Rory Gilmore reading list

As the last day of class (today - hurray!) has approached, I've started wondering what in the world I'm going to do with all of my free time! I absolutely hate being unproductive and laying around all day (except on rare occasions) and the thought of having nothing concrete to do scares me a bit. I figure I should get some hobbies, hang out with friends more, study spanish, work at the temple, and read! I won't be taking the NCLEX until the end of January or beginning of February and will have lots of free time before then. I will be studying for the NCLEX like crazy, but let's be honest, I am not capable of studying all day every day for two months! So, if anyone wants to hang out, let me know :)

In the meantime, I've come across an excellent reading list that I'll probably tap into for literary inspiration... from one of my favorite shows - Gilmore Girls! It is insanely long, but I think I could start working on a few! Check it out!

Oh, and if you haven't voted for our picture yet - the competition is close! Please comment and like our picture so I can figure out what the prize is! Click here :)

a prize! a prize!

I'm not trying to spam, but Brian and I have been entered into a contest to get a prize! I didn't submit our photo or anything (our photographer is doing it),  but hey,  I'm totally willing to get a free prize! Our photographer that we had at our wedding has started a contest....Please "like" our photo (click here or on the picture) - if we get the most votes we get a mystery prize... which is really why I want to win - I want to know what the prize is. Maybe we can all split it, who knows? Thanks to all of you in advance - you're the best!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150507534788109&set=at.10150507534038109.429616.371431268108.17814796&type=1&theater

moving to Alaska

I am going to be a BYU graduate very soon. Soon as in my last class ever for my nursing degree is on Thursday. Talk about crazy!

While I am very happy about this, I am also filled with this weird sense of dread... What does graduation mean? It means that I have to grow up and get a job. No more fun classes, rushing to get homework done, BYU stuff, seeing Brian on campus, etc etc. Once I walk out of the classroom on Thursday, that's IT. I think I am going to feel very weird.

So weird, in fact, that I am already planning on attending some of Brian's future classes with him. NERD ALERT! Can you believe that I don't want to quit going to college?

But I am excited to get paid. Real excited.

looks like fun!

It will be so nice to not have to live off of our savings anymore :) Now we can start saving for cool stuff like children and ... dental school. I read somewhere yesterday that the average dentist gets out of school with $100,000 of debt. Yikes. That is better than the $400,000 that I heard somewhere else, but it is still a kick in the stomach.

Brian came up with a genius plan to get out of debt after graduation. MOVE TO ALASKA! Not only does the government pay you a bit extra to live out there, but salaries are a bunch higher. I decided to do a little investigation and found this nifty website. The subsidy isn't as great as I expected and apparently the cost of living is rather atrocious. But hey, it could still work! Anything to get out of $100,000 of debt, right? Nurses there make over twice what they make in Utah it seems....

Now, to be clear. We have not decided to move to Alaska and that wouldn't happen until Brian graduates from dental school - which is in at least 5 years. But, we're keeping it as an option!

this doesn't look so bad!

this does, however. BRRRRRRR!

I could get a pet moose!

Or at least a wolf puppy :)

Turkey Day & the flu

Luckily Thanksgiving and the flu did not fall on the same day... I was lucky enough to get the flu on Saturday after we were home from our awesome trip down to Saint George! 

It was warm. Very warm :). I think I need a winter house in Saint George.

We had an amazing few days of delicious food, hanging out with family, and four-wheeling at the sand dunes! It was so nice to get out of Provo.... and Brian's aunts, uncles, and cousins are so much fun! We drove down on Thursday morning (after we got up at five) with Rebecca and Chris, got there pretty early and started peeling potatoes (we weighed them after they were all mashed and we had 35 pounds of mashed potatoes in one pot and about the same in another. Ca-razy.). Rebecca and I made the yams and everyone else helped with the rest! It was super yummy and there were about 40 people there! We played soccer, kickball, football, and had some good chats. 

We were planning on camping out in the backyard because of the large volume of people... but once we got there they let us know that we'd be staying in the neighbor's guest house... which was super nice! I was a little sad that I didn't get to camp, but relieved that I wouldn't freeze my buns off. Added bonus: the neighbors had a giant dog named George and he was SO cute and friendly! I miss my dog :/

Chris & Rebecca

Isn't this thing sweet? It's a "RZR". The kids complained of bonking their heads too much when they caught air though....

Grandpa Buzz!

Yep, I got awesome red goggles :)

check out the dirt on my collar! We were soooo dirty after.

Back to the real world on Friday evening I got down to working on my 20 page research paper about proper bottle-feeding techniques. Saturday we prostituted our plasma and then Saturday night... dun dun duunnnnnnnnnnn.... I got struck with the flu. Ew.

And guess what...

I still have it! It has now turned into a violent cold flu thing, but man oh man I'm ready to feel better. Nothing like a flu to make you want to lay in bed all day long and watch Gilmore Girls (which I have - thanks mom for letting me borrow your season). I have also watched Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., Walk the Line (which I did not like), the Italian Job, and plenty of YouTube videos. 

Oh, and somehow I finished my paper! Yaaay!

Brian has been an excellent help - always there to fluff my pillow, feed me some soup, grab some medicine, set up movies, and make me laugh. That's all you need when you're sick! I think I'm finally on the mend, however. I just need to make sure I'm completely better before Tuesday so I can go and do my last shift as a student nurse at clinicals! Ay carumba!

Who wants to hear what the nurse manager wrote me in her email? ... I wrote her to ask her "how hard" she thought I should look for another job as a back up. You know, feeling out the situation. 

Jeanne,

This is Rachael Pearce, the Capstone student currently working with Becca Derouin in your unit. I just wanted to say thank you so much for receiving my resume and discussing possible future employment with me! I have had an excellent experience in the NICU and have learned so much. I am actually sad to see the semester come to an end next week but I am so excited at the prospect of becoming part of the NICU team. I feel that I can be a great asset to an already exceptional staff. I graduate at the beginning of December and plan to take the NCLEX as soon as possible (end of January or early February). What will be the best way to keep in contact with you between now and when I pass my boards? I have a portfolio containing information about my project and certifications and am planning on bringing it on Friday for your review.

Because I know nothing is for certain, I was wondering what your advice is on applying for positions elsewhere. Should I spend a lot of time and energy doing that or do you feel that I have a great chance at getting a job with your staff? I plan to apply to at least a few other hospitals for the experience, but I know the place I want to work is at University Hospital.  

I look forward to seeing you sometime soon! Thank you again,

Rachael Pearce

rachael.l.nielsen@gmail.com

This is what she wrote back:

Jeanne Thornton	Nov 30 (3 days ago)
to me

Rachel:

You can keep in touch with me through this email.  That will be the best.  We plan to post positions the first part of January, and I will definitely put you on the list.  You will need to go through the interview process with me and the staff, but your chances are very,  very high as I have already had such great recommendations from the staff regarding your performance.  I will contact you the minute we put the jobs on the board.  You can apply even if you haven’t taken boards, as we will look to hire everyone together.  We mostly hire new grads, so you may all be in the same boat.  I think we will look to hire about 4 new RNs.  I will be here in the morning on Friday, so make sure I see you that morning.  I’m only here until about 11:00 that day.  I would never discourage you from making other applications as you never know maybe your dream job is elsewhere and you just don’t know it.  It is good experience to go through the process.  Thanks for your interest in our unit.  It is a great place to work. JT

Jeanne Thornton, RN, BSN

Nurse Manager

Newborn Intensive Care Unit

University of Utah Hospital

Cha-ching!

So, as you can see, it is not for certain, but my chances are "very, very high." Oh yeah! Just gott make sure I don't screw anything up to ruin those chances!

Brian and I took a field trip to Salt Lake and got me all registered for the NCLEX and my Nursing RN license (don't worry, just $300 - aaaah! I better pass it the first time!). We were going to go to the temple but it was CLOSED. So sad. So we took pictures with the animals instead :)

Ok, things I still need to blog about (this is a reminder to myself!)

1. 11.11.11 date
2. the Help
3. Amanda taking our blood!
4. Holiday plans

Well, it's back to homework! Hope everyone is doing grrreat :)

GREAT NEWS!

 Just loving this week before Thanksgiving! I am really excited to go and be with Brian's family for Thanksgiving. We are planning on heading out to warm(ish) St. George and party with a lot of his extended family.... so much extended family, in fact, that we can't even stay in the house - we have to pitch a tent in the backyard! It will definitely be a Thanksgiving to remember :). I am sure there will be tons of delicious food. Ironically, we are in charge of bringing the olives and I detest olives... haha! I am just happy that other people will get to enjoy them! Brian's family is so great - it will be fun to get to know them a little bit better considering the last time I was around them it was for our wedding and things were so crazy busy.

I cannot believe that school is almost over. I graduate in less than a month! Then I have to be a grown up and get a real job and stuff... which leads me to my next news -

I think I'm almost for sure going to get a job in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit where I am doing my Capstone! WAHOO! It is such a relief to feel like I probably have a job.

The nurse I have been working with this whole semester (my now good friend Becca) went on a "bathroom break" and left the babies to me. When she got back she had this huge grin on her face.... "Hey Rach, I just talked to Jeani (the nurse manager who is in charge of hiring)."

"Oh really? How did that go?"

"Oh, you know... she wants to hire you."

"What?!!"

"Yep. I went in and she said she'd been expecting me to come in and talk to her about you because two other nurses already had. She said she couldn't hire anyone until January and she said that was PERFECT because that's when she was planning on filling the positions that are open!"

So of course I got really excited and had her tell me every detail of the conversation :) They think I'm a great fit and are impressed with the work I've done there so far (and I have tried to work so hard and make a great impression - I'm just grateful it looks like it will come to something!). They love hiring Capstone students because we already know the unit and the nurses can recommend us first hand. Yay yay!

So, I marched straight to her office and gave her my resume while telling her that I have loved my time in their unit and would love to become a part of it. After asking a few questions about when I graduate and such she said, "Well, that shouldn't be a problem. We'll stay in touch until you pass your boards!"

Relief!

Major relief!

I'm tired of living off our savings and plasma money (yes, we are still selling plasma for some extra cash... And I have the bruises to prove it!)

I really really love the NICU. It is very specialized and that worried me a bit because I won't be able to get as broad of an experience as I was envisioning in my head, but if I love it, then why not go for it? I can transfer to another area of nursing later on in my career... especially because getting a job anywhere in Utah is so difficult right now.

So... in a few months I'll be Rachael Pearce, RN at the NICU! :)

Now let's just hope it all works out like it seems like it will. I plan on applying elsewhere as well just in case something goes wrong.

And, for your enjoyment... here is a little video my daddy sent me - I think it's hilarious!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

what do I do when i should be studying?

watch Kid History of course! Oh man, this is one of my favorites :)

baby Gage and other photos :)

doesn't he look like such a fatty in this picture? Love those cheeks!

Brian with the pumpkin cinnamon sugar donut holes we made a few weeks ago. So yummy!!!

Kelly (in the tie dye) came to stay with Brian and me for the weekend before she went on her mission! Laura and Janet came by to visit and see her before she's gone for a year and a half. 

Morning she left for the MTC!

A little late... but here are the mummy dogs we made for Halloween!

Remember this game? Yeah, it's just as hard and frightening as I remembered.

my poor body

It's just been one of those weeks! It has been a great week, but difficult with some (literal) bumps and bruises along the way. I got to work Tuesday & Wednesday at the hospital (15 hrs each day) and loved it! My nurse had to go help another nurse for a few hours and I got to run the show on our two little babes - one was 3 pounds and the other was 1.5 pounds. TINY little guys that are just so cute! They smile, they have personalities, they have preferences and can be very demanding. I just love them! I am definitely going to apply for a job on that unit and then also on other NICU units at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and Timpanogos Regional Medical Center (both of which have good NICUs). As much as I love adults, I think I get more satisfaction out of helping the little ones. I actually look forward to going! I learn something new every day and absolutely love the nurse I usually work with. She is an inspiration!

So... rewind to Monday. Being dirt-poor newlyweds, Brian and I have taken up prostitution. Prostitution of our plasma that is ;). Yep, we are selling our plasma to get some extra money. It's a great deal, actually. For an hour of sitting there with a needle in your arm, you get $25-$30... and you can do it twice a week... so together we could make $110/week if we were diligent enough (and brave enough - those needles are freaking gigantic). So, that's how it's supposed to go - you go in, wait for your turn, have a short physical, get hooked up to a machine, and voila... they give you your cash as you walk out the door. Supposed to. It didn't work out that way for me on Monday.

Two arms, two ginormous needles, two technicians fishing around (in and out, swirling around, stabbing...) in my arms, two blowed veins, and some very nice bruises. It was not pleasant and they didn't get any plasma out of me. But, I still got my money and left with ice-packs and instructions to drink more water. I had to go to the store afterwards and wonder what people thought as I walked around with a giant ice-pack strapped to one elbow (they couldn't put the packs on both because I had to have some movement in an arm so I could drive home)!  Good times.

Now for mishap of the week #2. Yesterday.

On Thursdays Brian drops me off at school at 7:45 and then he goes home to get ready and rides his bike to be to class at 9. We get out at the same time and he lets me ride on his handlebars all the way home. It's super fun and we've never had problems before. 

Until yesterday.

We were on our street, took a turn, the bike couldn't handle the weight shift and the already loose handlebars twisted weird and... we were falling. You know that slow motion feeling? Definitely had it. In essence, I tried to jump off the front but Brian flew over the handlebars on top of me and my face had a nice date with the sidewalk. I turned it as far as I could and luckily only my left cheekbone made contact.  After some serious icing, a nap, and lots of ibuprofen, I felt much better.

Brian felt so bad. We both felt bad for not wearing helmets and already have plans to go buy some on Monday. But, I am doing better, no concussion, just a nice raspberry on the side of my face (and it doesn't look too bad!) My primary kids are going to think I'm so hard core haha.

ew

So, sometimes you just get weeks like that... when the accident proneness I have been suppressing for so long decides to come out of hiding. 

Moral of the story. Wear a helmet! Helmet hair is better than cement-induced raspberry face.

spider sandwich?

Halloween came a few days late this year. Let me tell you a little story.

This afternoon Brian and I decided we were going to make delicious avocado, turkey, tomato, cheese, ranch paninis and eat them with tomato soup because it is fa-reeeezing out here. So delicious.

Imagine my horror when after making the delicious sandwiches, I saw one of these in between one of the cracks of my panini maker...

Do you know what that is? Well, I'll tell you. It's a spider egg sac. Yes. Likely full of baby spiders. In my panini maker. Maybe partially smashed onto Brian's panini. Happy belated Halloween!!

The good news: all the spiders were dead thanks to the grilling/spider killing power of this awesome appliance.

The bad news: I just couldn't enjoy my sandwich like I should have.

Hey, guess what - it's snowing here in Provo! While I don't relish the feet of snow we get until late March, I am excited for the first real snow storm! Yay!

Halloweeny

Unfortunately I had to spend most of my Halloween writing a research paper... but we still found some time to celebrate! Just some fun Halloweeny things I found on Pinterest.... we bought the stuff to make the adorable Frankensteins (never got a chance, but we're going to do it after Halloween anyway!), made those INCREDIBLE pumpkin donut holes (baked - if you want the recipe, let me know!), made the cute little mummy hotdogs, and saw lots of cute costumes! 

I made Brian promise me that next year we could really celebrate Halloween and not study all night. Mostly I made him promise because I'll be graduated and he'll still be on the road to lovely dental school! He is doing so so well in his classes this semester and I am seriously proud of him! He went from all business classes to almost all sciences (chem 105, physiology, biology, pre-dental, and a personal finance class) - crazy busy and he is rocking them! 

Hmmm... what else is new since my last post?

• I am still loving working in the NICU. I put an IV in a little 2 pound baby!
• Kelly aka Sister Campbell, stayed with us for the weekend before she entered the MTC yesterday! It was so great to see her and reminisce about how I felt right before I entered the MTC - full of excitement, nerves, and the spirit! Yeah!
• My primary class was so well behaved on Sunday. I just love them. We learned about Moroni. I am already excited to see them again this next week
• memorable things from the lesson:the kids decided they want to call us fruit names. I think I'm Strawberry and Katie is Pineapple
• they were really excited about Halloween (one was postiive he had met the real spiderman at the trunk or treat. adorable.)
• I convinced them to sing in sharing time (hurray! seriously an accomplishment for the little boys)
• It's freezing here! 27 degrees. 
• We went country dancing with Ryan and Andrea on Saturday night. SEriously so much fun... and a great workout.
• Hannah and Chris came over on Sunday night for games and treats. We played Monopoly in a card-game style and it was so fun. Waaaay better than normal monopoly. 

Anyway, happy November! I can't believe how fast this year is going by!

I had a dream

Weirdest dream ever last night. I really need to lay off the late-night snacks. But alas, yesterday was our four-month anniversary (yay!), so we did our tradition of getting a milkshake! It was late because we had to wait for me to be back in town after my New Mexico trip and Brian had a test to take after his pre-dental class that doesn't get over until 6. So... milkshakes at 8:30! Yum!

Anyway, the only reason I'm telling you about the milkshake is because I think it must be the cause of my very strange dream. This is how it went...

Justin Bieber was Harry Potter

Voldemort was actually a woman

Harry Potter (aka Justin Bieber) and I were best friends

We were in some Latin American country in an antique store

Voldemort wanted a Picasso painting that my mom had.

She gave it to this little hispanic man and told him to go sell it for something good so Voldemort couldn't get it.

He came back with 6 chicken breasts and a container of mushrooms that he traded the painting for.

We were pretty disappointed that he didn't get something more for the valuable painting, but were happy to have some chicken anyway.

My mom was afraid her wallet was going to get stolen so she put it in an antique desk drawer at an antique furniture store.

I made her go get it out before the store sold the desk.

Harry (Justin) killed Voldemort with a shotgun because magic wasn't working this time.

Then I woke up.

Weird, or what?!!

Anyone know how to interpret dreams?