Girls Day Out!

So I had emailed my mom a few days ago and talked about how crazy hectic things were here and how it has been a bit lonely since I don't really have a whole lot of friends or time to hang out with the friends I do have. I told her I missed being so close where I could just call her up and we could meet for lunch or go shopping, etc...
Well she emailed a couple days ago and said lets meet in Merrillville (about an hour from Chicago) for a GIRLS DAY OUT! Well, today was our day. We met about 11AM and ate at IHOP and ended up talking there for 2 or 3 hours. We decided we should at least walk around the mall-we did that and talked more and of course-hit our fav Bath and Body Works to stock up on some new stuff. Then we went back out to eat at Red Lobster and talked more! We had such a fun day. It was so wonderful to be able to just relax and talk and catch up on life. I miss my mom lots-she's my best friend and its hard being away. I know I am only in Chicago-what happens when we move to the mission field? Well, I know God will sustain me once we cross that bridge. For now, I am so thankful for GIRLS Day out and so thankful that God has blessed me with such a great mom. I couldn't ask for a better mom or a better best friend!

Chicago...

We have lived in Chicago for almost four years now. Not much has changed except for where the road construction is on the major highways. We have really enjoyed our time here so far and it has been quite a change from living in a small town. Here are some of great reasons to live in Chicago...
-Whatever corner you are standing on in the city, you can't be too far away from a coffee shop!
-There are tons of museums to go to and with a library card you can get in FREE!
-You can go see Blue Man Group for free if you do 15 minutes of ushering before the show!
-You never struggle to find something to do.
-Lake Michigan-although I wouldn't swim in it, it gives you a feeling like you are close to the ocean.
-There are no corn fields for miles (don't get me wrong, I like corn, but growing up in the middle of a corn field gets kind of old!)
-At any given point in the day, you can walk down the street and hear 5 different languages.
-You will never be wanting for food-Mexican, Japanese, Burgers, it doesn't matter, it is all right around the corner.
-Chicago Style Pizza-need I say more!!!
-Navy Pier
-The lakefront bike path-we ride this a lot during the summer. It's about 10 miles to ride from our apartment to downtown. It's great!
-Michigan avenue...not much more to say about that.
-Oprah's here!
-'Da Bears! No matter how bad they are any given year-you still watch them just because they're 'DA BEARS!
-The cheesecake factory!
-IKEA
As much as I love living in the city, there are many times I miss small town Indiana. I love going home. Indiana has a significant smell (not just the cow smell), and there are not too many places that have a sunset in the country in summer like Indiana. I love the city and I am happy we are here, but don't worry, I haven't forgotten my roots!

I PASSED!!!!

I finally got the results back from the Pathophysiology test I took on Wed and I passed with flying colors! I am so excited and SOOOO relieved. Thank you to all who prayed for me and encouraged me to keep going. Thanks. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This is so great!

I totally feel this way today. I have a BIG final test tomorrow in my Pathophysiology class that I must pass and do well on. If my pups knew how to pray I would have them praying too!

Patches the Horse

http://gprime.net/video.php/patchesthehorse

Another video for your viewing pleasure. It starts out a little slow, but towards the end gets funnier. Hopefully it adds some laughter to your life! Happy Saturday. It's sunny and warm here! YEAH! No snow, no rain...just sun. It's beautiful.

Stress, Stress, and more Stress

I know we all have stress, some people more than others. Some stress is brought on by the person and some people I guess are just put in stressful situations. Well, this week has been pretty stressful. I know being a nurse how bad stress is for a person. Some stress is good-but I think how much I am having right now...NOT so good!
I will spare everyone all the details of my week, and just hit highlights. If you get nothing out of this post, please just keep me in your prayers.
Well, I was scheduled to work 4 hour night shifts this week (you can count how many hours that is) as well as having a big Pathophysiology test on Wednesday. Because of the amount of time I worked (luckily I ended up working only 3, 12 hour shifts), I was not able to study very much, not much at all. Now, I did this a lot in undergrad and tests usually came out ok-I obviously did pretty well in undergrad and I think I am a pretty good nurse. However, I failed this test with a capital F! I know I am not a stupid person-but it has really made me think..."What was I thinking going back to get a master's?" I feel pretty confident in the direction God is leading both Joel and I. I even know He is in control. I really feel like this is what I am supposed to do-but it makes me feel pretty stupid!!! I don't like that feeling. OK, so that was alot of details. The other thing that happened was at work, let's just say they changed a policy where instead of having a transportation person take people to the "place where people go when they die in a hospital" WE now take them there. I will definetly spare you those details and just tell you that it was the most traumatic thing I have ever done in my life!
I apologize for this blog. I do not want to be depressing or sad, and I do not want to be offensive in how I word things. Again, I just ask for your prayers as well as ANY advice you have to combat stress.