New Year, New Goals

This has been a wonderful year, full of learning new things, achieving huge bucket-list goals, and becoming a smarter, happier woman.

I am so excited for 2014. Nursing school graduation, becoming a 'legitimate adult', and taking on new adventures. I am also excited for my goals, and I have every intention of achieving each one of them!

1. Graduate Nursing School
Obvious, I know. I've wanted to be a nurse all my life. It's incredible to look back on my education even in high school, where I took every medical themed class available, because I knew I wanted that R.N after my name. I worked so hard to get accepted into a program. It caused so many heartbreaks, so many hopeless feelings. But I believe Heavenly Father was priming me for the sweet feeling of acceptance, because that Skype call with my mom while in Florida was the sweetest moment of my life. You can read that post here.

2. Study my Scriptures Every Day
I've been doing this goal since mid October, and so far I haven't missed a day. I plan to continue this streak, and maybe even attempt to knock out the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament in one year.

3. Loose 10 Pounds
That equates to less than a pound a month; doable, right? I've already started going to the gym regularly, so I'll weigh myself on the 1st, and use that as my starting weight. I'm hoping to slowly ease myself into the habit of running. Thus far, I've been using the stationary bike and the elliptical, but I'd love to get to the point where I can exercise outside with a good run. Maybe I'll even shoot for running in Disney's Princess Half Marathon in 2015?? That could be a cool goal…

4. Do Something Incredible
This one is a broad cop out… but it's still my most exciting goal. I want to do something incredible with my life in 2014. Current possibilities are: moving back to Florida, and working as a nurse and a Disney cast member, or landing my dream job at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake. Maybe  finding my Eternal companion and being married for Time and all Eternity. Perhaps taking another amazing trip to a foreign country. I dream of living life and finding adventure. Regardless of what I accomplish, I know I will be happy. This goal will most definitely be accomplished.

So there they are, four simple, worthwhile goals that mean a lot to me
~Courtney

Saturday Clinic = Fastpass Envy

On Saturdays, the clinic is open from 8-noon. We schedule patients beforehand, but also allow walk-in patients. These  walkies, as I will call them, are warned that patients with a scheduled appointment have priority, which means the walkies could end up waiting more than 30 minutes. I'm sure these naive little patients assume that won't happen to them, so they nod and continue signing the paperwork to be seen as a walk-in. 

Oh ho ho, how I chuckle at those poor souls. 

I liken it to Disney Fastpass Envy.

At almost every single Disney attraction, you're faced with the option to go ahead and wait in line for X amount of time, or take a Fastpass and return to the ride later, for a much shorter wait time. 

My scheduled patients are the Fastpasses, and my walkies are the people who choose to wait in line for X minutes. Then, these people who chose to wait, get jealous as the Fastpass users zip past them in their own shorter line.

Here's an example of today. Suzie walks in to the office at 10:40 for a sinus infection. She takes a seat in the comfy leather chairs, expecting a 10 minute wait. But it's busy, and we are 30 minutes behind. Bob had an appointment scheduled for 11:10, and he arrives 3 minutes early. He signs in, and is taken back when the next exam room opens up 5 minutes later. Then Xander shows up to his scheduled 11:20 appointment and goes back right after check in. By this point, Suzie has watched 2 people walk in and go back before her, and she is visibly ticked. Scheduled patient after patient continue to show up in 5 minute increments, and Suzie continues to wait. This happens for 40 minutes (no lie) and when she is finally allowed back to the exam rooms, she makes a biter remark about how so many people were seen before her.

Get a Fastpass, honey!

Schedule an appointment next time!

You chose to be a walkie so suck it up and take it!

Excuse me while I bang my forehead on the doorframe for a hot second.

~Courtney

Highlights of 2013

1. Taking the NCLEX-PN in the minimum 85 questions

2. Passing said NCLEX-PN

3. Seeing Cars Land at California Adventure

4. Being Maid of Honor for my best friend's wedding

5. My sister's mission call

6. My trip to Australia

7. Getting a 4.0 for Fall 2013

8. My first legitimate job as a nurse

9. Scholarships that completely covered tuition

10. Being called as Relief Society 1st Councilor

While every event is huge and exciting, my trip to Australia definitely takes the cake for this year!

I look back on this year, and I am so happy with what I accomplished!

While most days seemed ordinary, it's obvious that I have grown so much.

Becoming a registered nurse, traveling to another country, and strengthening family bonds…

it's been a wonderful year.

~Courtney

{Delayed Gratitude}

I've written before about my miraculous scholarships which completely paid for my third semester of school. I had to maintain a 3.7 GPA in order to receive the same scholarships next semester, so I was very on top of my grades this time around; no "B+ is totally acceptable" attitude for me! So I worked hard, and in 4 of my 5 classes, I had a nice, pretty A.

I had a high A- in the other class, and after some tweaking with my grades on Canvas (our online school website) I realized that if I had done only 5 points better on a very large exam, I would barely bump into the A category. So I swallowed my hesitation, and walked in to the nursing director's office (who's also my instructor for this class) and put my situation in front of her. I had very good reasons for this 5 point increment, as I had done the assignment before she had made changes to the way it was done. This exam was graded in 10 point increments, 70, 80, 90, 100. I had earned an 80 and I offered to her that a 5 point raise would bump me up to an A.

I emphasized that I was pleased as punch with an A-, it meant I could keep my scholarship, and I was happy enough with that. No lie, I was thrilled! I had all A's and an A-! Woot! I guess my argument for the 5 point increase was solid with my instructor, because when I opened my email at home, she had given me the points, and my grade was a beautiful, shiny A!

4.0 GPA baby!

I know in the past I have complained about life in Price, Utah. It's really not my cup of tea, and I'm certainly not sticking around after graduation, but I am 100% positive that this program was where I needed to be. I have teachers who genuinely care about me and my success.

I'm grateful that Heavenly Father has put me on the righ path towards my future.
I'm grateful for this nursing program.
And I'm grateful for a much needed month long break from school.
~Courtney

Another One Bites The Dust

Another beautiful semester schedule filled with glorious blue X's.

I don't think it's possible for me to grow old of this tradition.

The first few weeks of this semester just dragged on.

They were some of the most difficult and heart wrenching weeks of my life.

But then things got better, my heart healed up enough to be functional,

and the semester just flew by.

So I did it! Took my final this morning, did pretty dang good.

We'll see what my final grades are tomorrow.

Things look up.

Three semesters down, one to go!

~Courtney

Blergh

Oh my gosh, I really do not know why I haven't been posting much this semester.

I think it's because I keep thinking I need to write some fabulous, witty post about life's injustices.

But I can't. Life simply isn't being unjust. I have absolutely nothing making my life less than livable.

I made a horrible discovery recently.

Okay, it's not horrible. It was a big wake-up call though.

I have been cleaning out the nooks and crannies of my room, kinda like Spring Cleaning

… though it's Winter Cleaning instead.

But I found a whole ton of micro cassette tapes jumbled up in a drawer.

My missionary and I used them religiously as a means to communication while he was serving.

I would pop in a cassette and ramble to him about how my life was going, and he would do the same.

Unfortunately, I didn't label his tapes well, so I decided I would just go listen to each one to label properly or throw away. Then I came across one of my own tapes, with my voice coming out of the cassette player, reading aloud a letter I had written but never sent… It was a mushy letter that could have been taken word for word out of a chick flick. I chuckled and felt a little embarrassed, went to hit the stop button, but low and behold there was more.

This time, my ramblings were aimed towards a different beau, recorded almost a year after the mushy letter. So I sat and listened, and my embarrassment got even worse. While my ramblings didn't surpass the mushiness of the unsent letter, they were just as dopey. 

I realized something.

Love makes me an idiot.

Both of these recordings placed me as the stereotypical lovesick school girl.  They were full of "I love you with every part of me" and "you are the best thing to ever happen to me" nonsense. Now, yes, I did feel those things, and in the case of my missionary, we had been dating for nearly 3 years at that point. But the other guy? I think we were around the 2 month mark when that was recorded.  So I sat at my desk, dumbfounded by my own… I don't know… clingyness. I'm not the girl to text my guy asking where they are and who they are with, and I'm the girl who enjoys nights with my girls instead of my guy, but apparently I'm also the girl who super glues her heart to the guy. 

I finally figured out my problem.

My problem is not that I am desperate to be in a relationship. My problem is once I'm in that relationship, I'm desperate to keep the "love alive".

I've discovered my issue, and while it was an embarrassing/terrible process of discovery, it was something I really needed to find. So what now? I don't know how I will go about my next relationship, whenever it happens. I certainly don't think I'll act any less caring. How does a girl keep a guy close without becoming a Love Leech? I suppose I'll have to take it day by day, and keep a close eye on my emotions to keep them in check. Become less of a stupid school girl and more of a mature independent woman. That sounds pretty dang good to me. One thing I know for sure: no more recording my personal ramblings on a micro cassette tape. None of that nonsense anymore.

So it's officially added to the goals of 2014/15/16/wheneverigetmynextboyfriend.

Oh gosh. This post makes me sound like a nutcase.

Or a cheese ball covered in nuts.

I'm a holiday side dish.

~Courtney