Succulents and Milk Glass

I have become a total plant convert. Once upon a time, I would have filled a garden with flowers and vines and such. But after many years, and many dead plants, I have decided that succulents are the way to go. There is a sticker right on it that says "Drought Resistant (Once Established)" Which works really well for me because "drought resistant" = I don't have to remember to water them.

So for my birthday last year, I got myself a succulent garden. And after a year of pretty much totally ignoring it (except to occasionally admire its awesomeness), it has grown from this:


To this: I lost the smaller plants, and the bean-shaped one was "pruned" by a two year old, but the parts that are left are huge!

Amazing, no? Did I mention that I didn't do anything to it? Love.

In addition to my new-found love of succulents, I have another new found love. It developed during my wedding planning stages, amidst my multitude of trips to Goodwill: Milk Glass. What is milk glass? It is basically just a milky white glass used to make things like vases and compotes. Something about its crisp whiteness just appeals to me.

For those who don't live with me (a number I estimate to be equal to: the worlds current population - 1), you may not realize just how much milk glass I purchased in the days leading up to the wedding. I was planning on centerpieces that looked something like this:

But as plentiful as milk glass is at Goodwill, it was not plentiful enough to guarantee me enough tabletop decor, so I switched gears. I kept the milk glass though, which is now spread around the house performing various duties: soap holder, dried flower vase, dust catcher, etc.

I kept this beauty, too:
My Fenton hobnail cake stand. I drooled over this puppy for months, and finally purchased it off of ebay for way more than I paid for any other decorative item for the wedding. I didn't even end up using it because the cake wasn't going to fit on it!

Anyway, I recently saw a project on Casa Sugar that melded my love of succulents with my love of milk glass:
Milk glass! Succulents! Milk glass! Succulents!

So when my birthday came around again this year (as it seems to do every year), I decided it was time for more succulents! And more milk glass!
So pretty!

I love this one so much, it gets to live inside!

(They both look good with my rings, too)

I love the names they give the succulent plants, too! This one is called "Blue Chalk Sticks"

I love it when a plan(t) comes together!

Birthday Concert

Florence and the Machine

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There Is A First Time For Everything

Karaoke! 33 years I had managed to avoid the dubious activity... Thankfully, I had some great help with me.

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Miracles

Rainbows and gas less than 3.80 a gallon!

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Delusions of Grandeur

My cat, the photographer.

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National Nurse's Day!

May 6-12 is Nurse's Week. A whole week! I feel like there should be fun activities every day, or some sort of subdivisions to the week. And a carnival! For instance:

May 6: ICU and ER Nurse's Day, celebrate by riding the Cardiac Monitor Roller Coaster!
May 7: Pediatric and Geriatric Nurse's Day, celebrate by eating soft foods!
May 8: Outpatient Nurse's Day, celebrate by running the 10k Foot Race/Obstacle Course!
May 9: Surgical Nurse's Day, celebrate in the Nursing House of Horrors Fun House!
May 10: Inpatient Nurse's Day: celebrate with exciting competitions like "Who Can Juggle the Most?!" and "Speed IV Placement!"
May 11: School Nurse's Day, celebrate by going to the park with a gaggle of kids!
May 12: Labor and Delivery Nurse's Day, celebrate by playing Midway games like "Catch the Baby" and "How Big is This Hole?"

In honor of Nurse's Week, and Nurse's Day, I would like to thank all the wonderful nurses that have touched my life.

First and foremost, of course, is the nurse that brought me into this world. The first, and always most important nurse I have ever known. I am, of course, referring to the Labor and Delivery Nurse present at my birth.

Haha! Of course not. Though I'm sure that nurse (whoever she or he may have been) played an important role - making sure I was breathing, not dropping me on my head and all that jazz - the most important nurse (and the best!) in my life is my mom!

Here she is, at what I believe is the beginning of nursing school. She is with her friend, and my godmother, Jean. Don't they look all young and cute in their uniforms?

And here she is at graduation.

I loved going to work with her and seeing all the medical-y stuff when I was growing up. While I wasn't smart enough to follow her lead to become a nurse, I did follow her steps into the medical field. And thus, nurses have continued to play a large, and very welcome role in my life.

From the nurses in medical school, who tolerated my presence with a minimum of annoyance and only occasional (light-hearted) threatening...

To the nurses on Davis 7, who were an absolutely integral part of my education...

To the nurses in the PICU and NICU without whom many a resident (including me) could have royally screwed up a child's life...

To the clinic nurses, who have to be the bad guys and give all those shots that we insist the kids get...

To the ER nurses, both at Davis and Memorial, who are often first in the room and have to let us know who is sick, and who is less so, all while tackling 20 other tasks...

To the Memorial L&D and post-partum nurses, who I think have one of the most reliably difficult patient groups and family situations possible...

To the Memorial ICN nurses, whose presence at difficult deliveries always makes me breathe a little easier...

To the Memorial Peds Nurses, who I could not function without...

And to my friends who are nurses, who I know are the best kind of nurses there are.

I don't know if I am just lucky, but I have had a life filled with so many amazing, intelligent and compassionate nurses. I suspect it has more to do with the field of nursing in general and less to do with my own luck!

So, thank you to all of you!

I'll keep working on the Carnival idea, because I think just having a week in which we are supposed to celebrate you isn't quite enough.

May the Fourth Be With You

It may not be an official holiday (except for those who practice Jediism), but today is Star Wars Day!

While I always appreciated the Star Wars movies, they have held a special place in my heart since about 7 pm on June 26, 2007. Give or take an hour. That was when the Man Who Would Become My Husband became very solemn and told me he had a secret. As I leaned in closer, I feared what dark skeletons may lie in his closet; I listened with 'bated breath and I will never forget the words he spoke. He leaned forward, crinkled his brow and declared, "I really like Star Wars." I, equally somber, replied: "I really like Harry Potter" (this was, of course, mere weeks before Book 7 was released) And thus, a relationship was born.

I will say, for a man who brought up Star Wars within hours of meeting him, Marc really isn't crazy about Star Wars. And by crazy, I of course mean this man:


He does watch the movies frequently, but usually at bed time, and even then it is interspersed with Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or whatever movie I choose to put in. He does, however, appreciate a good Star Wars product, which makes him super easy to buy for. Star Wars mug? Check. Star Wars wall art? Check. Star Wars toy light saber? Check.


I appreciate the good Star Wars product myself (though I'm still more drawn toward HP paraphernalia).

Like this:
I want it! Check out the light saber scissors on the cover. Awe. Some.

To further celebrate Star Wars Day, I will leave you with some pictures of amazing, and not at all over-the-top craft/art projects that I would willingly have in my life:
Death Star Watermelon!

Carbonite-bound Han Solo? Cool.

Already got the pattern printed out, and plenty of yarn waiting to be Ewok-ified.

Only the smartest babies travel by AT-AT.

It's cross stitch, but I'm sure it could be altered into a knitting pattern.

Happy Star Wars Day to everyone! (and let me know when Harry Potter day is!)

...my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes... -Yoda

National Teacher Day!

I have decided that I will celebrate a different holiday every day this month. Because of my procrastinatory skills, I already missed May Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day.

But I certainly didn't want to miss National Teacher Day!



I may not be in the majority here, but I loved school. (May explain why I went through the 20th grade - 23rd if you count residency) Certainly a large chunk of that was my friends, but the experience of learning new things, and the feeling of accomplishment I'd get from doing my work well... that was great! If I hadn't had the right teachers at the right times, though, I'm sure it would have been different. There are certain teachers that are indelibly part of me - I think of them, and decide to try just a little harder, or to listen more, or to look at something from another perspective.

Once upon a time, I thought I could be a teacher. Then I took a summer job teaching an arts and crafts class. Arts and crafts - easy-peasy, right? Not so much. I got just a hint of what I would have been like as a teacher, and it turns out, I'm not very good!

I have some friends that have become excellent teachers, though - the kind of teacher I would have loved as a student.

So, yay teachers! Here's a day to celebrate you. Not enough for all that you do for your students, the future, and humanity as a whole, but thank you all very much.

If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job. ~Donald D. Quinn

Dinner on the River

Discussing the umami-ness of the meal.

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Beauty Everywhere!

I'm at work. Again. This is my fifth shift in the past 12 days. By the time I drag my weary self home tomorrow morning, I'll have been at the hospital on 10 of the preceding 13 days. I am tired of being here, and bored of looking at the same things over and over and over again.

Like the break room:


But today, even in the midst of my over-worked ennui, the beautiful orchids by the window caught my eye.They've been there forever - or at least since I started working here (almost 2 years ago!)

I don't know who brought them, or who maintains them.
I certainly can't keep a plant alive for more than a month or two.

But these plants are gorgeous, and certainly a much-needed reminder to appreciate the beautiful things in life.
Even when you'd rather be any where else in the world!

Incidentally, my 5 shifts in 2 weeks works out to be about 60 hours a week. Significantly less than what I did as a resident during the busy months. Only two years out of residency, and I already canNOT imagine going back to such a ridiculous life. Or how I managed it in the first place!

Slow Day at Work = Easter Origami!

Two bunnies and a flower! Brightens up the call room significantly.

Incidentally, my phone auto-corrected "bunnies" up there to "junkies." Gives it a whole different perspective. Also, I don't think I could make Origami junkies.

But perhaps I should try?

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Spooky!

The post-partum area in our hospital is in serious need of remodeling and updating. I would venture to guess that the last time it was re-vamped was about 1988, complete with pastel prints of happy children on the wall and dirty off white and teal-ish vinyl floor tiles.

Several months ago, the artwork was (thankfully, mercifully) replaced with some wonderful pictures of babies taken by a local photographer. SO much more appropriate than the Children of the Corn paintings up before.

In the last couple of weeks, they tore down the grungy pastel wallpaper, and re-painted the eggshell white walls a more beige-y white color, which is much easier on the eyes.

And now they are finally replacing the floor! Hooray!

Post-partum happens to be quite slow (aka lacking in patients) at the moment, so they sent those patients over to the Pediatrics area. Leaving me in my little call room, with this scary looking, half torn up floor right outside my door.



I appreciate the coming metamorphosis (changing to a faux wood linoleum flooring), but I'm a tad spooked by the empty, run-down looking view I get when I leave my room. It feels like I've fallen into a scary B movie, where I'm trapped in an abandoned hospital with a psycho clown killer... Gonna make for some great sleep tonight!

The Day After

A picture I just came across (on my camera, of all places) of me and Marc, the afternoon after the wedding. I still have on a LOT of make up, as I neglected to wash my face after the wedding, or to take a shower the next morning. That's just how I roll.

And, Susan - name the date, and I'll meet you in Florida :)

I Dream of....

...Disney.

I haven't been to Disney Land since July of 2009:
Check out my intensity. I totally rock at the Buzz Lightyear ride.

And I haven't been to Disney World since December of 2007:
Christmas castle!

Anyone want to join me? Bonus points if we can do Disney AND Harry Potter world (or whatever that is called)

Say Yes to the Dress: Sisters!

A few weeks ago, I was able to go home for a short (like 24 hours short) trip to do some wedding dress shopping with my sister. Melissa is getting married to her own Mark (awesome name) in July. It was great to be able to see my little sister try on some dresses as she prepares to become an extraordinary bride herself. And, I was lucky enough to be there to see the dress that she ultimately chose. Woo-hoo!

I got some fun pictures of the day, and finally got around to loading those onto my computer today. It inspired me to go back to my own days of trying on dresses to compare. We're awfully similar...

If your name is Mark, you should leave now. But if you are Marc, you can read on. Subtle, but very important distinction. (I won't actually post pictures of the dress she is going to wear, but she will be shown in white...)

We had a pre-dress meal:
February 2010

February 2011. Apparently, being a bride makes Melissa more genteel.

We smiled a lot:



We tried on dresses with pleats:



We pretended the dresses were eating us/we were melting:



We frequently adjusted the dresses:



We had fun with the trains:



We tried on dresses that weren't quite our style:



We even had the same reaction to the same dress:



At the end of the day, Melissa found her dress at this store, while I thought long and hard about getting this one:
but ultimately went another direction.

Now, all that's left is seeing Lindsay try on dresses!!