He's For Keeps

Just like babies hit their developmental milestones, Yung and I are hitting wedding planning milestones left and right. We took our engagement photos on June 29, 2016 and anxiously waited 53 days to see them. We love our photographers and will be bragging on them and all of our amazing hand picked vendors post-wedding.

I was a little sick on photo day. I transmitted whatever I had to Yung and it mutated into a horrible prolonged fever and eventually pneumonia for him. Awful.

This was probably the moment that I spread my germs.

:(

It was also a very warm summer day, which made for an exhausting two hours of smiling. We changed outfits in our car, which is always an interesting feat. We had a great time exploring downtown and walking down streets and alleys that we have never encountered before.

We will always remember this season in our lives as the dreamer stage. Although we are grounded in our grown up lives, we also love to dream about the future and all of its possibilities. Hopefully that will never go away <3

Cheers to love and dreams~
xx
Connie

Photo Credit:
Two Pair Photography

Becky, Tammy & Stephanie

I recently finished precepting my first pediatric nurse practitioner student, and her name is Stephanie. She graduated last week, so this is an exciting time for her! I have had several students follow me for a few hours or a few shifts, but Stephanie was the first to stick with me for 2 whole semesters as we prepared for her entry into the real world as a nurse practitioner. She was a natural, and I know she is going to love NP life. 

Walking with a student (and now friend!) through this journey made me think of Tammy, who was my first nurse I precepted as a RN. Tammy was my guinea pig. She stuck with me through thick and thin and somehow we made it through her orientation together. Tammy's caring personality and attention to detail made it very easy to guide her through her training. 

It takes tremendous responsibility to be a preceptor. You become a role model to help shape how an individual enters the nursing world. None of the above would have been possible without Becky, who taught me everything there is to know about being a nurse and helped me survive each shift without tears (mostly). I despised clinical in nursing school and had worries that I wouldn't like this career. Thankfully, real life is better than student life.
I worked Becky's schedule for 5 months and she stood beside me as I learned the ins and outs of how to be a registered nurse. We worked with some of the sickest kids you will find in the hospital, and somehow found solace and camaraderie through all the seriousness that surrounded us. But that is a whole other story in itself.

That was 7.5 years ago. My little brother was graduating high school the year I started my job. He has since finished college, has worked at his own grown up job for a year, and is flying through medical school.

It's fun sometimes to relive these memories and see how far we all have come.

Have a happy Sunday<3
xoxo
Connie

Three Happy Years

We have been celebrating our three year dating anniversary for about a month now. Three dates, three plus new dining experiences. It all started with beautiful flowers delivered to my office from my fiance who was sick with pneumonia. Even when he is sick, he is so thoughtful :) When his appetite returned, we began our celebrations.

1. Boulevardier-French-ish cuisine at its best. Brunch was yummy, and we'll definitely be back to try dinner.

2. Ida Claire~Southern fusion with a flair. This was definitely a unique dish--Sweet potato chips, duck confit, goat cheese, duck fat gravy, and a sunny side up duck egg. You can bet we'll be back for seconds!

The chocolate cake with BACON was a rash decision. I can live without bacon fat with my dessert :)

3. Neighborhood services-Fun atmosphere for a date or night with friends. Definitely hip ;)

4. Magic Cup- You're looking at Kimchi fries right there. We also had the yummiest fruit boba drinks that we'll definitely have again soon.

What wedding diet? Clearly, I'm the worst dieter in the universe.

Happy 3 years <3

xoxo, Connie