Fall Happenings

A few weeks ago, Joe & I took Jonah to find his pumpkin at a local pumpkin farm. Lark Ranch is geared toward families of all ages. This was our first trip there and we're looking forward to going again next year. They have a maze that you can walk though, which includes both a small and large section. There is a map for those that may need it.

We took the last hayride of the day to the pumpkin field. Of course Jonah wanted to run... He was reigned in and the serious job of finding just the right one began. He tole Papaw that he wanted a big pumpkin. Finally after much looking, and with the hayride ready to take us back, we found "the one".

I have survived nursing school :)

It's been quite awhile since I've blogged anything and with good reason. The spring semester and the 8 week summer session of nursing class took pretty much all of my attention. My poor husband hasn't had a good homecooked meal for awhile now. If he hadn't done his own laundry, he might have been arrested for indecent exposure lol. That didn't happen though, which is a good thing :)

The first week following graduation was filled with sleeping as late as I could in the morning, and pretty much doing nothing :) This week, however, will be filled with studying for the boards and some shop hopping. Last year was the first year of the Shop Hop with 8 stores participating. This year it has been expanded to 10 stores. I've visited two of the stores so far with plans on visiting 3 more today. I'll post pics of the make-n-takes from each of the stores later this evening. They are really cute!

I'm finally able to dust off my scrapbbok supplies and get some projects done. With classes keeping me pretty busy, I had to put scrapping on the back burner. My hubby turns 50 on July 27 and we're planning a sneaky surprise get together for him the following weekend. I'll have just enough time to put a small album together. It won't be much, but it'll be a little something :)

Off to the Shop Hop!

The New Year

With this new year we'll experience many changes in our family. Graduation will be here before I know it. Mine is in July and Bret's will be in December. Joe will hit a milestone with the "big 50". He'll get 2 1/2 years experience before I join him there and will ease me into that transition I'm sure :) Jonah is growing my leaps and bounds. And the kids aren't kids anymore. They've grown into responsible (did I just say that?) young adults and actually have a life outside of my arms reach. When and how did that happen? They've gained their independence from us, which in my opinion is both sweet and sour all rolled into one. I miss having them close and spending time with them, knowing that they did indeed need me. Now they don't need mom quite so much, but I'm sure that they know we're here to help them if need be. At times it's heart wrenching and at other times realizing the fine adults they've become makes my heart about burst with happiness. I used to laugh and think it silly when my mom would tell the kids she was going to put a brick on their heads to stop them from growing up on her so fast. Now that they have grown up, I understand just how she was feeling. I feel the same way about Jonah. Not that my mom or I would ever really put a brick on any of their heads! Like that would really work anyway :)

I think I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The first semester of school has been completed successfully with the second one starting on Monday. It's going to be getting very busy and hectic at our household until July I'm afraid. Clinical 3 x's a week and classes full days the other two. Not to mention that I'm still working 4 days. Whew! Hold on because the ride is about to get a little bumpy lol. It can be done with a little more organization. If anyone has any ideas to help us keep our sanity, please pass them along. I'm going to try and make some big meals and casseroles to freeze in small containers so my hubby doesn't go hungry. I'm thinking that after a full day of school I won't want to walk in and fix dinner right away. Crock pot meals are going to be a regular too.

I thought about the New Year resolutions many of us make, and then not keep and decided not to do that this year. Instead, I'm making a "to do" list this year. That way I won't feel locked in to something and then disappointed when I've fallen off of the resultion wagon. Instead, I'll try to do my best with the list I have and can amend it throughout the year. Some things on there are ongoing while others may be goals that I've set for myself. I think this way I'll be more successful.

Here we go...

Jennie's To Do List 2009
1. Study hard and do well in my classes
2. To look stunning for LPN pinning and graduation in July
3. Take time for myself each day to clear my mind of all the clutter and to reflect
4. Make more time for my family.
5. Make more time for Joe & I as a couple. The kidsare adults now :)
6. Finish my 1st quilt that I started several years ago and admire it on my bed.
7. Turn off the tv and the music on more.
8. Get up and move!
9. Take a small trip after graduation. We all deserve it.
10. Reconnect with family & friends. With each day that passes by, there are memories to be made and moments to share with someone special in your life.

What goals and plans have you made for yourself this year>

Wordless Wednesday

Locked behind the cemetery gate!

This post serves two purposes today. It's an answer to todays Two Peas Blogger challenge.
Share your favorite fall activity...
*I really enjoy walking when the leaves are falling and the air is crisp and cool. Cemeteries are a fav place to walk for me. They're so peaceful :)

I've got two stories today that gave my daughter a bit of a chuckle earlier.
Story #1...
I've not been on here to blog much since school got into full swing. Each week is pretty hectic between med-surg, pharmacology and fundamentals classes, discussion plus clinical. When things start to stress me out, I like to go walking, especially in cemeteries. Yeah, I know that sounds creepy. I've enjoyed working on genealogy for a few years and sometimes people that live out of state will ask for one of their ancestors headstone pics in a nearby cemetery. Walking through a cemetery that I've gotten a request from often serves a dual purpose.

Well... last night was one of those stressful evenings. We have three tests this week.. Mon, Wed & Fri. and I needed a short break. I thought I'd stop at the Sunset cemetery on the edge of town and see if I could locate the requests for someone. You have to drive down a side street which has a few houses and then come to the gate. The sign on the gate stated it would be closed from 7pm - 7am. No problem there I thought. It was open and I knew I had plenty of time to find what I needed. After going through the gate, it's approxately 1/10 mile up the road to the cemetery. After walking the cemetery and finding 8 out of the 9 requested stones, I thought I'd head on home and have some dinner. I went back up the road and in the distance I could see that the gate was across the road. Oh boy!

Following a few phone calls, one of which went to central dispatch (Sheriff's dept), help had arrived! Yippee! No... they didn't have a key. The town cop looked at the padlocked chain and said he couldn't get it and he'd have to locate someone with the required key. Off he goes to the first guys house... he's not at home and his neighbor said he was probably at the Eagles. Great! He goes to another guys house who soon gets there to rescue me. Our sons went to school together so I wondered just how long it'd be before the story got out *grins* With a smile on his face, Greg lifts the chain up and over the wooden post that it was "padlocked and chained" to. Oh wonderful!! I could have left on my own free will 30 minutes ago! Now I feel really idiotic lol.

Moral of the story is ya don't always have to have a man rescue you. I was just happy to be out from behind the cemetery gate. Not quite ready to join those inside :)

Story #2...

My hubby has to be at work at 6am EST, so he leaves a little after 5am. You remember how the time changed this weekend :)Well... I guess he didn't change his alarm clock on his side of the bed. I changed mine as I worked Sunday morning and wanted that extra hour of sleep. The ringing of my cell phone woke me up about 5am this morning. It was hubby asking me if I had turned my clock back. I told him that I had and then as I was waking up, realized that he hadn't. I started giggling and he asked if I was laughing at him and I confirmed that I was. In my defense, I was half asleep and stressed already about the test at 8am that morning. I bet he won't forget to switch the clock next time :)

Most of Indiana used to leave their clocks alone and that's a sore issue with alot of people. They should have left the time change issue alone in my opinion as it had worked for years. The Gov that was most recently elected to office (Not my man Mitch!) rallied for daylight savings time to be observed. It has caused so much discussion. It's all for progress I suppose.

Don't forget to vote tomorrow for the candidate of your choice. If you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain :)
Have a great day!

West Side Nut Club Fall Festival

It's been awhile since I've blogged anything. With school going on and family life, things are pretty busy for me right now. Classes are still going well and keeping me hopping daily. There isn't much time for fun stuff at this point, but we make time for it whenever we have the chance. Thursdays are always good and has become known as "Mamaw Thursday". I've been trying to pick Jonah up on Thursdays from daycare so Papaw and I can spend some time with him. This also allows his Mommy some alone time. It's a win-win situation :)

Recently we were able to get away for an evening at the annual West Side Nut Club Fall Festival. It's supposed to be the second largest street festival in the USA according to my sources :) There are over 120 food booths manned by mostly non-profit organizations selling anything from hot dogs, frog legs, brain sandwiches to a kangurrito burrito. They publish a munchie map from which you can select your chosen food and then locate the booths selling that item. The booths open up for the lunch crowds and you wouldn't believe the people that are there in the middle of the day. It's a hopping place! We went on the Saturday evening and purchased corn on the cob followed by blackberry cobbler a la mode. Hubby got some burgoo and I finished Jonah's hot dog and Bishnu tried the shrimp. I tried the deep fried cookie dough but it as way too rich for me after 2 small bites. Chanel was wanting some polish sausage and I'm not sure if she ever got any or not. I'm looking forward to going next year.

Scrappings-n-Bones

**Risk for imbalanced nutrition: less than body requirements secondary to starvation related to unwillingness to eat.**

The 2peas challenge for today is: Do you have a local scrap group? If so how often do you meet and where?
*There are actually three groups that I scrap with from time to time. Each of them meet once a month. I don't get to go to them all each month and one of them I haven't been there for quite a long time due to work schedule conflicts. PC Scrappers meet in Petersburg with the date depending on availability of the building. The Oakland City group meets the first Friday night of each month. SISF (Southern Indiana Scrapbook Friends) meets the third Saturday of the month. Everyone there brings in food, snacks, drinks or dessert depending on the first letter of their last name. The food list rotates each month. I miss getting to go to the scraps and hopefully when school is all done, I'll get to relax a little and scrap again.

We've been working diligently on our skills in fundamentals lab so when the time comes, we'll be prepared to go out into the world as well trained LPN's in July. Ooohhh... shots and restraints :)