ODUS 2.0 vol 4: GOODBYE SWEET MEMORIES

Remember that one time, when I went through nursing school, and worked my tail off, and graduated with a BSN and a stash of stuff that felt really impressive?

Yes, those books and binders were my pride and joy.
And for the last 4 years we have been moving them with us from place to place and putting them up on bookshelves...
and I've never once looked back through a single one of them.

I suppose that could have been predicted.  I don't think I'm the only one who gets attached to things that represent such a huge part of your life.  But, as awesome as it was, it really was just sitting and taking up space.
I came home after Christmas with a little bit of early Spring Cleaning fever, and one night while Tim and I were re-situating the basement, I decided maybe it was time to clean out the old binders and finally let it go.

Check out that pile of stuff!

Man, I really did work hard.  Those piles and I spent a lot of time together.
And I can honestly say, I loved it!

Farewell my friends.  You were good to me.

March Madness

Not to be fooled by that title, this is not actually a basketball post.  Although we have been keeping up with that a little bit as well (Go Kentucky!), we've mostly just been trying to keep up with life for the last few weeks.  I usually like to feel a little more in control, but most of March was a whirlwind that we're trying to recover from... it's been exhausting!

We're still just giddy over med school!  :)  In the spirit of St Patricks day, I had actually put together a "lucky" jar.  We used the rocks that Brinlee collected on her Seuss week rock walk and as our family saw Tender Mercies from the Lord, we added rocks to the jar.  The idea was to watch it fill throughout the month.  But, when we got the long awaited good news, Tim went ahead and dumped all the rocks in the jar and we spent a couple weeks  just enjoying how awesome it looked!

We moved to Boise! Two things about that:

First:  I am really dreading that drive we have to make to Ohio, because....
Second:  The trip over here was absolutely terrible!  It poured rain the whole way, and Brinlee hated the car!  It's supposed to be a 3 hour drive, and we stopped 3 or 4 times, just for her!  Tim drove the truck with all our stuff which left me and her alone in the van.  It was a long day.  That poor baby needs a travel buddy, badly!

But we're here now and happy.  Tim still has his Masters internship and thesis to finish up and the opportunities here are going to make that a whole lot smoother.  Besides, I think we'll really love the family time.  I did have to leave work though and last Saturday I worked my last shift.  I am really going to miss everyone I worked with.  They were awesome!  :(  But I don't know that I will miss night shift so much.  I kind of forgot what's it's like to function during the daytime.  I like it!

Oh yeah, and I got my hair cut!  That "yay I'm home and done with work!" photo really doesn't do it justice.  We had been up for 18+ hours by then and my hairs were a little droopy.  But I have really liked it.  

My mom and sister came for a few days during the packing process and brought some cheesecake and peanut butter Buckeye balls.  I managed to snap zero photos, but we sure ate good.  Amen.

Packing is the worst!  It's so tedious and annoying, and by the end, Brinlee was going stir crazy!  After all, a girl can only watch Toy Story so many times before she starts getting antsy for more attention (read: before she starts getting curious and hurts herself).  Not long into the packing she tipped some bookcase shelves onto herself and smashed her finger, and the night before we left she bounced off of our bed into a wall and bit through her tongue.  Poor kid.

She sure had a time in those boxes though.  She could not stay out of them and really couldn't stay off of them.  She can unpack faster than I can pack (frustrating!), and she kept climbing clear up on the pile and then would yell over and over "high! high!".  She was pretty dang cute though.  Love that fuzz head!

Hopefully April is a little less hectic.  This month wore us out!  It's a good worn out though, we have lots of exciting stuff to look forward to!  Now, back to playing with this less stressed, less injured, and much more happy little girl.

Back At It

Well, as of tonight I am officially back to the old grind.  

Goodbye maternity leave, how I have loved you so!!!

I'm actually not dreading it too much.  Night shifts might easily end up completely wearing me out.  But just a couple nights a week really shouldn't be too bad.  Besides, I have an odd sort of excited feeling when I think about fitting back into my scrubs again.  Call me weird, but the last time I was in them my pregnant belly was practically popping the seams.  Getting dressed tonight should be a treat!

Right now I'm just avoiding the thought of leaving little Brin... that part will surely NOT be a treat.  I could always call home and check in at 3:00 in the morning.  I'm sure Tim would appreciate that, and it would be more fun than crunching on carrot sticks to stay awake.

Of course, I could get really tough patients that keep me busy all night. Then I wouldn't have to worry about getting lonely for baby, bored, or sleepy...

...but..... I'd rather not plan on that........ ever!  I'll stick with the call home plan.

For now, off to bed

Short Lived

This evening I walked out of the hospital after a long day as a nurse, and the next time I walk back into a hospital I will be a patient.  Yes it's true, I am officially on maternity leave!  Which means my workin' days were a little short lived.  But little girl could come any time now.  Besides we're starting to get uncomfortable so... I plan to enjoy 8-12 weeks of guilt-free "fun"!

What's New?

Extra Extra Read All About It!  Hot off the press, a
Borup Family Update: 

Our little family has been super busy lately with quite a bit of new and exciting stuff!  I am now a workin' woman.  That's right, I have a New Job!!!  It's my first real nursing job actually, so I've been learning my way around the hospital for the last few weeks and am trying to get a hang of things.  But so far I am loving it!  The twelve hour shifts get a little long, but the New Numbers in our savings account are wonderful!

Plus, I've been able to justify a few New Additions to my wardrobe.  My New Tennis Shoes are getting a workout, and I went and bought some New Scrubs, which are super cute, but unfortunately may not fit for much longer thanks to my New and Increased Belly Size.

Baby girl is 35 weeks along now and still busy growing!  Which is good, but we've had to experiment with some New Sleeping Arrangements... namely lots of pillows.  :)

The man of the house has had quite a schedule as well.  A couple weeks ago Tim went to Utah and presented a New Batch of Research at a conference, for which we bought him a New (and quite dashing looking) Pair of Slacks.  Last week he finished up finals and now has some New Grades on his transcripts, and this week he has been enjoying some New Free Time while he waits to start a New Semester on Tuesday. 

On a non-academic note, Tim has discovered a New Love for cooking!  Actually, he probably would not agree with that... but after a long day at work I sure love it!

In other news, we have discovered a  New Favorite Treat and in the last two and a half weeks have shamefully devoured three batches of caramel corn...

The New Springy Weather finally showing its face is perfect for a New Hobby though.  We had a fun park picnic and have gone on a few sunny walks. which burns calories, right? ... so I say bring on the carmel corn!

We have a New Lamp in our living room, and actually now have a completely New Apartment Set-Up conveniently conducive to the soon-to-be New Baby (more info on that forthcoming).  My sister got married last weekend and we now have a New Member of the Family!  Big congratulations to the Stanford's and warm welcomes to David, we look forward to the memories!

And we just got our New Favorite Movie in the mail!  We Bought a Zoo - Highly recommend it.

And that's all for now I think.  Stay tuned for the next
Borup Family Update!

Doubly Accomplished

We are getting things done over here and it feels so good!  Tim just received notice that one of his research abstracts will be appearing in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of Investigative Medicine... sounds pretty professional doesn't it?  We looked at the author index page last night and there he was, Borup, TC.  Super exciting!  AND I am now officially DeeAnna Borup RN, BSN!  While Tim was off internshipping, I filled my time finishing up the requirements for critical care nursing and management and just received notice that my information was cleared and my bachelor's diploma is on its way!  

I think this calls for some celebrating!  Frozen yogurt anyone?!  

Idaho Adventuring and Tom Seleck

Well these last few weeks have been... Interesting. Long. Busy! Stressful? Not Ideal ...I'm sure there's others that fit, but that's probably good for now.  I move ahead now to the tale of a girl who dreamed  of an easier way.  But alas, it just was not meant to be...

This girl is in a class right now that requires some intensive and critical patient care training (ICU, NICU, ER type stuff), and when she found out that she and her husband would be in Indiana for five months, she started the paperwork required to do the training in a different state.  Something about legal affiliations and law suit coverage... I don't know, but she figured the super impressive intensive care unit here in Indianapolis would be just the place for the experience.  Little did I... I mean she know that this legal stuff can take quite a bit of time, and as the weeks marched forward and time wore more thin, it became apparent that she may need to try to make some other plans.

Then came the fun....

After some morning sickness, a nice cold, and a bit of a sinus infection finally got under control, I jumped on a plane to Idaho to get those hours.  The plan was to begin Monday, complete the 60 hours by Sunday, spend some family time in Boise, and come back rested and accomplished.  Instead I spent the first few days in bed with an advanced urinary tract infection and kidney inflammation (worst pain ever!), did five 12-hour night shifts at the hospital in six days, wrote a 10 page paper, taught a few classes at the elementary school about hand washing and infection control, and went back to Indiana exhausted.  But... I do feel accomplished!!  Better to be busy than bored, right?  And I did get some awesome family time, including a trip to Downtown Boise to see my brother before work where we went out to a delicious dinner with him dressed as Tom Seleck for 80's night... totally made the trip!

Huge thanks to my wonderful grandparents for letting me bunk there for a week!  And dad and Dianna for the awesome comfy bed, the car, and movie and food... sorry I ate all your Milky Ways.  And mom for all the delicious meals and use of your classroom!  Can't wait to come spend some more time!

Poor Tim was left a lonely man for two weeks while his wife and growing baby journeyed afar for some kind of not-so-fun but still exciting and definitely needed adventure.  He's a trooper... but let's just say we'll probably try to avoid planning on those arrangements again any time soon.

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

College Education!

YAY!!! Finally!!! After a year and a half of biology work and 3 years of living and breathing nursing I am finally done! Oh so wonderful! Granted, I still do have a few classes to finish up to get the next level nursing degree... and I still have to pass the state board exam hanging over my head to be officially official. But at least I will be able to see what life looks like outside of the library! Hello world, and make way for a new college graduate!!! Feels good

This is the face of a person who has just received her Nurse's pin!

And this is the face of a person who has just received a diploma!



And this has been my life... so... much.... studying.......

Thank you to all of my wonderful family for all of your support, you totally rock! And thanks to a fabulous husband who made a fabulous graduation dinner! You're the greatest!

The End

I am reporting to you live from the living room of a lady who is officially done with 3:00 AM alarm clock settings, 14 hour days, and uncomfortable, totally unattractive blue and white scrubs!! Yes folks that's right, nursing program clinical hours are officially completed! Hallelujah! ...I could get used to this

Again, I don't know why that wall looks SO green in pictures... totally gross! But, still better than the pink

Back to School

Well school has started up again and is definitely rockin' and rollin'! I successfully survived my first semester of the nursing program and am now 2 weeks into the second one... they don't waist any time that's for sure. We have already had a big test and last Thursday we didn't leave the lab until 10:00 pm. And Tim is just as busy.... I think... we don't really see each other. Long days so far! But the operating room is sweet! Here's to science degrees!

Hello Nurse!!!

YAY!!! I received my letter today telling me I am accepted to the nursing program!! I will be starting in January and couldn't be more excited!!! :) I have heard from other nursing students that I shouldn't plan on any sleep for a year and a half... and if that is indeed true I am not quite sure how I will hold up... but I'm anxious to see!