And Just Like That, It's Over

     Yesterday was my final day of preceptorship.  Preceptorship was the last leg of this long, arduous journey to obtain a BSN.  All that's left to graduate is turning in my paperwork to my instructor, and then I will be set to graduate in two weeks.  I think I'm in a state of disbelief.  It didn't feel real on the way home last night.  It took hearing my mom on the phone saying again and again, "You did it. You're done" before it began to sink in a bit. 

     Although Nursing school seemed to drag on and on indefinitely with new hoops to jump at every corner, now that it's moving to the rear view  mirror it seems like it was too short.  I'm going to be responsible for lives soon.  I will be an advocate, an educator, and a safeguard for my patients.  That's a lot of responsibility, and I'm going to be honest and say that I wonder if I'm ready.  My preceptor, who is an amazing woman, and an equally wonderful nurse told me that she felt that way too when she started.  Maybe that's a good thing.  I don't ever want to take my job lightly.  I don't want to ever become flippant about a patient's wellbeing.  I want to be a good nurse.  No.  I want to be an amazing nurse who makes a difference in people's lives.  I want to be the kind of nurse that people remember.  Not necessarily my name or even my face, but I want them to remember that I cared, that I helped them, and that I was their rock to lean on.  That may sound cheesy, but every word is true. 

     I'm hesitant to put too much here, but I am looking forward to the future with great enthusiasm at my prospects.  Once I pass NCLEX (and I will pass!) I'll be looking for doors to open where I never expected them to be.  I hope that as I close this chapter and begin the next one God will guide me to where He needs me, since He knows where my heart lies.  I will definitely be keeping y'all updated as I move through this next stage of life with joy and enthusiasm. 

   

 A rare selfie before my last day.

         

     It seems a bit out of place to tack on a recipe at the end of this blog entry, but then again, it would feel wrong not to. So here you are, an easy recipe for any weeknight that's also not terrible for you. 

Balsamic Chicken and Veggies

1/4 cup Italian salad dressing

3 TBS balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 TBS honey

1 1/4 lbs chicken breast tenderloins

2 TBS olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed and chopped into 2 inch pieces

1 1/2 cup matchstick carrots

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

In a mixing bowl, mix together salad dressing, balsamic vinegar, and honey. Set aside. Heat olive oil in a skillet over mediun heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Place in the skillet, and cook 3-4 minutes per side until cooked through. Add half of the dressing mixture to skillet, and turn the chicken to coat. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, leaving the sauce in the skillet. Add the aspargus and carrots to the skillet, and season as desired with salt and pepper.  Stir frequently, cooking until tender, or about 4 minutes. Transfer veggies to serving plattet. Add remaining dressing mixture and tomatoes to the skillet, and cook for about a minute. Return chicken and veggies to the skillet and toss to coat. Serve warm. 

I've Come to Terms With the Fact That I'm Annoying

     Over the years, I've had to come to terms with the fact that some people find me annoying.  It's cool.  Not everyone can handle my brand of cheeriness.  I'm no stranger to being told that my happy-go-lucky morning-person attitude is revolting.  Probably because I heard it every morning from my mom as I tried to serenade her out of bed.  Friends at school would groan when I would be bouncing around at 6 am.  Coworkers would roll their eyes and keep walking when I would exclaim "Good Morning!" at 6:30 am.  My own daughter tells me to "go away" when she hears her door squeak open on a typical weekday morning.  I get it, but these days I have managed to find a whole new crowd of people to piss off with my happy.  I now have patients!

     This past week while working at the nursing home for school, I was asked to help feed one of the dementia patients who was not feeling too well that day.  I walked over to this sweet-looking elderly woman, who was holding her head in her hands and not even acknowledging that her food had been getting cold for the past 15 minutes.  I pulled up a chair next to her, sat down, and introduced myself.  The introduction was met with a groan, which was expected.  The woman clearly wasn't feeling well, so I gently asked her if she wanted to eat.  She shook her head no.  I prodded a little more, gently of course, and said that she needed to eat to feel better.  To that she snapped, "I'll eat when I'm darn good and ready to eat."

     Now, this was the first time my happy smile had been met with a grumpy retort, but I shrugged it off and walked over to the worker at the facility and told her that the woman clearly didn't want to eat.  She told me to go see if I could get her to at least pick her head up.  I steeled myself for more combat and return to my chair by the lady's side.  I asked again if she would like to try a little bit of her food.  She merely groaned at me.  That's when I was struck by a stroke of brilliance!  I would get her chatting with me, gain her trust, and then get her to eat!  Yeah, that would work.  So I began enthusiastically asking about her BINGO game I had seen her partaking in earlier in the evening.  That was met with more groans.  I asked about her family: more groaning.  I asked about her roommate, how long she'd been there, what she liked to do, anything to get the woman to acknowledge me and stop groaning.  Well, it sort of worked.  She stopped groaning.  In fact she stopped acknowledging me at all.  She just sat there with her head in her hands, ignoring her food.

     At this point I started to feel really bad for her.  I knew she needed to eat, but I knew she was probably getting sick of me flitting around her like an annoying fly, so I decided to quit beating around the bush and tackle the problem head-on.  That's when I asked if she wasn't feeling well, to which she replied that she wasn't.  I asked if she wanted to go lay down, and she said she did. That's when I offered a proposition: if she would eat a little bit I would help her to her room to rest.  I thought I had finally convinced her because she finally picked her head up and looked me in the eyes!  Then she said, "Would you just shut up?"  My classmate, who was sitting nearby feeding another patient, busted out laughing, as did the worker.  Not missing a beat I replied with a grin on my face, "I'll shut up if you eat for me."  (Yes, I was desperate at this point.)  To which, the patient simply put her head back in her hands and sighed.

     After my dismal failure with that particular patient, the worker rescued me, laughing that I would probably get hit if I kept trying to make her eat, and asked me to go feed another patient.  Something about the twinkle in her eye when she told me which patient I should feed next made me think I was being set up to fail again.  Then I saw my next patient.  She looked like she had led a rather rough life, and her wild eyes suggested she was a scrapper, so I knew I was in for it when I sat down next to her.  I introduced myself to her, and she looked at me like I was crazy when I offered to help feed her.  The guy across from us confirmed my fears about her when he said, "Now, don't go fighting this one, she's here to help you."  Great!  Well she couldn't communicate verbally, but I could tell right away by her body language the last thing she wanted to do was patronize me by eating that nasty-looking, foul-smelling, glorified baby food, but then I had another stroke of brilliance.  Eyeing the ice cream on her tray, I made her a deal:  eat your baby food, and I'll give you some ice cream.  Expecting the same reaction I had gotten from the previous patient, I was so relieved to see this patient break out into a huge grin and nod her head in agreement to my deal.  From then on out we were the best of friends, cracking up and laughing at each other, even when she threw her water across the table just for giggles.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

     Well now that you've sat through another silly story of mine, I'll share some lunch ideas :-)

Monday: Ballerina Bento Box

      This idea is straight out of Everyday Bento, which I love!  It has such cute ideas for be not boxes for your kids, and even a section about adult bentos.  The ballerina slippers come with a side of carrot sticks, cheese cubes, raisins, grape tomatoes, and cucumber "wands".

Tuesday: Sandwich on a Stick
(or if you're Jose Jalapeño, "Sandwich on a steek!")

     I don't know why, but every time I try to pack my daughter a simple ham sandwich, she won't eat it.  She complains that by the time she gets it at lunch the bread is soggy.  So, I decided to send her to school with these little "sandwich on a stick" kabobs, and she loved them!  She told me the bread wasn't soggy at all, which makes no sense to me, but whatever, she ate it.   Simply thread some bread cut into cubes, some ham rolled up, and some cubed cheese onto a skewer, and there you go.  I added some pickles (her favorite), some tomatoes and broccoli, half of a banana, and a bit of Ranch to dip her veggies in.  Typically I'm not big on Ranch for her veggies; I feel like it defeats the purpose of eating healthy veggies if you douse them in preservative-filled, saturated-fatty, creamy sauce, but she asked for it specifically, and I knew it would gather to eat more of her veggies than usual, so what the heck!

Wednesday: Princess Quesadillas

      This was a super simple lunch.  I made ham and cheese quesadillas for her that morning, and use cookie cutters to make the different shapes.  I cut some cucumbers into cute little hearts, added some grape tomatoes, and gave her half of an apple to go with it.  She ate all of this one too.

Thursday: Breakfast for Lunch

      I love breakfast for dinner.  We have that at least twice a month.  I like it because I typically have more time in the evening to make all the things I really wanted to eat for breakfast.  Plus, J's more awake, and more likely to help.  Well, this is the same basic concept.  I took a waffle, and cut it into strips for Monkey to dip in the syrup I provided (I only gave her a little bit, so her teacher wouldn't kill me for giving her a sugar rush at school).  I added some turkey bacon, a boiled egg, half of a banana, and some edamame.  Yes, the edamame has nothing to do with breakfast, but you know I like to throw a little green into her lunches.

Friday: Asian Chicken Salad

      This one is actually used some leftovers from the previous night's dinner of Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps from SkinnyTaste (recipe to follow).  I chopped up some lettuce, added the leftover chicken, and supplied the homemade Spicy Hoisin Dipping Sauce in these adorable little sauce holders to use as a dressing.  I then packed Monkey some crackers, tomatoes, and half of a banana as sides.  This was another one caused her to clean out her box, which makes Mommy happy :-)

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
1/4 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
1 TBS soy sauce, plus 1/4 tsp dark soy sauce (or more of the regular soy sauce)
1/2 tsp oyster sauce
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 TBS rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
pepper to taste
8 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs, ground
1/4 cup water chestnuts, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 TBS diced scallions
6 iceberg lettuce leaves, rinsed

Spicy Hoisin Dipping Sauce
4 TBS Hoisin Sauce
1/2 tsp chili sauce (I use Sriracha)
1 TBS warm water

Place dried mushrooms in a bowl filled with hot water to soften a few minutes.  Remove stems and chop fine.  Set aside.

Combine soy sauce(s), oyster sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, rice wine, sugar, and pepper in a separate bowl.

Combine ground chicken, mushrooms, and water chestnuts in a new bowl.  Add soy sauce mixture.  Mix and let marinate for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix ingredients for Spicy Hoisin Dipping sauce, and set aside.

Heat remaining oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat.  Add garlic, cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds.  Add chicken mixture, stir fry until brown, breaking chicken mixture up as it cooks, about 4-5 minutes.

Serve by spooning 1/4 cup of chicken into each leaf.  Top with scallions and hoisin sauce.

Enjoy :-)

I'm Diagnosing Myself

      What can I say about the last two months?  They have been one Hell of a ride to say the least.  I never thought I could go through so many emotions in such a short time span.  Adult Health I (Med Surg) was almost more than I could handle.  Almost.  It was rough, and I wasn't always sure I'd make it to the other side, but here I am.  Thank God!  And thanks to my wonderfully supportive family who put up with me going from completely neglecting them to wanting to do nothing but cuddle and cry all day and talk about how much we love each other.  Yeah, they've been troopers.  Also to my fellow classmates, we're not out of the woods yet, but I'm definitely starting to see some thinning of the trees.  At any rate, I've missed blogging, and I hope y'all missed me too.  Either way I'm back ;-)  Until Adult Health II, that is.

     Now that this semester is over and I get a little break I plan on catching up with everything else in my life.  Let's start with this blog.  Since I've been neglecting my wonderful readers, let me share an awesome recipe with y'all to make amends.  This recipe comes from Cuisine at Home magazine, which I picked up on vacation last year to idly flip through while we had some down time in the hotel.  It has since become well worn from overuse.  My favorite recipe in this magazine is the one I'm about to share.

Buffalo Chicken Fries
(Makes 4 servings)

1/3 hot sauce (I like Texas Pete, but you can use any)
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 TBS honey
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided

Slice chicken length-wise into 1/2 inch strips, and season with salt and pepper.

Whisk together hot sauce, butter, and honey in a large bowl.

Pour flour into a large Ziploc bag.  Add chicken, seal bag, and toss until chicken is coated.  Shake off excess flour.

Heat 2 TBS oil in large sauté pan over medium-high heat; add half the chicken strips, sauté until browned, about 2 minutes per side, then transfer to hot sauce mixture and toss to coat.  Repeat with remaining oil and chicken strips.

     These little chicken fries with a kick are paired perfectly with some of my end-of-the-season finds from the garden.  I managed to get just enough pole beans off of my dying plants to cook some up as a side.  There's really nothing like some home grown veggies!  Now that I've got a bit of a break from school, I'll be tearing up my summer plants and planting my Fall/Winter garden.

     Another thing I'm looking forward to is packing Monkey's lunches for school.  I know I probably sound crazy, but ever since I discovered Everyday Bento, I can't wait to pack her lunch each morning.  I just love all the cutsie ideas that make eating healthy fun for my baby girl.  Plus I feel better knowing exactly what she's putting in her belly each day at school.  That's right; I said "school".  My baby girl is officially a Kindergartener!  How crazy is that?!  So in order to keep my mind off of that fact in hopes that I'll eventually stop crying, I'm trying to keep busy by planning out her fun lunches.  Here's an example on one I made last week.  I wanted her to practice opening all her containers in her lunchbox, since I won't be there to help her.  So I went ahead and made this practice Bento box:

Bugs Bento Box Lunch

The bottom layer of Monkey's Bento box held these crawly critters

 For these snails you'll need:
1 tortilla
a few slices of deli meat
a few thin slices of cheese
Spinach leaves
Baby dill pickles, sliced in half at an angle
Toothpicks

Simply place your meat, cheese, and and spinach leaves on the tortilla, roll up, and slice into pinwheels, and then assemble as seen above.

The top layer of Monkey's bento box

  Using this awesome veggie/fruit cutter I cut butterflies out of one of our homegrown cucumbers.  Then I filled the other containers with grapes and yogurt (or magic fruit dip, as Monkey calls it).

     Well that's it for now, y'all.  I have a ton of housework to catch up on, which will (hopefully) keep me busy until Monkey gets home from school this afternoon.

The Things She Does for Her Students

     I love Nursing school.  I have a couple of awesome teachers, and the class I'm in is filled with a variety of fun people from all different walks of life that just make learning fun.  I feel like I learn more in one day of class than I learned in an entire semester of my prereqs (with a few exceptions), and I'm excited to go to class every day.  And who wouldn't be with all the awesome things I get to do?  Take yesterday for example.  We were learning how to insert a catheter into a patient (no wait, I promise, it gets better), and everyone in my group was a tad nervous because one of our instructors was watching us.  No big deal, but this instructor is not shy about calling you out for crossing a sterile field.  It's understandable when you are risking major infection in your patient if you preform the procedure incorrectly, but understanding her motives does not make my hands shake any less when she comes to watch.  I also kind of love and fear asking her questions.  She's been a nurse for a long time, so I know she has a wealth of knowledge that she is more than willing to share, but I'm going to be seeing her again and again throughout this program, so I don't want to make myself look like an idiot by asking a stupid question.  Yesterday I took the risk anyway.

     After I finished up inserting the catheter into our dummy, I asked my teacher about the proper method to cover a female patient for this procedure.  We had watched a video on the subject, but that just made it look like some kind of funky origami with a sheet, and I was at a loss and wanted some clarification.  My teacher shook her head for a minute, and I thought I was mentally being put on her idiot list, but then she popped her head up and asked, "How much are you willing to pay me?"  Confused, I let out a nervous laugh, but before I could ask what she meant, she sighed, and said, "The things I do for my students", before hopping up into the bed in front of our dummy.  Utterly baffled, I just stared at her for a second as she hiked up her knees to assume the position (Ladies, think of the way you sit when visiting your Ob/Gyn).  She handed me the sheet and told me to get to it.  At this point the entire class was watching (and sniggering) as I wrapped one corner of the sheet around one leg, and secured it under her foot and then moved around to the other side to wrap that leg.  Just as she is explaining to me how the blanket now allows easy access to the vagina for catheter insertions, lifting the sheet for emphasis, our other teacher walks in the lab with a cry of, "Oh my WORD!  What is going on?" before she bursted into giggles at the sight of her fellow instructor.  The teacher on the bed just laughed and hopped down, and now I will never forget how to drape a female patient to provide privacy during a catheter insertion.

     I really don't know where to even go from here, so here's a recipe:

Chicken Tamale Casserole
from Gonna Want Seconds Blog

2 1/4 cup shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 tsp ground cumin
1 can cream corn
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 (4 oz) can green chiles, chopped
1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 400.  Grease a 9x13" casserole dish.  Combine 1/4 cup cheese, milk, egg, cumin, cream corn, muffin mix, and green chiles in a large bowl.  Stir until moist.  Pour into casserole dish.  Bake for 15 minutes; pierce in several places with a fork.  Pour enchilada sauce over the top.  Top with chicken and 2 cups of cheese.  Return to oven and bake for 15 minutes more, or until cheese melts.  Remove from oven, and let sit 5 minutes.  Top with green onions before serving.

Enjoy!

I'm a Nurse (What's Your Superpower?)

     I know many people who like to collect things.  I myself have gone through many phases of collecting things.  When Beanie Babies were the thing, my sister and I had our fair share of those cuddly little toys.  For a while I collected miniatures.  After that I started collecting spoons from all the different places I'd been.  Now that I'm an adult the Beanie Babies have been passed along; the miniatures have been stored away, and the collectible spoons have gone to the Goodwill.  There's still one thing I collect, however, and that is mugs.  I love collecting mugs because every morning when I sip my coffee or every evening as I revel in the warmth of my hot tea, I am reminded of something tied to the particular mug I'm holding.  I have a rather simple mug that's red on the outside and black on the inside.  It's a reminder of the first Valentine's Day J and I celebrated as a couple.  I bought him the mug with some of his favorite flavored teas and a copy of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations.  We drank all the tea, and the book was lost on J's first deployment, but that mug still remains.  There's another mug J bought when we went to the Renassaince Festival in Louisiana when I was pregnant with Monkey.  It's too big for me, but it's the perfect size for J and the amount of coffee he consumes in a day.  Another mug in my collection has a little cow who seems to be bathing in my tea.  The handle has broken off, but still I hang onto it because J brought it back to me from Spain.  Lately the one I've been reaching for more often than not is this one:

     This mug was a $0.25 find at a rummage sale a friend and I were perusing.  I saw this one and seized it.  I had a moment of guilt where I turned to my friend and said, "But I'm not a nurse, yet."  She urged me to get it anyway to use "as motivation".  I don't think either of us realized how much motivation this one little mug could lend.

     Before completing my prereqs, the words on this mug seemed proud, shouting, "I'm a NURSE!  What's your superpower?"  I would feel so smug as I sipped from it, thinking of how awesome I would be in my new scrubs, and how smart I would sound conversing with doctors in their own dialect, but then something happened.  Every morning...okay, every other morning.  I do wash the thing occasionally ;-)  Anyway, every other morning I would reach for the mug, read the words, "I'm a Nurse, What's your Superpower?" and I noticed that the words began to change.  These days the words seem more cautious, yet more comforting as well, "I'm a nurse." it says, and then it asks me, "What's your superpower?"  It's no longer a competition, no longer smug, no longer overly proud.  It's a challenge to find my "superpower", to find my compassion.  It's a reminder of the kind of person I truly want to be, not just the career I want to have.

     I may not be an RN now, but I can be a "nurse".  I can care and be compassionate.  I can put others first.  I can serve.  So, in a way I can be a "nurse", even now.  The Bible says, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so shall he be..." (Proverbs 23:7).  Others refer the the psychology behind the rewards of positive thinking.  Even more people simply say that optimism, or the right attitude, will get you where you need to go.  I guess I'm calling on all of these principles to make it through the next 18 months, starting with this $0.25 mug.


Now I'm going to study so I can become an RN, and turn that rummage sale find into a prophetic mug :-)

P.S.---If you want one of these mugs for your own, I found them on Amazon.  They even have different colors.

Mama Said Be a Nurse

     It's February now!  That means one month closer to homecoming, and I can't wait to have my J back home.  I need someone to keep Monkey entertained ;-)  February means this semester is almost over, and if I survive it, by the end of this month I will be entering the Nursing program (like, for real, y'all)!  I just have to pass Dosage Calculations first.  When I say that people are all, "Oh, you've got that," but I don't think they quite get it unless they're in the class.  "Passing" Dosage Calculations does not mean I have to simply not make an F.  In order to pass we have to have a 90 average.  Even when I tell people that, they're still insistent, "Oh, you'll be fine, you make A's all the time."  Then I have to dig a little deeper and explain we only have 4 tests, and each test has had either 10 or 20 questions on it.  This means each question is worth 5 or ten points, so if you miss only one or two questions there's your 90.  If you miss more....well...

     It's no wonder I ate half a pan of homemade brownies by myself over the past week.  I'm stressing out, but I'm determined to make it.  To fail this would mean waiting until the Fall to start the Nursing Program, and I'm so tired of waiting!  I just want to get started so I can finish.  I know there's more stress ahead, but I'm ready for it.  If I can just pass Dosage Cal...

    At any rate I found a rather funny Nursing video the other day, and I shared it with my mom because I blame her for telling me to go into this field.  Don't get me wrong, I want to be a nurse, but my mom has always pushed it too, so this goes out to my loving Mom.  It's all your fault, woman!





      I hope you got a laugh out of that video like I did.  Now let me share a recipe and send you on your way.  Here's another recipe Monkey and I made from her new Paula Deen's Kid's Cookbook Monkey received for Christmas:

Monkey Bread
1 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3 cans refrigerator biscuits (10 biscuits each)
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a shallow dish mix together white sugar and cinnamon.  Remove biscuits from the tubes, and cut into quarters.  Place each piece of biscuit into the cinnamon sugar and shake it around until it's coated.
At this point I had to help: Place butter and brown sugar into a small pot over low heat, and let butter melt, stirring to mix.  Once completely mixed, turn off the stove and remove from heat.
Spray a Bundt pan with cooking spray; place the biscuit pieces into the bundt pan evenly.  Pour the brown sugar mixture over biscuits.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Remove from oven, and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
To serve, turn Bundt pan upside-down on a large plate or a serving platter.  The Monkey bread should fall right out.  Let cool for a few more minutes before eating.

Enjoy!

I Like to Balance out my Good Grades with a Little Dumb-Assery, Just to be Fair

     You know, I make pretty good grades in school.  I always have.  I'm not claiming to be super smart or anything; I'm just really good at taking tests.  I know that some of y'all on my Facebook feed are probably getting sick of the "WooHoo! I made a 4.0 this semester" or "Guess who made a 100 on her first exam!" statuses, but school is what is relevant to me right now, so that's what I talk about most.  To be fair, though, I've decided that if I'm going to announce to the world that I made a 100 on my first Pharmacology test, I also have to announce what a dumbass I made myself out to be in Intro to Nursing last night.  Life is about balance, right?

     So last night after our first test, our teacher was going through her lecture about administering medications.  When she got to the point about injections, she split us into groups so we could all handle the needles, syringes, and "insulin" (which was really sterile water) in order to get a feel for drawing up medications.  Now, my mom got me some practice needles a while back, but honestly I was a little nervous to try them on my own, so I've never handled a needle before.  I've also heard scary stories of needle sticks from patients who have HIV, so of course I was a little apprehensive and aware of the importance of needle safety.  Yet, somehow last night when the teacher told us to draw up 2 mL of "insulin" my excitement clouded out everything else, and I jumped at the chance to claim a needle and get going.  The problem started when I couldn't get the cap off the darn thing.  I tried exerting minimal force, but the cap just wouldn't budge.  Feeling the eyes of the two other girls in my group boring into me as I struggled with the stupid thing, I finally decided to give a quick jerk to release the needle from its prison.  It was effective and overkill because the needle shot backwards out of the cap, and then forwards into the index finger of my left hand.  I just sat there, stunned for a sec on as the blood began for bubble up out of my finger.  Thinking I'd recover quickly, I stood up to grab my jacket with the intent of holding that over my wound to disguise it and stem the flow of blood.  As I stood, however, the teacher caught sight of me (and my now bleeding profusely hand) and came swiftly over.  Her look of horror just made my brain stall, so when she asked me if I wanted to go to the bathroom, I just stood there for a second wondering why she would want me to go pee at a time like this, but then it clicked, and I scurried off before any of my fellow classmates, besides the girls in my group, saw that my hand was now dripping blood onto the table.

     As I sat in the bathroom, watching the sink turn red from a tiny needle stick I tried to think of ways to recover from this clear display of incompetence.  Unfortunately, I got nothing.  Finally I stemmed the flow of blood, and I returned to class with my tail firmly tucked between my legs.  I decided to steer clear of the needles at first, but then I finally got up the courage to try again.  This time everything went smoothly, and I only had to endure one joke from my classmate about being careful where I pointed the thing after I had successfully drawn out my 2 mL.  I think it was warranted.  Luckily class let out soon after that because my finger had swollen to three times its normal size and was throbbing.  As I was packing up to leave, I offered to help my teacher pack away the needles and insulin, but she told my "No thanks" in what I'm hoping was just a normal voice, not a panicky, "Dear God don't let her near those things again" way.  My last attempt at redeeming myself involved a little humor as I told her, "Well I've been really worried about needle sticks in the hospital, so I just decided to get it out of the way in your class."  She gave me what I took as a look of pity, although it could have been a withering look of "I just wrote you down as the first to flunk out of this program".  O.o

     On a more serious note, though, through the whole thing I kept remembering this one phrase someone said about Nursing school.  They didn't remember the tests they made 100's on or the questions they got right.  They remembered the screw ups, the bad calls, the mistakes and they never made those again.  I don't think I'll ever be so careless with a needle again.

     You know I can't let you go without a recipe, so here you go:

Family Favorite Chicken Kabobs
from Allrecipes.com

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp gr. black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cloves garlic
4 small onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
12 skewers

In an extra-large bowl mix oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper.  Reserve a small amount for later to brush over the kabobs.  Add in chicken, garlic, onions, bell peppers, and pineapple chunks.  Let marinade for at least 2 hours.

Drain marinade, and thread chicken, vegetable, and pineapple pieces onto the skewers.  Lightly oil the grill.  Cook 12-15 minutes on high heated grill until juices run clear.  Turning and brush with reserved marinade frequently.

Enjoy.  Now I'm off of here, because typing makes my finger hurt worse :-/

It's Good to be Needed

     This past week I started another semester at WCU, but this one is a bit different that any other before.  I'm finally moving into the Nursing program, and we have hit the ground running.  It's an adjustment to say the least, but it's one I'm enjoying.  I've never been one to study much, I was blessed with the ability to excel academically with minimal effort, but it seems those days are behind me.  Every morning I wake up two hours before my family to get in a few chapter's worth of studying.  When Monkey wakes up I fix breakfast for all of us and play catch up on housework.  I spend what time I can with my family before I cook dinner.  After dinner I lock myself back in my study to finish up what I can while J bathes Monkey and gets her ready for bed.  We do bedtime stories as a family and then J and I go to sleep.  It's been a huge reversal from my normal schedule of doing whatever I want with my daughter whenever I wanted.  My time with her is limited lately, and I know once clinicals start that time will shrink again, so I've been stressed out about the idea that she'll learn to do without me or won't want me around as much.  Even when J tried to sooth my fears and explain that they were unwarranted, I still was brought to tears last night when she seemed completely uninterested in my presence at bedtime, but was all about her daddy.  I knew that was a good thing, but I couldn't help but feel replaced.

    Thankfully it didn't take long to be reminded that she still needs me.  In the middle of the night she came into our room, and I thought she must of had an accident, so I started to wake J to take care of it (it was his turn), but then I heard, "Mommy, I had a nightmare", and I knew couldn't pass this off, nor did I want to.  I enjoyed walking her back to her bed, tucking her back in, praying with her for better dreams, and soothing her back to sleep.  It was definitely the reminder I needed to let me know that no matter how much other stuff comes into my life, my daughter is my priority, and even if I'm busier than usual, as long as I make sure to remind her daily of her importance to me, she'll understand why I can't be there 24/7.

  Now you must be wondering why I'm on here if I'm worried that I'm not spending enough time with my baby girl, and the answer is simple: my child would rather watch the Justice League than play with me.  She doesn't mind if I sit next to her, though, so here I am.  And while I'm here I might as well share a recipe, so here you go:

Mediterranean Baked Chicken
from The Clever Carrot

For the marinade you'll need:
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2-3 TBS marinade from artichokes
4 springs fresh oregano, leaves stripped

For the bake you'll need:
2 small red onions, thinly sliced
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, left whole
1 (14 oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts
1 (14 oz) can northern white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 Kalamata olives, pitted
1 small tub marinated bocconcini (I just learn these are tiny mozzarella balls, and they're yummy!)
olive oil
salt and pepper
Garnish with fresh basil and parsley to taste

Drain artichoke hearts, reserving its juice in a small bowl.  Pat artichokes dry with a paper towel; set aside.  In another bowl or in a gallon-sized bag, add 2-3 TBS reserved artichoke marinade, oregano, and garlic.  (If you still have extra artichoke juice, save it to drizzle over the dish when finished baking.)  Cut chicken into 1 1/2 inch strips; add to bowl/bag.  Drizzle with olive oil, and mix well to coat.  Marinate 1-3 hours.

Preheat oven to 400.  In a large roasting pan, place onions and tomatoes.  Toss with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and tomatoes begin to burst (about 15-20 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a large skillet warm 1 tsp oil over moderate hear.  Brown the chicken on both sides, working in batches.  The chicken will be slightly undercooked.

Remove roasting pan from oven.  The onions should be soft and sticky.  If not, cook another 5 minutes.  Add chicken, artichoke hearts, beans, and olives to the pan.  Roast 5-7 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Meanwhile chop bail and parsley if using.  Remove chicken from oven.  Add bocconcini and herbs; toss gently to combine.  Drizzle with olive oil and extra artichoke juice if desired.

Enjoy!

   This was so good.  It was easy to throw together, but was "fancy" enough for company.

Study Buddy

     I am insanely excited right now!  I got a new study buddy for Anatomy!  I'd like everyone to meet George Bedrock VonTrapp:

He has a pretty smile!

   They were selling him in the bookstore at school, and I had to have him!  I figured he would come in handy throughout school and even when I actually start a nursing job.  Maybe one day when I'm a Nurse Practitioner I can place him in my office. He's going to go far!  In the meantime we've been having a little fun. ;-)

    He's awesome, and he's my new best friend!

     In addition to my awesome friend George, I also have a recipe for Grilled Chicken and Tortellini with Roasted Red Pepper Cream to share with y'all.  I changed up a few things from the original, so if you want to check out the original, go right ahead.  Otherwise, here's what I did:

What you'll need:

1 Chicken Breast

1 (9oz) package tortellini (We used Spinach and Cheese)

2 cups frozen, chopped broccoli

1/3 cup drained roasted red bell peppers (from a jar or you can make your own)

4 TBS butter, halved
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 TBS all purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 TBS diced roasted red bell peppers

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Salt and Pepper to taste

Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste, then cook in skillet over medium-high heat.  Remove and cut into chunks.  Cook tortellini and broccoli according to directions on tortellini package.  Drain; return tortellini and broccoli to saucepan.  Meanwhile, prepare an Alfredo sauce by melting 2 TBS butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and red pepper, sauteing for a minute or two.  Add flour, and cook only until golden.  Don't let it brown.  Add heavy cream, and cook, stirring until sauce is thickened.  Add Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste.  Puree 1/3 cup red bell pepper in a blender.  Add Alfredo sauce; blend well.  Add Alfredo mixture, diced red bell pepper, and chicken to tortellini and broccoli in saucepan.  Cook and stir over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until heated through.  Pour into shallow ungreased 2 quart casserole dish.  In small bowl mix butter and bread crumbs.  Sprinkle over tortellini mixture.  Boil 1-2 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Ready for the Weekend

   My first week of school has been going swimmingly.  I am enjoying all of my courses immensely, and I'm actually looking forward to this semester.  However, I am thoroughly beat!  Being the nerd that I am, I have spent at least an additional 2 hours studying after each day, so between the studying, school itself, Monkey, the dogs, the C25K program, and keeping my house somewhat presentable, I'm ready for the weekend!  I love having all this stuff to do though, because it makes the weeks pass quickly.

   Even with all these new things going on, I'm still going to make time to fill y'all in on what's going on in this world of mine, starting with a few things I want to share today.  First off is the recipe for those Turkey Bacon Ranch Wraps I mentioned in my last post.

For one wrap you'll need:
1 Tortilla
2 slices Bacon
2 slices American Cheese
2-3 slices Turkey
Baby Spinach or Lettuce
Sliced Tomatoes
1 TBS Ranch

Place all your ingredients on top of a tortilla, and roll up!  So simple, and perfect for school lunches; especially if you're like me and can't stand sandwiches everyday.

   I also want to share a craft Monkey and I worked on today after school.  I got the idea from Pinterest, of course.

   It's a Senses Bear.  We used Construction paper, googly eyes for sight, popcorn kernels for touch, a piece of candy for taste, a cotton ball sprayed with perfume for smell, and ribbon for sound (it makes crinkly noises when rubbed together).  This was so simple, and yet such a good review for Monkey.  She really enjoyed this one.

   Guess what y'all!  Tomorrow's FRIDAY!!!  :-D

Shut Up Brain, or I'll Stab You With a Q-Tip!

  Here is a sample of the type of conversation that goes on in my head:

Me: "I don't know what to wear tomorrow.  Or how to do my hair."

Brain:  "You're way over thinking this."

Me:  "But I don't want to have Mom hair."

Brain:  "WTH is 'mom hair'?"

Me:  "You know, messy thrown-up-into a ponytail hair.  But not the stylish kind.  Mainly because it contains baby spit-up."

Brain:  "But you don't have a baby, you have a 3-year-old."

Me:  "Okay so my mom hair will be filled with Play-dough."

Brain:  "Maybe we should focus on clothes.  What are your options?"

Me:  "I'm thinking khaki shorts and that orange blouse I love, but I wore that to get my ID the other day, so everyone saw me in it."

Brain:  "Everyone?  As in the 100s of other new students milling around, looking for their classes, getting their IDs, and otherwise not noticing you and what you're wearing?"

Me:  "Yes; them."

Brain:  *Sigh*  "You are making this way too difficult.  Wear that dress you made the other day."

Me:  "But what if I have to sit on the ground?"

Brain:  "Why would you have to sit on the ground?"

Me:  "Because I'll be in a dress, and it's Murphy's Law."

Brain:  "I don't think that's Murphy's Law."

Me:  "It is; Murphy's Law states that any woman wearing a dress will have to sit Indian-style on the ground.  Or she'll have to wrestle two dogs in a crowded parking lot....or something like that."

Brain:  "You really need to let that go."

Me: "You're the one who keeps reminding me."

Brain:  "Well played."

   Although the jury is still out on my attire and hairstyle for tomorrow, I did pack myself a yummy lunch.  I found a recipe for Baked Apple Chips, and I made two batches today so that I'll have something to munch on during the week.

These things make your house smell like Fall.

Here's what you need:
1 Granny Smith Apple
1 TBS cinnamon
2 TBS brown sugar

Slice the apple ultra thing.  (The original poster went on and on about using a mandolin.  I don't have one, so I just sliced them the old fashion way.)  Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar in a small bowl.  Dip your apple slices in the mix, shaking off excess.  Lay slices flat on a parchment paper- lined baking sheet.  Bake at 225 for an hour.  Take out and flip.  Bake for another hour.  Let cool and store in airtight containers :-)

Easy Peasy!

  I also made a Turkey Bacon Ranch Wrap that I'm entirely too excited about, so I'll let y'all know if that's any good :-)

  Monkey and I went to the park so that I could get away from my brain for a while, who was being obnoxiously snotty to me about all my anxieties about tomorrow.  I swear my brain must be part male.  Ugh!  While at the park I found the funniest thing, and I have to share.

Hmmm....

   Do you see it yet?


   Now?


   Yeah, I didn't either, until my child and I got into an argument about how there were 6 nails and 9 saws...only....there aren't.  Score one for Monkey.

   Well I'm hitting the hay early tonight, and of course, by that I mean Brain and I are going to have a nice long chat before he/she lets me pass out for an hour or two and then wakes me up to wonder if I've packed a lunch yet.

Dreamweaver, Lay Off Me!

   I'm starting school in less than two weeks, and I'm trying really hard not to think about it.  When I do, I find myself feeling like I did when I was five and about to start Kindergarden.  The night before class started, I remember laying awake all night with the biggest knot in my stomach, telling myself I needed to get some sleep while knowing that I wouldn't be able to.  That feeling of apprehension and excitement would revisit me every night before every "first day" from that point on.  Apparently it's not going to give up yet.  Last night I had a dream that I was at MGCCC for my first day of class, and I was happy to be there, but I wasn't alone.  For some reason, in my dream Monkey was with me, and before I could go to my class I had to take her to the potty and see her to her classroom.  Then I'd have to rush to my class on the opposite side of campus.  Then when that class let out, I had to rush back to Monkey's classroom, bring her to the potty again, before transferring her to a new class.  Then I'd jet off to my next class.  When that one was over, the whole process would begin again.  Needless to say, in my dream I was overwhelmed.  I felt like I wasn't doing either assignment properly because I was late for every class, and I was short-tempered with Monkey for not going quickly enough.  Thank goodness it was just a dream.

    I know this dream stemmed from a few apprehensions I've been having about juggling mommy-hood with school.  Add to that the fact that I'll be parenting alone this semester and you've got potential for disaster.  But the part that lured me in in the first place is the fact that therein also lies the potential for greatness.  I want this to be a struggle; I want this to be something I fight for.  I want my daughter to grow up knowing that just because it's hard doesn't mean you give up.  It means you just have to try harder.  I like a challenge; I always have.  That probably explains most of my life choices, and you know?  I wouldn't take any of those back for the world!

   That being said, there's still a week left before Monkey heads back to daycare, and we've been as crafty as ever.  Today I made paint, and she loved it!  It was thicker than most finger paints, so she loved squishing the goo between her fingers just as much as the actual painting part of it.

 
   In honor of Monkey's future dancing attempts, we even made this little ballerina's outfit:

  You can tell my child was born and raised near New Orleans.  When I asked what colors she wanted, she promptly replied, "Purple shirt, and green tutu, like Mardi Gras."

  Well, I need to take advantage of Monkey's quiet time and go get dinner started.  Hopefully my dreamweaver will paint me a prettier image tonight as I sleep, or at least one that doesn't give me a panic attack.

MyCAA: Helping Military Spouses Go Back to School

     I am super excited today!  I just got back from turning in the last of my Financial Aid.  I had already received a Pell Grant by filling out the FAFSA, but today I was approved to receive funds through MyCAA.  A friend of mine told me about this program, and I think it's only right that I share this information with other military spouses looking to go back to school.

First, what is MyCAA?

"MyCAA helps military spouses pursue licenses, certificates, certifications or Associate's Degrees (excluding Associate's Degrees in General Studies, Liberal Arts, and Interdisciplinary Studies that do not have a concentration) necessary for gainful employment in high demand, high growth Portable Career Fields and Occupations."

They offer counseling as well as financial aid for those going back to school.  

"MyCAA provides a maximum education benefit of $4,000 with an annual fiscal year cap of $2,000 to assist eligible military spouses who need professional credentials to meet their Portable Career goals."

This is perfect if you wish to pursue an Associate's Degree in a particular field.  

"Spouses of service members on active duty in pay grades E-1 to E-5, W-1 to W-2, and O-1 to O-2 who can start and complete their coursework while their military sponsor is on Title 10 military orders, including spouses married to members of the National Guard and Reserve Components in these same pay grades."

For these facts and more, visit the MyCAA Fact Sheet or visit Military One Source and click the MyCAA link to the right of the screen listed under "Popular Links".  It will warn you that you are leaving the Military One Source web page, simply click "Click Here to Go", and.....

...it will bring you to the MyCAA homepage.

You'll have to register, and once you're in you can set up your "Goals & Plans".  This part threw me off at first because you have to submit your requirements for your chosen career path.  I am getting an Associate's degree in nursing, but I'm not in Nursing school yet, as I need a few more prerequisites.  I went to my chosen college's website and pulled up the requirements for the Pre-Nursing program, saved them to my computer (or you could copy and paste if it's not already formatted as a zip file) then I uploaded it into my Goals and Plans.  This had to be approved.  Once that was done, I received a message telling me my plan had been approved and that I could now apply for FA (Financial Aid).

This is where you need to pay attention.  You cannot submit this too early or too late.  It has to be submitted no more than 60 days before the first day of term and no less than 15 days before the first day of term.  I had it marked on my calendar just to be on the safe side.  Also, you have to submit the course code, the course description and the cost of the course without lab fees or book fees. 

The school I'll be attending charges the same amount for all students considered full-time.  This means our bill is a lump sum, and not divided into courses.  I simply subtracted my lab fees and divided that number by the number of courses I'm taking.  That's how much each course cost, and I entered that number into the FA form.  It only took 3 days (and a weekend) for them to process my request and get back to me.  I received an email, and a message on MyCAA stating that my FA was approved.  All that was left was to sign it and turn it into the Financial Aid office at the college.

I hope that helped clear up a few questions.  Once you get into the MyCAA website, it's easy to navigate as long as you pay attention to those little rules.  It's a really good program, but not one that was very well advertised.  I had never heard of it until a friend mentioned it to me, and I would really like to spread the word that this program is available to many military spouses who think they can't afford to go back to school.  If you know someone in that situation, please help them out by letting them know they can go back to school.  They can better their educations, and they can do it for little to no out-of-pocket costs!