Life

Summer’s end in September

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I can’t believe summer has come to a close already. Just starting out in September and the first weekend is spent relaxing, looking at fall decorations and putting away those summer ones. Time can not be flying by any faster!

Some news from me: I am now set up in Arizona at my condo. I am still adjusting to just how HOT it is here! Every day is over 100 degrees! It’s wild to say the least. I’m also having a lot of fun trying to find what my style is for decorating the house. Sometimes I want a dark/rustic farmhouse look and sometimes I want to go full on industrial! So it’s been fun adventuring around the city checking into all the craft, furniture and design stores. I brought along my cat Solo and needless to say he cozied right on in. Loves to bathe in the sun, attack all the cat toys and basically made himself right at home.

I started my third semester and half of the classes are in person at the school. It was weird going back to in-person classes again. However, it was nice because I met some people who are equally confused and stressed out about school and even wore my scrubs! So exciting…and nerve-wracking.

Goals:

Some goals that I have for September is to get all my nursing school notes organized. Come up with a better financial plan for saving. Study and get the highest possible grades on my assignments and to adventure around Arizona a little more. Maybe find a nice local coffee shops and some hiking trails.

What are some goals that you have for September?

“A goal without a plan is only a dream.”

-Brian Tracy

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Word(s) of the Day

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Nursing School Edition #6

I just started my 3rd semester of nursing school and do you know what that means? More info about nursing school and the classes I’m in. It also means more “Word of the Day,” POP Quizzes and other beneficial educational and fun information. I hope you’re excited to learn new things or maybe just to refresh your memory. I know I am more than ready for this semester and couldn’t be more excited to bring you along. I would say, sit back and relax but instead: Let’s open our mind and learn!

Pathophysiology

1. Pathology is:

a. a disease

b. the bacteria that causes the disease

c. the study of disease

d. the complication of diseases

2. Etiology of a disease means the:

a. study of cause

b. predicted outcome of the disease or condition

c. cause is unknown

d. disease was caused by a hospital environment

3. A chronic disease usually has which of the following elements?

a. It is related to the respiratory system.

b. It happens suddenly but lasts only a short while.

c. It persists for a long period of time, often for the individual’s entire lifetime.

d. It has a sudden onset.

4. Diseases caused by an abnormality of an individual’s genetic makeup can be classified in which of the following categories?

a. Trauma

b. Hereditary

c. Nutritional imbalance

d. Inflammation

5. Adenomas, carcinomas, and sarcomas are examples of:

a. malnutrition

b. hyperplasia and neoplasms

c. trauma

d. impaired immunity

6. When a cell adapts to irritants or damage by changing to another type of cell, it is called:

a. hypertrophy

b. hyperplasia

c. metaplasia

d. Dysplasia

These were questions I picked out of study material that we learned in WEEK 1 for my Pathophysiology class. The correct answers are displayed in bold green text. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Happy Studying!

Three Big Things I Did In March

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March Madness is over

March is officially over and we are now into April. It was a busy, stressful and healthy month for myself. I started eating avocado toast more regularly due to its health benefits. I’ve been going back to the gym during the week more and also staying busy with school. The three big things were: eating more home made meals, staying within 90% for my grades and working out more…again.

Avocado Toast: Homemade

Homemade avocado toast and vanilla cold brew with foam.

I’ll usually have this as an after work snack before I start my studies for the day. I was able to make it in less than 10 minutes and go about homework that needed to be completed.

Staying Within 90% for Grades:

With my first semester of nursing school almost complete, I have been striving to stay within 90% or higher with my grades. I’m taking 4 classes and staying above the 90% percentile except for one. My math class grade is a little lower than I wanted, but I’m happy where it’s at because I am not the greatest at math. All I can do is keep doing my best and putting all I have into class.

Working Out More…Again:

I had a little break from working out, which always turns into a longer break and this is what exactly happened. I would work out sporadically or do the bare minimum knowing well that I needed to do more. So far for the month of March I used all my allotted days from Orange Theory Fitness and walked more than I have consistently. It also made me feel better as well.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

– Hippocrates

Fresh February

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New Adventures and New Learning Experiences

February was a month of learning and expanding my brain. Part of this month I went on my Navy annual training at Camp Pendletons Hospital. I’m rated as a general Corpsman (medic) which means I don’t have a specialty and I can float around where they need me. This time they needed me in the anesthesia department. Needless to say, I was a little nervous because I had no idea what they would want me to do. Not to mention I have basically zero experience in that department. Fast forward to day one of training and besides being nervous, I am ecstatic. I’ve never set foot in an operating room before! It was super clean, shiny, bright and had a level of organized collective chaos. I dove headfirst and learned everything I could as fast as I could since it was a little understaffed. I was allowed to prep patients in pre op for surgery, learned the restocking methods and was even able to watch a handful of the surgeries that were performed. The days flew by and when I wasn’t working at the hospital, I was out exploring sunny San Diego.

Exploring the tide pools and enjoying the ocean.

Tide pools at Shell Beach in La Jolla.

San Diego was a breathe of fresh air. I was able to explore and adventure around with one of my good friends that actually was training with me. She had some friends that knew cool food places to eat at and beaches to visit. I even managed to spend a few days hanging out with my brother. We tried to eat somewhere different everyday and to keep it local. Down in Encinitas we came across a delicious bakery and an amazing gelato shop.

This was delicious and the staff was so friendly! She gave us a loaf of bread for free! Add them to your list!

Go visit at night! Has amazing flavors of gelato. Fun, cozy atmosphere and only a few blocks from an ocean view.

Instead we found ourselves at dessert and snack shops than actual lunch or dinner places. It kind of kept the surprises of food on a working ”vacation.” I mean we had as much fresh seafood we possibly could have had, we had old school Italian food, amazing pizza and beer too. I also had to try ”the best coffee” that the San Diego area boasted. The coffee shops are called Better Buzz Coffee and they are scattered around SoCal. Since I’m a caffeine fiend, I of course had to stop in. I wanted to try their Horchata Iced Latte, but sadly they were sold out. I opted for their Mint Infused Iced Coffee instead and let me tell you…It was delicious! Not overly sweet, just the right amount of mint and the coffee was strong. It was great. If you ever find yourself in SoCal, give them a try. Here’s a glimpse at their MENU.

Such a fun atmosphere. Kick back and enjoy a nice coffee.

Now I think my favorite dessert place we found which ended up being on our second to last day was called Parlor Doughnuts. These are fancy home made big croissant/doughnut delicacies. I tried the Caramel Turtle and Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shortcake. They were decadent, and not overly sweet. I wish I had more time to bring them back home with me from the trip.

This annual training with the Navy actually turned out to extremely insightful to my job and fun. I managed to learn a lot of new information that made me curious enough to do my own research. I was able to spend time with new friends and went exploring out and about in a newish city! The best part of all though I think was being able to try all the new delicious foods and spend time at the beach to really enjoy it. I hope you enjoy reading about this as much as I enjoyed writing about it. 💚 Kat

“I have seafoam in my veins, I understand the language of waves.”

– Le Testament d’Orphée