Week In Review 4/24/16

This week was full of training, training, and more training.  I learned so much that I feel like my head is going to EXPLODE!  There is not enough room inside this teeny brain of mine to hold all of the great information  - especially when I want to just sit down and process it all to determine how I am going to integrate and use the information to improve my classes.

On Monday I got up very early so I could drive to Salt Lake and catch a ride for the training in Provo.  This was a great class where we learned how to use the many resources included with the educational program we are using.  It was a long drive and a long day of training, but I got many good ideas.  Now to find the time to integrate them into the classes!

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were also training days.  Fortunately this training was at the Layton campus where were learned how to use our high-fidelity and mid-fidelity simulation manikins.  Tanja and Carrie came up from the Murray campus to learn with us.  These manikins are AMAZING!  Especially the high-fidelity man.  He can breathe and blink and even close one eye at a time.  His chest rises and falls when he breathes, and he can have one collapsed lung so only one side of his chest moves with breathing.  He can "talk" and even simulate vomiting, moaning, and even scream when pushing (of course "he" has to become a "she" first).  We can draw "blood" from him and insert a foley catheter and collect "urine".  We can program him to have changes in vital signs and heart rhythms.  Once he even "coded" and we performed CPR and brought him back to life!  His tongue can swell blocking his airway.    He is actually kind of creepy when you see his eyes blinking and hear and see him breathing.  It was so fun to see all the things that we can do in the simulation lab, and I am so excited for all of the great learning opportunities the students will get.

1-Brittani checking the manikin's blood pressure while I supervise, 2-The insides don't look at all human!  3-Tanja is inserting a catheter, 4-Carrie just being cute as always. 5-Brittani  and Tanja getting ready to listen to lung sounds.

Apparently we were so smart and so quick at learning about the simulation manikins that we finished our 3-day training in 2 days!  Woo Hoo!  I spent the rest of the week trying to get everything for classes to start in a week.  There is an incredible amount of data entry work that needs to be done for each class, assignments, quizzes, and all the information the students will need to access during the semester.

Friday night I came home from work exhausted, ready for some down time with my honey.  When I arrived I found Kalel and Corbin in the back yard playing on barrels, and soon after Tristan joined them.  Those crazy boys played on those barrels for hours!   Who needs expensive toys?  When I first arrived I saw that Raelynn was playing by herself in the corner of the yard, when she saw me she got a great big grin,  called, "Eha" (my name for some reason) and started running.  She ran all of the way around the house, up the stairs, into the kitchen and out on the back deck to give me a big squeeze!  My heart just melted!  She has certainly found a place in my heart!  As she was leaving she was carrying a little, stuffed panda.  When Shandra asked what it's name is she replied, "7, 9, Panda" as if we should have all know that!

Raelynn loves my hammock as much as I do.  She sits in
 it every time she is at our house!

After the kids left Kim and I decided to play a "seek and find" game.  We usually sit around the computer to play, but this time we hooked it up to the tv so we could see better.  For some reason we both enjoy playing these mindless but entertaining games.  I tell myself that I am doing Alzheimer prevention.

This is the game we played

If you look closely you can see Kim pointing to an object he found.

We have been so very busy every Saturday for the last few weeks that we decided that we were going to do some yard work this week.  It was a very rainy day, but somehow we managed to get it done between rain showers.  We had a lot of help from Kalel and Raelynn.  The flower garden looks very nice!  Now if it would just stay that way.

Brian, our choir conductor asked me if I would be a guest conductor and lead a song, "Praise to the Man", arranged by Craig Petrie.  The choir sang the song several years ago and it is quite difficult, but very fun.  Brian said that he didn't feel that he was qualified to conduct it, and besides he wanted to sing it!  I am having a great time working on this song again. It has a ton of moving parts and lots of dynamic volume changes.  I really don't have any real training at leading music but for some reason I feel that I have a talent for doing it.  It is so amazing to me how I ask the choir to do something and they all try so hard to do it.  They are wonderful!  We will be singing it in May.  

THIS WEEK I AM GRATEFUL FOR:  The rain, even though it is cold and wet and I don't like it much the rain makes weed-pulling much more manageable.  Also, the rain will help with the drought we have been having for the last few years.  It also makes everything green and smell fresh.