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BSN, RN The NCLEX

I took the NCLEX on June 6th at 2pm.

I wasn't a big ball of nerves (or didn't realize it) until I had to have my fingerprints scanned and my hand scanned at the testing center. I placed my palm on the scanner and I noticed it was shaking. There were 10 other girls and 1 guy sitting that were processed before me. I was the last one to enter the exam room. They basically strip searched me. The lady looked under my hair and tried to look in my non-existing pockets. I sat down and went through the instructions and began the exam. I wasn't ever sure of the questions. I think I was positive on 2 questions throughout the entire thing.

So the NCLEX.

Let me explain.

You can pass or fail the exam in as little as 75 questions or go all the way to question 265. It is an adaptive test, so the better you do, the harder it gets. 

I marked down on my scratch paper every time I got one of the harder questions (select all that apply). It took until around question 17 or 18 for me to get a select all that apply question. I was a little worried. Once I moved on a bit, I got more and more select all that apply. I hit the 15 mark on select all that apply and eased up on my nerves. When I got to question 75 and was ready to hit submit...I took a deep breath. Would it shut off? Would it let me keep going?

I would have died if I had to keep going.

It shut off and I took an exit survey and waited on the attendant to dismiss me. I skipped to my car, called my parents, texted Stesha, and drove home.

I was pretty certain I had passed. Failing in 75 questions is probably hard to do.

Lance and I went to a special dinner at a Hibachi place we had never been to. It seems to be the only 4 star place other than Benihana's and I wasn't that impressed with the one downtown over Christmas break. We both enjoyed the food and the "show".

We rented We Need to Talk About Kevin and watched that. It was a disturbing movie that has (of course) won awards.

I relaxed the next day by reading by the pool while Lance was at school. Some of my classmates were updating their status about passing the NCLEX, so I checked online.

Guess what?

I PASSED!

I am officially an unemployed nurse.

This is what I went to school for, now I just need a job.

I spent yesterday going through the steps to get my NC license transferred to TX. If I read correctly, I should have a temp license in 5-10 days that will last me 120 days.

Scout

We got her.

The drive to Harker Heights was just about 3 hours. We were so excited the night before that neither one of us could sleep. 

She slept the majority of the ride home. Occasionally she would wake up and change positions...they all looked uncomfortable to me.

Before we left Harker Heights, we stopped at Petsmart to get all the essentials. We bought the food brand she is used to, some toys, a bed, collar, and a leash.

She was cuter in person than in the photos we were given...if that is even possible.

I'm getting used to the needs of a puppy. I've never raised a puppy in an apartment before and that is something that I think is hard. Getting up to let her out every hour, after she eats, and after she sleeps is difficult. She will play for 10-20 minutes, pass out, and then do it all over again with some poop, pees, and feedings in there.

We gave in and let her out of the crate last night. We made the number one mistake. She wouldn't stop whining and we were scared the neighbors would complain. We let her sleep with us and Lance is a light sleeper and didn't get sleep.

I've put Scout in her crate twice today for a little over an hour and she is getting used to it. She whines for about 10 minutes and then passes out. 

I hope she can handle staying in there tonight. It would make for a much happier Lance and Rachel. We are both lacking in the sleep department. 

Houston Life

I've slowly been getting used to living in Houston.

We survived our first grocery shopping trip together.

What I learned? 

I stick to the list.

Lance does not.

Then again, I made the list.

Look at all those groceries!

We've enjoyed each other's company and have relaxed by the pool.

Lance enjoying his cigar from New Orleans

I've managed cooking meals for two.

our first dinner as roommates ;)

We've been out to eat once.

We enjoyed Ninfa's after Lance had a long day at the library.

We both headed back to Arlington for Memorial Day Weekend.

We got to spend time with my folks, his folks, my friends, and his friends.

This was my first trip back home since March and he hadn't been back since Christmas break.

Dinner with Chels and Trin.

they made guacamole at your table

feeding the ducks with Miss Penny Lane

Lazy Sunday

Lance helping my Dad read reviews on pool cleaners. haha

Joey's pool party

cooking out steaks

We went to the Ranger's game on Memorial Day.

We beat Seattle.

We made it back to Houston on Tuesday afternoon. 

We went straight to the library so Lance could study before class. I got a little bit of studying done.

I was originally putting in 3 hours a day of studying for the NCLEX. That is what our ATI rep recommended. I have been slacking. I got no studying done over the holiday weekend and I've been putting in about 2 hours a day after that. 

Several students in my class have passed the exam already. This includes my buddy, Stesha! Way to go!

I can't wait to get it over with.

I've got some exciting news.

This Sunday, Lance and I will be driving to Harker Heights, TX to pick up this beautiful girl:

She is a golden retriever and we cannot wait to get her.

We are stuck between the names Paisley and Scout. We are going to wait until we meet her to name her. We will see what fits her better.

That is all that is going on at this point.

Just settling in and getting used to the Houston life.

I need a job!

Road Trip Home to Houston

Still catching up.

Monday, May 14th

I woke up early to have breakfast with my parents at the hotel restaurant. 

Then it was time for me to say goodbye and drop them off at the airport.

Lance and I departed sometime after that toward Asheville.

Lance slept the majority of the way there. We hit a big thunderstorm for about an hour. Once it passed, it was a pretty day.

It was a 3 and half hour drive from Durham to Asheville.

Our first stop was The Biltmore Estate. 

 We toured the inside and then looked around on the side of the house.

We split a sandwich to hold us over until dinner and planned on walking through the gardens. The weather had other plans and it started to lightning and rain.

We made it back to the car before the bottom fell out.

We snapped some photos of the gardens from the car window.

They have a shopping/touristy area that we decided to check out.

We went wine tasting of the different Biltmore wines.

Our next stop was at the pub next door.

There was a guy playing a guitar and singing. It was relaxing.

We checked into our hotel and then walked to dinner at a local Thai place. When I get Thai on the brain, there is nothing else that will suffice. 

Tuesday, May 15th

The next morning we headed to Atlanta. We did a detour along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The clouds blocked the view part of the way, but we were lucky enough to get some great views.

South Carolina was the first state line that we crossed. We jumped out of the car for a picture.

We ran into standstill traffic one hour away from Atlanta and I started to get anxious. I calculated the drive and added 2 hours to make sure we would get there before the Aquarium closed. 

We made it with 1 minute to spare (they allow you to enter up to one hour before closing time). We also got half price because it was at the end of the day.

I gave Lance a tour of the Olympic Centennial Park once we were finished at the Aquarium.

We checked into our hotel room and then walked over to a brewery that was across the street.

Lance had a bison burger and I had just a plain old burger. We were both satisfied. 

Wednesday, May 16th

We had about a 5 hour drive to Pensacola Beach.

We arrived just a little before check-in time.

We got cool ID holders and had an ice bucket in our room to take down to the beach.

We spent the first evening out on the beach for an hour and then at the pool.

We watched the sunset from our balcony and then headed to dinner.

They had a bar outside on the beach with a fire pit.

We relaxed and had a drink.

Thursday, May 17th

We went for a little shopping on the boardwalk and then had lunch at Subway.

We played frisbee on the beach and laid out.

our hotel

I relaxed in a hammock while Lance played some beach volleyball.

Friday, May 18th

We ordered breakfast to our room and headed out early towards home.

We stopped at an outlet mall an hour into the drive for Lance to get some deals on his favorite brands.

We made it to New Orleans by 4:30 and walked around for 2 hours.

We had beignets at Cafe Du Monde first thing!

Lance got a drink on Bourbon street to enhance the shopping experience.

 We arrived in Houston just around midnight and I collapsed after unpacking.

I had a great time, but was so happy to be out of my car.