Things I learned this week and things that happened:

1)  Things are easier when you’ve been totally petrified and stressed, or at least your body has adapted.

2)  This semester is going to be CRAZY, I’m going to be all over the map and back ~ but it will be fun.

3)  Dollar Store pantyhose have NO SUPPORT at all, by the end of 8 hrs you have wrinkly ankles and can have six second tenting during a turgor test on the shin bone area ~ which proves dehydration. :)

4)  I was voted in as vice-president of my class!!  Working alongside EP and KP…it’s going to be a great experience.  AB is our faculty representative.

5)  It’s frowned upon when you spell Nursing as Nurseing on your binder cover.

Un-school related…

6)  I found out just how far a person can squat without actually sitting on the floor.

7)  Poo-Paper is not for everyone!  Support the Elephants, purchase poo-paper!!

We have some great teachers and I think this semester is going to be a good one…IF I can motivate my mind to get back into the books.  It’s amazing what a month will do to study skills and responsibilities.  I need to get motivated and fast, I have a test coming quick.

My brother went to the doctor today, they will possibly be changing his medications for the MS.  He started exercising about a month ago, and he had some improvement in his feet (Praise the Lord), now to just start working on the rest of him.  God’s a healer, I still believe that, but sometimes God’s time frame and method does not fit what our mortal minds think-up or desire.  We just have to continue trusting Him.

I started an exercise program this week made up for me by a local Personal Trainer, or one who has received his license and is helping me while I help him get training on how to train.  It’s a win, win.  The only losing I see going on is me and my eating habits.  One of the main things my trainer has pounded into my head is that you CANNOT OUT EXERCISE A BAD DIET.  Ok, maybe pounded is a harsh work…he’s spoken and emailed it to me about four times…but hey, for someone who likes her ice cream and cereal it felt like a pounding.  I can do really good for like three days then I have a CRASH day, and the recovery is hard.  My old motto used to be that I would work out so I could eat what I wanted…that’s also probably why I never saw any results.  I need a list of this is what you are eating today and nothing else type thing to get my stomach shrunk and a grasp on my whole weight control part of this training I’m doing.  I’m terrible.  My goal is to do better, we’ll see what happens.  The actual exercise is going well, I have muscles that I didn’t know existed.  If you properly perform squats, lunges, and push-ups…not to mention planks; a person can be sore.

It’s been a good week.  Now to just get going on everything and into the groove of study time and homework.

Until Later…

ERM

I’ve been off school for about a month, there has been so much and so little that has happened.  I took a mini-vaca and went back to work full time; but other than that nothing went down this past month.  I was able to spend some time with friends and then realized that I don’t really have that many friends.  LOL.  During my first semester I thought that my study habits and full schedule of two jobs, school, and church kept me from having a full social schedule.  Apparently it’s that I don’t have anyone to be social with.  Everyone has either gotten married, had children, or started dating…leaving an older college student to drift.  But I’m making new friends and building relationships that will keep me sane.  One day at a time.

Things I was able to see/experience this month:  Sky lanterns: very cool ~ I was impressed with them.  Being a friend.  Finding out that a good family friend lost his son, who was my age, in a car accident.  There’s crazy diseases out there (i.e. Stevens-Johnson’s Syndrome) that happen to people you know.

I have come to realize over this past month that sometimes we live life to the fullest, giving our all to the One who gave us life and going at it one-hundred percent.  Sometimes we live life on the outskirts, not giving it our all, wanting to be what we know we ought but not completely succeeding…but trying.  And then sometimes we do what we can to hasten the end that we know we all will face not caring what happens, still going about our daily lives but barely living.  Other times we hit the spectrum of all three options, going from one extreme to the other with pit stops along the way.  I want to be all that I can be, and mainly what God wants me to be.  Do I always succeed at this?  NO.  Do I give it my one-hundred percent?  NO.  Most of the time I fail miserably.  I do hope that I get it figured out eventually, and that I can be a friend worth having and someone that is willing to give of myself and my time to those who need it.  Being an example, shinning the Light of the One who created me and gave me life and salvation.  It’s a daily processes, I fail most of the time and other times I think I have it and then realize that I missed an important component.  But just as with nursing school…it’s one day at a time.  That’s the only way it can be.  I will succeed.  I will make it…one day at a time.

My goals for this year…to actually start eating more healthy ~ not just one or two days at a time; to read my Bible more often and pray ~ building a relationship (gasp) with the One I KNOW loves me regardless; to get into shape and keep my body as healthy as possible as this invisible disease (MS) attacks me from the inside out.  Life is worth it.  Relationships are worth it.  It’s just has to be taken…’one day at a time’.

ERM

Here’s to the year to come and the year that has just past!

ERM

Merry Christmas!!  I cannot believe that it is this time of year again, 2011 is almost over and it seems like just yesterday that we were ringing in the new year.  So much and so little has happened this year that I do not know where to start.  At one time I was a great corresponder, I would write out Christmas cards make my ‘holiday’ letter and send them to people I barely knew as long as your address was in my address book and I kinda/sorta knew you.  Now you’re lucky if you get a ‘howdy’.  I’m terrible.  I’m also a broke college student with very little time on my hands; therefore I’m going the easy route and writing a blog that I will make available to everyone (via email, facebook, or if you know my web address) and I’ll call it even ~ though for those that sent me cards and letters I do feel guilty for not returning the favor.  Just know that you are WORTH .44 cents, the cost of an envelope and paper to me…but to get you updated and to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year within this year, this was my route I had to take.  (Please forgive me!!)

This year was very random and also structured for me.  After finally deciding what I wanted to be when I grew up, at the age of 33,  I started the year off by testing for the RN Nursing program at Three Rivers College.  I tested in February and then had to wait until April to find out if I made it into the program; that was a VERY long two months.  I finally received my acceptance letter and knew that fall of 2011 was planned out for me; I would be starting the RN nursing program and hopefully the career that would take me into retirement.  I started the semester in August, and I’m pretty sure I will never be the same.  I knew it was going to be hard, and the work load was going to be more than in the past, but can honestly say that I was not prepared for what hit me that first morning of classes…nor the four months that followed.  Every day was a learning experience, with some highs and lows.  But I made it!!  I passed my first semester and we will continue on.

This is the uniform I get to wear for clinical days during school.  It’s better than some, and probably worse than some.  The top is a half-zipper shirt, instead of unzipping all the way down, it stops at about navel level…therefore you’re still pulling it off over your head.  Sometimes I feel like a gym contortionist.  And don’t miss the WHITE hose and shoes that top the outfit off, they add that special umph.  :)

In June my mom’s family (The Phillips) did a family reunion in Van Buren, MO.  It was great getting to meet everyone and spend the day/weekend with them.  Family is a great commodity!!  Some of her cousin’s couldn’t make it down for the reunion, so in July we hopped in the car and did a mini-vacation to Michigan to spend Fourth of July weekend with the Rowe’s.  It was a GREAT weekend spent with family, eating way to much food, adding a ‘CITY’ to my list of places I’ve been, and relaxing.

School started shortly after and I basically did nothing but eat, breath, and live school.  It was so bad that I didn’t step into a store other than Wal-Mart for four months.  In December (actually October when practices started), I took the part of Petunia in the annual Dinner Theater our church does (Christmas At Our House), we went for nine nights with approximately 350/night.  So we performed in front of about 3100 people that week, the women in the kitchen feed them (that’s A LOT of food), and the hard working people from the church pitched in and gave of themselves to bring joy to people in our community to kick off their Christmas season.  Sometimes I question my own sanity in taking on that endeavor with everything else (school, two jobs, and life in general); but it was worth it.  I love getting to see everyone from year to year, and being in the play is a lot of fun…and I survived so it’s all o.k. :)

When school let out after finals I took another mini-vacation to St. Louis and Columbia, MO.  I took a side trip to Devils ]Icebox one day.  It was a great time to relax, bum around the city, and do nothing.  Trying to regroup so I can start fresh com January 17 (when classes open again).  The time in God’s Country USA (otherwise known as National Forest), was great.  It was beautiful.

That wraps up my year of 2011.  Hope you enjoyed the update.  I would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!  May we never forget the meaning of the Season, and give Him the acknowledgement He deserves for all He does for us behind the scenes and openly; not only during this Season but throughout the year.  God has been good to me this year, He has supplied my needs (financially and physically) and He has been there to help me through the lows and to walk with me through the highs of the past year.  Without Him I would be nothing.  I may not always be what I need to be, or the perfect person…but I know that He loves me.

I do hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year…

ERM

]]> http://eleishamarch.com/2011/12/merry-christmas-and-happy-new-year/feed/ 1 http://eleishamarch.com/2011/12/my-mini-vaca-hermit-hood/ http://eleishamarch.com/2011/12/my-mini-vaca-hermit-hood/#comments Sun, 18 Dec 2011 01:11:42 +0000 admin http://eleishamarch.com/?p=336 Ah!  I love sitting down and knowing that I have nothing what-so-ever that I have to do at this moment.  The past month or so has been beyond crazy (CAOH practice, school, work…Nine-night run of CAOH, finals, work).  I had started grinding my teeth to the point that I had hamburger for cheeks in the mornings (Hello Night Guard!!), my arm and face were numb (due to the MS), and I was telling my-self ‘just a day at a time’.  That’s really all we can do, is take it a day at a time…if we succeed that day then we can mark the day off with pride.  If we mess up and make mistakes then we just have to say ‘tomorrow’s a new day’ and face it with all the determination to do it right.  Enough about all that, I’m on VACATION!! Or have joined the hermit-hood for five days.

My mini-vaca started with a day and a-half in St. Louis.  Thursday was a monumental day…I stepped into a store that was something other than Wal-Mart for the first time in four months.  I live in a part of the world that it’s a good two hours to get to any type of shopping; and every time that I attempted to get out of town for a day something came up…or more often than not my bed held more appeal to me than getting into a vehicle and driving for two hours.  I hit goodwill, Plato’s closet, TJMax…all the good stores that are easy on the pocket book but still have good deals.  I topped Thursday night off with dinner with Mel (we viewed pics from her trip to Vietnam and caught up) and then some quiet TV time.

Friday morning I went to see my neurologist, to see how things were going with my central nervous system.  He was happy with were I was, I passed the sobriety style test (touch nose with finger, then touch dr finger; walk a straight line heel to toe; muscle strength, etc.)…he wants me to keep up with the gym/exercise/and diet.  I just need to get committed and do this without delays.  Regardless, this is my life and health that I’m dealing with.

I left St. Louis and headed to Columbia.  More discount stores, goodwills, and consignment shops.  I have fallen in love with Columbia.  It’s a small-big city, with a lot of character.  I stepped into a mall for the first time today (Saturday) ~ CRAZY.  It was a little crowded.  I can’t imagine why, it’s only eight days before Christmas…but wow, I had forgotten how crazy it could be.  But a cool thing happened, I went to the food court to find some substance so I could continue on my way and I sat down to eat and a girl I went to college with at Gateway (who lives in Mexico, MO) came up and asked if I wanted to join her and her daughter.  We haven’t seen one another in awhile…it was cool, and great to catch up.  It’s a small world we live in!!

I ate Indian food for the first time on Friday night with Dust-Man.  We meet at the India House in COMO.  It’s not what I was expecting at all.  The appetizer we had was great (cheese stuffed bread, can’t go wrong there); but my actual food was a spinach/chicken dish…that basically looked like baby food with chunks in it.  It wasn’t very stove hot when it came out, so I was eating lukewarm baby food.  It was o.k., but maybe next time I’ll try something new with someone that knows what to order. :)  No more baby food!!

I went to Devil’s Icebox today (Sat, Dec 17).  It’s part of the Rock Bridge Mark Twain National Forest Park.  It was pretty cool.  There are trails everywhere and they’ve built a board walk through the wood that you can follow, and you get miles and step climbing that made for a great work-out for the day.  I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t allowed down into where the cave was, but it was still pretty cool.  Want to come back when it’s a little warmer and I have a companion, so in-case I get turned around I won’t be alone, nor be lost for ever without anyone knowing. :)

I passed my first semester of RN school.  I came out with two B’s.  I’m a little bummed, but hey they are better than C’s and I will accept them at this point.  I just have to try harder next semester, and the fact that I get to continue is GREAT.  Looking forward to next semester, we’re going into Mental Health and Med Surge.

I have two days left of my vacation, i.e. hermit-hood.  One will be spent on travel.  It’s been a good weekend.  Good time off.  Now to buckle down and get as much work in as possible, save some money, and get ready to head back to school in three weeks.  Fill some scholarship forms out…and find a pot of gold!

Here’s to relaxation, vacation, old/new friends…it’s what life is all about sometimes!!  Now I need to go put all my receipts in my check-book and see where I stand financially! :)

ERM

We did a post-play cast party at Steak-n-Shake last night (for those w/o children) with some other friends/workers of the cast and crew…at midnight.  Kinda crazy I know, I’m getting to old for this.  But my peppermint shake was very tasty and it was great getting to relax and hang out with friends.  Then of course we had to hit Wal-Mart; if you go to PB you have to go to Wally-World ~ we have nothing else. :)

Things that went down while we were immersed in CAOH:

Albert Pujols left the Cardinals.  It was actually very humorous to see the reactions of all the ‘fans’ about this.  My take on the situation:  He’s getting older, who in their right mind would not lock in a ten year deal where they are making $25 mil MORE than they are now, have the guarantee to get paid regardless if he plays or not, and will more than likely be a DH getting paid that much.  Is the price crazy?  Yes.  Do I wish I could make that much a year doing something that I like with thousands of people cheering me on?  Yes.  I see it as a win for Pujols ~ he secured his future.  We’re still the Cardinals regardless of who is on the team…and we’ll be just as good/bad without him as we were with him.  Go CARDS!!!

I took two HESI exams (something like achievement test in grade school) and I passed them.  I have found that I will more than likely not be a first responder nurse; I have issues picking the ‘What I Will Do First’ option of the answers ~ that was a low point in my overall grading.  But other than that I will be a safe nurse, follow the rules, and have great patient care…according to the test.

Well…I’ve wasted enough time.  My dryer buzzer is telling me it’s time to get moving, my clock is telling me I’m going to be late for church, and my mind is mush and not sure what I’m typing anymore.  Hope everyone has a great week, I’m looking forward to mine ~ final and all!!

ERM

Now onto other subjects.  I have two test left of my first semester of RN school.  TWO TEST.  Of course I have to pass the test (and should actually be studying instead of making a blog post about it), but looking back over the past four months I’m in awe.  It has been a roller coaster ride that I wasn’t really prepared for, but I’ve learned a lot and I have a lot more to learn.  I’m comfortable in what I’ve done so far, but still scared spit-less to some degree when I think about it all.  I have three semesters left, more than likely filled with as much stress as I had this past one…but it will be worth it and I’m looking forward to walking across the stage (Lord willing) and being ‘pinned’ with my nursing pin.

I have TWO weeks before I take a mini-vacation to parts unknown.  Well possible not ‘unknown’ just foreign to me since school started.  I get to go to STL, with a side trip to COMO!!  I’m more than excited.  I haven’t seen a mall in four months.  I haven’t been able to people watch or relax. Of course my vacation is kickin’ off with a visit to my neurologist, but as long as I can walk a straight line and touch my nose…things should be good. :)  I’m looking forward to this…and excited to be able to see some friends.

Need to wrap this up and get going on some homework…then work…then practice…then work again.  I have Count Dracula from Sesame Street in my head; he says we have TWO days (ah, ah, ah), TWO TEST (ah, ah, ah), TWO weeks (ah, ah, ah)…we have TWO. :)

Later,

ERM

I’ve been doing a ’30 Days of Thankfulness’ on Facebook, each day putting what I’m thankful for.  I started off on a roll, but one the basics were gone (family, church, job, car), I hate to say this but it’s getting hard to think of things to put down.  Yes I’m thankful, but a majority of the stuff is lumped into categories and sometimes I miss the simple basic things.  I still have half a month to do…things could get creative. :)

This past week has been beyond crazy.  One day I was on cloud nine, feeling good about a lot of stuff, even received a random text that made me smile.  I should have known that the wind was about to be sucked out of my sails.  I ended the week rowing my little ol’ heart out…I believe I got caught in a riptide and I just kept going in circles.  One day it will all be worth it.  Hopefully as I continue on this journey some things will get weeded out and I will find some peace.  Maybe I’ll get weeded out and others will have peace. :)  Life is crazy, and it’s stuff like this that keeps one going…with ulcers. LOL.

Looking forward to the coming weeks.  Christmas At Our House starts in twelve days.  TWELVE DAYS!!  I must get busy learning my lines. :)  When CAOH ends, so does our semester, then I’m headed to STL for some R&R and a doctor appointment.  Ready for some time off.  One day at a time, one day at a time.

Later,

ERM.

The weather finally broke today.  It was 80 degrees in November, kinda crazy, and very humid.  But tonight it rained and the weather is supposed to cool down…we may actually have Thanksgiving weather for Thanksgiving…which will be good.  I’m tired of not knowing what season of clothing to wear – winter vs. summer.

Christmas at Our House is two weeks from this Friday.  Opening night is Friday, December 2.  Not sure how ready or prepared that we’ll be, we have yet to actually start practicing the play (with accents, actions, and anecdotes); oh well, God willing everything will come together.  If not, we’ll fall on our faces and the drama department will eventually understand the importance of practice and focus. :)

Need to run…plenty of reading yet to do.  Almost done…three more chapters to read, though one of them is about 80 pages long. :-(

Later,

ERM

Now onto my title…what motivates me.  I want to be healthy, and with the MS it’s even more important that I take care of my body and exercise and try to eat right.  BUT I think my motivation came from wanting to be skinny and here lately I just don’t care. :)  I’ve been a terrible eater lately, and I’m only going to the gym about twice a week.  I still am motivated to go, but I think if my mentality goes back to the healthy standpoint instead of the desire to be skinny that it will be easier.  It’s very easy to decide that being skinny isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and I will just be fat…whereas if I want to be healthy for a lifelong goal/endeavor it will change my outlook on ‘having’ to give up all the good food that has become a comfort to me the past month as I trudge through the final part of semester one. :)

So here’s to being HEALTHY and not just skinny!! <clink, clink> :)

Need to run…have a care plan, an assessment, and a journal to write.  Oh the joys!

ERM