The End of Term I!

It is official- finals are here. Tomorrow marks the first day of the worst week of the school year due to the mass amounts of work and tests smashed into such a short time period. This year, upon returning from break, only one week remained of classes and the start of finals which means everyone was even more stressed out about all of the things they needed to finish and accomplish before then, myself included. But, here is a recap of what has been going on.

I finished my last rotations of both family clinical and pediatrics clinical. I really enjoyed both experiences and am sad to see them end, but happy to know I am on to my next class and clinical. I finished my family class and already turned in the final assignment, a long paper about nursing standards. In pediatrics, I have a HUGE final on Thursday that I will be solely focusing on for the next three days until then to be sure I do well! It is worth a huge chuck of my grade so I really need to give it my all. I also finished my pediatrics class with a presentation on ADD/ADHD which I feel I did very well on and enjoyed teaching my peers about as it is becoming more and more prevalent. With all of that done, studying is what remains and let me tell you, that is all I have been doing.

I finished my final for my Social Inequalities class which was a take home, 8 page essay final that covered topics we had been learning about for weeks. I am happy I got that out of the way immediately so I can focus on nursing!

Sports on campus have been going very well, as the women's hockey team was again ranked 4th last week, women's basketball had a good win this weekend, and men's basketball has been improving a lot as well! It seems this year our basketball teams in particular are doing much better which is always nice to see! 

Activities on campus were crazy this past weekend, as EC celebrated the annual holiday weekend with the holiday banquet and ball. At the banquet, students get to sit with a teacher of their choosing who carves a turkey and serves them a delicious holiday meal. The seniors lead everyone in the singing of holiday songs at the end and before the banquet earlier in the week spend a few hours together decorating the ENORMOUS tree in the campus center in purple and gold ornaments, of course! The holiday ball is essentially a semi-formal dance in which literally the entire campus comes out to enjoy and dance the night away. This year the theme was "EC gets shipwrecked" and that we did! It was very fun and everyone definitely had a good time! Below are some pictures of my friends, boyfriend, and me enjoying the holiday ball!

With that said, I just attended the annual final's breakfast where faculty serves the students breakfast at 9pm to kick off finals week and say good luck! It is a wonderful tradition and really helps us students keep on pushing to get through finals! Now that I have had my finals breakfast, I need to get back to studying! Here's to my second to last final's week EVER!

Festivities Begin!

This year, holiday weekend and the holiday festivities are starting earlier due to the way Thanksgiving and Christmas fall within the academic calendar. With that said, many of the holiday events for clubs have already begun and everyone at EC is already getting into the holiday spirit!

This weekend, nursing club got together at one of our professor's houses and baked hundreds and hundreds of cookies as well as candy. We also made lots of earrings this year to sell as well. Each year the club gathers and members bring cookie dough that we bake to then sell on campus. All of the proceeds from the sale go directly to a fund we create for adopt-a-family and after we sell everything, the officers go out and purchase Christmas gifts for the family. The more money we raise, the better! Then we are able to buy so much more for a family less fortunate. It really is a fun event. Denise, our professor, also cooks us a delicious Italian dinner so it is always nice to have a home cooked meal! Here are some pictures from the event!

 This is Denise's precious dog. On the left is the candy before being cooled and after. So delicious raspberry flavor!

This is Abby and me! She is one of my nursing friends daughter and she came to help at the event too!

In other news, the Orchesis show was this past week in which the club performs all the dances they have been working so hard on this past term. It is offered as an Encore performance for the sophomores and freshman, but I enjoy to go and support my fellow dancers and tappers. It was a great show with some really incredible dances. Next term I am going to try out a solo tap routine and hopefully it will get in!

I got to go to the ER again for clinical this week and it was an awesome experience. I did a few IV's, had a child come in with an asthma attack, and many other interesting patients. I definitely felt like I learned a lot and had another good opportunity to work on my skills hands-on. This week I hope to get more experiences like this. 

EC recently created a new dining option in which all students are given $100 off their meal cards to eat at two local restaurants, Horigans, an Irish pub, and Buffalo Wild Wings, a sports bar and grill. The money is for the two terms since this is just a test of the new system, but I know many students have enjoyed this option and really like being able to use their meal cards off campus. This past weekend I went to Horigans with one of my friends and had an amazing dinner! I really enjoyed a new option for dining and will definitely go back!

Besides that, this is the final week before Thanksgiving break as crazy as that seems! I still cannot believe it, it seriously flew by! I have tons of homework to do this week to prepare for vacation and then some more to do over break! I know the whole student body, myself included, is ready for a week-long vacation! By the time we come back, we will just have two weeks left before Christmas break!

Senior Year Festivities!

It feels like forever since I have posted, and lots has happened since the last time I wrote!

In regards to nursing, classes are busy! I just passed in a 27 page paper for Family Nursing in which I received the highest grade in the class and my teacher is using my paper as the example for future classes! Such an honor to have that recognition! Pediatrics is challenging but rewarding. For clinical last week I went to daycare and I spent A LOT of time with little children and babies. We played games, did some education activities, colored, and in the baby room, I practiced lots of infant care skills. It was helpful to go to daycare to better understand developmental milestones and levels of children, an important concept to master for Pediatrics and the NCLEX. I also went to the NICU recently for a rotation. It was an amazing experience working with infants who were so small, sick and newly born. I helped do some family teaching as well as worked with a nurse to give an infant a bath and feeding. It is definitely a difficult area of nursing to work in because it can be so sad and emotionally exhausting, but I really enjoyed this experience and feel like I got a lot out of it. Plus, who doesn't love a brand new baby!

In other news, EC Tap was busy this weekend working at the men's hockey game doing concessions. We do this every year to raise money for our show and the club had a ton of fun bonding and hanging out! We made lots of money and men's hockey won of course too! The women's hockey had a game before theirs and they also won, making them currently ranked 4th in the nation for divison III which is awesome! Both teams are doing great so far this year, and the EC student body has been traveling to the Domes (the athletic facility) to watch the game and support our EC athletes. Women's volleyball recently traveled to NJ to participate in the Empire 8 tournament. After a hard fought battle, the team fell to Nazareth. It was definitely a bummer but the team had an amazing season and finished off strong anyways. 

Here are some pictures of the club and myself at Domes!

Halloween was a few weeks ago at this point and let me tell you, the EC student body celebrated strong. Some of the art students carved pumpkins and displayed them in the campus center, and let me tell you they were AMAZING. One person did a carving of "Starry Night" that was INCREDIBLE. Another one of my favorites was the majestic lion from the Lion King. They truly were amazing. SAB hosted some events and intramural sports hosted a relay race with pumpkins across campus which was definitely a challenge for those who participated. Of course, the weekend was fully of social events where almost every student went out in a costume in some way or another. My friends and I had a great time celebrating and I made my own peacock costume, complete with a headpiece and tail made with real feathers and a recycled popcorn box! Tons of fun was had here Halloween weekend!

The photo on the left is of some of the tap officers and myself. The photo on the right is my other nursing major friend Jess and myself! The collage below is a bunch of pictures from the night!

 This is a photo of me and my bathroom-mate Katie celebrating Halloween together!

To finish off this post, I felt like it was important to note that I just registered for my last Term II classes EVER at EC! It is bittersweet but so so so exciting to move forward on this adventure and be that much closer to my nursing degree. Next term I will be taking community nursing and I am sure that will provide me with lots of stories. I also just received my senior pictures in the mail which is crazy! I still can't believe I am a senior. I recently also submitted my picture and personal write up to the year book too! This year is flying by!

This week is filled with LOTS of work and tap, as well as the Orchesis show which I definitely want to attend and watch the EC dancers! I also have another judicial board case to go to, which is student government regarding disciplinary hearings. Tomorrow I am going to the Pediatric clinic in Sayre, PA again for clinical so that is always a good learned experience. In the meantime, off to do homework. This weekend nursing club is getting together to make Christmas cookies at one of our professor's house and to have dinner as a group cooked by her! It always is a fun time and I am really looking forward to attending. Pictures and a post to follow in a few days!

 These are just two of my senior pictures! Hard to believe I made it this far! The photo on the top is my parent's favorite and the photo on the bottom is my yearbook submission! Here's to being almost a nurse!

 

The Week in a Nutshell!

This week was full of excitement in the nursing world! On Tuesday I went to the ER for my clinical rotation, and I had an amazing time and good some great experience. I had many patients all with different health problems. One patient I had was complaining of chest pain and had the highest blood pressure that myself or any of the staff had ever seen. It was insane to see a patient with such a serious problem but was such a great learning experience. I also had a five-year-old boy with febrile seizures, so it was good practice for pediatric nursing as well. I gave lots of medications and for the best part, successfully started two IVs!!! In the nursing world, this is something to be so proud of and excited about because it is a skill that every nurse needs to master! Needless to say, it was an awesome day and I was reminded just how much I love this career. On Thursday for my family clinical, I had two interesting patients and I feel like I was able to make a difference in both of their lives. I did a lot of work with the families of these patients and it really helped me become a more well-rounded nurse. Besides that, classes are busy and we have a big paper due in family about cultural diversity and nursing that I need to finish up! Next week I am going to daycare for pediatric clinical, so I am sure I will have some funny stories to report.

In other news, I successfully picked out my tap costumes for my dances and could not be happier with my choices! They are AWESOME and very Broadway-esque, if you will. This week we had lots of practices and the dances are really coming along well. It is so great to see new tappers becoming so skilled and it really makes me as a teacher proud! 

Yesterday was the Founder's Dinner for EC in which the campus center puts on a big dinner to celebrate the founders of Elmira College. The food was yummy and they even had a photographer there to take old fashion pictures which was very fun to do with friends. This weekend is filled with more student activities and lots of homework across campus, so next week I will update about all of the happenings on campus! Until then, off to tap practice and then the library!

October Fun!

It has been too long since my last post but things have been so busy I have had no time to update!

Fall on campus is absolutely beautiful and everyone on campus has been appreciating all the beauty! 

First, let's start with tap. Tap has been BUSY and we are getting those dances finished and working on some awesome choreography! I am so excited for the show in January and am sure it will be amazing! We held a workshop for all of our tappers to go over basic skills and work on some more difficult steps to just become better dancers. It was a great time for the club members to all get together and tap away!

As I mentioned in my last post, the EC Big Event of Chiddy Bang and Timeflies was scheduled to take place right before break and let me tell you... IT WAS AWESOME! So many students volunteered to help make it happen and so much of campus was there to enjoy the concert. Both performers were amazing and everyone that went had tons of fun! The best part is that Timeflies did a freestyle rap someone wrote for them about Elmira College! They didn't do anything like this anywhere else and it was so awesome! Timeflies just recently released a new music video to their cover of ROAR on youtube, and EC is featured in the video multiple times! 

The link for the video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVzv4Kn4dx4&feature=c4-overview&list=UUQUkcRL70kn5tIlx2HKxqog

This really was one of the best big events we have had and I know that everyone who went had an awesome time! The following are some pictures of Timeflies performing!!

Nursing is going great! I got my internship worked out for the spring and I could not be more excited!!!! Every senior nursing student gets to do a 5-6 week internship either here in the area at a local hospital or can elect to go home if the school can workout a contract with them. I choose to go home to NH and my internship was approved and has been all worked out! I am so happy for this opportunity and it is definitely a step to the future because in just a few short months I will be doing my internship and will be one step closer to becoming a real nurse! In other nursing news, I have been actually really enjoying my medsurg family rotation on the oncology unit and feel that I have learned so much about working with people, especially those who are terminally ill and emotionally broken. I have been working on my communicating skills and including family in my plan of care. It has been a great term thus far and has really made me become a better nurse. Pediatrics is also fun! I went to the local clinic where I was able to do lots of rapid strep tests, injections, medication administrations and even immunizations. It was a great experience in which I was able to really better understand kids and developmental stages/milestones which is essential to be a good nurse. I also got to be a school nurse for a day and that was also an awesome experience where I got to see many children of different ages and experience a variety of health issues, from chronic diseases like Cystic Fibrosis to simple things like a headache. It definitely gave me a different perspective on another area of nursing. I will get to go back to the clinic in a few weeks as well as do other rotations in pediatric surgery, NICU, daycare, etc. Each experience seems to be fun and filled with some crazy stories. I am sure I will have more to report next week!

We recently completed midterms which led to midterm break. Fortunately I was able to go home and enjoy some fall fun, but I also have enjoyed lots of fun activities around here too. I went apple picking and did some baking. The week before I hung out with some of my closest friends to celebrate a 21st birthday. We had a blast and were able to really make it memorable! Some of the friends you meet from freshman year really do remain your friends forever. We all lived in Columbia Hall on the 1st floor, and from that point on we have been best friends.

 

 Some pictures of our night out to celebrate!

 Some pictures from midterm break at home!

Sports on campus is huge right now. With fall sports slowly coming to an end, winter sports have just begun. Basketball is already practicing and so is hockey. Soccer, field hockey and volleyball will soon be over but before they are, each team will finish off strong. One of my best friends and former roommate, Taryn Rumsey, is the volleyball team captain and has set some incredible records this year including national records like number of kills. Some of our athletes at EC are really amazing and Taryn is just one of the many! My friends and I have been able to go to some of her games and watch her play and she is definitely a force to be reckoned with! Whichever team you are on or are looking to join, you will definitely come into contact with some incredible athletes here at EC!

 

 With Taryn at one of her tournaments!

 

Now that midterm break has concluded, everyone is adjusting back into the college grind. However, last night everyone was able to take a break from the chaos and enjoy some fun. Model UN, a clud on campus, hosted their annual Man Auction to raise money for their trips. Needless to say, it was a crazy show full of students showing off their skills to get bids for a date. Some men were auctioned off for more than $50! Some sang, some went in pairs, some wore matching outfits and took almost all of it off!!! There was LOTS of interesting dancing, some serious exercising and flexing, and even your usual long walks on the beach moments full of sappy romance. It was CRAZY fun and Model UN was able to raise a ton of money for their conference trips.

Anyways, this weekend will be filled with homework and catching up with classes. I have a lot of big assignments due soon so I need to get focused! I will update more next week!

Parent's Weekend, Octagon Fair and Exciting Nursing Student Milestones!

This past week was full of excitement in all areas. First, we finally had Mountain Day, the EC tradition of no classes and a fun filled day of puddle raft races, inflatable games, BBQ picnic lunch, EC Olympic games, pancake breakfast, Quarry Farm run/tour, and did I say NO CLASSES?!?! Anyways, like usual it was a hit and started the night before at the SAB sponsored dance in the campus center and that was wild! Needless to say, the campus was a fun place to be!

Then I had lots of work for nursing, but it was an exciting week as I had my first pediatric patient and I followed him through with his surgery. It was definitely a good experience because working with kids really is so different than adults. I also watched an INCREDIBLE surgery of facial deconstruction including removal of the lower jaw. It was so amazing to see this take place and really understand the anatomy of the face. I also worked with my first cancer patient this week which is always a great learning opportunity. I truly focused on the family and giving my patient the best individualized care possible. I hope that I get to have more chances to work with patients and their families who are dealing with the hardships and life changes of cancer.

As the week concluded, Parent's Weekend and Octagon Fair went off. Unfortunately due to rain, tap was unable to perform but our booth went so great. We sold so many unique and creative ornaments, I painted lots of faces, and we gathered lots of donations, making this one of our most successful Octagon Fairs EVER! Overall, the fair went great and all of the clubs and performances were amazing. I think we will do this craft again as the parents loved them! On Friday night when my parents first arrived, we got all dressed up and took a few pictures in front of the fountain before we went to the campus event "A Taste of the Finger Lakes" which was a sampler of food and wine from the area. It was delicious and fun to taste all of the local flavors. We then headed to to my nursing honors society induction, Sigma Theta Tau. I was SO excited to even be accepted into this elite honors society and the ceremony was fantastic. A little less than 1/3 of my class was inducted and everyone that got in truly has proved they can hold a high GPA and deliver skilled nursing care as a leader. I am so thankful my parents were able to attend. 

 EC Tap Ensemble booth!

  

I did lots of face painting at the fair!

The rest of the pictures are from the Sigma Theta Tau Induction!

 The EC class of 2014 members who were inducted!

  My dad and me before the induction in front of the fountain!

 My official certificate of membership!

 My Parents at the induction!

 One of my favorite nursing buddies and fellow inductee, Jess!

On Saturday night following the conclusion of Octagon Fair, rather than attending the Class of 2014 champagne toast reception, my parents and I went on a Finger Lakes adventure and went to dinner and the movies. As corny as it sounds, it was a really fun time and I had a great weekend spending time with my family. 

As you can see, this weekend was busy and filled with excitement so now I am playing catch up with all my work but it was well worth it. I will soon have more to post! Onto the piles of homework calling my name!

Week One of Senior Year - CHECK

It is official, I made it through the first week of my Senior year. Now that the first week is out of the way, classes are officially in their usual flow. I already had my first family clinical and have been able to work with some incredible patients already! I am using skills that I have been practicing since sophomore year of nursing school. It is definitely important to remember everything you've learned and continue to practice. But so far, clinicals and class are going very well.

This past Friday, EC held their annual Senior Class Kegger, essentially a gathering of all of the seniors to celebrate the beginning of senior year, put on by the President and Deans of the college. I had a fantastic time with my friends socializing and really getting excited for all of the achievements and accomplishments to come! Here are some pictures from the event!

 

Anyways, now that things are really picking up there are many things happening on campus.  Everyone is busy prepping for Octagon Fair and Parents Weekend coming up in a week and a half. There are also many honors society inductions that weekend as well, and I am very excited for my parents to attend and for them to be able to be a part of my induction into the nursing honors society, Sigma Theta Tau. This week Tap held the first meeting and we introduced the 2017's to the club as well as announced our there, BROADWAY! I am so excited to have so many new tappers and make this show fantastic. I also attended Red Cross Club this week and will be going to a floor meeting tonight hosted by my RA to go over some general guidelines for Meier. I have lots of homework like usual and have been staying on top of all of my reading for nursing. I also used the Meier workout room today for the first time donated by the Class of 20120, and it is definitely convenient to have a gym right by my room! But I think the most exciting news is that EC just announced the 2013 fall big event and it is...

TIMEFLIES w/special guest CHIDDY BANG!!!!!

The whole campus is super excited to have such an awesome performer this year, and I know as seniors we are going to enjoy it to the fullest!

Clinical early tomorrow and lots of homework to do! Next week I will post after Octagon Fair and give the full breakdown of both the Fair and all of the Parent's Weekend Fun!!!

Senior Status - The Beginning of the End!

It is hard to believe that just a few days ago I started my senior year at Elmira College. Sometimes it felt like I was never going to make it to this point, or that I wasn't going to pass or even that time wasn't going by so fast, but it really, truly has! This year I am living in Meier Hall, the newest dorm on campus which basically is like a mini-Hogwarts! I feel like I am living in college cribs luxury with AC, private bathrooms, wood floors, high ceilings, HUGE rooms, and literally state-of-the-art everything. With study rooms, an exercise room, and huge lounges it is a wonderful place to live. Many of my close friends are living in Meier too so it is wonderful being so close to everyone. Here are a few picture of my room!

 Private bathroom - check out the EC spirit with purple and gold walls!

A few different panoramas of my room!

Anyways, senior year is officially 2 days in. As VP of tap ensemble this year we are starting to get ready for our club meetings and tap dances. Octagon fair is in a few weeks and we will set up a booth and showcase our mini-dance to the college community and local community. My parents are also coming that weekend because I was asked to be inducted into the Nursing Honors Society, Sigma Theta Tau! The professors on campus choose students who hold a GPA of 3.0 or higher, excel in class and clinical, show leadership skills, and are an overall well-rounded, good person. I was so excited when I found out and am really looking forward to having them here for the weekend! Until then, classes are up and running and clinical begins this week. This term I have family clinical which takes place at Robert Packer Hospital. I will be on the cancer unit in which I will be dealing with many terminally ill patients and the families of these patients. I know it is going to be extremely challenging but so very rewarding. I am a bit out of my comfort zone in this area because I really hate cancer and am not interested in ever working on a unit like this, but I know it will be so rewarding and help me to develop as a nurse and person. On Thursdays, I have my pediatrics clinical in which I will rotate from pediatric day surgery (i.e. patient prep, follow them through surgery, post-op, etc.) to the pediatric clinic where I will do well visits and sick visits, to finally a rotation in the ER where I will hopefully have some pediatric clients to work with. I am excited for this term because although I am not interested in working in pediatrics in the future, I know I will get a lot out of this clinical and learn to work with people of all ages in a variety of situations. Overall, I think it will be a wonderful senior year and I am excited for all of the exciting things to come as I embark on the final chapter of my college career. Just think, in one short year I will have graduated college and hopefully passed the NCLEX (nursing license exam) and landed myself a job!

It Is Finally Term III!

I cannot believe it has been this long since I have updated on here, but that just goes to show just how busy and time consuming being a nursing major is! However, with that said, it was absolutely am amazing term filled with lots of fun and many new experiences. I finished my OB and ICU classes and clinicals and did very well, but I also was able to get so much from the experience at clinical. I dealt with many types of patients, did an ER rotation, went to the OR again, saw numerous babies be delivered, and enjoyed bonding with many patients of various ages. I loved both classes and am still stuck in regards to what I am interested in because yet again, I want to just do everything! But that was just for classes! In the social and extracurricular world, I was very busy! The tap show finally happened and it was amazing. The theme was Around the World featuring music in other languages and from other countries. The girls performed amazingly and everyone that attended loved the humor of the MCs as well as the intricate and exciting tap numbers. I was re-elected as VP for next year and hope that the incoming class of 2017 has some members ready to join! EC Tap also participated in Relay for Life to raise money for cancer and represented our team strong walking for many hours and performing to keep everyone entertained! To conclude this year, we gave all the members tap t-shirts custom made as gifts and now we being prepping for next year! I also turned 21 since my last post, and it is definitely different being 21 on campus! Women's Varsity Ice Hockey won the NCAA tournament and took 1st, putting EC on the map and showing everyone that women's sports are just as awesome as the men's!

 The officers at the tap show!

 Steph and myself at Relay for Life!

Some of our wonderful tap team at Relay for Life!

But now, Term III is starting with a bang! The campus is gorgeous with flowers everywhere and trees blooming. The fountain is flowing and the weather is beautiful, so many of the students have already been laying in the sun, playing games outside and just enjoying this beautiful weather. I myself did some homework outside today and played KANJAM with some friends. Day 2 of term III is officially over and on Wednesdays, most students have no class so I am sure the campus will be buzzing with a fun and relaxing atmosphere. Many of the trips for term III have already left including the groups that went off to the Bahamas as well as the group who landed in Turkey yesterday! I went to Ireland my freshman year and I had an incredible time, so I am sure everyone abroad is having the experience of a lifetime! Back on campus, we will be keeping busy with intramural softball which begins this weekend and some of the tappers and other friends have formed a team. Although we might not be skilled in the softball department, I know we will have a blast playing! As a junior nursing student, I am doing my psych clinical and class this term. So far, I am loving it. I will spend every Thursday 8-4 at the psych center working with patients and learning to understand and communicate with people better, which is an essential skill to master as a nurse for the future. I am excited for my first day and I am sure it will be an unforgettable experience. In the meantime, I will be enjoying the fun and relaxed atmosphere of term III and be spending lots of time outside! I will update again soon now that I have more time!

This is the view by the side entrance of my dorm, Tompkins! Absolutely beautiful!

Term II Craziness

Term I came to a busy and intense end as I pushed through my finals, finished out my clinicals, and completed my projects. But before the term ended, lots of exciting things took place on campus. First, we had all of the holiday traditions including the ball and the banquet. Many students attended and dressed to impress as they enjoyed a traditional Christmas dinner with the professor of their choice as well as danced the night away the following evening. My friends and I exchanged gifts for each other as well. Here are some pictures from the holiday banquet of my friends and me!

After all of the holiday fun, finals started with the annual finals breakfast where all of the professors came and served breakfast for us students to kick off exams. Exams flew by and soon after I was headed back to NH for a much needed break from classes. Now back on campus, term II is in full swing, however while we were all home, the campus underwent some serious changes. First, wifi has been installed in all the dorms, many of the classrooms have been upgraded with new desks, smartboards and presenting desks. Finally, Harris Hall now has a small cafe with ready made food and drinks for those of us who are on the puddle side of the campus all day, making it much easier to get to class and not be hungry with such busy schedules.

My schedule is busy as always, with my first OB and ICU clinicals this term, which I am extremely excited about and loving so far. On Monday, I watched a c-section and took care of the new baby which was an amazing experience that I really enjoyed. I will head to the ICU on Friday and am looking forward to working with challenging patients. Today in ICU we did a mock code with a mannequin which proven to be a fun and different way of learning and good practice for the real things. I am also taking a holistic nursing class offered on campus as well as an upper level psychology class. So far I am really enjoying all of my classes and I am learning so much, so quickly. 

Tap is coming to a close quickly as we have our show coming up in about a week and a half, and I am very much looking forward to seeing my family and friend at the show. I will post pictures of the show once it is completed, and I am sure it will be a blast. In the meantime, I am off to study...have to start the new term off right!