A change

I'm a red-head. You may be wondering why. Yes, I did it on purpose and I love it. I think I was born to be a red-head. I've been wanting to do it for years and last night I went with my friend to buy color for her and ended up buying a box. I got home and thought, why not, what could possibly go wrong? My first try was "strawberry blond" or, in my opinion, pinkish-orange. So I walked calmly across the street and bought a box of darker dye. It turned out perfect and today my friend put in some low and highlights so it looks more natural. Several people at work came up to me and looked confused until they figured it out. Pretty funny. So I don't know how long it will last but for now, I love it.

Uncle Rod

A week ago Sunday my Uncle Rod passed away. I've been thinking a lot about him and the influence he had on me and my hope and belief in the Plan of Salvation. My strongest memory of Uncle Rod was Christmas of 1995. I had just completed my first semester at BYU and had taken anatomy in the hopes of going to their nursing program. Rod was so encouraging of my goal and taught me a mnemonic to remember the carpal bones (wrist bones). I can remember the mnemonic but I still have a hard time remembering the names of the bones. "Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can't Handle". S?, Lunate, T?, Pisiform, T?, T?, Capitate, Hamate.

Rod was also always so willing to let us visit the cabin in Hatch. I have so many fond memories there and it was such an escape while I was living in Utah. I often dream about it and it is one of my favorite "happy places".

The other truly significant memory I have is actually of a testimony that was born in my singles ward in Dublin. One of the counselors in the bishopric bore his testimony about service and talked about Uncle Rod. Rod had been this man's family doctor. He shared how Rod was always available to answer questions or examine or comfort this man and his family members. He shared that long after Rod had retired he still would follow up and give sought after advice. The counselor was so impressed by the Christ-like love and compassion Uncle Rod had shown his family. It was just another reminder to me of the legacy of love demonstrated in our family. I have been a recipient of that love and hope never to do anything to tarnish that legacy.

Lastly, Uncle Rod's death has given me the opportunity to reflect on my hope and belief in the Plan of Salvation. I feel great comfort in knowing that our family has been sealed by those with authority and that if I live according to my covenants I will be with them for eternity. That is such a comfort. I know that I will see Uncle Rod again and though I am sad to be parted from him now, I know he has been reunited with those he loves that have already passed. I am so grateful for the testimony of Jesus Christ's gospel that I have and know that so much of it has been gained from the example of my family, including Uncle Rod and Aunt Louise. How blessed I am to have this peace.

New Calling

I was called to serve on the Mid-Singles Activities Committee. I'm actually really excited about this particular calling. I hope it will give me the opportunity to get to know people from all over the area and get the inside scoop on all fun things. Of course those are selfish reasons on my part but I'm also looking forward to seeking out and finding ways to include those who are less inclined to participate and contribute to the inviting environment that I have so enjoyed the past month I've been here. I was lucky to have an "in" because of Ty. I know most people don't enjoy the easy transition I have had. Hopefully, I'll be able to help others feel more welcome and ease their way into a circle of friends.

And yes, I still feel icky but thanks to my own personal physician (Ty) and pharmacist (my new friend Jen) I now have drugs to help me feel as good as can be expected. Thankfully I get to work from home today. One more day to rest and recover.

This past week has been less than fun as I have been down and out and totally pathetic with sickness. I'm not a very good sick patient. I'm very complainy. It started out about 10 days ago with some nausea. By Friday I was very nauseous and tired and having trouble with food. So bad my boss sent me home from work - much to my dismay. Over the course of the next few days I became more and more afraid of food, more and more nauseous, and had loads of very uncomfortable stomach pain. By Monday I was down to white food only and even that made me nervous. Also, extremely tired. So I went to work on Tuesday, EKG class, which was okay but not great. Wednesday I just couldn't make it. So I went to the doctor/Physician Assistant who told me I had gastritis and probably gallstones. Seriously. So for those of you who don't know, gastritis is inflammation of the stomach lining. We believe mine was caused by the copious amounts of NSAIDS I've been taking all my life. So the bad news is, no NSAIDS for me ever again. NSAIDS being Tylenol, ibuprofen, naproxen, etc. The good news is, I didn't have a GI bleed. So anyway, I keep thinking I should feel better soon and but I don't so I'm whiny.

A couple of my friends just called and invited me to go to a masquerade party tonight. Maybe if I lay low all day I can swing it.

Oh, and the weather here is incredible. It's been sunny and beautiful and cool and crisp and the trees are various shades of red and yellow and orange. Love it. I'll take pictures one of these days... Maybe when I feel better.

Did you know it takes 200x the force of gravity to break the forehead bone (supraorbital rim)? Yes, this is what I'm learning. Mom brought to my attention last night that many of you may not know what my fellowship is or what I'm doing. In nursing school we are taught to think like nurses. We learn how to assess and determine what course we think a patient might take and what might be needed to stabilize and improve the condition of the patient. At least that's what I think we were supposed to learn. They also teach us how to do procedures like start an IV, draw blood, insert catheters and NG tubes, how to give various types of meds, etc. But mostly we're taught how to think. So all new grads, when they start working in the hospital get some form of orientation to the unit and are taught how to be a nurse. Some orientations are relatively short, others are much longer. For example, a general medical-surgical unit might orient for 12 weeks whereas an ER might orient for 6 months and an OR might orient for a year. As I am in the ER, I orient for 6 months. So between now and December I will have class for 8 hours a week, online class for 8-16 hours a week, and clinical training for the remaining hours. In a few weeks I will be assigned a preceptor. I will work that preceptor's schedule and during that time will be required to pass off a number of skills. My whole orientation should be complete in April and then I will be responsible for taking my own patients. That whole program is called a fellowship. There are 12 of us, all girls, that all started together. Because of the size of our group we are usually divided up for our clinical days. I really enjoy my group. I think I have found "my people". We are all slightly irreverent and find humor in things others would be horrified or at least nauseated by. We can talk about secretions at lunch and nobody gags or loses their appetite. Apparently most ER nurses have a similar sense of humor. Last weekend I worked my first night shift. I actually did far better at night than I do most days. The interesting/funny thing was, at some point, everyone got a little punch drunk. It was perfectly okay to be giggly or to call your co-worker the "Purple Power Ranger" (one of the techs nicknamed me due to my purple scrubs). I loved it and had the perfect excuse to sleep all day.

As for the social life. I am making friends and have already found a few people that I really enjoy. Last night I went with the ward to the Children's Hospital to play with the kids. There were 20+ of us and about 5 of them. My table, who included family favorite Mike Hill, played with playdough. Afterward 9 of us went to a diner called, no kidding, "The Diner" in DC. The food was fantastic and it reminded me of the diners you see in TV sitcoms. Sunday night I attended an Apple Fest - featuring treats made with apples. Saturday was a quiet day and then a friend came over to watch a movie. Tomorrow I'm going to a Halloween dinner and Saturday night is Fall Festivis (everyone prepares a dish using an ingredient they've never used before). Overall, I love it here. I miss my family tremendously but know I'm right where I need to be.

Since then...

Oct. 3: Date night at the DC Temple with Ty then birthday party for unknown girl. Met loads of new people. Mostly a blur.
Oct. 4: General Conference at Ty's house. Fajitas between sessions then a quiet night of unpacking at home.
Oct. 5: General Conference at Ty's and a Crepe Party. Met loads of new people.
Oct. 6: 1st day at Inova!!!! Spent the day in the classroom learning about how fantastic working for Inova is. After work, FHE. A member of my ward spoke about the economic crisis. He works for the Treasury Dept and was instrumental in writing and proposing the package passed by congress. Yes, he is single, very smart, and seriously cute. Oh, and met new people...
Oct. 7: Institute: we're studying Jesus the Christ. Delightful.
Oct. 7-10: Orientation at work.
Oct. 10: Pick up car, which arrived significantly later than planned but arrived no the less.
Oct. 11: Crabbing in Chesapeake Bay, MA. Absolutely beautiful and so nice to be outside and near the water. Enjoy the photos. Met new people... After a day in the sun we went back to Ty's house for dinner and the BYU game. Again, met new people...
Oct. 12: Dinner at the Utah St. Girls house. After dinner we played games.

Week of Oct. 13...
I started working in the Emergency Dept (ED) this week. The ED has been experiencing a large number of mislabeled specimens going to the lab. This is a safety issue. So my fellow fellows and I have been stationed at the tube system charged with the task of checking every specimen before it goes to the lab. We also get to observe 10 blood draws per day. So fun. Not really. It's very, very boring. However, I try to remember I am actually getting paid to sit and chat with people as they bring their specimens. Plus, we get loads of sympathy. Today I was "rescued" by one particularly kind nurse. She asked me to help her transport her patient up to the ICU. Her patient with c. diff. If you don't know what that is, it's a highly infective intestinal infection that gives its victims horrible diarrhea. Ahh, lovely. But at least I got away from the tube system for a while.

So now I get to stay up late so I can start prepping to work all night on Friday night. I'm currently watching the Presidential Debate. Are these guys actually saying anything?

Enjoy the crabbing photos...

As Promised...

Photos of the family. I miss you all!!!