Almost Packed

Packing 9 months into 2 suitcases is quite difficult. I am having a trying time getting everything to fit right and to keep the bag under 50 lbs. Dan and I have settled on paying the overage for going over 50 lbs.

I'm getting nervous. I'm glad that we'll have it all done tomorrow and be ready to leave at 5am on Monday morning.

I've been able to see a lot of my family and a few friends, so that has been a highlight. Spending time in my hometown and with my parents has always been quite relaxing.

I'm off to relax a bit.

Hometown girl

We have been in my hometown since Wednesday and I'm so happy to be "home". Marshfield is a very relaxing city. It's small, people are friendly, and I am quite comfortable here.

I have been trying to get everything ready for school and Spain. We have a lot of packing and choosing what to take, left to do.

I recently got an iPod Touch and cannot access the iTunes store from iTunes. Now I can't get some features of my iPod to work. I am so new to all this. I hate spending money, but I had graduation money, so I bought the iPod, but it's not working as smoothly as I had hoped.

At least I'm in a relaxing atmosphere to get annoyed :)

Alicia Osland RN, BSN

Yesterday Dan and I spent the entire day packing and moving. It was not fun. Every time we move, I realize how much I remember hating to move and despise it even more. Unfortunately I couldn't stop thinking about my results and would check every hour to see if I passed my boards. Finally my friend called and said congratulations! I was so excited!

I passed!

The day ended at a local pub with 25 friends. My 29th birthday, passing my boards, and our going-away party was a great celebration!

no results

I didn't get the results of my exam on Friday. Dan and I moved most of the day and I kept checking. We had dinner at our pastor's house and that was enjoyable.

My friends and I all went out for sushi and hibachi food Saturday night and it was so relaxing and enjoyable! Actually I started my first master's class and had a headache the entire day. I drank lots of Coke and took Excedrin and was fine for sushi!

Today I finished my class (it was only 2 days). I enjoyed it so much. It was "novice nurse educator institute" and I was the only student who wasn't a faculty person. They all had lots of experience in nursing and teaching and I gave the student's perspective (which they all actually appreciated). I learned so much but was a bit intimidated! I have no experience and no knowledge of a lot of this stuff. It was amazing though!

While I was taking my class this weekend, Dan packed and moved almost our entire apartment to the storage place. I was so shocked, amazed and thankful! He never asked for help though and I wish he would have. We have plenty of friends who would have offered their services...maybe :)

I hope to get my NCLEX results tomorrow. If not, I will pay the $8 to get them.

Finished!

First of all, if you were praying for me, thank you very much! I have finished my boards!

I only had 75 questions (the minimum amount) and it took me an hour (out of the 6). The 75 questions part is a good sign, but the test makes me doubt that I passed. It was almost so basic that I found it quite hard. I kept thinking, "once they ask the harder questions, I can get some right" but that never happened. Ughh! Silliness.

I hope to find out tomorrow or on Monday. Until then, I am happy that I am done! I hope my stomach heals itself and that packing and moving will go smoothly.

Boards and Masters

Well, the big day is tomorrow! I will take my boards in Dayton at 8am, so that means Dan and I will be getting up around 5:30 to get ready and drive up there. I am not that nervous for some reason. I need to brush up on some basics, but otherwise, I am ready!

In other news, some of the professors that I have for class this fall were not responding back to my emails about what books I should buy for class. I talked to the head of my program and she talked to all of them and I got my books! Also, one of the profs questioned her about a clinical component of the class. She asked if I would be back for Christmas so I can make up this clinical. I informed her that I would not be back until June. She also asked about me doing a clinical in Mérida, but no one speaks English and my Spanish is so elementary. I don't even know if they have master's prepared nurses.

Well, nothing goes smoothly as I would like, but I am fine. My worrying days are over...hopefully for a long time! I will get this test out of the way and enjoy the time with my family and settling down in Spain!

Now to brush up on some labs...

Who am I?

Asking people to pray for me about a test has always been hard for me. There are people who are starving, lost, having marital problems, missionaries...anything seems more important than an exam.

When the Lord answered prayer last Monday, the only thing that came to mind was, "Who am I?" Casting Crowns has the perfect song for this:

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Bridge:
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
'Cause I am yours.
I am yours.

Then I was reminded of a sermon that I recently heard about David. Nathan tells David about the covenant that God wants to make with him about his family being blessed and his son building the temple and so on. Anyway...David responds like this:

2 Sam 7:18-19
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD?

So, all this to sum up that God cares! Even the smallest thing that may not seem important in the big picture...He cares about you! I cannot wait to see what great things He holds in our future!

New Glasses

Dan and I got new glasses the a couple days ago. We went to Wal-Mart to check them out, but I was not impressed with the prices. We looked for "deals" online, and found that Lens Crafters had a buy the frame (>$170), get the lens free. Well, they do not tell you that nothing is included and it was outrageous in price. We went back to Wal-Mart and were very impressed with the prices :) Everything was included on the lens, so I am quite happy.

The Lord is always GOOD

So if you have been reading my past posts, you could tell that I was getting quite depressed about not getting my ATT#.

I was finally fed up and asked everyone in my life who was close to me to pray for a miracle. My mother-in-law (who is in Angola right now) had the day off, so she prayed. My friends took time out of their busy schedules to pray.

One lady at church works with a Senator and had his intern call the OBN and I got my ATT# TODAY! Can you believe it? Praise God!

Everyone pulled for me and the Lord was always for me, I just had to wait. How amazing!!

I take my exam on Aug 14th at 8am in Dayton! Now the real stress...ha!

Sad

I wish I could write only happy things, but I just don't have that many happy feelings. I am always studying and worrying about my NCLEX exam.

My friend had a lot of trouble with her background check. She found that it didn't even get sent, but that was the day I got through to the Ohio Board of Nursing and found that they had all my stuff and were going to change my application from LPN to RN. My friend got her ATT# today with a test date of Aug 29th. Now maybe she picked a later date, but that is way too late for me. I want to take it around the 14th, but I don't even have permission to schedule.

A month of this garbage has been so trying on my body. My stomach is constantly sick. Nausea and dizziness is not helping me studying.

I guess in good news, I've been able to see some good friends and say my goodbyes. I also was given permission to take my first graduate class this summer (it's only 2 days).

Please pray for peace in my life. This is becoming long and wearisome. It does not matter how much I rationalize everything, I'm tired.