Things To Do:

1. Find a yellow outfit for Grace's birthday :) Yay!
2. Begin studying between 4500 and 5000 NCLEX review questions (for my nursing exam when I graduate).
3. Laundry
4. Get two clinical instructor recommendations, a transcript, and new outfit for...
5. ... my interview at Hopkins!!!!

I have an interview with the NICU on Monday, April 5th, so be praying for me as I mentally prepare for this; I'll be interviewing in front of a few people this time. Thankfully, I'll know them since I've worked with them over the summer and winter, but I'm still nervous! This is such a huge opportunity for me, one that I am so thankful for and excited to begin. I've really come to LOVE Baltimore more and more the longer that I've been away from it. I can't wait to get home and settle in and start this next chapter of my life at home, and at Hopkins if that's where the Lord leads me!

I just want a crab feast, to go to an O's game, to get some ice cream at the Prigel Family Creamery, sleep in my enormous fluffy cloud bed, and be around YOU all again. So... for now... I'll see you for Easter; but in 52 days, I'll see you whenever I want!

I Found It In The Kitchen

Gross.

I got home from spring break Wednesday night, in the dark, and had to walk into my house all alone. I walked into every room with a broom making tons of noise, even looked under my bed, but saw nothing. The last room I went into was the kitchen, and as I turned my head to look at the floor, I saw a little rat butt poking out from under the cabinets... my cabinets actually... and I sucked wind. I found it odd that the mouse was still in the middle of the kitchen after I had been making so much noise with the broom, so I walked to the other doorway of the kitchen and looked in from a safe distance. There it was, grossing me out. So, I called home, and Matt picked up. I think he loved that he picked up the phone and got to hear me in such a panicked state. Here's our conversation:

"The rat's in our house!"
"What?"
"Eeeeh, is Mom or Dad there?"
"Hahaa No."
"Ewww it's in our kitchen."
"Ok...Heehe haha!"
"It isn't funny I almost walked on top of it!"
"Yeah? And how does that make you feel?"
"uuuhhh, ewww! ok..."
"April, talk to me"
"I'm all sweaty and my armpits are itching, that's how it makes me feel."
"Ha haaa! Are you looking at it right now?"
"No I walked away. EEEh. Ok. You get to play this for everyone because I'm sure it's being recorded."
"It is. Ha."
"Alright, I'm gonna hang up now and call Dad."
"Alright, one second though, Dad's at work. Ummm another question, do you have a crush on anyone?"
"Do I have a crush on anyone.... haha, no."
"Hahaha."
"Eew I'm so creeped out Matt I have to go, I have to call Dad."
"Alright, what's Dad's gonna say?"
"I don't know, I'll call the landlord."
"Call up one of your dude friends and tell them to come over and get it."
"Alright, aaah. Ok bye."
"And then block the entryway so It doesn't get out of the kitchen."
"It's dead!"
"Oh it's dead?!"
"Matt, I think so, I'm not gonna go close to it, but it's not moving, EEEW!"
"Call one of your dude friends. Call the one that broke the Jeep window because he owes you, and me."
"Ok."
"Alright."
"Ok. Everyone's on spring break, but alright."
"Alright, bye."
"Bye."

There it was folks. And in case you couldn't tell who-said-what above, Matt's the one who kept saying "ha ha".

It'll Be Funny One Day, Right?

Update on the mouse situation: well, it's a rat.

My roommates and I have a rat living in our house, and my nightmare of stepping on the body of a vermin almost came true. We had set out a couple mouse traps to catch the little guy Lindsay saw in her room. After weeks of no success, we assumed he went back outside after all the snow melted. Some time last week, I was home alone, in my room with the door closed and heard a loud chewing noise coming from somewhere in the kitchen or dining room. I ventured out with as much bravery as I could gather while being home alone with a "mouse" but soon realized that the noises were coming from inside a wall. Eeeew! My roommates started hearing the noises throughout the day as well.

So, this past Thursday night, I was getting ready for the arrival of my mom, Aunt Becki, and cousin Katie for the weekend. While I was in my room I heard the wires behind my desk shift. I convinced myself that it was nothing and continued getting ready for my family to arrive, when I heard them shift again. As quickly as I could, I threw open my door and ran out into the hallway, screaming "The mouse is in my room!". My two roommates ran to my rescue, one of them kneeling down to look under my bed and the other walking around and making noise with a broom. I was standing at the doorway really grossed out. Then suddenly, we heard scurrying and a big, ugly, black RAT ran behind my desk and out the doorway.... towards my feet.

I screamed and jumped in the air as I saw this "not a mouse" hover under my feet for a split second in all the confusion, and all I could think to myself was, "I'm going to land on it and feel it under my feet! (read previous post)". Thankfully, I did not land on top of the rat, but ran instead back into my room and jumped into the middle of my papasan chair. Mom, Aunt Becki, Katie arrived soon after this mess.

We were all in the hallway and my roommate started opening a cereal box. I thought that the rustling of the cereal bag was the rustling of the rat, and when I gasped, Mom, Aunt Becki, and Katie thought that it was the rat coming out. I can't even begin to describe the scene. Mom and Katie screamed but both maintained a stellar composure when compared to what was going on next to them with Aunt Becki. She lost her head and started jumping up and down on top of Katie, screaming and spinning; she told us later that she twisted her ankles and momentarily lost her vision! Needless to say, no one wanted to sleep on the floor that night, so we all went to a hotel. Over the next couple of days I was discovering more and more rat poop in my room, under my bed, and in my closet.

The exterminator (I now feel that exterminators are very, very brave men) placed sticky traps and rat poison throughout the house. Hopefully, when I get home, the rat will be dead! Hooray!