I'm a stalker

I have to admit that I am an avid blog stalker. There are quite a few blogs I read regularly -- most of them belong to people I know (although many of them probably don't know I read their blogs), and quite a few belong to people they know but whom I have never met.

This weekend, I was shopping with the hubby at the mall. As I was searching through the petite section for a pair of jeans, I looked up to see a familiar face. My first thought was, "Hey, I know her!" I soon realized that I didn't actually know her; I just knew her blog. I thought for a brief second about introducing myself but realized how crazy that would make me look (especially b/c I couldn't remember who the initial connection was that got to me to her blog -- I now do remember). I'm just glad I didn't say anything stupid so that she wouldn't think I was a real stalker.

Sleepwalking

I'm on PICU nights right now. I hate it. I work 7 PM to 9 AM Sunday through Thursday nights for 2 weeks in a row (except that on Sundays I come in at 5 PM). It gives me the required 10 hours off between shifts, but I think it's safe to say that not a one of us thinks 10 hours is enough especially when you work 5 shifts in a row. It's only two weeks, but it's already been a LONG week plus a day. Last night I had parents of a very sick child get angry because of things that happened before I even came to work, and they took it out on all of us. I understand people react differently when they are scared, but to this non-confrontational person, having someone cursing at me and insulting both me and my hospital was very unsettling. To top it off, I'm going 48 hours or so without seeing my husband; this may not sound like a long time given how much time we used to spend apart, but now that I've gotten used to having him around every day, it's awful to go for 2 days without seeing him. :(

Six shifts down ... four to go. Let the countdown commence. I finish Friday around 9 AM, and then I start a 10 day vacation!! My plans include decorating for Christmas, finishing up my shopping (almost done!), and sleeping. Since I'm working Thanksgiving night, I'm making our own Thanksgiving meal on Saturday; the full menu hasn't been planed, but it will definitely include my famous brined and roasted turkey! I seriously cannot wait.

What is that smell?

When I woke up yesterday, I realized that the same muscle I pulled six weeks ago was feeling tight. Since I'd been on my feet for roughly 30 consecutive hours over the weekend and worked out on Monday, I decided to give myself the day off. I even tried a little Capzasin on it before I went to bed, but it's been REALLY tight today. It hasn't spasmed like last time, but it's been tight enough that I'm walking a little different and have really been uncomfortable. Hubby and I were out running errands tonight, so I asked if we could stop at CVS to get some medicine.

After looking at the ingredients in the creams, I ended up selecting the one with the most ingredients (which also had the highest concentrations of any of them as well). One of the ingredients happens to be methyl salicylate; one whiff of this stuff, and you'll be transported back to your grandparents' medicine cabinet. As I was putting it on, I made some crack to Hubby about being able to call me "Grandma," and we had a good laugh. He left the room for a few minutes, and when he returned, he exclaimed, "Honey, you really DO have that old woman smell!"

At this point, I don't even care. I have to say that the cream is working! My calf is tingling, and I can actually move my leg further than I've been able to do so for the last two days. If smelling like a Wint-O-Green Lifesaver is what it takes to be able to walk normally again, I will suffer through it!

The bubbly ...

I hate tapping big kids. By tapping, I mean performing a lumbar puncture on them. By big kids, I mean anybody over twelve months. This weekend, I took a hellacious PICU call (thirty hours with no sleep thanks to one child who kept me baffled all of Saturday night and most of Sunday morning). During the day, we admitted a teenager who presented with some very abnormal neurologic symptoms, and the decision was made to do an LP. Since I was not on the admitting team and was just helping out another resident, I stood by and watched as she attempted the tap. She was very confident and did a great job, but for some reason, she didn't get CSF. I was so not thrilled about trying for it; feeling for landmarks on a well-nourished 16 year old female is so much harder than feeling for them on a skinny two month old! I said a quick prayer, marked my spot, and went for it. With a few adjusts of the needle, I suddenly had CSF ... clear, beautiful CSF pouring into my vials. We measured an opening pressure, collected our precious samples, and quickly wrapped up.

A few hours later, we were running labs and vitals. Lo and behold, I had a champagne tap. :)

I needed that.