Another auld lang syne

It's December 31, 2009 and the time has come to recap the major events that happened during the year. What a year it has been. I can only hope that 2010 can be just as good as 2009, but hopefully it will be even better!

2009 began with the birth of David & Carrie's third child/my first nephew, Andrew. Deavin portrayed Jesus for Canaan's Easter drama and my God, what a beautiful Jesus he was. Deavin and I went to the beach with Daniel & his then-girlfriend, Amanda. We parasailed :) , made 5 AM Walmart trips, fell asleep on the beach, and listened to a brawl in the next room while laying on bunk beds in a hallway. We went to the Crawfish Boil and saw Everclear, Katy Perry, and All American Rejects. It was at the Crawfish Boil that we also got second hand molested on a ferris wheel with another couple. We went to City Stages and saw 38 Special, Styx, Doobie Brothers, REO Speedwagon, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Deavin, Ryan, Chad, and I made a trip to Six Flags - my first trip there since I was about 7. Daniel ran over Tigger, who had to have jaw surgery and looked absolutely pathetic for a few weeks. We floated down the Cahaba twice during the summer. I stopped going to PGUMC and started visiting Canaan. I visited Pleasant Hill for a few months during the summer. We put coffee in our hair to make it darker and mayonnaise in our hair to make it softer. We went to a Yankees-Braves games at Turner Field the same day that Michael Jackson died. I started the hell that is known as nursing school, and somehow survived my first semester with successful grades. The Yankees won the world series. Deavin proposed to me on November 7 at the University of Alabama's campus, the day of the Alabama-LSU game. I still stare at the ring constantly, and he somehow makes me love him more with each passing day. We spent the night of Thanksgiving camping outside of Best Buy in Hoover to buy new laptops, nearly freezing to death, but it was worth it. Alabama is the SEC champs and national champs of 2009.

So this is love...

These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive
And these are the moments I remember all my life
I have all I've waited for
And I could not ask for more

Green

Lately, if I were to be a color, I would be green. Alabama's headed to the National Championship game in Pasadena, California in January. And, of course, my dad and brother are booked to go. Needless to say, I am so jealous. It's not really the game that I am so desperate to see. Sure, I would love to see Alabama win their 13th national championship, but the real reason I am near crazy is that I have always wanted to visit California. Especially Los Angeles! Despite my family's tendency to be full of homebodies, I have somehow acquired an interest in traveling. I want to see things - everything! And California happens to be one of the tops on my list.

Yes, I know I will get there one day in the near future. I can't wait!

And just for fun, here are pictures of a few other places I plan to visit, in no particular order (Deavin, I hope you're ok with these) :



Sydney, Australia. This one is mainly for Deavin, but I am sure it is beautiful and I am also interested in visiting.


Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas


What life is complete without going to Vegas once?


Paris, France. Whether the natives bathe or not, I don't care.


Washington, D.C.


London, England. They probably win the award for cutest accent.


Napa Valley, California. I loooove vineyards.


New York City, New York. Been determined to go here since I was 12!

Of course, this list is incomplete and only reflects a few of the many places I hope to visit.

Happy year and a half

God had a plan for us the night He led me to Cottondale in 2008.

Here's to so many more years.

Oh, future nursing students

Dear future nursing students,
I know you are all so excited to be entering the oh-so-wonderful school of nursing this upcoming semester. Only a month away! You're attending your 3 days of God-awful orientation, scheduling your classes, and ordering those precious starch white uniforms. As you gather all of your cute nursing school belongings and have totes monogrammed with "UAB Nursing" on them, the current nursing students and all shaking their heads at you. Maybe some of us are even laughing. Because we know, unfortunately, this newness and excitement will soon wear off. And very soon it will be! You will quickly discover that most of your professors are in cahoots with the devil. You will fall asleep with those expensive nursing books in your bed. You will study for a quiz coming up the next day, only to fail it miserably because nothing on that quiz was even in your book. You will form a very close friendship with at least one person in your class...not that you have much of a choice in this matter. After all, you have to see that person half naked by the end of the semester to do your physical assessment on them. And about that physical assessment - the teachers will practically do anything to fail you. And failing simply means scoring below a 90%. Yes, in cahoots with the devil, indeed. You will meet your first patient and be petrified that you will break him or her, and think that your first day has to be the worst patient you could ever imagine. Ha. However, you will discover that your patients get harder and more difficult with much more complex situations as your semester progresses. You will question yourself and your intentions of becoming a nurse. Fear not- this is normal. You will also have some of your peers drop out because they spend more time taking pictures of themselves in their uniform than actually doing work. You will probably fail the medical dosage calculations test because the teachers themselves do not know how to perform simple math. You will cry. You will be irritated with at least 10 e-mails per day that essentially say nothing, but somehow ends up in giving you more work to do. You will cry, again. I hope you remember your anatomy and physiology. You're going to regret not coming to ES and asking for my help when you are learning how to test cranial nerves on patients. And we will get the last laugh. Enjoy your holiday break. I know you won't listen to me and just pretend like you will be the best nursing student ever. That's ok. You will see.

Just remember, this too shall pass. And if it doesn't, well...that sucks.

2009 SEC Champs

The Alabama Crimson Tide won the SEC Championship last night. I'm not sure what's better: Alabama winning or Tebow Almighty being humbled in front of the Georgia Dome and all of CBS's viewers.

The Ring

So, I like to show it...