IGTBH Day 12 - May 31

Thank you, Claritin, for finally wearing off... around 11pmish
Thank you, Jessie, for hosting a kick ass cookout.
Thank you, strawberry rhubarb pie, for being.
Thank you, genius mind, for remembering how to get to Jessie's house.
Thank you, new friends, for being awesome.

IGTBH Day 11 - May 30

Thank you, Claritin, for letting me know that I cannot take you.  I'll know in the future.

Thank you, waffle fries, for being so crunchy and salty on the outside and soft on the inside.

Thank you, cousin, for giving me free lunch.

Thank you, Jessie, for driving me around when I was so loopy from taking Claritin.

Thank you, end of the workday, for always being there when I most need you.

IGTBH Day 10 - May 29

Thank you, clarity, for helping me feel so much love.

Thank you, fluorescent lights for draining my energy so I know how much I love the sunlight.

Thank you, yoga pants, for your yoga pantsy comfortable goodness.

Thank you, children, for celebrating simple things.

Thank you, chocolate cake, for just being you.

IGTBH Day 9 - May 28

Thank you, Farriors, for scheduling an early dinner so I have to leave work early.

Thank you, matriarchs of my past, for being strong and beautiful and useful.

Thank you, Goodwill, for having good stuff.

Thank you, Paramore, for getting your song stuck in my head. I rather like it.

Thank you, mind, for being open and not boxing me in.

IGTBH Day 8 - May 27

Thank you, three day weekend, for making me think today is Monday and that I still have four more work days this week when I only have three.

Thank you, those who served, for your service.

Thank you, "Mothering the New Mother" for inspiring me so awesomely

Thank you, kids, for being so amazing.

Thank you, weather, for being perfect.

IGTBH Day 7 - May 26

Thank you, life, that bad days are not completely 100% bad.
Thank you, rum, for soaking into leftover birthday cake so nicely.
Thank you, leftover sangria, for existing.
Thank you, Fabio, for being my soulmate.
Thank you, doula training, for being a ray of hope.

IGTBH Day 6 - May 25 - My birthday!

Thank you, God and Universe, for my life, and each day, which is a gift, pure gift.
Thank you, Mom, for baking my cake and for all you did to make today special.
Thank you to my family, for celebrating with me!
Thank you, Fabio, for the messages that made me feel so loved today.  Making you proud of me is so special to me.
Thank you, my church, for having a BP clinic, so that I can take blood pressure, sharpen those skills, and talk with an RN for an hour every other Sunday morning.

It's my birthday, so I have extra.

Thank you, /u/micha111, for my RAOA birthday gift!  I love that song.
Thank you, Sangria, for lasting all day :)
Thank you, audacity, that you allowed me to take a big step to change my life.
Thank you, Annie, for being my mommy buddy
Thank you, weather, for holding out.

IGTBH Day 5 - May 24

Thank you, Santi, for finishing the deck so we can have a party!
Thank you, Lilian and Hillary, for the fantabulous flowers.  I love them so much.
Thank you, Jessie, for helping me get ready for the party.
Thank you, in-laws, for all you did to help.
Thank you, everyone, for celebrating my life with me!

IGBTH Day 4 - May 23

Thank you, Mom, for taking the kids several nights a week.
Thank you, brain, for being such a dreamer.
Thank you, unnamed person, for being so attractive.
Thank you, same unnamed person, for being cocky enough to be somewhat unattractive if I think about it enough. This makes life easier.
Thank you, adrenaline, for flowing today and satisfying my jonesing for you.

IGTBH Day 3 - May 22

Thank you, McFly and Neighbor Frank, for having birthdays so I can make my body produce so much insulin today.

Thank you, Nico, for saying that you'd rather mommy stay home with you than for you to go to a new school.

Thank you, those who created the currently-used calendar, that tomorrow is Friday.

Thank you, fly, for crawling on the doll to make it even more creepy looking, thereby making me laugh harder.

thank you, giggidywarlock, for the aeropress because life will never be the same.

IGTBH Day 3 - May 21

Thank you, Lilian, for making our girls' night a priority.
Thank you, Boudreaux's Butt Cream, for helping my little girl's butt feel better.
Thank you, wine, for that amazing numbness.
Thank you, sunshine, for making me feel happy.
Thank you, baby doll, for being so freaky looking and somehow making me laugh.

IGTBH Day 2 - May 20

Thank you, Luis, for cooking a yummy lasagna for dinner.
Thank you, radio, for playing my favorite song on the way home.
Thank you, Fabio, for being my best friend and walking beside me from far away.
Thank you, blogger Gala, for this list that inspires me.
Thank you, powers that be, for helping me keep the bigger picture in mind and refocusing me on my real priorities.

IGTBH Day 1 - May 19

Thank you, Santi, for your hard work on building our new deck, and for having it ready in time for my birthday party!

Thank you, Nico, for trying so hard when it is awfully hard to be 3 years old and additionally hard when your mommy is so strict with you!

Thank you, Maggie, for being my cuddle bug.  Mommy needs a cuddle bug.

Thank you, Anthony, for letting my kids love you so much.

Thank you, Frank, for helping Santi with the deck.

Polio Eradication, or lack therof

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/spread-polio-now-world-health-emergency-23586786?page=2

Reading this story is somewhat perplexing.  I understand the spread of Polio in places that the virus exists, and how the social and political climate affects the level of protected individuals.  When they bring up Ukraine, however, I am a bit confused.  Has Polio been reported there, in the drinking water? 

A quick google search turns up this helpful article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/15/us-ukraine-polio-idUSBRE9AE0LJ20131115

In this article, it is spelled out more clearly: low vaccination rates in the middle east contribute to the rising rates.  With lower levels of trust in the government, Ukraine's citizens are vaccinated on a lower level, and so are vulnerable to travelers from the mideast. 

Interesting.

Nursing Shortage

Granted, it is a USAToday article.  Okay, but I will read more later when I can.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/05/07/ozy-nursing-shortage/8807937/

What I am paying attention to here is the nursing shortage abroad.  Don't get me wrong - I want to also serve in the USA - probably the majority of my career.  But I want to live abroad as well and am wondering if there are places in Sub-Saharan Africa and/or India that could work while raising a family.

What can I learn here today?

A big shocker: I hate my job.

I work with awesome people.  These people are good at what they do and they love it.  They have personality, and are funny, and I get the sense that they are just good people.  My work environment is safe, and I am fully aware that there are many people who would love to sit at a desk all day.  I even have grown accustomed to that part and can't say that it's the worst thing anymore.

The problem is that I am absolutely passionate about everything to do with nursing and medicine and surgery and public health and disaster relief, and feel almost exactly the opposite about business cases and risk assessments and board reports. 


A fun little fact: some nurses have to make business cases and board reports.  Assessing a patient is a type of risk assessment.  (I must point out that it's actually not the process of risk assessment that I hate - it's the fact that I am assessing risk on things that are not living beings.  I understand the importance on a mental level, but it does not resonate with me.)

So, I have chosen to be miserable until such a time that I can go to nursing school.  But today I am reversing that decision.  I am going to choose to be as much a learner here as I am when I dig into chemistry videos or articles about nursing as a career.  Every day, I will ask myself: What can I learn here today?  It may be something that only helps me until I leave.  Then again, it might be something that helps me in communicating with doctors, in organizing my thoughts, prioritizing, focusing.  And it could very well be that one day I will need to present to a hospital board of directors. 

Can I give some credit where credit is due?  A dear friend points this out.  Where life is unfair (and this is hardly unfair; I am being paid), there is always a reason -- there is always something we are meant to learn. 

Why am I here today?  What is it I'm supposed to be learning from this?  How can I better live today?

Happy Nurses' Week!!

I have to admit that I did not know that it was nurses week but I'm glad to know now!  I loved this piece in TIME: http://life.time.com/culture/national-nurses-week-time-to-say-thank-you/#1.

What should I do? 
Ideas:
* As I failed to get the name of the extraordinary nurse who cared for me after the birth of Maggie, maybe I should send the nurses of the mother/baby unit something - a fruit basket? Candy? What else do you give as such gifts?  Definitely with a note saying how wonderful they were. Maybe it would be better to send a note now and treats later, as I hope they are covered up in treats this week. 
* Also something for Bev, who has encouraged me to shadow where she is director of nursing.  I still have not followed up with her and need to do so. 

Daydream Exploration: Travel Nursing

Well, my research into this daydream -- working as a nurse in Spain -- is quite disappointing.  Spain has an overabundance of nurses and there are not enough jobs.  They are not in need and not giving out work permits or visas.  Sheesh.

There are quite a few places I would like to live in Spain.  I speak South American Spanish but do understand (and am understood by) Spanish speakers from Spain.
Mallorca is one, and there is an english-language agency there that provides in-home care.  This is not really my area of interest, but one possibility.

Midwifery is another area in which there is a need.  Again, not what I hope to specialize in, but ...

Antibiotic Resistance

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/antibiotic-resistance-is-now-rife-across-the-globe/?&WT.mc_id=SA_BS_20140502

Dire straits, y'all.

To read

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25517-elusive-element-117-now-closer-to-periodic-table-glory.html#.U2QXYD7D9GE

MERS and Contagion?

This makes me think of Contagion, althuogh it is only one of an unfathomable number of diseases that are dangerously spreading from animals, and then slowly around the world, due to increased crowding and travel. 

http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0502-US-MERS.html

The following paragraph was interesting to me:
While experts do not yet know exactly how this virus is spread, CDC advises Americans to help protect themselves from respiratory illnesses by washing hands often, avoiding close contact with people who are sick, avoid touching their eyes, nose and/or mouth with unwashed hands, and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces.

Aren't all respiratory illnesses basically spread through the virus making its way to your hands through coughing or sneezing, or someone else coughing or sneezing, on a surface?  And we touch our faces and eventually infect ourselves by touching a mucus membrane?  How would this vary?