Ok, guess I should try blogging, again.

Christmas was fun, left as fast as it came.

Now it is January. 6 months until my wedding day!!!

Today we are planning on doing wedding things.. our registry, go look at tuxes. It'll be fun.

Day off. :):)

Went to work out. Haven't worked out in a week. Took my weight, and I've lost another pound.
Thats 4 pounds in a month and a 1/2. Not a lot, but healthy, and at least its on the downward slope!!

Going to eat lunch with my new friend, Darcy. She lives in the same apartment complex, with her boyfriend. Shes very nice. A year older. College grad. We have a lot in common.

Another friend is in town, a pregnant girl i haven't seen for 4 years. She just left her boyfriend and came back to CR from Minnesota. It'll be interesting to catch up.

Super worried about paying student loans back. But thats why i'm working at pier one too. It'll be fine, but tight, especially trying to pay for a wedding!

Time for a shower...

This weekend was a very busy weekend. Worked at the hospital, 3-11 pm on Saturday, 3-7:30 on Sunday, and then worked at Pier 1 Sunday 8-Midnight. Then this morning, I have nurse residency class from 7 AM to 11 am. WAY too early!!

For class, they wanted us to do homework due today. I didn't do it, and neither did anyone else. We learned about delegation and how to react to stressful interactions. There was a student with her from Upper Iowa University who just graduated with her bachelors and is going on for her masters in nursing education. She had this attitude that she was better than us. Um... we got our bachelors too..at the same time. She is an older lady, middle aged. When we did discussion with her she did nothing to facilitate the conversation, and all she could talk about was Mercy, where she works.

I'm sleepy, going to take a nap i think...

It is 8:10 am on a Beautiful Wednesday morning.

I have been up since 7 a.m.

Why??

Because I thought I had class, ACLS class, but evidently its tomorrow. I wrote the wrong thing in my planner. How lame is that?!


<----Mr Bruce Lookin at me. Isn't he ADORABLE?!?! Yesterday I had my very first Craigslist transaction. I was scared. But, it was broad daylight and I met the person at Mcdonalds. She brought cash, (its for an old phone) and she even had toddlers with her. So I felt safe enough. Craigslist isn't so bad, if you're careful.

I started subscribing to RSS feeds this morning. I learned how in college, but never had the time to do it, and figured, I barely have time to check my email, let alone feeds. But, I did it this morning. Lets see how long it takes before I ignore them. I subscribed to a lot of Nursing Journals, evidence based nursing, that sort of thing. Hopefully i'll get some usefull information.

Miss Peanut Mae-------->
The little brat wouldn't sit still long enough for me to take a picture.

Work is going well, Happy to have a job right now, Happy to have a job I love. I'm still the newbie, and will be a newbie for a year or two, but all the other nurses on staff are pretty nice. They are soo smart :) I have, however, figured out the ones that I dont ask questions to.. the ones who arn't necessariliy evidence based.

I think Im getting better at patient- nurse interaction too... i feel very comfortable walking into a patient's room, and doing my assessment. I am also getting better at patient education.

Jeffrey and I at a friends wedding reception
in early October--------->

Okay, well i'm sick of bloggin for now. Maybe some day I'll get better at it.

:)

So, its been awhile since my last post. been busy, as usual.

Lets see... since my last post...

Internship went well, did about 200 hours of clinical work. Worked full time as a tech too, got lots of overtime during the flood.

Senior year started. Was bored with it. Lots of NCLEX studying.

Jeffrey proposed in December. Of course, I accepted.

Passed nursing boards in March (3 days after my birthday).

Spent hours searching for a job... because of the economy all hospitals in the area were on a hiring freeze. St. Luke's let up and I was accepted a job at 3 West, a post surgical floor. My floor I worked on as a tech was not hiring.

Started working May 13th. Graduated from Mount Mercy College May 23rd.

Now i'm working full time and have my own benefits. Just got my insurance cards in the mail!

Time to make dinner. I'm STARVED. Making Buttermilk Fried Chicken. Yum!!

So...

Its 10:30pm. I should be working on homework, but i'm getting annoyed with writing this 6 page paper on comparing Socrates and Confucius with my own philosophy on Ethics. I've got about three pages done, but I honestly do not want to write any more!!!!!

One more week left of classess... actually, a total of two days. Seems so weird I'm at the last days of my junior year of COLLEGE. Senior status is only but days away!

I am so excited about spring. Well, the idea of spring anyway. Iowa tends to skip that season. But we're definately not in winter anymore!!! The picture is one I took of my tulips a few weeks ago.. unfortunately, they are long dead. I don't exactly have a green thumb. It's okay, I was able to enjoy them for a few days at least, and take some pictures.

I'm thinking about printing out some of my flower pictures and framing them, puting them around the house. I cant keep real flowers alive, but at least i'd still be able to see them!

Today I went to IWC graduation ceremony. It was pretty good, i guess. I can't believe some of the friends I have that are college grads! It seems like just yesterday I was a freshman, and graduation for me is just around the corner. Amazing how time flys when your having fun, or too busy to even notice. One of my really amazing friends, Shannon, graduated, and it is so weird. Luckily, she is staying in Iowa, unlike my last good friend who graduated, Maggie, who decided to up and move to New York. Crazy girl. Oh well, she would've never stayed long here anyway. At the IWC ceremony former Iowa governer Vilsack and his wife was there, but he didn't talk, she did. There was also a Kennedy who spoke as well. But It was hard sittin... an hour and a half!!! I dont know how i'm going to suffer through Sara Jess's graduation... 400 kids... i had to suffer through it from my own high school graduation haha

I am super-psyched for my internship this summer. It'll be great! I am so close to being a practicing nurse it scares me. I think I'll be good though. I care about people and their feelings, and most importantly I feel I have a decent intellectual capacity.

I haven't decided about going for my masters yet. I keep going back and forth. It sounds like a good idea in theory, but I went to school so I could be a nurse. So I'd really like to experience that for a few years before doing something else. I am interesting in being a CRNA, but again, that takes 2 years of hardcore schooling, after working as an RN for 3 years in ICU.

1. I really dont think I could afford to go to school full time for two whole years (including summers) after I will have more important financial obligations


2. I would have to work for 3 years first in ICU; if I get hired in ICU. So it could potentially be 10 years before even having the chance to apply.


3. What if I hate being an ICU nurse, even though it is completely different work from a CRNA?


4. Homework.... again...???

So those are my thoughts, mostly negative. So, I guess, if I decide to go for my masters, I may skip the whole CRNA deal and just specialize in something. Like Med/Surg. That is probly what I'll be working for a few years anyway, which is fine, I really enjoy it thus far.

Who knows, maybe I'll go on to get my ARNP, and be Dr. Nurse Amelia. Wouldn't that be awesome?

( my lovely stethoscope!!)