This Thing Called Life

     We are moving right along in my cna course. It is a lot more fun when we get to practice the skills instead of doing the chapters in the book. Most of the book is common sense. The tests we take are pretty easy and the terminology quizzes are a breeze. I figured I'd go ahead and tell you what skills we have learned and which ones I find easy and more complicated. Here is the list: Hand washing (simple) Apply knee-high elastic stocking(simple) Assist to ambulate using a transfer built( not to bad) Cleans upper or lower denture(simple) Donning and removing PPE/gown and gloves(fairly easy) Give modified bed bath to face, one arm, hand, and underarm(a lot of steps. I'm still practicing this one) Measure and record weight(simple) Perform Passive Range of Motion (PROM) for one knee and ankle(fairly easy) Perform PROM for one shoulder(easy) Positions on side(a lot of steps but is isn't too difficult) Provide catheter care for female(easy) Foot care on one foot(e

     Since the beginning of January 2012, I've been trying to lose weight. I was setting small goals for myself and I've FINALLY reached my goal of losing 10 pounds! I told myself as a reward I would get my belly button pierced but since the summer season has begun, I don't want to because ocean water and pools could infect it. So I'm just going to wait until fall to get it done. It has taken me for ever to lose this amount but that is because I would start off strong and fall back off and eat crap. Now that I've seen the results physically and on the scale, I have no intentions of stopping. I really feel that for the first time in my life I will look decent in my bikini.      This journey is far from over. I originally wanted to lose 30-35 pounds but I started thinking I might not look the way I want. I'm just overweight, not obese and that number seemed big. So my goal was changed to 22 pounds and I feel that is fair. I have 12 pounds left to go before I reac

     My first nurse aide lecture was awesome! We learned hand washing and she showed us how to do range of motion with arms and knees. We filled out some paperwork saying we promised to be good nurse aides and always follow policies and procedures. We went over our calendar for the next 3 months as well. I can't wait to go back tomorrow and learn more skills. My instructor likes to introduce the skills early so we can get enough practice for clinical and the state board exam. She says the written part is fairly easy and the skills part is where people tend to flop sometimes.      There were only 7 people in my class and I know of one girl who plans on dropping it as soon as possible since it won't work with her schedule at work. My instructor called the other people who never showed to see if they planned on showing up or if she could give their spot to someone waiting. They all told her they changed their minds. Why would someone wait until the very last minute to say that? A

     Now that I'm back in this "I'm going to lose weight mode", I've been obsessing over what I eat. I don't like eating at all honestly because it makes me feel fat and bad about myself once I'm done. I shouldn't feel like that though because I'm not eating bad foods. I guess I just feel that no matter what I eat the calories won't be burned so I'll be fat either way. I'm not as big as I could be but I'm big enough to want this change. Seeing pictures of fit girls in their bikinis at the beach makes me want to work even harder. Never in my life have I felt confident in my bikini. I want that. I want to be able to just walk around the beach without covering up and worrying over what people see what look at me.      I brought my workout clothes and shoes to my dads house this weekend. Hopefully I won't be too lazy to workout. I plan on walking/jogging around the neighborhood. Maybe I can find someone to go to the rec center and

     The nurse aide program starts in 5 days! I have never been so excited and nervous at one time in my whole life. I already have my books and a notebook. I plan on getting my TB test and background check done before my clinical portion of the program starts. The one thing that is great about this is the support I get from my parents and other family members. Nothing makes me feel better about myself than hearing "I'm so proud of you" from my loved ones. Along with this excitement has come some stress too. I'm stressing about how to tell my boss if he asks what class I'm taking. I don't want him to think I'm going to get my certification and leave him high and dry. Another thing I'm stressing over is my school schedule after I receive my certification and start working as a cna. I got to school during the evening as of now because it works well with my full time work schedule during the day. I would like to work three 12 hour shifts at a hospital or

     My weight loss journey has been no easy ride. I started at the beginning of January in 2012 and my mission was to lose weight and look great. It wasn't easy but I made simple changes. I stopped drinking soda, stopped eating junk, and I even bought an elliptical. Riding an elliptical was hard at first but I got pretty good at it. I started with just 15 minutes every other night then worked my way up to an hour! But after a few months of going strong and seeing minimal results, I quit. I felt horrible. I felt fat and lazy. Then towards the summer of 2012 I tried to get back on track. I did well for a few weeks but fell off again. I pretty much convinced myself I was always going to be fat and no exercise or healthy eating was going to make a difference. I was wrong. I never gained back the 7 pounds I lost, but if I would have kept going and tried my hardest, I could have been looking great and feeling confident months ago.    January 2013 seemed like the perfect time to start o

     Lately for some reason, I have been feeling very self conscious about my appearance. Not just about my body but everything. It really sucks because it is starting to stress me out. Over the weekend I got plenty of exercise. I walked around the block a couple times on Saturday and Sunday and I played some softball. I also jumped on my elliptical for the first time in months last night. I only lasted 10 minutes but that is better than nothing.I have been drinking a lot of water and drinking Naked. My favorite flavor is the Berry Blast. I haven't been eating big dinners but I have been eating breakfast lately, which is surprising. I get up a little earlier than usual each morning just to fit in a quick breakfast.      My skin and teeth have been stressing me too. I have sun spots everywhere since I am so fair skinned. And as far as my teeth go, I have gingivitis. My teeth don't look absolutely horrible, but they aren't as pretty as I would like them to be. At my last den

     44 days until the first day of summer. Are you ready? I'm not. I stopped working out and worrying about my weight loss a few months ago. I still eat fairly healthy compared to what I used to eat. I've been drinking more water than ever too. But my body is in no way ready for "bikini season". I know I can lose this weight and it's time for me to get serious...again. This has got to be the one thing I hate about myself most. Starting out losing weight and being healthy for the first month or two then slowly slacking, until the point I can't remember my last workout.      It's kind of weird. When I was a health nut, being conscious of what I was eating and how many calories I was burning, my boyfriend wanted nothing to do with it. Now that I'm slacking, we have switched roles. He never wants fast food anymore, I do sometimes, especially when I'm stressed. He works out almost everyday. I can't workout during the day because of my day job, but

     Let me give you some background on my relationship. My boyfriend and I have been together for what will be 6 years this summer. Yes, I know it is a long time. I've always had trust issues with friends and when we started dating, I had them with him too. There are good reasons why I have these trust issues with him though. He lies about who is hanging out with and what they're doing. He will ignore my calls and texts the WHOLE entire time he is with them. He will ignore me for days saying his phone was dead and didn't have a charger. The best is when his friends have diarrhea of the mouth and spill about things my boyfriend never wanted me to know to begin with.      So where does Facebook come in to play? Since my boyfriend and I are publicly together on this social media site, every one and their mom can see clear as day that we are together. What's causing the problem is these girls adding him and stuff. Whenever I ask how he knows these girls, of course all I g

     My books for the nurse aide program came yesterday! I got so excited when I saw the package. I already started reading my textbook. 17 days isn't long at all. I'm ready to begin this journey. I can't wait to help people, make decent money and work a different schedule than what I've had here for the past 3 years. I already have a friend interested in taking my spot here, so that is taken care of as well.      Patient First is usually where I go whenever I'm sick and what not. I called yesterday to see if they did TB testing and the lady said they were out of the products used to administer the testing. I thought that was rather odd. Oh well. This is like the big countdown. Hopefully by the middle of August I will be working as a nurse aide at a nursing home or hospital. I know this all I've been writing about lately but when you have had the same job that has become more and more annoying, you would be ready for this change too.      I'm not really wo

     The weather today is pretty gross. Hopefully the sun will decide to come out after hiding for 2 whole days. It's May so bring on the warm weather. I just paid my tuition for the nurse aide program and I've already ordered my books! 19 days and counting. I am truly thankful for everyone who reads my blog and deals with me talking about school all the time. It means a lot. I like to talk about for two reasons; One, because I hope to inspire other people to go and for the ones that went and quit to return. And two, because I'm proud of myself. I could be wasting my money on rent, alcohol, shopping and other things, but I'm spending it on my education.      Education is important to me for many reasons. My father dropped out of high school but luckily back then, you didn't need a high school diploma or GED to flip burgers at McDonalds like now. My father is actually a very successful person. He started working with the city 30+ years ago and still works there. He