Been a while...

A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks!

I started going to a new church in Corona, CA called Crossroads. It's a pretty big church...and I love it. Trying to work my way onto the wosrhip team so I can sing again.

I started my new job the middle of May. It's a really nice facility and I am loving it here. I was hired for the night shift. The money is a lot better on night shift, but I don't know if my poor body is going to adjust to nights or not. So far I'm exhausted but I am thankful to have a wonderful career and a job that I love. Not many people can say that these days.

My recent relationship didn't turn out the way I had thought it would. I went through all these feelings of anger, sadness, depression...you name it, I had it. Took me a while to realize that better things are coming my way. Much better things...new friends...new experiences. Bring it on!

What else...?

Oh...I joined a gym. I need to get healthy. I changed my eating habits and I am already feeling a little better. It's so much harder to get back into shape than it is to maintain it once you've got it.

I'm still living with my room mate Cheryl. Things are good...we enjoy each other's company most days. Of course we work opposite shifts now so there are days we don't see each other. I still don't like West Covina though. I've had a bad taste in my mouth ever since those punks keyed my car. When the timing is right...or at least a little better, I will move back to the Chino Hills area. I really enjoyed it there.

I'm hoping to be able to see my family in August. My sister and her family are planning a trip home. It will be nice for my parents to have all three of us kids together again! It has been far too long.

In September (over Labor Day weekend actually) I am going to Washington, D.C. for the North American Leadership Conference (for Amway). That should be fun! Lots of sightseeing to do there.

Anyway...changes are happening and I am really happy right now!!! The only thing that would make it better is having someone special to share it all with. :)

Danny Gokey...

Awww :( So Danny Gokey didn't win American Idol...but that's okay. I am really hoping he makes a Christian album. That would be awesome. I still love him! He's still the best!

Come Rain or Come Shine...

September...

Endless Love...

Stand By Me...

For all nurses...

"Patients aren't always satisfied with how well nurses communicate, a recent Medicare survey revealed. Well, nurses had no trouble communicating with me after I defended them (last) Sunday.

Nurses from recovery rooms, coronary care, pediatrics, geriatrics, ER and Trauma units e-mailed me across the country. Here's what they had to say:

Come walk in our shoes for a 12-hour shift. Come see the joy, the tragedy, the comedy, the 100 ways we are pulled and pushed, then rate my "pleasant greeting", "answers call light in timely fashion", "states name of patient."

Use the bathroom now, because you might not get the chance again until your shift ends. Wear comfortable shoes. Don't worry if they're clean. They'll end up with blood and vomit on them.
We are the patient's advocate, the doctors' eyes and ears, and everyone's scapegoat. We can page your doctor but we can't make that doctor magically appear. We check your stitches, wipe your blood, drain your pus and empty your bedpan.

Nursing is a tough job, but we're tougher. We've been yelled at by administrators, supervisors and doctors. We've been kicked, slapped, punched, spat on, and sexually harassed by patients in various states of delirium, mental illness, arrogance, and intoxication. We've even had chairs and food trays thrown at us. We work mandatory overtime, weekends and holidays. We eat Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with coworkers. We deal with families who ignore visiting hours, bring food to patients on restricted diets, and insist on staying the night even though it's not a private room. We deal with the Florida son who orders us around to show a parent he's neglected for years that he cares. We cannot be at your side every waking minute. We have 10 other patients. We cannot answer 5 call lights at once. We can't stop doing CPR on a patient because you ran out of tissues.

We are not maids, beauticians, or cocktail waitresses. We are professionals with college degrees. We hate that we can't spend more bedside time with you. Swearing at us will not make us move faster. Taking better care of your health would help. Quit smoking. Lose weight. Start exercising. Stop drinking. How do we survive? We ignore the nasty comments, the demanding relatives, and the crazy staffing grids. We count to 10 before speaking. We pray every morning for strength and wisdom, patience and empathy. We drive home tired and frustrated, telling ourselves over and over, "I'm not the nurse I want to be, but I'm the best nurse the hospital staffing allows me to be." We fall asleep praying for the ones who won't survive the night.

There is no finish line, ever. Nursing is demanding, fulfilling, and we can't imagine doing anything else. Nothing beats washing blood and glass off a car crash survivor, stabilizing a broken neck, saving a diabetic's leg, keeping a cancer patient in remission. The day we send a patient home we relish the unbelievable resilience of the human body and spirit. We did not become nurses for the hours, the salary, or the glamour of it all. We became nurses to make a difference.

We don't ask for much. One sincere Thank You makes all the thankless hours worth it.

What Hurts The Most...

You can't fix stupid

Cute animal videos!

Kingsford Goes to the Beach - Click here for the funniest movie of the week