The beginnings

I thought it was time to post some pictures of the guy that is making me happy these days:)

I now look forward to weekends as more than just some good study time. I get to see Him.

This picture was taken on his birthday after we got home from a yummy yummy dinner with his parents.

Ryan....Thanks for making me happy:)

Something new....

It has been a while since I have had something new... and by something new I mean SomeONE new. Who da thunk it would be someone I have technically known since I was thirteen. We met when he moved to Flagstaff, I was in 8th grade and he was a year behind me. Even though he is older than me, I thought of him as younger because of school. All through high school, it was the (pat pat on the shoulder) "Aw you're so cute" from me. We didn't have any interest in each other.


Fast forward 10 years and now I find myself looking at and pursuing (and being pursued by:) quite a handsome, spiritual, MAN.


SO...I guess we'll just see what happens. I am enjoying this.


*Note* I know I blogged and so that makes it public but we are ONLY in the small beginnings.


More updates will follow.

I just thought this was funny:)

Complete and total awesomeness!

Can I get a WOO HOO, AW YEAH, YEE HAW, WHAT UP, THAT'S RIGHT!?!?!
Life just keeps getting better and better. I found out yesterday that I got the apprenticeship that I was hoping to get over the summer. Actually, I was hoping for anything and this FAR exceeded my expectations! I have been looking at hospital internships and programs that I can do over the summer. Any nursing student who does this has quite the advantage in the real world once they come out (from under the rock that is school). I have been determined to find one, interview, and get it! But all the ones I found are in different states :( I really wanted to go back HOME for the summer and be with my Sissy, family and friends. I started at the closest hospitals and then moved farther and farther away from my house, still no luck. Most of the internships were for science, microbiology, or cardiac based. I would take a cardiac if I had to but it is not my favorite. You learn to read ECG, Eco's, and a few other things that I can do by myself during study time. Maybe I just have a bad taste in my mouth for cardio because of the ego inflated x-ray tech's I have worked with who seem to ALWAYS get offended at everything! Seriously? grow some confidence and don't be such a pain in the butt to work with.
Anyway, back to the awesomeness! Here I am looking for anything when it dawns on me, Why have I not been looking for a job that I actually want to do? A job that I am totally passionate about? Duh Julie! Midwifery. That's when the pieces started falling together. I started interviewing with a midwife from the valley over the phone, and she offered me a few different options. Then I investigated learning from her and finding out what would benefit me the most for the three months I would be there. Long story short...
I am going to be A MIDWIFE APPRENTICE over the summer!!!!! And during this time I will be taking classes with a Doula so that I will be able to be a CERTIFIED DOULA by the summers end! This is exactly what I have dreamed of! I am going to have another stepping stone to add towards my dream. This will also open up the avenue of working through school and hopefully taking clients. This is going to be the best summer! I am going to learn so much and I can't wait! Darn it's only February!!! Well I will just keep on learning all that I can until then. We put in IV's today, so fun :) I really like IV's but they still scare me. They scare me only because the IV's that I have done have been extremely easy, and that's not always how it is in the real world. People can be in bad shape and their veins can be next to impossible. I pray that this will be a skill that I am the absolute best at. I need to be! I will be putting IV's into fragile infants, and I WILL be the best, no matter what it takes. I want mothers and babies to feel that they receive undoubtedly the best care possible from Julie Ann.
I am so happy and my life is So blessed. I hope that I am thankful enough for all that heavenly father has done for me.
Mesa, Midwifery, loved ones,
I am coming home:)

I am ready for it to be Summer

Well i have been ready for it to be summer since the first chill back in October. I have discovered that I really don't care for the cold. I am a Mesa girl through and through now. I miss my warm home. I am loving nursing school and am tollerating Cottonwood:) Once I made up my mind to like it here I have really started to see the good in it. I like...

-that everyone waves at you as you pass by in your car,

-people make eye contact and say Hello,

-I have a favorite sanwich guy and he knows my order,

-I actually know my neighbors,

-It costs 5 buck for the local theater,

-I get fresh eggs everyday from my ten pet chickens. I have 2 favorite chickens named Phoenix (she is dark red and absolutely beautiful!) and Spitfire (she chases me around and is the fastest, meanest, funnest, chicken we have)

This is Phoenix
And this is Spitfire

Those are just a few things about Cottonwood that have grown on me:)

I have not had much time to blog because I have not had much time to do anything but go to the hospital, study, sleep, and eat. Sleeping is optional at this point. I never thought that I could go without my sleep but I am doing it. It's only because this whole experience is so Worth it! I was able to be in the Operating Room this last Tuesday and I loved it. I got there at 6:30 am and literally did not sit down for ELEVEN hours! Not kidding! I thought my knee caps were going to fall off. Usually students get to see two or three surgeries at the most because it it so long to stand. I saw FIVE! Aw it was so freaking awesome! I observed a hysterectomy, a lower anterior colon resection, a cholecystectomy, exploratory laparotomy, and a hip nodule excision. I was so high after surgery that it made me want to go to Medical school....Mmmm

Medical school would be sweet but I don't think that it is what I really want for my Career. Being a MD would restrict my patient relationship in a way that I am not willing to accept. The Doctorate of Nurse practitioner would be a MUCH better fit for me:)

I have dreams of working through a Midwifery clinic and having all the skills required to bring as many wonderful babies as I can safely into this world.

My heart overflows with Joy when I think about children and babies. The miracle of birth is something that I cherish with my whole soul and I look forward to the day when I can begin delivering babies for others and hopefully (far in the future) delivering my own:)

New year, New post

I have been busy down in the Valley and have not taken the time to blog over the last month. I had an absolute blast during the break. I was able to see so many friends and hang out with my family. The best part was catching up on sleep! Ahhhh it felt so good to sleep in til noon. Yup I don't mess around when It comes to sleeping in. I listen to my body and if It's tiered, then I let it sleep as long as it wants. Now when I am in school I have to keep the early morning schedule so naturally, naps are essential. Sleep = Happy Julie...The end! If I am not rested I am anything but a ball of sunshine.

School starts this Wednesday and I am really excited! I am looking forward to being in the hospital and learning more so that I can feel more competent. The hardest thing for me is when I am faced with a problem that I don't know the answer to. Someone is sick or hurting and in need of care that I do not yet know how to provide. I am fully set on being the most capable and knowledgeable Nurse so that I can help as many people as possible.

In other news, I have started P90X! And I have made it a goal to stick with it and to get healthy! Over the past few years I have put on the pounds. Thankfully my body does well in gaining weight all over and not just in certain areas. This has also been why I haven't made it the priority I should have. The difference has been so very slight that it was hard to acknowledge that I truly was gaining as much weight as the scale showed. I thought well...I still look ok even though the scale told me I gained ten pounds...I'm alright as long as I don't gain anymore. Well that has not been happening. I have gained 38 pounds over the last five years, and I have gone from a size 8 to a 14! Yikes!! Wow typing that makes it even More real. I decided to blog about it simply because I don't want to let myself get back in the, "as long as I don't gain anymore I'm fine" mode. I do that as a way to opt out of losing weight and putting in all the effort I know is necessary. This is not healthy, my BMI is WAY too high, and I am going to stop it now. The goal is to be healthy, Feel healthy, Eat healthy,and live healthy. I care about my body and I don't want to look back ten years from now and wish I had done something to change my bad habits. I see my patients who have treated their body's like trash for a lifetime and now have a death sentence for it. Hypertension, Diabetes, obesity...the list goes on and on. I love my heart, I love my lungs, and I love myself enough to get and stay healthy. Wish me luck! I will need it :)

All is well and I'm a spaz

life is back to cheery rainbows and smiles! I ended up with an overall 88% in Block one of Nursing. I was a little disappointed to lose my A but I had one test during October that pulled my grade way down. My teacher actually called me on Thursday, told me that I was a spaz and that I did great on my final:) I love my instructors! I don't know why I freaked out so much. It had to be hormonal...but I think I blame too many things on hormones. The sleep really helped as well as the three hour bath, that's right THREE hour bath!

Now I can't wait to get down to Mesa for the next week! I get to see my sissy:)

I have to give a little love to my sister Jana....

She is the absolute best sister. I can't believe how blessed I am to have my best friend be my sister. Really! I can hang out with her all the time and it never gets old.

She gets me. We're both crazy emotional and that's one of my favorite things.

She is possibly the only other person that can love me as much as my Mommy did.

She cares SO much and lets me know it all the time.

She's freakin hysterical! Lets face it, she is so funny with the perfect amount of corky.

She's beautiful. She knows how to dress and always has. We are pretty much the same size and I love to steal her cute clothes...and jewelry...and perfume...and hair decor. Tee Hee, Sorry bout that Sis! At least I usually give it back...right? And now I ask before I steal:)

I love you Sister, I see you soon!

Mwah!

I need Tums or a strong sedative!

Beware: Use of Harsh passive aggressive capital lettering, proceed with caution

Ok so today was the last and final..."final" of the semester. I thought that I had everything under control. I felt good about what I had studied and confident that everything would turn out great. Well now that it is all over and done with I am about to die because I don't know how I did! UGH!!! Alright so I began the test and within the first few questions the panic set in...Holy CRAP this is the hardest test I have taken so far. I kinda wanted to calmly put down my pencil, walk over to the wall and start banging my head against it. I tried to just let that thought slip away and I focused on only being positive. I needed positive vibes to get through this. Then about question 87 I cracked.......I"M GONNA FAIL! I swear on everything Every dang answer on Every dang question is the right one! But which one is the MOST right AAAAAAAA!!!!!! Shoot me now or NCLEX questions shall be the death of ME! Again I had to force myself to calm the heck down and finish the test, and for heaven sakes be POSITIVE JULIE!
I finished and looked over it a few times and then handed in my future. Honestly I have NO clue how I did...and that is freakin Terrifying! I have no way of finding out my score until tomorrow afternoon. I am such a wreck. WHy? I don't know. I know that there is nothing I can do, what is done is done.
RAWRRRRRRRRR!
That's it, I am taking a Tylenol PM and going to sleep, Yes sleep will be my coping mechanism.
and my Diagnosis is
Acute psychosis, related to Extreme test anxiety, As evidenced by: Screaming tantrum on the floor.
I'm OUT!