Tests, blessings, etc.

Working OT today1130-midnight but we aren't busy right now so I thought I'd quickly do a blog. We have 1 patient right now and there are 4 nurses. I am supposed to leave in 2 hrs. I am SO glad I don't work night shift - too boring.

My friend at work, Marilyn, her daughter just gave birth to her 2nd grandchild. He is such a miracle! First he was crowning and just wouldn't progress after that, so they had to do an emergency c-section. Thank God they did because the cord was wrapped around his neck 3 times and then wrapped around his abdomen once and the cord had a knot in it. It is a COMPLETE and utter miracle he is alive, let alone completely undamaged from this other than a bit of a conehead from being stuck in the birth canal! God is so good!

Another friend at work, Jennifer, she took her GRE (graduate review exam) so she can start graduate school soon. I had no idea there was another stinking test to get into graduate school and now I have some other damn reason to wait to go back to school. She is super smart and she didn't pass it (she has 2 special needs children and is a single mom of 3 working full time, she says she didn't study enough - wonder why?), so how the heck would I pass this? I think I will wait another year or 2 before going back.

Yet ANOTHER friend at work, Bekah, passed her nursing board exam and I am so excited for her. I knew she would, she was such a good VALOR student here. She is working with us on day shift for now, but soon she'll be moved to nights. I hope they aren't too hard on her.

I work on Independence Day this year. This can be a good or a bad thing. Bad - I work on one of my favorite holidays and someone needs to stay with my children. Good - I get paid double time! I thought Naaman would have to work so I made plans to pawn the kids off to each of their best friends and then I was going to go to Shane's after work and watch the Nashville firework show (he lives very close to the show) and maybe have a drink or 2 with him and some other friends. Now, Naaman is getting off at 5pm but I don't get out until 7:30pm and won't be home until at least 8:30-9pm. I am wondering if Shane would mind if my whole family showed up at his place. ;-) I need to ask him next time I see him or I can text him tomorrow if I can remember.

Still waiting on some word on that whole bad situation. I really feel like they are just dragging their feet, making excuses for bad behavior, and being general jerks about it. I am going to complain higher if they don't do something VERY soon - one way or the other. Tomorrow morning I am going to attempt to file a protection order. I hope they give me one.

Tired of being afraid..now I'm just PISSED!

I refuse to be afraid of you anymore. You are ridiculous. You are crazy. You are pathetic. You think you are going to get away with this but you need to wake up and smell the folgers because I am smarter than you think. I am not going to be intimidated by your crazy ass BS any longer and will just call the police EVERY TIME I see you, whether you threaten me overtly, threaten me directly, or ignore my very existence. Be sure that you don't say anything to me or even look in my general direction or it will be documented. Make sure your little friends don't talk to me either because then I'll just make sure it comes back on you. You are not fooling anyone, we can see you for who and what you really are. You can hide and pretend you are a man of God but you are nothing but a fraud and God sees your heart.

Something you said to me will come back to haunt you and how fitting - "May God have mercy on your miserable, miserable, cold, blind soul."

Blah!

I had a very bad day at work yesterday. My day all started with a poor choice of wearing a pair of seriously uncomfortable shoes for a twelve hour shift on my feet and then ended with a spectacular mistake that accidentally brought in 2 of my favorite people from work. The patient was fine and it was something he needed and knew he was going to get but I forgot to make sure there was written consent before it happened. Anyways, I tore myself up about it for hours.

Then I had to take my cat to the vet today. Dexter probably had an infection and the drooling was a pain response or anxiety. They gave him a steroid shot and an antibiotic shot. That was $100. Then I had to buy Annie's flea and heartworm medicine - another $133 for 6 months of meds. I am already broke, so yea us for less money!

I think the best thing in these 2 days was that the vet walks in and I immediately think he looks an awful lot like Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee the Hobbit in Lord of the Rings. He is short, has curly hair and a similar build to him. EVEN BETTER - the instant this man starts talking I have to swallow a giggle because he has a very slight lisp and NOW he is reminding me of Sean Astin in Fifty First Dates as Drew Barrymore's character's brother Doug (only Doug has a HUGE lisp). He leaves the room and I look at Abriel and start to say, "Doesn't he remind you of..." and she finishes my sentence with "Sam from Lord of the Rings?" So apparently my vet is a hobbit.

Further random thoughts

I worked today and felt tired on the way home but now I can't sleep. So I figured now is the time for some more random thoughts.

My cat that disappeared for 3 days came back and slept for 2 days and then the last 2 days has been drooling like crazy. Cats don't drool unless sick or hurt. I can't figure out WHY he's drooling, no obvious injury. So I come home from work and he has this HUGE open sore just behind his left front leg. It looks like a cigarette lighter burn. Last time he disappeared for 3 days, some asschunk cut my cat on his side and now similar situation and he has a burn. I am going to kill whomever is torturing my cat. I had to clean out his wound and the damn cat bit me HARD while I was trying to take care of him. On a brighter note, he has stopped drooling.

Toni (from work) gave me 6 huge bags of clothes and shoes for me and Abriel. I'm not sure why she gave it to me, I thought she hated me. Maybe the clothes are infested with something?

Rebekah, last years Valor student/this years new hire RN, asked me today how I look like I know all the answers and make it look so easy when she always feels slow. I told her, "Girl, the key is fake the confidence and shake on the inside. Walk in and look like you know what you're doing so even if you drop the gloves or the IV, no one notices because they are so busy noticing your awesomeness they don't realize you're really a dumbass in disguise." Because that is really how I feel most of the time - like a dumbass pretending to be a nurse.

I got my 1 year pay raise. I was a nurse 1 step 4, now I'm a step 5. Now I have to work on moving up to nurse 2, I can because I have my BSN but I don't know how long it takes and I need a project to improve the hospital/ER/nursing/etc. Everything I come up with is stupid.

When we move, I will really miss my coworkers/friends.

I wonder how long it will take before my sister or parents call me. I waited 3 weeks last time and then called them. I think this time I'll wait until they call me.

Random thoughts

Sorry I haven't blogged in so long. I just haven't felt like doing it for a little while. I have lots to tell but by the time I can, I am too tired to care or don't feel like it.

I took the kids to see Up today. That was SUCH a good movie, much more sad than most Disney movies, but still very good. We saw it in 3D which sometimes made the movie a bit disorienting but it was really cool.

Naaman has finals next week and then he's on vacation for about a month. He so deserves this. He works Tues, Fri, Sat, and Sun night - has class Monday, Wed morn, Thurs all day, and Fri morn. He never gets a break.

For Mother's Day, I asked for a Hammock and since I never got one (or anything else for that matter) - Naaman will get one for Father's Day.

I really think we are going to move back to Idaho next year, once Naaman is done with school. It would be nice to be so near all my family. Houses there are so much more expensive so I have no idea how it will all work out.

I need to rehire some pest control SOMEONE because the spiders are moving in and I've never had this problem since I've always had pest control until this summer.

As promised..FINALLY

Abe giving Annie a kiss

Noah and Micah outside Mammoth Cave

Me and My Children inside Mammoth Cave

Noah squeezing through Fat Man's Misery

Micah showing how low the ceiling is

Noah showing how narrow the cave is here

It really is as the sign says

This part might be tall man's agony

Historic Entrance to Mammoth Cave

Kids outside Mammoth Cave

Wider angle

I'm melting melting..what a world!

Last May our central A/C unit went out and the guy came and did something which cost me like $250 and then it worked for the summer and he said we would probably need to do this every summer since the unit was about 10 yrs old unless I wanted to buy a new one which would cost me around $3000. SAME THING is happening again. It is FREAKIN roasting in my house right now. Thermostat is set for 74 degrees and it is hotter than Hades in here now at 89 degrees with the A/C unit on right now! OBVIOUSLY it's not working properly. Thank God we have ceiling fans in almost every room or I'd be like a snowcone in Pheonix. I am desperate to call the guy we used last year but Naaman is at work and not answering his phone. I need my A/C!

We did end up going to Mammoth Cave yesterday. It was over 80 degrees and super humid and there was no way we were going to stay in the house roasting our butts off. My favorite part about the cave...nature's A/C! It stays around 65 degrees in the cave all year round. It was so cool and beautiful in there. It was funny because when we came out of the cave, I could feel the heat and humidity again and my glasses fogged up so I couldn't see.