Dipsy Doodle Blog

So there’s this guy… And he’s great. This is him. He was a viking in another life, probably. He introduced me to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and he has a sweet tattoo of an octopus on his shoulder. I don’t have to pretend I’m happy around him, I just am.  I don’t have to pretend everything is okay, because everything is okay.  I don’t have to try hard to make him happy, he just likes me as…

Life after graduation is SO. WEIRD. I am still working my little retail job in the interim between now and when I start my job as a critical care RN in February – so I have been racking up the hours as we handle the Christmas crowds.  Other than that, I have been doing some reading and lots of sleeping and Netflix and snuggling up with Molly.  I have put off working out until the new year,…

I did it!!!

December 14th, I officially graduated nursing school!!!

My last two weeks of school were a whirlwind of 2 finals and 2 unit tests – talk about stressful.  Plus a lot of random things that had to get done before I was able to officially graduate.  This is a picture I took going into my first of those four exams, stressed out and nervous beyond *almost* anything I’ve ever experienced in life, aside…

Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving was unique.

My family found out in October that my grandfather has stage IV esophageal cancer.  This is, unless a miracle happens, our final Thanksgiving with him.

Ten minutes before Thanksgiving dinner, when all the family was gathered around getting ready to set the table, we got the news that Grandpa had been admitted to the hospital during a scheduled chemotherapy visit.…

Today is DipsyDoodleBlog’s one year anniversary!  I can’t believe I have kept up with this thing for a whole year now :O So, something about me you might not have known – I take pictures of my feet.  Everywhere.  Very often.  My grandma used to hold my feet at night as a toddler and wonder out loud all the places I was going to go… So I take pictures of them, to keep track of all the places they…

Worst Day Ever :( and How I Stay Mentally Healthy

The other day, I had one of the worst days I’ve had in awhile. It was one of those situations where I would think to myself, “wow, that’s several crappy things.  Oh well, class won’t be bad.”  And then class sucked.  So then I thought, “Well, I love where I work, that will certainly cheer me up.”  And then I had kind of a suck-ish day at work too. I don’t tell a lot of people this, but depression…

A&A Thursday: State fair and cat hair

Awkward: Having to vacuum cat hair off of your slacks before your job interview Getting over the flu and feeling fine but looking terrible   Awesome: An evening at The State Fair, complete with yummy corn dog :D Quiet weekend mornings with coffee and a good book   

Giving thanks, in all things.

This morning, I was on Facebook looking for a new profile picture.  I have had the same one since the summer, and it’s time for a change. As I was looking through my photos, I realized how blessed I am. I talk a lot on here about how difficult this year has been for me, and more recently, the wall of depression I have encountered.  But as I looked through those photos, I see how many things I…

I’m depressed. It happens every so often, usually in the winter time. But this year it came early and sank in with a vengeance. I didn’t realize it until about a week ago, but I had to make a somewhat emergency trip out of town to visit family members and in catching up, they asked me if I was still going to the gym and running and everything.  That’s when I started thinking about it.  I really…

A&A Thursday: Fat Babies and Job Interviews

   Awkward: Our very chunky skills lab baby! Walking in heels.  Always.  Am I the only one who is still bad at it, even after some decent practice? Getting my yearly head cold immediately following my flu shot >.< #thestruggleisreal Awesome: Job interviews! Pediatric skills lab and my awesome clinical instructor! Parking garage views Co-workers who really deliver when you ask for a hanger Flowers…

A&AThursday: iPhone 7, Quinoa Salad, and 1000 Gifts

   Awkward: Molly is typically a theme in my “awkward” section, but she really is very awkward looking sometimes… The photo above is what she looks like waking up. When your glass wipes crinkle up into crude words that make you giggle like a middle schooler Writing “hounds” instead of “hands” and the amount of time and perplexed staring it took me to figure out what I did wrong O.0    Awesome: A…

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

   Awkward: Writing down to print out some more paper on my to-do list and not being able to figure out what I actually meant later… Crossing my fingers it wasn’t anything important. Going to CVS and having a high homeless guy pray the Lord’s Prayer over the car and then ask for money People driving on the wrong side of the road??? What?? O.o Evacuees not knowing how our local roads work and…

So here’s a new series I’ve been thinking about as I transition from my school “career” to my real-life nursing career…. “Today I learned”. It kind of reminds me of when my family used to go around the table and ask “High, low?” and give the highlight of the day and the low point of the day.  Or when my nursing instructor last semester used to ask us what we learned at the end of every day. I…

All about my armpit cysts and high-fives from veterans. A riveting must-read.

     Awesome: That moment when you see that the old man across from you in Starbucks left to get his coat and a hat and is equally as freezing as you are. The nurses on my floor.  Specifically, Samantha.  You are a freaking doll and you are gorgeous and a really good nurse and smart and so patient.  I want to be just like you when I grow up .< So I’m burning and hurting every time I move my arms,…

Nursing School 101: What Will be on the Test?? Part 1

  The biggest key I discovered after failing my first attempt at med-surg one is to focus on how to tell things apart.  If, for example, four of the diseases you covered for this test have symptoms of nausea and vomiting, don’t study that.  Study signs and symptoms specific to that disease, the giveaways.  For example: A. “Pattie comes in complaining of vomiting and headache.  Her temperature is…

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Awkward: Still not quite feeling comfortable with PEGs, even though I’m in my final semester of nursing school  >.< Opening my bag of croutons and finding 3 cockroaches sleeping inside (#terrifying #diedalittleinside) Walking by some guy’s table at on my lunch break and accidentally making eye contact, only to have him stare into my soul a little bit… #somehowIfeelviolate   Awesome: Dealing with…

Stuck in the rain.

I got stuck in the rain today, driving home from school. It was the worst storm EVER.  Every road coming home was flooded and it was raining so hard I couldn’t see squat even with my wipers going so hard they were shaking my whole car.  I pulled over in a Wendy’s parking lot and sat for 20 minutes, just watching it pour and wondering if I was ever going to get home or if I was just going to have…