Complete Dork

I took a permanent nursing job in Longview, TX.  The floor that I'll be on is a IMC-Cardiac unit.  I will see and do things there that I have never seen or done on the job.  It should be very interesting.  I had four offers but chose this one.  The money was better in Victoria, TX but it was sooooooooooooooooooo far away from home.  In Longview I'll be eight hours closer to home.  The prettiest area, by far, was Kerrville, TX.  It's in the middle of "Hill Country".  The most beautiful area that I've seen.  Remember, I haven't been many places, though.  Kerrville is a retirement community and has no industry for Chuck's work, and there are way less kids Olivia's age around.  Longview is a good mix.  It's the biggest of the three cities.  There are plenty of industrial jobs around there for Chuck, hopefully.  Also plenty of opportunity for Lib.  Longview is just miles from the Louisiana bayou.  This also means that there could easily be alligators in our backyard, from time to time.  Goody.....It should be interesting.  I have to be there by July 6th for pre-employment stuff.  I actually start orientation on July 13th. 

Anyway...I haven't been on here for a LONG TIME!  Just thought that I would check in, read my friends, and get caught up. 
Have a good night, day or whatever.

http://www.myspace.com/artofexodus

Check out this new band!  They are three guys that we know from my husbands home town.  We all went to church together.  If you like Theory of a Deadman, you'll LOVE Art of Exodus!  If you like them vote for them to play at the Cornerstone! 

Ok.  So after I got off work Sunday morning we took off for San Antonio, TX.  It was great!  Chuck has always wanted to see the Alamo and that's the first thing we did after checking into a hotel.  The Alamo was very beautiful and very surreal.  Just thinking about how many men are burried in the ground that we were walking on is incredible and amazing.  Chuck is HUGE history buff so seeing and walking around the building where Jim Bowie and Davie Crockett fought for their beloved Texas was a very big deal for him.  It was also educational for Lib.  She's old enough to remember this and take it with her.  Ok, so then we found a BBQ place for Chuck because it's one of his favorites.  I chugged a BIG margarita, it was delicious!  The food was so-so but the drinks were fantastic!  We then went to the hotel and crashed, me literally.  I napped from just outside Dallas to San Antonio, about four hours.  Then we were on the move until 10pm that night.  We felt like such tourists but that's ok, we are.  Dallas and San Antonio are so beautiful.  The architecture in Dallas is incredible, and that's just from the I35 view.  Tonight when we came back I tried to take pics of Dallas at night but it didn't work so well.  San Antonio seems like it goes on forever.  It's just so beautiful. 

Today we were at Sea World from 11am to 7:30pm.  I'm exhausted, but Chuck drove from outside of San Antonio home.  I drove from the park to the Outback Steakhouse that we ate supper at.  Sea World was very cool, too.  My favorite was the penguins.  I love those silly, little tuxedo cuties!  They walk like me...it's so funny to watch them waddle.  I let Lib take the pics and most of them turned out well.  Lib was able to pet a dolphin, too.  We watched the Viva show with the beluga whales and dolphins.  That was very beautiful, as well.  Lib and I started to take funny pics at the end, just cause we could.  Chuck bought us a necklace, each.  Mine is a little turtle and Lib's is a dolphin, of course.  We finally got back to hotel #1, as Chuck calls it, at 2am.  I work tomorrow, again.  This work thing is taking time away from our "vacation."  lol.

How about some pics...( Read more... )
   This is a pic of the Emily Morgan Hotel, to the left and on the right is a statue just infront and to the left of the Alamo.  Not sure what it's about but it was pretty.  The family has a different version of fun than I do, sometimes.  I wanted to scoot around the area and take pictures but they wanted to see other sites.  So, I didn't get to see what this statue really is. 

   This is the river walk in San Antonio.  Very pretty area and very close quarters.  I was freaked out that Lib would fall in.  It was very crowded and people were smoking all over the place.  Ick.  We aren't the brightest french fries in the happy meal, it's Spring break for all the colleges around here, not to mention the HS, MS, and ES.  Kids EVERYWHERE!  There was even a black bikini top floating in the river here.  Very classy. 

( Read more... )

Just wanted to say hi to ya'll tonight.  We took new pics today.  I have a new love here in Texas.  It's called the Vetro Glass Blowing Studio.  It's located in Grapevine, TX.  There are bleachers to sit on to watch these artists create and then a studio to gaze at the beautiful pieces of blown glass.  Of course you can purchase items, as well.  I will be working a few extra shifts to bring one piece home.  I LOVE THIS STUFF!   If my dad's mom, Wilma, were alive, she would've ate this up, too. 

                  
The first pic are some that I wanted to take home to go in my kitchen/dining area.  Love them.  The second pic...well, I just love the colors they used to make these glass plates/chargers. 

    More pics of items that I wanted to place in my kitchen and/or dining room.  So gorgeous!

   The pic is a bit fuzzy but the one on our left is the one that I'll be bringing home in May.  I LOVE THIS VASE! 

    Olivia spilled chocolate on her shirt at the movies today.  She insisted on trying to wash it out before any "cute boys" saw her.  Oh BOY!!

                  
My family is finally in Texas with me.  The first pic is the hubby, of course.  We begged him to wear these for a pic.  The other is Olivia and Chuck in Claire's.  He was thrilled, can't you tell?  He's such a good daddy.  Then there is Lib looking as gangsta as she can.  She is as big of a DORK as her mother.  I tried to talk him into buying the glasses and hat in the first one.  I love that look on him.  Quite a change from the ball cap and the like.  I kept calling him "Kanye" tonight because of the glasses in the second pic.  Too funny!

So the Texas job is going ok.  I'm getting used to the people and the ways of this hospital.  Two weeks down and eleven to go.  What's next?  Not sure.  Hope all is well with my livejournal friends. 

      The front of the hotel that I'm staying at.  I love that there are annuals in the ground in Feb.  Not used to that in Iowa. 

    The front of Presbyterian Hospital of Denton, Texas.  This is where I work right now.  It opened in 2005.  I've never worked in a new hospital before...interesting.

That is the question, isn't it?  Now, what's the answer?  I started my new travel assignment in Denton, TX. this week.  Today, the third day of orientation, the director or education for the hospital asked me what they had to do to keep me.  MY THIRD DAY!  I know that it's too soon to tell much.  However, after the garbage that I went through in Omaha this last time, this feels great.  Judy, the director of education, said that she could tell that I had a passion about my job that she doesn't see in many travelers.  The funny thing is that my hubby, daughter and I have been talking about moving here.  I like the idea of starting somewhere new.  Olivia is all for it.  She's part gypsy, I swear!  I like that Texans are so proud of their state.  There are many reasons to take the job.  However, the cons to the move are HUGE!  My sister and nephews would then be 16 hours away, YUCK!  My parents, who are aging, would be 11 hours away.  When I say aging, they aren't old, not even close.  They are only 61 yrs old.  But I can't imagine not seeing my sister, her boys, and our parents as often as I do now.  Then there's the economy.  I can be a pessimist at times, but...I really do think that we are in the last few years on this earth.  The "Fairness Doctrine" is said to be coming back.  If you don't know what this is I'll attach a link.    http://www.grassfire.net  Things are going downhill, fast!  Conservatives, Christians, are about to be driven underground.  It's coming, and it's scary.  That's all I am going to say.

Like I told Chuck and Lib today, we'll just pray about it for now.  Pray about all of it.  I'd hate to have my last days on this earth away from my family. 

I haven't journal-ed for a long time.  I have had things to say but not the energy to type it out.  I have been looking for my next nursing job.  As a travel nurse, the company that you're working with generally finds jobs for you.  This time has been much different.  The economy, the way that it is, is horrible even for nurses.  Although it sounds naive, I never thought that nurses would be effected by the economic slow down.  However, there are places that have laid off some of their nursing staff.  Just nine months ago the nurses were in control of their job market.  Now the hospitals have the control.  I don't like it.  When hospitals have control over anything it's usually the patients that suffer.  The job that I am at now, for the next three shifts, is a FOR PROFIT company.  They don't think that having nurse aids is necessary, especially for the night shift.  This is making the nursing staff work harder and harder.  It also means that my patients, all the patients, don't get the NURSING care that they deserve and are paying for.  Don't get me wrong, I am not above taking patients to the bathroom or turning them.  However, I do regret that I am unable to focus on my job as the eyes and ears of the doctors.  I am too busy cleaning the bottoms of my patients to be able to take care of their dangerously high blood pressures or their arrythmias and such.  I hate being done with a shift and feeling like I have been the worst nurse ever.  I became a nurse to help others.  

So, I'm off to Denton, TX. to work until the end of May.  I will be eleven hours away from home, eleven hours from my husband and daughter.  I like the idea of going some where new and some place warm.  I will be on night shift again.  I don't like the night shift, but as a traveler that's usually the shift that's open.  It's more money an hour than I am getting now but I oppted for the company housing this time.  So, no tax free money coming in this time.  This has all been a learning experience as a travel nurse.  I have learned many, many things as a traveler.  This last assignment has been the biggest, however.  I have been working at Creighton University Medical Center.  It is a level one trauma center.  This just means that we get ALL the sickest patients.  While here, I have had many firsts in my nursing career; my first true cardiac patients, my first gun shot victims, stabbings, train roll overs, just to mention a few.  I have learned many things about my career and about myself.  I love what I do, usually.  Since graduating from nursing school, I have always said that God has provided me with at least one patient a month that reminds me of why I became a nurse.  In the last few months, I haven't felt that way, until last Monday night.  I had a fresh ICD patient.  This just means that she had just had a permanent pacemaker placed in her chest.  I got her fresh from post op/recovery.  She was young, early 50's, and she was in A LOT of pain.  Her left lung had collapsed during surgery and her pacemaker had to shock her heart back into a regular rhythm right off the bat after turning it on.  So, taking care of her was a challenge.  I was giving her pain meds all night long, every few hours.  She could have Morphine every hour, if needed.  So I was doing that constantly, all while making sure that her vitals could take it.  In the mean time, I had a patient that started to decline already at nine pm.  He was taking over 50 breathes per minute, should be under 22 breathes per minute.  His heart rate was high at 150 beats per minute, his oxygen saturation was getting lower and lower all while being on the max amount of oxygen he could have.  This patient also had a temp of 102.5F.  This guy was only 69 years old.  He was refusing to wear an oxygen mask called a BIPAP, that would help regulate his oxygen intake and help him breath better.  His wife wanted us to do EVERYTHING for him, no matter what.  To top it off, the doctors had given the order just that afternoon to take his urinary catheter out.  This gentleman was wet at least once an hour.  So, here I am running back and forth in between these two rooms all night.  Oh, and I had two other patients down a different hallway that had been there for cancer surgeries.  As usual, our night time docs wouldn't make a decision to take the patient down to the ICU.  I took care of this guy non stop for the whole night.  I did my level best to keep him clean, dry and comfortable.  I had asked for something for pain for this guy, as well.  The docs wouldn't give me that either.  I felt like I was constantly banging my head against a brick wall ALL NIGHT!  So, day shift comes on, my work isn't done, but the good news is that the day docs are there and the moment that they see the patient the call goes out to get him transferred to the intensive care unit.  So, I have no charting done, including the meds that I had given or the times that I called the doctors for all four of my patients.  My shift was over at 7am but I charted until 9am.  Day shift crew had their questions...why was the patient still on our floor, why didn't he have anything for pain, why didn't the doctor intubate and yadda, yadda, yadda.  BASICALLY, all I can do is say "because the doctor", resident, "said so."  I really hate that. 

So, I realize that I've been rambling on and most of you have no idea what some of this stuff even means.  Never mind.  Just know that I am reading your entries and praying for your families.  This too shall pass.....I do feel better now.  Time for a shower.  My pee drug screen is this am.  YIPEE!

In a week I start another contract in Omaha.  This time I am working at Creighton University Hospital on a telemetry unit.  This is my first cardiac job.  I took ACLS, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, this week to qualify as a tele nurse.  It's a twelve hour night job.  The money is less than I'm used to but that's ok, I think.  I am changing agencies and this new agency pays more per hour but doesn't give all the tax free monies that the other company gave me.  That is actually a good thing.  I don't want to get in trouble with the IRS.  That's the last thing I need!  Apparently, a travel nurse should never receive more than half of the taxable salary in tax free stipends.  So the timing stinks, as Christmas is just around the corner but the job is a step in the right direction.  I'm not looking forward to this...Cardiac stuff has always scared me as a nurse.  I think that maybe it's because I just didn't get it in school.  The class went very well this week and I have an interest in all the new knowledge has started to burrow in my brain.  Hopefully, it will go well.  I really am thinking strongly about the four week contracts in farther away states.  The money would be great and it would boost our checking account.  Oh, well.  I have 13 weeks to think about it, and pray about it...

I turned 35 this week.  I don't mind getting older.  I just can't wrap my mind around the thought that I'm on the downward to 40 YEARS OLD!  Just very weird to think about...

My REAL present doesn't come out until Tuesday...The new Nickelback CD!  I've been listening to it on YouTube all weekend and I love it.  I'm being a good girl, for those of you who know what I'm talking about. 

I can't wait to get home and see the family for the whole day and a half before I have to go to Omaha. 

Thanks to those who wished me a happy birthday on here! 

I hate pictures of me.  However, we haven't had a family pic taken since Olivia was just crawling.  'bout time!


             Anyway, I've been promising my sister that we would get our pic taken so her boys can see pics of us and such.  Again, I hate pictures of me.  It speaks volumes of what I don't care to see day to day.

On another note.  Please keep my family in your prayers.  I end my assignment in Maquoketa on Nov. 21.  I don't have another job lined up yet.  I know that God is in control of this but it can get me nervous!  I am to make a bunch of calls tomorrow.  If not, I am signing on with a rapid response nursing company which means that I'll be away from my family for 4 weeks in a row!  Yikes, but you have to do what you have to do to make ends meet.  Right?

Ok, I did it today.  I cut the rest of my hair off.  Not sure what I think yet.  It needs some color.  My original color is sooooooooooo blah!  I forgot how blah it really was.  So in the last three months I've had more than 13 inches cut off my hair.  Will I ever grow it out again?  Don't know.  I was just sick and tired of the headband hair-do every day of my life!