Week 4 already??

Well, week four begins. A whole month's gone by? Really? It hardly seems that the semester could be 1/4 of the way over already!!!

It's finally warm! We haven't had snow in almost 2 weeks and most of the snow on the ground is melting quickly. Could it be that the Spring Semester could actually be like Spring? The weather people say it is going to be 51 degrees on Friday. . . we'll see.

So, it is crunch time for my first exams (one 2/21 and one 2/25) and I have to get going on getting all this new information into my brain. If I am 100% honest I have to say I AM SCARED TO DEATH!!!!! Nursing exams are not like other exams -- there is no easily eliminated answer from the multiple choice list. There are "distractors" that confuse, and none of the answers seem wrong. It's a twisted way of leading you down a rabbit hole, just like Alice, so that you don't know which way is up and which answer is right. AH! It's gonna be OK, right? Sure it is.

I took a test taking strategies seminar last Wednesday. They taught us to look for limiting words like "rarely" or "always" or "never". They also told us to not make questions harder than they are and that all the information needed to answer the question is right there on the paper in front of you -- INCLUDING THE ANSWER! While this is true, I still tend to travel very far from "the box" and make myself crazy trying to answer the questions by using all sorts of information that does not directly pertain to it. So the simplicity of the matter is to see what the question is really asking and use your nursing knowledge to determine the correct answer. How can it seem that simple??? Seriously. . . that boils down to read the question and know the answer. If only it were that easy! So I tell you all to live life and make all the right choices and everything will move along swimmingly. K.I.S.S!

I am quickly becoming an expert on nutrition and critical thinking skills. Whoopee! I am also proud to report that I survived last week without the love of my life. . . he was in the Dominican Republic on a mission trip with our church. I managed to get "it" all done --- whatever "it" is, and I slept like a rock each night because of "it"! He is home now and life can return to "normal" (whatever "normal" is :o) ). I am already scheming to organize a trip to the DR through the college with nursing students who could spend a week working in the medical clinics down there. I spoke to two friends this morning who didn't even hesitate before saying they would LOVE to do that! This could be exciting!

And lastly, my financial aid has gone through and RIC is refunding me all of the fees for my Summer and Fall classes, as well as the balance of my unused financial aid! An unbelievable $10,559.00 is coming my way, I just arranged for it to be deposited into our checking account. Is that crazy??? For those of you who know where I was financially a year ago, this is a big deal! I wasn't even sure that I was going to be able to go to school because we couldn't figure out how to pay for it, and now the school is GIVING ME $10,559.00!!!! Holy Cow! I consider this a miracle and I am so thankful for each and every one of the blessing that God has bestowed upon me.

So on with week 4 and exam preparation. EEEK! Any prayers would be greatly appreciated. :o)