boring....

yeah. not too much to say today.
work is work.
tired & exhausting...
not feeling too hot today- but oh well.
hopefully a lil bisquit & sweet tea before work will make that better.

not much longer before our trip home to georgia!
so excited about seeing family.
resting & relaxing.

hopefully the weather in savannah will be as nice as it is here!
70's out. sunny. pretty.

love & peace
bort

dance

monday= the thankful list

459. eating dinner outside in the sunshine
460. grilled asparagus
462. possibilities
464. milkshakes
468. encouragement
471. getting accepted to duke
470. friends to celebrate with
474. palm branches waving high
476. sam wells sermons
480. making a 100 on my weekly statistics quiz
483. Holy week beginning
485. Lord of the dance....

happy monday to you all...
love & peace
bort

dear duke student...

today i got an e-mail that read...

"dear duke student,
congrats on being accepted to duke university!"


it made me really happy.

today i also wrote my first check to duke.
already asking for my money... oh well.
its allll worth it.
a fantastic education is worth whatever they want...
and the part about how ill have a job quite easily when i graduate... that makes it seem much better also.

*******

anyway. i would also like to add that today was palm sunday.
which is my favorite sunday at duke chapel.
other than the sermon- it was the exact same as last year-
but that didn't matter.
it was wonderful.
after singing Lord of the dance- with the amazing choir-
the incredible organ-
then throw in some awesome percussion...
it just makes me want to dance!
i loveeee it.
you can watch it here:
http://www.chapel.duke.edu/sermons.html
after you fast forward to the end of the service... its the last song we sang.

anyway... back to duke basketball.
its tennnse.
ekkk.

peace & love
bort

photo friday...

This is kinda more of the
PICTURE OF MY LIFE!!!
.........

(just read the second line of the first paragraph)

for those that can't read...

"OFFER YOU ADMISSION AS A GRADUATE STUDENT TO THE DUKE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING!!!"

im in.
IN!

I GOT IN TO DUKKKEEEE!!!

im sooooo excited.
and kind of shocked about the whole thing.
but holy cow...
im a DUKE STUDENT!
its reallll.
im official.

i am going to be a family nurse practitioner! ahhH!!

i can't wait!!

LOVE & PEACE & HAPPINESS
bort

.... and yes. i know today is saturday. but the photo came from yesterday. and i found out yesterday... so its still my photo friday post....

goood....

today has been so good...

interview went fabulous...
(honestly i felt more like they were selling duke to me- not me trying to get into their program... thats a good thing right!?! according to the lady it will be a few weeks before i find out if i'm in. eeeehhhhhkkkk)

the weather is amazing....
(blue sky. door open. loveeee it.)

ryan made an awesome dinner...
(griled chicken & fresh asparagus. with my very own homemade mashed potatoes)

we are getting milkshakes for dessert...
(cook-out ones for those that know what that is)

and school work is coming along...
(im finally starting to understand binomial distributions withing probability... EW!)

adios for now.
time for more hw

...bort

... thought... on repeat...

“You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.”

Rosalynn Carter

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”
― Alice Walker

------------------------------------

After a monday off that consisted of 3 hours of homework, a trip to the dentist, and a major headache... its Tuesday.
thank goodness.

not much on the plate for the day... just work.

tomorrow is the big interview day... which im not really worried about... at all.
whatever happens, happens.
i suppose thats what is called having a peace about something.
and im pretty sure thats what i have.
i know if grad school doesn't work out than there are a million-zillion other options.
(1 being other schools, 2 being a million zillion other things)
and i also know that if i don't get in- i mean its Duke.
one of the TOP schools in the ENTIRE country.
its really more shocking to me if i do get in!

the rest of my week consists of homework. and studying. i didn't realize my ONE 4 hour credit- online class was going to take SO MUCH WORK. im talking hours and hours and hours a week. for one class?! maybe its because im very out of the studying, class work, homework thing:?!!

anywho..... hope you find your tuesday morning well.
love & peace,
bort

monday

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful
colossians 3.15

429. finding treasures
433. copavida coffeehouse
435. finding a great outfit at a great price
437. rice
440. free shoes
441. pandora instrumental station
443. bird's chirping in the woods out back
444. open back door
445. fresh breeze moving through the house
448. mudhouse sabbath
450. serving communion at the chapel
452. my husband's sermons
456. an afternoon with ryan
457. saving 20$ at the grocery!

.............
so much to be thankful for.
today is such a beautiful day
-despite the prediction of a thunderstorm-
bright blue sky, green grass, yellow flowers
spring is finally here!

love & peace
bort

sunshine and back decks

man... to say i love this new schedule of mine would be an understatement.
one might think that they would enjoy sleeping in until midnight & staying up until 3am...
but trust me. working until 3.
not falling asleep until 4.
then sleeping until noon...
makes you feel...
miserable.
i just felt off.

but for the past week ive worked 11a-11p a couple of days and started the new shift.
what a difference it has made. i can wake up at 9. do things before work. go to work. and then be in bed by midnight. mmmmm.
its gooood. real good.

anywho-
i dont know about you... but im loving this sunshine.
60's & 70's, sunshine, blue sky and a back deck made for a nice afternoon.
and then the hubs made awesome turkey burgers for dinner...


mmmmm.
they were soooo good.

now its duke basketball and relaxin...
before a saturday at work for me.
maybe since its going to be so nice outside... people will not come to the ER
i can hope right?!?

love & peace
& happy sunshine!

bort

thought of the day...

“You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.”

Rosalynn Carter

************************
thought of the day brought to us by: real simple
my favvvvvorite magazine

im thinking this is my thought for the next week!

sunshine...

after an early morning, and a rough start...
i came home and saw this video on a friend's blog.
and by friend i mean previous "boss"... although she wasn't your typical 'boss'.
she was my 'boss' at camp my FIRST summer at epworth...
anyway... 5 years later or is it six?!?
she has 4 kids... 2 of which are twins.
here is the video she posted this morning... that brightened my day
and really made me chuckle...
gosh i love kids.

Dancing machines from Suzanne Akins on Vimeo.

suzanne has a crazy fun blog over at
http://suzanneakins.blogspot.com/
her writing is simply HiLARIOUS... and her kids are soooo funny.
and let me just add... suzanne probably has no idea i even read her blog!
oh geeez. the blogging world is crazy...

ok. hope you laugh and smile a little today.
bort

psalm 100

"shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
worship the Lord with gladness.
come before him, singing with joy.

acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation."

psalm 100

**pictures are from the biltmore and taken by either myself or my sweet hubby..... and yeah. the good ones- he took**

glad

'let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad'

1. chronicles 16.10


...i think 'glad' is such a funny word.
sounds strange. or weird. or something.
maybe thats just me.

here are a few things im glad about...

(this flower represents lots.... such as the hint of spring coming... and my bestest friend sara- whom i miss soooo much- darn 700 miles for separating us)

my mom.... although she is not looking... and im blocking half of her. oh well. its still me. and her. and the Vanderbilt mansion

and finally my stack of books... the ones im reading during lent.
they are each SO SO GOOD. and for very different reasons.

in the order (top to bottom)
with a sweet link to look at them further:

dancing with my father by Clarkson

mudhouse sabbath by lauren winner
(who i will add is a duke div professor- and who has a couple of books i LOVE)

crayola markers- pip squeks (best markers EVER)

Bread & Wine- readings for lent & easter

my sweet Bible

my journal


**************************

it was a good week.
full of ups and downs, but overall i had such a good time with ryan and my mom in the mountains. lots and lots and LOTS of good food.
lots of relaxing.
basketball watching.
and enjoying life.

love & peace
bort

birthday... part 3!

so... the birthday.
thankfully... i can say... it got much better.

after an 8 hour trek ... which should have taken 3 & 1/2 hours...
we made it to our bed & breakfast

which i will say was awesome.
(more on that another day)

anyway... before that. we finally got a tire (after AAA calling NUMEROUS shops trying to find us the right size tire)... it was unreal how difficult, frustrating, and saddening it was.

anyway. we got the tire.
grabbed chipotle... and hit the road.

we got to the b&b and went to bed. soooo tired!
anyway... yesterday started off with an AMAZING breakfast...
a day at the biltmore which was spectacular...
a trip to walmart...
an awesome dinner at a local restaurant...
then more sleep.

it was soooo good.
and i have sooo many pictures to add.
(but the mcdonalds parking lot off the interstate, isn't the best place to upload pics)
anyway... today we are off to spend the day with family who lives around here.

and of course watch duke basketball.

back to durham we go tomorrow...

but until then, we are enjoying our time.
our new tire.
and family.

love & peace
bort

birthday.... part 2

let me update you on my birthday...
after an amazing brunch with my husband.
flowers & a present (a gift certificate for a masage!!!)
we hit the road to asheville.
i guess we just hit the road a lil too hard....
after an hour we ended up here.

on the side of I-40 (think MAJOR INTERSTATE)
with cars flying by at 85mph
with a flat tire.

we think... we so got this.
called the state highway ppl to be safe and get someone out there to slow down cars.
well turns out our jack didn't work.

so we were "forced" into calling AAA.
and by forced let me just say we called them first- were told it would be an hour- then decided to change the tire. so in reality we were already waiting on them.

AAA got there and changed the tire with their awesome jack....

we got a rollin.... and POP.
spare tire now flat.
dead. demolished.

so we were forced to have the car towed....

we are now spending my birthday
in a AAA store.
eating jolly rancher gummies (thanks sara!)
and waiting for a tire.

not exactly the birthday i had in mind....
at least i have a macbook to play on while i wait.
and ryan has a tv to watch... with acc basketball.
lovely... lovely indeed.

3.11.86

let me be quite frank for a moment....
not having facebook on my birthday is a slight bummer.
lets be honest.
getting 137 random "happy birthday's" on your wall- is kinda nice.
at least i like it.
even if i dont know the person leaving the note, it makes me smile.

so anyway.
its my BIRTHDAY!!!!

and im at least going to let the BLOGGER WORLD KNOW!!!
hahahaa... :)


so yes. happy birthday to me. :)
off for a weekend vacation with the hubby...
a chance to see mom...
a weekend of fun.
relaxing.
and enjoying life!

:) the big old 24 year old -bort

march 11

the only thing standing between me and my birthday...

is 12 hours of work.

im excited about my birthday.
realllllly excited.
could be because im going on a mini-vacay with my hubby!

tomorrow will not come soon enough!

****************

David Praises the LoRD 10Then, in front of everyone, David sang praises to the LORD: I praise you forever, LORD! You are the God our ancestor Jacob worshiped. 11Your power is great, and your glory is seen everywhere in heaven and on earth. You are king of the entire world, 12and you rule with strength and power. You make people rich and powerful and famous. 13We thank you, our God, and praise you. 14But why should we be happy that we have given you these gifts? They belong to you, and we have only given back what is already yours. 15We are only foreigners living here on earth for a while, just as our ancestors were. And we will soon be gone, like a shadow that suddenly disappears.

dancing

psalm 30.11-12

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, that my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.


verse of the day.
trying to remember to be thankful.
learning to be joyful.

love & peace
d

back to monday

monday already?

crazy how time flies by.
here's my monday thanks for this past week.


... finishing my first week of class
... making my first A!
... being exposed to amazing medical learning opportunities- all because i work for duke
... the sunshine and warmer weather


... going to hear one of my favorite bands farewell tour (copeland!)
.... meeting the lead singer of copeland
... getting an interview at DUKE for the family nurse practitioner grad school program
... sitting outside at a coffee shop in the sunshine
... my lenten devo book :::highly recommend- BREAD & WINE::
...ichatting with my best friend
... getting my bridesmaids dress in the mail (from j.crew & i love it!)
...oatmeal & strawberries
....laughter



peace & love
& happy monday....

fire & tradition

to no surprise duke dominated last night.
at the ten minute mark ryan and i drove up to campus-
listening to the game via radio.
it was so exciting though...
we pulled into campus,
got lucky and found a spot.
parked and listened to the remainder of the game in the car just waiting for it to end.
as soon as it was over we started towards the main part of campus.
such excitement!
we just DESTROYED our biggest opponent.
as we take off, we are joined by the masses.
people are pouring out of dorms
and join us in our venture to the quad.
there are helicopters patrolling over head
(yes. police copters)
and there are police, ems, & fire trucks all over.
(its a VERY controlled situation)
but that doesn't take away from the craziness that ensues
by the crazies....

the tradition is that when we beat unc in cameron the undergrads start burning everything... mainly the benches on campus. but there were lots of other random things thrown in that fire.

about the benches.... they are built just FOR THE BURNING.
they are all over campus, and the undergrads go around and find them and bring them into the fire.

after 2 hours of bon-fire-ness
seeing a couple players
and enjoying the may-hem
ry & i called it a night

but man oh man it was fun.
and supppperb that we beat carolina. :)

tobacco road...

you may, or may not, have any idea what today is.
but for durham ::duke really:: its the biggest day of the year.
unc comes over and plays in our house.

i can't describe the madness to you...
people camp out for MONTHS. snow. sleet. hail. rain.
to see ONE basketball game.
that should show you that its not just any game- its THE game.
the only game that really matters.

the HATE for carolina is unlike anything one can describe.
its truly one of those things outsiders just can't and won't understand.
i know... its weird.
i know i sound crazy...
but trust me. if you lived here going on two years, had a spouse at duke, and lived in DUKE forest, oh and WORKED AT DUKE... you would understand.

you HAVE to pick a team- pick a color.
its the battle of the blues...
and its INTENSE

anyway... the action takes place tonight.
9pm.
cameron indoor.
(which is approx two miles from my house)

since ry is a grad student he is a little different. they only have to do the camp out weekend in the fall for their ticket. he didn't win one, so he could have chose to camp out last night to hopefully get in, but he decided his nice, warm cozy bed with his wife was better. :) i support that. we will be enjoying the game from the comfort of our house... then heading to campus after we win (because we will) for the celebration.

to help YOU understand a little more of the madness enjoy the following videos.

6.30 am

i have not seen 6.30 am in ages... months probably.
im basically a zombie.
i slept terrible, because i was so worried about waking up.
lovely huh.
so... i got no sleep... for no good reason.
and im up... to go sit in an 8 hour class at duke hospital about working in an ER.
oh my.

i guess the only positive, is im up before the sun...
SO im up to see the snow on the ground!

yes. its march. and there is SNOW on the ground.
geeez loueeez.
spring where are you?!?!

lunch date

today i had lunch with my best friend.
granted we were approx

760 mi

a part....

we still sat down. turned on our computers
and had a nice lil lunch together.
we chatted. ate. laughed. and it was so stinking great.

the coolest part, was when it popped open-
we were both wearing yellow!
solid. yellow. shirts.
how crazy!

anyway... after a lovely lunch
i hit the books.... only to get hit back.
or so it felt. ive spent the last 2 TWO 2 hours studying/reading/ listening to class...

so im taking a break.
going to target,
then coming home to hopefully finish up my work.

adios.

sounds

i love the sounds of birds chirping outside...
the wind whistling in the trees...
and the small creek bubbling outside our house...
i love nature.
and i love that i live right smack dab in the middle of it.

if only i were on a farm.
or way out in the country.
or on the side of a mountain.
or on the ocean.
maybe one day...
but for now my home in duke forest is wonderful in the morning.

always...

...grateful.

at least i try to be. ive been trying to live in the mindset of thankfulness. its not easy. i often forget. but when i am- it seems life is just a happier place to be.


...ichat
...good sleep
...starting a new class/having to study/do hw/ and get back into that mindset
...hugs
...homemade brownies- with nuts, caramel, and chocolate syrup
...pizza
...spending time with friends
...a clean house
...a sweet husband who turns on the music and helps clean, wash, dust & vaccum
... hot showers
... the stars
... the opportunity to work another chrysalis this summer!
...hearing barbara brown taylor preach (and dang what an amazing sermon it was)
... sunshine

im looking forward to the week ahead-
lots of random hours of work
2 ER classes that are 8 hours each
copeland in concert!
duke v unc home game saturday
then 3 days of work next week before our mini vacation!

adios for now
love & peace
bort