OH how I love group work!

So my nursing class is one big group project that builds on itself until the end of the semester. Our paper is due this weekend, so a couple of weeks ago we got together to determine who would do what. That seemed to go pretty smoothly, and everyone got their assigned section relatively on time. We are trying to get it done early so that we can turn it in ahead of time for our instructor to critique and get back with us. Now why wouldn't we take advantage of that? I can't think of a reason.

So today I decide to sit down and critically proof the paper because I was certain that no one else had done it yet. I knew this because everyone's responses to each other was "looks great" or "wow" or something of the sort. Well, I sat down to discover that it was a complete wreck! OMG!! In social sciences, we use a format called APA (similar to MLA that you probably used in high school or early college). OK, so it's a pain, but you have to follow the rules. Well, apparently my group is kind of rough around the edges when it comes to APA, because it needed a lot of work. So, long story short, it took me over three hours just to get through the paper and that isn't even correcting everything. That was just making notes about what needed correcting. All I can say is I am wiped, and I really hope we can get this thing up to par in time.

Oh yeah, and I really hope my group doesn't hate me after they see how bad I tore apart our paper. :o(

Busy, Busy Week

Last week was so crazy, I think I barely came up for air. I worked 12 hour shifts Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday then had to work my normal day on Thursday. I was able to be off on Friday thank goodness.

Nathan was scheduled to be home Friday night, but of course the NE snow storm wreaked havoc on the airlines, so he's not making it home until nearly 24 hours later. That was particularly frustrating because we were suppose to leave at 6 this morning to go for my half marathon in New Orleans. Well, NOLA is off. I was so upset, but ultimately there isn't anything I can do about that. I decided to cut my losses and gear up for the half marathon in Dallas in two weeks. Now if I can only get Brandi to do two half marathons in 2 weeks. Do you think she's up for it? I hope so! :o)

OK, so on to school stuff since this is a blog about school. Remember my meltdowns about statistics?? Well, I am happy to say that my professor said that my assignment for last week was "best in class" and at a "doctorate level"! WOW, really? That definitely makes me feel pretty good! In my other class, I have been working on a literature search for a paper that I am writing on Texas SB 476 which eliminates mandatory overtime for nurses (among other things). I am finishing up the paper today so that my group can submit it to our instructor for a critique before it is officially due.

Anyway, here's to hoping that Nathan makes it home today in time for us to go out for dinner and just enjoy each other. I sure do miss him...

Day dreaming the day away...

So Nathan is gone for two weeks. I am working on my statistics essay and I decided to pop in the ear phones and get a little music going so that I could concentrate. John Mayer happened to be my choice today. Well, all I have been doing so far is day dreaming away about all of the great memories some of his music brings back.

A little insight...my favorite time of the week is Friday nights. It is kind of our ritual to grab something good to cook, a good bottle of wine, and spend the evening together. It's absolutely my favorite way to spend time with Nathan. Many times for some reason, John Mayer ends up on the stereo (probably because I like it). :o)

So back to today, all I can think about is a warm summer evening, cooking a great dinner, and spending time with my honey. I have some major warm fuzzies going on! LOL! I guess if I can't see him for two weeks, I can at least day dream about great times together, can't I?

So can you see why my essay isn't getting done?

My head hurts!

So I am working on this statistics assignment that is a killer. I really do not think the subject is a difficult subject, but I think I am just experiencing the inability to understand it! Wow, I am feeling dumb this week. LOL! My goal each week is to finish my statistics assignment on Thursday nights, so that I can have a reprieve from homework on Fridays. So far this week, it looks like I am going to be hitting the books straight through this weekend. I can't tell you how excited I am about that (very sarcastically speaking). In other news, I got three of my grades back in my Nursing Policy class and I made A's on them all! YAY! Super excited about that.

I got home tonight just before sunset and was able to get a quick 30 minute run in with my dogs. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and have been crashed out on the couch all night long. Hehe...mission accomplished. I might have to make this a routine!

I am so happy to be on the downhill slide of this week. I have to tell ya, it's been a rough one! :o/ Nathan is gone for 9 more days. So ready for him to be home and he is equally as ready to be home.

924 days

Wow, when you look at it that way, it seems kind of intimidating. I was joking with my friend Jeanetta yesterday about how I wouldn't do a count down because it was just be overwhelming. Well, the glutton for punishment that I am decided to do it anyway, and yep, it's really intimidating. So much changes in 924 days.

So I decided to blog about grad school for a couple of reasons. First, I thought it would be really fun when this journey is over to look back on it from the beginning. There will surely be ups and downs, and I think it will be interesting to reflect on the experience. Another reason is for my family to keep up with me. It is really hard to express the kind of time commitment this is unless you are walking through it. Nathan definitely has a good perspective of it, but I want my family to know that I am not choosing to not be around. It is more out of necessity.

So from the beginning so far....

Graduate school officially started on January 13th, 2010. I have to admit that I did underestimate the kind of commitment this would be. This semester, I am taking Biostatistics and Nursing Policy and Politics. My nursing class is going well so far. Essentially, it is one huge group project that makes up the grade. I am not sure how I feel about my group. With the exception of a couple of people, they really procrastinate. I have kind of taken charge to try to keep things on track, so I am not sure now they will feel about me at the end of this. I do know one thing, even if I have to do the whole project alone, we will make a good grade!

Statistics, statistics, statistics....what can I say, but I had a complete meltdown over statistics the first week of class. We had to take a pretest (might I add that it was for the doctoral students at George Washington University) and I completely BOMBED it! I was hysterical! LOL, looking back, I should have listened to Nathan. The whole time I was freaking out, it just kept saying, "Babe, it's just a pretest." So on to week 2. I understood the assignment, or so I thought, but I made an 81 on the assignment. Once again, hysterical. LOL! Bless my Mom and Nathan who had to be my cheerleaders that week. I am happy to say that I think I am finally in a groove in the class though because for weeks 3 and 4, I made 100s on both assignments. Note to self, freaking out and meltdowns are not allowed until after week 3!

So that's enough for now. I am going to keep these posts shorter from now on because I know that most of you do not have the time or patience to read a novel each time, and I can't blame you! Last thing though, I need to give a shout out to my AWESOME, HANDSOME, FUNNY, and BRILLIANT brother (because I told him I would)!!