why we are excited to move to Oregon

Jeremy says "there are too many reasons to list"  but I want to make a list anyways. So here goes... feel free to comment with any reasons we may have forgotten! :)     

-the beach

-camping

-crabbing/clamming

-Dutch Brothers Coffee

-living closer to family and friends, and getting my pups Roxy back

-better shopping (Nordstroms!!) with no sales tax 

-mountain biking and hiking 

-mountains

-big lakes you can actually swim in

-fresh seafood

-Mariners games

-no tornadoes

TIME FLIES...

...And I'm perfectly okay with that!  

I am so excited that I am almost finished with nursing school, even more excited to start my preceptorship in Portland!  I think that I am going to learn more in that 6 weeks then I have pretty much the whole year :)  Just have to get thru the next 4 weeks here in Omaha.  The first test of the semester was today, and it was MUCH harder then any other test this year. I guess they figure since we're so close to graduating they better challenge us, ugh! Anyways, it went fine and now I know what the next three tests are going to be like. 

So clinical has been okay the last 2 weeks -

 the first was a little boring since I only had one patient the first day (boring, slow, day dragged on) and then the second day I had two, but both were a few days post-operative and did not need a lot of care.  Last week was different! I had two patients the first day and three the second = busy!  One was a severely disabled man who required a lot of care, he had a G-Tube and J-Tube, which I have worked with before but it was good practice to do again. I had to give all his meds through the tube (A LOT OF MEDS), as well as monitor his constant tube feedings - overall, he kept me the busiest.  I also got to work with a T-Tube on another patient, which was my first experience, but very similar to the other tubes.  My other new experiences for the year were taking out a couple foley catheters and taking a rectal temperature.   Oh yes, rectal temperature.  Fun right?  Haha, not really, but another skill to check off the list!   

Non-school related, Saturday Jeremy and I woke up early and went to a small farmers market -- we only had 5$ cash, so had to spend wisely :)  we picked out a bundle of fresh basil and a package of NE grown tomatoes. We then spent the rest of the day at our apartments pool... it was a gorgeous day, about 85-90 degrees, with some wind to keep us cool.  We went out to dinner at our favorite Thai place that night, and just relaxed with a movie. Sunday, after sleeping in, I woke up to the wonderful smell of bacon cooking and coffee brewing!  Jeremy made us an amazing breakfast:  bacon, mozzarella, basil & tomatoes all on a ciabatta bun! I wish I had taken a picture of his masterpiece, but I have to admit I was too excited to taste it I couldn't bother with my camera!  Maybe next time! 

Happy JUNE!

"If a June night could talk, 

it would probably boast that it invented romance"

~Bern Williams~

hot sunny fridays are our favorite!

Just a couple cell phone pictures from our Friday... after a long week of work for Jeremy and my longest week of school eVeR, we desperately needed a couple Happy Hour beers! Luckily a restaurant right around the block (Stokes) had a semi-shaded patio, and specials on buckets of Corona! After some food and drinks there we went home to relax and decide what was next... We attempted to go to another local spot, The Drafthouse, but after a beer there we realized we were both exhausted and would love to just go home and relax on the couch. So we did! :)

Hope everyone has a fun and safe memorial day weekend...!

For love of country they accepted death... ~James A. Garfield

From Sunshine to Storms

We got back late Sunday night from an awesome long weekend in Las Vegas.  It was crazy hot there, and both Jeremy and I loved laying in the sun by the pool... with a bucket of beer of course! We also got to see Jason Mraz and Dave Matthews Band in concert on Saturday night; it was an amazing show!  Here is a short clip of Jason playing one of my favorites: "I'm Yours"

I posted pictures from the vacation on Shutterfly today, so go check them out and leave some comments when you get a few minutes! 

Back here in Omaha, its raining, cloudy, and full of thunder and lightning. Quite a change from over the weekend... And, I start my LAST SEMESTER of nursing school next week and I'm very nervous about it. We got our clinical schedule and it looks like I am in for some very very long days. 8-10 hour shifts two to three times a week. I start in Med-Surg for the first 3 weeks and them am in the ICU for the last 3.  After those 6 weeks, its off to try and be a real nurse in Portland. YIKES. Time is flying by... 

 

“Celebrate your success and stand strong when adversity hits, for when the storm clouds come in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover”

~The Eagles~

"Keep your face to the sunshine 

and you cannot see the shadow"

~Helen Keller~

winding down

With only 3 tests, and 1 mini paper left to go this semester, I am happy to say I can see the light at the end of this year long tunnel. I can not believe I am almost a real nurse!   Sorta anyways :)

 

*my clinical group w/ our Peds instructor, celebrating the end 

of the semester!

Not much new to report in either Jeremy or my l

ife - we've just been chugging along, counting down the days until our vacation in Vegas (8 days!).  Jeremy is still working both jobs, which keeps him quite busy - but he seems to enjoy most days.  We're not exactly sure what he will do come June when I have to move to Portland which is stressful, but not much we can do about it yet.  Everything is kind of just hanging, waiting to see what the next day brings. 

Oh & because I'm almost a nurse I feel like I should say: make sure you all are washing your hands A LOT - hand sanitizer is your friend, carry it with you in every purse or at least in your car (you know I have a mini bottle with me at all times!).

"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, 

and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" 

World Health Organization, 1948

ONE YEAR.

Exactly one year ago today Jeremy and I arrived here in Omaha Nebraska... I can not believe how fast time has gone by - I only have about 4 1/2 months until graduation and only about 2 months until I move to Portland.  

Ah yes, I did not make that announcement on here, although most people already know :)  I decided to take the spot offered to me by Providence Hospital in downtown Portland, Oregon. I had a couple other really great opportunities and it was a REALLY hard decision... I hate making decisions as it is, and this was no exception!  Anyways, I'm excited to move back towards home and start actually "being a nurse"! 

Hope everyone had a great Easter - we did, I will post a couple pictures of us dying eggs soon!

"We confide in our strength, without boasting of it; 

we respect that of others, without fearing it" 

~Thomas Jefferson~

is it really spring?

As I had been told by many Omaha natives, we did have one final (fingers crossed) "storm" over the weekend - which only ended up bringing us about an inch of snow, but a lot of wind. Parts of NE did get hit hard with up to 10 inches in one day, luckily, not us. 

Today was long for me, but I turned in my big paper of the semester which is excited because that means its almost over :)  Just a couple more projects and tests and I'm that much closer to graduation in August.  First things first, this quarter ends in exactly a month YAY.

Last week I started my Pediatric rotation at Children's Hospital.... I love it!  Well, I can't quite say that yet because I only worked with one child for a few hours last Thursday, but I really enjoyed it. It is a whole different world in that hospital - it is SO obvious that it was expertly planned out, down to the nurses stations which are designed to be lollipops!  I am just amazed at how smoothly things run, and how much passion you can sense from all of the health care providers. It is more then adorable to hear a doctor explain to the med students that the kid "has an ouchie in his tummy"!  Observing the nurses and doctors interacting 

with the children patients was great, I feel like I have already learned so much after just one day!   This week we are there 2 days, so hopefully I continue to love it :) I'll keep ya posted! 

P.S... go Mariners, opening day today!