A June Trip to the Happiest Place on Earth

As some of you, more dedicated readers may know (which might actually be nobody - whoops) I graduated with my RN back in April. For the 6-8 months leading up to that event I begged and hinted to my mom to take me to Disneyland for graduation.

I am pleased to announce my hard work paid off and I was able to go to my favoritest place on this green earth back in June.

Oh sweet Disneyland. You'd be hard pressed to find something that elicits more joy in me than this place.

Typically the menfolk for whatever reason get excluded from our Disneyland trips. So all girls it was!

Pixar Fest was going on while we were there, and sadly we were about a week too early for the Pixar Pier grand opening, but there was some small things that were open and available. The shop across from what was formerly Ariel's Grotto is now filled with all sorts of wonderful Pixar merchandise! I wanted to buy it all. Also the good old ice cream shack has now been converted to the "Adorable Snowman's Frosted Treats". I'd seen these lemon/blue raspberry concoctions posted all over Instagram and Pinterest and I just knew I HAD to try one. They were sooo delicious. Next time you're at Disneyland, make sure you get one of these.

Overall I think the whole Pixar Pier thing is pretty cool. As a mostly Disneyland traditionalist, change can be hard for me, but I feel like this is a good change! I am a huge Pixar fan and love to see that it has more presence now at the Disneyland Resort.

One change that I am not too excited for however, is that Bug's Land is getting the nix and is being replaced with "Marvel Land".

Yuck. I'm not going to talk about it anymore because it upsets me so let's just move on.

Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters still stands as one of the best rides.

So I've ridden Splash Mountain my fair share of times in my life. Too many to count. In that time on RARE occasions I've found maybe a pant leg soaked at the most, but even that was rare I'd get that wet. Each time we road this ride this trip we got soaked! They must have upped the water levels or something because even though we had these ponchos we were still walking around in squishy water logged pants and shoes.

I don't typically sit and find a good spot to watch the fireworks, but we did this time and I'm so glad we did! They had a Pixar themed show and it was so magical :) (the old lady in the cape standing next to us is the best)

I'd just gotten back from New Orleans just a couple days before we left to Disneyland, so I had to make sure to get some Mickey beignets so I could reminisce.

Then the beignet turned on me, making it look as though either something went terribly wrong with gold bond, or that I had a bad case of dandruff.

Ah the mint julep, a long standing favorite treat of mine.

Wish this trip didn't have to come to an end! Sadly I've long since been introduced back into reality.... but more on that later. For now let's just bask in the joy that is Disneyland.

New Orleans: Part 2

I mentioned in my previous post that my vision of New Orleans included a lot of pirates... well that vision also included a lot of ghosts. So a visit to a cool old cemetery was only natural. I'm extremely fascinated with how people are buried above ground in New Orleans. Hundreds of years ago, through trial and error they discovered that burying people underground just didn't work because every person they tried to bury underground would eventually come back up above the ground after the rains and floods came in and softened the earth up. So to avoid that minor issue they eventually decided on burying people in above ground tombs. We did a tour at the St. Louis #1 cemetery, which is regarded as the oldest surviving cemetery in New Orleans. Our tour guide was the lady pictured above and she was awesome. There is so much fascinating history surrounding these types of cemeteries, and if that thing interests you at all definitely do some research.

That strange looking pyramid type tomb is the future resting place of Nicholas Cage. Not even joking.

The above tomb is the exact reason I wanted to visit this particular cemetery! It is the tomb of the famous voodoo queen Marie Laveau. Who is a very interesting character to learn about. If you're interested in New Orleans history, she is a must to research.

One of the days I was there Shelby, Scott and I drove out to Pensacola, Florida to hang out at the beach. I'd never been to a white sand beach before!

The water was so warm and perfect! Towards the end of the day though we saw a shark and that was the end of us swimming, haha.

One of the days we signed up for a swamp tour.

It poured rain and we totally got soaked, but it was so worth it.

Our tour guide was a legit Cajun. He showed us his scrapbook of all the alligators he's caught in his life. Like, I probably wouldn't be surprised if he's made an appearance on Swamp People. He was pretty awesome.

The swamp did not disappoint! We saw a ton of alligators. Which are so scary, but I've read they're not really that aggressive. I guess crocodiles are the ones you want to watch out for, but alligators are actually not too bad?? But honestly if you stuck me in a room by myself with one I would still be horrified. From the comfort and safety of a boat though, they are really fun to watch.

Our Cajun tour guide keeps pet alligators and so he passed it around and let us hold him. I thought this baby one was so cute. I mean look at those little arms just hanging helplessly at his side! Such a cutie.

Another amazing thing about New Orleans is all the food! We ate at some of the most delicious places and one of the highlights for sure was Commander's Palace (which is the restaurant that Emeril himself started out at as a chef, cool eh). You pick out three courses - appetizer, main course and dessert and it was all SO GOOD. I'd never had fine dining before this experience and now I don't know how I went my whole life thinking I knew what good food was. But guys, I didn't know what delicious meant until I ate at this restaurant. If you are ever in New Orleans I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. There's even a documentary about the lady who started it - Ella Brennan on Netflix, it's called 'Commanding the Table'.

Whelp guys, thus concludes my documentation on New Orleans. It was a dream come true for me. Luckily Shelby and Scott will be there for several more years and so I plan to make even more return trips!

New Orleans: Part 1

Hello blogging friends, when last we left off I had written about graduating nursing school. You could say a lot has happened since that time, and so prepare yourself for a series of back to back posts!

Let's start with the beginning of June. I found myself flying to New Orleans, Louisiana to visit my lifelong best friend Shelby, and her husband Scott.

It has been a great dream of mine since forever ago to visit the south - and more specifically the bayou. At long last I have fulfilled that dream!

I was picked up from the airport and immediately greeted with several cheap purple and green beaded necklaces being draped around my neck. Then I was promptly driven to the French Quarter. I could not have dreamed up a more perfectly cliche beginning to my trip!

The St. Louis Cathedral is what is pictured above. The inside is so beautiful with long aisles of wooden pews and hand painted ceilings.

Me, Shelby and Scott!

My first time laying eyes upon the Mississippi! Of course there was a glowing riverboat gliding along, the faint tune of jazz music playing in the background (or perhaps the music was just in my head, either way this scene just needed jazz music).

I'm not gonna lie, the pictures I took of the French Quarter are pretty minimal. Which is so sad because while it is a very touristy part of town, the architecture is amazing! Love, love, love the look of all the buildings! On day 2 Shelby and I rode the trolley cars into town (side note, those trolley car drivers, they don't give a crap if you're sitting down or holding onto a bar before they start full speed ahead, I was seriously just waiting for some old person trying to clamber down the aisle to fall flat on their face as the trolley lurched speedily forward after every stop).

Cafe Du Monde is definitely the most well known place to get beignets in the French Quarter, but as we were wandering down the street we came across Cafe Beignet and decided to get our beignets there instead. Which was a great move, because they were so delicious.And while yes, I am a Disneyland loyalist, the Mickey Mouse beignets are just not as good as New Orleans beignets. Sorry Walt.

For some reason my vision of New Orleans including seeing a lot of pirates. Sadly modern day piracy isn't quite the same as it was back in the good old days. However, I did get to stop by Lafitte's blacksmith shop, which is believed to have been used by the Lafitte pirate brothers some 250 years ago. Why is old stuff so cool?

This photo captures one of my top 5 favorite things about New Orleans! The gas lamps!!! Ahh they are so magical!! So many homes and businesses have these lanterns hanging out front, and the best is when it is dark outside and you watch the light flicker and dance across the ceiling of the porch. I would really like to adopt this tradition and bring it to Utah. Or at least adopt it for my own home.

Later that evening Scott drove us out to a blueberry farm where we handpicked our very own blueberries. I didn't realize blueberries could taste so darn good until I'd tried one that had just barely been picked.

Day 3 Shelby took me to the New Orleans Museum of Art, and hopefully no one judges me when I say that was the first art museum I've ever been too. The museum is located next to a lovely park that we wandered through until the sticky 90 degree heat got the better of us.

OK my other top favorite thing about New Orleans are all the breathtakingly beautiful trees! So many huge trees draped in spanish moss. The photo doesn't do it justice. Just take my word for it that they are incredible.

Here's one picture documenting the beautiful homes, and this isn't even the coolest one. Aren't those floor length windows and storm shutters just dreamy? And each home is unique. It's not like the cookie-cutter neighborhoods of Utah suburbia.

We ate dessert and this hip little joint called Sucre. I got bread pudding and it was AMAZING. They heated it up so it was warm and wow.... seriously it'll be listed among those foods I've had that I will never be able to forget. It was that good.

Thus concludes part 1 of my trip documentation. Stay tuned for more.

Hiking and Lagoon

The day after graduation we went to lagoon with my in laws. It's not quite Disneyland, but still cool!

Me, Nathan and my sister in law Brittney rode CANNIBAL. Which is a massive, amazing roller coaster. I definitely blacked out. The G's were just too much for me I guess, haha. When I was a teenager I used to be able to ride all the roller coasters over and over and not get sick. But now that I'm an adult I just can't handle it as well. I ride just a couple of them and then I have to tap out. Disneyland is more my speed, for sure.

Nathan led Melon and I on a fun little hike in the hills of Ogden. I'm actually kind of sad that our days in Ogden are coming to an end. Despite its quirks and shady characters I've really grown quite fond of it.

My boys!

Graduation

Do you guys remember 2 years ago when I graduated from my LPN program?

Well I've said it a thousand times and I'll say it again, but I never thought I'd see this day where I graduated from an RN program!

But lo and behold, it came! I graduated and after I take the ever dreaded NCLEX I will be a REGISTERED NURSE!

I'll be Hannah RN.

I'm just going to let that settle for a moment.

I had so much of my family come clear up to Ogden to see my graduation and I am so grateful for their support.

My in laws came too but sadly I didn't get a picture with them :(

This isn't the end of my college life however, I'm already enrolled to go back for the fall for my BSN, haha. I guess when you're a nurse the learning never ends. Which is ok with me actually!

My nursing buddy Sam! I couldn't have made it without my trusty friends. Sadly our other two nursing BFF's didn't come to graduation.

Vital Signs Series: What is blood pressure?

In honor of my graduating nursing school, and in an effort to help myself not only retain information, but also learn more new information... and to share with those who are interested, I've decided to do series on vital signs - covering blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and oxygen saturation/respirations.

I find most people that I talk to may have somewhat of an understanding of what a high temperature, or what a high or low heart rate is, but they don't understand the meaning or significance behind it. You may know that you have a fever, but what does that really mean?

So if you're the type of person who is interested in learning about the very basics of how your body functions and keeps you alive, then you're in the right place. Also for the sake of simplicity, this series will be relevant to adult health. Infants, children and adolescents vital signs can vary from adults and I don't want to open that can of worms right now. So without further ado....

Today is the first part in the series, and I'm going to cover blood pressure. Blood pressure not only affects your elderly grandparents, but can also affect and complicate pregnancy. Just because you may be young doesn't mean you get a 'get out of jail free' card. High or low blood pressure can and does affect young adults as well, and it is important that you understand the consequences of each.

What is blood pressure?

I want you all to pretend we're plumbers now. Imagine your heart is a big huge pump, and all the veins and arteries in your body are pipes that are all connected to your heart. Some of the pipes (arteries) deliver blood to your body and other pipes (veins) deliver blood back to your heart (the pump). 

Now you probably are all aware there are two numbers in a blood pressure reading... 120/80 for example. The first number represents the amount of pressure exerted on the walls of your arteries (pipes) by the blood when it is pumped from your heart (the pump). The second reading is representative of the amount of pressure exerted on the walls of your arteries (pipes) when the heart (the pump) is at rest.

Your heart pumps, then rests "or resets" and the pumps again, the rests again, over and over and over and over until you eventually die!

So again, the top or first number, is the amount of pressure on the walls of your arteries when the heart pumps the blood (we call this systole), and the second reading is the pressure on the walls of your arteries when the heart is 'resting' (we call this diastole).

Have I lost you all yet?

All the tissues in your body MUST have oxygen and nutrients to survive. Without it, stuff starts to die, case closed. The blood is what transports all this oxygen and nutrients to your tissues, picks up all the wastes (C02) and then goes back up to your heart and lungs to be reoxygenated, only to be sent on the journey again and again.... and again... In order for all of this to occur, you have to have not only a blood pressure, but a blood pressure that has sufficient power to deliver the blood to all the places of your body: your organs, your hands, your toes, etc.

The danger we run into with a low blood pressure is that the blood is not able to get to all the far reaching places of the body to oxygenate it. If this is sustained for any lengthy period of time then your tissues die and your organs shut down, and then you too, eventually die.

The danger with a high blood pressure is it can actually weaken and damage your arteries and various organs, leading to increased risk of blindness, heart attack, stroke, heart failure and kidney disease. Imagine you're watering a plant with a hose, at a normal amount of pressure you simply dampen the dirt and water the plant, if you turn the pressure up to high you cause all the dirt to spray everywhere, exposing roots and ripping off leaves and petals.

Now that you understand in a nutshell the effects of high and low blood pressure let's establish what a normal blood pressure reading would be for an adult.

NORMAL SYSTOLIC: 90-120

NORMAL DIASTOLIC: 60-80

*below 90/60 your blood pressure is considered too low*

A systolic of 120-139 or a diastolic of 80-89 is what we consider 'prehypertensive' or an 'at risk' stage for developing high blood pressure (or what we medical folk call hypertension). 

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is considered a systolic above 140 or a diastolic above 90. If your blood pressure is above 140/90, it is considered high. There are different stages to high blood pressure (hypertension) but we won't get into that.

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I could go on forever and ever, but I won't. So thus concludes this first part of my vital signs series! Stay tuned for the next installment in which we will talk about the causes of high and low blood pressure and what we can do to change our risk factors!

References: Nursing a Concept Based Approach to Learning, Volume 1, Pages 1162-1176