DM2K12

Later this morning, I will stand up and won't sit back down again until Sunday afternoon.

It's finally here again - DANCE MARATHON!

For 26.2 hours, I will stand & dance along some of my best friends to raise money & awareness for Children's Miracle Network right here at Shands Children's Hospital. Thank you to everyone who has donated to help me reach my goal of over $400, which allowed me to represent Phi Sigma Pi Gamma Epsilon for the second time. I am truly honored & blessed to be surrounded by such caring, compassionate people to help make miracles happen for the kids. Thank you, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Check out floridadm.org for more information and follow me on twitter for live updates!

I Work Out

I've alluded to working out more the past few posts. While it has helped me maintain my crazy sleep schedule, it's also in preparation for running a half-marathon. It's been my semi-personal New Year's resolution the past couple of years but I'm determined to make it a reality this year!

I started this plan last week and have been following it without any problems. I've also been eating healthier: more veggies, fruits & protein, less ice cream. (But wait, isn't there protein in ice cream... maybe ice cream will make an appearance :) )

Last week I ran a total of 16 miles, 6 of which were done in one day. It was the first time I've run 6 miles straight on a treadmill and I was a little nervous that I would get bored. But I had a great playlist on my iPod and kept a comfortable pace so I wasn't killing myself. I ran most of it at a 9:50 min/mile pace, kicking it up to 7:30 the last .25 miles. It felt awesome to accomplish all of the runs I set out for the week - hopefully that motivation will keep my going!

I don't have any races in mind yet but the Florida racing season doesn't really start until the fall. Since my training plan is only 16 weeks, I have plenty of time to stick to my plan as well as cross train with other activities. Like play on my intramural soccer team or attempt this swamp dash with my dad in April. Or I could stick to the plan exactly and add on another training plan to do a full-marathon!

So that's why I'm exercising a little more these days. I may not update this little blog with my boring runs but I'll keep you posted about big ones, like a 10-miler on the schedule in a few weeks.

Preparing to work nights - an experiment

In nursing school, the last half of the last semester is spent in "practicum" or, in the new curriculum, "transition." During this time, students don't attend classes. Instead, they are paired with a precepting nurse and essentially work the nurse's schedule, which culminates in 180 clinical hours.  This year, we were given the opportunity to preference our top patient population, acuity and type of unit.

Right before spring break, I found out that I got my first choice for my transition - a cardiac ICU! I was stoked! Ever since working at Baptist over the summer, I've grown to love the cardiac specialty. But I didn't know who my preceptor was, which means I didn't know my schedule or if I was going to be working days or nights. Well, I found out Tuesday that I will be working nights and I start Wednesday!

There are a lot of pros & cons to working nights, which I'll recap in a later post as I become more familiar with the schedule. But right now, I just need a strategy to make me nocturnal ASAP!

My friend, Affitin, is also working nights and began today. I asked her for some advice so I'll be following some of her tips and documenting it here. In real time. The game plan is to stay awake until PDubbs wakes up. Let the great experiment begin...

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM: Take a nap

The idea behind this was to allow me to stay up into the wee hours of the morning. I worked out earlier in the day to help me get to sleep for this nap, which worked beautifully. I didn't wake up feeling groggy at all, but it was pretty weird waking up when it was dark outside.

9:00 PM: Eat dinner

I've been told to try to maintain a regular meal schedule like I would on my days off. 9 o'clock is a little late for us to eat dinner but hopefully it will prevent hunger pangs at 2 AM. Dinner was leftovers from last night's dinner: whole wheat pasta with onions & broccoli in a garlicky tomato sauce. It was delicious, familiar food that I know won't upset my stomach and I felt full afterwards. Let's see how long it holds out!

9:30 PM: Brew some coffee

Nothing wakes me up like a cup of hot coffee. I'm planning on saving it when I feel myself slipping. Otherwise, I'll be sipping on ice cold water all night to keep me awake. 

11:15 PM: Shower

I felt a little lull around my usual bedtime as I saw PDubbs preparing to go to bed. The shower woke me up a little bit. :)

11:30 PM: Blog

Woohoo! Another half-hour down.

12:00 - 1:15 AM: Beautify

The past hour has absolutely crawled by. I braided my hair, said adios to my nail polish, and poured myself another cup of joe. I've been listening to music & reading Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, which I started over spring break. I'm going to try to make the whole reading thing last because I definitely don't want to be staring at a computer screen to keep me awake for the next several hours. But I got a text from Affitin updating me on her first night shift. She's loving it! She says it's been a great experience already and I will love it, too.

1:15 - 3:00 AM: Finished a book

For the almost the past 2 hours, I've finished reading Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. It was very well-written with great characters & plot lines but it left me feeling - uneasy? I can't really describe the feeling. It dealt with a lot of heavy issues like death, regret, and grief with a bit of mental health issues thrown in too. Probably not the best choice on a night when I have so much time to think. Next time, I'll go with a lighter read. I got a little hungry right around 2:30 so I popped a couple of these bad boys that I made a couple of days ago. They're good for you and justtt filling enough. The ice water seems to be working; I've only had 2 cups of coffee all night!

3:00 - 4:00 AM: Just keep pinning

Pinterest.

4:00 - 6:15 AM: Just. Stay. Awake.

The end is in sight! I've spent the past few hours mindlessly trolling the internet (I think that's a thing. Right, Dr. B?). More reassuring texts from Affitin about how awesome her night is going. Hopefully I'll have a similarly awesome & busy experience on my unit to stop me from wanting to fall asleeeeeep. During this time, I also started reading The Descendants even though I have zero interest in seeing the movie. After watching two seasons too many of Secret Life of the American Teenager, I don't know if I could enjoy any movie with Shailene Woodley. But so far, the book is OK. No more coffee, just water, but I'm starting to get a little hungry. Don't know if I should eat breakfast now or not...

6:16 AM: Ate breakfast

Yes, it had to happen. I already had oats-in-a-jar prepared in the fridge so all I had to do was grab a spoon & open the lid. If it wasn't already prepared I don't know if I would have bothered getting off the couch.

7:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Zzzzzz

I rolled into bed right as PDubb's alarm was going off so we got to chat a little bit before my head hit the pillow. Then it was easy sleeping. I actually woke up 30 minutes before my alarm went off but I felt refreshed and ready to go. It was really weird waking up to full daylight! We don't sleep in much on the weekends so it hasn't happened in several months. I ate some cereal as soon as I woke up & PDubbs had the coffee maker ready to brew, just like a normal breakfast. Thanks, PDubbs :)

2:00 PM: Just keep running

Since I woke up too early, I want to take a nap before heading in. I ran 4 miles on a treadmill and felt pretty good, despite some residual soreness during the first mile from doing pilates yesterday. Hopefully this workout will tire me out enough so I can sleep for 45-60 minutes. I also showered so I can sleep in my comfy bed instead of on the couch like yesterday :)

4:00 - 5:00 PM: Nap

Well, I didn't truly nap because I never actually fell asleep. My body was tired but my phone was acting weird so I was anxious my alarm wouldn't go off.  But I felt less tired afterwards, so that counts for something. I ate the last of the leftovers before catching the bus at 5:45.

7:00 PM - 7:00 AM: Save lives

Just kidding, none of our patients lives were in danger last night. But it was soooo much fun! I met my preceptor before getting report and just went from there. It was more of an observation day to become familiar with the unit, staff & nursing care provided. Even though our patients were relatively healthy compared to others on the unit, I learned so much from the experience. Everyone, including my preceptor, was extremely friendly and excited to show me all the cool stuff on the unit. Since it's an ICU, they don't have students very often so they relish it. As for being nocturnal, there was a natural lull in our night between 2-4, which was rough. I also got hungry around midnight and a smushed banana from the bottom of my backpack (how does it always get there?!) wasn't cutting it. Bless the poor souls working at Subway during the night who quenched my hunger pangs but I will definitely be bringing more snacks in the future.

8:45 AM - 1:00 PM: Zzzzz

I felt like a zombie once I left the excitement of the hospital and walked into the mellow morning. The people who ride the bus away from campus at that time are rough, and I definitely belonged in that category. I ate some breakfast before hitting the hay and I was asleep as soon as my head touched my pillow. I slept like a baby until I woke up 30 minutes before my alarm again. I felt fine then but by 3, I was starting to get sleepy again, despite downing 2 cups of coffee.

Overall, the past couple of days have been weird. That's the best word for it. I think if I was just working full-time it would be a lot easier to adjust to the schedule & maintain it. However, I have other priorities in my life that have to managed during the day. This makes time & sleep management a difficult balancing act and I realize now that next couple of months may be a more difficult than I initially expected. But it's definitely doable and having graduation looming so closely is a great light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel motivator.

Have you ever worked nights or pulled all-nighters? What sort of advice would you give to struggling nocturnalists?

A new design

Just adding a little more spring happiness to this place :)

SB12 Day 3: The Main Event

Today's the day!

We woke up Wednesday morning to great news - PDubbs was accepted for an interview into the UF College of Pharmacy!!! He's been waiting for weeks to hear back from Jacksonville and it was such a relief to get that email. We knew from that moment it was going to be a great day!

To celebrate, we went to our wonderfully helpful yelp app to find a breakfast place that was unique to Nashville. The reviews for Sky Blue Cafe told us that there was usually a line out the door for Sunday brunch - definitely a good sign! It was the perfect way to celebrate the good news.

Pdubbs wins the meal again.

We went back to the hotel to blog and send some emails before hitting the city again. We heard from several fans that they had seen the band outside the Ryman around 2 and were able to have their pictures taken with them. We casually strolled around the auditorium around that time hoping to catch a peek at the band. No cigar. 

We decided to take a long walk around the city to kill some time before the show. We stopped in at Hatch Show Prints to see them at work making some of their iconic prints. I honestly couldn't tell you what color the walls were because they were completely covered from floor to ceiling with posters! So many amazing artists were represented - Elvis, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash & newcomers like Regina Spektor, John Mayer and Wilco. The printing presses were hammering away in the back of the store. I could have spent hours (and all my money) looking around but we had other things to see!

We visited the Nashville Library, where our feet enjoyed a well-deserved break as we sat in the courtyard.  While it might not be an attraction, I love big old institutional buildings like libraries. This one is located smack dab in the middle of downtown Nashville, providing a perfect place to rest weary feet and brains.

After seeing our fair share of the streets, we headed back to the Ryman around 5 to get in line for the gates to open. We were behind about 7 other fans who were patiently waiting outside the barricades. About 15 minutes later, we spotted Ben Lovett, one of the M&S members, getting into a car with his girlfriend. A few of us from the line ran up to say hello and get a quick picture. He gave us a sweet, apologetic smile as he told us that he was heading out for 30 minutes. Of course, he ended up not coming back out to the fans but we got to talk to him!

While were we waiting, we also saw a bearded man dressed in skinny jeans, flannel shirt & vest pacing around outside. While his trademark hipster attire didn't warrant any notice at an event like this, we watched him because he kept nervously checking his cell phone and looking up and down the street. This continued for about half an hour until around 5:45, when a big white van pulled up and several guys jumped out. They greeted the skinny-jean clad dude then began unloading the van, which was also packed full of musical equipment. With their arms full of equipment, they ran into the auditorium through the artist door. As they ran away, I noticed the last one as the lead singer of Dawes, one of the bands that was opening for Mumford that night. We would find out later that these guys had just gotten into town after playing a gig in LONDON the night before. It made me exhausted just thinking about that trek, but clearly playing in the Ryman for the first time was well-worth the crazy voyage!

The crowds slowly trickled in until they opened the gates at 6:30. After a quick flash of ID, we received our "grown-up" wristbands, got our tickets scanned, and made a beeline for the merchandise counter before taking our seats. I had researched our seats online before coming so I was under the impression that they would be considered obstructed view, as there are dozens of pillars holding up the balcony seats. But I was pleasantly surprised thrilled when we took our seats with this glorious view!

Our rookie concert-goer status was pretty evident as we were a couple of the first people to take our seats around 6:40.  But our new friends from the forum were also early birds, who happened to have tickets to all 3 shows! They stopped by to chat and told us all about the show Tuesday night. Everyone else filed in somewhere between 7:25 and 9:15 with beers, shirts & posters in hand. But we were in our own little world as we took everything in, speculated about what songs they would sing and said a few prayers that Marcus would be well.

The Apache Relay opened the show with a solid set, followed by Dawes. When these bands were announced as support for our show, I tried to become more familiar with their music so I could appreciate it more. I was able to sing along to a couple songs in each of the sets and we both enjoyed every single song. Both bands were extremely fun to watch. I especially loved watching the lead singer of Dawes, Taylor Goldsmith, jam out on guitar. PDubbs & I were laughing most of the time as homeboy boogied all over the stage, just jamming away.  We were surprised at how few people were in their seats during both of the opening sets, especially given how awesome these up-and-coming bands were.

Finally, it was time for the main event! The lights dimmed and the crowd rose to their feet, an attention most would hold all night. The spotlights came on as the boys made their way across the stage, grabbed their instruments and began with their album's namesake, Sigh No More. From my obsessive extensive research, I've found out that they frequently open with this song and I totally get why - it starts out slowly and simply with just a guitar, a harmony and some beautiful words. The song gradually builds as more instruments and rhythms are added. During the show, the sound filled the auditorium and the entire crowd was singing the beautiful lyrics, a trend that would continue all night. It was a wonderful way to start the show!

They continued with some more favorites from Sigh No More, including PDubb's fave, Roll Away Your Stone. They also threw in a couple of newer numbers in the mix, such as Lovers' Eyes and Lover of the Light. The crowd sang, clapped and stomped the whole night and whooped for their favorites (which was all of them). Something about stomping in a venue like that felt sacrilegious yet incredibly necessary. It was a blast!

You could tell the band was having a lot of fun, too, as they smiled and joked with the crowd in between songs. They all repeated the same sentiment about being honored to play at the Ryman. Ben said it was cutting into their time recording the new album but they "just HAD to be here".  They slowed down the show perfectly with moving versions of Timshel & Ghosts That We Knew, which I think were especially beautiful in this venue. Their talent never ceases to amaze me as they take on these two songs with little more than their voices.

I was a bit envious when our friends told us that Jerry Douglas had come out to perform a cover of The Boxer during Tuesday night's show. But we were happily surprised for the second time when Marcus introduced "Mr. Jerry Douglas" again! He walked on stage with his Dobro, tuned it up a bit, as Winston continued the introductions, mentioning that Jerry had "played at the Ryman about 5,000 times". Marcus joked that "he's improved". And with that, they were off with The Boxer. I might even like this version more than the original! What do you think?

The Boxer

Jerry stayed on stage for Awake My Soul, where the Dobro added an eeriness that definitely had me guessing as to what song I was actually listening to. But it was eery in the best possible way. This song turned into a big stompin' fest - the floor was literally shaking from all of the stomping. It just felt right. You know, until we were off beat. It was really cool to see the admiration these guys had for Jerry Douglas as they gathered around him with their instruments during the song. They just wanted to be close to him! Jerry left the stage after a big bear hug from each of the band members and an appreciative round of applause from the crowd.

Awake My Soul

They finished the set with a new song, Broken Crown, and Dust Bowl Dance. Both were rocking (Marcus broke a guitar string during Broken Crown!) but Dust Bowl Dance was the highlight of the show for us both! It was probably the best song I have ever seen performed live. There's not much more I can say besides mind-blowing. Yep, mind-blowing. Sorry for the lack of adjectives but you just need to see it yourself! And please enjoy Ben knocking over his microphone stand around 4:20 :)

Before they were even off the stage, the crowd was back to clapping & stomping in unison for an encore. After this continued for several minutes, the band returned with Bud Lights in hand ready for some more. Marcus had a little fun with a member of the audience as he began to introduce the next song as a new one, and someone yelled out "Liar!" (a title of one of their songs). Marcus took it in stride and responded "Liar? No, no, that's quite old, actually. No, now you're the liar." They began with an unplugged version of Sister, as they stepped to the front of the stage with nothing but their acoustic instruments. Their lovely harmonies were really evident in this song as long as the audience could stay quiet!

Sister

They followed this beauty by debuting a brand new song that had only been performed in front of an audience once before - at Tuesday night's show. They're calling it Where Are You Now, and it is crazy beautiful. It was the first time the crowd had been completely silent the entire night, which added to the magical experience. It's so awesome that they perform their new material for their fans before even putting it on an album. And I'm sure the final version will be slightly different if it even makes it to the new album. But I love that they aren't afraid to put out new stuff, get fan feedback and evolve with the music. I think that's one of the reasons why they have such a loyal fan base as well as amazing music.  Please go listen to it at your earliest convenience, but make sure you have some tissues ready!

The Cave

And what would a Mumford & Sons concert be without The Cave? It totally brought down the house and had us both singing at the top of our lungs, along with the other 2,000 fans. And the band was right there with us, smiling the whole time and enjoying the moment. After they graciously thanked the audience (for the millionth time that night!), everyone parted ways. Every single person left with a huge smile across their face. And even as we were walking the streets an hour later after dinner, we ran into several groups of people singing various renditions songs from the show or talking excitedly about their favorite moments.

Hands down, this was my favorite concert I've ever been too. Their incredible harmonies are full of passion, which just sucks you into every song. I was kind of surprised how sad I was to see each and every song end but then I would eagerly anticipate the beginning of the next one. I was a huge M&S fan before, but seeing them in concert and hearing about how they interact with their fans just made me love them even more.

I know I speak for PDubbs too when I say that we are so very grateful to have gotten this opportunity and thankful for my awesome parents for making it all possible. We're lucky for the good people we met along the way and the memories we will always share from our last amazing spring break. We might not get a chance to do something like this in a long time between careers and schools, but I think we made the most of it and we're ready to tackle the next few months before graduation!

Sorry for such a long post! I had a lot of feelings about the show and wanted to blog about them to get them all out. As a reward for making it so far, here's a link to an mp3 of the new song! And below I've posted the set list with links to some of the youtube videos I've found from that night so you can relive it with us :)

Opening Acts

The Apache Relay

Dawes

Mumford & Sons

Sigh No More

Roll Away Your Stone

Winter Winds

White Blank Page

Lovers' Eyes

Timshel

Little Lion Man

Lover of the Light

Thistle & Weeds

Ghosts That We Knew

The Boxer with Jerry Douglas

Awake My Soul with Jerry Douglas

Broken Crown

Dust Bowl Dance

Encore

Sister

Where Are You Now (New Song)

The Cave

SB12 Day 2: Nashville

Wow - it's been a long but incredibly fun day! 

We woke up this morning to a small disappointment: no free breakfast at the hotel #firstworldpains. So we were dressed, packed & out the door by 8 to hit up Another Broken Egg in Mountain Brook. We needed coffee in our systems STAT!

Love the mugs!

PDubbs ordered the Castine - a grilled croissant topped with scrambled eggs, mushrooms, asparagus, bacon & hollaindaise sauce. He definitely won this round of breakfast ordering!

After a deliciously overpriced breakfast, we set out for Nashville. And a few short hours later, we arrived at our hotel, ready to explore. Or sit around watching TV for an hour. It's a problem, but I digress.

So handsome :)

We set out without any definitive plans except to meet a new friend later in the afternoon to get our tickets. We walked around downtown, taking in all of the sights, sounds & smells. There were street performers on every corner, belting everything from country to classic rock. Our first stop was to see the Ryman Auditorium. We debated for a good 2 minutes whether or not to spend the $13/person (!!!) to take a "self-guided tour" i.e. just walk around for as long as we wanted. Of course, we went ahead & splurged to (a) buff up on our Ryman/country history and (b) hopefully catch a glimpse of the band. Honestly, it was mostly (b).

We suffered through a boring enjoyed an educational 8-minute video of the history & importance of the Ryman and all of its Grand Ole Opry glory. I was a little too preoccupied with watching the roadies set up the stage for tonight's show! Actually, the Ryman is an extraordinarily beautiful venue. Between the original wooden pews, stained glass and curved walls, it makes for an incredible experience.

We were able to walk around the auditorium at our leisure and ended up staying for an hour watching the set up process. It takes dozens of people just to put on a relatively small show. It was really awesome to see it all coming together and get an idea of what the stage will be like tomorrow. AND we saw Winston while we were hanging around!

We got to go on stage to get a performers-eye view of the Auditorium.

Coming together

Winston('s back)

After an hour, we head out to explore some more and enjoy the beautiful weather. We walked up and down the streets of downtown Nashville & along the river. We had a great time just enjoying each others' company in a new city. There's so much to see and do in Nashville!

Around 5, we had plans to meet up with a very nice lady who had our tickets. But before I get to that, let me back up by explaining my ticket woes. When these 3 shows in Nashville were first announced on the Mumford & Sons website in early February, I didn't think much of it. As with most shows by my favorite bands, I would probably have a conflict with school or life that would prohibit me from going. But I kept thinking about those shows. I thought about them so much that I eventually looked at a calendar (duh) and realized that they conveniently fell right in the middle of UF's spring break! Perfection!

Except I'm a broke college student. So my brain started turning and I looked at a calendar again (duh) and realized that my birthday was coming up. Bingo! So I asked my wonderful loving parents if they could help support a trip for me & Patrick to go see them as an early birthday present. Knowing how much I love this band and their own affection for Nashville, they were all for it. I think my Dad even said "You MUST go to this show!" Thanks, guys!!!

So I set my alarm for 5 minutes before the tickets were to go on sale and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, I refreshed the page and they were ready! I did all the obligatory clicking, typing nonsense words and waiting without refreshing, but I wasn't able to get any. Nor was I able to get any 20 minutes later. Or an hour later. Or a day later. They were gone. And then they popped up on stubhub for 5x face value. Ugh. Patrick can attest to the fact that I was absolutely distraught for days after this disappointment.

But I couldn't stop thinking about these shows! I perused the fan forum on the website every day, hoping for news about new tickets sales. And as I perused, I found more and more people asking for tickets there. I took a gamble and scribbled down my own story that I just described for you. Within minutes, I received an email from a woman on the forum who had tickets - score! After a few more emails, we exchanged contact information & we arranged to meet in Nashville to exchange.

What happened on this forum was amazing. A couple of "older" fans got together to start an "over 35" thread on the fan forum. They got to know one another through talking about M&S music, then life experiences, and eventually became great friends. They even call themselves a family. When these shows were announced, they all agreed to purchase a bunch of the presale tickets and finally meet in person. Unfortunately, many of them couldn't make it but were willing to sell their tickets on the condition that they went to real fans and not some scalpers. So they searched the fan forum for poor souls who couldn't get tickets and offered their tickets at face value.

Which is how we got tickets to our favorite band for our last spring break! I'm so glad this whole situation worked out and I'm incredibly grateful for the kindness and honesty of a few great people. They could have scammed these tickets to make a quick buck. But instead they offered the opportunity for fans to experience this band in such a unique & historic venue. And they are such down-to-earth and genuine people! I feel honored to be among such amazing people who also call themselves M&S fans.

After meeting up with the lovely ladies above, we headed to dinner at Back Alley Diner with tickets safely secured in my purse. B.A.D. was literally in a back alley so we had a hard time getting there. But it was well worth it! PDubbs ordered the Mega Titan Burger and I went for the white bean soup & salad combo. My soup was delicious but I definitely wished I had gotten the burger too! It was pretty dead but it was also a Tuesday night and pretty early by Nashville standards. 

PDubbs: 2 

Megan: 0

After a whirlwind of a day, we decided to head back to our hotel and call it a night. We need our beauty sleep for tomorrow's adventures!

SB12 Day 1: Birmingham

While PDubbs & I enjoyed our weekend free of schoolwork, studying & thesis-writing, we were anxiously anticipating the official start of SPRING BREAK! We have a lot of exciting things lined up for this week, beginning with a visit to my sweet baby sister in Alabama.

Up until November, I never thought I would say "sister" and "Alabama" in the same sentence. :)

J is now attending Samford University right outside Birmingham. And she loves it! Since B-ham is on the way to Nashville, PDubbs & I were fortunate enough to get the chance to spend some time with her.

We slept in today until 6:30 AM and took our time making breakfast, enjoying our coffees and soaking in the morning. We packed all of our gear the previous night so we could enjoy our time together before heading out at 8. All we had to do was pack our toothbrushes and hit the road!

PDubbs took the first leg of the trip as we headed north. We took a quick Starbucks pit stop in Tallanasty to enjoy a free drink, courtesy of PDubb's gold card status. We traded spots in Dorthan so I could continue the rest of the trek. Thank goodness for our 14.3 hour playlist :)

We hit 50K!

We finally arrived safely at our hotel without incident. We had a couple of hours to spare before J got out of class, which we spent exploring the locale stuffing our faces and watching TV. I don't know about you, but after any extended period of time spent driving, all I want to do is veg for a few hours.  J graciously offered to drive us around town and gave us a walking tour of the campus while we still had some daylight.

A forest of freshman hammocks

Samford is absolutely GORGEOUS! It's positioned on the side of a hill overlooking a valley. All of the buildings are made with the same red brick. And the best part is that the entire campus is within a 10-minute walking distance. J says she can leave her dorm 5 minutes before class starts and still make it on time. Living off campus for 3 years has made me appreciate how easy it was to live on campus freshman year but I never had it THAT good. And everything around her during that 5 minute walk looks like a a photograph straight out of Southern Living.

J also drove us to dinner at Chuy's Mexican restaurant. We shared some warm chips & salsa as well as great conversation while I sipped on a Chuy's Brew.

Chuy's Brew - delicious!

Thanks for the fun, J! It was so nice to catch up with her - I wish we lived closer so I could see her more than once every 3 months! But it absolutely warms my heart to see her doing so well here. She radiates a happiness that touches everything around her. And why wouldn't she be happy? Samford is awesome! Tomorrow we have some time to relax & sight-see in the morning before packing up for Nashville!

Rabbit Rabbit

And so begins another month. I have a feeling March will be a great one!

In a few hours, I will take my last exam as an undergrad. 

In 24 hours, I will be in my last class as an undergrad. 

In 48 hours, it will be spring break. Pdubbs & I are going on an adventure - stay tuned for details!  

In 12 days, I will be starting my practicum on a cardiac ICU at Shands - my dream unit!

In 23 days, The Hunger Games premiere on the big screen.

In 31 days, I will be standing for the kids at Dance Marathon. 

Bring it on, March!