Quilting news and other stuff

I haven't really posted anything since my brother died, so I guess I'm getting back to normal. 
So, this is my new baby. I actually purchased her last year, but have had trouble making time to use her. She is a PFAFF Quilt Expression 4.2. Recently, I was asked by my quilt teacher/friend of many years why in the world would I pick a PFAFF when I could own a BERNINA? My answer was simple: I love it! Bernina is a great machine, no doubt. But I learned to sew on a HOBBY 1132, so I'm a little sentimental about PFAFF. Also, there is the affordability factor. I mean, for 5 grand, I could make a partial down-payment on a car, or a house.

I love the ease of use as well. Even for a novice like myself, I find that I don't have to work real hard at figuring out what to do to get the effect I want. 192 stitches! It's simply amazing! 

I'm working on a baby quilt that was entirely applique. Let me say it bluntly: not a good plan for me. Not only was I out of my league, I was using a new machine that I didn't fully understand how to use. Here's where I am with it:  

You'll notice that big, bunch of bananas. I'm ripping that out. I tried to make it look like a real bunch of bananas, but found it only confused people. In case you wondered, it's not my design. I bought it off of someone's Etsy shop. Her monkeys were alot bigger, even though I followed the pattern exactly. Won't be doing this again. 

I keep playing with the courthouse steps idea. I did one block that you see below. It was foundation pieced, which was very, very acurate. You'll have to forgive the material I used. I was trying to use scraps up.  This is what I hope to be making it look like without the blue center:

I got this badly taken picture from a television show from the 90's and thought how great would that look in my living room!  Anyway, that's about all I am doing sewing-wise. 

I started working out with a trainer recently. He's a very nice young man who is down to earth. I only started because I was tired of being sick and tired. My body strength was nil and my legs hurt constantly. Not a good thing for a nurse who is up on her feet for 12 hours at a time. He is putting me through my paces. And, of course, I'm hoping to lose weight, so I'm conferring with him on diet issues. 
Work is very busy, which is highly unusual this time of year. Our census is never maxed out in June, but it is this year for some reason. 27 patients is a lot of patients to keep content.

The Legal Adult moved out after having been with us for some time. He broke his leg last year, and now has a new apartment....again. I haven't written very much about him, but he has effectly made an old woman out of me this year by turning 31. 

Hollywood turns 21 in a week or so. He has an apartment across town, but has never invited me over except to pick him up to go somewhere. Hmmmmm......

The Dyl Pickle is 12 now and is sporting purple hair! Yeash......
But he is so very tall now, and he has grown men feet-size 12! Turns 13 and starts 8th grade in the fall. 

Hunnybunny is working for new company as the mid west sales rep. He just got back from Canada. Always happy to get back to southern cooking. We just celebrated number 14 Anniversary by heading to Hilton Head. It was very, very nice!

As for me, two more semesters of school and then I can sit for the NCLEX-RN. I am nearly as old as the teacher, but I like it. What I don't enjoy is going to school 4 days a week and then working every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Speaking of Sunday, better get a shower so I can head to church. Later, y'all.......

Life 101- or is there life after 18 months of back to back school?

I found this some time ago, and thought it summed up the way I feel about things. Apparently, I have a pet peeve: when someone says, "I'm just set in my ways". That seems to really get beside me.  Or when someone says, "This is just the way I am". Really?? Is it? For me, that's the coolest part of life, you don't have to be the same person you've always been. You can change, you can grow, and nobody can do anything about it.

Reinvention is a word I really like. As human beings, we can reinvent ourselves in any area of our lives. You want to learn a new hobby? The Net is full of great ideas. The libraries are teeming with books on any subject that you fancy. If you want to change your interpersonal relationships, you can read about it and change them or hang out in different social circles. Bored with your job? There are assessment test you can take at your local yokel community college or even just take a class on something that interests you. As for me, I started in radio, worked in the legal community and now I'm headed to the healthcare field. Am I scared? Oh, yeah....of course I am. But terribly excited, too.

Right now, I'm trying to get out of school mode, and get into family, quilting, and bumming around mode.  But I've been slipping. Yesterday, on my day off with Hunnybunny, I found myself at a used bookstore with ISBN numbers of books I will need for my first semester in nursing school! But I have to get back into "normal life" mode. I'm finishing up The Legal Adult's quilt, and heck, I might even do a new quilt, but don't hold me to that.

The guys bought me a bike for mother's day. I got it the day before my finals, last Sunday. It's more  "me", being a hybrid of a mountain bike and a cruiser. And truthfully, it's just purty. So, it was decided that Hunnybunny would take The Legal Adult's gift bike to ride. Hunnybunny  filled the tires with air, erring on the side of the maximum requirement. I decided to go on a spin before studying. As I came down the hill, I kept hearing a thub-dub. I braked, and then heard a gunshot sound. The tire went down, and I was in a free fall into the pavement. The handle bars went into my chest, and the whole bike landed on my left hand. It caused edema, and my hand looked like I was wearing a purple half-glove like we did in the eighties.  For my quilting friend, Kathy, Darlin' I should have listened to you and gotten a helmet! I currently lack the courage to get back on it, but my bruises are healing.

Me and the ACT

It's been awhile since I've made the time to update my blog. Wow, has it really been since September?? Anatomy and Physiology I pretty much took over my life this past semester. But, I got a B, so I'm guessing it was worth it. My psychology class was pretty straightforward, so I got an A in it. Truthfully, I don't know how these working mothers go back to school anymore. Yes, it's true, I did this back in 1997 as a single-parent of two, but even that's a major blur. I remember being exhausted all the time. These days, it's not necessarily a problem working and going to school as much as it is the whole test anxiety thing. Apparently, I'm not the only one who suffers from this, but nonetheless, I'm fairly adept at beating myself up over it. Case in point: The ACT. In order to get into nursing school, (no matter which one), I knew I would have to retake the ACT. So, I ordered the study guide last January and started to go through it. Even that did not prepare me for the anxiety I felt as I walked in to take the test. I was grateful it was being held at my community college only 4.5 miles away, but it did disturb me that besides the proctor, (who was old as Methuselah....the oldest man recorded in the bible), I was the oldest person in the room. When I took the exam almost 37 years ago, I either didn't remember the long list of rules, or basically, we are in a whole new world. The old guy stood and read this verbatim from the test booklet:
"You will be dismissed and your answer document will not be scored if you are found:
* Filling in or altering ovals on a test or continuing to write the essay after time has been called on that test
* Looking back at a test on which time has already been called
* Looking ahead in the test booklet
* Looking at another examinee's test booklet or answer document
* Giving or receiving assistance
* Using a prohibited calculator
* Using a calculator on any test other than the Mathematics Test (Why would anyone do that?? What in the world could they use it for?)
* Sharing a calculator with another examinee
* Using any device to share or exchange information at any time during the tests or during breaks (all electronic devices, including cell phones, must be turned off from the time you are admitted to test until you are dismissed after testing concludes)(And if you were caught using your phone on the break, you would be dismissed!)
* Attempting to remove test materials, including test questions or answers, from the test room by any means
* Using highlight pens, colored pens or pencils, scratch paper, notes, dictionaries, or other aids
* Not following instructions or abiding by the rules of the test center
* Exhibiting confrontational, threatening, or unruly behavior
* Creating a disturbance or allowing an alarm or phone to sound in the test room"
(Ironically, it was the Proctor whose phone went off during the exam!) 
I forgot to bring a wrist watch, and after that laundry list of do's and don't's , I was terrified even to look at the wall clock! As a result, I kept running out of time. I will be retaking the test as I was 5 points shy of the minimum to get into one nursing school, and only 2 points lacking to get into the other one.

A Fork in the Road

Well, it appears I have reached a fork in the road with my schooling. Yesterday, after being in major pain with my right knee for weeks now, I finally went to a NEW provider. She was a Nurse Practitioner who worked at a facility that helped Hunnybunny with his back sciatica. Very no nonsense, she immediately took me back for x-rays to see if there was anything bone-wise that was contributing to this pain and swelling. They took alot of pictures, and before I had sat down really well back in the exam room, the x-ray guy had already read them! 

  For the record, this isn't said knee. This is one I got off the Internet with the same diagnoses as I received.
Basically, you are looking at Osteoarthritis and bone spurring. That would explain a great deal of my problem. I've been icing it, elevating it, taking anti-inflammatory meds, all to no avail. She gave me a new Rx for some stuff that was a little stronger to deal with the swelling. I'll keep on doing the icing and elevation and we will keep watching it before I have to break down for the MRI.
The "fork" I spoke of is regarding my nursing stuff. I know how nurses stand on their feet continually, and have to lift a certain amount of weight with everyday activities. Do I pursue this course? I'm wondering.... maybe God is trying to tell me something, like, "Do something else!".  And I've been thinking about my other considerations.  Pray for me. I need the right answer from God. 

The Inferno

There are only a handful of people (that read this blog) who remember our days working at the college infirmary. We charted, made beds, cooked for patients, brought them ice water, etc. The place was lovingly dubbed the Inferno. We were basically nurse aides and it was a sweet gig....most of time. I do recall the great "virus" that swept through campus. Every bed we had was taken, and we resorted to checking them into their dorms. Our nurse was making rounds, giving shots, and checking on people in and out of the dorms.
Turns out, it was catfish that was donated by a wealthy do-gooder of the school. It was simply food poisoning.


Everybody had to check in when they were sick if they intended to get their classes excused. It was amazing that the Inferno was full the week of mid-terms and finals. Hmmmmmm......interesting. What I liked is the fact that we saw everybody at their worst, (Sick and in their underwear!) and then saw them out on campus. People are people, some are just a little further up the food chain. I was reminded of the Inferno as I went to class this week. I had decided to take the required nurse's assistant class for the program I was pursuing. Things have changed since I got into the class: now the program I intend to get into doesn't require it. But, none the less, I WILL finish it. The class is one of those mini-sessions, which means, they cram everything into 5 weeks. That means I go to work, come home, change my baby-puked-on shirt, and head to class from 4 pm to 9:00 pm, three nights a week. I'm required by the state to have 75 hours and with clinicals at the end, I will.
Our teacher is a nice lady, and she does go by the book, which I appreciate. Four tests out of the book, working in a workbook, and a whole bunch of skills. So far, I've mastered the blood pressure, aseptic hand washing, making a bed, giving dental care, and transferring a patient.

Mother's Day Movie Review

My mother's day present was to go see Iron Man 2 with some friends. Usually a sequel isn't much good, but I was pleasantly surprised. Mickey Rouke certainly made a good villain. What I liked is that he was a brilliant physicist with a bent for revenge. And the funny part was that he had no reason for revenge. Don't worry....no spoilers here. If you liked Robert Downey, Jr. in the first movie, you'll like him in this. This movie gives the first appearance of War Machine. I hated that they replaced Rhody,but Don Cheadle wasn't bad, either. Gweneth Paltrow played Pepper Pots, but I didn't find her as interesting as in the first movie. I'm still getting used to Scarlett Johansson as a grown-up actress. She played Black Widow from S.H.I.E.L.D. Samuel L. Jackson is good in just about anything he plays. The Nick Fury character is no exception.
It was so awesome to get to sleep in this morning and have Hunnybunny make me pancakes! I got card from the boys, and the Pickle made me the coolest card!

Right now, I feel like I'm on vacation as my classes are over for the semester. Tuesday, however, I'm doing a mini-session for a nurses aide class I have to take. It's 4 pm to 9:00 pm, 3 nights a week for 5 weeks. I think I'll be okay, but I'm probably going to slack off on blogging for awhile.