I'm struggling with that nasty attention span thing again, mostly due to item #1, so today it's question time. Yes, questions. As always, I advise you to appreciate the days where I abandon my usual verbal diarrhea in favor of short and succinct. You never know when you'll get this lucky again.
Question #1. Why the hell can't I get well? I've had a low grade head cold/drippy nose/sore throat thing going on for over a month and I cannot shake it. Can I tell you how embarrassing it is to be leaning over a patient and have to whip my head around to avoid dripping snot all over them? On the one hand it's a great way to test their reflexes. On the other hand it's just plain gross. For all involved. I was roundly warned to expect to be sick my entire first year in the ER, but I never really expected it to happen.
Then a couple of days ago I made the mistake of wishing it would get bad enough that I could finally get it out of my system for good. Be careful what you ask for. Right after dinner Wednesday I fell face first into the sofa and I'm still basically in that position. Plus - I feel better now. Another plus - I'm all caught up with my blog buddies since I didn't have the energy to do anything except lie around and read. Third plus - Have I mentioned how much I love this laptop?
Question #2. Why, when I've made a New Year's resolution to be more of a go with the flow, loosey goosey type gal, do Sasquatch's end of semester grades immediately factor into the equation? I still haven't gotten written notification, but today, on his first day back at school he got verbal confirmation. I've opted to not go off the deep end until I get the grades in the mail.
I need a mantra, people. And I need it before tomorrow's mail.
Question #3. Why did I ever think a side by side refrigerator and freezer was a good idea? When we bought this place the only appliance not included was the fridge. All the others were stainless steel so I got to go out and buy the only new fridge of my life, since it's hard to find a used stainless one. The FG basically said to buy what I wanted. I liked the idea of a side by side, so that's what I bought.
But here's the catch. Nothing fricking fits in it. Frozen pizza barely fits. Want to be efficient and make a double batch of something and freeze one? Better not make it in a casserole pan because once it's in, the door won't close. I found this out the hard way tonight (again) and we'll be eating the same casserole for dinner tomorrow because I can't freeze it. Grrr.
Question #4. Will my luck hold out and the lice stay gone? So far so good. No nits for two weeks. Life feels a little empty when my evenings aren't spent combing out conditioner covered hair by the hour. On the other hand, my skin has never been so smooth. Think of the time I could save by just buying a good hand cream.
Question #5. Will I ever shut up? Yes. Yes, I will. Right now.
Friday, January 4, 2008
questions, questions...
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21 comments:
I feel for you. We spent the entire month of September sick. It continued on into October. It sucked! Is this your first year in as an ER nurse? You sound like a seasoned pro.
As for Sasquatch. The high school teacher in me (there was one for 4 years) says tell him your ipod is my ipod until you get your grades up. The parent who has to live with him, might not want to go there yet. But a weekly check up with his teachers might get his buns in gear. As a teacher, please send them a weekly email asking how he is doing, don't ask them to remember.
And I hear ya sister on the refrigerator. I did the same exact thing. Since I bought mine they have come out with my dream fridge. Freezer on the bottom, side by side doors for the top. But the top opens to a full width fridge. That way the door doesn't take up the entire room when you open it.
Got my fingers crossed on the nits thing for you.
Looks like my mouth has a case of the runs too. I am still jealous of your laptop.
I do hope you feel better soon - january is not a good month, and if you feel rotten its not much help. but I'm sure ahot toddy mght help?
I also feel for you on the illness front. I was sick for the entire month of December - picked up some nasty cold in Ohio and the cough decided to hang around for the month. Yuck. Got some albuterol and that made all the difference, but my training schedule is all messed up and I've had to cancel my plans for an April marathon.
Hope you feel better.
My first year in ER was spent lurching from one illness to another without every shifting anything. Yuk. It's those darned patients. They will insist on being sick. On the upside, once the 12 months was up I got better. I left after 6 months of well-ness, just to be certain I stayed that way ;o)
I like Ped Crossing's answer it's good. Eapecially the sasquatch stuff.
Mr B has had the constant lergy this past month so I feel for you. Maybe you need to take some vitamins and echinaccea etc.
At least you have your lovely laptop to make you feel better. And now I am tagging you (Bad Jo), but if you don't fancy it that is ok. I still have to do yours. I will, I promise. :D
are you taking zinc? like cold-eez or zy-can? they really do help to knock colds out.
and i think ped crossing is right on the money with the ipod threat. if not the ipod, something else. there have to be consequences for behavior.
some people think he's kind of a nazi, but i always liked john rosemond's parenting columns, which ran for years in syndication. basically, his philosophy is all about cause and effect. let the kids know when they do good, there are happy consequences, and when they do bad there are unhappy consequences. and then be consistent. be as consistent as Old Faithful. they'll get it.
oh, and side-by-side fridge? we have one, simply because our kitchen is so tiny the kitchen designer said this would work better in our space because the doors are shorter. she's right about that. but she neglected to tell us that everything else is shorter, too.
we now have a big old used chest freezer out in the garage for the pizzas and casserole dishes.
Ugh, sorry for your illness. TFYO comes home with something every other week, and just when I think we're in the clear, she gets that chesty cough again.
As for the fridge, I've been looking at the side-by-side style! We initially bought the old-fashioned freezer-on-top style (that sounds vaguely dirty, doesn't it?), because it was cheaper. Now I know I did okay. Especially since we collect pizza boxes sometimes. *grin* We've got a chest freezer (from Ray's Nana), but have yet to plug the thing in.
And I, too, concur with ped crossing on the Sasquatch thing. As long as the teachers are willing to have weekly correspondence with you, it might help. He might not like you looking over his shoulder, but...
I agree with ped crossing re Sasquatch -hope it works!
I do hope you're on the 'up' now, I'll send you some Reiki.
Hopefully you've seen the last of the nits - my head's itching like crazy now I've mentioned them - why is that??? :(
I am sorry about your cold. Our dear little Fiona is immuno suppressed and has been coughing for the past two months. I think it's her allergies, we have a handle on medicines and now I think she has an actual cold. Thank heavens she doesn't have a temp. I love the Halls...I forgot what they are called, but they have Zinc, Vitamin C and Echinacea. I start sucking them when I feel a cold coming on and they really seem to help.
I love Ped's refrigerator, but Hubby wouldn't go for the cheaper one because it didn't have water and ice in the door.
I have plenty to say on my blog, but I have pictures up of a new room in the house and people aren't back to commenting yet!
I've been sick, too, RC, since the week before Christmas. It was worst on the Saturday after Christmas (the day we went to my parents, of course) and a few days after. The cold is better, now, but this morning I had stuff happen that makes me think sinus infection. Whoopee.
Grades. Suck. I methodically take things away until I get the behavior I want. Time plus good behavior, and they get things back. Once, I had my daughter's tv, vcr, dvd player, stereo, and every dvd and cd she owned in the trunk of my car. For months. She was 13 and it sucked. When I was on the verge of taking all non school books, she turned the corner. Now, I just threaten to take the keys and she's perfect. Really.
We have a side by side, too. It's huge, like 25 cubic feet. Doesn't matter. It's still too small. So there is a fridge in the garage right next to an upright freezer. And I use them all. That's what happens when you forget to stop having kids. ;)
RC, you have my sympathies. And my permission to use my favourite mantra, wheeled out in times of stress, hangovers, too much washing, extreme boredom, and not enough space in my freezer (though thanks for the heads-up on that, btw. I've always coveted one of those side-by-sides, now I know why I shouldn't get one. Although damn, they look so PRETTY...).
Anyway, the mantra.
'This too shall pass'
I find it suits just about every eventuality. Use with impunity.
You didn't mention the fingerprints on the stainless steel...I've heard that's a problem too - or do you just keep polishing and polishing?
What ER did you say you work in? I refuse to go near anyone with a cold so I don't want to come to yours...No offense intended.
#1: Tortilla soup.
#2: Don't fight yourself, you are not loosey goosey.
#3: Maybe yours could be the first used stainless steel fridge on the market; then you can get yourself the one you want.
#4: Looking good.
#5: Please, don't ever shut up.
I've had congestion, runny nose and sore throat for eight years. I even had surgery to scrape all that crap out of my head, and it was back in three days. Try a netty pot. It helps.
Refrigerators are a pain. Our kitchen is designed so poorly that we had two choices in normal-size refrigerators. We had already decided we didn't want a side-by-side because of the space issue you described. My sister-in-law had one, and I made the mistake of opening it one day. Eek.
How old is Sasquatch? I'm just preparing myself for the future by being cyber-witness to your misery. Thanks and sorry.
ped crossing - I like your ideas about Sasquatch - a lot. I'll be sending out a mass email to his teachers once this bad news is confirmed. And the fridge you describe is the one I covet, too.
Your ER question kind of leads me in the direction of a blog post. This is my first year in the ER, but all of my experience is in critical care. Maybe that's why I sound "seasoned". I sure hope so!
flowerpot - a hot toddy could never hurt. I've been drinking hot tea until it comes out my eyeballs. Maybe I need a shot of something in it?;)
ann - oh, that sucks. To have put so much work into something and then have to reschedule it. I hope you're on the upswing and able to get back to training.
belle - isn't it terrible? As soon as you get over one thing something else comes in. And I have a killer immune system, but it's certainly getting a run for its money.
jo - I've been taking vitamins and Emergen-C, which is great. I think they're helping, but who knows?
I'm off to check my tag!
laurie - I'm taking supplements and mega C. I think I'm on the upswing today. Cross fingers. We have a fridge in the garage with a top freezer that I could use, too. But earlier this year everything in it went bad. It's pretty new, so my suspicion was that the FG had accidentally unplugged it and then replugged it, which he denied. I still think that's what happened, but it makes me leery to use it. We always had a big freezer in LA and I want one again now. Desperately.
jen - I'd stay away from the side by sides. Seriously. Especially with (almost) two kids. We have the biggest one they make and it's still too small.
akela - sorry I made your head itch. If you want to send some Reiki I won't tell you no!
lcm - nice to have you! I'm off to check on your remodeling adventures. The in-door ice thing was a big deal for us, too. The kids thought it was the coolest thing in the world, which amused me kind of and made me scratch my head kind of.
kaycie - I'm sorry you're sick, too. I hope you get to feeling better. I like the idea of taking things away from Sasquatch and the 360 will be the first thing to go. I envy your outside freezer. I have a spare fridge, but no stand alone freezer. I could certainly use one.
potty mummy - I love your mantra. I mean really, how true IS that? My version of that is usually "this is NOT the end of the world". And this isn't. I guess. I hope.
aims - ha ha ha hee hee ho ho. Me? Polishing a fridge? ha ha ha hee hee ho ho!! I tell people the smudges are part of the custom pattern.
my two cents - "Don't fight yourself, you are not loosey goosey". Now THAT is about the most appropriate mantra I could EVER have!
Did I ever tell you that my favorite description on myself ever (from someone else) was "She's the most laid back control freak I've ever met". Snort.
amy - Sasquatch will be 16 in March. But I don't necessarily think he's typical. He's always been my high maintenance struggle. I don't think my other two will do this to me, so hopefully there's also hope for you.
I ran 50 minutes today, so I think I am well and truly on the mend.
And I wrote that gardening post, so you can learn from my terrible mistakes. :)
Poor RC! Seriously, no sarcasm intended or anything.
Side-by-sides? Bite the big one. I want one of those spiffy fridges with the freezer on the bottom. I get all warm and tingly just thinking about it.
Umm. That came off creepy, didn't it?
Two cents stole my comment. LOL couldn't have said it better myself. :)
oh and thanks for all the clicking. :)
cold, grades, fridge, lice, shut up... cold, grades, fridge, lice, shut up... cold, grades, fridge, lice, shut up.... cold, grades, fridge, lice, shut up...
You wanted a mantra.
Just be GLAD you're not in Britain where fridges and freezers are the size that most Americans would consider suitable for their Barbie. Washing machines and dryers too.
RC, I had one of those freezer on the bottom, side by side (but not) on top. I liked it pretty well. The nicest thing about it was the smaller doors on the top. But (and I think this is a big one) it was a pain in the derriere every time you wanted ice. There is something about having to bend over to fill your glass with ice that just ticked me off. It's probably just me.
I agree with Iota, UK fridges are useless and if one happens to have been designed into your kitchen there's not enough space left for a proper BIG American one. It takes a degree in logical fridge shuffling to exist over Christmas.
Anyway, more importantly, your snotty nose. Post-nasal drip to the likes of you and me. Sounds like you might need a course of antibiotics (or at least a few days off) to knock this thing on the head. Try the red ones.
Re son's grades, I'd try threats or bribery, or a cunning combination of both. It won't work of course, but at least you'll feel like you tried and it's part of growing up to be nagged by your Mom to do better at school. If you don't give him a hard time he'll feel as if he's missed out in later life.
Lice: you miss them now they've gone,don't you? No pleasing some folk.
And, lastly, don't ever, ever shut up. I could cope with the lice, the stupid fridge and son's dodgy grades, but not that.
You're keeping the rest of us sane.
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