The Mason Family

Utah Vacation

2011-07-20T13:33:00.000-05:00

On July 7th, Logan, Jeremy and I left for Utah to visit his family. This was going to be Logan's first plane trip. She did great on the trip there, she ate while we were taking off and then slept most of the trip. Jeremy held her while we landed and she did really good. We got off the plane and headed to get our bags. Larry and Twila were there to pick us up with a car seat all ready for her. They were able to borrow a bunch of baby stuff for Logan to use while we were there. Friday we went and ran some errands. My sister in law would be flying in Friday night as well, and joining us for the weekend. Friday night, Jeremy and I were able to go enjoy a movie, "Horrible Bosses" and left Logan with my in-laws. I was a little nervous, as that was her first time we had left her with anyone. We enjoyed the movie and headed home. Logan did great with her grandparents. I was so glad to hear that. Saturday morning we had the traditional big breakfast at the house (they normally do it on Sunday, but since they had other plans, we did it on Saturday) After breakfast, we headed to the picture place to have a family picture taken. We did a couple group shots and then had to take a break because Logan was being so fussy. I fed her and changed her and then we started taking more pictures. She was still quite a bit fussy, except for when I was holding her against my chest. After the family pics, we got some good pictures of Jeremy, Logan and I. Then Chris and Tirah took a picture together as well. We made an appointment to come back on Wednesday morning to look at the proofs and chose the prints they wanted. Saturday night all the family came over for dinner. We had kabobs, which were delicious! Sunday afternoon, Larry and Twila hosted a "Meet Logan Mason party" They wanted their friends and family to meet their first grandchild. Logan got to meet family and friends and she did really good. Sunday night, Kenny took Jeremy to the airport. Jeremy had to head back early because he had class on Monday and Wednesday and couldn't miss any of his classes. Logan and I would be staying until Thursday. On Monday, Twila, Logan and I headed to Carter to check out the cute clothes they have there. We don't have a Carter's here in OK...Yet, we are getting one soon. We picked out some clothes for her, Some were bigger for a few months from now. Tuesday we ended up going to Park City, this is where they held the Olympics in 2002 Winter Olympics. We went up one side of the mountain, going over Guradsman Pass, and then up to Park City and down the other side of the mountain. It was Logan's first trip to the mountains. She did really good. We stopped at an Italian restaurant in Park City and had lunch. I have been craving pizza, and since I can't eat cheese, this was a good opportunity to get a "Gourmet Pizza". I ordered pizza topped with olive oil, basil, tomatoes and artichokes. It was sooooo good! Wednesday morning we went to look at the pictures from Saturday and then had lunch. I then went and spent the rest of the afternoon with Tirah. It was really nice to have baby free time, plus Logan got to spend time with her Grandparents. Tirah and I enjoyed pedicures and manicures and then went to a few other places and just hung out. Thursday, Logan and I came back to Oklahoma. It was so nice to be back home. She was a little fussy for the plane ride coming home, but all in all she did good. We were in the very last seat of the plane in the back, but the seat next to us was empty. It was really loud back there, but nice to have the extra room.
Here are a few pictures from the trip

Logan spending time with Jeremy before he goes back home

Logan's first picture in the mountains

We watched the skiers jump off here and into the water

Logan was sleeping while this was going on

Lucy, the sweetest dog ever!

Briney, sad because she didn't get all the attention

Logan by the tree that her Grandma and Grandpa Mason planted for her

Logan and Aunt Tirah

Logan on the plane ride home. Just after getting her diaper changed.

July 4th

2011-07-06T16:20:00.000-05:00

Our 4th of July was very busy. We got up and got ready and headed to Aunt Sherry's families house for a BBQ. We went there last year and had a good time, so we thought we would go again. Plus, everyone wanted to see the baby. We had hamburgers, hot dogs and of course, Aunt Sherry made her oh so popular homemade ice cream. I couldn't have any because of not being able to have any dairy. Amber got to see/hold Logan for the first time. It was funny because she picked her up and wasn't expecting her to be 12lbs.

We stayed out there for a few hours. It was so hot. Logan got passed around and took a few naps, and did real good despite being in the heat.

2nd Family Picture


Logan and Aunt Sherry

After the BBQ, went ran a few errands, including going to Garden Ridge and then Home Depot. After that, we headed back to Yukon and had dinner at Primo's. Dinner wasn't very good, and Logan was being fussy. I had to hold her the entire time or else she would start crying. After dinner, we headed to Aunt Sherry's house for a bit before going to watch fireworks. I used this opportunity to feed her and then I was able to snap a few pictures of her in her cute little outfit.

This was the best picture

After she had her snack and got cooled off, we headed to Yukon park to watch the fireworks. We've been going there for the past few years. They have an awesome display and also have an orchestra playing music. It's so beautiful. I brought ear plugs for Logan in case the noise got to be too much for her, but she did very well. The fireworks didn't scare her. Oh, and she got to meet a few more members of her family - Madlyn and Catheryn (Jeremy's cousins)

Madlyn was happy because Logan didn't cry while she was holding her, but she did when Catheryn held her. We got home about 11:15 or so. I gave Logan her bath and then we went to bed. She slept good and didn't wake up until about 6:45 that morning. She was so exhausted, that she slept most of the day the following day! Can't wait to do it again next year!

Happy Birthday to Me

2011-06-12T19:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I turned 30. The day was just another day, I really don't feel any older. I am excited for whats in store over the next few years. I had a really great day. We had friends over for a BBQ, Jeremy grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. Logan was really good too. I had fun with friends and family and got lots of nice gifts! Here are a few pictures from the festivities

Picture frames

Earrings

I got an IPOD nano

Nice bottle of wine

Bath stuff for some relaxation

Accessory for IPOD and my IPOD

She loves me!

I love her!!

Exciting news

2011-05-31T16:36:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share with everyone that Jeremy was accepted to Law school and will start in August. He will be getting his JD/MBA. He is currently doing pre-reqs for his MBA program now. He should be done with school in about 3 years. The best part about this, is he will be staying home with Logan during the day. We are excited that we won't have to put her in daycare!!!

Our first family picture

2011-05-23T11:42:00.000-05:00

On May 9th, Logan Mckenzie joined our family. Here is our first family photo!
You can go here to read all about her arrival. We are so glad she is finally here.

Our first family picture

Tired of waiting

2011-05-07T09:21:00.000-05:00

So earlier this week, at my 39 week doctor appointment, my BP was a little high. The doctor said that I needed to take off work until I had the baby and pretty much be on bed rest. Do nothing - only shower, get a drink or snack and go to the bathroom! That is it! She also said because of my BP she didn't want me going much past my due date, thus I was going to be induced on Monday. She checked my and I had not made any progress at all - NONE! No change from 2 weeks ago. I was not happy. Before I left, she gave me instructions about the induction procedure. I basically will go in to the hospital on Sunday night at 11:45 and they will give me something to make my cervix thin and then start the induction on Monday morning. So, that means, I should have a little tiny baby by Monday! I'm kind of bummed because I didn't want to be induced, but nothing is happening and this baby is content being in my belly. I keep telling her it's not so bad on the outside world!
I've been doing anything and everything this week to help things progress, and no luck. Here it is Saturday and it looks like I will be induced tomorrow night :-( I just hope that everything goes well and she makes her debut soon!

Clean House

2011-04-30T17:24:00.000-05:00

This past week, Jeremy was on vacation. I told him a few weeks ago that I wanted to get our house cleaned and ready for Logan. He did just that. He did everything from cleaning out the garage, all the bedrooms, living room and dining room. He even steam cleaned the carpets! Let's just say, our house got spring cleaned and it is really nice!!! It was a big help for me, since I am close to giving birth and it gets really uncomfortable trying to bend down or move all around.
So happy to have a clean house, now all we need is for Logan to make her appearance!!

Jeremy's Birthday Celebration

2011-04-21T09:35:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, we had some friends over to celebrate Jeremy's Birthday. In the past few years, I have made spaghetti for dinner (Jeremy's favorite) and made his favorite Strawberry Jell-O refrigerator cake. This year, we opted for a BBQ and were able to utilize our deck. I grilled the hamburgers and hot dogs, and people brought sides and we had a nice dinner. Most everyone ate on the deck, a few of us (including me) ate inside. Jeremy also lit the fire pit, and everyone got to enjoy that as well. This was the first time we have been able to utilize our deck, and the weather was perfect! I took a few pictures, so here they are. Oh and don't judge the cake - I guess the writing on the cake got messed up, but according to Jeremy the cake tasted great!

Just think, next year, we will be celebrating Jeremy's birthday with little miss Logan Mckenzie running around!

Happy Birthday Jeremy

2011-04-16T17:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Jeremy's 34th Birthday. He had the day off from work and I worked a half day. When I got off work, I had some errands to run (buy Logan's crib, grocery shop & buy Jeremy's BDay gifts). I finally got home about 4ish. Jeremy had spent most of the day putting stuff in the attic, cleaning and painting Logan's room.
I told Jeremy I would make him whatever he wanted for dinner or we could go out, he opted for me to make him something. I picked up some New York Strip at the store and made those for dinner along with bread, mashed potatoes and corn. It was soooooo good. Before we ate, Jeremy opened his gifts. I got him a t shirt, a clock for his bike, a throddle holder for his bike and a road atlas and his dad got him some flip flops, and a gift card to Home Depot. Those come in handy, especially with as much stuff as we are doing and going to be doing to the house.
All in all, I believe he had a good day. I think the best part is, I told him I would give him a foot rub (only if he had clean feet) so he took a shower and I rubbed his feet. Jeremy constantly asks for his feet to get rubbed, and I felt he deserved it after all the stuff he got done around the house.
I did take pictures of him opening presents, but I didn't have my memory card in the camera, so as soon as I get those off the camera and on my computer, I will upload them with this post!

So much to do, so little time

2011-04-10T16:34:00.000-05:00

It seems that time is dwindling for us to get stuff done, well that could be that it really is. So far, we have cleaned out the scrapbook room. I packed up all my stuff and cleared it out for the guest bed. The guest bed is now in there along with stuff from the other room (aka Logan's room). Logan's room is almost cleared out and ready to be painted. Jeremy said that he would get all that stuff done in the next few weeks. I hope so, there is only 4 weeks for her arrival. I would probably do much more, but unfortunately, I don't have much energy, especially after working all day long. I now have to come home and put my feet up cause they are swollen. :-) I try to use my weekends as relax time and catch up on sleep time.
Right now, I feel that if Logan came today, we wouldn't be ready. There are boxes in our living room that need to be put up in the attic, and not to mention her room has nothing in it! I am hoping we can get her furniture on Tuesday. It will be the crib with the changing table. We will probably get the dresser at a later date. I'm hoping there will be enough room in the few drawers on the changing table to fit the massive amount of clothes we now have for her.
On a different note, my mom will be coming for a visit on the 22nd. Jeremy and his friends will be taking a motorcycle ride to the Arkansas/Oklahoma border and I really didn't want to be alone 16 days from my due date, so I opted to have my mom come for the weekend to stay with me! I think it will be fun, she can help put the finishing touches on the nursery and we can hang out and do fun stuff together. I can't wait!

My new car

2011-03-30T04:55:00.001-05:00

I love it. Its a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. It is beautiful, Jeremy picked it out for me and did a fantastic job.

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Test Driving Cars

2011-03-27T15:09:00.000-05:00

We currently have a 2007 Mazda RX-8. This car has been good to us for the duration we've had it, however, it's not baby friendly. The back seats have bucket seats, and will not fit a car seat. Friday night, Jeremy and I test drove some cars: Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai Santa Fe, Honda CRV, Honda Accord, Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid, and the Ford Fusion Hybrid.
We got it narrowed down to the Hyundai Sonata and the Honda Civic, but we are also going to test drive the Nissan Altima and compare all 3. I am a honda girl at heart, but I really liked the Sonata. I have owned Honda's and feel that they are really good cars and I know what I am getting when I buy one. I read up a little bit on the safety features of the Sonata and everything compares to the Accord. So, I called my granddad this morning and asked him what he has heard or knows about Hyundai. His said they are really good cars now. He proceeded to look in his Consumer Reports that rated the top cars for 2011 and #1 was the Altima, #2 was the Sonata and the Accord was #4 or #5! I was happy to hear that about the Sonata. This week, we will go test drive the Altima and re-drive the Sonata and proceed from there.
Who would have thought that picking out a new car was such hard work!! I think we are hoping to make a decision in the next few weeks.

Making progress

2011-03-07T06:58:00.001-06:00

In preparation for Logan, we needed to do some re-arranging of rooms. We are making the scrapbooking room the spare room and the guest room will now be Logans room. I spent a good part of yesterday packing my scrapbooking stuff in boxes to make room for a bed and to also make the room look presentable. I had some mixed emotions, on one hand I was happy the room was getting cleared out but was sad because I haven't scrapbooked in years and I really started to get a desire to do it again.
Once things were boxed up, Jeremy moved them out. The majorty of what is left to do is his responsibility because it involves moving furniture. One thing I have to do is call Habitat and see if they will come pick up this dresser set that I've had for ages. I thought about selling it, but decided I didn't want to deal with it. So off to donation it goes.
The pictures I posted are of the room just about clean. Soon, it will contain a bed and our guests will have a nice place to sleep (aka my mom and sister when they come visit for Logans birth)

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Cuteness

2011-03-04T07:47:00.001-06:00

Skittles likes to climb/hide in anything - boxes, bags, etc. You name it, she likes to explore it.

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The civic is bad luck

2011-02-19T08:55:00.002-06:00

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The pictures you are seeing are a result of a sideswipe that happened on the 7th of this month. I was leaving the yarn store and turned right, into the right lane, and next thing I new, this man in a big white truck, turned left into the right lane (where I was at) and side swiped me. He pulled into the nearest parking lot, got out and asked me how the heck that happened. I looked at him and said, "I don't know, you were the one that hit me" I immediately got back in my car and called Jeremy to tell him what happened and that I would be late picking him up. He asked if I called the cops, and I told him not yet. He told me to call them. I called the cops and they told me they would get someone here as soon as they were available. I sat in my car and waited, meanwhile the guy that hit me paced back and forth the side of my car. I was annoyed and freaked out, so I called Jeremy back and asked him to get a ride over to where I was because this guy was creeping me out!! A few minutes later, he showed up. They guy that hit my car walked over to the tag agency for whatever reason. He finally came back out when Jeremy showed up. The cop showed up and started to ask what happened. The guy that hit me started to tell his side of the story and then looked at me to finish it. I politely told me side and the cop said he had to look at the damage on the cars to make a decision about liability. (well duh - it was clearly this other guys fault) As he finishes looking at both cars, the cop said he could either file a report or we could settle without one. The guy offered to pay for the damage, but Jeremy said we wanted a report too. The guy looked at the cop and asked, "well looking at this, whose fault do you think this is?" the cop said, "Yours" (while looking at the guy) so the guy politely offered to settle out of insurance.

2 days later we got some more snow and bad weather. Jeremy called me around noon to tell me that my car is bad luck, he got rear ended! He was stopped at a stop light, waiting to turn left, when this lady ran right into him. He said she wasn't paying attention and going to fast for the condition. He wasn't going to call the police, he said he was just going to get her drivers license and insurance information, but she didn't have any of that on her. So, he called the police! She was adamant that she had valid insurance and DL. The cop verified her DL, and gave Jeremy his name and phone number and said if he had problems obtaining her insurance information, to call him and they would arrest her.

So fast forward to today, we are getting the side view mirror fixed. The guy is paying for the damage and paying the body shop directly. We also had an estimate for the bumper, which when you look at it, there is one tiny dent and nothing else. Apparently the bumper was knocked loose, and the estimate is only an estimate and they won't know the amount of damage until they take the bumper off. Jeremy called the lady on Wednesday and left a message and then called again yesterday. She still hasn't called back. Next step - calling the cops to have her arrested! Joy, can't wait to see how this plays out.

Bedroom Makeover

2011-02-01T17:01:00.000-06:00

Sometime last year, I told Jeremy that I would like to get a new comforter for the bedroom. The one we currently had, was given to us by his grandma and made for a queen bed - ours is a king. It never properly fit. Also, our room walls were blue and I was really getting tired of the blue walls. We took our gift cards we got for Christmas 2009 and months later went to Kohls and found a new bedding set. A little bit later, we went to Lowe's and picked out paint samples. Months and months went by and the new bedding just sat in our bedroom along with the 4 paint samples we picked out. Fast forward to earlier in January. I told Jeremy that I would like to get our bedroom cleaned out and re-organized and painted and have our new bedding put up. He was going to be on vacation from the 29th until the 4th of February. I made the executive decision that we would plan to re-do our bedroom that weekend he was off. Earlier that week I painted samples on the wall and didn't like any of them (neither did Jeremy). One day during lunch, I made the trip to Home Depot and found 3 more paint samples (neutral, but light colors) and came home and painted them on the wall. I liked all 3 of them as did Jeremy, so he chose the darker of the 3 colors (just to make sure it would cover the blue in the least amount of coats). Saturday after we ate a late breakfast, we got to cleaning the room and it took us many hours. The bed, dresser and the big armoire got moved to the center of the room. Anything else that could be moved out, was moved out. After we were done with that, we went to home depot and bought the primer and 2 gallons of paint and then went to hang out with some friends.
The next morning, Jeremy taped off everything while I made breakfast. We then started priming and let it dry and then painted. It only took us 1 gallon of the paint to cover the walls. Oh, we also had the primer tinted. (which I highly recommend for big projects like that)
Here are some before and after pictures of our bedroom.

The final 3 paint samples, as well as a few samples for Logan's room (none of which we are using)

Main wall that our bed is on

Another view of the room

And another view

Primer and paint in the works

Skittles is supervising - I think the paint is done (end of Sunday)

Main wall in bedroom that our bed is on

Room is organized and new bedding is on!!!

Nice and clean!

Jeremy's dresser

I am so happy with the final outcome. Jeremy was kind of shocked that I picked such a generic color of paint, but I am really happy with it. I am glad the blue is gone, our room has been blue since we moved into our house (6 years ago). The other thing I like about this color is we can change out the bedding every few years (if we choose) and not have to worry about finding something to match the paint. We can now pick something different and continue to accent with other colors. I think I am going to get brown or red curtains for the window to help add a splash of color. Also, I have a wall saying that will go on the wall in about 3 weeks (the instructions said to wait about 3 weeks before applying to freshly painted walls) I also plan on adding some pictures to make the room a little more homey!
What do you think of the new room?!?

I did it!

2011-01-23T08:45:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday, I braved the icy roads and headed to take my NCLEX exam. My test time was 8am and got there almost on time. 3 1/2 hours and approx 160 questions later - my test shut off. I walked out of the testing center, got in my car and bawled my eyes out! I was so nervous and relieved. I went in with the expectation that I would get 265 questions and it would take me quite a few hours. The waiting game was the hardest part - they said test results are available about 48 hours after you take the test. Saturday morning, I woke up and was prepared to pay the $8 to the pearsonvue testing center to view my exam results. Before I did that, I check the board of nursing website to see if I had a valid RN license - and I DID! I screamed out to Jeremy that I passed and started crying. WHY? No clue, but I was just relived. I am so happy that I don't have to go through that process again and am really happy that now I can focus on getting the house in order and ready for Logan. I called my mom and other family members and they were really happy for me. No one knew when I was scheduled to take the exam, and I'm glad I did it that way. I felt a lot less pressure and was very calm and at ease when I took my test. I'm just so happy I passed and am officially an RN!

The animals think they are humans!!

2011-01-11T21:35:00.001-06:00

My sweet animals think they are humans. Sasha loves to lay on the couch, we noticed her lying in the above position and thought it was funny. This morning, I was getting ready to leave and saw Skittles laying on the bed, in my spot, almost like a human.
I love my animals!!

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I must be crazy

2011-01-05T10:21:00.001-06:00

Recently, one of my friends started couponing. Well, i got interested and now I do it too. I have subscribed to the Sunday paper, and I cut out coupons when I get them. There is also a reall cool site I follow called: www.couponcloset.net The lady in charge of the site posts deals for the week. She does Homeland, CVS, and Walgreens. She will post the sales and what coupons to use with each purchase amd tells you what the final price will be. So far I get away from the store really cheap. I've been saving my reciepts to really see how much I am saving.

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Christmas Day

2010-12-25T20:25:00.000-06:00

This year, Jeremy and I had a nice Christmas. I woke up about 6:30ish and got some water and laid back down, the dogs woke up shortly after and Jeremy put them outside. A little bit later, he got up because he couldn't sleep. He went into the living room and watched TV, which ended up being too loud for me to sleep. I finally got up and made up a good breakfast of English muffins, sausage, ham, eggs and pancakes. All was good.
After breakfast, we opened presents.

Gifts from The Masons'

Jeremy's Gifts

Logan's gifts

My gifts

We let the dogs open their presents first, we knew it would keep them occupied.

Sophie enjoying her bone

Then we decided to open present from the Masons'. This was one of them....

Skittles checking out her new toy

Skittles wanted to watch up open the rest of our presents

She likes to be in the middle of it all!

Once we finished with all those gifts, we decided to open Logan's gift. This was Jeremy's gift to her - it said Baby's 1st Christmas. It's a cute onesie that says "Bundle of Joy" in it. Soooo cute!

Ornament for Logan

Her ornaments on the tree. I got her the "L"

Jeremy opened her next gift, which was from me...a set of 5 onesies, including the one he is holding up. She is going to be daddy's girl!

Daddy's girl

The last present was from Jeremy to Logan and it was.....OU hat and matching socks. This child will be an OU fan and now she can be decked up on OU stuff.

We opened our presents to each other, and of course, skittles had to be in the middle of it all. I wonder what she will think next year when we have Logan around.

After we were done, skittles decided to lay on one of the boxes of stuff, it just so happened to be Logan's clothes.


Time for a cat nap!

We had a great day. My presents included a body pillow (which I had been begging for), a heating blanket for our bed, a couple pandora charms, and a new phone! So happy with all my gifts.
Jeremy got some new clothes, cologne and a nice picture frame.
After opening presents, I watched my family open their presents via Skype. It was so much fun. They got lots of cool stuff and really liked their presents. It's like I got to actually spend Christmas with them. We also followed our yearly tradition and went to a movie. We saw "Little Fockers" it was cute! Jeremy and I made dinner together - steak, baked potato and rolls and salad! Yummy!
Now we are just relaxing and watching Christmas movies and enjoying the rest of our day!
Hope everyone had a great Christmas too!

Scared to death!

2010-12-13T17:09:00.000-06:00

So I was supposed to re-take my test on December 3rd, and after all my sickness and drama with the kidney stone, I decided to re-schedule it for December 22nd. Well today, I rescheduled it again for a date in January! I signed up for a Hurst review and I sure hope I pass it. I am SCARED TO DEATH of failing this crazy test again. I don't want to have to deal with it. This stupid test has been on my mind for the last week, and it's finally getting to me! I've been emotional the last few days, and it seems that everything is making me cry. I'm sure it's a combination of that and the hormones from the baby.
Now that I have changed the date, yet again, and have signed up for a full content review, I can finally have some peace of mind and some structure when it comes to studying.

Skittles

2010-12-09T19:36:00.000-06:00

Skittles is such a precious cat. I got her as a Christmas gift my first year in OK from Jeremy. She loves her momma (me :-D) and cuddles with my every chance she gets. Usually she comes to the door to greet me when I get home, but recently she hasn't been doing that. So I've discovered what she is doing....

Notice the bump?

Can you guess??

There she is

Mom, what are you doing?

I love skittles

She apparently likes to hide underneath the blanket, she has done this almost every day for the past 2 weeks. It is the cutest thing!

2 ER visits, a hospital stay, an ambulance ride and surgery!

2010-11-23T19:50:00.000-06:00

Where shall I begin? Last week, I went out of town for work - Toledo, OH. Yes, so much fun. My week was going well until Thursday morning. i woke up and started getting ready for my day. About 7am, I felt this sharp sudden pain in my left flank (back) that would go away. It was constant and bothering me. My roommate (also my co-worker) asked me if I was okay, I told her I was in pain, but thought it might go away. I told the lady doing the training the pain I was having and what was going on and that my doctors office opened around 9:00 their time and I would call them. She was fine with that. Around 8:15 I got up from the training and stepped outside. I texted Jeremy but he wasn't up yet. So, I broke down and called my mom. It was 6:15 her time. I described my symptoms and she told me to go to the ER that I probably had a kidney stone. She said if I waited I would probably get a fever and start throwing up. Well shortly after talking to her I started throwing up. NOT FUN. Jeremy called me during that time and wanted to make sure we (me and speck) were OK. Told him that I wasn't feeling well. I waited and called the doctor around 9:00 (8:00 OK time) and they nurse said that I may want to go to the ER. So finally around 9:30 I told the instructor that I had to go and she was fine with that. I walked back to the hotel, and requested for the shuttle to take me to the nearest emergency room. I got there pretty quickly, the driver even offered to wait with me. I checked in, ran to the bathroom to throw up again and then went back to the waiting room. By this time there was more people waiting and more people coming in. The nurse called my name, I went back and he asked me symptoms, pain, etc. I rated my pain at a 9/10. I proceeded to ask him how long the wait was going to be and he said, "I'm taking you back right now" I was taken back immediately, the nurse came right in asked for a urine sample, then came back and started and IV and the doc was right behind her. She did a bedside ultrasound of the baby and then of my kidneys. She wanted more ultrasound of my kidneys so they sent me down for a more thorough one. During this time I had received 3 shots of pain medicine and a bag of fluids. The doctor finally came back and said that I did have a kidney stone and that they were sending me back to rest and with some pain medicine. I got my prescriptions filled (Vicodin and Zofran) at the hospital pharmacy and then called for the shuttle to come back and get me. Once back at the hotel, I crawled into bed and proceeded to try to rest. I didn't sleep that great as I was up so often with pain.
Friday morning I slept in a little and headed over to the office around 11:00. Got some toast and cranberry juice and was waiting patiently to be taken to the airport. We were all being taken there around 12. I was still in quite a bit of pain, but was taking the pills and managing. At the airport, I had a few bites of soup and tons of water. Our flight left at 3:20 and we were going to be home around 4:45. Once we landed, I got my baggage and made it to my car. I came home and proceeded to cuddle up in my chair with my blanket, pillow, pills, and water and waited until Jeremy got home. He brought me home some mashed potatoes (per my request) and I had a few bites.
The next day I stayed home to try to relax. Jeremy was working late, I was feeling so much pain, really wondering when this would all go away! Saturday night we were supposed to go to a friends wedding, but I passed due to the massive amounts of pain I was in. Jeremy also stayed home to take care of me.
Sunday, I tired to rest some more. Jeremy went to work while I stayed home. About noon, I called my doctor. The nurse called me back. I explained my pain, everything that was going on and how I was feeling. By this point, I was still in severe pain, I couldn't eat much (it hurt to eat or drink anything) and I couldn't get comfortable at all. She advised me to go to the ER. I called my friend, but she didn't answer. I called Jeremy to tell him he had to take me to the ER. He came home with in the hour, and took me in. Once there, I waited about an hour to go back. The doctor gave me some pain medicine (Morphine), fluids and did a urine culture. She came back and said that I would have to decide if I wanted to be admitted or go home on stronger medicine. I told her I just wanted to be out of pain. She made the decision to admit me for dehydration and uncontrollable pain. A little while later I was taken to a room in the womens and childrens area. The nurse checked me in, got me some orders and said the doctor initiated an pain pump for me (Morphine). She got everything situated and I started to feel a little better. Between the pain medicine and the Zofran, I think it made me tired and I felt ready to pass out at any time. I didn't sleep that great due to the IV being in the bend of my right arm.
The next morning, my OB came by to check on me. She said that they were going to do an ultrasound ASAP and she would contact the urologist about further orders. About noon, I decided to take a shower, and the doc came back by shortly after that. She told me that the doctor and her felt that surgery was the best option. She said they would just go in through my bladder with a scope and then look for the stone and remove it if possible. She also said that they would have to transfer me by ambulance to the other hospital. Finally about 5ish, they sent me over there. I was waiting in the post op waiting room (in a private area). The urologist came by and explained the procedure to me, and that everything should go well and the baby would be fine. The surgery team also came to talk to me and so did the anesthesiologist. They said I would be knocked out, and the surgery would only take about 15 minutes. Aunt Sherry came up to also make sure I was ok. Between her and Jeremy being there, I felt comforted. Time came for me to be taken to surgery, they rolled me back, put one of those surgery caps on me, transferred me to the table. They proceeded to put warn blankets on me, and also some warm bootie things on my legs. The anesthesiologist put a mask on me, told me to take some slow deep breaths, then he said to take a deep breath and have a nice dream. Next thing I remember, I was in recovery, waking up, telling them I had to pee, asking for Jeremy and not having any pain. The nurse asked me to rate my pain and I told her "Zero" she was shocked. I was amazed that after having that simple procedure, I could be pain free. I could actually lay on the table and not feel any pain at all. Jeremy and Aunt Sherry came back, I was up and around in no time. Aunt Sherry left and Jeremy stayed while I completely recovered. I got released and sent home that night.
All I can say is that I am truly amazed that one little stone could cause so much pain. The doctor told Jeremy that I had a stone blocking my ureter and when he got it released, a bunch of yucky urine came following behind it. I had to drink a ton more water than I was already drinking to prevent this in the future. And I really thought I was drinking a lot of water, but I guess not!
All in all the past few days have been eventful and crazy. I am so happy to be pain free!

Made it to Toledo!

2010-11-15T16:06:00.001-06:00

This week I am away for work training. I am in Toledo, Ohio for sales training. This training lasts until Friday!
I am testing this new app on my phone that lets me send a blog tight to the blog. Hope it works!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Time to get our study on...Again!

2010-11-08T16:35:00.000-06:00

Jeremy got the results of his LSAT and he wasn't happy with them. He is scheduled to re-take his test in December.
I finally re-scheduled my boards for December, and my goal is to study and pass!
I told Jeremy that is looks like we will be studying a lot in the next few weeks :-)
It will all be worth it in the end.

Welcome new baby to the family

2010-10-30T09:33:00.000-05:00

On October 17th, I got a text message from my cousins husband saying that Lori's (his wife) water broke and they went to the hospital overnight. He said they expected Audrey to be born sometime that day. I told Jeremy and we were both excited for her, but also worried because she was 35 weeks along. A little bit later, Aunt Sherry called and told us that Audrey was born healthy at 6lbs 4ozs and was doing great! Everyone was shocked because she was 5 weeks early, but excited because she was healthy. Jeremy and I went up later in the day to visit and here are a few pictures.

Audrey a few hours old

Me, Jeremy and Audrey

Deck - just about done!

2010-10-17T15:34:00.000-05:00

Jeremy has been working hard for the past few weeks. He comes home and works on the deck for as long as he can until it gets dark. This is the progress so far.

View from the yard - so nice to finally enjoy!

Upper deck

Beautiful stairs

Puppies like the deck

Nice area to relax

All that is left to do is secure the lattice to the top and stain. Then we can arrange everything how we want and then buy a hot tub!! That might have to wait!

Study hard!

2010-10-07T21:04:00.000-05:00

This is what Jeremy has been doing for the past few weeks......

Study hard!

Jeremy is studying for his LSAT test. He wants to go to law school and takes his LSAT test on Saturday. I'm sure he will do great!

Deck......Still not finished

2010-09-19T15:24:00.000-05:00

Our deck is still not finished, but it's getting close. I don't think anyone realized it would take 2 days alone to build the frame. The boys worked really hard and this is what they got done.


Upper level of deck


Main level

The hot tub will go in the cut out.

Some of our deck furniture (I put it together)

So, they made progress, but we still have some work to do. The rest of the deck needs to get finished, the railings need to be put on, the lattice needs to be added and the steps finished. Seems like a lot, but Jeremy is determined to get it done.

Deck Progress

2010-09-16T20:57:00.000-05:00

All of our decking material got delivered on Wednesday morning, my dad came in on wednesday afternoon. The guys looked through all the stuff and were figuring out how to get the stuff moved to the backyard.

Figuring out the best way to do this

Our deck boards

Thursday - the guys got started early and ran into some snafus - The drill batteries weren't charged, the hand saw wouldn't work, they needed different wood, different drill bits. They had to figure out how they were going to do the layout. So with all that stuff taking place this morning, it took them quite a while to get started. Now that they have all this stuff worked out, tomorrow will be a breeze!


Before picture

Another before picture

Frame

Deck will extend more to the right, they will build the frame tomorrow.

The guys have a busy day ahead of them tomorrow. They will have to finish the frame, nail the boards in, put the lattice up. I can't wait!

Exciting News

2010-09-13T14:12:00.000-05:00

Jeremy and I have some exciting news to share. Click here to check it out!

House updates

2010-09-08T06:39:00.000-05:00

Jeremy and I have been wanting to build a deck on our backyard for quite a while. Since we just refinanced our house, we figured now would be a good time to do it! We went to Home Depot and the guy used this software and build us a deck. Pretty cool. They also give you a list of all the wood and equipment needed to make this. In talking about building the deck, we asked my dad if he would come out and help us build it if we bought his plane ticket - he said he would! He is also bringing his friend. So in a week the construction begins. Jeremy has bought the wood, the new grill, a new pond, a fire pit. We are also buying stone so we can pave the side of the house. The last thing we are getting is some patio furniture. Not many places have it in store, it's all online. It is really hard to shop for furniture online.
So, needless to say, in about a week in a half - we will have a finished deck!! Pictures to come next week!

Fun Times

2010-09-04T09:38:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, Jeremy and I joined some friends to celebrate one of our friends birthday.
We had dinner at Yamato and then went back to their house and watched the fight. Most of the girls there were not into the fight, so we all stood around the kitchen and gabbed. We had a fun night - we stayed out late and got home late.
Here is a picture of Jeremy and I at dinner

Work Out

2010-08-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

So far I have been very good about working out. I started on August 2nd, I did Zumba 2 times a week for 2 weeks. I then joined Fit for Her and started doing 2 nights of total body sculpting and 2 nights of Zumba (until our passes were done). I've been working out for about a month now and I've been feeling really good.
I feel like I am starting to get some of my muscle tone back and am hoping to be fit and in shape!! I think it's helped with my energy level go up.

It's also been a great stress relief for me. This past week at work has been stressful and working out has help me work out my frustrations. It's a really good stress relief.

Just making sure I can keep on doing it - good thing I have 2 people to hold me accountable!

Now I just need to add healthy eating to the plate. This is going to be hard. Last week when I went to the grocery store, I bought some fresh grapes and I haven't eaten a single one. I need to eat breakfast every morning (at the house) and start bringing my lunch. I have been cooking dinner more at the house, which is good for both of us. I'm slowly making progress!!

I took the plunge...again

2010-08-23T12:34:00.000-05:00

So, I decided to sign up to be a Pampered Chef Consultant again!

I am so excited!!!!!!

Back on the wagon

2010-08-21T14:52:00.000-05:00

So, I have decided to work out again. I recently brought a groupon for $15 for 5 Zumba classes. I told my friend Leah about it and she said she wanted one and so did her friend at work. So I bought 3, and we started going to Zumba on August 2nd. About a week later, Leah said she decided so sign up for Fit for her (a 24 hour, all women gym) and she thought we should sign up too....So we did! This past Tuesday, we added a total body sculpting class. Wednesday we were so sore. That evening we did Zumba and it was painful! On Thursday, we felt even worse and by Thursday night, we found ourselves back at the total body sculpting class. I thought I would be really sore on Friday, but I was wrong. No soreness for me. It's felt good to work out for the last few weeks. I hope this time I stay on the wagon and don't fall off. I think having 2 other people to work out with and hold me accountable is really helpful. Once our Zumba passes are used up, we will do more classes at fit for her. My goal for working out is to lose about 10 pounds and gain muscle strength and to also be in shape and healthy!

Colorado trip

2010-08-16T23:01:00.000-05:00

While Jeremy was on his motorcycle trip the first part of the month, I headed to Colorado to see my family. Friday night I got in about 7:15 and my mom and I hit the mall. we went to New York & Company, one our favorite stores. We did some damage there and then headed home. We were going to go out that night, but we were both so exhausted that we just went home and relaxed and went to bed.
The next morning, we woke up early and went to get pedicures and manicures, we went to Kohl's ( I was on a mission to find a new swim suit), the outlet mall (to check out the Coach store), Lunch, JC Penny's, Casino, Dinner at Casino, then home. I didn't find a swim suit at Kohl's, but I did find 2 really cute shirts. At Coach, they were giving away 20% off coupons when you walked in the door, and it was good for all purchases. So, mom and I splurged and each bought a Coach bag. Mine was only $75. Expensive for a purse, but a great deal for a Coach bag. Then we had lunch, yummy gluten free pizza! Then we went to JC Penny, and I found 2 new bathing suits. It was nice, as I haven't bought a new one in a few years. Our trip to the casino was very eventful, we missed the turn on the way there, but quickly got back on track. We played the slot machines and after losing some money on them, we went to the craps table and watched. Mom used to play back in the day, but she was trying to remember all the rules as we sat there watching. We decided it was time to eat, so we put our name on the list for the buffet (all you can eat crab legs) and then watched some more craps. After we ate dinner, we went back to the craps table. Mom ended up playing some, while I just watched. I got carded 3 times while in the casino (flattering, but annoying).We then headed home, but on the way we stopped and had a drink at Ralph's (her boyfriend). We ended up laughing about something that happened earlier in the day, and we were both laughing so hard, we were crying.

Mom on the phone (what she does best)


Me, on our way home!

On Sunday, we had plans to go to lake Dillion with Ralph's family. They rented a pontoon boat for all 10 of us and we had it for about 4 hours. We got up, and got ready to head to Ralph's

We are ready to go in TBOW (the box on wheels)

All packed up and ready to go, we head to Ralph's house. His family arrives shortly after us and we follow Ralph into the mountains. Once we arrive, they get us situated on the boat and we head out for some fun on the lake


Mom & Ralph

Ashleigh & Austin

Austin & Me

The weather was cool, but the view was amazing!!

So Beautiful

After a day on the lake, we stopped in a small town for some dinner. Dinner wasn't that great, but we did treat ourselves to homemade ice cream afterwards. What a long day!

Monday morning I went and got my hair done and then went to lunch with mom, Adam & Austin. After lunch, we went back to the house to relax. Even the dogs were exhausted

Foxy!!

I headed to the airport for my flight (which was delayed due to weather). We were supposed to leave about 8:45, but didn't end up leaving until 9:45 and landed about 12:15. By the time I got my bags, car and back home, it was about 1am. Bed time came about 2 and I was up again at 6:45. Not a lot of sleep for me!
All in all, I had a great time with my family. I hope to make another trip soon!!

Going to Colorado

2010-08-06T10:15:00.000-05:00

I'm going to Colorado this weekend!! I can't wait to have a fun filled weekend with my mom and family. I really need it after the crazy week I've had.

Hopefully I'll get some good pictures and posts done while I'm away!

The Results are in.....

2010-08-04T11:21:00.000-05:00

I did not pass the first time.

But, the good news is I can take it again in about 45 days! So, there is hope for the 2nd time around.

I'm sad, but I knew after Monday's test that I didn't pass.

I can do this and I will pass the 2nd time.

I'm very fortunate to have a wonderful support system of family and friends.

NCLEX

2010-08-02T18:03:00.000-05:00

Today I took my NCLEX exam for licensure and I have no idea how I did. I will find out on Wednesday. It took me 4 hours and I had the maximum number of questions possible. No fun!!!! So, come Wednesday, I will either be super happy or really sad. AGGGHHHHHHHH! This is so nerve wracking!! I hate waiting.

Hopefully I will be able to keep my mind occupied for the next 2 days. Tonight I am going to Zumba with my friend. Tomorrow I work and then I might go to knit night at the local yarn store. I need to do something to keep my mind occupied.

Green Thumb

2010-08-01T16:48:00.000-05:00

Well, I now have 5 tomatoes on my tomato plant. 1 is almost ripe (I think) not sure how to tell yet, but they are all getting big.

Tomatoes 1 and 2


Tomatoes 3 & 4

Tomato 5

Pretty soon, I'll have some good, ripe tomatoes!

Last of the vacation posts

2010-07-31T11:36:00.000-05:00

OK, so better late than never, but here are the last of the pics and details of our vacation!

Day 4 we drove up to the redwood forest. We drove across the golden gate bridge and up the redwood highway. I have never seen so many trees in my entire life, it was beautiful. We stopped at this place called Chandler Tree, a big ole tree that you can drive through.


We acutally drove through this tree


These trees are really tall

After this stop, we got back on the highway and we headed further north. We came across the pacific ocean on the way. This was my first time seeing the pacific ocean so Jeremy captured the moment for me!

Don't let these pictures fool you, it was really cold there! I can only imagine what it is like there in the winter months!


Redwood Trees

These trees are amazing, as you drive the highway, this is all you see. It seems that the trees are endless and that they touch the sky.
We then came across this place called fern canyon. At first, you start walking down this little path and then you come to this stream. After that you are walking on little stepping stones and logs that zig zag back and forth across the stream of water. The sigh was absolutely beautiful!

Having fun!

Day 5 we woke up and drove down the costal highway back to Napa. This was the best and most amazing part of the trip. The road signs said "Curves ahead 25 miles" and there were mountains on one side and ocean on the other! So amazing!


This is the view you see in the movies


I Love it here!

We drove for about 5 or 6 hours and finally made it to our hotel in the Napa Valley. The Marriott Spa. So beautiful. We changed and got freshened up and enjoyed a free wine tasting at the hotel. We walked around the grounds as well

We found a cozy swing to enjoy our wine on

After this, we headed to the Domaine Chandon Winery and ate at Etoile. We enjoyed a very expensive and amazing dinner! It was so delicious.

The next morning, we woke up and headed to 2 places for wine tasting. We had breakfast, then went to Jessup Cellars and tried some delicious wine. Afterwards, we headed to Artesia winery and had some not so good wine, but enjoyed the beautiful view!

After this wine tasting, we headed to the airport. We were very sad to be going home but at the same time, very excited to get back home. This was the best anniversary trip ever (well the only one we've been on). I think we decided if we ever go to San Francisco again, we would only stay there for 2 days and then make Napa the longer stay. There are so many wineries and so much to do there, that we didn't have enough time to do it all in 1 day.

Vacation Day 3

2010-07-25T16:40:00.000-05:00

Our 3rd day of our San Francisco vacation was pretty uneventful. We hopped on the bus and went back up to fisherman's wharf. It was my last chance to do anything in San Fran, so we decided to go back to the Hard Rock Cafe so I could buy me a shirt. After that, I decided I wanted to eat a bread bowl of clam chowder. We stopped and had that and listened to some guy play music on his keyboard. He was very good. After that we started walking around again and found a local bar, I told Jeremy that we should go in for a quick beer.

Yummy Blue Moon

Well, we ended up staying there for quite a while. It was a very interesting experience, to say the least. Some random girls came in, drank 1/3 of their beer, and then walked on our their tab. Good thing the bartender had their card. Then some other guy came in later and asked for a double shot of whiskey, and then another double shot of something else and paid his tab and left without leaving a tip. So random. The bartender told us they were expecting buses of people from the arts festival to be brought down there and they were going to have a DJ and specials. We stayed a little while for that and then I decided we were leaving and we got back on the bus and headed back to the hotel. Jeremy was super hungry so we stopped at this asian restaurant and had some dinner and then went back to the room and crashed. It was a fun day.

Vacation Day 2

2010-07-20T11:12:00.001-05:00

Day 2 of our vacation was also spent in San Francisco. We started out the day by having breakfast in little Italy at this place called the 901 Cafe. I had the most amazing breakfast - Bagel with tomato, fresh basil, olive oil and feta cheese

We then headed to Pier 39 and Fishermans Wharf. Very fun day. We went to the aquarium where we saw some really cool jellyfish, singrays, and other fun fish

Really cool Jellyfish!

This little stingray liked to get attention by coming to the surface and he would let people pet his wings.

After the aquarium, we stopped and had some lunch. After lunch we went to the wax museum and had so much fun (I did, but I don't think Jeremy was too thrilled with it)

I got to meet some cool hollywood stars - such as Reese Witherspoon and

Robert Dinero
After the wax museum, we went to the golden gate park.We found this beautiful rose garden.

It was filled with so many beautiful roses, more roses than I have ever seen in my entire life. Our last stop on this fun day was the golden gate bridge.

The view was amazing, but it was really cold! We tried going to this little shop to get some hot chocolate, but they were sold out :-( So we got back on the bus and headed for little Italy where we had a beer, appetizer and some delicious pizza. It was the perfect end to a busy day.

A little Late, but some vacation posts

2010-07-18T21:23:00.012-05:00

I figured I would blog about our vacation that we took in June, better late than never I guess.
June 16th we left to go to San Fransisco. We boarded the plane about 6pm and didn't get there until about 9:40. We checked into our hotel and then had sushi at a local restaurant and then came back and went to bed. We slept in late the next morning, which was nice to not be on a time schedule.
We got ready for the day and headed out about 10:30 to find a place to eat and get some bus passes. We ate at a place called Cafe Mason and had a yummy breakfast. After that, we headed to buy our bus passes. It was $20 for a 3 day pass, per person. Well worth it because that is the main means of transportation we used for the time we were there,
Our first stop was china town, where we walked around and then bought some dim sum. We went to a local park and ate it. Our next area we went to was little Italy. It was kinda cool, because the poles on the street were painted with an Italian flag and that's how you knew you were in little Italy.
After eating our Dim Sum, we decided to go to Coit Tower.
It was a long walk - up a very steep street.
This is a view of Jeremy, I walked ahead of him! The end result of our long walk, was not only tiredness and being out of breath, but this:

The view from the top was amazing!!!!
We then headed to Ghiradelli square where I had the most amazing ice cream sundae ever!

Our last stop for the day was Lombard Street. The most crookedest street in the world.
This is the view from Coit tower of Lombard street.

We went to dinner at a local pub and watched the basketball game from there. Our first day of vacation was eventful and very fun.

Tomatoes

2010-07-16T20:38:00.004-05:00

I have tomatoes growing on my tomato plant!! I am so happy!!!

Baby tomato #1

Baby tomato #2

I can't wait until they grow up to be big tomatoes and I can eat them!!

Time flies

2010-07-15T21:49:00.002-05:00

So here it is the middle of July and I am thinking "where did the summer go"? Well it's halfway gone!! Jeremy and I had a great vacation in June, we went to San Fransisco and had an absolute blast!!! It was a much needed, well deserved vacation, just the 2 of us.
It was sad though, Jeremy's grandma passed away the day we left. We missed her funeral, which saddened me, but Jeremy was OK with it and that's all that matters. Well, at least that's what I kept telling myself, but I am/was not OK with it. It's funny because everyone tells me that we were there for her when she needed us most and that when grandpa died, but as I recall, funerals are for the living and not the deceased. Oh well, it's done and over with. I will miss them both very much. I know they are very special people and they have made a big impact on Jeremy's life. Jeremy was so close to them and he had a special relationship with them, unlike any I've seen.
After vacation, we got back into the swing of things, work and such. Last week, I finally got my authorization to test for my RN boards. I am testing on August 2nd! I can't wait. I really need to get my study on.
Next weekend we are going on a float trip. This will be my first, but hopefully not my last. Jeremy used to float all the time in college, but hasn't been on one since we've been dating/married.
Jeremy and I are finally at a point where we can make improvements to our house. First step is putting a pathway on the side of the house and plant more grass. Next project will be our deck on the back of the house. Followed by painting and other fun updates
Hopefully I can keep up and post updates as things happen.

Blog Giveaway

2010-07-04T19:26:00.002-05:00

Earlier in the week, I visited my sister in law (Tirah's) blog. I discovered that she had a blog makeover!! I love her new design.
She is giving away a blog design and I have entered to win!
If you are interested in viewing her blog or the giveaway information, you can view her blog here

Reflection

2010-06-09T11:19:00.002-05:00

For the past few days I have been really thinking about things that happened over the last few months. I realized that I graduated from College and Jeremy's grandpa died. In thinking about these events, I realized I have not had time to process these two events.
Earlier this week, Jeremy and I visited with his grandma in her new place. She was talking about her adjustment to the place and how she missed Chris (her husband). There was a place in the room where she had a display case that had pictures of him. As she talked about her feelings and how she missed him, I started to get teary eyed, and sad. During the time of his death and funeral, I was studying for my finals and then graduated on the same day he was burried. It hit me then that I had not really mourned his death. I felt saddened by this. I know he's gone, but for some strange reason, it was then that it hit me that he was gone.
My graduation came and went. It still feels weird to me. It was hard to be happy about graduating when I was sad about a death in the family. I am thankful my family was here to support me during that time. It's been said that everything happens for a reason. Time heals everything and I am thankful for my support system!

Arts festival

2010-05-31T09:11:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Jeremy & I and a few friends went to the Paseo arts festival in OKC. We had a good time. We rode the motorcycle down there and met Neil & Leah. We parked at our friends house and then walked. The first thing we wanted to find was food, as we were all starving! Jeremy and I had worked out in the yard earlier in the day, and we had not eaten since lunch. The food selection at the festival was like that you can find at the fair - corn dogs, funnel cakes, chicken on a stick, Indian tacos, giant burritos, etc. Jeremy and I split a corn dog, chicken on a stick and and Indian taco. We walked around for a bit, listened to a bit a music and then made our way back to the food area for some deliciously fattening dessert. I settled for a chocolate dipped ice cream with sprinkles. Leah got a fried snickers. After we polished off our dessert, we found a little place that had some tables and air conditioning, and we sat and relaxed for a bit. We headed home and went to sleep by 9:30! We were so tired and exhausted, but had a great day!

My Garden

2010-05-30T15:38:00.008-05:00

Today, Jeremy and I decided to make a little herb garden. We went to Lowe's and bought parsley, cilantro, basil and Oregano. We also bought garlic and onions to plant as well as a small tomato plant. We weeded the area and got things looking good before planting. I didn't take before pictures, and should have, but here are some after pics.
The house after we weeded and got things cleaned out
Tomato plant!

Basil and Oregano.

Parsley
Cilantro.
I didn't post the pictures of the onions and garlic, they are all underground right now. Hopefully I will have some nice onions and garlic in a month or so!

Pinning, May 10th 2010

2010-05-23T21:15:00.001-05:00

On May 10^th, I was pinned as a nurse. This is something that all nursing programs do. The day leading up to the pinning was quite interesting.

I worked a half day. Came home and relaxed some. The weather started getting really bad and while I was getting ready, tornado sirens started going off. My family was wondering, "What the heck was going on" I called the school and made sure the pinning was still on, and they said it was. Before long, it started to hail, and the hail was the size of eggs. It was huge. Then a few tornadoes landed in the surrounding areas, and we watched the news to make sure we were in the clear.

About 6pm, we all headed to the school for my ceremony. I was a little nervous, but really excited, as I was going to be giving the speech. I was nominated and elected by my peers.

There ceremony went very well. Jeremy was unable to make it due to a work emergency, so my mom taped the speech. Here is the video and a few pics from the night.

Graduation May 7th!

2010-05-23T20:44:00.002-05:00

Better late than never to blog about graduation!

On May 7^th, I graduated from Rose State with an Associate of Science Degree in Nursing. I am so thrilled and happy to be a college graduate! My mom, step dad, sister and 2 brothers came from Colorado to celebrate the event. My Dad and step mom came from Florida to also celebrate. My husband was there as well as my father and mother in law, brothers and sisters in law. There ceremony did not take very long at all and we were done in about an hour or so. Here are a few pics from the event.

Me walking in

Family playing on phones before ceremony.

My dad, Joanne and Myself

Adam, Me, Austin, Mom & Ashleigh

My hubby and me!

Fun pics!

Afterward, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for a small celebration. Here are a few pics!

JoAnne, me Dad

Mom & Me

Me & Crazy Boy Boy

My hubby and Me!

Evan, Me & Sharon

Julie, Me & Tim

Boogie Stin & Me!

Ramie, me & Jill

Walter, Michelle & Jeremy

Today is the day!

2010-05-07T08:12:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I took my final for school, and I passed. I was so nervous, my stomach was in knots. I took about 2 hours to take the test, but I did fine. After the test I went to pick my mom and sister up from the airport. They were patiently waiting for me. I took them home, where I walked in to a nice clean house (compliments of my husband). I had to quickly change and then head to the viewing. We stayed there for a short time and headed to the city where we met my dad and his girlfriend for dinner at the Deep Fork Grill. Dinner was so amazing!

On the way home, I called my family that was staying with me to find out if they were doing okay and to let them know I was almost home. My step-dad spilled the beans and told me that everyone was cleaning out my scrapbooking room. I almost flipped out (in a good way). When I came home, I was able to see the floor of the room and my mom said she got rid of a lot of stuff. That didn't bother me because obviously I had issues with keeping stuff. And the best part is, I will never know what got thrown out! J

After they were done, my mom surprised me with 2 new outfits. 1 I can wear to the funeral and 1 to the graduation. I was so happy, as this took mega stress of me trying to decide what I was going to wear. My mom has a gift for picking out the perfect clothes for me and they were even the right size.

This brings me to today…..

Funeral at 2pm and Graduation at 7pm.

Many emotions wrapped up in one day. Today we will be busy. I am struggling with being happy about graduating when my husband is grieving the loss of this grandfather.

Saying Goodbye

2010-05-04T23:43:00.001-05:00

Today was a sad day for the Mason family. My husband lost his grandpa, a man whom he has been very fond of. His grandparents are like parents to him. 2 weeks ago today, we got a call that his grandpa had fallen and Jeremy needed to go pick him up off the floor. You can read about the story in my previous post. After a long battle and being in the hospital for 2 weeks, he passed away. During his stay, he came across many complications and the family was faced with many choices to make. In the end, the decisions were made easy, as they respected his wishes and made him comfortable in his last few days on earth. His grandparents are the glue that holds the family together; it is because of them that Jeremy is so close with his cousins. It is very rare that you see a family unit like theirs. I am honored to be a part of this family.

Friday, we will honor his grandma and celebrate his life.

Goodbye Grandpa Mason, you will be missed.

3/1/1932 – 5/4/2010

Life happens

2010-04-21T10:19:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Jeremy got a call at 7:30 in the morning from his grandma saying that he had to come over and help get grandpa off the floor. This was the beginning of an emotional day. Jeremy had to end up taking his grandpa to the ER, they discovered he had a brain bleed and would need surgery ASAP. They found a neurosurgeon in OKC, and he was immediately transferred to OU hospital. He went in for surgery @ 12:57 and was done by 3:00pm. Before he went into surgery, the docs were saying his prognosis was not very good. After his surgery they said he has a 30% chance of making a full recovery. As of this morning he was opening his eyes, he was taken off the ventillator and is moving all his extremeties. He remembers the fall, but doesn't remember anything after that. It's amazing all the support we have received from family and friends. This will be a long recovery, and I just pray that everything goes well.

Our trip is booked!

2010-04-19T08:14:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Jeremy and I booked our plane tickets to go to San Franscisco for our Anniversary trip! I am so excited. We will be gone for 1 week in June. I can't wait!!!

2 more weeks..

2010-04-10T18:54:00.001-05:00

Of clinicals. I can't wait! These past 2 weeks I have been in the ICU and I really enjoyed it. I've gotten to do lots of stuff and take care of some interesting patients. For the next 2 weeks I will be in the CCU. Hopefully it will be as exciting as the ICU has been.

It's getting down to crunch time. I have a service learning project to do, which I might fulfill with the American Red Cross, then I have a paper to write for my alternative therapies class. 2 more tests for my theory. One on the 19^th and then my final on May 6^th! I can't wait. Graduation is fast approaching. 27 more days. I am excited about this because my family is coming in town. I will get to spend time with them!

Fun Wednesday Night

2010-04-01T17:41:00.001-05:00

Last night after I got home from work, I told Jeremy that I thought it would be fun to go on a motorcycle ride. So, we did just that. It was about 7:45, we got our gear on and headed out on the road. Jeremy asked me where I would like to go, I really didn't have a place in mind, so I just told him "wherever you want to drive us". So we took off and rode around the area. He finally pulled in to Rusty's (one of my favorite ice cream places) and he asked me if I wanted some ice cream….Of course I did…I love ice cream. I enjoyed a concrete with Strawberry custard, rice crispy and marshmallow. It really isn't healthy, but it IS really good! After that, we rode around for a bit more, came home and attempted to watch New Moon. We both fell asleep during the movie (we were both tired) Hopefully we will watch it again this weekend :-D

Nothing could have prepared me for…..

2010-03-21T12:29:00.002-05:00

How tough this semester was going to be. I am very thankful to be in my last semester of RN school, but with that being said, I feel like I have no life. I am working full time, going to school full time and still trying to manage my life. I started this semester thinking, "This will be fun and I will do great!" Well I am doing fine and it is fun, but it is very time consuming. Probably more so than I thought. I have class 2 nights a week (Monday and Tuesday) and then I have clinical 2 days a week (Friday and Saturday). I work 4 days a week (Monday through Thursday) and my only day off is Sunday. On my clinical days, I get up at 5am and am at the hospital from 6:30 to 2:30. By the time I get home, I am exhausted! I have care plans due every week and homework assignments due for class. My only "free night" is Wednesday. I decided to do a bowling league this semester, and I do that on Thursday. It really is fun for me.

My house is a tornado zone, I don't get much accomplished. Honestly, the last thing I want to do when I come home is do dishes or clean. I'd rather relax for a bit and then hit the books. Don't get me wrong, I still manage to have fun (sometimes) and hang out with the hubby and friends.

Here is a recap of events since December:

December, Jeremy and I celebrated our 7^th Christmas together! There was a huge blizzard on Christmas eve, and Jeremy almost did not make it home. I was sent home early from work, took me about 1 ½ hours to get home, and the road conditions were terrible. Jeremy was also at work and said that starting about 2pm, no one could even get into his parking lot. His DM finally let him close about 4pm, and he was stuck for about 2 hours. He got a ride to his grandparents house and called me and said he was headed home. About 1 ½ hours later, he arrived safely in their vehicle. I was scared that I would be alone for Christmas and he had to at least try to make it home, as he didn't want me to be alone. When Jeremy finally made it home, we put up our Christmas tree. It was the only time that we had time to put it up. Christmas day, Jeremy and I made breakfast and opened presents. We always enjoy this time together. With the holiday season being a busy one, this is usually one of his only days off. We usually go see a movie on Christmas day, but passed on it this year due to the weather. This picture was taken a day or two after the blizzard.

The weekend of Christmas, we went to Jeremy's grandparents house. This is a tradition they have had for years. The gathering usually consists of about 30 people. It is a fun time of being together and it seems that there is never a dull moment at the family gatherings. This was taken at his grandparents house during their Christmas celebration.

New Year's eve came and went really fast. We went to dinner with some friends and then over to another friends house for a party. Dinner was good, we went to Outback and enjoyed steak and then Leah & Neil were fabulous hosts for their New Year's Party. This was the first time we had done anything for New Year's in quite a few years. The picture on the top is Jeremy and I and the one on the bottom is our gracious hosts – Leah & Neil

As if having one Blizzard wasn't enough, we had another one in January. It was a huge ice storm and it reminded me on the one we had the previous year. Everything froze and I got some fun pictures of it! Our mailbox froze, our trash cans froze, the bushes were frozen too. It took a while for everything to de-ice!

Mid January I started school again, that is when I started to get really busy.

February 14^th, Valentines Day, Jeremy and I decided to cook a homemade dinner. We made New York Strip, Lobster tail, asparagus, salad, baked potato and homemade Crème Brule.

In March, our really good friends tied the knot. Jeremy was a groomsman and I helped the bride plan and organize the ceremony. I really enjoyed doing that, and I know they both appreciated me. The wedding was held at the Beacon Club with the reception there as well. One of the best parts of the reception was the photo booth she had. There was a booth set up that up to about 10 people could fit in, and there were props and hats and glasses. You went in and took 4 pictures. They printed out on a strip, you got to keep a copy and the other copy went into a scrapbook for the bride and groom. This was such a fun thing to do and everyone enjoyed it!

That seems to bring us to the present. So hopefully I will do a better job at keeping up with everything!

A word from my Uncle

2010-02-08T18:31:00.002-06:00

Last week, my Uncle Mark emailed me information about something fun he did. Here is his email. Enjoy!

To all,

This is what I did in last Saturday's snowstorm in Maryland.

Watch the enclosed videos from the Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMI9j7R8zZc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU5TH3rojpY&NR=1

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/video/1264887412PolarBearPlunge2010

Yes I DID PLUNGE 3 times; the 3rd Plunge was a complete dunk underwater.

Was it cold? Darn right it was. After my 3rd plunge I could not feel my legs nor my feet. My legs warmed up earlier than my feet but I came out ok from the most crazy and insane event I have ever attended.

However, the weather conditions at the time; air temp in the lower 20's, water temp in the lower 30's, wind gusts of 10-15 mph with a wind chill of 7 degrees, plus the raging snowstorm that unexpectedly dropped close to 10 inches around the DC/Baltimore metro areas all combined to make Saturday a PERFECT day for a Plunge. After all this is why it is called a P-O-L-A-R Plunge.

The snowstorm only enhanced the craziness and insanity of the event and made a dream come true for me as well; to walk or stroll along the beach and take a swim in a snowstorm.

I shot nearly 200 pix. When I finally get them upload I'll send ya'll some.

One more Plunge to go; on February 20th on North Carolina's Outer Banks at Nags Head.

Your comments appreciated too.

Enjoy,

Mark

PS: I was NOT in any of the videos.

Up

2009-12-08T21:28:00.002-06:00

Today, as part of our work Christmas present, our administrator took us to see "Up". I had not seen the movie, but I heard it was good, and it was, really good. Lots of life lessons in this movie and be warned, it will make you cry.
The beginning of the movie starts out showing this little boy and girl who meet and grow up and get married. They both are into adventure and love each other dearly. They grow old together and she dies. The old man is left alone, in this house they had since the day they married, and he is lonely. He then goes on an adventure, in his house, with this little boy, and he learns to be happy again. I think one of the most important things I took out of it was that you don't need to have possessions to be happy, those are just things, in the end it's all the memories that you can always take with you. I enjoy reminiscing of different things in my life, like things we did while growing up, and even memories of Jeremy and I.
One thing I really enjoy about going home to visit my family, we always talk about the good times we had and talk about different memories we all had while growing up. It's so much fun, and so amazing how everyone has different events that were significant to them.
If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it!

Almost done

2009-12-02T09:11:00.003-06:00

with school for the semester. Last night was my last day of OB/Peds rotation. I am so glad to be done. After this rotation, I don't have a desire to work in that area at all. Being around the sick babies made me sad, and seeing one die was even worse. I give credit to all the nurses that work in that area, however, it is not for me.
I am so thankful to be almost done for the semester. I have a test tonight and then one more week of classes and finals the following week. My plan for the end of the semester? Sleeping and being lazy!!! I can't wait. It will be so nice to have a chance to relax and be able to do whatever I want with no school obligations.
I take composite pictures for school tonight. This picture will hang on the wall of the nursing school and probably be the pictures that go out with my graduation announcement. I can't belive I will be graduating in May, this will be my first degree, ever! (Besides my LPN license). The plan is to also do a Bachelors degree after I graduate.
Jeremy is busy with work this time of year, working 60 hour weeks and only 1 day off per week.
It seems like the past few months have flown by.
Jeremy and I had a good Thanksgiving. We spent the day with his family - grandparents, cousins, all their kids and his Aunt and Uncle. Unfortunately, Jeremy had to end up going to work for a few hours that day, but all in all we had a great day!
The next few weeks will keep us busy. I am looking forward to Christmas, just spending the day relaxing and doing nothing. I have some shopping done, but still have a little bit to do.

PICU

2009-11-18T09:02:00.002-06:00

Last night I started my pediatric clinical rotation. I was assignedd to the PICU, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. My experience was amazing and I give credit to any nurse that does that job. I had the opportunity to see my patient's chest get closed up. He had surgery the previous day to repair a heart problem and they left his heart open, and last night they closed it up. I was very fortunate to be there for the surgery, and the most amazing thing was I got to see his little heart beating. The team work and coordination that goes into caring for these little babies it AMAZING! I don't think I could do that job. I have a co worker that used to work in the NICU at the hospital I was at last night and she said that the inital training for the job is 12 weeks long, and then for 3-6 months, you are assigned to low acuity patients. All I can say is that I am impressed with what those nurses do!

Time for updates

2009-11-16T11:29:00.002-06:00

It's been over a moth since I have blogged, so I felt it was time for some updates!
I'm still moving along in school. Right now, I am in my OB/Pediatric rotation. I am learning so much, but I have realized that I have no desire to pursue this part of nursing. I am almost done with my clinial roations and classes. I have less than 1 month of class left and take finals the week of December 14th! I am looking forward to this, as then I have 1 month off of school. I am getting really excited because I am one step closer to graduating. I received my degree check in the maill a few weeks ago, showing that I am on track to graduate with an ADN (Associate degree in nursing). Woo hoo! I am starting preparations for that. I will enroll in classes for next semester on the 8th of December and on the 2nd of December, I will take my graduation pictures. I can't believe it!

Jeremy applied to OU for admission for the spring semester. He is planning on going back to school, but as for what type of masters degree, he is unsure. He plans on taking a few science classes and a business class in the spring to help give him some guidance for what type of degree he may want to pursue. I am really excited for him to go back to school!

Change of Heart

2009-10-26T22:55:00.003-05:00

Up until tonight, I had been dreading OB clinicals. Tonight was my first night and after tonight, I think I'm really going to enjoy this rotation. I was assigned to Labor and Delivery and my night started out slow, but by the end of the night I had: hooked up fetal monitors, started and IV, got blood, hung IV fluids, discharged a patient, read the fetal NST, and got to deal with a couple different problems. I can't wait to go back tomorrow night!!

Wonderful Husband

2009-10-21T22:37:00.003-05:00

I was so happy when I came home from school tonight and Jeremy was making dinner. He made beer can chicken, home canned green beans, biscuits and a salad. I was so happy! I told him he could cook all the time. I'm excited to see what he cooks up next.

Time for some updates

2009-10-02T18:57:00.002-05:00

First of all, I can't believe it is already October! This year has flown by so fast, where does the time go???
Jeremy is working hard, seems like he works quite a bit. Radio Shack definitely keeps him busy. He decided a few weeks ago that he wanted to go back to school starting in January. He's thinking about taking a couple of classes before deciding what kind of masters degree he wants.

I have been in school for 7 weeks already. This semester is divided into 2 - 8 week sessions. This first 8 weeks we are studying psychiatric nursing and aging. It has been very exhausting so far. At our clinical sites, we are always having to use therapeutic communication and really listen to what these people are talking to us about. I came home every night was was mentally exhausted. I think psych nursing is not something I really want to do. I take a final this Tuesday night and then I have to take the HESI exam on Wednesday night. The HESI exam is basically a predictor test on how you will do on your NCLEX. If you score greater than an 850 on the HESI, you get 5% points added to your final grade. So if I have an 85%, it will bump me up to a 90%, which would be an "A". I am so happy for this 8 weeks to be almost over. Wednesday night I have orientation to my OB/Peds class. I have heard that this part of nursing school is very hard and challenging. There is so much information to learn. I will have 6 weeks of clinicals, 3 weeks of Womens (pregnant ladies) and 3 weeks of pediatrics (babies). I will finish this semester in mid December, and then I will have about 1 month off.
Work is keeping my busy, so far I have been able to find the balance between work and school, which is great!
A few weekends ago, Jeremy and I flew to Colorado and surprised my mom with a visit. I'll post more about that in another blog.

3 day weekend!

2009-09-06T12:28:00.003-05:00

I am happy for the 3 day weekend, but I only ended up with 2 days off. And even with those 2 days off, I seem to have been busy doing other stuff, like laundry, and homework, and writing papers, and reading 5 chapters at a time.
School has only been in session for 2 weeks, and I already have a test on Wednesday. Today so far has been spent catching up on my online class for the week, doing much needed laundry and procrastinating cleaning out my scrapbook room. Tomorrow will be spent with a study group, studying for my first exam. I am a little nervous, but think that I will do good.
Clinicals have been really fun, tuesday night will be my first night at the mental health facility. I am really excited about that. We mainly interact with the clients and use all the skills we have used thus far.
Nothing else exciting to say!

Therapeutic Communication

2009-08-31T18:19:00.002-05:00

This has been our topic of conversation for the last week at school, and we are utilizing it in our clinical sessions right now. Today and tomorrow I will be at a Rehab center. We started the day in group therapy and then we had lecture after that. I felt really comfortable in my group and I really enjoyed hearing everyone's stories and it seemed as if everyone wanted to be there and get help.
Part of therapeutic communication is listening.
I ask you, Do YOU really listen? Are you really paying attention to the person you are talking to? If you are thinking of what you want to say, while the other person is still talking, then YOU are not REALLY listening. I find it fascinating that most people don't listen well. I am included in that population. I feel my communication has improved over the last few years, however, it still can improve.
I challenge everyone to try "listening". Look the other person in the eye when you are talking to them, give them your undivided attention, paraphrase what they just told you and then respond accordingly.
I think we would all be surprised how our communication would improve, if we just take the time to listen!!

AA Meetings...

2009-08-24T21:26:00.002-05:00

Tonight I went to an AA meeting as a requirement for part of my clinical experience for my nursing program. It was quite interesting. There were people there that had been sober for years, months, and even only a month. There were some people there that looked like they were still drinking, but were trying to recover. I enjoyed listening to everyones stories and experiences. Now, I get to write a paper on this experience.

I am very proud of myself, in the aspect that I am trying to be proactive about my school stuides. I am usually the type of person who waits until the last minute to do anything, but when I did my summer class, I decided that I needed to always get my assignments done as early in the week as possible, and I ended up with an A in the class. I have had the same approach with my classes this semester. I have am halfway done with my readings for class this week, I attended my AA class, which my paper isn't due until next week, and I got all the stuff for my online class done, which isn't due until next sunday. In addition to the above, I have started working out 3 times a week, and this week I will be aiming for 4-5 times. I have also started eating healty, I have been bringing my lunch to work, and eating healty snacks throughout the day. I started doing these things before I started school, with the intention that I would have the energy to do the nursing program, but also to be a little more healthy. I am happy to say that I have lost a few pounds in the process and have noticed my mucles taking on some defination. Jeremy has also started working out, he is working out every day before he goes to work. It's nice that we are both able to do that together in the morning.

I start school on Wednesday, and I am very excited. I know I keep saying that, but I really feel that way. Even though I know that I will be busy, I know that the end result will be worth it. I don't feel overwhelmed, like I think I should, I am just taking everything one day at a time.

Bad restaurant luck

2009-08-22T11:02:00.002-05:00

I always seem to have bad restaurant luck, so when we get bad service or something goes wrong, it now comes as no surprise.

Last night, me, Jeremy and our friends went to La Iguana for dinner. I have eaten there once before and the food is really good. We get there about 8:30, get seated, order drinks and some guacamole, and then we order our food. Well about 9:15, our server comes over and says that our order got lost, something about the systems crashing, and he needed our food order again and they were going to make it on the fly. Well about 9:30, still no food, and no manager had even come over to our table to apologize. Oh and inbetween the time we were waiting, they brought us a complimentary salsa appetizer (it had 4 different types of salsa, kind of like a little salsa bar). Well by the time they brought this, we were all pretty full and didn't even want our dinner. So when the manager comes over about 9:30, she says "It will be a few more minutes" and Jeremy looks at her and says "we aren't even hungry anymore, cancel our order" So she did, comped our apps, all we had to pay for was our drinks, and we got a $20 gift certificate to come back again. What an experience, it seems as if I always have bad luck with restaurants!

So Excited!

2009-08-13T19:23:00.002-05:00

I start nursing school in less than 2 weeks now, and I am jumping for joy. I know this will be a very busy 9 months, but it will all be worth it in the end!!!
I have 2 orientations next week, which I think will make this whole thing real.
Don't really have much more to say, than, I AM EXCITED!!

Time to play catch up

2009-08-12T21:02:00.003-05:00

This weekend was very eventful. Friday night, Jeremy and I went to his grandparents house to see his dad, Twila, sister and brother. We had a nice dinner and then hung out for a while. Since we had the BBQ the next day, I made my potato salad at their house so I would not have to get up early the next morning to make it. We got home probably about midnight or so.

The next morning, we slept in (which was really nice) and then we went to the family BBQ (we were really celebrating his grandparents 60th wedding anniversary which was in April). The entire family was there, minus a few people. There was about 33 people (including kids). We all gathered at Brian's house, he grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and there was tons of food. It was nice to sit around and talk and hang out with everyone. After a while, we had some cake (compliments of Voni) and homemade ice cream (compliments of Aunt Sherry). I had not had homemade ice cream in a really long time, and let me tell you, it was delicious!!!

Later in the day, Larry and Twila left to go to his reunion of the 70's, the rest of the cousins stayed behind. We decided to play a game of spoons. There was 12 to start with and there could only be 2 winners. Me and Michelle. We are the spoons champions!!! This was the most vicious game of spoons I have ever played. Blood was shed, bruises were had, scratches happened and there were many instances of people jumping across the table to get a spoon. In the end, there could only be 2 winners (co-champions). Michelle and I made the Masons' proud.

After that, Me, Jeremy, Michelle and Walter came back to our house and then went out for a while. We made a taco bell run at about 2:30 in the morning, in which we ended up going through the drive thru twice. We ended up back at our house and went to sleep about 4 in the morning. We had to get up to be back at the grandparents house by 10am for breakfast, so essentially we only got a few hours of sleep. Sunday we hung around the house, played the wii, Jeremy kicked everyones butt at golf, then we bowled, and then went to dinner at Tarahumaras. That evening we enjoyed card games (you call it poker). That was also fun.

Monday was the day of my brothers bone marrow test. I was a nervous wreck. I am so thankful to have a wonderful work support system, I feel very helpless not being near my family in Colorado. His test went well, they won't have any results for about 7-10 days, he has a follow up appointment on the 24th and the doc said he would call my mom if he needed to come in sooner. I really hope they figure out what is going on, and start treatment. He is supposed to start school this week, but he will be staying home for a bit until they figure out the cause of his illness. My mom is scared to death that he will get sick, if he goes back to school. His WBC count is still 1200. He has been taking it easy.

That evening, after I found out that the procedure went well, I started to feel better and not be so nervous. Jeremy and I went golfing with Larry and Twila, and I felt that was really nice and relaxing for me. We played a scramble game and I forgot what our final score was, but we did pretty well.

Larry and Twila left the next day, Jeremy took them to the airport, since he is on vacation. I'm not sure when they will be back, but hopefully it is soon!!!

I think that is it on the updates. Please keep my family in your thoughts as we try to figure out what is wrong with my brother!

Last night was fun

2009-08-08T09:12:00.002-05:00

After work, Jeremy and I went over to his grandparents house. His dad and step mom flew in on Thursday and his brother and sister flew in yesterday afternoon. They had made dinner - Lasagna and bread, vegetables (from the garden) and salad. It was delicious! After dinner, we all sat around and talked and had a good time. I went ahead and made my potato salad for the BBQ. Once I got that done, I joined everyone again.

During the visit, Jeremy was gathering some books. These were "child craft" books. There is a set of about 15 books, all different types such as fables, stories about families, the world, etc. Jeremy has been wanting them for a while, and he was really excited to get them. Michelle grabbed book 3, which is everyones favorite, and started reading the pancake story. I dont' know the correct name, but the story was hilarious. Michelle did such a good job reading, she did voices for the characters, and entertained us all!

Jeremy and I left about midnight to go home. Everytime we are around my parents and siblings or his parents and siblings, it makes me really want to be around family more. I really miss them. As time passes, I get the strong desire to move back to Colorado. I miss being able to drive to my moms house anytime I want. I miss being able to hang out with my siblings any time I want. I miss everyone! Maybe one day we will make it back there to live!

Jeremy hasn't lost all his wisdom

2009-08-06T19:07:00.002-05:00

Just his teeth!

Silly, I know, but I couldn't think of a better title....
So...the surgery went off without a hitch. It took about 1 1/2 hours, they were able to pull all 4 teeth out with no problems and NO STITCHES! They sent him home with pain meds and orders to rest, and he is on a soft diet.
I got him home earlier this afternoon and made sure he had everything he needed and then went back to work. I picked up some mashed potatoes for him on my way home and he ate those up. He is feeling OK, still sore, and getting lots of rest. He will need it, especially since his family is in town.

Wisdom Teeth

2009-08-05T21:41:00.003-05:00

Jeremy got some sad news today - he will have to have his wisdom teeth removed tomorrow. Last year when he went to the dentist, they told him he would have to have them removed because they had cavitites. He scheduled his appointment last august, but the doctor cancelled because something came up. So fast forward to Monday, he starts having tooth pain. He took some advil. Tuesday it was worse and tuesday night he woke up 2 times with pain and this morning the pain was unbearable. He called the dentist, they called him in an antibiotic and he goes in tomorrow morning at 10am to get them removed. I will take him to the dentist and then bring him home and make sure he is comfortable and then go back to work.

Tomorrow is the day Jeremy's dad comes in town, so I'm kind of hoping he makes a speedy recovery. I did stock up on ice cream and soup for him, so he should be set with foods to eat.

I got my school schedule

2009-08-05T21:14:00.003-05:00

And I am very pleased to say that I will have a little bit of a life. Class 2 days a week, clinicals 2 days a week and most weekends off! Woo hoo!!

Now, I am super excited to start school. Only 3 more weeks! My first 8 weeks of class will be psych nursing. We are doing clinical rotations at the psych hospital. That will be so much fun. I really can't wait. Reality is sinking in that I will be an RN in 9 months!!!!

Where has the year gone?

2009-08-03T20:40:00.005-05:00

It seems as if this year has flown by. I can't believe it's already August.

Here are some updates on our end.
Last week I finished my summer class. I had my final on Thursday and got my final class grade that same night. I made an A!! I was really excited. I hope this sets a precedent for how I do on the rest of my nursing classes.
Jeremy had a busy week last week. His store was broken into on Monday, he got called at 4:15 in the morning. The person hit the storefront with their vehicle and it broke 2 window panes and they stole 6 TV's. He had worked many long days last week. He is getting excited for his vacation starting next Saturday.
I am stressing about school and financial aid. I got a letter last month saying that I don't qualify for student loans because I have too many credit hours. The school I am going to is a 2 year college, so 100 hours of college work is way to many for them. I called up there the other day and asked if they make any exceptions for people in degree programs (i.e. RN) and they said I had to fill out some additional paperwork. I plan on getting that paperwork signed when I enroll tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed. I also found out that I won't be able to come in an hour early to work to help get my 40 hours, so this means that I will probably only work 34 hours a week. This may be a blessing, but not if I am having to pay for nursing school out of pocket. We will see how this works out.
One of my brothers has been sick for a while now and his primary doctor has not been able to figure out what is going on, so they referred him to a specialist. That doc has been running many tests, and my mom has to call and schedule yet another test for him tomorrow. He has it narrowed down to 2 things, and hopefully they will have answers soon.
This past Sunday, Jeremy and I, and 3 other friends took a motorcycle ride to Mt.Scott (Elgin, OK). Yes, there are mountains in OK. It took about 2 hours or so to get there, we rode up the mountain, ate at a place in Medicine Park (never heard of that town) and then rode around the mountain and back home. We left about 10:30 in the morning and got back about 6:30pm. It was a long day. I had lots of firsts on this trip. I passed through or stopped in many cities and towns, some that I have never heard of (Medicine Park, Cement, Cyril,Gotebo, Eakly, Binger) and some that i have heard of but wanted to go to (Chickasha). We went through 7 different counties. We (Jeremy) tipped the bike, we were both OK, both of us had scrapes on our hands and knees, This was our longest bike trip, EVER! I got sunburned, and so did Jeremy. Oh, and we saw 2 hears of buffalo. My ears got sunburned for the first time in my life, and both of us are extremely sore. So I'm sure you are wondering a little more about the bike tipping incident. We were traveling along, Jeremy was leading, and he pointed in the direction toward Meers, Tim did a thumbs up, and Jeremy slowed down to turn that way, well he was only going about 5-10mph and his back tire hit a little patch of gravel, and the bike tipped over, landed on both of us, I was yelling for him to get the bike off of me, he asked if I was ok, I said just get the bike off me, he asked me again if I was OK, I said "Yes, please get the bike off me" and he tired to stand up, but couldn't lift it. Neil was standing in the way of cars that were turning so they wouldn't fly through and run over us, Tim and Dave were standing on the other side of the road in shock. Finally they come over and pick the bike up, I get up and run to the side of the road. My hand has road burn and my knee hurts, but thank goodness didn't have but a scratch on it. This other couple stopped to make sure we were OK, and the lady said to her husband, "I see why I have to wear jeans on the bike" We were both lucky to have little scratches. Our friends said from the way we landed, it looked like I landed on my shoulder, I didn't, it was just my wrist. Well, my hand was throbbing for the rest of the day. The best part of the entire trip was when we drove around the mountain, we came across a heard of buffalo. The car in front of us stopped and there was a momma buffalo and a baby buffalo in the middle of the street. They took forever to cross, but it was so neat to be close to them. I took a few pics from our trip. We came home, I took a shower, and we both crashed. I feel asleep about 9 and then didn't sleep well for the rest of the night.
The rest of the week should be fun. I enroll in classes tomorrow, so I will either have a life or no life. My father and mother in law come into town on Thursday and then Jeremy's brother and sister come in on Friday. I am excited to spend time with his family, I really enjoy their visits.

The first picture is of the heard, the second is of more of the heard and a baby, and the third is of the momma and baby that just crossed the street.

Laziness has hit our house

2009-07-29T22:28:00.003-05:00

and hard!
This summer I have been taking a class for my nursing program - Transitions in Nursing. Basically it's a sum up of the 1st and 2nd semesters of the nursing program. Since I am going right into the 3rd semester, this was a requirement for the program. I have really enjoyed this class. We have mainly done a lot of careplans a discussions. The last week of class we discussed "Health Maintenance and promotion" Nurses seem to make a big impact on people and their health decisions. Our last assignment of the semester was do to a Health Promotion Assignment. We had to find a client and ask them questions related to their health, and then they had to pick the biggest area that needed improvement and have goals and rewards for those goals. I chose Jeremy. His goal is to work out 17 days in a row (before going to work), because if you do something 17 times, it becomes a habit (those were Jeremy's words). He plans on starting this after his vacation in August. All of his goals, except 2, include me helping him with stuff, like washing his car and motorcycle, cleaning out his car, etc. Doing this assignment, I realized that we are both LAZY, and we don't really have a good excuse for it.
In the beginning of the year, Jeremy used his work rewards points to get me a Wii fit, I used it for about a month, and then quit. I could tell that i have gained some weight in the past month or so, and with starting nursing school in 3 1/2 weeks, I was getting worried about gaining even more weight. So.....this whole assignment and realization has sparked me to start working out, utilizing the wii fit and try to eat a little healthier.

Last night was Day 1
I bought a new workout game for the WII - Jillian Michaels Ultimate workout. I got home, charged up the wiimotes, and then started with the wii fit, and found that I gained 5 pounds in 3 months. I mainly want to lose a few pounds and then tone up, get a 6 pack flat stomach and get my upper body strength. I did my WII age and it was 27! 1 year less than my actual age. After doing that, I did the Jillian Michaels workout. It was good. Just going to take some getting used to. I burned about 150 calories last night, not bad, but could be better. My plan is to workout every day, for 17 days, and then maybe it will be a habit ;-) My sister and I are going to hold each other accountable for working out, even though she lives in Colorado and I live here. I called her last night when I was done working out to let her know what I did! She was proud of me, and she also let me know the workouts she had done.

I feel really good today, was not tired when I woke up, and felt like I had some energy. I plan on working out tonight again after my test. I'll keep you posted.

Snickering...

2009-07-20T20:30:00.003-05:00

This weekend went by entirely too fast. Saturday I worked at the yarn store and then met with some friends for dinner at Teds, we then headed to the mont to hang out on the patio and enjoy the heat. I was tired from only getting a few hours of sleep the night before, that I was home by midnight. Jeremy didn't get home until a little later, but we were both able to sleep in. I slept until 9:30 and Jeremy until noon. It has been a really long time since I have slept in that long. All I can say is, It was nice. I was able to get the rest of my homework done and then spent the rest of the day being leisurely. I was available to do visits that day for work, and I ended up seeing 1 patient.

Today at work, we were busy. The day seemed to fly by, which was nice. After I ate lunch, I went to the scrub store and bought my scrub tops for school, white and boring! My uniform is blue pants with white tops. I discovered today that I will probably need to buy a white shirt for underneath my tops, cause they are a little see through. After the scrub store, I went to braums and got a double dip ice cream cone. I ate a few bites before leaving there, got in my car and proceeded to eat some more, next thing you know, I have ice cream dribbled down the front of my shirt! Yep! And the best part is, I had to do an inservice a little later in the afternoon. I manage to finish my cone back at the office, and clean my shirt off so I looked presentable for my inservice.

The marketing rep picks me up at the office and we get to the nursing home. The inservice topic was perineal care. Yes, pericare. I copied information out of my nursing book and highlighted a few things, and then came up with some questions (I did all this before the inservice). They wanted me to talk for about 30-45 minutes about pericare. Well if you have ever had to do this, it doesn't take very long to talk about it, especially with people who do it all the time. I managed to talk for about 30 minutes (questions and all). I found it kind of amusing that people snickered when I used the words "labia" and "penis", yes, grown adults snickered when those words were used.

My life is never dull!

Eventful Week

2009-07-18T08:05:00.004-05:00

Jeremy's week of vacation officially came to an end this morning, he had to go to work :-( I do have to say that he got lots of stuff fixed around the house, so I am a happy wife :-D. The dishwasher got fixed first, then the yard got mowed (after about 1 1/2 months, it was really bad), he bought the garage door, which cost us nothing, thanks to birthday gift cards from my favorite father and mother in law. His car got fixed after about 3 days of trying to get the engine unflooded and the battery charged up again. The garage door got installed and he thinks he got my car fixed. My brother told me that I should drain the radiator fluid out and replace it, so I told Jeremy that and he did. Upon doing that, he noticed that the fan in my far was not spinning. He tells me yesterday that he thinks he got my car fixed. Keep your fingers crossed that he did, and I'll find out today when I go to work.

Last night we went out with our friends. One of our friends, Amy, was in town for the weekend. She used to live in OKC but moved to Dallas and travelled for her job about 2 years ago. It was nice to hang out with everyone. We met for happy hour, then went to Iron Starr for dinner, then off to midtown deli and then the dougout. Dinner at the Iron Starr was OK. It is not my favorite place to eat. The food is really spicy and just has different flavors, but Jeremy and some of our other friends really like it.

Work has been really hectic for me. I see patients 2 days a week for wound care, and then other visits if needed. I am really enjoying seeing patients again, and it's getting me really excited to start nursing school. I get overwhelmed sometimes when I am out of the office a lot and then I have to come back to the office and play catch up. But, I don't mind.

School is almost done (for the semester). Thank God! I have to take a test this week. I can take it anytime this week and I think I'm going to try to take it on Wednesday. It is our careplanning test. So far, I have gotten A's on all my practice care plans for this class. I am really looking forward to my break from school. I'm getting a little nervous about how I'm going to pay for nursing school. I can't get a student loan because I have too many credit hours (it's a 2 year school) so I have to call the school on Monday to set up a time to talk to the counselor to see if there are any other options, especially since I'm in the nursing program. I am also waiting to hear back about the scholarship I applied for. I'm sure everything will work out, I'm just a little scared.

Today will be a busy day for me. I am working at the yarn store, then off to dinner at Ted's and I might be going home after dinner, as I still have an assigment for school I need to complete.

I hate the heat!

2009-07-15T18:58:00.004-05:00

Summer is usually my favorite time of the year, well not this year! It has been so hot this last week - over 100 degrees every day, and my car is acting up. It is overheating all the time, especially when the air is on. So I have to drive around with the windows down and heat on. This keeps my car from overheating, however, I still overheat. I can't wait until my car gets fixed (if it ever gets fixed) or until Jeremys car will start again. His car has been in the garage for the last few months and not been moved at all. After the car got broken into, the engine somehow flooded (which we thought at the time the antitheft system activated and needed to be reset) and the battery has since died. It's taken almost 2 days to get the battery charged back up and Jeremy found out that the engine was flooded, so it's taking a while to get it working again. UGH! So frusterating. I just want everything fixed. On a different note, Jeremy bought our garage door opener today, and will hopefully get that installed and working tomorrow. We are on our way to having things fixed!! Woo hoo!!!

My dishwasher is fixed!

2009-07-13T20:07:00.003-05:00

So, after a month and a half of not having a working dishwasher, it is finally fixed!
Jeremy is on vacation this whole week, and he has been getting stuff fixed around the house. His to do list is pretty long - Fix the dishwasher, cut the grass, fix the garage door, fix the car....you get the point.
I know he has enjoyed having the last few days off, and hopefully he will get some nice R&R.

The countdown to school has begun, my summer class has 2 weeks left, and then I get a 2 week break and start school again. UGH! I am super excited, but dreading that fact that I won't have a life for 9 months, and I won't have a vacation until June. But, in the end, it will all be worth it.

Work is going well, been busy though. I have been seeing a few patients and tending to their wounds, which, I haven't done patient care in a while. I am enjoying it.

I get to enroll in my classes on the 4th, at that time I will pick either evening clinicals or weekend clinicals. I am torn, because if I get weekend clinicals, then I will have school/work for 7 days straight and not have a break, but I could get evening clinicals (during the week) and I would have weekends free, but then I would have to adjust my work schedule (if they let me). And, it also depends on what they have left that is open. My enrollment time is 1pm, so I'm hoping for the best.

I'm already making plans for going from my RN to BSN. I think i"m a little crazy, however, I really want my bachelors degree because I want to continue on to get my masters. Not sure what exactly I want to do, but I have considered Education (teaching) or general nurse practitioner. Time will tell

I think that's about it, enough of my ramblings. :-) Time to do something productive, like study!

I love my girls

2009-07-06T20:49:00.002-05:00

I realized today that I don't really write about our "girls" aka the puppies and gatos. So...I thought I would write a quick blurb about all of them.

Skittles is now 7 years old. She was my Christmas present in 2002 from Jeremy. I had just moved here in November from Colorado, and was used to having lots of animals around me, and was actually wanting a cat. Jeremy took me to the pet store and we picked skittles out. At first she didn't have a name, and Jeremy said "skittles" and it made me smile, so that is how she got her name. She is such a loving cat. She does have her moments where she is snotty and doesn't want any pets, but for the most part, she loves cuddling and getting pets. Skittles also loves: Tuna, Butter, macaroni and cheese (sauce), milk, ham, catching flies, trying to escape and cuddling with Bits. She sleeps with us just about every night. She loves to lick our arms, she is really curious about everything, she drinks Jeremys water right out of the glass, she likes to hide in between the shower curtain and the liner while laying on the edge of the bathtub. She loves to lay on any papers or books that you may have out while trying to study. She also loves to play with toy mice and will fetch as well. She hates going to the vet and she hates car rides (they make her sick). Sometimes she will come and lay across my leg while I am sitting down, or sometimes she sprawls out on the arm of the couch. She always greets us at the door when we walk in the house. She doesn't like the puppies and hisses at them when she thinks they are threatening her.

Bits is 5 years old. WE got her in 2004, in June. We felt that Skittles needed a friend, so we went to the animal shelter and picked her out. She was only 6 weeks old when we brought her home. She was very small when we first got her, hence the name "Bits" but she grew into a 15 pound cat. Bits is pretty scared of everything, and up until recently, she would run when you would come near here. Now she likes to lay next to me while I sit on the couch, she loves pets all the time. She has a morning routiene, when Jeremy and I get up in the morning, she gets on the dresser or the entertainment center in the bedroom and will wait for Jeremy or myself to walk by. She meows really loudly, letting us know that she is there and wants some love. She gets the msot pets at this time, only because it's about the only time she seeks attention. Jeremy will lay his clothes down on the bed, and she will come right over and lay on them. She also likes to catch flies and will find the toy mice, pick them up in her mouth and meow really loudly and bring them to us. Bits loves: milk, macaroni and cheese (sauce), spaghetti sauce, BBQ sauce, butter, tuna, and lots of other things that I can't think of right now.

Sophie is 3 years old. She is a beautiful black lab. We didn't plan on getting a dog, but Jeremy's old boss contacted him and asked if we wanted her, for free, she was 4 months old at the time and the last one left of the litter. She is extremely smart and loves attention. She is very obedient and loves water and loves to play. When we first got her, she always wanted to play with Skittles and Bits, however, they didn't want anything to do with her. Sophie loves to eat bones, and devours a rawhide in less than 5 minutes, eats a busy bone in the same amount of time. She is a daddys girl and absolutely LOVES Jeremy. She doesn't like to get brushed. She will watch TV, especially when there are dogs or animals on the show. She loves to play and wrestle with Sasha. She will tear apart a stuffed animal in 10 minutes and also loves to play fetch. She will devour a piece of meat in less than 5 seconds and doesn't even bother to chew it, she just swallows it whole.

Sasha is 1 year old, she is a rotwiler/boxer mix. We got her from the animal shelter. She was sick at the time we got her, didn't know it until I took her in for a well puppy check up. A couple hunderd dollars later, and she is fine. She gets along with Sophie, loves to play, however, she will steal her bones everytime Sophie picks one up. The run and play all the time. She loves to dig in the yard, bark at the other dogs, and run along the fence with the neighbors dog. Sophie does this as well. Sasha started a bad habit - she comes up to Jeremy and will stick her head under Jeremy's arm, letting him know that she wants to be pet. In turn, this caused Sophie to pick up the habit, and now Jeremy is breaking them of it. Sasha loves to get pets, cuddle, she thinks she is a lap dog (she will come and lay on your lap if you are sitting on the floor), and she also loves to lick. She will lick your hand, legs, feet, the floor, the stove, the cabinets, the chair. She loves to lick everything. She has chewed up a couple pairs of my shoes. When she gets a bone, she protects it and saves it, making sure that Sophie won't get it. She will also lay in front of her food when we put it down, making sure that Sophie doesn't get that either.

All our animals are extremely loving and we love them all. I never thought I would have big dogs, but I do have to say that they are really good and I enjoy their company.

Finally Finished

2009-07-05T13:59:00.004-05:00

Last October when I went to Colorado, my mom and I went to a local yarn store and picked out some yarn for me to make her socks. She came across the pattern when a lady came into her store asking her to make a copy of the pattern, so she asked if she would make one for herself. The pattern is called Annetrelac socks. It's a really neat technique that when knitted up, it looks like blocks stacked sideways. Here are some pictures

Busy Busy Busy

2009-06-28T16:14:00.003-05:00

This last week has been busy for me. Wednesday I was back at work and we were just really busy at work. I stopped by the yarn store after work, just to hang out for a little bit and work on my moms socks. Thursday was the same, busy at work, and I didn't end up leaving until about 5:30, then I met a friend of mine out at Dan McGuinnes for some girl time and a drink. She was meeting a guy and didn't want to be there alone. It was nice to relax. Jeremy went to the cabin with his grandpa and helped him cut the grass and do stuff down there. I studied after I got home, and waited for Jeremy to get home. Friday was busy at work too, but not too bad. After work, Jeremy and I went to Incredible Pizza with Michael, Allisyn and Piper. It's so cute to watch Michael interact with his girls. I learned the way to Allisyns' heart is by giving her candy, and Piper is so quiet, you barely realize she is there. Jeremy and Allisyn did the go kart race, but they didn't win first. After we played all the games, I cashed in our tickets, we had about 140, and Michael had about 40, so the lady rounded up to 200, and we spent it all on Allisyn. She thanked us for the toys, it was cute! Oh, and we got invited to her Birthday party next Thursday, so Jeremy and I are looking forward to that.
Friday after we got home, I studied some and then fell asleep. Saturday, I was up early, like 6:45, so I started studying. Jeremy worked and he planned to get off early, so the goal was to get as much studying in as possible. About 10:30, I get a text from our friend, Evan, who had an extra ticket to see transformers at 11:30 in the balcony. I couldn't resist and went. The movie was good, and LONG. It got out about 2pm. I came home and studied for another hour or so, until Jeremy got home. We then went to Lake Hefner with our friends and went on the sail boat. It was HOT and there was very little wind. After sailing around for a while, we found a little cove, ancored and Tim, Julie and Jeremy got in the water and swam for a while. I was too chicken to get in. We stayed ancored for a few hours and then decided to head to Louies to eat dinner. We docked, and decided to eat at Mama Rojos instead. The food was OK, not the best mexican (Ted's is the best). After that, we headed back to the dock and headed home. We got home about midnight. I really had a great time on the lake, it was relaxing, I got to read "Twilight" some and also worked on my tan.
Today has been a lazy day for me. Woke up, about 8:45 and started studying, at lunch, studied, watched House Bunny, got a sno cone, studied and now I'm writing this blog. I have a little bit left to study and then I have some practice tests to take. I want to be really prepared for my exam tomorrow.

3 years and counting

2009-06-23T20:17:00.002-05:00

Today was our 3 year anniversary. We both took the day of and spent time together. We both had a great time today and we are not exhausted.
I had a dentist appointment this morning to get some fillings put on my teeth that had areas of sensitivity. Before I left, Jeremy had a bunch of website places pulled up on his computer, and asked what I would like to do. Things ranged from going to the arbuckle wilderness, turner falls, red pin bowling, haunted house. I decided on Red Pin bowling lounge, Oklahoma history museum and then dinner at the haunted house.

We left the house about 12:30 and headed downtown for bowling and lunch. We took the motorcycle, so it was hot, but the breeze felt really nice. Bowling was OK, I didn't really like the bowling alley.

After bowling, we headed to the museum. It was both of our first times there. It was neat to learn about Oklahoma History. We visited the rock and roll exhibit and that was really cool as well. They showcased a lot of great bands that were from OK. Hanson was part of their exhibit, and of course I took lots of pictures of them because my sister is obsessed, so I thought she might like to "pretend" she was there. We were done at the museum around 3:20, and our dinner reservation wasn't until 6pm, so Jeremy suggested that we go to the race track or the movie theater. I decided we could go to the theater and catch the next movie that was playing. We arrive and it's 3:40, Night at the museum started at that time and Land of the Lost started at 3:45. My vote was for Night at the Museum 2, but Jeremy absolutely didn't want to see that movie at all, so we were forced to see Land of the Lost. The move only cost us $7 total for both tickets. I DO NOT recommend that anyone go see this movie - it was THE worst movie EVER!

After the movie, we still had about 20 minutes before our dinner reservation, so I suggested to Jeremy that we just drive around for a bit. We went to the race track, which was across the street, and he stops in a huge parking lot and asks me if I want to learn to drive the motorcycle. I say "yes" but I didn't know anything about shifting or what I needed to do. He gave me a crash course about the clutch, the gas and the break and the shifter. He sat on the back and I was on the seat. It felt awkward because I felt that the bike was going to tip over and it was hard to balance it. I went about 10 feet and didn't stall at all the first time I tried! The second time I stalled, but by then it was time to go to dinner.

Dinner at the haunted house was great - as usual. Nice, quiet, really good food.

Now we are back home for the evening. We had a great anniversary day! I am looking forward to learning to drive the bike more often ;-) and I am also looking forward to another great year of marriage.

A good nap is always refershing

2009-06-20T17:25:00.002-05:00

Last night I went to bed early and woke up about 6:30. I feel like I got too much sleep, as I was still tired. I had my 2nd day of skills lab and that all went well. We got there about 9, went over documentation, IV information and how to give medications - IM, subcutaneous and subdermal. Then we took our test. There was 46 questions, I got 41/45 correct, so it was an 89%. You needed a 74% to pass. When I left there, I was headed to Jeremys work so we could go eat lunch, but stopped by the movie theather to buy our tickets for "The Proposal" for tomorrow afternoon. They are balcony sets (which are the best). Once I got to Jeremys work, I had to wait about 45 mins for him, they were slammed. We went to Tarahumaras (mexican food) and had a nice lunch. After that, I went to the yarn store to crochet some of my sisters blanket I am making for her. It is almost done. I had been pretty much tired the whole day, and after being at the yarn store for about 1 1/2 hours, I decided I was going to go home and take a nap before going to Natascha's BBQ. I got home, changed clothes, let the puppies in, got my pillow and blanket, turned on the TV and laid on the couch. Next thing you know, I wake up, there are 2 cats on the couch with me, Skittles was sleeping across my lower leg and Bits was done by my feet, Sophie and Sasha were sleeping on the floor. The whole house got to nap (except for hubby, he was at work)!

Now I shall finish up, as I need to get stuff together to go to the BBQ. :-D

Nursing skills lab

2009-06-19T17:50:00.002-05:00

Today I had to take a nursing skills lab refresher course. This is part of the requirement for admission to the RN program for the fall. I could either study and take a test and perform skills for the class, or I could take the class over 2 days. I chose the latter. The class was $75, which I paid when I enrolled. They also said that there was a kit I would need to get for the class, which I could get from the bookstore and it was also $75. I figured I would just wait until the day of my class to buy the kit, as I would have time before the class was to start. I called the bookstore yesterday to make sure they had the kits in stock, and they said they did, however the price of the kit was $200 with tax, WHAT??? I almost flipped out, well...I did! I went to the bookstore this morning to get the kit, and paid for the crazy thing. I figured there would be gold in there....I was wrong. Just all the equipment we will need for our entire nursing program. Instead of making individual kits, they decided to make 1 kit for everyone and hike the price up to $200. What could I do? OH well. I get to the building that the class is in and I see a sign on the door that said that my homework packet needed to be completed, so I asked the instructor, "What packet?" She asked if I got one when I paid for the class, I told her that I registered and paid over the phone, she then asked if they mailed me one, and I told her nope. Thank god I wasn't the only one who didn't get a packet, she graciously made some copies and gave them to students who needed them. The first hour we went over some refresher information, then we were off to the skills lab in which we had to perform nasal suctioning, inserting a catheter, inserting and NG tube and doing wound care. This went pretty well and it was very laid back. Everyone passed. Tomorrow should be a short day, maybe done in a few hours! Sweet!

After today, I am starting to get really excited for nursing school. I can't wait! I am excited to continue my education and am also thinking about getting my bachelors degree. Life is good. There are some stressors about this situation, such as I will be working full time, doing evening classes 2 nights a week and then either clinicals on the weekend or 2 other nights during the week. I think the next year will be very hectic for me, however, it will all be worth it come May.

A simple oil change and $100 dollars later...

2009-06-17T14:39:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I took my car in to get an oil change. I usually go to Shell, near my house, but I decided I was going to go to Jiffy Lube. 1. It was near my work and I could go on my lunch break and 2. I got a coupon in the mail for $10 off my oil change. So I went to Jiffy Lube, pull up to the bay and ask the guy how long it would take, he replies, "not very long" So I get out of the car and he asks me what kind of oil I would like. I ask if she has synthetic oil (Jeremy suggested that I get it for my car) and he replies, "yes we do". Then he proceeds to point to my windshield wipers. So, about those, they needed to be replaced, really bad...so bad to the point that the rubber was coming off the wipers. I KNOW! Dangerous. So the nice Jiffy Lube gentlemen proceeds to tell me that they are buy 1 get 1 free, so basically 2 for $20, and they are guarenteed. I tell him to go ahead and replace them, as that is one less thing I have to do. He then shows me to the waiting area and there are 2 other people waiting at this time. One of the guys checks out and leaves, the other one is waiting. After a few minutes another lady joins us. Well I know her from the yarn store, so we start conversing. A few minutes later the nice Jiffy Lube gentlemen (JLG) comes in and calls the gentlemen in the waiting room up to the counter. He starts off with "These are our recommendations for your car....." He tells him about the air filter, and about 5 other things. I'm sure the grand total would have been about $1000 or more if the guy had all that done. So....he sits back down and the JLG leaves. All of us in the waiting room proceed to talk about all these crazy recommendations and how they probably make a ton of money off people with all of their "recommendations" Well that guy leaves and it's my turn to be in the "principals office" My recommendations include: air filter (told him NO), coolant was about 2 quarts low (told him OK) transmission flush (told him NO) and clutch service (which I already know, as my clutch needs to be replaced) So with that being said, I was getting an oil change, windshield wipers and 2 quars of coolant. He leaves and comes back after my car is done and tells me all he did and that I can come back any time and have my fluids topped off for no additional charge, no questions asked, etc. I say OK and tell him about my $10 off coupon and he shows my my total $101.00......YES $100 for an oil change! My mouth drops and I asked him to show me the breakdown of the costs. Well he starts with the synthetic oil - it was $79.99 for synthetic. I knew it would be expensive, but I didn't think it would be that expensive. SO.....note to self...ask the price of synthetic oil prior to saying that is what you want!

Another year come and gone

2009-06-16T23:39:00.002-05:00

It seems that this year I have had 3 birthday celebrations. The one I blogged about before this one, I celebrated on my actual Bday and then again this past Saturday. Thursday (my bday) was a great day. I started the day being showered with birthday wishes, first from Jeremy and then from Dad and Twila, and that was about it. I was at work for a few hours and got a few wishes from a few more people. About lunch time, Jeremy called me and asked me where I wanted to go, I replied "Victorias" If you have never been there, I highly recommend it. They are THE best Italian restaurant EVER! They make all their pasta from scratch and it is AMAZING! I had this really awesome pasta dish (it was the special) and for dessert I had key lime cheesecake (HOMEMADE) and also on the house cause it was my birthday. I get back to work about about 30 mins later, my boss asks me if I want ice cream from braums...well....I can't resist braums! So I say OK, I would like a single dip heath bar sundae. She comes back with a double dip. She ordered a single one and they gave her a double. YUMMY! I ended up eating most of it. If that wasn't enough, we had our weekly marketing meeting at work and the marketing team bought me a YUMMY chocolate cake. This was THE BEST chocolate cake I have ever had. And, it came from target. The cake was moist and the icing was whipped cream. Let me tell you, I had 2 pieces, yep...2 pieces. I really didn't need any more to eat after I had the ice cream, but who can resist chocolate cake? So by the time 5pm rolled around, I was FULL. I couldn't eat anymore. I ended up getting a few more birthday wishes from my siblings, my dad, and my mom. I asked Jeremy earlier in the day if he had bought my birthday present and he replied that he had not. So I asked him if we could just go shopping for clothes because I was in need of a few more summer clothes. We met at the mall and shopped for a few hours and then Jeremy was getting hungry (while I was still full) so we went to Pizza hut for dinner. I just got a sald. After I got home, I decided that I didn't want to eat for another week becuase I was so FULL.
Saturday night was the night of my birthday celebration with friends. The tradition is that we usually got midnight bowling. We arranged to go to dinner at Johnny Carinos and then off to the bowling alley. Its actually kind of nice because we usually have a big crowd turn up for my celebration. This time, we had Becky, Duane, Riley (their baby), Tim and Julie. Time and Julie havn't been out to celebrate my birthday for about the last 4 years or so. The 6 1/2 of us went to dinner and then we went bowling. Becky and Duane couldn't make it because Riley started having a melt down. :-( So it was just the 4 of us! We had a great time. It was an early night, we ended up leaving about 1pm. So I think next year I might do something a little different for my birthday.

Summer has begun....

2009-06-10T19:39:00.002-05:00

And so has my crazy schedule. The beginning of the month, my summer class (Nursing Transitions) was opened up online. It is an 8 week class, and it looks like it will consume a lot of my time. Last weekend, Jeremy and I went to Colorado (probably my last vacation for a while) to help my mom out with her garage sale. Well, I actually told her that I would run the sale if she payed for my plane ticket. We bought Jeremys and the flight was super cheap - $137 round trip. We had a great time with my family. My mom worked, Ashleigh had school, Austin was at football camp and Adam stayed home. He helped quite a bit with the sale, getting things set up and broken down. The week before I went out there, it had rained quite a bit, so I was hoping for some nice weather. Friday was the first day of the sale and it was cloudy for a bit in the morning, but the sun came out! By the end of the day the clouds started rolling in and it started raining just as we got everything put away. I ended up getting sun burned, I didn't put on sunscreen. Saturday was another day, we also planned to celebrate my birthday that night. After the sale, we got ready to go eat (my choice) so we ate at Mt. Fuji, a sushi and habachi grill. The whole family went and we had a great time. IT was nice to celebrate my birthday with them, I haven't done that in about 6 years! My mom got me 2 kitting magazines and also some money to buy 2 things I was wanting to get. On Sunday, we did the sale for half of a day and then planned to celebrate an early fathers day with Mark (my moms boyfriend). My mom arranged with her kids that they would come to our house for a BBQ and surprise him. Mark knew we were having a BBQ, but he didn't know that his kids were coming. It was neat to see his face when they got there. I think he truly was surprised. We enjoyed hanging out and had a great time!
Monday was our lazy day, we went to LePeep for breakfast and then went back to the house and hung out for a bit. The boys (Adam and Austin) really enjoy Jeremy, they all three like to play world of war craft and it was cute to watch Austin ask Jeremy about certain things. We got home late on Monday night and it was "back to reality"
This week has been good, work is good and busy and I've just been getting adjusted to this nursing class I'm taking. Jeremy and I are making plans for my birthday. It looks like we will be celebrating on Saturday with dinner at Johnny Carinos and then midnight bowling! I love bowling and have been doing that same thing for the past few years. More blogs soon to come!
Oh and here are a few pictures from my trip to Colorado.

Ashleigh's Visit

2009-05-25T21:19:00.004-05:00

Ashleigh came back to Oklahoma with me after my Colorado trip. She came to work with me the next day (Tuesday) and then stayed home on Wednesday. I took Thursday and Friday off, and we spent both days just hanging out and doing "sisterly" stuff. We went to the movies, went downtown, ran errands, went to the yarn store and just flat out had fun. On Friday night, we picked up her friend - Samantha - from the airport. They were going to be driving to Tulsa the next day to see Hanson in concert. Ashleigh and Sam enjoyed their concert, while I stayed home and just relaxed (which I seriously needed). On Sunday, Ashleigh, Sam and I went downtown and saw a movie and walked around for a little bit. We also went to the Haunted House and the girls had the pants scared off of them. We took Sam to the airport on Sunday night and then Ashleigh and I just hung out the next couple days. She ended up leaving on Tuesday night :-( but all in all, we had a great time. Oh, and I taught her to knit while I was in Colorado, so by the time she came back here, she started 2 other projects. She is doing really well and I can't wait to see all the neat things she makes.

Colorado Weekend

2009-05-17T12:20:00.004-05:00

I was so excited to go to Colorado for a long weekend! I had a lot of fun and enjoyed spending time with my family. I think the last time I saw them was in October. My flight left the evening of May 7th. That night my sister picked me up from the airport and we met my mom at Dawn's (the lady that does her hair) I was going to get my hair done as well. I was really excited. I went in with the intent that she could do whatever she wanted to do. It seems that no matter what color highlights I put in my hair, they always turn red. It drives me crazy. Dawn asked about purples and I said that was fine. I was so stoked with the finished product.

That night we just went home and relaxe!d and went to bed early. The next day me, my mom and Ashleigh went to breakfast at LePeep (one of our favorite restaurants) and then my mom went to work while Ashleigh and I headed to the Southlands mall to shop. I was wanting/needing some new clothes, so we went to NY&Co (also another favorite) and a few other shops there. We then hit a local yarn store. I was very disappointed with the store. They didn't have a good inventory of yarn and it was really disorganized and dirty. After we left the yarn store, we headed to sonic to get our strawberry limeades ! Yummy! We then headed back to castle rock and had lunch with my mom. Then we were off to Target! We both found some great deals and just had fun wandering around the store. After that, we went back home and watched TV and relaxed. I made spaghetti for dinner, per Ashleigh's request. That was yummy too!
Saturday was the day I was least looking forward to, the day of cleaning out and organizing all the stuff for my moms garage sale for the following month. She took all us kids to breakfast that morning, then to walmart for groceries and then back home. I went out and took one look at the garage and just shook my head. I felt like I was in over my head. We ended up cleaning and organizing the garage in a matter of about 5 hours. In the meantime, my mom was going to make a roast for dinner and forgot to turn on the crockpot. We didn't end up eating until 8pm. After that, I met up with an old friend for some drinks and pool. We had a great time.
Sunday was mothers day. We didn't do anything special for breakfast because we were going to be going to lunch. Ashleigh and I took mom to the nail salon for manicures and pedicures. Ashleigh was very absorbed in reading her magazine, and my mom decided to paint each one of her nails a different color while we were waiting an open chair. It was really nice to just relax and enjoy some pampering time. After the pampering, we went back to the house and picked up the boys and Mark (moms boyfriend) and then we headed to Red Lobster. Ashleigh called the week before asking them if they took reservations or call ahead seating, they said they didn't, however they said their slow times were at 4pm and 8pm. So we got there right about 3pm just to ensure that we wouldn't have to wait too long. We put our name on the list and they told us it would be about 1 hour. So we sat down by the lobster tank and about 15 minutes later our table was ready. We really didn't expect to get to get seated so quickly. We ordered appetizers and dinner...I got 1 pound of crab legs and I was really in heaven. After dinner, my mom wanted to go see a movie. We went to see 17 again. The movie was only $5 per person, and Mark paid. :-) Once we paid and were about to go into the theater, the boys saw that X-Men Wolverine was playing and started just as we got there. They went to see that one instead. Me, mom, Ashleigh and Mark went to see 17 again. While we were waiting, Ashleigh entertained us with a fun mind game. After the movie, we just went home for another relaxing, yet fun evening. We played some more mind games and everyone laughed and had a great time.
Monday was the day that I had to come back to OK and Ashleigh was coming with me. That day my mom called in to work so we could spend the day together. It was really fun. Ashleigh and i had a nice flight back to OK.
Before I left, I told my mom that I would run her garage sale for her in June if she bought my plane ticket, so she did! I am excited to go back out there. It will be the weekend before my birthday and mom and I will get to celebrate with my family! I can't wait. :-)

Updates

2009-05-11T09:18:00.002-05:00

The month rest of the month of April proved to be a really busy month. April the 17th, Jeremys grandpa was put in the hospital for having a blockage (something he has had before). On the day he was admitted to the hospital, while they were running tests, the doctor found a 7cm abdominal aortic aneursym. All we knew is that he would have to go through at least 2 surgeries. There were many factors that went into when he could have surgery - one main one being how well his kidneys were functioning. On Tuesday he had his first surgery - he was slowing making a recovery. On Friday they noticed that his WBC was very high, but he seemed fine. Next thing you know, they have to rush him into emergency surgery. He had a hernia and an infection in his bowel. After this surgery, they put him in ICU for 2 days and then he went to a progressive care unit. This recovery was not as speedy as everyone had hoped. Slowly he made progress, and was able to leave on Friday May 8th. Just when we thought things were good, it looks like he may have another hernia. He goes to the doctor today to have that checked out.

As for me, I've been really busy and a little stressed. School is almost over, thank goodnes! I have my final on Wednesday, and then I'll be done for a few weeks before I start my summer online class. About nursing school, I re-took my NLN exam for OU and still didn't pass the maternity portion (I got a 90) so that means I'll be starting at Rose State in the fall and then graduating in May of next year. I'm already looking into programs about getting my BSN straight out of graduating with my RN. I enjoy by job and am not really sure what I'll want to do when I graduate from school. Time will tell.

Jeremy is re-applying to the DM (District Manager) program. I hope this time around he will get a district. He has a new Regional Manager and his DM just took a position in Texas. Jeremy spoke with the new RM about applying for the DM position here in OK, but he was told that they don't promote directly to their current district. So basically, he would have to apply to another district. He is going to look for open positions in OK, Colorado, Utah and Florida. Those are the 3 top places we want to go due to having family there. Since his DM left, Jeremy and another DM candidate are sharing the DM responsibilites for the district. I think he is enjoying doing this.

Everything else seems to be going well. The dogs are getting big and the cats are still the same - lazy! We have been getting tons of rain, and it seems that the rain will never stop. It's supposed to rain for another week! I'm in Colorado, but tonight, Ashleigh and I are flying back to OK together and she will be with me for a week. Once I get back, I'll be posting pics and stuff from my weekend excursion to Colorado.

Jeremy's Birthday Celebration

2009-04-19T13:52:00.008-05:00

Since Jeremy's Birthday fell on a Wednesday, we decided to celebrate his birthday on the following Saturday. We invited all of our close friends over for a dinner party. I made Jeremys' favorite food - Spaghetti with garlic bread and salad. I also made dessert - a strawberry jello cake. The evening turned out to be a fun one. We ate dinner and the hung out at the house for a bit, talked and played the wii. After that, we decided to go out for a bit. The evening turned out to be fun. Jeremy enjoyed the cake I made and he had a great time. Here are some pics from the evening.
Becky and Duane

Tim and Julie

Amy and Cullen

Evan and Sharon
Neil and Leah

Jeremy and me

Jeremys Birthday

2009-04-19T13:40:00.006-05:00

On Wednesday, April 15th, My dear husband turned 32! We both had to work that day, but were able to meet at Louies for dinner and drinks. Just as I got to the parking lot, Jeremy called to let me know that the battery was dead on his motorcycle and I had to go pick him up. He was just up the street at a radio shack store. So I pick him up and then we head to Louies. Evan and Sharon joined us for dinner and then Cullen showed up after his soccer game. About 9:30, we left and all went to the Radio Shack where Jeremy left his bike. Cullen was going to help him "pop" the clutch. I tried to get some pics, but it was really dark and I was only able to get a couple. It took them a few tries, but they finally got Jeremys bike going. Cullen and Evan were pushing Jeremy on the bike and then Evan and Jeremy we pushing Cullen on the bike. Needless to say, Sharon and I were in hysterics because of this. When it was all said and done, Jeremy realized he left his jacket at the store, so he had to borrow my sweatshirt so he didn't freeze. We had a fun night and we were looking forward to the weekend, when we would be celebrating his birthday again.

Jeremy and I at dinner

Cullen pushing Jeremy down the hill

Almost ready to go

I'm ready, lets go!

Graces' Blanket

2009-04-19T13:35:00.003-05:00

This is the blanket I knitted for my neice - Grace. I sent it off to my brother and sister in law earlier this week and I hope they enjoy it!

Nursing School

2009-04-14T18:19:00.002-05:00

Last week I received a letter from Rose State (one of the two schools I applied to for nursing school), that said I needed to enroll in a 1 class and take the skills lab before I could be in the program. I had intended to call them, however time got away from me, as I was super busy studying for my exams for OU. I get a call today from a lady at Rose State who asks me about enrolling in the skills lab. I told her that I intended to do that as I've been studying quite a bit. I also told her that I was a little confused by the letter - if I enrolled in those things, was I accepted? She said that my stuff was sent to the program director and the dean and I was suggested as a candidate for acceptance to the evening/weekend program. She said, "Yes, once you enroll, you'll get your official acceptance letter, so congratulations, you are accepted into the program!" I am so excited, I will graduate next May!!! WOO HOO!!! I am still waiting on word from OU, so if I get in there, then that's where I'll go, but if I don't, then I'm going to Rose! :-D