Gosh! It's been so long since I've blogged, I almost forgot how. Then, I remembered 5QF is such an easy way to go. Visit Mama M, copy and paste the questions and answer them! You can also link up and see what others have said by checking out the links on Mama M's blog. If you're new to this phenomenon, just visit Mama M. She explains it a lot better.  Anyway, here goes...

1. What is your favorite book to read with your kids?

Gosh, my kids are teenagers so we don't read "together" anymore. The last books I read with them were probably Joshua and Joshua and the Children. They still snicker at how "mom kept getting choked up" while reading! 
2. After having kids, what body part has changed the most?

Ummm, does sex drive count as a body part? Sorry, not supposed to answer a question with a question. I guess I'll say my boobs...talk about the old gray mares just ain't what they used to be!

3. Would you ever go back to college? What would you study?

Unfortunately I don't really have a choice. I have a bachelor's degree in Family Studies and an associate in nursing degree, but my employer wants the Bachelor's degree in nursing. So, alas, I will be returning to school soon (probably online if I can muster up the courage to embrace technology and set aside my attachment to pens, highlighters, gobs of paper for notes and my microcassette recorder!) If I went back to college to study what I wanted to, it'd probably be massage therapy or midwifery.

4. How do you close a phone call? Bye, bye bye or other?

I just got off the phone with my mom, and I think I said, "Okay, bye." That's probably how I end most of my calls...I think.

5. What is the one food that will always be your "cheat food" on a diet?

I cannot think of just one "cheat food"! I am a bad dieter and would automatically want to eat everything I'm not supposed to...even stuff I'd never bothered craving before. If I had to say one thing, though, it would probably be ice cream. I love my Blue Bell moollineum crunch (and pralines and cream, and almond pistachio...you get the picture!)

Now that I'm done, I'm going to hop back over to Mama M and see what everyone else had to say. Have fun and enjoy your weekend! Until next time...

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!

Merry Christmas!

Just popping in to extend best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Prospero Ano Nuevo from my family to yours. I've been busy working nights and finally finished my rotations through nine med-surg units. As of January 1, 2012 I'll be in my "permanent" position...a floor to call my own at last! I will continue working nights and trying to manage the rest of life in the few waking moments during the day when I'm not trying to catch up on sleep.
All is well.  The hubs had minor knee "surgery" last month (arthroscopy) which confirmed a torn meniscus from so long ago the missing part was no longer in existence. He was off work for three weeks, returned for a few days and was off on vacation for nine days after that. Now he's back to work...the well-recuperated knee is doing fine.
The kiddoes are well...excited to be out of school for the next week. Commercial Christmas is very low key this year.  We didn't even put up a tree (Bad Mommy moment #217). I felt a little guilty and went out and purchased a tiny cypress with red bows attached to set on the coffee table. I'll plant it outside once the weather warms up. It makes the Charlie Brown Christmas tree look like the majestic tree adorning the White House lawn.LOL!
The kids are watching "A Christmas Story" as I type. I picked up a copy at Costco last week just because it was on sale and the family had never seen it. I think it will become part of our holiday tradition along with the Grinch and all of our Christmas CDs which are loaded into the player the day after Thanksgiving.  There is a potato, ham & cheese "breakfast pie" in the oven. It's a concoction I came up with after watching some chef on Good Morning America a few weeks back. If it turns out well, I'll try to remember what I did and post the recipe : ).
I still have a bit of baking to finish (I tried my hand at gingerbread biscotti and failed...will have to make some adjustments next time) and some sleep to catch up on before I go in to work tonight, so I'll close for now.
May the love of Jesus  which is so apparent during the Christmas season extend throughout the new year!
Until next time...

Well, folks, I meant to get online and blog all about my birthday (2 weeks ago) and everything that's been going on, but I got side-tracked visiting other blogs. Now, it is almost 1:30 a.m. and it's raining, and my bed is calling my name.  I have church at 8:00, so I'll cut this a little short and promise to get back sooner than a month from now. Sound like a plan?
The day before my birthday (which is actually my SIL's birthday) we tried Five Guys' Burgers and Fries, and it was a fun evening out. My parents, sister & her family and my brother and his wife (the actual birthday girl du jour) joined us. The kids didn't have school on my birthday, which was Friday (not because I'm just that special but because it was a teacher in-service day), but the high school still had a Friday night football game, so I got to sling nacho cheese with the Band Boosters on my actual birthday. My SIL gave me a copy of Cupcake, a book about Vanilla cupcake who feels plain next to his fancy friends, then his friend, Candle comes along, and they look for a special topping for cupcake. It is the story of my life, and I loved it! I'll have to let you all know how the recipe in the back of the book turns out...when I get around to making them! My mom gave me some nice clothes which means I can purge a few more outfits from my "over-crowded-with-out-of-style-digs" closet. Woo-hoo!
On Saturday, the hubs, the kids & I tried a Jamaican restaurant not far from our house. They had a live band (not because I'm just that special, but because they always have live music on Friday and Saturday nights ;-). The short version of the long story behind that decision was: I bought a $25 fundraiser card from the Athletic Boosters from my daughter's school where several different participating restaurants give you freebies and discounts when you show the card. Well, the bigger deal was you go online and register for a $25 gift certificate for any of the participating restaurants. I decided to do it then and there, and the Jamaican restaurant (which we'd been thinking of trying anyway) was one of the choices. Win-win. My adventuresome son tried the special of the night: curried conch. I had jerk chicken; the hubs had jerk pork and curried goat. The daughter played it safe with "Rasta Pasta" which looked pretty good. I had a great time.
To close out the weekend of celebrations, we attended a jazz orchestra concert at the wonderful outdoor pavilion on Sunday evening. The weather was just perfect. We set up a couple of chairs and spread a comforter on the ground. I'd made baked chicken quesadillas and loaded them in my insulated carrier along with a cooler with salsa, chips & guacamole. My sister and her two kiddoes joined us, and she brought a birthday cookie and miniature wine bottles. Did I mention the weather was perfect for a concert under the stars?
My cousin took me to lunch at Mimi's Cafe a couple of days later and gave me a gift bag filled with my favorite snacks and guilty pleasures. Thanks, B!
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention all of the phone calls, texts and messages posted on my facebook wall from friends and family members that made my day, too.  Thank you all for helping me celebrate!
As far as work is concerned, I'm working from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. now. I love the (sometimes) more relaxed pace of the nights, but am still finding it a little difficult to adjust my sleep schedule (which is why I'm up at 2 a.m. blogging on a night I'm not at work!). In a couple of hours I'll get up and go to 8:00 mass and Sunday school for the kids (I'm not teaching this year because my schedule is far from set in stone. I never know when I'll be working or not, and that's just not fair to the kids and other teachers). Then, I'll come home and sleep from 11 a.m. until around 3:30, and get up and fix dinner and head off to work around 5:30. The kids do not have school on Monday, and Mike is on vacation, so I'll let them hold down the fort while I sleep from 9 a.m. until around 3 p.m. and do it all over again. At first I was concerned about doing that three days in a row, but I have found that I actually prefer 3 days in a row. Then, I can flip back to my regular sleep schedule (sort of) for three days and revert back to my wakeful nights the night before I go back.  I'm thinking I may stay on nights whenever I interview for my "permanent" position at the end of the year...just a thought. I'll see how it goes on other units and let you know.
Until next time...

Long, hot summer

Welcome friends, family! I realized it had been a while since I've been online, but didn't realize it had been almost two months. I've tried to switch my background to reflect the transition from summer to fall. It's a little plain, but I didn't want to spend too much time hunting around for backgrounds this morning. Let's see, where do I begin...?
Work is going well.  I'm on my 5th of 9 rotations through medical-surgical units at the hospital.  So far, I much prefer the medical patients over the surgical ones.  I survived 5 weeks on the palliative care unit and actually enjoyed the serenity of caring for those near death. Sounds kind of morbid, and it really is difficult to explain.  I'm currently on an orthopedic-trauma unit, and it is tough. We get 'em, fix 'em, get 'em up and moving and out the door. Patients are constantly coming and going, and it's pretty tough to keep up. I'm doing my best. While I have loved the opportunity to rotate from floor to floor and experience different areas of med-surg care, I am looking forward to being assigned to one unit where I can really learn the ropes, the doctors, the medications, etc. and "settle in." That will come later this year or January 2012.  Meanwhile, I start working nights next month. I'm already trying to prepare myself mentally for staying awake all night.  I'm generally a night owl anyway, but it'll be different having the responsibility of five or six post-surgical patients in my care the entire time. Wish me luck!
The kids started back to school this week, and it has been quite the transition for them.  We started back on vitamins and allergy tablets a couple of weeks ago, but they've continued their summertime practice of staying up late and sleeping in up until Sunday night. Tsk, tsk (that's intended for me and them).
If you've been keeping up with the Texas heat you know that it really was a long, HOT summer around these parts.  I lost count of how many consecutive days of temps greater than 100 degrees after 35 or so. You walk outside to the car and feel as if the heat will blister you before you can get the a/c going.  Aaron still attended a couple weeks of band camp and participated in the 4th of July parade with the high school marching band.  Alisa attended a week of dance camp and a week of band camp.  My parents took them to Holly Lake, Texas for a little R & R at their time share.  All in all, we didn't do much.
We did manage a couple day's get away to Corpus Christi, TX back in July. The hubs has always wanted the kids to see a "Texas beach" and everything worked out so we took off. I'll post a separate blog about that a little later with a couple of pics.
I'm trying to distract myself from the kitchen for the time being.  I have my annual exam this afternoon and have to fast for blood work. I called the doctor's office to see if I can just run to the lab around the corner and have them draw blood so I can eat. My stomach is rumbling and I haven't quite gotten to the "over the hump where I'm no longer that hunger" point.  It doesn't help that the house still smells of pancakes and bacon because I got up and fixed breakfast for the family! Talk about sacrifice. My tall glass of ice water just isn't hitting the spot.
I'm off to hop around the blogosphere for a bit before I head out to run errands. I have missed blogging and catching up with what's going on with my fellow bloggers. I plan to poke around at least once a week to see what everyone is up to. Until next time....

Sunrise Blueberry Muffins

Ever since I saw a commercial on television for Denny's all-you-can-eat pancakes for $4.00 per person, I have been craving breakfast foods. Since I started working I don't really get up early on my off days and make breakfast like I used to. On days I do work, I choke down dry cereal in the car or nibble on a breakfast sandwich or something equally portable on my way to work. Who in the world is hungry at 5:30 in the morning?!

Anyway, today was a nice lazy morning.  The hubs is on vacation so he didn't get up early shuffling around the bedroom. I worked yesterday and will be back at work tomorrow, but I'm off today.  Naturally, the kids are on summer vacation and have no extra-curriculars today.  Woo-hoo!

I rolled out of bed a little after 9 a.m.  Delivery men showed up between 9:30 and 10 to deliver my husband's birthday gift (way long overdue living room furniture!). They were done in no time, so I headed to the kitchen with a "rumbly in my tumbly" and food on my mind.  Hmmm, I pondered what to make? Potatoes and onions with cheesy scrambled eggs? Pancakes and sausage patties? Muffins and fruit salad?  Ahhh, breakfast sweet breakfast. I finally decided on Cajun breakfast rice, sunrise blueberry muffins and a fruit salad with minted green tea or orange juice for brunch since morning was almost over. Anyway, here's my version of the recipe for the muffins...

Sunrise Blueberry Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup vanilla yogurt

2 tsp (or so) grated orange peel (zest)

Glaze (optional)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp milk

2-3 drops almond extract (lemon or vanilla would probably work fine, too)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 12-cup muffin pan (I sprayed with baking spray just before filling them).

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, beat eggs and add oil, yogurt and orange peel. Mix well.  Add to flour mixture stirring just until moist.  Gently fold in blueberries being careful not to crush them.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake 12 to 14 minutes (until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean). Cool slightly (I removed the muffins from the pan and placed them on a cooling rack with wax paper underneath)

Meanwhile, prepare glaze by combining powdered sugar, milk and flavor in a small bowl and mixing with a rubber spatula until smooth. Drizzle over cooled muffins. Enjoy!

*I normally split a warm muffin and slather real butter on it, but I refrained since these have the glaze drizzled on them.

Two in One Fun

Today is May 28, 2011 and I have not posted a thing since Easter Sunday. Shame on me. Today was busy but in a most fun way. My friend Angie texted me earlier this week that a couple of our friends were coming in town for the weekend and asked if my schedule would permit me to join them for brunch, dinner, drinks, or whatever else they were getting into. My work days this week were Sunday, Monday, Friday, so I texted her back that I was not working on Saturday. I got my hopes all up just thinking of a "girls day out." I honestly cannot remember the last time I've been out with just the girls. In all honesty, it was probably when we went to Cancun for Chermain's 40th birthday a couple few years back. Then, I got home and remembered that Saturday would be Alisa's dance recital beginning with a dress rehearsal from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. then a return by 5:30 for the show from  6:30 to 9:00 p.m. I figured Sunday was out of the question, too, since I've worked every Sunday since I started working back in February. I told Angie to keep me posted on whatever plans were brewing but I let her know that my chances of participation were getting slimmer by the minute...

(L) Gina, Angie, Melissa; (R)  Sandi, Chermain & me

The next generation of besties!

Well, as it turns out I got to meet "the girls" for Mexican food (they chose a restaurant near my house and all came my way) between the dress rehearsal and the recital. I didn't know the "mini-me's" were included or I would have brought Alisa. Then, I enjoyed an evening of tap, jazz, ballet and contemporary dance at the recital...Alisa had already changed out of her costume after her last performance, but we took a couple of pics anyway.

Here are Alisa's faithful subjects: Aunt Shannon, Leyla, Aaron, Xavier and Tia. Her dad and I were in attendance as well. I was behind the camera. Don't know where the hubs ducked off to. Below are Alisa and her brother and cousins again. She did a great job in both of her numbers. I'll have to try to post a couple of her costume pics on here at some point. For now, I must turn in. Tomorrow is my first Sunday off since I began working back in February, and I need to be well rested so I don't fall asleep during mass. Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Until next time...