Is it time, yet??

Ever had those moments when you really just don't want to keep doing what you're doing?? Yeah, I've had LOTS of those moments lately. I know I say this a lot, but ever since Nursing school started I feel like I've lost a bit of ME! The adventurous, spontaneous, always happy Elena. I feel like I'm always tired, sometimes dragging, and just moving with the flow. I remember when we had our very first orientation we were warned, or "prepared" to be on a rollercoaster through school and that the next 2 years (and now for me, 2 and a half) would be the kind of hard you never understand until you've done it. Well, now I understand. And, its H-A-R-D. Worth it, but hard.

I miss going on random hikes with groups of friends, weekend camping trips throughout the summer, roadtrips to the beach, late nights laughing and doing whatever without worrying about needed sleep, studying, or early morning wake up calls. I guess this is what being a grown up is all about.

But- I don't want to be THAT kind of grown up. Who never has fun, and only works to live, etc. I guess this is just the phase I need to get through to get something BETTER than what I had before. Not that money can't buy happiness, but it sure helps ;)

I know this is really random, but I just had to vent. My list of adventures I want to go on just keeps getting longer. My "When I'm Done With Nursing School" Adventure list. Ahh...

Until then, I'll continue to make the most of it. I am blessed. I am healthy, I am alive. I have wonderful friends, and the most amazing family I could EVER ask for. The Lord is good to me. More than I can begin to comprehend.

May 2012, I am so excited to see you.

These are just a few places on my list. Enjoy oogling over them as I do too often:

Bali

Italy

Not sure which island, but the point is ANY island, me in THAT hammock you see right there...

Greece

Holland

Thailand

Again, not sure where this is exactly... my google search was Tahiti.

I'm going there someday...

I LOVE the Mesa LDS temple. It is such a special place to me, not only because of the significance a temple means to me concerning my religion, but because of the many experiences I've had involving this specific temple.

I also love art. I love taking a white empty canvas and creating something beautiful. {but I am NO artist by any means!}I'm not the kind of artist who can sit and create something amazing out of my own imagination. I more so like to take pictures and draw them, or look at some object and draw it. Now I'm rambling...

Art and creativity run in the family. Pretty much everyone in my family can draw/paint. One of my uncles does it professionally. My aunt should do it professionally. She took a drawing class this past semester and learned the technique of using charcoal. I absolutely love black and white images, and love the art she created. I thought it would be fun to learn, so I asked her if she could teach me the basics so I could create my own picture to hang on my wall. So today I went over and in a few hours I came home with this drawing!

It was an awesome day. And I came home with smudges of charcoal all over. It was such a relaxing time, and hope to continue improving this talent!

Still need a frame though... { Don't look too closely, you'll see all my uneven lines ;) }

Pool Day

I love summer for this reason:

I took care of my nephew the other day while his mom ran errands and got some things done. He is quite a character! Non-stop chatter the.whole.time. I like taking care of him, because I just LOVE my niece and nephew, and spending time with them is precious. And it helps my impatience ;)

It was windy and in the 70s that day, but he really wanted to swim. So I told him if the sun came out we'd go.. ( i wasn't excited about it since it was cold and cloudy). Sure enough, twenty min later the sun shines through! So I took him, to see how long he'd last. And he did pretty good! But since we were the ONLY ones there- for good reason- he got bored quickly. Snapped this shot after drying off. Fun times :)

Here was one of my favorite conversations with him that day:
Chuki: "who made all this?"
Me: "made all what?"
Chuki: "everything. the whole world."
Me: "well, our Father in Heaven, God, made it for us."
Chuki: "oh yeah! {moment of silence} wow, he must have worked reeeeally hard!"

It continued on listing everything he made: trees, rivers, birds, zebras, giraffes, mountains.. McDonald's... haha

So precious :)