I have become a nurse

Last Thursday marked one year that I walked across the stage to accept my pin and graduate nursing school. I feel like this year has absolutely flown by, and in another few months I'll graduate again as a registered nurse. In the last year I have done, seen, and learned so many things; too  many to name, but here are a few things I am greatful that I've experienced along the way:

I have learned how to get what I want from doctors.

I have learned to listen to the older nurses, even if they aren't nice.

I have learned to go with my gut, always.

I have learned to check, double check, and recheck my meds.

I have learned that two hands are better than one, and four are better than two.

I have witnessed families coming apart, and families coming together.

I have cared for people who have no one in the world.

I have cared for the alcoholic, the drug addict, and the mentally ill.

I have cried happy tears, and sad ones.

I have had days where I questioned myself on end, and days where I didn't.

I have received praise for my work, and reprimand for my mistakes.

I have seen a mother welcome her child into the world, and a daughter tell her mother goodbye.

I have learned that it's okay when you don't know everything, and it doesn't hurt to ask.

I have pounded chests.

I have learned what teamwork really means.

I have pushed meds.

I have been called names, good ones and bad ones.

I have seen people who are at their worst, still give their best.

I have had people lift me up, when it should have been the other way around.

I have called codes, called ambulances, and called families.

I have held a patient as they took their first breaths, and another as they took their last.

I have become a nurse.

Campus Book Rentals (Sponsored)

As most of you know (if you've been around a little while) I'm currently back in college (to get my ASN then on to BSN/CNP). You know what is a given when you're in college? Spending money. Specifically on books. Last semester alone, I spent over $600 JUST FOR BOOKS. Granted, these books will last me all three semesters of the program I'm in and, according to my instructor, I'll only have to buy one more book my last semester. Still, $600 is a nice chunk of change that I could have spent elsewhere, amirite?

That's where Campus Book Rentals comes in. They are a company that allows you to rent text books at a significantly cheaper price than you would pay if you bought them outright from school. Now I know you can find books pretty cheap on Amazon, but when you try to sell those books back, you get offered less money than it took in gas to go to the book store in the first place! The awesome thing about Campus Book Rentals is that you don't have to worry about selling your books back, because you've rented them. At a great price! Some other awesome things Campus Book Rentals offers:

 

-40-90% off of bookstore prices

-free shipping both ways

-free to highlight in the text books (my favorite!)

-flexible renting periods

-& they donate to Operation Smile with each rental

Operation smile is "the biggest volunteer based medical charity providing free cleft surgeries" for children. This organization is so amazing. Did you know that every three minutes a child is born with cleft lip or cleft palate? And that 1 in 10 of those children will not make it to their first birthday? As a nurse, I've seen cases of cleft lip and palate, and it can be a very debilitating condition if not treated promptly. The people that volunteer with this organization are really amazing people and I love that Campus Book Rentals donates with every book rental.

(need picture)

If you are interested in donating to Operation Smile, please go here. If you would like to know  more about the organization, read about what they do here or get some more information about cleft lip and cleft palate on their FAQ page.

If you still don't have enough reasons to head over to their website right now I've got one more for you. Maybe you're already out of college, or like me, you didn't hear about this opportunity soon enough  to rent your books through this company. Through their new program, RentBack, you can rent your personal books that you no longer need to new students. And there is no limit to the amount of times you can rent a book out. You can bet after I graduate, I will definitely be looking in to this, because I want to make that $600 back!

What I learned from Disney

I actually posted this exact same a similar post to this one before, but that was back when only my mom read my blog. I'm sure she doesn't mind seeing this again.

 

As a child, my mom got all of the Disney movies ever made. I loved each and every one of them, along with Barney but that's irrelevant. I seriously doubt I could choose just one favorite. Disney movies are great for singing (dancing?) along with, and are especially humorous when you re-watch them in your twenties (some killer insinuations), and you can learn something from just about all of them:

Aristocats 1970

"Ladies don't start fights, but they can finish them." --Marie



The Lion King 1954

"Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it: you can either run from it...or you can learn from it." --Rafiki

When in doubt, dress in drag and do the hula.

Pocahontas 1995

"Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one." --Grandmother Willow

Finding Nemo 2003

After watching this, I became bilingual...

And I wasn't afraid to try new things

Aladdin 1992

It is totally acceptable to have a tiger as a pet.

Lying really doesn't get you anywhere.

And last, but certainly not least, The Little Mermaid taught me all about picking up men.

"Don't underestimate the importance of body language!" --Ursula

2. "You gotta bat ya eyes, like dis. And you gotta pucka ya lips, like dis." --Sebastian, expert kisser and eye-batter. I practiced this one in the mirror.

And what forks were really intended for

 What did you learn from Disney movies?

Things that make me uncomfortable

I've seen a lot of pretty faces in blog land doing this Blog Every Day in May challenge that Jenni has come up with. Even though I missed the first two days I decided I still wanted to join in on the fun. She says there are no rules so that means I don't have to follow the prompts every day. Which I like. Because sometimes we like writing about the things that we want to write about. Right? Okay. But today was a good one: Things that make me uncomfortable. There are a lot of things that make a lot of people uncomfortable. Some people don't like it when a stranger stares at them for too long. Or when someone is standing a little too close. Sometimes its when Grandma asks that question... "So when are you and (husband's name) thinking about having kids?" But you want to know what reeeally  makes me uncomfortable? When your MIL and FIL see your undies. Yep.

If you didn't know, I live with my "in laws" (no, Derek and I are not married) but that's what I refer to them as, because it's just easier. It started off being a temporary stay while I looked for an affordable apartment to move in to (the one I was currently living in was WAY too much) but then I hit some bumps with the fine print in my then-lease, and had to pay for an apartment I wasn't living in for two more months. So I stayed longer. Then Derek decided that I should just stay until we buy a house. Easy peasy. We're both saving money by not having to pay rent. The only thing.... it's SO AKWARD. Things that make me uncomfortable while living with my in-laws:

1. I can't walk around in my underwear. When I was living by myself this was a daily thing. I hate wearing pants so there was no point to dirtying a pair up if I'm just by myself at home. Nope, not anymore though. Fully clothed, all the time now.

2. Getting midnight snacks wakes the dog up. Then Derek's dad comes out to see if everything is okay. Yep... just have the munchies at 2 am. Now I've seen you in your jammies. Cool beans.

3. His mom does my laundry. This is where the underwear thing comes in to play. I've tried and tried to tell her she doesn't have to do my laundry. But every day when I get home from work, there's a nice stack of clean clothes on the living room couch. Now, she's a woman. She understands that us girls gotta have cute undies. But it's another thing for your future FIL to see them. Its just not right.

4. I have to be super clean. If you know me, you know that sometimes my room has a little "clutter" by clutter I mean, shoes, clothes, and the contents of my pockets can be found on the floor, bed, dresser, or night stand. I can't help it. Its in my nature (thanks KK). But one day I came home to find all of my "clutter" gone. It was strange knowing someone was cleaning up after me so now I make a point to keep everything neat. (Which I guess isn't such a bad thing)

5. No wine with supper. Not that I'm an alcoholic or anything, but I do enjoy a glass of wine every now and then. Not anymore, its a no-no to drink "just because I feel like it" while I'm here.

 

I would like to say though, that I am eternally greatful for these wonderful, awesome people for giving me a roof over my head, free of charge. And even if it gets a little awkward sometimes, I still love them with all my heart.

 

Now for our favorite part of Fridays. It's time for #backthatazzup with Whitney!
 

 

 Side story: one night in college it was "DJ Night" at a local bar where they usually had live bands. Let me just say that this brought out the real hard-core gangsters. And when this song came on, each and every one of them were on the dance floor, literally jumping up and down and "throwing up" whatever they were reppin'. And I was in the middle of it. I'll say that it was one of the more scary moments of my life. Also one of the most fun. For 6 minutes and 13 seconds, I felt like a real life Gangsta.

 

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I also have this super exciting giveaway for you guys! 

Today, I, along with six other fabulous bloggers, am co-hosting the second month of the Favorite Things Giveaway, put on by Lindsey and Jaime! Basically every month we let you pick your favorite thing to win. Some months we will give you a copule options, a them, or leave it totally up to you!

This month is centered around Mother's Day. If you haven't already gotten your mother something, you have the opportunity to pick out up to $80 worth of Pandora jewelry. How awesome is that?!

 

1 /2 /3 /4 /5 /6 /7 /8 /9

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you're interested in co-hosting next month's giveaway, you can get more information here.
 

Living with boys

I've lived with a lot of boys. Don't get the wrong idea here, I'm talking about roommates. I had two male roommates and one girl roommate who's boyfriend pretty much lived with us.

Two of my roommates before a football game.

Here's some benefits of living with the opposite sex:

You've always got someone to mow the lawn. Even though it doesn't particularly bother me to mow grass, most guys will feel un-masculine if they are laying around while a girl is outside mowing the grass. Again, I say most guys.

They will help you lift heavy things. I'm no weakling. But when you're moving a couch, table, or bed, it's nice to have a bigger, stronger pair of hands.

They don't mind supplying beer. Obviously in college, you're going to be drinking every now and then. And there's going to be a few house parties. I don't know if it was just my set of guys, but it was generally understood that they bought the beer.

You've got someone that will appreciate your cooking. If we're talking about your typical college guy, they've probably never been too far away from Mama and will genuinely like anything you cook for them that isn't ramen noodles.

They can act like big brother at the bar. Got some creep trying to get too friendly while you're out? Never fear, your roommate's here. They may even literally step between you and said creep.

They have cute friends. While I firmly believe that if you start off as just roommates, it should always be that way, it doesn't mean you can't flirt with their friends. (Obvs I'm speaking of pre-Derek times)

Me and my other roomie on my 21st Birthday.

And just like every coin has a heads and a tials, here's some not so great things about living with guys:

They will ruin your laundry. Your favorite dress will shrink five inches because they just threw everything in the dryer. And your white shirt will turn pink at some point.

If you do something once, you are expected to do it always. Cleaning the tub? Check. Doing the dishes? Check. Mopping, sweeping, vacuuming? Triple check. Basically don't ever clean up after them or you will always have to.

You are going to smell some funk. We all know it. Boys stink. Literally. They sweat when they do anything. And if they're like most men, they don't do their laundry right away. So the funky clothes get left in their hamper and you have to make them keep their door shut.

They will compare you to their mother. This doesn't need an explanation.

You can't walk around naked. Or in your undies. We all know we do it. From the bathroom to the bedroom. Heck, maybe even in the kitchen. But when living with males that is a no-no.

So there you have it guys. All in all, living with guys was a blast. We were always grilling, laughing, playing video games and having a good time together. And even though we went through some rough patches, I wouldn't trade my experience for anything.

Happy Friday and cheers to the beginning of the weekend!

 

Linking up with Whitney.

Sometimes things don't go as we planned

Like yesterday... I planned to have a travel post for Travel Tuesday. I planned to go to spin class in the morning before work. I planned to be at work by 10 and leave by 12 (I volunteered to do some side work). I planned to not get sunburned. And yet....here I am, sunburned with no post yesterday. But you know what? That's okay! It's okay that I didn't go to spin class because I ran over 2 miles in 20 minutes (which is a huge deal). And it's okay that I almost ran out of gas and didn't even get to work until 11:30, because I still finished what I had to do.

I came home yesterday to realize that my post that was supposed to be scheduled, wasn't. And, yeah, I could have just hit publish, but instead I made dinner for me and D. Then we spent some QT playing COD and watching Tosh.0 and having snugs until bedtime. Which was way better than blogging if you ask me. This post doesn't really have a point to it except my my blog is getting into too much of a routine.

I started this blog on a whim, thinking "What the hell, just do it Kalyn" and I did just do it and it has been the most wonderful experience. I'm connecting with girls all over the US and some that are even a little local and that one day in the future, I might get to meet and become real life best friends with. I can use this blog as an outlet for my frustrations, as a place to document my adventures (though I don't have many), as a place to make people laugh, or as a place to just write.

What I'm trying to say here is that even when some things don't go our way, we still need take a step back and appreciate the little things. And the big things. Because even though I'm sunburnt, I still have the opportunity to lay out in the sun on an off day. And I still have the ability to come home and cook for the man I love. And I still have this lil ole blog, which is growing day by day. And for that, I have you to thank. My readers, followers, lurkers. Whoever you are, thanks for visiting my slice of interwebz today and every day. I hope everyone is having a most fabulous Wednesday!

Here's a kitten to remind you that it's hump day! Half way to the weekend!

Linking up with Shannon.

Things I will never understand about men

So we all know that men are from mars and women are from venus. OR most likely we're from two totally separate universes, agreed? Okay. So in my short 22 years of life I have come to terms with the fact that there are just some things I will NEVER understand about the opposite sex.

Oh Fabio....

ONE. Why do they walk around like they have a stick up their ass... And their chest puffed out like a pigeon. You go to the gym, we get it. So do I, but I don't walk around permanently flexing all my muscles.

TWO. Why its okay for them to fart but not women? I blame this one on my dad and brother, because my whole life they have accepted my bodily functions with love and laughter. However, they forgot to warn me that the other men in my life wouldn't appreciate it as much. As in they would be totally grossed out and they get all squirmy like when most girls see a spider. Seriously, get over it.

THREE. Why don't they smile in pictures? I don't think I'll ever understand this one. It just blows my mind. What's so hard about smiling?

FOUR. Why do they grunt so much? And I'm not talking about at the gym, 'cause even I do that. Playing video games, driving your truck, when they see another man, working on their car/boat/fourwheeler, dancing, doing business in the bathroom. Really, it doesn't require that much noise.

Speaking of business in the bathroom...
FIVE. Why does it take so long to poop? When I'm droppin' it like its hot on the John, I'm not trying to sit in there for 30 minutes wallowing in the smell. So does it really take them that long to push one out? Do they take a short ciesta? Chat with their boiz? We'll never know.

So there you have it, five of the many things I don't (and probably never will) understand about the opposite sex.