He is Risen!

I hope everyone had a most blessed Easter holiday.  I had to work and we were short staffed because several employees called in, but it was a good day. I sure miss attending church services, and will be so glad when I can schedule my own work days!
Here is an "oldie but goody" frm Sandi Patti that I always think of when Easter rolls around.  I hope you click on the link and enjoy it as much as I do year after year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpIC0d_3bWo&playnext=1&list=PL4BC645F0CB6D37A7

Best day yet!

Well, folks, I knew the day would come when I could actually blog about a GOOD day at work.  Actually, any day is a good day at work since I truly love taking care of my patients.  Sometimes it's just frustrating because I'm not great at time management and prioritizing tasks and such so it feels like I'm running all day long without food, drink or potty relief only to still be behind at day's end. Yesterday, was no such day, let me tell you!
I wasn't working with my preceptor because she took on the role of charge nurse, so I was with another nurse.  We had four patients between the two of us.  I took 3 and she took one. (That's the brakes folks when you're a newbie resident!)  I was actually able to get all of my assessments done and charted and morning meds passed before my lunch break, which was around 1:30 (vs the 3 and 4 o'clock lunches I've been taking). I returned from lunch and discharged one of my patients and was actually caught up enough to admit another, but that patient ended up going somewhere else, so I just had the two patients at the end of the day.  I clocked out around 6:55 p.m. versus 7:10 or even 8:00 I clocked out one day last week! Aahh, did that feel good.  I'm so looking forward to many more days like that and even better.  I needed that little boost of confidence because it's time for me to move up to four patients, and before yesterday, I could barely manage with three.  Keep those prayers coming, friends. I've come a long way, but still have so far to go.

Five Question Friday -15 April 2011

Aaarrrggghh! It's tax day! Only not really because for some reason the government has extended the deadline to Monday, April 18th...go figure. I also don't really have to panic because my taxes are already done (as of Wednesday, that is LOL!) Seems like last year we had already filed, received and spent our income tax return well before April 1st.  Anyway, I digress...
Fridays just don't seem complete without those five little questions from Mama M at My Little Life! Feel free to join the fun if you please. The rules are simple: copy and paste the original questions to a new post on your blog then answer them. Pop back over to My Little Life and add your blog to the list so others can check out what you have to say about the questions...here goes. Feel free to answer any or all of the questions in the comments below.

1. What is your favorite sign of spring?

That's a toss up between all of the trees budding and the winter weather giving way to warmer breezes characteristic of spring 

2. What was your best birthday ever?

My sister might be offended if I don't say the surprise "prom" birthday party she threw for my 40th birthday, but I think my 25th birthday was definitely one of my favorites.  I was back stateside from my Peace Corps assignment in Honduras.  I decided to travel out east via Amtrak to see some of America and visit friends I had met in Peace Corps. So, I spent my 25th birthday footloose and fancy free doing the things I loved: traveling and spending time with friends.  They even hosted a potluck dinner on my behalf and someone brought home-made cinnamon ice cream! A perfect segue into the next question...

3. What is your favorite dessert?

Cake (7-up cake or white cake, white frosting) and ice cream. I'm not ruling out all of the other scrumdiddylumptious affairs...I love a good cheesecake, cookie, cupcake, pie or cobbler, too!

4. What is the best excuse you've ever used to get out of a ticket?

Remember that question some weeks back about being superstitious? Well, I'm going to knock on wood before I answer this one. I've never had to use an excuse to get out of a ticket. I did get pulled over once by Officer Jack, the police that had just visited the Parent's Day Out program where I worked. I thought if I painted a big smile on my face and greeted him with a sweep of my open-palmed hand in a circular motion and a "Hi, Officer Jack" like he taught the kids, he may have mercy on me. He was only pulling me over because he noticed my registration was expired. I had the new tag in the car with me and was waiting until I went to the dealership to get my oil changed so they could deal with the sticky mess of removing the old one and applying the new one.  Officer Jack reached in, swiped the old sticker off in one swoop, stuck the new sticker on and sent me on my way. No ticket (or need for excuses) involved!

5. Do you wake up before your alarm, with your alarm, or after hitting snooze several times?

I've recently discovered that I like the nice soothing alarm tone on my cell phone so I've been setting that.  However, I usually wake up before my alarm(s) go off then doze back off until I hear the chimes.

Five Question Friday -08 April 2011

It's late, but it's officially still Friday in my neck of the woods, so I thought I'd go ahead and post/answer the questions for Mama M's Five Question Friday.  I won't bother with all of the rules and links and such as it's pretty much a done deal (well, okay, I'll link <this space> back to Mama M's blog just in case you want to pay her a visit, which I highly recommend).  Anyway, tomorrow is a work day, so I shan't tarry.  Here goes...

1. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

I could write a list of things I'd change, however, in the interest of time (and the fact that the question clearly states ONE thing)...I'd change my "tendency-toward-procrastination-poor-time-management-disorganization" flaw.

2. Write about a time when you got lost.

Years ago, I learned on PBS that homing pigeons have this thing in their brains that lets them go out on a mission and find their way back home. Well, thank goodness I'm not a pigeon because I don't think I have one of those. I can get lost going in and out of stores in the mall--not that I subject myself to that torture very often. When I was in high school, a friend got me a temp job at DFW international Airport. The day before I was to report to work I decided to take a test drive so I'd know where I was going. Thank heavens I did.  Not only did I NOT realize there was a south entrance and north entrance to the airport, but I didn't know which one I had used to get where I was. I found where I was supposed to go without incident, but on the return trip home I must have looped back and forth for an hour before I finally got my bearings and made it home trembling, broke and out of gas.

 

3. Camping or 5 star hotel?

Each has it's place. On the whole, I'm kind of a country girl at heart and really enjoy camping with my kids (in my parents' pop up tent if that counts).

4. Have you donated blood?

I donated blood many moons ago when I was in college and received a follow up letter informing me that my blood had been destroyed because it contained some antibodies or something and I was ineligible to donate ever again.  Many moons later I went with my hubs to give blood and they asked if I'd like to donate, too.  I explained my predicament, but they let me donate anyway.  I got a similar letter in the mail and have not donated blood again since.

5. Do you have a budget or do you 'fly by' most months?

For the past umpteen years we haven't had enough money to budget. I just paid what bills I could and then rolled the unpaid ones over to the next month and prayed for the hubs to work some extra shifts or something.  Now that I'm working and we're crawling out of that downward spiral and looking toward college planning, etc, I foresee a budget in our near future.

Whew! That was fun and now I'm done...in about 30 minutes. That may just be a blog record for me! Good night my friends. Until next time...