03.31.11

It's hard to believe - but it has been a year since I started this blog. It has been a fun challenge, and I have enjoyed documenting a little piece of my life. Thank you to those of you that followed along for the year. Lots of memories were made - and now documented! Lots of love, Anna.

03.30.11

The patch that has cost me a lot of money - ha! I feel like this uniform is all that I wear as of late, and so I thought that I would give those of you that don't see it as often a close up view. :)

03.29.11

I received a wonderful tribute in the mail today, from one of my former RAs. She is doing her senior art show and has decided to mail out pieces of her work with a thank you written on the back. I was so touched by her kind words and will do my portion of the project in order for her to be able to complete the piece. I can't wait to see the finished product. Proud of you Maren!

03.28.11

I got to do a share day on the OHICU, which was crazy. The patient that I was able to observe came back to the floor with his chest still open. Umm, what? Yup. So, silly me asked what we would do should this man code, and the nurse answered that we would pull back the plastic sheath over his chest and massage the heart. Of course we would.

03.27.11

So, according to our running guide, Kevin and I needed to get our butts in gear -ha! So, today was the big day - and 8 mile run! We decided to go on the NCR trail - which stands for the "Northern Central Railroad." Kevin also told me that somewhere along this trail (not sure where) the funeral procession of Abraham Lincoln was held. Creepy, but ok.

03.26.11

The Charm City Roller Girls! These ladies were intense. They played the Detroit Derby Girls and won! :) I loved their names, such as "Deathany," "Rosie the Rioter," and my personal favorite "Just Carol." Haha - she didn't want to get in on the threatening name bandwagon I guess.

03.25.11

Nothing beats a morning walk through the park. Although I have yet to be inside of the Patterson Park Pagoda - it is on my list. They are only open Sundays from April to October - so I'll get there soon enough.

03.24.11

Good Morning. 5:36 to be exact. On my way to York, PA for another day of clinical.

03.23.11

That's right - Dixie has a raincoat. I originally thought it was ridiculous, until I realized how bad a wet dog smells.

03.22.11

Cherry Blossoms! (Or, if not, because I'm not a botanical wizard - pretty cherry colored blossoms!) Spring has SPRUNG!

03.21.11

My new home away from home (away from home). Anyway - welcome to York Hospital! I originally thought I was going to be on a surgical telemetry unit, but I got placed in the Coronary Care Unit instead. So...yay for critical care! :) P.S. Day 1 = Code and my first time getting to do post-mortem care...bonus.

03.20.11

I don't know what these trees are - not birch, but just as white. I think they are beautiful. I don't know if it is because it is springtime or what, but I just love trees and watching them change through the seasons.

03.19.11

I want one of these. In fact, before I move back to the Midwest I will be getting one. Who wouldn't want a crab knocker on their front door? I think it's fantastic.

03.18.11

With the start of my Transitions practicum also comes a few new supplies! I love supplies.

03.17.11

Happy St. Patty's Day from Antietam! Kevin and I took the day to go and visit another Civil War battle site...good times. We did also hit up an outlet mall afterwards - win/win. Ok, so this is a monument to Clara Barton who is known for providing medical support to soldiers on both sides of the battle. Also, if you see the little cross at the bottom, it signifies that she is also the lady who started the Red Cross. Pretty cool.

03.16.11

Nice marketing job Maryland - I mean it. They sent me this lovely "in training" shirt for the half-marathon in May. It serves a dual purpose of both (hopefully) motivating me, and also of getting the word out about their run. I like it.

03.15.11

Fitting for Baltimore - considering that the National Anthem was written on a boat outside of Baltimore when we were getting bombed. ("by the bomb's early light...") This is on the side of the American Visionary Arts Museum - a really cool place to visit in Balmer.

03.14.11

The "Hampton House" in Baltimore. Kevin and I toured the house today and it was really cool - a lot of Baltimore history was in that house.

03.13.11

My least favorite part of having visitors...when they leave. Sad day.

03.12.11

Let's Go Hop! Jessie, Aaron, Kevin and I went to the "Face-off Classic" for Lacrosse and saw Syracuse take on Georgetown, Cornell vs. Virginia and Hopkins vs. UMBC. Hopkins won, BTW!

03.11.11

Who finds the beer soaked moustache on the table and puts it on? Nacho, that's who.

03.10.11

The easiest riddle that we got tonight. Jessie made them seem easy by getting this one, and then we proceeded to get really tricky ones. Thank goodness you can find the answers by googling "Natty Boh Riddles".

03.09.11

Although I don't really consider myself a "senior" -- I still liked seeing this sign today!

03.08.11

November-India-Charlie-Echo, Romeo-India-Golf-Hotel-Tango?

03.07.11

Dad -- I feel like this place may be calling your name? Baltimore's Best Sausage?

03.06.11

God Bless Susan's Mom -- this is year #2 where she has mailed Susan a King Cake -- fantastic! And...I almost cut the head off of the creepy baby -- haha -- I don't know if that is good luck or not!

03.05.11

They're everywhere! :) (Well, at least at a spring workshop...)

03.04.11

So, today in my Oncology class we got to have class in the Dean's Boardroom (on the 5th floor -- my first time up there!). Anyway, imagine my surprise when I saw that Robert McClintock had done a painting of the School of Nursing! Cool, huh?

03.03.11

I get excited if I see a MN license plate -- but ALASKA! This one is for you E & A!

03.02.11

For you Cassie! Too bad this place is actually not open -- the windows are smashed in and the place is in shambles...but, in its day I bet it would have been a place that you would have liked to go!

03.01.11

In case we ever want to complain about our clinical uniform -- they keep this little lady handy to remind us of the "good old days." Haha -- I'll take the scrubs, thank you very much!

02.28.11

So, this iPod is from 2004 -- and still rocking. There are many, many days when my sanity would be pushed even further than it already is if it were not for this little device!

02.27.11

Flowers! Kev and I have been dating for a little over 6 months now, so he surprised me with these. :) We went out to dinner at "The Grille at Peerce's" in Phoenix, MD (coincidentally where Kevin's Mom had her prom), and it was great.

02.26.11

Well hello, is your name Marty? Haha -- from my PEO meeting this morning I was able to observe a man sawing limbs off this tree. Moments before this photo he was literally sawing right next to his leg while hugging the tree with his other arm. Clearly this is a man who values safety, as you can see by his monkey-like technique to get himself back on the ladder. Yikes!

02.25.11

A Tibetan singing bowl -- it was used to get us into a meditative state for our Oncology class today. We were learning about CAM (Complementary Alternative Medicine) as a tool to help people through some of the side effects associated with cancer. We also got auricular (ear) acupuncture. I am not going to become an immediate convert to that...but perhaps if I had chronic pain it would be something I would consider.

02.24.11

And this is how I cram. :) Haha. I'm hypothesizing that the walk to school increases the blood flow to my brain and helps me to retain the information...right?

02.23.11

It's diversity week at the School of Nursing! I was hoping that these were nursing uniforms...but unfortunately not. Still pretty to look at though.

02.22.11

Do you see what I see? SIGNS OF SPRING! :)

02.21.11

So, I leave for a week and when I get back there are all of these new signs around town! Helpful for exercising I guess...but I'm not really sure of their purpose entirely, because all of the arrows above face the left and the one on the bottom is pointing right...hmm...

02.20.11

I realize that this may not look like much, but this little Toyota Matrix was responsible for getting us around St. Croix, and let's just say that it got a workout! We are at the bottom of the two big hills up to our home stay in the Rainforest...but in order to get there we had to cross no fewer than 300 potholes and several precarious bridges. We were quite happy to be able to turn in the car at the airport!

02.19.11

Our public health nursing intervention in St. Croix was the "Hands Project" that was done at the Ag Fair. :) It was a big success and several different people took a pledge for nonviolence.

02.18.11

Public Health Nursing Students at their finest. :) Walking through the rainforest on the way to get a smoothie - ha!

02.17.11

Our home stay group! Jenn, myself, Margaret (whose home we stayed in), and Katie. It was a wonderful week in the rainforest, and we learned a lot from Margaret (who is a nursing student at UVI).

02.16.11

The clouds in St. Croix were my favorite. They were very dynamic and changed from one end of the island to the other. I kind of like that this picture is a little haunting.

02.15.11

Hippies. Simply put, lots of hippies. It is friendly however! :)

02.14.11

Sea glass finds on the beach. :)

02.13.11

Mr. Ras Lumumba, our tour guide for our ecohike in St. Croix. He was a big proponent of herbal remedies, and feels that pharmaceuticals will not be used in as little as 20 years from now. Needless to say, he and I may have disagreed on a few things, but he was interesting and entertaining at least!

02.12.11

My first dinner in St. Croix -- a combo platter including a salmon ball and stewed goat. (FYI, unlike all "other" meats that tend to taste like chicken, I thought that goat tasted more like beef).

02.11.11

Happy early Valentine's Day everyone! I will be in St. Croix for the next 8 days (not that I'm ever super timely with this blog anyway), but I hope that all of you enjoy the next week -- it looks like a little heat wave will be coming all across the U.S.

02.10.11

After she whispered to me that she was turning 94 soon and that I'd better be at her birthday party -- she handed Kevin her grocery list. Gotta love Kevin's grams -- she really is adorable.