my current state of mind

...I passed (!!!!!!!)

antsy

I want to thank you all so much for your kind and thoughtful words via phone calls, emails, and comments on this blog and facebook. I truly appreciate hearing from so many of you. It was SO encouraging and uplifting to know that I was being prayed for by so many people as I prepared for and took the test. It truly meant a lot to have your support.

The actual test went fairly smoothly. I felt like an idiot, but that's normal, as this test is known for making you feel pretty beat up whether you passed or failed.

Sooo...now the wait. Sometime during this upcoming week I'll most likely be able to get "unofficial" results. It's been driving me crazy wondering whether or not I passed, but I'm trying to be patient and trust that God is in control, no matter what the outcome :)

cereal and other things

Lately, cereal has been the thing to eat around here. Sure, we eat well balanced meals and a variety of foods, but for snacks, cereal it is. Spencer has been enjoying granola, and I've been snacking on puffed millet with rice milk. My wonderful husband also picked out and bought this for me--gluten free granola--it's actually pretty tasty! Expensive though, so it'll be a rare treat :)

enjoying my puffed millet (I lead a simple, but happy life)

Anyone have any granola recipes or tips for making granola that they'd like to share? I'd like to try making some for Spencer when I'm feeling better and a bit more ambitious...

the test
Well, yesterday and today have been studying days. I'm feeling okay about the upcoming test. My brain is tired out, so I doubt I'll do much more studying. I go back and forth between being nervous and apprehensive to feeling pretty relaxed. I'd just like to get it over with. My pride has been tempting me to not mention anything about the test on this blog. That way, if I fail, I won't have to tell everyone when they all ask how I did. But, since this is a big deal to me, I figure it'd be good to have people praying about it :) It's this Thursday, in the morning.

a peek at our place
So uh, I told you all well over a month ago to stay tuned for pictures of our place. Sorry for the delay! We've still got stuff to unpack and situate and a lot of that has had to go on the back burner with me not feeling good, Spencer doing school and work, and the test coming up. Taking pictures of our cluttery home and posting them just hasn't been inspiring. However, the kitchen is doing well, so here ya go...

we love having so much counter space and deep roomy cupboards...

The bathroom is teeny tiny and you know how it is trying to take a picture of small spaces...Imagine a toilet, a tub, and a sink and you're good to go. Here is one of my favorite things about that room...

Yes, we have a skylight. It's simply wonderful to have in a bathroom that lacks windows. I think my favorite thing is brushing my teeth by moonlight (I'm aware this sounds silly). Or else washing my hands and looking up to see rain drops falling straight down towards me. Exciting times in the bathroom, let me tell ya.

*gulp*

Well, I finally heard back from the board of registered nursing and was able to schedule an appointment for the NCLEX. It's 3 weeks from tomorrow! *shudders* People keep telling me not to be nervous, but it's so difficult for me not to be. I get so worked up that I'm going to fail somehow...

I've been studying and so far it's going well. Haha, I feel like an idiot for how much material is vaguely familiar, but somehow I've forgotten...It's been a year since I've studied psych and over 7 months since pediatrics, labor & delivery, etc, so I've got to refresh my memory on a bunch of that stuff. I'm trying to be diligent by studying in several sessions throughout the day on a daily basis. For the next 3 weeks, you can find me camped out on the couch with all my books :)

It's going to take a while

for this to sink in.
The final was hard--made me feel a bit like an idiot who shouldn't be let out of nursing school (my classmates felt the same way, which was reassuring). But it's over. I got an A on the final--didn't feel very confident while taking it, so all I can base my success on is that God, in His infinite mercy and grace, gave me the strength and ability to focus on my exam and recall the things I needed to in order to do well. This semester has been so hard for me--it's been the most fun and easy going school-wise, but still the most difficult because of my health struggles. It has certainly allowed me to see God's provision in my life in a very tangible way.
As of tonight, I am officially DONE. No more lectures, HW, exams, or clinicals. Yay :)

a few scattered conclusions

Apparently I'm entering a new stage of umm, emotional development? I used to rarely cry. Never out of happiness, and not even that often out of sadness unless I was really upset. And during a movie? Nope. Sure, I had strong feelings, but they weren't manifested by tears. The start of nursing school increased the frequency of tearful situations, but I was still pretty stable.
Well, getting married triggered something because now I can't seem to stop crying! I cry at weddings out of happiness, sob during movies, and weep hysterically over not freezing leftover turkey in time. Poor Spencer.

This blog is not very interesting. Seems to me that blogs are much more interesting when you've got kids to write about and post pictures of. The best we can do right now is tell cute stories about our houseplant (that we accidentally killed), as that's the closest thing to kids that we've got. Seeing as we can't manage to keep a plant alive, perhaps it's a good thing we don't have children to blog about. :)

I will be done with nursing school in *gulp* 3 days. It feels unreal. A final on Thursday and clinical on Friday. Wow.
What do I do now? No more school? Getting a job sounds exciting, but it's also intimidating. Being an expert worrier, I begin to fret about nobody wanting to hire me... I've started the job hunt/application process, but can't interview until we make the move up north so am kind of in limbo right now.

Spencer is such an immense blessing to me. I love him so. We're coming up on the 6 month mark of our marriage. These 6 months have been wonderful and I feel so privileged to have shared them with this exceptional man. God has been so good to us :)

Haha, I stumbled upon this pic today...it was taken almost 3 years ago exactly when we went to Knott's Berry Farm with Lindsay and Sean. They didn't want to get wet, so Spencer and I went on the water ride (is it Thunder Rapids or Bigfoot Rapids??) by ourselves--we were "just friends" at this point. I'm glad things changed :)

another attempt

I have intentions to make a post, but lack the energy to come up with much to say. I usually begin to write a few sentences about such and such, get worn out, and go lie down or try to get back to studying. Haha, I should be studying right now. It's late and I've got a test tomorrow morning. But my brain is tired and can only absorb so much information. I need a bit of a break.

Some things that I am currently quite the fan of...

♥Throat Coat Tea. SO comforting and soothing. If you have a serious aversion to licorice, I'd avoid it. I, however, think this stuff is superb.
♥Instant Rice Noodle Soup from Trader Joe's. Gluten, corn, soy, and dairy free. Way yummier than "Cup-o-noodles" or Ramen. My appetite has been pretty pathetic lately, but these have been quite palatable to me.
♥Jojoba oil. Makes a real nice moisturizer in this dry climate and it isn't gross smelling or greasy. Another find at Trader Joe's, of course. Man oh man, I'm going to miss that place when we move!
♥the realization that I've only got 9 more days of nursing school (!!!!)
♥ The Neti Pot. Not for the faint of heart. But if you're an allergy sufferer and are plagued with sinus troubles, it might be a good thing. I'm still getting the hang of it, but I've noticed an improvement. It's nice to be able to smell things :)

Alright, I need to get back to cramming about burns and endocrine problems... Thanks for reading :)

23

Almost 2 years ago exactly, I got a voicemail from the dean of nursing congratulating me on getting into the nursing program.

And now, I've got 23 days left. Woah, how did those 2 years go by so quickly? ...by the grace of God.
In these 23 days I've got 3 exams to take (*edit--took 1 of them this morning--only 2 more!), 2 projects to complete, NCLEX paperwork to fill out and submit, and *gasp* only 3 more clinical days. With the way I've been feeling, school has become pretty overwhelming. But reminding myself that I only have to push through 23 more days helps a bit.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Morale Booster ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So. In the past month and a half, I've really been missing foods. I've indulged in a piece of apple pie (majorly regretted it) and a hamburger, but other than that, life has been gluten, dairy, egg, and sugar free. At times my restrictions have been even more limited (no meat, nuts, soy, corn, etc), but in the past week I've been allowed a bit more variety.

Anyways. Tonight I had a quesadilla. And a chocolate chip cookie. Oh my goodness.
The above food items were delicious (Spencer tried them to be sure I that I wasn't at the point of desperation where ANYthing tastes good--he agreed that they were yummy). AND, they were gluten, egg, and dairy free. The cookie had a bit of cane sugar & juice in it--but at this point, I'm not gonna stress over it since it's a very minimal part of my diet.
I know, this probably sounds silly. But as Heather well knows, it is HARD finding food items that are free of gluten, dairy, egg, and refined sugar.
It was just so nice to be able to eat something crunchy and "cheesy." The end :)