When it rains, it pours --- where the heck is my umbrella

quote of the day -- heck for the last 2 weeks more like it.

I'm sooooooo over it though. I got a good negative purge out of the system (ha! how do you like them paradoxes)

I'm moving on and I'm looking forward.

Yea as you can tell you know I got a lousy grade at my first test.  I'm changing my strategies and hopefully this will help me land a better grade next time.. if not I'm reaching for that twinkie that's been calling my name every time I stopped for gas at the chevron station enroute to school

yea. I bought pie too.. lol Banana cream .. Mmmmmm.. aarggghhhll....

But suprinsingly I lost a pound... I know yay cereal!!

I'm starting clinicals on Monday *gasp* :)

It should be fabulous. and of course I'm totally... TOTALLY fronting. I'm nervous as heck, but I think i can handle.

As long as I don't do anything embarrasing as like shining the opposite end of my penlight when I check PERRL (which I had done in skills practice hehe ---good times)

The last thing I need is my patient thinking --- how the heck did this girl get in nursing school lol

Total workout hours this week --- uh 40 minutes lol.. But! the week is not over yet.. it will be 80 by tomorrow. I'm planning to work out tomorrow..

PS: PERRL means pupils equal reactive to light... normal parameters for neuro assessment.

How are all you lovely people doing anyway? :) Love to hear from you all! Till next time!

First Exam was Okay -- Diet is still okay (I think.. hehe)

It has been forever since I updated this blog. At first I didn't understand how some other student nursing blogs never seem to update their stuff --- well now I know. Time is is like a unicorn, in a student nurse world -- you never seem to find it.

But here I am. I needed a break to relax and here I am. Just a quick recap. School's been fabulous and shitty. Pardon my french.

Life has to happen and nursing school will NEVER wait for you, so you just had to do what you have do. Deal with it. Right? Right.

Anyway, my weight fluctuated back to my favorite range 159-160 lbs. which I'm okay as long as I don't exceed that.

I've been consistent with my eating habits as far as types and portions. I probably eat a little less now than prior since I'm always choosing to do school work than "waste time" eating lol.

Honeynut cheerios and soy milk has been my friend in the last week -- I broke it yesterday after an exam and had Asian food with my honey.

It was salty and oily -- Check my serum sodium it's probably +145 mEq/L

I'm kidding of course.

I have skills practicum this Monday so I really need to prepare for that.

Despite the stress and the workload it's been good. Actually too good.  I'm enjoying making friends and bonding with fellow students.

And as much as I love bonding and making friends. I really need to remain focused and remember my priorities.

Anyway, off to my once a week date with the spin bike and maybe... MAYBE a Jillian Michael video.

My Mind Went on Strike an Hour Ago

I've been doing school work since 6am this morning -- what can I say I like to come prepared for lectures.
But I can't seem to find any more motivational juice to continue and I don't even care --- at this moment anyway.

I got midterms already in the horizons next week and I really need to get into the groove and organize my study materials. It sure feels never-ending and it's only been 3 weeks!!! -- wow

I've been trying to put in some workouts in and it's difficult because I'm mentally exhausted and I really just want to get more stuff done for school

Sleep is sort of getting better, but I still don't feel like I'm getting the restful kind. I bought a "decelerating book" -- How to survive nursing school and even love it.

It's an okay book. I was hoping to get more tips in studying, time managing, and other things. But it seems to just say what I already know.

My goal this month is to really lay off the sweets and not sweat the small stuff. It's easy to catch the headless chicken syndrome

Commuting to school sucks --- only because I kept on thinking how much stuff I can do for class with that 50 minute sitting in my car trying to get home

it's a joke of course.

No one wants to participate in and run for class council. Which makes sense because I'm sure everyone just wants to pass, get this program over it and move on.

The last thing on my mind right now is graduation venue.. First semester is way too early.

Geez.. let me pass fundamentals first why dont you. I think it's a distraction.

Skills Lab and Week 1 Weigh In

Two weeks in nursing school -- wow.

I honestly don't think what's being taught in nursing is difficult. What makes it difficult is the fact that there's never enough time to do complete and do everything in a regular pace.

I am manage my time and I'm pretty good at it. I am super organized. But I feel like I'm constantly chasing after the clocks.

I know it's not me --- it's just there's a lot of stuff to cover.

Anyway, the weightloss gods granted me the honor of losing 2 lbs in the past 2 weeks. Which leaves me puzzled because for one I only worked out a total of 40 minutes last week. My diet was wholesome, I was eating high fiber bread and desserts.

The only difference was I wasn't eating the same portion like before -- lol I never had time to eat -- I usually grab an apple and yogurt and that's it till dinner time

Oh and wheatgrass juice, I drink that every morning.

Heck I'll take it!

Skills Lab -- Oh my freaking god. What irks me is that the instructors won't do a demo -- they just refers us to the videos. I guess I was expecting this program to be of what I was use to in my pre-req class --- being spoon fed lol.

Definately lots of independent learning, which I'm managing but my own self time suffers because I'm just consumed with nursing school. I breathe, eat, live nursing school  -- but i love it.

Been having trouble sleeping as well. My mind is going 100 miles per hour, going through skills checklists, lectures and everything else in my head that I can't get a good night sleep. I haven't since school started -- it really sucks.

Any tips of how to deccelerate at night? Someone told me sleepytime tea really works. Suggestions I have so far are sleepy time tea, tylenol, or shot of tequila LOL

Margarita anyone?

Yowza! I'm Busy!

Hi Everyone!

First off, thank you - thank you for the awesome comments from the previous post! :) All the encouragement really helps a lot and I appreciate it ladies! :)

I finally had a bit of time to surface up for air every since school started. I've been submerged in school work since Monday.

My mind is in overdrive right now and I figured I need to tone down a bit and relax before I start doing it all over again. I got through clinical lab for week one and lecture by the end of the week.

It really is a humbling experience, it's like when you think you know -- you really don't know.

My professors are just AWESOME ---- they're super helpful and I just love them. The fact that everything (stuff to learn) is being thrown at us at 100 miles per hour, they made it a bit easier by being friendly and approachable.

I haven't had any good night's sleep in the last three days -- probably from all the excitement and rush to get stuff done. Any tips of how to manage anxious nerves and slow down?

I know with this speed -- I'll burn myself out in no time.

Anyway, last weekend was super fun my fiance's brother and his son was here for a visit. We went to the Tehachapi Rodeo and Six Flags Water park --- I had a fabulous time!

I hope everyone is having a great week so far. The goal for the week is to be consistent with the diet and put in some exercises as much as I can.

It's really tough to put in personal hours during the week, because I really can't afford to lose time that should be for reading and skills practice.

But it's just the beginning and it's all about adjusting right now -- especially waking up at ungodly hour :)

Much all to everyone!!

Last Week of Summer --- Monday is the Day

a new chapter in my life called nursing school begins ...hey! I like that :)

In the last couple of days, I've been doing a lot of reading mainly my ADN manual and the syllabi for Professional Nursing and Fundamental of Nursing

As much as I try to keep my cool and not freak out...  I see a lot of work and studying in the next 16 weeks --- which I think is doable.

Diet wise, I haven't really put much thought in it lately, much less stepped on the scales.

I've been cleaning and setting up the guest room for my (future)brother-in-law and his son. They're due tomorrow, so I need to make sure the house is clean and 6-year old proof.

It'll be hectic tomorrow because my fiance and I will be in town for groceries, drop off Daisy for grooming, and  do some clothes shopping. I'd like to finish by noon tomorrow, so we can do some yard work (our front lawn looks like a jungle! lol)

I feel good in general and looking forward for the semester. I can finally "test" my diet/fitness schedule and see how well it works with my school schedule.

During orientation, the dean mentioned not to worry if our uniforms feels too big, because she said, we're not going to lose any weight in the semester, but in fact, may gain weight. I started laughing to myself because she said exactly what my concerns are.

But I truly believe that if I am prepared and plan specifically ahead, the outcome may be different. I really just need to push myself and follow through the guidelines I set up.

I just wanted to thank all you ladies for following and commenting. I truly enjoy hearing from you *hugs*

And for those who are passerby's and anonymous visitors say hello once in awhile, I do like to know you all out there!

Weekend is almost here... yay! I wish you all a fabulous day :)

Food I Miss

I can name a dish or two that in a perfect world (where people don't gain weight by eating bad) I can eat in careless abandon.

I suppose I'm just in my moment of fancy, wishing I can eat anything and everything I want and not suffer the consequences.

I really hate being told what to do. Eat this.. not that. Blah!

Although I know what is best for my overall health, I still look over my shoulder and make goo-goo eyes over sweets and desserts at the bakery department of the supermarket.

Only because maybe I want to prove to someone I can still do it and no diet nazi is going to tell me squat.

Is that human nature at work here?

Is it really true that when told what to do, we tend to be inclined to do the exact opposite?

I think you see it most prevalent in kids. Eat your vegetables -- it's good for you and they will not. But if you tell them it taste good, there's a good chance they may eat it?

I don't have kids, so I can't attest to the accuracy of that statement. But I was a kid once and having my mom tell me something is good for me, is not enough reason to convince me to eat it.

I never like drinking milk when I was young, and she constantly tells me I should. Well Mom I made up for lost time since then! :) lol

So what about diet food --- is saying that this "healthy" items are good for my cause (to lose weight) enough to convince me to stick with?

Probably not. I have to make that conscious decision to proceed with it or not. There has to be free will.

No one can ever make anyone do what they do not want to do.  For anything to be successful, one must make the conscious effort and commitment to make all necessary changes and actions to achieve them.

So why do I still eat the junk? Because I'm not 100% committed to my diet.

But that's okay. I'll get there soon. This is not an overnight operation and I'm well aware that I didn't gain 40+ lbs in 24 hours, and I'm sure as hell will not lose them in 24 hours.

I'm not trying to rationalize past bad behavior. I am acknowledging it and learning from it. Because when you know where you've been, then you will have an idea to where you want to go

Role Call

I'm happy to report that I've lost 1.8 lbs this week... Wassssssupp! :) And the funny thing about it is I didn't really try as hard. I did not do any back breaking fitness routine and I've been eating "normal" no extreme low carb.

The only difference that I can think of is that I've been eating my carbohydrate meal and I've been drinking my iced water with lemon in the morning (which definately moves the GI track in the right direction). The rest of my meals for the day are protein and veggie combos.

And of course I get an occassional oreo mint cookie. lol

In other news, I've been making progress with reading Unlimited by Jillian Michael's. It's a great book about self-realization, no b.s about it --- my kind of book. I'm sort of taking my time with it because it's one of those books that you relish every paragraph, so you can get the most of it.

I wanted to briefly talk about a topic that I'm currently reading and it's about personal labeling. How we limit ourselves by assigning roles and labels that WE THINK we're supposed to be playing

Interesting huh?

Supposedly at some point in our lives, we assign a role "based on the patterns we have been playing out since childhood ie. the victim, the martyr, the hero, the dumb pretty one, the smart ugly one, the nice guy who never gets the girl, blah blah blah..."

I love Jillian, she cracks me up.

These roles are from the experience and memories, which defines our self-image. And self confidence interconnects with how we see ourselves. So if we believe that we have a negative life story, then we automatically assume a negative future.

Like self-fulling prophecy. For example, I've been overweight my whole life and if I continue to embrace the story of my "past", I will play out that same scenario for the rest of my life until I wake up and say I am done with this.

It's all about thinking thin and fake it till you make it---Thinking like a RN, while being a student nurse.

I think this is a way to break the chains that prevents us from moving forward and embracing our true calling.

I feel like I can conquer the world --- dont' you?