Best Valentine's Day Yet!

Yes, a fabulous Valentine's day it was! Branden and I decided that we wanted to do something fun for Valentine's day this year, now that we have the money and resources to do so! Problem was, Valentine's day fell on one of my school days... After watching the news the day before V day and finding out the weather was supposed to be AWFUL, I made the decision to skip class! (and I'm glad I did because the roads were pretty bad). So Branden and I planned a little get away...we decided to go to Fish Lake and stay at the Division's cabin and go ice fishing, relax and watch lots of movies, and then make a yummy steak dinner. It was so much fun! Here are some photos!

The beautiful flowers Branden gave me! He is
so sweet!

Our fishing set up! We didn't even have to use that auger...
We used some holes that were made the day before!
It was highly convenient! 

Branden caught 2 rainbow trout within 5 minutes of being there.
He caught the first one not even two seconds after he put his line
into the water.  It was a little ridiculous!

We were having a lot of fun!

Branden caught 6 fish and I caught 2 (I'm no good) within an
hour of fishing. I had a bunch of bites, but I kept missing them :S
Branden caught the biggest one, which I think was a 19"
Rainbow Trout. 

We got caught in a few storms. One was a complete white-out,
but it was surprisingly warm! We had the whole lake
to ourselves because we were the only people
crazy enough to go out in this weather! lol!

Branden catching yet another fish! He let this
one go, even though it was the biggest one of the day!
Look how happy he is!

After fishing for a hour and a half, we packed up and headed back to the cabin. We watched a bunch of movies, which were all pretty good! We then made dinner together (rib eye steak=delish) and then went for a walk.

pretty sunset!!

The snow was too deep for George to walk in,
so Branden carried him like this most of the way.

Anyways, so that was our fun trip! We hardly ever get to do fun things like this together due to our busy schedules! We had absolutely no cell phone service while we were there so it was just me, Branden, and George with no distractions! Pure Bliss! :)


Other happenings:

I don't think much has happened since my last post. In regards to my job complaining: I had one of my "clinical experiences" of the semester at UVRMC last week with one of the house supervisors and I got the chance to speak with the lady who does the hiring for nurses. We talked for about an hour and a half about interviewing tips and what not. She told me to apply for an upcoming position in April and she said that she really likes me and that she would hire me! So I am super happy about that! I'd take a pay cut, and I'd have to commute 2 hours to work....but I would be much happier working as a "real" nurse!


ha! And did I mention I cut George's hair? Yeah....he is almost bald! George has had his hair cut only twice since we have had him (we have had him for a year now) and he is an absolute terror when he does get it cut. He gets SO scared when he hears the clippers that he fights and fights and fights and it takes the lady about 3 hours to get his hair cut...and even then it is only his back half of his body because he will NOT allow those clippers to get near his head. So I called the vet a few weeks ago and got some medication to calm him (It was a tranquilizer basically)...and I bought my own dog clippers. This week I finally got around to actually doing it. I got a great laugh out of it! Here is a video of George about 15 minutes after getting the medicine. He walks like he is drunk! haha! silly boy....  Oh, and excuse the MESSY house! I had worked the two nights before and was way too tired to clean...so there is clutter everywhere! But I promise my house doesn't normally this bad!

That last stumble at the very end makes me laugh every time! lol Here is the finished product :) I am no professional dog hairstylist by ANY means...as you can tell! haha

I didn't do very well with his chest and legs...even
groggy and weak he continued to fight me when
I got the clippers near his front. Since this picture
was taken we have been able to even his hair out a little bit

Almost bald body! lol

That is all for now! Until next time....

Oh the Frustration...

So, I've been feeling quite frustrated lately...and I need to vent. I know it's probably stupid to post stuff like this online, but I'm hoping my blog is private enough that I can say how I feel without being reprimanded. The frustration I feel is due to my job... I've been working there for about 6 months now. Now that I have gotten a hang of things and the excitement of working as an RN has worn off a wee bit, I'm feeling a little displeased. This is not the kind of place I envisioned myself to be working. I have noticed that I am nothing but a glorified aide.... I pass meds, sure, but I don't do any other "nursy" things. There are very few treatments to do, particularly during the night shift. The medications I DO give are all oral-- no fun in that! I have 10+ patients to care for, so I don't get the chance to really talk with them and teach them. I basically just pass the meds in the evening and then do non-professional tasks such as helping people to the bathroom, changing diapers, and filling up water mugs throughout the rest of the night..fun huh? I guess I feel like I am not being challenged enough and, in the process, I am losing a lot of my nursing knowledge. There's a saying in the profession and, really, life in general: "If you don't use it, you lose it.." and I am definitely losing it.

My frustration tends to peak every Tuesday when I go to school. I participate in the discussions during class and give examples about my job. My peers look at me like I'm not a "real" nurse. When I have a conversation with them individually and they ask where I work I tell them and they just say "oh" and change the subject. They look at me in pity as if I am nothing compared to them in their fancy hospital positions.  I can't help but agree with them. I do not feel like a nurse in any way, shape, or form. Hence the frustration.

So what do I do? I have been searching for a hospital job...but we all know how my most recent interview went. There is SO much competition in this profession that I feel like I have nothing special to bring to the table when they ask "why should we hire you?" I am working on getting special certifications and what-not, but I won't have them completed until mid-April.

And then their's the issue of commuting. I live in a rural area and the only hospitals around require at LEAST one year experience. The closest hospital that accepts "new" grads are in Provo/Salt Lake. Do I make the 2 to 2 1/2 hour trek multiple times a week just to please my ego? And that is assuming I could even land a position in those areas. They tend to prefer hospital experience:  an RN who worked as an aid in a hospital for only 3 months with absolutely no RN experience would get hired for the position over an RN who has worked in a facility such as mine for 6 months. Kind of messed up, right? Right.

So I think it's safe to say I'm a little discouraged. I'm afraid that I will be stuck where I am at for the rest of my life because no one will hire me. AHHH!!

I complain too much. I should just be thankful that I actually have a job.

So, with that, I am going to end this post. I seriously doubt you enjoyed reading it...haha...but thanks for reading it anyways.

Bleh

Well, as many of you know, I had a job interview today for a RN position at Timpanogos Hospital's ICU. I'm just going to cut to the chase and say that it was flat-out AWFUL!! It has been so long since I had a real interview (the interview for my current job consisted of "what do you know and do you think you can handle the high-pace of this job?"). The last time I had a real interview was almost two years ago when I had a few group interviews for PCT positions (even though I wouldn't consider those real either because they were group interviews....pointless). Right now, those group interviews actually sound enticing.

You know that saying "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt?"....yeah....I should have just taken good ol' Lincoln's advice and kept my mouth shut...I would have done better that way! I said some utterly stupid things, and I can only imagine the ways the interviewers made fun of me afterwards. 


In my defense, I had seven people interviewing me.....SEVEN. I honestly have know idea the roles of each of them....probably a few charge nurses, the floor supervisor, and the director of nursing. Oh, and did I mention that a girl I go to school with was assisting in this interview? Yeah, she was there following the charge nurse for this semester's clinical experience. When I saw her my heart dropped into my butt and I thought I was going to DIE! All I could think of for the first part of the interview was how if I screw this up I wouldn't be able to face her to collect my girl scout cookies that I ordered from her...crap...I screwed it up. No delicious samoa cookies for me. I am mortified. 


I'm sure many of you know what I'm talking about when I say I freeze up when put on the spot. I stutter, my mouth feels like cotton balls are sticking to my cheeks, my brain gets ahead of my mouth causing me to speak in weird orders which make no sense...and on top of all those lovely traits, I ramble. I do it even with people I know. I'm not very good at that crap at all. However, put me in front of a patient that I am taking care of and I have an unusual sense of confidence in myself and I don't have any of those problems...odd.


Branden thinks I am over-reacting....which I do tend to do in situations such as this. But if I get this job then they are either playing a cruel joke on me or they were looking for a retard to fill the position..haha..oh well. I hope with practice I can overcome my fear of interviews. 




Moving on>>


A week ago I had a hysterosalpinogram (which is a fancy term for an x-ray of my uterus to look for any abnormalities that could be causing my miscarriages). They found nothing. I am fit as a fiddle. Normal shape, size, and position....and no septum. Which MEANS that my miscarriages are most likely due to my mutation (surprise, surprise) and the heparin should fix me enough to give me a babe. Let's hope so. 


Oh, and I dyed my hair brown. I know, I know....my red was so "pretty" (uh-huh). I suppose I just wanted a change and thats the way I was going to get it. I like my new style though...

This is the only picture I have of me and my new hair.
This was right before my hystersalpinogram... I was in the changing
room waiting for the tech to come back and get me (I was alone, of course)
I'm digging the hospital gown, though. Doesn't it just complement my new hair
color nicely? ;) lol

I can't think of anything else new that has been going on since my last post. Branden is doing really well...working hard, as usual! We are excited for the SUPER BOWL this Sunday!! I am hoping I can get my shift covered for Sunday night so I can join in on the fun!

GO PATRIOTS!!!!

And here is a little snip-it of fun just to make you smile...because it makes me smile every time I watch it!

Until next time!....