"home"

well... im back "home" from my trip to the mountains.

honestly... i wish i was back there with my family... the 7 that were there PLUS dad and ryan (they couldn't make it) so i wish... all 9 of us were together... back in our "youth room" at the place we stayed... laughing, giggling, playing games, eating junk food, laughing at lil cousin ashley as she did funny things, "hiking" through the mountains, looking at bonzai's, eating more junk food, playing in the rain, standing together at an overlook looking out miles and miles at the mountains, arguing with my brothers, taking tons of pictures, shopping, and just being together.

i had a delighful weekend away in the mountains with my family... really. now that im "home" it makes me so sad that im away from them. i miss them so so much. way more than they realize.

anyway im back with ryan though... which is good. i missed him lots and wished he had come! but sickly in the mountains in one room with 8 other people... probably not the best thing.

so ill post pictures soon of the fabulous weekend away... for now im off to bed... we didnt sleep much at all! you could imagine 7 people in one room sleeping... and one that sleep talks! haha... yeah not much sleep.

off to work tomorrow... then pictures will be posted soon!!

love and peace-

a strange thanksgiving

strange is about the only word i can think of...

when i think back on my earliest memories of thanksgiving this is what i imagine... in fact EVERY thanksgiving i think of this... waking up to my dad cooking sweet corn pudding... going down and watching the parade with the family... then packing up the car and heading to grandma's or mema's. for a while we would go to mema's for lunch then grandma's for dinner. double duty. it wasn't the same every year... but the corn and the parade and the family part... that was the same.
so this year... its just weird.
im not going to lie... im about to throw myself a pity party... im home flying solo, eating pizza, drinking a coke and watching some tv. i will say its quite relaxing... but knowing everyone else is with someone... it just kinda sucks.
tomorrow im hoping it will be an ok day. i think it will be fine. just DIFFERENT and strange. im not even going lie... but i hope this is the last thanksgiving i spend without ryan... really. it prob wont happen... but i hope it is. anyway... tomorrow...

im going to wake up and go to the grocery store... that is if they are open?! crap. i forgot about that. hopefully ill find one open and get the ingredients for a sweet potato casserole. then im coming home- watching the parade and attempting a sweet potato casserole.
then ill be heading over to my friend's justin and jon's house... they are having a lunch for anyone who is around who needs a place to go for thanksgiving... thankfully! so ill be over there for a thanksgiving lunch with friends.
after lunch ill head to work... for 3 hours... yeah. strange. but oh well. its what happened...

then perhaps/ hopefully ill be driving to the mountains to see my family. well mom and bro's. unfortunately duty calls for dad... he has to be a preacher. and be there for another family who just had a tragic lost in their family. im pretty sad no dad- but thats life of a preacher's family. at least one day when i have kids and their dad is a pastor... i will know how they feel. preacher's... really the best hours in the world... but sometimes the worst. power to pop's though.

anyway. let me just mention ry... i would have been with him and his family tomorrow night... but he is realllll sick. really really sick. he went to an acute care place tonight and got some meds so hopefully tomorrow he will be a new man- but yeah... bc of his sickness and he is 3 hours away... and some other random stuff i prob wont go to snider thanksgiving... but instead will meet up with my mom. its complicated... but just another bummer/negative.

ok. so despite my depressed self this thanksgiving eve... i guess i will follow trend and say what i am thankful for... because really. i am thankful for so much...

my family- they are awesome, my parents are incredible (the 2 most giving people i know- who have sacrificed so much... especially in the last year):

this guy (for so so many reasons):

this girl (for so so many reasons!)... she puts up with me, listens to me, laughs with me, lets me cry, skypes with me, wii's with me... she is incredible:

beautiful places... and FABULOUS memories

my career... and my college. thankful for the best 4 years of my life... and a career that i can grow in...

my job. i work with awesome people, have a fabulous boss... and really overall like my job. not too many people can say that... i just hate waking up at 6am! (thats really my only complaint)

this woman... she is my strong advisor; my mentor; the person i admire so much in life. she does what she wants/thinks is best. she doesn't let other people's opinions bother her. she loves the Lord and makes it evident; she has a passion for India that is unreal... she in incredible...

these boys...
this picture signifies my closest best friends in college... minus woodsy... haha... i still love him though. but really. these boys mean the world to me...

so i have a lot to be thankful for this year... really. i am so blessed to have an incredible family. a man like RYAN in my life... and two best friends that are the best a girl could EVER ask for. really... i am so thankful for the people in my life... although NONE of those people are here with me... or even live close (except for ry)... they mean the world to me... and are missed so much.

if you are with your closest friends and family... be extra grateful. enjoy your time. have lots of fun. i CAN"T wait to see my fam soon...
and luckily at christmas time ill be home for 7 days! waHHOOO!!!




ps- im also really REALLY thankful for diet mountain dew. i drink it a lot. as do most nurses...but really. it gets me through my day... haha...

lets catch up...

I kinda have a lot to say... so bare with me.
(bare? spelling? heck i dunno. oh well.)

let me start the rundown...

1. work: i had no weekend because of work... 12 hours sat and sunday. sunday was freaking stressful and exhausting! i had 5 patients... which is a full load... which i was not expecting for a couple of weeks. i was hoping i could stay with 4... but nope. day 2 off orientation im already at my max. i wasn't happy to say the least. ...luckily those two days are over... BUT i work tues, wed, thurs :(
which brings me to:

2. thanksgiving: i dont even realize its thursday. it doesn't feel like it... so different than any other time in my life. in college you are pumped to get away from school and to have time to catch up on all your work in a non-stressful way... hs same way... just pumped to not have school... ms... elementary... you are just excited to play and go to grandma's.... now that im a grown up... its like thanksgiving?? oh another work day. (not happy about that- and hopefully it wont be like that forever). im actually only working 4 hours... but the most random hours 3-7... but luckily ill be heading to charlotte thursday night to have a late night thanksgiving dinner with the sniders! well ill be eating... itll be late... like 10... but ill get to spend time with my other family and my fav lil... al! :)
then will be heading to ridgecrest, nc with ryan to see MY FAMILY on friday!!! until sunday. so im reallly excited about that. so thanksgiving for me will be this weekend... and that part i am looking forward to.

3. im going to NYC... in case you haven't read the other posts... we are pumped. like i can't describe it.

4. me and ryan= fabulous. we are just enjoying this time in our life- he is working hard- and im just trying to encourage and help. i will brag for him and say... he is doing FABULOUS! :) really. making awesome grades and succeeding! ...did anyone doubt that? no.... anyway. duke basketball is a blast (i even just made my work schedule around the duke games so i can go/watch as many as possible)

5. christmas is coming... not too sure what ill be doing for gifts and such. that part will work out. christmas is my FAVORITE time of year... just the spirit, music, food and fellowship... and movies!! plus its a special time in the life of ryan & dan. but back to the movie part... im actually already watching one... its on tv... mickey mouse christmas... so good... it was so sweet. mickey traded his favorite toy to get minnie something and she traded her fav toy for a gift for him. mmm. how sweet. i love the holiday spirit...

ok i gotta run. busy day of errrands and a lunch at work... more to come!

peace and love

ryan's birthday...

so...
for ryan's birthday... yes- i got him plane tickets to new york city.
we are going up there dec 13!!!
we are staying with ry's best friend... going to go see the christmas spectacular at radio city music hall... going to take in the sites... be tourists... hopefully see someone famous... and have LOTS OF FUN!! im super excited!

unfortunetly ry was a bit under the weather for his birthday- but i think his day turned out just great.

we had some delicious sushi for dinner... and now have a fabulous trip to look forward to!

:) yeahHHH!

n.y.c.

i am going to go ahead and get it out there...

me and ryan are going to NEW YORK CITY!!!
happy birthday ryan! :)

yaehhhh.... talk about excitement... im pretty stoked.
ill give details later... like tomorrow...
but its been a long day.

yeahhHHhhhHh

4 days of NYC bliss coming soon - THREE weeks!!!!

flying solo...

today was my first day ALONE as a nurse.
probably the scariest thought one could imagine...
maybe not. but i was feeling that way for sure today.
if it weren't for the AMAZING nurses i work with... i probably would have gone crazy... and would STILL be at work charting and doing paperwork right now.
lets just say it was a bit crazy, hectic, insane, wild, hectic, and did i mention STRESSFUL?
thats ok. its over with... and i dont have to go back until saturday.
(reason why i love my job... i only work 3 days a week)
anyway it was overall a learning experience today... and i survived (for the most part... ALL ALONE!)

so its official. i am finally a real nurse all by myself...

moving on to other things.
1. ryan's bday is tomorrow. im still hoping i surprise the heck out of him. i really dont know.
2. i feel like i need to post about my friends... after reading two blogs... sara and blair... two great people who talked about their best friends... i feel like i should also share about my blessed friendships. i hope to do that very soon. i have some pretty incredible people in my life...

well i am too tired tonight to write anything else... or anything meaningful or deep.
i can't do it after 12 1/2 hours of work... and a hard lemonade. mmm. i had to celebrate my first day alone! haha...

anywho. its FREEZING cold here, im doing great, but i miss my dearest friends and family tremendously. no really. TREMENDOUSLY.

peace and love.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

so i think sometimes God does things just for us.
such as today... it snowed.
nothing stuck and it wasn't like tons and tons, but def flurries that were way more than anything we would get on a random november day in ga.
let me give you a few more details... i left the gym and as i was walking to my car i realized, wait a second. these are flurries falling! not trash (which is yes what i originally thought). after several minutes of standing in the parking lot i decided to continue on my day to the grocery store.
upon entering the flurries had ended and i was content at seeing snow.
once all the shopping was done i headed home... when it began snowing again. in the car on the way home it was really coming down! I was so excited. once i got home i rushed inside to grab the camera to document this. i know... it wasn't a lot... but i was so excited! God totally blessed my day with flurries! something i haven't seen since japan (and before that i have no idea when i saw snow last!)

it was very exciting! i looovveeed it!
maybe just maybe ill get a white christmas this year!
(because yes- ill be here in durham on christmas day)

anywho- hope you are all bundled up on this freezing cold day!

love and peace-

ps- if you click on the pics and make them bigger you can see the flurries a bit better... haha

baby its cold outside...

Currently

40.8 °F Mostly Cloudy

Rest of Today

Partly sunny. A slight chance of snow showers through early afternoon. Breezy with highs around 40. Northwest winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. Chance of snow 20 percent.

Tonight

Clear. Lows in the lower 20s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

DO i even need to blog further? Really?!

i mean its cold outside. real cold. well thats what they say... i haven't ventured outdoors yet. just looking outside is a frightful thought. it just looks cold... with a lot of wind.
but i will venture out soon. im going to go to the gym and then to the grocery to get supplies for some good homemade- baked potato soup. its delicious. a nice hearty soup perfect for a freezing day like today...

only one 1/2 more days before ry's bday! yippPEE!! should be loads of fun. dont worry ill fill you in on all the essentials thursday night (or friday morning)

anywho im off to do a few things on this glorious day off...

love and peace-

20 dollar date...

... so last night. ry and i went out to eat, went to the movies, AND got cokes at the movie... all for 20 bucks. what a deal! i know... here's the rundown...

my dear lagrange pal, who also lives here in durham: julia :recommended a place to me a few months back... a place called "eastern lights" she described it as the best chinese food in durham. last night we finally went and despite the sketchy outside view- the inside was quaint, very nice, and it was quite delicious. best part was ryan and i split a plate of general tso's chicken... for a grand total of 12 bucks!

after our dinner i went over to kroger and picked us up some delicious chocolate chip cookie dough icecream... on sale... only 2.50!

finally we topped off our night with a trip to duke's private showing of batman: the dark knight
it was in the movie theater inside the student center. yes. for all of you lagrangians you read right. a movie theater inside the student center. for students it was only a dollar AND for staff only 2 bucks! (and yes I am considered duke staff!) so the movie grand total: 3 bucks! of course we decided to get a couple of sprites which were a dollar a piece!

grand total of our fabulous night: 19.50!
plus it was SUPER fun, and i mean we got to see batman AGAIN on the big screen. what an AWESOME movie. really. its on my top 5 favorite movies of all time for so many reasons...
perhaps one day ill go into all the reasons i love batman... but not now.

anyway today i am enjoying my sunday...
im sipping on my sweet tea from wendys and about to dive back into my current read: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
def a fabulous book that i am LOVING... and FLYING through!
its based in NYC (which is awesome, for many reasons... and it makes me want to go there!) and is written from the point of view of a 9 year old... who's dad died in sept 11. its basically his journey (as a 9 yr old) to recovery. very interesting...perhaps ill dedicate a whole blog to the book when i am finished...

anyway. thats my sunday... drinking sweet tea, bundled up in my LC tennis hoodie, reading a great book.

hope your sunday is just as wonderful...

peace and love

tornado...

... so im not crazy. just an hour after i posted last night... there was a tornado.
it was about an hour away from me... thank goodness for me, but still so sad.

it was an F2 tornado (which means winds up to 135mph!)... a few people were killed, there are no homes left, cars were turned upside down and it is tragic. so sad and heartbreaking. so pray for the people in johnston and wilson county nc.

if you want to see pics and videos here is a site for ya: http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6507544

so after that i mean really... i think its ok to be afraid of storms.
they are dangerous...



love and peace- and with prayers for those families...

rain

so. im soaking wet.
not just damp...
but soaking. like hair is drenched and my clothes were as well.
my silver shoes also got their first taste of rain... i just hope they dont shrink or anything.

its a downpour out there. with some lightning and thunder... not the biggest fan of storms UNLESS im in bed with my mom... or have my daddy or ryan by my side.

not sure why- but storms are one of my biggest fears in life. always ALWAYS have been. i can remember being a lil kid at a braves game one night and a storm broke out- big thunder, lightning, downpour the whole works- and i was FREAKED out. even smaller in KINDERGARTEN i can remember a tornado came over my school... and then just last march a tornado came over me again... and as a 21 year old mature adult... i cried and cried and shook with terror. ask mom. she was there.

so strange to me... and mom. we have spent many a hours discussing this fear of mine... bc its probably not natural. but oh well. who knows... i mean if a storm is far off in the distance i love watching them... like for instance at the beach or in a giant field... but when they are up close and personal... no fun. i truly HATE it.

anyway... its funny that its storming tonight because i was just telling ryan i believe one reason i might be afraid of storms is bc of the wizard of oz... and that terrible tornado at the beginning.it was on television tonight... did you happen to watch it? we watched parts... and thats what got me thinking about storms.

and now its storming... what a coincidence.

oh well. im done rambling.
off to bed in the midst of the storm...




peace and love.

mmm...

green tea latte... in japan.
doesn't it look delicious.

id love to be in japan right about now... with the love of my life.
i miss it.
the cold, the big city, the bowing, the subway, the packed train, the peacefulness, the learning, the beauty, the kindness, fried purple potatoes, buddhas, the children, the amazing hotels, naked baths together (yeahhh), naked baths in hot rock tubs outside in the snow, (side note the baths were split up by sex... no worries), the mountains, the ocean, the green tea lattes, the tv shows we interpreted, the fun.

really. i loved it.
the only place ive been that i actually did not want to leave.
i wasn't ready.

but thats ok. ill go back.

as for now... ill enjoy the coming months. lots of fun things to come!
thanksgiving trips to the mountains- christmas at home- january trip with sara

it will be great.
off to work tomorrow... then off for FOUR days! yippee!

peace and love

D-U-K-E....

d-U-K-e basketball season is upon us.
thank goodness.

to describe the amount of fun a duke game is would be impossible.
the entire game is a work out and completely exhausting
IF you are in the student section.
you are required to jump (the entire game), yell loudly, and follow along with the cheering, yells, songs, and melodies. its ok if you dont know the words- for every game they pass out a cheer sheet for that game. im not kidding.

last night was my first game for this season.

DUKE vs Ga Southern
is a question who won?
enjoy the pics and videos...

Coack K court:

Ryan in the zone...

a sweet play by the blue devils...




this is the loud noise/ BOUNCING done EVERYTIME we are on defense:
(this is what is so exhausting!)

anyway- that was my late night of fun after working a long 12 1/2 hour shift.
i figured though... i need to go to as many games as I possibly can the next three years. I wont be able to be in the student section forever....
unless between ry and i we stay in school (at duke) forever... hm. that might just be a good idea....

love and peace

simple things

today i heard a song. 

pretty good song. 

i dont remember too much except for the line... 

the simple things in life are free. 

how true it is.... here are a few examples.

laughter. 

the ocean. 

the sunset.

sister hazel... (free show) 

... but more importantly a fabulous night with best friends... 

a free t-shirt...

(bc why else does anyone go to the quadrangle formal

aka- lagrange college prom)

free ice-cream

(on pj night!)

 a day of photography... 

(at least taking the pics is free... getting them printed. well thats another story)

free harvest. 

(if you are the one that planted it!)

friendships... 

so today/tonight take a hold of the simple things in life. 

the free things that God has given us! 

enjoy them. 

cherish them. 

take advantage of them! 

its really the simple things that make all the difference... 

love and peace. 

ps... can you tell who my bffl is?!? yeah. i love that girl and miss her tremendously. we have a reunion coming up soon... (2 months and counting!!)

ITS LATE

def 47 minutes past my bedtime. 

i have to work tomorrow. ugh. 

i got caught up chatting on fbook chat. i love that thing. 

so after a quick but good convo im off to bed. 

ill prob be asleep in 3 mins. 

ok. i have to jet... for real. ill have to blog later. 

lots to catch the world up on. 

ok not really. my life isn't that exciting. 

(: love and peace

saturday surprise

... so i actually have no surprise. 

sorry. 

for some reason i just thought of "saturday surprises" at my camp (the one i worked at the last 4 years) each saturday we had a "saturday surprise". movies, bowling, skating, etc. not really sure why this blog is entitled saturday surprise... 

...except i have some killer surprises for ryan for his birthday! well. actually we were discussing at dinner tonight... and well he has the ability to predict/guess every gift ive ever gotten him. maybe this year i can get a few things that sneak past his radar... i hope anyway!!!

so yeah. thats what i did today. shopped. just for a few hours. i figured while ry was gone it was a good time to pick up a few things. 

the day  was actually quite productive. (well not as much as Katie B) but for me it was pretty darn good. 

-i cleaned my room! (which that alone was a feat).

 -i organized my important papers into a sweet 13 file folder... good grief. i have tons of stuff. doing that made me feel 100% like an adult. i have a file with my insurance info. a file for my shot record. a file for car info. a file with my bills. a file with my pay stubs. etc etc! 13 of them to be exact!! ahhH! 

- i changed out the shower curtain liner. 

- i made a CD... not just any CD... a killer /stellar one using my itunes. ill post it on here one day... when the time is right... (to be honest that was like 3 hours of my day) really. it was intense. it involved research (aka GOOGLE), opening an itunes account, and then hunting for the perfect songs. trust me. when the time is right it will be on here. im proud of that thing! heck ill burn you all a copy for christmas or something... haha... 

- went shopping

- picked up ryan from his trip

- made dinner (shrimp alfredo. with "fresh" shrimp. quite tasty) then ate some AMAZING pumpkin pie

- watched "the hulk" (which i actually liked. ...and am pumped to see this hulk vs iron man idea... really. i hope it happens)

-tucked ryan in bed

-came home and here i am now.... 

such a beautiful day out. bright blue sky. great temp. simply lovely. 

hope you are all well and wonderful. 

love and peace!

friday night fun

ryan is gone on a spiritual formation retreat. 

that left me to fly solo on a friday night ::that I actually could do something::

so i hung out with this guy: 

(the one on the right)

justin.

one of my favorite people. 

he is ry's "mentor". he has become mine too. sorta. 

anyway i also hung out with her: 

amber. 

a great GREAT girl. 

the two of us (with an additional gal) met up at justin's house. 

two other guys came over and we had ourselves a little party. 

sorta.  

we did watch 28days later on a freaking HUGE screen tv. 

we screamed a few times... esp bc all the lights were off and towards the end the other three roommates to the house would come in the front door. 

everytime one of them opened the door one of the girls would scream. 

it was terrifying! 

we didnt' want the infected zombies to eat us!

haha... good times. 

real good times. 

ry will be back tomorrow night.... no biggie. 

just not too sure what ill do until then. 

i could continue my shopping. 

could go to gym. 

could do laundry. 

hmmm.... maybe ill just sleep. 

love and peace for now :)

lakes, leaves & other things

i wish i were going here this weekend: 

with him: 

and her.

say-ra's  lake / river  cabin is one of my favorite places in the world.

nothing is more peaceful, calm, and relaxing... 

and it also has some INCREDIBLE memories!

with the best people in the world! 

...................................................................................................................

the leaves are falling everywhere here.

the leaves are in their peak colors right now... and its GORGEOUS!

i hate to see them fall- but its also quite cool. 

im talking houses and cars are like COVERED in leaves.

if youve never been here its a very VERY wooded town. 

trees EVERYWHERE (which i love). 

that just means there are tons of leaves that fall!

I am just glad I dont have to rake them!!

......................................................................................................................

two of my favorite things in the world.

rhino (with his glasses) & coffee.

he is so darn handsome!

.......................................................................................................................

  i bought my first Christmas present yesterday. its for grandma so I think I can spill the beans... ::im pretty sure she doesn't read my blog... if so dont read this part!!:: anyway... its a lil plaque thing you hang on the wall that reads... "the higher the hair- the closer to God". she is the one on the right. in real life her hair is even higher... gosh i love my grandma's they really are the best in the world!!! 

........................................................................................................

speaking of presents... this guy's birthday is in 14 days!!

between you and me... this just might be the best birthday ever.

ive got some pretty sweet presents... 

well- thats all ive got for now... 

peace and love from a happy gal

dork?

there are two distinct reasons i can think of (probably many more) that one might just call me dorky today. ok 3. the 1st is that i just entitled my blog "dork" and am about to write about my dorky side. 

ok 2. (or really #1). i was in a class today. a 5 hour one at that. its about the heart. and how to read an EKG ::heart monitor:: and well i loved it. i loved taking notes and learning and the thought that i have to study for a test kinda makes me excited. AND the best news is i get to go back tomorrow for 5 more hours! well even better news is... im getting paid to be there. (yeah thats the best news of all) but anyway. really. loved it. i think i need to become a student again... but life is a little too complicated to just go back to school. plus i have to apply. get money. be able to work part time (yikes! now i need benefits). then i have to get into a school. and then the "fun" will begin. one day... in a couple years down the road. where life makes itself able for me to attend school i will have to re-read this blog. bc i can guarantee that once i get into grad school... ill prob have NO life and be ready to get out. funny how life goes. but really. i want to go back. 

and so on that note... reason #2 that i might be dorky. 

i love books. i went to barnes and noble tonight to look at GRE books (yes. i want to go to school already so badly im starting to get GRE study books). anyway i went to b&n and spent an hour or more just walking, picking up random books, looking at them, sniffing in the aroma of a good new book never touched before- with the slight smell of coffee in the background. mmm. does it get much better than that? ok really. this is why i may be dorky... i just love books. the covers. the worlds inside. its amazing. i give all credit to my dad for this love of mine. he instilled it in me at a very young age. ive been reading big books for fun since before i can remember. so yes- i did find my GRE books (no i didn't buy them. thats what amazon, half and better world books are for! ps if you haven't been to better world go there now. its fabulous!) anyway. i found some gre books- and a cool lil "medical spanish" notecard thing (which i did purchase) so it was a successful and wonderful trip. 

so there you have it. i love school and learning and classes. and i love books.  a lot. its def an obsession. 

im off to read. and study for class. haha. no really. i am. and am happy. 

life is good right now. 

ryan is good. 

me + ryan = wonderful, incredible, delightful, & fabulous. 

peace and love- from your dorky friend danielle

the heart.

today was a life changing day. 

nope. not because of the election. 

but because i saw a heart- in real life. beating in front of me. im talking less than a foot away from me. I can't begin to describe how incredible it was. I can't understand how a person can look at a heart and not realize that there IS a God. I mean its so fascinating to me. to see the heart pumping blood and keeping a person alive. its INCREDIBLE. our hearts our so intense and delicate but huge strong muscles. really it blows me away. i could talk about it all day long. 

so the open heart surgery (aka bypass surgery aka CABG) was incredible. extremely long- 7am- 2:30pm. that entire time (-15mins for lunch) i was standing at the pt's head on a stool looking over a drape at this ladies heart. if you care to know how it goes... they cut open the chest (which is def the worst part) then they harvest the vessels (if they are getting one from the pt) next they begin the procedure to put the pt on the bypass machine. this take a good few hours. once they can turn on the bypass machine- the heart stops. completely. they go to a flat line (asystole) on the monitor and then the surgeon begins fixing the heart. he sews in the valve and does what he needs to do. the pt is only living bc they are on the bypass machine. after the heart is fixed they slowly begin to unfreeze the heart (there is a lot of ice involved in stopping the heart. interesting). as the heart warms up it begins beating. which is so darn cool to watch. they eventually wean the pt. off the bypass machine and let the heart take over. they sew up the chest. and wa-la. bypass surgery. 

it really is one of the most amazing things i have ever seen. i love watching stuff on the TV on like Discovery Health- and seeing the heart is cool on TV- but there is NOTHING like seeing it in real life. just watching it pump. and watching the mechanics work... awesome. 

ok ill move on. im sure thats WAYYYY more than most people wanted to read about. but i will say. today in the O.R. we began the day by listening to some david crowder and third day. this was the nurse anesthetist choice... but def one i enjoyed. throughout the day it got turned down... but i was OH SO AMUSED to come back after lunch to classical music playing. really. it was so darn funny. i had a few moments of laughter bc you could imagine- the background music is classical (lalalalllala- while watching a heart surgery and seeing all the pts blood pump through a machine). yeah it was like i was on a tv show. 

ok so the end. my day was fantastic. 

topped off by a wonderful dinner and a delicious pumpkin pie ( baked by ryan himself) 

im now laying in bed bundled up under my down comforter watching some abc with some fox news. its quite interesting. 

ive decided not to post about politics. i know you are all disappointed. i do have a few things i want to say/quote/end the night on... 

my friend MATT said this today in his blog:  In America, we think we have so much power and control over everything that goes on. We’ve been bred to believe that we are in the driver’s seat in all of the occurrences of the world. But we’re not. Not at all.

The Bible is very clear on the fact that God is ultimately in control of everything, including who rules a nation. Daniel 2:20-21 says, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings….” God brought in the Medes and the Persians to overthrown the Babylonian Empire. He hardened the heart of Pharaoh against the people of Israel. If we take the Bible literally, God has done exactly what Daniel 2 says – establish governments.

God is ultimately in control. Regardless of how people vote, who gets in office next year, whether or not or our country goes bankrupt, or we get nuked by some other country—God is ultimately in control. He always has been. He always will be. He will never forsake us, and he will never let us go from the palm of his hand—even if we make stupid decisions."

I am quote-ing him because I agree completely. Thats my thinking. along with I just wish everyone could get a long and be nice. The election completely turns me off to our country- the obnoxious, rude, comments that are said make me so sad. BOTH WAYS. here in NC two ladies were running against each other- and one actually began to question whether the lady was a christian. IN COMMERCIALS. really. ridiculous. it all makes me angry. i wish we had laws against saying all this crap about each other. i wish the candidates would talk about their stances and their ideas in their commercials and ads... not whats so "bad" about the other person. 

anyway. i just want some peace and love. 

let me end on this quote from Gerald Ford (just something to think about & let me add i dont know much about Mr. Ford, but I think this quote might be on to something): " a government big enough to give you what you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have"

peace and love?

at least from me... to you. 

apology

i dont know why my blog is coming out funny and cutting off the sentences. i apologize. i know its annoying to read. hmmmi dont think it did it this time. who knows. sorry! :) 

i have two more posts for today... they will come soon

still stuck on some water.

all ive thought about today was living water. well, thats not entirely true.

but ive thought about it a lot today.

in case you didn't go to the link to watch a vast assortment of videos... im bringing them to you.

the first is just about living water international. the second is actually from a trip

to nicaragua and the work that was done there. both are reallllllly cool.

after watching you can catch up on my day... or if you are in a hurry come back. they really are great videos though.

good huh... 

i thought you would say yes. 

anyway- today was just the average day. sorta. i followed the "support" nurse around

all day. gosh what a job she has. def one i would want! she works from 8-4 and all

day she simply helps everyone who needs it. really. its cool. it was a lot of fun today.

tomorrow= OPEN HEART SURGERY DAY. im going to watch an open heart surgery

(which i am super super excited about. i am figuring i am either going to love it- or hate it)

hopefully ill love it.

(which reminds me to ask- Jane Marie- hows your grandpa?! he just had this surgery right??)

anyway ive got to head to bed. 

i have my apple cider in hand and my book- so im heading in for now.

tomorrow promises to be one heck of a day. 

i might just post politics tomorrow night... if you are lucky ill spill out my opinion.

maybe.

peace and love. (which actually states my opinion perfectly)

d

daylight savings what?

so i woke up this morning at 9:00.

my cell phone said 9. my alarm clock (thats plugged into the wall) said 9. my comp said 9.

i get on facebook to chat with ryan. (its a normal sunday morning thing).

he was like "daylight savings got me." i was like OH NO! i totally forgot too...

and then confusion set in. what time was it? he woke up at 8. but is it now 8? or is it 9?

ahHHHHhhHH! i was EXTREMELY beyond confused. i had a span of about 2 mins where i had NO clue what

time it was and didn't know how i was going to figure it out.

the thought- maybe ill just google it- actually crossed my mind.

i mean normally the cell and comp change automatically... but my alarm clock was the same time.

i asked ryan.

he said it was 9:00.

this means only 1 thing. MY ALARM CLOCK CHANGED BY ITSELF.

SIMPLY- AMAZING.

you should all go to target and buy the cheap 12$ alarm clock for this reason alone.

moving on to bigger and much better things....

today was superb.

this weekend was splendid.

i got to spend some quality time with nic (one of my favorite people and a dear friend). we got to catch up. chat.

hang out. it was just soooo nice to spend time with a good close friend. that doesn't happen too much!

anyway- i also have spent some time at coffee shops with ry (while he does hw- i read "the shack"). i went to the

gym. been to the grocery. and done some exploring. today ry and i ventured out of durham county... and found

this amazing lake. huge lake. like west point lake size... "jordan lake" to be exact. anyway. we found some cool

trails down to the water. hung out for a lil bit. watched the sun begin its descent behind the gorgeous bright fall trees

and took tons of pics. just drove around and took pics. it was so fun.

tonight we made a killer dinner- and ryan (YES RYAN!) made a pumpkin pie. gosh im soooooo excited to eat it

tomorrow!! its cooling in the fridge as we speak.

so yeah what a super weekend... which will prepare me for my long week. im working 5 days- but they are all short days.

no 12's for me! im pretty excited about it.

so last but def not least... ive stumbled upon this organization... and love it. love what they are doing.

how they are helping the world. the people. their beliefs. it seems pretty cool. really cool. its living water international.

that may become a household name around here... check them out and let me know what you think.

im pretty excited about what the future may hold with them...

here are some videos... enjoy.

http://www.water.cc/living-water/get-involved/videos/

love and peace

my apologies...

...sorry ive been away a few days... 

ive been a little busy. 

-ive had work

- lots to think about. i mean lots. 

- AND FRIENDS CAME TO VISIT!

i had a super short, super surprise visit from my friends nicole and jeff. (i know them from lagrange) anywho- we had a BLAST last night and today. nic came up to visit duke div school... and not only is she hooked... but jeff is too! haha! we shall see what they decide to do... but how awesome to have some great friends up here with me and ry! :) anyway. we went out last night to a fabulous mexican place- went to a super cute bar and got a drink- then came home and played wii! well the boys did and i fell asleep on the couch. today we gave them the grand tour of durham and a more personal tour of duke... ate at the delicious elmos... then they headed back to lagrange! it was a short visit- but so fun and so good. 

im off to bed- im pooped.... but i have lots to blog about in the next few days!!

oh and lindsey! im glad i got to chat with you for .2 seconds! sorry it was so short and so random... haha... we were in the bookstore looking for alvin's requested sticker! haha! i think we were successful though. :) 

love and peace from a tired and worn out gal...