Happy May Day

So, I had "Big Plans" for a fantastic May Day post...even had a bunch of idea of what to write when I got off work. But, my first day back at work after a week off has gotten to me and I don't feel that great right about now. So, I probably should go to bed so I don't have to call in sick!

It was a really good first day back to work. Pretty busy at times, but some good "down time" as well. I was able to spend some time visiting with the mom of one of my patients (just in case I haven't mentioned it, I LOVE when I get to do that!). She is a "blogger" and also is an avid "blog reader". You know the "blogosphere" makes the world extra small when she started talking about a particular blog and I knew EXACTLY which one she was talking about. And, like she said "EVERYONE reads 'MckMama'!" Yep, everyone DOES read MckMama...ha ha :o) (but, not EVERYONE dreams about dreaming about telling her about a dream that involved taking a peek into their pantry while they were sleeping...) This mom is really sweet and even gave me a link to her blog. Of course, she is not allowed on mine because then I would have to...

My "husband" came to visit and brought me a couple roses and some candles. :o) He came up on Wednesday all dressed up for his last day of treatment but I was not there (I was SUPPOSED to be there but was celebrating my Grandma's birthday at the casino instead.)

Okay, so much for not writing a long post...time to hit the hay. Back to work tomorrow. I am actually kind of looking forward to it since I had a good "group" of patients and parents today which makes a BIG difference!

Happy First of May...the beginning of what looks be a month of many fun and exciting things.

Good night!

Back to Reality

Yep, back to reality...I am not a stay at home, um...I'm not a stay at home, hmm...blog reader?!

Yeah, definitely thinking I probably should get back to doing something that pays the bills (and fund my shopping sprees, vacations, and occasional gambling outings...). It's been so long since I have been at the hospital (this was my seventh day at home!) that I almost forgot that I have a job there. Right...I am a NURSE...hopefully I will remember how to do that kind of thing when I get there tomorrow. Today I did a load of laundry without putting in detergent and accidentally put garlic in my smoothie since I was making hummus at the same time...so, MAYBE I should have someone else check my work every once in a while :o) I took a shower tonight and we are having a pot luck, so I am thinking I could roll out of bed at 6:15 and make it there on time :o)

Today is the last day of April, meaning it is the last day of National Donate Life Month. Just a reminder to tell your loved ones that you would like to be an organ donor...and sign up in your state. Donate Life America has information on how to do that for each State.

Tomorrow is the beginning of May. Have I mentioned how excited I am about May?! I am thinking there are going to be LOTS of fun things to write about in May (and bunches of pictures to share I am sure...maybe I will even get some photography tips in May so my posted pictures will be better than my usual "snapshots"!) I am thinking about adding some songs to my play list and likely will change my background even though I do enjoy those flowers that sort of match the flowers on my header that I love (created at Blogs for a Cause...haven't mentioned that in a while!) Well, I love except I wore that outfit in my picture yesterday and am wondering about that cleavage...too bad that was the best self-portrait I knew how to do!

Anyway, I am babbling even more than usual. I probably should try and head to bed early tonight, but am not really tired...I thought maybe walking to the grocery store, making stuff for my pot luck, and a shower would help, but not really...

Hopefully there won't be any "not mes" to report from my first day back at work...I filled three posts with them this week...that is NOT good!

Good night!

Yesterday, and Today

Have I ever pretended to be creative?! I didn’t think so! Yesterday was to be my last “day off” of this long stretch of days off. Wouldn’t you know it rained again?! Oh well, I had WORK to do…yeah, right…work. My annual report, well, I DID work on it…a little bit. I ended up sending an email to my manager today asking for her assistance…I know, trying to spread the fun :o)...I mean, procrastinate a little longer!

Actually, I seem to have found even more “not me” examples. (It is bad that I can’t really remember what I did yesterday?!)

I did not go shopping yesterday afternoon to avoid writing that report. I did not buy these two dresses because my favorite employee told me I HAD to buy both of them.

I did not buy these shoes because their “style” is “Amanda” because that is just weird.

(yes, that IS my very white leg and one of my ugly feet!) I DID use three coupons and STILL spent $100 (two dresses, two pairs of sweatpants, a pair of shoes, and six pairs of socks is a “steal” for $100 but still $100 I probably didn’t HAVE to spend on new clothes…it definitely would have been a lot less expensive to stay at home and write that report…especially since I bought a coffee on the way home!)

Last night was my first softball game of the season. I love playing softball! Back when I was in sixth grade, for some reason my school decided that the girls could either play softball or soccer. I decided to play soccer since I thought I was better at that then fast-pitch softball. Soccer is a lot shorter of a season than softball, so my dad (the coach) thought us soccer girls would be bored all summer. He “ended up” finding a recreational slow pitch league. That first season I played catcher, and that has pretty much been my position ever since. (Being catcher in slow-pitch is a lot less stressful than being one in fast-pitch or baseball and I still chase more than my share of “passed balls”! I did not say I was GOOD at softball, just that I LOVE to play!) Even though I stretched pretty well, I knew that I was going to be pretty sore today…playing softball, especially catcher, definitely uses muscles you forget you have! It’s “all good” though…I need to keep working out if I actually want to be able to wear those dresses I just bought!

I didn’t get home from the game until about 10:00 and still had to shower before going to bed. 5:30 was going to feel EXTRA early considering it had been so long since my alarm went off at that time AND I was certain my body was going to resist rolling out of bed after all the squats, ball throwing, and running as well.

Well, I didn't end up getting to sleep until 5:30 because my phone rang at 5:20. Apparently the "census" was low and I was offered the day off. The last time I was "called off" was January 29 (exactly three months ago...coincidence, I think not!) I have been called a couple times between there but try to "save" my date for when there actually is something going on. Today was my grandma's birthday and I knew the family was getting together for dinner, and maybe for brunch as well. So, I said absolutely I would take the day off and went back to sleep.

And, I had some pretty crazy dreams after that. Since I want to document this, I am fairly certain that it was a dream within a dream within a dream. And yes, it was a dream that involved the MckFamily...you know you spend too much time reading blogs when...oh yes, that would be me. I obviously was dreaming and, in that dream, I dreamed that I told them a dream that I had had about them...there may have even been some more dreaming going on, but it definitely was some craziness. I remembered a lot more of it when I first woke up and probably should have written it all down, but it was some seriously funny stuff (that may or may not have involved breaking and entering...)

So, I finally got up in time to go with my mom and sister to meet my grandparents at the casino for brunch at 11. For some reason we didn't take any pictures, but it was fun to celebrate with them (the birthday girl paid for our brunch too!) We spent some time on the penny slots and then I came home to watch my DVR of The Biggest Loser (I managed to get it watched before anyone spoiled anything.) I was actually "on-call" for work until I called them back at 4:00 to make sure I would not be needed.

Then, my dad picked me up so we could go eat at a restaurant near the casino where my grandparents were staying. My sister and brother-in-law couldn't make it to dinner, but we had a big group. Three of my mom's sisters, two uncles, and five cousins to be exact (along with my mom, dad, grandparents, and me, that makes fifteen...wow, I can add!) I did manage to snag a picture with the birthday girl and one of my cousins (she paid for dinner too...very nice!)

My grandparents, parents, and I went back to the casino and I lost more money than I probably should have, but my dad paid for my beers and it was a "free food" day, so it's okay. Definitely not enough to be remotely close to a "gambling problem", just sort of an expensive week if you take into account my shopping spree yesterday, my social outings over the weekend, and my march of dimes donation... Oh well, you only live once...no regrets! :o)

Speaking of the march of dimes walk, I did the March for Babies this past Sunday. It was an honor to be able to walk on Team Isaac and Asher. As amazing as it would have been to have actually been there to walk with Kristy and Howard and their family and friends (including Ginger and Chrissy!), it just wasn't that practical this year. So, I coerced my friend from Curves to do the walk with me (it didn't take much arm twisting at all...ha ha!) As I wrote earlier this week, getting there was quite an adventure! We definitely did not have the weather they did in Erie, but I decided if it was only going to be nice one of the locations, better it be there :o) It didn't work for me to have my Team Isaac and Asher shirt in time, but I did get a purple shirt since I raised over $100! I do like purple, so that made me happy (I put it on OVER my other two shirts which made it much less cold!)

Well, I probably should think about heading to bed...too bad I didn't schedule a massage for tomorrow because that sounds REALLY nice right about now!

Oh my goodness...Nikki, Nikki, Nikki...I nearly forgot to mention your contest! I KNEW I should have written that part of my post at the beginning so I wouldn't forget! Well, I NEARLY did, but I did not, so it is "okay", right?! So, Nikki is having a contest. She is giving away a fantastic "Bluesy Keychain". It is VERY easy to enter...check out the rules here. And, if you are a cheater like me, you may just say she is wearing "Vans"...not POSITIVE that is the answer she is looking for, but it just might be :o) Contest ends Friday at 7:00 PM Pacific Time.

Okay, good night for real this time.

Tomorrow

"Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?"... What's that, that's not the way that quote goes?! Hmm...sounds good to me!

How many days have I put off doing the "annual report" for my floor's unit council? Well, count this as another one because it definitely did not get done today. Honestly, once I sit down to do it, I imagine it will take less than an hour...I spent WAY more time that that THINKING about doing it. In any case, tomorrow will be my fifth day off in a row and my meeting was canceled. I "promised" my boss it would be turned in before I went back to work on Wednesday, so I suppose tomorrow will HAVE to be the day...no excuses!

In the spirit of Stellan going outpatient today, and my putting off for tomorrow, I decided it would be appropriate to do a little Not Me! Monday post. I actually have only participated in MckMama's "blog carnival" once. That time brought Aunt Nikki to my blog for the first time. It also allowed me to quickly find this post to help Kristy find a recipe for Steel Cut Oats.

If you have been reading the past few days, you know that I most certainly did NOT wash a red blanket with my whites "just because".

I did NOT forget to take my trash out last week so just left the bag open on the kitchen floor to keep filling until trash day came around again.

I did NOT throw two half loaves of bread and a package of bagels out in the backyard and say "birdie eat it"...

I did NOT give myself a wicked paper cut while trying to push away the papers that need to be organized for me to write my annual report.

I have NOT been trying to use the names "Ginger" and "Kristy" in my every day conversations so my family mom will stop freaking out about my "blog friends" (I do have a post in my head about "friends" and what that exactly means that I may or may not share with her.)

I did NOT nearly fall down the stairs yesterday and up the stairs a little bit ago. Nope, my middle name is "Grace" (really, it is not...but, that would have been a cool name!)

I did NOT spend much of today thinking about writing this blog post rather than working on my annual report.

I did NOT almost slip and tell my parents about my impending rendezvous prematurely yesterday (and am not at all nervous about their reaction even though they are probably the only ones who will not be excited for me...I am a grown up, repeat, I am a grown up...and repeat...)

I am NOT contemplating emailing a link of this post to MckMama letting her know I have missed her Not Me! Monday posts so much that I had to do one without her (even though I have only ACTUALLY participated once).

I have NOT not participated in blog carnivals because my heart contemplates SVT just thinking about the possibility of that many people "stopping by" my blog.

Is it a coincidence that I did NOT do all these things around the MONDAY that Stellan was released from the hospital...I definitely, think NOT.

I did NOT start this nearly four hours ago...

I am NOT wondering if I will remember how to do my job when I go back on Wednesday after having five days off.

It has been cloudy and/or rainy for the past three days. So, maybe the sun actually will come out tomorrow...and I actually WILL write my annual report (and maybe even continue clearing the clutter in my living room/kitchen)

Well, it most definitely IS time to end this post and either watch my DVR of Medium, continue reading the book I started last night, or go to bed.

Good night!

Wet (and a little Wild)

So...it seems like whenever I go places with my friend from Curves, crazy things happen. Maybe she just makes ordinary things extra funny somehow, but it is still crazy!

Last night was SO much fun, but it did make for some tossing and turning and a couple wild dreams (gotta love wine, right?!) The first time I awoke to the sounds of a thunderstorm was in the 5:00 hour and I woke up many times until I finally got up a little after 7 to get ready for the march of dimes walk. I remained optimistic that the rain would pass before the walk was scheduled to begin at 10 (I didn't think the forecast showed that it was to rain ALL day!)

As I was pulling out of my garage to go pick up my friend, I was greeted by a giant crash of thunder and pouring down rain. I sat there on my driveway for a minute until this downpour passed. Surely, this will blow over...I have been waiting for this day for MONTHS!

It had settled into a sprinkle by the time I got to my friend's house (she only lives a couple miles away). We picked up coffees and were on our way. It was about 20 miles from where I live to the walk (requiring using the "dreaded" highway...those of you who actually know where I live know that being frightened of the highway here is rather amusing). Not sure if I have mentioned this on my blog, but I REALLY do not enjoy driving. I ride with someone else any chance I get! (My lack of enthusiasm for driving COULDN'T have anything to do with things like this, right?! ha ha!)

The drive started off fairly well, cruising right along and doing a little chit-chatting. Then came more flashes of lightening, crashes of thunder, and sheets of rain came pouring down. My friend kept saying to me "you are still between the lines, you are okay"... And then, it started hailing. Yes, hailing. The visibility went to crap (and again, remember I have a little bit of depth perception issues as it is...right?!) and it was SO not fun for a while. And yes, still remaining somewhat optimistic about this whole walking plan.

By the time we reached the walk site at 9:00, the rain had pretty much stopped. It wasn't really that chilly and I thought it would be really nice to go for a walk. We walked around, grabbed some free stuff, ate some food (that topic will be discussed in a later paragraph), and I checked out the t-shirts of the other family teams who were there (wish I would have taken more pictures, but that may have been kind of weird...we didn't stay long enough to see if there was a t-shirt design contest). It didn't really dawn on me until after the start time had passed and the emcee welcomed us to the event that we were not ACTUALLY going to walk. She said because we were still in a severe weather watch, it would not be safe to go for a walk. Okay, that makes sense, but I was REALLY looking forward to going for a walk...especially since I have strayed from my attempts at healthier eating the past um, not sure how long!

So, since we were not walking, and didn't have any kids to do activities with, we got more food. I had a hot dog, a couple cookies, some chips, and an ice cream bar. Did I mention that I had a donut when I got there and a coffee on the way? And that this was all in less than a 2 hour period of time?! Yeah, crazy. Definitely could have used a walk at that point!

On the way back, we decided to check out this touristy thing that neither of us had ever been to. It ended up being at the end of a VERY hilly GRAVEL road...again, not a big fan of driving and this was pretty much as nerve-wracking as driving through hail on the highway. The place didn't open until noon and it was only 11:30, so home we went.

I was at home on my couch by noon where I spent the rest of the day until "family dinner" at 6. It was still raining then, and I am pretty sure it is still raining now (although I haven't heard any thunder for a while!) So, even though the past two days have been stay inside rainy days, that did not translate into days spent inside being productive even though there is always a chance a friend COULD stop by at any time...

Well, my computer is being kind of slow even though I attempted to install a new anti-virus (my old one expired, but now the new one won't work because someone the old one is still at least semi-activated...enough to not allow the new one to work...I know very little about computers!...enough to be "dangerous" I guess!) So, I was going to post a picture or two from today, but am getting a little bit impatient. I DO have tomorrow off, so maybe will do it then (my friend and I were joking that "someone" could photoshop us into the BIG picture...only for us of course because who ELSE would want that?! ha ha!)

So, it was a wet day. A wild adventure. A high calorie/low exercise day. A nerve-wracking experience (yeah, before I even got dressed I nearly fell down the stairs when my sock got stuck on something...thank goodness for a very sturdy railing and strong arms!)

All this and TOMORROW is Monday...good thing I have the day off or that could be a not very good thing!

Well, I think I will head to bed. Of course I am not really tired considering I slept the entire day, but I am thinking about reading one of the MANY books on my bookshelf that I purchased but never read.

My first full weekend off in two months...maybe I should take weekends off more often to spread out the excitement a little :o)

Good night!

Laundry 101

So...what does it say about me if I KNOW that you should not put a fuzzy red blanket in with your whites (especially when it has never been washed before) and you do it anyway?! Is anyone surprised that my white zip up hoodie is now pink or my new towels with white and blue stripes are now pink with blue stripes? Me either...I guess.

I enjoyed my second of two days off even though it was chilly, cloudy, and rainy. I did an EXCELLENT job of pretending to clean. I went to brunch with my friend and "the baby". I just got home from a wine tasting with my friend from Curves (yeah, about five glasses of wine makes for a little bit giddy me!) We did have a designated driver thank you very much; no worries! I made it to church and actually DID take a shower.

Tomorrow is the March of Dimes walk and I am SUPER excited even though the forecast here is not that great. My friend and I will grab a coffee on the way and should be good to go after our evening of drinking wine...ha ha :o)

Alright, that's enough crazy writing for one night...time for bed...ha ha!
Good night!

First of Five

I still can't believe I managed to get five days off in a row...not sure I even TRIED to do that! Well, actually I know that I requested today and tomorrow off since I was thinking about going to a seminar called "Creative Healing" about using tools such as music, movement, touch, drawing, and writing to help cope with grief. I attended a seminar of the same name two years ago and it was really good. However, it cost $75 and my work wasn't willing to pay for it this time. I requested Sunday off for the March for Babies and have a meeting on Tuesday afternoon. So, Monday is the "bonus" day I guess that makes for five days off in a row without taking vacation...nothing wrong with that!

I definitely enjoyed sleeping in this morning and barely made it to Curves in time to do my 30 minute workout before they close at 11...I know, that means I didn't roll out of bed until nearly 10 and then messed around on blogs/facebook until I REALLY needed to go if I wanted to get a work out in!

Not that I absolutely NEEDED that workout. Well, actually I'm sure I DID need it, but it also was time to mow my lawn. It doesn't seem like it has rained that much, but definitely enough to make my grass green (some of it anyway). I got a new mower and think it will take some getting used to. My old mower was heavier but allowed me to make turns easier. I live in a corner lot on a hill so my lawn is not very easy to mow. My body is already aching, but it could also be that it has been at least six months since the last time I mowed! It was close to 80 degrees when I mowed, so I worked up a nice little sweat!

This afternoon, I went and visited my high school friend and her two boys. They were both sleeping when I got there. So, she and I grabbed a beer and sat on their back porch soaking up some of the summer-like sun. It was pretty fun drinking a beer in the afternoon (she had some kind of Samuel Adams blackberry flavored beer, so it did feel "summery"). I'm not really ready for summer to hit quite yet, but I think one day is okay :o) It was very fun to hang out and visit. Her baby is two months old today! The poor little guy has some pretty bad reflux, but it hasn't stopped his growing...he's a little chubby boy which is SO cute :o)

From her house, I went and met my parents and seven of their friends at the horse races. Ten people is a little crazy considering I am used to going with my dad and "studying" the forms with him. It was fun anyway I guess except we were just "picking" and I lost all my cash (only $18 so not a TON by any means...however, since my food order got completely screwed up, I got dinner for free, so that was a nice little balance!)

Since this is my blog and no one in my family reads it (that I know of), I am going to vent a little bit about my mother. I love my mom. Most of the time she is SO nice that whenever anyone tells me how nice I am, my response is often that my mom is WAY nicer than me. However, sometimes some really not nice things come out of her mouth which always surprises me. This week, a couple of them were directed at me... Earlier this week, I was sharing with her some of the things I had planned for the weekend with my friend from Curves. Not only did she have to provide commentary questioning the location of our events, but she also felt the need to say something to the effect that there was some kind of co-dependence going on. She must have seen the look on my face or watched my jaw drop or something because she tried to retract her statement and mumbled something about us being friends or needing to have friends or something. Uh, YEAH, we are friends. We hang out. We have fun. Seriously, totally inappropriate comment. Who ARE you and what did you do with my mom?!

Then, tonight, she kind of got what was coming to her after an equally as uncalled for comment. I know their friends very well (most of them have kids my age who went to my same elementary school). I was telling them about my plan to go to Vegas in six months to celebrate my 30th birthday. My mom piped in to say that she and my dad were planning to go at that time and they "decided" that I could come along. This isn't the first time she has mentioned this "plan" in that way. I think it rubs me the wrong way even more because two years ago they did, indeed go to Vegas with my sister and her then fiance and I was told that I was not "allowed" to go with them. It was very hurtful because I know that it was all my mom and my dad didn't have anything to do with it (my dad and I are good "gambling partners" and have a ton of fun!). So, my (probably very obnoxious) response was that the REAL plan was that my dad and I had planned to go to Vegas and my MOM was to be "tagging along" and all my friends are invited. She got a little defensive but shut her mouth rather quickly. Honestly, I don't know where my "real mom" goes sometimes!

I suppose that makes me even MORE excited to be doing something next month that my mother may not necessarily "approve" of (Laurie in Ca...no worries, it is NOTHING bad...VERY fun actually! I will share details once everything has been finalized.). A nice little reminder that I am indeed a grown up who can make her own adult decisions without consulting her parents. And, my mom obviously is not "perfect"...still love her though :o)

Well, I think I have a busy day tomorrow including a walk or two and a wine tasting. I probably should fit in a little time for house cleaning, but am definitely going to enjoy these days off!

Good night.

Annoying Myself

For "a really long time" I pretty much made sure I wrote a blog post every day. Even when I didn't really WANT to, it kind of felt like something I HAD to do. In some cases, it really was something I HAD to do because there was stuff that just needed to come out. Needless to say, I probably wrote some pretty funny things on those days that I didn't really have anything to say but wanted to write anyway :o)

For some reason, the past month or so, I haven't been posting every day. Now, I don't remember actually TELLING myself that is okay, but I kind of think it is okay (it isn't like I have a crazy blog like MckMama who has to post at least once, if not three or more times, a day otherwise people might freak out!)

However, now I have gone from writing every day to not writing every day, but HAVING to write "every other day". For nearly two weeks, that has been on the "even days". Now, don't get me wrong, I do like my even days--remember, the 22nd is my favorite date--however, that every other day, even if it is on the evens, is kind of annoying to me. Maybe because I don't want to think that I have done that much planning to make sure that I have posted something every other day and writing every other day on the evens seems a bit to orderly to my life that definitely is not. (ha ha, I've been "working" on this post for an hour and just re-read that sentence...now THAT makes very little sense, but I am definitely going to leave it!)

Who knows. In any case, I was annoying myself and decided to mess up my own pattern by posting today, an "odd" day.

Work was fine. Yesterday when I walked out of work, one of the nurses said it was supposed to be "one of the top 10 days of the year"...whatever that means, but it was still stinky to be inside. Today was actually in the high 80s I think...that's sort of what I heard...again, I spent the day indoors. However, I must say that I'm not a fan of the high 80s and above...hot weather is not really my friend which is one reason I decided I could not live in Texas. Of course, this will be my first full weekend off since February 21-22 (believe me, I checked!) and there is rain in the forecast. Now, cool rain is much more appealing to me than the sizzling sun, but not when I have a fun weekend planned :o) I am hoping that there are much more cool spring-like days in the forecast because I'm not quite ready for summer!

Well, this is very random...one of those "probably didn't need to post that" kind of posts. But, maybe I will be less annoyed at myself now!

I checked my schedule and don't go back to work on the floor until Wednesday...crazy! Then, it will almost be May and I'm super excited for some really fun things that are in my plans for May...it could be my "funnest" month since October (of course that is the last month when I had two weeks of vacation...who WOULDN'T be happy only working 9 times in a month...ha ha!) There definitely will be more to come on my May plans as they unfold.

Alright, probably time to go to bed (or, at least time to end this post!)

Good night!

Save the Date

Well, I thought of that title before I realized that my last post was about being married...cracking myself up because that wasn't where I was going with this! However, my "husband" got discharged from the hospital yesterday...wow! That is amazing! Apparently, he was REALLY upset that he was not able to say good-bye to me. So, he left me a note with their phone number which was really sweet. I called him from work today and talked for a couple minutes. I talked to his mom and their first night at home went okay, so that is good. Taking care of his needs is a lot of hard work, but there is no place like home.

My "Save the Date" actually was because today was April 22. That makes it my "half-birthday". I was curious about what I wrote last year on this date. I had just written my 200th post (crazy that I am on my way to 600 just one year later!). I didn't realize until AFTER lunch with my mom and sister that it was my half-birthday (I have been thinking about this day for a LONG time, because of the whole "save the date deal"). I "randomly" (ha ha!) ran into a photographer from NILMDTS at the hospital and think I gave her some good advice (and now I am actually FRIENDS with a NILMDTS photographer!) I was nearly done with my foster parents classes (and still haven't received any calls, although I have been needing to do some thinking about my willingness to take older children since those are the ones who have been coming into care these days). I was nervous about starting my year on three hospital committees hoped it would help me (and it most definitely did...I don't get hives NEARLY as often and am MUCH more confident in leading my meetings...so much so that I agreed to continue on for another year!)

So, April 22, 2009 means that it is just SIX MONTHS until I turn thirty! I'm really not feeling freaked out about turning thirty. In fact, I've been pretty excited about it for a while. The plan right now is to celebrate in Las Vegas. Of course, my mom kind of thinks she is in charge, but I am planning to make plans with my dad and all my friends are invited :o) Not exactly sure of the dates, but it probably will be for about three days including my birthday, and possibly during the week rather than the weekend (my actual birthday is on a Thursday). I have scheduled myself for vacation from the 16th through the 29th, so I may even decide to do two separate birthday vacations with the other location being further East and/or South...

Monday night, after I posted about getting married, I really started to not feel very well. I had woken up not feeling that great, but it had kind of passed. I hardly EVER get sick, and actually have never called in sick at my current job (besides the one day I couldn't work since the doctor tested me for whooping cough...it was negative). It definitely helps to only work three days a week and I don't usually overextend myself on my days off...ha ha :o) A little TMI here, but I will say that I brought a (mixing) bowl to bed with me "just in case". So, yesterday pretty much all I did was sleep. I barely saw the 12:00 hour and was back asleep on the couch before 2:00. I did end up going to a dinner meeting because I needed to see other human beings and was really interested in the speaker. I am glad I went since I don't go out and do social things that often. It was nice to hang out (plus the dinner was free...as was the beer that I "had" to have even though it would have served me right if that had sent my stomach over the edge since that was probably pushing the limits a bit!)

I watched The Biggest Loser on DVR when I got home and was SO bummed that "those people" voted off "my girl" Kristin. I suppose it's a game and she did awesome when she went home and maybe she will with the "at home" prize :o) (even though she said she was there to get healthy for herself, a little extra money wouldn't hurt!)

Believe it or not, I still was able to fall asleep easily even after sleeping the day away. I was hoping to get called off work since both my dad and my sister were off today, but we were not over-staffed today. I did feel kind of "blah" most of the day...not exactly crabby, but not quite myself. I didn't feel overly social and kind of did my nursing duties and left the room rather than hanging out and chatting with my patients and their families since it was slow. I did have time to check my email a few times (as well as some of my blogs...thank you Google reader!)

Back to work tomorrow, so I'd better get ready for bed :o)

I receive "inspirational messages" in my email a few times a week. The "Monday Message" this week was called "Significant and Worthwhile". I thought it was worthy of sharing here--"There are fine things which you mean to do some day, under what you think will be more favorable circumstances. But the only time that is surely yours is the present, hence this is the time to speak the word of appreciation and sympathy, to do the generous deed, to forgive the fault of a thoughtless friend, to sacrifice self a little more for others. Today is the day in which to express your noblest qualities of mind and heart, to do at least one worthy thing which you have long postponed, and to use your God-given abilities for the enrichment of someone less fortunate. Today you can make your life significant and worthwhile."
~Grenville Kleiser, 1868-1935
American Author

Good night.

Guess Who's Married?!

Yes, that is MY ugly hand, chewed off nails, and poor attempt at photography. And yes, I DID get proposed to and was told that we were not just "engaged", we are MARRIED...

Okay, I should probably tell the WHOLE story...too bad I am kind of tired but hopefully will be able to tell this story the way it ought to be told :o)

So, a little over a month ago, I started taking care of this little boy who was really sick. Even though he couldn't really communicate when I first was his nurse, I could tell he liked me. As his condition improved, he communicated in different ways starting with giving a "thumbs up" when asked if I was his girlfriend (to be fair, he did have more than one of them) During the past two weeks he has started to talk more, although his memory is not the greatest. Apparently, multiple times he has asked his family for $10 "so I can buy Amanda a ring"... It made me laugh but mostly I thought they were pulling my leg or putting crazy ideas like that in his head because it is funny.

This morning, I noticed he had a ring on his left hand that was not there on Saturday. Someone mentioned it and he just smiled but didn't say much. A little before noon, his mom arrived and came to talk to me. She told me he had something to give me. She assured me that this was HIS doing and all HIS idea...and said I should say "yes" (I made sure she wasn't going to send me to jail or anything like that...ha ha!). So, I went back to his room, bringing another nurse and the tech with me because they knew what was going on.

He gave me this huge smile, pulled out this box, opened it and said "will you marry me?" After I said yes, he was just beaming with a smile from ear to ear. It really was the sweetest thing ever (the two girls said it kind of brought little tears to their eyes...funny!). I suppose that is how one would want their proposal to go...he truly was SO happy and excited but also serious (of course, that whole 21 year age difference would work a LOT better if I was like 60 or something...ha ha!) It truly was adorable and definitely an unforgettable memory. Knowing that his condition doesn't have a long survival rate statistically speaking, I think that makes it even more special.

So, I wore my ring the rest of the day, showing it off (you would NOT believe how many people actually thought I was serious when I said I got married...come ON people! This is ME we are talking about and did you take a close look at the ring?! Although, I must say it is pretty darn good for one of those little quarter machines...it isn't even adjustable!)

The rest of the day was pretty crazy and I was SO ready to come home (after stopping by mom and dad's for hamburgers and left-overs from yesterday of course!). I woke up with kind of a sore throat and don't feel that great right now (yes, that is definitely a sundae cone sticking out in the picture with the ring...God forbid I put it down long enough to take a picture...and I probably would feel a bit better now had I skipped that...sure the "Peeps" didn't help either). I hardly EVER get sick (knocking on wood) so think I will sleep in rather than going to the talk I wanted to go to that starts at 8:00 since I work on Wednesday and Thursday and would rather not call in sick.

The baby got discharged from the hospital yesterday, but had to get readmitted today. My friend isn't sure how long he will have to stay this time since he has an infection and needs antibiotics.

Exciting day...but I am REALLY tired (I guess that's pretty typical for your wedding day, or so I've been told...ha ha!)

Good night!

Had to Happen

With shift after shift (after shift after shift??) of easy/"boring" days at work, it had to come to an end. It just HAD to...it wouldn't be "work" if every day was smooth as silk, easy as pie, slow as mud, right?! Sure, those days are AWESOME and I am able to give much more one on one attention/emotional support to my patients and/or their parents which I LOVE! However, work is work and every job has days that are more enjoyable than others.

I am SO thankful that my job has MANY more enjoyable days than not. And, I am SO thankful that I have learned to even put the harder days into perspective (due to some pretty amazing people God has placed in my life to remind me of such things!)

Thursday night, I went to dinner with my friend and "the baby". We ate at the Olive Garden and had a great visit! Today was her birthday, so we kind of celebrated that (the Easter bunny gave me a $25 gift card so it was mostly his treat...nice!) He WAS here in town to have minor surgery on Monday...WAS being the key word there because...

Yesterday afternoon he had to be admitted to my floor and I was the nurse who was "up" for an admission (it HAD to happen...I had at LEAST three shifts where I was "up" for an admission and none came) I suppose that is one reason maybe to not be friends with parents of my patients, but that's how it goes. Luckily, my "favorite" charge nurse was working and she helped out a ton. It is always busy when you get an admission, and there were lots of things that needed to be done. It was sad being there for all the stuff that hurts when we just had a fun little dinner the night before. But, he is still young and very forgiving :o)

Last night I made muffins to bring for my friend's birthday and to my co-workers. Definitely not the way she wanted to spend her birthday...especially with the way the day went! Since the baby was SO sick for so long, his veins do not like to cooperate very well. So, it typically takes multiple attempts for lab draws and very hard to start IVs...yes, one of the sadder parts of my job :o( We spent probably hours working on that IV today between trying to get a new one or saving the old one. 3:45 lunch breaks makes this nurse VERY crabby and I was not at all pleasant by that point. Of course, my other patients were "basically" neglected during this time and I actually snapped at one of the other moms. Yes, I really did (but did apologize...I honestly can only do one thing at a time even though way more than one thing needed to happen at that time and of COURSE her child is just as important...deep breath, need food!). I actually said something that left her with the response of "I am not a nurse, I do not know what you should give"...wow, oops! Definitely needed to take a step back and re-think how THAT conversation went!

Yes, it definitely was not one of the more "fun" days at work. However, this was my "perspective" to help me through...my day was not NEARLY as bad as the baby who spent what seemed like half the day getting poked with needles OR as bad as my friend who spent her birthday in the hospital away from the rest of her family with her child getting poked. Nope, eating lunch at 3:45 sure beats "sleeping" on a hospital couch with a plastic pillow with no privacy and crazy alarms. As terribly annoying as it was that another of my patients pressed the call light every five minutes to ask for his mom, I had to remind myself that less than 2 weeks ago no one really thought he would be able to talk, and weeks before that, he NEVER would have been able to press the call light (that did not stop me from unplugging the call light though...just being honest here!)

Oh how glad I am to have tomorrow off! I am SO going to sleep in!

My Magic Bullet replacement part came in the mail the other day so I am looking forward to making smoothies again.

I definitely forgot to send in the check for my house payment...nice...I better do that while I'm thinking about it!

Tomorrow my mom is going with me to Gymboree to spend the rest of my gym bucks...now that I know how to use them, it will be a MUCH more pleasant experience (although every mom and her kids will probably be there tomorrow...ha ha!) She also asked me what I wanted for "family dinner"...I will actually get to eat dinner while it is hot this week--yay!

Alrighty, time to sleep...something tells me I can use all the sleep I can get, especially with a "family dinner" in the plans :o)

Good night!

Avoiding Work

I've always kind of been a procrastinator (at least "always" since high school...my mom says I was a little more organized/particular when I was younger!) so I can't exactly say that I brought it to "a whole new level" this week, but definitely did try!

I have been the chairperson of my unit committee for the past year, and am doing it again this year. Two of the required tasks of that position are planning/emailing the agenda and reviewing/emailing the minutes. For some reason this week I REALLY did not want to review the minutes, even though it doesn't really take that long. Someone takes the minutes at the meeting, they are given to the office assistant, and she emails it to me already typed. I just have to clarify things she didn't understand or re-word things if necessary. It isn't THAT hard, especially since I do like to edit/proofread (even more so when it isn't MY writing to begin with!) This week I found LOTS of excuses to avoid it...

Sunday and Monday I worked at the hospital. OBVIOUSLY I couldn't didn't want to do work after I got home (and DEFINITELY didn't want to do it WHILE I was at work sitting on my rear end doing nothing...) Plus, Sunday was EASTER for goodness sakes...I needed a break! Ha ha.

Tuesday, I had to go to work for a meeting. That in itself was a pretty good excuse in my opinion not to do this work after I got home. I also went on a walk with my friend and, well, friends are DEFINITELY more important than work :o) (Kind of thinking I may have also slipped in a nap...)

Yesterday, well, I ALSO went on a walk with my friend. I can't exactly remember what all happened in the middle of the day, but it is very likely it contained some facebook chatting, blog reading, and tv watching...and probably a nap. AND, last night I went out to dinner with the family...family ALSO much more important than work :o) Wait, NOW I remember what I did yesterday afternoon...I didn't want to do my work SO MUCH that I did some dusting, some vacuuming, put away the laundry and the dishes, threw away some papers, cleaned the sink and the stove...yeah, definitely avoiding work at all cost!

Today...well, I went to Curves, then to the mall to spend some "gym bucks" (my first time using them and I pretty much made an idiot of myself, but I understand now!), then for a walk, then ate some pizza (again for the second time this week...pepperoni pizza with cream cheese is now my friend's favorite pizza...full of all things healthy for sure!), and yet another nap. My friend and the baby came to town so he can have some minor surgery next week. Of COURSE we made dinner plans and, again, friends more important than work :o) I took her to the grocery store after we ate so she could pick up some things. I didn't eat any candy during Lent and have been CRAVING it...so, I bought myself some Runts...yum, except I probably had a few too many...oops :o)

And, so I could avoid the minutes no longer...if I didn't get them to the office assistant before tomorrow morning, they would not be sent to the staff until at LEAST Monday afternoon. Not sure anyone would REALLY mind, but it is my responsibility. Now, I am supposed to write an annual report...I thought maybe, possibly, I could let it slide and do a two-year report at the end of my second term... No such luck, so that will need to be in "the plans" for one of the next four days so it is to my boss by Monday. Oh how thankful I am to not have a job that has "deadlines" like this all the time! I'm not thinking that would work very well for me!

I am getting really excited to do the March for Babies a week from Sunday. Ginger is going to walk with the Bolte's (and my friend and I will walk "with" them here!) and is selling a really cool print on her photography website to benefit the March of Dimes. It is very special and I'm looking forward to having one of my own :o)

So...I really like my blog layout with the three columns, but for some reason buttons that people make do not seem to work very well. So, I have improvised a little bit and don't think it looks that bad. As cluttered as my house is, I have been hesitant to add too many buttons and such to my blog since I liked having at least one aspect of my life organized :o) However, today I did add links to Nikki's Beading Shop and to Ginger's Photography Website (those are my friends with businesses that I could think of...let me know if I forgot you!)...sorry, no promises they will ALWAYS be there if I decide I can't handle this whole "button thing"...

Alrighty, it is after 11:00 and I have to get up early for the first time since Monday, so I'd better head to bed.

Lessons from Television

Yesterday was another slow day at work (three times in a row it was that way...I better be prepared the next time I work because it definitely won't stay that way forever!) I like those days when I can spend time visiting with the families (and also "chatting" with my co-workers...that doesn't always happen!) I'm not sure if I would love being a counselor or social worker as much as I love being a nurse, but I definitely get to use some of those kinds of skills in my job! I have learned a lot by observing and listening in terms of what kinds of things help in times of crisis, and what definitely does not. I'm sure this is how I end up an emotional wreck at times (and also why I NEED to journal!), but it feels "right" when I can pour my heart and soul into my work...and then I REALLY enjoy my days off by spending them on the couch or doing things that do not involve thinking! :o)

Yesterday I was able to use my observations of the differences between men and women and spent quite a bit of time talking to the mother of one of my patients. It cracks me up that I was giving "relationship advice" seeing as I the mistakes I have made are probably why I'm content remaining single for now! However, I tend to think that I do pretty well from the outside looking in. I also gave advice about good communication which also is pretty funny considering I am not so good at that in my own life...prime example being that I made a number of remarks under my breath on Sunday and made some ugly faces in response to the "Easter dinner issues" but never outright mentioned to my family that it was kind of hurtful that they did not feel they could wait for me to eat dinner (tomorrow night we are going out to dinner at 7:00 since my sister has to work late...go figure) Anyway, maybe the advice I was able to give her will help me in my own life now that those words have come out of my mouth :o)

I'm a huge fan of the television show Medium. Not sure exactly why, but I just LOVE it (even though sometimes it creeps me out since I live by myself!) Last night, the episode started and ended with a really cool quote. I am glad I had it on DVR so I could "rewind" a bunch of times in order to get it right. The episode was about time. The main character had a dream that made her want to go back in time to change something in order to fix something that was going to happen in the future. When she went back to try and make that change, it messed up many other events that were going to occur in a negative way. I suppose a lesson there is you can't change the past, but there are choices that can be made NOW to affect what happens in the future. Since this was a television show where the main character has "visions", she was able to make a "real-time choice" that prevented the unfavorable future event to happen. Obviously, that isn't EXACTLY possible in real life, but I do think choices I make today definitely could change the way things are weeks, months, years from now.

I went on a walk with my friend today, and she actually mentioned a book she saw on The Today Show. I didn't even mention this episode of Medium, but it definitely fits with the "lesson" I learned from that. The book by Suzy Welch is called 10-10-10. The "gist" of the book is a guideline for decision making and the process starts with a question. "Given my question, what are the consequences of each of my options in ten minutes? In ten months? In ten years?" (or "in the heat of the moment, somewhat later, and when all is said and done"). Interesting similarity to my thoughts from last night...

I actually have been in the midst of making a somewhat difficult choice. Difficult in a sense that it involves doing something I have not done very often in my life. I have not believed in "coincidences" for a while now and think the television show, the book, the conversation with my friend all came at the perfect time. I know what I need to do. What I want to do is a huge opportunity for growth in many aspects of my life, and is sure to be an unforgettable experience. And, after utilizing the 10-10-10 concept, I still think it is "right". The ten minutes may be a little painful for others to handle, but I think some things just are... For me, I'm pretty certain it will be a "super fun" 10 minutes, make for something terrific to look back on 10 months from now, and quite possibly laughing at myself 10 years from now for having any sort of reservations about the idea because I can't imagine it not happening.

Well, I'm pleasantly surprised at how my "Lessons from Television" turned out...I wasn't sure I had that many "deep thoughts" in me...ha ha!

"Time’s priceless, yet it costs us nothing.
You can do anything you want with it, but you can’t own it.
You can spend it, but you can’t keep it.
And once you’ve lost it, there is no getting it back, it’s just…gone."
Medium…April 13, 2009

Good night.

Easter Hope

I had to work today, but last night I was able to attend the Easter Vigil at my church (and sing with the choir). I have pretty much chosen to work nearly every Easter just so I know I can attend the Vigil. It is a really special service and a wonderful reminder of what we have because of this day. Because Jesus died and rose from the dead, there is HOPE for a place MUCH better than this...

A year ago, April 12 was not Easter. Easter had passed, but that date was also filled with hope. I had spent the night before in vigil with the baby's mom as he seemed to be slipping away. Earlier that day, all the bereavement items--hand molds, fingerprints, footprints, hand prints--had been done, since it appeared he may not live through the weekend. I sat with her, crying, holding her hands, listening to the alarms, watching him struggle to breathe, praying, whispering thank yous when his blood pressure popped up a little bit, wondering what God's plan was going to be, but knowing that whatever it was, there was still hope.

Last year, on April 12 , I attended a Women's Retreat called "Weaving Hope into the Fabric of our Lives". I am really glad I decided to take notes and journal about it here, because it was very nice being able to re-read those words tonight.

The FOLLOWING day, a grieving family made the choice to donate their child's organs. They must have found hope knowing that their child's memory would live on in all whose lives would be touched by this gift. Because of that gift, a baby lives. He walks, he talks, he laughs, he plays, he loves. His family will NEVER forget the family who gave them that gift, the family who surely was grieving even more today as they celebrated their first Easter without the child they lost...



(Don't forget to pause my awesome music :o) )

Happy Easter! Hope your day was blessed (not exactly appropriate for me to say at this time that I was a tad disappointed that my family couldn't wait until I got there to have Easter Dinner...but, at least most of the food was still warm and my mom heated up the cold stuff for me in the microwave...)

Back to work tomorrow. Good night.

Entirely TOO Long!

I cannot BELIEVE that I haven't written a blog post in three days! C-RAZY (read SEE-RAY-ZEE or I guess KA-RAY-ZEE also works...ha ha!) I actually have been busy...or, staying up too late facebook chatting to fit in a blog post.

Tuesday I went in to work around 3:30 so a nurse could go to one of her son's games. It actually was really silly for me to be there since she had a nurse working with her who totally could have taken over the patients (she is new to our floor, but NOT a new nurse so she definitely could have handled things for a few hours!)

Yesterday I worked my first 12-hour shift in over a week (since I got off early on Saturday and my schedule left me with lots of days off in a row this time!) It was a quiet day which was nice except for a little harder to stay awake (yay for coffee...since Diet Coke is one of the things I gave up for Lent!) My little patient I wrote about a few weeks ago started talking. "We" were not so sure that was going to happen...apparently one of the things he said yesterday was that I was his wife :o) I'm sure it was prompted since his family is funny like that, but still cute (and very nice).

After work, well, someone decided that I was a fun person to talk to...until the wee hours of the morning...kidding, kidding, that's NOT how it went at all, right?! Anyway, there are some fun plans in the works for me that would include a spontaneous trip away from home. The "only" thing standing in the way of this is getting the days off work (that and making sure I am home in time for my sister's baby shower!). Hopefully I will find out tomorrow, but my stomach is in knots right now with anxiety because I SO want it to work out! More details to come in the coming weeks if everything comes together :o)

I had today off and spent much of the afternoon with my best friend from high school and her six-week old baby. We had sushi for lunch and went shopping (of COURSE I had to buy a few outfits for my nephew...I'm pretty much thinking he will get something new every time I see him!) It was really fun hanging out with her and she was happy to get out of the house :o)

I actually took today off since I really like our Holy Thursday service. We do a washing of the feet which is really neat. I think next year, though, I will try to get Good Friday off since the choir sings during the Stations of the Cross which is really moving/special.

Well, it took me ENTIRELY too long to figure out how to post this song. It gives me chills every time I hear it and was something that was a Holy Week Staple at my church growing up (the woman singing is a few years older than me and used to sing at my church). I could NOT figure out how to post the music from the CD after many attempts. Finally, the light bulb came on and I figured out that I could make a movie (since, I DO know how to do that!) In order to hear it, you will have to pause the music on the side (I'm not used to writing that since my "play list" is still fairly new). I actually think it turned out well with the timing of the lyrics...not perfect, but it works :o) (And, I'm not sure why this seems smaller than the other movies I have made, but hopefully it works still!)

Via Dolorosa

Good night.

Acceptance "Speech"

Sweet Nikki has given me another "Blogger Award". I will admit that I don't fully understand the whole "Blog Award Thing", but I definitely appreciate the thought (especially since today when she honored me with the award, she described me as "one of the most supportive, warm hearted, and loving person I have ever known"...aww, how sweet is that?!). The last time she honored me with awards, they never actually made it onto my page, but this time I made sure it did (even though I am not quite sure "Kreativ Blogger" quite fits "Me", she does, and of COURSE it would be rude not to accept such an award!)

My Award :o)

That being said, though, I'm feeling a little rebellious and not quite up to following all of the "rules" that this award came with.

The first "rule" was to link back to the person I received the award from. Okay, so I DID follow that one, and will again...Thanks Nikki!

The second "rule" is to list 7 things you love. I actually had quite a fantastic day off, so think I will list 7 things I loved about TODAY.

1. Not rolling out of bed until 10:00.
2. Getting compliments on my new hair cut when I went to Curves.
3. Chilling on the couch eating Reese's Puffs and drinking coffee for breakfast at noon. (Although, sorry to say Kristy, I do not really love Wild Mountain Blueberry Green Mountain Coffee and am kind of glad it is almost gone.)
4. Eating chips and salsa (chips I bought from Chrissy and salsa I made myself made this extra enjoyable today!)
5. Hanging out with my friend from Curves and playing "board games"--Sequence, Yahtzee, Skip-Bo, and Disney Trivia--since it was too cold to walk. Her mom left last week, so it was nice to be able to help with the lonliness for a few hours...both of us are really competitive so it definitely made for a really fun time :o)
   
6. Having pizza delivered and introducing my friend to Woodchuck.
7. Watching "Medium"...I LOVE that show!
8. Okay, since I'm already planning on breaking "the rules", I will continue on...I love that I have such awesome "blog friends".
9. My fantasy baseball team is off to a good start...and those "boys" were making fun of me and my partner yesterday since we are the only females in the league...they better watch out! My dad called me to let me know how my players were doing which is really cool...he is excited for us too! I love baseball!
   
10. I love that now I am reminded each and every day about how truly blessed I am thanks to all the fabulous people God has placed in my life.

Okay, that's probably good enough :o) I definitely loved a lot of things today (this is the "short list"!)...SO great!

Now, the third "rule" is to pick seven people to give this award to...I hate to be a "party pooper", but guess I'm not quite ready to jump into the award giving part of "blogging". For now, just know that if I read your blog, you are really special to me :o)

One thing I realized that I do NOT love is freaking out whenever I check my "site meter" and someone within a 600 mile radius of where I live has "stopped by". I know that all of you told me you believe my blog to be free of anything illegal, but I am not sure how long it will take for my anxiety about this to subside. (Of course, I wouldn't have ANYTHING to worry about if I didn't check my "site meter", but that's an entirely different issue!)

Now, I am not a photographer even though I do take lots of pictures. My sister's friends had been asking for "belly pictures" on facebook. Her camera is broken and she doesn't know how to post photos, so I took some when I was at her house on Saturday. I "borrowed" this pose idea from one or more of the blogs I have read, and don't think I did THAT bad of a job :o) I think she is about 26 weeks and my nephew is growing well.

Well, tomorrow afternoon I have to go to work so one of the other nurses can watch her son's soccer game. So, I suppose I should think about going to bed soon.

And, since I feel a little badly about not following the rules, I will give another shout out to Nikki :o) Thanks again!



P.S. Laurie in Ca. I'm really sorry that I did not do a very good job helping with the linking and adding buttons to your blog. If you haven't gotten help as of "press time", I will definitely help you tomorrow or later this week :o)

So Long

I want to give a HUGE "thank you" to all of my friends here who came out in support of me after my last post. I really was struggling and am SO thankful I could come here and get the help I needed to get through that. In my heart, I knew that I would never jeopardize the privacy of my patients and that I had chosen my words carefully each and every time I wrote about them. However, that memo really caught me off-guard, even though I knew it was not directed at me (especially since I no longer access facebook at work and don't use MySpace anymore!) It made me question many things, including what I should do about this blog...

That being said, the title of this post is "So Long"...it means MANY things, but most definitely does NOT mean good-bye to this blog and "Just Me" :o) I have made a couple changes, and will continue to remain attentive to details so I stay free from violating any laws. And, as one of my friend's said...if God leads you to it, He will see you through it, and I guess I have to believe that He wouldn't have brought me this far, brought me so many friends, so much comfort, so much support to have me get into legal trouble for the kinds of things I have written here.
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Anyway...today I had to go back to work. For some reason, this week I was SO tired! I could not seem to get enough sleep. I think it was Tuesday that I posted a picture of the "sleeping girl" and was in bed for 12 hours. The following day, I did pretty much nothing. Thursday after I posted my last post, I took a 2 1/2 hour nap and STILL was ready for bed at the usual time and had a REALLY hard time getting up yesterday morning. So, I was not really excited about working, even though I hadn't worked a shift on the floor since Tuesday (AND after today, I am not scheduled again until Wednesday, so it wasn't like working "one day" out of a week is a huge sacrifice!) I was slow to get moving this morning and arrived on the floor just a few minutes before 7. We are "supposed" to wait until everyone gets there, or until 7:00, to make patient assignments. So, it was a tiny bit annoying that my patients were already picked by the time I got there, even though five of us did not work yesterday. To make things a bit MORE annoying was that it was decided I would get the first admission...and the ONLY open bed was the room at the complete other end of the hallway (no one EVER has to take patients at the two ends of the hallways)...gee, thanks!

But, I managed to keep my grumbling to a minimum and remember that it is "just one day". As I was getting report, it seemed likely that at least one, if not BOTH of my patients would be leaving. As the morning went on, it looked like they were not the only ones who were going home, and no new patients had been paged to the floor. So, the charge nurse said that I could leave after my patients did. That got me out of work at 1:00..."So Long"...See ya later! (Yet another example of things happening for a reason and I'm glad I didn't make a fuss or things probably would have turned out differently!)
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One of the things I wanted to do today was go to the fashion show at my favorite clothing store. My mom and I have done it a few times together, and she has done it a couple times without me. That was her plan today. However, since I have their phone number in my cell phone (crazy...ha ha!), I called "my girl" and let her know that I could come and asked if she would pick out an outfit for me. Of course she said "sure" and my mom was excited to have someone there with her. I think she did a good job with the outfit...I did buy the shirt AND the shorts, but not the bag this time (or the flip-flops...especially since there is snow in the forecast!)

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For MONTHS I have heard that my hair is getting "SO Long!" Why, yes, yes it is...I'm guessing this is the way people who have super curly hair feel when people inform them that they have very curly hair; or, people who are really tall, really short, have striking blue eyes, etc. This week, I seemed to hear it even more often since I was at work on my days off, in normal clothes with my hair down and flat-ironed. Apparently, my sister must not hold grudges because when she found out I got the afternoon off, she invited me over to cut my hair. When she was in cosmetology school in 2004, I donated 10 inches of my hair to Locks of Love. I actually ended up cutting my hair even shorter than that at one point in time (if I had gotten my act together, I would have posted those "before" and "after" pictures, but I did not!) I decided that I wanted to donate my hair again, so have been growing it out for a LONG time...hence the really long hair :o) This time, though, I decided I would send my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

Hope you enjoy the video...I did include fun music, so you may need to pause the other music :o)

"So Long" to my "SO Long" hair!

From So Long Hair

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Another thing that I wanted to do tonight, but wasn't going to be able to since I worked was to attend a concert here at one of the churches in town. A Christian artist I really like was performing along with a couple other artists. When I first heard she was going to be here, I was SO bummed that I was working. Once I found out I was off, I was REALLY excited I would be able to go. I thought about asking a couple of friends, but then I found myself at my sister's house and wasn't even sure if there would be tickets still available at the door. I took a chance and called one of my friends, but she could not come. So, alone it was...that was my original "plan" since I'm perfectly okay doing things like that myself, but thought I should make an attempt to be "social".

So, I showed up at this huge church (after driving around an unfamiliar part of town for a little while looking for a gas station since, you know, there is snow in the forecast and I was a lot further away from home than usual!) by myself for this concert. I found a row without anyone in it and figured whoever was "supposed" to sit by me would. A girl (my age kind of "girl"), her husband, and some of their friends filled the pew. Of course me being alone, and social, we struck up a conversation. Her husband is from a small town, she is from a different state, but they now live in my city. They actually attend that church. She is a nanny and also does something business-wise on the side (after the concert she asked if I "was looking to make more money"...kind of hard to answer "no" to that with the economy, but I politely declined at this time). We exchanged phone numbers, but you never know what will come of these things. And, since there are "no coincidences", of COURSE she had a nephew three weeks ago who was stillborn due to anencephaly AND she was impressed by the nurses AND the NILMDTS photographer who did an amazing job. Yeah, I've heard about situations like that in my life...definitely thought about them during some of her more "famous" songs...

The concert was SO much fun, and especially helpful spiritually as we enter Holy Week quickly approaching Easter.

Well, "So Long" was a good title for this post for MANY reasons including the fact that it really is "SO Long"...and has taken me "SO Long" to write. It is now 1:00 in the morning and I actually have to show up on time for choir before church with my music all in order. At least I have a lot less hair to deal with in the morning :o)

Good night!

Freaking Out, Seeking Advice

When I started this "blog" nearly two years ago, I knew I needed to "be careful". I knew that if I was ever going to write about the "goings on" at work, I would need to be very protective of my patients and their privacy. I knew there were laws I did not want to break. I knew this, I know this, and in my heart, I thought I was doing a good job. I realize that this is a VERY gray area and, at times, I have wondered how close I have come to crossing the line, but still, I thought I was okay.

This morning, "it" hit the fan. I have succeeded at holding back the tears thus far, but really am not sure what I am going to do. I am shaking and I feel ill. I need to re-evaluate the "goal" of this blog. I need to pray for direction. I need some advice...

The issue: a memo from the hospital compliance officer regarding personal use of social networking sites.

The first paragraph addresses two of these such sites by name and states that accessing these sites while on duty is never appropriate. Okay that makes sense to me.

It goes on to say that sharing confidential information including protected health information is prohibited. Okay, that makes sense too.

However, the examples they have used as "prohibited" disclosure really make it very black and white and basically say that what I have done here is illegal. One being that "Any references to a patient or patient care events, even if the name is not included" is a privacy violation. Now, I have not gone back and read any of my posts prior to writing this, but honestly, I know that I have "generally" spoken about events...my question is, is this a violation when NO where here does it state who I am or where I work? Pretty much sounds like it to me...

The next point makes absolutely NO sense to me, and, if I am not "exempt" because my name and location are "secret", then I most DEFINITELY am in violation of this. It states that "Photographs of patients, EVEN if the patient has given a copy to the staff member are protected health information and written authorization is required before disclosing them." Now, that makes absolutely NO sense to me. I understand that me pulling a photo from their personal site for my use or taking a photo without parental consent is not "right". However, if I go out to dinner with a family, I take pictures with them at a hospital event, or the family sends me a picture, how is THAT invading their privacy?!

The third point is that sharing hospital business with people who do not have a need to know is prohibited. Okay, I don't think I have violated that one.

The memo goes on to discuss the policies and what action will be taken if violations are found, including termination.

This was SO hard for me this morning when it was discussed in my morning meeting. Everyone was kind of like "duh", that makes total sense...of course, it makes sense not to post about work and patients on facebook when you are at work (although, the whole picture thing still gets me). However, this page is ME. Yes, I am still an employee at the place where I work, but on here, I am Just Me, and no one I work with even knows about it. Heck, my FAMILY doesn't even know how to get here! There is no way anyone could find me by searching for me, or by searching for patients' names. (And, as one of my "readers" pointed out, she read this entire blog and couldn't figure out where in this country I lived...) So, am I safe, or am I not? Can I continue like this, or can I not? I talked to a couple people at work who couldn't really give me a straight answer. They said I should ask my manager, but I don't want to make a big deal out of it...I don't want her to tell me to shut this whole thing down. I love having this outlet. I love having support on the difficult days. I love sharing pictures of "my kids" (okay, the tears are coming now). I was looking forward to sharing updated photos of "the baby" who has taken his first steps a year after it didn't look like he would ever see sunlight...

It seems like this "memo" is kind of like when the whole class gets punished for one kid's behavior. I'm sure it wasn't directed at me and my "little blog" with less than 7 "hits" a day, but it definitely took the wind out of my sails. I am left wondering what I am supposed to do...where I am to go from here? Too bad I don't have a legal background or I'd know that privacy act backwards and forwards :o) (Personally, I have always thought that law was pretty crazy, or that people took the law WAY out of proportion...) I suppose, there is more to "me" than my work and my patients, but it will be a lot harder to leave that part of my life out of this. Honestly, I'm tempted to think that I am "safe" from getting into big trouble, but is that being naive?!

Well, I definitely need a nap. What a day!

April is National Donate Life Month

Be an angel, be an organ donor.

I forgot to mention that when I first watched this video, I noticed that Lisa's son was one of the kids in the video! He has had a rough road after transplant, but is one happy kid with some really cool parents :o)