Time Flies When You're Having Fun?

Time flies when you're having fun. Or so the saying goes. Dull excuse, I know but I'm (hopefully) going to get on a routine of blogging. So let's recap starting from, say, December 2009.

In December, after a lot of thought, I decided to move back home and commute to school rather than live on campus. I gave dormitory living a chance and it plain sucked just wasn't for me. So I moved home right before Christmas break. Despite being in the ER on Christmas Eve and again in the wee hours of Christmas day (many thanks to my superhero Dad, Mark for rushing me to the ER at 2 AM), Christmas was great. I even got a Wii from my wonderful boyfriend for Christmas. But, the biggest highlight of Christmas would have to be this:

Miss Sara Bella. Bella for short. She is a purebred Boxer and was given to my boyfriend's mother on Christmas. All of the family had known about it for weeks but boy, was Patricia shocked on Christmas morning to see this baby girl!

New Year's was celebrated Up North as usual. Bella and Maple rang in the New Year in style...


In January, Eric and I celebrated our 4th anniversary and went to Portland and saw a Portland Pirate's game:

Oh, and did I fail to mention I got my very first perm as a Christmas present? Oh, okay, well I did. And I frickin' love it!

In February, I applied for two positions relating to OB/GYN. I interviewed for both and awaited a call back. Well, at this point, it's March. I get a call and was hired as a CNA/Unit Secretary on the OB ward at a hospital nearby. I began training and am absolutely grateful to have been given this amazing opportunity. I work two 12-hour shifts a week there and it's only temporary, but at least it's a foot in the door. On top of working there, I'm continuing working at the nursing home part time (part time my butt! I work over 40 hours a week there! But such is life...) and re-applied for the seasonal position as an ER Tech. I did that last summer and loved the experience so hopefully, I will get to work there again this summer...

March. I began really reconsidering my options in regard to my schooling, future, etc. I strongly believe that I want to be a Registered Nurse, but I'm not sure that the school that I'm currently at is the school for me. I have been accepted to two other colleges (still close to home with the plan of commuting) but really haven't made a decision yet but will let everyone know as soon as I do. Also in March, I made a fantastic 6-layer cake for my boyfriend's mother's birthday. Check it out:

ANDDDDDD.... I GOT MY VERY FIRST CAR. (And no, this is not the ACTUAL picture of my car but it looks exactly the same!):

And here we are, in April. Not a lot has happened other than the fact that I'm working constantly. I've recently began working partial overnight shifts (5p-3a) and I'm a bit partial to whether I like this or not. But my next paycheck will hopefully buy me this:

Oh and yet another curveball of life. In March, upon arriving Upta Camp at midnight, my face felt funny. I looked in the mirror and the left side of my face was swollen. I was really nervous and suddeny I started having severe jaw pain. Eric took wonderful care of me however and packed some snow into a Hannaford bag (limited supplies up in Moose Country) and the swelling stopped. After getting home, I went to the ER to make sure I didn't have some sort of infection. I have known I needed to get my wisdom teeth out for some time now but I've been procrastinating due to work, school, and fighting the "perfect" oral surgeon. Turns out, my teeth are severly impacted and need to come out ASAP. I have headaches nearly everyday and often get sudden onset earaches/vertigo. So on May 5 I have my consult to have all four teeth extracted and hopefully my surgery can be scheduled soon so I can rid myself of this pain in the ass butt. Sigh. Life's a beach, right?

I Love Adobe Photoshop Elements!

Quick post. A few months back, Mom and I bought Adobe Photoshop Elements. Ahem, I taught myself but have yet to give Mom a tutorial. Whoops. I just wanted to share my first "project" I accomplished on there. Enjoy!

Before:

After:

Tid Bits

As many of you know, I frequently go Upta Camp with my boyfriend and his family. We went up almost a month ago now, and the foliage was already turning. While we were hunting, I snapped this picture and was in awe of how well it came out. I really like the contrast of the bright foliage versus the dirt and gray trees:

I have to credit Eric for capturing the next photo. Although I am awake when the sun rises during hunting season, I was in no mood to grab the camera and take pictures. So, he stopped the truck, got out and took this pretty snapshot:

Last week, Eric and I carved pumpkins. We found decent pumpkins at Wally-World for a whopping $4.50 each. Not too shabby. I bought a princess Mr. Potato Head kit where you drill small holes in the pumpkin and stick the body parts in. Wicked cute! It was so fun to do something "kiddish" again. We laughed lots and had a relaxing time.

Eric's pumpkin came out awesome. I tried one of those years ago and ended up with a big whole. He has a good eye for detail and is awesome at problem-solving.

And here is Princess Pumpkin herself! There are earrings on the ears and a wand in the hand. I couldn't resist!

Eric's mother joined in on the fun too. She was persistant that she would watch/standby/photograph but with little persuasion, she gave in and dug in.

Eric and I did this final one together. The idea of it was to be "an online smiley face." ;) See? I think that this one is my favorite out of the bunch. I saw it in a book and thought it was the greatest idea! Last I knew the pumpkins were shivering due to the snow we had last evening, October 18. Brrr!

Today, Eric and I went over to the Coast Guard station in South Portland and saw two of the few cruise ships coming into Portland Harbor lately. I grabbed a few shots:

This photo doesn't do this enormous ship justice. It was mind-boggling to think that such a huge ship was taking up 1/2 of the bay in Portland Harbor.

This ship was a tad smaller, but still gigantic. Brrr! I want to go on a cruise to the Caribbean not to Portland, Maine. Geesh!


That's all for now folks!

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things...

I've seen this post done on a few other blogs, so I figured I would do one too, so here it goes:

Berkshire Blanket. My boyfriend bought me one for Christmas 3 years ago and I can't sleep without it! Anytime we travel, I take it with me! (Just like a kid!) It's super soft. He was actually jealous of it, so I bought him one for his birthday. However, he is not as attached as I am. You can find them online, but TJ Maxx has the best deals on them!

Facebook. My addiction. I check it way too often to admit and I've been trying to cut back. I was opting for a cell phone with Internet so that I could stay connected anytime, anywhere. You can add me by searching Ashton Nickerson.

Jimmie Johnson. Eric is (honestly!) his biggest fan. His room is painted Jimmie blue and Jimmie yellow. Since I spend most Sundays with him, he's gotten me to become a fan of Jimmie and the number 48 team. I've been to two Nascar races. One was in New Hampshire and the other was in Darlington, South Carolina. Much better to watch in person than on tv!

MckMama. You can read her blog here. She has what she calls a Mommy blog, but I love reading it. Her (almost one year old) baby was diagnosed with a heart defect in the womb. Not only do her writings include his ups and downs of his health condition, but funny posts about her three other children. She's honest and funny to read from.

Nestle Drumsticks. Yum. They say college freshman are now gaining on average, 20 pounds. Eating these is not helping me to fight off gaining 20 pounds one bit! But they're so so so good. I've been doing good lately in not pigging out on them!

Peach Snapple. Delicious. I gave up caffeine over a month ago and this has taken the place of soda for me. It's all-natural too, if that counts for anything. I drink 2-3 a day (gulp!). There's a decent amount of sugar in them but nothing compared to Pepsi or Mountain Dew.

Target. Best. Store. Ever. Although some things, such as shampoo and toiletries, are more expensive than at Wal-Mart, their quality is much better. I absolutely love shopping for clothes there. I find that their variety of books and electronics is a lot more diverse as well. It's quite unlikely for me not to visit Target at least once a week.

Microsoft Lifecam. Since my laptop didn't come with an installed webcam, I made this purchase for under $20 PLUS mine's pink. Since I've been at school I've been chatting to my mom and boyfriend quite a bit online.
Gmail. Seriously the best free email out there. I've always been with Yahoo! mail but I recently switched to Gmail. My school recently collaborated with Gmail and now all of our University of Maine email goes through Gmail. I used Gmail to chat with my brother and videochat with my mother too. I seriously suggest at least considering switching to Gmail.

House, M.D. This airs Mondays at 8pm on Fox. My friend Emily comes up to my room each week and we tune in to House. I love his rude personality and funny quirks. I have two out of the five seasons on DVD; I think I will put the other three seasons on my Christmas list this year.

Claddagh ring. I've been wanting one for some time now, but never really mentioned it to anyone. For my high school graduation, my brother and his girlfriend presented me with one. It just blew my mind that I've been trying to find one and ALMOST purchased one in Myrtle Beach, and they got me one. I wear mine on my right ring finger. If the heart is facing toward your body, it means that you are taken. If it faces towards everyone else, it means that you are available. I love the concept!

I am going to wrap this post up now since I could go on and on and on and on about my favorite things but now you know THAT much more about me. I will leave on an end note about one of my current NOT-SO favorite thing:

SallieMae. A loan company. Self-explanatory?





What are some of YOUR favorite things?

Upta Camp

This past weekend, I went 'Upta Camp' with my boyfriend and his family. If you've ever listened to Comedian Bob Marley, you'll know why. Eric's camp is on indian land in Alder Stream. I would hardly consider that a town, more of just an area of land. About 15 minutes away is Eustis and Stratton where you can get groceries, get ya huntin' sahplies, and cell phone service. There is no power and no running water. There is an outhouse, however. There is a generator that can run but only provides enough energy to run the inside lights. Fishin' season isa comin' to a close now fellas. And huntin' is startin' up. Ayuh. We got up there around 8 on Friday and got up at 6 on Saturday and Sunday to get a little bit of fishin' and huntin' in bub. Wonderful time was had by all! Take a look:

For his birthday in August, Eric got a fly-fishing pole and he decided to give it a shot. He did wonderfully! Almost an expert! ;)

A "sneak-peek" of the dam.

The dam.

Chain of Ponds.




And last, but certainly not least, if you follow my mother's blog, you may know that we have always collected heart-shaped rocks. When peeking over the edge of the dam, I saw this one waiting to be photographed. Here you go Mom:

And We're Off!

One week of college down, how many more to go?!?! It's been a stressful week, let me tell you. I moved in on August 29, what a chaotic day that was! A few long hours later, I was all settled in at last! As soon as everyone left, I took a much-needed nap before I went to a catered reception for the University of Southern Maine's Class of 2013! That first evening, was filled with several dorm and floor meetings. I met two girls who live on the second floor (I'm on the third!) and we planned on doing breakfast on Sunday. And we did just that. In the afternoon, we took a trip to Freeport to do some shopping, but I can honestly say I didn't buy a single thing! I think that's a record for me. Monday, August 31, was the first day of classes. I purchased my books and $751 later, I was on my way to my first class. That first day I learned how mentally and physically exhausting being in Portland all day carrying 5 binders and 7 textbooks was! Tuesday was more laid back since I only had one class in the evening. Wednesday and Thursday I did the same. Since last Wednesday, I have been revamping my schedule, winding up in more classes in Gorham, where I live, than in Portland, a half-hour bus drive away! I went home for the long weekend with my boyfriend, Eric. I mostly just hungout during the past weekend at home in the Harbah. Monday, Labor Day, was my 18th birthday, marking my entry into adulthood. I celebrated with family and friends with a cookout at Mom's. What a fun time that we all had! Tuesday morning, I headed back to USM with Eric and stressed some more about my hectic schedule. And today, I got 75% of things straightened out and now have my schedule set-in-stone so hopefully I can begin to get on a schedule that will calm my anxiety. If you don't know, I'm rather anal, ahem, particular and NEED to have a schedule and like to plan years days ahead. Tomorrow I have two classes and will be home for a day and then I'm headed Upta Camp! ♥