October 31, 2010

Why, Hello!

12:24 PM 0 Comments
Yes, it has been entirely too long since I have posted. Here's what has happened lately:


-Ben's grandfather passed away on Thursday, October 21. He was a great man and will truly be missed. He had a stroke many years ago, so I have only known him as wheelchair-bound with very limited speech. Still, I was always amazed at how he could communicate-Grandpa always made his thoughts and feelings known! I can only imagine what he must have been like prior to his stroke. He was a military man, a fireman, and most importantly- a family man. He loved his family so much, and even made the trip from Michigan last May for our wedding! The funeral home put together a wonderful Life Story website at http://www.lifestorynet.com/memories/63258/ What an interesting life he had! (For some reason, my websites won't link? Try to access it from here)
What a spirited man


-We traveled to Michigan for 5 days. This was an interesting trip, to say the least. We left last Sunday afternoon to make the 14+ hour trip to Muskegon, MI. Now, Ben's SUV is typically very roomy...but there were 4 people + luggage + golf bags crammed into his Kia Sorento.Cramped? Just a bit. It was worth it as we were able to switch off drivers and make it there in good time. Before leaving, Ben got an oil change and an overall check of the car to make sure it was road-trip worthy. After the ok...we took off on our journey. As were were heading out, Ben ran over a *random* block of wood with nails poking out of it. Hmmm...we will keep an eye on it. So, after 900 miles, Cracker Barrel, road trip junk food, lots of caffeine, and uncomfortable napping positions, we made it to MI at about 8am on Monday morning-tire still intact!
No time for sleep-we began working on funeral preparations and sorting through pictures. It wasn't until we left for the visitation that we noticed Ben's tire pressure was low. After filling the tire...and refilling the tire, we took it to a shop for a patch. At least we made it to MI first!
The visitation and funeral were wonderful services filled with people whose lives have been touched by Grandpa Furman. I have never seen so many people coming together to celebrate one man's life. It was great seeing family afterwards at the church luncheon. 
On Wednesday, the guys played golf, then we met with Grandma Starr for lunch before we headed back to Atlanta. Before we left, Ken started feeling sick, but we hit the road anyway. I will spare you details and just let you know we didn't make it far before deciding to turn around and go back to Rich & Lori's house. That night, 2 more people in the house were sick...making us wonder if it was a stomach virus (which would have been fast moving!) or food poisoning. Still a mystery.
We finally left (again) on Thursday morning- very much ready to be home!


-No rest for the wicked..(haha, corny, I know)-Friday morning we woke up early-Ben had to work and I had to unpack, do laundry, clean, and cook for our Halloween party on Saturday (more on this later).


Wow, I am tired all over again from reading this. We were able to sleep in a bit this morning, but...it's off to clean the house (after-party). 

October 18, 2010

Yawn

6:07 PM 1 Comments
Well, I have made the transfer to a hospital much closer to my house. I used to work there before going to Atlanta for RN training. I LOVE it- I feel like I am back "home" and I feel much more comfortable in a smaller hospital. The one challenge? I am on night shift. I recently worked Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night from 7pm-7am. Whew! I have worked night shift before, and I managed to adjust to it, but so far...no good.
Maybe it's because I'm also battling a bad cold that totally came out of left field. I feel like I could probably sleep for the next week straight.
Instead, I have been cleaning the house and doing laundry. Blah!

I did manage to catch an episode of my FAVE talk show ever...ELLEN! She makes me laugh every time. Today, Ellen learned how to pole dance. This certainly brightened my day and I thought I should share





October 12, 2010

It's Pizza Night!

8:54 AM 0 Comments
Last night was a great "pizza night", due mostly to Monday night football (Sidenote: I needed Percy Harvin to get me 6 points for Fantasy and he ended up with a huge 28 points! What a night!)
Pizza was also a great option because I didn't feel like cooking. However, I didn't want to spend the money on delivery and I am tired of frozen...so I decided we would make our own!

I was at Target, perusing the Halloween decor, and decided I should do some grocery shopping while I was there. I love Super Target.

Anyway, for pizza:
Whole wheat crust and "traditional" pizza sauce
I like just enough sauce- some delivery places put waaay too much!


I had Mozzarella cheese, but then saw a "Pizza Blend" so I opted for that


Mushrooms!


And Pepperoni! 


More Cheese!




Yes, I like to cook in my PJ's-way more comfy


The finished product! The orange cheese throws me off but it was tasty!
Of course, on our UT plates with a side salad!
Ben's response? "I can honestly say this is the best homemade pizza I have ever had" 
Yay! Maybe next time I will try to make the crust myself!


Pizza, Beer, and Football on Monday night= success!
Mustang loves watching football!




October 11, 2010

Fall= Fair

10:36 AM 2 Comments
Ben and I went to the county fair last night. Today, I feel like I am floating around in a pool of fryer grease. Oh well, it was SO worth it. Fair food is pretty much the only reason I go, although we had a great time doing other things:

Eating a giant corndog!
Watching people on The Ferris Wheel

This llama took a liking to Ben!

How sweet!

YAY fair!

Ben won a stuffed animal for me : )

I have been wanting to try these for years...!

That's right folks...deep fried Oreos!

We also watched a dog show- frisbee tricks and dock diving! Those dogs were full of energy and too quick for my camera. My other fave part of the fair? People watching. I could do that alll day.

Overall, a great date night and a new yearly tradition.
Now time for a detox...

October 05, 2010

You're on My Side

2:50 PM 2 Comments
There are many adjustments and compromises that couples must make in order to maintain a healthy marriage. One of them is sleep arrangements.

I am one of those "graceful sleepers" as my mother would put it. I just lay my head on the pillow, close my eyes, and I am asleep. When I wake up in the morning, I am in the same spot as I was when I fell asleep. My one little corner of bed remains neat and making the bed is simple-all I have to do is fold the covers back up-no tucking necessary! 

Ben is a different story. I have come to learn that he is a "sound sleeper". Ok whatever, he is violent in his sleep. He thrashes around like he's fighting something, constantly stealing my covers and ALWAYS on "my side". He claims it's because he "likes to cuddle" but I don't equate kicking with cuddling. The worst part is that he has no idea that he does it, and denies it when I confront him about it. I am just looking to claim what is rightfully mine.
I thought a little bit of evidence might help my case:

As you can plainly see, he has completely vacated his side and migrated over to mine, stretching in a diagonal, making it impossible for me to gain even partial control. I can fit my upper body, but my legs will be subject to bruising. Also, please take note of the covers that Ben has managed to cocoon around him, leaving me with mere inches to cover. The floral duvet cover you see in the floor is supposed to lay across our feet. Yeah right.


<Sigh> Maybe going to night shift won't be so bad...at least I will get a few days of sleep alone. Meanwhile, I am hanging on to the edge.


October 04, 2010

The Life of a Nurse

9:53 PM 0 Comments
Being a nurse is a tough job. I have always heard that nurses are overworked and underpaid, but until you become one, you have NO idea. 
"Yes! I got to eat lunch today!"

Myth # 1: "It must be so nice to only work 3 days a week." 
REALLY? Because I put more into my 3 days a week at work than most people put into 5!
OK, I'm not saying that if you have a Monday-Friday, 9-5 job that you are lazy or don't work hard. And yes, it is nice (and necessary) to have several days off to get things done around the house and maybe relax a little. My 3 days a week still add up to 40 hours per week-it's just crammed in to 3 days instead of 5.

Which brings me to Myth # 2: OK-no real title for this one, but basically...
When I'm at work, I'm at work. It's a complete disconnect from the outside world-I have no clue what is going on. Most people look forward to the weekend and plan accordingly, and I often miss out when I'm working. Yesterday, I got home from work, and Ben asks me, "Hey...did you get a chance to get your direct deposit set up?" All I can do is glare, and manage to respond, "Well not exactly. See, I had time to pee ONCE all day. I inhaled my lunch while standing up in the break room and got 3 phone calls from patients in 20 minutes. No, I didn't have time to get any personal business done today at work." You know what I think about that?! Oh, it must be so nice to get a whole hour to eat lunch!"

Myth # 3: "Wow, you are so lucky that you get to play with babies all day!" HA! I wish! No, as a mother/baby nurse, I get to take care of no less than 8-10 patients (4-5 moms and 4-5 babies) including full assessments, meds, labs, educating, changing diapers, charting, and BREASTFEEDING. I spend about half my day helping Moms breastfeed. I wish I had time to sit and "play" with babies!

Myth # 4: (Not really in regards to being a nurse, but...) breastfeeding is not an automatic thing. Time for my public service announcement regarding breastfeeding: I love it, I am all about it, and willing to spend *lots* of time helping. But I wish more Moms prepared themselves for hard work. Newborn babies don't just latch on like you would think. They have to be taught how to latch and it takes a lot of practice. It's a lot of work at first, but pays off in the end. There is a reason why my hospital staffs 60 lactation nurses- there is a whole career dedicated to helping Moms breastfeed!

I have been seriously considering going back to school <soon> to become a Nurse Practitioner. There are so many areas I could work in, and I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons of each. I think that has prompted me to think about the myths of being a nurse. I do love my job, and it is truly rewarding, but it is not for the weak-minded!