14 things you should NEVER say to a Military Wife

Civilian Friends...read this and take notes.
My Military Sisters....Amen.

taken from True Military Wives Confessions

14 things you should NEVER say to a military wife!..
Unless of course you are willing to take that chance on catching one of us on a REALLY bad day and we end up kicking your ass........remember our husbands are trained to stay alive....do you want to bet that they didn't bring their "work" home when they knew we were going to have to live and take care of ourselves for a year at a time because you can bet your ass my husband did!!!!

1. "Aren't you afraid that he'll be killed?"
(This one ranks in at number one on the "duh" list. Of course we're afraid. We're terrified. The thought always lingers at the backs of our minds —but thanks brilliant, you just brought it back to the front. Maybe next you can go ask someone with cancer if they're scared of dying.)

2. "I don't know how you manage. I don't think I could do it."
(This is intended to be a compliment. Though, its just a little annoying. Here's why: it's not like all of us military wives have been dreaming since childhood of the day we'd get to be anxious single moms who carry cell phones with us to the bathroom and in the shower. We're not made of some mysterious matter that makes us more capable, we just got asked to take on a challenging job. So we rose to the challenge and found the strength to make sacrifices.)

3. "At least he's not in Iraq."
(This is the number one most annoying comment for those whose husbandsare in Afghanistan. What do they think is happening in Afghanistan? Aninternational game of golf?

4. "Do you think he'll get to come home for Christmas/anniversary/birthday/birth of a child/wedding/family reunion, etc?"
(Don't you watch the news? No! They don't get to come home for any of these things. Please don't ask again.)

5. "What are you going to do to keep yourself busy while he's gone?"
(Short answer: Try to keep my sanity. Maybe there's a military wife outthere who gets bored when her husband leaves. For the rest of us, those with and without children, we find ourselves having to be two people.That keeps us plenty busy. We do get lonely, but we don't get bored,and drinking massive amounts of wine always helps keep me busy.)

6. "How much longer does he have until he can get out?"
(This one is annoying to many of us whether our husbands are deployed or not. Many of our husbands aren't counting down the days until they"can" get out. Many of them keep signing back up again and again because they actually love what they do or they VOLUNTEER AGAIN and AGAIN to go back to Iraq b/c there is work that needs to be done.)

7. "This deployment shouldn't be so bad, now that you're used to it."
(We do learn coping skills. We figure out ways to make life go smootherwhile the guys are gone. But it never gets "easy" and the bullets and bombs don't skip over our guys just because they've been there before.The worry never goes away.)

8. "My husband had to go to Europe for business once for three weeks. I totally know what you're going through."
(This one is similar to number two. Do not equate your husband's threeweek trip to London/Omaha/Tokyo/etc. with a 6-15 month or moredeployment to a war zone. Aside from the obvious time difference,nobody shot at your husband or tried to blow him up with an I.E.D.,your husband could call home pretty much any time he wanted to, and he flew comfortably on a commercial plane. We do not feel bonded to you in the slightest because of this comment and, if anything, we probably resent you a bit for it. Comparing a 12 month combat deployment to a few weeks business trip is like comparing a crappy Hyundai Excel with a Mercedes convertible.)

9. "Wow you must miss him?"
(This one also gets another big "duh". Of course we miss our men. There are some wives who do not and they're now divorced.)

10. "Where is he exactly? Where is that?"
(I don't expect non-military folks to be able to find Anbar Province ona map, but they should know by now that it's in Iraq. Likewise, knowthat Kabul and Kandahar are in Afghanistan. Know that Muqtada al Sadris the insurgent leader of the Mahdi Army in Iraq and that Sadr City ishis home area. Know that Iran is a major threat to our country and thatit is located between Afghanistan and Iraq. Our country has been at war in Afghanistan for seven years and at war in Iraq for five years. These basic facts are not secrets, they're on the news every night and in thepapers every day —and on maps everywhere.)

11. "Well, he signed up for it, so it's his own fault whatever happens over there.
(Yes, ignorant, he did sign up. Each and every day he protects yourright to make stupid comments like that. He didn't sign up and ask tobe hit by anything, he signed up to protect his country. Oh, and by theway, he asked me to tell you that "You're welcome." He's still fightingfor your freedom.)

12. "Don't you miss sex! I couldn't do it!"
(hmmm, no i don't miss sex. i'm a robot. seriously…military spouses learn quickly that our relationships must be founded on something greater than sex. We learn to appreciate the important things, like simply hearing their voices, seeing their faces, being able to have dinner together every night. And the hard truth is, most relationships probably couldn't withstand 12 months of sex deprivation.)

13. "Well in my opinion….."
(Stop right there. Yo, I didn't ask for you your personal political opinions. Hey, I love a heated political debate, but not in the grocery store, not in Jamba Juice, not at Nordstrom, not in a bar when I'm out with my girls trying to forget the war, and CERTAINLY NOT AT WORK. We tell co-workers about deployments so when we have to spend lunch hours running our asses off doing errands and taking care of the house, dog, and kids, they have an understanding. We do not tell co-workers and colleagues because we are giving an invitation to ramble about politics or because we so eagerly want to hear how much they hate the President, esp. while we're trying to heat up our lean cuisines in the crappyoffice microwaves.)

Last, but not least….

14. "OH, that's horrible…I'm so sorry!"
(He's doing his job and he's a badass. Don't be sorry. Be appreciative and please take a moment out of your comfortable American lives to realize that our marines/soldiers/airmen/coasties/sailors fight thewars abroad so those wars stay abroad.)

If you want to say anything...say thank you, after all, we are sexually deprived for your freedom.

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Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches

This was last night's dinner, absolutely spectacular! I was looking for something to make from the stuff in my fridge and when I suddenly had the feeling that It has been years since I had sausage and peppers. A simple iphone search led me to this recipe. It came together fairly easily and I was very pleased with the results. I served it on toasted french bread because that's what I had on hand but I think it would taste even better on a baguette. I wrapped the sandwich in foil to make it easier to eat (I do that with meatball grinders too. I am TOTALLY the type of person to get sauce all over myself when I eat)

Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches
Source: Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage (I used Mango Chicken Sausage, added sweet flavorings!)
2 red bell peppers, sliced (I had one green and one yellow on hand)
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup Marsala wine (I didn't have Marsala Wine so I subsituted white cooking wine with no problem)
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
4 to 6 fresh Italian sandwich rolls, optional

Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on both sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain.

Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the peppers, onions, salt, and pepper and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano, basil, and garlic and cook 2 more minutes.
Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the Marsala wine, tomatoes, and chili flakes, if using. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the browned bits. Bring to a simmer.

Cut the sausages into 4 to 6 pieces each, about 1-inch cubes. Add the sausage back to the pan and stir to combine. Cook until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.
Serve in bowls. Or, if serving as a sandwich, split the rolls in half lengthwise. Hollow out the bread from the bottom side of each roll, being careful not to puncture the crust. Fill the bottom half of the roll with sausage mixture. Top and serve sandwiches immediately.

8 Months

Moving Out

So sitting in class today I was thinking about all of the stuff that is getting crammed into my head since I started this Emergency Transition Program. I need a place to vent this out, a place to bitch about nursing, which up to this point has been this blog.

But I don't want Little Rhody Girl to get any bad Juju from my job. Little Rhody Girl is for the fun things in my life, my hobbies, my cooking, about the things I do AFTER I come home and take the scrubs off. That is the main reason why I rarely post about work on the blog. Frankly When I left my job I wanted to be done with it. With this new ER job I find myself more motivated to post about what I am doing and how I am liking it, frankly because I am excited about it!

The clear choice was to start a second blog. So that's what I did.

Little Rhody Girl will still be my main baby, SaRa's emergeNcy Blog is an experiment, if I like it, it will stay around. If not...well you know the drill.

I have learned from past experiences to keep work and play separate, so all of my posts about nursing are being packed up and shipped to the other blog, where they will stay.

If you want to follow my Nursing Blog feel free to use the link above my profile in the top right hand corner of the screen or just Click Here

New Post Series: Drug of the Day

Hey everyone.

As most of you know my new ER job has monopolized my time. In the short time I have spent there I have been exposed to so many new and different things that I have never seen before on the inpatient unit. I was thinking today that I need to figure out a way to "iron out" some of the rusty spots of my nursing practice. Some small thing I can do to give myself an edge, to make my training solidify that much more. One thing IMMEDIATELY jumped into my head.

Drugs.

I have always struggled with medications. How each one works, why it works, what it does, what the SIDE EFFECTS are. I always find myself running to the drug book to look up stuff before I go into a patients room, thus wasting time. That's not going to fly in the ED. So I have decided to spend a short time 4-5 days a week to read up on a drug. I am going to start with the drugs I most commonly use then branch out. If I give a drug during a shift at work I am unfamiliar with, I will review that as well (obviously). The obvious choice for me was to work this into my blog. So several times a week you will be seeing a "Drug of the Day" post on Little Rhody Girl. For those of you in Nursing, I hope you find this helpful, for those of you that are not, feel free to ignore these posts completely.

BetterPhoto.com

Indian Chicken Curry

Hey! Sorry guys I have had bloggers block over the last couple of days. ER orientation has been all consuming this past week and when my weekend off approached all I wanted to do was NOTHING! Tonight I'm having a Netflix night, a double feature classic/new release (The King and I & The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)

Anyway I wanted a chicken and rice bowl for dinner and I tried to find a recipe that used whatever I had on hand in my pantry. I found a Chicken Curry that fit the bill.

Heres a warning that if you are not familiar with Indian food this might be a little strong for your taste. Authentic Curry has a very fragrant and strong taste, but if you are a fan of curry you will LOVE THIS. It didn't have the mustard yellow I was expecting but I guess the coloring comes from the combination of the yellow of the curry with the reds of the tomato paste and paprika.

Indian Chicken Curry
source: All Recipes.com

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• salt to taste
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. **I added an additional step first based on the recipe's reviews. I combined all of the dry spices (Curry Powder, Cinnamon and Paprika) in an empty small non-stick pot and heat over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes, adding a splash of olive oil. This extra step enriches the flavor of the curry.
   
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces, tomato paste, yogurt, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Remove bay leaf, and stir in lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Add 1/2 cup fresh pineapple (if desired). Simmer 5 more minutes. Serve over hot Jasmine rice.

New Plants!

Today I spend the first half of my day gardening. If you have been keeping track of my Deployment Goals you know that one of them was to get plants for every room in my house, well now that's done! I really only needed to get two more, one for our bedroom and one for our office. I also got new petunias for my window boxes and I invested in some plastic containers for my herbs. Here are some photos of what I got.

The "money tree" - seriously that's what it's called. I loved the way the trunk was braided. this is next to kyle's bureau in our room.


My Ivy plant (my mother told me the name of the plant but it escapes me now). Anyway it's neat looking huh? This is on a bookshelf in our office.


Herb Container #1 Chives, Basil and Oregano


Herb Container #2 Mint, Rosemary and OH NO!!! ATTACK OF THE PARSLEY!!!!


Ultra Blue Petunias

Just Hanging Around

Man his life is so hard.....

Best Birthday Gift....Ever!

So my birthday was Saturday. To celebrate my San Diego BFF Brooke took me to Julian, CA for apple pie. You might remember the last time I went to Julian last fall with Kyle. Anyway it was a total surprise to me but what made it even BETTER was that we were able to drive up in her fiance's Niessan 350Z convertible!

Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my face.

It was such a fun afternoon to spend with such a good friend. She really went above and beyond to make the day special for me, a birthday I wasn't much looking forward to because Kyle isn't home yet.

Here are some pictures of my two favortie birthday presents. One from my husband and one from a My Grandparents/My parents/me (well....mostly me!)

I'll give you a hint, the flowers are from Kyle :-)

-yes it's real....and yes I paid retail. I've wanted one for 7 years, and I finally have it!

Blue Sky Scrubs Review

A wonderful rep for Blue Sky Scrubs named Sylvie (from fuel my blog) contacted me about two weeks ago with a very tempting offer. They gave me a free set of scrubs and asked that I post a review on my site.

Done and done!

I went online to their website blueskyscrubs.com and chose a pair of their original scrubs in sea foam green. They shipped the next day and were on my doorstep three days later. They came in a cute little gift box wrapped with tissue paper (oOo lala!) They also included a scrub hat; which is really cute! I would totally rock that if I worked in the OR (but one of my friends does, so I already have a Christmas gift for her!)

The scrubs themselves are a poly-cotton blend and are very lightweight but durable. The sizing was correct to what I wear in other scrubs (I always worry about that when I buy online). The inseam of the pants are a good length and flare out a little bit enough to cover my shoes, they have an elastic tie at the waist. The top is fitted and is long enough to cover me when I’m moving around. I kneeled and sat and the pants never rode and felt comfortable. The pants have two back pockets with cute sewed details and there is a similar pocket on the left chest side of the top.

All in all, very comfortable workable scrubs in a good color, with cute feminine details, sized and fitted for my body. I haven’t washed them yet but I wash in cold water anyway so I don’t have to worry about shrinkage. My only criticism is that there are no bottom pockets on the top. This is a personal preference of mine as most of my tops have two pockets at the bottom of the top vs. one chest pocket.

Good quality scrubs! Check them out!

Sorry about the color of the picture (and the previous one). I forgot to set the flash to fire and I'm too lazy to take another picture. :-D The other pictures show an accurate color of the scrubs.

I guess Zachary likes them too!

Blue Sky.com, the place for, nursing scrubs & medical scrubs

Little Rhody Girl, RN in the ED: Triage Observation

This morning I got ready to go to work, as usual. When I went outside and walked to my car I thought to myself "hey, I haven't drove Kyle's car in a while." So I piled all my stuff into Kyle's car and set off toward the hospital.

I was on the 15-southbound, business as usual, when from out of NOWHERE I hear this huge popping sound and all of a sudden I have no control over my car.

I blew my back passenger tire. I was wobbling in and out of my lane. I constantly had to change my steering to keep the car somewhat in line. I almost clipped a school bus. It was the single MOST TERRIFYING moment of my entire life. I (somehow) managed to get across and into the breakdown lane. I just sat there heaving for a few minutes while cars zoomed past. I called AAA and they came a put the donut on my car (I know I know but I was in my nice scrubs and I didn't have a jack, no not "independent woman" but oh well). I drove it at 40 mph with my flashers on across the highway for another 15 minutes. Luckily there is a Sears motor center across from the hospital so I dropped off the car there and walked across the street to work.

I guess that's what I get for being nice and driving my husbands car :-)

So good start to the day...might I add this was my last day of "observation" before my real orientation starts with my preceptor. I was helping one of the nurses, George, in triage which was pretty much the BUSIEST 10 hours I have EVER spent in my LIFE. For those non-nursing folk the term triage simply refers to the order that walk-ins are seen by the ER Doctors. For example a guy who has a cough will have to wait while we see the guy with his hand half cut off. Anyone who has ever worked triage will know what It was like (insane!!!!!!) I didn't know what I was doing at ALL and I was only allowed to assist the RN, not triage anyone (which I was thankful for because how the F** am I supposed to know where people are supposed to go??) I was running labs, placing orders, talking to patients in Spanish, doing EKGs, wheeling patients here and there, giving Tylenol to kids of all shapes and sizes, and generally running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

this cycle continued for almost 10 hours.

First day of real bedside orientation is Sunday from 5p-5a (yes you read that right...someone shoot me now)

Birthday TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Little Rhody Girl, RN in the ED: Day One

I am going to start doing a series of posts on my orientation as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Room at my hospital. My last night of Medical-Surgical Nursing was Monday night. It was kind of a shock because I wasn't aware it was my last night on the floor until I got there. My manager came up and very nonchalantly said "oh Sara, you have to go to a class starting Wednesday, so your last night on the floor will be tonight."

"um, ok"

To be completely honest it felt like a kick in the gut. Don't get me wrong, you guys know that for the past, well, forever I have had a love-hate-hate-hate more relationship with my job and I was desperate for a change. But (surely you must know) that when a person is faced with a unknown, the natural response is to be a little nervous about it. I have worked closely with all of these nurses, my friends and co-workers, for the past year. Most of them are my dear friends, and a large chunk of the people I know in this area. Leaving that unit where I was comfortable and felt safe will be very difficult, and honestly it hasn't really sunk in yet.

I had class today at our sister campus hospital which was, well long. We haven't gotten our textbooks yet but we did receive our course outline. Apparently we will be in class once a week until December (didn't think it would be that long but I am happy it is). We will be going over Emergent conditions for each body system, stroke and trauma. Class today was basically housekeeping things and we went over policies and quality control. (you can imagine how riveting those presentations were). I have back to back 12 hour shifts in the actual ED (7a-7p) tomorrow and Friday before I have the weekend off.

I am completely overwhelmed. I feel like I am back to the drawing board, nursing 101. :-) I can't wait to learn more!

Bring it on!!!

Justin turns 6!

Saturday I went over to my co-worker Jennifer's house to celebrate her son's 6th birthday party. It was a traditional Filipino party complete with all the FOOD! Seriously it was the most well stocked party that wasn't catered that I have ever been to (did I mention everything was home-made?) It was a nice time to hang with the night nurses that I work with and I got to pratice with the camera a little bit.

Awesome Spongebob Squarepants Cake! (chocolate mocha...yum!)

Lighting the Birthday Cake!

Make a Wish!

I never got the point of pinatas. Let's take our favorite character and beat him to death with a bat? At least we know that all cartoon characters are made of candy on the inside!

Me and Linda

Me and the Happy Momma, Jennifer.

To see all the photos I took at Justin's birthday, visit the flickr photoset Justin Turns 6!

Pan Fried Pasta

I'm Italian, I eat my fair share of pasta (carbs, carbs, CARBS). I usually don't try to eat leftover pasta because I feel after a day or two it's a little soggy, this solves that problem. Pan-frying the pasta adds texture and also caramelizes the tomatoes in the sauce you used to change the taste of the sauce completely. A quick and tasty solution to leftover pasta.



Pan Fried Pasta

Ingredients

• Leftover Pasta with sauce of any kind or freshly cooked pasta and tomato sauce
• Olive Oil
• Parmesan cheese

1. Heat two-four turns of olive oil in a medium sized skilled (amount to cover the bottom of the skilled) over medium high heat.
2. Add pasta to heated oil. Turn and separate pasta while it cooks. Frying the pasta will shrink the size of the noodles and turn them crunchy.
3. Fry until desired consistency is reached. (I fried mine for about 5-7 minutes for a good mix of crunch with traditional pasta texture.)
4. Drain off excess oil and serve with Parmesan cheese.

Fresh Tomato and Turkey Sausage Pasta

I made this recipe earlier this week but haven't had time to post it until now. It was a nice a flavorful dish that freezes well too



Fresh Tomato and Turkey Sausage Pasta
Source: Cooking Light

Ingrediants

• 8 oz uncooked penne
• 8 oz sweet italian turkey sausage (any kind of sausage will work in this dish)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 cup vertically sliced onion
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 1/4 lbs fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 6 tablespoons grated fresh pecorino Romano Cheese, divided (I found this in the deli section of my supermarket but I suppose fresh parmesan would work as well)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup torn basil leaves

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt, drain.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add oil to the pan; swirl to coat. Add sausage and onion to pan; cook for 4 minutes, stirring to crumble sausage. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, cook for an additional 2 minutes and remove from heat. Stir in pasta and toss to coat. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese, salt and pepper. Mix with basil and serve immediately with remaining cheese.

Stressful Homecoming.

I have been following several Military Wives blogs over Kyle's deployment. It's nice to know that there are other women going through the same thing I am. I was hoping to become closer to the other officer's wives on Kyle's ship but most of them are much older than me, with children. They are all in such a different part of their lives compared to me so it's a little hard to relate. All of them have been around the block once or twice so I guess it's hard for them to remember back to what it was like to be a young newly-wed dealing with their first deployment (hello!)

Anyway many of the girls have been talking about homecomings. Unfortunately the stress of deployment doesn't end when your solider comes home. You get used to living alone for months and months and all of a sudden there is another body in the house, and as much as you want him/her there it does take some getting used to. -At least that is what they are saying- I haven't done this before. So frankly I'm a little nervous about it. I know it's still two full months away (two months and a few weeks, and probably some extra days thrown in there), but I have gotten used to living alone, so even though I will be over the moon to have Kyle home, it still will be new and there will be a transition time.

That will be me in a few short months!

Sick

I woke up this morning feeling...well...pretty much terrible. My stomach was in knots, not to be too graphic but I pretty much spent the first 4 hours I was awake running back and forth to the bathroom to puke. I am miserable. I can barely get off the couch, I had to call out sick from work (obviously) and I can barely keep anything down. I was able to sleep for a few hours over lunch and right now I'm camped out on the couch

At least I had the time to fix the blog. (FYI remember to back up your templates, often!) I had a diabetic class I was supposed to go to also today, hopefully I can make that up this (or next) week. My manager told me Sunday that we are scheduled to go to the ER sometime this pay period (two weeks). So I will be entering my new job sometime around my birthday (Sept 12th).

Thank goodness for DVR, it makes being sick a touch more bearable. Even though I'm alone, no one here to pity my sick self....I wish my hubby was here to give hugs and kiss my forehead. Yet another reason why Deployments suck....bah...only two and half more months!!!!!!

My apologizes

I messed up something *not really sure what* on my HTML and I had to actually trash my whole template and start fresh.....damn

please forgive this construction time...because I have to go to bed and finish this tomorrow

:-)