Catching up

Things have been a little hectic lately and I haven't been in my old routine the past few days.  I missed the High Five for Friday and I don't remember much about last week to post anything now!  I do remember that I finished my anatomy lab practical and got an A!  woo hoo!  I have a microbiology exam on Thursday, anatomy quiz on Friday and the exam next Wednesday, and then a microbiology lab exam next Thursday.  I am going to be busy busy busy studying this upcoming weekend. 

This weekend was nice and relaxing even though I wasn't feeling well.  Friday and Saturday we hung out and of course I studied quite a bit.  I managed to make some really good banana bread, and tried a home made sloppy joe recipe that turned out awesome!  There were sooooo good!  I found it on allrecipes.com and added a couple of the suggestions found in the comment section - vinegar and chili powder.  The recipe calls for only a 1/2 pound of beef so I had to quadruple the amounts, but I basically just added the ingredients to taste.  I also browned the beef with onions and black pepper and i I had it, I would have added green pepper to the mix. 

 Sunday was the big day of house hunting.  First we took Brad to look at the house in South Hutch and even though we like it, there are still some things we don't like.  We then went to the other house that we both really liked from the pictures. The description of the house is not very accurate, and the pictures make it look a lot nicer than it really is -it needs a lot of work.  Apparently the guy built it himself making a lot of mistakes and not finishing quite a bit of stuff.  The basement wasn't completely gutted and there was mold present.  There is no way the house would get approved for a loan, but with all the little things that would need to be done and who knows what mistakes he made building the place, I wouldn't want to buy it even if we had cash.  I wouldn't mind fixing the place up if would have been built right to start with, but it is pretty much a mess.  We have been discussing finding a lot and building a house, then we can have what we want and not have to worry about fixing anything up.  The problem there is finding a lot that is in an ideal location.  Until then, the hunt continues!

Newsletter

Our receptionist and HR lady put together a monthly newsletter that highlights some history of the Foundation and features an employee interview.  This month is my turn.  I thought it would be fun to post the interview Q & A and my photo that I submitted.  Enjoy!

1.     Where were you born/are you from? 

      I was born in Havre, Montana and grew up in the very small town of Roy, Montana.  I moved to Malta, Montana the middle of my sophomore year and that is where I graduated from.

2.     Tell me about your family.

      I am the oldest of 4.  I have a full sister, Jessica -25 , who has two children and lives in Bowman, North Dakota, along with my half-sister Jamie- 19, my half-brother Ty –22 and my mom, Nita.  My other half-sister Angel -22 lives in Montana and was married last summer. My dad, Dennis, lives in a small town in Illinois. I have been married to Brad for three and a half years and have a stepson, Bowdrie, who will be 12 in April.

3.      Where have you lived? Which place is your favorite and why?

       I have lived in Roy and Malta, Montana, Los Lunas, New Mexico, Tucson, Arizona and Hutchinson, Kansas.  Tucson is my favorite place because I loved the weather and the atmosphere.  It really IS a dry heat!  My favorite time of the year was monsoon season, where every afternoon between the months of July and September it would just pour rain.  Rain in the desert is probably one of the most amazing things to watch. The other reason is Eegees- the best sub sandwich shop EVER!    

4.      What is your favorite hobby/pastime?  I love to crochet, it’s very calming for me and I love creating new things. My favorite thing to crochet is an afghan.  I love blankets and there is just something cozy about crocheting an afghan, especially in the winter.

5.     What is your favorite book/movie? 

      This changes depending on my mood, but I would say any book by Stephen King.  I love how descriptive he gets even though it can make the book a little boring,  I love how he can solidify a picture in my mind so it’s like I’m watching a movie, that and I love a good creepy storyline.

6.     Did you have a job as a teenager? 

      I briefly worked as a waitress at The Mustang restaurant and bowling alley my junior year. 

 

7.     Who or what influenced you to choose your career path? 

      I would have to say my stepmother, Tess, had a big influence.  I remember a conversation we had, and at the time I was in middle school or a freshman in high school and wanted to go to law school.  She told me that she could see me doing big things, like stand in front of Congress debating an issue.  Even though I have changed career paths and now pursuing medicine, I always think back to that time and push myself to do something meaningful.

8.      What do you like best about your current position? My favorite part is the people I work with and the things we accomplish as a team.  It’s nice to know the work I am doing is making a difference in someone’s life.  

 9.      What has been your most rewarding accomplishment?

      My interview to KU Medical School.  Even though I was not accepted, it taught me a bit about myself and perseverance. That experience really made me think about my life and what direction I want to go moving forward, and to me that was rewarding.  

10.    If you didn’t have to work what would you be doing? 

        I would go to school full time.  I love learning!

 

 

February 30 Day Challenge!

It's another month and time for another challenge!  I really need to start these things at the beginning of each month.  :o)  Here is the fit test on Bodyrock.tv:  



They are adding in a diet challenge portion as well and I hope to stick to it as much as possible. This is the area I could really use some improvement on and know that if I actually stuck to it I would see a big difference.

I started this on Monday, but didn't get around to posting it until today.  My numbers were a little below my fit test for the last challenge, but it has been a week since I really did anything.  I think a little cold virus has snuck up on me and I didn't really feel like working out last night after class.  I decided to take it easy and went to bed early.  I will be doing this workout tonight though:



This routine is a pyramid routine where you start at 10 reps for each exercise, then move down to 9 reps, then 8, etc.  I haven't decided if I want to make up a workout since I missed Tuesday's, or just stick with this one for tonight and make it up this weekend.  I don't want to tire myself out and end up feeling worse, so I might just stick to one workout tonight. 

Weekend Update

This weekend was quiet and full of studying.  Brad stayed out on the road and worked all weekend, so I had the house and the books all to myself.  I really missed spending time with him, but since we are trying to buy a house and he was down for a week, it was something that had to be done.  He is a very hard worker and I love that he is willing to do what needs to be done when it would be so easy to come home and relax. 
I have a quiz today and a lab practical tomorrow, both in anatomy and I feel ok about them.  The quizzes aren't too hard, and I really hope I know enough for the practical.  It's so hard to know what it will be like until I'm there and either sinking or floating, but I have been going over everything we have learned up to this point and I think I'll be fine.  I'll just be glad when tomorrow morning is over.  :o)

I went and looked at a house this weekend, and absolutely love it.  It is a lot bigger than the pictures make it look and there is only a few things I would change, but it's just cosmetic stuff.  While I was talking with our real estate agent, she gave me some more listings and there IT was.  Our DREAM house, and perfectly priced.  I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one, and I am not going to say much more about it until I find out if we even stand a chance to get it.  - It's gorgeous!!

My Target boots finally arrived this weekend and I was so excited I had to try them on, and of course my pants were too long. I have been meaning to hem them for some time, and these boots were my inspiration.  I used the tutorial from Do it Yourself Divas blog and they turned out perfect! I should have taken pictures... maybe I will do that tonight when I get home.  I had to hem about five pairs.  :o)

High Five for Friday

It's Friday!

My favorite things from this week:

1. My Valentine's Day flowers.  I have the bestest husband ever.

2. A night of (brief) relaxation.  I took Tuesday night off from studying and watched Pitch Black - it was marvelous. 

3. I have an appointment to look at a house tomorrow.  I really like it from the pictures, but there are a few cosmetic things I would change.  The basement needs to be finished, but I already have so many ideas for it!  Brad is not real crazy about it because it is in town, but right now it is the only house on the market that I like and is in the areas we are looking at.  We are not in a hurry and it's only been on the market a couple of months, so if it sells before we decide if we like it or not, then so be it.

4. Surprising my sister - I bought her a small gift and sent it to her this week and it arrived at just the right time and made her day.  I don't get to spoil my sisters and brother like I used to, so I was happy to know that my silly little gift was perfect for her. 

5.  It's Friday!  Need I say more?

Swamped

I was bad and skipped Tuesday's workout - but I was tired from studying so much over the past couple of weeks, so I took a break.  I did do the workout last night - and it was killer!  I have a late class tonight so I will have another rest day.  I do plan to workout this weekend and will hopefully make up for my laziness.  :o/

I found out yesterday we are going to have a quiz in anatomy over muscles on Monday, which adds to the lab practical on Tuesday.  I have quite a bit of studying to do for the practical as we just went over the joints on Tuesday, but the rest will hopefully be review. I have finished reading the chapter for the quiz, but still have to condense my 13 pages of notes to one page, which my get a little tricky.  We started a new chapter in microbiology, microscopy and staining, and I will need to read and take notes over that as well.  Boy, I have a full weekend ahead of me! I can't believe that spring break is only a month away!

Valentines flowers

I just had to share my beautiful valentines day flowers. Isn't the little bear adorable?!
My honey is just too sweet.

Weekend Update

This weekend was nice and uneventful.  I spent most of it reading and taking notes, and studying for my anatomy lab quiz.  I found out that I got a B- on my microbiology exam, but I got 10 extra points so it brought my grade up to an A-.  I am not complaining one bit.  I didn't feel as confident about this exam and understand what I need to do to study better for this subject.  I don't think it helped that I had two exams back to back and was behind on my reading.  I noticed my notes were a little sparse and too much like the lecture notes, so I missed a few things.  I like to read the chapter and take notes expanding upon what I learned in class, but I didn't do that as much in micro this time because I was so behind.    I am back in my study groove and I am keeping on top of things a little better now. 

Here is a bit of new news (hehe) - Brad and I are (hopefully) going to buy a house.  We have been wanting to buy one for quite some time, but things just never worked out.  We found out on Monday that we have been pre-approved, so now we get to start shopping around!  It's fun and frustrating at the same time because we don't want to be smack dab in the middle of town, but there are not a lot of houses for sale on the outskirts.  We have found a couple that we like, and the ones we REALLY like are, of course, already under contract.  Darn our luck!  I will post some pics and keep you updated as we move along in this process, and hopefully find a house! 

Challenge Complete!

I made it through the 30 day challenge!  There were day I couldn't work out but I would make it up by doing two in one day.  It wasn't ideal, but I did them and burned a but load of calories doing it.  I have noticed a difference in my midsection and I finally dropped a couple of pounds.  I am really starting to be mindful of what I eat, and trying as hard as I can to avoid sugar.   I am going to workout the rest of this week with the different workouts posted, but come Monday I am going to start the next 30 day challenge.    I want to look hot in my bikini this summer!  :o)

Here's my workout for tonight:

Anatomy Grade

I got an A!  I am so stoked right now!  I got a 95, but I also got 10 points for registering my "clicker" (the response device that is used for taking attendance and quizzes), so I got 105%! I felt pretty good going into the exam and I am so relieved that my feelings were actually right.  I don't feel quite as confident on my micro exam, but I am pretty sure I got a B or B+, which I will be more than happy with. I am going to continue with my current study methods and hopefully I can keep up this trend for the rest of the semester.  hmmm, maybe I need to update my High Five for Friday post.  :o)

Happy Birthday!

He's going to kill me for this, but today is my honey's birthday. Happy birthday honey!!  We don't have any plans really, but I am going to cook him a meal of his choosing tonight.  He hasn't decided what he wants yet, but I already know that I have to make a cherry cheesecake. You know, the important stuff first!  :o) I haven't had a chance to pick up his gift yet - he's been home all week, so I have to figure that out tonight when I get home.  Tonight's not anything special, but I hope he enjoys it just the same. 

High Five for Friday!

I'm linking up Lauren at From My Grey Desk!

1. Tests are over! I am pretty sure I have at least B's on both of them. I am still hoping I pulled of one A, but a B is good too.

2. New boots from Target - even got them on sale! I have been looking for some new dress shoes and loved the look and price of these. I bought black and dark brown in the tall boot, they were half off - two for one, can't beat that!

  

 

3. Spending time with my honey. Brad has been home all week because his truck was being worked on.  It was really nice to spend time with him, but unfortunately I had so much studying to do it wasn't very quality like.  He was nice enough to make me coffee in the morning and he even did the dishes for me.  :o)  

4.  Free food at work! An A on my anatomy exam!

5. Mike's Hard Lemonade.  After a week like this, I need a couple of these this weekend!

Almost There!

Friday is almost here!  I am soooo looking forward to this weekend.  Well, looking forward to being done with my exams anyway.  Not that I'm not looking forward to the weekend, its just I have a lot to catch up on.  I neglected to go to the store last weekend, so I will do that Friday night, then I need to seriously workout!  I haven't at all this week, so I need to do two workouts per night this weekend to catch up and stay on track.  I am binge exercising and I don't like it. Not. One. Bit.  I have also been slack on my dieting this week.  I'm not really dieting per say, I have just been more mindful of what I eat and try to stay away from the fatty sugary stuff. Weeelll,  I think I have ate at McDonald's at least four times this week!  Ugh.  I need to get back on track!

Tonight is my microbiology exam and I hope it goes as well as my anatomy test.  I thought the questions were very similar to the quiz questions, a few were tricky, but I think I did well.  I hope I did well.  It seems that whenever I think I do well, I actually do awful, and when I think I did awful, I do well.  I know I'm not the only one that feels this way, but it doesn't help my frustration. :o)  I still have to study for my micro lab quiz, which shouldn't be bad, and then read over what we are supposed to do for tonight.  I usually pre-read the lab and condense down what the procedure is and what materials I need so I don't have to flip through 10 pages of directions and explanations. I am hoping I will have enough time in between my class and lab to do this - if not, lab may be a little frustrating. 

Catching up

Things have been a little crazy the past couple days, so I haven't been able to post anything.  This weekend was full of anatomy and football.  I had a quiz over the skull and facial bones Tuesday (I think I only missed one question), a test over 4 chapters today, and a microbiology test over 3 chapters  tomorrow.  I will be glad when this week is over with! Part of the problem is I was a little behind on my reading, so I had to read then take notes, then condense my notes this weekend.  I still have two chapters to condense tonight, but that is part of studying and will actually help me remember this stuff.   If the tests are similar to the quiz's, I think I'll do ok.  I am really hoping for an A in these two classes, but I will be happy with a B+.  No, I'm not a gunner - I just really need to boost my science GPA!

I haven't done any of my workouts in the past couple of days because I wanted to devote my time to studying - even though working out would actually help.  Brad and I actually made it to the gym this weekend though!  We went on Saturday and had plans to go Sunday, but I was trying to finish up my notes and then we decided to go to a Superbowl party at the last minute. It was a good time, even though the Patriots lost.  I really need to get back on the workout wagon so I can finish my 30 day challenge and move on to the next one!

High Five for Friday!

Ok, I am taking the plunge and linking up with Lauren From My Grey Desk! She does this High Five for Friday "link" party every Friday where she looks over her week and picks out her top 5 things.  She invites others to do the same by linking to her.  So I thought I might give it a try today.  

1. It's Friday!  Need I say more?

 2. Avon!  I ordered two different colors of lip gloss, Violet Beauty and Sweet Clementine and they arrived today, yay!  I also got my sister a little somethin'-somethin', but I don't want to spoil the surprise.  :o)

3. I really enjoyed catching up with my professor on Wednesday.  It almost makes me wish I was back in organic chemistry.  Yep - I said it!  Because of my professor, I now love organic chemistry. 

4.  Even though this didn't happen this week, I thought I would post a picture anyway.  This was my birthday present from my honey.  The picture really doesn't do it justice, but it is an Aurora Topaz.  I just love it!

 

5.   I know that lately I have been on a blogging kick about working out and especially BodyRock.tv. I just can't say how much I love their workouts and the advice/motivational messages they post.  The workouts are short, but very intense, so they fit perfectly into my busy schedule.  Plus, they really get me motivated to workout and make me want to stick with it.  

BRWOD

Today's workout is going to be killer.  I have missed the last two, so will be "catching up" tonight.  I will be doing Wednesday's and Thursday's workouts tonight, and since today's  workout looks pretty intense, I may wait and do it at the gym on Saturday with the P90 X chest, shoulders and triceps routine I usually do when I go (below).

BodyRock.tv workout of the day:




P90 X Chest, Shoulders and Triceps routine:



I love, love, love this workout!  When I was doing the P90X program I could really see a difference in my arms and was amazed to see how much my strength increased.  I need to get back in the habit of doing this workout.  I like this video because if I forget how to do an exercise and don't understand what the book is saying, I can pull it up real quick and see what to do. I take the booklet that came with the discs to the gym so I know what to do.  There is a little description of each exercise underneath, but can be confusing at times - especially when I haven't done them in awhile. I also use free weights instead of the bands, but you can still get a great workout in if you use the right band. 

:o)  Enjoy!

Last Night and BRWOD

Well, I didn't get a chance to do my workout last night. I met with my professor who will be writing a LOR for me to update him on my progress and my plans for the future.  I haven't seen him for a year so we had quite a bit to talk about.  I got home a little later than I wanted, and I decided I to skip the workout and get started on condensing my notes for my chapter quiz on Friday.  I have a late class and lab tonight so I won't be able to workout tonight either, which means I will have three workouts to do Friday.  Here is the BodyRock.tv workout I would be doing tonight if I didn't have class so late.



Enjoy!

Wow...

As you have probably noticed, I follow quite a few blogs.  I check them everyday to see if anything new has been posted and find out what exciting thing is going on.  Dr. Grumpy is one of my favorite bloggers, mainly because he is so entertaining, but he also shares very interesting historical stories like today's.  I love a good mystery, and reading about stuff like this makes my hairs stand on end - it's creepy and fascinating all at once! I am the type of person that just has to know what really happened!  I felt this same way with Clint Eastwood's movie Changling, which is based on a true story. I won't give away what happens, but I will say that it left me with an empty feeling and a longing to "know".      

Classes Just Got Real

Next week is going to be a nightmare of sorts.  I have two tests and two quizzes next week. Quizzes are in labs, and tests are for the classes.  I am a little nervous, but judging from the practice quizzes I should be ok if I study efficiently.  I have been using a couple of different methods and I am anxious to see how they are working.  I take notes in class and then read the text and take my own notes, then I condense all of my notes onto one page, so then I just have one page per chapter to study from.  We had a couple of practice quizzes in anatomy and I did really well using this method, so I am hoping next week turns out just as good.

Anatomy lab is a little crazy right now as we are learning all of the bones of the skull and face.  We have a 10 question quiz next week and who knows what they will ask, so I really need to know the material. I have a coloring book that I am going to start using and I might look into some flash cards or an app to help quiz myself.  I think I am more nervous about this quiz than the tests!  I just keep thinking, "and this doesn't even compare to med school anatomy!", but then I tell myself it will help I won't be working 40 hours a week and will have 40 hours to study instead. :o) 

BodyRock WOD

I was able to do my workout last night - yay!   It took me 28 min from warm up to cool down and I burned 346 calories - not bad for a 16 min workout.  Here are my workouts for tonight, provided by BodyRock.Tv:







I did the first workout last Wednesday, but was too spent to do the second one (it was a day I did three workouts at one time), so I am interested in seeing if my scores increase.  I am guessing/hoping (they better) they will since this was the third workout I did that night. I'm about half way done with my 30 day challenge - It's all down hill from here... right?

:o)