Curls Gone Crazy

My life as a nursing student has me so insanely busy, I had to incorporate some short cuts into my life. DevaCurl is my new best friend! 

My hair is naturally curly (have we talked about this before?) and if I let it go curly, it is super low maintenance. 

The no-poo shampoo smells awesome and my hair feels super clean afterwards. Then I gently comb it out and put ArcAngel in it while lifting my curls into place. The ArcAngel hardens to a cast on the hair and when it's dry, I gently scrunch it off. VOILA!! 

This stuff is the bomb! No more 5am showers for this chic. I do it all the night before.

Thank you Justine, for turning me on to this awesome product! 

Www.mydevacurl.com

Amazing Moments

Sometimes I am completely blown away at how things can totally go your way when you least expect it. 

This past June, I sat here with butterflies in my stomach as I applied for a new job. When I left Beaumont in 2005, it was to stay at home with the kids. I never dreamed by 2010 it would be SO hard to get back in. At that time, Beau had just laid off 600 employees. Desperate for a job, I landed at another health system, but kept stalking the career board at Beau for the next 3 years. 

It took me over an hour to fill out the application and to complete the "are you a psycho nut bag" test. 

With my heart in my throat, I submitted it. I voiced my concerns to a close friend about how school started up on August 19, and if I were selected for this job, I had to orientate before then. She was quick to point out that they are SO S...L...O...W when it comes to these things. It is what it is.

July 1, Panera Bread, Chicago IL. As I sat enjoying a cinnamon crunch bagel with my daughter and niece, a call came in from Troy, MI. With nothing to write on, nor a calendar to look at, I blindly accepted an interview date and as I repeated the information to the caller, my brilliant daughter typed a note into her phone. My interview was set for July 12. 

The interview went amazingly well and as the department manager entered the HR office, I practically fell out of my chair. The manager of the department is a girl that I worked with for 6 years as an Emergency Technician. You have got to be kidding!

Lets start to make a really long story short...

I was told that day that she is hiring me. It took HR a bit to call and offer me the position and when they finally did, they wanted me to start on August 19 - the first day of classes. It took everything I had, to not cry. There was no way I could miss an entire week of nursing school. It's against the policys. After a few minutes HR called me back and changed the date. Aug 6. I'm IN! 

The only unfortunate event that took place was the wage they rehired me at. It was a huge decrease compared to my "other job at the 'other' Health care system". We're talking like a third of my hourly rate... gone. 

Fast forward - Today, Aug 30. My manager and former coworker comes and tells me AGAIN that there is still a part time position available. She REALLY wants me to take it. I told her about the difference in pay and without missing a beat, she sends and email to HR and then sends me down there. I went down, explained my plight and two hours later... I received a call. Instead of meeting half way, they immediately changed my pay to what I made when I left in 2005! It is WAY more than I ever anticipated!! 

I have until Monday to decide if I should take the part-time position. Everything in me is saying "Yes" but I just don't want to bite off more than I can chew and then not be able to meet my commitment. I can't imagine that happening though because I have pretty much worked 2 days/week for a really long time. 

Decisions, decisions. 

This whole thing has been one HUGE amazing moment!!

I'm Back!!

Holy cow. It took me all of a half an hour just to figure out that I signed into blogger with the wrong address which is why I couldn't find my blog. Then I couldn't remember my password, so then I had to have it sent to an old email address, which I couldn't remember the password for that either, lol! GADS!!!

Regardless, I am glad to be back at it. At this moment I'm studying cancers of the mouth and have some things to do to get a head so I can actually enjoy this Labor Day weekend! So sit tight my friends!

Please pop in with a comment saying "Hi" so I know this is actually working, :)

Later!

Check Out This Video

Chinese Wish Lantern

Five Years

I can't believe that this beautiful girl will be 18 in five years. If you are a parent, you know that five years is a drop in the bucket of life.

 

I love her energy, sense of humor and independent thinking. She is not a follower.

 

 

 

Five years. I hope it lasts F.O.R.E.V.E.R,

and that she finds a college close to home. ;)



Check this out!

Swing!

Pinterest

Six days sans Facebook and I'm still going strong. I actually don't even think about it anymore. Yeah, I miss my close friends posts and ultimately that will be the thing that draws me back in time. I know this is odd but even thought I didn't post on my wall every day, I felt really "exposed" even being on there. You know, because having an online blog isn't exposure enough.  I felt like people knew too much about me. I have nothing to hide but like my privacy. Since deactivating, I feel liberated oddly enough.

You never realize how much time you spend on Facebook until you are not on it. I challenge all of you dear readers, take a week off. Notice how many times you start heading "there". It takes a good 24 hours to break that habit.

To fill my time, I have started using Pinterest more and I have brought out my crochet needles once again.

I am a huge fan of Pinterest. I have had huge success with many ideas I have come across on there however today's adventure was a bit more interesting. Let me start by saying that this summer has been awful on my hair. I may not always have the best hair days, but I am a fanatic about not having dry hair. Nothing freaks me out more than a head of hay. Hay. That's exactly what my hair feels like right now.

Off to Pinterest we go to search "Hair Repair". Out of the many pins I found, I settled on the vinegar/ baking soda/ water concoction.

First off, there wasn't enough of the recipe to completely cover my locks. Second, it fizzed up big time when I added the vinegar to the baking soda. Regardless, I poured it on, rubbed it in distributing it the best I could and attempted to wait the suggested ten minutes.

For someone who has skin allergies to certain products, this was one of those times I probably should have "spot tested" to check for a reaction. Within five minutes, my neck was erupting! I had little spots on the sides of my neck that felt like they were on fire. Ooops! lol!

I wasn't able to wait the whole ten minutes but I will say this... IT WORKED. I felt it in the shower as I rinsed my hair. Even more, I felt it when combing my wet hair. So far so good.

My next adventure... deep conditioning. I'm not sure if I should go avocado/mayo route or in a different direction all together. So many pins, so little time...

Dear Facebook, It's Over.

Yesterday the relationship between Facebook and me, ended. I deactivated my account after realizing that time after time, I left there feeling worse than when I got on. My dear hubby couldn't believe I finally did it after months and months of threats. I explained it this way - Let's say you go out to lunch with someone. During the course of the conversation you find that you sometimes disagree with things they say. Regardless, when that lunch is over, it's over. Should you never want to see that person again, so be it.

Then there is Facebook. Now you are having lunch with your 800+ "friends" and whether you like it or not, you are subject to every last whim they decide to post, EVERYTIME they get on. Blah, blah. blah.... I tried blocking out a lot of people but that left me with very few that I actually care about and they post so infrequently that it just isn't worth it to me. I actually tried unfriending someone and they refriended me seconds later! What the hell?!

So, for now I am simplifying and separating myself.

It's been twenty-four hours and it's been bliss. The funny thing is that I keep catching myself wanting to go "check facebook", but realize that I can't. I can't believe how much better I feel. Relieved actually. I've already read the paper and a magazine. Next up... will be Jackie "O".

Oh I'll be back. That's a given. I start Nursing School in March and they form "facebook groups". I may just be back for that one thing. We'll see.

Laters Baby.

A hidden gem...

I found this lovely little lady beaming up from behind the barbeque grill in a plant bed. It must have been a lonely little seed left over from a winter feeding. Finding this, totally made my day. :)

Birmingham is in Troy

But Naperville is NOWHERE near Chicago. Funny how a map can be so deceiving. After months and months of back and forth texting, facebooking and emails, I was able to make the journey. Much to Dennis' dismay, I drove. We talked train, which was an 8 hour trip, we talked flights, which actually involves leaving terra firma and finally I settled on driving. It wasn't a bad trip at all. I actually kind of enjoyed it... For the first 2.5 hours. Then I heard a song that reminded me of my mom. Waterworks. She passed away unexpectedly on Memorial day. The water works then led into one sided conversation with her about how much I miss her amongst other things.

Then I was thirsty. Beyond thirsty. Note to self: bring water for the ride home. I had the brilliant  idea that I needed a frozen strawberry lemonade from Micky D's. That was in Indiana. Guess how many rest stops there are between Indiana and Naperville. Yep. Notta one. I am thankful for the fact that the  55mph speed limit on I-80 is merely a suggestion. My doors were being blown off my people doing 90, lol. I was just so worried about getting popped by the popo because you just know, they are waiting to nail the dumbass with the out of state plates!

I arrived here at 2:15 Naperville time. What a beautiful area. I sort of felt like I was in Troy with the exception that there is no gigantic lake on the west side of the state. There is a prairie preserve nearby and you can hear the coyotes at night. Justine has an owl that hangs out in her backyard at night too although last night I was so tired, I didn't hear a thing!

We spent yesterday making dinner and hitting the local fruit market which I loved! Aside from seeing things I have never seen before, they have apple pie from The Elegant Farmer! On the bottom left of the home page there is a link to watch Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Trust me when I tell you the pie is THAT GOOD!

Today we are going to the movies to see Hope Springs. Laters baby!

Bat Wings...

Yesterday at work I told a coworker that I feel flacid. The look on her 25 y/o face and the laugh that followed was priceless. Then I explained to her that since I turned ahem... 39 again, I feel really old. My muscles feel like they are getting flacid at break neck speed. My joints stiffen up after sitting for a nano second, etc. 

Where do I start? Jumping jacks? Push ups?? Seconds after bringing it up, our fearless leader walks up and says, "I'd like to start doing Yoga". Yoga... Why didn't I think of that? I used to do yoga all the time. So with that I went online and found a class this morning. Yoga in the Park. What could be better than that! 

Unfortunately I never made it. Bad pizza had me and the chitlins up all night. At least my abdomen doesn't feel so flacid now. ;)

Whoops!

Nothing like finding a link to your blog on someone else's blog! Time to make the donuts!

Creativity

Being on a VERY tight budget has its charms. For one, it is forcing us to be "creative" with our cooking. On Monday, Dennis said, "We really need to go to the grocery store." to which I replied, "No we don't. Look in the pantry. We just need to be creative." With that, I made Paula Deen's Potato Soup. I think the whole meal cost $7 and it fed 4 people with leftovers.

Then I remembered my friend telling me her son is a fabulous cook and makes a lot of Williams Sonoma recipes. It completely escaped me that Williams Sonoma had recipes! Last week while in Williams Sonoma, I saw the cookbooks amongst other things and God knows I love their products. Including this $400 hammered metal pot I am now coveting. The photo here does it ZERO justice. When I saw it in the store on the shelf, I swear I heard angels singing. I LOVE this pot so much I don't even know if I could use it. It would just sit on my stove where I can admire it.

After remembering the part about the recipes, I started looking at their cookbooks online. Then I started trying to find them cheaper... online. Then I checked with our local library. It was shortly after that I found the recipes link on their own website. I never knew the link existed!

Tonight I am making the split chicken breasts that I got on sale, using the recipe that I have this post linked to. I know you all probably cook this way all the time, but for me this is great because it is forcing me to teach myself, how to cook. There is a whole line of fabulous cooks in my family, however that gene seems to have skipped me completely. Should anyone want to send me that beautiful pot, comment and I'll send you my address. ;)



The Worst Part

Hearing life-altering news about a patient before they hear it. Knowing this is going to devistate them. Wondering if they will choose treatment or to let nature take its course. My heart breaks for them and their family. Definitely the worst part.

Like mother, like son.

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Fuznuts baby.

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Fuznut chilling under the pines

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How I spent my day...

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What's your Fantasy?

First full day without children and here we are. Side by side, laptops in full effect. Dennis has his fantasy football pics this evening with the guys from work. This is his third year of Fantasy football and I must say, it's pretty cool. We used to think the tool next door was such a dork when he would talk about his "team", but then after they moved Dennis was asked to play and on a whim, he did. It is so much fun, he's been doing it ever since and this year is on two leagues.

The interesting thing about it is watching football games to which you really have no loyalty to either team. However I have discovered that I am really into The Patriots.

Everyone is saying that this could be the year for the Lions. I'm not going to hold my breath.

You talkin' da me?

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