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.