Autumn color

Taken at Ft. Rucker, Alabama. Where autumn has yet to arrive. Taken October 30, 2010

Nursing School Reality

So I am 7 short weeks away from the end of my first semester of nursing school. It's been insane! I have a great group of study buddies and I am loving my clinical group (not composed of the same people). Instructors are tough, but fair and VERY picky about procedure... which is a good thing when you are turning out the next class of RN's I think.

Hardest task so far? Learning to "eat the elephant, one bite at a time."... No seriously.. the hardest part has been having to reorient my way of learning. I think I've found the groove though, and I'm pretty sure I should be seeing improvements in all my grades. (A's and B's thus far, but it never hurts to shoot seriously high).

As far as procedures go, I think the toughest is maintaining that sterile field. It's amazing just how easy it is to break it and have to start all over again. Never fear, future clients, I have it under control!

Who left all the cobwebs around here?

Wow! I had no idea it's been so long since the last time I blogged. Well.. been in summer session for Microbiology the past 6 weeks... another 3 weeks to go. I am enjoying the subject, but not caring too much for the teacher's way of doing business. Still, at this moment in time I have an A so I guess I shouldn't complain too much. I have been accepted into the nursing program for the fall. Should graduate May of 2012.

Paul is in "talks" to arrange his next assignment. We are currently scheduled to end this tour in June 2011 and his unit will be out of here as well, since they've been slowing moving everything up to Huntsville (part of a BRAC program). Paul can't just extend here at Ft. Rucker... so we aren't sure what he's going to do next... and that directly affects me since I have to be HERE through 2012.

We may end up living apart for a year, but it's not like we haven't done that a few dozen times, eh? :)

Or at least it's out for two weeks.... as I have a summer class starting on June 3. I intend to take advantage of this two weeks by cleaning all the paper left over from all the research (recycle bins, here I come) as well as create my daughter's graduation dress.

I ended the semester with all A's and have made the "president's list". I am joyfully optimistic that I will enter the nursing program this fall, with all but one of my prerequisites done. Sweet, huh?

But for now, I'm basking in the glow of NO MORE FINALS!

The Crazy Oddness of being a Mother

My semester is drawing slowly to a close. Kendra is already done for her spring semester and Mac and Kim still have a month of school. (Yes, at the moment they hate us. Per Kim's request, I'm no longer allowed to complain aloud about my finals.)

Even though Kim and Mac still have four weeks of school ahead of them, I am already beginning to realize that this house is going to feel very empty by next fall. Kim graduates and will be heading off to college.



When Kendra started college, I had the luxury of having her still at home for the first year. I took my time adjusting to the idea that she'd be leaving home soon. Her move to the dorms for her sophomore year was easier than if she had bolted out the door at the beginning of college.

I will get no such buffer with Kim. She's going to the same college as Kendra and they are eagerly looking forward to sharing a place to live.


I missed Kendra when she left, but I think I will be devastated when both my girls are gone.

Whenever Paul is away with the Army, it's just going to be Mac and me rattling around this huge house. And he's not going to want to watch romantic comedies with me either. But on the other hand.. we both love action movies and Mellow Mushroom Pizza Parlor (neither of the girls do). I guess it's his turn to have me all to himself. That's the silver lining.

It's Crammin' Time!

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This semester I don't have the luxury of just one test per day during finals. ACK! Luckily I've been working ahead on a lot of my study prep, so I think I'm in pretty good shape. Finals start Week of May 10th.

Vegas in Spring-ish

I took advantage of Paul's testing being delayed (he was supposed to be in Yuma for March) and made last minute plans to meet my sister, Susan in Vegas for our "almost"
annual sister trip. I was on spring break anyway... and it's been too long since the last sister trip (in spite of our efforts to get together at least once a year).

I had so much fun... if only my feet did too. I came home with blisters... from all the walking in new-ish shoes. We stayed on the strip and walked everywhere, every day, for many hours each day. Well.. we did have breaks here and there for some gambling and meals and shows. But it FELT like hours and hours of walking to my feet.

One of the best comedy shows I've seen in a long time was happening at the Improv @ Harrah's during the week we were there. We saw Mark Price (Skippy from "Family Ties"), Maryellen Hooper, and Jeff Riezen. Jeff emcee'd the show as well as had his own style of comedy to share with the audience. I enjoyed everyone, but really felt a rapport with Maryellen. I laughed so hard, I had tears streaming down my cheeks.

Maryellen is a blogger, you can check out her blog at www.stinkyflowers.wordpress.com She doesn't blog daily, but she is consistent and funny.

Spring break in Vegas was wonderful. The temps were perfect- in the mid 70's and a nice breeze most days. I think the spottiest thing were our restaurant choices. My favorite place and meal turned out to be breakfast at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville at the Flamingo. Second floor deck overlooking the strip. Food was absolutely divine. Ate there twice.

Well, bed calls.. I have pics, but I have to wait to post them. Another entry soon.

Tapestry explained

On a previous entry, Russ was curious about one of my six word memoirs:

tapestry twisted, illumination low, still....pretty!"

I have always enjoyed the idea of God as the master weaver and how from our vantage point we might not always be able to see the design intended for our lives. It's a fanciful thought perhaps, but I have always felt that our lives are guided and even the bad things that have befallen us (my family), there has been evidence to me that I can see a pattern that makes sense.

Hence, the idea of the tapestry being twisted (things can look pretty twisted from a "me" centric point of view) Illumination low (viewing the pattern from a less than perfect angle), but being able to acknowledge the beauty in the design.

And that is the explanation about that particular six word memoir.

I presented three of the four memoirs in class (I left Tapestry out). My instructor really liked them and thought I should frame up the Grasshopper (we had to decorate the six word memoirs) one for my husband.

On pins and needles

Sometime in the mid 90's my best friend dropped me like a hot potato. She and my sister had found themselves on opposite sides of a business deal gone bad and she had asked me to intervene on her behalf. And I refused to get into the middle of it. I wasn't living in the same town as them, I had no idea what had gone on and I did not want to have to choose sides. I stayed neutral. Or maybe to my BF it seemed as though I'd chosen my sister's side. I don't know... what I do know is that after things resolved on the business side, she never talked to me again.

Occasionally I'd make an effort to contact her, but at the time of the incident she was single. I have never been sure what her last name is. She might have continued to use her married name, gone back to her maiden name, or heck.. remarried since I'd last spoken with her. Her mom and dad had moved away from the last known address I had for them.. and the friends that we had in high school hadn't heard from her either. It was as though she elected to walk away from everything and everyone from Phoenix.

Well.. through a series of backdoor searches I found her facebook page Sunday night. Of course most things are kind of guarded, but from what I could see.. it looks as though things have gone well for her. She has remarried and she looks really happy in her profile picture. I took a chance and I sent a brief message to her. Didn't ask to be her friend on facebook... actually wrote a message to her to which I hope she eventually responds. I am trying not to read into the fact that I haven't gotten a response yet. I know on a normal day I don't get on my facebook all the time either.

But I'm anxious. I have missed her so much over the years and have never truly understood why I was "kicked to the curb." I believe in an identical reverse situation, she'd have stayed neutral as well rather than get between her sister and I. And I would have respected that decision. Well.. at least I think I would have eventually understood. So.. that's what I'm hoping for.. that enough years have gone by that we might be able to be friends again.

Six word memoirs revisited

I'm not sure that these really qualify... but I've come up with two more "6 word memoirs" that I will be presenting to my Speech class.



" Love guides me; Faith sustains me."



" tapestry twisted, illumination low, still....pretty!"



In other news... first speech DONE! I received a 95 on my outline and an 89 for the demonstration. I lost some points because I went over time. So much for worrying about not having anything to say :)

M-M-My Sharona

Yet another piece of my teenage past fades away. Doug Fieger has lost his battle with lung cancer. The Knack was one of my favorite groups when they first hit the scene. Played their "Get the Knack" tape over and over and over. It is sad to know that he dealt with the lung cancer for so long before he finally succumbed. My heart goes out to his family and friends


glitter-graphics.com

Blah, I say.... Blah

As of late, I've been feeling out of step. Not really into school at the moment, but at the same time enjoying the classes i have (except Speech). May be its the countdown to Paul's next TDY. He's off to Yuma in about 4 weeks and will be gone until June.

May be I'm tired of having to spin the plates by myself. I know I can do it... just feeling a bit bratty about not WANTING to do it.

In the meantime, I've been losing myself in a PC game called Dragon Age. Probably an old title. I'm borrowing it from Mac and enjoying the adventure, but losing a lot of time in Ferelden (fictitional area in which this quest takes place).

Have a speech due next Thursday and haven't even begun to write it. Guess maybe that is where I should be now. Okay.. enough of my whining.. off to schoolwork.

six word memoirs

One of our assignments for Speech is to come up with a six word memoir. It's an interesting exercise in conciseness. I found a website that has several memoirs to read @ smith magazine.

Everyone has a story. Can you tell yours in six words?

This is what you start with.. your beginning point. Can you create a six word story?

Here's mine:

Young bride, late motherhood, later education.


Heres' the link to the Smith magazine site: http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/index.php?featured=all&offset=3440

A Belated Happy New Year!

I'm not exactly sure where the last month has gone. I suspect it was lost in a flurry of getting ready for the new semester and an "ostrich with head in sand" mental attitude.

I think I'm out of the slump now. Two tests under my belt, one public speaking and one group project finished as well. I unintentionally took lead in my group (I wasn't assigned the group leader position), so I'm not sure if that will reflect poorly in my grade or not, but at least we got the project done!

I think I need to make myself a large calendar with ALL my due dates on it, I've already missed a couple of reading assignments because certain classes just don't register on my brain away from the school. And that could cost me in the long run.

So time to start strategizing how I'm going to keep all the plates spinning.