Record Highs!

WOWEE! Yesterday the vast majority of the state had record high temps......Portland's record high was 51.......however up here in the far north our record high was a whopping 37....woot. lol

I started clinical in at The Aroostook Medical Center last week. For my first day I got to follow a wound care nurse around during a wound care clinic. I got to see a lot of venous stasis ulcers and a very bad case of frostbite. Wicked cool and extremely interesting!

This week is going to go quickly I think, I can hardly wait for friday!!! I'm WICKED excited to see my grover peoples :):):):)

I went skiing on Saturday with another guy I tutor with. The conditions were PERFECT and the weather was GORGEOUS!!! I don't think there could have been a better day! It was fun because he could ski well too so we just skied hard and fast all for about 4 hours!! SOOOOOOO fun!

This semester due to some major budget cuts the position of activities coordinator here on campus was cut. That meant we lost our open gym, movie nights, pretty much all on campus organized activities. Stink. A few of us students have formed a student activity committee. We had our first meeting on Saturday afternoon and I think it is going well. We are set to start after we get back from break in a couple weeks.

I had to take a woman to the ER last night. She was really sick and vomiting blood. Thankfully I brought my schoolwork because we were there for a very long time. Turns out she has Bacterial Gastroenteritis which is very contagious.....I've been washing my hands TONS and I'm about ready to clean the bathroom with bleach....lol I guess the incubation period is 72 hours.....I'm praying I don't get it.....that would make me sick over the weekend when I'm supposed to be in Grove City. :(

Well, back to studying, hugs, e.

New Year, New Semester, New Snow

I'm not a big believer in "new year's resolutions", but i decided to make a few "goals" for myself this year. They are in no particular order:

1. Cut all dairy from my diet (I'm allergic and it is making me sick--don't worry I'm taking Calcium!)
2. Blog more frequently.....boy that one is going well!
3. Complete at least 75% of my nursing reading by the day before the class
4. Learn how to play racquetball....but I need a racquet :)
5. Keep my room mostly picked up and clean ALL the time
6. Refresh my Spanish

Not too long or overly exciting but something a little different not the less.

This semester is in full swing. Last week was miserably stressful, I had return demos for injections, clinical site orientation, I almost got in a car accident (gotta love 180s), and I had a Nursing Exam. UGH. Everything turned out okay and I actually did pretty well on my exam :)

I came back this semester expecting to have no hall-mates as my last one moved out at the end of last semester. I was pleasantly surprised to find 3 new women in Heather's place! I like them all and we get along well! Estela is from Portland, it took me quite a while to figure out the reason I couldn't understand her was because she has only lived here for 5 years and before that lived in Egypt and Sudan. She's a hoot and went home with me this weekend. Ashlei is from Jonesport. She's a nursing student, too, and has a thick downeast accent :) Candi is my mom's age and is from Oklahoma. She's pretty overwhelmed with all the studying but is determined! I have to help her every now and then with her computer and DVD player....it is just like being at home! haha

God's been pretty cool thus far. I was really not wanting to live on campus this semester but God didn't give me any peace about moving off. I stayed and God has given me so many opportunities! Last weekend I decided to do an impromptu game night with a few friends, i think there were 5 of us total. We had a blast and a couple of them have approached me about doing it again soon, maybe this weekend! :):):) Sooooo excited! :)

Well, I still have a lot of reading to do. I get to dissect a sheep eye this afternoon in anatomy, woohoo! My lab partner is grossed out and is bringing a mask. heehee

hugs, e.

Always

So ever since I stumbled upon this song a couple weeks ago it has been running through my mind almost continuously. Such a powerful reminder of who God is and that he truly is for ALWAYS.

Always - Building 429
I was standing in the pouring rain one dark November night
Fighting off the bitter cold when she caught my eye
Her face was taught and her eyes were filled, and to my surprise
She pulled out a photograph and my heart just stopped inside
She said, “He would’ve been three today I miss his smile, I miss his face”
What was I supposed to say,

but I believe always, always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone God knows our pain
and his promise remains
He will be with you always

He was living in a broken world, dreaming of a home
His heart was barely keeping pace when I found him all alone
Remembering the way he felt when his daddy said goodbye
Fighting just to keep the tears and the anger locked inside
He’s barely holding onto faith
But deliverance is on its way, cause I believe always, always Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone God knows our pain
and his promise remains
I believe always, always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone God knows our pain
and his promise remains
He will be with you always

Friend, I don’t know where you are
and I don’t know where you’ve been
Maybe you’re fighting for your life or just about to throw the towel in
But if you’re crying out for mercy, if there’s no hope left at all
If you’ve given everything you’ve got and you’re still about to fall
Well hold on, hold on, hold on
Cause I believe always, always Our Savior never fails
Even when all faith is gone
God knows our pain
and his promise remains
Always, always,
He will be with you always

Frosty Grass and Crunchy Leaves

BRRRRRR! It's getting COLD up here :) heehee. 23 outside this morning at 8...it dipped down to 19 last night :) Snow predicted for Wednesday! Ahhh, I love it! :)



I made it through my rough two weeks alive, and only slightly worse for wear. This week I have wicked exciting things to look forward to! Grover friends coming to my beloved Maine! :):):) I can hardly wait! I've been shaking with anticipation and marking off calendar days for a month! lol :):)

Classes are going well for the most part. I had a hard time prepping for my last exam and I have a hard time understanding my clinical instructor...or rather getting the information I need from her. But after a long talk with my advisor and the head of the nursing department I have a plan. :)

OH! Happy news! I have honestly been praying for some Christian fellowship outside of church service. I was getting discouraged. Then--WOOHOO! :) Soooo, Saturday afternoon I was standing on my head in the trunk of my car to change my brake light (my trunk is really deep so I have to bend over and all you can see is my legs and butt...lol) when my RD walked up beside me and said he'd seen me at the Wesleyan church.....and I was dumbfounded. lol! Anyways! We talked for a long time and he's a strong Christian! He invited me to go out with them after the service that night (The Wesleyan church has a Saturday night service....that is the one I like best and usually go to) I was SOOOOOOOO excited! So I went! And I met so many awesome people.....we stayed at church from 6-8....visiting and fellowshipping and it was GREAT! After that we went to the Governor's and just had a blast getting talk some more. So cool. AND then, at 10pm...lol we went to Tim Horton's and talked some more! Adam (my RD) said in the 6 or 7 years since he's been an RD here there has been only ONE other Christian each year....and he was excited because he is pretty sure there are 4 or 5 of us this year! :):):) We talked and decided to try and start a bible study one night a week for an hour and a half each time! I'm wicked excited!!!!!! SO COOL! So....by the time that I got back to my dorm room from all of this it was midnight....lol

I got to go to an art show opening last night with Uncle Jme.....wicked cool! I love going to those kind of things....just a whole different atmosphere! I love taking in other people's feelings and interpretations of life around them. Just really nice to be around art heads for a bit :) that is one thing that i miss being here at NM, there isn't an art studio or anything like that here on campus...at least at GCC I could go poke my head in the art studio and refresh myself by looking at other people's stuff. :)

Well, time to get back to my studies! hugs, e.