Blessedly Stressed

It was a good week until I felt like all of my stressors caught up with me on Thursday and ugh............

But I'm better now! I'm enjoying my weekend...yes, it's only Friday but we don't have class...and trying to accomplish as much as possible before my lovely dinner with my boyfriend, Justin, and my favorite engaged couple, Cassey & Scott!!

I was in EC this past weekend because Dad returned home from his safari and naturally, we needed our weekly "lay-in-the-recliner-together" reunion. I didn't get much reading done last weekend because I enjoyed the day riding in the tractor with Justin. When I returned to CS Sunday evening, I got some chores and reading down before heading to HEB at 2130 (9:30). It's a very enjoyable time to go to the grocery. It's cool, dark and NOT crowded!! 

Monday was Monday. We had Professor Middlebrooks lecturing about Hygiene. She rushed through the lecture because she kept telling stories and giving examples. Don't get me wrong, I love personal experience stories but I hate when they rush through the PowerPoint slides. When I got home after class, I started making a new recipe - Chicken & Veggie Flautas. I actually put the chicken with water & stock in the crock-pot before going to school and were ready to be shred when I came home, making the prep time a lot shorter!!! The flauta making was very messy but they lasted me the entire week and were even tastier with guacamole. After I finished cooking, I put my nose in my clinical book before wanting to try another new recipe - Baked Oatmeal. It was very easy to put together and also lasted the entire week with some leftovers placed in the freezer. Very healthy & made my morning breakfast interesting and easier. 

I had to pee in a cup for the Nursing school to rule out I'm not a druggie before heading to workout with my trainer, Sean. Yes, Shelby & I share the same trainer at Gold's Gym but we don't partake in workouts together...yet. She's been so busy that I've taken her time slots to fit my schedule. Sean kicks my ass. Arms are always at the beginning of the week and he just is trying to put my shoulders out of commission. But I'm the weird kid that likes the pain before it happens, while it's happening and after it happens. Justin's afraid I'm going to get super buff and be too sexy for him to call me his girlfriend but I doubt it...I think God meant for me to be curvy and I'm totally okay with that!!

Tuesday was Hygiene Lab. The highlights of that was putting "patients" on bedpans, giving them a bed bath, changing linens on an occupied bed and having my teeth brushed by another student. That afternoon, I was asked to watch my favorite little man, G. Goerig, so that his Mommy could take his siblings and friends to a water park in CS. He was not happy his mommy left but calmed down to realize he was hungry and became a bottom-less pit to baby crackers, pureed fruit and rice cereal. And all while going back and forth from the kitchen, I WAS ABLE TO WITNESS HIS FIRST STEPS!!! I texted Abby wondering how many steps he had been taking and she informed me that he hadn't yet! Oh my gosh....proud babysitter moment yet very heart-broken I didn't get it on video for his parents! (please forgive me)

Wednesday came and went but I tried to stay as productive as possible so I would be able to go to yoga that evening. Our Informatics class is stressing me out because there are so many things to be done - read, study for quizzes, work on paper and ePortfolio, participate in online discussions and read some more. The only good thing that came from Wednesday besides Yoga was that I asked Professor Mountain about the Fall Clinical schedule and was granted the Friday off to fly out to New Orleans for Stacy & Jody's wedding!! So I got our (J & me) tickets booked for late Thursday night for a pretty damn good price = always love a bargain!

Thursday was the stress icing on the cake and I didn't want it to be but we were suppose to have a quiz and we didn't. We were instructed to buy a $180 access code. Got out of class early to be able to work on our projects, in which I got a tiny amount done out of the big piece of the puzzle. Ran around town picking up things for the Howdy Party the Wharton County Aggie Moms host, went to the ENT who gave me antibiotics and a steroid injection to help my ears and head not feel like crap and finally ended up at Gold's for my leg workout with Sean. Oh, kettle balls = sucks balls. Ask me about them later...and yes, Mother & Father, I know that's not appropriate...but it's the truth!

Now I'm just sitting at J's in Rosenberg working on my paper, writing this blog about my crazy life and waiting for his handsome booty to get home before we head to dinner. And tomorrow, Shelby & I are doing our field portion to Hunter's Safety so we can be certified to blast some ugly birds! And on top of it all, life isn't slowing down. Going, going, going is all I know and my t.v. time has cut down to almost nothing, in which I look at it in a healthier than bad way. But to slow down a little, I'm going to relax a little this evening with some great drinks and discussions and some shopping tomorrow before I put my nose back in my books. 

xo, A

1st Week Completed

Whew! I did it! I made it through my 1st official week of Nursing school and there were already some big changes!!

As of July 15th, Texas A&M Health Science Center is officially a part of the Texas A&M University system! WHOOP! I'm sure there are a lot of great things that will be happening but I think the best part of this merger is that my fellow classmates will be able to receive their Aggie Rings! Since receiving mine almost 2 years ago, many students were worried they wouldn't meet the requirements to receive one. And the impossible became possible! So excited that they will be able to participate in an amazing tradition. 

And on to the juicy details of my week...Mondays & Tuesdays I go to my Fundamentals lecture and lab. Lecture was over basics - vital signs, the nursing process, and general surveys. Lab was when we were able to get our hands on some vitals equipment and practice. Blood Pressure deemed to be the most difficult for everyone. My group of 5 practiced and practiced. Some girls had trouble palpating the brachial artery. The rest had trouble hearing the sounds through the stethoscope as we attempted to measure each other's BP. Because of this some of the professors allowed some to practice on them while advising to practice as much as possible and do not get checked off on our skills until we've measured 50 successful BPs. I hope when I start learning more, I remember to write out my acronyms or nursing lingo for y'all!  

Lab couldn't last too much longer because we were sent to attend our Scroll Ceremony. We were going to receive a scroll displaying the Nursing Code of Ethics. This year, they decided to do something a little different. Each one of my classmates and I were paired with a senior student to be our mentor. They gave us our scroll, led us to sign the "book" that will be kept forever and serves as a reminder that we signed to uphold the ethics and answered our questions during the lunch. My mentor is Chelsea. She has been married for almost 2 year and has her Bachelor's degree from A&M. I think she's smart, beautiful, funny, down-to-earth and very helpful. We've been messaging back and forth about school and other interests. Today, I asked her about the textbooks I need for Fall and gave me advice on which ones to buy or not. 

On Tuesday afternoons, the SIM lab is open for practice. So following the luncheon, my lab group went back up to get some more BP practice. It went ok but we decided to get more practice in on Wednesday so I scheduled a room. Dr. Livingston - one of the few male instructors on staff - gave some great advice. He said that we should practice and come to the SIM lab as much as possible. With that said, if he saw us in the lab other than our scheduled times, he would remember that and possibly be easier on us when we have our skill check-offs or exams. BROWNIE POINTS PLEASE!!!

Wednesday & Thursday were long...we learned about Ethics, Values and Culture and were introduced to our Librarian who lectured on how to research proficiently. Following that, we were introduced to our Health Care Issues paper, which is due August 1st. I'm pretty sure I'm writing mine on ObamaCare...hisssss... I was at Hoffer's Auto Care and Fox News had a segment that said the plan was going to increase the cost of health care for young, healthy Americans. I initially didn't know what to think about this because I'm not very political but since I'm going into the health care field, I need to learn about this and other legislation. So give me a few days and I'll have some knew knowledge... Oh, I also made a 100 on our 1st quiz...super proud of myself!

Hopefully I can get my paper done quickly and keep up with all of the reading because these 5 weeks are going to go by very quickly. I'm home this weekend. Justin needed to help his dad in the field and my Dad just returned home from an Aggie Safari. Heading upstairs to read and get some early zzz's since a train was SUPER LOUD at 0500 and I didn't really sleep after that. I'm officially in the early morning risers club...yay! No, that is sarcasm even though I've never really slept past 0930. 

Thank you for reading and prayers. I love y'all!

A

New Adventure!

Howdy! 

It's been awhile but I'm ready to keep my close family and friends updated during the newest adventure of my life - NURSING SCHOOL!!! Yet I had many other adventures in the past year - graduating from Texas A&M (Whoop!), moving to EC, substitute teaching, taking Microbiology at WCJC, babysitting, coaching 9/10 year old Little League softball, and training and competing in Triathlons. Whew! I kept myself busy but I had to because when I'm lazy.......it's bad.........so let's just not go there! But any who...

Mom helped me move back to College Station last Friday and it took 2 days to unpack and organize all the things I took home. What was terrible is that I only wore half the clothes I took home and used about 1/3 of the other things. Ridiculous, I know. Then on Monday, I had a Balloon Sinuplasty done to open my sinus passages. I thought I was allergic to other things besides mosquitoes - well I am - mold, dogs and pecan trees - but I kept getting sinus infections and felt like I couldn't breathe deep enough. It was successful and I'm just waiting for the after-effects to subside so I can get going again with staying in shape to do the next tri with Emily in October. 

Wednesday was the big day! I was nervous yet ready to get the ball rolling. We had a reading assignment posted the night before and I made sure to read it all just in case they bombarded us with a quiz or something. I had my lunch packed and my outfit picked out the night before. We have a dress code for class and for clinicals. They want us to look nice in case guests drop-in during class = no shorts. And if you know me, I was very upset with this. I live in athletic shorts and t-shirts! So I wore a comfy dress to appease them. The class we attend on Wed & Thursday's is Informatics and it runs from 0800 - 1330, with an hour lunch break at 1100.  Oh yes, the joy of learning military time! It covers technology and Electronic Health Records to prepare us for the evolving tech-savvy nature of our career field. It's boring. The 6 CHAPTERS we had to read for Thursday were so terrible that I couldn't remember what I read at the top of the page when I got to the bottom. We'll have a big online project and research paper to write but this class has no final - Whoop! 

Today, I have the day off. Mom had the electrician scheduled to install a light in our kitchen and he has come and gone. So I'm all by my lonesome, typing out my blog, re-arranging my Google calendar, reading for Monday's class and making sure I'm packed, ready and know where I'm going for the All-Star tourney in Seguin. By the way, I was coaching the 9/10 year old All-Star softball team before I moved to CS. I was enjoying it a lot even though my life was revolving around the practices. I really do love coaching and love those girls. That's why I'm going to pick up Justin and head to Seguin to make it to the 2000 (8 pm) game tonight. Wish us luck!!!

On Monday, I will go to my Fundamentals class lecture from 0830 to 1015. Just a basic class to learn how to take vitals, do assessments, bathing, transfers, etc. I was assigned to Tuesday morning's lab (0800-1200) which will take place in the Stimulation Lab or SIM lab or CLRC. So many names!!! And for this first two days of this class, we have to read about 200 pages from 3 different books and watch about 20 videos on vital signs and asepsis. Last night, I got started with marking all of the pages in the books and watching all of the vitals videos. Today, I started reading from one book. Upon completing those pages, I'll probably read from the HUGE fundamentals book - I swear it's 5 inches thick! - and wash some laundry. 

I've come to the conclusion they're going to keep up on our toes for these first 5 weeks. Yes, it's a lot of reading and we're in the classroom about 15 hours a week. One of the projects in Info has already been introduced and I will start working on that today also but time management will become my friend and enemy. Yes, I want to go workout with my trainer at Gold's. Yes, I want to be lazy and watch some of my favorite shows...cough, cough, Big Bang Theory. Yes, I want to go take riding lessons and play with ponies. Yes, I want to sit on Pinterest for hours and try the new recipes or crafts I find but I am on a mission. A mission to one day do what the Lord has set out for me to accomplish - care for His people. And in order to get to that point, I need to become successful every day by becoming a better student, staying on top of assignments and chores and balancing all of it in the short amount of time I have between everything! 

Of course, I'm nervous. It's going to be a tough 2 years. I have things I want to do but they have to be placed on the back burner so that I can get through this. Hopefully, the Lord hears my prayers and guides me to do my best, spend my time purposefully and fulfill His will for me. So if you don't mind, please say a little prayer for me. I will be so appreciative for that and cannot wait to share many stories and knowledge with y'all in the future!

The picture above is my goal. At orientation, the Dean told us to write it down and put it where we would see it every day. One rough days, seeing it could possibly make those hard days a little less stressful, knowing that we're working towards something amazing. 

Y'all come back now, ya hear?! 
Alexis

P.S. And yes, I know it's been a year since I last posted on this site. My excuses are that I was very overwhelmed with school, graduating, forgetting about this blog and la-ti-da whatever else!

P.S.S. Justin and I started dating in November. He's my man and I'm very, very blessed to be called his other half. It may not be the best situation (living 2 hours apart) but we have a concrete relationship and understand each other's goals so that one day, hopefully, we will be able to live & work in the same vicinity.