Yes, we have friends

L to R: hunter, tony, troy, kim, becky, andy, cameron, liz, erin, macy

wes was taking the pic and didn't want to be in it anyways.

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We went to on the border

for dinner Sunday night.

It was some good Tex-Mex.

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1. cameron's last day of school is today

2. he took his last test this am

3. all he has to do is look one thing up

and he'll be ready to turn in his thesis

for the second to last time (hopefully)

4. t-5 days til graduation and an

awesome party!!!!

5. t-19 days til Mexico!!!!

6. t- 1 month and 4 days til the

indigo girls concert

7. t-1 month and 5 days til

our 2 year wedding anniv.

8. lots of days til our MTB

trip to Fruita, CO

9. yeah yeah yeah

10. I ate dinner tonight with my friend

katie, at spicy basil and it is sooo good.

11. kimiko (friend that was 10 days overdue)

had annie grace on saturday

TOTALLY drug free!!!!!

I am awesome at posting, so read em all

I went to the dr yesterday to get my thyroid re-checked.
She thinks I have lost too much weight,
even though I weigh the same as I normally do,
I was just losing wedding weight.
So, get this:
her exact words when I told her I worked out,
but worked really hard at eating lots of protein,
and we don't buy chips and pop anymore.
Dr. Barton: "well, maybe you should eat that stuff
(the chips and pop)for the calories"
"and maybe add some butter and creams to your diet"
*
WHAT THE F???? Did you GO to medical school?
I mean she is a really good doc otherwise, but I
mean, WHAT???
Does she know anything about cardiovascular health
and heart attacks and plaque in your arteries??
*FYI- I will not be doing the "stick of butter per day diet"
SICK.

Happy Nurses Day to Me

Happy Nurses Day!

Reasons I love my Job so much:

1. I work 36 hours a week

2. I work only 3 days a week

3. If i work a holiday I get paid time and a half

4. If for some reason I need extra cash, I can pick up a shift pretty much any

day of the week and get paid time and a half

5. I can work anywhere any shift and pretty much choose the job I love

6. I love taking care of people

7. I get to poke people with things (that's sounds mean, but I like it)

8. I get to watch people get better

9. People appriciate me, and that makes me feel good

10. I feel very smart, thank goodness b/c sometimes peoples' lives are in my hands (ahh)

11. I can learn something new EVERYday

12. I GET to learn and am required to learn at least 16 hours of new things a year

BUT it is ALWAYS more than that.

13. I love being good at my job

14. I love skills, like drawing blood, ngt tubes, dressing wounds....etc

15. I love the drama and action of the job everyday... people being super super sick,

codes (not on my pt of course), having to think quick

16. I love love love love love cute little old people that are funny and sweet

17. I love when people tell me thanks

18. I love that I can share things about my job with my other friends who are nurses and

they fully understand (even my momma)

19. I love when I tell people I am a nurse, they are impressed

20. I love the team work associated with my job in critical care

21. My co-workers have and always will rock!

22. I know I said this before, but I love taking care of people

23. I love to problem solve

24. I love that i can assess the pt before the doc comes in, and pretty much tell him

what I want/need for the pt that day.

25. We got a new amazing coffee machine that all you do is push a button

and chai, mocha, caf, decaf, etc comes out!

Reasons I don't love my job:

1. there is a lot of poop to deal with (not like oh dang it was a no so good day and there was

drama, but actually bowel movements).... all over the place

And sometimes people play with their own poop and it gets in their nails.

I also think people are not sick ebough to be in CCU if their poop is formed

I just really don't like poo.

2. I don't really love sputum/spit/snot/lugees

AND i have to suction it out of every orafice daily (okay really just nose and mouth and trach)

3. people and their family members for VERY entitled (cameron word)

they think they deserve everything at that moment, even if the rules say no,

and even if you have another pt dying at that exact time.

They think you should bend the rules for them, just because.

And they can get really mean.

And they can get combative.

And they can call you really mean names.

And they can spit blood across the room.

And they can scratch and bite and hit.

4. People smell bad. A lot. No matter how much soap and deoderant you use.

5. I don't like sweat (mine or other peoples'), which I didn't know until I started working.

6. Women have mustaches. Are you supposed to shave them??? I don't know.

7. People are really freaking fat, like 600lbs, and you HAVE to turn them every 2 hours.

And it takes 4 people usually to help you. Can you imagine having a super sick pt,

or any nurse working with you, but yet you have to use all the nurses on your unit to

help turn your pt, and no one is at the desk???? People, lose a few 100lbs here.

It's not that I am so mad at the person, it's just the weight.

We should get paid extra if they are over 350#s.

8. Sometimes I only pee 1-2 times in 12 hours.

9. I work 3am-3pm

10. we can't really recycle a lot of stuff and that's sad.

11. eyes and teeth. They gross me out. Susanne: remember that glass eye incident at night

once? The other day my pt's tooth was dangling out of his mouth and i just KNEW

it was gonna fall out on my shift. THANK goodness it didn't.

(I like gross stuff, but not eyes and/or teeth dangling out)

So all in all, seeing the differeces, it makes sense to keep working as a nurse :)

I love it and I am thankful for Florence Nightingale. Good job Flo.

Thanks for thinking of hand washing and clean air and water and all that jazz:

The Florence Nightingale Pledge:

-The Nightingale Pledge was composed by Lystra Gretter, an instructor of nursing at the old -Harper Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and was first used by its graduating class in the spring of

-1893. It is an adaptation of the Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians

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I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfae of those committed to my welfare.

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(read the post below this one :))

Random Weekend Activities

Saturday Night we had a party for our friend Tony,

his nickname was spankries but got shortened to spanks.

Long Story.

But, his party was at Wes's house

(also dave and renee's house, his sister/bro in law)

Anyway, Wes was actually WES... it was nice.

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Wes, Cameron, Patrick, and some other guys

were trying to "wax" together a candle

that cameron dropped and broke.

I think it was the most productive thing some of them

have done in a while.

But, Wes was having a really good normal time :)

It was relieving.

steve, wes, cameron, patrick
steve, wes, cam's arms, patrick

westopher

getting there

hmmmmm

now using the bday candles for melting potential

yeah it's finished!!!

typical wes pose and cameron face

erin, liz, bethany
poor poor kimiko, today she is 5 days overdue,

saturday she was only 3 :(

kimiko, me, katie (making a normal face)

(sus... see, i am wearing the necklace you gave me!)

ian and jacob in the background, looking up

they had just let go of some balloons :)

will and jacob, making cake balls
kalena (kimiko and pauls daughter)

and will (dave and renee's son - ian is his bro)

hanging in the hammock

cameron, starting counseling early

on jacob... poor jacob, he doesnt need it yet :)
cute cam
me and cam

yes, those are edemames on his plate

at the BBQ :)

what is ian doing?
note the cake ball on the grass :)
that is a really cute pic :)
oh dear

isnt he so cute!
zoom in, and you can see the "katie face"

she has been making them a lot lately...

oh wait, i spy a katie face

and will was crying about needing to get the cake out :)

renee and ian
spanks and his brett favre statue
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rewind to friday.... i got in a dang wreck.

i just wasnt paying attention

and backed up into this car

THAT belonged to a .......

LAWYER... AHHHHHH

Anyway's it should all be okay.

I think.

see that small scratch on the bike rack just below the rubber thing?

yeah, that's our damage...

why wasnt HE driving a Jeep?

no damage to be seen.

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OTHER AMAZING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!

the indigo girls are coming to Denver, Botanical Gardens

JUNE 16th (day before our 2nd wedding anniv)

ANYWAYS, long story short

they were sold out,

but my friend Becky got us tickets!!!!

I can't wait, seriously!!!

YEAH FOR AMY and EMILY!!!!!!

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COUNT DOWN for SCHOOL to be over:

9 days of school/internship

2 presentations

1 exam

1 edit on Thesis

11 days until graduation

3 days of actual class

1 more chapel

SUCKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

dog/garden

Friday evening Cameron and I went out to eat.

I decided to get a coffee drink while I was running errands earlier in the day.

Usually Schnooze doesn't eat anything we leave around.

But when we got home, this is was we saw.

The empty cup completely empty

(it was about 1/4 full of ice and a vanilla latte)

the lid chewed and strewn to the side

and the straw.

we were laughing to hard and couldn't punish her at all.

the worst/most hilarious part is

that she was buzzing on her coffee high.

Seriously she was running around the house like

a mad woman.

hmmm, anything else in there?

trying to get a pic for the blog


we even set the cup up with a treat in it
to get her to look guilty for a pic.



sucker!


Now, below, I am not trying to model by any means,
but i was excited about my purchase,
and wanted everyone to see it.
But it doesn't look the same just laying on my bed
not being worn. So, check out the bathing suit.
Also i was pumped b/c my butt does not hang
out of this one, unlike every other suit i have tried on.
Also, the hands on the hips are pulling back my love handles :)
SO CUTE FOR MEXICO!!!!!
(the b.suit, not me)

Gardening time.

It was hot the other day, and I felt like snazzing up the balcony.

So, i got 2 tomato plants, a sweet pepper plant,

some mint, lavander, basil, and sage.

They smell good, and look pretty.

2 hours ago it was blizzarding. So twice since

i have gotten the plants i have had to bring them inside :(.

I am determined to get some awesome fruit!

Dad have me this plant about 6-7 yrs ago.

i think you are supposed to re-pot plants every year

or something like that, but i never have.

But this one was looking sad.

it's been through a lot, college, lots of moves,

heat waves where we thought it was a goner, and more.

So anyways little planty, I hope you like your new home.

the balcony.

L to R:

tomato (cherry), sage, basil, lavander,

peppers, tomato (some quick growing kind?), mint.

I love mint!

the cages are already on the tomatoes b/c where else do i put them

and it makes me think they will get big soon!

I also cleaned up the balcony and

threw away some stuff, and

put the folding chairs in the closet.

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COOL!

wes is home!

Wes is home from the hospital!!!
Praise the Lord!!!
I got a report from Allison
(his sister who normally lives in OKC, but pretty much moved her life here to take care of wes)
and she said he was eatng a lot, and had a better attitude.
A few days ago he was requesting all seasons of some show, and that is a HUGE improvement.
Anyways, I think I was stop by Garfield Street and visit him Thursday.
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On a sad note, friday was a tough day at work for me.
I haven't really really had one of my patients die in a Code situation, they are usually DNR's.
And when I was on my last day of orientation in CCU (in october) I had my first,
but i didn't really count it b/c I was on orientation.
Friday I had my first (she was a limited DNR, but the only thing she didn't want was
chest compressions).
Anyway, it was super sucky. Boo.
It made me think like my dear friend Susanne, I may open my own coffee shop
instead of being a nurse.
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On another note again.
Someone put a note on our car that said she was trying to move a rock out of the way of our tire so it wouldn't pop, and she threw it and crazked our sideview mirror. what in the heck. how does that happen? how fraeking hard do you throw a rock out of that way. anyways, long story short, she wrote that she has no money, but will do what she can. oh dear.
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GREEN DAY (not the band).
I will list things like Lo, b/c I too like lists.
Things I do to stay Green:
~bring reusable bags to all stores/don't take a bag if not needed (king soopers and whole foods
gives you money back for each bag)
~recycle EVERYTHING, even take it out of other people's trash to recycle
~drive old ghetto cars to get good gas-milage
~ride our bikes when possible
~bring reusable cups/mugs/bottles everywhere i can
~buy local
~buy organic
~buy fresh
~buy bamboo (renewable resource)
~never use heat/cool unless i am about to die
~def don't shower everyday... who does that?
~live close to work/school for less commuting
~grow own herbs/veggies
~shut off water when brushing teeth
~cam doesn't shave so we save water that way
~use hardle any lights b/c our apt just doesn't have them (one in kitchen and one in bathroom)
~ un-plug stuff that is not in use (toaster/stereo/fans/computer...)
~someday will use cloth diapers (when i have a kid)
~re-use glasses at home (and not wash them til they are gross)
~re-use as much paper as possible before recycling it
okay just face it I AM GREEN
and it's my fav color
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pray for cameron, not only are the next 4 weeks gonna be terror,
but he just found out that the next 2 will be the worst of his 2 years at denver seminary.
Just getting things finished and turned in and studied for and researched.
it sucks, on top of having ADHD and being super sleep deprived and not ever hearing his 3 alarms to wake up. Just pray for his sanity (and mine :)).
I asked him what I could do for him, and I said OH I KNOW
Liz:"i will stop taking to you for the next 2 weeks"
Cam "Or i will just get a hotel for the next 2 weeks and just shoot you an email every few days to catch up with you"
Liz :that just might work :)"
Plus it's like 70 degrees here and all he wants to do is MTB.
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PS:::::::: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU TO THE DAVID CANNON FAMILY:they got cam a new computer and a lot of other awesome things!! The comp will be here tomorrow!!!!!!!

crazy weather

Yesterday the high was 82 degrees.

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Today it is like a blizzard.

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the weather on 9news.com

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I thought I was escaping crazy changing

weather when I left Oklahoma...

but pretty sure it's just as crazy here.

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I mean c'mon, I was wearing a skirt and t-shirt

yesterday and was HOT, today I have my

water-proof ski jacket, a hat, a scarf, mittens,

and my uggs on just to take Schnooze out.

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PS: schnooze had a physical at the vet today

and got her bordatella thing. But the vet gave

her an A++, he loves her so much!

But, she needs her teeth deep cleaned,

and that costs like $300, geesh!

So we will see about that later.

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Also, FYI, I got a cool hamper-like

thing to store all my yarn in. Unlike the

pic; it's green :). Anyway, now all the yarn

is in one place! With a cool matching tupperware

thing for the needles and accessories.

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Off to cook supper, then get ready for

work tomorrow :(

The Froeses

Laura & Andy (my friends from college)

came to visit! They are on their way to the Springs now.

They went to the Broncos Mile High Stadium, RedRocks

ampitheater, and just kinda drove around

while i was at work yesterday. But saturday

night they came into town and we ate

burgers at the cherry cricket. Then last night we ate

at an English Pub, and today we ate

at my fav rest. Mona's!

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they are off now, but we had good times

and we will get to see them this summer in OK!

laura, andy, schnooze (with new haircut), me
Random!!!! water was making a bubble in the sheet rock
and the water was about to bust thru the wall, so
cameron went to turn off the water valve to the apt,
and the broke the valve off (he's really strong).
so the emergency guy came and had to shut the water
off to the whole building. anyways, it's
fixed now (the water part), but there is a hole in our wall.
It's bigger now and goes all the way to the floor
b/c they had to check it??!?!?!?


the yellow thing is the NEW valve :)
me and laura at the English Pub!

UPDATE ON WES:

cam and i went friday night.

he was much more coherant (sp?).

talking more, looked better, sounded better.

steve told us he ate 1/2 a sandwich for dinner.

wes also told us (after is asked if he had done

his breathing exercises)

that he wouldn't be our friends after

he got out of the hospital, and "i'm not joking,

you won't be my friends".

Anyway, he still was drugged up and in

lots of pain. but seems like he

wants to get better now.

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Yeah for prayers!

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now i'm off to nap or something.

wes = treading water

wes and cameron sept 2007
september 2007
lauren, wes, and cameron sept 2007

I went to visit Wes today.

He is really sick.

Yesterday the Dr. told Renee he was "treading water".

What does that mean? It cannot be good.

He is being threatened with an NG Tube.

He won't eat, and is getting TPN to feed him,

but it is really hard on your liver, and they really need him

to gain some weight (he probably weighs like 100-105#).

So they are telling him to eat, or get an NG Tube

(which he calls his snuffulufagus).

He still has 2 JP drains in places where he has

2 abscess. But Allison says they are hardly putting out anything

like infected drainage (a good thing).

He got his chest tube out yesterday (another good thing).

He can have a regular diet, but just doesn't want to eat.

He really doesn't have any motivation despite

visitors/friends/family coming and staying with him.

Please please pray he gets that spark to want to be/get better,

that he will want to walk, do his IS, eat, etc; that he will fight this crap.

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Thank you for your prayers, he desperately needs them.

Wes is really sick.