Obviously it's not red enough...

I had my job interview yesterday. It went really well, but it was emotionally and mentally grueling. Here's few of the questions I had to answer:

1. Tell me about the most difficult patient you've had and how you dealt with them...
*You will be pleased to know that I didn't say "Avoided them as much as possible." Or, "Gave them a Texas sized dose of pain medicine when they asked for it." Some nurses may call that an angel dose. I call it Texas-sized...After 12 years in that state, I'm sure you understand.

2. Tell me about a confrontation you had with a coworker and how you handled it.
*Again, you will be pleased to note that I avoided saying "I stuck my tongue out at them behind their back."

3. Tell me about a confrontation you've had with a doctor and how you handled it.
*Let's see. Which one? How about the cardiovascular surgeon who hung up on me over and over and over in front of a family member when I was trying to give him some information about a change in a patient's status, and he wouldn't let me finish. I just continued to call him right back and give him facts. Or how about the same surgeon telling me that I can do what he tells me to do, even if it's not in the nursing scope of practice, because he's the doctor, and he ordered it, therefore, I have to do it? I continued to refuse to do it, to which he responded by calling me "difficult to work with, and deliberately insubordinate" and many other things. I responded to that by writing him up. He had to go before a physician review board for trying to make nurses do things they are not covered under their license to do. Or what about the time a doctor yelled at me that I "almost killed his *&%-ing patient" when I gave an ordered medication that the patient had an adverse reaction to? Okay that one, I cried. Hard. I mean, had to leave the floor, and hide in the break room cried. Believe me, I was already worried and stressed, and I didn't need him attacking me for something unexpected happening.

4. Tell me what you would do if you saw a coworker doing something unethical.

5. Tell me about your most challenging (health wise) patient, and how you handled it.

6. Tell me about the worst day of work you've ever had, and how you handled it.

7. Tell me about the best boss you've ever had, and why they were the best boss.

8. Tell me why the sky is blue.

9. Tell me why you want to work at our hospital.

10. Tell me why you're a nurse.

11. Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why....

It was exhausting.

I left there drained, and pretty sure they liked me, but also pretty sure I wouldn't get an offer. The really needed a full time position, and did not feel they would be allowed by administration to hire someone part time. I figured, "Oh well, it never hurts to flex your brain in an interview, and that closes that door."

Of course, they called and left a message saying they want to offer me the job.

Dang. That wasn't the response you expected was it?

Now I have to make a decision. Of course, some of that decision will be based on money. Their original offer was not enough for me to switch jobs and switch to night shift on top of that. It will also be based on if I can get my 2 shifts back to back. It is too hard to work one night on, one night off, one night on.

It was weird, because almost as soon as I walked in, I had felt like I wasn't going to work there. I felt pretty certain of it all through the interview as I sat in an ugly, window-less office, with no decorations. They even had a metal door! I understand this is the "county" hospital. But metal office doors? It felt very penitentiary....And I felt bad even basing a decision based on decorations. I don't usually decide if I like a place, or if I'm going to work at a place right off. It seemed strange to have that conviction so quick after walking in. I don't know what to do now. I will pray about it, and let you know.

So. All I know is this: I colored my hair red. But it obviously isn't red enough, because now I can't make up my mind. I told my mom that I was actually annoyed when they offered me the job, because now I have to make a decision, where I was relieved when I thought I'd never get the job. Mom said, "Andrea. When you apply for a job, you have to make a decision."

Duh.

I know that.

I was just sort of relieved for a while when I thought I wouldn't have to make one.

Who likes to make decisions?

Not me.

Unless, again, it's coloring my hair. And that's not usually a deeply thought out decision. It's quick, it's final, but it's temporary. Hair will grow out. Color will fade. It may take a while, but it's just hair.

Other decisions are more permanent.

So, I'm thinking I should have gone for the brighter red. I'm sure my decision making would be more clear. However, since I learned the hard way several years ago that color can't lift color (duh), I will refrain from trying that!

Topic change:

My oldest daughter's teachers give them the questions they are going to ask on the test the next day. Literally. They have them take out work sheets from the material the test will be over. They circle or highlight the questions that will be covered on the test. Then, my daughter comes home, reads through them like twice, and then I quiz her. Lo and behold she makes a 100 every time. My daughter said the teachers want everyone to make A's. This seems kind of like padding your test scores. But, I don't know.

Is this normal?

How to deal with stress...

I recommend just coloring your hair.

I prefer red. I think that redheads have made a very firm decision. They know where they are going in life, and who they are.

Unless, you are a natural redhead, and you are currently confused about your place in life, I recommend maybe trying brunette. Perhaps blond.

The point is just change your hair color. It makes the world so much better.

What if you HATE the color you chose? Well. I'm sorry, but you made a bad decision...

Just kidding. That is actually what I say to my children when they are suffering consequences of poor decision making.

I have never done a post about my hair. But I think nearly every blogger I've read has at least one post about hair. Female bloggers, that is. What is it about that? I guess it's the way women communicate with each other. Part of our whole bonding experience...

Here is one of my senior pictures. This is before I went with the wild curly look I was sporting while trying to do the Julia Roberts maniacal curl...Sorry, can't find a picture of that either!

Did you know I once had purple hair? No, I don't have pictures. You see, when I was in high school, I started using 7 day color rinses. Or 30 day temporary color. As a matter of fact, you can read about the first time Studmuffin met me and I had an orange stripe in my head right here...Anyway, I had just cut my hair short for the first time since 2nd grade. The new cut just cried out for a new color. I decided to go with a deep auburn. Which turned out to be more magenta. I washed and washed and washed my hair. I decided maybe it was my imagination, and possibly nobody would notice. Until I stopped for gas at the service station near my parents house. A guy named Sam came out to chat with me. We stood and chatted and played catch up, and he suddenly piped up with "So, why is your hair purple?" So much for wishful thinking. Thankfully it was only a 30 day rinse.

Really, Mom? Was this ever really in style? I'm feeling some doubt here. And for anyone who is wondering I'm placing this picture in 6th grade. Just before braces and glasses. Yes, it just kept getting better and better.



Alright, so blogger thinks this picture should face this way. Even though I rotated it. Oh well.

Anyway, the main point of this post, is that one of the ways I seem to deal with stress is with hair changes. Semester exams my first year of college? I cut off my Pretty Woman locks (this is what I was going for, not what I was achieving. Please understand the distinction,) and went with short and frizzy...

This haircut occurred when I applied for nursing school. I hated it. I quickly tried to grow it back out to the wedding picture length. It felt like it took forever.

The day I took the nursing boards: Can you say pixie cut?

Ditto about the rotating thing on this picture.

Move to Oklahoma? I actually went back to my natural color, which is supposedly brown. However, since it has been over 15 years since I've seen my true color all over my head, that info is sketchy. I do know that my natural color has lots of silver high lights in it.

Contemplating job changes? I colored my hair back to auburn. I say back to auburn, because it has been varying shades of red since I was in high school.

Tomorrow I have a job interview. It is back in the field of my first love, cardiology. However, my department is going through some big changes, and we have some staff leaving and some going to be out for surgery. I really don't know how they will get by. I hate to leave them in the lurch in a difficult time. However, I really would love to get back to 12 hour shifts. So, I'm asking for prayer. I feel very positively that God has a specific place He wants me to be. He has a specific plan for me to serve Him in that place. Pray that God's plan will be clear to me.

Thanks!

Strange that my hair doesn't look anything but brown in any of these pictures, huh? I'm guessing it's because I actually took pictures of pictures since my laptop isn't hooked to my scanner and I don't want to mess with loading it onto this. Just trust me that I've had varying shades of red for some time, Okay?

I can't tell you how many times I've told my youngest to put her legs down, that nobody wants to look at her bottom. Apparently, I felt the same way she does. I wonder if my mom ever wanted to swat that little tush for being up in the air so often? Dang. I hate paying for my own raising!

More Basketball

Good grief. Why is this underlined? Why won't blogger upload my images? Why won't blogger let me save this post?


I have been trying to do this dad gum post since Monday, but it refuses to save it or let me upload photos. I finally got these done.

So, I give up. Here are pictures of Bookworm's first basketball game. It's only 2, but here they are.

The End.

Do you want to come to my Super Bowl party?

I have ideas for 2 other posts in my brain...

But I'm going to invite any of you who want to come to my Super Bowl party.

Why am I thinking about the Super Bowl? I have no idea when it is. I have no idea who will be playing, but I do know Studmuffin will be pleased if Bret Favre is playing, so I guess that means the Vikings this year...

However, Survivor usually premieres after the Super Bowl.

Of course, it's not on now. That means I have nothing to watch on TV tonight. That means there is no excuse to eat pizza in front of the TV.

Which is a good thing.

I need to clean house, because my in-laws are coming tomorrow night. The house HAS to be clean for them. You see, one time they helped us move. They helped us move from our first apartment to our second. I had already moved everything but the heavy items, and even unpacked most of it. They were there for furniture hoisting, primarily.

Can you guess what my beloved mother-in-love said when we were moving into our new apartment?

"This apartment feels a lot cleaner than your last one."

*AHEM*

We had lived in the previous apartment for a year. So, I'm pretty sure any "unclean feelings" came from our own "uncleanness...."

Yes, Scotty.

I have clung to that statement for nearly 13 years.

No.

I will never forget you made it.

Therefore, I must clean my house tonight.....

But, returning to the Super Bowl party:

I am pretty sure we will have to have a party at our house, complete with our 18 inch TV. We have a group of families that we kind of do "holiday" type stuff with. One of them has a big screen. Unfortunately, they all actually like sports and follow them closely. I am NOT a sports fan.

Not. At. All....

So, I need to have anyone who is a non-sports fan to come to my Super Bowl party. You see, I need someone to stand in the kitchen with me and eat. And laugh. And be really loud. Maybe we will be really wild and get up a game of dominoes or Skip-Bo. Who knows.

But we won't be watching the Super Bowl. Oh, it will be on the TV. Studmuffin will be watching it. But, the people in the kitchen eating their heads off with me will not be watching it...

However, we will be watching Survivor after the Super Bowl. So, you will need to either leave or shut your yap when it begins...

Hmmmm....

Maybe I should have a Pre-Season Premiere of Survivor Party instead.

The Power of the Tongue...

We are doing Upward Basketball again this year. The girls love it. I thought I'd post some pictures since Sarah was gracious enough to take photos. I don't like taking pictures during the game. I want to watch, and if I'm trying to take pictures, I miss the game...So, Sarah came to the first game and took pictures for me! What would I do without a family photographer?

First, here's a brief synopsis of how Upward works. It is faith based. In the younger grades, there is no score keeping. They have to guard the girl with the matching clip on their shirt. This is to keep them from swarming the one girl with the ball. Also, they are not allowed to steal the ball from the other team, until the team gets the ball to their side of the court. I find this frustrating, but I can understand that some teams would never get the ball on their half of the court, and we are trying to demonstrate Christ to them. Teams are divided according to skill level at the beginning of the season, so each team should be reasonably well matched. The girls are paired against each other based on their skill level. This means you don't have an experienced player against a girl who has never looked at a ball before. Also, the game is began with prayer, they have a half time devotion, and they finish with prayer and are given awards for each game based on skills they displayed in each game including, best offense, defense, Christlike, etc. Anyway, the girls have fun, and it's a great way to learn the fundamentals of the game.

So, without further rambles, here's pictures of Popcorn's first game...

Have you ever noticed how integral the way you hold your tongue is to dribbling?

Stealing the ball or fighting for it is a hard skill to learn when your kids have been taught to share, be nice and not take other's toys...

Look closely. You will see that the tongue is even important for defense!

And running...

Shoot, it's probably even necessary for rebounding!

I forgot to mention that the girls play half court basketball. This way the church has 2 games going on all day long until the evening when they do 5th & 6th grade games.

Dag Nab It!

So, I was rushing out the door.

Because I'm always rushing.

Yes, Mother. I know that it is my own fault I am so busy. I acknowledge that. Because, truly, some day I will not be so busy. Some day my kids will not be here for me to chase after. But, just think of all the things I say no to!

Like dusting!

And cleaning my refrigerator!

And washing my car!

Truly, the list goes on and on...

Like volunteering at school. Don't think I didn't just hear that collective gasp from many of you. But, I'll say it again. I don't volunteer at school. Oh, I do the class party thing when I'm not having to work...But that's not a real sort of commitment....I volunteered last year. But that was the only time. I had a friend tell me that I wasn't "the school volunteer type." As this was a homeschooling former teacher, I have to admit my hackles rose a bit.

Because. Really. What is that comment supposed to mean? And how can one take that as an even remote compliment?

So, out of sheer defiance against my friend Shelly, I volunteered last year at school. I volunteered once a week to read with children who were struggling with reading. I loved it. So, ha! That just goes to show what you know, Shelly...

Not the "school volunteer type." I showed her...

*I will confess something to you, Gentle Reader. I am not the school volunteer type. I'm just not. I don't get those moms who are there 5 days a week. I don't even fit in with them. I understand, the school needs these moms, because the moms like me don't volunteer. But, still. I just don't get it.*

And then, well, this year came about. And I just couldn't make myself do it. Yes, I enjoyed it. The problem is, I enjoy all of the stuff I volunteer to do. But something had to go. So, I'm not volunteering at school. So, ha! I showed my mother. I eliminated something from my schedule...

Overbooked. My big left foot!

Then, I decided in order to help with finances until I can find a job with the hours I want (and I'm kind of specific here), I would start working Wednesdays while the girls are in school. I work in a procedural department at this time, so I'm able to kind of come and go just to help out. However, that meant something else had to go. I stopped volunteering to help my music pastor on Wednesday mornings. After all, logistically, it is impossible to be at work and volunteering at church at the same time...

So, ha! That shows you Mom! I let go of another responsibility!

I am on a roll...........

But, none of that was what this lovely post is about.

Nope. It's not....

Are you confused yet? I am...

I was rushing out the door to take Popcorn to basketball practice by 5. I had supervised homework and piano practice and put together dinner after school. As we were heading out the door, I stopped and put the lasagna in the oven. Studmuffin coaches her team, so I merely drop off and return home.

I was sitting here, folding clothes (why do I hate to fold and put away clothes? It is so simple. Yet, I hate it...But truly, it's as close to doing nothing as you can get while actually doing something), when I realized I smelled something burning.

In my rush to put the lasagna in the oven, (I make mine with normal noodles, but add 1.5 cups of water to avoid having to boil them, so it takes an hour to cook) I had failed to place a pan under the casserole dish.

Of course it boiled over...

I took out the lasagna, uncovered it (you do this in the last 15 minutes) and belatedly stuck a pan under it...

But it was too late.

My oven is not self cleaning.

Can you believe that? I didn't even know non-self cleaning ovens existed until I'd been living in this house about 6 months and finally decided to clean it. Dag nab it.



This is what the bottom of my oven looks like now...

And considering, my lack of motivation to clean ovens, it will probably look like this for a while.

Just bein' real here.

I think it's a ferret

Sarah stayed with us this weekend. She was supposed to go home, but when she was here to watch the girls game last weekend, she found out we were able to get Oklahoma City Thunder tickets for $10, so she decided to stay with us again. The girls got to go down to the tunnel, and high five the players as they ran in. I sent Sarah and her camera to take pictures, but more on that later.

But, returning to the topic of this post tonight, she went home this evening around 6:30. It seemed like she had barely left the house when she called me. "Did you teleport home? That was quick!"

"Umm, no. There's something living under the drainage pipe in your driveway. I think it's a ferret, or a rat, or a gerbil. It was black and white."

"Are you sure it wasn't Oliver?"

"No. I'm still sitting in your driveway waiting for it to come out again. It was a ferret or something."

"We're on our way."

So, here's what we saw....

The drainage ditch....

Sarah explained that as she was backing out, the ferret/rat/gerbil stuck it's head out of the edge of the culvert, came out, sniffed her car, and ran back in.


Here's the culvert that has been backed over more than once, and is a tad smashed in...
Studmuffin ran to get a flashlight to get a gander at the ferret/rat/gerbil.

The ice and leaves and grass that have accumulated and not had the chance to melt made it difficult to see the cute little thing/ferret/rat/gerbil Sarah had spied. She was still waiting around to see it, when Studmuffin identified the mysterious creature as this:


Hmmm....I've never seen a ferret/rat/gerbil with these particular markings!

Oh, Gentle Reader, when he spied the skunk, we died laughing. Sarah said, "Well now that you mention it, the black was on either side of it's head with the white right down the middle...She had never actually seen a skunk in real life, and her mind is always on the bright side. I love that about her. She prefers to see the cute, cuddly and harmless side of life. Not the stinky, pesty side.

We both agreed that this was beyond any shadow of a doubt a bloggable moment. She went back to home to college, Studmuffin went in to watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition with the girls, and I ran to get a camera.

I decided to just stick my camera over the edge and take a picture. I was scared to death he would come out the opposite side as I was fiddling around and spray my behind! However, I persevered.

Because, truly, there is nothing I won't do for a blog post. OK, well, there are some things, but clearly, I'm willing to risk embarrassment with crazy pictures and embarrassing stories. I might as well risk a stinky backside!