I hate my mom. 

Does this make me look fat? 

Life is good...

So, here I am...back at work. Lovin my job today. Actually, I shouldn't complain. I've had a great day...and not a busy one either, but I'm still going to. Isn't it crazy how I complain when I'm busy and complain when I'm bored. It's a scandal. My transplant patient is getting ready to go home, so she's less and less needy. It's a good thing, but it's sad because I know that she'll be going home this week. I really enjoy taking care of her...and I've done it a lot. I think I've had her every day I've been here for about a month. It will be very different without her here!

Other than that, life is peachy. I got to spend all day with a good friend from LU...just hanging out! I found out that he also loves Ikea (and really, who doesn't?), and we spent about 2 hours just milling about the store. Neither of us bought anything...which is good...because I can't afford it right now and he didn't have any way of getting it home! I love Ikea. It's a fabulous wonderland. Anyways, I had a great time bonding with a friend I haven't seen in awhile.

Liberty is doing better every day. I was worried for awhile, mostly because I didn't see that she was getting any better. She was still limping on it all the time and I wasn't sure that she felt good. Saturday, she decided to start walking on it most of the time, and only limp at night. She's still taking pain medicine and is kennelled during the day. Big baby.

Tomorrow, I was supposed to work, but my schedule got switched around. I dont' really like one on one off....but I'll manage. I agreed to work Wednesday and not tomorrow because we had way too many nurses on the schedule. Such is life! :) After Wednesday, I work the weekend and Monday. BLAH.

This day has gone by so fast. Days used to wear me out...especially when the transplant patient was so busy....but I'm feeling good today! Looking forward to a fabulous night of TV watching....and the season finale of the Bachelor! :)

Cold and rainy!

It's so rainy outside! I thought it was going to be just one of those horrible gray days....but I was wrong. It started sprinkling around noonish...and it just hasn't stopped. Now, it's a consistent rain. I should not be complaining, afterall, we didn't have rain for like, 400 days in a row! :)

Liberty is still being the great hobbling ween. She's been getting her pain meds, but she still doesn't seem to want to put pressure down on that foot. She'll occasionally put it down, when she's running to the door to eat the mailman or chase her brother away from her sister. Other than that, she just sits there with it held up, looking retarded. I took her back to the doctor today...her doctor. She also thought it was sprained, and said she could be limpsy for up to 2 weeks. I hope that doesn't interfere with her training for the Buda Weiner Dog Races!

I'm done with work until Monday, and I've been oh-so-productive today. I've finished my three day Scrubs marathon and am now 1/3 of the way through the Lord of the Rings marathon. The Two Towers really is the best of the three...or else the one with the most Legolas. It's a scandal, really. I've also finished all the paperwork for my nutrition class and faxed it LONG DISTANCE to my teacher. I've also done laundry...as was needed after Oliver became afraid I would hurt him and peed on my bed. It's all good. I needed something else exciting to do. Oh, I've also cleaned the living room. That's actually a whole lot more than I usually do on a day off...so I win! :)

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to do some shopping for vacation. I have precisely three pairs of capri/cropped pants...but that's pretty pathetic compared to the amount I normally have. I've given away four bags of clothes this morning to the leukemia society....and most of my summer wardrobe was in there. I also gave away about 15 scrub sets...that's a lot of money! :) Hopefully they will be able to use it better than I!

Anyways, there's really not much going on around here. I'm so excited that it's less than three weeks until vacation. Hooray! :) It's all about vacation. Almost Mickey time!

Becca let me borrow this rice bag heating thing. Gracie seems to like it on her elbow. At least she's not eating it...she's done that before. 

Semi sedated Gracie....just chilling on the couch.  

Absolutely zonked Gracie. 

Liberty Update

Thankfully, it's not broken! It's actually her elbow that's hurt...and apparently it's just a sprain. A very bad one, according to the very expensive vet! :) She's on pain killers and isn't really getting around well. I guess it didn't help that I picked her up when she was still a wee bit drugged....and she was absolutely dead to the world. I even gave her a treat, and she just held it in her mouth. How sad is she? Anyways...she's sitting in my lap....glad to be away from her brother and sister who were mauling each other right on top of her. I'll try to post her drugged up picture on here.

Stressful morning.

So, I've had a winner of a morning. I was holding Liberty while talking to Becca on the hallway phone. Liberty decided she wanted down and wriggled out of my arms. She fell flat on the floor, and immediately started crying and trying to get in my lap. She wouldn't walk on it and her shoulders looked different. Of course, I'm still on the phone with Becca, and crying hysterically because I feel I've broken my dog. I get dressed in non pajama clothes and take her to the Emergency Vet because my vet is only open Wed-Sat. Just my luck, the Emergency Vet was closed...as was the one on the other side of town. I called 2 other stores that have Liberty's vet in them (she goes to the one in Petsmart). They told me that someone could see her around 2. Right. So, I'm going to go home, wrap up my dog's bleeding arm in a towel (did I mention she was bleeding?) and comfort her crying until 2? It was 11:30am. Morons. I finally took her to Becca's old vet where they still took her away from me and said they'd call me when they'd figured out what was wrong. Of course, I'm still crying at this point...no doubt looking like crazy dog mom. At least I wasn't wearing make-up...wouldn't want to look that crazy. SO...now it's 1:18...and I'm still waiting for a call. I hated having to leave her at a strange vet...when she already felt bad. At least I know that they are doing xrays and stuff. I'm hoping she just cut her leg...but who knows. I'll update later when I find out what's going on. If you believe in praying for dogs...send one over her way. :)

Day of rest.

Okay, so doing laundry all day really isn't restful, but I guess it's the thought that counts. I'm not working today or tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to catch up on all the stuff I haven't done over the weekend. I think I've got some government to catch up on. Both classes are going well. I have A's in both of them at this point. I really need to just bite the bullet and send in my nursing school application...but it makes me nervous. For some reason, online classes make me less nervous than actually stepping into a classroom again. I have no idea. It makes no sense. Good grief, this paragraph is rambly. I need therapy!

My weekend went well. I took care of my same little friend that I have for all these weeks. She might get to go home before the weekend, and that would make me so happy! She's doing so well, it's really encouraging to see her getting up and doing things. I really wasn't stressed at all this weekend, and that's always nice. I got to keep the same patients all weekend. Hooray for me! :) I also was able to reconnect with a friend I haven't talked to in quite awhile! We know each other from LeTourneau...and I really need to keep in better contact with him! He's so much fun to talk to. Isn't it weird when you have those friends that you dont' get a chance to talk to very often, but when you do it's like you had just seen them the day before? It's really a funny story, because my roommate my senior year at LU was dating him, and I don't think we ever would have become such good friends if we hadn't lived through her going psycho together! She's thankfully in neither of our pictures anymore...but we still remained friends! hooray for friends! :)

Right now, I'm sitting in my bedroom, watching old people TV and trying to stay warm. I think it's warmer than over the weekend, but not by much. We actually had snow on the way home yesterday! I was so happy! It didn't last long, but it was still nice. The dogs are all curled up in my bed, loving my electric mattress pad. I'm working on teaching Oliver to "Sit" this morning. He's doing much better...maybe we'll have it by the end of the day. What am I thinking...this is one of my dogs...they are all stubborn as mules!

I am so excited that vacation is in less than three weeks! It will be nice to get out of the state for awhile...and have fun! I think we've got everything accounted for...except a ride home from the airport. We get in on a Sunday afternoon...if anyone's available for a quick jaunt out to DFW!

I'm sure there's something I should be doing. I'd better go find out what it is.

BLAH

I love my job...but some days, it's more draining than others. These past two days were so bizarre...and just draining. There's really no other word for it. I had a really stressful family that really kept me on my toes...and that always makes my job difficult. I hadn't had this particular family the entire time they'd been at the hospital, and I got the pleasure of having them right before they were going home...and dragging their heels the whole time. I've heard of people not wanting to go home...but not when they'd been in hospital for over 2 months. I'd be jumping out of my skin to go home! I was certainly glad to go home last night, with the knowledge that they will hopefully not be there when I come back on Saturday.

Anyways. Today I've been running errands and such. I started looking over my Nutrition for my test tomorrow...whooppee! I just love tests! It's so hard when I have absolutely no desire to take the class! I wish it was something that I thought was interesting! It's been an absolutely beautiful day outside...the dogs have been milling around in the grass. Oliver is mostly eating the grass and the leaves he finds. He then brings in sticks and sits in my bed to eat them. What a blessing he is. Becca took them to the dog park yesterday. The SAME dog that was following Liberty the last time was there again (with his knitting mom...who knits at the dog park?), but this time, Oliver defended his sister and chased off repulsive Trigger. I can't even remember what kind of dog Trigger is...but I do remember he wouldn't leave the girls alone.

Tomorrow I have to take my test, weigh in (always a joy), and do some laundry. I've also been itching to change around my bedroom, but I can't figure out how I want to do it. I have a wee room, so there's not really a lot of stuff to work with, especially since one wall is almost all window, and one wall is all closet. I've been toying with the idea of moving my bedroom to the living room...and just hanging up a curtain or something to keep the puppies in at night. It would sure be nice to have some more room! :)

Well, the dogs are barking at something ferocious, I'm sure...or else just themselves. They are retarded....better go see what it is!

Sadie has been voluntarily going in her crate while I'm home. I have no idea why she does this. She's nutty. 

Oliver loves his sister. 

I told you he was creepy! YIKES! 

The world's best TV time.

I love the Olympics. Personally, it's one of my favorite times of the year...and sadly, it only comes every two! Summer games...winter games...it makes no difference. I love it all! I really enjoy both...in two very different ways. In the summer, it's all about swimming and gymnastics. In the winter, figure skating, luge, bobsled, snowboards....okay, so maybe there's more stuff I like in winter, but I'll watch pretty much anything. The last time the Olympics were on, I had just had surgery on my arm. I wasn't really doing anything...so I just laid around and watched the beauty of the games. I literally cry everytime an American wins a gold metal. Is that crazy or what? I don't know what it is about the national anthem...but I turn into a blubbering baby. It's sad.

Becca and I went to see Casting Crowns on Friday night. We rode the dart downtown and ate dinner in the West End (Tony Roma's is YUM!). We hopped back on the dart and took it to Reunion arena. The concert was great! Nichole Nordeman and Casting Crowns were both fabulous. I think we got back to the dart around 11:15 or so...it was a long concert! Sadly, the Opening Ceremonies were the same night...but thanks to the magic of TIVO, I was able to enjoy it commercial free last night. It is always fun to watch....especially when it gets to all the culture crap. I'm telling you, the man dressed in a leotard with a heart on it was the scariest thing I've ever seen. CREEPY! I'll have to find a picture of it for those of you who missed it. It's fabulous.

Today, I sent my nutrition teacher the first unit of stuff. It was 11 pages that I had to fax...LONG DISTANCE. How nasty is that? It cost me 18 dollars to do that! I was so angry. It wasn't even the fax at the school...cause the school isn't long distance. I'm guessing it went to her house...which made me even more angry! Stupid.

We leave for Florida 4 weeks from today! It's going to be a little different since we found out that there isn't a stovetop there. Hooray for microwaved food! :) We can eat smart ones meals! :) We also found out that there are several nights where the resort has dinners for 5-6 dollars for the meal...so that's not bad either. It all works.

Right now, I'm watching Kronk's New Groove. It's hilarious. I really loved The Emperor's New Groove...and this is the sequel. The level of humor in these movies is really great. I've also rented Christmas with the Kranks (okay, so I can be merry all year long...) and the Longest Yard. I'm on this kick of only renting movies I haven't seen before. You'd think I'd been doing that all along...but no. I have this plan with Hollywood Video that I can rent as many movies as I want during the month, taking 3 at a time. It's like Netflix...but you don't have to wait for them in the mail.

Well, I've got to go back to Kinko's now. I left my folder with all my nutrition stuff right on the counter at the store. I'm a brilliant one.

She's sweet...and a little weird. 

Oliver now weighs 18 pounds. When we got him...he was 7! 

Isn't he sweet!....and HUGE! 

Guest map...

I put a new feature on the blog...a guest map! It lets me know where all the people who read my blog are reading from! Post away! I'd love to know where you're coming from!

Pretty in Pink.

Okay, so I didn't really fix the blog. I just figured out how to replace the template so I didn't have to fool with it anymore. I'm all into pink lately...and I never have been that I can remember. My mother will testify that I used to love pink...but not since I was about 5. I normally can't wear it..it makes me look awful. I've thrown caution to the wind this week, wearing pink out in public at least twice. My life is sad.

This has been such a busy work week. I'm glad to be off for awhile. I'm hoping to have relaxing time. Tomorrow, I am planning to try and sleep as long as I can, and then work on my school work. I've got to take my first nutrition test. BLECH. Today, I've been running around all day..and now I'm so sleepy! I think I'll sleep well tonight. I've already taken Sadie and Liberty to two separate vets, had the dent in my car fixed, done a 3 hour skills check off at work, and finally returned home to relax and try to get my headache to go away. I'm such a weenie.

I can not wait until vacation. I think we leave 1 month from Sunday! Hooray! :) I love Florida....or more specificially...the whole Walt Disney World experience. If you've never done it, I highly recommend it. I've never actually stayed at the park before...it's so much cheaper to stay off site. We're staying in a condo for 25 dollars for the week! :)

Let me tell you how much I hate doing my taxes. It's so stressful. I have to fill out extra forms for Pampered Chef, my education credits...and it just takes forever! I can't even fill out the 1040A anymore...I'm forced to do the regular 1040. It has so many stupid questions and blanks to fill in. It gives me a headache. I really shouldn't complain. Thanks to my fear that the government will make me pay them income tax, I've once again succeeded in having them take too much out...and now I get it back! Hooray!

Today, I sent Liberty Grace's entry form to the Buda Lions Club for the weiner dog races in April. I've already got the time off approved...now I just have to get the dog approved! :) I think my parents are going to enter Jack too...that should be interesting. I told the guy at her vet today and he was so excited that he almost cried. I was rather disturbed by that...

Well, I'm going to go crawl in bed and nap. Hopefully that will take away my headache! :)

Fun at work.

Well, I don't normally do three work days in a row. It's a little too exhausting...but somehow I am doing it. It's actually much better when two of the three days are on a weekend....normally! :) Yesterday I was so freakishly busy....and that's pretty abnormal for a Saturday. I had 4 patients..which does happen...and the tech went home sick pretty early in the day. That was the most frustrating part. I ended up not eating lunch until about 3:30pm in the afternoon. YIKES! :) It's not the most fun day I've ever had, I'll tell you! I am pretty awake today..which is good. I hate being wiped out on the second day because then I know I will have a bad third. At least all my patients are the same! :)

Other than working, I've been busy doing school work and the insane piles of laundry that have built up. Let me tell you, I HATE when laundry piles up. I usually do a couple of loads a week so I stay caught up. This time, there was none of that. I think I did 5 or 6 loads. Liberty loved it, of course, because she stayed planted in the piles of warm laundry. I also decided to do major overhaul of my clothes situation and gave up at least 15 pairs of pajamas...which is so hard for me. I love pajamas...but a lot of them were just too big. I also packed up an entire trash bag full of scrubs that don't fit. I feel really bad giving them away, but I really don't know anyone to give them to! I usually give all my clothes to the Leukemia society...at least then I know that they are selling them and the money goes to a good cause. They haven't called in quite awhile...maybe I should call them. I know I have at least 5 bags of clothes.

I've been having a really interesting, yet heartbreaking time on Myspace. I found a whole bunch of kids that I used to teach...and while it's interesting to see what they are doing now, it's heartbreaking to read their blogs and find out all their vices....foul language of the worst kind to be exact. Some drink, they all swear, and do a lot of other nasty things. It's hard for me to believe that kids that I had as precious junior highers...have turned into that. There are a couple that I am keeping in contact with...the rest, I just read their blogs and sigh.

After tomorrow, I work Wednesday and am off until the following Tuesday. Five days off! :) What will I do? I have to come to work for a couple hours on Thursday for a skills check off. Friday, Becca and I are going to see Casting Crowns. That should be fun. The remainder of the time, I'm sure will be spend finishing up my government essays. I only have a couple still to do...but my nutrition is caught up! I just have to take test one! :)

Well, I'm sure there is something here that needs doing. I'm expecting a kid from the ER soon...so hooray! :)

Will it ever go away?

I thought I was getting better, but apparently no. This strain of pneumonia is a wee bit feisty...too feisty for the antibiotics I was taking. The day after I stopped, all the symptoms came back..with a few new friends! :) I went back to the doctor today (my doctor is so sweet. She's fabulous!) to see what was going on. Apparently, this pneumonia is resistant to the drug I was on, which is odd...since it's always worked before. I need to seriously consider getting the pneumonia vaccine. This thing kicks my bootie every year. But on from the pitiful me routine. Tomorrow, I'm going to spend the whole day doing school work...that should be a rocking good time. I'm hoping to get through the first unit of my government done, and ready to take my nutrition test. We'll see. It's the plan. Today, I'm spending quality time watching stupid movies that I haven't had time to watch since I can rent them for free at Hollywood video. Right now, I'm watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith...the reason for "Brangelina". Ironically, Vince Vaughn is in this movie too. The only thing that's missing is Jennifer Aniston. Bizarre. EW! Someone in this movie is driving a station wagon! EW! How horrid.

I'm on a salt fix right now. I can't seem to have enough. It's craziness. Last night, I ate so much cucumber and onion salad that I think onion is seeping out of my pores. How nasty is that? I've washed my hands thirteen times today. That's what I get.

The puppies have been so sweet today. They are very snuggly. We've been hanging out in the bed this afternoon, watching the aformentioned movies. Now, they are outside, barking like they are the only dogs on the block. Oliver has been staring at the ground for about 30 minutes now. I went over there to see what he was looking at.....and there was absolutely nothing. I'm seriously concerned about him. Earlier today, he threw the stuffed squirrel into the air, about 2 feet that is, and caught it himself. He then proceeded to run around the room with it....shaking it around and writhing around on his back. He's nutty.

Anyways. I'm still expecting a call from the doctor today...guess I'll call them if I haven't heard from her in the next hour. Liberty is barking crazily right now...guess I need to go stop her from scaring the neighborhood.