Gross. Be warned.

Here's an actual picture of me at clinical. People say I'm a great nurse.

Okay, so most of you know that I am in nursing school--mostly because it consumes my life the majority of the time. So, I've seen a LOT in nursing school...a lot of nasty stuff to be exact. And, as I was always advised, I have "gotten used" to most of the grimier aspects of nursing. One thing I have never been able to stomach though--vomiting. Bleh. All the nurses I have worked with seem so nonchalant about it. They clean it up, see it, no big deal. Not me--ask Andrew, I have a weird phobia of it.

So, I've always been sort of worried...will I be a bad/wimpy nurse? Or at least somewhat deficient because of this weakness. I have learned recently that the answer is no. Two reasons:

1) We met with the Life Flight nurses last week--they fly in the helicopter and treat/pick up really serious patients. Needless to say, they see some pretty intense stuff. Well, one of the Life Flight nurses said the one thing he can't handle is vomit! So, if he can't handle it, and he's the most hard core type of nurse out there, I think I'll be okay.

2) This is the gross part--stop reading if you want. I was in clinical this week and got to put an NG tube down a patient--this basically goes through your nose, down your throat, to your stomach to suck stuff out. Anyway, because of where the tube passes--the back of the throat--it tends to make people gag. Or worse, vomit. I had heard this before, and I was pretty nervous as I went to insert the tube on this patient. So, my worst nightmare happened...you can guess what it is. And it was bad--everywhere, on me, bleh. Bleh bleh bleh. BUT, I totally kept my cool! I don't even know why or how...maybe the adrenaline of the situation and that I had to still get the tube down. Anyway, at no point did I feel sick, lightheaded, anxious, etc. It was a miracle!

I don't know if I could pull it off again, but I was proud of myself for that one time at least. Anyway, just wanted to share. Sorry this was so long and gross...happier posts to come! :)

Brrrrrrrr.

It's COLD! What the heck? Okay, so the other day I said I was ready for fall the be here--mostly fall fashion actually, boots, coats, etc. Little did I know, this great state of Utah would skip fall and go straight to winter for me! Be careful what you wish for...

Sorry.

Sorry I haven't blogged in such a long time...school has taken over my life! It's pretty bad this semester. But, I promise we're both still alive and doing well :). The next two days are stuffed to the brim, but after that I promise to do the best blog post ever! Til then--wish me luck!

Wow.

Check out Lady GaGa's multiple outfits at the MTV Video Music Awards. All I can say is weirdo!

By the way...

School started! I guess we've been so busy with school stuff that I haven't blogged about it! Andrew's schedule is a grueling start-at-2 pm each day. I'm so jealous. Thankfully, I only have two really early days--class at 8 am Tuesdays, and clinical at 5:30 am Wednesdays. This semester I am doing ICU and Psych nursing. I am really excited about ICU--also scared. It's pretty intense. Today, I had to go to the hospital to pick a patient to pre-assess, and while I was there they called a code blue! Which, pretty much, means that someone is dying and needs to be saved. There were, like, 40 people in the room and the wife was out there crying. It's pretty important stuff we're learning this semester, and it just amazes me that people will trust me with lives! Well, sort of--I do have a nurse I work with...Anyway, Andrew is excited to be on his LAST semester, and I am excited to be on my LAST year! WOO! Wish us luck :)

Oh my.

Oh me, oh my--I cut my hair! Not that short. But, about 6 inches off! I came back to school and everyone had cute haircuts, and I was inspired. So, here it is! It's quite exhilarating.

PS--Have mercy on me, this is after a long day of school and labs. It's a bit frazzled.

Rise and Shout, the Cougs are OUT.

Woo! After an intense season-opening game against #3 Oklahoma, our Cougs came together to score an amazing victory. I stress out easily over these games, and my blood pressure was through the roof. It was AMAZING. Such a good start to the season! Makes me sort of glad that I'm a senior in my 6th year of college--maybe this is the one.

PS--That's Harvey Unga in the picture celebrating--he didn't play because of an injury and the loss of 20 pounds from fighting the Swine Flu! Poor guy!

The City.

Last weekend, Andrew and I ventured to San Francisco with Dana & Beth for a mini-vacation before school started. I was told that people in San Francisco don't call it that--they refer to it as "The City". Hence, the title! We're natives, basically.

Anyway, it was such a fun time! We walked our little tushes off, shopped like crazy (more like browsed, actually), ate some amazing local food (Mama's breakfast--heaven), fried in the abnormal heat wave (we're talking 95 degrees!), and most of all--relaxed! It was a much needed break from work and school before life got crazy. It's such a fun city, full of diverse people, and did I mention the shopping? Geesh. Thanks Dana & Beth. We love you!

Ghiradelli square--I recommend the mint ice cream with dark chocolate fudge sundae. Wow.

Golden Gate Bridge! Full House theme song come to mind?

Looking like a tourist. The binoculars don't even work. Bleh.

A cute candy shop at the farmer's market--I want those cake platters!

The "Painted Ladies"--another Full House moment.

Cool architecture! Love cities for that reason.

Trolley ride! The sun was obviously in my eyes...

Done.

It's the second day of school--first day of my nursing classes--and I'm sitting here alone in the Wilk on my break, surrounded by flocks of hormonal, flirtatious young adults. I would usually crave someone's company amidst all this chaos, but I feel like I've come to a different point in life where I'm done with this place. I no longer want to flirt (obviously...Andrew wouldn't be too happy about that) or be in the "in" crowd. I have my few friends left--they're dwindling, due to recent graduations--and I'm happy with them and Andrew until April. I've loved BYU, don't get me wrong, but I've moved on...a year too early, unfortunately :) April, graduation, and real grown-up life here I come!

Funny Sunday.

As we've said before, we teach Sunday School at church for the 4-5 year-olds. We have about six kids in the class each week. I used to watch a show with my dad when I was young, hosted by Bill Cosby called, "Kids Say the Darndest Things". I've learned over the past year, that is so true. Today's experiences will attest.

1. We have a Japanese girl in our class who likes to sit on my lap during sharing time. I usually snack on some almonds at that time to hold me over (1 o'clock church). Today, during the music, she turned her head towards me, pointed at my mouth, and waved her hand in front of her nose to imply, "your breath stinks." Ha! I hurriedly slipped some gum in after that. Brutal honesty.

2. The same girl, still sitting on my lap, pats my stomach and says, "baby", implying there is a baby in there (she does this a lot--I'm starting to wonder if I look prego? Cause I'm certainly not!). She then proceeded to squeeze my belly fat between her two fingers and giggle. Quite amusing--obviously.

3. It was one of the kids' birthday this week, so I promised to bring a birthday treat. I made cookies in our joke of an oven, which were of course burned on the edges and soft in the middle. I really can cook! It's the oven--I promise. Anyway, I figured they're just kids--they'll eat anything I call a cookie, right? Cut to class...we hand out the cookies and a symphony of crunching begins in the room, followed by, "why are these so hard?" and "these hurt my teeth." Couldn't fool them! But, at least they ate them all gone. I knew they'd endure :)

In conclusion, this calling has been very good for us in a few respects--works as a good method of birth control and an ever-present source of humbling each week. But, they're adorable and keep us laughing as well.

Magic.

I have a white Mac laptop, and I've used the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean the dirt from where my hands are--it's the only thing I've found that gets it off. I also used it to clean walls at our old house before I moved.

Well, the other day I saw a commercial for the Magic Eraser showing it cleaning kitchens, bathrooms, and pretty much anything you can think of. So, I decided to try mine out. What I saw was nothing short of a miracle! We live in an older house, and the kitchen sink and bathtub have always had a weird color to them, that no matter how hard I scrub, has never gone away. Well, I whipped out my magic eraser and, BAM! My sink and bathtub are pearly white. It's amazing! And it really took very little scrubbing on my part. This is going to be my new cleaning essential!

Jealous.

I am jealous. Of Emma Watson, aka Hermione from the Harry Potter movies. I was looking at a magazine today and saw one of her new ads for Burberry--she looks gorgeous! I love love her. And, she's uber smart! Going to Brown next year. And on top of that, she has a British accent! Oh geez, what I wouldn't give for that. I think if she knew me we'd be, like, best friends. Here are a few more from the ad line:

Goodbye Sally. Hello Lola.

I name my cars. Yes, most anyone who has known me in the past three years knows that my navy blue VW Bug was fondly named Sally. My cars are more than vehicles to me--they're friends!

However, in preparation for future growth in the Garlock family (nothing yet! don't get any ideas.), Sally was retired to my younger, college-bound sister, Jenna. She has been succeeded by the newest member of our family, a white VW Passat wagon named Lola! I will miss Sally--we had some good times and unfortunately received an abnormally large amount of traffic tickets together. Hopefully Lola will bring me better luck in that area :)

Such a cute face.

Madison Avenue

Creative Director Andrew Garlock and his ad executive arm candy, Elyse. Courtesy of MadMenYourself {dot} com.

Private.

Someone made a very nasty comment recently on my post about our trip to the zoo. I took a picture of Andrew and I in some hats that I jokingly dubbed "Asian hats". So, in reply to this anonymous commenter: I'm sorry if I offended. Yes, I do like and respect Asians, and have many Asian friends. Contrary to your belief, I grew up somewhere very diverse, with only a handful of white kids in my high school. And last, yes I did go to many years of college.

Some people need to take a joke and not look at strangers' blogs.

So, in conclusion, to prevent future nights lying awake worrying what a stranger thinks of me--I'm making our blog private! Email me at elysegarlock@gmail.com so I can add you to our list of invitees!