Author: eaumaison (Page 148 of 210)

At the end of a hard day my impulse is to blog about it.  But I try to hold off, wondering the rant will really make me feel better.  I already released a lot to Ben, so what’s the point of putting it here?  Feels like garnering pity.  Still, this is my journal.  I won’t go into detail, but it was yet another crazy busy day of
trying to treat too many patients in too short of a time
constant push push push to get people in our chairs
many catheters and fistulas busting
working with a doctor who is difficult
getting lost in the hospital system while trying to give meds or get patients beds or lunches
starting the day off short-staffed
being assigned to charge nurse when I really shouldn’t be charge yet
being on the phone 95% of the day
endless questions from the techs about when so and so will be picked up
wrestling with machine malfunctions

I come home from days like this feeling incredibly unappreciated and ready to quit.  We are still short-staffed with no end of in sight.  Too many hours with too many demands and too many promises broken.  Oh Rachel, we probably pushed you into the charge role too fast, let’s back off and have you gain more experience [then they assign me charge every time I’m at our big hospital]. Oh Rachel, you shouldn’t take care of isolation patients while you are pregnant [then I have to do a hepatitis B+ patient, among many others]. Oh Rachel, take it easy while you’re pregnant, be sure to eat well and drink a lot [then I’m the only RN, meaning I CAN’T leave the room to take a break for the whole shift].  Maternity leave is looking more and more like a glorious summer vacation.

Biscuits+jam ice cream is wonderful!

Ben makes fun of the many terms and steps involved in making yarn.   Here’s how you do it:

Take your washed wool and brush it into roving or a bat using paddles.
Take your roving and draft it into a bobbin of yarn using a spindle.
Take your bobbin and wind it into a hank using a niddy noddy.
Take your hank and wind it into a ball using a swift and ball winder.
Take your ball and knit it into a hat using needles.

• Last night I had to do an emergency.  Not bad, I got home by 12:45.  It meant I could sleep well knowing the call 2 person had to take the next emergency.  Free and clear.  I had a rude doctor and a mean patient.  Luckily I sucked up to both of them well enough.  The ICU nurse is the one who took it hard from them.  
• Ah, a glorious long weekend off.  No work until Tuesday!
• Monday I’m going to the dentist after at least 2 years off.  Hurrah for dental insurance!
• I bought some lilies and my house smells amazing!
• Ben bought me the chocolate chip bagels I’ve been craving for two weeks.  Don’t get excited, it wasn’t, like, a “pregnancy” craving.  I just really really wanted some.  That’s a good way to start Saturday.
• I finished choreographing the opening dance number for Amanda’s musical.  I hope the kids pick it up fast on Monday!
• Amanda and I have a fun day planned – Alice in Wonderland, then dinner out, then craft and watch Every Little Step at home.  
• Kick-puncher is still kicking and punching.  He has weird sleep cycles.  
• I want to buy a portable air conditioner/swamp cooler for this summer.  Our room is always unbearably hot.  I have a free trial of Amazon Prime that would give me free shipping.  Is it crazy to buy an AC in March?  How would I even know if it works well enough?
• Yesterday as I was cleaning up the clinic before going home I chatted with Ben on my cell.  I was scrubbing human blood off the floor while merrily talking to my husband, and was struck by how NOT morbid it felt.  
• I have a lot of spending money and don’t know what to do with it.  I hoard it and then forget it, never taking the splurge.  Any ideas?

Crap, yo. I bought some decoration for the nursery and it has
arrived. I guess i need to seriously start working on that room. I'm
7 month pregnant today. Time is running out! But today is my one day
off over two weeks and it's booked full with an OB visit, grocery
shopping, choreography rehearsal, and putting my aching feet up for an
hour tonight. I worked four 12 hour shifts in a row (3/4 going into
OT), then 6 hours call back right after on Sunday. Today i'm off but
I have four more in a row starting tomorrow. Looks like saturday will
be nursery work day!

Get a load of my sweet lovin'.

Thank you for all the birthday well wishes!  I had a wonderful day.  My dear sweet husband took me to all my favorite things and I had a great time visiting with friends tonight.  I took a few pictures to post later showing what we did to celebrate. 

I improvised a pie based on a key lime pie recipe.  My friends helped us eat it and they demanded that I write down the recipe to remember.  Sadly I don’t have a picture because it was devoured too fast!

Dreamsicle Pie
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup clementine juice
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 2 limes
zest from all the clementines that you squeezed

Combine all the above ingredients in a bowl.  I think it would have stirred smoother if I had blended the sour cream and condensed milk before adding the juice.  Pour the filling into a pre-made graham cracker crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until you see tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface.  (Don’t brown it!)  Remove and cool completely.  Let chill in the fridge, preferably overnight.  Slice and serve with whipped cream.

My dear sister has optimistically invited me to choreograph some parts of the spring musical.  Optimistic because:
A. work is scheduling me for 4 shifts per week, and because we are short-staffed we often work overtime (like yesterday) and
B. my dancing skills have waned a bit since becoming pregnant.  Or should I say, all skills that involve movement have waned.  Including standing up from couches.  My co-worker saw me struggling to get comfortable in my chair during the 7th hour of Monday’s hospital orientation.  “When are you due?” he whispered.  “End of May,” I replied.  He ticked the months off his fingers, “Wow, you have a long way to go!”  Yes.  Yes I do.  Thank you for pointing that out for me. Now help me cross my legs.

So with her dear students in mind I summoned all my energy to get to the gym this morning.  Yes, after a 16 hour day with only a 30 minute lunch break, a fitful night’s sleep while on call, and waking up with a scratchy throat I exercised.  Because I only blog when I can brag about my awesomeness. (For example, I haven’t been sick since January 2009.  I hope this throat scratch blows over).

I like going to the gym because I can spend longer exercising and stretching than I do when I stay home.  The elliptical is also the only form of aerobics I can do without severe leg pain.  I still have bad aches in my gracilis every time I take a step.  But for some reason running on an elliptical is completely painless.  When I got home I stretched a little more.  Molly joined in.