whew...I'm tired.

I will be taking a short break from writing lists this week. Nursing school is crazy insane and I have to memorize two books. J/k...but pretty much.

More About Minimalism

I've always considered myself to be one of few possessions. I just figured out the reason I had few possessions is because I was storing it all at my parents house! Sheesh....Now I have to figure out how to go from a junkist to a sane minimalist. I do not want to be the person that debates whether toilet paper and spoons are something I REALLY need to survive. Therefore, I decided I would make gradual changes in my life and figure out what I really need.

1. I try to use only 3 squares of toilet paper instead of 7. I only do this because my husband commented on how much toilet paper I use. I guess I'm used to using the one-ply scratchy toilet paper that I grew up with.

2. I stomped on a roach not only once, but twice yesterday. (Of course I screamed the entire time I was stomping) I decided that the world needed to minimalize the number of scary creatures crawling around in it!

3. I've worked on cutting down on the number of diet cokes I consume. I don't really NEED Diet Coke. I just really like it. As most of you know...this has been a 5 year struggle for me!

4. We have about 60 blankets at our house. That would work well if we lived in MN...but we live in muggy VA. So I just threw one away yesterday. It had definitely seen better days.

5. My husband has has Mexican, Chines and everyday dishes. He also has two sets of picnic dishes (along with two picnic baskets) We now have the dishes we chose for our wedding! We have a lot of dishes. I'm trying to decide what to do with them all. I'm thinking we will have a garage sale in the spring.

6. I've also decided to minimalize my time on the internet.....I'll start right after I finish this blog!

Wow...That's Uncomfortable.

Have you ever been in a large group where someone all of a sudden offers information that causes you all to turn red? I've had a lot of those experiences in the past 6 months. Here goes...thankfully this list won't be that long...I don't know how many more of these situations I can live through.

1. Our nursing class was asked to think about the most painful experience we'd ever been through. Our instructor than asked if anyone would be willing to share their experience. Most people said stuff like "My C-Section...falling off my bike..ect." Then it happened. One of our "interesting" class mates raised his hand and told us all about the time he had a portion of his male organ removed! Wow, I'm turning red as I type this. I guess some people are just really open...or maybe they just don't have a filter. I'm not sure.

2. Our nursing instructor was TRYING to teach us to be open to different cultures. She then proceeded to tell us that when you have a black patient they will always want to eat "fried chicken." She than asked an Asian person what they ate every day. The student said "what do you mean?" The nursing instructor said "You eat rice, right?" Another person in the class made the situation worse by raising his hand and saying "I thought oriental people ate rice and seafood too." I just wonder when these people are going to learn that you only refer to rugs as oriental and that those cultures eat a variety of foods!

3. One of the pregnant nursing students raised her hand during our contraception lecture. She then stated that she was on a certain type of birth control and "now she was pregnant." First of all..I did not want to know what type of birth control my classmates were one But to make things worse, another student raised their hand and stated that "people above certain weights could not use that type of birth control." It was very apparent that this student was definitely not under the weight requirement! Whewww...calling someone fat in front of the whole class is not nice!

Oops a Daisy....Huh?

Have you ever wondered what some of the phrases you use actually mean? I do.
Here is a list of phrases that sometimes befuddle me.

1. Get on my soapbox. I know what this means..but why do we say that we are getting on our soapbox? I think my weight would crush that small piece of cardboard.

2. Oops-a-Daisy. Hmm...did people who used to pick weeds accidently yell this when they pulled out a daisy instead of a dandelion?

3. Take a gander. Hmm..I love this phrase. I use it all of the time. That's how cheesy I am...I have no idea why I would take a goose anywhere...

4. I'll be the guinea pig? What? Don't they only do scientific experiments on mice?

5. As easy as pie. I know that pie is definitely not easy to make. It takes hours...and talent.

6. Chip on your shoulder.

7. Point blank

8. Let the cat out of the bag. Why was it there in the first place?

Luckily, you can all figure out where these phrases originated from by clicking here

Wal-Mart...It Makes Me Want to TEAR Out My Hair.

Today I finished studying for my test early, so Joel and I decided to go to Wal-Mart and spend our wedding gift cards. I was very glad when we finally left. Wal-Mart does have some great products...but the customer service is something else. Therefore, Wal-Mart makes me want to tear out my hair because

1. There never seem to be enough cash registers open.

2. The lines at the cash registers move extremely slow.

3. The cashiers running the cash registers use their blinking lights a lot.

4. There are screaming kids EVERYWHERE.

5. Sometimes there is different music coming out of different speaker systems.

6. People in the parking lot don't care if you are trying to park....they'll just amble slowly by as you wait with your blinker on for ten minutes.

7. Did you find something you like? It's probably out of stock or way down the aisle hidden underneath a pile of merchandise.

8. It's definitely the cheapest place to shop and this makes me want to tear out my hair because it means I HAVE to go there. Good thing my husband does the grocery shopping.

9. Need a coat rack? Don't ask the workers where to find one...they probably don't know what it is.

*I am writing this about Wal-Marts in the VA area. The ones back home were run so much better...*sigh*

There's Just Something About.....Holly!

There's just something about Holly because

1. She researches EVERYTHING! Visit her blog and you'll know what I mean.

2. She peaked my interests in blogs.

3. She has a witty sense of humor.

4. She watches girly movies with me.

5. She's an amazing mother.

6. She's an amazing sister!

7. She's chalk full of ideas.

8. She's fun to hang out with.

9. Because of her, I am now married to the most wonderful man ever!

10.She makes great oven pancakes.

A List of Facts I Like to Ignore....

Here are a list of facts that I have come across as a student. I like to ignore these facts...they just seem to make life so difficult.

1. Count how many people are living in your house. Now count how many animals also share your home. Add the two together. That's how many times you are supposed to vacuum a week. Sheesh...glad I only live with one other person.

2. You are supposed to microwave your sponge for 1 minute before you use it (Make sure it's wet when you microwave it). I'll admit that I don't ignore this one. I just can't. I have an intense fear of getting an upset stomach and if I have to microwave my sponges to avoid any kind of food poisoning..I'll definitely do that. I do only microwave my sponge for 30 seconds when I'm feeling rebellious.

3. You are supposed to sleep with your door closed in case of a fire. I've recently had to make a compromise related to this rule. I have always been a firm believer of sleeping with the door closed. Visions of awakening to a smoke filled room weren't ways that I liked to lull my mind to sleep in the past. My husband likes the air to circulate through the entire house though....so,let's just hope our house never starts on fire.

4. You're only supposed to drink 1 can of diet soda/day at the MOST. Yeah...I don't follow this rule.

5. You should never stay up late studying the night before a test. I'm not a procrastinator, but sometimes I just feel better if I stay up late studying. I know...I know..it's counterproductive.