Linkies and More News!

Well, I'm finally home at my computer

 on a Thursday

 to link up with 

 Goodnight Moon

for the What's Your Song? Link-up!

 I keep hearing songs on the radio these days

 and thinking,

 "Oh man, I should link that one up this week!"

 and then of course,

 inevitably forget lol

 But this week, I remembered!

 This is a new band

 I have told you guys about a little bit

 called The Dirty Guv'nahs,

 and BE and I are IN LOVE with them!!

 BE and I love dancing in the house to this song:

Also, I encourage you all to go to their facebook page

 HERE

and download the WHOLE new album for FREE!!!

 Listen to the song "Courage".

 BE and I have decided that this song will be played at our funerals.

 It's absolute beauty.

 And I cry every time I hear it.

I'm a little frustrated,

 because the company that told me they would do a giveaway for me

 asked me to simply tell them the dates it will run

 so they can advertise it.

 Well I sent them an email a while ago,

 and not a single soul has gotten back to me via email or facebook.

 And that kind of ticks me off.

 Because I don't want to run this,

 and then not have the winner ever get their prize.

 So if they ever get back to me,

 I will run the giveaway.

 But in fairness to readers,

 I don't want to do it unless I know the company will deliver,

 and right now they're not seeming like I can trust them to do that.

 On a good note, though,

 there was totally a huge rainbow this morning

 and I could see BOTH ENDS from my driveway!

 It must have been God's way of saying,

 "Go get 'em, girl!!"

 Because after only 30 minutes in my interview this morning,

 I was offered a job!!

 And one with the opportunity to cross train to different areas :)

 I am so blessed!!

 WOOHOO!!

I'm Back! With Pictures!

So I've been a little busy lately,

 with job applications and whatnot.

 Along with the husband having a ton going on

 like having his dollar ride today

 !!!!!!!

 I was super excited because they let me out on the flight line

 to take pictures :)

 I also got to take some pictures of the Blue Angels this week

 since they're just parked out there and all.

 

 I am excited to announce

 that I have already gotten calls for two interviews

 at a local hospital!!!!

 Thank God for such quick responses!

 I hate the online application.

 It's so unpersonal.

 And since they route your app through some larger corporation

 halfway across the country,

 it's hit or miss if you ever hear from an actual person.

 So now I just wait on my interviews

 and cross my fingers,

 and pray that they turn out

 and are what I'm looking for!

Stop by on Thursday for the song link-up

 and a giveaway!!

 Also, enjoy some of my pictures from this week :)

 Feel free to copy them, but ONLY if you link back to me!

 No stealing, it's rude.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!!!!!

Ask God To Bless Your Plans...

"Ask God to bless your plans, 

 and you will be successful in carrying them out."

 -Proverbs 16:3

and on that note...

 I have some VERY exciting news to share!!!

 As of about 0930 this morning, 

 I AM OFFICIALLY A REGISTERED NURSE!!!!!!!!!!

 I haven't been this excited

 or shocked

 in forever!!

 And of course I cried like a baby!

 I called my dad first

 and heard the sweetest words I could have ever heard,

 that I wait to hear from my father,

 "I'm proud of you"

 My parents were always pretty strict about grades,

 and I was pretty personally motivated anyway,

 so when I made A's in school

 it was usually along the lines of

 "great job! Now do it again."

 And I did,

 and I did

 and I struggled my way through nursing school,

 (which by the way has been listed as of 2010 in Guinness as the hardest degree to earn)

 and prayed to God to bless my plans,

 and as of today

 he has truly proven why He is my God

 and why I worship him.

Before I walked into my test yesterday morning,

 I stopped to pray,

 and told God that I knew that he had helped me make it through school

 because he wanted me to be a nurse.

 Because that's what I was being called to be used for.

 So I asked him once again to bless my plans.

 And He certainly did.

 I am on cloud nine.

 Called my mom at home and told her I needed her to do me a favor

 and write down a number 

 so I wouldn't forget it.

 So I read off to her seven digits

 and then paused. 

 She says, "Ok?..." waiting for the rest,

 no clue what I was talking about.

 So then, trying desperately not to cry,

 I told her,

 "Ok mom, now put an RN in front of that,

 because that's my license number.

 I'm a nurse."

 She immediately burst into tears,

 tears because she had never gotten to go to college,

 she had never been able to fulfill HER dream of being a nurse,

 and here I was,

 the daughter she loved,

 the daughter she had stayed home to raise

 and to teach

 and to support,

 calling to tell her that not only had she raised the first girl on EITHER side of our family

 to go to college,

 but also a woman who was going to have a career.

 I had fulfilled my mother's greatest wish:

 that one day, 

 I would grow up and do what she couldn't

 that I would "do better than she had done"

 and make her proud.

 And I attribute so much to her

 because she DID give so much of her life to me

 so much of her time and energy and sacrifice.

 And I love her for all of that.

 So BE and I are going out to celebrate tonight

 after my military wives small group,

 and I am still in shock.

 I did it.

 As Florence Nightengale once said:

"Nursing is most truly said to be a high calling, an honourable calling.

 But what does the honour lie in?

 In working hard during your training to learn and to do all things perfectly.

The honour does not lie in putting on Nursing like your uniform.

 Honour lies in loving perfection, consistency, and in working hard for it:

 in being ready to work patiently:

 ready to say not "How clever I am!", but

 "I am not yet worthy;

 And I will live to deserve to be called

 a Trained Nurse."

 

See You When I See You...

"Let's don't say goodbye...I hate the way it sounds. So if you don't mind, let's just say 'For now'..." Well, it's off to the next phase of training for BE and the guys, but at least this time it's not as long as OTS was so I think I will handle it ok. Waking up at 3 a.m. for the airport run wasn't fun though! I'm hoping I can find some things to do during this TDY. I have a huge quilt in the works for our bed and didn't get as much of that done last time as I wanted to, so that's on the agenda; some of the ladies from BE's OTS class are considering putting a trip together, and that would be super fun (if it's somewhere I can afford to go!), and then I have two weddings to go to (it's going to stink going alone though) and then I have friends in Auburn I could go see as well as family (if they can squeeze me into their busy schedule). Honestly, what's sounding better than I thought it would right now is going up to stay with BE's parents for a while. They live on the side of a mountain up in North Carolina with a gorgeous waterfall in the background and some swings on the front porch looking over a view that will take your breath away. Nothing better than that to renew and relax!!! Plus, they are so sweet! I wish everyone had in-laws as great as mine are.

So, options are open, which is nice. I'm about to register for the Kaplan course that teaches strategy for taking the NCLEX, which I'm hoping to do by the end of summer so I can get my RN license and get to work. Lots of possibilities. Lots of things to do. Places to go. Projects to complete. All of which sounds awesome to me! Nothing like a busy schedule to pass the time! Plus, it's sunny out today, and the beach is calling my name :) Gonna stay positive!!

I Believe In Auburn, AND LOVE IT!!

So yesterday was one of my proudest days!! I can't thank everyone enough for the support they have shown me for my graduation! On Sunday afternoon I was pinned by the faculty, and "officially" graduated from the nursing program, which was super emotional, especially since it was Mother's Day, and my mother was sobbing because she had always wanted to be a nurse but had never gotten the opportunity to go to college and instead had my little brother and I. Plus, I was also the first girl on either side of my family to go to college!! In my little speech, I got to credit her for my success since she had stayed at home with me until I was school-aged, and then has been my biggest supporter throughout the huge stress that is nursing school. She cried and cried and later gave me a hug and whispered "Every mother always wants to see her children do better than she did, and today you have done what I could never do, what no woman in our family has ever been able to do." I also got a card from my dad, who is very quiet, and who I spent my whole school career working my butt off in the hopes of getting more than a simple, "Good" from, and the card was so long and actually said the words "I'm very proud of you." I instantly burst into tears. It was the affirmation and praise I'd been dreaming of my whole life.

Then, the next morning (WAY too early, I might add) BE and I got up to head back to Auburn from our hotel so that we could get a good parking spot, and so my parents, grandparents, and godparents could all find good seats since we graduated in the football stadium. This, I thought, was going to be an awesome idea. However, it wasn't and whoever decided to make graduation right in the middle of the day in an open stadium in Alabama should be fired. It hit 90 degrees very early on, and it was terrible for those of us in our heavy black gowns. And of course, the school of nursing was second to last, so we were there the whole time. People were passing out left and right, and EMT's were coming around distributing water and telling people to leave after they got their diploma and walked across the stage! Luckily my family had brought umbrellas and lots of Gatorade. But man was it hot! It was so good though to see them cheering and so happy!! Plus, BE got to be there and I am BEYOND THANKFUL for that!! Especially since more training looms here soon. But it was important to me that he was there to share in my success that he encouraged me through and God made sure he was, and that's a great thing :)