Another Day...

Good morning! Monday morning, a week before school begins, and im beginning to feel the pressure... So, this morning I came across a bit of yummyness to make my monday morning a little better. You see, my morning didn't start off so well, but more on that later. First though, The Morning Cup of Joe.

Oh, yes, he gets MY McSteamy going!!!

So, after my next story, you may feel the need to revisit The Morning Cup of Joe. By all means, be my guest!
So... here goes...
Living in the Northwoods means living around all kinds of creatures. We have bears, deer, wolves, insects, reptiles, the list goes on and on. By all means, we have no shortage of wildlife. While I love my life here in the Northwoods of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, there is one thing that strikes fear into me more than anything in the world.

Spiders.

Plain and simple.

 I was in the bathroom and a HUGE 8 legged creepy crawled out of the overflow spout of the sink... I swear it was targeting me, watching me do my thing, waiting for that perfect moment to strike! Well hubby was a good sport, sprayed about half a bottle of Mr. Clean into BOTH overflow drains and ran HOT water into both sinks. So I THINK we got him!
THEN I was sitting on the couch and another one, not quite as big but none the less scary creepy decided to crawl across the arm of the couch next to me... I killed it then cried. Not because I was sad that I killed a spider but because I am really honestly terrified of them. I told Alex if I see one more inside the house today, I am SO GONE... so if I run out screaming, he knows WHY...

OK, now feel free to revisit The Morning Cup of Joe and get relaxed and happy again.

Alright, I know I feel better now!

Next update, my new obsession. Tophatter.com

If you are into buying all sorts of things and love the thrill of the auction, then this is the place for you. They sell everything. Really, I mean EVERYTHING! There are categories of auctions such as "Designer Brands" " Supplies", which is generally crafting supplies, " Handmade Only" which is all, top quality, handmade items, "Jewelry", "Art", "Edibles", the list is endless. Tophatter is absolutly FUN! You can even schedule your own items to sell, which is what I have been doing. In one day I sold two items. This is great for me and I look forward to getting more items in and sold!

As I said, it is about a week before school begins and im getting super excited. My last post I started some tips for nursing students, so I suppose I shall post some more.

3. Lets start with YOU. Make sure you are giving yourself time for YOU. You need to take care of yourself. This means getting enough sleep, eating right, drinking enough fluids and even having time when you are NOT thinking about school (uhh... easier said than done, but you have to MAKE YOURSELF!) You know how much sleep you need every night. You KNOW how to eat well. SO DO IT! Drink plenty of water, especially on days when you will have clinicals. It is recommended that you spend 2 hours each week STUDYING for EACH course credit you are taking. But you HAVE to find "ME TIME" or you will essentially go nuts.

4.  PAY ATTENTION! You may say uhh... DUH... but just wait. There will be subjects that you will totally zone out on, especially when it comes to the legal chapters. But by all means, PAY ATTENTION! TAKE NOTES! It may not be as interesting as how to read an EKG or how to insert a catheter, but they teach it for a reason. You need to KNOW this stuff! The things they teach you are a part of your NCLEX so if you don't pay attention you may miss something important. Also... it is so disrespectful to your instructors if you are goofing off, whispering, fidgiting and stuff during their lecture. STAY AWAKE! PAY ATTENTION!

Well, with one week left to go, there is still much to do around the house. Later this week meals will be prepped (HEALTHY eating is KEY!) for lunches at school and dinners at home. Time to organize my study space (which since both my husband and I attend school full time, we take over the dining room table for our studies), get my books together (have you SEEN the amount of nursing books there are for ONE semester???) and ready my supplies.





I LOVE school supplies. Really. It's a sickness. I am a school supply hoarder.

Time to play catch up

So wow... it has been like 9 months since I have made a post. Not good especially since I said I was going to post more often! But hey, who's reading this anyway? It has been a busy busy 9 months for me. I survived my first semester of nursing classes and have one semester to go before I am able to get my LPN. That has been my main focus over these months. I have also been working on a slew of projects for my Etsy shop.

This is one project i have been working on. They are called Monk bags or Harvest bags. They are worn slung over your shoulder and I am making them in all sorts of designs, some with embroidery and some with nothing. They are fun and I even made myself one that I use in school.

For a while, I have been making key fobs. I LOVE these and I even started to embroider them with initials. Fun fun fun!

One more thing I have been working my butt off on are these rockabilly head wraps. I have done so well with these that they are even going to be put into a shop in Tulsa, OK!!!

So, as you can see, I have been busy. Not to mention, now it's summertime and I have time with my boys before school starts up again. For them and me as well. Also, hubby is doing his schooling as well. We are a busy busy family.I am going to start focusing on my nursing career mixed with my crafting career as a subject here. There are many people out there who are starting up a new career or going back to school. Maybe I can help someone.

So, I want to share some experience in nursing school. Maybe a few wise words and bits of advice for someone just starting or for someone who is feeling lost in the whole new world of nursing school.

1. Step one is to be prepared. Be prepared the fist day. Be prepared EVERY day. Before school starts, have everything you are going to need for the semester. If you are going to have clinicals and need scrubs, have them. Have all the books you are required to have. Some teachers even suggest optional books as well. In my opinion, there is no optional. The more information you have to reference, the better you are. Have a good school bag! Have a bag that is going to hold your heavy books. Bring your books EVERY DAY. I can't tell you how many times people have come to class unprepared. This is just disrespectful. To your classmates as well as to your teachers. Many teachers will often have open book quizzes (even though they may tell you they never will). What better way to get an easy "A" than to BRING YOUR BOOK!. Seems a simple solution, but again, you would be surprised how many people show up not prepared.

2. Nursing school is crazy. BE ORGANIZED. Get yourself an organizer AND USE IT! I spent my first semester in college (before my actual nursing classes) kinda lost. Being out of school for so long and living in the "real world" I felt that I could easily keep myself together. Boy was I wrong! I got myself an organizer, started USING IT, and since then I have been able to keep my day to day organized. I have been able to manage work, school, studying and I have even been able to make a little time for "me". This is important!

So... these are my top two tips for today. Now I have incentive to come back and post again! So, that's all for now lovelies. I hope I can be of some help to someone.

Two in a row!!!

Well, I made it here for the second day in a row! EXCITING! LOL I may be able to do this! So... what exciting happend today... Nothing much actually. Although I got an AMAZING Christmas from my bestie! We always tend to buy the unusual for eachother and they are usually found on sale, at rummages or thrift stores. She always manages to find something to crack me up. And this time was no different. I got a Gnome Lamp.... YES! A GNOME LAMP! You would have to know me to know this is probably one of the greatest gifts EVER! He is a painted ceramic Gnome sitting on a stump. And yes... he is a LAMP. I cant wait to find a shade for him so I can start using him to light up my living room! My husband wasnt so enthused, however, I reminded him that just last Christmas, he bought me a mooning gnome. Oh yes, a Gnome showing off his rear.

Well, in a couple days I will be heading to the big city for some medical testing. I have a ganglion cyst in my wrist and I will be having surgery sometime in the near future to remove it so I can get back to work. Anyway, because I am having symptoms of carpal tunnel, my doctor wants me to be tested that way if he has to cut me to remove the cyst, he can do the carpal tunnel at the same time. Anyway, because of small town stupidness, I have to go to the "big city" to have my testing done.... the day after Christmas at 10:00am. This means I will have to drive up there Christmas Day and stay the night. So that is my excitingness.

I am currently working on a project, but ran into a snafoo. The pattern was printed too small! :P So I have to revamp it a little and will hopefully post up a pic or two in the next couple days. Oh yeah, plus a picture of my AWESOME LAMP!

Time for something new.... Time to get to know me...

This will be the *mumblemumbleblahblah insert random number here* blog I have started and sworn that I will keep up with. But considering the feats I have managed over the past year, I am going to start this again.

First off... a little about me...

I am a mother of 4 BEAUTIFUL boys, well, young men now. My oldest, Robert, is 17 and a senior in High School, Ryan is 15, Frankie is 12 and Matty is 9. I have a husband, Alex, who is my biggest fan and my cheering section. He is also the thorn in my side sometimes. But hey, it makes life interesting right? I am the mother to three beautiful dogs as well. A gorgeous and voluptious Austrailian Shepard, Oi, a skittish and camera shy Border Collie mix, Shadow, and a Chihuahua, Tattoo. He is the boss of all.

If all that wasn't enough, I am a full time nursing student and I work as a CNA in a nursing home. I suffer from Fibromyalgia and CFS so some days are more of a challenge for me than others. I am also a "plus size" girl. This is something I have only recently began to accept, mostly because of  some wonderful women I have had come across recently.
Wait, im not done! I also find time to sew and craft! I am frugal and LOVE LOVE LOVE shopping at thrift stores and the clearance rack! In fact, usually if I can't get it on sale, cant get it thrifted or cant get free shipping, I wont buy it.
I am a self proclaimed clothes whore. I LOVE to buy clothes! Granted, I live in a part of the country where the importance of clothes is to KEEP WARM. Our winters here are brutal and last forever! BRRrrrrrrrrr!!! But this doesn't stop me from buying wonderful clothes when I  can get my hands on them.

I LOVE retro 20's-50's. I have an eclectic mix of things throughout my house from these era's. I also love Glitter. Love is not even the word. My husband laughs because I am quickly distracted by someting sparkly at the store!

What else is there about me... oh yes... I love guns. I love shooting. And I love hunting (though I have only been once). I love old movies, mostly musicals, and I love living in the U.P. (Thats the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for those of you who dont know). I feel at home here, a transplanted Yooper. More about that later though.

Well, that is a little about me and my world. Where is my focus? Not exactly sure yet. A little of everything I suppose. I will share my frugal finds with you. I will share my latest crafting creations with you. I will share life as a Yooper with you. I will share my journey with you. Because even though I am 35 years young, my journey, in many ways, is just beginning.