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.......

The Top Ten Reasons I Hate Dealing with Grief

My brother JR died on April 28, 2015. I was heading into a restaurant, meeting my husband and his friends for dinner when I got a message from Facebook. "Aunt Z call me immediately". I went on to the table and showed Hunnybunny, excused myself to the sidewalk so I could hear. Then learned that my brother had died in his sleep. He went down for a nap and did not wake up.

 

I have no words for all that went through me after that. He raised me after my dad passed when I was no more than a year old. He had been sick this past year, and I had gone to see him in January when he was in rehab. Being a nurse actually helped because I was able to relate to my sister-in-law what was happening to him. JR rallied, came home, and talked to me on the phone the week before he died. It's just surreal....

 

I was called in to my supervisor's office yesterday. She was worried about me. I thought, "Had my work slacked?" but no, my work ethic wasn't in question. She just mentioned how tired and worried I looked. I told her I was having a hard time with JR's death. That same day, my attending doctor asked what was wrong. She hadn't heard about his death, and hugged me. Being a psychologist, she gave me some tools to start the actual grieving process. So, I sit before you today, blogging about what's going on in my head. Top ten lists are my typical way of using humor to make a point, I'm going to use them today to talk about my grief.

The Top Ten Reasons I Hate Dealing with Grief.

10. I don't feel like I have the right. My sister-in law was with my brother since they were 13. They were together almost 50 years. He was in my life consistently until I was 7. In comparison, there is no comparison.

 

9.   It shows up at unexpected and inconvenient times. So, I'm sitting there telling my sleep apnea doctor I didn't actually lose just 8 pounds, I lost 20. I put 12 back on after April. When she asked if anything happened, that's when I lost it. A complete stranger and I'm crying like an idiot.
 
8. My boys have never seen me like this. The Legal Adult is at a complete loss as to what to say, not say. He deals with my pain by not talking about it.
 
7.  My husband is trying to make me feel better.  Hunnybunny is the greatest. But he is trying way too hard to "fix my grief". Right now, I don't want to feel better. I just want to be.
 
6. Nothing seems as much fun anymore. I just don't have the will to do anything but work and come home. My birthday is this weekend, and I was asked what I wanted to do. NOTHING came to mind.
 
5. You wonder how much of this new attitude is grief and how much is just where you are in your life. Currently, I can't tell the difference. Am I just over 50 and "over it"? Or am I just grieving?
 
4. You begin letting your life fall apart. Goals you were working on just don't seem that important anymore. You let your health habits go because you don't see the point, you're going to die, anyway.
 
3. You become jealous of people who still have key members of their family. And as a result, you start harassing your significant other to call their family because they don't know how long they will have them.
 

 2. You beat yourself up for not going to see them more. Trips where you were in the same state during the holidays and you could have fought to go see them instead of your inlaws. One Christmas morning, however, I did leave and spent it with my brother. I will never apologize for wanting to go see my family.
 
1. You feel like an orphan. When my mom died, I had a taste of this. But when JR died, it came home full throttle. I've never felt like this, where I didn't feel like I had a family anymore.

Thanks for letting me vent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biting the bullet

Oh, how true this is for me today. While I won't bore you with the saga of my knee problems, I will tell you that physical therapy helped me a lot. The idea was for me to get moving again and hopefully without as much pain. On the recommendation of my physical therapist, I decided to go somewhere I could start riding a bike. My misadventures with riding a bike on the road had me pretty fearful of trying again. So, I joined a local gym. It was a place I had been to previously and loved when I was 30 lbs lighter and swimming. I actually joined on the first of October but was afraid to try. My PT doctor essentially released me from his care and said to call him if I had any problems. Gee thanks....I just get used to this, and now you are leaving me. Anyway, today was the day. I put on my workout clothes and called down to Hunnybunny, "I'm headed to the gym," . "Okay, " he called back, trying hard not to sound very surprised. Believe me, I was surprised. Being a fat girl walking into a gym is very intimidating. But nontheless, I found a stationary bike that looked doable. It was complete with built-in fan, television, and computer system that kept track of my rpm's, heart rate, miles/distance traveled. Pretty snazzy. I ended up riding for 33 minutes with a distance of 4 miles. Not bad. I also tried the new and improved stairmaster and made it 2 flights of stairs. If you knew how bad my knee hurts, you would be impressed. 
Now I have to figure out how to do this: how many times a week, for how long and what to add. It will be interesting!

The Judge- A movie review

So, Hunnybunny took me to see Robert Downey, JR and Robert Duval in "The Judge".  I had seen the trailers, and loved just about every movie that they both were in. And truthfully, Tony Stark has done wonders for RDJ's career. The role helped him branch out as an actor. And it really shows in this film.

There are no spoilers here, so don't look for me to give anything away. The family dynamics are true to form. Robert Duval plays the perfect curmudgeon. Maybe you didn't know that the title of this blog pays homage to  my former life as paralegal. I did love the law, but lawyers were another story. They were fairly abusive and narcissistic. But courtroom theatrics were not the subject of this movie.

We get to see RDJ as a lawyer, dad, husband, son, and former resident of his hometown. So, while it would have been cool to see JUST the lawyer, the other roles were far more interesting.

Hank Palmer, (RDJ) also has to face his past demons, something RDJ has had plenty of experience with this past decade.  His dad, Judge Palmer, (Robert Duval) has his own problems which come to light while Hank Palmer has been home. 

My favorite line was "I have the work ethic of the Amish!" I think I'll be stealing that one in the future. 

Anyway, go see it and prove that we can enjoy a thinking, feeling movie just as much as a "shoot 'em up". It was awesome!

Beatles Quilt progress

So, here we are .....just five years later. Looks like the top is done. I keep thinking I will add another border or something, but honestly...I just want to get it quilted. The Legal Adult is absolutely thrilled. I guess he had just about given up on me. I bought black for the back of it, and I think I'm going to use colored thread in the bobbin to show up on the back. I just haven't figured it out yet. I have this cool dragonfly quilting stencil that I want to use on the back. Yeah, yeah....I know. Why don't I have musical notes or something like that. I don't know why, either. But anyway....

I wish I could find the motivation to want to more to this quilt, but I just don't have the energy for it. Truthfully, I am sick of working on this. I have a whole list of others I want to work on. Most people work on many simultaneously, but I have never been that organized. My goal for this year is to make at least 2 quilts. I've also been toying with the idea of getting a new machine. My dream has always been to have a Bernina.

But I'm having a hard time figuring out which machine to look into. Anybody have any ideas?

Not quite what I was expecting

Well, this is a pretty good duplicate of what happened with my knee. A complex tear of the medial meniscus was the diagnosis, but what I THOUGHT was they would do surgery. Uh, no...they said, I'm so sorry. But the tear is in a GOOD place and if we remove it, you will have bone on bone. I was so angry.  I just wanted this to be over with. The doctor is supposedly the very best in our area. Her bedside manner, not so much. I couldn't help that tears were rolling down my face after they told me. All she said was, " I know that's not what you wanted." (You think, Doc?) "And we are going to send you to physical therapy and see where we are after that." Lovely.
So, I have had 5 appointments now. And today the therapist informed me I have a dislocated tibia. He moved it back into place, which really hurt, by the way, and then, taped it. It feels much better right now. They are also using a PT therapy for the inflammation of the MCL/Medical Meniscus area called iontophoresis. They use electricity to drive drugs through the skin. The deal is the drug they use has to be ionizable (electrically charged).  Dexamethasone is the steroidal anti-inflammatory they use, and yeah, it hurts like a bunch of bee stings. Then it chills out, and begins to feel much better.  The therapist finishes with ultrasound therapy. And the jury is still out on what that is supposed to do, but they tell me it promotes healing.
While it is true that wasn't what I wanted to hear, I'm sure it's what needed to happen. My PT guy has told me to get more exercise, so Hunnybunny and I joined a gym. I'm really surprised he wants to work out with me, but I will take what I can get.

Time to get back to work

My hiatus from quilting is over. Nursing school is done, NCLEX-PN taken, and I am employed. So, it's time to go back to what I love to do....quilting!
Since I blogged last, we have moved to a bigger house. My quilting stuff is now in the garage with it's own workbench! Pretty cool! I finally finished fixing that purse that came back in my possession when the recipient broke up with my son. She had left it for me to fix, and then she broke up with him. Possession is 9/10 th's of the law in this case. So, I fixed it, and gave it to a very dear friend who loved it!

Anyway, it's a start. I have so many projects that are just waiting for me to finish. Such as the Legal Adult's Beatles quilt, and so many others I need to do something with. I did find that my machine had trouble as it had sat dormant for so long. Beyond just an occasional cub scout badge or fixing a button, it just didn't get used.
I am having to share the garage with Hollywood and his guitar stuff. But I don't mind, I'm just so happy he's home. Graduated this past June with honors!
The Dyl Pickle is a Weblos II cubscout now. He will cross over at the end of the school year. Working on his Arrow of Light with his buds, playing cello in the orchestra of his school, and just getting used to the fifth grade is what he is up to.

The Legal Adult has a new job, new apartment and most of the time, a new attitude. I don't get to see him as much as I'd like, but for awhile, I got to see him everyday. His apartment was 2 blocks from the hospital I work for and I used to get an hour for lunch. But now, we moved the hospital, and he works all the time, so there you go.
As for me, I work every other weekend, but so far, so good. You won't read anything about my job on here as I'd just as soon not lose my license. It's exhausting, but I like it so far.
Hunnybunny is doing well. He works for a new company out of Nashville, and they keep him on a plane every couple of weeks now. Incidentally, that part sucks. But I get to see him a lot during the week.
I'll try to keep up with your blogs a lot better, too. I have missed hearing about your lives.

Yeah, you can say it....I reek...

at blogging, currently anyway. My life has been all about school, and I never thought I'd be THAT person. You know, the one person who goes back to school, worries about school, whose whole life is school, and can't seem to have a life outside of school? Well, it's me. And I'm not liking that very much. I wrote to an old friend this week to ask her why she fell of the planet and realized, "Who am I to talk about anybody else falling off the planet?" This week, Hunnybunny had to go to Vegas for business, and I couldn't go with him due school. (Mine and The Pickle's). I had two tests, 2 quizzes, and 4 papers to complete by yesterday. Since Sunday, I may have gotten 20 hours sleep due to the aforementioned workload. I have about 9 days until I go into finals for this second semester, and have spent today getting ready for that last test in OB. Who knew having a baby was this complicated? If someone had told me this whole process in this kind of detail, I NEVER would have gone through with it....especially not 3 times. So many things could go wrong and it's not one life at stake, it's two. So I don't have any ambitions on being an OB nurse. During the midst of the chaos that it school, I got to see Hollywood. Here is his updated picture:

javascript:; It's okay, you can say it...he's beautiful, isn't he? Wearing a vintage tux to attend his junior prom. It's true what they say, "Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man!" I wish I could be down in Tennessee that night to see him off. He's going with friends, or solo, or whatever the term is now. If you say, "Stag" as we did in my day, it could mean something else. I try to keep current with all the slang, but there is slang out there I'd rather not know. Hunnybunny is doing well, and he keeps seeing parts of the United States and I don't have time to accompany him. Maybe we'll get around to Savannah, Georgia again. We haven't been back since our honeymoon almost 10 years ago, with the notorious "Wedding Virus" that sidelined my groom on the second day down there. The Legal Adult? Well, he's still the infamous L.A. you have come to know and love on these pages. His whole life has changed recently with the subtraction of one "Sweetthing" to the addition of another. And he knows how my memory is, so he was kind enough to find a girl with the EXACT SAME NAME as the last two girls he's dated for any length of time. So, practicing what I preach about agnostic dating, I lovingly refer to her as "Sweetthing the Third". Now, none of them are named "Sweetthing", I do that for privacy issues or in case one of them stumbles upon my humble blog. But I really do address her, "____________ the Third". It beats getting close to them and then they break up. He's also moving and moving the week before finals, so I'm out on helping him. I feel bad, but I can't blow this. Hopefully, I will be reporting soon that I have starting quilting again. Sigh...miss it so much. And all of you.

Happiness is a new Kirby!

 When my mother passed in 2003, she left me her Kirby 2000. Ever since, I have been a cheerleader for the company. Kirbys are like tanks. They can be a little cumbersome if you have to grace any steps, but otherwise, they now come with a "Drive" and "Neutral" feature. Most come with a ton of attachments, videos, instruction manuals and the like.  And they come with a mighty pricetag as well: upwards of $1500!
The Legal Adult has become very domestic of late. Apparently, it's not cool to have a dirty apartment anymore. And there are his allergies to consider. He bought a Bissel  from Wally World that ended up in pieces after only a few months. So, dear ole Mom has been lugging her machine over to his upstairs apartment, and up two flights of iron steps. (The things we do for our kids....sigh). Anyway, something inspired him to start looking for a used Kirby. Mom thought Craigslist, (the internet version of swapshop) might have something in his price range. And, sure enough, it did. Several, in fact. I found them and sent emails with L.A.'s  phone number. A seller called him, and he said he would think about it. In his head, it was just too good to be true. Then he left a message with her. She didn't call back, so he figured it was sold. Just as he was about to go with another seller, she called back. It turned out she lived a mile from my house! So, I picked it up and took it to him. Beautiful machine, all the attachments, manual, and even several bags and spot cleaners. He thinks he hit the lottery....but I know it was a God thing!

Things that have revolutionized my life....... lately

Now, before I even get started on this short list, please be aware that I am not receiving any compensation for telling you about it. These are only my discoveries, nothing more. Cool?

1. This is the Rubbermaid Reveal. It has a microfiber head that you can throw in your washer. No special fluid needed, just make up your own! With Snips and Fiona constantly underfoot with their muddy feet, this thing is a God send!One caveat: be sure you sweep really well BEFORE you use it. The dog hair tends to cling, making you have to change out the head.

2.  Keurig MINI Plus coffee maker. I have one credo that I live by: Life is far too short to drink old coffee. I used to have to drink my coffee in a hurry because I would make a whole pot and not want it to go bad. Now I don't have to hurry....one cup at a time! The drawback is that the cups are kind of pricey, almost $ .75 a cup. There is an attachment you can get to use your own coffee, but apparently, I haven't figured out the right amount to go in it yet.

3.  Betty Crocker Oven Liner. I recently chiseled, I mean cleaned out my oven and it took three days! My boys love a recipe of mine, Red Hot Apple Pie, which requires a 1/4 cup of red hots. You heat up candy and it bubbles to the bottom of the oven. Not anymore! I actually picked up the burned candy off the liner. It was so cool!

 

4. Redken Color Extend Shampoo. My hair is majorly coarse and hard to deal with. For years, I have been trying to use whatever I could find at the local grocery store. The results, not so good. I tried this on a whim, and my hair has never been happier! In the bottle shown, it can run as high as $15, but I get the huge bottle for $23 and it lasts me almost 3 months.

Another birthday bites the dust

Wow, I had no idea so many famous people shared my birthday.

Birthdays on June 28

Kenny Cunningham Athlete 1971 Steve Burton Actor 1970 John Cusack Actor 1966 Mary Stuart Masterson Actress 1966 Mike Fitzpatrick Politician 1963 John Elway Athlete 1960 Brian Roberts Businessman 1959 Georgi Purvanov Statesman 1957 Lalla Ward Actor 1951 Don Baylor Coach 1949 Kathy Bates Actress 1948 Mark Helprin Novelist 1947 Robert Asprin Author 1946 Howard Barker Playwright 1946 Bruce Davison Actor 1946 Gilda Radner Actress 1946 Jane Harman Politician 1945 Donald Johanson Scientist 1943 Ed Pastor Politician 1943 Jim Kolbe Politician 1942 Rupert Sheldrake Scientist 1942 Muhammad Yunus Economist 1940 Major Owens Politician 1936 Major R. Owens Politician 1936 Carl Levin Politician 1934 Pat Morita Actor 1932 Junior Johnson Celebrity 1931 John S. Bell Physicist 1928 Hans Blix Diplomat 1928 Harold Evans Journalist 1928 Mel Brooks Comedian 1926 George Morgan Musician 1924 William Whitelaw Politician 1918 George Lloyd Composer 1913 Eric Ambler Writer 1909 Ashley Montagu Scientist 1905 Ashley Montague Scientist 1905 Richard Rodgers Composer 1902 Esther Forbes Author 1891 Pierre Laval Politician 1883 Alexis Carrel Scientist 1873 Luigi Pirandello Playwright 1867 Frederick William Faber Theologian 1814 William Hooper Politician 1742 Jean Jacques Rousseau Philosopher 1712 Jean-Jacques Rousseau Philosopher 1712 Peter Paul Rubens Artist 1577

Back to the Sewing Machine, well, at least ONE of them...

Hi. Did you miss me? I've been missing myself lately. We just got back from our yearly jount to FLA. This year we opted to stay at Grandma Hunnybunny's and just go to the beach. We were going to go more than one day, but alas, the dreaded yellow flag was up on the second day. Things have changed with Grandma Hunnybunny; her cast of characters has changed from Aunt Hunnybunny (Hunnybunny's sister) to Mother Hunnybunny, (Hunnybunny's mother). Aunt Hunnybunny has a new little Hunnybunny of her own named Tyler. He is so sweet, and he snuggled me!            

We picked up Hollywood for a few weeks this summer. He made the trip to Florida without being too bored.




And he turned sweet 16! His party of sorts was a couple of friends, along with She who must be Obeyed  and Jerricho! I had fun with her as She is now almost 11! What did we do for kicks? We sorted fabric! That kid was always organizing so I gave her the opportunity to help me cut down my fabric hoard of scraps.  She thought it was great! My kind of kid! 

This week, I've been fairly selfish. While I have been working on The Legal Adult's quilt, I took out a little time to cut myself out a dress. Here's the pattern:

I don't even own a dress besides my wedding dress and if I ever had a special occasion, I'd be in trouble. My friend Robin told me long ago and far away to find a simple pattern and start with that, so that's what I did. I also got my little orphan machine fixed.

 

It was in storage as I used it to make those stitches you see, but then it didn't work at all. I took it back to the Nameless Fix-It shop here in town, and he wanted me to throw more money at it.  I took it to a place where I usually just get fabric, but they had fixed my Pfaff Hobby so wonderfully that I decided to see if they could make this little machine stitch again. It's called the Quilter's Square and they totally rock!

Look what I got in the mail!!!

Debra Spincic made this great quilt for me! ( I hope she doesn't mind that I stole her picture: see the one on the left  I tried to take and you'll see why!) It was to commemorate getting into LPN school, but wow....was I taken completely by surprise! She talked about it in this post. The funny part is that I actually read it, and never picked up on the fact that it was for ME! She is a wonderful friend, and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank her from the bottom of my heart!  Debra gets me, and that is not a great feat! Thank you, Debra! I smile every time I touch this quilt or see it.....I smile because of you!

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.

Back to the ordinary

  I've been out of sorts lately, trying to figure myself out. The whole student, mother, employee, thing has been something I've struggled with and I always forget that this is where I work most of it out.:) Aren't you so glad you can eaves drop on my brain?
Undoubtedly, the whole school thing has taken up most of my time this year, and I hate that it has. I have friends that I miss, and blogging friends across the country that have been nice enough to not drop me for my inconsistent postings. It's not that I'm trying to do too much, it's that I'm not a very good time manager. That's a terrible admission for someone who is looking to be in a health field, but true nonetheless. Lately I've looked at that quilt on the wall and wish it were done. Maybe it's not done because I don't know if or when I could possibly start the next project. I've done some pretty lame things during spring break from my school like: watch House, Horders, and pretend I'm watching Being Human with Hunnybunny. (I just don't get that show!) I've also been on Facebook more than I'd care to admit and mostly because it's quick and easy. I've never managed to do the quick and easy for very long without consequences.  And I do like Facebook, heck- if it weren't for that I may have no clue what's going on with my family. It's handy when I want to "talk" to Hollywood down in Tennessee as you know that teenagers stay on it. They'll sit for hours instant messaging you, but fall short when it comes to real conversation. I miss him very much so I'll keep on with it.
The Legal Adult has had his share of growing pains this year, and between work, school, and my crew at home, I've been carving out more time to see him. In fact, he and Sweet Thing took me out for a nice dinner last week. Miracles never cease.

And then there's the Dyl Pickle, who's growing faster and faster, and with all that I'm doing, I don't want to miss it. His birthday falls just as school starts, so we bought him an early birthday present..a new bike! He is riding now without training wheels and it's so cute to see. I think I've mentioned before that The Legal Adult doesn't drive? He actually owns 5 bikes and was generous enough to give me one last week so I could "ride with Pickle".

I wonder what I was thinking when I accepted it...sigh. I haven't been on a REAl bike in 25 years! So, it's kind of like we're both learning how to ride.   

I'm having trouble figuring out the gears. And I don't have a helmet. Do you HAVE to wear a helmet these days?

t

Life Compartmentalization at its Best

This year I didn't make resolutions. I knew I couldn't live up to them. But I did look at how I was spending my time,
First and foremost, as a student. In fact, I have so compartmentalized this aspect of my life that I'm boring everyone with it. To remedy this, and to perhaps connect with other older nursing students, I created a new blog, Midlife Nursing Crisis. Yeah, I can guess what you are thinking: "She hasn't made time for this blog, why create another?" Mostly, I wanted to get back to the "normal person" aspect of this blog. I started this to get some stuff out, and keep a record of what's been going on. I have not made time for it, and many things which could have been addressed in this forum went to the attic of my mind. And there's enough stuff there already. To be honest, I've been compartmentalizing my life a lot lately. It's almost as if I can hear the gears switch in my head when I'm doing it. For example, when in "Wife 101" mode, I try to stick with those things that most wives deal with; bills, husband, kids, laundry, dogs,financial stability, "what's- for-supper-honey?, etc.  As a student, it's all about what is on the next test, did I get those transcripts? Am I going to have a GPA that's competitive enough against all these younger students? Labs, reading, red tape....you get the picture.
Basically, I am going to another blog to grouse about school. Don't wonder if I've quit school if you don't read anything about it here. If you're curious, head to Midlife Nursing Crisis. You'll find all the sorted details of that part of my life.
The Jury is Still Out is still my playground for quilting, life experiences, and general catching up, so I'm endeavoring to make this split to retrieve some of that fun while I jump through the nursing school admission hoops. Thanks for listening. Y'all are the absolute best!

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.

I think this world is too much like a drive through

This is just messed up to me. A vending machine for Proactiv? I'm not even going to provide you a link to it because it annoys me so much! I think society as a whole has become "convenient". This one is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee of all places.

We have drive through
chapels, restaurants, pharmacies. What the heck is next? I've even heard of a drive through

divorce court. Although I couldn't find a picture of same, I thought you might get a giggle or two out of this one.

I think I'm too old to go camping......

So, we try again with the camping. This time, no moody teen to tell us how boring it is, and why we shouldn't have come. We went south, way south. Away from the oil spill, cell phone coverage, and problems. We went to St. George Island State Park. However, it was not without problems, as most vacations can attest to.

First, there was the drive. From Kentucky to The Forgotten Coast was approximately 590 miles. This trip, while we did not have the moody teen, we did have a new puppy, "Snips".  We adopted him from a shelter that had a display at Petsmart. Knowing we were going to have to leave, we asked if we could pay his fees and pick him up after. Of course, they were terrified that the little guy wouldn't be picked up, so they said they couldn't do it. After a few pitiful attempts at names that would go along with Fiona, we settled on "Snips" because he was always 'snipping' at our heels.

Because the poor little guy had been locked up in the shelter, I just could shove him in a kennel for vacation. So, that's why we took him with us. He did very well on the trip. We arrived at St. George Island in the late afternoon and set up the tent. At 9:30 P.M. was 88 degrees! With the humidity, it felt like 95.  After we spent some time on the beach the next morning, by noon, it was already 92 degrees but the heat index made it feel like 106. I just couldn't take it. My knee had started to swell and I just wasn't fit to be around. We packed it up and headed for Grandma Hunnybunny's. I did get to visit with Hollywood on our way back through Tennessee. He seems to be doing well. Looks like he grew a foot. I don't think his voice was that deep when he left. Time does march on.

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.