In "Cas" you were wondering..

5/26/11 1:59

2011-05-26T22:32:00.003-04:00

Today, at 1:59pm my nephew was born. He's absolutely perfect. He is a champ with 9 and 10 apgar scores (10 is the best and it means he was born kicking and screaming with all faculties intact). 6lbs, 7oz and 19 3/4 inches long. I love this baby so much, I want to shower him with kisses and hold him all day long. I am so proud of my sister, she did wonderfully and her husband hung in there great and was really supportive. It was a beautiful day and I can't wait to spend more time with all of them. Oh, and I finally found something post worthy for my blog.

Casey

29 Days - the countdown continues

2010-11-12T23:12:00.003-05:00

So, today makes it officially 29 days until the wedding..yeee! I'm getting excited/nervous. Today we went to the courthouse and got our marriage license. That just makes it even more real. We will have a shower on Sunday, which we're both excited about, have to make final decisions on music, have a final fitting at Elegant bridal, meet with the photographer to go over the minute-to-minute details of the ceremony/reception, and gather up RSVPs! Its going to be awesome :) The next 4 weeks are packed with stuff and before I know, I will be Mrs. Duane Borba. Thats SO weird. Oh and don't even get me started on Christmas...I can't even think about it.

Cas

Oh SNAP!

2010-11-08T10:19:00.001-05:00

OMG only 33 days until the wedding!!!!!!!!!!!

A new leaf?

2010-11-07T21:23:00.007-05:00

So if you haven't caught on yet, Hollie is in town and is on my case to blog more often. Its a tough-love situation. Now the tough part is trying to decide what to blog about.

Sophie got a couple new toys.

One is for her - A Kong Wubba (a brand new chew toy that is for extra strong/extra enthusiastic chewers)

One is for me! - a static training collar to help notify Sophie when she is doing something bad.

(pictures to come later)

Anyways, Sophie loves her new wubba and it might actually last around the house for longer than 5 seconds. Its much better than the old torn-to-pieces slippers that she stole from my mom's closet. I like her other new toy, a "static training collar" aka a shock collar. It works wonders for the number one problem: jumping on new people. That is the most annoying and troublesome problem that we face. It is horribly embarrassing when you cannot control your dog when a friend comes over. All the jumping and scratching and terrible-horrible feelings when your friends leave with injuries that they didn't come with. So I am very happy to say that although the shock collar does not hurt Sophie, it grabs her attention enough to stop the bad activity. After only 24 hours she is completely different, still jumping occasionally, but one could easily tell that she resists 7 times out of 10.

I'll keep you updated on the status of the wubba.

Cas

Sweet little things :)

2010-11-06T20:06:00.005-04:00

So today was the all-important, much needed and every-so-fun lingerie shower :0 Oh snap! I will admit that I was nervous going in because I am not someone who likes to share all my business with everyone and that is definitely an "all up in your business" situation. But still, I only plan on getting married once in my life and so I want it to be special.

The shower was so much fun! I had many great friends and family come to support the two of us and have a little fun by picking me out some very "sweet little things." Everyone was so generous in what they gave, It makes one feel very special. I also need to say a special thank-you to my sisters, Jennifer and Hollie, who put the whole thing together :) Without them, there would be no lingerie shower and a very small bridal party :) I love my sisters.

I would also like to thank my out of town friends, Lauren, Emily, and Alyssa, for making a special drive just to come to the shower :) You gals are awesome!

Cas

pumpkin!

2010-09-27T16:22:00.002-04:00

It was very much my delight that I stumbled on to the pureed pumpkin at wal-mart today. It took a dreaded wal-mart run and turned it into an experience to look forward too when I got home. See, one year my mom made this delicious pumpkin dip and I fell in love! Its so light and tasty, and pumpkin is good for you, right? A couple years ago, I recalled this experience with the pumpkin dip and I decided to experimented and made my own. It turned out so great I've made it every year since. Its soo simple and super yummy. This is how I made it.

you need:

1 can pureed pumpkin

1/4 pkg cream cheese ( i use the kind that is 1/3 less fat)

1/4 cup sugar

1 TBsp cinnamon

Basically I guessed on the measurements because thats around what I put in, but I always taste it as I go :) Anyways, make sure before you start that the cream cheese is very soft, otherwise you'll end up with chunks :/

Directions:

Blend ingredients together and enjoy! It goes amazingly well with ginger snaps or apples. Let me know what you like it with!

Casey

Home Improvements :)

2010-09-24T15:32:00.005-04:00

I knew I would be taking on several home improvement projects when I moved into the house I am currently renting. It wasn't exactly in the greatest shape aesthetically speaking. Previously the walls looked a lot like this:

I'm sure somebody thought that was very stylish and modern, maybe when the house was built. But at least they got one thing right, look at the gorgeous wood floors though :) Anyways, now the walls look more like this :

Ahhh...so much better :) Even a cute owl lantern to give a little life/character to a neutral wall.

Oh and don't forget the other improvements that have been made, a new couch and new fabric on the dining room chairs.

If you look closely, you can tell that I haven't finished painting, but you have to cut me some slack. I'm painting the house all by myself, only on my days off and I'm not going to spend every day off painting, especially when it takes all day to paint just the walls. Then another 1-2 days for the baseboards, chair railing and crown molding.

Soo cute! I love the new fabric.

Things are coming together very well and I can't wait until everything is painted and I get some wall decor up and really make this a home for Duane and I to start our new life together.

Cas

Our stray..

2010-08-12T17:17:00.004-04:00

This is our stray kitty...her favorite place to take an afternoon nap is under the carport. I couldn't get a closer picture without either switching lenses, or scaring away the cat. She's a mommy, sadly we sent her babies to the humane society to be adopted. Unfortunately, they won't take Mommy Kitty because she a wild woman :)

soon to come...pictures of the new couch :D

Yard work

2010-08-12T16:56:00.005-04:00

Today I got a lot done :) and it always feels really good when you have a great, productive day. This morning my wonderful neighbor drove me to Lowe's so that I could buy some lattice board to fix up the back deck so cats can't get under it. Then when I got back to the house, Duane was packing up the dishes and food so we could "fog" aka bomb the house for fleas. So we set off the three bombs and ran for our lives to the fresh air of the outdoors. Duane set off the cutting the lattice and I began trimming the hedges. We worked outside the whole time that the bombs were doing their business. No more little sprigs popping out of the front bushes and no more crazy vines climbing up the front wall. I should have taken before pictures, but I didn't really want everyone to see what it looked like before :)This is the cute little house that I live in! I trimmed the hedges myself and I am about to invest in a lawn mower..I'm so domesticated. hehe. Duane still has a little work to do with the lattice, but we won't hold that against him. I'm just glad he was willing. I also worked on the fence line (it use to be COVERED in ivy) and now there is just one small spot (were a wasp decided to take up residence). I cut some low lying branches and pulled weeds, it felt great!

Fleeeeaasss

2010-08-08T18:46:00.003-04:00

So this is basically going to be like a venting blog about fleas...If you know a good trick to get rid of them, please pass it on.

My yard is infested.

Yes, Sophie is an inside dog, but she has to go outside to use the bathroom. So every time I take her outside, she ends up with more fleas. I got to where I was bathing her everyday and using the flea treatments and spraying the furniture daily. Still, Sophie would scratch herself until she bled. It was horrible. Finally, I had to send Sophie to Mom's house so her skin could recover and she could heal and get a little relief.

Still. I have fleas in the yard. Its the stupid stray cats. I have never hated the strays until now, and I wish they were gone. They get up under the deck and lay around in my yard and bring fleas. Supposedly fleas cant live in direct sunlight so they must be coming from beneath the bushes and the deck.

I plan to bomb the house and the neighbor is going to spray under the deck and then we will reinforce the boards so the cats can't get back in. I spread some granular treatment in the yard. HOPEFULLY this will work. I've already spent so much money and stress on this. I just want the fleas gone so Sophie can come home!

Afters..

2010-08-07T10:41:00.005-04:00

So I feel like I will actually have stuff to blog about in the next couple of months. There are so many projects to be done with furniture and the house that I can't wait to share. Among the future projects includes recovering the dining room chairs, hanging drapes/curtains throughout the house, painting the walls, painting my deck furniture... and so on. But, I haven't done any of those things yet so I will just tell you about moving in. It was super easy to move because I had lots-o-help from friends and family. Alyssa, her Dad, Aaron, and Duane helped me move stuff from the apartment, and then Mom drove here with my stuff from Augusta. It really only took about a day to get settled. Thanks everyone!!

Cookin' Time. Too bad you can't see in the picture, but on the opposite wall is the apron my sis gave me for christmas :)

Living room/Dining Room, Complete with a twin bed serving as a couch..just until Wednesday, then my new couch is coming! Thanks Mom!

Reading Corner and Closet

Master Bedroom..Complete with comforter from high school :)

Befores and Afters

2010-08-07T10:27:00.003-04:00

Before:

Recently (July 23) I moved into a new house!! Not an apartment, not a townhouse, but an honest to goodness house, freestanding from any other buildings. So I got some pictures of the before and the after move-in.

Living room

Dining/living room

Bathroom

Spare Bedroom

Master bedroom

So there you have it..pre-move in pictures.

Along with moving in to a new house, I have started a new job :) As a Registered Nurse too!! I'll tell more about that later though.

Casey

Pictures to come soon!!

2010-05-03T09:10:00.002-04:00

I do plan on having a blog very soon that actually has some pictures in it. It just requires a little more time than I am willing to put in right now. HOWEVER, I have taken lots of pictures so they will be here soon. Also, the plan is that I want to make a dish that everyone seems to love but I've never had the courage to make and I plan on documenting in pictures. :)

Preceptorship is done. It was amazing and I don't think I could've been placed with a better preceptor or in unit that I would have loved more. I learned so much and actually didn't mind getting up at 4:40am to get there. It was even ok when I had night shift and had to stay up all night and sleep during the day. Surprisingly, I slept from 9am until 5pm on the second day. Wow. Maybe night shift won't be so bad...

Second interview is today. After what felt like forever (but was really only about 9 days), I got a call back to schedule a second interview at Memorial for the Nursing Residency program. I'm not as nervous as I was before, but I'm sure it will come soon.

Hollie and Jordan are coming this week!! oh and I'm graduating too. Lots coming up...Interview today, Kat's Birthday tomorrow, Mom's birthday Wednesday, Alyssa and Aaron's engagement party thursday, Pinning ceremony friday, Graduation saturday... Lots of pictures to take :) Will post soon..I hope. :)

Life is hectic

2010-04-20T10:30:00.002-04:00

So I know, I know, I know...I'm a terrible blogger. I don't have time for this and when I do have time, its not exactly on the top of my priority list seeing as how I don't have a lot of followers or anything. But here I am and in order for this post to be a quick one, there probably won't be any pictures.

What have I been up to since January when I last posted, well school mostly. But I am very happy to report that all the exams are done, I'm going to pass all my classes and graduate with honors on May 8, 2010. I thought that things would slow down once all the classes were done, but now I feel more busy than ever.

Frisbee has been going on too. We placed third in our last tournament and score 32 points in a row. It was a great weekend in charleston with a bunch of amazing girls.

Sophie has been back and forth between my apartment and my mom's house. She is so sweet but man she cries so much. I will be very excited when she grows out of this phase and is more content.

Right now the main thing is preceptorship. For those of you who don't know, my preceptorship is kinda like an internship. I was paired with a nurse at the hospital and I shadow her for 120 hours, doing everything that she does (i.e. patient care, charting, reporting off, etc.). Let me tell you, it has been amazing and I would love to have a job where I am right now. I am currently in the pediatric intensive care unit and Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah, GA. I love the nurses that work there and the patients that we take care of. Its not just the children, but the complexity of their illnesses that really challenges you to be a critical thinker. If not right away, I would love to work in PICU in the near future.

Speaking of work..I have a job interview today! I really hope that things go well today because this is a position that I would really like. It is at the same hospital that I currently work at as a nursing tech and also the hospital that I am preceptoring at. I'm nervous!

New Topic: Housing. I need a place to live. I fell in love with this one place, but someone else got it. I didn't feel secure enough to start signing papers without the guarantee of a job so I missed out. I hope I don't miss out on all the good places while I'm waiting to hear back from applications...

Well, that is my life right now in a nutshell. Wedding wise, there isn't much to report because nothing is really going on right now.

Cas

A DIY to satisfy any aspiring percussionist

2010-01-07T19:31:00.003-05:00

This is a DIY blog. Now, you may be asking, "Casey, what are you going to make with bottle caps, a hammer and a beer bottle?" Well..it was all Duane's idea, I promise.

Duane got this great idea to make a bottle cap shaker instrument from a german percussionist, Roland Peil. He started with 200 bottle caps which he purchased off ebay. He used the old beer bottle to serve as a platform to nail a hole in each bottle cap. Talk about tedious, but he was very determined :)

I couldn't help at this point (but I did offer), because there was only one old beer bottle in the recycling. But, I did catch somebody napping, even with all the hammering going on downstairs.

Then I was able to help with the stringing process. He used fishing line cut into about yard-length strands and threaded the bottle caps on (about seven per line) with knots in between each cap.

When I was done threading a line, he took over, attaching the line to a rope and then using the left-over line to attach more bottle caps to the opposite side. Below you can see the final product! The whole project took about 3 hours of work (including the trip to walmart for the fishing line) and it cost about 15 dollars to make ($13 for the bottle caps and $2 for the fishing line, the rope he already had)

Lucky him, he's so happy with his new instrument.

My life has gone to the dog

2010-01-05T09:34:00.002-05:00

Oh Sophie darling..You have taken over my life. And Duane's. (I'm not sure Duane is quite as happy about it.)

You make yourself look so cute and innocent. I wouldn't hurt a fly momma. (Yes, I often say out loud what I think Sophie is trying to say to me)
How could anyone say no to that face? Trust me, its hard when she's this cute, but it gets a lot easier when she is peeing on the floor or chewing up you clothes or your hand.
What are we going to do with you? Sophie you have officially taken over my room too. I might go crazy living in such a small space with a rapidly growing furry creature. At least (crossing my fingers) you're starting to learn how to entertain yourself.
But I guess you are part of the family now.

Its a Very-Merry Christmas Indeed!

2009-12-26T12:09:00.005-05:00

So I definitely got some pretty awesome Christmas gifts. I feel so spoiled right now with all of this generousity. I got three really big, really awesome gifts. The first you already know about. A ring! The second is a Nikon D60 DLSR camera. I am in looove! But I'm even more in love with the totally unexpected gift....A PUPPY! OMG, there will be a whole blog dedicated to the beautiful little Sophie. But by far what was the best treat was getting to see my sister and brother-in-law. It was an unexpected trip for an unexpected death in Jordan's family and although we weren't excited about the reason they had to come, we were all very glad that they were able to be here!

We had an early Christmas on Saturday morning before their flight complete with breakfast casserole, coffee cake, and of course, fluff. It was so great to see them!

The next day there was even more Christmas at Aunt Dottie's house. There were so many adorable little children and Santa came to visit. Literally.

Complete with Sleigh-bells

Canidates for Mrs. Clause?

And plenty of excited children...

Engagement!!

2009-12-09T09:10:00.002-05:00

This is a super quick post, cause I have an exam in 40 minutes...BUT I wanted to post up that Duane and I got engaged!!! It happened saturday night and there are definitely more details to come (when I don't know cause this week is packed with stuff). Anyways, I really love what Hollie wrote about it and she has some pictures up already so go check out her blog, and I really will try to get back to blogging soon. Love Ya'll

Future Mrs. Duane <3

Needing a little blog love!

2009-11-03T15:51:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I know I'm not the best blogger ever and I'm behind on my November blogging. However, I need a little encouragement in the form of some comment love from time to time. Even if you hate my blog..it's ok..you can lie to me :)

Anyways, that was my rant. So lets have an update :)

My Mommy got married on October 17th and she was a beautiful bride. It was cold, especially for us bridesmaids in our strapless, t length dresses, but she didn't seem to mind one bit. It was wonderful in many ways, one of those being able to spend time with both of my sisters, Hollie (and Jordan) and Jennifer (and Tim), and my niece and nephew Mary and Mitch, and my cousin Jesse. I really wish for more of all of these wonderful people in my life. If you are into seeing pictures of these things, check out hollie's blog cause she had her camera and has been awesome about posting things up in a more timely manner. I also got to spend time with My Nana and Papa (my mom's parents). The whole shin-dig went down at the Partridge Inn and it was very classy.

The next weekend was the tournament for frisbee, but I've already posted about that so I will skip it this time.

On another topic completely, Statesboro weather definitely has a case of Attention Deficit Disorder. One day its in the upper 80s and the next day its down in the 40s and 50s. I'm just ready for it to go one way or the other. I feel completely unprepared for the outdoors without my daily weather channel check. In fact, I don't think we actually have seasons. We have about 7 months of sweltering heat, maybe a month (two at best) of wonderful, perfect 70 degree weather, and then its cold, staying in the 30s and 40s for the remaining 3 or 4 months.

Well, I feel like this was a pointless blog, just like the rest. Its so hard for me to find something that I feel strongly about that will actually be relevant to my many many readers. I don't have my niche yet. I'm still searching...

Circle Circle Dot Dot

2009-10-27T19:39:00.005-04:00

So, the frisbee tournament at Georgia Southern was absolutely awesome. Although we might not have come out with the best record at the end of the weekend, it was so much fun and I felt awesome because I tried really hard and had some awesome moments. We all did. I can't wait for future tournaments when we know each others capabilities and tendencies better. I totally love this team. Unlike some of the other teams, everyone is pretty chill and there isn't a lot of bad language. Its a really fun, uplifting environment and I just wish I had more time to spend with them.

Stovie, Kim, and Mandy

Maddy

These are just a few of the shots taken throughout the weekend. The rest can be seen on Facebook.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-10-21T22:09:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to touch base with everyone and let ya'll know I'm still here, just super swamped with school and such. Hopefully either Friday or next week I'll grab a free minute to blog.

Frisbee Tournament this weekend!! If you are close to Statesboro, GA, come on down to watch some awesome club frisbee with teams from all over the south east.

The Man I love

2009-10-11T16:33:00.001-04:00

I know its corny, mushy and overdone, but I could not write a blog about my life and simply forget to mention someone so influential and wonderful (besides God and my family of course) in my life, thus far. He's my best friend and I love him.

<---If you were not aware, the very rugged and sexy climber in that picture is Duane :)

Duane and I have known each other since about eighth grade. I could not pinpoint an exact day or time that we met, probably in band class though. Who would have thought that eight years later we would be coming up on our 4 year anniversary? It is exactly one month from today on November 11th. I remember our first date pretty well :) and I want to share it now in order to prepare myself for the big 4 years (thats 48 months, approximately 192 weeks, and about 1640 days).

(please accompany me on my trip down memory lane)

So the date. After some recent soul searching, brought on by major jealousy mind you, I realized that I still had feelings for Duane (we dated freshman year too). I had put it off during all of high school because I thought that since we broke up before, we were never going to work. So I realized that I could not let this other girl have him. It was one of those "I don't even know you, but I know I don't like you" kinda moments because he was, of course, suppose to be with me. I had to do something, and soon.

I finally, kinda-sorta, worked up some courage and told Duane, "I have a secret to tell you" Wow..talk about romantic and awesomely amazing. So because I was soo darn nervous, I actually lead him on for like a day and a half, finally breaking down and telling him that I liked him and making a quick exit because the bell had rung for class. What would he do with that information? I had no earthly clue, but at least I wouldn't have to deal with it for the rest of the school day and the ball was in his court now.

(By the way, this is Duane and I, In high school :)

-Duane should fill in here, with his part of the story.

So, I think I was in a daze from the buildup of hormones and adrenaline with my heartfelt confession, because I don't really remember the details of Duane asking me out. All I know is we had a date for Friday. So I can't remember what I wore or how my hair and makeup looked that night, but I remember that dinner had that awkward first date feeling. It was more difficult than I date with someone you don't really know because we already knew all the general "get to know you" information. So, as we sat in the Pizza Joint enjoying a slice, there were periods of awkward silence and the conversation probably wasn't all that great cause I can't remember what we talked about (must have been the nerves). Then Duane drove us down to River walk for sunset and a romantic walk along the river. (So I know the savannah river is stinky and dirty, but when in Augusta, thats how we roll). I remember Duane grabbing my hand as we strolled, and my heart jumped and I blushed. Then we met a hobo in timberlands and a button down shirt. That killed the romantic moment as he called us brothers and asked for some cash. Oh it was really a night to remember. Towards the end, our pace slowed, and Duane shared how he felt about me (insert Duane's interpretation) and asked me to be his girlfriend. Aww, high school love at its best. I said yes, of course, and we shared a kiss that was short and sweet, but left me feeling all tingly inside. And now, 4 years later his kisses still make me feel like i'm floating and it feels like sparklers are going off in my insides. And I remember the hobo.

Haunting Me

2009-10-08T17:07:00.002-04:00

This is quite odd, however, I'm going to share anyway. I have this picture in my head of a young woman. I recognize her from something but I have absolutely no idea where I would know this face from. And I'm sure your saying "well Casey, that happens to me all the time. It will eventually come to you." Right? Thats exactly what I thought, but that was about 4 days ago. This image of this young woman is still lingering in my thoughts and on my heart. I will describe her to you so you can get a mental picture too.

Dirty blond, medium length hair that is put up in a loose ponytail. Fair complexion. Sweet smile. And a thin, light blue scarf bundled up close to her face. I image she has a semi-mousy voice, but I truly don't know. Thats all I have.

I like the idea that God is impressing upon my heart to pray for this woman, and I have been, but for what, I don't know.We will see how this ends up.

Anyways, this was a short post. I want to write more about my spiritual journey (which has been awesome for the whole 3 days), but I'm busy and its been hard to think of anything but this girl.

Crazy Love

2009-10-06T17:42:00.002-04:00

So, today I finally bit the bullet and sat down to reread "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. (I've tried to read it before but it is so true to my life that its like a kick in the gut and a reality check for how I am lacking). I have spent too much time wallowing in my own guilt and mediocrity instead of running full speed towards the amazing life and love that Christ offers. How I currently feel about my relationship with Christ is worded perfectly by Francis Chan in the preface for this book.

"I called myself a christian, was pretty involved in church, and tried to stay away from all the things that 'good christians' avoid - drinking, drugs, sex, swearing. Christianity was simple: fight your desires in order to please God. Whenever I failed (which was often), I'd walk around feeling guilty and distant from God."

It truly hurts me to admit my faults and failures to others, but to say that I really don't stumble is a flat out lie. I fear judgement just as much as everyone else, so it is hard for me to say that that is how I feel about my life. But it is SOO easy to say that I do not want to carry on in that way anymore. Why just scrape by when I could have something awesome and amazing that God is holding out to me. Instead of pretending to be some "perfect little christian," maybe I should just be real and honest with people so I can have more meaningful relationships. I can see the light and goodness of God all around me already, blessing me because of the changes that I am going to at least try.

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20

I don't want to live my life in a way that I am missing the beauty and wonder of God all around me. The magnificent creation he has given to us is life in a beautiful place. I know I'm going to fail miserably and have to start over again and again, but what else could be more worth it? We have to intentionally and consistently remind ourselves of who God is in order to desire a relationship with him. When I falter, I know its time that I remind myself again.

I hope that I wasn't too scattered or rambled too much. And I hope that whoever reads this will receive it with an open heart to hear what the Lord has in store for them. I am trying to take what I read and apply it to my life and "I believe that He wants us to love others so much that we go to extremes to help him" -Francis Chan. I hope that there will be ways that I can help the people in my life.

Rainy Days

2009-10-05T09:11:00.002-04:00

I love rainy days, but only when you can stay inside all day, making popcorn and hot chocolate and totally forgetting about the responsibilities of life while watching "The Holiday." Who wants to sit through boring classes after getting wet trying to make it on time? Why fall asleep in class, when you can sleep in your warm bed, listening to the rain fall. If its not apparent by the first couple of sentences, ya'll should know that it is raining in Statesboro, and is suppose to rain all day long.

Fabulous.

I already want to skip my one pointless class of the day. I already have to talk myself into going every week because it is super boring and super long (3 hours of lecture), but today I might just talk myself out of it. I've been a good student so far, not skipped a class yet. But today I am totally feeling it. No class. An extended weekend. Also, I have yet to get started on school work this morning and I have a big list of junk to do. But who cares? It's a rainy monday.

So over the weekend, I tried so very hard to come up with interesting blog topics for all you avid readers out there. This was exactly what I was worried about; not knowing what to say, getting behind on posting, and having a boring blog. But I think I have some pretty good ideas, they are just not quite ready yet. Instead of just telling about my life or my day, I think these upcoming blogs may be a little more philosophical and insightful than the previous. However, that means it takes a little longer for me to write them because I have to straighten out all my thoughts. Anyways, for the big 3 people that follow this blog, ya'll are awesome and I love you! Please be patient and I hope to have some really awesome blogs coming up in the future.

Cas

NICU and Babies

2009-10-01T18:07:00.002-04:00

The though of actually committing to a unit at the hospital scares me and it means that I have to grow up. I know, you can always do a switch-er-roo if you don't like it, but I don't want to be bouncing around from unit to unit with no clue what I want to do. The worst part is, in school we only get a fraction of what is available to nurses as far as work experience. Maybe they just expect that we all want the absolute best learning experience and will work med-surg or ICU for a couple of years, but I know that not everyone wants to or will do that after they graduate.

I still am not sure whether or not I will work med-surg or something similar to it when I graduate. I really haven't planned past this semester. But, I finally feel like I have some sort of idea as to area I eventually want to go to.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or NICU

Last week during clinicals, Maggie and I had a one-day experience in the NICU taking care of itty-bitty babies and I fell in love. These patients are the epitome of those who need care because they cannot care for themselves. I just love their little toes and fingers. It seems to have the right amount of excitement and stress, because these little ones are fighting for their lives, but also a very calming effect when you hold them in your arms, feed them, and change their tiny diapers. This does not mean that I am closed off to other ideas or new experiences. I am definitely looking to see how labor and delivery will suite me in this upcoming rotation (starting next week). I just want to enjoy what I do.

To blog or not to blog...

2009-10-01T01:26:00.000-04:00

So I have been battling back and forth with myself for sometime now. Ever since my sis Hollie (holliemims.blogspot.com) showed me her fabulous blog, I totally wanted one of my own. You know how sibling rivalries go, you always want what the other one has. There was just one small problem....who in there right mind would truly want to read with me always complaining about nursing school and the tremendous amount of work it is or talking about frisbee and running a stack vs. a spread or throwing flicks and backhands? Seriously. I wouldn't. So I have wracked my brain with something to write about that either people could learn from or would be enjoyable.

I've come up with zilch. Nada. Nothing.

But, I figure it doesn't hurt to try, so we will see what comes bubbling to the surface today and if nothing else, maybe some friends will want to stay updated on my life :)

I must admit, I have been utterly lazy this semester compared with the past two. No more 8-10 page databases on my patients, no more 4-5 test per week. One test, a couple of papers...this semester is a breeze. But that is awesome, because without that break, I wouldn't have met so many wonderful people at Ultimate frisbee and I wouldn't have been able to go to an awesome tournament this past weekend with Fallout, the GSU Womens Club Ultimate Team.

We took an awesome trip to Charleston, SC and went up against Clemson, College of Charlestown and University of South Carolina. It was a great intro to tournaments for all of us "newbies" and we came away with a great record of 3 and 1. The picture does no justice to how tired we all were from playing from 9:30am to 5pm though. I'm not gonna lie, I could barely walk the next day :)

Well, I don't want to make this too long. It is the first post, and I don't want to seem like the rambler that I really am so I will talk about school and NICU babies next time :)

Cas