Echocardiography.

So after I realized I forgot to post today, it hit me, I haven't even gone into detail about what I do. In case anyone out there in the cyber world cares, why not share?

I'm a Senior in college finishing up my Echocardiography program. Echocardiography is ultrasound of the heart. The exact same thing that they do to check out the babies while they are still in the womb, except I'm scanning your chest and looking at your heart.

I initially wanted to do general ultrasound, where I would be able to look at babies, and all of that fun stuff, Buuuuuut I didn't have a good enough GPA, so they "stuck" me in the Echocardiography program. I say stuck because then, it was the last thing I wanted to do, but now I am in love.

Now that I am in my senior year I'm basically just in clinicals finishing up a few classes. However my clinicals are like a full time job, I'm working in a hospital 35+ hours a week without pay. Jipped, I know. But that is the price of education along with thousands of dollars for tuition.

Unfortunately I'm not in clinicals like the rest of my senior class right now. It is a long story that I don't even feel is important to tell, so I won't, but basically it is paperwork issues. I'm just waiting for my background check and drug screen check to get cleared. I have literally been sitting by a phone all day everyday waiting for the call that I .can finally go into the hospital.

Boredom hit is max today and I decided that I was going to go to campus today and help teach the Echo Freshies how to scan.  Ms. Stanley decided to snap photos of me today while I was helping out. She said it would look good in my portfolio haha. Helping these kids out can be soooo frustrating. However, as corny and teacher like as it sounds, it is very rewarding. I love how excited they get when I see them get the photo they've been struggling to catch, or they know their anatomy. I remember being in their place a year ago and thinking I was never going to make it. I remember thinking I was the worst scanner in the world and I could never do a complete study in 45 minutes or less. Here I am now, getting 95% on all my scanning comps and finishing in nearly 20 minutes.

It is so crazy to think that next semester(summer) I'm going to be out job hunting and going in for interviews, all while studying for my registry exam. Its nerve racking, exciting, and I can't wait to see what my life is about to be like. I have so many options and I can't wait to explore each and every single one of them.

Well It is 12:55 am... I guess I "missed" my blog for 1/16 but I'm gunna let myself slide on this one. I better head to bed, because here's hoping I get that phone call in the morning saying I can head to the hospital to start Clinical rotation for the semester.

WISH ME LUCK!!

Falling off the bandwagon.... or Moped.

Well I just suck at every new years resolution I make. I got carried away with the weekend that I totally spaced the blog!!

Nothing exciting this weekend happened, except Saturday night was a LOT of fun. Wesley and I decided we were going to drink, we were going to go out, and we were going to have fun damn it! We ended up going to visit our favorite bartender at El Som. This man hooks it up for us every single time. Wesley had two big beers, I had 3 mixed drinks, and we took two Baby Guinness shots.  All for $10. Craig you are the absolute man. For those of you that don't know what a Baby Guinness is, I suggest you try it. The smoothest, most delicious shot of all time. Wesley doesn't even like Coffee and he loves this shot. It is half a shot of coffee patron, and half a shot of baileys irish cream. The trick is to pour the patron into the shot glass first, and then very carefully pour the baileys on top. If you do it correctly it will appear as so ^^^^... like a baby Guinness beer :) Soooo Smooth and Sooooo Good. If your in my area, go to the old el som, tell Craig you know me and Wesley, and he'll be sure to hook you up.

Well after the couple rounds of drinks we headed to a fishing team party. Wesley thinks he is some fishing team God, so he likes to make appearances at these things. Really I can't blame him, those youngins really do look up to him. Well of course this place was loaded with dudes, and only four girls. All four of which were taken by members on the team. The team is so young me and Wesley felt like old people. Well I got tired of hearing Wesley talk about fishing techniques and yadda yadda yadda to all of the new members so I ended up giving the girlfriends words of advice. Smile, Nod, Look Pretty, and Ignore... for your sanity. Let the boys think you care, give them something to show off other than their boats and fish, but keep your mind sane and ignore all the fishing talk. Ask any fishing girlfriend/wife of a few years and they will agree with me.

When the party started dying down, Wesley somehow convinced some of the freshmen to take us all riding on dirt roads. There is nothing I love more than hanging with some good friends, drinking good beer, listening to good music and getting lost on some riding dirt roads. Always seems to be a good end to the night, to bad that wasn't the end of our night.

When Wesley and I got home we were STARVING. It was about 1 am and all we could think about was a Hungry Howies pizza. Again... if you've never tried it... TRY IT. Get Cajun seasoned crust but ask for the whole thing to be seasoned. You won't regret it. Well anyways, they said they were running behind and it would be about an hour, well we weren't to worried about it we had Wesley's junkyard moped to ride around on until they got there. I wish I had a picture so you all could see it, he found it next door when the neighbors moved out. It looked like the thing hadn't been touched in 3 years. Rusted all over, the motor was falling off, all the lights were busted out on it, and it wouldn't even crank. My handy boyfriend decided this was going to be his project, and while its still in the works, he at least has it working and its starting to turn out to be a pretty good bike. I've always been to scared to ride the thing, but Saturday night I had some liquid courage in me and I was finally going to take it for a spin in the neighborhood. It was awesome!! Rode it around the circle twice, rode it around the house like 10 times, and then Wesley told me to park it in the garage because the pizza should be here any minute.

I crashed.... Ten feet from the garage.

I broke his right brake, one of the handle bars went into the right side of my chest and left the nastiest cut and GIANT bruise, i cut up my leg, my hands have cuts and bruises all over them. I basically look like I got in a nasty bar fight in the ghetto. Wesley thought this was the funniest thing in the world, and still does. Three days later and he is still telling the story to everyone we run into. I on the other hand have been in pain from the second it happened. The handle bar hit me so hard I can't move my left arm and every time I even think about using the upper left side of my body it throbs. I wish I could show a picture of how nasty this cut and bruise is, but it is just a little to graphic for a blogger post.

As much pain as I still am today, and for how simple the night was, I haven't had so much fun in a long time. Wesley and I act old sometimes He works 40 hrs a week and I'm in school that is basically a job with clinicals 40 hrs a week, so how could you blame us? I love when we remember that we are still kids, and act like it. Saturday night reminded me once again why I fell in love with that guy. We both let loose and just acted crazy and stupid. I needed it. I really did.

I'm going to do better, I promise myself.
Off to do some studying.
Smile Big. Dream Bigger.

Big Beer and Fajita Nachos - Bye Bye Diet

I'm barely making this post on day three. It is 11:30 at night, and believe me I contemplated not even posting at all. But no, if I'm going to keep one new years resolution it will be this one. The other two were thrown out the window today. Let me just start with how my day started

3 AM - Woke up to a migraine that felt like it was ready to rip my forehead off. Of course I fell asleep with the TV, but I swore I didn't leave it on full blast. At least the migraine wanted mee to feel that way. Maybe it was punishing me for not saving electricity or it knew I wouldn't get the best nights sleep anyways.

Besides the point, me and ole buddy Migraine hung out till about 6 AM.until Icould finally fall back asleep

10:30 AM - Good ole Migraine decided she hadn't done her job well enough and came right back. Gus must have heard her come to visit because he jumped right on the bed and would not get his nose out of my face, all while jumping back and forth. Of course one of the few times he decides to show his puppy side had to be this morning. So thankfully I had nothing to do today until later in the afternoon so I just  basked in the pain.

2:00 PM - I told my classmate, Lauren, I would meet her at the library so we could print off all of the paperwork we were going to need for the semester. As I was filling out my clinical paperwork my teacher called and decided she was going to switch my clinical site AGAIN. At the beginning of this week I was going to Winn, then got switched to Coastal, then back to Winn, then to Meadow (which I was in the process of finishing allll of my paperwork), but now I am going somewhere in Savannah. Apparently Savannah likes paperwork, because I can't remember the last time I filled out so much paperwork. Then I had to go get a flu shot or I couldn't go to their site. Then I had to go and buy more under thingys for my scrubs. This program is getting awfully expensive. I'm. so. ready. to. graduate. 6 Months and 25 Days. But whose counting?

By the time I was finally done with paperwork 5:00 pm rolled around. All I could hear calling my name was a "big beer" from El Som and some fajita nachos. Yup the diet and the exercise got kicked to the curb again. Sorry future fit me, but the stressed today me needed some temporary relief.

OH and then the Boyfriend decided he was  "sleepy" and "cranky" cuz he had spent most of his day taking his boat to a mechanic to get fixed and napping. He decided he was gunna have a tude all day and take it out on me. That brought my migraine back about 9:00  pm. I swear I love him, I know I do, but there are days when I would much rather hit him over the head with a skillet than to hear him complain about his damn boat. Thats a natural feeling right?

Where are girlfriends in my life when I need them? Thats right they got smart and moved out of this town a loonnnggg time ago.  Again, I'm. So. Ready. To. Graduate.

Well I guess I'm off to do some laundry, do some dishes, and cuddle with the pooch. Lets hope that ole migraine doesn't come back, because she is not welcome.

Day 2 - Going strong

Well here it is, day number two and I remembered to write in my blog! I also ate healthy all of yesterday/this morning and I've worked out today! Maybe all it took was me starting the blog to get everything back on track. I only put that I've done good on the diet this morning because I still got the rest of the day to go. Plus... it's date night... which means wings and beer at our favorite restaurant. Don't judge me, wings and beer are a staple in the diet of any Houlihan or Butler family member. So is tequila, but that is besides the point.

The pup got kidnapped today. Yup, a girl called me said she saw my dog roaming the neighborhood so she picked him up and took him across town to her place until I was able to come pick him up. I just want to clarify that this neighborhood is like the Wild Wild West of Georgia. Only college students, out in the middle of nowhere, you'll hear gunshots all day long (target practice, no danger people don't worry), people partying and loud music, dust and red georgia clay everywhere. The only difference is, instead of tumbleweeds, you'll see empty beer cans tumbling down the road. Everyone lets their dog roam, it's a mutual understanding. If the dog has a collar, it's taken and will return to its home. Well ole girl said she found him "roaming" the neighborhood and felt  the need to pick him up. Turns out "roaming" was in the neighbors yard taking a dump. I guess I should be happy that someone was thoughtful enough to call me and take care of Gus, rather than steal him and make him their own pet. I'd loose it without that monster.

He's a Red Tick Coonhound named Gus. Wesley's (wesley is the boyfriend if I haven't clarified) stepmom found him on craigslist through a girl who was about to take him to the pound. Of course when I met him I quickly fell in love and we had to bring him home with us. He seriously is the sweetest dog around. When I was sick the other night he would get up with me each time I went into the bathroom and would lay next to me until I felt better enough to get back in bed. Then he would jump right back in bed with me and sleep right by my side, not moving until I did. This dog will let you do anything to him, hence the strap on shades in the photo above.  But really, I mean ANYTHING. Pull his ears, pull his tail, push him over, lay on top of him, drag him, anything he will just lay there and look at you with his big ole sweet eyes. The vet says hes only about a year old, and while on occasion he'll show his goofy side and you can tell he's no more than a baby, he very much has an old soul. There is nothing this dog would rather do that lay by your side and watch tv all day.

Well enough ranting about my dog, even though I could go on for days.
I'm off to do what I originally came to the library to do, study.
Then off to date night with the boyfriend :)

The beginning of my journey.

My new years resolution was to start a blog.
.... so was starting a diet
....... and so was exercising and being more active

What can I say, I hate following the rules, even those I set for myself. I was very busy saying goodbye to friends and family in Alaska at the beginning of the new year that I told myself "Oh, I'll start it all when I get back to Georgia.". Well here I am, home for a little less than a week and no improvement, other than eating a  little bit healthier. That is still a work in progress, mainly because the boyfriend keeps diverting me.

An-teee-wayyyss. I saw that my cousin started a blog and it inspired me to start one. Which reminds me I really need to call her. We go way to long talking in between but when we do its like those months haven't passed by and we talked yesterday. That is one thing I love the most about her, she completely understands me. She understands I'm busy, and I understand she is so neither of us get upset that we go so long in between talking. We know we love each other, and we will always be there for each other but man if our lives aren't hectic, hers more so than mine. We both used to have blogs when we were younger and we stayed in touch pretty well that way, so I'll have to follow her and see if we can't get back that. Love you Jes :) hehe.

The reason I picked this year to finally start a blog, is because this is going to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, year of my life. I'm graduating college this summer, and moving out into the real world. Moving to Georgia not knowing anyone within 4 hours of me was a huge adjustment I made for college about 3 years ago. Man if I haven't found myself and grown A LOT, but I feel that as this year goes on I'm really going to find how strong and independent I really can be. Getting my own apartment, getting a big girl job, making big girl decisions, paying my own bills, and completely trying to make a name for myself off of my reputation alone. I've always been in my fathers spotlight back in Alaska, especially once I chose ultrasound as a career, but that's why I've chosen to stay in Georgia after I graduate. No one down here knows me (other than a few great family members) so I can completely start a fresh new life. I hope this blog will be interesting enough for anyone that reads it, and if not I'll always have something to look back on.

A few key points about myself:

Me on new years with one of my oldest friends, Alex. I plan to use more current photos and more relevant photos to my blog in the future. I promise!
My name is Katelin
Born and raised in Juneau, Alaska but now living in Georgia for school
I'm going to school for Echocardiography and graduate in a little over six months
I have an amazing boyfriend, whom I'm sure I'll post more about later
I have a great family that is spread all over this great country.
I love my dog probably more than anyone and anything in the world.

So here is hoping I can keep this resolution and write in this blog everyday, even if it is just a few sentences. Maybe someone will find it interesting, but mainly I hope it will be something I can read back on at the end of the year and say "Wow, look how far I have come."