James Rollins book signing!

Last week I traveled to Portland with my husband and brother for a little vacation. This week I drove up to Beaverton/Portland with my best friend to meet one of our favorite authors James Rollins.
My cousins dad gave me a book called Amazonia by James Rollins about 9 years ago and I loved it. So I brought that book and his newest book to sign. I was really nervous to meet him because I have heard horror stories of people meeting their favorite celebrity/author and how disappointed they were to meet them. I was not disappointed at all! He was extremely nice and really funny. I had him sign "To Chaela"in the newer book. This is the name I use for gaming so we had a little conversation about it.
According to my friend the first time he came out to greet the crowd I blushed. He also took a picture of the crowd I am in the front row!

Something I found suprising was some people brought a tote or two full of his books for him to sign. I was nervous about bringing just the two. But James Rollins manager said that he would sign everyones book but if they had more then three they would have to wait until the end.
So we spent the night up there and I just got back. It was worth the long drive to see someone who we really like.

Here I am getting my books signed. I was so nervous I was shaking (this was my first book signing ever!)
So any one else have a good or bad experience of meeting someone you admired?

Barefoot in public

So while I was in Portland we went into the Omnimax theater I guess it is like an IMAX theater. Anyway three females sitting in front of us had their shoes off and had their gross feet up on the chair. I thought it was extremely rude and just gross. Another time while I was at a school I saw a guy sitting in a comfy chair with his shoes off and had them propped on a table. I mean come on! This is one of my pet peeves. There are times when being barefoot in public is okay and most other times it is not okay whatsoever! Here are some pics of places it is not okay to be barefoot.

Remember when Britany Spears did this? Barefoot in a public bathroom? That is definitely a place you should not be bare foot. Do you really know what is on the floor?

At

A store is another place that is not okay to be barefoot. I understand if  its summer and your going to the lake or whatever but come on wear flip flops at least.

Here are some places that it is okay to be barefoot

At the beach is the perfect time to lose the shoes! I love the feeling of sand!

At the pool is another place to be barefoot.
The park, the yard, the driveway, your home, your friends home, the shower, the lake/river, the podiatrist office are other places it is okay to be barefoot. I really hate seeing peoples bare feet in places where its not necessary.
Have any of you see people without shoes where they should be wearing them?

-Chaela 

Home

I got home yesterday but was way too exhausted to blog. Sooo! Here are some pics .

So this is just us driving into Portland. I live in a really small town so going to bigger cities is always exciting.

This was my first experience with a parking meter! I was successful in using it!

 Our bed! It was huge!

This is our hotel we stayed in the second night. It was pretty nice except for the $4 they wanted for water...

Just us taking pics of ourselves in the elevator.

We didn't eat here but the truck was pretty and we saw that their tacos are really pink! You can follow them on facebook :)

 This was the best Chinese food we have ever eaten!

 I took my food back to the hotel only to realize we had no silver ware or chopsticks luckily we had two coffee stirring sticks. I used them as chopsticks

I look depressed but I was really enjoying my food.

 This was the clear woman we saw at OMSI a science museum. You could light up different parts of her body can you tell which part we lit up?

 This is a dinosaur print

I looooved seeing this! Its a giant ear!!!

This is the parking lot we could see from our window.  As you can see cars are always blocked in. The guy who managed the lot would move cars as needed. We also saw a fight happen near this parking lot.

We went to Voodoo doughnuts. I got a traditional chocolate doughnut and it was really good.

 My husband got the famous Voodoo doughnut

It was a fun trip but I was glad to be home. I am sooo sick of driving in cars though! And this Thursday I am driving up to Beaverton which is near Portland to see my 2nd favorite author James Rollins. My best friend is driving though which makes car trips a little more bearable.
Oh and here is a pic of the weather on the way home good thing we left when we did.

Road Trip

So we made it to Portland safely! The traffic scared me. On our way to Portland we stopped by Corvallis to drop a friend off. As we tried to leave we went the wrong way and drove around for a little bit until we found our way back to the freeway.

 This is Corvallis

Here are some pics of my car pets!

 My husband made the little wire cow a few years ago.

 I love happy meals! Especially if they come with little stuff animals!

 
I have had the ducks for a while so they are turning black :( and the one on the far right is stuck in that position.

And here is Portland!

I think we are going to have dinner soon and then we'll go to the comedy show! I will post more of my adventure later!

-Chaela

Portland!

I am going up to Portland in about 9 hours with my husband and brother. I am super excited!Tonight we will be seeing Paul Mooney in front row seats! Hoping he is funny. We will also be visiting Voodoo Donuts, maybe the Zoo and a science museum. We will probably hit a few other comedy clubs or bars! I will post pictures of our trip there when I get to the hotel tonight. And I will try to add more pics as we do stuff. I love going on trips. I want to know where was your favorite place to visit? Mine would be Greece. 

This is Jake! He was a Blue Tick Hound and one of the sweetest dogs ever! Sadly Jake is no longer with us :(
When I was younger I use to show dogs in 4H. Jake was the last dog that I showed and we did terrible! He would get very shy and nervous around other dogs he did not know. So he didn't listen to me at all.
When I would get ready to go to bed I would let Jake know and tap him to follow me. He did not like being wakened up and he would howl and moan at me. But he was always such a sweetie when you petted him. I miss him a lot :(

This was my first dog Brutus! He was a Dachshund. He was small but also a very tough little guy. He had a huge deep bark. I loved him so much! He is sitting on a huge stuff animal that my dad had bought me. He love to lay on it :)

This is my dog Dusty when she was skinny. She is huge now and very old. She was my first show dog and she tried to bite the judge :( she retired after that year. Dusty is a Catahoula mix. She has a loud funny bark and snores extremely loud. Her face is almost all white now. Dusty is currently living with my parents on their 10 acre property. She loves it!

And lastly this here is Jubals

Jubal is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. He was my main show dog. He was amazing outside of the show ring. I was always sure I would take first place. But as soon as we got in the ring he would change. He once walked away from me and sat by the gate waiting for me to open it. Another time he acted hurt so he wouldn't have to be shown. I am not joking about this. One minute he is fine the next minute he is limping, outside the ring he was fine again. But thats okay you just have to laugh when your dog doesn't listen. He is a strange little dog he does not like peoples heads near his body. Your face is fine but your head is not. Jubal is a really sweet dog and will roll on his back for anyone. Jubals lives with Dusty he is a couple years younger than her.

How to apply a dry dressing

Here is how to apply a dry dressing. Sadly I have not been able to practice in real life yet. But I am hoping to soon. This is another step paper I had to write for nursing school! This one could be useful!

Applying a Dry Dressing

1.      Gather supplies

2.      Provide privacy

3.      Wash hands

4.      Put on nonsterile gloves

5.      Remove dressing and discard in correct receptacle. Remove soiled gloves. Apply new nonsterile gloves

6.      Asses the undressed wound for signs of redness, foul odor, swelling, irritation, drainage, dehiscence, bleeding, or skin breakdown.

7.      Remove used exam gloves

8.      Wash hands

9.      Set up supplies. Open 4X4 gauze packages.

10.  Apply new pair of clean gloves

11.  Cleanse wound if indicated. Grasp edges of gauze that contains cleaning solution.

a.      Incision: Move from top to bottom clean incision line first. Clean each side of incision using a new gauze for each swipe.

b.      Drain: Use circular motion, begin at drain site and move outward. Get new gauze if it requires more cleaning

12.  Remove gloves, Wash hands

13.  Put on nonsterile gloves

14.  Apply new dressing  using 4X4 gauze pads folded in half. Place folded gauze lengthwise on wound and tape lightly or tubular mesh. Initial dressing, date, and time it was changed.

15.  Dispose of dressings appropriately. Remove gloves, wash hands.

16.  Teach family/client about dressing which may include teach the dressing technique to family/client.

17.  Document!

How to Pack a wound

 Sometimes in the nursing world you have to pack a wound that has tunneled itself into a body. Here are the steps I must follow to do a wound pack. I had to do this for my class :)

Packing a wound

·         Wash your hands

·         Provide for client privacy

·         Assemble dressing change material at bedside

·         Apply nonsterile gloves

·         Remove old dressing. Note integrity of old dressing and the way it was applied

·         Dispose of the old dressing in the correct receptacle

·         Remove gloves

·         Establish sterile field for materials. Open and prepare the dressing materials.

·         Apply your sterile gloves

·         Inspect the wound. Measure depth, width, length, depth of undermining, and depth of tunneling with a cotton tip applicator

·         Cleanse, treat, or irrigate the wound according to wound regimen

·         Gently place packing material in the wound. If the wound packing is for debridement, be sure packing material contacts all surface needing debridement. If gauze is being used to absorb drainage, fluff the gauze prior to packing. Pack all tunneling areas (Not to tightly)

·         If packing material requires a secondary dressing, apply that now. Secure dressing in place with tape

·         Dispose of any waste appropriately

·         Remove gloves and dispose of them

·         Remove any soiled bedding or dressing material.

·         Sign, Date, and note time on dressing staying away from wound

·         Wash hands

·         Document!

Fun in the Sun!

It is that time of year where a lot of time will be spent outside in the sun! Your body needs the sun to synthesize Vitamin D. A vitamin lots of people can be deficient in. But there are a few things to know about being safe in the sun! First of all you definitely need to wear sunblock. You should wear sunblock all year around but in the summer its even more important. You should pick a sunblock with an SPF of at least 30. Don't be shy with it either! You need to make sure you get enough all over your body! Don't forget your ears, neck, hands and feet. Also if you have a part on the top of your head apply some sunscreen there to. Sunscreen should be applied 30 minutes before you go outside and then every 2 hours after you go outside. 
 About once a month I look over my skin to check for  skin cancer. I look for moles, new spots, and to see if any moles/spots of changed or grown. To know if something is bad on your skin remeber your ABCD of skin cancer

A=Asymmetry B=Border irregularity C=Color (color is uneven shades of brown, black, tan) D=Diameter (greater than 6mm) and when in doubt get it checked out. Here are some pictures to help you!

So there you go! Please be safe out in the sun! Make sure to drink plenty of water and not just soda or alcohol :)

-Chaela

Sims 3

So here is my second blog!
I just started my summer vacation! Nursing school has been tough and has taken all my time to do fun stuff! I have decided for this break all I want to do is read books and play some video games. Today I am going to play the Sims medieval for a while. I am always surprised at how quickly the time passes when I play the Sims. It was probably the first game I was ever really addicted to! Anyway anyone else a fan of The Sims?

-Chaela

My first post

Hello!

This is the first blog I have ever written. I am hoping to write a blog about my day and/or give a few tips about health. I'm a 22 year old female who recently got married. I am a nursing student right now and I work the Noc shift as a CNA in a long term care facility. I love my job and can not wait to become a nurse! On my free time I love to play videogames or read.

Thanks for reading hope you all stick with me :)

-Chaela