My first Baby Hat!

well I started my socks and I realized it was going to be to big...so I decided to make it a baby hat. My first one! I'm so proud of myself...it only took like a day.

Here's a pic...



Its made out of Lion Brand Natures's Choice 100% Organic Cotton. Its so soft!

Change of title...

Well I've just changed my title to my blog...it suits me better for right now. I still love Gymnastics but its not as prominent in my life. I'm looking to get back into coaching. I have been doing some research into find a Gymnastics club in my area that I can coach at. However, for right now I think its better if I get settled as Pediatric Nurse first.

I figure if I get a Gymnastics job it will help balance out working with the sick children all the time. Spend time with the happy, healthy and spend time with the not so healthy but mostly happy children.

I cannot believe that this week marks Christmas! My how the fast the year has gone! I've left the nest, sprouted my own wings and I am working on building my own life! Pursued my dream job... and done a lot of great things! I'm looking forward to what the next year has to offer and I only pray that it is better than this one. There were a lot of struggles that I went through to get to the point that I am at now. Learning to be alone while 250 miles away from my family, almost losing my boyfriend and just learning more about myself. Were all struggles that were hard to contend with. I am glad that I went through them but prefer to never have to do them again.

I am excited to say that my younger brother got his driver's license. Look out world another 16 year old on the road. Remember those days?

Next year will bring many exciting times, adventures and memories.

May you all have a blessed holiday season!

-M

Cozy Winter Scarf

Well I have picked up my knitting again...it all started with these cold winter days...I was wearing a chunky blue scarf I made last year a while back and I decided I wanted one in another color, so I bought the same yarn and did it in a different style. Im really happy with it. Its just a simple pattern but it works great with the yarn...


Now I'm off to work on my first baby hat for all my little ones that I'm taking care of!

Its been great being a Pediatric Nurse! :)

New addition to Kraig and My family

His name is Hugo!

We found him when we got back from having Thanksgiving with our families he was eating the cat food we had out for the strays. I guess we got a stray dog, too! Anywho, he was really friendly when we saw him and decided to keep him and name him Hugo! He's really smart! Knows Sit, and Down already...we're working on potty training and Stay. He goes to work with Kraig everyday and when I am off he stays with me. He's about 13 weeks. and had a little infection when we first got him but its resolved now. Since we both have dogs that have taken up permanent residence with our families and we know we wont get them back, we decided to keep Hugo.

Here are some pictures:

My humble new abode...

So sorry its taken so long, but here are a few pictures of my new home...its starting to feel like that anyways. Ive just about settled in and all. A few boxes still need unpacking and probably wont be unpacked until we move again. Hopefully, I dont need anything from them.
Its a two bedroom townhouse, the second bedroom is all of my stuff. Kraig doesn't have anything in there! :) We might move soon, but in any case the lease is up in July, so well definitely be out of here then.
Laundry room in front bathroom just at entry.Front entry hallway looking at living room
Dining room and living room.Garage with Kraig's corvette.My measely kitchen...its so small!One of the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom. Our room, the other room pictures didnt come out so good. So I don't have them. Sorry.

Thats it for now.

-M

First week on the unit

Well I have completed my first week on the unit and I am very satisfied with my choice. It feels so much better to be where I want to be working with the population that I want. All the staff on the unit friendly and nice. However, even in the first two shifts I have noticed that the CNAs kinda have to be told what needs doing! Ugh! Frustrating! Anywho I had three patients which was max for our team because we had "monitored" patients, meaning they are on the heart monitor. They were heavy even for two of us. They were all post-op with PCAs, and needed to be turned every two hours. In Pediatrics each hour the Monitor and IV rate has to be documented. So 3 patients X 12 hours, X 2= 36 turns; most of which my preceptor and I did. No wonder my back hurts! Ive got most of the tasky stuff down, just trying to figure out the policies and procedures. I still have about 3 weeks of orientation left to go. I am glad that I am orienting during the holiday season, because I can get my holidays off...I'm off until Tuesday AM!

About the Hospital, its 332 beds, I am on the Unit called (Starship) Explorer, each unit in the hospital is named with regards to Space stuff. So there is Apollo, Discovery, Voyager, Explorer and Craycroft. This hospital is about 10 years old but before that they were in the heart of Fresno before moving to Madera.

As I am going through my orientation Im finding that I am doing a lot of comparing to my other job, I guess because that was my first RN job and its all I know. So it makes it easier to learn I affiliate everything I am learning to what I previously learned.

Anywho Ill keep you updated my progress, trials and tribulations as this new adventure begins.

Update on New Job

Well its official I am done with SJCH and Bakersfield, Ca. I went yesterday to Bakersfield to clean out the rest of my stuff from my apartment and do some minor cleaning. I had a little bit of sadness as I walked out to my car and away from the apartment. Man I loved that place! Anywho, I am now going to be a RN at Children's Hospital of Central California. Pediatric RN is what I have always wanted to be. I am so proud to have achieved my first RN Career goal. I am also thankful for having had the opportunity to have been on staff at SJCH, it is a great hospital. Its just not the place for me- really its Bakersfield thats not the place for me. A little to far from home, and I have always wanted to be FT RN for Pediatrics. Which is what I will be doing. It is NOC shift but thats okay, ill work my way into Day shift. I start this week with working on the floor. Ill post a few updates as the week goes on. This is all for now.

Mom's 50th Bday

Picture of family at Mom's 50th Bday...

Its that time...

I'm almost done packing and looking forward to my new adventure. However, now I am at the point where I am enjoying the Med-Surg atmosphere. I think it has a lot to do with having had the last 7 mos experience. I am in a routine now, and its gonna change. I know that I have to keep moving forward though. If GOD didn't want it to happen it wouldn't have. I know I will be happy but I am a little sad to be leaving everyone. They're having a Potluck today at work for all the November Bdays and all the people who are leaving. And tonight Im going to Sushi with everyone! Thank God its Payday! Moving day is Monday! I cant believe next week is Thanksgiving!

Whew this year went fast!

-M

Moving on...

Well I have decided to pursue my ultimate career goal of being a Pediatric Nurse...my current facility has some Pediatrics but I have not been assigned to care for them. I am moving to Fresno, Ca to live with my boyfriend and work at Children's Hospital of Central Ca in Madera, Ca. Which ironically has a mascot of a Giraffe and for some reason this year I have been collecting Giraffes. Now my collection will be complete! I will be working on a Post-Surgical unit at Night. I am so excited! Its closer to home-Bay Area, Ill be able to save more money as well as make more money. Ill be with Kraig and lastly its full-time Pediatrics! What more could I ask for. Not to mention Kraig and I are looking to buy a house early next year.

I am a little saddened to leave my current facility, especially since I am finally getting the hang of things but this is what I have always wanted to do!

-M

Work, Play & Life what a balance!

Well I must say I am finally getting the hang of being an RN, while it is not my cup of tea to be on Med- Surg Unit. I am using a lot of what I learned in school, pathophysiology wise, interacting with a great deal of people, learning how to best manage my time and overall enjoying it. However, I am waiting until I land my dream of being a Pediatric Nurse. I am PALS ceritified and have completed all of my online coursework required to be a Pediatric Nurse at my facility. I was hoping that next schedule I would be a Peds RN on my floor but it doesnt look like it. I'll just keep waiting and working on what I am doing.

Last week was a good week. Thursday I had my first RRT call, the patient's BP was 198/111 and was complaining of Chest Pain. Fearful that they might have a heart attack we called RRT, my Charge RN and the ICU Charge RN monitored the patient, we got the Crash Cart close by and I tried to figure out the MD situation- insurance had just changed and there was no note made as to who the new MD was... Long story short the patient did not have a heart attack but was transferred to the TELE Unit.

Saturday, I had to take on a 6th patient 4 hours before my shift ended because we were short staffed, one of the NOC RNs was going home before coming back the next night. Its the season now where everyone is getting sick and help is needed on the unit.

Anywho thats just a brief little update into my fabulous life!

Next weekend Im off and am looking forward to going shopping with my girls~! \

-M

New Bag

This is what I spent my day off completing, its a little rough on the overall design but I am getting better!

Work update

Ive decided that while it may be boring to the rest of the world I am going to start blogging about my work days. It will be therapeutic for me and help me to become a better critical thinker...

I didnt go to work on Tuesday 9/8/09 because I had such a bad back ache! Ive never had one like this before. I laid around all day with my feet up and tried to do as little as possible. I felt so bad for using my sick time but thats what happens sometimes. No one really minded in fact they were all very reassuring that its okay to do that. I just knew that I would have made it much worse had I gone to work. I felt good enough when I had to return to work thursday. What made it better was my best friend came over and helped me feel better :)

Thursday 9/10/09 was a good day at work, I had a total of 4 patients in the beginning then I got a transfer patient from upstairs that put me at 5. All my patients were pretty stable except for a few BP issues. One of them had never been admitted to the hospital before and everytime his IV beeped he thought he had to take it out and we had to give him a new one. He had a lot of anxiety and had just lost his job of 28 years - 2 weeks ago, a lot of mental anguish for him. As a result he was pretty sensitive to everything that was taking place. He had a shared room and there was some mixup with visitors for him or the other patient and someone -not me- told his family they had to leave. I dont know who it was but he took his frustration out on me...my first semi-hostile experience, he was very agitated and using vulgar language, pacing in and out of room making a big spectacle. I was able to get him to calm down and stay in room. I told my shift leader and we just left him a lone for a while. Then the Patient Care Representative was doing her daily rounds and just happened to start in his room...weird but good. Anywho she wanted to know the story so I told her all of this and she gave him her card. Nothing else transpired during the day with him and actually at the end when I recieved his discharge orders he gave me a hug... a little uncomfortable. Oh yeah the MD that wrote the D/C order also hugged me! Weirder!

My other patient had a surgery that I didnt really think my hospital would attempt or have someone that could do it, an enlargement of his foramen magnum, the hole in the head where the spine and the brain meet. Anywho he had been having a series of very severe headaches- naturally- and upon the MDs examination they planned this surgery. A lot of discharge teaching was done with this patient and his family, I feel the best out of all the D/Cs I have done for this one.
I recieved not one, not two but three discharge orders pretty simultaneously and I jammed them out. I was actually trying to get the other two out as well. That didnt happen, I was anticipating an admit as well but that took a long time to get one, I guess because I was prepared and expecting to get an admit I didnt but the down time allowed me to help my fellow RNs/CPs out and rest my back a little which felt pretty tight at the end of the shift. I am now off for 4 days and it will be great!

All in all, I am getting the hang of the tasks, requirements and responsibilities that this career choice has and each day I feel a little more confident about my work efforts and abilities. It feels great to be a very supportive environment.

-M

From Old and Drab to new and Fab!

A while back I was looking for something creative to do, and I decided to redo- paint and new handles my dressers. They were my grandmothers so I have a hard time wanting to get rid of them but the fresh coat of paint and handles adds new life and I can keep them around for a while. Here's how they turned out...

New Favorite Quote:

"Be the change in the world you want to see"

-Mahatma Ghandhi

Updated: San Francisco With Mikey

Mikey and I decided that we wanted to go to San Francisco, we always take the Ferry which is so much fun! Actually its the best part of the whole trip! While wearing my Alma Mater hat I'm eating some yummy Clam Chowder!

After spending a little time down at the Piers we decided we'd go to the California Academy of Sciences, we even passed by the Painted Ladies!
In the California Academy of Sciences...

The Giving Trees...Magical...I think they are my new favorite kind of tree! Hopefully one day I can see them in person!The Foucault Pendulum, Swings by Earth's Gravity only!

Sea Pen...Definitely one of my favorites!

Ribbit :)

The coolest part of the museum...the Albino AlligatorLook its Dori! From Finding Nemo! Just Kidding but, they depicted how this type of fish really swims perfectly in the movie! And here he is!...Nemo! I was so suprised to see these guys!

On the way back to the Piers and Ferry we decided to stop by and see the Sea Lions...Just had to. I had no idea they smelled so bad!

The End

-M

I'm Personalized!

Well I decided I'd be the ultimate RN! Just kidding, I am proud of my accomplishment and decided to get my very own personalized license plate. Here's what it is. I really wanted one that said RN (heart) kids but that one was already taken...Ill just keep trying but this one suits me too :) I am a RN, my initials and I love my Hands. Actually the Hand is for supporting Kids Health! How perfect for me! :)

On my own as RN

Well this week was my first week on my own, Monday was great! I even went home early...Doesn't happen very often in Nursing as well all know. Wednesday was a little bit rough, but I managed and yesterday was a good day. I had full case load yesterday and I even restarted my first IV all by myself, no preceptor or assistance from anyone. I was really nervous Monday but, after I did was done I realized that I can do this. Wednesday had me rethinking my career choice and Friday sealed the deal, I'm not going anywhere. I now know that I am going to have good days and some bad days, its all in how I manage myself, time and attitude. The better attitude I keep the better day I am going to have! So here's to staying strong!

-M

My dear friend Petey

Please come home!

Today, Petey got out of the house...I feel so guilty, responsible and upset! I was trying to take a box out front so I opened the door before hand and as I turned to go out the front door I must have spooked him somehow because he flew out with me right over my head. I didnt realize it until I thought I had heard him wither by.I hope he comes back, its now dark time and he's never even been out before let alone at night time. I tried everything, but because he is so shy, skidish he wont come to anyone, even me. It happened around 1115 this morning. I kept at it all day. Called the Fire Department, they came out and offered help but I said its okay you can do I dont know what to do anyways. (Later on, they came back on their own without me asking...although I did call the station there was no response) I thought that was really nice! All of my neighbors were really supportive and encouraging. My best friend Liane is coming to be with me because my boyfriend and family are in the Bay Area. Im just so frustrated because I feel so stupid about having done what I did. Very Preventable!

Anywho Ill keep you posted on the Petey situation.

Next Topic:

Monday August 17th I am officially on my own! Not really freaking out any more...I was though, I know Ill be nervous right before the start of the shift, I know that there is enough help available to me if I need it and I take comfort in that. I will be moving into the Pediatric part of the unit starting this winter! So exciting to be able to have my dream job; and be a pivotal part in the development of the unit. Everything is going great at work. I just had my graduation from my New Graduate Residency yesterday which my oh so loving and caring family graciously attended. I had a nice time visiting with them, I hope they did too!

Next Topic:

My boyfriend is moving out and on his own! He has been living with me for the last 4 months and learning what all is involved in managing a place of his own, but the commute for him from Fresno to Bakersfield and back is too long and too much on him! So he is going to get a place of his own and be closer to work and put more energy into it. Itll be good for him, it was what I had wanted anyways if I am to marry him- at some point dont know when though- just waiting on the ring :)

Next topic:

I know I havent had a chance to update my life in looooooooonnnnnnnggggg time but its been busy so thats good reason. Anywho I also wanted to say that I have learned so much in the last month I feel like I have really matured; even though today I was a blubberin mess! but I am learning to appreciate what an adult/parent endures everyday. I know that 6 months ago I was not here mentally. It feels good but I really liked the easier times. I know that God has great plans for me but these times that there is so much mental anguish and strife are very trying and I know that my hindsight will make it easier to bear the next set of trials that I have to endure.

Next Topic: today while I was going to check on Petey I witnessed a domestic disturbance/child custody dispute so I called the Police because I knew that they should be involved. I wont enumerate the details but I can say that I had a long day and am ready for it to be over.



Miss you Petey, Please come home!

Universal Studios

Well Mikey came down to Bakersfield for a visit. He took the train yesterday. It took him 6 hours! With all the stops and the slow speed that the train goes, no wonder.

Any who, he and I went to


today and we had a great time!



Since Mikey now has his permit I let him drive most of the way to Los Angeles.


He wanted to drive in L.A but I just didn't think it was a good idea so he didn't.








Here are some pictures from our adventure:

Me with Frankenstein












Mr. Potato Head









Desperate Housewives/Wisteria Lane/ Leave it to Beaver/To Kill A Mockingbird set:









Friday the 13th Movie Set: (I think I just saw a CSI with this set too!)









The Great Outdoors set:









The Jaws Shark









and a picture car from The Mummy:










and The End













He is staying until Thursday...maybe more adventures will take place!

New Purse

Well I did it I bought my first Coach purse. All the other ones I have, have been gifts. This one I bought and paid for! I love it! So many pockets and the best part is that I got it for $112. Macy's was closing out there old stock and I just happened to go into the store that day! Anywho here's the pic...

Day Shift vs. Night Shift

Wow! I am so happy with the decision to switch to day shift! It has really been a great experience for me. The nurse I am working with thinks that I am doing well, and that I will learn a great deal more than I would on Night Shift. There are more resources and in general more stuff available to me to make my job easier! Not to mention the Care Partners are more on top of their job! I am not so on my own and having to do everything myself! I would say that on Night shift there is a different rhythm, and tone but its not for me. I have known that since I was in Nursing school. I feel like I did my time so to speak. I have always been an "early bird" and that's how Ill stay.

Got to finish completing my Pediatric Training and I'm all in!

August 17th is D-Day... :) :( Mixed feelings, a little unnerved...I hope that I am able to manage!

Everyone is having faith in me I just have to believe it for myself now.

Anywho thats all for now...

P.S.
My scrub top worked perfectly! Next time I know what to do! Plus, everyone really liked it!

Hard work finally paid off!

I knew my dream would come true! I just had to persevere and push through the hard times!

I received the opportunity today to become a Day shift Nurse and best of all to work with Pediatrics!

Also, I had a great week... I am starting to get the hang of things and feel more comfortable with what I have to do as an RN!

WooHoo! :)

Publish Post

Scrub top #2

Check it out! I just finished this...