Monday, October 30, 2006

Vacation time!!!!


I am sooo excited to be on vacation for 12 days!!!! I have some fun things planned, and also things that aren't so fun but need to be done! My time has been so limited with work and school that I haven't been able to keep up with housework and I need to work on my yard too. I am really excited about the scrapbooking event with my sister too!!!!! :-)

I was having some issues with blogger on Saturday. I made two entries and I finally got them to post today. I kept getting an "There are errors" message and it would tell me the error but it just jibberish to me. I am glad that I am able to post to my blog again!

I got off from work approx. about 0730 this morning and needed to get in bed as I had to be in class by 1600. I finally went to bed about 0930 and maybe got 3-4 hours of sleep. I didn't sleep very good because I was afraid that I was going to sleep through my alarm! I have done this several times before when I am tired enough and I felt that way today. I was nodding my head in class quite a bit and then my instructor had us start reading "The Old Man and the Sea" in class today. Reading when I am that tired isn't good! I wasn't comprehending what I was reading and I kept nodding off! Then I wasn't sure where I left off. I somehow got the first 28 pages read like he asked us to do but I wasn't able to recall very much! I need to start reading from the beginning! I hope to get started on that on Wednesday and maybe even have time to read it a second time as we are having a quiz on the reading next week. At least that is my only assignment in English this week.

Tonight I checked Blackboard and their was a message from my Transcultural Nursing instructor on when things are due. I have to have my annotated bibliography and discussion 4 done by Wednesday and the journal is due next week!!! I was happy to see this. I can start on the journal Wednesday and not cram so much in! :-) I also have to do a reassessment of cultural awareness which is due next week. Phew! I am so glad!

I haven't been to productive tonight with the homework thing. I am at a small table and can't spread out which seems to slow me down. I am hoping to be able to get good rest tonight and get everything done before I am meeting my sister to go celebrate Halloween! I will have to bring my camera and make sure the batteries are ready to go! I actually don't know what my nieces are going as so I am excited to see the little cuties! I had better get busy so I can do some much needed relaxing tomorrow!

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Yeah!


I think I am done with my English II paper! :-) When I return back home, I am going to print it out and review it to see if their is any changes that I need to make. I am so happy that I finally got it done! I sat at my computer for almost 2 hours this morning at home trying to figure out how to start my paper but once I got over that, it went okay. Getting started to me is always the hardest part!

I am enjoying some iced tea and a sandwich then I am going to go home and get a nap to get ready for my 13 hour night at work! I can tell that I am getting tired. :-)

Getting closer . . . .


to getting things accomplished! I have been working on my research review for my English II class this morning and decided to move it to the Mudhouse when they opened. I tend to be more productive when I am away from home. I am hoping that I will be able to get this finished in a few hours and then go back home to catch a nap before having to be at work tonight. I really would like my paper done before Monday so when I get off from work, all I have to do is get some rest and then get up early to go to class. That would be wonderful! :-)

Since I work the night shift tonight and the time is changing, I have to work an extra hour tonight. This could be a a bad thing since I haven't sleept like I have been lately. I am going to bring my homework and work on it on my breaks. I normally don't take my 2, 15 minute breaks but I might this weekend as it will help me accomplish my goal of getting the rest of my homework done by Tuesday afternoon.

I got an email from my instructor for my other class that I start in a little over a week. She was letting us all know that we can access the class on blackboard and to read everything over. She wrote, "This is going to be a fast paced course and we are going to hit the ground running." Ohhhh, can we please walk? :-) I haven't taken the time to look at the syllabus yet as I want to concentrate on my paper before it gets cluttered with other things I will need to get done in the future. I will peak at it on Monday as I do need to start the search for cheapest text books for the class!

I decided this week that I am taking a short break from the message boards that I read. I am doing this as I am a little busy with work and school. I don't feel like I am taking the time to really read everyones post and I rush through it. I hope to start back up next week when I am on vacation.

I am excited for my vacation that starts Monday morning! I have a list of things I would like to accomplish. I am looking forward to Halloween night and to go with my sister and nieces to a harvest party at a local church. I am also going to take some much needed time to organize my house and scrapbook stuff. I think I am going to start packing my tote next week for my scrapbooking crop that is in two weeks! That way if my new class requires to much time that week, I will at least be ready to scrapbook!

I really enjoy coming to the Mudhouse early in the morning. It is quieter and not so many people. There are a lot of people here reading the morning paper or just sitting enjoying their morning. :-) More later.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Slowy progressing


I am slowly but surely getting my homework done. I was excited that I actually fell asleep at 0200 and I woke up at 0800. I fed the cats and went back to bed to sleep till 1000. Well, I happened to wake up at 1330 when my second alarm went off! I was a little disappointed but I will just go to bed later then. I still should be able to get a good dent put in my homework.

I am sitting at the Mudhouse and it is a little chilly in here today. It has been cooler outside but I am unsure why it is so cool in here. I ended up running into my dentist tonight here! He is such a cool guy! I love having him as my dentist. I just wish that my dental insurance was better! :-) The good thing is that I get it for free through work since I have been there longer than 5 years. I can't complain about that.

My break is over, gotta get back to the homework!!

Monday, October 23, 2006

Stressful week ahead


My friend did call me tonight at 2145 to let me know that he wasn't going to be able to email me but would like to do the cultural interview over the phone. I have to give him credit that he did at least call and didn't blow me off. So I had told him that I had already interviewed someone else but was interested in what he had to say. He said he would be happy to answer the questions that I had. I now have a comparisions of two cultures!

Tonight I realized how much I have to get done in one week! Way to much!!!!!!
1. I have to type up and attach nursing dx to my cultural assessments by tomorrow!!!
2. I have a research review paper due in English II next Monday.
3. I have to write a weekly journal for my Transcultural Nursing class.
4. I have to find 10 journal articles on a particular culture of my choice and write a short paragraph about each by next Tuesday! (Forgot about this till tonight!)
5. I have to work on my discussion question on blackboard - Due Wednesday morning.
6. Then Wednesday, I get a new discussion board question that will be due by next Wednesday.
7. I have a short novel to read, "The Old Man and the Sea" by Nov. 6 and haven't had time to even think about reading. At least it is kinda short, 127 pages to be exact!

The bad thing about all this is I work 12 hour shifts Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. I have to get all this done Tomorrow and squeeze what I can in before work on Wed., after waking up on Friday and before work on Saturday. WOW!!!!! When Monday comes, I will be sooooo ready for my vacation!

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Relaxing evening


I slept the most of the day and got up and decided to hang out at Barnes & Noble and sit in the cafe. I ended up floating last night but was lucky to get to float to our sister unit as they have patients very similar to what my floor has. I made the 3rd nurse and we all had 8/9 patients. It started out okay and then admitting started calling and I think we all ended with 9 patients by morning! Phew! I was glad to give report and go home. :-)

While I was at Barnes & Noble tonight, I went on a hunt for the Creating Keepsakes special edition "Hall of Fame" without any luck. According to Creating Keepsakes website, it was release on September 26 but I can't find it any where. I asked the information desk regarding this and they took my name and number and someone that works tomorrow might be able to let me know if they will have it soon or not. I did pick up the newly formatted Memory Makers magazine. I have always wanted to do genealogy and there are all kinds of website listed to help so I had to get it! I am not sure what I think of the new format yet. I will have to sit down and look at it in more depth.

I have all kinds of homework to do this weekend. I have four days off from work and I am hoping to get caught up and maybe work ahead in my classes so I can relax on my vacation instead of doing homework! I need to get ahold of a friend of mine as I have to interview someone of another culture and time is running out. I hope that I can sleep tonight so I can spend most of the day working on my paper and getting this assessment thing done.

I am actually watching a movie "Tuck Everlasting" tonight. I am ready to send the dvd's back to netflix to get more! I love netflix! I don't feel rushed to have to watch a movie and love that fact that there aren't any late fees!

Thursday, October 19, 2006

2peas: Thoughts on blogging


Blog about how you feel about your blogging.
Is it too time consuming? Do you love sharing? What are the benifits of blogging? and the negative things of it? With Rhonna's and Cathy z's blog ending, I am wondering why both of them are doing it... it's just interesting to me. how about you??
blog about it...

I enjoy blogging and actually have been surprised that I have kept it up for the last 1 1/2 years! I tend to use it to vent about school anymore though! I love being able to add pictures and make it my "own" style! I enjoy sharing pictures with others and getting comments. You can use blogging to keep friends and family in touch with what you are doing. I don't find blogging time consuming, it is a nice way to organize thoughts. I enjoy being able to go back later and see what I was doing and thinking at a certain time. I love sharing pictures of my cats and nieces! I have become a blog addict and have quite a few blogs saved in my favorites that I check every so often.

I am disappointed that Cathy Z. and Rhonna F. are closing their blogs. I really enjoy reading them! Reading blogs that are scrapbooking related helps give me inspiration! I wonder also what has prompted them to close their blogs and around the same time.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Crazy Mudhouse night


I woke up this evening and went to the Mudhouse to work on my "to do" list for my classes. I decided I would get soup if they had good selections. The board said the soup was mushroom bisque which is my new favorite! I ordered a small bowl but when I got it, they had given me something with corn and potatoes. I told them that wasn't what I had ordered and they erased the wrong soup off the board so I had ended up with corn chowder. *sigh* They actually gave me my money back for the soup since that was there mistake. I am just not a chowder kind of a gal.

Then, I am also having a hard time staying connected to the internet at the Mudhouse tonight. I finally connected to the cities free internet but it is so slow and I have a low connection. I don't understand why the wireless at the Mudhouse keeps going out. It is very frustrating when you need to get school work done and it happens to be online. So I have been using copy and paste features into Microsoft Word of the stuff that I need to do and then I can later copy and paste it into blackboard when I can be connected to my own internet at home.

I don't feel like I am getting much accomplished tonight. I am also sitting at a table with no light and it makes reading a little difficult. If I position just right I can get the light of the table behind me! :-)

My laptop that I just got back from the geek squad has been much cooler since they also replaced the fan/cooling system. I wonder if the cooling system wasn't working properly and the heat was burning something on the motherboard. It would get pretty hot on the keyboard and now it doesn't It has also been quieter and not as loud as the previous cooling system. Maybe I am done with the geeksquad! I can hope.

It is time for me to depart the Mudhouse and there crazy internet connections! I just can't concentrate unless I can get on the internet. Strange but true. :-) My napster music keeps buffering with the slow connection and will only play a few seconds and then it is buffering again. This is about as bad as dial up! Later . . . . . .

Monday, October 16, 2006

Rainy, cold day


I really hate this cold and rainy weather! I would have preferred to stayed in bed with my cats today. I ended up sleeping through my alarm since I went to be at 5 am and was planning to get up around 10 am. I just happened to wake up at 12:50pm! All I had time to do was type up my works cited page and head to school. I was hoping to get all my homework for my other class done before my English class tonight so I could go home and relax. I am sure that I needed that extra few hours of sleep!

I got my movie review back today and I got another "B"!! I am excited! Today in class he kept talking about our paper of researching the professional movie reviews and I have a feeling it will be a little challenging. I am not very good at quoting things. I think did it correct but there is always something that I didn't do. He wrote all the places in our handbook that will help us. I have a stupid schedule the next two weeks so I am going to have to get busy on this ASAP!!!!

I am at the Mudhouse getting some studying done. The table in front of me is for two people and there is 8!!!! Okay, now there is 9. It is a little distracting to me. It was nice and quiet when I first got here. Oh, well. I am getting things accomplished tonight.

I don't like my work schedule this week as I work one day, off one, then work two. One day off isn't enough when you end up sleeping it away! *Sigh*

I can't wait till my vacation and also the scrapbooking event! :-) I am looking forward to making kits for the scrapbooking event! I should have time if I can cram just a day of so of studying and then a day or so of gathering scrap stuff! :-) I have a few idea books that I would love to use to inspire me! :-)

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Feeling better :-)


I am finally feeling better! My rib pain is feeling better and I am so glad! It still hurts but nothing like it was. Work it is kinda hard for it not to bother me a little bit with the lifting and pulling on patients that I have to do. I have been drinking lots of hot tea to help soothe my throat and it is getting better. I just hope that after I finish my prednisone dose pack that I don't get sick again! The last time I was on a dose pack, I ended up with a bad sinus infection! Working in the hospital isn't the best place! :-)

I also got my laptop back and they didn't consider it a lemon. I was a little upset about this since I have had such bad luck with this computer! The next time I will get a new computer! They replaced the motherboard for the third time and replaced the fan system. They didn't restore my computer so I had all my information still there!!! I am so glad! I have transferred my school files to my flash drive and need to back up my pictures and such and start doing this on a more regular basis so when this does happen again, it won't be as bad.

I am working on my English II homework tonight which is fairly easy. I just need to make a works cited page on my professional movie reviews that I found. I also need to be working on my transcultural nursing class too. The internet has been flickering tonight at the Mudhouse but I think that it is finally fixed. :-)

I am soo ready for my next vacation which will be in two weeks! :-) I am hoping to be able to get my house a little more organzied and then make a day trip to Branson. I just hope I don't have some big assignment that is due during that time. I need to check my syllabus and see what I can do ahead of time just in case!

I will also be going to scrap camp at my sister's church with her in November! I can't wait! I haven't had the opportunity to use my big cropper hopper organizer so I need to start planning my layouts and pictures now so I will have lots to work on!

I have included a cute picture of Felix when I was cutting ribbon for the ribbon swap I am in! I finally gave him his own ribbon and then he took a nap with his ribbon! To cute!

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Lazy day


I have been sleeping like crazy. I think part of it is the muscle relaxers - which so far I have only taken one! I guess with me being tired from working nights and taking the muscle relaxer, I have been sleeping! After I took my shower today, I was feeling tired and cold so I curled up in my bed for a while and slept from 2pm to 6pm!!! I am still tired and could sleep some more! I feel like my back is feeling better, still sore though.

I had plans to go scrapbook shopping today at a couple of stores since I have a cingular gift card. I guess depending on how I feel tomorrow, I might do that before work! I still need to finish organizing my scrap room but school has interfered with me finishing that.

The weather here has turned a little bit to cool for me. I woke up this morning and my house was 63 degrees! I hate this time of year and refuse to turn on the heat this early! I hate those heating bills! I also need to change my filter before I turn on the heat. I wish I could head south for the winter!

I haven't heard anything from Best Buy yet regarding my laptop. I am wondering what is going on. It has only been one week but I am anxious! My old laptop is heavy and I like my new one as it is light weight and easier to tote around. I also would just rather have a new one and hope that they consider it a lemon. I was told that they were going to do "hardcore" testing on it so I am unsure what that means. I am just am anxious to hear some news!

I suppose I should get back to my researching for my English class. :-)

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Crazy week


The last week was a little crazy to say the least. I had my laptop die for the third time this year, I have been a little under the weather with a sore throat and muscle aches and to top it all off was the chiropractor trying to help my rib pain and made it worse!!!! I have been having muscle spasms in my upper back and I really think that he pulled more out!

Yesterday I went and saw my primary care physician and he told me that I had some disk irritation and that I my muscle were tight and had spasms in my upper back were my rib pain is. He gave me dose pack of steriods to take for 10 days and muscle relaxers. I wasn't able to take the muscle relaxers till I got off from work though. By morning, my back was in such a spasm that I ended up putting ice on it at work when I was able to sit down which helped. I have been taking the ibuprofen like crazy too. I am sure that all of this will be better by next week and I can slowly recoperate from this. No more chiropractors for me!!!! When I have talked to other people about the treatment they were going to do on me, I got told that they were trying to rip me off. No one else that has had treatments as much as they wanted to do on me. My doctor even made the comment to me that everyone that goes to a chiropractor was diagnosed with almost the same things as I was.

Well, on a good note, I finally got a "B" on one of my papers in English! I was so happy! I will just keep working hard and hopefully improve on my papers! I got my movie review done and now the second part of this assignment is to find professional movie reviews and then write a paper on what they said about the movie compared to what I thought. I have started some of my research.

The weather is getting cold and gross here. While I was at work last night, it started raining and it was quite chilly when I got off from work! I am not ready for the cold weather! It made for a good sleeping day!

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Feeling iky . . . .


Last week I woke up one day with a sore throat and then I started having achy muscles. Finally, my sore throat and achy muscles are better but I still feel tired and I have developed a stuffy nose. I ended up sleeping till 4pm today and my mom called me to ask how I was doing and if I got my paper written. I haven't gotten my paper written put I am going to do that next. I finally got my printer loaded onto my old laptop so I am now ready to be able to get my work done for both of my classes! I hope that Best Buy calls me this week to tell me that my new laptop has been considered a lemon and you can pick up your vocher to pick up a new laptop! :-) We will see!

I am going to watch "Born into Brothels" again and write my movie review! I think this is a fun assignment! I just hope that he doesn't tear it apart! :-)

Hmmmm . . . . . .




I had been typing and then all of a sudden everything disappeared!

My laptop died again so I have been out of commission for a while. Of course, I started a new class this week which is online so I have gotten behind in this. I have a paper to write for English II and all this stuff to do for my online class which I hope to get done on Sunday. Best Buy told me that they don't consider computers lemons till the fourth incident but they said they would but in a request and it would be the decision of the service center. I hope that I get a phone call this week telling me that! I am tired of this game and losing files every few months.

I started seeing the chiropractor last week and I am unsure if this is the right thing to do. I have had two adjustments so far. From the xrays they took I have a tilted pelvis and vertebrae that has rotated. They say that they can get my spine realigned but I am unsure how popping things realigns things. Just doesn't make sense. This stupid rib thing that started it all, they aren't really concerned about. I am not sure this is all worth it as I am in more pain now than I was when I started.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

A little scared of chiropractors


I called my insurance company today to find out about coverage about the chiropractor I have an appointment with. It wasn't good news as he isn't included in my network so I am unsure what I am going to do. There are only 7 chiropractor's in my network! I have to ponder this issue more but I have to make a decision fast as my appointment is on Thursday morning. It would be nice if I could get my rib back in place.

So I call the office that I have my appointment with and try to cancel. She proceeds to tell me that I don't have to worry about them being out of network as they accept my insurance meaning that they will write off the 30% that the insurance won't pay. So I kept my appointment. I am just a little scared of all of this!

Monday, October 02, 2006

There are too many rules . . . . .



in English and writing! I got my second paper back tonight and thought I had done better. I used my first paper and then made all of those corrections - so I thought! I keep having problems with writing in present tense. I have to work on this! The next paper I am writing is a movie review which I think will be an easy paper but then again . . . . . . .

The movie that I am going to review is "Born into Brothels." I had never heard of this movie before till I was reading elsie's blog one day and she made a comment regarding this movie. I was curious and have fallen in love with this movie. Tonight I have found Zana Briski's website! To cool! I need to take a class in photography!

I found out on Friday that I have a dislocated rib! I really think I have had this for at least 2 years, if not maybe longer. I have occasional pain near my shoulder blade and I have been told it is from to much computer use. If I happen to be on the computer to long, it does make the pain worse. That made sense to me because I do computer charting at work and I am also on the computer more since going back to school. I happened to go to the mall last Friday and there was a home show and a chiropractor had a booth in it. I was telling him about this pain and he had felt up and down my spine and told me that I had a rib out of place!!!! He said that is easy to fix so I made an appointment for this week. I am scared about going as I am unsure what they do to put a rib back into place. I also need to see what my insurance will pay too. If my insurance won't cover this then I will just make an appointment with my doctor to see what to do.

After class today, I decided that I need to just hang out at the Mudhouse for awhile before going back home. I have all kinds of fun things to be watching on my DVR at home and hope to view one or two programs I have saved tonight. I have gotten caught up in the Amazing Race 10 and Survivor. I also have almost a weeks worth of Days of Our Lives that I would like to watch. I saw a preview today of things to come and realized alot has happened this week! I also think that Sean is a different actor. I also have Grey's Anatomy which I have never watched before but would like to start watching. I also have ER to watch! I don't have the time for this but I look forward to being able to watch them!

Tomorrow night I start my new class, "Transcultural Nursing". I just hope that it isn't going to be too much work but I have a feeling it is! This is a 5 week class that they normally taught in 16 weeks. I was told by my advisor that it will still cover everything they did in 16 weeks but in 5 weeks! I will find out tomorrow night what kind of a mess I have gotten myself in! :-)