Ipad's , Halloween, hurricane sandy, and NURSING HELL!

First I finally got my IPAD karim did end up getting it for my birthday. I was super excited when we went to the apple store. We also sat down learned how to use it and went through all the nursing student friendly apps.

 on our way to the magic land the apple store in NYC

 I brought it home to enjoy and started downloading apps

Me trying to get some studying done on it. 

Me & my mother have begun to love moscato

NURSING SCHOOL HELL!! So first off let me just say I am more stressed now than I think i have ever been in my whole life even when I was in undergrad for biology. I barley sleep I am now always constantly studying. I have gained maybe 5 pounds or a bit more since the start of school. There seems to be no way best to let off my stress. The exams are crazy and the readings challenging to get through because they are so long. The first exam I got a 94 on (secretly I thought i was a genius), then the second exam came along and I got a 78 (the exam must have been wrong). Needless to say I studied the same way for both exams and I put in the same amount of effort I guess I needed to work even harder for the second one due to the amount of information. The third exam is almost here and so is our paper that is due on the 5th of November, so I guess I will be dead until then. Have you noticed yet it has not been a Happy Halloween?

 He finally found some good corn bread.

Me and karim still see each other as much as we can in every week and weekends and we still oovoo on the computer every single night until we go to sleep. (yes my electric bill is off the roof)

 Since i started school I noticed my little man has been spending more and more time with his uncle mark who is sleeping under reese. So sadly I usually only get to have Reese sleeping in my bed about 3 times a week. Hey before you judge me I have waited forever for a dog I really want to enjoy it.

 Sometimes we just cant help it and we need to relax and settle our stress and me and Karim went out  shopping and we found a really nice sports lounge by my house that we went had a few drinks and tried hooka for the first time. In my opinion it tasted ok but I wouldn't do it again because the internet and my nursing professor told me it is worse than tobacco on my heart.

 If you know what that is please inform me. 

So Reese appeared with this in the beginning of September and It has stayed there not grown its on both ears on the same spot. He doesn't scratch it, it does not bleed and his ears get cleaned often. I changed his shampoo twice and nothing so doggy health care is not my area of expertise.

 Oh Walmart has been my go to place for the last month or so. 

It just so happen one of my friends who is obsessed with hello kitty was having a birthday and I was able to get a lot of gifts for my money.

This little sucker I discovered 2 days ago . 

Currently he resides in my neighbors bushes right outside our apartment. 

His web grows bigger everyday and If you know me I HATE SPIDERS! I just want to move him to anywhere other than next to our building.

Hurricane Sandy Approaches the EAST COAST so it is 12:04am on October 29th and as of right now it is extremely windy and it is drizzling in my area so I took the liberty of writing. 1) this blog post, 2)making flash cards, 3) cuddling up with reese, & 4) chatting it up with karim.

 the beginning of the very large pile these index cards will become

I find my Ipad is useful for many things but making my index cards faster is not the best use of it.

Reese cuddling up waiting for sandy to come.

A Nursing Filled week

So this week I started my clinical. I was excited nervous and angry. The angry part comes from the fact that I have to wake up super early. Today's post Is all about my week and the craziness I went through.

With clinical beginning I needed a good watch like the one above. I seriously love this thing I have worn it all week . It is comfy not snug at all and the clock is huge and I can see every little number and digit clearly. I was told having a good clinical watch is extremely important , i'm not sure how true that is but if any nursing students have a similar opinion on it please tell me why.

Karim told me on Wednesday that for my birthday he will be getting me an IPAD! I am a tech geek and always want the newest little toy on the block. I usually never spend my own money on the tech stuff I will just wait for a holiday or until the price is at something I can afford. The main reason he is getting this for me and why I am not stoping him from doing so is that it is a great thing to have when your a nursing student.
Here are some links on why others think as a nursing student It would be great to get an IPAD. 
7 reasons why you need a tablet as a nursing student,  Should I Get an Ipad for nursing school
Personally my reason is to save time i usually write my notes then  type them that takes double the time to do both things. Time that could be better spent reading over my notes and learning. Plus it would keep me organized.
One of my biggest reasons for getting the IPAD is the APPS I am an index card whore and I also love when I can find things to quiz me here is a link to a discussion about the nursing apps  .

I really liked this Ipad cover for when I get it . Its cute and funny and to be honest I do think medicine and ability to heal others is a super power. If you like the cover and want it to here is where to get it LINK.

Friday  some drug reps came in the office and dropped off two of these cute office supply kits.The cutest thing about it is the tiny stapler I love when they make cute on the go things.

Saturday was a busy day. We had my aunts birthday party , she turned 70, me and karim had some shopping that had to get done. We took a trip to whole foods and trader joes and also to petsmart to get some can foods for reese. before we left to the party we were all so dog tiered (pun intended) we knocked out.

Today I died a little. I woke up at 5 am to get laundry ready, walk the dog, fit in a really short work out, shower, eat breakfast, then i spent about 5 hours at the library only to come home (as i'm writing this) study some more. Tomorrow is week 3 of nursing yes im counting down like a prisoner but for the most part it gets me through the days. Tomorrow should be busy since we have a workshop right after class but I am really excited for this week .
Hope you all had good weeks and hope you get a lot more sleep than I am currently getting (my poor dark circles).

xoxo YMV <3

REFLECTIONS OF THE WEEK!

 Monday

Monday was KARIM'S BIRTHDAY !!!!! We have been together for 3 years and 7 months now. I love this man to death and he got all the love and attention he deserved. Karim told me what he wanted he really wanted a web cam so he could see me better on oovoo and so i could see him better so i got him that.

Motivation Monday!

I saw this on tumbr and thought it was a great reminder on how to help your abs out.

 My new go-to way for  flavored water all the natural flavors with out any processed sugars

I think this picture says it all sometimes we beat ourselves before we even really give our bodies a chance to prove itself. We need to get up and get out and moving so that we can prove just how much our bodies can take. As a heart patient I can honestly tell you that I probably have the most limitations a doctor can give a girl. but i still try to find ways to keep moving. Zumba, swiming, walking, pilates are a few ways i do this of course at a lower level so that i don't push my heart too far. There is no excuse for not trying to stay fit you just have to do it. Find the one thing you like to go and go for it. While your at it keep your diet clean and healthy. 

xoxo YMV

A LATE REFLECTIONS

Sorry I'm late but once you get reading you will understand why.
WARNING! GROSS PICS COMING THROUGH..

OUCH! yes this would happen to me and this is actually the second infection I have caught this week. I think it is safe to say my immune system is pretty low right now. I also have my 1st clinical tomorrow so I am a bit nervous about what they are going to say about my pinky. The picture above was taken yesterday so today it is a bit bigger and there is a little white color developing so i think if i keep soaking it the puss should come out (sorry for the TMI)

so with studying to be done and a painful pinky i had to soak and study. BTW if you ever get an infected hangnail epsom salt and hot water soothe it slowly but surely. 

on a sepreate less painful note. I got my nursing shoes! We don't get to use them for another three weeks but i figure it is better to get them now than later. Our scrubs will have not been sent so once that comes in you will be to see pictures and such with them on .

The rest of this week was kind of up and down with a tooth ache and trying to go see doctors and getting my INR regulated  it has been the week of not feeling well sadly. 

But things move on and fun things happen allow the way

Today is Karims birthday!!!!!!!

He is turning 26 today so we are doing a little get together and having some fun.

Since I have to go and get ready for the festivities and bandage the pinky I leave you with a cute picture of reese sleeping as I blog. 

Happy Labor Day Weekend !!!!!! Drink safely

xo YMV

sex sells disney

Check out this article first --> http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/spring-breakers-clip-good-girls-selena-gomez-vanessa-172206841.html

So I grew up watching Disney and the many starlets that came out from it. But it wasn't until i was about 14 or fifteen that I actually started to really know the starts and follow up with celebrity drama. I must admit just like any other teen (back then anyways) I love when the stars go bad. Now in the article they say they have gone bad yatayatayata but in their personal lives they have not, but boy do they know how to act bad on the big screen . there is another movie coming our "RED DAWN" that has josh from drake and josh and a couple other teen celebs I grew up watching.

Do you love watching the "Goodie too shoes" stars go bad ? if so let me know who your favorite tween or teen (from your time) that went bad is.

Oh and I also grew up watching lindsay lohan and she is definitely not my favorite i like when they go for edgier roles not edgier drugs. 

Xo YMV

REFlECTIONS OF THE WEEK!

MONDAY

I call this "The Iffle Tower of Nursing" this is how many books i will be needing for just 1 class. I am taking two other classes comp2 and sign language 2 sign language should be a fun ride like it was the first time since i have the same professor. Comp2 is online because with nursing i really did not want to spend much a lot of time traveling to classes and stuff and it would make my life easier. I am EXTREMELY nervous about nursing. I am nervous about passing , studying having time for my own health, dog, relationship, and other school work. I have looked up videos from other students and i saw that a lot say having a life is possible but its also difficult so i am a bit worried. Me and karim have been together for 3 years 6 months i stuck with him through his teaching masters and i know he will be by my side but hey a girl worries especially since i don't have a car to go over to him and he is a full teacher now so he will be busy too. If you have any relationship advice on this please give it. Anyway the studying i am prepared for my bio degree seems easy compared to this. and i am just a little bit freaked to be honest about clinicals and the math for meds. I SUCK AT MATH. its no joke i took pre-cal twice and the second time i spent my life with the tutor and teacher. so i am def nervous for the math part and i don't even remember how i got through chemistry.if there are any nursing majors that can give advice on this i would totally love it

Tomorrow is my orientation at the school and I can't wait for it my two close friends got into the school too so we will all be doing it together. I will let you know how that goes.

TUESDAY 
  So school has officially started orientation was NUTS to say the least we were bombarded with tons of information so much that i am stunned. We also have our first exam (math for meds exam) it is supposed to be just basic math that we will need for clinical. We have three chances to pass the exam before we are allowed to start clinicals. So i started studying these little cards are just of chapters 1 &2 i stil have 3,4,5,6, 13,14, &16 to go lol yes my time is now gone
Speaking of time:

 

I have NONE. At our orientation our professors spoke to us about time management, which let me tell you is a lot harder than you might think. I had to make sure i had time for not only my nursing class but my writing class and that i had time to study , prep, work, babysit & make time for karim and reese. I was told to also include time for traveling back and forth to school. This school even recommended we get Ipad's because it would be great for studying and less for us to bring to class. I sadly dont have the money for one yet but my birthday is coming up so that will be on my wish list.

WEDNESDAY

There is something I love more than health and sometimes even more than reese (when reese steels my yummies), it is called FOOTBALL! Come on people don't you love football? Well me and Karim are huge JETS FANS and Karim and Kerry (his best friend) got to go to the Jets training camp below are some of the highlights

MARK SANCHEZ AND REX RYAN AND SOME OTHERS SIGNED HIS BALL!!
ok if your not excited i truly am enough for all of us. 

The rest of the week was a mix of studying and work and oh yea some more work. Today I took a study break day and spent it with karim we did alot of running and walking with reese today. tomorrow I will be hitting those books hard.

Hope the rest of your had a great week !

xoxo YMV <3
 

Motivation Monday!

 

I think we can all agree that the above statement is true. 

However its easier said than done. 

I have heard so many tips and trick into making something a habit. Whether it be "21 days until its a habit, or two months and you will do it for life"

But to be honest I disagree with all statements. 

I think in order to make something a habit you have to do it for a year be fully committed to it for a whole year. If you can do that then you can do it for the rest of your life no matter what comes your way.

I think people (including myself ) sometimes look to fitness and clean eating as a way to fix a problem instead of a change in life style. Once we realize this is how its supposed to be forever and not just for now we will always see better results.

Lets be serious now a planner is a girls/guys best friend when it comes to making time for it all.Sometimes you need to work around your schedule and remember that with out your health everything will never be done.

I Leave you all on this motivation Monday with this tip.

REFLECTIONS of the week

There is now only a week and a few days between me and school. This week we have our mandatory orientation where they probably will be discussing how they figured out how to torture us for the next two years of our lives. My bio degree was fun crazy but fun somehow considering the massive piles of books for the ONE nursing class i think this degree will not be as fun at all .

MONDAY

 I received this from @generalelectric as a gift for my healthy living. i LOVE IT i did find it a bit confusing at first i was like WHAT 0_o  when it started mentioning all the little things the computer monitoring part tells you. But after a few videos and some light manual reading i got it working fine and i really love it and think its a good think to have if you are trying to lose weight or just monitor your daily intake.

WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday poor REESE Got stuck out in the rain. So did me and my brother. We are now looking for a doggy rain coat.

My mother decided to make an effort and turn the whole house on a healthy spin since all my surgeons and doctors said i had to lose 50 pounds before December.So to show me and the doctors that she means business this time she decided to cook tofu and make a dish all on her own. i know it was fried in a sense but it is still a lot better than what she was cooking before.

FRIDAY

Who said Chinese food couldn't be healthy.Well i did once until my friend nia from the Entirely Gorgeous Blog   posted on her Facebook a picture of how she kept Chinese food healthy by ordering things steamed, grilled and sauce on the side. So in the above picture there are steamed veggies 1/2 cup white rice and some setan that i had that i microwaved and placed into the meal. However if you don't have setan you can get grilled chicken or steamed shrimp (if your not a vegan or vegetarian). And for a girl like me who orders out at least twice a week this is a need to know.

SATURDAY

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 Those strawberries and the bananas below are what i decided to do today I figured my boyfriend is coming over and he really enjoys smoothies and shakes might aw well freeze everything so that it will be fast and yummy. Plus during the week i like to make raw ice cream or a green smoothie so frozen fruit is great to have on hand.

i had so many other picture but this wek my phone decided that it wanted to delete random things and apps off of my phone so I was not able to post any of my pics:(. Once I get my i phone i promise that there will constantly be better quality photos and more of them.
Hope you all had a great week.

xoxo YMV

IM NOT PERFECT!!!!!!

No i am definitely not perfect. Not in career, relationships, and in my diet. So If you follow my blog or did before when my writing was constant I hate vegans that are extremely STRICT. And let my be clear not strict with their own diet ( I admire that ) but with everyone else's diet. I have gone to meetups and have spoken to so many vegans & vegetarians that have told me I should not consider my self and animal activist or anything because my diet is always changing. For those of you who don't know i have a genetic heart condition that basically has me on more pills than your grand parents take.   These pills reaction can be altered unfortunately by what i eat. Coumadin (evil drug look it up) can be lowered by anything healthy veggies and fruit usually my favorites. So none-the-less when i cant continue a diet plan or eating plan as i want to it really bugs me when people judge just because its not totally perfect as to how they go about it. I went into vegan/vegetarian diet because of health reasons and because of the same ones my doctor changed the plan and re-routed me back to lean meats and fish. Now that my condition is even more severe and frankly they cant figure out how to give me a consistent diet that wont mess everything up they have me eating mostly vegan/vegetarian and having poultry once or twice a week.

I love raw and vegan food i think it challenges me in the kitchen and makes me activate taste buds that have been hidden for years. but for now i will be doing it 5 days a week. To all the snooty vegheads out their this doesn't take away my love for animals not the desire i have to help them .

That being said my favorite blogger and vlogger posted this on her channel and i think in a sense even though i think her diet is AMAZING. She explains how even other vegans find flaw in her habits and how you don't have to judge yourself and strive to eat and be perfect.

Sorry for the #vegan rant i still love the community i just think we should focus on getting more people on board with our ideas and trying to keep their diets as clean and animal friendly as possible instead of making sure their diets are as close to perfect as possible.

xoxo YMV

Motivation Monday

 Better said then done I know. But here is the amazing part. You don't need the gym. I took zumba classes for 2 months and lost 12 pounds ( of course accompanied with a good diet). But not everyone has the money (me), time(me), transportation (me , hey the gym is far well the good ones are) or the will power to leave the house and go. Here is where it gets good YOU DON'T NEED THE GYM! I know huh. lol well you don't. Have you discovered BODY ROCK yet? No well click the link. I like to use the "Body weight exercises meaning nothing with the equipment. Although the equipment does help a  lot it is on the pricier side and if you don't have money for a gym you don't need to spend it on all that equipment. Once you get their moves and an understanding of how they run the work outs and you can then better do it on your own.

 remember this statement for when you look at your sweaty gross self in the gym or home mirror after a workout and feel like giving up. 

a snack filled with flavor and protein. These are my personal favorites you can use any nut you like and any form of peanut butter you like.

Here is to hoping this post motivated you to get up of your lazy rump and hit the outdoors. 

xoxoYMV

A reflection of the day

 My day started out with the face with frustration and exhaustion. 

I didnt get much sleep and went over and over the rules and things for the modifications my dietician and doctor gave me for my diet. I love reading about healthy eating and food except of course when its restrictions im given and when its 60 pages long. I will leave that lovely post about my diet and how horrible it is going to be to try and keep it consistent so that my heart medication does not act up for another time.

 Me my brother and my father decided a nice day at the park would be good for us and the dog some fresh air and time away from my computer and his X-Box would do everyone some good.

Reese  had so much fun  playing soccer and chasing after the ball he was awesome.

I will be posting up that lovely blog post about my diet for my heart surgery and disease sometime in the next two weeks because it is currently still being changed. 

Hope you all had a lovely day 

xoxo YMV

A recipe of curiosity 1

So i will be picking my favorite curious recipes of the week. There will be one a week. Here is the thing i will be picking fat free vegan or vegetarian recipes that will not only help with weight loss but will also help with the budget. Most of the ingredients in the recipe of the week will be something either i already have or that is in expensive to get.

For my first choice i chose the "BLUEBERRY GREEN TEA CHEAP-O-CHINO" i found it in fat free vegans blog. The only ingredient i don't have is the pectin but i found a website that has it for CHEAP!

I think picking something to try once a week will also make my pantry really healthy since you have to add any ingredient you don't already have little by little.

DESIGNER V.S SHELTER & HELP out a shelter with a VOTE

In case you don't already know i recently got a dog.

His name is Reese

Before i actually got my dog i searched and searched thinking i wanted a certain breed or behavior or even energy level . After a few weeks i though i found the perfect pup it was a cute little yorkie i though "OMG perfect" then of course my mother ruined my excitment and said  "$1,300 dollars for what a dog that fits in a purse when there are dogs on the street that need homes." After i thought about what she said it got me thinking  "Crap" shes right. there i was looking for a designer pooch  when my soul puppy was probably in a shelter. I did my research and i found Reese on petfinder. I went to the adoption event at PetsMart and that was it i wanted to take him home right away and just play and give him crazy kisses. I know the decision i made in adopting a dog was way better than buying one from a breeder. and after playing and having the time i have had with Reese i now know that i would never have done well with a yorkie i am too active and a yorkie is not as active as i would like. Reese runs with me and is more active than I am and i really love that.I want to know what your view on adoption and breeding are. Before you let me know please read below the story of Reese and the Shelter because the shelter needs all the votes it can get!

I got Reese from an animal shelter foster family called Animal Life Savers they we awesome through the adoption and all the dogs were kept in foster homes each given attention and love from individual families until they found their forever homes. The community is small and the lady who runs it spends alot of her time traveling back and forth between  the foster homes to get all the dogs ready for adoption events at the PetsMart's near me she does events at two locations. The first location is at the PetsMart in North Bergen  and the one in Secaucus. It is a lot of hard work and takes a lot of time. they are the one main animal shelter /rescue in out area some of the other try and keep as many dogs/cats in their shelters as possible and to prevent the animals from gettting killed Animal Life Savers will try and have to animals who will be going on deaths row fostered by some of their foster families or volunteers. 

I have thought long and hard about becoming a foster home for a dog but i live in an apartment and even though reese has a lot of running room and there is room for another very small dog i just don't know if it would be best for Reese to share a home with another dog . Not yet anyway. I still think i might do it and just specify that it would have to be a very small dog, i don't know what do you guys think?

ON A BIGGER NOTE 

Animal Life Savers needs HELP they have entered a contest with petfinder.com they need all the votes they can get  the winner receives 300,000 dollars to help their shelter animals. Animal Life Savers does not have a shelter of their own like i said they work off of foster families. So it would be great to have a shelter for the animals to stay at and get round clock care and maybe they would be able to save more animals this way. So if your a dog, cat or just a lover of saving animals please vote. 

To vote click on THIS  it will ask you 

shelter name: Animal Life Savers INC

country : United states

state: New Jersey

click search it will pull up the shelter and vote. 

A New addition to my life

No karim has not proposed yet (would really like him to do so ) and i did not have a baby. I did however adopt a cute puppy. He was adopted from Animal Life Savers his name is reese he is a Chihuahua, dacshund terrier mix. We have already had him for two months we got him when he was four months.

This was his first week with us he became comfortable right away.

 After i got him we went on a little doggy shopping spree and i got him a few toys and treats this one for some reason seemed to be his favorite

 He loves to go out and play but he is also doing basic obedience training because at some point i want him to become a therapy dog like the ones i use to have when i was in the hospital. It made such a difference to my visit in the hospital i would like to do that for someone else too.

This use to be his favorite toy until he destroyed it now it is a soc monkey he seems to not want to live without. 

Enough of my sharing do any of you have a dog, cat, lizzard, or pet you want to share or have tons and tons of pictures of send me your blogs in the comments and i will check it out. 

xoxo YMV