Nursing School melt down

So i spent the last three days at orientation for nursing school. I learned CPR (30 compressions, 2 breaths repeat). I got a tour of the buidling. I got my schedule (I'm off on Wednesday and Friday which is great but Thursday will start at 6:30 a.m. with a clinical and end after Pathophysiology at 9 p.m.) I have scrubs, a lab coat, stethoscope and a lab kit complete with a Foley Catheter! I've met some of my class mates. And heard over and over how hard this is going to be but we will get through it!

But I'm still having melt downs. I will not be here when my youngest gets home from her first day at kindergarten and that makes me very sad. Actually, it made me boo-hoo several times over the day when no one was looking. It is all very overwhelming to think about how I am going to run my family, take care of the house, maintain what has been a really good marriage, go to class and clinicals, study for hours on end, try and get good grades and make sure my children still know what I look like. Yes, I know, that any working mother reading this says, "Welcome to my world." I know I will feel better once I get started. For now it is the unknown of it all that keeps me awake at night.

Then, my oldest found out that her two best friends are in her homeroom. I feel a little like I got a telegram from heaven that says, "Don't worry, if I can make the homeroom miracle happen surely I can get you through nursing school."

Where are the after photos?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Teri says she is impatiently waiting for after photos!

Well, guess what? ME TOO!!!!!!!!

The laminate job ended up taking 5 days instead of 2. We still haven't put everything back together because we are doing some rearranging as part of the redo process. The carpet was back ordered (that means I have really good taste right, that everyone wants the same carpet I do) so it won't be in until next week. Today, finally after a week of grossness the house is clean. It was so disgusting. One night we slept here when we really shouldn't have, the dust was so bad. I swear, I coughed for two days and could feel the grit in my teeth as I coughed up all the dust I inhaled that night. My beautiful new bathroom had dressers and chairs and all sorts of crap in it. The bathtub is still filled with stuff. So I'm definitely not ready for the true after shots and with school starting Monday the after shots may have Christmas decorations in them by the time we are done!

So I'll leave you with a little teaser...

In the end it will be worth it...

We are replacing the floors in our house. This is something I have wanted to do since we moved in 4 1/2 years ago. The budget then wouldn't allow it. Well, actually, there was so muchother stuff that desparately needed to be done we ahppily looked at the dark grey carpet and said, "Oh, it's not so bad!" So 4 1/2 years later the 10 year old carpet is disgusting. Seriously, there are places that should be placed in a biohazard bag and incinerated because it has been biologically contaminated by so many animals. So we decided that before I start school we are getting new floors. Laminate downstairs and new carpet for the bedrooms. It is going to look soooooooooo nice. But in the meantime, my living room and dining room furniture is all crammed in the den and there is a fine layer of dust all over EVERYTHING! I'm not a particularly fastidious housekeeper but seeing my house completely destroyed makes me feel a little shaky! I'll publish before and afters when it is all done but for today how about some "in progress" shots.

Random things about me

1. I currently have a dreaded "summer cold". Everyone says summer colds are the worst but I'm not sure why the summer cold is any worse than the winter cold. I feel just as crappy when it is 100 degrees outside as when it is 50.

2. The cold medicine I took last night (tylenol cold and sinus nighttime) leaves me significantly more hungover feeling than a vodka soda.

3. I got a B in my government class which brings my second time around at college GPA down to a 3.9.

4. I'm trying really hard to care about getting a B in that stupid class but the above mentioned drugged feeling is significantly interfering with my ability to feel shame. Or perhaps I'm so glad to be done with that stupid class that I'm willing to take the B without a second thought.

5. When I was a teenager at one point I had 20 or so penpals most of whom I got through the official U2 fan magazine. I wrote a lot of letters! I only ever met one of them.

6. I love fabric stores. I'm not particularly artistic or creative but fabric stores, particularly decorator fabrics like you would use to upholster or make curtains, just bring me great pleasure. The colors, textures and designs are just yummy! I wonder if there's a hidden talent in there that has something to do with fabric and design?

7. I need to go to a fabric store because I want to make a valance for the toilet room in my bathroom. The little window is small enough that I could use a really expensive fabric and only need a little of it! Kind of gets me excited....In fact I'm sure I would be very excited if I weren't still drugged from my cold medicine (see number 2 above).

8. I HATE sponge bob. Having watched a ridiculous amount of T.V. over the last week, I can tell you I hear that stupid laugh ringing in my house and just cringe. I imagine a bunch of nickelodeon execs sitting around going, "Well, we've got kids watching a little girl solve mysteries while her pet monkey wears red books, a blue dog that doesn't talk with a goofy wide eyed guy looking for paw prints -- what else can we do? Twenty bucks says they'll even watch a show about a yellow ocean sponge that wears tiddy whitey underwear."

Look out HGTV...

My bathroom is finally finished! It has been a work in progress for about a year. I wish I had before pictures. It was so horrid! It all started when I got a hankering to strip off the UGLY blue floral kinda Victorian wall paper last summer. It ended with ripping out the grey carpet and tiling the floor. I love it! the paintings are from a trip hubby and I took to China about three years ago. We bought them at a student artist's exhibition and had a really fun time meeting one of the artists. When we got back we were going to have them framed but were quoted about $150 EACH for the six painting we bought. We paid less then that for all six! When I decided I really wanted to do the bathroom around the paintings my mom saved the day by using ready made frames and artists' paper to mount them. Total framing bill for all six paintings was $120.

The paintings to the right and left are the four seasons or the four beauties. You can't really see the detail but they are really lovely!

Power tools are pretty fun

So you've seen me all dressed up for a night on the town, now how about a shot of me using a power tool. Hubby is tiling our bathroom. It had been carpet. Really brilliant idea for flooring for a bathroom. Who puts carpet in a bathroom? Cheap builders, that's who! these projects have always been a solo experience for hubby because I've been in charge of kiddos. Now kiddos are independent enough that I get to help! And here I am running the tile saw. Shortly after this picture I decided that the screeching, ear peircing shrill of the saw on tile was probably a bad deal for long term good hearing so I added hubby's shooting ear protection to the safety mix. I was lookin sooooooooo fine!

2 days post op

So here we are. Two days on the couch. I've seen more disney channel shows than I care to think about. I know this is all part of recovery but I'm BORED!!!!!!! I'm certain, though, I'd rather be bored than dealing with a hemorraging child. The doctor wanred us about tonsillectomy breath being pretty bad. Oh BOY, he wasn't kidding. It started this morning. The first thing i thought of was that is smelled like charred meat. Which makes gross sense since they use a cauterizer to seal the blood vessels and create scabs. Sorry if you are reading this in the morning over breakfast!

On another subject - being home caused me to do a little internet research on our sick bell. The clapper (the part in side the bell that makes it ding) says "El Camino Real 1759-1905" so i googled "El Camino Real Bell" and found lots of information about a project to place bells along the historic El Camino Real in California in 1906. These bells were also sold as souvenirs at gift shops along El Camino Real and at the California Missions. From what i know of family history I would guess that the bell is from the 1930s or 1940s so not quite 100 years old. But very cool to know where it came from. Ain't the internet great! To the left is a close up of a replica bell that was dedicated in LA in 2006. The black and white to the right is a vintage picture of an original bell.

Good-bye tonsils!

My oldest had her tonsils out today! She's my first kid-let to lose her tonsils. Hers were HUGE! The nurse practitioner who did her intake history actually flinched and said, "WHOA!" when she looked in her throat. So surgery went well, we have several varieties of popsicles and ice cream in the freezer as well as Tylenol Three with Codeine so I think we are going to survive. Hopefully, this will end the night time noice making and help her sleep more peacefully. I put her to bed with the family school bell to ring if she needs me. There's no telling how many kids have had that bell by their sickbed. I think it is about 100 years old.

The other thing I got rid of was the book to the right here. I was probably about half way through when the bad guy took a can opener to a woman's chest. YUCK! Don't need a whole lot of that so I tossed it in the trash can. I know if i didn't take drastic measures I would pick it back up to find out how it ends and it would probably just gross me out so good-bye Mr. King! I don't think I've ever done that before -- throw a book away. Oh well, I won't make it a habit.

Happy Birthday To Me!

It's my birthday! I'm 34 today. I feel like I oughta be older than that. Three kids, house in the 'burbs, going back to school, pastor's wife. 34 just seems kinda young! Oh well, I'll take young!

I took my last summer school test last night. Finished at 11:30 p.m. so i made it before my birthday. Very nice feeling. Although, in some ways I'm nt sure what to do with myself. Read a book? Pointless internet searching? The possiblities are endless.

Tonight, hubby is taking me and the girls out for dinner. Mexican food will be my meal of choice I believe. YUM! Then perhaps a Margarita. Double YUM!

Despite absolutely asenine dealings with our homeowner's association (you seriously wouldn't believe me if I detailed the whole thing for you) and some frustration trying to get parking for school worked out, it has been a pretty pleasant day.