Whirlwind

*Gasp* I'm coming up for a breath of fresh air...at least hot, humid air! I came home today, looked at my calendar and realized that I've been in Madison for two weeks. Somewhere along the way, I evidently started a new job and bought a house. Ahhh!

Here's my synopsis of the last couple weeks...at least what I remember: Oscar and Luna had a rocky start, primarily because of Oscar being a bully. They have both warmed up to each other since (only took about five days) and are making out on a regular basis. Sorry, Honey...Oscar has a new girlfriend. On the 13th, I visited the house that Joe and I are buying (closing is July 15th). By the 14th, Joe and I made an offer and had the offer accepted. The 14th, I had my pre-employement health screening and finished some of my Meriter paperwork. I spent the rest of the first week running around in disbelief that Joe and I just commited to making the biggest investment so far in our lives and fumbled around trying to figure out what the heck we had to do next. Sara has never received so many phone calls to and from her house....
By that Saturday, we had our inspection--nothing too major came up...at least nothing that will keep us from moving in. Sunday, Josh and our grandparents were in town for Father's Day at my parents' house. Phew! Quite a first week. Although, Sara and I did get to relax a bit by picking strawberries at Carandale's during the week, taking the dogs on a daily walk (including one trip to Warner dog park), and watching "Dancing with the Stars" and "Lost" on Wednesdays on TV.

And last week was my first week at Meriter. So far so good. Everyone is extremely friendly and helpful. Today we practiced inserting IVs. We started with fake arms...my fake arm person gushed blood all over the table. Luckily my fake arm person didn't have a blood pressure, otherwise it would have been all over me. At some point next week, we will be sent on to units to "practice" on poor, unsuspecting patients. I am so very, very sorry to you, my future first IV victim...ummm...I mean, patient. Since I will be working nights, starting in a couple weeks, I get to park in the parking structure (parking is very limited in that area). For anyone going basketball games or other events near the Kohl Center, I would tell you to suck up to me to use my pass for free parking. Unfortunately, employees aren't even guaranteed spots on game days. Oh well. You can still suck up to me, if you'd like....chocolate, dinner, money...

It's been kind of a crazy, tiring couple of weeks. I apologize to everyone that I've not kept in touch with or failed to contact in the last couple of weeks...especially Robyn. How's your 2nd-4th of July schedule looking?? Send me your phone number again too, please. :)

Did I mention that it's extremely hot and humid here?! Sheesh. At least I have the hospital and my parents' house to run to if I get over-heated at Sara's house. Yeah, I know people usually don't run to go to a hospital on a voluntary basis....

Strawberry Shortcake

Sara and I took a little trip out to Carandale Farms today to pick strawberries. What a beautiful day to be out on a farm too! Not a cloud in the sky, nice breeze, and not too hot or humid. Perfect! Unfortunately, our task isn't done yet because we have to cut them up and freeze a lot of them. Sara likes storing them and using them to make fruit smoothies. Yum! We picked close to 8 lbs of strawberries. However, that's nothing compared to what some of the individuals and families were picking out there.

New House

Rachel and I are going to be homeowners! The current owners of this house have accepted our offer and we're set to close on July 15th (which was supposed to be my last day at my job... I guess I'll have to quit sooner :). Here's how we plan on remodeling the house:

Front Door -> Brewery -> Hospital -> Beer Garten

Needless to say, I'm stoked.

Mad City Bound

I'm off to Madison on Sunday morning. For those of you who might not know already, I will be starting my first RN position at Meriter Hospital in Madison, WI starting on June 20th. Until Joe and I find a house of our own, Oscar and I will be staying with my sister, Sara, and her "ferocious" dog, Luna. If we don't find anything by the time he moves out here in late July, Joe will stay there too and rescue Oscar from living alone with a house full of women.

Joe's started his pursuit to get his start in the brewing profession by contacting some Madison area breweries. It's very early in the game, so no great leads yet. If all else fails, he'll start banging on some doors when he comes into town. However, he deserves a SMALL vacation from work....right? He'll need the free time to hang out with our neglected dog and find a new 5am hockey league.

Whole Arts

Please come to Lizz Pratt's "Whole Art Show" at Natural Canvas Gallery on 613 N. Main St (Ann Arbor, MI). This is an art exhibition that she organized, which features Whole Foods Market employees' art work. The opening night gala is Saturday, June 11th @ 8pm with food, drinks and local musicians and poets. The show will run from June 11th-July 9th.

Officially RN

Evidently I was officially an RN before I knew it unofficially. The Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing already had me listed as having an active license as of June 2. In fact, anybody can look me up on their website...evidently that's public domain. I suppose it's so people know that I'm legitimate or something.

Baby Boy Bireta!

Congratulations to Megan, Jason, and their new addition to the family: Jacob Lawrence Bireta. The lil' guy was born Friday, June 3rd at 2:50pm (please correct me if I'm wrong), 9lbs 9oz and 22 inches in length! Hurrah! Joe and I are very happy for you both. Hopefully there will be pictures to follow. I hear from Don and Anne that Mom, Dad, and baby are doing very well.

Rachel, RN!

On June 1st (Wednesday), I took my boards (NCLEX) for licensing as a registered nurse. After two agonizing days of thinking the worst, I found out today that I passed! Unofficially, of course. It won't be "official" until the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing sends me my official notice and license.

Thanks to everyone who sent me their good thoughts, gave me support, and had confidence in me. It helped balance out my own self-deprecating nature. Especially thanks to Joe who dealt with me studying every day over the last month or so (actually, more like 20 + months) and whining about how I don't know ANYTHING about nursing. He definitely got me through the past couple days when I was so upset and SURE that I had failed. Thank goodness that's over and I can focus on moving and starting my new job!