finding things to do

I'm going to jump right and and ask for your help with something.
I love to blog.
I love to read blogs.
It's fun to connect with people around the world with similar interests.
BUT...
one of my blog friends I know in real life!!
and she is working on something big.
BIG, y'all!
Her name is Lindsay.
How do I know her?
Well... we went to middle school and high school together.
She is the one blogger on here that I KNOW!

What can you help her with??
HERE is her blog.
I know almost all of my friends on here are on instagram.
And you know what? YOU can help her by just taking pictures!!
{of the things she needs, of course...}
See, she LOVES to write {and is pretty doggone good at it too!}
She loves kids.
And she's writing a children's book and wants to use instagram images as the illustrations for her children's book.
All you have to do is snap a photo of what she needs, tag her @lindsayluton, and add the cute little hashtag #morethanphoto and BAM!!
So do me a favor, scroll through all your beautiful instagram pictures, find some that she is needing for illustrations, and add your own comment tagging her and the hashtag.

and it's done.
Please help her if you can!!
She is a sweet girl, I promise!!
Go check her out.
{she even has a button on my sidebar that will take you straight to her blog - Doc Momma}


SO... now that I've asked you all to help with that, I'm going to stay with the instagram theme for just a bit longer...
long enough to tell you about my new fun go to app {sorry, it isn't available for android yet, unfortunately}.

A Beautiful Mess




FUN I tell you!
Who doesn't want to take their cute instagram pictures and add a little bit more of themselves to them??
Ingenious idea.
Really.
I have had so much fun playing around with it.
There are really so many options when it comes to this app.
See all that I have done with it {so far}.

******

Now that school is over, I'm starting to get back to doing "normal" things again.
We spent some time over at my parents' house since they're a little in shock too from not having to watch Hailee during the week for me.
I'm sure they are enjoying their retirement a little more now too!
We cleaned my car from the inside out last week, and it felt SO GOOD to have a clean car for the first time in a long time.
In fact, the first time Roger got in and absentmindedly placed a gum wrapper in one of my cup holders, I about lost it on him.
REALLY?
my clean car is not a trash can!
I guess it will give me another excuse to take it to my parents and clean it again, huh?



Hailee helped as much as she could.
I think she just wanted to play with the water, and make rainbows with the hose.

What else have I been up to??
Besides studying for NCLEX a little every day {I'm taking it next week and I appreciate prayers for God's will to be done in that testing center!!}

I'm proud to say I've been able to start working out again!!
Oh, the wonderful feeling that comes along with sweating and elation after a good cardio session is unbeatable!
Hopefully during this month I have off, I can develop these good habits again and stick with them.
All this extra weight I have gained since being in nursing school and sitting on my bum all day long is NOT going to work itself off...
But I do have to admit - I'm a bit more fulfilled when it comes to instant gratification.
Sadly, weight loss is not one of those instant gratification things.
It takes time.


I haven't even seen this movie yet, but really like this song.
If you've seen the movie, Pitch Perfect, tell me if you've liked it.
We used to do this with cups too, but sing and do it at the same time - forget it!

waiting for that one special email.

so...
I'M DONE WITH NURSING SCHOOL!

all graduated and everything!!

The only thing that stands between me and Misty Venne, RN is NCLEX.
The only thing that stands between me and actually taking the NCLEX is an email that tells me, Ready, Set, GO!! schedule the exam!!!
SO, every time I GET an email, I panic a little bit, hoping {and secretly sweating} that its The One.

I've heard this will be the hardest test I'll ever have to take in my life.

I've heard this test will be easy.

I've heard past graduates say that once they finished the test, they sat in their cars and cried because they were SURE they failed.

So, who to believe??
One thing I'm sure of... I'll need to make sure I have all my bases covered.

and believe me when I tell you - there is a lot of stuff to cover.
and after I've been looking at it so much - it all starts to run together.
Who knew Nausea/Vomiting/Headache were signs and symptoms of SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS??!!

And I've been told that if you get a lot of easy questions, that is bad.
The degree of difficulty goes up as you answer more right questions.

The least amount of questions I will have to answer is 75.
The most amount of questions I CAN answer is 265.
but, NO ONE wants to answer all 265. That cannot mean good things.

And this rings true about almost every. single. question on the test:

They like to be tricky.

And SELECT ALL THAT APPLY?? really?
select ALL that apply??
Could there BE any other type of question that makes you second guess yourself as much?
I think not.
THIS is how those questions {which will comprise of at least 20% of the test} make me feel.

And once you answer a question and move on to the next, that's it!
NO going back.

So, I will continue to study.

in between these truer than life moments.

And no, my house is NOT spotless at the moment because truthfully,
ain't NOBODY got time for that.
Not to mention how anxious I get when I'm cleaning/doing laundry/picking up after my 4 year old when I KNOW I need to be focusing on NCLEX.

I have to try my hardest to sneak away and study.

This book is all highlighted up, but I've been answering so many practice questions on the computer, I haven't had a chance to go back over it.

Again, SO MUCH to remember.

Because REALLY, it's all riding on this.

and when I can breathe a sigh of relief and say this ^^
then, it will all be done.

and then, I can claim the title, RN.

and, that, my friends...
will be a very HAPPY DAY!!

And in June, I'll start working as a RN!
I've accepted a full time RN {nights} position as an orthopedics {bones/joints} nurse at Palmetto Health Richland Hospital!!!

COME ON EMAIL SO I CAN SCHEDULE THIS TEST ALREADY!

nurse.

My Nursing Pin.

Its hard to believe another chapter in my life is ending - as I'm on the cusp of another new beginning.

A life-changing opportunity to use my new knowledge to serve others.
God's hand has been in this from the very beginning, and here at the end, I pray more now than ever for direction and leading as I venture into my new career.

It's easy to look back on all the new connections and relationships made in the last 2 years and say -
we'll stay in touch.

Truth is:
the future is as unknown as the beginning of nursing school was.

Another truth is:
I will never forget any of you! We have touched each others' lives in ways we didn't even know were possible - and that's hard to shake.

The pictures and memories will serve as sweet mementos that will forever bind us.
The traditional white nursing uniform from the cap (that at first, we all loathed) down to the cloggish white shoes (which I equally loathed) will further remind us of the generations of RN's that came before us.
Their dedication and compassion throughout history set the standard ground work for our newly learned career choice.

Are we ready for this new journey?
At times, it still feels a little overwhelming.
LIKE: when I'm in clinical, watching the RN's run like well-oiled machines and I just wonder.. How??
We are done with school, but we're still only beginning to learn things.
It will still be a while before we are comfortable in our new nursing skin.

I don't think anyone really wants this all to end.
After being such a constant presence in each others' lives, it's going to be strange not seeing the familiar faces as often.
I'm so glad that the majority of my class will be able to work together at the hospital we did our clinicals at +RMC as RN's on all the different floors.
For me - I have decided to look closer to home {not an hour away} for employment.
I'm hoping for a hospital in Columbia. Pray for that for me!
I have confidence that each and every one of you are going to make great nurses, wherever you choose to work!
And I hope that we do all stay in touch.
With facebook, it is sort of hard not to... ;)

Our senior project that we worked SO hard on.
Everyone did a great job in our group:

A tribute to nurses:




Pinning pics:

proud mom and dad 

it was late and Hailee had been good through the whole thing - letting off a little energy... 

a few of my sweet nieces & Hailee

I just want to thank my whole family for making my pinning such a memorable evening.

My heart was full with all the love and support that was surrounding us all.

Roger was here somewhere - it was just so chaotic afterward and people were EVERYWHERE.

I have one more week of NCLEX-RN prep classes then, it's time to schedule that test and take it.

Then, it's time to get working!!

Goodbye clinical uniform... Time to trade up to some more comfortable scrubs ;)

Advice on good scrubs is much welcomed!!

and just as an extra something, here is a video I made from some of our family pictures through out the year.

your love is all around from Misty Venne on Vimeo.

And now... off to study for the NCLEX-RN