Why, hello there.

Much to the behest of my husband, here I am writing a blog post. 

Confession: I am a terrible keeper of memories. 

Justin and I have had at least 9874525374 conversations in the past few months regarding this here little blog o' mine - mostly him reminding me that many years from now, when I want to remember what was going on at this point in my life, I will smack myself in the rear for not documenting things. 

And he's right.

Right now I'm married. 

Have been for nearly three years (!). 

My husband went back to college for pre-requisites for medical school.

He already has been accepted into the incoming class of a particular school for fall 2012 (yay!). 

I'm also in college. 

Again.

However, I've traded my Spanish literature textbooks for stethoscopes and scrubs in pursuit of a future in nursing.

I also worked for nearly two years at the local hospital as a receptionist, navigating my way into the world of healthcare and all that it involves, only to end up back at my alma mater in search of earning a BSN. 

That job ended this past January, when I literally could not fit in enough hours of the day to keep working that job along with a full-time academic schedule.

So, I started working at a retail store downtown...and I love it.

We also happen to live downtown in a loft - and it. is. AWESOME (I share this feeling with Justin on a nearly daily basis).

Justin and I have weekly "donut dates," during which we walk to a local coffee shop / bakery / restaurant, order coffee and a baked good / breakfast food, do a little devotions, and catch up with each other. 

Sometimes we also walk our dog down the streets of downtown late at night when nobody else is around.

Due to my schedule and lack of extra time to cook, my beloved 6qt Crockpot has become one of my greatest material possessions. 

That's just the general idea of life these days. Sadly, I've really missed out on documenting the little memories that are too soon forgotten because I haven't been keeping up on this blog. I know I've written several times about making theme posts, writing on a more regular basis, etc. but I haven't followed through. 

as of late

What have I done since I last posted?

Oh, what a complex question.

First and foremost, a HUGE ENORMOUS GARGANTUAN CONGRATULATIONS to my husband on his acceptance into medical school! Talk about a sigh of relief for us and our future... It was such a big weight off our shoulders to finally and officially know that by this time next year he will for sure be a first year medical student. Although this may not be where he ends up going, it's still such a relief to have an option at all. He found out last night when we were both at work. When he called me after receiving the good news from the dean of admissions himself, it took all I had inside of me not to start screaming my head off and sobbing tears of utter joy right there in the very public, extreme echo-inducing lobby at my desk - though I did find out that my mother-in-law screamed enough for the two of us combined and then some when she got the news in the privacy of her own home.

Second, I successfully finished my first (and possibly last...) marathon! I say last not because the race itself deterred me from considering doing another, but rather the intense amount of training that went into preparing for the big event. While the whole experience on the actual day was incredibly fun, challenging, encouraging, motivating and positive, I'm not sure I can mentally deal with the preparation aspect again anytime soon. I told Justin maybe I'd do Chicago or something big in the future, like when I'm done popping out offspring and have fallen into a mid-life crisis of some sort...or maybe just once I'm done with nursing school. Anyway, I accomplished my goal: to finish. And finish I did after four hours and seven minutes of running with about a 9:30 minute/mile pace! That day it was like I was walking on clouds. The few days following, on the other hand, were like I had never walked in my life - hilarious to see, I'm sure, NOT so hilarious to experience. Knees buckling, with a gait like I'd just gotten off riding a horse for days on end....not a pretty sight.

Speaking of nursing school, that is what has mostly taken up my time since I last posted! While my nightly routine of bursting into tears from the overwhelming stress taking over my entire life finally subsided after the first month of the semester, that's not to say I haven't had a few freakouts here and there since then. Between going to lectures and lab every day, studying for exams, doing homework, attending study sessions, working on projects/assignments outside of class and going to field placement PLUS working three 8-hour shifts every week, it's no wonder I find myself either dreaming of my work phone's ringtone and everything seeming to take place in our school's science center. Yeah, I'm a nerd!

Justin's schedule hasn't been too friendly with him, either, as evidenced by this. I will say those doughnut dates truly are the BEST - I highly recommend them to any couple whether or not your lives are so hectic that you only see your spouse for a few minutes at best each day. We'll have to see if we can keep those up come med school...

So I'm hoping to come back to this a little more regularly than I have been the past couple of months. Regularly meaning at least more than one post in two months. After all, how else am I going to remember in the future what life was like now if I don't have anything to look back on? Wasn't that the whole point of starting this blog in the first place? Yes, I need to get back at this.

It's time get back to chasing some peonies.

NPR

just a quickie

I hate to say it, but blogging is going to be just about the last thing on my list of what I have to do for at least the next few months. School began last week and already I've broken down crying from all the stress of presentations, quizzes, homework and studying that is rapidly piling up and filling in the spaces of my planner. I know that earlier I wrote about doing posts regarding moving, our new apartment, backpacking and other summer events, but it looks like I will just not be getting to that. Never did I imagine that I would be as busy just with classes as I find myself now.

It'll be worth all this hard work in the end...right?

So, who knows when the next post will come. Maybe once I feel settled and into a schedule of things, I can get my blogging booty back in gear. There is so much I'd love to write about! However, we'll just have to wait and see.

Until next time...

 NPR

this post is not exciting

Yesterday I hoped to write a huge long post outlining the past few weeks, chock-full [ ...chockfull? Chockful? Chock full? Spelling, anyone? ] of photos and whatnot, but alas, I felt totally uninspired and devoid of motivation after a slightly irking incident involving UPS and my textbooks [ which turned out to be my own fault after all - cue tears of embarassment and shame... ].

So here's my little update to say that I'm still alive.

Our apartment isn't quite completely organized yet, but at least we only have about two or three more boxes to unpack and put away! And then despite slipping on a hill two miles from the end [ and straining / spraining my wrist in the process ], I survived the backpacking trip up north. I also managed to successfully stand up in my friend's wedding even on less than six hours of sleep and feeling more than slightly lightheaded and quite warm at least twice during the ceremony.

Boom.
There.
Update: done.
Just kidding.

I'll get pictures and a more detailed post up later this week. Justin and Josh are way ahead in the game with their fancy shmancy [ but not negative Nancy! That was dumb. Sorry. ] edited photos and lengthy posts, but I will catch up! Advanced apologies for repeats, though.

NPR

P.S. On a random note, everyone needs to go out and read Tina Fey's book, Bossypants [ click the link for the NY Times review ], right now. Seriously. Once you get past all the swear words [ 'cause there are lots in there ], it's absolutely hilarious. I finished it in a day and a half. Read it. You won't regret it.

"If you can see this, my invisibility cloak isn't working."

It's the end of an era, as people are saying.

Look how much they've changed!



[ Amy has a much better display of all things Harry Potter in her latest posts, my favorite being the age comparisons of key characters ]

Upon leaving work at about 9:05pm last night, I zipped right on over to the McDonald's to pick up two of their [ absolutely fantabulously delicious ] caramel mocha coffees for Justin and me with hopes that the caffeine would carry us well into the wee hours of the morning. After that, I rushed home to take out and feed the dog, change into comfy clothes [ which were not part of some sort of costume ], gather our candy and drinks for smuggling into the theater, triple-check that I had our will call ticket retrieval information and impatiently excitedly awaited Justin's arrival home. Around 9:48pm I heard his garage door open then in a flash at 9:57pm we were off. And here's a perk to living in a smaller city - we were in the movie theater's [ already jam-packed ] parking lot less than ten minutes later.

Copycat: Awkward & Awesome

I've been a silent [ read: non-commenting ] follower of The Daybook for quite a while now. The author, Sydney, is super cute and super fashionable and gives me outfit inspirations for when I have to work, which is pretty much the only time I ever wear put-together outfits...well, that plus church. That's right - for all of you that see me every other Saturday and on my days off, no, I do not just wear old high school / college t-shirts and Nike running shorts paired with my oh-so-stylish flip-flops... I am capable of looking like a respectable person of society with clothes intended for occasions other than exercising and housework.

Anyway, Sydney also does this comical thing of posting "Awkward and Awesome" situations that happen to her on a weekly basis and then shares them each Thursday. Every time I read them, I think to myself, "Does anything that weird / interesting / sweet-awesome-fantastic happen to me that consistently?" Usually the answer is no. However, this past week I noted a few things out of the ordinary, so I just had to share...

Awkward

1) Taking our trash out. Now, I know you're all thinking that this is just an everyday, no-brainer chore where you just walk the can down the street and leave it to be picked up on a weekly basis blah blah blah. But let me inform you of this: living in the church's house and having to walk [ or drive if we're exceptionally wasteful that day ] across the entirety of the parking lot in order to fling the bag(s) into the giant dumpster conveniently located next to the nursing home [ the church's next door neighbor ] staff's preferred smoking location generates a few confused / judgmental / entertained / just-plain-weird looks.

2) Having to literally yell to the hard of hearing elderly (wo)man if (s)he needs a wheelchair in the already echo-inducing-at-the-sound-of-a-whisper lobby from my desk. This also generates several confused / judgmental / entertained / just-plain-weird looks.

3) The temperature of our house during these summer days, which hovers around 80-85 degrees by mid-afternoon. Stepping out of the shower and sweating just from toweling off is not pleasant.

4) Playing phone tag with the sales rep from Crowne Motors regarding my gas cap replacement. Not nearly as amusing as it is with a friend. "Hi, this is Nicole, guess I missed you! -awkward pause- Just calling you back about that gas cap, he he... -awkward pause- Soooo call me back when you get the chance. Bye!"

5) Getting home after a full day at work only to discover the second button on your blouse has been undone for who knows how long. Thankfully you wore a tank underneath but yikers!

Awesome

1) Five weekends off in a row!!! Working every other weekend sure is a drag, but with switching shifts around and using PTO wisely, I can enjoy part of June and nearly every weekend during the month of July NOT sitting a desk, hating the world and wishing I were anywhere but there.

2) How I spent my day yesterday = successful 6 mile run to jumpstart the day + trip to the pet store with my little family + laundry drying on the line outside + lying in the sun with my little pupper + a Speedway Coke slurpee + short but sweet meet-up with my mom-in-law + cooking up a storm with Friends in the background [ as always ] + falling asleep with the fans strategically placed by my sweet husband to allow for the maximum amount of airflow through the room as possible

3) Biking to work today with minimal amount of sweat upon arrival - much better than when drops were literally running down my leg...

4) Having my hours reinstated at work - as much as I don't particularly enjoy what I do, I enjoy the money that generates as a result of it to pay our bills.

5) The fact that only nine more days stand between me, Sarah and the lovely, completely live voice of Josh Groban! The past two times we've attended his concerts they've involved singing onstage with him as part his backup choir and having him hold Sarah's hand as he serenaded her. We can only imagine what this next concert has in store for us...

6) The weather predictions for this weekend - Saturday: sunny, 0% chance precipitation, 87 degrees = beach; Sunday: 30% chance of storms = good excuse to stay inside snuggling, baking and watching movies

NPR

Reclaiming

Okay, let's get real here. I've been feeling anxious this past week, stressing out about how I need to do a blog post and make it interesting so people will read it - take and edit and include some pictures, link to some forums for our Nikon or for fellow non-traditional students out there, post a link on Facebook with some witty summary to entice more readers, etc. I was looking at all these other blogs I follow that have a common theme so then I started obsessing about figuring out a theme for this thing...Crafting? Well, if copycatting everybody else's ideas could count then okay, but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't fly. Fashion? I'm almost positive nobody is interested in my daily t-shirt / running shorts / Teva sandals combination. Cooking / baking? I can hardly multitask with food preparation in the kitchen, much less attempt to photograph the process. It was getting to the point where I finally took a step back and said to myself, "Is this really what it's all about?"

No, no it's not.

I got caught up in the blogisphere [ it's a word, trust me ] and started focusing way too much on imitating other people's blogs rather than just making this what I intended it to be - for me and whoever in my life cared enough to read the crazy / jumbled / spontaneous / boring / exciting / ho hum thoughts of my day-to-day life. It's not about gaining readership or making money off ads or showcasing my [ albeit mediocre ] photography abilities. I may not lead the most interesting of lives, but I'd like to be able to look back on this one day and fondly remember where I was and what I was doing at this point in my life.

So, I'm reclaiming Chasing Peonies. It won't stress me out to write. It won't make me panic when I realize I haven't updated in over a week. It won't make me feel bad when I check my stats and don't see a high number. It won't it won't it won't.

Alright, it may [ and probably at times will ]. However, I will strive to just let this be what it is and progress in the way I feel most inspired. Sure, I'll still link it to Facebook. Yes, I might eventually post on a forum or two if I write about something super duper cool that I think may interest fellow nursing students or some other specific group of people. BUT I'm in no hurry right now nor do I have a certain timeline to do so. As my college apartment-mates would have said to me, "Calm the frick frack down!"

Whew, that's better now.

NPR