The World According to Me

In case anyone still checks in...

2010-09-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

I'm still here. Clearly I haven't been keeping this thing updated, but things have been happening and life is good.

Little Landry is now 7 1/2 months old!! I can't believe how fast the time has flown already. It's so much fun to watch her grow and explore and discover her world. She is developing quite the personality already. Super laid back, happy, a little silly, incredibly stubborn (no clue where she got that one from...), and the center of attention wherever she goes. Maybe I'm a little biased, but I'm fairly certain she's the cutest baby that ever was.

Tell me I'm wrong, I dare you. (This picture is a bit outdated, but it's one of my favs.) Basically, being a mom is awesome. It's most definitely the hardest task I've ever undertaken, but luckily I have a fantastic husband, who is proving himself to be an incredible daddy as well, and I think we make a pretty great team. I love you Charles!! And so does Landry. She's had him wrapped around her little finger since day one. It's so much fun to see Landry's face light up when Charles gets home from work, and I love watching him play with her.

Aww, aren't they cute? Anyway, just wanted to make a little re-entrance into blog-land. Sorry for the brevity of this post. Let's just say it's been a while since I've blogged, and I'm just getting warmed up again. I'm not making any promises about the frequency of any future postings, because we all know how well I keep those...but maybe you'll hear from me again soon. Until then, love to you all, and thanks for reading!!

2009-12-19T11:07:00.001-08:00

So we're now down to only 6 weeks before the anticipated arrival of little Landry! I can't believe it is getting so close, or how fast the time has flown. I can't wait to finally see the face of this little person who has been squirming around inside me for the past 34 weeks! I think she must be running out of room in there though, because lately her squirmings have become much more uncomfortable for me, and they make my belly look like it has been inhabited by aliens. It's fun though, and I think I will miss the feeling. What I don't think I will miss is the ridiculous amount of effort it takes to change positions, not to mention get up off the couch or out of bed! Also, the giant cankles. I'll be happy to see them go too.

So my birthday is in 2 days. I will be 26. Old. Ok, maybe not old, but definitely the oldest I've ever been. It's funny though. Usually I get so excited about my birthday, and count down the days starting weeks in advance like a little kid or something. This year it has kind of snuck up on me. I guess you could say I've had other thoughts occupying my mind this year. Someone else's upcoming birthday is now much more exciting than my own, and I have a feeling that's the way it will be from now on. My little world is about to undergo a major shift in focus. Exciting times are ahead!

Christmas has also snuck up on me this year. Only 6 more days! How crazy is that? And, how impressive is it that I did almost all of my Christmas shopping in 2 days? I still have a couple more things to go get, which I may do later today if I can ever talk myself into getting up and taking a shower. Pajamas are just so comfy!

2009-11-29T19:56:00.000-08:00

Today we put up the Christmas tree. Hooray! However, it turns out our Christmas tree is much more ginormous than I realized. I guess I didn't really notice when we had it in our apartment last year because we set it up kind of between the living area and dining area, and it was never really in the way of anything. It wasn't until I looked at the box the other day that I realized it has a circumference of 58 inches. In case you missed it, that's almost 5 feet around! Holy cow! So, in all my nerdiness, I busted out the graph paper floorplan of the living room I made when we moved in, and all the perfectly to-scale graph paper cutouts of our living room furniture, and tried to figure out a place to put such a massive tree. The only reasonable option that did not involve completely rearranging every piece of furniture in the room, or completely obstructing neccessary walkways, was to temporarily relocate Charles' beloved recliner to the guest room. And so, because I have a fabulous, wonderful husband who loves me very much, he graciously moved the recliner (which first had to be disassembled so it would fit through the hallway) out of the living room to make space for Rocky (that's what we named the Christmas tree. For an explanation, see last year's Christmas post). And so the tree now stands, all glowing and adorned and Christmasy. And though it could very easily be argued that the scale of the tree is much too large for the room, it makes me happy. Next time we buy a house, we will just have to be more conscious of picking one that has a living room large enough to accomodate our full-figured foliage.

2009-11-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

Today I had to endure a 3-hour-long glucose tolerance test at my ObGyn's office. I had a 1-hour test done a few weeks ago, which I just barely failed, and so I earned myself the opportunity to participate in the extra-long version of the test. Not pleasant. For those who may not know what a glucose tolerance test is like, allow me to explain. First, I was given strict instructions not to eat or drink anything besides water after midnight the night before my scheduled test. The next morning, as I was starving and desperately craving a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, I went in to my doctor's office, where I was handed an 8oz. bottle of neon orange glucose-laden liquid and informed that I had 5 minutes to consume it. The stuff wasn't nearly as awful as I had expected. It tasted like a melted version of one of those cheap "freezer pops" that come in the plastic wrappers. After that, I was handed a timer with the instructions not to eat or drink anything, not to leave, and to come straight back when the timer went off. So I sat in the waiting room with my mom, who graciously agreed to come keep me company, for the designated hour until my timer started beeping, signaling the end of the test (this was my initial test, of course). They drew some blood and sent me on my way, assuring me I would have the results in a couple of days. Approximately a week and a half later, after 2 phone calls and an email to the doctor's office in search of the promised results, I found out that I failed. They were looking at my blood sugar level, which they want to be less than 130 at the end of the test. Mine was 138. And so, those 8 measly points bought me another test, only this one was 3 times as fun because it lasted for 3 hours. I initally went in to have it done last Thursday, and my wonderful husband took off from work to come pass the time with me. I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing when we went in, since I had already done the mini version. Little did I know... When I went back to drink my liquid sugar, I was handed a larger bottle of "juice," with twice the glucose content of the previous one, and this time it was fruit punch flavor. Still feeling optimistic, I downed it in the allotted 5 minutes, and returned to the waiting room where Charles and I were prepared to pass the 3 hours with reading and Sudoku for me, and paper-grading for him. Approximately 30 minutes into the test, my confidence started wavering a bit. My head felt funny and I was suddenly reminded what morning sickness had felt like. Thinking I might feel a little better if I got up and walked around for a minute, I went into the bathroom and promptly threw up the entire bottle of red glucose drink. Unpleasant, but I felt much better afterwards. Unfortunately, because I was unable to keep it down for at least an hour, I was forced to reschedule my test and endure the entire routine all over again. I was pretty bummed, but I'm pretty sure Charles was glad not to have spend 3 hours sitting in the waiting room. Can't say I was entirely disappointed about that either. Since he had already taken the day off, we got to spend the rest of the morning and afternoon getting some errands done that we hadn't had time for lately, which was nice. And so, this morning I once again took my growling stomach in to the OB's office for round 2 (or 3, depending on how you look at it). I had hoped they would let me have the orange flavor again, but unfortunately I had to endure the dreaded fruit punch flavor again. I had a little harder time getting it down this time, no doubt because of my looming fear of seeing it again, but managed to succeed in the allotted time frame. My mom came with me again this time, so she and I went out to the waiting room, made ourselves comfortable on one of the couches, and hoped for the best. Thankfully, I was able to keep everything down this time, and had my hourly blood tests drawn without incident. Now I just have to wait for the results. Hopefully I will get them in a more timely manner this time. I have an appointment with my doctor on Thursday, so I figure surely by then I should know something. Hopefully it will be good!

2009-11-03T18:08:00.001-08:00

Two days in a row?!?! Look out, world!! I'm on a blogging spree!

Today was a good day a work. I needed a good day today, considering the last day I worked was utter chaos. I thought it would be fun to work on Halloween. Last year, they passed out costumes to all the kids and had a little party for them and all was fun and happy. Not so this year. Someone up on high decided it would be a good idea to instead hold all of the holiday festivities on Friday, so all the 8 to 5 folks could attend, I guess. Boo on that decision. So I arrived to work on Saturday with no cute kids in costumes to adore, no fun festivities to watch, and a bunch of crazy, cranky families to take care of. Sad day for me. But today was good. I worked with a fun group of people, had fantastic patients and families, and a generally laid back day. Good times. Probably one of my favorite moments of the day occurred when one of my patients' overly-involved grandmother came out of the room and asked me if I knew when her grandson's doctor would be making rounds. When I told her I didn't know, it just depends on their schedules, she shook her head and said seriously, "I really hope they reform healthcare. This is ridiculous!" Um...ok? I don't know how reforming healthcare will make the doctors round on any kind of a schedule, but whatever.

2009-11-02T11:44:00.000-08:00

I think I have figured out my problem. Or, one of them, at least. I have blog envy. I spend my time reading blogs of friends who are so entertaining and humorous and talented, and I think to myself, "There's no way anyone out there wants to waste their time with my boring ramblings, when there are quality blogs to be read!" And so, I don't update my blog. But I have decided this should no longer be an excuse. When I first started blogging, many moons ago, it was not for the purpose of entertaining whatever people might stumble across it, it was to have some sort of outlet for the random thoughts that stumbled across my brain, or to chronicle the current goings-on in my life, purely for my own sense of release. People could read or not read what I had to say, and all was well. But somewhere along the way, I lost that. I began to feel like unless I had something exciting or amusing or interesting to share, I was wasting people's time, so I cut back drastically on my blogging. I have since decided this is ridiculous reasoning, and I need to return to my blogging roots. Go me.

And so it begins...

I am excited to report that I have finally gotten to a stage in pregnancy where I pretty much feel good all the time. Hooray! The morning sickness left around 18 weeks or so, and I have been feeling much more human since. My tummy has also finally started growing to a degree that is obvious to more than just me, which I find exciting. Along with that, my belly button is slowing starting to become an outtie, which I'm not so sure I find equally as exciting. It feels weird, and I find myself walking around pushing on it like a button, like maybe it will make something special happen. So far, nothing to report. Another thing I am loving right now is feeling Landry (that's her name, in case you missed it) move around inside me. It's unlike any feeling I've ever felt before, and I really think I will miss it after she's born. I was trying to explain to Charles the other day how I think I might be kind of sad after she's here and I can't take her everywhere with me all the time and know she's ok. Obviously, I expect that the joy and excitement of actually seeing her and holding her and loving her will drastically overshadow this tiny sadness, but I still think it will be there. I don't think he got it. I can't blame him. It does seem pretty silly. Oh well. I can tell you what I won't miss, though. This feeling that some tiny, baby appendage is constantly pushing on my right ribs. I don't know what to do with that. I just noticed it about a week or so ago, and it is super uncomfortable! Most of the time I can reposition myself enough to either make it go away or become less noticeable, but it always comes back. Annoying. But then I feel those little kicks, and I smile and life is good again. :)

2009-08-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

Here it is!! The day some thought would never come! The day I FINALLY update the old blog!!

So, it's been a really long time, friends. (Assuming I still have friends that check this thing...) I have been a terrible slacker lately, but I figured an update was in order, considering some major developments have taken place in the Nobles' household since my last post.

I'm sure anyone reading this already knows, either via Facebook or human contact, but in case anyone has been living under a rock for the past 3 1/2 months, I'M PREGNANT!! I know, crazy, right? But there it is. A new little baby Nobles will be entering the world sometime at the end of January. My official due date is January 29, but we all know how likely that is to be accurate. We don't yet know if this little person will be of the male or female persuasion, but we should find out in another 4 weeks or so. I go in for my 3rd appointment on Wednesday, where we will get to hear little Jellybean's heartbeat once again. Yay! The sonogram happens on the next visit. I don't really have any preferences as to which gender we have, although the vast majority, if not all of the people who have ventured their predictions have gone with girl. I would be happy with that. Charles is just happy there's only 1 baby in there. :) Needless to say, we are both super excited about everything, and also wondering how in the world we became grown up enough to become parents. Weird. So far, everything is going smoothly. I have had my fair share of the morning sickness (which people assured me would go away in the 2nd trimester...so far no such luck), but if that's the worst I have to deal with, I will consider myself blessed.

Let's see...what else? Charles finished up his first year of teaching at Martin, and is getting ready to start year 2 in just a couple of weeks. This year he will have an added adventure: coaching ladies' wrestling! This was an unexpected opportunity that was offered to him, and even though it's probably (ok, definitely) not his first choice of sports to coach, he is super excited to have the opportunity to get a start in high school coaching. Who knows what kinds of doors this will open in the future. Until then, there is much to be learned and girls who might be able to beat us both up to keep happy.

Work is going really well for me. The summer was interesting, as they were remodeling half of the floor I work on, so I got to spend a lot of time floating to other units in the hospital. I don't mind floating at my job here nearly as much as I did in Abilene. At least here, no matter where I go, I am always taking care of children, and not being forced to palpate funduses of women who have just given birth. (I am super glad there are people out there who enjoy that kind of nursing, and I'm sure I'll come to appreciate them even more after having my own child, but I am just not cut out for that.) Anyway, the remodeling process just finished up about 2 weeks ago, so now we are back to full capacity. The new unit is so pretty! It's all bright and festive, and even smells new. I've had the opportunity to work on that side of the floor twice so far, but the last couple of times I've worked I've been on the old, drab, gray and blue side. Oh well. I still love my job.

This summer has been fantastic as well. In June, Charles and I went back for our second year of working at New Beginnings Camp. Charles was a counselor and I was the nurse. I had to do the nurse thing all by myself this year, which I was slightly freaked out about, but we ended up having a fabulous week, free of any major illnesses or injuries. We recruited my brother Brandon to come along this year as well, and I think he enjoyed it too. I hope we get to go back again next year. Just the week before last, I went to camp again by myself, this time at Camp Heavenbound. There I was one of 3 nurses, which I was super glad about, because we were much busier there! It was kind of an interesting experience though, because this is the session of camp I grew up going to and working at as a counselor. It was weird to go back as "adult staff" and to realize that all the teenagers who were the counselors were my campers back in the day! It definitely made me nostalgic for the youth group days as well. I was definitely blessed to grow up in an awesome church family with a very active youth group that did so many fun things. It also made me feel a little old, but that's beside the point...

Well, that's about all I've got for now. Sorry I fell off the face of the earth. I guess I really should get back into the habit of updating with a bit more frequency, especially so when the baby comes I can share all the interesting experiences we are certain to encounter... I will work on it. Thanks for sticking with me. Love to all!!

2009-03-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

Well, the good news is that Emmy does not have Addison's disease. But, we still don't know what caused her megaesophagus. The vet is not too concerned about running a bunch of other tests at this point, since 40-50% of the time they never determine a cause. For now, her medicines seem to be working. She has not thrown up at all since we started giving them to her. Hooray! She seems to be adjusting to her eating from her new elevated feeding dishes as well. However, most of the time she still just takes the food from the bowl, carries it into the living room, drops it, and eats it off the floor. What a weirdo.

Today Charles and I took Emmy for a walk in our new neighborhood. It is such a gorgeous day today! It was nice just to get outside for a little while. We really should probably start walking more often. I think it would be good for us. And the dog. And, now that we have a nice neighborhood to walk in, we really have no excuse not to.

For the past several weeks, Charles and I have been going to church at Lakeside Church of Christ here in Mansfield. It is less than 5 minutes from our house, which is fantastic. But that is not the only reason we like it. It is a smallish size church, which really seems to fit us. We really loved the small, family feel of Hope back in Abilene, and it was really hard for us to leave it. Ever since we have moved back, we have kind of been church hopping trying to find a place where we felt at home. It was especially hard when we lived in the apartment in North Richland Hills, because we didn't really feel motivated to get involved in a church out there since we knew we would only be living there for a short time. We went back and forth to Pleasant Ridge, but never really felt that would be our forever home either. Charles definitely prefers a smaller congregation, and I was just ready to go somewhere where we would put down our own, new roots. (Not that I don't love my family there with all my heart, biological and spiritual!) So we have been going to Lakeside for about a month or so now, and we have really enjoyed it. Everyone we have met has been super friendly, and the church has a nice, close-knit, family feel to it. Today we asked about joining one of the small groups that meets on Sunday nights. We figured that would be a good way to get to know some people better, and find out more about what the people of Lakeside are all about. The guy we met told us they weren't meeting tonight, but that he would definitely get in touch with us about next week. I am excited!

I am ready to feel more settled in life. I really haven't felt all that settled since we moved back from Abilene. I'm definitely glad to be here, don't get me wrong, but I guess I just haven't felt "home" yet. I think a huge part of it is because I haven't really established a group of friends here again. Pretty much all the people I hung out with before aren't here anymore, and even though some are, we are all going a million different directions in life now. I have made some friends at work, but at this point none of those friendships extend beyond work hours. I miss having a group of people to hang out with. I realize that now that I have entered "grown up land" my social life will look different, but we don't even have any other married friends here that we hang out with. Hopefully getting involved at church will be a good way to meet people and make friends. That's how I've met pretty much all of my best friends in life so far!

2009-03-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hello, friends! I have not fallen off the face of the earth. We have been pretty busy the last several weeks getting the new house all put together! It is so much fun to have a house! Last week was spring break for Charles, so he had the whole week off. I took the week off as well, originally with the intent of going on a trip for our 1 year anniversary, but in the end we just stayed here and put the house in order. There are still a few little things left to be done, but for the most part we are all settled in. Can I just say how excited I am about the fact that I don't know when I will be moving again? It's really a wonderful feeling. I was thinking about it, and ever since I graduated from high school, I have known the next time I would be moving. Whether it be from dorm room to dorm room, dorm room to house, or apartment to apartment, I have always known when my next move would be. It is so great that now I can officially feel settled.

Yesterday was a traumatic day for our sweet puppy dog. For the last several weeks, she has been randomly throwing up for no apparent reason. It doesn't happen everyday, and she doesn't act like she feels bad, but for whatever reason, she just keeps doing it. We have actually taken her to the vet twice before for vomiting, but on both of those occasions she was throwing up like 10 times in a day. At first we thought she ate something weird. Then we thought maybe she had allergies, so we started giving her Benadryl. But yesterday she threw up the Benadryl as well, so I decided to take her in to see the vet again. They did some x-rays and found out what's going on. She has what they call megaesophagus. Basically, the muscles in her esophagus are weakened for some reason, and her esophagus is like 3-4 times bigger than it's supposed to be. Turns out, she hasn't actually been vomiting all this time, she's just been regurgitating food, saliva, etc. that hasn't even made it to her stomach. Poor puppy! So now we're just trying to figure out what caused it. They did a test yesterday for Addison's disease, which we should hear back about today. If it's not that, they may run another test to see if it's myasthenia gravis. Both of those conditions are treatable. Or, it could be that one of the times she was throwing up so much before her esophagus got so irritated that it caused this, or we may never know the cause. So, for now we have to give her Reglan and Zantac twice a day, which is supposed to increase motility in her esophagus and decrease acid in her stomach to hopefully manage the regurgitation. We also bought her elevated feeding dishes, which is supposed to put her in a better position for eating so her food will make it to her stomach. When the vet was telling me about elevated feeding positions yesterday, she said that some dogs have this so bad that they have to be fed in a high chair type thing. I almost laughed in her face. I cannot even imagine Emmy eating from a high chair! She would not be happy! But, of course I had to know what this looked like. So I Googled it. Here is what I found: http://www.geocities.com/bailey_chair/Page2. Hopefully we will not get to that point!

2009-02-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

Good news!! We closed on the house on Friday! Hooray!! I was a little bit afraid for a while that I had jinxed everything with my last post, but in the end everything worked out. So, now Charles and I are officially homeowners! Crazy! We are going to take our time moving in and take advantage of the house being empty to get some things fixed up just the way we want them. Nothing big, just some paint and flooring and things along those lines. I am excited!

2009-01-28T20:49:00.000-08:00

I realize it has been an incredibly long time since I updated this thing, so I may not have any readers left. But, for those loyal few who have stuck with me, I have exciting news! We got a house!!! Finally! All the long months of house hunting are about to pay off! We actually went under contract about 2 weeks ago, but for some reason I never could motivate myself to get on here and tell everyone. Maybe subconciously I was waiting around in case something happened and it didn't go through or something. Who knows. But, at this point, we are closing in less than 48 hours, so hopefully I'm safe.

Our house hunt became quite frustrating after my last post. We lost the bidding war on the house we offered on in November, and after that we started really getting burned out. We figured we had pretty much seen all there was to see in Mansfield, so we started thinking about other locations to look. Charles was considering applying for a job in another school district, so we decided to go on a house hunting hiatus for a while until we figured that all out. I think that was good for us. Right after New Years, we decided to pick things back up. Charles decided not to pursue the job he was thinking about because it was a little further away than we really would like to be. But, we decided to expand our search area to include Burleson. I don't really remember how we came to decide to look there, but it seemed like a nice, smaller town that was still close enough for both our jobs and, most importantly, it was something different to look at. We spend one incredibly long Saturday looking at several houses in Burleson, and one in Mansfield that popped up on the market over the holidays. And, wouldn't you know, we didn't like a single one we saw in Burleson, but fell in love with the one in Mansfield.

So, we made an offer. Unfortunately, so did someone else. And apparently it was a better one, because they pretty much didn't even give us the time of day. That disappointment just about did it for me. I was so ready to be done, and I know Charles was too. But, the next weekend we found a house with the exact same floorplan as the one we loved, just one street over in the same neighborhood. We made an offer, and after a day or two of negotiations, we had a contract. That's when I learned that the really craziness of buying a house starts after you find the house. I had no clue the amount of paperwork required to prove oneself worthy of a mortgage. I basically faxed our life to these people! And since part of our contract stated that we would close on January 30, we only had 2 1/2 weeks to get everything done. Apparently that is a pretty tight schedule in the mortgage business. But, we got our end of the deal taken care of, the seller is putting a new roof on the house tomorrow to take care of his end of the deal, and by Friday night, Charles and I will hopefully be in possession of the keys to our first place! I'm so excited!

The real fun starts after we get the house for real. Since our lease at our apartment goes through the middle of March, we are going to take our time moving in and get some stuff done to the house while it's still empty. We have an appointment with a flooring company on Wednesday to get an estimate on new laminate flooring, which I am super excited about. We are also hoping to put in a sprinkler system and do some painting. I can't wait to see it all come together! I'll try to post some pictures soon!

2008-11-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well, much has changed since my last post. We did end up making the offer on the house I talked about, but it ended up not working out. We knew the offer we made would likely not be accepted, but the counter-offer they came up with didn't seem good to us, so we just left it. Charles wasn't too crazy about the work that the house would require, and it really wouldn't be fair to make a major purchase like that when we both weren't really excited about it. Besides, there were some questionable issues with the house that might have turned out more than we wanted to deal with. Anyway, I am not at all upset about it, which tells me it wasn't the house for us.

So, since we decided to move on from that house, we went looking at houses again this weekend. This time, we found a house we both fell in love with. We ended up taking the parents to look at it with us again on Sunday, and they all granted their approval as well. However, while we were at the house, another real estate agent showed up with some other clients who had also brought their parents to look at the house. It turned out that the guy looking at the house recognized Charles' dad from back when he played high school golf, and they ended up chatting for a minute. During the brief conversation, we learned that he and his wife had already made an offer on the house the previous day. I was kind of disappointed when I found that out, but we decided to go ahead and make an offer anyway. Then, today after we made our offer, we found out that a total of 12 or so people all made offers on the same house! Apparently a lot of people have good taste! So, we had to put in the best possible offer we could make, and they will take all of them and pick the one they want. Stressful! All of the offers have to be in by 5pm tomorrow, so maybe we will hear something Wednesday. I kind of hope we hear something by then, because then it's Thanksgiving and we would probably have to wait all weekend before getting any news. I obviously hope things work out for us, but I also know that if they don't, it's because God has something else planned for us. I just want to know!

On a lighter note, Charles and I bought our first Christmas tree this week. We put him up on Saturday. His name is Rocky, because he is a Rockingham Spruce, or something like that. My Dad tells me I am silly for giving names to inanimate objects, but I really find life is so much more fun when things have names. I also had a miniature Christmas tree from my college days, which I put in our bedroom. Charles asked if we could call him Junior, and of course I agreed! How wonderful to be married to someone who not only tolerates my silliness, but joins me in it! I love him!!

2008-11-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

Good news: The chicken casserole turned out to be edible. Tasty, even. In fact, I just had some leftovers about 10 minutes ago, and it was still good the second time around. This is especially good to know, since I have approximately another 5 or 6 servings of it in my freezer as we speak.

Even better news: I passed my pediatric certification exam!! I can now proudly bear the title of Brooke Nobles, RN, BSN, CPN. Fancy schmancy. I am pretty excited about that. The test was pretty hard, but I guess the studying and review class paid off. Yay! Also, Michelle, my friend from Abilene who came and stayed with me for the test, passed her test as well. So yay for her too!

On a side note, Charles and I have decided to go ahead and make an offer on the unloved house. We're throwing out an offer way below what they're asking for, so who knows what will come of it, but it is still exciting! I want to be the one to give it some much needed TLC. Also, I am so ready to be done with apartment living. And poor Emmy needs a backyard to call her own. Luckily she has amazing doggy-grandparents who share their backyards with her, but it will be so much better when all we have to do is open the door and let her out. She's not so much a fan of riding in the car all the time... We shall see!

2008-10-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

When I saw my dear friend Julie this weekend, I promised her I would attempt to make my blog updates more frequent. Here is my attempt.

Exciting news! Charles and I got pre-approved for a mortgage today! How wonderfully, and frightfully, grown up of us! Now we just have to find our dream home. Or something like that. As I mentioned previously, we had found one in Mansfield that is really quite nice, but upon further contemplation and discussion, we came to decide that it may not be the one. We also found another house in Mansfield which has a fantastic layout, but is in need of much love. An abundance of love. What I am trying to say, is that at the present moment it is pretty much uninhabitable. But I want to be the one to bring it back to life. I have always dreamed of buying a less-than-beautiful house and making it my own. The idea of pouring my own time and energy and sweat into a place and having it transform before my eyes makes me excited! It makes Charles nauseous. I think he can see the potential the house has, but he doesn't necessarily feel compelled to be the one to help it reach said potential. And so, we are in a period of discussion. Clearly this decision is not mine alone, and it would be selfish and wrong of me not to consider the thoughts and feelings of the one I love more than anyone. Either way, I know that somewhere out there the future Nobles' abode is sitting, waiting to be found.

Other excitement: I am attempting to channel whatever wifely, domestic abilities I may have by cooking dinner for my husband tonight. Currently, on my stove, there is a large pot containing 3 large chicken breasts, boiling happily in anticipation of becoming part of a (hopefully) delicious chicken and spaghetti casserole. Let's not discuss the fact that when I bought the chicken, I thought it was the boneless, skinless kind that can be used with the Campbells boxed dinner mix I actually know how to make, and pretend that I actually had every intention of calling my mom up and asking her how in the world you prepare chicken on the bone. I'll let you know how it turns out...

2008-10-23T09:04:00.001-07:00

It has been a long time since I posted, so I will try to think of something interesting to say.

Life has been crazy busy here at the Nobles' residence. Charles' first semester of teaching is going full-swing and keeping him going nonstop. I guess I never really realized the amount of time that teachers put in outside the classroom before now. It's a little bit ridiculous if you ask me. But he loves what he does, and that makes me happy.

My work is pretty much the same as always. I work my 3 days each week and that's about it. I am starting to get to know my coworkers a little better, which is fun. It is a little more overwhelming here where I work with a day-shift staff of 36 as opposed to 10 or 12 back in Abilene, but that's ok. I did learn that it is not a good idea to schedule myself to work every other day in a week. Somehow I ended up doing that to myself last week. It was a long week. One day off is simply not sufficient to catch up on rest, much less any other things that need to be done. I am enjoying this week much better. I worked Sunday and Monday, off Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and tomorrow I am going to a review class for a test I am taking on Saturday. My next day to actually work the floor is Tuesday. Beautiful.

So the test I am taking on Saturday is so I can become a Certified Pediatric Nurse. I'm not really sure what benefit it will have for me to do so, except I get a few more letters after my name and a nice bonus for doing so. I suppose it also comes with the satisfaction of knowing that someone else out there recognizes that I know what I am doing, so that's good too. Anyway, my friend Michelle who I worked with in Abilene is also taking the same review course and exam, so she is coming in town today to stay with me and hitch a ride. For some reason it never occurred to me that there are people who are not used to driving in the Metroplex, and even fear it. I really need to get out of the bubble of my own litte world more often.

In other news, Charles and I have been house hunting for a little while now, and we think we have found a house we really want to pursue. It's in Mansfield, and I love it. But, I'm trying not to get overly excited about it until we know if it is an actual possibility for us or not. Charles is trying to get a hold of this mortgage guy that was recommended to us, but they keep playing phone tag. So I am trying to be patient and stop myself from mentally moving all of our stuff in before we know if it can even happen. Wish me luck.

Well, that is my life in a nutshell right now. Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm off to busy myself with scrubbing bathrooms. Yay.

2008-09-20T18:37:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, you just need a hug.

2008-09-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a bit purposeless lately. I go to work my 3 days a week, but the other 4 are pretty much spent loafing around the apartment getting nothing of consequence accomplished. In theory, it seems desirable to have 4 glorious days of freedom, without responsibility or obligation. However, in practice, it is not a fulfilling lifestyle. I get extremely bored and lonely, especially now that Charles has gotten into teaching full-swing.

I am super happy and proud of Charles. He got his job at Martin and his pouring his heart and soul into, just like he does with everything. I am sure he is a fantastic teacher. But I miss him. He leaves early for work every day (since we live forever away from his school) and comes home in the late afternoon. On days I work, I don't notice his long hours because I am pulling longer hours myself. But, on days like today, and yesterday, and the day before, when I am home, the days seem to drag on and on. Then, when he does come home, he still has things to do, because he is a teacher and that is the nature of his work. I realize this, but again, some things are easier to comprehend in theory than in practice. I cannot relate to having a job that follows me home. In nursing, I go, I do my thing, and I leave. Sure, I may occasionally think about a patient after I leave and wonder how they are doing, but I pretty much drop it all at the door on the way out each day. Charles does not have this luxury, and I must understand that. Instead, I usually whine to him about how much I miss him, and bug him about when he will be home, and get frustrated when I can't have his undivided attention. I am like a 2 year old. That is so unfair of me. I want him to be the best teacher that he can be, and that requires his attention both inside and outside the classroom.

So, basically, it comes down to the fact that I need to find something to do to fill my time so that I am not constantly annoying my husband and adding to the tremendous amount of stress he is already experiencing as a first-year teacher. Any suggestions?

2008-08-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

I feel bad that I have been so long in updating, but I haven't really felt like my life has been very blog-worthy lately. Basically I just go to work, sleep, and do nothing on my days off. At least that it how it feels.

I guess I have been doing stuff though. Several weeks ago I helped my mom rip up carpet in both bathrooms of my parents' house and put down these peel-and-stick tiles. It might sound cheap, but it looks really good. I also repainted one of the bathrooms. So much fun! I just wish I had my own house to do all these things to!

Charles and I actually have been to look at a few houses in the Mansfield area, and even found one that we really liked. Then we started figuring out what all would be invovled in trying to get out of our apartment lease and buy a house now, and the numbers just kept growing. So, looks like it's apartment living for the Nobles' till March or so. At least this gives me plenty of time to think up all the things I want in a house.

Work has been going really well. I am on orientation until September 15, which means I work with a preceptor who basically is just there for me if I have questions or can't find something or whatever. It's pretty much role reversal from what I was doing in Abilene. I really like the people I work with too, which is nice. I loved everyone in Abilene so much, and I was really afraid the people at Cook wouldn't be as fun. But I was wrong. Even though I've only been here about a month, I feel like there are people that I will really have fun working with. Also, I discovered that a girl that I knew back in high school is working on the same floor as me. She works nights now, but is about to switch to days. Yay for a familiar face! And another familiar face is on the way. A girl that worked nights in Abilene just got hired to work days on my floor here! Hooray!

I am super excited right now because Phyllis is coming to stay with us tomorrow! I haven't seen her in over a year! Since before I was engaged or married! That is far too long. The timing worked out perfectly because today is the first of 5 days off for me, so we should get to spend quite a bit of time catching up. Yay!

Tonight I am off the the Rangers game with Charles and his friend Garrett. I have been wanting to go to a Rangers game all summer, so I am pretty excited about that as well. I just hope I have time to finish getting the apartment straightened up and everything before it's time to go!

2008-07-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

As anticipated, orientation was a week and a half of listening to lectures on such enthralling topics as "Time and Attendance" and "Professional Boundaries." There were more nursing-related topics thrown in there as well, but all-in-all it was 8 days of boredom held in a classroom that could have doubled as a meat locker. But I survived. And, on the upside, I met some fellow newbies to my floor so I won't be going into unit orientation without a familiar face.

Yesterday I pulled my first 12-hour shift in like a month. Ouch. I wasn't really doing anything except following around a nurse on the floor and basically learning where things are kept and the routines of the unit. But after 2 weeks of sleeping 12 hours a day and a week and half of 8-hour days, it was a little rough. I was so tired! But I say bring on the 12-hour days as long as means as I only have to work 3 days a week again. This girl was not cut out for 5 day work weeks.

It was nice to finally get to spend some time on the floor where I will be working. So far I really like the staff I have met and I think I will have a good time working there. I laughed a lot yesterday, so to me that is a good sign. I haven't met my actual preceptor yet, but when I told people yesterday who she was, they all seemed to think I had a good one, so that is exciting. Today they are having about a 2 hour unit orientation for all us newbies so we can meet people and learn a bit about what is going on and eat pizza. I can't decide if I'm more excited about the meeting people or the pizza....just kidding....it's definitely the pizza. :)

Seriously though, I am really ready to have some friends here! I love being back in the Metroplex, but pretty much all of my friends who used to be here are no longer here. Charles has quite a few friends that still live around here, so he is better at the whole being social thing than I am. I am getting tired of just doing nothing all the time. I need friends!!

2008-07-07T05:13:00.000-07:00

Today is my first day at Cooks! Hooray! I have been pretty bored lately, so I am excited to have some purpose in my life again. Of course, the first week and a half or so entails my sitting in orientation, so there's no promise of excitement there. Oh well. At least I'll be getting paid for it.

2008-06-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

So I really wish I could just snap my fingers and our apartment would be completely put together. I keep trying, but so far, actual work has been required. Boo. Things are coming along though. Slowly coming along. Yesterday we went to Wal-Mart and bought curtains and curtain rods for the living room and both bedrooms (the only places we have windows). I was super excited about everything we found and couldn't wait to put them up. And then I started trying to put them up. Turns out we have like crazy reinforced window frames or something. If you get too close to the window, nothing goes in the wall. If you move just a bit over, you can get the screws in deceivingly well until there's about 1/4 of an inch left, and then it's just stuck there. Good luck finding the rare spot in the wall that you can actually put a screw into, and it's basically a miracle if the same spot on the opposite side of the window will work. But, after much frustration, spackle, and a trip to Arlington by my wonderful, amazing husband to get a drill from his parents, I have successfully hung the curtains in the living room and our spare bedroom. Today's task is our room. Good luck to us.

Exciting: our bed arrived yesterday! It is currently still in boxes, because the curtain ordeal pretty much zapped any manual labor desires for the day. But, hopefully today we will get it assembled and actually be able to sleep in our room instead of the guest room! Hooray!

Exciting #2: as I sit here typing, the stuff for our second bathroom just arrived! We got this super cute bathroom set from Target that is blue and brown polka dots. I can't wait to put it up! Maybe someday soon our apartment will actually look like a liveable environment!

Before I go, I just have to brag a little bit about our dog. Emmy is pretty much the least intimidating dog I know. She is scared to death of strangers. But, the last few days she has started trying to protect her people. When the cable guy came the other day, she actually barked out loud when he came to the door. (I think my family still believes she doesn't know how to bark.) Then, yesterday and today when the UPS guy has come, she has started growling before he even knocked on the door. She just knew someone who didn't belong here was coming! I'm so proud of my Emmy. Maybe she'll grow up to be a vicious watch dog after all. Ha!

2008-06-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

Well, Charles and I are now officially residents of North Richland Hills. We loaded up all our stuff on Friday and hit the road. Our original plan was to load everything on Friday and leave Saturday morning, but thanks to our amazing friends, we got the entire apartment loaded in like an hour and a half, so we decided to go ahead and get going. And, in case anyone was wondering, Charles is an incredible truck driver. He only cut off one person (that I witnessed) and managed to drive pretty close to the speed limit the entire way. Maybe if the teaching thing doesn't work out, he'll have a future in driving...

Speaking of teaching... CHARLES GOT A JOB!!! We are super excited. He will be teaching Algebra I at good old Martin High School in Arlington, our alma mater and workplace of both of his parents. I think last I posted he had been offered the job at Kennedale Jr. High, but had yet to accept or deny it. He ended up passing it up on Wednesday morning, and Thursday morning he was offered the job at Martin. Today he went and signed the papers to make it official. It is so exciting to finally be able to see what God has had planned all along. I knew He had something in store for us, but we were getting pretty antsy! I am so excited to see how this all pans out!

2008-06-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that Charles and I only have 3 days left in Abilene. Saturday morning Charles, Emmy, me, and the moving van will be rolling out to North Richland Hills to start the next chapter of our lives. I am excited about the change, but a little sad at the same time. I have pretty much already worked my last day at Hendrick. Technically my last day is Friday, but I am just the on-call nurse, and considering we have been lucky to have more than 2 patients in the past few weeks, I'm not counting on being needed. (Isn't it sad that to a nurse it's a lucky thing when people are in the hospitial? What kind of sick, twisted creatures are we?) Anyway, I figure I have to at least go in for a few hours on Friday to say goodbye to everyone, but it's weird to think that I've worked my last shift there. Hendrick has been good to me, and I will miss all the crazy people I worked with on the pedi unit. Fun times.

Last week, Charles and I spent a week at Brookhaven Retreat as camp staff for New Beginnings Camp, which is a Christian camp for 1st-6th graders run by some people from my church in Arlington. I was asked to help out as one of the camp nurses, and Charles was put to work as a counselor and group leader. Having grown up going to camp and being a camp counselor, I was excited from the get-go. Charles was a little less enthusiastic about it all. Ok, really, he didn't want to go. He had been super stressed with looking for a job and studying for his high school math certification which he took the day before we left (P.S. - He passed!!!) But, wonderful wife that I am, I wouldn't listen to him and made him go anyway. He loved it. The kids loved him, and he promised all his little 2nd grade boys that he would be back next year. And I never even said "I told you so." Ok, that's a lie. But I just knew that he had to experience it himself to understand it. Camp is not something that can be explained, it must be lived in order to be appreciated.

Speaking of the job search, Charles got his first official job offer today from Kennedale Jr. High. He has not officially accepted or declined the job yet, because we're kind of waiting to see how the high school search pans out, since teaching high school is what he really wants to do. But things are definitely looking up. He has had several interviews, and sent out a ton of applications.

God is working in our lives in a big way. It has been so cool to me to watch Him work in Charles over the past week or so. Before we left for camp last week, Charles was getting pretty discouraged about the job hunt/certification test. He spent all of his time either studying or filling out applications, without a lot of obvious results. After taking his test on Friday, he didn't feel strongly about how he did, and his outlook was pretty grim. I had been trying to be the encouraging wife, but it gets harder and harder to say everything will work out when you can't see anything happening. Saturday morning we left for camp, and I prayed that it really would be the week of distraction and refocusing for him that I kept telling him it would be. And, as usual, God answered my prayer. I think being around all those kids and witnessing the amazing faith and belief that even a 6-year-old child can possess was what we both needed. When we came back on Wednesday, everything was different. Charles had gotten 2 calls for interviews while we were at camp, and set up another when we got back. He found out the night we got back that he passed his certification test. And his attitude and outlook on the whole situation is like a new person. God has really shown his power to both of us at a time when we really needed to know that He hadn't forgotten us.

Charles and I were talking today about our relationship and our marriage and everything. We decided that we pretty much sailed through our time of dating and engagement without much drama. Everything pretty much went our way and we just had fun. But since we've been married, life has been a bit more hectic. Trying to juggle a move and new jobs and just figuring out how to be married has been anything but an easy task. But I think we've done a pretty good job so far. We may not have always had the sunniest of times, but I think going through all of this together has done nothing but strengthen our relationship with each other and with God. I know there will plenty more obstacles placed in front of us during the course of our marriage, but it makes me happy to know that as long as we have God on our side, we can make it through whatever life throws at us. I am one blessed girl!

2008-06-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

So it looks like life is going to be pretty busy in the coming weeks for the newest Nobles family. I am working the next 2 days, and on Friday Charles has his high school math certification test, which he has been studying for like a maniac for the past several weeks. Saturday morning we are headed out to east Texas for 5 days of working with the kids at New Beginnings Camp. I will be one of the camp nurses, and Charles is going to be a counselor. I am very excited. This will be Charles' first experience with church camp, and I think he's a little unsure of what to expect, but I think he will really enjoy it.

The day after we get back from camp, I have all my pre-employment appointments at Cooks, and Charles has a job fair. Then it's back to Abilene so I can work the following 3 days in a row. I hope I don't pass out. I have a feeling I will be pretty near exhausted at that point.

That week after camp is going to be my last week at Hendrick. I am excited and sad about that at the same time. I am sad to leave Hendrick. I got my start here, and I love the people here and all that I have experienced and learned during my 2 years here. However, I am also really excited about starting at Cooks. I know I am going to learn so much there. Besides, it has always been a goal of mine to work at Cooks, and it feels good to know that I am about to see that goal acccomplished.

I am getting pretty excited about moving back to the Metroplex as well. Last weeekend, Charles and I signed a lease at some apartments in North Richland Hills. We will be living in a complex called The Villas on the Green. They are very nice. We are going to have a bigger place, with 2 bedrooms and bathrooms instead of the 1 we have now, which will be nice. We also get a garage, which I am super excited about! We have been wanting to get bikes for a while now, but we currently have nowhere to store them, so a garage will offer a solution to that little problem. I am pretty sad about leaving all our friends here in Abilene, but at the same time, it feels like it's time to move on.

So, this means that at some point in the very near future, we need to start packing our apartment. I am not excited about this. At all. But, I suppose I don't really have much choice in the matter, so I'll just have to suck it up and do it. Done and done.

2008-05-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

Today when I went to work I forgot to bring my retainer case. This didn't prove to be problematic until it came time for me to eat my daily dose of strawberry PopTarts with icing and rainbow sprinkles. (No better way to start the day!) I realized that I had no where to store my retainers while I ate, and I warned my coworkers that they would have to endure a few moments of looking at the slimy things, though I did try to hide them as best I could in a paper towel. Lesley, our wonderful, amazing nursing clerk, would have none of it. Not because she was grossed out or anything, but because she didn't want me to accidently throw away my $200 orthodontic appliances. Her solution? To call down to central supply and request a denture cup. A DENTURE CUP! How weird do you think the central supply person must have thought we were when we requested a denture cup be sent to the pediatric unit? But, I must say, it served its purpose well. My retainers lived there all day, wonderfully sheltered from any ills that may have otherwise befallen them. Thank you Lesley.

Also, I have this annoying sore on the very tip of my tongue that sprung up sometime around lunchtime today. It hurts and it bugs me and I hope it goes away soon. The end.

2008-04-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

So, Charles and I have been a little frustrated because we haven't gotten any of our wedding pictures yet and it's been like 6 weeks since the wedding. But today we got just a taste of what's to come. The photographer emailed Charles 5 of the pictures, with a promise of more to come next week. So exciting!! I will share:

2008-04-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

Update on my life:

1) As of July, I will be employeed at Cook Children's Hospital on a surgical floor. I am super excited! I was offered both jobs I applied for, and this is the one I really wanted!

2) Today I have 2 less teeth than I did yesterday. I had my wisdom teeth pulled today. Luckily, I only had the 2 on top, and I was able to have them pulled in the dentist's office without having to be put under for surgery or anything. I feel fine, except for the fact that I though I might starve to death today. Real food tomorrow! Yay!

3) I have the most wonderful, incredible, amazing husband ever. He took spent the whole day taking care of me, bringing me mashed potatoes, taking me to Sonic for a milkshake and french fries, and making sure I didn't sneak any forbidden Oreos. And, he watched The Bachelor with me. I love him!! :)

4) We are still sending up constant prayers as to where exactly God wants us to live and what the job front looks like for Charles. Additional prayers for us would be greatly appreciated!

2008-04-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update for those of you who actually read this thing:

Charles and I are pretty much set on moving to the Metroplex this summer. So set that I have not one, but two interviews at Cook Children's Hospital tomorrow! Wish me luck! I haven't been in an interview in a while. I hope I remember how to answer questions!

Also, Charles is in the process of filling out multiple applications for various school districts, and we are just trying to figure out where God wants us to go! Prayers for guidance are welcome!!

2008-04-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

Well, now that I have been married for almost 3 weeks now, I guess it's about time for an update so you all know that I did actually go through with the wedding. Not that there were ever any doubts!! :) I am absolutely loving being married to Charles! It is so much fun to come home to our place and go to bed next to him and wake up next to him and do everyday life things together. The wedding went wonderfully. It seemed like it went by so fast! I really can't even tell you who all was there or what things ended up looking like. We were constantly being swept here and there to take pictures, or pulled aside for brief hugs and chats. I loved every minute of it. I am also glad I never have to do it again. A lot of planning and organizing and stressing and a little bit of crying went into making it all that it was, and I don't know that I would have it in me to do it again. I am hoping to get the pictures from the photographer in the next week or so, so hopefully there will be some photo documentation soon.

The honeymoon was fantastic. It was so nice just to get away and just be with Charles for an entire week. We had a blast on the cruise, minus the one day we got seasick. Ok, the day I got seasick. I promise I really not that big of a wimp. Even the crew of the ship commented on how rough the water was that day. Luckily, that was the first day and things smoothed out considerably after that. Swimming with dolphins was amazing. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We even got to get pulled between 2 dolphins while holding onto their dorsal fins, and have them push our feet with their noses so that we ended up basically standing on their noses while they swam. It was incredible. Mostly it was just nice to not have to do anything. Charles and I were so exhausted after the wedding and everything, so we spent quite a lot of time just sleeping and attempting to recover from all of the craziness. Coming back to real life after that was a bit of a shock.

I have been working quite a bit since we got back in town. I think I will finally be done orienting people next week, which will be nice. I reallly don't mind orienting, but after a while I miss getting to just be a nurse. Yesterday was the first day in a long time that I got to just take care of my own patients and actually do things myself. It was wonderful. Today I had to be the charge nurse, which was not bad, but I miss the patient interaction. Dan is wanting me to start charging more now that I am finished orienting people. He told me he wants to give me plenty of charge experience because he knows that I'm probably not going to be at Hendrick forever, and he wants to give me some good experience to put on a resume'. I do appreciate that.

Speaking of resume's, I need to start dusting mine off and getting it up to date. Charles and I are doing some serious thinking about where we are going to be this summer, and we have decided to get a little more proactive in looking for jobs back in the Metroplex. So, I am applying for a couple of jobs at Cook Children's. I don't know if anyone will be interested in hiring someone who can't start until July, but I figure it's worth a shot. Charles has been scoping out school districts trying to figure out where he wants to apply. It seems that we pretty much have our choice. Apparently math teachers are in pretty high demand. So, we just have to figure out what exacty God has plannned for us. Lots of prayers for guidance are being sent up around here. Feel free to send one up on our behalf if you think about it!

2008-02-29T09:12:00.000-08:00

For those of you who may have lost count, let me remind you that Charles and I are getting married in 15 days!!! That's like 2 weeks! Holy cow. I'm so excited. Sometimes it doesn't even seem real, and sometimes it just hits me. Wow. I'm going to be married. I have to live with a boy. I can't wait!!!

Adding to the excitement, I went to the orthodontist yesterday and found out that I get to get my braces off the Tuesday before the wedding!! How fantastic is that? No brace-face wedding pictures! Hooray for Dr. Taylor.

Yesterday I hung out with Sarah for most of the day. I love that girl. And she is such a cute pregnant person! I can't wait to meet that little guy! She helped me hang a bunch of stuff on the walls of the apartment and helped me move over my desk. Our apartment is coming along pretty well, and I have to say it's quite cute. The living room and kitchen are pretty much done, but we won't be able to finish up the bedroom until I move over my furniture. When everything finally comes together I'll post pictures. Promise.

Tonight is my bachelorette/lingerie party. I'm excited but slightly freaked out. The thought of other people giving me scandalous undergarments is a little out of my comfort zone. Give me pajama pants and a tank top and I'm a happy girl. Oh well. I will survive.

2008-02-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hi friends! I'm back. I did not drop off the face of the earth for a month and a half. I have been very busy. Very. This past weekend we had 2 wedding showers! So much fun! Some of Charles' family hosted a shower for us on Saturday night that was so much fun. The theme was "Around the Clock." On each invitation, there was a particular time of day, and the guests brought gifts appropriate for that time. It was a really cute idea. They had the whole place decorated with times and signs that said things like "Snack time," "Drink time," even "Potty time." And there was a giant cake shaped like a clock that had the time and date of our wedding. So cute! On Sunday we had our shower at Pleasant Ridge. It was a lot of fun too. I have been to so many showers at church throughout the years, and it was kind of weird being on the other end of things! Between the 2 showers, we got more stuff than we will ever know what to do with. It's pretty amazing that God has blessed us with so many people in our lives who love us so much. The current project at hand is now trying to go through everything and find homes for it all, and figure out what needs to be taken back. As always, there were several duplicate gifts. I'm pretty sure we're never going to need 3 tea kettles or 4 decks of Phase 10 cards! It's all very fun and exciting. I'm definitely getting very antsy for the wedding to get here. 31 days to go. Charles and I realized on the way back from Arlington this weekend that the next time we go back will be for the wedding. That's a pretty crazy realization. But it makes me very happy too! I can't wait!!

2008-01-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all!

I can't really believe that it's 2008 already, but at the same time, I have been so eager for it to come! Only 74 more days till I get married! I am so ready. But maybe you could have guessed that...

I celebrated the arrival of the new year by sleeping soundly through it. My work schedule got tweaked at the last minute and I ended up having to work both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, so that left pretty much no time for parties. Oh well. 2008 came just fine without my witnessing it, as I was most certain the case would be.

It seems like I have been working quite a lot recently. The environment at my work is still one of much change, and frequently, much stress. We have pretty much been in a state of constant turnover since the summer, which makes things a little difficult. It's hard to have adequate staffing when as soon as we get one person oriented, someone else leaves. There are currently 4 nurses in their orientation periods, 2 of whom are under my supervision. I was a little terrified when Dan approached me last week and told me he wanted me to coach 2 people simultaneously, but we talked through it, and I am hoping it will go smoothly. One of my orientees has already been with me for quite a while now, so she is pretty much independent. The other is a newly graduated RN, but she was an LVN before, so she has a very solid knowledge base. I have only worked with her one day so far, but she seems very competent and very eager to do well, so I doubt I'll run into much trouble with her. Also, their orientations will only overlap until the 21st of January, and then I'll just have one again. But seriously, by the time all is said and done, I will have been coaching people for like 5 solid months! Sometimes I don't even feel like I do anything when I go to work, because I have to let them do everything. I miss the doing things myself. But I know they need the experience, so I just follow along and watch and help as needed.

Right now I am sad because Charles left for Arlington this afternoon and will be gone for a whole week. :( Granted, I do have to work all but 2 of the days he will be gone, but still. I haven't had to go a day without seeing him since the beginning of August when Megan and I went to Las Vegas. I love being able to see him all the time. Did I mention I am ready to get married?

Exciting news!! Yesterday, Charles found himself/us an apartment!! The whole finding-a-place-to-live thing has been hanging over our heads for quite some time now, and I am so glad to have it resolved! At first, we were looking for a small house to rent, because we knew Emmy would be living there too, and we really didn't want to have to deal with a dog in an apartment. However, as the search progressed, we began to realize that all of the houses located in the area we want to live were either too expensive, falling apart, too huge, or too creepy. Also, we were having a hard time finding people who were willing to let us sign a 6 month lease or who were ok with the fact that we have a dog. By Sunday night, I had about had it. The more we talked about it, the more we came to realize that living in an apartment might be a better option after all. Most apartments are willing to offer 6 month leases, and most are ok with pets. Also, Charles and I both realized that we have been pretty spoiled by living in nice places all of our lives, and we weren't really thrilled about the prospect of moving into a dilapidated house, which is about all our budget would allow. So on Monday Charles set out to see about the apartment situation, and found us a great deal. There is a brand new apartment complex in Abilene that just opened in November, not too far from where I live now. They are really nice, and because they are so new and needing residents, and because of some holiday special they were having, we were able to get a really great deal on a 6 month lease. So, as of January 15 Charles will be living in our brand new apartment at Lexington Court, and Emmy and I will join him in March after the wedding. I am so excited!! I actually haven't seen the inside of the apartment yet, but we did drive by them the other day during our house hunting excursion, and they look really nice. Charles got to take a tour of one, and he assures me I will fall in love with it the minute I see it. Our lease runs through June 30, after which we will most likely be heading back to the Metroplex.

So many exciting things are coming up this year! I am hoping 2008 is going to be a really fantastic year!

2007-12-24T15:35:00.001-08:00

I have been getting in trouble for not updating this thing, so here is my attempt at redemption. As it turns out, Charles and I will not be moving back to Arlington just yet. At the last minute, the job he was counting on fell through, so we will be in Abilene for at least one more semester. My contract at Hendrick goes through May, and we'll see what God has in store for us after that. I hope everyone is having a very Merry Christmas! Perhaps I will update more later. Love to all!!

2007-12-05T20:37:00.000-08:00

So it is beginning to look pretty likely that Charles is going to be employed in Arlington beginning in January. Nothing is 100% certain yet, but we have reason to be pretty confident about it. This is a pretty huge development, which is going to lead to some significant changes in the very near future. We are both very excited and nervous at the same time. I can assure you there are a lot of prayers going up right now that God will show us his plan and get us through this potential transition smoothly. Feel free to send up an extra prayer for us if you have a moment! Thanks!

2007-11-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

So, considering it has been over a month since you heard from me last, I thought it was about time to update. Thanksgiving has already come and gone. This year has seriously flown by!! I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. With only minor finagling on my part, I was able to be off Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for Thanksgiving. So, we got to go to Arlington, spend plenty of time with both my family and Charles' family, and not have to drive back on Thanksgiving day. Hooray for Michelle for agreeing to work Friday for me!!

While we were in Arlington, a few exciting wedding-related events took place.
1) On Wednesday, I got to bring home my wedding dress!! Hooray! It is currently hanging in Brandon's closest (the only place we could find to accomodate the size of the bag) awaiting alterations. I pretty much lucked out and only have to get it hemmed for length, because it fits perfectly everywhere else. I just have to be extra careful not to store away any extra poundage before March!!
2) Our invitations came in!! They are super cute, if I do say so myself. Quite simple, and exactly what I wanted. I brought the whole box of them back with me to Abilene because before they will be mail-ready, I have to go through and tie a tiny black ribbon on each one. All 275 of them. Should be good times! Oh, and let's not forget the addressing of them all. It's a good thing we have a couple months before they have to get in the mail!
3) We booked the location for the rehearsal dinner. Johnny Carino's here we come! I am very excited about this little accomplishment. We are going to have some fantastic Italian food and possibly the best chocolate cake ever. And, the girl who set it all up for us was so amazing that she worked it to where we got a super reasonable price for everything, plus sent us home with a pocketful of gift cards to use between now and January! What a deal!

I am so ready to get married. Is it March 15 yet? Only 110 days to go!

The parts of my life not consumed with wedding planning are going pretty well also. Work has been a bit insane lately. We are starting to get a taste of the winter months with more patients. Last Monday just about killed everyone working. We got 9 admissions that day, some of which were pretty critical. No one got a lunch or even a break that day. It was nuts, but we survived. And, I got to see an IV placed in the external jugular vein. I didn't even know that could be done! I felt really bad for the traumatized parents who had to witness it being done on their 1-year-old baby, but it was pretty cool to see from the nursing perspective. The next few weeks and months will be pretty interesting because we're short-staffed as it is, and I just found out this weekend that we're losing 2 more RN's on day shift in 2 weeks. Goo. But, God has gotten us through some pretty rough patches already, so I have no doubt He will get us through this one as well.

Also, there is a possibility that I will be one of the ones saying goodbye to Hendrick in the next few months. Nothing is certain yet, but a pretty incredible possibility has just been laid in front of Charles for a job back in Arlington. He would get to coach soccer, which is his dream. The whole opportunity is something we never could have imagined. Only it starts in January. So, if it all works out, he will move back to Arlington in January to start this job, and I will join him in March when we get married. That is definitely a pretty significant change from the plans we thought we had, but I'm starting to realize that God usually has plans of his own, so maybe this is one of them. We have been doing a lot of thinking and praying, and we are excited to see what path God will lead us down. I realize I'm being a bit vague right now, but as things become more certain, I will fill you in on the details.

The whole possibility of leaving Abilene in March has me a bit torn. I know for a fact that Abilene is not where I want to be forever, but it has treated me well these past 5 1/2 years. I have a lot of friends here, and I have a great job that I love and do well at. However, things are not all about me anymore. I am about to get married, which means my life is directly tied to Charles' life. I have to consider what is best for him. If this job in Arlington works out, I have no doubt that it will be in his best interest to take it. And, that being said, I will gladly say goodbye to this stage of my life and welcome the next with open arms. His success means my success, and his happiness means my happiness. I believe that if it is God's plan for Charles to get a job in the Metroplex, then He has a place for me in the Metroplex as well.

2007-10-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

My apologies to those of you who were creeped out by the picture in my previous post. But seriously, how can you have something like that happen to you and not document? It absolutely had to be done. And, to ease any concerned persons, my eyes have since returned to their typical state of symmetry. All is well.

Periodically, one sees unusual sights here in Abilene, Texas. Just the other day, Megan and I were on one of our typical Bueno runs, when there in the Taco Bueno parking lot we laid eyes upon a motorcycle painted like a cow. Also, there was a stuffed cow strapped on back. I think we both realized what we were seeing at exactly the same time, because the conversation just kind of halted as we took a moment to take it all in. Megan quickly turned to me, and I knew exactly what she was waiting for. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera on me this time. Normally, I carry my camera in my purse at all times, for just this kind of situation. I have a small collection of photos documenting a variety of odd and humorous sights we have run across while out and about in Abilene. My current thought is that some day, when we both break free from the bonds of Abilene, we can compile our snapshots into a coffee table book honoring the... we'll call it uniqueness of Abilene and the surrounding towns. I feel it absolutely necessary to allow inclusions from towns other than Abilene as well, because I would feel completely wrong not including the picture of the dinosaur skeleton made of car parts which Charles and I encountered in Stamford on the way to my family reunion this summer. We actually turned the car around and drove back in order to capture that one. I feel this project will be a good one. Stayed tuned.

Today I was made aware of a fact which shocked and astounded me: Charles does not like hot chocolate!! How could I have remained oblivious to this fact for so many months? Who doesn't like hot chocolate? Especially the way Megan and I drink it, with marshmallows and a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream mixed in? It seems downright wrong! Apparently, Charles revealed this little tidbit of information to Megan earlier today, and asked her if she thought I might call off the wedding because of it. I'll admit I was almost speechless when I found out, but I haven't changed my mind about marrying him. He has plenty of amazing traits that offset this one shortcoming. Besides, if I give up now, there's no hope of conversion!! :) Also, I am completely in love with him. I can't imagine anyone else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with. I am one happy, incredibly blessed girl.

2007-10-11T08:44:00.001-07:00

Well, today I went back the eye doctor to deal with the issue of my contacts. Turns out, the prescription I am accustomed to actually allows me to see better than 20/20, so when my new eye doctor wrote my new prescription so I could see 20/20, my eyes weren't getting what they were used to. Basically, my eyes are spoiled. He went ahead and bumped my prescription up a little, but he said he wants to gradually work it down to where I'm just at 20/20, because it will be healthier for my eyes. Who knew my over-achieving tendencies were affecting my eyesight too!?!

Also, while I was at the eye doctor, he dilated my eyes, since I really couldn't remember the last time I had had this done. Apparently my left eye responded really well to the dilating drops, while my right eye decided to be a bit stubborn. Here, let me show you what I mean.

Anyone else find that slightly creepy? Needless to say, my vision is just a bit off in that left eye at the moment. I'm just hoping nothing happens that takes me to the emergency room or anything, because if I were to come across someone looking like me right now, I'd be suspecting some serious neurological compromise. Eek!

2007-10-06T21:36:00.000-07:00

Exciting news! Our engagement pictures are up!! Hooray for Hannah and her awesome photography skills, as well as insane efficiency! She's the greatest! You can check them out at http://vickersphotography.photostockplus.com. Just click on the folder called Charles and Brooke Engagement. Now we just face the incredibly overwhelming task of going through all 308 pictures and picking out which ones we want! Good luck to us!!

For the record, Beauty and the Beast was absolutely fantastic!! It was the Disney version, which of course is the best way to go, and all the music and sets and cosutmes were amazing. Way to go McMurry for putting on a thoroughly enjoyable show. It was so hard for me not to sing along. But, I managed to save the sing along for the car ride home. :) Probably one of my favorite aspects was the fact that the guy playing Gaston looked very much like David, Charles' brother, with a little hint of my friend Chris. It made me smile every time he was on stage.

Megan and I are currently watching The Family Stone, and it is making me wish it was Christmas so badly! I love Christmas time. The decorations and the food and the family and the Christmas carols and everything. I just love everything about it! Only 2 1/2 months to go!! And, even more exciting, only 3 months after Christmas I get to marry the love of my life!! Hooray! Life is good. :)

2007-10-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

Well, Charles and I had our engagement pictures taken yesterday. I thought it was pretty fun. I think Charles mostly enjoyed it, but he was also pretty tired and hungry, so we were working to fight off the crankiness. :) Chili's afterwards definitely helped. Hannah should be sending me a link to her website where we can look at them sometime this weekened, so I'll keep you posted.

I got new contacts yesterday also. Apparently the old kind I have been wearing since I was 13 have been depriving my eyeballs of oxygen, so my eyes are now growing blood vessels where blood vessels should not grow. A little creepy. The only problem is, I don't think they're the right strength. I don't like looking at the world from a fuzzy point of view. I'm going to try them again today and see if it's any better, but it looks like I may be back to wearing glasses until I can go back to the eye doctor on Thursday. Boo.

Tonight Charles is taking me to see Beauty and the Beast at McMurry. This weekend is their homecoming and that is their homecoming musical this year. I am excited. I love Beauty and the Beast! And, I love Charles! And, I love that he loves me enough to take me to see musicals based on Disney movies! I think I'm a pretty lucky girl.

2007-09-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

hello all. so it has been quite some time since i have posted anything here. i think about 2 people care. and so, for those 2 people, an update:

wedding plans are coming along. the dress is ordered, the photographer is booked, the invitations have been picked out, decorations are in the works. oh, and the honeymoon is booked! hooray for a day in new orleans followed by a cruise to mexico! i am enjoying the whole wedding-planning process, but i am definitely ready for the wedding to get here so i can be married!!

work is a little bit crazy at the moment. winter has definitely hit as far as the patient census is concerned. we went from having 4-5 patients to having 10-12 patients in like a week! we are surviving so far, but we are in pretty serious need of some more staff. if anyone knows of any pediatric nurses looking for a place to go, send them our way! night shift is really having a tough time. i think they lost about half their staff in past month or 2. it should make for an interesting next few months...

sad news. the pink room is now officially history. the little bathroom off the laundry room is now about 3 times its original size, and our beatiful hot pink den is now a bedroom painted the same khaki shade as the rest of the bedrooms in the house. it's actually a pretty nice bedroom with it's own private bathroom. too bad we don't have a roommate to live in it.

i have recently become addicted to the office. probably one of the funniest shows i have ever seen. i failed in my efforts to watch all of the first 3 seasons before season 4 premiered this past thursday, but i did watch enough to fully appreciate the fact that jim and pam are finally dating!! hooray! charles and i have been watching the earlier seasons pretty much all the time. we are about half way through season 2 at this point. it's fantastic. it almost makes me wish i worked in an office setting, but only if i could work with someone like dwight k. schrute.

i have decided that i want to become a person who enjoys running. i think it would be good for me. the only problem is, i currently hate running. how do i convert? i guess the best way is to just start. charles said he will go running with me. good luck to us. i hope he doesn't leave me behind.

2007-09-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hello readers! I thought you all might like to know that Charles and I have changed the date of our wedding. The new date to save is March 15, 2008. Only 193 days away!!

2007-08-12T19:14:00.001-07:00

Hi friends.

I returned to Abilene tonight from another weekend in Arlington. The other day, I added up how much I spent on gas during the month of July. It was a slightly depressing amount. A lot of dollars. We'll leave it at that.

This weekend was fun. My mom and I went "wedding shopping." I tried on wedding dresses, which was way much fun. I found one that I really like, but no purchase has been made as of yet. We did make several purchases for wedding ceremony/reception use. Am I allowed to say that I think our wedding is going to be way cute? Because it is. There, I said it. Deal.

I AM GOING TO GET MARRIED!!

Sorry, sometimes it just hits me and I get really excited. Not that that's a bad thing. It's just that for all of my life my wedding day was this fuzzy day off in the far away. And now it's not. And that makes me happy. :) I found my perfect guy and in 307 days, he will become my perfect husband. Forever. This makes me smile.

My house is lonely and quiet right now. Megan is in Arlington for an undetermined amount of time, and new roommate Traci is at work, I assume. I do have my puppy back with me in Abilene, which makes me happy, but she's not much of a conversationalist. Oh well. I should probably just call it bedtime and go to sleep. Goodnight, my loves!

2007-08-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some highlights of my life right now:

I just got back from spending 4 days in Las Vegas with Megan and her aunt and uncle. It was very much fun, and also incredibly exhausting. I ended up being the only one of the 4 of us to win any money. I think I came home about $60 better than when I left. Not too shabby, but I'm beginning to second-guess my decision to quit my job in favor of becoming a professional gambler.

Emmy has ringworm. Sad day. We discovered a mysterious scaly lesion on her leg a day or two before I left town. Charles took her to the vet and the diagnosis was made. Now she's on 2 different medicines and has to be bathed with special shampoo. (Did I mention how much she hates baths?) She is considered highly contagious to other dogs, so that means she will be spending at least another week on quarantine in Arlington. I feel like a horrible pet parent. (Random sidenote: the prescription bottles that Emmy's medicine came in say her owners are Charles and Brooke Nobles. Fun!)

Yesterday, because we wanted to do something besides clean our house, Megan and I took a quick trip to David's Bridal to look at bridesmaids' dresses. The most important discovery that we made is that there are many, many horribly unfortunate-looking bridesmaids' dresses in the world. Some looked like they were inside out. Some were made of what I like to call "mermaid material." And some were just too horrendous for words. There were a few decent looking ones in the mix, so I am hopeful that my friends will not have to stand next to me in trash bag dresses. Megan assures me that she will not wearanything that in any way resembles a tent, nor will she will let me. This is a true friend.

I am getting married in 315 days. Just in case you were wondering. :)

2007-07-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hello, dear readers. I am sorry I have left you so long without knowing the goings-on of my life. I hope that you can find it in your hearts to forgive me...

Life is good. Lots of coming and going. I feel as though much of my time is spent either A) working, B) in Arlington, or C) driving between Abilene and Arlington. That stretch of I-20 and I have become quite familiar with each other as of late. :)

I had to charge at work today. Not my favorite task, but one I am slowly becoming more comfortable with. It helps to have great coworkers who are supportive and willing to lend some knowledge and experience in areas where I am still lacking a bit.

I am still loving being engaged. :) As a matter of fact, I don't anticipate this being something I will ever feel any less excited about. I get more and more excited every day. Charles is pretty much amazing, and I smile every time I think about the fact that I get to spend my life with him. The people I work with tell me I start glowing every time his name is mentioned. I don't argue with them. I know it's true. I miss him. But I get to see him tomorrow, and this makes me happy.

I also miss my puppy. She stayed in Arlington with my parents when I came back to Abilene on Tuesday. I kind of think they might like her a little bit. She likes them too, so it works out pretty well. But I think she likes me too, and I hear she misses me. I am excited to see her tomorrow too.

I am tired. I think maybe I will go to bed soon. But I will leave you with a story:

When I got home on Tuesday night, I was exhausted. By the time I finally got home and settled and wound down for the night, it was probably around 11 or so. I was excited to sleep. Just before I drifted off to sleep, a very loud chirping noise jerked me back to life. A cricket had taken up residence in my bedroom. Not acceptable. I got out of bed and attempted to locate the thing. By following the chirps, I determined that it was hiding somewhere in the bookshelf by my bedroom door. I could not find it. But the noise I made while looking for it seemed to scare it into silence, so I gave up and went back to bed. About 5 minutes later, again, just as I was about to fall asleep, the chirping began again. Again, I made a fruitless attempt to locate the culprit. Again, it shut up and I went back to bed. This continued for quite some time. Probably an hour or more. Eventually, I stopped getting up to try to find the cricket, and resorted to tossing my pillow in its general direction to scare it into silence. The last time I remember looking at the clock, it was around 1:55. I'm not sure if it finally stopped chirping for good, or if I fell asleep to its screeching lullaby. Fast forward to Wednesday night. I went to bed fairly early, having not fully recovered from the previous night's activity. Again, about 5 minutes after I turned out the lights, the familiar chirping began. This night I was not having it. I was determined that this creature would not be responsible for 2 sleepless nights in a row. I got up, turned on the lights, and began my hunt. I finally located the stupid thing on one of the shelves in my bookcase behind some books. (And when I say "located," I mean it jumped up practically into my face and just about scared the life out of me.) The chase was on. I grabbed a nearby piece of paper and attempted to catch the little guy. Let me tell you, crickets are quite speedy, and are blessed with some impressive jumping skills. After a brief chase around the room, I was finally able to catch him with my paper trap. As soon as I had him, I immediately squished him without a second thought. No more cricket keeping me awake at night! I went back to bed feeling triumphant at first, but then surprisingly guilty. I actually felt bad for killing the nuisance that had kept me awake almost all of the preceding night. Charles told me I shouldn't feel bad because it probably didn't feel bad for keeping me awake. I understand his logic, but I still can't help but feel a pang of guilt whenever I think about it. But don't worry... I'm not losing any sleep over it. And I mean that quite literally... :)

2007-07-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

Silly me. I forgot to include the picture of the ring. Here it is.

P.S. - We set the date today! June 14, 2008. Mark your calendars!! :)

Details

2007-07-06T00:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's how the whole getting engaged thing went down:

Charles came to Abilene to see me for the 4th of July. I had to work all day, so when he got to town around 5 or so, he came up to the hospital to see me. He met my coworkers and hung out for a bit, and then headed back to my house to wait for me to get off. He never acted weird or nervous or anything. I was clueless.

I got off work around 7:30ish and headed home, excited because Charles had promised to take me out to eat since we hadn't been on a real date in a while. I called him on the way home, as I always do, to see what he had been up to since I saw him last. He told me something about hanging out and watching TV or something. I told him I was on my way home and I'd see him in a few minutes, thinking that we'd hang up and I see him in about 3 minutes when I got to the house. But he wouldn't let me off the phone. I figured he just wanted to talk because he was bored, but I later learned he didn't want to take any chances on me calling my parents for any reason and having the surprise ruined. (It seems my parents have known for about 2 weeks now that this was all going to happen! I must say I am impressed with their secret keeping abilities!)

When I pulled into the driveway, Charles was waiting for me at the front door, dressed all nice in a button-down shirt and jeans. I thought this was a little unusual, since both of us generally dress pretty casually when we go anywhere, but I figured maybe he just wanted to look nice for our date. Once I got inside, he told me he had something for me and led me into my room, where there was a vase of red roses waiting for me on my dresser. At this point I still didn't really suspect anything, because he has been known to bring me flowers for no reason on more than one occasion in the past. He seemed really anxious to get going on our date, but I told him I at least wanted to change out of my scrubs first because I felt all hospitaly. When I got done changing and came to tell him I was ready to go, he was outside. I asked him what he was doing and he said something about having to put some bag in his car. I had no clue what he was talking about, but really didn't think anything of it.

Charles had already informed me that he wasn't going to tell me where we were going to eat until we got there. Again, I didn't think there was anything unusual about this because he has loved surprising me from the very beginning of our relationship. (I think maybe it has something to do with his love of being in control of situations, but that's a different subject entirely...) But I love surprises almost as much as I hate making decisions, so I had no complaints. We got in the car and left. When we pulled out of my neighborhood, he turned the opposite direction from the way we would go to get to 99% of the eating establishments in Abilene. This struck me as a little odd, but there was a Chili's in the direction we were headed, so I figured maybe that's where we were going. Until he pulled into the main entrance of the ACU campus.

As we drove up the driveway toward ACU, I kept asking him what in the world we were doing there, and all he would say was, "Just trust me!" We drove around and parked in front of the new Jacob's Ladder sculpture in front of campus. As we got out, he pulled a book out of the back seat of his car. Again I asked what we were doing there, and again he told me to trust him. Then he made up some story about needing to return a book to the library, which was an obvious lie since I doubt he even knows how to get to the ACU library. I called him on that immediately and he made no efforts to cover that one up. He led me up to the statue and had me sit on one of the giant rocks next to the little pool with a waterfall that is part of the sculpture. He sat down next to me and handed me the book, which was a scrapbook of all the things we have done together from the first day we met until now.

I opened the book and was attempting to actually look at it and read the various things written in it, but Charles kept making me flip the pages. He told me that he was hungry and I could read it all later. I thought this was a little weird. If he was so hungry, why did we have to stop here first? And why give me a scrapbook if I can't look at it? But we continued flipping through the pages and remembering various dates we had been on and things we had done. I had already started developing suspicions at this point, but they were heightened even more when I turned to a page that had pictures of both of our families on it. I kept turning pages until I came to the very last page, which said "Will you marry me?" At just about the same time I was turning the page and processing what it said, I realized that Charles was no longer sitting next to me, but was on his knee in front of me holding a ring! He said some very nice things that I remember thinking were very sweet, and I noticed he was crying, but I really only halfway heard everything up until I heard the words "will you marry me?"

At this point, I pretty much lost all control of speech. I am 99% certain that the first thing I said was "Yes," but it was quickly followed by a string of word vomit, which probably included something along the lines of "Are you kidding me? Is this for real? Holy cow! Are you serious? Oh my gosh! This is not in the window!" (Sidenote: We had been talking about getting married for a while, and Charles had given me this "window" of when he was actually going to pop the question. The supposed time frame was from the beginning of August until the end of September. July 4 definitely was not in this window!) Anyway, when I finally ran out of air and was forced to pause for a second, Charles said, "Was there a 'yes' somewhere in there?" I immediately assured him that yes, there was absolutely a yes, and he put the ring on my finger and gave me a big hug and a kiss. For approximately the next 10 minutes I was in a state of complete and total shock, which involved a lot of smiles and hugs and kisses intermixed with multiple reminders that this day was "not in the window!" We were both so excited, and trying so hard to realize that what had just happened actually had happened!

I called my parents as soon as we got back in the car, and of course they knew exactly why I was calling and were so excited for us. Charles called his parents too, who also already knew what was going on, and they were thrilled as well. From ACU we went to Johnny Carino's, which is where we were eating the very first time we had an actual conversation, but neither one of us was really able to eat. We spent the whole time either on the phone or smiling and laughing and being giddy. We would occasionally take bites of our dinner, but I really don't think I even tasted my food.

The rest of the night was kind of a blur. We drove out to Hawley to watch fireworks with Megan and Stan and Pat and Gwyn, but by the time we got out there the show was almost over. I don't think either one of us cared. There were lots of calls made and congratulatory text messages received. It was such a perfect night. I can't believe I have found such a great guy, and that I get to spend the rest of my life with him!! I am so excited!!

ENGAGED!!

2007-07-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

That's right. Charles popped the big question tonight, and I said yes!! (Followed by a stream of chatter so extensive that Charles had to ask me if there was a 'yes' somewhere in there!) I will post a more detailed account of the evening's events and a picture of the bling tomorrow or so, but for now this is all you get. I am going to hang out with my FIANCE!!! :)

Death of the pink room and other life events

2007-06-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

The pink room is no more. This is a sad day indeed. Technically, I suppose it still is the pink room, as the walls remain hot pink, but it is now completely void of furniture, and will never return to its former glory. Perhaps i should explain. Tomorrow we are having all of the carpet in our house cleaned. (Hooray!) In order to allow for the most thorough of cleanings, we moved all of the furniture from the room into the kitchen. However, after the carpet is done, we will not be moving any furniture back into the pink room. We had a couple of contractors out today to look at things and make some estimates about turning that room into another bedroom. If all goes according to plan, by the end of the summer the pink room will be inhabited by one of our yet-to-be-discovered new roommates. I suppose this is a good decision that will ultimate make the house more marketable and desireable, but I will always mourn the loss of the pink room.

In other news, I am proud to admit that I stayed in my pajamas all day today!! I wasn't entirely lazy, as you may have gathered from the previous paragraph, but staying in my pj's definitely made me feel that way.

In case anyone was wondering, the concert last weekend was fantastic! As it turns out, Sara Evans wasn't there, we only got to see the very end of Taylor Swift's (very short) show, and we got rained on for a good hour or more, but all in all I'd have to say my first concert experience was a definite success. By the time Kenny Chesney took the stage, the rain had stopped and the stadium was packed. Everyone was on their feet the entire time, and there was much screaming and clapping and singing along to some fabulous music. I think I might be hooked. :) And of course I had the best date ever, which made the whole experience even better. I love him!!

Last night Julie and I went to see the movie Waitress. I had never heard of this movie before, but I definitely enjoyed it. Gotta love indie comedies that feature Andy Griffith!! There were a few aspects of the story line that could have been better, but the dialogue and the acting were absolutely hilarious. The whole experience was made even better by the fact that Julie and I were the only 2 people in the theater, so we were free to laugh and giggle as loudly and frequently as we pleased without fear of nasty stares. I only feel badly for the poor movie theater employee who was forced to keep the place open just for us. Maybe he was at least entertained by our peals of squeaky laughter.

Pictures!!!

2007-06-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

As promised/demanded, here are pictures of my new room.

And, for Kendra, a picture of me and Charles.

And a picture of Emmy, because she is just so darn cute!

2007-06-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

So apparently I am not so good at the updating of this thing, so to the two of you who actually read this thing or care, I apologize.

Life has calmed down to the point where I am not about to pull all my hair out anymore, so that's a good thing. Charles came and spent a week with me, which was definitely fantastic. Between the two of us and my mom, we finally got my room all put together, so I don't feel homeless anymore. And, my room looks pretty darn fabulous if I do say so myself! Phyllis, you would not even recognize your old room. Perhaps I will post some pictures sometime.

I was supposed to go to work today, but I got called off because there are only 4 patients on our floor right now. It's good that there aren't a lot of sick kids in Abilene right now, and I'm usually all about an extra day off, but I'm actually a bit bored right now. I had the whole weekend off with no plans, so I got a lot done this weekend. I mowed the yard, finished hanging everything on my walls, and washed and vacuumed my car. Yay for me for getting things done. So now what can I get done today? I guess I should do some laundry so I will have clothes to pack for when I go to Arlington this weekend.

I am so excited about this coming weekend. There are a number of reasons why:

1. I get to see my amazing boyfriend who I will not have seen in 9 days.
2. On Saturday morning Charles will take his test to get certified to teach, which means he won't have to stress about it anymore.
3. Saturday night we are going to see Kenny Chesney, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, and Sara Evans in concert!! My first real concert experience!
4. I get to see my familia.
5. A change of scenery is always nice. :)

Ok. I guess now would be the time for me to get up and actually get some stuff accomplished. Good luck to me!!

2007-05-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

Is it possible to take a short vacation from life? I feel like that is what I need right now. My life has been running on overdrive for quite some time now, and I am beginning to feel like I could break down at any moment. Work has been absolutely insane lately, and shows no signs of calming down in the very near future. Our house is in complete disarray at the moment, so there is no escaping the chaos here either. There is not a single room in the entire house that is clean or in any sort of presentable state. Seriously. Not one. I have the day off tomorrow, and while I would love more than anything to spend it all doing absolutely nothing, I am afraid that is completely out of the question. If I want to have any hope of salvaging my sanity, I am going to have to spend the day attempting to get this place somewhat close to resembling a place of residence. Of course Megan will be here working on things too, but she also has the final exam for the Maymester course from Hades to prepare for. I feel like at some point life simply has to slow down. It can't keep going on in hyperdrive forever, can it? I don't think I will survive if that is the case.

Ok. Rant over. Time for some perspective. Life is not all bad. Yes, it is busy, but it is good. I have a great job, doing what I love, working with great people. I live in an amazing house that is going to be even more amazing when we finally finish all the work (we will finish all the work, right?). I have a fantastic roommate who is also a fantastic friend. I only have to work one more day this week, and then I get to spend the weekend with my wonderful boyfriend who is coming to see me tomorrow! And most importantly, I serve a God who is bigger than all of my stresses, and who will carry me through them all. I am blessed!!!

Somewhere there is a light at the end of this tunnel. I can't see it yet, but I believe that it is there. Hopefully I will stumble across it soon.

2007-05-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

So I thought it was supposed to be summer. That should mean that things slow down a bit at work. Today we had 13 patients. That's not what I call slowing down. Especially when you compare it to the last day I worked, when we had 4 patients. Oh well. A little busyness won't kill me.

Phyllis officially moved out of the Majestic today. Sad day. Off to go do big, wonderful things in the big, wonderful world. Good luck, friend!

Today at work, a very cool thing occurred. Towards the end of the shift, one of the girls who works night shift came into work obviously upset by some news she had just received. She was talking to our charge nurse about her fears and concerns, the way people do when they need to process. As Elaine tried to comfort her, she began talking to her about the fact that God will take care of her and that she would be praying for her. Then, she gathered up all of the nurses who worked today, and the ones working tonight who were there already, and we circled up and prayed for her, right there in the nurses' station. It was a very awesome moment. I realized in that moment how lucky I am to work in an environment that allows me to express my faith openly and freely. Hendrick is a Christian hospital, founded on Christian principles and ideals. And while it may be true that there are times when those Christian values are not overly apparent, I was happy to be a witness to and a part of the demonstation of God's love there today.

2007-05-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

So I've kind of been pretty horrible about updating this thing with any sort of frequency or regularity, but, well, I don't have an excuse. That's just how it is.

I am in Arlington currently, enjoying the last of my 6 days in a row not working. Beautiful! Today also happens to be my dad's birthday. Happy birthday Dad!! I love you!

This afternoon I will be headed back to the great city of Abilene to spend one last night with my good friend Phyllis before she leaves me for Vermont, via Philadelphia. Life at the Majestic is going to be so weird and different without the 3rd roommate! Phyllis, you will be missed! Don't forget to come back to Texas sometimes!

So I feel like I should be really excited because it is the beginning of the summer, but then I realize that seasons really have no effect on my schedule anymore. This is still slightly odd to me. There are, however, a number of reasons that I am excited about the coming summer months. Topping my list of exciting events is Charles moving to Abilene at the end of July!! Yay! I am very much looking forward to being done with the whole long-distance aspect of our relationship. That's not to say that it's been a bad thing, by any means. I don't think I would want to trade any part of our relationship thus far, but I am definitely excited about having the opportunity to see him on a daily basis, instead of our time together being limited to weekends only. And I don't think I'm wrong when I say I'm pretty confident he feels the same way...

Other exciting things to look forward to this summer include going to a Kenny Chesney/Sugarland/possibly Taylor Swift concert on June 16, and going to Las Vegas for 4 days at the beginning of August! Not to mention a number of weekend trips to Arlington. And, somewhere in the midst of all these excitements, we are supposed to be doing some pretty major home-improvement projects at the Majestic. Oh yeah, and working a full-time job. Looks like it should be a pretty great summer!

2007-05-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

I am happy. Life is good. God is good. The end. :)

2007-05-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

I have been told I need to update my blog more frequently. Well, I can't make any promises on the frequency, but here is an update.

Life is good. I have spent the vast majority of the past few weeks either at work or in Arlington, spending time with my family and a certain boy I know. :)

Work is pretty good. I can hardly believe that I will have been working at Hendrick for a year this month! Time sure does fly! I feel like I have come a long way in a year. I feel pretty confident in my ability to do my job and do it well, which is huge. I feel like even though I am young, and I know I have a lot to learn, I have earned the respect of my coworkers and superiors, and that's a pretty good feeling! Starting in June, I will be assuming the role of coach once again, and orienting a brand new graduate nurse. I think it's kind of funny that just a year ago I was the brand new baby nurse, and now they are trusting me to orient a brand new baby nurse. It's definitely a confidence booster, that's for sure! I just hope I don't let her down!

Life outside of work is fabulous. Charles is still amazing, and continues to give me new reasons to smile every day. Right now he is in the process of looking for a job in the Abilene area so that we can actually live in the same town in a few months!! I am so excited!! Long distance is hard. I have no doubt in my mind that our relationship would survive being long distance for another year until my commitment at Hendrick is fulfilled, but neither one of us is very excited about that idea. Everything is still very uncertain and up in the air right now, but we are both praying that God will take care of every detail. I am so excited to see what happens in the coming weeks and months!

I have to say goodbye to one of my roommates and best friends in a very short time. :( Phyllis graduates on Saturday, and will be moving out just a week or 2 later. I am very sad to see her go, but oh so excited for her and the exciting adventures she will have in grad school and life! Phyllis, I love you girl and I am going to miss you bunches!! I hope you know that you and I have a special bond, and you pretty much can't get rid of me, even if you do move thousands of miles away!! Best of luck with school...and other potential developments in life. ;)

The loss of a roommate means big changes here at the Majestic. Megan and I have some pretty big plans for home improvement projects that will hopefully be accomplished fairly early this summer. The end result of these projects will leave not one, but two empty rooms to fill! And as far as prospective roomates to fill these rooms...we've got nothing. So, if anyone knows of a couple of fun girls who need a place to live, send them our way!

2007-04-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I stress out. Against my better judgment, and for no apparent reason. This was the case yesterday. After all the things I just wrote in my last post about being content to let God lead me and guide me in the coming months and years, I let myself totally freak out about the fact that I have no idea what I will be doing a year from now, 5 years from now, etc. I guess it wasn't a completely spontaneous freak-out. It was brought on by a conversation I had with my manager at work yesterday. She was talking to Misty (the girl I am orienting...excuse me, coaching) and I about all the exciting things that are going to be taking place in pediatrics at Hendrick in the coming months and years. For example, there are plans drawn up for a new unit to be built. There are people from both Hendrick and Cook Children's working to get a pediatric chemo clinic in Abilene so that our chemo kids won't have to drive to Fort Worth for their treatments all the time. There is just so much opportunity for growth and improvement right now. It's exciting. In the course of the conversation about all of this, Tommy kept talking about how excited she is about all the new, young staff we are getting, and how we are the ones who are going to make this stuff happen. There were even a few times when she singled me out specifically, and told me various reasons why she thinks I am exactly the kind of person the unit needs to be successful. I really wasn't quite sure how to respond. It was quite a confidence booster. And to be completely honest, our conversation did get me really excited and eager to take an active role in the exciting changes that are taking place. I really do want to be able to help make a difference that will be felt for years to come. But...this is where the confusion lies. Just a week or so ago I found myself equally as excited about other prospects for my career future. Prospects that would take me out of Abilene long before the exciting changes at Hendrick will start to become a reality. Enter stress. I just don't understand how I can be equally excited about such hugely different paths. How will I ever begin to know which one to take? And how will these decisions affect other aspects of my life/how will other aspects of my life affect these decisions? I just started thinking about it all, and I got a bit overwhelmed. I spent quite a while unloading my thoughts on Charles, and trying to convince him to tell me what to do (which he declined to do). But he did remind me of all the things I have been telling him in recent weeks about trusting God and putting everything in His hands. Don't you just hate hearing someone give you your own advice? But I needed it. After a decent amount of venting, I began to calm down a bit and realize that I have no reason to stress myself out. God does have a plan for me, and He can see a much bigger picture than I can. I then began to wonder if maybe God isn't testing me just a little to see if I can practice what I preach...tricky, tricky. So I am currently working really hard to calm down and be patient and trust that God will take care of me. Just like He always has...

2007-04-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

So I spent a good portion of last night and this morning reading all of my old blog posts. It was basically like reliving highlights of the last 3 years of my life. I enjoy the occasional journey through the past, because I am always amazed at what I can see now that I couldn't see then. I can see how confusing or frustrating times were really just a step along the way to something incredible. I can see how various events taught me valuable lessons that I will always carry with me. Basically, I can see how God was moving in my life the entire time, even though there were moments along the way when I felt like he was a million miles away. God is pretty awesome like that. It makes me wonder what incredible things he has in the works right now that I am completely oblivious to...

I already know that God is up to something big in my life right now. I don't know exactly what it is, or what it is going to look like, but I can just feel that things are about to happen. Even these past few months have been incredible. Without a doubt, the most wonderful thing he has done for me lately is bringing Charles into my life. I can't even explain how happy I am right now. I feel like our relationship is just so right. We get each other. We can talk for hours and never run out of things to say. And it's not like we're just rambling. We have real conversations about real issues. Issues that are near and dear to us. And it has been that way from day one. I honestly feel like there has never been an awkward moment between us. I don't know that I can make that claim about many other relationships I've had, dating or otherwise. I love knowing that we can talk about absolutely anything. And not just that we can, we actually do! But I also love that we are not super serious all the time. Anyone who knows me knows I am just a big kid inside, and I love being goofy and having a good time. One of the things I love about Charles is that he not only understands and appreciates that about me, he will go there right along with me! It's so fun to know that my inner child has someone to play with. I really could go on and on about all the reasons I am crazy about this guy and how excited I am about this relationship, but I will spare you for the time being. :) Just know that I love him and I am incrediby happy.

I am also getting really excited about the future as far as work goes. I am already coming up on one year of being at Hendrick, and I feel like God has really blessed me here. I feel like I have learned so much, and built such great relationships with the people that I work with. There is no doubt in my mind that the decision I made to stay in Abilene after graduation was absolutely the right decision for me. That being said, after another year here, I will have completed the 2 years I committed to when I accepted my position at Hendrick. At this point, I don't really know where I will go from here. But really, I am not overly concerned about it. I know that God has a plan for my life, and I completely trust him and believe that he will lead me there. I have a vague idea of what kind of long-term goals I'd like to accomplish career-wise, but mostly I just want to know that I am fulfilling God's plans for me. I believe that as long as I am letting him guide me, I will always be exactly where I am supposed to be.

2007-04-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

Lesson learned: Do not brag about things over which you have no control.

Just a few days ago, I was going on and on to Charles about the fact that I never get sick. I was so proud of the fact that I couldn't remember an occasion in recent years when I had found myself in the position where I had to miss class or call in sick to work due to illness. Sure, I get the occasional cold and whatnot, but I pretty much refuse to be really sick.

If ever a person jinxed themself, I certainly did. From Friday on I found myself battling cycles of sore throat, chills, and aches, followed by extreme hot flashes and nasty sweatiness. I haven't been miserable constantly. There have been plenty of intervals of several hours in which I felt almost like a real person again, but so far those times have not stuck. And, according to the doctor, the 101 degree temperature I was running this afternoon means I cannot go to work tomorrw. Another bragging right shot down. And the worst of it is, Charles was here to see me this weekend, and here I was, a sickly bum who refused to admit she was sick. He was great though. He wrapped me up in blankets when I was shivering, held cold washcloths on my face when I thought I would burn to death, and was not repulsed by my sweatiness. He also refused to accept my stubborn claims of being perfectly fine. And the best part was, he never once acted like he didn't want to be here. Even though I apologized about a zillion times for being such a bum, he kept on telling me that there was nowhere else he'd rather be. And the crazy thing is, I think I believe him. I think I must be a pretty lucky girl. :)

2007-03-19T23:19:00.000-07:00

Hello, and happy week after spring break to all! I hope everyone had a lovely week! Mine was absolutely fantastic! I will give you here the abbreviated version, as I am sure most of you have better things to do than read my blog for hours on end. Extended versions are always available upon request. :)

Thursday prior to spring break: Rode into Arlington with Megan a day earlier than originally planned to surprise Charles. He wasn't completely surprised, which was slightly disappointing, but being able to see him in person was still worth the trip.

Friday: Lunch with Charles at Cafe' Acapulco. Yum. Purchase of my new pink iPod for music-listening purposes on the flight to Honduras.

Friday Night: The highly anticipated mystery date with Charles. Began with a trip to Target where he bought me a super cute case for my super cute iPod. Followed by a drive to downtown Dallas where we saw the Dallas Children's Theater performance of Sleeping Beauty. Amazing. Points were definitely awarded for superb date-planning. Ended the evening with a late-night dinner at Johnny Carino's. Very good.

Saturday morning: Wake up at 3:30 AM so we can depart for the airport at 4:00. Plane leaves at 6:30. We are on our way to Honduras!!!

Saturday afternoon/evening: Arrive in Honduras. Briefly check in at the hotel, then head to the mission to pass out flyers for upcoming VBS. On a mountain. A very steep mountain. Not an easy task. Order pizza to share with the youth of the local church. Make it an early night. Asleep at 8:50.

Sunday: Church/VBS in the morning. Attempting to command the attention/cooperation of 300+ children who do not speak our language. Interesting to say the least. Nap time in the afternoon in preparation to do it all again Sunday night, this time with about 100 kids. Good times.

Monday-Tuesday: Days spent painting, painting, painting. More shades of blue than I thought could be legal for a single building. Nights spend conducting VBS for approximately 60 kids.

Wednesday: Another day of blue paint. Allison and I paint a pretty spectacular mural we entitle "El Dia y La Noche" on one of the walls of the daycare yard. We are proud. Dinner at Power Chicken followed by dessert at the Godoy's house, which overlooks the city. Gorgeous.

Thursday: Final work day. We have more time and people than work to be done. Spontaneous 20 minute group sing-a-long of Disney songs ensues. Jim and Mario get in a car accident in the crazy Honduras traffic. Final dinner with Honduras friends.

Friday: Morning shopping at the local market. Fly to Roatan in the afternoon on one of the most questionable-looking planes I have ever seen. We are only slightly comforted when we discover it is a Rolls Royce. Relaxation phase of the trip commences.

Saturday: Wake up to rain, which clears in time for a canopy tour of the jungle. (Translation: approximately 1 mile of zip lines through the top of the jungle. One of the most amazing experiences ever.) Canopy tours ends in a park where we get to hold parrots and monkeys. Rain comes back just in time for our hour-and-a-half horse back ride. Made for quite a memorable experience. Rain clears again. Snorkeling and kayaking occur. Several come back with battle scars from the coral reefs. Delicious dinner as the sun is setting. In bed at 8:30.

Sunday: Church in a tiny little church building with just our group. We pray hard that the only road leading to the airport will re-open in time for us to catch our flight. 2 hour layover in Houston where Megan and I enjoy our first Dr. Peppers in 5 weeks. Finallly land in Dallas around 9:00PM. Quick trip to Bueno before all the Abilene folk (except me) make the drive back to A-Town.

Monday: Spend the entire day with Charles. Morning is spent being introduced to the life of Charles. We visit his adopted grandmother and go run some errands on UTA campus. Lunch at Bueno. Side stops at the Cingular store and CVS before driving to Ft. Worth to see "Dolphins" at the OMNI theater, followed by a visit to the Planetarium and a brief excursion through some of the museum exhibits. More creative date points awarded. Swing by Charles' parents house so I can meet his parents. Dinner at my house with my parents and brother and sister-in-law. A very good day. I think maybe I like this boy, and I just might have to keep him around a while. :)

That pretty much brings us to now. Tomorrow will bring lunch with Charles, a visit to my mom's school, and picking up Jackson so the dogs and I can make the trek back to Abilene. I would have to say that, all in all, it's been a pretty fantastic spring break. I am sad to see it end.

2007-03-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

Hello, and happy lazy Sunday to all!!

AND happy birthday to Phyllis yesterday! I am definitely looking forward to going out to eat yummy food to celebrate tonight!

Life in my little world has been fun and exciting and exhausting all at once. Last weekend we had a houseful of people, and it was super fun. Megan's parents and Jon-Michael and Allison came in Friday evening, followed by the surprise arrival of Charles and Stan late Friday night. (And when I say "surprise," I mean that everyone in the house except me knew they were coming.) We had a fantastic weekend that was pretty much one giant triple-date where only the girls knew what was going on. Good times. Megan and I had planned out the entire weekend, and our plans were only slightly hindered when the nastiest dust storm I have ever seen decided to visit Abilene on Saturday. It was truly disgusting. However, the weekend was fabulously fun. It was so fun to get to actually see Charles in real life and know that we can be friends off the phone too! Our phone-only relationship resumed after they left Sunday night, and will continue until Friday when I get to see him for a few hours before we leave for Honduras. He tells me he has something great planned for us to do, but he will not tell me what it is. It's like he likes to surprise me or something. :)

And this brings me to the next bit of excitement in my life: HONDURAS! We leave in just 6 days! I am oh so excited. It hardly seems like this is so close to happening. We have been talking about this trip for months and months, and it has been so exciting to see it all come together. There were definitely times when I wondered if it would, but God made it happen, just like I knew He would. I am so excited about the group that is going and the service we will get to do down in Honduras. Please pray for us!!

Work continues to be a fairly stressed-filled environment for me right now. I think it is a combination of it being winter, when lots of kids get sick, our continued lack of having a real manager, and my taking on more responsibilites that I know are good for me, but scare me to death as well. I am supposed to be beginning to orient to charge, but so far we have been too busy for this to really take place. I am not entirely excited about having to do this, but I have decided that since it seems this responsibility is going to be thrust upon me whether I like it or not, I am at least going to get a proper orientation to it. I absoluetly do not want to be thrown into it blindly again. That was pretty much horrible. Also, I am quickly discovering why Tommy was so eager to let me take over the responsibility of making the schedule. It is the opposite of fun! People get super touchy about their schedules, which I can understand, but it's sometimes like they don't realize that we have to have people working every day!! I do my best to work with people and give them the days they want, but I am not a miracle worker, and there is basically not a way to please everyone. This is a very hard concept for my people-pleasing self to accept. But I am learning. I am slowly developing a backbone. I am learning to listen to people's concerns, and truly be sympathetic, while at the same time standing my ground. It is difficult for me. As much as I would love to bend over backwards to let everyone work exactly when they want and be off exactly when they want, it is not worth my mental stability to spend every moment of my spare time trying to make the impossible possible. And so I have to keep reminding myself that even though people may get upset from time to time, they are upset with the situation, not with me personally. And even if they are upset with me personally, I am doing the best I can, and we will both just have to get over it. The end.

2007-02-20T20:09:00.000-08:00

Hello blog friends.

Because I have been severely chastised by my few faithful readers, I am prepared to offer another brief glimpse into the people and circumstances surrounding my late night phone adventures.

The mysterious caller is, indeed, of the male persuasion. His name is Charles and he lives in Arlington. In fact, for 2 whole years we walked the halls of the same high school, where both of his parents teach. However, it seems the 2 year age gap between us kept our paths from ever crossing until quite recently.

Charles has a younger brother, David, who was actually in my graduating class. I did not know David. However, he and Megan are quite good friends. About a month ago, Megan informed me that David and his older brother and a friend were going to be visiting us in Abilene. That is how I met Charles.

We did not start our phone friendship that weekend. It did not come about until 2 weeks later when Megan and I made a weekend trip to Arlington. Megan arranged a bit of a mutally-agreed-upon setup, and that is where this all began.

We are now quite good phone friends. And in 4 days, he will be coming to Abilene, so we will be able to be real life friends too. I am quite excited.

That is all you get for now. Time will tell if the story shall continue.

2007-02-16T10:22:00.000-08:00

So I have this annoying cowlick in the front of my hair that causes this one little section of hair to totally reject all my attempts to tame it. It is driving me especially crazy right now. Just thought I'd share.

Who else out there cried pretty much all the way through Grey's Anatomy last night? I know I did. They can't kill off Meredith. How can you have a show called Grey's Anatomy without Meredith Grey? It cannot occur.

I got to be on the radio this morning. This weekend is the radiothon for Children's Miracle Network, so they needed some pedi nurses to volunteer to go on air to talk about what the funding goes to. It was pretty fun. I'm a pretty big fan of talking, so it came pretty easily. :)

I am pretty sleepy right now. I have been up late the last several nights talking on the phone. I've never been much of a phone person, but I do have to say I have enjoyed the hours I've spent talking on it this week. Or maybe I enjoy the person I've been talking to...I will keep you posted. :)

2007-02-08T21:25:00.000-08:00

So I had probably the busiest day at work that I've ever had today. It was a little bit insane. Highlights include:

Having 3 different charge nurses (thankfully, none of whom were me).
Taking care 7 different patients throughout the course of the day. (Minimum of 4 and maximum of 6 at one time.)
Assisting a 5'11", 300+ lb., 11-year old patient to use a bedpan.
Informing the parents of a probably terminal cancer patient suffering from severe chronic pain that there is a national shortage of the new pain medicine her doctor ordered, so we will have to continue with the current, seemingly ineffective treatment regimen until the other drug becomes available sometime next week.
Listening politely while the mother of one of my patients talked for at least 15 minutes solid about the sudden death of Anna Nicole Smith, the snow that is predicted to fall on Wednesday, spicy ice cream in Mexico, the religious preferences of her various family members, and her suspicions of the sexual orientation of her cousin's 10-year-old son. (She was actually quite entertaining to listen to, but not so helpful in a time crunch.)
Attempting to impart my limited knowlege on an overly-eager nursing student, while desperately trying to catch up on my charting.
Clocking out at 8:38pm, an hour and 38 minutes after my shift ended.

As if the day wasn't already crazy enough, we also found out early this morning that JCAHO representatives were making rounds in the hospital. Every time I saw an unfamiliar person walk down the hall towards the unit, I said a little prayer that it wasn't someone from JCAHO coming to grill me or follow me around, waiting for me to mess up. Thankfully, the pedi unit was spared this little joy today. I wish the same good fortune upon those working this weekend...

Crazy as it was, I survived and lived to tell the tale. Lucky for you. :) Just be glad you are not Megan or Moose, who happened to be the captive audience I unloaded on for approximately 45 minutes after I finally arrived home. Yay for friends who will listen and at least pretend to be interested in your professional trials and tribulations. I have good friends. :)

2007-02-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

If I didn't really enjoy my job as a nurse, I think I would quit and find a job where I could draw floorplans and arrange people's furniture all the time. It's just so much fun! Megan and I just spent the last few hours drawing scaled floorplans of various rooms in our house. We then measured each piece of furniture in the rooms, and cut out little squares (also to scale) representing each piece. Now we can try out various arrangements without having to move furniture. Ingenious! Our goal in this little endeavor is to eventually map out each room in the house, including hallways and closets, so that we can piece them all together and have a scaled blueprint of our entire house. How much fun is that? There is a reason behind all this madness (although, even if there wasn't, we'd probably do it anyway). We have big dreams of converting the pink room into another bedroom, expanding the small bathroom off the laundry room, and also expanding Megan's bathroom. Just the thought of it all is so exciting! The hope is to get these various projects accomplished this summer. I hope we can do it!!

2007-02-05T20:38:00.000-08:00

Ah, the joys of orthodontics. I had my first appointment for adjustments on the braces today. I now have a lovely rubber band box in my mouth. It is supposed to be closing my bite. While this is the main goal of my orthodontic treatment, and I am very excited about the end result, I have to admit that I will be slightly sad when I can no longer poke my tongue out through the little gap in my teeth. But not that sad.

Today I watched the past few weeks' worth of episodes of Men In Trees that I missed. Such a good show. In one of the episodes I watched, Marin (love that name!) bought an old cabin on a lake to fix up. It made me incredibly jealous. I so want to do that!! I have always had this huge desired to buy an old, run-down, character-filled house and give it the time and work and love it needs to be beautiful again. I will do it someday. Just wait.

Congrats to Phyllis on getting in to grad school! I knew you would have no problem impressing those people with all your adventurousness!

2007-02-01T20:09:00.000-08:00

Hello, blog friends. Thanks for your votes of confidence and prayers for me during my freak-out last week. As you can now be assured, I survived the dreaded day of charging. It was not an entirely horrible experience, but I look forward to not taking on such responsibility again for many months to come.

My newest stress-inducing work-related responsibility is being in charge of making the schedule for the pedi unit. This one I can't blame on anyone but myself, because I volunteered to do it. I think it will be slightly challenging and a bit time consuming considering the lack of staff resources at the moment, but I'm a bit of a nerd, and I look at it like a puzzle I have to solve. I think I will enjoy the task in a way that would probably sicken most normal people. Plus, I kind of like the feeling of having something to do that other people are counting on. It makes me feel like I'm actually doing something that matters. I've been a bit bored lately, and feeling kind of selfish because I don't really do a whole lot that doesn't concern me directly. The change feels good.

While we're on the topic of stress-inducing situations, I'm becoming a bit stressed about the upcoming spring break mission trip to Honduras that my roommates and I are planning. For a while, we were really concerned that we weren't going to get the number of people we needed to make the trip a reality, but we decided to go for it and trust God to bring us people. We ended up with a list of 13 names, and we were very excited. Plane tickets were purchased. Then, today, we found out that 2 people are backing out. Besides the fact that it's just a wee bit frustrating to have people back out so late in the game, it's bringing up the delimma of what to do with the plane tickets that have already been purchased in these people's names. Do we make them pay for tickets they won't be using? Do we try to find people to take their places on such short notice? If we do find willing participants, will we be able to have the names on the tickets changed? I'm so bad at handling situations like this. I hate the awkwardness of it all. I really wish I could just eat the cost of their tickets and not have to address the situation at all, but aside from the fact that there's pretty much no way I could afford to do that, and the fact that it's not exactly fair, it's also incredibly passive of me, and I need to learn to grow up and deal with things. So, if you would, please pray that we find an effective way to deal with this little snag pretty quickly. I honestly believe that this trip is something God will bless, and I know that He will provide us with a solution, but the little person inside me who desires to have complete control and know exactly how things are going to work out is going a little bit crazy at the moment.

Despite my last several less-than-cheerful posts, I promise my life really isn't that horrible! God has blessed me incredibly, and I really am loving life. Sometimes a girl just needs to vent...

2007-01-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

To my knowledge, I have never had a nervous breakdown before. I think I may be very close to having one now. Approximately 8 hours ago I was asked how I felt about being the charge nurse at work tomorrow. My response? "The very thought of it terrifies me. I don't think I'm ready." End result? I am charging the pediatric unit tomorrow. Yes. I am freaked out.

I know I am probably making a bigger deal out of this than it is. I am most likely psyching myself out. I know the people I work with know my abilities, and I know they wouldn't put this on me if they didn't think I could handle it. And I also know that there are people just a phone call away who will help me in any way they can. And I know that God never calls us to do more than we are capable of doing. And I know that I am still scared out of my wits.

I held myself together at work. I listened to and wrote down everything Susie told me in my approximately hour-and-a-half-long orientation to charge nursing. I smiled and thanked everyone for their faith in me. Inside, I was crying. And as soon as I was safely out of the hospital and in my car, I was crying on the outside as well. I had a small stress-release on the way home, and then I was able to hold it together for a good hour or two. Then Susie called to tell me that I will survive tomorrow, and she will help me do so. I cried again. I cried more when I called my parents to tell them how terrified I am. You would think there might be a limit to how many freak-out tears a person is allowed, but I have clearly not reached mine yet.

What I need to do is just take a deep breath, say a prayer, and trust that God isn't going to leave me. Tomorrow is just another day. People obviously have confidence in my abilities, so I should too. Of course I won't know everything, and of course I will probably make some mistakes, but that is all part of the learning process. Right? That's what they keep telling me anyway.

If you think about it, send a little prayer my direction. I know I'll be needing all the support I can get. And now, I am going to attempt to sleep. Good luck to me.

I think I need a hug...

2007-01-14T00:27:00.000-08:00

Let's take a moment to consider the fact that it is currently 2:27 in the am. Clearly, I am failing miserably at the whole "let's try to normalize the sleep schedule and function like a normal human being" routine. This cannot be healthy.

I think I'm in a funk. Things are not bad, they are just...boring. I do pretty much the same things all the time: I spend 3 or 4 days a week working. Those days consist of getting up, going to work, coming home, sitting around for a while, then going to bed so I can do it all over again. Unless I don't have to work the next day, in which case I sit around until much later in the night, then go to bed and sleep through the better half of the next day. My days off consist mostly of sitting around, watching movies or whichever season of Friends we are on (currently season 6), playing on the internet, and occasionally reading. What am I doing with my life? I need something to be involved in. I need a hobby or a project of some kind. I need to feel like I am actually living life, instead of just floating around in it, wasting my time. Ideas? Suggestions? Please help!

2007-01-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

Today one of my patients at work noticed my braces and told me I had sparkly teeth. I might have let this comment make me self-conscious, but then he let me play puppies with him and his 2 stuffed dogs, Lenny and Fur Dog (who I think was actually a horse), and all was well with life again.

I hope everyone is enjoying a fabulous start to 2007! I can't complain. I love new years, because they make me think of new beginnngs, which are always exciting! I have no clue what God may have planned for my life in the next 12 months, but I can't wait to find out! But before I get too excited about the mysteries of the months ahead, let's enjoy some highlights from a year in the life of Brooke: 2006.

Graduation from nursing school. The end of my 16-year career as a student. Beautiful.
First real person job. In Abilene. By choice. Go figure.
First contribution to my retirement fund. Just the thought of that terrifies me to my very core.
First payment on my student loans. College was a good idea, right?
Brand new car. In my name. One of the scariest purchases I've ever made.
New puppy. She's crazy, but I love her!
Dental adventures from Hades. 4 extractions, 4 fillings, 2+ years of braces. I don't even want to know how much my smile will be worth when all is said and done.
2 of my best friends become my 2 roommates. Words cannot describe the fun we have!
My brother and my cousin become my neighbors. The familial neighborhood take-over begins.

I'm sure there are many other notable events I am forgetting, but I'm beginning to bore myself, so I can only imagine what it must be like to read this. That being said, I wish everyone the happiest of happiness in 2007!! The end.

2006-12-15T23:51:00.000-08:00

I got a piano today!!! I'm buying it from my aunt and uncle, and my uncle delivered it this evening. I am very excited about it. I'm not an accomplished pianist by any means, but I took lessons for a bit, and I'm decent at picking things out. It's fun. But before much picking or playing can commence, I must get the thing tuned!!

We had people over to our house tonight, partially to help unload the piano, and also to celebrate the birthday of a girl I barley know and her twin sister, who I just found out exists tonight. It was good times. I feel like my social circle has done a decent bit of expanding in the past several months. I like it. Meeting new people and making new friends is fun! (But old friends will never get old!!)

Tonight my dog did something I have never seen her do before. My cousin Trevor came by to assist in the piano unloading, and the minute he walked in the door, Emmy ran from him, then started barking at him. She was terrified of him! I've never seen her be afraid of anyone before! It was absolutely bizarre. I picked her up and took her over to him so he could pet her and show her that he really is a nice guy, but I'm not sure she was entirely convinced. She ran away again as soon as I let her go. I have no clue what it is about him that strikes such fear in her. Very weird indeed...

2006-12-14T21:23:00.000-08:00

I have been lax in my blog posting lately. I apologize. I will attempt to mend my ways, but I make no promises.

Finals week as come and (almost) gone. This should affect me in no way whatsoever, being as I am no longer in school. However, the vast majority of my friends are still in school, so I feel as if I am affected by extension. I celebrate with them in the ending of this semester.

Work continues to be crazy and drama-ridden. We found out yesterday that, effective Jan. 1, our current nurse manager will be stepping down from that role, but remaining on the unit as a floor nurse. I'm glad she's not leaving altogether, because she is a very fun person, not to mention an amazing pedi nurse. I just hope the transition period goes smoothly, and that a capable replacement is found quickly. I'm not so much a fan of the drama.

Today I was floated to the nursery. Apparently December is the month to have babies in Abilene! (Not that you can pick a better month!) One mom even decided to go all out and have triplets! It seems it has been quite some time since Abilene has seen the arrival of triplets in one of their hospitals. Today, a news crew was in the nursery interviewing the new mom (who looks surprisingly small to have carried 3 humans around inside her for 9 months!). Unfortunately, my day in the nursery was cut short by my own ill health. Turns out I have a sinus infection. Boo. I have begun my course of antibiotic therapy, and plan to be completely over it by this time next week so that I can fully enjoy my own birthday. I refuse to be sick on my birthday.

2006-12-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

I hurt. I got my braces put on 2 days ago. 2 years, 3 months, and 28 days left. Unless my teeth move phenomenally quickly and I can cut the estimated time short. That would be nice...

2006-11-24T13:35:00.000-08:00

Happy late Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday! Mine was fabulous. I had to work on Thanksgiving day, which was slightly upsetting, but I ended up sending both of my patients home and leaving at around 1:00pm, so it was't too bad. (Is it sad that instead of putting 1:00pm I really wanted to put 1300? This is what nursing is doing to me...) Because of my unfriendly work schedule, Thankgiving was held at my house this year. It was a fun time. Bryan and Amber brought their poodle, Angel, with them, so Emmy got to meet her cousin. I'm not sure if they even acknowledged each other's existence. Oh well. At least they didn't try to eat each other. We had lots of good food and good times with the fam. It was a successful holiday!

2006-11-14T15:16:00.000-08:00

boo for dental procedures. i went to the dentist today for what i thought would be an initial exam, and came home with gauze in my mouth and 2 teeth missing. i've always heard people talk about how weird it is to only be able to feel half of your mouth, but wow. this is insane. the dental assistant was sitting there talking to me while the anesthetic took effect, and it was like one second i could talk just fine, and a minute later the right side of my face was gone. oh, and i also apparently have a cavity. i've never had a cavity before. i was always so proud of that fact. i guess that's what i get for being so proud. all of this dental work is in preparation for braces. yes, braces. 28 months worth of braces. this is me being very much not excited about that fact. but hopefully the end result will be worth it. please just don't make fun of me to my face. i'll be feeling self conscious enough as it is...

2006-11-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

Hello, blog world! I have missed you!

So this past weekend Megan and I had a pretty fantastic weekend in College Station, complete with soundtrack. The trip down there was pretty great in itself. Car sing alongs pretty much can't be beat. And we had a great time being bipolar fans once we got there. Friday night we decked out in Aggie gear and went to the midnight yell at Kyle Field and pretended like we knew all the yells. We kept up the A&M loyalty until game time on Saturday night, when we donned the OU Boomer Sooner apparel. The game was pretty amazing. Well, really, the game itself wasn't all that exciting, but the experience was awesome. Those Aggies are insane. Almost cult-like. I loved it. AND, I officially watched my first football game. Paid attention and everything! Who knew football could actually be fun to watch? And yay for OU for winning by one point. It was all because of our support, I'm sure. And hooray for Jon-Michael and Allison for being incredibly entertaining hosts.

Aside from being completely insane, life is great. I got a surprise visitor at work yesterday, which was pretty exciting. There's nothing like a friendly face to brighten up a crazy day. There might be some other excitement in my life right now, but I'm going to wait till I figure it out a little more to discuss that... I'm so mean, I know!

47 days till Christmas!!!

2006-10-17T16:58:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the orthodontist to discuss the fact that my teeth don't close. Looks like braces/surgery/both may be in my future. Not exciting. I go back next week to get some x-rays and molds of my teeth, and we'll go from there. I almost think I'd rather just have surgery. Braces at age 22? Not desirable. But we'll see...

I feel I have been lax in my blog updating as of late. I apologize. Life has been a bit busy lately. But things are good. My new car is fabulous. If I ever remember to charge my camera, I'll take some pictures of it. Emma Lea was robbed of her womanhood last week, but seems to be taking the loss well. Work is pretty good. We had a kid die on the floor last weekend, so that was pretty rough. I wasn't there when it happened, and never actually saw the kid, but everyone was pretty torn up about it. We're used to seeing them come in to get better and go home. No one likes to see it go the other way. Looks like Brandon and I will be making a quick trip to Arlington this weekend to visit the padres. It will be nice to have a traveling companion this time. That drive is beyond boring.

2006-10-03T17:14:00.000-07:00

How grown up am I? I just worked out a deal on a new car! It will be delivered on Friday. I'm so excited!! Pictures to follow soon!!

(So much for the time without car payments...oh well.)

2006-10-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Good news: the gray cloud that was hovering over me when I last posted seems to have lifted and drifted. I've had a good week. The weekend in Arlington was fabulous. (Minus a small plumbing incident that occured in the wee hours of Sunday morning. But let's not go there now.) Things in Abilene are looking up too. Megan and I have begun walking on a regular basis. At least once a day, sometimes twice. This means that on the days I work, we pull ourselves out of bed at 5:30am to make a lap around the track at ACU. I know. Who knew it was possible to get anything worthwhile accomplished at such an ungodly hour? As it turns out, there is a whole little community of early morning walkers and joggers. And quite a friendly community it is. Everyone says hi as they pass. How so many people can manage to be awake and pleasant so early is beyond my comprehension. There is one couple in particular we especially look forward to seeing on our morning strolls. They have this little weiner dog that they bring with them as they walk. It's hysterical. His little legs are so short. I have no clue how he manages to keep up. One morning they came up behind us, and as they approached the man shouted, "Weiner dog coming in on the left!" It was the highlight of my morning. Megan and I are convinced that the poor dog is going to be walked to death one of these days. They'll be strolling along, minding their business, and all of the sudden the little guy will just fall over. It will be a sad day, I'm sure.

Another high point of my week occurred Friday afternoon, when I paid off my car. Hooray!! I'm casually shopping for something new, but I'm not in too much of a rush to replace that monthly payment. Maybe I'll just enjoy having a little extra money in the bank for a bit.

Friday night we had girls' night at Lauren's house. Always a good time. 10 girls + jewelry + candy + Friend's Scene It = good times for all.

Tonight Megan and I went to church at Hope Church of Christ. Lauren invited us a few weeks ago, but tonight was the first time we were able to make it. I definitely enjoyed it. It's a newer church, and it's quite a bit smaller than what I'm used to, but everyone was incredibly welcoming and friendly. The speaker was excellent, and there was a meal afterwards. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I think we'll go back.

So hooray for a good week. And here's hoping this week will be just as great.

2006-09-22T23:15:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling a little bit blah lately. Perhaps I am just tired. I am in Arlington for the weekend. Hopefully a change of scenery will perk me right up.

In my recent state of blah-ness, I have been doing some thinking. I feel like I'm in an "in-between" stage of life right now. The only problem is, I'm not sure what it is that I'm between. It's like I'm waiting for my life to start. But it has started. It's really quite a confusing feeling. I think a big part of it is a feeling of lonliness. I know I am not alone; I have great roommates and friends and a fantastic family. And of course I have a Heavenly Father who never leaves my side. But I still feel alone sometimes. And the fact that the majority of my friends now come in couples doesn't really help the feeling. But I don't want to sound whiny or mopey. I know I have no reason to feel sorry for myself. God has blessed me immensely. I have not been as grateful to Him for it as I need to be. I have let my relationship with God slide down on my priority list. This is a big part of my problem. Without Him, I will never feel whole.

2006-09-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

I often have people ask me why I chose to stay in Abilene instead of moving back to the Metroplex post-graduation. My usual answer is, "I have no idea. It just worked out that way." Honestly, I don't know why I'm still here, but I'm pretty sure God wanted me here. Everything worked out so perfectly. So, until I figure out exactly what God's plan for me here is, I am attempting to stay entertained by enjoying the sights that one can only see in a place such as Abilene. Allow me to elaborate with a short listing of a few of the key sights I've witnessed of late:

An old fashioned covered wagon, minus the cover, being pulled by what appeared to be 2 donkeys, at a gas station along the highway.
An old woman riding her just-purchased bicycle through the Wal-Mart parking lot to her car.
A woman standing directly in the middle of the road, holding an umbrella, on a completely clear and sunny day.
A suburban filled with at least 15 children at the drive-in movie theater.
Lumberjack Olympics.
A couple in matching motorized wheelchairs crossing the street side-by-side.

This is just a small sampling of the insanity that occurs daily here in good ol' Abilene. And don't even get me started on the mysterious art work that is displayed throughout the town. The roommates and I have considered sculpting some statues of our own and attempting to sell them to the city. I think we could do better than a creepy metal pig with springs for legs and wheels for feet. But that's just me...

2006-09-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

I'm ready for Christmas. Pretty much, I'm always ready for Christmas, but my anticipation has been heightened recently as we begin preparations for the beloved holiday at work. Apparently, in years past, the pedi floor at Hendrick has not been decorated in very kiddish ways. That is all about to change. The husband of one of the nurses has graciously devoted hours and hours to tracing and cutting out the most adorable wooden cut-outs of a train and gingerbread houses and gingerbread people, which will be used to transform the entire unit into a winter wonderland. Tonight after work I got to go have a look at them, as I am one of the few who has expressed desire to help paint them. It will take some time and dedication, but it will be so worth it. We are also devoting free time at work to making tissue paper snow flakes. And by "we," I mean "me." Apparently I'm either the only one on the unit who possesses the talent of making paper snowflakes, or I'm the only one who will admit it. Last week I had made probably close to 50, all of which are now mysteriously missing. I think someone threw them away, which makes me very sad inside. So today I had to start all over. Oh well. At least I am easily amused by kiddie crafts. Don't even get me started on the foam ornaments we are decorating with glitter paint. Man, I love my job!

Emma Lea...my new puppy!!

2006-09-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

Jackson and Emmy love each other.

Look at those puppy dog eyes!!

Sleeping like a baby....

2006-09-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

Today I received the scrubs I ordered online. It was a joyous day. I got some really cute cartoon tops, including Blues Clues, Curious George, and Snoopy. I seriously have the best job. I basically wear pajamas to work, and I never have to give up my love for cartoon clothing. It's great.

Today was the first day of Service Expo at ACU. The beautiful display for Global Samaritan created by Phyllis and me was put on display for the first time, and I got to be the lucky one to man the table. We got a few names of people interested in helping out. Phyllis will be manning it tomorrow. We'll see what comes of it. At least our display looked awesome. :)

The first Monday Night at the Majestic went well last night. We had 6 people show up, plus the 3 roommates. We spent most of the evening singing. I loved it. It's been a while since I've gotten to participate in some quality praise and worship in song. Between working and being out of town, I haven't been to church in Abilene in probably a month or more. It makes me sad inside. I miss feeling like I belong to a church family. This Sunday, Megan and I are going to go to Southern Hills. I think we're going to try out the singles class there. Hopefully it will be a good way to meet some people and get involved. We're also hoping to go tomorrow night to their HIP service, assuming I get off work in time. That's the one drawback of my perfect job. It makes it hard for me to be invovled in everything I want to be involved in.

2006-08-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of classes for millions of college students. I did not go to school today. Because I am no longer a student. How weird is that? I still have not entirely grasped this concept. Now, when I fill out forms, in the blank that says occupation, instead of writing student, I can write nurse. That still freaks me out. I feel old.

I love working on the pediatric floor. Working with kids is so much fun. I feel like I'm playing everyday. Lately, however, the hospital has been quite full, and we've been getting some "non-traditional" pedi patients. Today I took care of a very nice man in his 50's. He came in on Friday for what was supposed to be an outpatient biopsy. But something happened, he had some kind of reaction, and he bought himself a 4 day stay in the hospital. Bummer. But it gets worse. Today, his doctor informed him that he has a very aggressive form of cancer that is already spreading inside him. I wanted to cry when I learned this. He and his wife did cry. They were given the news shortly before the end of my shift, and once I knew they had been told, I found myself unable to go back into the room, because I had no words. What do you say? Everything you've always heard seems so cliche and meaningless. It's strange, because you would think that having dealt with cancer in my own family, I would be more able to handle this kind of situation. But I can't. I don't even think I really handled it when it happened in my family. I knew what was going on, but I never really faced the reality of the situation. Fortunately, in that case, everything worked out as hoped, and I never had to face the kind of gravity this couple is currently facing. Maybe their story will have a happy ending too. I sure hope so. All I know is I now have an entirely new appreciation for the nurses who work in situations like this everyday. I don't know that I could do it.

2006-08-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

An unexpected day off from work is always nice. Too bad it came with 3 phone calls before the hour of 8am, but I'll take what I can get.

Megan and I rode to Arlington together today. Car rides with Megan are always fun. We like to enjoy a little something we like to call "sing-along time." It's pretty self explanatory, I think. And highly enjoyable. We even serenated Stan via walkie talkie a time or two. Stan was following us in his truck. He got to ride with Jackson, who we sedated shortly before leaving Abilene. I've never really been around anyone who was stoned, but I'm pretty sure Jackson was well on his way. His eyes were bloodshot, his tail was drooping between his legs and he could barely stand. We had to assist him in loading up into Stan's truck because once he got his front half in, he couldn't muster the energy to get his back half to follow. It was really all quite humorous.

Tomorrow my mom and I are leaving to go to my grandparents' lake house. I'm pretty excited. Should be a nice, relaxing weekend. (Sorry Brandon...Not trying to rub it in or anything...)

School starts on Monday. This affects me in no way. How weird is that?

2006-08-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Jackson's 6 month birthday. For anyone out there who does not believe that we had a birthday party for him, complete with party hats and cup cakes, I have included this picture. So maybe the only people who attended the party were Megan, Stan, Brandon, and me, but we had a party nonetheless. (And in case you were wondering, yes, that is Tinkerbell on the party hat. What else can you get for a dog who's favorite color is pink?) The cupcakes were a big hit with Jackson. He ate about 5 of them. One of which we actually gave him. The other 4 he took when no one was looking. What a sneak...

So Phyllis and I spent just about all day yesterday and today helping out at Global Samaritan. I really enjoy volunteering there. Cat and the other guys who run it are fabulous, and it feels really good to be a part of something that's bigger than myself. We've been helping them put together a display board for Service Expo at ACU and Lectureship, and helping them finalize the design for their logo. It's really exciting to be involved in making decisions that will affect how things will be permanently. Brandon came with us today and helped us finalize the logo design. I think it turned out really nice. The display is just about ready too, and I think it's going to look really sharp as well. And anyone who knows me knows I absolutely love anything involving paper or office supplies or organizing things, so I'm in heaven. I'm really looking forward to seeing what else we can get involved with at Global Samaritan throughout the semester, and what kinds of doors it will open.

2006-08-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

Today started off normal enough. I had the day off, so I decided to get some stuff done that I've been putting off for a while. It was actually quite a productive day. But at some point in time between then and now, things took an interesting turn. We had a pleasant enough evening. Megan and I conned Roommate Phil into coming over to hang our celing fan in the pink room, we made nachos, and then the 3 of us and Stan played a lively game of Monopoly, in which Stan beat the pants off us all. After Stan gloated a little, we decided to go visit Phyllis at work. We took Jackson along with us, because we learned recently that he enjoys ice cream just as much as the rest of us. When we got back to the house, we noticed Brandon's car across the street, so we figured he must be next door at James' house. We decided we ought to go say hi. We knocked several times, but no one answered, so we decided to let ourselves in, since the door was unlocked. I think we nearly gave James a heart attack. But he recovered quickly, and we had a pleasant chat with him, Brandon and Jairo for a few minutes. We invited them over to watch Serendipity with us, but they refused. So Megan, Stan, Roommate Phil, and I headed back to the house for the movie. Megan and Stan didn't quite make it through the whole movie before passing out, but Phil and I managed to see the end. When it was over, I offered to give Phil a ride home so he wouldn't have to walk home at midnight. When I opened the front door, I was greeted by trees full of toilet paper, and a car wrapped in seran wrap. Hmm...I wonder who could have done that? I looked over and noticed James walking a friend out to her car, so I immediately began interrogating. As I made my way over to his house, I caught a quick glimpse of Brandon just inside the front door. As soon as he saw me, he bolted to the back of the house. They tried to shut me out, but I was too quick. I caught the cultprits and demanded that they clean up their mess. While we out in the yard watching them climb the trees in effort to get toilet paper out, we heard shouting coming from a house across the street and a few doors down. Their dog was having puppies! How exciting! Jairo and I decided it might be fun to see, so we decided to be neighborly and go say hi. Their front door was open and the guy who lives there was running around excitedly in his living room telling someone on the phone about the puppies. We congratulated him and asked if we could come take a look. He was more than happy to allow us in. I had never seen a freshly born puppy before. They're definitely cuter when they're cleaned up a bit... As we were standing around in awe of the single puppy that had been born so far, I suddenly realized I had my camera in my hands from taking pictures of the boys cleaning up the toilet paper. So I offered to take some pictures for them. I only got a few, because only one puppy had been born, and the mom was pretty protective of it. We stayed around for a few minutes to see if we could catch the birth of any more of the puppies, but she seemed to be taking her time, and the place was getting a little crowded with people who actually knew the owners of the dog, so I decided to head back home. But the guy who lives there told me to be sure to bring him copies of the pictures I got. Funny way to meet one's neighbors. Oh well. It was fun. When I got back to my house I learned that there was craziness going on here as well while I was away. Apparently Brandon and James had decided to do a little late-night trampoline jumping on our duct taped trampoline. James recalled that he used to be able to do a back flip, and wondered if it was a skill he still possessed. Apparently he was a bit rusty. He ended up flipping off the trampoline and somehow hitting his wrist on our house. Not sure how that happened, but he seemed to be in a bit of pain. I did my nurse-ly duties and looked it over. It didn't seem to be severely damaged, so I recommended an ice pack. And no more back flips. Man. This night has been insane.

2006-08-12T20:05:00.000-07:00

I just realized something. I was on Facebook, just browsing through my friends who had recently updated their profiles, when it suddenly dawned on me that the first thing I check on many of my friends is their relationship status to make sure they haven't become engaged without my knowledge. It sounds silly I know, but it seems to be happening much more frequently than I'd like to admit. Add to that the fact that today at work when a fairly attractive young surgeon who we'd never met before came to our floor, my coworkers immediately began looking for a wedding ring, and sneaking me winks and nods when none was discovered. We then found out that his cousin is a nurse on one of the other floors, and that he was planning on stopping by to see her when he left our floor. So as soon as he walked down the hall, they picked up the phone, called his cousin, and started grilling her about his relationship status. Turns out he's married with a baby on the way. "Oh well," they told me, "we'll keep looking for you." They're seriously trying to get me married off. I'm beginning to feel like maybe singleness is viewed as some kind of disease or something... But really, it's not that bad. I'm happy with my life at the moment. I'm very happy for all of my married/engaged/practically engaged friends. And I think the set-up attempts are humorous and entertaining. Who knows, maybe one day they'll actually find me one who is single too... ;)

2006-08-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

Behold: the most fabulous clock ever.

I bought it today at Hobby Lobby. I saw it on the shelf and fell in love. I then spent the next few hours of my life searching for just the right numbers to photograph to bring my beloved clock to life. Most of them came from around my house, but a few required a bit of stealth. The 5 came from the side of a truck in the Bueno parking lot, and the 9 came from the front porch of an unknown neighbor. We tried a few times to get the 10 from the street sign for 10th Street, but after a few failed attempts involving my hanging half-way out of the passenger side window of Megan's Jeep, I had to satisfy myself with a picture from a magazine.

So I know I have been lax in my postings lately, and for that I apologize. Life has been a wee bit insane lately. Phyllis and I returned on Monday from a weekend trip to her hometown of Grand Haven, Michigan. It was a fabulous time. It was fun to meet all of her friends and finally put some faces with names. We planned our trip around the final weekend of the Coast Guard Festival, which takes place in Grand Haven each summer to celebrate the birthday of the US Coast Guard. And, like any good American tradition, provides a good excuse for hundreds of people to cram into a very small area and get drunk. It was a lot of fun. (Note to the parents: Don't worry. I was not a participant in the drinking. Just a spectator.) Highlights from the weekend included an art fair, swimming in Lake Michigan, getting nauseated just watching the carnival rides, meeting lots of fun new people, eating good food, seeing the most incredible fireworks show ever, walking almost everywhere we went, listening to funny Michigan accents, enjoying the cute little town, and taking a break from real life.

2006-07-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I became the unfortunate bearer of the worst sunburn I have ever experienced. Who knew that such a seemingly small amount of time spent in the direct path of the sun would yield such unsightly and painful results? Luckily it seems to be going away. Unfortunately, it is taking the top layer of my skin with it. Sad day. I am beginning to understand how snakes must feel. Minus the whole striking fear in the hearts of 90% of the population thing. I hope...

I'm sorry I haven't been very faithful in my updating of the ol' blog lately. Life has been a bit insane lately. I promise I will fill my faithful readers in on the goings-on of my life at some point, but that point will not be now. I've got 3 days in a row of work staring me in the face, and my bed is looking pretty good right about now. Goodnight.

2006-07-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

Answer to Mark's comment from the previous post, because I can't find a way to comment on your blog: the Bible study we just started will be roommates only. But, when school starts we're planning on hosting a group Bible study for anyone and everyone who would like to attend. We're actually attempting to find people who might help us lead it a bit. If you or anyone you know is interested in attending/leading, that would be fabulous!

And, for those of you reading not named Mark: see above.

2006-07-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

The roommates and I started what will become a weekly Bible study tonight. I'm pretty excited about it. I think it's cool how different people can have totally different perspectives on the same ideas, and how talking about your ideas out loud can make you realize things about yourself or how you think that you never would have figured out on your own. But I'm thinking maybe God designed things that way all along...

2006-07-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight Megan and I went out and played volleyball with a bunch of friends. It was a lot of fun. I miss big group events like that. Of course, when approximately 90% of "the group" is married to each other, large group gatherings seem to lose a bit of their appeal. Sad day for us single folk. Oh well. I've been feeling lately like I need to start doing something with my life. I go to work my 3 days a week, and I think that's meaningful, but what do I do with the rest of my time? Honestly, the majority of it is spent either in my bed sleeping, or on the couch in front of the TV. What is that accomplishing? As I mentioned before, I recently began reading The Purpose Driven Life. I am really enjoying it so far. Today's chapter was about how everything and everyone was created to glorify God. This has always been a bit of a mysterious phrase to me. How exactly does one go about giving glory to God? It sounds like a good idea, but what does it look like? The author suggests that everything in creation gives glory to God when it carries out the purpose for which it was created. For example, a bird glorifies God when it flies, and builds nests, and feeds its babies regurgitated worms, because that's what it was created to do. Now, at this point I may not be 100% certain of what God's purpose for me is, but I'm pretty sure it's not sleeping 14 hours a day and watching 6 episodes of Friends in a row. Just a guess. I do believe that working as a nurse is a big part of God's purpose for my life, but I also believe that there is more. I don't know exactly what. Maybe it's being there for my roommates, family, and friends. Maybe it's being nice to someone who's having a bad day. Maybe it's making people smile. I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure I won't figure it out from my couch. I want to get out and start living my life, instead of simply existing.

2006-07-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

Approximately two days ago, a fly decided to take up residence in my bedroom. It keeps making laps around the room. Every few minutes a small dark speck zooms across my line of sight. I've tried a couple of times to catch it, but so far my attempts have been fruitless. Sad day. Perhaps I should just resign myself to the fact that I now have an additional roommate. Only slightly smaller, and peskier, and who makes a small buzzing noise as he darts past my face. I suppose I should name him as well, because, after all, every other living thing (be it human, animal, or plant) residing in our house has a name. I think I'll call him Henry. Hopefully Henry's stay here will not be a long one.

2006-07-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

I started reading The Purpose Driven Life today. I was bored, and began scouring the roommates' shelves in search of a new book to read, and stumbled across this one. The hype surrounding this book in the last few years has made me bit of a cynic. I wonder if it really is such an amazing, life-changing combination of words, or if it's just one of those "Christian fads" that people claim are so wonderful, yet practical application is mysteriously absent, or short-lived at best. But then, I suppose the outcome of the reading has little to do with the words of the book themselves, but rather the attitude of their reader. And so, I have determined that with an open and prayerful heart I will peruse the pages of this book to see if the wisdom of one Rick Warren will encourage me on my journey to discovering God's divine purpose for my life. I must say, I found the first chapter rather thought-provoking. It was a discussion of the concept that God is the provider and sustainer of every person on earth. This is a rather basic, yet essential concept. I am here because God wants me to be here. Long before I was born, or even thought of, God knew who I would be and what he would do with me and through me. And that means that God made me exactly as I am on purpose. If I criticize some supposed flaw in my character or personality, I am criticizing God's handiwork. Am I really brave enough to do that? Or what about when I get so frustrated because I feel like I don't know who I am? I look so far within myself, I look to my friends, I look to my family, trying to define myself. Why is it the last one I think to look to is God, who made me, and therefore knows me a million times better than I could ever know myself? Interesting... Another thought that occurred to me while reading this chapter was, if God created me exactly the way I am on purpose, then that must mean he created everybody else the way they are on purpose. Even the people I think are weird or creepy or annoying. Now I'm not saying that people, myself included, don't make choices that are contrary to God's design, I'm just saying that everyone was hand-made by God and has a story. That's hard for me to remember sometimes. Something I've been really working on lately is seeing people through God's eyes. It can be quite challenging at times... So, as you can see, I am hopeful about my journey through this book. I may post other thoughts about what I read from time to time. Any additional thoughts or insights or points to ponder are more than welcome!

2006-06-30T18:14:00.000-07:00

My parents and roommates are the greatest. Today I came home from work to a kitchen table full of goodies to congratulate me on passing my NCLEX from my mom and dad and Phyllis. And the day I actually took my test, I came home to find a surprise from Megan on my desk. I feel loved. :)

I think by the end of this weekend I will feel very, very tired. I worked today, and I will be working the next 2 days as well. I do enjoy only having to work 3 days a week, but it's usually nicer when they're spread out a wee bit. Oh well. I will survive. And get weekend shift differential. I guess life isn't all that bad.

Have I mentioned yet how much I am loving my job? It seriously doesn't feel like going to work. Yeah, it gets a little stressful from time to time, but I love everything that I do. Even the gross stuff. Not that I love the grossness itself, but I love the feeling I get knowing that I am helping people get better. And I know that at some point in time, I will be the one creating grossness that other people will have to deal with because I can't, and I hope that they will feel the same way toward me.

2006-06-27T23:34:00.000-07:00

Good news: I found out today that I can now officially call myself a nurse. That's right, I passed the NCLEX!! Hoorah! I can now adequately appreciate the fact that I only had 75 questions on my test. *** :) :) :)*** Done and done.

Failure to Launch came out on DVD today. You better believe a copy of it now resides among our hundreds (literally) of alphabetized cinematic masterpieces. I have to say, this movie has become a recent favorite of mine. Probably partially because the roommates and I laughed like idiots through the whole showing at the theater, and partially because it is chock full of fabulous one-liners such as, "What size of a group are we talking about? Is it a small group? Like, a basketball team? Or is it a big group? Like...the Chinese?" Oh man. You don't run across quality like that every day.

You know what I love? I love the fact that people have the ability, based solely on the distinctive yellowish staining of my teeth, to determine that I spent my formative years in West Texas. It's quite a self-esteem booster, really. There's really little that compares with a compliment like, "My, you have an incredibly strong, although slightly discolored, mouth full of teeth!" High praise, I tell you. High praise...

2006-06-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Today was a day of many wonderous events. Events wonderous enough, in fact, to merit a list detailing the extent of their wonderousness.

This morning, Megan and I voluntarily roused ourselves from restful slumber at the ungodly hour of 5:30 so we could go work out before I had to be at work at 7. With much determination we took on the menacing stationary bicycles and Stairmasters. I am happy to report that we emerged successful, with only the slightest hint of soreness, and in plenty of time for me to shower and arrive to work on time.
Upon my timely arrival to work, I was beckoned by the small, mouse-like voice of the night charge nurse. She showered me with apologies as she informed me that the pediatric floor was devoid of patients this day, and thus my services would not be required. She had not called earlier to alert me to this fact because she did not have a phone number at which to reach me. I gladly supplied the desired number for use on future such occasions, and returned home to my bed and an additional 5 hours of sleep.
I am happy to report that we can now boast the proper functioning of all utility services at our house. The air conditioner repair man arrived at approximately 1:30pm. Shortly after his arrival, men came to install air vents in our attic, follwed a few minutes later by someone from the gas company to turn on our gas service. In a matter of hours we went from living in a hot, muggy, poorly-ventilated house with no hot water to a refreshingly cool, energy-efficient home with the luxury of a hot shower at any given moment.
I bought new shoes today for the first time in about 2 years. Let me restate that. I bought new athletic shoes for the first time in about 2 years. I decided that between being on my feet 36 hours a week at work and the challenge I have given myself to start walking/working out on a regular basis, I needed some shoes that actually benefit my feet in some way. And so, with the help of my shoe-savvy roommate Phyllis, I picked out some functional yet fashionable athletic style shoes. I must say, I am a bit proud of myself. This is the first time I actually considered the needs of my feet when purchasing shoes instead of basing my entire decision on visual appeal. Ah, personal growth.

I am certain I am leaving out other highlights of the day, but this is all that comes to mind at present. I have yet to find out whether or not I passed my NCLEX, which is slightly upsetting. I'm hoping I will know something tomorrow. I'll be sure to keep you well informed, faithful reader. I know you hate suspense.

2006-06-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

Back to Abilene. Back to a house with no air conditioning. Sad day.

2006-06-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

I am in search of a hobby. Yesterday, upon completion of my test, I realized that I now have nothing in particular to occupy my free time. This is new for me. For most of my life I have always had something I should be doing, be it homework, studying, writing papers, etc. Even when I wasn't doing such things, the knowledge that they were there to be done was always hanging over my head. But now, the space above my head is suddenly free of obligation. Of course I must go to work 3 days a week, but as of right now, that is something I look forward to. So the question is, what will I do with the other 4 days? Suggestions are welcome.

Here's an interesting little tidbit: as of tomorrow, I will be living across the alley from my little brother, and next door to my cousin. (I have a theory that my family is actually trying to monopolize the entire neighborhood, but we must start slow to reduce suspicion.) I am excited about this arrangement. I am a fan of both my brother and my cousin, so it should be good times. Too bad Bryan and Amber moved to Arlington, or we could be one step closer to familial domination of Abilene.

I am excited to see Bryan and Amber's new place. I hear it's very nice. And, being as I'm in Arlington currently, my desire will hopefully be fulfilled later this afternoon.

Jackson is leaving for Puppy Boot Camp today. This means that upon my return to Abilene tomorrow, our house will be dog-free for 2 weeks. He should return to us an obedient, well-trained canine. And, given the incredible speed at which he seems to be growing, at least twice his current size. Fabulous.