Tis the Season

    
    Christmas came very fast this year as I'm sure most everyone would agree! I miss my younger years when summer vacations seemed SO long and Christmas took FOREVER to come. Now a days time just flys by. It seems as though before you can even pack away your Christmas decorations it's time to pull them out again...oh wait, maybe that's because I JUST packed away my Christmas tree in NOVEMBER! Yes that's right people...my fake Christmas tree was on display for 11 months. Every time I opened my closet door there it was, reminding me that it desperately needed a box that it would fit into.
      Another reason it might feel like it came much quicker this year is because I had a Christmas event every weekend in December. The first Friday of December was the Zeiter Eye O.R. Christmas party at Steve and Becky's. There was delicious food (including my now requested spinach and artichoke dip), a thieving gift exchange, and a few good games of pool in their wine/game cellar basement.
     Next was the Zeiter Eye Company party on the 2nd Friday. These are always a blast. We ate a DELICIOUS steak and enjoyed the open bar. There was a DJ so of course there was plenty of dancing involved. Every year we walk away with great stories!

         The next Saturday my parents hosted a family get together with my moms side of the family. If I'm counting right (I counted twice) there were 41..FORTY ONE..people at their house!!! You should have seen us try to take our group picture. Sure it went pretty smoothly for the first few shots but just when everyone scattered it was realized that there wasn't a card in the camera and we were all summoned back to our places. We had an ornament exchange. It was especially fun to watch Mike steal several ornaments from Greg! It was so great to see everyone!

        Of course the weekend after that was Christmas!! I had Friday and Monday off work which gave me plenty of prepare and recovery time. Christmas Eve was started with gift opening between Eric and I. He got me a very good smelling perfume and an I-Tunes gift card. After that we went to Brandy (Eric's cousin) and Tim's house. It was really nice to see everyone but we couldn't stay very long because we had dinner at my parents that evening. Larry and Marie joined us for dinner. Christmas morning my parents and I had Christmas morning casserole and opened our presents. I got tons of great stuff including an otter box for my phone, a book bag for school, leg warmers, and boots. I left that to meet some of Eric's family at his grandparents for coffee and donuts. Then we went to Matt and Nicole's to see Scott's side of the family. I snuck out while they were sitting down to eat and went back to my parents to open gifts with my brother, Jacci, and my parents. Then my grandpa Herb, GL, and Irene joined us for a prime rib dinner. I later went back to Matt and Nicole's to play games. We played Taboo and my team won. It was so exciting and fun!
        The whole month of December was very busy, especially Christmas weekend!! I enjoyed every moment and I'm excited to do it all again next year...although I hope it takes a little longer to get here!!!
I hope everyone else enjoyed their Christmas as well.

God is great at throwing curve balls!

When I was in high school I was set on being a teacher. What a great career! That dream didn't last long once I was out of high school and had started college. I had a new dream job! I was going to open a doggy day care! Drooling dogs are way better than screaming bratty kids! After a while that faded out too (yes, I am very indecisive). I had left my job at a dog kennel and was determined to get a job in the school district. After about 3 months of desperately applying for every opening at the school district and other random jobs, I got an interview at Zeiter Eye. I got the job and within a few months I knew I wanted to be with the company until I retire. I should mention that after being at Zeiter eye I received a phone call from the school district and they wanted an interview. It was hard to say no since I thought it would be a great opportunity but looking back I am SO happy I declined the offer and stayed at Zeiter Eye. Not only do I love my job but I'm sure I wouldn't be employed today if I would have gone with the school district. After two years of being at the Zeiter Eye Lodi Clinic I was moved to the surgery center. This is where God decided to show me what I'm really supposed to be doing with my life.

I work closely with the nurses at the surgery center. About a year ago a few of them started telling me that I would make a great nurse and that I should look into it. I thought I was too old to go back to school for 4+ years and I certainly didn't want to leave my wonderful job/company. After a while I began to realize how much I truly love helping people and even though I get to have patient contact now, I don't get to be directly involved in their care as much as I'd like. So I have decided to go back to school!!! Of course there are other reasons I want to become a nurse. I can make more money, have more flexibility, job security, and there is SO much you can do as a nurse. I am so excited at what this will mean for my future family. I will be able to spend more time with my children and provide for them better then I could if I didn't go to school.

I have wonderful friends who are excited for me and supportive. I have a wonderful boyfriend, Eric, who is prepared (as much as he can be) for the stressed out, possibly broke, girlfriend that he is about to have. And I am especially thankful for my parents who are allowing me to move back into their house (yup, they thought I was finally gone for good!). They are also being very supportive. I appreciate all that my parents have done, and continue to do for me. They really are the best parents!

This is going to be a long road, especially since everyone has decided that nursing is for them which means that classes are filled quicker than they open and the program is very competitive to get into, but I know with the love and support of my parents, friends, and Eric that I will be successful!

Just the Beginning

              I've decided to start a blog. I've always thought it would be a little silly to have a blog for just myself since all of my blogging friends are married and most have children. What in the world will I write about? What I cooked myself for dinner? Which dog toy is Jordyn's favorite this month? I've always thought that I would finally be able to start a blog once I was engaged....at least there would be something interesting to write about. Who doesn't like reading about someone elses wedding planning drama?! I guess you could say that's how I got the name for this blog, "Life...not as I planned it". If you know me then you know very well that I insist on planning every detail of my life. From small events like birthday parties and girls night out to big events like my non-existent wedding. I drive my boyfriend, Eric, absolutely nuts with my obsessive planning. While we were driving in silence one day I asked him "What are you thinking about?". He hesitated then responded with "Nothing. I can turn my brain off, unlike you." He was completely right. I was probably planning out the days events. There is no turning off my brain! It probably drives everyone a little nuts but Eric is the only one that has voiced it. I actually very much enjoy planning most things but I have to admit it's getting pretty old.
            Besides planning events I also plan out my life, even the littlest details. I always thought I would go to college to become a teacher, be married by 21, and have at least one child by 23. Well, I quit college after one semester, I've had the same boyfriend for the last 9+ years, and the only thing I have that's close to a child is my wonderful dog, Jordyn. I should mention that I just celebrated my 25th birthday yesterday. Yup, definitely not as I planned it. I try to remind myself daily that God is the only one that has the RIGHT plan for my life and I need to let Him take control instead of playing tug-a-war with Him. After all, every time I have placed my life in His hands things have always worked out better than I had planned.
             There are some very exciting things that will be happening in my life in the next few months and there is no way any of it would happen if God hadn't taken the reins. I'm trusting Him that after this roller coaster is over I will get off it, stand on both feet, with my hair still perfect, standing even stronger than I was before I got on. Stay tuned!