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.

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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

Nursing School Edition #6

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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!

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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

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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!

Word of the Day, POP Quiz!

Nursing School Edition #5

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What is a heart murmur? A heart murmur is is an abnormal noise between heartbeats. It can be a blowing, whooshing, or swishing sound. A heart murmur is when the blood makes an extra sound as it moves through.

The atrioventricular valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle is known as the ____ valve. Bicuspid / mitral valve

What is an angioplasty? An angioplasty is a surgical repair or unblocking of a blood vessel.

The ____ arteries supply muscles of the thorax. Intercostal

An average cardiac cycle takes ____ seconds. 0.8

​Lymphatic ____ are spaces between groups of lymphatic tissue. Sinuses

Liver macrophages are called ____ cells. Kupffer

Hydrochloric acid is secreted into the stomach by ____ cells. Parietal

The taste of ____ detects monosodium glutamate. Umami

The collapsible, muscular tube that is situated behind the trachea is called the: Esophagus

During the ____ phase of the menstrual cycle, the zona pellucida develops around each egg. Menstrual

The anterior portions of the nasal cavities just inside the nostrils are known as the: Vestibules

Sickle-cell anemia is a hereditary disease in which leukocytes have an abnormal sickle shape due to abnormal hemoglobin. FALSE

​Hyperparathyroidism results in the softening and deformation of the: BONES

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A quote my Anatomy and Physiology Professor gave to my class:

“Just because you watch ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ doesn’t mean you can do the operation.”

Charles Barkley

Hello and goodbye July

July has been a CRAZY month filled with school, military training and partially moving! It always seems like my summers are extra busy. This time though, it really was. 

What did I do?

At the beginning of the month I had extra training for the military. This involved a nice trip to San Diego and training on TCCC (tactical combat casualty course). I absolutely loved this recertification process. After my military trip I came back home, packed up my storage the next day and then got my tattoo the day after. I have been itching for a new tattoo for almost a year now and finally was able to do it. I got the rooster and pig tattoo on my feet! It is an old Navy tradition story and I love it. After my tattoo, the next day I packed up some things around the house, loaded the trailer onto my truck and headed towards ARIZONA! In a few weeks I will be moving to Arizona to attend my nursing school in person now. Since I am finished with the online pre-requisite portion it is now time for the in-person lab portions. I am both excited and stressed, to say the least. Once we got to Arizona, we unloaded the trailer and started to slowly clean, decorate and upgrade the house. With July coming to a close I find myself catching up on a lot of paperwork and errands. Can’t wait to see what is in store for me in the next couple weeks.

“You can get excited and feel unstoppable, but every week presents a new challenge. Each week, you have to work and get better.”

-Antonio Brown

Word of the Day:

Nursing School edition #1

This week we have been focusing on the circulatory system of the body. One thing that was talked about multiple times was the MAP. What is the MAP you might ask? It is an acronym that stand for Mean Arterial Pressure. Now what does that exactly mean? Its the average arterial pressure through one cardiac cycle, systole, and diastole.

This Youtube video is a great example of how to calculate the MAP.

Resource:

DeMers D, Wachs D. Physiology, Mean Arterial Pressure. [Updated 2022 Apr 14]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan

Nursing School

Second Semester is kicking my butt

In April I started my second semester of nursing school and let me tell you, it’s kicking my butt. Having a 5 class course load, two part time jobs and doing my military duty is A LOT. Not to mention finding time to actually sleep, eat, workout and blog! While these classes take up most of my time, I know it will benefit me in the end. To keep track of all my assignments in my classes I use my planner religiously. So far it hasn’t failed me and I’m staying on top of all my assignments. In addition to nursing school I updated my blog a little bit. I decided to give it a makeover and make it look a little nicer and user friendly. June always seems to be a busy month for me, and it’s even busier now with school.

Do you have any summer plans? If so let me know in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by!

My tea always has the nicest and heartwarming quotes. 💚

“Your greatest strength is Love.”

– Yogi Tea

3 Healthy Benefits of Avocado Toast

What is Avocado Toast?

Hi everyone! I recently decided to try avocado toast for the first time. I know, I ‘m a little late to the game but I am glad I finally gave it a try. Avocado toast is a more rich way to enjoy an easy go-to snack on the run. I personally used avocado toast as an upgrade for my breakfast game. While looking at many pinterest recipes and health benefits for eating this, these are the three I think stood out the most.

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1. It’s a great snack for weight management

One of the reasons why it’s great for weight management is because it is considered a healthy fat. They help keep you full for longer periods of time and actually feel satisfied after eating. That means less snacking around just to do it. I know because I am terrible at snacking for no reason.

2. Helps with maintaining a healthy heart ❤

It is important to try to maintain a healthy heart to stay healthy. Avocado toast can help due to its healthy fats. It is filled with vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin C, potassium and folate which is great for lowering blood pressure. Having lower blood pressures can result in a stronger healthier life.

3. They are delicious!

Sometimes eating healthy can be boring. Having avo toast is simple yet so creative. For example, you can have it plain on sourdough toast with some butter. You can also slice it up and put it over sourdough toast with light cheese and add some ”Everything on it” seasoning. Whatever you think of, you can do with this.

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This was simple to make, took less than 10 minutes and tasted great!

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RECIPES! 🥑

I love to shop for recipes by pictures! I’m a visual person so seeing it will make me want to make it more.

For the avo toast I made:

1 avocado

1 slice of smoked salmon

Handful of cucumbers

Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Everything on it seasoning

2 wedges of lemon

Sourdough toast

I like to mash up my avocado to a nice consistency which is a little chunky and add it to bowl. There I do a pinch of salt, pepper, paprika. Squeeze in the two lemon wedges and stir it up a little more. Then I cut a slice of sourdough and toast the two pieces to where its slightly more crunchy. Once those are done I spread a nice even layer of avocado on the toast, top it with cucumber, then place the smoked salmon on top. After that for the final touch I add the ”everything on it” seasoning. I like to pair it with a coffee or some tea and then I get to enjoy breakfast.

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I hope you all enjoy this recipe and some healthy benefits of avocado toast! Give it a try, you might be surprised. 😊

If you keep good food in your fridge, you will eat good food.”

– Errick McAdams

Reference:

Why Avocado Toast is Healthy

School Update:

Semester 1 Complete!

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Semester one of nursing school was completed. It was a nice and tough semester, especially with my math class. I managed to struggle through and pass with all A’s and a B in math. I surprised myself, to say the least and I’m glad I pushed myself. Thinking back to how my learning styles have changed, I definitely see a pattern on some things. I definitely am a crash course student. What that means to me is that if I cram semi last minute I tend to retain information more and score higher on tests. I think that is a TERRIBLE habit to have, but for some reason it works for me. These last couple months I have tried to curb that habit and I actually did a little better with it. These classes were asynchronous which worked out great with my work schedules. My next semester (which starts in a week) is also asynchronous, so that kind of eases some stress. Are you wondering what asynchronous means, just like I was before taking these? Asynchronous basically means that students are given a time frame, usually a one-week window. During that time frame  they need to connect to their class at least once or twice a day. Doing it on your own with a timeline guidance is great for non hands-on classes. 

I wanted to keep tabs on how my classes are going and what grades I earn because this is a big journey for me. This also keeps me motivated in a sense to share how nursing school is and what happens throughout it. I’m excited to start my next set of classes and a little nervous as well. I’m taking a full semester with not four, but five classes! So this should be interesting. 

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.”

—Mother Teresa

Late night studying.

Late night studying.

Fresh February

New Adventures and New Learning Experiences

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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.

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Exploring the tide pools and enjoying the ocean.

Tide pools at Shell Beach in La Jolla.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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

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

– Le Testament d’Orphée