Welcome Back, Friends!

I could (and probaby should) spend the first few paragraphs of this post making apologies for my absence over the past 6 months...BUT since I have no good or worthwhile excuses (other than working full time outside the home [and all of the added expenses and scheduling issues that go along with that!] while trying to manage life with two teenagers in the home [and all of the added expenses and scheduling issues that go along with that!], I have none! Just like the trainers at the gym I joined when I started working January 2011 say when I put in my once-in-a-blue-moon appearances, "You're here now. That's what counts!"
I figure I need to make up one of those "1000 things to do in the next 100 months" type lists to get me motivated and focused on stuff I need to get done in spite of working full time. It seems that when I'm not at work, I am recovering from having been at work or preparing myself (mentally and physically...[read sleeping]) for my return to work. Everything takes precedence over housework.  Hubs says, "Let's watch a movie." My mind runs over the piles of mail stacked on taking over the kitchen table, the clothes in the washer and dryer, the dishes stacked in the sink and on the counter, the dust covering EVERYTHING, the toilets in need of a good scrubbing, etc. And out of my weary mouth comes, "Okay, what are our choices?" I just can't seem to tackle anything because, after all, it is my day off, right?
Alas, I abandoned my FlyLady approach to cleaning which in theory works wonderfully well IF you don't fall off of the band wagon as often as I did. Her daily e-mails used to say, "you're not behind..." but she hasn't seen my house, people. I am behind, and I mean years and years behind when it comes to housekeeping!
I didn't stay away for six months only to return to blog about my housekeeping woes. Or maybe that's why I have been away for 6 months. After all, my mama taught me "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." In all seriousness, I do love my job. I mostly look forward to going to work because every day is a different experience. I never know if I'll have the same patients, new patients, former patients who are returning, etc. I still feel slow and awkward (as evidenced by my staying an hour past my official "clock out" time to finish charting on my patients on a regular basis) but I'm getting better at making the "tough"decisions about patient care...like whether or not to give a blood pressure medication when their blood pressure is just above the parameter that says you hold it or when to call the doctor. Of course, that is a tricky situation because it totally depends on the doctor. One night I had a patient who was uncomfortable and nauseous most of the night. I tried everything in my power to keep him comfortable but did not call the doctor in the middle of the night. When the day nurse called (before I was gone for the day) I could tell the doctor was asking why no one had called sooner. So, the next night I had a different patient complain of nausea and just not feeling like himself (I had had this patient before and he was markedly "worse for the wear" so to speak), so I called the doctor and had my hindquarters handed to me on a silver platter for calling at such an ungodly hour when the doc was sleeping and I didn't have a list of requests that the doc could just say, "yes"to for the patient and roll over and go back to sleep. *sigh*
I am willing to take a couple of teeth marks in my backside for my patients. As a nurse, I am my patients' advocate. I don't blame the doctors for being cranky when awakened, but they're getting paid much bigger bucks than me to do their jobs, too.
Jumping subjects once again (because I have to work tonight and my bed is calling my name), I have been really bad about cooking lately. I'm spending record amounts on groceries, but that's because it's summer time, and to teenagers that means lazing and grazing all day long; and we're eating out more and more as well (talk about a bad and expensive combination!). I hope to have a quick and easy recipe to share in my next post. If anyone has any quick and easy recipe sharing memes, let me know. My family's birthday season has kicked off. I made the Hubs a caramel cake for Father's Day and a blackberry cobbler for his birthday last month. This month (this week in fact) is my daughter's birthday;  next month is my son's birthday. At the very least, I should have a few desserts to post soon...Until next time!