Random Thoughts

Ready for a really random blog post? (Well aren't all blog posts kinda random anyways?) Anywho, just had some thoughts about different things and I'm just kinda wanting to get them on paper in words if I can. Not for any specific reason but just questions that I have and observations that I've made in talking with people.

I want to start just by saying how imperfect, undeserving, and sinful I am. How I can't wrap my mind around what God has given me. Why, me a sinner, would He send His only Son to die in my place and save me. I just can't get over this. It shakes me to the core, and I am so thankful. I desire to know more about Him and grow in His word. And this brings me to the realization that I have failed miserably at reading His precious Word. Truths that I need to constantly be reminded of are all throughout the pages of the Bible. Where is the desire in you to spend the time reading scriptures?

I feel like society has it all backwards. Actually I don't feel, I know. Even the so called "Christians". And I believe it starts with knowing His Word. I feel like it's so common place in America to identify ourselves as a Christian. But what does that really mean to you? That you are a good person? That you must live a comfortable lifestyle and be nice to people? That your life will be characterized by health, wealth and prosperity all the days of your life? That just by being "Christian" says you will automatically be successful in life? This could not be farthest from the truth of the gospel. So what are we really pursuing in life? I notice this even in my own little world. Just listening to the opinions of others, their life goals, and what they feel is important to accomplish. All of it sometimes just seems like garbage. We waste so much time and energy on being popular, striving to make more money, putting others down whether or not you've been wronged. What happened to forgiveness. We are so undeserving of the forgiveness that God has given us. How can we still act toward people the way we do when we have experienced His ultimate forgiveness.

I want to leave you with a passage I keep coming back to. It's John chapter 15. The very well known "I am the vine, you are the branches" passage. I pray that you read this and soak it in. If we are truly his disciples, we will bear fruit and there will be evidence of our salvation.

And I think my thoughts are more compounded because of the Christmas season. I just want to scream at the top of my lungs and shout, it's not about the presents! It's not about the dinner parties and what bottle of wine you are drinking, and where your fancy outfit came from and how much you spent on it. It's not about how big your Christmas tree is or how nice your lights look on the outside of your fancy home. It's about a mighty savior. Not a fat hairy old man. It's about a King. My King.

I need what?? And I find that where??

So, now starts the fun of figuring out what we need in our house to bring baby home :) Is there a good checklist out there, some must have items that we would NEVER think of?? I feel so lost when it comes to this part. They didn't teach me these things in pharmacy school and well I haven't been one to just hangout in Babies R Us.

We have been planning to buy all the things that need to be "put together" soon since my handy man dave will be on Christmas break in a couple of weeks. Our goal is to get all that stuff put together before his spring semester starts up. We will see how that plan goes :)

We started looking at Target at their cribs since I recently saw the one the Bales family purchased for their new little bundle of joy. I loved it! It's dark wood, very "pottery barnish" without the price of pottery barn. Yes I'm still cheap. I just hate spending money (wasting money) on things that you can get at a much lower price for the same look and comparable quality. So, I'm standing in Target and all I see is the crib. Do I load it into my buggy, is there one in a box I take, do we have to order them, where is the dresser and changing table that matches it? So I call Megan. She says, oh I got the crib from the Yulee Target but I had to drive over to a Jax Target for the dresser and such. Hmmm, and then I assume the mattress comes with the baby crib... but no it doesn't. Then where do I buy a baby mattress?? And do all crib mattresses come in one size, and fit all cribs?? These are questions that thankfully Megan could answer! She did give me some helpful information regarding the crib mattress that I probably would have never thought about (I know I know, I'm a pharmacist and I should think to do my research, but I've NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE!!) haha. She said when they did alot of the research they found that there was an increase risk of SIDS when the mattress had higher levels of toxic material used that gave off toxic gases that harmed the baby. She said IKEA had one of the best that used none of these materials. She said to also check out the organic section of baby stores and we might be able to find one there. So I'm not saying I've done my own research in this area (yet), and it's not the only cause of SIDS, as there are other things to consider such as making sure baby sleeps on their back, having no toys and blankets in the crib, etc, but it was definitely something to think about. Something I would have had no idea if she wouldn't have mentioned it.

So, I'm now taking suggestions. What is the one thing you couldn't live without when you had a baby?? Because as of right now, we pretty much have the crib and dresser picked out and that is ALL!



To back up a couple of weeks, we found out we are having a BOY!! :) I wasn't surprised at all because David's family is full of boys, on both his mom and dad's side. His mom was the only daughter out of 4 children and she had 3 boys. David's dad has had 4 boys. So I just had that feeling. We went for our OB appt when I was 17 weeks and she said "It's obvious! It's a boy!" We are so excited! We had more names we liked for boys, actually we only had boy names we liked. We couldn't think of any names for girls. Now we just have to narrow down our picks. Mom has been bugging us for a name and I think David finds it funny that we keep her waiting. He said we will pick the name but not tell anybody until after he is born. Mom wouldn't go for that! Haha! Well I have to say, my favorite person we have told about having a boy was my dad. He has wanted a boy for forever. He probably secretly wishes me or Alexis had been a boy, lol! Jk, he loves us :) But I will always remember this moment. After our appointment we went to Chik fil a for breakfast. I left him a message to call me back cause I had some news for him. I couldn't wait to tell him in person, I was too excited. When he called back, I said "dad, are you ready for a grandson??" Neither of us could speak. He started cryin, and then I started cryin. Right in the middle of Chik fil a. It was a sweet moment. And I knew just how excited he was to find out it was a boy :)



The Thanksgiving season is coming quickly and so I will leave you with a verse from Colossians 3. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

It's been a while

Hi all,
It's been a while since I've updated you all through our blog. We have had alot of exciting things happen recently! Since I left off, I passed my licensure examinations and am now a real live pharmacist! Sometimes (ok most of the time) I go into work and I still feel like the real pharmacist is going to show up. When patients walk up and ask to speak to the pharmacist, I still feel like a little ol pharmacy intern. And it never fails, I always get the same response, "NO WAY! You are too young to be the pharmacist!!" I'm always asked how much school did I get through, an AA? I say nope I have my doctorate. And they just look at me like I'm crazy and just pretending. Its kinda funny. People have no idea what pharmacists really do. Along with my normal everyday tasks in the pharmacy, it's now flu shot season!! I'm really enjoying it more than I thought I would. It gives me more time to sit down with someone and talk with them, whether it be about their life and what they are going through, what questions and concerns they have about the influenza vaccine, or just questions in general. It's also fun to see everyone's different beliefs and perceptions about the flu vaccine and to be able to provide them with more information than what they came in knowing. I really do have an awesome career!

So what else is new with our family?? Well we are going to be going from a family of 2 to a family of 3 in March! Lord willing. I had contemplated not bringing this up on facebook/blogging because it is such a special time for our family and we don't like to share every detail of our lives over the internet. And also what if something goes wrong. But I'm also reassured God is Sovereign and He is in control. It's not about what I think, or hope for, or if I just have enough faith God will bless me with what I want. It's about making much of Him, and He does as He pleases and whatever happens, was already planned from the beginning. But we are hopeful for a safe delivery of our little bundle of joy :) I have already had 2 ultrasounds and it is the most amazing experience I have ever had apart from being saved from my sinful self and marrying my best friend! During our first ultrasound the only thing we were able to really make out on the screen was the little tiny heartbeat. I was only 9 weeks along and it was beating like crazy! It was so surreal. When we had our second ultrasound, I was about 13 weeks, just out of the first trimester and we could see the baby move and jump around, and see the arms and legs move around and see the heartbeat still pumping away! I am now 14 weeks and loving the second trimester. I have my energy back and only feel nauseous when I haven't eaten in about 3 hours. From about 7 weeks to 12 weeks I was so nauseous and so tired. All I did was come home from work and sleep on the couch. I didn't want a whole lot to eat and just wanted to sleep the whole time. I haven't really had any strange food cravings but I cannot stand the smell of garlic or meat cooking and I have not wanted anything sweet. If you know me, you know I love my sweets, thanks to my papa. I have however, wanted to eat Mexican food, especially the cheese dip, like everyday. But that's not really anything new, we've always loved Mexican food! I also had to get David to go to the store and get me some unscented deodorant. The smell of my other deodorant just made me want to barf! And though I haven't had the food cravings, I've certainly had some drink cravings. When I first found out I was expecting, all I wanted was Sierra Mist. The carbonation really helped with being nauseous. Then I didn't want that at all and I moved to orange juice around week 10-12. I would go through like 3 jugs of orange juice a week! Now I don't want orange juice at all but I can't get enough of unsweet tea. It so weird cause before I got pregnant all I ever drank was just water. Even in restaurants. All we ordered was water. Now it's kinda frustrating cause ordering drinks in restaurants are ridiculous. It is so expensive! I could go buy a whole gallon from the grocery store for the price of one tea in a restaurant! Anywho, I'm not sure how many baby updates I will do, you will just have to wait and see.

Baby White at 13 weeks



We have also really been enjoying leading a small group in our home. We've been hosting a small group for close to 2 years now (maybe a little longer). David is such a great teacher and he knows so much about God's Word and can break it down so well when he explains it. We really enjoy our church family at Celebration. We have met so many awesome new friends and enjoy spending time with all of them! We've also been attending a class being offered at our church on Sunday nights called Systematic Theology. I have learned so much. The messages are uploaded here if you care to take a listen and learn:

http://experiencecelebration.com/#/media/systematic-theology

Well I think that's all for now. Dave is home watching lectures and studying for an upcoming PTX exam and I'm off to Walgreens for the closing shift tonight.

In Christ Alone

So I just had to share the lyrics to one of my most favoritest songs. I was playing Pandora on the way to Walgreens the other morning and this song came on 2 times in row. Right after another. This song just gives me the goosebumps.

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save

Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

I will stand, I will stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground, all other ground
Is sinking sand, is sinking sand
So I stand

Cardiology Rotation

My very last rotation I had as a UF pharmacy student was cardiology. It was a crazy month! I was able to see and learn so many things! If I explained everything I saw, this would be a very long post. But I will mention a few of the events that stuck out in my mind. During my time there, I saw a case of torsades de pointes, a life threatening ventricular tachycardia. This is a French term that literally means "twisting of the points". Now I'm not that great at reading EKG's but I can definitely point this one out! And majority of the time I can point out when a patient is having an ST elevation myocardial infarction, or just simply put a "heart attack". After events such as these, I always go home a bit disturbed with feelings of amazement at the human body. I see just how fragile the human life really is and also how strong it can be and how people can survive some of the most dire situations. I was able to get a tour of the cath lab, short for cardiac catheterization lab. This is a place in the hospital where a patient is sent when admitted to the hospital for having chest pains and possibly other symptoms and is diagnosed with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The patients may be sent to the cath lab for a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and have a stent placed. If you don't know what having a stent placed means, you should google it and see how it's done. It is soooo cool! I was able to see several bedside procedures and medications used. Some of these medications are not used very often and was very cool to see. I also had the chance to meet and spend time with one of the best cardiologist of anywhere (in my opinion). In the morning he would spend about 4 hours rounding with the health care team and was such an awesome teacher to the medical residents, pharmacy students, and PA students. I thought at first, "Wow! This is going to make for a really long day, having to round for 4 hours then having to do all of my afternoon assignments!" But the time there flew by, I learned so much and enjoyed every minute of it! After this rotation it almost made me second guess my decision to do retail and not a residency. But looking back now, I'm thankful for Walgreens and glad to be a retail pharmacist.

My life as a student is over...

I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda bummed I will never sit in another classroom listening to a professor, taking an exam that I've studied endless hours for (ok ok I don't think I will miss that!), seeing all of my pharmacy school family everyday like we had the past 4 years, feeling special walking around the hospital in a white lab coat but being able to pull the "ohh I'm just a student card" when hard questions arise. Now it's over. All of it. High school. Community college. Graduate school. Time to be an adult. Arggg.

Well, since I'm behind on this whole blogging thing I wanted to back up and finish my posts about my rotations. I left you when I was on my January rotation at Atkinson's Pharmacy. This was my geriatrics rotation and the pharmacy I was at supplies medications to nursing homes and jails. I did mostly medication therapy reviews where I looked over patients current therapies and made assessments as to whether or not they were getting appropriate treatment, under treatment or over treatment, whether they had any interacting drugs, whether the drugs were suitable for the elderly population, and also made recommendations for monitoring of drug therapy, for both safety and efficacy. I also gave a presentation to nurses at various long term care facilities about the new oral anticoagulant drug on the market, Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate). It's a medication currently being used for patients who have a heart condition known as atrial fibrillation. These patients are at increased risk of having a stroke (blood clot traveling to the brain) or a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lung). The risk of having these events in these patients are decreased when they are taking Pradaxa. Its a pretty neat drug to give a presentation on and I enjoyed it.

Well this was my rotation during January. I will talk about my favorite rotation next, Cardiology at Shands Jax!

2011, I've Been Waiting for You

Wow! 2011 is here! I have been counting down to this year since I decided to go to pharmacy school lots of years ago! I can't believe it's actually here and is already flying by! I'm counting down until my January rotation is over (3 weeks), counting down until rotations are over (7 weeks), and counting down until graduation (a little under 4 months)! Like my sister-in-law said in one of her posts as she will be graduating from nursing school this year, "2011 is a year I have thought about for a long time. Now that it’s here I don’t have another year in my head. That is a weird feeling." I couldn't have said it better Hannah!

I'm excited to be a pharmacist, scared to death that I will make a mistake, but I am looking forward to taking care of my patients and growing constantly in knowledge. I am ready to be a better wife, spend more time encouraging my husband, and not be so focused on passing an exam, or turning in an assignment, and preparing billions of presentations month after month.

I havent blogged in a while and never gave an update about my December rotation. It was a great month spent at Target pharmacy! I had a great time with everyone there. I did alot of what I am already familiar with from working at Walgreens. It was just greeting patients, filling prescriptions, calling doctors, taking transfers, and patient counseling. My preceptor did a topic discussion every week about a self care topic. We covered cough/cold, pregnancy/lactation, and a pediatrics self care. I don't think I have ever made so many recommendations before for diphenhydramine, dextromethorphan, guaifenesin, pseudoephedrine, and cough drops for sneezing, running noses, coughs, congestion and sore throats. I'm amazed I did not get any sickness from that rotation. Washing my hands and using hand sanitizer helped I believe.

I just finished my first week at Atkinson Pharmacy for my geriatrics rotation. I will give an update once I complete that one. But I'm having a great time there so far.

House update: It's coming along and feeling more like a home rather than a dirty run down office space...

Demolition weekend: Getting nails out, the gross floors up and tearing off the concrete siding of the house:





Here's the concrete siding! Glad that's off now!





David helping Fred build stuff for the backyard





Outside kitchen area :)



Our pavers!



The windows and doors have all been cut out, this is a view of kitchen/living room area



Our bedroom with the 2 windows and double doors going out to the back yard (It's exciting to see the floor plan that we drew up come to life!)



From left to right: Where our potty and bath tub will be (can't see where the shower is going), our bathroom window (won't be able to see in the glass that's going in), our sink area, closet area, then at the front of house is our office area



More updates to come :)