It's Official!

I just received my Authorization To Test for my NCLEX-RN exam this afternoon...and I've scheduled my demise, er, I mean my test date. Hehe. *drumroll*

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 @ 8:00am

***Dun-dun-dun***

Randomness

Hey there! I finally have some "down-time" and thought I'd update. I'm not in the writing/editing mood, however, so you're all going to have to deal with a bullet-point style update. :-)

--Went shopping with my mom yesterday and got an awesome rug set for our house on clearance...more than 50% off! AND I found a totally cute black w/ white flowers skirt. :-)

--Went grocery shopping today using my grocery game thing and spent a grand total of $48 and SAVED a total of $136. Yes I did! Got several things for free...

--Going to a wedding tonight. I love weddings...brings back memories and gives me goosebumps (happy goosebumps!). Why does one's wedding day go by so fast?? I can't believe it's been 2 1/2 years...

--Going to California this next weekend with Scott's family. Knottsberry Farm and the beach...here we come!!

--I'm nervous about my big NCLEX test. Don't know why, I just am. I don't have a test date yet, I'm waiting to reveive my ATT letter (Approval To Test) from the state. My review course is June 4-7th.

--23 feels the same as 22 and 21 and 20 and.... Yeeeaaaah....I don't feel any older.

--I am loving my job! Working more than 1 day at a time gives me the opportunity to really connect and bond with my patients. I've even been able to turn a few "bad stays" into "good stays". Last week 2 out of my 4 patients on one day had "mommy melt-downs" as soon as I walked into their rooms in the morning. They were both exhausted and overwhelmed (3 days post unplanned cesarean deliveries), frustrated with breastfeeding and babies who were losing too much weight, and needed some TLC. By the end of the day the tears were gone and they were BOTH happy and had gotten some much needed rest, and the babies were eating much better. I had help from my wonderful preceptor of course, but it is fun and fulfilling to be able to turn someone's day around like that...and then have them thank you and say you made all the difference. *Happy sigh*

--I KNOW I have more to say but I am drawing a blank right now...

--Will be joining LA Fitness in a couple months with my friend Angela. We plan to take some classes together...I really want to try kickboxing. :-)

--First mortgage check goes out tomorrow. Good feeling. :-)

--We will be taking Scott's dog, Elvis (a beagle), to our house in a week or so. He has been at Scott's parent's house for the past several years since Scott got him, and now that we (finally!) have a backyard, he can come live with us!! It will be interesting to see what the cats think of him...Elvis is used to cats, he lives with 3 of them right now...but our cats have NEVER lived with a dog. Maybe I should pop some popcorn and invite the whole family over for some entertainment when we introduce them all....hehehe. :-P

--I want to learn Spanish. Once I pass my RN test, Spanish is my next big aspiration.

--I am excited to start working night shift.

--It's time for me to go start getting ready for the wedding we're going to!!

~Abigail~

I'm Gradu-ma-tated!!

That's a word my friend Bonnie and I used when we graduated from high-school....and I finally get to use it again!! :-D The pinning ceremony was last night, and was so amazing!! It was awesome to be the one on the stage with the gown and name being called and congratulations from instructors, classmates, family and friends! So fun!! Now it's like...um, okay, it's all over...now I have to WAIT some more to take my NCLEX review class the first week of June to prepare for the *the test* (cue dooming music)...then take *the test*....then wait for my results...THEN (hopefully) I can add the initials RN to my name!! :-D :-D

My co-workers threw a graduation party for me this past Tuesday, which was so much fun!! My preceptor, Catherine, was the one who put in most of the work (and I imagine $$ too!) to pull it off, and it turned out so great!! I don't have any pictures, but I hope to get some eventually from some of my co-workers who came prepared with their cameras! I think the coolest thing there was a basket of stuff labeled "Night Shift Essentials". Here's what it had in it: Reynold's Wrap (to cover the windows), a cute sleep mask, a "restful sounds" CD, Dr. Pepper and Red Bull (caffeine!), Tums and Aleve for inevitable issues due to an awkward schedule, Smart Water, Bubble Gum, Tic Tacs, several types of energy bars...and I think I'm forgetting a few things...but it was so cute!! Catherine gave me a cute PJ's set to go along with the "night shift" idea. Hehe! :-) And very thoughtful of all of them to put together for me! All the night shift girls signed the card for me, too! I've never worked a night shift at Mercy in my 3 years of working there, so it was really sweet of them to think of me like this and welcome me to their shift!! I won't be switching for a couple more months yet, but I am excited to get to know all of them better! MUCH thanks goes to Catherine for putting the pot-luck and party together for me! YOUR'E THE BEST!!

As if this month isn't busy enough already, tomorrow is my birthday!! This is my last day to be 22!!! Where has the time gone?? I know 23 isn't old, but when you're a kid and thinking about being an adult, it seems SOOOO far away...heck when you're 10 even 18 seems like a lifetime away...and for a 10 year old, it practically IS!! When I turned 18 I thought I was so old and mature (old in the sense that I was proud to be an adult...and SO much older than my 16 and 17 year old friends! Lol.) Old and mature....HA! Now I think, wow...18? That was 5 years ago. FIVE YEARS!!! Really, already? I didn't know ANYTHING back then! I wonder what I'll say about myself at 23 five years from NOW. *Sigh* I don't know what I'm trying to say. No I don't feel old. But I don't feel 23 either. The number doesn't match how I feel or think of myself at ALL. I suppose that's how it's always going to be, huh? *shrugs* Twenty-three, here I come!! Please don't go as fast as your predecessors?? Please?? I would like to enjoy and savor every minute of you. Thank you Lord for the opportunity and blessing of another year!! I wonder what and where this new year will bring me?

On the HOME front, we are almost entirely moved in. In fact, I spent the majority of the morning doing routine cleaning...not the move-in type, that was done a couple weeks ago...but you know, the "this has to be done every week or so" type of cleaning, the type of cleaning that makes it feel like you actually live there. *Happy smile* I was cleaning MY house!! :-D :-D So by ALMOST entirely moved in, I really mean that the only thing we have left to do is declutter the guest room. The miscellaneous boxes were all stacked in that room, so we need to sort through those and put stuff away, but other than that...we were done within a couple days of moving in (thanks to all our friends and family who helped us!!)! We even hosted two dinners the weekend after moving in. The first was my grandpa and my family, we wanted to have my grandpa over for dinner before he took off back to Montana to escape the heat (which he did a few days later...), and the second was a big Mother's Day get-together with my whole family and most of Scott's family. It was a lot of fun! And I made a Teapot cake to celebrate the occassion. :-) I will do a picture post one of these days....maybe...or you all can just look at the pictures I post on Facebook...it's easier to do it there.

ANYWAY, it has been a busy few weeks, and then next few are going to be just as busy: birthday, working full time again, CPR renewal, a wedding shower/wedding for a friend, another family birthday, weekend trip to California, then my NCLEX review class....

Don't be suprised if you don't hear much from me for the rest of the month!! I will do my best to throw in a couple of updates, but I make no promises! :-)

~Abigail~