Palomar Medical Center

Seeing that I have already been working at Palomar Medical Center (PMC) for seven weeks now, I figured maybe I should blog about it! :) Hard to believe my contract is half way over! Time flies when you're having fun I guess!

Palomar Medical Center is located in Southern California in a city called Escondido. The city means "hidden" in Spanish. It lies about 18 miles inland, 100 miles south of Los Angeles, and 30 miles northeast of San Diego. PMC first opened in 1950 and only had 37 beds! The hospital has grown to a 319 bed facility, but continues to grow as the whole hospital will be relocating this year on August 19th. The new hospital will be called Palomar Medical Center West, and cost over $660 million dollars to build! Yes, it is quite impressive (Brad and I get a glimpse of it as we drive in to work), and as soon as I get a good picture I'll make sure I post one!

PMC is a level-two trauma center with 32 ER beds (but only one trauma room...I don't get it). The ICU is a 36 bed unit comprised of 4 parts. On the 6th floor is the Medical/Surgical/Cardiac Unit, which makes up three parts. While there are 3 parts or sides, each side is not specific to a "patient-type", the patients are placed on whatever side has an open bed. The fourth part of the ICU is located on the third floor, near the ER, and is the Trauma ICU. I must say, I am quite impressed with the size of the ICU (especially compared to where I've been), and wish I could stick around just so I can see what it's like in the new hospital.

The views from the patients' rooms in the ICU still amaze me! I love looking out the window and seeing mountains, especially when the sun is setting!


Brad and I were both offered a contract extension after only being there for a month! Didn't know we were that good! ;) After discussing it for a bit, we decided to take the extension. The beach city we live in (which is about 20 minutes away from the hospital) is so nice, and we are enjoying being here, that we thought we should stay because it will be one awesome summer in SoCal!

Road Trip Across the USA!

Yep, it's official: I am bad at blogging. My last post was in September! Maybe I should've added "blog more than once every four months" to my New Years resolution list. You know along with "stop texting while driving" because yes, I am bad about that too :( You'll be happy to know that I have made good progress on that resolution though! I always want to blog, but think part of my problem is that I don't know what to say. Now that I am travel nursing though, and have received some good tips from a fellow blogger, I feel like I will be blogging more often!

Well I am finally in sunny California and still can't quite believe that I am here! We took five days to drive out here, and the whole time all I could think about was that "this is finally happening!" This is going to be quite an adventure (and already has been) and I am so excited to see what this year holds for me! The drive out here alone was an adventure! While I am glad that we did it, and that I can say, "I've driven across the entire USA! From one coast to the other!" You can bet I'll never do it again :) Luckily we were pretty much able to take our time. We stopped in New Orleans, Dallas, Albuquerque, and the Grand Canyon before finally making it to Southern California (aka SoCal)! Here are a few of my favorite pictures from along the drive:

Brad and I on Bourbon Street in Louisiana!
The only reason to ever stop in Texas=To see Brad's cousin Jason!

Never been more excited to see a state sign than this one! (Texas took a REALLY long time to drive through)

The Grand Canyon is absolutely breathtaking! I took tons of photos, but this one is one of my favorites!I couldn't leave out Connie! I'm sure that she hated us for sticking her in the car every day, in fact I'm positive every morning she did hate us, but overall she did really well!
Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah!

I also wanted to share a few things I learned along the drive (you know, in case you decide to make that drive one day!):

(1) People in Alabama and Mississippi don't use their blinkers.
(2) New Orleans is not all that great (but their jambalaya is).
(3) Texas is a not a fun state to drive through. It takes you forever and there is nothing to look at.
(4) New Mexico is a breath of fresh air (especially after driving through Texas).
(5) Every one should go see the Grand Canyon at one point in their life. It really is beautiful.
(6) Don't speed in Arizona (that's Brad's contribution to the list :)
(7) The farther west you go, the more gas costs.
(8) Audiobooks are more entertaining than you think, and were my lifesaver.

P.S. I have crossed off a few things from my Day Zero Project since my last post! Check out my updated list here!

So Long Sweet Summer

Wow! I just realized that my last post was the first day of summer, and the first day of fall is this Friday, September 23rd! (I've already started burning my pumpkin candles though. Is that bad? :) Needless to say, I am quite over do, and my new goal is to blog more often. It's much easier and more fun to "blog as you go," as opposed to try and recap everything I've crossed of my Day Zero Project at once! This summer has been busy and fun-filled with trips to North Carolina, a cruise to Miami, Key West and Cozumel, and multiple beach trips that always ended quickly due to the afternoon rain! Oh and I can't forget that one last vacation we are squeezing in this week with Brad's family (we'll all be on a houseboat leaving from Ft Myers Beach for five days!)! And of course I've been crossing things of my Day Zero Project! So here's an update of where I'm at with my list!

I've accomplished and completed a total of 16 things on my list so far, with the following being completed this summer:

(26) Put all my cd's on my iPod 9.12.11
(52) Plant an herb garden 9.18.11
(57) Join a nursing organization 8.5.11
(62) Go on a cruise 8.22.11
(68) Watch an episode of Sex and the City 7.15.11
(77) Buy a good set of makeup brushes 6.19.11

And I'm making progress with another 13 items on my list:

(1) Get my CCRN certification
(6) Pay off credit card debt
(9) Send flowers to 5 family members/friends for no specific reason (1/5)
(18) Put 3 months worth of living expenses into savings
(19) Read a classic novel I've never read before
(35) Watch 25 movies I've never seen with each letter of the alaphabet (6/26)
(38) Go to a dinner theater
(66) Try a new recipe every month for a year (1/12)
(72) Sell old Coach purses, and buy a new leather one
(75) Watch Star Wars in the order they came out
(83) Get my TNCC certification
(90) Send a card (excluding birthdays/holidays) to a friend/family member every month for the duration of this project (7/34)
(101) Put away $10 for every goal completed

It's so exciting to look over my Day Zero Project and see what I've accomplished...and what's left to do!

And because I'm more diligent about taking pictures than I am blogging, I have to post my favorite picture from this summer!I think we clean up pretty nice! Don't you? :)

Happy First Day of Summer!!

Summer is officially here!! While I know most people complain about hot it gets, this is probably my favorite season because it involves the beach, sunshine, and flip flops! I'm looking forward to spending my summer in Ft. Myers! This summer also involves a trip to North Carolina, a cruise, going to a dinner theater, planting my herb garden, and hopefully before it's all over, a girls weekend and a passing score on the CCRN! I'm ready to cross off a few things off my Day Zero Project!!

I realized after reading my friend Ashley's blog today, that I also haven't posted on my blog in two months! So here a few things that I have done and crossed of my list since my last post in April:

#51. Purchase an iPad--Completed 4.21.11. Not only did my wonderful boyfriend, Brad take me to the Melting Pot for dinner, he spoiled me and bought me an iPad for my birthday!! It is such an awesome new toy and we love it! So thanks Brad! :)

#76. Ride a motorcycle--Completed 4.16.11. While it was a short ride, it was still quite a thrilling experience! Here's a (blurry) photo from it:

#79. Take a photo in a photo booth--Completed 4.15.11. This is me and two of my favorite ladies in downtown Orlando after the Lady Gaga concert!

#95. See someone in concert that I haven't seen before--Completed 4.15.11. As a birthday gift to myself, I bought a ticket to see Lady Gaga in concert! While she is a little crazy, she put on such an awesome show! And to make it even better I got to go with two fellow Gaga lovers: Caitlin and Tiffany! Here we are dressed up for the concert:And here's Lady Gaga!:

Oh, and I can't forget what I did today to kick off summer: #89. Take a yoga class!!

Happy Summer Everyone!!

A little taste of Ft. Myers

Hard to think that my contract at Lee Memorial ends this weekend, and that I have been living here in Ft. Myers for 3 months already! I didn't exactly plan on staying longer than I was contracted for at my first travel assignment spot, but I am! And I must say that I am thankful that it is here in Ft. Myers, FL and not somewhere up north...like Bridgeport, CT! The weather here has been so beautiful, and I love being so close to several beaches! Plus, I now have extra time to do things I wanted to do while here, but didn't have a chance to (like visiting the Edison house and taking the Key West Express!)! So be on the look out for more pictures of Ft Myers, but until then here's a little taste...

Ft Myers beach:

Hammond Stadium, home of the Minnesota Twins spring training:

Lee Memorial Hospital:

Sanibel beach:

Rainy days are good for something :)

As much as I love sunny days, I do enjoy a rainy day every once in awhile, especially when I am home! I feel like rainy days give you an excuse to be lazy!! Or take care of things at home that you've been needing to do...like blog and post pictures! The last three weeks have been very eventful between work, bridal showers, friends visiting us in Ft. Myers, going to Orlando, reunions, and broadway shows! So yes, I have crossed off a thing or two on my Day Zero Project and now it's time to blog about it!

For as long as I can remember I have always promised my sister, Amanda, that one day I would throw her a bridal shower! Well the time finally arrived seeing that her wedding is now only seven weeks away! I am so thankful for the relationship I have formed with my sister over the years, and the fact that I was able to do this for her (many thanks to Anna for helping me host the shower). We decided to have a lingerie shower and had so much fun! Cheese and chocolate fondue were on our menu, along with the most amazing cake I have ever seen! Of course the highlight was her opening up gifts! So here are a few photos from that night:

I found this banner off of Etsy! Isn't it cute?!?

I must say that the cake was my favorite detail from the lingerie shower! Everything was edible!

The bride with her lingerie shower attendees!

The party favors: lavender scented lingerie sachets!

This past weekend Brad and I were able to cross off another item from my list: see a broadway show! We went and saw Wicked at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center in Orlando. The show was truly amazing! Everyone has always said how good it was, but I didn't realize it was going to be that good! I definitely recommend it!

The view of the stage from our seats...not too shabby!

I think my favorite part of this picture is the little girl with her Wicked witch hat!

Between seeing Beauty and the Beast last April, and now Wicked, I think I am addicted to broadway shows! Anyone out there have any recommendations on what I should see next?!?

My 101 in 1001--Day Zero Project

At the start of this year, I found out about the Day Zero Project from my sister, Amy and one of my best friends, Ashley. If you're not familiar with it, it is a challenge to complete 101 preset tasks and/or personal goals in 1001 days (about 2.75 years). I was so excited and decided to start creating my list right away. I felt like now was the perfect time to start: I was getting ready to move, starting a new job, and would more than likely start having more free time on my hands as I move around the US. That and I am getting ready to turn the big 2-5 :) I can't complain too much about my first quarter of a century, I learned a lot about myself, but I am definitely looking forward to the next! I'm ready to live life to the fullest and see what is has in store for me! Well....it took me longer than I thought to come up with 101 things (I will admit that some of my ideas for my list came from others' lists)...but I did it! So, I present to you My Day Zero Project!


Some items are personal goals I want to accomplish, others are tasks I've always wanted to do, and a few are things that I've done before but would love to repeat them! If you clicked on my link above to my list, you'll notice that number 100 is to create a blog to keep track of my project. I think that having a blog will help keep me updated and motivated with my list. I also felt that this blog would be a great place for me to journal about my experiences as I start my travel nursing career! Many thanks to Ashley for helping me set this blog up and get it going!


So cheers to the next 1001 days....and all those that follow! :)