Countdowns

Last week was super busy with school and lack of precptorship due to "ice" on the roads. Oh look, another reason I hate snow in North Carolina...

This week brings me to some very important countdowns!

8 Months Until We Say, "We DO!"

Officially we have 7 months and 30 days (as of today). That is 241 days or 34 weeks or 5808 hours or however you want to look at it. Nevertheless, I will become Mrs. Rice in roughly 348, 480 minutes.

It seriously makes me so giddy just thinking about it. I know I should be worried about the caterer, DJ, drinks, decorations, flowers, favors, bridesmaids dresses, groomsmen wear, transportation, invitations, reservations, and all the other fun things I still have left to do, but the only thing I can think about is how happy I am going to be when we have those bands on our left hands and our new title of Mr. and Mrs. Jared Rice! I mean seriously, could that sound any better?? Well, after dreaming of marrying this man for the past 5 years the answer is no! 

He is still finding ways (probably not on purpose) to make me fall in love with him over and over! For example, last Monday we had just finished dinner and were cleaning the kitchen. Jared took the frying pan to dump the oil outside off to the side of the house (no, I don't know if that is environmentally friendly) when he saw an older woman outside of our house looking for her dog who apparently ran into our backyard. Well this little sucker was quick, but Jared still tried his hardest to catch up with him. I ran in and got some treats to try and lure the dog in close. Well by the time I got out there Jared had just wrangled the sneaky thing into his arms. The lady was so thankful she was almost in tears. She told us that this was the third time today he has gotten out and Jared was the first person to stop and help her! I don't know why but this act of kindess from my fiancé just warmed my heart :)

First "official couple" Picture in May 24, 2008 (when I was fat and Jared was skinny) 

16 More Days Left of Nursing School!

Oh yes, the day has FINALLY come (when the countdown is below 20)! Only 16 days and 16 hours left according to the countdown on my phone! Phew, and what a road this has been...

Today, I took my LAST "quiz" (which are really 50 question tests, just sounds better/easier for them to say quiz to us) of this program today! I was feeling very unprepared since I had taken the weekend to watch NC State stomp the crap out of UNC-CH (haha) in basketball on Saturday night. Then I had preceptorship on Sunday night (which was freaking awesome because I saw a patient's abdomen open and saw peristalsis in the bowel). But, I ended up doing great on the "quiz." Phew, now just for the final!

On top of the quiz today we also took an "NCLEX Predictor Test." This is a test that they give nursing students to let us see the likelihood of if we will pass the NCLEX or not. Really, I think it is just way for the school to cover their butts if anyone fails the boards. So on top of only getting 9 hours of sleep in the past two days, taking a quiz I was unprepared for, I had to take a test that would tell me how well I was going to perform on the biggest test of my LIFE! Yep, I was freaking out. It was 180 question and at about question number 77 I thought I was about to fall asleep. After as I was waiting for my results I was pretty sure I had had done awful. However, it predicts that I have a 97% chance of passing the NCLEX the first time! I am pretty darn excited about this news because I actually plan on getting a good nights sleep before I take the real test and I guess I will do a little studying before :)

Well, just when I thought this day couldn't get any better, I got an email from Cone Health in Greensboro, NC about setting up a phone interview for a job in their New Graduate Nurse Academy! It is basically a mini extension of nursing school/extended orientation into a real life nursing job. I applied for positions in both the ICU and ED academies! The only downside, the academy doesn't start until July 2013. I have other applications out there for positions that start earlier. Ultimately  I know I will end up where I need to be.

First picture in my awful, ugly, tacky nursing school uniform in March 2012!

More Fun Countdowns...

4 more shifts/days 

I am done with preceptorship!

24 days 

NC State stomps plays UNC-CH (again)

26 days 

Caitlin's (aka My Maid of Honor and Best Friend) Birthday

30 days

Layne's (bridesmaid and one of my best friends) Birthday

43 days 

My 23rd Birthday!!!!

45 days 

Our engagement party (finally!)

I am SO excited for all the things that are coming up! But, mainly I need to be focusing on finishing school, preparing for and taking the NCLEX, and finding a job!