DIY Brush Roll

For all your girls out there - how simple/awesome/fabulous! is this?!?!  I was reading over at The Small Things blog and fell in love with Kate's idea.  I have been looking for a brush bag/travel kit for quite awhile now, so when I saw this I wanted to jump up and down.  Ok, I'm exaggerating a little bit, but this is perfect!  Plus, I bought me a little sewing machine so I can do this!! Which is why I think I got "sew" excited.  (sew, get it?  - lmao, wow, I'm such a dork - I can see Brad rolling his eyes right now.) 

I love her idea about using it as a gift as well, such a simple and inexpensive gift!

 

If anyone tries this, let me know how it goes, or heck send me some pictures!  

:o) 

I'm a Nerd

The nerd in me thought this post by Dr. Grumpy was really cool, so I am going to re-post it here. :o)

"This pair of 17-year old guys, who live in Toronto, successfully launched a Lego figure into near-space (14 miles up) using a weather balloon, a lot of weekends, and costing about $400.

Just for fun.

They even sent 4 cameras and a GPS tracker with him, so they could film and recover him.

This is the movie they posted."

Flowers From My Honey

 While shopping at the store a couple of weeks ago, Brad surprised me by buying these gorgeous roses.  The pictures don't do the color justice.  They were almost like a crimson color and they smelled so good!  Ah, I love roses.

Fitness Challenge

I have been always been a little bit of a fitness buff, but I am pretty sporadic when it comes to working out.  I stuck to the P90X workout for 12 weeks, which I have to admit was really awesome and I could definitely tell I was getting stronger.  Then I came across BODYROCK.tv. I have been doing these routines for about 3-4 months now, but I haven't been very consistent due to holidays and getting ready for school - excuses I know.  :o)  When the new year started, they began a 30 day workout challenge that I am determined to get through! So far I have been pretty faithful to the workouts.  I did the first four last week, I skipped the fifth one with intentions of going to the gym - which didn't happen (are you surprised?).  I also missed Monday's and Tuesday's workouts, but did them plus Wednesday's workout last night - so I am caught up again. I have to say I was so wiped out afterwards!  I did all three in about an hour, which included a little break in between each exercise.  I have class until 9 tonight so I won't be able to get a workout in unless I get out early, but I AM GOING TO THE GYM this weekend! 

I may have already talked about them, but I really love these workouts because they are short, intense and they are always different (no same old boring routines here!). They definitely get your heart rate up and are killer, but if you don't think you worked hard enough you can either do it over, or do another one.  They use equipment in some of the exercises, but you really don't need anything but your body, and they offer modifications for beginners.  Half the time I can only do a few reps with the equipment before I have to put it down and use lighter free weights or just body weight.  I was sick the first part of January and didn't do anything for two weeks and I can definitely tell how weak I am. I also love the new host - Lisa Marie.  Zuzana was the original host and co-founder, along with Freddy the camera guy, but they are getting a divorce so Lisa is now hosting.  I love Z, but Lisa's energy gets me more pumped up for the workout, plus she is a little crazy.  :o) 

I took before pictures and will take some after pictures as well.  My goal is to stick with it and be able to see some difference in the 30 days.  I have already noticed my mid section is smaller than it used to be 3-4 months ago, so I hope I can really trim down these last 30 days.  I know diet is a big factor in this as well, and I have been trying to be really conscious of what I eat and drink and that has helped as well.  Speaking of which, I need to start my grocery list for this weekend!

Soooo - anyone else interested in taking the challenge?  :o) 

Schools Out for Sum... D'oh!

Tuesday marked the first day of classes for the semester.  My schedule is: MWF mid-day A&P, with a Tuesday morning lab, and TR night micro, with lab after class on Thursdays. It's not too bad, but I say that with not even a week of classes under my belt.  :o)  I think (hope) I'll like my teacher for these classes - it's the same one for both.  He seems really genuine in wanting his students to succeed in his classes, and tries to do what he can to help.  I like the way his classes are structured; he uses PowerPoint slides and writes on them as he is lecturing, and I really like this.  The book is not required (even though I bought it), and said he will only test on information presented in class.  It is up to us to determine how much we want to know about that information and which resource we would like to use.  We will see how this really works out after the first test.

I have to admit, it is a little hard to get back in the groove of studying.  I am really glad this first week has been pretty slow and easy, because I have a feeling I am going to struggle a little at first with making myself actually sit down and read, and resist the urge to watch something on Netflix.  :/  Ah, the joys of being out of school.  hehehe  I'm actually glad that I am taking classes again because it will keep me in the "study mode" so if I do get accepted into a program this year, I won't be so rusty.  Plus these classes will help me on the MCAT, so that's definitely another plus.

I have also been working out regularly again, well, at least for this week.  :D I'm doing a 30 day challenge and I'm determined to stick with it.  Brad and I are also going to hit the gym on weekends and if we don't, I am getting rid of the membership.  I am getting tired of paying for something we never use considering I can do all my workouts at home, and really, Brad could too but he likes to use free weights. So, this is another thing we will see about.  I am going to give it a month before making a decision, and if we don't use it - we lose it. 

Have a great weekend!

PA School

I'm not really sure how to start this post, so I'll just dive right in.  Ever since I started really thinking about applying to medical school, I have also thought about applying to the physician assistant program at my school.  The main reason I didn't to begin with, is it required a few extra classes that I couldn't quite fit into my schedule. They were classes that I wanted to take, but they have labs and I only have so many hours that I can make up at work, so I just decided to stick to the MD route.  Well, lately I have been thinking about the whole PA thing in a more serious light - I haven't given up on the MD thing, I am just opening up my options. PA school might be better for me because even though I am still "young" I am 31 and I can finish PA school by the time I am 34, if I get in next year that is. I will still be able to practice medicine, live in a small town, and make a decent living. Plus my loans won't be as high and if I work in a rural area I will be able to qualify for a repayment program where I get my loans paid back for every year I work in that setting.  Right now the only thing that my application is lacking is direct patient care experience.  With medical school, only shadowing is required, but PA school looks for people with actual patient care experience.  A lot of students come in with a CNA, EMT or some other form of certification and/or training, so this might make it a little more difficult for me.  On the list of qualifying activities is chiropractic assistant, and there is one down the street from where I live that is open on Saturdays, so I am going to ask if they would like a volunteer.  :) I will be a little more strapped for time this semester, but I might see if I can volunteer in the ER or a hospital this summer after I take my MCAT.  If I can't get in with the chiropractor, I may go down to my local hospital's same day care clinic and see if I can volunteer there.  I may not be able to get the required hours in by the time I apply, but at least it will be a start, plus it will be really good experience for both the MD and PA apps. 

So my plan at the moment is to take Intro to Microbiology and Human Anatomy and Physiology next semester, then study for the MCAT from May - July and take the exam on July 27.  After the MCAT I will try to volunteer at the hospital for the rest of the summer.  I will then take Statistics and Pathophysiology for the fall semester, then Pharmacology and Advanced H&P for the spring to finish up the classes I need to take.  By this time I should know if I got in to KU or WSU (this is the PA program I'm applying to), and if I get in then awesome! and if not then I will focus on the direct patient care and community service part of my app and focus only on PA school.  This will be my last attempt to get into KU.  I would love to be a doctor and have that M.D. behind my name, but at this point in my life, I really just want to practice medicine and start helping patients and the M.D. part of it really isn't necessary.  I know that I would love being a PA-C just as much and really, there are not a lot of differences between the two as far as job descriptions go.  I guess only time will tell which road I travel.

Back to School

Last Friday I had my feedback session with the admissions dean at KU.  I was a little nervous about it, but her feedback was very helpful and it is nice to know that my app is very fixable. There were basically two issues: 1. academic, 2. Service.

1. Academics:
She said that the committee liked me, but because I had a rough patch of bad grades - I have two C's in physics (long story, but I suck at math and had horrible professors) and a D in organic chemistry I - I should take more science classes. Even though I retook organic I and got a B, then got an A in organic II, which she said was impressive, I didn't take many science classes after that; just genetics and biochemistry.  She wants me to take two science classes per semester in order to continue my upward trend and to show that I can indeed handle them. I will also retake the MCAT so hopefully that will cover my bases for my academics.

It is a little frustrating because I have to work full time, so it is harder to keep up the A's - for me anyway. I know there are a lot of people that have to work while in school and do just fine without struggling and I wish I was one of them. I know quite a few people that just "get it" and don't have to try so hard and again, I wish I was one of them. I am a good student, but I have to work hard for my grades, and sometimes after working all day and going to class at night, I really don't have the mental energy to study.  I only have three hours to study at night, and that is on the nights I don't have to volunteer or have class. I am going to try a few things different this semester and I hope it pays off.  I am taking intro to microbiology and human anatomy and physiology.  There is a lot of memorization and a lot of concepts to understand, so it will require more time to study or finding a good way to study smart.  I look at this as a test - if I can get through these classes with A's, then I am ready for med school, and if I can't - then I am done.  I say this because I am nervous about being able to handle the load in med school.  I am afraid that I'm struggling because I'm not grasping the concepts, and I know part of it is because my study time is limited, but I do feel that I could work harder.  I also wonder if I am taking the wrong approach.  I think I might be trying to "remember" things when I should be trying to "understand"  them in order to remember them. I am going to come up with a study schedule and try to stick to it as much as possible and focus more on the concepts (where applicable) this semester. Let's hope it helps.


2. Service:
The dean mentioned that the committee didn't see how my desire to "serve" fit in, but yet my interviewers said that I only volunteer at a hospice because I work full time, so I am not sure how to take this.  It's like they understand that I work while taking classes and volunteer, but it isn't quite good enough.  I told her that I recently started volunteering at the Salvation Army, but then she said it really wasn't about how many hours I put in or how many activities I was involved it, it was more about understanding that being a doctor is about serving the community. ?  Well yeah, duh. So, this made me think that I just need to rework my application/essay about the hospice to reflect this - which I will do, but I still want to work with the SA.  I worked at the toy distribution center last year, and like an idiot forgot to put that down, but I am doing it again this year so will make sure to put it on my next application, plus I will be involved more throughout the year which will help me convey my desire to serve my community. 

This whole process is so frustrating and time consuming and can really mess with you.  It would be so easy just to say "I'm done," but that would be too easy.  Like I said earlier, I feel like this is a test for me - a test of will and desire.  If I am serious about this then I have to keep plugging along and if not then I will be weeded out and will have to decide what I want to do with my life.