Birthday, houses, thoughts, the works...

This past week was my birthday week! Yay! We kept it mostly low key. Just a really fun breakfast with friends and my mom (everyone else were being "good" and were at Sunday School/church). I've never been there for dinner but Smoke is just so amazing for Sunday brunch! I love it SO MUCH!

I got my usual, which I will post the picture of, again!



I forgot my camera at home (bad me), so I don't have any pictures of all of us at the dinner table, but I think some were taken so maybe I'll see a copy and can post it later.

Coincidentally, we also saw a little lizard running around on the patio. And I'm not talking about "little" as those geckos that are everywhere eating all the bugs. This one was maybe about 6 inches long and had leathery skin...like lizards. He was a quick little waddle-er. I don't think we got a picture of him, but it sure shocked me to see him!

Work this past week was a little of a roller coaster for me. First day, I worked as the float nurse from the stroke unit again. That's so boring and usually ends up throwing my patterns off of when I eat and how I plan out my night, but it's not bad work. My second night, I took care of a patient who had a serious brain surgery and we had to control her blood pressure with really tight parameters. And, lo and behold, we find out she's having pain early in the morning (she had difficulty verbalizing things to us), so I gave her some pain medicine, which didn't really work. Then, I gave her a different pain medicine, which worked really well, but she sounded "drunk" on the medicine. Of course AT THAT TIME is when the neurosurgeons found it appropriate to visit her and I had to explain that she has been neurologically the same, despite her slurring now. And that's also when the attending told me I talk too fast. /sigh lol My third night was much more low key because the previous night stressed me out so much that I asked for a different assignment and I had a pretty decent night.

Even though Brandon and I are on night shifts together again (FINALLY), I still end up with some free time I fill with reading TheNest. Lol. I can't keep myself away. However, after reading some posts of girls complaining about things they've been asked or has been said to them, comparing it to things the girls at work and I have talked about people saying to us, and things I've directly observed, I have my own rant about appropriate things to say to people, whether you think you're close to them or not.

• Don't ask a girl/couple any of the following, or derivations of such: When are you getting engaged? This implies you think they're perfect for each other, seem to be working well, and that the boy should ask the girl to marry him. Sure, that could be the case. But you never know what relationship they have, how often they argue (I'm assuming if you know they argue a lot you wouldn't ask in the first place), or if the girl had already been nagging the boy about marriage and it's a sore spot because he isn't ready/doesn't want to/other non-fun situation you can fathom. If you really want to know something like that about that person/couple, ask something more generic, like, "How are you and so and so?" or "How are things going?" Maybe they'll talk to you enough to allow you an "in" to more appropriately ask her/them what plans are in the future...
• Don't start conversations, even if you know they girl/couple well, with: So when are you going to have babies? This is a sore subject for many. Even if the answer is never, the chick may not want to tell you why. Maybe she just doesn't want them, maybe she thinks she'll be a bad mom, maybe she and/or the significant other are infertile and its a sore subject. Just don't ask. Say you know the couple does want babies, still, don't ask. What if they're trying already and, by you asking, are inadvertently rubbing it in she doesn't have her positive pee stick yet. Oh, jeeze, even more so, if they are dealing with infertility and are on all kinds of meds to increase their chances of having a baby, its just rough. And for some reason everyone wants to know this of couples! Every time I'm sick at work, like I don't feel well or whatever innocent symptom it may be, I get at least once, "Ohhh, you may be pregnant!" Now, most of the time it's given in jest, but still, depending on the thickness of one's skin and the personal endeavors behind closed doors, do you wanna be the one responsible for making that poor girl cry in the bathroom because you accidentally reminded her that she's not pregnant and would like to be? I want babies. Honestly, it'd be super cool if I was pregnant right now. But I can't, since I live at my parent's house, until we buy a house. How LAME would it be to turn my computer room/my brother's room into a nursery...VERY LAME! If you really want to know, just ask the generic question something like, "So, any plans in the next few years?" Sure, house, master's, baby. Thanks for asking.
• Don't start a conversation with the joking comment of: So, you're still married? It could be funny, I suppose. It's awkward, for sure. Unfortunately, it sounds like you're implying they SHOULDN'T be married. Even if the girl/couple didn't think along those lines, do you know what's going on in their home? Are you sure they aren't in counseling just to stay married and you opened up with that line? Talk about a push from you to not be married anymore. Even if they're happy with an awesome relationship, how are they supposed to take a comment like that. "Uhm, ya, why wouldn't we be?" That ruins the "funny." Or, maybe a sarcastic response, "For now..." Well, now the comment initiator has to decide if they're serious or not. What fun is that? It's too serious a topic. Besides, I just don't understand the reasoning behind a comment like that. Its just not funny. Maybe someone can enlighten me how it comes off as funny...I would say something more like, "I'm so glad to see you guys," or, "How is being married?" or maybe, "How are things working out?" Just depends on your comfort level with who you're talking to, I suppose, and your purpose of delving into that line of questioning in the first place.
• This one is a bit different, but still, I must rant. Don't take everything so personally. We all grew up and left middle school and high school a long time ago. Put petty crap aside and think about what others think and feel. If you're offended, figure out why you are offended. Is it just because someone misunderstood you? Then help them understand, but bitching someone out isn't helping someone understand. It's bitching them out. Don't understand how come people don't see it your way? Put yourself in their shoes and pretend whatever was happening happened to you. Does it make anymore sense or feel any more similar to whoever's reactions? We've had some people at work ask for the nurse they had not to be their nurse again (I'm sure it's happened to me, and I'm ok with it because I know I did everything I could for that patient and to protect that patient's life and health and longevity). But, what happens is the fact that a miscommunication occurred. That is pretty much always the case. So, both nurses, patients, and families of patients can all miscommunicate and it sucks. But, ultimately, if one or the other were to take a moment and see things differently, maybe they'd understand why things went the way it did. And, in that particular example, especially where I work, sometimes you'll never know. But try not to be so vicious. You're probably just being sensitive when feelings are hurt that way. Get over it.

I had more....but I can't think of them right now, for which I'm sure you're thankful. However, I can honestly say, unfortunately, I know people who have heard at least one or more of those comments. And reading TheNest.com has shown me that we're not the only ones hearing such random things. My disclaimer: of course, my rant does not fit every situation. However, it is meant to ask those who are the "offenders" or "offended" to think twice before saying something silly like that or thinking what was said was meant to be hurtful. Some of us are made of steel, but others are not.

And one more random rant...I hate waiting for a month for a refund. Ugh.

Moving on, apparently this past week was also Pit Bull Awareness day...one of the days...and it's titled something like that. Anyways, I <3 pit bulls. I heart all dogs who are raised to be good dogs, who are not raised to be bad dogs (and I don't mean bad dogs like mine who rip to shreds every toy they ever have but the ones who hurt people or who are vicious to other beings...and not just hunting because my dogs have killed things, too) Anyhow, I think you get my point. I think the "bully breeds" can be very good dogs and, possibly, come with the challenge of needing experienced owners and not just some newcomer to the pet owning world who doesn't know how to properly keep a big, strong dog in line.

But, my point is, I came across this website and found it so amusing!

Pick the Pit Bull

I won't tell you which number is the American Pit Bull Terrier, which is the point of the link. But I will tell you which numbers of dogs I love so much!

#6 Is a pretty fella, and some people have theorized that JJ may be part #6.
#8 Is always a favorite!
#12 I LOVE! Especially that picture! I want to kiss him and hug him and make him mine!
#16 I think looks a lot like Bella. Especially the ears and the lean, solid body with skinny legs and a skinny tail. Bella just has little feet.
#19 I love the coloring on these dogs!
#21 Has a very special place in my heart!!!
#23 I totally wish I had one of these! If you google this dog, the puppy pictures are to die for!

And, I know you're sad I'm trying to bring this epic post to an end, but lastly, I'll show you the houses we drove around and looked at from the outside. There were no open houses so we didn't get to hit any of those up. These are listed in order of favorite to least favorite...of our favorites. If you understand that, double points to you.

Once again, the usual thoughts of, "I'm going to repaint that room," and, "I'll pick a backyard over a brick color," and stuff apply.

Our Favorite The kitchen is so pretty! It doesn't have white cabinets (which I'm personally not a huge fan of, but it isn't a deal breaker), it has tiled floors (easier to keep clean with four doggies), a decent sized back yard, the brick is a teeny bit pink, but its livable, its very open which looks like it has a great feel to it and room for the dogs to not hit things when running around (as we all know they'll run around a lot!)

First Two Story The reason this is listed second is because I like the brick better and, if the house next to it is any example, it has a pretty nice sized back yard. The yard size may be similar to Our Favorite, but, given we haven't officially toured these back yards, we don't really know. Both are listed the same lot size, though. This house's online pictures suck. But, alas, this is about all we have to work with. If you look at the link at the bottom of the page you can get street views of it and bird's eye views, and the bird's eye view will give you an idea of what we're thinking is a decent backyard. The pictures taken kinda suck as some of the light balance is too yellow, and I'm not a huge fan of the decoration present in the pictures, but oh well.

Second Two Story This one has more pictures and is almost tied with the previous house. It has paler brick, which I'm not a fan of, but its not a deal breaker here. Ugh, it has white cabinets and appliances (look, I'm just worried about messes and dirty dogs and my ability to keep white things WHITE). It does have laminate floors! That is a total plus! I don't want real wood, I want the laminate (refer back to crazy dogs and what you think their freakish toe nails would do to real wood flooring). Game room upstairs! Sweet! I call that COMPUTER/SPORTS room...until kids are old enough to take over its OURS! (this excited me about upper house as well, but this one seems to have more pluses.) Here's hoping that this one DOES last long and drops in price. The other two story seems to have been on the market since August. This one has only been around since September. And they're not dropping their price like the other...so either there is some serious discrepancies, or I bet this one won't sell as fast just like the other.

Four Bedrooms All I can think is: this poor house, what is wrong with it?! It's been on the market since MAY! The back yard size sucks compared to the other houses, but it has four bedrooms. The price is probably the lowest in the neighborhood and surrounding similar neighborhoods. I have zero interest in the playground that comes with it, though that wouldn't be a deal breaker. Unless they had some special requests with it. Otherwise, it seems to have carpet, eh, and there are ZERO pictures of the kitchen and master anythings. What the heck!?

A Little Expensive... Ok, yes, this house is currently actually out of our goal price range, but its worth considering, I think. But the price makes it this low on the list. It is another two-story (and, really, I am not fond of two-stories) but its very pretty on the outside. It has laminate and tile floors (yay), white cabinets (nay), and a decent back yard. I actually am a little dumb and just noticed its 4-5 bedrooms! It lists bedroom number 5 as a great study...so I'm assuming it is actually a study and wouldn't really function as a bedroom. It also has a game room!

Ok, that ends the houses in the subdivision I like the most. They're near Wiggly Dog Park (I love that name) and not far from I35, fast food restaurants, grocery stores, etc. The last house is a consideration, but it is on the opposite side of the highway, not far from it, but farther from shopping and things that would make life super convenient. And there is no dog park nearby.

"Over the "Rainbow" The negatives: the backyard size, the backyard landscaping, the square footage (I know most of the houses I listed are 2k or less but this is the smallest). The pluses: laminate wood floors, non-white cabinets (though I'm a fan of darker colors, these are at least not white).

So that is it on the houses.

Did I mention that one of my dogs opened a mini-bottle (think airplane size) of whiskey and drank it? Ya, we don't know who it was. Here's to *ahem* learning to keeps things out of reach of devious little creatures with abilities to do devious little things.

And, with my car in the shop, Brandon sleeping, my checking account balanced, bills paid for now, blogging done, and my major WoWing done, I suppose I'll go watch tv and hope I can go give blood today!

Bullet-proof Bella.

Cataclysm!!!

ZOMG I'm SO excited about the upcoming expansion on WoW, Cataclysm!

I might pee my pants.

Ever since the recent patch came out, I've been obsessing over it. Working on new talent builds and macros and re-learning all the things they changed!



Doesn't the video just make you want to log on and EXPLORE the old world and memorize everything because it will ALL BE DIFFERENT?! Even if you have never played, you have to appreciate the fact they're changing EVERYTHING! (well kinda) Did you see the tsunami?! Did you see the fire and destruction the dragon brought?! Zomg!

But, ugh, half my addons weren't working. Here's to hoping they were updated and repaired while I was at work. And I have to farm a lot of mats to make new glyphs and more glyphs for all my characters.

Moving on. I love the sun rises right now.



I know its a little red, but hey, gimme credit for taking a picture while driving!

And JJ showed up with a major gash on his side...



It actually is a little worse than that picture shows. It can open a lot, but I'm hoping it heals like that and fast (like his billion other lacerations).

New this week? My birthday. I'm 29! Mom asked me if I was scared of turning 30, I said no (even though I totally don't want to be 30). Mom said, "Good, 'cause your 30s are great!" So I told her, "But my 20s were great..." So, well, as I still have a little left in my 20s, DON'T SUCK FUTURE TIME! Otherwise, Mom may make me eat my words.

And, since I've been cheap on the pictures in my past few posts, here's a cutie to end with...this is truly how he was sleeping.



Toodles.

As my first October post...

I'm sitting here reading random crap on the Internet (ranging from message boards on thenest.com, all my blogs I follow, and Texts from Last Night), I get hungry.

I make popcorn.

I let dogs out to run and pee...let them back in and give them treats for not peeing in the house.

Resume random Internet reading to find four of the five dogs (number five is asleep with Brandon) are surrounding me...one on my right, one behind me, one on my left, and one behind the one on my left). All staring at me with ears perked.

I wasn't mandated to give them my popcorn...but once JJ started barking I was.

I even made a video of it. Unfortunately, it needs edited and I'm not sure how to do that.

That was EIGHT eyes boring into my head at once...EIGHT PUPPY DOG EYES. Its a miracle I did not hand them my bowl and say, "Here, you'll enjoy more than me."

Let me also mention earlier in the night, they managed to hijack the donuts and breakfast burritos my mom had left over from the one Saturday a month she works and finished them all off. There is nothing left. Even the paper surrounding the burritos is mostly missing.

So far, they have not found the Halloween candy. And I'm not that worried about them having a chocolate allergy as when I was still in College Station, they managed to get the brownies my grandma sent me off the highest counter top/bar top I had, open the Tupperware (without chewing it up, may I add) and eat EVERY BROWNIE in the container. No barfing. And all are still alive today.

Why it's hard to take off work...

Well, its high school 10 year reunion time for me. Can't say I'm excited or anything, nor do I really know what to expect, other than to just chat up the people I probably see on a regular to semi-regular basis as it is. The weekend plans are:

Friday night: Homecoming game and local bar afterwards
(LOL, knowing where I live, it's HILARIOUS to me there is actually a local bar here! WEIRD!)
Saturday morning: Homecoming parade and picnic in a local park
Saturday night: Get together at a BBQ/bar/club about 20 minutes away
(yes, it's as trashy/low key/not fancy/put your own word here as it sounds)

So, my aunt already got Brandon, me, and my parents (and her, I think), reserved tickets to the Friday night game. I really don't expect to see a lot of people I know there. Ten years ago when I went to all the football games, the stadium, well, was a different stadium. It was smaller, the concession stand was run by the band parents (and my dad at the time, even for a year after my brother was out of band), and even then, running into people you knew, assuming you weren't currently in school and participating in the event, was probably not that high. Now there is a new stadium, I'm assuming its larger, does the concession stand tank debit cards??? I have no idea!

What is more funny to me about this game is my high school is playing Brandon's high school! Hahahahaha. I really hope we beat them... So far his high school is undefeated. I can't honestly say I know what my high school record is right now. But Brandon didn't do his 10 year reunion...if there was one, but he swears he'll be cheering for them and not us. Boo.

I am totally skipping the parade. I don't care to watch old people in old cars, young people in fancy cars, have candy tossed at me, or any of the like. Not right now at least. And not since I plan to have my doggies with me. Well, two of them.

We plan to start at the park and have Bella and Ribby. Now, yes, I have favorite dogs...sort of, and we all know JJ is my oldest, I've had the longest, and basically MY dog (whereas Ribby is Brandon's, Hunter is mine, but can't decide if he wants to be mine or Brandon's, and Bella belongs to whoever will show her attention...seriously). We picked those 2 because it would REALLY be unfair to take only one dog, and that is highly unrepresentative of the dogs I have. Also, Ribby, although he may not be human savvy, he's a crowd-pleaser. Something about those goofy big ears, fat belly, and funny face endears him to many. And Bella, well, she LOVES humans. They're her favorite! Especially when they're showing attention to her. JJ and Hunter, well, humans are ok, they like THEIR humans most, and they'd rather be doing something else. JJ would rather hunt...and bark, and Hunter would rather bark and play. Neither of which is something crowds really love when people like me drag their dogs around. So, there it is.

OH! But the WHOLE POINT of the title of this post (can you now understand why my biggest criticism in writing, especially long pieces, is my ability to stick to my thesis?), I took off this whole week. Did I need to? Nope. But I had the time, we don't plan to go anywhere or use our vacation time soon at all (except maybe when the release date for WoW Cataclysm comes out...), so I thought, why not?

Well, I've been sleeping a lot. My sleep schedule is more jacked up than normal, honestly. But still, come Wednesday, the day I usually end up going to work, I started dreaming about work. I kept waking up because I needed to do something for my patient or check on my patient or help one of my co-workers I was dreaming about out, or random things like that. Then, when I was awake and my phone would ring, I'd have to stop myself from answering like I do at work, "ICU, this is Kim." (hahaha, you should hear the way the company people REALLY want us to answer the phone, ya right). Then Thursday, again, dreams about work. I even made up my own disease in my dream. I googled it and everything to make sure it isn't real when I woke up.

So, there ya go. Work is completely ingrained in me. Blah.

Well, I'll probably update this after this weekend. Maybe with pictures. We'll see. I better go charge my camera battery. That little POS doesn't have a battery indicator and always ends up dead when I really want it...

It's been too long...

So, ya, I've been way lazy about posting. I promise I won't make this one a novel!

I haven't posted because not a heck of a lot has happened, but I think I have some decent updates to report.

Most recently, the wonderful people at work have started orienting me to be able to perform as charge nurse now. It's cool...and ok. Not too crazy business. Mostly, on the weekdays on night shift there is maybe 3 people who are trained to be in charge, and they don't always work on the weekdays. So, since people get sick, take vacation, and don't always work the same days, they're orienting me and I think at least one more (I know they want to hijack John and Christine, but I don't think John has agreed to it yet lol). Either way, it just means I generally don't take a patient and help out on the unit, am knowledgeable about every patient on the unit, am the helper for the unit, the go-between, etc. My first orientation was really nice. A perfect night for first orientation. I have one more orientation, and "Resource" day (meaning I pretty much function as charge nurse on my own but there is someone else there that night that has already trained as charge who I can ask questions of/help from if needed). Anna, one of the night Asst. Clinical Managers who has been the head runner getting me oriented, has already scheduled out when I orient next, am resource, and am in charge by myself lol. I get like $.50 more an hour when I charge, so its not dramatic but still nice. I just hope our staffing stays ok so I can finish out this charge business, which is why it has taken so long for me to orient in the first place!

Next, all I have left to getting my Concealed Handgun License is my fingerprints and to pay the state of Texas $140. I will probably try to get printed September 6th because Brandon needs to be printed, too, and we might as well drive together instead of take 2 trips. I'm not in a hurry. But, I think I will carry a gun when I get my license and, so far, the Springfield XD Subcompact, 9mm. Brandon already has this gun as his backup gun. It is a itty bit big for a concealed gun, but it feels so good in your hand. My favorite gun to shoot so far! (and in case anyone is weirded out by me shooting, I figured I should be proficient in it since I will be surrounded by guns for the rest of my life. If you're like my mom and want to know our stance on when we have kids...ask, I'll tell ya. I've freaking been quizzed about it only 100 times).

I passed my CCRN! That is Critical Care Nurse. Really all it is is a test that covers all areas of critical care: cardiac, neurology, trauma, medical, surgical, multi-systems, stuff like that. I really only am experienced in a small area of critical care so I crammed my butt off (I did try to reschedule but apparently you're locked out of rescheduling 2 business days before the test, so, oops) and passed! I was so nervous because I had typed in the wrong address first and realized when I got there it was wrong, then scrambled to get to the correct address, and once I got there, the proctor had not even arrived! I waited about 7 minutes, then called the company complaining about it. NO WAY was I going to get screwed over because the proctor did not show. But she showed about a minute after I called and all went well! I'm just waiting on my card and information in the mail and then I'll turn it in at work. For having my CCRN or my CNRN (certified neuroscience nurse), I get a $500 bonus, I think, every year. Too bad I can't get 2 bonuses for carrying 2 certifications. I may still take my CNRN, but that I'll wait until the Spring for, so we'll see about that.

Brandon is more than half way through his training. Everyone told him that the training officer he'd have on day shift would be super hard and he loves his current training officer. The guy is practically trying to convince Brandon to try out for the tactical team (their version of SWAT) since he's a team leader or something, and I think Brandon will do that when he's out of training. Which pretty much means we have to live in Denton, not really, but very close. But we drove around Denton looking at neighborhoods the other day and found some possibilities! I'll link a few we drove by:

House A: We like this price and the little description. All the houses in this neighborhood have similar backyards so it would be acceptable for our buttholes. I had to google the address for more pictures. More Pictures

House B: Uhm, a house lol.

House C: This one has wood (or fake wood, I don't care) floors! Score! (carpet + dogs = bad, obviously...least with mine).

House D: Back yard seems cool.

House E: Another house.

Anyways, some of these are a little out of our price range...as in, well, if we wait it out a little longer we could afford them but we'd really like them to be less than $140,000, but we'll see. It was just a reconnaissance event, really. You'll see more psycho Kim posts some day when we're really there and looking inside and out. Just my thoughts for now are 1) I don't give a crap about paint, we can fix that, b) I'd rather have ugly brick and a nice back yard than vice versa, c) gotta have a back yard that isn't tiny. I expect we'll have to walk the pups frequently but I'd like to have at least a decent area for them to expend some energy freely.

That neighborhood is pretty cool, though, because its near a creek. There was another neighborhood I didn't like AS MUCH, but was still nice, that had a lake/pond nearby. That would be cool, too. But we'll see.

And that is pretty much it, I suppose. I have been feeling bad for 2 weeks now and everyone can STOP with the pregnancy comments already! I think I'm more likely to have a clot in my brain than pregnant at this point, thank you very much. As it is, it is likely neither as I feel better today and am currently STARVING for breakfast. So, BYE! :)

About passwords...

So, currently I don't remember if I blogged about the fact that my World of Warcraft account got hacked a little while back. Whatever. It did. I got all my "stuff" back in a very speedy time (go Blizzard). And, no, to anyone who plays WoW, I did NOT currently have my Authenticator active on my account. I'd taken it off because its annoying.

Anyhow, I changed my password and re-added my Authenticator and started thinking about how in the world anyone got ahold of my password to hack into my account.

I never understood why everyone bothered saying crap like, change your password frequently, blah blah blah. I was like...if they're going to get my password, they're going to use it, whether I change it every day or not, that's lame.

I think I understand now. I may be wrong. However, hackers are lazy and slow. They'll hack my account, but it'll take them a while before they attempt to utilize the password. So maybe when that stupid virus got on my old computer it hacked my WoW account password. But it took the hacker people weeks til they hit my account.

So, there. Hackers are lazy, dumb asses who can't even bother to get around to using their illegally acquired information til later. So THAT's why you change your password often. Cause of the a-holes who can't even bother to hack you in a respectable timeline.

OMG, I'm actually blogging again. Beware of length. You've been warned

So, ya, SORRY its been so long. I've just been LAZY.

Brandon will be done with the police academy coming up here soon. I believe he'll start hitting the streets in training in June. He's totally excited. The only thing we're not excited about is gas usage, lol. But we need to keep saving up money for a little bit longer before we start looking into moving. I think living destinations might be around Frisco and Flower Mound. We'll see.

Of course, a contributing factor is that the ol' Toyota Tacoma is no longer functioning as his vehicle. Something about busted A/C compressor, I don't know what he was talking about, especially since he woke me up just to tell me (NEVER a good idea. If you don't need me to do something immediately, don't bother waking me up.) Anyhow, we went out and bought a new truck that night. Turns out, I have a rocking credit score! This baby is all in my name. Here is the truck, courtesy of my iPhone, the next morning.



Because its so pretty it was required that I wash my car the next day. I have pics of that, but you've all seen my car, likely both clean and dirty, so I'll spare you.

If you missed it, here it is, Brandon's getting tazed video lol.



He hurt pretty bad after that but he's getting better now. It tensed his back muscles up a lot and since he'd been anticipating it, he was tense already lol. Fine, maybe its wrong that I'm laughing but we all know he'll be just fine.

Works going fine. It is kinda weird now that I've been there like a year and 9 months and a couple of the new girls will come to me and ask me questions I've found myself asking the senior nurses many times before over the past year and 9 months lol. So, its kinda cool cause they're like holding me to what I should have learned. And, per usual, I give them explanations of what I've learned in much more detail than maybe they desire, but I can't help it! I want them to know why I never give them a direct answer, because with the different patients we have (some are neurosurgery with bleeds, some are neurosurgery without bleeds, some are urology that are at risk for bleeding, some are ENT who are always freaking bleeding, some are plastics AND ENT who have tissue moved from one area of their body to another to function as a better version of the original [like making you new boobs from the fat and tissue in your stomach and getting a tummy tuck out of it at the same time], and so they all require slightly different thought processes!). Either way, it feels weird cause I would still totally describe myself as a newb, but I have to pretend to be an educated/wiser newb now. Eek.

On that note I'm thinking about getting my Critical Care RN and/or my Certified Neuroscience RN. Its just studying and taking a test for both and I'd technically get paid more but it'd be like, $50 a month more or something silly. And, I plan to try to start towards my Masters in Nursing to be a Nurse Practitioner in the Spring of 2011. The applications are due in September for TWU and like October for UTA. I'll apply to both. One requires the GRE, which makes me nervous. But if I go to TWU, I'd take the Family Nurse Practitioner route, if I go to UTA, I can choose between Acute Nurse Practitioner or Family Nurse Practitioner. Acute directs you more towards like working in an ER and such, but I think if I did just Family, I could adapt anyways, just my original training as Acute would be more for people getting sick all of a sudden versus a general population of everyone. So I don't know what to do. Plus, UTA requires an essay of like why you want to be a nurse practitioner and, in short, my answer is because I like to keep learning and finding better ways to "fix" my patients, and the hours and money would be sweeter. I think that's a crappy answer lol. I know I'll love being an NP, but like when I wanted to be an RN I had a great idea of where I wanted to work. Right now, given that NP is a couple years away from actually attaining, I have no idea in what capacity I want to work so I feel like my essay is going to suck. Oh well. I should get to that business soon. Sept and Oct aren't that far away in the scope of things.

Ok, I think that's it. I'll leave you with Bella in HD (HD=happy dog).