Ok, so it's been 7 months since I last posted anything if that doesn't say something about the intensity of my life in CRNA school!!!
A little recap....
The fall semester (my first semester in CRNA school) ended well with me successfully completing my finals and progressing in the program to spring semester! YIPPEE!! The relief of that semester being over was unimaginable. I was on campus that semester and I missed my boyfriend, Chris, and our beautiful new home together in Tulsa SO much! I couldn't wait to move back home IMMEDIATELY!!! Needless to say, the minute my last final was over, I raced back to my apartment in Fort Worth, did a complete deep-cleaning (the fastest in my entire life...took only 2 hours!!), turned in my keys to the office, filled up my tank with gas and headed HOME TO TULSA...for good!!! That day was one of the best days of my life.
My 3 weeks off from school over Christmas break were very exciting as well. My boyfriend, Chris, proposed to me over the break and we kind of just ran off and got married while I was still on break! We got married on January 3, 2010 at a quaint little art studio in Skiatook, OK. It was snowing that day which made it BEAUTIFUL!
Here are a few pictures from our special day....
Art Studio in Skiatook, OK (the site)
The happiest day of my life!!
Getting ready!!
Mr. and Mrs. Wall
"You may kiss the bride!"
The Cake
Cutting the cake
The happy couple
We left for Chicago on our Honeymoon on January 6 and came back home on Saturday, January 9 just in time to start spring semester on Monday, January 11! We chose Chicago for our Honeymoon because we have both always wanted to visit Chicago (so much to see and do there!) and it's a relatively cheap trip which fits well with this poor nurse anesthesia student who's living off of student loans! We had a great time! It was very cold and snowy there but we made due and still managed to pretty much walk everywhere. Where we couldn't walk there were taxis available. We stayed at the Hilton on Magnificent Mile. There is a TON of shopping there on "Magnificent Mile!" Also, the food in Chicago was AMAZING! So yummy!! We went to Shedd Aquarium, saw Millennium Park and even went up to the top of the Hancock Building.
Here are a few pictures from our Chicago honeymoon trip...
View of Chicago from our hotel room
Great hot cocoa!!
Their very own Hershey's store!
The World's largest Hershey's Bar
Goofy Hubby!! I love him!
Me and the beautiful "Windy City"
How Chicago does hot dogs!
Chicago style pizza...the best pizza I've ever had!
The Original Pancake House...great breakfast!!
The famous John Hancock building
The John Hancock building at ground level looking up
View of Chicago from the top of the John Hancock building
Millennium Park
The famous Cloud Gate at Millennium Park
Ice skating rink at Millennium Park
Chris and I at Shedd Aquarium
Giant Japanese Spider Crab! Ewwww....
Australian Orange Lobster
The world's ugliest fish
Strolling through Grant Park
Good times!!
The Natural History Museum
The LEGO Store!!
LEGO Dinosaur
Life-sized LEGO Man!
LEGO Darth Vader
ZANIES Comedy Club...we went here our last night in Chicago!
Needless to say, my Christmas break was amazing! I got engaged, married the love of my life and had a wonderful Honeymoon to boot...all in 3 weeks time!
I started spring semester in CRNA school on January 11. I didn't think CRNA school could get any more mentally exhausting than the first semester, but boy was I wrong! We hit the ground running from week 1 and it never really let up! I hit a major mental slump around week 10 or 12. I had what I call a "minor meltdown!" I was so mentally drained and tired of not having a life that I felt like I just wanted to quit! At some point hearing "keep going, Angela, it's so worth it!" just doesn't cut it anymore. I felt as if I wasn't sure why I was doing this whole "CRNA thing" anymore. Being in the thick of it day in and day out for so long was causing me to lose sight of why I wanted to do this in the first place. I was starting to give up. Chris, along with a few other select friends I chose to confide in, gave me some major words of encouragement and simply helped me to refocus on the big picture again. Sometimes we all need that from time to time. Fortunately, I found my "second wind" and pushed on through finals...and made it!! So now I'm continuing on to the dreaded summer semester. It's bittersweet to me. On one hand, this means I'm on the downhill slide with only 10 weeks to go before I can move on to the much-coveted clinical portion of my program. On the other hand, summer semester is supposed to be the very most difficult, mentally-demanding, applicable semester yet, where we will most likely lose our highest percentage of students to attrition (or so I've been told). As always, there's so much to lose...and I guess this fear of failure and all that I will lose is what motivates me the most to keep pressing forward!
Currently I'm on my 2-week break before summer semester begins. However, my break is nearly over as I begin this summer semester Monday (May 24, 2010). I haven't done anything too terribly exciting. I've managed to sleep 9-10 hours nearly every night, catch up with some dear friends and family I have been severely neglecting for the past 4-5 months, cleaned my house, watched several movies, caught up on my shows and just generally RELAXED. It's been absolutely WONDERFUL and necessary!! Oh yeah...I should take this time to mention that I've booked a 4-day Disney vacation for Chris and I after I complete this summer semester in August! We are both super excited about it and it gives me something to look forward to! After this full year of pure HELL is over with I'm sure I can say I deserve it. Plus, I've been told that we won't get another break for the rest of the program so the final 2-week summer break in August is supposed to be the best time to take a vacation if you're going to.
Wish me luck as I head back into the "trenches" once again. It's only 10 weeks this time around after all. I can do anything for 10 weeks....right????
