Coffee Care Package

My Coffee Care Package

If you are following my blog, you know my hunny-bunny is currently off on deployment. (You can read about him and us here.)
Well, I sent my first care package last week!!! I'm super-excited for him to get it. It's a coffee care package since he loves coffee so much and I know they don't get it so often on the ship.

I included:

- 2 packs of coffee cups w/lids
- 5 packs of instant coffee (different roasts and flavors)
- 1 pack of his favorite Dunkin Donuts coffee (you have to brew it though)
- 1 box of organic sugar-cane sugar-packets
- 1 can of coffee creamer
- 1 can of Folgers instant coffee
- different packs of tea
- 1 box of hot cocoa mix
- "10 reasons why coffee is good for you" (the EMT in me couldn't resist)
- a home-printed and written card with kisses on the inside
- a list of what I put in
- decorated the box with pictures and cute quotes

  

I think he'll love it! I really hope he gets the chance to brew his Dunkin Donuts coffee! 

Enjoy making your own Coffee Care Package and be sure to look out for more I'll be posting on here!

Have a blessed day! 

Sarah

Student Blues...

Salutations everyone...

Feeling: like poo. but a little excited. #confused
Enjoying: the heat coming from the fireplace behind me.
Reading: the "Switch Girl" manga.
Dreaming: of better grades and ACLS calls...
Gathering: materials to make a nerdy care-package with ;)
Realizing: bacon tastes best when you leave it fatty #yum #breakfast
Hoping: my travels to Cincy today are not deterred by this snow
Missing: warm weather, bright blue skies and the sun! Waiting for this snow and cold weather to disappear. And my hunny-boo-boo.
Discovering: dark chocolate is amazing. I'm eating all my profit. I'm going to be funding my Alaskan Mission Team all by myself.
Loving: life and learning to love myself.
Trying: my best not to get down about my recent exam results. but it's really hard. #emtstudent #ugh

Okay, like you all have caught glimpses of already, I'm a bit down. I've been spending every spare minute, every spare second to study for this big exam in my EMT class for the last couple of weeks. I even skipped the class before my EMT one to do a little review.
And I failed. I FAILED my exam. Failed it. With a whopping 52%.
I'm a little discouraged and a lotta troubled.  
I just don't understand it.

I've been studying...and that's all done to waste. I had a couple of moments when I even considered dropping the class. If I can't do this, how am I supposed to do my job? How am I supposed to save people if  I can't pass a simple 100-question multiple-choice test?
Ughhhhh...I don't wanna think about it anymore. It makes me sad.

On another note, I'm going to Cincy (OH) with my sister to get our book "The Undead Pool" (the new book in the amazing Hollows Series) signed the amazing author Kim Harrison! We went last year too, so I'm way excited about it this year! I wish I'd gotten a t-shirt to wear though...
Oh well!
Ciao guys! I gotta go get ready! Make today a blessing,

Sarah

 

Introductions and the Dreaded "D"

Introductions are in order. Especially since you're going to be hearing a lot about this young man for the next, say, eight months. Or nine months. Or ten months...
-considering he's going to be on deployment for about that length of time or longer.
-considering he's a very, very big part of my life.
-considering he's the God-given-love of my very short, but blessed life.

Yes. His name is Austin. Aust. Austi-boo.
-actually, to you all, he's just Austin. He's MY Austi-boo. 

Please, try not to let the awesome-ness blind you. I know it can be overwhelming.

 You can actually read all about him and us and our relationship here.
It's my old blog called "Winging It". I switched over to this one because I feel like I was putting our relationship in priority over my relationship with Jesus Christ. Which is just a no-no. 

Austin and I met in high school; my junior year and his senior year. My best friend introduced us and we just immediately clicked and pretty soon we were inseparable. We talked all the time, and I found an amazing friend in Austin...and an amazing boyfriend a couple of weeks later when he asked me on a date to a football game. 
We dated all up until it was time for Austin to go to college, which was about a year later. We went on a date that turned into, well, Austin telling me it was better and easier if we just didn't date anymore. That between him being in college, only seeing me on the weekends, and me being a senior in high school, that it just wouldn't work. So, we ended things. I had, however, began going to their church and found myself still going on most Sundays. I never saw Austin however...
...I still loved him though, and I often asked about him when talking to his parents on Sundays. He'd joined the ROTC program over at EKU and was doing well; coming home on some weekends. It had been months at this point and still no sign of Austin...
...Until one day my senior year, when I got a text in art class. It was Austin. He asked if it was okay if he picked me up from school and if we could hang out. I told him "yes". He picked me up and we drove around town and finally back to his house where he told me he still loved me and had missed me. Austin had dumped me though, and I was hurt. He had hurt me. I still loved him though and suddenly he became part of my life again. We saw each other on and off on weekends for the next couple of weeks...
...Then I learned that Austin wasn't doing so well in college. When his mom told me he had signed into the Marines, my world crashed down. I didn't know how to react. Austin and I had finally started mending our relationship, though neither of us was sure what that was yet. Neither of us had used the "girlfriend/boyfriend" term for the other...it was complicated....
...then Austin left for Basic Training. Like a dedicated not-exactly-girlfriend, I wrote him a letter everyday. On days that I missed a letter, I would bundle it with the next day's one. It was so easy...I found I could convey the words I couldn't say to him through writing. That I loved him so much. That I missed him. That all I wanted was him home. That I couldn't wait to see him. During this time, I graduated high school...and then Austin, graduated from Basic and earned the title: Marine. Then Austin's family and I were on our way to Parris Island for the ceremony...
...And it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. Never had I been so proud of anyone else in my entire life. I cried when I saw him run by for the first time. It was so emotional. Titles like "dating" didn't matter. We loved each other, and that's what mattered. However, what we found after graduation was a timid, awkward, love. We weren't sure how to take the other...

Parris Island, Graduation.

  ...then he was gone to SOI. I didn't see him for another couple of months with little communication over texting and phone calls. Then he came in for Easter. He left. We went to see him. We came home. And then....
...My first semester of college, I packed up my bags and I flew over to North Carolina myself and went to see my boyfriend. It was the best decision I ever made. It changed something.
Somewhere throughout the calls, the texts, and the not-long-enough-visits, we had evolved into something deeper then just...I don't know. It was God-given. He had and has a plan for us. 
Ever since, it hasn't been smooth-sailing, but it's been something...amazing. I've come to realize that there isn't any other man I want to spend my life with. He's become my rock. My soul-mate. I was made to love him, if only for right now. God-willing, I get to stay with this man forever. 

Now, four and a half years later, Austin and I face our first deployment together. The dreaded "D" word. The thing no military girlfriend/spouse/whatever wants to mention, much less experience. Though there's really no way to do so, I haven't ever really truly prepared myself for it. It seems like just yesterday he was graduating from Parris Island...and now he's on a ship in the middle of the ocean, and will be for eight months or longer. 
Hence, the funk I've been in this week. And last week. 
I know God has His hands on him. Austin will be fine and come home safe and sound just like he's supposed to...It's just the thought of him being halfway across the world...I know this and still. It's killing me. I want him home so bad. But I've been trying my best not to dwell on it. 

"Don't count the days, make the days count." 

 And so, please bare through with me on this. Be praying with me. I'm working on a bucketlist of things to do while he's gone to help. I'm really concentrating on other things, or well, I'm trying to...I just keep finding myself wondering how he's doing and if he's okay...I don't know. I just miss him I guess.

Make it a blessing, I'm going to bed,

Sarah

Prayer Request

Prayer please. That's all I'm asking for. 

Sarah

School Blues

Hello Everyone~

I'm feeling a whole lot better today. The sick-flu-thing I had going on seems to have finally dissipated. It's my day off work and my full day in classes, however, my morning and afternoon classes have been canceled, so I've been sitting around studying patient assessments and finishing up algebra equations...(and writing really long, run-on-sentences)...

My head is spinning with words like "tachycardia" and "pulse paradoxus". The sad thing is, everything just isn't sticking like it should be. All of this studying, re-writing, and just...everything...isn't helping me. I don't understand why. I'm only taking in maybe 40% of the information I'm reading. I had my first exam two days ago and I made a low "B". Which while that isn't bad, at all, it isn't great. It isn't what I need to be referred to the high-demand job I'm wanting. It was just luck that I made a "B" at all...I didn't really know half of the information on that test like I should have.

I should. These are people's lives that I'm going to be dealing with...I need to KNOW this information right off the top of my head, not just learn it and forget it. I can't afford to.

Just please be praying that if it's in God's will that I have this job that I do better in my studies. That I'm knowledgeable and able to remember the information I'm given. It's really discouraging. This whole "deployment thing" isn't helping.

Let today be a blessing,

Sarah

Flu Season: Remedies and Tips to Keep the Bug Away

Oh, don't you just love the flu season? I don't.

I'm as sick as can be and I have been since Saturday night. It's miserable. I feel like I have the flu, a cold and bronchitis all rolled up into one. I wasn't even able to go to my two morning classes Tuesday (my late EMT one was canceled due to weather, praise Jesus!)
I've been watching all of my family and friends get sick, and just Friday evening I was bragging about how I hadn't caught a bug yet. Well, it came back and bit me on my lower posterior plane.

-aha, the joys of being an EMT student. Med-term-talk. You're all gonna love me for the next couple of months. 

source link

Well I didn't take any precautions to ward off this terrible-flu-like-monster...but I wanted to keep you all, my readers, safe from this vile being! However, I didn't really have time to come up and research all the amazing and helpful ways to keep the flu-bug away, so I went to Pinterest.
-and there was much rejoicing.

The Little Natural Cottage has some great tips on how to keep the flu away during flu season here:

How To Stay Well During The Flu Season

The Wild Mint Shop has a bunch of remedies for after you've caught a cold or the flu. I've yet to try any of these, but I'll let you know what I find out! 

You can find them here:
Natural Remedies For Flu and Cold Season

The Paleo Mama has a great elixir for any cold or flu! I think I'm defienently gonna make this if I don't get feeling any better soon! You can find it here:

Soothing Elixir For Flu & Cold Season 

Here's a cough remedy from Greg's Kitchen that you can make, use and put away for later to get rid of any of those nasty coughs! You can find it here:

Greg's Cough Remedy

For all the little ones, I found this on babble. You can find the article here:

Kick A Toddler Cold/Flu In The Butt

For keeping healthy before you catch a bug and keeping the bug away, Premeditated Left Overs presents:

4 Tips For Staying Healthy Though Cold/Flu Season

Home DIY Hub has a winter tonic to sqaush all signs of a cold or flu!

Make Your Own Winter Tonic Medicine 

Those are just a few links that I've found! You can find tons and tons more with your own internet search. :) 

Of course, you can keep in mind the simple ways to keep the flu/cold away:

• Wash your hands regularly
• Sneeze into your arm and away from anyone or anything that anyone might touch
• Keep your hands away from your face, seriously
• At the first sign of sickness, start taking medicine
• Take vitamins when you hear about someone close to you being sick
• Exercise, it'll boost your immune system
• Get the sleep and rest your body needs
• Keep a healthy diet 

Keep to these tips and you should avoid taking part in the flu season all together! In the meantime I'm gonna take a nap...I have to go to work today or I'm not gonna have a paycheck. So, I'm forcing myself to go...ugh.

Everyone, have a blessed day! 

Sarah