The Holidays

The circus left town a few days ago, and I can finally breathe. Actually, it was a fantastic Christmas this year and everything went very smoothly. I was spoiled rotten by everyone, it was like being a kid again. I got a red Blackberry Pearl and I'm really loving it! Imagine...first with a memory stick, and now with a Crackberry! I'm becoming quite the electronics junkie, if I do say so myself.

Christmas eve was spent with my mom, brother, BIL, Greg and I and at the last minute I invited Sal, her hubby and baby Liam. It was really nice having a baby around at Christmas time and he was a doll. Thankfully, Buddy is really good around little kids.

I'm starting to think that my mom is on medication as she has also been on her best behaviour. She genuinely seemed to have a great time, and there were no arguments whatsoever. A first on Christmas eve, although it helps that my brother has been sober for over a year now. (I'll have to take a few lessons from him in the new year.) A big thanks goes out to Pez who sent me a lovely purple lunch bag so I won't have to use liquor bags anymore :)

Christmas Eve dinner was very good. I had won a free turkey at Zellers because I had spent over $300 (one stop shopping AND a free bird!) There was a drumstick left and that was basically it. Perfect. No leftovers!

Christmas Day we went to Greg's dads' place for dinner and more gifts were opened. I got The Joy of Cooking (2006) to replace my 1953 version that I picked up at a rummage sale. The 2006 version has omitted the picture of how to skin a squirrel, if anyone was wondering. The cookbook is very impressive with 4500 recipes for the Way We Cook Now. I am absolutely going to try some out, especially since another New Year's resolution is to start cooking again. (And stop eating pizza...a guilty pleasure of mine.) Dinner was fabulous and quiet which is unusual because the last time we were invited for dinner there were 25 people at the table. It's not unusual for the whole neighbourhood to be at the in-laws house every night. I don't know how they put up with it. I'd move. Anyway, dinner was quiet, but shortly after we finished eating, 18 people showed up for dessert. We had brought Buddy with us, and although MIL2's mother initially was pissed off, at the end of the night she told me we could bring him back any time. I think she was worried that Buddy might jump up on her and pull off her artificial leg (!)

Boxing Day we had our annual Open House which started back in the days of the Condo. 30 people came and stayed for hours! Kids came and were banging away on Greg's drums. My brother showed up with a lovely woman who turned out to be a dental hygienist from the dentist we go to. My mom (of course) hung around so she could check her out. Two-Four was on her best behaviour and did not offer to 'Do' any of Greg's cute friends. (The first year we had the Open House she got S#!&Faced and every guy that walked through the door she'd jump on his lap at the first opportunity and proclaim 'you're cute! I'd Do ya!' She's had to live that one down, but it was kind of funny!) 10 people crashed at our place that night, and the bar was pretty much emptied, but everyone had fun.

I'd like to say that Boxing Day was the end of our festivities, but we had an other gathering to go to on the 27th at Greg's sisters' place so we could spend some time with the grandparents. I had packed up Greg's brothers gifts before we left so we could drop him off at his apartment on our way home at the end of the night. He'd already spent 3 nights at our place, received gifts from me, and food and booze but in the end I was 'Greg's Bitch-wife who was making him go home." Gee...thanks.

The next morning, Greg woke me up, told me to get dressed that we were going to drive Two-Four, SIL and her Useless Tool of a BF home. We took the opportunity to head by the trailer, and although there is at least a foot of snow on the roof, it does not appear to be leaking.

We have spent the last two days not answering the phone, or door and we didn't go to our neighbour's open house, even though they came to ours. Just couldn't do it. Last night we watched The Sound of Music which is only about the 25th time I've watched it. Love that movie!

That's Christmas in a nutshell.

And today is last day of the year.

All in all it's been a great year. We got a new puppy and he's a darling. Greg and I both got new jobs and we're loving them. We've spent a full year in the house and are very happy here. The kitties are also happy here, although they would probably be happier without Buddy trying to play with them. I managed to lose 15 pounds this year. Not as much as I had wanted to, but better than nothing. Next year, I'll lose another 15. How's that for a doable Resolution?

Most importantly, Greg and I are still going strong and this makes me the most happiest.

Wishing you all a Wonderful, Happy and Healthy 2008!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all my blogfriends out there a very Festive Holiday Season. Eid Mubarek, Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas!

We are in the midst of a huge snowstorm! We have already been outside twice to shovel snow, and no sooner are we done than we need to shovel again! It's quite fun right now, as I can't recall a time when it's snowed like this since I was a kid. Buddy is bouncing around like a jack rabbit in the snow and if I can figure it out, I'll post a video which is quite cute. Buddy is loving his new snowsuit which Santa brought a little early because of the storm!

I am really enjoying my new job, and in the past month have learned so much and seen the old stuff with new eyes. I've learned about other areas in the hospital that I had no idea how they functioned and met so many people, all of whom have been very supportive.

I've surprisingly had a few issues with some of my old colleagues in terms of them (one in particular) challenging me and trying to tell me that 'that's not how we do it', or 'we aren't certified to take care of those kinds of patients here.' Last week she challenged me over a particular type of Intercranial monitoring device that she said she was told in her orientation, that "we don't do in the Recovery Room." Well, I was pretty certain that we did, and could not think of a reason why we wouldn't take a pt with this kind of device, but truthfully, I didn't know the policy either. So, I looked up the policy and photocopied it, and also found the information in a learning package that was in our orientation binder which I again photocopied and brought the information to her. She said that she hadn't been taught how to monitor these types of patients because she hadn't been allowed to take the second part of the critical care course, and didn't feel confident in the skill. Well, my response was that I felt perfectly comfortable in holding an inservice for those interested in Intercranial Pressure monitoring, as I had been the one running the class during the Critical Care Course. Surely she would be interested to take advantage of a free learning opportunity! She then dismissed me and said she really wasn't interested in learning another skill that it was more advantageous to put the OR on hold so the Recovery Room wouldn't have to deal with head injured patients. So, really her issues were that a) she wasn't up to par with her skills, b) had no interest in learning c) is disruptive with the flow of the patients d) is giving false information to new employees and e) is lazy and thinks she is a princess. OK, 'e' is my opinion but she pissed me off! Anyway, the good thing is, is that the rest of the staff is very supportive and keen to learn new things, or brush up on skills they already know. So that's work. And other than a few little run-ins, things are very good. I've been going to workshops on conflict management, and teaching adult learners so I'm sure that these will all be very helpful.

Today was a great research day, and the only major problem was the undergarments I was wearing. See, I had it in my head that with the shade of pants I was wearing that you could see the cellulite on my ass. So, I decided to wear a body-shaper under my pants. The one I chose really was not sexy at all, it was a heavy duty bandage that looked like this:

It seemed to be okay when I was getting ready for work, I looked nice and slim (for me) no lumps and bumps. I realized when I got into the car that I had made an error in judgement as my thighs were kind of strangulating, and I was having a little trouble breathing. I rolled the top of the garment down to my waist but then I was cut in the middle and still couldn't breathe very well. And, it felt more like an elastic band and my roll just popped up higher.

When I got to work, I pulled the top part up again, but put little slits in the leg parts thinking it might be more comfortable around my thighs. It seemed to work and I kind of got used to being all sucked in around the middle.

By lunch time I was starving and got some Thai food to eat at my desk. I rolled the torso band down again as I was having a hard time eating being all sucked in, but that was worse so I cut a little slice in that band. But then everything popped out in front and I was stuck with a 3 inch stiff piece of fabric that circumferenced my waist and was quite noticeable under my sweater. So, I cut the whole band off. Then I made deeper slits in the leg parts. Then I got called out so I had to walk through the hospital halls. Let me tell you. Body shaping under garments are put together by highly qualified engineers and when you mess with their plans, you really get into trouble. The waist band had nowhere to go so had turned itself into a bikini-sized elastic which pushed ALL of my rolls upwards so that when I walked I was just one big jiggle from the front and in the thighs, yet I still had a smooth bottom!

At that point I would easily have sacrificed the smooth bottom to get rid of the front jiggle that I could not even hide with my file folder. And of course I ran into every single hospital employee that I could possibly know.

I finally made it back to my office, pulled down the blind, took off my undergarment (what was left of it) and breathed comfortably for the first time all day.

I think I will forever nix the Body-shapers, which really is just a politically correct term for an old fashioned GIRDLE!!!

Last week was quite busy as Two-Four and my SIL stayed with us. SIL had her molars out and did quite well despite her mother's insistence that she was absolutely petrified and her panic/anxiety was out of control.
The Two-Four complained about how exhausted she was putting ice compresses on and off every 15 minutes. After about the fourth time of her complaining about it I responded 'welcome to nursing.' I didn't say it meanly, but she did stop complaining. Then, SIL wanted her BF to come to Toronto for the weekend, which wasn't a problem with me, but ended up being such a drama I wished I had just said that I didn't think it would be a good idea. Anyway, the BF came and watched football all weekend. He was well behaved, but Two-Four had stuff to talk about him behind his back at every opportunity. 5 nights was enough. I even took Kross-eyed Kitty off of my Favourites list in case someone accessed it. I didn't have a whole lot of computer time, and certainly no time without someone looking over my shoulder.

Geez, it sounds like I'm complaining! I am, but in truth, it wasn't such a bad week. SIL cleaned my house as a thank-you for letting her BF come, and Two-Four did a fantastic job of reupholstering my dining room chairs. I just have to finish sanding them and then they will be ready for another 40 years of wear and tear! I should have sanded them outside during the summer because I now have a fine layer of dust covering everything. I am having a dinner party next Saturday night, so I'm hoping I'll be able to get rid of the dust by then.

We had our first snow storm this past weekend, and Buddykins LOVED playing in the snow! He loves chasing snowballs, and digging his nose (see how long it is?!) in the snow drifts. He also really loves wearing his new hockey jacket! I can't believe that I am dressing up my dog, but to be honest, he is not a big dog, and has short fur so I think he appreciates the warmth. At first, Greg was adamant that his dog was not going to wear clothes, but when he saw his favourite hockey team jacket, he relented. Here's a pic of the first snowfall of the season. See the four foot snowdrift that was up against our front door?Speaking of hockey, I went to a game last week, which was a lot of fun. The Leafs almost won, but lost in the shoot-out. It was a really good game, and my brother got us amazing seats. This is my and my bro:

The new job is fantastic, I am absolutely loving it and so far feel like I am doing a good job. The staff seem to be very supportive of me for which I am truly grateful. I did my first inservice last Friday which was rather impromptu as the booked speaker did not show up. Thankfully, my first power point presentation worked out very well, and I really impressed myself!

I realized with Napoblomo that I really don't have the inclination to blog every day, it is a lot harder that I thought it would be. So, kudos to all you regular bloggers out there!

NaBloPoMo...

No Mo!
There are not enough hours in the day right now with this new job for me to be blogging everyday.
I will try to update more regularly, but everyday is just too much right now.

Napoblomo#22

Well, #22 is where I should be at, but I've missed some days so I'm Nablopomo Tardy, or negligent. At any rate, this is probably my 17th entry this month which is better than I usually write so I'm not going to be too hard on myself.
I am finding that I am having to train myself to become a morning person and I am really tired by 9pm and can only think of falling in to bed. Since I've started this new position I've stayed at least an hour late everyday working on different projects that I've started so I get home after a 10 hopur day. I put my first Power Point presentation together yesterday and today's inservice went very well, and my orientees seemed impressed. Admittedly, I impressed myself, too. Imagine!Me doing Power Point Presentations!
In the past few weeks, I've also started going to meetings, which is something very new for me. Half of my days have been spent going from one meeting to another, most involving stuff that I have no idea about. The hospital I am at is expanding the Breast Surgery Department, and Yours Truly gets to be involved with that, which is very interesting and exciting. I'm learning all kinds of things about how hospitals run, and how various departmental areas operate.
So, the new job is going very well.
Today was the first ice/snow storm of the year and the drive in was a little rough. I'm hoping to take back some of the overtime I've accrued, and head home before the rush hour starts.
And, Greg went for a job interview today so maybe he'll have a new job soon, too.

Wake up Cat

This is SOOOO Dutchess in the morning! Hilarious!!!

NaBloPoMo Day #16&17!

I'm struggling to stay awake right now at 9:30 pm, but as I've not Nablopomo'd in a few days I need to do some catching up.

I got my hair cut the other day and it is kind of along the lines of Posh Beckham's, short in the back, longer in the front. I like it. Today as I was styling my hair I thought it would be a good idea if I could find the nozzle attachment to my hairdryer that I had misplaced about 3 months ago. It wasn't in the usual drawers, but then I had this brainstorm that maybe it had fallen down behind the bathroom drawers. Sure enough when I pulled the bottom out I found the attachment. But I also found a months supply of Efferdent! I've got all my teeth, and as far as I know, Greg has all his so they must have been left over from the previous owners. I was going to pitch them in the garbage but then something twigged that Efferdent can be used in a variety of other ways!


*Clean a toilet bowl. Drop several Efferdent tablets into the toilet bowl, scrub, and flush.
*Polish diamonds. Drop one Efferdent tablet in a glass of water and immerse diamonds for two minutes.
*Clean a Thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in three Efferdent tablets, and let it soak for an hour or longer if necessary.
*Unclog a sink. Drop several Efferdent tablets into the sink and let it sit overnight.
*Clean a vase. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in one Efferdent tablet.
*Clean hubcaps. Drop one Efferdent tablet into a glass of water, use a cloth to apply the fizzing solution to the hubcabs, and wash clean with water.

Who knew?! I did clean my rings today with Efferdent, and I have to tell you, it did a fantastic job!

It also turns the toilet water a nice shade of blue and smells pepperminty!
I got the info about Efferdent and other uses for regular household products Here.

In other news, the weather was cold but with beautiful sunshine today.

Buddy had fun chewing a bone in the leaves

And Mao fell asleep in the kitchen window with the sun shining on his back. How he sleeps standing up, I'll never know!

NaBloPoMo#16

I wanted to share this with you today, I think it's pretty special. Please take the time to look at it, it's worth it.
http://www.makeadifferencemovie.com/

NaBloPoMo Day #15

I was thinking about the other days' post where I indicated the booze/lunch bag and I had a revelation that perhaps the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
When I was in high school, my mom would make me lunches and pack them in booze bags.
Every other kid seemed to have the nice, friendly-weight Kraft lunch bag, and I had the Super Duper Will-hold-a-bottle-weight paper bag courtesy of the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario.) As a teenager I was mortified and more than likely I would have thrown out my lunch in favour of the french-fries and gravy crap they would sell in the cafeteria. I think it was a combination of the booze bag presentation and the German salami (single layer) on farmer's rye bread that I dreaded anyone seeing. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if I was pulling out a Wonder Bread Samich from the booze-bag, I don't know. But I feel terrible about all the lunches I threw away just because I was embarrassed.
And here I am...25 years later...eating my salad out of Tupperware. Hell...Not even Tupperware, it might be a dollar store ripoff.
And I'm still bringing my lunch in a booze bag.

Do old habits really die hard?

Napoblomo#14

I'm cheating with Napoblomo, as I forgot all about it yesterday. I will make up for it and post 2 today to make up for it.
I'm at work right now, in my office, on my lunch break and decided to visit Kross-eyed Kitty (with the door shut.) I never visit my blog, or other friend's blog when I am at work because I'd hate to accidently forget to erase the history. So here I am in my office, feeling a little guilty about blogging, but then I remind myself that I am allowed a lunch break, and I DID just finish eating my lunch in my office. So, I will not feel guilty although I suppose I can consider it a new guilty pleasure!
It's probably a good thing that Facebook access has been banned at the hospital, because that truly has become somewhat of an addiction. I have about 6 scrablulous games on the go. The only person I consistently lose games to is Pez. She is scrabulously smart!
Do you blog at work? Do you Facebook?

NaBloPoMo Day #13

Having worked in a clinical environment since 1989 when I graduated nursing school, having my own office is a complete and utter novelty. I feel like I just built onto my house and have an extra room. Is this what the corporate world is all about? It might not look like much, but BOY! is it ever a huge change for me.

I am loving my new job. All I need is a picture of the kitties. And Buddy. And...oh ya! Greg!

NaBloPoMo Day #12

I got the key to my *new* office today. I have never, ever in my whole entire life ever had my very own office! I once had a cubby when I worked at an insurance company, but never an office, and with a window. Of course my window looks out on to a brick wall, and a construction site, but it is definitely a window and I was able to discern that it was raining outside. There were a lot of files left for me that I will need in this new role so I basically spent the day sorting through those and keeping busy.

I was given a memory stick, which was very nice and all, but I have not idea how to use it, and just a general idea of what it is for. I am technologically a little on the dumb side. Well, only dumb in that with all these new gadgets and things, its hard to keep up. I was given an iPod shuffle for my birthday back in June, and still have not gotten around to learning how to use it. Oh, the phone in my new office? Had no idea how to programme a new message with my name on it. Oh, one more thing? I have a pager that I've been carrying around and basically only know how to turn off the beep. The time is 14 hours off of real-time and the date is still 2006. Maybe my predecessor also did not know how to use this? Or maybe she didn't care as long as she got the page.

Anyway, lots to learn and in the meantime I'm trying to look smart. Like an Educator.

Flintstones - Happy Anniversary

It's been two years since Greg and I were married , and it's been all good. Although I never really had much thought about 'finding my soul mate' I think that inadvertently, I did. I just looked up some descriptions of Soul Mates and here is what I've discovered from about.com.
1) Some believe that a soul mate is someone with whom a person has shared other life times through reincarnation. The soul mate could be a friend, business partner, parent, child, sibling, spouse or other family member. These soul mates can be of the same or opposite sex.

Although the thought of reincarnation is interesting, and perhaps makes death of a loved one easier to accept, I'm not sure that I believe in the thought of sharing other lifetimes. Does believing in reincarnation mean that there are a finite number of souls available to be used? What happens as the world population expands? Are some people 'soulless?'

2) Others believe that a soul mate is a person's"other half". I don't believe that any person completes another.

3)Predestination: the thought that people are drawn together as soul mates by destiny or fate and that being with our soul mate is something we have no control over. Hmmm...so if you meet a manipulative control freak and can't end the relationship, does that make him your soul mate?

4) Making Life Come to Life: Richard Bach describes soul mates as "A soul mate is someone who has the locks to fit our keys, and the keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we; we can be loved for who we are and for who we're pretending to be. Each of us unveils the best part of one another. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person were safe in our paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life. "

yadda, yadda, yadda...this just sounds too foofy.
5)Profound Connection:Thomas Moore, in his book Soul Mates: Honoring the Mysteries of Love and Relationship, page xvii, describes a soul mate as "someone to whom we feel profoundly connected, as though the communication and communing that take place between us were not the product of intentional efforts, but rather a divine grace. This kind of relationship is so important to the soul that many have said there is nothing more precious in life." again. Foofy. Nothing more precious in life...
6)Feeling at Ease With one Another: We don't believe a soul mate is the ideal or one and only person in someones life. Our definition of soul mates is people who together want to work on making their marriage a great one. Their relationship feels like a natural fit, and although they need to work on their marriage, it is not hard to do. When soul mates first meet, there is an immediate sense of being at ease and connected. This one, I DO get. When Greg and I met, I can honestly say that I JUST KNEW. I just knew that he was different, that we 'got' one another.
7)General Belief: Most believe that soul mates can accept and love every part of the other's personality and that life with a soul mate is easy and natural. Kind of the same as Number 6. So, if this is the case, that I'd have to say that I was fortunate to find, and marry my Soul Mate.

Happy 2nd Anniversary to us! I've been singing this ridiculous song all day:

Flintstones - Happy Anniversary

Yesterday was the first time that I ever had the opportunity to interview someone. This was the second interview for this nurse and he was very nervous. I felt a little like Paula Abdul because I commented on his attire. He looked great! He was wearing a suit and tie and it was nice to see that he was taking the interview seriously. I wasn't in on his first interview but had been told that he did a terrible job, had answered questions incorrectly. His response when asked "what do you think that your co-workers would say about you" was "That I'm stupid." When asked to elaborate, it was because he worked too hard and didn't take his breaks.
Anyway, maybe because I'm like a deer in headlights when it comes to me being interviewed, but I wanted him to get the job. So, I found myself helping him out a little bit. Not telling him the answers, but kind of steering him in the right direction. Remember, I had the interview tool in front of me so I knew how he should be answering the questions.
Anyway, the long and short of it is, that my manager decided to reconsider him for the job that he had initially applied for. There is another male nurse who has been hired so the two of them will really stir the pot in this estrogen-fueled unit. I think it's going to work well, and I'm happy that he's being reconsidered.
It was really interesting being on the other side of the interview table. I never was interviewed for this job as I was the only one who applied. And, I know my manager is happy with this situation. She and I are similar in personality and in positive thoughts of improving the work environment. I'm looking forward to this new career chapter. I really hope it works out.

NaBloPoMo Day #9

TGIF.

Goal this weekend is to Weekend Cat Blog. It's been a while and my Mr. Mao needs some attention.

NaBloPoMo Day #8

As the week has gone on, I have had less time to do anything, or so it seems. I am finishing up a few shifts that can't be covered in the recovery room, and trying to help others out with my new position at the same time. It's been frustrating and challenging but at the same time I'm enjoying this new role.
My brother came by the house today while we were at work to take Buddy for a walk. He ended up staying 3 hours and raked our property for leaves, mowed the backyard (before it snowed an hour later), did my dishes in the kitchen and took the garbage out for tomorrow. I'm pretty grateful.
He didn't attempt the laundry but I am irritated with my machines. They are about 20 years old and it takes at least an hour and a half to dry a load of laundry. I had no uniform to wear to work today except a yucky pair that were uncomfortable all day. My underpants showed and the same fricken nurses kept pointing it out to me.
On 11/11 I am going to buy a new washer and dryer. Happy 2nd anniversary to me! (I actually mean that in a good way...I'm thinking of buying some pretty machines that I have my eye on!)

NaBloPoMo Day #7

Does saying that you are too tired to blog count as a NaBloPoMo entry?
I'm LOVING my new job, I've learned so much in three days, but boy am I tired at the end of the day. It doesn't help that with the time change it is already dark at 5:30pm.
I will attempt to write something more substantial tomorrow.