Update!

Well, I've been on a little unintentional summer blog hiatus and I do have a lot to fill you all in on, but i wanted to share some exciting news first! You may remember from here my friend and co-worker Kim was recently diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer. 


She went through 6 weeks of chemotherapy and radiation. Thankfully she tolerated the grueling full 6-week treatment and this past Thursday, July 21, she had body scans to see how the treatment worked. 

The results were...drum roll please...

...the tumor is much smaller, mostly necrotic (dead) and she does NOT have any metastatic cancer to any other organ/part of her body!

reminder of original tumor:

God truly does answer prayer and is Good

wish list...

I recently received a Restoration Hardware catalogue in the mail and found a bed that I'm absolutely IN LOVE with. I still use the bedroom suit of cheap furniture I bought in college which looks ok...but I would love an upgrade. Working night shift has left me depleted of energy and I spend lots of time sleeping and I am now obsessing over this...

Just think...a cloud-like mattress, puffy pillows, and a fan over head...I would never want to leave dreamland. I might need to work a few ton of extra shifts to pay for that piece of luxury!

I am on the prowl for some summer wedges and found these. I am 5'7.5'' and these puppies have a 4.5 inch heel! Not sure how I feel about being 6 foot tall! I already have a hard enough time finding a guy...this will add more trouble!

Every year or so I get a decorating/re-decorating kick. Well...it's here and in full force! You all saw the laundry room make-over. And I've got TONS of other ideas in my head just brewing. Well, also in this Restoration Hardware catalogue, I found a bathroom wall-mount cabinet. It would serve 2 purposes: 1. A place to store more of my crap beautifying products, because all the room under my sink is gone and 2. take up empty/ugly wall space.

That's all for now...I can't add too much to my wish list or I'll be needing to work so much overtime I won't have a day off for then next few years! C'mon girls, I need your help finding a second income so I can decorate my dream home and fill my dream closet!

Laundry/Utility Room Makeover!

For months now I have planned on decorating my laundry/utility room. Yes, I wanted to "decorate" a laundry room. Laundry room needs love too! When I moved in my house it was one of the three rooms I did not re-paint, so it was bare and bland. And you may remember from here when I bought these:

Well, I had a few days {6 to be exact!} and I FINALLY got around to picking out a paint color and actually getting this project done! YAY! You should have seen me in Lowes. I stood in front of the color cards FORRREEVVVVERR. I felt like I was making a huge life decision and life commitment. Once the cute little man with gray hair behind the counter punches the code designated to my color and all the colors drip into the can of pure white paint mix to make my color, there's no turning back. I can't return it if I don't like it...so I have to be sure I'm going to like it! After I chose a color I came right home and got a' paintin'! 

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

Color: Valspar from Lowes, Smoked Oyster

Baskets: Home Goods $12-$15 each

Pins: Ballard Design $35 for all 3

My friend Jen got me the "Believe" sign for Christmas and I had originally planned to set it on my shelf in my living room, but it is too big. So, this is the perfect place. 

After spending so much time deciding on the color, I'm glad I did, because I'm absolutely in love with it! I want to paint my bathroom and the stairway/upstairs hall the same color! Now I just need to find the energy to do it!

saying goodbye

This week I'm having to say goodbye to two doctors that I've grown to actually like! {as co-workers!} I work at a teaching hospital and in the medical field Doctors do their residency here and when they complete their residency they usually leave and get an Attending {head hancho} job at another hospital. Residency can be anywhere from three to seven years long, then doctors can do extra specialties {very confusing}. But, the Neurosurgery doctors I work with, their residency is seven years long. And they spend more time at work than at home.

When I first became a nurse, these two guys were on-call a lot at night, so I got to know them, learn from them, and now that they are leaving, I'm actually going to miss them! Some of us at work got together and got "going away" gifts for them.  

Of course...UK theme

like my wrapping? my 1st real job {besides babysitting} was Christmas present wrapping at the mall. 

I'm actually glad I did that! Crisp edges and corners!

The thing on the left is a keychain pen light. This is to check a patients pupils. We gave them one of these because every day on rounds, NONE of the doctors had one. They should! Because this is one of the main components of a neuro exam. So, when they go to their new job, they can check their patient's pupils!

The other thing is a UK scrub cap for their surgeries. You would think living in UK NATION, that it would be easy to find. Well, we were SO WRONG!...Sarah and I went to 7, YES 7 stores before we found it. We searched 3 campus bookstores, 3 scrub stores, and a medical supply store! At the last scrub store we saw one, then I asked the sales girl and begged, BEGGED her for another and I pretty much looked ridiculous. I'm sure she thought I was psychotic. I bought another for the resident leaving next year so I didn't have to go on a hunt next year. Geez...we never dreamed it would've been so hard to find!

Sarah made these yummy treats for the whole team: 

BRAIN CUPCAKES

Sarah made cute "neuro" names to go with their name:

Epidural Eric

Nystagmus Norman

Wernicke Whitlow

Decerebrate Davis

Hydrocephalus Hughes

Astrocytomao Asfahani

Brainstem Brown

Gyri Grupke

Meningitis Mannas

Subarachnoid Stafford

Lambdoidal Laith

Hypertonic Hessel

Broca Brenda

Cranial Christy

this picture was from last year

We are going to miss you two! 

Love, the Neurosurgery girls