Rants, Recipes, and Running

This week has been crazy! Our flight returned to AZ at 2:00 AM Saturday night, Sunday morning -- however you want to look at it. It was supopsed to get in a 5:00 PM. This means that we were basically traveling from 9:00am - 2:00 am. LONG DAY! But, Hey! We got free round-trip tickets out of the deal, so I'm okay with it! :) I started up my new semester on Monday. Home Health. This is not for me. A post is to come on this soon........ I have quite the nurse as a preceptor. I don't think they could've found anyone more polar opposite. And I get to drive around with her for 8 hours 2 days/week. Good times. Anyways -- to the positive...Christmas vacation! I am going to bullet point the amazing cues of the trip, before I forgot about it all! It was such a wonderful trip, and I cherished every minute spent with family! In no particular order......Moments I loved: Leaving for ND on the day of a MAJOR snow storm. While in Salt Lake City; our flight got delayed. Being the "sligh...

It's Christmas themed Ten On Tuesday! I have been counting down the days for Christmas for months now, in excitement to return home to spend Christmas with my family. However...I am fighting a large KNOT OF STRESS in my stomach right now -- b/c I heard it may be storming. :( 1. When do you put up and take down your Christmas decorations? -Basically, since we're in school and life is crazy....it's whenever we get a chance after Thanksgiving. this year we did it the Sunday after Thanksgiving with the attitude of, "If we don't do it today....it won't get done." For once finals come around, we have no life! -We will probably take it down January 6? Or whatever it is. The Sunday when Christmas season is officially over. 2. What do you do to simplify the holiday? This year, since I don't work at all -- it would be absolutely silly to go all out and buy each other expensive gifts! So Ryan and I decided instead of doing extravagant gifts to keep it on a budget...

Here we go again! I'm done with my semester! I just have to write a reference page on a paper today--and will officially be finished!! Oh, I don't get my grades until December 27.....because our instructor is extraordinarily lazy. Don't get me started on this one.....Alright! Ten on Tuesday! Here we go! :) 1) If you could change anything about your physical appearance, what would it be? I would probably change my face. Ha! Is that legal? Not like a face lift, or nose job, or some plasticky thing. Just...a different face. 2) Is there a habit in others that you find annoying? Coughing lightly. Stupid wimpy little coughs. JUST CLEAR YOUR DAMN THROAT ALREADY! Slurping. Like hot drinks? Soup? Ahhh...... Poor grammar. Smoking. That's beyond annoying. 3) What is your favorite recipe using ground beef? Taco soup. It's a mix of ground beef, chicken broth, stewed tomatoes, corn, and black beans...which lots of chili peppers and onions. I like it as an alternative to regular c...

Tomorrow is a day in universities referred to as "Reading and Review Day". This is a day of no classes. Focusing. Preparing for a week of finals ahead. However, the reality and importance of this day doesn't always set in during the first years of college (unless you're realllly focused). It's a pretty cool concept. An entire day that you would NORMALLY be in class that is TOTALLY focused on studying? How amazing..... It never happened that way in my 1st years of college, however. This was an extended weekend of endless fun! It began Thursday at 3! -- Bust open the boxed wine! We get a long weekend! Oh.....how silly I was. This weekend has a special place in my heart. It was the weekend, 2 years ago, that I told Ryan "I think I'm falling in love with you......" When did I realize this? Was it a romantic date? Was it on a beautiful, magical, walk through a snowy winterhaven? No -- We were sipping coffee and Baileys in -40 degree temps , huddled over ...

This is a double-post Tuesday! It's time to vent. And it may get ugly. I don't like my neighbors. We have the nosiest (not noisy...NOSEY), most irritating, 50-something old next door. Oh, but it's not just the 50 year old, because the 50 year old has a 20 year old son. And they both live with the the 50-year-old's parents. Can you imagine being in your 50's, and still living with mom and dad??!! Not because you're taking care of THEM....but because they still pay your bills, wash your laundry, cook your meals!!!??? So sad. The 20 year old is the absolute image of the sin of Gluttony. He is overweight. He only wears shorts. And his shorts go down to his ankles. He doesn't shower. And he has probably not gotten a haircut since he was 12. And he wears all black with a lovely abundance of facial piercings. Every morning, I am out stretching in the driveway prior to my run. And father and son are outside smoking. (what nice bonding...ruin your lungs and harden yo...

Another Tuesday! Next week at this time...I will be officially on Christmas break! How incredible...:) 1) Cost aside, if you could go back to college for anything besides what you "do", what would you study? -I would say -- go back to get a degree in English. I've always wanted to be a journalist. But I have realized that I love the healthcare atmosphere way too much to move away from it. I'd either go back and go more towards research with microbiology. Or I would do Nutrition and be a Registered Dietician. 2) What do you do for a living? Do you love it/hate it? -At the moment, I am a student. But this is short lived. I will be an RN in about 8 months. I think I will love it. I really enjoy nursing. I seriously become a different person when I'm doing it, in a good way. 3) What is your favorite Christmas ornament? If you don't celebrate Christmas, what is your favorite holiday tradition? -Hm....I love glittery red Christmas balls. I'm all about red at Chr...

I have been at a huge loss. Didn't even want to be a nurse, anymore. Thought to myself, Nothing really draws me in. How can I be doing well in my classes, when I'm absolutely miserable. I was actualy getting pist off when teachers would give me positive feedback. But today, I got to be on the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). And it was amazing. Not so much the pediatric aspect of it all. But the ICU aspect, I loved. Which is perfect. Because my contracting hospital has no kids or babies. I felt like my education was finally being applied, I was thinking, I was being challenged . It was incredible. This is probably the shortest, most uninteresting blog I have written. But I had to update. I'm ecstatic. I have had this cloud over head lately that has suppressed my past dreams. I didn't think I had the ability to reach my goals. I originally was excited about my career. And that excitement is back! So.....my game plan = Continue to network with my teachers/mentors to...