It Gets Bloody

Never expect knitters to be quiet and submissive. And never expect not to get hurt when there's yarn on the line in a game of Dirty Santa. The Knit-In last night was fantastic - I'm so glad I got up the courage to go! Everyone there was very polite to me and I didn't feel like an outsider at all. Nor was I the only one my age there. My gift wasn't opened until towards the very end, but it did get a good reception :) The gift I got was a "Fiber Travel Guide" that has the listings of all the yarn stores in each state. I know Paula, my stepmother-in-law, will absolutely love it since she travels all over the US whenever she comes across the pond from England. And, since she's the one responsible for getting me into knitting in the first place, I think it's appropriate I give her a knitterly gift.

Still not done with Sock the Second, but did make some good progress on the gusset last night at the Knit-In.

My Nursing final is Tuesday, and to make an A I have to get an 80% or higher on it. My average for all of the previous exams is around an 86, so theoretically this shouldn't be a problem. I'm still nervous and will study anyway, though.

In lab we finally did venipunctures. The cool part was we got to practice on each other! This lead to some hilarity, as you might imagine (all photos are by Sarah Shurtz, not me):


I am so proud of myself after getting blood!


Needle goes in...blood comes out! We're little vampires-in-training.


Sarah, me, Ali, and Shelby pose after our blood draws.


The Smurfs invade CiCi's after our last lab of the year.

I have to say, after all that I had heard about some nursing instructors in general, I was afraid I would get a 'bad' clinical instructor that never taught, only criticized. I'm so glad I got who I got for clinicals, and that she's the same one who will be teaching Med-Surg next semester. Despite the fact that I felt I already knew the 'Foundations' of nursing, I have unexpectedly learned a lot this semester, and not all of it was curriculum-related. I've gotten exponentially better at working in a group, as well as found out that I like teaching and helping my fellow students in tutoring. I also learned that I haven't lost my studying ability, I had just chosen not to use it since Junior year of high school.

Nursing school is a challenge; one that is occasionally painful. But I guess I'm masochistic enough to love the fact that I've been challenged academically for the first time in a long time, and that I'm rising to the occasion. We'll see how I handle next semester!