5 Local Adventure Ideas

In getting healthy, it's also a great idea to keep yourself stimulated.  Adventures or any switch from your normal routine are great for expanding your horizons: challenging you beyond where you ever saw yourself going and improving both your confidence and faith in your body.

Here are some ideas for adventures you can take today that will get your blood pumping and spice your life up a bit.

1) Get a Groupon for a local adventure at a discounted price! Some examples of things that come up in my area (San Diego): kayaking, paddle-boarding, whale watching, plane flying lessons, and hot air balloon rides. The possibilities may surprise you.

Paddle Boarding works on Lakes and Bays as well!

2) Take a road trip with a friend this weekend - the catch? No GPS allowed (until you're turning around to come back home).  Just drive! Pick a road, go for it, and stop every time you see something interesting.  Take pictures the entire time, and make a scrapbook when you get home.  You'll never forget this spontaneous trip or the memories you made on this adventure.

3) Sleep under the stars.  If you have a pick up truck, fill the bed of it with pillows and blankets and sleep outside! If you don't have a pick up truck, your back yard works just as well.  Make it a mini camping trip - tell scary stories, roast marshmallows, make hot chocolate, anything you want. It's your adventure, do with it what you wish!

4) Print a list of local restaurants, close your eyes, and pick one.  No cheating! Unless you've been there before, go to the first one you land on. Trying new places may give you a whole new perspective on your local community, (and you may even find a new favorite restaurant).

5) Learn a new skill.  Pick something interesting to you: Want to try surfing? Take a lesson. Scuba Diving? Get certified. Cooking? Take a class. You'll make new friends, try new things, and maybe come out with a new passion. 

More ideas:

• Painting
• Sketching
• Skateboarding
• Swimming (learn a new stroke)
• Sewing
• Actually do something you've pinned on Pinterest :)
• Golfing
• Bartending
• Learn how to use basic Microsoft Excel functions
• Learn some phrases in French, Spanish, Mandarin, etc.
• There are just so many more...

If you have ideas for how to take a local adventure, leave them in the comments.  There's nothing more stimulating than trying something new!

20 Ways to Take a Break

Sleep deprivation and exhaustion are two of the biggest struggles we all face on a daily basis.  Here are some ideas for slowing down, taking a break, relaxing, and rejuvenating your body.

 

1. Go to a park

2. Eat a meal - in silence

3. Wander around your neighborhood.

4. Find a fully in tact leaf, put it under a piece of paper, and gently rub over it with a crayon.

5. Take a close-up picture of a flower

6. Take a nap

 

 

7. Read or write poetry

8. Go for a run or bike ride

9. Call a friend and catch up

10. Walk to a coffee shop and get a cool drink

11. Mute/Turn off all electronic devices

12. Find a body of water, and take deep breaths.

 

 

13. Eat outside

14. People-watch at a local hotspot

15. Watch something funny

16. Sing (by yourself to your favorite song)

17. Take a bubble bath

 

 

 

18. Have a glass of wine

19. Pick flowers and make a bouquet

20. Light a candle

 

Do you have any other ideas for how to go about relaxing or taking a daily little break?  Leave them in the comments! Everyone could use ideas for how to slow life down a bit.

 

 

 

 

Cinco de Mayo - The Healthy Way

Source Healthcare Staffing is going to focus on the "Healthcare" in Source Healthcare Staffing this month. This is how we are going to make May better than April.

The first installment? Cinco de Mayo, the healthy way.

The secret ingredient to 'healthify' all your Cinco de Mayo food? Avocados. Avocados are a superfood, as we've said before, and absolutely delicious.  I put them on almost everything.

So without furth ado, here's a list of ideas and recipes for food to make to keep your holiday fun without ruining your health (any more than a dozen margaritas would anyways).

Tacos
Tacos are one of my favorite foods, and can easily be made healthy while remaining tasty! Another perk: If you're having a fiesta, you can leave ingredients out and let your guests make them for themselves! This easily cuts your prep time in half.

Disclaimer: I strongly dislike corn tortillas, so if you do too, try some wheat ones!

 

Your taco meal - left to right:

• Sour cream (use in moderation)
• Salsa
• Sliced Olives
• Shredded Carrot
• 2 Avocados (mashed with lemon, salt, and pepper to taste)
• Diced tomato (optional)
• Red peppers (Optional)
• Shredded Lettuce
• Black beans (not pictured, but I do love the black beans!)
• Taco Meat
• 1lb Ground Turkey
• 1 taco seasoning packet

You can also substitute the taco meat with grilled fish cooked with lemon and pepper (tilapia, mahi mahi, cod - the choice is yours)

 

Salsa

• 1 white onion
• 10 green onions
• 1/2 red onion
• 5 ripe tomatoes
• Handful of cilantro
• Jalapenos (to taste - this is your spice!)
• 1 squeezed lemon/lime

Throw all of these ingredients into a blender and enjoy!

 

Guacamole

Guacamole is one of my favorite foods.  It goes well on all Mexican foods, Pizza, Bagels, Toast, you name it!

Ingredients:

• Avocados (I use about 1 per person)
• 1 squeezed lemon/lime
• 1/2 tsp. Garlic (minced)
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• Salsa (Recipe above: optional)

Margarita
No Cinco de Mayo would be complete without a good margarita.

A pure margarita is pretty skinny, but also pretty sour.  If you can't handle the sour, add a little bit of simple syrup to sweeten!  The proportions of the ingredients are 3-2-1, so keep that ratio and you'll be good to go!

• Ice
• 1 1/2 ounces of 100 percent agave blanco tequila (I use Espolón or Herradura)
• 1 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1/2 ounce Cointreau

Enjoy your Cinco de Mayo the healthy way, and let us know if you have any other ideas for a healthy fiesta in the comments!

Top 10 Tricks to Exploring a New City

As a travel nurse, you often move into a new city - one you may have visited, but do not know that much about. Or you may have chosen to try out a city you've never been to. Either way, here are the top 10 tips and tricks to make sure that you get the most out of your assignment and your traveling experience.

1) Look up the Top Tourist Attractions
While this may seem a bit obvious, it's important to not overlook this - it will ensure you know why it is that people visit the city, what's known about it, and figure out which of those things you'd like to make sure you do. Which brings us to our next tip:

2) Make a Bucket List
Making a bucket list for your assignment combining the different elements of "touristy" things you would like to do with the "local" side of things - restaurants, museums, parks, hikes, or other things that you'd like to try before you leave.
(BONUS TIP: You can create a traditional list that has all of the different things on it and check it off as you go, or you could make it a little more spontaneous by putting each activity on a small piece of paper in a literal bucket - whatever you pull out is what you're doing that day!)

3) Drive to the Hospital
Finding the hospital you'll be working at for your first day and timing yourself is one of the best things you can do to prepare for work.  It ensures that the morning of your orientation, you're not getting yourself lost (or not giving yourself enough time to get there).  You'll feel much more relaxed the morning-of.

4) Meet Your Neighbors
By meeting your neighbors and talking to the locals, you can ask them what their favorite spots in the city are, or get an idea of how bad traffic gets at what time of the day, or just make a new friend to go to get coffee with.  There are so many advantages to talking to the locals so make sure you put this on your to-do list for the first week.

5) Locate the Grocery Store/Gas Station/Etc.
Applications like "AroundMe" and "Local" can help you navigate the city when you first arrive in order to figure out the places you'll need to frequent.

6) Figure out the Events Taking Place Locally
One way to do this is to sign up for Groupon or LivingSocial in your new city.  These resources have deals for some of the biggest events going on locally.  You could also try reading the local paper or going to a coffee shop and seeing what posters and things are advertised - going to events you're interested in will help you quickly find friends interested in the same things.

7) Wander - Get Yourself Lost
Getting yourself lost and figuring out your way back is one of the quickest ways to orient yourself to your new city.  You'll be able to see things that are off the beaten path, probably the places the locals hangout most.  I challenge you to do this for at least an hour before GPS'ing yourself back home.

8) Go to the Surrounding Cities
If you're stationed in a big city - make sure you visit the littler towns on the outskirts of the city.  This will give you more of an insight into the culture and how the locals actually live.  Especially in cities like Las Vegas, almost all of the locals live outside the busy downtown area - don't leave without seeing this.

9) Try Something New Each Week
By trying a new bar, restaurant, hike, coffee shop, have a picnic, etc. you'll get an expedited view of the whole city, while still giving you the other 6 days a week to become a "regular" at your favorite place.

10) Put a Map on your Wall
This is my favorite tip - put a map on your wall in your new apartment and put a colored pin on each place you have been to.  Put a white pin on the places you'd still like to go.  As you explore, your map becomes more and more colorful - the feeling of switching the pins is a mini sense of accomplishment every time!
(BONUS TIP: If you can find a black and white map, sort of like a coloring book page, color in each place you go, bringing the map to life! I did this in England and the map was vibrant with color and an excellent souvenir by the time I moved home!)

11) Find the Farmer's Market(s)
While this isn't an official tip to explore the city - I would argue that nothing will orient you more to the local culture than the farmer's market.  Filled with local foods, farmers, culture, music, and people, the farmer's market will give you a well-rounded perspective of a city in 2 hours or less.

About the Author: In entire my life, I've moved 11 different times - almost every single one to a completely strange city.  In my adult life, I've moved on my own to college in downtown San Diego, Oxford, England and Florence, Italy (to name just the most extreme) and have used these tricks in my own life to feel truly oriented and connected to my new city. 

If you have any tips for travelers you've come across, help another nurse out and please leave them in the comments!  

Pinspiration!

Pinterest has taken the world by storm. It is full of some very smart, crafty, energetic, creative, fit and well-fed people - people more creative than I could ever hope to be. "Pinspiration" has been my excuse for my crazy workouts, unorthodox recipes, and outfit experiments. Way too many of my conversations start with, "Well, I saw this thing on Pinterest..."

 

One of my favorite sections of Pinterest is the "humor" section.  I could peruse through this for days on end, chuckling to myself every time a Grumpy Cat meme or awkward E-Card came up.

 

I'm here today to brighten your day with some Nursing Humor that I've saved up.  If you Follow me on Pinterest, rest assured there's more where this came from.

 

Here's some of the highlights I've found in the last week or so:

Have you seen

This one is for my night nurses!

Amen.

#NursingProblems

 

Do you run across any nursing humor that you'd like to share? Follow us on Pinterest and we'll follow you back, or just leave your thoughts in the comments to brighten someone's day!

Inspirational Travel Quotes

Traveling is both a privilege and life adventure that nurses have access to unlike almost any other profession.  Here are some quotes that are meant to help inspire you to take advantage of the opportunities your career can offer.

• "If I don't get on that boat, I know exactly what I'm going home to.  If I do, my future is unwritten."

• "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."

• "Twenty years from now you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

• "Life is a book. Those who don't travel read only one page."

• "We travel not to escape life, but so that life does not escape us."

• "Travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer."

• "Don't let your dreams be dreams."

If you have any favorite travel quotes, leave them in the comments!

First Day Travel Nurse Checklist

Travel nursing comes with a lot of planning and attempting to think ahead, so this quick little list is a way to make the planning process just a little easier.

This list includes a general idea of the things to know before your first day of work (often orientation) to make sure you are ready to go:

• Where you're going: Hospital name, address, phone number, directions, Unit location, etc.
• Manager/Supervisor Name
• Dress code (Scrub color?)
• Testing - your orientation (depending on the hospital) may ask you to take a knowledge-based, skills-based exam during orientation.
• Parking information

This list includes the general things to bring with you on your first day:

• Driver's License
• BLS, and any other specialty-specific certifications
• A notebook and pen
• Any medications you take that could show up on a drug test.

Remember to leave your house with plenty of time to reach the hospital, because traffic in a new city will be a new experience for you, there's no way to know how well (or poorly) it will go.  Avoid the stresses of running late, and just leave early!

Congratulations on a new assignment and I wish you safe travels!