Whoaaaaaa

I haven't been on here since MAY???  WHAT???  I am so sorry...(if anyone is still reading my blog).  Time has literally flown by.  

Let's see...where do I begin?  CDU....I love it!  Talk about less stress and aggravation.  Although a month after we opened, we reverted back to basically a PCU unit because the doctors were fighting over who could admit to our unit.  They had to have a bunch of studies and meetings and after about 2 1/2 months, we are back to CDU status.  The patients for the most part are much easier to care for (and more normal).  They like to sleep at night, they are alert & oriented and the majority are not drug seeking.  There are always a few that slip thru the cracks.  I literally had a patient a couple weeks ago that the doctor advised her to stop doing crack.  No joke!

Oh...another update from CDU...the manager is one of my best friends...lol.  She is the nurse that left with me from the last hospital we were at & started our new venture at this one.  She opted for the admin route while I am sticking with bedside.  I just have no tolerance for meetings & b.s.  I only want to work my 36-40 hrs a week & be free the rest of the time.  She is on call 24/7.  I couldn't do that no matter what the pay was.  It is nice though having her as a manager.  Plus our unit is small & our staff gets along great.  Absolutely no drama & we all have each other's back.  It really is a nice place to work.  I will enjoy it while it lasts.  Only 25 more years until I can retire...yay! 

And yet another hospital update...the manager from my old unit - the one that was way too much of a micromanager.  Well, she no longer works at my hospital.  Enough said.

Puppy update...Timber is now about 70 lbs.  She has grown quickly.  She is adorable...very energetic.  If I can figure out how to post a pic on here, I will.  

Me update...I have somehow managed to lose about 50 lbs in the last couple of years.  I didn't exercise or eat better to lose this weight...I just ate less of the junk I usually do.  However, I have now joined Weight Watchers (mostly because my hospital gets me a big discount) & managed to lose 5 lbs in 3 weeks.  Doesn't make sense because I cut out 70% of the junk & started exercising.  I know...taking it off slowly is better, but I am sick this week & unable to keep up my healthy eating or exercise & I gained all 5 lbs back.  Ugh!  I'm not going to let it get me down.  This is a journey, not a race.  Gotta get rid of this cold & get refocused.  I am determined.  And thanks to instagram...there is tons of support & incentive & recipes.  I still have a long way to go...but I am going to get there.  One day at a time!

What a difference...

What a difference a month (or so) makes!  I just finished up on my last shift as a PCU nurse this morning.  I start on Tuesday in a brand new unit in my hospital...Clinical Decision Unit aka 23 hr observation.  I've always wanted to try this & by luck of the draw...I am now in a position to do that.  Luckily the person putting the unit together was the manager that hired me at this hospital 5 years ago.  Yep, been 5 years there already.  And best of all...I won't be starting alone on the new unit...cause 6 of my coworkers are starting also.  Needless to say, our current manager isn't happy we are all transferring.  We all need it though.  The hardest part about leaving my unit is saying goodbye to my coworkers who are staying there.  I feel for them because that unit has gotten so unbelievably difficult.  The workload is tremendous & it doesn't look like there is any end (or help) in sight.  I just worked 3 nights in a row & I am exhausted (and woke up with a sore throat...grrr....go away!).  

I cannot wait to try something new.  I know this will be totally different...much more fast paced as the patients cannot stay in this unit longer than 23 hours.  And the fact that they can get up & walk to the bathroom all by themself.......ahhhhhhh...makes me happy.  That's all it takes to make me happy these days...lol.  Oh & bonus points if they aren't diabetic because my hospital has gone bananas trying to master keeping blood sugars under 170 at all times (even when a patient is getting Solumedrol).  When they first started, they were making everyone hypo...not good.  I think it is impossible...especially when a person who has a good control on their blood sugar via medication & we take them off all that & throw them onto an insulin sliding scale = disaster.  

On a different note...the puppy is getting much bigger.  She's 5 months old now & has gained about 20 lbs in the last 2 months.  She gets along wonderfully with my dog Shay.  They are really cute together.  I didn't think Shay had it in her to be buddies with another dog, but I have been proven wrong.  :)

Well...hmmmm

I swear I don't know where the time goes.  The last 5 years have literally flown by.  It was 5 years ago that I had had enough at the last hospital I was at & I started over at my current hospital.  At times it feels like I have been there forever, but most of the time I think there is no way it has been 5 years already!  So many staff has come & go...yet I'm still there.  Sometimes I wonder why...because it has gone from admin having no real involvement in our jobs to admin being complete control freaks even down to the words we are supposed to say to our patients.  All because of a government satisfaction survey.  I'm not gonna rant about that right now.  Just don't feel like it.

In other news, I somehow got talked into getting a puppy.  I don't know why I agreed.....well, she is simply adorable...but a puppy is like a newborn.  SO MUCH WORK!  I had it made with my 6 yr old dog who does no wrong.  I now have a 3 1/2 month old german shepherd/rottweiler mix named Timber (yes, after the Ke$ha song...it's going downnnn, I'm yelling Timberrrrrr).  75% of the time she is good.  The other 25% is still a battle trying to housebreak her & she is the biggest drool monster I've ever seen.  I have never had a dog drool while anxious.  When I put her in the crate when I have to leave the house...she drools non-stop.  Like basically gives herself a bath in all the drool she creates.  But it is even worse in the car...she drools & then eventually gets sick.  Needless to say, she only goes for car rides when absolutely necessary.  Like today...for her second set of shots.  Drooled everywhere...looked like I gave her a bath before taking her to the vet.  So embarrassing.  I'm hoping she grows out of this.

My niece went to her prom tonight.  She's a junior.  I can't believe she's 17 & going to prom.  I still remember when I went.  Sigh, time sure does fly.