HAIR

I've been cutting my own hair for the past 5 years now. My Junior year in High School was when I first chopped my hair short. I went to a woman in my stake to cut my hair & loved it! (Actually the first hair cut was kind of a disaster because she didn't completely understand exactly what I wanted at first, but ended up turning out good :D) Then after graduating & starting school at BYU, I never knew where to get my hair cut. I was pretty reluctant to have anyone else cut my hair. I gave in one time at BYU & went to get it cut. I didn't think it was that great and I decided then - why pay someone for a haircut I won't be happy with? I figure, if I cut my hair & it doesn't turn out exactly the way I want, then I can only get mad at myself. Otherwise, I would be wasting money and still not content with my hairstyle (and when you're doing a short cut anyway, there's only so much you can try to do to fix it).

Morgan and I consider ourselves to be pretty self reliant. If Morgan decides he wants short hair, he does it himself with clippers, otherwise I cut his hair. So when you notice his hair getting longer. NO, he is not trying to go for the Justin Bieber look. Ha ha he usually has been pestering me to cut his hair for weeks at that point, but I just haven't gotten around to it just yet.

Inside ouT?

I just have to share this funny story!

Once upon a time, Morgan was doing the laundry. (Surprisingly this is not a rare occurrence.) From across the house he said "Oh, your jacket says to turn it inside out to wash." WOW. Wouldn't you be impressed? I mean, it's great when you don't have to do the laundry. Yeah they may not always remember to take out the bras before putting them in the dryer, but turning stuff inside out? Clearly, I was impressed!

I heard the washer finish, so I just went out to do the transfer from washer to dryer. And this is what I found....

Yes, it's just a short sleeve jacket. I don't know. In my mind, inside out would require buttoning/zipping up the article of clothing first & then turning the whole thing inside out... Just sayin.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud as I was doing my laundry. Man, I just eat up funny stuff like this :)

IV

Today was amazing. Wow! What a hard, long day. But, at the end of the day, my nurse wanted me to try putting an IV in a patient. Of course, as soon as I hear that I get a little nervous. Our patient did not have amazing days and yes he was a hard stick. BUT TODAY, nobody picked the vein for me, or guided my hand or really had to tell me step by step what to do. Today, I felt like I conquered the world when I got a #22 in a very small vein. And that made the whole day worth it. Life is good. Real good.

Rhodes :)

I love Rhodes. That's all there is to it. There's so many things you can do with it and that's why I'm writing this post. Since Morgan & I are both in school, we really only make things for dinner that take less than 30 minutes. I like buying the Rhodes loaves of frozen bread dough. Depending on how soon I need it, I either thaw out the dough on the counter, or in the fridge. For each thing we make, we only use half of the dough and then the other half just goes back in the fridge. This week I made breadsticks to go along with a soup & salad dinner. Tonight we had navajo tacos. YUMMM! My friend, Elise, introduced this meal to me and I am definitely in love. I'd have to say it's in my top 3. Other things we've used this dough for is: pizza, calzone, cinammon rolls (ok that's not a dinner, at least maybe not to some people :D). Ok so maybe I don't have a million things I make, but there are a lot of other potential quick & easy options for dinner time.

Earplugs

Growing up, I never realized what a light sleeper I was. When I went away to college I had a rude awakening. My roommate would stay up and "IM" on the computer, I would lay there with a pillow over my head and still hear the tapping of each key. It wasn't my roommate's fault, I just happened to be a light sleeper. My life seriously changed when I started using earplugs. Any little sound, or any light will wake me up. Once I'm up, I'm up. It's really hard to fall asleep again.

I still use them today. To sleep AND to take tests. Wow I think they are just amazing.

Thank you earplugs! You have changed my life!

iMac

Evan and Amber have totally rubbed off on us!!!! So our friends, Evan and Amber, post about how they always go to Best Buy to play Madden and stuff. So this last weekend, Morgan and I were trying to decide what to do on Friday night. LET'S GO TO BEST BUY!!! Great idea! I played with macs for a little while. I LOVE Macs. I went in the surround sound room with the big screens and watched/listened to Michael Buble. Amazing. Well, eventually Morgan and I ended up looking at the macs again together. Morgan: "Wow, these prices for a desktop aren't so bad. We should get one." Of course, in my world that means we're gonna get one. So of course we ask questions and talk with the Apple guy. We don't get one that night. Yes in case you're wondering, I'm still working on that word called "patience." Anyway, I've been researching ever since. No, I am not even considering any PCs, but just considering the different apple computers. NEVER NEVER NEVER will I ever buy another PC.

Apple has two screen sizes for the desktop 21 1/2 inch & 27 inch. WOW. The 27 inch is HUGE! It can totally double as a second TV. There aren't any PCs out there that can compete with the 27 inch. However, we're actually looking at the 21 1/2 inch. The processor for the different iMacs we have been looking at are the same (there is a 27'' model with an i5 processor available online). All the other specs are pretty much the same except for memory on the hard drive. BUT, getting an external hard drive is so much cheaper than upgrading the computer just for that memory.

There are some draw backs to the apple, when compared to the newest PCs. It doesn't have a blu-ray player and it doesn't have a slot for HDMI. It does have a port that can be used (if you buy a special cable) to hook up to HDMI though.

iMac I can't wait to come & get you!

Healthcare Bill

A favorite discussion point Nova Instructors like to bring up and debate is healthcare reform. This would actually be an interesting point to have a discussion/debate on....IF the students knew about this topic in advance, and therefore had looked into the topic. This is a topic that really gets me going. NO, I do not know everything about the healthcare bill, but I am doing my research to learn more. The reason this topic bothers me so much is because students AND instructors like to say things about the bill that they haven't really researched. An instructor the other day showed us a video clip of why the healthcare bill is so great. Following the video, a student asked if we could see a video another view, the republican view of healthcare reform so that we could see the other side. Although this was a good suggestion, we actually already heard the negatives just by listening to the benefits (if you understood what was being said). Like it brought up how this problem would not add to the nation's deficit. Though they said it wouldn't lead to a deficit, it will be paid for by taxes, and all the leading economists after studying the bill believe that it will increase the cost of our healthcare. It will decrease the quality and accessibility of overall healthcare for those have already been paying for healthcare for years. In other words, healthcare rationing will occur. Another point was you don't have to choose to go with the public option, you can keep your current insurance provider. Before this point, they brought up some other points like, no insurance is allowed to deny you due to pre-existing conditions and they can't have a maximum benefit. But, if you truly think about those statements, how much longer will private insurance companies be in business? So will you really be able to keep your current insurance? Not for long.

Here is the other video that was shown.

Although this may seem like a good approach to healthcare, in reality it's just another social government program that when totally simplified is just taking more from those that work hard and giving to those who don't. Keeping those who don't, more dependent on the government. This system never works. In reality, it will bring more people down and eventually cripple our economy. Canada is often a comparison for the model of healthcare president Obama would like. Well first off the whole country of Canada has fewer people than California. You cannot truly compare the two. Second, over half of our U.S budget goes towards national defense which Canada does not have to do because they are lucky enough to be our neighbor. Third if we REALLY look at Canada we see long waiting lists and hoards of people coming to the U.S for the really important procedures and really loving the fact that they have free healthcare payed for for when they have a cold or an ear infection. Ask our friend Jeff, 8 months to get an MRI on his back in Canada. Ask his sister who could not get necessary cancer treatment so eventually her life was saved in the U.S. My step mother now lives in the U.S and has many insights into why the system in Canada is really bad.

Early vs. Late Clamping of Umbilical Cord

Have you ever wondered what the risks & benefits are of early vs late clamping of the umbilical cord once your baby is born? This is a topic I have just recently come across, surprisingly this topic wasn't even touched in my OB rotation of nursing school. During my rotation, I saw a few deliveries and each time the umbilical cord was cut right after the delivery of the baby. In the hospital, this practice seems to be pretty routine, and I don't think the timing is usually considered. In birthing centers, they typically delay cutting the umbilical cord for anywhere from 10-20 minutes and this is why. The baby has been receiving blood, oxygen, and nutrients via the placenta and umbilical cord for the past 40 weeks, so why would someone be in a rush to cut off the supply?

Late vs Early Clamping of the Umbilical Cord by Marie Berwald has some great points.

• The blood coming from the placenta belongs to the baby, early clamping deprives the baby of anywhere from 54-160 mL of blood (half of the baby's total blood volume at birth).
• Cord blood contains a significant amount of iron.
• Babies benefit from oxygen delivered in the cord blood when taking the first few births (early clamping can lead to respiratory distress).
• Delayed cord clamping allows the baby to be in the mother's arms right after birth, allowing the baby to regulate temperature and initiate bonding with mom.

Other articles

Families.com

Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics

Craftin' with Chelsey

Craftin' with Chelsey

Water stains? SEE YA!

BEFORE

AFTER

So I've tried multiple cleaning products on the glass of my shower, but with little to no results each time. Yesterday at walmart I decided to get S.O.S steel wool cleaning pads (not actually intending to use them for this purpose). WOW! These things are amazing!!!

Still working on the iron residue on the tile.... we'll see....

THANKS SOS!!!

2010

I've noticed a lot of people putting highlights on their blog of the year, genious I think. So here I am to reflect on this past year.

January - I was exactly 1 yr into the Nursing program at that point, started my most favorite clinical rotation with Professor Terry-Nelson (cardiac stepdown nurse) at Broward General on a tele floor (5ST). Morgan broke his hand for the 1st time of the year playing basketball at the church. Our first experience going to the ER in the Ball family.

February - Morgan turned 28!

March - We saw WICKED in Miami, FL. Morgan & I went to Girls Camp. I was the lifeguard and nurse, while Morgan master of archery.

April - I turned 23!! Attended the Annual National Student Nursing Association Covention in Orlando, FL. As VP of Nursing SGA & NSA, had dinner with the Chancellor of Nova. I got to go home to Idaho Falls for my break inbetween semesters! I met baby Kimball for the first time & went to Jacob's Eagle Court and a track meet (BRRR! it was cold there in April!).

May - Began OB/Peds. Started up private swim lessons for the summer.

June - Morgan officially a 3rd yr dental student! and Corbin and Andrea visited us!

July - Interviewed for a position as a Nurse Extern & got the job! Got walked down to HR after the interview & was offered the position :D Morgan went home for Dan & Marina's wedding and went on a rafting trip.

August - Started Psych & Community. We moved into a cute little house.

September - Started psych & community clinicals (psych ward = definitely not my favorite clinical rotation ever).

October - Involved in Nursing Accreditation for Nova's nursing program. Morgan Broke the same hand again during an intramural soccer game!

November - My brother Jacob left on his mission for Korea.

December - Morgan & I sang in the stake christmas program. Went to Idaho Falls & visited the temple there. Morgan met our little nephew Kimball for the first time - he is so cute!! Went to Lewiston, ID and went on a jet boat, saw a couple dollar movies, and played some sweet hockey. Went to Spokane, WA and got to see more of Morgan's family and play with our niece & nephews.