approaches yoga. She is relaxed, lighthearted, and smiling! I originally learned yoga at a studio in my town through my college and I started something new for me. I love the connection of the mind and body, like Pilates, and I also enjoy the gentleness of it. It reminds me to treat my body nicely, relax, and enjoy movement. 

Here is an extra link to here channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene

Here is a link to the video I started with and that I love to revisit on those Tuesdays that I am feeling tired and rundown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBu-pQG6sTY

Thanks for reading, sorry I'm late in posting this, and be sure to follow Adriene on YouTube!

Fit Challenge

Monday day 2: At the Gym

25 calf raises

The Hundred 

27 minutes on the treadmill

Full body stretch once your heart rate has come down

**the hundred is a Pilates move that involves a tight core, structured breathing, and one hundred pumps of the arms. If you're not familiar with the Hundred check it out on you tube

Fit Challenge

I'm going to start posting a fit challenge every so often on this here blog!

Sunday: day 1

25 heel raises
head-to-toe stretch/ range of motion 

Heel raise description: 

Start feet parallel and hip distance apart,

check in with your posture and start a head-to-toe check: chin up, gaze straight ahead, shoulders down and back, abdominals engaged, belly button to spine, hips neutral, toes spread and weight balanced evenly between each leg as well as between toes and heels.   

slowly raise both heels at the same time and balance all weight on the highest point of your toes. weight should be focused to the second toe for the best balance. but all toes remain in contact with the floor. 

slowly lower both heels at the same time resisting the urge to plop down, as you lower down softly raise through the spine and top of the head. 

Head-to-toe stretch description:

gently look in all directions: right, left, up, down 
circle head and neck around clockwise and counter clockwise
roll shoulders forward and back
move shoulders up and down
make circles with arms forward and back
stretch each arm across and over head
stretch each side in a lateral stretch 
reach up on an inhale and stretch back ever so slightly while lifting the gaze and heart up
exhale and bend down toward toes
bend and straighten legs relaxing in this stretch of the lower back and backs of the legs
bend knees and slowly roll up through the spine
step right leg back into a gentle lunge and strecth the calf; return
step left leg back now; return
roll each ankle in both directions
roll through each foot up the the toes and back to flat
take a deep breath and drink some water :)

You did it!!

Memory Verse

Romans 5:8 New Living Translation (NLT)

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:8New King James Version (NKJV)

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8New International Version (NIV)

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This verse has blessed me on numerous occasions because it reminds me that Jesus loved me so much he lived a perfect life and died on a cross for me before I knew him, and well before I chose to follow him with my life. To think that 2000+ years ago he came knowing all the sinful places in my heart and yet he still did it! He demonstrated love! He is love! Love never fails!!!

Think about this verse this week christian, as we get ready to celebrate Easter.

Jesus loves you!

Love, Cait

Second Semester....Almost Half Way!!! Eee!!

My second semester of nursing school has been an experience I will not soon forget! The one word that I could use to describe how I feel about this semester is THANKFUL! I am so thankful to have this opportunity not only to become an RN, but also to have the instructors I have had, the patients who have let me care for them in clinicals,  my awesome group of carpoolers who know exactly what I'm going through in this process, and most importantly I am thankful to my Lord and Savior, Jesus, who is faithful! He sustains me on the long hard days, through the test that I bombed, in my weakest moments, my anxiety ridden moments, and also in those moments when I have gotten something right. I know it's all Him, not me and I am thankful! I would also like to note that I am so THANKFUL it's almost spring break! Hey-oh!! hehe ;p 

Anywho I just wanted to send out some updates! I'm still alive, don't worry!! lol!

Thanks for reading!

Love, Cait

Memory Verse

2 Chronicles 16:9 NLT

The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to

 strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

 What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at

 war."

Cleaning House

Hey there! Since I spent the last two days cleaning up Christmas and organizing a bit I thought I show so pictures while it's still organized ;)

Out went the tree and we moved the popisan chair from the office into the living room.

we also put that lamp on a high stand it looks a bit strange but I puts the light where we wanted it and prevents us from having to purchase a floor lamp!

Getting geared up for second semester!!! two new books here one for pediatrics, and one for maternal newborn nursing! Plus my Intravenous medications reference book is on it's way. Exciting times ahead!

Kirby would like to know where we put his tree!?

  

He found my book boxes...any box will suit his fancy! Hahaha!

I've also been working on another project that just needs a few more touches until I snap some pics and put into the blog-o-sphere as well! So stay tuned!

 Thank you for reading!

 Love, Caitlin

Arm Knitting and Finger Knitting

I was feeling so stressed with school and the oh so intense 3/4 mark of the semester so I thought it's time to DIY something. When I learn a new craft or make something it really helps me get my mind off of the things that cause me stress. 

I used these videos to learn from youtube: arm knitting by Michael's one more for arm knitting by Simply Maggie and finger knitting by Simply Maggie.

I used Lion Brand Yarn wool ease thick and quick in the color 'fisherman' you can find it here but I purchased it from Michael's. and I used two balls at the same time so every thing was extra thick, this was suggested as an option in one of the videos. and for the finger knitted ear warmer I only did two sewn together instead of three and used all one color. 

over all this was a really fun craft that only took a few hours to learn and make and I'm already getting a lot of use out of the scarf! 

here are some pictures of the final products: 

Adorable dress :)

The Mr. and I went shopping and I found this stunning dress for only 10 doll hairs! It's black and ivory knit with sweet winter patterns.  I'm wearing it here on Thanksgiving with a red cropped cardigan from forever 21, black leggings from American Eagle, two-tone high boots from Modcloth, pearl earrings covered by hair and sporting red lips with Revlon colorburst matte balm in the color 'standout' my new favorite red lip color!

"I got bangs!"

Name that movie quote anyone? (it's legally blonde...hehe! one of my faves)

 I actually did get me some bangs and I'm pretty happy about it as you can see in the photo above :) I needed a change but I didn't want to go chopping it all off just yet so this is the result! 

long hair + bangs = smiles

** this will be a small enlightenment for you today, your valuable time used to simply enter into my brain when it's on stupid mode and enjoy what lives in there. Here's a little tid bit of the love I have for one of the most ridiculous movies made: Legally Blonde.

Some of my most favorite quotes from Legally Blonde:

• Elle "Whoever said orange is the new pink is seriously disturbed"
• Warner: "You got into Harvard Law? Elle:"What like it's hard?"
• Hairdresser in the salon "OMG the Bend and snap, works every time!"
• "The rules of hair care are simple and finite, any cosmo girl would've known!"
• Elle: "Exersice gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy, happy people don't shoot their husbands! They just don't!"
• Margot: "Yeah, Luckily"
• Margot: "Awe look, there's like a judge and everything! Vote for Elle!"
• Enrique "Don't you estomp your little last season Prada shoes at me honey"

I hope ya have a Perfect Day! ;)

Part Two: 
Outfit of the Day: I wanted to dress comfy today so I pulled on this soft jersey striped skirt from old navy and tucked in a colored layering tank top under my white 'boyfriend' v-neck ($10 a la target) Then I added a belt to keep the skirt up at my waist and I had myself a comfy cute outfit. I love when I actually have the time and care to put in the effort into wearing my favorite tried and true clothes in a way that turns them into put together outfits instead of just throwing them on and heading out the door.

Also I miss dancing so much!  

Baseball Game Fun!

The Mr. and I got the wonderful opportunity to go to a San Francisco Giants game at the new AT&T Park! (well new to me) I haven't gone to a Giants game (or any MLB game) since I was about 8 years old and It's something we haven't done together yet, so this was an exciting opportunity! We went with a group of coworkers, traveling together on a bus and tail-gating in the parking area, needless to say we had a blast! This turned out to be a great game to attend because the Giants won and there were two grand slams made by the Giants! Those grand slams happen to have set a record for the Giants because it was the first time a pitcher and a catcher hit grand slams in the same game! Go team! We also got free bobble heads! ;) Here's another fun collage from our fun day!

Thanks for hanging with us!

Love, Cait

Proud to be an American

Happy 4th of July y'all! I'm so thankful for this country, the land of the free, and grateful to call myself an American! This is a majorly fun holiday consisting of family time, yummy food, summer weather, swimming, grilling, humming patriotic tunes, my Mom's yogurt jello, my nephews crying when they have to get out of the pool, watching fireworks, and making jokes about tater tots! I love my family to bits, Independence day, is a great time to relax all together! 

here's some pictures from our fun day!

"He makes me melt like a popsicle on the fourth of July" ~'Little Rascals'

I am really loving photo collages lately! This one I made on my phone with the Photo Grid app for android 

 The gang!:  Bro, Dad, Mama, Hubby, Mother, Father

lots of love

The one and only good picture of the beautiful fireworks

I'm so thankful to God for the founding of this nation, the land of the free, and also want to say a big "Thank You!" to the brave men and women of the armed forces who continue to keep us free. 

I hope everyone had a great holiday, a safe holiday, fun times with your friends and family! Take care y'all! 

love, Cait

Girly Stuff

Hello,

So I'm super excited about all my birthday presents! Everyone was so very generous and really blessed me! Thank you to my awesome family!!! I love you guys!  I used a few already and wanted to share some looks and crafts that have come from these thoughtful presents.

something you all should know if you don't already is: I pretty much love pink! I have a pink keyboard...and mouse...yea... and I also wore pink everyday for an entire school year because I'm silly like that. So now that that's out there, lets check out this stuff!

DIY canvas tote:

(using stencils and my new Cricut machine)

Oooo, sparkles!

here's my new bag

and my tools

I used my Cricut machine to cut out the flower and I already had bought a 'Martha Stuart Crafts' stencil pack (on clearance) and I also already had the fabric paint from a previous project. In regards to the paint: "Is that...?" you ask, "Why yes, it is sparkly neon pink fabric paint!!!"

I love the look of raw bland canvas with the bright sparkly pink designs

and I mean "whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed"

lol!

I used the flower as a sort of backward stencil. I really liked the way the canvas was soaking up the paint and the softer look it created when I used the flower in reverse.

As you can see I used the other stencils in the regular way :) 

very fun and simple craft!

Naked 3 Palette, oh mai gosh! Well it's not that new but it's new to me and I love it!

here's me being weird, taking selfies and what not...lol!

This is a beautiful set of eye shadows by Urban Decay! Lots of rosy neutrals pretty shades to play with. 

This was my first go at it, so here's what I did:

1. urban decay eye shadow primer, samples come with the naked palette three along with a nifty double ended brush! 

2. lightest shade in the pallet, called Strange, it's a creamy matte color and I put this in the inner corner and then brushed it all over the rest of my eye lid all the way up to just underneath my brow.

3. I dabbed on my Mabeline New York 24 hour color tattoo creme eye shadow color 'Inked in Pink' (got this at target, it's a soft pink with a metallic shine to it) I put on the lower portion of my eyelid. (it's a creme shadow so it helps powders stick and look really great)

4. I used a fluffy eye shadow brush to put the color 'Limit' into my crease. It's a slighly darker matte pink shadow.

5. I took a smaller detail brush to put the color 'Nooner' into the outer corner of my eye lid and blended it into my crease as well. 

*I was considering stopping there, it was a very nice soft look but of course since it's new I wanted to try some more...hehe...

6. I used my finger to add the color 'Trick' on the center of my lid. It's a rose gold color and with a lot of shimmer, I was nervous about getting glitter all over my face so that's the reason I used my finger :)

7. I tight lined with dark brown eyeliner and used my powder eyeliner by bare minerals on the top outer portion of my lash line.

8. I took my white eyeliner to tight line the bottom rim

Woah this is a lot! Sorry! 

9. I used my favorite eyeliner on the outer third of the bottom lash line . It's an Urban Decay glide on eye pencil called 'underground'. It's a shimmer-y, pink-y brown (i don't know, i just love it) 

10. And then... I put the color 'Nooner' a dark pink matte shade (the same one I used for the outer corner of my eye shadow) underneath my bottom lashes to set my eyeliner and create a soft blended look. 

11. last step, umm... last two steps: curl eyelashes and put on mascara.  

I finished the look with a soft pink lip liner and a lip gloss by bare minerals. 

Pretty, Pink, and Done! Ha!

Thanks for hanging with me and I hope you have a great day!

love, Cait

Photo Collages!

Hey, 

Just wanted to share some cute photo collages I have done recently using PicMonkey. It's fun and free, easy to use, so check it out for your photos if you like!

I have enjoyed using this site on occasion. There are cute layouts and lots of free filters and editing options. It's like scrapbook but with out the mess ;) 

Fun birthday date nights :)

*click 'em to see the larger version

Burn at the Barre

I took an awesome Barre class today with my sweet friend and we did indeed 'burn at the barre' and it's still burning! lol! I have been looking for a barre class in my city but sort of hoping it would turn up at the gym I already have membership to ;)

 My friend recommended this class and taking it together was so fun! We both have dance backgrounds so we understand barre in that sense but it was great to use it in a different way to condition our bodies more! 

Thanks girlfriend for the recommendation and I can't wait to take it again soon!

Quinoa Lunch

I am OBSESSED with quinoa! it's just so good and can be flavored any way you want! it's quicker to cook than rice and it's texture is so light! 

Here is a lunch version i made yesterday:

Ingredients: 

• leftover quinoa from the night before :) (keep reading if you want to know how I cooked mine)
• 1 can black beans
• shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• roughly chopped cilantro

directions: reheat leftover quinoa in the microwave for about a minute and a half, stir *tip: place a wet paper towel over quinoa bowl in the microwave to keep it full of moisture. rinse the beans in a strainer place in a microwave safe bowl and heat for about a minute. mix beans and quinoa together then add in cheddar cheese and microwave again for 30 seconds and stir. then roughly chop some fresh cilantro and mix that in. 

That's it! such a quick lunch!

here's how I made my quinoa:

1 cup of dry quinoa, rinse in a mesh strainer, put it in a medium pot with 2 cups of water and 1 tsp pink sea salt and 1/4 tsp garlic powder. bring to a boil. once it's boiling set the heat to low and let it cook 15 minutes. at this point all the liquid should be absorbed and the quinoa looks almost clear except for the little c-shaped white part ;)

one of the fun things about B working from home some days is having lunch with him!

A Favorite Outfit

 Hey hey! I want to start putting up some of my favorite outfits up on the blog! This is actually not a super recent photo but I love this outfit and since the weather is warming up I will be sporting it again soon! 

here it is head to toe:

beige fabric flower bobby pin from target, Daily Lunch Date top in Giraffe from Modcloth, ivory basic tank top from forever 21(I seriously love these because they have so many shades and they are only 2.50), accessory belt taken off the dress it came with... gold tone and beige leather wrist watch from charming charlie, orange capris Michael Kors from T.J. Maxx, woods and wildflower sandals in brown from Modcloth. 

Why do I love this outfit?
This outfit is one of my faves because it is full of my favorite things! Giraffes are my favorite animal, orange is one of my top fave colors, gold tone is my preferred accessory shade and this beautiful top was gifted to me from my mamma! she's definitely a favorite person in my life! 

Here's another way I styled this top:

dark orange ribbed tank from the Gap, Daily Lunch Date top in Giraffe from Modcloth, jean capris 'artist' from American Eagle, sandals. 

This is my simple version when I'm going for comfort and keeping things low key. 

pictures of pictures

Check it out! I finally finished an engagement scrapbook... yeah.. I'm behind. But that's okay! Scrappin' is a hobby, it's a fun way to relax, and I'm thrilled I finally got around to finishing this one :) 

front cover is padded light green leather with a small square b&w photo

front page with some handmade embellishments and a framed favorite from our engagement shoot with a very talented friend Joni

Green page set of photos from the special day he popped the question, photo creds to my now sister-in-law, Andy, who also did the sweet color editing in the bottom left photo.

brown floral page set, b&w together with full color photos... "mr. and mrs. to be"

"happiness is... YOU and ME" gray and teal page set with white accents and butterfly embellishments

Blue garden page set. "B C together forever"

Vineyard page set

1 John 4:19

We love because he first loved us.

Brown page set "LOVE" and "forever friends" 

Red Rose page set with b&w photos

"Love is Beautiful" 

Last page celebrating our 3 years together.

love always

Married life Push-up Challenge

Beau and I got the great idea that we should do a push up challenge! 

Our Challenge: 1 push up + 1 more every day

We will do it together everyday and hold each other to it! 

 It's been a lot of fun doing this challenge with him and we are not near done yet! Our goal is to do 100 push-ups continuously so we are working our way there by adding one everyday. We started on April 1, 2014 with one push-up. At first it felt silly because we were already used to doing at least 15 continuously. We laughed and it has brought us closer, it's something we look forward to, not really the push-ups so much as the feeling of our arms burning together and laughing about it!

 Accountability is a great thing in fitness and in life! Find a challenge or make one up, like we did, and do it with your spouse or your best friend. It builds healthy habits and builds your relationship too! Good luck!!