NYC Vacation, School, Life Goals and Easter at a Glance

February 2014 NYC Trip

Friday: Day 1 Mom and Mike dropped us off to the airport in plenty of time to get through security and the first flight jitters to set in for Martin. A co-worker gave him bracelets to reduce changes of nausea along with the Dramamine I had given him for the same reasons. Since we were early and had boarded within the first group, were lucky to have seats together. Southwest Airlines does not have fixed seating so it's a gamble if you get to sit with your loved ones and I was concerned for first. Once the flight took off and we were in the air, Martins fears subsided and he began looking out the windows and looking down at the sights below. Colorado was covered in snow and it was quite cold when we landed. We had a layover there, but never departed the aircraft. It felt nice to stretch our legs and go potty without bumping into elbows. For the second half of the flight, we distracted ourselves with iPod movies: Knocked Up and Transformers. Once we landed in LaGuardia, the sensation came over me and memory served me as if I had just left New York. I navigated us through the airport and onto the taxi line. We were Brooklyn Bound... a half hour drive. The transition was easy. The drive on the way to our place in Brooklyn was scenic and reminded me of all the reason of why I left. It was run-down, dirty and COLD. We had our jackets and snow boots on with our sweats to save packing space and good thing too- we needed it. I used Air BnB to book a room with a host during our stay. We arrived to the stoop where a blue haired, young lady greeted us and welcomed us into her home. The room was 3 flights upstairs with no elevator. Once we got up stairs, she showed us to our room and gave us a tour of the detached apartment where we would have bathroom and kitchen privileges. She had kitties that weren't very friendly and a peculiar smell about her apartment. She was an artist and enjoyed a naturalistic vegan lifestyle. In her apartment were house plants and various musical instruments. I found her eccentric and interesting. We stayed to ourselves mostly and only asked her questions if necessary. The room we stayed in was put together with the best of her ability and not very upgraded. Our bedspread was homemade and the steam (heater) was very finicky. The bed was very comfortable though and she thoughtfully left us a guitar for entertainment. Once we got settled, we walked to the subway station on Dekalb, bought our weekly unlimited passes and away we went to experience the town. Martin was amazed on the very thought of being in the subway- he looked like a ninja turtle in his big puffer jacket, so wild eyed and full of excitement. I took him through Chinatown onto Little Italy where we ate a mixed pasta dinner with pasta figol at La Mela's. We proceeded to Fererra for dessert and we were stuffed! Afterward, we went to see the night sights of Times Square. There was a Polish protest in regards to the Olympics. We sat on the stairwell below the TV screens smack dab in the middle and gazed for a while; reading the billboards and viewing the bright lights of the tall buildings. Pretty amazing. He couldn't get enough so we ventured slightly uptown to visit the Time Magazine and NBC buildings along with the famed Radio City Music Hall in Rockefeller Center including the ice ring where the Christmas Tree Lighting usually takes place around Christmas time. By that time, we were pretty tired so we went back to our room. With a pit stop to White Castle on the way, of course. We slept horribly, the pilot blew out in the steam (heater) in our room leaving it to be frigid all night long.

Saturday: Day 2 We woke up bright in early, today was our sightseeing day! We set out to the Empire State Building to meet our Groupon bus tour, only to discover the company went out of business and our passes were no good. Plan B- Starbucks to warm our souls and a few minutes to map out where he wanted to go... Trini the tour guide was on the go! We headed to Central Park where we experienced the Dutch Cottage, Strawberry Fields and the John Lennon memorial (alot smaller than 'imagined'), the famous tree-lined walkway outlined by snow covered benches, the Dutch visiting center, carousel, running paths, horse drawn carriages and little friendly squirrels to accompany us along our long walk through the park. Second, we mozied around Grand Central Station. I couldn't help but imagine where people might go and who had been standing in the same room at any given point in history. Next, Battery Park, Ellis island and the Statue of Liberty- the ferry was freezing! There were even chunks of ice floating in the water below. Martin experienced Nathans Hot dogs here. Then, we walked a couple blocks to bull statue near Wall Street in the financial district and onto the 9/11 Memorial Site. To tie off the day, we ended up in Times Square. Martin enjoyed the lights so much the night before, we had to go back for a second lookzie. We walked into Ellen's Starlight Diner and regretfully wound up eating a meal at Applebee's in Time Square (doubled the price from home). By that time, we had pretty much checked off all the places Martin had on the sightseeing to-do list and was left with no other ideas of things to keep us entertained. The dinner experience at Applebees ruined Martins good spirits and he was getting homesick and ready to go home to Arizona. We settled on a movie- we paid $18 each to see a 3D movie of Frankenstein in Time Square! It was outrageously priced. Afterward, we headed back to Brooklyn to catch some sleep. The steam (heater) was acting up again- only this time it was up so high, we were miserably sweating.

Sunday: Day 3 After such a busy sightseeing day on Day 2, we indulgently slept in. It felt so refreshing to take our time. I had pre-planned a theatre day today. We jumped on the subway (which was mostly navigated by Martin at this point) and we were theatre district bound, blocks from Times Square. Famished was the word- NYC style pizza to the rescue and might I add- it was the best $10 I spent! YUM!!! Fast and right around the corner from the theatre. The Broadway production we chose to see was Wicked. The seating we had was fabulous- 9 rows from the stage in orchestra seating and off to the right. We saw everything so clearly and heard everything perfectly. It was a absolute amazing experience. The actors were talented and had great stage presence. The theatre looked on the small side, but the lobby was tastefully decorated. Martin bought us souvenir cups to remember the day. I made dinner plans with my dear friend, Lois, and she showed us this interesting Cuban/ Puerto Rican eatery in Uptown that looked like a club environment- it was very loud and dark and resembled a party atmosphere. We had appetizers there and decided to finish our dinner out at a Mexican restaurant across the street. Mind you- East Coast version of Mexican food is very different than the West Coast. However, the conversation was priceless as we enjoyed fresh made guacamole made right in front of us. The walk to the train was pretty- it started snowing. This was the only snow downfall we experienced the whole trip. After the dinner date, it was late and we went back to the room for the last night. We (when I say 'we' I mean 'I') packed and went to bed early because we had to be up so early for the car I reserved to take us to the airport. We happily found a happy medium with the steam (heater) and left the window open while we slept. The heat and the cool air made for a perfect combo.

Monday: Day 4 The next morning, there was no mystery. Everything had been packed and prepared the night before, clothes were laid out and nothing was left behind. I left my unlimited MTA card along with the room keys for the host to use as I did not have anymore use for it and she was extremely grateful. We departed early that morning and arrive at the airport in a timely manner to enjoy breakfast at a cafe and get through security safely. Homeward Bound! We sat next to each other and swapped movies for the return flight. Once we landed, a feeling to excitement filled our hearts as we looked at each others and said, "home, sweet home". We couldn't find a ride, so we took a cab due to lack of energy to ride transit. The pups and roomies were happy to see us and we were happy to be HOME. All in all- it was a great trip and an unforgettable experience we had the opportunity to share together.

End of Semester Three!

This semester was unlike to first two by far. I felt myself, not giving up, but a little less motivated. As bad as that sounds, I wasn't alone. My group of classmates seemed to have the same welcome back blues after the glorious 3-week break we had for the holidays. Something about it- I just couldn't get "it" together. Although I was never failing or at risk of failing, I felt my personal study goals lack and procrastination set in. I stopped taking the lightrail and driving or carpooling, leading to less reading time and more personal time to slack off. Reasons? Perhaps my class load increase, mid semester instructor switch in human growth & development, disorganization via school, generalized stress. This semester, the courses I had were statistics, human growth & development, nutrition and decision making. Nutrition and human growth & development were nursing graded courses, meaning I needed a 77% or above to pass the course. It helped to have a study group every Wednesday with my Keep Calm school fam bam. I am truly grateful and blessed to have such a great group for support throughout this experience. I have learned so much through them and have enjoyed knowing them more this semester. Chere' was our new addition this semester :) The teachers I had for nutrition and human growth & development will not be back next semester as they are leaving Brookline College for other opportunities. Additionally, I will not have two of the other teachers that have followed me since the beginning of the program next semester. I ended to semester earning three A's and a single B. This was the first B I have received since the beginning of this journey. It made me sad to break my A streak, but satisfying nonetheless. At the end of semester one, Emily got the group together and had dinner at Kabuki in Tempe Marketplace- minus a few people. The end of semester 2 get-together fizzled out. However, Emily rounded us all together once again (same place/location) and I am happy to say, it was our biggest turnout yet- minus about 3 people. This time some of us brought our other halves and it was a night to remember. Chere' got burned, Sarah got drunk and chewed out the management, we all ate, drank, toasted, snapped photos and got to know our counterparts. After dinner, a few went home and the rest of us went to Dave n Busters to have a few celebration drinks and dance. When we got there, they were selling jell-o shots in syringes (how appropriate, right!?)! Martin also bought a couple beer towers. It was perfect... there was music and everyone had a good time. Pictures were pretty epic too.

Martin Going to School

Martin has decided to take the plunge and go to nursing school! Not only has he decided to go back to school, he wishes to take the same nursing program I am in right now! Although we can't afford for him to go to a private college at the same time, he will take one class per semester until I graduate. This will not only cut down tuition costs, but it will also give him time to re-develop his study habits and get his feet wet before he takes on the big challenge of an accelerated Bachelors of Nursing program. I hope he can get together and form similar experiences as I have. This will be positive for our personal life and his career as well. Options will be his for the taking and opportunities will be knocking on his door. I am so proud and excited for him. His estimated time of admission will be January 2016.

Budget

Budgeting relieves alot of anxiety for me. Having a plan and knowing what to plan for and how I am going to do it not only makes me work harder to achieve it, but makes me have a better outlook on life. Knowing I have goals, dreams and aspirations makes me a better person. I started to really freak myself out earlier in the semester when I looked at the future schedule and realized I won't be able to work full-time throughout the nursing program. I started to ask myself worrying questions- what am I going to do? How am I going to pay for everything? How is everything going to be kept afloat? -Martin is only one person. So here's what I did- I made a budgeting plan to pull us out of debt completely by the time we are 35. Debt to income ratio. I looked at the credit report and any/all debt we had to include loans: personal, car and school, credit cards, line of credit, etc. Then, I looked at the income is being made and what would have to made to achieve payoff dates and deadlines. This allowed me to have a better understanding of how much work is needed to accomplish the grand plan. Our budget also goes hand-in-hand with some of the other life goals we previously set for ourselves. It helps us to eat healthier by shopping the farmer market and basing our diet off of that with limited meat additions. Being debt-free means alot to me and knowing I can provide a better future for my loved ones by doing so fills my heart with a kind of joy no one could take away.

Plans

  Once the debt is paid off, I plan on having a hefty down payment for a home in Globe-Miami, Arizona. Maybe even have enough to buy in cash- no mortgage. As mentioned in previous posts, I have a desire to own a home in this small, antique, mining town. It's Martin's hometown and we can easily retire there. Once Martin graduates nursing school and has a year worth of experience, we plan to be travel nurses in the Valley with occasional travel assignments out-of-state. If all goes well, our apartment will be paid for with our travel assignment and we will be able to pay on our home if we have a mortgage. Plus side, I can do this all while working on my MSN online!

Easter at Home

I unexpectedly had to take Easter off due to illness the night before. However, Martin's family was over and we enjoyed some family time with his side of the family. The kids colored and hunted for eggs, made & ate a family BBQ dinner, kicked back poolside and enjoyed home movies with everyone. While I couldn't be with my side of the family, I messaged them and let them know I was thinking of them and they were loved and cared about. I bought my mom her Robin Eggs (our tradition). It was truly the best relaxing day I had in a long time. Just what I needed. Peace