Christmas Etc.

It never really felt like Christmas to me this year. It just came too fast, and though I was NOT one of those last minute shoppers (I've been done since the week after Thanksgiving), it just seems like the year flew right by and I'm still stuck in June...or something. I dunno. I did all the stuff I usually do...put the Christmas tree up, decorated the house, saw The Nutcracker (becoming a tradition), made cookies with my Dad and Sam, Christmas-Eve service at church, time with family and friends, mediating on the Reason for the season. Don't get me wrong, it was a great Christmas, it just didn't feel all Christmas-y and stuff like usual.

Most of my "free" time this month has been spent searching for homes. I'm getting rather frustrated...and today one of the houses that we were going to go see tomorrow just went into escrow...so we can't go see it. I was/am really irritated with myself about that one because I saw it when it first went on the market 2 weeks ago, but thought it was too far out and so didn't inquire about it. Then we decided it wouldn't be too far and scheduled a showing two days ago for tomorrow. And today it became unavailable. Grrrrrrrrrr!!! I don't want to just settle for something that "will work", I want to LOVE it! I know it may take a couple of months, but in the meantime I will be starting Block 4 in just a couple of weeks and so I know that the time I will have to look is going to drop drastically. Maybe I just need to rely on the daily email I get with "new matches" from the search I have set up on our realtor's website. *Sigh* I know we'll find a house, I just want it to be perfect in every way (not literally perfect, but perfect for us, you know--location, price, floorplan, yard, condition etc). We've put offers on two homes, but I don't think either of them is going to end up being the one we get.

Besides house hunting, I've just kinda been relaxing. That will be over after this weekend. Back to the grind of homework and studying, as I explained in the previous post. For Christmas Scott got a game for his Xbox360 called Rockband. It is AWESOME!!! And I don't play video games...but this one I do!! It is a set with a drum set, guitar, microphone and of course the game and it is SO much fun! We bought a bass to go along with it because Scott also got a Gamestop giftcard. I've only played the guitar and bass, I refuse to sing and the drums just look too hard, lol. I've been able to play a couple songs on the "hard" setting, but mostly I stick to Medium. We literally spent all day last Friday playing this game and then some of Saturday and Sunday too. It's a blast, especially when played with a bunch of friends!! :-D

I know I was going to write something else, but I can't remember what at the moment. I'm a little distracted, thinking about houses, school, the dishes in the sink and getting ready to go to our friend's house for a party tonight. I will try not to go so long without writing again. :-)

Goodbye 2008!!
~Abigail~

School Frustrations

Is it over already?? I can't believe another month is nearly gone. I have completely enjoyed Christmas break, and haven't cracked a book even once. That will have to change after the new year. Four of the case studies I mentioned a couple of posts back are due on Jan 16th--our first day of class. And three more are due each of the following two weeks. Plus we got our reading list...and it's insane. Good thing it's OB first!! It will be fun for me! :-D I am SO mad at the school, though, because they scheduled our tests this semester on SUNDAYS!!!! HELLOOOOOOO, I have to WORK on Sundays because I'm already in school on Saturdday and weekends are required at the hospital!?!?!?!?!??! AND SUNDAY IS NOT ONE OF OUR CLASS DAYS!!!! I was furious when I read the schedule...and get this...it wasn't even the school that sent it out it was another student who happened (luckily) to hear from ANOTHER student that the syllabus had been outside our upcoming teacher's office door at the school for the past two weeks. Did she (the teacher) even bother to send out an email letting us know it was available and where?? NOOOO! I am so over GCC. They never tell us anything--and this is an instance where I CAN say never and not be exagerating. Thanks to one of my classmates who scanned it into her computer and emailed it to everyone I don't have to go down there to get it (not to mention the Nursing Department is closed until the 5th). I am so glad this will be my last semester. I don't think I can take much more of this disorganization and lack of inforation. AND wishy-washy school regulations. At the end of last Spring a new school policy was made saying that they couldn't make us come in outside of scheduled class time to take tests. We had to do that last Spring (we were forced to come in on Thursdays to take tests), but that was before the policy. Now they've gone and scheduled us to take test on Sundays this semester...supposedly against school policy. I could scream I'm so irritated. So I had to explain this to my Supervisor at work yestereday. They already bend over backwards for my scheduling needs, and we had already filled out the February schedule...which I now had to CHANGE and it totally messed things up. She was understanding...and it's a good thing I can fill 3 job descriptions--I'm now a nurse extern one day a week, and then my second day each week I can be EITHER the Nurse's Aide or the Secretary, whatever is needed...so at least that helps. But still, I felt so bad having to change the schedule and take myself off of those two Sundays in February to accomodate GCC. Good thing there are only 4 tests this semester. Our final is on April 10th (a Friday). Hmmm, I wonder how many days until then (I've been counting down to May 15th--my tentative graduation day--since the school hasn't bothered to tell us the actual date yet--big suprise). 99 days until April 10th. I like that better...it's under 100, lol. :-D Plus, after our final we'll just have Preceptorship to complete and that (hopefully) will be fun.

I guess I'm done complaining for now. I just want to be done. Soon, very soon. It couldn't come soon enough...

~Abigail~

"Nursling"

Today was my first day as a Nurse Extern in Postpartum. As such, the nurse who has taken me under her wing as a Preceptor has nicknamed me her "nursling". :-) It was a fun day, but kinda weird at the same time. I felt like a stranger in my own home because although I was working with the same nurses on the same unit that I've been on for 2 1/2 years now, I was doing something entirely different. I guess you could compare it to getting a new pair of glasses--I have to adjust and refocus on the nurse's role as opposed to the CNA role I'm used to. So it's the same stuff, but completely different all at once. Clear as mud? Good. :-)

On my first day as a "nursling", I checked my first fundus (for those who don't know what that is you now have something to Google), and also became the proud owner of an umbilical cord clamp remover: an essential for any OB nurse (especially in Postpartum or Nursery).

I'm getting there!! 4 1/2 months left of nursing school (that would be 137 days--but I'm not really counting--*wink*). Then I'll be official!

My plan is to write a super long post on Wednesday (my next day off) before 2008 comes to an end (cause I know I've been slacking!!). :-)

~Abigail~

162 days...

Until graduation (to clarify...). I'm still only speculating on the actual date, but I can't be too far off. :-D I have three school days left of Block 3, and our last day is the 12th. Then I'll have exactly one month off before beginning Block 4 on January 12th. I have a LOT to do before then. I plan to complete the 10 case studies our instructor has already emailed to us so that I will not have to do them during the semester. They are all Maternity and Nursery case studies so they may actually be fun for me, or at least not as bad as other stuff...right now I'm kinda excited about starting on them, but I have yet to begin so we'll see how long that lasts...I will be getting my OB book back from a friend tomorrow and can start after that (she is finishing Block 2 and I let her borrow my Block 2 books for the semester, but I need them all back for Block 4...then she can have them back again when I'm done for HER Block 4, it works out perfect!!). Anyway, I know Block 4 is going to be extremely tough, so I do need to get cracking on those case studies as well as reviewing other stuff so I'm prepared...

Thanksgiving was great!! Scott and I spent Wednesday night at my parent's house so that I could get up at 7am and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade (tradition!!). My dad also made his traditional T-day breakfast: Johnny Cake (sweet corn bread muffins). Yummy!! After the parade my mom got the turkey ready to cook, and I prepped the Green Bean Casserole (my all time favorite) to bake later. I had baked two pumpkin pies the day before, and I even made the crusts from scratch! They turned out GREAT...although I did have to kinda piece the first one together because it fell apart on me as I was trying to transfer it from the counter into the pie pan...I didn't know I was supposed to fold it over on itself into quarters....I figured that out for the second one though and it didn't need any "repairs". :-) Grandpa and Letha came over for dinner and of course Mom, Dad and Sam were all there. Oh yeah. Me, Mom and Scott all played a new game called Alibi that Scott got from his friend Andrew (hi Andrew!!) for his birthday and it was AWESOME. It is very similar to Clue but totally different at the same time. Fun game! We played it again this past weekend with our friends Matt and Angela. :-) Anywho, we had a great Thanksgiving and I hope you all did too!!

I had to work on Black Friday, but Scott went shopping SUPER early with his parents (he was up before 3am!!!). I think he did a bunch of shopping online before leaving because the same sales were online too and NO LINES!! :-D I'm finally finished shopping for him too, and there's NO way he can guess what I got him!!! Mwahahaha! Oh oh!!! I was SO excited about Kohls....Scott's parents gave us their "Kohl's Cash" that they earned from shopping on Black Friday and we also had some of our own, so total I had $70 worth or kohls cash to spend between the 30th and 6th. Well, I bought a down-comforter for us which was on sale this Sunday/Monday for $50, and then I bought an oval shaped tablecloth with fall colors in a leaf pattern along with six green placemats that match it PERFECTLY (different brands though) and some fall kitchen towels. Obviously it's too late to use them this year, but they were on clearance and I LOVE shopping clearance and saving stuff for the next year(s)!!! The tablecloth was originally $30, I got it for $8. The placemats were $8 EACH, I got them for $1.59 ea. Woohoo!! :-D :-D :-D I actually re-found some stuff this year as we were putting up our tree and other decorations that I had bought on the day after Christmas LAST year (on clearance of course). It was so fun to rediscover stuff!! And I even found some Christmas presents I had bought TWO years ago on clearance intending to save them until last year but forgot...well, people will get them this year. :-D

In other news: WE'RE OFFICIALLY HOUSE SHOPPING!!! And yes, I'm excited. :-D We got prequalified for a home loan last week and will meet with our lender next Tuesday. We're going to look at our first house tonight and then another on Saturday. Why now? Because my wonderful mother-in-law gave us the information necessary to show us that we can do it NOW as opposed to six months from now. And no one knows what the real estate market is going to do after January (with our new president and all...grrr.), so now is the best time. AND apparently banks have these awesome loans that only require 1-3% downpayment instead of...well, much more! It's amazing what deals are out there right now!! The house we're going to look at tonight is being offered for HALF--yes, that's 50%--of what it sold for in 2005. That's just crazy!! And it's because it's a pre-forclosure, so they're just trying to sell it and get what they can before the bank takes it from them. It's really sad for those who are facing foreclosure, but a great opportunity for first time homebuyers. Our lender said there has never before been a better time to buy a house if you didn't have something to sell...aka, first time home buyers. US!! :-) So please be praying for us in the next few weeks/months (or however long this takes!) that we will find the perfect house for us in the perfect time. Who knows, it may be this first house we see, or it could be #50 five months from now!! Just for the record though, I'd sure like to find the right one before #50, lol!

I know I have more to say...but I can't think of it at the moment (I must just be too excited about tonight!!). Oh well, I suppose that means I'll just have to post again when I remember!! :-D

~Abigail~

Preceptorship!!!

*Jumping up and down* Guess what I just did!!!

..............................................

Okay fine, I'll just tell you. I just finished submitting my preferences for Preceptorship next semester!!! If you're wondering what on earth "Preceptorship" is, go read my last post. So I got to select 3 hospitals and then 3 units at each of the hospitals I chose....so a total of 9 selections. Granted my available options for hospitals was sadly lacking, I am pretty excited about what I did select.
My options were:
St. Joe's (my #1)
Banner Thunderbird (my #3)
Banner Good Sam
Banner Estrella
Arrowhead
Maricopa (my #2)

I chose those facilities based on the available units they were offering to students for preceptorships. I would have chosen Estrella as my #2 but they only had L&D and Postpartum (no nursery/NICU options) and I really don't want Postpartum. So I would have had to choose some medical floor as well, which I REFUSE to do. If I get stuck there, fine, but I'm not choosing a medical floor!!

St. Joe's is my first choice, and I chose NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), CCN (continuing care nursery--a step down from the NICU), and "OB-Any"--I love that they had that option, cause that covers L&D/Postpartum/Antepartum all in one selection!! Woohoo! So if I don't get either of the nurseries MAYBE I'll at least get something else OB related!!

Maricopa County Medical Center was my second choice. It was a toss up between this one and Thunderbird and so Maricopa won because it is closer to my home. :-) I chose NICU, Nursery, and L&D as my unit preferences (in that order).

Lastly, Thunderbird. And I chose NICU, L&D and Postpartum as my choices. I really don't want postpartum but like I said before it would be better than just getting whatever is available! And Thunderbird only had those 3 OB options. *shrugs*

I am hoping and praying that out of my 9 selections I will get placed in one of them!! Of course I would love to be at St. Joe's above any of the others, but honestly I would be THRILLED with any of the 9 choices I made!! And if I don't get ANY of them, I will cry. Seriously. I'll get over it and do whatever unit is assigned to me (lol, I'll HAVE to if I want to graduate!), but I will still cry. So pray for me and pray for the people at the school who are assigning students to their preceptors for next April!! I'm not sure when they do all the assignments, but we have from Nov. 24th through Dec. 12th to make our selections. So really anytime after that they could be working on assignments. However I have a hunch that they will wait until mid-March, at which point they will know who is going to pass Block 4 and who's not. That way they don't have to waste time placing students who aren't going to need placing...

Random fact: I am 8,206 days old. :-D

~Abigail~

Getting Closer!!

It's official, I'm being "promoted"(for lack of a better word) to Nurse Extern in January!!! I'm SO excited, my supervisor just told me yesterday!! I've been waiting for a definitive answer since August! I knew I'd have to wait until January IF it happened, but now I know it IS happening!!!! *squeal!* So I have to finish out the December schedule that was just published, and then I am switching. Which means I have about 6 more shifts to work as a CNA, and then I'm done!! Oh yeah, it gets better....I get a RAISE!!! Also, knowing that I will only be an extern for 4 months before GRADUATING makes it seem SO much more real!!! I'm graduating in 6 months!! 177 days!! It's getting SO close!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! :-D :-D :-D

Soooooooo, the more I think about it the more I think I will just stay at Glendale and finish up school and NOT switch to Mesa. Partially this is due to finding out about the externship because my supervisor told me she would need to "pair me up" with one of the nurses. Apparently I am supposed to work with the same nurse each time, and so I will need to work one of her days each week...and something tells me that it won't be the same exact day each week (and therefore would pretty much make MCC extremely difficult). Also, I REALLY don't want to leave my fellow students at GCC!! We've grown really close, like a little family, and I would miss them so much!! Third, we are supposed to be turning in our "requests" for preceptorship no later than December 14th....and I don't want to mess that up by switching schools AFTER that date.

What is "preceptorship" you ask? That is the FINAL test of nursing school. It is the ~3 week period of time right before graduation where you are paired with a nurse in one of the hospitals for about 12 shifts and you have to work with him/her and be the nurse. He/she is basically just there to supervise you, YOU are supposed to be the nurse and take their assignment. They're just there to help and, well, like I said: supervise. We are supposed to go online to a specific website between Nov. 24th and Dec. 14th and choose our top 3 hospital and unit preferences. Obviously I will be choosing Labor and Delivery, NICU and probably Postpartum as my choices at all three facilities (even though I don't want Postpartum for my preceptorship....it would be better than Med-Surg!!). The school then tries their best to match each student up with a nurse according to their submitted preferences, but it doesn't always work out. So I may be stuck with Med-Surg anyways, but by NOT switching schools after submitting my preferences I will increase my chances of getting what I want. And since I can't switch BEFOREhand I think I've decided (along with the other two reasons I already mentioned) that I won't be switching.

So yeah. Lots to think about. But I'm SO EXCITED!!! Can you believe Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK??? That's just insane!! And Christmas is right around the corner. Then 2009. Unbelievable. I sense that 2009 is going to be a big year for us (me and Scott). Lots of changes, more in the second half than the first, but still...I'll be graduating in May then studying my butt off for a month and taking the NCLEX in June (hopefully)...then orienting to the RN role at work, most likely in Postpartum. I plan to do Postpartum for a year or two and then maybe switch to L&D, but I haven't decided yet. I'm not too excited about the L&D nurse role at my hospital because they hardly do anything with the babies after they're born because we have nursery nurses come to each delivery and they do the baby's transition unless it is SUPER busy and THEN the L&D nurse may take over on the baby as well. *shrugs* Guess I'll just wait and see. I'm still toying with the idea of switching to Chandler Regional and working NICU (which I REALLY want to do), but I DON'T want to leave Mercy!! I LOVE it there and I LOVE the people I work with!! I think Postpartum is a good place to start. :-)

Anyway, back to changes...Scott will be going back to school next Fall (maybe even this January, but not full time yet until Fall). He'll also be able to cut back his hours at work next Fall. We'll hopefully be buying a house next year. Our lease is up at this house at the end of May. We have an optional 3rd year here if we decide to stay, but I hope to be able to rent month-to-month after May so that if we find the perfect house we can just move out without finishing out the 3rd year (which would end May 2010). We'll see. With 6 months left in the lease is it too early to email the owners and ask about a month-to-month after May or should I wait until like March to ask?? I don't know. The hard part about buying a house is going to be wanting to furnish the house all at once. It's going to be SO exciting and we've been waiting to purchase certain things (like new living room furniture!) until we move so that it will fit the living room of whatever house we decide on. Same with decorations (like curtains, rugs, etc...). While I really wanted to decorate this house, I didn't want to go all out and get stuff that fit THESE windows and THIS house's layout when we know we're only going to be here a max of 3 years. I mean, it is decorated, just not the way I want to decorate OUR house, once we buy. And nothing really matches. That kinda bugs me...okay, it really bugs me....but I know $$$ doesn't grow on trees so I'm dealing with it and waiting for the real deal. :-)

I feel like I'm rambling now, so I'm gonna stop writing. I'd say you get another cookie for reading this whole post, but apparently my mom took me seriously last time and now I owe her a real cookie, lol! (you will get that cookie, Mom, but it might take a few weeks!!)

~Abigail~

La-de-da

I am proud of myself. This past Wednesday I braved the dreaded treadmill for the first time in six months (too long, I know)!! I didn't even PLAN to do it, I was about to get in the shower and decided to hop on the treadmill for a few minutes beforehand. That turned into 30 minutes and almost 2 miles (because Scrubs was on TV, hehe). :-) I know, 2 miles in 30 minutes is not particularly great, but at least I did something. Yay me!

Hmmm, what to write about.... *shrugs* I guess it's school again...I mean, it does kinda consume my life right now....

After spending the day in the Emergency Department last Saturday, I now know I have no desire at all to be an ED nurse. That is not to say that I didn't have a good day, I liked it and I got to start a couple of IV's, but the ED is just not for me. Why? I don't like the idea of having a two year old patient one minute and 92 year old the next. Two, ninety-two, male, female, just a cough, or a full blown code...you never know what you're gonna get and I don't like that!! I don't like suprises!

This weekend at clinical was rather interesting. Yesterday was only so-so. I was on the Med-Surg floor taking care of a sweet old lady who is going to be transferred to hospice care fairly soon here (she has cancer that has spread pretty much everywhere). She doesn't know it yet (her son has asked that no one tell her until the Dr. has had a chance to discuss it with them both). She also has several DVTs--the only place I could take her BP was on her right thigh--every other limb had confirmed DVTs....and she is a full code patient....yikes!! Luckily nothing happened during my two days of caring for her. *phew!* (I did NOT want to do CPR!! Then again, who does??) She was my only patient yesterday, but today my instructor made all of us take two patients each. Which was GREAT and I had a MUCH better day today (I think because I was totally occupied all day and didn't have free time to worry about why I didn't have anything to do and what I could possibly be missing...). On the downside, I didn't get nearly enough paperwork done today--the hospital charting I finished, but the "charting" we're supposed to complete on each patient to turn in to our instructor I did not finish. She is very understaning, though, and as long as we show progress each week she is happy. So hopefully next week I'll be a bit more proficient at caring for two patients AND completing all my paperwork. :-) I was SO excited at the end of our day because of all the stuff I got to do! And they were mostly new skills that I had never done on a real patient before! :-)

First, my instructor told me I was okay to give IV push and piggy-back medications with the RN. This was new because yesterday I had to page her each time one of those medications came up so that she could come and watch me. I was very excited about my "promotion". :-) She may still want to watch me again next weekend or the time after that, but the fact that she's letting me do newly learned skills without her right there must mean that I did it right while she WAS watching me and that she is confident in my abilities. Next, I had the opportunity to d/c an NG tube (NG = nasogastric)--which was AWESOME!!! And holy cow, those tubes are LONG!!! I suppose a tube that reaches all the way into the stomach and exits through the nose would have to be a few feet long, but still...it just seemed super super long as I was pulling it out! After that, I got to start an IV on a different patient (not one of my two today, but the nurse wanted to give me the opportunity--and I was more than happy to accept!). He had really bouncy veins and it was an easy start, but even so I was happy to have another successful IV start to my name. :-) To this date I have attempted 8 IVs and successfully started 6 on the first stick. The 2 that I was not able get were very difficult--one of them took four nurses after me to get it started (each nurse only gets 2 attempts) and the other one no one was ever able to start so the doctor changed her mind and said the patient could do without (it was in the ER last week an we just hydrated her orally instead--it was slower, but still worked). After the IV I needed to draw blood from my first patient (the cancer patient--also the one who had the NG tube removed). This was cool because she had a central-line, and I had never drawn blood from a CVC before. It was really cool!

Let me tell ya, it is one thing to learn how to do these various skills in school and in the lab, but it is an entirely different thing to actually DO them on a real patient and see how all the pieces fit together (IVs, flushes, caps, meds, what needs to stay sterile--what doesn't, which buttons to push and when, etc etc.). Its the difference between "I'm not sure what I'm doing, I don't know if I can do this" and "That was easy, I CAN do this!" Needless to say, my confidence soared with all these new experiences that I have under my belt now. A very successful clinical day indeed!

If you read all of this, you deserve a cookie. :-) As for me, I am going to meander towards bed. Getting up at 4am is just draining. And Scott is at a hockey game with his dad tonight, so there's really no one to keep me company so why stay up? I'm not complaining, sometimes I like to just be alone and relax. I'm working the next two days. Which means I get to "sleep in" until 5:15am!!! Isn't that sad?? Lol, compared to 4am, 5:15 is GREAT! :-D

*happy sigh*

~Abigail~

Ta-Da!!

Here it is!! :-)

Before and After:














I don't necessarily like the shorter style "better" than my long hair (in fact I almost chickened out at the salon!) but at least I can say I did it!!! I will probably end up growing it out again after I've thoroughly enjoyed the shortness...maybe after next summer? :-D For the record, though, I DO like the new cut...it'll just take some getting used to not having all that hair to work with!!

~Abigail~

Proud to be an American?

No. At least I'm not. Not today. My heart is very heavy, and I am grieving for what our country lost last night and what we have asked for. I shudder at the thought of the "change" that people are crying out for. Without God at the center, without following his direction, any "change" that may come about will be futile in the end. It may temporarily get better (maybe), but if we as a country continute to elect leaders who promote abortion and gay marriage and other immoral acts than as a nation we will not prosper and will eventually be destroyed, just like Sodom and Gomorrah. It may not be within our lifetime, or it could be today. But it will happen. My prayer today is "Father, forgive us, for we know not what we do!".

On another note, I AM proud to be an Arizonan. Not only is John McCain one of our own (and his speech last night was incredibly gracious!), but I couldn't be happier that Prop 102 PASSED!!! Thankfully there are still enough people in Arizona who stand up for marriage between one man and one woman ONLY. Praise God, and thank you Arizona!!

Today is "haircut day"!! I know exactly what I'm going to do, I found the perfect picture in a scrubs magazine at the hospital last weekend and so I asked if I could take it home so I could show my hairdresser and they let me take it. :-D The girl in the picture even has a cowlick just like mine and the cut is EXACTLY what I've been picturing and wanting! The photo in the previous post is close, but not exact and she certainly didn't have a cowlick...

Anywho, I will go now...must shower and such before heading off to my hair appointment. One last thought for the day:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great could of witnessess, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-3

~Abigail~

Happy Halloween!!

I am DONE with my psych rotation!!! YAAAAY!!! I survived, lol! :-D He even let us out FOUR HOURS early today, I was so happy! We then headed over to the hospital that we will be starting at tomorrow so we could pick out a patient for tomorrow. We have to choose someone who will (obviously) be there tomorrow (won't be discharged today) and then go introduce ourselves and ask their permission to help take care of them (cause we're students). The guy I chose just had a CABG (coronary artery bypass graft) surgery and was very welcoming when I asked him if I could help care for him tomorrow. His wife was in the room at the time and they were both like "of course you can! I can use all the help I can get!" That relieved my nerves and made me feel good. Hopefully tomorrow goes well. I am excited! :-)

Tonight we are having Matt and Angela as well as Scott's sister Susan over for a movie night. We're watching Young Frankenstein first, then I'll probably go to bed (have to get up at 4:15am...) and the rest of them will probably watch a couple more movies. I didn't want to spend the money on candy this year (not that we don't have it, I just didn't feel like "wasting" it on candy...) and plus I didn't want to be interrupted from our movie a kagillion times to answer the doorbell and hand out candy. So we're just going to keep our porch light off....the doorbell is already broken (I think it just needs a new battery?) so that won't be a problem. I know I know, we're not very fun. We'll be more fun when we have kids to go trick or treating with (if we even decide to do that with them....I guess it will depend on the neighborhood we live in and whether or not we think it's safe--obviously). Anywho, we will have fun tonight, just not in the traditional "halloween" style. I'm not much of a dresser-upper anyway. Hows that for a new word? Lol. I'm feeling kinda random today...

My Melaleuca order arrived today. Must have been delivered pretty early because I left the house at 5:20 this morning and Scott usually leaves at 8:30ish and the box was on the kitchen table when I got home at 2:30. Scott must have discovered it at the door when he was leaving for work. I am so excited to be starting this!! I can't wait to use up the products we currently have that are not Melaleuca so I can "convert" the house to these non-harmful cleaning products and personal care products. Here is what I chose for this first order:
1. Alloy For Men set (shaving gel, aftershave lotion, antipersperant/deodorant, shower gel, soap bar)---these products are scented especially for men. I love the scent, I hope they are okay for Scott's skin--he's the whole reason we're doing this in the first place! But if this scented stuff doesn't work for him then there is also non-scented stuff as well. But everything is made from natural ingredients and oils so it should be okay....guess we'll see.
2. Body Satin facial scrub and cleaner/astringent--for me, I'm going to use the cleaner/astringent as a make-up remover and then the scrub
3. "Renew" Lotion (especially for relieving problem skin--9x better than Eucerin)
4. Lemon Brite dish liquid (compare to Dial or Palmolive, only made with natural ingredients and very concentrated).

I think that's it this time...next time I want to order and try their vitamins and haircare products as well as a few of the household cleaning products. I'll let you all know how everything is as we try it!

I guess that's it for now!
Happy Halloween!
~Abigail~

Hair Appointment

Well, I finally scheduled a hair appointment for next Wednesday the 5th. It's been over 3 months since the last time, and I had to find a new hairdresser because mine moved to Philadelphia!! The girl I am going to go to is the sister of one of the nurses I work with. But now I have a decision to make: just trim, or cut it shorter? As I posted early in September, this is the haircut I'd LIKE to have, but I'm not very brave and my hair doesn't grow super fast so I'm afraid of chopping it all off and then hating it! What do I do??? Decisions decisions!! I know it wouldn't look just like this picture on me because my face is a more round than hers and also I have a cowlick on the right that would make the bangs lay differently, but I like the style.

Any votes would be appreciated!! I hate making the "to cut or not to cut" decision, but I also don't want to be boring and have the same hairstyle for years and years!!

Alright, I'll stop rambling. Give me your opinions!!

Something New

Hola! I am still here!! I've been busy with psych and the tons of homework our psych teacher likes to give us. Luckily this week he has foregone (sp?) making us do careplans because "I don't want to read anymore, so you guys don't have to do it." NICE!!! Maybe he is an o-k guy. :-) Anyway, this coming Friday (yes, Halloween) is my last day of psych clinical. I am SO happy to be so close to finishing psych!!! And I'm super excited about starting my hospital rotations. I'll be on the Medical/Surgical floor, Telemetry, Medical Imaging, and the Emergency Department during my 10 clinical days from Nov 1st thru Dec 12th. I'm really excited because we can finally do almost anything for our patients so long as we're with the nurse. No more of "no sorry, I can't do that yet". Instead it will be "sure, as long as you're with me!" YAY!! I'm mostly excited about me ED rotations because I'm hoping to get a lot of practice with IV's. :-D

Today I joined a company called Melaleuca. I've been wanting to do this for awhile, but was waiting for a month when we had a little extra $$ in order to start it up. The main reason I decided to join is because of Scott's sensitive skin, and also I like the "organic" idea and not having harmful chemicals around the house. Also I wanted to have everything switched over before we started having kids just in case they inherit Scott's sensitive skin. (Don't freak out Mom(s), that won't be for at least another year!!) Most household products aren't good for you simply because of the chemicals in them. My mom was a member of this company several years ago and I liked the products we used. The only downside is that you have to purchase 35 points worth of products each month (~$50 worth), but there is no "contract" so you can go month by month and drop your membership if you need to. And it was only $1 to join because they were having an end-of-the-month Sign Up special. Considering they have everything from ALL household products you could think of to personal care items to vitamins and candles and cosmetics I'm sure that 35 points a month won't be a problem. If anyone (especially my moms) want to try any of the products just let me know and I'll add whatever you want to my order!

My good friend Bonnie is coming over after dinner so we can catch up and make cookies. I'd better get off the computer, get the kitchen cleaned up and start dinner for me and Scott. :-)

~Abigail~

In answer to my previous post on the election...

Someone made a comment on my previous election post ("A Plea to Conservative Voters") and I just read an article on someone else's blog that answered their questions to me as well as addressed the whole 3rd party candidate option. Go read it, it is an AMAZING article!! Share it with as many people as you know--email, blogs, myspace, etc...

It is long...but please read the whole thing. It will only take five minutes...
http://randyalcorn.blogspot.com/2008/10/im-not-voting-for-man-im-voting-for.html

~Abigail~

Two Years

Today marks two years of marriage for me and Scott. :-) Lets see...that would be 24 months, 104 weeks, or 731 days...hehe. I cannot believe it has been two years already!! We celebrated by spending one night at Marriott Canyon Villas in Phoenix. We went to dinner at the JW Marriott Resort and Spa which was across the street. It was SO yummy!! Probably the most expensive dinner we've EVER had, but so worth it!! They started us out with a chickpea "salad" which was served in a little spoon, like something you'd see on Top Chef. It was cute (but I had NO idea what was the "correct" way to eat it, lol--I ended up using my fork, while Scott ate it in one bite right from the spoon)!! We also got some gourmet bread with a special dipping sauce, olive oil, two kinds of olives and a marscapone butter. MMMmmmm!!! I ordered a green salad as an appetizer, and Scott had stuffed calamari. For the main course I had Veal Ravioli with white sauce, and Scott had the Rack of Lamb (wasn't really a rack, but that's what it was called). I sipped on a Passion Fruit cocktail (it had Orange Vodka, Coconut Rum, Pineappe-something as well as something else I can't remember...), while Scott enjoyed a glass of White Wine. The waitress suprised us with a complementary dessert after I had asked her to take our picture because it was our anniversary. The dessert was a trio: the first item was a chocolate-fudge like thing on top of a crunchy-peanuty bottom, the second was creme brulee with berries on top, and the last was some sort of minty/nutmeg tasting "ice cream". They were all so yummy! I had never had creme brulee before, and it was AMAZING!!!

Today we're just hanging out at home and enjoying having the whole day off together! On our way home from Phoenix we went to Jared and got our rings cleaned (just like last year)...this will most likely be a traditional anniversary-day thing that we do every year. :-) I want to go back to the Canyon Villas, maybe next May for my birthday/graduation present. It was so pretty!! We didn't get the chance to go swimming (I wasn't sure if the pools were heated, so I didn't bring my swimsuit. I should have known that resorts always have heated pools...oh well.) and the rooms were so nice! It would be fun to go back sometime for more than 1 night. :-)

A happy wife,
~Abigail~

A Plea to Conservative Voters

Okay. SEVERAL people I know are still confused about who to vote for. The indecisiveness isn't between Obama or McCain, but rather whether to vote for McCain or a 3rd party candidate. Here is my plea:

I KNOW that McCain is a rather liberal Republican, and I do not agree with everything he stands for or wants to do. However, if we do not give McCain our vote, that will only make it easier for Obama to win by default. Think about it. Every vote that McCain loses to a 3rd party conservative candidate is ONE LESS vote that Obama needs to receive to beat McCain. So essentially the conservative voter who chooses not to support McCain is in a round-about way giving Obama the upper hand. Even though I do not agree with everything McCain stands for (as I already mentioned), he is most definitely the lesser-of-two-evils. One of them is going to be our next president. Please, let us vote for the one who is going to do the least damage (lol!). At least McCain believes marriage is only between a man and a woman, and that unborn babies are just that: babies!! Personally, those are the two things I look at first...then comes the economy, healthcare, etc... Oh yeah, and McCain wants to double the child-tax credit!! All the better reason to have lots of kids, right Scott? (hehe, just kidding) ;-)


I've read a few articles about "Because I'm a Christian, I cannot vote for McCain". Fine, give your vote away to a 3rd party candidate who isn't going to win anyway, "just to make a point". In the meantime, by not voting for McCain you are pushing Obama one vote closer to the presidency.

Think about it. Pray about it. Please.

~Abigail~

(FYI--I really don't care about McCain's child-tax credit increase--I just wanted to tease my husband) :-D

Blessed

I just have to share something real fast. Part of the benefits I get at work is a program called Creative Benefits. This is an account that I can use for medical expenses for the entire year, and a specified amount (that I choose ahead of time) is put into that account through PRE-TAX payroll deduction. However, I have access to the entire year's amount on January 1st rather than as I make it. This has come in quite handy this year, as I had surgery in January and owed roughly $1000 all at once and simply used this account to pay for it instead of putting it on a credit card paying $100/month (for example). Very nice. Well, last month I submitted a claim (that's what they call each expense) for the ultrasound I had done last November (pre-surgery). Because it was an expense from 2007, they did not accept it and so I have to reimburse them $252. Apparently any claims from before 01/01/08 must be submitted NO LATER THAN 03/31/08 in order to be accepted. Well, it wasn't my fault I was almost six months late submitting it, as my insurance company didn't pay as much as they originally told me they would and that is why I got a bill dated 9/3/08 for the $252. There is absolutely no way I could have submitted this bill by 3/31 because I DIDN'T EVEN GET IT until 9/3!!! I argued this, but they still aren't accepting it.

SO (I know, this is turning into a long story) I now have to repay them the $252 out-of-pocket. I've known this for the past few weeks, but have been waiting for a certain paycheck to come in before writing the check and sending it off to them. Well, about ten days ago I got a random deposit in our checking account for exactly $250. It was from Catholic Healthcare West (my company), but it wasn't anywhere near payday and I didn't have any idea why we had gotten it. I figured it was a mistake and that the "pending deposit" would dissappear once they figured out what had happened. But it wasn't a mistake, it was an unexpected bonus that everyone got and mine happened to be EXACTLY the amount I was needing to pay this stupid medical bill that got rejected by Creative Benefits. How awesome is that?? God is so good!! I give all the credit to Him for that one, it was so totally unexpected and perfect timing! Yes, I could have payed the bill using $$ from our savings account or from this coming week's paycheck, but I thank God for his provision and PERFECT timing and I am humbled that he would bless us like this! We do NOT deserve his blessing right now (not that we would EVER deserve anything!!), we do not tithe right now and I personally feel farther away from Him than I ever have before (both of which make me very sad). I owe it to the choice I made to attend a nursing school that meets on Saturdays...which forces me to work most Sundays (due to the weekend requirement). I need to go to church, I need the fellowship and the spiritual growth....and I'm not getting it right now, and haven't been for over a year. I know it's just a season, but it is saddening. My only hope for a change in this schedule is switching schools in the Spring. I pray that I will get into MCC for Block 4 so that I can work Saturays instead of Sundays.

Anyway, there is much more I could say, but the main point of this "fast" entry was to say that God is so good to us! He provides, even when his children couldn't be any less deserving of his blessing.

~Abigail~

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I'm going to go insane, I know it. I want to go on record saying I HATE NURSING SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!! Love the outcome, hate the process!!! I feel like SCREAMING right now!!!! And I don't scream!!!!! They treat us like children, don't tell us ANYTHING until the last minute, expect us to know EVERYTHING, (and I quote) "I want you to act like you've been a nurse for 25 years and pretend I'm not even here watching you" (what an instructor said before we had to individually perform skill competencies). NEWS FLASH: I'M NOT A NURSE YET!!! I DON'T HAVE 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, AND YOU CAN'T EXPECT ME TO ACT LIKE I DO!!! How am I possibly supposed to measure up to those type of standards if they set them that high?? I'll always come up short! Give me at least a goal I can REACH for crying out loud! I thought the stress would taper off after finals....I WAS WRONG!!! No, they freaking want us to be petrified of doing the SLIGHTEST thing wrong and expect us to know EVERYTHING!! I'm so sick of it and today was my breaking point...and now I have to go work on a stinking care plan for tomorrow morning (that's the best pronoun I could think of that is appropriate to post---but I'm thinking other not-so-appropriate words to describe care-plans!!!). I'm probably only going to get 4 hours of sleep tonight (if I'm lucky). ::smoke coming out of my ears::

Believe it or not (after the above rant), last weekend went very well and psych isn't as bad as I anticipated. Hopefully tomorrow doesn't change that...(we did something entirely different today...I'll explain in a separate post when I have time again...might be awhile).

I'm done fuming now. Well, not really, but I'm done venting about it on here...

218 days until graduation---(I hope)---it couldn't come soon enough....

A very perturbed and fed-up nursing student,
~Abigail~

A New Chapter

Sorry for my few day absence...I've been busy working and reading (a "fun" book for once...), and now that I'm done with my books I can write. :-) You see, I've been waiting until after finals to delve into the Twilight series, which everyone at work and several of my friends and family have told me are AMAZING. And they are. I purchased the first two in the four-book series on Monday night at Wal-Mart (they were like $8 each), and immediately started reading. I finished them both by last night. Forty-eight hours to read over 1000 pages? Not bad for me! (if you know me very well at all, you'll know that I only pick up a book to read "just for fun" about every other year, lol) They are a really easy read, though, so my speed isn't as impressive as it may sound. While there isn't any real substance to these books, they are very intriguing and captivating. If you're looking for depth or personal growth, however, these are the wrong books to read. Like I said: they're "just for fun". And now I can't wait for the movie to come out next month (it will only cover the first book, though)!! Still need to read the other two books...

Finals went quite well. I managed an 89% on my Process final, which I really didn't study much for (I reviewed for about 4 hours on Thursday for that test). I got an 88% in Pharmacology. That test I DID study for, and it's a good thing! It was a HARD test!!! As I was taking it I didn't know if I was going to pass (I needed a 61%). But it's all behind me now, and I could feel the load of stress lifting off of me...like I could finally BREATHE again. Finally. Now it's on to clinicals...

I have my Psych rotation first, which we will be doing at the VA hospital. I'm not too excited about that. October is going to be interesting. Med-Surg clinicals begin November 1st. I just can't wait to be done. I like clinicals to some degree, but really the only type of nursing I ever want to do is Maternal/Child. NICU, Labor & Delivery, Postpartum....I'll do any of those ALL day long every day!! I know I need to be knowledgeable about all the other stuff, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it. ::sigh:: Seven months left....I can almost taste it....

After finals on Saturday we went to a Diamondbacks game with our friends Matt and Angela. We were in the experimental "all you can eat" section and it went great! We had access to hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn, soda and water--as much as we wanted! :-) And to top it all off, the D-backs won! Woohoo!

Have I ever told you how wonderful my husband is to me? He's amazing. :-) On Sunday (while I was at work) he cleaned our house for me. Not just picked up, but shampooed the carpets (including the stairs), did the dishes, washed laundry, and changed the cat litter. Of course the MAIN thing was cleaning all the carpets (which needed it SO bad!!) and I was SO happy!! A special thanks goes to his mom and sister for helping with the process. :-) He moved one of our couches out into the garage in order to clean the carpets, and ended up leaving it out there. I like how the living room looks with only the one couch. It's SO much bigger! And I don't think I even want to move the other one back in.

Sunday night Matt and Angela came over and Angela and I went swimming while the guys played video games for awhile. Later we all played Dance Dance Revolution for a couple of hours. We all have a blast with that game!! We have three mats, so that we just rotated one person out at a time, which worked great as a little "breather". Angela and I put it on Difficult mode partially for a challenge and partially because it's SO funny!! Some songs are doable on Difficult, but others are just downright impossible (for us, anyway)!! We end up using our hands, each of us controlling two arrows just to try and beat the thing! It's hilarious. :-)

Yesterday was Scott's birthday! Yay for twenty-three!! It seems like only last year that we were celebrating his 19th birthday at MCC (we were both taking classess at the MCC Red Mountain campus at that time)...how time flies! I know I say that like every other week...but I wouldn't have to if the weeks would just SLOW DOWN!!! Then again...I wouldn't mind so much if the next seven months flew by...lol. Guess I can't have it both ways. Is it true that the older you get the faster time seems to go?? If so, a whole year is going to feel like a single WEEK by the time I'm 30!! Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Scott (yesterday)!! We will be celebrating this Sunday with family and friends. But I did make a special dinner for him last night. Oh, and cookies. :-)

Well, I'm gonna go hop in the shower.

Later!
~Abigail~

Blah

A four letter word describing psychological discontent. Blah. (as taken from "The Story of Us", a movie I watched on TV last night) Anywho, my state of "blah" is due entirely to finals. I will be taking test #1 at around 7pm, and then test #2 will be tomorrow around 1pm. There's no specific time we have to take them, just sometime today and sometime tomorrow during testing center hours. I'm surprised, I'm not even stressed. Well, a little about tomorrow's final. I can't wait until 2pm-ish tomorrow, when my husband picks me up from school and we go with our good friends to a Diamondbacks game! Although I am rather bummed that they no longer have a shot at the World Series this year (thanks Andrew for the info!). Oh well, it'll still be fun and a nice way to say "goodbye finals!!" :-)

~Abigail~

I love my husband!!

That pretty much sums it up!! You make me happy, Sweetie!! I love you! And I cannot believe our 2nd wedding anniversary is next month...

XOXOXOXO

~Meg~

Bored

Hello again! I'm bored. I'm supposed to be studying for finals, but I just can't concentrate on that stuff!! Grrr. I need a 34% on my Process final (I almost don't even want to study for that one) and a 61% on my Pharm final (because the final is worth about 50% of our class grade). So I'm more concerned about Pharm, even though I think I'll be able to get 61% without a problem. :-) I suppose I should at least review the semester's material...



In my boredom, I got a little weird. Okay, so maybe I'm always a little weird...but this time I captured it in a photo. Ha! Yesterday I was a complete bum and didn't do hardly anything and it was SO nice!! I did make peanut butter cookies, though, which my hubby has been thoroughly enjoying (and me too!). This morning I went to Sam's Club to pick up a few things and then on to Wal-Mart for a few groceries. Have I ever told you how much I love to price match?? I never do a ton of it at once cause it takes too long...but whenever we need milk or other random stuff I take a look through that week's ads and then head to Wal-Mart. Milk is $1.99 at Albertson's this week, so that's how much I paid at wal-mart! LOVE it! Hehe. I also bought the stuff to make potato soup for my hubby (he's got a cold and is home sick today). With help from my wonderful mom-in-law I was able to make a super yummy pot of the soup, and Scott loved it. :-) That's what his mom used to make for him whenever he didn't feel good, and this is actually the first time in our almost 2 years of marriage that I've made it! It was really easy and delicious! I think she makes it better though...I'll have to work on it. :-)

So now I am on the computer, with my study guides minimized and wasting time again. Grrr. As soon as I finish writing this I WILL get back to studying!!! Why does my motivation always dissappear right before finals??? It's probably because I know that no matter how much I study I will not be able to get A's at this point (trust me, I've done the calculations to figure it out!!), and I know that I'd have to do pretty badly to lose my B's....so what's the point? ::shrugs::

Okay, I suppose I'll get to it...
~Abigail~

Sigh of Relief

Yesterday went VERY well. I'm referring to the two tests I had to take, which I scored above 90% on (91% on the big test, 97% on the smaller one). I am sooooo relieved!! My teacher said that I only need a 31% on the final to pass the class. That's relieves SO much stress!!! I knew I wouldn't have to get a super high score anyway, but with only needing 31 points I could just NOT study for the final at all and probably still pass the test with a 76%!!! But I'm going to study for it because being the way I am I always want to get the highest score possible, even if I COULD get away with less. I'm funny that way. ::shrugs:: But even if I get 100% on the final I won't get an A. It's just BARELY out of reach, by like a few points. Looks like "the teacher who has never given an A" gets to keep his title for at least another semester. Drats. I won't be getting an A in my other class either, but that's another story. Her tests are just VERY hard (as in 1/3 of her tests are "select all that apply" questions and they're tricky. Ugh).

I am currently waiting for Scott to get out of the shower and ready to go so we can head to my mom's birthday dinner at Hometown Buffet (or is it Countrytown Buffet?? One of those...). After that everyone (meaning my parents, brother, Grandpa and his friend) are coming back to our house to play a game. My dad asked me this morning if that would be okay, and I said yes...although my house was in DESPERATE need of being cleaned (I haven't done any sort of cleaning beyond the basics--dishes, laundry, etc.--since the semester started!!). So that got my off my rear and I scoured the downstairs this afternoon. :-D I feel much better being in a clean enviornment. Not that it was trashy before, but things pile up and the carpet needed vacuuming SO bad!! Anyway, next week after finals I will be doing the same thing upstairs and then borrowing a carpet cleaner from Scott's family to REALLY get things cleaned. I'm excited!!

Scott's almost ready, so I'm off!! :-)
~Abigail~

Work Stuffs

So apparently work has been CRAZY lately!!! Let me give you a few statistics:
I work at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, in Labor&Deliver/Postpartum. I am both a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and a Health Unit Coordinator (HUC--fancy name for a secretary). Our unit has:
6 Labor Rooms
14 Postpartum Rooms
2 Antepartum Rooms (almost always used for postpartum)

Well, over the last few months we've had ~200 deliveries every month. With the number of rooms we have, that is not easy (they're expanding our unit, but the new part won't upen until next summer)! Last Tuesday when I was CNA we had I think 13 patients on our postpartum floor, and had overflowed 8 more postpartum patients to another floor (with our nurses, of course). It was a crazy day!! And it hasn't stopped! Apparently yesterday was SO crazy that they had to call in another secretary to help out (usually we only have one). That is huge, because they NEVER do that. And this morning I got a call at 5:58am asking me if I wanted to come in and work an extra shift as CNA because they needed two of us (and they NEVER do that either!). I couldn't because I needed to study for my tests tomorrow, but I felt bad because I can only imagine how busy it must be if they were calling me to come in as the SECOND nursing assistant!! On average we do between 5-8 deliveries in 24 hrs, but recently I think we've been doing that many every SHIFT (every 12hrs) more often than not!! CRAZY!!! September is without fail the busiest month every year.....too many people having too much fun around Christmas and New Year's, lol!! ;-) Anyway, I hope it's not as crazy when I work as HUC on Sunday...

The good news to all this crazyness is that the staff I work with are AMAZING!!! They are all experienced and take excellent care of the patients and of each other. We have each other's backs, whatever our role is on the unit. Everyone is very concerned with patient safety and satisfaction, and even though we are super busy, safety is not comprimised. Our Charge Nurses are awesome, and do a GREAT job of ensuring adequate staffing (to the best of their ability) and of keeping everyone safely afloat in the proverbial "waters" of the maternity ward, where it is SO easy to sink without good leadership. Even when the tidal waves come (you know, the 10 triage patients who all arrive at once....one complete and screaming that she needs to push, another abrupting, three with their water broken, two mid-labor, and the rest convinced they're in labor but aren't...) we don't drown (usually, lol). I love the people I work with!! :-D

If you love babies like I do, you might enjoy looking at newborn photos...you can go here to see the newborns who are born at my hospital. This is by no means all of them, I'd say about 50% of parents decide to do the photos (it's free...they only have to pay if they want to order some).

::sigh:: once again, back to the textbook...

~Abigail~

Must be nice...

I need a break from the textbook, so I'm doing a kitty post. Wouldn't it be nice to be a cat? I wonder, do they ever get bored just laying around all day?? Must be nice. :-)

Simba chillin' on the cat pole

Chloe rolling over like a dog...

I made this one my desktop at work. :-)

Simba's favorite position to lay in. Strange cat.

Watching the birds outside the window. It's fun to watch their

tails go back and forth as they follow the birds!

Chloe being fat and lazy.

Again, Simba's favorite position, lol.

One eye open to make sure I don't pull any tricks on her! Hehehe...

THE END!

(Back to the textbook...)

Stupid Bacteria...

Hello!! Odd title, I know...just my way of saying I have a UTI!!! Fun fun. Good news is I successfully treated it myself ::contented grin::. Bad news is the doctor wants me to take the antibiotics anyway ::scowl::. Let me explain (I'm going to talk about pee, so if you don't want to hear it then stop reading NOW!). Oh yeah, and be aware that I was at Family Camp from Friday evening throught Sunday afternoon....

I've never had a UTI before, but since I'm a good little nursing student, I know exactly what the signs and symptoms are. :-) My first "clue" was Friday night right before I went to bed--urgency and frequency, but only a TINY little bit of urine would come out each time...and it HURT. Same thing the next morning. So I drank an entire gallon of water, which I probably needed anyway because on Friday I had MAYBE one glass of water the entire day. So even though I drank a gallon of water Saturday, I didn't end up in the bathroom every thirty minutes. Still had the urgency (but at least I was peeing more than a tablespoon--lol), and when I did go it only hurt right at the end. Sunday same thing, only I didn't drink a gallon of water because we were driving home from Payson that day and I didn't want to be stopping every ten minutes to pee. :-D When we got home I took my temperature to make sure I didn't have a fever (I didn't feel like I did, but wanted to make sure). 97.7--perfect. Oooookay.....well since the symptoms were still there I called off of work for Monday, and bought some Cranberry capsules and juice. Monday I downed another gallon of water, probably a liter of Cranberry juice and of course took a few of the capsules along with some Ibuprofen to help with any inflammation. This time I DID have to pee every twenty minutes, literally!!! Monday evening I took my temp again (this time I was feeling pretty warm) and it was 99.3, so I went ahead and made a Dr's appointment for this morning and took some more Ibuprofen. This morning before the doctor's appointment I didn't have any of the symptoms that I'd had the previous three days (of course) and I must have done a pretty good job of treating myself because my urinalysis came back negative for a UTI. She said I must have flushed it all out yesterday and she told me I did all the right stuff (TONS of water, Cranberry capsules, Ibuprofen, etc.). But she prescribed me a five-day course of Macrobid (an antibiotic) anyway just to be sure it all gets taken care of. :-( I was trying to AVOID the antibiotics, thank you very much. And if I hadn't had a slight fever yesterday I wouldn't have even made the appointment!!!! Grrrrr! Oh well. It's a good thing I called off of work on Monday though, because there is NO way I would have been able to drink all that liquid (or pee every twenty minutes!) if I had been at work. And apparently that's what fixed me, because I haven't had any of the symptoms today.

SOOOOO, on to Family Camp!! It was SO good to be back at Mountain Meadow Ranch, and even though I was dealing with the above issue, it wasn't bad at all. Just trouble peeing, lol. I had a FABULOUS time, and I hope the church decides to go back there every year!! Scott and I stayed in Cabin #3 with his parents, sister Susan (16) and our three nephews/niece James, Katie, and Phillip. My parents set up their tent trailer right outside the cabin, so they were close by the whole weekend too. :-) Friday night we arrived at about 8pm, and pretty much just went to bed after we unloaded and set up in the cabin (I was up at 4:30 that morning for school, so I was exhausted!!). Saturday was a great day of relaxation and fun. We did a couple of scavenger hunts in the morning, and then watched the kids (and some of the adult "kids"!) play field games. I didnt' feel like running around and getting all sweaty, so I just watched and tried to read my Psychology book--I think I got through about four pages, lol. That afternoon Scott, Susan, Dave (his dad) and I all played the card game Phase 10, which took us about 2 1/2 hours. It was AWESOME!!! They were creaming me in the beginning, but I made a comeback in the middle and ended up winning the game. :-D If you've never played Phase 10 you must try it...it's great fun!! That night the whole camp had a cookout, then later on we had a big camp fire and sang some songs. Once we got tired of that, we went back to the cabin and played a couple games of Apples to Apples as a family. Sunday we had a church service, and then packed up and headed home! As you can see I did manage to get some pictures in my "historic" location by Cabin 3. :-)

Must get on to studying for my two tests this Friday....and finals are next week...AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!

~Abigail~

Praying, Studying, Camping

Another week half gone...16 days to finals...an important decision to make. I am currently trying to make a decision concerning next semester, and would appreciate prayers on the matter. I don't want to clarify quite yet, but I assure you it's nothing bad. I have a meeting on Friday that will hopefully help me with the decision. For now, I am just praying for guidance and clarity regarding which direction to take. Studying continues (as always) and I have approimately ten chapters to read AND comprehend (two totally different concepts, lol...I wish reading meant comprehension...that would make my life SO much easier!). Oh yeah, and 65 psych drugs to memorize before next Friday's tests (yes, plural testS).

This weekend we are going on the annual Family Camping Trip with our church, to my FAVORITE place in the world: Mountain Meadow Ranch, on the Rim outside of Payson. I attended this camp through Faith Church (sister church to ours) for eleven years and have SO many good memories there. Faith Adventure Camp is one of my greatest childhood memories...I loved it so much I couldn't keep from going back as a teenager and adult. I've been so sad to have had to miss it the past few years due to summer school. :-( I may possibly start crying sometime this weekend simply because I love it up there and have missed it dearly! We are staying in my favorite Cabin: #3. I was in that cabin in 1993, 2002, and 2003. The pictures to the left are of me when I was 7 and then 17 in the same EXACT spot outside that cabin. In the first picture I am the little girl on the left, next to our counselor, and this was my very first year at camp. And then in the picture below I was one of the counselors. But these were taken in the same exact spot, and you can see the cabin number in the background directly to the right of the window. It gives me the chills, I love it there SO much. I will have to take another picture there this weekend...now its been five more years...fifteen since the first one...wow.

Well, I need to get back to reading before I have to stop to make dinner. We're having "breakfast for dinner" tonight. :-) Pancakes, eggs and turkey-bacon. Yum!

Test today!!

So it is 4:21am and I am already awake, showered and checking my email. What did I say in my post last week about mornings? Yeah. It was one of those nights last night (ha! it still is "night" in my opinion!) where I couldn't fall asleep because EVERYTHING was on my mind (particularly test stuff) and it was just too busy to fall asleep. And when I did wake up (20 minutes before my alarm, suprisingly) I felt as if it had been about half an hour and I'd been tossing and turning trying to fall asleep....not as if I had just woken up from five hours of sleep (which was the reality). I do not feel rested at all! I hope that I am able to concentrate and do well on this test today. It is imperative that I do well in order to reduce the stress of the next few weeks as much as possible! Trust me, they'll still be stressful, but it will be less-so if I do very well today. If you read this before 1pm AZ time please pray that I will have peace, a clear mind and be able to recall the information I need to!

After the test I am going to be practicing in the lab at school for IV skills check-offs tomorrow. We have to know 6 meds inside and out but are allowed to have "drug cards" to help us (2 are randomly chosen from those six tomorrow). We have to do an IV push, flush, piggy back prime and set up, and central dressing change. Not bad, but I need to practice because I've only watched them demonstrate up until this point. And I volunteered to check-off on Saturday as apposed to the 13th or 20th because I'm hoping I won't have to go in at all on those days if I just get it done with tomorrow...we'll see if I'm that lucky...:-D

Oh yeah, and my Pharm test is tomorrow, which I will be focusing on when I get home around 2-3pm today. I haven't even finished reading the chapters yet (I was reviewing for today's test!) and I need to do my outlines to help me remember the stuff....this is the teacher who LOVES multiple-multiple choice questions....which really kill me! *sigh*

You know that verse where it says God won't give us anything we cannot handle? I don't know where it is....and technically I'm putting myself through this because I signed up for it, but I know that He will be behind me and guiding me each step of the way, no matter how stressful it gets.

~Abigail~

::EDIT::

I am now home and proud to report that I got at least an 85% on the psych test!! And so far most people are passing, so maybe the class grades will go up and not as many people will fail the class! I said I got "at least" an 85% because there were 9 questions that were fill-in-the-blank style, and our teacher said that if we didn't put in EXACTLY what he "coded" the answer to be then the computer would mark it wrong so he has to go back on each person's test and adjust their scores for those problems. I anticipate that I will get 2 additional points because of that (I already know I got one of them wrong, and the other 6 I'm pretty sure I typed in exactly how he would have had them and so they're probably already included in my 85%). If I get those two additional points that will put me at an 88% for the test, and I already had an 88% test average before taking this test so essentially my grade will not change at all. Which is exactly what I was aiming for!! I was SO worried about this test. Thank you Lord for helping me to focus!! Now on to studying for tomorrow's test...

Yay for Sarah Palin!!!

Sarah Palin's speech last night was amazing!! I turned it on as soon as I got home from work last night, and caught the last half. I read the first part of her speech online this morning and it was just as good as the part I listened to. I sure hope they win, not just because they're republican and I agree with the moral issues they stand for but because I think they can actually do something to help our country pull out of this recession and finish the war in Iraq (the right way). Obama's plan scares me. He's all talk and promises (which sound amazing, I must admit) but when you look at his plans for these promises it basically just means we're going to be taxed to death and the government will have more control and say-so in our personal lives. Scary. Obama's plan is one which leads our country in the direction of a dictatorship. I'm not saying it will happen in four years, but the plan he has layed out is one step closer in that direction. It's chilling (and not in a good way!) just thinking about him as our president!! I sure hope and pray that McCain and Palin win this election!! McCain was smart in picking Palin as his running-mate because many people who were not thrilled about him are now excited to vote for him because of Palin and what she brings to the table. I was going to vote for McCain anyway, but if I had been on the fence I definitely wouldn't be any more.

GO JOHN MCCAIN AND SARAH PALIN!!!

Anxiety

Wanna hear something ironic? We're studying anxiety in psych right now (and I'm supposed to turn in a care-plan on anxiety Friday morning), and as we were going through stuff last week all of us students were nodding and laughing (what else were we supposed to do, cry?) because we could all relate way too closely!!! And you know what I just realized today?? Our finals are in THREE weeks!!! Wow. I totally thought I had more time than that. Seriously this semester has just FLOWN by. And I realize that after finals we still have a little over two months left in the actual semester, but it is all clinicals. The "test" portion of the semester will be over. We have a huge psych test this Friday, our last pharm test (besides the final) on Saturday, and then another huge psych test in two weeks on the 19th along with an insanely huge psych-med test (I have to memorize 65 psych medications and everything about them!!!) and then only one week later we have two comprehensive finals!!! Yikes. I am already wishing for September 27th to be over (our last final is that day).

I'd better pass. 80% of the class is failing right now. I'm not kidding. I have the highest grade in Process right now, and one of the highest in Pharm. The class average for each of the 4 tests we've taken is 72%. The average. On each test. Scary. 76% is the minimum passing grade. 75.9999999% is failing. I have an 88% in Process (which is the Med-Surg/Psych class) and an 84% in Pharmacology (all IV stuff this semester). I hope this weekend doesn't lower those grades..

I can totally feel the stress, and I know my body is responding to it in not-so-good ways. I may not seem overly stressed out on the outside, but my muscles are all tight and tense and I can't relax and other stuff....my cortisol levels have to be elevated, I know it! :-P

I suppose I should go study for these tests instead of creating more anxiety over them...actually, I think I'll go to bed and get some rest so I can crank out a massive review tomorrow for Friday's psych test.
~Abigail~

2nd Wedding Anniversary, etc.

Scott and I booked a room last night for our 2nd wedding anniversary next month! We will be spending one night here. I'm so excited!! It looks SUPER nice! I'm mostly excited about the pool area because most hotel rooms are all the same but this pool looks really cool! If we like it there we're going to go back this winter during the Marriott "employee tradeout", which is when the Marriott lets their employees stay at participating locations for free for 2 nights. You can go to as many places as you want, so essentially you could just "hotel-hop" for as long as you want staying in each place for 2 nights...and for FREE!! Not every location participates, but most of them do. In January '07 we went to the Tucson Starr Pass resort for 2 nights (it's BEAUTIFUL!) and this past January we stayed in Flagstaff for a couple nights. It's like a little mini-vacation and all we have to pay for is the gas and food!

It hardly seems like we've been married almost two years. It feels like MAYBE one year. I guess it's becasue we're so busy. Seriously 2008 is going by SO fast! I told Scott yesterday that it totally doesn't feel like September. I feels like it should be about June right now. I mean, I want it to go fast so I can hurry up and graduate, but I don't want time to just keep flying like this! And every time I think about my age I don't believe that I'm 22. Not because I think that's old (it's SOOO not....whoever says they feel old at 22 is nuts) but because I FEEL 18. But I've been married for almost two years, I'll be an RN in another 8 months...and 18 year olds can't say that....and I'm a heck of a lot more mature and responsible than 18 year olds (at least that's what I'm told)....so I guess I'm not 18. But it sure feels like it inside. I guess it's like my grandpa's favorite baseball hat that says "You're never too old to have a happy childhood". It doesn't matter what "number" you are, but how you feel inside. I hope I still think this in eighteen years when I turn forty!! Yikes! Lol. :-D

Yesterday I took advantage of the Labor Day sales and went shopping to fill out the "business casual" part of my wardrobe, which was sadly lacking. We really don't have money for spending right now, but we decided to make an exception and "borrow" a little from our savings account for this because I will be required to dress "business casual" for my Psychology clinicals in school for all of October....and I literally didn't have anything that would be appropriate for that (the "business casual" type clothes I had already I really would not have been comfortable in all day in a patient-care setting). I figured the best sales between now and then were the Labor Day sales, so I got permission from the hubby and took advantage of the sales. We do the same thing when he needs new pants or dress shirts for work (hit up the sales, I mean) only this time it was my turn! :-) I only spent $150 for three pairs of dress pants (that fit amazingly well! I was SO happy!), a short-sleeve "jacket", a white sweater top, four other dressy tops, two camisoles to wear under a couple of the tops, and two pairs of heel sandles (one of them was $3.99!). All in all I have four or five complete outfits for clinicals (which is perfect) and didn't break the bank to accomplish it! Let me tell you, finding pants that fit perfectly would have been worth the entire $150 themselves, but they were only $19.99 each PLUS an additional $10 off my entire purchase....so I paid roughly $53 for 3 pairs of PERFECT dress pants. Okay, I may need to hem them, but they aren't too snug or too loose (often times I am RIGHT in the middle of two sizes...super annoying) and they don't pull anywhere--they just slide right on and lay perfectly in all the right ways! JC Penny is officially my favorite store for two reasons: I continually find things that FIT me there AND the prices are unbeatable (see this post for another great bargain I found there last month!). In the end JC Penny, Kohls, Target, Wet Seal, and Charlotte Russe all contributed to the great success of my day. :-)

I need to go read my IV Therapeutics book for a test I have this Saturday. I have a psychology test on Friday, but I'm devoting Thursday to study for that one (it was supposed to be LAST Friday but it got postponed due to a testing-center mixup, so I'm already prepared for that test I just need to spend some time reviewing for it). And now on to Advanced Pain Management, Blood Transfusions, and Total Parenteral Nutrition!!

OH!! And for those of you who read my last blog and know about our stupid cat's hair-tie-eating-experience and subsequent surgery will be excited to know that we made our LAST vet payment on Friday!! YAAAAY! Now there's only $400 still on our credit card from the initial Emergency Clinic visit that needs to be paid off...but we paid back Scott's parents a couple months ago for helping us out and now we've paid back the vet, so now we don't owe any "people" just the credit card. Which DOES need to be paid off, but it's not quite the same as owing family or other individuals. I feel much relieved! (is that a proper sentence?? oh well)

A crazy nursing student who needs to study,
~Abigail~

Time For a New Hairstyle!

Okay, so I'm the worst at making up my mind about my hair. It was super super long (as in I-could-sit-on-it long) for several years and then when I was 17 I chopped it off for Locks of Love...it was still technically "long" even after losing 12 inches (a couple inches below my shoulders), but it was super short to me!

Since then I've kept it fairly long (like in the couple of pictures in the right hand column of my blog). I cut it to just below my shoulders in May '07, and now it's mid-back and I'm just tired of it being long. It's funny because when it's "short" I want to grow it out and once it's finally my description of "long" I just want to chop it off again. I told you I'm indecisive!!

Okay, so Scott and I have been watching Scrubs a lot lately, and I think I want to cut my hair to match one of Sarah Chalke's hairstyles. I've admired her hairstyle in Scrubs for awhile now and think I would like the cut...but can I cut off 6+ inches??? I don't know!!

Here are the pictures I found that I like (just different angles of essentially the same cut--I think the last one has more layers though). Eeek, I want to do it but can I cut it that short?? I just need to make myself do something new!!! Grrr!!!

Whatever I decide I will wait at least another 6-8 weeks until I need to get my highlights touched up, so I have some time to think it over...

A Little Humor

A little boy goes to his father and asks "Daddy, how was I born?" The father answers, "Well, son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a little Pop-Up appeared that said:

"You've got Male!"


(I told you all I'd be up until midnight if I had my way!! Good thing tomorrow's a holiday!)