Nouveaux vêtements (New Clothes! *And shoes!)

Birthday = Presents
Presents = Clothing and shoes
Clothing and shoes = cute!

So...without further ado, here are 3 of the 5 items mom and dad got me for my Birthday (I couldn't find pictures of the other ones online!)

CUTE floral skirt! I am in love this skirt! I absolutely adore the zipper detail on the front. It was love at first sight.

Well, mom and dad aren't a huge fan, but my sister and I love these shoes! They're SUPER comfortable and affordable at $39. Not too shabby for comfortable heels :)

Loving these black heels! I have a pair of wedge black heels, but they have definitely been worn to their max, so it was time for a new pair! These shoes are also very comfortable and were only $20! (The shoe pictured is dark brown, but mine are black.)

The other two dresses are from Target. The first one is a cute kimono style dress. It's purple with a "boho" print on it. Super light fabric and very comfortable to wear! The other dress is a flowery print that can be worn strapless or with the detachable straps. It has a ruffle on the top hem of the dress.

Thanks mom and dad for some fabulous gifts!!!

Other items I received: a massage from my sister, money from family, and The Blind Side from my aunt (Such a good movie! Go rent it if you haven't seen it!)

Thanks for a wonderful Birthday friends and family. I am so very blessed :)

Je suis vingt-deux (I'm 22)

As of two days ago, I turned 22 years old. Although I liked my year as a "crazy" (I say this lightly) 21 year old, I'm ready to turn 22. It's like something inside me clicked the moment the clock hit midnight, and I feel prepared to start "adulthood." (Again, I say this lightly).

Highlights of my 21st year of life:
1. Turning 21. Hello! This is huge for a college student!
2. Going into my first bar...it's always quite the experience. But also, getting to spend it with friends and  
    family :)
3. Finishing med/surge. Hey, it was tough!
4. Getting accepted into a nursing externship with a hospital in St. Louis, MO. I worked in the Labor and
    Delivery department. It was an amazing experience!
5. Starting Senior year. This is another big one for a college student.
6. Visiting a friend in North Carolina and getting to know his wonderful family.
7. Spending time with family over the various holidays. I love my family, and I'm so thankful that we're able
    to spend that quality time together.
8. Sharing in the excitement of at least 15 engagements for really good friends. I'm so excited for them!
9. Entering my last semester of college ever.
10. Getting placed in the Med-Neuro-Surgical ICU for my senior practicum. I learned SO much during
    those 180 hours! It was well worth losing my weekends.
11. Buying my cap and gown as I prepare for graduation.

Obviously I had a good 21st year. There were both ups and downs, but I'm thankful for every moment.

Turning 22 is even more exciting. There are going to be challenges and obstacles to overcome, but I'm ready to face them head on. This year, I'll experience "real life." My 22nd year is going to be filled with defining moments: graduation, my first real job, my first personal apartment, my first bills (I think I can hear mom and dad cheering now!), etc. I'm growing up. I feel like life has just begun and I can't wait to stand there and stare life in the face.

I'm SO ready. Bring it on.

Je suis terrible avec les mises à jour (I am terrible with updates!)

So...I know what you're thinking. Wow, Betsey, you suck at this whole blog thing. But...here I am! I finally have some more time to update.

However, honestly, there really isn't anything new in my life. I've been working on homework like crazy, studying for tests, applying for jobs, finishing my hours for my nursing practicum (I'm at 156!!! Only 2 shifts left!), going to a million meetings, watching 5 billion friends get engaged/married, and trying to have some fun during my last semester.

If I have anything to report, I guess it should be this:

I bought my cap and gown and graduation announcements. Scary right?

I'm SO not prepared for this. Graduation is less than 2 months away! How is that possible?? It seems like I just started college, and now I'll be walking across the stage in 53 days. Wowza!

I took a picture with my phone, but I don't know how to upload those photos, so I'll take one later.

No job yet. The search is still on. At this point I've applied to about 6 hospitals and probably 15 or 16 jobs. I'm hoping something comes along. I mean, I'm keeping my options pretty open. I've been applying for positions in: the NICU, labor and delivery, pediatric emergency services, ICUs etc. I really don't want to work on a med/surge floor, but I'm starting to think that that might be my best bet. I don't know. I just need to keep searching. Say prayers for me...it'd be nice to find a job!

La vie Après l'Université (Life After College)

So...I don't even know where to start...I guess I'll begin with my dilemma. I don't know what I'm going to do. I realize that this is the case with most post-college graduates, but I'm already terrible at making decisions (ask my family on this one...), so this is extra hard for me! I mean, this is quite possibly the biggest decision I will be making for a long time. It can affect the rest of my life. Seriously. So...I think I'll just start out with some pro/cons for current location options:

St. Louis, Missouri
PROS
-Home near family
-Lots of friends in STL
-Could live at home for a while so I could be financially stable
-I would be able to do the DNP program at Mizzou
-Already talked with a couple of friends about living together
-It's a comfortable environment
-Obtaining a nursing license would be so much easier in MO
CONS
-I'm too comfortable with it
-I want an adveture and going home wouldn't be too much of one
-The safest place to live is the suburbs and I want to live near people my age
-I would move home, whereas I'd love to be independent right off the bat
-A lot of hospitals are either on hiring freezes or aren't accepting applications until April/May (I would like to have a job by then!)
-Am I settling? Would I ever move away if I did just go to STL?
-Starting pay is less than Dallas
-I'd have to drive to and from work everyday--no public transportation

Dallas, Texas
PROS
-ADVENTURE!!!
-New city, new me
-I've already found a great area to live in: The Village. It's 14 apartment complexes in one big complex! It's huge and totally accessible to all major areas in Dallas
-I would live in hip downtown, which is actually safe
-I have a few friends there that would be willing to help me move/get my feet on the ground/search for jobs
-Lots of opportunities for internships (what nurses usually start with)
-Great starting pay for RNs
-There are graduate programs for nurses at Baylor Nursing School and University of TX-Arlington
-Trains run from the apartments to hospitals, so I wouldn't have to drive to work
-Cost of living is equivalent to STL (depending on where you live)
-Warm weather!! (Mostly year-round)
-Our good family friends live there, so I'd have a second set of parents right there
-Most hospitals will pay for me to move down there

CONS
-The DNP at Mizzou is so readily available, but I wouldn't be able to do it if I were in Dallas
-Would miss family and friends
-9 hour drive to and from STL
-Already turned down from internships because I'm not from Texas...it's almost a disadvantage that I'm not from Dallas
-I probably wouldn't have a roommate
-Might have problems making friends (maybe, maybe not)
-I would have to move everything down there
-Wouldn't be able to be close to family during holidays if I have to work
-I don't speak Spanish, which is a huge percentage of the population...I'd have to learn some.
-I'd have to figure out where and how to obtain a Texas nursing license

Houston, Texas
So...now one of my friends really wants me to think seriously about Houston. I don't know much, but here's what I know:
PROS
-I would already have a roommate and an apartment...I wouldn't have to deal with any of that
-I have family in Houston
-There are tons of opportunities and great hospitals

CONS
-Same as Dallas pretty much
-It's extremely hot there!! And humid.

So...what do I do? What do you all think I should do? There are great reasons to stay in St. Louis, but there are a lot of reasons to move to Dallas. I guess my best option at this time is to apply to jobs in all three cities and see what the Lord gives me. It's the best I can do at this time.

If you all have any suggestions (or connections *hint hint*), I would gladly take them!

Au Revoir for now,

xoxo Betsey

Le Premier Examen (The First Test!)

Here it comes! The first test of the final semester.

What's it on? Eh, I don't really know.


....just kidding. This is the test about cardiac: EKGs, arrhythmias, vasopressors (a medication and a hormone), about 15 other meds, and cardiac diagnositic tests. Should be fun. Well, maybe not. Ask me AFTER the test.

So here's to nothing! Wish me luck :)

Au Revoir for now,

xoxo Betsey

***Neige (Snow)***

With February comes love, and what I love is SNOW!

Well...usually...

See, I love when I can sit inside my house, by the fire with a book, and watch as the world outside gets covered with a blanket of fresh snow. There's something peaceful about snow. Maybe it's the realization that each flake is uniquely designed, the beauty of the trees covered with that white powder, or the graceful dance as the flakes fall to the ground. There are a number of things that make snow so delightful!

However...there are even more things that make it very UNdelightful (is that even a word??). Take for example: the entrance to my apartment complex is a hill (smart design, huh?), so I watched as a four car pile-up took place. Later I heard it ended up being a SIX car pile-up. YIKES!
Another reason: it's cold (DUH). However, when you're trying to get to a friend's apartment (in the complex next door mind you), it's not a fun adventure in tennis shoes! Needless to say, I fell once, almost twice, on the ice on the way home.
One more reason: despite inches of ice and snow, my university NEVER calls off school! It's not like I had class today anyway, but it would be nice to have a snow day for my friends. I'm interested to know...did you go to school today??

In a time like this, I can dream of owning only one thing: Michael Kor's boots. They're GORGEOUS and look oh-so-warm with the shearling on the sides and inside! They're also high enough to cover my entire lower leg, which would be nice in this "feels like -8 degrees" weather.

With the hefty price of $298.00, I think I'll stick with my Fuggs (fake Uggs for those who don't understand the slang). Yes, I admit to wearing the Fuggs, which I think are the UGLIEST shoes ever made, but hey, we gotta stay warm somehow, right?? Wish I didn't have to wear 'em, but they're in my price range. For now, I'll just have to keep dreaming of trudging through the snow in Michael Kors. *Sigh*

Au Revoir,

xoxo Betsey

Malade :( (Sick)

Three weeks into the semester and I'm sick. Yeah...not cool. It all started Friday night:

I went into "work" that night (aka went to do a 12 hour shift for my practicum...no paycheck for this work!) feeling great! I felt well-rested, ready to get started, but just a little nervous for the night shift. I got to the MedNeuroSurgical ICU, met my preceptor, and we got down to business. Not 15 minutes into work, and I started feeling a tickle in my throat. Where else would we have been except a patient's room, right? So, mid-choking, I excuse myself from the room and begin hacking up a lung in the hallway. Great start, huh? As I'm standing there coughing into my sleeve, my preceptor takes me to the clean utility room and shows me where I can find water. As soon as the tickle went away, I said to him,

"Man...I don't know where this is coming from! I feel fine, but sometimes I just get these tickles that won't go away. I always get them at the most inconvenient time! I get them during tests sometimes."

And he replies,

"Oh, well I guess sometimes when you're anxious you can get those."

So of course I explain to him that I'm not anxious, I'm excited for this experience! We go back to work.

Ten minutes later...there I am hacking up a lung again! Come on throat! Cut me a break! I actually started praying that God would spare me the coughing...sad, but true.

Luckily I made it through the shift successfully. I woke up Sunday morning feeling stuffy and having coughed all night. I think the lack of sleep awoke something in my system, because honestly, I felt fine on Friday! I did! I wouldn't have gone in if I didn't. Which is what happened Sunday night. I called in sick. So now I'm just recovering from a small cold. No fevers, no chills, no aches. Just cough and runny nose. Nothin' a little Dayquil and Nyquil "Cough" won't fix! I'll be back before I know it.

Here's to feelin' better and vitamin C!

Au Revoir,

xoxo Betsey