Thoughts From a Frazzled Mind

Monday we had a great play day!  Tammy, Ash, Robin and I drove down to Ogden to do some shopping and girl bonding!  We had a ton of fun and found lots of great buys at Gordmans.  We stopped at Arby's for lunch, but I was disappointed to find that they no longer have their chicken salad sandwiches so I just got a regular Arby's sandwich.  My taste buds were very disappointed.  Later that evening Tammy, her daughter Kinsey, Ash and I headed to "The Old Barn" to see a play.  We stopped at JC's Country Diner and had dinner.  It was fabulous!  All but Kinsey got omelettes that were so tasty that we ate until our tummies felt like they would burst! I had never been to the Old Barn theater before but had heard good things about it.  The show we saw was "You Can't Take it With You".  It must have been an off night because there was only about 20 people in the audience.  The play was okay, but I'm not used to staying up very late and...

 I love teaching, but some classes are definitely better than others.  I realized while I was in the middle of teaching my pharmacology class on Monday that I didn't know the material nearly as well as I should have.  I put some good effort into preparation, but apparently I didn't study nearly as much as I should have.  I had another class of the same subject the next day so I left Monday's class and studied.  Tuesday's class went a little better, but I still struggled.  Don't get me wrong, I did know more than the students, but I wish I would have known it better.  Sometimes I feel like a great impostor, just pretending that I know enough to teach.  Most of the time I pull it off, but not this week.  Consequently I put in lots of overtime preparing for next week.  Hopefully those classes will go better. Of course Murphy's law always applies, when you are struggling, there will always be more to knock you down.  Last week in my f...

Julie drove up and met Rox and I for lunch this week!  It was so fun!  I haven't hung out with Rox for a long time.  We decided to do it once a month - AND we even put it on the calendar!  Julie is so entertaining.  She spent most of the time telling us of a study she is reviewing for accreditation that focuses on specific parts of the male anatomy.  The way she tells it sounds like she is a teenage kid who is embarrassed by the facts of life instead of a highly educated doctor of pharmacology!  We were just about rolling in the isles!  We also discussed the fact that Rox has achieved a great job as the controller of a large corporation - and she doesn't even have a degree.  She is GOOD!  It was nice to share lunch with these two great ladies!   I came home that night exhausted from a long day of pulling together resources, writing syllabi, and arranging assignments for the next semester.  I felt just like being a bum, so I...

I am finding that it is very bittersweet to arrive at the end of a semester.  This week I taught the final lecture for the fundamental students and they will take their final exam next week.  After seeing the same students day after day, sharing experiences both in class and in clinicals, and getting to know each of them personally it is hard to know that they will be moving on to bigger and better things.  I will miss them in the fundamentals class.  However, I recently found that I will get to teach them again next sememster in their pharmacology class, YEA!  And, I will get these same students in their 6th semester for their Maternal/Newborn class.  So, it isn't like I'm never going to see them again.  It is just that they were just babies in the world of nursing when they started my class 15 weeks ago, and now they have some great knowledge and skills and are ready to embark on the next challenge. It is a little frightening to be starting a new c...

Monday my good friend and co-worker, Sue, was there. She was teaching the Pharm class for that day.  She asked me to team teach with her, not because she needed help but she said that she just wanted me to be with her!  She is so cute!  So, I attended the class with the goal to pick up fabulous teaching strategies that Sue uses.  She is a fantastic teacher and it was great to watch her teach.  She is so animated!  We had lunch together at the Training Table which is right next door to Eagle Gate.  What a fun time we had! That night Kalel and Rae joined me for another sleepover.  I declared that we were going to have a movie night so we all got PJ's on and climbed into my bed and watched "The Princess Bride".  Kalel declared that it was a great movie!  Even Rae liked it and quietly watched it until the end.  Score one for a fun grandma!  Of course it was an easy win because everyone knows how great that movie is! Kalel i...

Well, the results are in from Kim's gallbladder tests.  According to the HIDA scan  he has absolutely zero gallbladder function.  Kim told everyone that he was about to have a "2-pound gall-baby" that Mont named "Gall-Bob".  Dr. Dave recommended that Kim have surgery to remove the gallbladder so he has an appointment next Monday to meet with the surgeon and to schedule the surgery.  Thankfully his pain has subsided for now and he is feeling pretty good, so he is good to wait a bit. One of the disadvantages of buying a car from a Salt Lake dealership is that it may require driving to Salt Lake when something is needed.  I purchased a clear covering to be adhered to the hood of my car to help prevent chips since I am on the freeway so much.  In order to do that I had to drive down on Monday evening to drop it off.  Luckily they gave me a rental car to use.  It was a Subaru Crosstek.  I was so glad to have the opportunity to drive the Cro...