Night shift

The last two nights I'm on the night shift at work. So far, I haven't been very busy at all. I know you should never say the words "quiet" or " not busy" in a hospital...that's the first rule of nursing. Last night, I "slept" most of the night on a lumpy couch in the breakroom with my face smashed up into a pillow that is NOT my pillow if you know what I mean. Hospital pillows are covered in some weird synthetic fabric that is easy to clean so they crinkle under your ear when you breath.

Tonight I'm going to try to get downstairs at some point to use the massage chair...yes a full back massage chair with a remote control. It's hidden away in another part of the hospital. A little creepy wandering around the basement of hospitals at night though...ever read "Coma"? This room that has the chair is in the most remote corner of the hospital basement imaginable so maybe I am talking myself out of this as I type. But...my neck has a kink in it that will not go away (cue the "Jaws!" music please).

American Idol

Well, after lots of thinking and watching, I've decided to make a prediction...I'm going out on a limb here. I think the final three in this season's cast are the following... Danny, Matt, and Adam. I don't think the girls are going to go the distance this time. If pressed, I'd have to say that Adam is going to walk away with it this year. He's otherworldly. He's like the vampire Lestat (for those Anne Rice fans out there), lived forever and developed this crazy talent that can't be touched. He's made a deal with the devil, he's so good. This last week he sang "The tracks of my tears" by Smoky Robinson and made Smoky tear up give him a standing O. He cannot put a note wrong and he's very creative. A little cold though, like he's too polished if that makes any sense.

Next one to have a possibility of giving Adam a run is Danny. He has the emotional connection that Adam maybe doesn't have. Danny sings from the heart ever time and is extremely watchable and cool. He is humble and it shows.

But let's not rule out Matt, the dueling piano player. He is extremely talented also and does his best when at the piano. He can also connect with the audience. I don't think he'll win though unless Adam or Danny really blows it (unlikely). All in all, a very exciting year to be watching American Idol!

Yaaaanimals!

Here's some pics of our furry family members.

We inherited Mafia from our daughter when she got a hyper little puppy named Ju Ju (Mafia went into hiding). Now he is the king of the castle at our house. Here he is on the top of our staircase like a puma in a tree just daring our dog to walk underneath.

It's hard to see in this picture but he has a paw on either side of the wall and is resting on his chest.

Mocha is our pomeranian. We have had her since we bought her from a puppy mill-associated pet shop. She was sick when we bought her and had to start her on antibiotics right away. She has been a good dog. I just had her fur cut for summer...before and after shots here.

Anyway, no chickens yet in case you are wondering.

Various topics

Work is going well...at least I know which way to turn out of most rooms now. I have about 25% of the names of people I work with memorized, and I have received a few pay checks! On the down side, I am experiencing every bit of the learning curve that I expected. I have had a few cases that I would do differently if given the chance (no major problems). But these lessons have a way of sticking with a person...for instance, never undo the suction on a stomach tube and THEN fix the bend in the tube! You are asking for gastric contents down your leg.

Chelsie and Michael's first year wedding anniversary is coming up next week...amazing that a year goes so fast. Just this time last year I was in scramble mode getting stuff done for the wedding.

They are the cutest couple...have two dogs and a ton of family and friends. They host game nights at their house and fix up all their single friends. They have two couples to boast of (at this time) and are always looking for matches.

The first year of marriage is known for the hard adjustments that you have to make but these two make it look easy!

The cat has stopped throwing up since I took the branches out of the house...whew!

We planted a branch off our willow tree in the front yard. It is listing to one side at this time due to a heavy wind storm yesterday...Kevin's going to have to get right on that.

Ta ta for now (ttfn in text language)

Greeaat...

So you know the branches I brought in to blossom out and leaf out to introduce a little spring into the house? The cat has been eating the leaves and throwing up all over. I didn't get the connection at first...just noticed that the cat had thrown up a few times the past week. Then it was every day.

Well, you don't have to hit ME over the head more than a few times. I finally saw the whole thing unfold before my eyes...cat nibbling leaves...cat throwing up a few hours later. Cat/leaves...cat/ throwing up...catleavescatthrowing up...Oh my gosh! Take the branches out of the house you idiot!

Baby it's cold outside

Man, I was walking to my car this morning and about froze my cheeks off and it's only a few steps! I guess it's good for the snowpack though...gotta think about the farmers.

I cut a few branches off our apple trees and put them in water to see if they would blossom indoors (heard the idea on the radio) but nothing yet. The willow branches are doing their thing though...see those little green leaves on the twigs there? Those willows are practically indestructable. We put a willow branch in a bucket of water once to see if we could get roots to grow. They did. We left that poor tree in the bucket for months before we planted it and it still took off and became a huge tree.

If you want a willow tree just ask. We have these massive trees in our back yard that we planted from stumps just 5 years ago. They are way taller than the picture can include.

I am getting a tad sick of winter. I want to be able to get outside and walk along the greenbelt or go up to our cabin and get it aired out. We have some more work we want to do up there this summer (of course). We will be concentrating on the siding and getting the main floor finished so we can bring in living room and dining room furniture at long last.

At least that is our plan. We need to see if Kevin still has a job this summer. If Micron decides to fold, he may be out on his ear...in which case, he will go work on the cabin! It's all good.

Kauai

Holy cow I did it! (posted a picture) Lindsey will be so proud of me! So here is a pic of Kevin and I hiking down to Queen's bath on the North shore of Kauai. We didn't get all the way down the trail because of the mud and the high surf but we did see this cool waterfall. This was taken on my iphone...not bad for a camera phone. Now that I figured this out, I will be a camera-phone fool!

Bubble burst (warning: anesthesia related language and queasy inducing descriptions for some people)

It was bound to happen sooner or later...a bad day at work. Not a cry-your-guts-out kind of day but just a could've-done-better kind of day. I had a patient who didn't want to tolerate the light sedation I was giving (kept moving around despite local anesthetic at the surgical site) so I put him off to sleep with a general anesthetic. He woke up great but coughed all over everyone within range..(totally my fault and totally NOT SMOOTH!!!)

The other case, the guy tolerated the anesthetic but threw up after he was awake. I have never had a patient throw up before. I grabbed the suction and got him cleaned up, no problem. I had given him some anti-nausea/vomitting medication while he was still asleep but it didn't help in his case.

Just not a smooth day and I'm still too new to let a day like this roll off my back.

First Week on the job

 I am almost through my first week as a bonified, real, not on orientation, nurse anesthetist. I was so darn nervous about this week. It has turned out quite well actually. They have kept me in relatively tame waters this week, which is smart of them. They don't want to overwhelm me. I am building confidence with every case that goes well and learning a ton. 

 We have a house guest! Laura, a girl from the next class is here in Boise for her clinical rotation at the VA. It's great to have her here and talk about her experiences since now I can look back on it with a little bit of perspective (and a great deal of relief). She will be with Kevin and I until the end of May. The dog is already expecting a lot from Laura...looks at her like "what do you have to eat?", can I have some?"