Woke up this morning and enjoyed a delicious breakfast; yogurt, granola, and fruit, and blueberry pancakes with a blueberry butter, absolutely delicious!

Visited Goodwill and found two new great books; The Psychiatry of AIDS: A Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment and Surviving Schizophrenia.

I found two Hallmark Keepsakes ornaments to add to our small tree in the diningroom at Christmas time.

We had plans on visiting a maple sugar farm this morning and unfortunately the directions did not take us where we were supposed to go. It began raining, and we decided to head home. Chili is in the crockpot, and we are getting ourselves ready for another week ahead of us. A beautiful weekend spent exploring with my husband. Must remember we need to begin doing this more often! Until next time, here’s to a great week ahead of us friends!

-Jenny

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.  -Anne Bradstreet

Sadly, the first day of Spring has found me on day 2 of being sick. Thankfully today was my scheduled day off, and I was able to sleep just about all day. Tomorrow, I was supposed to attend a nursing seminar, but I am doubtful that I am going to be able to make it.

I love these words…

New books [to sit on the bookcase until I have time to read them]…our doctor on the unit recommended them, especially “I think I love you” after a discussion about teenagers and the celebrities they fall in love with…I recall Shawn Cassidy, and Leif Garrett being my ‘boyfriends’.

My daughter bought me this beautiful watch a few years ago, and sadly the ’9′ fell off and became stuck on one of the hands causing it to stick. I finally took the time to mail it out to have it repaired…so happy to have it back!

For here I need to close as I can feel the nyquil beginning to kick in. Happy first day of Spring, friends. Here’s to a wonderful week ahead of us!

-Jenny

You can’t see Canada across lake Erie, but you know it’s there.  It’s the same with spring.  You have to have faith, especially in Cleveland.  -Paul Fleischman

A beautiful sign that Spring is on the way…

This afternoon Keith and I ran a few errands, and visited Goodwill, and I was so happy to find these books [two specific to psych]. Especially, I Hate You, Don’t Leave Me. I know I may have mentioned it a time or two, but as a psychiatric nurse, borderlines are my most difficult patients.

Smart Women Finish Rich, As Nature Made Him [heart and gut wrenching. I pray that David is at peace...], and The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat.

It appears that I may have an ovary causing me problems, so I had an ultrasound today, and was able to get my blood work for the month drawn also. Fingers crossed that my iron has elevated…due to the way I am feeling, I think it has remained the same, but we’ll see. After the ultrasound, Keith and I went downtown and visited a charming little cafe called Bagel Central. I had an apple muffin [filled with apple, almonds, and a hint of apricot], and Keith had a cannoli.

Hope your day has been a great one! Now, I have to get to my homework due in just a few hours. Until next time…

-Jenny

The Book of Awakening: 2/26 Stop talking, stop thinking, and there is nothing that you will not understand. -Seng-Ts’an The lesson is simple. Slow down. Enjoy the moment. Experience the moment.

I have officially completed Policy and Politics in Nursing and Healthcare with a final grade of a 98%.

The beginning of a new class, tomorrow: Integrating Theory and Research for Evidence-Based Practice. I have spent the morning printing out the syllabus, calendar, and additional journal articles that must be read, and getting my binder, and personal calendar situated, and organized. This will be my 11th class, with eight classes remaining until I reach the finish line of achieving my Masters Degree. I am wiped, and at times feel like I can not continue any further. Thankfully, I have formed a wonderful friendship with one of my peers who coincidently has the same thoughts as I do on occassion, so we have been helping keep each other on track, and focused.

 My doctor loaned me this book: The Instinct to Heal: Curing Depression, Anxiety and Stress Without Drugs and Without Talk Therapy. I have stopped all of my medications, and so far, not so sure about how I am feeling. I am always stressed, I have anxiety the minute I leave my home, and the depression comes, and goes in different degrees, and more than often the exact degree depends on where I am in relation with my fibromyaliga.

Today has been a lazy Sunday here in our home. The crockpot is slow cooking up a delicious smelling sloppy joe recipe for supper…[not on the menu for tonight, but we decided to improvise]. Much more to accomplish, so for here I am going to close down, and finish up some projects. Hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend, and a peaceful Sunday. Until next time…

-Jenny

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read. -Groucho Marx

(thank you SarahKaye for sharing this quote with me!)

A new crock pot recipe: Grandma’s Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup, with homemade biscuits. What we did differently; Keith added 3 cloves of garlic, and we did not add noodles.

Ran an errand tonight in town, and visited the local bookstore: The Book of Awakening, The Disappearance of Childhood, and of course the Whole Living magazine…

I have officially completed all responsibilities for Policy and Politics in Nursing and Healthcare. Monday begins Integrating Theory and Research for Evidence-Based Practice. I was not looking forward to another EBP course. Now, after seeing who the professor is, I am definetly not looking forward to the course. This man read our research papers THREE times before he graded them. Yes! He read each of our research papers three times before he graded them. Needless to say, he was very good at finding mistakes in APA/grammar. My girlfriend, Donna, calls him Professor O-No. But, it would be very unfair for me to not mention that even though he appears to have a little OCD, he was an amazing professor, and he truly taught me a lot in our last course.

I cannot believe that February is almost behind us! My beautiful daughter celebrated her birthday on the 23rd of this month, turning 25 years old. Words cannot even begin to express how much I love her, and how I just cannot imagine my life without her…

March is going to be a busy and exciting month for me. I will be attending a three day seminar to become certified in teaching a course, and I will be attending an all day nursing summit. Hoping for some great new knowledge, and a lot of networking!

I thought this was beautiful: “Without compromising your own journey find time to help those who might need a nudge or two to get over a stumbling block. Though we have our own paths to take, we will meet others along the way and quenching someone’s thirst for kindness is one of humanity’s wonders.” – Dodinsky

Well friends, for here I am going to close down to enjoy the remainder of this evening with my boys. Until later. Take care, and be well!

-Jenny

I am loving my new work schedule. It is so nice to be home more now that I gave up my eight hour position, and moved into twelve hour shifts. This morning my son, and I made a trip to Bangor to pick up a wishing well that I ordered, and a quick trip to Petco. Housework is done, and the remainder of this beautiful day will be spent working on homework assignments.

I have always wanted a wishing well, and now that our focus is on the back yard/back deck this season when I saw a posting on facebook from a young man selling them, I knew I needed one. Once it is painted and set up in the back yard I’ll share photos.

Onward to Petco where we bought Oliver a new sweater. He was groomed yesterday, and looks so handsome!! Of course, like my children, he refused to look at the camera.

Ali Edwards shared a great idea in her Week 1, 52 Creative Lifts newsletter about One Line a Day. She uses the journal to write a personal daily gratitude. I thought about it, but for me a daily thought about gratitude just does not work for me, and quite frankly it would bore me, and eventually anyone who read my journal, to sleep. Finally, I chose to answer a random question about myself/life/family each day, and will add in special memories that happen along the way.

When I first saw the journal that Ali shared, I was not interested. Too blue. Too plain. I wanted a journal that I could decorate and be creative with. Ahhh…you know, another project that will overwhelm me, and I will never complete. I considered this Q&A a Day Journal, but didn’t like the idea of the same questions for five years. So, in the end, the little blue journal was chosen. I did a number of searches, and have found a plethora of daily questions to use.

Well friends, so much more to share/ramble on about, but time is moving ever so quickly, and I have to get my nose in the books. Until next time..

-Jenny