Saturday, January 26, 2008

Why not Direct TV?

A few months back David decided to switch from cable to satelite tv because Direct TV offered significantly more HD channels. Recently he noticed they have taken 5 of those channels away. When he called they said that is just the way it is and we would have to pay five dollars a month to get them back. Unfortunately we have just under two years on our contract. David found online that our package is no longer avaiable but he can switch over to another. It would have been nice for the live customer service rep to mention that as a possibility. David is printing out the packages for me to look over. I think we are going to downsize.

Maybe by the time our contract is up cable will have more HD channels.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

three more weeks!

Done with the second week of med surg. Only three more to go. Big test next week and I get to be team leader on Tuesday and I think a quiz on Thursday. Never a dull moment here. They passed out info on clinical practicum and predictor testing. I have until the end of Feb. to decide where I want to go for that rotation. Where you have practicum is often where you end up working so I have to think for a while on this one. I picked up my application for graduation. If I fill out the survey, I get five dollars off the application fee. Whoohoo!

Yesterday was David's birthday. He forgot. We grabbed some take out on our way from picking up his ice cream cake. They have a cookie dough ice cream cake now at Dairy Queen. It was pretty good. The dough was only on top. After eating we settled in for some Rummy and Go Fish. Before we went to bed, I kissed him and told him I was glad he was born. He laughed and said something like the world shares my gratitude in his existence.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Free at last

Last night I had a strange dream. It began with me in jail. I opened a door with a little black and white mouse at my feet also trying to flee. I crouched down by a slightly open sliding window in the dark waiting for a chance to make a break for it. I had to wait for Valerie Bertinelli to lock the door and leave. When she turned I made a break for it. As I was running for the woods, I could see a the reflection of those in the house that Valerie went to warn when she spotted me in a mirror above the trees. The jail was now a house. I could see the residents coming down the stairs hurried to get their robes on as they descended. Then I stopped dead in my tracks before the woods. They were my woods. Standing there, I watched Matthew McConaghey, in pj bottoms (apparently he didn't have a robe), run into the woods after the escaped convict, who was no longer me.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Week in Review

Monday
Back to school. Advanced Med Surg is my last class. There are a few people I know in my rotation, all of which are also in my clinical group. This made me happy.

Tuesday
Clinicals. This weeks schedule was slightly different from what it will be next week, which meant I had to be there really early. Still not loving mornings. Even so, it was a good day.

Wednesday
Clinicals. It's been awhile since I've been in med surg but I am getting back into the swing of things. It was a good day.

Thursday
Class. Long day. David and the boys tore down the wallpaper in the hallway.

Friday
Two quizes. Interesting lecture. Awesome instructor. Long day. Four weeks to go. Grocery shopping (forgot paper towels).

Saturday
Renee and Jake came over. Jake and J played air hockey, basketball, video games, etc...Dev had a friend over too. Eventually they all got together to play Risk. I helped Renee research her family tree. Afterward, David and then Jason played us in Boggle. Last but not least was the game Say What?. Big Kitty even made an appearance three times and let Renee pet her. It was a good day. :)

Other
I watched We Are Marshal, A Good Year, and The Long Hot Summer.

We Are Marshal is good. I think I cried the entire movie.

A Good Year is also good. No tissue required. Russell Crowe is as handsome, sexy, and charming as one would hope.

The Long Hot Summer. My all-time favorite movie is as good as it gets.

After doing some research online, I stopped taking One A Day Weight Smart. I found the common side effects are: insomnia, nightmares, nausea, vomiting, and nervousness. Within a couple of days, I was able to sleep without a problem. I have had 2-3 Pepsis a day and still no problem. I am no longer anxious and the dreams are less strange as dreams go. I think it is safe to say that the vitamin was the problem.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Titanic relates to nursing

Rose: I know what you must be thinking. "Poor little rich girl, what does she know about misery?"
Jack: No, no, that's not what I was thinking. What I was thinking was, what could've happened to this girl to make her feel she had no way out?


This is one of my favorite quotes from Titanic. Jack's response makes me think of nursing. His train of thought is much like a nurse's. A nurse's goal is not judge the patient but to assess a need and then do everything in her/his power to meet that need (usually there are several). It is also important to acknowledge when we do not have the answer and to then find someone who does.

Weirdos From Another Planet

Weirdos From Another Planet has become Jason's favorite book. I cannot imagine anyone not liking Calvin and Hobbes. He likes reading it to me. He gets all into it by creating voices for the characters and performing as if it were a play. I love that he loves to read.

Devin is into non-fiction literature, especially books about WWI and WWII. He is currently reading two books on the subject (Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918 World War I and It's Violent Climax and the other I cannot remember off the top of my head).


In language arts class they are reading The Diary of Anne Frank. Monday they are watching Schindler's List. I have never been able to watch it. I hope is okay with it.

Friday, January 11, 2008

3x6=

Today I picked up two sets of multiplication cards. One set has the problem on front and the answer on back. The other set has several problems on the front with the answers for the other side's problems at the bottom. The cool thing about these cards is you can use a dry erase maker to right the answers and then wipe them clean. A chain keeps them together. The only thing it could use is a place to attach the maker. Jason liked both sets and began to draw on the cards. He drew many things, none of which were numbers. I guess we will work on that tomorrow.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Random acts of kindness

An elderly gentleman approached me and another mom at the bus stop this morning with some index cards he had found while walking his dog. He was kind enough to give them to us so we might find the child they belonged to. From the look of them, they belong to one of the middle school kids. Laurie is going to send them with her daughter to the bus stop tomorrow.

It has always impressed me how a simple act of kindness can lead to another. It is a domino effect. I see it every day. It is what renews my faith that good people exist in the world, a world determined to prove otherwise.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Manningism

"Pressure is something you feel when you don't know what the hell you're doing."
-Peyton Manning

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Happy Birthday Elvis

When I was a little girl I fell in love. I fell in love with Elvis Presley. In high school, I was the only girl I knew who had a poster of him on my wall. I was lucky to have a good friend who shared my passion for the king. My friend Renee and I would listen the stack of albums that her mom had collected whenever we got the chance. Dream the Impossible Dream...good times.

Happy Birthday Elvis where ever you are. ;)

An old friend of mine has the honor of sharing his birthday with the King. Happy Birthday Marty!

Monday, January 7, 2008

What song will they play at your funeral?

I saw a commercial today that offered to send any willing person a "last will" pamphlet so the family would know exactly what they wanted. I'm not sure why you would need a pamphlet, but it got me thinking about what I would want. I know I want the wake/funeral to be at Davis funeral home. What I wasn't sure about was the music. There must be music. Would it be in poor taste to have them play Another One Bites The Dust/Queen? It's my favorite. In every great story there are tears and laughter. My life is my story. While I do not know how great my life has been, it has had both. Shouldn't the songs reflect that? Another One Bites The Dust would make them laugh. One song that I know for certain would bring on the tears is Angel/Sarah McClauchlan. It is one of the most moving songs I have ever heard. My fondness for it began when Jason was a baby. I found that whenever the song came on the radio, Jason would stop fussing. I went out and bought the City of Angels tape (my car didn't have a cd player and that is where he was most fussy). It was the only part of the movie that I liked by the way.

I am a fan of ambiguity in poetry and music is poetry. The definition of a lyric is "composing poems to be sung to the lyre" (www.dictionary.com).

Here are the lyrics from Sarah McClauchlan's site:

Angel

Spend all your time waiting
for that second chance
for a break that would make it okay
there's always one reason
to feel not good enough
and it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
oh beautiful release
memory seeps from my veins
let me be empty
and weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight

in the arms of an angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you fear
you are pulled from the wreckage
of your silent reverie
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort there

so tired of the straight line
and everywhere you turn
there's vultures and thieves at your back
and the storm keeps on twisting
you keep on building the lie
that you make up for all that you lack
it don't make no difference
escaping one last time
it's easier to believe in this sweet madness oh
this glorious sadness that brings me to my knees

in the arms of an angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you fear
you are pulled from the wreckage
of your silent reverie
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort there
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort here

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Poor Big Kitty

Big Kitty is getting old. She turns 16 this year and looks it. She has become quite thin and her gait is unsteady to say the least. David noticed that her walk is not only unsteady but loud. Odd. In checking her paws we found litter clumped heavily inbetween her toes. Like most cats, Kitty is not a fan of baths. It took two of us to get her clean. Our concern is her old joints. She just isn't able to care for herself like she used to. I am looking into joint care suppliments and NSAIDS for her arthritis and we will be keeping a close eye on her paws from now on.

This afternoon, the boys and I went bowling. Three games, a pitcher of Pepsi, and a tray of nachos made for a fun time. My high score was 136. That was the only game I broke 100. The finger holes on Dev's ball are too small now. We need to take it down to the Pro Shop to either have them enlarged or the inserts removed.

Shortly after returning home I found I had to leave again for the grocery store. While I was gone, David and the boys took down the Christmas tree. I put the rest of the decorations away when I got back and then started dinner. It was a Chi Chi's taco night. I used two packets for a 1.5 pack of ground round. I really miss the restaurant, but I'm grateful they still sell the seasoning online. I bought what I thought would last me a year. Looks more like a 6 month supply.

Football....Not surprised to see the Titans lose to the Chargers. What did surprise me was WV's win over Oklahoma. The National Title game is tomorrow. We are rooting for Ohio State because Devin was a good sport and rooted for ND at the ND vs. Duke game. As much as it pains me to say it, "Go Bucks!"

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Pomegranate Blueberry ?

I'm getting on David's nerves with the handwashing and healthy eating. I know because he said so. I'm okay with it. While at Target yesterday, I picked up V8 Infusion juice. I had tried it before and did not like it. I tend to keep trying things hoping I will like it eventually like fish, yogert, corn, etc...It's never worked before today. I like this juice. I don't even know what a pomegranate is to be honest and I'm not a fan of blueberries. By all rights I shouldn't like this stuff, but I do. There is no after taste. It's been a couple hours since I drank it at dinner and still nothing.

Tonight we added three-way War to the Rummy/Go Fish mix. Not a keeper. I used to like it as a kid. I remember playing it for hours. Not so much fun for me now. Devin wanted to learn Solitaire and found it as fun as War is for me. I told him Double Deck Solitaire is much better. I have to buy more cards just for that otherwise it is a pain to play because you have to separate the cards at the end each sitting.

tissue box garbage can

I've been ill twice in the last month and a half. The first time was before Thanksgiving and I lost my voice for a week. The last time was due to a sinus infection that still lingers after two weeks. This is despite my frequent hand washing. I have gone through 7 boxes of tissue and 2 rolls of toilet paper (when I was too sick to go to the store for tissue). I have learned something in the process. Empty tissue boxes work well as make-shift garbage cans so you don't have to move the regular can next to you at all times. The anti-viral Kleenex boxes are the best because they have that plastic that only leaves a small hole at the top keeping the contaminated tissues contained.

There is a downside to the anti-viral tissues however. They can be too absorbent leaving your nose red, dry, and sore with constant use. I had to switch off to Puffs for a while. The regular kind not those with lotion because they make my sensitive face break out. Although, they have a new one out with lotion and Vicks that I would be willing to give a go. I love Vicks.

I am feeling good today. I have been taking extra vitamin C all week and have watched my dairy intake. Dairy weakens the immune system and vitamin C bolsters it.

David is sick now. He refuses to take the vitamin C. We'll see how he does.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Let's Play

One of the perks of the kids getting older is that we can play cards. We play mostly Go Fish and Rummy. I'm hoping that J will be ready for Spades next year because Spades is my favorite card game. I will continue to play on msn's gaming zone with the bots until then.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

The Bachelor (1999)

I had seen bits and pieces of the movie The Bachelor but had not seen it fom beginning to end until the other day. I'm glad I did. It is a light hearted feel good chick flick. No Lifetime movie where the bachelor is secretly a cross-dressing serial killer who used to be a woman and has married your mom. No, this is a nice little film where the stereotypical commitment phobic male realizes he really wants to get married to the woman he loves. The movie is full of grand and not so grand gestures that made me giggle. I have found another movie that I will undoubtedly watch 300 times, at least.


My favorite quote was from the priest: It's a wonderful thing, as time goes by, to be with someone who looks into your face, when you've gotten old, and still sees what you think you look like. .

New Years

Last night the boys and I stayed up to see the ball drop. After several games of Go Fish we finally decided to get some sleep. Mostly my idea really. The boys were wide awake. Woke up to the sound of wind whipping the house from every side. I thought the roof was going to cave in. We lost our Direct TV signal so David had to check the satellite. The wind was still strong and blew his ladder down. Fortunately for him it was while he was getting the WD40, because had he been on the roof it would have taken me a while to realize he wasn't just making a lot of noise out there. The WD40 is supposed to keep the satellite clean throughout the winter. Let's hope so.

Football is all we have watched for weeks now. I love this season. The bowl games have been competitive this year which makes the games exciting to watch. It is sad not to see Notre Dame play. Right now we are watching Michigan vs. Florida and Arkansas vs. Missouri. Go Michigan and Missouri!