Sunday, November 13, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
pic of the day
have you ever just considered the AMAZING perfection of a brand new human? my friend Kellie grew this one... every little finger and toe... perfect.
Monday, September 19, 2011
pic of the day
day 1 of escrow... and 44 pages of forms and signatures and disclosures.. and so the insanity begins LOL I will keep that mental image of me curled up on that window seat with a cup of coffee as I wade through this process. I STILL can't believe I get to do this at all.. I looked 3 times to be sure that it was truly MY name on all that paperwork. HA!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
pic of the day
It takes some serious ego to believe that we know what another person is walking through and to judge... today we can instead focus on compassion and do what we can to encourage...
“We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.”
- Paulo Coelho
Thursday, September 8, 2011
pic of the day September 8, 2011
yep... house offer #3 is in and just waiting now to see if the seller accepts my offer... I could SO see myself making delicious coffee in this kitchen and curling up on that window seat to drink it while watching a rain storm... I've got an active imagination LOL
Monday, August 29, 2011
pic of the day
another twist on the house buying adventure.. and I put an offer on this house today! I'm discovering that it's that whole phenomenon called "not knowing".. doesn't matter what the question is but if I don't know the answer it drives me nuts with suspense and excitement.. but it's also what makes life so fun! so now I wait and see what the seller thinks about my offer.. and more importantly I will get to find out what the Big Dude Upstairs thinks ;) and if I get this house I'm gonna have to plan a girl's night with that hot tub in the backyard!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
perceptions
I took this today and thought "wow I look tall as a shadow". That got me thinking.. just maybe EVERYTHING looks taller in shadow.. or maybe it's all shorter. Maybe MY perception of something is what defines it's description. Just for today I will do my best to not judge people, places, and things around me based on my perception because just maybe there is something deeper than just the shadow I see...
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
more more more
Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’
- Martin Luther King, Jr
More, more, more. I want more... it's what drives our society. For many of us it is what motivates us to work hard, so we can have more stuff, bigger stuff, prettier stuff, shinier stuff. I am convinced that one of the biggest lies floating around the world today is that more stuff will make us happy. More financial security will make me happy... if I can just get more bright shiny things then I will be ok. Now I enjoy a new bright shiny thing now and then, but it's never truly brought me any REAL joy.
As crazy as it sounds we all at some point buy into this lie. I have.. but what if our purpose here on this earth is not to seek our own happiness and security but instead to make another's existence happier, easier, or to simply help someone else to not feel alone in this world. Maybe MY ultimate happiness and joy is obtainable if I can simply seek each day to help another.
I believe that this is what the Big Dude wants from me. It's why I love being a nurse so much... overwhelming opportunity to serve others, whether it be my patients or their family members or my coworkers. Everyone on this planet can make a huge impact on another person's life every single day if we choose to. It doesn't matter whether you are a millionaire or homeless, a PhD or a high school dropout, whether you walk or drive a porsche. It doesn't matter. A kind word or smile can change another person's life.
So how about instead of seeking more more more stuff today I will seek out more more more opportunities to practice random acts of kindess.. encouraging others when I can see that they might need it...
Oh and free hugs and high fives can change a child's life.
- Martin Luther King, Jr
More, more, more. I want more... it's what drives our society. For many of us it is what motivates us to work hard, so we can have more stuff, bigger stuff, prettier stuff, shinier stuff. I am convinced that one of the biggest lies floating around the world today is that more stuff will make us happy. More financial security will make me happy... if I can just get more bright shiny things then I will be ok. Now I enjoy a new bright shiny thing now and then, but it's never truly brought me any REAL joy.
As crazy as it sounds we all at some point buy into this lie. I have.. but what if our purpose here on this earth is not to seek our own happiness and security but instead to make another's existence happier, easier, or to simply help someone else to not feel alone in this world. Maybe MY ultimate happiness and joy is obtainable if I can simply seek each day to help another.
I believe that this is what the Big Dude wants from me. It's why I love being a nurse so much... overwhelming opportunity to serve others, whether it be my patients or their family members or my coworkers. Everyone on this planet can make a huge impact on another person's life every single day if we choose to. It doesn't matter whether you are a millionaire or homeless, a PhD or a high school dropout, whether you walk or drive a porsche. It doesn't matter. A kind word or smile can change another person's life.
So how about instead of seeking more more more stuff today I will seek out more more more opportunities to practice random acts of kindess.. encouraging others when I can see that they might need it...
Oh and free hugs and high fives can change a child's life.
Monday, August 22, 2011
pic of the day
yep that's right, I made my first ever offer to buy a house today... a big deal and very exciting and I only felt like vomiting once. LOL
Monday, June 13, 2011
my tombstone
Not to sound morbid or anything but I've been thinking alot lately about how I'm living my life because I've seen so much death. In my role as a nurse I see a lot of death.. and lately it seems that I've faced a lot of deaths in my personal life as well. I truly do not think death is to be feared based on my life experience and spiritual experiences so far, so death is not frightening to me so much as it is curious. None of us knows when it will come to us... and after recently losing a couple friends I started thinking more about what I want my life to be with the time that I'm allotted.. however long that might be.
I want to live my life so that my tombstone reads something like this... "here lies Angel, she wasn't perfect. She was just human but she loved with her whole heart. She lived each day to the fullest and learned from her mistakes. She did her best to learn from everyone she came in contact with. She tried to make her family proud. She made someone else's journey special. She encouraged others. She uplifted others. She cared. She tried her best. She laughed a lot. She totally loved the Big Dude Upstairs. She made others laugh. She understood that the only thing she could take from this Earth was the love in her heart and she tried to leave this Earth a better place than when she got here. She got back up every time she fell down. She gave out lots of free hugs. The End.
I am going to try today to live up to my tombstone. If.. no, WHEN I fall, I will get back up. I will wipe away the tears and put a bandaid on my boo-boos and keep going. I will do my best to encourage and support others. I will give out free hugs and be true to myself. I will try to help another person. I will just try my best.
I want to live my life so that my tombstone reads something like this... "here lies Angel, she wasn't perfect. She was just human but she loved with her whole heart. She lived each day to the fullest and learned from her mistakes. She did her best to learn from everyone she came in contact with. She tried to make her family proud. She made someone else's journey special. She encouraged others. She uplifted others. She cared. She tried her best. She laughed a lot. She totally loved the Big Dude Upstairs. She made others laugh. She understood that the only thing she could take from this Earth was the love in her heart and she tried to leave this Earth a better place than when she got here. She got back up every time she fell down. She gave out lots of free hugs. The End.
I am going to try today to live up to my tombstone. If.. no, WHEN I fall, I will get back up. I will wipe away the tears and put a bandaid on my boo-boos and keep going. I will do my best to encourage and support others. I will give out free hugs and be true to myself. I will try to help another person. I will just try my best.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
22 things I learned in my first year as an RN...
1. something all new doctors and nurses learn fairly quickly.. it's a universal law in hospitals... never ever EVER say "slow" in a hospital.. or "quiet"... or "calm".
2. do not ever say "I don't know what day shift was talking about, he hasn't had a bowel movement all night" because within an hour you will be engulfed by poo...
3. it is ok to cry after your patient dies.
4. a wall suction canister works great to drain your Foley bag, especially if you need to walk any distance to dump it and don't want to wear urine on the front of your scrubs.
5. there is no "I" in nursing unless you are trying to win a spelling bee.
6. the opposing shift is not your enemy (see #5).
7. it is ok to say "I don't know" and usually if you are willing to ask you can find someone who does. always always always put patient safety before your ego.
8. charting is very very very important.
9. 'real world' nursing is SO not like Grey's Anatomy or ER. believe it or not, we do NOT have sex in the breakroom, in fact we are too tired from working hard to do anything but eat, pee, and sleep during our breaks in the breakroom.
10. we as medical professionals often get so used to being elbow deep in other people's body fluids that we forget that our friends and families might not want to discuss stomach contents, rectal tubes, sputum samples, or spurting arteries over dinner.
11. always always assume your sedated patient can hear you. also always assume your brain damaged patient can hear you. ALWAYS treat ALL of your patient with respect.
12. do not ever let a patient die alone.
13. Vicks Vapor Rub under your nose works great to help with not-so-yummy odors. So does putting a tea bag in your mask before you put it on.
14. it is entirely normal to hear ventilator, tele, bed, and IV pump alarms in your sleep during your entire first year as a nurse.
15. use good lotion to keep your hands from getting too dry from all of the alcohol antiseptics we have around.
16. a good stethoscope and comfortable shoes and scrubs are worth their weight in gold.
17. ask for help (see #5).
18. if you are caught up ask your coworkers if they need help (see #5).
19. when you have an opportunity to learn something new, take it. (see #5)
20. when you have an opportunity to teach something new, take it. (see #5)
21. if you clean your stethoscope with a bleach wipe after using it on a patient with c.diff make SURE you let it dry before you put it around your neck again... and after you've accidentally bleached your scrubs once or twice you'll never forget again.
22. nursing is an art, science, way of life, and a privilege. HAPPY NURSES WEEK!
2. do not ever say "I don't know what day shift was talking about, he hasn't had a bowel movement all night" because within an hour you will be engulfed by poo...
3. it is ok to cry after your patient dies.
4. a wall suction canister works great to drain your Foley bag, especially if you need to walk any distance to dump it and don't want to wear urine on the front of your scrubs.
5. there is no "I" in nursing unless you are trying to win a spelling bee.
6. the opposing shift is not your enemy (see #5).
7. it is ok to say "I don't know" and usually if you are willing to ask you can find someone who does. always always always put patient safety before your ego.
8. charting is very very very important.
9. 'real world' nursing is SO not like Grey's Anatomy or ER. believe it or not, we do NOT have sex in the breakroom, in fact we are too tired from working hard to do anything but eat, pee, and sleep during our breaks in the breakroom.
10. we as medical professionals often get so used to being elbow deep in other people's body fluids that we forget that our friends and families might not want to discuss stomach contents, rectal tubes, sputum samples, or spurting arteries over dinner.
11. always always assume your sedated patient can hear you. also always assume your brain damaged patient can hear you. ALWAYS treat ALL of your patient with respect.
12. do not ever let a patient die alone.
13. Vicks Vapor Rub under your nose works great to help with not-so-yummy odors. So does putting a tea bag in your mask before you put it on.
14. it is entirely normal to hear ventilator, tele, bed, and IV pump alarms in your sleep during your entire first year as a nurse.
15. use good lotion to keep your hands from getting too dry from all of the alcohol antiseptics we have around.
16. a good stethoscope and comfortable shoes and scrubs are worth their weight in gold.
17. ask for help (see #5).
18. if you are caught up ask your coworkers if they need help (see #5).
19. when you have an opportunity to learn something new, take it. (see #5)
20. when you have an opportunity to teach something new, take it. (see #5)
21. if you clean your stethoscope with a bleach wipe after using it on a patient with c.diff make SURE you let it dry before you put it around your neck again... and after you've accidentally bleached your scrubs once or twice you'll never forget again.
22. nursing is an art, science, way of life, and a privilege. HAPPY NURSES WEEK!
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