We are PCS’ing

So we found out back in October that we would be moving in a year.  Well, time has past and the time has come for us to start preparing for that move.  It has been hard waiting but it is all coming down to the point when we get on our way.  I’ve been doing a little bit but now things are picking up and I have to get moving with the move.  PCS’ing is a way of life for an Army family, in fact, any Military family in the US.  You come to understand one very important thing, Home is where the Army sends you!

WOW, Its been a long time sense I last posted.  Lots of things have happened in our lives.  I’ll will try to give a summary of some of it.

We are near the end of our conversion process, YAY  What a year 🙂  We’ve learned a lot and understand so much more.  We’ve also been learning Hebrew this year and are much better at speaking to one another in Hebrew.  I did a post about the cost of converting and although it was high it was more about buying the things that a person born would have due to family.  Things like books, tallit, tefillen, scrolls, etc.  It was all worth it and we are so happy that we are soon going to be Jews.

I have lost some weight. I also had breast reduction and tummy tuck surgery.  More on those in another post.

I completed school.  I did not take the Board.  I don’t really fell I want to be a nurse.  I’m not sure I want to do.  I have a loving husband who is allowing me to explore and figure it all out.

So we are now 4 years in to our Army life and loving it!  It has its ups and downs but I would not trade it.  I get to spend the best years (so far) of my life with the love of my life, how cool is that?  It has been fun.  We are living on Post and I know I talked about Post life a little so let me open up to more of what it is like to live on Post, from my point of view.

Making friends is easier for some.  I’ve had a really hard time with it.  I don’t share in a lot of what goes on so I’m often left out.  My husband works in the OR and has really crazy hours.  I spend a lot of time on my own.  I’ve learned the joy of Glide.  It is awesome!  I get to talk to my friends from all over the world through video chat.  I like it better than skype.  Although there is nothing wrong with skype.

I’ve closed my FB account.  Way to much drama going on.  hahaha Now I just use my Instagram and Glide to share.  Look me up Chanaruth

Now that we are getting ready for our first PCS, I’ve learned a lot about housing.  When we moved in, I was so excited about getting a place on arrival that I did not inspect the house like I should have.  Now that we are getting ready to move out, in a few months, I learned that it is important to check everything and fill out the paper work showing any issues.  For example; on move out there is an inspection that the rental office staff conducts.  It is very detailed.  You would not think of most of the things they check but they don’t tell you to do this at move in.  Things like removing cobwebs.  When we moved in this house there were many cobwebs in the corners but move-out inspection wants it gone if not, they will change you.  You must clean the interior surfaces of the windows and exterior but this was not checked by my husband or I to see if it was done before we moved in.  I think a lot of what they require is wrong.  But, my house will be cleaned and ready.  Also, and this is a big one, they will charge you for damage to the house.  So you are living and the shower rod falls off the wall, you call for repair, what they don’t tell you is upon move out some of those repair cost are charged to you.  You would think that maintenance calls a free but not all of them.  If they feel it is residence fault, they charge you and you don’t find out about this until move out when they hit you with the bill.  Below are some pictures of things that can cost you.  In the first one, I dropped a pot on the floor and it dented the floor.  Normally this would be a charge to replace the whole kitchen floor, but the office told me that it was small enough and I’ve been so good at keeping the house clean over the years, that I would not be charged.  In cases like this you want to make sure that it is noted in your file because it can come back and bit you in the pocket.  Now, the second one is in the living-room floor.  I don’t know how this dent got there but they are going to charge us for it.  I think it is like $25.00 for each one they find.  I’ve heard from other spouses that they don’t replace the things they charge you for as they claim.  I don’t know if that is true but the carpet cleaner told me he has seen it happen.  He said they charge people for stains in the carpet and say it has to be replaced but don’t.  That is so wrong.

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So Now that I’ve caught you up on some of what’s been going on you are probably wondering where we are PCS’ing.  Well, I’d like to hold off on that info for a bit longer 🙂 One, it will give me more to talk about and keep me faithful this time to posting and two, I think it will be fun watching it all unfold.

 

 

A Day In My Life (Studying)

I spend a lot of my time studying.  It seems all I really have time for most days.  I go to class, study, go to another class, study, study while I eat, study, study, study, and sleep……Start all over…..

 

One of the best place for me to study is the library at school.  I have a place I go to most.

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Then I love to just have my coffee and…….hahahaha

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Sometimes when I am outside I like to walk and read my books…..gota be careful that I don’t walk into someone, hahahahaha

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Another thing I like is how beautiful my school looks this time of year.

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So at the end of the day, when I’m not home I study at school.

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It helps when the parking lot is not full, hahahahahaha

 

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How Food Companies Exploit Americans – 100 Days of Real Food

I’ve long struggle with my weight and I’ve always felt part of the problem was the foods I eat. Having something quick is always been my go to. Being a Nursing Student, I don’t have a lot time to cook dinner and have a meal that will add in my health and diet. After reading this, I can’t see myself not finding the time to stay healthy. Thanks so much for this research you put into this article.

How Food Companies Exploit Americans – 100 Days of Real Food.

Weight update #2

Well, it has been a while since my last update but let me say for the first time I am feeling good.  I met with a Nutritionist who was able to give me some really good tips on how to do this without feeling as if I am being deprived.

I am walking 2 miles a day

I do step aerobics in my backyard on my back step.  (no cost on my budget) 🙂

I also eat small snack like meals throughout the day.  This keeps me from over eating.  I have a granola bar for breakfast, a lite salad for lunch and banana for snack, another granola bar, and a very light dinner.  This is working for me because I feel as if I am eating too much.  Oh yeah, I snack on trail mix if I feel a need to eat.

I have lost some weight but it is more in inches than in pounds but it is all good for me.   I love watching my dress size go down.

Being back in school has also helped me a lot.  I don’t have time to eat and I’m not sitting around with nothing to do and I don’t watch TV, there’s no time.  🙂

I’m feeling much happier and I have more energy.  This is a win win for me 🙂  I’m still juicing but not as much as I was, I don’t have the time.  But, I love my juice when I can get one in.

 

School………

I know it seems like forever since I posted on my blog and to me it feels just that way.  School has taken over my life and I don’t have much time for anything but reading…..

Nursing school is exciting, hard, fun, frustrating, demanding, crazy, and any other word you can think of to show how up and down things can be.  I love it and I can’t wait to be done.

One of my teachers told us to keep all out books like Microbiology, A&P, and so on, well I did not and know I finding myself buying them again to reference for class work.

I spend, on average, about 6 hours a day just reading and another 8 studying what I just read.  Then there are all the exams, test, labs, and so on……..my time is gone.  I often have to remind myself to eat and sleep.

If you’ve ever been in a nursing program you know how important it is to know how to do an assessment you must know and understand all the steps involved.

WASH YOUR HANDS

HEAD

EYES

EARS

NOSE

THROAT AND MOUTH

LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND ORIENTATION

THORACIC REGION

ABDOMEN

EXTREMITIES

GENERAL QUESTIONS

WASH HANDS

EVALUATE YOUR ASSESSMENT  in terms of the Nursing Process

The nursing process is really not as complicated as it seems. It consists of basically five
steps.

The Five Steps

Assessment
• Diagnosis
• Planning
• Implementation
Evaluation

Well, not that I’ve bored you with my information, let me say this.  I love what I am doing but I do miss taking to you all.

 

A Trip to Whole Foods

I went grocery shopping the other day and spent $68.00 on some veggies.  I also got a juice while I was there.  It was not good at all.  I tried something new and it really turned out bad.  I paid $6.00 for the 16oz juice and throw it in the trash.  What a waste.  I’ve been in a slump for a few weeks now and can’t seem to pull myself out.  Yesterday was the worst of all, I got pizza, again.  It seems when I am down it is what I do, eat to feel better but it only makes me feel worst.  I really need help.

I thought I would have some support but alas, I am in this alone.  Each day I try to motivate myself but I fail…….What will it take for me to see that I am killing myself with food?  I enjoy juicing but I feel a lack in having something to chew.  I know I need to stick with this in order for it to stick but I just don’t know how to make that happen.

The veggies I got from Whole Foods did not motivate me to juice yet.  It is 5:35 in the morning and I should go down and make my morning drink but I am not feeling up to it.  I am also not drinking water like I should and working out is a joke.  I was playing racquet ball for a few days while I visited my husband but since being home, I’ve not done anything.  I am packing and preparing to move so maybe that is causing me to feel some anxiety.  I have checked each day for my final grades but they have not posted yet.  I plan on checking later today to see how bad I did.  I just don’t have the positive things in my life to motivate me right now.

School

Well, I don’t talk much about being in Nursing School.  It is in fact a large part of my life.  We were blessed to get out of class early today and I was so super happy.

I  will be applying to the program this fall.  This semester will be the completion of all my prerequisite.  YAY!

I am looking at a few schools right now and will start applying next week.  Pray I get in one.

I will keep you posted on what it is like and how hard it is being in the program.  I am super excited about finally being able to apply.  This has been a long and hard road for me.  But, I did and I am ready to move on to the next part.

How It All Came About…..

You think over the course of your life you will become stable once you reach the age of 30, may be you will may be you want.  I didn’t.  My husband joined the Army after we were married for 5 years.  There was no indication that we were moving in that direction prior to this change.  In fact, I did not know he even wanted to join.  Let me start from the beginning…..
Our lives were not moving in the direction we would have liked.  We had very little money and the bills were coming in.  My husband was playing at church on Saturday and Sunday and being paid to do so. In spite of all the money he made, we still could not keep our bills paid on time.  In fact, it seemed we would lose our home.  I wanted to go to school so we moved to Tennessee.  I enrolled in the Nursing program and my husband worked as a musician.  He was making much less and we were without a home.  We lived in a long-term stay hotel.  God blessed us with a home.  We moved in Feb. 2008.  I was so excited but afraid.  How would we meet the payment each month.  One day I asked my husband if he would like to revisit the Military life.  Ok let me back up.  You need to know why I asked this question.

Here is the story my husband shared with me.

I had long wanted to be in the Navy, where, as the Navy says, I could “Accelerate my life”, and I even had a chance to enlist, but I didn’t do so at the time.  My wife teased me about ‘chickening out’, but I knew the real story.  I frequently talked about it, and what it would be like to be a military family.  One day, she asked me the question, “What do you think about joining the Navy?”and it was like the dream was reawakened within me.  We pursued it with full vigor.  However, the Navy seemed to be dragging its feet after a whole month of persistent contact, so we checked out the Army.  Within a week we were on our way.  By the grace of God, I sneaked in.  I signed up 4 days before the cutoff age for enlistment came back down from 42 to 35.  We were so happy.

I knew it would be physically demanding, so I worked on my PT before going.  Even though it was almost half-hearted on my part, my wife made sure she reminded me daily to work on it.  She was a taskmaster cracking the whip at times.  But she was right in making me do what I had to do, and I thank her for it.   I wasn’t prepared enough, especially at my age.  The part I hated most was running.  I discovered how out of shape I had become, knowing that I wasn’t that bad off when I was younger.  She even made me learn the Soldier’s Creed:
I am an American Soldier. I am a Warrior and a member of a team.
I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in
my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United
States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.
The day came when I went to MEPS for the last time (I had been several times), and I was excited.  I would be going to swear in on that day.  My wife made sure she was there to see it.  We went into a room and Captain Williams, USMC, performed the ceremony. 
“I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will
support and defend the Constitution of the United States
against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear
true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey
the orders of the President of the United States and the
orders of the officers appointed over me, according to
regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
So help me God.”
We recruits raised our right hand and entered into that special group of individuals called the United States Military forever.  Nobody was more happy than my wife.  We took pictures before, during, and after the ceremony.  Then came the waiting.  We waited until May 23, which is when I actually went to the MEPS for the last time.  That was the day we boarded the shuttle bus to the airport.  My wife met us at the airport and I kissed her goodbye.  I watched as she walked away.  I was sad and excited all at once.  I knew that after that day, our lives would be changed forever. 
I flew American Airlines.  One of my battle buddies from MEPS flew with me on American and actually wound up in my company.  Another one of my battle buddies flew another airline, but also wound up with me in my company—my platoon, even!  We first landed in Washington, DC Reagan National Airport for a stopover.  We almost got left by the transfer plane!  Fortunately, we were able to go straight to the front of the line and get on board.  We then landed in Saint Louis, MO.  We went to get something to eat, and found the USO downstairs in the airport.  We waited about 4 hours for our bus to come.  Finally, it came and we boarded.  We then had another 3-hour ride to Fort Leonard Wood.  We arrived about 3 a.m.  We napped for about an hour, and then the fun began.
We later got a 5 minute phone call to our loved ones to tell them we have arrived.  Again I was sad, yet excited.  This was it.  I was on my way to becoming a US soldier.  I told my wife I was appreciative of her reawakening the dream within me, for it had died.  Now, I was on my way.  11 weeks later, I was, as the Army says, “Army strong”.  Hooah!
And so it was, we are a Army family now.  I am excited to share this life with you and my life as a Nurse (once I become one) hahahaha
Over the next few years, I will share my life in Nursing School, being an Army Wife and becoming a Physician Assistant.  I hope you enjoy this adventure and share yours with me.  I love sharing and helping and would like to invite you to a new forum I started.  It is Christian forum.  http://www.thethreeam.com/