Happy Holidays

It has been a LONG time since my last post. We are getting ready for the holidays and enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving with the Ramsey's.

I have now been working for 8 weeks. I really enjoy working at Overlake and I have seen and done a TON in that amount of time. I am really starting to feel more comfortable with the fact that I am ACTUALLY a RN. I still love to sign my name with those initials after it.

Wedding planning is going extremely well and efficiently. Most things are taken care of at this point and so we just get to have fun and look into the little details when we have time. I also ordered my dress so I am very excited about that!

Both Steve and I are busy with work and looking forward to Christmas which is just around the corner. In the spirit of the holiday we put up our tree in early November . . . enjoy! Merry Christmas!!

Hawaii

I finally uploaded the rest of our Hawaii pictures! We had SO much fun at Turtle Bay. It was a wonderful trip. Mostly we just sat by the pool or the beach, relaxed and snorkeled, it was a perfect trip. Enjoy a few pictures from the trip!

Sunset by the pool

Engaged!

Enjoying a Matsumoto Shave Ice
Lounging in a hammock by the beach

Morning breakfasts on the lanai

Sunset on the beach

Last day at Turtle Bay

Engaged!!

I am SO happy! Steve proposed to me last night and of course I said YES!! We were out on the beach at Turtle Bay watching the sunset and just hanging out. I turned around and he was down on his knee and asked me to marry him! I was so shocked and surprised. Steve had been working really hard to throw me off the scent so I was 100% certain he would not be proposing anytime soon. Fortunately I was wrong. We are both so excited and cannot wait to see what comes next. Enjoy the pictures.

WOOHOOO!!!

It's even more official! I now have a job offer which I am so excited about. It is in the Critical Care department at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, WA. It begins October 5th and I will finally be a practicing nurse! This is fantastic news and just in time for the Hawaii vacation! What a wonderful way to get to celebrate and relax before I start this rigorous program.

Pictures from Hawaii will soon follow!!

It's Official

I am now an RN! I took the NCLEX last Thursday and Saturday morning found out I passed! I am official!

Whistler!

Steve and I just got back from a wonderful weekend in Whistler! We started the weekend with a stop at my mom and dad's for a delicious meal and some family time. Friday morning we headed up to Whistler and did a 5 mile hike at Brandywine Falls to the Cal-Cheak Suspension bridge. It was beautiful. Saturday we hung out around the village and then did some golfing at Nicklaus North. It was Steve's first time playing in Whistler and my first time in a LONG time playing 18 holes. Both were successful! What a beautiful course. Enjoy the photos!

Overlooking the waterfall

On the trail

The suspension bridge

Enjoying a Kilkenny in the village

Golfing at Nicklaus North

Walla Walla Wine Trip

This last weekend my whole family drove over to Walla Walla for a fun filled weekend of wine tasting and hanging out. My parents rented a fabulous house, we had tons of good food and even better wine! Enjoy the pictures! (I had so many I turned it into a slideshow, please ignore the random song but it was better than nothing).

Graduation Party!

I am finally a Hopkins graduate! I wasn't able to physically attend my graduation but I was able to watch it AND the celebrate plenty! My celebration started off with dinner at El Gaucho with Steve which was phenomenal. Then my parents threw me a graduation party at the Frontier Room in Seattle (thanks mom and dad!). It was SO much fun and the amount of meat consumed was mildly ridiculous. I am SO happy to be done with school and am studying away for the NCLEX which I will take towards the end of the month. Thanks to everyone for all the support all throughout nursing school!!

Dinner at El Gaucho

My new nursing hat and cake!

Steve and I celebrating at Frontier Room.

The whole crew at the Frontier Room.

Not everyone got the memo about the picture though.

Whidbey Island

Steve and I had a chance to go up to Whidbey Island this weekend with friends. The weather was fabulous and the crab abundant. Enjoy the pics!

Ferry Ride Over

Playing on the beach

Out to get the crab

The loot

Last Days in Baltimore

This is VERY belated but I thought I would FINALLY post pictures of my last days in Baltimore and my pinning ceremony.

Public Health mandatory tour of Mt. Vernon.

My favorite church in Baltimore.

Last night in Baltimore with some of my favorite gals.

Pinning ceremony and me with the highly overpriced Ace of Cakes cake.

Seattle and Loving It!

So I was told it had been a VERY long time since I have posted so here goes. I am BACK in Seattle and it is wonderful! The last 4.5 weeks have been spent at Seattle Children's in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) doing my senior practicum. I am about 150 hours in and my last day will be July 23rd with graduation on the 24th! Hard to believe it is almost here.

I have enjoyed seeing family and friends and cannot wait to be done with school! Still looking for a job so if you hear of ANY RN positions let me know!

That's all for now! I will try and post more often, it has been a whirlwind since being back!

Lily Robin Patenaude is here!

My newest niece is here! She was born Friday, May 15 weighing 7lbs 7oz and 19 inches long!




Also, I headed down to DC this weekend for lunch with a couple of ladies from college. We went to a fabulous restaurant called Le Pain. I highly recommend it. Three more weeks until home!

Back to Seattle

I just found out Monday that I will definitely be able to do my nursing practicum in Seattle! I will start the second week of June and will be in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) at Seattle Children's. I am super excited for that and even more excited to be moving BACK in just over 3 weeks! WOOHOO!!!

Word of the Day

In the past week and a half of classes the following word has been said so many times. I kind of like it.

Egregious: Conspicuously bad or offensive. Glaring error. Gross ineptitude.

Final Semester!!

I just thought I would post the classes I will be taking for my final semester in nursing school. I have the following:

• Public Health Nursing
• Transitions into Professional Practice
• Special Topics in Nursing: Acute Care of Children

I will have these three courses with a clinical in Public Health Nursing for 7 weeks. After that I will have a 7 week practicum . . . location TBD . . . and then I am DONE!

My clinical this last semester will be at the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Clinic working with patients with ALS. I believe we do some work in the clinic and also home visits although I am not exactly sure how that works!

More later!

8 More Weeks of Class!

I just finished classes for the week and only have finals left for this semester and then I start my final 7 weeks of classes before transitions/practicum!! Still no update on whether I get to do my practicum in Seattle so keep those fingers crossed.

Cherry Blossom Festival

A couple of the girls from my program and I drove down to DC today to walk around and see the Cherry Blossoms. It was SO crowded but beautiful! Enjoy the pictures below.

Vegas!!

I had a fun, yet very quick trip to Vegas this past weekend. I met Steve, Jeff and Steph and we had tons of fun. My weekend consisted of flying, a little gambling, pool time and hanging out. Below are some pictures.