Welcome to 2014

Hey there and happy new year! It's been a little over 2 months since I last checked in because nursing school is keeping me so busy. By the time I'm done with my 12 hours of studying for the day, the last thing I want to do is type out a blog post... plus, my life doesn't change much day-to-day. Boring!

I realize I haven't shared any photos of our new house so I'll make a point to do so in the future. However, I have a few pictures I can share today that show the intermediate steps of our home improvement projects so you'll get a little peek into the money-pit we call home!

Just recently, Trevor and I adopted a 4 year old pup from our local humane association - we named her Maggie. She's as sweet as pie and is the perfect dog for us. Talk about unexpected, though! We just went to put in a general application to be approved for future adoptions and saw her sweet face. We met her and had submitted an application to take her home before we left. The day after Christmas, they called and told her she was all ours! She's from Mississippi and is slowly adjusting to the -30 degree windchill days we have around this time of year but her favorite thing to do is to cuddle with us under a heating blanket. We are so blessed to have a happy, healthy pup like Maggie!

We've also been staying busy with fixing things around the house. Before we even bought the house, we knew that we'd need to work on some landscaping before winter hit because the soil around our house was sloping towards the foundation which was basically sending the water down the footings and making our sump pumps (yes, two!) work overtime. We had about 5 different basement people look at the house while we were in escrow to make sure it wasn't an expensive issue... and thank goodness it wasn't: all we had to do was hire a landscaping company to come take out our walkways, truck in two dump trucks full of soil, spread it out, and regrade everything so the water flows away from our house. After being stood up by a company earlier this fall, we found a local place that agreed to do the work within our budget if we would take out the walkways. So we rented a jackhammer (uh, yeah, check that off the bucket list!).

And then found out that 1) our neighbors are incredibly tolerant of jackhammering noise. Nobody complained, not once! and 2) idiots lived here some time before us and decided it would be really cool to layer concrete over concrete over concrete. This meant, there were areas of the jackhammer project that required us to get through over a foot of concrete - which we had to do in layers. It's funny to think about now but it was FAR from hilarious when it happened.

We've also done a lot of painting around here! We painted our bedroom less than a week after we moved in (because Trevor wasn't enjoying sleeping in a pink bedroom) and I've been slowly - SLOWLY - working on painting all of the trim in the house white since then. Here's a look at our bedroom with grey-blue walls and white trim...

...and the built-ins in the hallway.

During Christmas break, I had a chance to sit back and gather my thoughts about where I want this house to go, updates wise, and I made out a "short" list that I'll be sharing with you soon. It's the list of things I'd like to get done in the next six months, which makes me believe that I am crazy. You'll understand when you see just how long the list is!

School starts up again this Sunday, the 5th and our clinicals start on the 7th. I'm really excited to get back into the hospital and work with patients but I'm also incredibly nervous that I'll be partly responsible for the care of my patients in a capacity I've never had before. Butterflies in my tummy doesn't even begin to describe it!

At the same time, I'm also so excited to see my nursing school friends again! We've all only met in person once - during orientation last September - but we've been working so closely online through discussions, projects, readings, and exams that I feel so much closer to these 29 people than I do to some of my friends who are local! Some of my classmates are arriving on Saturday, some on Monday, and we have a couple of dinners already planned for us to just catch up on life. It's corny, but these people have kept me going through the content that I couldn't wrap my head around (hello, nephrons and acid/base balances!) so it's going to be great seeing them all in person again.

Christmas and New Years were pretty low-key around these parts, so I don't have much to share... however, I want to know how yours went! Did you get to spend time with family from far away? Did you get some great gifts? Did you fall asleep before midnight like we did?

I'm not apologizing for being so absent the past couple of months because I am working so hard at school getting to a point of reaching my dream, but I am letting you know that I've thought about this little blog and all of you, my readers, often during my break. I can't promise that you'll be seeing a lot more of me around here, but I can promise that if you follow me on Instagram @YouAndMeAreWe that you'll get more real-time updates and none of this two-month-catch-up stuff! I'm notorious for sharing pictures of house projects, school stuff, and sleeping dogs - come join me!

Break!

Hi there!

It's been three weeks since I've had a chance to come up for air and I'm so glad I'm finally able to update you with our new house and how school's been going.

So, last time I checked in, I was just about to start my first class of the Accel Nursing BSN program. Well, that class has come and gone! We covered 36 chapters in 14 days, including 500+ PowerPoint slides, 4 quizzes, and 4 exams. In the hours leading up to our final on Friday, I was nervous and knew what grade I needed to get to get an A- in the class (my goal). Turns out, I totally blew my expectations out of the water and ROCKED the exam!

Here's what my first week of school looked like:

And my second week:

And just last week:

So, yes, basically I sit in front of my computer chugging away at my homework, writing papers, discussing topics with classmates, and going over PowerPoints.

But the house, oh, the house!

So we moved in on a Sunday less than 12 hours before school started and literally unpacked all evening, every evening for what seemed like weeks and weeks. In full disclosure, we still haven't unpacked in our guest room/office/craft room.

The Wednesday after moving, we finally closed on the house so it's officially, 100% ALL OURS!

But the night before we closed, the rods in our closets came tumbling down which left Trevor to break out the power tools at 9:30pm.

After painting our bedroom, I switched to a much quicker project of painting an unfinished piece of wood in our guest bathroom. It only took two coats with four hours of dry time between, but it really pulls the whole room together!

And we've made sure to make time for each other and take a few walks around our new neighborhood to scope it out. We found this gorgeous tree less than a block away!

So, what have I missed around here?! Update me! Link me to your favorite posts! Tell me everything!

And of course, don't forget to follow me on Twitter & IG @YouAndMeAreWe to stay up to date on my adventures as a new homeowner and a nursing student!

Moving

I know it's been a week since my last update and I'm sorry for that. First I had three days of nursing school orientation that left me feeling incredibly exhausted and overwhelmed. Add to that two 12-hour days of work training for a new charting system that's going live soon, plus one very persistent sore throat/head cold... and that brings us to Wednesday. Since then, our house deal has been teetering on the brink of not-going-to-happen due to having hired apparently the slowest appraisers EVER.

As of last night, we're moving into our first home on Sunday. We'll be renting from the seller for a few days until the paperwork moves through the system and we can close later in the week. But basically that means I've been on the phone all morning (literally - the phone woke me up and I've already had to recharge it this morning!) arranging utility transfers, internet set up, and UHaul truck rentals.

Oh, and don't forget that nursing school officially starts on Monday and I have what seems like six trillion pages to read before then. When I say the program is accelerated, I mean that for every one DAY of class for us, it's equal to one WEEK of class in a traditional program. Our first quiz and exam are both on Thursday... after we read 500 pages and complete a project.

I've been going back and forth about what to do with You and Me are We while I'm in school. I have added pressure to write on a frequent basis because some very kind souls decided they wanted to sponsor YAMAW. After much thought, I've decided to continue my blogging adventure but slow things down quite a bit. If I have a busy week with school, you may not see much of me but if I can find time, I'll be on Twitter and Instagram daily!

I'm not setting a posting goal for myself but please know that I'll be posting as much as I can! I have a few house update and house DIY posts that I'm itching to get going on.

I want this blog to be a reflection of my life - my real life. And for the next 12 months, my real life is going to be focused on becoming a nurse with some fun weekend house projects thrown in there. I've always promised that I would keep it real here and I don't sugar coat things, so there you have it.

Please, please, please follow along with me on Instagram (@YouAndMeAreWe) and Twitter (@YouAndMeAreWe) because chances are, I'll be hangin' around there before I pop onto Blogger to bust out a post or two!

Catch ya on the flip side (or, at least before Christmas break!)

Dear Friday

Dear Friday, today is the day that my new "life" begins. For the next 54 weeks I will EatSleepStudyRepeat nursing school. Today I am meeting 29 other brave souls who will be completing this program too. I'm nervous {why?! I'm a social person!} and scared that I'm going to fail.

Dear 2N family, thank you for the wonderful going away party on Tuesday. Your words were kind and exactly what I needed to hear to give me closure. I wasn't ready to leave behind such wonderful nurses but after a few things you said, I know I'm going down the right path. God willing, I will be back working with you all again in just over a year - this time as an RN!

Dear Trevor, this week has been full of work for you and not so full of time spent together. You do your thing, I'll do mine, and at the end of this crazy busy weekend we will make time to reconnect. It's pretty darn frustrating when you don't even have time to talk to your bed mate!

Dear friends, a few of you have exciting news which makes me want to just wrap you up in a huge hug and shout from the rooftops. And not tell anyone, of course.

Dear duplex, I'm totally not sad that we only have a week left living in you. Not sad one single bit!

Dear paperwork, we've been waiting for you to show up so we could get the final closing date on the house. Looks like you're not available today even though we were told you would be. You better hurry up and get to where you need to be because if you don't get your act together, this house deal could fall through. And that would mean we will be homeless come September 30th. Get it together!

Dear weather, please try to stay warmish for a while still. Trevor and I need the temperatures to be high enough that we can do a bunch of landscaping work at the new house. And with all of these delays, the ground better not be frozen by the time we get the keys to the house!

Dear YOU!, have a fantabulous weekend! I'll be hanging with my new pals at nursing school orientation. If you want a sneak peek as to what I'll be up to {new friends, good food, late nights, new technologies!} follow me on Twitter and IG @YouAndMeAreWe - catch ya on the flip side!

Project: Do You #17

Today's Project: Do You post is going to be the last one. I don't know if I should be sad it's over or if I should be excited that everything's checked off!

Let's do a quick run down on how things went:

#1 - Read one book per month. Pretty darn self explanatory, right?

#2 - Work out on a regular basis. I was doing much better at this before my wisdom teeth surgery at the end of June, but since then I've stayed active at home rather than going to the YMCA 3-4 days a week.

#3 - Run a 5K. I ran/walked The Color Run on Sunday with 5 other teammates. We did incredibly well - seriously, I'm so impressed! - and I'm ready to sign up for another one already! It was so.much.fun!!

#4 - Add another 2K to the vacation fund. This one went out the window when a house came into the picture. It would be silly to put money in a fund that we won't use until late 2014 at the earliest, especially because more money that we can put towards a house, the less money we'll be in debt to our mortgage lender!

#5 - Plan a date night ahead of time for each month. This doesn't take a lot of explanation.

#6 - Enjoy a weekend away with Trevor. And it was a relaxing one at that!

#7 - Shape eyebrows. I finally was happy with the shape a few months back... and I've been pretty happy since then, too!

#8 - Finish our wedding scrapbook. I know it didn't say this on the list, but this was a summer goal. Now that summer's over for me, this is done and over with as well. It's not close to being done, but there's just simply much bigger and better fish to fry. I still have everything I need and I may have a scrapbooking weekend with my mom sometime in the future, but it's just not high priority right now.

#9 - Travel more. I had checked this off a while ago and I've since planned another trip to Chicago with Whitney in a couple weeks. I'm excited!

#10 - Learn to say no more often. I put this on the list because I felt that I was kind of getting walked all over at work. I'm still sticking to my guns and saying no when I don't want to pick up extra shifts at the drop of a hat.

#11 - Make more time for crafting. I finished a table, a bookcase, and a dresser within the past week and they look fantastic. I'm also in the middle of finding stuff for a gallery wall {leave links to your favorite free printables in the comments below!!} Crafting is a nice relaxer for me and I'm loving it in my life right now!

#12 - Get out of my comfort zone more often. Rule number one: Nothing about starting an accelerated nursing program with 29 strangers or buying a house is within your comfort zone.

#13 - Share our wedding on the blog. So glad I did this!!

#14 - Attend a concert. Checkity, check. And, Trevor and I are thinking about going to Chicago for another concert the first weekend of October!

#15 - See a Broadway show. BOM was amazing!

#16 - Get hearing tested again/look into surgery. It's good to know where my hearing stands and what my surgical options are. I'm not planning on going under the knife quite yet, but I'm glad I had the appointment.

#17 - Bake someone a birthday cake. I totally didn't skimp on this one! The chocolate cake I baked for Trevor was pretty yummy!

#18 - Go to the beach. What's summer without a little time with your toes in the sand?!

#19 - Forgive. I honestly feel like I've become a better person and that this comes a lot more naturally to me now.

So that's that! The list is done! Are you sad to see it go?

How are your goals coming along?

You can recap my journey by reading all of my Project: Do You posts here.

check this out!

Friday Letters

Dear Trevor, this week has been pretty great - we're being super stealthy and not sharing too many details, but I really hope this all pans out like we're hoping! Dear work, thanks for the extra hours and the extra money. And an even bigger thanks for having a fantastic air conditioning system during this past week of 100+ degree days. Dear Bonnie, your Twitter seminar last night was fabulous - thank you! Dear readers, if you want to learn how to conquer Twitter, you've gotta watch the webinar! Dear John Green, thanks for writing The Fault in Our Stars. Not only is it a great love story, it's the perfect length for a quick summer read!

Dear nursing school, things are starting to get real. I'm wrapping things up at work (my last day is two months from today!), I've been working on the two classes that need to be done before orientation, I've been slowing trudging through the emails and long to-do lists, and I've started getting things settled for a new study area in our house. Dear readers {again}, be on the lookout for a home tour post of said new study area. An entire room for $130?! I know you want to see it! And on the same note, thanks for your feedback about what color scheme I should use for the new design. Get pumped to see which one wins in the coming days! Dear Summer, you're going by way too quickly! Slow down a little, please! Dear weekend, please be kind to me. I'll be at the hospital for at least 12.5 hours both Saturday and Sunday... can you please make it bearable?

What are you doing this weekend? Heading on vacation? Sticking close to home? Do you have any fun projects planned?

check this out!

Project: Do You #15

Please note that this is a link up that focuses on individual self discovery goals. The goals you see below were set by me and for me only. If you choose to link up with us, please create your own goals to work toward and to update us on. If you are unfamiliar with Project: Do You, check out this post that introduces the project before proceeding.

I'm now officially halfway done with my Project: Do You list! A few goals that are left will be crossed off in the near future, and I have some ideas on how to complete a couple more. It feels so good to know I'm accomplishing things!

#2 - Work out on a regular basis. I've been cleared for regular activity for about a week now and I still haven't made it to the YMCA again. It's hard getting back in a workout groove! I haven't been completely lazy, though, because I've been riding my bike around as much as I can as a car replacement just because it's been nice out. The Color Run is coming up in 4 weeks so I NEED to get my butt in gear and start running more outside!

#5 - Plan a date night ahead of time for each month. I originally created this goal because I figured we'd need motivation to put our marriage first and to spend quality time together at least once a month. Turns out that we're really good about taking time for each other and we don't need to plan things ahead - they just happen! The other night, we went for an impromptu walk around the neighborhood just because. Then, we came home and shared an ice cream cone. A perfect ending to a day that would not have been as romantic had we planned it ahead of time. This goal is officially checked off!

#10 - Learn to say no more often. Nursing school has really helped me with this one! I'm finding myself saying 'no' to picking up shifts at work that won't benefit me {unless the person asking has done me a favor, in which case I'm all about paying them back!} and I'm learning how not to feel guilty about it. I need to do what's right for me and with so little time left at work, I really have no choice but to say no sometimes!

#18 - Go to the beach. We hung out at The Dunes when we were in Indiana and had a great time! It always amazes me how much Lake Michigan seems like the ocean at The Dunes... but it's no where near as nice on the Western shore here in Wisconsin!

How are your goals coming along?!



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Friday Letters

Dear Keith and Holly, we miss you, we miss your friendship, and we miss Valpo. Our next visit can't come soon enough! Dear Lake Michigan, you're pretty darn fantastic, you know that?! I'm pretty sure we could visit you every weekend during summer and we'd be happy as clams. Dear work, it feels so weird to know that I only have two months of you left. I sure am going to miss my coworkers... Dear Nursing School, you're coming up way too quickly! I've got the vaccines and health history under control, but can you maybe finish my calculations course and order my med term book for me please? I just want to enjoy my last summer as an under-employed lady! Dear family, Trevor and I are looking forward to seeing you all for Christmas in July this weekend! We don't have our white elephant gifts ready yet but you better believe we're going to rock it! Dear household cars, I don't appreciate both of you breaking within mere hours of each other yesterday. Not funny. So glad Trevor could quickly fix mine and too bad the door handle had to break on Trevor's - I don't want to be that girl who has to open car doors from the outside! Dear Future, you have a lot of fun, exciting, and scary things for us in store. Please be kind and gentle!

Happy Friday! What do you have planned for this weekend?!

Linking up with Ashley

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Love List

After a long holiday weekend spent on vacation in Indiana followed by two LONG days at work {seriously, so many patients, so little time!} I finally have a day off to get stuff checked off my to-do list.

Maybe it's the looming tasks or the fact that I should be at the gym right now but instead I am sitting on my butt being lazy, but either way my blogging inspiration is nowhere to be found. With that said, I still want to be in the groove of posting often enough and I still want you to find new content when you visit You and Me are We so today's post is going to be lighthearted.

Here's my current Love List - what I'm crushing on, what I'm looking forward to, etc.

1) Next month, Whit and I are spending some time in Chicago. We're staying at The James and I can't wait! We'll explore the city and meet up with our mutual friend Maya!

2) Essie's Bachelorette Bash may have a permanent home on my toes - it's the perfect bright and cheery summer color!

3) It's officially raspberry season! Tomorrow, I'm heading to the same place I picked strawberries and I'm loading up on one of my favorite fruits.

4) This dress from LOFT is one of the most comfortable dresses I've ever owned. Plus, it's pretty darn lovely looking. Win!

5) BareMinerals to-go brush is making summer travel so much easier!

6) I submitted my resignation for my position at work in the Emergency Room because I can't keep it during school. I'm only freaking out a little inside because school is SO CLOSE! But don't worry - I'm not completely unemployed, I was working in the ER only as needed, I'm still working on the floor until the very possible last day I can before school.

7) Recently, I've become re-obsessed with this scent from Bath & Body Works - eucalyptus spearmint. I have multiple eucalyptus spearmint candles in our bedroom, a eucalyptus spearmint car freshener, eucalyptus spearmint oil for the oil warmer, eucalyptus spearmint lotion, and the list goes on and on. It really does help me relax and unwind, plus it just smells so fantastic!

8) Last weekend, Trevor and I visited the same friends as last year around this same time. It's so refreshing to have friends who are a perfect match for us as a couple. We don't have any couple friends near home, so it's a treat when we get to see these two.

What have you been loving lately? I'm always looking for fantastic new things to try!

check this out!

What I've Learned About Wisdom Teeth Removal

I've gotten a few emails asking me for advice regarding wisdom teeth removal since I had mine done last week. I, too, was freaked out and scared about getting four teeth pulled and I was looking for advice beforehand. Why not post about it and start a discussion?!

Here's the scoop: my teeth weren't really hurting me, however, I knew I needed them out before nursing school starts in September so I pulled the trigger in June. 

1) Go to an oral surgeon. Screw the dentist. Make sure you really like the guy/lady because they're going to be working on your mouth and all up in your business.

2) Eat as many crunchy things as you can the day before surgery. I am craving pretzels like none other... and it's still going to be awhile before I can have them.

3) Eat as late as you can the night before surgery. I couldn't eat past midnight but my surgery wasn't until 1pm the next day. I was in pain because I was so hungry {I hadn't eaten since an early dinner around 7pm the night before}.

4) Clean your house, do laundry, etc before your surgery because you won't want to afterwards!

5) Fill your prescriptions ahead of time and make sure you have enough soft foods to last a few days. I went grocery shopping a couple days earlier and loaded up on pudding, pasta, Naked smoothies without seeds, Gatorade, chocolate milk, ice cream, bananas, etc. I also recommend buying the Nestle Complete Breakfast drink packets. My body needed something besides sugary foods and the breakfast drink gave me more vitamins and protein.

6) Make sure you have more than enough ice on hand. You will want to ice your face for the first 36 hours {15 minutes on, 15 minutes off} and will be using more ice than you thought possible.

7) When they ask what kind of anesthesia you want, tell them you want it all. I had a little bit of laughing gas after I got in the chair which calmed me down enough not to care what they were doing. Then they gave me a nice mix of Versed, Propofol, and Ketamine through my IV that knocked me out within 30 seconds of the first IV push. Seriously, I remember nothing after the second dose until I woke up in the recovery area... and I like it that way. I don't want to hear noises or experience pressure! I just want to sleep!

8) Don't give yourself access to your phone for the first few hours after surgery... because you end up taking photos like the one above.

9) Take the pain meds they give you if needed. I had Lortab Elixir {think: liquid Vicodin} and never even needed to use it. Instead, I took 800mg of ibuprofen every 8 hours and managed just fine.

10) Unless you're super crazy nauseated or you know it works on you, DON'T ask for the motion sickness patch {scopolamine}. I had more side effects from the damn patch that was on for 30 hours than I did from the actual surgery. I was dizzy and couldn't see close up for FIVE DAYS. I had to lay around my house so I wasn't nauseated. Come to find out, they're both known side effects from the patch. If I would have known that, I wouldn't have asked for something! It's almost a week later and I am still not back to my normal self.

11) It's going to be weird swallowing for the first couple of hours. For me, it kind of felt like I had a lump in my throat. Try to swallow like normal and it'll go away soon enough.

12) Drink lots of fluids! And pass on using a straw to reduce your chance of dry socket.

13) Don't push it. I thought I would be OK to go grocery shopping and make a trip to Target with Trevor four days afterwards and I was wrong. I was tired just walking through the parking lot! Lay low, watch a bunch of crappy movies, and take naps.

If you've had your wisdom teeth out already, I'd love for you to comment below with any other tips you may have so others can be enlightened.

If you still need yours out, leave any questions and comments below and I'll do my best to help answer them.

Project: Do You #14

Please note that this is a link up that focuses on individual self discovery goals. The goals you see below were set by me and for me only. If you choose to link up with us, please create your own goals to work toward and to update us on. If you are unfamiliar with Project: Do You, check out this post that introduces the project before proceeding.

#1 - Read one book per month. I finished another book last week, which was my September book. Only three books left to cross this off my Project list!

#2 - Work out on a regular basis. I haven't been able to workout in a week because of my oral surgery. I have been staying as active as I can manage, but it's no substitute for the YMCA! I've had some complications from the surgery so who knows how long it will be before I'm cleared for strenuous activity again.

#6 - Enjoy a weekend away with Trevor. We spent last weekend on the Mississippi River at my dad's house and next weekend we'll be visiting friends. I can definitely say we've spend weekends away, though none just the two of us.

#12 - Get out of my comfort zone more often. My wisdom teeth experience falls under this if nothing else! Sparing the details, it's been pretty weird for me to be the patient and not the nurse.

#13 - Share our wedding on the blog. Except for the last post hiccup, this is done and checked off. And I'm so glad about it, too! Our wedding day was special and beautiful and amazing and we'll never forget it. To share it with you was fun, and I'm glad so many of you also had dress dilemmas )

I am so happy to be seeing things getting crossed off my list! How are your goals coming along?

Friday Letters

Dear Trevor, thanks for being so patient with me these past couple of days, for filling my ice packs with fresh ice, and for calling the doctors in the wee hours of the morning when you'd rather be sleeping. Oral surgery sucks, but you're helping to make it much better.

Dear crunchy foods, I miss you! As soon as my mouth is healed, you and I are going to start a serious love affair!

Dear school, I'm excited to find out who my classmates are and where they all live! Here's to hoping we get the email that tells us more very soon.

Dear honeymoon friends, next week we'll be reunited and it will feel so good :) We can't wait to drink bottles of wine, swim in Lake Michigan, and laugh until our bellies hurt with you two!

Dear daytime naps, you're pretty great, you know that?!

Dear wisdom teeth, thank the sweet little lord baby Jesus that you're out and that I don't have to recover from this surgery again. This unexplained bleeding is throwing me for a loop!

Dear Trev, you're like SuperHusband. You've worked 50 hours this week, have taken care of me, made yourself dinner, and you haven't complained one bit. I should buy you a SuperHusband cape or something...

When Life Gets in the Way of Your Well Laid Plans

Today was slotted to be the last day of Wedding Wednesday - the day that I recapped highs and lows, rights and wrongs, and do-this/skip-thats.

And then life got in the way. WOMP-WOMP-WOMP.

Instead of reflecting on our wedding day and typing up my advice to future brides, I'm laying in bed trying to distract myself from my grumbling tummy. I'm having my wisdom teeth pulled out at 1:00 pm and they're putting me under for it which means I can't eat, I can't drink, and I can't do a whole lot of anything except worry all morning long.

The best part may just be all of the food pictures on Instagram. Seriously, I'm drooling over here. Well, drooling and dreaming of the day I can eat crunchy snacks and seeded fruit again. Someone remind me why I'm having this done in the heart of strawberry season!?

Some of my best posts haven't been planned at all - I just type what's on my heart and hit publish - and I was hoping to do the same for today's wedding post. Turns out I can't concentrate on anything, much less get all sappy for you and think of my wedding day!

I promise you'll get the last installment of Wedding Wednesday soon - I'm shooting for next Wednesday! In the meantime, if you're already married, I'd love to hear your highs and lows, rights and wrongs, and do-this/skip-thats from your own wedding day.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my nail biting and playlist-making-attempt-at-distracting-myself.

P.S. This is going to have to be a pictureless post because I hopped on over to Google to find an xray of wisdom teeth to dress up this boring post and was bombarded by bloody images of what's to come for me today. I should have spared myself. 

Project: Do You #12

Please note that this is a link up that focuses on individual self discovery goals. The goals you see below were set by me and for me only. If you choose to link up with us, please create your own goals to work toward and to update us on. If you are unfamiliar with Project: Do You, check out this post that introduces the project before proceeding.

#1 - Read one book per month. I finished Looking for Alaska by John Green and haven't started another book yet. I really want to (and I really should if I'm going to meet my yearly goal before school starts this fall!) so hopefully I have more down time in the next few weeks to do so.

#2 - Work out on a regular basis. Our YMCA membership is still keeping us at the gym at least 3-4 times a week. I'm loving it!

#5 - Plan a date night ahead of time for each month. Saturday night Trevor and I took one of his motorcycles to an old fashioned ice cream place about 40 minutes away. It was a nice ride and not too cold!

#7 - Shape eyebrows. I'm finally happy with both eyebrows so I'm crossing this off the list! They're even and match pretty darn well. It's amazing the difference nicely shaped eyebrows make, that's for sure. And now I just have to maintain them...

#9 - Travel more. I'm crossing this off the list, too, because I just returned from my mother-daughter trip to Chicago (trip recap to come soon!). Seeing as how school will be starting in a few months and I can't stray too far during my year of studying, we don't have any new vacations planned. We are still visiting friends in Indiana next month, but other than that there won't be trips happening until after graduation next October.

#15 - See a Broadway show. While in Chicago, my mom and I saw Book of Mormon. Hilarious and so good! I'm sure I'll have 'Baptize Me' and 'Hello!' stuck in my head for days, but that's alright with me because they keep me laughing to myself. And now I'm curious to see how Mormons feel about the show...

How are your personal goals coming along?

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Just thought you should know...

...that there are going to be a lot more "nursing school updates" in the future...

I GOT IN!

I was at the mall, leaving Ulta and heading to Target when my phone chimed to tell me I had an email. I was expecting more junk mail: maybe a advertisement for a sale or a coupon. When I opened the email and read that first line, I just about dropped my phone. I started crying and called Trevor and my mom right away.

So there I was, walking through the mall - alone - just running some errands, crying on the phone. I'm sure it was quite the sight!

It's been a few days, and my whole family knows. My coworkers know. My Facebook friends know. So it was also time to tell you!

The program is going to be a lot of hard work. It's a 12 month long program to earn my BSN. We complete about a credit a week and I already have a couple of classes I need to finish before orientation in September. It's going to be a crazy year but I am so grateful to have been one of the 30 chosen out of the 500 applicants. Oh, I am SO grateful!

Everything happens for a reason, and I am glad everything has brought me to this place. It's meant to be.

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Another Nursing School Update

It's been months since I've last updated you on the progress of getting into nursing school.
So far, I've gotten to the point where they tell me "yes" or "no"... and while I was hoping I'd have news to share with you by now, I don't...

Last December, applications opened. I filled out the 15 pages, made copies, tracked down college transcripts, and sent in everything. It reached the College of Nursing the first week of January.

First, they looked through everyone's applications to make sure we were qualified. They checked GPAs, verified that we had prior Bachelor's degrees, read through our novels applications, and then finally decided who would be asked for an online interview.

I believe I was notified that I made it to the online interview step the second or third week of February. I spent 30 minutes frantically typing up answers to their interview questions, sent it back to them, and waited... until they got everyone's responses back, made their next round of cuts, and notified those of us who were invited to a phone interview.

Sometime in the middle of March, I got the email that asked for my interview availability. I had a great conversation with two men from the program and was able to ask a few questions I had about the program itself.

If you remember, this program is a 12 month long accelerated format. I applied for October admission, which means I would finish the program about 18 months from now. Graduates leave the program with another Bachelor's - this time in Nursing.

You aren't able to work during the 12 month program because you are too busy - with online classes, conferences with instructors, and clinical placements. I've already signed a document that said I was willing to forgo employment to focus on school.

In order to apply to their program, you have to have a previous Bachelor's degree and experience working as a CNA - preferably in a hospital. They ask for specific classes as prerequisites that aren't required for a traditional nursing program which meant I've been taking supplementary classes for the past two years to get my transcript to the point that I met requirements. I have been working my butt off to make this dream come true!

And so here I sit. I'm just waiting for an email telling me that I've been accepted or that I've not been chosen - though the best outcome would be an acceptance email. I have finally found a career that makes my heart sing, and don't know yet if I'll be heading down that path this fall or not. It sounds cliche, but when I am at work, taking care of patients, I feel like I have found my calling. I finally feel like I was put on this Earth to do something - and that something is nursing.

And the best part? Five hundred people applied for entry into this program this fall. There are thirty spots to fill.

I know that I'm a prime candidate. I know that I would succeed in this program. I know that gaining admission would be a life changing thing. I know that I'm ready to finally get a degree in something I love doing. I know that this program is the best way for me to follow my dreams.

So that's what's been on my mind and on my heart recently. My co-workers are fully aware of the program and have been asking for updates everyday. I'm anxiously waiting for an email and hoping I don't have to tell everyone that I didn't get in.

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