Today's the first day I feel like I've had off in a while, since I spent the last cluster of off-days worrying about and studying for that dang NCLEX. I decided to spend it not in bed, surprisingly enough! Yesterday was my 25th birthday, so I decided to pretend it was today instead (though it's notable to include that my family surprised me with dinner and cake and gifts when I got home last night, and it was totally awesome...so I guess I'll consider that a kickoff.)
ANYway, I followed Justin to Johnson City, and while he's taking his CPR class, I'm going to troll this fine city and do some hardcore window shopping to find a small birthday splurge (which I will purchase with my long-awaited first big girl paycheck!).
I think teenage EmilySarah would see me and want to be me one day--sundress-clad and tucked into an armchair at Starbucks, cooly typing on her boyfriend's iPad and mulling over what in the world to do with the whole free day ahead of her, intermittently distracted by tramp stamps and someone's half-finished, botched sudoku, Damien Rice playing in the background... That's certainly a sign that stuff's going the way it should. I'm SO going to get used to this.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Cake Balls
One of my school friends had a rather huge party to finish off nursing school. We're talking 10 pulled boston butts, a live band in the barn and beers as far as they eye could see! All we had to do was bring a side item and party on down. I decided to try my hand at cake pops, sans "pop." Drunk people roaming a farm leaving little white sticks everywhere? Nah. ...So this way they're eco friendly.
I hardly feel like this is a recipe...more of a how-to. BUT it's super easy and messy and can be done in spurts!
The Goods
1 cake mix (I did funfetti and red velvet)
1 tub of whatever frosting goes with the cake mix (funfetti and cream cheese, respectively)
melting chocolate (or white chocolate)
decorations (sprinkles! drizzle! icing!)
How-To
1) Make sheet cake. I guess you don't have to, but it cooks faster and cools faster, so...
2) COMPLETELY cool your cake and break it into chunks. Put it in a bowl.
3) Dump frosting into the bowl too! I added sprinkles for the funfetii, just 'cause.
4) Don gloves (you don't have to, but I wanted to not be sticky). Mush contents of bowl to a paste-type consistency. Mmm...
5) Form the cake paste into balls! Place on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. They're starting to to look like the real thing! Cover and refrigerate for several hours. I left them in there overnight, because I was tired of looking at them by this point.
6) Melt your chocolate according to its directions. Coat the balls and let them set.
7) Decorate liberally! Ta-da!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Change!
Hello! I'm happy to announce that for the next month or so I'll be posting not merely as EmilySarah but as EmilySarah Phillips, Registered Nurse Applicant (that's RNA for short, thanks)!
As if a new degree, a new job and a new dwelling place (soonish!) wasn't enough to wrap my head around right now, I decided to do something I never EVER do--I got my hair did (I think the last time I set foot in a hair place was in early 2008...yikes.). It's not like my hair's down to my knees or anything, I just learned, over time, to cut it myself. Why pay someone to do something I can easily do myself, right?
Because I was tired of my flat, almost wavy hair, and I can't do this without the help of a pro:
I think I like it. I'll know for sure when I wash it and style it myself. And since I took this photo after a windy evening of bonfire/cookout/barn party merriment and a toss-and-turn slumber, so it has to get better.
What I like almost as much as the curl itself is the surprise that the salon used an organic perm. It doesn't have the usual chemicals, so it's less harsh on my hair, and--the best part--there's no skunky nastiness following me for the next few days. Sweeeet.
As if a new degree, a new job and a new dwelling place (soonish!) wasn't enough to wrap my head around right now, I decided to do something I never EVER do--I got my hair did (I think the last time I set foot in a hair place was in early 2008...yikes.). It's not like my hair's down to my knees or anything, I just learned, over time, to cut it myself. Why pay someone to do something I can easily do myself, right?
Because I was tired of my flat, almost wavy hair, and I can't do this without the help of a pro:
I think I like it. I'll know for sure when I wash it and style it myself. And since I took this photo after a windy evening of bonfire/cookout/barn party merriment and a toss-and-turn slumber, so it has to get better.
What I like almost as much as the curl itself is the surprise that the salon used an organic perm. It doesn't have the usual chemicals, so it's less harsh on my hair, and--the best part--there's no skunky nastiness following me for the next few days. Sweeeet.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Holy Crap!
My nursing final is on Tuesday. Pinning is on Wednesday.
...how did this happen? And where was I?
I swear, yesterday it was snowing, and we were putting up Christmas decorations...and now I never have to go to a nursing lecture again? And my job pre-screening is TOMORROW?!?!
I don't believe it. Not one bit.
...And oh my god, I have so much to study.
...how did this happen? And where was I?
I swear, yesterday it was snowing, and we were putting up Christmas decorations...and now I never have to go to a nursing lecture again? And my job pre-screening is TOMORROW?!?!
I don't believe it. Not one bit.
...And oh my god, I have so much to study.
Monday, April 18, 2011
My Family FTW!!!
My mother went back to school when I was 14. She had always dreamed of being a teacher, and I like to think that I set that plan into motion when I was conceived. She was shortly thereafter ordered to bedrest and ended up quitting her accounting job to stay home and manage me. Just kidding...you know, mostly.
Long story short, she's now the most motivated, hardworking and inspiring teacher I've ever met. She alway goes to work early, stays late most days, adjuncts at our alma mater, tutors and teaches homebound students. We usually can't go grocery shopping without a student or parent hugging her and telling her what a difference she's made in their/their child's life.
For these and many, many more reasons, I'm so proud for her that her hard work has paid off in a way she hoped for but never expected: last Tuesday, my mother (and another lady) won the 2011 McGlothlan Award for Teaching Excellence.
I wasn't at the ceremony. I was at a graduation party that one of the healthcare corporations planned for the area's nursing students. They had casino games for us to play with fake money, and at the end of the night there was a blind auction. It just so happens that Justin is very good at black jack and won quite a bit of fake money.
As the auction started, a handful of people form our school gave him their money so someone we know would have a chance at winning something. Justin bid and won whatever prise was in envelope #5. He's now the happy owner of...an ipad.
With all the calling and texting back and forth about the good fortune of my family, I learned that my sister was at a concert that she'd won tickets to.
Good luck evidently really does come in threes!
Long story short, she's now the most motivated, hardworking and inspiring teacher I've ever met. She alway goes to work early, stays late most days, adjuncts at our alma mater, tutors and teaches homebound students. We usually can't go grocery shopping without a student or parent hugging her and telling her what a difference she's made in their/their child's life.
For these and many, many more reasons, I'm so proud for her that her hard work has paid off in a way she hoped for but never expected: last Tuesday, my mother (and another lady) won the 2011 McGlothlan Award for Teaching Excellence.
I wasn't at the ceremony. I was at a graduation party that one of the healthcare corporations planned for the area's nursing students. They had casino games for us to play with fake money, and at the end of the night there was a blind auction. It just so happens that Justin is very good at black jack and won quite a bit of fake money.
As the auction started, a handful of people form our school gave him their money so someone we know would have a chance at winning something. Justin bid and won whatever prise was in envelope #5. He's now the happy owner of...an ipad.
With all the calling and texting back and forth about the good fortune of my family, I learned that my sister was at a concert that she'd won tickets to.
Good luck evidently really does come in threes!
Monday, April 4, 2011
On the transition from person to healthcare professional
I started watching Grey’s Anatomy on my sister’s DVDs when I came home from college one summer. I remember being interested in how intelligent and collected the characters seemed as medical professionals, and I enjoyed the blend of awkward and steamy personal interactions.
You don’t understand how into musicals I was in college. And I think that’s the best way I can express that. Immediately, I thought back to the first time I watched the show.
But as I’m watching it, I find myself feeling really differently. I knew, when I saw the word, “musical,” it would be a neuro (or psych) show, which also peaked my interest. I watched, though, as the doctors did their assessment and rushed Callie to surgery. I wasn’t concerned for the character; I was thinking, “yep, that’s a neuro assessment.” And when the musical left Callie’s field of vision, I couldn’t help but be irritated. Why? Musicals, though I hate to admit it, aren’t realistic. If musical hallucinations happening, you have a lesion on your brain stem (usually from a stroke, abscess, trauma or a tumor) or you’re really old with hearing loss. And your friends aren’t going to sing this week’s Top 40. You’re probably going to hear a really familiar tune from your childhood or think that someone’s cell phone is ringing.
The way I think has changed dramatically in these two years, and that's an excellent thing most of the time. I hope, though, that I’ll eventually develop a sense of separation. I hope to find a way to regain at least part of the automatic nerdy excitement I would have gotten when I was 20 and The Chick From Spamalot was singing in some TV show. ...Here's hopin'!
I stopped watching Grey’s Anatomy…I don’t know, at some point. I got bored with how complicated the personal stuff got and how outrageous the medical situations were becoming. When I started nursing school, I’d make sure to catch an episode here and there so I’d have something to talk about with students, with clients. I caught the season finale with the shooter at the recommendation of Justin’s family. And I am in the process of catching the most recent episode right now. It popped up on hulu with the word “musical.” Ooooh!
You don’t understand how into musicals I was in college. And I think that’s the best way I can express that. Immediately, I thought back to the first time I watched the show.
But as I’m watching it, I find myself feeling really differently. I knew, when I saw the word, “musical,” it would be a neuro (or psych) show, which also peaked my interest. I watched, though, as the doctors did their assessment and rushed Callie to surgery. I wasn’t concerned for the character; I was thinking, “yep, that’s a neuro assessment.” And when the musical left Callie’s field of vision, I couldn’t help but be irritated. Why? Musicals, though I hate to admit it, aren’t realistic. If musical hallucinations happening, you have a lesion on your brain stem (usually from a stroke, abscess, trauma or a tumor) or you’re really old with hearing loss. And your friends aren’t going to sing this week’s Top 40. You’re probably going to hear a really familiar tune from your childhood or think that someone’s cell phone is ringing.
The way I think has changed dramatically in these two years, and that's an excellent thing most of the time. I hope, though, that I’ll eventually develop a sense of separation. I hope to find a way to regain at least part of the automatic nerdy excitement I would have gotten when I was 20 and The Chick From Spamalot was singing in some TV show. ...Here's hopin'!
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