woah

i am getting married in 2 weeks and 2 days. oh my goodness! i am so so so so so so so excited to marry this man!!!!!

cookie monster.

gross. i am sitting at work and someone brought in cookies. i ate 4. i'm ashamed. they were heart shaped with sprinkles .... a heart is so inappropriate for how i feel about myself right now. i cannot write anything else...

i accept!

okay, well i've sort of been talking to people about my interview and stuff so i thought i'd update.

my interview: i didn't think it went very well...we got along fine socially, but then at the end i just had a weird feeling about it. that was wednesday and she said she'd let me know by friday about the position. so friday i got a call but i was at clinical all day so i couldn't call her back. so saturday i called her cell (i'm not weird...she said to do that) and she said she'd like to offer me the position!!! she said she'd have to call me monday with all the details...well...she called me today and told me all about it - and i just called her back and told her that i accept the position! i'm sooo excited!! my first real job will be in the NICU with teeny tiny babies :) initially i wasn't thrilled about the unit, but after touring and hearing about it i'm really, really excited! the hospital is really well respected and they take all the difficult births in austin and surrounding areas, so all the high risk babies end up there too (with me!).

i start june 2nd so i wont have to take time off for my honeymoon! thanks for all the prayers and well wishes yall, i'm super excited!! more updates to come :) i now have to catch up on homework that i've been ditching for the past couple weeks to get other stuff done.

yahooooo!!!

yes!

yahooooooo!!! my test is done with and i couldn't be happier. i love how getting one thing off the checklist of "to do's" makes me at ease. so now the next big task: finding the right outfit for my first official interview ever. i think i did it...or it's at least coming together. i have cute black pants that make my butt look great (which honestly, is hard to do because of it's hugeness), and this top that is really really cute from White House, Black Market. i need to find some sort of shirt to go under this other shirt though. and shoes...i don't have shoes yet. i have to finish this outfit by tomorrow because my interview is on wednesday morning!!! so i got this interview the day after i applied. i'm nervous about it to be honest with you. i'm not sure if it's the area of nursing that i feel most led to, but i figured i'd interview for the heck of it. i may just end up loving it! so it's in the NICU with all the little bitty babies that are really sick :(

anyway, there are lots of reasons i think it would be awesome, and lots that i think it might not be so awesome - but we'll see. if it's meant to be then i'll have to think about it a lot, if it isn't...hopefully they just wont offer me the job so i don't have to think about it. sooo...wish me luck??

peace

BRRRRRRR!!!!

well, that was a lie. it isn't cold at all. today it was in the mid 70's. to all you jealous folks in the cold...i'm jealous of you! i miss the snow and the cold...the freezing cold when you go outside with wet hair it snaps off! i think austin is going to be my home for at least a little while, but man would i like to move somewhere else.

i feel like i shouldn't be updating right now because i have 1,000,000,000,000,000 other things i should be doing. like studying for my test, like planning my wedding, like stopping eating, working out, spending time with jeff....but i'm the queen of procrastinating on the things i should do. i move in less than two weeks to the place that will become our (jeff and i) place after we get married...I CAN'T WAIT! don't get me wrong, i love my roomie, she has been so gracious letting me live there for cheap. but the catch is that it is in a bedroom...that's it. nothing is mine but the clothes, and i couldn't even tell you how long my things have been in storage. i know that they're just "things" but "things" make me feel comfortable, like i'm where i'm supposed to be. so, basically, i've just felt out of place for ...ever.

so, i'm moving and i can't wait. i have always lived on the third floor of apartments, and this is no exception. i am so thankful for all of my friends that have moved me time and time again. they hate it, but i love them :) especially the washer, dryer, couch, recliners, bed, table.....up the tight staircase of 3 floors. yup, they're awesome.

i'm in my last semester because i become a nurse. i graduate in may and i'm soooo excited. i have recently started the application process for jobs, so now (hopefully) the interviews will come rolling in and people will see how great i am :) maybe not how great i am, but what a passion i have to learn and work in their specialty. i don't boast about being smart or anything, cause i really do just get by. i don't study hard, i study enough to pass. maybe that's bad, but i'm in my fifth year of school and i'll be ending with an associates in nursing. lame. oh well, more school it is for me once i get a job. whats nice about this shortage is that the hospitals will pay for me to go back and get my BSN then my MSN. i'm pretty pumped about that. i'm applying to: labor and delivery, NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), post partum (all the mama's who just had their babys), and newborn nursery (it just makes me happy...what can i say)!! generally new grads aren't hired right into those areas, but hopefully there is a big enough need right now that they'll want me.

i'm really excited to marry jeff. (like that transition). the wedding is coming up...a little over 10 weeks. and i can't wait to see all of yall that are able to make it. austin is such an awesome city...tryyyy to come.....not just for my wedding, but for a little vacation for yourselves :) i think it should be a fun party. we're just so excited to celebrate what god has done in our lives and we want to share that with all of yall.

okay, i gotta pee. i guess that means i'm OUT.

peace.

fun christmas

yeah for the holidays and seeing family. christmas was a blast and it went by way to fast. kate's blog basically sums up what we did, santa fe, puzzles, movies, the new yorker (a SWEET game i suggest everyone should get...seriously...), eating, and being cold :) it was beautiful and it made me miss being in snow more than i thought. but now i'm back home and trying to pull everything together before next semester.  i hope yall all had a great holiday too!!!!

wedding dance

so i think jeff and i have decided on how we're going to do our first dance as man and wife...what do you think???


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeoi16lScf4

if you can't click on the link, then copy and paste it...it's worth it :)

hormones

what is wrong with me?? i was driving home last night from work and just started crying. it was rediculous...i was thinking about how happy i will be when i'm done with school in may...and i just started crying. i was trying to describe how i feel to a friend of mine, and it's sorta like i just can't breathe right. i've been doing yoga to help be deep breathe and stuff...but i just have so much on my plate i feel like i can't retain any more information. but i have 7 more days until then end of this sememster...that will feel really good.

i think i've decided the area i want to apply to work in. i LOVE ob...but i'm not sure yet if i'd prefer to do post partum or L & D. i really like it a lot, a lot, a lot!! i attended my first couple of births last week which was AMAZING. it is truly awesome to me how we were created and are able to fit babies through such a little space :) it really is an amazing miracle! the first birth i was at i was really weird. i had to leave the room cause i almost passed out watching the CRNA do the epidural (welp, i guess that line of work might be out for me...i was hoping to get my masters to do that!). i heard the crunch of the needle going in the back and my face immediately got hot and i felt like i was sweating, then my knees started getting a little shaky...then the black spots came. i knew i needed to get out of there quick because i didn't want to pass out in front of the patient and her family!! i sort of held onto the wall and slowly scooted out...i'm sure i looked like a complete idiot. the patient later asked me if i was okay and i explained the whole thing to her...she laughed at me...as she should have :) she was awesome though! she hated her nurse so i got to be really involved in everything...she didn't want the nurse doing anything, and preferred me to do everything with her. that felt nice...knowing that one of your patients really liked you and wrote the hospital about it too!!! (maybe that will help me get a job later...) soo, when she was ready to deliver she was amazing. when i first saw the baby's head i couldn't believe it...its so different that you think. i looked up at the patient's mom who was in the room and she started crying, and that's when i lost it! i just was crying and crying...what an awesome thing god created. wow...as i read over this blog i see a pattern....i cry a lot!! dang it.

i can only imagine when my friends and sisters start having babies, i'm gonna be a total baby too. i just feel honored to be a part of introducing these little guys and gals to the world. it's so fun to me!! so now i must decide which area....i have awhile to think about it...maybe i'll apply to both units and see which, if either, will hire me :)

well folks, that's all for now, and maybe for awhile....i'll try to update with some pictures later.

peace in middle east...please!

Okay, okay.

sorry it has been so long i just don't know what to write. my life is consumed with school and work and sleep (whenever i get the chance).

school is going great minus the fact i'm ready to be done. i feel like that is all i write about...that sucks....i'm really boring. we just finished our pediatric rotation which was cool. here is how i would sum it up = if you have kids, be soooo thankful for their health. the little guys and gals that i worked with were so incredibly ill. i liked working with kids because it involves a lot of teaching because their parents are usually around. (it is super sad when there parents aren't around...that is when i just go in the baby's room, hold them and sing to them with my weak and pathetic voice). so back to teaching, it is cool showing or explaining something to someone who is totally reliant upon you for the information. sometimes that is scary because i'm still just a student and i don't know if all my information is right...but i'm sure to find it out one way or another :) another reason i liked pedi was because if they're crying or really upset about something - they have a reason to be. it makes me think that so many adults i treat in the hospital are such wimps....and they whine and moan about such little things.

so tomorrow i start my OB rotation. i will be assisting in as many births as i can!!! i'm nervous about it but super excited at the same time. so here is a funny story...sorta funny, maybe more so to me but try to share a laugh with me. okay, so i'm studying for my OB test at this coffee shop and writing all these notes down and what not. it is super busy so i'm at one of those tiny 2 person tables that really aren't even big enough for my books, but there are like 6 tiny tables all huddled together and each table is full. moving on.... so i turn the page in my book and then i'm faced with a 2 page spread of 10 or so pictures of a woman giving birth. and not pictures of her belly, or her panting and blowing....i am faced with 10 pictures of this woman's vagina. gross vagina. the pictures are from the crowning of the head to to delivery of the placenta. so i'm looking at this page sort of stunned and trying to cover it up with my notecards/arm/binder/etc so all the people around me aren't freaked out and think i'm some sort of perv. i have to read all the captions so i can know what is happening in each stage of labor...so i'm moving stuff around so i am just peaking at the page, reading it really quickly, then covering it back up again. i don't know if anyone around me ever saw the pages...i was too embarrassed to look. that is what i am faced with in school. it it's not a picture of a baby being born, it's pictures of scrotal tumors, genital warts, prolapsed rectums.....it's gross. so in conclusion i am looking forward to OB and holding new born babies :)

the wedding is coming along just fantabulously....i hope yall can come cause i think it is going to be a really fun party :)

peace out

my life

well, i feel bad because i haven't blogged in awhile, but i don't know what to say. my life is so boring. it's super busy, but boring as hell. i just finished my psyc rotation at the austin state hospital, yes, the mental institution. i LOVED it. maybe because i'm a little crazy myself. i start my pediatric rotation at the new children's hospital tomorrow...i don't know if i'll like sick kids (and their parents)...we'll see soon enough.

i'm living with a great friend of mine who is putting up with me until jeff and i get married. it's great, but i am rarely there :) wedding planning is going well too...the bridesmaid dresses are being ordered this week, and i booked the bartender tonight.

i officially started weightwatchers yesterday. not "officially" in the sense that i'm going to the classes, but "officially" in the sense that i'm counting my points. i'm encouraged by my mom who has lost 15 pounds in her first two weeks back with weight watchers. i don't think my progress will be as good as hers because i don't have time to exercise as much, but hopefully eating better will make a difference, and i think it will.

jeff and i have both been sick from this really crummy virus that is going on it's 9th day of infecting my body, and jeff's 11th day. it sucks.

well, i've gotta go close up work then go home :) peace

gehrman/gabriel workout

so i clocked in my first two miles today.....

any comments about if tennis is allowed. maybe an hour = 1 mile or something...?

I NEED YOUR HELP (READ BOTTOM OF BLOG)

sorry stacy, you're always the one to complain to me. you're right...my blog is "way out of date" especially now because i'm BACK in school again :) i'm excited!! the first 5 weeks i'll be in a psychiatric unit, the next 5 weeks i'll be working in pediatrics at the new awesome Dell Children's Hospital, and the last 5 weeks i'll be working in OB (labor and delivery)!!! so overall, yes, i'm excited. i always am nervous at the beginning of the semester too. we have to check off all these skills and take math tests, etc, before we can start our clinicals....so we HAVE to pass. i'm working really hard to practice :)

i did have fun this past weekend...my last weekend of freedom before this semsester. i went to FLUGTAG!!! it was so fun! it is where all these people make crazy creations and try to fly off of a 30 foot stage but inevitably they always fall right into the water. there were some really cool ones and there was a group of girls who go to the university of minnesota and it made me think of my lovely sisters up there :) i'll attach a link so you can check some of them out...it was a blast...a bazillion degrees outside...but really fun :)
http://www.redbullflugtagusa.com/Texas2007/teams.aspx you can scroll down and click on the teams and pictures. KARLSUCKS was the team from MN


i also dyed my hair last week! i really want to cut it but i know i can't because of the wedding soooo i'm just dying it :) i am trying to get it lighter but my hair is naturally black/brown so it is difficult. i dyed it a dark ash blonde but it only lightened my hair MAYBE a shade or two. so we're going to dye it medium ash blonde tonight and see if i can get my hair to a light brownish color....i'll let you know the outcome :)

OKAY I NEED YOUR HELP! i already recruited my sisters, but jeff and i are putting together the play list for the dance at our wedding and we want some help. give me some suggestions! we might not choose your picks, but if we do...you'll know it's because of you :)

okay, peace out friends, i need to pick out a bridesmaid dress.

ahhlease

FINALLY

yahooooooooooooooooooo i'm OFFICIALLY done with summer school! whoooo hooooo i can't believe it. i think it has the been most difficult summer of my life. i can finally breathe :)

booodittyboooo

so, i'm busy. whats new....

1.) i got a vacuum for my birthday :) my mom can't believe how domestic i'm getting. (not really...) but i'm going to do a public service announcment for this vacuum. two days before getting it, i had vacuumed my apartment with jeff's vacuum. then i got it...the DYSON animal vacuum. i vacuumed my little 510 square foot apartment and it filled up 1/2 of the bin with hair, dust, and other odds and ends. jeff, my mom, bob and i were staring in amazment. we couldn't believe how well it worked...unbelievable...a true miracle :) i like it a lot. i know vaccuum all the time...jeff already took it to his house to see how much he could suck up with it.....and let me tell you....a lot.

2.) we set a wedding date! this happened awhile ago, but i don't think everyone knows. we'll probably send out save the date cards...but just fyi it is April 12, 2008. what a great day huh? it is going to be here in austin at this beautiful old victorian house right in the heart of downtown. i think it'll be fun...so get ready to pack your bags and come party with us!!

3.) i have my final this thursday then i'm officially done with the semester!!! summer school has been really crazy, but i am sooo thankful that i got accepted into the summer session. i had no life, but wow...it's already over! next semester i will be working in OB, pediatrics, and psych units...what a fun mix huh?? pregnant moms, kids, and crazies

4.) it FINALLY stopped raining. i'm even nervous to say this because i might jinx it or something. but this has been a wet summer. there has been so much flooding, and rain.....EVERY DAY. i mean it...EVERY DAY....until...two days ago. it has been a dry and HOT two days, but its been so nice. its like in minnesota its so cold for so long some people get seasonal depression...thats what it was like this summer...rainy depression...its like living in seattle or something.

5.) jeff and i just booked our flights to go to new mexico to visit my parents! bob just got a new car...i think the toyota rav4, so i get his old car cause mine is crapping out. i am leaving my camry behind and i am soon to be the proud owner of a crysler seabring coupe!! whoo whoo whoo (yeah heidi!!!). i'm excited to visit for another big reason too....TO VISIT CHARLEY!!! bob flew back with my cat because i'm moving on friday and my new place can't have pets :( . by the way extended family...one of my parent's cats recently passed away...vada RIP. she was stacy's cat. stacy took it hard....she actually took the day off when my mom told her they were putting her down :( awwwww. but now they get charley...for 8 months until i get married!!! yeahhh i'm so excited to marry jeff, he's so cool.

well, there is sort of a random update. i'm back to studying now (actually looking for bridesmaid dresses....) i suck at studying, especially this late in the semester.

hook em

summer school.

so i understand that updating my blog sucks right now...but i'm busy. i officially have 2 weeks of summer school left and i CAN'T WAIT!! it has gone by very fast, but it has been hard. my schedule sucks, and i'm constantly exhausted. i guess it's just preparing me for life as a nurse :) nothing new has been going on...i started wedding planning right away and got a lot of stuff done, but now i'm focusing on finishing these next couple weeks of school. we set a date! april 12, 2008 it is. we'll probably send out "save the date" cards, but you have a heads up...so save the date :) it'll be here in austin and i couldn't be more excited. we have our location, our pastor, our photographer, our caterer, and our dj so far. i think we're off to a good start!! my mom and bob are coming in town next week to come play. we'll probably look at wedding dresses too...it seems like such a daunting task though. it'll be a fun weekend though. we're going to hang out with jeff's family too for my birthday!! mmm....i'm supposed to pick the place to eat....i can't decide. i like to eat. there are lots of yummy places in austin. should i go Mexican, Italian, bbq, Japanese, or american (booooring)? okay. this blog sucks, but i don't have anything better to write about. i'm back to studying at my awesome job where that's all i do :)
peeeeeeeeeee ace (did you think i was just saying "pee")?

so jeff called me over and said he got me a surprise while he was out shopping. well, i was surprised alright....he loves his new purchase. he just got them yesterday, but so far that's all he's worn. he also changed his hairstyle...let me know what you think :)

We're Cute!

look at us :) jeff's roommate phil has been taking lots of pictures. it's nice, because obviously i don't. jeff and i don't have any pictures of us unless someone else has given it to us. thats lame...but phil's awesome...here are some of the pics.

this picture is from a couple weeks ago when we were downtown at 219

we were playing in prague. the bar...not the city. p.s. they have excellent mint chocolate martinis...mmmmm...they put a hershey's kiss in the bottom of the glass!! yum yum in my tum tum. i did get excited about this fact and expressed in grandly with my gestures, and i accidently knocked it over and shattered my glass. note: this is not an awesome thing to do and people don't like you if you do this in very small spaces....and it was $8.00 down the drain :(

we were at fridays...i generally hate this restaurant but its open late. but look at my cute hat jeff got me! yah texas baseball!!!

okay peace out.

Enchanted Engagement :)

Here are the proposal pictures that I promised!


I just love Jeff's buns. This is preproposal when we were just enjoying the view from the top of the mountains.


Here, Jeff started the beginning of the proposal with telling me how much he loved me, wanted to spend his life with me, and honor Christ with me.


Jeff turned me around and got on one knee (which is now all scratched up from the granite rock he was kneeling on!!)
I love him! He started putting the ring on the wrong hand...I quickly showed him where the ring's home was :)

Yeah!!!

My new pretty ring!

This was the beautiful background to the proposal. We are high up in the hill country as you can see.
On our way back down the mountain we took advantage of another photo opportunity.

Yeah!!! Jeff and I are engaged!!!!! We went camping this weekend with some friends at a place called Enchanted Rock. It is this beautiful place with natural granite mountains out in the hill country by Fredricksburg, Texas. We had hiked up to the top with our friends to watch sunset on Saturday night, and much to my surprise he proposed!!! The pictures sort of tell the story...so enjoy!

sorry stacy!

so stacy, this blog is for you. NOTHING IS NEW....thats why i'm not blogging. i'm on a two week break before summer school starts. i've been nannying for those cute little kids i used to watch last year...hana, riko, and joey. i haven't had this much fun in a long time. joey and riko are twins that just turned two, and every tuesday i take them to their swimming lessons. they're really fun. i swear i'll post pictures soon. i need to take some pictures of them wearing their goggles...seriously it's adorable. ummm....in august i'm moving in with my friend to save some money on rent, but unfortunately she's allergic to cats....so charlie has to find a new home. hopefully jeff's parents can babysit her for awhile or else she's being shipped to albuquerque. the weather is hot, austin is awesome, and i recently learned how to make a fantastic mexican martini...props to heidi and chuy's. i'm tired, so hopefully this will suffice for now.

seeeeeeya

snoooooring

so i talked with jeff's mom this past weekend.....i'm sort of disappointed. each time jeff and i go over to his parents, he always ends up falling asleep on the couch. i always tell him, "don't fall asleep now, otherwise you wont be able to sleep tonight!!". but no. he'll fall asleep at night, and doesn't wake up until 1pm the next afternoon because i've called him 1000 times. so back to why i'm disappointed....his mom said he has ALWAYS been like this. they've never understood it, but while the normal human needs 6-8 hours of sleep, jeff needs AT LEAST 10. lets be honest...10 sometimes isn't even enough. he could sleep for a good 12 hours every night, and still be sleepy. i told him that he's sleepy after that much sleep because he slept too much, but no, it isn't so. he is a sleep monster. i've decided that once i charge my camera i'm going to start posting pictures of jeff sleeping...and only sleeping. then yall may get to see him like i see him most of the time....drooling.