Buddy Acres

2012 Resolutions

2012-01-04T04:31:00.001-05:00

It's a new year. I made some resolutions again. I read somewhere about not telling anyone, but that doesn't seem like a good way to be accountable for them. I thought of all the normal ones like lose weight, be healthier, exercise more...

The non-standard ones I have are 1) to post more on my photo blog. I'm going to try it again. I'm inspired by Allison. I didn't do so well last year. 2) Post more on this blog. Since I have started my book review blog, this one has kinda fell to the wayside. 3) Read my scriptures more and be prepared for church.

Those are the ones that I can think right now. We'll see how I did in 2013.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T20:30:00.001-05:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I didn't have to work any holidays this year and I was able to attend my family Christmas party on Christmas Eve. Then on Christmas day, Jamie and Ilana came over for dinner. It was really nice.

I decided that next year, I want to try to make Baklava and have prime rib for Christmas dinner. Both of those are new things I've tried in the last month at my new job.

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday season.

New Job, Thanksgiving, shopping

2011-11-27T23:32:00.001-05:00

I recently started a new job in the ICU/Med/Surg department in a rural hospital. When I first started there, I just wanted to pick up a few hours here and there, but due to being called off all the time at my other job, I decided to take a full time position there. While orienting, I remembered how much I liked working in the ICU. This new position has a set schedule, which will give me better control of my life and also allows me to attend church regularly. I like all the people that I've worked with so far. It was a difficult decision, but one that I am glad that I made. I will technically be off orientation in the beginning of December. I know I'm doing okay, it's just some of the ICU stuff that I will need help with when it comes up. It has been five years since I have done ICU and I've forgotten a lot.

Thanksgiving went well. My sister, Jamie and her children came over for dinner. Our family met later at my grandparents for pie. That is our usual get together. It was nice seeing everyone and planning for our Christmas party. (That always happens at Thanksgiving because we get together as a family on few occasions.)

My mom wanted to go to Black Friday sales at Wal*Mart on Thanksgiving night. It was my mom, me, Jamie and her daughter Ilana. It was Ilana's first time going shopping in that madness. It was crazy! Ilana and I never found what we were looking for. I think my mom got everything she went for though. Then, mom wanted to go to Menards on Friday morning. Getting up at 4 a.m. for ANYTHING is difficult for me because I am used to being awake at night and don't have "normal" bedtimes. Every year, I say I'm not going to do that again and every year, I do.

Ilana waiting at Menards at 5 a.m.

Stupid phones

2011-11-19T23:12:00.001-05:00

I got the new iPhone 4S awhile ago. Having had an iPhone for two years, I didn't find the new one that exciting. Don't get me wrong, I loved the iPhone. I loved Siri. It just wasn't enough to keep me interested.

When I was shopping for new phones, I said that if HTC had a good phone with a front facing camera, I would get that one. When we went to the AT&T store, the only one they had was the HTC Status. I didn't want that phone. It reminded me too much of a blackberry and having a phone with the focus on facebook seemed a little ridiculous to me.

So, I got another iPhone and wouldn't you know it, two weeks after I get it, HTC comes out with the Vivid. I returned my iPhone (it hadn't been 30 days) and they tell me (after the fact) that I have to wait 72 hours before I can get a new phone. My sister Jamie let me use her old iPhone 3G, but it was hard going back to that after having the 4S. Needless to say, I learned a lesson and my survey comments earned me a call from the regional manager of AT&T. I was impressed with that.

I like my Vivid and am learning new things about it everyday. I was a little concerned about switching from iPhone to Android, but it is going well.

It's been awhile

2011-10-10T20:27:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted on my blog since the beginning of the summer. Now that the summer is over, I have had some time to reflect on it. I didn't do much outside of work this summer except for a trip to Mackinac Island with my sister Jamie, mom, niece Ilana and nephew Riley. We had a lot of fun up there and it was my first time ever on the island.

Ilana and I on the ferry to Mackinac Island

Arch Rock. Looking out on Lake Huron

Ilana, Riley and Jamie looking out at Lake Huron

In the trolley on Mackinac Island

Riley and Ilana playing in Lake Huron in front of the Mackinac Bridge

Taqhuamenon Falls


My favorite sign in Taqhuamenon Falls.

I have also really started getting in to reading books. I never really liked to read books before. At first, I started to see what my nieces and nephew were reading, but now, I enjoy it. It is something peaceful that I can do with my time. I also started reviewing books. It gives me a directive when I am reading, so I am just not seeing words on the page. Jamie, Ilana and I have been to a few author signings. I never knew about these before I started reviewing books. They are lots of fun and you learn quirky things about authors and sayings that will stick with you forever like "hot monkey."

The latest book signing in Lansing, MI

I have been having health issues. It first stated with this nuisance of getting hives. I couldn't figure out what was causing them. After the whole summer of doctor's appointments, we finally have it narrowed down to a condition called demographic skin. This basically means that when I have a lot of pressure on my skin (like when I would lean on the counter at work) or scratch, hives will appear. The Allergist I'm seeing thinks it might be related to my psoriatic arthritis. So, that means another doctor to see. I just want the hives to go away. I realize they are as bad as they COULD be, but still...

The other part of the summer is getting ready for the dreaded winter. YUCK! I don't like it. :(

I have one question for all my friends out there. What is the difference between grey and gray? I never know if I am using the right one and this bothers me. It's trivial, I know, but it has been on my mind.

Summer...finally

2011-06-12T11:59:00.003-04:00

Things have been a little busy around here lately. I did go to Nashville for the nursing conference. Because of this, I had to work a lot before and after. I haven't been getting called off for low census lately, so that is good. But it makes for a tiring week when you actually have to work your scheduled days. :) I have been scheduled a lot of Sundays recently, which kinda stinks because then I usually don't go to church because I'm sleeping to prepare for work. I am already sleep deprived working the night shift, so I cannot afford to lose any sleep before working. I have to be mentally alert when I'm dealing with patients. I have been trying to get a day position, but there haven't been too many of them.

I also have been doing a lot of things lately. Jamie and I attended the NKOTBSB concert in Grand Rapids. This was amazing! I have been to BSB concerts before, but this was intense! The way they kept switching between NKOTB and BSB songs was phenomenal. It always kept you out of your seat.

Most recently, we took Ilana, Alex and Isabel to Lansing to a book signing with a few Young Adult Authors. We were so tired by the time we got to the signing. The signing was on Saturday, but we left Friday so we could do a few things in Lansing while we were there. We saw the capital building. At first, we were in a tour with a class who looked to be about fourth or fifth grade. The tour guide asked them a bunch of questions about Michigan and they knew the answers! I was impressed. Jamie was wondering how she could sign Ilana up for that class.

At the capital building. This was taken from the 4th floor

We also went to MSU because Alex wants to attend there after high school.

Standing in front of Spartan Stadium

We were so excited by the time that the authors came out. The authors were: Ellen Schreiber, Aprilynne Pike, Josephine Angelini and Veronica Roth. There were two other authors there to get their books signed by the four above. They were Courtney Allison Moulton and Aimée Carter. It was fun-filled day.

I have a couple of doctors appointments coming up. With the merger of our hospital with a bigger one, we got new medical insurance and had to get new doctors. This means that I had to get a new neurologist also. I also have an appointment with an allergy specialist because I have been getting hives recently. At first I thought it was due to something at work, but then it started happening when I wasn't at work. I'm at a loss. I haven't tried anything new and I just cannot figure out what is causing them. My co-worker said that stress can cause hives...maybe...

I haven't been keeping up with my Project 365 blog. This is harder than it looks. I have had some health issues that I have been dealing with that have made it difficult. I have to give Kudos to Allison for keeping it up for the second year. I need to get back to doing it.

The weather here has been crazy. One day it will be in the 90s and the next we'll have 70s and rain. Mother Nature just cannot make up her mind what she wants to do. They always say that if you don't like the weather in Michigan, wait five minutes and it will change. I guess that is true.

Come on Spring!!!

2011-03-13T18:42:00.000-04:00

I am ready for Spring to get here. I was out looking at the yard and I have a lot to do in my flower garden. It will be nice when I can finally get out there and do something. The weather has been teasing us lately. It will be nice and up in the 40s-50s and all the snow will melt and the next thing we know, it is snowing again!

Jamie and I have doing well on our Project 365 blog. The pictures have been interesting. Some of them get pretty boring when you cannot go outside to do stuff. that is another reason I am antsy about spring coming. I can only take so many pictures of my dogs...

Work has been a little hectic lately. It seems like it has been a little more stressful than usual. We almost got stuck at work once during a blizzard. Not fun! Nobody wants to be stuck at a hospital...even the staff!

I've decided to give up fast food for lent. I try to give up something that will make my life/health better. The first night, I was working with Stacey and she ordered Tomato Cheese Bread from Romas. That is my weakness and I forgot about Lent until we had already ordered. Oops! I've been better since then, but it is still a work in progress.

January

2011-01-27T07:05:00.001-05:00

January has been a weird month for me so far. I cannot believe the month is almost over! I have been sick a lot this month. With silly little things like pharyngitis. A house supervisor commented that I've “caught everything floating by.” I don't normally get sick this often. I think exposure to germs on almost a daily basis boosts my immunity somehow. I don't know why this year is so different. My doctor (which I did have to change, by the way) asked me if I've been exposed to anyone who's been sick recently. I just smiled and told her at least 3 days a week. ;) She laughed and said “oh yeah.”

My car is finally fixed—new windshield and tire. I didn't like spending that much money, but it was necessary. I'm hoping to get four new tires when I get my tax refund. I also need a front-end alignment, so I think I want to get all the work done at the same time.

I'm hoping to go to this nursing seminar at the end of April. It is in Nashville. It will give you 20 CEUs. As nurses, we need 25 CEUs in two years to renew our license. That will basically knock out most of my need for education for the next two years. I could be more selective on the classes I take. Take classes I WANT to take rather than just take classes to fulfill the educational requirements.

I'm tired of the snow; I'm tired of cold; just sayin'…

Happy New Year

2011-01-02T18:13:00.001-05:00

December was a busy, busy month for me. Not because of the Holidays either. First, it took me over three weeks to get my health insurance straightened out so I could register for benefits for 2011. I was getting nervous because our current insurance expired on December 31st. I finally got it straightened out though. That made me feel a little better.

The merger at my small hospital was completed on December 1st. (That is the reason for the insurance change). Not a whole lot of changes have happened so far. I guess that is good because it would be too shocking for people otherwise. I was already employed by the hospital taking over, so that eased some tensions for me.

My doctor confirmed that I have fibromyalgia at the beginning of December. I had to wait until January until our new insurance started before I could set up any treatment modalities. My doctor has recommended acupuncture, water therapy & medical massage. I know the latter is covered, but I have to check about the other two. My friend also said Behavioral Cognitive Therapy has really helped her, so I'm going to check into that also.

There is medication you can take, but I like to try other things before medication. That is why I like my doctor so much. I've been going to her for 10 years and she knows this about me. She knows a lot about alternative things to try also.

I hope I don't have to give her up with this new insurance. She is not a preferred provider and I know I would have to pay cash to see her. The only thing that would make me change doctors is I heard something about non-preferred doctors cannot write referrals.

This year hasn't been a good year for my car so far. I worked New Year's Eve and on the way to work, a rock hit my car. It happens. I didn't see any damage when I arrived at work that night. When I came out from work New Year's Day at around seven a.m., my windshield had a seven-inch crack on the driver's side. Since then, it has spread to about two feet. I have an appointment on Friday to get a new windshield. I just hope it doesn't snow too much before then. It's the accumulation, I'm worried about.

Today, I was on my way to church and my car just wasn't acting right. I looked at my tires after I parked and my tire was almost flat. I went to Wal*Mart to see if they could repair it until I can get a new tire. No such luck.

Now would be a good time to interject that I have been looking up quotes for winter tires for my car. Well, they don't make them because I have a “special” rim. They only make the cheap tire in my size…and nobody has them in stock. Now, when I say cheap, I mean cheaply made, not inexpensive as the tires cost around $250 a piece. So, now I'm stuck with a doughnut for who knows how long while someone orders a “cheap” tire for my car.

I am definitely liking my car very much now. It has been so difficult getting any parts for it. I had this problem trying to get rotors for my car. I am not a happy camper… :(

My Year in Status

2010-12-08T05:32:00.000-05:00

They had this neat program in Facebook which will put all your statuses (is that right?) in a collage. Well, you get to pick them if you have too many. Here is my 2010:

Yesterday was plain awful...

2010-12-07T18:53:00.000-05:00

So, yesterday was not a good day for me. It was the first day I had been back to work in over a week. It started when I went to clean the snow off of my car and the little plastic piece that holds my windshield wiper broke. My windshield wiper fell off into my hands. I was getting ready to leave for work, so I had no time to go to the store and get new windshield wipers. So, I went to work minus one. Not fun when it is snowing, let me tell you.

Then, when I got to work, I noticed that there was tear in my scrub top. I pinned it with a safety pin and hoped that would hold until morning. I jammed my fingers and broke my nail down to where it really hurts. When I went to print a census for the morning crew, the printer in ICU was out of paper. ICU being closed, everything is locked up, so I went over to the joint unit to print them. (They don't print on our unit for some reason.) Well, the joint unit computer needed a password to sign onto windows. Neither I nor Lidy (who normally works there) knew what it was, so I stole some paper and went back to ICU. Well, the printer jammed in ICU while printing the census. Did I get the page I needed? NOO! So, down to Rehab I went. Finally after visiting almost every floor in the hospital, I got the census.

All in all, it was a crazy day. But, I made it to and from work safely (with only one windshield wiper, I might add.) All my patients were safe and as far as I know, we didn't have any catastrophes. Plus, my friend Danny sent me this really funny you-tube video. Here it is:

We went where at midnight?!

2010-12-04T12:51:00.000-05:00

Our family has this penchant for midnight releases. We ♥ going at midnight to see things. (I don't normally use ascii symbols for things, but I couldn't help myself this time.) We are excited for Breaking Dawn Part 1. I have heard many different dates for this, including 11-11-11. Other dates have said the following week. This wouldn't be nearly as memorable a date, but oh well. I guess we'll figure it out when the time gets closer. If it is 11-11-11, that would mean we would go on 11-10, which is my niece, Ilana's 13th birthday. She is not excited about waiting, but excited about it being her birthday.

Last night, we (meaning myself, my sister Jamie, my nieces Ilana and Isabel and my nephew Alex) went to Wal*Mart at midnight to get our copy of Eclipse. I must say it wasn't as exciting as it was for the New Moon release and there were not 1/2 as many people there. They had cupcakes and a souvenir, but the excitement of the midnight release just wasn't there. We actually got out of the store, movies in hand at 12:05 a.m. Crazy! Here are some photos from last night.


Isabel, Jamie, Ilana and Alex. This was taken while we were waiting in line. We don't know who the guy is behind them.

Isabel showing off her lanyard prize they gave us. It had tattoos and stickers inside.

We found these crazy kids at Wal*Mart in the middle of the night. I'm not sure what Ilana has.

Alex and Isabel went straight home and watched the movie as they were unable to see it in the theater. I must say though, I have never heard so much dinging in the back of the car from cell phones as I did when I had these three in the back seat. (Oh, and from Jamie in the front.) The last two photos were taken by Jamie, who I was surprised was still awake after having woken up around 3:30 that morning to go to work a 12-hour shift!

Winter is finally coming...

2010-11-30T23:14:00.001-05:00

We had a really nice Thanksgiving here at our house. My sister, Jamie and her kids came over for dinner. I had to work the night before, so it was later than usual. After, our family gathered together at my grandparents for pie. It was nice to see everyone. (My grandpa seriously needs to make more banana cream pie!) This is Jamie and her daughter Ilana.

We went shopping at Wal*Mart on Black Friday. There were some things that my mom wanted to get. We started out at the midnight sales and were going to return at 5 a.m. for an external hard drive that I wanted, but mom wanted to stay and buy a laptop. So, we stayed...all night...in Wal*Mart. Yes, we are a little bit crazy...

This past week, I have been sick and had to miss church. I really notice a difference in my week when I am unable to attend. I work a rotational weekend shift, so it is important to me to attend when I can. I haven't felt this cruddy in awhile and I'm hoping that this is my "one" for the winter. (Usually I get really sick one time each winter.)

Snow is in our forecast. For all of next week. We knew this weather was too good to last. Usually we have our first snowfall on or around Halloween and that didn't happen this year. It was well into November before it even hinted at snowing. Hopefully, the weather won't be too terrible and last too long. Here's hoping...

Jamie and I are getting our stuff together to start our project 365 that Allison had suggested to us. We are excited to do this as we both LOVE taking photos. It will be a great way to show them to everyone. I will post more when we get everything set up.

Making Monkey Bread

2010-11-14T19:28:00.001-05:00

Is this why they call it monkey bread?

Confused?!

2010-11-14T19:13:00.001-05:00

Oh, now I get it...wait... :/

Stake Conference & Music

2010-11-14T16:41:00.002-05:00

A week ago, my niece, Ilana, asked me if she could ride with me to the Kalamazoo Stake Conference. This was held today in Battle Creek, which is about one hour and fifteen minutes away from where we live. It was a great session. At one point, they asked the youth, aged 12-18 to stand. Having just turned 12 last week, I told her that that was her. She was a little embarrassed to be standing, but it wasn't like she was the ONLY one standing. :) Overall, it was an edifying experience for both of us and I am glad that we went. It was too bad that my sister, Jamie, had to work.

I have always been interested in music. Specifically, the lyrics of a song. I like to really listen to what they are trying to say. One song I have been stuck on recently is "I've Always Loved You" by Third Day. The chorus of the song is as follows:

Don't you know I've always loved you
Even before there was time
Though you turn away
I'll tell you still
Don't you know I've always loved you
And I always will

If you haven't listened to Third Day, you should. They are one of my favorite Christian Rock bands. Another song that I always have to listen to three or four times when I hear it is "Close Your Eyes" by Michael and Jeff McLean.

We popped the corn before we left
We had no cash to spare
His cousin ran that old drive-in show,
so daddy took us there

When the film would frighten me,
he held me on his knee
and said we'll get through this together somehow
and whispered tenderly

Close your eyes, this part is scary
Take my hand, it won't last long
You will love the ending, I promise
When this part of the story is gone

That drive in show closed years ago,
it's long since over grown
My car can barely drive through the weeds
to park there all alone

The movie of my life's become
more than I can face
and I'm looking for answers in places he taught me
to not be afraid to have faith

Close your eyes, this part is scary
Take my hand, it won't last long
You will love the ending, I promise
When this part of the story is gone

For love cannot be defeated
just like the sun, it will rise
Things will look so much clearer
if you'll stop

and close your eyes
Take my hand
You will love the ending I promise
when this part of the story is gone

Even though, it might look hopeless
You will see, that love wins the prize
and fears disappear, and you'll see much clearer
if you'll just close your eyes

Perhaps he was sayin'
it's easy a-praying
if you'll
close your eyes

All the songs on the "Father and Son" album are good, but this is my favorite song.

Brothers and sister can get along...for 18 seconds

2010-11-12T16:51:00.000-05:00

Job description of a nurse

2010-11-12T04:01:00.000-05:00

You must be a proficient: cook, housekeeper, TV repair-person, plumber, waitress, catcher, advocate, listener, educator, comforter, babysitter, masseuse, respiratory therapist, security guard, psychologist and mechanic.

You must be willing to be: slapped, punched, scratched, bitten, kicked, sworn at, over-worked, under-appreciated and on the rare occasion, hugged.

It must not bother you to have these spilled on you: urine, feces, sputum, blood, mucus and other miscellaneous body fluids that you probably didn't know you had.

You must be an expert in all lab results, radiology tests, procedures and medications. You must know what the patient is thinking before they do. You must be fluent in all languages including the local jargon. You must be able to make it through a twelve-hour shift without taking a break to eat, drink or use the bathroom. You must be accountable for everything and everyone on your unit.

You must have a strong back to lift things; a soft shoulder for people to cry on; compassion and empathy that is never-ending, strong feet to withstand standing on them for twelve hours without sitting, extraordinary senses, adeptness in the art of perception, excellent eyes to interpret physician's orders and ears to hear things that were not spoken aloud.

You must be willing to sacrifice your personal life as you will not have time or energy for anything but nursing. You must be willing to work every holiday without complaint. You must know every bone, muscle, nerve and organ in the body and what every symptom is indicative of. You must always have a smile on your face and not show how stressed you are. You must be computer savvy and be able to fill out paperwork in a speed that would make a NASCAR race look slow.

If this sounds appealing to you, we are always recruiting new nurses to our profession. Remember: a nurse is not what you do, it is who you are.

Genealogy vacation #2

2010-11-08T01:52:00.000-05:00

We went to Lansing for my birthday this year to get my paternal grandma's and paternal grandpa's birth certificate. Having finally received the death certificate from St. Louis, we were excited for this venture. I have lived in Michigan all of my life and have never been to the capital. It was a fun trip, but getting records is expensive!! It cost me $72 for the two records and I didn't even get the one. We did get a free tour of the capital building, which I was very impressed with. Although the custom-made door knobs, hinges, and glass were pretty, I'm pretty sure that that is where my hard earned tax dollars went.

Ilana and me sitting on the steps of the Capital Building

My manager, Tara, has asked me to train for ICU so I can fill in for someone who is taking medical leave in December. This should be interesting and something different from the daily routine. I used to work in ICU, so it won't be that much of training. Granted, I haven't worked in ICU for 4 years now, but I'm sure it's like riding a bike...

The hospital that I work at now is being bought by the hospital that I used to work at. (Well, technically still work at. I am relief there and pick up 4 hour shifts here and there.) This merger should be finished by the first of December. It will be interesting to see the changes that will happen with our small hospital. I really like the new CEO and am optimistic that he will bring great change for us.

I have been waiting ALL YEAR to put snowmen up as I love them. It snowed the other day here, so I am safe. Since I am up all night tonight (a downside of working the night shift--you never have normalcy), I figured a change was in order. Is everyone ready for the holiday season?

Pennsylvania genealogy trip, PALS

2010-10-13T20:10:00.000-04:00

These past few months have been busy ones for me. First, there was the trip to South Dakota at the end of August. Second was the trip to Pennsylvania at the end of September.

My grandpa wanted us to take him back to Pennsylvania where he lived as a child. Since I normally do some type of genealogy trip around my birthday, I thought this was perfect. Also, the fact that he is going to be 80 next year kinda puts an urgency on it. It was my grandpa, cousin Mikey, mom and I going. We had tons of fun and learned lots of stuff. It was so exhausting though!! There was this library in Erie, that I probably could've spent a few days in. I will definitely have to return there.

We didn't actually get a lot of records there because you had to order them and they mailed them to you. (Which is different than any other place I've gotten records from.) I was excited when the death certificates came in the mail. I'm glad I know just to order them because I need tons more.

There was a really nice lady at the cemetery where Grandpa's mom was buried. She helped us find a lot of graves. We found out that when Grandpa's dad bought the plot for his mom, he actually bought three spots. So, the other two just sit empty. Grandpa donated them to someone who couldn't afford a space.

We were so exhausted by the time we got home. All of us were. Grandpa said he didn't realize that genealogy takes so much time.

Most recently, I have had to take PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support.) I don't like to think about participating in codes on pediatric patients and therefore, these past few days have been miserable!! I passed, but I still don't like it! It was even more difficult because I had to get up so early. I work night shift, so early is not in my vocabulary.

On a side note, I have successfully given up caffeine. I haven't had any caffeinated beverages in over a month. Yay!! Pepsi was my downfall before and it was my goal to give it up by the end of the year.

South Dakota Vacation

2010-08-25T21:12:00.000-04:00

We went to South Dakota for our summer vacation. By “we,” I mean my mom, sister Jamie, niece Ilana, nephew Riley and myself. It was tons of fun!

We stayed in a campground in Deadwood, SD, which is where Wild Bill supposedly met his demise and is buried. We thought it would be neat to walk around this historic town. We later found out that it is nothing but bars and casinos. Not our idea of fun by any means!!

Riley thought the campground was pretty neat. Especially the camp fire. He said it was "the best day ever." We're not sure if it's because if the marshmallows…

We went to see Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Jewel Cave National Monument, Custer State Park and The Badlands. We had tons of fun but it was SO tiring!!

Mount Rushmore

The kids making breakfast at the cabin.

Resting after a non-stop day and a night of "the sillies"

Riley going out to "his" playground when the neighbor boys were there to make sure they didn't beat his record! (which was 500 points according to Riley)

It was fun seeing the buffalo in Custer State Park. That made our trip complete. There were also a lot of dead trees and Riley would say "not more Deadwood!" (meaning the town)

Mormon Nurse

2010-08-10T14:54:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago at work, I was told that I would be getting an admission. After the patient arrived to the unit, I began asking the barrage of questions when the patient, a young woman, grabbed my right hand, turned it to see my CTR ring and then asked “You're a Mormon? I've never had a Mormon nurse before.”

After a multitude of questions, she told me that her and her family (5 children and spouse) were here from out of state when she got sick. She asked if I knew anyone that could help watch her children so her husband could come up, visit her and give her a blessing.

So, I started making calls. My co-workers were very impressed with the response I got. They told me that they would never have thought to ask for help in a foreign city and even if they had asked, they were not sure they would get a response. I told them that we are here to help each other and it's nice to know that there is someone we can call anywhere we go.

Here is a photo that was given to me by a classmate before we graduated from nursing school. It is one of my favorites. I have it hanging by the door by my keys, so I see it before I leave.

Summer Vacation 2010

2010-08-09T15:24:00.000-04:00

We are going on vacation. My niece, Ilana texted me and asked if we were going to go on a trip this summer. We always go on vacation in the summer. This came after my sister (her aunt), took her kids to Mackinaw Island.

So I had to think up a quick vacation. Well, I came up with South Dakota. We are going to see. Mount Rushmore. It should be fun. We will be staying in a cabin and go fishing. :)

Any suggestions would be welcome!!

It's definitely summer!!

2010-07-07T22:21:00.000-04:00

We have had a “heat wave” here in Michigan this last week…or so the meteorologists say. Yes, it has been 90-100 degrees outside the past few days, but it IS summer. When it is hot, I want it to be cooler. When it is cold, I want warmer. I obviously live in the wrong spot because seasons in Michigan are vastly different. I should move to a place where it is 60-70 degrees all year long. If I did that, what would I complain about then?

I have been enjoying my orientation in my new job. Last night, I was the unit clerk. I haven't done that in 6-7 years. It was good to learn the computer system though. I will be on orientation until the end of July. There are two other nurses orienting with me.

I applied for a dayshift position that opened when my ex-roommate/good friend Melanie, took another job. They called me today & told me that the position was re-evaluated and was made a part-time position. Do I want to go from full-time to part-time to get off nights? Hmm…I lay here now in bed contemplating that while I listen to “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel and writing this blog post.

Pros-I have an EKG class in the morning and it would be so much easier if I worked on days. I really want to finish my BSN. It would be easier to accomplish things on days off rather than sleep.

Cons-It is part-time. This means 48 hours a pay period instead of 72 hours. I would have to get up at 4 am to get ready for work. I know I would get used to it, but it just sounds exhausting.

Enough of my ramblings…I should finish this post so I can go to bed so I can get up at 6:30 for class. (I know that doesn't SOUND early, but I am used to going to bed at that time.). Here are some pictures on my phone:

This is my John F.Kennedy rose that I got last year. (I love taking pictures of nature!)

A pretty weed. :)

Location:Bangor,United States

Happy Independence Day

2010-07-04T17:38:00.003-04:00

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Holiday! I am sitting here in the parking lot at work waiting for it to be time to go in. (I have 30 mins before I can punch in.)

It is very warm today & the trees are begging for rain. We have gotten SO much rain lately, I cannot believe they would want more. Maybe just because it's hot…

We went to the Twilight Trilogy Tuesday to see Eclipse. That was fun. It is very different to see the movies with a bunch of fans & hear their reactions to things that EVERYONE knows is going to happen. They gave us these buttons:

Yesterday, we went to the IMAX theater to see Eclipse. The movie screen was HUGE! We had a little problem going up there because they closed the highway (the theater was 1 hour away.)

Bangor had fireworks last night, which was amazing. They haven't had them in years. I took this funny picture with my phone. I should've brought my better camera. :(

The Verdict Is In

2010-06-18T12:55:00.002-04:00

To make a long story short, my brakes are bad on my car. I need to replace 1 rotor. My uncle Ron said that the brakes were defective because they ruined my rotor in a matter of 2 weeks. Nobody had my rotor in stock because my car is a new model. A few people couldn't even order them. The Dodge dealer didn't even have them!! We have to wait until tomorrow to get a rotor. Poor Jazz…

My new job is working out well. I am liking it. I'm still in orientation and am not sure how much longer I will need it.

Jazz

2010-06-18T08:48:00.000-04:00

I'm having problems with my car. At first, I thought it was my brakes. Now, I'm not so sure that is what it is. I'm going to take my car to my uncle's today so he can look at it. If it isn't my brakes, he'll tell me.

I have an appt with my local dodge dealer who I'm already not happy with! I paid almost $3000 for a lifetime bumper-to-bumper warranty for my car which includes a rental if I need it. Well, this dealership doesn't have rentals. If it takes more than a couple of hours, I'm going to need something. I only have one car.

Okay, enough of my complaining…

Did I Make That Up?

2010-06-01T20:46:00.000-04:00

It usually goes something like this: I am doing my nurse duties and educating the patient on the side effects of the medication that was prescribed for them. I tell them that this medicine will make them “snacky.” The patient usually looks at me like I'm speaking a foreign language. Then I proceed to explain what I mean.

I am wondering if this is something that was made up in our family as I could not find it in my dictionary application. We have probably made up quite a few words that I use on a regular basis. “Snacky” seems like an appropriate word to me. I think it was one of those words that was funny when it was first said and was just adopted into our family jargon. One example was when Ilana was younger, she called a skunk a “stunk.” They have been called that ever since. It makes sense…

I had my functional capacity test with physical therapy for the job at another hospital. They had to do this because my injuries were less than 10 years ago. This wore me out! I had to do things repetitively. I haven't had to do that since I was in rehab. It wore the Physical Therapist out too. That made me feel a little better. :)

Cool shirt…

2010-05-25T22:02:00.001-04:00

Mom and I took Ilana to her softball game tonight. We were early. We thought the game started at 5 pm, which means she had to be there at 4:30. The game actually started at 5:30, so we were early. She sat and watched the South Haven girls higschool play. It was interesting!

That's Ilana in the yellow.

I got sunburnt while mowing the yard today. Not fun!

This shirt just makes me laugh! I might have to get one someday…

It is warm today!!

2010-05-24T15:10:00.000-04:00

It got up to 92 degrees today! It was muggy too because we are supposed to get thunder storms all around us. If it cools down a little later, we are going to try to mow the lawn. I'm sure today would count as an “ozone action day” if they were doing that already. I'm not complaining though…

We busted out our super fan because Padme was getting too hot. I'm sure she has some congestive heart failure from having heart worms. She cannot tolerate anything above 75 degrees. We usually install the air conditioners earlier for her more than for mom and I. She also cannot tolerate the cold due to a fracture or something before I got her. She has major arthritis in her legs.

That's the price you pay for a shelter dog. I wouldn't trade her for anything though.

The white dog is Padme aka “pretty girl” or “leafy-butt.” (she likes to sit and wag her tail) She is a sheltie-mix. The pure-bred is Anakin aka “pretty boy,” “sir poops-a-lot” or “stinky boy.” This photo is out in their pen.

You have a shortage of what?! Are you serious?

2010-05-23T14:08:00.001-04:00

I worked the last few nights and we had more than our usual obstacles. We were running out of IV morphine. We called pharmacy because our patients were receiving 2 mg and they had us using 10 mg syringes. Which is annoying first of all, because we have to have another nurse witness the waste. Sometimes they put larger doses in by accident. They told us that they are no longer going to carry morphine.

One of the other nurses asked them if they were serious and "isn't this a hospital?" Morphine is probably the second-most used narcotic pain reliever. It is even in the acronym for treatment of chest-pain—MONA. (That stands for morphine, oxygen, nitroglycerin and aspirin.) Pharmacy then explained that they were joking—they never joke with us and frankly with 7-8 patients each, we weren't in the mood.

Pharmacy then explained to us that their supplier has a back-order on morphine and they didn't know when they would get some in. (Immediately my mind goes to a drug dealer…only one that is legal…without the shady transactions.) Then I'm thinking that if they don't know when they are going to get more morphine in, why are we "wasting" 8 mg each time we need two? Sounds crazy! Also, what are we going to tell the doctors when we run out? "Um, sorry doc but we ran out of morphine." We'd get laughed at!!

In all reality, we probably wouldn't totally run out, but the possibility of it was just too much not to share.

I was getting ready for work yesterday in the locker room and I was telling another nurse a story in which I said "oh stink." the other nurse asked me "did you just say 'oh stink?'" I replied in the affirmative and one of the dayshift nurses said she says it too. He asked us if he could start saying it and the dayshift nurse told him we'd be honored. :)

We have had our fair share of float pool nurses recently as we've been so busy. The float pool nurses say that they love coming to our floor because we are so helpful and don't treat them like they are a pariah that has an über-contagious disease that spreads by smiles or conversation. We welcome the help! Help us! We'll thank you for it!!

Padme, my dog, is the hunter of my two dogs. This afternoon when I woke up, she was steadily barking at something while she was in her pen. I went out there and she was barking at a frog in the yard outside her pen. I thought I'd help her and the poor frog. Well, I went to grab him to move him to another spot in the yard and he jumped into the dog pen. Oh snap! Sorry frog, I cannot help you when you go into her territory.

I really like the word "rediculicious." (I'm impressed that my iPhone had it in it's vocabulary.) I don't know why, but I do. I want to use it a lot, but it's not always appropriate.

It's really warm today. 84 degrees and sunny right now. Not that I'm complaining or anything…

I'm so excited because I got our tickets to see Eclipse. We are going to the triple feature. It was was only $20 for those tickets and $10 for just Eclipse. How can you not go to the triple feature? So far, there are seven of us going…

New Job

2010-05-21T12:29:00.000-04:00

I have been trying to get a different job because my current job in Medical Oncology has been affecting my health. I have been sick more and getting migraines. I think it is partially due to the stress of the job and partly due to the drive (It is a 40 minute drive) and lack of sleep.

I got a job at a local hospital that I have worked at before. It is where my sister, Jamie, currently works. I am excited to start this new job in hopes that it will help me to feel better. I'm supposed to start orientation on June 1st.

Is it really May?

2010-05-11T19:07:00.002-04:00

I cannot believe it is May already. It has been cold these past couple of days. By "cold," I mean 40s-50s and rainy. I'm not sure I like it, but everyone says I'll appreciate it in the summer. I don't want to appreciate it then, I want to appreciate it now. Then I am reminded of a quote by President Uchtdorf that I received in my in-box today about patience. Funny how those things work, huh?

My sisters and I took our mom to lunch on Monday to celebrate Mother's Day. It is a rarity for all four of us to get together. We had a blast! Here we are in my car getting ready to leave.

I had to work the weekend, so we decided to go out on Monday. This weekend was not a good one at work. We have been terribly busy for the last couple of months and has been draining. Saturday night was going okay until I got poked by a dirty needle after I gave a shot. Never fun. I was alright until I had a chance to sit down and talk to a co-worker about it. It didn't help that the employee health nurse wasn't calling me back and they are supposed to return my call within 1 hour. We also had a patient buy us pizza on Saturday because she said that we were "awesome." We had a staff of 11, so that is quite a lot of pizza to be bought! We sure appreciated it though! :)

I am excited for warmer weather and summer to come!! Yay!

TN Vacation

2010-04-20T15:06:00.014-04:00

I know that this is kinda late, but I thought I would write about our vacation. Ilana and I went with my co-worker Kristeen and her daughter Mercelia to Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville, TN. We had tons of fun, but was also exhausting at the same time.

Our first stop was in Sevierville, TN at Wilderness At The Smokies indoor waterpark. This was the largest indoor waterpark that Mercelia had been to, so she was really excited. It was very similar to the Wilderness Lodge that we stayed at in Wisconsin Dells. Here are some photos of the girls.
Ilana and Mercelia on one of the rides.

This is in the wave pool. I was trying to pull them out on the raft and the waves started and we all ended up tumbling like rocks. It was pretty funny. Good thing my camera is waterproof and shock proof!!

These are some cool underwater pictures.

I really like this one of Ilana.

Ilana on the Flo Rider.

Next we went to our hotel in Pigeon Forge, TN. We really liked the hotel and had a great view of the Smoky Mountains from our balcony. It was nice to wake up to that every day. I didn't realize how much I missed the mountains. :(

We spent a day in Gatlinburg going to all the Ripley's attractions. We saved the Aquarium for Thursday when it was supposed to rain. We rode the sky lift to the top of the mountain. That was really fun.

This is the photo that they took as we were ascending the mountain. Neither Ilana nor I liked this photo because we're making weird faces, so we only got a small one.

This is the photo that we took as we were going up.

The entire ride.

We also went to Dollywood for 2 days. The first day was really hot and the lines were über long. It took Kristeen about 2 hours to stand in line for lunch and then the food was not good and they forgot to put the hamburger patties on one of our meals and forgot our cheese. It was edible though, and that was all we were asking for. The second day, we wised up and brought snacks with us. We were not waiting in those lines again for food. The lines weren't that long because it was colder.

The first night after Dollywood, we went to Dixie Stampede. That was a ton of fun. We were on the South side and of course, the North won. I would like to see that again.

With our souvenir mugs at the pre-show.

They took pictures of all of us before and we had to buy them because it was rare to get a picture of all 4 of us. Also, you weren't allowed to take pictures DURING the show, so this was good. It's part of the trap, I know.

We also went to two musicals at The Miracle Theater. The first one was called "The Miracle" and was about Christ's life. I really liked the music on this one. The second one was "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." This was the first time I had seen this live and it was really fun to watch. Melinda Doolittle was the narrator and did an awesome job!!

We got a CD soundtrack of the Miracle if we bought the picture, so Kristeen and I both got a copy of the photo. Not a bad deal for $20.

They had the same deal for this photo except you got Melinda Doolittle's CD. We weren't as excited for this one, but we got it anyway. :)

It was nice because Ilana and Mercelia got pictures with most of the cast members. The cast for both musicals were basically the same with a few exceptions.

Our favorite character was Lucifer. We liked him because we thought he sang the best.

Overall, it was a fun, but tiring vacation. We were all glad to get back home!!

Getting Ready For Vacation

2010-03-27T10:59:00.001-04:00

I am so excited for vacation next week. I am going with Ilana, my co-worker Kristeen and her daughter Mercelia to Pigeon Forge, TN. It will be good to get away for awhile. We are going to spend one night at Wilderness at the Smokies. It is an indoor waterpark. (We stayed at the same hotel chain in Wisconsin Dells, WI.) Also on the itinerary is Dollywood, Dixie Stampede and Ripley's Aquarium.

I went to the neurologist a few weeks back and got the results of all my tests. He said that my EEG showed “frequent seizure tendencies.” He increased my medication and said he still might change my anticonvulsant medication. He also gave me medication for my migraines.

Work has been crazy busy recently. A real headache. We haven't really had a lot of our “regulars,” but it still has been busy. We have had quite a few hospice patients recently. Inpatient Hospice has really taken off this year. We usually have more hospice patients than oncology patients.

Here is a pic of my nephew Marcos at his 4th birthday party. So adorable!! He likes Mario. :)

New Layout

2010-02-23T09:53:00.005-05:00

I changed my layout finally because I am tired of snow. I love snowmen, but am tired of snow. We got another snowstorm yesterday and enough is enough already!!

We have been watching the Olympics as of late. I find some of the sports are really fun to watch. Our favorites are Shani Davis, Apolo Anton Ohno, Shaun White, Scotty Lago, Julia Mancuso, JR Celske, Louie Vito, Lindsey Vonn...I could go on and on. :) So, I put my American Flag button on here to show my support. Go Team USA!

Update

2010-02-21T15:29:00.004-05:00

So, I had some tests done recently. One if them was an ambulatory EEG. This was really cool in theory; being allergic to glues & tape made it an itchy experience. I wore the electrodes for 24 hours hoping to catch something unusual. We'll see what happens when I have my appointment in March.

Work has been chaotic recently. I've decided that I really do not like being charge. I am just tired of people complaining when you give them admissions like they are the only ones who get them. I just want to tell them they should try being charge & maybe they would understand a little more. Also, if you don't tell me what's going on with your patients, I don't know. Plain and simple. It's the people who aren't charge that complain. Why did I get volunteered for this when not everyone has to do it?!?

Ok, enough complaining about work…even though it is cathartic. Mom & I went to my nephew's birthday party today. He's so cute. He kept saying “say cheese” and “smile.”. This is Rafael or Fa-fa. He's 8. He likes green.

Interview

2010-01-20T17:11:00.004-05:00

I had an interview with Lakeland ER today. I was supposed to have my interview next week, but showed up this week. Oops! I think it went okay. It is for the new chest pain clinic they are starting up. I have a peer interview next Wednesday morning. That is where the other nurses & staff interview me. I had the same thing when I got hired for Medical Oncology. I think it's neat to have the people you are going to be working with interview you.

The job I applied for is no longer posted, so I wonder what is going on with that. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

I've had some health issues recently. The doctor said a lot of my migraines & seizure problems are because I work the night shift. This is the reason why I am trying to get another position. They are talking about changing my anticonvulsant medication that I've been on for 10-15 years. Kinda scary. I've grown comfortable with the medication I'm on & I don't want that to change.

I have found an application that lets me post from my phone, which allows me to post more often. I just haven't found the time to actually get on the computer recently.

Well, I have to get ready to work night 2 of 3.

Ulcers

2010-01-08T17:19:00.003-05:00

I have been nauseous for a few weeks now. It has been accompanied by epigastric pain. I was thinking it was an ulcer by where the pain was & how it presented.

I woke up today & the pain was intense. I went to my doctor today & she gave me a rx for prilosec & some lab tests.

She told me that I should avoid tomatoes, citrus & carbonated, caffeinated beverages. Those are staples in my diet. No wonder I have this.

I hope the meds wil take care of the nausea & pain. I hate being sick! The alternative-my gallbladder. My family has problems with their gallbladders, so it wouldn't be a surprise, but I hope it's just an ulcer. (I never thought I would say those words!)

Didn't make it to work

2010-01-02T10:44:00.002-05:00

I was supposed to work last night. My sister called & said visibility was bad. She works in Watervliet & I work in St. Joseph. Sometimes it can be vastly different, so I attempted to drive to work.

It took me an hour to drive 11 miles and I wasn't even half-way there. I called & said I couldn't make it in. They weren't too happy, but what could I do? I couldn't even see my hood.

When I got home, mom told me that the police said to stay off of I-94. That is where I was heading & didn't make it.

I'm supposed to work tonight, we'll see what happens...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New Year

2010-01-01T07:29:00.002-05:00

Hi all. A new year has come upon us. I haven't been on the computer that much in recent months, so that is the reason for lack of posts.

For my birthday (way back in October), we went touring around Michigan on a genealogy expedition. That was quite fun. I might make it a yearly event.

More recently, for the Christmas Holidays, it was just mom & I here. I had to work during our family Christmas party, so that was disappointing.

We've got lots of snow here & it's supposed to keep snowing. I don't really like the snow. I was going to see about positions in FL, but I have to stay in MI until I get all my medical tests & things figured out.

I am seeing a neurologist about my epilepsy & migraines. I've had epilepsy all my life & have been on the same medication for 10-15 years. They want to change my medication because it's not good to be on that for that long. It's kinda scary, but I understand their reasoning.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Holiday season & a Happy New Year!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I haven't posted in awhile...

2009-10-25T15:55:00.004-04:00

It's been awhile since I have posted on here. With being a little sick (just normal colds and stuff) and having to work, I just haven't found the time. I am still on Medical Oncology. Human Resources called me in to a meeting and told me I was "on hold" to move and that I was still going to move. Our manager, Lori, said that I might not have to because now we are short-staffed. We have two people coming from days and we still have people floating to us. It is weird. The last few weeks have been crazy in the hospital. We have been testing everyone for the flu and it is insane. Even people without flu symptoms, we have been testing. This wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that we have to put them in isolation until the flu is ruled out.

The weather here has been okay. Not too cold, in the 40s-50s mostly. I love the colors of fall in Michigan. They are so pretty. This is a picture I took from my car while coming back from the store. (Yes, I stopped the car. I don't take pictures and drive.) This picture is all yellow, but we have oranges and reds. Just beautiful. :)

I changed the layout of my blog. Most people would say that it is too early for snow. But I love snowmen. I don't like the snow, but they are one of my favorite things!

This past month or so, I have been to so many classes for work it is not funny. We got new IV pumps, so there was a class for that. We are getting electronic medication records, so another class. I took basic dysrhythmia, which is a total of ten classes. Then I had a TB class and had to renew my Basic Life Support. Whew! It's been a busy month and a half! I have until December for my next round of classes, so I am glad for that!

I have some time off this next week and I am grateful for that! I definitely need some time to relax. When you work overnight, you rarely get time to relax because it takes two days to do anything. I think I'm going to try and get my father's birth certificate, which would involve a trip up north. It would be a pretty drive though. This time of year is the best for Northern Michigan. We don't have to go to the Upper Peninsula, but it is a ways away. Genealogy trips are always fun and exciting!

Forced to Move

2009-09-09T11:16:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we had a meeting on our unit (Medical Oncology) about future staffing needs. We knew that this would be coming sometime because when we moved to the new tower, we had around 14 less beds than we did on our old floor. Since we moved, we have been floating to various floors to staff them. I would say that I floated about one of my three shifts per week. This was good because we still got to work.

Well, yesterday they told us that they are moving staff. Since our unit was the largest unit, we had the most staff and they are pulling 13 of us. 8 nurses and 5 aides. The other units are post-surgical, cardiac telemetry (CTU) and ortho/neuro. They have attempted in the past to post voluntary moves but no one accepted it because our unit is awesome and we don't want to leave it.

They told us that they will be taking volunteers until Friday at noon and then if there aren't enough volunteers, they will start filling positions starting by lowest seniority. Well, I'm number 2 or 3 from the bottom. One of the last people hired on our unit before the move. (I say 2 or 3 because another nurse started on the same day and I don't know how they would rank us.) So, it is inevitable that I would have to move, so I signed up for 12 hour night shift position on ortho/neuro.

The problem is that if anyone signs up for the same position with more seniority (which is practically everyone!) then I get bumped. I'm guessing I will get bumped to CTU which are part-time positions and 8 hour shifts. I do 12 hour shifts right now and it is nice because I only have to work 3 days a week. This is really nice considering it is a 40 minute drive to work. We should know by next week, what positions we have and they wanted us to start on those units by October 1st.

I feel really bad for the aides because all the positions are part time and two of the aides were really upset that they would have less hours. They kept reiterating that "at least there were no layoffs" like that would make us feel any better about the whole situation.

One of the nurses and I were talking yesterday and we were saying imagine what the other floors will be like with our staff. We say that because Med/Onc staff is like a family. We help each other. Rarely do you hear someone on our floor say "that isn't my job" like you do on other floors. We are a team and we act like it. It will be interesting to see how that attitude will be meshed with the other units.

So, yes, I am a little discouraged this morning. I know that what will happen is supposed to happen even though I may not understand the reasoning yet. It is still a little disheartening not to know your fate.

Canning, Jonas Brothers Concert

2009-09-04T11:32:00.007-04:00

Last week, we went to Columbus, OH to see the Jonas Brothers in concert. We meaning, my sister Jamie, my nephew Alex, and my nieces Ilana and Isabel. This is one of the pictures that I took while we were at the concert. Our seats were really high, but they were good because of the way the stage was laid out. It was a lot of fun, but tiring at the same time.

Honor Society opened up for them and they were pretty good. Jordin Sparks was supposed to be next, but since she joined Britney's Circus tour, she couldn't make it. That was a little sad, but ok. The traffic was horrible trying to get out of there. If we go to that arena again, we said we're paying to stay across the street so we can walk!

The hotel that we stayed at upgraded our room to a penthouse and that was exciting for the kids because they have never stayed in a room like that before. The concert came at a time when funding was low, so it was nice that our hotel had a kitchenette in it, so we could make our own food instead of paying to eat out all the time. That was nice.

It was about a six hour drive to Columbus, so it wasn't that bad. We ended up getting there around one and called for an early check in, but couldn't check in to the hotel until two p.m. This is the kids waiting at the hotel to check in. We let them out of the car and they were excited we did. Our room was upstairs and it was really nice.

Not bad for a quick trip before school starts! (Which is Tuesday in Michigan, btw.) When we were leaving all the school kids in Columbus had school the next day. We were like "good thing we're from Michigan!" Hehe. (In an effort, to save on funding, Governor Granholm made it a law or something that all schools start after Labor Day in Michigan.)

Yesterday, mom and I spent the day canning. We got some apples and peaches from our local farm market that we love and made caramel apple butter, apple pie filling, canned peaches and homemade vegetable beef soup. We had some tomatoes to can too, but we just didn't get that far. It was 9 p.m. before we were done and we were tired!

The caramel apple butter turned out really good, but I wouldn't put the cloves in it next time. We made apple pie filling before and it is just great! You just open the jar, stick it in a pie crust or use it for apple crisp and bake it. Wonderful thing and tastes great! I cannot wait for our apple trees to mature so we can get apples from them instead of buying them.

All the while, our soup (or sloup) was cooking. We always can that and chili for the winter. It was really good because most of the vegetables we either canned or froze ourselves. With the exception of the carrots and potatoes. Our carrots and potatoes just didn't do good this year, so we had to buy those. The Dragon Tongue Beans tasted really good in the soup! Yummy! At one point, we had both canners going. We were saying that we needed more stove space. :)

I hope that everyone has a safe and wonderful labor day weekend. I'm not sure what I'll be doing. Mom wants to go to the flea market. I want to go to the craft fair and the drive-in. We'll see what happens. Neither I nor Jamie has to work. If it's nice, maybe we'll grill out.

Ilana's baptism

2009-08-17T20:57:00.004-04:00

Ilana had her baptism this past Sunday. I had to work all weekend, but made it for that. It was a really tired day of work after that, but I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

Lately, I have been sick and working a lot. Starting tomorrow, I have basic dysrhythmia classes. I also had to go to civil court and testify for a previous patient. They moved the court date after I had requested two days off for it. NOT fun!

In one week, we go to see the Jonas Brothers in Ohio. I am excited to get away and actually do something! I will post more pics from the JoBros Concert and Jordin Sparks, who is opening for them.

Weather, gardening, cooking...

2009-07-22T18:26:00.002-04:00

It has been an unusual summer here in Michigan. The average temperature for the last couple of weeks has been in the 60s. Everyone has been saying how it has been an odd July and mom was saying that maybe that means that winter will not be as harsh. I told her it probably means we are going to have a cold winter. Who knows?

We haven't gotten much rain to speak of, although it is raining as I type this. We have had to water the garden more often than usual. With the weather being cooler, it has stunted a lot of the growth in the garden. We have gotten one ripe tomato, a few zucchini and cucumbers, but things haven't really taken off yet. We didn't get very many beans because the critters got in the garden and ate them. Every other year, our neighbors have planted soybeans, so the critters have left our measly beans alone, but this year he planted corn. We have gotten quite a few of the dragon beans this year. They must not like those! We went to our local farm market and bought a bushel of green beans to freeze for the year. Nothing like fresh green beans!

This is a tree that we have in our yard that I frequently take pictures of. It has never had flowers before in the three plus years that I have owned my house. After some research, it was discovered that it is a basswood tree and produces the best honey. It was literally buzzing with bees. You could hear it all over the yard! It now has "fruit" on it that they said the birds like. It was very fragrant with all the flowers on it. We kind of stayed away from it for awhile because I counted four different types of bees and it was hard for me to take a picture without a bee in it.

Since we were surrounded by corn fields this year, I took some photos of my nieces and nephews "Children of the Corn" style. They were asking me about the movies and I told them that we would have to rent them sometime. I gave them some garden tools and told them that they couldn't smile. That was really hard for them!! When I finally told them to smile at the end, it was less than enthusiastic. It was fun for them though and I got some great pics!

I've been trying to do more natural cooking. I started things slowing because it takes awhile for mom to adjust to things. We used to make homemade soup and use everything canned, but I've slowly changed it and now we use everything fresh (or frozen if we cannot get it fresh). Even cutting out the canned tomatoes and dicing them ourselves. It tastes so much better this way! This week I am going to try to make chili from scratch. I have some beans that I am going to cook and cut up some tomatoes and stuff. Hopefully it will work out well. If it does, then we are going to make some for winter and can it. Nothing like canned homemade vegetable beef soup and homemade chili when it is cold out!

I am excited to do some canning this year. I want to can some tomatoes definitely, but also some apples. I am looking for a recipe to try tomato sauce. I really like it when I can then because we use 1/2 the amount of salt, so it is a bit healthier. Plus, it just gives you satisfaction knowing that you did it yourself!

I did my first IV chemo at work this week. It went pretty well. We have been floating to Cardiac Telemetry a lot lately and it has been crazy busy there. The last time I floated, I only had 5 patients (as opposed to the 7 the time before) and we were doing trivia. It ended with me trying to think of a question, but I couldn't come up with one. Did you know chickens have ears? I didn't. I also learned this week at work that battery acid does not eat through scotch tape. Okay, I don't really believe that, but for some reason, we have to tape batteries before we dispose of them. I don't know...I just smile and nod.

Deer Forest

2009-07-03T00:09:00.005-04:00

We went with my sisters and their kids to Deer Forest today. It was a good day because it wasn't hot. It was overcast and about 65 degrees. It was fun to see the animals.

The kids had fun feeding the deer and riding the rides and train.

I have some more photos that I posted to my facebook account. There are just too many to post here! :)

Work Woes, Facebook, Jo Bros, and more

2009-06-28T13:18:00.007-04:00

Work has been a little crazy this week. I worked Thursday and Friday. Thursday, I had a patient's family yell at me for something that was due to the stinking Vocera badges we wear. The call lights are programmed to go to the vocera that we wear around our neck. They go to the nurse aides first and then the nurses. It's nice when they work right, but a pain when they don't. The latter occurs more frequently. I have gone to a patient's room, turned the call light off, walked to the med room, back to the patient's room and to the desk before it has rung on my vocera that their light is on. The family of the patient was the one upset about it taking so long to answer the call light. The patient was sticking up for me and Angela, the nurse tech, saying that we have been right in there all night. The other nurses were like, "I heard you failed the test." It was a trying night.

Then Friday, I had a vent patient. Yep, a vent patient on the medical oncology floor. We weren't supposed to have it, but we did. Dr. Judy (the CCU doctor) only wanted him to be on it a few hours, but once we got him on, we couldn't get him off. That is not uncommon. That night, our team shined. Yes, it was very stressful for me because I was doing a one on one with this patient (and had four other patients to boot!), but the other nurses and aides stepped up and did what was needed for my other patients. I was proud to be a member of the medical oncology team that night!! They are truly an awesome bunch! (I always knew that, but it was reinforced Friday night!) Then, after transferring that patient to ICU where he belonged, I got floated to Cardiac Telemetry. Another stressful night!

Friday morning, I started feeling not well. My voice started to crack when I was giving report. I just chalked it up to being really tired after that night's events and hoped that the next night would be better. (No such luck!) Midway through Saturday morning (around 3 a.m.), I started to lose my voice. My throat didn't hurt, but I just didn't feel well. Well, my voice is almost gone and I have congestion in my head, sore throat. I just hope I feel better by Monday night because I have to work Monday and Tuesday!

We are planning on going to Deer Forest on Thursday with all my nieces and nephews. It is a local place that has animals, carnival rides, a train and some other things that would be fun for the kids. I hope I feel better and the weather holds up. :) Other than that, I have to work the holiday, so I really don't have any plans for that. We always have our family party on the 4th, (which I will miss).

I bought tickets for Alex, Ilana, Isabel, Jamie and me to go to Columbus, Ohio to see the Jonas Brothers in concert in August. I am excited about this. Jordin Sparks is supposed to be the opener and we love her too!! The tickets were relatively cheap ($35 each) which made it feasible for me to do so. They don't know it yet, so it's going to be a surprise! We are going to drive to Columbus that morning, stay in a hotel that night after the concert, then drive home the next day. I figure the drive will take 6-7 hours. Quite a drive, but I'm sure the kids will think it is worth it. They got quite a kick out of watching the 3D movie of the JoBros last year.

I must say that I love Facebook! It has allowed me to keep in touch with my relatives and friends much easier than in normal methods. On a regular basis, I can talk to my brother & sister-in-law in Orlando; my cousin in Florida; my friends in Boston; and most recently my relatives in Missouri, whom I "found" on there and haven't been able to find them any other way! My mom, sisters and I have been searching for awhile for them. It's nice to be able to see all my nieces pictures and be able to watch them grow.

I also keep up to date on what is happening with my coworkers and that is nice. We talk about gardening, flowers and things that we just don't have the time to do in passing at work. I spend more time with my coworkers than I do with my family some weeks, so it is nice to see what they are doing. I love Facebook! That is my mantra for the week!

2009-06-25T20:38:00.000-04:00

It has been really hot here for June. This photo I took yesterday of our thermometer. Today it is supposed to be even hotter. I am not complaining though. I like the sunshine and the warmth!

This week...

2009-06-20T17:00:00.008-04:00

This week has been an interesting one with all the thunderstorms & power outages. My two sisters and my power went out. The only one who had power was my grandmother, meaning if we wanted to shower for work, we had to go there. I was at work when the first thunderstorms hit and the power flashed there and I'm not sure if it was the generator coming on or the power coming back on, but it was scary! I don't like being in the hospital when the power goes out. Scenes from horror movies from my youth come flashing back to me.

I have also been working on some little tweaks with my blog and working on the computer a lot. There isn't much else to do when it is wet outside!

We have some little tomatoes in our garden. I'm so excited! We also have the beginnings of beans, zucchini, and cucumbers. Our fruit trees are still doing well.

I haven't really done much else on my genealogy this week. I'm kinda at a standstill until I get more information. That means either going to Gaylord, MI or Pennsylvania. Neither is a terrible distance, it is just a matter of doing it!

On a lighter note, the sun is shining today. It is in the 80s. Hot, hot, hot. So, I am going to go and enjoy the sun!

I love quotes!

2009-06-18T12:18:00.010-04:00

Since I am a lover of quotes, I thought that I would share one:

(If it is too small to read, click on the picture)

A busy few weeks

2009-06-10T12:57:00.007-04:00

It's been awhile since I have posted. I have had a busy few weeks. My chemotherapy class is finished! Yeah! I am not certified to give chemo...although I have actually done so yet. :) I also have been working Thursday, Friday and Sunday. That is nice because I know which days I am working, but also stinks because working Sunday night, I have to leave church early to get some sleep before work. At least I get to go to some of it!

I've also been working on my Genealogy. It has been interesting. I went to my grandparents and asked for whatever they had. My grandma has a marriage certificate dating back to 1894. Really cool. Some of it was too big to copy on my printer, so I'm going to have to do that at Kinkos or something. My sister who was named after my great-grandmother Genevieve "Marie." Well, I found out that her middle name wasn't Marie and I am not sure where they got it. Also that she was born in Pennsylvania and not Bangor, MI. My grandpa argued with me until I told him that I got it from HIS birth certificate. Interesting stuff! I have tons to left to do. I want to go back to Corry, PA (where my grandpa is from) to get records and stuff, so that will be exciting. I love looking through my grandparents old things!

Here is a picture that I love of my great-grandmother, Bessie May Rutledge:

My friend's farm

2009-05-24T18:08:00.008-04:00

This week, my family took a visit to my friend Georgette's farm. She breeds lambs and goats and it was a ton of fun! Here are some of my favorite photos.

Rafael on the farm.

My mom with all the grandkids and Tori-Georgette's grand daughter.

Everyone looking at Georgette holding a baby that was two hours old.

Too Cute! Marcos and Riley are "friends" according to Marcos. He would wait for him and then only want to hold his hand. :)

We had a lot of fun at Georgette's farm. She has 100 acres and it was fun to just let the younger kids run and not have to worry about where they were going...and the big kids too. :)

This week...

2009-05-20T19:25:00.004-04:00

This week, I have been enjoying the sun. It has been super warm here and I am loving it. We are also putting up a fence at my sister's house so my two autistic nephews can play outside. Fafa likes to run, is fast and nobody can catch him when he gets going, making the fence a necessity when he is outside. Marcos is getting to where he wants to run too.

Putting the posts together.

My sisters and mom putting the posts in.

Marcos when I asked him to take a picture. He was distraught, but he's so cute when he poses!

Other than that, I've been doing yard work and I have my final chemo class and test this Friday. I'm not that stressed about the test. It's an open book test and we have hands on stuff that we're working on in the morning and that is how I learn the best!

Pictures, pictures, pictures...

2009-05-12T09:50:00.025-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to take pictures...and I take a lot of them. Of everything and anything because you never know what will look really good. Well, I took some pictures of our fire pit, my favorite tree in the yard (which is actually a combination of like four trees), my lilacs (white and sensation) and the garden (including our fake owl.)

The tree at sunset and the fire. We put copper in the fire and it made it turn green. I couldn't get a good picture of that though. :(

Okay, that is all the pics that I have for today. I love the rhubarb, asparagus and strawberries in the garden. We had to re-plant them all, which means we might not get any yield this summer. On to more planting...tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, watermelon, carrots, radishes, onions...I think that is all. Our garden is about 1/4 acre, so we usually have lots of room for things. You can see in some of the garden pics that we are surrounded by fields, and I think that helps our crops grow. :)

Yeah for Spring!!

2009-05-08T18:17:00.005-04:00

I am so happy to be having warmer weather. It is so exciting to see everything growing. Mom and I planted beans and peas in the garden this week. I just cannot wait to get everything planted. (There is still a threat of frost for next week) Hopefully, our crop will be better than it was last year. It was just too wet last year and things didn't grow well...except for the weeds, of course. They grew just fine. Here is a picture of my flower garden. I love all the tulips and daffodils.

I had my first of three chemo classes today. When I am done, I will be certified by the Oncological Nursing Society to administer IV chemotherapy. Going to the class was kinda difficult because I'm used to being awake at night and sleeping during the day and now I have to take a class that starts when I normally am going to sleep. The class went okay, but I was super tired! It's a lot of information and I'm sure I'll grasp it eventually, it just seems like I am drowning in a wealth of oncological knowledge right now. (Good thing I have a manual for review!!)

The classes are on Friday for the next two Fridays. It's good because then I only have to work two days a week and then the class. Boy am I glad that it is getting warmer! Yeah for Spring and Flowers!!

Happy Nurses Week!

2009-05-06T03:29:00.006-04:00

In Honor of Nurses Week (May 6-12), I thought I would share my two favorite poems on Nursing. They make me smile because of how accurate they are!

Being a NURSE means...

You will never be bored.
You will always be frustrated.
You will be surrounded by challenges.
So much to do and so little time.
You will carry immense responsibility
and very little authority.
You will step into people's lives
and you will make a difference.
Some will bless you.
Some will curse you.
You will see people at their worst...
and at their best.
You will never cease to be amazed
at people's capacity for
love, courage, and endurance.
You will see life begin...and end.
You will experience resounding triumphs
And devastating failures.
You will cry a lot.
You will laugh a lot.
You will know what it is to be human
and to be humane.

Copyright © Melodie Chenevert RN, MN, MA

When God Created Nurses

When the Lord made Nurses He was into his sixth day of overtime.

An angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."

And the Lord said, "Have you read the specs on this order?

A nurse has to be able to help an injured person, breathe life into a dying person,

and give comfort to a family that has lost their only child and not wrinkle their uniform.

They have to be able to lift 3 times their own weight,

work 12 to 16 hours straight without missing a detail,

console a grieving mother as they are doing CPR on a baby

they know will never breathe again.

They have to be in top mental condition at all times,

running on too-little sleep, black coffee and half-eaten meals.

And they have to have six pairs of hands.

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way!"

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord,

"It's the two pairs of eyes a nurse has to have."

"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. "One pair that does quick glances while making

note of any physical changes, And another pair of eyes that can look

reassuringly at a bleeding patient and say,

"You'll be all right ma'am" when they know it isn't so."

"Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve, "rest and work on this tomorrow."

"I can't," said the Lord, "I already have a model

that can talk to a 250 pound grieving family member whose child has been

hit by a drunk driver...who, by the way, is laying in the next room uninjured,

and feed a family of five on a nurse's paycheck."

The angel circled the model of the nurse very slowly,

"Can it think?" she asked.

"You bet," said the Lord. "It can tell you the symptoms of 100 illnesses;

recite drug calculations in it's sleep; intubate, defibrillate, medicate,

and continue CPR nonstop until help arrives...and still it keep it's sense of humor.

This nurse also has phenomenal personal control. They can deal with a

multi-victim trauma, coax a frightened elderly person to unlock their

door,comfort a murder victim's family, and then read in the daily paper

how nurses are insensitive and uncaring and are only doing a job."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the nurse.

"There's a leak," she pronounced.

"I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model."

"That's not a leak," said the Lord, "It's a tear."

"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.

"It's for bottled-up emotions, for patients they've tried in vain to save,

for commitment to the hope that they will make a difference

in a person's chance to survive, for life."

"You're a genius," said the angel.

The Lord looked somber. "I didn't put it there," He said.

Copyright © 1998 Alabama

Will the rain ever end?

2009-05-01T03:07:00.004-04:00

Okay, it has been raining, raining, raining...and we haven't been able to start anything in the yard yet because everything is flooding. (The rain has been good for my fruit trees, however, and the blossoms are pretty!) My mom wants to 'till the garden a couple of times, but hasn't gotten the opportunity yet because of the constant rain. Our yard is a soft, wet yard, anyway. We have gotten all kinds of things stuck in the yard...trucks, backhoes, etc. One thing that is going for us is at least it is not snowing! I had to laugh because my sister Jennifer said "April flowers bring May showers" because we are wondering when it will be over! The forecast isn't looking so good!

I have worn my pedometer at work this past week or so and the average that I walk in a night is 8 miles when we are busy (which is like 95% of the time) and 3 miles when we are not. Both of them are not too bad. No wonder my feet hurt when I get home!

I must say a thank-you to Busi, a fellow nurse who works on nights with me. I had an interesting experience last night (Wednesday) where a pain medication rolled off the counter and into the trash in the med-room. (It was in a tube.) Busi helped me find it in the trash can. Luckily, they had recently emptied it. Now that's teamwork!!

Physical Therapy is going well and I have noticed some increase in strength in my back. Kudos to Courtney and Lyn for helping me.

This week I start my chemotherapy class so I can be certified to give it. I am kinda excited and nervous at the same time. It's something new, but there are a lot of good people on the floor who can help me out. I was going to sign up for a statistics class this term, but I just cannot afford it right now. I have to work on getting my house ready for winter. (I know it's crazy to already be thinking about winter, but it takes so long to remodel!)

Tomorrow, we are off to Wal*Mart again because mom needs to buy new wipers for her truck that she got at the slasher sale. She really hasn't been able to drive it because the wipers have no rubber and it has been raining ever since. She got a 1991 Ford F-150 that runs really good.

Updates...

2009-04-23T20:34:00.006-04:00

It's been a little while since I've posted on my blog. I've been working and enjoying the sunshine (when we get some!).

It has been getting nicer lately...and I love that! I have been planning on what needs to be done in my yard. I did a lot last year, but there is so much more to do. I thought it was kinda ironic because I did so much to clean up the yard last year and then the value of my home went down a little. Not that I mind that much because it means that my taxes also went down, but it was just a little funny. Here is a funny picture of us (my cousins and uncle) working on my yard last summer.

My mom is excited thinking about what she is going to do with the garden. Our garden is normally 1/4 acre, so it is a big undertaking. We didn't have a good garden last year. The weeds were too outrageous. It was too wet. A lot of people I know said that their gardens didn't do well either. We usually can tomatoes; freeze beans, zucchini, corn, and carrots. The corn we don't even bother growing anymore because it hasn't worked for us. We can buy 5 dozen for around $20 so why bother with the headache.

A patient told me about a place in the town where I work where they can tomatoes and they will sell their "seconds" super cheap and he said they are good canning tomatoes, so it we don't get anything again this year, we might try that. He said that the tomatoes were better than anything he ever got out of his garden. That's a good recommendation and a good second plan.

I recently been wearing a pedometer at work because the new tower (designed with the patient in mind, not the nurse) is so spacious that we all have been saying that we walk miles every night we work. Well, the two nights I wore it, I walked 8.4 miles and 9.5 miles. Granted, they were crazy busy nights, but I wonder if that is the norm. I have my trusty pedometer in my locker at work, so I will be wearing it over the next few weeks to see what the average is...so I'll let you know.

My mom is going to this "slasher" sale this Saturday to try and get her a car for $88. She is going to be camping out Friday night at the car dealer to get in line. It is going to be crazy, but fun. I will let you know what happens!

I got low census at work tonight. When they called me (as I was about to leave, mind you) they asked me if I wanted to be off for 4 hours or 12 hours. I always say 12 hours because it is incredibly hard for me to come in at 11 p.m. By that time, I am already ready to go back to sleep. Even if I slept all day. If I'm not up actively doing something (starting to walk the 8 miles or whatever), I realize how tired I am. So, they called me at 9 p.m. asking me to come in at 11 p.m. I'm too tired to do it now, so I had to tell them no. I would never make it though the night. What else could I do?

I've recently been in physical therapy for my back so I don't strain it again. We are also going to work on some exercises to strengthen my right arm as well. Couldn't hurt! I have a wonderful therapist named Courtney who is working with me. It's kinda weird and nice because whenever I go into therapy, everyone knows me there.

It's Arch...not ark. :)

2009-04-10T11:01:00.004-04:00

This week, everyone has been on Spring Break, including my friend Janette who works at head start. We wanted to do something since she has a "vacation," so we decided to go to St. Louis because it wasn't that far from our home. It actually was a seven hour drive, not that bad. Mom went with us too. We had so much fun. We were there for one night actually and stayed at Harrah's Resort & Casino because it was only $101 total for the night. We got to see the arch (which for some reason, I kept calling ark). Janette and I took the trolley up to to top. Here are some photos of our trip.

Gateway Arch

Mom & me sitting on a sofa in the lounge.

This really cool sink in the Missouri visitors center. You just kept your hands in the same spot and it washed, rinsed and dryed. Amazing. I felt like laundry. :)

The trolley that took us to the top

Me in the trolley

Mom & me by the arch

The top windows where we looked out

There are plenty more pictures that I won't post here but it was super fun to be up that high. What a fun short trip. Then it was back to the old grind and I was supposed to work Thursday but got Low Census, of which I was glad.

I Want Spring!!!

2009-04-03T04:54:00.006-04:00

This week has been a little crazy at work. I have worked Tues and Wed night and have to work Fri, Sat, and Sun. I don't really want to go in the next three nights because the first two nights were terrible. It started off with me writing down my patient's information and having a family member screaming at me because the call light had not been answered. I didn't know anything about it, but he felt the need to vent. We have this "wonderful" new system call Vocera and how it is "supposed" to work is that the call lights are supposed to go the nurse's aide and if they don't answer it, it goes to the nurse. Then if the nurse doesn't answer it, it goes to another nurse and the call system. Well, it doesn't always work that way. Several times, I have received a notice for the call light after I have already been in the room for about five minutes, turned the call light off, and returned to the desk. It's "real" efficient.

On Wednesday, I had another patient who was breathing fast and had a rapid heart rate. I called the doctor and she gave me an order for some medicine (a commonly used med) to slow her heart rate. So, I go to our pyxis (a big stupid machine that we pull our meds from) and we are supposed to be able to pull emergency meds (like this one) from there and send the order down later. So, I try to override this med (which starts with an "m") and it's not there. I cannot pull it quickly. I call pharmacy and they tell me in order for them to put it in so I can pull it, I have to send an order down. I reply with "you mean I can pull Miralax in an emergency but cannot pull this drug." I was so mad. Apparently to them, being constipated is considered an emergency but your high heart rate/blood pressure is not. Hmmm...priorities.

I want Spring to come. I'm tired of winter. We're supposedly supposed to get more snow this coming up week. What a wonderful Spring Break it is going to be for my nieces and nephews. I did have some flowers in my garden earlier in the week and I need to do some work there...it just has to get warm enough! Here is a pic I took of crocuses in my flower garden. I just get so excited for flowers! I need some warmth...and maybe a vacation!

Frederick Meijer Gardens

2009-03-23T00:11:00.014-04:00

First I want to post a few photos that I took from the lake. This is the South Pier and some seagulls on the swingset.

We went to Frederik Meijer Gardens on Saturday to see their "Blooming Butterfly" exhibit. This was after I worked Friday night in the new tower. (I hear we aren't supposed to call it "the tower" anymore after we've been calling it that for months now...) The rooms and everything are really nice in the new place. Everyone was just as lost as I have been for the last few months, and that was exciting to know. There are four nursing stations, so you have to get used to which rooms are in which nursing station. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to it, you just have to learn it.

The Gardens were beautiful. I took some pictures of the flowers and stuff there:

Some plants at the Gardens. I don't know what they are, but they were pretty.

Some flowers

Cacti

My Aunt JoAnne

My grandpa, mom and grandma

I also took some photos of the butterflies. It was really neat. You walked into this aviary and there were tons of butterflies there.

I have internet again!!

2009-03-16T17:22:00.005-04:00

Okay, so I've been without the internet for the past few days...like a week, I guess. The only access I have is facebook on my phone. (I love facebook, btw. I try to tell everyone to get it!!) I had satellite internet through Hughes.net because the phone lines where I live are so archaic that I would only be able to connect at half the speed of dial-up and there are no other forms of internet available for my area. Well, where I live is very windy. I have never really been happy with the satellite internet because of the reason. We are surrounded by empty fields with no wind block. Last week, we noticed that there was a cover missing off of the satellite, and it wasn't connecting very well. So, I call and they tell me it will be $125 just to come out and then I would have to pay for the parts to repair it. At first, I was going to let them come out, but then I got mad about it.

I called Sprint to see about a wireless card for my computers. (Because that is who I have my cell service through.) They told me it would be $200 for the cheapest one...but if I knew someone who didn't have sprint I could have them order it for me and it would be free. I told them I was going to call someone else and I did. I called verizon and the card was free. Take that Sprint. They just lost some business because they were being retarded. Then I called Hughes.net to cancel and they asked me "would it make a difference if we paid for the repairs?" That just made me madder and I told them no. Dorks! Anyway, I have the satellite and modem. They're mine, I paid for them.

So far, I like this wireless card because I can take it anywhere and use it. They said that I could use it on my desktop too, so I'll have to try that later. I would like to try to get wifi using the card and my router, but I do not know if that is possible.

Mom got nine teeth pulled today. She is surely sore. I think she has to wait a month before she can get dentures. So mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs it is!!

Yeah for days off!!

2009-03-07T20:03:00.006-05:00

This week at work went better than I had anticipated. I didn't have too much pain in my back, so that was good. We finally got our schedule from work and I have a stretch at the end of the month where I have five days off in a row. (The beauty of working 12 hours shifts) I told my mom that we are just going to have to go somewhere. Somewhere far enough away but close enough to drive to. I was thinking of St. Louis because I haven't really been there before. I've been through it, but never actually visited there. I have to do some research and see if there is actually enough stuff to do there. The only thing I know for sure is the arch.

My sisters are all moved into their trailers now, meaning that Jennifer and my kids are out of my house. My animals sure are happy. The cats could not come downstairs during the daytime and the dogs were always on edge. Everything is going well, they are just looking for washers/dryers because going somewhere to do the laundry is a drag. I'm glad that I have my Whirlpool Duets (and that they were on sale!).

We were in the car today with my grandparents, cousin Tara, cousin Mikey and his friend. My cousin Mikey is kinda weird. My whole family (including me) is a little weird, but he is weirder than most! He was asking us "how long would it take you to put someone out who was on fire?" (He always asks us silly questions like this and it drives us crazy!) Well, we found a way to make him crazy. We kept asking him questions about the situation telling him that we "needed more information" to accurately determine how long it would take us. We asked him questions like "which way is the wind blowing?"; "how close are you to the lake?" and "is there an accelerant involved?" We were laughing so hard because he was like "forget it!" From then on during that ride, everything he said, we would ask him "which way is the wind blowing?" or some other random question. Sometimes I was laughing so hard, I couldn't even talk! It was great! :)

I have to work the next weekend, but the weekend after that, I think that we are planning on going to Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. My grandma has been wanting to go there for awhile. I have been there before and it is nice. (I went for a nursing seminar on poisonous mushrooms-what I learned: buy your mushrooms in the store, don't go find your own!!) Right now is a great time to go because they have their "Butterflies are Blooming" exhibit. So, hopefully, we'll get to be able to see that.

We also found out at work this week that we are going to have to start wearing uniforms...well, they are telling us we have to wear a specific color. We have always worn scrubs, but had the liberty of picking what we wanted. Now, nurses have to wear carribean blue. That is the same color that we wore as RNs when I worked at another hospital. When our director was telling us, I happened to be wearing that scrub set and she said "it's kinda like what Tammi is wearing." I told them that that WAS the color I was wearing. I'm kinda disappointed that they didn't pick another color. I'm kinda bored with that one...but the good news is I have a few scrub sets already. We have 10 months to get them, so I'm thinking that at the beginning of the new year, we'll have to be wearing them. So much for variety! (That's the color at the right)

We are also moving to the new addition in a week. They built it to look similar to some luxury hotels. I think the rooms are gorgeous, but we're going to have a hard time getting some patients to leave and we are dreading that. (We have a hard enough time in our old, dilapidated rooms!) I think that move is going to be chaotic! I'm glad that I don't work on days. I think that most of the work should be done by the time I get there. They have to move everything off of our floor, and all the patients. Which means, they will have to have nurses in the new addition and also nurses in the old floor. I'm not sure how they're going to do it or how I'm going to like it yet, but we'll see. I'm sure it will take a few months to get used to everything again, but it should go fine. At least everyone else will be as lost as I am. :) There are four nursing stations on the floor, but they all look the same, so that will be interesting!

This weekend

2009-03-02T21:37:00.008-05:00

So, I return to work tomorrow. I think that I am mostly ready. I was all ready until I woke up feeling a little pain this morning. I still get a little pain when I sit for too long, but I know that won't be a problem when I'm at work, so I'm not too worried about that. I'm ready to be back to work!

My sister Jennifer got her trailer and should be moved out by the end of the week. Her (any my other sister Jamie) have been making arrangements for their new places. Jamie is already in her place, but it still trying to get T.V. and everything. Well, since their trailers are out in the country, they called the local satellite companies and since neither of them have a credit card that isn't a debit card (I am proud to say that I don't either), they would have to pay up front for the receivers. That's like $200 for 2 rooms. We didn't have to do that when we set up our satellite system. Needless to say, that is a lot of money when you are first renting a place for a "non-necessity." They said that they will be renting movies for awhile. I told them to do Netflix. I liked it when I had it, I just didn't want movies enough to make it worthwhile.

I did go to the theater this past weekend and saw two movies. The first one was the Jonas Brothers 3D movie. I took Isabel, Alex and Ilana to see it. Jamie went with me. It was the most expensive movie that I have ever seen. They enjoyed it and that was good. Here is a photo of them with their 3D glasses on (l-r: Alex, Isabel, Ilana, Jamie):

The other movie was Coraline in 3D. I really liked it but I don't think it is for younger kids. (It's a bit startling in spots) It was cute and the trailers don't really tell you what the movie is about, but the key is the tag line "Be careful what you wish for." I don't want to spoil it so I won't divulge too much here. But I recommend seeing it!!! It was good to see a movie that actually has a sorta moral to it instead of just being a fun story.

I've been thinking and I am really starting to not like the cold. I really have a hard time getting warm. My house is always cold. Which is nice in the summer, but not nice when it's like 12 degrees outside. Then Alex and Isabel (my niece & nephew) came down today wearing clothes like it was summer...shorts, tank top, capris, no socks. I have on long sleeves, two pair of socks, my thermals on under my pants. It made me cold just looking at them! I made them go back upstairs and gets socks on and "dress appropriately" I told them. Jen said that they always dress like that. Brrr!!

I took my mom to get another new phone this morning. She wasn't happy with the Rumor that she had gotten a few weeks ago. So, she got the Blackberry Curve. It's just funny to think of my mom with a blackberry. She was so against texting before she got her Rumor and now she is all about it. She is having fun trying to figure it out. I told her to ask Jamie because she has a blackberry too. I'm a Palm owner, so I know nothing about blackberries. It is still humorous!

Okay, so I changed my layout again. I guess that I have just been bored this week with not working. I think I like this one a lot. Come on Spring!!

Ouch...

2009-02-25T10:19:00.005-05:00

Okay, this week has either been crazy or insane. My sister and her four kids have moved in with my mom and I temporarily until their trailer will be ready to move into. This is going to take about two weeks. So, it has been a little busy in my house.

Today, I threw my back out somehow. I don't know what I did. I was just reaching for the blanket on the back of the couch to straighten it out and got this excruciating pain. I have to work tonight and tomorrow, so I hope it goes away soon!! I haven't felt this much pain in awhile. The sad thing is I cannot really take anything for it because anti-inflammatories are out and I cannot take narcotics and go to work.

I was thinking and I really want to go on a vacation someplace warm...okay, enough of my ramblings. I have to get ready for the doctor appointment for my sinus infection.

UPDATE: I went to the emergency room and found out I have a lumbar sacral strain in my back. The doctor, whom I'm familiar with, said that I should be doing exercises to strengthen my pelvis and that will prevent these occasional injuries to my back. Makes sense to me. Some muscle relaxants, pain pills, and a few days off work later, and I was feeling better by the time I left.

This week...

2009-02-18T06:08:00.005-05:00

This week has been a crazy one. I got low census on Monday at 11 p.m., which normally would be a good thing because that means that I get to go home, right? Well, it threw my sleep schedule all in a tizzy and then I got headaches and a sinus cold. Not fun!! I'm still a little sick, but I got some Tylenol cold and sinus and things are looking better. It hadn't had a headache, the med room hadn't smelled like plastic balloons, and the kitchen hadn't smelled like sewer, I probably would've stayed on Monday because I had really good patients.

I just don't know what to think about the weather here. They say (and I don't really know who "they" are) that Michigan weather is hard to predict. I don't know if it is the same as other places and they just like saying or what. We are supposed to be getting a severe snow storm today. When I took the dogs out at 2 a.m. (yes, I was up at that time), it was raining. I just don't understand it. Maybe it's the going from warm to cold in a week that gave me my cold in the first place. (When I say warm, I mean above freezing.)

My mom got seven teeth pulled on Monday, so she hasn't exactly been feeling the greatest either. In four more weeks, she has to get nine more pulled and then dentures after that. It's a good thing though.

We had the dedication for our new building in church this week. It was pretty neat. The Stake President was there to do the dedication. Our branch has been waiting for a new building for a long time, so it was nice to finally get it. It is a beautiful building.
I took this picture from Brother Osbon's page. I haven't taken one myself. :) They had mentioned how during the construction there was a sign that said the future site of the "South Haven, Michigan Ward" and how that is a possibility. It was pretty neat.

I hope that everyone has a good rest of the week!!

Work...

2009-02-10T21:32:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I was officially on my own on Sunday night. My third night working. The third night is always the most tiring and exhausting. I was wondering why my boss chose that night as my first on my own, but oh well. It was a good night overall. Half of my patients were confused and trying to get out of bed. Okay, only two of them were trying to get out of bed...Thankfully, the rest were actually able to rest. (I do work the night shift where people never sleep.) Anyway, I don't think the night went all that badly. The good news was that I wasn't too tired for 45 minute drive home and nobody fell on my shift.

Other than that, nothing new has happened except for that it is unusually warm. It was over 60 degrees today. Wahoo! It was nice. I'm waiting for spring to come! :) The other thing that surprised me was that I got my state tax refund deposited today. It only took a week. That is crazy! I went to Sam's Club and stocked up on some much needed supplies. So it was an exciting day.

Yeah for February!

2009-02-01T15:20:00.003-05:00

Today is February 1st and we were excited because we had church in the new building. They were talking and some of the members have been waiting over 20 years to get a new building and now we finally have it. It is so nice. Especially since we don't have to wait to get into the Relief Society Room. That's really nice because I'm always early.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for my family. First, it is my aunt JoAnne's birthday. She will be 46 tomorrow. My mom, aunt and uncles would not let her by windows when she was younger to prevent the "groundhog" from seeing it's shadow. :) It is also my nephew's Alex's birthday. I think he's going to 11 tomorrow. Also, my grandmother is having surgery on her shoulder, so I'm sure that the family will be up at the hospital waiting for her to come out and eating grilled cheese sandwiches from the coffee shop. (It's a Danczyk family tradition that everyone who goes to the hospital and waits for someone else having surgery gets a grilled cheese from the coffee shop. They're delicious!!) It is supposed to be outpatient surgery, so she should be able to go home tomorrow. Lastly, my cousin Ronny is having an echocardiogram tomorrow. So, busy, busy, busy.

I'm not sure if I will be joining the family up at the hospital tomorrow because tomorrow is my first time working on the night shift. I work from 7 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. I am technically still on orientation. I am a little nervous. Not really, but a little. I have interacted with the night shift and they seem really nice and work well together, but I always get a little antsy when working with new staff. I'm sure it will be fine, it will just take me a few days to feel comfortable again. I'm going to try to stay up as late as I can tonight, so I'll sleep tomorrow. So, wish me luck!!

I Wonder...

2009-01-30T14:09:00.004-05:00

I have been working a lot these past few weeks, or at least it seems that way, and I have been having some thoughts about what has been going on at work, and just in general.

I wonder...

Why it is that the weird patients are the ones who hit on the nurses...the patients who are married and priests or who are married priests.

Why it is that patients think that nurses "owe" them and that it is okay to them like garbage.

Why I tend to hurt myself at work. I hurt myself doing stupid stuff like getting my hand stuck between the door and the wall. Both were always there, but I manage to make an incident out it.

Why do I get stuck in the driveway a lot. I got stuck again today. Jazz doesn't like the snow and cold as much as I don't.

Why do I get stuck in the driveway when I don't have to work, but can get out just fine when I have to work and leave at 6 a.m.

Why do people think that you can turn around in a driveway (or the yard, rather) where it hasn't been plowed and the rest clearly has. Needless to say, the garbage man got stuck in my flower garden.

Why the dogs can sleep all day and night and I have trouble just sleeping six hours straight.

and lastly...I wonder why I don't live someplace warmer. :)

I donated my hair

2009-01-22T15:29:00.004-05:00

Yeah for haircuts. My long hair was starting to get really annoying, but considering the weather, I was a little reluctant to cut it. Well, I finally did it today and there is another 12 inches on the way to Locks of Love. I have donated 24 inches so far and I just love doing it because when my hair is short, I want it long and when it is long, I want it short. I guess I'm never happy. The stylist was saying that usually people freak out when they cut that much off. I told her it's just hair, it will grow back. Here is a picture of the hair I donated and my new cropped hairdo:

Crazy, crazy week...

2009-01-20T13:30:00.008-05:00

So, I have been working a lot lately. Linda (one of my preceptors) told me yesterday that whenever she works with me, it is crazy. Hehe, I told her that last week that it is crazy everytime I work. We didn't get to leave at 7:30 last night, we had to stay until 8:30 to help the next shift. Not fun, after working 12 hours, you want to leave.

Other than that, it has been dang cold here. This was the temp when I got in the car at 9:45 this morning:

That is cold. It was -11 this morning before I got up. (After getting home at 9:30 last night, I slept in a little.) The cold doesn't do good for my "achy breakies" as I call them. I had some serious pain this week, and luckily, it happened when I didn't have to work because otherwise, I don't know how I would make it through 12 hours of work.

I also was attacked by my cat this week. He is our "scared cat" who is afraid of everything. Well, the dog was barking at nothing and scared the cat who tried to springboard off my face and cut my lip. (Which is a feat since he only has back claws.) I thought I was going to have to go and get stitches because it would not stop bleeding. Luckily though, it stopped and I didn't have to get stitched. Crazy animals anyway.

Our kitchen water froze one day. Then the next day, mom was cooking dinner and needed to add more water to the pan and shattered the pyrex dish in the oven from the cold cold water. It was in pieces and our dinner was ruined. I just said, "I cannot wait for spring."

I have to work the weekend, which I really don't like, but what can you do? This will be the third weekend that I haven't been to church because of work and being ill. On February 2nd, I start on the night shift. 7 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Hopefully, it will be better for me with my wacky sleep schedule.

On a lighter note, we're supposed to get 30 degree weather this week. Hurray!! That is almost above freezing. Who ever thought that I would be happy about 30 degrees. At least there is less of a chance that I will get stuck in the driveway.

Yep, that is my car stuck in some serious snow, and yes, I take pictures of everything. :) Photography is one of my favorite hobbies.

I hope that everyone stays safe and warm!!

Yeah for Friday!!!

2009-01-09T17:02:00.006-05:00

This will be the first weekend that I have to work. The last few days that I have worked, it has been crazy insane. I explicitly remember asking my preceptor when the craziness will end. I will be on days until the end of the month and then I will be orienting on nights. I will be glad to go to nights because getting up at 5 a.m. has been a little hard on me.

It has been cold here...dang cold...and I am not liking it. I wish that it would just stay warm. Is that too much to ask? Or have a short winter. Not four to five months. I know that I should just move, but I would rather mother nature change than do that. :)

Other than that, I recently re-joined the gym now that I am working. It feels good to go and exercise. It's kinda funny because I've seen this paramedic there every time that I went and he is so nice. He always waves to me because we got to know each other during my stints in ER. I always wonder if he remembers that I backed into his new truck when I had my driving permit. Knocked the front bumper clean off. I never want to bring that up though because he is so nice.

Something happened to the layout on my blog, so I had to spend the day fixing it. Ugh. It is frustrating when things disappear!!

Anyway, I have to work 48 hours in the next 5 days, so I should get some rest.

I hope everyone had a Wonderful Christmas!!

2008-12-27T20:50:00.005-05:00

My Christmas was pretty good this year. I had to work Christmas Eve and then went to our family Christmas party at my grandma's house. We didn't stay very long because I was super tired, but it was nice to see my family. We only get together (all of us at once) twice per year, so it is nice to be able to get together. Mom and I spent Christmas at my house. It was just her and I, but it was really good. We were safe and warm, what more could we ask for?

Work has been going okay. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to get back into inpatient nursing. It has been a chore and tiring. I guess having to leave 1 hour before my shift doesn't help the tiredness either. I think that I am doing well, though. I would say that I am doing better than I expected. I had expected there to be much more pain involved, but it hasn't been too bad. There are so many things that I have learned and so many things that I know I NEED to learn.

I did get a new Centro, and yes, I got it from Sprint. I was thinking of switching from Sprint, but it would be more cost effective to stay with them for now. Maybe I will switch at some later point, I'm not sure. They do have the best coverage in the area and the fact that I have a tower practically in my back yard helps.

People were talking in orientation that this winter would be worse than the winter of 1978, but the weather here has been kinda weird lately. We have gone from blizzards to where I cannot see to the street to rain, thunderstorms, and flooding this morning. In any event, it doesn't make for good driving! Doing fishtales because the rain freezes in the night is not fun!

I hope that everyone is doing well and had a wonderful and safe Holiday!!

Sprint is D-U-M-B, dumb!

2008-12-20T22:22:00.003-05:00

This week was a hard one. On Thursday and Friday, I was back on the floor. I haven't done floor nursing since before my accident. I had forgotten how taxing it is on the body. I got all my codes and stuff and have been trying to remember them as best I can for the new technology that I am not used to. There is a user name/number for everything. I can understand the need, but can't they use ONE for everything? Not only do I have to remember everything about the patient, but try to remember a myriad of codes as well. I'm sure in a week or so, it will be like an old hat, but now, it's work. I'm sure that as the days go by, it will get better, but it just seems so hard right now.

I was so happy for Friday because then I would get three days off. Days to rest...or so I thought. Today (Saturday), I had my phone in my coat pocket, and was putting my coat up and it hit the door jamb. I checked my phone and the screen on my Palm Centro was cracked, which almost renders my phone useless. I say almost only because I can still answer calls. I cannot dial any calls, but I can answer them. I took it to the Sprint store (which was 45 min away) and they told me that I have to call the insurance company (I pay $7/month for equipment protection in case if something like this happens) and that it would cost me $50. I couldn't believe it. It would only cost me $70 to update to the newer model of the Centro, why would I pay $50 to fix my broken one? I was so mad at Sprint. Not only for what they told me but because I wasted my gas (& time & money) to get there.I am thinking of switching companies. I am definitely canceling my equipment protection!

I'm hoping that the rest of the weekend goes better.

Updates, more orientation...

2008-12-14T16:57:00.004-05:00

I tried to post this week, but blogger and firefox were not communicating for some reason and it wouldn't let me. I am now posting in IE (which I don't like very much!). Last week was tiresome! I think that sitting in a class and paying attention for 6 - 8 hours a day wears you out more than physical labor does. It takes so much work to pay attention. I had to laugh because they had someone come in and talk to us about ergonomics and back safety and most of the tables/chairs were not designed for someone of more than average height. Hmm...

This week we have one more day of nursing orientation where we learn paperwork. FUN! Then we have computer training. I'm actually looking forward to that because at least we will be actively DOING something rather than just sitting and listening. That is two days. After that, I'm not sure what we'll be doing. I'm hoping to get my schedule on Monday. They told us that if our preceptor has to work the holidays, then so do we, so it would be nice to know.

Other than that, the only thing that is new is that my teeth still hurt. I went to the dentist two weeks ago and he "re-did" some fillings. Well, they've hurt ever since and I haven't been able to even close my mouth. The fillings didn't hurt before! Why did they mess with them? I need to find out my schedule to I can arrange an appointment to figure out what's going on.

We went to Riley's Christmas Program on Thursday. That was fun. They had pizza and then the head starters sang their songs. Here is an adorable picture of Riley singing "Feliz Navidad." This is the part where they say "from the bottom of my heart."

Orientation

2008-12-09T17:35:00.003-05:00

I have been in orientation for the past two days and it has been boring. You know...policies and procedures. Tomorrow I start nursing orientation and that will last until next Wednesday. I hope it will be more interesting than these past two days. I know that I have a medication test. I'm hoping it won't be too bad. Watching movies all day and listending to people speak make me really tired.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T12:03:00.004-05:00

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. My sister Jamie and her two kids came over. We had dinner early, so it was actually more like lunch. Jamie had to work that night, so it was important to do so. Then in the evening my entire family goes over to my grandparents for pie. My grandpa makes the best pies. Maybe I'm a little biased though. :) He surprised me with a dutch apple (my favorite!) which he said that he wasn't going to make this year.

Then this morning, mom and I once again braved the Wal*Mart crowd at 4:30 a.m. to get some good deals for Christmas. Luckily, we didn't want (or could afford) any of the big ticket items that everyone was going after, so we got everything we wanted except for one thing, which is okay. Then we went out for breakfast at a local truck stop. It was fun, but man, was I tired. I didn't get to sleep last night until around 1:30 and then got up at 3:45. Not fun, let me tell you. But that's all over and tomorrow, I can sleep. :)

I hope that everyone had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. On Monday, it's December!!!

I got a job!!

2008-11-18T11:51:00.002-05:00

I got offered a position at the hospital in which I interviewed with last week. I start on December 8th, which is perfect because of some appointments which I have in the next week and a half. I'm really excited about it. It's a little bit of a drive, but I think I'll do okay. Yeah!

Interviews yesterday

2008-11-15T09:49:00.003-05:00

I had two interviews yesterday at this one hospital. This first one was in the mid afternoon with the nurse recruiter and then the department manager that I am applying for. I think that those went really well. The nurse manager seemed really impressed with my Hospice background and that I can speak Spanish. (It is a medical oncology floor).

Then I had one with the staff on the shift that I would be working on. This interview was at 10 p.m. The staff seemed really nice. They seemed to all get along, which is good. They were really honest, which is also good. The recruiter said that the next step would be an offer of employment. Here's hoping!!

The life of the unemployed...

2008-11-13T12:24:00.003-05:00

I haven't had much luck with the travel nurse gig, so I have also been trying to get a job around here. Well, I do have an interview tomorrow (Friday) with one of the facilities that is about 30 minutes from my house. I need to find a job soon. Being unemployed is not fun. I think the problem with the travel/seasonal nursing is that I haven't worked in a facility for two years and they want recent experience. So, I haven't given up on it yet, but I'm thinking I need more experience before I can travel.

This week I've been working on cleaning the attic. We have so much junk up there it isn't funny. I've already been through a ton, but have lots to do before the animal crossing game comes out this coming up week. So, basically that is what has been going on with me.

Vote, vote, vote!

2008-11-04T10:50:00.007-05:00

So, I exercised my constitutional right and voted this morning. Mom and I walked to the local township hall. I told her as long as it wasn't snowing or raining, we could walk since the hall is my neighbor to the west and is less than 1/4 mile from my house. It was kinda ironic, though, that I could walk to anything from my house since I live in the country. So, I encourage everyone to get and vote and make your voice heard, no matter who you vote for!

Since I am a lover of quotes, I looked up some voting quotes and here are my two favorites:

The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.
~~Lyndon B. Johnson

Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.
~~George Jean Nathan

Bees, bees and more bees; and also quilting

2008-10-26T14:39:00.011-04:00

We have had a problem with bees for the last couple of weeks. Apparently, there is a nest in our bathroom wall in which we have heater in the wall and they would keep coming in the house. We would average about two bees a day. Well, today after church, I got a message from mom who says that there were about 40 bees in the house today. It has been cold recently and today was relatively warmer. (By warmer I mean 57 degrees instead of 45). I have never seen so many bees. Geesh! My cousin and mom killed most of them before I got home from church. Here are some photos:

You can see here how many bees were on this window. This is the window that was farthest from the bathroom. All these bees were dead. I took some close up pictures because I love taking pictures. :)

More dead bees...

Even more dead bees.

I started a quilt this week. I had some material and had started on another pattern, but it didn't look right with the material I bought. So, I started another one called pinwheel. I like the patchwork quilts much better than applique. This is the second quilt that I've worked on. This is the first square. I think it's going to be awesome. I also have red, pink, and purple in the stained glass pattern that I'm going to use as the main colors and a black stained glass that I'm using for the border. It's going to be pretty! I'll put more picture up as I get more. My last quilt, I had to applique tons of fishes! My mom helped me a ton. This one is more my speed and EASY!

My interview...

2008-10-21T19:18:00.004-04:00

I had my interview today and I think it went pretty well. They said that they would forward my information on to the nurse managers and they would contact me if they think I would be a good fit. So, we'll see what happens.

On a good note. My sister Jennifer said that they would take the cats that we have since it is their turn. (Two of the cats are theirs and we've had them for four years now.) So, that is a relief off of my mind. It seems like things are coming together nicely. :)

The week in review

2008-10-19T21:17:00.005-04:00

This week has been an interesting one. First, I got my Florida license in the mail. At first, I only got a letter with the board seal on it. I was thinking that was the most expensive piece of paper I ever bought! At least the nursing license in Michigan comes in a thicker paper. Then as I read it, it was my temporary license and it said that my permanent one would come in the mail in 2-4 weeks...well, I got it in 2-4 days. How cool!

I spent one whole day doing CEUs for both my Michigan and Florida licenses. They both have specific requirements which you have to have in order to renew your license. Florida has more...by far. In Michigan you only have to do an approved pain management one, Florida has like four that you have to do. I normally like to GO to seminars, but since I was enrolled in school for my BSN and you get "credit" for college credit, I haven't really needed to go to anything recently. It was a headache! Reading and answering questions. I hate tests! Then I had to do more tests for one of the agencies. :P

I got a call from a hospital near Tampa, FL who is going to do a phone interview with me on Tuesday, so wish me luck. I wanted to try to go through some of the hospitals down there because you can sometimes get better deals than going through an agency. (Because then the agency has to get paid). I'm hoping to hear from at least one more before I make my final decision. I don't really know much about the one that I am interviewing with, just what I could find on their website. I will post how I think the interview went afterward.

I finally got all my shots and blood work done. YEAH! No more pokes for awhile. All my titers look good, so I don't need any more vaccinations. That makes me happy. I don't react well with something that is in vaccinations. When I got my Hep B series, I had a welt from the shot for like 3-4 months!

I read in a few other blogs how Reuter's has stated that singing "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees will help maintain time while doing CPR on a patient. There is another article which says that singing "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen will do the same thing. I guess which one you sing depends on how you think the code is going? It was interesting. In most codes that I have been in, I was trying hard to save the patient and couldn't think about anything else. Interesting. The other article can be found here.

I decided to change my layout again. I was getting bored with simplicity! I got this from "The Cutest Blog on the Block." I really like it. I hope everyone has a great week!

Getting stuff together...

2008-10-09T18:20:00.004-04:00

I have been working this past week or so to get things together in order to do travel nursing. It has been a pain in the neck...or arm, I should say. I did not know that a company could want so much information about you. Worse yet, I didn't realize that they could find new ways for health care workers to get poked. Yes, I'm talking of vaccinations and titers. I thought I had them all, but no such luck. So, I'm getting poked...again. More shots and more blood drawn. The good thing is that needle pokes don't bother me, but geez.

I also got the flu shot today. If I wasn't a health care worker, I wouldn't even bother. I have gotten the flu shot for the past two years and that is when I had the worst cases of the flu. I got sick each year. Not that I think the shot GAVE me the flu. I just think that my body got upset and my immune system revolted because of it. The first year I got both Influenza A & B. Not fun, let me tell you. I decided to give it one more try because they said last year's didn't work (ya think?) and this year's is supposed to be "better." If I get the flu, I won't get the shot again. I'll just take my chances.

On a good note, I checked today and my Florida Nursing license was issued yesterday! (October 8th) YEAH! All the waiting is coming to a close and I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. :) Now, just to find an assignment! I'm getting really excited about it now.

Tomorrow is my best-friend's (of 19 years) birthday and I'm excited for the upcoming October birthdays!! Hopefully, it will be a good month!

I've also been playing Harvest Moon on the Wii. This is one of my favorite games and I have become addicted. For those of you who don't know, it is a farming game where you have to take care of crops and animals. Yes, a time waster, but a fun time waster. This year is the 10th anniversary of the game and they have released a TON of HM games. So, it's off to the Wii...

Traveling...

2008-10-01T16:56:00.003-04:00

So, I read Steve's blog (who was reacting to something that Lori wrote) and decided to finally take the bull by the horns and do it. I applied at a few travel nurse companies. I had some that were calling me, so I started with them. It has an interesting few days around here. Deciding where to go and talking with the companies. What I didn't expect was how fast the assignments that I picked would fill up. My recruiter would call me and then have to call me back saying that they were full. I'm trying for a few walk-through states, where I can literally walk in that day and get a temporary nursing license.

It would be nice if it was in one of the Nursing Compact states because then I could practice nursing in like 20 or so states without having to get another license. Not only are they time consuming to get, but costly as well. I'm still waiting on my Florida license and I applied for that one in the beginning of August. I was also kinda hoping for something in the south, because that would mean that it would be warmer for the winter. I like warmth. :) Well, I haven't gotten anything concrete so far, but I'll keep you updated.

Why did the chicken cross the road?!

2008-09-28T18:24:00.001-04:00

I got this in an e-mail and thought it was cute!

Why did the chicken cross the road?

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN McCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One! that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like the other side.That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one __________________

I am blessed...

2008-09-17T19:37:00.003-04:00

I have to say that I would seem very ungrateful if I didn't mention how blessed I feel right now. My mom and I have been concerned about how we are going to heat the house this winter. Well, my grandpa called us this morning and said that he had found this guy on the south side who had a ton of free wood and he spoke to him about it and he would save it for us.

So, my mom called my cousin and he rushed right over there to get it for us. It took two load with his trailer and his brother's truck, but they did this for us willingly. So, needless to say, it has been a good day. Who knew something like wood could make the day so bright. :)

Fingerprinting...and dumb things people do.

2008-09-15T11:51:00.005-04:00

I went for my fingerprinting this morning at my local police department and boy, was it an experience. First off, I get there and they go over the instructions and everything and then tell me that I have to go the town hall to pay the fee because they don't accept cash at the police station. No problem, the city hall is just a short walk across the street. So, I get there and proceed to pay. The guy behind the counter doesn't even know how much it is. I have to tell him that it is $10 and give him my twenty dollar bill. Then he says that he is not sure that he can make the change. I was thinking about this and it was quite amusing...it was early and we are talking about a town of about 2,000. Is the city really that broke?

Then I cross the street back to the police station and there is a lady that walks in with me. The officer tells me to wash my hands in the bathroom which he apologizes for. The lady doesn't have an emergency, but the officer, being the only one in the station (remember population 2,000), needs to take care of her first. I'll get to her story later in the blog, because I learned something from it today.

The officer was really nice, but the procedure was extremely messy. I was going to go somewhere after that, but my hands were so inky that it would've been obvious that I had been fingerprinted, but not so obvious as to the reason why. The officer let me wash my hands afterward which didn't help very much, but smeared the ink to the rest of my hands that were clean. Then I got to think about it. Now my fingerprints are in the bathroom at the police station. They don't even have to be dusted because they are ink. I thought it would've been rude to ask the officer "can I have some tape so I can remove my fingerprints from the faucet and soap dispenser?" (Can you tell I've watched CSI) Should I be worried that my fingerprints are left at the police station? Here is what my hands looked like AFTER I washed them. :)

So, then I had to go home and wash my hands with dish soap (which took nearly all of it off, btw) and then get back in the car to go to the post office to mail my fingerprint cards. I noticed at the post office that my hair was shedding a lot today. (Somedays I think I shed more than Anakin, my sheltie!) The only thing I didn't leave in this bantam town is my saliva. I can just see it now...In a small town where you can smell pickle brine in the air...

Okay, now on to the lady in the police station with me. She came in to see if she could get her car back. Apparently she drove around two or three barricades (according to the officer, I guess there are no privacy laws when it comes to police) and her car stalled in the water that flooded the road. Now, the funny part...for me, not for her...is that the officer informed her that she was going to get a ticket for going around the barricades. Apparently that is illegal. Surprise! You not only have to pay to get your car back, but pay a ticket as well. The officer said that there was three feet of water over the road. (Bangor as well as the surrounding counties have been in a flood advisory for days...)

Now, if there was two or three road blocks saying that the road is closed, wouldn't you wonder why? Especially since they aren't doing construction on that road? I saw on the news a car in Chicago (which is also flooded) that was going down the highway and went into a puddle (or lake, more like it) and the CAR WAS COVERED in water. Wouldn't you think that if the water comes up over your hood, you would stop?!? You could see the car with about a foot of water on top of it. All you could see was the hood. I don't know about some people...

Cute test to see if you are "qualified to be a professional"

2008-09-14T18:01:00.001-04:00

The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you whether you are qualified to be a professional. The questions are NOT that difficult.

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.

2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator?

Wrong Answer.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend.... except one. Which animal does not attend?

Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory.

Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

Florida License

2008-09-12T10:56:00.005-04:00

I have been contemplating for awhile doing something different this winter. Not because I don't like Michigan winters...I do, to a certain point, but because I am not as tolerant of them as I was before the accident. Anyone who has ever had a broken bone understands what I am talking about.

So, I have been working toward getting my Florida license so I can spend the winter there. Since there are so many snow birds, Florida requires many more nurses in the winter than they do in the summer. I thought that this would be a good springboard into travel nursing.

Well, I've been working on my Florida nursing license and getting a license in another state is not difficult...it just can be frustrating. I have to go and get fingerprinted...again...for the umpteenth time. You would think, as many times as I have been fingerprinted before, that ONE of them would've been in the same system that the Florida Nursing Board uses, but I am not that lucky. Again, not that that is a big deal, but it is frustrating. Hopefully, I will get all that done and then get everything out so that I should get my license by my birthday. That would be awesome!

New Layout and Grandma's Birthday.

2008-09-06T18:06:00.002-04:00

Yeah. I finally got the stuff done for my new layout. I like to change my layouts according to the seasons. I really like this one because I love primitive graphics and I love snowmen. That is the one thing that I like better on myspace than on facebook. Individuality. But here's to the new layout.

I also updated my photo with one of my favorite photos that I've taken recently. I love photography and this is a photo of a flower that was in my flower garden and I just love it...maybe because it's kinda blue.

My mom and I went with my grandma today to celebrate her birthday. I think she's 75. (Mom said that she changed her birth certificate so she could work a year earlier and isn't sure what year she was actually born in.) She wanted to go the casino to get her George Foreman Grill. They try anything to lure you in there. Oh well. She got it and had some fun. The people at the casino even sang to her, which was pretty cool. She liked that. So, I guess it was worth the trip. :)

I've been tagged...

2008-09-06T16:28:00.001-04:00

I was tagged by Missy. This one is pretty neat though.

A. Attached or single? single

B. Best friend? Janette

C. Cake or pie? If I have to choose, I would say cake, but I'm much more into ice cream.

D. Day of choice? Saturdays

E. Essential item? Toothbrush

F. Favorite color? It used to be green and purple, but now it's turning more into blue.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Gummy bears. (I like the haribo variety too!)

H. Hometown? South Haven

I. Indulgence? Definitely shoes. I don't like to wear them, but I like to buy them. And electronics.

J. January or July? July. I like the warmth.

K. Kids? None.

L. Life isn’t complete without? family.

M. Marriage date? N/A

N. Number of brothers & sisters? 2 sisters and 1 brother

O. Oranges or apples? Oranges...unless caramel is involved.

P. Phobias? I'm borderline claustrophobic. I also don't like spiders or bugs that jump at me.

Q. Quotes? If you have built sandcastles in the air, your work need not be lost; now build foundations underneath them. Henry David Thoreau (That's paraphrasing)

S. Season of choice? My favorite is fall. Not too cold, not to warm...perfect. Plus my birthday is in there.

T. Tag seven peeps! Kara (I'm not sure who even reads this)

U. Unknown fact about me? I'm really pensive. I have to think everything through.

V. Vegetable? Broccoli. I also love zucchini. Anything fresh from the garden. I'm a big fan of salads!

W. Worst habits? Thinking too much. :)

X. X-ray or ultrasound? Neither.

Y. Your favorite food? Cheese.

Z. Zodiac sign? Scorpio.

It's been awhile...

2008-09-01T16:03:00.001-04:00

I know that it's been a long time since I have written on here. This summer has been kinda crazy for me. For starters, we were gutting and re-doing some of the room upstairs to put insulation and drywall up. Also working on the yard and trying to get that into some semblance of shape.

We took a trip this summer. We went to the Mall of America and then Wisconsin Dells. It was fun, but tiring. We had a lot of fun. Here are some funny pictures with my new camera. These were taken at the various waterparks that we went too.

Isabel under water.

Alyssa and Ilana under water.

Ilana in her favorite pose.

Water coming down on me out of the bucket.

Isabel and me in the pool.

Riley with my mom.

Ilana coming down the slide. Notice the pose. :)

Isabel and Ilana coming down the slide in a tube.

Alex, Isabel, Ilana and Alyssa coming out of the big slide.

At the Mall of America, the kids went into Nickelodeon Universe and we also went to the underwater adventures aquarium. The aquarium was pretty neat because there were sharks and fish swimming over our heads. Pretty exciting. The mall was huge. It had four floors. I'm not sure if I'll ever want to go there again, but it was definitely worth experiencing.

Us at the underwater adventures. This was first thing in the morning. That is why we look so fresh.

The kids in a photo booth. I just love those!!

Everyone on the turtle.

Alyssa, Isabel (front row), Alex, and Ilana on the roller coaster. (Notice Ilana's pose.)

The kids standing in front of Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America.

Other than that, I've mostly been trying to enjoy my time off and get things done. I'm still debating on what my future holds, but we'll see. I'm contemplating going to Florida for the winter and doing seasonal nursing there, but that all depends on what type of therapy I need. I should find that out this week from my insurance company...hopefully. With them, everything is hurry up and wait.

I've been tagged

2008-05-18T23:07:00.002-04:00

I was tagged by Kara and it is my first.

Here's what you do:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to the person who tagged you once you've posted your three sentences.

The book that I had closest is called "A Treasury of Laughter." It is a book that I have had for a long time and was published in the 1940s. (so you can understand the context of the passage.) Page 123 is in a section called "Speaking of Operations" by Irvin S. Cobb.

So he would ride into the county-seat and get an almanac. Doubtless the reader, if country raised, has seen copies of this popular work. On the outside cover, which was dark blue in color, there was a picture of a person whose stomach was sliced four ways, like a twenty-cent pie, and then folded back neatly, thus exposing his entire interior arrangements to the gaze of the causal observer.

As far as tagging someone. I don't know who else to tag because everyone has been tagged already.

Doctors and tests...

2008-05-08T10:48:00.001-04:00

I saw my doctor on Tuesday and I just have to say that I really like her and she really knows me. One of the perks of working in a hospital, I guess. As soon as she entered the room, she knew that something was wrong and I told her about my job and memory loss. She said that it could be from either depression or post-concussive syndrome, so I am going for neurocognitive testing to determine which it is. She is also sending me for an MRI next week because I haven't had one in ages.

Then today I had a mammogram and for those who haven't had one, they hurt!! I had felt a nodule in my breast previously and thought it was a good idea to get it checked out. Well, during the test, I couldn't find it. I told the ultrasound tech that the mammogram must have scared it away. Luckily, they didn't find anything. The Radiologist acted like it was bad and I was like "thank you!"

We'll find out more with the upcoming tests.

Becoming unemployed...

2008-05-05T13:37:00.002-04:00

Today has been a difficult day for me as I was given the "option" to resign or be terminated from my job. This whole experience this past week has been a tumultuous one. I'm not sure how else to explain it. I was told on Friday that I needed to come up with a "Corrective Action Plan" on how to improve my performance at work. Not being told exactly how my performance was lacking, this has proved to be difficult. I know where my weaknesses were and some examples of things that have happened, but there has never been anything definitely explained to me. I have never written a corrective action plan and therefore did not know how to write one.

I will say that I haven't been happy at work for awhile. I absolutely LOVE the people that I worked with. They are truly wonderful people and I am glad that I had the opportunity to meet and interact with them. I truly feel that I have been done an injustice. Not because I "resigned," but because of the circumstances that led up to it and the lack of direction from my boss. I have on multiple occasions expressed to her my weaknesses and areas that I needed to improve on and the response that I received was talking to me in a demeaning manner and treating me like I was a child and not giving me the respect that I deserved. I also feel that the nurses have tried to help me more than my boss.

My boss once told me that I was going to become a "BSN" nurse and that people would look up to me and respect me more and I had to start acting like it. I so wanted to tell her at that moment that people do not respect you just because you have different letters behind your name or because of a title. People respect you because of the way that you treat them. Being a registered nurse does not demand any more respect than that of the Home Health Aide. I can honestly say that I did not respect her more after she accomplished her BSN.

I was really sad this morning as was the rest of the staff in the office. Everyone was really supportive of me and felt bad that this happened. I honestly feel that everything happens for a reason. When a door is closed, a window is opened. I know that Heavenly Father will be there for me and will not give me any more than I can handle.

I have a few ideas of where to proceed from here. I have really been interested in Legal Nurse Consulting, so that is an option and also travel nursing. My commitments have always kept me from doing travel nursing in the past and now that I no longer have them, it is a good opportunity to try it. I love to travel. Everything will depend on how things go this week. After this week, I will make a decision in which route I want pursue.

I have to go and see my doctor tomorrow. I feel that some of my issues with work were due to some conditions that have been the result of my accident. I have been struggling with severe depression, exhaustion and memory loss. The memory loss is the big one because I know that it has changed who I am. Hopefully, my doctor will be able to give me some guidance on these areas.

I just wanted to thank everyone who has been supportive of me throughout all this. I truly feel blessed.

Fun with photo editor

2008-03-26T19:54:00.001-04:00

I've been trying out some photo editors that I have on my computer. Here are three variations of the next photo taken at Johnny Rockets in Daytona Beach, FL. Here is the original.

Here are the photoshop versions:

Two weeks until we leave for Myrtle Beach!

2008-03-22T17:14:00.001-04:00

We are excited because there is two weeks until we leave for our vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC. This trip will be lots of fun because we are going in Jamie's new minivan which means that we can take Alex and Isabel too. We (Jamie, mom and I) are going to have a car full of kids, but it should be fun. We are excited about the hotel. It has a full kitchen like Orlando and Wisconsin Dells. That really is the only way to travel with a bunch of kids because you can cook them food. It makes it a lot cheaper! I have never been to Myrtle Beach before and Alex and Isabel have never been to the ocean. It will be neat to see them there. Janette and I started this tradition of every beach we go to, we write the name of the beach and sign our names, so we'll have to do that there as well. Ilana informed me that we have 13 days until we leave (not counting today). We are excited to do something. Yeah! This is our beach writing from Daytona Beach in 2007.

I have pictures of Anakin and Padme and also Ilana giving Anakin his daily hug.