girl in greenwood

Awesome.

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks. I realized today that this week and next week are the busiest weeks of the quarter, so I'm actually feeling really positive.

Last week was my first week of labor & delivery clinicals. I haven't seen any births. I did get to assess a newborn and her mom, though, which was awesome. I love babies. I also got to hang out with a mom who was in for observation due to pregnancy-induced hypertension - she had me feel her baby kicking, which was really cool. The census is pretty low at this hospital, and the c-section rate is pretty high, so I despair of actually witnessing a an old-fashioned birth. We shall see.

Over the weekend, R* and I went out to Port Townsend for a couple of nights. His band played a show Saturday night, but we went up on Friday so we could have some downtime. It was nice but too short.

This week in addition to classroom time, I've been out on the road with hospice nurses as part of my community health clinical. I'm actually really, really enjoying it and will write more about it soon. Also for community health, I'm doing a teaching project with 3 of my classmates on Monday and Tuesday. Then I've got three days in a row of L&D clinical, and then I'm going to lie down and sleep a great deal. After that, things slow down significantly - I do have a few more days of L&D clinical, and half a day with a lactation consultant, but that's about it. It will seem like a luxury to be done with clinical a month before the quarter is over!

Oh yeah, and I'm working on Saturday. I'm seriously trying to figure out how I can swing by the hospital tomorrow and put my name in the "please let me have a day off if you don't need me" book.

Labels: nursing school

Eczema

Shoot. I guess it's okay that I don't have any hounds.

Labels: eczema

Presso Coffee|Latte|Espresso|Cappuccino Maker

This is neato burrito! It looks a lot easier to manage than a full-on espresso machine.

My first week doing Weight Watchers I lost 1.5 pounds.

I ate fewer points this past week and yet did not lose an ounce.

Maybe there is something to the whole working out idea.

Clinical starts this week and I am scared to death.

Going to work on a Saturday and having an extremely crazy day is a good way to limit one's calorie intake.

A fun-size Butterfinger only has two points.

That Progresso light soup that has zero points per serving is actually pretty good.

A can of smoked trout from Trader Joe's is only 90 calories! I'm assuming they expect you to pour off the canola oil it's packed in.

My mom says that putting inulin fiber powder in all your beverages makes it so you're never hungry. I will have to try this.

# posted by girl_in_greenwood @ 10:55 AM 0 comments

Knitting in the dark: Word.

Nurses, take a minute to read Head Nurse's entry today. It'll make you mad. And I am with Rosebuttons in backing up Jo's anger, especially regarding the VA "treatment" she describes.

Report ranks jobs by rates of depression

See, it really is depressing to wipe butts. I still stand by the assertion that wiping butts is better than building spam, however.

Handymen
by Cornelius Eady

The furnace wheezes like a drenched lung.

You can’t fix it.

The toilet babbles like a speed freak.

You can’t fix it.

The fuse box is a nest of rattlers.

You can’t fix it.

The screens yawn the bees through.

Your fingers are dumb against the hammer.

Your eyes can’t tell plumb from plums.

The frost heaves against the doorjambs,

The ice turns the power lines to brittle candy.

No one told you about how things pop and fizzle,

No one schooled you in spare parts.

That’s what the guy says but doesn’t say

As he tosses his lingo at your apartment-dweller ears,

A bit bemused, a touch impatient,

After the spring melt has wrecked something, stopped something,

After the hard wind has lifted something away,

After the mystery has plugged the pipes,

That rattle coughs up something sinister.

An easy fix, but not for you.

It’s different when you own it,

When it’s yours, he says as the meter runs,

Then smiles like an adult.

I admit to getting a warm fuzzy feeling when I read this poem n the New Yorker... for the time being, I do not have this problem.

Labels: house, poetry

I have experienced a resurgence in my anxiety level all of a sudden. In the past few days I've had that intermittent tightness in my chest and the feeling like my eyeballs might pop out of my head. It usually passes if I sit quietly and breathe deeply, but I don't like it.

I'm not entirely sure what the source of the anxiety is... I'm still a bit mystified about school this quarter, but a lot of stresses have been removed. We sold the house, we're out of debt, I have a plan to address my health and so does R*, and I even have the free time to read for fun. I had my first exam of the quarter today and I did just fine on it. I am forced to conclude that the anxiety is biochemical and not situational.

I suppose it's time to get off my high horse and ask for some medical help. Not that happiness comes in a pill, but perhaps a pill will smooth out the edges. Stay tuned.

Labels: depression

I've started back on Weight Watchers online. It's been one week. I've lost a pound and a half. I suppose that's a good start.

I am really tired of struggling with my weight. I'm embarrassed that I gained back all the weight I lost a couple of years ago on the Super Duper Extreme Weight Loss Program. I have made lots of bad health choices since I got into nursing school - I stress-eat and I haven't been getting nearly enough exercise.

One of my motivations is that if I want to have a baby in the next year or two, I need to be in better shape. I know that obesity interferes with fertility, and being out of shape makes giving birth more difficult.

Another motivation is to be supportive of my husband. He was recently diagnosed with asthma and gastric reflux, both of which would be improved by losing weight. He is very motivated to exercise and eat healthy so he will feel better, and I want to support him in his efforts.

And on a more vain note, when we moved, I packed an entire box of clothes for storage that were one size too small. If I canWhen I lose about 20 pounds, I can go retrieve that box and have a whole new wardrobe!

Labels: weight loss

All this talk about babies and breastfeeding in class is making me want to have a baby.

That is all.

Labels: babies, nursing school