Next Chapter:)

So its been awhile since I've posted. Too long really. So much has happened in the last few weeks. I had a great break in between assignments:) First was driving from Denver to Salt Lake. My awesome friend Maren flew to Denver just to drive with me. We had many adventures including suicidal bugs and being stuck in traffic and almost resorting to cooking ramen noodles on the hood of my car in fear we might starve before traffic got moving again. I understand that was a run on sentence:)
            Salt Lake City was a blast. I have so many good friends there. I had a spa day with some good friends, lunch poolside with my work buddies, country dancing with my sister and friends, not to mention time with these cuties:)



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I think its safe to say these girls missed me almost as much as I missed them. Little Elizabeth who said my name for the first time... ok she called me CA my last day before I left for Denver....started calling me Onca as soon as she saw me. She called me Onca all week and was always trying to show me something. It made my week!!

After Salt Lake Jessica joined me in the long drive to Mesa. It was 118 as we were driving in. Miss AZ, not sure if I miss the heat. I got to spend the week with my family. We had a BBQ on the 4th. I got to help one of my best friends paint her and her husbands new home. Love being around friends and family. My next adventure was awaiting. 

    So unfortunately I had to make the drive to California by myself. Anyone who knows me was a little concerned about that. I tend to get tired at the wheel pretty quickly. No worries though:) I made it safe and sound. Learned a few lessons on the way. Never leave the gas pump unattended. Yep thats right. I have never done that before.... and what happens the time I do?? The gas pump decides to overfill my tank by 6 gallons. So that meant gas pouring out of my tank surrounding my car and spreading. Not only did it cost me an extra $20 but also the embarrassment of everyone behind me in line at the gas station whispering "Theres a sign up saying don't leave your car unattended, Doesn't she know you aren't supposed to do that? tsk tsk." I also learned to trust your instinct and stop to go to the restroom when you need to. You never know when you will get stuck in another traffic jam and have to hold it for another hour cuz there isn't a tall enough bush in sight. 

   Anyways I made it. My new home. At least until November 19th. I drove here and met my new roomate. A girl I met on the LDS housing website who offered up her living room until I found a place to stay. I was a little nervous about that. Its worked out awesome. She put up a airmattress in her living room and said I could stay as long as I'de like. We get along great and have been experiencing LA together. I think I found a place to move into the 1st of August. It will probably be an hour commute (even though the hospital is only 10 miles away). LA traffic is a real treat. I have learned to deal with it. My Bishops wife advised to to accept it as a new part of my life and not let it get to me. I think the beautiful sunny weather, beach nearby, and fun things to do are gonna make up for it!! My new place is right by the temple and the ward building so I think thats a good trade off!! So far the ward seems like its gonna be a lot of fun. Lots of people here for summer internships. So I was supwe nervous about moving to LA. I have a very creative imaginiation. I pictured driving to work with gang bangers on either side, homeless people lining the streets. I pictured myself living in shady neighborhoods with drug deals and dangers on every corner. I pictured myself getting lost with my stupid GPS and getting into rough neighborhoods fearing being hijacked or worse. As far as the hospital I pictured any horrible scene that I have ever watched on ER or Greys Anatomy being daily occurances. I don't know what I was thinking. Seriously I have issues. Work is awesome:) Haven't seen any drivebys or felt threatened in any way. My imaginaton makes me laugh:) So that is life lately. The adventures as of late. You will have to read my next blog on first impressions. Hopefully it will make you laugh:)





Just Some Random Thoughts

1. I hate goodbyes....I would rather just sneak out....or holler see ya later as I'm walking away:)
2. Colorado summer is beautiful, I'm gonna miss it
3. I am officially homeless as of tomorrow, staying with a stranger for a bit in LA until I can find a place.
4. I have too much stuff and my car is too small.
5. Who thought it would be fun to move every few months? I mean come on packing? Goodbyes? Cancel the cable, transfer insurance, cleaning, driving (A LOT)...
6. How cool that I get to start over every few months?! New goals, new friends, new adventures, lots to learn:)
7. Excited for the beach, sand volleyball, Disneyland, California sunshine, surfing!!!! If anyone is anywhere near LA this summer you  better hit me up:)
8. My sleep schedule is SOOOO messed up. Love working nights....not a fan of what it does for my schedule, or my social life for that reason.
9. I hope there are cute boys in my new ward who don't have commitment issues, are dating machines, and goal is to marry me but not stay in So Cal (does that exist? might just be a fairtale)
10. This next week and a half is going to be AWESOME!!! Salt Lake to visit friends, hiking, swimming, Zupas, Studio 600 COUNTRY SWING!!!, AZ, 4th of July, FAMILY, new job and returning to my California roots (kind of). I remember when I was a little girl asking my mom "Mom  is a California girl blonde hair and blue eyes(mine have since changed to green)?" She thought about it and said yeah I guess that is the stereotype. I remember pumping my fists and saying "YES!!!!"
Just thought I would share....My California bucket list is yet to come.....Could still use some ideas. Thanks:) I would love to do a coastal drive up to Oregon. Whos down???

California Bucket List!!!

So I ran into this girls blog and I thought it was an awesome idea. Basically she got this idea from her Aunt and its similar to what on of my good friends Helen does. So there are alot of advantages and disadvantages of being single. Some of the advantages being the ability to travel more, spend your free time however you want, financially have less obligations ect. So basically she made a Bucket list of things to do while she was still single. I want to make a bucket list for each assignment I take. They don't necessarily have to be big things but it will be a good way to see and do as much as possible. They can be as simple as a bike ride or jog on the beach, getting a guys number at the gym, to going to Disneyland and things like that. I have a list started which I will post at a later time but I wanted to get ideas from everybody! I will also blog about my adventures. Hopefully it will be a good way to get out there and meet people too!! I am gonna need that for sure because the closer I get to leaving the sadder I am about leaving the amazing poeple I have met here in Colorado:)

I am a SpAzMaTaZz

So recently I realized something about myself.... I tend to freak out when it comes to making decisions. I freak out the most when it is something good and right. I get all worked up and crazy. I realized this when I was making the decision for my next travel assignment. I have been wanting to go to southern California for the summer. Laying around the beach on my days off just sounds amazing. I was looking for San Diego when a job offer in LA fell into my lap. Its a childrens hospital (which I miss), stepdown PICU (which is great place to learn and experience a ton), started when I wanted it to, and is at an awesome childrens hospital which happens to be moving into a brand new facility. Anyways I interviewed thinking I don't want to live in LA. Traffic, smog, gangs, ghettos, traffic, need I go on? After talking to the manager however I found myself wanting the job. They offered it to me despite me not having the travel experience they were looking for. I told my recruiter I needed to think about it. I spent the next weekend weighing out the pros and cons. Depeneding on who I was talking to I was either excited or scared out of my mind. When the day came to tell my recruiter I told her I would accept. That night I talked to a lady at work who lived in LA for years. She spoke super positive things about the facility but then talked about the smog, commute and dangers. AAAAHHHHH. I freaked... told my recruiter I didn't want to go there anymore. She was awesome and said she supported me whatever I wanted to do. Then she talked about all the travelers that were there and how much they love the facility and all the fun things there are to do in that area. So I reconsidered. I ended up finding a lot of people to talk to who have lived there or are currently living there. Suddenly it didn't seen so bad. The funny part is my sister and 2 of my best friends laughed at me and told me they knew I would go all along and it was right. GRRRRRR.... why do they get to know its right and I freak out??? I started thinking about it and basically I have done it with any big decision.... the decision of when to go back to nursing school, moving to Utah, moving to Colorado, breaking up with boys... with all of these things even though in hindsite they were without a doubt the right thing to do I fought it, freaked out, overanalyzed and doubted. Dang fear and its power:) I am so grateful for supportive friends and family who smile and nod and let me come to the conclusion myself! So basically I leave here in 2 weeks, drive to Salt Lake and visit there for a bit, home for the 4th of July, then off to LA on the 6th til the end of Novemer:)
So I am enjoying my last 2 weeks in Colorado. Its gonna be hard to leave. I really like my job right now. I have been spending alot of time in the NICU lately. Gotten kind of attatched to some of the sweet babies and their sweet parents. I love my ward. I have met some awesome people here. Gonna miss playing volleyball til midnight twice a week. Gonna miss the mountains. Spring has been beautiful here. Colorado has certainly been good to me. Great place for my first travel assignment. I feel like I was in a rut that last little while in Utah. I loved Utah and miss my friends there but a fresh start in a new place was just what I needed. I'm a little nervous about California. Gotta find a sane roomate, gotta commute to work, gotta find a safe neighborhood, gotta try to be trendy. Excited for new friends and new learning experiences in nursing. Anyone is welcome to visit. I hear its nice there in the summer!!!

So I have been hiking a few times here in Denver. Every time we drive at least an hour away and everytime we get snowed on. Hmmmm that kinda thing wouldn't happen in AZ. This hike was on Memorial day. I think it was actually high 70's back in Denver but we decided to drive into the mountains and freeze. Hiking in the snow can be fun and the mountains are beautiful. This is my friend Jason that I went hiking with:)

Family visit and more of Colorado:)

I have the best family!!! My siblings decided to come and visit me in Denver. We had so much fun. The weather threatened not to cooperate with my outdoor plans but everything worked out in the end. The first day we visted Golden Colorado. It is just a cute town. We ate pizza, walked around main street looking at the shops and took pictures.

The next day we went to 6 Flags. As kids we always had season passed to Great America in California. Love roller coasters!

Sunday we got to go to a place which I have heard alot of people talk about in Denver. Its called Red Rocks. Its an big ampitheatre where they have outdoor concerts and movie nights in the summer. It was so pretty there. There are also trails to hike around there. These pictures will show you one of the reasons I love Colorado.

 

The last night here Jeff wanted to get some night shots of the city. We had fun taking cool pictures. The following pictures show Jeff's AMAZING photography skills.... and some of the Buchanan's great modeling skills!

Love Denver at night!!! So basically we had an awesome weekend. I am so lucky to have some of my best friends be my siblings. Poor Jeff must have been tired of all the girl talk by the end of the weekend but he was a good sport about it!!!

Chicago:) The windy, rainy, foggy cold city!!

 The building to the right formed ice at the top of the building and would melt it down inside the walls to cool the building down. Look at the size of that building. Skyline to the right.

So a couple weeks ago my friend Natalie and I got to go visit our friends Daria and Jeremy in Waukegan, Illinois. For those of you that have never heard of it its about an hour out of Chicago. We had a ton of fun things planned. The weather however did not cooperate. That worked out for the best though cuz the real reason of going was to hang out with Daria, Jeremy and their adorable little girl Annabella:) So we started out doing a architectural tour of the city. This was awesome!! We hopped on a boat and rode up and down the river that goes through the middle of Chicago. We learned a ton of fascinating information and saw some incredible buildings!! The picture above is right after the boat ride. We figured out real fast that our hair was going to be crazy the whole trip and there was nothing we could do about it.

We didn't want to do much driving in the city since the people there drive like maniacs. So the first day we got bus passes. We were trying to find Sears tower. The bus driver said he would tell us when to get off. Well he didn't... so we got a little lost but found an amazing italian bakery where we got pizza and this yummy canoli:)                                                                                                                                                                                     

 

 We didn't have anything to split it with so we went Lady and the tramp style:)



Luckily I thought to throw the Monopoly card game in my suitcase last minute because we spent hours playing! It was so much fun we even had to play a few rounds before Natalie and I had to leave. Jeremy had to play until he won. Well he finally won and he definately monopolized the game and took us for all we had.

On another day we took the pretty drive to Wisconsin. We checked out the cheese factory there. We got a little cheesy as you can see. Even the baby got in on the fun. We also checked out the Jelly Belly Factory. It was cool they give you a free tour on a train ride. We got to see how they came about and how they are made.

Lets see what other cool things did we do? We went to the aquarium. It was awesome. They even had dolphins there. We went almost to the top of Sears tower. Its where you can step out in a glass box from like 90 strories up. Because of the fog however there was zero visibility so it just looked white. We ate lots of good food. We had Chicago style chili dogs and the best pizza I've ever had:)



It was an awesome trip. I love traveling to new places. Love that after all these years since high school these guys are still my best friends. We missed Erin on this trip, next time. 



Drum roll please.....

So I know everyone was dying to know after my last post where I am going on my next assignment....It was a hard decision and now has turned out even more perfect than I could have imagined. So Thursday night I was at institute. I was looking around at all my new friends. Afterwards we played volleyball which happens to be one of my favorite times of the week. I started thinking about the last 2 months and how content I have been! I have been enjoying work, my apartment, my ward, my friends. I love my institute teacher. I love the lessons, talks and testimonies at church. I just feel like I am in a really good place in my life. So why mess with a good thing. Sure I could run off to San Diego and chill on the beach everyday but what if I don't find friends as quickly. What if they don't play volleyball twice a week, and ultimate frisbee, all that fun stuff. I have heard such good things about summers in Colorado. So I started talking to people. One girl loves to go hiking and they have a group that goes every week. Another girls parents have a boat and she said we would most definately get some boating time in if I stayed. So suddenly I wasn't ready to leave this place quite yet. 3 months seemed like a long time to extend, and would pretty much take me to the end of summer. So I talked to my manager and we decided on 8 weeks. She called yesterday and they are only gonna need me for 4 more weeks. Works for me. So I am staying in Denver until end of June. I am excited to not have to worry about moving just yet. So heres to 8 more weeks in Denver:)