The Pants!

So, I said I would get these little boogers done before Christmas and, lo, here they are. Big thanks to my spatially oriented husband, and his daughter and son-in-law, for putting up with the interruptions while I tried to figure out how to not sew the butt together or make them look like chaps. And yes, I could have bought jammy pants at WalMart, but they would not have been made by me. Now my daughter will forever remember the story of the penguin pants and tell her children and her children's children about the Christmas her mother made her jammies (after the fabric gathered dust for months on the table). Anyhoo, here they are--

Lost

I have a hard time listening to mainstream media discuss daily news stories or the latest events. I don't like being around people, because so many of them are leading lives out of focus, based on material things and feel-goods. Churches are prospering now with doctrine rooted in apostasy and worldly things and whatever makes you "happy". Our wise and forceful pastor reminds us frequently that "happiness" is based on "happenings", but that if we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ we shall always have joy, no matter what the circumstances.

I'm tired of drunken, self-serving, gossiping, hateful, angry, needy, tolerant patients and co-workers and supervisors and family (mine and theirs). I truly loathe shopping with people that talk on their cell phones rather than interacting with their children. What has this world come to? Is it truly all about what we want? How many people do you see every day that think about what God's will is for their lives? It makes me sad to consider that there might be fewer and fewer people every day, as so many are falling into the trap of worldliness and pleasure.

People may eventually figure me out, but for now I have such a great time in anonymity putting gospel tracts on the windshield of the car next to me whenever I pull into a parking lot (teeheehee). And I've never found one on the ground when I come back out of the store. Maybe the Lord will be able to use me to reach one of these lost souls. Until then, I'll keep praying for His swift return and that He might use me as an instrument for His will.

New Stuff

For anyone who's a follower of my blog (I stopped counting at three, which is slowly approaching a crowd...), you have already seen the obvious difference. For the rest of you, I have a new template and picture, as of today. The scene depicted behind my title bar is that of Petra, Jordan at night. If you don't know about the historical (and future) significance of Petra, I would highly recommend researching it. I find this area of the Middle East, along with the entire Holy Land of course, to be fascinating and, if the situation were not so volatile, would love to visit there someday. However, I believe that by the time a peace treaty comes to pass in Israel, I will be in a much safer and more beautiful place. But I digress....

I will also keep you all posted about my recent application to the ICU at our newest hospital in the north end of town. I feel that a change in venue is essential for the health and well-being of myself, my family, and every angry and spiteful patient that visits my ER. While not having taken the Hippocratic Oath myself, I still subscribe to the mantra "first, do no harm". And unfortunately, as of late, that has become more and more challenging to adhere to. So, a lateral move in said nursing career would be, I think, a more intelligent choice and a better use of my critical care skill set than would, say, a leap into a totally different genre of care. We'll see how that goes. (Yes, I know that I said I would stay in the ER because it keeps sucking me back in....green grass....fences. I know. What can I say?)

Missions Conference

Missions conference was great! Our church hosted a total of 6 families, 5 of whom are missionaries outside the continental United States. We had an entire week's worth of testimonies and preaching about spreading the gospel of Christ to those who would otherwise not receive it, and then a HUGE spread of food in potluck fashion on Saturday night. This cake was one of my contributions, as we were supposed to bring food from our home states/regions. Gotta say, after that cake decorating class I just took, I am so much more comfortable decorating cakes on my own. Plus, now I'm creating freehand succulent plants. What more could a girl ask for??

We left there so stuffed, I wondered if we were all bordering on gluttony! :) Hubby took some great pictures, and we are blessed to be able to provide those to the visiting families as momentos of their visit with us. I've been so surprised already at the willingness of my heart to "let go and let God", to put it simply. I know that our Faith Promise Missions pledge will be even more money every week, besides tithing, that we'll be giving to the Lord. But I have a peace in my heart that God will use this opportunity to prove His faithfulness to our family, and I'm not worried about where the money will come from for us to survive. The Lord works in mysterious ways, sometimes, and I am always amazed to see His hand in my life. Now if I could just remember to keep my eyes fixed on Him, instead of this screwy, mixed up world....

Enter at your own risk

WARNING: the following post is the result of one burned-out nurse's tumultuous week. Proceed with caution.

I think I will make a list of the top five areas of nursing that I might find interesting, arrange them on a dart board, and make it a true toss up as to where I should apply. Because right now, you couldn't pay me enough to continue to endure the constant bickering, whining and laziness that is the ER. And don't even get me started on the patients' behavior.

If you don't know how to do something, quit pretending that you do. Because if I decide all of a sudden to stop carrying your sorry nurse's ass, your patients are going to die. Plain and simple. I'm sure their loved ones would appreciate your admitting "I don't know how to do that" or "I could really use some help here, would you please take this patient for me?" Post-script: that funny looking wavy line on the monitor is called v-tach. Do something about it besides standing there looking stupid.

Don't bolus the hell out of your patient with the Diprivan if you don't intend on staring at the monitor for the next 5 minutes. It drops their blood pressure. Duh.

If I look like I'm about to snap, don't ask me "are you ok?" Gee, do I look ok? What do you think? You wouldn't be asking me that if I didn't look like I wanted to stand in the ambulance bay waiting for an opportunity to hitch a ride the heck out of here, now would you? Unless you can find something constructive to do to lighten my load, without interrupting my train of thought to tell you what needs to be done, just shut up and continue your conversation with the three other co-workers about that great party you all got drunk at. It's ok. Really. The work-ethic class was optional in school. I was one of the two that signed up.

If you tie the restraint to the side rail, don't look surprised when you walk out of the room and I re-tie it. I like the ET tube where it is. Call me silly.

Believe it or not, I actually know some stuff. So even though you are an old nurse, or an egotistical, womanizing snot of a man with MD behind his name, I may know something you don't. And yes, I do secretly swell a little inside when I am able to prove that. Makes me wonder what I could do with a little effort in another arena. Are there any nursing foci that provide for the basic need of gratitude or appreciation? Or even more base than that, is there a nursing job where your co-workers (a) work just as hard as you do, all the time, (b) know enough to keep their own patients alive, (c) aren't all a bunch of drunks? I am in search of this position.

I think it is a sick trick, this ER nursing addiction. Kind of like being on a heroin high, if I understand heroin addiciton correctly. You sacrifice feeling like crap 99% of the time for that 1% where you feel like you're on top of the world. Just makes me wanna puke. How about a little Phenergan, right here in the left cheek. Easy to do; I'm already bent over.

Cake, Part Trois

First, I must respond to being tagged on Blissful Entropy's site. Apparently, one word answers are the appropriate response to the following questions, so here goes...

1. Where is your cell phone? Table
2. Where is your significant other? Recliner
3. Your hair color? Red
4. Your mother? Loving
5. Your father? Concerned
6. Your favorite thing? Bible
7. Your dream last night? Traumas
8. Your dream/goal? Peacefulness
9. The room you are in? Family
10. Your hobby? Reading
11. Your fear? Temptation
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Heaven
13. Where were you last night? Kitchen
14. What you're not? Patient
15. One of your wish list items? Sewing box
16. Where you grew up? Colorado
17. The last thing you did? Blinked
18. What are you wearing? Overalls
19. Your T.V.? On
20. Your pet? Neurotic
21. Your computer? Broken
22. Your mood? Apathetic
23. Missing someone? No
24. Your car? Retarded
25. Something you're not wearing? Makeup
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your Summer? Fair
28. Love someone? Absolutely
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Yesterday

And now for the pièce de résistance--





Now I can say that I'm certified in Wilton basic cake decorating; not that that was on my list of certifications to obtain, but hey I think it's cool! And my sister in law gets tons of credit for her creative and difficult final cake, seen here:



We had a great time, and I swear my hand is stronger now after squeezing all that "too-stiff" frosting through the bags. But the bane of my existence was overcome this week, as I finally mastered the ROSE. I had absolutely no confidence in my ability to form fatty sugar into a flower such as that, and as such makes me question my decision to not take any more of these classes. We'll see what happens after the holidays. Maybe I'll work up the nerve to try course two...

Next on my creative list: penguin jammy pants. I will get these done before Christmas!

Great big thank you to my loving husband for helping me, cleaning up after me, and being so wonderfully supportive these past few weeks. I love you honey!