Well today is the deadline for my 10 things in 101 days! project.
And while I didn’t do everything I set out to do, I guess half is better than none!

Here was my list in case you are too lazy to click on the link above:

1. Complete “Couch Potato to 5k” program
I didn’t get very far into this because I moved and didn’t have the luxury of a treadmill 2 feet from the bed anymore. Of course I coulda taken my lazy butt outside to run, but I didn’t.

2. Do a random act of kindness every day for 30 days
This was fun and it made me more aware of the people around me. Even something as small as leaving a paper towel hanging down from the automatic paper towel dispenser made me feel good because that saved whoever was after me 5 seconds of their life. lol

3. Pass entrance exam and apply to nursing school
I had originally planned to make this one: “Apply to nursing school and get in” but was afraid that I wouldn’t know one way or the other before the deadline. But surprise surprise, not only did I pass the entrance exam with flying colors, I got into nursing school! And as of today have everything done that I need to do to get my official welcome letter except have my TB skin test read! WOO!

4. Get all As this semester
I DID IT!! I found out less than 3 hours ago that I got my much coveted A in microbiology! WOO!

5. Go a whole month drinking nothing but water and milk. (Yes, I am still eating! lol Just not having cokes and other sugary drinks)
I did go a long time drinking only water as my beverage, but gave up after 14 days. Frodo was relieved because, “Momma, I got so tired of you sniffing of my cokes!”

6. Go 72 hours with NO computer access
Didn’t do this one…I think if I was offline for more than 24 hours certain people would think I was dead. I am gonna do this one day though!

7. Get a part time job and/or a volunteer position at the hospital
I’ve been a volunteer at the hospital since February and I’ve loved it. I probably won’t be able to continue through nursing school but I am going to try to do it over the summer at least.

On my first morning I was scared to death wondering what I had gotten myself into and “Oh holy muffin, what was I thinking wanting to be a nurse!?!?” But midway thru that first day I really got into the swing of things and since then have gotten much more comfortable with the patients. I’ve learned that a big smile and a caring attitude goes a long way even when you almost accidentally dump someone out of a wheelchair. I’ve learned that going the extra mile to make someone feel comfortable gives you a warm fuzzy feeling even the best margarita can’t top!

An unexpected bonus is that I have gained some really great contacts. I’ve gotten my toe in the water, and it’s made me even more certain that I want to be a nurse.

8. Make and keep an appointment with an eye doctor
WOO HOO! Finally after 5 years I’ve updated my prescription! I’ve ordered new lenses and one day will get new glasses! The best news was finding out the condition they thought I had before is gone!

9. Go 6 weeks without missing a day at the gym*
I was there in my heart. If only that would make me fit! Gotta get back soon!

10. Keep track of every penny spent for a whole month
I had good intentions on this one too. But alas and alack just didn’t do it. Soon!

I want to do this again soon. I will be thinking in the next few days what other 10 things I want to tackle. Might add the ones I didn’t complete before to my list.

If you already read the last entry…go check out the video I just added to the bottom of it.

…2 and a half weeks! Okay, doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as “School’s out for summer/forever”, but I’ll take whatever break I can get. I took my last exam yesterday afternoon and got my A for the semester (WOO!) That’s 2 As down and 1 to go. I won’t find out about the last A until Thursday at 13.00 but that one is the one I’ve wanted the most. It’s in Micro and none of my friends have made an A in that class, so… I GOTTA GET THAT A! I figured out that I have to make an 82 and 84 on my final to get an A. The final had two parts. A comprehensive with 50 questions and a non-comprehensive with 42 questions. I think I got the grade I needed on one part, but not sure about the other. We shall see in a few days!

I’m taking two classes this summer: Nutrition and Lifespan. Nutrition is online and starts May 29th. Lifespan is at nights and starts June 9. But I will be done by July 9 and will have the rest of the summer to vegetate! Woo hoo! Which means finding my floor under this mess of a house, and reading REAL BOOKS! Books with no photos of diseased pen1ses, great saphenous veins or sigmoid colons!

Now if only I can stop thinking about bacteria, viruses, protozoans and other wee beasties!

This is what 36 looks like! Okay, well the photo on the right is 36. On the left was still 35. You can see a HUGE difference right?

My first party started out Wednesday the 23rd, 3 days before my actual birthday, and was hosted by the lovely Mica!

She made fajitas! Yum!

My girls went in together, along with some of the others in our class who couldn’t make it, and got me a Victoria’s secret gift certificate! Oh lala! They all signed my card apparently right under my nose during class. The little sneakers!

The Melissas being rather tame before the party starts! If you want to see Melissas Gone Wild, that will be an extra $39.99.

MeLeslie
aka Lestie Poo and Meli Sue

Me and the craziest South African this side of the moon!

Me and sweet Glenda Beth!

Friday and Saturday have no pics. Probably best that way.
Friday was spent at The Electric Cowboy dancing and Saturday in Shreveport at the boats. I won some moolah at the slots!
Sunday was the family party.

The cake that my mom and Frodo made me:

Me being sung to!

It was a great birthday! Had a wonderful time with my friends, and family. Got some great presents!

I got an Ipod Nano, a Nemi book in English, and the latest SingStar game from The King.
I got a microwave from my parents. Yay, I can have popcorn again!
I got makeup from Auntie.
I got a set of Cherry Ames books from my oldest sister.
And giftcards and money from the rest.

And…a beautiful necklace (Yes! Pilgrim) from Irmy!

The best birthday present ever was finding out that I am in the top 10 of the rejects alternates for nursing school! WOO! Because of the number of teachers they currently have, they could only take a certain amount of students. They are trying to find one more teacher so that they can take 10 more students. If they find one, I am one of those 10! I haven’t gotten my letter yet, but hopefully it’s coming soon!

No, I am not addicted to the word “as”. And not the letter A either. If I was gonna be addicted to any letter of the alphabet it would be C cause C is for cookie and that’s good enough for me, hey!

What I am addicted to is the letter GRADE A. With just three weeks and a day of finals away, so far I have all As this semester. Unlike last semester though they are low to midrange As. The lowest being a 90.1 in Microbiology, eek! So that means I have to make at least a 90 on each test from here on out to keep that precious A. Oh the pressure!

Yes, Bs are good. But As are sooo addictive. I never thought I would make As in college. But after managing to catch one of those elusive never-gonna-happen As in Chemistry I was hooked. I hear that A students in pre-reqs become B and sometimes C students in nursing school but we will cross that B when we come to it!

I guess there could be worse addictions…shoes, heroin, honey buns!

…driving me nuts!

Apparently there was another committee meeting today, so hopefully our letters* will come next week. I’ve decided that when I get the letter I am going to open it on video camera and post the video here. So whatever the news, whether it is good or bad, you all will get to see my reaction as it is happening.

LOL! Guess I better do my hair every day now cause I can just see me getting the letter and having to wait to open it until I am presentable for public viewing!

In other news…It’s a small world after all. Don’t hate me for putting that song in your head! But it’s true…in the past few weeks I have found out that I know so many people that know people I know.

For instance, my really good friend Glenda from school is a cousin to Christy’s, my childhood best friend, husband. My girl Melissa is friends with Christy’s older sister, Tammy. Then I found out Glenda know’s Tammy too, but didn’t know she and Christy were sisters! LOL!

Then a few days ago I was talking to one of my study buddies, Steven and found out that his cousin, is my niece, Christina’s boss. Then talking to him again a few days later he used to work with my brother in law who is also Christina’s father!

And then recently I found out one of the ladies I volunteer with was a close friend of my family when my mother was a teen.

You would think we were talking about a small town here, but it’s not (pop. 60,000), and not all of these people are even in this town! They live in surrounding communities. Small world! Guess I shouldn’t plan on misbehaving in this town, cause everyone I know knows someone else I know! lol

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*For those just now tuning in, I am waiting not so patiently for my acceptance/denial letter for nursing school.

I don’t have time for video much these days, which sucks because I really liked doing those. So here I go back to pen and ink, or rather qwerty and mouse.

The biggest event around here right now is that the deadline for applying to nursing school was yesterday. So all of us that applied should be getting our rejection (trying to think positively) acceptance letters any day now. My stomach is all aflutter. Will I or won’t I get in? If I do, will I survive? Nurses eat their young, right? If I don’t get in, what next? Try for LVN program, or just start on my courses for my bachelor’s while waiting for the next term? Do I get a job meanwhile or enjoy the break from school? Paper or Plastic? White or Wheat? Real or Memorex? GAH! Stop the madness!!

Other big news is that Frodo made the A honor roll and his name was in the paper yesterday! Woo! Or did I already mention that?

Must go try to untie these knots now and concentrate on what I need to be doing today. I planned on writing more about what I have been doing lately, but now I don’t even remember my own name. Crap! What if I get the letter tomorrow and don’t recognize the name on the envelope? *going to go sit in the corner now and rock back and forth and babble while sucking my thumb.*

Jag heter Leslie. (My name is Leslie)
Jag bor i Texas. (I live in Texas)
Jag har en son. (I have a son)

Those were the types of things I learned to say when I began studying Swedish. Those are the basics for any language, right? Well apparently the writers of my Spanish text book think there are much more important topics. Just now flipping through my Spanish book getting ready to do my homework I came across this sentence they want me to translate from English to Spanish:

“It’s incredible that no one has found the money we buried in the back yard.”

Good thing they didnt find the body either!

And here is another one..

“I hope that the cat hasn’t eaten my goldfish”

Well if he did, at least you don’t have to drag out the bloody shovel you used to bury the body!

So yeah, those were odd, but now it gets even weirder…

“I don’t believe those people in Michigan have seen Elvis.”

That’s cause he is buried in the backyard!

But my absolute favorite?

“You will never know true happiness until you have appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show!”

So if I ever travel to Mexico and wind up lost and in dire need of a bathroom, I am going to just go around saying, “Nunca concerás la verdadera felicidad hasta que hayas aparecido en el Programa de Oprah Winfrey” and perhaps they will let me use the toilet at the mental hospital!

I’ve been in the States almost 10 months now. Thought I had gotten all of the Swedish influences out of my Red, White and Blue blood, but right now I am having the WICKEDEST craving for laxfile, småpotatis, och rom med creme fraiche och dill.* And horror of all horrors a glass of good red wine! ACK! What madness has possessed me? Get thee out of my head Swedish food devil!

Something like this, minus the crazy looking corn-salad.

I was told (by someone who read this before I published it) this entry might be offensive since most of the people that read my blog are in Sweden. I meant no disrespect to Sweden or Swedish customs. Most of you know that my blog entries are mostly tongue in cheek. (Foot in Mouth?) And those that know me, know that during my 7 years in Sweden I constantly battled a love/hate relationship with the country. Hear me now, and believe me later…I may joke about Swedes and their customs, but I am the first to defend them if someone outside of the country says anything negative.

So yeah, I did consider rewriting it, just as I considered taking out the part about wanting a glass of wine because of the people that might offend. But I read something this morning that really stuck with me, “I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.”

*Salmon filet, new potatoes, caviar with sour cream and dill.

Apologies to those who check my site daily, or at least several times a week looking for something new! I have a video taped, but haven’t had time to upload it. Things are hectic. Spring break is this week, but I haven’t done anything but work and study. Yet I feel as if I haven’t gotten anything accomplished! Gah!

Okay, well one thing is going well. I am 12 days into my “30 days with no beverages except water”. That’s no milk (except in my cereal), no juice, definitely no cokes, etc. I love water, but man I am jonesing for SOMETHING with flavor!

To appease you, here are a few recent photos at least!

This is me in A&P lab. Melissa took this one. That’s me and my dimples trying to convince the world I’m a good girl!

Me and Melissa at her daughter’s bday party this past Sunday.

Frodo with his new haircut, playing with his new toy!