Icky day

Yesterday I was all excited because I got my summer class finished up. I ended up not getting as much sleep before work as I had hoped but didn't feel too tired. I was planning before work to go to my favorite LSS which is happens to be closing this Sunday forever! I was shocked as they announced this on Tuesday and then closing on Sunday. I was hoping to get in on the 50% sale and when I walked in the door the line was wrapped around the store! I left as I had two more stops to make before going to work. I was hoping to get there today but I was soo sleepy that it didn't happen. I hope to be able to make it in on the last day.

The day got pretty icky when I got to work and I happened to be the charge nurse for the evening. We were actually staffed okay and I am very thankful for that. The night started out fairly good. We were getting some new admits but then admitting kept calling and kept calling. I wasn't able to see my patients as I like because of having to take all these phone calls and then assign RN and PCA's with new patients. Between 1900 and 2400 we had 10 admits! To much for 4 nurses to take care of in my opinion. We all had about 2 admits at the same time and they just kept coming. I finally said something to the girl in admitting and she told me that we were the only floor with this many beds. So that makes it okay for us too many patients at the same time? I called nursing office to let them know about what was going on and there was a nurse staying over from evenings trying to help people get caught up. He came up and helped us out to get caught up. I was sooo glad that admitting didn't call the rest of the night! We also only had 3 beds left at that point!

I think my stress from last night is still with me. I have been grouchy tonight. I called my parents to ask if they would come over and help me install this window a/c so I am not melting in my bonus room. I had called earlier in the week to ask if they would come out on Sunday so I called again tonight just to make sure that was still in the works. My Mom was asking me about Monday which I work and it would be another whole week again before getting this done if I waited and it is freaking hot in my bonus room! I can tell they aren't excited about coming over. :-P I have had this window a/c for about 2 weeks now and have been having to do homework in a room with temps. in the high 90's. It just makes me mad the attitude I was getting when I had talked to them about this earlier in the week.

I am hoping to go something relaxing tonight and hopefully get rid of this stress. I think ice cream needs to be involved! :-)

I have a plan, a european plan . . .

Sunday afternoon for some reason I woke up at 1445. Instead of trying to go back to sleep, I went to look at my travel books I got from my travel agent. I keep looking at the prices and thinking of what I would want to spend on my trip to Paris and London. I have kinda decided that I might go for 14 days instead of 7. If I go only for 7 days, then I only get about 3 day in each Paris and London. I think the 14 day trip I would be able to have more leisure time and would enjoy myself more. The one thing that stops me is it is kinda expensive!

I was thinking on the way home from Six Flags on Friday on how I could pay for my trip and came up with some ideas. Last night at work, I thought of something else that I forgot all about that would help too. I think 14 days in Europe might be possible - and get my digital SLR camera I want! I need to put these ideas down on paper and get a plan started. Then I also need to figure out what time of year would be best!

I will have to tell all about my journey to Six Flags on Friday soon! I am working on my journal that is due at 9am and have hit a slump. I am at the Mudhouse and the people sitting ( or I should say jumping) are driving me a little silly and breaking my concentration. I might have to finish my journal at home!

Day trip!!!!

Today is the day that my sister, nieces and I go to Six Flags! A couple of days ago our parents decided to go too! Soo my Dad has rented a van so we can all go in one vehicle. Our parents aren't going to Six Flags though. Or maybe they will go to the amusement park after we get done at the water park. Not really sure. My Dad loves gardening and wants to see the botanical gardens. Not sure what else they are going to do! I need to make a trip to St. Louis after school is out to have some fun!

I am excited because I found me a nice swimsuit at JcPenney's last night! It was 40% off! Nothing like waiting till the end of summer for finding a swimming suit! This swim suit has a lining in it which I love and has better support. I had bought a swimsuit at Wal-mart earlier in the week but it doesn't give me proper support and the straps seem to migrate. I could see that I was going to fight it!

I haven't gotten any homework done other than completeing the exam this week! Yikes! This is the day I was planning to get everything caught up so next week won't be so crammed with homework. I always have good intentions to get things done early but it rarely works out that way!

Off to get ready for some family fun! I hope to be able to take pictures but not sure if I want to risk losing my camera!

Downtown tax?

When I was at the Mudhouse yesterday, I noticed that the prices had went up just a little. I had noticed since my 3 month break from the Mudhouse that my normal order was just a little bit more. I didn't think anything of it. I just asked yesterday if the prices went up and I got told that the tax downtown has went up. He told me what it went up to but can't remember it now. I am just wondering what they are going to do with this little extra tax money that they are getting.

While I was at the Mudhouse yesterday, I took a picture of a light that they have hanging on the wall. It has always amazed me and has always made me wonder what it is exactly. I have always taken it to be a one eyed monster that is showing his teeth. Then yesterday, after staring at it longer, it could also be a lamp on a table. I just love art! So fun!

My Mom's B-day celebration was fun. My Dad fired up the chimnia and roasted hot dogs. We had picnic style food. It was fun! My parents have a nice back patio and with a ceiling fan. They have my old glass-top table which my Mom recovered all the chairs with a plastic topping to make them weather proof. We had yummy cake! My Mom loves chocolate cake with mocha icing so of course that is what she had for her birthday!

After leaving my parents, I went to Lowe's and got me a window air conditioner for my hot bonus room. I am looking forward to getting it installed! I am not sure when that will as I might need my Dad's help. I noticed this morning the support that I bought says that you can install it from the inside of the window. If that really is true, then I won't need a ladder. I have a small drill so I still might need my Dad's heavy duty drill! I am looking forward to cooler times in the bonus room!

I ended up waking up at 7am this morning! I have to work all night too. I still need to do my online exam but was too tired last night to do it. I have to get it done before going to work tonight! Yikes! I hope to also get a nap in. I have an appointment tomorrow at 4pm to get my hair trimmed so that means that I have to wake up early from sleeping tomorrow and then go to work. Yuck!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's B-day and we are getting together tonight at my parents house. I am looking forward to it! I have a few things to get done this morning so I can relax tonight.

I only have one more chapter to do on my study guide and this hasn't taken me that long to do. Then I need to read the next two chapters in one of my books and then I can take the test. I might not take it till tonight. I also need to respond to two classmates segment 3 papers. Then I am going to hopefully get started on the journal. I might as well work on my LAST exam study guide for this class! Then I also need to get all my segments put together and finalize my research paper. I feel like this class hasn't been that hard just lots of reading. I will be glad that it will be over.

One thing on my agenda today is to find a swim suit. I might still be going to Six Flags but I need to decide today if that will work out. That all depends on how much homework I can get done today! I think I can get the majority done and get started on my journal. I got to thinking that I am going to need a swimsuit for Moonshine beach! My sister and I are going in August! Sooo, I am going to try to fit that in today, if possible! Last weekend was the sidewalk sale at the mall, so hopefully things will still be on sale!

I finally got the yard mowed last night. That is such a task! I waited till the evening and it was still 90 degrees outside! Yuck! I am glad that it is done. The clouds were looking kinda dark and it stormed shortly after I got done! I am hoping to get flowers planted today as they are dying now! I hope that will revive them.

I had better get ready for the day since I have lots of homework to do and have to celebrate later today!

Mudhouse fun

I got to the Mudhouse today and the guy at the cash register was taking my picture. I was curious what this was about. He told me that they are working on making a website and that they were just taking random pictures of people hanging out at the Mudhouse. Since I am a regular customer, he felt more comfortable taking my picture. Cool! I might end up on the website! He said he would let me know when it is working!

I am reviewing all the stuff I need to finish to get done with my Leadership class. This silly journal that they make us keep is for the birds! We have to reflect on what we learned every week from the reading. This time, we are to only reflect on the book, "Christian Reflections on the Leadership Challenge". Barf! I am not really all this fond of this book. I feel like the authors tend to repeat theirselves and I just want to tell them - alright already! I like books that are to the point and this one tries to stretch it out.

I have a research paper to finish up which shouldn't be that hard. I have written three segments and have some extra stuff to add in that I have found out after turning in each segment. One of the nursing supervisors at work helped me with giving the names of committees and printing some information from the standards manuel. I was quite excited with her help!

I have noticed since having the window shut in my bonus room that it has been hotter!!! I even have room darkening shades and keep them shut. I guess it could be worse! It isn't that fun to hang out anymore. I have a fan but it still doesn't cool it down enough. So, I think I might price about getting a small window air conditioner to help and just use it when I am planning to spend some time in my bonus room. The one a/c vent I have just doesn't seem to cut it!

Lazy Sunday

I only got 4 hours of sleep last night and feeling tired today. I have taken my shower this morning and slowly getting ready for the day. I have been working on getting my bathroom counter organized. It was getting too cluttered and I have been getting tired of the messyness. I keep all my makeup stuff in a wicker basket but it was overflowing! I am going through and throwing things away. I hope by the end of the day it will look much better!

I am going to work on my study guide for an online exam that is due by Wednesday at 0900. Since I work Tuesday night, I need to do it before I go to work. I have learned though that the study guides are the questions on the test but she always throws in some extras. If I get stumped on one, I just hope it is one of the extras!

I am off to do a little web surfing of Paris, France!

One hot bonus room!

I took the window fan out of the window and closed the window to see if that will help my allergies. I had a talk with the nurses at my allergy doctor office and they told me that the window fan was the worst thing I could do for my allergies! It was helping cool off my bonus room. I couldn't tolerate being in my bonus room this afternoon as it was 95 degrees. And currently it is 84 degrees. My allergies haven't been as bad today so that is a plus.

I have a plan plotted out for getting homework done and being almost done with my class. I was at the Mudhouse today trying to get this done and ended up getting nothing done! I had a little lunch but bit into chicken fat so that was the end of lunch. Then my sister called me on my cell phone and after we got off the phone, I ended up leaving the Mudhouse.

My whole point of getting all this homework done is to go to Six Flags with my sister and nieces this Friday. Then she told me today that she wants to stay all day and spend half of it at the water park and the other half at the amusement park. I don't have a swimsuit and don't have time this week to try to shop for one. This is always an ugly task! The one I have I left in the trunk of my car and the spandex gave out! She wanted me to drive which I don't think I would be very good with if she wanted to leave early in the morning and stay all day. One thing with working nights is the fact that I can't stay awake very well in the day and mixing a round trip 3 hour drive with that wouldn't mix. I have a feeling that I won't be going now. It would still be nice to get some of this hideous homework done!

I got home this evening and was going to mow the yard. I had a little bit of a sinus headache so I decided to lay down for about 20 minutes and had the alarm set on my cell phone. I ended up sleeping through it and woke up at 11pm! Argh! My 20 minutes turned into a 4 hour nap. The yardwork isn't done!!! I hope to wake up around 9am and mow the yard tomorrow (I guess today now!). I hate yardwork!

The more I hear about the iphone, the more I am not sure I really want one. I have been told that the battery doesn't last that long and you have to send it off to get the battery changed which is $79. I am not sure how long that takes but you would be without a phone during this time. So, I have a plan B. I have found me a phone that I hope to get this December when I can upgrade that has some of the features that the iphone has. It is the blackberry pearl. I haven't seen one in real life yet but what I have read on the internet sounds good. I should be able to get discounts on one of them! I still have a few months before I can get me a new cool phone!

I don't have anything to drink in the house and I am thirsty. I would drink water but the other day the water had a weird smell to it so I am afraid of it! My hot water had the smell of burnt rubber! YUCK! I am off to get me a cool, refreshing drink from somewhere!

Darn allergies!

I am coming to a conclusion that my allergies seems to bother me the mornings that I get up and spend it in my bonus room. I have a window fan and a regular fan to keep the temperature down. I am thinking that when I use the window fan, that is when my allergies flare up! I was doing fine until I had been upstairs for a while this morning and my allergies started bothering me. They just get worse instead of better through out the day. I am thinking I need to take the window fan down and shut the window and see if that helps the allergy situation. It might not help the temperature situation but I would rather be a little warm than spending my only day off from work - that I am not sleeping, at least, sneezing.

I am at the Mudhouse today, having a little lunch and working on segment 3 of my paper. I haven't done very well with these darn allergies! They ended up forgetting about me again and they gave me a card for a free drink. I am not sure how many of these they have given me because they have somehow forgotten me.

This morning I was preparing a meal for the crock pot, chicken creole. It called for a jalapeno chopped up. I seeded it and then used my cool new chopping device to chop it. I washed my hands real good, so I thought! I went to put my contacts in and FIRE!!!! I took my right contact out and let it soak and washed my hands a few times! I tried to put my contact back in and it was still firey soo I soaked it some more and then rinsed it quite a few times before I could put it in my eye! WOW! I didn't handle the jalapeno that much. I had washed my hands quite a bit before putting the left one in and it didn't burn. With my allergies bothering me and jalapeno in my right eye, I was looking quite blood shot!

I need to get some of this research done and then run a few errands. I am going to be banned from the public library! I noticed today when I was trying to gather books from the list on my account that I have been charged for one of them! Gotta get these books returned!!!

Travel plans

I love to travel and don't get to do it as often as I like. Currently, school gets in the way. I am hoping next summer to go to Europe, esp. Paris, France. I was planning that has my main destination. I went to talk to a travel agent last week and she gave me lots of info and I might go to Rome - Paris - France. I will have to ride the chunnel! I need to spend more time looking at them and deciding what I would like to do.

One thing I need to do is get my passport! I was told it can take 18 weeks to get a passport and that you have to have an appointment now to get your passport. I need to get this done so I am not rushing to get it.

I am excited about planning a vacation! I would also love to go to a European beach! According to the movies, they are crowded! I am not sure that is what it is really like. I also hope to have a digital SLR by then with a cool camera tote. :-) I have lots of planning and budgeting to do!

I have segment 3 to write for my paper today and then maybe I can work on my rolodex cards for a swap. I am behind on the swap because of school! I have ideas in my head, and I have the paper I want to use.

Off to the shower and maybe the coffeehouse!

Artsy evening!

It was a fun evening at the art walk! My sister and nieces went with me. Jasmine didn't want to go but I talked to her and she agreed to go with us! Yay! We started the evening out at the Mudhouse. Our entrance into the Mudhouse was a little rough. I was the last one in the door and I guess we flipped the rug over a little. I didn't even realize we did that till some guy sitting near the door yelled at me, "Hey, all 4 of you did that!". I didn't say a word to him, just went and fixed the rug. Whoa! We got our drinks and went walking.

As we started walking, I heard my name. I stopped and turned around and I didn't recognize the lady right away. She told me her name and then I recognized her! She was a patient I took care of a couple of nights ago! We talked for a little while. Her son had art in the art walk. I was kinda surprised to see her! She said she was feeling much better though!

We all walked to the square and Jasmine wanted to do what put her feet in the water fountain. My sister gave her the go ahead and she was climbing it too. I was wondering how she was staying dry. Well, she wasn't! She came back to us soaking wet! So while my sister and Jasmine sat at the square, Shilo and I went to the good girl art gallery. Such an awesome place! I took a few pictures of some of the cool stuff they had outside. Then I saw in a newsletter for the art walk that there was a poetry slam at Well Feed Head bookstore. Shilo and I decided that would be a fun event. We walked back to the square to get my sister and Jasmine.

When we got back to the square, we rode one of the rickshaw's. He said that we could all pile in and he would take us all! He said he has pulled more than just us before and did fine. So, we had him take us to the bookstore! It was a fun ride! He was a cool rickshaw driver!

When we got to the poetry slam, my favorite poet was up. He was near the end of his poem and then they had a break. I used to go to the poetry readings at Barnes & Noble. I need to check into this and see if they still do that! The last time I went to a poetry reading, no one but my favorite poet showed up! So it was a no go. We did stay for the rest of the poetry slam and it was a fun time! The last part the audience would through out words and they would take 2 words and then they would make a poem out of it. I wouldn't be able to do that! It was quite fun!

I came home and was soo tired from not getting much sleep the last couple of days and ended up falling asleep in my clothes and contacts again! When I woke up I decided to upload some photos to my flickr account and I thought it was strange that I didn't have a limit on how many photos I could upload. Then I noticed that I had a pro account! There is an option to pay for someone to have a pro account and I guess someone has paid for me to have one! To cool! I have no idea who though. I am unsure how to figure out who.

I should be getting back to bed as I have to work again tonight. I really wish I had more than one day off so I could get something accomplished!

Happy 4th of July!!

I actually have to work today which is a bummer. I had asked for the day off but so did everyone else. I do get about 5 hours of overtime so I guess that will be nice. I finally got my yard mowed today! I started it last night and finished today. While I was mowing last night, the crazy snake had to make an appearance! Two days in a row, a snake appearance! My Dad had accidently killed one earlier this year but he must have had friends. Yuck! But anyway, I need to get that crazy weedeater out and try to get it to work. It takes me forever to get it started and makes my hands go numb when I finally do get it started. Maybe I will give that a whirl when I get off from work in the morning.

I have a water line now that goes to my ice maker! WOOHOO!!!!! I am excited about this! I finally am getting some ice cubes that don't have debris in them! My Dad and I let it run before hooking it up to my fridge to get the debris out but I guess there was still some. Then last night when I turned on my kitchen faucet and I noticed that the water pressure wasn't very good as it was. This morning I barely have any water coming from my faucet! My Dad seems to think that some of the debris is now clogged in my faucet pipes. He is going to help me get it unclogged but I work to much the rest of the week so it might be next week. We will see.

I had better finish getting ready for work. I would much rather be hanging out with my family and taking pictures! I work with good people so I am sure the night will be fun! I am hoping for a nice slow evening! :-)

Macy Gray and the iphone!

Gotta love Macy Gray and the iphone!!! I did a little research today on getting an iphone. I will be eligible for an upgrade in December so I called asking what an iphone would cost with an upgrade. I learned that there are no discounts on the iphone so you have to pay full price no matter what. Huge bummer!!! I need to start playing the lottery! :-)

Snakes . . . .

I really hate snakes and I think I have somewhat of a phobia! Today I asked my Dad to help me move the dog house that I inherited when I bought my house. It seems like snakes like to sleep underneath it. While my Dad checked for snakes, I stood on my raised garden. No snakes, good! We moved it out of the way so I can mow. We set the dog house down and was thinking about where to put it. When I went back up to the dog house, I noticed the grass moving and it was a snake! I don't know what kind since my grass is a little tall but I can tell it was a snake by the slithering . . . . . . . YUCK!!!! We got the dog house to its appointed new home. My heart was racing from all the thoughts of snakes and then the appearance of one! To much excitement! Here is a link to a snake poem I found -->> click here!!!

My Dad did all the measuring he needed and was off to buy supplies for installing the water line. I am excited for him to come back today to install it! I hope that he doesn't run into any problems while installing it. I found out that my lawn mower issue was an easy fix. My spark plug was dirty and just needed a clean one! So now it starts up like a charm! It was getting cloudy and starting to rain, so I didn't get the yard mowed. I hope that I can get that done in the morning!

I always have good intentions on getting my homework done. Since my Dad was coming over, I worked on getting my house cleaned up a little. After he left, I was planning on going to a coffee house to sit and finish the study guide for this online test. I was feeling overly tired and decided to take a 30 minute nap and even set the alarm on my cell phone. I don't remember it ever going off and woke up at 9pm! Yikes! I felt like I could just stay in bed but I made my self get up. I was more like a walking zombie then. I grabbed my books and headed to Starbucks. When I got there, they were closing in 20 minutes so I did a little studying and then came back home.

I am excited for this elite DSL internet speed I am supposed to get sometime today! So awesome! I had better get busy with the rest of this study guide so I can go to bed!

Lawnmower issues . . . . .

It finally isn't raining today and the sun is out. Perfect day to get the lawn mowed! Right? I get my lawnmower out this morning and head for the backyard as it is starting to look like a jungle! I got my lawnmower started and then I got maybe 2 feet and it sputtered and coughed then died. No problem, I will restart it. Nothing. I decided to let it rest a little and work on water the garden, etc. I go to start the lawnmower again and it sputters and dies. I can't get it to start!

I called my Dad for advice to see if he can give me any tips on what I might be able to do. He suggested the air filter my need cleaned. So I went and got my screwdriver and took a look and yes, it was quite dirty! I wiped it down the best I could and reinstalled it. Still the thing sputters. ARGH!!!! My Dad told me he was wanting to come over to figure out the best way to install a water line so my ice maker will work. This is my birthday present I am getting from my parents! I am quite excited about it! He said if I couldn't get my lawnmower started that he would try to help me.

Yesterday when I was at the Mudhouse, I happened to notice that I was getting my much better internet connection than I do at home. I have noticed on my netflix account that I can watch movies from my PC but at home it says I only get a basic connection. I decided to open that my netflix account up in the Mudhouse and check the connection and it said it was a high connection. I called my internet proveder and by tomorrow - for only $5.00 more I will be getting 4x faster connection than I get now! WOOHOO!!!!! I also found out that for $5.00 less than I am paying now I can get 2x faster. They changed the pricing but never adjusted my pricing. I am glad that I called. I also will get a $30.00 credit for upgrading, a nice special they had going on. I should have it by 8pm tomorrow. :-)

I love music!!!

I have really been having fun with my Napster account today finding songs I haven't heard in a long time. I had forgotten all about the Crash Test Dummies and really loving them today! I keep finding other songs in the alternative genre that I love. The radio station that I love (Q102) has resurrection Sundays and they play older alternative songs. So much fun! I often don't recognize the songs they play so I decided to find my own today! :-)

Anyway, I am hanging at the Mudhouse now. I am having a little bit of heartburn today which sucks. I have even been taking Zantac with my Prevacid. It has helped some but it just all together sucks having Gerd! On the bright side today, my allergies are better - just have a stuffy nose which is normal for me!

I wish I could motivate myself to study better. I have only 26 days left of school for the semester and can't wait! I am looking forward to just working. I really wanted to take vacation when I was out of school but it was all taken by the time I thought about doing that. Oh, well. I am looking forward to my 3 week break from school in 26 days!

I had better get busy. I hope to get at least half done and finish the rest tomorrow.

Nice morning . . .

I am enjoying tunes from my Napster account this morning. It is raining outside and I actually got the paper today. I have had issues with the Newsleader but glad that I have gotten the paper at least 2 weekends in a row! :-) I hope that it doesn't rain all day as I would love to ride my bike and do some yardwork. The yardwork might have to wait till tomorrow as it has rained so much yesterday and in the night that there are puddles in my yard!

I get the paper this morning and I forgot all about Firefall!!!!! My allergies were bothering me yesterday. I woke up not able to breathe so I took medicine to hopefully nip it in the bud but that didn't work. I spent the rest of the day sneezing! ARGH!!!! I really hate my allergies!!!! But I think that is what made me forget about Firefall!!!!! I was planning to drive to the north side of town and try to see the fireworks and get pictures. I was disappointed when on the front page of the paper it was about Firefall! Bummer! I have to work July 4th so no fireworks for me. :-(

Last weekend I had a good plan with my homework. My plan was to work on one to two chapters a day so I wasn't doing everything in one day. Between work and trying to get some sleep, that didn't happen. I did get one chapter done so I hope the others go as smoothly as that one. I actually have till Wednesday morning to get this exam done so I am hoping to get as much as I can done today. I am sooo ready for this semester to be over with! I was ready before it even started! :-)

I have plans for the Mudhouse and some grocery shopping today. Nothing to exciting. I did finally get me an ATG gun for my scrapbooking and would really like to try it out!!! I have it loaded and ready! I need to get some of my Scrapjammie kits out!