*Deep inhale*...

Can you smell that? You guessed it! Fall is in the air! I think that Fall is truly my favorite season. True, Christmas is my favorite holiday, but nothing can top the leaves changing, the crisp air, and just everything that comes along with FALL!

How can seasonal air have a smell? It's so true! I smelled something on my way to school this morning and I just took a deep breath in and an overwhelming sense came over me... today was the first day I truly felt like it was Fall. Last week was still warm and didn't really seem like the official start to Fall, but today...it just did. That feeling instantly made me happy and I was off to a good start for the day. Of course by the time Management rolled around and I had been inside all day, the feeling was stifled and I was grumpy. :( Once I started that long trek to the parking deck though I was starting to get that bounce back in my step. Even when I was stuck in traffic for an extra 20 minutes due to some sort of accident I didn't get impatient like usual. I just rolled down my window and enjoyed the breeze as I watched the traffic crawl forward.

I'm back inside now. The feeling of Fall is leaving me again. I have some work to do tonight, so I'm hoping that I can work fast and efficiently and then I can just relax the rest of the night. That's the plan anyway.

Until.................................

OK, eewww....

So I'm on my way to my sisters' house and I see three boys, all about 12 years old, on the side of the road with their bikes. I couldn't tell what they were doing at first, but the closer I got I saw that they were stopped in front of a dead racoon. Let's just say rigor mortis had set in and it was very round. I shook my head and kind of smirked. That's such a boy thing to do. Sit and look at a dead animal.

So about 45 minutes later I'm on my way back home. I get to that same spot in the road and what do I see? Nothing. That's right. The racoon was MIA. I can only imagine what happened to it. *shudder*

Let's just hope nobody touched it with their bare hands. Yuk!

Until...........................................

Finding the Joy in Everything...

My small group is going through the Bible Study When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy by John Piper. For me this study is so hard to grasp at first. The study is a dvd series so we all do preparation in our study book, then come and watch 40 minutes or so of the dvd conference and then we talk about it. I find myself sitting there at the end of the dvd with a confused feeling. He is so deep and he movies so fast that just a few snippets actually filter in to my brain to be processed immediately. It takes me a couple of days for the rest (or atleast part of the rest) to sink in.
One thing that I am getting is that God wants us to find the joy in everything, not just the good things. Sure, it's easy to be joyful when something good happens, but you also have to have that same joy when things don't exactly go the way you would have wanted them to. Can you imagine if Phillipians 4:4 said "Rejoice in the Lord sometimes."? NO! There is a reason it says "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS! I will say it again: Rejoice!" God has a plan and purpose for everything in our lives, and even though we may not be happy about it all the time He still wants us to rejoice.
Last night during the video John was talking about how they were singing a song and he was just so overwhelmed with joy that he thought to himself "Wouldn't it just be wonderful to have a heart attack and die right now?" That kind of took me aback for a moment. He was so joyful and content with where his life was that he was ready to die and go meet his God. That is the kind of attitude we should have for ourselves. We should be living our lives in such a way that if we were to die in 30 seconds we would be ready to go face judgement before our King.
So, even though it may be hard at times, try and find the joy in EVERYTHING. The rain, the leaves changing, school, work, good times, hard times...
I know that when I was waiting to hear back about my job I just kept praying that I would be content with whatever decision He had for me and that I would find the joy in that situation. It wouldn't be easy, but I was praying for Him to help me with that. Maybe that's why he had me waiting so long. I spent that last week of waiting contemplating on the small group lesson from that Sunday and He was working hard on my heart to change my way of thinking. I was going to rejoice in whatever situation happened.... and I did.

Until..........................

Craving Christmas!

I know I was ready for Fall, but after hearing this song I'm ready for Christmas and our annual Christmas Compilation CD.



Isn't that a good song? Brings a little tear to your eye doesn't it? Now if only I could find that list of songs from last year that we were going to put on the cd this year.... I hate when I misplace things!

Until..........................

Craving Pumpkin!

I am in the food for Fall! (<- Okay, I did not even realize that I typed food there. I must have been quite hungry.)

I'm ready for the leaves to change... for there to be a nip in the air... Thanksgiving... and all things PUMPKIN!

I got a Taste of Homes catalog in the mail today and it was the Thanksgiving-ish edition. (It was more the pre-Thanksgiving edition. It included all things Turkey Day, but also threw in some Halloween goodies). There was this Pumpkin Turtle Pie that was on the first page...oh.... my...word! It looked SO good, and I almost ran out and bought the stuff to make it right then. However I said to myself, "Self, do you really need this pie? What will you do with it after you make it besides eat the whole thing by yourself and gain 10 pounds?" So I kept browsing and tucked that recipe in the back of my mind for the first available opportunity to use it.

One more week completed. School is going to be wrapping up soon and that scares me a little bit. I mean think about it. I've been going to school for 17 years now, the last 3 of which I have taken summer classes. That's most of my life I've been in school! I can't imagine not having to get up and go to class. Don't get me wrong, it will be oh so sweet, and I will cherish it. I'm just saying it will be weird at first. I will officially be an adult. *shudder* That's scary! Alas, I am not done quite yet. Eleven more weeks require my attention so that I can pass tests, give presentations, and write papers. I will somehow make it through. I made it through these last 17 years without being held back, I'm not going to start now!

Well, I better get to work. I want to take an online quiz before I go and get my hair trimmed. Have a good Friday!

Until..........................................

Tuesdays are my Mondays....

You know how people absolutely dread Monday because it is the beginning of the week? Well Monday is my Tuesday. Today I had a test. That alone would put anyone in a bad mood. It just so happens to be my first test of the semester. When I walked out I was not feeling to great about it. Then I had to go over to the SICU to get my patient for tomorrow. I was spoiled by not having to go over at all so far this semester to get my patients the night before. I was crabby about having to go back. I ended up only being there for like 15 minutes and then I grabbed a quick bite to eat and "rushed" off to Management. I really do not like this class. It's not so much the general concept that I don't like, it's the busy work! I have enough to do already, so I don't need to be adding stupid textbook activities to my list of weekly things to do. *sigh*
I was quite crabby when I got home from school. Then, my good friend (and 1/3 of the 3 musketeers) Robin called to tell me that our complex test grades were up. I don't remember her exact words, but basically she was in disbelief. That scared me, so I checked my grade and soon I was in disbelief as well. I got a 97% on my first test of the semester! I think that is the first time I've gotten such a high grade on the first test before. Maybe things are "clicking" after all. :) That gave my mood a boost. I quickly deflated though because I was so exhausted. I pushed on though and made myself do some work, even though it wasn't much.
Tomorrow and Thursday are clinical days, but when I get home I seriously need to start my senior project. I only have a few weeks to pull it all together, and I hate procrastinating.

So, I haven't really blogged about my job other than to tell you all I got it. I got the offer Monday afternoon and it took me all of 2 seconds to accept. After graduation I will be a RN in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. This is the job I wanted and after an unusually long wait after my interview I got it. :) Needless to say I was ecstatic! So the 3 Musketeers live on!!!
Robin and I were talking Sunday night while we were studying and we were trying to figure out when exactly we became friends. Neither of us could remember, because to us it feels like we've been friends forever. She atleast remembered the first time we talked (when we were buying our first patches). I couldn't even remember that. :p Can't imagine ever not knowing Robin now. Ashley and I have known each other since high school. We go way back. :) The three of us are inseperable now, so don't even try to mess with us! We are gonna rock NICU!

Alright, I seriously need some sleep. Tomorrow will be filled with a little bit of sensory overload. It's been a few weeks since I've been in the ICU, so monitors and alarms will surely be in my dreams tomorrow night. :)

Until..............................

YEAH!

I finally heard about my job interview!!

I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!

I'm so excited and SO relieved...

Now I can move on.....

Off to study, just had to fill you all in on the news! :)

Until......................

RF & TS (with a side of DM's)

Well, I'm going to try and make this a quick post (haha), because my head hurts from the concert.

Right when we got there and we got settled in our seats we saw like 10 people that we knew. No joke! They were all pretty much in our vicinity too, so who knows who else was there and we didn't know it.
We had been sitting in our seat about 15 minutes when "they" came in. You know it wouldn't be an experience that involved me if there wasn't an obnoxious component to the story. The DM's had arrived. What does DM stand for you ask? Drunk. Mom. There were about 8 of them, and they were all drunk as skunks. There were more of them than there were kids that they had brought. In fact they were more excited than their girls. They should have been embarrassed. In fact, I was embarrassed for them! They didn't have enough clothes on, they were jumping around, and one was so drunk she was tripping all over the place. Hopefully they had a DD with them, or one of their husbands was picking them up. Anyway...on to the concert.

The concert was really good! Taylor Swift is just adorable and a very good entertainer. She sounded good and seemed very nice and funny. We had trouble at first getting good pictures of her because she moves so darn much. I think we got some pretty good ones though. I kind of wish she had gotten to play longer, because she was quite enjoyable.




When intermission was coming to an end in walked one of the DM's and her daughter. The daughter was crying hysterically, and not "I love you Sanjaya!" crying, this was Mama-done-me-wrong crying. Still don't know what happened there, but her DM was mean to her, and thankfully the lights went down shortly after so we didn't have to listen to/watch them anymore.
Rascal Flatts was up next. I got the ever livin' daylights scared out of me from the big boom and flash of light they had during their intro. I jumped and covered my eyes. It was so bright! They were good as well. They came over and hung out on our side more than Taylor was able to. I mean after all, there are three of them. Joe Don liked to hang out on our side, so we enjoyed that.
The DM's absolutely LOVED Rascal. They were constantly waving their arms in the air and they stood practically the entire time, so that means we stood as well. We couldn't see anything if we were sitting and they weren't. One thing is for certain, the drunker you get the more you play with your hair. I swear! The DM in front of my was touching her hair constantly. I call her the Leigh Ann Womack wanna be (She was the mean DM). At one point Gary came over and was singing in front of our section and I don't know if he mouthed something to them or what but I saw him nod, and then all the DM's went berzerk and were congratulating one DM. Not sure what happened there. You would have thought he hugged her or signed something for her, and really they didn't touch or anything. Maybe they were so drunk they thought he was closer than he was. Who knows.

(This little boy got to walk around the entire stage with Gary while he sang a song. He was so adorable waving to people and giving them high fives.)

The song they played right before they said goodnight was Here's To You. If you know this song you know that there is a verse in the song that says "There's a wet corvette, red lipstick print on a Coors Light cup, and judging by the way she's dancing I'd say she's had enough." Well, that lyric was oh so true. Those DM's had drank enough and they were insane! One DM was doing more of a head bang than a bob during the encore song. I seriously almost started video taping her she was so ridiculous.
Of course it's not a real country concert until someone jumps up on stage and gets carted off by security. (That's two concerts in a row I've been to that this has happened at!) The comedian Ron White was there and he was as drunk as a skunk too. He along with another unknown guy jumped up on stage during the encore and made huge fools of themselves. The difference was the other fool got taken away, Ron got to stay and act like an idiot until the end. Then there were the balloons and confetti that came down from the ceiling. We pretty much had an inkling that was going to happen because small pieces of confetti had been falling all night. I wish I had only had a warning of the big boom and flash of light during the intro.

So, all in all it was a good concert (minus the DM's). I must now go to bed, because I have a full day ahead of me.

Until...........................................................

T minus 1 hour and 50 minutes...

...before I leave the house and head for the Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift concert. I'm wondering how this will compare to my Keith/Carrie experience. My seats are way better (can you say Section 2, row E?). They are right next to the stage. I'll try and post a few pics when I get home tonight. You know I won't be without my camera. :)
Alright, I'm squeezing in another hour of studying before I go...
Until.....................

Clean up in aisle 12!

My sister would be ashamed of me. The sister who claims that I am an anal neat freak like her. I hang my head in shame as I share this picture with you....

There, now you know my big secret... I'm a slob! Well, a temporary slob. School has totally taken over my desk. I have barely enough room to work right in front of my computer screen and that's it.

I tried, really I did! The whole first week I made every attempt to clean off my desk and move all things that I didn't need. Well, as you can see I've slacked on that chore. I'm normally a very organized person, I promise! You can ask my sister, she'll tell you. Only 12 more weeks and hopefully I will be able to reclaim my desk.

Still waiting to hear about my interview from last week. There's been a hang up that I just became aware of today, but all should be fine in a couple of days and I should have an answer.

I submitted my last journal tonight. I could not be happier. I thought this day would never come! I tried to squeeze in a little more work tonight, but I didn't get very far. I read a little bit, but I have a headache and I'm exhausted after two days of clinical. I will just get up early and start studying and such.

Well, I think I'm off to bed. It's been a long week and I stil have a full weekend to come. Enjoy your Friday! My week is over, but you all may still have that one day to go! Hang in there!

Until...........................................

Intermediate equals CHAOS!

Today for clinical I was teamed up with a nurse who was taking care of three intermediate patients. That means I was taking care of those patients. Well, two atleast. The third patient arrived around 10, so I just kept the other two and the primary nurse took on the extra client herself. It was insane! I did not sit down until 1p. That was when I finally got to start charting. You know, the charting that's supposed to be done by 9a. Yea, so I had all of that to do, plus the noon assessments. It took me 45 minutes to catch up on charting, and I'm sure that I missed something.
I'm exhausted, but I was a good girl and did some of my paperwork tonight. I even worked on one of the harder sections. Tomorrow should be an easier night to finish my LAST CLINICAL JOURNAL! Woohoo! I have got to start studying for my Complex exam that I have on Tuesday. I will not procrastinate! I think I will probably end up devoting the entire day on Friday to studying and my reward will be a concert that night! :)
Oh, did I forget to mention that I started my first IV today? Woohoo! I wasn't too sure about the vein the primary nurse and I had picked out, but I took a chance and decided to try. It was pretty awesome. I got it on the first attempt, and I didn't make a mess. :) I'm quite proud if you can't tell. :p
Alright, well I must go to bed. I'm wiped out, and I have another clinical day ahead of me still before I can call it a week.
Hope all are doing well and you are enjoying the burst of warmer weather. May be the last bit of summer we have until next year. Savor it while you can...

Until..........................................

They can take the arm, but I'll never give them the leg!

Today I had to go get my senior picture taken for school. This place is a total rip off! They are charging way too much for a sitting fee that lasts all of 5 minutes. It would last 2 if the guy didn't talk and reposition you so much. The whole process took less than 15 minutes. I drove longer than that to get there! Ugh, oh well. I'm in the class portrait now.
Something to say "eww" about.... When the guy positioned me on the stool he pulled out this compact. I thought he was going to show me my hair and let me fix it or something. Oh no! Instead he grabs the GROSS pad and dabs powder all over my face!! MY FACE!! This dirty compact had touched who knows how many people's faces before mine. EWW! I literally pulled back when he started coming at me with it. It all happened so fast that I was just a little stunned when he was done. Now, I am not a horrible germaphobe, but that was just gross. *Shudder* I think I snapped out of my daze right about the time he stuck me with the pin he was putting on my top. It didn't have a backing, so the point was sharp against my skin. I tried hard not to move once it was on.
He took like 12 different pictures, and 6 of them were awful. He had the guy in the other room pull them up on the computer and right when I walked in the room I said "Oh, I'm definitely a pale girl!" I looked totally washed out in the first picture. He said, "Oh we can fix that, don't worry" Really? Can you make me look like I just got back from a tropical vacation? So, when I'm sitting down to view my picture he says, "Now we can get rid of all those blemishes and dark circles and bags under your eyes." Excuse me?! I think I have all of two zits on my face today and I realize that my eyes are a little tired, but he didn't need to tell me that...to my face! I think I muttered a reply similar to "Yea, those are nursing student eyes. I don't get much sleep nowadays."
So he goes and gets the next person and I'm sitting there with this new guy who's showing me my pictures. He says, "Just focus on your face when you look at these." Ok, easy enough. Except it wasn't! My hair looked different in almost every picture. For whatever reason my hair color was light, dark, red, redder... in almost every picture. So of course that factored into my decision as well. I think he was frustrated that I couldn't just pick one right away. Hey buddy, I paid to sit here and choose my pictures, so deal with it! I felt like I was at the eye doctor. "Which one is better, the left, or the right?" He would pull a new picture up and he would comment on some of them, "Well that one is better obviously." or "Definitely not this one." Umm, excuse me, who is choosing this picture, me or you?" I ended up with a decent one and I think mom will be pleased.

Well, that's basically what I've been up to today. All is well on the school front so far. A's in all classes, so I can't complain (too much). Now I'm off to do some online work. Another week starts tomorrow. That's my last day on my first clinical rotation. Goodbye 5100, I will miss you!

Until...........................

I wuv her...

I got to spend the majority of the night with my little Brooke. She is such a love bug! The second I stepped out of the car I could hear her yelling from the doorway "MEGAN!!! MY MEGAN!!! Hi Megan!! I gots the door open for you!" When you get a welcome like that it's hard not to smile. :) At random times throughout the night she would hug my leg and say "I wuv you!" Melt my heart! She even drew me pictures on my homework. So sweet of her. Haha! Well, I'm exhausted, and need to get to bed so I can get up for church. Never fear though... I have pictures.






Until.................................

Waiting, Procrastinating, and MOPS-ing...

This past week has been a ridiculous whirlwind, hence the zero blog posts. Friday night was a movie/dinner night for the singles at church. We ate pizza, watched two movies and then went home around midnight. Saturday I worked 7p-7a (I won't even get into that, because a week has gone by and I don't want to dwell on it). Sunday I slept a little in the morning then was up the rest of the afternoon trying to work on assignments for school, but it's not easy when you're tired. I think I'm going to have to forget about doing 3rd shift while I'm still in school. Monday morning I had my first "real nurse" job interview. I wasn't nervous until I got there then the butterflies were going crazy in my stomach. My interview ended up lasting TWO hours! I think it went well, but the bad thing is that the manager had to go out of town for a conference so I won't hear if I got it or not until after Tuesday of this week! Talk about stressing me out! So I'm waiting with nervous anticipation to get a call from HR next week to tell me if I have a job or not. Ahhh!
Tuesday went by rather quickly. In my morning class we were learning about ventilation, so they brought in pig heart and lungs. Before you get all in a tizzy... the pigs were being slaughtered that day anyway, so there was nothing inhumane about killing them and taking their organs. .... I realize how that just sounded. Let's just say it was a good experience, but it was a little sad. No laws were broken, so don't go callin' PETA on us. :p The demonstration just helped us understand ventilation and mechanical ventilation better.
Wednesday rolled around again and it was clinical time! Doing two clinicals back to back is exhausting, but when I'm actually living it the days go by so fast. I finished my 3rd journal this week so only one more to go and I'm done. Woohoo!
I've been trying to finish writing a paper all week, but my motivation has been slim to none. I'm almost done, and should be able to crankt he rest out in an hour then I will have my weekend free. Well, sort of... I don't usually procrastinate, but this semester is so chaotic that I find myself putting things off longer, because I have so many other things due. I can only take so much at one time before my head wants to explode. We're already getting ready to start week 5, so I'm moving right along.
Today I went to help with MOPS. I was in charge of the nursery. That was a little complicated since I had never been in charge, I had only helped. I pretty much could have figured it out on my own, but some people wanted to help. Next month should be better and less.... chaotic? I think we ended up with 11 babies. At one point I think there were atleast 9 crying at the same time. Ha! Overall they were very good and it wasn't too traumatizing that I would refuse to go back. ;) It's only for 2hours every 2nd Friday. I think I can handle it.
Well, that's what's been going on with me. Nothing too exciting, so don't feel as though you've been missing out or anything. Oh yea, I added the "follower" feature, so feel free to add yourself. It's at the bottom of the column on the right.
Alright, I really need to caffeine or something or I may never finish this paper. Ugh! I think a run to 'Bucks may be in order. Hope you all are staying dry and having a wonderful Friday!
I'll try and return before another week passes. No promises though....

Until.....................................

Temporary relief...

Well, I had to work tonight 11p-7a (yea...ick!), but someone I work with called and needed to switch, so I don't have to work tonight. :) Bad news... I have to work 7p-7a tomorrow night. :/ It's probably better this way, because I went to bed early last night (two early days in a row will do that to ya) so I was up at 10:30 this morning. That would not have been enough sleep to get me through until 7 in the morning. Now, I have a better chance of sleeping in later tomorrow for work.

This week went by pretty quickly. It seems like forever ago that it was my birthday, but actually it was just this past Monday. Keep flying time!! Graduation here I come!!

How much are you loving this cooler weather?? I'm not really loving the huge amount of rain that came with it, but it's cooler out none the less. I will miss those hot sunny days that were good for laying out by the pool, but I'm ready for Fall. I love when the leaves change and everything seems more crisp. The colors. The air. I just love it! I would probably say that Fall is my favorite season. Cooler, but not too cool that you need to be all bundled up, bonfires, walks outside without sweating to death. *Sigh* I love it!

Well, I should really get going. I need to go get ready and then run and get my parents something for dinner. Have a wonderful weekend!

Until...................................

More Dog Plinko

Here is the video of Round 2 & 3. Enjoy....

Until.....................

Dog Plinko

Have you ever watched Plinko on the Price is Right? Well this was Sydney's version of that game. She can definitely keep herself occupied.

We have two more rounds, but blogger is being difficult, so it will have to wait.

Until.........................