Found It!!!!!

For those of you who care - I found my I-pod touch!!! Happy day!

Rain, rain, rain

It has been really coming down here!  Yesterday was an amazing display of rain in Southeastern Wisconsin with some pretty freaky events that made me want to be at work in the ED!  (1 Escalade sunk into a HUGE hole in the middle of the road - car was still running this morning, 2 people struck by lightening....etc!) 

Actually I did work in the ED yesterday but I had a few more "normal" patients than those.  I am feeling more and more comfortable there and am really enjoying it.  I feel my mind waking up again and I'm actually eager to buy a textbook and do some reading and research on the patients I've seen.  I'm keeping a patient log so I can look back and see all the cases I've had and follow up on some patients too.  This morning I did some online "extra credit" that was pretty fun and interesting.  They say you have to like life-long learning to make it in medicine and I think it's pretty true.  Hopefully though I will gain in hands on knowledge and not have to be running to a book to look everything up all the time.  For those going into medicine or in medicine, I'm living by my "Pharmacoepia" book - I just don't know meds/dosages yet.  The nurses are really helping me out too - yesterday I ordered 4 mg of a drug and the nurse was like "You mean 1 mg, right?"  I thought for a second and realized I had confused the dosages for 2 pain meds - 4 mg would have knocked the guy out for a few hours!  Thanks, Patty.  And the other nurses are all super helpful too.  Once they figure out I'm NOT a medical student, that is!

Today I have a rainy day off.  Bry and I are going to go up to Reedsville to visit some family tonight - he has a softball tournament in Manitowoc tomorrow.  He could be staying there until Sunday if the tourney goes well but I've got to work at Children's on Saturday night.

Knitting Knews: (too corny?  leave a comment!)

I started my first sock.  3 times.  I've currently ripped it out and found a new pattern that I'm going to try.  There are a few difficulties - 1. it's a tiny tiny needle 2. there are some complicated steps.  But I really want to make something that I can wear to work so I'm going to power on.  I hear that some people make 1 sock and never finish the second one - hoping I don't get that illness too!

I'm going to make the following Buga Baby Bunting except in pink.  I'm going to use the awesome yarn I bought at the Knitting Tree - see the blog down the page for pics.  Probably going to start it today.  (I already studied....now I can knit!)

I've been stymied by a pattern for something I'm making for my mom.  I'm going to rip it out (it's called 'frogging' in the knitting world) and try for the 4th time.  Otherwise she's going to get mittens.

That's about it for today.  Hope you have a nice, rainy weekend too.  Leave a comment!

Busy Week

This week was our first really busy week since I started working.  I had 25 hours of work in by 1am on Tuesday!  Compounding that is that I'm still driving Bry around everywhere - although he's being a great sport.  He has taken the bus a couple of times - usually it's a bigger hassle than he wants to deal with.  I have seen some great things in the ER lately.  The other night I had 3 people with facial cuts all in a row - it's nice when my patients work together to make sure I learn something!  Then on Monday night I worked my first shift in Children's ED. That was a whole lot different from the adult side!  I had some really cute patients though.

My favorite kid I saw all night was the brother of a patient.  He was about 4-5 years old.  No front teeth. He looked like a werewolf!  And he was bouncing of the walls and driving his older sister crazy.  This is what happened when I tried to ask the sister about her illness:

Dr. Polzin: Have you had tummy aches?  Have you been throwing up?

Patient: I....

Kid: Um, excuse me....

Patient: ....have been a little sick.....

Kid: Um, EXCUSE ME!!!

Dr. Polzin: (to Kid) hold on a sec, buddy...

Patient:....and I threw up once yesterday.....

Kid:  UM EXCUSE ME!! EXCUSE ME!!! EXCUSE.....

Dr. Polzin: (to Kid) ok, what is it?

Kid: Um. um.  yesterday, my sister, um, she threw up, um, and IT WAS GREEN!!!

Dr. Polzin: Really?  Was it green like your sticker? (Neon green visitor's badge)

Kid: Yes! And, um, um, aren't you going to write that down?

Loved it!  That pretty much made my night.  Poor kid had to go home though and miss the rest of the fun because I'm pretty sure his sister was going to strangle him.  He was a ball of energy.  Hilarious.
I also enjoyed the patients who said "buh-bye" to me every time I left a room.  Or the ones who said nothing at all.  That was even better.

Maybe kids every once in a while isn't so bad.  I definitely do not want to work with kids full time though.  It's exhausting!

Madison "Knitting Tree"

We had our first dinner party at our new apartment last night.  Bonnie and James came over with their little girl and so did some friends of Bry, Joe and Julia.  We had a lovely dinner and a super fun card game of "Up and Down the River".  I LOVE playing cards and I don't think I've played since our awesome games in Manila.  Luckily for our marriage, Bry and I tied last night so we could go to sleep friends.

So today hubby and I went out separate ways.  He went with my dad and brother to watch car races up in Elkart Lake, WI and I went to Madison for the morning.  I was meeting up with Heide to attend the American Girl Doll warehouse sale there - they put limits on what you can buy so she needed me to be an extra set of hands to increase her limits.  Do I have a shopping addiction if I agree to go shopping for items that target girls ages 5-12 when I don't know any?? (Other than Heide's girls, that is!)  I was there with all the other "moms" and I just LOVE a good sale.  I found myself saying "that's a super deal!  I better buy this......or not."

Before the sale I decided to check out the Madison knitting scene.  I read on Susan B Anderson's Blog that she lives in the Madison area and shops at The Knitting Tree.  I couldn't resist.  I like to see all the bikers in Madison but I don't really like driving there....I always get lost and confused by all the lakes.  Thanks to the GPS I made it to the shop though and had some time to spare before it opened.  I figured it wouldn't be too hard to find a coffee shop in Madison and sure enough, there was one right across the street.  I perused my knitting magazine to give myself an idea of what I'd be looking for in the store.  The store was super  cute and had TONS of yarns.  It was a little daunting.  The storekeeper was super friendly and helpful.  I have been wanting to try doing socks so I got some needles and sock yarn to start my first pair.  Then I couldn't resist the Spud and Chloe yarn that they had.  The prices were a little steeper than what they are at my local yarn store in Elm Grove (The Yarn House).    Don't tell Bry, but I spent $XX.XX in only 10 minutes!!!  Luckily I get a paycheck in the next 2 weeks.....

This is the yarn I bought for my first pair of socks.  Again, don't tell Bry but I got talked into a special needle for making socks too.  I figure socks are one thing I can wear to work that I've knitted .... although I do have plans for a headband too.

This is some DELICIOUS looking yarn to make a baby girl something.  I've been a little boy-heavy lately so if I've got nieces coming I'd better get ready.....

This yummy cotton-wool blend is to make something for my mom.  She's working on a quilt for me right now so I figured I should return the favor.  The colors didn't show up super well, it's actually a light lime-green and a grey-purple.  It may sound strange but they work really well together.  I'll prove it.

That's about it for now.  Bry and I are babysitting for a 2 month old tonight and until then I'm relaxing with my yarn and a glass of wine.  Ah yarn, I want to be buried in you. 

Milwaukee Mexican Restaurant Countdown Take 1

Last night Bry and I had a craving for some good old Mexican food.  It's one of our favorite types of food - something we can both enjoy.  Bry ALWAYS orders the enchiladas no matter where we go.  Abi will either order the tamales (too fussy to make at home) or a house special that sounds good. 

Last night we happened to come across a 2-for-1 Margarita special at a local establishment on the way home from church.  Abi drinks lime, on the rocks.  Bry orders strawberry frozen.  Abi laughs at Bry.  So does the waitstaff.  After a few sips we're feeling good and start talking about our favorite Mexican places we've tried in Milwaukee.  We were able to come up with quite a few - and decided it would make a pretty good blog topic.  Here goes:

1. Cempazuchi. Located downtown on Brady street it's a little out of our way.  It's also a little pricier than we normally go for but it was a real treat when we went with Beth and Kiah.  The 'ritas were good and so was the food.  However, you had to pay for the chips and salsa which was a major disappointment to us (we loooove 'free' food!)  This place was featured on the Food Network even as a "Dive".  We would go back.

2. La Perla. The home of the "ride a red chilli pepper".  I often suggest this place for bachelorette parties because of the riding opportunity.  Excellent 'ritas, good food, nice atmosphere, cool outdoor seating (another plus for us).  One time I drove there from 'Tosa for lunch with Goossen and I got a little blitzed so she had to drive me back home - putting her stick-shift skills to the test!

3. Riviera Maya. South of downtown on KK, it's a little out of our way.  They have a myriad of moles that were terrific - I remember the pumpkin one as being especially tasty.  We have run into friends from Med school down there so other people know about this place too.  Again, no free chips, but if you want something a little different this place was awesome.

4. Margarita Paradise. As the name implies, Abi is a very happy camper when we go here.  It's on our side of town, just down HWY 100.  Excellent food, good chips, good salsa, good prices.  We get into a rut and go here a lot.  Not so good for outdoor seating though.  We really like this place.

5. Habaneros.  Let's just say they have an "Around the World" tequila special.  They also have a super cool wine cellar buried in the floor underneath a glass floor so you can walk over it.  The food is a little more high-end, but very tasty.  No outdoor seating.  AMAZING guac - made tableside.  It's the place where Abi first told her dad about Bry.  Awwww.  It's convenient for us.  We like it.  The same people also run a few other restaurants in the area that we are huge fans of.

6. Tres Hermanos.  A little more bar-like than other restaurants, this place has some amazing all-you-can-eat taco specials.  The drinks are good.  Abi had a great time here with some med-school friends one night, and actually remembers it.  Very tasty.

7. Senor Sol.  The place that prompted this blog!  A cute (very orange) restaurant just up the street on Greenfield.  Nice patio, delicious drinks, friendly staff.  They made my tamales extra spicy for me last night too.  We loved being the only patrons in there.  The chips come with 3 different salsas to try which is really nice.

8. Fiesta Garibaldi,  Delicious seafood entrees.  There are a few locations in the city - I prefer the one on Bluemound.  The only catch is that you have to sit in the BAR area to get some of their specials.  Very delicious.  Like it.  Will be back.

9.  Guadalupe.  Another close favorite.  Located on Bluemound with a nice patio we've had some pretty big parties here with some great pitchers of 'ritas.  The place used to be a nice Greek restaurant, but I'm loving it for my Mexican fixes.  Terrific chips, nice beer selection.  This is another of our go-to places.

10. Las Fajitas. Ok guys, this little place doesn't have it's own website.  (However, if you click on this link you'll see my review of this place!)  We used to walk to this restaurant all the time at our old apartment.  It's small, family owned, in an old car dealership parking lot so it always looks empty.  We have only had good times here.  There's usually a Spanish channel playing on the TV and one waiter/waitress.  Good lunch specials.  Good 'ritas.  They also get into the Milwaukee spirit and have "Fish Fry Fridays".  With rice and beans.  And coleslaw.  We've only tried this combo out once with Abi's parents and it was ok - but in the future we'll stick with their terrific Mexican specialties.  They have some nice options not found on other menus.  The chips are unique and way tasty, the salsa is super fresh.  We love helping out the little guys and will continue to eat here.  A lot.

Holy crap - only 10 done!  I'll leave this for the night and continue to work on the rest of this menu.

In knitting news I finished one hat yesterday and started another one this morning.  I also bought fabric to try out another little girls outfit on the sewing machine.

First Sewing Project!

Since I have a terrible case of ADD I decided to add to my growing list of hobbies and try my hand at sewing this weekend. 
I am planning on making some new curtains for my bedroom once my mom finishes our new quilt.  I figured I might as well try sewing something before I make items for actual display.  I was checking out a nearby thrift store and they had 100's of patterns for $0.50 apiece.  They actually had some trendier patterns.  Since I like little projects for knitting, I picked up some baby patterns for the soon-to-be niece/nephews due in late August.  They had so many cute girl patterns but hardly any boy ones.  I picked up a simple onesie and some easy-looking girly shirt/shorts sets.

I finally opened the sewing machine I received for my wedding shower 2.5 years ago!  It was fun to set it  up, although I really hate threading machines.  It took me nearly 2 hours to be all set to try sewing something.  Then I had to figure out how to work with patterns.  Google to the rescue!  If you ever need to learn how to do ANYTHING, Google or YouTube has a video showing you how to get it done.  Google has saved me in the past on knitting projects too.

So here is the first sewn item:

A baby boy onesie!

Typical of me, I added some things and changed it around from the pattern.  It's supposed to have booties on it but it seemed a) too difficult and b) too 1980's.  The fabric is stretchy and super cute.  I'd like to make some more of this kind.  I do, however need to learn to sew a straight line first!

Here are some of the knitting projects I recently finished:

Woolen Hat for Bry's friend, Jason

Scarflette

There are more photos posted on Flickr, they should be available at the top of the blog.  You can click on them to see more.

Tonight I have an ER shift from 4:30 - 2AM.  It will either be crazy or really quiet.  Have a blessed Sunday!

Please Vote

I'm trying something new on the blog - a survey!  Please vote for our February vacation destination.  It's located directly to the right of this post.

I will be posting new pictures of some finished knitting projects soon!  I've been doing well finishing up works in progress (WIP in knitting-ese) instead of starting new ones.  Bry's good friend, Jason, will be receiving his hat.  Unfortunately, I did not knit his phone number into the back of it, but would be happy to provide it to any eligible young ladies out there in the Denver area.  He'll be sporting my green and grey hat sometime this fall/winter - look for him!

Brutal Day

I had a pretty good second shift last night.  Unfortunately it came right after a full day of ACLS training so it made for a loooong day.

I was a lot more prepared this time and felt a lot more comfortable.  Some of the nurses remembered me (for better or worse) and things went pretty smoothly.

A typical shift starts with logging in.  I get onto the computer and LOG IN as a resident.  Then I get my hands free voice paging system and LOG IN as Dr. Polzin.  Of course the stupid thing then LOGS ME IN as URSULA ANDRES (CANCEL!!) or BETTY WHITE or some other nonsense so I stand in the middle of the hallway yelling into my Vocera until it finally recognizes my name.

Next I survey the scene.  I check the waiting room to see how busy we are.  I check how the other patient in the ED are doing - we have a color coding system that lets you know who is being admitted, who is being discharged and who is just sitting and waiting.  Wait times are posted as well so I can check on that.  Anyone who is RED is a new patient.

I determine which RED patient I want to see.  Usually I look at how many times they've come into the ED for the same problem or how crazy they're likely to be.  Of course, I'm not a student anymore, so I can't justify ignoring everyone I don't want to see.

Then I go into the room and introduce myself.  I take a history, do a physical exam and explain to them what's going to happen next.  Then I track down my attending.  I can either call them on Vocera or I can walk around old-school-style until I find them.  Most of them haven't met me yet so this can be a time for more introductions.  I tell them about the patient and tell them what I'm thinking about doing.  They give me feedback and we come up with a plan.

I write the orders, chat with the nurses and then spend the rest of the shift following up on the orders, labs and radiology. I repeat as needed as I pick up more patients.  By the end of this year I should be averaging 1 patient per hour.  It doesn't sound like much, but some patients can be pretty complex and have multiple issues, not to mention needed special exams or procedures during the visit.  I usually carry about 2-3 patients at one time.  Last night I saw 5 patients in 8 hours so I'm halfway there!

Then comes the decision time - are the patients going to be ADMITTED or DISCHARGED?  After discussion with my attending, and consulting with my GUT FEELINGS we make the decision.  If they have to be admitted I have to call the Admitting Medical Officer for Froedtert.  I need to "plead the case" for why I want the patient admitted which can be intimidating, especially now early on when they don't know me or trust me.  Otherwise I send the patient home with some meds or instructions and hope they weren't sicker than I thought.  Then I have to make sure I've documented everything properly and finally I can go home when my work is done.

That's a glimpse into my shift.  There are a lot of other conversations that go on with other physicians, nurses and techs too.  Any questions?

First Day in ED

Monday was my first day in the ED.  I was so nervous that I woke up at 4am, got there 40 minutes early and couldn't stop sweating!  I also forgot my stethoscope at home and Bry had to bike it over.  (I felt less than responsible when I got paged "Dr. Polzin?  Yeah, um, some guy is in the waiting room with your stethoscope.....)
My first patient was fairly complicated so I got right back into the swing of things.  It was like my brain was waking up after a 6 month hiatus.  I didn't have a chance to eat or sit down for the entire 10 hour shift.  We had a waiting room of 40 people and had to go on diversion.  Pretty busy day overall.  I'd like to thank all the ED nurses and techs who got me through it - helping me figure out what to do and what to order and HOW to do it all.  I go back and do it all again on Wednesday - and honestly, I can't wait.

In Knitting News I finished the 2 scarves I was working on.  I've got the thumb started on my second mitten so the pair will finally be finished.  I'm resisting the urge to start some more projects but I'm not sure how much longer I can hold off.

My parents were in town for the 4th.  We went out for a lovely dinner at Paulie's on 81st and Greenfield.  We love that place for fish fry and it was nice to be able to take a deep breath in there since Milwaukee went SMOKE FREE yesterday!  The dinner took a while since they were pretty busy, but it was fun to catch up with Lindsey and Jesse too.

Bry is back to working late in Watertown at least until Tuesday.  We're not sure what he'll be doing the rest of the week.

Knitting Updates

Swedish Mittens

Stripey Sweater

Newborn Sweater

These are a few of my projects that just recently got finished.  There are a few more that just need a few tweaks - but I get so caught up in starting NEW projects!

New Apartment!

I finally got around to putting up pictures of the new apartment.  They are kinda crappy - but then again everything isn't QUITE finished yet.  I still feel like I need some decorating sense and a few more pieces of furniture.
The stats are:
1900 square feet
2 Bedrooms
2.5 Bathrooms
Master Suite
Open Floor Plan
Loft - 40x17 feet
Washer and Dryer in-unit
Lots of storage
Good location - nearby stores, gym, restaurants, etc
Fairly close to both of our works.
We can sleep 9 on furniture, plus plenty of floor space so come on over!