Wednesday, October 29, 2008

So so busy...

I think I will be glad when October is over - Last week was missions conference week at church and while it is an amazing opportunity to connect with our missionaries and very inspiring, it's very tiring! Either at church or at school every night last week, including the weekend. This week I have 2 tests, a cold, and Trunk or Treat on Friday (but set up Thursday) and since I helped plan Friday nights festivities I have to be there with bells on haha I do get to dress up as Glenda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz, so that's a bonus :o)

This weekend I MUST catch up-on life! Laundry, at the very least... Study for my midterm and another micro test... I have orientation and training next week for the 2nd job I'm taking on - Macy's for seasonal hours- and would prefer to be a little ahead of my game before those hours begin. I am praying they will work with me on hours until my school is over - Just because the store will be open until midnight in the week doesn't mean I can be there that late! Oh, and a local out-door shopping district will be open at MIDNIGHT on Black Friday - Midnight! Because 4 am wasn't early enough?! What is wrong with people? I'm definitely not looking forward to working Black Friday as I know I will have to but Jon will be too so at least he won't be enjoying a day off either haha On the plus side, after putting some away for our taxes at the end of the year I can use my bonus towards getting some furniture for the house at a good discount! Yay! :o) - That is, if I survive long enough LOL

Saturday, October 18, 2008

1 step forward, 2 steps back

Good news first: Jon got a letter from the KCPD advising he is in the eligibility pool for the next academy class! They are not yet sure of the date (so it probably won't be November, awww) but they'll call him when they secure a date and go from there. Very exciting!

Bad news: I 'just so happen' to go to a Pampered Chef party today hosted by my first college roommate. Well it's been a very long time since we all truly caught up and she, our other roommate and her best friend, and I were talking and I mentioned where I was looking at going for the program. It took about half a second for them to tell me not to go there! Well I had forgotten they are admission reps for another career college in the area and they know lot more about stuff like this than I do. For instance, accredidation - apparently the school I was looking at is not accredited itself which means even if the program is, I won't be able to take those classes and move up in degrees (BSN, NP) without repeating classes. It makes sense that an accreditted school won't take courses from a non-accreditted school but I had no idea the school itself wasn't accredited!

So long story kinda short, my 'plan B' is now no longer a plan at all. Now I have to contact them Monday and cancel all the appointments I had lined up though at least now I don't have to worry about making up graduation/high school documents to prove myself to corporate (which was a big flag in itself). The silver lining to this, though, is the school my friends are reps for is actually opening their own BSN program in the spring and since I have connections I will know immediately when enrollment starts! I am determined for this to work somehow, somewhere. I know I'm supposed to be a nurse and apparently I'm going to appreciate my journey there greatly being as I'm having so many bumps along the way.

*sigh*

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Step by Step

Unfortunately not too much has happened since my last post but we're certainly growing in our patience and trust. Which I suppose is an important thing :o)

I'm making it step by step in school, one test at a time, one assignment at a time. Sometimes several at a time haha Doing surprisingly well in both and I'm so very grateful. I appreciate my husband being willing to lose time with me as I bury my head in books, the computer, and flash cards. After being put on Jewell's waiting list for the program in May I took a step back and realized not only had I been foolish in putting "all my eggs in one basket" as it were but I'd been making a BIG assumption regarding God's will.... I have no doubt that nursing is the track I should be on but I hadn't really taken much time to consider where to obtain that education. Well, I had but I also wanted to take the most efficient path possible which primarily left Jewell. I had a friend at my last university who went onto a one-year program (like I wanted) and loved the school. She's in the middle of that program now but I disregarded her opinion about the school and her suggestion to apply. I wanted to go back to Jewell, for the prestige and the solid reputation that comes with very good training. However, when I took a step back I realized Jewell was not necessarily the best place for me. I earned my first bachelors there but would it really be a good idea to go backwards to go forwards? There is perhaps too much 'bagage' at Jewell. So I applied and tested for my friend's school, Concorde, and stepped back knowing that I have explored more options and can sit back and wait. The testing there went better than at Jewell and I have one more interview to go but it's a 99% sure thing which feels good. That program would begin March 23rd, so a bit earlier than Jewell, and wouldn't be quite as stressful as it would be an associates rather than another bachelors. It will be easy to bridge to achieve the bachelors once I am working and the hospital will pay! I don't imagine everything will be completely official until after Christmas but I have complete peace that things will work out.

Meanwhile, we'd been wondering where Jon's call was from the police department for his last interview. He finally got a phone call at the end of September to schedule the oral boards with the commissioners! That was October 9th and it went very well. We're back to waiting but there is a small glimmer of hope there will be an Academy beginning next month but it's a fairly slim chance.... Thanks to the hiring freeze it will probably not be until spring, sometime around March (ironically) but it was a HUGE load off to know he is still being considered and a fair amount of confidence that at the very least we'll know one way or the other by the end of this month Jon's fate as it were.

We seem to be spending the second part of this year in a semi-permanent flux. I'm just eternally grateful to be experiencing it with my best friend. What better support system and shoulder to lean on than your spouse? As much as neither of us particularly like this whole experience it has definitely taught us who we're supposed to be relying on, reminding us we have very little control, and a time to grow in our own relationship. It is amazing to realize that as much as you want your own dream to come true, you would be willing to give it up for your spouse's dream to come true instead. Hopefully, both our dreams will come true and we will be able to celebrate together as our paths change together. Either way, no matter what happens, I know this will have been an experience we will continue to grow from and learn from for quite some time.