The Indiana Chronicles

Hello and greetings from the east side! :) We are here and somewhat settled and officially on our way to becoming Indianeans... well, temporary ones at least. The drive wasn't bad at all, pretty pleasant actually. We left early Saturday morning from Rexburg and 1600 miles, almost 30 hours, 2 time zones, and lots of corn fields later we were here! I was kind of glad it didn't end up working out for me to fly out early, it was kind of fun. I have pictures of course, and as soon as I find where I packed the camera cords I will get those posted... But if you care to read on I can give you the brief (or actually fairly lengthy) update for now.

Saturday we drove from Rexburg to Sidney Nebraska and almost died of heat stroke. Rexburg really is some kind of super abnormal haven! When we left there in the morning it was in the mid 60's and cool enough for a jacket. When we got out of the car for dinner in Nebraska it was well into the 90's (if not 100 or more) and humid... real nice. But it felt good to stretch our legs, and Sidney was kind of a cool little town. It did not smell good there though!

Sunday was long. We drove from Sidney to Fort Madison Iowa, a nice 12 or so hour drive. We stopped in Omaha Nebraska for a bit to see the temple and the mormon cemetery and visitor center there in Winter Quarters. That was really neat! And would you believe that we just so happened to be there on Pioneer Day? Neither of us had even thought of that until one of the missionaries there mentioned it, couldn't have planned that better if we tried! We really enjoyed it. And Fort Madison is a cool little town! It is right on the Mississippi there and still has quite an old-town feel. Our hotel was an old renovated place, it almost felt like it could have been an old home. They had added a lobby and an elevator and everything, but the rooms had old pictures and wallpaper and antique wood furniture and they served meals in a dining room on nice glassware. It was really cute. Our windows overlooked the river and the old fort and a railroad track that had trains run along it pretty regularly, we saw several. Again, I'll have to post pictures.

Monday morning we got up and wandered along down by the river and the old Fort Madison for a bit. The Mississippi is massive! ... and I kept waiting to see Tom Sawyer and his homemade raft! :) For a good portion of the day we hopped over the border and spent time in Nauvoo. I love it there! You could spend several days there and still not see it all. We're hoping to get back over that way at a time when we can afford more time. We left there that afternoon and drove on down to Crawfordsville Indiana, right outside of Indianapolis. We could have driven on through all the way, but it was getting late and we didn't want to bother the people we are staying with... plus we wanted to go see Harry Potter! :)

Tuesday morning we actually made it to Indianapolis. For the time being we are staying here with Doctor Mangus and his family. We could not have asked to be associating with better people. You can tell that the Lord has blessed him in his life and in his career so that he can bless others, and that is exactly what he does! His wife is just the sweetest most bubbly person and he is just awesome. I think Tim will have a good experience learning from him. We spent most of Tuesday running around trying to figure out the area and looking at housing and hospitals and all of that. We ate at a Chick Fil-A of course, and had to have a Cinnabon for dessert... because I love them!

And now we're jumping into things head first! Tim got up and went to the hospital with Doctor Mangus nice and early yesterday and started to become acquainted with the research project that is going to be his life for the next few weeks. I would explain what it is... but I really have no idea. I got lost while Tim was explaining it, he's the brainy one here! He'll have to update you more on that. He was also in on a surgery this morning to watch a kidney transplant. He hasn't been home yet so I can't give many details, but from what I could tell from his text message he enjoyed it!

Meanwhile, I have been enjoying my first personal experience with the Indiana roadways. I spent all day yesterday on and off the freeway system here making hospital visits... thank goodness for the GPS (affectionately referred to as Lola)! She and I had quite the bonding experience! :)

And that's where we're at! Just pushing along and trying to survive the heat! When I can get the pictures off of the camera I'll share some.

B is for Boise

'B’ can be for a lot of things, but most recently ‘B is definitely for Boise. For the past three weekends we haven’t slept in our own bed, instead we have been journeying to and from B-town!

Three weekends ago I drove over Saturday morning for a friends wedding that night, the next weekend we drove over for family pictures Saturday morning (which turned out super cute) and then burned rubber to get down to Utah for a nieces baptism Saturday night…

And last weekend we drove back over yet again, and Tim went home a lonely man. I have now been here almost a week and am kind of itchin’ for the next thing! Dr. Mangus in Indiana said that the sooner I get out there the better my chances of finding a job will be, but some details still need ironed out. So Tim is in Rexburg finishing up his semester, and I am now hanging out here where there’s an airport just in case things change and I need a quick ticket… otherwise I’ll be back on the Boise to Rexburg roadways in a few days. Love that drive  

Here we go a internship-ing

Well exciting news here at the Borup home! Tim has been accepted for an internship with a physician in Indianapolis!!!! So i guess it's Indy here we come! :)

This physician is an organ transplant surgeon, which translates over into 'really cool things for Tim to see and do'! (I believe that's a direct translation) The details have just worked out too nicely to even begin to think that there wasn't divine hand in all of this, so we're really grateful for that and anxious to see where it will take us!

The only bad news is that now we only have a few weeks to lease our apartment, pack, finish up this semester's classes here and get across the country... slightly stressful.

Just Keeps Going

I'm beginning to think that On Headaches: The Definitive Work by Myself will never be done. Just when I think I have it close to covered, yet another headache comes along and I am made to stop and reconsider my conclusions.

Just this week a new brand emerged. I think I am going to add it to File Number 4, because it was definitely a migraine. But it may need it's own subgroup lovingly referred to as hormonal. I have had milder forms of this type before I think. But this little treat was in no doubt related to the feminine monthly treat that everyone so much looks forward to, in fact it came knocking just two days before and wreaked of impending doom. Though my "happy time" is usually pretty miserable (read: absolutely the worst, could easily have its own book written about it, let's not go there), I dare say this new comer made it even worse!

It is of the most miserable brand of migraine and came complete with the vomiting and head throbbing and blurred vision and everything. That sucker outlasted 2 naps, 2 Ibuprofen, and rejected (as in threw up) an extra strength Excedrin Migraine pill. It was oddly comforting knowing that I could pinpoint a cause for this one, but at the same time totally awful knowing that I would be repeating all of that in two days when the real fun began.

I have concluded that I am not a fan of hormonal migraines. I am really hoping they don't become a regular "monthly treat" companion, I'm not sure I enjoy having the misery drawn out more than it needs to be. Last month I was pretty good about no dairy. My mother-in-law thought it might help with the bad cramps, and she was right I thought. So I was pretty good about it again this month and wouldn't you know this came along. So now I am just confused and re-open to more suggestions.

Hit the Books

Well well well, how the tables turn! For most of the nursing program Tim lived as a lonely man while I did nothing but study. But as of April, I found my schedule very much open while he found himself in his toughest semester yet! Poor guy... I decided to post an idea of the new contrast. This was Tim's weekend...

and, though we didn't get much photo evidence of what my weekend looked like (I can't really take pictures of myself napping...), the fact that I had time to take all of these should say something about how "busy" I was. Awe, the joys of an education! Study on Tim, study on

Becoming Licensed

Well the blessed day has finally arrived. In my hand I hold proof that I am officially DeeAnna RN! Oh, that never gets old... it has such a nice ring to it, don't you think?

For the sake of reliving past traumatic experiences that are now merely fond memories, I thought I would update you on the pointless details of this, our most recent exciting news.

A couple weeks ago I went over to Boise to take the state nursing board exam... such a pleasant experience (read: miserable/not fun/never want to do again). I was nervous, but felt fairly confident. It was scheduled for a Tuesday and I had decided that Saturday evening was my cut off, after that I wasn't going to let myself study anymore. Everyone says a break from test material is the best thing for a tired brain right before a big exam... so I reviewed some testing strategies from my faithful Kaplan RN NCLEX book and hopped into bed thinking to myself, "self... you

spent the last year and a half working hard and studying,
passed the nursing program exit exam with more than proficient scores,
have put in 8 hours/day over the last month doing nothing but practice questions and exams,
have fasted and prayed,
have your lucky socks...

...this will be a piece of cake."

Monday night I tried to go to bed early but, to no avail... for some reason the nice sounding list I had gone to bed with Saturday was nowhere to be found, I felt totally unprepared and even almost got back up to study, so sad. I woke up Tuesday morning just sick to my stomach. I tried to eat - wasn't successful, tried to read - couldn't concentrate, I couldn't even sit mindlessly and watch tv. So I left 45 min early for my test...

...and 4 hours later I was done and even more miserable than before! I came home in tears just positive I had failed. I had never felt that badly after an exam in my entire life. I felt like I hadn't known any of the answers and my brain was like scrambled eggs. All I wanted to do was hit the books and get ready for the inevitable round 2. I called Tim and he told me I probably did fine and to just cool it, and my wonderful sister took me out for pizza, but I was a wreck.

Thursday morning I woke up and all I could think about was the fact that my quick results would be available at 11:00. I got up and barely made it to the bathroom before I threw up everything I had eaten the day before... classic. At the dreaded time I logged on and filled out the online payment ($8.00! so unfortunate), then hovered over the submit button seriously considering just waiting for the news to come by mail. But, recalling that it could take up to 4 weeks I decided to take my chances and...

I had passed! I couldn't believe it, such a relief!!!
Now it's just upward and onward from here I suppose