catastrophe

I TOTES forgot to tell yall about my recent run-in with SHINGLES. I wake up one morning with this odd bump on my shoulder, thinking, “that’s odd, I must have been bit by a spider.” I go to clinical, get a TB skin test and go back in two days. While I’m getting it read, I mention to the employee health nurse that I have an odd bump. She decides it’s shingles and I must leave the hospital promptly. I come home, see a nurse practitioner, who agrees and prescribes a ridiculously expensive anti-viral for me to take. The thing is, it wasn’t painful!
My dad’s reaction? Starts singing “all the single ladies”, only with as “all the shingle ladies”. Thanks for your support dad.
And now, I’m the “girl with shingles” on my floor, which happens to be where I’ll be working for the next two years.
going into the book. seriously.

LOVE!

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Okay everybody, don’t be all shocked when you reread all of this in a chapter of the book I write with Cecilia.
Saturday night mom, dad and I are hanging out, watching tv and whatnot. I was feeling pretty accomplished because I had successfully installed a digital thermostat. I was contemplating all the energy and money we’d save because I have SKILLZ, yo! Dad comes up from the basement and says, “Do you guys smell gas?” As soon as he finished the sentence both of us were hit with a wave of a unlit-gas-burner smell, so we KNEW this wasn’t the beginning of a joke about flatulence, this was SERIOUS. Mom says, “I think we should call 911.” So I call and they tell us to close all the doors and windows and get out of the house. We oblige. Let me paint you a lil picture. I am outside in work-out paints tucked into wellies, with my Georgetown (go Hoyas!) sweatshirt on, my winter coat (thanks Alex and Kaitlyn!) and Dad’s new rain jacket on top with a knit hat on. I looked like a hobo. I was shaking, either from the adrenaline or the cold, or both. Two cop cars pull up, a fireman arrives in his truck (not firetruck, just truck). The fireman knows my dad, so they shoot the breeze until mom says, “Our house smells like gas, could you guys please chat later?” They go inside and find that we have twice the normal amount of carbon monoxide in our house. I, by now, have a wicked headache. The real firetruck arrives and a firefighter asks us what happened and if I want to be checked out. I agree to let them take vitals, they call the paramedics. My blood pressure is 138/80 (usually is 110/70) and my pupils are sluggish in response to light (normally your pupils respond “briskly”). The paramedics have a handy-dandy C.O. monitor and check me out, I have no CO poisening, yay! I’m assuming the headache was from the cold and high blood pressure. All of us check out okay with no signs of poisening. We waited for them to let us back in the house, after the CO levels were back to “normal”. We were told the CO came from the furnace and to leave it off all night and leave our windows cracked. Yes, we do have a CO detector but had it unplugged. Yes, we are THOSE people who you see on 20/20, who are found unconscious because they unplugged their detectors! Which reminds me, GET CO DETECTORS! There should be one on every level of your house and you need to replace the batteries in your smoke alarms too (apparently that’s a daylight savings’ deal)!! My favorte thing was afterwards, when talking to a dear friend, her mom asks in the background, “were any of the firefighters cute?” This is my life. And I’m REALLY thankful for it.
You know, carbon monoxide usually doesn’t smell. Now isn’t THAT interesting?
The next morning I woke up, packed (we are visiting Oma this week) ate a banana and took my multivitamin and promptly got sick. I think that the banana + multivitamin combo is not so much fun for the stomach because, believe it or not, this has happened before. I was fine afterwards and we proceeded on vacation. Just add it to the list of crazy things that happen to our family.

LOVE!

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Hey guys. I’d like to say that my hiatus was due to my concentration on my studies but it was not. Yes life is busy. duh. A lot of crazy stuff has been going on in the AT program of late. Honestly, sometimes I wish I had a hidden camera so I could turn the footage into a reality show and make MILLIONS! But that would be wrong. And bad. So I guess that’s out. Honestly all the drama has totally thrown me for a loop. I’ve come to know and view my classmates as family, as I spend more time with them than my biological family. My classmates are great sources of entertainment, laughter, intellectual stimulation and faith sharpening. So when something unexpected happens, well, it takes me a while to recover. I have to say this, forgive me, but I feel like “my peeps is on the fritz!” (name that show. ahem, C!) ha. Just when I’ve recovered from the last doozy, we’re on to the next. I’m really REALLY trying hard to stay positive because it’s honestly ALL I HAVE when it comes to coping with ALL OF THIS! When positivity is out, I GOT NOTHING. As I told my brother on Monday, I feel like I am treading water, with my head barely above the surface. The only thing keeping my head up is my attitute and new motto of “let it go.” So when a classmate comes along and starts complaining or freaking out, I go under. It’s not just that negativity breeds negativity, it’s that it obliterates my survival mechanism. As much as I wish and pray for my classmates to stay positive and to be able to let things go, I am also realistic about this. I know there will be negativity, I know there will be low spirits, but I wonder if they realize that their continued angst is drowing the rest of us. And by “rest of us” I mean “me.”
So I continue to do my best to stay upbeat, even when it gets thrown back in my face (thankfully the baked goods aren’t reduced to the same fate, ouch). It’s harder to move past the continual complaining but I’m trying. I probably should learn to deal better as I don’t really think things will get better until the program is over.
I hope this little essay didn’t portray me as the perfect nursing student who’s always positive, never complains and never EVER picks at her classmates. I mean I AM, but that wasn’t the point of this post. JUST KIDDING. NO, SERIOIUSLY. I honestly feel bad because I know I’ve most likely caused others to fall or “drown”. Which is why I’m doing my darndest to stop. In conclusion, not only am I learning EVERYTHING ABOUT NURSING EVER IN 12 MONTHS, I’m always learning to be a human. But hopefully a people-loving, Christlike human. Whew.
So that’s what I’ve got for almost 3 months under my belt. WHEN THE HECK IS THAT BREAK! SHOOT!

LOVE!

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You know the saying, “necessity is the mother of invention”? Well I think “procrastination is the mother of blogging”. Just take a gander at all those entries I made while at JBU. Where will I get my motivation to blog once I’m done with school? Well we needn’t worry about that because I’ll be in school for FOREVER. At least it seems that way with the rest of this program to finish as well as my Master’s and possibly Doctorate. So don’t you get all frazzled dear reader (is there more than one of you out there?!), I shall have plenty o’motivation for at least the next 5 years. ish.
Okay remember how I was all, “DUDE! Catastrophe SOOO stalks me”? And I told you about the time that bird got into our basement somehow? I’d put a link for the entry but my links seem to go all crazy on me so I’ll refrain.
Here’s another story I was thinking about on my drive home from school this afternoon. Please act like I didn’t just preface the story because I like to start a certain way. ahem
Did I ever tell you about the time I saw a guy fall off his motorcycle in 2002? Now at first, this sounds like a HORRIBLE and most GRUESOME story to be telling for entertainment but I ask that you hold out on the insult-flinging and wait a minute. My friend Kelly and I had gone shopping in KC one day and were driving home. Little did I know (that phrase ALWAYS will remind me of “Stranger Than Fiction” LOVE IT) that a surprise going-away-to-college-party was awaiting us at my house. We’re driving along KS-7 when we come across a young man on what is called a “crotch-rocket” I believe? He apparently decided that merely riding the bike was too mundane for him and he proceded to liven things up. First he stood on the seat while holding the handlebars then he stood up completely on the seat not holding anything. I kid you not people, I KID YOU NOT. This guy is going something like 60mph and standing on his bike. It was crazy and I wish I’d had a camera.
Then he fell off. It was a tad horrifying. Honestly I was more concerned about his runaway bike which I guess was on cruise control (do they have cruise control for bikes?) running into the adjacent field and surprising some sheep or something than I was about this poor (but stupid) kid who’d fallen off a motorcycle and was nearly run over by several cars. He got up though, so I decided he was okay. I think he had a helmut on.
So there you have it. Even MORE proof that I am a witness to many a wild thing. Maybe I should make a friend out of catastrophe.
Now, wouldn’t your insult-flinging be better directed at the foolish motorcyclist than at me? I’m just the narrator!

LOVE!

PS I SO wasn’t going to do another entry because I have this rule that I must wait until I have at least 1 comment before I will “move on”. So I was JUST about to break the rule when I see that I HAVE A COMMENT! from KATE! It just needed to be approved? Which is weird because I’m relatively sure I didn’t set that up. oh well.
Kate, I don’t follow mightygirl regularly, never really read finslippy but sometimes check on dooce. Sometimes I have to take a break from dooce though. We can talk about that in private though. And by “private” I mean through other means on the internet. ha.

and also I see that my brother commented as I wrote this very entry. Kismet! I don’t even really know what that means, but it sounds appropriate.
Glad you liked the lists!

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I may be exhausted but I’m still blogging. No promises on how great my blogging will be. I’m running on empty guys. As I said on Facebook, week 4 of the AT program must be when the exhaustion sets in. I’ve been really careful about sleep because a) I have a two-hour roundtrip commute everyday and b) I tend to get hopeless and depressed if I do not get enough sleep. There are only so many times you can promise yourself, when the alarm goes off at 6 AM, that you’re SO getting 10 WHOLE hours of sleep tonight before your self starts to catch on and starts asking WHERE THOSE 10 HOURS WENT in the most painful way possible. And then starts critiquing your run-on sentences. whew.

But this week has been great. And not just because I told a joke before our exam Monday and everyone laughed and I felt loved and spent the ENTIRE time I was taking my exam thinking, “They like me, they REALLY do, this is SOO great.” So I thought I’d share what I know with you guys, in case you need any of the services I can provide (in a non-street-walker way).

Things I know how to do and may be doing in clinical next week:
Urinary catheterization
Wound care
Head-to-Toe Assessment
Restraints
Teaching use of crutches, wheelchair and walker
Bed Bath
Perineal Care

Things I’ve read about how to do but hopefully won’t do by myself anytime soon:
Enemas (woo, party time)
Injections
Medicine Calculation/Administration
and much, much more than cannot be currently elicited from my poor, overworked mind.

First exam was Monday, did well, confirming the fact that I’m NOT due to be kicked out of the program THIS week at least. Next week is another Pathophysiology exam, and we all know how Pathophys. feels about me so I can’t guarantee no kicking out. Feelings mutual, pathophys., feelings mutual. Friday is the second Fundamentals Exam. I would type out my schedule just to shock you and convince you that this is HARD, but I think you guys get that. Especially from all the sweet comments on the last entry. I’m back to being too busy to worry about boys (HA! except for you-know-who). Okay so how about I’m too busy to worry about being single? Never too busy to admire.

Off to collapse into bed. There better stinkin’ be coffee between waking up and going to class tomorrow. I might be a grump tomorrow.

LOVE!

PS. TWICE in class I’ve muttered something under my breath that has embarassed me exceedingly. Embarassing things to do with my privacy preference during, ahem, bathroom practices or just my bathroom practices. MORTIFYING. I’m hoping all of my classmates read the “no judging” clause in my contract.

Since I love posting pictures.. 3 years ago today I was celebrating my dear friends Randi and Tim’s wedding! Here we are; me, Randi and Katie. Seems like just yesterday!

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Tonight I had a nannying job for an 18-month-old. Right as he was falling asleep I heard a familiar sound, the tornado sirens. I’ve had some experience with this sound as I HAVE lived in Kansas for almost 19 consecutive years (plus 2 years a while ago). HOWEVER, I’ve never gone through this while responsible for another human being, a very small human being. IT IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! I was honestly terrified. Usually tornado watches and warnings are no biggie, once in a while we’ll head to the basement, watch some t.v. together and enjoy our forced family time. Yeah so now I know how that will go once I’m a parent. I have a feeling anytime a storm’s a-coming my hubby will have to slip me some Vicodin. That’ll be fun. I will tell you that the adrenaline high I’m on right now? ROCKS!
In all seriousness though, a tornado did touch down in Leavenworth County (should that be capitalized?) and 6 families lost their homes, so if you’re thinking of it, I’m sure they could use your prayers.

LOVE!

ps This is theme 7, my bad.

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Sooooo today I substitute “taught” for the first time at my alma mater, Lansing Elementary School. oh my. It was horrendous and I am not exaggerating. I got chewed up and spit out by a bunch of fifth-graders. You know those times where you get all nervous because you’re about to do something new but you tell yourself over and over, “it’s not going to be that bad, there is nothing really to be nervous about”? I told myself this and IT WAS A LIE. I had absolutely no control, the kids walked all over me. I found out later that this is THE WORST class of fifth-graders (and maybe in the whole school). I guess it’s a bad combination of kids. I kid you not, I probably lost four pounds of water weight because I was sweating so much. It’s sad really because I spent some time on my appearance this morning, wanting to pull off the cool-substitute look. What I SHOULD have done instead was a massive work-out so my muscles would look BIG AND SCARY AND NO ONE WOULD HAVE MESSED WITH ME! Would you mess with someone whose neck is larger than their thigh? THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT! I had no preparation, I got thrown to the wolves. I didn’t even have time to read the teacher’s notes or lesson plan and I HAD TO TEACH! DO YOU REMEMBER HOW TO CONVERT DECIMALS TO FRACTIONS AND VICE VERSA?
The moral of this story is that should I ever get a call to sub for this teacher again my answer would be, “there is not enough money (or deodorant) in the world!”
MY fifth-grade teacher was right across the hall and came over to give me a hug. I thought subbing for fifth grade would be lucky for me because it was my absolute FAVORITE year ever. I’m starting to think that 99% of that had to do with my teacher and classmates.
And I got a root-beer float from the neighboring class, so those were my two good things.

Oh yes, I realize I shouted a lot of my post but this day called for that. I’m hoping my shouting here does more than it did in the classroom. (I didn’t really shout at them, don’t you worry.)

LOVE!

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People, we stinkin’ got a dog today. She is four-years-old and a purebred golden retriever. She is perfectly mannered and wonderful. While I was getting the kennel out of the shed a MOUSE scampered out! Every time things like this happen I RUE the day I said “if ever there was a reason to pee my pants THIS would be it”. So I didn’t pee my pants but I did scream bloody murder, scaring the poor new dog into running franticly toward the backdoor. DUDE! I’m not the outdoors girl, I’m not down with the rodents or bugs in my face. The kennel is still outside, we’re leaving that task up to dad. EEK!

I will post pictures soon. Her name is Ashley but we’re calling her Paisley, sounds close enough right?

LOVE!

pictures!
first one

second one not so good because I took it with my phone

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This week has FLOWN by.  I’ve not meant to be neglectful, but you, dear blog, do not scream as loudly as my favorite 7-month-old and everyone knows that whoever (whomever?) screams the loudest gets my attention the fastest.  There is so much to do, it’s almost laughable.  In fact, let’s just laugh right now.  Okay.  I feel better.  On top of the craziest week ever, I lost my prescription glasses in the Ft. Myers airport.  So far no luck on finding them.  This morning I dropped my cell in the toilet.  This week is beginning to get expensive.  Apparently it hasn’t heard that I have no money and will have less than no money come May.  

Okay but I’m totally thrilled that I got 4 WHOLE COMMENTS for my last post.  This is almost the greatest thing to ever happen to me.  I haven’t had time to address some of your requests (RSS thingie) but I’m going to do my best to fully set this blog up by the time I start school so that it will be perfect and ready to go whenever I get a hankering to blog.  I mean, I can’t deprive you guys of the butt-wiping stories can I?  No way.  So I’ve got a little less than 2 months to get this baby rolling.  We’ll start the rolling next week.  Gotta focus on my scholarship interview tomorrow.  If you think of it at 11 AM Central Time would you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray for me?  Thank you!

LOVE!

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