Fun Sunday!!

So today we decided to go kayaking at White Rock with my cousin and his girlfriend. We had a lot of fun and it is definitely a good upper body workout. We had planned to go out for 3 hours but changed our minds after about an hour and a half. My cousin and his girlfriend have their own kayaks so J and I rented two from the White Rock paddle company. It's about $22 for an hour and half for each person. It could get pretty expensive if you go all the time but for us it's not too bad. It was very, very hot but it actually didn't feel too bad with the breeze off the water and the shade from the trees. We did have an unfortunate incident when J tried to avoid a tree branch and he fell out of his kayak! I only wish I had my camera out at that exact moment. It was hilarious but what was even better was that when he tried to get back into the kayak he fell off again two more times....lol. It was great! He laughed and then was a little sad when he realized he had his nice sunglasses on his head when we started but now they were no longer. They are now at the bottom of the lake :( I guess he will learn for next time. Overall though we had a great time and will be back as soon as we can. We have even thought about purchasing our own kayaks but we don't really have anywhere to store them. We can rent a storage room for $35 more a month but were not sure we want to do that. Anyways, I am going to go spend the rest of this sunday being lazy!

Love,

Shannon

Some new races!!

So I haven't done any races since May (I know only 2 months but it feels longer). Luckily though I found a girl at work that wants to do her first sprint triathlon! I was all over that! I have been looking for someone to do some races with. We are going to do the Blackland sprint triathlon in September. Triathlons in Texas are different in Florida; in Florida almost all of the swim portions are either in the ocean or the river but here in Texas they are all in a pool. I actually like that better since swimming is my weakest sport. I am so excited to have something to train for and a friend to do it with! There are several 5k's and a 15k that I would like to do as well. Anyways thats all for now. Have a great day!

I love my job!!

I have been at my new job here in Dallas for a little over a month now and I absolutely love what I do and the people I work with. I am a pediatric oncology nurse and I cannot imagine doing anything else. Yes, it is hard at times but I would say the times when I see the kids laughing and playing far outweigh the bad. Working with this group of kids has really made me questions certain things in life; like what is really important to me. I know I can't always live my life like something bad is going to happen and I need to enjoy the things I have. I am working on doing that and being thankful for what I am blessed with. It really is a great feeling though, to wake up and go to a job that I love!

J started his residency about a month ago as well and so far it hasn't been that bad (I know I will regret that statement very soon)! He is starting out on a rotation that only requires him working a few times a week and only about 6 hours a day. Next month he starts at the hospital so his hours are going to be much much worse. I think at this point he is ready to really start working and seeing patients. He is going to be a great doctor! I am so proud of him.

My mom came to visit last week and we had so much fun! It was so great to have her here and to run errands, shop and try new restaraunts. She is such a spontaneous person so if we saw something we liked we went to it. J isn't really like that so it's fun to get to do that with my mom. I really miss my family but I am starting to feel like Dallas is home. I think my dad is having a harder time though with us being so far away. I can tell that he really misses us. He is hopefully planning a trip out here soon. I would like to go home for a weekend but right now plane tickets are so expensive!!

Well that's all for now! Hopefully we will hit up the park later today. Enjoy your saturday!

Love,

Shannon

Living out of a suitcase

Hellooo from Dallas!

So we made it to Dallas! My brother, J and I left last saturday after J's graduation from medical school. It was so amazing to say the least. He has worked so hard and to see his dream coming true was wonderful. We had most of our families there and it was so nice to have everyone together. The graduation ended around noon and after lunch the three of us headed on our way to Dallas. We drove about 9 hours that first day and stopped that night somewhere in Louisiana. We got up on sunday morning and drove about 4 hours and we were in Dallas! It was very exciting and scary at the same time. We are living downtown so we found our building and signed paperwork and finally got to see our new apartment (we only saw it online before this). I was a little shocked at first; it is very high up and much, much smaller than the house we were renting in florida. It's growing on me though. We unloaded the stuff we had piled in my car but our moving truck is not supposed to be here for another 7 to 14 days!! We packed enough clothes though to last a couple weeks. My brother stayed with us for a few days and it was so fun having him here. He is a lot like me in that we like to explore and try to restraunts. We went to the JFK memorial one day which was awesome. Everything is so accessible which is very different than living in the suburbs!

J doesn't start work until June 24th so we are trying to spend as much time together as possible. I am so afraid that Im not going to see him and that I will be lonely :( I signed up to start crossfit next week and I also am really hoping to meet some good friends at work. I have to remember that it just takes time and I have to relax a little. It's okay to be lonely for a while. In the meantime I am going to enjoy life in my new city. Speaking up that I am going to head to the 8th floor pool :) Till next time...

Shannon

Still Not Sure

So if the title is not explanatory enough then I don't know what is. I'm still not quite sure what I'm doing but I figure eventually I'll figure it out

So new things going on: J will be graduating from medical school in 16 days and then the day after he graduates we will begin our drive to Dallas where he will start residency!! We are both so excited but a little nervous with the move. We are moving from a 3 bedroom house to a 1 bedroom loft-style apartment. We are happy about trying to cut down on all the crap we have and only keep things we really need but I am a slight hoarder so it is difficult getting rid of all my "stuff." I am so excited to leave my current job ( I like the people but want to be somewhere bigger.) I am excited to get back into pediatric hematology/oncology, my true passion and live in a bigger city. Our life is getting ready to change but we are embracing it to the fullest. I am going to miss my family so very much but they are so supportive and encouraging about this next step in our lives. I guess it's not everyday you get to pack up and move 1000 miles to start a brand new, exciting life!!

Shannon