Oct 31, 2004

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween. We went with Angela, Brandon and family out to a Christmas tree farm. They had set up a pumpkin hunt in the tress and train rides (In a tractor made to look like a train) and pumpkin painting and such. Ari had a blast. Then we went back to trick or treat in Angela's neighborhood. The kids were a big hit in their costumes. From the movie Toy story II, Ari was Jessie the Cowgirl, Brandon was Woody (He's tall and lean so it worked) and their friend Austn was Buzz. (He's short and stocky so that worked too) They were all too cute! I'll post the pics when I get them developed, probably tomorrow. We had a good day and we have WAY too much candy!

Oct 23, 2004

The Grudge

I saw The Grudge last night. I would defrinitely have to list this one as one of the most Creepy, Disturbing, and Spooky movies I've seen. It rivals The Exorcist as my top scariest. Also, It definitely has a high startle and jump factor. If you like movies that have creepy imagery like I do, this has it. I've heard some bad and good reviews on it. I think the bad ones are those who go in with a closed mind. To be freaked out by movies like this you really have to go in and really "get" into the movie. It was awesome I thought....don't see it alone at night though...you'll never get to sleep afterwards. I got home last night during a big thunderstorm and watched Will and Grace and the Apprentice to get my mind off of it.
I'm looking forward to finding the japanese version, Ju-on.

Oct 19, 2004

Final, Halloween, Vote

I know I haven't posted in awhile, sorry. It's been really insane lately. That and if I post too often than this blog would get even more boring than it already is!
School's been going well. I made a B in my first 8 week course "Foundations in Nursing". It's my first B since my Math class 2 years ago when I first went back. It's all because of the really sucky final we had last week. Some students left crying...Most of us A students ended up with a rare C or D on the test. I would say about 50% of the test was material we never covered or was phrased so badly it was hard to tell which was the answer. I originally made a D but with the bad grades the instructors went through it again and threw 5 questions out...So I ended up with a C. I needed an A to make an A in the class though with it being 40% of our grade. Oh well...I should be happy with my B and I'm ranked 25th in my class thus far. (25 out of 60 isn't too shabby is it?)
I started my new 8 week class yesterday. "Concepts of adult health" It's a Medical-surgical based class. We learned to insert Foley catheters today. (we practice on dummys)
Ari's getting excited about Halloween. She gets to dress up in her Jessie the cowgirl outfit next week for Gymnastics so I imagine I'll have a hard time getting her to take it off after. She's already talking about what she's supposed to do when she knocks on someone's door..."Twick o tweat!"
One more thing before I go. I just wanted to mention that I voted yesterday and I want to encourage everyone to go out and vote this year.
Take Care,

Oct 9, 2004

Palm Pilot

I've received an early Christmas present! A PDA (personal digital asst). It's really cool! I was getting frustrated at the hospital because I would see a med I didn't know and didn't have the means to look it up. I could bring my gigantic, enormous paper guide but 2 of my classmates have had theirs stolen already. They are supposed to keep some up there but you can never find one. Last week my instructor caught a med side effect before I did.
I am writing in orange today for the longhorns. It's funny really, in High school I was an Aggie fan (UT's in-state rival) only because I was very involved in 4-H and we did all of our major functions through A&M. My programs in 4-H were rabbits, record book-health,demonstrations, crafts, and dogs. I think I held an office one year but I can't remember what it was....I think it was something under-the-radar like historian. I showed my black English angora named Noui. His claim to fame was winning 4th in the Houston livestock show and rodeo. It kept me out of trouble. Anyway, I still wouldn't mind seeing UT kick OU's ass today. The score is now OU3, UT O in the 2nd quarter. Come'on Horns, Hook 'em!

Oct 4, 2004

Thumb better

My Thumb is much better. I went to my doctor today. She drained (exsanguainated) the blood by rotating a syringe needle into it at 2 different spots. By the time I got home I did a third hole to drain a pocket she had missed. It didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would, and felt much better afterward. I think I'll be Ok at clinicals Thursdays. I was mostly worried about that. Clinicals have been going well. I have had nice patients and this coming week we actually start giving meds! I'll really start feeling more nursey then. I've had a hard time keeping myself from slipping into CA mode. I have to keep reminding myself at clinical that I am not a CA and I actually have more responsibility.
Last week we focused on Physical assessments and PERSON databases. PERSON is an anachronism that covers every aspect of the body and mind of the patient. It stands for Psychosocial, Elimination, Rest/Regulation, Safety, Oxygenation, and Nutrition. We take tidbits of data from the patient and organize it into the PERSON database and Voila! you have a big painted picture of the patient. It's overwhelming if you think about it.
Gotta study some more...

Oct 3, 2004

New email...new blog

I have a new email address. If you haven't gotten an email from me yet about it, then post a comment here and I'll send you one. Because I mailed it out in mass form...a lot of people's spam filters got it. I'm having a stressful time lately. It's good and bad really. Stress can make me more organized, productive, and definitely cause me to lose weight.(7 lbs so far in the last 4 weeks) It still wears on me. I've been irritable a lot more lately and have caught myself snapping at Ari a couple of times, so that's not good. My grandma, (Bobo) is not doing well at all. She's been fighting a losing battle with Cancer and we are not sure she'll even make it to Christmas. I had planned to go visit her in Florida but when I called to ask when a good time would be she talked me out of it. She says she doesn't want us kids to see her this sick and remember her like she used to be. I was worried about having the money to visit and attend her funeral so she sorta fixed that dilemma for me. I worry about Poppy too. They've been married 50 years, I don't know how he'll function without her.
School's getting to me too...It's just a lot of work and I need to organize it in my head. I'm doing fine on my grades it's just a lot studying just to get a B much less an A. Also dealing with financial troubles thanks to the VA and their slow processing.
I slammed the car door on my thumb Friday night and my whole thumbnail is blue. It hurts pretty bad and this typing is no fun without it. I have a feeling I may end up seeing my doc this week and they'll probably have to drill through the nail to relieve the pressure. That's gonna suck!
Anyway....this is a bummer of a 2nd entry. I'll try and be funny or perky in my next one.