Hello my name is Christine and I am a Nook addict

Ok I am more than in heaven with this thing. A cheap bookstore at my finger tips.. OMG am I ever in trouble.

So I have decided to embark on a journey through the world of Jane Austen. I have been a fan of the movies and now its time to embark on an expedition of sorts. The complete works of Miss Jane starting with Emma continuing on to, in order, Lady Susan, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion (which I can't wait to read) Pride and Prejudice and finally Sense and Sensibility. All for a mere pittance of 99 cents total!

I also have two other books that I am half way through and a series of books I stumbled on that of course, if you knew me at all you know; Once I start a series, even if its in movie form, I HAVE to find out what happens next. Why am I a 35 year old women reading Percy Jackson series, the new Lost Hero series & the Witch & Wizard Series... pretty much at the same time?

I got a Nook

Now I just have to figure out how to use it. LOL They have How to use your Nook classes and B&N.

21 years ago...

I met the love of my life. We have had our ups and downs. Some days I wasn't even sure we'd make it through. But once upon a time a girl met a boy and they...









Lived ever after, even it wasn't always happily.

Puppies 5 1/2 weeks

This is usually how it is. The triplets are all usually together and Moo and Tika, the smallest, and first born, of the group are together.

Tika is going to her family for Christmas, she'll be 6 weeks so it should be fine. She'll be a spoiled little girl.

Finally here is a good picture of Moo. As all his spots are getting darker every day I hope to get a good picture of those too. Imagine all the white you see speckled with Dalmatian spots. WTF are these dogs mixed dogs with I wonder???

Forcing the Christmas spirit

With 5 days till Christmas, we have finally decorated the tree, however, we are not decorating the outside of the house this year. I made some christmas cookies and did some shopping. Although with that too, I have a few more things to pick up and can't really afford to buy the big gifts right now the kids each want. Its kind of a depressing Christmas season for some reason. I have no idea why.

I have a job, I make more money and I feel broke. Weird. I think I just need to sit down and look at the budget and get some control. Then maybe I can trim the fat, get the kids the after christmas, spend the gift cards, presents that they really want.

After all I am working the 24th, 25 & 26th. I think that's why this year just doesn't feel right.

School Part 2

Ok so I start Essentials of Nursing-Health & Safety. Which is a more in depth review of Care planning and the Nursing Process. I am exempt from Essentials 2, because of my NCLEX-PN. So then its Micro and Humanities I have not decided which course I want to take yet for this one. My choices are music, world religions, ethics and humm I forgot the other. I am leaning toward world religions or ethics.

School Part 1

OK the game plan has been set the info has been given. I have dropped the expensive 4 year program and am starting Essentials 1 & 2, followed by Micro and Humanities for this semester.

Um.. yeah I think that's it.. yeah that's it... Ummmm? LOL

Puppies 4 week update

They are all so funny. The triplets as I call them (Smith, Wes & Sako ) are a riot and love to play with people. Tika ( aka Lucy as her new family is wanting to call her) is a peanut of a thing and the smartest of the bunch of course. Moo is cute as hell a peanut and well a bit standoffish. He is not sure about people and thinks the vacuum makes good eatin'.

They are all lapping, piddle pad training & eating soaked puppy chow. Mommy could care less if they ever ate. So guess it's a good thing that they took to food easy enough.

So in reverse birth order:



Wes
Smith
Sako
Moo
Tika

And so...

Yeah the ADN option has opened up and I can start classes this coming January. Its accelerated so I can finish in about 10-12 months as long as I am able to finish my 8core classes and 2 co reqs within the time frame of 5-6 week intervals.

At this point the key words are faster progression. It would make more since to be able to have that RN sooner. The money opens up faster and the BSN part can come in later.

With that said though of course nearly all of the hospital jobs for RNs are saying BSN preferred, and there are no new grad jobs. So of course there are some hurdles to everything... but since I have a job already the options are plentiful after getting that RN because even if I have to continue to work in LTC until I do manage to get that coveted OR position, it comes with a hefty salary increase to help pay off my other student loans.

Now to hurry and get my ducks in row on this other track and get moving.

Of course now I have to tell the other school that I would rather defer placement.

But come on.. bust my ass to get to NCLEX in early 2012 or bust my ass to get to NCLEX in 2014?

Just when I think a decision has been made...

Options open up and I change my path. 20% reduction in cost, employer contribution & graduation in 2012 instead of 2014... I may need to rethink my plans.

Ah Christine you have such good ideas...

I love hearing this at work from my Charge Nurse. Its all starting to come together and the bigger picture is that I can actually see where my critical thinking skills are really coming in handy with this group of residents!

Now if only I can figure out a way to rid ourselves of a few of the big PIAs among them ;-)

July 2014

Is set to be my graduation date from LPN-BSN program. Is it me or does this seem like it is going to take forever? The only road blocks for me are that I have to repeat A&P I & II... although I think I should since I can promise you that in the mode I took them I didn't learn a whole heck of alot. On the plus side I don't have to take an entrance exam again or take Chemistry... lol

So my schedule for the next oh.. 3 1/2 years looks like this.

Year 1

FOUNDATIONS FOR GENERAL EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS 12/20/10 1/31/11 MON
INTRODUCTION TO ORAL COMMUNICATION 2/16/11 3/16/11 WED
INTRODUCTION TO FINITE MATHEMATICS 3/22/11 4/19/11 TUE
ETHICS IN MANAGEMENT 5/11/11 6/8/11 WED
HUMAN NUTRITION 6/15/11 7/13/11 WED
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY I 7/20/11 8/31/11 WED
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY II 9/7/11 10/19/11 WED
MICROBIOLOGY 10/26/11 12/7/11 WED
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY 12/14/11 1/18/12 WED
CRITICAL THINKING 2/1/12 2/29/12 WED

Then finally the core nursing classes begin!!

Year 2
INTRODUCTION TO COLLEGE OF NURSING 3/21/12 4/18/12 WED
PROFESSIONAL NURSING ROLE 4/25/12 5/23/12 WED
THEORETICAL BASIS FOR NURSING PRACTICE 5/30/12 6/27/12 WED
PHARMACOLOGY I 7/11/12 8/22/12 WED
PHARMACOLOGY II 8/29/12 10/10/12 WED
PHYSICAL ASSESSMENT 10/17/12 11/28/12 WED
MEDICAL/SURGICAL NURSING I: ACUTE 12/5/12 2/6/13 WED

APB/001 ASSESSMENT PERIOD 2/13/13 2/20/13 WED AKA Clinincal/HESI

Year 3

EPIDEMIOLOGY AND GLOBAL HEALTH 2/27/13 3/27/13 WED
PSYCHIATRIC AND MENTAL HEALTH NURSING 4/3/13 5/1/13 WED

APB/002 ASSESSMENT PERIOD 5/8/13 5/15/13 WED AKA Clinical/HESI

EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE AND INFORMATION TECH IN HEALTH CARE 5/22/13 7/3/13 WED
MATERNAL - CHILD NURSING 7/10/13 8/21/13 WED

APB/003 ASSESSMENT PERIOD 8/28/13 9/4/13 WED AKA Clinical/HESI

COMMUNITY AND FAMILY NURSING 9/11/13 10/9/13 WED
PEDIATRIC NURSING 10/16/13 11/27/13 WED

APB/004 ASSESSMENT PERIOD 12/4/13 12/11/13 WED aka clinical/hesi

HEALTH POLICY, LAW, AND ETHICS 12/18/13 1/29/14 WED

Year 4 ( Feb-July)
MEDICAL/SURGICAL NURSING II:COMPLEX AND GERIATRICS 2/5/14 4/2/14 WED

APB/005 ASSESSMENT PERIOD 4/9/14 4/16/14 WED aka clinical/HESI

NURSING LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT 4/23/14 6/4/14 WED
NURSING SYNTHESIS 6/11/14 7/23/14 WED

Blah... teenage boys

Anyone want an emotional 16 year old, spoiled, self entitled... breaks his Mom's heart type of kid? Comes with his own attitude problem.

Urgh! Why is it that some kids can throw around the word hate and its no big deal to them?

I am not liking the teenage boy phase as much as I used to.

More drama than the girl!

Puppy Update

3 weeks old and we have started feedings with solid mush and are going to start "potty"training too. Breeders say to section off areas of their environment so they learn to "crate" train without a crate so that they will house break easier.

So since we have gated them into my master bath and set up their bed for sleeping and the eating area is separate I think they will be able to learn. Aussies are very smart dogs!

Orientation

Is on the 13th... wow it seems like it was forever ago that I was writing just about the same title onto my blog...Could it really have only been Tuesday, January 6, 2009? Wow here we are coming up to 2011 and it feels like not much has changed, but it has. Its been nearly 1 year since I graduated nursing school ss an LPN. Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Revisting these posts has made me just about as excited as last time... except, I know how bad its going to be.

Nursing School starts again...

In 21 days school starts again. Not looking forward to the endless papers and the lack of any free time again. I must find an APA site, because let's face it, APA sucks and no one is as good at it as the professors require. Or is it just me? I am NOT looking forward to the rest of the general education classes they require, like crappy stats, but maybe taking some in person classes will be better. We shall see.

But the Journey through nursing school has started again and this time the end is RN with a BSN.

On the work front I start day shift tomorrow.

Puppy Update

Sometimes you just need to brag...

When your skills for seeing S/s & assessment can actually come together and you can actually see the subtle changes that signify a change in status and the doctor agrees with you & takes your suggestions & ......

It turns out you are right!



1.)The resident who suddenly thinks you are holding them hostage.

Nurse Christine: How about a UA C&S?
Doctor: Yes sure.
Result: UTI

2.)The poo that won't end.

Christine: Want a sample for c-dff? Can we start them on Flaygl just in case?
Doctor: Sure.
Result: C-diff

3.)The eye drop therapy that isn't working on its third course with Gentamycin and seems to be in fact getting worse.

Christine: Can we get some Cipro drops instead?
Doctor: Sure
Result: Eye infection clearing, swelling gone, and resident c/o 0 pain finally.


Wow... sometimes I really feel like I actually learned something in nursing school. Then I remember that, No, I actually learned it on the job! It's times like these that I think that I am doing more than babysitting and when I do get that RN... I will be able to handle and learn sooo much more.

WTF thoughts

So with the new company coming in my day position may disappear if the person who left for MDS is not allowed to stay. Of coure I haven't even started the day shift yet, other than extra coverage and at this point if it were not for Christmas money and wanting the OT money to add to my working the holiday money, I would have told them to take the extra shift and shove it. Of course I don't want to burn my bridges but they really know that I am NOT happy with the lack of communication regarding when or if my hours are going to change. Why can't they just hire people for the damn hours we need and not this crazy shuffle shit they have going on?

Ok so enough with the vent.

So anyway I totally want to keep the puppies. Well the boy puppies that is. The girl is spoken for and well one bitch in the family is enough. But my hubby is totally against it. But then again if no one wants them then of course they are staying with me. LOL Yeah hummm 7 dogs isn't that bad. Its not hording or anything. But they are just so damn cute.

Foggy eyes

I woke up this AM with foggy eyes and am having some major trouble seeing out of my left eye completely. I already have vision issues and need to wear glasses to see far away... but this is kinda weird. Because of the haze the glare from the computer screen seems much much whiter. Very weird.

Days days days days days!!

Woot ok so I got a days postion. Wed Thur Fri Sat on front hall but days yeah finally. Apparantly it was between me and a nurse from the other hall and I was voted in by the RN charge, the other LPN and even the day CNA's ;-)

I will have a life again and get to see my family!!

Excited and Annoyed

So I am pretty excited, I think, to start nursing school again. The one year off and distresser year, free of classes, has really made me long for the school atmosphere again. My mind needs to be learning again before it becomes mush. I am not looking forward to the work load and paper writing that this program consists of, but I am really looking forward to the letters RN, BSN after my name. ;-)

I am of course annoyed because the first whole year is nothing but Gen. Ed. classes again. So to me its like, am I really in nursing school or what?

Also I am wondering if I want to start looking for jobs closer to home to cut out the commute or do I want to stick with where I am because my hours may be more flexible?

All I know is one minute I have every Wednesday off, then they hire some new nurse who wants that day so I switch to Monday... cool both days work for me for school, the new nurse will switch for a month so I can take the Wednesday off. Then they hire another nurse to work those days we each have off and guess what? She can't work the Monday, can I take Friday off instead? Hummm... well yeah I guess. So I switched for days with the day nurse on Monday so I could go to school on Monday and still have Friday off... now she says she cant work Friday and can work Monday days.

Confused yet? Our staffing coordinator is going to go bonkers with this one.


PS... big pat on the back to me, from me, for remembering a lab value for K and knowing it was only 0.1 lower than the normal value off the top of my head.

Bought out

So the place I work for has been purchased from a larger corporation. I have no idea how this will effect things, hopefully it can only get better. The worse thing is that they do not currently offer direct deposit. The best thing is that they do however have a tuition reimbursement options.

So we shall see what comes of this. Speaking of work... time for another fun filled night at the loudest place on earth... sometimes I think the flight deck of an aircraft carrier would be quieter than some of our nights.

Meet the grand-puppies

After 2 days of zero sleep I am proud to announce the birth of....

In Birth order

Tika - female
Sako- male
Jake (aka Moocow) - male
Smith - male
Wesson - male

After a trip to the ER vet and 3 oxytocin injections and some extra extra lubing up... Sasha gave birth to the last two puppies 9 hours after the first started coming.

So far Mommy and puppies are doing very well... Papa is a bit upset that Mommy is being really really mean to him.

random stuff

So back at home, back to work and there have been a few very nice changes on all fronts.

At home: My bedroom set finally came in so finally I will be able to decorate my room. Most importantly I will finally get off the mattress on the floor. My back has been killing me!

At work: They removed some extra charting we used to have to do. So that is always nice and there have been some changes to staff. They hired another nurse so hopefully these constant extra shift calls will be ending. Next week is a 5 day work week though so that kinda sucks... but I do need the money.

My health: I did have to call in on Friday to work due to a cracked tooth that I broke on a pretzel on the plane home. There was just no saving it, as in cracked right in half down to the root. I ended up having to have it pulled and that was a MAJOR pain! I felt bad but I just couldn't function through the pain anymore and Motrin was NOT touching it.

At school: I should be starting classes this month. First up is Healthcare Ethics to start my BSN program. At this point graduating in 2014 is what looks to be the best option. Have I mentioned that still 3 months later friends of mine that graduated with their RN's have not found jobs. A new batch is coming out next month and the market doesn't look promising for them either. I figure my BSN by 2014 going part time may just be worth it because maybe by then the job market will improve.

Marriage: PS things have been going VERY good.

Back to reality

Well vacation is over. It was nice to sleep and not dream or even think about work for 1 whole week. Back to work tonight, but at least its only a 3 day week then a 3 day weekend again.

I miss everyone from home already. The nieces and nephew are getting so big and are so much fun now. The fall leaves were still in abundance and the weather was nice 70's & 50's. Of course now that I am home I hear its freaking cold there again.

Oh well got stuff to do and am going to enjoy the fact that for now at least I feel like getting out of bed this early.

Jet Blue

Here I come. All doped up with cold medicine and ready to watch some free tv at my seat while my luggage enjoys its free trip.

Nonstop, bags fly free & free tv at your seat for only $109 each way... major deal.

Vacation

Can't believe I made it through that many shifts with this crazy cold. So anyway I bought the Sketcher Shape-ups and I have to admit that now that they are broken in my feet do not bother me as much. Some moderate pain in the heal still but the fracture is still there, but I may actually heal this stress fracture after all :-) Even with all this work.

But officially vacation has started and I am off for 1 whole week. Tomorrow I fly up to Boston to see my all my family ( except my parents0 they live here). Can't wait haven't seen them since July 2009.

Just stamp my forehead with the word sucker...

Although what I give I expect to get in return... so yeah I guess the 16 hour double shift that compromised shifts number 5 & 6 at the same time will be worth it after I get throughy today's #7 and tomorrow's number 8... if only Tuesday was a true day off, but alas there is a mandatory staff meeting smack dab in the center of my packing and shopping day. 4 hours wasted but at least I should get to sleep if this damn head cold goes AWAY!

4 down 4 to go

4 more days of work then off to vacation on Wed. I have been asked 3 times now to do doubles for a total of 12 shifts in 8 days, Now come on this is getting old. We need staff! I did however agree to pull a double the day I come back from vacation. Hummm... 6 days off without pay and my check will not be short any hours! Now that's the way to be a responsible employee! Not to mention keep paying the bills on time!

I have a head cold and am tired. Oopps time for work!

Guess what I just did...

Sent away for information about the surgery tech occupation. What? You say. Well since as an RN I only want to work in the OR and the thought of well continuing on right now with RN school has me less than enthused, I thought well how about just finding out the details? Can't hurt and it sounds like FUN. All my favorite things. So we'll see what happens.

as of right now I am still actually in "program" for my lpn-bsn an considering taking Chemistry soon towards my RN-ADN so since I can't make up my mind and everyday I go to work realize I do NOT want to just be an LPN in LTC forever... well a girl has gotta have options.

Ok well time to go and get ready for day number 2 of 8.

8 days a week....

Is that a song? Well anyway I started my 8 days in a row work week. Good news is that Sat and Sunday are day shifts. Bad news is that Friday is NOT. Which means either another motel stay near work or very little sleep... I am thinking very little sleep so I have more money for vacation. Hopefully they find someone to cover the evening shift this weekend because I AM NOT STAYING for a double. That would be like 10 shifts in 8 days and I can not, or rather my feet can not take it.

LAZY

LTC is making me lazy or is it the life suck that is making me just question nursing all together? Yeah I worked really hard and prepared really hard for Nursing. I thought I was going to keep trucking right along until the letters DNP were after my name. Humm, now I am thinking about staying an LPN because I don't want to 1. Start over 2. Be the one in charge of more paper work & 3. So that in 3 years when my kids have all flown the nest I can take my experienced butt anywhere and get a job making good money. With minimal responsibility and travel more and enjoy myself.

Right now the thought of going back to school is exciting and yet draining at the same time. I just don't know if I have it in me to care anymore. Well that's not exactly true I think its just that I feel so drained that the idea of work and school at the same time and the concept of more stress are just not in my vocab.

I hardly see my family now as it is... can we survive one more year of nursing school when we hardly survived the first one?

AHHHH! Maybe I just need a new job on a better shift?

Almost like a shadow

Why is it that when someone is shadowing you it takes that much longer for everything to get done? It wasn't an over exciting night last night but it seemed that I finished a bit later than usual and didn't even get time to eat.

And why can't I stop thinking about work long enough to get some freaking sleep? I think I need to hit the doctor up for something soon!

New Nurses

Humm when a new nurse comes on board it is a crazy time. When said nurse thinks she knows it all and is a friend of the ADON it's worse. When said new nurse says, " I want Christine's hours." and ADON says ok then it's new nurse's fault that I am smarter than she is and said... " Ok you want Wednesday off ok. I'll take Monday!"

So now Christine has Sat,Sun, Mon off !! Woot!

Of course that doesn't mean that I ever seem to work only 32 hours. I have been working more than 40 for the past three weeks and it seems that even though I have 3 days off in a row I'll be making up for it this week. But oh well at least I get family time still.

Of course that doesn't mean that I wasn't called every day this weekend to come in... I just didn't answer the phone. 50 hours last week was enough.

We REALLY need some pool people with availability!

Nurse Meany

Why is it that when I have to write someone up its a MAJOR deal and results in termination? Sheesh people I DO NOT like to be the mean nurse, but damn if the alarm is going off don't walk by the room just because it isn't your resident.

I do not write anyone up just randomly. I have only done it twice and it was because of blatant safety issues. Now come on THINK PEOPLE!

Working too much

Yup that's where I have been. Just working working working and wondering if I am ever going to get off this shift.

I have enjoyed my few day shifts. The RN Charge really wants me on her shift, so someday that will happen. Of course the RN Charge on my current shift does not want me to leave either.

I have put in a few 40 + hour work weeks and my poor foot is really not responding to the double shift I have been pulling either. I must learn to say NO even when bonus is rubbed in my face. The regular paycheck is much better than being on comp because my stress fracture has finally given way to a full on break.

So anyway off to work I go again...which includes a Mandatory Nurses Meeting. Good news is that they have canned the new ADON and maybe the tension and cloud of doom and gloom over the building will clear soon.

Sad & weird

So we thought our cat that had been gone for a year had returned. Of course I started to have my doubts almost right away but it had all the same markings and did alot of the same things and well trauma can do some major things and the cat can change. But it sure as hell can't change a cat's GENDER!

When Baby left she was a girl but it came back a Boy? So needless to say it was weird. I mean we had Baby fixed and if I recall no one mentioned that it was a boy when we brought it in and I think the vet would have marked it on the paper.

So when this new cat needed a vet visit today I took it in and I was like." Can you check the gender because it doesn't seem right." Well its an altered BOY!

Of course he was so sick that we had to put him down, but still... did I have a boy all along or is this another cat?

Mini vacation

I just booked my ticket to go and visit my sister for her 40th birthday next month. I can't wait. A mini vacation for me!

Now I just have to request those 3 days off!


***

Oh and I heard back from advising and I need 16 credits to graduate with an AGS. All of which are Humanities classes with the exception of a Communication course, a one credit computer usuage class and a literacy class. So I have them picked out and will begin to get those pounded out starting next paycheck!

8 weeks at a time and First up are:
Powerpoint (1)
Communication (3)
Introduction to Cinema (3)

Then 8 weeks of these:
Clinical Healthcare Ethics (3)
Humaities Unversial Themes (3)
Crictial Reading (3) (Although I tested out of this as a requirement it fits in with the Literacy class I still need and this one is cake so I'll take it)

Then I'm finished and will graduate and get to walk in May.

After which I will take the Micro and Chem classes in person and head toward RN if the mood strikes me.

Gosh what's new?

I seem to be spending so much time on decorating every weekend that that is pretty much the extent of the goings on in my life right now. Work is still work. Not much going on there. I like the new nurse alot. There are some major changes coming though and I am thinking I will not be liking those at all. But we shall see, because even though we are greatly effected over all of this the RN's on our side are the only ones that have actually been told about the changes.

Humm.. my ex husband just found out his wife is pregnant with twins. Yeah my kids are not happy about the concept... and for once I am actually in a "better him than me" state of mind. At this point in my life starting back at the babies is not something I would want to do. I have my heart set on introducing some more travel & trips into the works as my kids leave the nest and am excited to see where my career is going to take me. I've toyed with the idea of adoption and the like but I always talk myself out of it because of daycare and the babysitter factor. For me grand kids are the next babies I want to cuddle ;-)

Oh and for the time being I have decided to finish my Associate's Degree in General Studies and defer the RN-BSN portion for a bit until I can find a job closer to home with less of a commute or until I figure out if I want to parlay this into a Social Services Degree instead.

Things to do

Picked up the new car, I bought a silver one instead of gold. younger less miles and same cost... how does that work out?

They hired two new nurses that started training with us last night. Pretty breezy night for me. But alas I agreed to work a shift on Sunday. But Monday is my first double time shift holiday so that'll be NICE!

Heading out for a jam packed day with the kids in the new car! LOL

Random thoughts

I have nothing really to blog about. Just setting up the new place. Painting again this weekend. Finishing my upstairs hallway and I think starting my bedroom. I am finally picking up the PT Crusier tomorrow moring and I will be working the next two days.

On the work front I am wondering who I will be working with today as the spot for the other LPN was blank when I left on Tuesday. I hope they hire someone soon. I hope they hire my nursing school friend. But she's taking her RN this week and well... its only an LPN position thats technically available. But RN jobs for new grads right now are nonexisitant around here for the traditional new grad that does not belong to the large chain fellowship program... so it's be a job in nursing and they can always use another RN PRN to take charge.

Well my carpel tunnel is making it impossible to type now so I guess I have rambled enough. I really need to get in gear and make some doctor's and dentist appointments for the family and myself. It's time to at least get this hand fixed.

Double Shift

I am pretty proud of myself that I have managed yet again to pull a double shift. This time on little more that 3 hours of sleep after working the 2-10 last night ( Monday) I had to go back in for 6am and work till 10pm.

Ah the joys of nursing!

Another busy weekend DIY style

I think we are finally finished at the old house and I am hoping to hear back from the landlord about my money. I talked to him on Saturday and he said there were only a few small things left. So needless to say they were completed yesterday and I am done done done with the snake and ant hotel.

Saturday I did another DIY project. I started painting my upstairs hallway to complete the look the previous occupants had started and now the house is starting to look more homey. I also added a border backsplash to the kitchen and refinished a book shelf.

I'll have to hunt down more paint this coming weekend and finish the hallway and decide on a color for my bedroom and get that started. Oh and I need to take a major trip to IKEA for some white accessories for my bookshelf...

I think I watch too much HGTV ;-)

Staffing Shake-ups...

It appears that one of the day shift nurses on our station has finally been brandished her walking papers. So the day spot has become available.

With that being said the Negative Nelly on my shift is taking that position until December when the one she really was waiting for opens up.

Of course I have put my hat into the ring for that position come December when it's available again. My charge nurse for Friday is also charge for the days and really wants me on it.

So in the meantime its up up up in the air about where I will actually be working come Monday. My current hall, which is my preference at this point for the time being or because the backhall day person is doing a double, the front hall. But I have heard rumors that they hired two new nurses. Of course they would need some training. But we are in dire need of a float person again. I myself have no problems giving the front hall to the new person. But would I be training them? Hummm.. training is what I did at my old job... so we'll see.

It's like a soap opera...to be continued

Negative Nursing

Why do nurses have to eat their young, heck why do nurse have to plain old eat each other and spit them out?

I blame the concept of being able to "write up" your peers. It becomes more of a tit for tat game in the end. What other profession is given such "power" to practically discipline a peer? It simply breeds more stress to an already stressful field and a down right spiteful hateful person can have a huge impact on the career and license of someone else.

I totally can't wait for the Negative Nelly of a Nurse I replaced, who has come back for a few months, to leave again. The negative atmosphere is suffocating and causing such tension between the shifts. I do not want to be lumped in with this bullshit. Sometimes you just have to keep the shit to yourself suck it up and deal!

In other news, back at my old "side", my monotony has had a break and I am cruising right along with the shift and liking it again. Meanwhile on the other side, more complicated admits and haha... " Mrs. I have seniority and am taking my side back while I am over here." is slammed and has more "work".


K A R M A

Thoughtful Notes & Ego boosts

I tried to take a picture but I couldn't figure out how to shut off the flash so all I get is a blurry sheet of paper. But yesterday one of my residents wrote me a note.

" Christine! You are a very good LPN. You ALWAYS have a smile everytime I see you. I love you."

Awww... that was so nice.

Then later that night one of my other residents comes wheeling up to me to get their meds. I haven't been on that side for a few months and there had been some changes to the routine. But from Friday to Monday I remembered what they got and just pulled them all out as they watched. " Wow I am impressed. You did that all from memory and got it right. Everyone else has to look them up. I am very impressed."

So yeah overall it was a great ego boosting night! ;-)

Wheels

Work drama

So with all the work drama, the air of tension surrounding the whole place. The constant threats of being fired for missing a T or I is starting to wear everyone down into a grumpy bunch of nurses who can't find the time to crack a smile. We all have though started looking for work elsewhere and have a few leads on some homecare that actually has hours. So I am totally going to send my resume for it, at least to touch base and put my name out there. It pays by the visit, so needless to say first thing I need to do is get a car. But if I can get at lest 24 visits a week I will more than make my current salary and then some. The scary part is that I really don't want a car payment but I don't have the time to save up to get another car at the moment that is not going to be a beater. Plus the constant fear that I will somehow get fired for something I am or am not doing correctly in the eyes of the new ADON... well a car payment and an increase in rent are not exactly things I want to think about with no job.

Urgh stress stress stress...I need a Xanex!

Hostile work Environment

Its how a good job turns into a bad job. The rats are even jumping ship. Urgh!! This sucks.

My busy weekend

Thursday I found a table at Goodwill that I thought would be awesome to refinish. It was just exactly what I wanted. The cost was only $39.99. The table set I wanted for the kitchen was $399.99... so yeah a deal. So Saturday hubby and I headed out to the Savers, Salvation Army and finally back to the Goodwill in search of this table again. To my joy it was still there and guess what? It was half off Saturday. So I got the table for $19.99! We had the chairs already. So with a can of black semigloss for $12 I recreated the "exact" $399 table for only $31.99... well I still have some paint left and also refinished a coffee table we had and a bookshelf.. so the paint cost has totally been spread out.

Hummm... I love HGTV and DYI channel!!

Sometimes Being a Boss really sucks!!

So last night I had to tell one of my favorite CNA's that they were suspended pending administrative review of their actions. It was so hard because I know by reporting what they did that it could possibly get this person fired or worse.


What was so bad? Well... I went into a resident room and she handed me her call light, it was totally taken out of the wall. When this happens as we all know the call light will stay on and ring until its plugged back in. The call light was not oin. So as I am trying to plug it back in I notice something sticking out of the inlet. I thought the wire was broken or something. But it turns out it was the end of a tooth swab stick that was stuck in there. This kept the light from turning on. Mind you this particular resident is a pretty big PIA at times and always on the bell and /or yelling for a CNA or Nurse all the time. Her yelling is why I went into the room & found the stick.

So nurses out there... what would you have done? Honestly I feel so bad about having to report this. But in all actuality this could have been my job and licence on the line had it been known that I knew but did not report. I do not want this person fired,I hope the suspension is going to be enough. But seriously this could have been bad.

Respiratory Distressed

Last night at work it was a day for checking O2 SATS. We had an admit with COPD that was sating in the 50's to 70's all night, until finally we sent them out to the hospital. What kind of person would admit someone for respite who is so obviously in distress?

The other one was just my normal one who desats all of a sudden into the low 80's but a few SVN's later all is well.

And then for the one I had to do my first Heimlich Maneuver on! Talk about scary!! We ended up having to grab the crash cart and use deep suction. But according to the Xray I did not break a rib and they only ended up with aspiration pneumonia. Peanut butter and the elderly should NOT be allowed!!

Establishment of Services

Customer Service, " Thank you for calling Global Water how can I help you?"

Hubby, "I would like to establish new water service for our house."

Customer Service: "Great I can help you with that. When would like service?"

Hubby, " As soon as possible. Today would be great."

Customer Service, " I'm sorry Sir the soonest we can get someone out to your house is tomorrow."

Hubby, " Ok tomorrow would be fine."

Customer Service, " Ok then I will set you up for tomorrow. Someone will be there between tomorrow and next Thursday."

Hubby, " Next Thursday?"

Customer Service, " Yes Sir we have up to 5 days to install once a service request has been established."



I shit you not this was the actual conversation. Mind you the office is 1 1/2 miles from our house & yes the actual company name was used so as not to protect the guilty!

Novice Nurse vs. Experienced Nurse

Does it have to be this way? Why do I have to fix your short cuts? Why do I have to deal with an incomplete report, a messy cart missing EVERYTHING, and deal with residents that you say you medicated but in all actuality did not. You talk all the big words and sound like you know what you are doing... when you seriously don't

Last night was like a bubbling over point and I was pissed. Not only did I have to fix some person's foley that you put it wrong AGAIN, I had to play seek and find for everything!

Here's a tip if the order reads 16f 5cc do not put in an 18f 15cc. Let me tell you this is actually more painful that you can imagine. Just ask the person who couldn't eat or sit because of the pain!

Moved

Well we are pretty much moved into the new house. Of course now there is a snafu, but what would my life be without one? Its my fault and we'll have to deal with it and hope that it'll be solved by Thursday. In the meantime there will be some rearranging of plans for two days... wow what did we ever do without electricity??

crap crap crap

But the new house is nice.

The dog ate my Littmann

Need I say more?

Work Woes

Getting blamed for doing something, or rather not doing something, that I have no idea how I could not have done it, is really pissing me off.

Skin assessments are every day. I supposedly missed 3 skin assessments. How? I have no idea, but I am damn sure that I didn't. I think their chart audits are messed up. Why? Because one of the "rooms" I was supposed to have "missed" doesn't even get a skin assessment on any of my working days. But I have a bit less ass then I used to none the less.

Oh well vent, fix it anyway, & move on I suppose.

Stressing and Sweating

Hummm... when is not a good time to move? Um.. probably August in Arizona. LOL

So I am still stressing but I found out that I need less money than I thought I did to move in. Which is all kinds of awesome!! Of course now I have to set an actual time and date that I will be able to bring over the check. Now I just hope the bank deposit I am expecting clears before Thursday.

Packing and Saving... a lesson in living as a minimalist

Right now its packing time. I have VERY limited money right now because of the total amount due to move in and the other expenses associated with moving. I have most of it saved and we are waiting to see what hubby's check is before we commit to an actual moving day. We will either be totally out of here on the 1st or totally out of here on the 7th when I get my next check.

In the mean times its rice and beans, beans and rice, so to speak to conserve what little extra money we can. Between gas for the cars and food we are scrimping right now to limp by with the basics of basics. Of course I am very good at finding stuff to cook out of what little staples we have. The bad news is that since I am not home during the week to cook, hubby is not as good at it.

But it'll be worth it, I haven't over drawn our budget and once we move we will be caught back up pretty quick which is a good thing.

I just can't wait to be there!!

More Algebra... heck no!!!

So I finally got the course outline on the classes and such that I would need for the LPN-BSN program at UOP... so needless to say, the title of this blog may speak for itself.

I think based on these two factors... Taking more Algebra, and repeating A&P 1... hummm yeah no thanks!!

Soooo... its back to the proverbial drawing board on where I want to take my education/career in the near future.

At this point I need, Humanities, Micro & Chem still. As well as a refresher Pharm now because it'll be more than 1 year since my last Pharm class.

What to do what to do.

I think at this point paying out of pocket and taking 1 class at a time until I have the LPN experience behind me to allow me to seek employment elsewhere is the only way that I can get RN to fit into my need for money and school commitments. I wish I worked for a place that cared about their employee's furthering their education... but they don't. But you live and you learn and in April of 2011... I will no longer be a new grad and will have that glorious 1 year or more of experience needed to take my LPN butt elsewhere. Right?

Confused and can't decide...

Ahhh... what to do what to do? I want to continue my education and become an RN. Then I think I don't want to go to school anymore, couldn't care less about being an RN, most especially don't want to go through clinicals and a ton of general ed classes again and then I look at the letters next to my name and think, " Christine, you are too smart to stop now!" But I'll be like almost 40 when I actually finish. Bedside nursing and OR in particular is not going to want a 40 year old new grad will they? I would like to teach Nursing theory, so the MSN is only like 2015 attainable.

Of course I am bored and miss going to classes. I actually miss having tests and things to do. But I also know that its going to be tough again because I will be home even less than I am now and we all know what happened last time.

My dilemma is that...University of Phoenix called and said my start date has been moved up from June 2011 to Feb of 2011. I spoke with them and at this point its set for a finish date of 2014. They do all of the Gen Ed classes and then start the Core classes last. Makes sense of course its forward progress and all that. Its the only program that will allow me to keep working. Its also expensive. However, its a BSN. So that's a bonus.

At this rate an ADN would get me done 1 year sooner.... hum.. probably not worth it since I would not be able to work at the same time.

So... to BSN or not to BSN Is 40 too old?

Like a real Nurse

So yesterday at work was full of the fun and amazing things we nurses get to do in a shift. Two admissions, a straight cath, a nasty dressing change, stool sample for c-diff, two suppositories, TB injections... and numerous accuchecks and their subsequent insulin coverage injections. Not to mention orientating a confused resident back to reality and medicating the rest of them. Not counting the 1 call to the doctor for a high BG level... overall it was a good night.

You know its time to move when...

Two mornings in a row you wake up to the dogs barking like crazy because one of these is in your backyard...

Sonoran Sidewinder Rattlesnake

My thoughts are not my own

The thing about working as a nurse is that your job does not stay at your job. Inevitably you seem to take your work home. I did not have this problem as a CNA or as a Customer Service Agent. It was like I had job amnesia, some switch would click as soon as I walked out the door and I would not think about work until I was back there.

With nursing that is not the case. The residents stay in my head, the meds stay in my head, what I did that day, what I could have done that day, what I should have done. I am constantly thinking about if I forgot something. At 3am the other morning I awoke from a sound sleep with a start, I'd forgotten to shut off an SVN machine.

I am constantly reminding myself as I try to drift off to my, always interrupted sleep, to not think about work. I am never quite as successful as I'd like to be!

& the Winner is...

House number 1


Close to the kids school, great paint colors, nice upstairs, cute courtyard in the front entry & TONS of closet space.... down side is the teenie tiny kitchen/livingroom. Hate the kitchen I must admit, but there are so many positives that I can work with it.

But I am done hunting, it'll do and it gets me closer into town again by 18 miles and I have a bedroom with a door again!!

So plan is to move in for the first of course. We are giving the deposits on Friday. Kids start school again on the 2nd. It's going to be crazy around here again. But everyone is excited about the new move.

Have I mentioned that as a family we really love the new house smell so much that we pretty much move every year? I think that is why I will never buy. Oh well can't wait to decorate my new place!!

Up Up in the air...

Sooooo... the house hunting is continuing. We should hear about another place today. Of course the Realtor said this one should be for sure, except the last one was for sure too, until another contract bumped us. This contract application crap is a huge PIA all of a sudden. Of course I like looking at all the houses :-) Its my own personal version of one of my favorite shows "House Hunters" !

So is it House number 1 close to the kids school




House number 2 with the nice backyard



or House number 3 with the weird neighbors





Or..... none of the above??

I just want sleep

I just want to be able to sleep for a solid 8 hours. Not two hour intervals at a time. Its getting to the point where I am so frustrated with not being able to sleep through the night, that all I want to do is lay on the couch when I finally give up on trying to sleep in bed.

The cause... the fucking dogs and where we live. I'm really looking forward to moving and really hope it solves the problem. A nice doggie door and a bedroom with a door to keep the little shits away from ME!!

I'm about to get rid of them all... including the cats!

An Artist Rendering... lol

Hehe... but it gives you an idea of the news ;-)


Oh... and of course this is not to scale. The front rounded bedroom is the larger of the two on that side of the house. My Mom tried.

hummm

may need to rethink that BSN program. They only transferred 25 of my credits which is f'ing lame. Yeah so back to the drawing board on the RN route.

In other news its off to look at another place in a few minutes and to figure out a deposit issue. Hummm... back to the drawing board on this one too.

I wish I would have known I could have found something and should have given notice so that I could have used my prepaid last months rent now so I would have money right now for the deposit instead of having to wait until the 15th

A bit less stressed feeling

The new side at work has taken some of the dread away from going into work. It gives me more people to talk to and the side is much lighter over all. At the very least there are WAY less treatments to do ;-)

Not much else going in right now just waiting to hear from the BSN program and waiting to hear on the house.

Moving...

So we have offically started the house hunt. I may have found something... just have to see about getting approved with my history. But we more than have the income so we shall see... stay tuned!

Is it wrong...

Because I, using my new found seniority, have requested to change from my current hall, to the recently vacated hall? My hall is LTC, very very heavy load. Always full, not much changes that doesn't require a body bag. Yeah very dark and graphic sorry. But its so bad that I have 28 residents who's treatments and meds i have memorized. This of course is a good thing. But for me it equals burn out.

So the other hall is the medicare hall. More turn over, as most come in for PT/OT or some rehab of some such, and then go home. There are a few of the LTC type. But they are more with it. Less treatments and actually less in the med pass department, & also less psych!

But hey, the new person is technically pool and well NEW! So she'd has to roll with it to make the bucks. I did.

So whatcha think? Of course the residents that I have that are with it are totally bummed I am switching. But its my sanity ya know?

Membership has its privileges....

Or surviving almost 4 months at my work does.

Um... something may be wrong with this picture but, as of Monday I will be the SENIOR nurse on the floor for my shift. Other than the charge of course. But how weird is THAT? lol

Time to move again...

So its gotten to the point that I really am not liking this desert cabin anymore. The dirt alone is making me go running back for civilization. I have found a few places that are the same price as here and larger. Now I just have to get one and convince hubby that its time to move.

In the past its been my quick to move attitude that has gotten us in over our heads as our income plummeted. But now I think says its pretty much a lateral move it'll be all good. I really need to be closer to town.

Still waiting...

To find out about the RN-BSN program. They have my transcripts and now I have no idea what the next step is. I am told they will evaluate them, then let me know how much more I will have to complete my program and then we will go from there. But at least the process is started. I am excited to start again, but not for the boring Gen Ed classes. Those take a lot of .... what's the opposite of procrastination? LOL

All I really know is that LPN is not my stopping point. After serious pondering, a bit of my usual procrastinating, a few apathetic moments, and let's face it, all out laziness, I have come to the conclusion that, yes for the money the job is too easy & boring. Well except I haven't figured all the paperwork out yet. Um yeah cuz no one taught me... least I remind you of the type of orientation I had, "Here's the med cart GO!" Yet I digress, if I have to force myself to go in every day it isn't where I should be.

So stay tuned for the continuation of A Journey through Nursing School...Part 2-the BSN year(s).

Can you say hot

112 degrees for 60 miles with no A/C is deadly... because I know for a fact that the inside of the car is way hotter!

How do you move over 500 lbs?

At work we started a new dining program.. so far I have had an emergency during dinner every night.... last night's required a crash cart, which in turn brought some some hot fire fighters, so I have no idea if its better or not. Thank God my Nursing meeting was cancelled today. I really need the day off!

Funions, Vanilla Pudding , and Tootsie rolls...

If you mix them all together of course you will need Mylanta or Phenergan 8 times throughout the day!


Ewww.. nasty

LTC Nursing

Sucks! Hehehe... mainly because once you get a routine they throw you some more people. I have 28 residents with a ton of meds and a ton of psych issues on top. Yesterday one fell and the call to the family lasted 30 minutes. Of course this fall happened right at dinner, which was the first day of a new system.

Tomorrow is my day off but I have to drive the 59 miles each way in the heat just to sit for a meeting!

Hoping to get a lunch date with my old work friends at least outta the deal. I would rather take the boy driving and do something with him. I feel bad since he isn't going anywhere and I don't have the money now that the ticket prices have climbed to pay for his friend to come out here.

Ummm... yeah I just wanted to bitch I guess.

Father's Day

Was a bit of a redneck moment... went to Wal-mart and bought the man the shot gun he's been wanting. LOL

We had a cook-out with my folks yesterday, I supplied the food, they supplied the cooking.

All in all its been a nice weekend. Just not restful! Urgh.. can't believe tomorrow is Monday already.

Tachy and Blue

Do not make a good combination in one of your favorite residents. Although things turned out good for now, it doesn't look like a long future. HR in the 250's and Pulse Ox's in the 70's... then just back to normal, then another run of Tachy and Blue. It was a crazy night last night. At quitting time everything was stable again.

LPN to BSN

So I talked to the admissions advisor, have sent in my transcripts for review. found out they are starting a new batch of students in a month or so and that it will fit into my life at this point, although of course my Wednesday and weekends become study days again, but hopefully since we do 1 class every 5 weeks it'll just rock on through.

I have to meet with them in person and get more info... but I am sure this is the direction I am going. Of course now to figure out the money aspect. Urgh... to student loan or not to student loan?

The thought of more Gen Ed classes and she mentioned they added more science. Crap does that mean I still have to take Chem?

For the sake of all that is Holy...Make your Plans Known...

This is why it is important to let your family know about your end of life expectations...

You are up there in the 90's... the love of your life has passed. You are sick. Ready to die. Have made your peace with your maker. Slip peacefully into a painless sleep. Stop eating and drinking and talking. Are in fact actively dying. Giving in as God has planned and heading off to reunite with your love.

Yet your stupid family wants you to be a full code!! So after code 1 and they bring you back and code 2 and they bring you back... WTF is the family's problem?

What if in that glorious light stood your love and just as you reach them you are yanked back into a frail body and sent back to continue to rot away-literally ( but that's another story)?


I hope when they are old someone makes them suffer as much!! Damn a dog gets better care and compassion than some people!

Mommy to the Rescue

So yesterday's permit excursion was a trip to say the least.

We head out about 10am and its already almost 100. With no AC in the car it kinda sucks to have to drive the 30 miles to the Motor Vehicle Office. But we stop at Starbucks for some Frapaccinos and its all good.

We get there and I think I have all the paper work... well think again! He needs a school ID, because it has a picture and I don't have the original copy of is SSN card, because his father is a dick and has it somewhere. So we wasted about 30 minutes there and had to go over to the Social Security office.

So we go there to request a new card and guess what he needs? A school ID with a picture to prove its him. Or I needed a doctors record with his date of birth and name on it. Yeah like we carry those with us.

So he thinks he has an idea where the ID is so we drive the 30 miles back home.

He can't find it AT ALL. Tears his room apart and nothing.

So Mom goes into the room moves a box out of the closet, lifts up some DVD's and video games and there is the ID.

So off again to the Motor Vehile Department 30 miles away and the temp has climbed to over 104.

Thank God he passed!

Big Day

My son is 15 1/2 and in AZ that means driver's permit time. So its off to take the test. Since he didn't study and thinks he knows it all this could turn out badly.

But since he's a teenager and KNOWS EVERYTHING... well what more can I say about that?

Stay Tuned

Taking the NCLEX-RN in the up coming year stay tuned for a special offer!

decisions

Well I have decided that no matter what I have to go on for my RN soon. I am not sure which format I am doing yet but I have started the process of looking into the two options of programs that will fit into my budget and my life.

For a while here I was thinking of stopping. I didn't want the stress of school and the hassle of it all and I need to work & the pay is great.

But I seriously HATE my job. LPN LTC nursing is NOT what I want my career to be in nursing and not the reason I put myself through hell the past few years to accomplish. Sure the money is great but the job... well a pill passer in the geri-psych world is NOT for me!

I want OR or Women's Health. Heck I even want to teach nursing. But I don't want to spend forever in this place!

I can feel the life suck!!!!

Week in Review

Humm.. Monday and Tuesday were crazy at work. 1 Pt just kept screaming and climbing out of bed and ended up with so many bruises. I finished the shift with that person in a Geri chair at the nurse's station and it worked. I was thinking that they just didn't want to be in the room alone.

Wednesday I went to see Marmaduke with the boy. It was a nice day off.

Thursday and Friday back to work to my screaming pt actively dying. Hospice makes no sense. When we need a sitter to keep that person calm and safe, they don't send anyone. When they can't get out of bed and are safe and calm, they send someone to sit with them all day and most of the night!

Yesterday I took a Flexeril and ended up sleeping ALL DAY! What a waste of a day off. I had planned on taking the dogs swimming.

Today is meatballs in the crock pot, chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies and laundry sorting. Yup fun fun fun!

Working

As opposed to what? School? Humm... ever wonder just what exactly you learned in school? Sometimes I feel very prepared to work as a Nurse. Other times I am like WTF? Usually its only in some new word or drug or something like that, I don't understand. So that's a good thing at least.

Hummm.... burn out... there's a words I think may come too soon!

Girl Date

Heading out to watch Sex & the City 2! Hope its as good as the previews.

Hummm.. what else? So working with an agency nurse is different. Weird how I am the one to answer the questions?

Yesterday I had a very bad thought about a resident. Urgh! Sometimes you just can't help being human and screaming really does piss me off. I also had a talk with my drug seeker about yelling at me for things while I am standing in the hallway pulling meds at the cart.

" Everyday I come in I have the same routine. You get the same things at the same time. You do not have to yell at me while I am at the cart pulling them to tell me you need them. It is rude." We will see how long that lasts.

In other news we are fighting a battle with ants in our cabinets and on our counters. The tiny kind. We have sprayed and sanitized and cleaned and closed every little thing. This SUCKS!! i can feel the little buggers crawling on me!

Nothing Interesting

Not much going on right now. Just working and trying to figure out what to do with the boy for the summer. I offered to let his friend come down here from Massachusetts to stay for a few weeks, but still have to get the date and buy the ticket for him. Right now there is no extra money, but maybe the end of the month.

The girl is leaving for Texas for 10 days in 2 weeks. She's excited.

I have come to realize that although I really like the people I work with I really hate this shift. With the drive being so far and winding down after work, I don't get to sleep until 2am and then after that its an interrupted sleep, so I feel and look exhausted all the time. By the time I drag myself out of bed its time to get ready for work again. On my days off I just feel sick all the time.

Hummm... well I suppose I'll have to deal with it for a year!

Ok time to get ready.

MediFast Fail

Ok so June 1st is NOT going to be the day I start this. Actually, I am sending it all back, save the stuff I tried. Now I am stuck with 6 packages of crap of 5 items I will never eat. I just can't do it. I need some semblance of real food and this crap actually physically made me puke.

So its back to the drawing board and I'll figure something out at some time. I'm thinking Jenny Craig. But in the mean time I have decided to at least take baby steps and watch what I eat and try not to eat at night. Its just the crazy work schedule makes it so hard and I am starved when I get home at whatever time late, because I never have time to eat at work. On the bright side I am still down 16 pounds and have not gained back what I have lost, despite cake and eating late. I am working on portion control and not stress eating.

Ok time to hit the road and head out to work to give those meds to my drug seekers.

Wow... enabling has become my life.

Busy week

4 days in a row and now 3 off. I have to work Monday, which only sucks in the fact that I have not been there long enough to be getting holiday pay! Double time would have been NICE.

In other news, this week has been filled with actual nursing. I have been talking to doctors, charting new orders, & dealing with an aspiration experience that resulted in an apnea episode and a visit from some , too bad not hot firefighters.

Plus I have had 2 actively dying residents this week. 1 died an hour after I left, thanks RC and I will miss you. The other is still hanging in there now but with their pulse rate so irregular, 69-250, and respiration's in the 40's, its not looking promising that it won't have already happened as I type this.

I had a few BG levels that needed reporting to other various doctors that needed clarification of orders and I talked a doctor into ordering Ibuprofen to hold off my PIA of a drama queen between hits, I mean doses, of MSIR and Percs q 4.

Ah... so now to celebrate my birthday with a nice relaxing weekend to include cake!

PS.... The diet day one didn't turn into an actual start date. I decided that due to the fact that we were going to Disneyland and my birthday was coming up, starving myself with some powered products was not going to be successful. So June 1st will be Day 1. Ugh... I am hungry just thinking about it!

50/30

In a blood pressure is probably a sign that something is wrong. Taking it every hour doesn't change the fact that it is low. That this person is actively dying. So why does the MPOA want me to keep taking it every hour on a hospice comfort measures only person? Like I have time for that, plus I am sure the person doesn't want to be disturbed for a BP check every hour. Not to mention the BP at this point isn't really telling me much.

Besides once the BP is so low that it can't support life.... they'd see the changes in the person. Yum like those normal pulse and respirations they are having would stop.

Disneyland a Review...

First let's start this by saying that I spent the entire time fighting off some horrible flu/URI or something. Keeping a 103 fever at bay, along with a raging sore throat and horrible hacking cough took alot of effort and really rained on my parade.

With that being said there were sparks of fun, some great family bonding and an OK time had overall.

The Disneyland Hotel. Well let's just say that it ain't no Hilton! All in all it was like a Motel 6 or a Days Inn. Hell not even a Days Inn, because at least there they give you a coffee maker in the room and some pastry for breakfast. This was not what I expected from a Disneyland Resort Hotel. Small room, uncomfortable beds and no extras. Hell even the soap and shampoo smelled funny.

The best thing was that we could go into the park before the general public and for the first few hours there were no lines and we got to go on everything without a line.

Now if you have ever been to Disney World, NEVER go to Disneyland. You'll spend the whole time comparing the two and I swear its like Disneyland is the redheaded step-child or something. It's small, the food sucked and the portions were tiny for the cost. $6 a bottle of water... what the hell!

Downtown Disney had good food. We ate at the House of Blues and the Jazz Kitchen. It was about the same price we pay here in AZ for dinner when we go out. The portions were huge and the food was amazing. The Jazz Kitchen was my favorite.

Since I was sick, and we had finished nearly everything Disney had to offer for our age group of kids by noon, I went back to the Hotel room to take a nap and hubby and the kids went to see the new Shrek movie at the AMC theater in Downtown Disney.

When we went back to the park after the movie @5ish, we did the train, watched a parade, had some ice cream, and searched for an affordable sweatshirt or long sleeve shirt because it was freezing and we'd forgotten sweatshirts. After hitting Toontown and waiting in our first long line for the Roger Rabbit ride we headed over to find somewhere to watch the Fireworks, which ended up being cancelled so back to the room. My fever went to 104 and it was a hell of a night.

We drove home via the 5 to the 8 down the San Diego way. Stopped at a beach, I got nailed by a wave up to my knees on accident. Then headed home where my fever returned about 50 miles from home and soared over 104 again and did not want to break.

So yeah... Disneyland... @ $72 bucks a person for 1 park which can been seen by noon, not worth it overall. I miss Disney World!

I think we should have gone to the zoo!

And the winner is....

Disneyland.

The kids wanted Disneyland over Universal and Seaworld didn't even rate. So it's a rental car and a 6ish hour drive, according to Mapquest, for some much needed family bonding.

Now to get through work tonight!

Disney or Universal... Seaworld or stay home?

Can't decide what to do this weekend because the joys of car troubles have risen again. Fuel pump on daughters car blew yesterday. I need another new tire and the Jeep, although running is bad on gas.

Instead of taking a nice family vacation that we really need, should I just buy another car? Have I mentioned I hate cars!!!

Day 1

Of the Medifast 30 day experiment. Already I can tell this is going to suck. I am not really big on the drinks that go along with dieting. I am pretty much a picky eater, so of course this food is going to take some getting used to. The only thing I can really foresee as being tricky will be the fact that 1 meal I have to make. A lean protein and veg. I am going to try and make some stuff in advance so that I can just grab it and go. The worse part is that I work second shift and am hungry now at odd times and sleep at odd times.

But I will give it an honest month and see what happens. I am hoping to lose at least 50 lbs by October. But am hoping for a total of 110 at some point. So time will tell if I can stick with this.

I am already down a total of 14 pounds since Feb, having gained back 2 of the pounds I had lost in total. But since I wasn't really dieting... I guess that makes sense.


Today's menu:

Dutch Chocolate Shake
Chili
Cappuccino
Chocolate pudding
Oatmeal raisin crunch bar
3 oz lean chicken breast w/ 2 cups of spinach & seasoning of my choice ( I think )

Massive asses call for drastic measures!!

Weekend

Go by way to fast and have been very nice. Alot of family time and a double date with my daughter and her boyfriend. We were going to go and see Robin Hood, even though I didn't want to. But once dinner was done we would have had to wait too long and the next movie was Letter's to Juliet. So doing the happy dance, I got my way and we all went to see that. It was very cute and even the guys had to admit that it was funny and good. Even if it was all full of love instead of violence.

So now back to work for a 3 days this week and then its off to California for the weekend.

Post Mortum

Life is short so take what you have and enjoy. Work for what you want and appreciate what you have and never take tomorrow for granted!


RIP Ariel & Alex, & BH

Two lives taken wayyyyyy too soon... and 1 lived long and well!

Blisters Abound

I have never seen so many cases of blistered areas on one population in my life as I have been dealing with on my floor. Can they be from wetness ( ie. overheated skin areas?) I mean its AZ and its hot and of course the elderly think its cold when their bodies are still sweating.

It just seems like its some infectious nosocomial thing or something. But all these freaking skin issues are really increasing the amount of treatments and dressing changes that need to be done each shift. I swear out of the 26 people I have every night, 20 of them require a bid dressing change as well.

Sometimes....

I wonder how much more I can take. Chronic pain is one thing but adding to the mix & not being able to take anything except Motrin us getting f'ing old.

My labs came back and on top of the foot issues (which caused me to call in today), I manged to get a raging UTI Tip for new nurses, DO NOT HOLD YOUR PEE FOR 12 hours every freaking shift! (Of course this could be in addition to some honeymoon cystitis too lol)

So to help with the inflammation for the feet they gave me Prednisone and Bactrium for the UTI.

In good news my Medifast stuff has shipped so I'll be starting that. I managed to get someone to cover my shifts for the 21st and the 28th... so I can do something fun... like go to the dentist... lol and we can go to Universal. If worse comes to worse I may need a wheelchair to get around the park... but we ARE going!

Bilateral Calcaneus Stress Fractures ...

About 1mm right now. The bad news is that they are on the medial and lateral aspects of both of my feet. Week feet that are prone to stress fractures already and an over weight body that is not used to being on my feet for over 10 hours is the culprit.

I put all of my weight on my heels and since my ankles are weak also that caused the and inward rotation, thus the locations.

Double shock absorption and taping right now to give them support. Lots of Motrin. But Other than staying off my feet there is nothing to be done at this time.

Feet Fail

As in my heals have failed me. For some reason they hurt so bad that I can't even put pressure down on them. I have tried so many types of inserts and orthodics at this point I have no idea what is wrong. They just aren't bouncing back this time and they didn't hurt like this last weekend.

The weekend turned out really great, even if it started awful. Friday night I came out to a flat tire and had to wait an hour for someone to come and fix it because my jack didn't work right.

Saturday it was dinner and a movie with hubby. We are dating again and that's been a great start over.

Today was a great Mother's Day! The kids bought me a Fondue set, an electric griddle and hubby bought me a deluxe foot spa. The kids also made me a bacon and egg breakfast. It was a wonderful day!

I just wish my feet didn't hurt so damn bad I am wondering how I am going to make it into work tomorrow!

Night from hell

Just when you think you'll have a good night because the usual person that is demanding of your time is not there, the others simply pick up the slack. When change of shift starts with an incident report you know its going to be a bad day.

Wow I wonder why I ever thought I wanted to be a Nurse? LOL


Today is online driver safety to satisfy my ticket that I got on the interview day for the job I didn't get. BORING! The cost was $6 less than the ticket it self, but at least no points on my record. So that's good.

Birthday trip.... each year we go somewhere for my birthday since its usually Memorial Day Weekend. This year I have to work Memorial Day, although i don't qualify for holiday pay yet, which sucks, so this year we are going the week before, hopefully. So we decided to go to Universal Studios LA. I can't wait!

Warning... watch for falling toes

Gangrene, zero palpable pedal pulse and a toe that bends in the wrong direction.


& All it gets is betadine and a dry dressing. Yup this dressing change is going to be so much fun!

YUCK!

The joy in employment

Cable... lol yeah its been awhile since I have actually had cable or in this case satellite. We had rabbit ears so we could get a few of the local channels but now I have HBO, Showtime, Food network & HGTV...woot!

Money... I have almost forgotten what it was like to actually have some left before the next pay day gets here. Two days until payday and my bank account still has a positive number in it and I only have car insurance and the cell phone bill left to pay for May bills. CRAZY since its only May 3rd!

Unexpected expenses... are not as mind boggling as they used to be. The car I bought the daughter has turned into as much a money pit as the Jeep. The ignition switch fell out! So its at the shop being fixed and gone over for other things that could be issues. Might as well get it all fixed while I have a few dollars in this next paycheck. Most importantly it needs to be safe!

Nails... yup got them done and they looked great, made me feel great and now it is time to get them done again. So Wednesday I am going to get my haircut and my nails done again. They are two weeks old and in need of a fill. Plus I think they are way too long on a few and may need to get them redone all together. They kinda suck to type with and with work I don't want them to get in the way or God forbid, scratch someone.

Excited.. the new Sookie Stackhouse book is supposed to come out this month. I read Chapter 1 online. Can't wait to finish it!

Marriage

The thing about being married to your first love is that not being married to them is easier said than done. Chances get extended, begging is accepted and counseling is continued.

Has the ship sunk or can it be saved?


Or...

Am I just stupid to think that we can get over an Internet affair intact & stronger?

10 days and counting from the revelation that my hubby is a douche... but since then, he's been a lot more like the man I married. But of course... can it last?

State Survey

Well great news... I survived my first state survey. When I got to work today they were still there but before I had finished count and gotten report, they were off and out the door! Woot! I totally did not want to be there for that.

Still feeling bad off and on. Motrin is taking the achy away and keeping the fevers at bay. But no high spikes just low grade.

I am feeling very confident about my job and getting compliments at how fast I picked things up and gotten into a grove. I never thought I would memorize that many medicines and treatments for that many residents but its weird how repetitious it is and that after only threeish weeks I have nearly every memorized so that I don't even have to look at the MAR to know who gets what and when.

Of course that leads to some charting errors... well not errors but blanks I have to remember to sign off because they are considered errors.

But of course with the good news is always the bad and that is that I am BORED with my job. Today I put in a Foley and irrigated a supra pubic one. But other than that it does not have the excitement that I need.

Sheesh... I am just never happy. Well except on PAYDAY!

Down with the Sickness

So I started to feel really bad all of a sudden yesterday at the end of my shift. My throat started to hurt a little, but mostly my back and body started to ache really bad. By the time I got home I had a fever. This morning I woke up with a low grade fever too. Glands are a tad swollen but mostly my back hurts. I wonder what it is.

Once upon a time when I worked as a CNA in a Nursing Home I was sick all the time. I really hope that that is not going to be the case here. I mean you can only wash your hands and gel them so much. My hands are red already!

Not enough

1 day is not enough of a day off. I spent it waiting for the Dish Network people to show up. Then had to head to the mall to get some shorts for the boy. He's a PIA to take shopping and at the mall is worse. But he had gift certs for a particular store to spend. $87 for 3 pairs of shorts is NOT my idea of a deal. He likes Wal-mart or Target jeans and I still have to head out and find him those and some shirts too.

Then we had to go over and see about fixing and getting the Jeep. Which was at hubby's work. That thing is a big POS and I can not wait to be able to afford new cars with warranties.

Then it was grocery shopping and home. I did not make dinner but instead we had sundae's.

Then come to find out the DISH receiver is NOT what I wanted either. I wanted 3. 1 with DVR. So when I went to set my recording for Nurse Jackie and Trueblood it blocked the content on my daughter's TV and wouldn't let her change the channel and recorded using her TV. It seems our converters are connected.

So then we fixed that problem and it then recorded on my TV and wouldn't let me watch anything else. Um... the point of DVR is so that I can record while not being home and the TV is still free to watch at least 1 other show. While my son and daughter can use their own TVs. So another phone call I will be making through the crap that is Customer Service at DISH Network! Oh and the only reason we chose DISH over Direct was because of a sports channel so we could catch the Red Sox games and yeah that channel isn't even programmed!

Of course its back to work today and tomorrow so no time for that until Wednesday. Plus, Wednesday I am meeting with the diet center!

26 French 30 CC Balloon

If you are leaking around this... what's next a garden hose?

Weight Update

So still on the losing end. But it has settled to 5 pounds a month. But since I started working the weight is coming off faster. I was thinking of starting the Hcg diet thing.. but I am not sure if I can keep up with the food lists and stuff. So perhaps Medifast, Nutra-System or Jenny Craig. I just need to start with prepackaged meal plans to make it easier. After than I already know about exercise and portion size. After all I have taken a Nutrition class and learned alot as a Nurse.

Hehe.. So since March 18th I am down 16 pounds.

Families

The thing about having a big family is that they have your back. The best thing about big families is that half of mine kicks it ghetto style. So needless to say that even though I can not be there to exact the... payback I think someone deserves. Well at least her husband will know too! After all my family should not be the only one who has to deal with the aftermath of this stupid childish game.

Furthermore, even if it was just some Internet fun that meant nothing on his part,he says he has sworn off totally, and swears that he will try and make it up to me forever and has begged for another chance...

Well it is just not in me to just forgive that there were two people in this stupid fake "romance" and since I get to exact all the punishment on the one here. So should be the option of the spouse on the other end to exact the punishment on the slut that decided that she wanted anything that is MINE.

Hummm... a women scorned and all that jazz!

Pfftttt... have I ever mentioned that I really am a mean bitch?

First Paycheck

Woot! So nice! I can actually pay all of my bills and still have leftover money until the next paycheck which is on the 5th.

So even though this is not my ideal job, I suppose I can put up with it for the money. Plus today went very well, I am getting a bit more used to everything and actually got out relatively early 11:30 today. Which was nice!

“It probably pays more than a person who is stuck in the medical coding industry.”

Find out more click here!!! http://www.medicalbillingandcoding.org

Thanks

for all the kind wishes. I deleted the post I am referring to. The complicatedness, if that is even a word, over all of this is just so mind boggling that I have yet to wrap my head and heart around the same decision.

The heart is a tougher than you know, even if it is so fragile it has been shattered into a hundred pieces.

Its tough when you know that 20 years can be tossed aside and its worse yet when you know that lives will be ruined over your decision.

What makes it harder still is when people say everything you want to hear and you can't trust those words... even though you desperately want to.

So.... I have no idea what is going to happen or what is happening. I guess it'll be one day at a time from here on out and we'll see.

Bonding...

This weekend was filled with male and female bonding, with a bit of family bonding thrown in at the end.

The boys went camping/hunting and from the stories and the excited diatribe we were overwhelmed with when we came in the house, they had a pretty great time. They shot and ate a rattlesnake and pretty much enjoyed the wilds of the desert.

The girl and I hit the spa for mani/pedi's and I had some moles removed while she had her hair cut and colored. Stupid me! OUCH!! But once they heal up, it'll be well worth the pain. I hope! I had a SNAFU with the debit card, apparently there is a daily spending limit on it, which is stupid and I would have been totally FUCKED... thank God I had an extra $100 in the pocket.

On our way to our bonding the girl and I actually saw a snake too. My first one since we moved here 5 years ago. Of course we totally freaked out, even though we were in the car and the snake was on the road. Just the thought of it!

So then as a family we had some burgers on the grill and watched a family movie. Zombieland.. LOL... That's what happens when you have teenagers I guess.

So back to work tomorrow. The honeymoon is over there pretty quick! I am bored! LTC is not the job I see as having my heart, and being the reason I left a place I loved, in order to pursue my dreams. LTC is not my dream. LTC nursing is NOT for me. But I'll put in my year and pray my feet hold up! Even though there have been new things every day the pushing the cart and pulling meds and blah blah blah... just not exciting. When I think back to my clinicals it was the adrenaline jobs that sparked my fire! OR Trauma and Women's Health L&D. I didn't get to be in the ER, but I bet I would love that too! So even if the money is good this job and the shift specifically are really not for me.

If nursing is my dream I am not going to settle. Ya know? So its plug along at my school work and hit that LPN-BSN running in 6 months.

Remarkable men, Skin tears... and just Icky icky icky

Sometimes I am amazed that people can be kind and think of others. My husband for one. Well he really is a nice guy all and all and yesterday I asked if he could stop by work and meet with a resident, a Vet, and give him a hand with the models he was working on. Well he came. It really made that grumpy old man's day.

*****

So then later I had a resident get a skin tear, so another incident report. Of course this was followed by a report that a resident thinks she saw one of the male aides , GASP... Kiss another one of the residents. (Same aide involved in the skin tear)

Ok so skin tears happen, the lady has 4 or 5 at present. Spoke with the doctor and there are standing orders, geri sleeves the works. But an allegation like that. I mean the dude to me is creepy anyway. Sometimes there are just people that you wonder why or how they could do this job. So yeah now there is to be an investigation and whatnot. The main thing that I don't get, and its really eating me up when I think about it is this...

When told he would need to leave pending further investigation, he came to me to say he was leaving. A Disturbing conversation pursued.

Him: " Well I am leaving. Not because of the skin tear but because of something all different."

Me: " Oh why?" (I knew at this point of course)

Him: " Some crazy resident reported that I had kissed another resident."

Me: " Oh wow!"

Him: " Now I am going to lose my job because that crazy lady is just jealous!"

Me: " What do you mean by that?"

Him: < walks away >

Now tell me this... Would you use those words "just jealous?"

I would think more like, " I am going to lose my job and God only knows because of something that never happened. OMG what am I going to do? What happens now?" Blah blah blah...


Turns out that that resident is supposed to only have female caregivers, so not sure where this is going to head. Except that I am sure the state will be in and there will be much more hullabaloo if this is true than over the UTI that the state is still up in arms about!