Full of energy...

Quitting my job has helped me so much! I didn’t realize just how tired and out of whack I have been but now that I am not working until 3 or 4 in the morning I can see a huge difference in my energy levels and attitude. I am now able to get the proper amount of sleep. I go to bed around 10 pm (sometimes earlier) and get up around 7 am to get the boys ready for school and then head off to the rec center to workout and now that school has started for me I head back home to study.
I know working out is helping out as well. It helps me burn off a lot of the anxiety that I carry with me and I am starting to see a difference in the way my clothing fits. Plus my husband told me he has noticed the changes as well so that’s positive because all he could see before was a tired grumpy frumpy mom. Truth be told!
My boys have been in swim lessons for the last two weeks and today is the last day of this session which I am happy for. They have had a great time but we end up missing out on walking to get the boys from school and walking home since we have to drive straight to lessons after school lets out. It helps me add on a mile a day to my workout and it’s good for the kids to walk home as well.  I enjoy that time with my boys.
Well, I need to hit the books. I start my lab class this Saturday in full scrubs and nursing shoes. You should see me! The scrubs are unisex and boxy. At least scrubs are comfy. I was thinking I could hold on to the scrubs for when I actually earn my nursing degree but I will be in a much smaller size by then! Right!? Right!!!!!  Positive thinking is my new way of thinking!!!!

I can save you….. I just hope I never have to!

Just got home from my CPR class with my brand new shiny CPR for Healthcare Providers card! So happy and relieved that is done. I was nervous because I had taken a previous CPR class and left feeling really unsure of my abilities to ever save a persons life but this class was great. I left feeling like I could save the world! LOL Well, not the world  but at least confident enough that if someone went into cardiac arrest I could perform CPR and use a AED until paramedics showed up.
If you are in Colorado and need to take a CPR class I recommend www.rockymountaincpr.com even if you aren’t going into healthcare CPR is a skill everyone should know.
Tamara

To do this, to do that….

My to do list has been so full lately. I had my CNA  orientation on 8/10 and left so overwhelmed. I have been questioning my decision to go to school to be a nurse. All sorts of questions have come to mind almost on a daily basis like “Can I handle the job? Can I handle all the gross things that the human body is capable of doing? Am I compassionate enough?” and on and on. Well one thing that has helped me through this doubt was talking to my family doctor. I didn’t just see him to get his advice but during a recent appointment to get my first Hepatitis shot I told him I was doubting my decision to be a nurse. He told me that he has doubted his decision to be a doctor so it’s completely normal. Hearing that helped me so much just knowing that I am not the only one who questions whether or not I am making the right life choices.
After that talk it seemed like a weight was lifted off me and I was able to get to the task at hand or the many tasks at hand.  Registering for classes have been easy up until now. But taking a CNA  class has so many requirements! Here’s my list:
1. Get Titers for chicken pox and MMR – DONE
2. Get 1st of 3 Hepatitis B shots. Shot 1 – DONE ($136.00 a shot if not covered by insurance)
3. Get TB test – and go back in 72 hours to have reading – DONE!
4. Get Flu shot – waiting for shot to become available ($25.00)
5. Take BLS – CPR for Healthcare workers – Scheduled for 8/20
6. Buy scrubs and nursing shoes. ($60.00 for scrubs and $120.00 for nursing shoes) Getting next week while in Denver.
7. Buy Stethoscope and Gait Belt. ($40.00) – Bought pink Stethoscope ( one must have a splash of color, right?) still need to buy a Gait Belt.
8. Criminal Background check – sent in application and waiting. ($69.00)
Jason and I went to ACC yesterday to pay my tuition because we thought it wouldn’t be covered by financial aide but it was!!!! All of it was. I was so stressed about that because of all the costs I have taking this class but I could have kissed the financial aide guy when he told us it was covered by loans. Had I taken the same class at CCD (Community College of Denver) I would have had to pay out of pocket for everything. Thankfully I received a few grants this semester along with my loans and will have enough of a refund to cover all the above mentioned costs and then some!
I also picked up my parking pass, all my books and a new Nurses Aide ID for clinicals.   As long as the criminal background check comes in by September 10 I will be fine but if it doesn’t I won’t be able to take the course until next semester. Basically all of the list above has to be done, documented and turned in by September 10 or I have to drop the class and take it next time around. Very strict, no ifs and buts or maybes about it! I have done everything I am suppose to so I am not stressing about it. A week ago I was totally stressing about it. Unfortunately that’s how I roll. I stress out first then once that ends I take care of business.
In other news related to school, I quit my job.  My schedule was suppose to be from 7 pm till around 12 – 12:30 but over the course of the year that I have worked there I can count on one hand the times we actually got out on time. My last 2 shifts were suppose to end at midnight but got out at 4:00 and 2:30 a.m. I’d go home and sleep till noon and half my day is over before I pick the kids up and getting back on a normal schedule is really hard for me. I am not in my 20’s (or even my 30’s) anymore and I don’t adjust well to change! I stay up later than I should and have a hard time getting up to take the kids to school so I decided to quit. If the pay was good it might be worth the trouble but it’s not.  Plus it was bothering me to leave the boys before bedtime, having Jason take them to school and not seeing them again until they got off school the next day. Once I told them I was no longer going to work they were all so excited! Made me so happy to know that they want me home.
Anyhow, I am excited about this semester even though it is full. Taking the CNA  shows me that there is light at the end of this long tunnel and it won’t be long before I can apply for nursing school! Along with my CNA  classes I am taking which starts on 8/22 and ends in December I am taking College Biology and Math for Clinical Calculations. In all I am taking 14.00 credit hours this semester. Wish me luck, cause I think I am going to need that and some extra energy!

School Updates!

I am finally a Sophomore! It seems like I have been at the Freshman status forever so as silly as it is I was really excited to have been moved up!  I have a 3.3 GPA. I was at a 3.67 but received a lower grade in ONE class, which was totally my fault. I felt so burned out and really started getting lazy with this one class and I got a C when I really could have received an A in the class.
I am in the process of registering for the CNA program through the Community College of Denver which is a requirement to be accepted into the nursing program. I have 4 classes that I need to take to start  before I am able to apply for the nursing program. All are on campus classes with labs so I am hoping to be done in a few semesters. Right now I am only taking one class since I have the CNA classes coming up next month. It will be 8 weeks of classes, labs and clinical work so I didn’t want to take too much on.
Once I get into the nursing program I will continue to work towards my Bachelor’s degree but if I can my RN with an associate degree that’s what I will do to at least get a job and then continue with my online classes to earn my BSN.
So that’s that.


Quote of the day:
Whoever ceases to be a student has never been a student. - George Iles