Update w/ lots of pictures!

Wow, lots going on and very little time to blog about it...but here's the update with photos!

I started working on nights (7p-7a) at the hospital on August 19th - on the Neuro/Spine unit.  Our typical patients are hip & knee replacements, spine surgery, stroke or suspected neuro damage, and trauma step-down.  There is a lot of new equipment to learn, new policies to remember, etc. so it's very interesting and challenging.  I'm loving it!  It is an adjustment switching over to nights and then flipping back to "normal" hours on my days off, but it's worth it.

My birthday was August 21st...and lasted for about a week, which is nice.  Dinners, balloons, flowers, cake, cards, notes, gifts and gift cards.  Here are a couple of pics:

I *love* owls...closest they had to an owl birthday balloon!

Flowers and some of the cards.

Our message board in the kitchen... :-)

Short, summer hair!

And before all of this, I started remodeling the closet.  Sounds exciting, doesn't it?!  LOL...actually I turned 1/2 of the spare bedroom closet into a sewing area for my quilting.  Luckily, the closet runs the whole length of the room, so I had some space to work with.  After emptying it, assembling organizer cubes into a desk, staining and sealing the desktop, buying some $1 store baskets, installing the light fixture...it's ready to use!

Left side of desk

Right side of desk

Baskets hanging above pegboard

Thread holder on right side wall

All my quilting rulers hanging up

$1 store baskets holding most of my fabric stash

View from outside the closet...bright overhead light!

I also have a wooden TV tray that I can pull out and top with a pressing mat to iron my seams as I go if I like.  For my cutting and actual quilting (especially larger items) I would have to set up at the kitchen table, but for now I love that I have my own little nook to sew in and be creative.  Roger loves it because when you close the doors, the room looks all neat and tidy!

There's also a "design wall" - which is actually an inexpensive flannel backed table cloth with the flannel side out, tacked up with push pins.  Before I show you what I had up on it, here's a clue.  I needed a handwork project earlier this month and this is what I ended up with at the end of the week:

Hexies!!

112 - 1-1/2 Hexagons paper basted!  I just love looking at them all lined up like a rainbow.  So, I only need 440 or so more to go to get a decent sized throw.  Well, there's lots more work in that since they all have to be hand sewn together too.  Trying to decide on a layout will be the biggest challenge.  Here's the traditional "flower" layout:

Flowers

On the design wall

I have some more fabrics cut out to fill in and try a more color gradient style layout...burgundy, pinks, gold, olive, dark green, light blue, navy, lavender, brown, black, etc.  We'll see how that goes...the sewing has slowed down a bit since I started working, but it's easy to pick up and put down.

Hope everyone is well!  Hugs!  

RN...finally!

It's been a 3-year long journey (for a 2-year degree!) that didn't end with graduation from college.  No, there's this little thing that you have to do before you can actually work as a RN...it's the national exam that all states have graduates take to be licensed.  Once you pass that, then you can put RN behind your name and start working as a registered nurse.  So...

Anyway, I'm officially licensed and listed on the state's website as a RN.  Now, to start work!  I have a contract with the hospital since they sponsored/paid for my school and could start any time, I'm just looking for opportunities on other floors/units from where I've been working as a Nurse Intern.  Wish me luck!

Settling in

This past week has been filled with a lot of normal stuff. Unpacking, laundry, work, physical therapy, studying for boards, grocery shopping, cooking, etc.  It's also been filled with some new things...like me moving in, taking my dog (Copper) to the groomers and moving him in, and finally bringing my cat (Sammy) over.  So far, they're all getting along and behaving pretty well (thank goodness!).  None would cooperate for a group photo though!  LOL.

Murphy (Cocker Spaniel)

Sammy (Fire Point Siamese)

Copper (Beagle Mix)

Sammy is/has been an outdoor cat, but when we move I like to keep him inside for a few days until he gets familiar with his surroundings.  I think he's really enjoying the inside right now - he's being so affectionate and cuddly!  Maybe he wants to be an indoor cat?!!

Copper is doing well, it seems like he thinks this is temporary though.  Every time I get up to go to another room, he's right by my side ready to go!  He's not doing it as often, so maybe he's settling in too.  He keeps trying to get Murphy to play with him, but that's not happening.  Yet. 

Murphy seems to like having the company, though there has been a minor tiff or two over territory.  Copper shares well and doesn't mind when Murphy claims his "big" bed.  They love to sneak each others food, so the food goes up & down and I watch them in the mornings.  At night, they gobble up their food so fast, no one bothers with each others dish at all!  All in all, they're both pretty laid back dogs and the cat thinks he's a dog too, so all is well. 

Must go get ready for physical therapy on my shoulder. 

Au revoir!

First - new blog...this one just for family to keep up with our lives and share in a different sort of way.  The miles between us all just seem too long some times.  And the visits too far apart.  So, here we go.  I started setting up the blog when Roger & I were in Canada, just before we got married (he likes the idea of a blog, after I explained what it was and it's purpose)...thus the URL address ends in a .ca instead of a .com - if I'd set it up in the US, it would have been a .com.  Kind of cool that it ends in .ca for Canada. (ETA: apparently, it will show up under both .ca and .com....hmmm.)

Oh, and you wanted to know the story behind the name of the blog?  LOL, okay...glad you asked.  Last year, before the holidays Roger and I were lamenting about what a "terrible life" we were having (he was being facetious) with all the wonderful meals we were cooking together, the new wines we were discovering, the memories we were making together...etc.  After a pause, he simply said "I love us".  That pretty much summed up a lot of what we had been talking about and it stuck.  So, for Christmas, I made the rustic little sign you see in the image above.  It was/has been his favorite gift so far.  We've since repainted the kitchen where it was hanging...there's been quite a bit of DIY projects going on over the last 8 months...and now it sits on an easel in our bedroom.  Back to blog name story..."iloveus" by itself was taken, but since that needed more personalization anyway, I added on Allard so you'd know it was us!  Smile.

So there's our start! Email me or comment here if you have questions or want me to post about something, etc.  I'm better at checking email that someone else is, if you know what I mean.  I hope this is able to be translated somehow...will check into that for those that are interested.  I may not be back every day, but will try to post often and share pictures!