36 Hour Work Week

Life

2016-06-11T12:46:00.001-06:00

Another week of thankful

It's simple yet not bashful

I made a dreamboard¹ to store

Vision to inspire me and much more

My therapist showed me a cartoon²

Of a man walking to the sun

Where the sun represents fun

Besides his load, his life goes on

That makes me think and inspired

Of challenges on my sight that's not light

I can accept them and recognize

They are not just hell but part of life

I had some good things I enjoyed this week

Like this combo meal³ at work that was cheap

Burger with sauteed mushrooms and onions

With added sweet potato fries and a drink

It also came with salad

From the open salad bar

For just five bucks that is not bad

They were all good, I was so glad

One day I had a headache

It was more than I could take

So then I took a long break

Drank some frap⁴ and had some cake

At home to soothe some tension

I gave my face its needed attention

A mud mask⁵ to help my complexion

It was so soothing as I put it on

What is better than a dessert?

But more than one and unlimited⁶

We could choose anything we wanted

Isle of Casino had a lot of choices

We also attacked the crabs⁷

For all-you-can-eat deal that's just fab

We paid 70 dollars for 4 of us

And it went to fundraising⁸, that's a great plus

That's not all we did of course

We also spent some time outdoors⁹

Going to the park after doing chores

To watch a family of birds and more

It was also a time to take my dogs¹⁰

To a different park for a change

Look at them being silly and strange

As I rested on the bench and they played

Join us with this grateful group in a blog party organized by Lizzi and the gang.

Vision Dream Board

2016-06-08T17:43:00.001-06:00

I say, "Fake it till I make it"

My vision is dreamy, I admit

Will I be able to submit

Can I perform and commit?

I will do it, not just try

Little by little, I'll get by

I will be strong and won't cry

I will get help from up high

My dream board is pure, I am sure

Am I strong enough or mature?

I have my doubts and feel unsure

But each day I smile, and say, "Bonjour"

Join us in ABC Wednesday.
The letter this week is V.

Seven O'clock Shift

2016-06-05T13:50:00.003-06:00

For years I have worked at 7, either 7 in the morning or seven at night when I started working in a nursing home as a nurse's aide, and through February 2016 as a registered nurse. I would say, since I was 19. I am 45 now, so do the math.

It is the beginning of my self-sufficiency when I could support myself, pay for my rent, car payments, food, and tuition in the community college. It is when I started my shift as an aide in the nursing home. I wore all-white then—bright white, ironed, uniform in the beginning of the shift, and wrinkled at the end. I had a special cleanser for my white working shoes, and a polisher with a matching brush. I was so neat. Now I hardly clean the top of my Dansko shoes I wear all day in the hospital. I also do not own a shoe brush for a long time now. I even do not iron my scrubs. Thank goodness for a good clothes dryer. My royal blue uniform comes out wrinkle-free, well almost.

We had some interesting residents in my first job in the nursing home. One, I remember because he was so handsome. He looked like Bruce Willis, and even with amputated legs (he lost his legs from the war) he sat up so tall in his bed in good posture—stomach in, chest out. He was always sitting up when I get to work, waiting to get help to sit on the wheelchair for his breakfast. Always with his smile on his face, I help him first. He always won the first-smile-first serve of the day when it comes to me. He brightened my day.

Another resident I cannot forget was the skinny little lady who I could not figure out how to please. She was always grumpy and unsatisfied. I bet she had a busy, controlled life when she was younger and just frustrated living in the nursing home too weak to fend for herself. Looking back, I think she was so cute.

Both residents did not get visitors. I worked in that nursing home for four years and both of them did not get visits from anyone but the staff and volunteers. I tried to spend as much time as I could with this two however different they were with each other. I miss those years. I miss them.

Now, in the ICU, as a registered nurse, it is not common to bond with patients as before. My patients generally do not stay long enough in the intensive care which is a good thing. A few comeback walking to our units weeks or months later to give gratitude. I love these times. And I love to see them vertical and not lying down in our bed with all kinds of monitors, and tubes inserted in many orifices. They have big smiles on their faces. They make my week.

I do not work at 7 anymore. I start at 10 a.m. and leave at 7:30 p.m. working 9 hours a day, four times a week. It still adds as 36 hours a week, and so my little blog's title remains the same – 36 Hour Work Week.

What's the significance of the number 7 in your life? View more number Seven posts through the Sunday Scribblings or better, yet, join us.

Simple Pleasures

2016-06-04T18:20:00.000-06:00

Eggs Benedict breakfast¹ to start my day

With Paul,² my love, in this cafe

Gives me reason to smile and think okay

I would face the challenges that gets my way

Memorial Day we had some barbecue³

Overlooking my front yard with weedy view

I should be thankful, ignore the blues

At least I've got great food to chew

We also had some Carvel ice cream cake⁴

Small-size, so good, we shared and ate

And then I had a time with daughter⁵

Just me and her, we had a date

The Amazon Prime I use for music⁶

Is nice to listen to when stuck in traffic

Songs of all kinds, name it, they have it

Be it the 80s, 90's, or classic

The New York Times I have in Audible⁷

I get for free to listen to

It fits me right staying cheap and simple

And saves me time as I eat on the table

A slice of pizza⁸ from my store Costco

Enough for lunch with my free cocoa

They always have some freebie drinks

To gulp with whatever food I pick

To end my evening, I have some wine⁹

You know the red, that tastes so fine

It helps me calm my nerves on nights

When happiness fades and my smile dries

Piece by piece, the parts together¹⁰

Makes a fine week, in random order

It's not the best week of my life

But it's complete, with small highlights

Click the pic, read more,

or join the grateful blog

team organized by Lizzi.

No, Thank You

2016-05-29T13:49:00.000-06:00

I finally nailed the headstand pose
The master pose in the yoga world
I was excited and asked Paul to join
But he answered, "no I cannot join"

I asked him why he did not want to
He replied, "that pose is hard to do."
And then I farted, quite unexpected
"That's another reason" he laughed and said

Read funny posts with the Silly Sunday group

Happy Moments, Headstands, and Food

2016-05-28T12:17:00.000-06:00

Ordering out, Lunch break in the patio, ice cream, flowers, coffee, sports store shopping, meditation, good food, home-made Pad Thai

A few moments of fun 
Captured on my  iphone
Give me reasons to look back
When I feel I should groan

Banking happy moments
On my camera-phone
Cost me almost nothing 
For sure not a ton

Spending time with my daughter
Whatever we may do
Be it ordering out
Or buying shampoo

Shopping for skateboards
Or a big hula hoop
She's a joy to be with
Lately she's been good

Work is also going well
I found a new solution 
For some crazy hectic days 
I need to change zones

Just a half hour lunch break
On the patio with sun
Refreshes my energy 
When I feel I have none


My version of "I can do hard things," inspired by Lizzi from TToT

Headstand-Carin version



And to top off my week
I accomplished something
Partial headstand I did
Without my neck breaking


Click above to join us or to view more thankfuls from the TToT group.

Yellow, Spirit, and Yoga

2016-05-22T22:32:00.000-06:00

We. started the day with frappuccino

To bribe my daughter, to get up and go

For if I didn't, she'd get up late

I was inpatient, I could not wait

I took her to my favorite restaurant

To have a brunch and save us lunch

And then we shopped until we dropped

Back home we went, and had a chat

"Let's do some yoga," she suddenly asked

I was surprised that she have asked

For a long time I offered and she just laughed

Now she was the one preparing the mats

Step by step we posed together

Following the video in the computer

That sure felt good to pose with her

It lightened our spirits and pain right after


		This post is part of the Yellow Meme.		Click the picture for the link.

Resources for Nurses

2016-05-21T15:30:00.000-06:00


			"Carin-approved" sites

Here's a partial list of resources I use. I will add some more in the future.

American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN)
Arterial Blood Gas--ABG Calculator
EdX -- ACLS online
Medical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Notes
Ebola Virus Disease Resources

Do you have valuable nursing resources that may be added here?

1 Fiction: A Frothy Day

2016-05-21T10:51:00.000-06:00

Giving self massage at home because
I neither have the money nor the time
for a professional massage.

Nurse Weekly Stories
1 Fiction: A Frothy Day

Join us in Sunday Scribblings 2. The prompt word this week is froth or frothy.

“Is it cream?”
“No,” I screamed.
“It's a froth, oh Darn.”

The cardiac monitor was alarming. I rushed into little Ken's room. He was my 20-year old patient in the intensive care unit trapped in a small-10-year-old-size body. He had a lifetime problem of seizures that was pretty much controlled until lately.

His sitter, one of our staff, was pertaining to his secretion that looked like he had some foam coming out of his mouth.

“He is seizing,” I continued. While suctioning his mouth, I signaled nurse Carrie to come in the room. She hurried in asking what she could do.

“Get me ativan.”

Little Ken stopped seizing after I gave the Ativan. He had his eyes closed when his father walked in.

“I brought his liquid medical marijuana,” dad said.

I heard about it before that it was one of his home medication approved by his neurologist, a neurologist who did not have privileges in our hospital.

I looked at him without saying a word.

“It really works,” he continued.

If so, why is your son here? I was just thinking.

“Dr. Sullivan said it is okay for me to continue giving it to him . . . It has to be refrigerated.”

“I can give you some ice for it but I cannot put the medicine out it in the common refrigerator where visitors of other patients can have access. And you know, you have to wait until he is awake before you put drops in his mouth, right?”

The unit was busy. Thankfully, my other patient did not keep me so busy that I had the time to help other nurses. One patient was delirious and had to be tightly restrained on his wrists. His sedation medications were discontinued because the doctors wanted him to wake up more to be ready for extubation. He was trashing in bed. Nurse Mary and I repositioned him a hundred times so he did not fall out of bed. Okay, not a hundred times, but close.

Her other patient, Paige, was in extreme pain screaming. We gave all the pain meds ordered with no relief. I called the neurosurgical resident, Dr. Samantha Plum, to help the patient (and Mary). I asked her to come and see the patient right away as she had severe headache after craniotomy and screaming her lungs out. Her agony was so loud I had to close the sliding doors of rooms nearby.

“She has to wait. I am busy and she's not in a life-or death situation.”

*sigh* It would probably take a while before we see Dr. Plum.

Surprised, I saw her walking the hallway within five minutes. She went straight to me asking if I was the one who called.

“It is not okay that you called me like that. It is not an emergency . . . You did not even tell me who you are, the patient's diagnosis, the room number . . . and screaming her lungs out is not a medical term “

“I told you who I was. I said hi, this is Carin calling about the patient in 6701, Paige Ball, status post crani . . . I never said it is an emergency“

She seemed to have an answer to whatever I said, then I realized we were acting like kids and and we were going nowhere.

Pride set aside, I gave in and said, “Sorry, doctor, I called in desperation. I just want to help the patient, and Mary, the nurse assigned to her. Will you go and see the patient?”

She headed to the room as Paige just started screaming again.

Dr. Plum ordered medications I suggested, plus more, as needed.

It was now around three pm. Jolly Shelly was going around asking if anyone wanted anything from Starbucks. She was my saviour.

“Oh yes,” I said, “I want a Grande chocolaty, frothy, drink with a triple dose of sugar.”

This was my cup of “happy” this shift, a cup of happiness I could buy and afford.

***

To my surprise for the second time, Dr. Plum apologized to me for not hearing me clearly earlier when I sat next to her while she was charting. It was the only chair available.

I think it was more like, she was not listening, but she was now. Besides, patient Paige's pain was finally relieved, and I was joyfully sipping my cup of "happiness." Those things are what matters.

Little Ken did not have anymore seizures, before and after dad gave him doses of marijuana. I did not agree with the Marijuana. It was not officially ordered that Ken could have it, but maybe it helped?

***

I accepted the challenges today and had some victories.

At the end of the shift, I went home thinking about my frothy day. I put my pink robe on and started rolling my back with a massage stick.

Oh, that feels painfully good.

Relaxing Thankfuls

2016-05-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

My list of gratitude this week are the following:
A fresh footlong sub
A smile from a surprised birthday girl
A Starbucks imitation coffee
A good-sounding ear phones
A dishwasher detergent
Trophies and prizes for the fitness challenge winners
Whipped cream
Chocolate sauce
My sweet dog
A new massage stick


A fresh turkey sandwich 
From a famous sandwich shop
Served in warm, crunchy bread
A delicious footlong sub

The smile from a friends face
On her surprise birthday party
She just turned sixty
She looks great and so happy

A homemade creamy coffee
To satisfy my taste buds
I was craving for Starbucks
But refused spending 4 bucks

The good little earphones
While I go around the house
Helps me take my early music
Without cranking the stereo up 

A power cleaner I bought
For my dishwasher last week 
Saves me some time scrubbing
And saves more than few minutes

The prizes my group provided
For the teams that have won
From fitness challenge we sponsored
That made the exercises fun

The whipped cream and chocolate sauce
I looked up online  
Made home latte possible
They made my drinks so fine

My sweet velvety dog
Who cuddles with me 
Keeps me warm and loved 
When I'm with nobody

A massage stick so cheap
I bought from the store
Was perfect for rolling 
On my muscles that's sore

Green Flowers and Smoothie

2016-05-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

Green flowers with silky petals
Are lovely to look at
They are so cheap,  they're just five bucks
For the joy they bring, that's not too much

Another "green" I like this morning
Was my sweet good-old-green-smoothie
I offered some to my dear honey
He said, "sorry," he was not that hungry





Paul does not like my green smoothies no matter what fruit I mix the greens with. I don't understand. :)

Happiness Flowers Bring

2016-05-18T22:51:00.000-06:00

Red flowers on the counter give me something nice to look at when washing dishes.

Flowers can bring happiness
And symbolize some sweetness
They can ease the loneliness
And fill some emptiness

They don't have to be given
By somebody to you
I often times buy one or two-
Bouquets to change my view

In the middle of my messy rooms
I display these cut of blooms
And sometimes I play music
Then dance with catchy tunes

----

My teens are not back home yet but in the facilities they stay. Oh how I miss them but I know they are in the place where they get help. Today, though, I get to take my daughter out on a pass. She started filling out applications to some contacts she met in the teen job fair last Saturday. I wish she gets a summer job to keep her restless-16-year-old-brain busy.

S is for Starbucks

2016-05-18T10:49:00.001-06:00

Starbucks is the first word that come to my mind

I like their drinks, the creamy kind

The extra calories I do not mind

I get my caffeine fix and sweet tooth satisfied

Holy Crab

2016-05-18T10:26:00.001-06:00

I served some seafood to Paul one day

Some mussels and a good crab, they're good, I said

"What crab?" he asked a little dismayed.

I laughed out loud as he stared at this plate

Join us with Sandee's Wordless Wednesday Blog party.

Sweet Thankfuls

2016-05-16T19:06:00.000-06:00

So TTot was down for a week

I felt a little empty, I actually missed it

Although I get busy and can't always commit

But just reading other's gratitude is fulfilling indeed

I don't have anything special but here I am again

I collected some pictures not just a few, but 10

I enjoyed Starbucks coffee, Frappuccino, and chai

And if that's not enough, there's other food I tried

Free cinnamon roll from Cinnabon for nurses

Creamy cheese cake and pretty birthday cake to satisfy my senses

My daughter bought me ice cream from Cold Stone one day

I celebrated nurse's week with other nurses last Saturday

It rained yesterday, so at home, I just stayed

It was a sweet week indeed, I'd say it was great

Velvet in the Corner

2016-05-14T06:00:00.000-06:00

"Velvet, Velvet. Come on."

It took her about two minutes to finally come in the house through the back door. Can you guess what might she be thinking?

I was looking at these pictures and thinking, perhaps she needs sunglasses :)

Have a good weekend.

See more animals in other blogs.

Friday Greens, Reds, and Browns

2016-05-13T04:00:00.000-06:00

It's a beautiful spring day
We headed outside
Hands are full, watching dogs
Can't take them to the site
Paul's daughter, Amanda, is playing today
She plays for high school tennis-
State Championship this Thursday
We sure hope she does well
Like in Regionals when
She and her partner played great again and again
Aside from wishing them well 
We hope and we pray
She won't break any noses
Or hit someone like prey
(As that accident happened the previous game)
Oh well, we all cheer for her
Even 119 miles apart
For I'm sure if we go, we would just get barred
The tennis balls in court would make our dogs crazy
They would chase down the balls
For sure, they'd be naughty




Any greenish pictures to share?

Join us in Nix's Friday Greens.

Little Yoga, Ice Cream, and Red Wine

2016-05-11T22:49:00.001-06:00

Doing yoga table-top-pose and other yoga poses

Helps me later in the day to focus my head

Relaxing sore muscles is also a bonus

I have better mood today, it is true, I notice

Then for lunch today, guess what I had?

Chicken barbecue, beans, and ice cream, that's what

Served in our courtyard today for nurse's week

It loosened my tired brain from a little brain fatigue

Staff eating together in a bright sunny day

Smelling the aroma as we eat and smile away

As one is not enough I picked up another ice cream

To take home and enjoy but not share, is that mean?

I ended the day with red wine that's sweet

It's fizzy as well like ice cream, it's a treat

And I just found out now, it can help with good sleep

According to studies, if you drink just a bit

Too much of a drink is not good otherwise

It interrupts REM sleep, but that's not a surprise

So drink just a little, eat, and do a little yoga

Do these little things, release your good persona

Join Little Things Thursdays Link-up

and read more Little Things posts

Rustic Bread for Rusty Me

2016-05-10T23:44:00.004-06:00

R for Rustic Bread and Run

This bread that I baked is so delicious

It makes me gain weight

And not helpful with my weight loss

So today, I decided to workout outside

Run in place, play and chase

With my dogs on my side.

Join the ABC Wednesday group

Working Out At Home

2016-05-10T23:07:00.000-06:00

Selfies, exercise, yoga-with-a-frown, and messy braid.
It was me-time before I headed to work where it was busy.

Too busy to go to the gym

Or too cheap to pay the gym fee

I can work out at home

Where it is free

No one is looking if I don't do it right

No one can see me be it daylight or night

I can wear what I want -- skirt, shorts, or tight pants

I can move oh-so-freely as careless as I want

Nurse's Heart

2016-05-09T00:00:00.000-06:00

Caring, cheering, healing, feeling

She/He feels the pain the you are in

She gives you more than just aspirin

Or tissue to wipe your tears with

She gives you attention despite her busy profession

She speaks to you close to get a connection

She listens and serve you with her heart

For her, you're not just a name on the chart

This week is Nurse's Week

If you have time, please greet

Deserving nurse that you come across and meet

You'll add a flavor to their day that's sweet

Do you have a post or picture that can make the readers "Aww?"Link to Sandee's "Aww Monday" here.

Daiquiri

2016-05-08T19:13:00.001-06:00

For an early Mother's day celebration, Paul, our teens, and I went to this fancy fondue restaurant yesterday. The extensive drink extensive menu made our teens eyes widened with interest.

“Each one of you can order a non-alcoholic or virgin drink,” Paul said.

The young ladies picked pinacolada.

Paul's son looked in the menu for a long time.

Finally, he asked, “I can't find exactly what I want. Can I have an orange flavor Strawberry Daiquiri?”

Oh, silly things some ~~children~~ teenagers say.

Visit Sandee's Blog for
funny Sunday posts.

***

We ate late Saturday night. By the time we finished our four-course meal, it was 12:48 a.m. I guess that counts as a mother's day meal.

Later today, my daughter took me out to get ice cream with her gift card. My son called to greet me as well. It is a good Mother's Day for me today.

Today, I walked/jog five miles with the dog to burn some of the extra calories from Mother's day. I also made my blue-green nutrition-packed smoothie. We are ending the day with a movie she borrowed from the library on some apes invading peoples' village. It is not exactly a Mother's Day movie but it is nice to spend time with her this way without her playing on her

phone. Soon, I will have to take her to her temporary home in the girl's youth center.

Bad Weather

2016-05-08T18:28:00.000-06:00

Beneath the smile

Through the blinds

Through the window

I read your mind

I hear the sound

You can't unwound

The falling rain and force of water

Straight on the ground

Think positive, get out of bad weather

Little by little, let's run together

Our day will be marvelous

We can do better

Green Drink

2016-05-07T00:43:00.000-06:00

Green smoothie with mango, salad greens, and chia

Greens in a cup

My second cup
Of healthful drink
My pick-me-up

I found a recipe
With thick consistency
A drink like smoothie
So good and tasty


A mango, salad greens
And some chia seeds
Blended  with water
Then added more after

After my breakfast
I write in my blog
And then as usual
I take the dogs


To walk and jog
Around the block
Although yesterday
 I just went out 


Out the back door to the backyard
And play with my dogs
Because I got not much time
To stay outdoors
I wasn't planning on walking around the block so I put these in a hurry.

Paul thought I dressed funny. So I looked down, oh well, I like stripes and hearts? :)

Go Fish

2016-05-06T08:42:00.001-06:00

I did not think it would affect me but last Tuesday, I kept thinking about my Betta fish I raised for three years since it was a baby an not even an inch long. It was floating in the bowl in the morning before I went to work. It seemed to have a swollen cut in the belly and already had a foul smell. How could I not notice earlier it was ill?

I went to the Pet store to buy one. The store did not have a baby Betta so I got what they have, I am guessing, a teen Betta. I got a female one hoping I will add two more female later.

I went back to the pet store another day, this time with my daughter.

“Let's get Sponge Bob.”

She was pointing at the yellow-orange pineapple house set with the big-toothed-always-smiling Sponge Bob. Funny, I had been looking of that too but did not pick it earlier thinking my daughter would think I was being too childish.

So guess if we bought it?

Of course we did, plus two female Betta fish.

Watching the fish fascinated me that I watched them for about an hour.

***

Pull up bar that I cannot pull myself up all the way.
Perhaps I should just stretch. :)

Many challenges still come in my way. I just have to fish for happiness and inspiration in my life even when they are just "Little Things."

Yesterday, I started my day with meditation for twenty minutes, then exercise. And the dogs, of course, I took care of the dogs, walking in the neighborhood before I head for work.

I got to work feeling energized. I had two patients in the intensive care unit, different cases than my usual post operative open heart surgery patients. I had a busy but good day.