Tuesday Thoughts....

I spent my Labor day in the rain.....the POURING down rain.....covered in dye....with my friend.
I would like to take this time and thank my co-workers for, once again, talking me into something that is supposed to "fun" that ended up being not so fun....I need to stop listening to them. I am still having nightmares of the river at Mud Mania.  It was one of those "sounded like a good idea at the time" moments.
Some of us at work did The Color Run in Birmingham. It was suppose to be "fun". They even call is "the happiest 5k on the planet".....it was more like "the biggest wet t-shirt contest on the planet" Unfortunately because it was raining so bad I dont have any pictures to show you. We didnt want to risk our phones in the rain.  It wasn't pretty. I am sure, if it would not have been storming, it would have been alot of fun. I could have even had fun in a drizzle, But the pouring down rain, changing my wet clothes in the parking lot behind a towel, and riding home with no dry undergarments in my reach....not my idea of fun. But like I said, rain aside...it could have been fun and we would have stayed to enjoy it because they had music and dancing and pictures and all that cool stuff, and maybe in my younger years I might have not cared. But I embraced the rain long enough to endure the run it self and got the heck out of there! Thanks again to the Reeds (Camille's bro and sister-in-law) for letting me spend the weekend with them and their families! It was so sweet of them to let me stay with them in their new home.

I have had an interesting week at work, although I can't go into details there is never a dull moment in L&D....totally lives up to my favorite quote from the ever famous Dr. Malone  "Labor and Delivery consist of hours of bordom followed by sheer moments of terror" totally describes my work week. Even after 2 years I am still trying to learn to let things go when it comes to my patients, and just be the best nurse I can be for them.

Eric started with his new class about month ago. He has a cute little class that already loves him....he has already come home with some stories and sickness. To which he so kindly passed on to me.

I am still in the midst of my half marathon training. Due to me being very sick last week I only got 2 runs in because I couldn't get out of bed except to go to work. We are suppose to do 8 miles on saturday.....I am scared, but trying to mentally prepare myself. I know it has to be done to make it to 13.1. I still shudder every time I say "13.1" Again....Sometimes I have no idea what I was thinking. But alas! I have paid, so I will run.....or die while doing it!

 I just have to say, that I can not stand when people feel the need to correct your spelling on Facebook.....it REALLY annoys me. I know I am not a good speller, or what I type may not always be grammatically correct....but there is such a thing as auto correct on my phone that sometimes takes over my typing and I dont double check before posting.....also last time I checked I graduated college 2.5 years ago and I am not writing a college paper...And yes I did got to college so I should be grammatically correct and know how to spell....but last time I checked I got a degree in nursing, not teaching. Plus, may I add that my "New Teacher of the Year" husband misspelled a word on our Christmas card last year...it happens is my point. To everyone. So stop. Or I will delete you :)...Just saying. If it annoys you that much, just hide me. Wheew.....glad I got that off my chest! I feel better now.

I must now get up and unpack from this weekend and do some laundry. Hope everyone had a safe labor day!!! One the bright side most of you only have 4 work days this week....I still only have 3 ;) they joys of being a nurse!

Fill in the blank Friday....on Monday...as usual

I always forget to go look at Lauren's blog on Friday to fill out the blanks...So I always end up do this on Monday. Typical. 

So here they are!

1.  I am   a Jesus follower, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a nurse, cupcake lover  .

2.   I have always    loved going new places. It must come from all the traveling I did as a child. It's the Army brat in me  .

3.  I hope to    one day be a mommy.

4. I can    take my arms linked behind my back and bring them to the front without disconnecting them...true story. I can delivery a baby

5. I dream of    being a mom, having a wonderful relationship with my children taking them places and doing things with them, and running a marathon.

6. The way to my heart is   through acts of service. I love it when I come home knowing there is stuff that I have to get done and Eric has already done it.

7.  I am passionate about   my job. I may complain about it, or have a bad day, but I LOVE what I do. I love being able to give new mommies the birth experience they dreamed of. I thank them for allowing me to be apart of such a special part of their lives .

26 things

Eric's birthday is Saturday! He will be 26...hard to believe we have been together since he was 18....almost 10 years!! Wow! So for Eric's birthday I am going to write 26 things I love about him! I am doing it today because I work tonight and will probably forget tomorrow =)

26. He has gotten better about trying new foods and new places to eat.
25. He watched all of my trashy tv with me (he even gets into it sometime)
24. He takes care of all the icky stuff around the house that I can't stand to do (ie trash, dishes, bugs)
23. He mows the grass.
22. He is decent at a few different sports, which is good because I want our kids to be well rounded.
21. He loves Disney world
20. If there is a deal to be made, Eric can find a way to make it. He is great to take when you are buying a car, or tv
19. When I was in high school he came to all 4 of my dinner theatre shows, and most of the football games. He even wore a shirt that said " I am with the white girl on Color Guard" to all the football games. It was pretty much the coolest shirt ever!
18. He likes my 3rd love.....Harry Potter. He will watch them over, and over, and over again with me.
17. He cried the day we got married =)
16. He will find the good in someone before the bad
15. He gives people the benefit of the doubt.
14. He goes through phases with food...its funny to me. Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, wheat thins, swiss cake rolls ect....right now its chocolate milk =)
13. Eric has a totall "go big or go home" attitude.....he cant do something small. It has to be bigger and better then everything else
12. He only excepts the top of the line...this can be a good or a bad thing
11. He pretty stylish
10. He can grill pretty much anything
9. He loves our Knox and Ellie...and they love him
8. He always tells me dinner is good...unless its just not
7. He is a morning person....lord knows one of us has to be
6. He can't wait to be a daddy
5. He can make me laugh...no matter what.
4. He can pretty much talk to ANYONE! Which can come in handy sometimes
3. He loves children....and they love him
2. He loves his parents
1. He loves Jesus, and prays for our family all the time.

extra for good luck: He helps people remember the most important times in their lives through his pictures.

There you go!! Happy Birthday Eric! Hope you have a wonderful day!!

Soo.....

Soo... I have never really been the type to put every bit of my business out to the public on Facebook...I usually just tell the people who need to know or ask and leave it at that. But since people have been curious and asking questions I thought it would just be easier to just try to answer all the questions in one place.
  Recently I went to my normal GYN appointment and had my normal exam, with the normal blood work drawn and everything looked normal. Later I got a phone call from my midwife....(want to be honest, my heart skipped a beat and I almost didn't answer it because I think I would have been in a state of shock if she were to tell me I was pregnant, even though I knew there was a slim chance of this being true) she told me that everything was normal, I was not pregnant(sigh) but that my platelets were low. My first thought was not really a big deal right now, it's just low platelets.  But she went on to tell me it may not be a problem now, but it would be a problem when I did decide to get pregnant. Just for thoughs who dont know, a normal level is 150, mine at this time were 86. She suggested I get a redraw in a month or so with a primary doc (which I had still failed to find a primary doc after leaving Martin Army), mentioned the fact that I might have ITP, ideopathic thrombocytopenia purpura. Basically for one reason or another my body destroys my platelets. Finally went and saw a primary physician, went through any other possible signs and symptoms, drew some more labs, called me back a week later and told me my platelets were up, but still low at 107, and that they were going to refer me to an oncologist/hemtologist at John B. Amos.
 That brings us to yesterday. I knew I would be having several blood test done so I brought Eric with me because I don't handle my own blood very well (crazy thing is I deal with others blood all the time and it never bothers me) When we went and talked to the doctor, he basically explained the diagnosis of ITP, that is is a excluding disease basically you rule out every other cause for low platelets, then you come the the diagnosis of ITP. Another issue they are looking at is if my blooding clotting properly, and if not then why. The main things that could be the cause would be Leukemia, or lupus, along with some other things. I AM NOT showing ANY signs of any of this, nor does the doctor think this is the cause, but like I said, to rule it out as a cause. I have been tested for this in 2008 and tested negative for all of this. I don't want anyone to think I have this. Is it a possibility, I guess, but the doctor says there is a 5% chance. I am not worried about it, so therefore I don't want anyone else to either. In my opinion there is no reason to worry about something that I don't think I have to begin with. If something secondary comes up will deal and treat what needs to be treated.
 I think when the doctor mentioned the secondary causes, it freaked Eric out a little. It's a little scary when a doctor says they are testing you for cancer, but reassuring when they say there is a small (very small.....like VERY SMALL) chance.  Anyways, 3 hrs and 12 tubes of blood later, I have to go back in 3 weeks for a follow up and find out the results. The great news is my levels are not so low that's have to be put on steroid treatment. He said I would even be safe enough to go into surgery if I needed it. So as long as there is no other underlying cause, I will be fine. We will deal with the issue during pregnancy when the time comes. I want to be as healthy as possible before getting pregnant, which is the main reason I wanted to get checked now. I appreciate all the concern and prayers. It seems as if we scared some people, which was not our intention at all, just asking for prayers. If we scared you, because you had no idea, we do apologize. We are of course praying that all of the test will come back negative as we expect them too. I feel great, I am still running every week ( even if it is a walk/run), and feel completely normal.
Like I said thank you to all who have thought about me and prayed for us. I'm truly blessed to have this many people think of me!

Just a little randomness....

Haven't written in a while so I figured I would throw on out there for ya, you know for all those readers out there that are just sitting at their computers waiting to read the profound thoughts I have running through me.

• I am struggling with my addiction to coke....it's bad. I see one, I want one. I hear someone open one, I want one. I eat pizza, popcorn, pretty much anything....and I want one. I have only had 1 in 8 days after the hellacious 5k on Friday night and that point I felt so bad that water would have just not been enough, and since I dont drink I indulged in a coke. 
• I want Chill....like EVERYDAY!!! 
• I am craving chocolate all the time. I even resorted to melting the chocolate syrup (that had been in my fridge probably since we got married) and put it on my strawberries for desert tonight...not the healthiest thing in the world....but its cheeper then driving all the way to chill, paying for chill, and driving all the way home. If I were rich I would install my own personal frozen yogurt machine in our house...true story. 
• Speaking of our house we just celebrated a year in our home. YAY us! The financial obligation of a home is more the I expected but worth it at the same time. It makes Eric and I talk about the finances, which I think is essential in a marriage.
• I have been saying that I needed to find a summer camp for Eric to go to this summer to occupy his time....well he found it, golf. He seems to always to go for expensive hobbies....started off with his car when we first started dating...then it was hunting, photography, computers, now golf....whatever! Atleast he has something to do!
• I like the show Sister Wives. I find it interesting, although I could never have a sister wife or be a sister wife. 
• I love our youth at our church. I love our church in general, but I love our youth. Mostly because I have changed the diapers of about 4 of them. They are more committed, and helpful, and generous then I have seen our youth in a long time. I watched them serve the neighborhood around our church so unselfishly. If you dont know anything about my church, it is located on 2nd ave, and in a low income, high crime area. Alot of the people are not necessarily clean, fed or up kept. But they put themselves aside and served these people who had a need. I wish I could have been that open to serve at that age. I was just not up for it at that age. I also realized looking around that this was alot of my patient population at my job. People dont realize that most of the women that our having children are not married, and already living under the poverty level. Lots of opportunity to serve!
• Knox is obsessed with Eric....this morning he wouldn't even eat his breakfast till Eric got out of bed...
• Eric just asked if we had any chocolate... a man after my own heart!!
• Had a platelet issue lately that has concerned me...they have been really low. Had to go and get a redraw last Monday and they were up to 107!! PTL! YAY! Still waiting to see if my doctor wants me to see a specialist but I am happy its not so low I am in true danger at the moment.
• BTW I post my runs on FB not so you can see it and know I am exercising, or to get attention (although the encouraging comments are welcome =) I am doing for my own motivation...dont hate. If it annoys you then hide me...its ok. It's not like I will know anyways. Plus I find it funny that the same people that say it annoys them post the same kind of stuff too.

Hope everyone has a good week!! Glad I dont have to get up early in the am, even though I have to work Monday night. Looking forward to my lunch with my Korean mom Tuesday!

Day 732!!!

732.....thats how many days we have been married!! 2 years ago today,  after 3 years of planning and 5 years together, I walked down the aisle to my handsome, CRYING groom. =) He will never live that crying thing down.... it was sweet though and part of our day that I will never forget.
Take it from someone who watch all of her friends have boyfriend after boyfriend, while I couldn't even get one guy to like me, thought I would be 30 before I got married....To get married at 22 and have my husband cry at the sight of me walking down the aisle was priceless. Not to mention it made all of my friends jealous....in a good way.
In our second year of marriage we bought our house, got our precious dog Knox(who decided this week that along with the tv remotes and shoes that the couch cushion sounded like a good thing to chew up at the time.....we still love him though) learned a few lessons about money, and a few other life lessons. Eric settled into a job he loves and got some cool recognition along the way.

In the next we have some exciting things planned!! I am doing my first half marathon in November. Hoping to also go on another trip or 2.....and go sky diving....you read that right. I am calling it my mid20's crisis!! (you know instead of a midlife crisis??) I dont even know if a mid20s crisis exist but everyone keeps telling me that I should do a few exciting things before children...these are just a few of the things I would like to do .... if I am going to jump out of a plane my mother said I needed to before I have kids.....I think I will listen to her... Happy Annaversary Eric!! I love you Pookie Bears!!! To many more!

I am married to the BEST New Teacher of the Year!!

A couple of months ago Eric came home and told me that his peers had nominated him for New Teacher of the Year. He came home a few weeks ago and told me that he had been nominated to the top 4! I didn't even know this award existed! Last night he was chosen out of the top 4 for the award! We were so proud! He worked so hard!

 I can't even believe he is done with his first year! I feel like yesterday we were just hoping he would get a job after several weeks of nothing, even being brushed off by one principle that told him she didn't hire new teachers at her school. Well, last night when we got his award, the lady's signature was on his award. Touche! She apparently had no idea who she let walk out her door.
I knew Eric would be a great teacher, I mean lets face it, Eric is a child himself. But more then just that. I rarely hear teachers talk about their students the way Eric does (no offense to any of my teacher friends, I guess I am a little particle). Every where we go he tells people about his students. He genuinely loves those kids and wants them to succeed not to make him look good, but to make them better. Most of all he defends them, and I have never heard him say anything bad or mean about them. I think every child deserves to have a teacher that loves them, defends them, see potential in them, and believes in them.
  He had six kids leave, six more new kids come. He has had a few with some challenges and one that could barley speak english when she started. When he came home and told me all of this at the beginning of the year I thought he was in over his head, that this was going to be a rough year. But I underestimated him. He embraced it and took it in stride and that child who could barely speak english at the beginning of the year is now reading on almost a 3rd grade reading level. He did the impossible and made reading FUN!! I hated reading until I was in high school. These kids are in the first grade and reading chapter books!! I didn't pick up a chapter book till I was in the 4th grade!! He got 16 iPod touches, and 6 iPads funded for his classroom, as well as hundreds of books, along with some of our own money to make sure the kids had the books they needed for the year. He also had almost every child in his class pass their CRCT.
Overall I believe that he deserved this award. I didn't know the other teachers that were nominated, but I am sure they were great teachers mostly because they were nominated.
I am so proud of him! I still can't believe its almost summer break! I am still accepting any ideas for summer activities for Eric!! =) He is going to be terrible bored. I am afraid one day I will wake up and my house will be some crazy color, or my kitchen table painted black, or a new animal in my house. Who knows! We will start in a few weeks preparing his classroom for the next year.
Thanks to everyone who congratulated Eric and supported us in our careers. We could have done it without the support of our parents through out our college years!
Way to go Eric! I love you pookie!!