for those wanting the transcript... ;)

i've had several messages saying that people couldn't watch my pinning speech, so i thought i'd post it here for your reading pleasure.  :P

i've neglected my blog way too long.  life has just been soo crazy.  finishing the lpn program, finals, pinning, PASSING BOARDS!!!!!!, and starting back to school to finish my rn...whew.  so yeah.  i'm going to try to be back.  it may be sporadic at first.  but i've only got a little over 8 months to go and i'll be DONE WITH SCHOOL!!!!!  i'll have my LIFE back!  i'll be able to focus on something besides tests and studying.  woo hoo!!!

speaking of tests and studying...i have a really tough one tomorrow night.  i need to get back to this mess.  i'll leave you with my speech.  ps.  i told myself i wouldn't cry while i was speaking...yeah, nice try.  :P 

faculty members, fellow students, family and friends, welcome. 
    i would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow classmates for choosing me to speak tonight at our pinning.  i know it was just because i'm the only one in the class that doesn't mind speaking in public (just kidding).  i am honored and humbled to be standing here in front of you all.  :)
        you should be a nurse when you grow up...
    i heard this several times when I was younger and i always responded with a resounding NO WAY.  having been diagnosed with crohn's disease at age 13, i had spent too much of my time in hospitals, and i was not about to willingly choose a career that would place me there every day. 
    when i was first diagnosed, i had no idea the impact crohn's disease would have on my life.  i had never been hospitalized, but suddenly found myself with an IV in my arm awaiting my very first colonoscopy--um, i'm sorry--you're putting WHAT WHERE??  needless to say i was terrified. 
    after many years of doctor visits, medications, hospitalizations, and surgeries, i became bitter and angry. every day was a struggle.  but after one last life saving surgery, my outlook changed.  crohn's disease would not defeat me.  i would not let it, and i wanted to somehow help others do the same--but NOT as a nurse.  my mind was made up, and it would take something extremely significant to change it. 
              three and a half years ago, i developed fistulas in my skin in which i needed to change the dressings and repack the wounds every day in order to allow them to heal.  it was painful.  and disgusting.  but it was by far the coolest thing i'd ever done.  i cracked up when I realized, yes, i am meant to be a nurse.
    so here we are.  we are nurses.  it seems like yesterday that we were sitting in the big classroom in the other building wide eyed and freaked out.  nothing could have prepared us for the things that we would experience in the next two years.  flashcards redecorated many of our houses and even the dashboards of our cars.  we spent late study nights gulping gallons of caffeine just to try to figure out what in the heck parasympathomimetics meant.  even in our sleep we were not exempt from nightmares of writing those dreaded careplans!!!  nursing diagnosis: anxiety related to never ending tests as evidenced by nausea, tachycardia and diaphoresis.
    we all have overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.  we have become more efficient and achieved more than we ever thought we could.  and we finally figured out what parasympathomimetics are!!  in the last two years we have gone from being strangers to being a team...a family.  we have seen each other at our best, and our worst.  we have fallen apart together and picked each other back up again.  we have persevered. 
    yet, we didn't get to this moment by ourselves.  the past two years, you, our families and friends have stood by us as we stressed and worried, cried and laughed, and bailed on you yet again because we had to study.  we apologize.  but we also thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting us and standing with us as we reached for our dreams.  without your sacrifice and encouragement, we would not be here.   
    i would also like to thank our instructors both in the classroom and the clinical setting for standing with us and teaching us.  you have imparted much knowledge, experience and wisdom to us and for that we are forever grateful.  you have been incredible role models and your hard work has given us a foundation in which we will continue to build on for years to come.  thank you!
    After tonight, many of us will go our separate ways.  Some of us will start new jobs, some will continue their education, one of us will even serve our country deployed overseas.  i have never been more proud of myself or my nursing buddies.  this is our night.  this is OUR night!  the night we have sacrificed and worked so tirelessly towards.  tonight, my friends, we are nurses.  congratulations!!!

LPN pinning ceremony

my classmates voted me class speaker for the pinning ceremony.  i was so honored to write it!  :)



i was pinned thursday night!  i'm officially a nurse!  well...a pinned nurse...i still have to pass boards to be totally official.  i will be continuing on to the RN program in the fall...3 more semesters and i'll be done!!!!

because margarine freaks me out...

i don't know about you, but margarine freaks me out a little.  a few years ago, there was some kind of email deal going around about margarine being one molecule away from plastic...and now, i've had chemistry and microbiology, and several (like lots) of nutrition classes and i understand that even a difference of a molecule makes it a whole separate substance...BUT the truth is, margarine is fake fat.

FAKE FAT.  cause the real stuff isn't bad enough.

yeah...just freaks me out.

so.  i use the real deal.  stick butter.  hard, sticks of butter.  it just feels better to me.

BUT...

what do i do when i have a lovely yummy biscuit, or some toast, or a muffin, or zuchinni bread, or banana bread, or pancakes, or waffles, and all i want is some spreadable butter?

my mom started me in on doing this back when i was in high school.

take one stick of butter and a half cup of extra virgin olive oil (equal amounts).  cut up the butter into small pieces and put it in your mixer.  beat starting slow so you don't slosh oil all over your kitchen, then work your way up to full speed.  i usually let the mixture whip for about 10-15 minutes.  it will turn fluffy and a pale yellow/white color.  put it in a tupperware bowl, snap on the top and let it firm up in the fridge.  it will be the consistency of margarine after it's been in the fridge for awhile.

perfect.  spreadable.  tasty and easy.  not fake and not freaky.
try it!  you'll never know it's not...margarine.  :)

note from my mom...

dear renee,

remember when we were shopping a few weeks ago and i told you to hide your eyes so i could pick out your easter candy???  well...the easter bunny got hungry.  sorry.

love, mom (aka the easter bunny)

miss you, sweet friend

1987-2011

Erica Christine "Kiki"Dumey, now face-to-face with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Beloved and cherished daughter of David A. and Deborah R. Dumey; precious and fun-loving sister of Kara (Chad) Mihalick, Bryan, Leah, and Hannah; treasured granddaughter of Gilbert L. (the late Dortha) and Cindy Hoch; dear niece, friend, neighbor, and co-worker; special friend of Andrea, Mary, Cheryl, Amanda, and Allison. Erica never met a stranger and lit up the room simply by smiling; she charmed everyone she met. She spoke truth with love, and lived on the edge of whatever she pursued, but mostly, we remember her for bringing unprecedented joy into our lives. Her "What's up, Baby?" is forever ingrained in our hearts.

Erica graduated summa cum laude from Oklahoma Baptist University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Spanish Education. She pursued her passion of hairstyling at LaPlante Hairstyling and Barbering in 2010-11. Her talent was quickly recognized and clients asked for her by name. She was active in her church, The Journey, and found many loving friends there.

If desired, donations in Erica's memory may be made to: Locks of Love, the American Red Cross, the Mental Health Association, The Journey Church, the charity of your choice or simply give flowers to someone you care about, a practice Erica loved. Erica will be missed every single day, but it is with absolute assurance that we know we shall see her again and spend Eternity with her.

one...

1.  one of the best feelings in the world is taking a shower in your own apartment after a stay in the hospital.
2.  i am ok.  just got a virus and got dehydrated.  the joys of living with an ileostomy (named howie...if you haven't been introduced).
3.  howie can be a punk.  but he keeps me alive...so i put up with it.
4.  i'm tired.
5.  i love spring.
6.  i also love having my windows open and a fan on.
7.  i really want some hot wings right now.  but i know my body would not be pleased.
8.  this list is really random.
9.  i blame the tiredness.
10.  that is all. 

spring break project...

 

my parents got me this BEAUTIFUL mirror for my birthday.  dad came up today and put it up for me.  :) love it!!!