Armadillo Dash- Half Marathon

This morning, Forrest ran his FIRST half marathon with Tony here in College Station. According to his Garmin he finished with a time of  2:02:24 – Whoop! I was so proud of him!! I ran the 5K so I finished over an hour before him and waited at the finish line, making friends with other wives. It was so exciting watching everyone sprint to the finish line and then seeing Forrest come around the corner- I was just overwhelmed with excitement. I started yelling and jumping up and down, probably embarrassing myself a little. I just couldn’t have been any prouder watching him finish! I can’t imagine how I will be in April when he does his first triathlon. I am going to have to make some posters or T-shirts or something!

Go Forrest! Or should I say- Run Forrest run!! :D

O and my time, if anyone is interested was- 30:10. My goal is to be running 4 miles by the end of this month.

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Day Off!

Friday I had the day off (from clinical) so I decided to go home and see my parents. My mom and I had planned to go to Northpark to do some shopping for a couple of girlfriends’ who are getting married, and guess who was bored enough to join us? My dad! We couldn’t believe it- usually when us girls have something “girlie” going on- he is OUT! Anyways, he went with us but went off to do his own thing then eventually met back up with us. Later towards the end of our shopping adventure, he went and sat in the car, falling asleep until we were done and ready for him to pick us up. That night we went out to dinner to OTB and then to get ice cream. Afterwards we headed home to relax around the house.

Saturday morning, my mom, Uncle Tony, and I went to breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. It was so good to spend time with him- it has been a really long time and I don’t get to see my mom’s family very often. The three of us could’ve just talked all day!

(Sorry Dad, I didn’t get a pic of us!)

Dusted off my heels!

I think its safe to say my black heels have been collecting dust, LITERALLY. We really hardly get together with friends, especially big groups, and go out on the town. I guess we kind of get used to just staying in or being busy with other things. I know, how boring are we in our twenties with no kids? I bet young parents out there are thinking we are crazy for not taking advantage of late night events!

Well Saturday (after dusting off my heels of course), we redeemed our homebody selves by accepting an invitation to join about 4 other couples in a night out in Houston. We took a limo to the restaurant, El Tiempo, for a friend’s birthday. Jarrad, the birthday boy, is the soon to be husband of my good friend, Elisha, whom I met in college. They are adorable and have introduced us to some of the most incredible and fun people to be around. Their wedding will be in May so they have some fun wedding events coming up that we will enjoy being a part of, as well as the wedding.

Anyways, it was really fun to not only get out of the house but to go “out” in the city. Not that I don’t enjoy living in College Station, it is just that the crowds can be a little “young” if you know what I mean. Plus, it is just nice to go somewhere else no matter where you live. And who would turn down an opportunity to ride in a limo?! Forrest made fun of me because of how excited I got about the limo. Maybe it is a girl thing to like getting dressed up and chauffeured around every once in awhile. I am not going to lie, I was feeling a little cocky!

I am so glad we went, the night was filled with laughs. I can’t wait to do it again! Who’s birthday can we celebrate next? :)

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Little big things

Remember how I said in my previous Valentines post how it is the little things that are “big” to me in a marriage?

Today I came home from an SNA fundraiser to my husband and a card on the counter with a big “m” shaped bird on it- this means it is for me. :)

(Forrest’s nickname for me is Bird- I hardly ever hear him call me Megan…it is always Bird. And, anytime he addresses me somehow on paper like leaving me a note,  gift tags, cards, etc he will draw a little bird on it instead of writing it out).

Okay might seem like too much information- but you will understand why I had to explain that later in the blog. So, I open the envelope and pull out an “I’m Proud of You” kind of card with the sweetest, most encouraging things written in it about me being in nursing school. He did this because I made an “A” on my test today which means I made all “A”s on my first round of tests this semester. It really made me want to keep working harder- I love knowing that I am making him a proud husband because I am so proud of him too.

Anyways, I was pretty excited when I found out about my grade today, so I emailed him in class right away to share the good news. My test experience usually goes like this: study, spend time with Forrest, study, study, study, then off to take my test and Forrest ALWAYS wishes me good luck, sometimes even twice if he calls beforehand, take test, call or email Forrest right after to talk about the test or tell him my grade if I know it already.

So now, time to brag on Forrest: he completed a 20 mile bike ride this past Sunday with his brother in law. He is doing a half-marathon(Armadillo Dash) in two weeks. He ran 10 miles for the first time ever last week and did it in 94 minutes. We practiced flip turns in the water on Sunday so he can get used to swimming continuously. O, and he got me some new running shoes. :)

Food for Thought

A few weeks ago, Forrest and I were at Barnes & Noble when I came across this neat book called “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth.” I was attracted to title and the cover (I think I have a growing passion for food) but the way it is written is so easy to read and it has really interesting facts. I had to get it! Anyways, I thought I would share some good facts straight from the book.

On the subject of ORGANIC: the author is very “pro-organic.” He states that he buys it whenever he can. I have not completely converted, but after reading what this author has to say, I might make a few changes in the way I grocery shop.

So what exactly does the term mean? Well, it is meant to describe where the food comes from and how it is grown. The whole movement began to go against the marketplace and go back to a time when animals were not fed growth hormones, steroids, and antibiotics and crops were not treated with artificial chemicals to make them look more appealing.

Consider this quote from the author, “The quality of the food we eat comes from the quality of the food our food eats.” 

And here is a tip from the author: since organic can be expensive and inconvenient, check out a local farmers market if you have one and if you can, get to know the people that grow and raise it.

I think I might try this out, especially when the weather gets nice. It just gives me a good excuse to get outside and maybe even get a cute, fun shopping bag!

And while we are on the subject of food, if you like meatloaf, here is a good “good for you” recipe from Rachel Ray:

Tex-Mex Meatloaves

L.O.V.E.

Promise I will keep the mush talk to a minimum but I just want to say that God has truly blessed me with a husband who shows me all the time how much he loves me and a marriage filled with love and joy. I know it is not always rose petals and chocolate, but it is the little things everyday that matter most. I love you Forrest, and Happy Valentine's Day!!

Our Valentine’s day holiday was celebrated a little early this year. I have a lot to study for tonight so we celebrated last night. I say celebrate but we really do not do anything too out of the ordinary… I mean that in a good way. Forrest and I love to cook at the house, turn up music, and have a little drink on the weekends. To us, it is the ideal night. Kind of like playing “host” to ourselves (and the dogs) Ha! We did however make it a little extra special by cooking something extra nice- steak and lobster. We drank beer margaritas while we cooked and then later had dessert- brownies and chocolate strawberries.

After dinner, we exchanged cards. I know I have said this before but Forrest always gets and writes me the best cards. I cannot measure up so instead, I use my creativity to make him a card. This year, his card was a heart shaped piece of cardstock that was part of a little decoration I made and hung from the light fixture above our dinner table. I know, sounds a little elementary but it was cute and Forrest liked it!

Forrest got me a sweet card and my favorite perfume- Amazing Grace by Philosophy.

Then the night was spent loving on our other Valentines- Honey and LG, who is so fun to cuddle with. She is so sweet and will just let you love all over her. Honey was quite comfy having the couch to himself so I don’t think he minded too much. :)

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!!

What a mess!

One of the pre-clinical paperwork assignments we have to do for Med/Surg is a concept map or “patho tree.” These are quite complex diagrams or maps of our client’s case. I know it sounds confusing, but just imagine trying to draw one and on top of that, keep it nice and organized as you critically think! Mine today was over a case involving cholelithiasis (presence of gallstones in gallbladder) that lead to choledolithiasis (obstruction of gallstone in common duct) with subsequent open cholecystectomy (surgery to remove gallbladder).

Today was my first surgical floor clinical rotation and first day at the CS Medical Center. I have been in OB the first few weeks of this semester. I guess I didn’t talk much about my experiences but I thoroughly enjoyed OB. I had L&D for two days and the postpartum the next week for two days. They have been my favorite so far. I also did a L&D simulation performance type thing in our sim lab for some juniors in high school participating in the Junior Leadership Brazos program- which ironically I used to coordinate when I worked for the B/CS Chamber of Commerce. It was really neat- my old boss got to see me in action!! Then yesterday, I was at the prenatal clinic in Bryan which was pretty neat as well.

As for today, I know this is probably a boring blog to most of you, but it is mainly for me to look back at one day. The hardest thing I saw today was a 41 yo female post mastectomy- I watched wound care change her dressing. It was the most graphic thing I have seen yet in the hospital and very hard to watch, especially knowing that she had a terminal prognosis. I will probably never forget this woman and her case- it made me realize a few things about the reality that nurses face on a day to day basis.

I few skills I performed today: I hung an IV piggyback, administered IV push, dealt with IV central line, saw a bad case of jaundice, pitting edema, caught a critical lab value (albumin at 1.5 g/dL) and reported it to my professor, witnessed an ethical dilemma b/w another patient and his doctor. O, and last but not least, cleaned up a large bowel movement mess. Isn’t nursing so glamorous?! Ha!

Overall, a pretty educational day. Happy Friday everyone!

A girl can dream!

I know the weather lately has not been very reminding that the spring season is right around the corner, but today it hit me- we are already in February! Which means all I have on my mind is spring break and cute spring clothes/items to keep an eye out for! Here are a few things on my wish list!

Green Striped Cardigan- Forever 21

Black Romper- Old Navy

Boyfriend Denim Shorts- Old Navy

Fossil Espadrilles

Shawl Vest- Gap

I LOVE JCrew jewelry but it is so expensive! I like to browse theirs and then find the knockoff elsewhere!

Raindrop Ribbon Necklace- JCrew

Cascade Tee- JCrew

Linea Pelle white bag- Piperlime

 

Distressed Skinny Jeans- 7 For All Mankind

 

Drawstring Warm-up Jacket- Gap

Striped Jersey Dress- Old Navy

Mossimo Engineer Boots- Target

I am still on the look out for some cute sandals or flip flops. I have tons of flats so I definitely do not need anymore of those! I have seen these types of shoes in a few places but think they are kind of odd! Who knows they might grow on me like the gladiators did!! :)

Joan & David 'Zena' Flat- Nordstrom