Like/Dislike: red.

I'm so behind on the red-pants-bandwagon.

But here I am, trying to hop on.  

I thought RED would be a gentle way to ease into the color-jean phenomenon. 

pants: lauren conrad-kohls// flats: payless// shirt: vanity fair

...I've had more attractive days, I must say. 

Dislike

As I mentioned earlier this week, Husband went out of town for a couple days. 

Then he thrilled me by coming back a day early. :)

This town has been getting buckets of rain! 

It's a lame Spring if you ask me.

Like

*all my 'likes' have to do with food. Not some of them, ALL of them. my apologies.*

Cinnamon rolls in a can. One of the BEST inventions ever. 

I don't have the patience for making cinnamon rolls from scratch.

'Harvest Orange' tomato soup with triscuits&cheese. 

Mo doesn't love soup the way I do, so it was the perfect thing to eat while he was out of town.

Bacon meatballs and Spaghetti were a hit! 

Note to self: add more bacon next time. :) 

 I couldn't decide on which cinnamon burst bread to get...

so I got one of each. 

What was I thinking? There's only two of us! 

We don't even make it through a half gallon of milk before the expiration date...

Sorry Mo, looks like french toast all week.

Happy weekend to YOU.

March Foodie Penpal Swap!

Happy Friday! 

I have the weekend off and I'm going to enjoy it! I'm going to spend it watching this and eating this. 

:) 

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This month I participated in Foodie Penpals for the first time! 

I'm think I'm hooked. 

This was such a GREAT swap, mostly because it involved FOOD. 

[If you're interested in joining, they are just now getting ready for another monthly swap. Hundreds (literally) of bloggers are paired up to give $15 food-based packages to each other and then post about it at the end of the month. I totally recommend it. Keep an eye on Lindsey's blog for details.] 

I was paired up with Cassie from Back to Her Roots. (and isn't her blog fabulous?)

She sent me all these wonderful local products from her home in southern Indiana!

And with this box full of goodness, she convinced me that I need to go to Indiana someday.  

Here's a break-down of my package: 

[from left to right: needmore oatcakes, maple syrup, kitchen soap (smells AMAZING), strawberry rhubarb preserves, pecan spun honey, energy bars, honey sticks, chocolate lollipop]

The SAME night this package showed up in the mail, Mo and I cracked open the pecan honey. 

So, so good. 

Thank you Cassie! 

Thank you for getting us addicted to this honey. :)

 I'm probably going to be desperately e-mailing you in about a month when we run out, trying to get more...

ps. Go over to Julie's blog and see what I gave her! 

Nursing Tuesday: only heroes wear capes.

Superheroes wear capes. 

You know who else does? 

Nurses. 

Well, not so much anymore. 

But they used to.

The picture below is a window display at the hospital I work at.

I walk past it on my way to the cafeteria every day.

  I find it inspiring! 

Those women helped shape nursing into the career it is today. 

That was before nurses wore rubber gloves on a regular basis. 

That was before all the technology we have now.

Did they even have to chart back then?

It's a completely different world now. 

But looking at that picture, they look so classy and dignified...

I think it's the cape.

via.

 via. 

via. 

 via. 

It's probably a good thing capes phased out. 

They'd get in the way while trying to clean out bedpans. 

oh spring... you disappoint me slightly.

There's a very good reason why there's no Monday with Mo post. 

There's no Mo here. 

He very spontaneously left town. 

It was nice of him to track me down at work yesterday to tell me he was leaving right then and wouldn't be back until Tuesday...

He knows how concerned I would've been if I came home to an empty house.

It wasn't so nice of him to take my car and leave his for me to drive...

Mo, your headlights stink. And I drive home in the dark. Could you do something about that, dear? 

So, I'm seeing all these gorgeous 'it's spring' pictures out there on pinterest and instagram...

 

via.

 

via.

via. 

 

via.

Here's what my spring looks like:

[rain!]

 [growing garlic] 

My part of the world is a bit slow in switching seasons. 

I hope Spring made it to your neck of the woods! 

Like/Dislike. Mostly likes, though.

Dislike

1. Mo is in the pinterest closet. 

His idea of "pinning" something is taking a screen shot of the stuff he likes on pinterest and saving it in his picture album on his phone. I keep telling him to just get an account already... 

2. Taxes! Apparently, we should buy a house, have a kid, or go to school to get REALLY great returns. 

I just hope we don't have to pay like last year. 

3. I work Saturday and Sunday. I realize we all need to take our turn...but I sure love those weekends when husband and I get to hang out. Especially when it's supposed to be in the 60°s  tomorrow. 

Like

1. Check it out: St. Als (my employer) brought out their spring line of hospital-wear this week:

It's so funny seeing patients walking around in bright yellow socks. :) 

2. I'm making THIS tonight!

 I hope it turns out as good as the picture looks!

3. The next nurse link-up is announced! 

Grab a button (top of the right side-bar) and join me and Renee April 3 for "The Things Patients Say!"
(this should be interesting...)

4. Hunger Games Monday night! Can't wait.

via. 

5. Five guys.
I'm sorry, but I went to In-N-Out in Las Vegas, and it didn't even compare...
Five guys wins. 

[My burger is on the left, Mo's burger is on the right.
That's one of the many differences between us.]

Enjoy the weekend! 

Nursing Tuesday...er, Wednesday: Band-aids.

you guys.

THANK YOU 

for all your sweet responses to my 'new job' post. 

It seriously made my week. 

I had NO idea how many of you ladies have been accused of grandma style! 

Plus, grandma attire is totally interview-appropriate. And since I already look like I'm 16, older is better. 

I love comments. I read them all. 

Even the spam ones. 

I get them because I don't want to make you prove you're not robots. Then I delete them. 

But you know how to make a girl feel special, and I thank you. :)
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Do you know who Earle Dickson is? He's a hero of mine. 

In 1921 he was working for Johnson & Johnson, buying cotton, when he had the idea for the band-aid. Apparently his wife was always cutting her fingers in the kitchen while cooking.
Band-aids have history.

Prior to Earle, they consisted of separate gauze and separate adhesive tape and would easily fall off. 

Then he came along and changed everything.

Plus, I think they have magic in them. 

Children seem to forget their pain as they choose between cartoons and glitter.

It's an important decision. 

1.Pac-man band-aids.

[clockwise] 2.design "Band-Aid" brand. 3.keep calm band-aids. 4.leather band-aids. 

5."What happened?" band-aids.

[clockwise] 6.Cynthia Rowley designer band-aids 7.graham cracker band-aid treat.

8.Hubba Bubba Ouch gum. 9.Ouchies "Make Your Own" band-aids

Someday, I'll have the best band-aid collection. 

All the kids in the neighborhood will come to my house when they skin their knees. 

p.s. DIY band-aids with fabric and double stick tape! See it here.

How to rock an interview like a grandma.

Mo says I dress like a grandma.

Could it be all the cardigans?

perhaps it's the bun.

or the flats?

or maybe all the neutral colors...

 whatever it is, it's an improvement on comparing me to a jr. high girl when we first met. 

(but that was when I carried a brown corduroy purse, so it was understandable). 

I had an interview for a hospital transfer last week.

That's one thing I love about nursing: you can try out different areas and it's like a whole new job! almost. :) 

I currently work on the Telemetry unit (meaning I take care of patients who specifically need their hearts monitored for one reason or another: strokes, fainting/needing pacemakers, detoxing, etc).

I interviewed to transfer to the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) meaning I'll take care of more critical cardiac patients, particularly those who've had surgery. 

This interview? Completely different than any I've done before.

I'm not interviewing to GET a job (I'm currently employed), I'm interviewing to transfer to another position. This means the new boss has already heard about me from other employees and I have a reputation that factors in. 

So let me tell you what I learned:

1. Practice. You know they're going to ask you what your strengths and weaknesses are, you might as well prepare an answer. Mo 'fake-interviewed' me the night before. He's sweet like that.

2. Don't be nervous. If you can help it. It only causes more problems. 

When I get nervous, I get cold. I shiver (hence, the cardigan). But THEN after the interview, my body adjusts and then I'm sweating... obviously, I don't stick around after.

Also, try to relax. I'm not entirely sure, but I think the bottom lid of my left eye was twitching. Does my new boss think I was winking at him during the first half of the interview? 

It's very possible.

3. Don't forget to sell yourself.

New boss: Aren't you a preceptor?

Me: OH, right! I've been precepting new employees and nursing students for about a year now... (I go on to explain...)

New boss: And aren't you also on a hospital committee? 

Me: Yes! I am! I'm on two committees... (I go on to explain, again)

New boss: You know, this is the part where you're supposed to brag about yourself...

Moral of the story: It's much cooler if you can tell your boss the good stuff about yourself without being prompted. 

4. Know what you're getting into. Your new boss will like the fact that you know what the new job will entail and that you think it'll be a good fit. For example, I know the nurses on CVICU only work with 1 to 2 patients, depending on how critical they are. I'm EXCITED about that because I'll finally have time to feel like a nurse. I look forward to not rushing between rooms, doing the minimum amount of care. I'll be able to knew ALL the details about a patient and how I can best help them. A hospitalization is bound to be one of the lowest points in a person's life (unless you're in the maternity ward, of course) and my goal is to make the experience as pleasant as possible.

In the end, this grandma got the job. 

 I start in May. 

The one downside to the whole thing is going back to night shift.

I have a few ideas to try and make the transition easier this time...

Like/Dislike.

I'm 'on call' right now. 

Not for work. 'On call' for husband. 

He went out on his bike ride with a rear wheel that wobbles a bit. 

I'll be the rescue person driving the rescue vehicle should anything come up today. 

Like a flat tire. Or brake problems. 

Or a bucket handle wrapping itself around the rear derailleur. It's happened before.

Let me tell you about my week!

Dislike

1. We have a popcorn thief at work.

For Valentine's day, we each had a bag of microwave popcorn stuffed into our mailboxes, and this week several of us noticed ours were missing. Here we were, waiting for the perfect day to use them, and then they disappear. 

I hope you enjoyed them, popcorn thief. Because we never will.

2. I was wandering through the store and saw this:

Seriously. Seriously??

No one wants to see that. They will purposely buy the other brand because THAT box doesn't have disturbing images of the things people do to their sinuses from time to time. And no one actually smiles when they have to flush their sinuses out. What joker was in charge of that products' marketing? 

3. Our neighbor pulled out his BBQ this week. 

Which wouldn't be a bad thing, except that it's March, and it probably won't go back into his garage until October. And when the BBQ comes out, so does the hammock. 

A hammock, in which he lounges topless. 

(Can you use the phrase 'topless' when referring to males?)

One of these days, I'll get a picture for you, readers. :) Because I'm awesome like that. 

4. With all these blog swaps I've been doing lately, I'm starting to get to know the mail man pretty well. Which would be cool, except that he's a touch creepy. And chatty. 

Maybe we'll become really good friends, who knows? [Any of you guys have the post office staff starting to recognize you? or is that just in small towns?)

5. I dislike how hard it can be to think of weekly 'dislikes.' Consider this #5.

Like

1. I LOVED linking up with all you nurse bloggers out there on Tuesday! Some of you mentioned linking up next week/next time...

Here's the plan: Renee and I are going to do a nurse link up the first Tuesday each month. We'll alternate months for picking out the theme, but feel free to let either of us know if you have and requests! I seriously loved reading about all your new nurse experiences. :) We'll let you know what April's theme will be ASAP so you can get your brains thinking of a story!

2. I did a fishtail braid for work this week. My 91 year old patient loved it. 

"Oh dear, your hair! I love it!" and after my 12 hour shift "oh, it's stayed in all day! That's amazing!"

She needs to get out more. :) 

3. If I could make carrot cake like they do at the Boise Co-op, this would be the only dessert in my life. 

4. I won a blog giveaway! And I NEVER win stuff! :) I have $30 credit to WontonMommy shop. I'm thinking these earrings, for sure. 

5. We felt like celebrating Wednesday night, so Mo took me to get frozen yogurt!

What were we celebrating? I'll tell you Monday...and no, it's NOT a pregnancy announcement. 

 Happy St. Patrick's Day, friends! 

Join the club.

When I was in 4th grade, I was in the crayon shavings club. 

You know those million-piece crayon boxes with the built in sharpener? Well, me and my friends would collect the shavings (I suppose it was in the hope we could melt it down into new crayons....so really, we were being green!). We collected these shaving in gallon size Ziploc bags and hid them in our desks.

We'd color together, sharpen our crayons together, and stash the shavings away.
That was it. That's basically all the club did.

But I remember feeling so special to be apart of something, ya know?

Here's some clubs you can join without looking like a weirdo. 

FYI: None of these people know who I am. I'm simply sharing with you, dear readers, what I've got my eye on. 


birchbox. I've been living vicariously through all of you how already have this. When you post what you got for the month, I always think "maybe I should just go for it"...
Also check out beautybox5 for another monthly subscription option.

hiskit. A man's equivalent to birchbox, launching this fall.
You can also check out GuyHaus (kind of a "do-your-drug-store-shopping-here" place, but they also send free samples in their packages).

barkbox. A dog's equivalent to birchbox. If I had a dog...I'd probably still spend the money on a subscription for me. Just sayin'.

dollar shave club. THIS one is brilliant, actually (we totally signed up). Basically, they ship blades of your choice (2 blade, 4 blade, or 6 blade) to your door each month for cheap! (be warned: once you click this link, their video starts playing automatically. Is your volume down? Mine wasn't.)

bluumbox. Hey now. I'm not announcing anything. But IF I were a mamma, I'd totally join this club. Samples of baby and mom-care products? Yes, please! Also check out BabbaBox if you're a mamma to kids 3-6 yrs old.

consciousbox.  Loaded with 10-20 eco-friendly products sent to you once a month. 5-star reviews on this one!

foodie penpals. This is a blog-based monthly swap (that I'm participating in for the first time this month) but I absolutely LOVE the idea! Lindsey at The Lean Green Bean does a great job figuring it all out: we send a food-based package to one participant and receive from another. What a great way to meet new people and try new products! (I got my package from sweet Cassie last night and I can't wait to show you what was in it! That post will be happening March 30th).

Click here to see more subscription box sites.

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I've been working for the last few days and now I have 4 days off!! That means I get to paint my nails and I won't have to take it off the next day! :)

Happy Friday!