appreciation

I thought I would update this blog since it was mainly going to be about Kristin anyways. For awhile now, Kristin & I have met for dinner about every other week. It's definitely a highlight of my week, and- it was just what I needed yesterday.

I've been really upset about the whole Seattle/travel position not working out, and of course Kristin was able to put things in perspective last night. I really am so very lucky to have her in my life. She really helps me to realize the positives in what seems like the suckiest situation ever. There's not many people that are so willing to sit and listen to you complain/cry/sulk for more than an hour!

So, Kristin- me loves & appreciates you. AND- congrats on the promotion! It was well deserved.

p.s.- Kristin, I would love you even more if you would update!

If you see her tailgating this weekend in Starkville- see if you can talk her into updating!

disgust

I started on the top 5 embarassing songs earlier this week and never finished. I'll eventually get that posted (sorry for the delay, girls!), but I actually have something serious on my mind right now. If you're not familiar with the Jackson news- check out the following...


dog mauling

last night's shooting

birthday party shooting

Two other deaths (not reported in the news) also occurred in the last two weeks. One was a death that was not necessarily due to the negligence of parents/adults. Unfortunately, the other death was the result of child abuse. All of them ended up in our emergency department.
Somehow, I managed to miss each one of these patients- which is a good thing for several reasons- the biggest being the fact that I might have been not so nice to parents during a difficult time.
I just don't get it. Maybe it's because I don't have kids. Maybe it's because I was raised by great parents. Maybe it's because I (usually) have common sense.
It's so incredibly sad, and it disgusts me.

update: i just saw this article on the wapt website after i published my post

5 Most Embarassing Songs

Here are the Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you, (Mallory & Tracy) and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 songs you are embarrassed to admit to others that you like and tell why.
3. Tag 5 random people at the end of the post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Thanks for the tag, girls. I see that Elizabeth has already been tagged, so I don't have anyone else to tag (sad!). Furthermore, I'm totally not embarassed by my taste (or lack thereof) in music- BUT- I've been told that my love for the following songs SHOULD be embarassing to me.

So... here goes.

1. Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler

My love for this song started in middle school when my mom's high school skit troupe did a skit about drugs/alcohol/etc. to this song. The dramatic ending gets me excited every time, and it's on several of my mixed cds from throughout the years.

p.s.- That's some sweet hair.

2. Ashlee Simpson's Autobiography album

I bought this cd for Kristin around both of our 21st birthdays. We listened to it over and over on our way to Memphis for Kristin and Tracy's joint birthday party. Then... Kristin says it got "stolen" sometime while she was at State. That made me very sad. Maybe she just lost it. If not- someone else obviously has a similar love for Ashlee. I'm not really sure what it is exactly that I love about this cd. It's such teeny-bopper pop/rock that just makes me smile.I've now bought most of the album for my Ipod. And no, I'm not even embarassed about this one.

3. LFO's Summer Girls

I started driving the summer this song was on steady repeat on the radio. I'm even thinking that back in 1999 the radio station of choice in Jackson was 95.5- The Beat. Maybe someone can help me out on that. For some reason I thought that the inclusion of New Kids on the Block was so fun. This song is still a fun favorite of mine- especially for the summer.

4. Candy by Mandy Moore

I still hate that I missed Mandy when she came to Jackson when Candy was just released. She came to what was once an indoor amusement/games center named Planet Rock in Pearl- now it's one of those strange churches put into odd buildings that I don't really understand. My favorite part of the song is the spoken party towards the end with the "you know who you are..... love always, mandy."

5. Stevie Wonder's I Just Called to Say I Love You

Still not embarassed- I totally realize how cheezy this is. No rhyme or reason why- but I love it.

Shake It

... you know... the song from Metro Station. It was our "theme song" for the vacation.




As I mentioned last night, I had a very nice vacation at the beach last week. After Kristin, Anya, & I had a long day at work Tuesday night- we all (+ Gretchen) headed down to the condo. We stayed through Saturday, and I had a great time. I definitely was not ready to come back home. Napping on the beach and having so much fun 24-7 with good friends definitely ranks higher than being at the PED.




We mostly stayed at the condo, but we did venture out Thursday and Friday nights. Thursday night we headed to the Tacky Jacks II at Fort Morgan for some drinks and karaoke where Gretchen appreciated being the cute girl in the bar! It was quite a mix of bar patrons. You can tell from the videos that I posted yesterday.






On Friday night we headed to The Hangout at "the t" in Gulf Shores where we met up with some other UMC kids. It's a really neat new place that's built a lot like Lulu's with its open air restaurant, playground, and sand pit. It's very family-friendly (somewhere I probably should not have been after my alcohol consumption that night). It even closed down at midnight.



And, lastly- here's my situation with the blog. Kristin has left me for her husband. So- looks like I need to rename it. Not sure what I'm going to do yet- but be looking for that change.

it's her birthday

It's my dear Krissyboo's big quarter of a century birthday. Although I'm just a little upset (ok, ok- A LOT upset) that she's ditched this blog- she's still the most absolute best friend in the whole world, and I love her tons. So- Mrs. Gorney- I know you had to work today, but I hope it didn't suck too bad. The Gorneys were planning on dinner at Char tonight; I'm sure it was yummy! I'm also thinking she may have gotten shrimp & grits... Kristin, was I right?

To celebrate the anniversary of her birth- here's a couple of videos from last week's beach trip

... and a warning- you might want to make sure the volume isn't too loud. Nobody said my best friend was the next American Idol (well, actually- delusional Kristin actually thinks she might be).

Here's Kristin @ the Tacky Jacks II at Fort Morgan last week. She and Anya (fellow PED nurse) were definitely a crowd favorite with their little "Baby Got Back" routine. I apologize that it's so dark.

next is Kristin & Gretchen (the lil sis) breaking out a little Sweet Caroline. Let's just say they were a little unhappy they had to share the microphone.

Lastly- here's some random candids of the birthday girl from the last couple of years (as long as I've had my digital camera)

more newport pics

i got my cds with more pictures from girls vaca '08 from kate & katie today. so- here's some more of my favorites

the big 2-5

today definitely had its ups & downs.

first-it started out crappy. each day at work we are assigned an area. there's triage, exam rooms, obs, and trauma/treatment. i had trauma/treatment rooms today, & i had two patients as soon as i walked in the door. the SWEET, sweet night shift discharged one of them right after 7a, and they also got all the labwork, accessed the port, & placed a new line on my other patient.

I call that being the bomb.com


then- i realize that the patient still in trauma is going to try & chew through all access lines while also ripping them out of his arms. not so awesome. i spend two hours taking the tubing out of his mouth, giving drugs, and running fluids. not so fun.


BUT- i find out that my shift got me a card for my birthday, and my sweet charge nurse has also baked a yummy cake! it was a chocolate cake with strawberry icing mixed into the batter. i had never had such a thing. so-when i finally get a chance to eat my grits & grapes for breakfast, i added cake to my plate. so, so yummy!


the day isn't going too bad at all until we have a baby go apneic. we have to tube them and start compressions. that means lots of confusing paperwork for me in addition to the seriousness of a sick, sick baby. we got the baby back and transferred her out of the unit to the PICU. i finally get lunch & a bathroom break around 4 p.m. thank goodness the fabulous people i work with who helped with other trauma/treatment patients during that time and they helped so much with taking care of the baby that coded. we is all about the teamwork in the ped.

the day FINALLY ended with good times at the cazuelas. we deserved some yummy food & good drinks after this five! i caught the table on fire with the flaming shot, but they didn't have to call 911, so i think we are okay. we might be able to go back (unfortunately i didn't get any of these pictures of the table on fire on my camera).





tomorrow i go to the beach with my parents for a few days. i'm ready for some sun. i am so, so pale! sweet krissy boo is going to make sure lucy is okay thursday night before she goes to atlanta for the weekend. she's pretty important, and she has a lot of fun stuff going on. too bad she won't blog about any of it!!

Girls Vaca '08

The third edition of Girls Vaca was this weekend in Newport, Rhode Island. The tradition started Summer of 2006- one year after our Millsaps graduation. Each year one of the girls plans a trip to the location of our choice. Girls Vaca '06 was a quickly put together trip, and we ended up at my family's condo in Fort Morgan. Below is from a dinner @ the Giggling Grouper in Orange Beach from that first year. That first year it was Katie, Amy, Colleen, and myself. Kristin also joined in for the festivities!Last year Amy, Colleen, Karla, and Katie went to Disney World in June. I didn't get to make it last year since I had just started work, but I know they had a great time.

So- a little about the girls. Most of the six of us lived together at one point, and everyone but me was a Chi Omega at the 'Saps. Only four of us were able to make it this year, but we were still able to have a fabulous time. Kate, one of the Navy wives and also a mom-to-be, flew in from Jacksonville, FL. Katie, newly engaged, flew in from New Orleans, and Colleen's husband drove her in from a graduation in NYC. Colleen currently lives in Annapolis, MD at the Naval Academy. Her husband, Geoff, is a Lt. there. Karla & Amy were busy with school & what not and couldn't make it.

The weather was absolutely perfect. It was definitely chilly at night, but it was never "cold." During the day- it was about 74 with a great breeze off the water & the perfect amount of sunshine (at least for most of us. Colleen is very fair & burns so easily). Highlights of the trip included a sunset cruise on the Madeliene through the harbor, touring the Astors' Beechwood Mansion, visiting the Newport Vineyards & Winery, a pirate tour, going on the Cliff Walk, and lots of great food & wine. And the pictures...

not for the easily-grossed out

I'm loving working days again (for the most part). Waking up at 5 a.m. is not fun, but I definitely like the regular schedule. AND- we have fun!

From what I'm hearing though- we are not supposed to have fun. We've been getting complaints from patients' families saying that we are laughing and such. While we definitely don't play around while directly involved in patient care, I completely admit to acting silly and trying to not be so serious while I'm at work. Unfortunately, we have no break rooms or place to move out of the fishbowl of the ER. We are on display all the time. It's required- We have to be ready for whatever comes through the door. Sometimes we have real emergencies in the ER (not the usual clinic stuff we see more than 50% of the time). I totally understand that families might find it inappropriate that we are laughing or making jokes out in the hall while their child is sick or injured. However, I find that laughter makes the job bearable. Sometimes the job that we do- isn't really a joking matter. Take this picture- for example. Here's Dr. Bush dressed up in his Level I Trauma garb- minus the gloves, mask, & hat. Whenever we have a Level I Trauma activation, we have to put all this crap on. It's hot & sweaty. To make matters worse, whenever there is a Level I, there's atleast fifteen people in this itty-bitty little room trying to save the kid. BUT this time Bush isn't dressed for a Level I. He's about to help a little boy remove a huge fecal impaction. The kid had not "boo-booed" for at least two weeks. The poor boy had already experienced two fleets enema and a soap suds enema, and the poo had yet to budge. For three hours the kid had screamed that he didn't want to push it out because it hurt too bad, so Bush was going to the rescue. We made him model before his big save. We got busy, and I never heard the end result. Hopefully the poor kid got some relief.


The hospital also bought every staff member a polo shirt. Anya, Cammie, & I put ours on for awhile before I got in trouble for wearing an "unapproved" shirt. Please tell me how a shirt that the institution gave me is "unapproved." Stupid policies. We did take a quick picture before I got my warning. And- the blue scrub thing was just a coincidence- just in case you were wondering. Do you like our popped collars? I'm so glad the University spent money on a t-shirt that is completely see-through and that I can't even wear to work. I would much rather have a new polo instead of a raise. Or somewhere to sit down & eat my lunch. Or a place to park my car that is safe. Or for equipment that actually worked.



On a much more positive note- I leave tomorrow morning for Newport, Rhode Island. We're staying at this hotel. I'm excited. I also booked a flight to Las Vegas for August. I'm going with some girls from work, and I am pumped. I've never been and have wanted to go for awhile. We're staying at the palazzo- which I think is the latest tower at the Venetian that supposedly just opened in January. I didn't do all the booking, but I have found that Jersey Boys are there- but without my favorite cast members. I don't think we have made any reservations for any shows, but I wouldn't mind seeing Bette Midler. i love her! All I know is that I need to save a ton of money. I am B-R-O-K-E.

if you have an emergency, please hang up & dial 9-1-1

Kristin officially sucks at blogging.

She has done so much fun stuff and has YET to even blog about the honeymoon. I, on the other hand, have done very little fun and a whole lotta work.


I worked my first day shift in a really long time today. It went fairly smoothly. I worked four nights in a row- got off at 7a on Sunday morning and was back at work this morning at 7a. It was a strange 24 hours. I think I napped on & off for most of those 24 and can't really remember much of it! The ED has been really busy so far- even though school is out, and the winter sicknesses should have disappeared. Instead, we're still seeing lots of viruses and fevers. That means lots of IVs and labwork for me! Last summer it seemed so slow. Over the weekend, I had very, very little down time. With the addition of kids on ATVs and falling out of trees to the whole sick kid mix, we stayed very busy. It makes the time go faster, but sometimes I enjoy the whole taking it easy thing.











Kristin & I did see SATC the Sunday of the weekend that it came out. I enjoyed it. Maybe Kristin will let you know what she thought of it. I laughed (& cried). I was mostly upset with the whole Steve & Miranda situation. I always loved him- I guess I always did have a thing for the nerdy type. Kristin & I did agree that Aidan was very much missed.



Unfortunately, I'm working this weekend. I would much rather be at Old Crow or Pat Green at Jubilee Jam. I haven't been to Jubilee Jam in forever. I think the last was when I saw Bob Dylan in 2003 I think.



I'm working another five after having Wednesday and Thursday off. Next Wednesday I'm headed to Newport, Rhode Island for Girls Vaca '08. Hopefully I will make it up there without too many problems. I've heard that lots of people are having problems flying- so just maybe I'll make it up there in time to hang out with everyone. I'm excited for a break, and I'm definitely excited to spend some time with Colleen. I haven't seen her since I went to visit her in Baltimore last fall, and I really haven't been very good at keeping in touch recently.


And lastly, this guy is a creep. We see this WAY too often in the ED, and most of them are never put in the news like this one. Also... just in case you were confused- Benadryl does not treat a fever. If you give your child a 50 mg dose of Benadryl for "burning up"- the child will STILL have a fever. AND it might be the reason he/she can't keep their eyes open. Today, I was in triage, and ONCE AGAIN- was amazed by the number of parents who treated their child's fever with Benadryl.

they did it!

kristin & drew are officially married!
YAY! the wedding was absolutely beautiful, and the parties were so much fun.

they leave for jamaica tomorrow, and i hope that they have SO much fun. i know they both need a well-deserved break.

this blog definitely needs some updating, and i'm sure i'll write some more about the wedding (& hopefully kristin will too) but here's some of my favorite pictures from today

long time, no post

After finishing a LONG eight day work stretch, I got to join Krissy-boo for her bachelorette party in New Orleans on the 4th. It definitely started out a little scary with the stormy weather, but we did finally SAFELY made it to New Orleans I think it turned out great. Gretchen did an incredible job of putting the weekend together. The hotel was in a perfect location, the restaurants were so yummy, and the bars were fun. I hope Kristin was pleased with everything and that it was all that she ever hoped for!

Friday night on Frenchmen, this hip-hop band wrote a song for Kristin. I think she liked it! The video is a little sample!





Saturday night we headed out to Bourbon after dinner & a lingerie shower. Pat O's was a first stop where she was asked several times to get off of the chairs!

And some more pictures from the weekend...

Better Late Than Never

Yes, I must admit I have not been keeping up with my end of the blogging as much as I promised I would. Things have been pretty busy around here, but fun busy! As Court said in her last post, Drew and I had an absolutely beautiful announcement party two weekends past at Fort Hill in Vicksburg. Fort Hill is this gorgeous antebellum home in the Vicksburg Millitary park that overlooks the Mississippi River. The view is absolutely breathtaking! Seriously I felt like I was in Gone With The Wind ( before the war of course :) ). The party was hosted by several of Drew's parents' long-time family friends. They have all been so wonderful to Drew and me, and they were so sweet to host this beautiful party. A big group of my family from New Orleans and Atlanta came in for the party, so it was wonderful to visit with them. We always have such a great time when we get together. This weekend really made me see how lucky Drew and I are to have such great family and friends who are there to celebrate with us during this very exciting time! On Sunday, Court, Gretchen, Amber, Elizabeth and Mrs. Lyle hosted a wonderful kitchen shower for me. The shower was at Court's parents' house. Their house is so beautiful, and Court's mom has done an amazing job with decorating. Serioulsy it looks like it should be in a Southern Living Magaine. The girls did an amazing job with everything, and I was truly touched that they took so much time to make everything extra special. They had vases filled with hydrangeas (my absolute favorite flower), pictures of me and Drew on all the tables and a yummy yummy strawberry cake (you guessed it ...my favorite). The food was absolutely delicious. My friend Elizabeth is a great cook and really outdid herself. She made this delicious buffalo chicken dip that was so GOOD! I am so glad friends and family were able to make the shower. I hope everyone had a great time. Now I just need to get to practicing my cooking skills!!

big weekend

It was a big weekend around here! Kristin & Drew had a fabulous engagement celebration Saturday night in Vicksburg at a beautiful house in the park. Kristin looked so pretty, and Drew's tie was so freaking cute. It was great to see all the family, and I think Kristin had a good time. I hate that I missed the sunset over the river (the party started @ 7 in Vicksburg, but I was running WAY late & didn't leave Brandon until 7:05). What I did enjoy was using my Mom's new Garmin to make it to the house. Of course I knew how to get to Vicksburg, but I had absolutely no idea where this house was. It worked perfectly, and now I want one!

We also had a kitchen shower for Kristin on Sunday afternoon. I hope Kristin enjoyed herself, and it seems like she got some great gifts. I'm glad a good group of her family was able to come (and also her friends). Everybody loves Kristin! You can see the table full of gifts in the back behind her and also just the gifts from her aunts around her feet. Lucky girl.

The shower was given by Kristin's sister, sister-in-law, a high-school friend, me, and my mom. I really am so lucky that my mom was willing to have the shower at her house. This is the second time we've hosted a shower there for one of my friends. It really is perfect for entertaining. Mom never complains about anything, and is a great hostess. I know we all can complain about our moms every now and then, but she really is an amazing mother- and I love & appreciate her so much! Speaking of- I'm trying to convince my mom to join the gym with me. She might be going with me this afternoon. We'll see!

Work called me this morning to see if I could come & work today and tomorrow. Since I have yet to go to sleep before 4 a.m. & will be working nights starting Wednesday, I had to decline. The money definitely would have been nice, but I just knew I couldn't do it. I'm off to do some laundry, clean up a little, and then go to The Club. Hopefully Kristin will let you know her take on the weekend (hint-hint).