Independent Maiden

This is a quote from the book I just finished. I absolutely adored the book. (Seriously. Everyone should read it!)

"There are no more battles between good and evil, no monsters to slay, no maidens in need of rescue. Most maidens are perfectly capable of rescuing themselves in my experience, at least the ones worth something"
--The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

But... what if I still want to be rescued? Or at least have a prince come and give me some lovin' while I rescue myself. 

I'm not sure I'm okay with this whole independent maiden thing.

Sincerely,

Needing a Prince

Graduate.

I'm a graduate!

...

Kinda

...

I'm done with nursing! (!!!!)

I should technically be done with college.

But... I decided I wanted to go to Mexico.

And here is my rambling explanation, because it keeps confusing people.

I'm finished with all my nursing classes, and had totally planned to graduate fully this semester and start working in some dream job with a dream apartment and have the dream life. Then this amazing opportunity came up to do a short study abroad with BYU-I in Meso-America and after weeks of over-thinking, analyzing, wishing, worrying, planning and anxiety, I was convinced to apply. And I got in. Yay! So that changed plans around. And then plans changed again when I decided I didn't want to be in Utah this summer. So I started looking around: Boston, Denver, Raleigh, Mesa, Seattle, etc and I decided on Austin, Texas. I started applications and planned on doing that immediately after Mexico. And then a boy came along. I got super busy in school. And I stopped thinking Austin and decided I wanted to stay in Rexburg for the summer. Plans were planned. I realized I really needed a break. I was burnt out of life. Plans hit kinks in the road. Boy left. Plans were finalized. In order to stay in Rexburg, and stay in my amazing ward, and take a class for Mexico, I had to post-pone my technical graduation date until July, but I could still walk in April. And my family came up to help me celebrate. So I'm in Rexburg until Mexico, then I'll be coming back and (hopefully) working for the summer. And then I'll go somewhere in the Fall. Unless I decide to go sooner. Where? I'm not really sure on that part. We'll see. Family vs. Adventure is the battle. 

And so here are some lovely little pictures :)

Me and my parents

 Me and mels

Me and my Grandma Christine

Steph, Mandy and Jose

Nursing Inspiration

I had such a neat experience tonight. And I need to share it.

So my friend’s family called me tonight at 11. They have a friend (who I know) who was at their house that night and is ready to deliver. They called because she hadn’t felt the baby move for a couple of hours and was getting really worried. So they wanted me over to see if I could help her and find a heartbeat.

When I got over there, I had her lay down so I could find where the baby was and so I could have a better chance of finding the heartbeat. And after a little bit of looking for it (I’m sure it felt way longer than that to the mommy) I found a heartbeat! So I let the mom and her family listen, and you could feel the relief in the room.

I was so touched they trusted me enough to call me and have me help them. And it was definitely such a huge reminder to me of my love of nursing, and how grateful I am I have the knowledge to help others.

I’m so thankful I have had the opportunities I’ve had and the love I have for nursing and helping others. Ah! I can’t wait to have more opportunities like this. It’s the greatest feeling to be able to help someone with something they can’t do for themselves. 

--Nurse Megan, RN

--Future Midwife

--Baby Helper

The Last Night.

Sometimes… You finish finals and actually have time to have fun.

Sometimes… we just don’t want to go home.

Sometimes… you realize that home is painfully split into 2 places.

Sometimes… we stay in Rexburg an extra night after everyone else has left.  

Sometimes… you realize how blessed you are to have met these girls, and have them as your friends.

Sometimes… you have to live without them for 3 weeks and you doubt your ability to survive.

Sometimes… you can’t wait to go back to Rexburg.

Sometimes… the next semester doesn’t sound too bad.

Sometimes… your best friend gets the amazing opportunity to serve a mission.

Sometimes… the last night is the best night. 

Sometimes... It's almost 1 in the morning and you're feeling nostalgic, and you're missing your friends so you write a blog post.

-Lonelyinmapleton 

Emotional Stability

I feel like I'm normally a pretty emotionally stable person.

Until I watch The Office reruns.

Then the tears/crying/laughing/screaming/jumping ensues. 

I love Jim and Pam. 
And Michael. 
And Dwight.

Studying ;) ;)

At the David O' McKay library. Studying our lives away. Starving. Thirsty for knowledge. And men. 

(Turn up your volume. We're whispering cause we're studying)

-Book Caterpillars soon to be butterflies!

Episode 5ish of Why Are We Not On A Date.

Plateau

Plateau: 

a state of little or no change following a period of activity or progress

I was at lunch yesterday with one of my best friends and we were discussing our lives, future plans and past endeavors. And while we both tried to be positive and explain what we were both feeling, and what some of those around us who we are close to were also feeling, she hit on it. We're both stuck, waiting, on a flat part of life, on a plateau. We're between relationships, just chugging along in school, and although they made this new announcement of the change in missionary age for LDS girls, we were are both close enough to 21 that although this is a change, it wasn't like it changed that much for us. So we discussed this plateau we're on, and discussed how sooner or later, it's going to change, but we just were bored with this pause. And then we discussed what could bring about the change and new experiences we're craving, and how we'd miss this time that we had freedom and choices where our worlds revolved around us. 

So we made a promise.

We're going to enjoy this plateau. 

And make the most of this time. And enjoy being single. And enjoy looking ahead to decisions. And dreaming. And have fun. And make this plateau something we remember fondly, rather than wishing we had done more. So we'll enjoy this time of not being a child anymore, and not quite being thrown into the adult world quite yet, and having our little BYU-I bubble. 

Updatess

If you want to know what I've been up to since I last posted, just read this blog:
www.jerikah-ann.blogspot.com

It's my friend Jerikah's and we've been busy posting randomness on her blog, including but not limited to freshmen, men, dates, cooking and raquetball. With british accents.

Enjoy!

Not Quite the Same

As we were watching the Democratic National Convention and Obama was speaking, the camera panned out and showed a group of people on their phones. Eric sat for a second looking at that and asked "Can you vote by text?" 
"No... This isn't American Idol..."
"Oh..." He sat there puzzled for a while.

So... Why can't we vote by text? Seems less complicated to me.

Excerpts

Grandma was here this weekend... here are a few excerpts from our conversations. Enjoy :)

"Isn't he a hunk?! Come on. Megan, isn't he a hottie?!?!" (Speaking of a cousin...)

"You know how to learn if someone isn't being faithful in a marriage? Watch a soap opera. They teach you everything to look for in a marriage where someone isn't being faithful." 

And my favorite...

"Someone should probably go screw the tops of the bottles back on in the shower downstairs. I took them all off and I just can't screw at 10 0'clock at night. I just can't screw at 10. It's too late."
(This is where we all burst out laughing)
"Well I can't." (Looks at me and my sister) "And neither should you girls! No screwing at 10 at night!"
(And all my self control left and I was left crying on the floor, shaking from laughing so hard.)
"And get your minds out of the gutter!"

Summer 2012

SUMMER 2012

Cabin

Big Judds

Biking

Family

Parades

Berry Picking

Scrubs

Reading

Baking

Old Friends

Tie Dye

Snickers

Zoo

Swimming

Ice-cream

Mmmmm

I love summer.

Oh did I mention I graduated? Yeah, it finally happened :)

Harry Potter

Watch This!

So for those that don't know, I've got this little obsession with Harry Potter. Only a little obsession though. I only re-read the series every summer- except last summer :(. And lets just say I'm having some serious cravings. For the books and the movies. Mostly the books. But I don't have copies at school :(

Anyone want to have a Harry Potter movie marathon?!?!

Look!

Guys. Girls. Puppies. Kitties.

Look.

Look.

LOOK.

It's Alaska...

Where there are hospitals...

Hospitals with lots and lots of jobs.

Where they're willing to hire new grads.

And I'm (almost) a new grad...

Beautiful right?

Saturday Night

What does a sick nursing student do on a saturday night?
      Listen to her lung sounds of course.
      Result? Crackles in lower lungs- anterior and posterior.
              Dry, hacking unproductive cough
              Regular S1 and S2
              Apical pulse 72


Bleh. I don't feel so good. 

To All Dating Girls

http://www.lds.org/ensign/1982/06/breaking-up-without-going-to-pieces-when-dating-doesnt-end-in-marriage?lang=eng


Breaking Up without Going to Pieces: When Dating Doesn't End in Marriage. By M. Gawain Wells- Ensign 1982.


I think all dating girls should get a copy of this article. Boys too. I wish I had had this article a year ago. I'm glad I stumbled upon it now! I think every "marriage age" person should read it if they haven't. It's an article about breaking up. Not about marriage, or getting answers. Breaking up. And it gives some good, real truths that take a lot of time to find out, and even longer to believe. So read this article.

Not Over You

I think Pandora can read my mind.
And then proceeds to play songs for it.
Thanks Gavin Degraw




And as I type this the song changes to a song that says "can't read my mind..."
Thanks Natasha Bedingfield. 




Yup. 
Pandora can read my mind. 

Snapshots

I've gotten into a little bit of a habit lately on Facebook. I look through all of someone's profile pictures- friends or not. Its like people watching in snap-shots. You see the images of their past couple years that they have chosen to display to the world. You see them in high school all dressed up for dances, then a few pictures in college- always surrounded by friends, then comes the relationship pictures- them with the same guy for a while, then their engagement, followed by wedding pictures, and those go for a while- and then the baby pictures. This is usually preceded by belly pictures-month by month. Then the newborn pictures (these are some of my favorites.. :) ) and then for some it continues with that baby getting older and older. Then you reach the end and if you hit the "next" button again- you're back to high school. And here is my favorite part- to then go backwards and have them jump from high school to baby and just look at how their life has changed in the 3-5 years. 

Then I always think about mine.

What will my life look like in 5 years? 

  Will I be surrounded by friends be happily single?

    Will I be in a foreign place doing volunteer nursing?

      Will I have pictures of me and my husband traveling?

        Will I have the sweet little baby pictures up?

I honestly have no clue. I can't even tell you exactly where I want it to be. There's been times where I would have definitely told you I'd be married and probably having my first kid by then. And with more and more friends getting married and engaged- I'm feeling pretty left behind. I'll be graduated, and be an RN (if all goes according to plan for the next 3 months..) And I'm getting more and more interested in Nursing abroad (especially with Doctors Without Borders- but they're pretty intense..) So we'll see I guess. In 5 years from now I'll go through my Facebook profile and see where I've been and what I'm doing- It would just be nice to get that little snapshot. 

Cheeeeeese!

So I found this recipe on Pinterest on how to make mozzerella cheese, and it looked delicious! And then my mom has been reading this book where this lady uses the same recipe to make mozzerella cheese. So we decided to make it. After spending all day getting all the ingredients and proper utensils, we finally started. And were following our directions pretty much perfectly. And guess what! We got a teaspoon of cheese! Wooo! Out of a gallon of milk. Yup. A whole measly teaspoon. Why? We're thinking our milk was too processed and wouldn't separate into whey and curds. So we're now hunting for raw milk. Anyone have a cow they want to share?!??!! I'll give you cookies! 


4/30 Update-- We made it and it worked! Wahoo!! We used Raw Milk- and had to sign a waiver and informed consent to get it. But it worked! And the cheese was super yummy. Mmmm. But we did have to edit the recipe a bit to get it to work for us. But it made a good size amount of cheese :)

Rock Paper Scissors. Revised.

Boyfriend trumps chocolate

Chocolate trumps period

Period trumps Boyfriend

hahahahahahahhaha

Yet so true :)

End of The Year

Remember When I wrote my 2011 Bucket List? Well here is my checkoff/update of it. Just so I can remember what I did this year, and see what I'll put on 2012's bucket list :) **note-- no judging for what I didn't accomplish! :)

2011 Bucket list

Go to Italy

X Get into the nursing program

X Dance in the rain

Learn Guitar (I started, really. But life happens.)

Or maybe Tennis

Run a 5k (I got to 2 miles, and if you know me, thats really good, but then second semester nursing happened. And that's rough.)

X Teach Emily to say “Auntie Megan”

X Jump in a GIANT rain puddle in my rain-boots

X Stop biting my nails (nervous habbit)

Swim in the Ocean

X Cook while I’m at college

X Fall in love (to be honest, this one started as a joke... don't tempt fate!)

Hike a Maple Mountain (Anyone else?)

X Read 3 books of “Literary Merit”

Road-trip with friends (I wish it could be to nowhere in particular, but X I like plans. And directions) (Does driving to and from Idaho count? No? Well I'm counting it anyways.)

Eat only raw vegan foods

And hamburgers

…Never mind about the whole raw vegan thing

Improve on piano

Stargaze in Montana

Fly a kite in a giant wheat field

Conquer my fear of driving in the snow (ha!)

X Die My Hair :)

Get engaged.

Kidding, that’s next years’ goal

So I got 9 things done... Thats pretty good right? Especially since Nursing became my life after I got accepted? Especially this last fall? I'm saying it's pretty good. Now I just need to figure out some things to do for next year.. So far I've got graduating, help deliver a baby, write more letters, and see Megan G get married. More ideas?