Not a Splurge Shopper, Studying, and Work

For those who have been wondering about my shopping, no, I am not going on a shopping spree!  Haha, I am the slowest person when it comes to making decisions about clothes.  I take forever to narrow down my choices.  There is no way that I could spend ALL day at the mall, it drives me crazy just spending a couple hours there!  So no, I'm not going to be buying all these clothes at once - they'll be bought over the space of a year or more.

Jordan has been attending all of his classes and labs for this first class of the year.  So far, so good!  He has recognized that his energy peaks during the morning, so that's the best time for him to study and review.  Last year, he stayed home and watched the lectures when they were posted online in the afternoon, and it seemed more difficult.  So hopefully with attending lectures, he'll pass all his tests with flying colors!  Speaking of which, his first test is on Friday.  Wish him luck!  Also, I've been trying to talk with him more about what he's learning so that it can solidify in his brain.  It's been interesting, as I've learned more than I did in nursing school!  It also helps me to feel like I'm involved with his schooling.

Lastly...work.  I really, really, really need some advice guys.  I know there are people out there who read this blog who don't know me, and I could use your advice too.  I'm very, very frustrated with the people I work with.  The actual patient load is great, and I love this kind of nursing.  But the people...ugh.  Let me tell you.  The unit manager (UM) is supposed to be in charge, and the unit coordinator (UC) does the schedule and other stuff that I don't know about.  The UC was hired a couple years ago, and has basically taken over the UM's job.  The UM constantly defers to the UC's ideas.  That's the first problem.  The UM doesn't do her job.

The UC has some major, deep-set issues.  She seems like she has a chip on her shoulder.  She is friends or family with about 6 or 7 of the staff, and constantly gives them preferential treatment over everyone else.  She lets them work whenever the heck they want, lets them come into work or leave work whenever the heck they want, lies to administration to cover for them (this has been witnessed by several employees), and is a brat to everyone that she's not friends with.  She has a major chip on her shoulder about her position and her dominance over the UM.  Almost all the staff members have made complaints about this woman and her behavior to the UM, but obviously since the UM does whatever the UC wants, the complaints go nowhere.  They have also complained to the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), and there have been some investigations, but this woman and the UM have been given chance after chance to shape up and no real action has been taken.

The UC is supposed to make out the unit schedule, and as truly horrifying as it sounds, the schedule is only ever made out a week in advance.  And even then, there are holes in the schedule so that some of the units don't even have enough coverage.  The UC has been offered help with this aspect of her job.  One RN even made out the schedule for this week and had all holes filled, and the UC went back and changed it, making tons of empty spaces.  She doesn't utilize her part-time staff to help fill in the holes, and lets her best friends work whenever they want, so there are obvious issues there.  She doesn't allow people who aren't part of the clique to work any overtime, but lets her friends work 56 hours a week.  Not only is this not fair to staff members, but it's unsafe for patient care as well.  If the unit is not appropriately staffed, and there are multiple psychotic patients, one of the patients or staff members could get hurt, leading to multiple legal issues against the nurses and the hospital.  For example: Every other week I work on the unit with only 8 beds.  The other nurse who usually works with me is the UC's sister, so she comes in almost every day TWO hours late!!!  This makes the nurse from the previous shift have to stay so that the unit is staffed appropriately.  But, if the nurse decides to leave (not right) then it's just me waiting two hours.  If a patient decided to freak out and kill or seriously injure me, no help would be available for two hours.  This is SERIOUS.  We're dealing with people's lives!

There are a couple things I could do.
1. Quit, find another job.
2. Don't say anything, wait for it to get better.
3. Voice my concerns with the CNO and maybe even the CEO to get some action, and consequently get in trouble with the UM and UC.
4. Find another job part-time and stay here full-time.  Transition to full time at the other job if this one doesn't improve.

I really don't know what to do.  Please, please help me.

Preparing for Evacuation

Don't worry, we don't need to evacuate.  I've been thinking about it though in case the need arises, and what I would do in such a situation.  I mean, we have zero food storage and some medical supplies that I've collected over the years, but not a whole lot else.  I really like FlyLady's list of what you need to be prepared for an emergency.  Click here to see it.  Simple and comprehensive!  Of course, I still need to work on a two year food storage - we just don't have the space for it now!  Maybe when we possibly rent a house next year we'll have space.

Much Better List

Ok, I found a WAY better and more comprehensive list for women's clothing basics for year-round and individual seasons.  I completely decluttered ALL my clothes yesterday and got rid of: six coats, two jeans, a pair of heels, 5 scrub bottoms, 1 pair pajamas, 1 skirt, 2 shorts, and 11 tops!  AANNNDDD....(some of you will be amazed) I got Jordan to declutter some things in his closet too!  He got rid of a pair of shorts, seven tops, and two coats!  Wow!  Let the shopping begin!

Birthday Plans...

This post is more for me, so I can remember what I want to do.  I want to spend the morning at Maymont (hopefully it's not a billion degrees outside) because last time we went was too short!  Then I want to go home and make my birthday cake...I'm so excited.  Then I want to go shopping here, here, and here for some of my wardrobe essentials.  Then we'll go out to dinner and come home for cake!  That sounds fun to me.

Random Post!

I've been posting a lot lately because I work nights, and last night and tonight I've only had THREE whole paitents!  Wow!  So needless to say, I've had almost 6 hours every night to do whatever I want, including watching movies, reading my Kindle, and blogging.  I have so much on my mind, and want to get it all out, so you guys get to read a list.

1. I think Lady Gaga has saved my life.  Haha!  I listen to her every morning coming home from work, and if it wasn't for her loud and lovely music, I would fall asleep every drive home.

2. It has been SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hot here in Virginia!  Seriously - like 100 degrees with 70% humidity.  The heat indices have been upwards of 115 degrees!  I want to go to the pool so bad, but I'm worried about getting heat stroke.  Oh, and you know the pictures of the country with colors according to heat?  Virginia was entirely pink.  Pink is hotter than red, FYI.  Haha :)

3. I'm needing to get some new clothes.  I looked up some wardrobe essentials for women and found this site.  With essentials, you can have fewer clothes, but more looks because of the versatility of the clothes.  Love that!  I'll just have a billion accessories to have cute, diverse looks.  Lol.

4. I'm so excited for my SIL, Lindsey and her fiance Matt to get married!  Cannot wait to see everyone - we're coming out August 12th and leaving the afternoon of the 14th.  It'll be quick, but I NEED to see my nephews.  Love them and miss them so much!

5. I've been thinking seriously about someday getting my Psychiatric Mental-Health Nurse Practitioner.  This is an advanced nursing degree that gives you most of the privileges of a doctor, including having patients and prescribing medications.  I'll do that after Jordan is done with residency and fellowship.  I think it would be the most awesome thing for Jordan and I to have a practice together.

6. I seriously love FlyLady.  Her incredible FREE system has literally saved me and my home from CHAOS.  My home is almost completely decluttered, it's organized, and it's clean all the time - I could have unexpected company over!  Check her out.  Just take babysteps!

7. My sleep has been so random this past week.  I slept 6 hours in 2 days last weekend and then 15 hours in one day this week.  Ugh!  Just want my boss to put my schedule on a pattern so I don't have to work different days every week!

Being Married to a Medical Student

I seriously have been stressing about things that won't even happen for a couple years.  Namely...

1. Passing boards (happening next summer)
2. Interviewing for residencies (starting during third year)
3. Getting matched to a program for residency (happening during fourth year)
4. Possibly moving for residency program
5. FINANCES for all this...I've been researching and getting interviewed and all that jazz for residencies can cost up to $10,000!  This of course depends on how many programs you apply to and includes travel expenses, but that's so much!  I'm just going to have to get over it.  Plus, Jordan and I are thinking of starting a family soon (not in the immediate future, hold your horses) and I need to factor in the cost of a baby plus how much I will work.  Holy cow.  I get anxiety just thinking about it.  I'm seriously going to have to work full-time until we move for residency, and then I'll just work part-time (Jordan will make some money as a resident).

Breathe.  Breathe.  I've always wanted to be a SAHM but it's not going to happen.  :( This makes me very sad.  But, I need to realize that this is, for the most part, about Jordan.  His career goals.  His aspirations and desires.  We're a team, and we'll get through this.

I found another really good blog about a spouse with a career whose husband was in medical school.

Advice...

I've been concerned lately about how to help Jordan with his schooling.  Medical school is tough folks, it doesn't get any easier.  His schedule is demanding, and his brain is often on overload.  I found this awesome blog post from another medical-student spouse about some advice, and I think the advice applies not only to spouses, but family members and friends as well.  Click here for the link.  I especially like number four, because his schedule is the be-all end-all.

Princesses!!!

I am totally obsessed with Disney Princesses.  Maybe you can't tell on the outside, but on the inside, I LOVE the stories, movies, and all the fun things that come along with princesses like getting the prince on the white horse, getting to dress up, and being pretty!  My two favorite Disney movies have always been The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.  I decided that they are rated number 1A and 1B so that they are both number one :) Haha, I can't decide which I like better.  So imagine my excitement when I realized that there are shows dedicated to each of these fantastic Disney Movies in DisneyWorld!?!  I was so thrilled.  We had to attend.

First up, Beauty and the Beast.  Right now rated 1A.  It was a compilation of all the songs from the movie.  Jordan was laughing at me so much because I seriously took like 50 pictures, so be prepared for the onslaught of pictures...

"Belle"

"Gaston"

"Something There"

"The Mob Song"

"Human Again"

Next was Little Mermaid.  This show was ok.  The actress didn't sing very loud and it was very dark in the theater.  It wasn't fabulous like Beauty and the Beast, but I gave it a rating of 1B anyways.

"Part of Your World"

"Poor Unfortunate Souls"

"Happy Ending"

Miami and Orlando

Jordan here writing part 2 of our vacation.

On day 3 we drove back to Miami. Miami reminds me of Recife, Brazil where I served my mission. It is a large, densely populated city on a coast with a hot and humid climate. The freeways are full of traffic, the skies were cloudy (as they usually are in Recife), and tall buildings line the horizon. The similarities end there, though, as I would say the people in Miami aren't as nice. First on our agenda was visiting the famous South Beach. Since I’m not a beach connoisseur, I couldn’t understand what sets it apart from other beaches, but the sand felt nice and the water was warm (according to Melyn, since I didn’t get in the water). Below is a picture where, if you look very, very closely, Melyn is off in the distance wading in the ocean.

We were only able to spend a few hours at the beach that day before it got dark, so we planned to return in the morning. Rain foiled our plans. The next morning was a total downpour. So we had breakfast, waited for the rain to die down, then decided to just go to the next item on our schedule, a historic mansion called the Villa Vizcaya.

This was definitely my favorite thing to see in Miami. The architecture was strange and amazing. This mansion was built around 1914 by a wealthy industrialist named James Deering. Though it was built a hundred years ago in Miami, its architecture resembles the Italian renaissance period. We couldn’t take pictures of the inside, so I suggest you google it to learn more about it. We did take many pictures of the outside and its gardens.

Getting to Orlando from Miami was a nightmare come true. We got stuck on Miami’s freeways and were forced to go in the wrong direction for what seemed like 8 miles. Thus, we were late getting to the airport and were frantic to make our flight. After all the stress of trying to get there on time, we missed our flight. We tried to check our bag around 40 minutes before take-off and American Airlines wouldn’t accept it. Pretty lame considering I know other airlines will check a bag up to half an hour before the scheduled departure (though a fee is sometimes charged). American Airlines put us on standby for the next flight, telling us our chances were “very good” for getting on. Well, two hours later we found that this flight was completely booked and they were telling us our chances weren’t good at all. Along with the extreme rudeness of the AA employees, this is one company we definitely won’t be flying with again. As luck would have it, an arriving international flight was delayed which freed some seats for us. I feel bad for the people who missed their connecting to Orlando, but it honestly was a relief to not have to be bumped to another flight again. Amazingly, AA didn’t lose our luggage on the way to Orlando and we were thankful for that. The picture below shows what Melyn got in her fortune cookies that she got from the Chinese restaurant while waiting at the airport. Both fortunes were very true.

Orlando

Though I’ve been to Orlando many times before, this leg of our trip was much more enjoyable than the days spent in Miami. Our hotel was much, much nicer (for about the same price too), we got to spend a whole day in the happiest place on Earth, and we just relaxed.

Our hotel was kind of like a bunch of condos situated on several golf courses. It had a large pool very close to our room, a hot tub with a waterfall, and complimentary bike rentals. Plus frogs came out at night, which excited Melyn very much (frogs are her favorite animal).

We woke up the next morning rested for our long day to spend at Disneyworld. We arrived at Hollywood Studios at 8:30 AM ready to take the place by storm. I had never been to Disneyworld in the summer (when my family goes, it’s always in November), so it was interesting to see how the summer crowds would be. The place definitely felt busier than in the winter; though I don’t think we waited more than 30 minutes for any ride (Fast Pass helped us avoid the really long lines). The newest ride there was the remodeled Star Tours ride. My Star Wars-obsessed nephews are going to go crazy over this one when they visit in the Fall; it’s just like the old one except is has an all-new 3D movie. All I can say is get prepared to see some eye-popping Star Wars action.

We had lots of fun with the Toy Story ride, screamed our lungs out on the Rockin’ Roller coaster, and Melyn loved the “princess” attractions they had there (she will devote a whole post to this).

A little past noon we made our trek to the Magic Kingdom. We knew from the forecast that the weather was going to turn rainy, so we hoped to get a lot done before the rain fell. Unfortunately, the downpour soon arrived. The streets instantly cleared of people. Crowds were huddled inside stores and under balconies. We had planned ahead an brought an umbrella, but there were still large puddles we had to walk through. The biggest downside to the storm was that they temporarily closed Splash mountain and Thunder mountain, which altered our plans. We had a fast pass for Space mountain, but that wasn’t available for a few more hours. So we spent some time going on rides we wouldn’t usually go on, like the carousel. We visited the Mike’s Laugh House from Monsters Inc. and LOVED it. We honestly laughed so hard. We highly recommend it to our nephews if they haven’t seen it already.  We also went to PhilharMagic, an awesome Disney musical show.  The rain eventually slowed to a slight drizzle and we were able to finish riding all the rides we had planned on.

It's hard to tell in this picture, but it was POURING rain - the hardest we have ever seen it rain.  We were some of the only people wandering the streets of DisneyWorld in the downpour.  This was from in line at the Haunted Mansion looking out.

That night we slept forever considering the busy day previously, and the next morning we spent some time riding bikes around the hotel property. We got quite a work out from that, which was needed after all the delicious food we had been eating.

We then made our uneventful last flight home.  It was a great vacation and we had a blast!

Key Largo, Florida

FYI: I put a ton of detail in these posts (read: they are super duper long) because I like to read back on them - sorry if you get bored!  Ok - ready to "dive" in?  

Jordan and I went on a much-needed vacation during his summer break for the first week of July.  Much-needed because starting on Monday, I'm not going to be seeing a whole lot of Jordan.  He's going to be busy with the Psychiatric Institute and his second year of medical school, which will be WAY more intense than the first year.  I amazingly got over a week off for vacation, and we left for Miami via plane on July 3.  I got about 4 hours of sleep but was so excited and happy when I woke up at 4 AM because this is the very first vacation that Jordan and I have paid for by ourselves!  I know, we tend to mooch off our families - no longer.  Now that I'm earning a steady income, I am glad to say that we can actually pay for things ourselves.  Haha!  

Day One: We flew from Richmond at 7:00 AM to Charlotte, then from Charlotte to Miami.  The flights were uneventful and easy.  We got in around 12 noon, and went immediately to our rental car agency.  I was so glad that I had done almost all of our booking online.  It made transactions smooth!  One note about Miami - almost all the freeways are toll roads, which DON'T take cash or credit/debit.  You have to buy a SunPass or EPass to pay the tolls.  We drove our little red Chevy to Target so Jordan could buy some decent flip-flops and then we went to Burger King for lunch.  Experienced a bit of the Miami traffic.  Lets just say that Miami drivers have won the "Meanest Drivers in the Country" contest three years in a row!  People were insane, cutting you off, running red lights, honking their horns like crazy.  Nothing like the pleasant, laid back drivers of Virginia.  We drove down Highway 1 for about an hour through the Everglades and then onto the scenic strip of land/highway connecting all the Florida Keys to the mainland!  It was beautiful.

We stayed at the Dove Creek Lodge, a small hotel with only about 12 bedrooms.  It was right on the water, with it’s own marina.  Even though it was small, it was beautiful, quiet, and well-maintained.  They served fresh fruit with breakfast every morning, and had a hammock (which someone broke halfway through our stay) pool, cushioned swinging seat, and multiple beach chairs.  There wasn’t really a beach because of the rocky nature of the coast and the mangroves growing along the edge, but we were able to enjoy the outdoors nonetheless.

We decided to just relax when we got to the hotel.  Took about a 2 hour nap :) and then went to get some dinner.  We watched “Up” that night and went to sleep to gear up for the 4^th of July.

Day Two: We woke up pretty early to get ready to go SCUBA DIVING!!!  I was so pumped.  This was the thing I was most anticipating the whole trip.  Now, for those who don’t know me, I am very scared of deep water.  The reason I wanted to go scuba diving was to prove that I could overcome my fear.  Unfortunately, we didn’t buy a waterproof camera, so no pictures.  The company we went through is called Scuba Do Dive Company.  They were awesome; very patient and knowledgeable about all the ins and outs!  We had a pool session where we learned to use all the equipment and how to communicate underwater.  The pool session was great.  I was sure I could do this. 

We had a little break so we relaxed at the hotel and then drove through the awful, 10 feet per minute traffic that occurred after the 4^th of July Parade.  Once through, we got some delicious, delicious lunch at a place called Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen.  Seriously, if you go to Key Largo, you NEED to eat here.  They have the most amazing Key Lime Pie ever. :P

Then we met our instructor and ship crew at the dock.  We only had eight people diving total, including the instructor.  This was great, because we would have individualized attention. 

Short story: we got massively seasick.  I was sad. :(

Long story!!: They drove the ship about 5 miles out from the coast.  On the way there, the instructor asked Jordan and I if we ever get seasick.  I thought, “Psh!  No, never!”  I consider myself to have a pretty strong stomach, because of all the boating my family did when I was little at Lake Powell and how I’m able to handle the craziest roller-coasters.  Jordan told him that he didn’t get seasick either.  Then the instructor told us that if we feel the need to throw up, to throw up into the regulator (the thing that you breathe with).  Sick, sick, sick.  At this point, the sea was a bit choppy with 4-5 foot waves, and we stopped at our first dive site in Molasses Reef.  Time to put our gear on! 

I think I was the most freaked out diver there, but I just kept reminding myself to breathe.  Dive tanks hold about 3000 PSI of oxygen.  Usually, you just breathe normally like up above the ocean, but I was hyperventilating the whole time, so I only had about 400 PSI of oxygen left.  The dive was cool.  We saw lots of fish, some neat brain coral, a nurse shark, and tall coral.  I felt so stupid sometimes down there because I kept getting water in my mask and I kept floating up to the surface!  I couldn’t get down near the bottom to save my life!  Then the instructor took pity on me and deflated my vest a little bit so I could sink.  He couldn’t help me with the mask though.  Now, I wear hard contacts, and I’ve always been really freaked out by stuff touching my eyes, water included.  I had to blow the water out of my mask every couple minutes.  I think water kept leaking in because of my nose, to be honest.  My nose is weirdly shaped, so I think I didn’t have a great seal on my mask because of that, hence the water leaking in.  We were in 20 feet deep water, and I kept forgetting to pop them or couldn’t pop them.  They really hurt!  Toward the end of the dive, I was ready to get back on the ship.  Jordan, unfortunately, felt nauseated at the very end, and had to throw up three times in his regulator L  I felt so bad for him. 

Once back on the ship, we all got situated and Jordan and I were both feeling sick.  I was dumbfounded.  I never get seasick!  The captain then drove us to our second dive site and I was definitely feeling more comfortable on the boat than in the water, although still nauseated.  Everyone else went for the dive except us and the two captains.  Basically, Jordan got sick several more times and I got sick as well.  It was not fun.  We were essentially nauseated until we stepped off the boat and hit the concrete!  We went back to the hotel and took some serious naps! 

I was so excited for dinner.  We went to Sundowners on the Bay, a great restaurant in Key Largo known for their “catch of the day” fish and the awesome view of the bay where they do fireworks every year!  We were literally sitting right in front of the fireworks!  It was incredible :) The only downside was that we had to wait for our food for a long time (because they were PACKED to the brim with people) and the fireworks didn’t start until 10 PM.  It was worth the wait though.  As you can see in this picture, there were hundreds of boats (seriously) in the bay, waiting to watch the fireworks!

The next morning we just relaxed, had a nice breakfast at the hotel, and drove up to Miami!  Now you get to hear from Jordan, and stop from my incessant details.  I know you love me :)