Oh Hey Blog!

So I completely abandoned by blog for several months....but I have a few great excuses of why!

First, I was studying insane amounts for my boards! My life was seriously so boring for a good 3 months--every free second I had, I was studying. Thankfully, it all paid off! I passed both my state and federal exams on the first try! It is very rare for someone to pass both on the first try, usually one or the other. Ever since those stressful exams ended, my life has gotten 10x better. I was promoted to Associate Administrator at my facility and have been loving it!

After I passed my boards, the next week I was off to Europe! A trip of a lifetime that I seriously think about pretty much everyday since I've been back. If I had the opportunity to go back tomorrow, I would. If you hear of any European nursing homes looking for an administrator, let me know....This trip will have a few posts of its own once I get the motivation to write all about it.

Once I got back from Europe, I was in a bad car accident that totaled my car...no my car did not look like what you are probably imagining but enough damage for them not to repair it. I was fine, only have scars from the airbag burns. Being the creature of habit that I am, I ended up buying the same exact car, in the same exact color. But hey, I loved that car so I am happy to have it back. The week after my accident, I had a work conference to attend in Columbus all week so I looked hilarious with my hands all wrapped trying to network and shake people's hands (I looked like I took up boxing as a sport, not to mention I was in a ton of pain when someone would actually shake my hand). I got a few laughs when people believed my story that my accident actually occurred on the autobahn in Germany, not a residential street in Cincinnati...

Trying to recreate a "Hugo"--drink I fell in love with in Germany.

Summer has officially arrived in Cincinnati, all 97 degrees of it...

Schwaben joke from Germany.

My people.

Drunk Stephanie in action.

Since being back in the US, I was able to spend Memorial Day with my family back home which was so nice. The following weekend my two best friends from out of town were in Cincinnati!! Javier came in from Colombia and Kacie was in town from Boston! Our mini reunion made me so happy-that weekend did not last long enough.

Just a quick update on what has been going on. I am going to try and be better with writing on here. I have a ton to write about Europe, so be prepared!!!

One Step Closer!

I officially am one step closer to becoming a licensed nursing home administrator. Leave it up to me to pick the hardest state to get your license in. However, I now see the light at the end of the tunnel!

I just got back from a 3 week conference that was held up in Columbus, Ohio (it is required that you attend this conference before you sit for your licensing exam). Columbus is a bit too far to drive back and forth every day, so I stayed up there during the week and came back to Cincinnati on the weekends. Honestly, I had been dreading this conference and didn't want to go. However, I ended up really enjoying it & had a lot of fun...on top of learning so much that I wanted to cry.

I stayed in an Airbnb like Shelby & I did when we went to Toronto. My loft was so cute & it was located in Short North, a very popular place in Columbus. Overall, I was not a fan of Columbus. It thought it was dirty, the streets were so narrow and parking is terrible. It made me realize how much I truly love Cincinnati and how much it has started to feel like "home". I greatly looked forward to coming home on the weekends. Despite the freezing temperatures, I did try to get out and explore some of what Columbus had to offer. And by the way, Ohio State University did not impress me.

The conference is basically a crash course packed full of everything you need to know in order to be a nursing home administrator. Therefore, the 46 other people in my class are all future administrators like me. It was so neat seeing and talking with others who have the same passion for long-term care as me. On the flip side pretty much all of our speakers told us how this is the most difficult time to get into the industry because of all the new regulations & reimbursement cutbacks, as well as how we will all get sued at least once in our career. Sounds like a great career path right?! IT IS!

I think there is not a more exciting time to join the industry, especially with all of the baby boomers. This is when we are needed most! Yes there will be challenges and lots and lots and lots of laws that we have to follow, but at the end of the day I do this because I want to provide others with a quality life during their most vulnerable time. Our elders deserve it.

As you can see, after 8-9 hours of class, it was necessary to go out and have some fun. It was amazing the connection that formed between our group in such a short period of time. Not only did I made several new friends, but professional contacts--we will all be relying on each other in our future career. Yes, that is future nursing home administrators riding a mechanical bull...scary right?!

After the end of our 3 weeks, they even had a little graduation ceremony for us! Now I truly am one step closer to getting my license!....after I finish studying for the next month and a half.