Juicing...I think I could get used to this!

So my juicer came in the mail yesterday! It is definitely not top of the line, but it gets the job done for now. Plus if anything breaks overstock will replace it.

Last night I made juice with 1 apple, 4 carrots, 2 beets, 3 leaves of rainbow chard, and a piece of ginger. It was super yummy, although I've learned to use ginger in moderation...super spicy! This morning my little helper helped me make apple, carrot, and chard juice which we are both enjoying at the moment. It's amazing how great fresh juice tastes compared to the bottled stuff from the grocery store. The organic 100% juice is better than anything else at the store obviously, but this fresh stuff really takes the cake. I found my juicer for about $85 with a 2 year replacement plan, and like I said it isn't top of the line, but it gets a good amount of juice and it gets the job done.

I'm going to start by just adding juice in a couple times a day instead of snacks, then slowly I'll replace a meal at a time with it. I will probably keep one serving of protein at lunch, but other than that I'd like to be primarily juicing within the next month or so.

I've also had an awesome idea for Sophia's birthday cake! I was going to make it either chocolate or vanilla because I didn't want to use artificial dyes, but fresh juice will totally work! Beets for pink, carrots for orange, spinach or kale for green, blueberries for blue/purple, etc. I can't wait til we get closer to her birthday so I can experiment!

:)

I did it!!

My letter came on Saturday! I am officially accepted into the Associate Degree in Nursing program! Next Wednesday is orientation, and then I will have PLENTY to do to get ready. I'll have to have the mother load of immunizations, which I'm not too thrilled about, but it is what it is. I'm going to spread them out as much as I possibly can so I don't overload my system. I'm also going to start a juice/fruits/veggies only diet, and exercise 3-5 days a week. I will not let my weight keep me from passing the physical requirements. So I will probably be blogging about that journey here in a week or so...my juicer should be here Monday at the latest (I hope). I'll have to look into the side effects of the vaccines when I'll be on such a pure diet. Hopefully it won't be too terrible.

I am SO FREAKING EXCITED! When I saw the envelope in my mailbox I just knew what it was. I could seriously jump up and down and scream I am so happy. I've finally done something right, and I've finally achieved what I've worked SO hard for. Some days I just want to throw in the towel, get skinny, and marry rich. Now when I have those days I just need to pull out this letter and look at what I have accomplished. I know that it's going to continue to be an uphill battle, but I'm making progress and I'm really succeeding. That's not something I've done very often in my life. On that note...

It really bothers me when people ask me how I get A's. It bothers me even more when people assume that A's come easily to me. I work my behind off. I sacrifice time with my daughter. My house is a mess most of the time. I study every day. I don't pull A's out of my ears. It's a constant internal struggle for me to focus and get my work done, but I do it. I EARN my A's. I don't take them for granted, and I know that when I slack off I may not get A's.

Anyway...I guess I better quit procrastinating and get to the grocery store then the laundry mat!

I just need to get through this week.

I find myself saying this often. In fact I'm pretty sure I say this every week.

The week before this past week was Microbiology extravaganza, as my Micro teacher called it. We had our lecture exam on Tuesday and our lab exam on Thursday. Throw in 3 Anatomy and Physiology quizzes and regular English homework, plus an incredibly persistent sinus infection, nightly dinners, upkeep of the house, and keeping my 3 year old entertained and happy...well to say I was spent would be an understatement.

This week was somewhat of an English extravaganza. Last night at 11:59 p.m. was the deadline for any late work, and our resume portfolio. Naturally, I had been putting all English assignments off until my crazy Micro week was over. Then this week I let my guard down. I had an A&P lab exam on Tuesday, and other than study for that I didn't do much else. So yesterday I revised my e-mail assignment, answered as many of the interview questions as I could tolerate, then began my resume portfolio. Then, what do you know - the internet went down. Charter said it would be out for a couple of hours. So I tried to do all the work I could without the internet and hoped that I could transfer the file to my phone and e-mail it that way if the internet didn't come back on in time. As if that wasn't enough, the weather channel issued a tornado watch for our area until 11 p.m. Now, I usually don't put much stock into tornado watches here because we're in the mountains and our TOR:CON is usually never over 3. Last night it was a 5, which means 50% chance of tornadoes in the area. I may be the crazy California girl who freaks out in any kind of weather, but I'm also a mommy living on the 3rd story of an apartment building with no tornado emergency plan. So we packed up and headed to my mom's house just in case we needed a basement. Luckily, all was fine, and as an added bonus her internet was working.

Now I am getting ready to study for the A&P lecture test I have on Tuesday. Hopefully this week I will finally get some down time to catch up on laundry and maybe even clean up some of the clutter that has collected over the past couple of weeks. I'm expecting a final answer about nursing program admissions within the next week or two. I can't wait! :)