It's Sunday evening, exactly 6:59 PM as I start this. I'm giving myself 15 minutes to update my blog. It's been so long, that I had to look at what I last posted. Here goes:
I finished up school a couple weeks ago, and started again this week. HA! I managed to get some pretty good grades considering how horrible last quarter was. I started Anesthesiology and Surgery this week...on Tuesday and Thursdays...from 5 PM to 11 PM. Yep. Six hours of lecture, two nights a week. Oy vey! I'm working on planning my classes and externship right now, and it's so close, I can taste it! Hopefully this quarter flies by. With enough caffeine and weekend sleep, I'm sure it will! :D
I had three weeks off in between quarters, which I spent being a maid of honor, moving, biking, and sleeping. It was quite lovely. :) My best friend's wedding went well. It was absolutely, insanely gorgeous! I'm so happy for her and it was so fun to spend time together, laughing and talking while she was here...just like old times. I also moved home. Yep. I'm 30-years old, and back home with my parents. Yeah! LOL! Good thing I love my parents more than anything and actually enjoy spending time with them. It's actually kind of nice to be home and be here with them before I move out of state. Oh and we go biking. My dad is like Lance Armstrong. It's a little annoying how in shape he is, but I've been out a few times with him and my mom on our bikes. Aside from my sore butt, I've enjoyed the rides.
Volunteering at the equine center has been super fabulous. I love all of the horses. Good thing I'm pursuing a career with animals! ;) Our local newspaper ran a story about some kids going to the center a couple weeks ago. My buddy, Skip, was prominently featured with the kids. He got groomed, lead around on some walks, and even came up to the gate to greet the kids. Skip actually used to be afraid of most humans in general, but especially loud people (read: little kids). The owner said it was insane how good he was. I guess there is someone really interested in adopting him. It makes me sad and happy at the same time. I will hate to see him go, but happy for him to get a good, loving home. From there, it'll be onto the next pony...one home at a time. :)
Last week my parents skipped town and left me in charge of the farm. Farm livin' is definitely the life for me...just not on top of full-time work and school. HAHA! It was more than a little crazy. So crazy that I managed to fracture my foot. Yep. I wrangle wild ponies on Saturdays, wrestle pit bulls at night, and I slip in a 2-inch hole on Wednesday and fracture my foot. DOH! I currently have a really pretty, big blue walking shoe right now that I get to rock for the next couple weeks. Oh man. I'm awesome. :}
Lola is currently in "farm dog training". She apparently loves me a lot because when I'm gone...she doesn't like to do anything. My dad is home most of the day, but she doesn't like to leave my room or even the porch step if she gets dragged outside. So he's taken it upon himself to get her out and get her dirty! HAHA! Have no doubt: she loves to play in the fields and splash around in the water when I'm out and about...just not so much when I'm gone. Hopefully she gets over it and hangs out with my dad a little more. :P
Well my fifteen minutes are up. I have a pile of homework sitting on my bed, waiting to be conquered.
Love to all... xoxoxAC
I took my last final last night. *insert GIANT sigh of relief here* I don't know how I did yet, but I feel like I passed. I hope I passed. Pleeeeease let me have passed! :} I'm so happy this quarter is over. It was hellacious and just no fun. I have Surgery & Anesthesiology next quarter - Tuesday & Thursday nights from 5 PM to 11 PM. Yeah, the schedule will be rough, but I'm looking forward to the classes. The best part? I have three (almost four) weeks off in between now and then! WOOHOOOOO!
Other than that, moving. Blah! I hate moving! Although while I was moving some stuff to my parents' place last night, I was informed that peas are on. PEAS! MMMM! Sitting by a fire pit eating sweet peas fresh out of the garden? I declare summer officially here. :)
Although, thanks for keeping tabs on me, ya'll. :) I have honestly been incredibly busy. So busy that this post will (hopefully) be quite to the point. Or at least as condensed as my ramblings can be! HA!
School:
Eh. This quarter has not been my favorite. It started out great, but quickly went down the drain. Hence, my not blogging a lot. I knew if I wrote about it, it'd be negative. To put it mildly, I've been through multiple teachers in BOTH classes, been on the verge of tears a couple times due to crappy grades (being taught one thing and tested on another), and contemplated dropping the classes to just pick up again next quarter. The good news is that I survived - my grades are up and I don't cry after every quiz now. LOL! Finals next week and I'll be done with craptacular quarter! WOOHOOOOO!!
Work:
My brother mentioned the other day that I only call him cuz I'm bored at work...which is why I haven't been calling him so much lately. :} Work is extremely busy. We're hiring new sales people right now and because I have some cosmic wisdom or something, I've been put in charge of training them. It's definitely a compliment, but holy crow! Trying to spend 4-6 hours with someone every day on top of keeping up on my job...ARGH! I've worked more over-time in the last month than I have in the entire four years I've been here. Oh and we have another new person starting next Monday. Greeeat.
Volunteering:
I'm still volunteering on the weekends at the equine center (EC). I love it. I'm working with two horses right now - Skip & Samara. Skip is a short, copper-colored Quarter Horse. His owner apparently used to beat him with 2 X 4's so he's naturally very weary and nervous around humans. Side note: I bet you can imagine what I'd like to do with a couple of 2 X 4's to his ex-bastard-of-an-owner... Anyways, nobody used to be able to catch Skip, but he let's me walk right up to him for some reason. So, Skip and I have become working buddies. I do a lot of groundwork with him and he keeps me on my toes. :] Samara is a big, gray Arabian mare. She was found in a field, tangled in a mess of barbwire, looking hungry and disheveled. Her owner was no where to be found, so she's at the EC now. She's not quite as damaged as Skip, but still needs a lot of work. I spend a lot of time doing groundwork with her too, during which time she thinks it's fun to test my nerves and patience. LOL! I've only been working with them both for a couple weeks, but they've come so far, so fast. So much so that the barn manager gave me keys to the facility and pretty much begs that I come both Saturday and Sunday (and more). It's hard to say no which of course kills my weekends, but it's great to be out working in the weather with horses again. I forgot how much I missed them. :)
Life:
Oy. I'm working on moving my stuff home right now - I have to be moved by the end of the month. I've been moving a little bit at a time, but it's hard because I really don't have a ton of free time right now. I foresee an exhausting weekend of trying to get everything finished up in my near future! LOL! My bestie friend is getting married next weekend. It's going to be a gorgeous event that I get to be the maid of honor for! :D I've got a few days of pedicures, manicures, spray tans and pink dresses coming up! HAHA! I'm really excited for her - and the wedding! I've been lucky enough to get a sneak peak of everything by way of photo shoots, rehearsals, taste-testing, etc. so yeah - it's gonna ROCK! What else? I got a new bike! WOOT! I ride it every chance I get when I'm out at my parents' house. Pretty soon...I shall ride it EVERY DAY!
Lola:
I saved the best for last. :) Lola had a rough spot about two weeks ago. I guess she started feeling the effects of my crazy schedule because she started chewing stuff up! Some of which she threw up in my truck! :/ For about two weeks, I came home to heels missing off of shoes, bra clasps ripped off my favorite bra, straps and buckles chewed off my brand new messenger bag... Ay-yi-yi! It was really frustrating there for a bit, but I realized it wasn't her fault. We spent some much needed "A.C. & Lola-time" together and she seems to be doing better. Yay for that. Love my little sidekick.
So that's that. A super-long post, but kind of condensed? Maybe? Eh. I guess it could be longer. HAHA! :}
Here's to hoping I survive the next two weeks - finals, new hire, moving, and wedding. I might be posting from a hospital bed next time... ;)
Loves!
xoxoxAC
So I had good intentions of updating my blog background and posting a new update yesterday. Yeah. That obviously didn't happen. Instead, I set up my new background, helped my mom set up her new blog, did laundry, then prepared for s'mores with the visiting family (mmm...s'mores). It was quite a lovely day.
I'll update this later this week. Maybe with pictures. Maybe. :)
So I was informed by my grandma and a couple friends that I never really explained the Washington thing in my previous post. As one friend put it so eloquently in a text: "What the hell is this bomb?!" My apologies to everyone! Here's the poop scoop:
After I finish up my classes, I'm required to do an externship in a hospital or clinic in order to graduate. It should last about three months, but could go a little longer, as I'm required to complete a specific number of hours. Last year my program director approached me about a fantastical opportunity in Washington: an externship in an extremely advanced equine facility (for privacy's sake, I'm not going to reveal the name and location on here). I've been working hard since then to maintain my grades, get recommendations, and pretty much jump through hoops. In my meeting this week, I was informed my jumping paid off, as I've been accepted to go! I still need to go through the application formalities, but yes, I will more than likely be moving to Washington next year!
I don't know how long I'll be gone. I honestly hope to get hired on there or somewhere just as advanced. As my teacher put it, "You know you want the cool cases!" LOL! She was right. I want to go far with this. I want to learn and be amazed and challenged in every way possible. If that means packing up and moving across the country, then let's go!
Yes, I'm excited and scared as hell! I've lived in the same place my whole life, with my family no further than a 20-minute drive away. But, if my cute friends like Adrien and Sara Lizbeth, or my lovely cousins Syd and Angie can do it and prosper, then dangit I'm gonna try! To quote a song lyric from Miranda Lambert (yep...going there again!):
"I guess if you don't jump, you'll never know if you can fly!"
Jumping. :)
For some reason, I don't want to organize and create neat paragraphs for this post. So yeah, here's a list:
1. I met with the externship coordinator at school yesterday. My grades are good, they have all of my recommendation letters in, and the application paperwork should be here next week. All signs are pointing to "go" for the big move to Washington next year.
2. The thought of leaving Utah, saying goodbye to my friends and family, and trying out a new life is becoming a reality. An exciting, adventurous reality.
3. The thought of leaving Utah, saying goodbye to my friends and family, and trying out a new life is becoming a reality. A scary, heart-breaking reality.
4. I'm moving home in about two months to save some dinero for the big move. I have to start packing. Again. "'Cause gypsies never get tied down..."
5. My new truck is awesome.
6. I hate the weather right now. I never would've survived the massive dust storms in the early 1920's. My eyes feel like they have little sand dunes in them from yesterday's craptacular weather. No makeup, red eyes, messy hair...it's hard being so pretty. :]
7. Two of the Dixie Chicks girls are coming out with a new album soon. Yesss! Oh and Dierks Bentley has a bluegrass album coming out...with Miranda Lambert singing a song on it. Yesss!
8. I tried to get blood from a cat's jugular twice last night. I failed twice last night. F#!&ing cats!
9. Random picture of The Diddle! ---->
10. I turned 30 yesterday and gained some new knowledge. The new knowledge is this: I no longer can claim I'm just young and dumb. I'm old enough to know better now. Greeeat. LOL!
Warning: Looong blog post. Long!
I wasn't going to update my blog until I could do it with pretty pictures. I see my friend's and family member's blogs and they're so pretty. Whether it's babies, camping or projects, I love looking at all of the new, nice pictures every day. Then there's mine. Wah-waaah. Lola and I are still wearing snow suits above and it's 75 degrees outside. LOL! Ahhh...whatever! It's time for an update even if I don't have a lot of pictures or a new background!
A lot has happened since I last threw a post up on here. I had a week o
ff of school during which time...*drum roll*...I bought a new truck! WOOHOO! I finally bit the bullet and got a new vehicle. I seriously have been talking about it for years! My dad helped me find a great deal on a 2003 Ford F150. It has four doors, four-wheel drive, and even better...it's not red! I love it so! It rides great and it's comfortable and...it's a truck! YES! :}
I also started school again. I'm actually in my third week already. I am taking Advanced Clinical Skills and Advanced Animal Disease and Hematology this quarter. So...advanced pee and blood. LOL! Good times, huh? I honestly love the classes...again. And yes, I know I always say that! The equine instructor is teaching my Clinical Skills class so obviously that rocks. He always throws in little nuggets of information about equine no matter what we're studying. Like last week when we went to the shelter and learned how to place urine catheters, he taught me how to produce and clean up a sterile environment when I'm doing farm calls with horses. My other class is being taught by one of the attending doctors at the school. I’ve never had a class with her, but I can already tell she's pretty hardcore and we're going to learn a TON in that class!
Speaking of my equine teacher, he hooked me up with a volunteer position. I'm currently on the wait list for the main equine hospital here in Utah, but I want time and experience in the meantime for my resume, so he helped me out. I started working last Saturday at a facility that takes in and rehabilitates abused and neglected horses. The owner of the facility was pretty excited about my horse experience, so in trade for groundwork with the horses and stall cleaning, I get to help out with any medical stuff that comes up. I will DEFINITELY get some pictures posted soon on that. The facility is really nice and the horses (of course) are beautiful!
That pretty much brings me up to last night. Last night was awesome. We had a sick dog come into the school that needed serious treatment and attention. The attending doctor asked my teacher if she could borrow one of us, and another girl and I raised our hands at the same time. Once again, we rock-paper-scissor-ed it and I won! HAHA! I don't know where I’ve gotten my mad game skills all of a sudden! Anyways, the dog had a super high temperature of 105.5, was coughing up mucous & blood, and was incredibly dehydrated. The doctor had me place an IV catheter which was insanely hard and nerve-wracking since the dog's blood pressure had bottomed out and had flat veins. I hit it on my second try and then started giving him various meds and administering fluids, though. The doctor had to finish rounding on the other animals, so she left me with the dog to bring his temperature down, monitor fluids, continue meds and essentially keep him alive! When I write it, it sounds easy, but I honestly was a wreck! We usually get healthy dogs from the shelter, so this was one of the first times I've done real medicine where it definitely mattered if I messed up. Everything went well, though. I was with the dog until about 12 AM this morning. When I left, he was up and moving around, wagging his tail, his temp. had come down to 103.1, and he even went outside and pottied! I never thought I'd be outside in the middle of the night, cheering for an animal that made a poop! LOL! But...I gotta say...I loved every second of it.
Lola is doing well. I don't know if people want to hear about Lola, but I don't care. She's my 
buddy. Every night when I get home, she'll wake up to greet me, then I usually sit down to check the mail or something. During that time, she will usually run off find a toy to bring to me. Well, the other day she came running in with...a hanger. A plastic hanger. LOL! It's her new favorite toy. Sometimes if there isn't one lying around, I'll hear her whimpering from my closet where she's sitting and staring at all of the glorious hangers that are too high for her to reach. Oh man. She is so crazy, but I love that about her. She is a constant source of entertainment!
So that is our life right now. On top of work, school and volunteering, I've been participating in local vaccination clinics on the weekends lately. They're pretty fun. It's definitely a different experience to work with animals AND their owners! What else? Oh! My favorite (and yours?!), Miranda Lambert, won a bunch of awards on Sunday night at the ACM's. Yeah...she's rad. :) I'm also doing a 5K in a couple weeks for the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. If you want to sponsor me, you should - it's for a good cause - boobs! WOO! THANK YOU to everyone that's already donated. A little or a lot, you ROCK!
I've got my birthday coming up next week. The Dirty Thirty, as everyone keeps putting it. Apparently I'm supposed to do something big. Because I'll be thirty. Ummm... Right now a trip to Subway for a ham sandwich followed by a night at home sounds pretty good! We shall see.... :}
Love yaaaa'll! xoxoxAC
There are a lot of lovely things happening today. For one, I took my last final this morning. YAY! I am DONE with this quarter. This silly quarter that made me want to rip my hair out! I am going to miss my classes. But, the schedule? Let's just say I'm kicking the schedule's ass as it flies out the door! Gooood-bye! Second, my final this morning was easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy! I maybe missed one question, which means...*drums*...I GOT ALL A's THIS QUARTER! Woot! Yes, I am very happy about that. Third, I stopped at the greasy gas station on my way into work this morning and bought batteries for my camera. I am finally going to post some pictures from my San Francisco trip...from last month. LOL! I am sooo on top of things! Riiight. Lastly, my week off from school officially began after I finished my final this morning. What? I get to go home after work and hang out with my dog?! WOOHOOOOO!
:)
