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#31. Take the Charge Nurse Class
I went to the 8-hour long class at Methodist the other week that supposedly taught me how to be a charge nurse. What is that, you wonder? Well, a charge nurse is basically like a supervisor. Except that we already HAVE a supervisor on our unit. Two, in fact: our director, and the nursing manager. The manager acts as the charge nurse Monday through Friday, and she doesn’t have a patient assignment. But on the weekends, we’re on our own. Someone has to charge, and that person has to have a patient assignment as well. For my weekend, that person is always my mentor Pat. But she’ll be retiring soon, so others will have to take over.

At first, being the charge nurse doesn’t seem THAT hard. Here is a basic list of duties:
- Assign patients to nurses at the beginning of the shift
- Check the crash cart/defibrillation machine
- Make sure there is the correct number of staff scheduled for the next shift
- Be aware of the situation of all the patients on the unit by taking report, visiting each room, and making rounds with the doctors if possible
- Help out the staff as needed and address any questions or concerns on the unit as they come up
Okay, well maybe it does sound like a lot, especially if you have to take care of your own patients at the same time. But I’m not nervous about my ability to use my time efficiently; I’m nervous about dealing with conflict or issues with the staff. I am not an assertive person by nature. I dislike conflict. In fact, during class we took a test to determine our style of dealing with conflict and mine was a tie between avoiding and accommodating. I think that in real life I surprise myself and act differently than my gut tells me to, but I answered the questions on the test with my first instinct and this is what I got.

The following weekend after the class I got the chance to put my newly acquired charge nurse skillz into practice. Pat was there for any questions I might have, but she let me charge. I had to deal with quite a lot of issues, but I came out alright. The part I liked about it was getting to meet all the patients on the unit and provide some care for them without the hassle of documentation. I liked feeling in the know about everything that was going on.

But what I didn’t like was staff issues. Apparently I made a couple of mistakes in staffing, which were pointed out to me by my director when she returned. Also, there seems to be constant conflicts on our unit between the nurses and PCA’s (patient care assistants, which are like nurse’s aides). They all have extremely strong personalities, and I would rather just stay out of it. But as the charge nurse I have to be in the thick of it.

Overall, I don’t like being the charge nurse and I don’t really want to do it. I didn’t get into nursing to be in charge of other nurses; I got into nursing to care for patients. I hate the politics of the workplace and I don’t understand why everyone can’t just do their job and get along. I’m going to have to be the charge nurse this weekend again, and I’m not looking forward to it. But this is what my unit needs from me, so I guess I’ll just do it and hopefully become a better person along the way!
June 11, 2009
Four Rooms, One Space

Here I am, finally bringing to you some pictures of our house since it was painted and updated a little bit. So far we’ve only worked on the kitchen, living room, breakfast room, and laundry room. So let’s get started!

Kitchen

Here was what it looked like before:

Here is what it looks like now:

The kitchen is the room in our house that is the most complete. (That’s probably because it doesn’t require any furniture.) I’m not crazy about the pinkish backsplash, but it will do for now. There’s kind of a lot going on in the left corner of the first picture, but that’s because we like bread products and that’s where they’re piled up for now. Notice the lovely flowers that David got me, in a beautiful Longaberger vase. The bamboo roman shade is from Target and it was really easy to install. Just ask my dad! ;)

Breakfast Room

This is the little nook right off the kitchen and living room. Here is what it looked like before:

Lots of wood, pinkish walls, cheap metal blinds, and one hideous light fixture. Let me show it to you up close:

Um, yeah. That had to go. So this is what the breakfast room looks like now:

Nothing too fancy, but it’s a big improvement, right? We still need some window treatments, something to go on the walls, and oh yeah – a table and chairs. What I’d like to get is a round, dark wood table with four mismatching yet coordinating white chairs. Sort of like this (the picture on the top right). I’m going antique shopping with my mom on Thursday to try to find something!

Laundry Room

Usually this room might be forgotten when it comes to decorating, or at least put off until last. But our laundry room leads to the door to our garage, so we go through it several times a day. Here it was before:

Just kind of blah. And here it is now:

I drew that whiteboard calendar myself because I couldn’t find one big enough at the store. I knew I wanted something like this when I was having all my computer problems and organization went out the window. Making this helped me to feel a lot better! I want to get rid of that peg board on the wall and put up something nicer, but it’s stuck on there good. Another project for a later date. Oh, see my reusable grocery bags and dog leashes hanging there by the door? Now I have no excuses!

Living Room

This is where we spend most of our time, so I want it to be a space I’m happy with. I like bright, open, airy places. But here is what it looked like before:

All of the same colored wood made it feel very closed in. This was the major painting job that was such an ordeal to get done. It was worth it though:

The stationary bike isn’t part of the usual decor…we just happened to have used it recently and I was too lazy to move it out of the way.

A small update I made to the mantel. On the right is one of our engagement pictures, and on the left is something I made in five minutes with some scrapbooking paper I had. The vase was a gift from my good friend Megan.

Obviously I’m not the world’s greatest photographer, but you get the idea! We have to keep our couches covered with sheets or else I think they would become giant mounds of dog hair. Second on the list after a kitchen table and chairs is a TV stand and a couple end tables and lamps. And I’m wondering if I should paint the fireplace brick white? Right now I’m leaning toward yes. I think it would complete the look.

So there you have it; the work we’ve done on our home so far. Comments? Questions? Praises? Constructive Criticism? I’d love to hear it! This post has been a long time coming and I stayed up late (for me) to get it up, so please at least take the time to say hello!

XOXO,
Kathleen

June 9, 2009
It’s Nice To Share

As you probably know already, David and I are relatively new homeowners. We bought our house in December 2008 and moved in this past January. It was in great condition, but since it was built in 1983 and an older couple owned it before us, not everything was quite to our taste. Eventually every room will need to be redecorated, but right now we’re just starting a little at a time.

Although I’m not 8 months pregnant, I have been feeling the nesting instinct. Maybe it’s just a female thing? I don’t know, but lately I’ve been addicted to watching HGTV and scouring the internet for home decor and furniture ideas. I wanted to share just a few of the resources I’ve found with you.

1. Young House Love – I’m addicted to this blog because it is written by a young married couple (John and Sherry) almost exactly my age who have totally redone their 50-year-old ranch house after two years. The blog has become Sherry’s full-time job and they now offer design services for others as well. Every Monday there is a great giveaway, and they are extremely responsive to readers. I love their taste and know that I’ll be using tons of their ideas in my own home because they are young and know what it’s like to be on a budget!

2. Bower Power – Katie writes about life in general but focuses on the home. She is also young and a somewhat newlywed, and it’s always great to connect with other people in my similar walk of life. Her blog is full of ideas, and I especially love her humor. I think that we could be BFFs if we met in person, but unfortunately she lives in Atlanta. That, and the fact that we haven’t even met online yet, considering I’m not extremely assertive in my blog reading habits. Hmm, hope she isn’t creeped out by this!

3. Houzz – You really just have to check this out yourself. It has tons of pictures and ideas, and if you set up an account you can save pictures to customizable “ideabooks” of your own. They have a feature where they interview design bloggers and show pictures of the blogger’s home. At the end of each interview there is a giveaway, and I’m excited to say that I am the most recent winner! I won this:

Wouldn’t it be super cute to put in an office, or eventually a nursery? I’m so excited! This giveaway was chosen by…

4. Ish & Chi – I just started following this blog after I saw Vivian’s interview on Houzz, and I am hooked. It has a perfect mix of pictures, ideas, and inspiration. Plus, she lives in Sydney, so that makes her extra cool.

I hope you enjoy these links! Let me know what you think, and if you have any similar blogs that you stalk, please share!

June 8, 2009
Ode to a Second Home

This is the home of my good friends Bridget and Dave. They are the ones I have been house-sitting for since 2006. They take lots of vacations, so I’ve spent a whole lot of time there. It’s a place that makes you feel immediately comfortable, and I love so many things about it that it became my inspiration when we were looking to buy a house of our own. I’m happy to say I think we actually ended up with one quite similar!

Anyway, Bridget and Dave are moving this week, and I am very sad about this. Of course it’s mostly because I have to say goodbye to them (and their dogs Teak and Riley, who were the real reasons for my house-sitting), but I’m also really going to miss their house. David and I have spent a lot of quality time there, and have had some important conversations under its roof. I was staying in this house when I graduated nursing school and took the NCLEX. I’ve had lazy, relaxing days there and sleepless, stormy nights. It really has been a second home.

Let’s take a tour through their cute little house, so I can always remember it.

This is what you see when you walk inside the front door. Yes, you will probably see the backsides of doggies Riley and Teak as well as that gorgeous grandfather clock.

They call their house “Wild Peacock Bed & Breakfast” because there actually ARE wild peacocks that live in the trees around their neighborhood! You can see them wandering the streets and hear their squawks quite often. Here are some peacock feathers that they collected and added to the decor of their home.

The main living room where I spent most of my time. I love how the walls are painted wood paneling. Those fans are amazingly powerful, by the way. We bought one for our living room but had to return it when we realized we couldn’t add a light attachment.

Another view of the fireplace. I’m thinking of painting the brick around our fireplace white too, because I like this so much!

The other side of the living room. Comfy couch, built-in wall of bookshelves, leads right into the kitchen, so lovely!

This plate always sits on the bar in between the living room and kitchen, and Bridget updates the saying on it as the seasons change. I think I might like to have something similar.

A cute little breakfast room that always had fresh flowers when I was there. And all of those pictures on the wall were taken by Dave.

I love an all white kitchen, especially with the bamboo accents. Makes that pretty orchid really stand out!

Just for posterity’s sake, here is the guest room where I slept so many nights.

And let’s not forget the lovely patio! I want to put pretty cobblestone like this down on ours so bad, but that project will have to wait until we actually get some furniture!

Their house wasn’t on the market for two days before they got an offer! I’m jealous of whoever gets to move in. But it won’t come with these guys:

Two of the cutest (and neediest) doggies around! I sure will miss it there.

Pictures of my own house coming soon!

June 7, 2009
wanted: a new car, please

Remember that minor annoyance I told you about, how I can’t lock my car anymore? Well, it turned into a little more than annoying today. I was at a furniture store looking for a kitchen table. The store was huge and overwhelming, I didn’t like much of what they had, and a saleslady was stalking me. She was like the cat who came back; she just wouldn’t stay away. I spent more time trying to evade her than looking at furniture. Anyway, I had to get out of there. But as I approached my car, my heart sank. I think I locked my car, I thought. And then I grabbed the handle, and my fears were confirmed. So although I had my key in my hand, I was locked out.

I pride myself on my muscle memory skills, but in this case they came back to haunt me. My truck was made in 1999, and it doesn’t have automatic anything. So I’ve ingrained in myself the habit of locking my door as soon as I open it. Once I found out about both of the locks being broken, I should have just unlocked the passenger side door. But no, I kept it locked thinking that somehow that would make it more secure? I don’t know. So there I was, stranded in the furniture parking lot, and it was hot. Very, very hot.

Thankfully, my husband David and my father-in-law dropped whatever they were doing and came out to work some coat hanger magic for this helpless girl. It really wasn’t happening that way, though. They struggled for a good hour before David decided to go to an auto store. He was able to borrow a slim jim and a wedge, and using those tools got it open in about ten minutes. It’s so great to have a man around who always takes care of me. :)

Unfortunately, when I got home and tried to open the door from the inside, I discovered that the latest trauma had broken the handle. I just had to laugh. I can still get IN my car from the outside, but to get out I have to crawl over and go through the passenger side door. I mean, this is getting ridiculous. I desperately want a new car, but every month I drive this one it saves us about $400. I can handle a lot, and I really like not having a car payment, so I’m sure I’ll just deal with this. But I don’t have to like it!

June 6, 2009