Thank you....

Thank you all for your kind birthday wishes.....I did have a nice day. I received many email wishes and ecards, my sister had flowers delivered that day, youngest daughter,hubby and I went shopping and then out for dinner. When I arrived home a little elf(FIL) had been and left me a gift, how truly thoughtful. Then yesterday when I arrived home from work there was a lovely bouquet of flowers and some candles from MIL. So yes I did have a very special birthday.

Working is going well. I'm into my 2nd week of orientation. I think one of the biggest adjustments I am going to have to this job are the hours. Everyday almost it seems like I have a different start time. All in all so far so good!

Have a great day all!

They say it's your Birthday.........

Yes it's that time of year again, another birthday is upon me......I have always LOVED my birthday....I mean LOVE!!!! For some reason my birthday use to go on for a week, birthday dinner with the grandparents, dinner with my girls and their dad, then my girlfriends would take me out....and then my sisters....yes I use to love my Bday!!!

This year is a bit different. I have started a new job, so no one there knows me well enough to be able to go out or anything, all my friends live on the mainland, and my two eldest daughters have to work. So it looks like it will be a quiet day. My youngest daughter has come for a visit, which is awesome and I feel blessed to have her here. My birthday isn't until the 18th but I am hoping that youngest and I will be busy doing something. I want to go out for Greek dinner for my birthday so I am sure that is what we will do.

I got my first birthday card from the girls grandparents on Friday, how sweet of them to remember me and to send a card. My brother who is in Europe sent me a message via Facebook wishing me a Happy day......so I do feel kinda of special.

Isn't it funny though. A part of me doesn't want to make a big deal about it...and yet...in my heart of hearts I really want people to remember my Bday......I know how childish. It's just that when I was growing up your Birthday was always special. You see coming from a family of 12 children that was about the only time of the year that you were made to feel like you were really someone special.....well I guess it wasn't quite like that...but you know what I mean. We use to have this rule, when it was your birthday you didn't have to do any chores....Yippee!!! Somehow, as I got older that rule went out the window...boo hoo, but I do extend the rule to my girls when it is their birthday.

Anyhow, that is all I shall say about that....I am sure it will be glorious day....any day you can get verticle is a good day in my books! LOL!

Another week in the life of............

I can't believe how time has flown! Here I am just finishing my first week of orientation at my new job, and I survived it! It's funny a few of the gals there have asked me on more than one occasion if I like it and if I am going to stay? Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.... after getting over the initial jitters I must say I am enjoying it. I love learning new things which is a good thing as there is so much to learn.

I think some times I am very hard on myself. I for some reason figure I should know more than I do. But how can I in this environment. I mean I had a general understanding of what went on in PACU having taken report and received many a patient from PACU directly to ICU, but hands on direct patient care in PACU I haven't done. It has been very beneficial having my Critical Care training, the ABC's(airway, breathing, circulation) are always the same, and if I remember that I think I will do ok.

Like any new job you have to learn the paper trail, the administrative side to things. For me I have also changed work environments, I have gone from a small rural hospital to a hospital who boost the 4th busiest ER's in the province. Which potentially means lots of surgeries!

It's a learning curve but not insurmountable. I am keen, reading whatever I can get my hands on, jumping in to take the admissions as they come, and some days you can't even catch your breath. I think one of the things I love about this unit is that you truly work as a team. There is not designated patient assignment you decide when the call comes from OR who is going to take the patient and then who is going to be your 2nd RN, and that is how it works. It's just awesome. They have all been so welcoming to me. I think partially that the group I was working with this past week are also fairly new to the unit, with two of them coming from ER background the other with telemetry background, all of them under a year on the unit, but all very seasoned RN's, and bring a wealth of knowledge.

Another thing I have enjoyed is the instant repoire we have with the anesthetists and surgeons. Everyone is called by their first name and treated with respect. I was always greeted by the doctors with a big welcome and often humour.

I think my biggest adjustment are the hours. Having never worked rotating 8 hr. shifts it does take a little getting used to. Case in point this week I have worked an 08-16, 10-18, and three 16-24, all great shift times. However, three of the shifts have mandatory overtime ie. oncall. So for example if you are the evening person working 16-24 you are then oncall from 2400-0600 and then expected to report to work at 1600 after coming off of call at 0600. I am told that it doesn't happen to often that you get called back often it's staying late. Like the other night the evening staff had to stay until 0500 and then come back to work at 1600...ouch! But I guess I will get use to it.

Now, some fun stuff. As you know before I started my new job I took a week off. Spent the one day at the spa and then spent a few days on the in-law's boat. The weather was sunny and warm. The first day we spent travelling up the inlet to eventually get gas. When ended up spending the night and a friend of mine and her daughters came to the boat for a visit. We set out early the next day. The skies were blue the sea was calm it was perfect. We actually even put down a line to try and catch some fish...but they weren't biting. We ended our day by setting anchor in a very tranquil spot. Hubby bar-b-qued and we sat on the deck with our glass of wine and just enjoyed the surroundings, the loudest noise was that of the seal slapping on the water playing with their catch of salmon.

The next morning we set sail with the intention of dropping anchor in another bay at days end. Well that didn't happen. Although the sun was shining, the winds were gusty. Weather report were for winds up to 25km. We started to pull up the anchor with the automatic winch....the anchor stopped....for the life of me I couldn't get it going again. Hubby was up on the fly bridge steering the boat and trying to give me instruction but it just wouldn't work....we had to change spots, I had to steer and keep us away from the rocks(remember I mentioned about the winds)while he worked on the anchor. He figured it out....a fuse had blown he fixed it and we were off. We made our way out through a passage which eventually led us to open water. Let's just say it was a rock'n roll time. Hubby says the swells were about 5 - 6 feet with a 2 foot chop....that means something to the seasoned sailor but to me it was just darn rough! It's a good thing I don't get sea sick. It was a little unsettling for awhile but once we were able to turn and head into the direction we wanted we were travelling with the waves. I mean who needed a roller coaster when you've got this...LOL

We made it to a lovely little cove were we took shelter for a couple of hours and then decided it was time to venture out to the bay we had initially intended on staying. The winds were still strong and the water still rough. Then it all changed. One of the engines gave out....yup....just died. I won't go into the details of it all but it made steering of the boat a little more challenging. The winds into the bay were strong so we opted not to drop anchor.....at this point we were not to far from home so we opted to go home, moore the boat and just have dinner down on the dock. Then things changed again, engine two would only go in forward, no reverse and no neutral. Not good. My hubby planned to drop anchor in the harbour and see if he could have a look at the engine. Then he thought that if there was a slip at the end of the dock that we could just tie up to we would just do that, but there was none. That is when it got really scary. Hubby was attempting to turn the boat around when the winds caught us and pushed into the row of moored boats....I was already on the bow with the gaffle hook in hand, and bumpers down....we were heading right for the stern of two boats.....hubby cut the engine......I pushed with all my might with the hook and then using my body to kick us off of the boat...hubby flew down from the fly bridge off of the boat and threw his body between us and another boat...an older gentleman who just so happened to be on his boat jumped in to help....it was all very frightening...but we stopped tragedy from happening....not one scrape or dent in any of the boats, and us...well that is another story!!!! I don't know how we managed to prevented hitting the other boats but we did....thank god! So there we were stalled, the winds continually pushing us into the boats I am still trying with all my might to keep us off of the boats....the old man went and got the harbour manager and a helper .......with all of them we managed to tether the boat to the end of the dock and moore up against another boat. Whew!......I needed a drink and debriefing after that. What an adrenaline rush.....and then the let down....I think both hubby and I were just mentally and physically beat by the end of it all. We tidied up the boat and decided that we would go home, call the in laws tell them what happened and deal with the rest the next day.

And that is where I will leave this story......I have some photos of our short trip....enjoy!

The boat......32' Bayliner Avanti

The cove, where we dropped anchor

The Captain, my hero!

And me the first mate!

"Sister's Islets" Lighthouse....this picture doesn't really give you an idea of the swells....they were a little calmer here.....I can imagine for some sailors in rough seas that this is a beacon of hope that shore is close by.....

A Day just for me..........

I finished at my old job on Saturday morning and I started a week of holidays! I guess I didn't spend my first couple of days very well, as I filled them with have to do things.....like cutting the lawn, painting, cleaning, you know.....anyhow, I ended up getting a tad stressed shall we say, I think primarily due to sleep deprivation. I had just finished working 3 12 hour night shifts and most probably only had about 8 hours of sleep in my system....not good.

For Mother's day this year my girls and husband bought me gift certificates for a complete body massage, manicure and pedicure at this very exclusive spa. I had plans to use it some time this week, but husband suggested I use it sooner rather than later. I am glad he convinced me to go.

So today was the day were I got totally pampered. It was amazing. I have had massages in the past with manicure and pedicures but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to experience.

My appointment was for 1045, they suggested to be there at least a 1/2 before your session so you can enjoy the mineral pool and hot tub. I decided I would go for a run along the beach which was very close to the spa,before I went for my session. I was all hot and sweaty by the time I got there and ready to be pampered.

I arrive and you can feel the sense of calm in the air. I was lead to the changing room, given my key to my locker shown around the locker room and then led to the mineral pool. Let's talk about the change room, of course they provide the most comfortable housecoat and sandals, I headed for the shower which of course is stone enclosed really cool, and full of all the amenities for a shower, from there I headed to the pool. The lay out of the pool it that of a cave "grotto" , waterfalls from ceiling to the ground the one wall is a waterfall that is glass....it was just so soothing and peaceful.

I was told I should head up to the third floor where I would be greeted by a concierge who directs me to the lounge where you there is complementary fruit plates, water, tea, and coffee. I wasn't there very long when I was greeted by the person who was going to do my hour long massage. We walk down some stairs and went down a hallway, again everything is so peaceful and soothing, pan flute and harp playing the background, I am taken to my room.

and the a The massage was more than I could have ever imagined from my head to my toes simply amazing. Hot towels draped around your face, or on my shoulders, spritzed with lavender, and then lavender pack placed on my face....ooh my goodness to die for......I wondered at first if I would feel uncomfortable and tense, but the therapist was so professional I just felt so at ease. I was sad when that part of my treatment came to and end. I was escorted back to the lounge.

Once in the lounge I was greeted by the concierge who advised me that if I wanted to go back to the pool and return they would then be ready for me. I did exactly that. Upon my return I was informed that they were running a little late and they offered me a Mimosa....yummmy very crisp and refreshing. I was then lead to another room where I am directed to sit in a chair and and my feet were immersed in this tub of warm mineral water....my feet are loving this....from there I go to sit up on the wonderful large reclining chair where my feet begin to get pampered. I swear they are doing the happy dance, from the exfoliating to foot massage and spritzing again and finally the choice of nail colour I picked what they call "It's Greek to me" A nice bright and fun pinky/red colour very summery I thought. After my pedicure I greeted by the next individual who was to perform my manicure.

I lead to a room where other women of like mind are being primped and pampered. Again, I receive the wonderful hand soaks, rubs, creams, spritzers....just simply decadent. For my nails I chose a colour called "Strawberry Margarita" with out knowing the names of the colours I picked were names of places for vacation destinations, how appropriate I thought . It just so happens that hubby and I are off tomorrow for a few days cruising on the open waters.....oh life is good.

By the time this is all said and done I have been at the spa for over 5 hours! You know besides feeling wonderfully relaxed I got a great bonus. As it turned out, unbeknownst to me I was suppose to get a different treatment for my pedicure but they had overbooked so I got my pedicure for free!! Thumbs up on that one. I left there a very happy camper.
It was time to get back to reality, but in a much more relaxed state of mind. Off to town I went got a few groceries for our vacation, did a couple of errands in town and made my way home. I had really wanted to get my hair cut, so I took a chance at my hairdresser and as luck would have it she was able to take me in right then and there. Was this my lucky day or what.

So here I am now totally chillin the sun is still shining and I am thinking about what to pack for our adventure tomorrow.

Ah life is good sometimes isn't it?