Yowza
Summer never seems to be that “vacation” that I always think it will be. No surprise since I started working full-time just over a month ago. We have been so busy (or just plain tired) that I really have been slacking on many things, not just this little blog. I think I’ve come to be okay with the fact that I’ll never be an avid blogger. I love to READ blogs, but I’m just not a good writer and blogging is frustrating to me because I can’t write out my thoughts well. Perhaps it just takes practice like everything else, but since I’ve been blogging since I was 14 and I still have nothing to show for it, I guess I’ve failed that cliche.
But, good news! John and I finally officially have internet at our apartment! As of last night we are able connect to the outside world 24/7 365. Good and bad thing, but overall I’m glad and excited. The cable guy also decided to be extra nice and bless us with free cable! He said that their company ran out of blocks for our cable connection, so we’ll just get cable for free. Woo! Now that’s something I’m not as excited about because TV is so much of a distraction for me and for John too. I really have enjoyed the quietness of a home without any background noise of the TV. That’s how our house was all the time growing up, so although it’s a little comforting to have it again, I hope we can limit our consumption. There’s almost always something better to do with your time than watch TV, and it just breeds bad things… laziness, marital problems, and most importantly, it steals time away from prayer and reading the Word. I’ve definitely been struggling with that since I started working (be praying for me in that respect). Adjusting to working full-time has been difficult, but I like it a whole lot more than being in school, that’s for sure! At least you have some time “off” whereas in school it feels like you’re never free.
So as I say in every other post, I hope to keep this sucker updated more often, possibly even with pictures here and there. Now don’t hide your excitement!
It’s a Miracle!
I passed my NCLEX-RN!!!! :D This is the nursing boards exam that allows me to actually practice as a registered nurse! I took it yesterday morning and was 100% sure that I had failed. Yesterday was rough because I had to wait until this morning to find out if I passed or not. I’m sooooo excited!!! It’s a miracle from the LORD that I passed, because I felt like I guessed on half the questions. It was very difficult!! But apparently they think I’m competent enough to be a nurse now, and I’m happy with that! :) God sure did answer a lot of prayers by having me pass!
Sorry I haven’t posted in a month. I’ve been studying and doing random other things since then, like going to the MN Zoo with my mom and my brother’s kids, going to my sister’s bridal shower, going to my cousin’s wedding reception… well, not that much really, but the past two weeks have pretty much been strictly studying. Now that I’m “free” from the burden of studying, I can do things like write in my blog again! Yippee! Oh and laundry, I get to do that again! ;) My husband will like that. He goes through clothes faster than I can clean them. Since we moved here, what, three months ago? I haven’t been able to catch up with laundry.
So, next week is my older sister’s (my only sister) wedding!!! It’s out in Massachusetts where her and her fiance met and live. They’ll be moving to Iowa after they get married because her husband will start working at Grinnell College, cool huh? Which means, they’ll be MUCH closer to us and the rest of the family! I’m psyched about that! :) I’m glad that I passed my boards too so that next week I don’t feel down about it, but can just let go and enjoy the week. We’ll be staying in Boston for a day just to tour around, since we have never been there, and then on Wednesday we’ll head over to mid-MA where the festivities will take place and have a couple days before the wedding on Friday. One minor detail… I haven’t been fitting into my bridesmaid dress all that well lately, so I’ve put myself on a bit of a temporary restriction from all things sweet/carb-y…. cakes, cookies, crackers, pretzels, etc. And, I’m going to work out like nutso these next few days before we leave. Hopefully it will be enough to squeeze me into the dress!! It’s very pretty!
Off to eat the turkey chili that I just cooked up…. at 8:30am. :) We had no milk and I hardly ate anything yesterday, so I figured a nice healthy hearty meal/breakfast was in order. I like cooking a lot too, so it’s kinda a way to celebrate. :)
My nursing job starts on the 21st! Can’t wait!!
Blessed by my ‘elders’ and friends!
I hate to call them elders, but I’m not sure what else to call the older women who I have met at my church that have been SO sweet and generous and hospitable to me since I’ve been them a few months ago! Since we’re moving tomorrow, and since I was a little curious how we would do it ourselves, I sent out a mass email to pretty much anyone living nearby that I knew that could possibly help us with our move. I’ve received countless offers to help us and I’ve been so blessed! A few of my close girl friends from our small group are coming (one with her cute 8 month old girl!!) and then we have my mom, my brother, John’s dad and his brother as well! I’m hoping the day goes well with all this help and that we don’t step on each other toes too much. I’ve also been amazed at how the two older women who lead a women’s group that I’m in have made sure to call and offer their time to come help us. They both were planning to cancel their plans to come help us! I can’t believe that! One of them was planning to pick stuff up at our place on their way to a city a few hours south of us and then drive it back to our new place the next day when they returned. I’m just feeling so blessed by the love these older women are showing me! It’s not something I’ve really ever had before, I suppose because I’ve never really known older Christian women. Well anyway, I just wanted to share with you the joy of being blessed by my sisters in Christ and encourage you all (and myself) to try and bless those you know as much as you can!
Back to a busy busy night of packing!
April fools to myself
Upon arriving home from my nursing clinicals at the VA today I hoped to finish reviewing my resume and essay for a new grad nurse program, print it all out–along with my transcript–and bring it all (plus my recommendations and the actual application) to the post office before they closed. I hurriedly did this, even reading my essay aloud over the phone to my sister in less than 10 minutes to check for any unseen mistakes… then frantically printed it all out on the lovely (and overpriced) resume paper, drove (too fast) to the post office…. then, noted that I was 30 minutes too late. I could almost swear they always closed at 5:30… nope, not anymore. So there’s my April fools joke on myself. Guess I’ll have to wait another day, and probably anxiously read over my essay 5 more times, and send it off to Minneapolis tomorrow. And then wait… (and call 4 days later)
Sick, or just Sick-er?
I think I’ve been off and on sick for the past month or so, and honestly am getting real sick of it (sorry for the horrible pun). I think I’ve had to call into work (or class/clinicals) 3-4 times since January; not a very good reflection of my work ethic, but what can you do when you keep getting sick? Yesterday, for example, 100% healthy (to my knowledge), then today, woke up with a very sore throat and upset stomach. Grrrr bugs! I also finally had to call the quits with my nursing home job because of 1) getting sick so often, 2) need to focus that time on school, 3) we’ll be moving out of town soon, and 4) my husband has had no clean socks for about a week due to my lack of time to do laundry! I’m sure the last reason is negotiable… but it just proves my point. Plus, working at a nursing home is quite the stressor and wasn’t helping me recoup over the weekend from school. So, now that phase of working is done… it was tough, but I’m glad to have had the experience of doing the dirty work as a nursing assistant; no doubt it will help me be a better nurse in a few months! yikes!
Married!
Yep, John and I are now married!! Wooooo! It’s amazing! We have a lot of sorting and settling in to do though, and changing my name is not fun (so many phone calls, so many errands)… so speaking of that, I gotta get back to the apartment to get things put away. Love you all!! :)
