I Wonder If This Is How Jacob Felt When He Wrestled With God

It's been 24 hours since I came home from work. Tuesday night was one of those nights you are convinced a full moon was out. Last I heard there were 9 patients in the ER waiting to be admitted expect for the fact there was not a single bed in the hospital that didn't have someone in it. I would have gladly exchanged one of those waiting in the ER for one of the patients I had. I mean you can only wrestle a grown man so long before it becomes too much. I would love to say that I won, but even as I left the floor yesterday morning the family was still trying to convince him to stay in bed. At least he was going to be the day shift's problem from then on.

Needless to say when I woke up from a nap in the early part of the afternoon I hurt in places that I don't typically hurt. My back and legs were quite sore and the only thing I can contribute it to is the grown man who refused to stay in bed all night.

So when work called and I asked if I minded coming in on Wednesday night instead of Thursday night, I said no. Well, at least that is the message I left on someone's voicemail at the hospital.

I also had some big plans for the afternoon. I have put off having my finger prints taken to finalize my background check because I just knew I was going to have to go into Nashville to have it done. Imagine my surprise when I realized that there was a location just up the road. Around 3:00pm I loaded up in my Tucson and headed to Guns and Leather where a very nice man took all my finger prints and emails them to the Board of Nursing. I also have my eye on a hot pink rifle now!

No afternoon is complete without a stop by Sonic since it was still happy hour and all their drinks were half off. I picked up a few extra drinks and headed to Jeff and Abbey's were I spent the rest of the day/evening. Nothing like hanging out with friends for dinner and then swimming.

My back is still pretty sore, but there is no time to complain because this morning I have a meeting at the hospital on foley catheters and then it is back to work tonight...Oh how my life has changed!

Will Work for Eggs?

A couple of weeks ago, I took care of a patient who owns a farm. When I went to work on Sunday night, there was a note on the bathroom door (all important information on our floor is posted on the bathroom door in the nurse's lounge!) telling me I had eggs in the fridge from a patient.

I honestly didn't know how absolutely wonderful farm fresh eggs tasted! Now, if you are wondering about the color of two of those eggs...

...they are actually green. I haven't tasted those yet, but if they are as good as the others, then there won't be a problem.

Three in a Row

I just finished working three nights in a row...okay, so I actually finished around 7:20 this morning. I hope that explains the lack of blogging.

And I Survived

It's 3 pm and I have only been awake about 30 minutes. I survived my first night shift. I actually did very well from the standpoint of not being tired. Even on my way home, I told my mom I wasn't that tired, but I managed to fall asleep as soon as I had the chance.

There is a very different pace at night, which will take some time to be acclimated to the differences. My coworkers were wonderful though!!!

I'm now gearing up for my second night shift. However, I am off until Sunday night, so that will be nice....The next week my schedule isn't quite so nice. I don't have any of my days together, so that will be an entirely different week.

When Sleep Aludes

Technically it hasn't alluded me completely. I laid down for a nap around 1ish. I slept until about 2:20 when there was a knock at my door. Apparently the note I left for the UPS man saying that he could leave the package at the door, did not deter him from checking to see if I was home.

You might wonder why I am trying to nap on a rather gorgeous Monday afternoon. Tonight is my first night to work.

Hmmm...I think I'll try to sleep another hour or so before I get ready for what could be a long night.

Up And At 'Em

I am up at 6:00 am on a Saturday morning...actually I have been up an hour. I am getting ready for work. I actually work today through Monday, which translates to I most likely will not update the blog until Monday night or Tuesday.

On a separate note, I spent a nice chunk of time at the Jeep dealership yesterday. Nothing majorly wrong, but the parts have been ordered and I will have the privilege of spending one of my days off next week getting everything fixed. At least it is still drivable until then.

Other than that, the last several days have been quiet...well, besides the fact that I dropped the carton of eggs that I bought at the store. Even then, I only broke 4!

Have a great weekend!!!

So Many Excuses

I thought of several titles for this post:

1. Where O Where Does The Time Go
2. Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200
3. Alcohol Wipes, Meds, and Oxygen...Oh My!!!
   

Anyway, the point is, I thought with all my free time I would have no problem blogging, but that does not appear to be the case.

I am doing well, really well. I am learning how to deal with long days at work and a short amount of time at home. Especially this week...I worked yesterday, today, and I am on again tomorrow. I have a gut feeling it will be a little tough when the alarm goes off in the morning, but then I don't work again until next Tuesday...I guess I should not complain. :)

I'll try to come up with some fun things to post during my time off...Well, we'll see! ;)

First Day

Today was orientation. Here are some highlights:

• My commute is only 5 minutes. I gave myself way too much time to get to work.
• Lots of policies and procedures covered.
• Learned all about the discounts that are available to hospital employees.
• Benefits, benefits, benefits...from health insurance to life insurance and everything in between.
• Tour of the hospital.
• Flu shot.
• Told I would work Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week which means overtime my first week...only to find out that now I am not working on Tuesday...I have no idea what that means now, but I'll find out tomorrow.
  

I ended the day by working out with Abbey and then hanging out with Jeff, Abbey, Reed, and Bill until I had to call it a day and come home. Now, it is off to bed. Even though I am not working tomorrow I still have to make an afternoon trip to the hospital for a skills check off and benefits enrollment. I will also be buying a couple of other sets of scrubs for work. It's a tough life!!! :)

Change of Plans

Sometimes I have really good posts, but I can't quite come up with a fitting title. Sometimes I have something important to say, but I can't find the perfect title.

I am not sure which category this post falls in, but the perfect title is just beyond my reach tonight.

You see, I have some news to share. And since I am tired and not sure exactly how to begin, I am just going to be direct. Direct is best, right?

Earlier today I accepted a job at hospital outside of Nashville, TN. While this is definitely not something I saw coming three to four months ago, I honestly am very excited about this opportunity and move. Things have "fallen together" rather quickly...from making the connections at the hospital to getting my nursing license in TN. To top it off, I will be moving in about two and a half weeks.

I do ask that you all pray as I wrap things up at work and in my life here in FL. I also have a lot of packing to do in the mean time. I am still working on my living situation in TN. I thought I had found a house to buy, but that door appears to have shut. There is another one (and of course a better one) that has opened in its place...if of course requires me to be patient and wait.

It's a good thing, I have some experience with patience and waiting!

Ready Or Not

It's Thursday, November 20th. It has arrived much sooner than I thought it would. It seems like it was a couple of months away just yesterday. But, it is here. So whether or not we are ready, in 10 hours over 500 people will gather for the Annual Light of Life Gala. The name tags are printed, the programs are complete, the table host packets are assembled, and slide shows are burned on discs.

In a couple of hours I will meet the rest of the staff where I work, and we will set up the ministry displays, cut all those name tags, make last minute trips back to the office, and make sure all the center pieces are perfect. Then we will all dash to our respective homes and exchange our jeans for dresses/suits and return looking our absolute best.

The "nightmares" of forgotten name tags, whole tables of guests showing up that I wasn't expecting, and most recently the keynote speaker's husband singing the Bunny Song (from Veggie Tales) during her speech will be gone.

Ready or not, it's here.

Conundrum

Four weeks from tonight is the annual gala for my work. Here's the deal...I have nothing to wear. I honestly haven't even begun looking so I have no idea what I'll find. Even worse, I have no idea what I want to wear. Last year I looked for a black dress because I hear every woman should have one. I ended up with this:

And while I think this is my all time favorite dress I've ever owned, I can't wear it again. Besides the fact that I wore it last year, it is too big. (In case you can't tell it is a sapphire blue with a black overlay, but not solid black. Sigh...maybe next year I'll have it altered and wear it again.)

So, I am coming to you, my blog readers, and giving you an opportunity to weigh in.

Should I go with something classic? Black?
Maybe bold and red?
Any suggestions on where to shop?

I'm going to sit here on the couch and watch the World Series and do a little looking online. If I find anything that I like I'll get back on and post some pictures. Until then, let me know what you think.

Checking In

Just thought I would check in real quick like. I am sitting in the exhibit hall here at the conference at the Surrendering the Secret booth. Breakout sessions are currently going on, so it is pretty quiet right now. A lot of the other exhibitors are wandering around currently. I might do that here in a second too. Between the jazz music being piped in and the constant hum of the escalator (our booth is at the bottom of the down escalator), I am ready to stretch my legs.

I don't really have anything incredibly exciting to share. I hear it is only 70 something degrees outside and will drop into the 40s tonight, but I wouldn't really know since I haven't been outside since Tuesday evening!

If I come up with anything exciting, I will get back on and blog about it. Until next time...

Road Trip

On Tuesday morning I am headed out on a road trip. Atlanta, here I come! I am going to a conference and will return on Sunday afternoon. (I actually am flying back, but the drive up counts, right?)

Tomorrow is a golf tournament that benefits the ministry where I work. Our entire staff will be spread out over the golf course doing various...well, we'll do whatever we are asked.

Needless to say, my blogging may be sporadic over this next week, but I will try to check in a couple of time. Honestly it all depends on the Internet access at the hotel where I am staying.

So, until I can pick up my next WiFi signal, have a great one!!!

Loooooong Day

I have just walked in the door from work. It may be one of the loooooongest days I have ever worked. I have much to share, but it will have to wait because I am too tired to think! I'll catch all four readers up later.

Accomplishements

It's been one of those days that I can look at my day and see several accomplishments.

It began before the rise of the sun with the shells crunching beneath my new running shoes. I completed a mile run in 9 minutes and 45 seconds. Last week it was 11 minutes, so I feel really good about that. I'm going to go ahead and shoot for getting my mile to about 9 minutes. I reminded my dad over the phone that even in my peak of basketball career I could not run a mile that fast. :)

I went in to work knowing I was going to have a pretty physical day there as well. I painted, moved things, and cleaned up all the mess. It's nice to finish your day and see that a room had been transformed before my very eyes.

I feel accomplished and am now dog tired. I've had a bowl of cereal (a.k.a. dinner when your tired) and am now ready to call it a day. Good night!

Conference Update

Besides the fact that it is cold, I haven't set this much or for this long in quite some time. Other than that, it is going very well. A lot of the things that we have discussed I already knew regarding ultrasound. However, there were some new things or things that have changed recently. I even made myself sit down last night and review everything that I had learned that day. I will probably do the same tonight because at some point I have to take a test. Then on Saturday I will get up and get to actually practice everything that I have learned in these two days. I am just praying for the poor lady that I will perform my very first sonogram on.

Back in Nashville

Well, I am back in Nashville at a conference for work. I am having a blast. I have run into a seminary professor, friends, from college, friends from seminary, friends that I served with on the mission field, and a couple of friend's mothers. I also got to meet several of the LifeWay author's. (I am at a LifeWay Conference). I have some really good photos to share, but they are not on my camera. I will get them posted as soon as possible.

Update

The last several weeks have been very interesting in my little world. My days have been anything but "just another day"! However, they look like the will become normal...well, as normal as anything that I do. Last night was AWPM's Light of Life Gala. Having been on the planning committee and responsible for all printed materials, the vast majority of AV stuff, and all the tables, well it might explain the erratic posting over the last several weeks. I would post pictures, but I didn't take my camera. You'll just have to trust me that I looked nice in my sapphire blue dress.

Over these crazy weeks I have often thought about things that I could blog about, but now that I actually have time I can't remember a single one. Hmmm...maybe they will all come back after another night of sleep that is uninterrupted by trying to remember some Gala detail!

Mountains, Here I Come!

Tomorrow I will head to North Carolina. I will be there until Thursday, so there probably won't be any blogging going on over the next several days. Technically, this is a "business trip", but I am planning on having a lot of fun too! I am very excited about getting to do a little hiking while I am there. I have done a little hiking in the last four years, but not near the amount that I did while in China.

This was on a hike headed into Burma. We didn't make it because we had a run in with the Chinese authorities...ah, those were the days!

Some people take pictures with one foot in one state and the other foot in another state. In this picture I have one foot in China and the other foot in Burma.

Please pray for me and the 12 other women who will be working on a project with LifeWay. Pray that I have covered all the logistics and everyone actually makes it there safely. I know I will let out a big sigh when we all make arrive. Also pray for the women who will be sharing their testimonies.

I can't wait to share all my adventures when I get back, and don't worry, I have packed my camera!