Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday

Happy Friday, beeetches!


Rebecca Black recently watched her Friday video and gave us some mildly entertaining commentary.  

{1}
Mostly likely while you are reading this, I am taking my final exam of the semester.  Wish me luck, send me some good mojo, say a prayer, or whatever your preference may be. I am not picky when it comes to good vibes!

{2}
One of my closest friends (and bridesmaid!) Julie is coming in town this weekend! She was my roommate during Teach for America, she knew me when I just had a crush on B, and I love this girl more than I want a brownie right now.  I'm cleansing, so that means even more than it usually would.  We're running a 10K tomorrow and then drinking lots of moondrivers.  I. CANNOT. WAIT.

{3}
My wedding invitations came this week and they are gorgeous. I'm sure every bride says that so I feel very stereotypical saying that. But it's true. I'll probably share them soon, either on here or some other form of social media, since I plan on addressing them alongside a large glass of wine.  Maybe it's time to invest in one of these so I don't spill on my pretty invites?

{4}
The post office and I are in a fight.  I thought I was going the easy route by ordering wedding stamps online. We ordered them on Dec. 1st, and yet here we are, 12 days later and they haven't even been shipped yet.  Seriously?? Where else do the stamps come from if not from the same place that mails thing? The real kicker is that today while my mom was on the phone with customer service the woman helping her didn't hang up the phone before actually said. "Oh boy, this order is a mess."  I kid you not.  If the USPS can't FIND and MAIL me stamps, then what have we come to?

{5}
I will be celebrating the end of the semester by going on a stamp hunt around the greater Houston area.  Much like my test, good mojo and prayers are appreciated. Or you can just tagalong to keep me company from going insane.

Annnnd Milli might have an eye infection. Because after stamp hunting I really want to spend my weekend at the vet for overpriced eyedrops.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

xoxo,

Cait

some good news

I mentioned yesterday that Thursday's night shift was less than stellar, which is putting it lightly.  After sleeping the day away I had a slightly better outlook and then some good things came my way.  Doesn't life have a funny way of working out?  Just when you think things are down and out, some good comes your way.

It made me step back and realize that even in the struggles I am incredibly blessed and these challenges are just part of the journey.

So on to the good news...

(1) I made the Dean's List for the summer semester!

Don't judge - I study in my Beats and without makeup.

This wasn't on my radar at all and it just showed up in the mail last week.  It reminded me that the hard work does pay off and now I'm more determined than ever to keep it up.  Plus, I'm halfway done with the fall semester which means I'm also halfway through the program! CRAZY!

(2) My loans were forgiven!

After wrapping up my last year of teaching, I found out that I was eligible to have my undergraduate loans forgiven in exchange for completing 5 years at a Title 1 school.  The amount varies based on grade level and content, but teaching 8th grade science put me in the highest category. I submitted my forms this summer, had them returned because they were expired, resubmitted the forms, and then basically didn't hear anything.  I assumed that I would have to start paying on them again come graduation and I had accepted that being in crazy debt was my reality.

Then I got an email on Friday saying something about "thank you for your payment." I panicked thinking that my automatic payments had started back up and I wasn't prepared for that - they've been in deferment since starting nursing school.  However, when I opened the email I saw this instead:

I actually spit out my Spark when I saw the amount.  That's more money than I've ever had at one time.

And my heart almost stopped.  It took me a few hours of checking the email and logging into my account to actually believe it.  I'm still in shock a little bit!

Yup, those loans are actually paid off! I feel like a huge weight has been lifted.

(3) The giveaway I won from Kaara and Jacquelyn arrived yesterday!

During September, Kaara and Jacquelyn hosted the Move It Challenge and for each week you linked up with your fitness you were entered to win an Advocare Cleanse.  And I won! I didn't realize that I would be getting so many amazing goodies so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

How cute are these messages Kaara wrote around the box? Made me even more excited to open it!

Advocare Slam, Bowl Game Berry

Advocare Herbal Cleanse, peaches & cream

blogilates blender bottle

crocheted coasters

Advocare Spark, pink lemonade

Advocare Coffeccino, mocha

bracelet

earrings

crocheted head wrap

adorable card

I've never tried the Coffeccino and I love mocha flavor so I'm really excited about that.  And the Slams are perfect for my night shifts at the hospital.  Plus, I'm dying over the crocheted items. They are so soft!  I love it all and I am so excited about it! Please stop by Kaara and Jacquelyn's blogs to show them some love - they are wonderful girls that I'm so lucky to have found!

I'd love to hear what good things have come your way lately! And I know it's cheesy, but thinking positively about the things that are challenging us really does make a difference. I encourage you to try next time something has got you feeling down.

xoxo,

Cait

PS - that blender bottle is perfect for the Fiber Drink that comes in the 10 Day Cleanse. I'm starting on Tuesday with Mel and Holly.  It's not too late to order yours!

can it just stay Friday forever?

This has been a hellish week, and while I'm glad it is finally Friday, I almost wish the weekend wouldn't arrive. Huh? What? Allow me to explain.

First, I'll back up.  Last weekend I went to Austin to handle some wedding plans.  My future in-laws visited Austin from Friday through Saturday to check out some venues for the rehearsal dinner.  I headed to town Thursday night and stayed until Sunday morning to get a little extra time with my family.  I really miss my family and it is so nice to spend time with them.

there is nothing better than spending time with this gorgeous lady

But. There's always a but.  I was WORN OUT.  When I drove back to Houston on Sunday, I had to spend the rest of the day studying for my psych finals.  That's right, finals. As in TWO EXAMS.  We had our course final bright and early Monday morning (you may have seen my IG post about getting up at 4am), followed by our ATI exam that afternoon.  (ATI is a test company and for most courses we have in nursing school we take a content test made by ATI that should predict how we will do on the board exam when we graduate.) 

Pretest ritual: quite spot, headphones in, iced coffee, and practice questions.  Also, these jeggings made for super comfy but professional test attire.  I wore mine with a long shirt to hide the "legging-ness".

In a normal week, I only head to Galveston once for tests/class/seminar.  My nursing program is a hybrid accelerated BSN program.  The accelerated part means that it only takes a year as compared to 2 years in the traditional program.  The hybrid part means that it is mostly self-directed - all of our theory courses are online, combined with our clinical visits, our lab skills, and exams.  Lab skills and exams take place on campus. We have exams each week but we only have lab at the beginning of a course. Once we've learned the skill, we then put it into practice at our clinical visits which eliminates the need to attend lab on campus.  Does that make sense?

So back to this week.  Like I said, we normally only need to be on campus once a week. I live in Houston which means that without traffic it takes about an hour and 15 minutes to get to school.  Because our Adult 2 course started last week, we had lab this week to learn to insert IVs, draw blood, change central line dressings, and suction tracheostomy tubes.  It was GREAT. Except for needing to be on campus 4 days in a row.  I am totally exhausted from all the back-and-forth, the long days in lab, and then trying to study while I'm at home.  I'm relived that today I only have to work at Pure Barre for a few hours in the morning.

So why I am wishing the weekend wouldn't arrive?  Two words.

TOUGH. MUDDER.

This Saturday is the Tough Mudder race.  We checked out the course earlier this week and I am legit scared.  First, it is 13 miles. WHAT? I was expecting 10 miles and that was enough to make my heart race.  But 13 miles? I wasn't planning on that until November 23rd and without crazy obstacles.

You can view a better version here. And check out descriptions of the obstacles.

I just hope I can finish. And if my arms still work on Sunday, I'll do a recap.  

Anyone else ever done the Tough Mudder? Or any other type of obstacle race? I'd love to hear about your experience and any tips or tricks you've got!  Wish me luck!

xoxo,

Cait