My Oreo Aspirations

In the quiet, meditative moments of your day have you recently found yourself pondering the thought: "I wonder what Jannette Perry has been doing with all her spare time this semester..."?

Well, today I am here to answer this question for you. And the answer is this: In my precious last days as a student I am using my energy to make plans to fulfill some of my biggest, deepest, most personal life dreams and aspirations. Today after a heart-to-heart with a wonderful friend on FaceTime, I decided upon something that I must do; something that I believe will change my life forever:

I MUST TRY EVERY FLAVOR OF OREO THAT THERE EVER WAS.

{if you weren't expecting something along those lines after all that... you must not know me very well}

Once I set my mind to something, I make it happen. So you better believe I am going to turn this dream into a reality. The Oreo research has now begun. I have scoured the internet for lists and pictures of all the different kinds of Oreos that have ever been made. And boy oh boy, there are a LOT, most definitely more than I expected. My excitement over this has only continued to escalate all afternoon.

From the Sugar Free Reduced Fat Oreo to the Triple Double Neapolitan Oreo and everything in between, Nabisco definitely has not been shy about Oreo experimentation. Did you know there is a Watermelon Oreo?! And a Creamsicle Oreo?! And a White Fudge Covered Oreo?! And a Golden Birthday Cake Fudge Creme Oreo?! And then there are the most recent additions to the Oreo family: The Cookie Dough Oreo and the Marshmallow Crispy Creme Oreo. 

Like I said, the research has begun.

Ideally, i'd like to throw an Oreo party. Each guest would be assigned to bring a certain flavor of Oreo, and then we'd all join together to celebrate the wonders of such a magically delicious* and originally very simple cookie. Guest requirement: no looking down on me for the fact that I definitely will be trying at least one of every kind of Oreo, which would mean eating like 20+ cookies over the course of one party... believe me, i'd do it. 

The challenge is this: a number of the Oreo varieties were/are limited edition, or they are holiday specific and thus only sold at certain times of the year. I'm still trying to work out the kinks... it may end up that I just have to buy one kind at a time over the course of a year and taste test them all on an individual basis (and then most likely eat the whole package myself... which is why the party option would be so much less fat-girl-ish).

Heh heh, this is funny because I remember one time in 4th grade we had to write an essay on how we eat an Oreo. I complained about how ridiculous it was because I could explain in two short sentences my methods of Oreo consumption, and it did not require a five paragraph essay. It seems now that i'm in 16th grade, I could ramble on about this particular delectable snack for days!

Once upon a time (aka last year), my girl Christie and I went to Walmart and bought Oreos. I tried to see how many different kinds I could hold at once. I only walked out with one pretty little package of cookies, but clearly I felt it that day that eventually i'd try them all.

Soooo, anyway, I guess this is what I did today.

Please don't judge me.

Did I mention that I have two more weeks of the M5 Fitness Challenge which requires that I consume no refined sugar? 

Yeah... maybe doing this today wasn't such a good idea.

I'm gonna go eat a salad.

*Speaking of magically delicious, its also on my bucket list to win a cereal eating contest. Because seriously, I can put down extreme volumes cereal like a champ!

Oh right, salad time.

Capstone Olympics

Sometimes, the last semester of college can be pretty boring (i'm not complaining).

And sometimes, its NOT.

Last Thursday, our instructors decided to switch things up a bit, and they organized a capstone olympics activity. We were split up into groups and then set loose to compete against one another to see which team could complete a variety of nursing tasks the most quickly, efficiently, and correctly. If you know anything about nursing students, you know that you've got a big group of type-A personalities. Must win. Must be perfect. Will accept absolutely nothing less. These olympics could have turned ugly. Thankfully we were all able to keep it light and fun, while every group still insisted they were the winners. BTW, WE were the winners!

It kicked off in the lab. Start four IVs, change an occupied bed, and program a med pump as quickly as possible while still doing it correctly. Thankfully, we had mannequins to complete these tasks on, otherwise i'm pretty sure the patient would have bled out or been seriously injured or something... lets just say we don't typically frantically rush to stick four IVs in one arm or flail a patient back in forth in order to change their sheets! :)

Speaking of mannequins, meet my new boyfriend.

Best bridging group!

Next we headed upstairs and occupied the entire hallway on the main floor of the SWKT to answer some NCLEX questions. As if doing that alone isn't already difficult enough, an extra challenge was added: we had to be doing some kind of physical exercise while we answered the question: jumping jacks, jumping rope, hula-hooping, skip-it, etc. Eventually, a few of us got a tiny bit distracted and just ended up messing around. Who needs more NCLEX practice anyway? Oh wait, that would be me. Woops.

Professors spared no expense. Real gold right there my friends.

Basking in our glory. Because as I said, we of course were the winners... along with every other team.

And then there was that terrifying moment when a foot slipped and my life flashed before my eyes and I almost went plummeting face first to the ground... and it was captured on camera. What a shame it would be to die right before graduation. At least i'd be reppin' the gold medal though, right?

Honestly, I cannot even begin to describe what a blessing it has been to be a part of BYU's nursing program. What an amazing education I have been able to receive. I remember a moment at the beginning of last semester when I was just struck with the thought of how cool college is. There was a small group of us nursing students down in the lab, gathered around an instructor as she demonstrated a new skill that we were to learn, practice, pass off, and then apply in our real life clinical the first chance we got. I remember thinking that right in that moment that there must be hundreds of groups of students all over campus who were having very similar experiences, except in their own fields of study. Chemistry majors gathered in a lab, breaking down and building up new compounds. Theater majors in costume, acting out and perfecting scenes. Engineers and architects building and constructing whatever it is they build and construct. Graphic designers making new ads and commercials and stuff. Education majors working on their lesson plans and learning how to communicate effectively with children. The list goes on and on. This is not high school, where you take math and science and health because its a requirement. I have chosen what I want to do with the rest of my life, and my education is geared specifically to that. I have been taught to insert IVs, give shots, administer medications, draw blood, and so much more. I mean honestly, isn't that just cool?! And to think that there are roughly 30,000 other students at this university alone who are pursuing their own fields of study, learning new great and exciting things every day.

"Enter to learn. Go forth to serve."

I have entered to learn. I have learned AWESOME things day after day for four years. I know that I have taken so much of it for granted, but as my days at BYU are now very numbered, I am becoming hyperaware of the blessing that my education is, and how amazingly cool college really is. I excitedly anticipate the opportunity to go forth to serve as a nurse, well-educated and capable because of the time that I have spent at the Lord's university.

Katie's Texts

Meet Kate.

Kate is one of my many sweet nieces. She's the baby girl in her family just like I am in mine, plus we cuddled a lot when she was still just a wee little tyke, so we're like, you know, all bonded and stuff. Also she rocks my glasses even better than me.

A few months ago, Katelin got a hold of the ipod touch that the kids in their family share. One day I received this text that left me with a smile from ear to ear for the rest of the day.

After I replied to that message, they just kept coming. And they pretty much haven't stopped ever since! I'll tell ya what, if nothing else its a sure form of entertainment. 

Heaven forbid her sister use the ipod to send me a message :)

I wasn't sure her mother knew the extent that Katie was using the ipod, and during one of my texting conversations with Katie one day, I texted Kirstin to inform her of what was up. She looked outside to where the kids were playing and found Katie on her throne, texting away! I'm sure she had no idea we were talking about her behind her back haha.

She is well on her way to becoming a selfie queen. I wonder how long it'll take her to realize that her chosen angle is probably the least flattering one possible. But goodness i'm glad her seven year old brain doesn't think like that yet. And I hope it never will because she is a beauty no matter how you look at her!

She was pretty excited during the superbowl game.

  

Some days I have to ask her to cut back on all the picture taking because it eats up my data. But then there are the times when she tells me how much she loves me, and I pretty much melt into a blubbering happy auntie mess.

I will forever accept every selfie and every text this girl wants to send me with joy and gladness, because i'm not going to be just any kind of aunt to her. I'm not just the kind of aunt that maybe you'll see at grandma's house on Christmas. I'm the kind of aunt who nieces want to text to tell them about their day. I'm the kind of aunt who this precious little girl will want to call 10 years down the road when she has her first kiss or gets into college or needs to cry about a fight she had with her mom (sorry, Kirstin!). I will make sure that Katie and her sisters and brother and all her cousins know that aunt Jannette isn't just the cool aunt (although yeah i'm obviously that too), but also the one that they can turn to anytime, whether its just to send a text saying hey whats up or whether its for something real that they need my support for. Nothing makes me happier and more proud than watching them learn and grow into real people and I want to be with them the best I can through all of it. Gosh, I love these kids. I love the ones that haven't even been born yet! I'm just so excited to do my darndest to be a super great aunt for the rest of forever ♥

Nailed it.

Remember that one time I hiked Mt. Si and there were birds everywhere, including on my head?

I'm right there with ya, girlfriend. Right there.

I literally can't look at this horrified little girl's face without laughing. Its too good.

In other news: I really know that I haven't been up to much lately when I look through my phone and see no new pictures (unless you count screenshots of texts from my niece and pictures of the food that I eat that I apparently feel the need to remember forever...).

I think I need an adventure. Something that doesn't involve days at a time of working at the hospital, NCLEX study books, pointless endless hours of Grey's Anatomy, or rifling through the millions of engagement updates on facebook. I need to do something picture worthy. I need an adventure that doesn't require outrageous funding or too much time away from my last semester of school. I don't know what it is yet, but I need something to revive me a bit... ideas welcomed!

Today Is A Good Day

I woke up this morning kind of feeling a bit blah-ish. Maybe thats a made up adjective, but I know you know exactly what I mean. I probably wouldn't even have rolled out of bed at a decent hour if I hadn't had to pee so bad. But then through my bedroom blinds I saw that the sky was blue. Not the white/gray that it has been lately, but a gorgeous early morning blue. And then suddenly my blah-ish feeling changed.

And now its a good day. I'm feelin' real good now.

Maybe its because I got dressed, plugged in the headphones, and was out the door for a jog. And on that jog, I conquered a hill that I have been very careful to avoid for the last four years on all my runs around Provo. Turns out it wasn't as big bad scary as I thought. Oh endorphins, how I love you.

Or maybe its because SEAHAWKS WON THE SUPER BOWL YESTERDAY. Or as my dad named it... the "athletic fireside." Whatever makes you feel better about watching sports on Sunday I guess :) Shoot dang guys, a mere 12 seconds into the game, every Seattle-ite had a feeling. Who would have guessed that play after play after play, amazing things would keep happening like that? All those interceptions, crazy long runs, touchdowns, and how about Kearse breaking those tackles. My mind was blown over and over again. It was TOO good. As if thats even possible. In case you missed it, do yourself a favor and at least get up to speed on the highlights of the game. Unless you're just one of those people who watches the super bowl for the commercials... in which case i've also provided one of those for you :) However i'll admit, I wasn't particularly blown away by any of them this year. That half time show though... dang Bruno, you done good.

Maybe I feel so great today because not only did the green and blue win, but I got to watch it all go down with good people... and also a lot of amazingly good food. 

Or maybe its because I don't have to hastily scrape all my nail polish off in fear of being mocked over a loss.

Or MAYBE its because:

- I had a date over the weekend that included some delectable homemade Indian food. Mmmm butter chicken and rice and some tortilla thingies I can't remember the name of... oh, and there was ice cream. Not Indian ice cream though... is that a thing?

- I don't have school until Thursday.

- I can take a nap today if I want.

- My girls Mal and Casey have now both taken their NCLEX and they can write RN after their names and I am going to be doing the same in just four months!

- I got to go to church yesterday after missing it last week because of a clinical shift.

- Its a new month full of new possibilities.
- Its lunch time.

- I finally made out my marathon training schedule and it is going to kick.my.butt. I'm excited.

Okay fine so maybe i'm just feeling good vibes today because i'm still on a sugar high from all the skittles I ate in Lynch's honor yesterday. It's possible.

Oh and ps: Happy birthday Grandma! Love you!