Big Week

This was a pretty big week for me.  The first week back after a break is always interesting.

Monday: I got the paperwork to fill out for graduation.  It was pretty exciting to see that I'll be graduating cum laude.  It's really cool to see that I'll my hard work has paid off.  I also met with Dr. Leo.  I am so very thankful God has given me such an amazing doctor.  He is very knowledgeable and does an excellent job of relaying the information to me.  He said my ultrasound looked perfect.  My blood counts are still low.  He switched my iron supplement to Bifera which is supposed to be easier on my stomach.  The main bummer is that although it's still OTC it costs $20 instead of $3.  It's totally worth it though to not feel sick.  We hired the new RA to replace me.  It's a weird feeling.  It seems like I just became an RA.  I think Bekah will do a great job.  It's hard to balance investing in the girls for the last month and a half of school and starting to let go.

Tuesday: I ordered my new car!!!  I have been very thankful for my Pontiac Sunfire.  It's served me well for the past five years.  We've had some good memories together.  It was my very first car.  It has never broken down or gotten a flat tire.  However, it's time to upgrade a bit.  I ordered a 2011 Ford Fiesta.  It should be here in 3-7 weeks.  It's cool to think that I'll be the first owner.  Although my Sunfire was kept up pretty well, I think the previous owner was a smoker.  What was my clue?  A couple of burn marks on the ceiling and chair.  The dealer said I've chosen a pretty "basic" version of the Fiesta.  It's interesting to see how "basic" has changed over the past ten years when my Sunfire was made.  My Sunfire is "basic" - manual windows, manual locks, manual mirrors, no keyless entry, etc.  My "basic" Fiesta will have automatic windows, automatic locks, keyless entry, MP3 hookup, CD player, etc.  I'm most excited about the locks and windows.  It's the little things, baby!

Wednesday: I worked in the church nursery in the morning and evening.  I'm guaranteed a good laugh every single time I work.  Three year old boy: "I use plastic spoons to bench press, but sometimes Mommy cooks with them."  Obviously, what he's doing is normal, and she's the weird-o.  On Wednesday nights my family always eats dinner with my grandparents (Memaw and Pepaw).  Memaw is quite the cook!

Thursday: I meet with Carey every Thursday morning.  Our time together is such a breath of fresh air.  She's an excellent example of a loving and Godly wife, mother, and friend.

Friday: I got to have lunch with my dear friend Tarah.  Tarah and I have been friends since we were in diapers.  It's a bummer that we don't get to hang out quite as much now, but every time we get together it's great.  Conversation comes so easily with her.  I gave a speech in advanced public speaking.  It didn't go as well as I had expected.  It's different when you don't prepare for a test, presentation, or paper and then do poorly.  But when you prepare and study your butt off you should be rewarded properly.

Saturday: I was the RA on call this weekend so I worked 1:00-5:00.  It was open dorm so I got to go over to Robert's room.  We watched Superstar.  Hilarious!  Then we played a game called trains.  Robert dominated.  I guess guys never get too old to play with trains.

Sunday: We all got to eat lunch with my parents.  Delicious!  Then Robert and I walked around the neighborhood.  It's 80 degrees today, people!  Now I'm working in the dorm office from 2:00-5:00.  I got employee of the month at work last week and was rewarded with a $15 giftcard to Subway.  I think tonight will be a perfect night for a free dinner date with my man.

This week looks like it should be pretty chill.  No tests, papers, or presentations.  Just lots of work and babysitting. 

I've been reading a book called One Thousand Gifts.  It's a great challenge.  The author spent several months writing down 1000 gifts and blessings.  What a great way to show our gratitude.  I think there's something to be said for actually stopping to write down gifts.  It makes it seem more real.  I want a heart that continually seeks an attitude of gratitude.

48 days til graduation.

I've Seen Better Days

Oh man.  It's been a whirlwind of a week.  Recap:

- Went to KC with Robert on Monday.  Crazy trip.  Didn't get back home til 2am.  Plus side: Got to see my dear friend Jen for a bit.

- My car broke down.  Pretty much everything that could have gone wrong happened.  I put it in reverse and it went kaplunk, put it in drive and it revved up a bunch, the check oil light came on, the check battery light came on, and the power steering went out.  Of course when my dad came to look at it it worked fine for him.  Does that sort of thing ever happen to anybody else?  We had a friend look at it.  Apparently the carborator (spelling?) was totally clogged.  Scary!  He fixed it. :)

- I had mono last spring.  With that it's totally normal to have low white blood cell counts, low platelet counts, high monocytes, and high lymphocytes for about six months.  So every few months I've gone in to have my blood re-tested.  It's been nearly a year now.  I got the results to my most recent test two days ago.  Everything is still out of whack.  Very discouraging.  My doctor is finally being proactive and has referred me to an oncologist and hematologist (cancer and blood doctor), but it's really scary.  If something is wrong I want to nip it in the bud.  So I guess the oncologist (Dr. Leo) is going to look over my records and then set up an appointment with me.  It could be something like: "No worries.  You're white blood cell counts are always low.  Happens to the best of us."  Or, as my primary care physician mentioned, it could be something like: "You have leukemia or lymphoma.  Wish we would have done something about it when we realized your counts were off 12 months ago!"

- I skipped all my classes on Tuesday.  I like to think of it as a mental health day.  Think my absences will be excused?

- I work in the church nursery on Wednesday mornings during a Mom's Bible study.  I have older 2's and younger 3's in my room.  Quote of the day: While playing with Play-Dough one of the kids stuck a blob on his finger and shouted, "Finger puppets!!!" Presh.

- I helped buy a new microwave for the dorm.  One of the fun parts of being an RA. ;)  In case you were wondering, it's not a good idea to microwave a cookie with a sheet of computer paper and a metal fork in there in as well.  Shocking.

- I sponsor a girl named Happiness through World Vision.  She lives in Zimbabwe, and I've been sponsoring her for a year and a half.  I wrote her the other day.  I'm so thankful for the opportunity to bless and be blessed by her.

- Sad story: On December 15 I ordered two tickets to a Yellowcard concert in KC on April 5.  Robert's favorite band of all time is Yellowcard.  When we first started dating he mentioned he wished he could have gone to one of their concerts before they broke up.  Well, this month they're releasing a new CD and going on tour.  March 13 is our 1 year anniversary.  So I got us tickets 3 months ago (4 months before the concert) to celebrate.  Guess what.  Robert has a choir concert the same night and will fail choir if he skips us.  What else? There are no refunds.  See ya later, 70 bucks!

No Such Luck

Well my attempt to donate blood was unsuccessful to say the least.  My iron was too low.  Speaking of blood, today I went to the doctor to get a CBC test done.  I've had low white blood cell counts for about 10 months now.  Hopefully this time it will be better.  I love the lady who usually draws my blood, Molly, but she had a baby about 3 weeks ago.  That's totally awesome, but she abandoned me in my time of need!  She knows my veins.  Today's experience was far from pleasant.  Poked the right arm: a few droplets came out.  Threw it away.  Poked the left arm: Absolutely nothing came out.  Poked the right arm again: A bit came out.  It's not very encouraging when the nurse says, "Hope this is enough to test it."  Cool.

I think my two tests went well yesterday.  Although stressing about tests is not fun, it's always exciting to get out earlier than usual.

I met with my dear friend Carey yesterday morning.  We've been getting together one morning a week for over a year now.  We share what's going on in our lives and then discuss the book we're reading.  So far we've read Calm my Anxious Heart, Choosing Gratitude, and now we're reading A Beautiful Offering.  Lately I've been learning that becoming more like Jesus isn't just going to happen one day.  It's a conscious effort.  I'm learning more and more what God requires of me.  I may not always choose the right thing, but I'm growing.

 Carey's cuties: Miles (above) and Cooper (below)

I'm the RA on call this weekend. Basically this means I'll sit in the dorm office Saturday from 5:00-midnight and hand out toilet paper twice because the other 150 girls are gone for the weekend.  If I'm focused it's usually a really good time to do homework.  I'm hoping I can write a research paper for Medieval and Renaissance Literature.  It's about Langland and his work of "Piers Plowman."  Should be invigorating.  haha

Robert's basketball team, the Viscous Fishes, fell to the Fascist Giraffes last night.  I'll know they'll get a victory soon though.

It rained/sleeted/snowed last night, but this is nothing compared to the 20 inches we got a couple of weeks ago.  Alright, off to class.  Happy Friday!

Test Week

I've entered week 5 of classes.  That means it's time for the first round of tests.  I have two on Thursday.  Trying to motivate myself to start studying early.

I'm going to attempt to give blood this afternoon.  This is a huge deal for me.  I tried giving blood when I was a junior in high school (about four and a half years ago), and it was not successful.  After sitting there for over an hour with a gigantic needle in my arm the nurse finally decided my blood had clotted so she threw away what little blood I had produced.  I was left with a horrible bruise for about a month.  Here's hoping this time it's more of a positive experience.

I had room checks last night.  I'm a resident assistant so I have to check the girls' rooms on my hall every two weeks.  It's always funny to see the different concepts of "clean."  For some girls it involves dusting, cleaning the mirror, vacuuming, sweeping, taking out the trash, doing laundry, making the bed, cleaning the bathroom, and spraying air freshener.  For other girls it involves having a messier room than my room is on "messy" days.  It's rather funny actually.

Robert's intramural team played last night.  They almost pulled out a victory but ended up losing by three points.  They play again tonight at 6:30, and I just know the Vicious Fishes are going to get their first W.

Epic accomplishment: When Robert and I first started lift weights I couldn't even lift the bench press bar (45 pounds).  I know...pathetic.  A few weeks ago I started to be able to do 10 reps.  Well today I did a max lift of 65 pounds!  That's the bar (45) plus a ten on each side (20).   I'm sure I'll be feeling it tomorrow.

Mom and I went on a walk today.  I miss the days where we used to always work out together in high school.  I love talking with her.  She's the best!