Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Checking in from Nursing School

Hi all you very cherished old friends in blog land!!!! I have been popping onto Blogger to keep up with you all as I crash in bed every night! You guys continue to relax me and I love hearing how everyone is. My appologies for not commenting because I am always so exhausted it is all I can do to scroll through and keep up!!! 

 I am writing a check in post again after another 5 months reprieve filled with Nursing School....studying, zoom and in person labs, in person clinicals at Pittsburgh Hospitals and a whole lot of tests!!!!!!! Right now I have an A in 130 Clinical, B in 130 Lecture, A in 130 Lab, A in 140 Pharmacology, and an A in Developmental Psychchology. This is all four weeks before finals so that could all change soon - HA HA HA!! School, for me, was such a great decision! It is awesome and I love every second!!! 

Cudos to all you nurses out there - I had NO idea how much work it is and how much perseverance it requires!! I can not wait to be an RN!! 

 Since I have not posted for few months I am going to give you a summary photo dump of how things are going when I am not in school, clinical or studying. I wish I could post more school pictures and things but it is against policy to take any pictures at clinical or school which makes total sense!! I will fill you in on my non-existant social life instead!! HA HA! 

 So, first off my parents (78 years years young) decided to get a puppy!!! I still think my little sister was the one that convinced them to get her but they swear that it was their idea! She is adorable!! Her name is Gracie and as you will see from the pictures she grew up fast and is the love of everyone that meets her - especially my nieces and nephew!!! The ifrst picture is the day she came with my Mom and Dad and the rest are the kid with her. LOVE LOVE
In May of 2021 my niece (and Godchild) made her confirmation and I was a super proud Aunt to be able to be her confirmation sponsor!!!
We did a family vacation to the beach with my sisters this year again. Stone Harbor wee missed you and we were soo happy to be back in July as a family! I went parasailing with my niece, we had family pics on the beach and watched the fireworks on the beach!!! I LOVE Stone Harbor, NJ!
Here are a few random niece and nephew pics...my nephew hated soccer and sister kept signing him up so he was soo excited when she finally DID NOT sign up ...we got him a retirement balloon and card!! HA HA! The last picture is my niece with my one and only great niece!!!!! She is adorable!!!
I attended the Harry Styles concert with my sister, niece and her friend here in Pitsburgh. It was a great concert and I was super excited to have company stay over at my house!!! I appreciated the invite so much and loved the music!!
I am happy to report that even after the company overnight, that cat that lived under the bed for over a year is still doing amazing! She is out and about all day and running and playing and even dropping a few pounds!!! She looks more comfortable each day...as you can see in the picture below!!! HA HA! All the cats are actually doing great!! They just lay around all day in the trees while mommy studies!! HA
Speaking of company, now that Steeler FOOTBALL season is here....I have company every home game and I love it!!! The family has attended every home game this year and we are having a great time!!!! I think it is my Mom's favorite thing to be in that stadium enjoying the electric atmosphere! We love Heinz Field and the Steelers!!
This is the sweetest picture I have seen lately...my best friend (the one that lived I Kauai that I went to visit) has recently moved back to Seattle. She had her baby girl yesterday!!!! Her name is Daniela Raquel!! So her daughter Nena is big sis!!!! She and baby are doing great and I am so happy for their family! Maybe after nursing school and NCLEX I can get a visit in!!!
I will leave you with a picture of me and my very best nursing school friend Shawne. We were in all our classes together last semester and this is a lovely photo in the parking garage before clinical!!! She is so supportive and such a great person!!!! I wish I could introduce you to everyone in school because it is a great group of people (young and old) helping and motivating each other to get through and succeed!!! Everyone just wants to see everyone succeed! It is truly awesome!!!
I hope you all have a fantastic day and I promise to do my best to geive more frequent updates!!! And picture dumps!!! HA HA!!! Love you all lots...thanks for the undying support and motivation!!!! You guys are all soooo awesome!!!!

14 comments:

  1. Hi Annster! Congrats on getting into nursing school, and surviving it. The grades are totally cool. You've had some nice R&R with family and concerts, but you may have to decline a few to get through your school years. Much like the military, your school owns you right now. You have no other life, but it's temporary. A fuller life with a decent income starts after you graduate!
    I'm Linda in Kansas (suburb of K.C.), and after working several medical organization jobs for years, decided to become a nurse "to always have a job." I suppose I like to help people too. I opted for the shorter route to an R.N. and went to an excellent junior college here for an Associate's Degree. Our school, (Johnson County Community College,) in 2002, scored 5% higher than the area Bachelor Degree programs on the NCLEX!
    I didn't become a nurse until I was 48, and I still wasn't the oldest nurse student in the school's history. Because I took one class a semester while working full-time, to finish non-nursing prereqs, it took me 7 years: 4 for the one-class-at-a-time prereqs, and 2 for full-time nursing school, while working 16 hours a week to have health insurance. My son was in junior high at the time. I wore a hole in both elbows of my favorite long-sleeve study shirt. When I studied, I told my kid not to bother me unless there was blood, a broken bone or a fire. He realized what it took to get that degree. He's now a veterinarian. I stopped all but 1 magazine subscription, the Hawaii one, and did nothing else but school stuff.
    Pennsylvania nurses have usually had high standards, so defending your standard will be the tough part of bein a nurse. Keep up with your reading before lectures. Ask good questions. Go with your gut when something doesn't seem right, and ask an experienced nurse. (Sorry, in some hospital clinicals, some nurses hate students hanging with them; I always loved them. Be better than those cranky ones.)
    Get your shots and boosters, wear your mask. Might want to read my entry today at Kay Musings about wound care. Sigh, educating people never stops. Congrats again!
    (In my 20 years, I've spent most in cardiac; overlapping with chemo and cancer / wound care; hospice; charge nurse and clinical manager. I love hospice the most, but the company didn't give us enough time for paperwork, resulting in 4 hours sleep a night, and being called out most months 8 times for overnight. I'm now doing home care for one patient until I get to 70 for a higher social security check. Linda in Kansas

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    1. Hi!! It is sooo awesome to read all of this!!!! Thanks for the words of encouragement!!! It is so awesome in nursing because there are soo many options!!! Do you have a blog? I would love to keep up with you!! I will keep posting here - one more year and then the NCLEX...ha! Thanks again! Congrats on all you have accomplished!!! Thats amazing!!!

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  2. Wow that was a lot of stuff happening in your life. AND you did so well in nursing school. Those patients are going to be so lucky to have you! We are thinking of getting a dog, but most of the places here require so much info on past pets, etc.

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    1. Yes, nursing school has been a lot more than I thought it was When I signed up. But it is so well worth it! And I still love it so I guess I made the right choice. It seems these days we really do have to give away your firstborn just to get a pet. I know they’re just trying to be safe but sometimes it really throws people off from even wanting to adopt. You should consider a pet… I know mine bring me so much joy!

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  3. So happy to see your post today! I have missed you and am so happy you are still loving school and doing so well. Great family photos and (of course) I love seeing your cats. That pup is HUGE now! Beautiful!! Thanks for checking in!! xo

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    1. Hi Terri! It is so nice to hear from you! I’ve been following you on Instagram and checking in your blog to see how you’re doing. It looks like you’re dealing with Life changes as well as can be expected. I pray for you every day. It was actually really amazing how fast Gracie grew! One day she’s this tiny little thing you can hold and now you can hardly even pick her up. I hope your holidays are super blessed!

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  4. Good to hear from you! Gracie literally grew up right before our eyes.

    Lots of tubes and wires for Daniella but so glad that mom and baby are doing well.

    I hope you are told regularly that you are the best auntie ever!

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    1. Hi Linda! I hope you are doing well as well! Yes I figured I had to post about the growth spurt because I was so amazed how quickly Gracie went from something so tiny to some thing you can’t even pick up. She’s super strong and powerful. Hopefully my parents stay safe as they deal with her… LOL! I hope your holidays are blessed!

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  5. Yeah! Thanks for updating us, every so often I see an Instagram post :) Glad you are doing so well!

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    1. Hi Julie! I still follow your blog and I love all your food post. Every time I see one of your posts I think I need to start eating healthy again… That has not happened in a long time! I follow you as well and I am so happy that your family and you are all safe and well. I hope you have a blessed holidays!

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  6. Gorgeous photos of a really sweet looking dog and beautiful family. I do so admire you for going into nursing. I really feel nurses have been the heroes of this pandemic.

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    1. Hi Kay! At this point I completely agree with you! It is amazing when I see what these nurses go through on a daily basis… Covid is still pretty prevalent here so it’s unreal to watch what happens on clinical days. I still love school and I think I’m going to love nursing but it’s definitely way more than I thought it was going to be! Doctors nurses EMS people and grocery store workers… They’re all on my list of heroes now! I hope you have a fantastic holiday season!

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  7. Super update, Ann! Thanks for sharing all the photos. Well done on your studies and wishing you much success on the upcoming finals.

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    1. Thank you so much Robin! I am loving every class and every moment of school!!! Well, maybe not finals! HA! Thanks to you and the blogging community for your support!!! I love nursing school!!!! Happy holidays to you and yours!! HUGS

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ICU Nurse it is

 Hi everyone!! I am just here checking in quickly. I almost feel bad checking in as it has been an eternity since I posted!!! UGH! Life has ...