On weddings.

I bought a wedding gown yesterday. I don't have a caterer, an officiant, a photographer, linens, invitations or musicians; but I've got a dress. And twelve vases with which to make centerpieces.

Perhaps some women have a better knack for this than I do.

I have to admit, though - it's kinda fun. :)

I'm really happy with the gown I chose - it's lovely, without being too "much." (There are some seriously over the top dresses out there.) I got a kick out of trying them on, but the giant poufs really didn't feel like me.
With each gown I put on, the bridal consultant would ask me, "Can you see yourself getting married in this dress?" Each time I thought, "sure, why not?" I used to mentally pick out wedding colors or bridesmaid gowns (after having been a bridesmaid four times, I'm good at that part), but I guess I never thought much about what I'd wear. I've given more thought to being married than getting married, which is probably a good thing. Either way, I've got a dress now, so hopefully there will be no nightmares about being starkers on stage on my wedding day.

The bridal consultant talked me into trying on a veil, and when she tucked it into my hair I was thrown into one of those intensely vivid memories - you know, the kind where you feel exactly like you did way back when. As a little girl, I used to tuck a long curtain sheer into my pink plastic headband and turn it into a beautiful veil. Standing there in the boutique, I could smell that dusty old curtain. I could see my lavender toy chest and my fat black and white cat sprawled in the windowsill above it. I don't plan to wear a veil on my wedding day, but I'm glad I had that moment. I've been going into bridal shops and doing the wedding thing, and often I felt a little out of place. I'm twenty-eight years old, and admittedly, perhaps just a smidge cynical.
But at that moment, standing there in a silly veil, I was a hopeful little girl.

And I'm getting married in nine months.

Weather report:

It's snowing.

Hard.

Where does the time go?

Thanksgiving break begins on Wednesday, November 21st. When we return to school the following Monday, there will be only two weeks of classes left before finals.

The happy news is that all of my major projects for the semester will be finished by Thanksgiving, leaving me plenty of time to study for finals.

The sad news is that I have to finish all of my major projects by Thanksgiving. I have four big assignments that are all coming due at the same time.

Phooey.

I shall now return to my regularly scheduled studying.

Cookies and flu shots and a chance encounter.

Today was a busy, wonderful day.

This morning I lugged twenty pounds of fruit bread and cookies to the university center on campus, where the Montana Student Nurses Association held a bake sale. My fellow students turned up with impressive amounts of wonderful baked goods, and all of the items looked delicious. We sold nearly everything, made some money for our organization, and had a great time talking with people.

I spent the afternoon administering flu shots for the student health center. I've done some injections at the hospital, but doing it over and over again in a short time was a great way to fine tune my technique and improve my dexterity. I don't like causing people discomfort, but I do like knowing that I'm helping them to protect their health. (And several people said I give a pretty good shot, so that's always nice to hear.)

Also, this morning I bumped into Patia, blogger extraordinaire. Lovely in print, even lovelier in person. :) It's odd to "meet" someone you already feel as though you know... I enjoy her writing immensely - if you haven't yet, you should check out her blog.

It is now way past my intended bedtime of "early." Goodnight!

Bake, knit, purl...

I've baked four loaves of apple-orange-nut bread, and I've got two loaves of banana nut in the oven. While they're baking, I sit in my freshly cleaned living room with the classical music channel playing, and I knit.

It's lovely.

There is more school craziness in coming weeks, but for the moment I am enjoying the peace.

Sigh.

Finishing the Missoula Half Marathon

Mandi Finishing the Missoula Half Marathon
Originally uploaded by emillan

I saw this photo in Emilio's photostream today, and it brought back some fond memories.

I ran a half marathon.
Awesome.

Back to homework...

Things found in my laundry money bowl...

We don't have washer/dryer hookups in our apartment, so we are still laundering in the world of coin-op. On our entry way table is a little clay bowl whose sole purpose is to collect quarters for laundry, but over time it has collected a myriad of other small items as well:

• two spare keys to my car, and one to Luis's
• €10 bill. Also €2.32 in change
• three identification badges bearing my name and photo: one for a hospice agency where I used to volunteer, one for my work, one for the hospital where I have clinicals
• two red plastic tokens, each good for a free taco at Taco Johns
• three rubber bands
• rusted fork divot repair tool
• several keys of unknown origin
• small green bouncy ball
• two zinc lozenges
• Red Cross blood donor pin
• poker chip from a casino in Vancouver, BC
• tiny safety pin
• cheap ring from when Sammy and I got married at the Foresters' Ball
• swipe cards to various grocers and video rental stores - the little ones that are hole punched, because these merchants are under the impression that I desire half a dozen tiny barcoded plastic bits on my key ring
• valve stem from a river tube

...and finally, down at the very bottom, $8.25 in quarters. Time to do some laundry.

randomandi.

Tonight there are lots of Halloween parties. Sadly, I'm not going to any. I didn't realize until today that this weekend would be the weekend for going out in costume, because I've been super busy lately and I just completely spaced it. It's a bummer, because I love Halloween... I suppose I still could have gone out, but after working eleven hours today the thought of putting on anything besides my jammies was just too much.

Sometimes, when I'm feeling particularly indulgent, I'll sprinkle my pasta liberally with parmesan cheese, eat the cheesy top layer of noodles, coat the next level with more cheese, and eat that too. I continue the process clear down to the bottom of my bowl. Mmm.

I have two tests next week. Ick.

The Jane Austen Book Club. Becoming Jane. They think they've got us all figured out... and yeah, they probably do. Although personally, I'm inclined to wait for video, as neither has gotten great reviews. I'm rereading Sense and Sensibility right now, and once we get a break from school, I think we're going to do a girls' night and watch all six hours of Pride and Prejudice. Sigh.

Go Sox!

I cannot believe that this is the last week of October. I'm still confused about where September went, and now it's practically November. Holy hell.

My bangs are really long. I'd cut them myself, but then my hairdresser would yell at me. I'll have to remember to make an appointment for next week.

I don't know if I'll do a bouquet toss at my wedding. I only have a handful of unmarried girlfriends coming, and I always found the tradition highly embarrassing as a singleton.

Okay, time for more homework. If I can force another forty-five minutes of concentration out of myself tonight, tomorrow's cram session will be that much easier.

Excitement, etc.

Much of this week I've had a giddy excitement bouncing around inside my tummy. No particular reason, other than life is good.

I got to see a good friend the other night. She was in town due to very sad circumstances, but it was wonderful to see her nonetheless.

My friend Nicole offered the other day to help me with wedding stuff. She's uber creative, funky and unique - I bet she'll have some amazing ideas. I'm also glad to have more help, as most of my bridesmaids and all of my family live so far away.

Speaking of nuptial ceremonies... gentle readers, I apologize in advance for writing what I'm quite sure will be more than you ever cared to read about the planning of weddings. Thus far, I've been able to keep my mind on my studies. But now, as the semester is more than half gone and the wedding is drawing rapidly nearer, I will have to shift gears somewhat and manage both. (A difficult task, because wedding stuff is so much more fun than paper writing.) But seeing as the wedding is less than ten months away, I'd better get a move on. And, if something is on my mind, it usually finds it's way onto my blog.

Two beautiful days and a school update.

For two days the sky has been a dazzling electric blue, and the mercury rose clear into the upper sixties. The crisp, spicy scent of fallen leaves is dense in the air.

Lovely.

__________________________________________________________

Today was my last day of inpatient clinicals for the semester. Pediatrics was a good learning experience, but I'm pretty sure it isn't the specialty for me. However, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed obstetrics - specifically the postpartum unit. I really like doing patient education, and there's a lot of teaching we can do with new moms. I also liked getting to know the families. It was nice to be a part of such a happy time in patient's lives.
Next up is two weeks of outpatient OB clinicals, followed by two weeks of outpatient pediatrics. I can't believe how fast this semester is flying by!

Two weeks in a row I had both a paper and a care plan* due. It made for a lot of writing and some pretty stress-filled days. As I turned in my second paper, I felt immediately lighter and more carefree. I have one more big paper due this semester, and two presentations to give - but everything from here on out is more evenly spaced out, and with my hospital clinicals being over I'll have more time to get everything done. Perhaps now I can start planning a wedding...


*Care plans are huge write ups about the patient care we provide in the hospital. We write about the patient's medical history, the pathophysiology of their illness, list the tests and procedures they've had done, and document findings from our own assessments of the patient. We then come up with possible nursing diagnoses and interventions we can do while caring for the patient. In the hospital they're mostly a generic form included in the chart, and you only need to select which diagnoses apply to your specific patient. In school, however, they're a pretty involved project.They're a great tool for learning the material and understanding how the pieces fit together, but they're also a total pain in the butt.