Maevn Scrubs.. Love at First Touch!

So as many of you know, scrubs are a nurse's best friend, along with many other things we need to survive a work day. However, when it comes to comfort and looking good, scrubs mean everything when you're at work saving lives! 

There are plenty of scrub lines out there, some better than others, but at the end of the day, it is all about how it makes you look and feel. 

Confidence goes a long way!

"When I'm having a rough day at work, but I look at my watch 

& get juiced because it's almost time to clock out!" 

I had the opportunity to try out Maevn Scrubs #maevenscrubs and I am IN LOVE with their EON Line. I am a curvy girl with hips and thighs, which I am growing to love each day, but with that being said, I normally wear bottoms such as jeans, that are have a stretch material to give me that extra room to be able to move around and still feel comfortable in what I am wearing. When I received the EON line top and bottom, (I'll list below with links, specifically what I am wearing) the first thing that caught my attention, other than the color because I chose that lovely CHERRY RED, was how soft the material felt. I put the scrubs on and immediately loved how comfortable it felt and how easy I was able to move around! Check out my video below!

"When it's almost time to clock out, I do a little dance because I know my bed is calling my name!" 

Material: 
The EON line features their COOLMAX fabric, which allows us nurses to work hard and run around AND SWEAT without needing to feel self conscious of any sweat marks, but also keeps us cool and dry while at work. MOISTURE WICKING = Pulls moisture away from your skin. The material is also LIGHTWEIGHT which allows us nurses to move around as needed when we were taking care of our patients at work!

Colors:
The EON line has a wide range of colors to choose from, especially fun and bright colors, which I tend to gravitate towards more often.

Wash and Dry:
The EON line is wash and wear! Yes wash and wear. As for me, I am not a huge fan of ironing clothes. I can throw these scrubs in the wash and dryer without the need to iron! #HappyGirl

What did I love most? 
Aside from being so comfortable, these scrubs had pockets galore! Without pockets, I would be lost as a nurse. The top has TWO pockets in the front, along with a pocket you can put your cell phone! The bottoms have an amazing yoga waistband which is something I normally do not buy because I love a half garter with drawstring in order to keep my pants in place, but I found that with this yoga waistline stays in place and still allows me to be able to move without needing to adjust my drawstring!

Last but not least, PRICING! 
Tops start at $22 & Bottoms start at $26, which is a steal compared to a lot of scrub lines out there! Definitely worth the price! You will not be disappointed.

Check out their website on the link below!
Website: EON Line

Here are the links to the top and bottom that I am wearing!
Top: Active - Back Mesh Panel Shaped V-Neck Top
Bottom: Active - PURE® Yoga 7-Pocket Scrub Pant
Store Locator: Find Maevn Scrubs Near You!

Make sure to check it out by clicking the links above! 

To all my nurses and future nurses out there, think of scrubs as a little treat for yourself, because "when you look good, you feel good!" And as nurses, we must take care of ourselves! 

Tips for Nursing Interviews

Since it's December and I know many nursing students are finishing up their semester with finals and some are even graduating this month, I wanted to share some QUICK TIPS for nursing interviews! Good luck to all the future RNs out there! YOU GOT THIS!

1. Look the part!
Make sure you are well groomed. I have a nose ring, but I make sure to remove this before interviews. Ladies, wear makeup, but do not go overboard with it. Just enough to show you are presentable. I had a charge nurse tell me later that she loved my eyebrows and during my interview, she could not pay attention to anything I said because she was "distracted" by how nice my eyebrows looked. Now obviously having nice eyebrows and distracting her was not the goal, but she remembered who I was and made sure to point out my "nice eyebrows" to another charge nurse on my first day of orientation. lol Make sure your hair does not distract you during your interview or you are tempted to "play with your hair." I try to make sure my nails are cut and clean. I love a good manicure and gel polish, but for interviews, I avoid any type of polish! Also make sure you are wearing something comfortable but professional. Make sure your clothes are ironed or dry cleaned. You want to dress to impress!

2. Bring extra copies of your resume, cover letter, and references.
You want to make sure you are prepared for who will be in your interview. I have interviewed with just the unit manager, the unit manager and assistant manager, and I also had a panel interview with the unit manager and 6 charge nurses. Having extra copies on hand will show the manager and who ever else is in the interview that you are well prepared.

I will be posting soon about tips for resumes and also allowing people to send me their resumes for a free "clean up" and edit. Stay tuned! 

3. Put your paperwork in a nice folder. 
I remember a nurse manager from a PALS certification class told the students that the folders applicants put their papers in can sometimes play a factor. I have been in interviews where they remove the folders and give it right back to me, while some do keep it. I think it just goes along with showing the manager you care about the "whole package." Do not go out there and spend so much on folders but consider the "whole package."

4. Practice interview questions.
I will post another blog of example questions that I was asked during nursing interviews, as well as give some examples of my own questions and answers that I typed out and practiced. You do not want to sound "rehearsed" during your interview; however, you do want to sound like you know what you are talking about and do not get stumped on a question that you should know how to answer. A lot of things can be simple as "describe yourself." I would take the time to write out what you would say and have someone proofread it or hear you say it out loud and listen to their feedback. Every manager is different and they do not look for the same things, but what I did learn is that the answer you give is the time you get to show them a little bit of who you are as a person, outside of being a nurse looking for a job!

5. Get some rest the night before. (Try your best!)
Make sure you have your outfit prepared the night before, along with your paperwork, ready to go the next morning. Make sure you also have your commute to wherever your interview is all mapped out and commute time is factored in. I always say give yourself an extra 30 minutes to an hour before your interview start time to get settled, which includes finding the location of the institute/hospital, finding the location of where the interview is held, having time to use the restroom, and also just giving yourself some time to just "WOO-SAH" before you go into your interview. It is hard to not be nervous before an interview, but if you are rested and prepare, you will be okay.

6. Apply! Apply! Apply! And get as many interviews as you can. 
I was told that with interviews, you get better with time and experience. I think this is true because you become familiar with different interviewing styles and questions to have prepared for the next time Stay persistent and keep trying. The perfect job is out there for you. Stay positive and always pray and hope for the best to come because it will come.

Disclosure: This is all my own personal tips that I have learned from experience. Please use at your own discretion. 

Home Sweet Home

Where has the time gone? It is now December and I cannot believe it has been 2 months since I made my move from the Bay Area to Los Angeles. It has been difficult to balance everything going on in my personal and professional life, but it all takes time and practice. And most importantly, patience. But I am honestly enjoying every second of it! It helps to have the support of my friends, family, and Alex. 

On another note, here is the recap of my SHORT yet SWEET weekend back to the BAY!

The future papa and mama to be! I love these two and I wish them all the best with bringing my niece into the world. She will be loved by many. Baby girl we cannot wait for you!

This past Sunday, I flew back home to the Bay Area for my brother Kris's and his girlfriend, Sekela's baby shower. They are expecting a baby girl, Ai'ko Joy, due January 2017. (Oh and by the way, because I love to mention this to everyone, I am really happy that my niece will be getting my middle name Joy because I LOVE MY MIDDLE NAME lol. And it just flows.. Ai'ko Joy!)

I can honestly say it was so much fun being able to have Sunday off (Thank you to my assistant manager who made sure I was taken off the schedule) and fly home to be able to see my family and friends to help celebrate a new baby coming into the growing Obligacion family. The best part of any party my family has is obviously spending time with them because there are so many of us, but a new "tradition" I love seeing is the decorations that my cousin Michelle comes up with for the party. For this special occasion, she helped Kris and Sekela with a "Kate Spade" themed baby shower for my future. My brother Kris and Sekela have a lot of support from their friends and our family, so it was amazing to witness!

The table was perfection! Very simply and classy. And can we take a moment for the flowers my cousin Michelle made because they were sooooo adorable and paid attention to detail. She is so talented and needs to showcase her work at more parties in the future because it's just natural for her. 

I loved the cake. It definitely went along with the theme. The "cake lady" my family uses was found by my cousin Jonelle. She is bomb and has great pricing for cakes! She is the family's GO TO for cakes. 

Isn't Sekela just gorgeous? She is really ALL belly and man oh man I pray that I can be the same way once I decide to have babies (I know this will not be the case though, thanks Obligacion genes), BUT until then, I will just admire how amazing she looks and carries that belly! hehe These boxes were everything to me! I loved it. My cousins did an amazing job with helping plan and execute on this baby shower for my brother and Sekela. It sucked that I could not help with planning it because I live in LA, but they definitely did not even need me.

In addition to the baby shower, I was also able to visit my cousin Kaycee and meet the new addition to the family, Baby Sebastian Grayson. And oh man he is such a cutie! The family is definitely growing and I am loving it. It does suck that I am far away from my family, but I like to say "I am far, but not too far because I am just an hour flight away or 5 hour drive away." I am looking forward to what the future holds and I cannot wait to meet my niece. My baby brother is really going to be a father! So crazy, but I am so excited for him and Sekela. I cannot wait to spoil her even more!