NCLEX Results

Whew! Ok, so life has been VERY busy for me the last couple of weeks. I apologizing for not updating sooner.

So I passed the NCLEX!!! Fortunately I had family here so that was great to share it with them AND EVERYONE!

I got an email from the Secretary of State with my license number.

I got invited for a job interview this Thursday at a hospital 5 minutes from me.

Tomorrow is my renewal BLS class. I was scheduled for last Saturday and made the 60 mile trip. Waited around for 45 minutes and then received word that she canceled. So I had to turn around and drive another 60 miles back home. GRRRR. But fortunately the woman reimbursed me for the class and the books but didn't apologize or anything for the inconvenience or reimburse me for the miles. So I'll probably email the American Heart Association. At the going rate of $.55 per mile, I'd say she owes me for gas! But I'm not going to hit her up for $60. Just at least enough for a tank of gas. But I'm not expecting anything.

So hopefully tomorrow's class goes smoothly and I can have my BLS certificate in time for my interview JUST IN CASE I'm asked for it.

Well, any day now I will have my official license in the mail to me. Wow. Life is cool!

Cody is LOVING 8th grade and Colin is LOVING church pre-k! I'm so proud of my boys! They're doing so great.

David's Tribute Video

A tribute video I made for my brother David:

I finally took the NCLEX!

Oh the agony! LOL

So I took the NCLEX today. There are just a few things I will say about it.

1) I have never seen those meds before in my life.
2) Simply put it was an exam of "Choose the best bonehead answer out of all bonehead answers".
3) I better pass cause I never want to go through that again!

It cut off at 75 questions, which is the minimum. You'd have to understand how NCLEX pass/fail goes, but it basically meant either I majorly passed or I majorly failed. I can control the pessimistic devil that sits on my shoulder but today... OMG! I SOOOOO wanted to drop.

But I ended up coming home. Making a 64 oz drink and laying down to watch the baby kittens in their box playing. That was enough to put me to sleep. Thank goodness Marty went in early so he was home. So many people think that I passed without a doubt and I think I believe that. But I'm soooooo cautious! LOL I'm such a dork.

Well anyways, we will find out Thursday if I'm officially an RN!

Until then, I have family from Ohio down here in Atlanta for a medical convention. So it will be nice to see them this week sometime!

Kittens 2 weeks 3 days old

Must Have Websites & Free Stuff for your Computer!!

I frequent Kim Komando's website quite frequently. For those of you who don't know who she is, she has an AM radio show and she's got to be the computer queen. She talks about the best way to do things with your computer and on her website she suggests sites that you can go to (usually for free) and with me and my frugal self I LOVE this!

So I just wanted to share with you some of the best of the best that I can't live without on my computer!

CCleaner - FREE - Cleans all of the junk out of your computer that you don't need (CCleaner aka Crap Cleaner). It's VERY user friendly and usually clears out a large mess. Every computer needs this! www.ccleaner.com

Defraggler - FREE - A very easy way to defrag your computer. Also very user friendly, you just click "Analyze" and it will tell you the stats on your computer. The first time I ran the analyzer it showed that I had 14.1 GB of fragmented files on my computer! So I clicked on the "Defrag" button and it went right to work. It even has the colorful little blocks that you can watch while it's working. Sorry, just an Amy Plus LOL www.defraggler.com

Mozilla - FREE - I use this over IE ALL the time. It's not just a Kim Komando site. I just recommend it. It's an Amy Komando site. It's definitely safer than IE and I think it runs much more smoothly. Check it out! http://www.mozilla.com

Project Gutenberg - FREE - If you LOVE ebooks, but don't like paying for them. Don't do it illegally, go to Project Gutenberg where you can download ebooks for free! They have something like 30,000 titles. It may not have exactly what you're looking for though. Keep in mind this is a legal site. But it's worth trying out right? www.gutenberg.org

Audio & Video - FREE - Especially if you love listening to books in the car or on your iPod, this is another great site. They have TONS of legal and free downloads. Def one to check out!! www.LearnOutLoud.com

Canadian Streaming Radio - FREE - HAHA! This is an Amy Komando site. There's just things I like about listening to Canadian radio. This site lists all the Canadian radio stations that have streaming audio. So you can listen while you work! www.canadianwebradio.com

I'll post more when I come across them so bookmark this posting and check back frequently!

End of July Family Update

The kittens have names & personalities

Ok I didn't think I would want to name the kittens, mostly out of fear of getting too attached to them. But now that they are starting to have very distinct personalities, I can't help but name them. With help from the kids of course LOL So here we go:

Gray kitty - "Chipper" - Girl
The gray kitty was the third to be born, I believe, and it took her a few minutes to come around. But once she was doing good boy there was no stopping her! She is DEFINITELY the biggest and most adventurous. So where did "Chipper" come from? Well, I always talked about her big round chipmunk face. And since I had a dog that I loved when I was younger named Chipper, I just had to name her that! But she is already the one leading the pack when it comes to walking on all fours. She's still a little uncoordinated, but she's really doing good. Very strong! She's best friends with the black kitty, but she looks out for all of them. She even goes up to them and appears to nibble at their ears! She's definitely playful and LOVES being picked up and talked to.

White kitty - "Ginger" - Girl
The white kitty was the first to be born. She was the only one I didn't get to see being born (by the time she was born my son noticed and came and got me). Ginger is one of the smallest, but she's really developing nicely! I thought she was going to be all white, but her ears, tail, and paws are turning black. But she's got an all-white body. She tends to want to cuddle with her brothers & sisters, but she loves it when I hold her and just sit and talk to her. She loves to be petted too! Even my husband agrees, she looks like a "Ginger". Don't ask me where I came up with the name, it just came to me LOL

Black kitty "Midnight" Girl
The black kitty was the second to be born, I believe. At first she looked all black, but now she has beautiful specks of (what I call gold) orange across her face and a little on her back. Colin loves this one. He's the one who came up with "Midnight". She is about the same size as Ginger, one of the smaller ones, and is very friendly. She loves trying to keep up with Chipper on the floor! Not quite fast enough though LOL

The Orange Boys
Ok, the two orange boys are all about drama. They are absolutely gorgeous being all orange with little white stripes throughout. And they have the most incredible big round eyes. They love to cuddle with each other and are about mid-sized. Smaller than Chipper but bigger than Ginger and Midnight. The thing about them is they HATE to be held!! As long as they are laying down somewhere they love to be petted. But DO NOT pick them up. Not only do they cry, they SCREAM!!! Nikita (the mom) comes back freaking out thinking someone is hurting her kitties. LOL NO! We just picked them up. So for now we are letting them stay in their bed while their sisters come out and walk on the carpet. They are ok with walking, but not as good as their sisters. We're still trying to come up with names for these two. We were thinking "Bobby" (as in Bobby Cox who is sure to strike up an argument with the umpire during a Braves game whether it gets him kicked out or not) and "Billy" (after the late Billy Mays, the pitchman on the Oxy Clean commercials who had a loud, yet catchy voice full of passion). I'm not sure if "Billy" & "Bobby" will stick. We've even thought of naming them "Swiper" and "Diego" so go figure LOL

Restaurant City for Boneheads - Facebook

Ok, there aren't very many games at all that I give my valuable time to online, but this is one of the few. I thought I would compile a list of valuable hints and tips to get you going in the game! :-)

Things you need to play the game:
1) A restaurant. You are provided a very basic restaurant space to begin. You will need a stove, tables, chairs, and at least 2 employees (waiter & cook). It will walk you through this very basic stuff.
2) Customers. They will come to you. They will order on their own and your employees will handle their order without any help from you. Well, one exception. They start out with 100% energy that diminishes as time goes by. When you see their energy getting low, provide them with a snack. Various snacks have a certain value when it comes to "recharging" them and the higher the recharging value, the more it costs.
3) Money. Of course, you earn more money with each customer you serve. But you will need money to recharge your employees when their energy gets too low. Plus, as you expand you will want to add more chairs, tables, & stoves. Seriously, I wouldn't stress too much about extra decorations at this point.

When it comes to energy, the best tip is when you are going to be away from the game, put all of your employees to "rest". They are able to recharge for free. But to keep your approval rating up there (& bringing more customers) place an object in front of the door (on the inside). Your restaurant is basically "closed". If you don't do this, customers will continue coming in and your employees will continue working until they have 0 energy. When that happens, customers continue coming in and get mad because they aren't being served. Your approval rating drops to 0 and you have to work to bring it back up again.

Ingredients: You need ingredients to make food right! In this game, you basically don't know how to make anything until you receive the ingredients to learn. So how do you get ingredients?
1) Each day you will receive a free ingredient just by coming into the game.
2) The market. There's a girl on the street that sells items. There are three items to choose from each day, but they are pretty expensive. I don't even go there LOL

3) Each day you are given a food quiz. Most of them are really easy, some aren't so much. Answer correctly and you get a free ingredients.
4) Go to the street! The first time you visit a friends restaurant you get a free ingredient.
5) When you visit a friends restaurant you can go to their ingredient list and offer to trade them. Just select the ingredient you want and select the ingredient you are willing to part with.







Learning to make dishes/Changing the menu:


When the menu opens up you will see the ingredients you have and the meals you can make above that. Under each meal you will see the ingredients you need to make that dish. If you have all of the ingredients it will either say "Learn" or "Upgrade". You can go up to level 10 on each meal. They just changed it so that there are 4 categories of meals (Starter, Main, Dessert, Drink) and you can select 3 items from each category. Go with the highest "level" of food that you have.

Customers will automatically order what category they want and the cooks will automatically prepare what they order. So just sit back and watch!

Hints:
-Pick up trash around your restaurant and others' restaurants to earn some cash.
-All of the stoves cook at the same speed. So other than "looks" there really isn't any reason to "upgrade".
-At level 8 and above your customers will want a toilet to use. A toilet is great until they get dirty. Start out by just pulling one of your cooks or servers to clean it when it gets dirty. But as you get higher up with more customers and more toilets, it's best to assign people to be cleaners.
-Every time you fire or "sack" an employee you lose 200 points. So be nice :-)
-When you are visiting a friend's restaurant, click on the trees around their building. Every so often you will get more money :-)
-You servers will work faster if they don't have far to walk to serve food. Put tables around stoves.
-When you save up enough money, buy an arcade machine. Customers will play those if they have to wait and if it still takes too long to get a table they will leave without your reputation points going down.
-Provide "waiting" chairs for customers who have to wait for a table. That way they don't just walk out.
-Create a "maze" for your customers to walk through to get to the tables. This makes them stay in your restaurant longer and the opportunity for a table generally arises. (Check out my generic picture below with the path used for a customer to finally make it to the tables)




Levels:
Level 1
50 Gourmet Points
2000 Cash

Level 2
70 Gourmet Points
3rd Employee and 300 Cash

Level 3
100 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 4
200 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 5
500 Gourmet Points
4th Employee and 300 Cash

Level 6
1,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 7
2,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 8
4,000 Gourmet Points
5th Employee and 300 Cash

Level 9
6,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 10
8,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 11
10,000 Gourmet Points
6th Employee and 300 Cash

Level 12
14,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 13
18,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 14
22,000 Gourmet Points
7th Employee and 300 Cash

Level 15
30,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 16
38,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 17
46,000 Gourmet Points
8th Employee and 300 Cash

Level 18
58,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 19
70,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 20
86,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 21
102,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 22
122,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 23
142,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 24
166,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 25
190,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 26
218,000 Gourmet Points
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Level 27
246,000
Larger Restaurant and 300 Cash

Food Quiz Q & A
Q: Agar is a gelatinous substance derived from what?
A: Seaweed

Q: Which of the following beverages does not contain milk?
A: Espresso

Q: Bechamel sauce is also known as...
A: White Sauce

Q: To blanch a vegetable, means to?
A: Boil and Cool off quickly

Q: Calamari is fried?
A: Squid

Q: What is a Calzone?
A: A turnover made of pizza dough

Q: In which restaurant would you typically find Calzone?
A: Italian

Q: Caviar is made from?
A: Fish Egg

Q: What kind of pizza is chicago style?
A: Deep dish

Q: Chilli is a?
A: Fruit

Q: Which of these chillies is the spiciest?
A: Naga jolokia pepper

Q: What is chinese gooseberry called in ancient time?
A: Kiwi

Q: What is chocolate bloom?
A: Cocoa fat or sugar

Q: The chuck is found where on the cow?
A: Front

Q: Which continent produces the most cocoa?
A: Africa

Q: What is coconut?
A: Fruit

Q: Q: A crepe is typical a ...?
A: Thinly cooked pancake

Q: Dim sum originated from which country?
A: China

Q: Dulce de leche is prepared by heating...?
A: Sweetened Milk

Q: Which sauce is typically used in the dish Eggs Benedict?
A: Hollandaise sauce

Q: Where did Feta Cheese come from?
A: Greece

Q: The flank is found where on the cow?
A: Mid

Q: Foie gras is food made from which part of an animal?
A: Liver

Q: In England, French Fries are called?
A: Chips

Q: To garnish a dish, means to?
A: Add final touches

Q: What is gelatin made of?
A: Algae

Q: How many Gourmet points do you get for a level 10 dish?
A: 2.8

Q: Granny smith apples are?
A: Green

Q: Grapes grow on?
A: Vines

Q: The main ingredient in Guacamole is?
A: Avocado

Q: Where is the hamburger originaly from?
A: United states

Q: What is Hashi?
A: Chopsticks

Q: Honey comes from?
A: Bees

Q: What is the main ingredient in Houmous?
A: Chickpeas

Q: Hors D'oeuvres is French for?
A: Appetizers

Q: What is Houmous made of?
A: Chickpeas

Q: Kimchi is a Korean dish made of fermented?
A: Vegetables

Q: What is Ketchup made of?
A: Tomatoes

Q: Kobe Beef originates from which country?
A: Japan

Q: Lard is the fat obtained from which animal?
A: Pig

Q: Marzipan is made from?
A: Almonds

Q: Which of the following is not the ingredient of Mayonnaise?
A: Milk

Q: Naan is typically from?
A: India

Q: Naan Bread is served with... ?
A: Indian Food

Q: Natto, a traditional Japanese food, is made from fermented?
A: Soybeans

Q: New-York Style Pizzas are typically?
A: Thin crust

Q: Which item is not a type of pasta?
A: Miso

Q: Which of the following is traditionally found in pesto?
A: Basil

Q: The pizza originates from which country?
A: Italy

Q: To poach something means?
A: To cook in boiling water

Q: To Proof dough means to...
A: Allow it to rise

Q: Prunes are dried...?
A: Plums

Q: Raisins are dried...?
A: Grapes

Q: Ratatouille is?
A: A vegetarian dish

Q: The main ingredient of Ratatouille is?
A: Tomatoes

Q: To refresh vegetables is....?
A: To immerse in COLD water

Q: What is the color of Rhubarb?
A: Red

Q: The rump is found where on the cow?
A: Back

Q: What is Saffron?
A: Spice

Q: What gives traditional salsa verde its vibrant green color?
A: Parsley

Q: Sauerkraut is made from?
A: Fermented Cabbage

Q: To saute a dish, means to?
A: Fry quickly in hot pan

Q: The sirloin is found where on the cow?
A: Mid

Q: What is the most expensive spice in the world?
A: Saffron

Q: Which of the following spices is the most expensive?
A: Pure Vanilla

Q: Traditional Soy Sauce is?
A: Salty

Q: Steak tartare is a meat dish made from raw?
A: Beef

Q: What is Stracchino?
A: a fresh cheese from Italy

Q: In which restaurant would you typically find sushi?
A: Japanese

Q: Where does taco orignate from?
A: Mexico

Q: In which restaurant would you typically find tacos?
A: Mexican

Q: In which restaurant would you typically find Tapas?
A: Spanish

Q: What is the main ingredient of tofu?
A: Soybean

Q: A tomato is a?
A: Fruit

Q: Truffles is a?
A: Fungi

Q: What color is Tuna meat?
A: Pink

Q: The Tuna is a?
A: Salt Water Fish

Q: Where is Tuna from?
A: Salt Water

Q: The main ingredients in Tzatziki are?
A: Yoghurt and Cucumber

Q: Venison is the meat from what animal?
A: Deer

Q: What is the main ingredient of wasabi?
A: Horseradish

Q: Wasabi is made from a type of Japanese?
A: Horseradish

(Thank you to "oumsker" from http://forum.playfish.com/showthread.php?t=529150)

Colin's Pre-K Orientation

Because Colin turns 5 4 days after the state kindergarten cutoff, he will not start kindergarten this year. He has to wait until next year. I was going to try enrolling him in the states pre-k lottery system (your kid isn't guaranteed a spot in pre-k). But because I didn't know which hospital I would be working at (and figured I would have taken and passed the NCLEX by now) I did not even apply for the state's pre-k program.

But imagine my surprise when I got word that our church was starting their own pre-k (non-lottery funded)!!! I was SO excited! Plus if I have my way, Colin will be brought up in private schools. I just find it so important that Colin gets a good education, especially with a Christian foundation.

Colin is a very shy boy, especially around girls. So he didn't like the idea of starting pre-k this year. He loves staying home. But tonight we took him to the orientation at the church. We didn't tell him where we were going, but when we were there we told him. By then he was already curious. When we got there he was excited to see lots of kids that "looked like him" (ie 4 year olds).

They took the kids to their classrooms to check things out while they talked to us. He didn't mind at all! He wanted to go! No fit or anything! And he was one of the best behaved kids! I was so proud of my big man.

So he starts pre-k next Monday and Cody starts 8th grade Monday too. Because the school system will not be providing bus transportation this year I will take Cody to school in time for class at 830 and Colin at 900. They will be in 2 separate county school systems, but both schools are on the line. So it's not a bad drive at all.

I'm so excited!

Colin taught us everything he learned in class tonight (about bullying, teasing, misbehaving, etc). He remembered SO much! I hope he's that way in school :-)

Gates - Obama - Police

It's been quite awhile since I've gone off on my impression of Obama. Mostly because he continues to appall me whenever I do manage to turn the television on. I have always, and still do, think that Obama is some sort of puppet for key government officials. I don't consider him the "Savior to Mankind". I became quite frustrated with my "fellow American's" who bought into the whole "hope" and "change" and "Yes we can" rhetoric and failed to look at the facts regarding Obama. I mean, could you imagine the outrage if there was ANY question regarding President Bush's natural citizenship? Could you imagine the outrage if there was credible question into the authenticity of Bush's birth certificate? And lawsuit after lawsuit asking Bush to produce a live and valid copy of his birth certificate (& to answer questions that still lingered) and the Supreme Court itself refused to involve itself? The left would SWEAR that there was a conspiracy and all hell would break loose. I've heard it proposed that the Supreme Court feared that Obama WOULD be ineligible to be president and throwing him out would create riots and a literal civil war. Well, isn't that special.

So I've basically tried to stay away from the news and television in general. Mostly because I'm so busy. But it's hard to avoid the headlines that pop up all over the internet about the foolishness that Obama pulls out of his butt almost daily. At least people are starting to take more notice regarding the facts and are less hung up on the "celebrity" of the left media. Sorry to say ladies and gentlemen: Too late.

So now we have a president that involves himself in matters of the police departments on a local level. Great. And God forbid anyone arrests a "friend" of his. The slander that follows later is absurd! Suddenly, it's all about racism.

Racism. That's such an ugly word. Yes, racism still occurs. But it's not 100% white against black. It occurs between all groups. No one group is innocent. But to assume that because you are being questioned about breaking into this house... which did not go unnoticed by one of this guys neighbors... the police played safe than sorry. Maybe this Gates character was tired after his trip. Who knows? But to suddenly and immediately call this racism is beyond me. Even Obama admitted he did not know all the facts of the case, but the police just "had" to be acting "stupidly". WTH? Why? Cause it was his friend? Mr. President, with all due respect, you are an idiot. Did your teleprompter tell you to say that? Seems without the all knowing teleprompter, you don't know what the hell you're talking about.

I don't doubt for a second that the job of the police is difficult. And I'm sure it's scary at times. If Gates was confronted by the police after making his way into his "stately" home without a key, shouldn't he feel grateful that there are officers willing to risk their own safety to make sure Gates' home is safe? Oh no! The officers are racists. Again, WTH?!

Even the black cop who was with the white officer agreed that Gates was behaving suspiciously. So what are the police to do now? Only have black officers confront black suspects? White officers only confront white suspects? I don't know what goes through Gates' mind, but I think it makes ALOT of people look bad. And let's add in his all-powerful, all-knowing friend Barack Obama to make things worse. Of all the things screwed up in the country, Obama has to run his mouth about stuff he admits he doesn't know much about.

Comments recently posted on the Boston Herald's website in response to this story are mixed. Here are a few:

DWorth: Without racism Gates doesn't have a job. He saw a cop and there was no way he was going to pass up a chance to provoke him. Gates...you are the problem. The cop did the right thing.

BeTrueSeekTruth: Its a clear abuse of power. Since the patriot act, police have been schooled that every citizen is a potential terrorist, especially when they refuse to grovel and even hint at their constitutional rights. Remember that leading politicians and elitists feel that the constitution is just a "g** d*** piece of paper. Face it, we're living in a police state here in what used to be the land of the free.

(This bonehead obviously has never had his home broken into. Yeah, God forbid police have absolute probable cause. In fact, they were CALLED to the home by a neighbor witnessing the incident! What were they supposed to do? Not respond?)

eclair: I think a big component here other than race, is the whole Ivy league arrogance I'm a Harvard professor, you are the lowly cop. I'm up here, you're down there. Ridiculous. This could have been so simple. Thanks for protecting my house and property, officer. Have a nice day.

nonelitist: Excellent M10. Exactly!!!..The black elitists at HaaaaaVaaaaad and the white ones there label all whites as racist and GET AWAY WITH IT!!..Can you picture if the HaaaaaVaaaaad staff labeled all blacks as fried chicken eating watermellon loving people???!!! This cop is being labeled racist just because he has white skin, He needs a good team of laywers and should sue the guts out of these clowns.

BonedawgStarStar: This is so far from over. The tapes are coming out. Skip Gates case is going in the toilet. Deval & Sharpton are already hiding under the bed and not taking Skip's calls. Obama is going to have to apoligize the Sgt Crowley and the Cambridge Police. Harvard Pres. Drew Faust will need to address Gates' actions, overreactions and then subsequent abuse of his position. Gates should then resign or be fired. These things just need to happen. They so messed with the wrong cop. Sgt. Crowley will someday somewhere be Commissioner Crowley. This is so not over.

(LOL Ooooook)

lightdawns: What guts? These cowards that hide behinf the term racism everyrime something doesb't go their way HAVE NO GUTS Let's sue their say, asses off there seems to be plenty of them around

(Yikes!)

Sick_of_it_all: Sgt Crowley should get on CNN & the like & give his side of the story. Even the President made it sound one sided. Gates is an opportunist jerk. He's the racist here. Not Crowley. And now he has the audacity to make money off this situation. That's all you need to know.

morriseyblvd: This is going to cost Obama dearly. Hey Police Unions - Wake up! Obama is not your friend.

(Unfortunately, this is not true. Obama is still the messiah to so many. He forever has immunity!)

FOLEY9482: Prof. Gates found this to be the perfect example for his classroom of racist bias. This incident isn't about black or white it is about being Blue. The police officer did what he was trained to do, and kept himself and his fellow officers safe.

(Right on!)

JohnnyRetard: Here's my racist story. One Christmas day while visiting my hometown, I saw a black woman in a car with a flat tire at a closed service station. In this predominantly white neighborhood, I should have left immediately, knowing this was a racial incident in the making. However, I threw caution to the wind and exited my car (in a suit, tie, white shirt and dress shoes). I asked whether she needed assistance. She explained her tire was flat and wanted to get it changed, but couldn't find an open service station. I then asked whether she had a spare. She did. I then offered to change it for her. She looked back at me (all dressed up) and strenuously argued that I'd get all dirty. No problem, it was changed in about 10 minutes. When she offered compensation, I declined ... Madam, it's Christmas. Oh, did I mention it was raining? I apologize to all my white brothers and siters for crossing "the line" and possibly having offended them. I'll be taking senstivity classes from Sgt. Crowley next week given that I falied to rotate & balance her tires, wash & wax the car, or even buy her a new one. Remember, healing begins with forgiveness.

(That was actually a nice story. I'm happy he was there to help her out!! Regardless of color!)

murraygm359: In order to be a successful educator, you must look at the world through the eyes of the student....something Professor Gates has shown he is totally incapable of doing. He instead has proven to be an opportunist, elitist, and even slanderer. He is "shocked" that a police officer, responding to a B and E in progress(putting himself at great risk), would actually question persons on the scene. How could anyone with a modicum of common sense question a fundamental police inquiry? Sgt. Crowley was there, PROTECTING the Professor's property, and yet the supposedly esteemed gentleman can't even draw this most obvious and remedial conclusion. According to Professor Gates logic, any black man who is questioned is the target of racism....so then should every black man be immune from cooperation with law enforcement? Sadly, Gates is perpetuating the very stereotypes he has, apparently, worked to eliminate. It's time for Professor Gates to stop talking, look back on the incident with an unbiased eye, and become the student once more.

Thursday's Excitement

Ok, not much excitement today LOL I volunteered at the clinic tonight though. I was working pretty much on my own now. And I survived! And at the beginning of the evening I looked up and saw my doctor walking in. I was like "Hello!!!!" I was surprised. So was he. He was like "Hello!!!!" haha.. it was nice to work with him tonight. He's a sweetheart.

I was checking in on the kittens tonight too. I got a great shot of one of the orange ones. They're 1 week old today!



I mean are you serious?! Kitty that was so cute! I'm not sure if it's a boy or girl for sure yet. Going by the way one website told me (looking to see if it has an exclamation point) I think it's a girl. But I could be wrong. Like I said, this is my first experience with a cat having kittens :-) So far it's bliss.

Here's another picture of Mama Nikita with her chunky butt babies LOL

16 and Pregnant on MTV

Because I was a teen mother myself, I have a special place in my heart to teen mothers who bust their butt in life trying hard to do right by their children. I especially applaud teen fathers who stick around, even when times are tough and scary. I was fortunate to have a boyfriend (who later became my husband after graduation) who stuck around and helped to care for his son. We both worked and went to school and graduated high school with a diploma. Even today, although we are divorced and living many states away, he still maintains a close relationship with his son. Although we aren't in love, we are still friends and that has worked quite well. I'm blessed to have a husband who is understanding of the situation, has also stepped up to the plate from day one, and raises our son as his own (& has a great rapport with my ex-husband!)

Someday, when I am a midwife, I would LOVE to open a clinic focused at teen parents. I want to be able to find ways to get them through high school and to find employment. It can happen for ambitious teen parents who are willing to work for it and not give up, but just lack the resources. I can't wait to make it happen!!

Anyways. So I enjoy hearing about other teen parents, and that's why I watch "16 & Pregnant" on MTV. I was especially touched by the season finale couple, Caitlynn and Tyler. If you haven't seen this episode, please watch it before continuing on because I have some major spoilers.

If the video doesn't work, go to YouTube.com and type in "16 and pregnant caitlynn"

***EDIT UPDATE: MTV has been having issues with this video so I went ahead and deleted it. I suggest Youtube for searching for the video***

Ok, with that being said (& seen) let me say a few things about this couple.

First of all, aren't they gorgeous! This is one couple I hope stays together. They are about as close to soul mates as you can get.

Second, I don't know of many adults, much less teenagers, that can make the decision they made and stay strong enough to live with it. I applaud them for not resorting to abortion, which personally is just NOT an option. It's too bad that people have them. Tyler is right, love isn't all a baby needs. If it was, they would raise the most perfectly happy baby. There's no doubt in my mind they love their baby. And they did THE most unselfish thing and put their feelings aside and gave the gift of life, essentially, to a very wonderful family. I admire Brandon & Teresa as well. They seem to be a very good couple and individuals.

I'll just say, I cried my eyes out! I even got Marty to watch it with me and he cried. He agrees, they are phenomenal kids. I can't wait to see the Finale Special show that they have scheduled for this week with Dr Drew. All of the kids from this season are getting together to talk with him. And the preview showed Brandon and Teresa coming with baby Carly to visit with Caitlynn and Tyler! Oh man, I started crying just seeing that!!

I'm SO not into reality shows, but this one really stole my heart. I hope that teens are able to see this show and realize while they still can that birth control is something they should take very seriously. Yeah, like I have room to talk... I DO! I've been there! Although I consider my situation to have a happy ending and if I could relive my life I would live it exactly the same way (probably speak up when I'm done wrong more though LOL), not everyone else ends up like this. It's always best to hold off until you are at least out of high school.

Nikita, her kittens, & my money saving adventure!

Well, I went into the kitchen today and got quite a surprise. I heard whimpering and turned around and Nikita had one of her kittens by the back of the neck and was carrying it around the house! Ooooook! I soon learned that sometimes if the kittens are being handled too much and the mother just wants a new nesting spot. She had the kittens in the corner of our dining room, but after they were born I moved them into our bedroom in a box. But I'll admit, seeing them there all the time makes us all want to hold them and pet them. So I ended up moving "the box" back into the dining room where she had them. It's also set back in a corner between furniture so she probably feels safe back there. I also found that with the kittens back there, we're not as tempted to go and touch them. Plus, I think Nikita enjoys being a bigger part of our family now rather than set back in our bedroom.

I'm also preparing more for the NCLEX. I have to work up the motivation to finish the work from my summer classes (English and Philosophy). That way nursing can be my number one priority.

Oh! I almost forgot! Ok, let me back up a little. I have started trying to save money on groceries. I've done a good job clipping coupons and taking them to the store with me. I've been lucky enough to start saving $5-$10 each time. But lately I have been starting to save nearly $40!!! I'm so proud of myself LOL I needed to buy a new air freshener can for our spray machine thing. I had a coupon for $1 off. That was going to make it about $4 a can. But I looked at a whole starter kit that was normally close to $10 on clearance for $6. I took another look at some old coupons I had clipped and I had a $4 off coupon for a starter kit. I got a $10 starter kit for $2!!! YAY!!! I'm getting there! I also saved $5 off of razors for Marty. They were about $8. The refills were around $5 and I had a $3 off coupon. I got $13 worth of "premium" razors for $5. Marty tends to break out real bad with cheap razors, so I wanted him to try something of better quality. I found a $3.50 off coupon for kitten food that only cost $4 something at Walmart. Plus the manufacturer gives $1 to an animal rescue center of your choice! How cool is that?

I'm hoping to start posting online coupon links for everyone to start getting great deals on things. Especially when you combine it with a clearance price. You can end up saving 90%!

Things I'm learning about Newborn Kitten care

Like I said, when come across something new I research the heck out of it. With this being my first time at having a cat have kittens I needed to know what to expect. So here's what I'm learning so far:

1) Newborn kittens nurse the first 24 hours receiving a heavy dose of antibodies and vitamins through the queen's colostrum. Just like human mothers produce a fluid that isn't white like milk, so do cats. So it's very important for the kittens to nurse this first 24 hours.

2) The mother will lick her kittens bellies and behinds to stimulate a bowel movement and urination. This continues for two to three weeks.

3) Keep food, water, and a litter box nearby for the mother to use. Offer food and water frequently. Just keep it out of reach of the kittens. The mother should eat a high quality cat food, preferably one for kittens because it provides the extra vitamins and nutrients. Her appetite will double in the next one or two hours.

4) The kittens should nurse every 1-2 hours. They should have a round belly and sleep quietly. If they are restless and not nursing, they may need a supplement. If they get weaker they will become still and not cry.

5) The site that I read from says to weigh the kittens daily. They should start around 100 grams and go up 7-10 grams a day. By day 14, they should be double in weight.

I suppose this is mostly what I need to know right now. I'm going out today to get a good quality kitten food for Nikita. A vitamin supplement probably wouldn't hurt and was recommended through www.peteducation.com. I'll check with the vet. I probably should have done all of this before the kittens were born LOL

Nikita had her kittens!

Good thing Cody was up early today (for him on summer break that means 10 am). I was up sick the night before and took Phenergan to stop the N&V. But when Cody came in to tell me Nikita had her kittens I jumped out of bed right away.

A few weeks ago I turned our walk in closet into a "safe room" for Nikita to have her kittens. Wouldn't you figure she chose the bare floor in the dining room corner to have them? LOL She only had one kitten at this point, so when it looked safe I offered her box (with towels and newspaper) to her and she climbed in right away.

Despite my wild fascination with the whole "Miracle of Life" process, I tried to hang back as much as possible. I tend to over-research topics when they are presented to me and I read that it's best to leave the birthing queen alone. When they are laboring and feel threatened (or a big audience) they will actually stop. So I put up some boxes to give her a sense of privacy and she seemed so much at ease.

Cody and I got to see her deliver 4 more kittens. She has a total of 5. Fortunately, none of them were stillborn. I watched kitten delivery videos on youtube and a few of them said stillbirths aren't uncommon. I didn't want to see her deliver a stillborn kitten, but I was prepared. Thank God she didn't.

After she was done I removed the wet newspaper and left her with some old towels. Actually, I think that worked out really well and I recommend it to anyone who has a pregnant cat (queen). Put a few layers of old towels down in a box with several layers of newspaper on top. After she delivers just pull out the newspaper so she has clean, dry towels under it. She will lick her kittens constantly and that with a combination of the dry towels will dry them off and help them keep their body temperature up. Just in case something went wrong we had a small box with a heating pad on "Low" and a blanket on top. A sort of "warmer" for the kittens. But my intent was to let Mother Nature (& Nikita) do her job.

I was really proud of Nikita. She really knew what to do and took over. The kittens basically nursed all day and night. She stayed with them, except for a couple of short walks within eye shot of her kittens.

I did have a little scare when I thought I felt another kitten inside of Nikita. I was worried because after Nikita had her 5th kitten she still pushed a little. So I was very concerned about another kitten being left behind. I called a nearby vet's office, who suggested I bring her in. It was $75 for an office visit (which I really don't have), $100 for Xrays (to see if there were any more kittens), and $900 for a cesarean if there was another one in there. I REALLY don't have that. I got kinda emotional at that thought because I knew I couldn't give her all of that and if a kitten was left behind she would certainly die from infection.

But I took her to the vet anyone. They took Nikita and the kittens back. I told them that she was a stray that I took in one day when I saw her nearly passed out under our living room window. The cat that we adopted (Sara) was spayed to prevent pregnancies that we couldn't afford (& to do our part for decreasing the kitty population). I was trying to do the right thing by rescuing this cat and now I was being confronted with a situation where I HAD to chose to possibly let her die. I was so upset.

The lady came out a short while later. She said the vet felt Nikita's belly and although it was hard, there were no more kittens. But she wouldn't know for sure unless an x-ray was done. Because this was a stray she wasn't going to charge us. Thank you Lord! I appreciated that SO much!! I wanted to do what was right, but I couldn't afford it by a long shot. Fortunately, Nikita would be ok.

So I took Nikita home and laid her in her box with her kittens. I put the box on my bed and laid there next to them until I fell asleep. I needed a quick nap so badly!

I fell asleep to the sound of whimpering kittens being warmed and loved by their mother. It was so wonderful!! Here are the pictures I took on my phone (please forgive the poor quality). There are two orange ones, a black one, a white one, and a gray one. Now I know who the kittydaddy is. The black and white one prowling the neighborhood!

It FINALLY arrived!

After almost exactly two months after graduation I FINALLY received the ATT giving me authorization to take the NCLEX. I suppose the timing is good. I got one of my laptops back today. So now it will be easier to get my two classes done for the semester. For my English Comp class I just have a 3500 word essay to get done. For Philosophy I have two finals, an essay, and a couple of discussion postings to do. Then I'm DONE! I'm scheduled to take the NCLEX on August 4th. So that will give me some time to do some extra studying for the exam.

Still no kittens. She'll probably have them the night before the NCLEX. HAHA! She sure does sleep alot. Sara is getting more relaxed, but I think she is still a little scared of Nikita. Nikita is getting protective and slightly territorial. She never hisses, she just stares Sara down. That gets Sara nervous and she hisses at her. So when I see Sara kinda cornered I intervene by picking her up and walking her into the next room. We will see!!!

CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain Review (BzzAgent)

First of all I want to let everyone know that I belong to a website that is totally cool. The whole point of it is to tell others about products that you try and love (or maybe don't love). After building your way up, you are able to join a "campaign" where a manufacturer will send you their product to try out and tell others about it. The name of this site is BzzAgent.com and that makes me a BzzAgent! LOL So anyways, with this review I am NOT told what to say. I tried this product and this is my honest opinion.

Ok, with that being said, now on to CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain. It comes in a nifty tube that is like a thich Sharpie. The part you apply the lipstain is like a thick marker. It says it has a great scent, but I thought it was too light to really notice.

I tried the Cinnamon Smile color. I have to wear lip color that has a brown shade or else it looks too bright and orangey on me. So I chose this. Unfortunately, it came out more of a red color on me. Not saying this is how it will work on everyone, but that's how it did on me.

I do like how you are able to adjust if you want just a little or more intense color and you can line your lips with the sharper point. And it doesn't feel heavy on your lips like traditional lipstick can. This is definitely a bonus during the summer months.

Because this is a lip STAIN it is meant to stay on your lips longer. I found it did ok. Alot of times I end up applying my makeup in a rush and then realize I need to brush my teeth, so one morning I ended up brushing my teeth AFTER I applied the stain. It stayed on pretty well. So I was pleased. But the staying power isn't that fantastic after that. It might just be because I don't apply it too heavily because the shade doesn't come out right on me, but it didn't last so long.

The price tag is around $7 or $8 on the store shelves and there are $1 off coupons available. Even given this information, I'm not sure I'd spend my money on it. It was ok, lasts longer than lip gloss, tends to be drying (I had to apply chapstick after each application), and nice and light. But don't expect to put it on in the morning before work and it to be there a few hours later.

It's JULY?!

Wow! Seems like this summer is really going by fast! It's been a rough summer, no doubt. Lots of work to get done, lots of waiting, and lots of new things occurring.

Where to begin? Well, May 15th I graduated from Georgia Perimeter with a degree in nursing. Just before I graduated I submitted my application for classes at Grand Canyon University in Arizona for my BSN. But before I can "officially" be a student there and start my nursing classes there I have to have my RN license. The state has my application and now I just need to wait for my authorization to test. At that point I will schedule my date to take the NCLEX. If I pass, I will be an RN! Officially!

In the meantime, I am able to take the remaining core classes that I need to get my BSN. I'm taking English Composition 2 and Philosophy. Those are two subjects that I figured I would LOVE to take. I love writing of course. I just love writing free style. I guess I do good writing with a pre-determined topic. I just don't enjoy it LOL Philosophy is hard on an exhausted brain. I'm so drained academically. And it doesn't help both of my laptops stopped working the day before classes started. I should get one of my laptops back this week. YAY! But in the meantime it's meant using the business center where I live, one of my husbands offices, and my father in laws house. I just want the luxury of doing school work when I'm ready again.

Anyways, I rescued a stray cat from the neighborhood who seemed more like a rogue, "Mafia" kitty. So I gave her a good Russian name, "Nikita". Turns out she is PREGGO! BIG TIME! Well, now she is. I couldn't quite tell at the time. So I'm caring for her till she has her kittens. She is so lovable. We've decided to keep her after she has her kittens, but once her kittens are old enough we have to let them go. I've never dealt with this situation before. It's also a situation I never wanted to be in. We finally decided to adopt a cat earlier this year, Sara, and we made sure she was already fixed. I firmly believe in doing the responsible thing and having pets spayed or neutered. I love the ASPCA and used to donate money to them each month until this summer rolled around. Then money became tight LOL But still, you have to live what you preach right? Anyways, I'm excited and scared about these little kitties coming :-)

Cody is about to start 8th grade. Master of the Middle School before he becomes a high school freshman. Wow. I can't believe he's gotten this far! He's still my baby! Ugh. His best friend came to stay with us for a week and a half. He just got done having his pacemaker removed and while he was here his incision started getting infected. So I played nurse and took care of it. It's much better now :-) But having two teenage boys is exhausting! Especially when all they do is eat. But that's the joys of parenthood.

Colin is really starting to mature this summer. He turns 5 in September. Wow. But he misses the cutoff here for starting kindergarten so he'll start next year. But fortunately we found out that our church is going to be having a pre-k this year! I'm SO happy! So now we just need to get him registered and ready to start! He shocked me the other night with 2 loose teeth. Down at the bottom in the front. He ended up pulling them out! I was so proud of him for not freaking out. I did have to teach him how to blow out the pain when it got to be too much. Well... he did it! Silly boy.

Well, anyways, I'm about to get off of here but I just wanted to make note of JULY. Wow. It's been July for almost 2 weeks now but it just dawned on me. Something isn't it? LOL

Waiting on the ATT

Ok, I graduated from nursing school on May 15. Finally on June 18th the paperwork from the school made it to the state (talk about a long wait in itself). It is now July 7th and the state STILL has not processed my paperwork (and that of most of my classmates). Until the state processes the paperwork and sends us our authorization to take the state board exam, we are in limbo. We aren't licensed RNs and we can't get jobs in hospitals! This is just a little, I mean ALOT, absurd! We have families to take care of! We have student loan payments that are going to come due before we know it. And Atlanta hospitals are FILLED! It's nearly impossible to find an RN job in the Atlanta area. But I will remain positive about my chances of even getting to take the state boards and eventually getting a job. As hard as it gets I know God will look out for us. And unfortunately we have made the decision to put adding a new little member to our family on hold for now. Fulton Paper got sold so we are unsure about Marty's employment future. It's so scary and money is SO tight right now. It's situation critical! But we're trying. I'm almost done with my summer BSN pre-req classes! Can't wait until those are done. Ugh! :-)

Television and Multiple Pregnancy

Ok, let me be blunt. I mean, it's my blog and that's what I can do LOL We all can here! Anyways, so we've all heard of Jon & Kate plus 8. I'm sorry, this has to be the most annoying show in the world. I remember seeing one of the very first episodes, before it was actually a long-running series. I was just completely turned off by it. I mean, the children are cute. But the mom - not so much. I tried telling myself "Well, it's REAL! Not all happy ya ya stuff" that I absolutely can't stand. I just couldn't get past this Kate character.

Since then (and before then) there has just been so much junk on television. And then there was this Octomom. Oh Lord help us all. I am TOTALLY turned off by her. And frankly, she makes me sick!

But I have actually come across a show where the people are REAL, hard working, and they are just so pleasant as people. I LOVE the show Raising Sextuplets! I'm addicted to it! And I am SOOOOO not the girly TV, reality show fanatic. I guess I'm just a geek LOL Oh and I can't help but say KUDOS to Grand Canyon University (the university where I'm going to be getting my BSN) for donating a van to this couple! (Thank you to my sweet hubby for noticing this!)



I tell you what though, when I watch this show I go into house cleaning overdrive! This woman is a PA and is raising 6 babies and STILL has time to clean house. Gives me NO excuse to have a dirty house! LOL

Anyways, I'm up for comments. I recommend yall take a look at this show on WE!

New pictures found of my brother

When my brother was alive he had a computer and, of course, he had photos on it. His girlfriend at the time (& mother to his daughter) received the computer for his daughter when she got older.

Yesterday my mom was able to get the computer for a little bit to get any pictures left on it. Today she was able to send them to me. Seeing those pictures was great, bittersweet even. Before I knew it I was emotional. Just a flood of emotions hit me. My brother seemed so "okay" and I still can't understand why it was time for him to leave us. I still can't help but feel like I should have been closer, I should have been best friends with him. I should have been supportive more. I should have told him I loved him more. I should have contributed to a happy life for him. In the grand scheme of things, I don't believe that our childhood of sibling fights and arguments contributed to his sadness. There were bigger issues on him. But still, if he had someone to "get him away" from everything that was stressing him, maybe he'd still be alive. I know about a year before he died, I sent him a job opening for one of the fire departments here (for a paramedic position) but my mom said he didn't qualify for something (probably a GA license).

Before he died he took a trip to Savannah. I know from being there, and at Tybee Island, that it's so pretty there. He was considering going for a job there, but decided against it. But from what I heard, he was on cloud nine there. Today I have more pictures of his trip. I can see the life in his eyes. He did seem happy there.

Well now here are some pictures and videos of him in the year or two before he died.





This is SO David. Being silly.





David in the blue shirt taking care of a patient in the ambulance.





David in his fire gear.





This is such a stunning picture. My brother is looking at the camera with the sun behind him, but I can't help but imagine him moving on to Heaven and turning around one last time to say "Goodbye".





LOL At first when I looked at this picture I thought he caught a small fish and was holding it. Figures. It's a shark.





Dave vs The Alligator :-)





Here is David with Natalie in Savannah. I still remember talking to her the night after David died. I know it was a shock to her. Like the rest of us, she didn't see it coming.





He loved Natalie so much and it looks like they were having so much fun in Savannah. This picture was taken June 24, 2004 almost 10 months before he died.





I wanted to add this picture of Illana running towards the ocean. I just can't imagine her innocense and happiness at that moment. She still remembers her Daddy and I hope she always knows that her Daddy will forever watch over her.





Here is my sweet neice again. Such an angel.





This is a video of my brother performing CPR chest compressions on a patient. I can't imagine how tired he is!





Here is another one that is brief but you can still see him doing chest compressions.

Check out this deal from SeaWorld and Busch Gardens/Aquatica!

Hopefully you have all read my blog in the past about my wonderful childhood experiences at SeaWorld. If not, I'll clue you in briefly. I grew up in Ohio and we used to have a SeaWorld up there. Our family would go there once every year or every other year or so. Fortunately, my dad made a video tape of our trip up there in 1991 (I believe that's the year). Even today I love watching the video. Mostly because of the great time we had and the HILARIOUS acts they put on at the diving pool, but also because it's one of the very few videos I have of my brother before he died.

There were a TON of things to do there! And getting to be so close to the animals was life changing. Breathtaking. They were SO beautiful! And I can't help but wonder how many people got the motivation for their careers working in the ocean from SeaWorld.

Now I live in Atlanta and SeaWorld is just a state drive away in Florida! We don't have to worry about reserving plane tickets and risking a "Home Alone" adventure (Ugh! Could you imagine?) It is my plan to take my boys there to experience the wonderful times that I had.

I recommend everyone take a look at my blog archives listed on the right column to read the review I gave of the new ride at SeaWorld called "Manta". It's definitely unique and you won't find anything like it anywhere!!! You fly through the air like a Manta Ray in the ocean! Yes, you are on your belly the whole time (except for the flips that put you on your back and every which way!!!) And the aquarium displays throughout are incredible.

Ok, as if that isn't AWESOME AS HECK enough they hit you with a big surprise: Buy a ticket at SeaWorld and you will get a ticket to Busch Gardens or Aquatica... FREE! How awesome is that? That's a DEAL for a nice vacation close by in Florida. Now where else in Florida can you get such a great deal for TWO parks that can't be beat? With the economy as bad as it is, we all need to find ways to save money. But we still have to live right? This is a great way to save and have memories that last a life time (like me!)

Be sure to check out these links to learn more. If you go make sure you come back and brag about your experience!:
SeaWorld
Manta

Sites for Moms

Ok, with the economy really stinking like it is, I need to find ways to save money in any way that I can. Fortunately, my best friend McKenzie, is a money saving genious and has recommended some things for me. So now, I'm going to pass some info along to all of you! These aren't just coupon sites, they are sites you can join that will also send you free samples and whatever. Enjoy!

BzzAgent.com - Here is a site that McKenzie recommended to me. You sign up, review sites and products, fill out a couple of surveys, and you work up your status. According to McKenzie they send her stuff to try out and write about! Yeah I'll do that! It's actually alot of fun. Right now I'm a little Carpenter Bee :-)

Coupons.com - They generally have a good number of coupons that you can print out on your printer without having to pay for the Sunday paper! Just print out the ones you use and you're on your way.

Walmart Free Samples - This is a "Must Site" for everyone out there who wants to try out stuff sold at Walmart for free. They rotate samples frequently, so bookmark it and check back frequently.

Shop4Freebies - I recommend clicking on all of the categories on the left hand side and going through all of the offers. If there are some you like, click on it! Very user friendly.

Alot.com - Get a free coupon toolbar and have access to free online coupons, get alerts on deals and sales, and more. Awesome!

Coupon Site - You just fill out a survey and you can print coupons. You are also entered into a chance to win a $1,500 gas card. Yeah, I'll take that LOL!

PlanningFamily.com - Baby on the way? Get free baby samples and coupons.

TopBrandSample.com - Get a free sample of Dove Cleansing Cloths & Neutrogena Cleansing Cloths repair and heal your skin. I think this one requires you to complete offers though.

I will add more when I find time to research some sites. If you have one to recommend please send me a message!

Colin's First YouTube Video

The Human Personality - Psychology Assignment

I am currently going through all of my old documents from almost 4 years of college. I will be adding them as much as I can, hopefully it can be of assistance to someone else who is writing reports or doing research. To find them, simply utilize the Archive on the right column. Enjoy!

The Human Personality

The personality is something exclusive to every human being. Our textbook (Wade & Tavris, 2006, p. 454) defines it as “a distinctive pattern of behavior, mannerisms, thoughts, motives, and emotions that characterizes an individual over time and across different situations.” Figuring out exactly who you are and how you think can be a rather interesting feat. With today’s resources (such as the internet) people are discovering more of who they are and work to change the problems with their personality that are counterproductive in their world.

According to most personality researchers, there are five main personality traits, known as the Big Five (Wade & Tavris, 2006, p. 464). The first is “extroversion versus introversion”. In other words is someone outgoing or shy? The next is neuroticism versus emotional stability. This is usually where pessimistic and anxious people are pinpointed. The third trait is “Agreeableness versus antagonism”. Is the person sociable and friendly or hostile and unfriendly? Fourth is “Conscientious versus impulsive”. Is the person dependable or are they reckless and careless? Last is “Openness to experience versus resistance to new experiences”. Is the person open-minded when it comes to experiencing life, or are they routine and against change?

Everyone can find themselves in those different groups. To find out which I was, I took a test (for entertainment purposes only) at Outofservce.com and found it to be very insightful. After answering various questions about my personality my results were sent to me (shown below):

Your Results

Closed-Minded
Conscientious
Introverted
Disagreeable
Agreeable
Calm / Relaxed

I agree, for the most part, with the results of the test. I can see where I am more closed-minded. I like routine more than I like to switch things up. I am very conscientious and can be introverted. In some situations I can be very outgoing, but in any given situation I can be more on the shy side. I also agree that I am more on the agreeable spectrum (How ironic?). And I am very calm and relaxed. I don’t get worked up much, unless I’m in traffic. But overall I’m a very dependable, hard-worker that takes responsibility very seriously and gets along great with lots of different types of people.

I believe that the introverted factor comes from genetics. People say they are more like their mom or more like their dad. I have to say most aspects of my personality come from my dad. I’m introverted, reasonably intelligent, modest, and a deep-thinker. My mother, on the other hand is the opposite. She’s very extroverted and carefree. With these two extremes I can see where genetics play a huge part on our personalities. My brother, who grew up in the same exact household, had more of my mother’s personality. We had the same upbringing environment but had two different personalities mirroring both parents. Genetics is a very important part of personality.

A person’s personality is something that is apparent on a daily basis, but what really makes up the personality and the forces that come together to make someone the way they are is very interesting. Hopefully everyone will take the effort to learn more about themselves and those around them. Maybe then we can learn to work better with each other through understanding.



References
Wade, Carole & Tavris, Carol (2006). Psychology. Eighth Edition. New York: Worth Effects of severe daily events on mood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 137-144.

Porter, Jeff (2000-2003) The Big Five Personality http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive

Diabetes, Miscarriage, TTC and everything (long!)

Ok right now we are in the discovery phase of trying to have another baby. We want to wait until I am licensed and working. BTW Good news is that I might have a job lined up as an RN once I pass the boards! So I'm praying that works out. At first she just wanted to offer me a PRN position, but once she found out that I'd be an RN, not an LPN, she got excited and said that she will have a FT position for me (but I have to have my license before I can practice as an RN of course).

So anyways. A little history. There was a time when I was married to my first husband that we were trying for a baby. We went years unable to conceive. And this was after we already had a son (he was a surprise). In fact, after I had my son I went months and months with no period. They were REAL erratic. I was lucky to have 2 or 3 a year. I went to the Navy doctor and she just brushed it off saying I was too young to have fertility issues (I was 20). According to her the only way for me to get pregnant was to have monthly periods and the only way to have monthly periods was to go on the pill. Whatever. Needless to say I never did get pregnant again. Good thing too because him and I divorced a few years later.

Jump ahead a few years. Still erratic and rare periods. My current husband and I were dating for over two years and I was feeling really sick all the time (no, not like you think). I felt really emotional, tired, and just real lousy. I was trying to lose weight on the Atkins Diet. For those of you who aren't too familiar with it you barely eat any carbs and that makes your body burn fat for energy (rather than using carbs). A by-product of this is something called ketones. More ketones = more fat burning. You can buy test strips to check this. Anyways, Marty and I were on the diet together at the same time. His will power is greater and he stuck to it religiously. I cheated LOL But one night we bought ketone test strips to check out progress. YAY! He was showing trace ketones! That meant he was really starting to burn fat! Then I went to check, fully expecting to confront my food cheating ways to a negative ketone strip. Imagine my surprise when I had off the chart ketones! My body was flooded with ketones and I wasn't even trying! I thought that was a great thing, but it was actually pointing to something more serious.

So I set up an appointment for all of this yucky feelings I had. I wasn't even thinking about the ketones at that time. So I went to my doctor and she put me on the pill for the periods (and the fact we weren't TTC). She also did the routine tests and sent me on my way. A few days later I got a call back. She wanted me to come in to have my blood retested. There were some numbers out of whack. So I came in and sure enough a few days later I got a call to come in to the office.

When I came in my doctor told me that my blood tests were showing that I might have diabetes. My fasting blood sugar was very high and she wanted me to be seen as soon as possible with a specialist in town. I got an appointment for him as well. I had to come in the next day for a fasting blood sugar check. I couldn't eat after midnight. I was so scared of having diabetes that I didn't eat after 9 the night before. I wanted my blood sugar to be as low as possible.

That morning I drove to the doctor's office as scared as could be. My beloved grandmother died years before within a month of being diagnosed with diabetes. That was so traumatic I didn't want to die either. I went in and they pricked my finger and put the blood on a strip. I asked the nurse what it needs to be and she said less than 110 to be normal. A few seconds later a number popped up. I looked at the machine and then looked at her as numb as could be waiting for her to say something. "Honey I think you're diabetic". Instantly I broke down. No way! I can't be diabetic! The nurse left the room to go get the doctor.

He came in and introduced himself. He was very kind and seemed to be understanding. I was waiting for him to say "Well, I don't think you're diabetic". But he didn't. He just confirmed that all the fasting blood tests all pointed to one thing. I was diabetic. He explained that's why I was feeling so run down and sick. Also explained how emotional I was during the holidays when all I did was ate and ate. My blood sugar was probably sky rocketing. It also explained the high ketones that were showing up on the strip. My body didn't have enough insulin to turn the carbs I ate into energy, so it was feeding off of my body. But in diabetics, high ketones can be dangerous.

They tried me on a special diet and eventually two different medications. I had to check my blood sugar several times a day and report those numbers to my doctor. The numbers were still very high and weren't coming down. So my doctor decided to add insulin shots to my daily care. So I had to learn how to give myself shots every day. Eventually that helped quite a bit.

In the meantime, my original OB/GYN diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS. Women with PCOS generally don't ovulate and have erratic periods. They also tend to put alot of weight on. All of that was happening to me. The treatment for PCOS is a diabetes drug called Metformin (Glucophage). That just happened to be the medication they put me on for the high blood sugar.

So I was suddenly on all of these pills and injections for diabetes and PCOS. But a few months later I was back to no periods. What the heck? I went to the doctor and I couldn't believe it. I was pregnant! WHAAAT? Because we weren't expecting it we were pretty shocked. But eventually Marty and I got used to the idea and became SO excited. We eventually went to the doctor for an ultrasound. I was 9 weeks pregnant and we watched our baby on the screen. It looked like it was kicking and waving at us! Wow. It looked like a little teddy bear. We named it "Baby Bear".

Because I was diabetic I had to set up an appointment with a Maternal-Fetal Specialist. Since we just had an ultrasound the week before Marty went on to work that day. But this doctor wanted a baseline for their records. YAY! I get to see my baby again!

But when the nurse showed the baby up on the screen she started asking me questions like when I had my last ultrasound and what they said and all that. I could tell something was wrong. It looked like the baby was at the bottom of that black sac and wasn't moving around like it was the week before. No kicks, no waves. The nurse tried to scan for a heart beat but wasn't able to find one. She said she was going to get the doctor and in the meantime I could call Marty. I called him up on his way to work and I told him they couldn't find a heartbeat on the baby. He said he was turning around and coming there right away.

Finally the doctor came in and took a look at the monitor. He confirmed that some time between my last ultrasound and that day our baby died inside of me. My body hadn't realized it yet. I wasn't cramping or bleeding or anything. I still had morning sickness. But there was no doubt. He sent Marty and I to my regular OB/GYN and while we were driving they called ahead to his office. When we got there they took us back right away. Emotionally we were a mess. Shocked.

My doctor gave me the option of waiting for my body to miscarry at home or to go to the hospital for a D&C. I didn't like the idea of the D&C, but because I had a stillborn baby in the past that I didn't go into labor for (and ended up in a septic shock coma) we all decided it was best to do the D&C so we wouldn't risk another septic missed miscarriage.

I was a mess that night. Marty took care of me all night. I wanted to take Nyquil just to knock myself out and then to have the surgery done at the hospital the next morning. But for a moment it crossed my mind that I couldn't take Nyquil because I was pregnant. Then I remembered, yes I'm pregnant, but my baby isn't alive. So in grief I took the Nyquil.

I spent a week off of work and I was so upset. I hurt so bad emotionally an physically. When I followed up with the doctor again he put me on a stronger birth control pill, thinking it would work better than the low dose pill I was on.

A couple of months later - SURPRISE! We're pregnant. WHAAAAT?! HOW?! I TOOK THE PILLS RELIGIOUSLY!!

Since we just lost the last baby we were scared to be pregnant again. Plus we weren't married yet and we received alot of grief over the last pregnancy out of wedlock. Great. How do we tell people we're pregnant again. Ugh.

Well, this time I didn't miscarry. We eventually became so excited and on September 5, 2004 our son Colin Joseph was born. He was 5 weeks premature and spent a week in NICU on a breathing machine but he did great after that. Now he's almost 5 years old!

So now here we are. For the last 2 years we have considered adding one more baby to our beautiful mix. Yes, we've been married now for a number of years :-) and we have an amazing marriage. I just can't even begin to explain how in love we are. Every day is like a honeymoon. Just so in love. We're both college educated and once I'm employed in the next month or two we are going to start trying big time.

But for now I am checking my basal body temperature to see if I even ovulate. According to last months chart I DID ovulate!!! And the luteal phase is long enough to support a pregnancy, if one occurs. So once I'm employed as an RN and bringing in an income we're going to make it happen. My new OB/GYN wants to try me on a fertility drug called Clomid because of my history with PCOS, but we're going to try it the natural way (without the high risk of twins and triplets!) And if we aren't able to get pregnant on our own then I'll have my temperature charts to show the doctor.

Please let me know if you are interested in this temperature tracking site. It's completely free and offers explanations and support all the way. I highly recommend it. Simply post a comment or send me an email to gapolaks (at) (gmail) (dot) com and I'll send you an invite! :-)