Well, I've Finally Decided to Bite the Bullet...

...and tackle Spanish. If I'm gonna sing in Spanish, I really would like to know what I am singing about, rathere than just a broad-stroke overview. Two weeks ago, I accompanied one of our church members to a Spanish service and sang one (very simple) song. I guess I didn't do too bad, because one lady came up to my after service and started to converse in Spanish. It didn't take her too long to realized I had no clue what she was saying. I grew up on the East Coast, and so took French rather than Spanish as my second language. Didn't do too bad with it, and can still read a little of it, and that may be more of a hindrance than a help. Several months ago, Dewey Hafta loaned me the curriculum they used for Spanish I, and I am just now getting brave enough to try to decipher it. I also found several useful sites on the net, so with all the different approaches, I will either learn to speak Spanish, or be hopelessly lost. They say keeping your brain active with puzzles, new vocabulary, etc. keeps you young. We'll see. And don't start spouting Spanish at me, unless you also provide the translation! ;D

Out of Touch with Reality (Thank Heaven!)

We have several patients that come through Day Surgery with some regularity for various procedures or treatments. I have gotten to know some of them on a somewhat more than a "Hi, I'm your nurse today" basis, learning about some of their likes/dislikes, families, etc. Yesterday one of those patients came in for treatment. I went into the room and began visiting as I worked. Then I noticed the TV program that was playing. Oh My!!! I haven't had a TV in my home for about 15 years now, and so am pretty out of touch with the flow of available programming. I do see snippets of shows as I am in and out of rooms on a daily basis, and often shake my head at the fare offered. But this was beyond anything I have run across to date. This was just plain pornographic. On an easily accessible cable channel. In the middle of the day. It was a reality show. Not actors. I was shocked. I was embarrassed. I tried not to let my distaste show, but when the patient commented on the content, also saying, "I don't usually watch this kind of stuff", I was pretty sure I had not succeeded in hiding my dismay. I gingerly voiced my concern and choice. Yet the TV continued to play. Where is the church, that Satan has been so successful in filling the minds of people with this trash? Why do we wonder and shake our heads at the violence and lack of respect for those around us when no stop had been put to this kind of "entertainment." Made me run to the Lord in prayer. I hope I don't forget and slide back into "blissful ignorance." I've asked the Lord to allow me to pray effectively on this issue. Maybe that's why He allowed me to be exposed to that program. It was awful.

Ok, off my soapbox now.

I Survived

Well, it is now Wednesday, and I have survived the hurricane. I am going back to work today, actually feeling like I might get through the day in one piece. Yesterday was so long I scarcely knew what to do with myself. I was tired of laying down, and too weak yet to do much in the way of moving around. But 2 quarts of Gatorade did help quite a lot. On the bright(er) side, I have lost 7.5 lbs. Too bad it won't stay gone! Sure hope Kitten is feeling better. Poor kid seems to have had 2 rounds of the stuff.

What A Way to Spend a Weekend

Saturday: Surprise birthday party. It was great!

Sunday (AM): Phone call at about 7AM, stating that both our pastor and piano player (his wife) were sick and would not be at church. So we had canned music and a fill-in preacher from within our own ranks. (She did a wonderful job, btw.)

Sunday (Early PM): Went to a friend's house for lunch, then accompanied them to another church to sing at their 3 PM service (in Spanish; I do know a couple of songs well enough to pull that off.)

Sunday (6 PM): Back to church for our evening service, doing basically the same as in the AM, but it worked out ok.

Sunday (8 PM): I think I am not feeling very well. Came home and tried to go to bed, thinking maybe I'll feel better in the morning. NOT! Starting at 9 PM, I joined the ranks of the Pastor's family. I have no idea who I was exposed to, but guess that is just a moot point now. I stayed home yesterday, only leaving the house long enough to run to our local market for some Gatorade. Haven't decieded if I am going to try work today, since I haven't eaten anything since Sunday, and the thought of food still kind of makes me green around the edges.

Sneaky Sisters

Well, I just got back from the "ladies luncheon" aka Birthday Party. I took a casserole, not thinking that the real reason for the get-together was my birthday. I thought it had just fallen on the same day, and that they would wish me a happy birthday during the meeting. I am so blessed to have wonderful like-minded believers as friends; truly brothers and sister in the Lord. So, thank you ladies. You're the best!

A Busy Week

This has been one of the busier weeks of my life; what with work being back to 5 days, and things going on in the evenings as well. I haven't been home before 9 PM all week long (until last night.) Not that that is a bad thing, but I am kinda tired. Most of it centered around events at church.

We started a new Women's Bible Study a couple of weeks ago, and that is going very well. It is nice to listen to the ladies discuss the things they thought about as they worked through the chapter, and there have been some interesting topics discussed. I appreciate the time they spend in the Word completing the assignments. It's also a way for us to become better acquainted with each other.

Thursday night we hosted our Sectional Fellowship, and I got to visit with some folks that I don't get to see very often, even though they aren't that far away physically. Toward the end of the evening I was standing talking with Pastor and Bud was standing with us making noise through a whistle he had pulled out of a pair of fake lips and had put in his mouth. Suddenly, he choked and started to gag, but only part of the whistle came out of his mouth. The thing had come apart during one of his inhalations, and had wedged in his throat. He moved over to the trash can and started to retch in earnest, and in a few seconds the part that was caught came up. He was not injured, and was able to clear it himself. But it gave all of us a good scare, including Bud.

Today is our monthly ladies' luncheon, so I am out the door again at about noon. I love meeting with the folks at church, getting to know them better and growing the relationships. Since I am more or less here by myself, they have become my family, and like I said, you never meet a stranger in Texas, even if several of our ladies aren't native Texans. The only other time I can remember having such close ties was when we lived in Iceland on the NATO base for 2+ years. But everyone was away from home there, so the relationships formed fast and became very intense. I am so thankful to the Lord for the brothers and sisters He has provided.

So now it's time to get busy and fix something to take to said luncheon, and I will see you all later!

Spring is in the air...

...or at least several of the bloggers think so. I have to agree. I was driving home last night at my usual time...in the waning daylight! Yea!!!!! Beautiful sunrises and sunsets are on the way back. (They really have still been there, I just haven't been at the right place to see them since we went back to Standard Time in October.) Speaking of the switch back, I was looking at a calendar today that has that date marked: March 8. March?! I can remember when it didn't start until nearly the end of April. Not that I'm complaining, you understand. I much prefer the extra light in the evening. But that is nearly 2 weeks before spring officially begins on the 20th. I wonder if we will eventually get to the point that we just don't switch back at all...just leave it on DST and be done with it. Don't know what the couple of states that don't do any switching at all will do, but I guess they deal with it now for part of the year, so no big deal.

Our unit manager told us to be ready for a slow January after our frantic December, but so far that hasn't happened. Not that we have been run ragged, but the slowdown has not really happened either, except for Jan 2. The hospital is poised (we are told) to buy the other surgery center across the parking lot from us, and that will likely increase business on our unit because it will free the doctors to schedule more surgeries with us. The procedures like eye surgeries and colonoscopies, etc. will be done at the other site, allowing them to utilize a 4th operating room at the hospital. We apparently only use 3 right now with any regularity. So there may not be a slowdown at all. That's ok, it keeps the bills paid.

I will soon be a real grandma. T's due date is quickly approaching, and I find myself anticipating arms full of baby again. That may sound a little unusual, but I used to work Labor and Delivery and Postpartum (Mother/Baby), so have never really experienced a lack of little bundles of joy. I was always able to cuddle some cute little newborn at my discretion. But this is a bit different; she is, after all, my own flesh and blood. So, in about 4 weeks, give or take, she should be here. I can't wait!

You Just Gotta Laugh

After the frantic pace of the last 2 weeks of December, and coming home every night with my tongue hanging out, so to speak; yesterday, the first workday of the new year was the sublime after the ridiculous. We had a whole six patients. Six. I walked in and the early nurse said, "Oh good! You're here. I'm going home." And she did. I had two patients the whole shift--which was not a full one for me, either. I sent one of them home after being back on the unit a couple of hours. When the late nurse came in, she said, "I can take your chemo patient if you want to go home." So I finished my charting and left at about 3:30 pm. It was still daylight. I needed to do some grocery shopping. It is a real struggle to convince myself that my pantry needs some attention when it is dark outside and all I want to do is go home. Yesterday, I didn't mind stopping at the store on the way home. Interesting how a bit of daylight will change your whole perspective on things. This leisurely pace won't last. Most of the physicians were still out for the holiday, and the ones who had office hours only had half-days. Monday it is back to normal. I am glad. Normal is good.