Craving the Crafty

I went home to San Francisco for Christmas. It was wonderful.And cold. And far too short. 

I drove back wednesday night, along with my recently married friends Cari and Jordan. Thursday night I began working a string of 4 night shifts in a row. Yowza. 
I never even unpacked (still haven't actually) - all I did was sleep, eat and work for 4 days. So you'd THINK when I was done I'd want to clean and organize my life.You'd think. 
But Pinterest strikes again. 
This was my to do and errand list for Tuesday. 

On the back were my Michael's, Joanne's and Walmart craft lists. I'd gone thru my "just do it {yourself}" board on pinterest and picked out some projects I'd been wanting to try. I came home three hours later with the loot.

I was able to complete 4 of the ideas on my list (well, 4 pins, 3 projects... you'll see).And I also dyed a bunch of old shirts I had for another project I'll finish later.
 I started with making handsoap. I know, not that exciting. But VERY practical. 

I used a fun scented bar of soap I found at Walmart, and only did a half batch due to my lack of an empty gallon storage container.

It's kind of hard to show you a picture of the finished product, given my soap dispenser is made of wood and distinctly UN-see-through.  But, trust me, it's very soapy and almost the perfect consistency. 

Next, I got to work making some chalk paint. 

So. Easy. 

My favorite kind of DIY.

I wanted to paint a plaque to put on my door, so I can let my roommates know when I'm sleeping. 

You know, so they don't vacuum at 3pm while I'm trying to catch some shut eye before I go to work.

I saw this idea pinned for the top of a cookie tin and thought it was darling!

So I made my own version.

Third/fourth (third project, fourth pin), and probably my favorite, I decided to take part in the crayon melting pandamonium that has taken over pinterest.Better late than never, right?

I tried to come up with an original idea. And couldn't think of anything. So I did a slightly modified rainbow.

The most difficult part was that I had decided I didn't want to glue the crayons to the board I was doing it on. 
This was my ridiculous set up.

I HIGHLY recommend using s defuser if you try this. Those crayons splatter all over otherwise, even on low power.

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. 

Now I just have to figure out what to do with it.

Oh yes.... and one more pinterest inspired craft from earlier this month.
My parents gave me a sewing machine for Christmas (YESSSSS!!!!). I'd brought fabric home, hoping they would get one for me. So Christmas night, I used this pin as inspiration: 

to make this scarf:

Kim, Marge and I had an adventure day in Sausalito the day after Christmas, and I wore that newly sewn scarf with pride (did I mention it took about 7 minutes to make???). 

Someone who took these artsy photos may even have gotten a forest green one for Christmas <3.

Welp, I'm exhausted, and you probably are too if you actually go this far in my horrifically long post. 
It's 2am, and I still have a pile of crafts waiting to be done tomorrow, and a whole house to clean while all my housemates are still away! This working girl's got some sleep to catch up on!
Linking up here:

A Cantina Christmas

This past weekend at the Cantina we threw a little Christmas shindig. 

Inspired by J.Beib's song "mistletoe," of course.
If you haven't heard it, hurry up already!

Naturally we made a video invitation.
Because we're just that dedicated to spreading the Beiber cheer.

We filmed it on a whim right after our house thanksgiving dinner.

And we've probably watched it a million times since.

We're our own biggest fans.
Someone's gotta be.

Please notice the part at approximately 36 seconds where I DON'T fall.

Ya, I know. 

Awesome. 

We spent most of Saturday decking our halls. 

And by most of the day, I mean after 2pm, when I woke up after working the night before.

Our party was complete with a hot cocoa bar, a cookie decorating table, s'more station outside by the bonfire, photobooth and Christmas Kareoke.  

And after I burnt the first 2 gallons of milk, the hot cocoa turned out pretty great. 

Although that pot will never be the same.

Unfortunately, my camera was being utilized by the photo booth, so I really wasn't able to take many other pictures. 

But, don't worry, I have 260 photo booth pics for your viewing pleasure. 

since we used the song "mistletoe" for the invitation, we made sure to have plenty of mistletoe on hand (including an awesome mistletoe headband i found in the dollar section at target).
unfortunately (or fortunately?) the only people taking advantage of it were those two crazies on the left up there.
ya, those are my life group leaders.

That's just a little teaser :).

Head over to facebook if you want to see 186 more.

I have to admit I have an obsession with photo booths. 

Especially the one at Musee Mecanique right next to Pier 39 in San Francisco. 

I make sure to take everyone I can to that photo booth.

Speaking of, does anyone have any great ideas for how to display photo strips?

I'm on a quest for a home for the stack of photo booth strips in a basket on my shelf. 

They're so pretty. 

thankful

i'm thankful for a job that's enabling me to pay back my student loans quickly and is constantly challenging me and causing me to fall at God's feet asking for help

i'm thankful for a community of friends, family, brothers and sisters spread all over the world who are constantly encouraging me and pointing me towards the Author and Perfecter of my faith

i'm thankful for families who have opened their lives to me, invited me in, and have become like family to me

i'm thankful for His mercies that are new every morning, because man do I need them every day

i'm thankful for a house full of women who are seeking the Lord and doing life together

i'm thankful for small glimpses of who I would be without Jesus, and that He has graciously kept me from experiencing the depths of where I would be without Him

i'm thankful for the roof over my head, the food i'm always able to consume, the clean water at my fingertips, the car that gets me wherever i need to go, the gel, mousse and hairspray that tame my crazy mane, and the heater that keeps our home a comfy 68 degrees

i'm thankful for the ability to write, to record my thoughts and prayers so i can look back and see proof of God's faithfulness

i'm thankful that this place that's not my home has begun to feel like home

i'm thankful for a mother who constantly lifts me up in prayer, a father who has provided for my every need and a brother who gives selflessly to serve the body of Christ

most of all, i'm thankful for the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, without which I would have no hope and no salvation.

God is good.

a very cantina thanksgiving

This weekend my housemates and I made a Thanksgiving FEAST.  

Well, mostly my housemates did the cooking. 

I made green beans. 

Amanda and Emily cooked an AMAZING turkey.  

Seriously, they've got skills. 

They brined it and everything.

I didn't even know what brining was before this.

These women are such an incredible blessing in my life.
I love them all dearly.

And it was so fun to have a full thanksgiving dinner since I work on Thanksgiving this year!

Oh ya, and we listened to Christmas music all day.
We're moderately obsessed with Justin Beiber's song "Mistletoe."

More on that later. 

For now, I'll leave you with a taste of our Thanksgiving, courtesy of Gabby:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Patient Stories Series #3: The man who prayed in his pain

A few nights ago I had a patient who I took care of after he had a below the knee amputation. He was an elderly man, who came up from surgery at about 8pm.

One of the major difficulties with post-op patients is managing their pain.
 We try our best to keep it under control, because the more severe it gets the more difficult it is to bring down to a manageable level.

He was a sweet man, who didn’t complain of much pain until three hours after he came up. 

I gave him morphine, which knocked him out for a bit, but less than an hour later he was complaining of severe phantom limb pain. 

Phantom limb pain is difficult to treat, and I didn’t have a whole lot of options of what to give him based on what the doctor had ordered, and how quickly his pain came back after the morphine. 

So I gave him an oral pain medication called Norco and an Ativan to help him calm down and sleep, since there wasn’t much more we could do for the pain.

I had noticed earlier that he had a bible on the tray table, held together by a rubber band because the binding was falling apart. 

All I could do was wait for the oral medication to take effect, and he was still moaning in excruciating pain. 
I hate that my job means I see people in awful pain on a daily basis.

I asked him if he had a favorite passage he'd like me to read from his bible.
He said Psalm 23. 

I read from his bible by the light from the cracked door - his bible that I swear was a version more ancient than the King James, if there is such a thing.
As I read, I could see him begin to quietly say the words along with me.

When I was finished, he continued speaking softly.

It took me a few minutes to catch enough words to figure out that he was praying, begging God to get him through the pain.

I only caught some of what he was praying, but at one point I heard him say “and thank you for Betsy.” 

I prayed for him as well, and as I left his room, he was quiet.

So many thoughts tumbled through my head as I left his room and headed to check on my other patients.

How humbling to be brought before God by this man I only knew for one night. 

What a privilege to be the one to care for him in a time of incredible vulnerability and pain.

These are the moments I’m so thankful to God for getting me through nursing school, and providing me with a job that is incredibly stretching and difficult, but immensely rewarding.

Nursing constantly reminds me that I am not enough.

I can’t save anyone physically, emotionally, or spiritually. 

I can’t take away anyone’s pain – but I can point them to the one who can.

It was this man’s faith in the God who is greater than all that brought him comfort in his pain.

May we cry out to Abba for our every need, acknowledging our complete and utter dependence on him. 

Thank you Jesus, that you are more than enough.

On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

10 on 10: rookie edition

I'm new to this whole 10 on 10 thing.  

Which is why I'm posting on the 11th.  

And had a really hard time coming up with 10 pictures.  

Don't judge me if they're hideously boring.

Woke up to my Sleep app telling me I have a 17.0 hr sleep debt.

Night shift is awesome.  

The breakfast of champions. 

Or night nurses who eat breakfast at all hours of the day.

 I've been eating this practically every day this week thanks to a tremendous amount of leftovers from Cari's Bachelorette Weekend. 

Check out Kim's post here. 

It was a pretty awesome weekend. 

Went to work and spent 8 hours starting IV's with the hospital's IV nurse. 

I'm getting pretty good - didn't even miss one!

But I because of that I have an 8 hr gap in pictures. 

Sorry, but you probably wouldn't want to see them anyways :).

I FINALLY got my diploma in the mail, so I went to HR and got them to add my BSN to my name badge!

 I know, this is an awful picture.  

But if i didn't use it, it would be 9 on 10. 

And that kind of defeats the purpose, right?

I've also been eating ice cream cones practically every day, since Jordan and Cari left them and a half gallon of chocolate malted crunch ice cream (my fav) at my house. 

I've been working on a new map for my friend Samuel. 

Luckily, I had some slave labor - oops, I mean neighbor kids -  to help.

They're pretty cute.

Tavia has them over all the time to make cookies, play volleyball or ride bikes. 

I got this book in the mail the other day, as a surprise from a friend who knows me well. 

And I'm SO excited to read it. 

So I started as a break from my map making. 

Signing up for benefits = I'd rather go to a museum with my dad.

Which, if you know me, isn't something I really enjoy. 

Do I need vision insurance if I have perfect vision?  

Help me out people. 

I'm new to this whole adult job thing.

A whole disc of Friends episodes later - the finished product!  

So excited to get this to Samuel - he picked great colors and I love how it turned out!

linking up here for the first time:

A Crafty Halloween

 There once were two girls. 

They were both studying Pre-Nursing. 

They both lived in an all-girls dorm named Alpha Chi. 

Their ridiculous major required them to enroll in a horrible class called Organic and Biochemistry. 

And they became lab partners. 

Who made soap that crumbled like crazy. 

Their names were Tiffany and Betsy.

Fast forward 1 year. 

Tiffany and Betsy move in next door to each other. 

And spend their time doing things like this.

Then Tiffany gets set up on a Gyrad (get your roommate a date) with Jared. 

And they fall in love. 

A year later they have the most beautiful OC wedding.  

I wasn't a believer in the coral/aqua color scheme. 

I was so, so wrong. 

I had the honor of being in this wonderful couple's wedding. 

Seriously an HONOR. 

Fast forward another 2 years. 

To October 31, 2011.

Yup, just 8 days ago.

Tiff and I spend a wonderful Halloween evening together doing something we both love - crafting. 

And eating, of course. 

Those holiday sugar cookies are my favorite. 

We answered the door for the trick or treaters and gave them what candy we hadn't already eaten. 

One little three year old boy was dressed up like Peter Rabbit, and recited some of the book to us! 

It was probably the cutest thing I've ever seen.

I would have taken a picture, except his parents probably would've thought i was a pedophile.

Tiff, you inspire me.

I love you, my sweet friend.