Spark and the ICU

Just wrapped up my LAST clinical of the semester and I am thrilled! Being in the ICU was an awesome experience.  I'm fairly certain that I want to be an ICU nurse after my experiences there, though I'm keeping my options open until I've gone through Pediatrics (still thinking I'd love the NICU too!) and Maternal/OB.  Just a few of the things I saw/did during this rotation: someone's eyeball popped out, patients crashing/coding, ventilator patients, female circumcision, and limb amputation.  Crazy, right? I loved every second!

Now that I'm home from what I hope will be my last night shift ever for a while, I'm going to nap hard before B and I head to Austin for Thanksgiving.  We'll be packing up the pups and spending a few days in my parents' house which is currently under renovations. Cross your fingers that the crew is hard at work putting in baseboards and a toilet today! Otherwise, B and I will each be on a couch and we'll be using my parents' master bathroom for all our necessary business. 

PLEASE let us have more than one toilet in the house!

Before I slip away to La La Land, I am giving away a FREE box of Spark!  Yup, a whole box of Spark, in whatever flavor the winner wants.  All you have to do is join up with Sami and I for our Holiday Clean Up AdvoCare 10 Day Cleanse!  Your entry for the giveaway is your purchase of the Herbal Cleanse. When you buy from me, I'll automatically have your name put in the drawing.  Purchase by Monday, December 2nd to be eligible.  Winner will be announced Tuesday! If you buy a whole 24 Day Challenge then I'll have to come up with an even better giveaway - maybe Spark and some Slam? We'll see!

Sami and I will be starting the cleanse on Monday, but you can always start a day or two late and just follow along. Use #HolidayCleanUp to join in on the fun!

Happy Pre-Turkey Day! Get your sweatpants ready!

xoxo,

Cait 

PS - The giveaway for $40 cash is still going on at JustJacq. There are just over 100 entries which means you've got a great chance at winning it just in time to spend it on some cute holiday accessories!

SEVEN!

I posted this picture on IG last night and was pretty tickled with my caption.  If you need a refresher, watch this clip here.  And if you still don't get it, where were you during those 10 glorious years?

I'm pretty sure my face has looked like this all evening.  #sorrynotsorry

But seriously, SEVEN? The most I had run previously was 5 miles.  And the last time I ran was over a week ago.  So to say I'm on cloud nine or a runner's high or just damned pleased with myself is an understatement.  Because honestly, I was getting a little scurred about the upcoming half marathon as my training has been grossly offtrack derailed. Get it? Trains, track, rails? I crack myself up! I really think I could have gone 8 miles, but I had to shower and get to babysitting.  My goal is to run 8-9 sometime midweek and then 10 next weekend. If I can go those runs done, then I don't think I'll embarrass myself too poorly at the Shiner Beer Run.  And if I do, at least Meg and Kristen will be there to drink some celebratory beers with! Anyone else planning on running? Shoot me an email so we can meet up!

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1. What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?

My birthday always falls near (or on) Thanksgiving, so I have loved this holiday for as long as I can remember.  As a child, I loved it for the obvious birthday reasons - cake, presents, a party.  But as an adult, I love it because the holiday is about taking time out of our busy lives to be grateful, spend time with loved ones, and enjoy delicious food.  No other pretenses, no gifts, just quality time with friends and family.

2. What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

Pumpkin pie, hands down. With Cool Whip, none of that ReadiWhip bs. I also request it for my birthday cake.  See #1.

 

3. What is a Thanksgiving tradition you and your family have?

Is it considered a tradition to shuffle between your mom's and dad's houses because they're divorced? If so, that's my tradition. 

I went back and reread this.  It comes across as jaded, but that's not how I meant it. I love having a large family and cherish being able to spend time with both sides.  My family is much happier being divorced and having since remarried. But we really just don't have any traditions other than celebrating Thanksgiving meal twice.

4. Show us a favorite Thanksgiving picture (or 5) from years past.

Turns out, we don't take pictures at Thanksgiving.  But we do snap pictures of huge wine bottles in Costco while shopping for Thanksgiving dinner.  Looking good, Mom!

5. What are you most looking forward to about this Thanksgiving?

The obvious - spending quality time with my family in Austin while on break from nursing school.  This also may be the first year that B spends the holiday with my family!

Hope y'all have enjoyed your weekend. Tell me about what you did!

xoxo,

Cait