mom hits a milestone

Well...it's already been decided that I'm a notoriously bad blogger. I guess I just feel as though I really have nothing new and exciting and my life is actually quite boring and who really wants to read about that??

But anyways....today is mom's 55th birthday. Hopefully she has a wonderful day.

Two weekends ago Dawn, Dan and I joined the Ryans for a camping trip. Dawn proved to be the bags queen. She also made us giggle with her headlamp antics, A*@hole skills, bathroom seeking skills, and her comments about how much work camping is as she watched Dan and I set up and tear down the tent!!! Great time was had by all. Enjoy a few pictures...

Dan had his tonsils and part of his uvula removed last week. The surgery went very well and he's recovering nicely. Plus, he gets the magical benefit of losing 15 pounds in the process....ah, the beauty of surgery! Nah, I'm just kidding, he was a bit miserable for the first couple days but came through like a champ.

Work is work, no changes there.

I officially start nursing school in one month!! It's The Final Countdown...(que in cheesy 80's music)

Looking forward to girls night out this weekend, my work camping trip next weekend, and then I'm off to MN with Dan's family. Meg, Joel, and Jean...watchout...I'll be giving you a call!!!

Are you Dan??

It was a wonderful weekend. Dan accompanied me on his first (hopefully of many) Ryan Family Picnics. Needless to say he was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of people there!! He later told me that he didn't know if he'd ever remember everyone's name!!! But he felt safe in asking any of the male members of the family if their name was Dan! So, I reassured him that it was ok, eventually he'd figure it out. But a note to the Larry Ryans, and Hagerty's....he's got most of your names down!!! He enjoyed himself tremendously and thoroughly enjoyed soaking me with both egg and water balloon! We also got to reconnect with the Feeney crowd as we don't see them very often. Dennis and his new wife Chelsea were in attendance, and Ray was in from Georgia. As always, good food, good company, great day!

Getting all my stuff together for nursing school. As I mentioned earlier, I have many hoops to jump through before August 1st. I stopped by the school today and realized that my health file is up-to-date, I paid for my security check. Don't you think it would make sense that you do a security background check before they admit you to the program, not before you start classes, because if you don't pass the background check, you are dropped from the program. Hmmm....interesting. All my health check stuff is done, except getting my final TB test read later this week. I have to finish a bunch of computer courses, 20 to be exact, on hospital basics, HIPPA, Patient rights, stuff like that. Now, you see I had to do these exact same computer courses for my job at SAMC, but...they make us do them all over again. Hopefully, I should be done by tomorrow...I only have 4 left!!!

Well, that's all to report! More later....

Back to Basics

Well, It looks like I'm gonna have to stay on nights. I'm not exactly sure if it's gonna be for the whole time, but in order for me to go to 32 hours per week, I'll only qualify for part time benefits...therefore, I'll have to pay more for insurance and such. So, I'm not really sure how I'm gonna make it work, but I will. Some of my co-workers are willing to do trades with me in order to help me out. If worse comes to worse, I can always work solid weekends, but I really don't want to do that. As it is, I only see Dan every two weeks on my weekend off...if I were to work every weekend, we'd never see each other!!!

Speaking of Dan, he has to have his tonsils removed. He had his final bout of tonsilitis last week. The doc says his tonsils are 4 times the size of normal male adult tonsils! He wants me to spend the week down there playing nurse to him. I don't know yet if I'm gonna go or not. What do you think?

Thats really all I've got for now..

Wish me luck

Ok ladies and gentleman,

I've decided that working nights is not really working for me anymore. You see, I had a few days off in a row and I realized how convenient it is to live the daytime life. I was up everyday between 4 and 6am, went to the gym, my blood sugar was wonderfully under control! (and it hasn't' been very well under control in quite some time) I mean my blood sugar was under 120 every day!!! That's huge!!! I even lost a couple pounds, didn't feel like such a slug, and was able to communicate with my family, not just live like the sloth in the other room!

I've decided that working nights and going to school full time is going to be a very difficult thing. So, I've decided to cut my hours down and tighten up the budget. I've talked this over with my mom and she agrees. I currently work 3 twelve hour shifts per week at 36 hours total. I'm going to move to 8 hour shifts 4 days per week, 32 hours total. Most likely 3pm-1130pm or 4pm-1230am, while I'm in school. This semester I'm going to be in school Mon/Thur 8am-12pm and Fri 7am-330pm. So, working all night and then going to school, will be just silly. It's gonna be a tough financial decision, but I'll pick up as many hours as I can on my breaks. I think this makes sense right??? The goal is for me to do well in school, and become a good nurse, right? I don't want to spend the next two years of life in an haze of exhaustion.

So, I guess I'm asking that you all say a little prayer for me that my boss is understanding and will do his best to help me out. I'm even willing to bend a little and continue to work overnight 12 on the weekends if I have to. But I really don't want to. Who knows, maybe someday I'll actually get onto a daytime swing and be able to act like a normal human being!!!

What's new

Not much to report here, but I'll update what I have.

As you all know, I got my information from Harper college. I had to attend orientation and I have to have a bunch of medical stuff like a physical done. So, being the ambitious person I can be, I make the appointment with my physician to have my physical done and my labs drawn. Then I attend the orientation. Now they tell us that we have to have titer levels drawn for all our vaccinations and get shots if our levels aren't high enough. You would think they could have clued us in on this requirement prior to the orientation. Now, I have to have more blood drawn and it'll cost me more money. If they would have given us the initial requirements when they mailed out the health history and physical form, I would have had my doctor's office draw these titer levels!!! UGH. Of course, I can have my blood drawn at Harper for a cost, but their phlebotomist is only on staff Wednesday afternoon 3-6pm and Thursday morning 9am-12pm. Not very convenient when you live farther away and work night shift. Also, I have to have a 2 step TB test done, but they will only administer the TB test on Monday or Tuesday. Does this make any sense??? So, I have to go one day to get the TB test, another to get the blood drawn, another to have the test read, then the second test a week later, then go back to get that read. Now. that's six trips to Harper college!!! Oh man! And, I already checked with work if I could have any of this done there, they said not really, but they would give me copies of what I've had done there so that maybe i can save a little time and money.... I guess it could be worse, but I really hate inconvenience. Oh well, such is life right??

It's gonna be a long two years, but it's worth it!!!

Love

You know, I knew I was in love with Dan, but if for some reason I wasn't sure about how I felt about him, I got my final notice this past weekend. I spent the weekend with him, and Sunday morning I was woken up with a cup of coffee and Dan playing his accoustic guitar. He wrote me a song!!! And Woke me up by singing to me Sunday morning.

If I wasn't already in love with this man, I'd have fallen head over heels that morning. He promises to record it and give me a copy (so someday you'll all be able to hear it)...in the meantime I had to settle for the lyrics hand written.

The song is called "You're the Better Part of Me" Hmmm...sigh. I'm so happy, I'm in that deleriously happy silliness mode, I've been walking around with a silly grin on my face for two days now!!!

How did I ever find this man who is the sweetest thing??

Sorry about the sappiness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time to catch up

Ok, It's been a while, whats new with me?

I was approved by the hospital to pay for school. What this means, is that St. Alexius will pay for me education up to $10,000, and I will owe them 2 years as a nurse once I finish school. Not to shabby! I had to apply for this scholarship/loan after I received my acceptance letter. I received approval earlier this week. Thats a load off.

I ran my first 5K this past weekend. Saturday June 2nd, I ran the Wondergirl 5K down at Montrose harbor. My first one ever. I did not have huge goals for myself...goal #1 finish the race, goal #2 finish in under an hour, goal #3 run the majority of it!!! I successfully accomplished all of the above! Yeah me!! I think I might actually look for another one to train for! The weather was absolutely gorgeous, couldn't ask for anything better. I got a good sunburn, and the only pain I really had was in the heels of my feet. They were really sore for about two days. After that, I was ok.

Later that day I headed up to Roscoe to help Molly celebrate her 30th birthday as a surprise party hosted by her husband and kids. It was a good day, sunshine, good food, good company and cold beer. What more could you ask for???

Dan and I are doing wonderfully. He got some good news himself this past week. He applied for a CAD position in the engineering department at his current job and got the position!! It's a nice upgrade, a bit more money and it gets him out of the hot factory and upstairs to the air conditioned engineering department. If you're anything like me, I had to ask what CAD stood for....Computer Assisted Drafting.

HOpe all are doing well, finished up with their school years and ready to enjoy the summer off!!!

Quick Note, before I go to bed

I GOT INTO NURSING SCHOOL!!!!!!!

I got my acceptance letter this past Thursday. I was accepted to Harper College Nursing Program. I'll be starting in August 2007 and should be done May 2009. Thanks to all of you who kept me in there prayers as I not so patiently waited to hear the great news!!!!

Hello...Is it me your looking for???

I'm a horrible blogger!!!

There has been a lot going on in the Karner household lately. Lets see, many of you already may have heard, but maybe not...

Ralph was back in the hospital from May 1st until the 9th. It was a long road. He was pretty sick. He's back home now and doing pretty well. We can't complain too much now. He may even go on his anual fishing trip next week. We all hope he's well enough, but it's a little bit scary to imagine him out in the northwoods of WI, the nearest hospital 2 hours away!!!

Marty got engaged!!! Yeah!!! Colorado wedding....road trip anyone????

I'm still planning on running a 5K in two weeks, but I'm not so sure how I'm going to accomplish the feat. I've been steadily running for 15 to 20 minutes, but thats not even close to 3 miles! :)

I'm still dating Dan and spent a lovely weekend with him for his birthday this past weekend. Things are going very well there and I'm extremely happy!

Hope all are well. Will talk more soon!

Sorry for the delay...

I'm back!! I realized how long it's been since I've blogged. Oh my goodness, what was I thinking. I kept saying to myself..."I really need to blog, I'll get to it later tonight." and then I never get to it. So, whats new with me?

Dan made the journey from Momence to McHenry a couple weeks ago to meet the family. I forwarned him that I was having a purse party that evening and it might be a little crazy. He was more than welcome to come, but I surely wasn't going to cancel my party. He ventured up here via Metra. Yep, two trains and almost three hours later, I picked him up at the train station. My dad said he must really like me if he's willing to ride the train that long to come see me. I said I was pretty sure he did. So anyways....Dan met the family, and some of the extended family. He got to meet a small group of the Ryans, including..the Hagerty's, Larry Ryan family, Uncle Dan, Gary and Patrick. You see, all the men went to Gary's while the women were here. It was a successful weekend. I'm pretty sure everyone liked him. And those of us present at the Polodori's got to witness Dan's wonderful Kareoke ability, which is better then the rest of us. :) The rest of you can meet him at the picnic and Mary's wedding. I plan to keep this one for a while!!!

I signed myself up for a 5K run on June 2nd. Then I got lazy!!!! I completely stopped training!!!! What was I thinking? I was smoking again, on pretty regular basis and not doing anything physical. So, I kicked the smokes completely about a week ago and did my first run today. It was horrible!!!!! I wasn't too worried about breaking any records, but I really need to get myself back into shape. So, I went back to the old standby and did run 5, walk 5. Thats minutes of course. But I did run 5, walk 5, run 7, walk 3, run 3, walk 4, run 8. Then I was done!!!!! Too tired to continue any further. But I felt pretty good. I just have to do it again tomorrow. I'll be fine for the 5K in June right??? Nice and easy thats the way to get back in.

Also, Dad went back into the hospital today. He started his ATG treatment again today and it's really kind of awful to watch! Last time he got this horrible reaction including muscle tremors that shook his whole body like a seizure. He of course could make light of the situation and called himself the human milkshake! Well, when I got there today, the tremors were just starting. I asked..."oh no dad...are you playing human milkshake again??" I hate this part, but suppossedly I know what to expect while watching this treatment. On the plus side, Dad is healthier going in this time then he was the last time he went through this so, he should take it easier and have better reactions right? That's of course the theory. I personally think he looked worse today then he did the first day of this treatment last July. For those of you who know my dad, you know he's a big, strong, giant of a man, with a heart so big. Imagine this man lying in a hospital bed, shaking from the muscle tremors, looking swollen from all the prednisone, receiving benadryl every hour to avoid allergic reaction, curled up on his side attempting to get comfortable because the medicine makes his back hurt so bad. It's so hard to see my daddy so weak. So, I'm basically a wreck tonight.

A special thanks to those of you who donate blood and platelets. It's people like you who have saved my fathers life last year when he was so ill. I am eternally grateful! Keep up the good work!!!!!

Ok....thats all folks.

Call Me Focker

Yes that's right, I got to MEET THE PARENTS this weekend. Last week, Dan had invited me to go see his band play in Blue Island on 3/31. Then, he asked me to stick around and come over to his parents home on Sunday to meet everyone. So, of course I agreed, but I was fretting over it all weekend. You see, Dan is an only child, and lives with mom, dad and grandma. So, I was a smidge nervous. I was asked to be there around noon on Sunday. Throughout the week I had asked several different opinions on what to bring. I showed up with mutual friends of ours at Dan's parents house on Sunday afternoon, armed with a box of Fannie Mae chocolates and a nice bottle of Pinot Noir. Immediately his mom gave me a hug and said "oh Amy, it's so nice to finally meet you!" In the back of my head I was thinking...."finally, we've only been dating a little while?" but I rolled with it. Dad was cooking, so he was unable to give me a hug, but informed me to sit down and eat, and handed me a hot cup of coffee. Grandma walked straight up to me, gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and welcomed me. So, my fears were quickly put to rest because everyone was so welcoming. We had a wonderful brunch of "skinnies" known to the rest of us as crepes or Swedish pancakes. Then, we all settled in and just relaxed, watched a couple movies and lounged around. We opened the bottle of wine I brought, it was pretty tasty. The night went very well, and due to the late hour, and the couple glasses of wine, I was asked/encouraged to stay the night. So, I did. I stayed in the guest "loft" and got up bright and early this morning, Dan went off to work and I headed home.

All in all, it was a great day. My favorite kind of Sunday, where you just relax, and chill out all day. Sit back and watch movies not have to rush around anywhere or do anything. When I got home this morning, mom and I sat and had a cup of coffee and she asked if she'd get to meet Dan at the family picnic. I informed her that I hope she gets to meet him sooner than that! :) He's a good egg and I really like him.

Updates Galore....

Ok, It's been a while and I have many things to update.

Let's start with Nursing school, I did not get accepted, I got wait-listed. I found out that I am in the top 30 on the wait list of 212. So, I guess that good news. The admissions office guy also said that usually 35-40 people get accepted off the waiting list, and I could find out anytime from this week all the way through a week before classes start. I have high hopes. I know that I'm going to be accepted to nursing school this term. I have no question! Actually, I have decided to take this summer off, I'm not going to take any classes at all. It's about time for a break! I have to stay positive.

Dad is being typed and matched for a possible bone marrow transplant. They are also typing his sister and brother now. We are hopeful that there is a match and he can go through with a transplant. Unfortunately we don't know much else right now, they'll educate us more as they have more results and we're sure we're going to head in that direction.

This weekend, my girlfriend and I had planned to meet downtown for the St. Patrick's Day parade and then we were going to see Gaelic Storm at the house of blues. In the meantime, I had met Dan. Due to the distance between us, we do a lot of meeting. I asked him if he's like to join us for the St. Patty's festivities, he said sure. So, we all took three different trains into the city. We booked a hotel room and had a day. The concert was wonderful, so much fun. The parade, fun...I had never been to this parade before, it was a good time. Company was great as well. A little update, it was really cute, Dan asked me what the Claddaugh (sp?) meant, he saw it everywhere but didn't know. You see, he's not Irish at all, a fault I'm willing to look past. I was wearing my ring heart open, free to be taken, upside down. You all get it. After the explaination, he asked me why I was wearing my ring upside down. I asked him "what" He said, I think the dating period is over, will you be my girlfriend. Just you and me? My heart melted a little bit. I mean no one has ever officially asked if I'd be their girlfriend...you know? So, of course I agreed. :) We'll see what happens. He's polite, he had manners, he's kind and good to me. Still taking it slow, but we'll see what happens!

Thats all for now I have another anatomy test to study for!

S*A*T*U*R*D*A*Y NIGHT!!

Well, I was supposed to have dinner date on Saturday night. Plans changed. The original plan was to do dinner Saturday night then meet up with a group of friends who's little sister just turned 21. Due to miscommunication, it was decided that the whole group would just do dinner together then the bars downtown. So the group met up at Micah and Bridget's house and loaded into a van to head into the city. Dan and I sat together and chatted the whole ride. He so politely helped me in and out of the van, pulled out my chair at dinner. We partied with the rest of the group, but most of the night we seemed to be in our own little bubble. Everyone was there having a good time, but we just were able to chat and relax and get to know each other. The others probably thought we were being anti-social, but...I don't care!

Then I discovered. He loved Karaoke! yeah!!!....I guess I shouldn't be surprised, he's the lead singer in a band...they usually do enjoy karaoke. And, he's quite good. After a rousing rendition of Black Crowes "Hard to Handle," He asked me what I was going to sing, since there had already been three different renditions of "I Will Survive," and no classic Cher music (ie Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves.) I figured I'd just keep to myself and my beer. I did join in on a little "Sweet Caroline" and "Gloria"(that person didn't even know how to do karaoke and stood on stage looking stupid.) Dan politely informed me that I sounded good. I told him thanks, but I didn't need flattery. I know I'm tone deaf and a horrible singer!!!! But I did appreciate the effort!

By four o'clock, we headed home. I got a kiss goodnight and he told me he really liked me and would like to see where this may go. I said we'll see what happens. We live 90 miles apart!!! I'm leaving my options open.

This afternoon, after his band practice, he called me and asked if I was still in the area. I happened to be, so he asked if he could take me to dinner? I accepted. We went out for pizza. So, I got my dinner date after all.

I had a really good time with a very nice person who likes me and wants to see more of me. Lets see what happens!!!!!

Gettin' Anxious

Most of you know that I applied to Nursing school February 1st. Now, I'm not a dummy, and I do know that it takes a substantial amount of time to receive an answer, but I'll tell you....I'm really getting anxious. I've made a very big decision that I only apply to RN school once. If I don't get in this August, it's just not meant to be. Many of my co-workers have informed me that it's silly for me to give up after only one try. I've decided that I need to get things figured out. I'm 28 years old and need to figure out what I'm going to do when I grow up. So, I'm on the job hunt. My statement is...I'm open to just about anything new, I'm willing to change careeres up until the day I start nursing school. If I get accepted, then I will go through. If not, I'll find something else and start looking at getting my Masters Degree.

In the meantime, I've started a job search. I'm looking for something different. I think I'd really enjoy working with some of the pharmaceutical companies. I'd like something that pays more money, and I'm really looking forward to the paid holidays off, and no weekends. Travel and relocation are not much of an issue for me....any leads? Let me know!

On a plus note...I have a date this coming Saturday. His name is Dan and he's very, very nice. We had the proverbial "hook up" last weekend. I went to see his band play because I'm friends with the wife of the bass player. We chatted, things went well, he kissed me goodnight. Now, we have a date this coming weekend. Now, one of the harder things is that he lives in the south suburbs. I know many of you are thinking..."oh no...he's in a band" Which is true, and I would have worried if he didn't have a college education and full time job. His band is his part time gig. I don't have too many expectations, but we'll see what happens! I'm just happy to be going on a date.

TTFN

Training

I recently purchased a book called, The Non-Runners Guide to Running a Marathon. Now, let me give you a little background as to why I would buy such a book. People look at me and state...there is no way she's a runner. Which is entirely true. I'm not a runner. I used to be, but was never really good at it and never truly enjoyed it. I can only once remember that runners high....That was back in the day and I felt fabulous because we had to do a five mile run as punishment as for as tired as I was, I was able to do it. Now since then, I've not run much more than three miles at a time, and for the past 5 years, I haven't done any running at all!!!

So, back to my story. I wanted to get back into running. I have no plans of running a marathon, but I really liked what these authors had to say and the training program they had laid out. They started with a beginning training session that was about ten weeks long, starting from beginner to more advanced. I figured I was somewhere in the middle, so thats where I started myself. I started myself with this training regiment...jog 5min, walk 5min, repeat twice for a total of 30 minutes. The first time I did it I thought i was gonna die. Initially I thought...who can't jog for five minutes....I barely made it! The last 5 min segment was grueling. (and quite honestly i certainly wasnt' moving that fast!!!) But, I got through week one. In fact on day three, I actually was able to jog for 15 consecutive minutes. That felt wonderful!!!!

So, this is week two. The temp hit like 38 degrees today, a tropical heatwave from the cold snap we've been dealing with. So, I decided to jog outside today rather than at the gym. This weeks training is jog 10 min, walk 5 min, repeat twice. For a total of 30 minutes. It's so much harder to actually jog outside. In the cold, on the pavement, with hills...I didn't even make my first 10 minutes...I only made it 8. I was a bit disappointed, but then again i said to myself....You're a beginner Amy, you don't have to prove anything to anyone. If you can't run 10 minutes today, maybe you can tomorrow. Needless to say, I did manage to jog my full 10 minutes the second go round. Barely! But, it was a huge accomplishment, for me.

Lets see what the rest of the week and next week bring me. I feel so good after this little bit. I'm going to start looking for some little races to do...like a 3K, not that I'm in for the competition, but something to push me a little bit. I'll start looking for thoses after i know I can jog 30 minutes straight, which at this rate is about 4-5 weeks from now. We'll see.....

I hate Winter!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, So....I had my first anatomy lab test this afternoon. Last night, I hoped and prayed for a school closing due to the weather. I woke up this morning to check the Harper website and it says....morning classes on, check after 10am for news about afternoon classes. Being that my class is at 1100 and my lab at 140pm, I figured I'd check back... But, do I leave early due to the icky weather...(it was snowing and blowing and really yucky with about two inches already) or do I wait and check the website at 10 that way I might not have to leave at all. I chose option number 2. Alas...afternoon classes are on, decisions will be made by 3pm for evening classes. UGH!!!!!!! Now I have to drive through this crap. Harper's excuse..."unlike K-12, we have the ability to make school closing decisions throughout the day and we don't have to close for the entire day"

My answer to this response was....unlike K-12, all your students have to drive to school!!!!!!!!!!

So, needless to say, I drive through all the crap and know that it's only going to get worse as the day goes on!!! I get to Harper at about 1110, not too bad...only ten minutes late, and I didn't have to look for a parking spot which in and of itself is a miracle because usually you have to follow someone from the door to their car and then wait for them to leave.

I go running into class, removing my coat, hat, and gloves before I enter the lecture hall in order to keep my entrance as quiet as possible. Lucky for me, half the class was empty, so I was able to slide into an empty seat in the back row and quiety take out my notes...it wasn't too hard to catch up. Now, as I said earlier, half the class was empty...was this because of the weather or because we had our first lab test and it was everyones last ditch effort to study. I'll go with number 2. SO, on the lecture goes...topic for the next test not even remotely connected with the stuff we need to know for later this afternoon, so therefore no one in class, including me, is paying any form of attention to what he's saying, so he says about half and hour early..."alright, I'm done, no one is paying any attention to me anyways. You guys just keep studying for your test this afternoon. If you don't know it by now, you won't. I'll see half of you at 140 and the rest of you at 330."

So, I head to the lab and sit and wait. I studied nice and hard and hoped and prayed that I was ready to go. The professor let us in about 10 minutes early, I put all my stuff away and went at the test with full gusto! Halfway through the test, he anounces that we all must be done by 3pm, because the school is closing. Now, normally we have lab until 320. I finished the test in about an hour and handed it in. Then I had to venture out to my car and dig it out of the yucky snow and head back home. So, due to Harper's stupid rules, I had to drive through the crappy weather twice and take my test. While the other class got to sit at home and not take their test! Go Figure!!!

I'm really not to impressed with Harper college at this time. I don't think they had the concerns of their students in mind, when they decided to keep classes open today. UGH!!

I'm back

Ok, so I was so politely informed that it's been way too long since I"ve updated. Then I checked, and it's true.

Whats up with me....I had a wonderful weekend. Girl's night out was prosperous and fun and definitely neccessary. We have to do those more often ladies. We laughed, we ate....a lot! I broke my diet for this fun filled extravaganza and let me tell you, I paid for it. My stomach was so unhappy with me the next day!!!! But I sat and watched my beloved Bears start out a wonderul Superbowl, just to pack it up and go home after the first quarter. Oh well....what's Chicago's famous saying...or maybe it's just Cubs fans....there's always next year!!!

Monday I went back on the diet, lots of chicken and fish, little carbs, lots of veggies. For dinner dad and I had steak...my first red meat in weeks, oh did it taste wonderful. Then I headed off to work. About halfway there, I started to feel nauseas. I thought to myself...ah, no big deal, it'll go away. About two hours into my night I was calling around looking for someone to come in for me. I had several trips to the bathroom in very few hours. Finally I got coverage and now I'm heading home. I've been in bed since!!! I'm dealing with a very unpleasant bout of gastroenteritis. More commenly known as the stomach flu!!! I don't know what I did to deserve this but I'll tell you, I'm absolutly miserable.

Ok, I've updated, now i'm going back to bed! I'm attempting to eat some crackers in hopes that they'll stay down.

New week

Today I started school. Now, I took Human Anatomy about 5 or 6 years ago at Harper college, and didn't do too well. I was in that "I'm 22, I'm already a paramedic, I know this stuff, so I don't have to study real hard and don't really have to attend class." WAY WRONG ANSWER. I got a D. Newsflash....you do have to attend class and study!!! So, I took a few years to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life and as many of you know decided upon Nurse. So, here I am again. I even have the same teacher, so hopefully I'll be a bit brighter this term.

The Biggest Loser update....My camera was MIA, therefore no pictures yet. But...I found it and the battery is dead! So....It's currently charging. We'll get those pics to you soon. But, I've been a total slacker, not been at the gym in over a week, been eating crappy too. Alas, I'm down three pounds!!!! Yeah me! I know it's probably a total fluke and next week I'll be up 12!! :)

I'm currently battling a head cold. I hate these things. MY head feels as though it's going to explode from the pressure and I'm sneezing like crazy. But I have to have kleenex to sneeze with otherwise I'll sneeze snot all over myslef or other people. I think I should have stock in Kleenex and Purell hand sanitizer because I use both like they're going out of style!!!!!!!

I took my NLN test (Nursing entrance) at the beginning of January. Now, I was definitely nervous about this because it had been years since I had taken any type of standardized test. I Got my scores back...I scored in the 98% overall....so, I did well. Hopefully well enought to get me into nursing school starting this August.

Thats all for now folks!!!

2007 a New Year, New Beginnings

Yesterday I had my fitness assessment at the gym. This is where you go in and they weigh you, measure you, test your vital signs, stregth, flexibility, and aerobic ability. Then, they take all this data and put it into a fancy computer program in order to tell you about you!

So, I show up for my assessment after a 12 hour work shift, only to find that I have a young, cute trainer named John. He starts with my vitals. Here is where I was actually happy. My blood pressure was 114/68, pulse 72, respiratory rate 16 and pulse ox of 98%. He says..."your pulse rate is slightly elevated and your blood pressure isn't too bad" What?? I thought that was pretty good considering I'm overweight, a recent ex-smoker, and just worked 12 hours! Also, normal pulse rate is from 60-100 and we don't worry about blood pressure until it's 130/80 depending on risk factors. I was a little perturbed that! I've since talked with a couple of my co-workers...nurses and docs and figured out that I was right, my vitals were just fine!!! So, next is on to the aerobic ability test. This is 5 minutes on the treadmill at a rate of 3.5, the first minute is at no incline, then they have it move to a 5% incline for the remaining four minutes. While I'm chugging away on the treadmill, they ask you to rate how tired you are on a scale from 1-10. 10 being you're so tired you're ready to collapse. I managed to stay in the less than 5 range for the entire test. Next is the fabulous sit and reach test. Now, I've never been very flexible, for as long as I can remeber!!! So, I sit down with my feet against the box and I push the little tab, I think the number I reached was 13. I think this is inches and yes again....not flexible at all!!! Oh well, more to work on. Next was the strength test. I had to do pushups. I did 14, but only 10 of them counted because my form wasnt' very good. He asked if I could do more, but I quickly informed him no....as I could feel my back buckling and my form going to crap. I figured I wouldn't be able to push myself back off the floor if I got all the way down again! Finally I step on the scale and they enter my weight, height, then this fabulous machine measures out your body fat percentage....in my case it screamed...."get off you big fatty fatterton!!! Only one on the scale at one time!!!!" Ok, not really, but thats what I felt like. Now I go back to the gym on Saturday morning for a meeting with John again. He's going to put me through the motions of my workout designed just for me! He already forwarned me that it was going to involve a lot of cardio in order to bring down my body fat. I was strong, but needed to lose the excessive fat. A feat mainly obtained by a lot of cardio work and not a lot of lifting! So....we'll see

I've also joined my own biggest loser campaign with my family. I have three months to reach my first goal. What better motivation then fellow family members, and money??? Now, I wanted to attempt to run the shamrock shuffle at the end of March. This is a 5mile run. I now have come to the realization that I will most likely not be in shape for this run, but I'll probably head down to the city to cheer on my fellow family members who are able to do the run!!! We'll see, maybe I'll do a late sign up, depending on how fast I get my booty in shape!!!! I have hopes to get myself in shape and lose a lot of this excessive weight.

Happy New Year!!!

Current time: 5:35pm New Year's Eve. Current plans....relax with some movies and the Bears Game.

Although I had a couple offers/party plans tonight, due to the tough night at work last night and sheer lack of sleep today (who know's why I'm not sleeping) I've decided to turn down all invitations for a drunken New Year celebration, in order to relax on my couch in my jammies!

I've got movies, Bears vs. Packers, popcorn and beer...what more does a girl need???

Happy New Year All.....may 2007 be a happy and healthy one!!! I myself am very excited!!!!