*tap tap tap* This thing still work??

Well HELLO THERE!

I've just been reading through the past 6 months of blog posts here on my own lovely little blog and realizing that I have no life outside of school.  This is a very sad statement of affairs.

It also makes me realize how fortunate I am to be in a place where I am able to attend school at my age, and not have to work at the same time.  Lord knows I would not be able to do this.  Right now, I am looking forward to the next 4 weeks off, with no school work (a first for me.  In the past three years I have not gone 4 weeks without school).  I am going to spend them pestering my husband and hugging on him since he will be moving to Pullman and we will only see each other on the weekends come January. This is a lose/win situation.  The lose is obvious.  Hubster will be an hour and a half away all week.  The win is that I will not have the pressure of being a wife during the week.  It is so hard to play both roles, wife and nursing student.  (And let's not forget mom and Yaya.) I feel so bad all the time because I end up neglecting my family so that I can be a good student.  It will be better for us if I can concentrate on school and then be happy to see him when he comes home on the weekends. 

This semester has been b.r.u.t.a.l.  School 5 days a week with little break during the day and then homework til all hours.  I am so wiped out I can't even think straight.  Hopefully next semester will be a little better...but somehow I don't think it gets any easier.  I will only have two days of class time and perhaps 2 days of clinical, maybe 1 depending on the length of the clinical.  But I believe the workload will be greater.  And those two days are 10 hour straight through days.  No breaks, just 10 minutes between 2-3 hour classes.  UGH.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Nursing school isn't for sissies. 

I got an iPad for next semester.  I'm going to get the majority of my books on it and take my notes there to decrease the strain on my neck and shoulders.  No backpack!  Hopefully this will allow the my neck to heal up some and my left arm to come back to life.  I am ready to have it not be numb and tingling all the time.  I am IN LOVE with my iPad. Between that and my iPhone, I am ready to kick all non Apple electronics to the curb.  I think my next computer purchase will be macintosh for SURE.  Love Love Love.

We are in for more snow tonight.  We had the snowiest November on record...and it all came during the last week of the month!  It was ca-razy.  You all know how I feel about snow.  I am ready for summer already.  Hmmm.  Well that's not going to happen.  Oy.  I keep looking at my pics from last summer and pretending it's just around the corner.  It gets me through the cold days. 

Ok, I have to go get ready for the Gonzaga Faculty Christmas party.  Our last one ever.  Hopefully it will be lots of fun!!

Merry Christmas to you all :)

~Ronna

Of visits home, school and panic attacks.

I had a visit home last weekend.  It was the nicest escape from reality I have had for quite a while.  And I really did escape.  I went golfing with a couple of friends one morning and just goofed off like I didn't have a care in the world.  I played with my grandbabies.  I watched my nephew play college baseball for the first time since he started college (he is a senior).   I spent much needed time with my daughter.  I got to play mousetrap with my sister and Emma.  I just chilled.

Well for the most part.  There were the nights where I locked myself in my room and studied (one night until 2 am) but for the most part I just enjoyed being home and not spending the entire weekend consumed by school. 

When I was driving home I spent an inordinate amount of time shopping the outlet malls on the west side of the mountains.  I hate shopping.  Especially for winter clothes.  But shop I did.  For 5 hours. 

When I finally got on the road and started to crest the pass to Eastern WA, I had a full blown panic attack.  Crying, couldn't breathe, felt like I was going to throw up.  What the heck? 

I have been dealing with a ridiculous amount of stress at school, not all of it related to school work.  I'm not going to elaborate on a public venue, I will just say that I was put in a position that I should never have been put in and I was not able to get out of it and it was pressing me to the floor.  I had no idea how badly it was effecting me until I tried to drive home.  And nearly couldn't. 

So what did I do?  I phoned a friend.  They were able to calm me down and at the end of the call I was laughing and able to drive the rest of the way home with some perspective and a determination to deal with the BS and make all of this better.

Which I did, finally.  Yesterday.  I am less stressed today, in some ways.  More in others.  My grades are not what I want.  I am frustrated by that.  I had a goal of graduating with honors and I see that slipping away in a cloud of 22 credits and B- grades.  I am taking a huge class load and it is too much.  No matter how much I hate summer school I won't do this again.  It's just too hard. 

I'm just so tired.  I never knew how hard all of this go go go would be.  7 hour straight classes followed by hours of homework.  I am trying to be present for my family but I spend the majority of my time sitting right here.  In this very seat. I am surprised my butt is not shaped like this chair.  Or my seat at school.  I am not actually sure if I am tired, or just tired of school.  Probably both.  I am so ready for Christmas break.  I honestly do not even care if I leave my house for 3 straight weeks. 

I need to find the happy here.  It's in here somewhere.  I just need to remember how to navigate to it. 

I am surrounded by books and concept maps, chocolate and red wine.

I really want to whine and moan and complain.  But instead I am going to say that I am studying hard.  Eating too much.  Drinking my share of red wine and eating my way through a bag of mini chocolate chips.  It helps with the stress. 

It's almost mid term.  How. Did. That. Happen.

I'm sorry I am a neglectful blogger.  But you see, if you could catch a glimpse of my desk you would understand.  I promise to resurface someday...

~R

Well Hello There

It's been a while.  I have been so busy with...well SCHOOL stuff that I have kind of forgotten that I have this little thing called a blog.

And I have about 2.5 seconds to tell you that:

A) not much has changed.  My life is still nutso

B) I am sick, which makes school harder.

C) My pediatric clinical experience has been puncutated by a lice outbreak which pretty much freaked me out.  Lice, are disgusting and I keep jumping every time I feel itchy.

I can't really talk about my clinicals other than to say they are pretty much a yawn this semester and school is pretty much just busy work intended to kill my spirit.  I have 12 weeks left in this semester and I am hoping each one of them flies by as quickly as the past 4 has because, seriously.  I am going to be a blithering idiot before too long. 

Ok, I need to take my illness to bed.  TTFN

So the beginning of my day was awesome...

But the end of my day kind of sucked. 

This morning I went to my physical fitness class at 5:30 am knowing that everyone else would be taking a test of their ability to run 2 miles, do push ups and sit ups...and I would probably be failing this test miserably.  I have a pulled hamstring and a torn rotator cuff so pushups are a no go, and as for sit ups, well I can do SIT UP.  As in one, the "proper military way" (hands behind head etc).  When I got there my instructor said to me, "What time does the gym open?" and I said, "6:00." and he said, "See ya." I was STOKED because I really didn't want to risk reinjuring my hamstring when it was just getting back in shape.  So I went to the gym and worked my butt off on the climbing/gliding machine that I love so much for 30 minutes until I couldn't go another second.  After that I went to weigh in and made weight (thankyouverymuch) and proceeded to shower and spend the next 7 straight hours in class.  After all that I checked my email and there was an email from one of the cadre members basically chewing me out for having "skipped out on the PT test".  He was nice enough about it be the end result was clear, I was shamming and he didn't like it. 

It made me cry. 

I wrote him back and explained the situation to him.  It made me feel like crap because I have been working so hard to get in shape and then he acts like I am just playing around at this and not taking it seriously.  Really?  I pulled my hamstring trying to keep up with the freaking freshmen who were doing sprints after standing outside in the freezing cold.  My muscles were not warm and I ended up injured.  Hmm.  And get this, he is not even my instructor.

I will not let this get me down.  I will continue to persevere.  But it made me mad.  And now I have to go play nice with everyone (including this person) at a barbeque because *oh yes* my husband works with them. 

Game face on.  I can do this. 

And just you wait Cpt. Poop Head.  I will show YOU.  You cannot rain on my parade and get away with it for long. 

Tomorrow...

Clinicals start.

I am oddly nervous.  Why am I nervous?  This is all old hat to me.

Maybe because this signals the start of the new reality in my life.   
Ronna P. BSN 

I always thought those letters were so pretentious.  But now?  Now I can't wait to sign my nursing notes with those three little letters.  Sometimes I don't know why I waited so long.  Sometimes I can't believe I was so afraid of this. I had every excuse in the book as for why I didn't finish school.  But the truth was, I was scared to death that I didn't have it in me.  Some days I still feel that way, but it's just the lack of sleep talking.  When I close my eyes all I can see is me, in a blue cap and gown (and honor cord around my neck), walking across that stage with a HUGE smile on my face.

That is what gets me out of bed and to school every day.  613 more wake ups and I will be there. 

Sometimes I question my sanity.

Today was the first day of my first official semester in nursing school.  I was excited when I went to bed and my tummy was all a-flutter in ways I haven't experienced since high school.

At least that's what I thought it was.  About an hour later I was in the bathroom praying to God to "please let me die now, it would just be easier that way." Apparently God was not interested in granting that wish because I am here typing this for you to read.

I spent the remainder of the night in and out of bed that way and come morning I was exhausted.  Now, I am nervous AND wiped out and still feeling a little queasy.  I'd like to come face to face with the little virus who held court over my innards last night because he was a mighty foe. 

Fast forward to 9:30 am today and I am sitting in a room with 32 other bright shiny new nursing students and we are about to get the rude awakening of our lives.  A 6 hour orientation to what felt like the entire nursing course but what was actually only one of our 5 classes.  Holy. Cow. I kept saying to the girls around me, "How can this be only one class???  WHAT IS YET TO COME THIS WEEK???  They kept looking back at me in fear, the same look I am sure I was giving them. All the while the evil virus was lurking about making his presence known with occasional waves of nausea. 



I should be thankful.  I AM thankful.  I will be thankful.  Tomorrow.  After I have had a good nights sleep and...oh wait. Tomorrow I start my Military physical fitness class.  Maybe I will be thankful on Thursday...

Repeat after me: May 13, 2012.  May 13, 2012.  May 13, 2012.  I will graduate with honors thankyouverymuch.


I can do this.  I can. I will. I must.


 

I always tell my oldest that she was the best thing I ever did.

My oldest daughter Hannah has grown up to be the most incredible woman, wife and mother.  When she was younger I used to tell her all the time that she was the best thing I ever did. And here is living proof of that.  Check out her latest blog posting.  She amazes me.  Every.Single.Day.

http://thenotsosimplelife2.blogspot.com/2010/08/happy-little-moments.html

I love you Hannah!!

Migraines are a bummer

I have been doing pretty well the past few weeks with my migraines, I don't know if it is the exercise or the lack of stress or both.  But just now, getting ready for bed the world went sideways and all the lovely aura stuff started that signals a WHOPPER of a migraine.  Yay me.

Come to think of it, I did drink a bunch of red wine last night with my friend who was visiting from out of town, I am surprised it took this long to hit me.

I, am seriously a dork sometimes.  Self induced pain.  I guess I will take this head of mine to bed and hope when I wake up to run at 5 am I am feeling human again. 

*le sigh*

Friends are the most amazing thing.

I am pretty lucky I guess.  I have had a close set of friends since I was 12 years old.  This group of people, six of us, have been through countless crushes, a few dates and a marriage and divorce amongst us in the past 30 years and yet we remain friends.  This past weekend we got together and hung out, played golf, poker, dice games, and sat by the fire.  We laughed, we told stories, looked at old pictures, we drank way too much and we stayed up way too late.  When all was said and done, we were all pretty amazed at how resilient our friendships have remained to this day.  I wish I lived closer to these people so that I could see them more than once a year.  This past weekend has made me more homesick than ever. 

Tammy, Billy, Jim (Fuzz), Chris and Kylene, (and little sis Lori) you guys wrote the pages of my story and I love you all so very much.  I hope we are meeting at the Gate Ranch when we are 80 and playing Ronna Rules golf and I am killing you all at poker.  Every.Time.

Tammy loves her side ponytail :)  It helps her to play poker better.  NAWT.

Three little monkeys sitting in a tree (left to right, Lori, Tammy and Ronna)

Chris (in the blue hat)  passing out the chips for MY poker game, he should have just given them all to me.

Because I ended up with them all anyway :D (Yes, these are MY chips)

I said SMILE! Fuzz and his son Jackson were the only ones paying attention lol.  (Left to right, Lori (in the ponytail), Chris(blue cap) Billy, Fuzzy, Jackson, Tammy's arm and Jim Senior.  Standing in back is Tad)

Fuzzy getting ready to show us how it's done.  Or not.

Kylene with her awesome form, :P

Tammy putting like a champ.  All those hours of putt putt golf paid off :D

The motley crew.

Chris channeling Happy Gilmore :)

Kylene  wearing Chris' sweatshirt.  It was HUGE so I climbed inside with her to get warm lol

Fuzz wearing his "bluetooth"

A better look at the apparatus...hmm looks like a hair clippy to me....

Billy showing us how it is done.  Nice form WCF!!

Honorary member of the crew, "li'l sis" Lori giving Chris some tips.  Hmmm. Maybe she is actually saying "Um, I think my ball is waaaaayyyyy over there...."

What trip to Western Washington is complete without a visit from a friendly slug??   Ewwww...

Thanks for loving me as I am my friends.  My world is a better place because of all of you. 

~R

Books. Books will be the death of my savings account.

Welcome to the first semester of Nursing School.  Kiss your money goodbye.

How does the smallest book in this pile cost the most money? Used? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

I'm in the wrong business.  I need to start publishing books.

Naps are underrated

Today I took a three hour nap.  It was WONDERFUL. Of course this morning I woke up at 6 am and went for a run and did sit ups and push ups...but that's for another blog.  No wonder I needed a nap.

Again I will say it, NAPS ARE WONDERFUL!  I think there should be a national nap day at least once a week.  Heck, once a day.  National Nap Hour.  I like it.  Except maybe it should be 2 hours.  *sigh*  Why can't 2 year olds understand this concept?

No Compromise

I went for a walk this morning and about 2 miles into it I saw a lady walking and apparently talking to herself.  When I got up to her it became clear that she was praying.  It suddenly dawned on me that I could be doing this as well.  Or maybe more to the point, I should be doing this more often.

I have been a professing Christian for most of my life.  What does that mean?  I guess it means that if you asked me I would tell you that I believed that Christ died for me and that I had accepted him as my Savior as a young child.  Does this mean that I have always walked my life in such a way that if the average stranger saw me they would know this from watching my actions?  No way.  But do I think I should live my life this way? Yes, very much.  It's a matter of self discipline, something I am sorely lacking.

Back to my walk this morning, I decided to have my own chat with God.  I won't bore you with the details because 1) they are personal and 2) they are personal.  But as I was nearing my house I was reminded of a song from my younger years that still rings true for me today.  The man who sang this song was an incredible man of God but he would have been the first to tell you he failed everyday.  He is gone now but his music still moves me so I thought I would share it with you. I think my favorite line from this song is "I want to thank you now for being patient with me.  It's so hard to see, when my eyes are on me." That kind of says it all for me.





I want to live a life of No Compromise.  I know that I will fail often.  But the beauty of it is I worship a forgiving God who will always allow me to start over anew every day, heck every minute.  How cool is that? 

I know it's in there somewhere...

My will to study for these exams.  I know it is.  It's just temporarily left my head.  Tomorrow I will be in a panic because it will be the last day I have before THE day and I will be left sitting here wondering how I am ever supposed to remember all this crap (yes I said it, crap) that was blown at me from a fire hose the past 6 weeks. 

I looked at the study guide for my philosophy final and literally drew a total blank.  Did I actually read these books?  Because this stuff does not even ring a smidgen of a bell.  How is this possible?  I know I wrote a paper each week on these things, how can I not recall the basic concepts of the authors? 

Oy.  Vey.

Thankfully the final tests are not a huge part of my grade so if I fail miserably I will still pass the classes.  I think. 

Oh how the mighty have fallen...

*sigh*

I currently have a C+ in my religion class. 

There goes my GPA.

:(

Things that surprised me about Ft. Knox Kentucky

I did not know a body could sweat THAT MUCH just standing still.  I have lived in a humid climate.  It made Hawaii feel like the desert.

Apparently (from all the safety briefings) there are a lot of "get you's" in the woods: Poison ivy, black widow spiders, brown recluse spiders, snakes and wasps. I don't believe any of this as I only saw a couple of wasps.

Katydids are LOUD.  REALLY REALLY LOUD.  And oddly, they sound exactly like the smoke monster from LOST.  I was freaked out a couple of times.  The fact that you never see them only hear them adds to the feeling of being freaked out.  I kept looking for a large cloud of smoke and  John Locke.

A wet bulb reading is something I never want to experience again.  Especially not a black flag wet bulb reading.  http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/uvaheatline/heat-wbgt.cfm  FYI we did not follow the precautions on this website...

98 degrees with a humidity of 80% feels more like 103 degrees.  There was a surprising lack of flying insects related to the incredible humidity.

There was also a surprisingly large number of butterflies of all types, especially some beautiful black and blue colored ones.  They were everywhere and on the last day appeared to be having butterfly races during the graduation ceremony.  It was a lovely break from the heat and stress of the challenging courses we were on.

 Speaking of challenges, this is the first little rappel they have you do, nice easy little walk down an incline. Note the lack of fear in my eyes as I high five the Lieutenant.

Ok maybe a little fear but not too much.

Here is what you might call the look of sheer terror, right before I prepared to rappel off the 51 foot tower.  Notice how far I am leaning towards the tower, lol.  The idea is to lean away from the tower...

 I am also gripping that rope as if my life depends in it.  You are not supposed to grip the rope, you are supposed to hold your fingers in an "O" shape and let the rope slide through it.  Try telling that to someone else.  I'm GRIPPING THAT ROPE!

And here I am not so gracefully attempting to make my way down.

This would be my husband response to my conquering my fears :)

Here, I am (believe it or not) making my second jump off of the tower.  Yes I said jump.  This side of the tower has no wall, just a ledge. It was actually easier and I am a bit more relaxed as the picture shows...until I had to back up and off the wall :D

Will I do it again?  Unlikely.  Am I glad I did it? Yes :)  Now I know if I have to rappel off a high building I can, at a minimum, lower myself down to the ground without dying.  :P

I would have to say tho, as far as things that surprise me,  the butterflies win hands down.

What a week!

This week I learned that I CAN actually step backwards off of a 51 foot tower if I have too.  I might cry like a little baby but in the end, I will take that step back and then (maybe not gracefully) walk all the way down the tower.  And then go back up and do it again only this time off of the side with out a wall.  Yep, jump off into the abyss.  And rappell down 51 feet.  I still can't believe I did that.  Well, I have the bruises to prove it, and a plaque with a picture but still, I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT.

I also learned that I can survive in 98 degree heat and 80% humidity while fully dressed in army uniform and preform some grueling tasks (like building a rope bridge over a stream and then helping 13 other people across it before disassembling it...in 12 minutes) and not melt...ok almost not melt.  It was close.  I was thankful I had to swim across the stream.  Again, cataloging the bruises.  These are just two of the tasks I did this week at the "conference" I attended.  It was super cool but not super "cool".  Holy cow Louisville is HOT!!

Lastly I have learned that I can stay the night in Chicago with only the clothes on my back and have a fantastic time and not worry that my hair is a disaster.  Getting bumped off our flight was not a totally terrible thing.  Chicago is amazing!!

I am really ready to go home though and do all the homework I did not do while I was in Louisville..I have about 12 hours. 

Yikes.

So far today I've...

Read Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics Ch 2,4 and 5 and James Rachels The Ethics of Virtue Ch. 13 and then wrote an essay on them.  Then I proceeded to read this little ditty: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/luther-freedomchristian.html.  Just a little piece by Martin Luther regarding the freedom of Christianity.  Nothing big.  I have to write a paper on it by the end of the week.  But first I had to answer 5 study questions about it.  Oh and I also made a discussion board posting regarding Aristotle and Rachels.  I still have to read 8 chapters in my Religion book and outline them for a test before Monday and did I mention I am going to be a bit busy this next week?

My eyeballs feel like they are going to fall out.  Right.Out.Of.My.Head.

I'm still in my pajamas and it's 4:14pm. Oy.

Think I will take a shower and try and feel like a normal person for a bit before falling unconscious, lol.

Last post July 6th....really??

Sheeesh time gets away from me these days. I've been busy hanging out with family (Hub's brother and his attachments) trying to stay on top of school (not succeeding very well) and getting ready to travel to Ft Knox KY to find out what it means to be an Army ROTC cadet (why I'm still not sure.) The hub asked the organizer if I could travel on our dime to this event and observe some of the things they were going to be doing, next thing I know the Army is paying alot of money for me to travel there and participate fully in this event...which is great except for this little thing called school which is totally rocking my boat right now. I wish I had time to enjoy this philosophy class because I really love the teacher but it's totally online so I don't get to interact with him much. I do not love online classes. I guess they are great for some but not my forte. I need that in class interaction.

But on a more fun note, we found a fantastic boat in camping site last weekend.  It was amazing, just us and some osprey and bald eagles and a few friendly deer.  No cell phones, no computers, no power at all.  It was great actually.  If my phone had synched correctly I would have some pics to share but alas, no deal.  I will have to figure that one out.

Ok, I have miles to go before I'm through today.  I will try and find something exciting to speak about next time I blog, this was really boring but I thought I would say "hello" .

Hello :)

This schedule may prove to be too much

I thought I could pull it off. Two online classes plus two in class audits, how hard could it be?

Apparently a lot harder than I anticipated. These online classes are taking ALL of my free time and after I sit through these fairly intense lectures on Anatomy and Microbiology the last thing I want to do is read difficult philosophy or religion texts and write about them. I think I am going to have to give up on the auditing. As much as I think it would be helpful to me, I really want to keep my GPA up for my real classes and I just got a B- on my first religion paper. (boo.) I can rewrite it and he gave me suggestions on how to improve it but SHEESH. B-? I have never gotten a B- on an essay before. I really need to focus and with our upcoming schedule it's going to be nearly impossible (houseguests, boating weekends etc.) I understand that these profs feel like they need to cram a semester worth of info into 6 weeks, but do they REALLY have to cram a semester's worth in? I don't think so.

*sigh* I haven't even started my Religion reading yet and I have my first assignment due tomorrow. And I have to write my first Philosophy paper by noon tomorrow and I am really struggling with the text, why can't these people just SPEAK ENGLISH? Fortunately I ran into my Philosophy Prof at GU today and we had a nice chat. He seems to like what I have done so far so I think I will be ok, he gave me some tips on how to write but it is still really hard stuff. He knows that though so I will just do my best.

Ugh. I just want to get to the nursing stuff. Even though that will be hard, at least it will make sense.

Dear John Stuart Mill

While I appreciate that you may be a brilliant 19th century philosopher, in the words of a brilliant 21st century philosopher, I dedicate this song to you.

Please. For the love of all that is good and right in the world and for my sanity. Say what you need to say and GET ON WITH IT!!

*headdesk*

Summer break, what the heck is that?

I am supposed to be on summer break right? 

Right.

That's why I got up at 5:30 this morning and went to class at 7:00 am to listen again about the joys of the digestive system (at least I don't have to take the tests) and then spent the rest of the day alternating between reading "Christianity: A Social and Cultural History" and writing a sweet little 600 word (i.e. three page) essay for Philosophy on Herrera v Collins or "The guy who shot two policemen, confessed and then 8 years later decided he was really innocent and wanted a new trial so they wouldn't put him to death".  I had one whole day to prepare for writing about that for which I had to read Plato's Crito, MLK's Birmingham Jail Letter and one other thing I never actually got to. And the best part? I have to post it for EVERYONE TO READ. *horrors*  Oh and I was supposed to read my professors "lecture".  Yeah.  Right.  And I still have to do all of my religion homework for tomorrow.  Oh but I still have 5 chapters to read in my religion book before tomorrow.  Oh yes and I still have to read about the Perpetua whatevertheheckthatis.  And write a essay about that by this weekend.  And do some post thingy for both classes on Blackboard.  Still don't get that whole thing.

Summer break? 

Not a chance.

Another one bites the dust.

Ah last day in Philosophy 201.  Final paper is written (for what it's worth.)  I read it back to myself and even I didn't understand half of what I said, lol.  Perfect for philosophy no?  So now I get a whole two days off and it's on to Philosophy 301.  Gail, in case you missed my answer to your question a few posts back, the Catholic Jesuit college I attend believes that in order to gain a well rounded Bachelor of Arts degree you must have received instruction in Logic, Philosophy of Human Nature, Ethics...and for me, Ethics, lol.  The fourth is supposed to be an elective philosophy class but I get to take healthcare ethics so WOO HOO.   I will be very ethical.  I also get to take three, count them THREE religion classes.   After that I will be deemed ready for the real world.  Uh huh.

In other news, my head is killing me this morning and making me type crazy words.  I am having to back space every other word to make sure I am saying the right thing.  Hate that.

We have had exactly 1 couple look at our house. Twice.  They are trying to figure out how to turn our office into a formal dining room (because my giant dining room isn't big enough?) They really want another house evidently but it is a short sale that is about to go back to the bank and they cannot make an offer on it.(not our house, the house they REALLY want, *sigh*)  So I am not hopeful but I am prayerful.  So those of you who pray.  PLEASE PRAY. 

It's Hoopfest weekend here in my town which means madness down town as thousands of basketball players compete in teams of three on three all weekend throughout the streets of downtown.  It's pretty cool to watch but it makes a mess of things.  We have some out of town friends staying with us while their kids play in the tourney.  Should be fun :)

Ok, I'm in need of a refill on my cup o' joe even though it's decaf.  Happy Friday everyone!!!

Today is my son's 21'st birthday

I spent my 21st birthday at Baskin and Robbins with a five day old baby boy who grew up to be this amazing young man who today turned 21.  So it was fitting that we spend his 21st together, although we did not go to Baskin and Robbins, we went to Red Robin :)

We had a quiet day at home and then went out to dinner just The Boy and The Husband and I .  Later we met some friends at a local watering hole. It was lots of fun. He was his usual funny but reserved self as we joked with our mutual friends and had a drink. The waitress carded him even before he put on his "I'm 21" pin so he felt official.

All day I waited for his phone to ring. It did several times. I asked him who had called. My sister, my dad, my mom when I was talking to her. But I was waiting for the call from his dad. He hadn't called yet but it was only 6:00. There was still time.

At around 8:30 while Chris and I were playing pool he said quite out of the blue, "I wonder why Dad hasn't called yet? Of all the people who might call me, he is the one person I would have expectations of. I am disappointed that he hasn't called."


My heart broke. 

He never called.  I have tried to protect my son from the realities of who his dad is.  I don't think after this I will be able to anymore.

One year ago today...

I made the best decision of my life.  I was living by myself, in a tiny apartment, moving towards divorce.  But something happened in me, in my husband and that day/night we were able to pick up the pieces of our badly damaged marriage and put them back together again and for that I am forever grateful to the loving God we worship. He is amazing and He had a plan and it was not for us to be apart forever, only long enough so that He could shake out the bad and replace it with the good.

On June 19, 2009 I went for a run and ended up hearing this song and breaking down and realizing that all I needed, all I wanted was to be with you forever. One phone call later, the rest was history.

Allen I love you, you are my Everything.  Thank you for letting go of your need to control and for letting God see us through this thing called Life.

4 AM

This is what time the puppy decided she needed to go potty this morning.  Just as it was beginning to get light out. 

She stretched and greeted me with a wiggly stub of a tail.  I glared and said "go".  She obliged and then tried to greet me again.  I harumphed and put her back to bed where she promptly fell back asleep.

I, on the other hand, have been awake ever since.

It's now 5:55.

*sigh*  Welcome to Saturday.

Rain Rain Go Away

It supposed to be summer. Well, in 3 days anyway. So why is it that yesterday's high temperature was a record low for the day?  Yes, you read that right, the high set a record for being the lowest "high" temperature on record for the day in the last 100 years.   It was only in the low 50's.  Brrrrrrrrr.  And raining.  Hard.  Where is my glorious sunshine?  We get such a short summer here I neeeeeeed every little bit of it to get me through the doldrums of winter.  And spring?  Pfft.  Fuggetaboutit.   In Spokane we like to joke that there are two seasons.  Winter, and road construction season.  Guess which we are in now.  >:(  I DON'T KNOW.  lol  Sort of a messy combination of both.  

The worst part?  Olympia is having better weather than we are.  Olympia is supposed to get the rain.  I live in the desert. Something is wrong here.

Ok, gripe session over.  Back to your regularly scheduled programs.  I'm going to keep praying for some HOT weather.  I may need to move to Phoenix if this doesn't let up :-/

Don't ever believe those boys...

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I'm sunburned...

And I like it :)

BRING ON THE SUN!!!!!

 Dolce and I before the Parade of Paws walk.

At the top of Mount St. Michael where the Priest blessed the puppies.

Dolce relaxing in the grass before the long hike back down the hill.  It was hot!!

Paying for my poor choice of sunscreen, but it will be tan before tomorrow!!  :D

For Lisa, because she asked and I am that way.  A picture of this innocent looking face.  Under this innocent face lurks the heart of a two year old.  Or maybe a teenager.  I haven't decided yet. 

All I know is that most of the time this face makes up for whatever naughtiness she has wrought.  Even with a little dog snot thrown in on the nose for good measure.  :) 

My dog has lost her mind.

You may recall a few blogs back here I discussed a phenomena whereby the puppy would bring me the last mouthful of her food and "share" it with me. This got to be really annoying so I decided since the weather is nicer that I would move the dog's dish outside under the cover of the porch so that they could not make such a mess in my kitchen.

Now you have to have a little background on my older dog, Sydney. Since she was a puppy, Sydney has suffered severe separation anxiety. She has gotten better over the years but there was a time when we had to give her medication to be able to kennel her, and by kennel I mean put her in a doggie kennel and leave the house.  She would freak out.   She was good with being left alone in the house after a while, but only if all the interior doors were open.  We have moved past that now to where I can close the bedroom doors and she is chill, but there is one barrier I have not been able to breach.  The sliding glass door.  If she is not in the mood, Sydney WILL NOT go outside by herself if the sliding glass door closes.  She will go outside and lay on the porch or in the yard...just don't close that door or a full on freak out will happen. We have worked on this over the past few years to the point where she will now go out and lay in the sun for a while but when she is done, SHE IS DONE. The only exception to this rule has been when she needs to go to the bathroom she is ok with the door shutting.  But then she comes right back and wants in NOW.

So this brings me to the food dish.  Which is outside the sliding glass door.  This poses a conundrum for my food loving dog.  On the one hand, she really wants that food.  On the other hand she knows I am going to shut that door because of the escape kitty who cannot be outside.  So she goes out.  And then immediately asks to come in.  And then she goes out. Inoutinoutinoutinoutinoutinoutinoutinout.  Unless I stand at the door while she paces back and forth in front of her food dish until she starts to eat, she won't eat.  Once she starts to eat, I can sit down by the door in plain sight and read a book or play on my computer until she is done and she will finish, with one eye on me the entire time.  But if I get up and walk away, she will drop her food, half chewed, and knock on the door to come in. 

It's driving me batty.  She is losing weight.  She needs to get over it.  She is 10 years old.  I am kidding myself. It's never going to happen. 

Meanwhile the puppy is only too happy to finish off all of the uneaten food.  She is going to look like the goodyear blimp here shortly if I don't watch her, lol. 


I must love this dog.  I have put up with her psychosis for 10 years now.  Oy.

Eight days

That's how long it took to get our house into what we consider "selling ready". What does that mean anyway? For us it means that basically it looks like a model home. It looks like nobody lives here. We moved stuff out, bought new stuff, changed out bedding, painted walls, planted plants, cleaned like nobodies business, serviced all the appliances, put a ton of stuff in storage, and basically worked ourselves into utter exhaustion. But I guess the upside is when we are ready to move, 95% of the work is already done, all we have to do is pack up what is left. Now, we wait. We wait for the plethora of home buyers (can you hear the sarcasm in my voice?) And I turn into a raging monster about cleanliness.

In the midst of this I have done exactly nothing for my philosophy class. The upshot is I have learned that I really do not need to do anything for my philosophy class because the prof basically lectures for 2 hours straight about nothing even close to what he says he was going to lecture on. So the fact that I have not read the text is not a problem. Let's hope that continues today. And lets hope that the fact that I have not showered is not offensive to my fellow classmates.

Here's to hope.

How are you spending your Memorial day weekend?

I would love to be relaxing, hiking, shopping, chilling with the fam.  Instead we are prepping our house to be sold.  Why is it that all the stuff you would like to do for your house suddenly becomes  prioity one when you have to sell?  Painting the stairwell, painting the entryway, building an enclosure for the dogs, painting the trim, cleaning the carpets, servicing the furnace, cleaning the windows, making drapes for the bedroom windows that are nine million inches tall so no standard drapes will fit them, buying wood blinds for the living room windows that are odd sized and so will cost an arm and a leg but will look nice so therefore...replacing the shower heads, planting flowers...the list goes on FOREVER.  Not to mention de-personalizing the entire space so that it looks like a model home.  And all of this so that someone else can walk in and say, "Oh I love this place!"  Yeah, me too. 

I don't want to move.  But we have to move.  The economy has caught us and we are facing a significant reduction in income over the next couple of months.  So, we are selling our home.  We planned on selling after I was done with school anyway, but somehow I am not ready just yet to let go of it.  All.I.Do.Is.Cry.  I love my neighborhood.  We have lived here the longest of any place since we have been married.  I just started to feel like maybe this place could be my home.  (It's hard when you move around a lot.) 

Ok, pity party over.  Back on my ladder.  There is trim to be painted.

I'm feeling bogged down today.

I have a million and one things to do and I feel like crawling in bed and pulling the covers up over my head.  Maybe it's the rain.  Maybe not.  More likely it's the heavy weight of stress hanging over my head.  I'd rather be any place than where I am right now.  I am weary.  I am sad.

I am thankful for my Husband, my children, my God who always loves me, my friends who wrap me in love even from far away places.  I am thankful that I have a brain that can get me through school.  Hopefully a body that can function well enough to get me there too.  (Hang in there poor head, I know it's tough).  I know that My God is sufficient for all my needs.  I will do as James exhorts us and "Count it all Joy when I meet trials of various kinds, for I know the testing of my faith produces steadfastness".  I know I am being vague but I just need to write these things down and remind myself that alone I can do nothing, but with God on my side I am unstoppable.  He knows the plan, I just need to sit back and let Him do His thing.  

So Ok God.  Go for it.  I'll just be here praying, waiting and watching.

I remember when...

I remember when I used to have time to read the magazines that come to my mailbox.  The one that makes me look super smart and nurse-y (Nursing2010) and the trashy one that nobody but me better open before I get to read it or heads will roll (People).  These days my Nursing magazines stack up for months before I get time to devote to reading all the journal articles and my People Rule (don't touch or I WILL cause you bodily harm) has gone by the wayside.  *sigh*  I am looking forward to the day when I can sit and read them without guilt.  

Right now I am trying to read Plato/Phaedo.  It's all of 67 pages long but it's INTENSE and really hard to understand.  Talk about philosophical gobbledegook.  Socrates sure liked to ask questions didn't he?  I guess that's why they call it the Socratic Method. Blech.  I'm glad we are only spending one week on it.  

Yellowstone was great, I wish the weather had been better.  It was coooollldd and snowy the whole time we were there.  This meant that most of the hot springs were just hot steamy lakes and we couldn't really see the beauty of them.  But we saw lots and lots of wild life.  Including a 967 pound grizzly.  Holy cow that thing was HUGE.  We went to a Grizzly/Wolf exhibit.  The wolves were super cool.  I had no idea they were so tall!  And so BIG.  They were really playful and fun to watch.  Yesterday we drove home, 11 hours in the car.  I was never so glad to see my house.  And sleep in my bed.  

Busy rest of the week ahead!  Happy Wednesday everyone!

Question of the day.

Why is my dog suddenly bringing the last mouthful of her food out the the kitchen and leaving it there?  Is she feeling my stress and losing her appetite?  Or is she trying to make me feel better with food? She walks out of the laundry room with a mouth full of kibble, lays it on the floor and then walks away.

It is driving me nuts, lol.  It's like she is trying to share with me or something.  *Thank you Dolce but California Natural Lamb and Rice dog food won't taste good either*

One benefit of stress is the fact that my summer clothes might actually fit me.  Not exactly the way I planned to go about losing the 10 pounds I gained from my foot surgery but whatever. 

I know that My God is bigger than anything I can conceive or worry about.  I know He is in control.  In my mind and in my heart I know this.  Now if I could just convince the pit in my stomach of this we would be all good.  *sigh*

A quote from Frankl "Man's Search for Meaning"

"...Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire...the salvation of man is through love  and in love.  I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved."

I am loving this book.

Ugh.

My stress level is at Defcon Delta.  Which in Army terms is as high as it gets.

:(  That's all I can say right now.  Those of you who pray.  Pray.  Please don't ask questions.  I will explain when/if I can.

Happy

So one semester of the BIG UNIVERSITY under my belt and I am more than satisfied with my grades.  All A's except for

EEEGAD.  A mouse just took some dog food out of the dish in my mom's kitchen and strolled away with it.  I know it was a mouse because 1) The dog is sleeping on the couch 2) I definitely heard dog food being eaten 3)The mice are very bold around here 4)My parents live in the middle of a huge meadow.  The cat better get busy. 

Sorry for the interruption.  As I was saying (feet now tucked up under me)  All A's except for a B+ in Philosophy but I will take that B+ and run with it.  That keeps me in the running for graduating with honors.  Magna Cum Laude.  I want Summa Cum Laude but I have to bring my GPA up another .05 percent before I will get that.  We'll see how nursing school goes.  Yikes.

And now a bunny just ran across the road.  I feel like I am in the middle of Wild Kingdom here.  All we need now are the Coyotes and the Cougar and some deer (Yes I have seen all three here) and my day will be complete.) 

I have had a whole 10 days off of school and now it's almost time to go back.  Monday starts a new round of pain.  Philosophy 201.  Ugh.  I hope it's better than Philosophy 101. 

Have a great Saturday!

And I'm Out.

I just deleted my Facebook page.  It was kind of like a bad break up in a way.  I kept hoping he'd change.  He kept getting more controlling.  Finally I left.  He got all the friends.  Stupid Facebook.  It's sad because I will miss seeing/connecting with all of my good friends and family all the time.  It's really the only way for me to stay in touch over here.  How else am I going to know that all of my buddies are planning a summer gathering?  I guess we will actually have to talk.  Hmmm what a concept.   

So today I am going to go and spend time with my very BFF in the world.  I have not had quality time with her in forever.  So it's over the mountains to the coast I go (I never thought when I moved to this side of the mountains that I would use that term "to the coast"...dang it....I've GOT to move back to to civilized side of the state where they know the coast is actually another two hours west of the big city.) 

One benefit of Facebook is the connections that I made on Spaces only got closer.  Last night when I was having problems with said iPhone from my previous post, I chatted with my friend Yvonne whom I met, via Spaces and Facebook.  She and I skype voice called and she helped me try and figure out a few things while she cleaned her kitchen and I played with my phone.  I would never have met her since she lives in CANADA and I do not.   But thanks to this lovely thing called Social Networking, we are now real live friends and I get to talk to her about silliness. :)  

Ok this has been a total random post but it IS only 5:26 in the morning and I haven't had any coffee yet and I am suffering post breakup trauma.  Cut me some slack.  I'm going to go pack my stuff and hit the road to go take care of Tammy.  I'll catch you all on the coast side!!

As a side note...

I got an A on my final paper for Philosophy 101 an also on my last test.  I have no idea how that happened.  I guess if you argue a point long and hard enough you cannot lose, lol.  YAY ME!  I will take an 88% out of that class and run with it!!!


woot!

I feel like one of those guys in the cartoon..

You know the ones, they hold up the sign that says "the end of the world is coming...tomorrow"  I have seen all this badness with Facebook and have decided that it is not for me.  I have tried to show my friends and family that it is really really not in their best interest to be connected with this site... but they don't want to leave it.  So, it's just me and a few others who are bailing.  I guess if you haven't been following the news and blogs very closely to see just how invasive this little bugger called Instant Personalization Pilot Program and it's companion Connections are, you wouldn't get just how horribly deviant it is.  But really, if I make a status update and you "like" it, suddenly it's on google for the world to see.  Really?  That is not ok with me.  And that is just the tip of the iceberg. There is soooo much more that I can't even begin to explain because I am not tech savvy enough to write it out.  But I don't really have to because it's out there to be read.  


I'm just gonna delete my account.


And be sad because I will not be able to play with my friends anymore.


But really.  I could use that time to do things like:

Read a book.  
Go outside and get some fresh air. 
Talk to my family. 
Study.
Explore my world.
LIVE.  Somewhere outside of this little box.  


So, goodbye Facebook.  It's been nice.  Too bad you had to go and change the rules.  I'm going to go smell some flowers.


~R

Finals Week

This semester has actually flown by.  I can't believe it is finals week already.  If the next 4 semesters go this quickly I will be both happy and sad at the same time.  Part of me wants to be done with all of this madness and back out in the workplace and part of me just wants to drink in this time because I will never get it back. 

I was at late night breakfast last night with some of my classmates and one of the girls said she didn't even think she would go to her own graduation ceremony.  I said, "I personally wouldn't miss it for the world."  She looked at me kind of weird and said, "But it's so long" and I said, "but you only do it once and you worked so hard for it, it's a celebration!"  I can't wait to put on that cap and gown and walk across that stage.  It will be a huge accomplishment for me.  I am already bedazzling my cap in my mind :)

So today I take my first official final exam.  I've had other finals before at the community college but this one feels final.  I am a bit worried about it but I have an "A" in the class.  I just hope I still have one after the final is over.  I really want to graduate with honors.  That is my goal.  *fingers and toes crossed*  I was not a stellar high school student, I really want to make up for that now.

Ok, 2 hours 15 minutes to go time.  I feel like running fast the other direction...


Oy.

Today

Today I nearly broke down in tears over an outline. An outline.

I think sometimes I take life too seriously. Granted it was a group effort outline and I had left it at home and I was concerned that I was going to cost the entire group the "A" we deserved for our (my) presentation but still. Tears?

Sleep deprivation plays a part of this story. I only had three blessed hours of it last night. Sleep deprived Ronna always cries. She also yells STOOOOOOOPPPPPP at the puppy really loud (I just did this now) when the puppy is especially annoying.

I need a really good break where I just have some fun and have nothing else to worry about.

Yeah. I'll get back to you on that concept somewhere after Mother's Day 2012 which happens to coincide with my graduation from Hell otherwise known as Gonzaga University.

Must sleep now...

Pressing on through the hard part.

I'm not sure why but always at the end of the semester or quarter, my body wants to give up about a week before it is actually given permission by me to do so. Today, all day, all I wanted to do was lay down and sleep. I need to continue on at high rev for another 10 days so this is not an ok thing. Caffiene and I are not good friends so I turn to sugar which deposits itself on my backside which, with the approach of summer is not a happy thing.

*le sigh*

I so badly just want to have a few minutes to breathe. To not snap at everyone I love. To have time to take my puppy to the vet for her ear infection. To make dinner for my family.

To not be awake at 3am because my body is freaking out. That would be nice too.

The other night I dreamed I was pregnant but it was the day before I was to deliver and all of a sudden I realized I had missed the whole pregnancy and I was so sad because I really wanted to have that whole time back to relish and do over but I couldn't. I'm not sure if that was a warning to cherish this time or what it was but it was very clear to me that I need to slow down and enjoy what I have. Too many times in life I am in such a hurry to get through things and then when I am done and on to the next thing I wish I had that time back to do over again.

But I will not miss these sleepless stress filled nights. That is a fact.

Tomorrow, I will re-read these early morning ramblings and think "Man that girl needs to sleep some more". I will be right, lol.

Good night. Er-Good Morning.

Just how far is the east from the west?

I was searching for a video for a friend today and I came across this song and it stopped me cold. It made me think. Am I doing all I can to reflect Christ in my life? Am I showing Him how grateful I am for what He did for me? He does not keep a record of my wrongs and this is a good thing. I am thankful that only He knows just how far the East is from the West.

I need some cheerleaders...

Dear God please let me find some motivation this week!!  I desperately need it and there is none to be found.  If you could just send a little bit down each day to jumpstart my brains and body I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.

It's three nineteen am and I am awake.

Sometimes I wonder if this is just a part of getting older.  Most times I just think it's because my body hurts and sleep eludes me when my body hurts.  10 novocaine shots will do that to a jaw.  Funny, she can't get me numb and then after she finally does it feels like I have gone 12 rounds with Sugar Ray Leonard for about a week afterward. 

I wish I had known that my body was going to revolt in my 40's, I would have enjoyed my 20's and 30's oh so much more.  I would have been more adventurous and less fearful.  I would have gone skydiving and bungee jumping.  I would have skiied more and worried less.  I would have run.  I would have played.  I would have lived. 

I feel like I say "ow" too much when in truth I say it only about 1/10th of the time that I really feel pain.  If I told my husband how often this broken body of mine really feels like just taking a breather I think he would just call the nursing home now.  I refuse to give in to it.

Except at three nineteen am.  Then I just get angry.  I would like to at least sleep.  I don't think that is asking too much. 

I know I have been griping about how long this semester has been but...

Holy cow there are only a few days left and I just realized how much work I have to do in those few days.  Papers to write, finals to study for, quizzes and tests to take BEFORE finals can be taken.  I just want to stop and breathe for a minute, but I can't because if I do I will fall behind.  

And I am sort of bummed because in order to stay on track for graduation I have to take classes all summer.  Granted they are mostly online classes but classes nonetheless so no real break for me. (except for the two classes I decided to audit to refresh my memory, those will be M-Th 7:30-12:00.  What was I thinking...) I think the biggest drain on my body right now is the fact that I am carpooling with my hub to save gas three days a week which means I spend all day at school and then have to come home and do my homework on top of that.  I really can't focus on it at school in his office, too many distractions.  At least fall semester my class load won't be like it is now.  Which is a funny statement considering I will be starting nursing school but it will all be stuff I have done for years so basically review.  I think the hardest class will be pathopharmocology.  And yes that is a word.  

I can't wait until all I have to do is go to work and come home and there isn't any studying waiting for me at the end of the day.    I know it's all a part of the bigger picture but I am le tired.  And old.  There's a reason they give babies and college to the young.  They're young.

Sleep

Sleep is an elusive beast at times....never on the nights when I don't really need it desperately.  But always on those nights when I have a test or a quiz the next day.  Then of course I will be sitting here at 2:42 in the morning wondering how I am ever supposed to wake up at 5:30 if I ever happen to fall asleep at this point. 

Tomorrow will be a long day.  Thank you God for the comfy couches in upper Crosby.  They are my lifesavers!

Staying focused

This is the first time I have gone to school on a semester system and I have to say, it's difficult to stay focused for 16 weeks on the same subject matter.  I find that my mind is starting to sit slack jawed in class and look out windows while my actual body appears to be present and accounted for.  I may appear to be taking notes but I am not really absorbing the material.  Three more weeks.  I hope I can hold it together for that long.

I have spent the better part of the past two hours surfing the web and reading Facebook when I could have knocked out my english, sociology and philosophy assignments and been done with them...but I just don't have the desire to open one of those books, one.more.time.

What I really want to do is go watch the Real Housewives of New York on OnDemand.  Scandalous, I know.  Productive, it's not.

*sigh*  I have picked up my backpack and am about to open it.  The responsible person in me will not be quiet.  Where is that person at 4 o'clock on Mondays and Wednesdays during Philosophy?  Oh yeah, staring out the window....dang it. 

Three more weeks...

Sometimes you just gotta laugh...

On Tuesday, I went in to the dentist to get a crown put on the root canal that I had done back in March. This root canal cost me $1500 because I had already exhausted my dental benefits for the year (It is only March. It has been this sort of year...) I actually cried when the financial lady told me how much this root canal/crown was going to cost me but I ponied up the money and took it like a (wo)man.

It was nearly a month after the actual root canal before I could get back in to get the crown seated due to my crazy schedule but Tuesday I finally made it in. When the office lady called me to confirm my appointment on Monday, she asked me if I wanted to have impressions made for a new night guard (I grind me teeth badly). I told her that I could not afford a new one at this time and she said, "Well you have $688 credit so you can just use that!" Stunned I stammered something about that being ok and hung up the phone. Six hundred eighty eight dollars credit? How could this happen?

Apparently she underestimated my insurance payments (by a lot) and so she over charged me (by a lot). There was apparently insurance money left over when she said there was not thus the large credit. So, I went ahead and ordered the new night guard which costs nearly $500 dollars.

While they were seating the new crown, I was experiencing a lot of pain, which was odd since there are no nerves left in the tooth, but we thought it was just from my grinding and the fact that I had not been wearing my old night guard. My dentist numbed me up a bit and all was ok. Sort of.

Fast forward to today, Thursday. I have not been able to chew on that side of my mouth since Tuesday and now I have hot and cold sensitivity. This afternoon I developed intense jaw pain. I figured it was just a bite adjustment (that's what they always tell me) so I ran over to the dentist to have them adjust the crown.

Except instead of a bite adjustment my dentist tells me I need a root canal on the tooth behind the newly placed crown. Oh and it's going to cost $1000. Just for the root canal. Not including the crown.

Sometimes you just gotta laugh. Or else you will cry.

Celebrating God's timing :)

What a day!! First, Allen met with his benefactor who was very impressed with his work and said, "I would like to continue supporting this work." YAY! This means he will continue to be employed by the university and we will continue to have income. This, is a very good thing.

Then, I got an email that informed me that I have been accepted to the Nursing Program for the fall!! April 7th, 2010 is going down as a day to celebrate in our household :)

God really does have a sense of humor. He relieved all of our stress in one fell swoop today. Thank you thank you thank you God!

Puppy etiquite 101

Lesson learned last night: Do not leave tea down where the puppy can sample it. I took my *hot* tea downstairs last night and put it next to my chair and when I went back downstairs to get it, it was now cold. I picked it up and took a sip...and got a dog hair in my mouth. "Eww, that was gross..." I thought. "Why is this cup so sticky?" was my next thought. My last thought before nearly hurling was, "Hey, I didn't drink this much of my tea OH GROSS!!!!!" The adorable pup had helped herself to about half of my tea...and left behind some of her slobbers. BLECH!!! I may never recover.

He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!!

While I'm Waiting...

It's 2:12 am and I am suddenly awake and frustrated again because my shoulder and neck hurt still in spite of taking muscle relaxers and pain relievers and my insurance rejected my appeal again and we still don't have any idea about Allen's job...I still haven't heard about nursing school and I realized that I haven't been doing my part in this. I haven't been praising God and waiting patiently for him to reveal himself to me in the midst of this stormy time. I know he has a plan in here somewhere I just don't know where. But he wouldn't just throw me into the deep end and not give me a life preserver. My life preserver is his word and his promises that he will never leave me or forsake me. I just need to remember that he is here and he has a plan. He may seem to be asleep in the stern of the boat while a storm rages on my seas, but he is still in control and he can still calm the storm with just a word.

I will serve you while I'm waiting, I will worship while I'm waiting....