Hmm. It started with pulling a few dead pieces off a plant... and turned into us thinning out the main front yard island AND the "island" that runs along the wall we share with our neighbor. Sheesh.
Forty-five minutes later, we had filled an entire trash can with yard waste and I was no longer chilly. I have one cut and multiple mosquito bites. I HAVE seen multiple spiders, NUMEROUS mosquitoes (when do those freaking things DIE already?), a wasp nest and a tiny brown snake. Woot woot!
It was actually fun - but don't tell M that or he might make it my permanent job! Also, no raking was involved...which is why it was fun. I hate raking. Blah. And with our neighbor's bajillion-year-old Pin Oak tree next door, we have enough leaves to rake all winter long. (That same tree has caused many, many tiny Pin Oak trees to pop up in our yard too - some of which we can't pull up by hand since the roots are already so freaking deep!)
Anyways, back to reading about intercranial pressure - but that was a nice break. And our front yard looks a wee bit more civilized. =)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Our Widdle House: Part Two
The peeps that formerly occupied our house enjoyed beautiful mossy green carpet, which we ripped up. Instead of extending the carpet across the whole floor, they only carpeted to the bricks on the floor (in front of the fireplace). In order to keep the pretty green scheme going, they actually painted the brick on the floor ... to match the carpet. Yes. painted it green. Isn't it pretty? 
Well, needless to say, I really hated that green brick and wanted to paint it white. We had ripped up the metal that connected the carpet and brick when we ripped up the carpet, so at least that was out of the way.
All I had to do was prime and paint...right? Yeah. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY WIDDLE GROOVES ARE IN BRICK? Of course you do, you aren't retarded like me. I thought it would be soothing, sitting on the floor and painting. It actually was a pain in the ass. Getting the brick covered was really difficult - it took two coats of primer and then two coats of oil-based paint of death. All those little grooves were GREEN, so they had to be covered well. Meh. But doesn't it look pretty? (Eventually the fireplace will be replaced with something loverly...but for now, it stays.)
Here it is up close, with one of my mom's housewarming presents. =)
I heart Jane Austen...and zombies. More to come (including our NEW STOVE) lata! But I guess I need to study some today. ::pout::
Well, needless to say, I really hated that green brick and wanted to paint it white. We had ripped up the metal that connected the carpet and brick when we ripped up the carpet, so at least that was out of the way. 
All I had to do was prime and paint...right? Yeah. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY WIDDLE GROOVES ARE IN BRICK? Of course you do, you aren't retarded like me. I thought it would be soothing, sitting on the floor and painting. It actually was a pain in the ass. Getting the brick covered was really difficult - it took two coats of primer and then two coats of oil-based paint of death. All those little grooves were GREEN, so they had to be covered well. Meh. But doesn't it look pretty? (Eventually the fireplace will be replaced with something loverly...but for now, it stays.)
Here it is up close, with one of my mom's housewarming presents. =)
I heart Jane Austen...and zombies. More to come (including our NEW STOVE) lata! But I guess I need to study some today. ::pout::Thursday, September 24, 2009
Meh Meh Meh
Soooooooooooooo sorry I haven't posted in a bit - but I got a nasty cold after a very busy weekend and now I'm nearly at the weekend again. So, random thoughts are all you get.
- M bought a spray-painter thing to paint all the cabinets. I am intrigued/scared and I do NOT want to know how much he paid for it.
- Umm DOORKNOBS ARE EXPENSIVE. Ok, not ALL of them, but the pretty ones I LOVE are. ::pout::
- My patient for tomorrow is absolutely terrifying. And it's my fault (I told my instructor that it was hard for my to do my care map when the patient really didn't need anything. I AM AN IDIOT.)!
- Are you watching GLEE? YOU BETTER - it's freaking AWESOME.
- Does anyone have good advice on how to hang heavy pictures that have TWO hooks on the back? I can't ever get them to line up straight...
K. That's all I have for now... off to do patient paperwork and take another cold pill. SIGH.
- M bought a spray-painter thing to paint all the cabinets. I am intrigued/scared and I do NOT want to know how much he paid for it.
- Umm DOORKNOBS ARE EXPENSIVE. Ok, not ALL of them, but the pretty ones I LOVE are. ::pout::
- My patient for tomorrow is absolutely terrifying. And it's my fault (I told my instructor that it was hard for my to do my care map when the patient really didn't need anything. I AM AN IDIOT.)!
- Are you watching GLEE? YOU BETTER - it's freaking AWESOME.
- Does anyone have good advice on how to hang heavy pictures that have TWO hooks on the back? I can't ever get them to line up straight...
K. That's all I have for now... off to do patient paperwork and take another cold pill. SIGH.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tea Partay
No - not the cool one with Smirnoff Tea, but the crazy-ass one that was in DC a bit ago. My best friend's dad and brother were there - she thought that it was a health care rally... it ended up being a right-winger's wet dream.
Check out the "unofficial video" here - http://blurbomat.com/archives/2009/09/14/unauthorized-video-from-09-12-09/
Sheesh people. Seriously? These people crack me up. What do YOU think? (That includes YOU Ms. Canadian Britt)
Check out the "unofficial video" here - http://blurbomat.com/archives/2009/09/14/unauthorized-video-from-09-12-09/
Sheesh people. Seriously? These people crack me up. What do YOU think? (That includes YOU Ms. Canadian Britt)
Friday, September 11, 2009
September 11 already?
I know that it is the eighth anniversary of Sept. 11, and we should be thinking of our country and the people that sacrificed for us on that day eight years ago... but I have been at the hospital since 6:45 this morning (I got home at 3:30) and I have to be at work (waiting tables) at 6 pm.
So I am a little beat and I don't WANT to think about how I felt when I watched those live news reports - when I saw the second plane hit the second tower - when the towers fell. I refuse. If that's unpatriotic, report me.
I'm still reeling from today's clinical. In BRIEF: my colitis patient was being released and there was really nothing I could do for her. So, I followed my supervising nurse around all day and helped her deal with all of her patients (well, at least I tried). One patient had a HUGE tumor on the side of his neck with a very smelly dressing that had to be changed. I watched his tube feeding, I swabbed his mouth (has Thrush - which I had never seen in real life), we changed his dressing (OMG THE SMELL.) and tried to get a line started (well I watched that too). He blew 4 veins before the nurse forced the doctor to order a PICC line ... which was slightly controversial because he was a DNR patient and going to hospice. Does infusing blood count as palliative care? What about when his Hgb is a 4???
That was only patient #1. Patient #2 had chest/esophageal pain and her blood pressure was sky high. And then her pulse went up to 138 beats per minute. The nurse went to go get backup and asked me to stay with her while she was hyperventilating - I guess to call a Code Blue if she stopped breathing. Sigh. This was going on RIGHT after another nurse asked if I was allowed to take out an IV (which I CAN do, but only with my instructor). I was on my way to get my instructor when I was pulled into patient #2's room. So, no IV removal for Dani today.
Patient #3 was very very sick, but I have no clue why. I just know he had a HIGH blood pressure and the nurse commented that he was "going down the tubes and she had to go figure it out." Sooooo all I did for him was drop off a urine cup. HOWEVER, after his BP meds were administered, I had to follow up and take his BP to see the meds' effect. Well, his right arm had an IV - no go - and his left arm had a HUGE hematoma from a bad stick. After I changed the blood bandage, I pressed on the hematoma to see if it would blow. It didn't, so I hooked up the BP cuff and crossed my fingers. Sigh.
Oh. My nurse actually had one OTHER patient - a 60-something male with a brain mass. After some sort of test, they were about to take him ti get a CT scan...when he decided he was done. And walked out. My nurse had to take out his IV in the parking lot.
If I am this emotionally and physically drained, I can't imagine how my nurse felt today. Sigh. I'm going to finish my dinner of carbs+carbs+more carbs, and then iron my uniform for work. =(
It's going to be a long night.
So I am a little beat and I don't WANT to think about how I felt when I watched those live news reports - when I saw the second plane hit the second tower - when the towers fell. I refuse. If that's unpatriotic, report me.
I'm still reeling from today's clinical. In BRIEF: my colitis patient was being released and there was really nothing I could do for her. So, I followed my supervising nurse around all day and helped her deal with all of her patients (well, at least I tried). One patient had a HUGE tumor on the side of his neck with a very smelly dressing that had to be changed. I watched his tube feeding, I swabbed his mouth (has Thrush - which I had never seen in real life), we changed his dressing (OMG THE SMELL.) and tried to get a line started (well I watched that too). He blew 4 veins before the nurse forced the doctor to order a PICC line ... which was slightly controversial because he was a DNR patient and going to hospice. Does infusing blood count as palliative care? What about when his Hgb is a 4???
That was only patient #1. Patient #2 had chest/esophageal pain and her blood pressure was sky high. And then her pulse went up to 138 beats per minute. The nurse went to go get backup and asked me to stay with her while she was hyperventilating - I guess to call a Code Blue if she stopped breathing. Sigh. This was going on RIGHT after another nurse asked if I was allowed to take out an IV (which I CAN do, but only with my instructor). I was on my way to get my instructor when I was pulled into patient #2's room. So, no IV removal for Dani today.
Patient #3 was very very sick, but I have no clue why. I just know he had a HIGH blood pressure and the nurse commented that he was "going down the tubes and she had to go figure it out." Sooooo all I did for him was drop off a urine cup. HOWEVER, after his BP meds were administered, I had to follow up and take his BP to see the meds' effect. Well, his right arm had an IV - no go - and his left arm had a HUGE hematoma from a bad stick. After I changed the blood bandage, I pressed on the hematoma to see if it would blow. It didn't, so I hooked up the BP cuff and crossed my fingers. Sigh.
Oh. My nurse actually had one OTHER patient - a 60-something male with a brain mass. After some sort of test, they were about to take him ti get a CT scan...when he decided he was done. And walked out. My nurse had to take out his IV in the parking lot.
If I am this emotionally and physically drained, I can't imagine how my nurse felt today. Sigh. I'm going to finish my dinner of carbs+carbs+more carbs, and then iron my uniform for work. =(
It's going to be a long night.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Our Widdle House, Part One of One Billion
So. M and I bought a house. Our first house. We thought, "Hey! Let's get a house that we can work on, and make it just like we want..." Ha. HAHAHAHA. Hrumph. 
Anyway, for those of you who have NOT seen it, this is it - our KUH-UTE widdle 1950's ranch house. It's in an older neighborhood, with mature trees and nice neighbors. The neighborhood is fairly close to the city, so we're close to M's job and the hospital...for when I EVER graduate nursing school. So...umm, I'm kind of intimidated to start this whole "documenting the house" process, so I'll start with the hardwood floors. And who KNOWS where we'll go from there? Here are some of the "BEFORE" pictures that everyone just loves to see. Just so all of you can see what we were dealing with. 
Fancy older hardwood floors, under WONDERFUL moss green carpet. The floors are about 50 years old, so that lovely orange-y color was from old polyurethane (says my dad). Soooo we ripped up all the carpets (which included three million staples and carpet tacks...)
...and found only ONE spot of damage - along a wall that has the bathtub directly on the other side.
Not too bad really. We hand-pulled all the nails and staples, and let the refinishers get to work (there was NO way that we were going to do this ourselves. My dad thought we could do it...but M and I decided to leave it up to the professionals...this time at least.
So, after only one day of refinishing the floors, the damaged portion of the floor looked like this:
Pretty! At the beginning of the second day we were forced to make a stain decision.
I HATE decisions. Sigh. We went with a middle brown color, although my heart pines for dark espresso. We have a cat that LOVES to shed, and light gray cat hair + espresso floors = CRAZY D from cleaning ALL the time. So yesh, middle brown it was.
Finally, Day Three Arrived.
SO PRETTY. I can't begin to explain how pretty the floors are. I also cannot begin to tell you how the house STILL smells from paint and polyurethane and blah blah blah. The point is, the floors looked great. Which was a good thing. Because as much as I spazzed about that stain color, IT BETTER LOOK FREAKING GREAT.
Whew. That was a lot of typing/picture editing/editing in general. I don't know HOW those Young House Love kids DO IT. However, I'm happy to share just a piece of this crazy process with all of you. More to come!
Anyway, for those of you who have NOT seen it, this is it - our KUH-UTE widdle 1950's ranch house. It's in an older neighborhood, with mature trees and nice neighbors. The neighborhood is fairly close to the city, so we're close to M's job and the hospital...for when I EVER graduate nursing school. So...umm, I'm kind of intimidated to start this whole "documenting the house" process, so I'll start with the hardwood floors. And who KNOWS where we'll go from there? Here are some of the "BEFORE" pictures that everyone just loves to see. Just so all of you can see what we were dealing with. 
Fancy older hardwood floors, under WONDERFUL moss green carpet. The floors are about 50 years old, so that lovely orange-y color was from old polyurethane (says my dad). Soooo we ripped up all the carpets (which included three million staples and carpet tacks...) 
...and found only ONE spot of damage - along a wall that has the bathtub directly on the other side.
Not too bad really. We hand-pulled all the nails and staples, and let the refinishers get to work (there was NO way that we were going to do this ourselves. My dad thought we could do it...but M and I decided to leave it up to the professionals...this time at least.
So, after only one day of refinishing the floors, the damaged portion of the floor looked like this:
Pretty! At the beginning of the second day we were forced to make a stain decision. 
I HATE decisions. Sigh. We went with a middle brown color, although my heart pines for dark espresso. We have a cat that LOVES to shed, and light gray cat hair + espresso floors = CRAZY D from cleaning ALL the time. So yesh, middle brown it was.
Finally, Day Three Arrived.
SO PRETTY. I can't begin to explain how pretty the floors are. I also cannot begin to tell you how the house STILL smells from paint and polyurethane and blah blah blah. The point is, the floors looked great. Which was a good thing. Because as much as I spazzed about that stain color, IT BETTER LOOK FREAKING GREAT.Whew. That was a lot of typing/picture editing/editing in general. I don't know HOW those Young House Love kids DO IT. However, I'm happy to share just a piece of this crazy process with all of you. More to come!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Seeeee Youuuu in Septeeeeembeeerrrr...
YAY September! I love this month. The weather is always SO NICE (although, to be fair to NC, this summer hasn't been as hellacious as normal.) and college football is back - ok, so I don't care about THE GAME as much as the TAILGATING. But whatever.
Also. In only 3 short months NEW MOON will be in theaters. Oh yes. I am not ashamed that on today, my first day of Internet access in WEEKS, I spent a good amount of time on the New Moon official movie site and www.newmoonmovie.org/, a sort of Perez Hilton for only New Moon - DO YOU HEAR THAT AUNT K?? Tell UNCLE M!!! Hahahaha.
Anyways, last note on New Moon - I thought this quote from New Moon director Chris Weitz was very funny, "We have to have this very fine balance between having too much and too little Edward. If you have too much Edward, it will be a terrible thing because you want the audience to experience that longing as well, and if you have too little Edward…I’ll be hunted down and killed."
Very True.
On the HOUSE front - I am currently painting the front door. woot! It's actually more exciting than it seems, and I am surprised that I'm still excited to paint after our painting BINGE that first week. It's wearing off quickly though - my hand hurts from gripping the brush! I swear I'll post more pictures soon, and more info about our oven-shopping experience, why our neighbor PROBABLY thinks we're alcoholics, and more fun tales from home-ownership-land.
TaTa!
Also. In only 3 short months NEW MOON will be in theaters. Oh yes. I am not ashamed that on today, my first day of Internet access in WEEKS, I spent a good amount of time on the New Moon official movie site and www.newmoonmovie.org/, a sort of Perez Hilton for only New Moon - DO YOU HEAR THAT AUNT K?? Tell UNCLE M!!! Hahahaha.
Anyways, last note on New Moon - I thought this quote from New Moon director Chris Weitz was very funny, "We have to have this very fine balance between having too much and too little Edward. If you have too much Edward, it will be a terrible thing because you want the audience to experience that longing as well, and if you have too little Edward…I’ll be hunted down and killed."
Very True.
On the HOUSE front - I am currently painting the front door. woot! It's actually more exciting than it seems, and I am surprised that I'm still excited to paint after our painting BINGE that first week. It's wearing off quickly though - my hand hurts from gripping the brush! I swear I'll post more pictures soon, and more info about our oven-shopping experience, why our neighbor PROBABLY thinks we're alcoholics, and more fun tales from home-ownership-land.
TaTa!
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