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 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

Happy August!

Starting off August PROACTIVE

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This month I am starting off August strong. I have a lot of things happening this month and I need to stay organized and on top of things.

First: I will be finishing my second semester of nursing school in a couple of weeks. Once this semester finished I need to compile ALL my notes and organize the coursework in case I need it for later.

Second: I will be moving to Arizona OFFIICIALLY in about 3 or so weeks. I am stressed but, it’s manageable. I am packing up the rest of my stuff that I’m bringing and cleaning and organizing along the way.

Thirdly: Finding a job! It’s weird to look for a job in a whole other state. It’s proving to be difficult but I am trying to stay positive. I wish I was able to telework with my Fire Inspecting job but at the moment it doesn’t seem plausible.

Lastly: I’m slowly trying to get back into streaming videogames. I always have loved playing and I used to stream little bit before but got super busy. While I’m still busy I’m starting to manage and organize my time better and actually learn how to stream. I think it will be a fun pastime to pursue and a nice way to relax.

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I’ll keep this short and simple because I know this month will go by quick! Goodluck out there! 💚

“Action is the foundational key for all success.”
― Pablo Picasso

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

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

Off with April and onto May

I feel like April came and went in such a hurry. What did you do for the month? Here is how I spent my April.

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First semester down and onto my second for nursing school.

Halfway through April, I finished my first semester and I started my second semester of nursing school. I had a week’s break and then it was back to studying. This time around I has an even fuller schedule since I’m in five classes! Having five classes means I have to stay organized and on top of my game. I wanted to try out a different digital planner than the one I already use. I shopped around Etsy and decided to try out a new one that had room for multiple classes. So far it is working out great and really keeping things in check.

Working out even more!

In March I was starting to work out again, and I’m happy to say I stayed on top of that in April as well. I decided on not setting any hardcore goals and instead stayed with easier ones. Some goals were: workout a few times in April, go on a walk every day that you can, and try to go hiking. I managed to achieve every one of those goals and I can’t wait to do even more in May.

Hiking in Muir Woods

I was really excited when one of my friends and I found time to go hiking. We originally planned on a Mt. Tamalpais trail that traveled in a 5.2 mile loop into Muir Woods here in California. While we did make it down to Muir Woods we accidentally got turned around and instead hikes a 10 mile loop!! We were exhausted, a little nervous but overall we managed to do it! That’s a story for later 😅

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I can’t wait to see what May has in store for me. What were some of the things you did in April? Any plans for May? Let me know in the comments below, can’t wait to hear them! Stay safe 💚 Kat

“After a day’s walk, everything has twice its usual value.”

G.M. Trevelyan

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.

Three Big Things I Did In March

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.

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Avocado Toast: Homemade

Homemade avocado toast and vanilla cold brew with foam.

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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.

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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.

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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

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