October 23, 2010 @ Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore. Tweeking the wedding website a bit right now and ordering my STDs. (ha that cracks me up) and looking for a DJ and photographer.

Seriously, Kee and I were talking...there's waaaay more stuff we have to do this time around with this venue, but it's much more fun this time around, too. :)

And I'm sick again. Boo.

A couple of you know what I have been going through these past couple of months. It wasn't easy. It was full of confusion, drama, stupidity, fun...you name it. But it was something that needed to happen. I realized what I have and what I want.

A while back ago Kee and I pushed back the wedding. At that point it was decided that we weren't going to get married in May and we, no, I, wasn't trying to talk about setting another date. I felt a like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders once that was decided. He was hurt and we barely talked or saw each other. And of course there were other things going on too, things that Mary & Caroline know about.

So after I finally got my head out of my ass...I realized that I missed Kee. I missed what we had. I realized that I had a wonderful person who loved me for me and actually put up with my crap. That's huge. And, even though I get annoyed with little things...I never got sick of him after 9 years. I realized I didn't want to be with anyone else but him and how good I actually had it.

So a couple of weeks ago I told him all this. And all he did was smile. And I swear I saw saw tears although he may deny it. I told him I want to marry him. He slid that ring back on my left hand and asked "will you marry me again and spend the rest of your life with me?" and of course I said "yes...I do." :)

And here I am now. Re-thinking of all things wedding, making it about him and me b/c I lost sight of that through the first time around. Today we are going to look at a venue in Livermore nestled in the wineries. We are both in love with this venue and are thinking if we book it, our new wedding date will be Saturday, October 23, 2010. It will be the fall wedding that I wanted with the colors I wanted. It will be the type of venue he wanted. So we will see.

I just want to thank my sister and Mary for being so supportive and being the awesome MOH/BM that you are. Never once did you judge me and you let me follow my heart and supported me the entire way. Love you.

And Caroline...Congrats to you and Chris on your engagement. I am thrilled for you. And now I feel bad for giving him a hard time everytime I have gone over there. I think it would be fun to go through the wedding planning process with you. And I have a question to ask you when I see you next. :)

That's it folks.

UMMM...hi can Caroline and Mary please update?! KGREATTHANKS.

The other night I had my first code on my own. I had one patient. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but I had a feeling that something was going to happen that night. He was cruising along just fine. Pressures were fine, off pressors. Breathing was pretty good, satting 92-95% on 6L NC. Neutropenic guy. He was in pain on PCA Dilaudid, but said that his pain was the most tolerable that it had been in days...2-3/10 abdominal pain. He was fine. But for some reason I just had a feeling of impending doom.

Around 130a he started c/o SOB and that he felt he wasn't getting enough oxygen. To make a long story short, I called RT and the MD to the bedside, put on a SFM, then a 100% non-rebreather, then we tried him on Bipap b/c he has a hx of OSA. He was satting okay, but he was so cold and had poor peripheral perfusion, so getting an accurate reading was difficult. Then he started turning pale, perfusely diaphoretic, and had decreased mental status. It was decided then that we were going to intubate after his ABG came back with a pH of 6.998. The code was called and he was rapidly intubated. So when I left him he was on 4 pressors: Dopamine, Levophed, Neosynephrine, and Vasopressin. I literally was busy with that guy from 2am til I left giving fluids, titrating gtts, and drawing labs.

So yes. I survived my first code on my own!

FML.

TORN. =/

Oh my new friend told me tonight that I was "so Asian" based on the fact that I told him that I had wonton soup yesterday and pho today. I didn't know I was that Asian. Ha.

I'm sick. And I can't sleep. It's nights like this one that I wish I still had a myspace so I could redo the entire layout at least 2-3 times. haha.

My life is in shambles...

...okay so that may be a little over-dramatic. Everything is going great in my life except one area that only a few know about. AHHH. I think I'm digging myself in a bigger hole and I don't know quite how to get out of it.

OH the things I get myself into...Mary & Caroline know what I'm talking about.

2 more days of work (1 8 hr and 1 12 hr) then Kee and I are heading to Disneyland Friday through Monday to celebrate our 9 year anniversary. It's not until October 1st but I'm working that night and then that weekend is Tandy's wedding. So that's what we're doing! I haven't been there in yeeeaaaars so I'm super excited!

I've been working day shifts last week and 2 more this week. So nice to be back with my favorite crew. I hope I can start rotating nights/days soon for at least some periods of normalcy.

Ok. I need to get ready to hit the sack. Just a mini-update for you. :)

I bought a new car yesterday! A Grey 2009 Hyundai Sonata SE/Limited, fully loaded. I love it. And I got a killer deal.

Pics to come soon!

I had the past 5 nights off and they were wonderful. Saturday was my dad and sister's company picnic that I have been going to for as long as I can remember. Sunday was the Plate to Plate 5k run in Frisco with proceeds going to Project Open Hand. My goal now is to do one run at least every 2 months...and slowly building up the distances. It's great exercise and a lot of fun.

And last night was the Nickelback, Hinder, Papa Roach, & Saving Abel concert in Mountain View. So fun!

Now I'm off to work the next 4 nights...starting tonight. Woke up early and couldn't get a nap in, so this night should be interesting!

So I'm finally going to do something wedding-related...haha. Kee and I are heading to SF on Sunday to take engagement pics around the city. Should be fun. I'm researching spots to go to. I know for sure that I want one near the Golden Gate or at least with it in the background since that's where we got engaged. I'll post those pics as soon as I can.

OOH I also went to Michael's and got some fun print paper to try out ideas for escort cards and table numbers. I'm excited to play with that and let my inner Martha Stewart come out.

But other than that I've been working. Not too much else going on. Oh, going to be running a 5K at the end of the month. Should be fun.

Speaking of which...gotta go run!

So I think it was a week or so ago that I tried on wedding dresses for the first time. It was so surreal. I went into the shop not even expecting to try on anything...and I walked in there falling in love with two dresses. I'm still going to go to other stores and try on other things, but I definitely think I'm going back to Trudy's to get my dress and maybe the BM dresses. However, I'm looking at other stores for those as well.

I found another reason why I love Yelp. A photographer from the Pleasanton area messaged me and told me she loves shooting at Wedgewood. So I check out her site and liked her images. I just messaged her about her packages...she said they start at 1200! Can't beat that! So we'll see.

I'm excited to see my lovelies tomorrow! My heart can't take it! :)

New Wedding Colors!

So yes, I decided to change them a little. Teehee.



and the sites that inspired me, courtesy of the perfect palette

color inspiration #1

color inspiration #2

Here I Go Again...

Thinking about changing the wedding colors again. Ha. I want to keep green, but I want something else now...I think. I'm leaning towards Canary Yellow or an Orange or something. Gotta play around with palettes and swatches.

So Tiff, Stevi, and I are starting this weight loss competition. And you know me...I gotta win. This is gonna push all of us to work out and eat healthier...and then we'll meet up once a month to share our progress and hang out. I think it'll be good. Gotta be hott for the wedding of course!

My first solo night shift was Monday night. I had one patient who I know very well. (I've had him many many times during orientation). So it was a chill night. We will see how tonight goes!

First night shift and last orientation day tonight...then I'm on my own tomorrow night! Eeek!

Wish me luck.

I had an awesome day at work. Won't go much into detail, but I was really proud of myself. I impressed the ever-so intimidating Cardiothoracic Surgery Attending (he hates new nurses and Asians), so that was a huge deal to me. I was told that he liked me and thought I was a good nurse. So hopefully this means by this time next year he won't be hard on me if I start taking his fresh hearts. :)

That's all. I'm exhausted. One more day and I'm off for the weekend. I've been working non-stop. It's bad when a GI doc tells you "You're here again? Do you live here?!" haha. Yes, yes I do.

I think we're beachin' it up for the 4th. Maybe. If I can drag myself out of bed early enough. What's everyone else doing this weekend?

Update update. It's a short one.

I have about 2 more weeks until I'm on my own. Kinda freaking out inside. I already extended my time by a week. We'll see if I decide to add more time. In a way I wanna go on my own because I don't want someone hovering anymore...but that hovering person is kind of comforting to me. We shall see.

So we did back out of that gorgeous house. I freaked. So Kee and I are restarting the house hunting process and looking at resells and have found some good deals in Mountain House for roughly the same amount of house that we were originally looking at. We have an appoinment on Monday evening to see 3 houses I think. (Kee's taking the lead this time b/c I've been so stressed lately). I'll keep you all posted.

Ok I think that's about it. Oh yeah, I'm going to start wedding dress shopping in the next couple of weeks! EEK! Super excited to try some dresses on. And I gotta finalize the BM dresses. I keep changing my mind on the dresses...and the BM's. haha We'll see about that one too...

So I get a patient from the OR today. In my report he sounds stable, not even intubated or anything. I receive him screaming. The anesthesiologist tells me to give him 2 of Versed. I get ready to push it and another nurse says "he's looking a little dusky." And then he stops breathing and doesn't have a pulse. We start CPR. My job was to push Epi and Atropine. 15 mins later we have a pulse and he survives.

That was my first code in a nutshell. It was definitely a lot crazier than that!!

Keenan and I may be buying a house this summer. Things are in motion and we're working numbers and contracts right now. I'm super excited but very nervous right now. The house is brand-new, gorgeous, and in Mountain House...a corner lot in front of a nice park. I couldn't ask for more. I'm expecting a call from the mortgage people this week, so I'll keep you updated! Eeeek!!

So today I took a patient from the ER..with a GI bleed.

One word: BLECH.

That was quite the experience.

That's all I have to say about that.

My grandma passed away on May 4. I hadn't seen her in 4 years and the last image I now have of her is laying in a beautiful casket and me touching her cold hand. That's not the way I want to remember her, but the last visit was so long ago that it's hard for me to think of a different way of seeing her.

The wake, the mass, the final resting place...all beautiful. My mom did a good job, but it was all stuff grandma wouldn't have wanted. It was more for my mom and aunt. I feel bad for my mom. She was saying back in February "I hope grandma can make it to August" (that was when we had planned to go see her). But at least I know she didn't suffer when she passed. My cousin Lora said she was fine that morning and then came home to find her on the floor with my grandpa holding her. Lora threw everything out of the way and started doing CPR. But she was already gone.

I wish I was able to see her alive one more time. I wish I didn't let all that time pass without seeing her. She didn't even get to meet the man I am going to marry. But I am glad I was able to head out to New Jersey even despite the circumstances. I was able to see all my family and even the ones from Hawaii.

It makes you step back and think about how precious life is and how you should cherish your time with loved ones. And don't let too much time go by without telling your loved ones how much you love them.

I'm sitting at work in the library on our unit. I'm in this little room staring at the computer screen doing my Essentials of Critical Care Orientation. [ECCO] I've been here for an hour and I am going nuts. TORTURE.

Although it IS good information. I'm reading about cardiovascular stuff right now. It's good to know but I just can't sit here or concentrate. ADD much?? LOL

I almost forgot to mention the most exciting thing about my week! So with my sick heart patient, the Cardiology Attending came by and wanted to cardiovert my pt. I guess they had done it on Sunday, but it was unsuccessful. So they wanted to try it again on Tuesday (yesterday). So we prepared him for cardioversion. Had RT and a beside intubation tray and vent on standby just in case he coded. Had Anesthesia there to give Propofol for sedation. And the Cardiology Attending to deliver shocks. I was on standby with the crash cart (with my preceptor of course b/c at this point I was already freaking out! haha). So first shock delivered with 200 joules. Asystole. Then heart rate comes back at 70-80s, then jumps right back into Afib, rates 140s. Second shock...360 joules. Same thing, except the time in Sinus was a little longer. This happened 2x more at 360 joules and same result. Unsuccessful cardioversion again. The attending thought the amount of IV Amio was too much and pretty much blocking the SA node, so we switched him to PO Amio. That seemed to help because today he was a new man (see previous post).

And that was my week in a nutshell. Although I'm working the weekend, so there may be more stories to tell!

So this week is my 3rd week on the floor. Last week I was at nursing orientation for the 3rd time ever. BUUUUT it will be the last time! :)

This week was pretty busy! Monday I had 3 patients...started with 2, discharged one to the floor, admitted one from the OR. Tuesday I had a guy with CRI, Chronic Afib, and a sick heart. He didn't look that good and was on so many drips. Most of my day was spent titrating his Amio, Dobutamine, Lasix, Insulin, Nipride, and Epi gtts. I also spent the day shooting cardiac outputs and indexes. I had to attend a family meeting with his wife and daughter to discuss the plan of care and what measures they wanted to take if he were to take a turn for the worse. It was very emotional. I come in today and have the same patient and he's only on Dobutamine, alert and talking, and looks like a different man. His family told me that I fixed him. haha He's going to have an ablation done to try and fix his Afib. I'll be at work, but I'll be doing my ECCO class all day. I will make sure to drop by his room and see how he's doing.

My other patient on Tuesday and today was an ETOH withdrawal guy with rhabdomyolysis. He also had compartment syndrome in his left leg and had a fasciotomy done. He also had renal failure and was hypotensive, so I was titrating his vassopressin gtt while he was getting hemodialysis done. I discharged him today to the IICU. I was looking for Kelly (mine & Mary's clinical instructor from Sem 5), but she wasn't there. :(

So now here I am. I'm going to go back to reading about PA catheters and doing PA dialstolic and pulmonary artery wedge pressures now. It'll tie in to my ECCO class tomorrow since I'm doing cardiovascular stuff.

Mary, Caroline...updates please! :)

First of all, yes. We DID set the wedding date and booked the venue. We are getting married on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at Wedgewood Wedding & Banquet Center. It will be from 6-11pm. And I have a bunch of wonderful fun ideas that will have everyone raving about our little happy day. Because you all know I can't just do what everyone else does...gotta have some flava in the mix! Like grape koolaid! :)

And as you know, this was my first week of work as an RN! Tuesday I took one patient...a post-op day 2 CABG x2. Extubated that morning. My job was to shoot cardiac outputs/indexes, titrate his neo and nitro drips for perfusion without getting too high of pressures that could possibly rupture the vein grafts. It was a little hard being back because I had been gone for a while. Some things had changed. Had to refamiliarize myself with the new pumps and new beds that we got. But it was good.

Wednesday I had the same patient, plus another pt. He was an ARDS, multi-organ failure, septic...among many other problems. They had him vented at 100% FiO2 with pressures and volumes 4-5 times the amount that they would normally have on a patient. It was a very complicated case and a very sick guy.

Today I had the same 2 patients. It was different because the Ethics Committee was called to discuss the plan of care of my ARDS patient, so myself and my preceptor went to sit in the meeting. After an exhaustive search for family, surrogates, anyone who could make a decision, the committee convened with the treating medical team to discuss withdrawing life supporting measures. I won't get into all, but the doctor on the committee asked us all what our thoughts were. I was even able to voice my opinion about the situation, although I had only cared for the pt for only 2days. The final decision at the end of the meeting was that those measures be withdrawn and comfort care instituted.

It was an interesting experience to be able to sit in and participate in that meeting. I even heard words we learned in nursing school like "beneficence." They still had to bring up the recommendations to the Chief of Staff and Director of the hospital, so I don't think anything will be done today. I'm off tomorrow but work Saturday, so we'll see if they do anything.

So that was my week in a nutshell!

So we MAY have a potential date!!

...May 15, 2010 from 6-11 pm. Imagine a nice evening wedding with twinkling white lights and dramatic lighting inside! And lots of fun!

We are still in talks and getting proposals...I'll keep you updated!

Oh first day of work was chill. Only did HR stuff and then went to my unit to pick up my orientation packet. Then my manager let me out waaaay early. "You've been here long enough. You know what to do. You know everyone. See you tomorrow."

Shwweeeet.

After meeting with the vendor, we went to my bros house for his bday and see the fam. Too bad my nephew love Kee more than me. My sis-in-law told me that as we left Izzy (the boy) said "Bye Uncle Peenan!" Although they did let me put their sweaters on them. LOL

K time for bed. I'll be on the unit tomorrow! Yay! :)

I start next week! Super stoked! I'm definitely ready to get started...but now I have a bunch of reviewing to do. I need to brush up on my EKG interpretation again, among other things.

But yay! I'm exciiited.

I picked up my pre-ordered Twilight dvd on Saturday. I've already watched it twice and I'm about to watch it again in a little bit. haha. And Keenan got me all this memorabilia, like film clips and pictures...he even spotted a magazine with R.Patz & Kristen Stewart on the cover, so he got that for me too. Last night he apologized to me for not being Edward. haha What a man to put up with my sick, sick obsession. <3

Keenan and I are going to visit the wedding venue next week and I'm kind of getting excited. We are going to do another rough guest list this week and figure out a budget. And you never know...we may have a date set my next week. It's nice b/c his parents are going to help us put down 25% of the venue cost to lock in our date. I'll keep you updated!

Can I just go get married at the courthouse and have a big after-party at my parents house?!

...ha. Just kidding. I was just looking at the venue we are going to visit in a couple weeks. They have great packages that take a lot of the stress OFF of me, which me likey a lot! And I'm looking at centerpiece ideas right now. I want something pretty, but different than what I've seen before. There are a lot of people getting married this year, and I just want ours to stand out. But most importantly, I want people leaving and saying "That was TOTALLY Tricia & Keenan." :)

SO Kee always hated the brown & green colors I chose for our wedding. He said everyone would look like shit...literally. So after going through what seemed to be endless amounts of color palettes, we finally agreed on something. Aqua/Turquoise/Tiffany Blue, Green, & White. And my mom loves the combo too! (She was also on the "what the hell are you thinking with brown" team). So yes we have that done. And I found a really cool cake idea. I will post pics of my ideas next week. And we are meeting with the event planner for Wedgewood in a couple of weeks to see what we can work out.

Look at me go. I'm actually doing something for this wedding. yaaaaaay. (sarcastic yay. haha).

I'm going to go sit out by my pool now (I'm in Tracy). The weather is just too gorgeous to be sitting indoors.

As you can see, I got bangs. I already knew I was going to ditch the highlights and go one dark color. I just wanted something easy to maintain, especially since I don't know how busy I'll be during these next few months of orientation. So I'm sitting at the salon waiting for Jeannie to finish up with her client. I'm flipping through mags and see bangs all over the place! So I run it by Joc. She said do it. I call Kee. He says ask Jeannie and if she says yes, go for it. (He's known Jeannie for years, so he trusts her). Then I ask Jeannie. She said it would look cute. So as I'm sitting in the chair, I say "Let's do it!"

I'm pretty happy with the look. They took a little bit getting used to. Everyone says I look more Asian now. haha I just feel all saucy and diva-licious...well, more so than usual. Haha I just wanted to change it up a bit. Change is good. :)

The HR specialist from the VA just gave me call. "Hi Tricia...you got the RN position." (Duh, I already knew that haha) So she asked me if my VetPro was done. Yes. (see previous post) Asked if I had done a physical before (yes last year)

So she said she was going to check my security/background clearances again but I don't think I need to do those again since I did them like 3 times before already. So then she says that she's not exactly sure when I'll be starting, but we are shooting for an end-of-the-month start date! Soo happy about that! I can't wait to start working already!!

She's going to get back to me hopefully by the end of the day, so if I get an update I'll be sure to post something! :)

The nurse recruiter finally called me yesterday and got me going on the VetPro process. VetPro is the VA's online credentialing process to see your education and past experience and references, which it turns helps the boarding/determing your salary process. I'm just happy because my application isn't sitting in limbo anymore! VetPro will take 2-3 weeks to process, so I'm hoping for an April start date. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Keenan's bday was last weekend so we planned a fun-filled Saturday. Him and I and one of our friend-couples are all on the same diet, so we all set our free day for Saturday. We started off at Mimi's Cafe for breakfast. OMG bacon was soo delish when you've been eating nothing but chicken breasts. haha. After we headed into SF to go to the Academy of Sciences. Check out my myspace for the pics. I really don't wanna go through the uploading process right now. But anyways that was fun. My favorite part was the aquarium. We got there too late for the Planetarium show and the albino alligator was on medical leave.

After we headed towards the Japanese Tea Garden. I love tea gardens and everything Japanese. Gorgeous! If I had unlimited amounts of cash, I would totally have our wedding in one.

Then we went to Pier 39, walked around, ATE...a LOT! Like I said it was my free day! :)

On Sunday Kee picked up his nephew and niece from Lodi. We all hadn't seen them in over a year. Loooong story which I know some of you know about so I'm not going to get into it. But anyways, it was a trip to see how much they've grown. His nephews voice is all deep and everything. It was definitely bittersweet...great to see them but sad to see how much we've all missed out. And now because of more drama, Kee doesn't know if he'll ever be able to see them again. He's definitely hurting and all I do is get mad.

Well tomorrow's my mom's bday and we're heading to Cache Creek! Hopefully I can hit the jackpot and not be worried about my financial status for a while! WISH ME LUCK!!

Oh and Saturday I'm getting my hair did. I'm thinking of coloring it all one color! *GASP!* We'll see. I want to be less high-maintenance b/c once I finally start working, I don't know how long it will be before I can pay Jeannie a visit. I'll post pics of what I decide to do!!

I get to see Kee's nephew and niece today! It's been soo soo long! I can't wait! :)

I am finally deleting my Xanga...but of course I had to browse all my old posts. I've had that thing since 2004, but I haven't really had much to add to it in the past year.

It was crazy reading all my thoughts and feelings when I was "young." haha. It made me sad because a lot of it had to do with Kee's sister, Amber, her ex-husband, and the kids. It made me sad to think how they're not really a part of my life anymore. Am and I were bffs for the longest time...and she was going to my my maitron of honor, too. And now here I am, starting to plan my wedding and she's not a part of it.

It's funny to read how much I went out (during the week!!), partied, dressed up, went to all these fraternity events...because most of the journal was during the time I was living in Sac.

It also trips me out reading about mine & Kee's relationship...how it has evolved over the years and how much we've both grown. Goodness I was stupid and dramatic. No wonder he had such a hard time putting up with me!

I love reading how I felt when I was doing pre-reqs and trying to get into nursing schools. It feels like so long ago. But it all shows me how far I've come. :)

Last night Kee and I were looking at some wedding venues again. We think we're going to look at Wedgewood in San Ramon. They have decently-priced wedding packages. Even better, they help you take care of a lot of details so you don't have to. ME LIKEY. I'm going to give them a call soon so I can get the ball rolling on all this crap. lol.

So after that we were looking at colors and for some reason bridesmaids dresses. The colors I chose, as you know, were some variation of brown & green. KEE DOES NOT LIKE THIS. Now I thought he was going to be the typical groom-to-be and NOT HAVE A WORD/NOT PARTICIPATE in the details. NOPE. NOT HIM. He likes the green, but a lighter "celery" green or lighter, more pastel colors. WTF!? Where is this coming from? So now we are back to the drawing board...trying to decide on colors. And I'm having a problem finding the BM dresses that I like that will look good on the girls. So I may not get the foofy bottom that I originally want. But I still have pleeeenty of time to sort out those details. My priority right now is to lock down a location and set a date.

I'm going to Oakland Childrens today. My nephew had a 2nd hypospadias repair. Too bad my dingbat of a bro/sis-in-law failed to tell me of the first one. So they call yesterday telling me that he was brought back to Childrens because he spiked a fever and his scrotum was super swollen. He's there now on antiobiotics and morphine. My sis & dad went there last night and said he looked super uncomfortable. So I'm gonna head over there today and pretend I know something about Peds. LOL. Poor baby boy. Oh and my dad's ex-wife is flying in today and should be there...THAT'LL be interesting.

I got beads today...and I didn't even have to show my bOobs! Yay!

Happy Fat Tuesday!!

I ditched the custom layout and reverted back to blogger templates. I'm tired of always trying to find new things that interest me. That's what myspace is for. ha.

No news yet from the VA. I was going to drop by the nurse recruiters office yesterday or today just to say hello (and bug them), but I decided to wait til maybe Thursday or Friday.

I'm sooo sooo bored...I just wanna work already. Blaaaah.

Some things to be happy about:

Stephanie Meyer weekend in Forks: Sept 12-13 (yes we are going!!)
New Moon: Nov 20 2009
Eclipse: June 30 2010

Yes I am sooo sooo happy they aren't going to make us wait a whole 2 years for the third installment of The Twiligh Saga! Thank you Summit for announcing this on the 21st! Yay!

And speaking of my beloved R.Patz (as dubbed by Perez Hilton), did anyone else think he look all pale, cool, and vampy last night at the Oscars. Kee pointed that out to me and I squealed like a school girl. Especially when he was sitting behind Mickey Rourke.

Here's a video of him...it's during the part where they're talking about Rourke, but my eyes were on R.Patz the whole time!

I got Skype ladies. Come find me. :)

I'm starting a new diet tomorrow and I'm actually pretty excited about it. My friend Mark has been doing this diet for the past 3 weeks and has lost 16 pounds already. It's pretty much eating 6 small meals/snacks every 2-4 hours, portion control, eliminating bad foods and optimizing good foods, drinking nothing but water, and working out more. Plus you get one free day a week. So I was thinking if he could do it (he's a big guy and loves to eat!) then I certainly could. I'll keep you updating and tell you how it goes.

Hope everyone had a good V-day. Kee, Mark, Genna, and I had an early start on Saturday and spent the day in Frisco...Exploratorium and Japantown. Fun times. Then we ended the day with Confessions of a Shopaholic. So cute. It was a chill, relaxing, and fun day. :)

I wake up at 300am like I have been every day for the past 3 weeks and type in my name on the BRN license verification page that is conveniently bookmarked on my iphone.

"MARTINEZ TRICIA MOLINA"

I see my name!!

Then I wake up.

I look at the clock. 315-320ish. Guess I should check the site. I grab my iphone and go to the bookmarked page and type in my name.

MARTINEZ TRICIA MOLINA

I stare at it and refresh the page. It's still there. I turn to Kee and say his name.

Keenan.
Yeah?
I think I passed.

He quickly turns over and stares at me. I hand him my phone and tell him to look at it.

Is that really me?
Yes it is!
OMG I passed. I'm an RN!

I grabbed him and hugged him super tight while bawling my eyes out. Then I feel him pinch me 3 times.

What are you doing?
Helping you make sure this is real.

Then while I'm in the middle of updating my myspace status (yennoe, priorities haha) I get a text from Mary..."WE ARE NURSES"

It's the best day ever! I love you Mary, RN! We've finally made it and I couldn't think of a better person I would have rather gone through this whole process with than you. <3

As of today I am a BLS & ACLS certified, EKG interpreting, still unlicensed nurse.

So frustrated. I hope we can find out our results soon...

I had my interview this morning and I got the job! haha *surprise surprise*

My manager even asked me at the end "Do you want the job? I have to ask you that." I told her "no." haha.

Now just waiting...waiting...waiting...waiting...

Yesterday was just what I needed. I felt so relaxed and calm...the best I've felt in over a month. Love you!

AHHHHH!

Freaking out.

That's all.

I scheduled my NCLEX this morning. It's in about 2 weeks or so. Haha that's all I'm saying. I've been studying for a while now, but here on out it's full-on studying. Like Mary said in her resolutions, I'm studying for at least 2 hours a day. I tried the virtual ATI thing, but I'm not finding it very helpful. I got the Saunders Comprehensive review and I really like it. I'm using that along with extra practice questions from the Lippincott book. We'll see how this goes...

Yesterday I went to my Day 1 of a 2 day EKG interpretation class. It's funny 'cause I met the other new grad that will be starting with me at the VA. Her name is Bethany. She did her preceptorship on our unit. Because I turned down Versant, there was room for another new grad and they offered it to her. She's really sweet and we have a lot in common. She's even engaged and planning a wedding, too! haha So we decided we are going to be work bff's, especially since we'll be on nights together. But she'll never replace my Mary who, well, is irreplaceable! haha :)

After my EKG class, I feel more confused than ever...too much info going into my brain!!! AHHHH!

Okay, i'm going to relax before I start studying! xoxo!

Happy New Year!! 2009...can't believe it's here already.

...this year is going to be soo soo amazing. I know it will be. :)