eharmonize

The guy in the floral shirt is Trevor, my friend Kelly's husband. It's pretty funny. Enjoy!

Big Box Stores

So I've never made it a secret how much I hate Walmart. It has basically eradicated the little 'mom and pop' stores. My grandfather owned a small little country store and boy do I have such fond memories of that place. I remember always wearing red Keds shoes growing up and don't get me started about the bin of chocolate candy. When we would come into town to visit, we always went to the store first to see my grandfather. Can you guess what part of the store my dad made a bee line for? Yep, the chocolate covered peanuts and the stars. Oh they were SOOO good! So it's the little stores like that, that Walmart is driving or has driven out of business. Don't get me started about my friend Cathy and her oil change saga. For those who missed that story, here it is: She took her car in for an oil change. They over filled it and on the way home she had smoke billowing out everywhere. She took it to the dealer where they analized it and found out it had double the oil. Guess who said they did nothing wrong and refused to take responsibility. They have more money than almost anyone so doing any kind of law suit is about as productive as pissing on a fire. Needless to say, Cathy has a new car. I do still shop at Walmart but the majority of my money goes to Target. They aren't perfect either but it's cleaner and usually quieter.

Then there is the debate between Home Depot and Lowes. I have a friend who spent a lot of money at HD last year and when he went to finish the landscaping with the stones he bought earlier, they no longer carried them and apparently made no attempt to help him find them. BIG mistake for them. He's not the only one unhappy with their customer service either. Their profits are down too. I tried to buy some carpet there for my storage area. I circled the carpet area SEVERAL times, walked past at least 5 employees and no one asked me if I needed help. So I went to Lowes...shamelessly wearing a mini skirt, I got help right away, and got $65 carpet for $15. And they put it in my truck for me too!

I really try to shop at mom and pop stores. There is a mirror I recently saw at cute antique store........hopefully it's still there when I decide to go back and get it! Last fall while looking for mums I found a neat nursery almost down the street. I got 3 HUGE healthy mums and the owner put them in the back of my truck and put them all in boxes so they wouldn't leak. I'm definetly going back in a few weeks to get some spring flowers. For me, it's about customer service!!! Which is why I love QT. They always sell hello, it's always clean and checking out is quick. If you go enough, they will know you by name too :-)

It's again Friday with the weekend just a few hours a way......so it's time to figure out what I'm going to wear to work. Oh that's right........I've got a mandated UNIFORM. I shouldn't complain to loudly because thankfully it isn't all white. So the hospital decided the floor nurses should wear navy, the techs/aids should wear hunter green etc.....actually, we got to vote on the colors but at first NOT the company that we would buy them from. There ends up being lots of hassel with trying on and ordering the uniforms. Finally they come in and they are HORRIBLE. First, the pants were cut weird and I ended up having to buy a small. I know......when was the last time I wore a small? ah, NEVER. They were unisex draw string and way to long. They didn't offer petites so I had to roll them at the top. Long story short, they gave me a rash. I itched like I had bathed in some kind of psycho itching powder. I'd even washed them 4 times before I wore them. It was the LONGEST 12 hour shift of my life. I refused to wear them again. I wasn't the only one with the itching problem and we all revolted and have since returned them, supposedly will get a refund and the hospital voted to change companies....Cherokee. Now we can buy them at any uniform store or order on line. Now, isn't that smarter?? I tried to tell them. Why am I mentioning this? Where did I buy my new uniforms? At the LOCAL uniform store. I've purchased some really cute scrub tops there before and she is now carrying all sizes of the navy scrubs that we have to wear. I've met the owner before and she is very nice. I think she might be the only uniform store here in town so I bet business is doing well! I'm hoping they let us wear cute scrubs for Easter........

Okay, it was a boring blog I know. If you're still with me, thanks. On a side note, I bought a super cool rain gauge. It was pouring the rain while I was out.....and of course after I put up the gauge, it stopped raining! LOL. I put my humming bird feeder out yesterday and hopefully they will find it! Have a great weekend.

Okay, I know KU lost. I still can't believe the season is over.......and boy were there some sad looking docs at the hospital on Sunday too. Next year is another year. Time to move on.

I had a quiet and great morning. I slept in a bit and got to IM my high school friend Renee. Let me introduce you to Renee if you don't know her. I think we met in jr. high. We both played the trumpet, had a crush on some of the same boys. I was the geek, she was the pretty one and yes, I was always envious. She got to go to the school dances, she was (and is) pretty, popular with the boys and was a little bit of an air head....or so she pretended. She has her masters degree and will soon be teaching some college classes. Not quite so dinging, eh? There was a defining moment in our lasting friendship. It was of all things, a band party. We had all gone out to the Limited and bought the same sweaters........the same except for we each had a different color in the sweater. I believe mine was purple (my mom still has it i believe), Leisel, Renee, and maybe Beth too. My dad drove us to the party without incident. Then it came time to go home and Renee wanted the drum major to take her home. My dad said, "I brought you here and it's my responsiblity to get you home". Gotta love him! Oh I was horrified he was making a stink of this. Renee called her mom, got permission and it turns out, her parents were glad my dad cared enough to make that call. It was a defining moment for Renee too. She has told me similar story about how my dad made a difference in her life. Anyway, before I totally start crying......Renee came to my dads funeral. She talked to her college professors, re arranged her finals schedule and came. Let me tell you, that isn't something I've ever forgotten. My other friends wanted to come but he died right before finals started and I didn't want anyone to get into trouble etc. I think loosing my dad at age 20 totally effected me. Yes, I get emotional about it the closer the anniversary date gets here. I'm sure there will be more on this subject!! Anyway, I wish I had a pic of us all in our sweaters. Amanda......were you involed in the great sweater saga? I think so. Let's see......Leisel was blue, I was purple.......who else.......

Okay....Spring has sprung. The birds are singing, it is finally in the 70's but off and on rain and let me tell you about my lawn. I just want to lie naked in it.....it looks so soft! Well, I believe the neighbors would call the police so for now, I'll just admire it from the kitchen table. LOL I found a hummingbird feeder today and I'm still looking for a free standing rain gauge. I went to Lowe's and I swear it is almost like I was at a freaking bar. Every beer bellied man that was there either whistled or winked. I thought that at first maybe I forgot to put a bra on, or had toliet paper on my shoe or hanging out of my pants......then I finally just figured it was spring!! What else could it be?? LOL I ended the afternoon errand adventure with a trip to QT. Nothing like that place. Always someone holding a door open (customers...not staff) and just overall a happy experience.....at a convience store of all places. So a diet coke in hand, I feel like I can counquer just about anything!! Bring it On!!

Let's Play On!!!!

It was way too close but a win is a win and this one was awesome baby! Truely a nail biter. I was totally exhausted this afternoon and ended up crashing on the couch for about an hour. Yes, I have no idea what Matthew was doing but he had paper, pencils, scissors and a calculator out when I woke up. I had to "rest up" for the big game. I even ditched a staff meeting at work. Was it worth it? Oh heck yes. I'm sure you're beyond tired of me blogging about this.....but it is March Madness!!!! The game was way too close but maybe that is what makes this time of year so exciting.....and yes, it's always better when your team wins.

Spring break continues and the grass has totally greened up in the last 24 hours. Even Matthew noticed how different it looks. IF you were around last fall, I was obsessed with having the best lawn. That obsession continues. I've even been reading up on the internet. I don't know what has gotten into me but I'm just going with it for now :-) A friend has gotten me interested in attracting humming birds as well. I tired last year and had one for about a week and then I neglected the feeder for a bit and then it was totally over run by ants. YUCK. I've got a couple of weeks to get ready but I'm getting pretty excited. Turns out, they make anti-ant gadgets so I've got to find one soon.

Matthew has lost two teeth since Friday. I swear his mouth looks like an orthodontists nightmare! I need to make him a dental appt as well. :-) He no longer lets me near his mouth when he has a wobbly tooth. Gee, I wonder why!!!

Really not much going on. Of course KU plays tonight. Go KU!!!

Sweet Sixteen

Rock Chalk Jayhawk............KU!!!!! We are in the sweet 16. I can hardly wait until Thursday for the next round.....but now I get nervous. We've made it this far and now I don't want to loose. Ya loose now and you're out. And I'm not ready to be done just yet. I want more. They want more and I want to see the team and fans go all the way. I think it's time to enjoy this ride.

Matthew is on Spring Break and so far today all we have accomplished was getting some much needed rest and a trip to Target and QT. The weather was in the low 60's but it was cloudy and misty all day. Certainly not my favorite weather. It is supposed to rain this week and I'm hoping to see my lawn turn GREEN. I am anxiously awaiting some pay off for all of the work I did last fall.

March Madness

Ah......can you smell it? Spring is in the air and it's time for the NCAA Tournament and KU has a number one seed. I'm so excited. We won the Big 12 Tournament yesterday in overtime. I strategically planned my lunch break so I could watch parts of the game. Well, come to find out that the hospital doesn't have ESPN. I know.....can you believe it? My patient that I had watched part of the game with on Saturday was LESS than amused as well. So, I sat up one of our computer on wheels in his room to KUsports.com and he was at least able to keep up on the score. I am going to have to talk with the "suits" about getting better cable at the new hospital. Speaking of new hospitals......we are supposed to move in July. Of course before then, I've got to miraculously transform into a Telemetry nurse as well. So, that means cardiology classes, ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support).....which means pushing IV drugs during a code and doing the paddles etc. I better get paid more if I'm doing all of that!!!!! Fortunately the transistion will be slow and then they keep assuring us Med/Surg nurses that perhaps really only a few of us (ie the competent ones) will have to do Tele. Oh well, I'll just see what happens.

Today I had my scare of a lifetime driving. It was the CLOSEST I've ever come to having a car accident and it's been about 5 hours since it happened and I'm still totally freaked out. I had to keep Matthew home today as he hadn't been 24 hours free of a fever. Well, trust me, by 3 this afternoon, we both needed some fresh air. What better time to take a trip to Pottery Barn to return/exchange some pillows. (trust me.....that's another blog entry!) So, we finally go and after grabbing a couple of drinks for the drive home, we head back through the dreaded Triangle during rush hour traffic. If you live here you know I must have really needed to get out of the house! We are nearly to our exit when a semi truck changes lanes and gets into mine. I couldn't see the need but oh well. A couple of minutes later I notice him pumping his brakes and of course I think to myself that he shouldn't have pulled in front of me anyway if he is already having to slow down. Well, that thought barely crosses my mind and I am having to slam on my brakes.....feelling the thumps of the anti-lock brakes on my foot.....my purse flies to the floor. My tires screached, the truck is now in the left shoulder.....if he hadn't moved left I wouldn't have been able to avoid hitting him. Now I can see what happened. A white convertable and red sporty car had hit a motorcyclist. I was stopped and was just a truck lengths away from the guy who is under his bike. I was in the midst of dialing 911 when I saw him get up and appeared to be okay. I felt horrible that I didn't stop but the mom in me outweighs the nurse in me when Matthew is in the car as well. I can't put his life in danger by leaving him in the car unattended etc. I've now had hours to reflect on today's events. Perhaps the semi pulling in front of me saved mine and Matthew's life? I guess I can "what if" this forever but I'm very thankfully to be writting this blog tonight. Matthew doesn't seem to be too upset but he did ask a lot of questions and told me I need to be careful driving to work in the morning :-) Thankfully he was busy watching Spongebob on the whole drive!! With the warmer weather approaching I ask that you all keep an eye out for motorcyclists on the road.

As usual, I hate Fridays. It just means I've got to go to work tomorrow and I have no idea where the week has gone. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Things here are almost done on the house issue. There is some touch up painting in the hall to be done......of course now that I've verbally complained about the painters consistent tardiness, they probably will never come back! Heck, I've got the paint I can just do it myself. Then, the basement still needs to be painted. I went to hang some curtains in the family room but the style was ALL wrong and the color, so they are going back. That puts me back at square one and the windows look starkly bare....if that is even a real word! Against my usual "cheap" nature....ie wait for a sale or use a coupon on line, I ordered some pillows from Potterybarn.com. They had free shipping so if I hate them, I can return them to the store and not be out anything :-) The pillows I liked were of course, only available on-line. Figures!! I found a cool clock by At Home America on ebay for the basement entry and I think it looks really nice there. I found some tan slip covers for the couches in the basement too. I still think slip covers look cheap but I'm not buying new furniture at this time. So, I'm hoping the pillows make the room look less country. I also found a black and white print I want at Target. However, every time I go to look at it, the one's there are damaged. I may just have to expand my Target horizons and go to a couple more in town to find one. It's all in the name of de countryfying my house! The picture shows the finished floor. They finally came on Monday and put things back.......after I stubbed my toe on the hutch in the hall for the millionth time. Let's just say nice words did NOT roll off my tongue after that incident.

Subject change: Matthew is home sick again today. He woke me up at 4 this morning and felt a little warm but no big deal and when he woke me up at 6ish he was burning up! 101.4 under his arm. Poor guy. He really wasn't feeling good at 4am. So, nurse Lisa gave him some Tylenol ....my cure all for everything!......and sent him back to bed. An hour later, fevers gone and he's been in hog heaven again watching videos in his room. It's a good thing the cable hasn't been hooked up in his room......I just don't think kids should have tv's in their rooms at this age!!!!!!! So, the rule remains, only when he is sick....and for now, it's just old videos. Tomorrow is just a half day so I'm not sure if he will make it for that or not.

Lindsey update: I blogged about Lindsey a few weeks ago. ...my pregnant friend from work that I gave Matthew's crib too. Well, after that she has been to the ER twice with contractions. She stopped by work on Sunday and is feeling better and is finally over a uti that lasted way too long! I was starting to think my crib was jinxing her! Anyhow, continued prayers are still appreciated.

The latest

I thought I would have the house all back in order by now......but NO! My floor is done and looks great. The paint is done and I'm less than pleased. The area by the window that had the water damage is less than perfect and I've been waiting for the head contractor guy to come by but he too, hasn't shown up in days. The painters came on Thursday for touch up work......and again, 2 hours late and they were supposed to put my kitchen furniture back in the kitchen. But again, a glitch in communication and my table and chairs are in the family room and my island and hutch are STILL in the hall. Friday rolls around and I call the contractor who thought all of my stuff was back in place and I should be happy. Ah, wrong again!!!! The pic of the floor is when it was sanded down to the bare floor. Later I'll show the finished floor!

Friday also brought about a fever for Matthew. He hasn't missed a day of school since pre K so it was pretty traumatic but he felt so bad it didn't really matter. Since he had a fever of 101 and said his throat hurt, off we went to the doctor. Our appt was 11am and I really expected us to be there a couple of hours. We were in the parking lot by 1145! They did a rapid strep test that was negative, he looked in his ears, throat and listened to his lungs and determined it was a virus. I was totally skeptical and figured by today, we'd be back. (it wasn't Matthew's usual doctor and this doc has done this "just a virus" to us before) By tonight Matthew was fever free and playing as usual. He enjoyed his time quarenteed in his room with a tv/vcr for 2 days. He caught up on old videos he hadn't watched in a long time and LOVED having a tv in his room. So, how do I know how Matthew's day went? I stayed home from work with a migraine. I woke up about 4 am with a horrible headache and no way could I put in a 12 hour shift. I think lack of sleep caused this one. While the floors were being done, Monday and Tuesday nights we had to stay at a hotel. I slept with Matthew and it was like sleeping with a speared fish. :-)