kapachino

Author: Kathleen

  • just a buffer post – it’s friday, after all

    Ah, Friday. What a great day. Even though for me today begins the first of four days of work, I still enjoy it. We get more discharges than admissions, we get to wear whatever color scrubs we want (I’m wearing pink!), and people are generally in good spirits.

    I had a day off yesterday, and I sure did utilize the time. I spent the early morning cleaning, then had a fun day with my good friend Emily. She accompanied me to a card-making class at a local scrapbooking store, and we made 8 adorable birthday cards. If I remember, I’ll take some pictures to share. After a leisurely lunch at Panera, she came back to my house and did my hair. Not only is she my friend, she’s my personal stylist. This time she gave me a trim and put in highlights. Summer’s coming, it’s time to lighten things up!

    I spent the rest of the evening running errands, having dinner with another friend, and of course coming home and spending some quality family time with David and our girls Cleo and Eddie. There were some other tasks I wanted to get accomplished, but I always make a longer to-do list than is feasible. Family time is worth putting some things off. :)

    I’m still working on my list of 101 goals. Right now I’m stuck at about 87. I’m going to try to finish it up over the weekend so I can post it and get started on Monday.

    Well, I have no plans for a big finish here, just wanted to check in. So, happy Friday!

  • Well, There’s A Confidence Booster

    So, yesterday I was feeling reeeaally blah. I felt like my head was in a fog. Maybe it was a hangover from the steak, mashed potatos, salad, and ice cream I ate for Easter lunch and the ham, scalloped potatos, bread, and strawberry shortcake I ate for Easter dinner. Whatever the reason, I was feeling oddly incompetent. I emailed David and told him, “I feel like I am about to make a mistake at any moment and get yelled at.” I didn’t, that I KNOW of, but it was a rough day nonetheless.

    Today my director came up to me and asked, “Have you heard of the nurse’s gala that’s coming up?”

    “Yes, I’ve seen the emails.”

    “Were you planning on going?”

    “No, I wasn’t planning on it.” (I’m not in the habit of attending galas.)

    “Well, would you please plan on it?”

    “OK…”

    From here on I asked her several questions about the gala. Apparently it is a formal banquet with live music and some presentations. It’s free, and when the boss asks you to do something, it is wise to make an effort to do so. So, why not? I know she’s grooming me to be a leader, so I figured she wanted my name and face to get out there to represent our unit.

    A few minutes later I told Pat, my mentor, about the exchange. She mentioned that maybe I will be receiving an award. What? I didn’t even know the gala was for awards. I don’t read the emails thoroughly. Later, after talking to our director, Pat confirmed to me: I am one of three finalists for the Best New Nurse award. Out of the entire hospital! What the heck?

    I’m not supposed to know that I’m nominated. I definitely might not win. But still, it’s pretty overwhelming. My hospital is HUGE. It’s completely humbling, especially after a day like yesterday where I thought to myself several times, “What am I doing here? I don’t belong here.”

    But my director, my manager, and my mentor, all nurses for 40+ years, think I belong here. They think I’m pretty good at it. So I guess I’m doing OK! And anyway, it doesn’t really matter because:

    Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. -Colossians 3:23

  • 101 Goals In 1001 Days

    Because of the aforementioned employee evaluations coming up, I’ve been thinking about my professional goals a lot lately. That easily transitioned into thinking about my personal goals as well. I had already started to write some of them down when I came across this website.

    The Mission:
    Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

    The Criteria:
    Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

    Why 1001 Days?
    Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

    After giving it some thought, I’ve decided to undertake this project. I’m currently in the midst of creating my list of 101 goals. It’s kind of tough because I want to choose things that mean something to me, and I want them to be realistic.

    One thing that I have discovered through scouring the Internet for inspiration is that I have already done, or am currently in the habit of doing, a lot of good things. So that has boosted my confidence, and I think that in 2.75 years I can absolutely complete my list. I will post it, along with my starting date, as soon as it’s ready.

    Is there anyone out there who is already doing this, or would be interested in doing it with me? I’d love to hear from you!

  • Favorite Gratis Activity

    Jenna at That Wife issues a monthly food, photography, and lifestyle challenge. April’s lifestyle challenge is to participate in your favorite free activity and document it. I haven’t done one of these challenges before, but I decided this would be a good one to start with.

    Today I had absolutely nothing planned, the weather was lovely, and I decided it would be a perfect day to do one of my favorite things: ride my bike. My new year’s resolution was to enter a bike race, and in order to do that I’ve got to actually ride my bike. I haven’t been doing much of it lately because I’m busy and stuff and blah blah blah. But I rode today! My shoulders and legs will be sore tomorrow, but no pain no gain, right?

    dscf2091
    My view of the trail

    dscf2092
    Just a picture of my bike because I love it.

    So there you go. I rode my bike! Really exciting, right?

  • It’s The Small Stuff

    For the last week I’ve been house- and pet-sitting for a family in our church. Although there were a few good things about staying at their house (it’s closer to the park and ride, they have a really awesome TV, and there was an actual TABLE at which to eat my meals), mostly I just REALLY missed my husband, my dogs, and my bed. The dogs I was watching are approximately 100 pounds each, and neeeeeedy. The first night I was there, they woke me up no less than five times for one reason or another. 

    Anyway, I came back home last night and it was wonderful to sleep in my own amazing bed (which in my family we refer to as the Great White Biscuit), with my own amazing husband, and my own amazing dogs who actually left me alone the entire night. I love to travel, but I also love to come home. It just makes me happy.

    The downside to being away is that I’m out of the food at home that I like to eat. No milk, cereal, or anything to pack for lunch. I made do at breakfast with a couple of frozen waffles and just figured that I’d grab something at the cafeteria for lunch. But when I got to work, we were told that lunch was being provided for us today because we didn’t have a single patient fall for the entire month of March! (Our unit has one of the highest rates of patient falls, so they’re trying everything they can to fix that. Including bribery, apparently.)

    (The ironic thing is that a patient fell last night. So there goes April’s lunch.)

    This free food makes me inordinately happy. I don’t like spending money on cafeteria food; it isn’t bad, but it’s nothing special, either. And I don’t like to leave the unit if I can help it because I like to be available to my patients. So yay! Free lunch!

    Also, someone brought these to work, and they make me happy too:

    tulips
    Beautiful tulips make the conference room much more inviting!