operation nyc to commence...

...in less than 24 hours!


i will be on the plane ready for my first NYC experience! this is very exciting. i have been planning this trip (in my head) since i was 12 (about the first time i saw les miserables). new york was the place to go to see the most fantastic musicals and to have them at my fingertips. the actual planning of the trip was done about three years ago when i started putting 20$ away every week. the plan was to always go on my thirtieth year, so as you can imagine it adds up. mark smashed the piggybank this weekend so everything is coming into place. i am off to do some fabulous shopping, sight seeing, broadway musicals, and have some excellent eats!

i just need to keep pumping echinacea down my throat...i refuse to let this cold ruin my nyc dreams! :)

what to pack...

so this is my packing list thus far:

clothes:
dress(es) for fancy evenings and lovely days
t-shirts with casual coats
jeans (two for when the ketchup spills on the first pair)
capris (wishful thinking for hot weather)
walking shoes
skirts (refer to dresses)
flip flops (refer to capris)
dressy shoes (refer to dresses)
undergarments;)

misc.
camera
ipod (for the plane)
toiletries (for any kind of occassion)
sunglasses
sunscreen (again refer to capris)
sun hat (???...MUST CHECK WEATHER NETWORK)
money...money...and more money!
travel diary
travel book

i think that is it...am i missing anything?

love

done done done....DONENESS!!

ahhh it is a fantastic feeling to be done. the exhaustion, stress, grumpiness has passed. my shoulders are left feeling like feathers and i am  greatly satisfied as my marks start to filter in and my hard work has been rewarded. and I AM DONE!!! YIPEEE!!!

i was telling a girl yesterday that we were done, we finished the hard stuff of our nursing schooling. she was quick to remind me that we still have many clinicals to overcome and mounting expertise to acquire in 5 short weeks. ahhhh...it was a poke at my bubble but it refused to burst because the hard scholastic part is over. i just feel so happy right now. and mark, being mark, was quick to point out how he was right and my grand displays of dramatics were unjustified till i received my marks. i am so happy right now that i can say...the one and only time (hopefully he he he) MARK YOU WERE RIGHT AND I AM DONE!!!

now on to operation nyc....

love

here comes the grump...

ahhh the end is almost near. seriously it cannot come soon enough! i have one final to write in 40 minutes, and the last is FRIDAY!! (3 cheers) frankly i am tired. tired of the books, tired of the notes, tired of looking endlessly at the computer to kill time....TIRED! :) and i am grumpy...ask mark. apparently he can't wait for me to finish my finals either (i don't even think he cares when he finishes his).

ahhh i can't wait for the sun, for the patios, for the scrapbooking, for the shopping, and NYC! 

love,
the grump

going good

so operation final exams is going good. i got quite a bit done yesterday so i am pleased. i am actually (SHOCK) ahead of schedule. so with my extra time, i chose to make some yummy chocolate chip cookies. you have to have something to snack on...right?

ahh its short and sweet (literally) messages for the next while. must get back to the books. NYC is not too far away, so the next two weeks couldn't come faster (and be done with)!

love

gotta love the dorkiness

ahh i am hitting the books officially (have been at it all afternoon, and still going). but while studying i do get distracted by my computer picture slide-show. i came across this picture and it just made me smile. our hiking trip last year when we got attacked by the monstrous mosquitoes and still managed to kiss through our nets! ahh we are silly dorks sometimes...but I LOVE IT!

back to the grind
love :)

i'm a gleek!

this scene is what made me fall in love with this show...so fantastic!

i need the fear

so i did not study today. i think i need a bit more fear in me, so that i can be motivated and hit the books...monday looks to be just that day! :) so this might just be my last post for a couple (or more) days. but i did get thinking of some summer projects i would like to do. last year, i wanted to run 10km. because i tore  my hamstring that dream (slightly) vanished. this year i would like to rely on other skills that don't require as much physicality as running (even though the race is still in my head). so these are the projects i would like to preform this summer:

In the baking category i would like to perfect making:

-my nan's raison bread, queen elizabeth cake

-my mom's butterscotch pie

In the crafting arena:

-i would like to try something new with scrapbooking

-finish some of my old albums

-start the project for one special young lady i work for

-buy a piece of furniture (second hand) and distress it

-as well as learn how to upholster furniture

In the department of athletics:

-run a race...i don't know what kind yet...but i am doing one this year!

-go hiking...already know that is a check!

-surfing surfing surfing in TOFINO :)

i will keep you posted on the possibilities of accomplishing these goals!

love

so completely unmotivated

that time of year has come. it always comes at the most inopportune times for me. right now i am constantly, completely, and utterly unmotivated to study for my final exams. it comes every year, i work so hard for three months and when the end comes, i am just so tired. PLUS, it is spring out so i just want to be outside in the warm air. AND i just want to think about my trip to NYC OR get creative and work on my scrapbooks.

ahhh. alas, only two more weeks to go....so i will try my best (today?) to hit the books.

love

EEEKKKK!

sweetest teacher ever

so, i just finished my lab component for one of my courses. i had one of the sweetest instructors ever. she was so helpful this whole semester with all of our lab skills, offering input, advice, and real life experiences. she is a great nursing instructor and would be a great nurse too. i have had the opportunity to have a mentor ever semester so far, and she definitely made the list this year. i don't think i would ever pursue my masters in nursing, but if i ever decide to be a NP, and have the opportunity to teach students, like her, she is the model i would use. our last day (today) she baked us all cookies, gave us one of her favourite poems, and some words of encouragement for the years ahead, especially when facing obstacles like cutbacks. it was such a great experience this year, so thanks!

here is the poem (this was not written by my instructor):

I Am Your Nurse

i am your nurse.
i ease your pain.
i bathe your skin.
i make your bed.
i rub your back.
i meet your needs.
you heal me.

i am your nurse.
i feed you meals.
i give you rest.
i tend your wounds.
i sense your suffering.
i answer your questions.
you teach me.

i am your nurse.
i know your pain.
i share your loneliness.
i feel your despair.
i taste your joy.
i sense your spirit.
you touch my soul.

and sometimes,
for just a moment,
i am you,
and you are me,
and we are one.

together,
we go beyond limits
of ordinary experience,
to live the extraordinary.

written by: Beth Perry, RN, PhD
Moments in Time
Images of Exemplary Nursing Care

look what my mom made me!

A TABLE CLOTH...actually two but this is the one on display as of now. i love them!

went fabric shopping with mom and she just whipped these up in a day...she was not pleased with the red and blue, but i told her to trust me, it will look fabulous...now she agrees!....it is nice to have mom who is so handy...LOVE YOU!

little chocolate pleasures

isn't this the most beautiful sight you have ever seen?

mini eggs and to be precise 1kg worth! :)...i have said many times how much i love these little chocolate balls of goodness! obviously i dropped some not so subtle hints about how i love easter and visits from that beloved bunny. guess what? the bunny came through in a big way. an egg hunt through out the apartment. the bunny was sneaky though hiding things in a decorative basket and inside the fridge. great fun!

it has been another fantastic weekend of what i shall call "springness". it is amazing how that great big sun can make me feel revived and renewed. don't get me wrong, i love the winter: the snow, the soft snowflakes, and the quiet peacefulness of the cold (i know i am one of those people). but i feel energized now that spring has made its way back to us. so delightful. mark and i took advantage of the nice weather and walked downtown doing various and not so various errands on friday. it was so fantastic we even splurged and went to marble slab for some ice cream. nothing can get much better than that, can it?

well i am off, must make a dent on some chocolate!

love

april is here

things i love about april:

1. school is almost over, the end is near, a break is coming!

2. spring is here! the sun is out, the snow is melting, the birds are back, and the flowers are coming! :)

3. i can start running outside again. i can breathe fresh air and have outdoor running adventures

4. going for walks (like today's towards downtown)

5. the windows can open and all the stale air will leave the house

AND FINALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT!
6. its my brother's birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIMI-JAM!

love