Headers!

Work Weekend

Today is the "lost day" in my 2 week work cycle. Whenever I work back to back night shifts the day between only consists of about three hours. I work Saturday night, sleep Sunday during the day then get up with just enough time to eat and shower before going back to work. It's a tough cycle but at least it only happens once every 14 days.

It came to mind today that this might be my last night shift on the unit. I still don't know when I'm going to the ED but i'm pretty sure it will be in two-three weeks. There was a nasty rumor flying around that it might be even tomorrow but I figure if it was tomorrow I would know already (you would think)

Well have a great Sunday everyone (better than mine anyway)!

It's my Sister-in-Law's 18th birthday is today! I called her to say a quick happy birthday to her and she was having ice cream at the dinning hall at her college (she starts her freshmen year this week!) Picturing her in the dinning hall brought back memories of URI for me. Having awesome late night sandwiches at Hope Dining Hall (the OLD one. haha) ah college memories, URI, how I miss you....

GREY'S ANATOMY - and LOST

We are heading into September, a month I am quite fond of for several reasons

1) It's my BIRTHDAY MONTH!!!
2) No longer is it tainted by the return to school (at least for now)
3) The return of great prime time T.V.

I have been addicted to Grey's since it first came out in 2005. Even though I should technically despise Grey's and other similar medical shows for their gross misinterpretation of the role of the Doc & Nurse (pretty much 95% of the patient care that the MDs do on Grey's is in reality done by the nurses.) On TV the nursing profession is viewed...well it really isn't viewed at all because the doctors are doing everything! Which is why I am really happy with shows like HawthoRNe that are starting to focus on nursing more and doctors less (I am not sure how I feel about Nurse Jackie) anyway I digress...

Grey's is coming back Sept 24th I AM SO EXCITED!!!!



aw yeah!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have been meaning to watch LOST for several months now. With my husband gone I figured I had a good excuse to spend excessive amounts of time watching many TV on DVDs that I have been meaning to catch up on.



Well I now understand what the hu-bub is all about. This show really does grab and hold on to you. I am only on disc 3 of season one (I know I know I have a LONG way to go) but I really am enjoying the way the are telling each person's backstory, it makes you very attached to the characters. My favorite so far is Charlie, he is such an underdog and I really am impressed with overcoming his drug addiction. I know that most of you are about 5 seasons ahead of me and are stuffing your hands over your mouth to keep yourself from telling me things, and I appreciate it! I am hoping to get completely caught up by the time kyle gets home. Then I think we will start watching Madmen together!

Lemonade Grapefruit Slush

The Perfect Tart Compliment to a long hot Day!

Lemonade Grapefruit Slush

1. 1 1/2 cups ice
2. 1/3 cup lemonade
3. Juice of 1 ruby red grapefruit
4. Dash sugar

• Combine all ingredients into blender, blend on "ice breaker" setting for 3 minutes or until ice is crushed to desired consistency.
  
• Serve in a chilled glass with a straw
• Optional: add one ounce vodka for a smoother taste =)

Makes one Slush - Sip and Enjoy!

Back to the Grind

Well I have been back to work for two days now. Nothing crazy has been going on but the unit is full so we have a lot of nurses running around at any given time. I am on the schedule until the end of September and hopefully after that I will be starting to make my way downstairs to the ED. I still need to talk to that manager to figure out which shift I will be on. I really don't care days vs. nights but I just don't want to be at work in the evening time like I am now. I really liked having dinners with Kyle on my nights off and I want to start making that a nightly occurrence when he come home. (nightly family dinners are definitely going to be a non-negotiable in my house) so keep your fingers crossed for me that I get the shift I want. I also am doing my annual competencies this week (a.k.a. a lot of stupid stuff I need to do to prove I know what the bio hazard symbol looks like.)

I had to get my annual PPD placed too. I'm kinda nervous because the area is a little red and it never has been before. But no induration (that I can tell). I'm getting it read in about an hour, so I'll let you know what they say.

I had my first personal training today also after almost a week and a half off and he totally kicked my butt, so working an 8 hour shift tonight is going to be fun fun. =)

Hope you all have a good rest of your week. We're halfway through people!

Haven't heard much from the hubby over the last couple of days. I know that he's in Port enjoying some R&R so I am hoping that he is catching up on sleep and that's why he's not calling me. I'm sure he's not parting until the wee hours of the morning, getting drunk at sketchy sailor bars He's a good boy.... =)

7 months

Experiments with the XSI - Balboa Park

I have been IN LOVE with my Canon Rebel XSI since I got it last week. Today I had the time to take it out and start shooting just for fun (and for practice). I went to Balboa Park, which is a great place next to downtown San Diego (and adjacent to the San Diego Zoo). It is a HUGE park which is home to museums, art galleries, historic buildings, botanical gardens and a large craft center. Basically it's a mecca center for the local San Diego art scene (so an obvious choice to go and shoot).

Unfortunately I was only able to stay for a half hour because I had to leave a meet a friend for lunch (never ending pasta bowls at Olive Garden YES) but I still got some pretty good pictures.

I am only using the creative modes on my camera (the modes which you control the aperture and the shutter speed) so I can learn how to take the picture (vs. the camera taking the picture). I am planing on taking an online photography class over the next month (once I get some money haha)

Paper Cranes on Display at one of the Craft Vendor's booths



Orchids at the Botanical Garden

I have only posted a few of my favorite photos, if you want to see all of them, please visit my Balboa Park Flickr Page.

Wonderful Week

I brought my family to the airport yesterday and dropped them off. It was so hard to say goodbye to them (I did get teary when I hugged my mom and she totally lost it haha) I couldn't have asked for a better week. What a great way to stagger up the time of Kyle's deployment with a nice visit from my family (combined with a week off of work!)

They made it back to Little Rhody safe and sound (after a 2 hour delay ouch!) and my father-in-law picked them up and gave them a lift home. My mom still hasn't fully recovered from her sinus infection but being home will give her some time to recover fully.

So it's back home with them and back to work for me. I had today to do laundry and clean up the apartment and just relax. Days that are hard to come by especially now that my job is changing. I'm back to the unit tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will only be on the floor for two more pay periods (about a month) then I will be out and down in the ED. I still need to interview with the manager down there. I am hoping there will be an e-mail from her when I go into work tomorrow.

Ikea, how I love thee

Today after I dropped my parents off at the airport I was sad that they were leaving so I decided to do some retail therapy. I have been meaning to get more pictures for the house so I decided to try Ikea (via a friends recommendation). I got a really good deal on several prints that are proudly displayed in my living room.


Stretched Canvas Print, it's large but it fits perfectly behind the couch



Prints That are behind my T.V.

From Commencement Line to Unemployment Line

I have been out of school now for a year. I got my BSN in nursing and was lucky to get a job pretty much right after I passed my licensing exam. It wasn't my dream job (as most of you know) but I stuck with it because it paid the bills and was good experience for me. The funny thing is, when I was in school all of my professors, all of my family and friends, practically everyone I met who knew I was a nursing major told me, "oh you are going to find a job no problem...nursing shortage blah blah and so on." But as we all know, right now jobs are hard to come by, and if it's difficult to get a job even in the health care sector, what does that say for the rest of the college graduates out there?

Well...this pretty much sums it up.

According to MSNBC, only about 1/5 (that's 20%) of college graduates this year have offers for jobs; that's 20 out of every 100 students. People have been applying since May, have gone to interview after interview with no luck. Through friends I know several nursing graduates who are sitting on their hands because no one will hire them. I also know several people who went to very good schools and got great degrees (were talking marketable skills, Education, even Engineering!) who won't even get a call back from anyone. It makes me very thankful that I have a decent paying job and my husband won't get a pink slip anytime soon (if we start firing people in the military, then we know the country is going to hell in a hand-basket)

What are your thoughts? How is the job shortage affecting you?

Disneyland!

Today I took my family to Disneyland/California Adventure in Anaheim CA. We left at 6am in the morning to get there when the park opened, but it was so worth it. We hit every big ride in both parks, needless to say were were totally beat after that. You can peek at my last trip to Disneyland here

Some fun pictures from the day


Disneyland Railroad

I wish I got an envelope in the mail that had mickey balloons exploding out of it!


Yup...that's my dad. Sums him up in a nutshell, but I love him!
(photo is way overexposed..but hey I'm still new at this!)

My wonderful family (missing...my hubby!)


It was an amazing day filled with fun, laughter, screaming (from the roller coasters) and new memories. I wish this week would never end!!!!

In other news I checked today and I have 3 subscribers! YAY! thank you to those 3 whoever you are. I guess I should have mentioned that I can't see any personal information about you (hence I don't even know who those 3 are). FeedBurner is just a tool that I can use to make my blog better, not spy on you guys!

Google FeedBurner

Hey Everybody!

Today I discovered Google FeedBurner. This site allows me as the writer of the blog to monitor what you, the readers enjoy most about my blog. I am really into making this a blog that people would want to kick back and spend some time in, and your feedback would really help!

All you have to do is subscribe to my blog by clicking the *Subscribe in a Reader* Link under the About me Sidebar, or you can just

Click Me!! Over here!!

It will allow you to follow my blog in Google reader, if you don't use it believe me it is a REALLY easy way to keep up with multiple blogs. You can link it to your igoogle page to monitor whenever someone updates.

Thanks guys! Cheers to great blogging!

Love

Sara ~ Little Rhody Girl

Vacation Week

My parents & brother made it safely through the 6 hour flight into San Diego and I picked them up from the airport around noon on Saturday. It was nice to show them my place and where I live. They were (and continue to be) very impressed with the scenery and how different the west cost is from the east. My brother is staying with me in my apartment and my parents are renting a hotel down the road. My mom was fighting a head cold but after a good night sleep this morning she felt a lot better. We spend this morning wandering around the San Diego Zoo. We had a really fun time exploring the Zoo while my family ooohh'd and ahhh'd. (Too bad I forgot to but the memory card back in my camera....gosh darn it.) oh well I will have it for the beach tomorrow and for Disney on Thursday. In the mean time I will leave some recipes for your enjoyment.

YAY for vacation and time with family!!!!!

Double Chocolate Chip Macademia Nut Cookies

Don't they look heavenly? It's almost like a white light is shining in on them! I made these beauties to celebrate my family's arrival. They are my brother's all time FAVORITE.

Double Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped dry roasted macadamia nuts

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time then stir in the vanilla. Gradually blend in the sifted ingredients. Mix in the white chocolate and semisweet chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pasta e Fajioli Soup

My Dad LOVES Macaroni & Bean soup. So when I was thinking of easy things to make when they are here, this was an obvious choice. If you make this to freeze I wouldn't add the pasta until you are about to serve it. The cooked pasta soaks up the broth and it isn't as good when it is reheated. The spices can be changed to suit your tastes. I made a few alterations to the recipe.

Pasta y Fajioli Soup
Source: All Recipes

Ingredients

* 3/4 pound ground turkey or beef
* 1 yellow onion chopped
* 1 small carrot chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 tbs olive oil
* 6 cups chicken broth
* 1 can tomato sauce
* 1 can diced tomatoes
* 2 cans red kidney beans
* 1 tablespoon dried parsley
* 2 tablespoons dried basil
* 1/8 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
* dash of Tabasco sauce
* 1 tablespoon white vinegar
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1 box (16 oz.) Ditalini Pasta

1. In a large stock pot, pour the 2 tbs of olive oil (or two turns) and heat over medium heat, brown meat and add onion, carrot and garlic. Saute until onion pieces turn clear. Drain grease from pot.
2. Add chicken broth, diced tomatoes and sauce, beans and spices, reduce heat and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.
3. If freezing - allow to cool and ladle into freezer zip-locks by lining a large mug with the zip-lock bag.
4. If serving - Bring separate pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to box directions. Drain and add pasta to pot. Heat through and serve with a heated baguette and fresh parmesan cheese.

Wedding Album Proofs

Hey everybody.

So my wedding album proofs got emailed to me from my photographer yesterday (Thanks Faith!) She did such a great job. If I haven't said this already if ANYONE is thinking of getting married in the Newport area you should look into her photography, it's stunning.

I am going to go over it again with my mom when my family gets here on Monday. This is the first run, I think it's 99% of the way there.

Sara & Kyle's Wedding Album

Enjoy it! and let me know what you think!!!

New Toys

So I unexpectedly had the night off because yesterday my manager scheduled me for ACLS *advanced cardiac life support* certification tomorrow. (since I have to get certified soon for the Emergency room YAY!) So thankfully I was home when the UPS man brought me a box with these beauties inside


Brian also included Canon XSI for Dummies and a very helpful DVD on how to use the camera. I am definitely in the beginner beginner category but I am SO excited to practice and learn more about how the camera works so I can start to use it creatively.

I started playing around with different settings while my cats were walking around...and look what I did..

Alex.

I STILL can't believe I actually took that picture...I'm so proud of myself!

That camera will be attached to my face while my family is here next week

I guess things work out, don't they?

So when I walked into work yesterday I saw my manager hanging out by the Nurse's Station and she waved me over and told me to check my e-mail. I went and got my patient assignment and went over to one of the work computers to check my e-mail. I had one from her and one from the manager of the ER of my hospital. They said that my transfer to the ED had been approved and that I needed to follow up and interview with the ED manager!!

I guess things are looking UP!!!!!!!!!!! I GOT THE JOB! I am going down in 6 weeks!!!!!!!!!

Frustrations

I have struggled with my desire to be in a new job, pretty much since I started this current job. For those of you that don't know the abridged version of my career history is this. When I was in college I wanted to be an ED nurse, I even had a window into the ED of the hospital I was working in Rhode Island as a student nurse; the largest ED in the state (I know I know small state but still it was a level one trauma ED with almost 100 beds, much bigger than even the biggest ED in San Diego).

But Kyle got on one knee (which I knew he would) that April before graduation and everything changed. I quit my job in Providence and moved with him to San Diego. Out here in August of last year there were NO ED jobs ANYWHERE so I started applying for med-surge jobs because I needed the work. I got hired onto my unit at the end of August and have been there ever since. Now I have a year of med-surge experience and am looking to transfer to the ED. I know that, my manager knows that, everyone knows. They say it's only a matter of time - but they don't quantify how long exactly is a "matter" of time.

Tonight one of the other nurses I work with (who started as an RN AFTER me) told me that her transfer to the ED got approved. Now I guess since she was a student nurse on my unit for a year before she passed her NCLEX-RN makes her senior to me????? Even though she has only been on the floor as an RN for 6 months? WTF is up with that?

It is much more difficult to get into a specialty in Nursing now because of the economy. No one wants to hire someone with no experience in the field because it costs so much to train them. The entire ride home from work I was fuming, when am I going to get a break? when is my turn for career advancement?

The more I thought about it, ironically, the calmer I became. This is in Gods hands, he will find the right job for me. This is the ONLY time I will have to wait like this, once I get experience I won't have this problem anymore. My time will come, and in the meantime I still have a job that I am learning from. Everyday I get more experience as a med-surge nurse I can use later. I can keep building my resume. I can do this..

Next month we are voting on 12 hour shifts. If that passes and I get on days that will be so much better for when kyle gets back, and I will be able to tolerate staying on the unit for a few more months.

Man I am frustrated.......

The Deal of a LIFETIME

My friend Brian has been getting into photography over the last year and has been thinking about updating his camera body. I asked him if he was thinking of trading in his old stuff that I would like to buy it off of him. Originally I was thinking about getting only the camera and the kit lens, but he kept adding things.

This is what is coming in the box that he hopefully shipped today

1) One Canon Digital Rebel xsi camera with kit lens Amazon Retail Price $750
2) One Canon EF 50mm f1.4 lens Amazon Retail Price $520
3) One Canon EF-S 55-250 f/4.0-5.6 IS zoom lens Amazon Retail Price $299.99
4) One copy of photoshop 7 Amazon Retail Price $699.99
5) One gig bag (retails at $100.00)
6) Two extra Memory cards and an extra lithium ion battery
7) A tripod

Total price to buy it retail - around $2300. I'm buying everything for $1200 including shipping. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

Anyone else out there into photography? I want some suggestions as to where to start. I want to take an online class at BetterPhoto.com and get some books. But I guess what's really going to help me is pratice pratice pratice!

Look out for ALOT more pictures on this blog!

A Wicked Fun Sunday Night

Tonight was GIRLS night! One more goal to strike off my list.

At the beginning of the summer I was surfing the web and saw that the musical Wicked was coming to the San Diego Civic Theater. I have herd nothing but good things about this show and I really wanted to go see it. I had mentioned if off hand at work and before I knew it I had 4 girlfriends wanting to go. I bought the tickets in June and have been looking forward to it ever since.

Well the show was tonight, and I have to tell you, It was AMAZING! The show opened on Broadway in 2003 and went on to win 3 Tony awards (nominated for 10). It has gone on to break several box-office records for ticket sales and is still quick to sell out now 6 years later.

It tells the story of the two witches from the Wizard of Oz. Glinda, the good witch and Elphaba (a.k.a. the Wicked Witch of the West). The plot was based on the book with the same title, written by Gregory Maguire (now something else to add to the book list).

So three of my girlfriends and I went to the show tonight and went to dinner beforehand (the 4th girl was going to come and ended up not being able to because she forgot that today was the day she was leaving for Hawaii...whoops!) We went to dinner at Anthony's Fish Grotto, a really quaint restaurant right on the San Diego harbor. We sat in a booth over looking the water, the view was incredible and the food was great

some pictures from the night...


Me, Brooke, Kim (second time ever I got my hair to curl nice. FYI mousse helps haha)




Mary-Anne, Brooke, Kim




Cool Picture of the backdrop they used before the show started and during intermission. The green light illuminating the Emerald City was pearlescent and twinkled! So Pretty!

Excuse me, but I have to vent

Tonight I went to an event sponsored by my employer, Scripps Health, a large hospital group in San Diego. It was a San Deigo Padres game that over 12,000 Scripps employees went to. There was a nice BBQ beforehand with free hot dogs and drinks, peanuts and cracker jacks. This was NOT what I am writing to vent about, just so you know. The game was really fun and it was fun to see so many fellow Scripps people there. We we all wearing white t-shirts for the event so the entire 300 section of the stadium was a wall of white. (One of my friends was watching the game at home and he asked where I was sitting, I told him I was the one in the white shirt haha)

Okay there were several things that kind of depressed me about the game

1) Kyle really likes baseball, and was bummed he wasn't here to come to the game
2) I went with my friend Brooke and her fiance
3) There we met up with
**Justine and her boyfriend
**Helen and her husband
**Kim and her almost boyfriend
**Natalie and her boyfriend
(this goes on)

yeah, so I was pratically the only person there without a significant other....I felt like the last person picked for kickball, no one wanted me.....I wish kyle was there so much. The fact that I haven't herd a peep out of him in three days hasn't helped.

I guess most people know what that's like...what most people don't know is what it feels like to be the single person when you are actually married...just so you know...it REALLY SUCKS.

Little Rhody Girl is the Super Duper Bridesmaid!

Four weeks ago one of my Bridesmaids, Becca, got engaged and asked me to be one of her Bridesmaids. Three weeks ago my other bridesmaid, Kate, got engaged and asked me to be one of her Bridesmaids...

One wedding is next June in Connecticut, the other is next July in Iowa.

keep in mind that I am living in California at the moment, but DANG it I am going to BOTH weddings! I want to maintain these connections with people, with my close friends, with my other life.

My husband might not be able to go to both but I am determined to spend my next year being bridesmaid extraordinaire!

CONGRATS TO BECCA & CHRIS (AND) KATE & MATT!!!!!

Renewals and Reflections

Tonight when I got home from work I went to the mailbox and found my renewal notice for my RN license. I have officially been a RN long enough for my first license renewal. It seems really hard to believe that a year has flew by since I graduated from Nursing School.

So much about my life has changed
So much has changed for the better

I remember back to the semester before I graduated. I used to fantasize about singing RN after my name. I wanted to sign my checks with RN at the end, I was so excited about having that designation at the end of my name. Now I sign RN 100 times a day at work, it's been starting to loose it's grandeur. So I think it's a good thing that I am looking back and reflecting on that. So that tomorrow when I am at work and writing RN for the 50th time that day after my name I will pause for a second and really feel proud and accomplished for all of the hard work that I did to get myself to this point

I am a working professional, a Registered Nurse!

Nursing Flashback-Taken from a 1963 Magazine

$ 70.00 a WEEK! HOT DAMN WHERE DO I SIGN????

Mondays

The Monday after my back to back 12 hour shifts over the weekend is always kind of sad. I think it's the combination of the lack of sleep, the sleep during the day and the fact that most monday nights after I wake up I can't sleep again until 3 or 4 Tuesday morning so I spend a lot of that time alone, alone with my thoughts.

These are the days that I miss my huband the most. I want nothing more then for him to walk through the front door, it had been especially difficult because over the last few weeks it seems like everyone around me had been nothing but happy happy happy. It sort of feels like being single on Valentine's Day....everyone around you is sickinly happy when you are nothing but miserable.

I just want time to speed up and for it to be November already. I want to be able to see my husband again. I want a new job.....ugh I want this so much.

The thing is that this weekend is the over the hump party for Kyle's ship. We will officially be halfway through the hellish existance that is this deployment. Right now I am so far deep in the tunnel that it's pitch black, in a couple of days I hope that I can start seeing a pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel, and each day it will get bigger and bigger, until we are together again.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

One of my Husband's groomsman (and also a dear friend of mine) Julien, is deployed with a naval ship out of Everett, Washington. He has been gone for awhile and I decided to send him a care package. In it I have put letters, some dried fruit and some of his favorite cookies!

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
source:The New Best Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but cool
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cups raisins

1. Adjust the oven racks to the low and middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt together in a medium bowl
3. Either by hand or using an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time
4. Stir the dry ingredients unto the butter-sugar mixture with a wooden spoon or large rubber spatula. Stir in the oats and raisins.
5. Working with a generous tablespoon of dough each time, roll the dough into 2-inch balls and place on baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart
6. Bake until cookie edges turn golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through the cooking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies with a wide metal spatula to a wire rack. Let cool at least 30 minutes.