what's new......

I do apologize for being away for so long. I know, 100's of you have come here looking for my wisdom...HA! After my hubby and my get away, I got an odd flu, where I became very well acquainted with the four walls of my bathroom. As it began to improve, I then got some kind of weird head/chest flu. I've been on antibiotics and Tylenol/ibuprofen for days, and it does not TOUCH it! I feel horrible and my head is all but splitting. So today I am heading into Dr. to check for H191. I almost hope it is bc there is drugs for it that should help!

In the meantime, I have been trying to study for the NCLEX. This is not easy when you can't think straight, let me tell you! I studied for one of the taxonomies for 1.5 days then took a test and got 72%! WHOOO HOOO! Even w/a 101 temperature! A 65% means you have a 97% chance of passing that area of the NCLEX. I know it's confusing, but it's the Kaplan program. I will start the 2nd taxonomy today after my brains stop from trying to escape my scalp.

For those of you who liked the idea of the Jane Austin book club, our next book is Sense & Sensibility (S&S). We will be getting together to discuss it in a week or two. So...any of you who'd like to read it and discuss later, I'm all for it. Our very own cyber-book-club if you will.

B (the boy)came home from church camp loving it. He made some new friends and a new view of God. It was pretty cool, he was so excited. K (the daughter) came home too with great stories of Gods power in Trinidad. I think it's the first time she's really seen the results of deep poverty and a place where not many have heard of God's saving grace. She has come home stronger, more self-confident, and ready to take on the world. But first...she'll have to get through her Sr. year.

E continues to train for his triathlon coming up next Sunday. I think he's ready, though he says he struggles in the swimming.

That's all for now. I will go try to catch up on your blogs. And if you're just lurking, WELCOME! Leave a comment, it just makes my hour!

empty nesters...sorta

So, as you know, the dd went off to Trinidad, and I am missing her so much. Then...my boy has the audacity to go off to camp for a week at the same time! I KNOW! He's so insensitive! :)So, we have had a small taste of empty nesters. And... I don't like it! Oh, I know, it's just a taste, but I can see where it will be a tough transition.

So that leaves me and the He-man home alone for a whole week just crying...NOT. So, we decided to go off to grieve...at a resort that USED TO BE Marineland! Called Taranea Resort.There was a great deal so we went for it. One night and 2 days! It was beautiful, and we saw the most amazing full moon rise over the ocean. I took pics, but sadly it did not do it justice. During the days we walked the perimeter, and swam and frolicked. We had a great time

The boy is coming home today, and I am really looking forward to seeing the lil' brat. I missed his sassy little self. The daughter comes home next Friday. She is having an excellent time, and I am looking forward to hearing all of her adventures.

As for me, I have had some strange bacterial problem with my stomach for the rest of the week after our "resort-living" ; ) so I have been under the weather, running to the bathroom and studying. Aren't you glad you asked? Okay, so you didn't ask, but as always I am into "full-disclosure".

I am having a hard time with my Kaplan studying, so I think I need to re-visit the question tree thingy (for those of you who know kaplan, that's their technique). I take the test in 3 weeks, so I really need to stay focused. But it is so easy to become so passive sitting on the computer for hours taking tests. Blah, I have been tearing up the gel wrist pad, because my ADD is kicking in. I need to find something mindless for my hands to do while I'm taking these darned tests! Any ideas?? I've thought of crocheting, but i think that would pull me away from the test too much. It has to be something I don't have to look at or really think about.

that's it for now, how ya all doing???

Happy July!

Yep, Fourth of July is a day away, and I have no plans. My poor hubby keeps trying to get me to commit to something, and I come up with the same ole thing, "Let's hang out at home, then drive over to ____ to watch the fireworks". Simple huh? That's what I want. Then he's like, wanna call someone to come over? Oh my, I'd have to clean...although...I did just clean the toilets for NO reason at all, hmmmm. Anyhoo, each day is full, though not with too much fun. I study, clean house (a little, I don't go crazy for pity sake), study and that's about it. I am supposed to do 100 questions a day, but the 75 on Kaplan takes me HOURS, and then I don't wanna! And I also need to review materials that I'm weak on. My testing day is Aug. 3rd..did I already mention that in previous post? Anyway, I've got MAJOR butterflies, and LOTS of studying to do before then.

On the upside, I bought tickets for Spamalot last night! WHOOO HOOOO! I am sooo danged excited! They had a $49 ticket deal for really good seats, so I had to grab it! And at that price my hubby wants to go too, so we'll take our whole little family. The seats look good, I hope so. I LOVE Broadway musicals, but I am pretty picky. This one is based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is a completely silly classic. When I saw a piece of the musical on the Tony's years ago, I've wanted to see it, but it took forever to get here (L.A. area)

My daughter is still in Trinidad, and from what I hear of the team news, she/they are all doing well, and adjusting to the severe humidity. They have been very busy with a VBS, and doing outreaches at public schools and at church a few nights a week. As of today, she's been there one full week, and will be coming home in only TWO weeks! I'm so proud of her, and I'm really glad she is there, but I miss her like crazy. The rest of us are doing well. We went and saw Wolverine at the dollar theater, it was sooo good. Next wk, the boy will be gone so me and the hubby are trying to come up with a plan of fun for us. Suggestions anyone? (keeping it on the inexpensive side please) Okay, I really should get back to studying, see ya.

D day!! She's leavin' on a jet plane...

OMGosh, I'm a mess. I'm gonna miss my little baby girl so much. I know, I know, she's 17, but still. We say our farewells tonight at 8. Please pray for me and her safety. I'm gonna try to hold it together, so she doesn't worry!

gettin' ready

So we've been shopping and preparing for K to take off to Trinidad. And I have to say, the closer I get to Thur, the sadder I am feeling. I mean, I'm totally proud of her, and I know she'll have a great time, and growth, but dang, she's my little girl too. Okay, so I'm gonna have to buck up, bc she is darned excited, and I will NOT bring her down with me!

I'm going to finish Kaplan on Wed. It has been excellent, and well worth the expense. I am still waiting for an email or letter saying I can schedule my NCLEX. So in the mean time I am studying. Not enough, but about 2 hrs a day. Once the class ends, I will add even more study time. It is hard with my whole darned family home. But I will buckle down. Most of my study is on the computer, so I can't just take off elsewhere to study.

I visited my mom a few days ago. It is so hard to see her in that bed, but her mood was up, and I am thankful for what I do have with her. But dang, Alzheimer's is just so horrible.

I hope I didn't bring y'all down, just a little hard, but I'll be good. God bless, all.

Trini, shots and whats not..

So we are trying to get my daughter her shots for Trinidad. You'd think that would be easy enough, but noooooooooooo. Everyone is out of Yellow Fever, and it is on back order like an ice cream maker at Walmart. Aaaaaaaaaaand I just found out that Hep A is given in 3 shots... 6 MONTHS APART. Hmmmmmmmmmm so I'm a little stressed here since daughter is leaving in less than 2 wks.

Aaaand, very exciting as well, as my baby...er I mean my son graduated from 8th grade, and we are all so darned proud of him. And he is practically a giant these days, I swear he's grown a foot in the last year. Look how cute he is...

On other fronts, both my kids are home for summer, so it is nice to have them around.

Yesterday, I had my first Jane Austen Literary Association for the Advancement of Fine Literature meeting ie: jane austen book club. I just felt like it needed a longer title. Lets see what it comes out to.... JALAAFL hmmmmm kind of....... "ja!l'awful"! Kinda funny. We all had sooo much fun. Two teenagers, and 3 adult women (one of the teen gals was a no-show). We laughed and laughed it was so much fun. My daughter was the decorator, she turned our back yard into a delightful and elegant picnic area. I could never think of all that! I made the Leek & Goat cheese quiche (Yummy, but too rich for me), cream cheese & art heart dip (Yum), and hummus w/greek olives dip and crackers. Catherine brought a salad , Lupe brought a basil and fresh mozzarella pasta salad (very yummy), and Alex brought her homemade choc chip cookies (again...Yum). So we blathered on, ate and ate, talked some more, laughed and laughed and ate some more. It was absolutely lovely. Oh yeah, we were discussing Pride & Prejudice, a great book. Our next book will be Sense & Sensibility, and we'll meet in a month or so on the beach cliffs of Laguna to discuss it. Here's some pics.............

P.S. Oooooh just found a place for all daughter's shots AND it's cheaper! Whooo Hooooo, thank you God! 'Course, I have to drive to Pasadena, but what the heck, we'll make a day of it!

studying for NCLEX

Well I've got to worry now, that I'll have ANYTHING interesting to say because all I'm doing is studying for the NCLEX, reading, and cooking. Yup, the other day I made a roast chicken and then tonight I made chicken pot pie with the leftovers. It came out darn good at that. The crust from test kitchen was perfect, even if I did just a squoosh crust. (you know, ya don't roll it, you just squoosh it in the pan) It tastes like a rolled, it's just not as perty.
Hey, thanks to Lori for the award, and here are my 8.... though 8 is just too much for me, so I'll give 4.
"This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."
N is for Nurse The MOST amazing L&D nurse! LOVE her posts, what a woman!
Hope to B RN Actually IS an RN. Has such a great heart for her patients. Happy to see how a new nurse progresses.
Candice to think NOT on nursing, she is grandiosolly creative. Yes I made up that word myself.
Living Dead Nurse Love her sarcasm, and absolutely insane crazy busy life. And her pics are just so darn cool to look at.
OK, so i have got to get back to my 100 questions per day. Have a lovely day.

Pinning

Derned if auditorium pics are just so dang horrible. Ah well, here's some pics from yesterdays pinning. It went great, and I got choked up a few times, but no tears, just joy. It's been a bumpy road, but I still got there, thank you God, family and friends!


You can see how happy I am coming down that auditorium aisle!


On stage, second from right, front row.



my proud lil' family. I love this pic of all of us.




me, and my clinical instructor....remember, the one who wanted a "STELLAR" second concept map??? Too bad, the photo didn't catch him with his big smile. He's got a great one. I was his fave. No, really, I was. Honest. Stop arguing with me! :0

The actual pinning pic was sooo dark, I'm going to try to fix it before I put it up.

In other news, I paid for the NCLEX today. *biting fingernails here...*

FINI! DONE! FINITO!

Ummmm....yes, I am done with nursing school. Completely and totally. I am absolutely floating today I am telling you. It's been 7 years. You know... a couple years of prerequisites, and the long wait to get in, then three years of actual nursing school. Yeah, it should've been 2 years, but SOME of us like to reeeeeeeeeeeaaly study certain subjects/semesters twice, so there you have it, THREE years. But that is OK, I made it through, and I cannot believe the difference in myself from my first day in a patients room...to yesterday's. I am so comfortable, and happy when I'm with a patient. God has certainly gotten me through this whole process, giving me courage and fortitude. And of course my hubby. I don't think i could've done it without him! Or if I did, my kids would be bitter angry adolescents today. He has been driving them and making dinner on MANY MANY nights!

So I am darned happy. I will relax until next Thursdays pinning. Then you know what begins...NCLEX study. I will take it in July if all the paperwork gets there in time from my school.

Two preceptor days to go...

Yep, tomorrow, then Thursday, then DONE ta DONE DONE..........DOOOOOOOOONE!

CANNOT wait! I'm telling you, I'm feeling darned giddy. A week from Thursday is our pinning. Again...cannot wait. And then? My focus will change again, hitting the books and studying like heck for NCLEX.

My preceptoring has gone pretty well in mother baby. It has been a drastic change from med/surg. Not just the medications or patients, but the PAPERWORK! OY!!! There's a big book and small book for the mom, then a big book and a small book for the babe. And yes, you do charting in all of them! That has been the hardest thing to keep straight and to keep up on. And you don't have CNA's to do a lot of the work they do in med/surg. We do all the bed changes, all the vitals but the 8am's, removing trays, getting towels, supplies etc. And the vitals? You can have to check them every hour for one patient, every four, for another, every 8 for another. And then the same variety for your baby's! It has been tricky to keep straight, let me tell you! Thennnnn, if the mother is nursing, or sleeping you can't bother them, if the baby's nursing, can't bother them so then all those vitals hours gets screwed up, I forget, I get behind, then it all piles up, urgh! Whew! Thanks for letting me vent, I feel a tad better. It's not difficult nursing just busy. I made up a new report sheet to help me stay better organized, and I think it's helping a bit. So that's what I've been up to.

How 'bout you? How's school, work or your family??? Do tell!

So, I've got a plan...

You know I can't just sit around feeling sorry for myself, right? So I am making my own OB report sheet, that I do believe will help me be/stay more organized. I also want to do some things more med/surg style, but my preceptor will have to okay it. My next 2 days will be with a sweet preceptor, and my last 2 will be with the tougher one. I just have to finish, and not worry about doing it "their" way. I'll let you know how it goes, thanks for all the nice comments, I soooo needed them!

And about my back? It is a bit better each day, thanks for your support. Around 3pm it really starts hurting, but then I get really careful about taking care. That's it for now. Hope your week is going wonderfully.

Four preceptor days to go...

Yesterday started out well, but half way through everything got crazy, and it seems I kept forgetting things, going back later, just getting more and more and more behind. By the end of the day, I felt like a total failure. Ugh, I hope my next 4 goes better. So I put up a lil' cartoon to make me cheer up.

a back update

Thanks to all of you who sent up a prayer for me. Yesterdays preceptoring went SO much better. I wasn't totally pain-free, but it was completely manageable. I talked with teacher, who gave me some good ideas, and I brought back support just in case. Also I worked with a different nurse who took a few breaks and sat when she could. I was much more mindful of sitting when I could or putting my foot up while standing etc. So thanks guys, only 6 more days to go! And I have 3 days off to recoup. Yesterdays nurse preceptor actually let me do some full assessments on mom, so it was much more fun. If the nurse is not in the room, I am so much more confidant, and the patients relax more with me. Tough but good day.

(this pic reminded me of a shot I had to give yesterday to a little 22 hr old baby. Boy was he mad, he was just shaking with anger and screaming his little head off, poor thing. The mommy said he got so mad, that the only think that calmed him down 10 minutes later was taking off all his blankets and laying him on his mommy, skin to skin. Gee, I feel kinda bad now, if I wasn't sorta smiling. But he was just so cute when he was sooo mad.)

First day of preceptoring...

was sooo horrible. Not because of the babies (they are amazingly adorable), not because of my preceptor, she is wonderful. But because of massive pain.
I don't know if I've mentioned that I have ongoing back pain, (I probably have...) that is only managed by exercise and stretching, and that's pretty limited. I am okay if I'm moving, walking or sitting (unless it's for hours upon hours...you know like studying!), but the WORST thing for my back is standing still, and standing and leaning. Guess what you do alll day in mother/baby? A whooooooole lot of standing and leaning. There is a lot of teaching, coaching (w/nursing etc.) and you stand for 20 min. at a time. I felt like crying most of the day, the pain was so bad. I had a reeeally hard time concentrating, and learning everything I needed to learn, it was all so new. So I call my clinical teacher, but my phone won't work, so I send him a text. Then my phone dies, great. Well this morning I received his voicemail to me saying I'm pretty much stuck there. So I will call him this morning, I will work out my back, but I could reeeeally use your prayers pleeeeease! I go back tomorrow. It really would be a great rotation if I wasn't in pain. Thanks so much everyone.

P.S. Just talked to my clinical instructor, and I am stuck there. I will modify my day and talk to my preceptors, I may even bring a stool for my foot (helps relieve some pressure) and buy a back support today, just in case. Urgh. Please pray for me, thanks.

PASS!

We finally found out at 3:00! Yep they made us wait FOREVER!!! But I passed and that's all that matters at this point! (unless I kill someone in preceptorship....which I'm not really plaaaanning on doing).

Yay God for getting me through! Yay all of you for your support! YAY me.

Whew!

am told that WE will be told tomorrow after GN Predictor exam. This exam is not for our grade, but will give us a rough idea, how we'd stack up RIGHT NOW if we were to take the NCLEX. Kind of a practice, if you will. So, it has always been their policy preeeeeeeviously to call you if you did NOT pass. Well not this time, you have to go and take a group picture in your gown, and take an NCLEX predictor and theeeeeeen they'll tell you. All rather stressful, would'nt you say? I think so. I think I passed, but I just can't really start to celebrate until I know for sure, ya know? I mean, I would have to miss 40 of them, but still. I didn't pass last semester, so I don't take anything for granted. So, that being said, I'll let you know as soon as I do! Thanks for all the positive thoughts, you guys are so great.

One...

Imagine my excitement..totally in the weeds.. studying. Gotta go, please pray for me, my LAST Final tomorrow!

Watch out...ready to blow!

P.S. HAPPY NURSES DAY EVERYONE!!!

Two....

Kinda how I'm feeling today... Kinda stormy, and stressed, but also knowing that I need to stop, slow down and breeeeeathe!

okay, so yesterday I reeeeally studied "leadership" with a group that was great. I felt like I not only read all the stuff, but it became "cemented" in my understanding. Today, I must tackle cardiac. Yes, my weakest area. I'd like to join the group again, but I'm not sure if one of the gals wants me there...because I can get off topic, or babble on and on. Either way, I've got to get it down. I want to finish reviewing all notes today, because tomorrow I plan on just practicing questions in the subject areas. I only need a 58% to pass so I shouldn't sweat it, but after not passing last semester, I take nothing for granted.

Yesterday I picked up my gown for graduation/pinning. That was weird. On Friday, we are taking a group picture.

I met my preceptors on Sunday. They are very nice, and it should be a really positive experience.

That's it for now, everyone have a good week.

Three days...

a....n...d.... counting.....

P.S. How the whole swine flu began.....

isn't she just so cute?

SIX days to go...

Yesterdays ATI test went fine. Of course I didn't pass, but I didn't care as long as I got my 3 pts, (3%%) which I did. I've never passed an ATI, except for the Obs/Peds one. But luckily, they are a VERY small part of grade. Since I got my 3%, I only need 15% which is 60% (are these #'s confusing you??) for my Final to pass my LAST semester in nursing school, WHOOO HOOO! I do believe I can get a 60% on my Final, don't you? Sunday is our last clinical, but it's only a half day, then we go out and celebrate, yay! So, I'm telling you, I am finding it VERY difficult to stay focused right now. (See...I'm like Barbie, I just wanna go a little wild..)

I want to go into goof off mode. BUT I MUSTN'T MUST I??? Nay, I say! So, today, I am trying to batten down the hatches,

and all that....ummm.... after I blog.

I have been goofing off last night and this morning, so I really must get going to hit those stupid books. Okay, I mean it, I'm getting off this silly computer, bye. Hope your last weeks are going well.