Friday, September 30, 2011

25 Years Ago

Greetings, friends! I wanted to make you aware of a reason to celebrate (read: eat cake). 25 years ago today, my dear sweet mother went to the doctor and received confirmation that she was pregnant! So Happy Confirmed Conception Day to me! Now go enjoy some dessert, because I surely will!

XOXO,
Hannah

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Plateau

What an ugly word. I had to spell check it three different places to make sure I wasn't wrong. My weightloss/diet has plateaud. And its really rubbing me the wrong way. My hormones have also been kind of a trainwreck so other things have also been rubbing me the wrong way. And despite the fact that I'm actually in a good mood right now, I'd love to share these things with you in a list because lists do not and will not rub me the wrong way.

Angry and Annoying Things September 25, 2011
1. People asking me when I'm going to reproduce. If you were around me 24/7 you'd probably find yourself asking me not to reproduce instead. I am selfish and moody and in no way ready to care for a tiny human. Sometimes I get all oooh and ahhh because babies are (typically) really cute, but if there's anything I can do about it there will be no ooohs or ahhhs or other annoying coo sounds pointed in my direction anytime soon. For example, right now I think pregnancy sounds awesome because I'm dieting and I think pregnancy is a good reason to get fat...plus I'm weird/creepy and have always been obsessed over the anatomical happenings involved in making a kid. End rant.
2. Procrastinating. I thought it would be different this time around but I'm blogging instead of studying for Tuesday's test so we all know better, don't we? End rant.
3. People giving up, specifically on their health and living life in general. You are not dead yet, at least if you're reading this. If you're reading and are dead, please leave a comment so that I may call myself a psychic medium and get a show on TLC (If this happens I might recant #1 because I'll probably have a kid to boost ratings...the profit from my show would probably pay for said kid's therapy down the road, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it). I digress. I have seen so many folks just accepting their fate and I feel this is completely unreasonable. FIGHT. You can best believe I won't go down without kicking and screaming and possibly losing a few organs in the process. HEALTH PROMOTION PEOPLE! If you know you're prone to heart disease, put down the freakin Big Mac, don't just say "well my daddy and his daddy and his daddy all had heart attacks at 59, so I probably don't have much longer." I felt this way before school, but now that I'm aware of what a huge part of nursing health promotion is, you can best believe I will be cramming it down your throat. You can thank me when you die at 102 and start talking to me through my blog. End rant.
4. The death penalty. I'm pissed that we killed a man this week because there was reasonable doubt (judging from what I've heard/read/watched, I know I'm no expert please don't start throwing legal jargon at me) about whether or not he even did it. However, I'd be pissed even if he admitted it and had DNA all over the place and all the other things that would take away said reasonable doubt. Call me a flaming liberal if you want, but I do not believe in nor agree with the death penalty. I find it barbaric and ridiculous. I would rather them take part of my hard-earned money (this isn't true at the moment, I'm unemployed but the fact remains) to pay for all of these criminals to be in jail for life than to "humanely" kill a person with lethal injection. If it were me I'd suffer more by having to remember and relive a crime everyday in my jail cell than if you gave me the easy way out and put me to death. Of course I don't have a criminal mind, but I do feel bad for days for tiny, insignificant things I do wrong...like hoping a fellow student fails out because I wouldn't trust her to take care of my sickly family member. Can we please not kill people anymore? Feel free to hate on me and leave commentary about how much you agree with killing people in the comment section...I like hearing perspectives. End rant.
5. Not making your wishes known. I was talking to a friend who knows someone with a spouse on hospice that refuses to accept their death or tell their spouse what they want to happen with their body/money/possessions/etc when they pass on. This isn't fair folks. It adds more burden to the person left behind because not only are they sad and missing you, they have to figure out what you PROBABLY (no confirmation here) wanted done with your body. RUDE. I know its not fun to think about and my mom is probably shaking her head and calling me negative as she reads this, but this is important. So, witnesses young and old and possibly dead (see point #3) here are my post-mortem wishes: If possible, donate all of my organs. Skin me, take out my eyeballs, take it all as long as somebody else can use it. If I can't help people live, donate me to science. Let some future doctors cut me apart to learn anatomy so they can save somebody later. I don't care where my body goes when donated as long as you don't send me to the University of Tennessee. I DO NOT WANT TO GO THERE and it has nothing to do with how much I truly hate that ugly orange and the volunteers. Their lab is a decomposition lab and I don't want that. Cut me apart but don't let me decompose in the woods....mainly because I don't want snakes around. I've heard science is picky so if I'm too messed up for them, cremate me and scatter me somewhere and be done with it. No sad funeral videos or my dead body laid out in a casket and no idiots talking about how good and peaceful my dead self looks. If you want a memorial that's fine, do it in Chatsworth because I don't have enough people here to come, and please play Ding Dong the Witch is Dead. I'm serious, don't sob. I'll be rejoicing with the Lord and I won't really care where you put my body in a box in the ground. Honor my wishes or I'll haunt you. End rant.   
6. Kids that look/act/talk/dress like they're grown. Mainly girls. Dress your babies like they're babies and not like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman! This is why I want boy spawn and instead of girl. Girls start rolling their t-shirts up to show their bellies when they're like 6 these days and boys wear polo shirts and khakis from the time they're born til they're in the nursing home! So much easier! Let the kids be kids until they can't be anymore or they'll regret it when they're older and probably hold it against you. Hubby and I think that perhaps television is to be blamed for certain adult-like behaviors so we cut off our cable...not true, we cut off our cable because we don't like paying for it when we only watch 1 hour a week, but we are elders at heart and blame it on TV and that darn rap music. I am 99% sure Tyler will shake his head here when he reads this. Let kids be kids and wear clothing that makes them look their age! End rant.
7. Diet plateaus. If I'm working just as hard to eat crappy food (ok not crappy but subpar) then I should still be losing weight. Skinny is good, but I would really like to be skinnier. If I keep not losing I'll start eating like fatty patty again and all of my "hard work" will be in vain. End rant.

I'm pretty sure that I faced more annoying things this week, but I'm tired and 3 episodes away from finishing the LOST series so I must go spend time with Tyler, Desmond (my favorite character if you're curious), and the gang. Hope you're not offended by my rants and if you are that you leave me a comment!

XOXO,
Hannah the potential flaming liberal/psychic medium

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Not A Lot to Say

Actually, just not a lot of time to say anything. But we went home to see the fam and for Tabitha's baby shower last weekend and I have pictures to post. This is also a prompt for Tabitha/Lindsey to post pictures from said event because I no longer have facebook and I haven't seen any other than my own...and I only took a few.

First, a tiny celebration dance because I made A's on all three of my tests Thursday!! YES! I was seriously stressing, so this brought on a mountain of relief and allowed me to enjoy my weekend away.

Also, my dear friend Jami Lyn accompanied me on my visit home which made it much more enjoyable...for me, at least. Of course, who really enjoys a nearly 12 hour round trip drive? She did have a good time once we got up to Chatsworth though, and since that was the bulk of the trip I guess it was a good one. We also did a teensy bit of shopping (because it was 90 here in Tville and 66 when we got to Chatsworth and we didn't have sub-arctic appropriate clothing) and spending money is always fun in my book.

So, without further time wasting, pictures from the weekend:

Jami Lyn and I playing in Hobby Lobby. Not sure why this is the ONLY picture of us from the whole weekend.


Annie and I point to fetus Rayne.  


All hands on deck! I find it remarkable that I can hide that much of my body behind Tab's--yay pregnancy!


Lindsey, mommy times 2! I have no idea how she does it, I'm lucky to take care of my 24-year-old self.


I still can't believe this is real life! I feel like we just started driving and BAM! Tabitha is a mom!


Mom wanted a picture of the first time Tabitha's belly has ever been bigger than her's.
 Well, that's it in a nutshell, all of the pictures I took at the shower. I do think it went VERY well--props to Tab, Lindsey and Cindi for that--and its quite easy to see that Baby Rayne (though I prefer to call her Fetus Rayne since that is what she technically is at the moment) is incredibly loved already! Congratulations Tabitha! (and Ed)

Side note: If one more person tells or asks me if I'm next, I'll probably blow up. Mainly because if I am next it will be an act of the Lord, the only one who can counteract my preventative measures. I'm working very hard to be the oldest mother at the preschool, thank you very much!

XOXO,
Hannah

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Random Blog

Oh hey! Did yall forget about me? It's likely since I've not blogged in at least a month. I've been BUUUUUSY! Just a quick little update of the lovely goings on in Lipsey Land since last post.

1. We're dieting. In 5 weeks (we take breaks on the weekends, so this is strictly 5-day weeks) I have lost 13.7 pounds and Tyler has lost 19 pounds!! For those of you in Dalton/Chatsworth we're doing Thrive and it is working marvelously! Unfortunately you can't really tell I've lost any weight, but Tyler's results are showing and he is looking awesome. I've lost a lot in my belly (which had taken a nice, round, pregnant'ish shape) but since I keep it covered almost 24/7 Tyler's the only one who has really been able to tell. But since I was up to nearly 150lbs (way too much for my 5'4 frame) it had to be done. I'm also happy to report that my digestive issues have completely resolved themselves and I've had no stomach pain or irritable bowel syndrome symptoms (you know what I mean) since we started. We feel great and are still losing!

2. I've started nursing school and I LOVE IT! I feel as though I've learned more in my 3 3-day weeks at SWGTC than my entire 4 years at UGA. I know this is likely due to my own interest in the subject, but I also think it is related to the nature of the hands-on, practical skills material. I would absolutely recommend a technical school education to ANYONE. At present I'm taking physical assessment, fundamentals, and pharmacology/drug calculations and the latter is my favorite! HUGE shock for the student who avoids math like the plague. It's terribly interesting and I find myself fully engaged and trying hard to get it right. This is a good thing because I have a test Thursday and if I don't make 100 on it (we have 3 tries, thank God), I'm kicked out of the program! YIKES! This is necessary when you have someone's life in your hands though. I'll take all the prayers you're willing to dish out!

3. I got a scholarship! Tuition paid as long as I agree to work at the hospital for 3 years after graduation--yes, please!

4. I love my husband. This isn't news, but God seriously couldn't have blessed me with a better one. I am so thankful for him and his support that I often find myself teary-eyed. He's just that wonderful. Try to stop gagging, I just can't help but brag on him for being so incredibly good to me. He helps me study, I've taken his blood pressure at least a million times, and he's ALWAYS here to share my joy when I accomplish something new (like filling a syringe or dressing wounds!) I LOVE MY HUSBAND! I can't wait to make tiny humans with him and I pray they turn out to be JUST LIKE HIM!

5. I'm coming to Chatsworth this weekend! If you're around I want to see you and I'm going to El Pueblito karaoke Saturday night so be there! I wish Tyler could come with me but he's got a game and a band jamboree, plus baby showers aren't his thing. I'm bringing my friend Jami Lyn who has no idea what she's gotten her little self into!

6. 9/11/11. We've hit 10 years. Today I've been unable to pull myself away from the live footage on the computer (we don't have cable) and it has truly been breaking my heart all day. 10 years ago today we had the TVs on at MCHS and watched that plane hit the second tower. I was in crafts class and remember watching in English after the class change. I remember thinking it was tragic, but I was really more caught up in the fact that my cross country meet was canceled. I was also relieved that they were far away and I was safe in Chatsworth. I had no idea the impact this day would have on my life and my generation.  Ten years later I'm struck by my own naivety (was I really just happy that my meet was canceled? and did I really feel safe?) and the fact that despite that naivety and nonchalance I can't get those images out of my head. I can still vividly picture that south tower being hit and crumbling to the ground, and all of those people jumping from the buildings to their deaths. I'm not sure my 14-year-old self could process that and accept that it was real life, maybe that's why I was so naive. It's hard to believe that terrorism and Osama Bin Laden were not even words in our vocabulary at that time. The thought makes me shudder. Governor Deal asked the public schools to hold a moment of silence in remembrance on Friday at school and Tyler was talking about how many of the kids he teaches don't remember that day. It strikes me how quickly such a tragedy can be lost on our youth...they were here, the oldest of them 8 years old when it happened, but they have no memory of how that day felt. So eerie and quiet all day long. It seems odd to me too that they don't remember a time we weren't at war. When I was young I remember thinking how far away and ancient war sounded...until we were right in the middle of one. I have no resolution for this point and I'm not really sure what point I was trying to make other than reflecting and trying to rationalize my own feelings toward that fateful day. I'm hopeful that we will never see another day like it, and thankful that this day did prove to us that heroes still exist. God bless the victims, their families, and our heroes...don't forget to keep praying for these folks, 10 years later they're still hurting.

I suppose that's all I have to say at this point. Sorry for the downer at the end, but I couldn't write this blog on this day without acknowledging it.  I miss blogging all the time but I'm running around crazy and hardly have time to think straight. I'll try to do better...I always say that and then go months without blogging, so you get what you get.

XOXO,
Hannah