Picnik Love

Now that school is out, I've had some spare time to do two of my favorite things - take pictures and edit them!

I'm no expert by any means but I love experimenting. I don't have an fancy camera or expensive editing programs. Just a good-quality point-and-shoot and a premium membership to Picnik. With these two things, I can do just about anything.

PDubbs and I went on an excursion this past Sunday to enjoy the beautiful weather before it gets too hot. We stopped by a student-run garden along the way where I snapped this photo.

I liked how it looked straight-out-of-camera so I thought it would be fun to play around with on Picnik. A few hours later, I had 15 different versions of the photo that I was happy with.

This one was made with the "Sepia" feature and then faded to about 35% to let in the natural colors of the original.

This version was made using two of my favorite features: "Ortonish" & "Vignette". For Ortonish, I get rid of the "Bloom" aspect to keep the original sharpness. Then, I applied a Vignette over it to give a more finished look. This combination is also great for posed portraits.

This is one of the many "Texture" overlays available with the premium membership. I bumped the fade down to about 35%.

I love this feature! It's called "Pantography-ish". You can control the number of boxes, the background color, even the "kookiness" of the orientation of boxes. So fun!

The free version of Picnik offers a lot of unique editing features that would usually require an expensive software program. The premium membership costs money but it gains you access to many more fun features. Plus, you can store pictures online so you can access them where ever you have internet access. This makes it easier to make cool collages like these:

Lazy Sunday

This Sunday, PDubbs and I spent a lazy afternoon walking around campus. We started by Lake Alice and saw some typical Florida wildlife.

Go Gators!

I like turtles but not mean, creepy ones. They were scaring the gators away!

The iconic bat house across from Lake Alice is surrounded by an eclectic garden that is tended to by students. The garden consists mostly of vegetables but there are also some beautiful flowers popping up throughout the lots.

Squash

Cabbage

I love that the garden is a hodge-podge of plants. Nothing is perfectly trimmed or orderly. Everything is allowed to grow in its own natural way.

Curly Q's

Heirloom tomatoes

Sunflowers!

Next, we headed to the main part of campus to enjoy an afternoon carillon recital at Century Tower. During the fall and spring semesters, the bells toll every 15 minutes with a tune played on the hour. The UF Music Department offers a carillon class in which students learn how to play the massive bells. The students climb the 124 stairs to the top to play 2 15-minute recitals a day in between classes. Since all of my nursing classes are out of ear-shot from the bell towers, I never get to hear the recitals. I especially miss the Christmas songs that start playing in December!


And who could say no to some Mochi and people-watching? Then it was back to Jacksonville to get back to the grind.

Year in Review

Let's start blogging again! The past 8 months have been a whirlwind - I'll try to recap some of the highlights before moving forward to bigger and better things.

Recap
1. First year of nursing school

Donezo!

I had no idea what I was getting myself into this time last year. I could count the number of times I had been to the hospital on 1 hand before starting nursing school!

I've learned a lot the past 8 months - and none of it came easily. I have never ever been tested so much academically. Nursing involves a different way of thinking about things, which took some adjustment at first. My GPA took a bit of a hit but I know I did my best throughout the year. I'm sure this is the right career path for me and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

2. Phi Sigma Pi

I'm so proud of our Brotherhood for working together to overcome obstacles. We've come a long way in the past year thanks to the help of every single member, new and old. We will definitely miss the leadership and fellowship of our new alumni but I know with the help of our new Brothers, we will be able to step up to the challenge. I'm especially proud of my two new littles, Kristen & Rachael, and can't wait to see them grow and develop with the Fraternity. I'm also grateful for everyone's support for...

3. Dance Marathon!!!

This year, UF helped raise over $700,000 to benefit Shands Children's Hospital here in Gainesville through Children's Miracle Network. All of this money will go towards lifesaving equipment and diversionary activities for the children and families seeking care at Shands. Every single person involved made an impact on the lives of these children and families. I loved working with Erin during the spring semester to help Phi Sigma Pi raise over $14,000 for the cause. It was a lot of hard work but it's all worth it. From seeing the CMN balloons on nearly every piece of equipment on the pediatric units to watching the kids play in the play areas funded by CMN to finally seeing a patient discharged after receiving lifesaving treatments, WE helped make these miracles happen and it's a wonderful feeling.

Thank you to all my readers who helped make this happen. We couldn't have done it without your support and generous contributions. Thank you thank you thank you from the very bottom of my heart. (Sorry I haven't gotten all of my thank-you cards out but they're coming!)

4. Ben is finally taller than me
I need to practice walking in heels.

5. New job, new car

I got a job as an "assistant care personnel" in a hospital in Jacksonville for the summer. I'm very grateful to have an aunt who lives there and has been graciously letting me stay with her.Thank you, Aunt Claudia!!!

I'll be working 3 12-hour shifts a week for the rest of the summer. During this time, I'll have a preceptor to shadow. I'm very grateful for this opportunity, especially given the uncertainty of the entire application process. It all started with a shot-in-the-dark email and I think it will turn out to be a great experience.

And since this job requires a bit of commuting, my parents surprised me with a new car! Her name is Chuck, short for Charlotte, and she's a beautiful Honda Civic. Sadly, she has already had a run-in with a wandering key. Someone keyed her while she was sitting outside of our house. Really, who does that? But she'll get buffed up and looking like new next week! J has the 4Runner now that she is done with her first year of college.

WHAT?!

And Dr. Brother is about to finish 7th grade.

Yep, a 7th grader is taller than me.

Moving forward

Now that school is over, I don't have many responsibilities or obligations outside of work. I plan on spending my free time researching grad school options, working out, tanning and exploring Gainesville. Hopefully I can pull PDubbs away from his classes for a quick day trip the Rainbow River or Ginnie Springs (get ready, PDubbs!). A lot of my friends are still in town this summer so I plan on catching up with them since I didn't have much time for socializing this entire year. Time to change that!

Wordless Wednesday - Post Mardi Gras

Ouch

I miss winning.