Catching up

Life has been quite exciting for us lately.  We've recovered from all the stress and excitement of wedding details and have started settling into reality.  However, in the last few weeks Arron got a job (yay!) and we bought a car.  Actually both exciting events happened in the same day.  Here's the story...before our wedding Arron had a phone interview with a HR person from a staffing agency.  While they were discussing possible jobs available for him, they came to the conclusion that there really wasn't anything that he wanted to do.  A few weeks after the wedding and no more luck with the job search, Arron decided to call the agency back and check to see if there was something, anything available for him.  They still had an opening at a chemical company, working on a 3-6 month project and after a few interviews was hired on for the job.  The only problem was that we only had one car (long story, but in short...Arron was in a rollover accident and totaled his truck about a month before our wedding...thank God he came out of it without any injuries).  We quickly realized that our one car wasn't going to be able to split in two and be available for him to drive to work at 7:30 am when I get off of work at 7:30 am and have a 20 minute commute home.  Arron had been looking at cars since his accident and had an idea of what he wanted, Chevy Equinox to be exact, and he quickly found one in our price range on the internet.  So after he signed his paperwork for his new job, we made our way to the car dealer and got our new 2007 Chevy Equinox.  It has been nice having a nicer car to drive around, since mine needs a little bit of tender loving care lately.  In short, it was a super exciting day and we are so thankful and blessed to both have jobs 3 months out of college!

I had an awesome time last weekend with two of my favorite college buddies, Gabby and Brittany.  They came to visit us, and Gabby delivered her amazing wedding gift to us.  She made us a wedding scrapbook with pictures from our dating life, engagement, and our wedding day and she was so thoughtful and kept bits and pieces of my shower and wedding day to incorporate in the pages of the book.  I love it and am so thankful that she took the time to make it!  We had a great time together going out to eat and doing girly stuff together.  It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to see them again in a few weeks when Arron and I go back to Oshkosh to visit for a weekend!  

I think that's it for now.  I should be getting my wedding pics very soon (I'm hoping today or tomorrow).  I can't wait to share them with everyone.  Since it is officially public now, I just have to say that I am sooo excited that my sister is pregnant and I will be an auntie again!!  I'm looking forward to babysitting the little munchkin on my days off.  For now, I will continue finding things to do on my off days, keeping myself busy.  Have a great week!

Married....

Again, it's been so long since I last blogged, where to begin?  I've graduated from college, got a real job, moved to Milwaukee, and got married.  I know, not much ;).  It seems like life has gone from going 100mph to 5 in the past month.  Now that we are all settled in and married, it seems like there is not much to do with all this spare time.  Since I work 3 nights a week (which is full time), I have 4 days a week to relax and do whatever I want.

Our wedding was the best day of our lives.  It was a lot of fun, I was really relaxed and able to have a great time with the people I care about most.  I am so appreciative of the staff at the place we had our wedding because they were amazing and took care of all the little details so that we could enjoy our special day. I am also so thankful for all of my bridesmaids/personal attendant because they are awesome and we had such a great time together! :) Of course, I am so happy that I married my best friend...he is amazing, and such a caring and helpful husband. I'm hoping to post wedding pics as soon as I get them back.

Married life is great, we've been having fun cooking together and enjoying life together.  Our next step is finding Arron a full time job so that we can settle down and start saving some money for the future.  Hope you are all doing well!

Beginning of the End

I can't believe it is September already! This summer flew by. I'm starting to get ready for classes to start and, of course, I have a million pages to read before the first day of class. It's the beginning of the end of my college career and I have to say that I will not miss the homework and the reading after I graduate. But it's too early to start talking about school- I still have one full week of summer break left.

What have I been up to in the last month? Not much. I worked quite a bit and did some fun summer things at home. I've helped keep Marley (the puppy) out of trouble. Arron and I took a spur of the moment camping trip up to Door County. We camped at Peninsula State Park with the three dogs. We went hiking, did some wine tasting, toured the wine place, and explored the little shops. It was a lot of fun and it was a much needed getaway from sitting at home in Oshkosh. I love being spontaneous and having the freedom to just pick up and leave on little trips like that. It just makes the trips even more fun!

It is so nice to have my girly friends back in town. One of the best things about fall is getting back together with friends that have been away all summer. The other morning I was able to spend some time with some good friends and we had an amazing time together- the start of an awesome semester!

I do have one request from the people who are reading my blog. Since I am graduating in December, I will then be on my own financially. I haven't really been able to save a lot this summer since I was only scheduled to work limited hours. Today my financial aid went through and they ended up decreasing the amount I could receive. I had been depending on some of that money to help me through after school. I also am unsure if I will have a job this fall as they are laying people off based on seniority and I am close to the bottom of the list. The money situtation will be tight...I know that God will provide, but I just get a little nervous about the situation. Please pray that I will be able to budget my money, keep my job, find a new one, or that money will fall from the sky.

Have a great day!

Life update

Marley the puppy

Hey! It has been more than a year since I've updated this blog so I'm not even sure if anyone will read it. This summer has been a lot of fun. I've been doing minimal working and lots of relaxing and having fun. I have been camping, spending time with family and friends, to Six Flags, to Mt. Olympus, to Chicago, gardening (yes I have a lovely garden), and just hanging out. I figure it is my last free summer because I will hopefully be working full time after I graduate from college with my nursing degree this December. So my idea is that I should enjoy the last part of this stage in my life, because I will soon be a full time working woman.

Since the lease on my current apartment ends this month, I moved into a new place. It is an upper two bedroom apartment that is actually next door to my boyfriend, Arron's, house. Although it is too big for my needs, I still signed the lease because it was one of the only places in Oshkosh that would allow me to do a month to month lease. It was such a "blast" moving into the new place, especially moving my couch up through my balcony since it wouldn't fit through the door at the top of the stairs. Thanks dad and Arron for your help!

It has been a relaxing few days before I have a 5 day stretch at work. It will be the most I've worked all summer :). As some of you know, Arron (and I) already have two dogs, Shian and Izzy. A few days ago we came to a crazy agreement that it would be a good idea to get a puppy. I know, its crazy, we must be crazy. I feel like I should think it's "too much" or too expensive, but we are both laid back and willing to spend time with it since our lives aren't too busy yet. It works out with our schedules this month to be able to potty train and be able to play with it while the other of us is at work. That is why it is so nice to have houses so close together. So we went together and picked up a 6 week old Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix puppy. We named him Marley, like in the book/movie Marley and Me. He has been so good and calm. I even think he's already potty trained better than little chihuahua Izzy. He's been starting to chew on things, but Arron and I find something appropriate for him to chew on and he's already learning that he is supposed to chew on toys only. It will be an adventure and if it becomes too much with so many dogs --we always find days when we are willing to give naughty little Izzy away. So that's the newest thing in my life.

I will try to update the blog more about my life and thoughts. Even if no one reads it I will have my life documented a little better. Hope you are all enjoying the summertime!

Week in San Jose

Last week I was in San Jose for the entire week living with a different host family. San Jose is the complete opposite of where I am living in Miramar. Miramar is what you would think of as a really safe town where no one has to lock their doors and you never have to watch your back. Everyone is friendly and says hi as you walk by. In contrast is San Jose, where you don’t leave your house after dark, you have a taxi pick you up at the front gate because it’s not safe to walk the streets during the middle of the day. Complete opposites. However, in the safe parts- San Jose was also a lot of fun.
We visited different clinics and hospitals in downtown San Jose. The first private hospital that we visited was actually much nicer than any hospital I have seen in the U.S. We also visited that National Theater where some of the world’s best known orchestras play. It was one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever set foot in. Then we enjoyed shopping downtown, American-style malls, and of course, eating American food like McDonalds and Subway. Their menus were very similar than in the U.S. except McDonalds sold fried chicken and taco bell sold French fries. That was a little different.
Then during the weekend we went to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. The culture there is very different because there have been a ton of immigrants that came over from Jamaica. We even listened to some live reggae music one night. It was so very beautiful and even the trees were different that what I am used to- it is true tropical rainforest instead of cloudforest where I live. We saw howler monkeys and a sloth while we were driving down the road. I am going to miss all this wildlife when I go back to Wisconsin.
Right now I am sitting in my room with my laptop unplugged from the electricity praying that the house won’t get struck by lightning. When I was gone last week there was a lightning bolt that hit right outside of our house and messed up my host parents’ computer. I have to admit that I am actually a little bit scared of thunderstorms here- it seems like we get a crazy one every other day. (It’s okay mom and dad- I’m making sure to be safe)
I’ll try to update more often now since I don’t have as many classes during the day for the next week. Its crazy to think that I’m going to be back in Wisconsin in 11 days.
Pura Vida!

Random Facts about Costa Rica

Disclaimer: These facts may not be true for all of Costa Rica, but they are true according to my host town and my host family.
• The people let their dogs or cats randomly wander the streets.
• People thing that it is fun to drive as close as they can to the side of the cliff when driving up the mountains.
• There are vendors that walk or drive through the streets selling fruit or vegetables. Some cars have a sound system on top of their car’s roof which advertises what they are selling.
• Electric wires decide to fall down while you wait for the bus.
• There are a ton of TV shows in English and only have Spanish subtitiles.
• Shampoo is way more expensive.
• Kids only go to school for half a day, but only have a few weeks off throughout the year.
• Each family has a nickname. When I tell native people who I live with I have to tell them my family’s nickname because they won’t know who I’m talking about otherwise.
• People pass time hanging out on the front porch. When company comes over, this is where you visit with each other.
• The garage door opens left to right, not up and down.
• Costa Ricans eat gallo pinto (a food made of rice and black beans) EVERY morning for breakfast
• When eating meat, they use their hands to pick it up rather than using a fork and knife.
• Their idea of a salad is cabbage shredded with mayonnaise and ketchup as the dressing.
• They make fresh fruit juice, fresco, everyday for lunch and supper.
• Costa Ricans have a coffeebreak every day at 3 P.M.- its called cafecita
• For the nurses/nursing students: all IM shots are given in the butt. They don’t understand when you ask why they don’t give shots in the arm or leg.

It's been so long...

Following is a blog that I wrote back in June-since I had problems with the internet and did not have access to the internet last week in San Jose...here is a look back into the past.....


Wow! It has been a long time since I’ve blogged…there is so much to say. I can’t even remember so far back because I’ve done and learned so much. But first of all I have to say that the time is flying by. I am halfway over with this experience and I am already starting to feel sad that I will have to leave. Costa Rica is an amazing country- they have everything from waterfalls to volcanoes to some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen! The most fun thing is that the most random things happen here and you never know what is going to happen next. For example, my friend and I were waiting to catch a bus to go see a beach that is about 20 minutes away. While we are waiting at the bus stop there is a semi truck that drives down the road and knocks down a power line. Sparks are flying everywhere! The thing was that the people didn’t even pay attention to what is happening, like it is an everyday occurrence (it’s not).
Last week for our healthcare class we observed nurses in the clinic. It is so different from what I have seen before and so many of their instruments are so outdated, but they still work just fine. I was able to go out with an ATAP to people’s houses and observe his unique job. He goes from house to house documenting people’s names, state of health, any new births or deaths, and gives the people anti-parasite pills so they do not get sick. They way they do things here are so different, but very efficient. The U.S. should learn something from the Costa Ricans.
Random things that happened/I learned last week…
• There was a highly venomous corral snake within inches of my feet during Spanish Class.
• On my way walking home from the bank I was caught in a treacherous storm.
• I realized that Costa Rica has many teenage pregnancies.
• Costa Rican’s do NOT like to exercise, at all.
• It likes to rain almost every afternoon during their winter season (which is now).
Last weekend was the best weekend trip that we have taken in Costa Rica. We rode with our private bus driver, Henry, to a beach in Samara. When we arrived at the beach one of the girls began to barter with a man who was offering to rent us his horses to ride on the beach. She was able to talk him down to about $4 U.S. dollars and we were able to ride for as long as we wanted. It was beautiful while we rode the horses along the beach for about an hour. One of the girl’s horses had a lot of attitude. It tried biting my horse and I almost fell off when my horse started freaking out. A while later I checked to see if the attitude-stricken horse was near me. As soon as I looked back I saw the horse just plop down on the ground, with the girl on its back. I have never seen anything so funny in my life. It’s like it thought “ oh I’ve had enough, I’ll just lie down right here”. I still laugh about it when I think of it.
Later that day we drove up to a small town on the ocean, named Brasilito. We found a hotel right on the beach, and again, got an amazingly cheap deal. I’m so glad that I am with people who can barter! We ate dinner and then went out to a dance club, where most of us learned how to dance the Costa Rican style- which is a mix of salsa and meringue (in my opinion). The next morning I woke up and walked the beach and simply enjoyed the beauty. We then drove to what the tourist books call the most beautiful beach in Costa Rica. It’s named Playa Conchal (translated Shell Beach), which simply had an entire beach of seashells. We moved further on the beach to soft sand and hung out, swam, and relaxed all day. It was perfect.
On Father’s day I felt very sick and pretty much lied in bed all day. The upside was that I was able to read an entire Nicholas Sparks book during that day. I am feeling much better now and am enjoying another week in Costa Rica. This week my group is going into the schools and doing health assessments, including hearing and vision tests, height and weight, and teaching about hand washing and healthy eating. There is a lot to do for Spanish class this week, but it is bearable because I don’t have any classes next week.
I’ll try to do my best to update my blog more often.
Until next time! Pura Vida.