Getting ready to prep meals

I am now a nurse.  I work in Step down ICU or also called progressive  care.  I work 12 hour night shifts and it is tough to adjust to a schedule that does not coincide with any one else in my family.  My son is almost out of the Navy, he has a baby due in a couple of weeks.  Time flies.  I have gone through a ton of changes this last year, mostly good.  I am getting ready to start the new year off with a bang.  I have to lose some weight, but more important, I have got to change my eating habits and get my butt moving on my days off.  I am exhausted all of the time, andmy sleep schedule is just ridiculous.  Right now I am in the planning stages.  Looking through different options but the big thing I am most interested in doing and making a commitment to is meal prepping and not buying anything from the hospital at night and not stopping on my way in to pick up food.  Due to my wacky schedule, I sometimes work three in a row with four off, sometimes four in a row and two off and then one, and so on.  It changes every month too so I don't ever have a set schedule.  That probably will be the case for the next 8 months untl I change units or jobs. 

I have been on pinterest and created a couple boards to help with this.  I would like to post my meal planning and prepping here so I can keep track, keep accountable and share this with anyone who is interested.  Any nurses that work night shift know the struggle with eating and sleeping when working 12 hour night shifts.  I am at the hospital for 13 hours a day actually when I work.  I don't always get a traditional lunch break either.  Most of the time I am eating while catching up on charting.  Most of our patients are pretty acute so I don't go to far away. 

I have a variety of containers and have access to a fridge and microwave at work.  All of my meals will need to be either eaten cold or reheated in the microwave. Also, I am leaning towards a lower carb and minimal gluten meal plan.  I grew up with tons of food allergies and recieved shots twice a week, every week for 15 years.  I still have a pretty high sensitivy to wheat and dairy.  I get rashes, stuffed up, stomach issues and feel pretty icky if I eat them together.  It makes me very sad as I love Pizza and mac and cheese. 

I am off for a couple days, so I am going to finish gathering some recipes and ideas and post my first meal prep (hopefully with pictures) on Sunday afternoon. 

I keep coming back to this place after not writing for a very very long time.  My life is so far removed from when I posted last.

The quick and dirty.... Oldest son is doing fantastic, Youngest son is serving in the US Navy and is deployed.  I am proud and happy for him, and gutted because he is the baby and is so very far away.  I miss the daily contact with him.  nineteen is an adult, but I wish he were here.

I am about 6 weeks from a finalized divorce.  I just got my first apartment since I was in my 20's and it is in the ghetto.. since I am a full time nursing student and work also, It is what I can afford, and it is a place that would accept my dog.  I only get the Bassett Hound, he took my jack and the beagle.  I am devastated at the situation with the pups, but the jack is bonded to the beagle and I know he will take good care of them.

I am in this weird place where I feel free, and mostly at peace, but I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the failure of my marriage.  I knew that we were not happy for a long time, and I knew I needed to move on from it, but it is still so very sad.  I am also feeling excited for my future.  I have worked so dang hard to get to where I am at with school and my future as an RN that I can't stop now.  I have 18 months left of that journey and I intend to graduate and pass my NCLEX first try.

I have met some amazing new people through school that I feel I will know for the rest of my life.  Nursing school is a weird kind of dichotomy.  Your cohort is thrown into situations where you have to constantly work together and support one another (at least in small groups) to get through it.  You bond really fast.  It can either be very competitive or very supportive.  I am lucky.  I landed in a supportive, hold hands around the fire, sing Kumbaya and pass the fireball  kind of cohort.

Nursing school is teaching me so much about Science, Math, English, Medicine but one of the most important lessons I am learning is Compassion and lessons about myself.  I am learning what triggers my sadness, how I think, why I have made the decisions I have made, and also I am learning to create boundaries for myself that I have not ever had before.. I was the yes girl.. Yep.. I can help, Yes, I can drive, Yes, I can give you money, help, babysit, cook, clean, stay up.. all at the expense of myself.

Those lessons are hard to learn, and more importantly, hard to put into consistent practice.  It is a work in progress for sure, but I find I do better after a slip up... this last couple of weeks is a good example.  I am still doing the house chores at his house and mowing because the house is up for sale and he does not feel like doing them.  This has been a constant battle for me.. so Labor Day weekend I am visiting family and friends and I explained that he would have to start doing these things because I was no longer going to be available as I was out of town and then would be moving out for good.  I was happy to help out occasionally, but the daily grind would not be happening.  He is not happy, but he agreed to take over.

I have run myself a little ragged and have been working full time this summer.  I am scared about finances, juggling work, school, friends, family and a dog on my own, but I think it will actually be good for me.

This Labor Day weekend marks the beginning of the Year Of ME!  I would say that I will keep up with this thing, but who am I kidding?

Many things have happened since I posted last.  I never really thought I would pick this back up or that I would be where I am right now.

The positives... The youngest has graduated high school and is leaving for the Navy in 5 days.. that last bit is bittersweet. 

I went to Minnesota and attended a semester of nursing school.. and got a 4.0 in that semester!

My husband got a fantastic job... for a local school district.

My oldest is doing incredibly well.

I am still married.

I have a part time job at a hospital, in the lab.

The challenges...

My husband got a job at a local school district so I moved back home and am now still trying to get into a nursing program here.

I am retaking Chemistry to improve my chances of getting into a nursing school

My precious Coco, whom I named this blog after has passed away.

My baby is leaving for the Navy in 5 days.

We are selling the house in 6 months to move closer to the city and I am still not settled into a program and may have to wait 9 more months to start.

I have not been on a horse since my horse passed away.  I keep saying that I will go and ride, and something keeps stopping me.

The other stuff:

Chemistry is better this time around and on Monday I am taking the Standardized final for Chem 121 and I think it will be okay.  Right now I have an A in the class, so I am hoping to maintain that or at the very least, come out with a B+ depending on the test.

Then the studying begins to retake my TEAS test. 

Retaking the TEAS test for Nursing school is a big deal for me.  I did well the first time, but not well enough.  One of the schools I am applying for used to take grades into account.. well not anymore.. now it is all about the TEAS.. and a good deal of the schools in my area use this test to determine the entrance of students into the program.  What used to be a great score is barely passing anymore.

I need to make an 84 or better to ensure a spot in the spring quarter class.  I currently have a 78.  You can only take the test twice in two years, and they use the last score to determine entrance.  So this next chance is my last chance for another year and I have to do much better than I did before.

I am optimistic because the last time I took it, I was not strong in Chemistry or in math like I am now.  I do think that if I focus a bit more, I can do well. 

The last bit.. since my oldest and I are both working Christmas and my youngest will be at boot camp, I am skipping Christmas. I am not decorating, not cooking Christmas dinner or doing any cookie baking.  I did buy presents and I will take presents to the granddaughter, but otherwise, not even going to be able to muster up the Christmas spirit.

I just can't get into it this year.  My husband is a good guy, but is not at all sentimental, romantic or spiritual in any way.  I often wonder how we stay together at times.  He is not into holidays at all, and really doesn't get excited by much.  I think some of his scrooginess has worn off on me.

In spite of skipping the holidays this year, I truly do wish everyone else a fabulous holiday season.  It used to be my favorite time of the year, and hopefully someday it will be again.  Now I have to go and finish my last lab and study for that exam!