I lost a month... part 1

In the 6 1/2 years that I have had a blog I never once missed one month of posting... until last month! I don't even know what happened (but I know a lot happened) and I still feel like it still should be May. I feel like I lost an entire month! It was an extremely busy month, starting with my birthday and graduation from the Bachelor's in Nursing program at MSU. My parents came for the weekend to support me and we had a blast!

The morning after they arrived, my parents took me birthday shopping while we waited for Jared to be home from school. My sweet dad pushed Shad around in the stroller while my mom and I searched for a dress to wear for my graduation.

We ate lunch at McAlister's Deli

Then we drove up north to Mackinaw City and stayed in a beautiful hotel on the beach, but unfortunately it was still in the 30's outside and ice was still floating in the lake. Still beautiful nonetheless.

The next morning we took the ferry over to Mackinac (also pronounced Mackinaw-something about the French pronouncing it that way but the English writing it the way it sounded....) Island. It was totally deserted, probably because the high for the day was 39 degrees! Most of the shops were closed, but we did go up and walk in the Grand Hotel.

It was super cold, and Shad wasn't too happy about it

                                      

Shad really loves his grandma and grandpa, and I love these pice of them!

The next day was my birthday and graduation. I could hear Shad in the audience the whole time saying, "Cars! Weeoo weeoo!" I love his sweet little voice!

My mom snapped this one of me and Shad walking down the stairs and him holding my "diploma"

My awesome supportive parents. Love them!

The two loves of my life

After graduation my parents took us to a local sushi place. I cannot get enough sushi rolls! 

Then that night we had pizzas on the Traeger and cake and ice cream to finish up the celebrations. I was so spoiled and felt so loved all day!

This is the end of part 1... I don't have the energy to post anymore tonight!

Hats

Today I feel like complaining a little bit about my many {figurative} hats. They include:

Wife
Mom
Nurse
Student
Sole provider of income for our family
Accountant
Housekeeper
Cook
Sunday School teacher
Visiting teacher

All of these things combined keep me super duper busy. Sometimes almost to the point where I am about ready to throw in the towel. But those top two hats are what keep me going. I love my two boys more than anything in the world. Jared and I both graduate next May and then Jared will start getting some sort of income, so that gives me a small light at the end of this tunnel. {Then there will be the long tunnel of residency, but we will worry about that one when we come to it.}

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I am a busy woman these days. I may not be the best at any of these roles, (especially housekeeper and cook lately) but as long as I give my all to the most important ones, somehow I keep making it through. Thanks for listening to my little rant session. Here's a picture to make up for it:

(One of the reasons I get out of bed in the morning)

Bitter

I hesitate to write this post because I don't normally share my feelings on this blog, but I feel like I just want everyone to know what is going on so they can understand why I get snappy or try to change the subject when they start talking about how EVERYONE I know is pregnant.

A couple weeks from now will mark a year since Jared and I have started trying to have a baby. That first month after getting off birth control was so exciting. I started a "baby box" with random baby things I find on sale or would want to have when I have a baby. (Like blankets, bottles, baby thermometers, etc.) Then, month after month of no period but negative pregnancy tests and frustration, I started to wonder what was wrong with me. It didn't take more than a month or two for any of my sisters or my mom to get pregnant. Why am I such a freak? So in June, I finally called my doctor, who after blood tests and ultrasounds, diagnosed me with polycystic ovary syndrome. He started me on Glucophage (also for diabetic patients), which was supposed to stimulate ovulation, and also scheduled an appointment with a fertility specialist ob. I had to schedule an appointment with her 3 months in advance. So in September, after no success with the glucophage, the fertility specialist started me on Femara (also for breast cancer patients) (while continuing on the Glucophage because they work "synergistically") which is also supposed to stimulate ovulation, which up to this point I still haven't done at all. She gave me a 3 month supply and set up another appointment after 3 months. In December, at my next appointment, she just increased my dose of Femara, and said if I'm not pregnant by March, I will have to start real fertility drugs. Over the Christmas holiday, the time which is supposed to be centered around Christ and loving others, I found myself becoming very bitter. Bitter at everyone who is currently pregnant and/or who already has kids. Bitter at the 16 year old girls who try having sex once and become pregnant and don't even want the baby. Bitter at the teenage patient I had a few months ago who has had 4 abortions and finally decided to put in an IUD after having a full-term baby. Bitterness is not fun, nor is it healthy. I knew I needed to change my attitude. Over the past few weeks I feel like I've been blessed with the comfort that I am loved and that everything will work out the way Heavenly Father has planned for me. I don't know what He has in store for me in the future as far as kids go, but I am putting my trust in Him that He knows what is best for me at this time in my life. I know that He loves me and will bless me in my life if I have faith and strive to be a better person. I'm so grateful that Jared and I have this time in our lives to still be spontaneous (ie: this Valentine's day we are going to a Red Wings game and staying in a fancy hotel that night in Detroit) and have time to grow stronger together as a couple. I know that we will be blessed as long as we strive to do our best in following the commandments of the Lord. I have a lot to work on...

Cake, Presents, and Birthday Wishes

The only thing I don't like about having a birthday at the first of May is that finals week is almost always during the same week. Jared's finals fell on my birthday this year, so I decided I might as well work because I didn't want to make him feel like he had to take his time away from studying. I also knew my mom was coming the next day so I would get the rest of the week off anyway. The day actually wasn't terrible. When I clocked in to work that day, the automated lady that tells you the time when you clock in told me Happy Birthday. One of the techs that I work with also knew it was my birthday, so she wrote it on the whiteboard and told me Happy Birthday every time I saw her. When I got home from work that day, there were flowers and a card sitting on the table from Jared, and there were two packages for me. One was from my friend Sierra, and the other was from my sister Ash. Sierra gave me a cute purple top (and a bunch of candy and a back massager), and Ash made me the cutest necklace ever. The two actually went perfectly together:

That night my friends Jess and Doug brought me over a little cake and sang to me. I ate almost the whole thing while I waited for my food to arrive that I ordered online (which ended up never coming because the idiot who was supposed to check their fax machine for online orders didn't get it for over an hour, so then I told them to forget about it and drove to McDonald's and got a Big Mac and a strawberry shake.) I also got on facebook and had a lot of very nice birthday wishes from my friends and family. I felt very loved. My friends Britani and James also brought me cupcakes the next day (which is the day I picked up my mom from the airport- see previous post).

The day after my mom left I had to go back to work. When I got home, I was greeted by Jared with a cake and his Iphone with my parents singing to me on speaker phone. Jared had to take a picture to send to my parents. Warning, it's kind of gross- but I did just work 12 1/2 hours so get off my back.


(The flowers in the picture are the ones Jared gave me on my birthday.)

Overall, it was a great birthday/week and I felt very loved. Thank you everyone for making me feel so special on my birthday!

Why do I run?

People tell me that I'm crazy, that running is boring... So why do I love it so much?
Here are a few reasons I've come up with:

1. When I was in junior high I always wanted to play some type of sport so I could be part of a team. But I'm not very coordinated in throwing, kicking, or hitting any type of ball, so the only other sport left for me was running. I started in 9th grade with track and it seemed to stick with me. Being part of the cross country team especially was SO much fun.
2. I would probably be a diabetic (among other health problems) if I didn't run because not only do I have a big sweet tooth but I absolutely LOVE carbs of any kind.
3. I've made some really good friends while running. Running with other people helps you learn A LOT them, maybe a little too much sometimes. ;)
4. I love the endorphins it releases. It makes me feel good, sometimes during (depending on the day) but almost always after I run.
5. It is VERY rewarding, especially when you set a goal and you finish. There's nothing like crossing the finish line and knowing you gave it your very best.



It wasn't until after this marathon when I hurt my knee and had to take 6 weeks off that I realized my love for running. It was my first and hopefully not my last. I hope I can be one of those old ladies who's still running marathons in her sixties or seventies.

1/2 Marathon

I ran a 1/2 marathon on Saturday, and it was so awesome! It was up in Holland, and honestly probably the most beautiful race course I've ever run on; yes, even prettier than the Ogden canyon.... ok maybe it's a tie... We ran through long streets surrounded by huge trees, up to Lake Michigan, and then back through forests of trees. There were several HUGE beautiful houses amid the trees at some points. Some of the trees were just barely starting to change colors, just breath taking! And I couldn't have asked for better weather. It was about 50 degrees and cloudy. And to top it all off, I felt great the entire time, just like I could run forever! I ran with my friend Valerie, who has a 7 month old baby. You go girl! (She is amazing)





(This is at the very start before we crossed the start line, and I was trying to fix my ear phones, which is why it looks like I'm walking...) Don't juge me.


Man, I love to run!

It's official!

I know most of you already know by now, but I passed my RN boards last week and I am now officially a registered nurse! Here's the proof:

Photo Tag!

I was "photo tagged" by my sister Ash and my mom, so I guess I should probably do it. Plus I found my camera in a box a few days ago so I don't have that for an excuse anymore. :) I took most of these a couple days ago but then my internet wasn't working so I'm just barely posting them all. I know these are all in a random order but it's the only way my computer would let me do it. So here we go... (P.S. for those of you who don't know the rules, you have to take a picture of all these things right away, without doing any cleaning...)

1. My kitchen sink... Also my dishwasher. I wont tell you how long those bowls have been there for... ;)
2. My fridge. I know you're all so jealous of how big it is. (It's about 2 feet tall.) As you can see, milk doesn't do too well on its side..

3. My children. This is as close as we're going to get to children for a little while.


4. My favorite room. It's our kitchen, our computer room, and tv room all in one! None of this is our furniture of course, but it's way nice and greatly appreciated!


5. My closet. This is what we get to share between the two of us. Again, I know you're all jealous...
6. My laundry room. I don't have a picture of this because first of all, it's upstairs and I'm too lazy to go up there. Second of all, it's not really mine and none of my stuff is ever up there, so I don't think Cathy would appreciate me taking a picture of her laundry room...

7. My toilet. 8. My favorite shoes. Target special. :)


9. My dream vacation.... Italy!
10. Self-portrait. I had just gotten off work, hence the scrubs. Yuck!

Well, that's all folks! I am now tagging Kendra, Sierra, and Hannah. Have fun! :)

The BIG 2-1!

I turned 21 on Saturday, and for my birthday Jared took me to Wendover. We rode the "fun bus" with a lot of very interesting people. It was really fun, and pretty cheap too. It's $15 a person, and that includes the bus ride roundtrip, $5 back in cash to gamble with, a few free drinks at Starbucks and any other bar (we got "cherry" cokes, and the lady just put a cherry in each of our drinks; she was really pretty snotty). It also included a free buffet which wasn't bad either and I had a huge piece of cheesecake for dessert, YUM! So then we were bad and each spent our 5 dollars on gambling, playing the nickel machines. Our total winnings were.... $17! Yeah, I know, we're pretty much the richest people I know now, so feel free to ask us for loans anytime. HA! So here are a couple pictures of us at the casino, we asked the lady to give it to us all in ones so we could fan it out and take a picture.
This one is kind of fuzzy, I don't know if it's because we have a crappy camera or if the lady that took it was just drunk. Maybe it's a combination of both. :)