Still working! oh, and Merry Christmas.

Well, I've been working at the hospital for over a month now and I'm learning every day. It's been exciting. My boss left on a long vacation/leave right after I started so I don't think my orientation is going quite as she had planned but I'll get there. I just think I am spending a lot more time in one area than she planned. It's has been so busy that I think they are just leaving me in one area to keep things simple. I just don't want to be on orientation forever! I have spent 2 weeks already learning scopes and she said I was signed off and good to go on to the next thing. I went in today though and found myself right back in the same area. I was only supposed to be in each area for one week so really I should be finished with orientation by now and I still have a lot to learn. The one consolation is that I do like the lady that was training me on scopes so I don't mind at all working with her longer and she is teaching me everything she can think of as we go. She's a wonderful lady and a good first new friend/co-worker.

One thing about working at the hospital that I have found unfavorable is that I'm working around a lot of nasty bugs and I caught one! A couple weeks ago I noticed everyone around me was sneezing. All the staff are good about not sharing (of course) but a few of our lovely visitors were sneezing all over the place and well..... I have to breath! I was soooooooooo sick and I just barely made it through the week! When I got home on Friday I just crawled right into bed and crashed. I didn't get out of bed at all on Saturday. I didn't read or watch TV or anything. I was so sick I actually slept all day! When I woke up on Sunday I was starting to feel better. Now I just have a irritating sinus issue but I actually feel like doing some things around the house..... and boy does it need doing! I need a flag for when I make it to the top of Mt. Washmore and another for Dirtydish summit LOL

I do have to add though that a very thoughtful friend sent me a nice CD and it arrived at the perfect time! My Riley brought his CD player in my room and played that CD when I was so sick on Saturday and I really enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks Glenda! I'd hug you if I could.

Oh, and someone said they wanted a Christmas card from me this year so everyone scroll down.


MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
From Donna the red nosed, frazled CNA (who is happy to be employed)

pictures

My husband was getting the camera ready to take to Vegas and these pictures were still on it. I completely forgot about taking them. I was hanging out with my baby-friend and her mama. Cheesy G was there too along with a few others. It was someone's birthday but Loopy Linda was wearing the wild woman head dress.





Doesn't she look like Queen of the Loony bin?







I think she should wear it every day and learn to wave like Vanna.






We were being really goofy and we had a great time.

I LOVE this picture!!

Look out Rocky! Here comes A-cacia Yo Face!

Sisterhood...once upon a December

I overdosed on bottlecaps today....... only the purple ones. Well, and a few reds. I really don't like the red ones but I felt I NEEDED more and the purples were all gone. They have these boxes of bottlecaps at Walmart and I made the mistake of buying a bazillion boxes. After I gorged on those I started to feel a little........well TOO sweet, if that's at all possible for me LOL I drank a bunch of water and then tried to balance out the sweetness with a little salty snack. It didn't really work. Later on in the afternoon the crash hit and I slept for 6 hours. After I came out of that coma I felt the need to exercise and went miles in my garage on the bike in front of the bookshelf. I picked up the Ya-YA book and ended up peddling past my 30 minute timer and probably 3o more. I went 12 miles in my reading clip, which isn't really very fast. Well, about 12 miles an hour I guess. Then I grabbed my usual nightcap....a cup of sleepy time tea and some vanilla yogurt. I have strawberries too that I found at Sam's club. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm Now this is bliss.

I had that song from Anastasia stuck in my head so turned on itunes and set it on repeat. So Deanna Carter is singing "once upon a December" over and over and over..... it's a soothing moody song.

Something caught me when I was reading and I think it has something to do with this odd mood I've been in lately. It's this whole "sisterhood" thing...... or girlfriends. This is the third book I've read that centered on that theme. I haven't let anyone get close enough to me to have any good friends like this. I'm not sure why but I kind of keep this wall up to people. I'm friendly and likable.........but for reason I tend to be antisocial and missed parties or not be able to make it when people are going out. Now I'm regretting it. I wish I had some girlfriends all these years that have passed me by....... friends to reminisce with about old times. I've lost touch with the friends I had as a kid. I remember them but they aren't around anymore. Some of them just aren't people I could hang out with anymore. Some of them have different names now.

Oh well, I know I have friends now and I just need to work at keeping them from drifting away. I'll have to add that to my "to do" list.

1. vacuum
2. clean the tub
3. study
4. take jared to baseball
5. call a friend and catch up

Blue dog

My Blue girl was sick last night. I was up all night, every hour, going back and forth from outside and back in. It was like having a baby again. I really thought she was going to die because she was throwing up white foam and the little bit of food she ate. She was also shaking and pacing and whining a lot. It just broke my heart when she looked at me with those sad brown eyes.



I heard white foam usually meant the dog got ahold of antifreeze. I'm not sure on that but I did pick up a book today on vetrinarian procedures and emergency treatments. So maybe next time I'll be a little better informed. Last night I just did a little googling and ended up giving Blue some Pepto tablets in pieces of hotdog. I also kept trying to get water down her. By 10 am she seemed to stop pacing and gagging and laid down to sleep. During the day today she drank 3 bowls of water. I felt so bad for her. I'm so glad she's okay now.

I was so glad she seemed to be resting okay before my lunch date with my friends. I would have had a hard time leaving her otherwise. She was happy to go snuggle in her kennel though. I had a great time with Cheesy-G and Sp-linda again and Baby A is getting cuter!! I didn't think it was possible! Her mom said she's been keeping her awake all night. I know the feeling! We had a great visit and CG and I hammed it up. Next time I'll have to get SpLinda!





I gave my copy of the Red hat club to CG even though I wasn't quite finished. I knew there was another copy at the literacy council. I went there right after and found a bunch of great books. That's where I got the book on vet care. I also found a good book on sewing and a book called "Ireland" that looks great and a few more poetry books. I was in hog heaven! I love that place. So now I'm reading this huge hard cover version of the Red Hat club and it's a weird shift.

I was coming home just in time to swing by and pick up Jared after school. We had a coffee date. We couldn't go without Blue girl though. They always have a treat for her. She was so happy to see her boy and it was good to see her acting normal again even though she wasn't quite her spunky self.

Oh, Ry got an A on his science project/report! I'm so proud of him!

Quote of the Day

Friends represent "a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." -Anais Nin

It's a nice feeling to know you have friends out there but there are some people who really do change us or bring out something we didn't know was there. I've been lucky enough to have several friends like that, some of which I didn't recognize until something happened that left me feeling like I had none. Some friends bring out the poetic side of me, some the spiritual side, and some bring out the wild and crazy side of me. I recently went out with a couple of the wild and crazy friends to see some local bands play.



Sp-Linda and Cheezy G! LOL
Look at those cheezy grins!

This group was terrible! They were the cover band and pretty much anything would have sounded good after that.

This is Soul Hole and they were GREAT! They all have great hats too!

The band after that turned on some smog and it was tine to get out of there! UGH.

The sweetest thing...

is a smiling dirty face! I have so many pictures of my boys with faces so dirty all you can see are their teeth and their eyes shining through. This little boy happens to be very special to me AND he was born on my birthday! His mom is THE BEST at making scrapbook pages (at least in my eyes). I'm awe struck looking at them.

I have some other friends that will soon have a little one of their own and they will learn just how cute these little faces can get beneath a layer of spaghetti or chocolate pudding :O)

Most of the pictures of my kids when they were young enough to be in a highchair were taken before I had a digital camera but this one must have been scanned. It's the only one on my computer. This is Riley covered in something sticky. He rubbed it all in his hair! I have several pictures of Jared covered in spaghetti sauce or chocolate pudding hehehe I guess I'll save those and the bathtub pictures for the first girlfriend!


Riley AKA Spike

Whooh, What a day!

First of all I had this crazy nightmare that melded two of my worst weaknesses/issues together in the oddest way. Your mind is like a little brother sometimes - taunting, evil, and stupid all at the same time. Maybe I should cut out the midnight snack or something.

Well anyway, my first issue is that I'm allergic to cats. Well most cats. I went to a thrift type store the other day to see if they had a coffee table I could redo and I found these cool shirts that my oldest son would like. They looked new and were only $3 each. I bought him 3 of them. I remember feeling a little itchy there and I felt like I had something in my eye just before I left. The next morning I woke up with my eye all red and irritated. I finally got a fine dark hair out of my eye and it started to get better.

Next issue....well weakness...or both. I LOVE blue eyes. If I see someone with those awesome sky-blue eyes my knees buckle and I can't keep my head long enough to form a sentence. I think I should call a therapist. Yes, my husband has blue eyes and so did all the guys that I dated. I even had a dog with blue eyes. After a while I get used to it and act normal until the next set of blue eyes walk my way *sighs like I'm high*

So, this odd dream was about this CAT with blue eyes LOL Talk about mixed up. It kept following me everywhere I went...at the grocery store (where I was buying ice cream and frozen french fries LOL) and then in sears! It followed me home (I was walking) and then I felt bad for it and let it in my house. That's when I started the wild sneezing and turning red and bumpy but I couldn't run it off or even take my eyes off of this cat with the gorgeous blue eyes. Is that the most retarded thing you have ever heard????????????????? I think I've lost my mind.

Funny thing is, about 30 minutes before my alarm went off I rolled over to check the time and couldn't open my left eye and could barely open the other eye. My eyes were swollen shut! I think there had to be cat hair on those shirts and when I was doing laundry last night I handled them. It's a good thing I knew right where the benedryl was because I couldn't see anything. I took one and it knocked me out cold. I vaguely remember thinking about the kids needing to be woken up for school and then deciding that I needed their services for today. I woke up a couple hours later and fumbled into Jared's room to wake him up. He instantly came to my rescue like I knew he would. I barely explained what the problem was and he went and started the laundry. He is washing everything! Riley helped me a lot too by bringing me things or helping me when I couldn't see. Now it's about 3pm and I feel a lot better. The swelling has gone down and I can see. My eye is just a little scratchy feeling. I just wish I could quit feeling freaked out from that crazy dream I had!

I am going to go meet a friend at the literacy council's used book store (Forget me not used books) and see if I can't get my mind off of that!

Soldiers' Angels

A good friend of mine sends me a column from her local hometown paper. Rhea is a very interesting person with great insight and I always look forward to seeing what she has to say. This one especially got my attention and I quickly signed up to be a "Soldiers Angel". I can't wait to find out which soldier I will be assigned to. I love to write letters and haven't had anyone who cared to receive them since my grandmother passed away in April. I have a lot of nice stationary that I've been aching to scribble on.

Soldiers’ Angels

By

Rhea Bouchard Powers


I have long been a devotee of the gentle art of written correspondence. I have been writing letters almost all my life. From the time I could take pen or pencil in hand and put words on paper, I wrote. I corresponded with my grandmother and aunts in Cohoes, New York. I wrote to Uncle Edgar and later to Uncle Billy when they were in the Navy. I penned sporadic letters to pen pals in Wales and Germany. I wrote to the Pope when I was 8 or 9 years old, much to the chagrin of my mother who was flummoxed when an envelope addressed to me arrived from the Vatican some weeks later. Silly as it may sound to some, I’ve even corresponded for the past 9 years or so with a lady named Diane who lives about a mile or two from here. We’ve long since met in person and become friends, but we still write to each other about once a week.

Given my history, it came as no surprise when my daughter Kathy thought I might be interested in signing on with a group called Soldiers’ Angels. Their mission is to insure that our military personnel stationed overseas receive regular mail from back home. Being over there is bad enough. Being over there and never getting mail is even worse.

According to my son-in-law Ken, a 6-year Navy veteran, mail call was a very big deal whenever they pulled into port. A handful of letters from Kathy was always waiting for him, and rather than read them all at once, he would ration them out over several days to make them last longer. He said he felt really bad for the guys who walked away empty-handed after the last name had been called.

Kathy is currently writing to two soldiers. My grandson Nick writes to one. I now have two military pen pals, a sergeant named Katie who’s stationed in Iraq, and another soldier named Brett, about whom I know nothing but his address as of yet.

Just in case you might be interested in joining the letter-writing brigade, let me explain how it works.

Soldiers’ Angels’ mission, as I said, is to provide aid and comfort to members of our armed forces. Their adopt-a-soldier program puts you in touch with one soldier. According to their website, “To adopt a soldier you must commit to sending a card or letter a week, and at least 1 or 2 care packages a month. This is important to help bring home a healthy hero. Care packages do not have to be expensive and you can put together your own. Duration of adoption is usually 6 to 8 months.”

I’ve sent packages twice so far, using their suggestions as to what may be appropriate. Things like individually- wrapped hard candies, snacks, toiletry items, and playing cards. Extra socks are apparently a good item, too. My last shipment included tins of homemade cookies, beef jerky, and trail mix (a special request from Katie).

Packing supplies were obtained free of charge by calling the Postal Service at

1-800-610-8734, and requesting a free military pack. Cost of shipping has run me about $6.00 a box.

The letters are easy. Just write as if you’re talking to them. Tell them about yourself, things that are going on, chatty, inconsequential everyday stuff. And remember that the object of the game is to provide them (not you) with mail. The organization warns that you may or may not ever hear back from your soldier, but you must continue sending mail. It took at least 6 weeks for me to hear back from Katie and her letter was cause for great celebration here.

For more information, and to sign on if you’re interested, log on via computer to: “Soldiers’Angels.” I’m not very good with the computer, but even I managed to find my way through. I’m very glad that I did.

P.S. Let me know how you make out if you decide to do it. I’d really like to hear from you.

My newest hobby

Earlier this year I learned how to knit. I'm not that great at it yet so I've been looking for some nice (small) practice objects. I have this scarf pattern that I got for a dollar at the the little craft store close to my house. I made one for myself in nice rich warm tones of red, orange, purple, and yellow. It turned out very nice but I think I probably goofed up on the pattern in a few places. No one notices but me. Now I haven't knit anything for a few months since I was very busy with classes and work so I'm ready to give it another try. A friend of mine bought some Moda dea ticker tape in blues and pink and so far it is making a very pretty scarf.



Look how long it is! I only worked on it for a couple of hours and that includes the times I ripped it out and started over! Too bad my friend wants it to be 7 feet long!!!!!!!



My rows are a little wavy but if you screw with it a little bit it staightens up.

UGH, Monday so soon?

I had a nice break but it went way too fast. I went to a card workshop bright and early Saturday with my friend M. It's not like me to be up so early on a Saturday but I always enjoy getting creative and they always have such neat things to do. They had this card to make with browns and blues and this neat moose stamp. I really enjoyed seeing how many different ways I could come up with to do that one. I also made a special mothers day card for both my mom and my MIL. After that we went to subway for lunch. It was a nice break from the rut of work and the usual stuff I do at home. I was going to go check out the ice sculptures with another friend later but my husband needed the car. He was going to see some old friends and didn't want to take the old truck. I don't blame him. I had a good time relaxing, reading, and listening to music instead.

Today we slept in and then my husband took me to Sourdough Sam's for pancakes. YUM! We haven't done that for a while and it was great! Now I'm trying to finish up the laundry and puzzle out the baby blanket I'm crocheting. It is very frustrating. The pattern gets very vague when you get to the trim. I just ripped out two rows and now I am counting stitches and looking ahead to see where the next row will fall otherwise the scalloped trim doesn't line up evenly. I remember having this trouble when I made it last time. I am trying to take notes this time!

I wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow :O(

Lonely alone time

I went shopping with a friend of mine this evening and it was so great to get out. Today was President's day and I had the day off. That is wonderful and everything but I'm not used to being completely alone in the house. Usually the boys are home with me. It was eerie quiet and I didn't much like it. I couldn't get much done because I was wondering how the boys were doing or how my husband's day was going. I was thinking about work and thinking about my Grandmother who isn't doing well. I think it was almost torture to have that day off because I couldn't really do anything about those things that were on my mind and I couldn't focus on all the things around me that I should be doing. I ended up going to get the boys to go to lunch with me. We had fun at McDonalds and then I dropped them back off at school. After school I went back to pick them up and they were having a book fair. We had a great time picking out books. We also donated a few to the each of the boys classrooms.

My parents called me on Sunday. It was good to talk to them but they always say something about my nanny which leaves me sad for a long while after. I always ask for more specific details of her condition and they always give me one of those vague, you-know-she's-old type of answers... then they told me she said she wanted to see me one more time before she died. That just kills me because I just don't have the money to buy a plane ticket to Georgia. Then of course I feel like I couldn't go without taking the boys to see Grandma and everyone else and heck, why not bring Chris too. Hmmmm, maybe I could sell some organs or something to pay for that.

Okay, time to pull out of that downward spiral.... I had a great time shopping with my friend even though I would have liked some more time. I did find some neat journals on sale. They are suede with contrasting stitching and a little photo pocket on the front. I just fell in love with them and bought one in each of 4 colors: a sage green, red, champagne, and black. After I got home and unloaded my booty I was surprised when my oldest son asked for one of them- the black one. I asked what he planned to do with it (since he doesn't like to write anything -especially homework). He told me some stuff and I finally gave him one but I wouldn't be surprised if I don't find it later untouched, in a pile under his bed. Funny thing is that my youngest son started asking me more about "journaling". I told him what I do with mine and a few things others might do differently. He then asked if he could have my red one. UGH. I had to let him have it. I guess I will be making another trip to Joann's soon. Surprisingly though, I tripped on his little butt trying to get to the bathroom and he was laying on the floor writing away in his journal. A little later he asked me if I'd like to read it and I did. He wrote about last President's Day when I kept them home from school mistakingly thinking it was a day they had off too. He said we did a lot of fun things like playing around on the computer together and drinking hot cocoa. I wonder if he will write about the things we did today next year.

Is it spring yet????

A friend of mine gave me a Burpee seed catalog and now I can't stop thinking about it and all of those glossy photos! I really miss playing in the dirt. I can't wait to get our back fence up so I can start planting in the backyard. I can't plant until the fence is up because the neighbors back up and turn around in my yard where the alley is. Last summer I planted a couple of lilac's back there near where the back fence would run and watched about 50 hit and runs out of kitchen window. Only one person actually got out of their truck after hearing the crunch of my poor lilac and stared down at it wondering what he should do. He finally jumped back in his truck and took off. He probably realized it was already dying from all the other times he'd run over it.

Anyway, my backyard garden in taking shape in my mind. I can't wait until I can plant again.

DIY Network

I am so hooked on this channel! I could watch it all day long.... and have at least for much of the day. I've learned so many things while on my vacation. I've learned a little about fixing cars (or at least a few things I can do myself), making my home more energy efficient, woodworking (my husband loves this too), scrapbooking, sewing, knitting, journaling, embellishing things to make them more unique and special......and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things. And the best part is the website. If I see something I'm really interested in trying I can go online and print up instructions. I already have a 3 ring binder with page protectors filling up.

Since I got a neat sewing machine for Christmas I've been trying to catch "Sew much more" which comes on at 9 am my time because of the 4 hour time difference. I keep missing it so my husband has it set to record every weekday :O) I've also been into the scrapbooking shows since I am planning to start my own and I really need help. My problem is I don't like clutter. I like to keep it plain and simple. I've been seeing some neat ways to make a main design on a page and then you can have little mini albums or envelopes with more photos tucked inside. Scrapbooking: Just Journaling with Sandi Genovese.

One of the idea's I saw today is available online in a PDF file: List-Style Journaling


I obviously love to journal. They had someone on today talking about these neat "circle journals". I have a friend (J) that I would love to do this with. She lives pretty far away and we have never met but we are pretty good friends. I think two of these (one for each) or something similar would be neat to pass back and forth!
www.Circlejourey.com

Halloween

Finally it's come and gone. It was fun but now I'm ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas....and of course my birthday! I did enjoy gettin goofy for Halloween. I wore a crazy gothic wig with orange glow in the dark eyelashes. I was "Goth Girl" moody and quite the rebel. A friend of mine was Pippy Longstocking with airborn braids and all.... I'm sure my boss is glad the day is over.

My boys had a great time Trick r' Treating. We just drove around and only got out for the really good looking houses. My goblin and Ninja got so much candy I thought their candy bags would break! The PMI bags I got from work were pretty tough!

invasion

My husband is having a poker party tonight and my house is full of guys. I'm married so that doesn't excite me anymore LOL At least he bought this laptop so I can sit in my room and surf. I just can't get into poker and I have tried. The only thing good about these poker parties is the food.... that and I can usually talk my husband into picking up some Baileys for me with the other booze. I love Baileys in fresh ground coffee Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm but of course I love it more when he pays for it!

Well tomorrow I'll be having some people over. I'm having a Partylite party. Candles. Like I really need more. Mainly I wanted to socialize... The person doing the party is pretty fun and not too psycho with the party. We will be able to just mill around and talk. Hopefully the house wont still smell like farts and beer.

Well, I better sort though some crap. Everything we didn't know what to do with ended up in my room. Or, I could just keep playing pinball. Yikes, I think I'm addicted!!