My last post for 2006

Well here it is New Years Eve 2006. Wow I can't believe this year has come to an end. I left work this morning watching a wife doing a bedside vigil with her dying husband. I thought to myself that this might be the last New Years they spend together. Wow, Life eh!

I have read many blogs asking if we have made any resolutions. I have, but I don't really want to share as I don't want to disappoint myself if I can't follow threw. There is one that I am steadfast with and it has to do with both my hubby and I and I think it is the best resolution we can make to each other. Just wish us well. I wish all my blog friends a wonderful New Years. Be good to yourself and those around you. And remember to tell those that mean the world to you, how much you really do love them and that they are important to you. Let them know they are your shining star!

Saturday's Photo Scavenger Hunt

So this weeks theme is "New". I was going to share pictures of my new sparklies or bling blings. But then I thought nope, my sister took a lovely picture of my girls on Christmas Eve with their father. As I wasn't there the picture is new to me.

All in a days work

You know going back work is always such a reality check for me. Here I was enjoying the pleasures of family and good health. I went back to work on the 27th and man was it crazy. Very sick patients. Some were a result of over indulgence over the Christmas holidays others were just the body telling them it had had enough.

Yesterday was no exception. I arrived at work and the night nurse gives me a hug and tells me she is giving it to me now as I am going to need it to carry me through my day. Great! Thanks for the hug. Long and short of it was we were short staffed and the unit was full. We listen to report and I being the charge nurse for the day had to decide the patient assignment and just get on with it.

My colleague had an extremely ill young ventilated patient. This patient had a significant medical history, and had gone septic from an arthroscopic knee procedure. By 1000 am we had her on medications to help maintain her pressure, her temperature was climbing 39.6 Celsius. We were losing ground. She wasn't ventilating well we made many different adjustments to the ventilator we eventually had to paralyze her and knock out her kick to breath and let the machine do it for her. We were losing her. A variety of drugs were on board but having little effect. The husband had left to get the son from the ferry this was a 2 1/2 hour return trip. We were trying to keep her alive until the family could be at the bedside. We lost her only about 10 mins before the husband had returned. I had arranged to have a hospice worker available and at the bedside and a minister. It was an extremely emotional time. I found my eyes watering up. I was thinking, here she was less than 24 hrs ago, feeling unwell, presenting to ER and now is gone. Why? Why now? With all that this woman had dealt with, why couldn't she survive this time? It is tragic to lose a loved one at any time, but it has always bothered me when someone passes during the holiday season. What a memory for the ones left behind. Life is so fragile. That poor family.

I sometimes wonder why I do what I do. The situation above is common and while that was going on we were dealing with patients in diabetic crisis, drug overdoses, drunken family members, heart attacks and TIA's. All in a 12 hour shift. No wonder I come home some days and feel like I have nothing left to give. But I will go back there this evening for my 12 hour night shift and deal with whatever is put on my plate, and I will be thankful for my health.

Things we assume

Isn't it funny. Things we assume. Yesterday, I posted about Boxing day and was wishing everyong a Happy Boxing day. Little did I know that my friends south of the border did not celebrate boxing day. Not only did they not celebrate it, they did not know what it was. I have celebrated Boxing day all of my life so I just naturally assumed everyone did. Silly me. Hence,I was being asked, what is boxing day? I did a little homework and here is what I found out:

Despite its name, Boxing Day, which is celebrated on December 26 in Great Britain, has nothing to do with pugilistic competition. Nor is it a day for people to return unwanted Christmas presents. While the exact origins of the holiday are obscure, it is likely that Boxing Day began in England during the Middle Ages.
Some historians say the holiday developed because servants were required to work on Christmas Day, but took the following day off. As servants prepared to leave to visit their families, their employers would present them with gift boxes.

Church Alms Boxes

Another theory is that the boxes placed in churches where parishioners deposited coins for the poor were opened and the contents distributed on December 26, which is also the Feast of St. Stephen.
As time went by, Boxing Day gift giving expanded to include those who had rendered a service during the previous year. This tradition survives today as people give presents to tradesmen, mail carriers, doormen, porters, and others who have helped them.

The Day after Christmas

Boxing Day is December 26, the day after Christmas, and is celebrated in Great Britain and in most areas settled by the English (the U.S. is the major exception), including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Bank Holidays

Boxing Day is just one of the British bank holidays recognized since 1871 that are observed by banks, government offices, and the post office. The others include Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Whitmonday (the day after Pentecost), and the banking holiday on the first Monday in August.

St. Stephen's Martyrdom

The Feast of St. Stephen also takes place on December 26. St. Stephen was one of the seven original deacons of the Christian Church who were ordained by the Apostles to care for widows and the poor. For the success of his preaching and his devotion to Christ, St. Stephen was stoned to death by a mob. As he died, he begged God not to punish his killers.

As I said I was raised, celebrating Boxing day. You see my mother was raised in England and her mother was a servant. I for one celebrate boxing day as a day for relaxation and visiting. Nowadays, alot of people do major shopping, as the stores have great sales. I just can't face another store so soon after Christmas.

There you have it. So let me wish you a Happy Wednesday instead!!!

Cheers all!

Happy Boxing Day

Well I made it through another Christmas. True to form I was the first up on Christmas morning.....0530...oh don't ask....I just couldn't sleep and well Santa had some stockings to fill. Hubby was soon to follow. I want to get an early start on things for dinner as I knew I had to go pick my girls up at the ferry and I knew I wouldn't be home till after 3:00.

While I was washing up breakfast dishes and putting things away under the sink, I notice some water. Hmmmmm. I explored. You guessed it leaking pipe. Hubby did a quick patch job and put a bowl under the sink till he could properly repair it the next day. So I make it through that clean up and go to get ready. I was putting things under the sink in the ensuite..when you guessed it another leaky pipe. OMG!! A houseful of guest and my kitchen and bathroom sink are leaking....oh my! But I assured myself things would be ok. I continued to get ready and went to go get my girls from the ferry.

Well I got home with the girls and eldest daughters boyfriend and we settled in and opened presents. At 4:30 hubby announces he has changed his mind about bar-b-queing the turkey and said we should do it in the oven. OMG!!!! It's 4 friggin thirty!!! putting the turkey in the oven now! Be calm I say to myself....so I make the stuffing for the bird and into the oven it goes...thank god my oven is convection....I was so frustrated. All the preparation I had done and all that had to be taken care of was the turkey. Dang. I was mad and disappointed. Hubbies parents were with us for dinner as well, and I felt bad that things were so behind schedule. But by 8:00 pm we were sitting down at the dinner table for our Christmas feast, and a feast it was. The bird was worth the wait. Once I got everything onto the table and we were all sitting there all holding hands while grandpa said grace it dawned on me. It's not about the turkey, the meal...the treats. It's about this moment that we are sharing right now. Holding hands giving thanks for being able to share this meal with the ones that mean so much to us and that we are in fact able to have such a meal. My middle daughter was telling me how she spent Christmas eve helping feed Christmas dinner to the less fortunate and homeless. Yes it truly made me think what the heck do I have to be angry or upset about? After grace I apologized to the family for my grumpy nature and explained why I was grumpy. We all smiled and laughed...and then lots of cracks about how tender the bird was.

So here we are Boxing day. I am exhausted. Middle daughter has migraine that I am dealing with, youngest daughter has a cold and is sniffling and feeling under the weather and eldest daughter is having an allergic reaction to in laws dogs. I ask you can it get any better?

It was a bit of fend for yourself dinner. Turkey and ham sandwiches however you wanted to make them. We then all decided to sit and watch a movie. Good plan.

The kids are now playing a rousing game of Boggle and I am preparing for work in the morning.

So I bid you a fond adieu and wish you all the best. Hope Christmas was everything you hoped for!

Spreading the Christmas cheer

I was searching the blogosphere while doing the Photohunt when I came upon this stocking.

Then I thought. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have a stocking that we could put all of our wishes in for Christmas and to share it with everyone. So why not take a moment think of something you would really like to share or have or wish for and put it in the stocking....don't be shy....throw in that hug for world peace....or that wish for good health for aunty May...whatever you want. I wish for you all to have a very safe and happy holiday, and that for whatever brings you peace is granted to you. God bless you all and Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Stocking

leave a gift for Smalltown RN your username: < your gift: < (30 characters or less) get your stocking

Saturday's Photo Scavenger Hunt

Lines..... I took this picture after a day out with my brother. It is part of the view from a beach in Qaulicum where I live.

A White Christmas?

Well the word is out. I just checked the Environment Canada site and they say that if we don't have snow by now, we won't have any for Christmas. Boo Hoo.....I guess that is what we get for getting it so early this year. It's cooled down again, but it's not the same as having the white stuff.

Apparently, Montreal, who normally has snow for Christmas will also be having a green Christmas. Environment Canada says that British Columbia is not alone. Here are other provinces who will be green at Christmas. But the lucky ones( I guess that is if you like snow) are Winnipeg, Edmonton,Saskatoon, Yellowknife and Iqaluit. Now if Yellowknife and Iqaluit didn't have snow I would say we were really suffering from global warming.

So where you live, will it be a white Christmas? Or does that even matter?

Are you "Dreaming of a White Christmas"?

Friday's Feast

Appetizer: What is one of your Christmas traditions? when I was younger it was our Christmas Eve dinner with my family. While my girls were growing up, it was Christmas Eve at my brother's then we would drive home looking at Christmas lights and then when we got home the girls would get into their jammies I would read them "Polar Express" that book was around long before the movie.

Soup: Who is the easiest person on your list to buy presents for? My girls

Salad: What is your favorite Christmas scent? The smell of the Christmas tree, mulling spice and baking in the kitchen.

Main Course: If you could give a fellow blogger a Christmas gift, who would it be and what would you give them? I would have to echo Skittles response to that one....the gift of love and laughter!

Dessert: What's something on your Christmas wish list this year that you need (not just want)?
I don't need anything. I want my girls with me on Christmas....and I am getting that!!!!

Christmas card etiquitte

So I was reading the paper the other day, when I came across this column. Someone was writing to the columnist to find out what was considered the proper etiquette in addressing envelopes. Well seeing as this is the time of the year many of us are sending out Christmas cards and greetings, I thought I would tell you what she had to say.

Everyone's living situation is different. Some people live together, so the question is do you send a card to each or do you send one with both their first and last names on it?

Or what about those married couples who hyphenate their names or who haven't decided which name should go first? Or those couples who are married and both go by their own last name? Or, if you are married and both go by the same last name do you address it Mr.& Mrs. J Doe? Oh this can be complicated.

Basically what she said was this. For married couples, if you know they both go by the husbands last name address it Mr.& Mrs. Doe leaving out the husbands initial as that is considered old school. If they both have different last names and there isn't enough room on the card she felt it was acceptable to just use the first name of both only. I must say I like that idea.

You see, I am one of those people that folks who send me cards aren't quite sure how to address the envelope. My husband and I have different last names. I have retained my ex's last name for two reasons. First, I have had that last name longer than I had my maiden name and everyone who knows me knows me by my current name. Secondly, it is extremely expensive these days to have all of your identification changed. Most of my friends use both names, may family use my full name and my husbands first name only. The one that I find the funniest is my ex mother in law. I love her to pieces but she still addresses envelopes to me as Mrs........ The funny thing is even when I was married to her son I never referred myself as Mrs. Mind you she was also one of those people who would refer to us as Mr. & Mrs. P.......using my ex husbands first initial....that always bothered me. Like I don't have an identity. But that is how they use to do things back then.

Anyhow, that is what I learnt and I thought I would share it with you. Just on a side note. I did do a little research on this topic and found that even the so called experts can't seem to agree on the correct way to address envelopes. So I think at the end of the day...if you know all the names that are to be used and have the space...put them on.... if you don't just go by the first names.


Cheers all!

Spreading the Christmas joy!

I have been surfing the blogoshpere this evening and have found it so enjoyable to see how people just want to spread the Christmas cheer, and the many creative ways they go about doing it.
Here are some examples. One of my blog friends Josie writes about a variety of things which are near and dear to her heart as well as mine. She was raised on Vancouver Island (where I live) and now lives in Vancouver(where I was from) I often can relate to what she speaks about. She has done many wonderful posts about Vancouver and surrounding areas, I swear she missed her calling and should have worked for Tourism B.C. or at least got some kind of commission from them for all the free advertising she has done for them. I digress. Her post today was no exception. She spoke about art and her early childhood memories. She left me a note on my blog to tell me to come visit. I did. It left me speechless. Read for yourself. I have learnt so much from her and she really spread the Christmas spirit for me by sharing her early experiences. Thank you Josie!

Then there is one of my newest blog friends and for those of you who know him know why I mention his blog. Dirk had also been surfing the blog world when he came across greenery in baghdad blog. Greenery is a soldier serving oversees and Dirk thought it would be nice to send him Christmas wishes and to increase his readership. Well it just so happened to be greenery's Birthday as well, so he got a lot of birthday wishes sent his way. So Dirk what a wonderful way to spread the Christmas cheer! Thank you.

Alot of us know of this wonderful lady and she needs little introduction Motherkitty . In her recent post she does a "tongue-in-cheek" comparison of Christmas and Chanukah(the spelling of this is even in question according to Motherkitty) Anyhow, bless her heart she made me laugh...and brought a charming and warm feeling and made me realize that even though we may celebrate things differently during this time of year, there are still similarities in that we share traditions for the love of family and friends. Please drop by her blog and see what I mean. Thank you Motherkitty.

Then there is curmudgeon . He writes today about poor suffering spouse, and how he loves her baking. How she bakes up a storm this time of year and gives them as gifts. I can tell by the way he wrote this post how he loves his wife and how he appreciates everything she does for him, their children and their church. It made me feel so good to hear a man profess such love and admiration for his wife and did it is such a subtle way as to try and not come across as to mushy....I'm on to you curmudgeon....you really are an old softy at heart. Merry Christmas my friend!

Those are just a few samplings of some of the terrific blogs out there spreading the Christmas cheer in their own way. I want to thank all of them for allowing me to be part of that.

It is easy this time of year to get all wrapped up in the commercialism that has become Christmas, and the negativity that is out there. But if we just take a moment to sit back and reflect on life and the joys and pleasure that have come our way we truly do have a lot to be thankful for. For some that can be as simple as taking a breath on their own, being free from pain if only for a moment, to see another beautiful sunrise, to look their loved ones in the eye and tell them how much they are loved and how important they are to them. We truly are blessed, let's not forget that and lets not forget to continue to spread this cheer all year through.

Christmas Tree 2006

So today was the day to venture out into the back woods and go find that special tree. We headed off the back roads and up the logging roads. Completely forgetting about all the storms we have had over the past 2 weeks and that some of the roads might be impassable. Well I guess forestry folks had been out, all the trees that would have been blocking the road and been chopped and moved to the side of the road. Free firewood for the taking! Yahoo! But we will have to save that for another day.

So we eventually find the spot to where we will go off road, put the truck into 4wheel and off we go. We come to a spot were we figure we will just stop and go trekking to find that tree. So off we go. We weren't gone that long when we spotted our tree.

Douglas, aka Paul Bunion

And so the cutting begins

This picture just gives you an idea as to where we were chopping down this tree.

My brother dragging the tree out. Not long after this shot was taken, he took a tumble. Lots of the trees and shrubs are rotten and he fell through a hole, cut his chin...but I think his pride was more hurt.

There's Bert...of course he had to come along...oh he had fun! So proud and majestic looking isn't he?

We then make the venture home. Got some great shots of a golden hawk. But I will save those for another day. Anyhow, we get the tree home and the decorating begins.

The finished product...gosh looking at it now....it doesn't look like it should have taken me three hours to decorate.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree.....we have to do a little bit of tweaking...I want to get a little white light to shine on my angel, then I think I will be happy.

Thanks for letting me share my day with you. Hope all of you are having a great weekend!!!

Need a good chuckle?

Now if you really need something to make you smile check this out. If this doesn't put a smile on your face I don't know what will.....I guess those dance lessons really paid off!!!
Elfamorphosis

Hope you all have a grand day!!!

Dating tips....

I was searching the blog world and what should I come upon but this blog. Dating tips. Now I am not looking for a date...I have mine. I should be meeting him under the mistletoe any time now.

Anyhow, I came across this blog:http://datingstipsformenseekingwomen.blogspot.com/#top1

Titled: "Dating tips for men seeking women"

I wondered if people actually visit sites like these...do people find them helpful?

Have you or would you ever use a site like this for dating tips?

We made the news!!

Well being able to make a post must tell you I now have power again! We finally got power back late last night. Almost 3 days without power. We actually made out pretty well in comparison to others. We have a generator and wood burning fireplace so we had heat and light just no water.

In my last post I told you how it looked like a war zone out there. It was funny as that was exactly how the news broadcaster described it. The clean up is going fairly well. That is most of the debris is off the road it's just that the lines are still down. I have been hearing that people who have lived here their whole lives have never seen anything quite like this. It just seems to be one storm on top of another.

They are telling us that another storm is coming tonight, so I am preparing for the worst. They are also predicting that we could get snow on the weekend. That doesn't surprise me as it is already getting cold out there, and it is suppose to get down to -4 Celsius by the weekend. Crazy Crazy!!!

So on a lighter note. Our local swimming hole has opened it's doors and is letting the folks with out power to come in for a free shower and swim. Mighty nice of them don't you think. So Douglas and I decided to take them up on the offer, as did the rest of the community. I think just about everyone from our little community was there!!! Ah the hot tub was nice and being about to have a swim was a bonus.

So I awoke to power this morning!!! So I am trying to get as much done as I can before the next front comes in.

So how is everyone else out there doing? How is eveyone's Christmas preparations going?

Hope you all are having a fantastic week. I am off this afternoon to finish the last of the flu clinics. I have been told by some patients that they couldn't even feel me giving them the shot! Hmmmm.... It's been nice though. I have met some great people that I might not have been able to meet. Some of those seniors out there are amazingly active, and leading busy lives. I would say the average age of the seniors I have seen is about 76 years old. There was this one old bird who came in. OH she was a sweetie. Told me she had just come from her early swim and then after getting the flu shot she was going to her yoga class and then out for lunch. This lady was 84 years old!!! Amazing, young at heart. If I could half as active as her at that age I will be happy.

Cheers all! Have a great day.

Storm of all storms

Oh my gosh....we have been having gale force winds for the past 24 hrs. I have been without power since yesterday at 1600 hrs. I somehow managed to get myself to work, with trees coming down all around me, power poles down...you've heard of white outs...this was a "green out" I have never seen so much debris on the roads in my life. It has been like a war zone out there.

It took me almost 1 1/2 hrs to get to work last night. Normally it takes about 45 mins. It was eery. No lights anywhere for 50 kms. I looked out to Denman Island..it was black not even a flicker of a candle ...nothing...The winds got up to 100km/hr the rain was literally coming down in buckets. I have never ever seen weather like this before. I am told a "waterspout" was spotted just off of Hornby Island. I will admit I was terrified driving to work, but I knew I had to get there. My colleagues needed to get home themselves, so what was I to do? There were a few moments when there were power lines down on the road and a 4 lane highway was down to 1/2 a lane that I thought to myself, what am I doing out here...I should just go home....yup is was scary.

The ride home this morning was uneventful, thank goodness. We are still without power, which now means we have no water as our water comes from a well. We do have bottled water and a generator, so we are better off than most. The fireplace is what is heating our home. Just no showers or washing laundry...ah shucks.

Well I am working again tonight still without power at home, hydro says the earliest will be another 24 - 48 hrs . The winds have picked up again...environment Canada says the winds will be 70 -120 km/hr. I believe them...looking out the window here at the hospital the windsock for the helipad is blowing like crazy and the rain is teeming down. I wonder what my ride home will be in the morning. Hydro did an amazing job today. They used the snowploughs to clear the highways of the debris. Good idea if you ask me.

I am thinking if I am without power again in the morning, which I am anticipating I will be, a shower and swim at the rec center will be in order.

You know what I find very interesting though. Is what some people do. When it was snowing we anticipate a lot of fractured bones from falls on the ice. But with the storms, it's funny what some people think is ok. For example, we now have patients in the hospital from carbon monoxide poisoning and the likes because they bring their outdoor equipment like kerosene lamps, or their bar-b-ques or their generators indoors. What in gods name are they thinking. I wonder if they are thinking, oh we will just heat the house this way...or it's to cold to go outside and use the bar b que out doors. God sakes man...that is where these things are meant to be. NOT IN DOORS!!!! Huston we have a problem! Keep outdoor toys outdoors. And remember to blow out your candles when you go to bed. Extra blankets and if you have a sweety nows a great time to snuggle up!!

Take care all!

Chat to you when I get some power at home

What's in a name.....

I was checking out other blogs today...suffering from insommnia right now...anyhow, I digress. I was visiting blogs and what do I come across but someone who has named their dog Beanie. Well it caught my fancy you see. My youngest daughter's name is Roisin prounounced Ro sheen. It is a Irish Gailec name meaning Rose. But for short we call her the "Bean or Beanie". Why would we call her that...where would we get such a nickname. Well, when she was eight she was very ill and required losts of tests and hospitalizations. At the time Ty were making these stuffed animals called Beanies....well needless to say Roisin got lots and lots of them so she became the Beanie baby. Now at the age of 14 she has a collection of close to 100 beanies.




My point to all of this is. What is in a name. Where does it come from. Is your name a family name passed down from generation to generation, like my husband. His name was given to him as was his uncles and great grandfather and so on. Or is it a name that your parents just made up. Like I remember my girlfriends daughter had a friend name Raya...guess what her last name was? Sunshine. So her full name was Raya Sunshine. Can you say hippie era. Or what about those names that keep the same pronounciation but just change the spelling....or like ones that keep the same spelling but pronounce it differently, like Brendan or Helena. Both are names of my sibilings but I have heard them said so many different ways. Like Helena...I know there is a town in Montana named that but it is pronounced Hel le na not Hel leena as we pronounce it. Or like Monquie beautiful name I have heard it pronounced Mon neek which I think is wonderful and romantic or Mon nick which is ok.


I always wonder why I got the boring old name that I got, I just put it down to being baby number ten and my parents were getting tired of finding names. There is however, many songs written about my name....something about down by the seaside sifting sand......



So what does your name tell us about you?

A Christmas Meme

Ok...here is some Christmas fun. It's another meme...but it really gives you an idea of what people are like. I enjoyed doing it, there are only 20 questions, below are my answers. Hope you try it and have some fun. If you want to play along, all you have to do is copy and paste it on your blog, let me know that you did it so I can come visit and tag 5 people. So here it goes:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps them of course

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Blue and White on the inside, red and coloured on the outside.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? NO, I just stand there and sneak a kiss from my sweety when I can.

5. When do you put your decorations up? According to Douglas....to early..... Tree not up yet though

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Squash puff

7. Favorite Holiday memory? Boxing Day when we use to go to Aunty Mary and Uncle Karls....and Christmas Eve....ooooh I love Christmas Eve

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember how old I was...I just remember we were suppose to be sleeping before midnight mass and my mom and older sisters were in the hallway wrapping presents. Jeesh, they could of at least gone to another room.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Last year was the very first year I have done that....I really prefer Christmas morning....mind you when we did the Christmas exchange, I guess I opened gifts then....

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Lights first...last year we bougth all new stuff, silver and blue, it was a 13 foot tree huge.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love to play in it, hate to drive in it.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, and I went last week for the first time in years!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Oh I have had so many...but as a child, it was the tea set...oh I loved that tea set...

14. What's the most important thing? Being with the people I love

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Hmmm..homemade mince tarts or Roisin's butter tarts

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Reading the Polar Express to my girls.

17. What tops your tree? A white and silver Angel

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? OH I love giving, I love to watch the look on the persons face....oh nothing beats that...love it love it

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I love "Oh Holy Night" and "Winter Wonderland"

20. Candy canes, Yuck or Yum? Yucky doodle.....

So I am going to tag:


Motherkitty
Grandmocha
Cathy
Sunflower
Josie
Mike

Happy Holidays all!!!

Just another day...

OH what a crazy day. I felt like a chicken with it's head cut off. My day started at 0445. It was dark and cold and raining outside. I roll out of bed and make my way downstairs to put the coffee on. While it is brewing I check my emails and blog. Can't get to much done as I know it takes time that I don't have. So I manage to send just a couple of emails, jump into the shower and dash out the door. It is a 45 min. drive to my work and that is travelling at 120km/hr.

I arrive with 15 mins to spare. I grab another cup of coffee look at the assignment board, listen to report look at my colleagues and whimper....I just want to go home. The unit is full. A couple of admission overnight that are very unstable.

0830 my colleague who had a patient who is on isolation calls for help, her patient is crashing...I start to put on the isolation garments only to discover they didn't have my mask...quick call to get one STAT!!! There is a doctor on the unit so I call him ask him to come and help. By this time my colleague it bagging the patient....the ER doctor comes up...the patient ends up intubated and ventilated. OH....it just went down hill from there. this now made us short staffed because the patient was ventilated and now is a one on one which means someone has to pick up the rest of my colleagues assignment. My assignment is heavy one of my patients is extending his MI right before me...very sick....after a variety of tests and drugs it is determined he need emergency angiogram...which then means we have to air vac him to a hospital that does that. I have to call the patients wife and explain what is going on, suggest she come in to see him before we air vac him out, deal with her understandable stress and explain what is happening and try and keep her calm.

Meanwhile, my other colleague has two patients who are also having Chest pain. The supervisor calls to tell us that they have two very sick patients they need to send to us...one is a 20 year who has a cerebral bleed and the other is a post op GI bleed and they have 2 patients in ER they want us to take. OMG!!! is it 1900 yet? Needless to say, I never got my coffee or dinner break. It 's not the first time that has happened and I am sure it won't be the last.

My day did come to an end. I did get to come home. It was dark and raining, and it felt like the drive just kept getting longer and longer. I was so glad to just get home and able to be home. Home, where my hubby was happy to see me and greeted me with a wonderful hug, home where he had the fire going and a wonderful dinner waiting for me. Home....I am blessed.

Tomorrow will come, I will do what I have to do at work....but I know I get to come home!

I wish you all good health. Take care!

Annie Annie can you hear me....you go for help...

So today I had to do my re certification for CPR. This is something that I have to do every two years. It tends to coincide with my ACLS which I must do in the spring. I can't do my ACLS without having a current CPR. So off to work I had to go. It's 0900 and there I am kneeling on the floor breathing into Annie and doing compressions. After 2 1/2 hrs of varying maneuvers on varying sizes of Annie dolls I think it's time to get up off of the floor, my back is starting to hurt. With that being said, I wish more lay people were trained in CPR. I know it sounds all so confusing and intimidating, but the guidelines have recently changed and have really made it simpler to perform CPR.

In the hospital it is a more controlled environment. That is, I know when I arrive with the crash cart a doctor will be close behind and there will be lots of people to help out. It is a very different story when you find someone down on the street.

Today I got to use a AED(Automated External Defibrillator). I have heard all about them but have never had the opportunity to use one. These things are amazing and very easy to use. The machine tells you exactly what to do. Amazing!! Just watch what you say. They record everything that is said.

As our instructor told us today, these machines as so simple to use that a 7 year old could use it.

The machine tell you when to plug the cables in and where, diagrams show you clearly where to place pads, the machines tell you it is going to deliver a shock and to make sure everyone is clear. This machine does not replace CPR it is an adjunct to CPR.

I was thinking I should get my hubby into a class. As I said the more of us that are trained in CPR the better chance we all have for survival if we were ever in a situation where we needed emergency first aid. So after I left the course today, I went shopping. Yup, I am a bit of a shopaholic. Anyhow, I am officially done my shopping. I even bought my mother in laws gift and my sister in laws gift. It is now up to hubby to buy for his father and his two boys.

Once I got home, I decided I may as well get on with the wrapping. I am very particular about my wrapping. I like to have a theme. Whether that be a colour theme or country theme...what ever but there is always a theme. Last year and this year I seem to be in the silver and blue theme. I got some lovely wrapping paper, silver, blues, metallic silver with hints of blue and then the wire ribbons some were silver some were blue with sliver snowflakes on them. Douglas thinks I am a little fanatical about it, and he might be right, but I love it and it gives me pleasure. So if it doesn't hurt anyone and it is my thing then why not right? Anyhow, so there I was on my hands and knees again on the floor wrapping presents for another couple of hours. Oh but I am now done!!!!

Then I had to sort out the large variety of stocking stuffers I have bought, it's a good thing I did . As always I have bought to much. I pick up something here, and something small there and before you know it, I have bags bursting with stocking stuffers. Mind you I am filling 6 stockings.

Ah, but it is so much fun!!! Anyhow, I must be off ,things to do before I go to bed. I am back at work tomorrow and 0500 comes early. Take care all. Cheers!!