Day 78: November 13th, 2009

Quote of the Day:  "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched… but are felt in the heart." – Helen Keller

I got a lot of shopping done for Ron today. I have been meaning to get him his package together so that I could get it sent out tomorrow, but since tomorrow's study group I'm not sure that I'll be able to mail it out. I'll have to wait and see. I picked him up a couple of surprises, too, to throw in for good measure, so I now have to find a bigger box. Or send more than one. Not sure which, actually, I'll have to wait and see.

I have officially made it into my "recommended weight range" now! My recommended range is 113 to 140 pounds, and for the last two days I've been 139 and some change. YAY ME!!!! The only problem is that I'm so darn tired all the time now between being sick and having my tooth pulled that I just haven't felt up to doing much exercise. Which I guess is alright, since I really didn't eat much today at all. I haven't felt up to it. Not that I wasn't hungry or anything, I was a little. Just feel all icky and achy and generally blah. So maybe tomorrow. Oh, that' s right... study group... not much eating tomorrow either, then! LOL

One more quick update before I hit the bed: It's FRIDAY THE 13TH!!!  hehehe  And nothing bad happened! Hmm... maybe that's because... it's just another day!!!

COUNTING DOWN: GOING TO SEE "NEW MOON" WITH SHERRIE ON THE 20TH!!!!!! JUST 7 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 77: November 12th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love". ~George Eliot

Hey, just wanted everyone in the world to know the following information....  I HAVE NOT HAD A SINGLE CIGARETTE ALL DAY LONG!!! And even better, it took me three days to finish a single pack!  I have given myself one month to quit completely, and I think that I will be able to manage it. No, I KNOW I will be able to manage it.  Willpower... something I'm learning a lot about through all the exercising I've been doing. 

The best thing is, though... I just had my LAST CLINICAL OF THE SEMESTER!WOOHOOOOOO! Only one SIMS lab left, and a couple classes, and then that's it. Kaput. No more clinicals until next semester. I can hardly believe it's already that time again!  But I am soooo grateful! One semester is all that's keeping me from being an RN, and that will be over just as quickly as this one.  I can hardly imagine what it will be like to have a life again... no more studying every minute that I'm not at school or cleaning. To be able to pick up and do things without feeling guilty about NOT studying.  Better yet, to not have that constant feeling that things are going to come crashing down around me at any given moment.  What I wouldn't give to be stress-free again! 

Today's clinical went very well. I had a really good time with all the nurses I worked with, and I felt like I was mostly right-on with where I needed to be. I had a terrible toothache the whole time, and was unable to take any of my pain meds because they make me all foggy-headed and I was afraid that it would interfere with my concentration. I would hate to have to worry about that on top of everything else.  I was giving insulin today, too, which is dangerous in and of itself. One mess-up and you could kill someone... nothing like putting the pressure on, right? But I got to see some things, and do some things, so it was a good day.

Tomorrow I'm going to be studying again for next week's test, I can't wait for it so that I can get another good grade. I'm shooting for the 90's this time so that I have an even better chance of getting a B in the class. I just KNOW I can do it! I'll be studying as much as possible so that I can.  It will help that the material is going to be easy for me to remember because I've been dealing with a lot of patients with kidney problems lately, and there's a lot of information on the renal system on this test. So, once again, please send me all the good luck wishes you can. And then after that, for the final, send me three times as much as you do for this test! :)  hehehe

Gotta go for now, but I'll be letting you know tomorrow how things go with the studying. Plus I have to go buy some things for Ron and get them mailed out, and pay bills.  Goodnight, everyone!

Day 76: November 11th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "Brave hearts do not back down." -Sophocles

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY

Today was our 2nd-to-last test, and I am EXHAUSTED from studying all day yesterday and then getting up at 4am this morning to study some more.  I made an 84 on it, though, so I think that it was definitely worth it.  It seems that I've finally found the trick to my learning... I learn the best and retain more in the early morning hours.  Not too bad, figuring that out with only one semester left of school. Oh, well... maybe it will come in handy if (when) I decide to go for my bachelor's and master's degrees.  Just food for thought - right now I'm just trying to make it to an associate's degree.

You know, sometimes things happen to make you feel betrayed, and it gets to the point where you just have to get over it.  That's how I am feeling right now, and it sucks.  It's time to give it up and move on, though. Can't let things like that ruin your life, you know? Oh, and my stupid weight went up 1.8 lbs overnight!!!! UGH!!! I don't know whether it's stress, diet, or lack of sleep but I was very disgusted when I weighed myself this morning.  Of course, it was three hours earlier than I normally weigh in, I wonder if that has something to do with it? Hmm. Not sure, but I really do hope that tomorrow it's back to normal. THAT would be great. I don't feel like it will, but I guess you never really know. I'll find out tomorrow, either way.

For school, I've got tomorrow's clinical, then next week a test and review for the final, then SIM lab on Thursday, and then after the Thanksgiving holiday we've got one more class for review, end-of-term evaluations for clinicals, and the final. And that's it! One more semester down! WOOHOO!!!! I've heard next semester is the worst semester out of the program, but we'll see... I have been noticing that I've learned more than I thought as I've been studying, so maybe I'll be okay and it will be a piece of cake.  THAT would be nice. I think one of the biggest obstacles for next semester is what they call the HESI test. It's a test they came up with that is a practice NCLEX test (state board examination) which you have to pass or you cannot graduate. I don't think it's too big a deal, but everyone is all stressed out over it.  I guess last year's graduating class less than a fourth of them passed it on the first try. You get three tries, though. It can't be THAT hard, right? I've never had a problem with passing a test before on the first try, even the required math test which you had to get 100% on in order to stay in the nursing program.  So I guess it boils down to we'll see. I plan on studying over Christmas break to prepare myself and keep the information in my head, just in case. Evidently there are a LOT of people who plan on doing that.

Next semester is going to be fun, in my opinion. We're going to be doing our mother/baby clinical rotations and our mental health rotations.  Sooo.... labor & delivery, and mentally disturbed people! WOOHOO!  Oh, wait... there's not much difference between a woman in labor and a mental health patient, is there? If I remember right, I was mood swing central and multiple personality disorder all rolled together in one during my labor! LOL  In all seriousness, though, it's going to be fun.  I may even find out that it's what I will want to do when I get out of school.  I haven't yet found that one thing that really jumps out at me and says "This is it!" Laurie wants to work on the cardiac wing. I can understand that, and I wouldn't mind it either, since cardiac was one of my favorites.  But I'm waiting until the end of next semester, after I've had ALL the experiences, before making my choice.  That way I can make a more informed, objective choice.  Right? That's the plan!

I'm going to get off here now, I've got clinicals in the morning, so I have to get up super early.  See ya soon!

Day 75: November 10th, 2009

Quote of the Day: “Days of absence, sad and dreary, Clothed in sorrow's dark array, - Days of absence, I am weary; She I love is far away.” ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Cody playing peek-a-boo behind the chair

Ain't he strong, Dad?

Cody and Tiger

Me with my favorite kitty in the world!

Rock on!

This cat puts BIG on the map!

Cody going all Mission Impossible while trying to keep me from getting my picture taken

But I got one anyways! ;)

Whatup?

Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr!

Day 74: November 9th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "The ability to summon positive emotions during periods of intense stress lies at the heart of effective leadership." - Jim Loehr

Okay, the surgery is officially OVER!!!! When I got there the dentist told me that my tooth had grown through into my sinus cavity, and that I would have a hole between my mouth and my nasal cavity that may or may not close. Yay!  I have this big huge lump of gauze in my mouth that makes me sound like Sylvester the Cat when I talk, and after the surgery I found out that I am not allowed to eat for 24 hours minimum.  AFTER not eating breakfast this morning, of course... knew I should have gone to McDonalds and gotten an egg mcmuffin!  I kept the tooth to show Cody what will happen to him if he doesn't start brushing his teeth, too.  I'm going to tell him that if it's this bad with me brushing, what's his going to be like WITHOUT brushing? 

 

Oh, and as for the rest of the post-op instructions.... I can't blow my nose for a month.  And I'm supposed to sleep with my head elevated. Not sure how I'm going to pull THAT off - guess I'll have to sleep in the recliner.  And I can't drink through a straw, or eat chips, or smoke. Yeah, you heard it... I can't smoke! LOL I had three cigarettes left in my pack when I left the dentist's office, and I finished the pack on the way home and haven't had another cigarette since then. I learned my lesson when I had my wisdom teeth pulled in Japan... I do NOT want to go through the pain of dry socket again!!! So I guess this can be considered day 1 of quitting? Maybe. I am probably going to still smoke, but I'm really going to try hard to cut back.

 

Oh, and I found out after I got home that Mike and Tiffany's dog Keslyn is having her puppies right now! She has had 5 so far, and I'll be going over there as soon as Tiff gets back from taking her mother up to the casino. Unless it's too late, then I'll just go to bed and deal with it later on.  Tomorrow I have to be down in Wichita Falls at 8:30am to get fingerprinted for the Texas Board of Nursing.... step one of getting my license!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited!  It's almost hard to believe that next semester is already it. I'm almost there. I have been so focused on making it "until next semester" the whole time, and now I'm amazed that I'm finally at the point where what's left for NEXT semester is concentrating on making it "until I pass the state boards!" WOOHOOOOOO!

Hey! What happened? Cody's taller than me! Wasn't he just at my knees yesterday????

Day 73: November 8th, 2009

Quote of the Day: “God give me work, till my life shall end And life, till my work is done.” ~Epitaph of Winifred Holtby

Got up this morning to a cool, crisp and very damp day. Not rain-damp, though, just dew-damp. But I was up early enough that I just happened to notice that for the first time ever since I planted them, the night-blooming white morning glory had flowers open at the same time as the day-blooming red and blue, so I snapped a quick picture of it. That’s pretty rare, so I wanted to enjoy it. Everything is starting to get that “fall haze” that everything gets covered in overnight around here. Cars, windows, plants, grass, roofs…. EVERYTHING gets soaked here in the fall. Spring’s the same way. I really enjoy it, though, as long as it doesn’t get cold enough to ice over on my windshield on clinical or school days. THEN it’s a problem, simply because I can’t park my car in the garage and end up running late because I have to wait for the stuff to melt enough that I can see. The next house we get will have a 6-car shop so that I can actually use my garage for what it was intended for: to park in.

The baby bell pepper has gotten bigger!

This is it. Tomorrow I drive up to Lawton for my tooth extraction. I’m a little nervous, but only because of what I went through when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. You remember what that was like, right, Ron? Horrible! I’m hoping that maybe they’ll give me something for the pain just in case, but if they don’t I’ve still got the prescription from my spider bite that I can possibly use. As long as it doesn’t make me nauseous again like it did when I had the spider bite. I’ll ask them about it while I’m there, but I honestly doubt they will give me anything. Probably tell me to take some Motrin or Tylenol. Either way, at least it will be done and I’ll be able to brush my teeth a little better. Right? And I don’t have to worry about my eating being impacted, because I saw on the x-ray that I only use an eighth of that tooth for chewing on. So it won’t be much of a loss at all.

Now there's another baby pepper to take its place.

I went outside and took care of some of the plants today, and it was really nice outside! Not too hot, or anything. It was just right. I was surrounded by bees the whole time, though… evidently they LOVE salvia. They are all over those bushes! I trimmed the flowering Quince, and worked on tying up my climbing rosebushes so that they will have some support. I had to work really hard to try and tie them all up nicely so that they aren’t all droopy anymore, but I just ended up all scratched up from all the thorns, of which it seems like there are three times as many as on a normal rosebush. And the “happy little roses” as Ron said that they’d be once I got them tied up DEFINITELY do not look happy. They look all rambly and overcrowded. It’s almost like they prefer to just flop around on the ground. I’m going to do some research over Thanksgiving or Christmas break and figure out what the best way to prune them is, and when. I’d like for them to be strong, healthy plants, but for now they just look… well, floppy.

I did find that one of the roses was pollinated, so it looks like I will be growing another rosebush or two from seed, depending on whether they will grow or not. Roses are so picky! But the best part is that because you are growing them from seed you never know what color you’re going to get once they bloom. It could be anything! Especially since there are two very different roses literally inches from each other, the new plants could turn out like either one, or a completely different breed altogether. Can’t wait to give it a try! I can’t help it…. I’m an experimenter. You never know, some of the prettiest roses were complete accidents. So we’ll see. I have five different rose hips full of seeds, and I have a sneaking suspicion that they will all produce more red roses. Then again, one of them was originally an orange and yellow rose, so it’s really hard to tell.

Day 72: November 7th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can play together all night." ~Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes

Today I sat down and added up all the miles I have walked and ridden since starting my "Great Exercise and Weight Loss Experience" on the 8th of September.  I was pretty amazed by the results, and thought I would just throw those miles onto the map and see where they would end me up at.  Do you know, I have gone enough miles that if I had been actually walking them nonstop I would almost be in Amarillo, Texas right now, which is a fifth of the way to our family in Arizona? WOW!!! I had no idea! How cool is THAT, though! I'm really impressed with myself on that one. No wonder I slowed down on all the weight loss, my body is becoming a machine! HAHAHA  Yeah right, dream on, I know, but still... I'm doing it! I haven't quit!  Yay, me! 

Here's the map that shows my distance walked.....

Okay, okay, enough of that!  I went for a really great, really fast walk first thing this morning, while the sun was just barely coming up, and I think I might have over-worked myself.  I did do some of the walk really slow while I was looking at all the leaves on the ground to find the best, most perfect ones.  A little distracted, I know. But I did try to make up for it by jogging some of my walk route. And let me tell you, I don't know what it is but there is something wrong with my knee!!! It hurt so bad when I first tried to jog that my leg nearly went out from under me! I had to actually stop for a minute and stretch it.  After that I jogged a little every once in a while, but I didn't try as hard as I did on that first jog.  I guess I have to face the facts... I'm not sixteen anymore.

Mocha sunning herself

Thought this was really cool, so I wanted to share it. This is Chloe's big old footprint... I can tell it's time to do her claws again, can you?

I went to study group this morning, but we didn't stay for hours and hours like we usually do. None of us were really feeling that great, and Laurie had to go to lunch with her sister, so we only studied for a couple of hours.  But the good news is that I walked up all three flights of stairs when I got there, and down all three flights of stairs as we were leaving.  So I guess I can add that to my exercise for the day. No wonder my knees hate me!  After study group I went ahead to the grocery store and bought us just a couple things to tie us over. You know, bread-milk-eggs, that sort of thing.  Then I came home and paid the stupid mortgage payment that I absolutely hate paying.  We could have one heck of a really nice RV with a smaller house payment! LOL And maybe we'd have the ability to go out in it and vacation, too! ;)

My pretties... THIS is what I wanted the stupid morning glory to do in the summer.

Tonight I made spaghetti for dinner.  I tried to make it Ron's way, and it turned out alright, but it still just wasn't like his.  I think the biggest problem is that when HE makes spaghetti, I don't have to do it.  Plus, I've never been able to tell when the noodles are done, so they always turn out either a little too firm, or super mushy.  Tonight they were firm.  The kids had the common sense not to complain, though. Which I thought was a great idea on their part... who knows what I would have done to them if they had! LOL  I want so badly to go to Braum's and get some ice cream, but I'm being a very good girl and staying home to pretend that I've already had it.  Sigh. It's not working... my mouth is telling me that I DEFINITELY did not get to eat any ice cream.  So when are they going to invent a healthy, fat free, calorie free ice cream anyways???

Tiger being his usual self, following me around like a puppy-dog waiting for scraps.

I AM NOT AMUSED. DO NOT TAKE MY PICTURE.

Day 71: November 6th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "Only a life lived for others is the life worthwhile." - Albert Einstein

Today I looked in Cody's room, and was completely amazed at how much laundry he has been able to hide away. I kept wondering where all my socks were, and now I find out that he's been sneaking into my room and taking MY socks to wear because he's too lazy to do his laundry. Which is HIS chore. And his room looks like a squatter lives in there. I told him that he'd better clean up his room and keep it clean or I'll be moving him out of it and into the little tiny room I'm using as an office.  And do you know what he said to that??? "That's ok, it's easier to keep a small room clean."  UGH!!!!! WHY, OH WHY did I think I wanted children??? Seriously! I can't believe that he just doesn't care that his room smells like dirty feet and locker room, and that he doesn't shower.  What is WRONG with the kids nowadays? Geez, I sound like my mother, but come ON! It's disgusting! My mother would have already beaten the crap out of me. And do you know what? I kept my room clean. Too bad they took away the ability for a parent to discipline their children. I have a feeling there would be a lot more decent people in the world than we now have.

On a more positive note, things are staying clean in here temporarily.  And it's kind of nice.  I haven't really done much of anything today but laundry and all that, but making my bed this morning was a big improvement, because lately I've been pretty lazy about doing it, and have just been avoiding it.  There's a LOT of things I should be doing lately, like studying, but I am having a really rough food week so it's hard to focus on much else. It seems like I am constantly hungry lately.  I've GOT to start doing better on drinking water. I think I'm going to go ahead and change out the water filter  under the sink a week early, because I really think the water is tasting horrible lately and hope that will fix it. It kind of smells a little funny to me, too. I'm not sure what the city is putting in it or not filtering out, but something is definitely different.  And when I don't drink the amount of water I should, I get hungry.  So yeah, the water issue is going to be a really big one.   I just hope that a new water filter does the trick.

Day 70: November 5th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "The joy of meeting pays the pangs of absence; else who could bear it?" ~Nicholas Rowe

Clinicals today went very well. I had a pretty good day. I was in dialysis, so I got to see a lot of different things, which I normally wouldn't see.  In all honesty there's not a lot that goes on in dialysis, so there's not much to tell.  Afterward I came home and planted the other hibiscus tree, so they are now both in the ground and I'm hoping they will adjust to their new home before the cold weather sets in. We'll see, because it's supposedly going to be really nice over at least the next week or so.  Since the house is mostly clean and my laundry's mostly done, I'm going to spend some time tomorrow figuring out what to do about my clematis. I'm thinking I'll just put it out front somewhere, because it won't get the intense sunshine it gets where it is in the back yard. Or maybe I can plant it along the back fence, not sure yet.  I have all night to think about it, so we'll see.  Either way, it's been a really long day and yet I don't really have much to say because the entire bulk of it was all clinicals, where nothing big happened, so I'm going to hit the road and get to bed.  I'll write more tomorrow, when I have something to say.  Bye for now!

Mocha practicing her low-crawl. Not sure why she does this, but she does it all the time.

What is it with Mocha and her tongue?

Mocha's grinning at you!

Why I hate Halloween candy!!!

Day 69: November 4th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "There is only one way to happiness, and that is to cease worrying things which are beyond the power of our will. " -Epictetus

I have had a really great day today so far!  I had to go to school today, which meant getting up super early, which was a downer, but it went by quickly.  Then while on the way home, Laurie and I decided to take a trip through Vernon and go to Sonic for a BLT and a drink.  Little did we know that we'd be taking a road trip, though!  We tried to take Main Street out of town to the highway, but as we finally figured out we were getting further and further from the town and nowhere closer to the freeway.  As a matter of fact, we were heading southeast according to her car, but had literally no idea where in the world we were.  So we turned around and went back the way we had come, then made a right onto a road which we figured would bring us to the freeway.  Turns out the whole scenic trip happened because we turned right on Main Street in Vernon, instead of left!!!! We were laughing the whole time because we kept seeing the backside of this granary which we KNEW was just off the highway we needed to be on, but we just couldn't seem to get there.   We finally did get to the freeway, though, which was fun.  We got to see a lot of tractors, fields and cows, though. And a really great rodeo arena.  And a broken silo. And a whole lot of redneck houses (the kind you wouldn't want to break down in front of at night without visions of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" running through your head.  Eventually we did get home, though.

I called today to have the truck and car payment due dates changed, because the whole thing about having $3000 in  bills due the first of the month and only $900 after the 15th of the month just isn't working for us.  They made it sound real great, then told me that the first month that would be affected would be the Dec payment, so I'd have to make the November payment on the 8th when it's due and STILL make an additional payment of $115 and some change. So I told them to notate the account that I will make the payment on the 18th of this month (which I'll probably pay on the 15th) and then call to have it set up. That way, it will still change as of the December payment but it's not going to kill us in the meantime. And I'll be able to feed the kids!  So as soon as I get off the phone with them I call the lender for my car to have the due date changed for it, too, expecting another big hassle because they're the ones who are so rude about calling you to collect payment on the 9th when it isn't paid on the 8th.  But no.... with them, I was off the phone in less than three minutes!  She said "Okay, that change has been made, allow 24 to 48 hours for it to update in the system, and your new due date is the 15th of the month, so your next payment is due on November 15th."  I was amazed. I asked her "Hey, do you need a weather report or something, because this call didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would!!!" So now, the car payments will be due on the 15th, and once I get the truck payments adjusted they will be due on the 22nd.  And also, they never did process our interest reduction yet, so they are looking into that and it should be completed within a week.  So things are back on track. Finally!!!

Other than that, not much has happened today that's worth talking about. I'm getting ready to go out and go for a walk, and then I'm going to ride the bike later tonight in front of a movie. That should surely help me to rack up the points for today, right?  I sure hope so, because that Sonic must have thought we were too skinny- I think they tripled the amount of bacon normally on one of their sandwiches.  We had to take half of it off and throw it away.  UGH! I can feel the pounds just adding up on my thighs!!!! And my arteries clogging!  But once we got all that bacon off the last half of the sandwich it was really good... it turned it into a BLT without the B.... much healthier.

Now I'm off to go try and work my butt off. We'll see how far I can go toward that! LOL

And by the way.... one branch of the oleander has gone nuts.... look how tall it is compared to the rest of the plant! AND the other plant next to it!  But as you can see, it's forming blooms... that should be an interesting look.  Wish the rest of it had grown like that! LOL

Day 68: November 3rd, 2009

Quote of the Day:

"Aromatic plants bestow

No spicy fragrance where they grow;

But crushed and trodden to the ground,

Diffuse their balmy sweets around"

-Goldsmith

I went on a marathon cleaning spree today! The house looks so great, and it smells great, too. AND I can finally feel like I can relax, which is a welcome change from the way it's been the past few weeks.  The kids' rooms are still completely horrible, but I have shut their doors, and I don't have to worry about it that way.  I just have to force them to keep their doors shut, that's all.

Here's some good news, now I can start researching flights and hotel rooms for our trip to Reno for the Nationals tournament in June. And the best part of it is that we will be there for my  birthday! Yay me!!!  I'm so excited to be going ANYWHERE at this point that I could jump up and down.  I won't, though... I'm too old for that now. I might dislocate a hip or something! LOL Nah, just kidding.... but I am pretty excited about it, because we haven't been to Reno for Nationals since 1998, and we had a lot of fun back then.  Plus, getting to watch Ron bowl is something pretty amazing, if you ask me.  Just thought you might like to know that.  The way he makes it look SOOOOOOO EASY just drives me nuts.  Because of him I've been hanging around bowling alleys since I was 17.  We actually met in a bowling alley, did you know that? I think we were eight, and it was during youth leagues.  We had a mutual friend, and as a matter of fact that mutual friend is also the very reason that we are together right now.  For which I am eternally grateful!

Oh, and I found out today that the plan is for Ron to bowl in the state tournament on April 24th and 25th with his guys here.  It's in Dallas this year, so it should be really easy for him to make it to this one.  He may not even need a hotel room, since it's so close.  They bowl their first set at noon on the 24th, so no hotel room on Friday at all, and if he decides to overnight it, it's only one night. AWESOME!!!  I can't wait to have my baby come home again so that I can watch him bowl.  The only thing is, I hope he is back in time!

I have school again tomorrow, for which I think I'm ready but can't say for sure.  I've spent so much time cleaning today that I didn't get a chance to get my books together or anything.  But that's alright, it's not a test day so it should be relatively easy to wing it.  I do have all my lecture notes ready.  Can you believe I didn't even get to plant that second hibiscus tree?  I'm going to either have to do it tomorrow, or wait until Friday. And I'm really not looking forward to doing it because the darn things are so heavy, and just don't want to come out of their pots.  I still haven't decided where to plant my clematis vines, either, so that's going to be yet ANOTHER thing I'll have to think about doing on Friday.  But since the house is clean it should be relatively easy to get around to it.  Once the homework is done, that is.  As for now, well.... who knows... maybe I'll just get to bed early so that I'm ready for a four hour lecture tomorrow with an hour and a half in the car. Sigh.  I can't wait until school is done!!!

Day 67: November 2nd, 2009

Quote of the Day: "If I were dropped out of a plane into the ocean and told the nearest land was a thousand miles away, I'd still swim. And I'd despise the one who gave up." -Abraham Maslow

I've sure had a heck of a day!  I'm not sure what happened to the morning, I didn't manage to do much more than a couple loads of laundry.  I started thinking about our water bills, and kind of went off on a tangent.  I realized that for the past three months they just kept getting higher and higher.  So I started looking around for reasons why that would be happening.  I checked the toilets, the water heater, the sinks, the outside hose bibs, and couldn't find a single leak. So I went through all the sprinkler cycles one by one to make sure we didn't have a busted sprinkler or something, which it turns out that we didn't.  So all I can figure is that the sprinkler in the back must have been busted a lot longer than I thought.  And then, after all that work, the stupid water bill came in the mail.... and was back to normal.  GRR!! I wasted three-fourths of the day looking for a water leak I had already fixed?????? Are you KIDDING??? Boy, don't I feel sheepish! HAHAHA

I went to walk with Sherrie this afternoon and ended up having a total "World's Funniest Videos" moment.  We were walking in front of the church by the railroad tracks toward IC Evans Elementary, and I stepped up into the grass off the road to make way for Sherrie and her stroller, and landed my foot right into this hole that was so grown over into grass that you couldn't see it.  So, of course, I ended up falling, and twisted my ankle in the process.  I can only imagine what I must have looked like.  Definitely gave everyone a good laugh that was driving down the road, I'm sure! Here's my most-current wt loss pictures -but you can't laugh or I'll just have to get Achmed after ya!

After that, I just came home and worked on  planting the first of the two hibiscus trees. I think I got it in the ground well enough, but I had a really hard time getting it out of the stupid pot.  I guess that maybe it's better not to buy pots that aren't cylindrical if you're going to be planting something? Oh well, though, it eventually came out and I don't think it was any worse for the wear.  At least, if it makes it through the planting process it'll be good to go.  And it's the only way that I"ll be able to attempt to keep them, since I can no longer move the pots into the garage over the winter since the car and truck are in there now.  The roots would never survive out in the open in pots in the cold.  I'm going to do the other one tomorrow, and I sure hope that it goes a little better than this one.  Or at LEAST comes out of the pot with an intact root ball. I'm still thinking about it to decide if I can figure out a better way to get it out of there.  I need another person to help me, but since I don't have anyone I'm just going to wing it.  Made me rethink trying to do the rosemary, though, since it's in the same exact pots.

Tomorrow I'll finish the laundry, vacuum, dust, and clean up the kitchen, then it's off to trying to straighten out the yard. I have to mow, pull weeds, plant the plants, and basically get everything ready for winter. I emptied the ashes from last winter's fires today, too, so I'm all ready for that first fire of the season. Now, I just need to figure out how to go about getting the wood, because our stores are really low from last winter.  We may have enough left for about four fires.  Maybe someone out there will put up an ad for "free firewood if you come and get it".  Food for thought, right? I've checked on Craig's List, but so far there's nothing. Lots of people saying they're selling by the pickup.... and charging for a full cord or face cord for that small amount of wood.  What, do they think we're all morons? Don't know what we're doing when purchasing firewood? Makes you kind of crazy!  Oh, well... most of it's not seasoned wood, anyways.  Nothing like trying to start a fire with green wood.

Here's another pic of Mocha for you, though I know you're probably tired of seeing her.

Day 66: November 1st, 2009

Quote of the Day: "Knowing that we can make a difference in this world is a great motivator. How can we know this and not be involved?" - Susan Jeffers

Okay, Houston, we have a problem.  Why is it that all of a sudden I keep forgetting about doing the blog? For the longest time I was so proud of myself because I was sticking to it, getting it done at a reasonable hour, and actually managing to do a blog every day!!!! Tonight I left the computer to go watch a movie, had to stop the movie to go pick up Cody, and was in the middle of watching it again when Ron came online and  caught myself thinking that I'd just go to bed afterward and finish the movie tomorrow.  So bottom line is.... I almost forgot about it again!!!!!! UGH!!!!!
 
Today I spent a lot of my time working on homework. I had to get up this morning and go spray texture on Ron's friend Doug's walls because he got short-orders to PCS and had two big holes in his walls that he had to fix. He got a quote from some guy that was outrageous ($1200) so I offered to do it for him since we have the equipment. I was only there half an hour and that included the getting the air compressor set up, mixing the texture, spraying it, and doing the knockdown. Can you imagine getting $1200 for that???? I told him I'd add it to his bill! : )  And I'm seriously considering dropping nursing to go spray texture, if you can make THAT much money at it!
 
Tomorrow is house cleaning and yardwork. I'll be playing little happy gardener for probably the last time this year!  I'm finally going to put those hibiscus trees in the ground, hopefully in time that they will be able to be protected from the cold. We'll see. I have to clean out the front planters and fertilize everything one last time too, so that'll take some of my time.  I have to figure out a spot to put my clematis, and I'm also going to plant the rosemary and I'm not sure what else, but I'm definitely going to do as much as I can to enjoy these last few days of warmth. It's hard to believe that winter is just around the corner, isn't it? I mean, we just barely had Christmas, and now Halloween is gone and it's almost Thanksgiving again.  Why didn't I listen to my mother when I was little and she told me that time goes faster the older you get? Why didn't I try harder to hang onto every second, instead of spending most of my time wishing that the days would fly by?
 
Actually, isn't that precisely what I'm doing now??? LOL

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!!!

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?

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.

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!

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!

Day 58: October 24th, 2009

Quote of the Day:

“I keep coming back to you in my head, but you couldn't know that, and I have no carbons.” ~Adrienne Rich

It’s a funny thing… I was sitting at the computer this morning working on my emails and I actually heard the train coming through town for the first time in a LONG time. It was strange to realize just how long it had been since I had heard them near our house. Since we’ve moved so far away from the tracks I may have heard a train twice. But the dogs sure heard it, because the next door neighbor’s dog, Tex, was howling to it every time the whistle blew. Our dogs, however, didn’t make a peep. They’ve been hiding out in the garage pretty much in mornings waiting for the sun to be up enough that they could go and bask in it. Goofy dogs! At least they have enough sense to go in out of the cold.

Today is one of the next several days’ worth of study groups. It’s always really bad like this right before a test, when it comes to studying. We try to get together every day and study, which leaves no time for cleaning house and things like that. But then again, even when I’ve thought I’d have time to clean I ended up doing homework or something else. The house is really suffering right now, because I can only manage to clean it every two weeks or so. It’s horrible!

I met one of our neighbors today as I was out walking. They’re the ones, Ron, who had the brand new garage built and had it done in stone then accented their house in it. Her name is Brenda, and she’s a third grade teacher at Hardin Elementary. It turns out that they had an entire back room added onto their house the same way, a sunroom. She walked me back there and showed it to me, and I have to say it turned out really nice. I wish we could do something like that for ours, but I know it will cost a fortune. Sigh. But I know we are at least going to screen in the back porch, right? ;)

I’m taking Cody to the movies tonight, he wants to go see Paranormal Activity. It looks to me like it will be just as stupid as the Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield were to me, but we’ll see. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised. I really doubt it, but we’ll see. It’s playing at the mall, so I don’t know how that’s going to work as far as the mall being closed at 9pm. Maybe it’s just the stores that close at nine, and they maybe block off the rest of the mall somehow. I’m not sure. But I will be finding out, because the next showing will be at 9:50. I would have gone earlier, but I had to walk, and was not about to miss a day, sooooooo…. It’s the late show for us. It’s only sleep, right? Maybe I can sleep in tomorrow or something. Who knows. I did actually make it until 8am this morning, so there’s hope. I’ll let you know tomorrow what the movie was like.