I DID IT! I REALLY DID IT!!

Tonight - in my Phlebotomy class, I did my first "live arm" draw and got a nice sample from my 'patient' Sue. I got discouraged because I didn't get anything from "Fred" the fake arm after seven or eight attempts. It's very unnerving to not get a sample after so many tries but my instructor said to keep trying - it'll happen. TONIGHT?! IT DID!!! I was SOOO excited afterwards that I couldn't help but GRIN like a bloody (no pun intended) fool. The girl that drew me, unfortunately, was not so lucky. I have what is termed "angel hair pasta" veins. She tried but didn't get a sample. We have to poke a different person each week.

I also got last week's quiz back - 88.9%! I'm smoking so far this semester! I just hope I can keep it up! I finished a placement test today to place out of Keyboarding I (and typing 85 WPM I don't think I need keyboarding TYVM!) Of course, I can't place out of Word I so I'm going to take that in January (along with Microbiology - ugh).

Schoolwise, things are very very good! We just won't discuss the other side of the coin - I'm in too good a mood!!!

A&P Makes a Little Sense

I just got my test grade for my first A&P quiz and I'm proud to say I got a 94! Now, it wasn't that hard in my eyes but maybe it's because I understand it better the second time around :)

The graded have generally been good so far - I've just started one course this week so we'll see (Medical Office Procedures) which looks like a gasser of a class. I'm given a practice, complete wiht 24 patients. I have to create a filing system and I have $5,000 to outfit my front office (not including medical equipment). My first project is to create a patient information brochure (which I have done already!) The next step is to create individual files for my patients, get my order ready for the office supply store and start seeing patients. Sounds cool eh? Pharmacology is going well - my average there is 90 already. So out of my four classes, three are going very well. I'm having trouble in Phlebotomy - it took me five tries to get a sample out of the fake arm. We go to live arms Wednesday and I am NOT ready - at all!! We have to let someone in the class draw our blood. I feel bad for whoever gets to draw me because I have horrible little angel hair veins that move and shift.

I went to see my NH family this weekend - inside joke - and I'm amazed at how big the kids are getting! The youngest (my boyfriend!) is walking quite nicely on his own. He walked out to meet me (with help from one of his sisters). We had cake on both Friday and Saturday nights to celebrate Rachel's birthday (which was the 18th). They are all taking her to the circus on October 20th for her birthday. She is very excited about that let me tell you! (I get to go too!)

On a sad note, I lost my job at the radio station on Friday. Yes I know I felt it coming but it still hurt to get 'let go'. Oh well! Better times are coming for me I'm sure!!

And Away We Go!

Here it is, the end of a full week of school. I've had two quizzes (one in Pharmacology 95 yay me!) and one in A&P (boo hissss). The homework is not all that bad at the moment but I'm doing my best to stay on top of it all.

It's just before 11pm on a quiet Thursday. It's gently raining outside and the sound is very soothing. The drive home tonight took just about 45 minutes (for a 35 mile ride). I think I'm going to like the ride for the most part (check back when it starts snowing and we'll see!) The ride gives me time to unwind, settle down from A&P and just plain relax a bit. I came home to a quiet house tonight - everyone was in bed (one was not asleep but it's ok; he was waiting for me to get home safely). I'm heading to bed myself in a few minutes. I need a drink and a tylenol as the dissection tonight was a little heady. I forgot what everything smells like and I've got a bit of a headache. Tomorrow is my night off and boy I can't wait! Even housework will be better than running off to a class! Yes, I said that out loud!! LOL!

End of the First Week

TGIF!! Never have four words been more heartfelt!! I am SOO glad today is Friday! With three straight late class nights, I'm glad to have tonight off! Last night was the dreaded Anatomy & Physiology. The class itself wasn't bad; the 45-minute drive home was exhausting. I pulled in shortly before 11 pm to half a household still awake much to my dismay. It didn't take long to get everyone bedded down, including myself. I thought about tossing in laundry but didn't have the heart to walk down two flights of stairs...I'm doing it now since it's early and I'm semi-awake.

I got my new laptop yesterday and used it last night to take notes in class. I made it through the entire lecture before the battery died. Not a problem - there weren't too many lab notes to take last night and I'd brought a notebook and pen. It's a nice laptop - lots of little things to figure out when I have some time to do so!

There's only one class I haven't attended yet - Medical Secretarial Procedures - she's at a conference for the next week or so. That class starts on the 19th. Stay tuned!

Back To School - Grown Up Style

Tonight was my first of four classes for this semester - Phlebotomy. I never realized just how much one person can do in a lab setting! We managed to get through two chapters (no lab tonight). There's a quiz just about every week which I think will be just fine since I have three other classes that need my attention (including Pharmacology tomorrow morning and the dreaded A&P I a-g-a-i-n tomorrow night from 5-10).

I'll try to keep up on my blog and keep you posted on my progress through the semester. I'm hoping that I can keep my sanity long enough to finish this 15-week session. There's so much going on right now it's hard to stay loose and not let it all bog me down. I'm grateful I have sounding boards (even if I have to pay one of them to listen to me whine! Can I get some cheese to go with my fine whine?!)

Labor Day

I concluded a quiet summer with an equally quiet weekend up North. Well...almost quiet! Friday night I arrived to three semi-hyped little girls all clamoring for a hug from "Aunty Sharon" as I have lately been called (I love it!). We arrived just in time for dessert - if I told you we all had brain, would you believe me???? When all was settled, it was bedtime for everyone.

Saturday started with RIBS! MMMMMMMM Phil and Cedar had them prepared and ready to pop on the grill outside. They cooked all day (imagine if you will what heaven must smell like!) I went canoeing and came back with two bags of elderberries - a jelly hint? Maybe! I sat with Cedar and Sandy pulling berries off the stems. We all had purple tinged hands after half an hour but the color washed out easily enough. I stuck a little piece of reed in some of the juice and boy what a shade of purple it came out! I am eager to dye some reed to see what it looks like in a basket.

I can't say enough about Saturday dinner - I'd end up hungry and I'm going for a complete blood profile in the morning so I'm NPO from now until 10 am tomorrow!!! Let's just say it was H-E-A-V-E-N-L-Y! Ribs so tender - the meat fell off the bone. I bow to the RIB KING PHIL. Cedar made the lovliest loaf of elderberry bread that was a beautiful shade of purple from the berries, along with a nice salad.

Sunday morning I made pancakes for everyone using boring blueberries...lol..they're boring next to those lovely elderberries. I went back out on the Pemi to dig up some elderberry bushes so that Cedar could start a patch of her own. Sunday night I stayed up to watch Carlos Mencia - I have never laughed so hard in my life!

Monday (Labor Day) was very quiet. I went out to the garden and met this little guy near the corn and potatoes... NOT one of my favorite things to almost walk into let me tell you!
I just about died when I camethisclose to walking into the web he was hanging from! Anyone who knows me knows that there is only one thing that makes me scream like a girl (you're lookin' at it!)

I left about 7 Monday night and didn't hit a stitch of traffic the entire way home. I guess everyone went home early or stayed home because of the threat of rain.

End of "the first week"-Kid Version

The reports are in - school is WONDERFUL!! Two of my three children are in new school situations this year. My middle son is starting high school (YES I SAID HIGH SCHOOL - HOLY COW AM I THAT OLD?!) and he loves it! As we've been telling him, he's tickled purple and gold (school colors). He got lost yesterday and made it to art 10 minutes late. Someone gave him the wrong directions so he took a 20 minute tour of the school and then realized he could get there going a different way (that took a minute!) He was....irritated....but he'll figure out the shortcuts soon.

My daughter - she's heading into the fourth grade already! It just doesn't seem possible that she's gotten so big so fast! It seems like just the other day she was born and now she's a big girl. It just proves that time is moving along whether we like it or not. The cool thing is my bus route takes me by her school at her recess time so we get to say howdy to each other (even if it's just a wave to each other). She enjoys her teacher and has six classmates from last year in her new class.

My oldest? He's a junior and doesn't care..lol... He's actually counting down to graduation already! This time next year - he'll be a senior and ready to fly out of the nest. THIS makes me feel really old! 18 years - gone in a blink. Doesn't seem possible that this man/child - my first, the one I had no clue what to do with when I first brought him home - is about ready to take on the challenges of the world alone in just a few short years. Time has gone way too fast but the upcoming journey has mysteries of its own.

I start classes 9/6 and I too find myself excited about the idea of learning more new stuff. I have a full load this year - Phlebotomy, Pharmacology, Medical Secretarial Procedures and Anatomy & Physiology (yes, A-G-A-I-N) Everyone say booo hisssssss. This time I'll do much better - I know I will!