Day 4.....No power.

It is a hot, hot day here in Miami. We lost power a 4:00 pm on Thursday, with the first strong gust of wind. It has still not returned. We are not sure when it will return, either. Here's why....


That is the how to not be popular with your neighbors 101 lesson 1.

Our next door neighbor and we have been sharing ice, and lamentations. I woke up at 1:30 am this morning-hot, sweaty and dreaming about going to work just to escape the dreaded heat. I am so tempted to go to my office and sleep on the conference room floor.

All of our cellphones, 1million candle lantern, computer, and the ever important gameboy all had a trip to the office today for recharging while I went to my second least favorite place to go - the laundromat. First place is held by the grocery store.

Fortunately, we did not lose phone service. And other than our avocado tree losing several limbs, this has been more just an inconvenience than anything else. So I will quit my whining now.

On the bright side, David has been incredibly good. He even did his homework with very little protest. Willie has been good, too.

I am so looking forward to going back to work in the morning.

W. :)

The good, the bad, and the ugly......

The good:

I finally got to take my midterm. I think I did fairly well. However, there were a few questions that I was sure had multiple answers, because they were all right. But perhaps not the best answers. Can't wait to get that grade back.

We will be starting back to clinicals right away this Saturday. Yay!

The bad:

Tonight's pharmacology class is cancelled. (More on why in the ugly) (I will get a chance to read the 4 chapters before class -good)

Last night was my work's start of year social (I work for a university). Thanks to the teacher moving the class, starting the test late, traffic, etc, I managed to arrive just as everyone was leaving. The thing was supposed to go on til 9:30. I arrived at 7:40, and everyone was booking out of there. And my silly husband, instead of going in, sat in the lobby being hungry. Bad.

The ugly:

We are having a hurricane. The good- no work or school. The bad - possible damage to life and limb. Oh, yeah, and being stuck in the house with a bored 8 year old.

W. :)

Blog Name Change

I have changed my blog name. I have changed it to "Critical Pathways."

Why? Well, for several reasons.

1) We are to use Critical Pathways to develop our thinking process. Grouping, clustering, etc. Making lovely flow charts like this:



The process cannot end before the critical pathway ends.

That is my life at the moment. The process is nursing school. The critical pathway is long and winding and difficult. But I must make it through all aspects of the pathway to complete the process of nursing school. End result....New Career.

2) Knitting.......not happening much, lately. Even with breaks. Because the heat is horrendous (91 in the morning?!?!?!), and I can't stand to have anything touching me that is not neccessary. Even cotton. So, until my break in December...no knitting. (Thank you Secret Pal. You have given me lots of supplies to have a very merry holiday break!)

3) I felt that since there is definitely a lack of knitting around here, and much more nursing processes, that I should take myself out of the knitting blog circuit. Because it isn't. It's really a blog about nursing school. Just not as eloquent or entertaining as Student Nurse .

My "break" is officially over. I spent half the day yesterday doing my CPR/BLS recertification. Tonight, study. Tomorrow night, study. Wednesday, test. Thursday, pharmacology. Saturday, clinicals. Just like old times.

Actually, I have decided, I almost wish that we did not have a month off. It only makes it that much harder to get back into the groove of school, getting up at 5:00 AM on Saturday mornings, study, study, study. A whole month off makes a nursing student very spoiled and lazy. 2 weeks off is much more manageable.

I now have 1 year left to go. Next semester: OB, Peds, Community health. Summer: Psych. Next Fall: Advanced Med/Surg. Then 6 weeks of Leadership, and I am done. Finished. Complete. My heart leaps just thinking about it.

W. :)

I got the neatest thing yesterday. I needed a good bag to carry all my nursing equipment/books/badges/etc. in for clinical days. Here's what I got...



It has lots of compartments, and pockets. And I love that it does not say "I heart nursing" or some other such bunk. Not that I don't heart nursing. It's just that I am a wee bit superstitous. I refuse to buy anything that says "Look at me, I'm a nurse" until I actually am one. Taffords has a Nursing School Survivor t-shirt that my best friend and I are going to get when we hit our last semester.

I can't believe I have been in this program for a whole year already. Sometimes, I feel I have learned so much, and then other times I still feel clueless. While I "get" what I am being taught, I can't remember every little fact about everything I read. It's a bit frightening, really.

I have a couple of friends that just spout off stuff, and I feel like a dummy. And then in class there is this guy who CONSTANTLY interject while the teacher is lecturing. Sometimes, he gets it right, but most of the time, whatever information he spews out is wrong. And I just wish he would be quiet from time to time so that we can have a moment to filter all the information in our brain to come up with the correct answer. It's highly frustrating.

I am back to studying again at full throttle for the mid-term that we will be having on our first day of class next Wednesday. My textbook is a veritable rainbow of highlighters.


W. :)

Healthy as a horse....

my son is. He is off the charts height-wise. (4'10") And he's in the 95th percentile for weight, but totally in line with his height. He was very brave, and had his blood drawn with almost no protest. He had his vision and hearing checked, and he can do both. Healthy, healthy, healthy. Makes me so happy.

Yesterday, when we were on our way to the doctor, David was telling me about what they discussed in class that day. He says, "Our teacher asked us what we would do if the war was here. And I raised my hand and said that I would go to my mommy." I asked how the class responded. He said,"Everyone laughed at me, even the teacher." I asked what the other kids said. He said, "They said they would go fight the bad guys." I told David, "You know, even real, grownup, soldiers that are in the war want their mommies when they are afraid. And I would want to be with you if bad things were happening. I think you gave a very good and realistic answer." He said, "I know. I think the other kids just wanted to seem tough." Smart, smart, smart. Makes me so happy.

I love him so.

W. :)

Can't think of a thing to write here....

My summer vacation.....or lack thereof.

It has been filled with trips to doctors, dentists, and schools. It has been studying, cleaning, and chores. It is almost over. Hurrah!

We had a nice anniversary weekend. We checked into a hotel in Ft Lauderdale. We visited Sawgrass Mills Mall (the WORLD'S LARGEST INDOOR OUTLET MALL!!). We saw "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo," because I have seen almost every Rob Schneider movie ever made. (Don't ask.) I got some ugly shoes for my present (birks). I gave Willie a Spa Treatment for his gift. (Facial, massage, manicure) Now he is glowing. And my poor feet are happy for a change.

David is enjoying 3rd grade, so far and surprisingly. I figured with the pounding the kids take in preparation for the FCAT, he would be miserable. But he likes his teacher, and he loves to read. So, so far, knock wood, ptuptuptu.
He didn't last this long last year, so I am hoping for the best.

Well, off to yet another doctor appointment.

W. :)