Phlebotomy and EKG are out of the way.

I passed phlebotomy and the EKG test. So I’m certified in both of those. I though the class was easy, but grueling it was just so many hours. I have 15 ceu from taking it. The class was three times a week, three hours at a time. Dang endless. but the course was pretty interesting, and now I can do a decent blood draw. one less thing I need to learn when I get into the nursing side of the house.

I’m number two on the nursing class list. I’m pretty sure I’ll get in. The class usually loses about seven or so people. Some of my A&P classmates never signed up for the class once they were accepted. that’s a mystery to me. Maybe they were young and confident. There’s always time when you’re twenty. I’m 48, and I’m looking forward to being a nurse.
I was walking through the Catholic cemetery this morning, and I noticed besides the usual military markers, and the nuns markers, there was one identified as an R.N. I think that’s pretty unusual. I don’t really see that in any cemetery I wander though.
I’m off to school. I have just one class the rest of this semester. That’s accounting. I had taken chemistry, but I was just not getting it. Maybe next time. I’ll take it again, if I don’t get into nursing this time. The accounting class was hard at the beginning, but has gotten a lot easier since I learned that everything is just the opposite of normal.

Take care, Beth

Creativity

I was reading this morning some of the blogs that interest me. I always check out Umtemplater. People who march to their own drummer fascinate me. They are my kind! I’ve done a ton of different things throughout my life.  I wrote on the site today:

It used to be for me, that as soon as I had an idea, I went and did it. Whatever it was, tanning hides, quilt making, or making a strip built kayak. As soon as I mastered it, I never did it again. I dumped every bit of creative energy I had into these things as fast as I could. Like my talent would be taken from me. If you’re out there wondering, just do it. Don’t be afraid. you are going to make mistakes. So what? Just keep on. It’ll be frustrating, and crazy making, and then you’ll get it, and it will be smooth sailing. I didn’t think I’d ever get the hang of welding, then one day, I just did. I didn’t grow up in a place where any of the things I did were even around. I grew up in suburbia, and I started a farm. Anything is possible. Really.

It really is. I think of something now, and I attach goals to it. That way I don’t have half done things lying around as I pile more good ideas on top it. Now I do one creative thing AND MAKE A LIST of the new ones I think up. That way, I can still get to them all without overwhelming my self or my living space. My life is full of cool things. And plenty of space. I love space. And huge art. That might be the next thing. Although, I have been kicking around the idea of enameling miniature portraits. To learn enameling, I’d need to go to school. The the school is in NC, so I’m good there. And silver smithing. I like that idea, too.

So many ideas, and we all have time to do most of them. Get that list of goals going, pick out the most important one and get hot. In my case, literally.

Take care, and don’t worry. It really is all good.

Beth

My Kindle rocks!

I take walk’s in the morning to rev up my brain for studying. oh, I do a little studying before  go, But I save the big stuff for after the walk. I took my Kindle with me and listened to my A&P book. It’s a great review for the TEAS. What a nice thing to have. I feel like I’m covering all the bases I can, while living a minimalist life style, which is critical to me. If I can study better, it stays. That’s one of my motto’s.

Last night, I was surfing the net, trying to maximize my Kindle experience. I just knew I could do more with this device. And there sure is. I can go online with it, and I can get books and newspapers that are free, and not off the Amanzon web site. Very cool.

A wonderful thing about the Kindle is the amount of stuff I can hold in it. And I can get rid of old news, too. I downloaded Calibre to be able to get other books from other places besides Amazon. The freedom!  I feel it!

 I was called out last night. I have a plan B. But what I was reading told me to ditch the plan B, and put all my energy into plan A.  I can really see the wisdom in that. And what do you know? It has a certain minimal mind set to it. So I’m going to take some risks, and plow all my effort nto plan A. Which is work like a crazy woman to get into my class of choice, instead of registering for another college.

Back to studying…

Beth

11 more days until my TEAS test

I’m excited about taking it. I’m also nervous about taking it. This is the test that gets me into nursing school. I have some plan B’s, but thing will be a lot easier if I can get in near where I live. So today and for the next 10 days, I’ll be studying like a crazy person. I probably should have been right along. Live and learn, I sometimes say.

It’s such a beautiful day here today. The cat is at the door, looking out. She’s catching squirrels and birds in her hunter’s imagination. I wanted to sweep in my imagination, but it need it in real life so I did the sweeping before I go to school.

 I have a choice today. Go with my son to school in Havelock, 9:30-12:15, or with my daughter, 10:30-1:45 In New Bern, a nearby town. I think I may go with my son, so I can get busy sooner. And I know that library better, since I work there very part-time. My three goals for today are , work on my teas booklet for two hours, eat lunch, come back to the library and work on my A&P. We have a test on the respiratory system tomorrow night. I really need to get an A in that class, since I get more points towards my nursing program if I get an A. The library is open until 8 p.m., so I may go back tonight and hit the books some more.  It’s not forever, and it gets me where I want ot be. So, it’s all good.

Take care!

Beth

The walk through on a property I own

A couple of days ago, I did a walk through on a house I own in a nearby neighborhood. It has four bedrooms, and a nice fenced in yard. I bought it so I ould have passive income. I read this book A Million Bucks by Thirty: How to Overcome a Crap Job, Stingy Parents, and a Useless Degree to become a Mllionaire Before (or After) Thirty, by Alan Corey. I found to very inspirational. Ok, he may have had different experiences, but the thought is still valid. By being smart, living below your means, and being aware, you can really get where you want to go. Alan had a goal, and he worked so he could achieve it. His avenue was real estate. I like the idea.  I rent that house out, and live in my other one. See, I bought the house, and someone else lives in it.

I was kidding with my daughter last night. I told her the house we live in is so minimal at this point, I can rent out the closets so people can live in them. I laughed, she was aghast. I ‘m still laughing.

So, back to the walk through. It went very well. The family that lives in my house, must have read the book. They have their family in it, and they have another family there, too. That was on my okay. So basically they rent half price. Genius. They take wonderful of the place. I have a rental agency taking care of the repair details for me. I might do it myself next year. Or hire my own rental agent. I can outsource just as well, if not better than the rental people.   

I’ll put some marl (marl is drieway gravel and sea shells in a mix) in the driveway, since they asked, and I wish them well.

Take care, all.

Beth

Blog Feeds

As I grow, I get more discerning in my choices of blogs. I subscribe to a lot of them, on various subjects. All well and good, you say? It is. but one thing I’m doing is paring down. That means the blogs I read, too. I’ll have three or so, on a topic of interest. Then I’ll look at the blogs, and think, is there anyway I’m really going to cook what’s on that foodies blog? The truth is no, I’m not. I cook as little as possible, and the blogs just make me hungry. So out they go. I’m not getting rid of them to get rid of them. This is not mindless. What happens is that I feel a drag on my mind time if I have projects I’m never going to do. The projects, whatever they may be, call out to me. So for the time being, until I’m ready for projects beyond school, I’m dropping ones that haunt me. I’d like to live in a van, but the time is not right. So all vandwellers feeds are out. They will be there when I’m ready, and can concentrate on them. It keeps my mind clear. I’m not pulled in so many directions.

If the blog is not updated frequently, I drop it, too. I like to read current content. So many things change with the speed of light, I’d rather read now stuff, instead of things written in 2007. Some of the content will always be pertinent, like gardening, and some of the things I read, like nursing, won’t be. No problem. Part of my journey is to figure out where I am, and be the best right there. that does not mean dilute myself with things, whether they are things or information.

Take care, and keep thinking!

Beth

Respiratory therapist

I was in class the other night learning about lungs and what not. There was a Surgical Sam dummy on our table. One of tonight’s lessons was how to intubate a person. Most of the class want to be nurses, except the very smart girl who sits next to me and wants to be a doctor.

Anyway, let’s just say I was not very good at it. I was a little rough. Maybe we could even say the dummy allegedly lost his head over the incident.

 I hope I have another chance to practice, because getting the tube in the lungs, not the stomach will pass the test. The teacher wanted to know if anybody wanted to be a respiratory therapist. I thought about it for an instant, but since it not ever been one of my goals, I let it go. I’m flexible about my goals, and how to get them, but they are still my goals. Nursing it is, travel nursing, specifically, not  respiratory therapy. One of the kids in the class said, it might be good for a weekend job, but not the 40 hour a week job. I think he’s right. It never hurts to learn something new, of course, and I can learn it after my true goal.

The flu is running around my house at the moment. 4/4 are sick. I think the only one who is well is the cat. So we’re taking it easy, pushing fluids and mostly just chilling.

Take care, like we should have!

Beth

Goals of the month

Here are my new ten goals:

1.Pay my mortgage for the next six months on both my houses. Possibly get a new rental agency for my rental house. Change rooms around in the house I live in.

2. Get all ‘A’s in school. That’s a tough one, but I like a challenge.  B term classes start March 5th. I’m only taking one class now. For B term, March-May, I’ll be up to three. A&P2, Algebra, and Developmental Psychology. I really like the shorter classes better.

3. Teach all mye kids how to live independent lives. I have three sons that need lessons in budgeting, menu making, and cooking. No time like the present.

4. Write in my blog 5 times a week.

5. Sell the truck, and get a better vehicle. Thanks to my daughter for helping me spell vehicle last night. I had written vec, and I was waiting for the rest. She told me, veh. I said, okay, I’ve got it, what’s next. She’d repeat VEH… Finally I saw the problem. I saw vec as veh. I think algebra might be more of a problem than I think.   I see one thing and think it’s another. This might explain a lot of thing in my life, actually.

6. Get up and get dressed right away. Nap later in the day then 10 a.m. Like maybe 2p.m. I’m still going to nap, rest assured. Just not so early.

7. Walk before I do my homework. I’m reading this book called Brain Rules by John Medina. He suggests that we do better by walking, since our ancestors walked 12 miles a day, just to live, and that where they worked out their problems. On foot. So, I’ll give that a try. I will try a lot of things to do better at learning.

8. Keep my area neat. It really does help me think. Minimalist living helps my brain. How easy is that?

9. Decide if I really am going anywhere this summer. If not, I’ll consider what classes I’d like to take this summer. Time to start thinking about it.

10. Be at peace.

Take care, all!

Beth

Trying different approaches to studying

I have an A&P class tonight, We are studying the respiratory system. Friday, I read one hour of the chapter in our textbook. Tough stuff. That gas exchange has a lot of chemistry components.

 Saturday, I reread some of the hard stuff, with no more understanding that than I had before. No problem.I then listened to my smart pen class lecture.  I have more familiarity with what I need to know.

 Sunday I listened to the respitory system from Anatomy and physiology for Dummies on my kindle. It does a good job explaining. Not really easier, just different.

Monday, I looked up pathology fo the respiratory system. Very interesting stuff. Did you know fungus can grow in the lungs? Me neither. I looked at the histology (cell sized) of lung tissue, and of regular sized pictures of diseased lungs.

 Today, I’ll draw the lungs and other aspects of the respiratory system. So when I go to class to-night, I’ll have the best possible idea of what  questions to ask my professor.

I want a good understanding of what I’m learning. I know it’s key to becoming a good nurse. Learning all I can, every way I can.

The weather is much better here today, and the post office is open, so I’m going to walk on over and mail my taxes. I need to get that going so I have money for you, know, stuff. Oh, wait, I try not to own too much stuff. Let’s just say, I’ll use the money for a little thing I like to call ‘mortgage’.

Take care!  Beth

Algebra?

If I take this dreaded class, I can get points towards my Teas test and entry into the nursing program. Okay, that is definitely good for achieving my number one goal, of getting into nursing. The bad thing is I really struggle with math. I signed up for the class, but I can drop it any time between now and March 5th if I choose to. I only need to get a C in that class. I took out the old algebra text-book this morning, and I thumbed through it. The pre-algebra section has 88 pages. If I can master 8 pages a day, I might stand a chance in that class. Having a better knowledge of math will also help on the teas test itself. It looks like it might be a win-win. And an ulcer.

Still a bit of snow on the ground here. For the most part, it’s melted away. I don’t have much experience with snow, as I was rasied in south Florida. I’m not all that sure I like it. The very act it even snows here at all, gives me thoughts about my traveling nurse career. I’m thinking Arizona, south Texas, south Florida. Snowbird places, one and all. Maybe I need to brush up on geriatric nursing.

As for goal number two, weight loss and general good health, I’m going to check out a gym this morning. Right after I eat pancakes, eggs and bacon. Perhaps my idea of eating right needs a little work. hey, baby steps, right? Rome was not built in a day. Neither was my waistline.

Take care, my friends!

Beth