Is it something I'm doing?

When I got off work today I was able to go out and run some of my errands. We have a Wal-Mart right by work, so I went there first. Mind you, I'm not a Wal-Mart fan simply because the ones around here just aren't the nicest, nor have the nicest of employees but you just can't beat the prices on food etc. so I sucked it up and went today. It wasn't bad at all, infact it was quite amusing. I'm not sure what it is about me but where ever we go people just seem to talk to me. Maybe I'm wearing a sign on my forehead or something? LOL. Anyway I came in contact with SEVERAL people today who just started talking to me. Of course me being a chatter box was happy to respond.

#1 The diabetic looking for wheat pasta and since I'm in scrubs I must be a nurse (right he was) and could give some good diabetic counseling, so I helped him.

#2 The guy who couldn't believe I was buying a vat of soy sauce. Hey it's a great deal, and I love soy sauce so much so why not? So we start talking about the different uses of soy sauce, and he proceeds to tell me all the different kinds of foods he likes (minus soy sauce which he hated) too cute.

#3 The guy looking for paper towels in the wrong isle, so I tell him where I think they are in the store (I'm not there enough to know for sure) He happily starts chatting with me too.

#4 Same guy as above runs into me later to thank me for him indeed finding the paper towels where I told him they may be. He then proceeded to talk about the benefits of buying in bulk. (He must have seen my enourmously filled cart).

#5 The lady who I keep running into who is looking for Hannah Montana stuff, so I do my best to help her.

#6 The cashier who starts to talk about blood sugars (must be my scrubs....but i could be a dentist or something you know!? LOL) she starts asking me about having kids, my marriage, her boyfriend, her drama, her lovely pregnancy scares. Man I MUST BE WEARING I SIGN OR SOMETHING!!

Then I go to Chipotle for dinner. I must admit this was kind of liberating because I've never eaten by myself before and I just wanted to tonight. It was lovely and I fulfilled my craving too. Bonus! However the guy in line before me who only spoke spanish is talking away to me and I pretty much have no clue what he is saying except for the occasional word I recognized. Poor guys I just smiled and rambled about how good his food looked. Man it's even happening in foreign languages now!

I go to Target next where I am proud to say I bought 4 Christmas presents tonight! I hit the clearance rack big time and scored Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Camp Rock, etc. So needless to say my nieces are DONE!! AWESOME! :) However..in the middle of my looking through the racks this young woman approaches me to ask me about pea coats. I offer my help to her, she ends up asking me if this certain coat is cool, would fit her niece, if it's a good color etc. At this point I'm ready to just bust with laughter. Wow I sure did have a blast today, and for going out shopping by myself I sure was NOT alone. Too funny :)

T.G.M.O.

That's right. Thank God Monday's over! (well almost). I had that gut feeling all weekend that work was going to be awful today and right I was. It's ok though, I'm home now relaxed, made an awesome dinner, and enjoyed a glass of wine with Scott. Tomorrow should be a quieter day at work. It's Rosh Hashana and considering I work for a primarily Jewish practice, most doctors are off tomorrow for the holiday. That means, only one doctor and about half the patients. I'll take it!

After work tomorrow I have to get caught up on some errands I need to run. They were all supposed to be done today, but considering I worked late, forgot my credit card at home, and left my cash on my dresser...let's just say it wasn't meant to be. I'll take another shot at it tomorrow.

As for the rest of the night...It's all about the Ravens!! BEAT THE STEELERS!!!!!!!!!

Sunday Rewind

Today was a nice Sunday. Met up with Beth (and her boyfriend) this morning at Starbucks for coffee. I tried the "Pumpkin spice Latte" yum, I'll definitely be getting that one again...and again. (Well for the season anyway). Met up with Kel-vo early afternoon and we headed down to Easton together to go visit Granny in the hospital. It was a nice visit, and she was so happy to see us and spend time with us. After that we headed back over the bridge, stopped and got some lunch at good old Wendy's, and did some quick shopping at Kohl's. Good conversation, laughs, and hopefully plans for Happy Hour next Friday made for a good day.

Now off to another busy week...
Scott just made us omelettes for dinner and they were really good! I'm off to work out for a few, then it's time to relax for the night. Tomorrow is an extremely busy day at work, and we have a wedding we are in on Friday. At least it's only a 3 day work week for us! Woo hoo!

Couples

What is his name?

Scott

What is her name?

Jessica

How long have you been married?

5 years in April

How long did you date?

5 years

How old is he?

32

How old is she?

28

Who eats more?

Ha ha me with out a doubt! I love to eat!!

Who said I love you first?

Me :)

Who is taller?

Scott

Who sings better?

I think he's a great singer, but he loves it when he hears me singing in the kitchen or something and says I sing good (I don't think so though)

Who is smarter?

Bwah ha ha me ;) Just kidding we are both very smart I think, and each smarter in different areas so we balance eachother nicely. Although I have to brag and say Scott says I'm the smartest person he knows..aw.

Who does the laundry?

Me! We have an agreement that Scott isn't allowed to even breathe in the laundry room (kidding) after the incident where he threw in a brand new navy rug in with the whites and ruined everything. Granted that was years ago at the old house, but the rule still holds today ;)

Who pays the bills?

Well we both work our butts off so technically we both pay them, but he writes out the checks, sometimes I will too.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?

me

Who mows the lawn?

Oh that's all him. Our yard is HUGE. I'm glad he doesn't mind :)

Who cooks the dinner?

Me because I absolutely love to cook!!! He's a good cook too, but doesn't cook too much.

Who drives?

Both of us take turns. We both really like to drive so it's easy. I usually offer first, I love to drive.

Who is more stubborn?

According to Scott me....According to me Scott :)

Who proposed?

He did and it was wonderful.

Who is more sensitive?

Oh that would be me!

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill-Ins #91
Those of you with multiple blogs or private blogs...if you could add a link to your blog when you comment, that would be GREAT! And...here we go!

1. Fall Festivals, the cooler air, changing leaves, the smell of fall, vineyards, our friends wedding we're in, Colon cancer walk, fall recipes, and Halloween! are some of the things I'm most looking forward to in October.

2. Sometimes I get frustrated when I don't think positive and don't use "The Secret" like I should.

3. What's meant to be will always find it's way.....and that's why there is a saying, "never say never"!

4. When I'm down, I remember the quote "Before you frown make sure there is nothing to smile about."

5. Working and taking care of patients is where you'll find me most often.

6. A rainy day is good for the soul...time to relax and enjoy...

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to staying in a watching a movie tomorrow my plans include my cousins wedding and Sunday, I want to meet Beth for coffee @ Starbucks in the morning, then go to Easton to visit Granny with Kevin.

Food for thought

The recipes I made for our work lunch-in went over fabulously. I have to say myself they were really good! I made this awesome dip and this equally awesome pie. Yum Yum Yum. I definitely ate too much and my stomach hates me right now. Ugh. Tonight is a stay-in kind of night, not going to visit Granny because of the Nor'easter thats hitting us now. It's a mess out there. I just hope we don't lose power so I can watch the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy tonight!!!!

Nice Wednesday

Today was a good day. Great day at work, great patients with wonderful senses of humor and just all around goodness. Came home and quickly threw together 2 new recipes for a lunch in we're having at work tomorrow. I made a cheesy spinach bacon dip, and a no bake pumpkin cheesecake. Yummy! I'm so excited to eat all the good food tomorrow! :) I was able to put these 2 new recipes together in no time which I thought was pretty amazing considering it was my first attempt. My best friend Beth came over after work and we headed out to happy hour this evening to catch up. We went to one of our local favorites "Windows on the bay" it's just lovely and has the best appetizers (1/2 price during happy hour i might mention). It was great to just have a couple drinks and have girl time. We went shopping after that to find me the shoes I need for a wedding I'm in next week. Procrastinator I know, but they were easy to find and on clearance for $5!! Bonus! We finished the night off with a trip to Mickey D's for some hot fundge sundaes. It was a great evening. I'm so thankful for the great people in my life. Tomorrow is another busy day too. I'm going to Easton to visit granny in the hospital after her knee surgery from her fall. :( The weather here the next few days is supposed to be rainy and gross. It's ok, it just means it's good weather to relax, enjoy some down time, and make some good comfort food. I'll take it :)

Compliments are Nice

Today was kind of crazy at work. Go figure, I'm a nurse ;) Anyway we had a patient who ended up needing prophylactic antibiotics before his procedure. This process is supposed to be done an hour before hand but since it was a last minute decision, it threw a wrench in our lovely surgical plan.

I quickly drew up both antibiotics, re-did the patients IV, hung the meds....in the mean time one of the meds has to infuse pretty slowly, so I got another patient ready for procedure, assisted during that procedure, came out and my antibiotic patient was now ready for his procedure. Perfect timing! Talk about running around like a crazy woman to stay on schedule and not miss a beat.

Later the doctor pulled me aside, thanked me for my efficiency, helpfullness, how quick I was, and for doing a great job. One of my coworkers was later joking with this doctor saying he was crazy like me (in a funny/ silly way). He replied " To say I'm like Jessica is the utmost of compliments" WOW! :) That just made my day.

Tuesday Ten

10 Great Things That Happened This Summer

Summer is over....Here's reflecting on the summer you had.

You can either talk about personal things that have happened to you or great things that happened in general.

1. Vegas!! Went in August for 5 days and loved it!
2. NYC for our lovely purse shopping trip with the work girls.
3. Went of a camping trip with the family for a long weekend.
4. Went to a Baltimore Ravens pre-season game....AWESOME!
5. Got a Wii and a Wii fit
6. Went to MD wine festival which I just love
7. Had a big summer party/cookout, even had an ice luge, good times!
8. Went out to eat to some great places with friends
9. Ate lots of steamed crabs (my favorite!)
10. Worked on the house, got new appliances, and a new flat screen wall T.V.

Weekend overview

Ahh Monday you get here so fast. Could you please have a talk with your friends Saturday and Sunday and make them hang around a bit longer? Thanks.

Friday was nice. I actually got out of work before NOON! That's a miracle in itself. I had to leave though or I'd be in over-time. Twist my arm, my weekend started at 11:30am on a Friday. Came home and cleaned the house for our company on Saturday. When Scott came home from work we headed to Ellicott City to one of our favorite restaurants LaPalapa, walked around old Main St. and stopped for some coffee. It was a lovely chilly fall evening and we loved it.

Saturday was insane for me for several reasons. First, I was still cleaning up here and there while making food to prepare for the house full I was having (Scott's family) at night for a crab feast. I was getting ready for a baby shower when the gift went missing and I went bolistic. Got really frustrated with some family stuff and just lost it, I was a mess. Ran to baby shower which was beautiful and just lovely. Met my best friends new daughter, who I just fell in love with. Rushed home to finish up here at the house, and entertained all night long. It was great all in all, but I was exhausted to say the least!

Sunday was the day I was looking forward to ALL WEEK LONG! The 25th annual Maryland Wine Festival. Woo hoo! Scott, D, S, and me went and had a blast! Trying all the different wines, and we just love the food too. It's become an annual tradition, and this weekend it was a must needed one! We all came back to our house and I broke out all the left over snacks, food, dips, etc from Saturday night and we enjoyed them while watching the football games. I happily enjoyed watching my Ravens crush the Browns :) Once the sun went down, we brought out some of the wine we bought from the festival and put our awesome fire pit to good use. Sitting around a campfire in your yard on a cool fall evening while drinking wine with good friends....Does it get any better?

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill-Ins #90 Those of you with multiple blogs or private blogs...if you could add a link to your blog when you comment, that would be GREAT! And...here we go!

1. There is no need to be negative all the time.

2. Where in the heck did the dust come from in this house right now! I'm a cleaning machine :)

3. So far today work and cleaned the house is all I managed to do.

4. Prospects for good health a long life, and a cure for CF works for me.

5. What's meant to be will always find it's way is the message.

6. Simplicity and tranquility are somewhere that music can usually take me.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to having date night in Ellicott City with this lovely chilly crisp weather , tomorrow my plans include baby shower for baby Alivia, and Scott's family over for a crab feast in the evening and Sunday, I want to drink wine at the wine festival until they close!! :)

Thursday 13

Thirteen Things about My Week1. I declared this week "rest week" because I've been running myself into the ground lately.2. Yesterday sucked, today was much better.3. I forgot that I have a lecture and dinner tonight on Crohn's disease in Baltimore at a fancy Hawaiian restaurant. I have no clue what I'm going to wear either.4. I've been going to McDonald's everyday for a sweet tea @ lunch. I love them!5. I feel like I never have enough time to please everyone, and some friends just don't understand that I have a busy schedule too... I hate guilt trips!6. I met one of the Doctors (I work for) wife this week, and was blown away at how opposite they are! I wondered how they are even a match...Scott said people probably think the same of us and he's probably right.7. Scott's whole family is coming here Saturday night for a crab feast. I have a baby shower in the afternoon, I have a feeling It's going to be an insanely busy day.8. Hopefully tomorrow being Friday Scott and I will be able to go out, just the 2 of us to Ellicott City....it's been a while.9. One of our Anesthesiologists called me today to tell us that he just finished his last treatment after being diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and is doing fantastic! That was great news for us.10. I'm very excited to go to a wine festival this Sunday. After this week, wine sounds just devine ;)11. I actually had to turn the heat on a little bit during the drive to work this am, it was quite chilly out and I loved it!12. When I get home from work I like to turn off my brain and not have to talk or think (just for a little while)...I have a hard time telling people that I sometimes just don't feel like talking on the phone. Especially after a l...o....n....g.... day at work.13. I'm wondering how I'm going to get the whole house cleaned and everything done before our party on Saturday. I know I worry about it too much, but I just like things a certain way if we're entertaining.

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Just one of those days

Gar! Today sucks! It's not all that often where I have a day where all aspects are just bad. But....guess what!? It has happened today. I'm not going to ramble on about every single detail, here's the summary:

Late coworkers~means you are screwed and slammed as early as 0630 in the morning
Bad news~news that your patient has died after a 2 week struggle
Family~Plans that are made, times that don't work, and I'm the bad guy when I'm trying to be the good guy.
Rudeness~One of my #1 pet peeves in life and I've dealt with it ALL DAY LONG!
Stupidity~People who have no common sense, even though I deal with this on a daily basis at work, it was on over-kill today.
Fertility~Being asked all the time when we're going to start a family, when I secretly hope that we can. I'm tired of thinking about it, worrying about it, getting scared about it, etc.
I NEED A BREAK!

Thank goodness tonight is card night for Scott and I have the house to myself. I went to the "Redbox" and rented THIS for tonight. I'm also going to make shrimp scampi and enjoy a glass of wine....or two, or three, or....

Tuesday Ten

10 Simple Things that Make You Happy:

1. A good glass of wine (I love Riesling)

2. A cool fall day (rainy is fine too)

3. Laughing until you can't breathe

4. Cooking (new recipe or an old favorite)

5. Being a Nurse

6. Listening to music

7. Taking pictures

8. Eating great food!

9. Getting my morning email from Scott :)

10. Being surrounded by my family, dogs, and friends.

Baby Girl

I'd like to start of this week by welcoming one of my best friends new daughter into the world. Alivia Hannah was born yesterday at 8 am. Everyone is doing well and baby is healthy :) She was born a month early (the baby shower is this Saturday), talk about making an early appearance. Congrats Matt!!!

Mission: Potato

I love potatoes and all carbs for that matter :) Although every time I buy a huge bag of potatoes it never fails, that before I use all the potatoes they go bad :( I hate when that happens. Yesterday Scott went to the grocery store for me since I was feeling under the weather. I asked him to pick up a bag of potatoes for me, he refused. So I made a bet with him that if he got me the bag of potatoes that I would NOT let them go bad and would find cool new things/recipes for the potatoes. So he did end up buying them for me. Now the fun begins, I need to think of different potato recipes, I always do mashed, baked, etc. It's on!!! I will not lose this bet!!!

Any ideas??

It only took 10 years

I've known my husband for almost 10 years now. He's asked me time and time again if I'd watch the original Star Wars movies with him. I have no interest to be honest. Sci-fi stuff is just not my thing and I really don't enjoy movies like that. I thought he'd be happy that I went with him when the new ones came out a few years ago, but no not good enough. So FINALLY last night he asked me again and I said "sure." So low and behold people I finally watched the 1st original Star Wars movie with him. This is a monumental day in our house ;) Of course as soon as we finish the movie he says "Ok when can we watch the next 2?" I say "In 10 more years" ha ha ha :)

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Whistle While You WorkWe are talking about jobs today. Pick any job of your career. Tell us when and where it was. Then answer today's Saturday: 9.


1. Tell us which job your are telling us about, and when you had it.
This is my current job, been there from December 2003- present

2. Where do/did you work?
As a R.N. at an out patient Gastroenterology procedure center (Ambulatory Surgery)

3. Tell us about that boss.
She has no clue

4. Do/Did you find your work creative? If yes how?
Not really creative, but challenging. Although we do get creative sometimes and will have themed days. We've done "crazy hat day, crazy sock day, mismatch scrubs day" etc. We do have fun and our patients love it.

5. Tell us about your favorite co-worker.
She's like our work mom. I tell her everything and vice versa. She gives great advise and we vent to eachother all the time. Actually all of my co-workers and I are very close though. We hang out socially, and do frequent trips to NYC together too. We're like a small family there. :)

6. Tell us about the biggest jerk in that job.
There is no jerk, just a lazy, lying moron who has no clue what happens around her. And is extremely selfish. But everyone else is pretty great.

7. Where do/did you see yourself with this job in five years?
I see myself there still. I truly love my job and the doctors that I work for. We have a great time at work and I love my patients. I can see myelf being the Nurse Manager in 5 years. Right now I'm the charge nurse.

8. Tell us about your commute.
It's great only 14 miles away, so about 15 minutes on the highway. Very close and I'm very lucky.

9. What hours of the day do/did you work?
I get there about 0550 and work until about 1430 or 1500. Not bad at all!

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend~!

TGIF

Those of you with multiple blogs or private blogs...if you could add a link to your blog when you comment, that would be GREAT! And...here we go!

1.I enjoy cooking, shopping, being surrounded by great people, laughing, the smell of the ocean, eating steamed crabs, living life to the fullest.

2.Starting a family is something I wonder about often lately.

3. In your heart, you knew I was meant to be a nurse and I love what I do.

4. Take crisp air add a little smell of leaves and you end up with The season changing to Fall! yay.

5. Life has gifted me with a great husband, and a wonderful supportive family and friends.

6. A margarita is an instant vacation.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to Going to Linda's party tomorrow my plans include grilling out and hanging out and Sunday, I want to relax and watch football.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things about My week.1. Today is 9/11 and my heart goes out to those who lost their lives and their families. We will never forget. Today is also my sister in laws bday.2. I wore an American flag pin on my scrubs today in honor.3. I went to Chipotle tonight for dinner and stuffed myself silly and it was totally worth it.4. I'm looking forward to going to the chiropractor tomorrow, I'm finally getting back on track since he told me "A ton of my joints are out of allignment" ouch!5. Tomorrows work party should be a blast and much needed...I'd love to be able to definitely be able to make it to Crissy's party too but not sure...6. Hung out with my best friend Bee tonight and it was so great to catch up (even though it had only been 2 weeks) that's long for us.7. I love it that people love to come to our house and hang out. In the past 2 weeks, 2 different sets of friends/family have asked if we'd have them over, it's awesome and I love to!8. I went looking for Halloween costumes tonight...verdict NOTHING yet :(9. I'm still very bummed about my 2 patients from this week and last and broke down and got upset again today.10. I found a new nail polish that I'm in love with and the color stays on your nails for about 5 days which is great for me being a nurse and washing my hands a billion times a day.11. I had 2 co-workers tell me today that I always work my as* off. It feels good to know your work ethic is appreciated.12. I had Starbucks this morning, my favorite "white chocolate mocha" and it made me so happy :)13. We bought a fire pit this week and I'm so excited to make our lower back brick patio, a place to hang out and have a campfire....awesome!

Mittwoch

I'm being a dork, mittwoch is the German word for Wednesday. Today was one of the slowest relaxing work days I've had in a while. Patients were pretty cool too...well except for my last one. I'm always compassionate but let's face it, manic, paranoid people tend to drain me sometimes. Stopped by mommas after work to visit and chit chat. Sometimes you just need to talk to your mom, you know? The guys are here tonight to play cards. Ahh the smell of cigars, beer, and listening to the baseball game. :D I just realized It's going on 8 and I haven't even eaten yet. Time for some dinner!

Seasons Change

I'm definitely starting to notice that the seasons are changing. It's a very welcome change for me. I love the fall!! As I just looked out the window @ 7:40 pm I noticed it's already dark out. That's one of the things I love about Maryland is truly getting all 4 seasons. Come on Fall!!! :)

Tuesday=Tired

I'm so glad that I wasn't as tired as I was yesterday. I don't get it but I could barely keep my eyes open yesterday. Ugh. I got home last night and barely had the effort to let the dogs out (no worries I did). I plopped myself down on the couch and was out for the count. Apparently I needed a nap. Bigtime.

Today was better (tired wise) anyway but the emotional drainage from work has yet to settle down. I found out today that one of my patients who we saw in March died at the age of 29 of esophageal cancer. It was heartbreaking, so was the day in March when we diagnosed her. I don't know why all this is happening lately but It's definitely a wave that just doesn't seem to want to end. I just have to keep thinking to myself to live each day and learn from the events around me.

I made an AWESOME dinner tonight and it's one that I will definitely will be making again. Yum yum yum!!! My sister-in-law, niece and nephew are stopping by in a little bit. My sister-in-law got 2 awesome cigars for Scott, and they haven't seen the house and all that we've done to it for a little while. Anyway off to clean and straighten up and await the cute little faces that should be appearing at my door in about 20 minutes.

And the learning continues

Hooray for also learning how to post a video! I'm slowly but surely learning this whole blogging thing ;)

I've also learned how to hyper link. I know this is second nature for a TON of people, but I'm uber excited that I learned it today too! :D

Deep thinking

The Cure is my favorite group for those of you who don't know. Anyway I've been listening to their album "Kiss me Kiss me Kiss me" this weekend a lot (Eventhough I've had it forever and ever). I actually realized how motivating the song "Fight Fight Fight" is. Especially after last week and everything that went along with it. Here's the lyrics, pretty awesome but then again I'm definitely partial ;)

Sometimes there's nothing to feel

Sometimes there's nothing to hold

Sometimes there's no time to run away

Sometimes you just feel so old

The times it hurts when you cry

The times it hurts just to breathe

And then it all seems like there's no-one left

And all you want is to sleep

Fight fight fight

Just push it away

Fight fight fight

Just push until it breaks

Fight fight fight

Don't cry at the pain

Fight fight fight

Or watch yourself burn again

Fight fight fight

Don't howl like a dog

Fight fight fight

Just fill up the sky

Fight fight fight

Fight til you drop

Fight fight fight

And never never Never stop

Fight fight fight

Fight fight fight

So when the hurting starts

And when the nightmares begin

Remember you can fill up the sky

You don't have to give in

You don't have to give in

Never give in

Never give in

Never give in

Sunday Sunday

Well I'm happy to say that The RAVENS WON today!!! Woo Hoo!!! I watched most of the game with Scott while doing laundry etc. We have NFL Sunday Ticket which means he watches pretty much every game that's on Sunday the entire season. So from here on out I won't see Scott on a Sunday until after the SuperBowl. Ha ha :) And I've been sworn to make no plans that involve him on a Sunday until then either....I'll do my best ;)

We had a nice weekend, Hanna ripped through yesterday but luckily we experienced no damage, and just flickering power outages but no extensive ones. Friends of ours came over last night and we did sort of a Mexican theme shin-dig. We sat out on the back deck (which is screened in and covered and enjoyed the rainy windy weathery. We had Crock Pot taco soup, quesadillas, salsa and chips, chili cheese dip, corn bread, the works. It was a great time. We also played the "Friends" trivia game, and I'm happy to say the girl whooped their butts! Yay! Our friends ended up staying over (secondary to great partying ;) This morning we all had an awesome breakfast including breakfast burritos (from scratch) and great coffee.

It's been a beautiful day today. It always amazes me that the day after a hurricane or tropical storm passes through how gorgeous the next day is. Here's to the start of a nice week...I'm hoping my work week is better than last week too. Well here's to a lazy football Sunday (which I love). I'm going to go eat some steamed crabs for dinner...don't be jealous :) And then finish cleaning and doing laundry (I know there's no jealousy there) LOL.

Tropical Storm Hanna

Well tropical strorm Hanna has officially landed and is pounding us right now. This morning when we were outside on our back deck which is covered drinking coffee, it was just rain. Now It's a whole new story, pouring rain, and mega mega wind. I'm really hoping we don't lose power, but I'm thinking we probably will.

For me it's a great excuse to stay in and cook. So I'm going to make Crock Pot Taco Soup yum! I love the way a good slow cooking soup fills up the whole house with the yummy aroma. :) Last night I did some Greek food. We had Greek kabobs, tzatziki sauce, and Greek pasta salad with Feta cheese. It was delicious and I'll definitely be making that again!

Well here's to a much-needed-day-of-relaxing-lovely-stormy-day! I'll take it after the emotionally draining week I just had. Thanks Hanna :)

What a week

This week was not a good one. My patient is not doing well and prognosis is grave :( I haven't been able to shake this all week, neither has anyone for that matter. It's heartbreaking to see how it's effecting everyone. Not to be a big negative person, because I try not to but this week has just all around been crappy. It all stems from the code too...taking worries home, being pissy, easily annoyed etc. and I hate it because it's not me. On the bright side of things, I guess I should be happy that when things happen like this it still hits me this hard. I don't ever want to become immune to situations like this just because I'm a nurse and "it happens." I don't care, that's not who I am.

I'm extremely happy to say that after a crap-tastic week I'm looking forward to a semi-quiet weekend. Tomorrow hurricane Hanna is supposed to blast us. I find that as an excellent excuse to stay put and chill. I'm thinking...enjoy the rain, have coffee, read some cookbooks, get some things done that I've wanted to do. My main goal is just to turn off my brain.

Thursday 13

Thirteen Things about THE SECRET (the book) and my vision board.I've read the Secret and totally believe in the law of attraction. This weeks 13 is dedicated to the things that I put on my vision board. FYI the vision board is a part of "The Secret" where you literally cut out pictures, quotes, or sayings of things or wants in your life. By looking at the vision board everyday these thoughts become things :) On my vision board which I keep on my dresser, and have a copy of it on my desk at work is pictures of: 1. Babies2. Motherhood3. The outdoors4. Jeep Wrangler5. Money6. New construction (kitchen, house etc)7. Breathe easy8. Live well and giggle9. Cooking and entertaining10. Have more fun11. Blogger12. Endless possibilities13. Traveling and adventures

20 random things

I've seen a couple people on their blogs do this. I think it's neat, and I'm bored so guess what? Here's my list :)

~I could listen to The Cure (any of my CD's/ iPOD) and never ever get sick of them. They've been my favorite since about age 13. U2 is a very close second

~I've slept like a brick the past couple of nights, i think because my days have been so INSANE and exhausting at work.

~Haven't been to the chiropractor is over 2 weeks, and my back hates me for it, we're going tomorrow...no excuses considering they are literally next door from work.

~I had an awesome time with Julie and seeing her girls on tuesday night, sometimes i can see us with daughters too, then some days i just see boys...Hmm.

~I miss my cousins and hope we hang out soon

~I did my nieces spanish homework for her on Monday...shh don't tell (it was her birthday, consider it a gift ;)

~We're supposed to go to NYC on saturday but i'm thinking its a no-go considering all the hurricanes brewing in the ocean. boo.

~I can't wait for Halloween and have already starting checking out costumes online.

~I signed up today to do a colon cancer walk in honor of a former patient of our practice that lost her battle 3 years ago.

~I can't wait for the holidays and have already starting thinking about some Christmas gifts i'd like to buy...especially for my nieces. And I dreamt about Christmas cards last night (weird)

~Loving how the feeling of fall is in the air, and it's actually chilly when i'm driving to work at 0530...Plus Fall festivals are the best!!

~I heard from a couple friends via email this week that i haven't talked to in a little bit and it made me feel great :D

~I'm praying for my co-worker who's in the hospital battling lung cancer.

~I'm all about house projects right now. we've done so many great things to the house this year and i just want to keep up the good work.

~Mark Ruffalo is my favorite actor

~I want to see the movie Stepbrothers so bad! I just love stupid humor.

~Hooray for the season Premiere of Ghost Hunters tonight yippee!!

~My mom is the best. I can tell her anything and she's always there to listen, offer advise, give support, and be my best friend.

~You can never take too many pictures...one of my projects is to actually frame some of those pictures and hang them on the walls.

~I've been working out on our new Eliptical and love the feeling you get knowing you are exercising.

And the blah-ness continues

Blah-ness is in full effect today, and not by choice either. The day at work today just had the same feel as yesterday. We all still feel the effects of our patients code yesterday. Today's report says she's not doing too well either. :( It's hard to shake a feeling like this and some people just don't understand. Lets face it, most jobs don't require life or death training. I don't care how long I've been a nurse (6 years to be exact) codes never ever get easier...I guess because we are human and we care so much. Some people can just leave work at work. I'm not one of those people. I've worked with the same group of people for almost 5 years now, and we are like family. Whether it's something that goes wrong, when someone is sick, when someone hurts, we all do.

So tonight I'm by myself. Scott is playing cards like he does on Wednesdays with the guys. I'm happy that he does that, it's nice for him and I know he really enjoys it. My mom and dad steamed up some lovely Maryland crabs and offered me some so that's dinner tonight. My absolute favorite too! Nothing like crabs and beer :) I'm really trying to shake this blah feeling, but it's easier said than done. Sometimes I find that going for a ride and listening to good music is very therapeutic. That may be in store of tonight. Me, the pups in the Xterra, rocking out to my favorite group "The Cure"

Sounds like a plan to me!

Here's to a chill night with Elektra and Hooper :) Thank goodness they are used to my crazy loud music ;) It's ok they love The Cure too. Oh and they always cheer me up :)

Code Blue

Today was back to work after a lovely long weekend. This week sure did start with a bang too...Unfortunately one of our patients coded today and went into respiratory arrest. Not sure why, but all I know is to be involved in a code is terrible. I mean you feel good as a nurse that you are doing everything you can to save this person, but at the same time you just feel helpless when nothing is working. I've been in my share of codes too, having worked critical care and now outpatient surgery. It was a long one too, she was intubated, CPR initiated, the works. . After pushing cardiac meds on her, we were able to get a pulse, but we were bagging or ventilating her manually. She was transferred to our local hospital and I pray she's ok. Unfortunately being a surgery center we do witness this, but it's never ever easy. It just sets the tone for the whole day, and leaves you with this weird, sick in the stomach feeling like you've been punched. I can't get it off my mind and sure hope she's doing ok tonight...

Luckily I have plans tonight to go out with my good friend Julie. I'm going up to her place in Ellicott City (which I just love it up there) to visit her and her girls, and we're going out for some yummy mexican food and drinks tonight. It sure is perfect timing for the day we just had today.

Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole

I decided to give my breakfast casserole a whirl in the crock pot. It turned out AMAZING!!!! And so easy, I turned it on low at 11pm last night, and when I got up this morning I turned it off around 9, and it was perfect! Here's how I did it

16 oz. of hashbrown potatoes
1 lb sausage ( I did about 12 links) cooked and chopped
8 pieces bacon (that's what I had leftover) cooked and crumbled
12 eggs ( I had only 9 and it was perfect)
1 cup milk
salt and pepper (about Tsp. each) more to taste if needed
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Spray crock pot with no-stick spray
Put hashbrowns on bottom
layer cheese, sausage, and bacon with final layer as cheese on top
Mix eggs and milk, salt and pepper, then pour over all ingredients in crock pot.
Turn on Low for about 8-10 hours.
And when you wake up breakfast is served! :) Yummy!

Labor Day Weekend

It's so nice to be off for this long Labor Day weekend. I'm absolutely loving not having to work today. It's pretty rare in the nursing field to be able to have off on weekends and holidays, just one of the perks of my job. (I think I'll keep it ;)

We've had a nice weekend, slow and relaxing, but nice. Saturday we went to the Annapolis Yacht Club's annual sailing week party. Our close friend Dave sails so he invited us. It was gorgeous where the party was, right near the Annapolis docks. Especially when the sun went down, all the lights on the water and all the boats just lit up it was awesome. Afterwards we went to a bar also in Annapolis called Heroe's. We all just wanted some good "bar food" and boy did we find it! This place was great, the best greasy bar food (cheese fries, mozzarella sticks, crab dip etc) and they had a wall (seriously) of draft beers. Not like 5 draft beers, but an entire wall!! I swear I'm not an alcoholic but just to see that many draft beers was just plain neat. :D

While enjoying our Saturday coffee on the back deck together I was flipping through the sale ads for this week and found a major sale at Sears for an eliptictal. When we went to Hawaii in November last year the gym on our cruise ship had them and we were addicted. (Well Scott more than me he was at the gym everyday, me I was more of his cheerleader on the sidelines ;)
But I've really been wanting to get back into a routine even if it's just 3 days a week, and heck it can only be good for you so why not. So I found at Sears that they were 50% off!! And they only had 6 in stock so it was first come first serve. So like a nerd I went and waited for the doors to open yesterday, but I got it YAY!!! Scott put it together last night as a surprise for this morning, it's awesome! Infact he's already worked out on it. We also picked up a nice piece for our entertainment center at Target last night, and it looks great.

Well today we're off to my niece's 14th birthday party. I really can't believe she's 14, when Scott and I first met she was only 4. I admit, a small part of me feels a little bit old today. Oh well, it's a beautiful day outside and it feels like fall! Hooray for September!!