Born again in 2010

Alas, only one more day in the year of 2010. I must say that I am feeling a bit nostalgic. Looking back, I am so thankful to say that 2010 has been the happiest, most amazing year of my life.

After coming out of such a long depression and finally becoming the person that God has meant for me to be, I feel like I was reborn this year. It's as if the first 20 years of my life have disappeared and I have completely started over.

This past year has shown me what life should be like and what it will always be like as long as I stay close to Jesus. I can't help but smile when I think about how incredibly blessed I have been since last January.

I'm going to use this blog to highlight my "first year of life" and publicly thank God for everything He has given me this year. Normally I would make a list of resolutions, things I would like to change. This year, however, I am going to pray for continuity.

Highlights of 2010

• Started nursing school and discovered my life's passion
• Became depression-free!!
• Overcame my fear of social situations and made some AMAZING friends
• Giving my first injection at NHC
• Getting pooped on at NHC...
• Quitting Ruby Tuesday!!!!
• Got a job at Lexington Medical Center
• Made some more AMAZING friends at LFP West Columbia
• Heather and Greg's wedding!
• Kayla and Glen's engagement!
• Watched 3 colonoscopies, 2 EGDs, and a colectomy!!!
• Gave LOTS of injections and started three IVs!
• watched a couple of people accept Jesus as their saviors!
• Joined a small group and met even MORE amazing people
• Started volunteering at Kidspring
• Got my class ring!!
• Went to Disney World AND The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

That isn't even come CLOSE to covering everything that happened this year, but it gives a general overview of everything I have to be thankful for. I want to put an emphasis on the fact that for the first time in my entire life, I feel like I am alive. I can look back on this year and smile because each day was a gift from God. 

It is no small accomplishment that I was able to overcome my social anxiety and form wonderful friendships with so many people. Getting back into the nursing program is the best thing that has ever happened to me (besides meeting Jesus, of course). I have discovered my purpose in life, and have met some amazing people in the process.

While I am sad to say goodbye to 2010, I can only imagine what 2011 will bring.

Here is a video of some of the fun times!

So blessed.

I have REALLY been a slacker in the blogging department. I'll blame it on being busy with school. Now that the semester is over I suppose I can get back in the swing of things.

Right now I'm lying in bed at my dad's house wishing my body didn't feel like it has been hit by a large vehicle. I'm assuming some kind of virus has invaded, but I'm hoping the theraflu will kick in. After all, operation "raise money to pay for school this semester" has officially begun and I am working at LFP every day until classes start up again.

You're probably wondering what I've been up to. The truth is, life has turned into a beautiful routine involving studying, eating, and spending time with amazing friends. I've been doing a lot of reflecting over the last few days (I tend to do this a lot), and I've become overwhelmed with how much God has blessed me with. I have people who love me. I am working toward an amazing career that I just happen to be whole-heartedly passionate about. You know what else I have? Jesus. I didn't always have Him, but now that I do I can't even imagine what my life would be like had I not agreed to go to Newspring back in August of '07. He has changed EVERY aspect of my life in ways that can only be explained as supernatural.

I have never been more satisfied than I am at this moment. It's amazing how Jesus will take care of you if you just trust Him.

Here are some of my favorite people 

(If you aren't in a picture, it's because I didn't have one):

Way overdue, I know!

Ok, I realize that it has been approximately 2 weeks since I have posted an entry. What can I say? My motivation is failing. When it comes between blogging and studying for my medsurg test, I have to go with medsurg test because there is just not enough in me for both! Anyway, I'm on Fall break right now, which means I have had an excessive amount of free time. What does that mean? I have had lots of time to think. Here are a few of the conclusions I have come to over the last couple of days:

1) Snack pack pudding is just as much fun now as it was when I was little.

2) There HAS to be a way to make multi-vitamins less disgusting. Seriously, I fight my gag reflex for several minutes after taking those things.

3) There is no need to honk at me while I'm out for a run. What about a sweaty, panting female screams "honk at me, please!" It just makes me want to run faster to get away from you.

4) Sleeping until 10:30am is up there on the 'awesome scale' next to winning the lottery and meeting Jesus.

5) Watching Dawson's creek from 6:00pm to 1:00am is not a wasted evening. In fact, I think it was the most productive evening I've had all semester.

6) Jesus is awesome.

Now that I've shared my revelations with you, I'm going to eat my meatloaf lean cuisine. Wish me luck.

I feel so nutritious. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, carrots, and corn!!

Go Tigers!!!!

I had such an amazing weekend! First of all, THE TIGERS WON!! I was beginning to think we would have one of those football seasons that forces everyone to transfer to a different school in shame, but after the way we played on Saturday I suppose I'll stick it out here.

Saturday night I was supposed to go on my Stag Saturday date with myself, but I had a change of plans. KD and I both really wanted to see "Life As We Know It", so I invited her along as a third wheel. It was such a good movie, and we definitely had a good time! We were analyzing everything in terms of what we've learned in nursing school (ex. "He has really good veins"). I have the most awesome friends.

Church was amazing, as usual. We just started the marriage series, so I'm pretty excited about it. Surprisingly, every time we've had a marriage series Jesus finds a way to speak volumes to me. I figure it's never too early to prepare for an amazing marriage, even when you're destined to be a cat lady by the age of 23! Most importantly, these sermons remind me not to settle for anything less than what God has planned for me. There's an amazing man out there for me, and I just need to be patient!

After church Jonathan and I went to McDonald's as a result of being poor college students. This was the highlight of my day. Why? Because I got a MIGHTY KIDS MEAL!! Yea...be jealous. It came complete with a trick-or-treat bucket that I could decorate myself with STICKERS!!!! How awesome? I don't know why they don't give those out with every meal, kid or not.

 

Anyway, y'all have a great Monday! As for me, I have a psychosocial test today. My Monday will depend on the way I feel after the test is over. 

Jesus is always the answer!

Ok, so I'm horrible. I haven't been updating this thing as frequently as I should. I've been pretty busy, though, and I'm in the process of sorting some things out. Give me a break!

Anyway, so I had an epiphany last night (I seem to have a lot of those). Jesus set it up for me last week at the service when B. Coop told us to wear a red string around our fingers to remind us of the gospel throughout the week. I didn't realize that I NEEDED to be reminded until Monday. I was telling my therapist about my trust issues (blah, blah...) and he asked me who I CAN trust. I thought about it for a while before saying "just myself, I guess." Umm, wrong answer. You know what the right answer should have been? JESUS!!! As Perry says, Jesus is always the answer.

Anyway, this was when I realized I need to work on trusting God with everything. I always say "Jesus, I surrender all" but in reality, I don't. It's more like "I surrender everything I can't control and then I'll try to control everything else myself." It doesn't work that way, though. He is in control of EVERYTHING. Even the things we think we have control over, we really don't. How many times have you thought you were handling a situation before the crap hit the fan?

Last night I confessed to my small group some of the issues I've been having. Simone made me realize that not only have I been through this before, but JESUS has GOTTEN me through this before. How can I not trust that He'll do the same thing again? And you know what else I realized? He ALWAYS provides me with the resources I need whenever I need them. It's no coincidence that He has surrounded me with so many new friends and support groups right around the time that He knew I would need them. I've never been so blessed than I am right now and I was blind to that until last night.

So what does this have to do with you? Everything! Take a step back and look at your life. What are you going through right now, and what resources has God provided you to help you get through it? Think about where you were a year ago and where you are now. Think about everything you've taken for granted and take the time to thank God for blessing you.

So that's my epiphany. I'm about to go watch the Tigers play! Hopefully they can actually win this one, because they're starting to remind me of the gamecocks. It's also time for me to do another STAG SATURDAY! I'm pretty excited. I'm taking myself somewhere for dinner (haven't decided where yet) and then I'm going to see "Life As We Know It".

Have a great Saturday, y'all!! GO TIGERS!! 

I suppose I should get fitted for dentures...

Have any of you ever had that dream where your jaw gets locked in an awkward position and your teeth start crumbling and falling out? Well, I used to have that dream quite frequently and now it seems to be making another nightly appearance! I can't stand this dream.

First of all, I think the worst possible condition would be to have lock-jaw, because that is NOT a fun feeling. In the dream, I'm always panicking and trying to get someone to help me but no one can understand me because I can't move my jaw to speak! In the dream I had last night, I tried to hard so shut my jaw that all my teeth started getting loose. I had to run to the bathroom sink and scoop them all out of my mouth.

Weird, right??

Well I looked it up to see if google had some insight into my subconscious. Most sources claim that this dream stems from anxiety about your physical appearance or about others' perceptions of you. It could also mean you are doubting your abilities or feeling unprepared for whatever task is about to be performed. I suppose I can go with that. I also discovered that the Greeks have a different interpretation of this dream- apparently this means a close relative is very sick or close to death. I think I'll go with the first interpretation, please!

Anyway, I hope this dream is not going to be a recurring one like it has been in the past. If so, I would really appreciate it if I could dream up a dentist as well.

I would also like to add that as I was about to submit this entry, I glanced over to my right just in time to notice that my sharks tooth had fallen out of my wallet and is lying on my desk. Coincidence?

Increasing the intensity: God created you for more than this!

I just got back from the gym, and I'm super pumped because I have just increased my weight on the pec/deltoid/bicep machine to 60 lb. That's right- you may now call me "The Hulk". I'll still answer to Morgan, though. In addition, I am now officially able to run at 5 mph for 15 minutes! Kayla and I have decided we are going to do the Cooper River Bridge Run in the spring.

 I'm raising the intensity.

I've been doing a lot of thinking over the last few weeks, and I've come to the conclusion that if we want to achieve greatness, we have to perform with greatness. It sounds simple, I know. It's probably even a quote somewhere and I completely just plagiarized, but whatever.

Basically, God wants us to do in life exactly what I'm doing at the gym. He wants us to increase the intensity.

The thing is, we get so caught up in routines. We go through grade school knowing that our next step is college. Most of us go through college knowing that our next step is marriage, a career, and children. We study all of these developmental stages that tell us exactly what will happen as we continue to age. You know what I say to that? It's boring. As long as we are working toward our "next step", we consider that a successful and fulfilling life. I don't think God would agree.

We were created by a God who wants us to achieve way more than that. He doesn't want us to just get married. He wants us to know a love that resembles His own, one that exceeds our wildest imagination. He doesn't want us to just have kids. He wants us to use our children to spread the news of His son's sacrifice. He doesn't want us to just have a successful career. He wants us to use that career to honor Him in everything that we accomplish.

Living at this type of intensity level is hard work, though. It doesn't just happen overnight, and it takes a lot of discipline to maintain. I'm not going to walk into the gym tomorrow and suddenly be able to bench press the treadmill, just like I'm not going to wake up next year and be the charge nurse at a big hospital. There are thousands of examples in the bible of ordinary people that God used to do extraordinary things, but none of them just 'happened'. God gave them a difficult task and they were obedient.

If we make a conscious effort every day to ask God what He wants us to do (and then actually do it), there is no predicting the level of greatness that we can achieve. You have to take charge first, though. You can't be passive, expecting life to just fall into place like we've been taught our entire lives. You are the one who dictates the next step- not the other way around.

So what are you waiting for? Raise the intensity level.

I'm not going to be that girl anymore.

I once heard that your personality is determined by the person you are on any given day. That doesn't mean your best day or your worst day. It doesn't include the person you wish you could be. On any given day, what kind of person are you?

I had to face this question myself last Friday. I was really down on myself and the last thing I wanted to do was go to my small group cookout surrounded by lots of people I barely knew. I tried to imagine the scenario if I were to turn on the light, roll out of bed, and drive myself to Anderson for this thing. I pictured myself sitting in a corner pouting, possibly munching down on way too many Doritos, expecting someone to come to my rescue. It was a scenario I'd lived out hundreds of times before, so why not do it again?

Then I started thinking further...These people don't know me yet. They don't know that I'm funny, smart, enthusiastic, or quirky. All they know is what I show them on the outside; the person I am on a day-to-day basis. It hit me that none of those good qualities mean anything if I'm not living them out. If I allow the above scenario to be played out over and over again, I will be "that girl who is always sad." Nobody wants to be friends with that girl. "That's not me," I thought...but if you think about it, that really IS me...that's the person I was throughout most of last week.

With my new revelation suddenly taking over my body, I hopped out of bed, flicked on the light, and I went to that cookout. Not as "that girl who is always sad", but as "that girl who's pretty funny." It ended up being an amazing night!

It's funny, because as Christians we make it a point to model Jesus' behavior to the world around us. We expect others to see our sparkling personalities and go after the relationship that we have with Him. If we aren't consistent with this behavior, though, how are we ever going to be good Christian role models? Therefore, as friends and/or readers of my blog, it is now your responsibility on days when I'm having a pity party to walk up to me, flick me on the back of the head, and say "Morgan, you are being that girl."

If I'm not portraying this level of happiness at all times, please let me know.

Looking for love happiness in all the wrong places

Have you ever been looking for something that you just can't find? You know you've seen it millions of times over the last few days, but you just can't seem to remember where? How can we open the same drawer 20 times and not recognize the objects that are inside? That's because you can't see something you're not looking for. We rummage through a pile of junk seeking out a particular object, and that's the only object we pull out. We do the same thing with our attitudes and the way we view the world.

I had one of the toughest days yesterday that I've had in a long time. I was anxious and depressed to the point of panic, and I allowed it to escalate all day simply because I kept dwelling on the fact that I was feeling that way. I let my thoughts take over my head until I wasn't even involved in the world around me anymore. It was then that I decided I was just going to take all the negative thoughts, accept them, and push them aside. If we are only looking for the negative, depressing aspects of our lives, of course that's wall we're going to see. On the other hand, if we train ourselves to seek out the positive, all the negative junk is going to get left behind in the drawer.

I know what you're thinking. It's a lot easier said than done. Well, I'm not saying it's easy at all. I'm just saying that of all the things in this world that we have absolutely NO control over, why not make an attempt to control the one thing over which we do have power? Our attitudes. It's ok to be sad. It's ok to be depressed. It's even ok to be angry. What's not ok is when you let that sadness, that depression, or that anger take hold of you and block out everything that's good. When you start to feel negative, tell yourself "ok, you're feeling ____, and that's ok." and let it go. Stop looking for the tape when what you really need is the scissors. Otherwise, you're going to miss them, and when you need them you won't remember where to find them.

Nothing a bottle of wine and a good friend can't fix.

I'm sitting here staring at the clock because I managed to be ready for church 25 minutes early. Therefore, I decided I am way overdue for a blog post.

Anyway, I've had quite a week. I had two tests, and I feel like my word of the week was stress! As if I hadn't had enough, I got a letter yesterday from my scholarship association telling me there was a mistake and I won't be getting my check...that's fantastic considering I have about $50 in my bank account and only get paid about $100 every two weeks from my job. Awesome. But you know what? It's going to be ok. I've been trusting God with my finances for the past couple of years now, and He hasn't led me to a soup kitchen yet. It will be ok!

On the bright side, my friend Amanda from Irmo came to see me this weekend! I think we both needed a weekend of tv, cookies, and wine! We also discovered a Chinese buffet that included sushi. Don't even get me started on the amazing apple pie. I may or may not have had two pieces.

Oh, and I can't believe I almost forgot! I had my first small group meeting last Friday! I met some awesome people, and we all shared a little bit about what brought us to this point in our walks with Christ. I can't wait to see all the things that God does through this group. It's going to be great! I love my church family!

With that said, I hope y'all have a fabulous day! I'm heading to Newspring!

I've been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long. I'm moving on.

I'm currently standing on a bridge. It's a bridge between my past and my future, and I can't seem to get across. Why is it so hard to leave certain things behind? Why do we hold onto every little thing when we know it will never be the same as it was? Until we are able to walk across that bridge without looking back, we will never be able to cross it. I've crossed many bridges in my life, and each time I've found that I had nothing to fear. God is holding things on the other side that we can't see from where we're standing. Well, I'm tired of walking back and forth. I'm ready to keep my eyes on the other side, burning it as I push myself across. If your life is all about your past, that's all your future will ever be.

A day in the life of a Clemson student.

0500: Woke up before the sun and went to the gym.

0630: Showered and took the best nap of my life.

0730: Hated my alarm clock, but got up and got ready anyway.

0840-1130: Sat in the same room for three straight hours learning about pain, nausea, and community education.

1200: Ate lunch in Hendrix with some awesome nursing buddies! They all ate sushi while I ate my lovely homemade pb&j! Yummmm.

1300-1630: Went to work. By the way, I absolutely LOVE working with Charlton. We crack ourselves up at the front desk while the entire office is quiet. He showed me this video and I almost died laughing. I did cry a little.

1730: Cooked a gourmet meal that consisted of tyson chicken breast tenders and shells n' cheese. It was pretty amazing if I do say so myself. I always get the walmart brand mac n' cheese, because it just seems to be the best. 

1930: CRUSADE SCAVENGER HUNT! It was absolutely awesome. I've never done anything with Campus Crusade, but I must say it was a blast. I met some really awesome people and our team ended up in fourth place! I even got to wade in the reflection pond! 

2100: Late-night Walmart run. We had to pick up supplies for our next activity, meaning we played in Walmart for a good hour or so. We tried on dresses (I bought one!) and looked at Harry Potter silly bands.

2200: Volcano time!!!! Play-do + baking soda + vinegar + a broken red pen = a really good show. 

You can't really see the volcano because Mandy's shirt is so bright, but it's there!

2330: Mischief. There are just certain things you have to do during your time at Clemson, and I finally got to cross off one that involved a little trespassing. Shhhh, don't tell!

0100: Downtown Clemson. As we were driving through downtown, we definitely got mooned by a drunk crossing the street. That's what college is for, I think. We were all wet and hungry, so we stopped at Little Caesar's to share a pepperoni pizza! 

It was definitely an amazing way to end an amazing night!!

Smile :)

I'm so excited right now. My care plan is finished, I have a tummy full of Ben & Jerry's Brownie Batter, and I had an amazing day at clinical today! It is the first day that I actually felt like a nurse. I normally fumble through my papers in search of what to do, poke the patient with my stethoscope and call it an assessment, and awkwardly pat the patient in random areas of the body with a washcloth and say I gave a bed bath.

Today, however, I felt confident. For once, I was in charge of the morning's "activities", and I was very proud of both my assessment and my bed bath! On top of that, I got to give heparin and a PPD! Who knew it'd be so exciting to stab someone with a needle? It was pretty much the highlight of my life, though. Especially since my life right now consists of studying, eating, studying, a little sleeping, more eating, and...studying.

Speaking of which, I have two tests next week. I haven't decided how much I'm going to panic yet, but I'll let you know when I get to that point. I'm going to start my weekend-long study session tomorrow afternoon. Fantastic.

Smile! It's almost Friday :)

I could use another brownie blizzard.

If I have to look at my nursing data sheets for another minute, I'm pretty sure I'll flip out and do one of two things: a) change my major to something that doesn't involve labs or anatomical functions, or b) toss all of my papers into the air in a fit of rage. The latter option is the most probable, but I still think it's a good idea to take a break. On another note, today has been a fairly good day. I got to learn about tourniquets and I met a new patient today! You know what made it even better, though? Mandy and I decided to get brownie batter blizzards (say that 3 times fast) and french fries from DQ on the way back to campus! Allow me to explain the combination to you. The brownie batter itself was heaven in a paper cup. The brownie chunks were phenomenal. They were the kind that get stuck in your teeth but require only a little bit of maneuvering with your tongue to get out. As if this weren't close enough to perfection, the french fries were an amazing addition. They had the perfect crispy to floppy ratio. Very few fast food places can handle that. Either you end up with fries so crispy that you break a tooth trying to bite into them, or they are so floppy that you might as well whip up some mashed potatoes. Way to go, Dairy Queen. You accomplished the impossible.

Three things I've Learned about God

Today was an average, but a beautiful day! After research I went to the doctor to have a mole removed. I really wanted to watch him cut it off with the scalpel but I couldn't see over my rather large breast. Anyway, it's a little weird to know a part of my body is gone! I've grown rather attached to that particular mole! I suppose it's for the best! Anyway, when I got back I did a little homework, watched Wife Swap, and dominated half of a pepperoni pizza. I legitimately ate 4 slices by myself. It looks like tomorrow I'll have some extra motivation to go to the gym, but it was definitely worth every bite!

Before I close, I want to add something that I've realized lately. I've been going through some stuff over the past few weeks/months, and I want to share some things I've learned about God through my experiences.

1) No matter what, He never leaves my side.
I can feel so lonely that it seems I'm the only person left on the planet, but His presence is still felt. Even when I'm at the lowest of lows, I can still turn to Him and find the strength to keep going. I've doubted Him, rejected Him, and disobeyed Him...but He never lets go. When I come out on the other side, I can almost hear Him saying "I told you we'd get through this. You never should have doubted me."

2) He never closes a door without opening a window.
I know, this is such a cliche. I've come to realize, though, that cliches are cliches for a reason. Seriously, though. Every single time something has happened in my life that has made me feel like I'm at a dead end, God always shows me a new path. He will never leave you stranded somewhere without the resources to make your way through it. I just have to remind myself that everything that happens is a part of His plan. Even when things seem to be going "all wrong" according to MY plan, they are going "all perfectly" according to HIS plan.

3) He uses our circumstances to teach us lessons.
I can't even describe how many times I have found myself in the same type of situation, only to recover and end up back where I started. It isn't until the 4th or 5th time I find myself faced with the same type of problem that I realize God is trying to teach me some kind of lesson. Think about it in terms of a test you would take for class. Your professors aren't going to ask you questions that you already know. They are purposefully going to challenge you with questions you can think about and learn from. God does the same thing in our lives. He isn't going to allow us to sit comfortably and live life without challenges. He's going to identify our weaknesses and force us to face them head on.

Alright, now that I've gotten that out, it's time to work off my pizza hangover and start typing a paper...gross.

Advice for the day: Know your limits.

I've been a slacker when it comes to posting every day, but I've been pretty busy. My dad's 50th birthday celebration was Saturday, and we were outside by the pool stuffing our faces until around 10:00. Then on Sunday I went to Newspring and watched Justin and Brittan get BAPTIZED!!! Amen! After that, I went back over to my dad's for an hour or so to do a little swimming, headed back to Tiger town, and finished off the weekend with a little bit of homework! Exciting, right?

Now that we're caught up, I'm going to discuss limits. We all have them, but few of us recognize our own. Take me, for instance. I'm running on the treadmill (at 5:30 AM)...I normally alternate running and walking using five minute intervals. Today, however, I decided I was going to run the whole time. I ignored my racing heart, the sweat pouring out all over my skin, and and fact that I was gasping for air. It wasn't until I got off the treadmill that I realized I'd exceeded my limit. I'm pretty sure it's not normal for a human being to sweat as much as I have this morning. I have enough salt and water dripping from my shoulder blades to support a wide variety of sea life. Not to mention, I feel on the verge of passing out or throwing up...hopefully not simultaneously.

So why do we push ourselves past our limits? I'll tell you why. We set unrealistic expectations of ourselves and we feel like we've failed if we don't meet them. As for me, my expectations are PERFECTLY realistic...by next week, I'll look like this:

I've overwhelmed by all the similarities already...

TGIF!!

Let me start off by saying TGIF, for real!! This has been a long, crazy week! I also can't believe I have stuck with my 5am workout routine for three full weeks now! I have lost 11 pounds, and still have 14 to go before my goal weight! I can do it! I drove to Chapin today to spend the evening with two of my favorite girls (Brittan and Miss Madi). We ate at Fatz...absolutely amazing, by the way! I drove past a Fatz sign somewhere near Newberry and just had to have it. 2 rolls, a salad, one medium rare steak, and a ton of cheese fries later, we also decided we had to have ice cream at Coldstone. I can't think of anything that would have made the evening better...well, except maybe Gerard Butler.

Tomorrow I'm stopping by my mom and stepdad's to wish him a happy birthday! Then I'm headed to my dad and stepmom's new house to celebrate my dad and aunt's birthdays! What I REALLY can't wait for, though, is Sunday! My cousin Brittan and her husband are getting baptized at church! How exciting!! I can't wait to see them publicly declare Jesus as their savior!

Somewhere in all that, I suppose I'll have to get some reading done for class.

Brittan and me on the way to Fatz!!

Brittan and Madi

My Halloween costume

And finally...the tote bag I ordered has arrived!! So excited :)

My nursing care plan.

Alas, the nursing student in me has surfaced and I did not have time to write an entry yesterday. My life has been consumed by data sheets, med profiles, and care plans for the last two nights, and I can honestly say I may lose my mind soon. To ensure that temporary (or prolongued) insanity does not occur, I have developed a nursing care plan for myself. Here it goes.

Assessment: Patient is presenting with restlessness and hostility. She reports a rapid increase in food consumption and the feeling that her personal life has been "literally sucked out of her".

Diagnosis: deficient diversional activity r/t nursing coursework aeb feelings of restlessness and hostility and report of overeating

Goal: The patient will participate in one extracurricular activity that does not involve a textbook, a stethoscope, or the Nurse's Pocket Guide to Diagnoses, Prioritized Interventions, and Rationales aeb patient reporting a decreased feeling of insanity by 09/05/10.

Interventions: Provide for periodic changes in the personal environment. Rationale: Sitting in one spot for too long will cause the client to do self-destructive things with her bandage scissors. Suggest activities such as bird baths for bird watching, a garden window box, or a fish bowl. Rationale: to stimulate observation and involvement in activity.

Evaluation: 09/02/10 Evaluation is ongoing.

Would you look at that? I'm already following through with my nursing interventions.

It can't be worth it...

Today I discovered one of God's most fascinating creatures...the praying mantis. I have never had strong feelings for them until today, when a good friend of mine pointed out a particular trait I was unaware of previously. Apparently it is a common mating ritual for the female to literally eat the male...whether she does this during or after, I can't be sure. I can't wrap my head around the fact that she straight up eats him. Now THAT is rough sex...but probably not the kind the male imagined when he embarked on this fatal pursuit. Now, I had never heard this before, so I did a bit or research.

I found the above information to be true, but only in 5-31% of the cases. That's better, implying that only 5-31 times out of 100, the female goes psycho and decides to devour her partner. The research article also states that the female is more likely to eat her partner's head when she is under "stressful circumstances". Tell me- how much stress can a praying mantis honestly be under? The final conclusion made in the research article is that cannibalism occurs most often when the female is hungry. Guys, I would strongly recommend making the girl a sandwich before putting on Barry White.

I hope you have learned a valuable life lesson by studying one of God's miraculous creatures. I know I have. If I'm stressed or hungry, it is perfectly okay to resort to cannibalism.

Don't do it!! 

This should be a new ad for abstinence from sex.

Walmart: the second leading cause of heart attacks in US citizens.

If there's one place I hate going, it's Walmart. Don't get me wrong. It's probably the best place to go when you're bored with a group of friends, but not when you have things to get done before you die. Taking a trip to Walmart is a skill you must inherit through experience. You have to plan for it, and maybe even involve some of your close friends for support. This planning must involve making a list. You do not, under any circumstances, want to forget something. This particular stage in the planning process is where I always go wrong.

Have you ever had your heart broken? The moment it hits you, you can literally feel your heart sink into your chest. Your palms get clammy, the world starts spinning around you, and you can feel all your hope escaping. I get that same feeling every time I unpack my groceries only to realize that I've forgotten something essential. I had this feeling yesterday. I went to Walmart with the specific purpose of buying the supplies I would need to make my dad's birthday present. Glad to have made it back alive (though $45 had been sucked out of my wallet), I sat down on my bedroom floor and started spreading out all of the items I would need for my craft. Then it hit me. I forgot the freakin' black paint. Suddenly a montage of all my Walmart experiences started spinning through my mind. I tossed all my supplies aside in a fit of rage and decided to watch some TV instead.

This particular incident forced me to think about what it really is that makes Walmart such a tortuous place. I have narrowed it down to a few significant factors.

#1 The parking lot- My blood pressure is spiking just thinking about it. After you are finished yielding for 562 people, you can never find a spot that is any closer than North Dakota. If it's raining, just give up and go home. Then you have to make the big decision...do I park on the food side or the home side? What about in the middle? It doesn't really matter, because you always end up forgetting which door you entered, causing you to walk halfway across the parking lot anyway.

#2 The crowd- Do you remember the game Frogger? Enough said.

#3 The lines- I will NEVER understand why they have 20,000 registers (literally) and only 4 of them are opened. Really, people? What are you waiting for? How many people do you have to see standing in a line before you will open another register? There shouldn't be a high unemployment rate in the US, because clearly Walmart can has plenty of vacancies!

#4 The people- There are some sketchy people at Walmart, especially after 10pm. No matter what time you go, though, you will always see something new. A new type of mullet, a new hair color, a new (and creative) way to wear shorts. You may even see a new species.

With that said, I hope this will be a warning to you. Before to go to Walmart, please make the proper preparations. This includes an extensive list of anything you may need for the next month and a half, some hand sanitizer, hiking boots, a rifle, and a bible. Trust me, you will need every one of them.

And the best one of them all...

Can I get an Amen??

I just love Sundays! I get to go to church and spend the rest of the afternoon crossing things off my to-do list! Newspring was awesome today. We rocked out to Guns N' Roses. Perry preached about the process of salvation and challenged everyone to recall the exact moment that we accepted Jesus. When he gave the invitation, people were asked to literally walk down to the front and nail their names to the cross. Awesome! As pumped up as I usually get about the sermon, though, there is always one person sitting behind me in the distance who is a little more pumped.

Let's talk about this person for a second. I'm talking about the person who feels the need to insert his (or her) commentary every 10 minutes during a sermon. First of all, God doesn't need your affirmation. Second of all, why must you always use that same tone of voice? It sounds like you're constipated. Do you talk that way to your friends when you're having a conversation? One of them says "This vanilla ice cream is particularly good today" and you respond aggressively with "That's right!". No. You don't do that. I understand that you feel strongly about the message, but next time a simple nodding of the head will suffice. I'm sure the person you came with will be a lot less embarrassed.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I will admit that church today was definitely "Amen-worthy". If you ever want to check it out, you can watch the services live online at www.newspring.cc!!

"for all Morgan have has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23

(put your own name in there...it really was that personal)

Stag Saturday: Eat, Pray, Love!

Thanks to my psychosocial professor (and a lot of free time on the weekends), I'm now on the path to self discovery. As an attempt to learn more about myself, I am now starting "Stag Saturdays". You go on a date to learn more about the other person, so why can't you go out by yourself to learn more about you? So I put on my nice purple dress, curled my hair, did my makeup, and even sprayed some "Sensuous" perfume. I decided to go to Chili's, which is one of my favorite restaurants. The hostess literally giggled at me when I told her I needed a table for one. Really? What if I had just been dumped? She would have opened herself up for a lot more than she anticipated had that been the case. Lucky for her, though, I am embracing the fact that I am single.

Normally when I go to Chili's, I get the chicken ranch sandwich. It's pretty much the closest you can get to Jesus and still have a pulse. However, I decided to do things a little differently tonight and go with the nachos. It was a wonderful decision. I left the restaurant a little early and decided to treat myself to ice cream. Another good decision. After devouring all but the napkin I was using to hold the waffle cone, I bought my movie ticket (Eat, Pray, Love). I was sitting alone in the front row with my sour gummy worms when I noticed I was surrounded by couples. I was excited to see a middle-aged woman at the end of my row sitting by herself. I then noticed that she was about 200 pounds and was balancing a vast array of food on her lap. I refuse to believe that will be me in 20 years. Anyway, the movie was pretty good, and it was definitely appropriate for my life right now.

From now on whenever I do Stag Saturdays, I'm going to try to write about something new that I learned about myself on my "date". Tonight, for instance, I learned that I use my phone as a silence diversion. It was nearly impossible for me to sit and wait for my food without reaching for my phone. Sad, I know. I'd love to say that I will leave my phone in my car from now on, but that probably won't happen. Anyway, here are some pictures from my date!