I had a bit of a girls night out on Friday night! It was a blast!

Maybe you’ve heard of Nurse Blake – he creates comedy videos on social media. He’s hilarious and he also tours doing a stand up show. He’s very relatable to nurses and has brought a lot of joy and laughter to the nursing community especially through the pandemic. Most nurses know who Nurse Blake is.

He brought his comedy show to Iowa, about 2 hours away so my best gal pals and I decided to get tickets! We ended up getting FRONT ROW tickets at the casino! We all went out to eat after the show

Because we were front row we were able to interact more with Blake and he gave me a signed copy of his children’s book and he gave Gabe…a banana 🍌 😂 which was part of the skit. Here’s the whole gang before the show started and with our goodies!

My favorite part of the night were the humans I got to be with. My dear friends Gabe and Jen and I used to work together in the ER. Jen and I have found different paths over the past 3 years at different facilities and Gabe is still at that hospital while working to get her DNP. They are truly two of my dearest friends. Our group chat is constantly dinging 🙂 Jen’s wife Dawn also came and Gabe’s husband joined us as well. Craig’s work schedule is still unpredictable so I asked my brother Karl to be my date!

Karl and I don’t get a ton of time together like we used to so it was so good to hang out. We’ve always really connected through music so we played a game the whole way there – I’d play one song and he’d find another song that had the same meaning/lyrics. It’s the best way I can slowly convince him to be a Taylor Swift fan! Karl went and hung out around town, checked out a few stores while we were at the comedy show (which was mostly geared towards nurses) and then joined us for supper and drinks afterwards!

It ended up being about 1:30 am when we got home which was pretty darn late for me these days! All in all, a great time was had. I want to link to some of Nurse Blake’s content. He’s been such a source of joy and laughter and community for nurses the past 3 years that have been so difficult for us. I will definitely go see him live again if given the chance! My belly and cheeks hurt from laughing so hard!

Hungry for more? Check out my latest posts!

• Girl’s Night Out! (with a few guys)
• Debt Free Update – November 2022
• The Bit
• The Best Phone Call…
• Weekly Recap!

Have you visited my Etsy Shop Lately? See what’s new!

I design and create a variety of quilting, cross stitching, and graphic tees as well as quilting themed stationery, stickers, notepads, cards, and more! I’d love for you to check it out!

Well hey guys! It’s been awhile since I’ve posted about our debt free journey. The last you’ve heard about it was in the Spring (Weathering the Storm…) where we announced we were taking a pause from paying off debt and saving like crazy for my maternity leave while travel nursing jobs were unstable and I was going to take 3 months off of work.

This cushion was PERFECT for my maternity leave – especially when Anders was hospitalized with viral meningitis. When Gannon was hospitalized as an infant, we couldn’t afford cafeteria food. That’s what launched this debt free journey for us. This time when Anders was hospitalized, I actually took some time away from the hospital to go shopping! The amount of stress was so much less it made the entire experience far less traumatizing.

I think it’s a little strange how an infant health crisis started off our debt free journey and an infant health crisis is also concluding our debt free journey. It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come in just a few short years.

We’ve got enough savings left we will pay off my van as soon as I start back to work in January. I’ll truly own my car for the first time since I was in high school! From there we will only have one debt left – my students loans. As you know the student loan forgiveness program is totally up in the air right now but if it turns out that they won’t forgive my student loans, I have no problem paying them off myself. I took out the loan, I said I would pay it back and I will. That would wrap up our debt free journey in the Spring about 4 years after we started!

I’m taking an ER nursing contract again in the Spring so from about January to April and then Craig and I are taking a vacation to Nashville in May! We would love to do our debt free scream then on Dave Ramsey’s show but the timing of it all is a little iffy.

I’m planning to take the month of June off from work between contracts, maybe still pick up a few shifts but again, we will see how this all goes!

I can’t believe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel! And that light is pretty darn bright!

If you see the buttons below that say “sign up for my newsletter” – that’s my FINAL email list. You may have signed up for one in the past but this is it! I hired someone to create a weekly newsletter that will go out on Thursdays. It will have my latest blog posts from that week and maybe a note from me or alerts about new products in the Etsy shop.

Some of the links on the buttons may not be totally working yet, it’s all a work in progress! Thanks for reading!

Hungry for more? Check out my latest posts!

• Girl’s Night Out! (with a few guys)
• Debt Free Update – November 2022
• The Bit
• The Best Phone Call…
• Weekly Recap!

Have you visited my Etsy Shop Lately? See what’s new!

I design and create a variety of quilting, cross stitching, and graphic tees as well as quilting themed stationery, stickers, notepads, cards, and more! I’d love for you to check it out!

We have a very special Auntie Kayla who made Carver a blankie which he so lovingly calls his “bit.” The bit has been through the ringer over the years and is Carver’s most prized posession. It wasn’t hard to find pictures of Carver with his bit through the years. Gannon also has a “bit” but calls his “wainbow-bwankie.”

Well, today Anders was blessed with his “bit” from Auntie Kayla. None of the blankies are the same, but they all resemble each other. They really aren’t to provide warmth, my boys mostly just carry them like a child would love on a stuffed animal. This is the PERFECT size to keep Anders warm in his car seat.

While one “bit” is made anew, one needs some repair. Carver’s bit has been through a lot in the past 6 years. It needs some TLC. Carver has decided to let his bit go home with Auntie Kayla to get some much needed repairs. Kayla thinks she can unravel the blanket and make it into something new and stronger.

I’ll keep you all posted on how the repairs go. Carver is feeling a little nervous to let it go for so long but Kayla is determined to return it in much better condition. Thanks for reading guys.

Hungry for more? Check out my latest posts!

• Girl’s Night Out! (with a few guys)
• Debt Free Update – November 2022
• The Bit
• The Best Phone Call…
• Weekly Recap!

Have you visited my Etsy Shop Lately? See what’s new!

I design and create a variety of quilting, cross stitching, and graphic tees as well as quilting themed stationery, stickers, notepads, cards, and more! I’d love for you to check it out!

It’s been a LONG 6 weeks. Anders was born on a Wednesday and the following Monday Craig was in the field until yesterday. I got the call from Craig as he was finishing his last 1/4th of an acre. I was at my mom’s. I called the boys into the kitchen and we all celebrated as Craig wrapped up harvest 2022. Mom and I both got a little teary. It’s been a hard season for us. Anders was hospitalized for 5 days, Gannon has missed so much school being sick, I’ve already started back to work one shift per week, my severe ear infection and subsequent daily doctor visits, it felt like we were being tested everywhere we turned.

That phone call was such a relief. Craig will still be working extra hours to catch up on the farm but this is a step in the right direction towards having our family home together again and on a regular schedule.

I know that doesn’t make for much of a blog post but that’s plenty of news for us. Thanks for reading.

Hungry for more? Check out my latest posts!

• Girl’s Night Out! (with a few guys)
• Debt Free Update – November 2022
• The Bit
• The Best Phone Call…
• Weekly Recap!

Have you visited my Etsy Shop Lately? See what’s new!

I design and create a variety of quilting, cross stitching, and graphic tees as well as quilting themed stationery, stickers, notepads, cards, and more! I’d love for you to check it out!

Well, I’m glad to say this week has gone much better than last week! and by that I mean, I’ve had a good Tuesday and Wednesday.

Monday began alright but quickly became derailed when I got a call from the school – Gannon had thrown up on the bus. He’s been sick literally for weeks on end. The coughing fits started late last week which led to a round of steriods and breathing treatments. I gave him some cough medicine Monday morning and he was coughing so hard he threw up.

If you’ll recall, I’ve had ear trouble the past 2 weeks and had an appointment on Monday morning at 10. At this point, I figured I might as well have Gannon seen if he was coming to town with me. They could see him at 12:30 so we (Anders, myself and Gannon) had about 2 hours to kill in town before the appointment.

Gannon was then diagnosed with an ear infection, started on a new steroid nebulizer, and started on asthma and allergy medications. Our tried-and-true pharmacy didn’t have the meds we needed so we got sent on to our NOT favorite pharmacy. At this point we’d been in town for about 4 hours and then we had to wait 50 MINUTES for all of Gannon’s meds to be filled + a half hour drive home! It was not a good time to say the least but we survived and Gannon went back to school on Tuesday just fine.

Gannon is doing some better but I’m so afraid of all the viruses going around – hospitals everywhere are flooded with sick little kiddos! I so hope we can get through the Winter without a hospitalization (besides Gannon’s tonsils and adenoids removed in December). It’s rough out there and my hands are so dry from constantly washing them.

Tuesday I packaged orders all day, I made a reel about it on my Instagram you can find here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CkuO56oLu63/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

I’ve got a part two here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CkzZH9brdML/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Craig is still in the field. I’ve been working about a shift per week in the ER. I’m the primary parent until Craig can finish up these last acres and come home to us. It’s hard with all the sickness but I’m very thankful for my mom who has been so helpful to us. Craig should finish up this week but that doesn’t mean we will see him anymore, there’s still a lot to do.

Wednesday was perfect for lots of snuggles. Gannon, Anders, and I all took a great big nap which was perfect to prep for night shift on Wednesday night. Many people ask why I’m back to work and picking up hours so soon but I truly love my job and truly need to get out of the house.

That’s all I’ve got for now! Thanks for reading!

Hungry for more? Check out my latest posts!

• Girl’s Night Out! (with a few guys)
• Debt Free Update – November 2022
• The Bit
• The Best Phone Call…
• Weekly Recap!

Have you visited my Etsy Shop Lately? See what’s new!

I design and create a variety of quilting, cross stitching, and graphic tees as well as quilting themed stationery, stickers, notepads, cards, and more! I’d love for you to check it out!