Life is great!!!

Things are going really well right now. I am having a great time!

1) I LOVE LOVE LOVE capstone. Seriously it is so sweet on the Thoracic ICU, and my nurse mentor is awesome! He is really trustworthy and lets me do pretty much all the care, but still teaches and is just so great!
2) It snowed on the car last night so I don't have to go pay to get it washed!
3) Men's volleyball is back!
4) I did really good this week at keeping my room clean. You'd be so proud, dad!
5) I took a practice NCLEX exam and it told me I had a 95% chance of passing it on my first try!

Life is great!! :)

The best way to get 5 a day

Look at these beautiful strawberries I bought today!!! :)

I'm convinced that chocolate covered strawberries are a little piece of heaven!

Ok, now stop drooling!

My 2009 in review

January

-I met my precious niece Julie for the first time last Christmas break and I absolutely fell in love with her!! She was 8 months then.
-I started a new semester of Pediatrics and Labor & Delivery.

February

-I found out I was going to England for a study abroad.
-I decided I was going to be a pediatric ER nurse.

March

-I saw my first live birth. It was gross and beautiful at the same time. I cried the first delivery I watched because there was a certain amount of spirituality to it, being present for the first seconds of a person's life. But I also decided during this time to never be a labor and delivery nurse. It's too gross and smelly.
-I got hired to be the TA for labor and delivery, even though I knew I wouldn't go into l&d. I said I would do it because I love the instructors and look up to the women a lot. I wanted to spend more time with them.

April

-I had a scary few weeks at the end of the semester when I thought I was legitimately going to have to repeat the semester, due to a failed Peds test. That would have meant no England, and a postponed graduation date of December 2010. A few emotional breakdowns later, including one on my birthday :(, I made it, and passed just fine.
-I finished off the semester and my mom came out to Utah to help me pack up my room and get ready for England because I act like a 4 year old with ADHD when it comes to packing. I hate it, and I need my mommy's help :)
-I left for England the last day in April, with a tearful goodbye to roommate Cha because we weren't sure the next time we were going to see each other since she was leaving for China for a year and not coming back to Provo till after I graduate.

May

-The adventures of England begin! We spent about 7 days total in the hospital, before we get kicked out of the hospitals due to visa and registration mix-ups. We were basically on vacation after that. BYU's mistake.
-I learned the horrors of universal health care.
-I traveled to Scotland and fell completely in love. I loved the country and hope to return for an extended period of time some day. I love it there.

June

-Heidi, Michelle and I set off for Paris, then Rome, then Athens, then Santorini.
-We traveled back to London and Michelle and I went to WIMBLEDON and saw all the biggest names in tennis on Centre Court with totally FAB ACE SEATS!! (English lingo (; )
-I return to home sweet home after seeing the world.

July

-I spend time at home with the family.
-Attended the pioneer trek as the nurse.
-I got to see Julie and Janelle while they visited us for a couple weeks. It was so good to be home with family. I love them so much!
-I went to the Palmyra Hill Cummorah Pageant, the midnight showing of Harry Potter 6, and went to Cleveland to see Janelle, Julie and Ben.

August

-I went back to Utah and went to Zion's National Park on an overnight trip with some friends. So much fun!
-I went to education week on campus to get a spiritual fill up before school started.

September

-We have a joy filled reunion the first day of classes to see everyone that we missed so much over the summer. Our nursing class is such a close knit family. I don't know what I'm going to do without all of them after we graduate!
-I start rotations in the ICU and immediately fall in love. My previous desire from February of becoming a peds ER nurse is out the door.

October

-Football season is in full swing. After the victory over Oklahoma it looked like the Cougars were in it for the BCS bust. But I watched as we choked against Florida State at home, the first game I ever saw BYU lose at home.

November

-I went to Cleveland for Thanksgiving break to be with the family because I was so homesick after being home for so long in the summertime.
-I started my psych rotations, and went a little nuts in the process.
-I come back to Provo early from Thanksgiving to go to the Utah game. It was the BEST football ever. It was my last football game, as a student, and maybe ever :(

December

-I bought a fake tree for the apartment. I didn't think I would ever do that. I am a firm believer in real trees but it seemed like the more practical choice for the college apartment.
-The semester ended and I got my assignment for the Thoracic ICU for capstone, my first choice. I couldn't be happier!

It was an INCREDIBLE year! One that is so full of memories and good times! Right now I am uncertain of what the future holds, but it is exciting at the same time. I will graduate in April, and enter the real world. I have the biggest test of my life in the near future, the NCLEX. I'm going to have jury duty for the first time in May. I don't know geographically where I am going to live 5 months from now. I plan on buying an iphone next month, and am not looking forward to saying goodbye to my closest nursing buddies. That's the preview for 2010.

Why I love my family part 4: Mom

1) I love her because she is the most thoughtful and giving person I know.
2) She wants what is best for me in life.
3) I love my mom's cooking!!!
4) She hablas espanol muy bueno...her sense of humor :)
5) She is the best present-giver. She always knows exactly what to get someone.
6) She's a perfectionist, but is always does her well because the creations that come out of it are amazing.
7) She has seen me through the highest and lowest times always being there and knowing what to say.
8) She's a no-techno mama, but she tries :)
9) One of the funniest things about my mom is her memory about movies, first of all she pretty much always sleeps through any movie she watches, but then will buy it later and say, "it was great! We went to see it, remember?" Even if it was a terrible movie, haha. We've got some pretty weird movies from the 80's that she's bought "remembering" them to be great! HAHA!!
10) She loves her family. All of us, the same despite our flaws.

Why I love my family part 3: Daddyo

1) He and I can talk about things together that I don't feel like I talk to anyone else about.
2) He loves my mom more than anything.
3) He is a pillar of strength and hard-work.
4) He's got great hands for massages.
5) Like Clayton, he's a big tough guy on the outside, but a softy on the inside.
6) We rock out to oldies together in the car.
7) I think his number goal in life is to make his family happy.
8) He's almost as goofus of a dancer as I am.
9) I love listening to stories from him growing up.
10) He would do anything for me.

Love you, Dad!!! See you tomorrow :)

Why I love my family part 2: Claymeister

1) His name is Claymeister
2) He is my other best friend.
3) He likes to show off his muscles and peach fuzz to make him feel manly.
4) We know how to tease each other.
5) The kid is strong as an ox and will help you with just about any chore that proves this.
6) He is super athletic, and we can go play anything together.
7) Even though he's got the manly exterior he's a softy on the inside.
8) He never sings the lyrics right to songs, and it makes me laugh so much!!
9) He has a powerful drive to do his absolute best at everything he does.
10) We can talk about anything forever!

LOVE YOU, BUD!

Why I love my family part 1: Janelle

1) She loves her family more than anything in the world!
2) She is a best friend!! -->stay tuned for who the others are
3) She made my totally awesome blog layout for Christmas :)
4) She makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches and other stuff, but I just can't make grilled cheese sandwiches like her!!
5) She thinks stupid things are funny with me when no one else thinks they're funny.
6) She gave me a niece.
7) She is brilliant!
8) She has such a solid foundation in the gospel...that goes along with her brilliance.
9) We tend to go crazy together when no one else is going crazy, like when we broke a bed from bouncing around too much on Christmas Eve, haha
10) She loves to share joy. Whether it is learning to make something new, sharing a YouTube video, telling funny stories, or serving others, she loves to SHARE THE LOVE!!!!