Sally Update

PHOTOS OF SALLY, DAISY AND THE FAMILY AT MY GMA'S 71ST BDAY!

So today Sally went to have her "lady surgery" she was so excited to be in the car she threw up in my yet again!!!! I think she has motion sickness or something. When we got to the vet she tried her luck at taking on a Saint Bernard....that went well! At least she didn't draw blood like she did with Linus (her cousin) during a most memorable Xmas gathering with all 3 dogs.

BAD BAD BLOGGER!

So I know I'm a horrible blogger but I figured it had been so long and I know that there are SO many of you who have just been lost without my updated blog posts, so I'll catch you up on my O SO EXCITING life here in Lincoln, NE

This thanksgiving my parents surprised me with my early Xmas present it was a beautiful puppy who I called Sally; why Sally as a name you ask? Well I named the dog I got for my bro and sister in law LINUS out of our mutual love of "PEANUTS" and Sally is my favorite character so there you go!

SALLY STAT'S

• Approx 5lbs
• Approx 4 inches tall
• Profession: Greeter of all residents at the Tanglewood apt. in Lincoln NE
• Hobbies: Chewing on bones, plastic bottles, throwing up in my car, prancing in the snow, licking salt off the sidewalks, cuddling with her mom
• Favorite foods: Science Diet dog food of course, rawhide's, wood, plastic, underwear, socks, bottom of my sofa, and her absolute fav is ICE!
• Best friend: besides me she loves visiting her sister and grandma Daisy and Janene in Des Moines, IA.
• Arch Nemesis: LINUS, the cousin :) or any big dog for that manor, she squeals like a women being murdered, it's ridiculous.

This is at Thanksgiving she is 10 wks old!

FIRST MONTH OFF ORIENTATION

So I've been off orientation for about a month and a half now and let me tell you I have learned sooooooo much it's insane. The night shifts that I have worked off orientation have been fine, not overwhelming, slow pace, and kind of boring. My first week back on days was quite the opposite. Last week was the week my arms fell off from being pulled in 100 different directions, my feet became numb because they were being stood on for 12 solid hours, and my brain went KABOOM from all of the information being absorbed...it was a great week...HA NOT!!!

I do think that this week definitely taught me about what nurses really go through on a daily basis. I guess the days that I had worked before were busy but this past week was a whole other meaning of that "busy" word.

Oh A.D.D moment...so I found out this past week that I'm getting a puppy for Xmas!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!! she's a long haired black and tan miniature dachshund. I'm going to name her Sally because I figured we should keep the charlie brown theme going on in our family. Eli's dog's name is Linus and he said that if they get another dog they'd name it Lucy...I liked the name sally and she's my favorite Peanut's character, so there you go...

This past weekend was amazing I got to visit all my pals up in Cedar Falls, stay in the double wide trailer I had missed so much...ha, not, I got to see my wonderfully prego friend Jamie and her newlywed apartment. We made these really great cookies, they were pumpkin oatmeal and they were delicious. I got to spoil her a little with some baby stuff, she finds out the sex of the baby today actually :). On Saturday I headed up to no where Iowa and went to my nursing school friend Tesia's wedding, it was so great. I also got to spend some quality time with a few of my other nursing school friends. I love those times when you get together with friends and it's as if you never left each other; you just start up right where you left off. I missed them a ton and it def. made me realize that I need to be a better friend to Tesia who I love and miss and she only lives an hour away. Anyways it was so great to see them all and have fun dancing and swapping new nursing stories and experiences. It's weird how we all have these new lives but are still experiencing what it feels like to be new nurses in new cities.

Then to end the weekend I got to hang with my parents and then they told me I was getting a puppy...THE END :)

OFF THE BAND WAGON

WOW I just realized it's been almost a month since my last post...really not t hat much has happened but I have had a few great weekends this month. A few weekends ago it was the Nebraska vs. Missouri game, it was on a Thursday night and I had to work. Amazing story though, I was working the night shift and I had taken care of this guys on wed. night and he was on end of life cares and pretty unresponsive. Well low and behold Thursday night rolls around and it's football time, this man was wide awake and hosting a husker party in his room!!!! it was so great, he was sooooooo excited to see those huskers play. He stayed up for the entire game and it was a doozy to watch let me tell you, Huskers pulled it out in the 4th quarter in a massive rain storm. This mans story was written about in the Lincoln paper, his family knew how important the huskers were to him and wanted others to know his story as well. He ended up passing on the Sunday afterwards...at least he got to cheer on those Huskers one last time :)

A weekend to remember

So to start off with I am blogging while I work the night shift tonight. 6:30pm-7:30am can I get a WHOOT WHOOT?! It's a quiet night, hopefully it will stay that way. Tonight I am faced with my first end-of-life patient. He's on comfort cares and I'm quietly freaking out about the fact that he might die on my shift. He's a DNR so we don't have to resusitate him but it's just scary to think about having to deal with death. I've never had a patient die or have taken care of a dead person. So pray for the best.

Anyway, this past weekend was amazing. On thursday I headed over to Des Moines for my friend Annie's bachelorette party, we had a blast and it was soooooo much fun to catch up with nursing school friends. We ended the night at the Blue Moon which is a bar with dueling piano's...absolutely incredible and insanely fun. On friday Katie, Mom, and me went and got a well deserved pedicure and Eli and my dad hung out at none other than the Bass Pro Shop. We then met up as a complete family at the best place on earth PANCHERO's I haven't had it since I moved here and boy was it well worth the wait. Later friday night I left to help out my family in Lincoln with my cousin Ryans wedding rehearsal dinner.

Saturday I got myself all gussied up for Ryan and Angie's wedding and awaited the arrival of my family. I was so stoked to get to have Eli and Katie over to my house and show off all my cool IKEA things. Then we went to the wedding and the reception which was so beautiful and so much fun. My mom's side of the family is a blast to hang out with and so we had a great time dancing and laughing. After the reception our family had to haul presents to a hotel for the bride and groom to open. Some how one of us broke the mirrored Horn of Plenty (which is the word my dad used and will now never live down, but for those of you just like me who didn't know what a horn of plenty was, it's just a cornicopia) I think i'll start calling my dad Mr. Horn of Plenty, it was histerical listening to him trying to explain himself. After our delivary was made Eli and Katie came back to my house and we started watching Robin Hood:Prince of Theives and drinking mudslides. We didnt' make it very far through the movie, we were soooo tired.

Sunday we got up bright and early and went over to my Uncle Jim(mom's brother) and Aunt Judy's house for breakfast, again it was just so nice to spend special quality time with my family.


It was a great weekend and I hope I get some days off for thanksgiving so I can spend even more time with them.

This past week was the week of the misfit patient. I have 2 patients who were on a 1:1 status meaning they had such bad dementia that they had to be supervised at all times. SO MUCH FUN!!! One of those 1:1 patients needed to be in isolation because of the flu. That one decided to pull out her IV not 1 but 2 times. and she was a bitter, scratcher, and spitter outer of any medications. I also had a bunch of patients who were just dead weight to move around and in turn killed my back and feet.

Putting aside the misfits this was my last week on orientation. I should have started my first day as an independent RN today but I was put on call!!! That's what I get for being a Newbie, o well I can now spend my day blogging and having coffee and a bagel at my new favorite place. It's Brewster's coffee and Big Apple bagels. When I first visited Brewster's I saw this display cooler with GINORMOUS mounds of something that was absolutely mesmerizing. I thought at first they had to be ice cream but NOOOOOOOOOOO, it was something much better, They were big mounds of homemade cream cheese!!! Amazing.

ANY WHO, hopefully I don't have to go to work today and I can just chill out drinking coffee and looking at huge mounds of cream cheese.

One can only dream right?!

Kitchen Update

This is how I installed the utensil hanging racks, pretty comfortable if I do say so myself!

My beautiful magnetic knife holder and my butcher block

So I hung two tracks underneath my cabinets that hold hooks which hold my utensils. I also bought those 2 white cup things that hold more utensils. I love my new organized kitchen!!