T-minus 2 weeks

For the first time in this long journey called nursing school, I can begin to see the end of the tunnel... and it looks awesome! I can't believe it will soon be coming to an end. No more clinical days doing patient care for free, no more instructors hovering over my shoulders expecting me to recite every single step needed to change a foley catheter, no more silly weekly write-ups of self-evaluation because someone thought that it would make for a better nurse...

I read in another nursing blog recently "I didn't chose nursing. It chose me", and this quote I could really relate to. I always remember growing up wanting to be a doctor, but in hindsight I think it was more because my parents kept telling not to be a nurse; to be something more. But what if being a nurse is all I was ever meant to be? My family could contribute to proof that nursing runs in families. I don't think it's a lack of ambition, but that our personalities and work ethics make for a good nurse. Not that doctors don't "care" about their patients, but not everyone can sit beside a dying person and hold their hand or clean an elderly lady after a "code brown" without shriveling up their face from the stench.

Working as a nursing assistant in a busy hospital, I constantly hear nurses complain about their jobs. Yes most are over-worked and sure most probably consider themselves underpaid, but in reality, nurses make good money. Better than most entry-level jobs. But money aside because satisfaction in paychecks is different for each individual and then lifestyle, there is always the constant complaint about the job in general, which worries me about my future occupation. I've been so excited to graduate and finally join the workforce that this ever-present complaining is killing my happy-buzz. Am I really in for a rude awakening when I start working as an RN?

Well, I guess only experience will reveal the truth. I know there are a lot of people who go into nursing for all the wrong reasons and maybe these are the unhappy folk. And there are a lot of elderly nurses who really just need to retire because the job has lost that special meaning to them. I'm hoping that I don't become burnt out in my first year and that 20+ years from now I still love my job, provided that I don't advance in my career. Either way, I still have 2 more weeks of hurdles to jump over before I can breathe the fresh air and take a sigh of relief. The end is soo close, but still seems so far away...

Spring is Here!

Unfortunately, I am stuck inside with a cold and miserable disposition... nasal congestion, fatigue, chills, headache. Hate it. Even though I slept in today, I still just want to roll back under the covers and go back to sleep. I want to be productive today, so I will try to get most of my assigned reading accomplished in prep for next week's quiz on labor & delivery.

The approaching weekend appear to be quite boring and uneventful. No plans for Saturday and Sunday is Easter weekend, which means long, crowded mass at church. We'll probably go out for lunch, but nothing really exciting beyond that. It would have been a great weekend to spend outdoors with Brandon, but unfortunately he's out to sea again on the ship. Stupid navy always ruins my plans.

Well, I did get to spend a brief moment outside walking Pierre, but along with my cold (which I am attributing to the fluctuation in temperature), the explosion of plant life has exacerbated my allergies. I wonder if a combination of Claritin and Sudafed is contraindicated?

I think after some time dedicated to reading, I shall finally reward myself by watching the New Moon blue-ray DVD I got from Amazon.com :)

Conception

Today in nursing school (I am currently in my OB rotation), we learned about how to estimate a pregnant woman's due date from the date of her LMP (last menstrual cycle). So the formula is to take the first day of your last menstrual cycle (when you first started bleeding... sorry, is that TMI?), add 7 days, and then subtract 3 months or add 9 months. This is called Nagele's rule and is less accurate for reasons such as irregular periods, conceiving while breastfeeding another child, after stopping oral contraceptives, etc. Doctors in clinics or the hospital will actually use a little wheel device with the same concept called a "birth wheel"...























We actually got to play around with a birth wheel today and out of curiosity, I discovered that I was actually conceived the day before my parent's wedding anniversary. hahaha. Certain birth wheels can also indicate the day of conception, which appears to be 14 days/2 weeks after one's LMP. So either my parents were actively trying to have a baby or I was the product of a some wedding anniversary "celebrating" :)

So in applying the formula, I was theoretically conceived on May 24th 1984 (my parent's wedding anniversary is May 25th). Therefore my mom's LMP must have been around May 10th, 1984. By adding 7 days and subtracting 3 months to this date, my birthday should be (and is) February 17, 1985!

Real Domestic Housewife

I have a house in Virginia with my husband, which I reside in when I am not in nursing school. During school days I live with my parents because my school's campus is in Maryland. I am currently in my VA house since spring break is in session. I've been enhancing and expanding my domestic skills ever since I got married. Today's agenda, laundry and dinner. I really should clean more often, but I hate "scrubbing" the counter tops and surfaces with a passion. I am always amazed at how often my house needs cleaning, especially when there is only two of us currently living in it, and occasionally we aren't both always home. I'm actually in Maryland for most of the year during the fall and spring semesters and my husband (who is in the Navy) goes out to sea a lot. Anyways, I don't know how housewives/families keep their house spotless. I think the secret is = cleaning services ;)

Well, since am I still a "poor nursing student" and therefore cannot hire someone to clean up after me, I am left to do it myself or hope my hubby will beat me to it. Actually, I don't mind cleaning, but I hate addressing the toilets and the stove which has a grill top. I wish I had an electric stove-top (easier) to clean, but my husband insisted on the grill/gas stove top.

Sorry for the tangent, back to day's agenda. For today's meal plan I decided to try my hand at homemade chili, corn bread, and potato wedges. I'm finally using the opportunity break in the crock pot and Kitchen Aid professional stand mixer. Everything turned out absolutely yummy! I made the chili with ground turkey, onions, garlic, kidney and pinto beans, green and red bell peppers, a jalapeno, tomato/basil pasta sauce, chili mix, cinnamon, oregano, basil, parsley, and thyme. All into the crock pot everything went after the ground turkey was browned and the beans prepped. The corn bread consisted on cornmeal, flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, melting butter, a can of creamed corn, and one egg. And finally, I sliced two red potatoes into large sticks and mixed them with extra-virgin olive oil, rosemary, and garlic. This was baked in the oven. Yummy yummy yummy! I'm delighted at how yummy everything turned out, but more happy that I have yet to induce any food poisoning *knock on wood*

And the finished product... Voila!

Foodie Adventures

I tried Burmese food today for the first time! Delish! My aunt and uncle treated me to dinner the Burma Road Restaurant (http://www.burmaroad.biz/index.aspx) for my birthday present. My favorite dishes were ginger salad and pickled tea leaf salad. I would go back there just for those two dishes! But we also ordered the coconut noodle soup, braised whole rockfish, and chicken with basil and chili stir fried. The latter was actually a Chinese dish, as they have some Chinese cuisine on the menu. The fish was okay, but I wasn't too keen on the sauce it was braised in. The coconut soup and chicken dish were also very good. It was definitely a large meal for three, so there was a lot to take home. For dessert we had this milk/jelly/ice cream concoction which reminded me of halo-halo (a filipino dessert). Overall, I was very happy to discover this new restaurant. It was a great dining experience, which reminded me very much of Thai food, but with better salads :)

Something to smile about on a cold, dreary day

In case you haven't gone as far as to read my profile, I must admit that I am a Twilight-fanatic. No, I do not stalk Robert Pattinson on the side and have "Team Cullen" t-shirts, but I have read/re-read the books on numerous occasions and brave the throngs of pre-pubescent girls to see the movies at the theater. Okay, I guess I am more of a "fan" than a "fanatic", and being thus, am beyond excited for the release of the Eclipse trailer!! I'm so happy that as the succession of books are turned into movies that the quality has improved. The first movie (Twilight) was abysmal... hippie music and bad special effects! I know they were on a budget, but come on! What was up with all the hippie/emo music? And the budget couldn't afford better make-up and contact lenses? Well, like I said the second movie (New Moon) was a lot better - they got a new director :) And Eclipse, being my favorite book out of the four, looks awesome! June 30, 2010 can't come any sooner!!!

Why god created earplugs

the good = the HOA is finally clearing the fallen branches from Snowmageddon 2010

the bad = using loud-a$$ tree shredder

the ugly = i'm trying to go back to sleep!!!!