Ben Bostic and his new wife, Sarah Kuntz, got married this weekend.  I can't believe my good friend of many, many years is married!  The wedding was beautiful and we had such a fun time!

On Sunday we carved pumpkins!

This is the finished product!  Dad took the challenge of doing the Trick or Treat pumpkin, I did the cat, Mike did the ghost, and Mom did the weird face!

Class and clinical have been going very well.  I began my clinicals at Women's Health in Robinwood two weeks ago and I am learning so much.  I have been doing pap smears, measuring pregnant bellies, and listening to many baby's heart beats!  I am looking forward to learning more and by December, be conducting the office visits all by myself!  Frank has been doing well.  He is getting excited for his haircut on Thursday as well as Trick or Treat night that evening.  Last year he was a turtle, this year he is a pumpkin!  (pictures will definitely follow!!!)  I can't wait to see Ella and Lily's costumes!  Mandy sent me a picture a few weeks ago of Ella in her costume with a caption that read "Ella wanted me to send you this picture, she said--Aunt Jackie is going to love my costume."  Haha, she is such a funny girl.  Lily will be two in a few short weeks, I can't believe it!  Well, back to work I go!

Sunset Hills Winery

So....let's see where life has been taking me.  Mike and I headed to Waynesboro this past weekend and had a great time.  Mom and Dad were in South Carolina so we didn't get to see them.  Friday night we went to Gigi and Pappy's for dinner.  We had crab soup, beef stew, and oatmeal pie (Mike had his own blueberry tart....my grandma sure knows the way to his heart!).  It was nice getting to talk to them; I miss them while I am at school!



Pappy, Me, and Frank

On Saturday, Mike and I had an extremely random day doing alot of things.  We woke up and got ready to go to Thurmont, MD to a corn maze with Frank.  On our wa there, we took a detour to High Rock.  I had always talked about it to Mike and we had never gone so given the beautiful weather and the fact that we were headed in that direction, we finally went.  And it was beautiful!

Following High Rock, we plugged the address of the corn maze into the GPS.  At this point we were up in the "sticks" of Waynesboro.  We ended up going right by the cemetary where Mee-Maw is buried.  I had been wanting to visit her but could never find the time (which is such a horrible excuse).  She was very special to me and I think about her often, especially since I wear her wedding band on my finger.  She passed away on my birthday 14 years ago, I believe (if I did the math correctly).  I miss her dearly but it was nice to go and spend some time at her grave site.  It was also very nice of Mike to come and listen to me talk about her while we visited.

After that we started towards Thurmont and it just so happens that that weekend in Thurmont was "Colorfest" which is a huge ordeal to those living there.  There were crafts being sold, food everywhere, and tons of massive yardsales.  Upon entering Thurmont, I noticed a make up table at one of the yard sales and immediately thought of Ella and Lily.  So I persuaded Mike to stop and we did.  To make a long story short, we didn't get the make up table (after Mike reminded me that Ella and Lily already have approximately 3 of them, haha).  We did buy a 20 piece set of plates/mugs for $8.  I guess I should mention that MIKE bought them (in case he reads this).  They are really nice and for 8 dollars we figured we could store them at the house for the future if we should ever be under one roof together.

After walking around some of the sales, we got back in the car and slooowwwwllly drove through Thurmont; there were people everywhere!  Eventually we made it to our original destination.  The corn maze was actually 4 mazes in one.  Each maze was a different length and you could choose which ones you decided to do.  The theme of the mazes was "Iron Man" and the mazes were each a different part of his body.  We went through the maze that was 2.5 miles long.  Thank goodness we had a map or we might have been there all day!

Frank and I at the entrance to the corn maze!

They also had a pumpkin shooter there.  It was a large contraption that you paid to put a small pumpkin into and upon pulling down this big lever, the pumpkin shot out into the field by compressed air.  It was actually pretty neat.  They had an old car and random targets out in the field you could aim for.  After paying for the plates and the maze, unfortunately we didn't have enough cash to participate, haha.

When we got back to Waynesboro we went back out to Gigi and Pappy's and took Pappy for a walk outside and told them about our day.  Frank got to run up and down the big hill they have in the back of their house (how he wasn't tired after the corn maze is beyond me....you'd think I fed him pure sugar!).

Saturday evening we had ribs and asparagus for dinner and sat outside and ate.  We gave Frank a bath and then watched a movie.  The day couldn't have been more beautiful and any better than it was.

On Monday, Mike's parents came to see my house in Georgetown.  We walked around the campus and the town.  Again, it was a beautiful day!  We ate at The Daily Grill and it was very good!  I always like when we spend time with them and I get to know them better.

Tomorrow I start clinical at Women's Health in Robinwood.  I will be there on Thursdays and Fridays.  I am excited yet nervous to start.  I'm sure it'll be great once I get the swing of things.  I'll have to remember to post about my first day!

And I can finally breathe!!

     I can't believe it has been so long since I've posted!  The end of September/beginning of October has been extremely busy.  I am officially done my health assessment class.  I passed both the health history as well as the physical exam.  One class down for the semester, four to go!  Because I have passed the health assessment class, I am cleared to begin clinicals!  I begin next week (the week of October 11th) at Women's Health which is located in Robinwood!  So I am going to be in Hagerstown on Thursdays and Fridays.  This is the other OB/GYN located in Hagerstown; Capital Women's Care being the other.  I am excited but nervous to begin.  I think I will be surprised at what I already know.  I haven't gotten all of the information regarding my clinicals yet so I'll fill you in as I find out.
      I had my first pathophysiology test last week and did very well!  I was so nervous due to patho not being the strongest class of mine but I worked hard and it paid off.  I've actually discovered an enjoyment in learning it because of how well I am doing in the class. 
      Last weekend, Mike and I took Frank to the neighborhood of Adams Morgan in DC and went to an outdoor craft showing.  There were some really unique things there; it was not like your typical craft show of knitted pot holders or hair scrunchies.  They had bracelets made of camera lenses and sculptures made of shredded books.  Just a bunch of homemade things that were very interesting. 
     Last Sunday we met up with Mom and Dad, the Blubaughs, Bostics, and the soon-to-be married "Bostics" (Ben and Sarah) at Sunset Hills Winery for Dad's birthday.  It was nice to relax, although I was so surprised at how chilly it was!  I was glad to see Dad; it had been too long!
     Normally I have Thursdays off from class and my health assessment class was on Fridays, and since that class is over, I have a VERY long weekend right now!  Five days to be exact since Columbus Day is Monday!  Crazy!  It's nice to have a little break :)  Mike and I are going to have dinner and play cards with Gigi and Pappy tonight.  Tomorrow we might go to a huge corn maze in Maryland with Frank!  I love fall!!

Back in Action!

  I just wanted to thank everyone for thinking of me while I was in the hospital.  Also special thanks to Mike for being by my side the entire time.  I'm lucky to such a wonderful guy in my life.  And thanks to mom and Debbie Martz for coming down to visit me on Friday.  It was nice to have family around me while they were figuring out what to do with me! I definitely enjoy being the nurse rather than the patient!  I am feeling much better now and I am grateful for that.  It's coming down to the end of the month and I have alot coming up. 
  I wrote before about the 'check-outs' I have to do for my health assessment class before I start clinical.  I had the history portion of the check-out tonight and I passed!  I'm not sure of my exact grade on it but we had to get a 90% or above so I'm super glad it's over!  The physical portion is Friday morning and when that is over, it will be such a relief!  Then I can start putting what I have learned into action!  So exciting for me :)
  Well, I have to get back to work.  I've gotta get caught up on anything I may have missed while I was in the hospital.  Hope everyone is happy and healthy :)

xoxo

no words

  Hello friends! I AM SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER BUSY!!!! AHHHHHH! I cannot wait til September is over! One of my classes ends and then clinicals begin! 
   In order to begin clinicals, we must "check out" of our September health assessment class (this is the reason I cannot wait til September is over....because then I have one class already out of the way!!! YAY! :).
   Let me see if I can paint you a picture of what I have to do to move on to clinicals....
   In our nursing lab at Georgetown, we have 4 rooms that are "mock office rooms."  They look identical to an exam room you have experienced in the past in any doctor's office.  There are 2 checkouts we have to do.  For the first, we have to complete a history on one of our classmates.  Our classmate will act as the patient and we enter one of the mock rooms as the midwife and we go through an entire history (which includes current demographic info, medical conditions, medications, family history, past medical history, surgical history, and a complete review of all their body systems) while our professor also sits in and makes sure we hit everything.  We have 30 minutes to do so and then once we leave the room, we have 15 minutes to write up the entire history as if we would in a chart.
  For the second checkout, Georgetown brings in actors/actresses that are known as "standardized patients."  We will enter the room, much like the history, except these aren't our classmates but real people that we've never met or seen before.  We have to act as if we had already done the history part of the appointment and we are moving on to the physical exam.  We have to do a COMPLETE head to toe exam on the patient.  And I capitalized complete because it is extremely extensive.  I won't go into detail but to sum it up slightly we have to check all cranial nerves, look in the ears/nose/eye/mouth, check all lymph nodes on the body, all pulses on the body, listen to the heart, listen to the lung, feel for the liver/kidney/spleen (although the spleen and left kidney shouldn't be palpable unless they are enlarged...betcha didn't know that),  listen to bowel sounds, check all your reflexes, check your hearing, check  the strength in your arms, legs, wrists, ankles, AND THE LIST GOES ON.  It's just alot alot alot of stuff!  It's nice to know how to assess all of this stuff even though most of it I may never have to do again in my time as a midwife.  I just hope I remember to do everything!  So anyways, we have 30 minutes to do that and then 15 minutes to write it up....just like the history. 
  I am completing the history portion of this next Monday the 27th and the physical portion on Friday the 1st so think about me/pray for me on those two dates!  Although I'm feeling confident that I will do fine :)
  I'm really excited for clinicals even though I do not know where I am going to be placed yet.  I'll have them either one or two days a week.  I'm looking forward to applying what I've learned and beginning to create and organize the way I plan on conducting my exams.  This semester we are in offices/clinics and next semester we will be in the hospital.  Things are going to be happening so quickly but I am excited :)
   (side note: Frank just farted in his sleep and it is absolutely disgusting :)  Speaking of the little guy, he has become quite the city dog! He enjoys walking/running around the city and I've been surprised but he has no interest in any dogs we come across.  He's kinda like 'yeah i'm cool, i'm tiny and i'm running in the city, and my mommy's cool, yeah yeah yeah".  Haha.  I kill myself.  Anyways, Mike and I took him to a dog park on Saturday.  There are a bunch of trails that lead into this HUGE clearing that is surrounded by woods.  Once you walk into this clearing, you definitely don't feel like you're in DC anymore (because of all the trees, etc).  So people come and just unhook their dogs off their leashes and let them run.  At first, Mike and I kept Frank on the leash but about ten dogs came running over to see who the "new guy" was and of course, as you can imagine, me with Frank on a leash......who doesn't like going too too far away from his mommy....who is about 3x smaller than any other dog.....on his leash...trying to play with the other dogs.....on his leash....   if you can't tell, "on his leash" were the key words....Needless to say, I quickly took him off the leash since I was all tangled up in it, Frank was all tangled up in it, ten dogs were tangled up in it, and not only because of the leash, but I was trying to dodge a gazillion dogs (aka. trying not to trip and fall on my face).  ANYWAYS, Frank LOVED it.  He was EXHAUSTED.  (and gross I might add....one of the dogs had a slobber problem and thought Frank resembled a lolly pop or something).  We had a great time.  We had brought a blanket, wine, and cheese for a little relaxing afternoon with Frank but it didn't take long before we knew that wasn't going to occur :)  It was a great afternoon with my boys :)
  I think that is all to report.  I'm enjoying everything I'm learning, I just have "work overload" everyday!  But I expected that and it keeps me busy :).
   Hope everyone is healthy and happy. Hope to see you soon :)

...

Mike's mom, Annette, put up some pictures from Labor Day.

Doesn't Frank look hilarious??!?!?

She is holding Buttons, one of their four dogs.

Random thoughts:

-Artichokes are my new found love.

-Pushup popcicles are my old love that has recently surfaced again.

-I spent quality time in the library today.

-My schoolwork NEVER ends.  It is absolutely impossible to not get behind or even get ahead!

-In response to above statements, I am working hard to get things done and stay on top!

-I got a shock collar for Frank in hopes that he will be nicer to those who live here and visitors.  Upon opening the box, I learned that Frank will not be getting 'shocked' but 'stimulated' instead.  The small change of words actually makes me feel better about jolting the little guy.

-Speaking of Frank, he's just so darn cute.  And such a good study buddy (he sleeps).

-Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday.

-It's bedtime.

-Goodnight.

Busy bee!

I've been super busy so its been a few days since I've written.  Mike and I went home this weekend and it was nice to get back to Waynesboro and see my family.  I've missed them!  Monday was a long day with class from 9-1 and again from 2-8.  During our lab we practiced male and female genital exams on actual actors and actresses which was such a great experience.  The male and female I had made me feel very comfortable and taught the exams very well.

Today I had class from 9-4, talk about a long day!  I'm looking forward to the rest of the week because my classes start to level out and I do not have as many.  Mondays and Tuesdays are my long days and then the rest of the week is much less of a load.  Now it's time to catch up and keep up!! Keep me in your thoughts, September is jam-packed!

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go...

Sigh.  I have loads of work to do.  I think it seems so overwhelming because I'm trying to cram it all in today.  I am heading home this weekend and would much rather spend time with my family than knee deep in books/work/papers.  I have missed my family so I am excited to see them!  Sorry so short, not much to report!


"do not go where the path may lead. go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -ralph waldo emerson

Labor Day.

What a BEAUTIFUL weekend!  Mike and I spent the long weekend in Bumpass, VA at his parent's house.  They live on the lake so we had a great time going out on the boat and jet skis.  We couldn't have asked for better weather.  It was nice to escape the busy DC life. 
   And now another week starts....tomorrow I have two midwifery classes so I am excited about those.  Wednesday I have a research class, Thursday I am off and Friday I have a class 8-4.  So this week shouldn't be too bad. Hopefully.... :)

Franker after going for a swim in the lake!

We seriously didn't plan the matching outfits! :)

Mike on the jet ski!

TMI (too much information)

Yesterday I had orientation from 9am-3:30pm.  Talk about a long day!  We recieved information on EVERYTHING.  They even did a small discussion on options for us to continue our education AFTER our Master's!!  Um helloooooo? I need to get through this year first!! Haha.  We got papers and packets and words and explanations and answers to questions and stress for our brains, etc etc etc.  We did learn that we will be traveling to San Antonio, TX from May 23rd-28th for the Annual Nurse Midwifery Conference which is pretty cool.  What's not so cool is that it's another cost to tack on to my already lengthly graduate school bill!  Today I just have graduate school orientation from 2pm-4pm which is followed by wine and cheese (finally, things are looking up! :). I am glad today is short because I have oodles of work to do before Friday comes.
   Friday will be the first day of my health assessment class.  This week we are learning about the male and female genitalia (even though we will be primarily dealing with females as midwives, we still have to learn basic assessment of males).  I will then have the lab portion of this class on Saturday (stinks, doesn't it?).  It is because I normally have it on Monday but because Monday is Labor Day, we had to fit it in then......poo.  So, during lab on Saturday we will be practicing actual male and female assessments such as breast, pelvic, testicular, and prostate exams!  Nothing like jumping in right away!  Mike made the comment to me--'uhh how do you know what you're doing already?' (my feelings exactly). And I laughed and said, 'Oh you know, I'll learn it all Friday and I'll be an expert by Saturday!'  Hahahaha...well, let's hope.  It's pretty cool though because Georgetown brings in actors and actresses who actually show us how to do the exams on their own personal bodies.  Therefore, we won't be practicing on each other (thank goodness) or on dummies, we'll actually get real human, hands on experience.  Pretty cool isn't it?  (Although most of you might think, how can one get excited about this?? haha)
  Tomorrow marks the first day of class.  I have pathophysiology from 9a-1p.  This is the one class I am nervous about because I had a hard time getting into it during undergrad.  Luckily I will have most of my prep work done for Friday's health assessment class that I will be able to review tomorrow's patho class on Thursday.  That is becauseThursday is my off day!!!! Atleast for the month of September until clinicals start.  Technically it shouldn't be considered an off day but a 'catch up on your work/study' day (I'm sure mom and dad will enjoy that name change :)
  Well, I am going to begin studying the female genitalia!! wooo hooo! Keep me in your prayers; this month is going to be intense!

<3