What I Spent
As you know, nursing school started up again this week. And my goodness, what a week it has been. I will not bore you with a rundown of how many assignments, quizzes, and tests we’ve had this week, but GEEZ it was a lot.
Third semester comes at you hard.
I have a long weekend, though (thanks, Labor Day!), so even though I work all day at the hospital tomorrow, I should have some time to get a bunch of schoolwork and studying done before classes start again on Tuesday.
I spent:
- $27 at Trader Joe’s
- $10 at Safeway
- $30 on a Hungry Harvest box
And that’s it…$67!
What We Ate
Saturday
I worked at the hospital, and I ate a peanut butter sandwich when I got home. Zoe had some frozen pizza when she got home from work (long after I’d gone to bed!)
Sunday
Zoe was at work, and I had been spending my whole day doing school prep. So, I just made a smoothie for dinner for myself.
Monday
A random chicken and veggie skillet; I browned peppers, sliced grape tomatoes, and chopped jalapeños, added the last of a rotisserie chicken, deglazed the pan with some chicken broth and a splash of half and half, and sprinkled some Parmesan on top.
Tuesday
This was my math testing day (followed by a two-hour lecture and a three-hour lecture), and I had assignments due, plus I needed to practice for competency the next day.
Sooo, Zoe picked up some Panera for us after she got done with college classes at 5:30, and I paid using a gift card that I’d gotten from my credit card reward points.
Wednesday
This was my competency testing day so by the time I got home, I pressed the easy button and just made some Trader Joe’s orange chicken and rice, with some sliced cucumbers on the side.
Thursday
I made a little pan of something resembling baked ziti, which used up a few links of sausage, the last of a box of penne, and some mozzarella from my freezer.
Salad and cantaloupe on the side.
Friday
Zoe and I are actually both off at the same time! So, I think we might have a takeout + movie night because my mental health textbook suggested a list of movies about schizophrenia (psychotic disorders were a topic in lecture this week).
Maybe we’ll do A Beautiful Mind, since neither Zoe nor I have seen that one.
Nora8
Saturday 31st of August 2024
We had a lot of back to school activities this week so not so much cooking. Plus, I'm only feeding seven now since one is off to college. I'm not listing his semester meal plan which I did pay this week.
Mon - Three of us were at the cross country parent meeting where we were fed pizza. Everyone else had breakfast eggs for dinner. Tues - We all had chicken fajitas because I had all the necessary ingredients already. Wednesday - We all had hamburger stroganoff with green and wax beans from the garden. We're coming to the end of bean season here, but you'll see them for a bit longer. Thursday - We all had lasagna (college kid doesn't eat cheese so the others are looking forward to cheesy meals), garlic bread, and tossed salad. Friday - The five kids ate hot dogs, hamburgers, and other stuff at the football family BBQ. The two adults went to dinner after because a big work project ended.
WWS: $422
Selena
Friday 30th of August 2024
Sat - tried a new place for chicken (broasted). It was excellent - a large breast and wing. We opted for fries (and a reasonable portion, not half your plate), also had mashed/potato wedges/sweet potato waffle fries (something new to me). Coleslaw and biscuit rounded out the meal. For $11 per meal, not a budget buster. Paid with cash as plastic incurs a fee. Sun - dine out Mexican Mon - brisket sandwiches with a bean/leftover rice combo Tue - the *really* hot day - leftover brisket and pasta salad for better half, left over Mexican and the rest of the bean/rice combo Wed - marinated chicken with fried homegrown potatoes Thu - better half made himself a pizza and had salad, salad for me. Still getting tomatoes but purchased mushrooms and onions Fri - baked cod (lightly breaded, potato flake & cheese), cooked apples, and mashed potatoes
$84 at the butcher shop. $130 at two grocery stores and likely another $20-$30 I suspect. We're not as stocked up as he thinks but it is a start.
Elizabeth M
Friday 30th of August 2024
I never realized there were so many movies about schizophrenia - and I've actually seen several on that list. I love Benny and Joon.
What I spent: just $6.50 for food at Walmart (I bought mostly non-food items this time.)
What I ate: Friday: bean&cheese burrito Saturday: rice bowl with chicken and green bell pepper Sunday: focaccia with tomato sauce for dipping Monday: polenta with chicken and tomato sauce Tuesday: rice with tomato sauce and a fried egg on top Wednesday: mashed potato bowl with diced green bell pepper, shredded chicken, and gravy Thursday: sausage and mashed potatoes I also made mini pizzas in the toaster oven for several lunches this week.
Elizabeth M
Friday 30th of August 2024
Oh, also chocolate ice cream for dessert.
Jan
Friday 30th of August 2024
I think you will like "A Beautiful Mind". It treats the subject of schizophrenia with respect.
I did an internship in a very unique state hospital unit for persons with mental illness who were deaf, and even observed one man speaking to his voices in sign language. People who communicate in sign language direct their signs to the listener, and his signing was up toward his right shoulder, as if a person was walking beside him. In the film, John Nash is depicted as seeing the people whose voices he hears, too--visual hallucination is not as well-recognized as hearing voices in the diagnosis.
Very few people who are schizophrenic are able to have enough insight to recognize that the voices may not be real, and even when they are willing to consider that they may not be perceiving correctly, my observations is that they rarely believe that what they are hearing is not real. It's a challenging situation.
I'm curious what the nursing goals are, other than to observe for safety and also adverse effects of medications?
Kristen
Friday 30th of August 2024
For sure the safety and the med effects are biggies with these patients. Also, we are learning therapeutic communication techniques. And they told us when we talk to patients like this, we can say things like, "I understand the voices are real to you, but I do not hear them." as a way of trying to ground patients in reality. Obviously, getting competent at taking care of schizophrenic patients is something that takes a lot of study and practice, though. We are barely scratching the surface.
That is so interesting about the sign language! I will tell Zoe because she is very into ASL.
Dori
Friday 30th of August 2024
That smoothie looks sooooo good and refreshing! (All the more so since it is a pretty hot day here in Denver that I'm reading your blog)