Holiday Weekend

Hope Everyone had a great weekend!  The boys and I went camping on Saturday but the wind was so bad we came home early on Sunday.  We got to the lake around noon on Sat, set up camp and then hopped in the lake.  The wind was pretty strong and coupled with the boats and jet skis created some good sized waves which were a lot of fun on a flotation device.  We stayed out in the water for about three hours then went back to camp to fix dinner.  I sort of forgot to put sunscreen on my face, so my nose and forehead are really pink.  Brad kept laughing at me the rest of the weekend and called me Rudolph. Not very nice.  We got home around noon on Sunday and then vegged the rest of the day.  The wind was so bad that I didn’t get much sleep so I took a nap shortly after we got home.  :o) The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet, with just the usual stuff.   I was not prepared to get up for work on Tuesday morning though.  :o(

There hasn’t been a whole lot of anything going on lately.  It’s summer and I am soaking up my last few days of freedom before my C.N.A class starts.  My sister and the kids are coming to visit the week before and I am so excited!  The one bad thing about the class is that the clinical portion starts the same day as my anniversary.  Boo.   Brad had something planned, but since I won’t be home and Jessica will be in town, he is going to do it the following weekend – I think.  I’m just happy we will actually be with each other.  It usually ends up landing on a weekday so he is out in the truck and we have to wait until he gets home to celebrate.  I can’t believe that it has been four years that we have been married.  I have a hard time keeping it straight because I want to count the total years we’ve been together and it doesn’t help that I have to think about what year we got married, partly because we renewed our vows two years ago and partly because I keep thinking of the year I moved down here.  o_O   Either way it has been a wonderful four or six (however you want to look at it) years together, and each year keeps getting better and better. 

Final Grades

I have been eagerly awaiting my final grades to be posted so I can request a copy of my transcript from WSU, and they were finally posted today!  This means if I really, really wanted to, I could submit my CASPA application next month.  I am opting to wait until after my CNA class is finished and I start volunteering or working in order to get a few hours of health care experience on my app. Most schools have a "first come, first served" method to handing out interview invitations, but WSU's program is a little different.  They don't hand out the invitations until November, regardless of when you submitted your app (as long as it is before Oct. 1) and the actual interview isn't until January.  That is two whole months of waiting for the interview! Which is good I guess, because I will have plenty of time to prep for it.  :o)

Waiting until August to submit my application isn't going to affect my chances like it would other students applying to other schools - so don't do what I'm doing unless you have a good reason!  The general advice is submit "early," but make sure your application is solid; no errors, all your activities are accounted for, and most importantly! make sure your transcripts are up to date!  This is important because if you are taking required courses, like A&P and microbiology, and submit your application before the final grades are on your transcripts, CASPA will record them as "In Progress."  There are going to be a lot of other students out there that have final grades vs. "In Progress" on their transcripts and schools will look at them first, so be patient and wait a few more weeks to get that final grade and avoid the risk of getting that dreaded rejection letter.  Keep in mind CASPA doesn't send your application to schools until mid-June, so really, June would still be considered "early" even if it does open in April.

- In case anyone is on the edge of their seat with anticipation - I received A's in both of my classes!  I was a little worried about micro, but when I saw the attendance points added on I was able to let out a sigh of relief.  I really needed A's to help with my application to medical school, but now that I am applying to PA school my science GPA is a LOT higher, so there isn't as much pressure. I still want to get A's in my classes of course, but next semester is going to be a lot harder in terms of my schedule and I am a little worried I may not be able to maintain the A's.  I will be taking pathophysiology and statistics next semester, along with working full time at the Foundation and hopefully part time as a CNA.  I need about 10 hours a week to get at least 500 hours built up by next summer, which is doable if I can find the right place to work with me. 500 is the minimum number of hours needed and I would love to be able to do more than that, but it all depends on my schedule and how much homework I will have.  It's going to be a looong year.  :o)

Perfect Sense

While browsing the internet for some good PA blogs when I found this awesome PA website full of helpful articles and advice for potential PA students at  http://www.mypatraining.com.  I particularly loved this interview:


As I listened to Sundance explain the differences between medical school and PA school, it really sunk in that I AM making the best decision for me and my family.  I love medicine and have a deep desire to practice, but it is not on my mind every waking moment and I definitely don't eat, sleep and breathe it in 24/7.  I think Sundance does a great job of explaining this and it really makes me feel good about my choice and reaffirms that I am definitely not settling.  I will admit that giving up the "Dr." title was difficult to do, even knowing a PA career is a better fit.  As she explains in the video, it was more my ego hanging onto the "archetype" and the pride/sense of accomplishment I felt about getting into medical school that was hard to let go of.  I honestly know deep down that I will be happy as a PA because in the end I will be doing what I have dreamed of doing - treating patients.  I just won't have to sacrifice my family life to do it.*  Medicine is "not enough" for me, another point made towards the end of the interview.  I enjoy going to work and leaving my work there, and then going home to enjoying my family.  I know there will be cases and days that will be hard to leave behind, but what I am really saying is,  I don't want to be married to the job.  I know Sundance says all of this more elegantly than I, and I am very glad I stumbled upon her interview.

There are some other great interviews here, if anyone is interested.  Now that I am finished with school it is time to start getting my application together!



*I'm talking about me personally as far as my circumstances go.  I know there are many students out there that have families, young children and all, that make it work, and  I also know there are plenty of older medical students that are able to make it work.  The comments I make here are not to say that it can't be done, because there are many students out there that make it happen.   I am just referring to my situation. 

WOTD

Yesterday I started the new 30 day Bodyrock challenge. It was a fit test, but it was still intense.  There are different levels to chose from and I decided to do the intermediate body weight routine.





Today's workout consists of a yoga routine - Bodyrock Flow. 
 

I am thinking I may also do tomorrow's workout as well because I skipped Monday and Tuesday due to studying. It is essentially two workouts in itself, the regular 12 minute workout plus a weighted sculpting routine.




I have more free time now that I'm done with classes, so there are no excuses!  I can workout a little longer and more often and I just need to do it.  I keep talking about how I want to lose weight and get in better shape, then I start off really good but then kind of slack off.  I really need to stop doing that!  ;o)  I have a month before my CNA class starts, and the clinical part is from 4-9pm 3 days a week, so there will definitely be days I won't workout which means that I will have to really push myself to workout on my off days. 


Here is the daily workout schedule if anyone is interested:

 

Freedom!

I am finally done with this semester!  woo hoo!  I took my last final yesterday and boy, it feels very good to be finished and to have possible A's in both classes.  I am a little bummed though, I didn't do very well on my micro lab final.  I'm not sure what happened because I haven't had a chance to look at the test, but I pretty much sucked it up.  I took it with a different class, so I hope that the teacher didn't grade it with the wrong key, but I am pretty sure I was just having a bad test day.  I remember looking at a couple of the questions and thinking - I should know this!  I was having a hard time focusing for that one, so it is my own fault I didn't do very well.  I am hoping I did better on the class final to keep my grade up at an A, but if not, then oh well.  I did what I could and a B will still make me happy. 

I have about a month of freedom until my CNA class starts. They finally posted the clinical hours and they are not on the weekend like I was hoping, but I think I can make it work.  I've heard that it is not very hard, so I'm not too worried about it.  I am just hoping I can find a part time job that will fit into my schedule.

Workout Update

Even though I have been slacking on my blogging, I have been working out.  Last week I did a combination of Bodyrock workouts and P90X.  I have been doing P90X yoga on Wednesdays, and Bodyrock exercises throughout the week and weekend, or I switch it up and do P90X arms and legs on the weekends.  BR has a new 30 day challenge lined up and they are incorporating yoga, which I am excited about!  The only problem I have is they don't always post the workouts the day I am supposed to do them.  They started this new challenge on Monday with a fit test but so far that is the only workout they have up, so I am going to wait until next Monday to start, that way if they are slow to update it won't throw me off.  And yes, I still workout even if they don't post a new video.  I either do an old one or make up my own.  I like a full body workout out with a little cardio mixed in, for example, I might do pushups, then high knees then squats etc.  With classes winding down I will have more time to workout without feeling guilty, so I am going to take advantage of it and get my butt off the couch and get that bikini body!  :o)

Bundle of Joy

A coworker had a baby a few weeks ago and I gave her a baby afghan that I made at the baby shower.  She was thoughtful enough to send me this adorable picture of her bundle of joy all wrapped up in it!  

Updates

A lot of things have been going on the past couple of weeks.  I am in the home stretch of classes, a lab final tonight, and two next week and then I'm done! So far I am still holding an A in both classes, and unless things go horribly wrong, that is how I should end the semester.

CASPA is now open - the registration portal for PA school.  I started filling in what I could this weekend, but will have to enter in my classes, activities and personal statement.  I can't submit my application until my classes are updated on my transcripts, and I may wait until after my CNA class so I can add that on there as well, so I am looking at end of July, early August. 

Onto other news, Brad and I decided not to buy the house in Arlington.  There were just too many issues, and everything seemed to be going wrong, so we backed out. We are going to talk to someone about building a home, an option that we have been contemplating for awhile now.  There is a new development in South Hutch with crazy tax credits, so that would be a bonus.  We have a meeting with the contractor on Saturday, and I am hoping it will go well.  I have been searching online at other homes on the market, but everything I see that is in our price range and area we are looking at, is built in the 60-70's, has a similar look and feel with some updating needed and is small.  I know the right house is out there somewhere, we just need to be patient.