RN

YEAH! I PASSED MY NURSING BOARDS! Never again do I want to take these.

I had to work this morning from 7A-7P and so I was constantly checking online every 10 minutes. Of course, immediately after I checked and saw no status change, John texted me and told me that the website looked "very interesting." Great, now I'm more nervous than ever! What is that suppose to mean?! I checked with my preceptor and after we saw the computer screen, we were both caught jumping for joy and screaming in the middle of the hospital rotunda. She made me name tags, banners, etc. Everyone was great, my patients shared in my joy, and we just had an awesome day at work. I couldn't have asked to find out in a better way! John must be my good luck charm ;)

I'm still kickin'

I am still here, after this long, possibly needed, blog break. Things have been flying so fast and I can't believe we are at the end of March already. John and I have been doing great. We went skiing again towards the end of January, went to visit his sister in DC and did some sight seeing. I'll just post a few pictures from DC as well as Valentines. (yeah I know, it's pretty late...)




We toured the Holocust Memorial which took 2 1/2 hours to tour. It was amazing to see articles of clothing, videos, and items taken from the Jews. Your mind hurt with all the reading but yet you couldn't stop reading. It was so captivating.



Pictures from Valentines Day with the Proffitts. We had an awesome time. The boys surprised us by taking us to Characters in Lancaster. The food was great and so was the company :) We finished the night at Annie Baileys in the lounge. It was a wonderful night.



I took my nursing boards on Friday and am still anxiously awaiting to hear the results. I had the minimum number of questions, 75/265. When that computer screen went blue, my heart sank! I didn't know what to think.... Fortunately, I feel like an elephant has been lifted off my chest and I can finally get to the long awaited projects I want to accomplish around the house. This entire weekend, John and I NEEDED to clean the office. It literally took us the entire weekend, but I can actually see the floor again. It's a beautiful thing!


We also attended a conference Friday and Saturday at our church. It was called Raising Truly Great Kids. It is a faith based way of raising children and has to do with how to parent with Grace. It was very interesting and our church was packed. There were probably about 2,000 people there just from around the area.


Oh, and I can't forget our first dinner party.... We hosted John's office for their "late Christmas" party. John cooked steaks and potatoes, vegetables, salad from Olive Garden and I made my specialty mango martinis. YUM! Needless to say, I think everyone had a great time... maybe took much fun with our Christmas gifts from the guys. We'll leave it at that... Anyway, here is a picture of my table. Just to point out my bargain of the day, John and I went to William Sonoma in search of nothing that we really needed. I found these chargers that matched my side plates perfectly! They were originally $22/plate and I got them for $1.99/plate! You can't beat that price! I sucked up 12 of them right away!

"Here starts the next 40 years of your life"

That was my quote from John the morning of January 5th....

Orientation started at Hershey... 1 1/2 weeks of long, 8 hour days; doing nothing but listen to the talk about benefits, policies, family-centered care, etc. Well, I am happy to announce that finally, I have started on the floor. Yesterday was my first day in the newborn nursery. I love every minute of! I loved bathing the babies, feeding them, changing them, and cuddling. It was also really nice to see some of the same people that I worked with over the summer. It's also nice to have people you know and who remember you too. I am only 1 of 2 new graduates working on the Women's Health floor. My days and weeks couldn't be crazier, but I'm taking them day by day, as I still juggle 3 jobs. Don't ask me why...

Have a great end of the week!

Ski Greek Peak

This past weekend, John and I had the opportunity to go to New York with his family and friends to ski. We do it every year, but this year, it snuck up on us so fast that before we knew it, we were scrambling to pack and leave in within 30 minutes! Craziness! I had packed dinner for the road the night before so at least that was a little stress taken off, but still.... The 4 hour trip seemed to go by fairly quickly. John got mad at my driving, we stopped for a bathroom break and changing of drivers, and before we knew it, we had arrived!

John's parents always rent 2 places, one for the younger crowd, and one for themselves. We have dinner and lunch at one place, but yet can be on our own in the evening if we want. It's very nice.

Saturday was spent skiing, although looking back, I wish we would have gotten up earlier in the morning and skied longer before heading in for lunch. I always seem to have trouble getting in the mood to go back out after lunch, but I promised John I would this time. After we trucked back across the street, the snow was really starting to fall hard by this time. After the chairlift ride, we would be so covered in snow, as it would just start to pile on your pants and in the crevasse of your zippers. Pretty cool to see, but not after we started to get freezing cold. I bundle up ALOT, where-as John wears a long sleeved tee and vest. Needless to say, he was ready to go in as well. We stayed out for quite a while and enjoyed ourselves. I think this is the first year that I said I really enjoyed skiing. I feel I've gotten a little better, accomplished all the levels! and can't wait to do it again.

Saturday was dinner and appetizers back at the other condo. Fun, Fun, Fun! PJ introduced us to a card game (the name is not coming to me right now) in which I majorly lost! My meat-balls were a hit the stuffed shells for dinner were great!

Carol, Bert, and Maura

We woke up Saturday morning to the blizzard from the day before. We easily got 8-12 inches of snow. I totally forgot my snow boots, so when I went to clean off the car, I sank right down in. I was freezing! and there was no way I could keep up with cleaning the car as the snow was falling that fast!


We took it easy coming home, no accidents! and enjoyed the warmth of our car and our own home once again!

GO PSU!

JUST ANOTHER REASON TO PARTY; BUT WHY NOT?


Cole and Mia



Abigail and I

Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful time with our friends as we dined at Al Mediterraneo's in Hummelstown. We had awesome food! This was our first time ever going out on New Years for dinner and I knew to expect high prices, but not as high as we payed. The dinner included soup/salad, the main entree, and desert. John decided to try octopus before the meal and REALLY enjoyed it! I was surprised. Normally, I like things like this, but the octopus came out to the table with tentacles and it's suction cups still attached! I tried a little; tasted like a marinated portabella mushroom, but I wasn't going back for seconds! John devoured it! After dinner, we headed back to Brian and Amanda's to watch the ball drop. Short, quiet night for us as we sadly watched Dick Clark stumble through his count-down before heading back home. All in all, we had a blast!

Christmas 2008

Christmas came and went super fast. It was a week spent running all over the county to and from our family's homes. I finally convinced John to sleep at our own home on Christmas Eve, as we have always slept at his parents for the past 5 years. Our Christmas Eve was packed with 3 parties and church. We finally left John's parents home at 2:30AM, only to be back Christmas morning at 8! Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep. When we arrived, we ended up having to wake everyone up to do the "Christmas thing." We had an amazing morning with them, followed by lunch at my grandmother's house and dinner back at the Phillips'.



Dinner at the Phillips Christmas night:

Amazing looking table!

Amazing cooks!

Amazing food! Eventhough the Christmas menu NEVER changes, I still look forward to Mushroom Supreme and Cranberry Sauce! YUMMM!

We previously did the Christmas dinner and gifts with my family on December 24.... like I said, it was a long Christmas. Our 'second parents' joined us and we had a fun-filled Disney Christmas... that's another story in itself...


Christmas at my grandma and grandpa's:

My cousin Ali and I


On December 27, we celebrated Christmas with my dad's side. We again, had more great food and had a lot of fun playing American Idol on Wee. Needless to say, neither John nor I were about to sing, but that didn't hold anyone else back!

Dad with Cassidy

My uncle John

HANNAH GARMAN

This is an email I received from a friend of mine. Please read below and hopefully you can help make Hannah's Christmas Wish come true :)


Hannah is my 5 year old cousin who, just a few weeks ago, was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme, a rare and incurable brain tumor. She has been given 12 weeks to live and is currently in her 7th week. Hannah's story is sad, but especially sad because her mother passed away just two years ago from breast cancer. Her father, brother Jordan, and sister Brittany are dealing with the unthinkable.

Right now Hannah has lost most of her motor skills. She is confined to a bed and cannot really do anything or play with the gifts she has been receiving. Hannah LOVES getting cards, though. She has gotten so many and has so much fun opening them and reading them with her grandma. She is so proud of all of her cards - her room is filled.

When asked what she wanted for Christmas, Hannah said she would like to see how many Christmas cards she could get. Many people have passed along this wish to their churches, friends, prayers groups and families and I'm asking you to continue to pass on Hannah's story.

So if you have time during the holidays, and would like to help Hannah with her wish, please send her a card. Her address is:

Hannah Garman
704 Orchard Rd
Lititz, PA 17543

You can feel free to forward this to as many people as you wish. If anyone has questions, they can email me at shanelle.lee@hotmail.com. If you want to keep up to date on Hannah and her progress, check out her Caring Bridge website at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahgarman

We appreciate your thoughts and prayers especially through the holiday season.

Many blessings,
Shanelle

Christmas Tree

We finally got our Christmas tree! This is only our 2nd tree we have gotten, living in the same house for 4 year! We have never truly made the time to go get a tree, plus, with my schooling and finals, it has been so difficult. So, the tradition has grown that we meet up with John's parents and other friends and family for breakfast and then head to the same great place in search of a tree. This year, I think we were all in a hurry. Normally, we take a wagon ride through the fields until we find the perfect tree. I love that part! Instead, this year, I believe that everyone tagged a precut tree and no one ventured into the fields. Still, I love the experience and all the smells that go with having a fresh-cut Christmas tree.

UGH!

Not a good way to start my weekend... :(



Needless to say, the blame was not on me for this one. John had been begging me to get my oil changed in my vehicle and convinced me to head to Cloister because they were fast and cheap. So I did. After being told I needed a new lightbulb, oil filter, and new transmission fluid, I left with a bill of $120 instead of $30. (To make matters worse, I opted not to get the tranmission fluid replaced on this visit. That alone would have run me $150!) Anyway, those Cloister guys must have done something to my tire in order for me to come back... I just know it :)

Graduation~

Kelsey and I at Annie Baileys after the final

Our study group

Celebrating at Krista's after the final. A Champagne toast to the new graduates!


Well, after a long 2 years of tears, laughs, and frustrations, we have all made it! We made it to the end of nursing school and are looking forwards to starting in the real world. I have accepted a job at Hershey Medical Center in Women's Health, where as the rest of my study group is planning to stay at Lancaster General. It's an awesome opportunity and I couldn't have asked to start at a better place. I love the women I will be working with, and I am so excited! My start date is January 5th, so I have a little time to get scrapbooking and cleaning up the house. (We all know it has been a wreck these last few weeks. Tuesday alone, I did 10 loads of wash; and there's only 2 of us! It was not good!) Anyway, the pediatric office has graciously given me full time work during the day until I start at Hershey. I am just so excited to finally have 1 full time job! Plus, I will only be working 3 days a week/12 hour shifts.

Anyway, here are some pictures of graduation!

STRESS!

I have been so stressed out with studying for finals and my last test, I needed some time to do something for myself. I came home after the test today and set up for Christmas. This was as far as I got; I felt guilty for not studying.... so to the books again! I am just looking forward to when I won't have to worry about school and can finally get into the Christmas spirit!



Oh, and did you see Jupiter and Venus the other night? Look really closely...

Black Friday

I did it again.. I was up at the crack of dawn for my annual black Friday shopping extravaganza! Michelle was sick this year, so it was the first year that I went by myself. Normally, we make coffee and hit the road.

I woke up at 2 and was at the mall by 3:30. This was the first year that some of the stores opened at 4AM instead of 5. Needless to say, I picked the right store because as I was standing in line outside, they decided to open their doors 15 minutes early! This might not sound like a big deal, but when there is a mad rush of people sprinting across the parking lot, you'll be lucky that you were standing in line.

After 9 hours of shopping, I just about finished my Christmas shopping. I tried to convince John to purchase a big screen TV as a joint gift, but he was not having any part of it. Needless to say, our friends purchased one the same day and John was probably kicking himself for not saying yes. The deals were really good, but you wouldn't know that we were in an economic crisis with the financial stock markets by the way people were buying things! It was nuts!

at 2AM

Nursing: The Heart of Technology

Here a just a few quick pictures we took at the nursing convention we went to in Harrisburg. The convention was titled: Nursing, The Heart of Technology. We heard great seminars and attended an NCLEX review course to prep us for boards. I don't truly know if this was helpful, because after we were finished, our brains were fried, and I felt dumber than ever! Anyway, think about this slogan, I thought it was interesting:

1. Nursing, The Heart of Technology
VS.
2. Technology, The Heart of Nursing

We saw videos and demonstations on robotic machines caring for patients, passing medications, and now even doing procedures in operating rooms! It was crazy, but it made me think: is this was we have finally come to? Where is the compassion and "therapeutic touch" of another human being?

But then I saw the up side: These robots can care for people with easily transmittable diseases. Think about it... If a nurse cares for a patient with small pox (this disease is easily spread through direct contact or by touching a contaminated surface or area), they are putting other patients at risk by then caring for them. Do you really know if there are no organisms of anything on their clothing, their shoes, their pen? Scary, isn't it?

The bad thing about technology is people and their resistance to change. One speaker talked about the older generation of nurses and their resistance to change. The speaker commented that she was one who resisted the change from the mercury thermometers to the tympanic or oral! How little a change, but how resistance and stuborn nurses were. Can you image using a mercury thermometer today? I don't even know if I would know how to use one!

Anyway, I found myself sitting there, being one of those "old nurses." I saw these robots, the "incision free surgeries," the thoughts for pacemaker changers via telephone waves, etc.... and I thought, 'never in my time.' But guess what, it's coming... and sooner than we know it.



Study time :)

Jenelle, Me, and Kelsey. Look at all of our goodies. I bet we got about 30 pens, easily, tablets, hand sanitizers, lotions, all kinds of freebies!

Me, Dana, and Gail

Happy 25th/23rd Birthday!

I have decided that I officially do not like birthdays anymore. This year was really hard for me. I hated 25! I guess I wasn't the only one because everyone else that I talked to, felt the same way when they hit 25. I don't know what it is, I just don't like it. I feel I'm not done with school, I haven't really accomplished anything since highschool, and I have nothing really to show for my work after being out of HS for 6 years! UGH; 6 years; let's not say that again!

So, needless to say, no matter how I feel, my birthday came and went. After a long drawn out day of studying (6 hours), followed by a non-eventful night at work, I ended the night falling asleep by midnight. The following evening, after a long bickering event of where to go to dinner, everyone finally decided on this awesome restaurant called Johnny's. It is an awesome steak house for John and I am in love with their Salmon and martini menu! The night ended well and everyone had a fun time.


Janelle and I

Nothing like a good chocolate cake and a mango martini!

The boys

The girls