ABC's of Me!!

So I saw this post on Run Courtney Run's site. I changed it a little and thought it would be a great way for y'all to know a bit more about me :)

•(A) Age:  31

•(B) Bed Size:  Queen (currently)

•(C) Chore You Really Dislike:  Cleaning

•(D) Divorced:  Yep

•(E) Essential Start To Your Day:   breakfast and sometimes coffee

•(F) Favorite Color:  Pink

•(G) Gold or Silver:  white gold

•(H) Height:  5'6"

•(I) Instruments I played:  Flute and violin

•(J) Job:  Registered Nurse (currently traveling RN)

•(K) Kids:  Maybe someday??

•(L) Live:  Umm..all over the country for the last 2 years

•(M) Mom's Name:  Doreen

•(N) Nicknames:  none

•(O) Overnight Hospital Stays:  Several unfortunately

•(P) Pet Peeve:  Lately, when I'm told that I need to know Spanish because the majority of my patient speak it

•(Q) Quote:  Carpe Diem!

•(R) Right or Left Handed:  Right

•(S) Siblings: Younger brother, 29

•(T) Time You Wake Up: If I work 5:10am, otherwise whenever my body wants to; lately 6ish (am)

•(U) Underwear: That's for only someone special to know ;)

•(V) Vegetable You Dislike:  Brussel sprouts

•(W) What Makes You Run Late: Traffic

•(X) X-Rays:  Chest, head, full body

•(Y) Yummy Food You Make:  Apricot chicken

•(Z) Zoo, Favorite animal:  well I really love dolphins

-T

Just not a runner

I get asked numerous times what is a traveling nurse so here it is and why I chose to take on this adventure for 2 years.  A traveling nurse is basically just that-nurse that travels across the country (if he/she chooses to) at 13 weeks assignments for a recruitment company.  Hospitals use "us" to fill in needs, especially in the the south during the winter months aka "snowbird season."  That's basically it. I probably have been one of the more adventurous ones as I have taken with me my car and we have gone from Coast to Coast to Coast. And she is still running strong!  I have been living out of a suitcase(s) for the last 2 years which is very interesting.  So why would I want to continue to do this? I'm constantly wondering where am I going next and it is stressful, so why? Well...

Places I have been/seen
1) Grand Canyon 2) Santa Barbara and Oprah's house 3) 13 weeks spent 50 feet from the ocean(and I'm from WI!) 4) Made friends from across the nation 5)Lived at 6000 ft for 6 months 6) Made it to RI, CA, NM, and AZ as places to visit 7) Got to see celebrities up close and in person 8) Learned how nursing differs across the country 9) Quickly got over my fear of flying      10) Own frequent flyer miles with every major airlines and use them 11)Got to go jet skiing in NOVEMBER!! 12)Rode a tram for miles up to 10,000 feet to overlook Albuquerque,NM. 13) Seen how much more athletic people are in the South them at home and it makes me sad 14) New York City!! 15) Biosphere 2, Tucson 16) Taos, NM 17) need I keep going...

What has it allowed me to do:
Not only do I travel for my career but I also travel for running. So I might have been in California but ran in Las Vegas for instance.  I have gotten to travel from almost free to New Orleans, San Diego, Las Vegas, Chicago, LA, and Seattle all because of my career.  I go "home" to see family and friends almost every 6 weeks so I get lots of frequent flier miles which I cash in on other flights.  It's been awesome.  It has also allowed me to grow greatly as a person. I have to rely on myself only.   Accident-figured it out. Deathly sick-get yourself to the Urgent care. Learn to navigate thru numerous different cities thanks to my GPS system!

I love my career.  Now I have a decision to make if I want to stop traveling and plant some roots for a bit.  De-stress and get involved in some things that I want to do but can't because I travel.  Will it hinder my running and traveling.  Nope.  I already have a plan for that one.

-T