Category: school/studying

Monday Motivation ** January 22, 2017

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training

(Image from google)

Monday- was a no go day in all ways. Sunday night it hit me that I had to go back to “normal” life and that was so hard. Brandon held me while I cried and I didn’t fall asleep until 1:30-2am which made getting up at 5:40am pretty rough. Coffee was needed. I felt sick to my stomach most of the day and was holding back tears. After work I went home and just crawled into bed. I watched 5 hours of Smallville, took some melatonin and cuddled with my puppy.

Tuesday- I felt a little better and started the day off right with some carrot, celery, apple juice. Had canned soup for lunch (not the best choice but better than a lot of other choices) I had a Slimfast and a protein bar for snacks since I wouldn’t be home until almost 10pm with school but since I didn’t do anything on Monday I didn’t prep a good dinner to take to school so I ate out (Panda Express; mushroom chicken, kung pao chicken and beef and broccoli, I avoided the carbs). I tried to use moderation and the best choices possible while not breaking the bank or taking too much time away from studying.

Wednesday – I should have gone to the gym but I had no energy

Thursday – I had lab, I got McDonalds in between work and school and remembered that depression makes everything so much more difficult. We were looking at tissue samples in lab (I’ll cover that more on Friday’s post) and I am not great with the microscope and knowing what I am or should be looking at, add in that depression increases stress and I almost started crying in my lab.

Friday- I stayed in bed or on the couch most of the day. I managed to get up and go for a 1.5 mile walk with Artemis and Brandon but I know if Brandon hadn’t been there and going stir-crazy even that would not have happened. I was so tired and lethargic and just depressed all day.

Saturday was mostly a lot better. We got up and did a little day trip I had planned for us during the week. We drove out to Cape lookout and did a just under 5 mile trail run/hike. We were probably only able to run a little less than half of this because the other half was crazy muddy, had large boulders to climb over and giant tree roots to climb over. I may have fallen on my butt in the mud lol. But it was still fun and good to get out and do something. After the run/hike we hit the Tillamook cheese factory for lunch and bought a few goodies.

We got home, cleaned up and watched the movie “Julie and Julia”. I can’t wait to have a whole kitchen all to myself!!!!! I am going to cook so much!!!

Saturday night was another story, I don’t know what it is, maybe because on the weekend I don’t have to deal with it, I can turn the TV and numb the world out as long as I need but knowing I have to go back to work and face the world just seems to be breaking me each week. Once again I got into bed and all my thoughts and stresses of the coming week came forward and I cried for almost 2 hours while Brandon held me. So of course I was a Zombie on Sunday and yet I need to study for my Midterm, yes I already have a MIDTERM!!!!! How am I supposed to learn everything I need to know when I don’t want to think and when I do think I break down.

Now I remember how the thought of going to class after my dad died was so daunting. Not surprised it took me 4 years to do 2 years of classes back then.

I do not want that to happened again and certainly cannot afford to need to repeat classes so I have started looking for a therapist and/or bereavement group. I can’t fall down the black hole I did after my dad died. I am just hoping I can find some energy and motivation to get through this midterm and not bomb it.

At the end of this week I will have drank more energy drinks in 1 week than I normally drink it a year and that is just to function on a basic level.

Technically it’s the 2nd week of A&P

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, school/studying

but since I missed the 1st week while I was in Reno helping take care of all my brother’s stuff it is my first week. How, I don’t know if ironic is the right word, that I didn’t take a fall quarter class because I would miss the first week due to my Europe cruise and here I have missed it anyways. I of course talked to my lecture and lab professor (a different teacher for each) and let them know I would miss the first week, they were both understanding. My professor emailed me on Thursday and let me know there would be a quiz on Tuesday; since I got home Thursday evening and picked my book up Friday I decided to go ahead with the quiz instead of waiting, no sense in falling even farther behind.

On Tuesday after work I went straight to school to use the hour and a half-ish that I had to study for the quiz, I had done about an hour and a half of studying previous to this but since I hadn’t been to lecture I only had a vague notion about what I needed to study. The professor has office hours before class so I stopped in to introduce myself and make sure I had studied at least some of the correct things. I got a 4/5 on the quiz which is great when you think I hadn’t even been to class but slightly depressing when you realize that is only an 80%. But it is ok. Since I am still adjusting to being back and hadn’t adjusted to school yet I ended up getting panda express after talking to my professor and before class. I tried to stay away from the carbs that would make me sleepy. I got a small mushroom chicken, small beef and broccoli and small kung pao chicken.

Wednesday was a planning day, now that I have the syllabus it is time to plan out the quarter. I put reminders in my phone about tests, quizzes, and any other due dates. I also updated the calendar in my room. and did an in-depth weekly break-down. Now it is time to do any prep-work for my lab on Thursday. On Thursday again I go to school right after work to get any more prep-work I need to do and if I am ready for lab then I start on next weeks reading and work. Since I only have about 2-2.5 hours between work and school I decided the best use of that time is to just go to school and get uninterrupted studying done. At home there are too many distractions and on the weekends I am with Brandon and would like to study as little as possible when I am with him (obviously during midterms/finals that doesn’t count hahahaha)

Thursday is my first lab (well I already missed one) you can drop one lab so my first was my dropped lab, this means I have to buckle down with my labs and focus. I tend to get a little impatient in labs and rush so I need to really not do that this quarter since I already have the 1 dropped lab. And of course there aren’t many grades available in lab, there is usually a score for the whole lab which means you only get about 10 things going toward your over-all grade, that makes each grade very important.

And with that my week is over!!! I got to sleep in this morning and it’s my Saturday; and technically my 2nd week of class is already over, only 9 weeks left. Oh boy this is going to fly by, I better start studying!! and did I mention that I have been to 1 class and have a midterm on Tuesday!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Something I am going to do this weekend is get food for school/study time. As I discovered this week (and throughout the last year) I like to munch and graze while I study and in class, as I realized this I remembered that I used to make fruit and cheese plates to eat while I studied so I am going to start doing that again. That is the best thing for me to eat and do during the about 10 hours a week I will spend on campus. I think fruit, nuts and cheese will be the main staple. I might through crackers in from time to time and a protein bar here and there but that should work really well for me……and my waistline and budget as I found out this week hahaha.

 

January Monthly goals

by Ariana Peters, posted in books, healthy lifestyle, House/dating/life, school/studying, training

January

The goals for the year broken down for this month:

Blog at least 3 times a week- so I need a minimum of 14 blog posts including January 31st

PROPERLY train for and run a half, full and ultra marathon- half marathon training is up first, the minimum number of miles I need have run this month to keep up good training is- 60 miles

Revamp my diet and STICK TO IT!!!! –

Breakfast-juice and muffin or toast and coffee (I dropped my muffin this morning, sad face, so leftover slice of pizza and juice it is!)

Midmorning snack– Slimfast or smoothie

Lunch– Soup or salad

Dinner– Anything I want as long as it is make at home

After dinner– tea or hot chocolate , popcorn is ok too

 

Get A’s in all my classes this year- Keep a running tally of my % in my class(es)

Drop two clothing sizes, go from a 10 to a 6 –Stick with the aforementioned meal plan and marathon training and I should be golden

Stop overspending!!!! – I am not keeping any forms of payment on me at work so that I cannot pop next door to the little market whenever the desire strikes and I only get to eat out once this month so I better choose well.

Take a few minutes every day to sit in quiet reflection, meditate, and do something spiritual –I have a 5 line a day little diary and a 366 day devotional I am starting to use. (the first of the year was about setting your intention for the year and sending it out into the world, my intention this year is FOLLOW THROUGH!!! I am terrible about this)

Continue to work on and grow my relationship with Brandon – we need to get out and do something every week, we currently have Thursday evening through Sunday morning together and I don’t want us to just sit on the couch the whole weekend so my goal is at least one outing a weekend (they just need to be free outings lol)

Read 1 non-school book a month- I already met that goal this month ( I read online yesterday because work was dead) so let’s see if I can squeeze in a second one before school starts.

Happy New Year!!!!!/Monday motivation!

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, school/studying

 


Today is day 1, make this the year of you, the year you have always wanted to have, lose the weight, pay off debt, let the walls down, deal with your depression or other illness, travel, do whatever you want. With the right attitude you can do it! I promise anything is possible, if you want it bad enough you will find a way and the universe will bring it to you. I mean I just came back from 18 days in Europe a few months ago, I am going to school to be a nurse, I am spending my life with the man I love, I live paycheck to paycheck currently and also managed to pay off a credit card last year!!!!! Yes it was my smallest one but every thing counts!!! If you want to make a change, take charge and do it.

I hope you have a great day and realize all the amazing things this next year holds for you.

Week 2 marathon training:

 

Not gonna lie, nothing happened this week. I took full advantage of using the holiday as an excuse and sat on my butt. My roommates were out of town so I enjoyed the empty house and binged on TV. I also rationalized that school is starting soon and workouts are going to get longer to enjoy this week of total laziness.

My 2018 goals (resolutions seems like a word that means you aren’t really going to stick with them so these are goals!!! AND I will achieve my goals!)

  1. Blog at least 3 times a week
  2. PROPERLY train for and run a half, full and ultra marathon
  3. revamp my diet and STICK TO IT!!!! (I am going to do a post about this soon)
  4. Get A’s in all my classes this year.
  5. Drop two clothing sizes, go from a 10 to a 6.
  6. Stop overspending!!!! I am terrible about sticking to my budget, I have stopped over drafting and am paying off debt but I could be in such a better place if I didn’t spend so frivolously.
  7. Take a few minutes everyday to sit in quiet reflection, meditate, do something spiritual.
  8. Continue to work on and grow my relationship with Brandon
  9. To read 1 non-school book a month. I had originally wanted to do 1 a week then thought about it and changed it to every other week but now I think it will be 1 a month to be safe. I have a 40 hour work week, 6 hours of classes a week, another probably 4-6 hours of school work a week, in a few months I will have a 2 hour/day commute, training for my runs and house work.

In a few days I will post about breaking these down in to manageable goals which will help them be more attainable.

2 weeks until school starts

by Ariana Peters, posted in books, school/studying, Uncategorized

ARG!!! So frustrating! I am only take the 1 class this quarter, its $467 and some change and I can’t enroll in a payment plan!!!!! I set aside some money so yes I can pay for it in one chunk but I didn’t anticipate the book, lab manual and access code I need together all costing almost as much as the class! I need to find another $305.

The most frustrating thing about school is the cost and no I do not qualify for any financial aid since I already have a bachelors degree. Once I am accepted into a Nursing program it is a different story but currently I can get nothing. I hate feeling like I am getting penalized for not knowing what I wanted to do at 19 years old after my dad died and my whole life and life plan was turned upside down (we wanted to open a bakery and café together). I kept going forward on the plan I had set with him because at the time if you were over 18 and wanted to keep your parents insurance you had to be enrolled in college full time so I kept going and got my degree. I now know what I want to do in life and it feels like it is 10x harder to achieve it. I am starting back at the bottom except that now I have more bills, more debt and more responsibilities on top of school. I don’t want to complain, there are people out there who have it much worse and much harder than I do, it is just frustrating. Ok rant over.

Now I need to figure out where to get that extra $300 from.

I’ll check back in next week and hopefully let you know my book and class have been paid for and that I am all set to start the quarter.

3 weeks until school starts!!

by Ariana Peters, posted in school/studying

Ok now it is really getting close. 5 weeks was like, no big deal I got this, now I am starting to freak out a bit hahaha. Being as how I do not have a definite future address I think I will be taking the class at the community college near my current/old house which is also the closer of the 2 community colleges to my job. My thought process right now (if I can work it out with roommates then Brandon) is just to go straight to school at work so I have extra study time (maybe fit a run in as I get the study schedule down).

I am definitely nervous about the course load of anatomy & physiology, I have been reviewing my medical terminology a little bit and doing some Quizlet studying. I think I will feel better once I get into the class and see the syllabus and the actual workload. Not knowing is the nerve-wracking part. BUT I GOT THIS!!! I just keep telling myself that hahaha, and thankfully so is everyone else. Next week I will probably commit to the class and buy the book. The unfortunate thing is the college seem to use the same anatomy book for all 3 classes…..but of course each college uses a different book. So if I take anatomy 1 near Portland and anatomy 2 and 3 in Salem I will have had to buy 2 different books. Knowledge wise that is awesome, cost wise not so much.

Check in with you next week!!!

4 weeks until school starts.

by Ariana Peters, posted in school/studying

bookThat book costs how much???

And the time has come to start pricing books and looking for less expensive options. Hopefully amazon has it listed for much less expensive than it says here.

Ok I just looked and the same book is used for all 3 anatomy classes I have to take (at least at this school) remember how I am enrolled in both community colleges since I am not sure where I am going to end up. Lets see what the other school says, The other school is about $50 cheaper in their bookstore and of course it is a different book.

Let’s hope in the next 2-3 weeks it becomes a little more clear where I will be taking the class. It is highway robbery about much textbooks (and everything to do with school for that matter) costs.

That is where I am at for now. Time is ticking down quickly!!

 

Layout of the blog.

by Ariana Peters, posted in books, food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training, travel

I hate being inconsistent. I really want to get to a consistent place with this blog where you can count on posts certain days and on certain subjects. I think I have come up with a schedule that works for me.

Mondays– Monday motivation- All things fitness centered, checking in on workouts and races, pics of food, hiking and all that good stuff.

Wednesdays– House stuff- house hunting, hopefully after we a house fixing it up and gardening and planting and all that jazz

Fridays– school stuff- everything related to school, studying, classes, frustrations, nursing school stuff, fun facts and so much more

Those will be the main weekly points, then above that my goal will be to post a book review at least every OTHER week (if I can get through a non-school book a week that would be awesome but I am not going to over stretch myself)

Other above and beyond things will be any traveling posts or fun things that happen. These will not be on any regular basis (unfortunately, I don’t get to set a traveling schedule hahahahaha it will be as time and budget allow.)

Is there anything else you want to hear about or talk about?

Let me know!

5 weeks until school starts

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, school/studying

And it begins, the countdown to winter quarter starts now. 5 weeks to go.

5 weeks until I start the joyous, interesting, horror that is anatomy and physiology.

Image result for anatomy class memes (image from pinterest)

Currently I am registered the community college I have been going to; near where I live just outside Portland as well as on the waitlist for the class at the community college in Salem. It all depends on what happens over the next 5 weeks. If we are in escrow in the Salem area when school starts (and I get off the waitlist) I will go there but if not or if I don’t get off the waitlist I will take it by my old house and just head there after work and study for a few hours. Maybe get a run in as the weather warms up a bit, we shall see.

Image result for anatomy class memes (image from google)

Everything is up in the air now, which is a little stressful but I am trying to just go with it. I also need to try and put a few dollars into savings to cushion the blow of tuition and books. Anatomy is not cheap, it is 4 credits and has lab fees along with needing supplies.

Be prepared to start hearing a lot about anatomy. I am already using Quizlet to study a bit beforehand.