Food for thought!!

I love food!! Who doesn't!! Here are some of my food creations!!

"When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile."

You know when you find yourself exhausted at the end of the day and you drop the line "I just had the worst day EVER"... well on May 22, 2011, a good day turned into my worst day ever. I have not updated many people following my blog for months, so I will catch you up to May 22nd then we will go from there! I had some job interviews down here in Joplin back in March and April... they went great and I was offered a job on the oncology unit of St. Johns Hospital. Not two months later I graduated from WIU with a bachelors of science in Nursing!! The stress was not over yet, however because I still had to take NCLEX-RN before I could legally call myself a Nurse!! Kevin and I finally moved all of our stuff into our beautiful new apartment in Joplin, and I was ready to start studying for my exam. On May 22, 2011 after finishing an exam  online, we sat to watch a movie. Tom had set up weather reports on his phone and said that we were on a severe thunderstorm warning... this I was excited about, because I had always loved thunder and lightening, however a few minutes later he mentioned that we were then on a tornado watch. had been on tornado watches at school in Illinois only a couple times, and nothing ever happened, so this is what I expected. I went to the bedroom and looked out the window at the thunder and lightening, and called my father to tell him I was on my first tornado watch at our new home. I told him that we were prepared to go into the bathroom if it became necessary, but it was just a  watch at this point. A few minutes passed and Tom checked his phone to see a tornado warning had been issued for Joplin. The boys stepped outside to see which direction the tornado was in town and that was when the power cut. I went to the bedroom and looked out the window to see an eerie black/brown/green sheet heading towards us. The boys came back in and all of us stood by the window watching when we saw the trees outside bend down towards the ground and debris fly by the window. It was time to get into the bathroom. Our timing couldn't have been better. As soon as we shut the bathroom door I sat against the inner wall too afraid to sit in the bathtub that was attached to the outer wall of the apartment. The boys were holing the door shut when we heard our bedroom being torn to shreds and felt plaster and water shooting through the cracks in the door. The pressure of the imploding mass on our ears was only comparable to being in a plane when there is a pressure change... but worse. The sound was like we were laying feet from a train track while one ripped by. I had never thought about dying in my life ever until that moment. I repeatedly tried to call my father from the bathroom but there was no service. I was simultaneously screaming at the top of my lungs "Please lord I don't want to die". Kevin was telling me it was going to be ok, and Tom was saying hang on keep holding on guys... Though it was only a minute and a half... it seemed like 10. The pressure was gone, the roaring noise had stopped and the door was on its hinges but the frame was disconnected from the wall. The boys had held the door shut with just millimeters before it would be disconnected fully. We opened the door to complete wreckage. There was no window or frame just a huge hole in the wall looking out to what used to be the main building. It was a pile of rubble. There were hundreds of fire alarms sounding from every apartment complex, but what was more ear piercing were the screams of survivors and people stuck under rubble. I was in shock screaming and crying, not knowing if the storm was over when I called my dad screaming. On about the tenth try I finally got through to him crying hysterically that everything was gone and there are people screaming and that I didn't know what to do. I mentally slapped myself in the face when Kevin told me "your a nurse Torie, people need your help". I hung up the phone and grabbed as many towels as I could find in our apartment and my first aid kit. The staircase was covered in vinyl siding, brick, plywood and two by fours... we had to maneuver our way down to get to people. Kevin went to the aid of an elderly woman while I went inside an apartment to check for injured residents. Many residents had migrated towards this one apartment that was centrally located. There were children with visibly broken arms, separated shoulders, broken ribs and many lacerations. I had learned about triaging in school and for the life of me I could not think of the "right" thing to do. It took me a minute then I explained to everybody who I was and that I was going to start with people who were injured the "worst" first. I went to the aid  of a man who had covered his wife and dog protecting them from matter. He had a laceration to the back of his head that was inches long and had already saturated a full size pillow he had been give to lay on. He was simultaneously experiencing chest pain, numbness to certain parts of his body and he was deathly cold. I had a heat blanket in my first aid kit that I covered him with and was applying pressure to his head wound, when a physician who lived by me came in and took over. I moved onto the limb injuries. We had heard that some people had been able to get their vehicles near our complex and could take people for medical help. We made a makeshift stretcher with a broken poolside chair and two by fours. I stepped out to search for more items that might help make splints and stretchers when Kevin's boss showed up to help us and "take us home". We couldn't leave yet though, there was too much going on, too many people needing help. A couple lived above us on the third floor that was completely wiped out. They were trapped in their bathtub that had a wall collapse on it protecting them. The staircase to the third floor was impassable, except for a small hole that only a child could fit through, so that is what we had to do. A nine year old boy volunteered to climb up to the third floor and look around to find a way to the couple. They managed to get out of the tub with some help from the boy and minutes later a ladder was used to get them down from their apartment. It was like a movie... all of it. The storm, opening the door to what I can only compair to pictures of Hiroshima... and Coach Mutz showing up out of nowhere. So much destruction, loss and death. I wanted to wake up and find it to be a terrible dream but it wasn't. I didn't sleep for days, terrified of another storm sweeping through (we were on tornado watch for three days straight). Things slowly began to fall into place after a month of living with the Mutz's. We finally came up on a place to call home, received two new cars from family members and we both still have our jobs. It has been the longest most stressful two months of my life. I have never felt so physically stressed and mentally stressed in my life AND I WENT THROUGH NURSING SCHOOL! I however can gladly say Kevin and I have our lives, and that was the most important thing. I cannot express enough thanks to everybody who helped us out through this mess, but we are finally on our feet again. Thank you all and god bless you all for your prayers!

Enjoy the novel, thanks for listening

xoxo ~*Vic*~

"Once you choose hope, anything's possible."  ~Christopher Reeve

Dear Friends and Followers,

The fight against cancer goes on and I know we're going to win this thing! Hardly anyone I know can say they DON'T have a friend or relative that has battled this terrible disease. I'm asking for your help in raising funds because I think it's important that we all join together to help win. The best way to fight against cancer is through the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. I will be dedicating my walk to Cynthia Burns who is currently battling with cancer, and my cousins Courtney Powers and Nicholas Reed who are recent cancer survivors.

Relay for Life is a team event that celebrates cancer survivors, and raises funds for the American Cancer Society research, education, prevention, advocacy and patient services. It is a fun, outdoor and overnight fundraising event where teams take turns walking or running around a track. Our team will be having a table at the event collecting walk in donations and  fundraising as well! We will also be studying for our exit exam (NCLEX-RN) between laps! My team made up of members from Western Illinois University Student Nurses Association, will be joined by hundreds of others on April 15^th, 2011 at Hansen Field in Macomb, Illinois. Millions of people nationwide take part in Relay for Life events around the country. Relay raises over 40% of the funding for the American Cancer Society.

The Relay starts off with a Survivor's Walk, where cancer survivors walk the initial lap, symbolizing the courage that survivors and their families display and sustain in their lives.  Opening night, there is a beautiful and touching Luminaria Ceremony that pays tribute to cancer survivors and to loved ones who still live on in our heart.

Our goal is to raise a minimum of $1,500 for cancer research! Any donation is accepted! If you are considering making a donation you can write a check to WIU Student Nurses Association, mail it me, and we will write a large check prior to the Relay, or you can go to our team site and make an online donation. Here is the information you will need for an online donation:

1.    Go to our site: http://www.relayforlifewiu.com  

2.    Click Donate

3.    Click Donate to a Team

4.    Insert Team Name into Search: Student Nurse Association (Team Captain Adrienne Gretzinger)

5.    Click on Donate to Our Team or to Participant and chose Victoria Powers

6.    Insert donation price (add a note if you wish!)

7.    It will then take you to a payment screen to make your payment directly to our group!

Let us stand together in this battle, because when you feed your faith, your fears will starve to death

Thank you for listening!

xoxo - Vic

"So long as there is breath in me, that long will I persist. For now I know one of the greatest principles of success; If I persist long enough I will win." - Og mandino

It is official, I have senioritis. Graduation is so close, I get palpitations just thinking about walking across the stage! However along with the palpitations, comes the overwhelming desire to be lazy and procrastinate. I said this would never happen to me, senioritis. I am so used to the idea of pushing harder and faster in the home stretch that this idea of wanting to stop and "slack off" has never been in my repertoire... until now that is. I do not want to stop or give up, because that would be ridiculous of me to ruin the last 5 years of hard work and dedication I have put forth. I am just physically and mentally exhausted allll theeee tiiimmmee, so I procrastinate, which in turn makes me even more stressed and overwhelmed. It is time to kick the bucket, and sprint the final leg with all I have got. Starting today, there is no more procrastination, there is no more "half assing" homework assignments, and there is definitely no giving up. I dream about my future as a Nurse everyday of my life, and I am 70 days away from it becoming a reality. If I push myself in these last 9 weeks, giving my all and leaving everything on the track... I can at least end proud. The moral today is to hang in there, always give 100%, keep the prize in your sight and most importantly never give up!  Thanks for listening!
xoxo- Vic

"The intensity of your desire governs the power with which the force is directed."  -John McDonald

You know when you dream about your life 10 years from now, and you come up with all of these plans that you want to carry out (dream job, marriage, dream home, children) but it never seems feasible? Well I have had the same dream "plan" for years now and today I decided to make it into my official 10 year goal. Sure changes may be made to it along the way, but I am willing to dedicate the next 10 years of my life towards reaching it. So people here it is; I will start my journey by graduating from nursing school this may and passing the NCLEX-RN to receive my license. I will begin to work for 2 years in any available department, however I would prefer OB. In my third year as an RN I will apply for my PhD and work part time while entering in 4 more years of school. I want to be settled in a home by the time I am done with my PhD and hopefully married maybe with one child but that is still debatable haha. When I have obtained my PhD while working I will have acquired the skills, experience and knowledge that I need to be a partner in my own practice/labor center. I would love to own this practice with an OBGYN and a Pediatric RN PhD or Physician who all share the same view as myself and do not view themselves as a higher being. I want a healthy environment for my employees and patients at all times. Within this practice I would like a full 10 bedroom birthing center with 2 operating rooms for cesareans. Ideally it is where a woman can go from the point she is thinking about pregnancy, throughout her pregnancy, and up to 1 year after the birth of her child. This is a far fetched dream, but I haven't been able to picture anything else that I want more for my future, and I always aim for what I want the most. I encourage all of you to follow your dreams, for real, I am not being cheesy. If you fail, you have only gained experience and learned from it. I will not be upset if I do not reach my goal, because if it becomes something I greatly dislike then it's a good thing I found out, and maybe I will be dreaming of something different. The point is to push yourself to achieve what you most desire, and to never underestimate yourself! So all of you go right now and reach for what you most desire! Thanks for listening!

xoxo- Vic

"The man who has no imagination, has no wings."-Muhammad Ali

I think I have officially lost the child within me. I still LOVE my Disney and Pixar movies, but I find myself focusing on becoming and independent adult so much that I have left myself no room for "play time". I can't remember the last time, I actually let loose and enjoyed myself. I used to go out and party with friends, or enjoy a comedic movie night, but now I get stressed at the thought of having fun. I live in black and white, and erased all of the color out of my life. I am always thinking about what I have to do the upcoming months with school, that I can't even enjoy a beer without getting hypertensive. My life is consumed, and surrounded by anxiety and stress. I need to live my life the way I used to, because this isn't healthy. My vow is to spend one whole night a week without doing school work or mentioning nursing. I need to find the fun playful me again. I am not saying I'm going to become a party animal, but I am going to try to let loose and enjoy my play time. I need fun back in my life. I need laughter back in my life. I just need my life back! Thanks for listening!

xoxo Vic