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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Day 65: October 31st, 2009

Quote of the Day: "Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all. " -Meg Cabot

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Here's Cody, trying to figure out what to do about a Halloween costume... nothing like waiting until the last minute to figure it out, right?  He was going to dye the nylon green, but then he had a better idea.  He'd use face paint instead.  Want to see the end results? Take a look. I find the pictures really, really creepy!!!

Here's Cody and Nathan all dressed up and ready for trick-or-treating.  Cody borrowed his older brother's cape, spray painted his hair, and was all painted up.  It only took a half hour or so, once his mind was made up.  His friend Nathan looks really creepy, too, so all in all it was a good costume day!


Cody is DEFINITELY his father's child, though... look how huge his hands are compared to the rest of him! They're bigger than his head! OMG!  If you open the picture up, it's even MORE obvious. WAY creepy looking! It gives you a whole new perspective on him, doesn't it? Or maybe it's the black body paint. Either way, it's right out of Creepshow in this getup!

We had a lot of really, really cute kids come around this year, though it was a little annoying to see van after truck after van dropping off kids from other neighborhoods to trick-or-treat here.  Okay, MORE than a little annoying. But it happens everywhere, and they all have to have somewhere to go, right?  Mike and Tiff showed up to hang out and hand out candy, too, so we got to chat for a little bit about all kinds of stuff.  However, I have decided that since last year Ron left me with all the Halloween festivities to go bowling, and this year he was gone for it, next year is ALL RON. I'm going to sit back and let HIM do all the candy duty. And it goes on and on and on, in this place.  Good luck, babe, you'll need it! :)

Oh, and some more good news... no one tripped on our stairs this year.  One kid did trip on the concrete out in the road, however, and dropped all his candy. Some other kids came and helped him pick it up, so it was okay.  And I even saw a DAD walking down the street in a pair of white short-shorts, a glamour tank top and  a Dolly Parton wig!!! A lot of the adults dressed up this year, which was really great.  It's nice to see.  One dad was a really great scarecrow, straw and all. I'm just hoping he had a t-shirt or something between it and him or he'll be sorry in the morning.  The cutest, though, was a mom dressed up as Cruella DeVil who was carrying an infant in a tiny little Dalmatian costume. TOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!!

There were a lot of homemade costumes this year, a lot of really great store bought, some light up ones, some really unique ones, some that were popular a couple years back, and others that you found yourself saying "You honestly think that's a costume???"  In other words, it was the usual blend. I didn't see as many kids NOT dressed in an actual costume this year, though. I guess they needed to blow off steam or something.  Mike was really funny, he was on "trip patrol". If kids came back that had already been to the house (not sure how he can remember all the costumes and such, but he did) he would call them out on it.  We had a really great time. I miss being able to hang out with Mike & Tiff. I'm thinking it's going to be time for another "adults only" camping trip after Ron gets back.... we've got a lot of card playing to catch up on!!!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Day 64: October 30th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected." ~Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook.

Such a crazy day today! I found out that nearly all my dvd movies have been somehow unnamed in the player, so I have to reset the entire thing. No big deal, right? Yeah... except that's over 300 DVD movies that I will have to figure out what spot they are in the player and then rename.  So I start thinking, hey... it's the perfect opportunity to rearrange them into alphabetical order and have it all organized so that it's easier to find a movie. Right? 

WRONG!!!!! It was a good idea in theory, until I figured out that there are a couple movies missing. No problem, I've got my spreadsheet of the movies we own, I'll just open it up and use it to go by.  Except for a couple very small problems... the movies that are missing, the movies that we have recently bought that were not on the spreadsheet but in the player, and the fact that somewhere in all those 300+ movies I have one movie in the wrong slot and it is throwing the entire rest of them off. Not to mention I KNOW I saw one of the missing movies in the stack as I was trying to sort them out, and now it's not there. Am I losing my freaking mind? It would have been so much easier to keep them in the cases than to buy this crazy DVD jukebox! Okay, well, maybe not. It does take up a lot less space than all those DVD cases would. And it's nice not to have to take them out of the cases all the time to play them. Note to self: I HAVE to get these in order tomorrow so that I can type the names into the system. I'd do it tonight, but I've already been at it for about 7 hours, and I am very tired of it right now. I'm tempted to throw it out the window!

Tomorrow morning Sherrie is picking me up at 6:40am and she and I are going to the gym to work out. I'm looking forward to it, but not the lack of sleep part. It's been such a crazy day that I only got to walk a little bit. I'm not going to have lost much weight tomorrow morning, if any. Sigh.  Oh, well, I guess I've done pretty good this week anyways. And my official weekly weigh day isn't until Monday anyways, so I have a little more time to lose some more. I'll just work harder tomorrow.  Not really looking forward to that, but what can you do? Have to keep on track somehow. Other than that, tomorrow is going to be homework, homework, and more homework, followed by studying.  I didn't get the house clean today, thanks to the stupid DVD player situation, so I'm going to have to wait now until all the homework is done.  And tomorrow's halloween, and I haven't even bought candy yet this year. I'm not doing well at ALL. Is there something to be said about exercise making you scatterbrained? Or is it just that I am entirely too busy? Who cares, let's just get over it and maybe get some focus, shall we?

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Day 63: October 29th, 2009

Quote of the Day: “I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.” -Bob Dylan


Rain, rain, rain! It woke me up this morning at around 4am, and I have to say that I was completely miserable after that because I could not get back to sleep!!! UGH!!! I swear sometimes it seems like it has rained nearly every single day! It’s good for the grass and the plants and trees, but I’d still love to have a full week of sunshine before the temperatures drift too low to go outside and enjoy it. Not to mention the fact that it’s Thursday, which means clinicals. Which, incidentally, means that I have to wear some VERY white scrub pants and white shoes, which get all wet and muddy on the walk between the car and the hospital. I really wish they would have chosen a little different color for the pants. White is NOT very practical in a hospital environment, and I have no idea how medical personnel have been wearing it for so many years without realizing that. All those old-time nurses… did they have to replace their uniforms weekly, or what????? Or is it just me that has a problem with the white? Hmm. No, can’t be, because most of my fellow students also complain about it.

The good news is… one more clinical day down, and three to go. I’m loving this countdown stuff! Makes it so nice to know that soon I’ll have some days where all I have to worry about is the normal, everyday stuff, not school and grades and studying. It sure would be nice. But it’ll be nicer still in May when I graduate and no longer have to worry about it all. Well, until I get my BSN, that is. IF I decide to do it. One of the things to think about on that is that the hospital will pay for me to do it, but I will have to sign a contract for a specific number of years in order to have them pay for it. Otherwise, it’s all on me. And with me having to pay off the student loans for these last two years it may be a while. I don’t even know if I want to bother with it for a while, anyways. It sure would be nice just to go to work and then leave it behind when I come home, and have my days off all to myself. I think maybe a good plan of attack is for me to wait until my student loans are paid off, and then see where we stand as far as Ron wanting to stay here or move somewhere else. THEN we’ll see. Because if he wants to move somewhere else, say back east, I am NOT going to disagree. You know me, I love to move to new places. It’s so exciting! But if we stay, then we’ll build equity in the house so that once we do decide to either build a home here or move on, we’ll be in better shape. And it’s hard to tell from one day to the next with Ron…. 

I had a good day at clinical, by the way. I forgot to tell you that. But I wasn’t happy when I got home and found out that not only did Cody not lock the front door when he left for school, he also left the ceiling lights in the living room on. GRR!!!! As if money grows on trees! Yeah, I know that in a way it does, but that’s beside the point. It has to be processed first, and then earned. Money is just a bunch of numbers nowadays, anyways. I wonder what will happen when actual money gets phased out…. Seems like less and less people deal in cash every single day, so who’s to say that a few years from now we won’t lose it altogether? Wonder what our economy would do then… hmm. Interesting thought, isn’t it!

Day 62: October 28th, 2009

Quote of the Day: “Love is having somebody to nudge when you see something you like and want to share it.” -author unknown






As far as my class goes I’m very proud of me... my instructor has already graded the tests and I got an 85! That’s almost a B! I thought I did pretty well, but there were quite a few difficult questions which I was not sure how to answer correctly. It’s hard, because while you’re in class they teach you the “book” way, and then when you go to clinicals all the nurses tell you that “It’s not really done like that, do it like this” and all that. So you’re constantly going back and forth between what you need to know to pass the tests and what you need to know for doing your actual job. And sometimes they just get confused in your mind. I think that’s my biggest problem right now. But either way, one more test down, and two to go. And only one more month of the semester, and then it’s OVER!!! I’m so excited for Christmas break… then I’ll only have one more semester left and I’ll be good to go! That is… if I can pass both the jurisprudence and HESI tests. Then the state board exams. Sigh. There’s too many unknowns, dangit!!! LOL



I spent a lot of today after class analyzing and re-analyzing my weight loss charts, graphs and data and trying to find patterns I could use to increase my weight loss. I have cut my calories down to 1200 a day, I have been walking 4 miles a day, and the weight is just not coming off as quickly as I had expected it to. They tell you to lose 1-2 pounds a week, and I just can’t seem to get myself to barely lose a pound a week. And I didn’t notice that “really rapid weight gain” in the beginning, either! What’s up with my body, does it hate me or something???? I have to figure something out if I want to be able to reach my target weight by March 1st. We’ll see what happens in the next couple of days.



Cody went to church today, so it was just me all afternoon and evening, which made it very easy to sit at the computer and do nothing. You know… there’s a lot to be said about quiet time, and it can be either good or bad. It can make you feel relaxed, or it can stress you out. Lately, it’s actually kind of relaxing, so I don’t mind so much. But there for a while, MAN, did I hate it! I guess I am getting used to being a loner.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Day 61: October 27th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "Love doesn’t make the world go ‘round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile." – Franklin P. Jones

It amazes me how tired I get around this time of night. We ate an early dinner due to me needing to get up really early tomorrow for my test, but it was good. And it's good that I'm tired, because it means that I will go to sleep easily and be able to get up early without any problems.  That way, I can look over my items I have been studying for my test just to make sure that they will stay in my head.  Lord knows I need that! LOL

Today has been 90% studying. I think I have pretty much worked myself into a frenzy on this one, so much that my brain now feels like mush. I'm not sure whether I would retain any more this evening or not, so I'm just not going to bother. If it's not in there now, it won't be in there tomorrow. Right?  And since I'm meeting Laurie at 6:30 am at WalMart for our carpool, she can quiz me on the way there and tell me what I got wrong or right.  I hopefully know enough to at least pass, but this test is supposed to be the hardest one yet. We'll see.

I was thinking today about my hibiscus.  I was looking at them and wondering, I've seen so many other hibiscus bushes here, I wonder if these would make it through the winter?  It's an interesting thought.  I could put them up right next to the garage, and that way they are sheltered from the north winds. I'd bet that would work to keep them cozy, right? And having the roots in the ground and insulated instead of in pots would also help.  What do you think, Ron? Good idea? Bad idea?  I have tried, but I can't think of another spot to put them.  What are your thoughts?

I'm going to go to bed early tonight, so I'll catch you all tomorrow. Wish me luck... I'll need it!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Day 60: October 26th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "But, truly, I have wept too much! The Dawns are heartbreaking. Every moon is atrocious and every sun bitter." -Arthur Rimbaud

I AM SUCH A BONEHEAD!!!! I got all caught up last night in cleaning the house and studying, and completely forgot about doing the daily blog!  I'm so sorry, Ron! :)

As for the movie I took Cody to the other night, "Paranormal Activity", DO NOT go to that movie if you are faint of heart or scare easily!  There were times when I actually got head-to-toe chills... at least 5 times!  It's not that it was scary, so much, as it is that the whole time you're watching it you can put yourself into their shoes.  I even caught Cody hiding his eyes a couple times!  It's one of those movies that it would be great to have just two or three friends over, turn out the lights in the entire house, and crank up the stereo system. It was THAT GOOD!  I am definitely going to buy it if they release it on DVD.  Ron, you'll actually enjoy it, there were even some parts that you could laugh at.  And it's really hard to believe, but there were only 4 actors in the whole film. Not even any "extras" or anything. Wow. 

I was impressed, and it's hard to find a scary movie that impresses me.  I didn't care for the ending very much, but whatever. I'm not going to say anything about it because I know that a couple of you want to see it still.  So no spoilers here, but definitely a recommendation to see it. I went into the theater expecting it to be a flop like the Blair Witch Project was, and instead was glad that I got to see it on the big screen.  I wasn't even all that bothered by the twenty-something year old guy behind me who had brought a couple girls with him and kept making all these really "macho" comments, like "that's so not scary" and things like that.  I was bothered, but not enough to make me not enjoy the movie.

Things have been running along smoothly all day long.  I had study group with the girls at MSU again, and we were shocked to see that the library was packed today. Not sure why, but it seemed really busy there.  We went through the entire module bit by bit, though, so it worked out real well. I think we got a lot of it done, and now I have all day tomorrow to go over it all again, and it should be good enough. My goal is to get an 85 on the test, but it's going to be hard because this particular test only has 40 questions instead of 50, so it's a whole different grading scale because the questions are worth more.  But I have faith that I at least know enough to get a passing grade on it.  I hope. Please? LOL

I am still doing alright with my weight loss, I'm just not happy with the amount of weight I'm losing each week.  All the information I have read recommends not to lose more than 2lbs per week, and here I am, trotting along only able to lose 0.6 lbs for the last couple weeks. I haven't hit 2lbs in a week yet.  And it's really frustrating, because in the last 7 days I walked 20.5 miles and rode the bike an additional 9.06 miles, and only lost a total of 0.6lbs. Again.  I mean, honestly.... what do I have to do, kill myself trying?  I would have thought that by increasing my activity level so much I could have easily made the 2lbs a week thing. I'd even settle for 1 pound a week.  And it's not what I'm eating, either, because I've been using Slim Fast shakes and meal bars to supplement my diet, and then eating one healthy meal. And I've completely cut sodas out of my diet.  So why is it that I'm struggling so much to lose?  Who knows.  But at least I'm not gaining... that would be adding insult to injury ( and I mean injury in the most literal sense... my legs are killing me! LOL)  But tonight I walked 5.65 miles, so we'll see what the scales say tomorrow.  If I don't start losing more weight by the end of this week I'm going to have to try to think of something else to do. I'll never meet my goal otherwise. :(

As for pictures for today, since I haven't been able to take any lately I followed a suggestion by Laurie, my study-buddy, to post the picture of me with dark hair on the blog just for fun, and it led me down memory lane looking at some of the other pictures from that time period, so I thought I would share some of them with you.  Enjoy!


Carmen with Short Hair (and DARK)


Riding the Texas Giant at Six Flags... look at poor little Cody's face!


The second picture.. .and he STILL doesn't look too happy, does he?


Doing what they did best... playing video games.


The two of them actually getting along....


And later that day.... STILL getting along.


Doesn't he just look sooooo thrilled?


Man. If we would have known back then....... *wink, wink*


Damien with Denny, the cat we rescued outside... you guessed it... Denny's Restaurant.  The cat was so hungry it was actually eating onion!