CT/MRI

This week has been very busy so far. I've been working full-time hours this week so I've had very little time to do anything important. But I had my CT/MRI orientation today. I really like the teachers and there are two people in the program who I was in x-ray school with so that's cool. It's going to be very hard and very stressful because we only have 20 weeks to learn everything for CT and 20 weeks for MRI. It doesn't sound that hard to most of you I'm sure but you don't just push a button, you have to know EVERYTHING! The different machines, how they work, how they affect the body, the different contrast agents, how they affect the body, how to position the patients, how much radiation to use, how to read the images, and so on. Anyways, it's quite stressful to learn all of that in 20 weeks when I had 2 years to learn x-ray. But my clinicals site is in Dunn at Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital. I don't have a lot of good things to say about that hospital, but the radiology department is stellar. I had x-ray clinicals there my first year and they have an excellent department manager and I already know the CT and MRI techs who will be training me so I'm very excited. I've been away from the whole ER scene for a while now so I'm going to have to get used to the bleeding, broken patients on backboards again. So that should be fun. I just want to get through CT so I can move onto MRI, which is the area I hope to work in. Well that's all for now, have a great weekend!

Update

I'm pretty much enjoying my last summer break ever! I've stayed pretty busy though with work and wedding planning. I'm still working part time but have a couple 40-hour weeks coming up. I did get a raise at work though, my supervisor called me Saturday while I was at the office and she said the doctor agreed to the raise which goes into effect immediately!! I was so excited, I actually get a little bit of respect now from everybody since I'm officially Registered. They even got me a new name tag that says Lindsey Simmons RT (R). You guys have no idea how special that makes me feel, haha. Plus when the PA's ask me if I see anything on an x-ray, I feel pretty important then when I can point things out to them. I love my job, it's tons of fun. Except when you have to x-ray a kid like I did last night who was screaming in my face and ear, kicking and was just quite uncooperative, (and it's 20 minutes after closing time) then you just want to quit. :)

In other news, Kyle and I went by and looked at our new apartment today. The one Kyle had reserved didn't work out because the lady decided she wanted to stay. So we actually got a bigger apartment for the same price, yay! It's not huge but it's very close to my parents, church and work so it works out great! We're both excited about that, we can start moving Kyle's stuff in on July 28th.

Wedding plans are going well too. My Mom contacted a lady who will probably be doing the cake for us. She did two of my cousins' cakes and they were delicious. She was going to charge us like a third of what the Raleigh folks were charging so I'm very excited about that. We have a limo reserved, I'm looking into dj's and decorations and things like that now too. Kyle and I have been reading some very good books that are supposed to help you prepare for marriage. I have to say they have all been wonderful so far and I think we have both learned a LOT!! I'm sure that you can never fully prepare for such a life-changing event but we are doing our best with lots of advice and counsel from others. We're not done yet but here's a list we have started:

"For Women Only" - Shaunti Feldhahn
"For Men Only" - Jeff and Shaunti Feldhahn
"Love Life for Every Married Couple" - Ed Wheat, M.D.
"Preparing for Marriage" - Dennis Rainey
"Discovering God's Way of Handling Money" - Crown Financial Ministries
"The Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples" - Larry Burkett
"Intended for Pleasure" - Ed and Gaye Wheat

I know there are tons more out there, so if you have any suggestions for other books we should read, let us know!! I would strongly suggest any of the above books to married and single people, they are great!

I hope everyone is having a great week!! I'm so excited for Brian and Kristen, tomorrow is the BIG day!! :) I can't wait to see pictures!

Race pics

Here are some pics from the 5K race!


At the start line

Off we go!

The Fairview group

Our sweaty backs

Weekend

This weekend was very nice. Friday my Mom and both sisters went to David's Bridal to look at bridesmaid dresses. It was a very productive trip and we found a beautiful dress for the girls. Both sisters loved it so I felt pretty good about it since they are both very picky! And while I was browsing through the dresses I found a really pretty black formal gown that was marked down from $150 to $40. I tried it on and it fit perfectly!! So of course I got it since I will need at least two formal gowns for the cruise. I was really really excited that I had got such a good deal!

Then Saturday morning was the big 5K race. Kyle and I got there early so we could stretch and try to mentally prepare for the run. There was over 200 racers and 14 of us from our church so we got together and the guy leading up the group gave us a pep talk and got us all pumped up and ready. My Mom showed up right before we started so that was cool too. I was soooo nervous though because it had been so long since I competed in a race. The first mile was easy enough and I was right on pace with where I wanted to be. But then it started getting really hilly and a lot more challenging. My second mile was a little slower than I hoped but I was still ok with time. Just before I thought it was going to be over, we ran around the corner and there it was.... the last 1/4 mile was straight up hill. I thought I was going to die so I told Kyle to run on ahead of me and get a good time. So that boy sprinted up that dern hill and left me jogging very slowly and trying not to faint. Finally when I got to the top I was ok and then sprinted to the finish line. Kyle's time was 30:45 and my time was 31:30. Not too bad for a first time. I had estimated my time to be 32 minutes so I did pretty well with pacing myself but it still hurt like crap and my legs are killing me today! We are doing another race in the fall and I think my Dad is going to join us then so I'm pretty excited about that.

And my friend Crystin who is going to be one of my bridesmaids was in town this weekend so we took her to David's Bridal Saturday afternoon and she loved the dress too. So I was happy to get her approval. Now we are just waiting for Courtney to see it and hopefully like it too.

Kyle and I were supposed to have engagement pictures taken today at the beach but since it was raining, they were canceled. I was kinda bummed but it turned out ok because we had a very nice and relaxing day. We also got the majority of our wedding registries completed so it was still a productive day. I hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend!!