Friday, December 31, 2010

Out With the Old and In With the New

2010 is coming to an end {ha,I rhymed.},and I just realized that my husband and I have no plans whatsoever. We are both off work, so there is no point to spend New Years Eve alone! I am sure I will end up spending it in front of the computer or TV though. We aren't the "going out" type. I guess you could say we were introverts. I would rather spend a night at home with him alone then go out anyways, especially since we probably won't be able to celebrate next New Year. This year is going to be a crazy ride, I have so much to look forward to in school, the pending deployment, and unfortunately learning how to save money so we can buy a house post-deployment! Yikes. Saving money is the scariest of them all! 
Anyways, I guess since it is almost a new year I will blog about my new years resolutions! I have a few and I really mean to keep them. This is the first year I have ever made serious resolutions. 

New Year Resolutions 
{that I intend to keep}

-Lose weight and maintain it,so I can control my blood pressure and go off my bp meds.
       {I honestly have 37 pounds to lose}
-Learn to cook while my Mr. is gone, that way I can spare him the "failed meals".
- Stay organized!
-Complete all of my assigned readings for school.
-Keep my resolutions!
I find it funny that I am making a resolution to keep my resolutions.

Less then 24 hours 'till 2011, this means that we all get a brand new fresh start. We can stick to our guns and make all of our resolutions become reality! We can suck all of the poison out of our lives and start over fresh. I say out with the old and in with the new. Bring on 2011!
The only bad thing is, I'm sure most of us just got used to writing 2010..now BAM 2011 is here!

5 major 2010 events
that I thought were important
-January 12,2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake tore apart Haiti.
-February 27,2010 an 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Chile,causing a Tsunami in the Pacific. This is one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded.
-August 10,2010 the World Health Organization {WHO} declared the H1N1 pandemic over, saying that worldwide flu activity was following the normal seasonal patterns.
-December 2,2010 NASA announces the discovery of a new arsenic-based life form in California, which you can read more here.
-Decmber 21,2010 The first total lunar eclipse to occur on the day of the northern winter solstice/southern summer solstice since 1638. It won't happen again until 2094! You can read about it here.



Thursday, December 30, 2010

497 Days

Yes, I said it! I have exactly 497 long lovely days until I freaking graduate from nursing school.  Very excited considering I have knocked out over a hundred days pretty quickly, without killing myself!
I guess counting the days might make it longer, but to me it is promising when I see the number go down. So, yes I am going to count every single little day! Just like when my hubby is gone, I will be counting the days that he has been gone. 

Ahh..I am so excited. When I think about it, I don't even go to school during the summer, that automatically knocks at least 90 days off! I kind of have to count weekends though, since I do spend so many of them hunkered {sp?} over books and several different folders of power-points.

*sigh*

Speaking of school, I am not ready to go back. I have a little over two weeks. I love school but it is definitely a love-hate relationship!

I can't wait until I can get a card like this^

or...a cake like this. Isn't it awesome?


or...a pin or necklace like this?! That you can find here.


Ahh..

497 days might seem like a million years but I have wanted this since was at least 12! I am actually doing it!   I am definitely proud of myself!





First Blogger Award

Today I received my very first blogger award-The Stylish Blogger Award! I am pretty excited, considering I have only been blogging a little over a month maybe? I can't even remember when I started. Thanks Grace over @ Loving Life and also @The Adventures Of A Nursing Student , you are just super dooper awesome!:) 


 There are 4 duties to perform to accept this award:
1.  Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
2.  Share 7 things about yourself
3.  Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
4.  Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award

1. I smoke unfortunately :( I know, I know...I need to quit!! 
2. My husband is in the Army-NG.
3. I take a nap almost everyday!
4. I graduate May 2012 with my RN, then I will continue on for my BS.
5. I hate the smell of eggs..scrambled,fried,overeasy,boiled..yuck. They smell like wet dogs to me!
6. Sometimes I get queasy when we talk about blood in school,but it doesn't make me sick to see it?!




About Time


I finally figured out how to make a button and code! Yay! It took lots of time, but I got it!
Grab it and post on your' page if you think I'm a worthy blogger:)
It might just lead others to my blog, which means more readers!

Thanks! I appreciate everyone of y'all!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Look at the POSITIVES!



So I feel like all of the blogs I have posted so far have been very negative! I am a negative person and I am trying to change that by "seeing the glass as half full". So I have decided to post a list of 5 positive things in my life before I clean my house and workout tonight.

1. I have an amazing husband that is willing to do whatever it takes to make me happy, the only thing he doesn't realize is that "he" himself makes me happy and it takes nothing more!

Pre-deployment 2007

2. I am in nursing school! I worked so hard for it and now I am to the point were I forget to appreciate it! Hard work really does pay off!

3. I have amazing friends and blogger friends!! That I know will be there for me when I need them most, and I will be there for them when they need me as well!

4. I have awesome children, (3 dogs,1 cat), They are awesome most of the time...when they aren't digging in the trash and chewing my stuff up. I still love them regardless...I think that might be my downfall;)

5. Post-deployment- I have graduation to look forward to! Going on vacation with my husband! Taking the dreaded NCLEX! Then buying our first home! 

I am a lucky lucky girl that God has blessed tremendously! I should count my blessings a little more often, it puts me in a better mood!


What are some of the positive aspects of you life?






Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Stethoscopes and Dogtags

Where to start...
I go back to school in a little over two weeks. 
Next month is the yellow ribbon ceremony, then in February we have the "going away" ceremony. 
My husband volunteered to go this past July, so we have known for sometime now, I never imagined the 7 months we had left would fly by so fast!
I am freaking out a little on the inside.
 I have tried to hold it all in,but I think I might explode!
 Next semester is supposed to be a hard semester, we are going to have WAY more clinical days and now my husband is going to be gone. 

Don't get me wrong, I DO support him, and OUR troops.
I am just very scared of living alone and doing everything by myself! 
Ever since his deployment to Iraq I have had some separation issues to say the least. 
Now I'm in school and I have absolutely no confidence that I can handle the home by myself! I know that I will get the hang of it in time but it is still scary, plus I have school!
Like y'all don't already know about my school!!  

 I know I can do it cause there are thousands of other people that do, and they even have kids in the picture.
 Maybe, just maybe, a kid is what I'm missing?
 Ha. See how crazy this deployment is making me!?
 A kid would keep me busy but its to late for that, and that is just insane thinking on my part, besides, I'm 19! I guess this blog is just me trying to figure out how to manage the life of "student nursing" and the deployment at once. 
I kind of like the title of this entry, I think I might change my blog name to it?! What do y'all think?  

Friday, December 24, 2010

Stressed Is An UNDERSTATMENT

This blog is strictly for me to vent, I am very bitchy right now and I have got to let it all out. If you read and you are bored then I am sorry, if you are entertained I am glad my f'd up life can make someone smile!:) 

My day was horrible. It started off good, me and my sis-in-law went and got our hair cut. After getting our hair cut we stopped by Sonic to get some food. While we were there we got a phone call about some family drama, that we were smack dab in the middle of. It all started last night when my father-in-laws girlfriend was calling him. He was driving and we were all coming back from eating dinner. He asked me to pick up the phone for him so he could concentrate on the road. Well...needless to say his girlfriend didn't like me picking up the phone. Today it turned into this HUGE ordeal. She was calling us cussing us out saying she wanted to meet us and she was going to whoop us..blah blah blah. I won't go into details because I could write a book on todays drama. I will cut straight to the point, basically the whole family ended up fist fighting! Yes, grown adults fist fighting because my stupid father in-law has a stupid girlfriend who gets jealous when I answer his phone?! Seriously? I could scream. & Yes I did punch her, twice actually. I'm NOT a fighter but I have hated this woman for so long now. She is nothing but a druggie/drunk user. She tries to keep him away from his family. She tells him what to do with his money so on and so on. 

Anyways, enough about that. We will fast forward to 10:30pm. I start shaking, feeling like my heart is going to explode out of my chest, feeling like I might faint, feeling like I could puke, this has been going on for a few days. I get these "sick" spells. I don't know what they are so I decided to go to the ER since I couldn't get into a doctor till after January 15th! They are BOOKED! I decided if my BP was over 140/90 I was going to go to the ER. I took my BP it was 152/96. That is HIGH, and I am on BP meds. I go to the ER, my BP was 166/99 and the doctor told me I was/am having a anxiety attack. He then starts talking about my BP/Pulse and tells me I need to go on a diet, watch my caffiene in take, start exercising, etc. I paid $50 for a stupid co pay to be told this junk, I seriously thought I was dying. I have had anxiety attacks but I guess this one was so extreme that I could barely function. 

*sigh*

I guess this post is going to be a promise to myself, I am going to sit down tonight and work on a diet plan/workout plan. I am going to get healthier to protect my body and my health. I am RUN down! 

The doctor asked if I had anything stressful triggering my anxiety...hmm...BOY DO I?! 

I have decided to number my stressors in order from most stressful to least stressful.

  1. Pending Deployment
  2. SCHOOL
  3. PENDING DEPLOYMENT
  4. School
  5. Finding a new home
  6. Family Drama 
  7. Taking care of my dogs
  8. and taking care of everything while hubby is gone!
Did I say Pending Deployment and School?


I am officially stressed & now I'm stressed about being stressed.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Help, Please!

Okay, so I made a button, but the problem is I don't know how to get the grab my button thing where it has the code underneath. Help anyone?!
or


Oh and how do y'all like my button? I need y'alls opinion! I spent forever on it but I'm not sure, I got tired of doing it so I just settled....

I hope there are some computer geniuses out there, cause I am lacking in that department.



Things You Should Know If Were Going To Be BFF's.



I live in a town that has less than 400 people.

Somehow I manage to get food on me every meal. It never fails!

I am a MilSpouse about to endure our 2nd deployment.

Luckily, I am a nursing student. Aspiring RN, Graduating Spring of 2012.

Our children consist of three furry dogs!:)
Ashley <3

 Molly:)

Bob-He is much fatter than this but my recent pics are on my iphone.

I pee in front of my husband.

I rarely ever shave my legs now that I am in the nursing program.

I'm a bit lazy.

I swear, it would take me at least a FULL day to catch up on laundry.

I hate cooking in my kitchen, there is absolutely NO counter space.

I love my husband more than words can explain. 

I can/will keep a secret as long as it's not going to put me in jeopardy.

Last but not least, I hate eggs with a passion. They smell like wet dog!
YUCKY!





Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas Presents

In case y'all are curious here are some of the presents I have received and given for CHRISTmas already.

Gift #1
I got an awesome 12 piece Paula Deen porcelain cookware set. They are absolutely AMAZING and RED!

 My grandmother bought me these on the Black Friday sale. They are originally $119.95 @ pauladeen.com, she got them for 70-80 I believe, although I'm the one who waited in line for them. Crazy ole' me. I've been wanting this exact set for 2 years now! I just haven't got around to getting them. 


Gift #2
Is the oh so amazing and fantastic,Zebra Snuggie. I have also wanted one of these since they came out, but my husband has a valid point. They are a blanket. We have blankets at our house already...or do we?
So, I was at Wal-Mart the other night doing some CHRISTmas shopping with my sis-in-law, I came across this totally cute amazing peace sign Snuggie. Knowing that my husband would get irritated that I paid $20 for something we practically already had, I talked myself out of buying it!
To my surprise my sis-in-law calls me today and says they bought be a CHRISTmas present. I wondered what it was, hoping it wasn't the red mixing bowls, or the Grey's Anatomy season that I put back, because I bought them a few days later. 
She brought my present by and  SURPRISE,SURPRISE, it was the zebra Snuggie that I actually wanted! I am such a lucky girl to have such amazing family that pays so close attention to things I like!
This Snuggie is greater than any blanket I own, it is warm, soft, and so comfy! I love it and my husband was far from being right on this argument. He actually just walked in the house from work, he looked at me, "Is that a Snuggie?" Then he touched it,"Are they that soft on the inside?" Now he wants one, I think I will tell him it is pointless since we have so many blankets here at the house:)

Gifts I Have Given

Honestly, I haven't bought many. We don't have kids and we are trying to save money to go on a trip before hubby is deployed. So far I have bought him an electric razor for his deployment, a Carhart jacket and coveralls for work. His birthday is in November and he got about $500 worth of new clothes,shoes, and video games. So he isn't getting to much this CHRISTmas!

It even has a self cleaner (he specifically asked for self cleaning). It was originally $140+ at walmart when we picked it out, the day I went it was on sale for $100. Sweet action, right?

He also got this because he needed a new coat for work since it has been getting cold here in OK, well besides today...it was in the 70's! OK is BIPOLAR!! This coat was 20% off and I also got him gloves, which he is going to take on the deployment since he lost his army issued gloves and OK National Guard is to broke to buy new ones:) Shh..Don't tell them I said that....

Well, if you have made it through this entirely to long blog I applaud you! Thanks for reading my so called CHRISTmas Extravaganza!!!:) 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!






Bad Day?


Today has been a weird day,
 I woke up at 5:30. Went in to work. At 8 I asked if I could leave cause' I didn't feel to good. The charge nurse wanted to take my temperature. I was running a slight fever so they sent me home. I slept on and off all day long, waking up long enough to cook my husband brunch and dinner. I have had a massive stomachache all day. 

When I woke up at 8pm my husband said my dog was gone,
 my awesome Molly is missing!
We let her go outside to use the bathroom and we never put her on a leash because we live in a *small* town, where everybody knows everybody. He let her out and she never came back. I have a bad feeling that someone stole her for a Christmas present. 
It's so sad that somebody would do that, but ironically this is the second dog we have lost a few days before Christmas. A coyote could have gotten her but I honestly doubt that.
Molly Moo :) 

Molly after a bath a few months ago!:)

There is a reward for her, I have posted all over my facebook, and I'm nearly friends with everyone in our town. Hopefully she turns up soon, I am going to search heavily tomorrow when it is daylight and not so cold. We looked tonight for a few hours but no luck. I guess tomorrow I will make fliers and post around town. 
*sigh*
I pray we find her, this is the most awful Christmas ever. 

My husbands battle is down this weekend to spend time before my husband deploys. They are having fun drinking and playing games and I am to sick to participate. I managed to drink one beer and felt horrible again. I guess it's Gods' way of telling me to lose weight, just like last week, I went to sonic and they were out of EVERYTHING I wanted. So then I went to McDonalds and their Frappe' machine was broke. 
Guess it might be time to hit that treadmill some, now someone inspire me please?!
.

Friday, December 17, 2010

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In


1. What is the best gift you have ever received or given? 
The best gift I have ever been given is my engagement ring, I knew about it before my husband even left Iraq back in 08. He got scared thinking that something would happen to his plane and I might not ever know that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. It was really sweet. The best gift I have ever given is the electric razor I got my hubby this Christmas, that way he will have it for deployment and he won't have to use a razor everyday for a year!

2. Do you celebrate holidays differently when your loved one is deployed/gone or do you keep tradition
Luckily I have not had to celebrate a holiday without him so far while being married and on our own. Next year will be a different story though. I'm sure I will do the same thing, my family does our holidays the weekend before, or the weekend after. His family does theirs on the holiday usually. 

3. If you celebrate Christmas, do you put an angel, star or something else on the top of your tree?

Sad to say but we did not put our tree up this year, I had to much going on with finals in school. We have three dogs and no kids, we hardly ever have visitors at our house, and I'm terrified that our kids (dogs) will tear it up! Last year I put a pretty red bow on top of the tree though.


4. What are your three favorite websites?

Facebook, Blackboard (school website), I can't think of a 3rd! 


5. On your man do you prefer… boxers, briefs or boxer briefs? Or commando?

Boxer Briefs, they are sexy and comfy looking. Commando sounds alright to, I guess?! :)





Monday, December 13, 2010

Not so social Christmas event?

Where to start?
 Yesterday was my husbands national guard Christmas party. This is the first year I have attended. I did not go last year because my husband decided not to tell me early enough so that I could make arrangements to take off work. The Christmas party was okay I guess, lots of people attended although I noticed a few soldiers with absolutely no family. I finally realized that this just was not a "social" event as I assumed. Everyone stayed to themselves wanting nothing to do with anyone. Hmm..the main reason I went was so that I could meet MilSpouses so that maybe while our loved ones were deployed we could stay in touch. That didn't go as I had planned. I did meet one woman though, my hubby is friends with her boyfriend. She has a 5 month old baby, she has no family here in Oklahoma, ALL of her family lives in California. I feel beyond sorry for her. She has added me on facebook so Im going to make it a point to write her every so often.

Anyways,
Besides the unfriendly Christmas dinner, yesterday was a terrible day. I broke down last night. My husband asked what was wrong and all I could say was "I'm scared". I was crying so horribly, snot was flying, I couldn't breathe. It was just absolutely horrible. Now, my husband feels like he was being selffish for volunteering to go to Afghanistan. I did NOT mean to make him feel that way. I am just honestly scared, even though we were dating the first deployment and I know what it's going to be like, I am still scared. Ugh. I just don't know why, going to the dinner yesterday made it all to real for me, hearing the commander speak about the possible locations and showing us maps of Afghanistan, explaining that this is more likely going to be a mission where we have VERY LIMITED communication. I just feel so overwhelmed. We were told that we will be lucky to get a phone call once or twice a month. There is going to be NO internet,and we were told that we have to use the good ole' snail mail system. Oh joy, I love the fact that it will take anywhere from 2-4 weeks for him to recieve a package/letter. We were also told that this could change and they will get a really nice location. I guess I'm going to prepare myself for the worst. Last deployment was cheesecake compared to the way this one is more than likely going to be.
but then again,
The Army does change things about 4-6 times before they actually happen;)

On a brighter note,
I have nursing finals tomorrow!
I haven't studied much but I think I got the important stuff down. I have an A- in the class and I figured that I have to make an 82% to keep my A in the class. Im pretty sure I can do it considering that I have made A's on all the recent tests. I know what kind of ?'s they are going to ask. I'm prepared.
Or atleast I will tell myself that;)
Tomorrow is the last day to my first semester, three more to go then I will be a RN.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

I'm a day late, but late is better than never; I have had a rough week and this is keeping me distracted long enough to not think about anything:)

1. What do you see your life like in 10 years?
In ten years I will be 29- I see myself as either a nurse practitioner or a nurse anethesist. I would like to have kids by then.
2. What do you like most about your job?I am a certified nurse aid. The thing I love the most about it is the smile on the residents faces, they are so lonely and many of them have 0 family. We are all they have.
3. What are three things you do every day, no matter what day it is?Check facebook, take a nap, drive.
4. What would you do with an extra five hours in the day today?I used an extra five hours to sleep today ;) Yes, I am quite a lazy person during the winter time!
5. What is your favorite Christmas (or whichever holiday  you celebrate) cookie recipe (please share!)?

Vanilla Sugar Cookie

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 ounces) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks; 6 ounces) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons (11 ounces) all-purpose flour
1   large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.  Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, scraping down the bowl after each addition.  Beat until the dough just comes together, being careful not to over mix.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Place the ball of dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out to 1/4 inch think.  Keeping the dough in the parchment, transfer to a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Cut out the cookies in the desired shapes and places on a half-sheet pan lined with parchment paper or an ungreased nonstick cookie sheet, at least 1 inch apart.  Transfer to the freezer and chill for at least 15 minutes or until they are stiff.
Bake until the cookies are light golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Let cookies cool completely on the sheets before decorating.  (They will still be soft when they come out of the oven and may break or become misshapen if they are moved off the sheets before cool.)


Monday, December 6, 2010

Death By Careplan? I think not!

I wrote my very first careplan over Thanksgiving break! The darn thing was 17 pages long and I literally thought it was going to KILL me! For those of you who don't know, careplans are strategies designed to guide health care professionals involved with patient care. Such plans are patient specific and are meant to address the total status of the patient. Care plans are intended to ensure optimal outcomes for patients during the course of their care. Might I add, they are a massive pain in the butt. While I was supposed to be "enjoying" my Thanksgiving break and stuffing my face full of amazing food, I was busy for about TEN long hours. I have now been waiting patiently for nearly two weeks to get my grade back, today I checked my grade and I made a 93%! There was a note at the bottom stating that overall it was a good careplan but, I left out some important medication details. Oh well, better luck next time. I will take my A and smile! :)    
I DID IT!  Now, this makes me feel like I just "might" be able to survive nursing school. Maybe one day I will be able to write my name with the pretty little letters RN following it!

Just 523 days till graduation, counting weekends, and breaks!


Friday, December 3, 2010

Extraterrestrial Life?

So looking over some news articles yesterday I came across the weirdest one I have seen in awhile. A NASA Scientist has found an Arsenic-Eating bug (microorganism). NASA is stating that this "bug" might hold clues to extraterrestrial life! I think this is taking it a little to far, there is always one finding that will change everything we have been taught to date. Yes this means that we have found a new type of "life" so to speak. It can literally eat on arsenic!! That is poisonous to humans and every other life form out there. Not for this bug though, when eating Arsenic it thrives. Phosphorus is an element that all other life forms need to thrive, it is all of our DNA. This new "bug" that NASA has discovered is not even affected by phosphorus, and it grows without the presence of phosphorus.

This is awesome but I believe that extraterrestrial life? is taking it to far. We all know that there could be e-t life and more than likely another planet could support it. I believe that by NASA coming out and saying this could prove E-T life that this is going to scare the crap out of some people! Give me your thoughts?? I'm interested in it.

December 3,2010

So I am completely confused by the blogging website, I am in nursing school and my husband will be deploying soon so I thought this would be a cool way to burn some time. I'm not much of a writer, I've had my college English classes, not because I wanted to, but because I was forced to.

Other than school my life is fairly plain Jane and rather boring, I live in a 900 square foot house, with a husband, a Pit bull, Pug, Shitzu, and a cat named Mrow. I go to school, come home, and sleep on most days. I am a freshman nursing student, I am technically a sophomore in college but that doesn't matter. I am expected to graduate May 2012 with my associates in applied sciences. In June 2012 I plan on taking the NCLEX! Oh my worst fear, I really hate the NCLEX style questions =P, I'm sure everyone did at first though. Well into my first semester we have touched on a few things starting with the history of nursing, including Florence Nightingale going all the way to diabetes and topics such as death and dying. We have literally had the mixed pot. Nothing has been organized this semester, or maybe I should say none of the students have been organized? I'm not really to sure. Surely this is how all of my classmates and I  feel right about now:
Not sure what else to say, I'm sure this whole "blogging" thing will be a work in progress.
Maybe even learn a thing or two.