Andrew is Starting School Again SOON +Weekend Happenings!!

Each run I finish I think, ‘Is this going to be my last run for a while?’  If Andrew’s dreams come true then I am going to have this baby in 5 days (Halloween) but who knows… he/she is probably nice and warm and comfy in there and wants to stay in for longer.

Afterwards Brooke worked on her pull-ups (she is SO SO close!) and I did some stretching.

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Skye asked me, ‘Mama, what’s wrong with your hands?”  I didn’t know what she was talking about at first but it was because I didn’t have fingernail polish on for the first time in her entire life basically ha.

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I was definitely craving some carbohydrates on Saturday as you can tell…

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And then we took the rest of the day pretty easy.  We work well together when coloring because she is right handed and I’m left handed.

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Andrew worked Sunday, Skye slept in later than I ever did as a teenager (10:30!!) and it was snowing outside so we were on the couch for a while.

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It sure was beautiful.

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For lunch I was feeling like Shalane’s Hearty Minestrone with Spicy Sausage and Beans from this cookbook.  It is definitely one of my favorite soups ever.

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A bit later and my neighbor brought over the most beautiful plate of rolls.  I’m going to need these every day.

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Once the sun came out we took Beretta on a walk!

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And we definitely needed hot chocolate when we got home.

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And the last exciting part of our weekend = my sister just got a hamster for my niece (Curly).  My niece cried and cried happy tears when she first saw her… it was the sweetest thing ever.

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Because we love to make life a little interesting and pack in as much as we possibly can all at once, Andrew is starting school again at the beginning of January!   He was accepted into a Nurse Practitioner program that will take 2-2.5 years and he is so excited.  He will still be working his normal shifts at the hospital so this should be interesting but I’m trying to not worry about all of the changes and just go with the flow (<— aka the opposite of how I normally react;).  He decided to do a family nurse practitioner program and he chose that program so he could treat every age group.  He is now one step closer to his end goal for his career.   On our first date he told me about his goal to be an NP and I’m so excited for him.

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Anybody else in school right now?  What are you studying and how much longer do you have to go?

Any Nurse Practitioners reading that can give Andrew some tips for this time?!

Are you right handed or left handed?  

What was the best thing you ate this weekend?

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64 comments

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what did A do for school/work before he met you? And what did you both go to undergrad for?
Best food this weekend was a homemade meat and cheese board while watching Disney.

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Hey Sage! Andrew went to school and graduated in Exercise Science & Spanish. He was in sales when I first met him and before that he worked in mental health. My undergrad was for Secondary Health Education:). A meat and cheese board sounds excellent right now! Have a great day!

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Best thing I ate was bday cake and ice cream! It was my husbands bday.
Also, I think you should check out naptimekitchen.com for her black bean soup. You would like it. I loved it. I would have said that was the best but nothing really beats dessert.

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The best thing I ate this weekend was ALSO Shalane’s hearty minestrone soup! haha. I made it for dinner last night! Something about cold weather (for us it was about 60-something, which still feels so cold after our summer haha) always makes me want that soup. :)
Go Andrew!! That’s amazing that he’s really going after his dream like that. My husband started school again last year to finish his degree and qualify for an officer program (he’s enlisted Navy right now). It was definitely a little adjustment, but he’s a night owl so he does most of his school work at night. He has one more semester! Wahooo!
Happy Halloween week!

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I wish we could have eaten the soup together. That is WAY cold compared to this summer for you guys and I hear you, soup is the base of my food pyramid now that it is cold. That is so great about your husband, I loved learning this about you guys. Thank goodness Andrew is a night owl too. One more semester–> so close and congrats to you all on that! Happy Halloween week to you too, Mollie.

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Janae! Long time reader, first time commenter here :) HUGE congratulations to Andrew! He is going to be the most wonderful NP and such an asset to his future patients. I’m not sure if you remember me, but my friend and I sat directly in front of you and Andrew at the ‘Women Behind the Mic’ live show before Boston 2019. At the time, I was getting ready to apply to Medical school and had the nicest conversation with Andrew about medicine, nursing, and working in healthcare. Fast forward to now (which is only about a year and a half later but feels like 10 lol) and I’m in my first year of medical school! I’m also interested in family practice (along with a bunch of other specialties — everything sounds interesting at this point!) so maybe Andrew and I can be colleagues one day :)

Huge congrats again to all of you, on this big news and on your growing family!

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YAY ANDREW for the next step in his educational journey!

I need more school for the professional direction I want to be in, and I recognize that I feel the most centered when SCHOOL is part of my picture. I hope all the job stuff works out SOON so I can figure out how to afford an M.Ed. degree in either learning technology or educational leadership (or some sort of fancy situation that incorporates both…). Maybe I *will* wind up collecting degrees my whole life? Hmm, if I can figure out how to afford it, I am totally not against the idea…

SOUP! I have a bean allergy, but a beanless chili recipe is on deck for this week’s food prep. Someone shared their recipe with me, and I tweaked it to taste for me and Tom, so I am shamelessly sharing it here for everyone who loves bacon and is open to a meatless chili:

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb ground mild Italian pork sausage
8-10 slices thick cut bacon, cut cross-wise into 1/2″ pieces
1/2 large sweet onion, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz crushed tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
Spice blend: 2 tbsp chili powder, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tbsp basil, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

DIRECTIONS:
In a sautee pan, cook the bacon until it’s soft. Remove, and drain the cooked bacon on paper towels to drain the grease away. Place bacon in crock pot.
Wipe away most of the bacon grease from the sautee pan. Add ground beef and sausage to the pan and cook until browned. Half way through cooking, add minced onion and garlic. Using a slotted spoon, put the browned beef/sausage/onion/garlic mixture inside crock pot.
Add 28 oz crushed tomatoes to crock pot.
Add 6 oz tomato paste to crock pot.
Fill empty tomato paste can with water and add to crock pot.
Add spice blend to crock pot. Stir everything together.
Turn crock pot to low and set timer for 6 hours.

Serve with your favorite chili toppings (if any) and with a great salad and tortilla chips on the side.

Makes 4 very hearty servings.

Trust me this is beyond delicious. :)

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Thank you so much Stephanie! I really hope that you are able to get back soon to school and that your job situation will work out exactly how it needs to so that you can. A professional student sounds pretty fun to me! Okay, I can’t thank you enough for that recipe… it looks PERFECT. I can’t wait. Have a great day Stephanie and I am cheering for you.

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Ahhhhhh o hope so too! It’s definitely been a long time since I have had good job news and since things have felt like they’re ‘working’—even though I have been plugging away w job applications and have been trying to infuse my bridge-the-gap job with as much of the skill set for the jobs I WANT as possible!

That chili—you must make it. It’s really incredible. And the combination of very lean ground beef with pork sausage (or ground turkey and turkey sausage for something even leaner…) with the rich flavor of bacon (and draining the fat away is a bust or else that + the acid from tomatoes leads to heartburn…which was never a tho g for me until my late 30s/right around turning 40…) really is the best. Tom asks for it easily 1-2 times a month, even in the hot Atlanta summer. He is big on loading his chili up with toppings—jalapeño slices and shredded cheddar and sour cream. I am totally good with a small fallopian of sour cream.

:D

I hope your day is so good out there!!!!!!!! And I sort of hope that Baby Baron doesn’t come on Halloween because Andrew already wants to decorate your house for the holiday too early. A baby born on his favorite day will just be TOO MUCH. ;)

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ALSO at one point I wrote ‘meatless chili’ but I hope my typo doesn’t make me look stupid when I really meant BEANless chili’ my typo game is so strong this morning, lol…

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I haven’t been in school for a while, would have been a professional student if it paid the bills :).

Congrats to Andrew! What an exciting time. Yes, it will be a lot but you will find a new rhythm.

The best thing I ate this weekend was pizza on Friday night. I am breastfeeding and the little one’s bum does not seem to agree with dairy. So have cut that out the last months . But I took the risk because the pizza looked so good! Fingers crossed a massive diaper rash doesn’t come about!

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Hahah professional student would be an awesome job (my good friend says the same thing… she just never wants to stop). I am SO glad you could have some pizza… I bet it tasted like heaven! I really hope that he agrees with the pizza so you can continue to have it. Have the best day, Kelly!

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Snow? No, thank you, please. LOL!
Congratulations to Andrew! You guys will find ways to make everything work, and his current and future patients will be quite lucky :)
I’m right handed. My mom is left handed, but she had to learn to do some things right handed because of the people who were teaching her (knitting, crocheting, etc.).
The best thing I ate over the weekend is Papa John’s cinnamon pull-apart bread! Do you know about this? Yummmm!
Happy Monday!

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I know… and today it is 16 degrees out! Can we come stay with you guys? Oh that is funny about your mom because I am the same way with knitting and a few sports, I use my right hand. I LOVE THEIR pull-apart bread so so much. I must get myself some of that asap. Thanks Corey, you too!

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Yay Andrew! I remember both of my parents graduating from college and getting their master degrees so I know how chaotic it can be. I am an only, so that might have made it easier, but when my dad was going to nurse anesthesia school, my mom was teaching and grabbing every extra-curricular activity she could to get more money. So I spent a lot of time before and after school sitting on bleachers and doing my schoolwork. My dad worked full time through nursing school and anesthesia school so he was very busy. As an adult looking back, it taught me how importance education is and that if you have a goal, go for it! Time will pass regardless so you may as well be improving yourself. And yes, in the chaos, I remember getting left a few times. Always in safe places, of course. But this was in the days before cell phones so it was always a little scary. You can be sure that I knew several numbers to call!

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Jackie, thank you so much for sharing this with us. Your parents sound amazing and they taught you so many valuable lessons. It made me feel a lot better about the business we are just about to enter. I hope you have a beautiful day!

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Brooke is beating me with her pull ups lol go Brooke!!

Congrats on going back to school Andrew! I love how his career goal hasn’t changed since your first date and he’s been making steps toward it since that day.

Best thing I ate this weekend is tough… it might be a toss up between the lobster roll that we got at a new to my family Mexican bakery or it’s the butternut squash soup with crispy proscuitto on top. Omg it was so good!

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Right?! I’m amazed at her strength! Thank you so much Maureen, we are really excited for him. Lobster roll… that sounds incredible and so does that soup. You had a delicious weekend. Happy Monday Maureen!

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Congratulations to Andrew!!! How exciting, and I am sure you are a bit nervous, change is always a bit scary, but you guys have been through a lot of change and done so well.

I am planning on going back to school to finish my PhD in a couple years when the kiddos aren’t so little, I LOVE being in school (probably why I also love being a teacher).

We didn’t do much this weekend, we got about a foot of snow yesterday but we did have amazing homemade chowder =)
Happy Monday!

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Thank you so much Beth and you are right, he definitely is a bit nervous about it. That is so exciting that you will be going back to finish your PhD… wow. You’ll have to keep me updated with that process. A FOOT OF SNOW (hopefully it helps with the fires!) and that chowder sounds amazing. Thanks Beth, you too!

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Congratulations, Andrew!!! Janae, I have no doubt you and your family will adjust to all of the upcoming changes in your life with grace.
We had some family members visit this weekend, so I cooked and baked! More exciting for others than when it’s just the two of us. Pasta Fagioli with spicy turkey sausage, a delicious egg bake, and an apple cake that is an old family recipe. I think the soup may have won for best food of the weekend!
P.S. The new Glycerins I ordered arrived last week and I LOVE them. Very pleasant surprise after being in a long-term, monogamous relationship with Saucony for years ;0) Here’s hoping the Glycerins are part of the magic that get me back to regular running.

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Thank you so much Janine! I am so glad you were able to have family visit this weekend and next time I am coming for your for your Pasta Fagioli. I’m drooling over everything that you made. I am SO happy you are loving the new Glycerins! I am so glad you branched out of that relationship to try something new haha. Keep me updated and I’m cheering for your regular running. Have a great day!

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Those rolls!! Was that like a cinnamon butter with them? I need to attempt to make those.. Best thing I ate this weekend was I made popovers last night, and they turned out pretty tasty!

I’m right handed, but I think my 18 month old is going to be a lefty. She eats with it, colours with it, reaches for stuff first.. so we will see!

And congrats to Andrew! How exciting!

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Yes it was cinnamon butter, she won the best neighbor award haha. Those popovers sound amazing too! Oh that is so fun to see what these little ones will end up being. Thank you Alyssa and I hope you have the best day!

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Congratulations to Andrew!! So exciting!
Your snow pictures looked so beautiful. My family in Colorado got a ton of snow yesterday too. It looked so pretty there, but 11°, no thank you.
I made chili yesterday, and it definitely hit the spot. We have had some nice cool weather, so soups and chili are sounding good these days.
We have friends who’s youngest son’s birthday is Halloween. They always have so much fun with that. It would be pretty cool for you (especially Andrew) to have your baby on Halloween.
Heading out for my run now, and it actually feels chilly! Yay
Have a great Monday.

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Thank you so much Wendy! I can’t believe how much snow Colorado got (hopefully it helps with the fires). CHILI sounds amazing right now, I might have to copy you. Here’s to hoping it happens on Halloween for Andrew:). ENJOY that run and the cooler temps. Thanks Wendy, you too!

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That is very ambitious and motivating Andrew, I wish you guys the best of luck!

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Thanks John! I hope you are having a great day so far!

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The best thing I ate this weekend was homemade chicken noodle soup over mashed potatoes. I made homemade egg noodles for the first time ever (my mom usually gives me a few bags from her stash but she hasn’t made them yet this year)! My family loved them! Now I have to make a ton more for the freezer. We woke up to a dusting of snow this morning in NW MO. I love snow before Halloween.

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The best combo EVER… and now I need to try to make homemade egg noodles (YUM). I am so glad you guys had some snow too… enjoy. Thanks Betsy.

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Right handed!

Not in school right but I think I have done enough school for a life time lol.

Oh this weekend I went to a local bakery called pure bread. They have traditional and vegan baked goods and everything is baked from scratch. They had this coconut buttermilk mini loaf cake which was amazing And I only got one bite of the peach crumble because the other half ate the whole thing but not before he generously offered me a bite ha! I ended up getting a box so we could try different things.

Snow! It looks so pretty. Well our local mountains are getting snow too.

It is so exciting that baby will be here soon! I hope you have a wonderful Monday!

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Pure bread sounds incredible. I need that peach crumble and next time you need your own haha. Thank you so much Kristine and I hope your Monday is a great one too. I always love to catch up with you!

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Wow, best of luck to Andrew! That’s awesome. I am SO thankful for all the great nurses I’ve met–they made such a difference when I was in the hospital.

I made the ginger molasses granola from Run Fast Eat Slow–SO good and it smelled amazing. It also is the kind of granola that makes huge chunks, which I love.

I am loving all of Skye’s facial expressions lately!

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Thank you so much Kristin! Good nurses make all of the difference! I need to make that granola, we love it over here too. Have a beautiful day friend.

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Congrats, Andrew! I am in school to be an OT right now and am trying to find a good balance between school, running, working, etc. It is definitely a challenge but I am enjoying it so far. It helps to see that others are doing the same thing! Thanks for sharing!

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WOW, Alana you have a lot going on. You’ll have to share with us any tips that help you and we will do the same. Have a great day and you are going to be an amazing OT!

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Hi Janae! Congrats to Andrew for going back to school soon! I think it’s wonderful he is going to be a nurse practitioner and help lots of people. I feel like nurses actually do more to help people than doctors do at least in my experience.
That snow looks so beautiful, stay cozy!

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Thank you so much Amy, we are so excited for him. I really love how much he gets to interact and help his patients. I will and I hope your Monday is off to a great start with work!

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That’s so exciting for Andrew that he’s working toward that NP program — I’m sure that brings a lot of emotions for all of you, but what an awesome opportunity :)

I’m a senior in college right now (studying journalism w/minors in counseling and politics) & currently thinking about next steps (grad school? Fellowship program? Ministry? who knows), so it’s honestly really encouraging to see “adults” still working toward their goals & having new opportunities come up!

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Thank you so much Liz! Senior year at college, WOW. I am so excited for you and you will have to keep me updated with what you choose next! Such an exciting future. Have a beautiful Monday.

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Congratulations, Andrew!!!!
I graduate November 20 with a BS in Exercise Science.
It took me sooooo long and could not be happier. ;-)

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Deb, that is SO so exciting. You are almost there. Congrats and I hope you celebrate big time.

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Les went back to school after we had been married for 7 years. His BS is in Mechanical Engineering – he spent quite a few years working on the Space shuttle, so he feels any references to “it’s not rocket science” mean he can ignore whatever is being said ;) He went back and got his masters is in business. It was a crazy time for us as we were both working full time, driving 20 miles in opposite directions everyday, but it definitely paid off in the long run!

I’m left handed and Les is right handed. We know exactly how to sit in any situation!

I made Sloppy Joes on Saturday and we had them on Dave’s Killer buns – so so good!

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WOW, Les worked on the space shuttle?! That is incredible. I bet that time felt crazy busy but huge congrats to you both for doing what you did! I didn’t know you were left handed… I knew we had a lot of connections. I didn’t know that the Dave’s Killer buns existed, I’ll have to try them. Have a beautiful day, Kathy.

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Loving to see you going with the flow ? I tend to overthink everything to an exhausting degree!

Congrats to Andrew! I wish him nothing but the best. These next few years may be hectic but you got this! ?

The best thing I ate this weekend was pumpkin chocolate chip bread from Great Harvest. I could easily make this at home but GH is magical ?

Can you link me your favorite beanie that is comfy .. and will cover my ears? I have a sleeve lined hat so I’m looking for something a bit lighter but still warm if that makes sense!

Thought about you when Ordered my winter supply of hand warmers lol! ?

Have a marvelous Monday ?

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HEY SYDNEY!! The emojis in your comments always give me the biggest smile. Thank you so much and I’m right there with you on the overthinking. I totally agree, there is just something so magical about Great Harvest bread that it is worth it to just go there. Yay for more hand warmers, I just got mine too. Here is a link with my favorite beanies and I really hope you love them too… I could wear them every day. Have a great Monday Sydney.

https://hungryrunnergirl.com/2020/10/friday-favorites-111.html

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Definitely soup season. My son request chili at least once a week so we’ve been having that often. Though he doesn’t like beans (!!) so then he has to pick around them. One of my friends mentioned that she uses refried beans in her chili so now I’m wondering how that would be.

I’ve learned before that if you wait for the ‘right time’ it will never come so you just have to make it be the right time. Good luck Andrew!

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Your son is smart to request chili so often! You’ll have to let me know how the refried beans go… I think Andrew and my kids would love that. Okay, that is EXACTLY what I needed to hear… there is never a ‘right time’ so just go for it now. Have a wonderful day, Erika.

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Congrats Andrew! And good luck to you! I just finally finished my grad program- I went back to law school. I did a part time night program while working and taking care of 2 kids. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated a supportive husband at home and I’m sure Andrew will feel the same way about you! People always ask how I did it and I think my husband actually worked harder than I did!!

Best thing I ate this weekend was mujjadarra- it’s a blend of rice, carmelized onions and lentils and it’s one of my favorites!

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Wow. Laura. That is incredible and it is so awesome to hear about the amazing teamwork that you and your husband did to get your law degree. We’ve got this! I must try mujjadarra, that sounds really good. I hope your Monday has been great so far.

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That’s so exciting for Andrew, way to chase after your dreams (runners get this!!). And I’m sure it will take some adjusting to a busier schedule, so remember to be extra kind to yourselves. It might mean more pizza for dinner and less vacuuming, but it will be so worth it.

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Is it weird that your last line made me tear up? I swear you guys know exactly what I need to hear. Thank you for taking the time to tell me that and here’s to all of the frozen pizzas and a lot less cleaning;). Thanks Michelle and I hope you have a great day.

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Congrats for Andrew. Sounds like life is going to get a little crazy, but good thing Andrew doesn’t really like sleeping right? I am in an MBA program right now and it’s all online and part time. I have only done 2 classes at a time the whole program. I can’t imagine doing 3 classes because usually 2 is enough work. This semester has been the hardest but it’s mostly because of the capstone class and the teacher is super particular and grades really hard compared to any other class. I like my sleep and I work best in the morning so I’m the type of person that if I can’t finish something at night, I’d rather get up at 5am to work on something. I am done with my program in May 2021 and I can not wait to be done and enjoy weekends as weekends and not crazy homework time. I hope it pays off. I plan to job search in the Spring as I did the MBA to change careers. I know COVID will make job searching a little more challenging but I also know there are jobs out there so hopefully I find one that is a better fit for me. I always come back to what you say a lot, “I can do hard things.” Mentally I am just so drained this semester, but pushing through.

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Thank you so much Alicia and you are 100% right about Andrew… he told me he is going to sleep even less which seems crazy to me. Congratulations to you and your current MBA program. You are amazing. I am so sorry that this semester has been so rough and you are absolutely proving that you can do really hard things. I can’t wait for you to have weekends again and please please please keep me updated on your job search in the spring. I’m cheering for you Alicia!

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Congratulations to Andrew! That’s a big accomplishment. And props to you for being such a supportive wife! If I ever go back to school it will be after my kids are grown up haha. I’m an older mom than you I think and I am tired all the time already ?

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Thank you so much Irene, that means a lot to us. Hahaha well I relate with you more than Andrew… I feel tired all of the time already too. Have the best night Irene.

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Hi! I just finished a nurse practitioner program while working full-time in August 2019. I worked night shift while doing clinicals during the day and while it was really tough, it was absolutely worth it. The best tip I got was save your vacation time! By your last semester you are so burnt out, the idea of working three nights a week, plus clinical and school four nights a week makes you want to scream. I was very lucky that I had a boss that let me take off one day a week my entire final semester. I am based in the East Coast but if he has any questions he can go ahead and email me. Congratulations and best of luck Andrew!

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Carolyn, CONGRATS to you on such an incredible accomplishment. That sounds incredibly busy. We can’t thank you enough for the tips and we are going to save your email, thank you SO much. Have a great night and congrats again!

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I’m a right handed girl! Also…congrats on starting a new program Andrew!

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Thanks so much Jen! I hope you are having a great evening!

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I really need to know what that dip is with the rolls???
Congratulations to Andrew!
How are things for him right now in the hospital with Utah’s covid hospitalization rates? I keep seeing the Utah ICUs and care providers are maxed out. How true is that for Andrew?

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WOW…cool news. This is exciting and yes, adding more craziness to the mix is always interesting but I know you’ll all adjust just fine.

I am soooo excited to meet your new baby too. Hoping Andrew gets his wish

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YES! at 46, I will graduate in 6 weeks with my degree in social work! I decided 2 years ago to go back to school for a second career and here I am almost finished!! I’m excited about doing work I have passion to do!

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Congratulations!
I worked full time during my NP program for most of it, but went part time the final semester. In my position, that allowed me to maintain benefits and also stay sane. The program didn’t have any distance components, however, so his program may be more flexible. I’ll second the comment to save your PTO to use for those “unforeseen circumstances” that will always crop up. It’s been very rewarding, and I’m so happy Andrew will have the opportunity to become an FNP!

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