I think I am happy.

I love what I do. I love being a nurse in the OR, and I love doing GYN surgery. I have been very happy this past week or two because what I do is very rewarding to me. I am beginning to realize that I am good at what I do. I know there is a lot I need to learn to become an expert in the field, but I am enjoying learning it. It almost feels too good to be true. I am starting to wonder when I am going to come crashing down. I guess I should enjoy it while it lasts and worry about coming down later.

I have been off of orientation for a couple of weeks and I am still getting used to being on my own. I suspect it will take me six months to a year to truly feel comfortable. Right now it is difficult for me to sit back and relax while I am circulating. I think it will come with time, and I probably need to chill out. All I can say is that I am trying.

I am almost done with Gertrude’s obedience class, and I have sent in her application for agility. I am sort of excited about it. I hope the agility will be more playful than the obedience. I have a hard time being playful with the obedience stuff, for some reason. I went to watch some agility trials last weekend, and it looked like fun. (Despite the heat.) The obstacles looked so happy and brightly colored. People seemed to be having a good time,

Oscar is doing well. He continues to get better every day. He has no problems jumping up on our Rice bed at night. I think the effort wears him out, though. He still gets a head tilt if he gets tired and he wears out pretty easily. But he is getting stronger every day, and I think he is happy to be home. We are happy to have him home.

My IF appointment is next Thursday. I hope it goes well. I almost hope the doctor is running late. Likely I will be running late, and that would put us on similar schedules. Hubby said he could make it, and I think he has blocked off the afternoon on his calendar. It is not a day I am on call or late, so I should be able to get out on time, provided all goes well.

Good News, Bad News

I wanted to show off our miracle dog. For those who have not been following along, our Great Dane Oscar got really sick the Thursday before last. We are not talking about a little vomiting. We are talking about a stoic dog who is whining, has a head tilt, cannot walk, and when he tries to walk, he cannot walk in a straight line. I was really scared for my dog. This is a young dog who before this was happy and (I thought) relatively healthy. We ended up taking him to VA Tech's veterinary school. Our boy was in the ICU for over a week. One of the first tests they did was a thyroid test. I could not believe it, but Oscar's thyroid level came back almost zero. Once they started him on thyroid medicine, his neuro symptoms started to resolve. Oscar is finally back at home. He is still really weak, and he stumbles when he gets tired. We are not pushing him to do a lot, other than heal.

I knew he was on the mend when I saw this...




Oscar got up on the bed all by himself. He was very proud of himself. We will see if it happens tonight. I miss having him next to me when I am going to sleep at night. Hubby and I are both grateful he is still with us. I think he is happy to be home.

*******************************************

In other news, I am officially off of orientation at work. Unfortunately that means that I have to work big girl hours. I am scheduled for overtime and a weekend day and call. Unfortunately, my schedule conflicts with both of my doctor's appointments. One of the disadvantages of being in a high demand career is that they always need you to work. I think I am going to have to schedule my GYN exam about a month and a half in advance, just to make sure I can get off to make it. New patients always have to come in by 2:00 PM. That is not fun, especially if you cannot get off of work. For the IF doc, I have to schedule it late in the day, and Hubby may not be able to come with me. He has gotten a lot busier with his practice. On the other hand, it will allow more time for my records from my Richmond RE to get there.

I just have to keep in mind that things will work out the way they should. Now that I know my schedule, I can make appointments I am likely to keep. Patience is not one of my better virtues.

Just silliness...

This gave me a giggle this morning. I had to share.



more cat pictures


Maybe I should not blog before I have my coffee...

Finally Friday!

Yay! The weekend is here. I cannot believe I made it! The good news is that Oscar gets to come home today. Hubby is picking him up from VA Tech right now and bringing him home. It will be good to have him home again. All of us missed him.

Apparently I am off of orientation. I know this because I was not called in to the orientation meeting this Friday. Sigh. So much for those days. Now they can work me to death. I have been doing GYN surgery all week long, and I have been really happy. I love it. And they seem happy to have me, too. I think it is a good match. For the next block, I was scheduled a little bit of overtime, and some call. I think I am working big girl hours now. At least it is days. Thank goodness! The overtime will help bring in a nice paycheck. it actually feels good to be happy at my job. I wonder how long it will last.

Hubby and I are having a date night tonight, I think. We may go to Annie Moore's Irish Pub and have a pint and some dinner. Maybe I can talk him into going to the Barnes and Noble afterward. (Not exactly painting the town, but it is all we are usually up for on Fridays.)

I hope everyone has a god weekend!

Really tired...

I have been circulating GYN cases on my own all week. I enjoy the work, but it has me a little stressed out. It is a lot of responsibility running a room. I need to find a way to work out on a regular basis. That usually helps to keep the stress at bay. It is not like I have much of an excuse. I have a treadmill in my house. I just need to do it.

Oscar is doing better. They started him on food again, and he is doing really well. He has not aspirated at all. He is doing great on the thyroid medication. We are hoping he can finally come home tomorrow. I really miss him.

I feel bad because I have not commented today. I just feel like I am not very coherent right now, and I hate posting stuff which may come across as not very nice. (It probably happens, but I try to avoid it.) I am reading, but not commenting.

I am off to bed. I have to circulate in the Clinic room tomorrow, and I need my rest. That room is a zoo. The MD, two residents, and three medical students. I may have a sign in sheet just to keep track of everyone. Keeping track of doctors is like herding cats.

Show n Tell n Stuff

I am finally getting around to doing my show and tell. My show and tell this week is a story about a room of my own.

When we bought the house we live in now, the previous owners had painted all the rooms very dark colors. They may have liked living in a cave, but my personal preference is for much lighter colors. I guess somewhere along the way the previous owners wanted a room which was brighter than the others, so they painted one room red.

It looked like this:


The color through the computer does not do it justice, I think. The room glowed red whenever you turned on the overhead light. It was very garish. The color made me angry just going in the room. I could not function in there, and I could not get past the red. I finally took a weekend a put a couple coats of primer on the walls until I could figure out what color I wanted to paint it.

The next weekend I went to Lowe's to buy paint. I decided on yellow because yellow is my favorite color and makes me very happy. They did not have the exact color I wanted, but I decided to take a risk and try a color which looked close.

Here is what the room looks like now:



This is also where I do all my internet surfing and stuff. I love having a laptop. The bed is from my paternal grandmother. I free hand painted the vine border around the top. I have always wanted to do a vine. I love the organic feel of it. In case you are wondering, the yellow is one of the American Heritage colors from Lowe's. It is Grand Hotel Awning Yellow. Just a wonderful, happy color. I found the American Heritage colors are usually excellent. I have not gone wrong choosing any of them.

*********In Other News**********

I started my period today. Sigh. The first day is always a mess, and of course it would happen on a day my job skills are put to the test. Thank goodness someone else gets to launder my scrubs. One of the benefits to working in the OR. My job skills were put to the test today because I circulated in a room by myself with a fairly particular surgeon. The day actually went really well. The surgeon was still smiling at the end of the day, and everyone seemed to have a smile on their face. I think I am going to end up in his rooms again. I sometimes feel like I am hosting a party when I circulate. I am trying to make sure everyone has everything they need to make them happy. I was also doing GYN surgery which makes me very happy.

Getting my period did cause me to reschedule my OB/GYN appointment. From what I can tell, I think I have a good OB/GYN office. At least that is what I could gather from the very small sample of people I polled.

My appointment with the IF doc is next week. Hubby has even put it on his calendar. What a sweetheart. We are in this together.

Oscar is on the mend, though still in the doggie ICU. He still has the megaesophagus. They started him on wet food and oral thyroid medication today. They are watching for any trouble swallowing. He aspirated a little yesterday, but they caught it quickly and started him on antibiotics. He has not gotten any worse or better since they started him on food, so they are just going to watch him for right now. I think they are going to start him on dry food tomorrow. His neuro symptoms have almost all cleared up. I am hoping we will get him home soon.

Another tag...

I have been tagged again for another meme. This one is different, and I am posting a few days after I got tagged. I have to write a six word memoir.

The meme originated over an idea that was prompted by the book written by Larry Smith & Rachel Fershleiser, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. It's a compliation based on the story that Hemingway once bet ten dollars that he could sum up his life in six words. His words were, "For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn."

1. Write your own six word memoir.

2. Post it to your blog including a visual illustration if you would like.

3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post and to this original post. Trace at One Hardy Swimmer tagged me.

4. Tag 5 more blogs with links

5. Don't forget to leave a comment in the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

My six word memoir:

Teaching, learning, nursing, I create love.

The five people I tagged
1. Breathe Through It..
2. The Life and Times of Me!
3. Years in the Making
4. Cupcakes and Conundrums
5. (Un)complicate Me


Oscar is doing better. He si actually getting up to go to the bathroom now. We are going to visit him tonight.
Show and Tell coming soon. Hubby left the camera at his office, so I have to wait until we pick it up before I can do my show and tell.

More tomorrow....