Spring Quarter Blues

Pre-nursing Hump

I am in Spring Quarter.. and I officially have the pre-nursing blues.  I have one more pre requisite course after this quarter for my sciences and then I am done.. ready to apply to Nursing school.  2 years have almost passed since I began and it will be one quarter more than two years from starting pre-reqs before I will get in.  If I get in.. and I still have many miles to travel to get in.  Once I get in, IF I get in, then I have three more years until my BSN is completed.  I will be 46 when that happens.  What was I thinking? 

Things have changed, I was supposed to be able to apply for Fall, but they changed the rules.. just last week, so now I am having to do a “dead” quarter.  The up side.. it won’t really be a dead quarter since I have Honors course work I can do and I can study for the TEAS exam, and I can maybe breathe a little more.. and look for a job that I can do really, really part time, and I can catch up on some housework that won’t get done for 3 years.  I can spend some time with the kid since he will be a Senior in high school.  I could do my laundry that quarter, that might be cool.

I joke.. a bit, but this quarter has me acting like a Wanker a bit.  I have slacked in my studying, I bombed a math test, and I have even not studied at all for one test and got a B.. and I am ashamed of myself, but yet, I continue to act like a wanker.  I have however, vowed to stop being a wanker and to turn over a fresh leaf before it is too late.  I am two exams down in Physiology and Stats, so it is not too late.  I have three left.  I did get an A on my first Physiology exam.. but I care about that class since it is the one that counts for nursing school.  Honors nutrition and Statistics aren’t really giving me any excitement, so I will have to make up some.  This blog is about to transition into a blog about Physiology, and then Microbiology, and then some more Chemistry and a little Sociology for good measure.  I may throw in a bit of World Music over the summer as well.

After Fall quarter.. I  really hope that this blog turns into the adventures of a non- traditional nursing student.

This was taken last Sunday on my first hike of the season with a very good friend of mine.  It was a fabulous day and reminded me of why I live where I live!

RIP My beautiful horse

The beautiful Beau.. who is now with my family in heaven and our dog Jake.

Hello everyone.. I have been absent for two reasons.  One very sad, and the other very important.  I finished up last quarter with Anatomy, and I am now in Physiology.  Unfortunately, the night before finals, my beautiful Beau horse was presenting with colic like symptoms.  We opted for surgery, but it was not colic, it was a cyst that had lodged just right in his gut.  They couldn't save him so I lost my beautiful horse.  It has been a very very sad time for me and I have pretty much thrown myself into school now.  This quarter it is Honors Nutrition, Statistics, Weightlifting, and Physiology.  If I can't ride, I can at least focus on school.

I really enjoy weightlifting and nutrition.  I just learned today that Palm oil is mostly grown on plantations in tropical climates that are not being sustained.  Only 6% of Palm oil is grown sustainably.  Palm oil is in 50% of all processed foods.. makes you think. 

Honors nutrition class has really opened my eyes.  I may even start posting some stuff from that class and my weightlifting class.

I just miss my horse though, and I am doing everything I can to not dwell too much.  I have cried and cried.    I cry even though I believe that my father is looking after my horse.

My husband though is building a beautiful box to put his ashes in.  We had him privately cremated so that he can be with me wherever I go.. I know to some it is a little creepy, but for me, I needed to do that, so that he wasn't just gone.

If anyone is still reading this... have a fabulous rest of the week!

Chemistry Summer Term.. what was I thinking

So I have been overly consumed with school since last fall.  Like taking 17 credits last quarter.. and now.. I am really seriously crazy.

I am in the middle of.. as in tomorrow is my mid term of Chemistry and Intermediate Algebra.. I am a glutton for punishment...

On the horse front.. all is well at our house.. Beau has turned into a Western Pleasure/ Trail Pony.. and it is lovely.. absolutley lovely. 

We were going to show this August, but I have my Chemistry final on the Monday after the show.. so that is not going to happen.  Instead.. we are going to take a Griswold style vacation.

Macgyver.. Paco and myself are all driving to Minnesota.. Yep.. Driving.. to Minnesota from Wa in August.. in a small car.. with no cruise control..straight through.. Macgyver doesn't want to stop.  He just wants to drive all the way there, taking turns... how fun will that be.

Like I said.. I am a glutton.. but oh.. the pictures I will take.. and the fun we will have when we get there.  We are going to visit my bestest friend in the entire world.. and some family and some other very good friends.  It is going to be great to go to my other home!!!  I cannot wait!

In other news.. dogs are wonderful, my #1 son has graduated from Massage therapy school and is moving North about an hour in a couple of months to continue his education and to spread his wings a little.. I have a small tear in my eye.. a small one.. because when he moves.. I am taking over his room and turning it into my study cave...

I also have to open my file at school to declare my intent to apply to the nursing program.. and I hear that they are changing up the pre reqs and the admission criteria.. in which case I will cry a little and get on with it.


So back to Chem.. I Heart it.. I really do.. especially Lab.. but OMG is 12 weeks crammed into 7.5 weeks and the norm is going 5 days a week.. we only go 2 and have to do the rest on our own.. it is a little brutal in the amount of work department.. but so far.. I have an A- in Chem.. in Summer.. so I am going to sign off here and get back to my studying for the midterm.. and hopefully be better about updating this..

Ciao for now..

A whole lotta School going on right now

I think I mentioned that this quarter in school I am crazy.. I have decided to carry 17 credits because well, I need to keep on with the pre-reqs for my program and I wanted to get a new skill as well.

That new skill is Phlebotomy.  I love it.  This is week two of class and I have drawn blood several times already.  All of the fear I had of poking someone with a needle is going away.

I cannot express enough how wonderful my class is.  We have the best group of students and amazing instructors.  I can honestly say that each and every person in my class will make an excellent health care provider.  I am also taking an intermediate algebra class and intro to psych.

Both of these classes are pretty great.  I am thinking that I like psych even more than I thought I did.  We have a pretty great professor, which always helps and the subject matter is more physiological in nature at this point, so my earlier Anatomy and Physiology classes are helping.  I really enjoy learning about the human brain and about cause and effect, modeling and sensory/perception. 

Math for me has always been a struggle.  I fought the math and the math won almost all the way through school.  Going back to school after twenty years, I was fearful of my math history, and I didn't think I would ever get to a place where I would actually love math.  I am a linguistic lover, not a number lover.  That said... wow.. I sure wish I felt this way about math 20 years ago...  I can honestly say, something clicked for me last quarter and I started to get it... really get it... and now?  Now I Lurrrvvee math.  I really like it.  There is something about the order and rules of it that appeal to my 40 something brain that didn't appeal to my younger self.  Weird, I know. 

I actually look forward to math homework now.. Absolutely CRAZY! 

Being a non-traditional student is an adventure in itself, but the thing I love most?  I love the connections I have made at college.  I have told both of my boys.. college is so different from high school.. even when you are older... It is very interesting.  My first go round with college I met some people, some of which I still know, but this time?  I cannot believe how many friendships I am making.  How many wonderful people there are out there who are trying to better themselves through education and new career choices.  How many lovely people who have had amazing life experiences who share the same classrooms.  And to my girls in my communication class group.. Super cool, overachievers, fabulous women, and I still talk with them..

College the second time around is one of the best things I have ever done for myself.. EVER.  I am so happy I did this!

Spring Break

So right now, I am in the middle of my spring break.
This next quarter will be the third full time quarter of my back to school to become a nurse journey.  This blog will probably change a bit, as I am a full time student now and that is really what is on my mind most of the time.
Studying, studying and a little more of that studying.

It is interesting going back to college at this point of my life.  I find that I adore school in a way I never have before.  Even the classes I used to dread, are not so scary.  I have been taking refresher math courses since starting last fall and this next quarter will be my first real math pre-req for nursing.  I am so excited.

More than that, I finally am taking a class where I get to practice a real skill.  I have finished my pre-requisites for Phlebotomy and will be taking the technician and externship class this quarter.  It will be crazy busy as I am also taking a psych class and math.. so I will have 17 credits in all, but I am really happy that I am moving along in this journey.

I also find it frustrating too.  There is so much competition for nursing school here in Washington, and most other states I would think as well.  I talk with my Best friend all the time as she is also going through this journey and we keep each other motivated as this is the toughest road I have been on. 

This road is not for everyone I know.  I want to do this because I have a burning desire to take care of people and to be in a position to help others.  I know I can do it, it is just something I wish I could have done 15 years ago.
As I prepare for school to start again, I find that I am enjoying the break, but wish school would hurry up and start.  Now in two weeks, I will probably be wishing for a break again as the work load intensifies.

Has anyone else gone back to school in their 40's and loved it as well?  Any one else make a career change that was so different from what you had been doing?  Was it fantastic or horrible?

I get my stack of books for next quarter on Monday, so I can't wait to see what I will be reading.. lol.. and I keep doing math everyday, so I will not lose the momentum of my new found math skills.

Update on Hurley and online classes?

So Hurley had the second surgery and we went to see him yesterday.  My sister, the baby, my youngest son and I drove down to visit.  He is doing so much better than he was.  I am so relieved.  After speaking to the vet this morning, I am even more encouraged, as she said he is putting weight on the back legs and they are much more optimistic that he is going in the right direction.  Fingers crossed, he will come home in the next couple of days.

He still has quite a long road and recovery ahead, but I am optimistic that we will stay going in the right direction.  Hubby and I are going to see him later today after I ride.

Here is a pic we took yesterday:

He has quite the fan club at the vet.

As for other things... I am taking online classes this quarter and I can't really decide if I really dislike online classes or if I just miss going to campus more than two days a week.  I have two online classes this quarter and one regular class.  I think that after this quarter, I will not take any more online classes if I can help it.  I don't find them nearly as engaging and I don't like not being able to see the instructor when I have a question..and it could just be my age talking.. I am just not as "comfortable" in the online classroom as I am in a traditional class.

Any one else try online classes and find them more difficult?

Happy Sunday everyone...

Bubba Started High School

No real news on the Real Estate Front.. Well there is actually but I am trying not to jinx things by talking about it.. sooo.. since we are ever all consumed with that topic these days.. and I am really trying to focus on something other than the fact that three months later, summer is over and my youngest has gone back to school while living in the trailer.. NOT what we had imagined!

Back to school.... he is in 9th Grade.  This is where things start to count.  Really count.  The fact that my baby is now in high school is really kind of freaking me out.  I have a grown child and one in high school.

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN??????  I swear I have been paying attention.  I don't feel old enough to have these boys who are now almost men... How can I reconcile that I still feel like I am playing at being a grown up sometimes and the fact that one of my babies is now a "grown up".. only in the legal sense.. otherwise he is still a clueless teenager.

Beautiful boys.. How I wish they were still little.  I will have to post my favorite pictures of them soon.. but alas.. everything that is not digital is still in storage.. so for now.. I will have to post a couple of pictures of them that I like..

 Paco pillow fighting with the camera

 

 Cody playing the guitar at my wedding a couple of years ago

Handsome man!

I really miss them being little, but I love the people they are becoming.. dumb teenage stuff and all.

High School will be interesting with the youngest.. he is VERY different from his brother..  and when I need to snuggle a little one.. I still have the bug:

Happy Thursday.. I am keeping my fingers crossed for good news today.