July Family Update

Alright, where to being!

It seems like my summer is passing by me, we’ve been so busy, yet not too sure with WHAT! Ha!

As is; I’ve been looking into a few other colleges around my area that have nursing programs. A lot of people have asked me if I’m just going to do something else and though I’ve looked into “other things” I’m happy with my career choice and am just going to do anything I can to get it done. Nursing is something I strive for, I like staying busy, I love the feeling of helping others, and it’s a very important job that I know I can bring a lot to. It’s a rare field to “get bored” in because there are so many directions you can go with it, and it’s nothing to go from nursing to something else if you choose to later down the road.

Sentara is the first college I looked into recently. It is a bachelors program and this is a health college so they don’t major in anything other than health fields. They are pretty expensive but you get the schooling done in 2 1/2 years. The associate program is 2 years, so that is pretty good. Although the soonest I could get into their program would be August of 2013… Uhhhhggg…. Also with this program I have to get my CNA.. which I’m hitting myself in the head for because I took the program in Hawaii. I was 7 months pregnant when I took this call and once I finished the class they wouldn’t allow me to take the State license course because they require you to carry a patient, and by then I was 8 ½ months pregnant and there was no way. So I was supposed to take the state license test after the birth and the six weeks when I would have been excused by the doctor, but I never did it. There would have been a good chance that the Hawaii license would have transferred here, so all in all I am hitting myself in the forehead, AGAIN! Sentara also owns hospitals here, they are buying hospitals out left and right and they usually only hire THEIR students. The way they do their nursing program, is, they do not know how many students they will accept into their program next year, because they decide upon the need of their hospitals. If they need to hire 80 more nurses that year, and will take 80-100 students in the nursing program, so almost all can be assigned a position in their hospital upon graduation. Very good deal I think!

Norfolk State University is the other college I looked into. They are just an associate degree in nursing but they would accept all my credits and I’d be able to apply now. They seem like a very good school, they would be more expensive then TCC for the same degree but they do not have a cap on their program. Meaning they don’t tell you they are ONLY accepting 50 students that year. Basically if I have the good grades then I could get in to it.

So here is my dilemma… I’m going to apply to all three programs. The associate programs would be to get into August 2012 program, and they should let me know if I was accepted or not by next June.  IF I get accepted into their of the colleges, would I accept it and go ahead and start that august for my associate OR turn it down to get into Sentara the following year for a Bachelors, BUT not guaranteed to get into that program either. I could turn an associate program down wait a year and then not even be accepted! It’s obvious to me, what I should do, but I’m not positive. Of course this is all IF and WHAT IF, but it’s good to think about those options as well. Basically you have to have a bachelors to work in any hospital here, but after I get my associate I could go back and get my Bachelors hopefully with little to no problems. Also IF I did get accepted into one of the associate programs next year I wouldn’t have to pay to take the CNA again! So many OPTIONS!

Anyway this fall I did decide to go to school Full time. I registered for my classes and got stuck with a Saturday class, but it’s one I really need so I don’t have much of a choice. I’m nervous about being full time with everything else we do, but it will be the best idea school wise, I just need to keep all A’s!

Since I stopped doing my “diet” and just being careful of what I eat, and then working out I’ve lost 5lbs but been very very steady. So that is a total of 35lbs down! I have a professor right now and he is a runner, I mean a RUNNER! He just got done doing a 50miler and seemed very disappointed he did it in 12 hours! *WHAT!!* haha So it’s made me a bit more interested in trying a little race. I also have a couple friends who are getting into those marathons and half marathons. Very neat to see them train for it. I’m not that big of a runner but I remember being stuck in this mile and half during track in high school at a meet and it killed me! I’m actually surprised I even finished it haha! I’m in way better shape and physical health then I was even in High school so it’s a goal I set for myself to get into at least one 5K by the end of this year. Hopefully one day I can go more than that but like I keep saying about everything… BABY STEPS J

We leave for our Vacation to Missouri and Colorado at the beginning of August! I am very excited to see my Grams and cousin. They haven’t met Brandon or Graysen yet so that will be wonderful! Colorado is always eventful but I feel bad for not “seeing” people. I never have enough time in Denver because my parents live in the middle of nowhere 5 hours from Denver. I will see a few though so that’s good.. I also WILL have to eat some Corona’s and I do get to see my Brother while I’m there, that’s always a very rare event!!

I took Graysen to the movies for the first time a couple weeks ago. She did VERY well. It was Ramona and beezus the movie, so not even really a toddler movie..and it was 140 minutes long! Which is very long for her. She did great though, for the first hour she sat there and drank her juice and ate her popcorn! She started to get antsy near the end and wanted to play! They have another dollar movie next Tuesday that I think she will like, Yogi Bear, it’s shorter and actually has animation in it. I might even take her to the park first! Haha! It’s fun to do these movies though because it’s a summer type thing, and it’s only a dollar for both of us because they don’t charge for her, and we can get a small popcorn for only two bucks on Tuesdays! What a deal!

The house is looking better! We finally got Graysen’s ceiling primed and painted and you can’t see the water stains anymore. I do need to get the front balcony done, but I’m not sure if it’s going to happen! I will be doing GOOD if that gets done before August. After that we have to do new window shutters for the outside windows since to busted in the storm and then that’s it! Hopefully at least!

Well… That is all that I can think of on this end! Thank you for checking in with the update!