Motivation?

This marks the 2nd time today I've tried to sit down and come up with a blog! Apparently I'm lacking some motivation right now!! :)

Saturday, David and I took a trip to Dahlonega, GA for one of his Clemson teammate's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and the reception was at a ranch in the middle of the mountains so it was a wonderful view! I left my camera at home so I have no pictures :( I'm apparently really bad at taking pictures....maybe I should work on that.

Today we slept in and I officially decided what I want to do with my free time! I'm going to continue learning how to sew and start making jewelry. Unfortunately no job leaves me with little money to be "crafty" right now so I'm going to have to work with what I already have, which isn't much. It'll work out! And to top it off, I have been figuring out how I want my future craft room to look! David was just thrilled about that, ha!

Othar than that I don't have much going on so I'll leave you with a list of what's on my agenda!

• Tomorrow I am going to watch one of my long-time friend's sweet little boy! It's so hard for me to believe we are already at the baby-making age but he is so precious. Lunch and catching up is also on the list ;)
• My uncle coaches a legion baseball team here and they have a game tomorrow. I like supporting my family and this is what he loves to do so I love going to watch!
• Tuesday I'm meeting with Edible Art for my wedding favors!! I am so excited about my favors! I'm hoping they are going to be as cute as I think they will be...and then my grandmother and I are going to work on bridesmaid gifts :) Things are moving right along in the wedding department and it's a good thing, too! It's only a little less than 4 months until the big day. (I also picked up a couple things at the wedding this weekend that I don't want in my wedding, but also some things I'd like to incorporate!)
• Ummm....that's it for this week, ha! So sad, right?

Now I'm off to spend some time with my puppy...I missed him this weekend! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! :)

In Between

I am currently sitting on David's couch while he plays Call of Duty or something like that. I just painted my nails and thought I'd blog a bit! I'll say, typing with wet nails is interesting. It's kind of like "hunt and peck" but I'm not really hunting for the letters! Also, I'm right-handed so the nails on my left hand look way prettier than then ones on my right...bummer.

I came down this afternoon before Dave got off work and the air conditioner in my car was not working. Okay, it was kind of working. It was blowing air, but it was not blowing cool air. It's been in the high 90's this week and my car would pick today to lose the ability to cool me off! I finally just turned the A/C off and rolled the windows down. It was slightly cooler. Once I got here, I got out and my shorts were soaked*, ha! Oh well....

I am in the middle of getting things moved from my house to my new home with David. I brought my first load down today and will spend tomorrow putting it all away. I brought all of my Christmas stuff (4 tubs, 1 box, and 1 bagged christmas tree...) and all of the books I wanted to bring with me (4 boxes). It's kind of bittersweet...I'm really looking forward to this next stage of my life but I'm kind of sad to be leaving family!

I know, 1 1/2 hours away isn't bad at all, but I've been within 5 minutes of my whole family since I was 5!! And, some of y'all can attest to this, but I used to have the worst homesickness ever! Sometimes I would even have to be taken home in the middle of the night at sleep overs. Ugh, I'm still embarrassed about that!!

So needless to say, this will be a transition for me, but I am looking forward to getting all settled in eventually! (I'm bringing a load down each time I come :)...and now that I have nothing to do, that should be often!!)

This weekend, one of David's roommates/teammates from Clemson is getting married so we will be spending our weekend celebrating with friends! I love weddings because they are getting me excited for my very own in just about 4 months!

I guess I don't have much more to talk about now...any ideas to keep a girl busy?? (Besides apply for jobs, ha!) Happy weekend, everyone! :)

*I went back to re-read my blog and just thought I should define that they were soaked with sweat...not pee. I am potty-trained! ;)

Not How I Thought It Would Happen...

I'd definitely say it's been a while since my last update! I have been studying non-stop for the dreaded NCLEX exam. I took my exam on Monday.

I didn't tell anyone when I was taking the exam. Aside from my mom, David, and a few of my close nursing friends, no one knew. I was so scared I was going to fail and then I'd be embarrassed when people started asking me about it. I just didn't want to even imagine the disappointment!

Unfortunately, some things messed up my "secret plan". I started feeling kind of puny about a week ago. Not totally bad, but not that great. I figured it was just the stress of the situation getting to me. After all, I was studying pretty much 24/7! Well. My symptoms continued to get worse over the next few days and Sunday (the day before my exam!) rolled around and I just couldn't eat and I was starting to feel pretty bad.

I will spare you the gruesome details (and believe me, they were gruesome!) but I ended up in the ER Sunday NIGHT. Nothing like a trip to the ER to keep your mind off the NCLEX!

*David couldn't resist a picture...he also said, "It's Murphy's law--anything that can go wrong, will go wrong..." Me and Murphy aren't on great terms right now... ha!

I was diagnosed with an intestinal bacterial infection. Yuck. But I got my antibiotic at 11:00pm and they told me I wasn't contagious so I would be good to go for my exam in the AM!! I wasn't feel too great the next morning but I went to my test anyway!

75 questions and 60 minutes later I was walking out of there and back to bed! I never thought I would end up in the ER the night before the biggest exam of my life, but apparently I was well prepared. I found out today that I PASSED!!!!!

I am now officially an RN, BSN!!!

Thank you for all of your thoughts recently and now I will have more time to update my blog!

Graduation Weekend #2

I've been MIA for the last week because I have been studying 24/7 for the NCLEX, the nursing licensure exam. I'm not telling anyone when I'm going to take it in case I don't pass, haha ;) I just don't want to deal with everyone's sympathy if I don't make it. BUT I am going to pass and I have post-its all over saying just that! So hopefully I can psyche myself into passing!

This past weekend we had another graduation in my family. My cousin Scott graduated from Duke University's Master of Engineering Management program!

Scott has an apartment up there so David, Marley, and I stayed with him and Kylie! Aren't they just the cutest couple? :)

Saturday was his hooding ceremony and he was so funny! He was half way across the stage before they even called his name :) We were definitely proud of him and to top it off, we found out earlier Saturday that he had an internship set up that will (fingers crossed!) hopefully turn in to a full time job! Yes!

*I love this one...mom fixing the hood before the ceremony :)

*I love this one too...mom looks so happy and proud!

We went out to dinner at a mexican restaurant after the ceremony and it was so delicious! Although, we had to pay for chips and salsa...what kind of mexican restaurant do you have to pay for chips at?! We were all really exhausted so we went back to Scott's apartment and watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and hit the hay.

*And just because he is so handsome... :)

*And just because this is probably one of the best pictures of us!

We got up early Sunday for brunch at Bob Evans--Scott's request :) Then we headed to the Duke Chapel for the diploma presentations.

It was beautiful inside the chapel, but the serenity didn't keep people from whooping it up for their family graduates! It was a great ceremony and a wonderful weekend.

Gosh, we sure do have a lot to celebrate in this family! So proud:)

Nursing Graduation :)

Warning: This is a long post with a lot of pictures!! :)

This past week was all about graduation from nursing school. Tuesday was the Pinning Ceremony and Wednesday was Blessing of the Hands, which you can read about here. Thursday, the nursing girls had a "Bachelorette Party" for the three nursing girls who are getting married this year.

*Me and Van, the 2 September brides!*

*The whole group! Love you girls:) *

We went to a new restaurant called San Antonio's. I loved it! And actually, now through May, everything on the menu is $5!! (I think it's a marketing ploy for the restaurant, but most of the entrees range from $13-$22, so $5 is a pretty good deal!) So needless to say, I will be going back there a few times in May :)

Saturday was graduation day! My future in-laws came in to town to help me celebrate and I'm so thankful for their support--and the fact that they are letting me marry their son! ;)

We got to the school about 8:30 am and grabbed a row of seats! I got a couple of pictures with my family and then a few with my friends. Then it was about time to line up.

* Me and my handsome granddaddy*

*Me and Les before graduation!*

*My family all in a row, there to support me!*

The nursing girls were in the back of the line so we were last to graduate. Word at the graduation is when they announced the Presbyterian Nursing School graduates (we all stood up to be recognized), we were the loudest group there! We were so thrilled to be finished and relieved to finally be at this point! As we walked across the stage, we were given our diploma and then hooded. (Colleges and universities used to hood their bachelor graduates, but most have stopped. Queens still does and it was a great experience!)

*Receiving my diploma!*

*Getting hooded by my grandmother's friend, Dr. Chris Allegretti. It was such an honor to be hooded by someone I know and look up to!*

Once we were all finished walking, the graduation was pretty much over. After the recessional we all went to meet our families. I was so excited!

Then we got a slew of pictures with my family :)

*My favorite aunt. I sure do love her!*

*My wonderful, supportive mom :) I love her, too!*

*Such a supportive fiance! :)*

*My wonderful cousins!*

*My incredibly supportive, wonderful grandparents. I wouldn't be anywhere without them!*

After graduation, Leslie's family held a graduation luncheon at their house.

*Me, Les, Vanessa, and Seana at Leslie's graduation luncheon!*

They are some of the kindest people in the world and we all really enjoyed getting to spend some time relaxing, eating, and enjoying each other's company! Once we left there, we made a pit stop at Vanessa's house because her family was throwing a graduation party there as well! We were pooped, but my family dinner was that night :) We had a great dinner outside on the deck, opened presents and spent the evening hanging out.

If you've made it this far, congratulations! :) Sunday we made breakfast for my mom and David's mom and that pretty much sums up our week. It was such a wonderful weekend and I am so thankful for all of the support and love from my family and friends through this experience. Now...if I can only pass NCLEX! :)

Graduating...

Today, at 10:00 am, I will be GRADUATING nursing school! I am so excited!! :) I'm sure I'll do a full length post all about this special day later!! :) Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone!

Graduation Week

Man, I have SO much free time now that I'm not constantly working on nursing stuff! I've already cleaned my room and my bathroom and re-watched the royal wedding (I know, I know. It's weird. I don't care!). And now I'm working on updating my blog! Monday I took my last nursing final (and to brag just a little...I ended up with at 97 on it!!) and that was the start of graduation week! When we left the exam, we all felt like we still had a million things to do for school! It hadn't actually hit us that we were completely done with nursing school! Lucky for us, the school had some things planned for us.

Tuesday afternoon, we had the Pinning Ceremony. The pinning ceremony welcomes new nurses into the field of nursing and we receive pins from our faculty. It was a really nice ceremony and Leslie won the Senior Nursing Award!! I was so proud of her :)

*She also had to give a speech and she did AMAZING!*

*My grandparents came to the Pinning Ceremony. They are always so supportive!*

*Receiving my pin! I'm letting my hair grow out for my wedding...I can't wait to cut it off! Ha!*

Yesterday, we had the Blessing of the Hands Ceremony. It was such a beautiful ceremony and I think it really hit home with us that we were through. We have made such wonderful friends over the last 2 years and it seems too soon to leave them!

*Getting my hands blessed by one of my favorite professors! (Photo courtesy of David O'Neal)*

*I sure do love these girls! (Photo courtesy of David O'Neal)*

Tonight, all of the girls are getting together to throw a "bachelorette" party for the three girls who are getting married! I think it is really just an excuse to get together again ;) But whatever the reason, I'll take it because I am going to miss these girls so much! Saturday is graduation and I think it is going to be bittersweet.

David's family will be coming up for my graduation and we are having a family party Saturday night! I am so looking forward to it! I just hope the weather cooperates! :)