WE'RE ENGAGED!

After almost 4 years of dating, John proposed Saturday night. He was super nervous, but he did a wonderful job. I'm so proud of him! After the big question was popped, our friends were waiting for us at the Bluebird where we enjoyed a great night with tons of laughter and old stories of how John and I met. Everything seemed to go over smoothly, and I wouldn't change it for anything...



Showing the ring off at the Bluebird, eventhough everyone already saw it.



Dawn, Steph, John, and Michelle









Dave and John celebrating!



THE RING: The ring was passed down from John's mother to myself. It is beautiful! Although John had it reset to make it my very own. John and I had previously gone to look at engagement rings (February) and I fell in love with the emerald cut diamond.



It's a little snug on my finger but we managed to get it on last night. I can't wait to get it to the correct size so I can wear it forever!

How Time Does Fly:

Wow, summer is going super fast and I feel as though I cannot keep up! Last week, my dad and I went to pick cherries at a local farm in Lititz. We picked just about 40 lbs.! I actually think that this was the first year that we didn't eat as many as we picked. We climbed on ladders and we literally up in trees pulling for these cherries. We had tons of fun! Here are a few pics:






Dad washing our multiple sinks full of cherries.



Also, we celebrated John's 31st birthday this past Monday. He and I both went to work in the morning, and then I packed a picnic dinner for us to enjoy by Speedwell Lake. We went on a walk and just enjoyed the relaxation time together. Here are a few pictures of him golfing from earlier in the week. It was my time at Groff's on a "real" golf course. I guess I didn't do too horribly.

A Day Off? yeah right....

My day off consisted of a list of chores and errands to be done. I started off at the gym, participating in one of my newest, favorite classes; kick it pilates. Now, I am not a flexible person for pilates and yoga, but I am addicted to this class. I feel so awesome once I am finished, that I want to go and conquer the world. I then ran errands, picking up odds and ends at multiple stops; Walmart being one of them.

Walmart is a place where I can spend hours and hundreds of dollars and still come out with something I needed for less than $1. I love it! They have everything and anything you could possibly think of. My list consisted of a garden hose and lighters for the grill tonight. (I had the brillant idea of a having a romantic dinner on our patio of steaks and wine.... we'll see how this turns out)

Anyway, while I was at Walmart, I passed a young lady and her son who was playing in the shopping cart. As I passed, the lady was yelling at her son for playing near her purse. The quote of the day was, "stop playing, you're smashing my cigarettes!" I was embarrassed to be around them, but yet I felt aweful for the little boy. What have people become!? We are so obsessed with physical property that we forget about the feelings of others and the ones that we love. It sucks!

After I returned home, I spend the afternoon powerwashing the patio. A whip mark to my ankle and multiple cobwebs later, the patio looks great. I am so proud of myself and I can't wait to enjoy it this summer. Wish us luck tonight and hope we don't burn the steaks....

Update

Wow, where has this past month gone?!

Ok, for an update, this past weekend we traveled to the Poconos for a wedding. The resort reminded me of the place right out of Dirty Dancing. From the activities to the rich elderly guests, it was just the mere-image of the movie. The groom was a friend of John's in high school and we have recently started to hang out with his fiance and him again. It has been pretty fun. We had a wonderful weekend relaxing and catching up. Here are some pictures:



John and I heading out for the wedding.




The actual wedding was beautiful. It took place right along the lake with perfect boats as a back-drop.




The newlyweds: Bryan and Amanda




Our newest set of friends we met at the wedding.




John, Amy, and Bob makin' a move on the dance floor. HAHA!



Coming up: Annual Manheim Central Golf Tournament. John plays, I ride the golf cart with the girls. I'm super excited!

A sense of relief!

Everyone after the final feeling great that we all passed... Needless to say, there might have been a few drinks in these guys....



Jannese & I after the final feeling a sense of relief. Only 3 more finals to go!



Morgan & I not as nervous drinking at the Conestoga after taking the exam.



Kelly, Jenelle, Tabitha, Kelsey & Dana enjoying their beverages



Our study group: Jenelle, Kelsey, & Kelly


Today was the first of 4 total finals throughout the 2 years in nursing school. Finals went fairly well, but I was still super nervous to take them. I did pretty well and ended my first semester of nursing with an 82%. Not too bad overall. After the final, almost our entire class headed to the Conestoga for some lunch and alcoholic beverages. The service wasn't the greatest, but we had a great time.

Upon receiving the final exam when we returned, everyone was pleased with their grades. All passed, except 1 person. (whom I do not know who it was) I was extatic!

I had to do something for myself, so I decided to purchase a camera. Yes, I know what you're thinking, Jacq, you have a great camera! But I wanted one that was little enough to just throw in my purse and go. Well, I got a great deal on one and paid only 130$ after all supplies for it were purchased. I so excited to try it out.

Finally, Finals!

My week has been frustrating thus far.... and we're only on Wednesday! Today, we took our last nursing test for 103 and next week is only the final. I fortunatly do not have to be at school again for another week. WOHOO! Last night, a bunch of girls got together to study, I picked up a pizza, and we learned about the respiratory system and wound care. Needless to say, there was barely any information on those topics on the test. I passed it with a C, which I am ok with. Although, I am still maintaining my B average. John has figured that I can get 15 ?s wrong on the final to keep my grade where it is now. What a nice cushion! I can not wait for school to be over... I came up with a list of things that I have to look forward to over the summer... mind you, it is not very long. I need some more time to plan "stuff."

*LPN NCLEX test
*Vacation to the Outer Banks in June
*Beach with some of the girls (hopefully:))
*Tanning
*Weekend trips to the beach
*Island getaway (possibly in Dec, but it still counts)

I'll keep my list updated, but these are just a few expected adventures for the summer.

Crying

I can't believe myself. Here I am, sitting up at midnight roaming the internet. I am doing nothing worth while. After work I decided to update my myspace and get some things posted for visual appeal. I of course got distracted and my mind got back on this 5 year reunion thing. I started to search myspace and found about 75 people that I graduated with that had a homepage. I was just about in tears looking at web pages from people who are in the military, have 3 kids!, people who are living in CO, NC, Virginia. I just couldn't believe the accomplishments that I saw people made. It was totally awesome to see how everyone was doing. I think it just made my night...

Lawn care....

Just a quick note. I was up in the office doing school work with all the windows open in the house. I could hear these two ladies gabbing about something and they were really being loud. I looked out the front window to find that they are on their hands and knees in my front lawn! What are they doing?! HAHA, they realize that they have been caught!

So we're yelling up two floors about lawn care and what not until I finally gave up and came downstairs to talk face to face. They wanted me to tell my HUSBAND that his lawn looked great and that they wanted pointers. HA! Ok, I'll be sure to tell him Lisa Remini... Seriously, that is who she looked and talked just like.

Where's the help?

Sunday morning and early afternoon, John and I proceeded to start on yard work. He mowed the grass and I did weeding. I love weeding if the weather is nice and I can be listening to music or talking to someone. (anything to keep my mind busy I guess) Anyway, today he had hired some of the football players to come over and edge the flower beds. 3 of them started their own little business and so we decided to hire them. Needless to say, here it is 4:30 on Tuesday evening and they are still not here. If I have to track these boys down at their homes, I will do whatever I have to. Anything to get out of edging!!!

Yeah for Jen and Dave at Powerhour. They had their second daughter this morning at 6:23AM. Bailey Elizabeth. Too exciting!
I also got an 89% on my IV test. I was super excited because after talking with other class mates, I didn't feel too hot after the test. Does this mean I deserve my ring yet John? HAHA, ok, I am really not kidding....

My week in Review

What a week! Here is the lowdown on everything that happened....

Monday: basement flooded. We didn't think it was all that bad until I went downstairs Tuesday to get some more stuff. Boxes were full of water, purses needed to be laid out to dry and everything that was anything was soaked!
Tuesday: MY DAY OFF! I proceeded to clean the basement by moving everything upstairs and to the trash. I then had to bleach the entire floor and shopvac it in order for it to dry faster. We continued then to replace the contents of the basement in a neat, orderly fashion. Needless to say, we have learned from this experience. We purchased many more rubbermaid containers from Longeneckers this night.
Wednesday: Still no test results from school. I am getting very frustrated with waiting to know what I got on my test.
Thursday: The cleaning frenzie continues as I am still unable to keep up with the wash and dishes.
Friday: I ran errands, did a school video tape, and went to work. I left early due to an unruly sickness from my stomach. Not a good night.
Saturday: The night of our double date with Courtney and Drew. Unfortunately, we had to cancel due to my high temperature and stomach virus. Not a happy day as I laid in bed and did absolutely nothing. Fortunately, my parents came over and helped to fold wash and take care of me.... AWWW!

YEH! & UGH!

This past week has been fairly hectic for me. I have taken 2 tests; which I think I did pretty well on; we got a piano, we had an awesome Saturday night with our friends, and I'm super excited for this weekend. (7 martini's and 2 bars later, I can't find my license or lip gloss!)

To start, we were to receive a piano from John's parents on Thursday morning. Well, Wednesday night, we still had no idea where this was going to go, much less did we really have the room for it. I stayed up into the wee hours of Thursday morning organizing, rearranging, and cleaning the house. (All this happened after my 11:00pm run to Walmart for organizational 'stuff.')


The piano looks awesome where it is now and both John and I are excited that we were lucky enough to get it. I can't wait to start playing again. I feel as though everything I previous knew, I forgot. My house is still a reck zone due to furniture that needs to be torn down from moving it out of the living room. We look like rednecks that just keep buying stuff and piling it in their house just to have it. It's horrible!


On the UGH part of my day, it has been raining since Saturday night. I mean pouring at times even! I woke up this morning to get some clothing from the basement only to find this mess....



How upsetting! John just kind of shrugged it off as if it were no big deal. No big deal?! My purses are currently out on the porch drying out. Yes, drying out. They were filled with water and most likely ruined! My barbies, and once again, just 'stuff' is ruined. I am just thankful that none of my scrapbooking things are wet.

My only other concern is that I don't think Matilda will want to walk downstairs to her literbox with the floor being wet. I'm afraid she will go to the bathroom throughout the house, but yet I don't want to move the literbox into the kitchen or anything. I don't know what to do! UGH!

Oh well, I guess if Noah can handle 40 days of rain, I can handle this for a few more days.... or maybe not.

I don't talk while I lift....

So this morning, I woke up to make it to the gym on time for an ab/cardio mix class. I was totally looking forward to it because I had taken it before and loved it. I got to class to find only the instructor and 1 other member there. Hey, that's fine with me, more 1:1 attention. Anyway, here to find out that the instructor decided that she was going to do a 45 minute class on just step. I am horrible at step class. I am not coordinated enough to look at the instructor and do what she is saying. Instead, I look at my feet and end up tripping all over the place. I then decided to leave and just lift on my own.
While lifting, it seemed that every station I went to, an older man followed me and sat on the equipment next to what I was using. He repeated everything that was coming across the radio station.... "Paul N Oates," "52 degrees!,"It's 9:20 already." I never once saw him lift a thing, nor did I want to turn and respond to any of his one-liner comments. It just struck me weird because I didn't know this was his way of trying to initiate conversation, or if there was seriously something wrong.
Regardless, I had a great workout with nice down-time as I tanned. Nothing better!

"I'll Never Let Go..."

Well, the time has come for the good old yellow shirt to make it's first appearance in 2007. (well actually, it's first ever appearance) Today I was to check off on the catheterization of a female, so I wore my shirt. (The shirt was created by Ann, Jacqui, and I in LPN school)
I wore it for laughs and I also wore it because I miss everyone from last year so much, that I had to do something to remember our fun times practicing in the lab. Anyway, yes I got questioned about it, but other students knew exactly what the shirt meant when they read it. After school, I went to the grocery store and was getting lunch meat when the lady behind the counter asked me what my shirt meant. First off, the lady was probably about 40ish and there were older people (couples) standing in line behind me. I kindly wispered that I was a nursing student and the sayings had to do with cathing a patient. She looked at me dumbfoundedly and repeated her question. Again, I didn't want to make a scene, so I repeated myself. She still did not seem to get it, and so I just thanked her for my goods and walked away. As I was walking away, all I could think about was how everyone was probably staring at me as the back of my shirt read....




I'm sure that if you do not know what is meant by the sayings, I can guarantee you that it won't ruin your day.
I miss you Jacqui Rudden! I'll always remember to DSL... HAHAHA!

Annapolis, Md

John and I messing around at the US Naval Academy. It was beautiful inside!

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PJ took us everywhere around the capital. He knows so much about the historical end of Annapolis, it amazes me. Here is John in the Senate room. I guess it's the Senate room. (There was a House and Senate side)



Saturday morning, we went to the top of the capital building. The sun was starting to come out, but for the most part, the day was kind of dreary. The capital was build in 1772 by men who would build ships. If you looked inside at the structure of the building, it reminded you of a ship lying on its side. It was so cool how the did this stuff way back when. These are just engravings inside the building that I thought cool, dating back to the 1800's.





Besides tons of sights seeing, we mainly ate and drank our way through the weekend. I had so much fun!

My Celeb. Looks

YEH!

Super excited! Last night John's partner in crime called and announced that Lisa had the baby. She had a baby boy in which they named Austin. I am so excited to see both of them. I made a scrapbook that goes through month by month until age 1. I can't wait to give it to them.

Tomorrow we leave for Annapolis. Yes, I'm still excited but stressed out at the same time. I have a lot of studying to do and I feel that I can not get caught up. I called off work tonight just to finish everything before we leave tomorrow afternoon.

School has been going well. Today we switched clinical sights and I am finally somewhere new. My teacher seems really nice and lax compared to my previous instructor.

This makes me sick.. http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/201218
This man is still practicing. It's odd, because Thursday, my patient was in for a TKR gone wrong. I wonder now who did his surgery. His knee became totally infected that it actually started to eat way at the femor in his leg.

..... on a side note

I forgot to mention something. The other day I was driving to work and a car full of guys were a little behind me. On my entire trip to work, they kept pulling up in the other lane next to me and just looking over and smiling. All I could think of was when this happened to Melissa. She had a kid in the backseat that she could at least point to. I didn't have a kid, dog, ring, or anything to show them that I was taken. It just made me laugh because I don't know if this was honestly their best pick up mechanism or what. It is hard for me to believe that this would truly work though.

Snow!

I can not believe it is snowing outside again! 2 days ago, I felt like wearing my bathing suit, it was that hot. (ok, so not really.... it was only 74) Then today, we are expecting 4-8 inches of snow. There are already about 4 inches out there and it is still snowing like a blizzard! I am sick and tired of shoveling. Our sidewalks are so long, it is the worst part of it all. Last time I tried to make light of it by diving in the snow. I had fun and at least it made John and the neighbors laugh a little. Maybe we'll have a snow ball battle or something this time.
Today, I just chilled out and have been doing school work all day. John and I leave for Annapolis next Friday for the weekend. I'm very excited to just get away. I have been working so much and I need a vacation!

Hecticness? Is that a word?

Wow, it has been quite a month. We've done so much!

For Valentine's Day, John and I went ice skating at Clipper Stadium. It was so much fun. I, quite the pro, did not fall at all. John, on the other hand, did run in to some guy. It was the typical local ice rink. You found people like us who were there just for fun, then there were others who were pulling a Kristi Yamaguchi move. Oh well. My aunt and uncle and cousin ended up joining us there. Afterwards, we hung out at there place for a while. That was our romantic Valentines weekend.

About a week later, John and one of his business partners were traveling behind a tractor trailer when a chunk of ice flew off and hit John's windshield. Shattered it. Dented the car all along the passenger side. Thank goodness no one was hurt. By now, almost all the damage has been taken care of, or so I think.


This week, I am on spring break. I am working a lot but it still is nice just relaxing.

Happy Valentines Day

Wow, I can't believe this day has come so fast. I actually had to remind John that today is his 1 year anniversary since starting DDMP. How exciting! We have both come a long way since that dream of his came true.
I was also looking through old cards that John and I exchanged and this will be our 4th Valentines! I can hardly believe it! Tonight, I was scheduled to work but was called off due to the weather. John and I had already agreed that we were going to do Valentine's Day on Saturday with dinner and then ice skating. So, instead of doing something romantic tonight, we shoveled! YEH! Take a look at our accomplishment after 1 1/2 hours!...


Obviously school was cancelled for me both yesterday and today. I have been sitting around the house cleaning, studying, scrapbooking, etc.. It has been so quiet, I feel like I need to get out and do something! Thankfully though, I have had time to finished scrapbooking all of '06, so I feel that I am least caught up to where I should be.
And for the record, my grandparents in AZ called yesterday and said it was 85 oF.... I'm just a little jealous.

New York

Well, we ventured up to New York this past weekend for yet another weekend of skiing. I, unfortunately, did not ski. The weather was just way too cold for me. I stayed in the condos and watched movies, did a little baking and such. I had a very relaxing weekend to be honest. Saturday night, we celebrated Justine's 32nd birthday. She was quite surprised. We also drank cosmos, played games, and had a great time. Here are a few pictures from this weekend.


This was the view from our condos. It was beautiful!
The queens and their cosmos; Carol, Carol, and Gail
John, Connor, and Maura

Black Diamond

Well, I did it... I have accomplished the black diamonds! This past Sunday, we went skiing with the Smokers and John's other friends, Bryan and his fiance, Amanda. We had so much fun. Saturday night was a little sleepover for us at the Smokers and Sudan was a packed day of skiing. I was so proud of myself for overcoming 3 different black diamonds. (for those of you who do not know, the slopes are labeled from easiest to hardest. A green circle, blue square, then the black diamond) We had so much fun! Afterwards, Bob and Amy made a great meal for us at their home and we stayed there to watch the Superbowl.

Next weekend we are going to ski up in New York at Greek Peak.
Tonight, I am meeting a couple people who I went to school with out for dinner. I am so excited because most of them I haven't seen since December.

Denton Hill

Well, we have arrived back home again safe and sound. This weekend, we traveled up to Galeton for the annual ski trip with John's family and friends. We try to make the best out of every situation, so I will say, "we had fun." First off, there is absolutely nothing to do in Galeton. The nearest grocery store is 45 minutes away. (that should be a hint that there is no mall even in sight!) Our room at the good old Ok Yoke had no heat and no hot water. It was a little miserable. So, we sat at the bar Friday and Saturday night, shooting the breeze with John's friends.

This was my 3rd time going here with John but I had yet to ski Denton. I learned here for the very first time though. I decided to purchase a lift ticket and go down 1 of the 5 slopes that happened to be open. (there are many more slopes, but the conditions never seem to be right for everything to open) I did a green dot with ease. Fell once, but quickly recovered. I decided to venture out to a blue square slope. (green is the easiest slope, followed by blue, then a black diamond, then double black) I became so frustrated with myself because I could not get down this hill without falling. The first time, I feel about 30 feet TWICE, and on my back. I did the hill over 3 more times and continued to do the same thing! I couldn't do it and was getting so frustrated with myself.
Anyway, back in the lift line, John's friends, Bob and Joe, broke the ski lift. They were messing around and both fell right before getting on, so the operator stopped the lift so the could get back up. Well, after that, the lift didn't come back on. The ski patrol had ropes and everything ready to get the people down who were already on the lift. It was a fairly pretty funny sight. For that, Joe won the squirrel award of the weekend.(in back): Bob and Amy Smoker, Linda and myself. (in front): Joe Madigan and John....

Just another night at the bar.....

Home Sweet Home: 1/1-1/8

I am actually feeling glad to be home. Our vacation was amazing. John and I had so much fun together. I think all we did was lay by the pool and eat. Our hotel was so big, but it was neat because our room was right next to the ocean, pool, 2 restaurants, and a bar! There were a lot of good times on our trip, but John got a pretty sick on Saturday, so we kind of laid low for the end of the week. Flights went smoothly, or so I thought. (John will tend to differ with that though).
Here are just a few pictures of our travels.....

Early one morning, we took horses out for about 1 hour. We rode through forests, and right along the water. (ok, my horse splashed in the ocean, but I still loved it anyway)

I knew there were some hidden cowboys out in Baron Country.

John and I had such a great time together. It was nice just to get away with only us....

A walk on the beach....

There were about 5 restaurants in which we had the choice to eat. Here we are at Dreams, one of the nicest. We had a fabulous dinner with an ocean view right next to us. There is honestly nothing better than that....

This picture was taken the last day as we were leaving.
It was such an awesome site to see....

Ahh, I start school tomorrow too! I am so excited to be back in the swing of things. Alright, I've got to get back to doing laundry.... there is quite a lot of it....

Too Funny

Check this link out..... My mom sent it to me and it is the funniest thing....

.http://www.elfyourself.com/?userid=65147a6c7ad82893ae3b565G06122716

Christmas Eve @ the Simpson's with Connor, Jacquie (John's sister) and Maura.

John and I after graduation .

This is me reciting the Nurse's Prayer.

Christmas

Wow, everything has finally come together at last.

1. Graduation was awesome and everything went off without a hitch. Thursday afternoon at the luncheon, I was extremely nervous, but as the night progressed, I calmed down a lot.
2. The days leading up to Christmas have been a very stressful time. I just felt that I needed to catch up on everything that I have missed this past year. I've cleaned the house, cooked, cooked, and cooked some more. Then with the holidays, my stress level has just escalated.

*Melis, I will be posting pictures of graduation and the holidays real soon.

Ahhh, and on a side note, my second cousin just delivered twin boys on 12/20/06. The pictures of them are adorable! They were 3.7 lbs and 3.9 lbs. Too cute...

The Final Count Down....

Wow, tomorrow is finally the big day! It has been an emotional rollercoaster for me throughout the whole year and the days leading up to graduation. Today at practice, I bawled over who knows what... People made me laugh and then I didn't quite know if I was laughing or crying. I'm very nervous for tomorrow because I feel that things will not run smoothly. We're disorganized and I just feel out of control. I have to speak the nurse's prayer at graduation and my stomach is just in a high knot over that alone! (After tomorrow, I will post pictures if I can remember how to do it)

Other than that, things are going quite well. John just got home from a short business trip to NYC and all went well up there for him. I'm super excited for Christmas and even more excited for our trip to the Dominican! Can't wait!

Bears

Tonight, DDMP is treating clients to a Hershey Bears game. The guys got a box and everything. This in turn means that I must entertain the wifes of the clients. I am a little sceptical about doing this being that they are probably much older than myself. All in all, I am excited to go and just get out of the house.

I did almost burn the kitchen down the other day. I was melting chocolate on the stove and ran upstairs to throw in a load of wash. There was an awful smell coming from the kitchen so I raced downstairs to find the kitchen filled with smoke. I quickly took the pan into the garage and opened all the doors and windows. Eventhough I lit tons of candles to take the smell away, it was still obvious what had happened. I felt like such an idiot. Although it wouldn't have been the first time the fire trucks came to my house ....

1 Week!

Wow, I can't believe that I graduate in 1 week! This year seemed to fly by....

I had a really rough day at clinical today, to the point where I said I didn't want to be a nurse anymore. I felt ashamed saying it, but just the way that places are run is very frustrating to me. I feel that in a long term care facility, no one truely cares for the patients. The healthcare workers do the bare minimum to get by and leave for the day. My favorite patient went to the hospital for sepsis and mersa. My heart just goes out to him. I can't even begin to image what it would be like to live in a long term care facility having only a few outfits, barely any family visits, little contact with the outside world, and having to depend on someone 24/7 to do anything, include using the restroom. In one way I am discussted and in another, I feel that I am making a difference; even if it is for 1 person.

Today after clinical, I went to John's new office. It is extremely nice and very roomy. This is only his second day there and he is loving it. I'm not sure how long it will take him to miss the other half of DDMP, but I'm sure those guys are chatting up a storm everyday on the phone.

You made my day....

"Also, I wanted to tell you know how happy we are for you that you're almost finished with your LPN degree. I really admire people like you who work and go to school at the same time, that's got to be rough! Hang in there for the last few weeks and good luck on your finals!"

This was part of an email from John's sister. After the day that I had today at clinical, it totally made my day!

Happy Thanksgiving...

Wow, what an awesome 2 days! Yesterday, I woke up really early and began to put the final touches on Thanksgiving dinner for my parents. Everything turned out great, except for these gross potatoes that my mom told me to make... (we ended up sending them to the cabin with my dad, uncle, and cousins) We ate tons of great food for brunch around 12ish, then headed to my aunts to play games. FUN FUN FUN!
Afterwards, we went to John's family for another meal around 6ish. It was also very good. Being that everyone was drinking and not paying attention to the food, the sweet potatoes caught fire in the oven. It was quite a sight to see... I wish I had my camera..... We stayed there a long time until I finally drug John out about 1130pm. I was not about to have him interupt my day of shopping.
I made a pot of coffee and Michelle and I headed out for 'Black Friday' about 1AM. We had a blast. We hit the outlets, the mall, Toys R Us, Old Navy; you name it and we were there. The best part was just watching people. It is seriously like a stamped! Route 30 was backed up for miles, bumper to bumper.
We had an awesome time and I will totally do it again next year. I am so proud of Michelle; she is becoming quite the pro. (thanks to some training.... haha)

TSO

So Sunday was DDMP's first ever Christmas party. It turned out to be a lot of fun. We started out going to dinner in Hershey to a place called What If.... It was really nice and they had excellent food! We then had tickets to see the Transiberian Orchestra's Christmas Show. It turned out to be about 3 hours long, but it was totally worth it. They put on an amazing show. John was happy because they had colored fire in which they timed perfectly to music. My favorite part was the 5 minute drum solo where the drummer just totally rocked it out! Everything was great and everyone had fun!

*Only about 13 days left till graduation!

Is that legal?

Yesterday, I stopped at Turkey Hill quickly to fill up on gas and to purchase 1 stamp. The store only sold a pack of 2 stamps, which was fine. The thing is, they were going to charge me $1.89 for both of them! I totally went spastic! How can they do that? That is a government run thing, right?!

My birthday went well. I campaigned for Mrs. Phillips at the poles and so John and I both got home pretty late. He brought me a beautiful arrangement of flowers and card he wrote by himself. It was very nice. Other than that, we just hung out here... nothing special.

Ahh, and tonight, I made chicken corn noodle for the first time ever. It was awesome! I am so proud of myself.

I did it!

I did it. YEAH!!! My next accomplishment will have to be to get a back drop behind it or to set it up as a scrapbook page. Melissa, I might need your help with that one....

This past Monday, friend's of ours had their second baby girl; Ava Grace. Friday night, I skipped John's game and made a scrapbook for Ava that walks through her first year. It was so cute. Every month had it's own page with stickers and decorations. I was so excited to give it to Kristen. We went over to their place Saturday and held Ava. They loved the book! I was thrilled!

After visiting, we went out to eat and then to the Hershey Bears Ice Hockey Game. Wow, there was tons of fighting, which I guess I should have expected, but still.... We had a lot of fun. It was nice to just go out with John for a change and not with all our friends. It kind of felt like we were dating all over again.... I liked it.

Our arts and crafts project of the evening.
These were made with paint and baby food jars.
Igor's Brew......
Abigail
Gabrielle

Pumpkin Carving

Zac

Here we go...

Alright, here are some of the pictures carving pumpkins. Hopefully this worked, but bare with me... it was my first time....

1 1/2 hours later...

Ok, so yesterday there was a huge accident on 283W. I left for work at 4, but was not scheduled until 445, so I figured I had plenty of time. Well, a 15 minute drive took me an hour and a half! It was horrible.

Anyway, I got to work and here, a sophomore from E-Town College jumped off a bridge onto 283 committing suicide. I have been trying to watch the news all I can, but nothing is being said about it. Apparently, a mack-truck hit her. I just can't image finally being at the point in my life where I decide to end it. I will keep you updated if I hear anything else.

Ok, so that previous blog didn't work out so hot.

This week as been great. Sunday, I carved pumpkins with the Hahn children. I took some really great pictures and I will post them if I learn how soon. Monday night we had our 1st life group meeting. It was awesome! John and I love everyone who comes. He hit it off right away with all of them. (It might have helped a little that the one boy is a senior football kicker for Millersville University) Anyway, we can't wait to go back next week. Classes have been going great and I can't wait to finish.

con`grat`u`la`tion`s

Wow, what a great day I had. My day started off bright and early at 5:30. On my way to school, I saw my first EVER shooting star and of course had to make a wish. I took a test on the cardiovascular system, and did fine. This was not the test I was worried about. I was worried about the one at 3:30.... The big one... The one that my entire future depended upon....
3:30 came and I had to take a 10 question math test. I had 1 hour to pass it and needed to obtain 100%. Well, by 3:45, I had done it.... I passed with flying colors and was offically accepted to the RN nursing program. I am extadic! My dreams can actually start to happen now. I am ready.
And to think, it all started because of a shooting star and my faith that God knew all my plans.

Tonight is also our first life group meeting at 7:30. I'm excited where as I think John is nervous. He is comfortable in the Manheim setting with people he knows. I want to branch out and meet new people. Can't wait.

Great Weekend

I had an awesome weekend!
Church on Sunday was so moving. I felt myself at times wanting to cry with the songs we were singing and everything that was going on around us. The sermon was all about giving the 10% tides to the Lord and also about how we can bring others into our "life boats." At the very end of the service, we all recevied a ball in which we were instructed to write the name(s) of someone who we wanted to help see the Lord, come to church, etc... We brought our balls up on stage one at a time and dropped them into a lifeboat. It really impacted me to see how many people that we as a congregation could help. All my Power Hour boys brought balls up also. It was so cute to see.
Saturday, I got a call from a lady @ church inviting John and myself to join her life group on Monday evenings. John and I as as couple have been struggling to find a group that suites both of our needs both individually and as a a couple. I think that this group may be it. Christy is married and has two children. Everyone else in the group is dating/engaged with no children. Some are in school, have jobs, and are at different stages in their lives as are John and I. So anyway, next Monday we are going to their home for a life group study. I hope it all works out and they like us and we like them. I am just really excited that someone would take the time to reach out to us as we contiune to struggle to find a right fit.

911--What's your emergency?

How, what an awesome day! Today, I rode with the Lancaster Ambulance for the morning. Our day started off at 7:30 with the first call....
82 year old woman with difficulty breathing
4 heart surgeries, pace maker, etc...
5 leg surgeries, most recent in July
Great, we get there and she has all her meds written down, husband there with all insurance information, blah, blah, blah. We manage to get her into the ambulance and off we go to LGH. I'm in the back with Debbie, while Brandon is driving. We're trying to start an IV with fluids, but with the great smooth roadways, we fudge our way through.
We hit a bump
The IV's in
Blood is shooting like a fountain everywhere
Ok, we have our gloves
Did it get in our mouths?, our eyes?
Ok, we're good and things are stable
Ugh! We finally make it to LGH and all is well. Most likely, our patient had a pulmonary embolism from her recent leg surgery. (a PE is a blood clot that has traveled through your body and lodged itself in your lungs).

Next case. We picked up a lady from the nursing home to take her to Ephrata to get her chemotherapy treatment. We have to wait there until she is finished!? (this took about 2 hours... need I say more) Anyway, while we were there, numerous calls are coming in...
Shooting in Lancaster outside the Belvedere
Accident in Lancaster City
23 year old with upper abdomen pain, vomitting
Why couldn't we go to those case, huh? Oh well, over all I had a great day.
You would honestly be surprised though to find out how many people do not pull over when an ambulance is passing with lights and syrines. FRUSTRATION SETS IN.

Ok, tonight is yet another football game against Ephrata. Wish us luck!

Ok, it was me...

Help! I totally need a blogspert! I am so bad at this stuff. As you can see in the previous entry, I completely messed everything up. I just don't get it!
Ahhh, the Shipe's had their baby on Friday about 1:00ish. They had a little girl named Ellison. How cute. They tell us she is adorable, of course, but I can't wait to see pictures real soon. The Enck's are expecting here any day also. Babies are everywhere!
I am feeling a little nervous about my upcoming math test. I get so stressed out about these things. I just feel like my future depends upon if I get into school or not. I really want this, but at the same time, I want my life to continue on and move to the next step. I guess we'll have to see what happens. Wish me luck!
FARMSHOW WEEK! FUNNEL CAKES! MILKSHAKES! BABY PIGS! I'm lovin it all!