Too Much Fun!

Brittany and I have somewhat overlapping schedules, so the only times we get to see each other are either on Sundays, or at crazy hours of the night, so we party it up! And, I tell you what! We have some FuNnY Times! I just stinking love it! I am gonna miss being out here! We are coming right down to three weeks left . . . it's gone fast!, and we have met some Incredible people here! And the best part is . . . it feels like we have known them forever! It's gonna be weird leaving, but, let's not dwell upon that. The best is here and now. 

No longer forward nor behind

I look in hope and fear;

But grateful take the good I find,

The best of now and here.

John G. Whittier

For Valentines Day, which was so much fun! Brittany made me this candy poster, which I LOVE!! And, it has gotten me through many a day since then. I got Brittany those crazy little time crystallized Sea Monkeys that come to life when you add water, and I can seriously get mesmerized by those tiny twitching specks for a good 15 minutes at a time, they are very captivating. So, that has been exciting. I forgot to tell you that for Valentine’s weekend, Christy drove all the way from Missouri to just come spend the weekend with me! It was SO MUCH FUN!! And I honestly can’t wait to be her roommate this coming semester! (Kerri, Christy and I are all living in a house called Bristol Manor right off of campus next semester, and I’m stoked!) And plus, it will be Oh so beautiful weather! Rexburg in the summer is THE PLACE TO BE!! So, I have a grand candy fix, and had the best date night with Christy EVER! (A BBQ at the house . . . YUMM, Going down to Bricktown and strolling along the windy river through down town, Marble Slab Creamery – best ice cream EVER!, and sitting on a tail gate in Toby Keiths ‘I Love this Bar’ Grill. Best V-day Weekend! Thanks for coming Christy! That was way to fun!  

 Christy and me on the cushioned tail-gate coming out of the wall in the entry way of Toby Keith's Place. Marble Slab . . .  Best ice cream IN THE WORLD!! Seriously! So, creamy and such a good flavor! (you know those lotions from bath and body that you always wish could taste how they smell . . . coconut bliss!) Hmm'Mm . . . Heaven.

SEA MONKEY EXTRAVAGANZA!! 

With the 1-2-3 ''easy'' step instructions! Haha! I had to analyze them for a good five minutes to make sure we were giving our sea monkeys the best possible chance to survive and grow! :) 

we brought them to life! Now we have at least 18, that I can count, twitchy specks of life! 

Amidst the trials . . . We have some stinking good times!

Need I say more . . . 

P.S. Brittany never allows you to have a bad day that stays that way. She cheers you up instantly with whatever she can! This days beauty, my door filled with post-it notes EVERYWHERE! :) 

Comments are in!

Alrighty! YaY!! Looks like Everyone's in! 
And yes, it is no wonder where I get my crafty skills from! ;) Thank you!  


Erin = Red


Amber = Cream 


Mom = Black or Eggplant 


Kirstin = the Cream? or Greenish Gray one? Maybe a mixture of both?  


Dallen = although unspecified = Dark Blue = Manly


Awesome! I'm excited! And, just a little update from the internship stand point of my life . . . I am finally getting to switch preceptors this week. I typed up a very well written email to the supervisor once again, and I so eloquently and forcefully persuaded and demanded to switch. So, hopefully, things will start going a little better on the trucks. And, if not, I will at least get to still crochet special hand crafted hats for ya'll! (a lil southern swang we be pickin up) Anyway! Have an awesome weekend! Love you all!


P.S. technically, Amber was vetoed from the comment position as being in the top 5, since she already had one in the works, so if there is still just one more person out there dying for a hat, I will perhaps accept your plea. :) Let me know if you want one. I'll see what I can do. And Dallen, if you don't want one, you better tell me, cause I will make you one.

Special Once-in-a-Lifetime Offer!

So, I remembered I knew how to croquette, So, that is just what I did. . . 

I croqueted my little heart out. And, it helps my day go by much faster. I have already croqueted 3 hats this week. Yes, I am in business!

Any requests? 

Got 13 more shifts on the ambulance, that is where I am most effective. Don't worry, I keep them as germ free as possible! :)

I think they've turned out really cute! 

No worries men, made Billy one and he LOVES It!! And he is a manly man! So, if you would like a specialty crafted hat from Karli's quick croqueting addiction, Place your order while I am still stuck in the back of a rig! Quick, They're going fast! 

Gonna Give a Quick lil shout out to Breanne and Kerri for their persistence in teaching me how to croquete several times, I think you will be proud of your ambitious results. The best part is, a couple of the gals from the Relief Society are coming to my house this Friday for me to teach them how to make one of these exquisite little numbers! It's gonna be fun!


FIRST FIVE TO COMMENT GET ONE IF THEY INDICATE THE DESIRE!!
     So, Hurry quick! 
and tell me the color choice! 

Everyone is sportin one! Place your order now! Color too! I'm Going yarn shopping this Friday, so better hurry while this once-in a-lifetime offer is still available~ 

P.S. Amber~ you're set! 

Got one in the works for ya! ;)

Intern . . . a recent medical graduate receiving supervised training, sometimes without pay, at a trade or occupation to gain work experience. As a Verb: Confine (someone) as a Prisoner

This has been A CrAzY Week!!

Patients were insane!

• A drunk man that filleted his finger with a machete 3 days prior to us getting there. And, he still had blood on his clothes from the incident . . . . just giving you a taste of his hygiene habits. Lets just say, He didn't smell like roses. He was hilarious though and drunk as a skunk! 
• Two full arrests. 
• The first one. We got an organized rhythm back at a rate of 81, but no pulse. They pronounced her dead in the ER after they worked on her for a good 30 minutes. Then, while they were prepping her for the family to come in and see, she started breathing spontaneously, the nurses thought that it was just her final gasps of life, but then, SHE LIFTED HER HEAD OFF OF THE TABLE!!! So, they worked her for another hour, and then finally pronounced her dead again. 
• The next one, we got a pulse back, began pacing his heart, got a heart beat that synchronized with the electrical impulses from our monitor. Got him to the hospital, the nurses unhooked the pacer!!!!! And, his heart stopped beating . . . BECAUSE They unhooked it! And they accused us of never having a heart beat or a tube correctly placed! When, we were getting capnography readings of 35-40 on the way to the hospital! And, in order to have that high, your heart pretty much has to be beating, and you pretty much need to be exchanging oxygen. I guess it didn't matter anyway though. Because about twenty minutes later they had gotten a copy of the DNR form that the family had signed Earlier that morning. So, then they terminated all treatment anyway. So, kind of an odd situation.

Lets see.
I am most likely switching preceptors this week. So, we will see how that goes. Which means I may possibly switch shift schedules. For multiple reasons.
But, basically I am stuck at where I am at with this current preceptor, and do not feel like I have progressed in my medicine for the past 3 weeks. She takes her job very seriously, and likes things done in a precise manner, as she should, but she takes control of EVERYTHING! Which, is not conducive to my educational well being. I have told her this, she said she would back off a bit, but, inevitably, that has not been the case. I have tried to push my way through it, but it is just not getting better and I am fighting a losing battle while getting run over and put down time and time again by my preceptor. I realize an internship is a learning experience, I knew from the get go it was going to be hard, and if it were easy, it wouldn't be worth it. But, its not worth it when the people that you are working closely with, that are telling you "yay" or "nay" are digging you into the ground, pushing you out of the way, and telling you in vulgarity and profane language that she won't step in until she feels like you have 'messed' up, or are going to slow. Which, the patients that we had for these situations, were NOT going to die by the time we got them to the hospital, because they were -- in part -- fakers, so, super easy to treat, but she gets fed up with them and starts cussing at them and carrying on, while I am trying to do my assessment and get things done, and then she will tell me to get out of the way, just because she is fed up with the BS calls that we get. Honestly, they are the easiest calls you will run, and the best experience FOR A STUDENT to find out the underlying events that made them actually call the ambulance. Which is usually mental disorders or med refills. She is super scary to even try to stand up to, she gets this untamable fire in her eyes that I don't even want to go up against. Especially because she doesn't really care. She already has her Gold Patch and a job that she has had for 12 YEARS! So, at this point, she would probably actually prefer to get fired, for it is an excuse for her to finally get out, for she is totally burnt out. So, I have chatted with the supervisor, taken his advice for the week, but I will be chatting with him again tomorrow on seeing what can be done about the situation. So, kind of a scary little plunge at the moment, but, it will all work out. And hopefully I can become everything that I need to while I am out here. Everything that is supposed to happen will. And, the Lord is looking out for me. Besides, I have learned SO MUCH about quite a variety of topics--especially myself-- since she has been my instructor. But, now, I just need someone that will let me spread my wings and get in there and actually LET ME mess up so I can LEARN from my mistakes and progress to better things.

Outside of the MEDIC life.

Brittany and I are in THE BEST singles branch family EVER!! There is a bond and a knit tightness that I can already feel so strongly! I went to a University Singles Ward activity yesterday with 5 of the kids from my branch. We went bowling. AND .. . . .

I WON QUEEN of the Bowling Extravaganza! I got the highest score out of the girls! And got a sombrero with "QUEEN" written across the front! It was super awesome and totally unexpected. We ate tacos afterwards and did some karaoke afterwords. Then, I went to IHOP with a couple of friends later that night. And the best part about yesterday . . .

STETSON MADE IT TO TOWN! Happy day! I gave him a much needed hair cut and a little tour of the essential spots he would need to know around the city. Like where work is, where Britt and I live. that's about it and that's about as VITAL to life in OKC as it gets.

So, another week down.
It is my half way evaluation this week for my internship. And, we'll see how it goes.

Got a branch bon fire outing lined up for this friday! Super Stoked! It's gonna be BIG!! So, I just need to make it through the next 96 hours. And . . . . All will be well!

Love you all!

IcE StoRm!!

"One of the worst storms Oklahoma City has seen". Well, I think that's because of the snow, they're not so used to that. They freak out more about the snow than they do the two-inch thick layer of ice that covers EVERYTHING!! Power-lines, trees, cars, mailboxes, roads, signs. If its outside, It got it. I had a patient that fell on the ice her ankle was broken very obviously deformed

and then 3 that had gotten into car accidents. They were okay. They were more scared than anything. Rear-ended into the corner of a liquor store. That hadn't even boughten the liquor yet!! Can't imagine what they would be like if they were inebriated. 

    
   All you can really do is chip at it after your car has been running for at least a half hour. and then it breaks off in sheets. It completely shields your car, so good luck even being able to get inside to turn the ignition on.

The first time i had legitimately seen power lines look like jump ropes swinging! It was insane! 

And for those who didn't know. This is my new vehicle! It is a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo series. And it be NICE!! I LOVE IT!! And, it has handled like a dream on these bowling ally slick roads. 

It feels like you are always walking on top of a frozen pond. Its kinda weird. 

Oklahoma City!

Where to Begin?

Living with a super awesome married couple in a nice house right outside the City. They have two dogs and are expecting a little baby  in August. So, unfortunately we won’t be here. I say we because Brittany and I are living here. Brittany was paramedic of the year in our class! She is an amazing medic! She is here and showing me up all the time! J Which is good. It has been super fun being with her though. It definitely would be a completely different experience without her here. We have done a ton on the days that we aren’t working. Which are not many that we get to have together. The only day we get together now is Sunday.  So, we go to the Singles Ward! It has been fun. We are in the choir and tonight the relief society is going to go see the movie Leap Year together and go get ice cream afterwards! So I’m super excited! Anyway. Things Brit and I have done . . .

• ·      Went and saw Avatar.
• ·      NBA Basketball Game OKC Thunder vs. Pacers (had some super awesome kids sitting behind us!) the tickets were $4 each! It was awesome!
• ·      Fish tank store J almost bought a Beta, I think I will do that today.
• ·      Got caught in an Ice storm! Craziness! Everything gets a layer of ice on it . . . EVERYTHING!! The side walks, the roads, your windows, the tires, its insane.
•       Ate at Panda Express, of Course! They have 10 here! Britts super happy bout that! The closest one from Rexburg is in Logan, and believe you I, she has made that drive to go get it. :) 
• ·      Got caught in a lightning and Hail storm
• ·      They have an ice cream shop called Braums that is super super good!! Been twice.
• ·      Baked cookies
• ·      Cooked meals
• ·      Gone shopping . . . just Wal*Mart, nothing to fancy.
• ·      Went to Johnny Carrino’s . . . Best Italian cream sodas ever! (blackberry’s a favorite)
• ·      We stay up and chat till super late almost every night. 

Work schedule wise, we don’t get to see each other very often.

I work Mon-Thur 10:15-22:15

Brit works Wed – Sat 10:45-22:45

So, we only really get to see each other on Sundays.

I have made it through my second week of my internship! I have had 8 shifts and 39 patients; half of which that have actually been in an emergency type situation. The others basically just use us as a glorified taxi service for sympathy and a direct ‘in’ to the hospital. But, they chose the wrong medic to get sympathy from. My preceptor does not tolerate fakers or drug seekers or drug abusers very well. It is quite entertaining.  The Patients I have had:

• ·      Emaciated old man with a stoma (hole in his throat to breathe out of) He was skin and bone and could hardly breath. He hadn’t been able to get up to do anything and he had been lying in a forgotten bed for 4 weeks without food. The only reason he was found was on a final sweep through before the apartment complex he was at was going to spray for bugs. Sad deal.
• ·      3 asthma attack patients
• ·      3 chest pain patients
• ·      Narcotic overdose that wasn’t breathing when we got there. I gave him some Narcan (naloxolone . . . does wonders) and he was talking to us about 30 seconds later.
• ·      Man with Brain tumors that was unresponsive his pupils were unreactive and the right one was three times the size of the left . . . no bueno.
• ·      3 seizure patients . . . 2 fakers with eye fluttering just to get out of something that they didn’t want to be in. But, no worries, they got treated.
• o      If someone is unresponsive in Oklahoma, protocol states that you must put an airway tube into there nose to keep there tongue from falling into the back of there throat, so if they are faking and fake being unresponsive, they get a lovely surprise. And so do we, when they reach up, yank the tube out and start yelling and then go unresponsive again. It is quite entertaining. But very beneficial for the ones that actually do need it. And, even for the ones that don’t. J

• ·      Face to a ladder from twenty feet up . . .yikes! His nose was split completely in half
•          Massive bleed out from a dialysis port from an arm. Fire men were doing CPR when we got there. She had lost more than half of her blood volume. My preceptor said that there was more blood from her than the gunshot wounds and stabbing patients that she has had. So, that was a very interesting call!  
• ·      A 4 month old baby burnt her hand in sweet potatoes.
• ·      3 toddlers that had seizures.
• ·      Lots of old people falls. One with a pretty obvious deformity to her right hip.
• ·      An insomniac twitcher in his 40’s; couldn’t figure out why his eyes were burning and his body was shaking, but he hasn’t had sleep for the past month and is going to school and working full time. . . . hmmm . . .
• ·      A few drunks . . . they’re always quite entertaining. One that got super combative and we had to tie down to the cot.
• ·      Diabetic with low blood sugar.
• ·      And some various other random calls.

It has been very busy and awesome! My preceptor has been a medic for 12 years in the same place. So, she knows what she is doing, and she is making sure that I do to before she will hand things over to me. so, that’s a little frustrating. But, I’m sure by at least the 4^th week she will trust me enough and see enough of what I can do to actually step back and let me run the calls and things.  But, I have 8 more weeks to get that down. So, it should go well.

Well, I love you all! Just know that I am safe and having a great learning experience. Sorry its so long. And has been so long since I blogged! If you have made it to this point of my entry, congratulations on getting through it! Can’t wait to see you guys! Much love!

Pics from the game! We got our face painted with the OKC symbol! We went ALL OUT!! Really the only thing I have taken pictures of.

Me And Britt! SUPER FUN TIME!!

So before the game, we found this parking lot that if you made a free throw, they would give you your five bucks back! well, Little did they know that I played for the Girls Thunder Basketball Team at BYU, Idaho.

Needless to Say. . .  I got a certificate and 5 bucks back!! Go Team!

I knew I had joined that team for a higher calling in life!

The Best Christmas of my Life!!

Christmas Rocked! We had our pinning ceremony for the Paramedic Program on Dec 16. That was amazing! I got my pin. And now, I don't need to go back to that paramedic classroom for secular knowledge anymore, now, it will all come from the streets! (Which I am in Oklahoma right now awaiting Monday when I meet my preceptor and start riding on the ambulance with her) I will keep you posted. Back to Christmas though . . . 

The best part . . . 

HAWAII with the FaMiLy!!! So Awesome!!! 

We did so much in the 10 days that we were there! We met up with my cousins over there to! Which was So AwEsOmE!! . . . Much love to you Garners and Wallaces! 

So, we stayed in a super nice house on the shore of Waimanallo. so nice, Go to the beach as much as you want and be able to wash the sand off right outside before you went in the house. We played in the sand a ton! We also got some surfing kayaks that we took out to where the good sized waves were and rode the waves for a few hundred feet and then turned back around paddled right into the next ones, and then took the next big one. One problem, which was super funny. Dad was in his own kayak and my mom and I were in the other. We all caught the same wave and we were heading straight for each other. Well, Dad Won! He ran over my leg with the kayak turned us parallel with the wave, kept going and made mom and I flip right over! It was crazy! We were laughing pretty hard when we surfaced, and then we had to hurry and flip the kayak back over before the last waves buddy got to us. well, i got back in the kayak, kneeled down, and then mom hopped in, knees are not very stable. I fell out three more times after that. But, we took some snorkel gear and snorkeled on some beautiful coral. It was well worth the 30 minute paddle excursion out to where we were. 

More things, 

Hunama Bay . . . Beautiful! we snorkeled one of the islands protected coves. a huge variety of tropical fish. And even Tate and Yazzi loved to play in the water because their weren't any big waves to knock them over. It was perfect! I even saw a good friend there from back home. We see her everywhere! . . Moab, Hawaii, Temple Square. Awesome! 

Polynesian Cultural Center  . . . Luau and Show! It was amazing! Tate was captivated by the show the entire time . . .  hard to do!  I definitely would love to be polynesian! They are such a happy and inviting people! So family oriented and ready to welcome any. We went to church while we there and were so welcomed. They gave us each a croquetted lei and invited us to the front of the podium to accept it and sing aloha oye to us! It was amazing! And they all played with Yazzi and Tate. which helped them get through church as well. The sunday school teacher was so passionate about teaching on family: a proclamation to the world. And she made you feel like mistakes are made, but Heavenly Father knows you and he knows what is best and he will help you through anything! She was seriously an amazing lady! And she was super funny! 

Boogie boarding!

We climbed to the top of a mountain that looked out over the entire island and you could see the next island over. it was pretty amazing! And, dad made it to the top! I believe it was a good 3 hour endeavor. 

We had excellent food every day! Ham, Turkey, Pot Roast, Burgers, Halibut, Luau, Steak and Shrimp. YUM!! 

Went and watched the surfers on the North Shore Christmas day. 40 foot tall pipelines!! The waves were insane! 

Of course, being at the beach! . . . Sand castles, holes, "tubs" (holes with water), spooking Amber out about the 'sharks', watching the waves, sun, warmth, walking down the beach catching crabs, watched a school of fish once . . . neat. Digging for sea shells, Body surfing!, Sun, boogie boarding with mom, getting eaten by waves, Yazzi and I sculpted 5 sand turtles. Did I mention it was warm and sunny? Yum! Anyway, I loved it!