Spring break aftermath (Dun dun dun!)

      Last week was spring break and let me tell ya it went by WAY TOO FAST. I feel like I was just sitting on the couch watching tv without a care in the world in the same town as my husband and then BAM I'm back at my dad's house studying for an exam. Boo.

      Monday started with a lovely test at 8am followed by lab time. Tuesday consisted of a body pump class and studying. Wednesday was my second to last day of clinical with studying. Thursday was taking the second test scheduled for after spring break and today rounded off with lab, a tutoring session, a workout, and dinner with my dad and a good family friend we hadn't seen in awhile.

      While this week ( the dreaded week after spring break) was productive and tiring, I greatly missed Devin. I know he always misses me too, but this time I could tell just how much he really did. We generally talk every morning and every night then depending on our schedules we may just briefly speak throughout the day. We rarely have nothing to talk about, but we are mainly calling to check on the other and remind each other how much we love each other. Cheesy you may say, but hey we have been together for 8 years so we are doing something right :)

       Well Devin has been calling at times when he usually wouldn't call. He is also calling more often just to simply say I love you. He has always done stuff like this, but lately life has been busy. If he reads this and says, " hey I did those things the same amount as I do now," well dude I guess I'm noticing it more now I don't know. Anyways, at times I need to take a step back and realize how lucky I am to be married to Devin and have the life I am living. Yes, I have been through hell and back with my mom passing and I live each day coping, but I am not sitting depressed in a corner. I am taking life by the reins and going for the ride.

       School has been crazy, which was to be expected prior to acceptance, and things are only getting more fast paced from now til the end of the semester. I got my first A on a test this week and couldn't be more ecstatic! I studied all week when I was in Florida so I'm glad my grade showed my hard work. I also got a B on my test today and was very happy with that as well. I believe seeing Devin also had a part to play since my mind was a little more clear.

    Ya know what? Even after 8 years of being together I still cry at the airport when Devin and I have to separate again. He always has to remind me that we will see each other again soon. I still cry. To me, that's how you know you have true love. I am very proud of him for following his dream and putting it into action. Soon enough we will be together again. Fortunately, I get to go back out over the summer and then he will be back in San Antonio for good!

    I didn't intend on making this a mush fest and "brag" but sometimes it's just needed to shout out to the world good, positive things!

To my friends who have yet to find true love, don't worry. Don't think you are ever too old. You aren't. You will find your soulmate in due time. We all have that one special person set on this earth. Don't settle and don't be hasty. Remember you will live with this person for the rest of your life :)

Always remember pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, a mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God. 

Nursing School 101

                   Nursing school is everything I thought it would be.

• Hard
• Time consuming
• Hard
• Interesting
• Fun
• Hard

                       I have made a lot of new friends and enjoy learning new things each day. Sometimes the day is long and sometimes the week feels like an eternity, but all in all I wouldn't trade it for anything. I would like that Devin was here with me, but soon enough I keep telling myself. He has one more year and then we will NEVER be apart! (que evil laugh) Mwahahahaha Just kidding!

                    So.... I am only a little over a month in and I can't believe how much I have learned in such a short amount of time. I look at my schedule at all I still have to learn in just the weeks leading up to spring break and my jaw drops while my heart pounds and sweat pours down my head! Ok, so maybe I don't get that anxiety stricken, but still it's overwhelming. Shoot! Devin isn't even here to distract me and I'm loosing my mind sometimes. I can only imagine when things pick up even more and he is here! I will be in my 3rd semester when he is back. Right now, I am scheduling study sessions with friends whenever because I am only worrying about myself. Once Devin is back, I will have to take into consideration if he wants to go see a movie or just cuddle on the couch. It will be nice though to have him back. He is and always will be my rock.

                  Back to nursing school! The teachers are extremely nice and helpful. I am so thankful for that. I had this awful imagine in my mind prior to school starting that they were going to quiz us all the time on micro and chem stuff. I thought I would be lost in the dark all the time, but they explain things so well I only feel lost sometimes :)

                  I was able to administer medication this week in my clinical rotation and take out a urinary catheter. How weird is it that I am overly excited to do that? I can't wait to give my first subcutaneous injection and even insert a urinary catheter. I am still a little nervous to take out an NG tube, but hey it's going to happen one of these days. I am beyond grateful that I am in nursing school and on my way to getting a bachelor's degree and becoming a register nurse. It's all so surreal. It feels like yesterday I was sitting in a dance studio freaking out about competition routines in high school. Crazy how priorities and time change.

                 So I just wrote my second paper for the semester and let me just say it was probably the most emotional one I will have to write. Of course it was about my mom. We had to write about an experience that will influence how we will be as a nurse. My mom is and always will be with me, but seeing as how she also had cancer everything just seems to come back to her. It took me awhile to finally find the "courage" to write the first sentence. I was putting it off more and more because I had other stuff to do for other classes, but also because I wasn't quite sure how detailed I could get without having to just stop and take minute.

                No matter how long it will be without my mom. 3 years, 10 years, or even 20 years it will always be difficult. She was my best friend. I confiding in her about almost everything. She gave the best advice when wanted and not wanted :) and was always there to just listen. At times, I forget she isn't just a phone call away. I use to think people were weird for still grieving over losing someone after many years had gone by. Especially when they acted fine. I'm sorry to those for thinking that, even though you don't know I thought that. It's true that you don't know how to react to something until you have experience it yourself. I know now that it isn't easy and you are always grieving. It's just part of the process.

                  Anyways, so it took me some time to write the paper. I had my mother in law and  one of my best friends help me revise it. At the end of the final revision, my mother in law wrote to me and said ( in a nutshell) that she knows my mom is proud of me and is watching over me everyday and how happy she is that my mom shared me with her. It's hard not knowing what to do when your go to person isn't there anymore. Luckily, my mom and God blessed me with my dad, stepmom, and mother in law, and Devin and Janna, and close friends to confide in when needed.

                My mom was a tough cookie when it came to fighting for her life. I admire her for the strength she had every day. She honestly never asked why her. She took each day one step at a time and didn't sweat the small stuff. As I go on with my journey to becoming an RN, I know she will be with  me every step of the way. I am going to see heart breaking situation over my time as a nurse, but I will be able to relate more with patients and their families, which is why I think God did what he did. I still don't fully understand. I think I figured out part of the plan and that was to help my aunt and I become closer and my dad and sister and I have an even stronger bond. Later in life, when I least expect it, I will know why God planned to take my mom so early in life. I'm in no rush to find out because good things come to those who wait.

                Everyone just take away with you that we all have guardian angels watching over us helping to lead us in the right direction to achieve our dreams. Don't forget to thank those who helped get you where you are today. Also, remember to always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God. 


                       
 

Two Thousand Fourteen!

        2013 is coming to an end.

        A lot has happened to the Monaco/Nakayama family this year. Let's see...

* January*

-Dad got remarried to a woman named Karen who was is his high school sweetheart.

-I started my last semester at SAC.

-Janna started her 2nd semester at Texas A&M.

-We moved back to Texas.

-Devin got out of the Army.

-Devin and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary.

-I got a job as a home health caregiver at Visiting Angels.

*February*

- Janna celebrated her 19th birthday.

*March*

-Devin moved to Florida.

-Karen celebrated her birthday.

-Devin's mom celebrated her birthday.

*April*

-Devin started at MMI ( Motorcycle Mechanic Institute).

-Devin's dad celebrated his birthday.

*May*

-I graduated from SAC with my Associates in Pre-Nursing.

*June*

-I moved to Florida.

-I got a job at a telemarketing office.

-Devin's brother in law Jules celebrated his birthday.

*July*

-Devin celebrated his 25th birthday.

-Devin's brother Brodie and his sister Tanicia celebrated their birthdays.

-My aunt and uncle came to visit us in Florida.

-We visited Epcot.

-I got a promotion at work.

*August*

- I found out I got into Nursing School.

-We went saw my grandma and aunt and uncle in Arlington.

*September*

-Isabella, our niece, celebrated her 10th birthday.

*October*

-Gage, our nephew, celebrated his 12th birthday.

-Jules came back from Korea.

-Devin's cousin Mercedes got married.

*November*

- My mom's 2nd anniversary of her passing.

-We visited Devin's sister and her family for Thanksgiving in TN.

*December*

- I celebrated my 23rd birthday.

- I moved back to Texas.

-We got to celebrate Christmas with our families.

I can tell 2014 will be a great year with me starting nursing school and Devin finishing up BMW in March and then starting either Kawaski or Harley. Have a fun and safe New Years my friends.

Always remember to pray for eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.

 

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Now that it's almost a month since Thanksgiving I guess it's the perfect time to talk about how adventure to Tennessee!

Wednesday, night before Thanksgiving:
 I am home about 20 minutes since getting off from work throwing clothes into a bag waiting for Devin to get home from school. I am running around like a chicken with head cut off ( per usual) making sure I am not forgetting one thing! ( Of course I made my usual list so I would be triple sure not to forget a thing.) Devin gets home about 6pm so once he changes out of his school clothes he is ready to load up the car. Now that it's about 6:45pm we are finally ready to hit the road! Stop by Wendy's for a very nutritious dinner (lol) and are ready to fight the traffic! To our fortunate deck of cards, no traffic! Wow God is definitely watching over us. We make into Macon,GA around 1am, find a lovely Motel 6 ( since they leave the light on for ya) and get ready to lay our heads on the pillow. Well..... as I am fluffing my pillow and pulling the sheets back I notice lots of black hair. Not human hair. Dog hair or cat hair either way it was animal hair. My jaw fell to the ground in amazement. The maid clearly placed the pillow strategically over the crazy amount of hair in hopes no one would lift it up. Wrongo! I was that person who looked under the pillow ( as if I was awaiting money from the tooth fairy or something).  I must have made some kind of grunt because Devin yells out, "what?!", I replied," Oh just some hair," He replies," eh dust it off you'll be fine." So I dusted it off and went on my marry way to dream of fried turkey. :) Woke up the next day bright and early, showered, changed, and packed up.

Thursday, Thanksgiving day:
We drive thru a Mickey D's before we get on the road. At the first window, where you pay, was this volumptious southern gal who told us in a very southern Georgia accent, "Happy Thanksgiving." I looked Devin in shock as we pull up to the 2nd window to get our food. The lady at this window was also very sweet and wished us a Happy Thanksgiving as well. We couldn't believe how nice they were. We pretty much decided that even though Florida is a southern state for some reason the southern hospitality ( at least in Orlando) completely skipped Florida and finished off in Georgia, South Carolina etc. Now we are on the road to Clarksville and we are enjoying no traffic on the highways and the beautiful scenery. Finally we see a sign that says, "Welcome to Tennessee!" We are so excited until we see a sign that says, "Welcome to Georgia!" Whoa whoa whoa... what? I thought we just left GA how are we back in GA? We look at the GPS and it looks like the way the highway goes you go into TN then back to GA and then back to TN. Low and behold we see a sign that says, "Welcome to Tennessee," again. I guess that's what happened then. We ended up making great time to my sister in laws, without speeding (I promise we did the speed limit the entire time because the GA police officers were out!) the whole way. It was so nice to see a familiar face and relax and enjoy being around family. So being aunt and uncle we had to bring Bella and Gage their christmas present. Since we don't have kids of our own it's game on to spoil our niece and nephew.  They got RC cars. Not the little dinky one from Walmart or Toys R Us. The ones from the RC hobby shop that they can upgrade throughout their life. No it wasn't cheap but hey they are only young once. :) They were so excited! They charged up real quick and went running outside with them. RC cars = success.

Friday, day after Thanksgiving aka Black Friday & Saturday:
 My family and Devin's family haven't really been ones to seek out Black Friday stuff. On occasion we will participate, but it isn't a tradition or a have to. We enjoyed Thanksgiving left overs and headed out to explore. We went to some RC hobby shops and went to the mall in Nashville. It was a very low key relaxing couple of days with much needed family time.

Sunday, journey back to Florida:
Devin and I enjoyed some breakfast tacos with the kiddos and Jules and Tish. We planned on leaving early, but we prolonged our departure since we didn't want to return to Orlando. We had a blast and were sad it was coming to an end. We left around 9am and traffic wasn't too bad until we hit a huge jam about an hour or so outside of Georgia. I pulled out my handy iphone and used the Waze app. ( FYI it is amazing! Shows you pretty much everything in route and you are able to communicate with others to spot out what exactly is going on.) The jam finally cleared up and then we hit another one right outside of Atlanta. This was one was worse. I fell asleep for about 30 minutes and woke up and we literally moved like a few exits. Luckily, someone on Waze suggested a different route and our GPS re-calculated correctly. Apparently, a car had caught on fire creating a huge huge mess! Even though we got home later than planned we were fortunate to make it home safely.

Overall, we had an awesome time at my sister in laws drinking, eating, laughing, and playing with kids. We are beyond blessed to have such an amazing family. So friends please remember to pray for eyes that see the best in the people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad and a soul that never loses faith in God. 

Mencia and the Motorcycle Re build

     Saturday, we went and saw Carlos Mencia! I have been excited to see him for like a month now! I bought the tickets in early October and was stoked that the day was finally here! A co-worker of mine just moved into a new place so she invited us over for lunch and was gracious enough to let us use her washer and dryer so we wouldn't have to go to the laundromat. ( Boy! was that relaxing! I hate the laundromat!!!) When we got done eating lunch, we just sat and relaxed while chit chatting with my co-worker and her boyfriend.

     Devin gets a text message that a package for the bike project he is doing has arrived for him. He tells me we need to stop by the house on the way to the comedy club so he can put the package inside the house. I said ok because it was on the way. Well, it wasn't exactly on the way. The Improv was on the opposite side of I-drive so Devin says he needs to go back now so no one will take the package. I give him the "Are you kidding me" look and decided whatever might as well go. So he heads back to the house so he can meet us in time at the comedy club. My friend is done getting ready so we head out.

     Devin calls for directions to the parking garage we are in. Well, out of the 4 of us my friend's boyfriend is from Orlando, but he didn't know his way around very well. I am horrible with directions. I use landmarks for everything. Devin has advised me for years to remember street names because the landmarks could not be there one day. Oh well I'm stubborn and still use landmarks! Luckily, he found us.

     So we get into the club, grab a drink, and get seated. I was so glad we did not sit right in front of the stage. I did not want to get made fun of or spit on! We had awesome seats in the second row! The food and drinks were good for a club and the atmosphere was very enjoyable! Carlos Mencia was soooo funny! I laughed the entire time, while also laughing very loudly in Devin's ear! ( He sat in front of me at the table) Before the show ends, a guy comes up to us and has us fill out a survey and then hands us tickets to come back to the Improv. Super cool! I love winning stuff! At the end of the show, we go stand in line to get our picture taken with Carlos and get his autograph. Devin rushes out to the bathroom since he didn't go the entire show and misses getting his picture taken! I think I was more upset that he missed out than he was. The line moved way faster than I thought.

     We walked out to the car, told my friend bye, and drove back home.

     This morning my throat was killing me! I obviously had a good time since I laughed so hard and loud that my throat was sore! I'm a little hoarse, but oh well. We had a lot of things to mark off on our to do list. We are going to visit Devin's sister, brother in law and niece and nephew for Thanksgiving so we had a lot to get done before our departure to Hickville. :)

     We got the kids their christmas present so we had to wrap them up. The floors needed to be swept and mopped along with the bathroom getting scrubbed down and we needed to clean the bird cage and put laundry up. Needless to say, we have been up and running since about 8am ( I think Devin actually woke up at 7am) and are watching now watching Hook.

     Devin worked on the 1982 550 GTZ ( I probably wrote the wrong model) he bought last weekend as a project bike. The guy who he got it from couldn't get it to run because he thought the engine was locked up. Devin figured out how to make it run today. He has been cleaning it up and fixing this that and the other all week. He's even reading the service manual on the bike. He wants me to ride it once it's already to go. I sat on it and tried to imagine myself riding down the road, but I keep going back and forth on whether or not I want to ride a motorcycle. Anyways, at least we know MMI is worth the money and the time since he has shown what he's learned in real life.

     Our new Monaco family member, Squirt the Lovebird, has decided that he doesn't like me. He is definitely Devin's lover. He tries to get me when I go change his water in the morning or put new food in. He bit me the other day on my neck so now I'm over it. I know I should play with him more, but honestly I only enjoy dogs. Devin is THE animal lover. When we were dating, he got two cornsnakes. I did hold them and they never bit me. Devin found them to be cuddly in their own slithering way. Now that is the true definition of an animal lover.

     Well, I'm gunna put my feet up, pop in another movie, or watch some On Demand and relax until Monday morning at 7am rolls around. Thanks for continuing to read about me and my life :) I can't believe I have almost 2,000 views! Incredible.

Always remember to pray for eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, a mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.

    

Trust in God with all your heart

  Everyday on my way to work and right before I close my eyes to go to sleep, I pray. I pray for us, our friends, and our family. I always end my prayer with what I end my blog with, "Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people,etc."  I never took the time to step back and see if God did answer my prayers. I figured eh it'll happen when it happens and I'll thank him later. Over the past few months, I have taken the time to acknowledge God's work in action.

   One of my good friends at work has been struggling a bit. She is a wonderful person who constantly puts others before herself. She is living paycheck to paycheck and is doing a damn good job at being a single mom. She is such a strong person and I admire all these amazing attributes she obtains. I prayed that she would no longer have to struggle the way she is and be able to get to a place where she could relax and just work to have extra money on the side. Ladies and gents, my prayers were most definitely answered. She is moving in with her boyfriend here soon! They found a quaint apartment on a good side of town and you can just see how she lights up when he walks in to our office. I am beyond happy for her. :)

  That is just one example. There are a few more but I think y'all get the jist. Don't take the things God does for granted. I know there are times when it may seem that God is not around, but he is. I have to constantly remind myself when times are hard that God would not put something in my path that I could not handle. I ask that you do the same.

   We were just blessed beyond belief recently. We found out Devin got approved for 30% disability from the military. His unemployment was extended and he is doing phenomenal in school. He will soon move on to doing his elective classes and it will be a breeze from there on out. He won't be done until Feb 2015, but I will be done with one year of nursing school and he will move back to San Antonio and begin his career as a motorcycle mechanic. I am so thankful for how blessed we have been and continue to be.

   So friends and family, remember God does answer our prayers. Sometimes not in the way we would like him to,but we have to remember he has a plan for all of us. We need to keep faith and trust in him daily.

     Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God.

Bring it on!

    At the end of August, I found out I was accepted into nursing school! Yipee! I have since been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to balance work and getting all of the my requirements done for school such as CPR training, background check,etc. I am happy to say I am done with all of those things and now all I need to do is register and go to orientation!
   
    It's a little bittersweet because I'll have to leave Florida, where Devin is, and move in back in (temporarily) with my dad and step mom. It'll work out better that way because then I won't have to stress about having a job that will pay for living expenses and bills. I can just focus on bills. (Who said being a grown up is fun anyways?!)

    Work has been NUTS! NUTS I TELL YOU! I am now head of customer service and they want me to run a separate office of only customer service. I have never moved up so fast in a job than this one. Since things were just starting out when I first got hired, they needed people to move up as things got bigger and they got bigger FAST!

   We went home for a weekend a couple of weeks ago for Devin's cousin Mercedes' wedding. It was beautiful. It was super TEXAS hot but it was beautiful. Also, it was the shortest weekend known to man so needless to say we a bit upset that we couldn't stay longer. We'd thought about going home for Thanksgiving but plane tickets are espensive!!! ( must say with spanish accent, no offense) We are still working out what we are going to do for Thanksgiving. Devin would like to go for a motorcycle ride to Timbuktu while I would like to go for a ride to the outlet mall. :)

     The Florida weather is getting cooler so it's more enjoyable to take a ride on the motorcycle now. A couple of months ago we almost had heat strokes because of how hot it was sitting at the stoplights to go from our house to blockbuster 7 miles down the road. We just did a Ride for the Cure for Breast Cancer Awareness last weekend and the weather was amazing! Sooooo Devin decided let's go down to Miami and then Key West for Thanksgiving since he has a 4 day weekend. Let's just say these plans are still in the making...

     You see there is this "bridge" or as I call it "THE BRIDGE OF NO RETURN". I don't know I have this 'thing' with bridges, especially HIGH bridges. For example, ALL my San Antonio peeps, y'all know the new connector highway thingymagig that they built to help traffic out for people traveling down 1604 towards Stone Oak that connects them to 281 heading towards the airport. Well that overpass is SERIOUSLY the highest thing in the entire world! I feel like I am going to fall off the face of the earth everytime I get on there. I accidentally took it once because I didn't know they added that when I moved back. Then Devin took it out on the motorcycle when we were going to Embassy Movie Theater and purposely rode the shoulder so I would be even more freaked out! OH MY HOLY JESUS! Now I will take the exit to wait at the light and then go wayyy up to get onto 281 just so I don't have to use that overpass. So since to drive from Miami to Key West there is this bridge that is like 100 miles long I am a bit skeptical.

     Again, we  are still making the plans :)

Quick Family updates:

     My grandma aka Momo just turned 91. Janna pierced her nose and then FINALLY decided to take that crazy thing out because she was getting a keloid inside her nostril. My dad and Karen are still living up the retired life. Devin is enjoying school and continuing to be the lovable, pain in my rump, bbq master, caring husband he always is. Devin's parents and Memaw are doing well as well as his brother Brodie. Tish and Jules and the kids just moved to Tennessee and are getting adjusted.

    Nothing real exciting is going on in the Monaco household. Hope I didn't bore ya too much :)

Remember:

Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst, mind that forgets the bad and a soul that never loses faith in God.