Sleep, TV, and Takeout (In that order)

I spent this entire weekend being the laziest I have EVER been in my whole life. I was originally supposed to go to Birmingham with some friends. We were going to leave on Friday and come back today, but I signed up to work Friday (to be nice, and help out) and said I would just meet them Friday night after work. Well, I woke up Friday morning with a killer sore throat and headache...I thought for sure I would be able to kick it by that night. But my "extra" day of work was KILLER! I was so busy and it ended in disaster! I didn't leave until 9:00 pm! I am supposed to leave at 7:15! It was crazy!

Needless to say, there was no driving to Birmingham for me that night, I was exhausted. So I went home and crashed. I ended up sleeping through my alarm clock and woke up to a text message around 10am. I never sleep until 10, not anymore. I was still feeling awful too...sore throat, headache, and I felt like there was drainage in my ear. I spent the entire day in bed, I slept so much. Then I got takeout for dinner, watched tv and slept some more. I did pretty much the same thing today. I do feel better now though, thank goodness.

I have been going going going for 3 months now and never really get a break. Between work, a puppy, weddings, bachelorette parties, family functions, and plans with friends, my schedule is always packed. I think my lack of sleep for three months finally caught up with me. I slept for two days, but I think I totally needed it.

My weekend was very much unproductive, but so needed! Maybe I got enough sleep to last a few weeks. That way I can continue on with my exciting life! :)

Love ya,

Maggie

Yes, I'm single...

It never fails...I go to work every single day and get asked the same questions...Do you have kids? Are you married? Surely you have a boyfriend!?

No people! I don't have kids, I'm not married, and I don't have a boyfriend! After I answer, the conversation always goes one of two ways...

1) I get that judging stare and they say: honey, how old are you? (me: 25) You know you are getting to that age. Why don't you at least have a boyfriend. You better go and find you someone fast and get to having some babies.

or

2) I get the pity stare and they look at me like they just put their foot in their mouth, and feel like they shouldn't have even brought it up. Like I am embarrassed or feel bad about it, and then they feel sorry for me and say...ohh honey you'll find you someone someday.

But the truth is...yes, I'm single, and you know what, IT'S OK! Why does everyone think that a 25 year old girl should be married or planning a wedding? I'm ok with it! Of course I sometimes think I would like to be dating someone, and yes I would like to be close to getting married (so I could plan a wedding and put on a white dress), what girl doesn't think about these things? But I am also REALLY happy being single. I mean I answer to no one but myself. I get to do my own thing, and I get to look at and flirt with every cute guy I see. I get to keep my options open. I am not going to just date the next guy that hits on me and make it a serious relationship. I am not settling people! I wish all these "old" people would see that waiting is so much better than settling!

Now don't get me wrong...if a hottie did come and hit on me, then I would surely go on a date and see where it goes, but I won't be planning some profound future with him or anything.

So quit judging and let me be. 25 is not old (I keep repeating this to myself...) and I don't have to be married. I am keeping my options open and waiting for the one that gives me butterflies!

So, in the words of SJP, " Some people are settling down, some people are settling, and some refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies." These are words that I live by, and I am refusing to settle!

Love ya!

Maggie

One Year of Service

A year ago this week was my very first week as an RN. I was no longer a student and the responsibilities of a nurse were all on me! I remember starting out and feeling so lost. I felt like I didn't know anything. I would hear report in the morning and people would say things like left heart cath with hematoma but no signs of a pseudo; or patient is a CABG x4 with right vaso view, POD#2 with two A's and two V's capped and taped; or left VATS with chest tube to -20 of suction, and the terms go on and on and on. These things sounded so foreign, even to me who had been in school so long and learned all about this stuff (I can only imagine what this sounds like to someone with NO medical experience!). All of these phrases now paint a very clear picture to me and I know exactly what is going on and what to expect about a patient's condition. I now speak in these same terms. But my first few days I would look at my preceptor and say "ok so what is all of that and what does that mean?" And the biggest question was what am I supposed to do with this patient? I never imagined that I would learn so much in just one year, but I truly have. There are things that I now just know like the back of my hand. However, I learn something new every single day....well actually more than one thing. But that is the good thing about nursing, there is so much new information to grasp everyday. I still have a lot to learn, and there are still times that I feel like I'm not really sure of what I am doing. That is when you look things up and ask for advice and second opinions from everyone around you.

The really crazy thing is that they just asked me to be a preceptor at work. ME! I am going to be teaching a new graduate nurse about being a cardiac nurse. Really? This should be interesting! Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered that I was even asked, I guess I must be doing something right, right? Although I still have many of moments when I get very frustrated and just cry. Crying is how I deal with my anxiety and frustrations (in all areas of life, not just work), which is good to some extent, but not when you have to do patient care with red puffy eyes (it doesn't look very good to the patients). I just gotta learn to keep myself together a little better when things get crazy, I can't be teaching someone when I'm crying....I must work on that for the next few weeks.

Wish me luck!

Love ya,

Maggie