i have bronchitis

Well, I am sick again. It seems as though my entire BK (or Burger King, for those of you who can't put the initials together and understand what I'm talking about *cough dad cough*) paycheck lately has been going towards OTC drugs. School is very stressful and there is a lot to know: I have two exams on Friday, one on Tuesday, and who knows how many others are quickly approaching. I truly have no free time.

However, on a positive note, I got some love in the form of gingerbread cookies, soup, Emergen-C, and snack bars from the Sutter family. Unfortunately, the Emergen-C came a little late, but the soup is going to come in handy!

Well, I just finished my first week of Spring Semester classes. I'm in clinical courses now, so I'm actually learning nursing stuff instead of the sciencey stuff I've had to learn the last few semesters. I am taking Foundations of Nursing Practice, in which I will be traveling to an assisted living home and taking care of patients (not by myself, of course). I'm also taking Health Assessment, which (obviously) focuses on assessing the health of patients and getting past medical histories, etc. We got our clinical uniforms and health assessment bags which have our blood pressure cuffs, a stethoscope, the thing they test your reflexes with, the thing they look in your nose/ears/eyes with, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I was really excited that day and I've been taking vitals of everyone on my floor. My friend, Alexandra, and I are partners in that class so we take turns being the nurse and the patient. Today we assessed each other's hair, skin, and nails. My other classes are Nutrition Theory and Microbiology. I am also working 15 hours a week and doing hip hop about 3 hours per week. So basically, I have little to no free time. 

updates?

I am sick. I threw up tonight for the first time in I think 7854609845798234 years. It wasn't good. Luckily my nurse-major-roommate was ready to take care of me. But seriously. I think I have the flu and I've felt like 'blah' all night. It's not good because missing one day of class during J-term is like missing an entire week of classes because of the length of each class and the fact that we only have that class for three weeks. Hopefully I'm feeling better tomorrow, but it's not looking good.

Woe is me...

I figure I should update just so you all know I didn't fall off the face of the earth.

I'm back at Messiah, and for January term I'm taking introductory statistics. The class itself wouldn't be bad if I had a different professor: the professor I have now drives me nuts. Gah.

Also, Burger King is going well. I was on drive-thru for the first time yesterday and I think I did well. We did get slammed at lunch because the drive-thru had a $53.20 order AND the front/dining room cash register had a $40.83 order at the same time and there were a lot of customers following them. We all made it out alive, though.

Yes, the Ravens lost. I am not happy about it. So poo on all you Steelers fans. 

How could I have forgotten???

9.) I got a delicious care package from Aunt Debbie. It made me smile :-)

(P.S. sorry I forgot to say thanks; I really appreciated it!)

I figured it's about time for an update, so here is some of what is going on with me:

1.) Thanksgiving break is in two weeks and it is going to be crazy until then
2.) Burger King is going well and while the smell of stale fast food is in my work uniform, I've discovered a way to keep the smell out of my room. But I do love the job even though it makes everything more stressful.
3.) I have an eye infection and it got so bad that I went to the doctor and now I'm on antibiotics. So, while the pain in my eye has gone away, I am now dealing with the side effects of the medicine and I'm nauseous and fatigued all the time; not a good combination at this point. I also have not been allowed to wear makeup or contacts, since they would make the infection worse
4.) I will find out in January if I will graduate on time or not
5.) I had no clothes left so today I had to do three loads of laundry
6.) Buble the fish is almost a year old
7.) My part of the room can no longer remain clean for more than a 6 hour period. I don't know how it happens.
8.) I feel as though most of my classes are a waste of time, and they're too much work.

That's about all I care to share right now

So I got a job working at Burger King 15 hours a week, and tonight was my first night. I'm working the register and cleaning and such. My biggest fear is that my car and I will constantly smell like fast food. I don't want my new car to smell gross. Yech.

So this past weekend was Homecoming weekend, which is kind of a big deal at Messiah. A lot of the alumni come and there are activities all weekend long. Last night was the dance:

so it's been awhile, eh? i've moved into my dorm (which is SO much bigger than last year) and dad took pictures (which i thought would be on his blog, but they weren't the last time i checked), and i'm now in my second week of classes. i'm taking anatomy and physiology, chemical science, encountering the bible, intro to wellness, and the historical and conceptual basis for nursing. i still don't know if i'm in with my class's nursing students, but i'm taking the classes i need to stay on track.

i'm working as a babysitter for a family that lives about 8 minutes away. the oldest is maddie, who is in 6th grade and WAY too old for a babysitter, but she's good anyway. ben is in the middle, and he's in third grade and he loves to pick on sarah, who just started kindergarten. both ben and sarah are VERY into webkinz (even though i just learned what they are) and the disney channel. we also play with the dog, phebe (haha) and the cat, toby. it's a good job because it doesn't take up too much time (2-3 hours a day 3 days a week) and pays well, which will really help with my car payments (AHHHH!!!).

buble the amazing betta fish is still alive, though he's gotten lazy and lays on the bottom of the bowl most of the time.

other than that, things are pretty simple.


p.s. my mailing address at messiah is still the same for those who were wondering...or not...whatever :-)

Yesterday, Mom, Henry and I went car "looking," but I actually ended up buying this new 2008 Nissan Sentra! Yay me! Dad thinks I'm crazy, but once the shock wears off he'll be ok.

Well, I am home for the summer. I have been for awhile, I just haven't updated my blog. Since I just finished my first year of college, I thought it would be fitting to post a list of some of the more valuable life lessons I learned during freshman year at Messiah College:

1.) Coloring books are not just for kids and the 120 pack of crayons is one of the best inventions ever
2.) Getting packages is like winning the lottery
3.) When to do laundry is determined by when you run out of underwear
4.) You can know nothing and pass a test just as easily as you can know everything and fail
5.) Wikipedia.org is not considered a “scholarly” source
6.) You shouldn’t buy textbooks unless you’re absolutely sure you’ll read them
7.) Staying up really late just because “I’m a college kid and it’s what we do” is a bad idea
8.) Cafeteria food is just as bad here as it was in high school
9.) Finals are actually kind of a big deal
10.) No matter who your roommate is, you’ll always wish it was someone else
11.) If people find your food, they will eat it and not tell you
12.) The biggest illness is procrastination, and it is very contagious
13.) If you wear jeans and a clean shirt people will ask you why you look so nice today
14.) If you borrow something, you better plan on returning it because EVERYONE knows where you live
15.) No matter how close the fitness center is, it’s still too far away


Since I've been home, I've:
1.) Started working as a nanny
2.) Finished working as a nanny
3.) Done day trips to the aquarium/inner harbor
4.) Spent an obscene amount on scrapbooking supplies
5.) Started a scrapbook of my freshman year adventures

This summer I will also be taking a class at the community college. That is all for now.

Busy, busy busy. That's how it's been here. Only 2 more class days until final exams start, and then I will be home for the summer. But, I've decided to post pictures from the hip hop performance that took place last thursday and friday. Some of the pictures are actually from the performance, some are ones we took ourselves.

Henry sent me 2 dozen beautiful roses:

The whole team before the show:

One of the songs:

Another song (I'm in the front with my hood down):

The team:

(yes, this was actually in a dance):

Well, it certainly has been awhile, hasn't it? I've been so busy because the end of the year is rapidly approaching and due to that fact, all my professors have decided to assign papers, exams, quizzes, projects, etc. In addition to all that, I still have been volunteering at Maplewood Assisted Living Home, and I've been practicing with the hip hop dance team. We had our first performance last night and our second performance tonight. Both Mom and Henry are coming tonight to see it, and hopefully we give them a good show. However, it's been stressful trying to fit in 2-4 hour practices with homework and volunteering and sleep. I'll be going home for the weekend, but even then I can't really relax because I have to work on a paper. I think there are only 17 more days of freshman year...it's crazy how quickly it's gone by.

according to my looney father, computers have been out to get me because i never answered aunt lois' question regarding where i donated my hair. while i'm not exactly sure of the organization, my best guess is "locks of love," which makes wigs for children who suffer from diseases that cause hair loss. you can go to www.locksoflove.org if you'd like more info.

there, now computers shouldn't punish me anymore (even though my laptop was broken WAY before the question was even asked)

Gettysburg

Today Megan and I decided to take a day trip to Gettysburg, which is about a half hour away from campus.


We tried on hats:





and bonnets:



and animal masks:



and sat on stars:






and stood in a monument:



and shared a malt:



and gave president kennedy a wet willy:



and sat on a cannon:




We also went into a wax museum that we didn't know was a wax museum and we were both thoroughly creeped out. it was the scariest thing ever.

This is from my birthday dinner at La Tolteca (which has become "my spot" as far as birthday celebrations go). The short haircut is because i was FINALLY able to donate my hair! About 7-ish inches :-)

Due to popular demand (from one Aunt Debbie) I am posting pictures of my beautiful Valentine's Day lilies (4 of which are still alive!). These pictures are from when I first got them, so they are not all opened, but each little green thing (whatever you call them when they're closed) DID open up and the bouquet was very beautiful when all of them were in full bloom.

This past weekend has been a quiet one. I caught up on some homework, because this coming week is going to be a busy one full of exams and quizzes and meetings and extra-curriculars. However, just 11-ish days until I go home for spring break! AND, there are only 16 days left until my 19th birthday.

On a sad note, i only have three blooms of my Valentine's Day lilies (from Henry) still alive. I'm surprised they've lasted so long, but alas, all good things must come to an end. They were very beautiful and fragrant while they lasted.

I am currently in love with Gummi Savers. Kinley gave me some tonight and they just weren't enough. I had forgotten how delicious they were.