Rants, Recipes, and Running

1. What was your high school superlative (if you didn’t have one- what would it have been)? I was voted "Most Likely to Leave ND" (isn't that funny that was even one of the categories?!) - Yay! Prediction as correct! I was also voted "Most Likely to Succeed." BwaHahaha - that was false! I don't foresee myself "rollin in the dough" anytime soon. Who knows - maybe the shitty economy will make this AMAZING turn-around and I'll score a GREAT job, and then I'll go get my masters or my Nurse Practitioners, and be ever-so-successful (I'm feeling a little apathetic about the job market right now. Don't talk to me about it :P) 2. What sports did you play in high school?  And track my jr and sr year. I ran the mile and 2 mile. If I would've tried, and wouldn't have been such a darn skinny little string bean - I may ahve had the stamina to succeed!? I also was a basketball & football cheerleader - if you want to call that a...

Today was a rough day. In fact, this week has been a rough week. I love Critical Care - I can't get enough of it, in fact. But, Wow! I have seen such intense cases during clincals of child abuse, sexual abuse, psychiatric illness, severe full-system crisis/failure...and today I saw my first patient die. That probably sounds weird to refer to that as "my first death". But, it is a fact that every person in the medical field will encounter this eventually -and I did today. And it was very intense and difficult to witness. Getting those images, and the family out of my mind won't be an easy task tonight. :( Which brings me to the LIGHT side of this blog -- In that I have a best friend to call during these times.... My Mom! In honor of mothers day being yesterday - I need to make a glorified shout out to my Mom, my best friend. I find the "Mother-Daughter" relationship to fascinating. I think many of us go through a phase where we do anything to be ...

Nursing school is nearly complete. This isn't going to be the most entertaining post you've ever read. However, it's a landmark in life for me - so it's worth blogging about. Yesterday I submitted my top 3 choices for my practicum, which will begin the last week of June. And my requests went as follows: 1) ICU 2) Telemetry (I heart the heart) 3) Emergency Department I made these choices strategically. In practicum, I'm at the hip of a nurse for 7 weeks working his/her schedule. It's a chance for me to do something that I hope to be in some day - however, I won't have as heightened of a fear of killing a patient. (since my nurse will be there) Also, doing my practicum in these departments may increase my chances of getting a job in a better unit of the hospital?! There's no psych in my sponsoring hospital. And...I want to learn the tricks of the trade and skills on the medical side! (Plus...the emergency department has a ton of psych!!! My 1st da...

I am so happy this Tuesday is over. I really think that God put a sign up in the sky today that said "World, you're goal is to work as hard as possible to break Abby down. Really tear and rip at her, and don't stop until she cries."  It was just non-stop. But, a rough day ended out great in the long run - and was a learning experience. Sometimes, we need to remember that we can't solve all the problems in the world. And, crying is okay sometimes. Even though I like to be "Always smilin' Ice Woman"..... But here 10 on Tuesday! Before I start reiging in the pity party... 1. Do you prefer markers, crayons, or colored pencils? Definitely markers. To be specific - the scented markers. Mm....remember those? My favorites were brown (cinnamon), yellow (lemon), and red (cherry). Mmmm..... 2. As a child, how did your parents celebrate your birthday? (Parties, cake, you pick the dinner, etc.) They always came into my room early in the morning before...

What?!?! April is done? Where did it go? How did it slip from me so fast!! It was a good month, in hindsight (the whole 10 seconds it seemed to last?....) It's recap time! Current Book(s): Got a new one, folks! "Critical Care Nursing". I just started reading it tonight. The print is entirely too small. And there are no pictures. I miss my psych book. They had animated photos of all the psychiatric/developmental disorders. My favorite was the "ADHD" photo a kid jumping off a bed going absolutely mad. :) Current Music: Hmmm.....probably classical of all shapes and forms. It helps me focus and study. I especially like Chopin and Tchaikovsky (too lazy to look up his correct name-spelling). Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: My newest shame-inducing guilty pleasure would have to be Graham crackers with milk as a bedtime snack. However, I plan to make a recipe today that will be using up the rest of my graham cracker box - so that will take care of my...

This weekend my favorite time of the year has arrived! It's not May Day, either. No, it's not Cinco de Mayo. It's not the Tucson Folk Festival, either! ............. *Cue the trumpets.....* The Kentucky Derby kicks off tonight - official races are tomorrow!!!! Some of you may not be aware of my obsession with the Kentucky Derby. If you ask my husband, Ryan -- you would hear roars of laughter from him. For he thinks this is just hilarious and odd. Why? Because I'm so not a sports fan . And beyond that - I really, really don't like animals . So why would I enjoy a " sporting event " involving animals ? Beats me!? But I have made Ryan promise me that if we're every disgustingly rich, and just can't think of what to do with "allll" of our money (this won't ever happen...but I can dream!) -- we must take a trip to Louisville, attend the Derby. Now, we could settle for the infield and just enjoy the atmosphere. But I would pre...

1. Think back a decade, do you remember what your first cellphone was? Was it as cool as Zack Morris’s phone? It was pretty basic. I think I was 15 or 16 when I got it. It was neccessary, though. I drove an hour to MSUM in Fargo ("the big city") weekly for trombone lessons; and 30 minutes to piano lessons weekly as well. With all the winter storms, and me being on the hour for up to 3 hours/week - having a phone was nice! It was no blackberry, which is not neccessary for kids. I seriously saw like a 9 year old the other day walking down the street playing on his crackberry. Unbelieveable! 2. What is the first children’s book you remember being read to you? "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" - by the fantastic Dr. Seuss. I can still hear my Mom's animated voice reading it! 3. What was your first car? Did you love it or hate it? It was a Toyota Celica, passed down to me by Lisa . I loooved it. The headlights popped up and the antennea was retracta...