Negative

Splits that is! Check this out...

Mile 1: 11:20
Mile 2: 10:37
Mile 3: 10:00
Mile 4: 9:47
Mile 5: 9:45
Mile 6: 9:08

honest to goodness, wasn't even trying (although around mile 3 or 4 I realized I had found a happy pace). to bed late & woke up at the ungodly time of 5:30 (no thanks to the cats). Humidity now is 88%..not sure what it was earlier this morning. Breakfast & the NY Times now, plus the Sunday Morning News Show. Then Julie & Julia and hopefully a post about yesterday's shopping excursion.

14

I ran 14 miles for my first time yesterday. and I survived. Sure I felt a little loopy afterwards....(I missed out on an afternoon nap).

What I could have done in the time it took me to run 14 miles:

1. seen a movie

2. driven to Philly (and back)

3. driven to NY (as if I would want to drive back)

4. returned the $185 jeans that fit incredibly well (I did this AFTER the run. and am still somewhat depressed by the thought that they cost so much)

5. crossed off many many things on my mental 'to do' list

6. made love to my hubby. over and over again. That is, if he was home!

Ah, three more weeks and I'll be able to do number 6.

Wonder if the hubs would agree to a love in? thinking the answer would be a yes!

Catching Up...

Somehow, I forgot I had my own blog!

Best news: Husband is coming home soon :) It's about time...the cats are dying of loneliness and the yard is looking a little sad. Me? I'm missing talking and sleeping next to my best friend. Sure, I'm sleeping with the things I love (clothes and books have taken over your side of the bed hun), but things can't replace a living, breathing friend & lover.

Work has been...well, stressful I guess. I'm finally on my own, off orientation. For a while, I was gaining a reputation for all the RRTs I had. This week, I may have actually avoided an RRT. Hopefully some sort of nursing intuition is being to develop, although no doubt it will take a few more months to kick into gear. I'm still asking a ton of questions, probably to the annoyment of the other nurses. Not sure I've found my niche quite yet, but getting there. It's incredibly stressful and at times, a little scary.

Running....is getting HARDER. I'm going to try for 14 today. in fact, I better get moving or it'll be rained out! wish me luck...

Which Belt?

Not to be specific, but I "need" a 3 1/2 inch brown belt. Preferabbly one that is braided (small braids) and tiny buckles.

I have this great 'vintage' Lily Pultizer dress that I've had for a few years but have never worn. Today i pulled it out and then thought, "BELT!"

I belted it with a black version of the belt described above and the dress went from 'eh' to 'SWEET.'

Which belt do you think I should pick? I hate to pay all this $$$ for a belt, but it IS something that I would use, the quality looks good, and the dress was practically free and I already have shoes and a purse....

It's either from Anthropologie or BlueFly. (sorry for not posting pictures...I couldn't get a picture from the BlueFly to load.) I've never ordered online from either store. I LOVE anthropologie and their belts are really nice. But the belt from BlueFly might be more up my alley. Maybe I should order both and return one? What do you think?

Third Time's a Charm

Officially off orientation right?

Day 1: RRT

Day 2: RRT + patient with critical lab value

WTF?! I broke down in a fit of tears yesterday afternoon (at home). I did not want to.go.back.to.work.

I'll be the first to admit. I was scared. The little confidence I had was lost.

Day 3: NO RRT! FINALLY.

Granted...there was still another critical lab value, but it was taken care of; handled, and hopefully solved.

Here are some more fears: Am I forgetting something? what if I'm not thinking ahead? what if I'm leaving the next nurse with a mess/black hole? I begged the nurse following me to let me know if she had any issues that i could have addressed on my shift prior. Any sort of thing that I could have done so that she wouldn't have an issue on her shift. She told me not to worry about it, but I do not want to be that nurse that people dread following.

That, is a goal i'm setting for myself, and one that may be easier said than done.

Please tell me that it's going to get better...

Cutting the Cord

Today was my first day off orientation.

Yeah, I know. I've spent many, many weeks on orientation. More weeks on orientation than for any other typical new nurse on a med-surg floor (most orientations last 8-10 weeks; mine was around 12-14 weeks).

All my preceptors, friends, and co-workers told me that I was more than ready. It was really a matter of me believing in myself (isn't that always the case though?).

Last night, I had a weird dream that I was on the floor without a tech/assistant. At one point, I woke up in the middle of the night because "a patient' had a painful IV site, with an obvious case of phlebitis. Because (in my dream) his IV pole was so far away I told 'him' "don't worry, you'll be fine!" and went back to bed. (note...I don't doubt that I actually said this outloud. I have a habit of talking in my sleep when I'm stressed and tend to experience vivid dreams.)

I woke up this morning and said, "i'm Ok. I'm going to be Ok. this is going to be fine. I'm not doing anything new."

Got to the hospital ridiculously early. Received report at 0700. The night nurse left at 0730. at 0750 I had to call for a RRT, or rapid response team because in a matter of minutes, a patient had gone from being alert and oriented, sitting up, having an appropriate conversation with me, to shaking lips, quivering eyes, extremely difficult to arouse, and when he did speak, his speech was slurred.

I was off orientation for 50 minutes (30 of those minutes were for receiving report), and I began the day with a RRT. Bring it on. Hit me with your best shot. The day could only get better.

As far as I know, the patient is fine. Nobody is sure why his status changed so quickly and so drastically. I'm curious to see him tomorrow. The patient also ended up spending most of the day off the floor, so I really haven't had the chance to talk get his baseline. I can't say we did much for the patient. vital signs were stable, o2 sat was normal. who knows. I'm more than curious.

Hopefully tomorrow goes smoother :) No more RRTs.

I am...

....sexually deprived for your freedom.