Manuscript Submitted!

I just got home from meeting with my teacher, Dr. Rutledge. Today we submitted my/our manuscript to Women's Health Issues Journal and so now we wait to see whether it is approved or not or if it needs revising. I am guessing it will be a few months, especially with the holidays, but I will be keeping you posted. It's so very exciting to have this done!

So, the question is: Do I want my current name or my soon-to-be married name on the article? It would be nice to have something under the Kengen name, but it would also be nice to have Traska in case I publish in the future (then everything will be under the same name). Any suggestions? :)

Oh by the way, in case you don't know what my manuscript is on - I worked with some faculty at CSUF on a qualitative descriptive study on Fibromyalgia symptom management. We conducted an interview with 8 women with FM and they shared the various ways that they cope with their condition. It was very interesting and I learned a lot!!

Fun Fact - My Future Pet

My dream dog is a Greyhound and I cannot wait to have my little (haha) companion to walk.

Purina Friend Fetcher - a cute website to help you find the perfect pet. :) http://www.petcentric.com/fun-games/friend-fetcher.aspx?DCMP=EMC-PETC-PETC-MarthaNov09_1&HQS=copy

Graduation Countdown

Now that we know when graduation day is, I had to add another countdown because this is definitely a huge event. Brian will be graduating on May 9 (Mother's Day) with his Master's in Theology and I graduate on May 23. SOOOO Exciting! :)


MySpace-Countdowns

Fun Fact - About Me!

In case you didn't know, I love puzzles! Ever since I was a kid I have enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles and I still try to do one whenever I get some time off from school. I also love doing word searches, word scrambles, and more recently, crossword puzzles (I used to think these were impossible to finish...even though I still have to look up answers in the back - haha). My grandma gave me a crossword puzzle book on thanksgiving and it was fun working on a couple with the family (it definitely helps having other brains involved!). And I have found myself puzzling instead of turning on the TV lately, so that's a good thing I guess, but I need to probably put the book down until I finish this semester. When we went to Europe in 2006, my dad bought me a puzzle magazine at the airport in Newark, NJ and it kept me busy the entire time, especially on the long flights! Fun stuff. Anyway, I just wanted to share a little bit about me that you may not have known. :)

In case you also like puzzles, I created a little word scramble about me! Post your answers in the comments section and I will let you know how you did. :)

lcthicoa
ninugsr
neaeggd
hlatyeh etare
gtwniri epspar
sbytartebi

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for so many things, but most importantly I am thankful for my faith in God because He gets me through everything. Although I thank God daily for these things, I want to specifically thank Him in writing on this special day. So, thank you, God, for my family, friends, health, food and shelter, education, and every blessing you have bestowed upon me (the list could go on forever!). I give thanks for Brian because he stands by my side every step of the way. I am also very thankful that I got my RN license this year and to be almost done with school, since my nursing journey has been long and arduous, but also full of blessings and wonderful memories. In addition, I want to say a special prayer today for those who are alone, hungry, sick, cold, and/or suffering in any way.

Even though today is Thanksgiving, we should be thankful for all the blessings in our lives throughout the entire year. It can sometimes be a struggle to give thanks, especially for the littlest things or during times of stress or anger, but when you do, I feel it really helps brighten your spirits and makes you realize that you have SO much to be thankful for. I am definitely going to try to be more thankful for simple things that can often go unnoticed.

I hope each of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving, surrounded by the love of family and friends.

Christmas Already?!

So, I was driving down my street tonight and almost our entire street has their Christmas lights up already! I couldn't even believe it! It is November 21...not even thanksgiving yet! (Our house is one of the few without them). If you have never driven by East Lake during Christmastime, you should definitely stop by this December. It is beautiful to see all the lights - in both the front and back of houses. Its a mile around the lake, so bring a loved one and take a nice walk around the lake and enjoy the spirit of Christmas and wonderful chilly weather. :)

Halloween '09

We went to our friends' 2nd annual halloween pumpkin carving party and we won again (although this year there was not much competition). Here is last years pumpkin:
It was a ghost with the words "Boo" - hand carved/freehand...no stencil or outlining (I looked a picture though). And this was this year's pumpkin:
This one is a moon with a bat in front. This one was a lot easier and I think it turned out better than last years. Brian usually takes care of the carving the top and cleaning out the pumpkin and I carve...I love to carve pumpkins!

On Saturday night we went to another friend's housewarming halloween party. Since I was kind of babysitting that weekend (two teenagers, like family to me), I wasn't sure how much time I was going to have at the party - they were at a friends house going trick or treating - so, I didn't want to work too hard on a costume. So, the cheapest and easiest thing for us was to go as ourselves...in 5 years...a nurse and a college professor:
We hope you had a fun Halloween!!

Update

Wow! I cannot even believe it is November already! Where has the time gone? I am sorry it has been so long since my last post, but here is an update for you:

• School is good - things have calmed down a little, but it is still keeping me busy. I registered yesterday for my last semester!! I can't even believe I only have one more to go! Sooooo exciting! I am really glad that I stayed full time in our program - out of the 65 students who started with me in August of 2007, only about 15 are due to graduate in May!! Crazy! A lot of people started working in January and some are still taking classes part time. I just know it is going to be one heck of a celebration when this is all over in May (hoping I pass all my classes, of course). :) Oh, and my externship is going great! I really love my nurse, Kelly, and I am learning so much! I feel this is such a great transition for me and it is really helping to prepare me for when I get my first official RN job. I am getting used to the nights as much as possible, although some weeks I get very little sleep (mostly from all the assignments and other things going on) - that plus the constant stress do seem to be taking a toll on my body sometimes.
  
• Brian is also due to graduate with his master's from LMU in May and right now he is working on his applications for PhD programs. As many of you probably know, he is looking at schools in Chicago, Boston, New York, ...and other East Coast schools. So, we are preparing ourselves to move around August of next year, but we won't really know until probably March or so. He is applying to very competitive schools, so we will see where he gets accepted and who has the best offers. I am getting excited about moving - some days I wish I was moving now!! I need a break from OC I think...
  
• As for wedding planning, we have most of the big stuff done. We decided on a caterer at the end of September and we are excited about who we went with. We also finally met with our florist and are still deciding on bridesmaid dresses. We feel really good about everything and where we are at now. :) Oh, and the honeymoon is pretty much booked - flights, hotels, etc. We are flying into Barcelona, then going to Lourdes, France, and then to Italy! We are SO excited!!
• As for my family, everyone is doing really well. October events:
  --We celebrated my mom's birthday by having a picnic at Irvine park. We had sandwiches, played games, went to the zoo, and had a potato sack race. It was a lot of fun - brought back some childhood memories!
  --My sister and her family moved into a condo right around the corner from her old apartment and it is really cute. By the time I went to check it out (about 2 weeks later), it looked as though they had been living there for months...or even years! They (Luis) had painted the entire house (many different colors) and everything was in place. I was impressed!! Here is a pic of me and my sis:
  --My dad's birthday is on Halloween, but we celebrated a week early at my sister's new place. We had dinner (Luis' yummy enchiladas) and played some Wii together, which was fun!!
• Over summer, I signed up for a little side job - it was mostly in case my externship didn't work out, but I decided to try and do it even with my current school load (of 16 grad units!). I am doing obesity assessments in kids. I work with registered dieticians and we go to preschools, elementary, middle and high schools to assess kids for obesity. We measure height, weight, blood pressure, waist circumference, and sometimes there is a doctor there to do physical assessments. The doctor may decide they need a referral to their primary care physician or they will be referred if they are overweight or have a high BMI. I wasn't scheduled much for September and October, but I really enjoyed the experience doing it! I never went to a high school - I think the oldest class I did was 6th grade - most of the kids I assessed were preschoolers. This program is through St. Joseph's and during Nov-Dec, the RDs go and teach the kids about healthy foods and habits and then we go back in Jan-Feb to assess the kids again. Then the next couple months I think they do kickboxing or some fun activity and then in May-June we go and do our final assessments. I just got my first paycheck yesterday, which was so exciting. Although it wasn't much (especially since taxes weren't taken out and they don't pay for gas), I still am happy to have a little job...something I can add to my resume!
• Since I am not busy enough (haha!!!), I am a volunteer for the Orange County Medical Reserve Corps and I have been signing up to give flu shots/nasal sprays (seasonal and H1N1) at schools and clinics...but I haven't done any yet, since the shipments haven't come in. But this Saturday I will be giving them. More experience!
• In addition, I have been taking any other side jobs that I can. I have had the opportunity to watch an elderly woman and help prepare her meals. She is so sweet! It is nice because I am able to get some schoolwork done when I am there too. I am still babysitting whenever I can and of course housesitting as much as possible. These little jobs help me pay my tuition (which went up a lot recently) :( , so I am thankful to still be able to do these!

I know this was a long update...and long overdue, but I am glad that I finally had time to post something. I hope you are all doing well!

Fun Video

Sorry this link hasn't been working. I will have to try it again. It was such a fun video!

Just had to make this! :) Click the link below...
MorphYourself

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6 Wonderful Years!!

Today is my 6 year dating anniversary with Brian! :D To celebrate, we had our first food and cake tasting for a potential wedding caterer. The food was absolutely amazing and the people were soooo nice. It was fun to have a fancy dinner for free and we left stuffed!
Although this picture was not taken today, it is a recent picture of us. This was taken on my birthday when we went for a day out on my dad's boat. I used my new camera that Brian and my nursing school friends got me - I love it!! :) Thank you to all those who contributed - it truly meant a lot to me!!