Settling In

So, it's been a while since I've written. My sister Tara and her family made it here last Friday and I moved in with them on Saturday. It's been a little adventure. There are 6 of us living in a three bedroom apartment, but I can honestly say that it hasn't been that bad. It's nice to have someone to talk to. It's an adjustment though since I've lived alone for the last several year. Sometime, I miss my quiet, but more than that, I love walking in the door everyday to a great big hug.
I started work on Monday. I had orientation all week. It wasn't so bad, not the most exciting. The hospital seem nice. I met my supervisor and the nurse that is going to be training me. I'm looking forward to working on days. It will be nice to not feel like my whole life is just work and sleep. I start on the floor on Monday. I'm excited and a little nervous. I know I have so much to learn about where I'll be working, I'm looking forward to learning all that I can. I want to make a difference in my patients lives.
Today, we went to the Dallas Galleria Mall. This place is huge! Three floors of stores and the bottom floor has an ice skating rink. Right next to the store is an American Girl store where we took Emma for her birthday. She was so excited. Tonight we had cake and the kids that live below us came up to join us. It was so sweet, they brought Emma a present. When Tara and Matt were moving in they met the downstairs neighbors. They have a 10 year old boy named Gabriel and a 5 year old girl named Emma. Isaac and Emma have made friends with these kids and they play together all the time. It's nice for them.
Well, we are going to try out a church tomorrow. It is called McKinney Bible Fellowship. It looks like it may be a good church. They have lots of stuff for kids and youth which is nice for the kids. We'll have to see what they have for the adults.
I guess that's about it. Oh, a quick update on getting my nursing license changed over, I believe I finally have everything in order to get my driver's license and should be able to get it all done this week. Please keep me in your prayers that I will be able to get this all done without any more surprises or setbacks. I'll let you know how my first week on the floor goes. Hope you all are doing well.

A Day of Adventure

After freaking out about getting everything done that I needed to, I decided to get a start on things. I called the Department of Vital Statistics yesterday and found out that the fastest way to obtain a copy of my birth certificate was to drive there and get it. As you could imagine with the gas prices today, this was not something I was over joyed about since I would have to drive to Austin which is about 3 hours away, but it needed to be done. I also sat down and made a list of everything I need to do so that as it get done I can mark it off the list. I have become a fan of lists which may surprise some because I am not the most organized person. This is one step for me in the right direction to becoming organized.

So, I decided that if I was going to go to Austin I was going to make a day of it. The drive actually wasn't that bad after I got out of Dallas. I knew that I was going to be driving through the city where I was born, so I made plans to stop there on the way home. After finding the building I needed to get my birth certificate, I fill out the paper work and pay the money only to be told that I could pick it up tomorrow. I calmly explained to them that I would not be able to come back tomorrow because I had just drove 3 hours to get there. Thankfully, they were able to get it much sooner. I can gladly state that I now have a certified copy of my birth certificate. May not be a big deal so most, but it's like gold when you are working with a fairly short dead line.

Well, after getting that done, I decided to look around Austin some. I went to the state capital and arrived just in time for the next tour, which just happened to be free. You can't beat that. It was actually interesting. I really enjoy history, so it was fun to hear the history of TX. The building was amazing! Here are a few pictures.

On the way back to the hotel I decided to stop in Temple, TX which is where I was born. I stopped at this cute little diner for lunch then went to find the hospital were I was born. I know, corny, but what else did I have to do today? It was fun. Here are pictures of the diner where I ate and the hospital where I was born.

All in all, it was a pretty good day. Oh, and I found gas for 3.81 which was an added plus.

Much Harder Than I Though

So, today was a little frustrating. I have been trying to talk to some one from the TX Board of Nursing for several days about getting my nursing license changed to a TX one. I have begun to believe that there isn't an actual person that works in the office since no one EVER answers the phone. I mean never. Needless to say, I have several questions that are not getting answered over e-mail. Sometimes, you just need to talk to an actual person.

Well, I have researched enough to know that I have to have a TX drivers license in order to get my nursing license. To do that, I have to get my car registered here which could pose as a problem since I don't have a physical address yet. I also was told that I have to have my SS Card, birth certificate and something else to get my license. There is no telling where my birth certificate is with all my stuff in the storage unit. It could be a while before I ever find it.

Looks like I will spend tomorrow trying to find out how to get a copy of my birth certificate. On the plus side, I was born in TX, so maybe it won't be quite as hard as it seems. Oh, and the hotel I'm staying at said that I could have them send it here if I can get it sent by the end of the week. I know that everything is going to work out, but the process hasn't been quite as enjoyable as I had hoped.

Well, thanks for letting me vent, even if it's just on here. It helps to get off my chest. Oh, and one more positive, my sister and her family will be here on Saturday! I will officially know 5 people in the state of TX then. Anyway, thanks again for listening/reading.

The Village

So, I've have spent the last week finding my way around the Dallas area. I decided to go to Grapevine the other day. My aunt told me that I should go visit there because they had really cute shops and stuff. I have to agree, it was a really cute town. While there, I saw this man painting a flag at a little park. I though it was kind of cool. I wish I would have stuck around to see the finished product.

Today, I thought I'd try out a church around here. I'm not sure if it is where I'll end up for a long time, but I really enjoyed it. The name of the church is The Village Church. It's about 15 minutes from where I'm currently staying. I found out about this church the other day while having lunch at Panera. I was sitting there eating lunch and talking to my mom on the phone about needing to find a church. There was this guy sitting near me and before I left, he told me about this church where he and his wife go. When I got back to the hotel I decided to Google the church and find out a little more about it.

I had almost talked myself out of going to church this morning but my mom happened to call and she encouraged me to go. Well, I have to say that I was a little overwhelmed when I got to church this morning, it was HUGE. As I was sitting there waiting for the service to start, the people in front of me started talking to me. It turns out that they are from Franklin, TN. They are here visiting and are going to be moving back to Texas soon. I thought it was good that I met people from TN.

Anyway, I though the service was amazing!! The whole message was taken from 1Corinthians 15:1-34. Most of that passage is about the resurrection of Jesus. It would take me a long time to write down everything that I learned this morning, but I can say that I have a lot that I need to think about. I think I will probably revisit this church next weekend. I will be able to see about how far it is from where I'll be staying after Tara and her family get here.

Well, that's a short update on this Tennessee girl in Texas.

The Big Move

Okay, so I'm not sure that I'll have to most interesting blog around, but my aunt said I should do this, so here it is. Well, I have just recently moved to the Dallas area of Texas from the great state of TN. Here's how this Tennessee girl ended up in Texas.

My older sister and her husband told us that they were headed to Dallas due to my brother-in-laws job transfer. If you know me well, you know that I love to travel. I think it's part of my DNA. Anyway, being a nurse, I can pretty much find a job anywhere. I had wanted to move after I graduated from nursing school and have my first job somewhere new and exciting. Needless to say, that didn't work out. I can say though, that I wouldn't trade the last year of working at St. Thomas for anything. I loved my patients and my co-workers. 7C is the best.

To get back to how I ended up in Dallas, after my sister told me she was moving, we talked about how fun it would be I got a job there too. So, after applying for several jobs I was offered a job at a hospital in Dallas in the bone marrow transplant unit. It's really awesome looking back to how it all worked out.

I can honestly say that I could not have done any of this without the support of my family and my friends. You are the best. Not only did they offer support, and throw me a great going away party, they helped me pack the uhaul on a very hot day in TN, and my dad helped me drive here and pack everything in the storage unit. Let me tell you, that was a blast. :)

So, I have spent the last few days trying to find my way around Dallas. Surprisingly, I haven't gotten too lost. Map quest is my best friend. I'm looking forward to starting my new job and seeing what God has in store for me here. I'm also looking forward to being able to reconnect with a friend from Adams, TN.