Useful Life Lesson

When wanting to make hard-boiled eggs.... the proper sequence is as follows:

1. Put eggs in water.

2. Boil them.

Should you decide to switch these steps and try to add the eggs to water that is ALREADY boiling... this is what happens...

Not quite the same thing.

Lesson learned!

TEAS Examination

I'm getting closer and closer to turning in my Nursing Application!! Which is also tricky... because I'm trying to find a balance between being excited for maybe getting in and not so excited that I entirely fall apart if I'm not accepted...

But anyways! Today I'm going to complete two of the remaining three pieces of the application process.

From 12 PM - 4 PM today I will be taking the TEAS - or Test of Essential Academic Skills. Its a standardized ability test (think ACT/SAT type of thing) that covers Verbal Ability, Mathematics, and Science. I'm inclined to brush it off and not worry about it, as I have NEVER had a problem with standardized tests. But it's been 3-4 years since I've taken one!

After the test is complete, I will spend from 4 PM - 5 PM writing an impromptu timed essay. Which... again... I used to be AWESOME at. But AP English Junior year of high school is looking pretty far away right now.

These are two of the five or so things that are actually scored to rank me amongst the other applicants and determine who will be admitted. So here's hoping they go well!!

New Acquisitions!

We are beginning to experience the wonderful sales that happen at the end of the school year as people move out of Wymount and can't/don't want to take everything with them!

Thanks to these opportunities we have added two new pieces of furniture to our apartment!!

The first is an old yellow rocking chair.

Which Jake was manly enough to carry home. I helped... by carrying the seat cushion!

Here is the new chair at home in our apartment. We are still working on exactly where we want to put it in the apartment. We have a few ideas... but we might just move it back and forth depending on where we want to have it at that time.

Personally, I'm planning on setting it out on the balcony some mornings this summer to read/work on cross stitch/etc. How fun!

Here is the before picture of Jake's "Desk" space....

He has been using our card table.

NOW!! The after picture!!

A cute, little, REAL desk! With shelves for books, the printer, and office supplies! And I don't have to worry about the weight of the massive monitor warping our nice card table!

AND it even matches the rest of our living room stuff well.

All in all...$40 well spent.

Spring Cleaning

The weather is getting nice! The semester is drawing to a close! Any other year, it'd be time to start packing and cleaning to move out. BUT NOT THIS YEAR!!!

I am excited that we don't have to move out immediately after the last final! We get to stay in our apartment! That really helps lessen the stress!!

However... I think the cleaning needs to stay. :-)

So today I'm starting on Spring Cleaning. It may not be a one day thing. It may get spread out over a week, or even two. But today I start!

Right now, I'm working on the kitchen. I won't make too much progress on the deep cleaning stuff until I catch up on the dishes though... Which is one of my least favorite chores. But I'm working on it! With the help of Pandora and 80s music, progress will be made!

I think my reward for when I finish cleaning will be starting my balcony garden.

Jake's Last Day of School!!!

Today was Jake's last day of classes for the semester!! He is pretty excited! And I'm proud of him for working so hard! He has had some hard classes - Organic Chemistry, Physics, Human Biology, and Pearl of Great Price. He has two days off before he starts finals on Friday.

We are going to go to lunch at Olive Garden tomorrow after my Physiology Test (I don't finish the semester until the first week of May) to celebrate! Unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks for $7 a person! YUM!

Is Spring Finally Here??

I'm ready for Spring to get here already!!! It seems like Spring today, but Mother Nature keeps teasing us!! We've had 2-3 snowstorms this week! But there have also been days where it has been in the 50s and 60s! I want the weather to even out so I can enjoy it!

Of course, with spring comes the end of the semester! Jake finishes his final exams up in two weeks. Butch and Patty (Jake's parents) are coming out to visit for a week at the end of this month. Jake starts his Spring Term classes April 27th (I think). I finish my finals on May 6th, and my Nursing Application is due the end of May. So there are some sources of stress coming up.

NOT THAT JAKE'S PARENTS COMING IS A SOURCE OF STRESS!! HaHa. I just realized what that could sound like. We look forward to their visit! :-) It will be the break from our stress.

But I want to be able to sit on our balcony in the evenings! I want to be able to go for walks! And drives and hikes in the mountains! I want to go tubing down the river and go camping!!

MOTHER NATURE!! PLEASE LET SPRING STAY THIS TIME!!!

Today I Appreciate My Job

So... there have been times over the last few months that I have REALLY wanted to quit my job. For real. But, today was not one of those days. For a few reasons.

First, we had THREE people come in wanting to fill out job applications. Two CNAs and one RN. We aren't hiring. But it just reminds me how much it sucks to be looking for a job right now. I already knew this, as I've been keeping an eye out for a Phlebotomy position. But... I'm so glad that I have a job! It's really hard. Especially in this valley where there are 3+ colleges/universities with students who will work for tiny wages, etc. I'm SUPER glad since Jake hasn't been able to find a job since we moved back here last June. So at least one of us is able to bring in some moneys to offset the student loans.

Secondly, I had a little bit of time at the end of my shift that reminded me that I really do enjoy what I get to do. We got a new patient today and right before my shift ended (my TWELVE HOUR shift, I'd like to add), her husband came down to our desk and asked if we could come help with some stuff. As I was walking down to her room, I saw the girl who was arriving for the next shift come through the front door. Because I knew they weren't short handed or anything, I was able to take my time working with this patient and getting to talk with her and her husband for a few minutes. It reminded me why I'm in this business after all. :-)

Festival of Colors

Last weekend, Jake and I went down to Spanish Fork for the Festival of Colors at the Krishna Temple. Last year was our first year going and we had a blast! We rode the bus down for an afternoon of fun and excitement! And the weather was great!

The festival is about spreading love and cleansing the air of evil spirits for the year. They burn a straw effigy of a witch goddess and then everyone throws colored powder into the air/at each other which is supposed to chase away demons. It makes for some pretty good pictures!

I brought some isolation masks from works so that we'd still be able to breathe as the air clouded up with the chalk.

While we waited for the throwing of the colors, we visited the llamas that they raise on the temple grounds. This one had already gotten some color!

Here's the two of us after we were covered in powder!! Remember, that both of our shirts are actually black! That's how much we have on us!

This is maybe one of my favorite pictures of Jake from the day! He looks like the villain out of some post-apocalyptic horror movie!

The mass exodus of people leaving the temple after the festival was over. We were in that crowd too. Parking gets backed up along the road for miles. So we hiked several miles (at least it seemed like several miles... I'm not sure how far it actually was), into Spanish Fork. A restaurant - Lon's Barbeque - was having a special for people returning from the festival. They were right across the street from the bus stop, so we decided to have dinner while we waited to return to Provo.

We tried FRIED CAULIFLOWER! I was really skeptical about it, but Jake wanted to try it so we did. It was DELICIOUS!!!

The two of us after dinner, ready to go home and get cleaned up.