Exhausted

Flew early this AM. I'm hanging out in the off-duty apartment for a day before my next shift. Movies, snacks and lots of water with NUUN. Recovery day squared.

Blog on............

Rockin the Rock

I love my job! So unpredictable. This is a few pictures of my first 24 hours this week. I am staying from Thursday to Tuesday and getting two weeks worth of work done in one drive. Oh yeah.
BTW - I was up for the full 24 hours and flying for 10 of them. So I'm a little tired, and itchy. Somewhere in Idaho is a bunch of fully satiated Mosquitoes.

Being lazy in the plane while my medic checks our equipment and the pilot and mechanics check the compass.

Yeah, we even have to calibrate our compass.

We pulled the plane out (WE is a very loose term) and the pilot drove (cause he didn't fly it) over to the FBO where we did circles.

While this guy (with the black case) stood outside with a calibrated compass. Safety first people! Safety first.

That is my medic asking him questions.

My job does not suck, now does it??

I dragged my medic and pilot to the "Boot Barn".  I was just curious as to what you put in the Boot Barns tent sale.  This weekend is the National High School Finals in town so lots of people are here and lots of stuff going on.  Plus, it's good for the community to see us and our badassness!

Sunset in the hot tub after my workout.  Very short lived.  I stayed on for the night to fly with the night shift nurse to take a aortic balloon pump.  

I was the pump nurse.

We had to fly to SLC to pick up the pump, which our program manager brought to us in his truck.  Here is two pilots, a nurse, paramedic and manager getting it into the plane.  it's heavy and we are in a loaner plane that is FAA approved to carry it, we (again, using the term loosely)had to get it fully secured.

If you notice a theme here, the company that manages our pilots and aircraft, AirMethods has very strict rules and follows all FAA mandates completely. Unless you have a plane or around a lot of planes it's difficult to even comprehend the safety that goes into air travel.  I have never felt unsafe in one of AirMed's ships.  The pilots are awesome!  They keep us informed and do such a great job.  This night I had 5 take-offs and landings.  FIVE!  Smooth as butter, all of them.  

Lucky girl, I am, working for such an awesome program at such an awesome hospital.  I wouldn't trade it for anything, even when I do fly all night.  The best thing about this flight is that we were able to transport a patient, with a IntraAortic Balloon Pump (Large balloon sits in the descending aorta to help with cardiac output) safely to a hospital better to care for his particular heart disease.

And that is what counts.

Blog on..................

Give me Strength!

I’m having one of those weeks.  You know the ones.  Where it takes you DAYS to do what can be done in one day, you always look tired and you dream of taking long naps.  These periods of time happen once in a while to me and I can’t figure out what precipitates it.  My shifts last week were not necessarily tiring. I had an all night flight, but I had plenty of rest and sleep when I got home.  I have just been dragging.  I have made it to every Pilate’s class and worked out every day but Sunday.  I thought if I gave myself a day off from the gym then I would feel a little better.  Not so much. I even drank lots of water and my favorite hydration drink, NUUN. 

I had a list of things I needed to get done when I got home from work last Friday.  I had calls to make, projects to finish and bills to pay. It’s now Tuesday night and I still have a cabin project to do and a phone call to make.  I could have done it all in a day, but magically dragged it out for 4 and tomorrow will be five.  The good news is, it will be all done before I go back to work on Thursday in Rock Springs for 5 days. 

After much thought in the past 2 days of why I feel this way I’m sure it is a combination of stuff. First, I think I’m a little depressed. This is what happens when I can’t run. Any runner will back me up when I say that injury is a throw down.  Add that to the stress Matt and I have with all our travels coupled with having 2 teenagers at home that are struggling to find their independence and I have a trifecta for sadness.  Another thing, I dropped my carbohydrate intake under 80-100 to lose the last few pounds I want to lose and that can make your energy levels drop briefly.  At least I’ve lost a few pounds!  Woot Woot!  Stress at work, stress at home,the never ending dog hair and the heat.  Tada!  There it is.  Doesn’t make it easier, but it does make it better to know the possibilities in my lack of energy and motivation.   It’s hard to be filled with too much self-pity when I realize how silly it is and how hard things could be.  Plus there are many times when I've had the same stress or even more and managed to keep my energy up and motivation going.   It could be my monthly cycle or (heaven forbid) I finally go into menopause!  (completely sarcastic)

So I took a long nap this afternoon.  I didn’t think I would sleep after 9 hours last night, but I did.  I owned that nap!  It was spectacular in so many ways. 

This is exactly how I feel.

Daniel is feeling it too.

So the pity party is winding down, I plan to give out the party treats and start cleaning up tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

Blog on................

Day in pictures

Lots of watching TV, surfing the web and reading.

New Faucet installed by Matt.  I think the next thing is a new kitchen window.  It's a slow process, replacing old windows.

Our delicious local grown Pork.  Pork chops tonight for dinner.

Ended with watching "21 Jump Street" with Matt.

Lazy day.

Good day.

Blog on.................

Slow Saturday

Still totally exhausted.  I dragged myself out of bed at 9am after 9 hours of sleep and went to Pilate's Reformer class.  I was just going to lay low and do my best.   Well, it was suppose to be a small class of 3 but 2 didn't show up. Although I am super grateful for the one on one class, I was dying.  My muscles in my legs and even my abdomen were so fatigued that I kept having muscle cramps.  I learned a lot though and did get a good work out.  I rewarded myself with a delicious Cafe Breve from Coffee Garden on 9th and 9th.  It wasn't the best one I've had there - but it did the trick.

Stopped at Costco on the way home:

My medic, Brandon talked me into the Whey Protein.  I think it was a good choice and a lot less expensive then the protein powder I usually buy.

The high protein and Paleo lifestyle has me feeling great and today I was finally a lower weight then I've been in probably 5 years.  I think I saw 4 pack abs.  I'm almost embarrassed to say that I even took a picture in the mirror.  In the right light it is pretty impressive.  Don't wait around for me to post it, because that is not going to happen.  

Matt is having a guys day with one of his old friends that is in town.  I decided to have a steak from the meat we bought a few months ago.  We purchased a fourth of a cow from a local farmer.  The meat is delicious and this steak turned out great!

I also made cauliflower mashed potatoes.  EW. YUCK.  I really thought they would be good with butter and cream in them and even some Irish Cheddar.  No.  Not even a little.  I am going to try to fry them up in "tater tot" fashion.  I might as well since they are left over.

Nothing else for the day, nothing.  What a great day!

Blog on............

I'd stomp my feet, if I could

I wouldn't want to hurt my foot more and have to get another shot in my heel!  

Last night in the last 12 of my 24 hour shift, we got a call.  We (me, my medic and pilot) left about midnight and I crawled back into bed around 5am.  It was a great flight, but I didn't get any sleep before the call and very little after.  It makes for a cranky me for the day.  I finished my shift at 10am and the drive home was not bad at all.  I just stopped once when I was a little sleepy and bought delicious cashews. 

When I left the apartment in Rock Springs I saw these cows.  They look like they are made of wood and I have no idea why they are there.  Why would they be there?  So odd.

I have lots of stuff to do for work, the cabin,our calendar and finances that I attempted to sit on the couch with my blanket and get started.  First I had to pick out my pen/pencil from the stash I have in my computer bag.

What is wrong with this picture??

No blue pen.

I have to have a blue pen if I'm going to update the calendar.  CRANKY!

This doesn't make me cranky.  

It's a random plant that started growing in our flower beds and we've just let it go.  We've decided it's pumpkin.  Why is there a pumpkin plant (or 3 of them) randomly growing in my flower bed?   I haven't carved a pumpkin in years!  The mystery remains.  We almost want to keep it there just to see what happens.  I hope a HUGE pumpkin grows and when we carve it...it's full of money.    It could happen.

I managed not to take a nap AND drag my ass to the gym.  To top off my day of cranky I am reminded that it will be another 11 days before I can run.  I promised myself I would do the elliptical or Pilate's every day.   So I "faux" stomped to the gym and spent the first 15 minutes on the machine so cranky I wanted to throw myself on the floor and throw a fit.  Thank goodness I didn't or I would have missed the end of "Undercover Boss".   I was impressed (in a bad way) of how CHEAP the Mr. 1-800-flowers boss is.  Usually they give cash and stuff.  This guys BIGGEST gift was naming a flower arrangement after one of his outstanding employees.  GAG!  Show me the money!  

I finished my 30 minutes and then did some machine work for a total of ONE hour of exercise.  I was sweating like a whore in church (teehee - I love that expression)  but it wasn't all from the workout.  The humidity in Salt Lake right now is 47%! 

It makes all my refreshing beverages look like this, with a big wet spot. 

This is an icy delight with NUUN in it.  NUUN is a tablet that has electrolytes and awesomeness in it and helps you stay hydrated and all around ninja like. I drink them when I am running and I like to have them after a flight for hydration.  I am trying a flavor I haven't tried before.  It's grape.  White grape apparently.

I swear by them when I run Ragnar's.  Check out their website:  NUUN  

It is the ultimate hydration.

Not a bad day all around.  My family had the entire house clean before I got home, I lost .7 lbs with only 6.7 to go, I finished my project for my work meeting on Monday and I have the entire weekend off!  

Maybe I can get some blog posts done on things I've been wanting to post about, but haven't had the time to get all the pictures together.  I think I will call them FLASHBACKS.  This way I can get some important fun pics up from the past year or so when I was lazy and not posting.  Maybe I'll start including my family in my blog posts too!  Ideas.  I got em!

Blog on.............

Slaving the day away

I love a shift when we get an early call. We get on at 10 and go to the airport and check the plane, and if we get a transport before we can get back to base that is perfect. That happened today! Good day!


It even rained in Salt Lake, that's a better day.

Blog on.......