Today!

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Really! Yesterday was my last day in my high-stress, not-so-appreciated job! Woo hoo for me! Now, in 2 short short weeks, I'll be in Kentucky for Frontier Bound. I can't wait.

Here's just a short recap of my less than 2 hour old day....

7:10 Wake-up...feeling rather refreshed, ready to get the day started (what a way to start!)
7:11 Nurse little back to sleep, realize trash needs to be taken out & I'm need to pee!
7:15 Go to bathroom so my bladder will be happy
7:16 Gather trash...husband says it was a little too energetic
7:20 Take trash out, happily gaze at snow in yard & relish in the fact I won't be driving in it
7:22 Meet little one in entry way
7:35 Husband joins us in living room
7:40 Coffee brewing, waffle in toaster, yogurt parfait made
8:00 Get little one dressed...complete with pig tails
8:15 Said good-bye to husband and little one
8:20 Check Farm Town, catch up on facebook
8:55 Husband invites me to come see him at the house he's building (maybe later)
8:56 Resume computer activities

Wow, how lovely. I'm having a beautiful day! :)

Seriously though, I'm going to really miss some of the people I've worked with. Some people were very challenging. If you're reading this, thinking you might like to be a manager of any sorts one day, please know there are some very very very grumpy people out there! There are people who, I'm convinced, came to work every day just to make my life miserable. You'll see very little reward. You'll feel like you accomplish very little. Managers do everything. And...everything expands every single day. Not that pay is everything, but this must be said. You make less than quite a few people who report to you. When calculated based on hourly rates, you make a lot less than a lot of people who report to you.

But, there are good things. Really. Maybe. I got to see things change for the positive. Our employee engagement increased while I was there. Our patient satisfaction increased A LOT while I was there. People wanted to work in my units. Our turnover was low at the end (very high at the beginning). Anyway, it's time for someone else to move forward! I'm off to new adventures!

Sugar Addict

It's true. I'm addicted to sugar. I can eat healthy all day long, but put some processed sweets in front of me and I'm a goner. It's ridiculous. I can do without fried food. I'll even limit my intake of pasta and cheese. But sugar? No, can't do it. Today alone, I had 4 chocolate chip cookies & 4 carrot cake balls (granted, it's Fat Tuesday).

I'm contemplating giving up sweets for Lent. I have been very successful at whatever I've given up in the past. It's easier for me to give something for someone else. Can I do it? Can I not have sweets for 40 days?

We'll see. I am willing to sacrifice my addiction to sugar to learn and grow as a person and as a Christian.

Here goes nothing!

22 days

In 22 days, I will no longer be a full-time employee. In 23 days, I will sleep in. In 23 days, I will release so much stress and anxiety. In a little over six weeks, I'll be in Kentucky. In a little over 2 months I'll be a full-time student and a (very) part-time nurse.

Woo hoo!

New Year, New Me!

Here are some of my goals for the new year:

(1) Eat/live healthier.
(2) Decrease white foods -- white sugar & white bread, specifically.
(3) Less processed junk.
(4) Eat real food.
(5) Get pregnant!
(6) Blog more
(7) Write more
(8) Read more

Okay, that's about it, but it's big!!!!

And, what's happened so far:

(1) Got accepted to nurse practitioner school (actually happened in 2009).
(2) Resigned from my position at work (just happened today!!). Woo hoo!
(3) I eat really good until about Wednesday...then it's all down hill. Maybe unemployment will be good for me.
(4) Started charting my temps.

Anyway, that's me, 15 days in to the new year.

Brooke

It's Snowing!

Who said they wanted a white Christmas? Earlier in the week the weather and news folks were saying we were going to have 10-12 inches of snow today. They predicted we would wake up to all that snow. Of course, as a nurse manager who is on call (all the time) on holidays, including this day, I was a little worried. I do have a tendency to worry about everything though.

So, when I woke up at 7:15am (okay, I didn't wake up by myself, my daughter woke me up) and there was NO snow, I called their bluff. I just knew they were exaggerating. That's what meteorologists do. They get all excited about this crazy-ass weather.

At 7:15 it was drizzling slightly. Some sleet. It was above freezing, so it was just pretty slushy. I thought we were good. We had 2 family events planned for today. I have seen my parents and grandma every single Christmas Eve since I was born. I was excited for the day. Our dd was so excited about the day!

About an hour later, it started snowing. Now, 9 hours later....it's STILL snowing!

Well, here's to hoping everyone is safe and sound tonight! Merry Christmas Eve!

So tired...

I really want to write something today. I really do. I even tried to apply for a position at the Examiner (www.examiner.com). But, and it's a BIG but...I'm so freaking tired! What is up with me?

I didn't even go to work today, had a conference, then came home. But, now, I'm just so tired.

Agh! It's frustrating!

My funny kid

I know everyone wants to brag on their kid. Really, don't we ALL have the best kid ever? Well, tonight, as challenging as my little child was, she made me laugh!

She is getting so funny! She's just like her daddy. She's very determined, independent, and smart. After a very challenging evening at gymnastics (from her pointing her finger at me telling me "no" to her running around like crazy, not paying attention), we came home a a great dinner of spaghetti. It was yummy! Well, she had spaghetti all over the place. Greg came in to the kitchen to discuss whether we really need to give her a bath. She knows what a bath is & she LOVES her baths. He asked, "Do you think we need to give an ath-bay tonight?"

Yep, we speak pig latin. We're not that fast of spellers yet! She said "I want an ath-bay." I wondered if she really knew what an ath-bay was. So, I asked her. The little stinker says, "Yes, an ath-bay is a bath." She was so matter-of-fact. Wow.

I am paying for my husband's raising! Thanks Greg!