The Dog House

Please Warn Your Loved Ones:

http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/video.aspx

Lance the boil

• Today I met Lance, the boil, in all his infected follicle glory. So what did I do? I cleaned him with betadine, injected him with lidocaine, sliced him with a scalped and let the juices flow. It was nasty and awesome at the same time. I have found I really like procedures.
  

• In other news, I can't quit my job at the hospital unless we risk it and go with health insurance until March (when Eli is benefits eligible). I just don't want to do it, but I can't afford COBRA (at 1500$/month who can???). Oh well, I have to pay off the eye surgery anyways.
  

• Jake is walking. He looks so big standing tall.

• I like my job at the clinic, but I have realized I have spent 8 years in school in order to listen to people problems for 8 hours/day. It is quite draining. By the end of the day when I get home, I just can't take another complaint...Poor Eli...he doesn't get any sympathy.

*Also I am craving another one of these (not the hubby). But baby #2 will have to wait until life is a little slower and we have switched to new insurance. sigh....

Domestic

A man that does dishes, cleans the whole house, even mops, and makes an awesome turkey. I am thankful for my homemaking husband and our little helper. I have never been much of a housekeeper. I cook, I do laundry but cleaning isn't my strong suit. As I have been working 2 jobs lately, Eli has been awesome at taking care of the rest. Thank you Eli.

I sure miss this guy though. Only 2 more weeks of double duty then I think I am going to put in my two weeks notice at the hospital.

We went to the Oregon coast for the holiday. Jacob tried on a coon skin cap and had fun with his Uncle Andy. I wish we could have stayed longer.

Hip Hip Hooray

Well I am supposed to be sleeping, but my mind is racing with all the things I need to study and learn for this new role I am in. I have spent 8 years studying for this stuff and I still feel like I know so little. I learn probably about 800 new things everyday. I am still learning "Clinical Decision Making". For the last 5 years, my clinical decisions were things like holding a blood pressure medication when a patient's blood pressure was borderline low (say 100/50). Being at the bedside for 12+ hours allowed me to know the outcome of my decision. Now, in the outpatient setting the decisions I make are harder to follow up on-- like will the patient really take ibuprofen around the clock and do the leg exercises for their knee strain? I hope they come back and I didn't scare them away so I can check back on how they are doing.

And for the good news. Eli got a job. International Sales Coordinator--Latin America with Columbia Machine. A large company based here in Vancouver that manufactures concrete products equipment. He starts part-time January 5th 2009 and will go full-time when he graduates in May. After one year he hopes to move to the position of sales representative where he will actually be traveling to Latin America to sell concrete equipment. (Jake and I plan to go with him on his business trips of course). Congratulations ELI!!!!

Also exciting we just got the photos my very talented sister in law Rachael took in September when we were in Idaho. She sent a CD with all the pics and I must say, I am not an easy subject. I tend to pull all sorts of goofy faces(and I need to fix my snaggle tooth).
Thanks Rach! I owe you some gorgeous wedding flowers.

Happy Halloween Birthday

We went to our ward Trunk or Treat--it was pretty fun to learn the Monster Mash dance.
Eli's birthday is on the 30th so his parents came offered to come down and watch Jake so we could have a hot date.
Unfortunately, Jacob woke up covered in a rash Thursday morning and was intermittently fussy and feverish all day.
Rashes are hard to diagnose and I had left my dermatology book at the clinic so I couldn't even begin to figure out what the heck it was. Eli to Jake in and the provider decided it was Fifth Disease. I prefer its other name Erythema Infectiosum--- the term disease has more serious, chonic connotations. This is a viral illness that is mild and self limited.
Nate, Corinne, & Kylee came over after the Halloween dance to play Hand & Foot. I wish I would have taken a better photo of Nate's mullet.

Week in Review

My very first patient-- a young man establishing care. My first prescription-- Tdap. Just the reason why I went on to this role-- PREVENTION. Tdap is a vaccine that provides tetanus, diphtheria, and extra protection from pertussis. One dose is recommended for adults and teens especially people who will be in close contact with infants under 12 months. I need to get mine.
Next I saw yeast, ruled out a UTI, diagnosed ankle strain, initiated treatment for high cholesterol, and finished off the week with ringworm. It was intimidating, overwhelming, but overall exciting. I keep telling Eli I hope my prescriptions don't bounce. I think the only thing that got me through it was prayer and blessings. I am scared I'll miss something. I am definitely out of practice. The poor transcriptionist-- my dictation is a mess. I will learn though.
I also had to renew my ACLS this week. (Advanced Cardiac Life Support). This is when people die and we try all we can to bring them back. It is a flourish of CPR, meds, and funky cardiac rhythms. It always makes me nervous. A situation you don't want to get to.
Best part of the week, sitting down for a family dinner on a Friday night and rocking Jake to sleep. Man -- it is good to be home.
Things I am looking forward to-- 007 Quantum of Solace--The new Bond is so fair to look upon.

Oh and I am seeing 20/20 with a little bit of glare-- Too bad I had bilateral subconjunctival hemorrhages and look like this:

"Say it Ain't Soooooo-Ah"

- Went to the Weezer concert in PDX over the weekend. I can't get the songs out of my head. They wore white/red jump suits and jumped on mini tampolines. It was awesome.
-Can't sleep cause I worked last night and I am anxious about starting the new job next week.
- I also am working on the last book of the Twilight series. I think they are entertaining books, but they make me feel like I don't worship/examine every tiny feature/love my husband enough and .....that my sex life is lacking. Darn that Bella Cullen and her sleepless nights.
-I have an appointment to get Lasik eye surgery later this week. I have been in glasses and or contacts since 3rd grade-- almost 18 years-- holy cow that is a long time. If I go blind I'll be ticked.
-Got a bad haircut due to the lack of vision as my glasses had to be off during the actual cut. I told the girl, "just a trim" she interpreted that to mean, "short freaky layers on top, bangs like a 5 year old girl and leave the bottom how it is". The joy of a $14.oo "Super Cut."
-Jacob's still not walking, but he has 3 teeth. Pretty accomplished for an almost 14 month old. I keep pushing our heads together in hopes that I'll get a vision of his baby dreams. No such luck.
At least he's cute. (Photo by Hannah Liggett--BYU-I 9/29/08)

Spirit of Health

I have a job offer that I think is going to work well for our family. The clinic is called Spirit of Health and it focuses on integrative health care. My thesis was on CAM so this job includes that interest of mine. The owner of the clinic, Dr. Mitchell, started the clinic because she was sick of seeing 20+ patients a day and wanted more time to teach and get to know her clients. The providers see 12-16 pts/day (roughly 2 people/hr).It is 3 days a week, 8 hour days, and no on-call, weekends, or holidays.
The benefits don't start for 3 months so I will keep my hospital job as an RN until then so we don't go without insurance. It will be a busy Fall, but it will be great to be off nights and every other weekend. Only thing is the pay isn't as much as I make now. I expected that though going into this role. Hospitals pay better, plus the night differential was substantial. Oh well. Gotta start somewhere.
I ordered my first lab coat with my name printed on it. while looking i found this and this.
I thought it was a joke at first. Who the heck would trust someone who was wearing clothing that had a "Grey's Anatomy" emblem on it? And who cares if your lab coat's inside pocket is embellished with "Baby Phat" signature print or has a Silver metallic corporate logo below the center back neck. Do you point it out to your clients or something? We live in one worldly world.

The Haps

Jake and I went to Colorado for a week to see the fam and my friend Ellie who was visiting from BYU-H. We rode bicycles and were caught in a thunder and lightning storm. I used to love thunder and lightning, but not when I am pulling my baby boy behind me in a bike trailer. I have never been so scared. Thankfully, our prayers were answered and we made it home safely.

It was a fun trip, but a bit rough as Jacob has been weaned. I would have love to breastfeed more, but I want to get Lasik eye surgery and you have to be non-lactational for 6 weeks.


In other news, I had my 6 month follow up for the needle stick injury. Still no Hep-C. Hallelujah! Now that is over.

Jacob is getting 2 more teeth and whining up a storm. We have been tempted to put him on the street like this:
But then he helped me make lasagna so I decided against it.

Trust

So it has come time to find a new job. My new role as an NP puts me in a strange position. People can choose to be my patient or not. In the hospital setting they don't really have a choice, but in the outpatient, community setting you bet they do. Now who would choose a provider to care for their child when they locked their child in the car in 100 degree weather and had no phone to call for help becasue they had given their phone to the baby to keep them quiet. Well I don't know if I would trust someone like that 100%. Also one of my potential job is a contract position with with incarcerated psychiatric patients which isn't the type of people I want reading the intimate details of my life. Therefore I am going private.

Email me at janelie@hotmail.com if you would like to keep in touch.

Thanks. Janel

Too bad its over

Like many people, I enjoy watching the gymnastics competition. The Chinese child athletes were amazing. Shawn Johnson -- always a favorite. Nastia Liukin and her graceful limbs are so nice to watch.

However it the less publicized side of gymnastics that disturbs me......Rhythmic Gymnastics is the sports title. However, after watching the event on Saturday, I think is should be renamed "Contortionists with pretty ribbons"

There is another blog that further affirms my skepticism of the sport. The photos capture the oddity, but intrigue me to want to see it again.
http://sportsphoto.blogspot.com/2007/02/rhythmic-gymnastics.html

Overall, I am sad to see the Olympics end. They are always inspiring. After watching Women's Volleyball, I keep thinking about my days in Buena Vista Ward is Washington, UT when we would play volley ball for hours. I want to go bump, set, and spike a ball right now. After viewing the track events, I might even go for a jog. Still no matter how fast Michael Phelps swims I am not going to take up swimming-- nothing against Mike it's just not my thing.

The Big Boy and his Big Day

The day I had been looking forward to with much excitement and sadness came and went. Our little Jakey turned one on Wednesday. We celebrated by hosting a Luau for all our family and friends. We were going to have a BBQ outside, but thanks to Northwest weather we had to move the party indoors. I had fun cooking lots of food: Kahlua pork, Huli Huli Chicken, Taro rolls, Haupia, Rice, Sesame noodles, Salad, fruit. My parents decorated-- it looked awesome, but I don't think we got a photo of it. We had a great time. Jake didn't understand the whole gift thing as you can tell from the blank stare below.

He enjoyed getting sang to. We forgot matches to Eli found some skater kids outside and borrowed their lighter.

Eli's mom made Jake his own special little cake.
The rest of us enjoyed banana cake
He was a little timid at first, but got the idea.
He played more than ate and kept turning to look at me as if to ask " Mom is this okay?"

We Love our little Jake. He's not an "infant" anymore, but he'll always be my baby right? Everything everyone said was true-- it goes by way too fast. I was advised to take lots of photos and I did, but going through them I keep thinking-- it wasn't enough. Eli and I keep saying this is the best time of our lives due to this whole experience of "parenthood". I just keep wondering...does it get better? If so, how can it? I can't think about it too much or I'll get all weepy and emotional. Suffice it to say-- Happy First Birthday Baby!

MIA

You may have wondered where I have been (or not, this blog really isn't too interesting). I have been putting my nose many a books, studying like mad for my family nurse practitioner exam. After much prayer, study and help from family I have the good news that I passed. YAY. I only have to take it once as long as I keep up with continuing education. Now what's next? Cleaning out the pantry, blackberry picking, planning a one-year-old boys birthday party.


I wish I could capture the squeal that goes along with this face. It's his new thing.

I am embarrassed to say this is the only "professional" photo I have ever done for Jacob. I am cheap. My mom offered to pay for it. How could I resist?

Steamboat

We spent 10 days in Colorado visiting my parents. We fly standby and had a 6 hour layover in SLC. So, we took the free Temple Square shuttle and met my cousin there. I was in desperate need of a haircut and the girl has skills. I felt kind of silly wetting my hair in the visitor center bathroom when the sister missionaries greeted me with dry hair, then wet hair, but oh well.
Jake had fun crawling around temple square.
Finally we made it to Steamboat and let the games begin. Bike riding, tubing the Yampa river, watching the ski jumping, walking, hiking--
I love spending all day outdoors here.


My brother and sister in law drove over from Utah to spend the 4th with us. Their baby, Ellie, is 2 months younger than Jake and such a cutie! Thanks for coming you guys, it was super fun.
Lastly we drove through Rocky Mountain National Forest to Estes Park and stayed the night there. Lots of elk, deer, and other wildlife. Also reached 12,800 feet where we all had some level of altitude sickness (headaches, nausea, vomiting) which all resolved when we came back down.
Eli sat in on one of my dad's sales appointments and now plan's to move to here to begin his own sales career. I knew he would fall in love with Steamboat in the summertime. It is so fun here. I highly recommend it.

Non-potent Potables

Summertime makes me thirsty. The intensely hot sun beating down makes my mouth long for a refreshing beverage. A few things I love lately are Wild Sweet Orange Tazo Tea, Tazo Passion Herbal Tea (both chilled of course), Fruit Punch Crystal Light, the orange colored Slurpee at 7-11. The problem is there are these commercials for things like a Bailey's Freeze or Smirnoff Ice Twisted that look so refreshing as well. If I was someone who consumed spirits I would definitely be trying these products. Meanwhile, here I am looking for something new (and low calorie) to try to satisfy this parched palate. Any suggestions?

The Joy of Cooking

So I have found myself in somewhat of a cooking frenzy the past few weeks. I think I am overwhelmed with the thought of taking my certification exam the end of July and have the horrible habit of stress eating. Plus for me cooking is way more fun than studying and something to do when I need something to do. Therefore we have enjoyed several things I'd like to share.
-Strawberry Jam- We just ran out of last years (oddly enough dated 6/07) so I guess we were due to build our supply. If you have never made it is super easy and so good. In early fall I make blackberry jam too. Blackberries are weeds here in Washington and free for the picking.
-Lentil soup- Ina Garten is one of my idols. I want her home, her garden, and her cooking abilities by the time my kids are out of the house. This is one of her recipes that I halved, but was pretty darn good.
-Humitas- Eli had these on his mission often. I had a soup version in Argentina and remember it being awesome. They are like fresh corn tamales and SOOO good. Now is the time to make them while fresh corn is available.
-Tamales- I have always wanted to make tamales. I have been buying them at Trader Joe's. I love them, but have heard the process is so long and time consuming. I learned it is. I can see why they are only made on special occasions.
-Chicken Stock- Another one of Ina Garten's recipes. I used the chicken left over from the tamales to make stock. Man, I feel good about purchasing an entire chicken, I squeezed every penny out of that six dollar chicken.
Next, I want to make this with the strawberries I have left over from making jam.

Weekend Update

- First and most importantly, I had the follow up blood draw from my needle stick injury. My blood work came back nonreactive for Hep C or HIV. So far so good, I have another blood draw in 6 months.
-Lauren came for a few days last week. She watched Jake while Eli had finals and I worked. It is nice to have family available. Jacob loved the coconut creamcicle. Too bad she had to leave to go get a real job. - We went to the beach over the weekend. For those of you who have never been to the beach in Washington I must explain that it isn't the warm sand, warm water, sunshine filled sky that most often think of. It is a cold, windy, over cast, gray filled day, but fun none the less. The campfire on the beach and singing songs was the best part.
-In other news, Jacob can finally wear his " I make crawling look cool" Shirt because he is officially crawling, not rolling or scooting actual hands and knees crawling. And yes, I must agree he does make crawling look quite cool.
- And the final story, Jake French-kissed George. It was too graphic to post, but lets just say Jacob is one handsy kid.

How embarassing...

Legs of an obese woman or a 10-month-old boy?Those would be my son's chubby legs. Poor kid.

Sneezing or smelling stinky feet?
Apparently Jake has a thing for smelling feet. I another photo he tried tasting stinky feet.

And my favorite, (and Jacob's) going for a stroll in Kylee's pink baby doll stroller.

10 months is a fun age. Crawling, climbing, and entertaining us daily.