The Last Man Standing ---- DAVID COOK

Yes.....Matthew and I were THRILLED. I hate to admit...I was so like my dad! I had tears in my eyes. LOL. I know...goofy but true. I remember watching Miss America growing up and looking over at my dad in his lazy boy and there he would be...crying for the runner up and crying for the winner. Anywhoo...I was totally excited for David Cook. I've seen LOTS of interviews on the local Fox news station and he really seems genuine. I just don't think that is something that can be faked. He seems like the real deal and I hope he does well. I look forward to his first single coming out soon and then a CD. They have added another concert to the American Idol tour here....bummer it's on a weekend!

David Cook and ZZ Top

Matthew and I were quite addicted to American Idol this season. I think it was that David Cook was from the Kansas City area and a little girl in his class is related to him and the fact that he is AWESOME! How cool that last night he got to play with ZZ TOP! What an amazing night.

LUNCH!

I had lunch on Friday with Shannon, who now lives in Atlanta. It is a rare treat that she is in town these days. We met about 5 years ago when she was Matthew's in home speech therapist and we have remained friends ever since. Her little girl, Malayia is 5 months and is just too cute.

Matthew was sent home from school one day last week with a red left eye. Apparnetly the school nurse was afraid it was pink eye. Well....it has been doing this for 2 weeks and I knew it was just allergies. Trust me...I was less than thrilled at having to pick him up freshly out of the shower just for ALLERGIES. Got him started on some Claritin and magically, he's better. I could see the school's position of not wanting the whole school coming down with pink eye but did they really think I would send my son to school with a contagious disease? HELLO?!? Even if I wasn't a nurse ....I have more common sense than that! I feel a little bit better after venting. I did find it interesting that the nurse wasn't at the front of the school waiting for me. Hmmmmmm.

I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged by a sorority sister and new blogger Travis. She currently lives in Iowa but is gearing up to move to Florida for missions work. I know...I'm thinking a vacation is calling me there too :-)

*I am-- A mother to Matthew and a weekend med/surg/telemetry nurse

*I want---A happy home. Matthew to grow up being independent, feeling safe and seceure, well loved and did I mention independent? :-)

*I have--been very blessed. I have wonderful friends and family. I truely feel I am loved. I have a good job and I only have to work 2 days a week...trust me, that is about all I can handle!!

*I wish---my father could have met Matthew and my best friend. He died 17 years ago May 11th and I know he would have LOVED Matthew. Matthew's middle name is William...after my father.

*I miss---my father horribly this time of year. The anniversary is always the toughest time of year. I can deal with holidays just fine but this gets me. I've blogged about it before actually. I'm sure some think I'm crazy. I see an Exide truck (the company he worked for) and I get goosebumps and think maybe my dad is looking down at me and giving me the...."everythings going to be ok" signal.....I went to Iowa a couple of weeks ago and on the way home I saw two trucks. Seriously...TWO? I think it was a sign. I am not looking forward to working Mother's Day...May 11th. It's two weeks away and I'm already dreading it. I know...not the right attitude. Maybe my heart will change by then.

*I fear---failure. Being a single mom has its own challenges but so far nothing I can't handle. I don't want to smother and protect Matthew from all the evils of the world but I also don't want to throw him to the wolves either. There has to be a delicate balance of raising a good kid, who's not a momma's boy and who will make a good husband someday :-)

*I feel----love, fear, freaked out, anger and sadness. Ah...can you say PMS??

*I hear---Rascal Flatts. "I Melt"

*I smell---freshly mowed grass....love that smell :-)

*I crave--chocolate chip cookies. Oh those are my favorite...with a diet coke.

*I search---I agree with Travis on this...I rarely pay retail anymore. If you buy anything online...always search for a free shipping coupon code. :-)

*I wonder---what the future holds. I hate waiting. LOL

*I regret---oh I have lots of those and they are so not suitable for print here!!!

*I cry---at the drop of the hat....Ya caught me at a bad time for this Travis..lol. I think I just worry about stuff I have no control over and worrying just gets you no where.

*I sing---amazingly in the car. Oh...I'm GOOD. I love country music, a little rock and roll. I will sing songs I don't know too. Yeah...I'm fun to go on LONG trips in the car with. I will sing while I mow too....can't mow without my iPod...just ask my neighbors. And I dance a little too. It's scarry to watch.

*I need---to work on my patence. I'm pretty sure I inherited that trait from my dad...or so I've been told. I catch myself with a little road rage problem too.

Well, on that note, maybe I'll end this. I know I haven't "blogged" in a while. I have been busy working on the yard. Oh it looks SO green and lush. I've been trying to get the bare spots to fill in. And I got new storm doors to replace the screen doors I had. Oh I LOVE my new doors. I will have to take some pics and post them. They are storm doors and screen doors too.....very nice...and they lock.

I PASSED ACLS

I am not sure when the last time I seriously got so stressed out about a test. I think being TOLD I had to take this for my job and of course also having to pass it put a smidge of pressure on me. I figure, I've done my job for almost 15 years now without these credentials....why do I have to have them now? Well, when we moved to the new hospital all of a sudden I became a telemetry nurse. Did I ask to be one? No. Did I want to be one? Ah...certainaly no. Cardiology has never interested me. Am I enjoying it now? Well.....I'm trying to embrace it. I think taking this class has hopefully boosted my confidence a bit. Certainly not enough to run down to ICU and ask to be pulled to work there to get some experience...no....I don't think so! But maybe someday. So, in a nut shell, I am glad it is over. I had to run a code...it's called Megacode...you have to lead your group in a code....determine what rhythm the pt is in, shock or not shock, what drugs to give and the dosages. Then there was the written test....25 questions....had to get 80% to pass...so no stress there! Add to all of this the emense fear of getting a migraine at any minute. Oh and the peer pressure. Yes, you could cut that with a knife!! LOL...I'm how ever old I am and I think that was what stressed me out the most. The fear of failing in front of my co workers.

It really is amazing I passed since it seems I have done a few lunches lately. :-) Add to the list...a dinner the other night with my college friends!! Thank you Stacy for reminding me to take a couple of pictures for the blog. Gena had already left but it is me and Julie and Stacy and Nancy (Stacy left and Nancy on the right). Thank you Nancy for the cake...such a great treat that I of course totally deserved. As usual, it was great to catch up and spend some girl time again. Looking forward to our next gathering at my house!

A Three Hour Lunch

About every other month or so I get together for lunch with a group of nurses I used to work with at Baptist. We chit chat about our lives, kids, parents etc and jobs. It's usually about 4 of us...due to Matthew's flu, I missed the last lunch. Today was a little different as I had invited a couple surprise guests. Well, one, due to my mom bailing out on baby sitting (don't even get me started on THAT), I had to bring Matthew...so there is one guest. Then another guest was Lisa, who drove in from Lawrence. Last I had seen Lisa was at a diabetic seminar when she was pregnant with her 3rd child....so about 18+ months ago. Lisa is one year older than me, has NOT aged a bit and was sooooo much fun to work with. I remember orientating to peds, having no kids to orientate with and painting the nails of two old ladies one day. It sure was fun to catch up. I also remember starting an IV on a 5 week old with Lisa....I was so nervous...I got the IV in but then my hands were shaking so bad, I couldn't tape it up. Yeah...peds isn't my calling. My other guest was Cheri. Cheri has been in my blogs before....today she is 37 weeks pregant with #3...her two girls are Lilly and Lucy...who Matthew ADORES. They were very well entertained by The Bee Movie. Lunch was a blast. The other guest that doesn't usually come was Alice....Alice orientated me too when I was a new nurse and used to walk so fast I could hardly keep up! It's nice to see that she is enjoying her retirement years.( even after an MI and open heart surgery)....there is a payoff someday!! lol I realized today how fortunate I was to have such great nurses that molded me into the nurse I am today. Janey taught me about 401k's and urology....Henri was my first nurse manager...and trust me, no one else compairs. I was truely blessed to have started my career at Baptist.....I was put there for a special reason,I'm quite certain of it.

Out to Lunch

Tomorrow is my friend Lindsay's birthday so it was off to lunch today to celebrate. Really, we don't need too much of an excuse to get out of the house during a rainy day on the first day of Spring Break. It was Lindsay, her 9 month old son Chase, Julie from work, her 5 year old daughter Hailey and 19 month old son Braden, Me and Matthew. We went to a mexican restuaruant which, probably due to the rain, wasn't too crowded with St. Pats Day drinkers just yet. Seriously, it's been POURING all day! Now, for those reading this blog that were supposed to join us for lunch...the rain won't cause you to melt and if those of us with kids can drag our butts out...so can you....we expect you at the next meal. LOL...we love you still and you know who you ARE!!!!! :-) Off to finish cleaning, start some laundry, pay some bills....ah, just gotta love Mondays!

Keith Urban ROCKS

It was certainly a concert I won't soon forget! I have to say, I'm not a huge Carrie Underwood fan (opening act) and I'm still not. She had about 3 or 4 costume changes and her last song, Before He Cheats was pretty much the highlights of her performance for me.

Finally intermission came...I am one of those weird people that actually enjoys watching them tear down one stage and assemble the next....the HUGE speakers and just how quickly this all took place always amazes me. After about 30 minutes, Keith finally took center stage and I was in HEAVEN.

One cool thing was he had a HUGE screen set up behind the stage and there was a camera on him for a majority of the concert. So, if you didn't have the best seats, you could watch him on the screen. For part of the show, they went into the middle area so the back of the audience could get a better look:

Then there was a time when he went into the audience, nearly directly across from us. There he sang one of my favorite songs (Look Good in My Shirt), signed his red guitar and gave it to a lady in the audience. OMG!!! How cool was that??

He really is such a fun performer to watch. After his last encoure, the band was throwing guitar pics out into the audience and the house lights were barely on, people were filling out and Keith was still out shaking hands. How cool was that? And where was my camera? Oh yeah...in my purse because I was too busy gauking. LOL.

Where Have I Been?? and PRAYER REQUEST

I've gotten this question in a few emails so I thought I'd catch everyone up on why I have been MIA for the last couple of weeks. First, my mom got a wild hair to move. It was pretty much out of the blue...much like when she first moved here originally. She just announced one day she was going to save money and move to the one bedroom duplex directly across from her current two bedroom duplex. Hmmmm....and just how was this all going to get accomplished? You guessed it...ME!! So, without asking if this was a good time in my life to help her, and without reguard for how she's treated me lately, I've been helping her pack like a freaking mad woman. I'm exhausted and trying to keep the fact that I'm irritated with her for being such a pack rat and hoarder to myself. I did throw a ton of stuff away but it isn't nearly putting a dent in her amount of clutter. So she moves tomorrow and tomorrow night I have the Keith Urban concert to look forward to attending :-)

I did go to the neurologist today. After last Monday's appointment confusion, it seems they all know me by name and were VERY appologetic. Uh Uh. Trust me, I got my 40 minutes!! I had some lab work done....have I mentioned my fear of needles and she wants me to increase my dose of Topamax at night. Oh great....I have my ACLS test at the end of the month and lets increase the drug that is already making me absent minded, difficulty concentrating and not to mention the numbness in my hands and feet. I think I'll start that dose Sunday night!

About the prayer request. I've blogged about her before. Her name is Shawndra Turner and I've been reading her blog for some time now. She is going to have surgery on Thursday for her cancer. Here is the link to her blog: http://www.shawndraturner.blogspot.com/ She really is a remarkable young woman/mom/wife/nurse. Thanks!!

Something New

It is something I have litterally wanted for YEARS....new bedroom furniture. I know for some of you that sounds so silly. When I graduated college, my mom gave me the spare bedroom furniture that I will always think of as my 'dads'. So of course, it has been very special to me. But the other day when I walked into this cute store in the downtown area where I live and saw this set.....on clearance...I knew it was going to be mine. No buyers remorse. I did my usual big purchase..."sleep on it" and think it over routine. I seriously look forward to enjoying here and wherever my next house might be :-) After moving the old furniture to the storage in the basement and one dresser to the office...my new bedroom is complete....well except for some decorating!

Any ideas???

UPDATE

The Land of the SICK

UPDATE!!:

So, we go to the doctor this afternoon. We wait at least an hour for him and all the time I'm wondering why I rushed like a mad woman to get there on time. So, while waiting, Matthew and I both dozed off and on. Finally we see the same doctor we usually see for these cases but not our usual pediatrician...of course, she isn't there on Thursdays. He gives Matthew a really through exam and decides....drum roll please......Yep...it's a )(*#$ VIRUS. Big shock. Dr. Lisa was right. No drainage from the eyes so no sure diagnosis of pink eye so we got eye drops just to make sure. Well that was a waste of the $2.00. Matthew has fought me like a caged lion to get those in. I've tried reasoning with him...yeah like that was going to happen. I've tried grounding him and finally I got on top of him but he clamped those beaty little eyes closed and no way was I getting a drop in! So for now, I'm letting him sleep off his horribly grumpy attitude. I figure if he really has pink eye, with all of that nonsense I will end up getting it as well. Trust me, hell has no furry as me with pink eye yet again!!!! Ok...where is my diet coke?

The Land of the SICK

Matthew came home from school Monday with a crappy cough and immediately grabbed his pillow and blanket in front of the tv and has just about been camped out there for days. Yesterday I knew he took a turn for the worse when he wanted to watch old VHS videos in his room. I haven't let him have a tv in his room (no cable hook up yet...so that is easy) so this is a treat only when he is sick. Well, last night I noticed his eyes were a little red. Oh great...all I can think of is the dreaded PINK EYE. Crap...If he gets it, I'm surely gonna get it and I HAVE to work this weekend.

So we haven't fallen off the face of the earth....we have just been couped up inside this house for what seems like an eternity. It did snow the other day but thankfully we only got about an inch at most....not even enough for me to shovel off the driveway. So, now we wait for the doctors office to call as I plan our lunch escape. Matthew thinks it's so fun to get in the car and go through a drive thru in his pj's. I should have really taken a pic yesterday. He brought his pillow, blanket, had his pj's on and was watching CARS in the back of the suv. Now, why didn't they have that when I was a sick kid?

Happy 8th Birthday Matthew

Matthew turned 8 Sunday the 20th and I believe he has celebrated the whole 4 day weekend. Today we officially celebrated it with a pizza lunch, bowling and then back home for some cake.

We had a CARS theme party!!

I think Matthew had a blast! My first game I bowled a losey 93 and tied with Matthew but tried to concentrate better the second game and did 117....one pin behind my mom! GRRRRR!!!!

A new game cube game!

The mystery reader book I read (above)

New shoes....you can tell he's thrilled...lol.

Grandma got him a gumball machine bank....she SO did NOT okay that gift with me!!

What kid doesn't want clothes on his birthday? He seriously likes it!!

A new carrier for his ever growing Hot Wheels collection!

Grandma after making a spare I believe!

Matthew getting ready to bowl.

Grandma just HAD to wear that Mizzou shirt today!

Yes....I think I should join a league...look at that form! LOL

Finally some cake!!! Happy Birthday MATTHEW!!

And the Mystery Reader is.....ME!

Today I went to Matthew's class and I was the Mystery Reader. I read the book "On Top of Spagetti". Oh yes, there was some singing involved too and by the end of the book I had the whole class singing too. After reading to the class it was a mini question and answer session. Basically they wanted to know what kind of books I read. Hmmmm....I don't know if I've read a book since Matthew was born and I really just like to read magazines and articles on the internet. But I stretched the truth a smidge and told them I liked mystery novels. Heck, with my headaches lately reading a book would about kill me. I had to send in clues as to my identity and keep it all a secret from Matthew. My clues were, I love pizza and chocolate chip cookies, I grew up in a city with an Arch and my profession often wears all white uniforms and sometimes a hat. Matthew's birthday is on Sunday so I also brought in treats for him to share with his class. He was pretty excited that his mom was finally the mystery reader....he's been bugging me to do it for months!!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Happy birthday Sunday to Matthew...where did the last 8 years go????

Off to the Dentist

I took Matthew to the dentist today. I've been watching a spot in one of his molars that has gotten bigger and I just couldn't let it go any longer. So, they take a picture of it and I look at the pic and say...it looks like it's chipped! Well, after an xray and his dentist looking at both...yep, it's a chipped tooth and not a cavity. Phew...no needles and NO drilling. So, they did some kind of magic and fixed it. Matthew was a little nervous as you can tell by the picture. Since I wasn't sure what was really going to happen today I just told him he had to follow the directions of the dentist carefully....who he of course adores . I was very pleased with his behavior and eventually, my hands stopped sweating from being so nervous. LOL...and no, I'm not kidding. The last picture is from the last visit to the dentist. Perhaps Matthew doesn't look that thrilled there either. LOL

Check out my Slide Show!

Decorating Fun

It is my favorite time of year. I don't like dragging out all of the Christmas stuff out of storage but I do love the house decorated. I like to turn off all of the lights and just sit on the couch and watch tv in my chair with just the lights from the tree and the greenery. It's always a pain getting everything up and sometimes it's a bit "much" but isn't that what makes this time of year a little more fun? I admit with the radio stations starting Christmas music on Halloween ....that was a little too early but with the colder weather I'm finally in the mood. Last night I did my favorite thing too. I LOVE LOVE driving around and looking at the lights on the plaza. It was cold but we still walked around and looked at some of the display windows. It is just a special place that isn't just about the shopping. I had to laugh when Matthew and I were decorating.

Matthew: Mom, Something isn't right with the tree. It looks funny.

Me: Well Matthew, it doesn't have any ornaments on it yet.

Matthew: No mom. I know THAT (add sarcasm...don't know where he gets that from). It's missing the blanket thing.

Me: The what??

Matthew: You know, mom. The thing that keeps MY presents warm!

Me: Oh, you mean the tree skirt. (Trying SOOO hard not to laugh at him)

Matthew: Yeah...so our tree is a girl?

That was it...I lost it. Couldn't stop laughing!! LOL

Thanksgiving Blessings

Last Thanksgiving it was nearly 80 and I thought it was a good idea to grill out steaks. Well, for 364 days I've heard about that from my mom that she didn't get her Thanksgiving. Oh she thought the steak was GREAT but she missed the turkey. So this year, it was in the 30's and I cooked a turkey, stuffing....yes, if you look close in the picture it is from a box, green bean caserole, dinner rolls, frozen cranberry salad, mashed potatoes and tippins pies! Not bad for someone who says she can't cook!! Okay....I didn't make the tippins pies but trust me.....they are soooo good. I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. I enjoyed spending time with my family....we watched movies, relaxed and played Monopoly (Matthew's new favorite game and secretly...mine too). I won last night's game :-) Tonight on the GAC country channel is the Garth Brooks Special from the concert I went to on November 14th. Check your local times. I am so excited..look for me!!

Big Box Stores -- More Rants

Big Box Mart Funny Jokes at JibJab

It all started with a trip to Home Depot yesterday for exterior paint. I'm having some house repairs done and after a lot of thought, I've decided to have the outside repainted a more neutral brown....there will be pics in another blog of the house. I've fretted like a mad woman trying to pick just the right color that will go with the grey stonework over the garage. Anyway...I finally decided on a brown that is in the master bath...I painted some on the front and chose that rather than a grey. So, I take the can to Home Depot to get the brand of paint the painter likes to use. Ok...no problem. He tells me exactly what to get and how can I mess this up, right? Technically I've been no stranger to hardware stores the last year so I feel I've got this task under control.....until the guy behind the paint counter made a loud "sigh" when I handed him my Sherwin Williams paint can. My 'gut' told me to just take my can back and take my business elsewhere....which is exactly what my dad would have done!!! So he goes to the isle to get my paint and comes back with a gallon can....to which I reply....I need the 5 gallon paint. I had already told him that....again...another "sigh"...Finally get what I want in my cart and go to check out and finally a guy comes to help me put it in my truck. I'm so not going back there. I did go to Lowes and bought black shutters, matching paint for the door.....the guy in the Lowe's paint department does know me by name now...LOL! So what on earth is the difference between the two similar stores? Customer service. The guy in the paint counter at Lowe's made sure I knew where I was going for everything on my list....and the nice guy in the lock department made my existing house key fit in the new lock I bought for the broken one in the back door. At Home Depot...I couldn't even find anyone to ask for help.

Today my shopping saga led me to the other place I hate...Walmart! It's the only place that sells the Eagles new CD. I ended up bying a few more items there just to avoid a trip to Target today. Turns out they were having some kind of Secret Friday Sale and people were going nuts over $400 laptops and some deals on big screen tv's. I looked at video game systems for Matthew for Christmas but I just couldn't bring myself to buy him one yet. I want him to have one someday so his friends can come over and have something to do besides run in my lawn I'm STILL trying to let grow!! Anyone with any advice on which sytstem is best??

Halloween

I've never really been a huge fan of Halloween and this year was no different. It all started when I got in the car to run errands yesterday morning and Star 102 was playing Christmas music. Are they kidding?? It was flipping Halloween!! So after running a ton of errands (that's another blog), a suprise visit by my mom, a trip to school to help out with Matthew's classroom....we headed to church for the their Fall Costume Party. They hand out a ton of candy for the kids, have carnival type games that Matthew enjoys playing and overall it is a safe event and overall pretty fun. Some of the parents even dress up......my friends and I however, do not :-)