Graduation!

Graduation started early for me. Well ... I guess waking up at 8 isn't super early but it sure felt early. I woke up and got ready for the day in my new dress and high heels that my mom had spoiled me with on my birthday. I had to be at the Mariott in Provo by 9 for pictures and lining up before the commencement. Just after we were finished taking pictures my Dad came outside to where we were taking pictures to find me. He saw me in my cap and gown and grinned ear to ear. Seeing his expression of how proud he was of me just made me beam and made me so happy to have worked so hard and made my dad proud. After that he walked me in to show me where my mom, sister, and Nick were sitting. They all had that same look on their face and I was beaming! After that I went to line up with my class and let the fun begin. The speeches were good but I couldn't wait to do 'the walk'. I never got to do this in high school so this was my moment! And I have to admit it wasn't as fantastic as I thought it would be! haha I had my 20 seconds of fame, got my diploma, shook some hands, and sat back down. But hey, at least now I can say 'I did it!' After the ceremony it was time for pictures with everyone in my cap and gown and then time for a break. The pinning ceremony wasn't until 2 so Nick and I had a few hours to burn. We went to Einstein Bagels and grabbed some lunch, went to Kohls to find him some church pants, Walmart to grab a few things we needed at home, then headed to UVU for the pinning ceremony. That, by far, was my favorite. This was just my nursing program peeps. My teachers and a classmate spoke, we had a slideshow of pictures from the program that made us all laugh and get all nostalgic, and we received our pin. Grandma Becky, mine, and Nicks family were all there. It was such an aweseome feeling to see how proud they all were of me. After the pinning ceremony and some more pictures we all went to pig out at Golden Corral. My cute mom, of course, being the wonderful and talented party planner that she is decorated the table so cute and nurse-y. She even made a graduation cap cake for Nick because hello! He has graduated too! I can't even describe the feeling of accomplishment I have. Nursing school was the hardest most exhausting thing I have ever done (Besides the whole placing miss Malia for adoption thing. That was a MILLION times harder and emotionally draining) But still, nursing school was pretty stinking hard! And I did it! And it is already paying off! I get to start the job of my dreams in a week, Nick and I are looking for a new place, and I now have so much more time to spend with my hubby and time for myself too!

Best part of my day though? The jewelry box that was sitting at my place setting at the restaurant from my parents. Inside was a heart necklace. On the inside of the heart it says 'daughters fill our days with sunshine and our hearts with happy memories'. The best part? My daddy picked it out. I may have teared up a little. I am the luckiest.

Runnin all day

Except for the kind of running that I should be doing. The running at the gym kind. Didn't have time today! I woke up at 6:15, got ready, and went to physical therapy. My back sure is bad lately. Here's hoping its one of those 'worse before it gets better' kind of things. After that I went to my appt with HR. Thats right folks. You know, the HR appt to get everything squared away for my new RN job! Got my picture taken for my new badge, signed a few papers, and I start September 5th! After that since I was already on a roll of productivity I washed the car, filled up the tank, ran to the grocery store, and woke Nick up. From there is was right up to Salt Lake to meet with the Air Force recruiter. We got a lot of good information and Nick got the process started. I'm getting more and more nervous for this huge change and commitment but at the same time I can't even describe how proud I am of him. He hasn't sworn in or anything yet he has to get some physical approval and testing done first but it'll be soon!

We headed to Provo from there to bring Poppa Chadwick a Pepsi and visited with him for a few hours. Then, go figure, we had somewhere else to be! It was time to head up to dinner with the family as a late celebration for my birthday. It was so much fun! After we all did a little shopping for family pictures and I got the cutest outfit! (blue pants!!) Someday I'm sure I'll regret my trendy style choices but for now, I look hot! Haha it was fun to spend time with family today. I'm absolutely LOVING all this time I get to spend with Nick now that we are done with school. Finally getting to enjoy real married life together!

Mondays

So on Mondays Nicky Wayne works a double which means 7am-1030pm. Ouch! So today I went to the gym, studied, showered, went to Heber for lunch with Debbie, Haley, Maddy and Elaine. Mad leaves for college tomorrow. I sure am going to miss that girl! After lunch it was time for the dentist. This girl has major dentist anxiety. Luckily I got through it and escaped without a single cavity! Woo! I headed back down the canyon, brought Nick some Cafe Rio and a Pepsi. Life's necessities ya know! :) I headed back home to do some more studying and decided to hang out with my family cause I was way too bored at home. I saw mom, Taylor, and Savannah for a minute but it was Pops I got to hang out with all night. We watched some TV, went out and got some food, talked, and teased each other of course. That's what we do best! I love that guy so much. He's not just my Dad but he's my buddy. So lucky to have him. Once it was 10:15 I decided it was time to head home. And here I am, ready to fall asleep at any moment. I'm on call so let's hope I get to sleep tonight! We've got a big busy day tomorrow that starts early! On that note ... Good night!

Two Years Down ... Eternity To Go!

Happy two year anniversary to Nick and I! We were just so busy enjoying our time together that I forgot about making a blog tribute. Sheesh I need to get my priorities straight don't I?! :P I worked yesterday so I got off work at 6:30 Sunday morning and of course couldn't wait long enough to give him his present first so I'd decided I'd wake him up when I got home.  Of course, Nick being Nick, beat me to it even while he was asleep! I walked in the front door to a big bouquet of flowers and a gift card for a mani pedi. How did I get so lucky?? After taking time to smell the roses, literally, I jumped into bed with present in hand. After the glossy eyes went away and I got a kiss I gave him his present. I got him a scope for his rifle as well as a hunting knife. That was good and all but the most important part of his present from me was a letter. Letters and notes to me have always meant more to me than anything so I was excited to give him his. So that I can have a copy of how I feel when I print this blog out here it is! (A little personal moment I know so if mushy-lovey-dovey things have a negative effect on your health do not read the following!)

Nicholas,

Can you believe it's been two years already? I can't even believe it. We have grown and accomplished so much together already. People always joke around about marriage. About how frustrating spouses can be and how hard marriage can be. Now don't get me wrong, at times I do get frustrated and marriage does take hard work but I could have never imagined feeling so lucky through it all. Last night when talking about where and how to divide our time between our families all I could think about was how lucky I am. Lucky to have a husband I know I can talk to. A husband who listens to and respects my thoughts and feelings I have a husband who loves me for exactly who I am. I don't need to change myself and I never have. You have made me a better, stronger person without changing 'me'. If that makes any sense at all.

I feel like I try to show you and tell you that I love you but I don't always take the opportunity to tell you why. Nick you are the most incredible man I have ever met. You are generous, thoughtful, caring, smart, opinionated, handsome, funny, compassionate, confident, sarcastic, energetic, and my favorite thing about you? The fact that you're mine. I still can't believe sometimes that you picked me back. You chose me to be the person to spend the rest of your life with. I don't know if I'll ever completely understand why, but for whatever your reasons, that choice has made me happier than I could have ever imagined.

The past two years have been incredible and I can't wait to see what the next two hold. we are at such an exciting crossroads in life and I know that we have so much to look forward to together. I love you with all my heart Nicky Wayne. Two years down .... eternity to go!!   xoxoxo-Sadey


I never could have imagined being where we are. We are both graduated, I have my dream job, Nick is joining the Air Force, we are as in love as ever, families we are close to and love, and better off than we probably deserve. Thanks Nick for being my rock and making me the happiest girl around. I LOVE you!

The Big Two-Two

Happy Birthday to me! The night before Nick took me out to one of our favorite places to eat ... Texas Roadhouse baby! I even stayed under my calories! haha The day of my birthday Nick had to work so I got up around 9:30 and headed to the gym. After that I came home, made my birthday dessert to bring to work (raspberry bread pudding), got ready, and headed to lunch. My mom, Beth, Malia, and Brooke came along and we had a fun girls date! Beth gave me some super cute stationary which hello is the best gift for me! I have THE BIGGEST obsession with any and everything you can find at Office Depot. Seriously, it's a situation.She also gave me a mirror to keep in my purse which is awesome too! After lunch my momma and I went out for some retail therapy. Just what a girl needs on her birthday right? I got a shirt, some fabulous black heels, a dress for graduation, and a purse. I'm so spoiled I know. That's not even including the sewing machine we bought from a friend a few weeks ago in the name of my birthday present. After shopping I cam home and spent some time with the hubs then it was off to work. Work was a busy night but the dessert was sure enjoyed by all! (I didn't however stay under my calories this day!) Hey, everyone needs a cheat day every once in a while right?? Speaking of counting calories and the gym ... Guess who has lost 12 pounds?! That's right ... this girl! :)

Life is good people. Life is good!

Wanna know what happens when I don't blog in a few weeks? A LOT!

I've lost just under 10 lbs! I've kinda hit a  little bit of a plateau which is getting frustrating but I'm still working my butt off at the gym and counting my calories so hopefully once I get over this plateau the lbs will start falling off again. It has been so good for me to be able to take time at the gym for myself. I feel like my body and energy level is starting to match my personality again.

Not having nursing school to worry about is SO awesome! I now have the NCLEX to worry about which is a huge deal. I have been studying a few hours each day on my own time which is just lovely. This week I have been doing Kaplan NCLEX prep. It's a 4 day course that teaches you how to test and important nursing points to remember. 9-4 makes for a looong day but I think it'll pay off when it comes time to take the test. I plan on studying more for the next couple of weeks and schedule my test for the last week of August.

Nick is done with school after this week. Poor guy has been so crazy busy this semester. I can't even tell you how many hours that guy has spent at the school on top of his normal class hours. All that along with full time work? I think he's VERY ready do be done with this week. I am so proud of him for all of the hard work he has put in to take care of our little family. Next week he will be able to take a deep sigh of relief and boy does he deserve it!

Tomorrow I turn 22. Woo! Haha Not a super mile-marker of a birthday but hey, it's a birthday! Nick works all day tomorrow and I have to be to work at 6 so I was kinda bummed I wouldn't really be doing anything. Then I had friends and my mom want to go out to lunch with me so I think it's going to turn out to be quite the group get together. On Tuesday night we are going to go to dinner with my family for my birthday because Savannah will be back from girls camp and Nick and I aren't working. Can you say crazy schedules?!

Sunday is Nick and I's 2 year anniversary! I just love that guy SO much it hurts! Tune back in Sunday for some more words of wisdom on that subject :)

Taylor turned his mission papers in yesterday! It's official! I can't even describe how proud I am of that boy. It's been so awesome to see him grow up, make the choices he has to better himself, and to become such a good kid. Love him SO much. And I'm going to miss him SO much.

Okay, okay I have saved the biggest news for as long as I can. I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had an interview for a position that I really wanted. It was for a Labor and Delivery position at Intermountain Healthcare. After a week and a half after the interview and a week and a half of sheer anxiety and impatience  I finally got a phone call from HR. I answered and was SO excited but didn't quite get the news I wanted to. It was good and bad. They wanted me to come in for a second interview the next day. I, of course, said I'd love to and hung up. Then my mind got going. What could I do to make more of an impression than I did my first interview. I knew a second interview was a good sign, but I wanted to make this next interview even better. I made a few phone calls to some friends and coworkers and got 8 letters of recommendation from them. I put them in a nice folder along with another copy of my resume and headed off to my interview. The interview again went really well and at the end I told the 2 managers interviewing me about the letters of recommendation and why I wanted to give them. They seemed very impressed and the interview ended on a good note. That was last Friday and yesterday I got the phone call I'd been waiting for. I GOT THE JOB! I am now a Labor and Delivery nurse in all 3 Intermountain hospitals in Utah County but I will be based at American Fork Hospital. I couldn't be more excited, or more nervous, to start this next chapter of my life and career!

I can't believe how blessed Nick and I have been over the past few years. I couldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams being 21 and graduating from nursing school, married to the greatest man I've ever met, starting my career in a job I've always aspired for, healthy, close relationships with family and friends, and as happy as I am. Life is good people. Life is good.

The end!

Yep! That's all folks! I am DONE with nursing school! I can't even believe it!! The biggest weight is lifted off my shoulders! I'll blog more about my feelings on this huge event a little more I think around actual graduation time but for now I am going to photo dump! :)