WOW!

I truly apologize for neglecting my two faithful readers. lol. Life got the best of me. School has been overwhelming. The tests never ever end. It's crazy!

We actually took a test 2 weeks ago, only to find out that the teacher lost our answer sheets and we had to RETAKE IT last week. We then found out that she does this all the time. Other classes have started refusing to retake them. I think we'll follow suit. There's NO TIME to be retaking tests!

We just got back from Bilouxi and it was super fun! But we were really busy the whole time we were there so it was hard to enjoy the "vacation." But nevertheless, it was nice to get out of Cleveland for a while.

Judd is almost finished with harvest season. I couldn't be any more excited!!! He'll finally be home!!! That's so exciting!! We'll also be getting Reese back in November which is really exciting too...then Christmas is right around the corner coupled with a ONE MONTH BREAK from school!!! (I say a break, but I've been told to start studying for medsurg ahead of time...)

I got my dress for Leah's wedding and it's so cute! Her wedding will be so fun! I can't wait to have that weekend to get away. We're staying at a SUPER nice hotel in Alabama in May. I know that sounds like a long way away, but it's really not!

Well, this has been ONE LONG RAMBLE so I'm going to go. We have clinicals the next 4 weeks in a row so I'm going to be exhausted!! Wish me luck. You probably won't hear from me for a while considering I still have 2 huge projects, 5 tests, 4 clinical weeks, 2 comprehensive check off finals, and 3 comprehensive finals left to do in November and one week of December. Oh my goodness.....I just scared myself.......

Watch out Elderly...

Here we come! We being our clinicals next week. The terror I'm feeling now is nothing compared to how it will be next week. We are starting out at nursing homes this semester and will move on from there. Terrified? Why yes I am! Yes we ALL are! Totally frightened. I'm going to need Xanax to get through next week with my sanity. I'm so thankful I have clinical with Marci. I would be TERRIFIED even more (if that's possible) if I were going alone! You know these poor old people in these nursing homes are probably terrified of the thought of some new student having to give them a catheter. I would be. I would probably refuse. Or they could be scared that we'll accidently give them 18 times the amount of morphine they were supposed to receive and kill them. Oh goodness. So don't just say a prayer for me....say an even bigger prayer for my patient. Poor patients. Me & Marci will have to take picture in our cute uniforms!

On another note, I live by looking forward to things these days. Right now, Christmas is what's keeping me going. I've already made a small Christmas list for myself and have a few things picked out for family members. :) It's so exciting! I cannot wait for Christmas!!! Reese will also be home by Christmas and that excites me A LOT. I really didn't think I would miss her as much as I have. I figured school would keep me so busy that I wouldn't have time to miss her! But I was wrong. All of my friends that I hang out with are animal lovers just like me so we talk about our pets all the time. (I can see how it will be when we all have children in 15 years.) It's going to be so strange for them to meet Reese and have a new "family member" come in as if she's new. When really, she's been around since January! Can you believe we've had her almost a year?! Me either!

Okay, time to do more homework or sleep. I can't decide which one. :) I'm pretty sure you can guess which one I'll do.....

I'm a busy bee!

Sorry for the long postless blog. I've been so busy that I'm not even sure I remember the last few weeks! Time has been FLYING by! I hope the rest of the semester flies by this quickly. I have made some AMAZING friends at nursing school. I prayed so hard to make friends...and I couldn't ask for better ones! They keep me busy while Judd works those long hours. We all talk all the time about how strange it is that we're already as close as we are. It truly feels like I've known them all my entire life! I don't have much to say except I'm so pumped that I made a 90 on my last Patho/Pharm test. Oh yes, obligatory bragging. I studied SO SO SO SO SO hard. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, & Sunday were all spent with my rear on the couch...studying. So, if the blog goes postless again for a while -- never fear. I'll return soon. Just for the sake of having a picture, here's my new favorite three people!!!

From Left: Marci, Megan, Me, Lindsey!

Three weeks down!

Maybe one day I'll quit doing the week-by-week countdown. But for now, it's inspiring! Haha! Judd and I are sitting on the couch, and just watched Swiss Family Robinson. I know you're jealous. My favorite part is Christmas Day where they sing "Oh Christmas Tree" about 50 times. :) I always thought Fritz was so hot!

We're about to watch "Vacancy" because I heard it was a pretty good movie. I've got LOTS of studying to do. We have our first two tests next week (one on Monday, one on Tuesday) and I'm SO nervous. Sorry I've only been updating once a week. I just don't have time to do otherwise!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

I MADE IT!

A whole two weeks! lol! Trust me - it is an achievement! Let me tell you something - nursing school is HARD. I took a stupid quiz today on this thing called "medspub" and they ask us questions about things we won't cover until we're in our LAST semester of school! It was insane! I had to guess then read each rationale for each answer.

I came to visit my family this weekend and it's SO GOOD to see them! I have missed them so much and DREW is sooo much bigger than the last time I was here! I love kissing his little face. He smiles a lot now and it's so great to see that big gummy smile!

Anyway, just thought I'd give a little update. Pictures may follow soon of little Drew!

Week 2...

Here we go with week two of nursing school. Let me just tell you how much I hate the class we have on Mondays. It's Pathophysiology & Pharmacology combined into one class. We have it once a week from 1pm-4pm. That's it. Two classes worth of material covered in 3 hours a week.

On another note, we really need the rain to stop! Judd can't harvest unless the ground is dry. The soybeans are going to rot soon if the rain doesn't let up!! He claims that hurricane season has come around about 2 weeks early this year and in his words, "two weeks to us means a lot!" So pray that the rain here stops so my husband can get paid. lol.

I had a WONDERFUL birthday Saturday...and my sweet sister made me tear up with her sweet blog entry dedicated to me. Read it here.

I found this funny little "Nursing Student's Prayer" and thought I'd share it. It's pretty cute!

EVERY NURSING STUDENT'S PRAYER:
Dear God,
I know we go through this everyday, but please give me the knowledge as to why I actually wanted to go to nursing school. God, give me the strength to make it through those boring 3 hour lectures without falling asleep. God, please give me the patience to make it through 12 hour clinicals with instructors who can't just give you the right answer. On the same note, give the nurses the ability to remember what it was like to be a student and give us just a little more respect. God, give me the endurance to read all the assigned readings and be able to remember it when I am taking a test with 4 right answers. God, give my family and friends the ability to realize I really am on the edge of insanity. Finally, God, give me the vision to see that one day I will be a real nurse and I will never have to wear this ugly uniform again. Amen.

Wasn't that cute! Okay, it's off to finish getting ready for class!

I have almost survived a full week.

I can't believe it. Tomorrow we have some ridiculous math seminar ALL. DAY. LONG. 9am-5pm...what a terrible day it will be. BUT - on the bright side, it'll be Friday. This was certainly an overwhelming week. Lots and LOTS of reading and trying to adjust. Our class has 35 people in it. One week down, 116 to go. lol. They gave us a schedule for this entire semester. It is PACKED. I'm pretty sure Tuesday nights and Wednesdays will be my least favorite this semester. Tuesday mornings we'll have class from 9am-12pm. Then from 2pm-6pm we go to the Nursing Homes (1 in Clarksdale, 1 in Cleveland, and 2 in Greenville...we'll each be assigned to one of them) and evaluate our patient. Then Wednesday morning we have to be at the Nursing Home by 6:30am. If I get assigned the one in Greenville or Clarksdale, I'll have to leave the house no later than 5:15am every morning. Ohhhh...those Strangebrew Coffeehouse days are all coming back to me!

Well, I didn't get much sleep (again!) last night - so I'm off to take a MUCH needed nap. Then it's off to study! :)

It went well!

They didn't eat me like I thought they would. I at least expected them to chew me up and spit me out, but I was wrong! My teacher for the class today was very nice...and seemed very laid back - which I love. Although, she did give us 10 chapters to be read by Monday...but as I started reading some of it today (overachiever!) I noticed most of it is a refresher from A&P & Microbiology. Today was a short day, just that class from 1-4. Tomorrow will be from 9-5 with a one hour lunch break in the middle! Ah! Just wanted to let everyone (everyone = all two people who read my blog) know that the first day went well.

I am changing my ticker to my graduation...in two and 1/2 years. Yes, it seems ridiculous - but one day (if I've kept up with my blog for that long) you'll look back and think, "I can't believe she's graduating tomorrow! It seems like just yesterday her ticker was at the very beginning!" lol. Unfortunately, this ticker will take a lot longer to arrive than the last one...but after it does arrive - NO MORE SCHOOL FOR ME...EVER!! That's exciting all in itself, as I have hated every single type of school my entire life. I'm pretty sure I hated preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle, jr. high, high school, and last but certainly not least, college. :) So, not to rush my life away, but I wish that 2 1/2 years would HURRY UP!!

Ah!!!

I start school today!! I have 25 minutes! I think I'm going to leave in about 10 minutes to make sure I find a parking space. I'm so nervous that I think I might throw up! lol! I called and talked to Audra a few minutes ago and she helped calm me down. Don't ask me what I'm so nervous about...I don't know! Well, I just wanted to post and say "oh my gosh!!" because my life for 2 1/2 years ends today at 1:00pm. lol. Wish me luck!! (wow! that was a really nervous ramble...lol)

OUCH!

I got my shot today. The nurse who delivered the joyous dosage was wonderful! She popped that needle in and out so quickly I didn't even have time to flinch! Just as I turned my head to see if she had stuck me yet, she was putting the bandaid on. Now, for the present time....OUCH!! My arm is a little swollen and painful to the touch. I hate tetanus shots. I had to have one 3 or 4 years ago (I can't remember!) for my mission trip to Panama. Nursing School does not care. They want me to have the DTAP shot...the 'T' standing for "Tetanus" which means I have a double dose. Last time I had the shot, my arm was sore for DAYS. I remember because we went fishing the day after I got it and it hurt to reel in my fish (that I think weighed less than 1 lb.) and someone had to help me! I purposely asked her to put it in my left arm just in case...and sure enough...I was right!

In other news, Michael Phelps has caught my attention. Why you ask? Well, I'll tell you! Have you seen this underwater "movements" that he does? It is impossible not to watch! It is incredible. Yes, yes...he has an overbite with a slight lisp. WHO CARES?! It actually makes him kind of cute. Yes, yes...he has kinda big ears. Again, who cares?! Look at him! Whew! Everytime he comes on TV, Judd says, "Your man is TV!" and I come running! Don't act like you aren't thinking the same thing, ladies. ;)

Along with nursing school starting...Judd and I have other exciting things going on in our lives that we'd like to ask you to pray about for us! While I can't go into detail, just know that we'd like you to be praying for us as decisions are being made! (And NO -- I'm not pregnant, and unless God has other plans for me, I will not be planning a pregnancy for a long time.) I know that God knows what's best for us...I just have to learn to let him handle the decisions and not try to make them myself!

I hope you all have a very blessed day tomorrow!

Do you see that ticker?

I'm pretty sure it says 5 days!!! I'm getting extremely nervous. I have to go get my DTAP shot today and I'm pretty positive it's going to hurt. I've heard from several people that it burns going in and then makes your arm sore for days! Hopefully, this will be the last shot I'll need for nursing school (except that 3rd hep b shot in november!) because I'm officially tired of getting them.

I don't have much to talk about, I just wanted to drop in and say "holy cow! 5 days!" which I've already done. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

P.S. My zoom lens for my camera that I got for my birthday is supposed to come in today! I'm excited!

Money pit

So I got my books in...all $495.00 worth of them. :) The diet coke can in the picture is so you can tell how tall the stack of books really is! Check these out...ONE semester's worth of books...

Ahhh!! Can you believe that?! That's insane! I'm so ready to get started. I can't wait to finish and make some $$. lol. Just thought I'd share my money pit with you. :)

Whoops!

I know, it's been a long time. What did you expect? :)

Judd and I haven't been up to much...just the usual work, sleep, eat. I will soon be adding "study" to that wonderful mix. Nursing school orientation went well. We spent an entire day listening to speeches, handbook material, and stress management advice. Haha! Stress management! Kinda like an oxymoron. I actually have 8 books for ONE class. I bought all my books for the fall semester today...guess how much it cost me... $495.11!! Well if we weren't broke before, we are now! Although, buying them on http://www.half.com/ saved me a ton of money.

I went home for Audra's shower this weekend and to say that she got a lot of stuff would be an understatement. She literally got EVERYTHING she could possibly need! Although, I was shocked that she didn't get more diapers, but honestly, diapers aren't fun to give as a gift. She did get some cash and gift cards which will probably go towards diapers. The whole family is just so excited about Drew. He will certainly be spoiled in every house he enters. It was so great to see everyone this weekend. I've missed my family SO much!

Judd has an allergist appointment tomorrow (actually, it's just another way for them to say, "Well you're doing great! See ya again in 4 weeks! Just pay up front.") but whatever. We'll be headed to Memphis tomorrow afternoon but we'll have to drive back tomorrow night. I'll definitely take my pillow.

The other day (okay, 2 weeks ago), we decided to clean the ski boat just in case we have time to use it at some point this year (doubtful). We let Oakley and Reese run around and I sprayed them with the water hose and let them play all day long. This was the disaster that I created... He is supposed to be WHITE, people. Look at all that dirt. He was sad because he knew he was about to get a bath...

I need to fold clothes and I've been putting it off for the LONGEST time. I guess laundry is calling my name. Sorry I didn't have any pictures besides the one of Oakley...my camera is in Judd's truck and he's not home from work (surprise surprise!) so I guess I'll do some baby shower pictures when he gets back!

Much love!

My new blog.

Not much difference from the old one, but had some difficulties with that one! :)

I got my acceptance letter to nursing school today and I literally screamed and jumped up and down! I was so happy to see it in writing that I was accepted. Hopefully it will give me a chance to meet some people, too.

I can't wait to start school and get that first tough "weeding out" semester over with! Joey is probably coming tomorrow so we're kind of excited to see him. His parents got him a house here and it's really big compared to ours! It's got 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. What is Joey going to do with all this space, you ask? No clue. We asked the same thing. It's a nice house and pretty big. Joey is really excited because he was afraid he was going to have to live with his parents because Judd and I told him he couldn't live with us. ;)

Well, it's been a long day and I'm tired so I'm going to bed. Goodnight! Everyone have a great day tomorrow!