Week Two of Nursing School

The first two weeks are over now for nursing school and I still have pinch myself to test if it's real. (Did I really quit my job to go back to school for the next four years? *pinch*) But in addition to that I've learned so much already and I don't think I was prepared for some of the things I've noticed so far. First of all, some people are really sick in the hospital. Like, REALLY sick. I watched a video in the class and the nurse in the video was changing bags containing urine and...

Wait, if you can't handle gross, you should stop reading now...

Easily grossed out people gone yet? Okay, good.

Well, the urine in the bags was not yellow or clear. It was red. In some cases, it looked more like blood or something even thicker than blood. It was seriously disturbing. I thought to myself, if my urine looked like THAT, I'd know I was done for right then and there. Of course, the good thing is that some people do live through that. I would say that if they do live through that, it's pretty darn amazing. It makes me marvel at how fragile humans are, but also how capable they are of living through some truly gruesome trials. Go, humans!

Secondly, I found out that not enough medical care staff wash their hands. I watched a video called Dirty Doctors by CBC Marketplace and I was shocked to watch their hidden camera showing just how serious the problem is with health care workers not washing hands between patients and procedures. Doctors in particular are guilty of this. It's making hospital stays three times longer (and sometimes deadly) because vulnerable patients catch illnesses that they didn't have before they entered the hospital! The staff basically walk around like bees polinating patients with germs! So if you ever stay at the hospital, make sure the staff wash their hands before they work on you. Put a big bottle of hand sanitizer on your table and make everyone use it before they touch you or your things. Make sure you wash your hands before you enter and leave too if you're visiting. Otherwise, you'll be spreading potentially life-threatening illnesses too.

Other than that, this week has been better than the last. Last week I was overwhelmed, this week I'm in shock over the amount of homework, but I was able to plow through it all on time (minus some hours of sleep) so I know that I can do it. I had to skim-read one of the chapters one late night though, so I'll need to go over that one again once I have some free time.

Sigh, week two down, next up week three. It's still exhausting, but I feel different feelings this week. The whole "I can't handle this" has changed to "This is tiring", which is technically a good sign. I just have to find the right rhythm now for balancing school work and taking time to process all the changes. I also need to find time for taking breaks, exercising, and all the other good things in life like friends and family. Little by little, it all falls into place. But it surely isn't without good effort. :)

The First Days Of Nursing School

Only two days have passed since nursing school started, but I'm already relieved to have a day off! What a rush it has been!

Something about the excitement of going back to school after years of work and all of the information being thrown at me was incredibly exhausting. I wanted to absorb and process absolutely everything and to be prepared, but I felt that I was fast slipping under the lists of readings, assignments, and expectations. New teachers, new students, new environment, new tasks... oh boy!

Oh! And boys! They are so young! They still talk about high school! High school was a long time ago for me... but they don't seem to realize that yet. Ramble, ramble, ramble, in high school I did this, ramble, ramble... oh dear.

So I sit myself in the library, hidden away in some quiet room, scrambling to organize myself. So... much... reading... quizzes... assignments... ugh!

But today was a day off, so I slept in until 8:30am (which is late since I have to wake at 5:45am for school), and it felt so good! :) Well rested, I did my stretches, had PIE for breakfast (thanks, sis!), and settled in for some catching up on emails and blogging. Once that's done, I'll pull out the school books and start organizing again. I spent a good number of hours organizing at school yesterday so two courses are done, but I have two more courses to organize today. By organizing, I mean writing all the due dates for different readings, quizzes, and assignments in my planner, and starting on the initial assignments. Once I'm done with that, I'll have to actually do all of the assignments due for next week, and do all of the required readings.

I hate to admit it, but when they told me nursing school was hard, I didn't really believe them. I thought, magically, that I would be better equipped to deal with these stresses having come from a good university background. Unfortunately, I'm out of practice.

Let it be said though that I am still very excited to have started nursing school. I am really, really thrilled to be in this new role as a nursing student. A poor lady was lost in the school yesterday and I helped her locate the security guard so she could find what she was looking for. She told me that I was very nice to stop and help her. I thought to myself, "You're in the nursing building. How badly off could you be? It's full of students that want to spend their whole lives helping people just like you..."

Pumpkin Flowers Are Edible - Here's a recipe

With such a delightful pumpkin plant explosion in my garden, I am gifted with many big pumpkin flowers. Every year they have gone to waste, but not this year! I have discovered that you can EAT them! In fact, they are quite delicious!

I just made some for lunch.

I picked fresh giant pumpkin flowers from my garden. I purposely only chose male flowers since I still want to have real pumpkins grow in my garden. Then I took them indoors, cut off the stem, and removed the pollen part in the middle (the stamen). Then I washed them to remove any dirt or bugs. You have to be a little gentle with the flowers since they are delicate. Once they were clean, I shook them loose of water and set them aside.

I put some butter in a frying pan, and added olive oil so that it wouldn't burn. Then I put the heat to medium-low to let the butter melt. In a bowl, I mixed two eggs, added salt and ground black pepper, and added a handful of chives. Then I prepared a separate dry mixture of corn meal and bread crumb.

I took a pumpkin flower, stuffed it with tzaziki dip (mine was more of a cream cheese type texture), dipped it into the egg mixture, and put it into the pan to fry. I sprinkled the dry corn meal mixture on top of the pumpkin flower to give it crunchiness.

I let the pumpkin flower lightly cook on one side, then flipped it and added some corn meal mixture to the other side. Then I prepared the rest of the pumpkin flowers in the same way. I let it cook until the egg mixture was well-fried, but not burnt. I flipped it over a couple of times to make sure both sides were cooked properly. Then I put them on a plate and ATE them!

They were pretty good! So you can try this same recipe at home if you happen to have pumpkin or zucchini flowers in your garden :)

You'll need:

Pumpkin or Zucchini flowers

Tzaziki dip or some kind of other savoury cream cheese filling

Corn meal

Bread crumbs

Salt

Ground Black Pepper

2 Eggs

Chives

Butter

Olive Oil

Here are some alternative recipes I found on the Internet:

http://www.italylogue.com/food-drink/fried-zucchini-flowers-recipe.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCUWWqEXKzs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgvjPSqbWv0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tab9dqYhvd4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWzk5HtSDKE&feature=related

Enjoy!

Middle Of The Road Musings

It's Day 1 of finishing my job and preparing for going to nursing school. I feel sort of melancholy. It's a big change that I'm preparing for and I wonder, even now, if I'm making the right choice. When I declare, "I'm going to be a nurse!" to my mother she says, "Shh, don't say that yet. Wait until you're finished school first." I think she still expects me to pipe up, "I'm going to be an artist!" It was, after all, what happened many years ago when I left my university years behind and went to art school.

Why flounder from one career to another flapping noisily like a fish out of water? But I can't seem to catch my breath. Before the ink even dries on another degree or diploma, it seems I've decided I want to do something else.

And so the journey continues to find a career I can call home. Where I can set up shop, lay out my skills, and say, "My isn't it a nice day? I'd like to stay here forever doing this!" Will it ever happen?

So I gather up my art supplies, set them aside, and make room for the tower of books behind which I shall hide for the next 4 years. They say time will fly and that I'll be glad of my decision in the end, and I certainly hope they'll be right. Perhaps some pencil crayons, a pencil, and some fabric shall be my comfort. I can make fantastical new creations in the deep of night when the books are closed and my exams are studied for. I am quite certain art will never leave me.

But the ghost of many lost nights haunts me with its tempting framed portrait. "You did this," it says. "You have the skills. Why do you forsake them now?" I hurl insults at it, gobs of paint, and maybe a mini brass brad or two.

Raindrops, Flowers, Garden Delights

Summer passed by in the blink of an eye, and now cold winds and rains have returned. In my garden, magical things have begun to happen. My corn plant erupted into crimson silk, which is none other than a little corn in the making!

I have never grown corn before so this is all very mysterious to me. Why is corn silk so pretty?

Lush strawberry plants hide pink fruits and white flowers.
Pumpkin flowers peek out among the large fronds, bursting with vivid yellows and orange. Did you know that pumpkin flowers are edible? My co-worker brought some for me to eat, lightly dusted with egg, salt, pepper, spices, and cheeses, and sautéed. They were actually quite delicious.
My pumpkin plant explosion - I'm so proud! Who would have thought that last year's jack-o-lantern's seeds would grow so well!
Out of all the beans I am growing now, this one is the most delicious.
And it's flowers are a delight!

However, nothing beats fushias after rain. They look like jewels.

I hope you are enjoying the rain and the fruits and flowers of your labour!