Back from DS
I’ve finished my first set of shifts on Delivery Suite! I feel much better and less anxious now I’m back there – but there’s still so much to remember, and so many decisions to make, and I do tend to panic a little. It is a great place to learn though – there’s so much going on, and so many amazingly knowledgeable midwives there. What I really want to have acheived by the end of this placement is a little confidence in my ability to make decisions, and to contact other people when I can’t. This seems do-able at the moment, but I’ll let you know how I get on.
I’m back on nights again on Monday, which doesn’t really give me much time to get the housework up to date, and to hopefully do some work on one of the many essays I’ve got to do. Oh, and I learned another valuable lesson – NEVER go to the supermarket on a Friday evening when you’ve just finished nights and haven’t eaten. I swear I could have eaten the entire contents of Morrison’s! So my diet was pretty much b*ggered for Friday night, but I’m back with it, more or less now, and plan to make some healthy food this weekend so that I’m all stocked up for next week.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Uni update
I’ve just finished my last ever University block!! From now until September I’m on clinical placement with only the odd day in University. I also just got a result back for the essay I handed in just after Christmas, and I got 70% – a first, but only just. Have to wait until tomorrow for my exam result – I just hope I did OK, I really had no idea when I left the room whether I’d done well or not.
So now I’ve got the horrific prospect of two essays a huge portfolio and a dissertation to do before May. I should really have one essay almost finished by now – but I’ve been procrastinating. I really want to see the tutor, because I’m really, really keen to get a first overall, and so obviously if I got 70% for that last essay, I can’t afford to let things slip at all. And as she’s marking the next essay too, I thought it would probably be a good idea to find out exactly what she wants from us.
Other than that, I’m quite apprehensive about the prospect of going back onto Delivery Suite – I know I’ll enjoy it while I’m there, it’s just the fear of things that could go wrong, and trying to remember everything as it’s been a while since I was there.
Filed under University | Comments (2)Friday Forum – Sport
1) What’s your favorite sport (to watch or participate in)? How often
do you play it/watch it? Do you take part in any competitions in this
sport, and how important is this sport to you?
I don’t really participate in sport any more, I’m too old and fat, but I did when I was at school, I was on the hockey and tennis teams, and occasionally the netball team as well – but only as an act of desparation because I’m really too short to be of any use in that sport.
I love to watch sport though – I like Rugby Union (mainly international stuff like the Six Nations), Athletics, Swimming, Gymnastics, Formula One, Rally Driving – pretty much anything except football and snooker.
2) Do you feel that your favorite sport has a lot of positive
influences/rewards? Are there any negative ones? Were you encouraged
to become active in athletics as a child?
I think sport is really important for children’s development. It has obvious physical advantages – especially in this world of increasing childhood obesity, but it also has the advantages of building team skills and instilling discipline. I remember moaning about playing hockey in horrendous weather conditions, and the reply from my mum was always “Don’t whinge, it’s character building!” One thing I can’t stand about sport in schools at the moment is the move away from competetive events – you know, where no one keeps score, you play just for the hell of it. I’m sorry, but that is NOT the aim of the game and everyone knows it. Some people can run faster / jump higher etc etc than others – that’s great, and it should be rewarded. Winning *is* important!
3) Do you have an idol, a symbol, and/or a motto that helps you
through rough times when you are competing in this sport? Or, when you
are working out/exercising, do you have a method of keeping your
emotions high in order to motivate yourself? (Could be music, reading
a book while working out, setting goals for yourself, etc.)
I find it very hard to motivate myself to work out. I try to think of how much better I’ll feel when I’m thin and fit – but it doesn’t really work. If anyone has any great ideas, answers on a postcard please…
4) Which “extreme” sport would you like to try (or would have already
tried) if you weren’t afraid of doing it?
I’m far too terrified of all of them! If parachuting counts, I might like to have a go at that. But as for things like bungee jumping – no way. It’s not normal, natural and I’m sure it can’t be good for you.
5) Do you get caught up in “March Madness” (i.e., the NCAA basketball
tournament)? Which team(s) do you like? Are you a basketball fan? Will
you enter any tournament pools? Who do you predict will win?
I’m British, so I don’t really know what you’re talking about! I don’t watch basketball because we don’t really get much coverage in the UK, and I’m not all that keen on it anyway – looks just like netball for grown men to me!
As for betting on other sports, I don’t do it very often, but I might enter a sweepstake at work, as long as it isn’t for the Grand National or dog racing, because I have big moral issues with those sports.
Filed under Memes and Quizzes etc | Comment (0)Wildlife of the Hedgerow Progress
My latest WIP picture for Wildlife of the Hedgerow
I really didn’t like this piece, but the more I stitch it, the more I’m enjoying it. I’m still not 100% sure about the design (it’s just not really to my tastes any more), but it’s easy, and I seem to be making reasonable progress, which is what I want at the moment as a break from my University work. As soon as I graduate, I promise to spend a lot more time on my very neglected Floral Bellpull and English Garden Sampler
Crazy cats
Today, the cats are absolutely bonkers. Last night BBC wanted to sleep in the exact spot where I wanted to put my legs. I moved position, and so did he. So I woke up approximately 50 times because of a stupid heavy cat on my legs. After Newt had gone to work, and I was still sleeping, Holly decided she wanted to join the party. So now two cats want to sleep exactly where I want to put my legs.
Newt left the house with the parting words:
“BBC was attacking your jumper. But I stopped him.”
I should have guessed from that statement that it was going to be a Crazy Cat Day. I think the main reason for the craziness is that we’re trying to wean them off the cat food pouches that they started on last time BBC was ill, and back onto dry food. Now, I’m not talking about cheap Morrisons, or Friskies dry food – this is high quality, expensive, premium dried food. Food that they were perfectly happy with before.
When I eventually got up, I realised that BBC was no longer on the bed. Instead he’d got hold of a pair of my jogging bottoms, had them in his mouth and was pounding away with his feet and growling. I’m still not sure whether he was trying to kill them, or mate with them!
When I came downstairs, I gave them their new food, and they all ignored me. Then Tiswas decided she wanted to go out. So I let her out. But it was snowing, so she stayed outside for all of 30 seconds while she realised that snow is cold and wet, and then came back in. Unfortunately she chose to jump on the sofa just above where BBC was – so he swatted her. She hissed, he hissed, there was more swatting, and then she decided that cold, wet snow was preferable to BBC and went out again. Then I discovered that one of the cats (I don’t know who yet (but I think it could well be Holly) has a new hobby. It’s called ‘dig all of the kitty litter out of the tray, and see how far across the kitchen floor you can spread it’. She’s very good actually. I know we only have a small kitchen, but she managed to virtually cover the entire floor using just one tray’s worth of litter. Impressive.
Then BBC decided that if he wasn’t going to get his fancy food, he’d leave us and try his luck at some of the other houses he visits (we basically have shared ownership with another couple across the road – it’s a long story). Only as he was halfway out of the door, he too realises that it’s snowing, and that snow is wet and cold. So he stops. But by this time, I’ve turned round and started to shut the door. And in the winter you have to slam our door quite hard to shut it. Especially when there’s a large cat leg in between the door and the frame. Ooooops. He seems OK though. He yelled very loudly, but when I opened the door he ran off and didn’t seem to be limping at all – just sulking a little bit.
At the moment, all seems reasonably quiet. All three cats are inside, and the fire is on, which seems to keep them quiet. I’m just not sure how long the peace and quiet will last…
Filed under Pets | Comment (0)