CPRMom

I have never compiled a list of my favorite books, but just finished one that I will call One of the Best. Books. Ever.  This book is just plain awesome. There is no other word for it. I have never laughed inappropriately so hard in my life.  In fact today I bumped into someone in the library who also just finished it and her daughter confirmed that she also laughed inappropriately while reading it. This books is AWESOME!  But seriously, my raving about its awesomeness is not necessarily going to explain why this is one of the Best. Books. Ever.  So I shall explain.  It's a sort of biography/memoir of the odd interesting life of Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess .  For anyone who actually reads my blog who doesn't actually know me (although I'm not sure if anyone who doesn't know me actually reads this blog), I work part time as an emergency dispatcher.  I have on occasion said that when I'm at work it's like getting paid to be entertained....

Ever have one of those why do things happen they way they do kind of conversations with yourself?  Like, if you hadn't gotten stuck in that traffic jam you would have been at the store too early and missed the unannounced 50% off sale that started 2 minutes after you walked in the store?  Okay, that only happened to me once.  But this was one of those kind of days. I'm visiting my mom, who lives in apartment at my sister's.  So we're kind of visiting everyone.  Except my sister and 3 of her boys are at camp all day.  We had a rip roaring thunderstorm with hail blow through that afternoon.  My mom doesn't like to drive in bad weather, so I offered to drive my niece to her doctor’s appointment.  She was having some sort of allergic reaction to bug bites. The doctor seemed stumped, was calling for referrals, and was joking about crazy bugs in NH.  Um... hello? we don't have crazy bugs in NH.  I'm visiting in CT.  We all have the ...

Every now and then I get a call from someone who seems surprised by how long a class is.  Today was no exception.  A CPR AED course is about 3 hours long.  It can run shorter if everyone is renewing their card or if it is a small group.  Since I teach both AHA and ASHI I find the full course is about 2.5-3 hours long.  Renewal courses that I offer through the ASHI program can be as short as 2 hours. A First Aid or Pediatric First Aid course is also about 3 hours long.  Sometimes I plan on 3 1/2 hours for a class if I know the group is large or if it is a first class for most of the group.  The AHA video has a lot of information on it and I just can't make it play any faster than it is supposed to.  With the ASHI program I do a mix of video, lecture and scenario-based practice.  But still, it takes time.  Even if everyone is renewing their cards there are key topics I am required to cover and have participants practice. So you can g...