Work Story.

WARNING: THIS BLOG CONTAINS INFO THAT IS NOT SUITABLE FOR THE EASILY GROSSED OUT.

Okay now that I got that out I thought I would share a story of something that happened to me today at work.  I switched shifts with a girl at work so I worked the day shift.  It was my first time alone and on the side that I never work on.  What could go wrong right?

Well, I was doing my med pass when and Aide told me the Shower Aide needed me in the bathroom.  I figured that the resident had a bruise or cut that I needed to be notified of.  I'm not lucky enough for that.  The resident was actually impacted.  Well, not quite but I won't give you the details of all that.  Her crap was literally so big she couldn't get it out.  So as a nurse sometimes you have to glove up and just help a girl out.

So I put gloves on and start doing my job.  Everything is coming along okay when all of a sudden the fire alarm goes off.  I have to stop what I am doing and go back out to the dayroom to make sure all the residents are there and accounted for.  I also have never been involved in a fire drill at work so I am hoping I am doing a good job.  Once the fire drill is over I am headed back to the bathroom.  I continue what I was doing prior to the drill.  When I think about it, it is kind of amazing that in a span of less than a minute I am manually taking poop out of someones butt and then I am in charge of making sure everyone is doing their job, residents are safe and accounted for.  I am the person in charge.  What a change of roles in such a short period of time.  In case you are wondering my resident was much better after my help.

Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day to everyone!  I never got excited about Earth Day before this year.  I have been learning so much more about this great planet that we live on in the last year.  I have also learned a few things on how people are messing it up.  So I have been trying to do better in small increments.  Here are a few examples of what I have done in the last year:

• I use less paper towels.
• I take reusable grocery bags to the store with me.
• I try to buy recycled paper.
• I recycle everything the city lets me.
• I reuse food jars for storage.
• I bring a reusable water bottle vs. buying bottled water.
• I use natural cleaners.

I am planning some changes over the next year also.  I want to start a compost soon.  I also have started a vegetarian diet.  Right now it is a trial phase but I am very likely going to stick with it.

I challenge everyone to make a few changes in their life also to help the "Marble".

Officially Spring

I have proof that it is spring and warm weather is on the way.  How do I know this?  I spent the afternoon weeding and I GOT A SUNBURN!  Apparently my lower back was showing and I now have a strip of red.  Dang.  I even thought about putting sunblock on too.  Oh well.  What's a little skin cancer anyway?

Big Brother/ Big Sister

When I was about 9 years old my parents had been divorced for 3 years and I was living with my dad, brother, and sister.  I had some behavior problems at the time and was going to see a child therapist.  The therapist recommended that my dad check out Big Brother/ Big Sister (BBBS) for me.  My dad, being an awesome dad, signed both my me and my sister up for the program.  BBBS is a mentoring program for at risk (sorta) children.  Usually their parents are divorced, a parent is absent, or something like that.

I was matched with a woman named Vickie.  We would go out to lunch, to the zoo, and basically spend time together.  Vickie and I are not in contact anymore but I hope that she knows what a big impact she made on my life.  I was very fortunate to have her in my life.

I have wanted to become a big sister for a few years but it wasn't compatable with Craig being in the military.  I didn't want to move away after being matched.  So now that Craig and I somewhat settled down in life I decided that it was time to finally time to become a big sister.  I was hoping that Craig would also want to become a big brother since I believe in the program so much.  He was kind of dubious since he has never been exposed to the program before.  However, during my research I found that you are able to volunteer as a couple.  I talked to Craig about it and he was willing to give it a chance.

A few months went by without us doing anything to sign up for the program.  I went back to school in January .  I was in just one class, Sociology.  On the first day we were divided into groups and the group leader had to ask us a series of questions.  One of the questions was, "What or what do you want to do to change society?"  My answer of course was that I want to become a big sister.  After a little while we had to present the answers to the class.  One group went before us and one of the group members answer his question by saying that he works for BBBS!  So it was fate.  After class he gave me his card and answered some of my questions.  Craig and I went through the process of becoming Bigs.

At the end of February we met our Little.  His name is Josh and he is 6 years old.  We usually see him every Saturday.  He is a bundle of energy and keeps us busy.  He is a lot of fun.  He will tell you stories and you don't know what he might tell you.  Craig enjoys himself a lot and I think he is really happy that he decided to become a Big.  I think it is really awesome and I finally feel like I am giving back to a deserving child.

If you are interested in the program or want more information check it out:

http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.diJKKYPLJvH/b.1539751/k.BDB6/Home.htm

It is very rewarding and it is worth the time you put into it.

Geocaching.

I think that it is about time that I talk about geocaching because it is an important part of my life. I will try to explain geocaching in case you have never heard me talk about it or have heard of it on your own. Geocaching is a sport/hobby in which you use a handheld GPS (global positioning system) to find hidden boxes. That is the basic info. You go to the website http://www.geocaching.com/ and sign up for a free account. Then you search for geocaches in your area and load them onto your GPS. Then you get in your car, on your bike, or in your walking shoes and go find the cache.

When you go to the website and sign up you will choose a geocaching name. Craig and I cache as a team and our Geocaching name is Wheelers of Fortune. When you find the geocache there will be a log book. To claim the find you must sign the logbook (with your geocaching name) and then go online and log it there also. But you HAVE to sign the physical logbook. When you find the cache depending on the size there will be items for trade. You are able to take something if you want. (Usually items are inexpensive).

There are several different types of geocaches. You can read about those on the geocachingwebsite. My favorites are probably multi-caches and mystery caches. Multi-caches are caches with more than one step to them. For example you will go the coordinates for the cache and use some information at the location to answer a question. There will be info in the cache information to tell you how to turn the answer into coordinates to go to the next step or to the final. A multi can be just two steps or more. Mystery caches usually have a puzzle for you to solve before you can get the coordinates to the cache. Another option for mystery caches is that you fulfill a requirement before the cache owner will give you the coordinates to the final cache.

There is some basic etiquette that you should know before you go geocaching.

#1 Trade up. If you take an item out of a cache you always replace it with another item. Preferably with something of equal or higher value.

#2 Cache In Trash Out. Clean up cache area. If the surrounding area is trashy, then pick up. No one wants trash laying about.

#3 Rehide cache better than how you found it. You want to make sure that it is well hidden for the next cacher.

#4 Don't hurt the surrounding environment. Don't step on nearby plant life. You don't want to leave any trace that you were there. Once again you want to preserve the natural environment.

A few reasons I love geocaching:

I love to spend time outside seeing the world.

I love to go to little known spots and see things I never would have otherwise.

I love to find caches while on a road trip. (A great way to take a break)

I love to having a hobby to enjoy with Craig.

I love it.

A few of my favorite caches:

Can you guess where the cache is??? Yep, up the lion's butt!

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=4e43e00f-4957-40f4-9938-bdda7e90df6e

This is a plaque placed where the original geocache was. And it is right outside of Portland, OR.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=a79d6f50-74a6-4c85-b18c-86dd8b7313ab
Our 500th cache!

I got to feed a donkey!

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=15db1edd-d9ac-46cc-b21e-6df3df629c8c

This is Craig gettin ready to go look for the final cache of the Georgia Delorme Challenge. This cache took the most work on our part.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=3eefa0c3-8c78-4c71-8d77-d8edaf726e3d

I am sure that I will post a lot more info on geocaching and such but here is something to start off with.

CSA.

I am so excited to tell people about this.  I signed up for a CSA with a local farm.  In case you don't know what a CSA is (I don't blame you if you don't...I just learned recently) it is a Community Supported Agriculture.  A local farm will have a # of shares that people in the community can purchase.  Then you recieve local, fresh produce once a week.  I purchased a 1/2 share so that should be enough for Craig and I for a week.  The farm that I have bought into is Willow Grove Gardens here in Longview.  I look forward to receiving my fruit and veggies every week.  One other benifit is that my veggies are all organic!  Yea!  Hopefully all goes well.

If you are interested check out http://www.localharvest.org/  to find a CSA in your area!

RIP

Well, today I went in to work for the first time in two days.  I found out that one of the residents that I take care of on a regular basis passed away on Thursday.  I knew that he was going to pass away soon but it is kind of hard to deal with.  He is the first resident that I was taking care of that passed away.  I feel bad for his family but I know it is his time to go.  I am kind of glad that I wasn't there though because I think it would have been a lot worse for me to deal with mentally.  I wish I could see his family member again to tell him personally how sorry I am that he passed away and say goodbye.  I guess since this is my first death it will stick with me.  I won't forget this.  

My Garden.

I am trying to start a flower garden this year.  This is the first time trying to plant and maintain a garden on my own.  As a child my mom had a garden and we would help her.  We were even allowed to plant whatever we wanted in our own section.  I am still in preparation mode right now.  I am currently trying to weed the flowerbed.  It is pretty overgrown.  The upside is that the previous tenant planted bulbs at some point so we have tulips that are coming up and we had a daffodil.

This is one of our tulips coming up.  I wonder what color it will be.  Surrounding is the weeds that I am working on getting rid of.

Another tulip by one of our trees with a cute little pink plant.

Closeup of the cute little pink flower.

Blue flower...same as the pink but blue.

Another little flower plant.

I have some bulbs to plant and some seeds.  I need to finish weeding first...uggh.  I will post more pictures once we have more flowers come up.

work, work, work.

Work was absolutely crazy tonight.  No funny stories to tell though.  I got to work today and I had about 9 or so people on alert (i.e. changes in their condition or care so we monitor them every shift).  This means a lot of extra work for me and a lot of charting on the end of the night.  I had one resident in the hospital so when they returned I got some new orders (more work).  I had several phone calls throughout the night from resident's family members (interuptions of my work and I have to chart each time I talk to a family member).  I also have a resident who is dying.  This is my first time dealing with a resident that I know pretty well and have taken care of for awhile pass away.  I seem to be doing okay for now but who knows how I will be when his time actually comes.  I feel bad for his family members.  I was able to talk with his family member that takes care of him and I feel better about his passing away soon.  I just hope it doesn't happen when I am on shift.  That would be really hard.  So I got way, way, behind and didn't even finish my med pass until 8 pm!  I should be done by 6:30 or 7 at the very latest.  So then I had a ton of paperwork to do.  I had to call the hospital to get orders for the resident who was there earlier because the doctor didn't send any instructions with her new meds.  How stupid is that?  How am I supposed to know how he wants us to give it?  Sometimes doctors amaze me.  So I finally got out of there at about 10:30 (supposed to be of at 8 pm)  So not much reading happening tonight before sleepytime.  I need to get up early and go grocery shopping and read before I go to school.  Yeah for commuting. Not.

Return of the Deadlines....

School has begun once again.  It has been kind of a rocky start.  I developed a headache after my first class and it has not only not gone away but has gotten worse.  Of course I didn't have any Advil with me.  So my day has gotten progressively worse.  Class on the other hand wasn't bad.  I have a lot on my plate this quarter but I am hoping to manage pretty well.  I just need to make sure that I manage my time well and I will be okay.  I have taken an A&P course in the past so that should help me a lot.  Micro is another story though.  This is my first time through so I will see how it goes.  I wish school was easier...I guess everyone does.  But you gotta do what you gotta do.

School Aspirations

So as a lot of people know me they should hopefully know that I am working towards my RN degree.  I have wanted to be an RN since I was in high school.  It took me a really long time to get my LPN degree and now I am working towards my RN degree.  I am working on some pre-reqs that I have to take prior to being in the RN program.  Tomorrow is my first day of Anatomy & Physiology and Microbiology.  Who in their right mind would take those classes at the same time?  Well, I have no other choice.  I have to take Micro sometime.  I will be spending a lot of time studying and doing schoolwork.  Sometimes I hate school and just wish I was done.  Someday I will finally be finished.  Someday!

The Beginning

Craig has been telling me for a long time that I should start a blog to share my dreams with people.  I have some crazy dreams and Craig finds them entertaining.  I am not sure if anyone else will but I will try blogging some of them anyway.  I am also a nurse at an Alzheimer's nursing home and I have a lot of funny things that happen to me on a daily basis.  I will add a few anecdotes from our geocaching adventures.  If you are unaware of what geocaching is you will learn soon enough by reading my blog.