Hello loves!  Miss me?  I miss me too.  During brief breaks from school work (read: when I chose to ignore my school work) I wonder how my life will emerge from this program.  How will I re-learn living post-program, without this constant foreboding cloud of having a million things to do?  Also, I am a little worried that I have lost my ability to talk about anything except nursing.  I will need to devise a code word that you all can use when I start to gross you out, as ruminations about procedures and body parts tend to trip unexpectedly from my mouth.  Um, code word is fistula.

Updates:
I am applying for jobs - eek!
I am moving in two weeks to a lovely row house with blue walls and a roof deck.  Oh, and a sewing room.  I am so excited.
I graduate in .... a very short time.  I love this career and each day add tidbits to my list of new things I want to learn and do.
I am exhausted.
Doing hard things makes learn a lot about yourself in a very short time.
I love Ryan Gosling.
I love to sew.  I don't know if you knew that.  I stayed up too late on too many nights this week crafting quilt squares and re-making dresses.  So worth it.  Now I am blogging instead of writing my looming paper.
Next week is a very serious week with lots and lots of things I must do.  Flash mobs.  Happy Hours.  Scavenger hunts.  Phew!

Peek of the Week: The things we do

A meal, with a real rendering of a gluten free breakfast. I know, my glowing health makes you want to vomit. Here to spread sunshine.
And my new whats-it contraption electric holder thingy....


To hold my now numerous wires and things. The things I usually lose. Now they are snug sand-whiched between birdies and pom-poms.

This is my FIRST EVER linking up/blog share thingy-ma-bob with Jessa of the Happily Home Sewn. I hope I did it right because the only thing that exceeds my love of sewing is my love of Jessa. and Laura. and Jesus.

You got my back, right?

I have drawn my own biscuit, to avoid all those annoying crediting things. From now on, all pictures will be my own creation or photography. Take that blogites!

Ok, I am not eating gluten, cause, you know, I am allergic to the world. AND I FEEL BETTER. I am telling all of you so the next time you see me reach for a bag of flour, a slice of bread, or a bushel of wheat you will say "NO CHRISTA!!! YOU FEEL SO MUCH BETTER WHEN YOU ABSTAIN FROM THE GLUTENY DELIGHT OF SUCH FOODS. GLUTEN FREE BISCUITS ARE NOT THAT DIFFERENT!!" Except they are friends, they are so different. They require more jam on top, to mask the lingering flavor of tapioca flour (its baking blasphemy) BUT, all the same...I give you permission to smack me with the holy power of a righteous friend to set me right!

DC

Quote of the night "ok, I want to feel his chin." My roomie and I are watching Bollywood movies and she is fascinated by the hero's chin.

I went and toured DC with Ethan a few weekends ago. It was the first time I had been there since my childhood. Friday we walked alllllll over the city (clocking 12+ miles-phew) and Saturday we biked and walked allllllll over the city. It was great!

Some great folk art at the National gallery.

Roosevelt memorial - It was my favorite and really beautiful.

Yes, that's the moon. Pretty, eh? The weather was a lovely 60 degrees, a great break from the frigid chill of winter.

A silver tree. Random, but neat.

The National Cathedral. So pretty!

A mini panda at the zoo.

The white house.

Ethan, worn out, just outside of the Jefferson memorial.

This was an amazing exhibit at the National Gallery - this guy made a throne for Christ's return out of tinfoil and cardboard.

Camera, activated.

Liz's sweet puppy, Huckleberry. He's a grouchy old man.
Crafts: painted picture frames, kindle case

My roommate: Rhonde

For the new years party I made a deliciously indulgent recipe, bitterballen. It's essentially a fried meatball and it is so good. The recipe I used can be found here, the only change I made is that I added gruyere cheese, which is never a bad thing. I also made hush puppies, cause if you are frying things, I mean, you need to fry hush puppies.

I had a realization, as I began to make tassels out of bright multi-colored yarn, that the scarf I am making is for me. No one else would want a scarf with day-glow tassels. But I do.

I am in Charlotte, being so domestic that people gasp at the sight of me, covered in thread, flour, and glitter. I am on my third batch of Christmas cookies today (making, not eating), in addition to all sorts of crafty nonsense. This is what happens when my family leaves me alone for a week.

My birthday was fun: We ate sushi, watched the muppet movie, took naps, I sewed (duh), played nertz, the Bundt game, drank delicious ice cream and vodka cocktails, watched the new Sherlock Holmes movie, drank more cocktails (this was over three days, as any true birthday celebration should be). Also, on Friday, we had a pie dinner. The menu: Feminist Pie (essentially Julia Child's beef stew in pie form), Hippie Pie (veggie quiche), and Bumpkin Pie (potato and cheese pie = delicious!). For dessert, Sweetie Pies (mini berry pies). So. Much. Fun. I am currently looking up recipes for the Mad Men New Years Party I am attending. I am going with Dutch fried meatballs called Bitterballen. All the appetizers I am bringing I decided should be in ball form. YUM.

I am a genius. Follow this riddle. I snagged two mini-packets of starburst from Grandma's house (4 starbursts total). Came home and gave one packet to Dad (2) and one packet to Danny (2). They, in response to my generosity, gave me back one starburst each = winner! Can you figure out the final score? I will reach diabetes before they do!

I realized that here at nursing school we can easily cast the entirety of Pride and Prejudice. I have definitely found Caroline Bingley. Holly and Omar and Jane and Mr. Bingley aka the nicest people in the world. There are several female versions of Mr. Collins (obsequious fools are universal) and of course I am Elizabeth. Everyone fits in somewhere. This is what I think about when I should be studying.

Meanwhile, I think I have a staph infection on my leg. A little bit of hypochondriac, a little bit of new nurse, a little bit of this-is-the-same-weird-leg-thing-that-got-on-my-legs-the-summer-of-2006-when-I-was-in-Prague-but-I-didn't-speak-Czech-so-I-have-no-idea-what-it-is-or-how-the-Czech-doctor-treated-it. I have pictures on my phone (from this round) if you want to play today's game of Hypochondriac Monday with me.

One exam down and three to go. I am sick (no hypochondria) but the doctor didn't give me anything....she said "it will be gone in a week." But I need to survive the week! Boooooooo! Almost done..........blech.

Taking taxis by myself and buying luggage make me feel like an adult. Well, I have never bought my own luggage, but taxis I can attest to. I tipped the nice driver extra for not murdering me. Any time I take a taxi alone (which has been twice), I can't help but think of that movie with Angelina Jolie and she is a cop (you don't know which one I am talking about yet?)...Bone Collector. Terrifying taxi driver/serial killer in it.

Back in Baltimore after a week with family. I am looking around my apartment and I feel clear and different....then I realized its because I am rested and not on the verge of a panic attack. Great, now I am ready for the hellish two weeks ahead. Bring on the madness.

By popular demand

I made a mistake this morning. I had a latte. And then went to my exam. About question 5 my stomach began to protest, in loud, rolling tones. Loud. My friend seated to my left glanced my way, eyebrow raised. Yes, my body hates milk. I forgot. Oops. The unholy sounds emanating from my abdomen punctuated the entire exam period. Awkward. But I think I did okay on the test.

Things I did instead of studying:

- made cake pops for church brunch (thats right, cake on a stick, with sprinkles. I would pick the most time consuming baked good ever but they are kind of amazing)

- bought fabric at Joann's weekend sale (40-50% off- how can you resist?)

- visited the book festival happening literally in my back yard. My favorite is the science fiction/ fantasy tent, which of course sports some wenches and pirates. The wenches were a little timid for my taste. I mean really, if you are going to dress up in public, displaying your not so hidden fantasy about living in the novels you read/attempt to write, please go big or go home. If you are going to be a pirate, BE A PIRATE. Don't mouse about and make me pity you for your lack of swash-buckle.

- had brunch with my dear friends that comprise Team Awesome here at nursing school. Crepes, farmer's market breads and cheeses, fritata and my favorite coffee....mmmmm...talked about the commune.

- made over a dozen mini meat loafs to freeze for future consumption. Baked them in muffin tins = brilliant. and delicious.

- cleaned my room

- wrote this blog

- watched the two hour Grey's anatomy premiere and displayed nurse dorkdom via my excitement that the safety checklist used pre-surgery prevented them from operating on the wrong person. Yay for safety checklists!

Okay, I am kind of into school again, having almost finished the first round of test. Truly, the only thing keeping me grounded is a daily run. and biscuits. I heard rumor of a run in DC in December some how based around chocolate or sponsored by a chocolate company....could there be anything better? I have a lot to do and hopefully I will do it all.

I keep a running list in the back of my calendar (yes I still use a hard copy, non-phone or web based thingy-me-bob) of all the things I want to read, see, and do. Its getting very long and I think will never be accomplished, but its nice to do all the same.

I have to finish re-applying for my masters. Eek! So many things to plan and do - take a year off? keep going? who knows.

I am attending a church filled with young people. Really young people. Like, I am considered old. Its kind of funny. But thankfully its close, its good, and they are all art students so no one bats an eye at my homemade clothes.

I find myself coming up with new idioms or slang words or phrases that I plan to integrate into the English language. Like, who first came up with "okay" "rad" or "Bird of a different color" as phrases we all (mostly) recognize in daily conversation. Today I threw into conversation, "Different color, same egg" (which is clearly just thievery of the previous statement). But I like eggs and generally classify all people as "good egg" or "bad egg" - it just felt natural and right. I got a look, but it was accepted as a sound contribution. So begins my plan....

Also, my brother's band's album is on itunes --> The Sea Wolf Mutiny, The Last Season. You should get it. **nudge nudge**

Resolved.

I have decided only to write in the font "optima" to perpetuate positivism and good will. This isn't actually an option on this forum, but just so you know, mentally I am typing in "optima."

I have allowed my school work to build to such a point that now I must study with the fervor and determination seen in the summer in order to catch up lost ground/ be successful/ get anything done. Excellent. Oh, and I am the unopposed candidate for my class' Vice President. That's right, I am finally redeeming my 8th grade failure to win a place in student government. My platform is a Halloween flash mob that involves our entire student body dressing up like Lady Gaga. or Florence Nightingale. Also, organizing a student mentor program, but that is secondary.

The Christa Alphabet

(borrowed from Abby)

ambition: to be in a musical, make a pair of shoes, cure diabetes

bad habit: loquacious and loud

city: baltimore, md

drink: water, room temperature

education: currently nursing, at J. Hop

food: apples and peanut butter, toast with butter and honey, kale

guilty pleasure: glee, young adult fantasy novels, roller derby

hometown: charlotte, north carolina

ice cream: cookie dough, peanut butter

jonesing for: my own home, which I will build from things I find, on land that will grow into a wild jungle of children and vegetables

kryptonite: pretty, small dishes or pretty pieces of fabric. also, bearded men.

look-a-like: drew barrymore (?)

movies: whip it, away we go, jane eyre, star wars, anything Austin, westerns, sci fi and the like

nicknames: calamity, megs, megakaryocyte, chriiiiiiiiiiista, christabelle

obsession: dresses, preferably stolen/ borrowed from old ladies or librarians

perfume: hypoallergenic soap

quirk: losing my words

regrets: not (yet) hiking the Appalachian trail

starbucks: café au lait, with honey

talents: spontaneous limericks, creating, writing, playing

university: unc, j. hop

vacation: Colorado, anywhere

wine: white

x: x to not speaking my mind

years: twenty-seven

zen: reading books in hammocks or bed, sewing, running, sitting in the sun

I definitely have a case of the back to school blues. Really? Another semester? Aren't I done yet? I am cleaning, prepping notebooks, vacuuming, doing vacation laundry (sniff, vacation...I miss you) and trying to not have an anxiety attack. Gone is the ignorant optimism of pre-nursing school, here is the present reality of what I must do again. And then twice more.

But then I will graduate and its tantalizing, as usually, to plan all of the imaginary possibilities of where I may go and what I may do. I will probably stay here but I like to plan all the same.

Its raining, a great excuse to stay indoors and sew.

Things I love

Danny working at El Burrito, Mom and Abbie eating at El Burrito (its really, really delicious), the show

Also, I don't have a genetic disorder, in case you were wondering.

I am the only one in the school library right now, except for the unfortunate woman whose office is located within this tomb of silence and soulful studying. No, a masters student just came in. I can tell she is a masters student (or doctoral) because she has the wizened look of one who has been studying too long. And she is here.

I passed all my exam. I survived. I am waiting for last official grades because I can't trust my math enough to work out exactly what my final grade may be. They weight them so your final exam is 40% of your grade, which means that basically what you make on the final is what you make in the class. No pressure. I am trying not to obsess about grades and am doing pretty well. Its not that I need them to prove my worth, I want them so I can get scholarships. Also, there is a devilish part of me that wants to slip under the radar of all the ostentatiously smart folks who go around lording their intelligence like its a badge of honor and then end up with a quietly smug, yet higher GPA. The devilish part of me, I know.

These past few days have been filled with sun, lounging, spontaneous naps, roller coasters, meals with friends, running, and sleeping. Its been great. I still have an extensive to-do list however, which includes the GRE, which I am to take tomorrow. I am a little nervous and thus I am at the library to study, which ends up looking more like blogging. I am also a little nervous that I am still exhausted and long for a cup of coffee each morning to jolt my brain into functioning. Question 1: How did I manage to stay awake this entire semester? Question 2: How will I stay awake for next semester?

I lost my cell phone or it was stolen. This was one instance where I was distinctly aware of the location of my phone until it was gone (on the window ledge in the gym. I stepped out just for a moment and then it was gone. boo.). I need a new one. I realized that I use my phone to tell time and without it, I don't actually know the hour of the day. I should start watching the sun I suppose.

Exam Delirium

I have no explanation. These, however, are my dear, dear friends without which I would not have survived the semester...