I got in!

Hi everyone!

I have great news!  As you probably know, I applied to Ball State University's Master's in Nursing program in July.  Well, I found out on Monday that I have been accepted to the program!!!  I begin in January.  The program will last three years and when I am finished I will be a Family Nurse Practitioner.  The classes themselves will be completed online and then I will be doing my clinicals in various offices and clinics.

Back in August, Matt and I went down to his parents' house for the weekend so that I could run the Little Miami Half Marathon in Morrow, Ohio.  It was the third year that I completed this half marathon.  It was a very warm day with very high humidity, which made it difficult.  I finished though, and it was the 11th half marathon that I have completed!  Matt, Bob, and Sheila all came to the race and it was nice to have a little cheering section.

Also in August, I had a nice weekend up in Michigan visiting my cousin Allyson Roelofs.  On Friday the 21st, I arrived and we enjoyed dinner at her condo followed by miniature golfing.  On Saturday, we explored downtown Milford (where she lives) and then went on a two-hour kayaking trip.  It was a beautiful evening for kayaking!  On Sunday, we went to a nice church service and then went to a local park where they have a farm.  We loved looking at all the cute baby animals!  It was nice to visit Allyson, and I wish that we lived closer so that we could hang out more.

Matt's brother and sister-in-law, Rob and Leanne, were in the area on Saturday to visit a friend, and they called Matt to see if we wanted to get together for dinner.  I obviously could not attend, but Matt had a nice time at a local restaurant called Charbono's with Rob and Leanne.  Thank you for taking him out to dinner!

On my way to visit Allyson, I stopped in Milan, MI to see my friend Kristine.  Kristine and I used to work together at Riley in the PICU, but she and her family moved away earlier this year when her husband took a new job.  It was nice to see her and her one-year old daughter, Grace.

On September 10, Matt's cousin Hailey had her stem cell transplant.  She had a rough few days afterwards, but it seems like she is doing better now.  Please continue to pray for Hailey and for her family!

On September 12, there was a "Puppy Pool Party" at a local water park.  Before they drain the pool every year, they let people bring their dogs to go swimming.  Thor wasn't quite sure of the pool at first, but he really liked fetching the ball in the shallow water.  He only swam at one point because he fell in, and he definitely did not enjoy it!

Last Saturday, I was supposed to run a 10k race.  When I woke up to get ready, it was pouring down rain outside.  Since the race was taking place close to our house, I went ahead and went to the race.  It was very rainy and windy.  The race was supposed to start at 8:15am, but the race director said that they were going to postpone it until 8:30 and then decide whether or not they would cancel.  I sat in my car and waited, but it was pretty clear that the race was not going to happen.  The tents that were set up for packet pickup in the parking lot were all mangled and blown everywhere.  The food table got knocked over and there were bagels and bananas everywhere!  At 8:30, they went ahead and canceled the race.  It was a bummer, but the weather was horrible!

This week, we got a new couch for our living room.  We had purchased our previous couch when we bought our house five years ago, and sheets of the faux leather were peeling off of it.  We took advantage of good Labor Day sales and are excited to have a sofa that doesn't leave black fake leather shavings all over our floor!  Plus, it is nice and comfy :-)

That is all for now!  We are hoping that the Colts beat the Titans today.  Their past two games have been awfully sad and disappointing.

Stacey, Matt, and Thor

Hi everyone!

I am hoping to go back to graduate school in January in order to become a Family Nurse Practitioner.  I have been accepted to Walden University, which is an online-only school.  Several of my co-workers are studying with them right now, and several more have graduated and are now working as FNPs.  I also applied to Ball State University, which is in Muncie, Indiana.  Their FNP program is also online, but they also have a physical campus.  I should find out within the next 6-8 weeks whether or not I am accepted.  I really want to go to Ball State, so please pray that I get in!

A couple of weeks ago, Aunt Michelle and Jason were in town as Jason competed with his swim team in a competition downtown at the IUPUI Natatorium.  Between work and other commitments, I was only able to make it to my parents' house once to visit, but it was nice to see them.  Matt stayed at home and worked on our lawn, as we have been having so much rain this summer that it is hard to find an opportunity to mow.

My little cousin isn't so little any more!

Matt's dad, Bob, celebrated his 60th birthday on July 31st.  Happy birthday, Bob!  Matt and I went down to Kentucky for the weekend and enjoyed having a dinner at Outback Steakhouse with Bob and Sheila, Rob and Leanne, and Matt's grandparents.  After dinner, we had dessert back at the house.  Bob has Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance), so being able to have dessert is always a struggle for him.  A local Indianapolis cupcake shop, The Flying Cupcake, has a location that only makes gluten-free desserts.  We brought a half-dozen special cupcakes just for him!

Happy birthday, Bob!

We had a nice time visiting with the Drapers.

 Last Saturday, Matt and I went to see our local professional soccer team, the Indy Eleven, play.  I had won tickets from a TV station.  It was a beautiful night to be outside for a game, even though the Eleven lost 1-4.

At least it was a nice night to be outside, since the Eleven got pummeled!

 Today, I received an email stating that I have been identified as a potential bone marrow match for someone in need.  I joined the registry in 2008 when a drive was held at Purdue in honor of a fellow student who needed a transplant.  Matt's 9-year old cousin, Hailey, was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) last month.  The only treatment available that can potentially stop or slow the progression of the disease is a bone marrow transplant.  She has found a match (yay!) and will undergo chemotheraphy and a transplant at Cincinnati Children's Hospital very soon.  The timing of the email is just crazy considering the fact that Hailey will be receiving this treatment soon.  I literally had goosebumps as I spoke on the phone to the "Be the Match" person, confirming that I am interested in donation.

I will learn within the next two months whether or not the patient I am matched with and his/her doctor will be moving forward with transplant and find out the next steps at that time.

Please pray for the person for whom I am a match, and for Hailey and her family.  Hailey will need to spend an extended period of time undergoing treatment and recovering.  In order to have a transplant, chemotherapy will be used to knock out her immune system in order to allow her body to accept the new cells.

Hailey and Matt when she was 4, serving as the cutest flower girl ever at our wedding in 2010!

Until next time,
Stacey (and Matt and Thor)

That's my kind of night

Hi everyone!

We have been keeping busy here.

At the end of June, I went to a "Wine and Canvas" painting class with my mom and my friend Katie and her mom.  We painted very vibrant sea turtles!

We started out July with a big Seitz family vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC.  All 15 of us (including our former exchange student, Alex!) stayed in a condo right across from the beach.  We had a great time horseback riding, deep sea fishing, going running, looking for seashells, taking a boat ride, trying new food, and just relaxing on the beach!  We arrived in Myrtle Beach on the 4th of July and there were lots of people shooting off fireworks from on the beach.  It was entertaining and scary all at the same time!

On our way home from South Carolina, we stopped at Bob and Sheila's house.  They were kind enough to take care of Thor while we were on vacation and it was nice to see them for a little while as we passed back through.

I was originally supposed to work the weekend of July 24 and 25 and was surprised when I was scheduled to work different days that week instead.  Luke Bryan, a very popular country singer, came to town and did two shows that weekend, and Matt and I ended up getting tickets for the Friday night show.  We had seen him perform back in 2008 at Purdue when he was an opening act for Dierks Bentley.  I think he had one song on the radio at that time, and now he is a multi-platinum recording artist and sells out almost all of his shows (both nights in Indy were sold out)!

On our way to the concert, my car suddenly went haywire.  The power steering went out and lots of warning lights started flashing at me on the dashboard.  Luckily, the gas and brake still worked and we were able to pull of into a church parking lot.  We called my parents, who have AAA, and they came to our rescue.  Dad let me borrow his car so that we could get to the show and he and Mom waited for a tow truck to take my car to be repaired.  A new battery and alternator were put in yesterday, and Dad and I will swap cars today.  Thank you guys so much for all of your help!

We had a great time at the concert.  We ended up missing the two opening acts, but luckily made it in time for Luke Bryan's set.  I literally sang and danced to every song.

I continue to train for some upcoming races.  I will be running the Little Miami Half Marathon in Ohio on August 16 and the Indianapolis Marathon on October 17.  The weather has been crazy humid here, which makes training more difficult, but I have been trying to get outside early in order to beat the heat of the day.

That's all for now!  Enjoy some photos from our July adventures!

Katie, Cindy, me, and Mom with our paintings

Riding on the beach was amazing!

Just hanging out with my BFF, Banjo.

Sitting in the Batmobile was the icing on the cake of an amazing vacation!

Holy mackerel!

In honor of shark week, Matt caught an Atlantic Sharpnose Shark!

We had beautiful weather in Myrtle Beach.

Matt enjoyed taking photos.

I'm seeing triple!

The whole Seitz family.

Sitting on the lawn, enjoying Luke Bryan.

Thor sporting his new summer 'do.

Rockin' my cowboy boots.

I'm insane x 3!

Hi everyone!

Thank you all for the generous support that was shown when I raised money for Team Riley while I trained for the Mini Marathon!  If you donated, you should have received a thank you note and a Riley Hospital for Children bracelet.  If yours did not arrive, please let me know and I will send you another one!  Team Riley raised over $9700 for Riley Hospital for Children!  Mini Marathon day (May 2) was great.  It was a beautiful day for a run.  I was pleased with how I did, especially with my lack of training due to my thumb injury and surgery.  I was even interviewed on TV and got to talk about my involvement with Team Riley and I Run 4.  I was happy to be able to talk about my little buddy Anthony.  I will post the video if I can figure out how to upload it to Youtube from my phone!

My favorite photo from the Mini

My thumb is feeling much better now.  I have been back on my normal night shift schedule since May 18 and last week I was discharged from my doctor's care with no restrictions.  My range of motion keeps improving every day and pain is minimal!

The scar from this pin actually doesn't look too bad!

Matt and I celebrated our fifth anniversary on June 12.  Thank you for all the nice cards and messages that we received!  On June 11, we went to see "Jurassic World" in IMAX 3D and had a great time.  On the 12th, we celebrated our anniversary by going out to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, and Matt got me a beautiful anniversary ring!  We purchased it at Jared before dinner and the sales staff are good friends with the management at the restaurant, so they called over and had them give us a free appetizer in honor of our anniversary.  The restaurant also gave us a free dessert!  We had a wonderful meal and a fun night.

Today, my dad and I went on a new adventure.  We have both talked about completing a triathlon for a while, and today we finally did one!  With only 4 weeks worth of training, we finished the Tri-Insanity Super Sprint Triathlon in Danville, IN, about 15 miles west of my house in Avon.  The triathlon was composed of a 250 meter swim (10 lengths in an Olympic-sized pool), 10-mile bike, and 2 mile run.  Here are my thoughts regarding my first triathlon experience:

-I am so glad that we selected such a small race for our first triathlon.  There were just over 100 competitors total, with only 40 in the "super sprint" division.  The swim portion was just a mass of flailing arms and legs and it was very hard to actually swim properly, especially for a middle-of-the-pack racer like me.  I got kicked in the face, my arms hit other people's legs as I was trying to do my freestyle stroke, and I know I accidentally kicked other people as well.  I ended up using breaststroke/doggy paddle most of the time due to lack of space.
-I was very pleased with how quickly I was able to transition between the different portions of the race.  Between the swim and bike and between the bike and run, you have to stop into the transition area and change out your gear for the upcoming event.  It took me less than 2 minutes each time to switch shoes, take out or put away my bike, etc. and to transition between events.
-I need some serious bike practice.  Any advantage that I gained during my decent swim and fast transitions quickly dissipated due to my slow biking.  I love my new bike ("Juliette") that I purchased on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago, but it need to put in some more riding time.  I also need to learn how to properly use different gears to my advantage.
-I felt very strong during my run.  When I am just out for a run, I usually run 11-12 minute miles.  My two miles were under 11 minutes today!

In the end, it was a good day and a fun experience.  It was fun to race with my dad and to try something new.  I think I will participate in triathlons in the future, and I am looking at doing an all-women's event (the "Go Girl Triathlon") at the end of August.

Thanks for reading!  I can't promise that I will continue to blog on a regular basis, but this is better than nothing, right? :-)

Love.
Stacey (and Matt and Thor)