Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?

Who ME?

My dogs keep me entertained. I came up the stairs to begin making dinner, and when I reached the top of the stairs I saw the above scene...

I immediately started laughing, and the camera was right next to me, so I took a few pictures and called Jamaal up from downstairs to see her. He asked: "did you put that on her head?"

"No, I didn't!" I replied mid-laughter. She must have been licking the inside of the bag to get the remaining crumbs, and it got stuck on her head. She is definitely not the brightest crayon in the box.

You can see that her tail is down in the picture which could mean one of two things: 1) She thought she was in trouble, and was scared of being yelled at. 2) She was scared of the bag being stuck on her head.

Knowing my dog, it was probably #2.

Lent

I was recently reminded of Lent by a good friend of mine. While I had not forgotten about it, I did not realize that it had started already. Last year was the first year since high school that I did not give something up for Lent.


This is interesting because I am not Catholic, nor do I associate myself with any other religion. The first time I gave up something for Lent, it was because a friend of mine Senior year of high school was doing it. I thought it was interesting, and decided to do it. It turned out that I went to a Jesuit Catholic University so I was around people again that followed Lent, and I liked it from the year before.


Last year I'm not sure why I didn't give something up for Lent. It could have been that I was not reminded of when it began, whatever the reason, I'm ready to resume my tradition.


Lent, for me, is a time to attempt to better and to challenge myself. I admit, I do not follow Lent for the same reasons as a practicing Catholic might. I understand the ritual, and respect the beliefs associated with Lent.


So this year I have decided to give up/limit the following:

1. Swearing: I have noticed that I swear more than I would like to. Jamaal is a bad influence here. I have decided that "heck" is okay. But pretty much everything else is off limits including h-e-double hockey sticks.


2. Soda: I am allowing myself only 1 can per week. I think this one is going to actually be very difficult. Flavored, carbonated waters do not count. And no ordering of soda at restaurants.

Starting tomorrow....

Irritations

Things that could drive a person nuts!

1. When people on bikes choose which rules they will follow. For example, they ride in the street, but only obey traffic signals when they allow them to go! If you are going to act like a car (ie, drive in the street) then follow the rules of the car. If you want to be a pedestrian, be a pedestrian (although I'll remind you that it is the law to follow the rules of a car while riding bikes on roads). There is no mixing of the two!

2. When you come out to your car after a long day at work (or shopping or whatever) and the person who parked next to you only barely left enough room for the driver's side door to open. (this happened twice in a row recently, I really wanted to leave a note, they were just rude! I didn't though)

3. When a person passes you on the freeway, only to slow down to 5 under the speed limit. Why people race on the freeway is beyond me. I am driving home, you are driving home. We are both going to win the race, I'll beat you to my house, you'll beat me to yours.

4. When patients' family members use the call light before the patient arrives to the floor. And they want something like shaving cream or ice water or something. As if we aren't already busy...there is a cafeteria downstairs, and a gift shop. I don't mind so much if the patient is there and a family member needs something, but come on now....

5. When people call me Audrey and/or spell my name wrong after I have spelled it out for them!

"Shane's Favorite"

My oh my it has been a long time! I have had a hard time remembering to post recipes I create, and most of all, I forget to take pictures.


Well again, I forgot to take a picture, but I am going to share this recipe anyway.


First of all, I must explain that it is not my own recipe, this is something my mom made when I was growing up, and it has been a hit for me and my brother. My brother, Shane, liked it so much that it became known as "Shane's favorite." His wife also enjoys it, and really likes to eat over when mom makes it.


The best part of all, is it is simple!


Shane's Favorite
Ingredients:
-boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves. (I used 2, because it was just for Jamaal and I, up to 4 can be used and still have enough sauce left)
-1-2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
-1-2 tablespoons of milk (optional)
-2 cans of cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup OR 1 can of cream of chicken/mushroom and 1 can of cheddar cheese soup OR 2 cans of cheddar cheese soup
-salt and pepper to taste
-Canadian bacon slices, sandwich style (these are bigger cuts than the pizza style) enough for 1-2 per chicken breast
-cheddar cheese, sliced enough to cover breast so 1-2 slices per chicken breast
-cooked rice for a side dish.


1. Combine soups in the dish you will cook the breasts in. I used a deep 8" circular cake pan, but only because my 8" square dish was occupied. They will be thick.

2. Add 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce to the soups, to thin and flavor the sauce. If it remains thick add one more. It sounds gross but once it is cooked it adds a wonderful flavor to the chicken and sauce. If it still looks thick and you don't want to add more Worcestershire sauce, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk as desired. It should not be runny.

3. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. (I used 5 shakes of my salt shaker and about 10 turns on my pepper mill.)

4. Place chicken breasts in pan, I coated them with the sauce, but only a little. Next, place Canadian bacon on each breast, and finally top with sliced cheddar cheese.

5. Place in oven preheated at 350* for 45-60 minutes, until chicken is cooked throughout.

6. Serve with cooked rice. The sauce acts as a sort of gravy that is perfect with the rice. Enjoy!

Good days...

Sometimes it takes a good day of work for me to realize some of the hardest things about my job.

I want people to like me. Be that my patients or their families. I want them all to like me.

It is just not realistic for me to think that everyone I come in contact with will like me.

So, when I have a patient and their family who, for whatever reason, do not appreciate my sense of humor, or the way I dress, or my personality, it is difficult to care for them. It can go the other way too. Where I do not appreciate their sense of humor or personality. Though I try very hard to ignore my initial instinct for the sake of our professional relationship.

A very wise nurse said to me today: "We're all human."

And as humans we're not perfect.

But my days are so much better when I get to laugh with and talk with and generally get along with my patients. Today, a very nice lady said: "I'll miss you!"

I replied: "I'll only be gone for 12 hours."

What a sweet heart! :D

If only every shift was this good.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Well, every year this boy surprises me. I always think: "we aren't doing anything for valentine's day" and he comes up with something.

Last year he came home with a necklace from Zales, with a pink gem on a heart. And a bathrobe from Victoria's Secret. (When I saw the VS bag I actually thought it was something with a little less fabric, but instead it was a very comfy fuzzy robe!)

This year he said "do you want to go with me to Fry's after work?" And I said sure. Lately he's been wanting to get another flat screen tv for the upstairs. The tv we have upstairs is old and beginning to have issues turning on. We don't want a huge one, just a 32" or something. So I thought that was what we were looking for. I had never been to Fry's before, so I was kind of excited.

We looked around, picked out a game for the Playstation 3, Little Big Planet, some batteries, and at the register Jamaal pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and said "and I need to pick up this." The clerk brought a box back, and it was a lap top for me! I am typing on it now, in the comfort of my bed.

He said that he was tired of me logging into my email on his laptop, because then he has to reenter his information. (But he also mentioned that it is good for me to have for my business, and this is true as well.)

I told him that he didn't have to spend that much money on me. And that I wasn't expecting him to do anything and he said "that's the point." He wants to do things I won't expect.

Maybe I'll blog more with this thing around...I don't have to lock myself up on the computer downstairs...I'm free to roam!

Also, the laptop is good for my embroidering (which I don't do often right now, but will be eventually). The patterns are all on cds and I can have my computer in the same room now to get patterns ready.

It was very sweet of him.

I love that guy. :D
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My eldest nephew, Wes, 10, had an indoor soccer game just down the street from us, so we went and watched him play. It was fun to see him out there. He made 2/5 goals (I think). I cannot believe how big he's getting. His shoulders are so broad! It was actually more fun to watch than I thought it was going to be. After the game, they won 5-3, he said "why are you here?"

I live right up the street, I replied. "did you just want to know where this place was?"

No, I just wanted to see you play. He didn't quite get why I was there.

When it rains

it pours.

Yesterday at work, it seemed I could do no right. I felt like I was swimming in a sea of quick sand, the more I did the deeper I sunk down. By the end of my shift, I was suffocating.

"I'll be right back"s turned into 20 minutes. 30 minutes. An hour or more. The instant I stepped away from one patient another needed me, and while this happens often, it was something urgent or necessary. So a simple, I'll be there in a minute just wouldn't work.

From the worst nose bleed I've ever seen, to the inability to pee (and hurting because of a distended bladder). I was torn up.

I almost cried at least twice. And on my drive home as well.

I snapped at one anxious family member as I was getting 15 million requests all at once: "I'm a little overwhelmed right now. I need to focus on one task at a time." I'm honestly surprised I did not get a complaint out of the deal.

For some people you can only do so much before you want to gouge out your eyeballs and stuff them in your ears.

I thought for sure today would be the same. But it went much better. It was smooth, even with another world record bloody nose.

The difference today was the help I had. Instead of fighting the sand alone, I had many people off shore reaching out to pull me up.

It is amazing how one day can be so terrible, and the next everything goes well. I know at least one of you has felt this way recently.

I cannot, unlike some other nurses I work with, leave work without finishing my charting. Today I left on time. Yesterday 2 hours late. 2 hours extra after working a 12 hour shift. I did get my lunch break, because my lunch buddy took my phone and told me to go eat. (at 2pm, which is very late for me.) Today I had to drag myself out of bed, but I knew I had to think positive to get myself through my second, and last shift before 4 days off. (I requested to not have one of my patients from yesterday today, which made a huge difference.)

One of the contributing factors to my terrible day, is an issue that is plaguing our hospital at the moment. Usually, when patients press their "call bell" a light shows up outside their room, as well as on a monitor that looks like a map of the rooms. The monitor sends a message to the corresponding RN's phone to alert him (or her) that his patient is in need of assistance. For example, Room 6 presses their call light, a second later a light shows up on the monitor over the corresponding room, and a message is sent to the nurse that says "Room 6." Well the monitor got a virus, so that now the lights ring to the monitors, but not to the RN's phone. There are very few computers (for charting) near the monitors, so it is difficult to know when a patient is calling. This also makes the patients and families more difficult, because the call lights stay on for a little longer than usual.

All in all, I'm glad to have 4 days off ahead of my, but I do not look forward to working 5 days in a row next week, 3/5 of those days will be 12 hour shifts. If that isn't bad enough, I have only one day off afterwards....

The young and the old...

Sunday, a close friend brought a beautiful bundle of joy into this world. This was the first close friend of mine to have a child.

I can't wait to meet this little miss. And I really can't wait to hear her talk and see her walk, and can't wait for funny stories, as she is sure to be way too smart for her age.

And while all of this is super exciting, and wonderful, it makes me realize how old I'm beginning to feel. I'm starting to think I'm behind, that I should be pregnant already.

I am really excited to be getting married soon...and it is coming up really quick! But I feel like soon after the wedding (no I'm not thinking on the honeymoon) I want to start trying for a baby. The thing of it is, though, that Jamaal does not have friends having babies, and I think that he is not ready because his friends aren't. Does that make sense? I feel like he already feels out of place as we will be married soon, and having a baby would just put him into outer space. Jamaal's best friend (while he was recently ready to get married) is no longer at that place. (Some women are stupid stupid cheaters.) And this worries me. I've asked Jamaal when he would be ready for a baby and "I don't know" is all I get. I want us both to want it. I don't want to push it on him.

One day I'm sure he will surprise me.

-------------_________--------------___________--------------

On the wedding front, we registered today. It was fun for me, but boring for him. He said he wanted to go though. (I wouldn't have gone without him). I let him scan. We just don't really need much, and while I think it would be nice to have nice pots and pans, he thinks the cheap ones we have are good enough. I think it would be nice to have some good knives in a block, he thinks the 4 that we have are enough. He wouldn't let me register for new plates etc, because we have some perfectly good ones...(that we bought at ross for $15). I allowed that one because I decided that they are good enough. I like them at least. And I don't want to get rid of them just because we're getting married.

Catering: We are pretty sure we're going to have a caterer now, but for a time we were ready to cater ourselves. We've found someone who doesn't add in charges for random things like cake cutting. We meet on Monday for a tasting, I'll let you know how that goes...

Las Vegas Trip...etc...

January 23rd thru 26th, Jamaal and I went with his parents to Vegas. Jamaal's brother(L) will be graduating from UNLV this year, and played soccer on their team. (He's a very good soccer player, and will play professionally after graduating, either in the states or in Europe) They had a soccer banquet on the 24th, his last, so we made our way to Vegas for it. All in all, our trip was fun. The best part of it though was the room L got for us. He knows people at the Green Valley Ranch Resort Spa and Casino. So he got a deal on a Suite, only $100 per night, and let me tell you it was AMAZING!! Go check out their website: GreenValleyRanch. We stayed in a grand suite....

We settled in our room, and went down to the Casino to grab some food for Jamaal, and to check things out. When we came back these were waiting for us with a card that said "Congrats on your engagement!" It was so cool! :D

Me enjoying a strawberry. I used to think I did not like chocolate covered strawberries, but these made me change my mind. They were wonderful. I had 3 of them, and Jamaal said he didn't want any so I was ready to have the other 3. (He later changed his mind and I was crushed...but he also liked them)

These were in the minibar and were weight sensitive. The person at the front desk warned us about it. But I really wanted to know what was in "the petite intimacy lovekit--booty parlor".

These bottles were cute...

Jamaal comfy in bed...he would not wake up...

Me being a dork...

Jamaal and I...

The entryway bathroom...yes there was 1.5 bath...

The view from the door into our suite. The entryway bathroom was directly left from here.

The view from our room. The pool that you see here has sand in the shallow end...too cold to go swimming though...

The "living room" this view is from the bedroom entryway.

The master bath. The toilet had a door on it, and there are two sinks here...

The shower and the jetted tub. The shower had heated tiles on the bottom, and a tile "bench" that was great for shaving my legs!!

Our bedroom...there is a TV behind the white door you see here...

A random elephant sculpture in our "living room."

I wish I was back there!! :D