score one veggie plate

I have short hair again! Phew. Long hair was getting to be too much work, and I'm too busy toadd 3o mins of blow-drying all that hair. I love it. And The Beau loves it, too.

The Beau and I are working on spending less, even saving some. We have set a grocery b

udget and are making more meals from scratch. Last night we had cheeseburger pizza (with special sauce and pickles, to boot!). I started with yeast, flour, salt... you know... like the little birdies say: cheap cheap!

This next photo is another example of our money-saving adventures. Frugalista tip #16: always bring tupperware to a potluck or other event that serves food.

Student Nurse: what the heck happened?

Oh my! How did I get so far behind on the blog?

Well...

This accelerated program is intense! The moments I take away from working/studying I nap or veg out to tv or movies. It's like horse-lips for my brain. Horse-lips are hard to explain, like blowing really big raspberries. Ideally, I'd like to post here more regularly. We'll see how it goes.

:)

Today begins Spring Term, Week One. I'm just going to skip the rest of Fall and Winter terms that I didn't keep up on. Too much to think about today. Maybe I'll reflect on them later. This term I am learning Acute Care and Leadership & Outcomes Management. My clinical placement for the next 5 weeks is in a cardiac unit. I hope I can remember everything I've learned about cardiac (and whole body!) pathophysiology and pharmacology and apply it to my practice. I'm confident about my ability to communicate and interact with patients. I'm confident handling tasks within my skill set, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow and Wednesday when I'll learn some new nursing skills.

Until next time....

love and nursing.

Student Nurse: Fall term, week four

I'm getting in the last of my studying for a midterm I have tomorrow, but I wanted to share one thing. Tuesday we worked a flu vaccine clinic for employees and volunteers at our hospital. I gave SIXTY ONE intramuscular injections. I even got to give one of my instructors her vaccine! Ahahaha the tables have turned!

Student Nurse: Fall term, week three

This week we had our first patients. And I learned patience.

Then we had skills lab. And I learned how to insert a urinary catheter into a latex dummy. And while learning how to dress wounds, I met Seymour Butts.

Not Kidding.

Love and nursing.

Student Nurse: Fall term, week two, take two

Holy crap, who knew they'd be talking about ME when they named my unit trauma?

Okay it's not that bad. I didn't get hurt or pooped on (yet).

But wow did I see some crazy stuff and oh man did that one patient's giant, infected, abdominal wound draining copious! amounts of purulent exudate (pus) SMELL. AWFUL. I could feel my stomach flipping around the whole time I was in her room. Thank goodness I didn't start gagging right in front of that sweet woman, she was already so embarrassed about the stench that she kept apologizing - which made me fixate on it. Oy.

Nosefulls-of-peppermint-chapstick and nursing.

Student Nurse: Fall term, week two

I'm in denial that break is over. I need to get my brain back into school mode. Last week must have been too easy. It was mostly orientation to new classes, and nothing much was actually due this week until Thursday. I used my unscholarly energy for good, though. Did some work around the house and spent some quality time with girlfriends. Tomorrow I will shadow a nurse on the unit. I will look so very nursey. I'm excited for all parts of it... except the getting up at 5am.

Love and nursing.

Back to school!

This weekend I was wishing for another month to play, and honestly not looking forward to going back to school. BUT! Now that I've had one class and my clinical orientation, I'm feeling really good about what this semester has in store for me. I've been assigned to the Trauma and Emergency General Surgery unit - which is where patients go after they clear the ICU following their surgeries. It's far off my mamas-and-babies track, but I knew when I started that I'd be taking a longer road. I'm excited about my assignment. And truthfully, I'm relieved that I wasn't assigned to an elder care facility. I hear they are the hardest to cope with as a brand new student. I don't really need anything extra on my plate right now, you know.

Crater Lake

I climbed down a bit off the path to this nice little perch. Check out the forest fire past Mt. Scott in the distance.

take it easy

School starts back up again on Monday, so The Beau and I escaped to the woods of Crater Lake for a bit before things get hectic again. It was Wonderful! Beautiful, peaceful, quiet, sunny, woodsy loveliness. The Beau doesn't have much camping history, so I had fun introducing him to things like pizza mountain pies. MMmmm mountain pies.

We stayed at the Natural Bridge campground, which was right ON the Rogue River just upstream of the 200 feet section of the river that is diverted underground! into a lava tube. It was a small "primitive" campground that we LOVED.

Before we even arrived in Rogue River National Forest, we spent a few hours on I-5. I discovered an interesting change in myself. When I lived back east, my average highway speed was 80 mph. I zipped from here to there, racing the clock. On this trip I was content to drive 65. Back east, someone going 65 would have to stay in the right lane because everyone else would be flying past. But I found myself passing on the left going 65.

It's something about the laid back nature of the West.

It has rubbed off on me.

magical migraine cure?

I've been at the mercy of Headaches of Doom for over a year now. Two months ago La Doctora started me on meds for migraine prophylaxis. Though they come less frequently now, they're not gone. So I begged La Doctora for something to deal with the headaches that aren't prevented. She prescribed sumatriptan. I've taken it three times now, including once today.

It takes nearly an hour, and being incredibly uncomfortable by the time I swallow the little white triangle, I usually try to nap until the pain subsides. Each time I sleep some, then wake up after an hour feeling, well, strange.

My head feels great. But my stomach, oy! The nausea passes after 30min or so, but for the rest of the day I have acidy indigestion and burping. But that's not the strange feeling.

I actually feel strrrrraaaaaannnnge. Floaty, spacey, giddy.... out of my element. My landlord came over to let me know new neighbors are moving in next week and I was embarrassed to be so loopy. I was afraid he would think I had been taking drugs. Well, I guess I had been. I'm afraid for the day I have a migraine when I have clinicals. I'll have to work extra hard to focus and not appear stoned, as well as hiding my horrible acidic burps. Yuck! Better than my puffy, leaky-eyed, agonizing headaches, I suppose.

makeover!

bangs, skinny jeans, boots... what is Portland doing to me!?

I don't know, but I like it.

Student Nurse: End of First Term

Whew! Sorry I dropped the ball on all human contact for the last month plus. After midterm exams, the heat really turned up and I am NOT talking about the weather. It suddenly became much more time and energy-consuming to keep up with my studies. When I wasn't in class or studying, I was sleeping, eating, or guiltily watching tv episodes late at night on hulu.com. I'm glad the Best Gal Pal is out of town because she would have felt quite neglected by me.

I LOVE school. I have never felt this way about school before. I've heard that adults that go "back to school" are much more motivated and better students in general. There's really something to it. I feel driven. Laugh if you must. But I only missed one -ONE!- question on my pharm final. That's right, folks. This baby-catcher-to-be got STRAIGHT A's in her first term of nursing school! Booyah!

how to get out of signing a petition

The Beau and I tabled for PP at the State Fair last week. Our main goal was to get signatures for a petition for the Heathcare for Every Community campaign - to remind congress that reproductive health care (from mammograms to birth control and more) must be included in the new health care reform bill. We had to ignore all the timid feelings and really get in peoples faces, since as soon as they spotted our clipboards, fair-attendees averted their eyes and scurried past. I practiced my best public health confidence and got three pages of signatures! This experience showed me how truly red my state would be without my city, though. The State Fair was in the capital and people came from all over. Many of them were very upset that PP was there because apparently their goal is to kill babies. Most of the people that didn't want to sign ignored us or told us they didn't support abortion. But we did get some creative excuses as well.

My favorite: I asked a man if he was registered to vote (only registered voters count on the petition) and he replied, "sorry, I'm a convicted felon." We volunteers debated whether it was true or his excuse to get away from us.

Heatwave!

Help! I'm mmmeelllllllting! Here's a shot of me (on the phone with my dad) just after biking a mere 4 miles home from school. See the multiple beads of sweat racing each other past my clavicles? Well folks, you don't have to take my diaphoresis' word for it:

It's so bad that the news is recommending that we "check up on relatives and neighbors!" People here in Portland (myself included, probably) don't know how to thrive in this kind of heat. We're not used to drinking so much fluid, few of us have A/C in our homes, I'm sure the movie theatres and malls are packed. If I didn't have a midterm to study for in addition to my regular reading and assignments, I'd surely be somewhere air conditioned. Maybe after my icy shower I'll find a cool cafe to do my work. Here's one last pic of sweaty me just because I can.

scary!

Student Nurse: End of Week Five

Half-way done with my first term of nursing school! You know what that means? Midterm exams. We just got our grades from Monday's Pathophysiology midterm, which had most everyone sleepless and fretting. Well, I wasn't sleepless and only fretted a little... but I swear some of my classmates had less hair than last week. Apparently I studied just enough and got plenty of sleep because I came out with a fabulous middle-A (class average 85%)! The only bad thing about it is that some of my closest new friends got C's and I feel bad talking about the exam with them. The new catchphrase going around is "C's get degrees." But I refuse to apply that to myself. Call me a grade-wh*re if you must, but don't expect me to join your study group for Wednesday's Pharmacology exam. None of this vinegar, attract me with honey.

Love and nursing.

Student Nurse: End of Week Three

I can't believe I'm 25 and this is the first time I've brushed someone's teeth besides my own. Well, scratch that. Who the heck would have wanted me to brush their teeth for them? Anyway now you all know what me providing oral care looks like! Oh so nurse-y! This "patient" got star treatment: MAC lipstick application post-flossing. The other students were way jealous.

I'm really enjoying school. I'm getting a boatload of information stuffed into my little pickup truck brain. But I'm handling it really well so far. I've even managed to make a few new friends, so I'm on a roll. The intensity is going to pick up any minute, so if you don't hear from me for a while it's hopefully because I'm studying like crazy.

This term, all of our clinicals (kind of like lab at this point) will be in the simulation lab with rubber patients or fellow students. I'm getting pretty good at taking the blood pressure of a relatively healthy 30 year old. It's going to be a real wake up call when I have to try it on kids and older adults. (Grandparents: I will definitely be asking to practice on you when I'm in town, so be prepared!!) I'm also getting a lot of practice with the phrase "say 'Ahhh'"!

until next time.... love and nursing.

Crazy week coming up

First day of school is Monday! I've got most of my books already, bought my scrubs and supplies, and mapped out my bike route to school. I'm really excited to get started and to make friends and study buddies. I'm also nervous about whether I'll be able to manage my time and ease back into life as a full-time student. I get a membership to a really awesome gym with my enrollment in school, and this gym is along my commute path. I plan to take advantage of this and hopefully it will keep me balanced and brainy.
The first week seems like it will be light, I have two days off. Those will be highly useful for last minute packing. Because on Saturday we're moving! No more two people in my tiny studio. No more will my chair be the Beau's "closet." OoOOooo I am so excited!
Love and nursing.

Iran's Disputed Election - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Iran's Disputed Election - The Big Picture - Boston.com

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Art Hoppin

For some reason, I didn't realize how big this Alberta Art Hop thing was going to be until I saw this in the Willamette Week. (click to see it bigger)
I mean, 17 blocks of party??? That is so awesome. Plus the forecast is 85 and sunny. My Beau called off work so he can sit with me, keep me company, and be my street-food errand boy. I'm putting my finishing touches on my display setup and I will definitely post photos of the day.

If you're in Portland, please come say hello!

Alberta Art Hop

Saturday May 16th from 9am to 9pm at (and around) The Radio Room on NE Alberta Street.
March Forth Marching Band, DJ Antix, Sidestreet Remy will be playing throughout the day and there will be an array of local artists selling their wares... including ME!!!!

Come say hello, eat, dance, and buy my earrings! I'll probably be across the street from The Radio Room; which, incidentally, has amazing cheeseburgers.