Phantom of the Opera

I got to come home this weekend! I came for a reason though. My mom bought my family tickets to see Phantom of the Opera this weekend. My entire family just LoVeS Phantom and we've all seen it many many times, but each time is different and each time is fantastic.
We weren't allowed to take pictures or I would definitely put some up...

A bit of a rewind though. I came home on Friday morning and my mom and I did what we do best: went shopping! We then went to Publix and came home and just chilled for a while.
Then, that night, we had Mark, Alexa, Jon, Kim, and Josh over for dinner. We had all my favorite food.. Flank steak, broccoli, potato casserole, bread, and angel food cake with strawberries and cool whip for dessert. Just thinking about it makes me want it again already.
I then went over to Mark's for a while and me, Josh, and Mark just hung out.. watched the X-games (did anyone else see Shaun White's wipeout??... OUCH!!). We also played Buzz. Mark kicked our butts both times...

On Saturday, me, my mom, Jon and Kim, who recently got engaged, went ring shopping to find an engagement ring. She found a GORGEOUS one..
After ring shopping, I worked on some homework and then got ready for Phantom. It was splendid.

I unfortunately have to go back home tomorrow (Monday). I wish I could have stayed longer. I'll be back home in a few weeks though. I suppose I'll just have to wait. Fortunately I have plenty of school work to keep me busy. I have my first test of the semester on Thursday in Organic Chemistry. Wish me luck!! :)

Hope you're Monday is great.

One of ThOsE nights...

Last night was one of those nights.
I basically had a breakdown about the future.
It all started with missing 2 and a half points on a quiz. That's it. 2 1/2 points. Ridiculous, I know. But what I basically did was look into my future, did a lot of math {figuring out exactly how many points I can miss and still get an A}, and came to the conclusion that I was going to get a B in my Anatomy and Physiology class. As I was doing math and freaking out, I kept thinking that if I got a B in this class and a B in Organic (hopefully I'll get a B in that class...) that no PA school will want me and I'll be stuck with nothing. All of this happening because of those 2 1/2 points. It got worse when we started the 88 slide lecture about tissue. I, having NEVER taken any anatomy and physiology class, have no clue about anything. I am learning it all brand new. Some stupid old, show-off, know-it-all guy thinks that he needed to answer all the questions the teacher asked correctly and had to reposition the apparently crappy job I did focusing my microscope, which just add to my breakdown that I truly know nothing and I never will.
Of course, all of this happened while still in the class, taking my mind away from paying attention to the lecture on tissue.
I called my mom on my way home and cried.
It was awful.
I, after a good night sleep, have come back to my senses and realized that 2 1/2 points will not keep me from getting an A in anatomy and physiology and I need to focus on TODAY. And even if I do happen to get a B in that class, I will most likely still get into a PA program. And I just have to ignore the stupid show-off guy and realize that I'm much cuter and far more like-able :)

Hope you're day was better than my night! :D

Behind.

I am terribly behind on my book-reading goal. If you don't remember, one of my resolutions was to read 30 books this year, which is about 2 and a half a month. That means, by Monday, I should have read a minimum of 2 books.

Oops.

I have read 0. Absolutely none.
ALTHOUGH, i do have 4 books sitting on my nightstand ready to be read.
We'll see what happens :D

Have an extremely blessed day.

Instead of Homework...

I decided to change my blog :D
I think that this suits me perfectly and I just love it.
And I hope you do too!

I went to a new church this morning. I actually enjoyed it a lot, although I only had minimal socialization. They have a college group that meets on Wednesdays that I plan on trying. Hopefully sometime soon I'll have some friends...

In the meantime, I continue to watch movies and do some homework!!
Oh the life of a single, full-time student. Exciting, huh?!?!

Also, I had a real conversation on the phone with my BEAUTIFUL two year old niece whom I just love with all my heart. She's just so smart... So, here's some pictures!

Katelynn and Mr. PotatoHead!

Me and my beautiful niece.

Light

I see a hint of light.. whether from a crack in the door, a hole in the wall, WHATEVER! IT'S THERE!

I'll explain :D
I have been in Fort Myers since September. I am, obviously, a hopeful P.A. student. To be "competitive" you need to have some experience in the health care industry. Whether that be actually already having some degree, shadowing, anything.
I have had absolutely ZERO luck trying to find someone that would be willing to let me shadow them. None. Zilch. Nada.
I pulled some strings, and finally something came up. My dad's NP (nurse practitioner) in Orlando has a best friend in Fort Myers who is an NP. She went to school in New York, and has a friend who just moved down here and is a PA! SO, When i was super sick, my dad's NP called me and gave me this guys number. I finally got the time to call him and...HE'S WILLING TO HELP! YAY!
Finally. Someone is helping. He's unfortunately sick, so he's going to call back on Monday and we're going to set something up. I. Cannot. Wait.
:D

Sick!

Ugh. I've been sick for 2 days. Not just the "I don't feel well" sick, the don't-get-out-of-bed sick. I didn't move from my bed the first day except to refill my beverages and ya know, be sick. The second day I managed to move to the couch and stay there all day.

I'm {slowly} getting better. Hopefully the 4 hour Anatomy and Physiology won't make it worse....

170.

The amount of money that I saved today! Yay.
I went shopping and spent about 80, BUT I saved 170. Yahoo.

I got these except instead of the blue, it's pink!!
I got this too, except a white shirt and blue outline. It's pretty.
I got both of these half off!! :D

I also got these from JCPenny.


I got the platter for $5 and the plates for $3 a piece!


I found this quilt for $20 and it was orginally $80! I just LOVE it. It brightens up my room and makes me happy every time I walk into my room. Yay. (picture courtesy the bag it came in.. NOT my actual bed, unfortunately....)
Was definitely a successful shopping day.

I had my first class last night. It. Was. LOOOOOONNNNNNG. I thought it was NEVER going to end. I definitely think the class is going to be extremely difficult. Not much to say on it, but the prof. is a major talker. He talks and talks and talks and talks, which of course leads to a full 4-hr. class.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

A New Beginning

School starts tomorrow. I have [almost] all of my books. One of my classes books have not arrived yet, but since the class doesn't start until Tuesday (the day of their estimated arrival) I'm not freaking out quite yet. I ordered a few extra supplements published with the book that weren't required or recommended, so hopefully I'll have a one-up on everyone else in the class and get the highest grade! Let me take a moment and clarify that I am NOT a competitive person. At. All. But for some reason, when it comes to school, I want to kick everyone's butt and be one hundred percent positive that I will get into PA school. I don't want to give them ANY reason to reject me, so I need to be at the top! I can't wait to learn!!!! :D

That's all for today, I'll probably post how my class when on Friday. Organic Chem. The book weighs more than me. I had a hard time picking it up, lol. My Dynamics of Aging class posted the syllabus, 26 pages!!! 3-4 assignments due PER WEEK. Definitely going to stay busy this semester. Hope the beginning of your semester is going splendid!!

Coming to an End.

My time in Orlando is coming to an end, sadly. I've had a magnificent time here, although I am VERY much looking forward to starting my classes and being closer to getting into PA school!

I have a had a good birthday weekend (even though my actual birthday was less-than-stellar). My mom and I are going shopping tomorrow and I know that'll be tons of fun. My friend Ryan got me a great, practical cookbook that makes dinners and such with only 4 ingredients! Sounds right up my alley. Many of the things in the cookbook are super convenient and stuff that I would have anyways, but definitely didn't think of putting together, I'm thrilled to try this out.

When I return to Ft. Myers, I plan on visiting the Y, making sure it's not sketchy, and then hopefully signing up! I will also go to my local Joann's (after finding out where it is...) and grab a class schedule and sign up for my quilt making lessons. I am also going to set aside time to get going on that GRE studying. Standardized Testing and i don't get along. At. All.

Soon, it's back to being a full time student. Can't wait! :)

The Day of My Birth

IS SATURDAY!! I'll be 21. Yay.
Not that I'm especially looking forward to being 21 (I totally don't care about drinking) but I do love birthdays! I have not much planned, except for a gazillion dinners including Cheesecake Factory, Carrabbas, and Kobe. Yummy. Calories. Yummy.

I am going to Carrabbas on my actual birthday and then to Rising Star with my sis-in-law, Alexa after that. Should be fun, I guess...

On Sunday though, I get to go out with my whole family and open presents!!! My newly engaged brother, Jon will be there and that's fortunate, cuz he lives away from us now. It will be loads of fun. I can't wait.

On a different note, Jon proposed to Kim on CNN Live around 10 in Times Square on New Years Eve. Unfortunately it was more for show and the weddings is actually not until 2011, but it was still pretty neat, for sure. Enjoy! He managed to get himself on NBC, CNN, and ABC. Crazy..

This was right after he proposed, she said yes.

This was them singing to Daughtry who was in concert.

The NBC one is a video, at 2 minutes and 33 seconds, they kiss. Awe.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#34647024

He did manage to get videos of all of these, but the still shots are cooler and take less time to view =)

Stay Positive

It's been a difficult week, everything absolutely NOT going the way I wanted it to. Let me just say, having a puppy is EXHAUSTING! I need to just stay positive, and this is an extremely difficult task.

To help boost my optimism, I thought it would be good to just list some things that I have to look forward to in order of when they get to happen!::
-Cheesecake Factory
-Tyler and I going to Universal
-Carrabbas [my all time favorite restaurant]
-My 21st Birthday on Saturday
-My parents coming home
-Kobe's Steakhouse with the family
-Starting classes [Yeah, I'm actually looking forward to this; seriously]
-Starting a membership at the Y
-Starting quilt making lessons
-My puppy getting past the puppy phase and into the calmer, potty trained, non-biting phase
-Warmer weather (who knows when, but I can't wait.. I'm a Florida girl)


I have a lot to look forward to, and I really just need to focus on all the blessings in my life, instead of all the negatives. For some reason, noticing all the bad things in life seem to be much easier to notice than all the wonderful things life has. I'm going to work really hard to stay upbeat for the next few days. Now, only if the puppy would suddenly become perfect.. One can hope.

The Neverending Story

School. That is the neverending story. I feel like I've been doing it ALL MY LIFE. Oh wait, I have! :)

Starting to think about this upcoming semester has gotten me a little bit stressed -- and right now all I'm doing is thinking about it!
Here's just a few of things that I have to do the semester
-Anatomy and Physiology 1
-Organic Chemistry
-Dynamics of Aging
-Train and love on a new puppy (the love part, not-so-hard; training, whew..I'm tired already)
-GRE prep, review, and take test
-Start Physician Assistant School Prep
-Find and start shadowing PA's
-Meet new people (which means breaking out of my comfort zone and just putting myself out there! Look out world [or Ft. Myers])
-Exercise regularly -- which will hopefully help keep the stress levels down, but making time is still a difficult task!

My workload (without an actual job!) is looking very tough. I will definitely manage but sometimes I can get lonely and un-motivated, especially in light of my recent breakup. I will also have to cook just about every meal, as going out is expensive and I no longer have the luxury of eating lunch daily with Tyler and his family. I plan to get on board making a bunch of stuff and just freezing them. Also, I got a George Foreman for Christmas! Can't wait to use that.

Thus far, this blog has been on the sadder side, so here's a few pictures of my new puppy, Cinnamon, for a little bit of a pick-me-up!! :)

Yay. Luckily, I have a cheerleader that will never leave my side and is my constant companion. I am fortunate to be a christian and know that God will always be there...I definitely couldn't make it through on my own. I hope that one day, everyone will know that they will always have someone, even when they feel completely alone -- and I hope to remember that this semester.

It's a New Year!

Welcome to 2010!!

My friend, Mary, inspired me for my new years resolution this year. Last year, she read a book called "Yes Man" and he said yes to everything. Like her, I don't plan on saying yes to everything, but definitely to a lot of different things that I would normally say no to.

I have a few different resolutions, and that is one, and I already have a good list of things that I KNOW I would say no to and am going to give a try::
1) Try Zumba at the Y near me (or Pilates)
2) Go to a college group alone
3) Eat at places that I usually complain about (Mexican..ick)
4) Take sewing lessons
Those are only a few that I know I plan to say yes to. As another resolution, I plan to write down all the things that I say yes to, this will help me build confidence and show me how much I can accomplish on my own.

Some other resolutions
-Read the New Testament.
-Write 150 blog entries. This is a lot for me, as I definitely didn't do much this year. I need to write about 12 per month which I think is do-able.
-Exercise Regularly. Hopefully I'll like the Zumba or Pilates class! :)
-Read 30 books. That's about 2 and half books per month. That doesn't sound like a lot, but as a full time science student, I think it'll be a challenge and it'll help give me a much needed break. I also plan to blog about these.
- Start sewing a quilt-- I am SO excited about this. I hope I love it!

I've never made resolutions before, as I know i'll never do them, so hopefully I can stick to them!