Love this Picture!

JCCC

Accepted into Johnson County Community College's LPN program today. The letter came by certified mail. Huge ego boost to me because, according to what I've heard, there were a lot of people applying for that particular program. I heard it was 300 and when I asked in the interview how many people they would be accepting, the answer was 25.

I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with the 1 year BSN program at Research but still....it swelled my head a little to know that now I've been accepted into two different programs. Wow.

December 8, 2010

Hardest friggin' class ever! Seriously. The teacher could've been speaking in Greek for all the sense it made. I took this class way back when and if memory serves, I got an F and then I took it again and got a D. Finally, it became my "diploma" class (meaning that I couldn't graduate until I passed it) so I struggled and eked out a C. So when I found out I had to have it as a prerequisite for nursing, I practically broke out in hives.

I have worked my ass of this semester and I'm going into the final with an A. Hopefully I won't bomb the final and will come out of the class with an A. It would be a serious Praise the Lord moment!

But here's my positive for the day: There's a gal in my class who is already a nurse. She's bright, you can tell. She is going for her master's and when she originally went through nursing school, Chem wasn't a pre-req. But since it is now, she has to take it. I was talking to her tonight and asking her what she thought the very hardest nursing class was. Everyone kept suggesting answers to her, mostly along the lines of Pathophysiology and Pharmacology. She agreed that those were very hard classes. Then she said....."But hands down, this is the hardest class I've ever taken". I was THRILLED to hear her say that. First of all, misery loves company. But most important, if she thinks this is the hardest class, then maybe I will be okay after all.

December 7, 2010

I was thoroughly enthralled with a Hulu'd episode of The Sing Off. I had seen a small version that Leigh Garnett posted on her Facebook, which featured the Whiffenpoofs from Yale University. The lead singer was Brennan Caldwell....a young man who had previously been at Oakhill when we were there. He was, and is, extremely talented. Because I knew him, I sat and watched the entire episode on my computer. I then hooked Max into it and I watched it again with him when he got home. Better than American Idol!

But the coolest thing by far was that I KNEW this kid. His mom and I hit it off right away when I was on Parent's Guild with her. She was one of the most creative people I have ever known. She made designs for scrapbooker magazines and was published. She was an attorney by trade but that job didn't suit her. She was a Martha Stewart. Brennan, and his little brother, Austin were always around when we had meetings (as were Max and Tucker). JoLynn (Brennan's mom) gave my boys hand me downs. Brennan taught me the Green Room riddle (classic!)

Then came that fateful day when I was asked to serve on the Board of Directors for Oakhill. Unbeknownst to me, a plan had already been set in place to abolish the Middle School. Whether it was financial or just a clash of egos between the current president and the past president will always remain a mystery. I walked into a firestorm and didn't even realize it. I was so excited to be a part of the inner workings of Oakhill but it was during that very first month that I had to look my friends (JoLynn being one of them) in the eye and tell them that they would have to find another school for their children. It was unbelievably sad. Most people realized that I didn't have anything to do with the decision but I think that some of them felt I should resign my position as a way to show support for them. I didn't resign. And I lost friends because of that decision. JoLynn never spoke to me again. Until today.

I wrote her personal letters, I sent private inbox messages through Facebook, I emailed her....nothing. So, sadly, I gave up. But today after seeing Brennan's phenomenal performance, I thought it couldn't hurt to let her know I was impressed. So I did. It was short and to the point. I had given up on any friendship with her but that didn't mean that I couldn't be complimentary regarding her kids.

She responded to said message with a short message of her own....she thanked me for my kind words and said she appreciated the support. I would have been dancing on air but then it hit me. The final group in The Sing Off wins based on votes from the viewing public. ***Big sigh****

The positive in all this is:

Brennan is great,

we KNOW Brennan and have fond memories of the times we spent with him,

I gave it my all to resume my friendship with JoLynn and have no regrets that there were words left unsaid,

and here's the big one.....this is HER issue...not mine.

The key is to STUDY! That's what I do and....guess what?.........IT PAYS OFF! I got straight A's on both of the Chemistry tests I took last week. Go Lisa! I am so proud of myself. And every time I make an A on a test or an assignment, it gives me even more confidence to know that I CAN do the one year BSN program!

December 5, 2010

Haven't been very good at keeping up with this blog but I have several reasons to do so from here on out:

1. I am going off my Niacin and changing from Lipitor (outrageously expensive!) to Zocor (cheap, cheap, cheap) and I need to find a way to keep my stress level down. All of this is a good thing as I would sincerely like to be medicine free so I am also going to get on a diligent schedule of working out and eating sensible nutritious meals.

2. If I am starting this whirlwind of a nursing school ride, I need to stay focused on the positive. If I don't watch out, I will get overtired, under nourished, stressed to the max. It is imperative that I have a time during the day that I decompress. Going over the positives of the day will surely bring more positive to my life.

3. If I am about to enter this next phase of my life (that dreaded "M" word again!), I want to keep as much on an even keel as possible. From what I've heard, the hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and mood swings can be frustrating. Because I'm not clinically diagnosed as menopausal yet, I think I have the chance to really positively think myself through this without falling prey to those nasty symptoms. But that will take enough sleep, good nutrition, good study habits, not losing my cool, getting enough exercise and thinking positive.

Even though I haven't started listing the positives of today, reading what I just wrote makes me grateful for having the ability to change things around in my head.

So here goes for today:

1. I got a really good night's sleep last night.

2. Rich made me coffee, even though he himself went out to get a latte. I am blessed with an adoring husband.

3. I made it through the review of Unit 2 for my Chemistry final and remarkably recalled a lot of what I have learned, even though it's been a couple of months since we did that unit.

4. Rich fixed the toilet! Yay! And on Friday, he fixed the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet! Yay!

5. I bought the most awesome cinnamon scented pine cones and put them in a basket on the dining room table so every time I pass through there, I take a deep breath. So yummy smelling.

6. I'm trying to make peace with the fact that my Christmas tree has no lights. I've just decided that if we don't get them fixed, I will buy another tree after Christmas when they are on sale. Having no lights can really put me in a tail spin because I love them so much so I am really trying to deep breathe myself through this one.

And, last but not least, I am so happy that I have made the plans to turn my life into a healthy positive one!