We’re back!

So, we’ve been home from Las Vegas for a few days. We had tons of fun, but we were exhausted when we got home. We ran the entire trip trying to see as much as we could in the trip. We fell in love with Vegas. Not the strip, but the city. It’s so beautiful there. I hated returning to the cold, snowy, icy Midwest. Especially since the entire area of Cincinnati is out of salt and we’re supposed to get more snow and ice this week. Why do we live here again?? Both of us are wondering that right now. Anyway, here are some pictures.

The ceiling in the Bellagio. The Bellagio and Venetian were my favorites.

Brian and I at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was windy and cold (hence the hair flying across my face), but we were determined to stay up there long enough to see the Bellagio fountains while we were up there.

Brian’s tummy is very happy, as was mine, after breakfast at Paris’ buffet. If you go to Vegas I order you to go to the buffet at Paris for breakfast!! If you get there early (they open at 7AM Las Vegas time) you won’t have to wait in line like you would for dinner there. Hey, if you’re going to go anywhere in the world for breakfast it would be France right?? YUM!!

Brian and I at Hoover Dam. Check out the new bridge they are building. I’m not sure I could drive across that with out freaking out. Yeah, I’m scared of heights. If you go to Hoover Dam and you can afford it, fork out the extra money for the longer tour, it’s worth it. Another fear of mine?? Being crushed in an earth quake. Being down in the tunnels inside Hoover Dam and knowing we were on a fault line and there was a huge quake in upper Nevada the day before kind of had me freaking. It was actually snowing while we were there. Figures that the snow would follow me to the desert.

This was a double rainbow over Lake Mead, unfortunately the camera wasn’t able to pick up the second rainbow. We could see the end of the rainbow, but there was no leprecon, or gold.

Brian and I at Red Rock Canyon. It was gorgeous out that day. There were tons of people out rock climbing and hiking.

Brian and I at the Venetian on our gondola ride. Our gondolier was awesome. He was the first gondolier at the Venetian, a real Italian charmer.

OK, I could post soooo many more. We took close to 600 pictures in less than three full days. OK, ok, I confess, I took almost 600 pictures in less than three full days. Brian had nothing to do with it. Hopefully this page doesn’t take forever to load for you. WordPress is being very slow for me. Oh, back on my diet tomorrow. I’ve been bad, bad, bad!

T Minus 9 Hours

 Well, I’m home from work and packed. We leave for Vegas in the morning. I’m exhausted from working three twelves in a row, and we have to get up at 6 tomorrow. It sucks that we have to drive to Indianapolis to fly even though there is an airport in Cincinnati. But, we saved like 4 or 5 hundred dollars a piece by flying out of Indy. Stupid Delta. I’ll probably need a vacation to recover from our vacation by the time I get home. Just pray that we don’t get any more snow tonight and we have no travel issues. The past few times we have flown we’ve almost missed our flight every time. Once they were paging our names through the entire airport, but we had been stuck in security for an eternity. We got to the airport three hours before our flight and still barely made it to the gate in time. I’m not sure if I’ll post while we’re in Vegas or not. It will just depend on how much down time we have. Have a good weekend everyone!!

Oh, please pray that I don’t end up sick while we’re gone.  Several people at work were sick today.  Not to mention a few influenza cases on our floor lately.  I had the flu shot, but you never know.  One nurse actually had the nerve to go off on me today when I asked her to please cover her mouth when she coughed.  She coughed in my face at least five times today with out covering her mouth.  She informed me that if I didn’t want to get sick then I should have stayed at home and not gone to work.  Excuse me?  If you’re sick then you’re the one that should keep your butt in bed instead of spreading it to everyone at work.  You would think that a nurse would know to cover her mouth when she coughs.  Gross.  OK, vent time over.  I’m going to bed!!

I must be crazy

Yesterday I sent away for information about finishing my bachelors degree. I’ve requested information from NKU and UC. I have an appointment next month to tour NKU. Honey, are you reading this?? I forgot to tell you, I made a reservation for you to go with me if you want. :0) At the moment I’m more interested in NKU. It’s closer and a lot less traffic over there than trying to get to UC. Someone at work said “Why do you want to go back?” I was like “I’m stupid I guess.” I’m not really ready to go back. I’m still learning so much at work and attending classes at work to get some certificates that I need. But, I need to start researching and getting ready now if I want to start in the fall or next spring. I might be able to take some classes that I need at the junior college that I graduated from, it will depend on what I still need. I have most of my courses finished, just a couple prerequisites and then the nursing courses.

Speaking of learning at work. Isn’t it scary that I’m already training people?? I’ve had an orienty with me every day for the past week or so. Some days I feel like I’m doing a pretty good job of teaching them. Other days are so crazy and busy that they just run along behind me for the ride. I just try to tell them like everywhere some days are good and some days are bad. Of course our bad days usually mean that we’ve got one or more patients that should be in the ICU, but aren’t.

I wonder who we need to write to about getting a law passed to set nurse to patient ratios in Kentucky?? In California TCU nurses are not allowed to have more than four patients, even at night. On our floor we can have up to 5 during the day, 6 in the evening, and 8 at night. That is s0000 no safe. We’re considered a critical care floor, but I have to take care of 6 patients?? And that’s not just patient care. The evening is the worst time for getting slammed with admissions. So, I’m doing all of that paperwork, filing, signing off orders, putting information into the computer, printing care paths off, and trying to keep up with six critical patients. Plus we don’t have a charge nurse at that time to help with any of it. Sometimes we luck out and have a float nurse to help, but she has to help two different floors at once. So, we usually end up doing it on our own anyway.

OK, I need to get ready for work. Thanks for listening to me complain. Two more days of work and then LAS VEGAS!!! WOOHOO!!

Sausage & Marinera Pasta

This is our favorite pasta recipe. I use hot Turkey sausage. You will also need speghetti, garlic, basil, pasta sauce, onion, green peppers.

Heat just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a large skillet. Place the sausage links in the hot skillet and brown. While the sausage is browning chop up an onion and place in the skillet with the sausage. Also get your water boiling for the spaghetti to cook in.

Then chop up a green onion and place in the skillet.

Once the sausage is browned on all sides remove it from the skillet and slice. It’s OK if it is still pink in the middle, it will finish cooking. Once the sausage is slice add back to the skillet. Pour in one jar of pasta sauce. Add basil, oregano, and thime. You can also add salt and pepper as needed also. Drop your speghetti into the boiling water now also.

Once the speghetti is done and the sauce is hot serve along side garlic bread. Yum!

Congratulations Erin!

 

My friend Erin just got engaged to a great guy Jake! So, to celebrate I’m posting another family film post today. Congrats girl!

We’ve been best friends since 2nd grade. I’m not sure what grade this was. Fourth grade Halloween maybe?

A Jr High pic, I think this is at a Valentines dance.

This is at our Junior Prom.

Our Senior prom. We were each others “date”. We had both given up on boys for the time being.

High School Graduation

I love you! May God bless your marriage!

Oh, and we found out about two pregnancies this week. One friends, another family. I was going to post pics of the new parents, but I’m not sure who all knows about them yet. So, you know who you are! Congrats on the new peanuts!

Family Film Friday

OK, lets see. I had to debate about who to post pics of today. I need to post something or Friday is going to be over. So, here are my cousins and I. The four of us girls on my dad’s side.

This is probably one of the first pictures of the four of us together. Lovely, no?? I think Kristen is just mad because our moms won’t let us eat the cake until they take pictures. It looks like my uncle Don is even holding down her hands to keep them out of the cake. Too funny.

Maybe some week I’ll do a theme of pictures with Kristen’s mouth wide open.

Another superb (or is that sub par?) picture of us with our grandma.

This was taken sometime when I was in high school. I do not remember doing this at all. I plead the fifth!!

A bad, bad, BAD picture of us all.

Christmas 2007

Happy Valentines Day!

Well, first bad news.  Today was weigh in day and I gained.  I gained 1.5!  SUCK!  Especially since I ate a lot better than last week.  I was on plan all week except for twice we went out to eat early in the week.  I wasn’t good, but haven’t used any flex points except for those.  I’m wondering if maybe I’m holding  a lot of fluid in my muscles from my work out last night.  My arms and legs were like noodles when I left the gym at work.  I don’t know, kind of frustrating.  However I have gotten compliments from people at work that they can tell my scrubs are getting big on me.  At first I thought that was strange, but I realized that I have gave lost almost 17 pounds since I started working there.  I lost almost 10 of that before I started dieting.

Next, good news.  Hubby and I exchanged Valentines gifts last night since I have to work today.  Of course he went all out with out telling me he was actually getting me a nice present.  Usually for Valentines we just get something small for each other like cards and flowers or chocolates.  So, I got him a card and some good chocolate.  He got me a camera!  It’s not my SLR, but it is a nice point and shoot to replace the crappy one I have now.  It will be a perfect camera to slip into my purse on days that I don’t want to take my SLR once I get it.  Perfect timing since I was dreading taking pictures in Vegas with our previous camera.

Here’s my menu for today:

B-Oatmeal (2)

L-Frozen dinner (6), Pretzels (2), Corn (2), Pudding cup (2)

D-Probably left over pasta from last night (I’m going to post that recipe soon, it’s one of our favorites).

Like I said I work today, but tomorrow I’m going to go work out at the gym at work again.  If I don’t you all are aloud to kick my butt.  We leave for Brian’s parents Saturday, which is a challenge, since there is nothing healthy to eat there.

Uno is Number 1!!

Dear Uno,

Congratulations on your win last night!! I cheered for you through the entire puppy show. My mommy and daddy told me about the puppy show last week and I saw the commercials on TV, so I used the remote while they weren’t looking to tape it. Uno, I think you’re the most handsome beagle I’ve ever seen. Do you think you could be my boyfriend? I’m really cute and I’m well behaved. I don’t chew or dig and mommy and daddy say I’m finally potty trained. I would share my favorite toys with you too. I would even share my bed, of course it would be a tight squeeze since mommy and daddy sleep in my bed too. Just don’t touch my chewy!

Mommy said you’re the first beagle to win EVER! Can you believe that? Beagles are freaking awesome and we’ve never won before?? It must be because all of those judges like prissy little fake dogs. Not dogs that run and bark and hunt with their noses. Speaking of noses, how do you stand walking around being judged with out your nose to the ground?? Didn’t you want to sniff around for some treats that someone might have dropped? At least you barked and barked and barked while you were being judged. Way to go! You’re my kind of dog!

 

 

Oh, and that big silver dog dish you won?? That has to hold a ton of puppy food right? When we get married and you move in with me…..don’t forget to bring that thing with you! We’ll eat steak out of it every night, if I can talk mommy and daddy into making steak for us. I’m sure with both of our cute faces looking pathetically at them they would cave in.

Call me!

Love and kisses,

Maggie XOXO

chUrch

I wish I had a recording of a pastor from a church that I used to go to saying “chUUUrch”. It was a yelling, whooping, speeking in toungue church. And you didn’t just go to church, you went to ChUUURCCCCH!

Anyway, church was awesome yesterday. We’re still going to the new church plant near our house that we checked out a few weeks ago. It meets in a building owned by the city for events. The room that the service is held in has two walls made of windows that face out towards a park. There’s nothing like singing “The Earth is filled with HIS glory!”

At the very end of the service when the pastor is praying we all open our eyes and there are three deer standing literally right outside the front wall of windows. It was so cool to watch them after having an amazing worship service.

I had a really rough week at work last week and I’m still not ready to go back. I’m probably going to have a patient that I have had every day that I’ve worked since he was admitted, unless he’s in ICU now. Today he is supposed to have surgery, the same surgery he was supposed to have Friday but kept refusing. The problem is, if he doesn’t have the surgery he’s going to die, and soon. But, he also isn’t ready to agree to being a DNR either. So, either he has the surgery or he ends up on life support, that will probably never come off with out him dying or having the surgery. I’m not looking forward to the emotional roller coaster of that again today.

Friday I dealt with that all day. Thankfully the Dr on the case is as nice as she can be. So, I wasn’t afraid of paging her the 1 million times I had to that day. At the same time I had a prisoner who had been released from jail, so he no longer had a guard. He had um, lice, impetigo, Hep C, and who knows what else. Plus, he was going through DT’s (confused and crazy) and refused to wear any clothing. Lovely. And at the exact same time my other two patient’s heart rhythms changed, and not in a good way. One was going south (and not to Lexington) and no Dr’s would return my call. The other one ended up being fine, but there is still charting and calling of Dr’s when rhythms change.

God please help me to have a good attitude at work today!!!

A day out of the house

Yesterday we were both ready to get out of the house for awhile. I wish it would have been a little warmer out so we could do something outside. Instead we spent a lazy morning around the house and then headed out after lunch time. Guess where we went?? We’ve never gone there before, even though it’s a famous tourist activity here in Cincinnati.

Jungle Jim’s Grocery Store!!

For those of you who have no idea what Jungle Jim’s is, it’s a 6 acre grocery store with food from like 160 different countries. To give you an idea they have like two rows of nothing but honey. Rows of nothing but different kinds of rice.

I didn’t get a whole lot of pictures inside because pictures aren’t allowed, except for in the only place you would think they aren’t allowed. The bathroom! That’s because they won Best Bathroom of the Year 2007.

Here’s Brian on the remake of Henry the 8th’s john. I’m not sure if he’s smiling or pretending to strain.

Did you know they have Melissa brand pasta in Greece??

We ended up finding the wine that we really liked when we were at wine festival in Chicago a few years ago. We bought it and another wine that looked good. Brian also bought Coke in a glass bottle from Mexico.

 

After we finished wandering around the store we went out to eat and used a gift card we got for Christmas. Then we went to see Fool’s Gold. It was really cute, a great girls night or date night movie. Warning: It will make you want to move to the Caribbean, or at least go on a cruise. I wander what nursing jobs are like in the Caribbean??