hi! + new name

sweet readers!

I am so happy to be back!

It was a long and crazy semester y'all!  But by the grace of God I'm on the other side of it with 3 A's, 2 B's, and a C.

So, I'm officially a Senior I, which means fall is the first semester of my SENIOR YEAR!  My second senior year, but whatever.  I am very anxious to tackle my most difficult intense set of courses of the entire program - critical care.  However, I am looking forward to it!  I have a lot of faith in God, in my study habits, and in this course faculty.  But mostly God.

But first, a new blog name and summertime!

My new blog name - peaches & magnolias - reflects my background and everything about who I am.  I'm really excited about this!

Peaches, of course, are the most obvious representation of Georgia, the state I called my full-time home for 15 years and my long-distance home for 3 more.  I love Georgia.  I love the mountains, the coastline, the fall line, the cities.  I love everything that Georgia did to create the setting of my childhood and adolescence.  Everything:

• the high schools where I performed with the East Paulding marching band (that had backgrounds of beautiful mountains)
• my home church, Hope Church, and the fact that I literally grew up with it as it grew
• the many locations that I auditioned or performed in honor band
• the places that I helped through my church's Hands of Hope
• the Silver Comet Trail
• Dallas (Paulding County), Marietta, Acworth, Atlanta, and Savannah
• our neighborhood pool
• my elementary, middle, and high schools
• local parks
• the history and Southern charm
• among many, many others

Magnolias represent both my family heritage and my life in young adulthood.  I came to LSU when I graduated from high school, spent an additional year in Baton Rouge, and now I'm  in New Orleans working on nursing school.  I've only been living here for 7 years so I don't have the same amount of time to compare to Georgia.  But I love it.  Additionally, with my last name as Richard (that's pronounced "Ree-shard"), I have the Cajun heritage.  It's a wonderful place.  

I hope you like the new name!  I think this one will stick.

Come back soon!  Now that it's summer and I'm only working, expect lots of posts!  Hopefully even a routine can be set up so by the time fall gets here, I can keep posting on a regular schedule! 

Please tell me something about yourself!  I'd love to get to know you!