I love fall, and this is when I begin craving pumpkin. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins . Needless to say they did not last very long.

• Of local importance, but similiar is probably happening in your community: Bangor psychiatric center stops taking new patients. Be aware. Be informed, and question yourself this…if an important psychiatric hospital which houses a particular group of mentally ill patients is being targeted for cutbacks/closure, where will these people end up?
• A few things on my mind: Just because you have an expensive digital camera does not equal that you are a photographer. Seriously people. The most expensive cameras will not help a majority of you, so trying to sell yourself as a photographer, let alone charge for your services makes you look really stupid. And what the hell people. I do not visit facebook to see what you are selling on a daily basis. Yes, I deleted two of you today, and just for the record a majority of your friends feel the same way.
• I am feeling really creative. So creative that I need to visit AC Moore soon for some goodies!!

Busy, busy remainder of the week, and some great entries to come. I promise I’ll try to keep my ranting down now that I got a few things that bug me off my chest. I have to do some reading, and find myself sleeping for a busy day tomorrow of training. Ugh. Until later…

-Jenny

From the dog’s point of view, his master is an elongated and abnormally cunning dog.-Mabel Louise Robinson

Guess we should have waited on Olivers haircut. 6-8 inches of snow are in our forecast for tomorrow. BLeh.

All winter I have been obsessed with melon, and cantaloupe. Every week one of each has been on the grocery list. Love, love, love, but must admit that I do complain about the time it takes to cut and peel. And yes, there are calories!

New for us recipe: Chicken Rolls Stuffed with Asparagus and Black Forest Ham it has gorgonzola and cream cheese. It was very good. Matthew loved it. Unfortunately, I don’t like the bit of ‘bite’ that gorgonzola cheese has to it. If you are interested in the recipe leave a comment, and I’ll email to you.

A day trip. Keith and I traveled to Portland to peruse The Sketchbook Project 2011, and yes, Keith’s sketchbook was one of the almost 10,000 sketchbooks on display. He has totally inspired me to get back into my studio and make messes, I mean create.

I love, love, love this man. But, pull out a camera and you would think I am about to kill him…and he wonders why the kids act the way they do! Yeah, the apples don’t fall very far from the tree, Perkins…

Until next time. Be well friends…and hang on to a possible bumpy April Fool’s Day!

-Jenny

Happy Sunday Friends! It’s been a few days since I’ve given some attention to my blog. You know how it is. Never seems to be enough time.

School: Week 1 of Information & Healthcare Technologies Applied to Nursing Practice completed. I created a new system and it worked wonderfully for me. For the first time in a very long time I was ahead of schedule on my readings, and homework assignments. It’s also nice to be able to ‘breathe’ a little as the class is not as intense as the research class that just concluded.

Work: It’s been pretty stressful related to our newly elected Governor. A committe has been chosen and we will find out in December if our Psychiatric Hospital will remain open, or close.

Family/Life/Home: We are slowly pulling the kitchen together, and it’s almost completed. Keith is building a shelf for me for above the sink, and is also working on two additional special projects for me. I promise there will be photos soon.

Etc: I’ve been tanning for 3 weeks now and have to tell you that I have found a noticeably difference in how I feel. Unfortunately in the process of receiving some ‘light therapy’ I ended up getting a pretty bad all over body burn. Keith baked some delicious cookies a few days ago.. fat free oatmeal raisin cookies

Organizing ‘stuff’…I finally found the perfect 3 tier organizer for spices at Target the other night. Was even happier to find that it fit inside the hoosier perfectly! Seriously folks, it truly is the ‘little’ things that make me happy nowadays!

Well, there ya got it in a nutshell…random ramblings. A new week is upon us, and I hope for a beautiful one filled with smiles, laughter, love, and lots of accomplishments. Until next time, be well friends!

-Jenny

Yesterdays snowstorm ended, thankfully. I am not sure on the exact amount, but it is obviously more than 6 inches. BLeh. I am ready for warmth, and all the wonderful things that come with Spring, and Summer! And while I am thinking of Spring, one of my goals this week is to put together a plan for a vegetable garden. Todays recipe share: Banana Bread.

This is my weekend to work, and I need to find myself taking a nap before it is time to head out. Have a great Saturday friends!

-Jenny

What a beautiful Monday!! Unfortunately it has only reached 21 degrees here, but the sun has been shining and with Keith’s help the housework was taken care of, laundry has been going, and I found the energy to straighten out my art studio. I made a card weeks ago and made a huge amount of messes in there! Amazing how one card can cause so much chaos! Very pleased that today has been a productive day.

I’ve been collecting antique state souvenir plates to represent each state that my children were born in, with the plan of hanging them in my kitchen. Sounds like an easy task, but it wasn’t. You know how it is…when you are looking for something in particular it never fails that that item does not want to be found. So, finally, I found Maine, New Hampshire, and Texas, to represent the kids birth states, and this morning Keith hung them in the kitchen. I LOVE that each plate is so different.

Opening up an old cookbook that I haven’t opened in forever [over 11 years to be exact] I was surprised to find a few recipes that I had clipped out in and stuck inside that made me smile! And speaking of recipes….the Garlic Mashed Potatoes were absolutely delicious!!

Meatloaf with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients: 1 1/2 lb Yukon gold potatoes [we used Red potatoes]. 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream. 1/4 cup chopped parsley. 1/4 teaspoon salt. 2 cloves garlic, minced.

Preparation: Put potatoes in medium pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to pot. Add sour cream, parsley, salt, and garlic. Mash until smooth.

Well friends, time is ticking, and I have a few more things I want/need to do before supper. Here’s to a beautiful week filled with good stuff ahead of us. Until next time…

-Jenny

As the remainder of the kitchen is being pulled together I’ve been searching out new recipes, and came across Shrimp Scampi Linguine in one of my magazines. It was absolutely delicious, quick to prepare, and an inexpensive meal.

Ingredients: 9 0z linguine. 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil. 1 lb medium shrimp, peeled. 4 cloves garlic, minced. 1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes. 1 pt cherry tomatoes, halved. 1/2 cups dry white wine [we chose to use cooking wine]. Juice of 1 lemon. 1/2 tsp salt. 3 cups packed baby spinach leaves. 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley. 1/2 cup grated Parmesan [we used asiago].

Preparation: Prepare pasta. Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat while pasta cooks. Add shrimp, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook until shrimp start to turn pink, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, lemon juice, and salt. Cook until tomatoes start to soften, about 1 minute. Add spinach and parsley and cook until spinach wilts, about 1 minute. Drain pasta and add to pan. Toss to coat and serve with sprinkled cheese. We served with fresh homemade garlic bread. [Total time: 15 minutes, Servings: 4]

School: The countdown is on. 8 days remaining of this Nursing Research course, and one final research paper for responsibilities.

Work: Continuing to keep  me exhausted. Some time ago one of my personal mentors told me to recite these words and keep them close to my heart, and mind every shift: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. I believe these words are very appropriate, and my personal work-mantra!

Due to some feelings of burn-out, and work related stressors, in my ‘free time’ [insert googley/surprised face here] I have been doing some research and reading on nursing theorists and theories, and decided to reread Florence Nightingale’s Notes on Nursing. Knowing that these words were written in 1859 and so much of the information is a basic of modern nursing today, tho there are parts of the book that make me laugh, it is very empowering, and inspiring. I would love to tour the Florence Nightingale Museum. Thinking I’ll need to add this dream to my bucket list.

Family/Life/Home: Our quiet-for-a-short-time-house, is no longer quiet as Matthew has moved back home. The sound of his whistling, and clomping around make me smile.

Etc: Hoping to get a few little projects completed before the end of the weekend. Other than that I could continue to ramble, but I need to find myself thinking about signing off the laptop for the night…

Have a great weekend friends. Until next time.

-Jenny