New Years "Resolutions"

Here it is, the last couple of hours of 2017! It has been a great year and I am looking forward to 2018. Let's see how long I'll be signing my pay stubs, cards, and checks with the wrong year!

I am doing things a little differently with my New Years "Resolutions" this year. Each year people post their resolutions, and by the end of January, many of those resolutions have crashed and burned. So this year, instead of setting myself up for failure, I'm going to do a 2018 Bucket List.

Here is a list of things that I hope to do in 2018:

• Go to a Corn Maze
• Pack Up & Go Vacation
• Complete Two Rounds of Country Heat
• Complete One Round of T25
• Get a Gym Membership
• See the Holiday Train
• Get Couples Pictures
• Host a Bonfire
• Pay it Forward Once a Month
• Have a Water Balloon fight
• Take a Photography Class
• Go Camping
• Read "The Love Dare"
• Road Trip to Minnesota
• Meal Plan
• Make at Least One Blog Post per Month
• Create a Senior Scrapbook for Gavin
• Clean Up Pinterest
• Fill the Bed of the Pickup with Pillows and Lay under the Stars
• Start a Bullet Journal
• Track Migraines
• Road Trip to Michigan
• Get a Daith Piercing in May
• Start a Photography Project
• Get another Tattoo in May
• Buy another Camera
• Send Out Birthday Cards
• Go to the Rotary Lights
• Go Hiking
• Go to a Pumpkin Patch
• Create a Scrapbook of Dusty and I
• Go to an Apple Orchard
• Take Dusty to a Concert
• Go on a Monthly Date Night
• Make a Blog Post for Photography Sessions
• Go Ice Skating
• Go Snowmobiling
• Go to the Beach
• Play Sand Volleyball
• Make a Backdrop Holder for Photography
• Go Mini Golfing
• See a Waterfall
• Play Paint Twister
• Road Trip to Iowa

End of Year Wrap Up!

As I said in my first post, a lot has happened this year. So much, in fact, that it's easy to forget all of the good times. I scrolled through my Instagram posts from this year to pull out some of the highlights, and here they are:

My brother's friend got a puppy, Diesel, and he has pretty much grown up at our house. It's crazy to see how much just one year can change things! That little pup that we started with is now a full-blown "doggo."

My mom and I became official members of the North Bend Presbyterian Church! My siblings are members of the church by default because they were confirmed there, but my mom and I finally became members!

Dusty and I started dating. I won't go off on a tangent with this because I've got plenty of other posts about him that you can read, and let's not beat a dead horse.

I got my first tattoo! My friend and I decided to get matching tattoos, so we scheduled an appointment, decided what we wanted, and got them done. We chose the stethoscope bent into a heart with the words "Caring," "Strength," "Love," and "Courage" as a symbol of our commitment to the nursing profession, it is the reason that we are best friends now!

I moved in with Dusty. Living with my best friend has been a roller coaster, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Some of my family doesn't agree with this decision, but it is one that I spent a lot of time making and I have been very happy with it. There have been a couple of ups and downs, but overall we are happy with this decision.

Hintzy Photography took prom pictures for my brother and his friends, and by Hintzy Photography, I mean me. Since he was a junior, and it was junior prom, I made sure I got some pictures for him to remember the day by.

I went to Las Vegas for a wedding! I flew for the first time with my dad, grandma, great aunt, and great cousin to Las Vegas for my great uncle's wedding. We spent a lot of time at his house, but he only lives about 5 minutes from the strip, so we got to walk around the last night that we were there. It was SO HOT, just like everyone says, "it's a dry heat." We got out of the airport, and it was like the gust of air after opening the oven, but it doesn't go away. Luckily, my great uncle and his husband have a pool, so being outside wasn't completely unbearable. I can't wait to go back some day, and spend some more time on the strip!

I participated in the Dragonboat Races, and our team took first place! One of my mom's friends is a breast cancer survivor, so she has a team for the Big Blue Dragonboat Festival in La Crosse and my mom and I participate. This year, like last year, our team took first place and we got medals for our participation!

I officially committed myself to the nursing profession at my school's commitment ceremony! Viterbo University holds a Commitment Ceremony for the nursing students before we begin our clinical experience to symbolize our commitment to the nursing profession. We got our "Student Nurse" name badges to wear during our clinical rotations!

I started my nursing clinical experience with gerontology! Being in the gerontology setting was amazing and made me even more excited to continue on with my nursing education. Next year is family health!

Hintzy Photography hosted three senior sessions! Bree, Cody, and Gavin were my seniors this year, all Melrose-Mindoro High School class of 2018. I am excited to see where life takes these three, and will forever be grateful that they allowed me to take their pictures!

Dusty and I got to see the Pink Heals National Tour, and I was able to sign the truck in memory of my mom's cousin. The Pink Heals National Tour drive around big PINK firetrucks that have been signed by survivors or family members of those who have battled with any kind of illness or disease. The volunteers who put on this tour encourage people to make donations locally, and all the money raised from sales goes to the gas, maintenance, and other tour expenses.

I got to take Gender Reveal pictures for one of my best friends! I met the guy in this picture years ago when I had a different boyfriend, and he has been one of my best friends since that day. He helped me through my parents divorce, and it's been a lot of fun knowing him. I was ecstatic when he called me and asked me to take pictures for him at their gender reveal party. I'm so excited to see baby Miller, PS - it's a girl!

Hunting was a bust - but I went out! I worked opening weekend, so I didn't get out until Sunday night. I sat with my brother and we didn't see much, but it was good bonding time. I don't get to see my brother all that often anymore, so any time with him is always welcomed.

I got a new car! "TECHNICALLY," my mom got a new car, but I'm making all the payments on it, so I'm saying it's mine. Dusty, my brother, and I went to look at a couple of cars in Viroqua one night, and we decided on one. After we headed home, my brother kept looking and found two in Sparta, so the next day I looked at one of them in Sparta with my mom, and we got it that night! It's been so weird having a new car, it's RELIABLE, and it doesn't make any alarming noises. Going from 275,000 miles to 35,000 miles has also been a bit of a switch, this one has so much to look forward to and will last me awhile!

I turned the big 2-1! As I covered in my post about my birthday, it was exciting, but it wasn't the big alcohol frenzy that everyone says it will be. I'm almost a month into being 21 and it still hasn't been all that much of an alcohol frenzy.

I got a promise ring! Dusty gave it to me in the sweetest way. For Christmas, he got me two lunch boxes, one fit inside the other, and inside the smaller one, was a ring box. I opened it up, and there was a ring and a piece of paper all folded up that said "I promise." It was a note with all of the things that he promises to do or be for me in the future. It was the sweetest thing ever!

Also, the movie Wonder was released, and you all should see it! Wonder is the story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences entering the fifth grade. It is a wonderful movie that inspires others to be kind. If you have the chance, watch it and let me know what you think!

Preface to End of Year Wrap Up

Awhile ago, I noticed that I made 12 blog posts in 2016, and I wanted to at least tie that in 2017. Well, this will tie them up, and as the title implies, there will be at least one more post this year!

This year has been good to me, and I'm excited for what next year has to offer.
I finished up my sophomore year of nursing school, I bought a car, I got into an amazing relationship and met a lot of awesome people.

My little brother started his senior year of high school, and played a full season of football. I attended almost every football game and was able to take pictures at most of them. It has been a lot of fun to watch him grow into a young man, and an incredible football player. He even made Dairyland All-Conference First Line Defense, and was invited to play football in Hawaii for a couple of days in July 2018. I am so proud of him for showing up for his senior year, and I can't wait to see what the rest of this year and the school year have for him! He has dedicated himself to Southwest Technical College in Fennimore, Wisconsin!

It's not often that I get a nice picture of my sister, or that she even wants to be in a picture, but she insisted on getting a picture with our brother after a football game. She is a sophomore in high school, which is crazy to think of. She has blossomed into a very nice young woman (sometimes). Her grades are crazy good and I'm very proud of her for her accomplishments. I can't wait to continue to watch her grow and see what she decides to be as an adult.

Tune back in before January 1, 2018 for a final wrap up of 2017!

$5 Savings Plan

Let's talk money.

I've always been pretty money-conscious. My mom taught me how to save and how to live below our means. 

This past year I tried to follow a $5 savings plan which started the first week of January with $5, and increased every week by $5. At first it was pretty easy. It was such a small amount of my paycheck that I didn't miss it. However, as the months passed, it became harder and harder to put that amount into savings. I was able to save about $3,000 before I had to stop because I couldn't make it work financially. I had to pay rent and my credit card bill, which is a month's worth of gas and a few random expenses, each month.

Being a college student tends to mean that money is pretty tight. At the beginning of the year, I was still living with my mom so I didn't have to worry about the cost of food or pay her rent. In May, I moved in with my boyfriend, so I started paying rent and pitching in on groceries. Things haven't been too tight, and I've been comfortable with were I'm at. I made enough money each month to cover my expenses and still have some money left over.

This past month, I bought a new car. It came with a loan that I need to start paying back in January. With my average monthly income, I could just barely squeak by with my payments. However, my hours are going to be cut back at work this next semester due to a rather spotty class schedule. This means that I have to find another part-time job to pay off my monthly bills without dipping into my savings too much.

In January, I will try to follow the $5 savings plan again; however, I'm changing things up this year. Since I hit a bit of a wall this past year, I've decided to take the initial amount to save and alternate it with the final amount to save. This way I won't be stretched at the end of the year and will have one "easy" week and one "hard" week. I'm excited to see how this goes, and I will update you sometime in the next year!

Turning 21

21

This past week I celebrated my 21st birthday. It's the "rite of passage" into adulthood, right? The time when you can finally drink, and don't have to worry about getting an "under-ager." Everyone seems to be so excited to turn 21, it's like they want to rush through their younger years just to hit the "golden age" so that they are able to drink. Now it was my turn to enter the age that everyone looks forward to.

This birthday kind of crept up on me, and I didn't think much of it. My boyfriend, Dusty, and I made a plan to stay up until midnight on the 6th so that we could go out to the bar for a drink. It sounded like a fun plan until the night actually came and I felt a cold coming on. I managed to stay up until 11:30pm, but then I turned into bed because I decided that I didn't NEED to go out drinking.

Dusty and I both took the day of my birthday off of work to spend it together. We got to sleep in and start the morning slowly. Once we got moving, we headed to La Crosse and dropped off my brother's senior picture book at the Studio on Main (where he got his senior pictures done). After that, we went to the mall and Dusty treated me to some shopping. We stopped at Spencer's and we got a couple of shot glasses, Dusty got a Rick and Morty one, and I got one that says "Just Turned 21" and another that says "Drunk Up B*tches!" I got a matching set and two free bags from Victoria's Secret. We then wandered over to Rue21 and Dusty got two bottles of cologne, and I got two bottles of perfume. Our final stop in the mall was Maurices where I got a pair of blue jeans and a water bottle.

After shopping, Dusty treated me to lunch at Red Lobster. I had to show the waitress my ID for the first time when I ordered a Sunset Passion Colada. She wished me a happy birthday, and so did the couple at the next table. Dusty and I got to enjoy lunch, and then the waitress brought out a free sundae for us to enjoy.

This caption (I think) is supposed to say "Her *first* legal drink"

On our way home, we stopped at my grandparents to talk to them and see what they were up to. After at least half an hour spent talking with them, we headed home and they headed to town. At the end of the day, my mom, sister, brother, and "other brother" came to Tomah to eat at the bowling alley with us. We all split an appetizer platter and two large pizzas. The bartender mixed me up a "Sex on the Beach," and Dusty later ordered two Jaegerbomb shots, which he insisted that my mom or I had to take with him. My mom and I compromised, she took a sip, I drank half, and we handed Dusty the rest of it.

In the end, responsibility got the best of me (as always) because I had my last day of classes the next day, so I was in bed at a relatively decent time. It's now the weekend after my 21st, and I've been working. I work again tomorrow, and the following two days, and then I have finals the two days after that. I may never "really celebrate" my 21st birthday, but I am perfectly happy with the way that I did celebrate turning 21.

My Boyfriend

Each time my boyfriend notices that I'm making a blog post he asks if it's about him, so here's the first post dedicated just to him.

This guy means the world to me, and we haven't even known each other for a year yet. We have come a long way since adding each other on Facebook in late December 2016, then on Snapchat, and then agreeing to meet on New Years Eve at the party at his house. He was so persistent that we were dating, even though I insisted that I wanted to be single until the summer. I finally caved in and on March 10, 2016 we began dating. One school finished up in May, I started moving in and was fully moved in by June. It's been a roller coaster as we navigate life and living together.

Dusty having a full time job and working anywhere between 40-72 hours each week, and myself spending up to 17 hours on campus and 10 -22 hours at work each week makes for a tough time. We both come home pretty tired most days, and we've been trying to cut back on our fast food intake. I recently made a couple of freezer meals for the crock pot and hopefully we will try them soon! We are also planning to get back into working out. I made a plan for December using 3 different workout plans that I found on Pinterest, and Dusty is planning to start T25!

And a final shout out for my amazing boyfriend, he handles my mood swings so well. This final picture is from Thanksgiving day. I had gotten my hair cut the day before, shorter than it's ever been, and I didn't anticipate on having to do so much to give it some body. I asked Dusty to help me straighten it, but he didn't come right away so I finished up by myself. Once he came, he started braiding it, but he didn't really have any plan so I got frustrated and we just left. He just rolls with the mood swings and I'm so thankful for him.

"What Kind of Nurse do You Want to Be?"

As a junior nursing student, I can confidently say that the most common question asked by professors is "What kind of nurse do you want to be?" There are typically two ways to respond to this question: the first, and most common response, is declaring a specialty such as pediatric, gerontology, or oncology. The second response, and the one most professors are looking for, is a description of qualities that future nurses hope to possess.

When the question is presented without warning, most nursing students laugh and say "A good one?" or "One that doesn't kill people?" At first, it seems like a dumb question. You wouldn't be a nurse for very long if you weren't good at your job, right?

Well, I'm about to tell you the answer that I would like to give, but have never given.

Being the stereotypical nursing student, I have watched (and re-watched) my fair share of Grey's Anatomy. Recently, I re-watched every episode in search of one particular scene, and the scene ended up tying into three different episodes. If you want to see the actual scenes, fast forward to season 5 episodes 11 through 13. In these scenes, with one specific patient, Meredith Grey resembles the kind of nurse that I want to be.

In episode 11, the show introduces William, a prisoner who was brought to the hospital. He told the doctors and nurses why he was in prison, even though he was not required to tell them. He had murdered five women. When he told Meredith that he was in pain even after he had been given morphine, she gave him extra morphine even when the other staff refused.

In episode 12, William's condition worsens, but Dr. Shepherd is adamant that William does not deserve to die in the hospital. Meredith thinks that William should be able to do whatever he chooses, and since she is his doctor she supports his wishes. She informs the patient that in order to kill himself, his brain is already exposed, so he just has to hit his head on the bed rail which will cause his brain to bleed and swell. When Meredith is questioned about her reasons for this, she states that "I'm the type of person who feels bad for serial killers."

In episode 13, William has attempted to kill himself by doing what Meredith instructed him to do. When his alarms started going off, Meredith turned them off and then prevented others from stopping him from bleeding out. Before William's attempt, Meredith went to find Bailey to see if she would consider him for an organ transplant. Once Bailey found out who this patient was, she immediately shot her down. As William was in excruciating pain, Meredith asked him if he wanted Dr. Shepherd paged to come and help him. William said no, but when Christina came in, he said that he wanted to be saved. Meredith continued to follow what her patient had told her, she told others that she was "following my patient's wishes." After Dr. Shepherd saved William, he laughed at Meredith and said that he was just playing her, Meredith didn't let that comment get to her. Once William had recovered from his surgery, he was sent back to prison and his execution was scheduled. He asked Meredith to come to his execution, and she agreed to. When the day of William's execution came, Meredith did go to watch it. Derek Shepherd met her afterward and asked her why she went to his execution. Meredith's response resembles the kind of nurse that I aspire to be, she said "I wanted to show him compassion, that's the reason I went...and it was horrible."

I want to be the kind of nurse that proves to people that they are all worthy of compassion. My patients' past will not change the level of care and compassion that I will show to them.

SOME People Make Me Lose Faith in this World

If you are one of my Instagram followers, you might be looking forward to this post. To make it easier to identify, I have used the same picture for both locations, and will post this same image on Instagram when this post is up.

So here's why SOME people make me lose faith in this world.

I get done with classes early on Fridays, so I agreed to do some grocery shopping for my mom after class. I was at Aldis in Tomah. I had been e-mailing my academic adviser about my schedule, and she asked if she could call me to talk things through. I agreed and gave her my cell phone number. Shortly after sending, she called me and we spent a little over six minutes on the phone. During that time, I got a phone call. When I glanced at it, I thought it said "Mom," so I decided that I would wait and call her back when I was done talking with my adviser. Once my adviser hung up, I hit "redial" and my phone started calling "Farm." I was confused so I hung up and checked my recent calls, it showed that the farm had called me. I wasn't sure what was up so I called the farm and my grandma answered and asked if I was okay. When I said yes, she kept asking, and then she asked if I was in trouble or needed money. I again assured her that I was okay and she said she had gotten a call from someone saying I had been in a car accident with a rental car and needed $4000 right away. "I" asked her not to tell anyone about it. They wanted her to go to Sam's Club to send money, but she told them that she doesn't drive in La Crosse. Once they heard that, they dropped the cash amount to $2000 and told her that she could get two gift cards from Walmart and put $1000 on each and that would work just fine. She had been on the phone with them for about 45 minutes, and she explained the situation to my grandpa. "It sounds like a scam to me," he replied, but grandma insisted that she needed to help me, so he agreed to drive her. Within the couple of minutes that I missed her call, she and my grandpa were getting ready to head to Walmart. Luckily, I called back just in time and saved her a lot of money. Once we hung up, she called the cops and told them what had happened and gave them the phone number that she had been given.

These strangers almost cost my grandparents $2000. It's money that they really could not afford to just give up. For me, it was terrifying because I would have blamed myself forever if the phone call with my professor would have cost them all that money. You see, small family farming does not make you rich, and they cannot afford to just throw money away. I am so thankful that I was able to call her back and stop her from going to Walmart. The people who come up with these scams are just horrible. They prey on the elderly because they know that grandparents will drop everything to help their grandchildren. We are just lucky that this happened and we were able to catch it. We have discussed the situation with everyone in the family and agreed that we would not keep secrets from each other. Spread the word about this new phone scam and save your grandparents from having this kind of experience!

Quick Update

I have about half an hour until my next class, and it's been awhile since my last post so here's a quick update on where life is at right now...

My classes are going great. Gerontology clinical is done. I have one test left before the "big tests" during finals week. I have two papers, two group projects, and two presentations due before the end of the semester. Gotta keep on truckin'.

I have registered for some of my classes next semester. Due to scheduling issues throughout the nursing program, a lot of people are not able to register for every class that they need. Right now I am registered for two classes, and one clinical section. I am waiting on openings in a lab, and a different clinical. One of the classes that I need doesn't currently fit into my schedule, but I can't take the other section offered because there are no open spots in the class that it would clash with. (I know that is wordy and probably doesn't make sense, but that is how I feel.) Right now, I'm just waiting out finals week and hoping people drop classes or change their schedules!

Work is going. One of my coworkers leaves for a month-long vacation in the beginning of December. Hopefully my schedule stays pretty consistent and I don't get scheduled for back-to-back weekends. Also, this weekend is opening gun-deer weekend and guess where I'll be? ...working. Oh well, we all have to make sacrifices sometimes, right?

Speaking of work, Hintzy Photography is getting some more publicity as I had the opportunity to take pictures at a gender reveal party for my very dear friend and his girlfriend. They will be having a little girl in March of 2018!

That's all for now, class is about to start!

Did You Know... 20 Facts About Me!

Since my last post was like a general introduction of myself, I figured I would switch things up, but still follow the "introduction" thing, so here's 20 facts about me!

1.  I am a list maker.

*If something needs to get done, I put it on a list.  If I don't, it ends up slipping my mind.

2.  I am a HUGE procrastinator!

*I've been working on trying to stop this, but I haven't been too successful yet.  However, I still get things done -- ON TIME!

3.  I am a "People Person."

*I'm the kind of person that is always there for you, no matter what happens or has happened.  It can be really hard at times, but I'd rather see people happy than upset with no one to turn to.

4.  I like being outdoors.

*I enjoy hunting and fishing and walking through the woods.  I like driving the four wheeler through the trails on our land and exploring the area.  Some day I hope to have my own home in the country so I can raise my kids doing the same things that I got to do.

5.  I would rather listen than talk.

*You can learn so much about a person from just listening to them talk.  I've had people tell me that they are more comfortable telling me things because they just think I listen better.  I think it's a trait I got from my mom since she always inquires about the lives of people she met.

6.  I am a big supporter of goals and dreams.

*Ask anyone I hang out with, if you have a (practical) goal or dream, I will support you and help you work toward your goal or dream.

7.  I really enjoy photography.

*I got my first professional camera, a Canon Rebel T3, in high school.  It has been my baby ever since.  I've taken pictures at weddings, birthday parties, sporting events, pre-prom, as well as various locations around Wisconsin.  I've also been asked to take senior pictures for three seniors this year!

8.  I applied to be in a pageant, and got accepted.

*In high school I was looking into pageants, and wanted to do Miss Sparta pageant.  However, I didn't go to the Sparta School District anymore, so it would have been hard to find information on it.  So, I started looking into opportunities available, and I found one.  I ended up not applying for it, but last year I got a letter from them, with an application.  I ended up filling it out and sending it in not expecting much, but eventually I got an acceptance packet.  I never ended up actually entering the pageant because it would have cost me thousands of dollars, but I'm still pretty proud that I got accepted.

9.  I flew on a plane for the first time this past summer.

*I grew up on a farm, so the travel opportunities mainly consisted of traveling across the state to see family.  I got invited to my great uncle's wedding in Las Vegas, so my grandma, dad, great aunt, and great cousin loaded ourselves onto a plane and flew down for the weekend.

10. I am a second semester sophomore nursing student.

*I know you're asking, how does that work out?  It's fall, first, third, fifth semester for most.  Last year, I tried to pass a class flying solo (like most of my other classes), but the teacher wasn't very clear, and later on she told me I was studying wrong.  So, I missed passing by 0.22% and ended up retaking the class the next semester, hence making me a second semester sophomore, instead of a first semester junior.

11.  I still consider myself a junior, as do many others.

*I'm going into my third year at Viterbo, so I still consider myself a junior.  There are many people in my situation who also consider themselves juniors as well.  Next year I'll be a senior, and the following first semester I will be a "super senior."

12.  I love cooking and baking.

*If you've seen my Pinterest, you can confirm that I do.  I have many food boards, cookies, easy lunches, quick breakfasts, college snacks, etc...  When I have free time I like to look up a recipe and get the ingredients for it then plan to make it.

13.  I'm a farm girl at heart.

*You know how you can take a city girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl?  Well, you can't take the farm out of the girl either.  I love going back to the farm to help out and see all the new babies.

14.  I love to experience new things.

*I'm a thrill seeker.  I like to keep doing things.  I like to be engaged.  I'd rather go out for a walk instead of sitting around.  So much can be learned from going out and I get bored just sitting around.

15.  I love candles.

*I like to just burn them and let the smell spread throughout the house.  They just make things more homey and relaxing.

16.  I like to document everything.

*If something exciting or important happens, I like to keep a record of it.  I take pictures to remember moments.  My Instagram account has 1640 posts, and I've been on a mission to post at least one picture each day.

17.  I like arts and crafts.

*I don't have much time for arts and crafts, so I forgot how much I actually enjoy them until I recently made my boyfriend a birthday present.  He's a big fan of America and everything red white and blue, so I made a house decoration using red white and blue paint and his last name.  That re-sparked my love for arts and crafts

18.  I love kids.

*In the future, I hope to work in a neonatal intensive care unit or pediatric unit so I get to work with kids.  I'd also enjoy going to a hospital and holding the babies that don't have parents there.

19.  I love college.

*College has given me one of my best friends, and I will forever be grateful.  It has also given me many experiences and memories that I will never forget.

20.  This list was HARD to make!

*I'm not good at spouting off random facts about myself.  I spent an hour between classes coming up with this list.

About Me!

I'm pretty sure that I had an "About Me" post when I first made my blog, but that's probably been well over a year ago, and maybe almost two years ago, so I'm going to start over and re-introduce myself!

My name is Courtney, and I am 20 years old, I turn 21 in December. I live in Tomah, Wisconsin with my boyfriend and I work in Sparta.  I attend college at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin where I am studying to become a registered nurse.  If you're from the La Crosse area, you know why I chose Viterbo for nursing.  😉

My boyfriend, Dusty, and I have been together for about six months now.  A longer description of our relationship will come in a later post, but for now I'll give a "general summary."  Dusty and I originally met on Facebook because of one mutual friend, and we eventually added each other on Snapchat.  Long story short, I agreed to meet him at his house for a New Year's Eve party, and the rest is history...even though I didn't agree to date until about three months later.  😜

I currently work in home health care, but I plan to get a job as a CNA soon before my certification expires.  I love my current job and plan to stay at it throughout college, and possibly even after as long as I still live in the area.  As for CNA experience, there is a nursing home, a hospital, and a VA medical center in town that I plan to apply to.

As for nursing school, it is exhausting.  The classes are hard, the scheduling is crazy, and the amount of work is insane.  This fall semester, I begin my clinical experience, so that is something to look forward to.  "Clinical" means that I get to go out into the health care setting and actually act as a nurse.  We have class time where we learn the skills, and then we get into a small group with an instructor, and then we get to go to the setting and practice the skills.  This first semester we get to go into a gerontology setting, and I am so excited!  I can't wait to hear the resident's stories and learn from what experiences they have been through.  As for why I chose Viterbo, there's just something about "those Viterbo nurses" and, as students, we hear it every day from our professors.  The skills that we possess that many "other" nurses do not, are love, compassion, and empathy.  I, personally, cannot wait to get out into the health care setting to care for others.

As for this blog, it's a rather hit and miss kind of thing.  I'm a very dedicated student, so I don't end up posting much during the school year because I keep my grades at the top of my priority list.  I also end up picking up a lot of hours during the summer, so I don't end up posting much then either.  Like I said, hit or miss.  I'd say check in every two or three months for a new post, and you should be all caught up.  😊

That's about all I can think of to say about myself right now.  It's like the first day of classes and every teacher thinks it will be a great idea to do an "ice-breaker" activity with personal introductions and suddenly you're like "Oh crap! Who am I?!"

Why I QUIT Beachbody Coaching

A couple months ago, I decided to quit being a Beachbody coach. To be honest, it wasn't a very tough decision to make. And here's why...

1) I hadn't used Beachbody on Demand regularly since the fall of 2016, when the amount of homework was still light and manageable. As the semester progressed, the workload got heavier, and I lost time for fitness. I was also working quite a bit, and getting home at 5:20pm. Once I got home I still had to tackle all of the homework.

2) It was hard to consistently drink the Shakeology (that I was paying $100 per month for). It's been a couple of months since I got my last bag, and I still haven't opened it. I also have two unopened boxes and one opened box left. Some of the flavors just didn't work for me. I personally liked the Vegan Tropical Strawberry, but I didn't like the Vegan Chocolate at all. I ordered a bag of the Greenberry before I canceled my membership, and have yet to try it, so I hope it's good!

3) I didn't have any coaches or participants below me, so it wasn't working out for me financially. I was dropping over $115 each month, and not getting reimbursed for it. Being a college student, I didn't really have the money to keep throwing at this. I kept posting on social media in an attempt to get people to sign up under me, but none of my followers were interested and all of my personal friends were in the same financial situation.

Some day I may decide to return to Beachbody, but I'm going to work towards saving my money and putting it towards things that I actually need.

Where Am I Now??

The last time I posted, it was January 2017.  Not much has changed since then, but the things that have changed have been BIG things!

On Friday, March 10, I was no longer single. I had a weekend planned in Arena, WI and the guy I was talking to, Dusty, sat me down and told me that we were dating. I didn't complain and I didn't argue, and so far it's all paid off. We're just over two months into the relationship and I'm happier than ever. As a matter of fact, I moved in with Dusty this past weekend. It seems crazy, but it also feels right.

As for the rest of the people that I had talked about, the guy that had knee surgery has recovered well and we talk occasionally. I have not heard from his brother, Tucker, since sometime in late March.
When we last spoke, he was getting back together with his girlfriend, who is pregnant with his child. The girlfriend didn't like me, so he blocked me on all of the social media that we have in common. Sometimes I wonder how he is doing, how she is doing, and how the baby is. She graduates high school this month, and the baby is due in September.
Every now and then I hear from the bull rider, he's living in Tomah again so I might end up seeing him around.
I haven't seen many of the other people I met on New Years Eve. Dusty's mom, boyfriend, and his family have moved to Tennessee. His roommate continues to live in the same house, and I only see him and his girlfriend around. The others, I run into around Walmart sometimes.

I got my first tattoo on March 13. My friend, Livy, and I decided to get matching tattoos on a whim. I got mine on my left thigh, and she got hers on her right thigh. It's a stethoscope bent into a heart surrounded by the words "Strength, Love, Courage, and Caring." We are both studying to be nurses, so we wanted a tattoo that would symbolize our commitment to the nursing profession.

On a final note, and I will expand upon this in another post sometime, I have finished my sophomore year. I have four semesters of college under my belt, and five more semesters to go. This has been a great undertaking, and I cannot wait to finally have my BSN in my hands.

2017 - The Year for Change

Here we are, one month into 2017, and my life has been full of big changes. I walked into 2017 single, and I've continued to be single. I've made many new friends. My parent's divorce was finalized. My great uncle passed away. My ex-boyfriend's grandfather passed away. I've been taking less hours at work.

I've been single since the middle of August 2016, and I have to admit I'm enjoying the freedom. I don't have to confirm plans with anyone other than family, and I don't have to explain my actions to anyone if I don't want to. Being single has definitely led me into some mistakes, but it's also led me to some great friendships. I spent the last day of 2016 traveling to Spring Green, WI to see a friend who had knee surgery the day before, then went down by Stoughton, WI to look at a truck with his brother and dad. After that adventure, I headed to Seneca, WI to watch my friend ride bulls. The day didn't end there, then I hopped in my car and headed to Tomah, WI to meet up with a friend that I'd only started talking to the week prior. I spent the end of 2016 and beginning of 2017 with people that I had never met before, and I'm glad I did.

   

I went to court with my parents on Wednesday, December 21, 2016 to listen to the trial on their divorce. Everything was done in about 20 minutes and it was finalized on January 1, 2017. It was a great New Years Eve gift.

My great uncle passed away just days shy of his birthday. The ceremony was beautiful, with many stories that family recalled. I was holding back tears most of the day. Since he served our country, there was a 21 gun salute, and Taps was played. He was buried with his wife's ashes, and everyone in the family was given a rose from the bouquet that covered his casket.

In December, I got news that my ex-boyfriend's grandfather was in the hospital and not doing well. I remembered the day that I found out that he had cancer, and how optimistic he was through his fight and the times that I saw him. I wish I could have been there more towards the end, but I never knew if I was welcome anymore. Some day I intend to get a tattoo of the word "Hope" with a cancer ribbon in his memory.

Due to my class schedule this semester, I had had to cut back on my hours at work. I have classes Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:05am-10:00am and 12:20pm-1:15pm. Tuesday and Thursday I have classes 9:30am-10:50am and 11:00am-12:20pm. With a 45 minute drive to school, and hours at work only being between 7:00am and 5:00pm, I don't get to pick up much. I am currently scheduled most Tuesdays and Thursdays from about 1:30pm to 5:00pm. With less hours comes less money, so I've been having to work on saving and tracking my expenses more.