one holiday down and two more to go

With Thanksgiving being officially over, its now on to the Christmas season. Christmas decorations are slowly being put up around town, and even slower in our house and schedules conflict. Christmas songs on the radio...but of course not in church today. The entire service I sat their baffled that not a single Christmas song was played...yet 2 weeks before Thanksgiving that is all we sang about.

Thanksgiving was a hoot. Caitlin and I got to take Cady up to Peoria to my relatives. She had a blast with all the company and turkey she was allowed to eat, and only went to the bathroom once in the house when we were gone. It was a nice time of relaxation, shopping, food, and seeing the Blind Side. And of course Caitlin getting ottitis media along with a nasty cold. But over all it was good, but its always nicer to be back home in your own bed.

On a sadder note I got my December schedule for work. I asked off for Christmas, and instead of giving it to me, they gave me the Saturday/Sunday afterwords off. Oh well. Life sucks as your grow up and choose the medical field as a career choice. It seems like its one of the fields that is constantly up and running 24/7 365 days a year. So my Christmas agenda will be me and Cady just chilling at home to hot chocolate, Christmas movies, and enjoying the snow before going into the wonderful world known as a prison.

Annoyances

Several things annoy me in life...
- smaking gum
- hearing people chew food
- dirty dishes
- repeated laziness
- leaving the empty toilet paper roll on the rack and sitting a new one on top of the old one
- abrasiveness
- using people
- wasting
- the horn of the train
- manipulation

Hmm I am sure I can go on and on but I think I made my point.

Finally Gave In

Well I finally gave in and registered for classes. All I need for then LPN to RN bridge program is 3 math classes (fund of algebra, intermediate algebra, and college algebra) and the 3 credit hour Human Lifespan. I took Human Lifespan 1 credit hour in LPN school but the RN program requires the 3 credit hour one. Many people have said they are exactly the same, just more time to be boring, in which I also heard that fund and intermediate of algebra is very boring and doesnt get intense until you get to the college algebra one. The register lady asked me why I took so long to come back and finish. So I only have classes on M-W-F from 10:00-10:55 then 12:00-12:55...I still get to sleep in and only have 2 hours 2 times a week...a breeze!

LPN vs RN

I hate people that think that because they have one more year of nursing education than me that they think they know more. Come on, seriously? There is not that much difference then an LPN and RN. I know the protocols better then an orientation girl does. Even though she just graduated from RN school, that doesnt mean squat at work. You may have the title, but no experience in the correctional world of nursing. LPN's and RN's do the exact same job at the prison, there is no difference except pay. This is the second RN in a month time that a new employee has used their title and pissed off all the LPN's. Seriously why ask me, or any other LPN's for that matter, to help with emergencies and protocols when you make yourself look like a full by putting us down verbally and nonverbally in front of custody and the patient. Come on, grow up, admit you may not know more then us in all fields, and work together.

Never Give Up

I stumbled across this today and loved the story, and thought you would too.

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. they all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then,to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off! Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!

Accomplished

Today was an accomplished day, one of the most accomplished days I have had in a long time on an actual day off. Usually my days off is spent just relaxing around the house. Today however was D-Day. 4 hours to rake the yard. A few more hours spring cleaning the house. All but our individual bedrooms are sparkling clean (swept, mopped, dusted, ya know the whole 9 yards). We even went over to Steve's house where he made up this fabulous ham and potato soup in a bread bowl. Let me tell you I use to get really sick when eating ham, and I was kinda iffy on whether to try it, but oh my it was incredible. And I even got a pumpkin pie baked to take over...although we got locked out of the house when it was in the oven, we were able to break in with less then a minute to spear before the pie was scheduled to come out of the oven! It was a very good day, with alot of sweat and pain...but that means a good nights sleep!

A New Goal

First off, let me say that Cady went to her first doggie park today. She has a blast and it was a fabulous fall day for a little walk in the park....

So week upon week I watch biggest looser, one of my favorite shows besides Grey's Anatomy. I love watching the transformation of people's lives. I am very much a people watcher, even as work I find myself looking at inmates wondering what their story was. Often I find Caitlin and me talking about the challenges on the biggest looser and how we could never do that kind of stuff. Late last night as I was talking to God I realized the problem is that I said "I cant"..."there's no way"...etc... I have no clue who reads this blog, and I am ashamed to say how much I weigh, so I wont, but I will say that I made a goal to loose 33 lbs by Christmas Day. That is a little less then 2 months away.

Therefore I call upon my twin to start going on walks with me (and of course Cady). Also I am gonna follow my brother's footsteps and cut out soda. I tend to drink 2 cans at work...but I wont by any more. Instead I will go to my friend, Red Diamond UnSweet Tea, that has a wonderful taste and no calories, for work. As for home, I will just go back to making my own tea and water. Caitlin likes to drink soda at home, but the stuff at home doesnt tempt me at all cuz its out of sight for the most part. I also will try to cut out most sweets. Not all due to the holidays upon us, but especially the snack foods and what not. Oh and of course the yummy slim fast drinks, but I already drink those!

So this is my goal...33 lbs by Christmas.

New Season

As I entered this new phase of my life I was so excited to return to Moberly and hopefully get back involved in a church. I no longer can say that I am in town for school, no this is the place I have chosen to set my roots in for the next season of my life. I am in Moberly with a house, dog, friends, and of course a job that most of the time I love. Do I want to be here forever, umm yah probably not. But for the time being I like the small town way of life, and the way my life is going. I am content for the most part. I would love to get married and have a family, it seems like the majority of my friends are doing so, but that isnt in His plans for me right now, and I am okay with that.

On Friday I went and saw Kaytee and Carigan. I got to meet 2 wonderful Chrisitan couples that Kaytee has become a part of, like a mini family. One where there get together and rely on eachother for help raising their children and growth in their faith. It made me think of the saying "it takes a village to raise a child".

I began to realize a few weeks ago that I am not content with church. I have been going to North Park, and when I was in school I was teaching Sunday School. That was the one thing that kept me going there. However now that I have come back it seems like I am just another lonely person in the crowd. I attempt to drag myself out of bed on Sunday mornings, sometimes I don't win, but today I did thanks to Cady wanting to go outside and the lovely day light savings. I love Pastor Howard, but he is sadly retiring due to health. As I sat in the crowd today I found myself looking around and realizing they are all older people. Not one person my age was in the crowd. And this saddens me. Because I need a church where I can belong. A Church where I can meet people and feel connected, in a family way. Does this make sense? As North Park is changing I wonder if it is time for me to start looking for a new church family...