Suny's Days

RIP Mr. Nibbles

2008-12-27T12:44:00.000-08:00

We lost our baby on 12/17/08 at 10:30 pm. He was 12 weeks old. I miss him so much.

Time flies....

2008-11-30T08:56:00.000-08:00

Wow...I can't believe that I haven't blogged anything since the end of August. Truth is, I experimented with being offline for a few months to prove to myself I could do it. I think now there's a healthier balance between internet and real-life. It feels good.
Now...what have I been up to? Well, one day in October we went into Petsmart for dog food, and came out as foster parents to four kittens! They were saved from a local farm where a mean dog was terrorizing them....ate their parents and some of their other siblings. A fun adventure, with a very curious beagle in the house. We've adopted one out already...we're keeping one for sure...maybe two if the beagle can handle it. Here's a look at them....

Gotta finish decorating the tree....take care!

The Great Minnesota Get Together...

2008-08-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

So my hubbie surprised me yesterday by announcing that he wanted to go to the State Fair with me (he's not big on crowds...so we usually only go every other year or so). I actually had my doubts as to whether I'd have fun being that it would be the first state fair without children, but I went anyway. It was great!!!!! Now my time with the kids was special, don't get me wrong....but being an empty-nester....well it rocks! Does that sound bad? Does it sound selfish? Nahhh. To be honest, I spent the majority of my adult life devoted to bringing up the best child I could...spent all my time with him, or thinking up things to do with him or for him. And I don't regret a single moment...it was a priviledge to bring up such a special young man. I'll always be his mommy...even through college and throughout his life. But this new freedom feels wonderful and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

Back to the fair. We drove to Energy Park and took the bus into the fairgrounds. The bus driver was a maniac...and I still don't know how we escaped running over that kid...but we eventually made it there. Lots of walking, lots of food, and an awesome fireworks display! Here's my menu:

Pronto Pup (6" flour battered, deep fried hot dog served on a stick)

Diet coke

Big Fat Bacon (1/3 lb slice of bacon fried and carmelized with maple syrup, served on a stick with dipping sauces)

Corn on the cob (sweet corn on-the-cob roasted in the husk)

Kettle Corn

Cashew nut roll (nut rolls made on site-peanut, pecan, cashew-which may be dipped in chocolate and served on-a-stick)

Funnel cake

Cookies (Sweet Martha's Cookie Jar-4 dozen/tub)

Beer

Wine (from local wineries including Plum, Rasberry, and Rhubarb)

*Note...much of this I shared with hubbie...lol*

A view of the fireworks....

Let's talk some more later...need some Maalox :)

A Perfect Evening

2008-08-03T20:24:00.001-07:00

I really have to say that last night was probably the most perfect night ever. We didn't go to a club or a show or some gourmet restaurant. My husband and I stayed home, sat out on the deck, and talked. Good wine, beautiful weather, the gorgeous lights on the deck...everything was lovely. We need to do that more often :)

Work

2008-08-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

This is sorta boring, but I felt the need to post something positive about the organization I work for...West Side Community Health Services. Here is Maritza, our chief administrative officer, talking about our mission. Yeah, kind of boring, but may be interesting to some...

A dog's life...

2008-07-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here's Oreo at the Arlington Dog Park. We should have more of these kind of parks...they are really cool.

Uhmm....

2008-07-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

All I have to say is...

IBUPROFEN!

In the news...

2008-06-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

I always liked to think that if our clinic was ever in the news, it would be because of the excellent patient care, the highly-skilled staff, or the wonderful work we do in the community. However, a terrible thing happened in the waiting room of the clinic and we can now be seen on Fox9, or in the Pioneer Press, and we even made the morning show on KQ92.

Mother's Day

2008-05-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well I think I had the best Mother's Day ever this past weekend. My son flew in earlier than expected from New York to surprise me!

We had a nice day catching up, and later went for a good seafood dinner. But what touched me the most was the present Tris gave me...

...and the card made me cry...

I am so blessed :)

Life is good...

2008-05-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

Life is good right now...the medical assistant I've been wanting to fire (but just haven't gotten enough ammo against) has given her notice! Yea!! I can hire someone decent now. That, plus work overall has been good....I like our new clinic director, the pharmacy is getting finished, and I'm getting alot done with writing some new policies. Plus the diet thing and working out has made me feel much healthier....even if I'm not at my weight goal range yet. Time to walk the doggie.....cya...

Vitamin "V"

2008-04-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

Something very upsetting happened at work recently, and I need to get it off my chest and onto a blog. The medical director came to me one day with a concern regarding one of my nursing staff. It seems as if the nurse had been calling in prescriptions for Vicodin into a pharmacy without doctor approval. They were for her husband, who had some back pain issues.

Now first of all, only providers with an appropriate license can prescribe medications, let alone narcotics (like you're stupid...geesh sorry). These prescriptions were called in under a provider's name who wasn't even physically there in the clinic on the days in question. There was no documentation as to whether the pharmacy requested the refill, or if the patient called wanting the refill, or of even someone calling it in. Worst of all, the chart was found out of file and hidden under the sink of the nursing station where that nurse was stationed.

I was crushed. She was a friend of mine and we've worked together at the clinic for a long time now. I couldn't believe that she could have done that. I asked the medical director if I could go over the chart with a fine tooth comb, and interview the pharmacies myself. She gave me time to do that. I looked for any way for this not to be true-maybe the pharmacies had incorrect records, maybe the chart was missing some documentation (I scoured the medical records department for hours for loose shingles), but found nothing else but everything pointing right back to my friend. I was so sad.

The penalty for such an act is immediate termination and reporting to the police. The HR director and myself confronted her, and she readily confessed. Wow. Why?? Were the pills for her husband? Were they for her? Either way she needs help. After I escourted her out of the building, and took back her badge, I hugged her and we both cried. One stupid mistake and now her life is ruined.

I guess I've learned that you think you may know someone, but you never truly know their soul.

Working out...

2008-04-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

I still can't believe I joined a gym. Sure, I'm in bad shape, and my fasting glucose is 109, but I still can't believe it. So I went for the first time tonight, and I'd just like to share some helpful hints...

1. Wear loose fitting clothing, preferably shorts or light sweats and a short sleeved shirt. NOT a thick sweatshirt and pants ready to be worn in the Artic Circle.

2. Don't eat a large meal of orange chicken before working out.

3. Don't wear the sweats with the hole in the crotch.

4. You look in better shape if you work out next to the big sweaty man.

5. Don't forget your Ipod (listening to your own panting is neither entertaining nor therapeutic).

Can't wait to go back Thursday!!!!!

On the road to recovery...

2008-03-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

Well I'm feeling pretty good these days...have made a few changes to my lifestyle such as:

1. Joined a gym

2. Talking to a nutritionist who is helping me eat more healthy foods

3. Learning to deal with stress better

One source of stress-work:

I can't let it rule my life, and dictate how I'm going to feel and treat others. It's just a job, for crying out loud. Sure I want to do well, and advance, but not at the expense of my health.

That's all for now...gonna walk the doggie :)

Why don't they stock an ambulance with Chapstick?

2008-03-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

Well after several ambulance rides for my husband, I finally got to have one of my very own. Last Tuesday I had gotten home from work and stopped at the grocery store for a few things before coming home. I was walking along with the cart, when all of a sudden I got really lightheaded, like to the point where I truly felt I was going to pass out. Well I left the cart to find my way outside for some air. I found the car and somehow drove home. The feeling didn't go away...I was dizzy and lightheaded and shaky...all my body felt like I had just run a marathon. My hubbie made me take an aspirin and we drove to the clinic. They did an EKG and saw some changes that they didn't much care for, so they started an IV and called 911. Lovely. The ambulance ride seemed like it lasted forever. All I could talk to the attendant about was that I was so dry...like the Nitroglycerine wouldn't even dissolve under my tongue. My lips were so dry, I asked if he had Chapstick, and he said no. I whined to him about the need to keep your lips moisturized, and that he should stock the rig with Chapstick, Vaseline, ANYTHING like that. I think he was happy to drop me off at United Hospital ER. Hehe. Anyway, they ruled out a heart attack, but I'm going for further testing this week. Fun times, eh?

Winter Carnival Fun

2008-02-03T18:23:00.000-08:00

Went to the St. Paul Winter Carnival...haven't been there since Tristan was like 2 years old. Brrrrrr...armed with several layers of clothes, earmuffs and Uggs, we braved the cold and checked out the Torchlight Parade....

After the parade we walked toward Rice Park where the ice sculptures were supposed to be...

But they had been there for a week with some 30 degree days and had melted quite a bit....

Oh well. Just when I thought I was so cold my nose was gonna fall off, we found the Hotdish Tent and went inside. There was some wine tasting going on, as well as Tater Tot Hotdish and Chili for sale. Yum...I'm gonna make this hotdish soon...the recipe is on the winter carnival web site.

All in all, it was a fun time. Check it out some time.

He's leavin...on a jet plane..

2008-01-20T19:50:00.000-08:00

So my son left to go back to college a little while back and things have pretty much settled down again. I think he had a nice time (except for the flight back...more to follow on that), and I know I really enjoyed having him around. We played ALOT of Wii, watched TV, went out to dinner, and Tris did some visiting with friends home from their colleges. His birthday was the 13th of January, so we had a little family party before he had to go back.

I chose not to drive with him and his father on the way to the airport-I said my goodbyes at home. After awhile I received a phone call from Al.

Al: Did Gary call you?

Me: No...why?

Al: Because your son got arrested at the airport.

Me: Stop joking.

Al: No, he really did.

Me: Shut up...this isn't funny, Al.

Al: It's not a joke...it's true.

Me: Albert, you know darn well that I am already in an emotionally fragile state right now having said goodbye to Tris...this isn't funny at ALL.

Al: I know it's not, but I'm not lying.

Me: Ok..what could he possibly be arrested for?

Al: He had 75 bullets in his coat.

Me: What???? Why the HECK would he have ammunition?

Al: One day he went to the firing range over vacation and had bullets left over. So he put them in his jacket I guess and forgot about them.

Me: Oh my GOD! Is he alright?? Did he make his flight?? What happened??

Al: Yes he made his flight on time. He was just charged with a misdemeanor and given a $250 fine.

Me: My POOR Baboo! He must have been so scared! I'm calling Gary!

I feel so bad for him. The kid has always been a straight A student, never getting in trouble, never got detention, always obeyed his parents...and now look what happens.

Poor Tris!

Hallelujah!

2008-01-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

Hubbie passed that darn stone, FINALLY!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year :)

2008-01-01T20:38:00.000-08:00

Ok... so as I was writing the previous blog, my husband was starting to have some abdominal pain, which progressed quickly to excruciating pain and caused him to curl up in a ball on our bed with his pants down. I told him we needed to go to the hospital, but he said he could not walk to the car with me. Hello, 911? Yep. As I waited for the paramedics I tried to get his underwear back on (some believe Mama says to always wear clean underwear "just in case"...I say you should at least be wearing underwear), but my efforts proved unsuccessful. I was out of fig leaves, too. Five minutes later, the paramedics came in and rolled him away.

Funny Videos

Turned out to be a kidney stone which he STILL hasn't passed yet. So hubbie's Christmas and New Years consisted of being stoned on Percocet and straining his urine (he keeps the lovely urine strainer on the top of the toilet tank....adds a nice fragrance to the room).

My writings may suggest to some that I have little sympathy for hubbie, but nothing could be farther than the truth. I stayed up all night with him in the ER (went to work the next day...fun), and I continue to make sure he takes his meds, walks, and drinks plenty of water. But the toll of the lack of sleep and tackling Christmas basically alone was too much, and I was stricken with 2 separate viruses-one GI (aka diarrhea-refer to above video again) and a lovely bronchitis (which I'm fighting right now).

Despite everything, Christmas dinner went very well and everyone enjoyed themselves. The boys seemed to like their presents, and the dog likes her new bed. I just wish he'd pass that stone!

So in closing...I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Happy 2008!

Sanity

2007-12-23T10:16:00.000-08:00

In an effort to keep my sanity, I will make a list of the things we need to accomplish today. I would share them with hubbie, but he's heard them twice already today.

1. Hang pictures

2. Go to Cub

3. Start cooking-eggs, stuffing, nuts

4. Another trial of the apple cider recipe

5. Mop floors upstairs

6. Clean upstairs bathroom

7. Move seating downstairs

8. Peel potatoes-put in water in fridge

9. Make bean casserole

10. Buy 1 flannel backed tablecloth

Better get busy...

Menopause

2007-12-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

OK I'm supposed to be a post-menopausal woman....but why don't I feel that way? OK, other than the hot flashes from time to time, I really don't feel that different. To tell you the truth, I find the whole thing pretty cool so far. Why? Well besides the fact that I single-handedly caused the Tampax stock to go down, no more worries about...(insert your own thoughts..my son reads this blog...heh). Let's take a scientific look at the whole thing...

Excuse me, I need to take my calcium :)

Even worse blogger...

2007-12-18T21:23:00.000-08:00

I knew I would not be able to do this on a nightly basis, nor on a weekly basis either. Perhaps after the holidays I will do better. Now I have to catch you up on lots of things.

We flew to New York for the Thanksgiving weekend, and had a nice holiday with my son and my family. Tris is pledging a fraternity, and that made me feel good that he was enjoying the college experience so far. Here's pics...

When we returned home, we discovered that our bedroom had been broken into, and the rotten scoundrels stole our new Wii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The police came and dusted for fingerprints and everything. No leads as yet...I'll keep ya updated.

Soon afterwards, our dryer broke. The family room downstairs became the "indoor clothes line" where my husband hung clothes all over the place to dry. *Argh* A quick trip to Sears and we are now the proud owners of a lovely new dryer.

I need to continue this tomorrow...hubbie wants to go to bed. Night ya'll :)

Bad Blogger

2007-11-05T21:36:00.000-08:00

Well I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later...now I'm behind in my blogging. The last 2 days have been so busy...geesh. So let me try and catch up.

Sunday the hubbie and I went to the Twin Cities Chocolate Extravaganza at the Minneapolis convention center. LOTS of chocolate and wine tasting, shopping, a fashion show, demonstrations...fun. Unfortunately my tummy was a little upset by the time we got out of there with all the rich food and drink. Here are some things we learned from the show:

-In the Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho, chocolate syrup was used for blood in the infamous shower scene.

-The largest Toblerone bar weighs 10 lbs.

-The melting point of cocoa butter is just below the human body temperature, which is why it literally melts in your mouth.

-Cocoa beans were used as currency by the Mayan and Aztec civilizations over 1400 yrs ago. When they had too much money to spend, they brewed the excess into hot chocolate drinks.

-A recent study indicates when men crave food, they tend to crave fat and salt. When women crave food, they tend to desire chocolate.

My favorite wine that I tasted was an Italian wine called Ca De Medici Rosso Lambrusco..mmmmmmm so good. I'm making hubbie pick up some tomorrow.

A few pics:

So tonight we just got back from the Wild game and I'm so tired...need to get to bed. Remind me to tell you the story about our ride to the game....very interesting.
Cya!

Virgin Blogger (yeah, that's my excuse)

2007-11-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

Ok so my new twitter friend Honeybell tagged me in her blog and I had no idea what that meant. So I was like..."Oh, that's so cute...she tagged me...uh..what's a meme..?" Later on I was reading a few other blogs and saw the same reference. Huh? What does this mean? Finally the lightbulb went on...lol. So Honeybell, I didn't ignore the challenge...I plead stupidity on my part. Here goes...

4 Jobs I have had:

-Cashier/clerk at a 7-11 as a teenager in New York. One day I was using one of those big metal meat slicers to slice a nice woman a pound of liverwurst. When I was done the order was slightly more than a pound due to the fact that I sliced the top of my thumb off (my second ride in an ambulance...wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!)

-RN on a med-surg unit at Westchester County Medical Center, NY.

-RN at a spinal cord injury hospital (Shepherd Spinal Center) in Georgia.

-RN (supervisor now) at a family practice clinic in St. Paul.

4 Movies I love to watch over and over:

-There's Something About Mary
-A Lot Like Love
-The Waterboy
-The 40 Year-Old Virgin

4 Places I have lived:

-Walden, New York
-Atlanta, Georgia
-Newport News, Virginia
-Minnesota (St. Paul/Lakeville/Cottage Grove)

4 TV shows I enjoy watching:

-House
-The Office
-Grey's Anatomy
-ER

4 Places I have been:

-Chattanooga, Tennessee
-Washington, DC
-Wildwood, New Jersey
-Caracas, Venezuela

4 Websites I visit daily:

-MSN
-Blogger
-Twitter
-MySpace

4 Favorite Foods:

-Cesar Salad
-McDonalds French Fries (ya,ya I know they are bad for ya)
-Prime Rib
-Applebees Oriental Chicken Salad

4 Places I would rather be:

-bed (my new Sleep Number Bed...ahhh)
-15 to 18 years in the past
-Caribou Coffee shop
-on vacation (anywhere, really, as long as I'm off work)

4 people I'm tagging:

-My sister Mary
-AJ
-Connie
-Sherry

Halloween 2007

2007-11-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

Halloween was fun...had a party/potluck at work (I went as MRSA-you medical people should get this...lol), then had a quiet evening at home with hubbie. We had 40 trick or treaters (up 13 from last year). Hope everyone had a good holiday!

Fridays

2007-10-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well, the Friday work day has come and gone...and I survived. For you see, it just happens to be a FULL MOON TONIGHT! On or around a full moon, the strangest people find their way into our clinic, or just decide to harrass you on the phone. I am usually doing phone triage on a Friday-and on a day like today, a countless number of people are very pushy, impatient, rude, and generally weird and whacked-out.

What I don't like about any Friday are the usual Friday afternoon narcotic seekers..."I couldn't make it to my appointment today (he hasn't been seen in over a year) but I need some Vicodin nowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Today was Dr. Schneider's last day...so instead of having the traditional pot luck, we opted to have a dessert bar. I will miss her. Here's a few pics taken by the crappy camera in my crappy phone...

We look like depressed workers in a sweat shop or something. Geesh. Told ya the camera was crappy.

Ta ta for now...

Doggie Steps

2007-10-24T19:56:00.000-07:00

We went to the Woodbury Petsmart to buy Oreo some Doggie Steps. The new bed is a little too high for her, and I don't want to take the chance of her injuring her back like last year.

She loves going to Petsmart, but unfortunately she lacks social skills and kinda loses it when another dog wants to say hello. She's not mean...she just gets overexcited. Here's a pic before she saw the black dog then peed all over the floor.

Speaking of my new bed.........ohhhhhhhhhh........why didn't I get a Sleep Number Bed before now? They delivered it last Friday, and I've been in heaven ever since. I'm a 35...what's YOUR sleep number???

Well I'm tired and need to go to bed...I have alot of reviews to do on employees tomorrow, and I'm starting the interview process for a new HUC. Even Oreo is tuckered out after that short trip to the store...cya...

Digital Camera Fun

2007-10-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I finally figured out how to load my pics/movies from my camera to my lappy. Wanna see? Here's a short movie I took at a recent Wild game (we have season tickets)...

Yeah! Wild have the best record in the league 7-1!!! It's gonna be a great season!

Say...Trader Joe's was awesome...the "shelves are stocked full of delicious foods and beverages from the basics like milk, bread and butter to more exotic fare like imported cheeses, organic produce and hand-tossed pizza from Italy." Cedar planks line the walls, and the staff all wear Hawaiian shirts. I'm definately going back!

Well I need to go to bed so I can go to work early tomorrow for a pharmacy formulary meeting. Ugh. Nighty-night :)

First post...

2007-10-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am at my first post. What should I blog about? Something deep and thought provoking? Something sad and heart-wrenching? Nahhh...I'll just tell you how it is...

This afternoon at 1 pm I'm still in my pajamas, sipping my coffee and playing around with this blog. Pretty soon we're leaving to check out this new grocery store (yes, I said "grocery store") named Trader Joe's. It's supposed to be a veryyy different kind of grocery store. I'll tell you all about it later.

Last night my husband and I went to a new comedy club in Bloomington called the Joke Joint. It was fun-I especially liked the second comic named Tod Andrews who was originally from Boston and still had the accent. Much of his comedy made reference to the East coast where I am originally from, so I laughed at most of his jokes. The headliner, Alex Cole, was pretty good, but he was kinda old and we also think that he farted twice while onstage (we were in the front row and our noses were the recipients of these farts-ewww).

I should get going...talk to you later...