The Dinner Parties Are Starting!!!

So, before I even moved here, I told my roommates my exciting plan to have people over for dinner from our ward so that I could get to know people better. It's taken a few months. I wasn't really totally comfortable doing it alone, and I was still getting adjusted to work and stuff, but about four days ago, Brad and I got together and made the menu. And today I stood up in church and announced it and we passed around the list. We are going to have two guys and two girls over each week. We planned it until the end of the year. Unfortunately, people were so interested in reading the menu that it made it through about 4 of 60 rows. So we are going to have to split up the pages next week. People seem really excited, though, and are excited that people are "being so social." Tonight we had a few girls over, five actually, FIVE, (thanks Brad) and he made a roast and corn and I baked chocolate chip cookies. We all just sat around and talked and it was really great. We are going to Salt Lake for General Conference next week, so the craziness starts 2 weeks from today. Yay!!

I Know Now Why People Live Here

This article appeared last week in the Arizona Republic. It sums up nicely how crappy summer is here and how amazing "fall" is here. It's like the most beautiful 95 degrees I've ever been a part of. With awesome 75 degree nights and mornings. I went swimming on Wednesday. Usually I don't even like swimming all that much, but I was in for 40 minutes and totally didn't want to get out. I met a cute boy, our neighbor, named Darren, I think. :o) Anyways, it was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

A Bit About My Job

So I haven't written very much about my job because some of it would violate the whole privacy act thing, and really, the stories are the best. But I'll say as much as I think I can get away with. With no blood stories, except, really the #2 stuff is way worse and I almost throw up every single time. Really.
So I usually have five patients. I work on a floor with a lot of old people, a lot of gallbladder removal surgeries, small bowel obstructions (lots), newly discovered cancer, and fainting spells, heart attacks, and strokes. And alcohol withdrawals and a few random car accident people.
I've had a really good time meeting a lot of my patients. The thing is, by the time they get to us, they are pretty stable, and it's a lot like serving- except that you take vitals, give medication, and tuck them into bed.
The confused people are my favorites. Usually. Except one lady was totally nuts and I had to call up security and put her in restraints and give her a shot of Haldol to calm her down. These same people also rip out their IV's and cause all sorts of drama. And usually take off their clothes.
The other day one was telling me about her non-existant Ukranian boyfriend who made her have sex 29 times. "29 TIMES!" she says. "Can you believe it!"
Poor little confused people.
Im getting good at putting IV's in. I have now given a backrub and washed someone's hair while they were on the toilet, because, well, once they are in bed they don't like to move.
I met an amazing 90-year old who had just bought himself a new Dodge pickup and was about to go hunting. Hadn't been to the doctor is 40 years. He went home the next day.
The healthy ones who just pop in are amazing. The people who come back because they just won't make the changes they need to drive you nuts.
There have been days where I feel like I'm the best nurse ever. And then days where I totally forget to do important stuff and am like, "Crap! The antibiotic is 3 hours late and I never gave that unit of insulin and it's been 6 hours and I haven't even looked at the chart 'cause everybody's IV is infiltrated (swollen) and they're in pain and the doctor is calling and......" AHh!!
And then there are awesome days that go smooth and the patients think you're the best nurse in the world and you leave notes for doctors in the charts that you are convinced are going to change their lives and all is good.
I work at night, so usually I don't so much see the doctors or call them as much as leave Post-it notes in the charts for them to see in the morning.
Oh, and ATIVAN. Ativan is lovely. And I don't know how anybody was ever a nurse without it. When your patients are anxious, frustrated, upset, scared, or can't sleep, or withdrawing from alcohol, you give them ativan, and all the bad stuff goes away. Lots of day shift nurses get all frustrated and I say "Did you give them this ativan that was ordered if they need it?" And they say no. And I give it, and everybody is happy. I'm kind of a huge ativan fan.
I work 7p-7a usually, which is great. I eat lunch about midnight and sleep from 8a-4p. Very well.
That's my job!! :o)

I Totally Puked

In all my many years of working out, I have never puked. Never, actually, have I even come close to puking. Not after my 10K, not after any of my several crazy things. Here is the formula. Eat only a peach for breakfast. Meet with your Personal Trainer at the gym. Do a five minute fit test on a bike, then do 3 leg exercises, 2 sets of 15. Bingo!!
I was appalled.
So I joined a new gym. "Pure Fitness"- I gave up on ASU, and here you get a personal training session once a month (twice your first month). So...that's how it went. I talked to Brad. He said leg exercises on an empty stomach make him puke, too. And since I generally avoid leg exercises, never really had a problem.
I will be eating next Saturday before my appointment.
Anyways, yes I made it to the bathroom (barely) and am very excited for this gym. It's really nice, not too crowded, and my personal trainer is really cool. He's from Vermont, and he moved here about the same time I did. Jeremy.
This week I worked two 12 hour night shifts, 2 6 hour day shifts, and a 9 hour night shift. My body has no idea whatsoever of when it is supposed to sleep.
I am getting callouses on the fingertips of my left hand. Sexy yes-i-play-guitar-callouses. Really, that probably deserves its own entry because I am SOO excited about it. I even told people at work. I know like 9 chords now and am very happy with the whole situation. My guitar doesn't stay in its bag anymore, and Brad has been playing his a lot more (he knows a few songs) and we sit around on the couches and play together and I love it.
Tomorrow I am going to finish applying for the Doctor of Nurse Practice Program. It's 3 years and starts in January. Then really. No more school.
Going to go yoga out my sore sore legs now.
Love y'all,
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Wow.

So on Saturday night I went with a girl from church to see Micah- my guitar teacher-play downtown. You know when you go see someone you know perform and you have this certain level of expectations and if the actual performance falls anywhere in the vicinity, then you're happy? This wasn't like that.
I was SOOOO impressed. And it was so fun to point him out to people and go," That's my guitar teacher." His songs were amazing, the lyrics were sexy, and his voice was great. Really. It was. I was so impressed. His website is fromguitartomusic.com. Then you have to click on a few things to actually hear the clips he has on there, but he played "Midnight" and "One by One." I don't know how they compare to the live experience, but fun nonetheless..
Afterwards, me, Ariana, Micah, Jennie (girfriend), Brad (brother), and Ashli (Brad's date to the ASU football game) all went and ate and hung out at a place called Boston's until like 1 am. It was such a blast and we all had such a good time talking and laughing.
Good, good times.
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The Cooling Tunnel

This is the view looking in the cooling tunnel that all the syrup goes through. Kinda cool. Apparently one lady who worked there with her husband at the other end of the tunnel spelled out I love you in syrup bottles. How cute.

Factory Girl

This is me today at the church cannery. I put about 8000 bottles of syrup on this conveyor belt. Sweet! Also, I had my first Arizona date today. We had lunch at On The Border. Not my soulmate, but definitely a nice guy. And a good lunch. :o)
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They're BACK!

Last year, my roommate and I went on a mad hunt for Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M's. You see, they made them when Star Wars came out as a special edition. By the time they were discontinued, Jessica was already addicted. So we drove around Boise for about three hours looking for any we could find. We finally found about 6 bags at a Rite-aid drugstore across town. And we bought them all. And kept them in our freezer. And this whole year, I'm thinking about the protein/antioxidant mix and how on earth M&M hasn't capitalized on this yet (especially dark chocolate almond M&Ms- then you even get the HDL/good cholesterol thing too). But anyone, someone wised up and today I found them at CVS. Whoo-hoo!

KABLOOM!!

Today Brad and I got flowers for a girl in our ward (church) who is kind of having a crappy time of it lately. I mention this not so you know how cool we are :o) , but to say first how fun it was and second to say how cool this flower place (KABLOOM) was. (There's one in Eagle, ID, too) They did such a good job and were so nice. AND if you go in and say "This is how much I want to spend and these are what flowers I like, is that possible?-- They do it for exactly that much and it's way prettier and cheaper and more perfect than it would otherwise be. And then they spritz it with little water droplets and it's so so fun. Yay!
Oh, and my hot guitar teacher is now reading my blog (sometimes I just talk and talk...) so unfortunately now you all will forever miss out on all my naughty thoughts about him. Crap-o-la. :o)
And Maria, I'm so glad you are reading my blog. It makes me so happy when people do. You are so sweet to me. And you are amazing. And beautiful. And a great mom, etc, etc..
Love y'all!
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Guitar Hero

I HAD MY FIRST GUITAR LESSON TODAY! It was sweet. And my instructor is hot (which, hypothetically, is irrelevant, but not really)- he also lives with his girlfriend, which also is not so irrelevant. Anyways! I now can play a G,D,C,A,B, and E on my guitar. I also learned I need heavier strings, but it was so fun. The lesson was supposed to be an hour, but it actually lasted 2. Mostly we just talked the first hour. I get my own CD of the important stuff from each lesson that he makes while I am there. Good Times! Jimi Hendrix here I come (actually "Hey Joe" will be my first song. Yes!)