Night shift

I have a night shift tonight. I hate nights. Half of the lights are turned off so it's dim enough that you could fall asleep anywhere. You have to wake people up and ask them orientation questions at 4:00 in the morning-I'm not oriented at 4:00 in the morning so I'm not sure how these people answer questions. Sometimes I just feel like a zombie wandering around, but if you keep walking you can usually stay awake. I hate that feeling of "it's 2:30 in the morning and my brain is turning off and there is nothing I can do about it." I think driving home after a night shift shouldn't be allowed. They should have a nursing nap room. However, I do quite love the feeling of "I've just worked 12 hours and it's only 7:00 in the morning". Oh nights. I have two.

Erin, RN

So . . . yes, I'm aware it's been a little while since I've posted, but for good reason. I've been busy! This summer has been great! Lots of swimming, sun, looking for a job, and just enjoying the summer with family and friends. I didn't really have anything to post about for a while because I was spending most of my time looking for a nursing job and that's not interesting to hear about. However, I got one!!! And I LOVE it!! I am working at the University of Utah in the Intermediate Care Unit. It's a step-down ICU and it fits me perfectly. I love the ICU and the intensity and excitement of it, but I'm a new nurse and I have a few things I want to learn before I jump right into the ICU setting and I'm loving taking care of moderately critical patients but having 3 instead of 2, it's pretty cool! And thanks to my good friend, Mel, for taking this picture on my first day of work! 

Also, since I'm working in Salt Lake, I'm moving! Yes, I am making the big move from Provo to Salt Lake! I'm a little nervous since I've finally gotten this Provo thing down, but I know it will be good. If you have any suggestions or ideas of where to go, I would love to know! Well, I'm back so stay tuned for next time! It won't be too long this time!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!! I just wanted to let you know how much I love and appreciate you. You're the best mom out of all the moms. You are so patient as I have tried to learn to sew (and still can't), as I learn lessons the hard way, and when I just need someone to talk to. You are such a great example of what I hope to become someday and I love you so so much.

Thank you for making me take piano lessons, always having a good book suggestion, expecting my best out of me, letting me "shop" in your pantry, staying up late and chatting, staying on the stairs for an hour, showing me how to live the gospel, and loving everyone around you. Love you!

Rent

I've been paying rent in Provo for the last two months, even though I haven't been living there. Yes, I'm going back, Sandy is just much closer to Salt Lake than Provo and with gas prices finally going down (not!) I'm heading back to Provo. Anyways, in order to continue storing my belongings in the freezing cold basement in an awesome house with my roommates, I need to pay rent by the 3rd (or 5th at the latest) of each month. On May 4th - cutting it a little close - I headed to the bank with my rent check on the way to the gym. No phone (this part becomes important later). The account number was written on top of the check so the text I had in my phone with the account number to deposit it in wasn't really necessary.

I get to the drive-through at the bank, put the check in the tube-y thing, and sent it to the returned-missionary-looking girl behind the window, who wasn't pushing the button while speaking into the microphone and then said "oh sorry!" when she realized I was trying to read her lips. After a few minutes, ok maybe not that long, she says "This account number doesn't look long enough, are you sure this is the right account number?" I say "Ya, I've used it before, I'm pretty sure, do you have an account for someone under that name?" She tries again and says "Sorry, we don't have anyone with that name or matching account number here." I take my check back and go to the gym, thinking she is probably just not very smart and I will come back later.

After my work out I run home, grab my phone, double check the account number (which is correctly written at the top of the check - thank you very much), and go back to the bank. This time I go inside. To my chagrin, returned-missionary girl is still there. We try again. No luck. I call my trusty roommate and tell her the situation and she says "Do you have the right account number? (yes) Is his name spelled right? (yes) Are you at the right bank? (duh)" Missionary girl tries again. I take the check back trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do. I can put it in the mail and send it to Diva (the landlord - no that's not his name, just what we call him), try to deposit my check next time I plan on going to Provo, I don't know, good plans weren't really coming.

Then I get back in my car, text the roomie to apologize for the phone call and that I can't figure out how to pay my own rent and tell her about missionary girl and say she is (and I quote) "not the brightest crayon". I was so bugged. Then I realize, as I'm leaving the parking lot, the sign at the bank doesn't say "Utah Community Credit Union". Why is this a problem? Because I'm at the wrong bank. Trying to pay my rent to the kind, modestly-dressed girl behind the counter who probably realized my blonde roots run deep and still humored me by trying the wrong account number more than one too many times. Who is the dull crayon now.

79 Days and Counting!

I love this girl. How could you not? Isn't she cute??

Today she got on a plane . . .

And is leaving for the WHOLE summer. Don't feel too bad. She's going here:

to Fiji

Saying our final goodbye's at the airport (a little pasty and winter-y looking, but don't worry that will all change when we see you next in 79 DAYS!!! But really, who's counting? Me!!)

I'm missing you already Lyss!!! Love you!!! Have a wonderful time and I can't wait to hear about your adventures!!

Happy April 29th!

What an exciting day!! I have been looking forward to this for a while now and I am so happy for William and Kate (I like Kate better than Catherine, so let's just go with it for now). Everything was so beautiful and classy, I expected nothing less.

Also, you may or may not know that today is Alyssa's birthday!! Happy Birthday Lyss!! (This is a picture of us sitting on the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, I thought it was fitting for the occasion)

Alyssa is one of my most favorite people in the whole world, when I think of her, I think of:

• Being on time
• Peacemaker
• Disciplined
• Sometimes clumsy
• Tender
• Fiji (oh how I'm going to miss you!)
• Skittles
• Skirts
• Clean and tidy
• She always smells good
• Her hair looks great all the time - even when she wakes up
• She's a great example
• Trendy
• Put together
• Wonderful

Ok I'll stop now, but you get the picture. She's great and I love her. I hope you have a great summer and a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Love you!!!

AP Tests

So . . . I went to college once. And when I was there, I studied. I was often in the library and the particular floor I studied on varied, but I know how to study. My sister, Taylor, is studying for her AP tests which are coming up in another week or two and for the past couple of nights she has had study groups at our house. They are a loud bunch, but I hope they are getting some effective study in. She has the funniest friends and I love hearing what they are talking about. While I'm sitting here trying to watch The Office, this is a little bit of what I'm hearing, since I can't hear The Office anyways . . . .

I know what you're talking about - the feather! Ya, that's it, that's the one! Is it Donatello? Oh, we're still on 40?

Ya, 41 is A - 42 is dumb

When I think of Gothic I think of really tall spikeys

Fuzzy backgrounds, kinda funny-looking . . . Taylor! Are you eating the wax?

This cheese is gross, I could never get past the wax. It's smart cheese. We could make really hard balls and throw them at each other. (Seriously?)

Ya, they're pretty, but they have really bad hair.

We saw that! But it was in San Francisco, and it was different.

I feel dirty when I think of Rococo.

Are they talking about pointilism in 46?

I'm always talking and I'm always making people laugh - ok what number are you guys on?

This is about 10 minutes of dialogue. They are really funny and I am so glad I'm not studying for AP tests right now, or finals. Ya, being graduated is awesome, but it did take some studying. Ok, a lot of studying.

Easter Ham

I LOVE Easter. I love getting an Easter Basket and hunting for eggs and most of all, the Reese's Peanut Butter egg. I look forward to them and they make me happy. I think my most favorite Easter basket was my Sophomore year of college when my family went on vacation for Spring Break and left me in Provo. Ya, it was awesome. However, my mom made me the best Easter basket of all time. It had lots of goodies, my favorite magazine (Self), easter pencils, sticky notes, the works. And I love the colored easter grass, there was, of course, easter grass.

This year Easter was good too, loved the Easter basket, loved not working on Sunday (the first Sunday I haven't worked since February 28th - yay!), and loved wearing my favorite pink dress - very Eastery. For dinner we had ham. Ham. Yes, ham. Why ham? I have no idea. Back in the day didn't they have lamb? Or sheep? When did we switch animals? Why did we switch animals? When I think of ham I think of Christmas, people have ham on Christmas - I also don't know why we have ham on Christmas but it's traditional and we do. But now we have ham on Easter too? Ham gets two holidays, that's a pretty big deal. Prime rib gets new years, corned beef gets St. Patrick's, chicken gets my birthday, hot dogs get the 4th of July, beef stew gets Halloween, and of course, turkey gets Thanksgiving. But why ham? Why Easter? I don

't get it. The others make sense, but I don't even like ham that much. I didn't know it was that significant. I guess I just missed the ham boat.

Ok, so I couldn't resist and I googled "Easter Ham Origin", this is what I found:

The Easter ham, and most other "Easter" traditions actually have their roots in Paganism and have nothing to do with Christian commemorations of the Resurrection of Jesus. Although Christianity observes Easter to acknowledge the Resurrection, most know it is not the actual day of this event.

Still, Paganistic rituals infiltrated the Christian Church and have become intermingled to the point of misconceptions. The word Easter is in the Bible only once and is used Acts chapter 12. There it tells that King Herod (an evil pagan) was preparing to participate in Easter rituals at the time of Peter's arrest. So Herod delayed bringing Peter forth for sentencing until the pagan rituals were over. (You can read this miraculous story in verses 1-19)

What were these rituals and where did they begin? Noah's grandson (Cush) and his wife Semiramis had a son named Nimrod. Reports say that after Cush's death, Nimrod married his own mother and became a mighty king. He too was eventually killed. His mother then began the deceit of deifying her son/husband, claiming he had become a "sun-god" (the origin of "Easter Sunrise services), and he was then to be called Baal. (Baal was worshipped as a god of fertility and promoted sexual sin.)

She proclaimed that the people of Babylon should worship him and that he was with them in the form of a flame. This wicked Queen, doing the work of Satan, was creating a new religion and set herself up as the goddess called "Ishtar." Hence the root of the pronunciation "Easter."

After she became pregnant, she bore a son named Tammuz claiming he was the product of a sunray, which caused her to conceive. But Tammuz grew to be a hunter and was later killed by a wild pig. "Ishtar" then designated a forty day period (the source of Lent) to mark the anniversary of Tammuz's death.

During this time, no meat was to be eaten. Every year, on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, a celebration was made. Ishtar also proclaimed that because a pig killed Tammuz, that a pig must be eaten on that Sunday.

This is of course a condensed version of all pagan beliefs originating Easter. Satan is a master deceiver, and has filled the world with idolatries, lies, and misconceptions. The Easter Ham and all else promoting the ancient pagan religion of Mystery Babylon (per "Ishtar") are customs of the false god, Baal.

I have no idea if it's a reliable source, but here it is, and I feel better that I have some idea about the origin. (http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/origin-of-easter-ham-faq.htm) I'm ok with pagan holidays, they have them spread throughout the year pretty well and it means government holidays! Yay!

Royal Wedding

Do you know what's happening in one week? Yes, William and Kate are getting married!! I'm so excited. I think she is beautiful and I love their story. They are enchanting, sweet, and I love them. I love that they met and dated for a long time and how classy and in love they are. Yes I will be recording the wedding and surrounding events and watching it all day (oh ya, and happy birthday Alyssa! I won't forget about you!). I'm excited to see her dress, her hair, the flowers, Westminster Abbey, the ring, everything. Maybe she can give me some ideas for my wedding! No, there is definitely no wedding and no prospects, but someday, right? I'll be taking notes.

If I were attending the royal wedding (as an invited guest, of course), what would I do? Well . . .

First, I would put the invitation on the fridge at my house along with all of the other invitations from friends around Provo. Theirs might go in the middle though.

Second, I would pick out a dress . . . something elegant and modest and maybe something like this

(and I would look amazing in it).

Third, I would find a date. Since this is an imaginary situation I will take full advantage. Yes, I would be going with Bradley Cooper.

Wanted: A Gym Partner

I love working out. Lifting. Running. Spinning. Stair climbing. Swimming. The works. However, I really like going with a friend! I'm not very reliable, my work schedule can really interfere, and I don't always go to the same gym, but if anyone ever wants to come, I would love some company. I like working hard and I'm not the type to go with make up on, so if you feel like you can keep up let me know! :)

Under Construction

The blog will be under construction for the next little while. It needs a face lift and some life so I will be working on that. It might look weird or ugly or cute or not matching, but if you happen to see it and you like something, I would love to know! I'm ready for a change and any suggestions! :)

Keeping you posted

Life has been a little busy lately and I haven't posted as much as I would have liked to, but updates will be coming!

First, and most exciting - I passed the NCLEX!!! It was not fun, it was hard, and I vow to never do it again. It was really fun writing, "Erin Zundel RN, BS" for the first time (it means I have taken my nursing state boards and am licensed, but I have also received my Bachelors of Science, which is different from a BSN but most people don't know that). I still like being called "Nurse Erin" if the desire overcomes you and you would like to formally address me. I participated in the graduation ceremony in August - which was great, but felt kinda weird considering I didn't actually graduate until December, but even then, it didn't feel over until I took that test. Now I feel like a college graduate and I'm loving it!! (This is the first time since I was 4-years-old that I haven't had homework!!!)

[Note: top picture is my nursing class - I love these girls, we made it through 3 years of nursing school together and had a lot of fun doing it. I miss you all and can't wait to hear what exciting things you will be doing! This picture was taken after our final "Closing Social" event. It was a really fun night. I'm laughing so hard, however, because Melissa's husband was trying to take a picture - along with all of the other husbands, moms, and attendees - and if you know Melissa you know that her anecdotes are hilarious, and she was trying to help him be a little more assertive. We were laughing so hard!! The bottom picture is of graduation in August! Such a good feeling!! Thank you cute sisters for taking a picture with me!]

After all the papers, tuition, and late nights, I have learned a few things along the way . . .

-It's not always about homework and getting the best score in the class. Sometimes it is. But sometimes it's not. Balance is a hard thing in college, and especially in nursing school, but sometimes you have to set aside the competition and just worry about doing your very best.

-There are good nurses and bad nurses. Learn from the good ones.

-Hands can be washed. It's ok to get them dirty sometimes.

-Listen to your mom. (I will not repeat this)

-Go to bed early. (This kinda goes with the previous point)

-Sometimes going to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and then trying to make it to class the next day is an appropriate choice.

-You don't have to wash your hair everyday.

-Always volunteer - this includes raising your hand and doing things you don't think you are comfortable doing.

-Find good friends and learn from them. They are not easy to find and most of them get married, I'm really grateful for my current roommates, they are great friends and it's lucky for me they are still single.

-Be grateful. No matter how hard things have been or how overwhelming challenges can feel, being grateful can truly make a difference. Thanks mom and dad for all you have done and continue to do for me. I would be nowhere without you and I am grateful for your constant love, encouragement, and support. Thank you. I love you!

Second - I have completed my term as Director (West) on the National Student Nurses' Association Board of Directors. It has been an amazing opportunity and I have had a great year. I loved the people I got to know and work with and hope to know them for a very long time. (And a special shout out to my roommate Reneka - who made me feel welcome and invited, put up with my alarm clock, and whom I love and adore, what can I say, she's the best!). I also got to pass my position on to a fellow BYU student! Jaclyn Coleman is now Director West and will do an amazing job. It was really fun being able to pin her at the last meeting where I handed over my position. I know she will take good care of things.

Third - and ya, actually this is probably the most important - Happy Birthday to ME!! I love love love birthdays (especially my own) and I celebrated my 24th on April 12th! Fun fact about Erin - she has 3 sisters, 2 of which are also born in April, also, there are 4 girls who live down the street, 3 of which have April birthdays! I think this is a fun, unique coincidence and I love that we all have April birthdays (because really, April birthdays are the best!) I also have 3 cousins with an April 12th birthday - again, another affirmation that it truly is the best day of the year.

Well, I'm sure you all have missed me, and now that I am no longer a student, have passed the NCLEX, and don't have too much to do, I can blog! Lucky you :)

No Excuses.

I am the "I'm not feeling like doing that so I don't think I'm going to" queen. If I'm not committed to something, I don't put any effort into it and it shows. I did the stair climber at the gym this morning and rocked it. 60 minutes, 6.59 miles, 689 calories. It feels so good to accomplish things that are important and to succeed at things that matter. I saw this video when I came home and it's something I want to remember, especially on those "hard" days. And really, isn't everyday hard? I find things are "easier" when I have a plan, I decide what I'm going to do and stick to it. Even if there is a challenge, I like it when I stick to my plan and push through it, I feel tired at the end of the day, but I know I worked hard, and that's a good feeling.

Little Things Lately

My goodness! I haven't posted in forever! And for good reason. I finished school at the end of December (with a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing and a minor in Art History and Curatorial Studies, yay!!! And yes, it's my blog so I kinda felt like tooting my horn, I'm done now) and getting everything finished up for the semester always takes quite a bit of time. My family also went to Disneyland the week before Christmas (a little rainy but a ton of fun), which kept me away. Then there were the holidays (always great) and this month I've been starting my new job and studying for the NCLEX! (Yes, I know it sounds like a disease, but it stands for the National Council Licensure Exam) and every time I think about blogging I think "No, I should wait, I could use that time to study." I don't really like studying for it, but soon (hopefully next week) I will be able to take the biggest test of my mortal life, pass, and be a real nurse!! In the mean time, I get to "observe" at the hospital. What does this mean you ask? It means no touching patients, doing nursing things, or even charting. Charting is probably the most boring activity known to mankind, and I can't even chart. Oh well, as soon as I'm licensed my poor patients will be fully cared for by yours truly!

Some thoughts lately . . .
1. I'm not a student! What kinds of things do people with real lives and no homework do? It seems like there is a lot of free time, or time that I get to decide what I want to do with it, and I'm just not quite sure how to handle it.
2. I no longer have an excuse to avoid the gym. I used to love the gym. It was a priority, it came before basically everything except sleep. Now I'm not loving it so much and because I'm a little more free with the new schedule, my lack of gym attendance excuses aren't working so well.
3. I think every married girl I know is pregnant. Seriously. It's so fun to read everyone's blogs and hear about babies and all the new exciting things that are happening in their lives and I love it, but I'm pretty sure I don't know a married girl who isn't pregnant or who hasn't had a baby in the last 2 months. Pretty cool!
4. I would really like to travel. Somewhere warm and balmy where I can get a tan. Hawaii? Greece? Anything is fine with me really.
5. Work takes a lot of time! Having a scheduled time on and off is SO great, but 12 hour shifts kinda make days pass by without being connected with the world. I love my new scrubs, the little shoe things I got so that my feet won't hurt, clocking in and out is kinda cool, and soon my name badge will say "RN, BS".

Well, that's about it for now, but I'll keep you posted, wish me luck!

P.S. It's Cezanne's 172nd birthday! (Thank you google!)

Harry Potter

I love Harry Potter. I have read ALL the books twice and will now do it again beginning Thanksgiving weekend. (Ok maybe after I take the NCLEX). I still remember being in 8th grade and checking the book out from the Churchill Junior High library (our librarian sang in MoTab and I always looked for her during conference-so cool!). I have always loved reading, and still do, but the excitement of reading Harry Potter and thinking of nothing else is wonderful. When you're reading HP, everything you do is so that you can read. You do your homework faster, or not at all, you get your chores done, you miss meals, it doesn't matter what happens, you MUST keep reading. It becomes consuming, but it's SOOOOO great!!

The first part of the 7th movie came out last night and I cannot wait to see it!! No joke, I woke up this morning dreaming that I was in some HP book and trying to get to Diagon Alley. (Those of you who know me know this is very significant, I never ever ever dream and I can count on one hand the number of dreams I have had since I have been at college and I can tell you all of them). Anyways, I was trying to think of a particular spell and couldn't, it was so frustrating. Of course, the first thing I did when I woke up was google the spell, thank goodness for google. But that is how excited I am about this movie.

I also found out that the bell tower at BYU has been playing the Harry Potter theme!!! How cool is that??!! I love BYU. In honor of the movie, they played the Harry Potter theme every hour on Thursday between 8 and 6 and again today at noon.




On a less positive note, I took a dumb facebook quiz and it said my HP boyfriend would most likely be Fred or George Weasely. Facebook knows nothing. It was a slight shower on my Potter Parade, but I won't let it get me down. I know I deserve better, like Harry. Even Ron. He's kindof a dope sometimes, but incredibly endearing and hilarious. I'll find my Harry, someday.

Also, there was a fun article in the Daily Universe in relation to Harry Potter. It's called Sorting BYU Majors into Hogwarts houses. I really liked it, but they left out the Nursing program. Hello? For real? We have the highest GPAs on campus, we are incredibly resourceful, driven, competitive, and compassionate (just to name a few of our outstanding qualities). Even though she forgot us, it's ok, I still like the article. Enjoy!

Thank You, Internet

Current videos I am loving:

This is so sad and so emotional, no I'm not depressed, emo, or anything of the sort. (I hate the word emo). Anyways, it's beautiful, lyrical, I could watch it a million times, and I love it.




And this is one of those really cool things that happens somewhere in the world that people should know about.

In the city of Tarragona, Spain, castellers gather every two years to see who can build the highest, most intricate human castles. This uniquely Catalan tradition requires astonishing strength, finesse, and balance. Not to mention courage.

Isn't it amazing what things people do and we don't even know about it? This is why you need to get out and explore a little. You find cool things! Enjoy!

Casteller from Mike Randolph on Vimeo.

1 month!!

Do you know what today is? Today is exactly 1 month aware from the day I'm done with school!!! Well, I still have to take the NCLEX, but I'm just going to overlook that for a second. So, these are the things I'm going to do when I graduate!

-Buy clothes, mostly so I can look cute on my days off! :)
-Wash my car more often
-Get pedicures
-Buy a beach cruiser
-Study art history more often
-Travel
-Watch movies in the middle of the day
-Learn how to ice skate
-Go rock climbing
-Ski
-Learn how to snowboard
-Go on lunch dates with my mom
-Scrapbook
-Join and be active in a professional nursing organization
-Dress up and celebrate Halloween
-Blog
-Go sky diving
-Buy shoes
-Take bubble baths
-Learn how to put on make up (maybe even work at the make up counter at Nordstroms on the weekends?)
-Read. A lot.
-Sew?

Basically, when I graduate I will have SO much more time and I plan on taking great advantage of it! I can't wait for December 17!!

One of those days

One of my favorite childhood books is "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". It's a good story if you're ever in the children's book section of the library. My day hasn't hit that mark yet, but it's definitely been "one of those days". We all have them, they don't kill us, but they're not always the best either. Oh well! This has been my day so far . . . I had the best intentions of waking up early and going to the gym (even though I have averaged 5 hours of sleep every night, I totally thought I was super woman, I often think I'm super woman, it doesn't usually turn out so well) ANYWAYS, I didn't. Instead, I did the "snooze" thing (which I hate, you're just awake the whole time wishing you could be asleep), and ended up waking up late. Not a good start. Due to the late wake up, I didn't get to wash my hair, again, and ended up wearing a semi-lame outfit - no comments if you see me. I also had the choice of doing my make up or eating breakfast. I chose breakfast. Needless to say, by 8:00 a.m. I was quite flustered already. I was on time for class, but I didn't look too great, my hair was grody, and I had to do my make up in my car. Then I got to class and realized I hadn't forgotten to finish not one, not two, but three assignments! I had a paper due, which was already written but I had forgotten to print it off, I had a dumb reflective writing assignment that I semi-spaced but wrote very quickly before class started, and then for bridging we usually watch movies and discuss a particular principle (ex: leadership, delegation, accountability, etc. - most fabulous class ever) and I forgot my movie! No need to worry though, we didn't have time and I am presenting another time! Then we went to a lecture in the Mazer building and on the way out we were walking down a spiral stair case (4 flights of stairs from top to bottom) and my water bottle somehow flew out of my backpack and through the middle of the spiral, and managed not to impale anyone on the way down! The water bottle has even lived to tell the tale. (Not to mention I didn't even notice it took flight, some girl behind me had to tap me on the shoulder and tell me! Ha!) Major dork moment. My friend, Rose, and I came back and were eating lunch and I realized I forgot the chicken for my chicken tacos. I had corn tortillas with salsa, corn and black beans and learned I don't want to be a vegetarian. Then I spilled the salsa from my lame tacos on my jeans. To recap: I have dark circles under my eyes, look slightly homeless, have uneven mascara due to the fabulous lighting in my car, made myself look dumb in front of too many people, am low on protein, and smell like a Mexican restaurant. I'm not mad, everything is fine, it's just been one of those days.

The best of . . .

I got to vote yesterday, which is something I get pretty excited about, and it got me thinking. When I vote, my favorite part is getting the sticker that says "I Voted". It's not so I can show the world how great I am (mostly everyone knows already, ha!), but maybe it's a childhood sort of love for getting stickers? I don't know, but here are a few others. The best part of:

-Giving blood = the Lorna Dune cookies and juice you get after
-Going on vacation = coming home
-Going to the gym = leaving knowing you did a good job
-Attending any mormon function = there's always treats!
-Making your bed = getting in a nice bed that night

What are some of yours?

Fuzzy Faces

The disadvantages to not wearing contacts . . . I have contacts but they don't change my vision all that much. If I'm watching a TV from far away I squint a little, in class I sit near the front (partly because I'm such a great student and partly because the notes get blurry if I sit far away), and I frequently think I see someone I know and say hi to a complete stranger because it wasn't really my friend that I was greeting. Ok so maybe they are really helpful but they get dry, you have to remember to put them in and take them out, and if you forget to put them in and already have make up on you can kiss your mascara goodbye! I look super dorky in glasses so I've been trying to be better about actually wearing my contacts (see mom! I'm trying!) and I make an effort to actually remember them. Side note: I passed the driver's license test without them so really I'm just fine, it's just a little tweaking. However, I realized this morning that there is a common event in my life that happens a lot and it's quite embarrassing! I will be in the library or somewhere where there are boys (not nursing class) and I will think "oh, that boy is cute", but because he is so far away and because I can't really see, it's quite a jump considering I don't really know what his face looks like. Then he starts walking closer so I look at him so I can actually see his face as it comes into focus. This is part of my thought process . . . "oh look, he's walking closer, I wonder if he really is cute . . . ok not bad . . oh wait! Look away! Don't let him catch you staring at him for prolonged periods of time! He thinks it's because you think he's all that and a bag of chips and really it's only because he was fuzzy! Look busy! Talk to someone! Who do I know?!" as I fumble around in my backpack, put in my headphones, or get a drink. This may or may not have happened today. Super embarrassing. Moral of the story? Wear contacts. On that note, wear contacts, wear sunscreen, floss, turn the lights off, and shave your legs - all things that will greatly improve your happiness, well-being, and life span. This is kinda what it's like . . .