Thursday, December 31, 2009
Goals
Every week on Wednesday we, the nursing school students, would go to the hospitals where we were doing our rotation that quarter, and pickup our patient assignment. Each assignment was generally 2 patients we would have to study their medical history, current history , disease, medications, etc. We would then have to write out a care plan for each patient identifying the potential or actual problems the physiology for the problem, include actions or nursing care that would help improve the patients situation or prevent a problem from actually occurring. Goals would actually have to be measurable; we couldn't just write "patient will be pain free" but "Patients pain level will be less than 5 on a scale 1-10".
So here I am trying to explain to my sweet 9yo that while I appreciate her wanting to be nicer to her little sister, she needs to think about, how, what actions she is going to take that will help her be nicer to her sister. She looked at me like I was a little nutty, I have that reputation with my kids. This interaction with my daughter has helped me think about what I want my goals for the year to be. When I decide on what they are going to be,I don't know if I'll post them all here it depends on how brave I'm feeling at the time.
Until then Happy 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
John had a migraine this morning. I feel bad that this is something he has to contend with in his life, but am grateful that they aren't worse or more frequent. I took the girls out to run errands for a couple of hours so John could have the quiet he needs to get over the headache.
We came home bearing donuts and lasagna (John's favorite). Hoping it will be a good day.
Knitting wise I'm going to finish the scarf started while mom was here, then start some dishcloths for my MIL's birthday present. Her birthday is a little over a week away, Think i can make 6 dishcloths before then? I would like to, we'll see.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
...one more entry for the day
The three younger kids were a little sad and missing their brother, my parents saved the day, as only grandparents can, by coming and staying with us for Christmas. My youngest got a lot of snuggles from Grandma and grandpa. Em fell in love with their new dog, and John had fun playing games and going golfing with Grandpa.
My mom and I visited a couple of our favorite yarn stores and new projects were started, scarves. Mom was glad to be knitting something new. I started one just because mom wanted me to start one too. Most moms and daughters go clothes shopping or get pedicures together....my mom and I knit together.
Even though we had a great time. Thoughts of my oldest child are in the back of my mind. I know he is safe and happy, and in my mind I am giving him a big hug.
Bad blogger...no cookie!
- family and friends
- knitting
- healthy living
- cooking
- crafts
- my faith and beliefs
- gardening
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Forest Canopy Shawl (and other knitting content)
The first week of post-op recovery had me finishing this lovely little shawl for my mother-in-law. It is knit in Dream in Color Smooshy in the Oceania colorway. I loved working with the yarn and the pattern was fairly easy to follow even on heavy-duty pain pills
I finished a couple of hats. I really enjoyed knitting Quincy the pattern by Jared Flood from his book Made in Brooklyn I just bought the pattern as a downloadable PDF on Ravelry, I love Ravelry love how it lets me buy a pattern anytime of the day :) yes I'm an impulse shopper I knit this hat in Berroco Peruvia Quick. Its a soft warm hat I love it and since its been chilly (for Arizona), I can actually wear it and not swelter
On the home front my oldest leaves soon to enter the Missionary Training Center in Provo , UT. After being there for a couple of weeks , he will go to the North- Eastern part of the United States where he will be serving an proselytizing mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has been a fun kid to raise we've had some really awesome talks lately. I will miss him but I am excited for him to go out into the world to grow in the gospel and in life experiences. He's an awesome young man.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
written under the influence of pain pills
Tried knitting a bit on the Forest Canopy Shawl as a Christmas present for my MIL. Made only a couple mistakes while under the influence of pain pills . Should be able to finish the shawl the up today.
Found a great cookbook called Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Its a nice thick book that goes through all the basics of vegetarian and some vegan dishes. I'm excited about the recipes for making my own polenta. There are sections on using different grains, legumes, vegetables, sauces. I hope to get up and cooking soon so I can try some of them. I found the book at my Local library, but know it is availbale aon Amazon.com too.
Need to take a nap now.
Have a great day
Saturday, October 31, 2009
another reason why I love Arizona in the Fall
As a child I remember being slightly sad that I had to wear my heavy winter coat over my costume. Whats the point of dressing up if no one can see your costume?
Its so fun to make fun costumes that the kids can run around in and show all their friends
Happy Halloween
Friday, October 23, 2009
Clue #3
Why I love Arizona in the Fall
beets
beans (these haven't sprouted)
Peas
lettuce
carrots
broccoli
brussel sprouts
In my flowerbed at the front of the house I planted petunias, thew grow really well here in the winter, come February they really take off. This is my favorite time of year in AZ. It really makes up for the summer and the 100+ degree weather in early October.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Fall into October
Journey Hat
Booga Bag
The Booga Bag took just a couple of days to knit up. Tempe Yarn and Fiber is collecting these toe fill with items for a local women's crises shelter. I appreciate this LYS's efforts to provide opportunities to its customers to participate in local community service.
I'm glad to see October start. The kids have a two week fall break and I'm enjoying doing nothing but staying home and getting somethings done around here
Happy October!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Time warp back to Labor Day Weekend
When we got to the motel we had booked for the weekend, we were very disappointed. It was in a bad part of town, not very family friendly and the bathtub was full of cockroaches. The younger kids were crying and tired. I put a smile on but deep inside i hard a hard time thinking we could live in this place for three days.
The next morning, My dear husband negotiated our release form this motel, ( thank you hotels.com). and then he as able to check us into the Embassy Suites near San Diego Harbor Bay. It was like going form hotel heck to hotel paradise. The rest of the weekend was heaven.
We visited Sea World, saw Shamu and the Dolphin shows. Hung out a lot in the Arctic exhibit.. That night for dinner we walked to Seaport Village for dinner. It was a blast.
Sunday we attended church, had lunch back the hotel. That afternoon we went to Cabrillo Nat'l Park to explore the tide pools and see the light house.
Monday we got up early for breakfast then drove to La Jolla Shores. A very nice beach that was pretty crowded at 8 am. The dh came through and found a parking place we played in the sand, swam in the ocean and watched the surfers again it was heavenly. We had plenty of time to head back to the hotel, get cleaned up and checkout before driving home.
Next time I go to San Diego, I would like to spend most of the tome by the beach its so peaceful. It was good to spend time with the family too. I'm so blessed that the kids all get along and like each other.
Monday, September 14, 2009
No animals were injured in the writing of this blog
After a week of being totally "vegan", I was feeling pretty good....except for hives caused by one of the medications.
The doc then told me it was okay to "eat meat sparingly". I intend to emphasize the vegetarian aspects of the diet, and feel better if when I do eat animal products that is be very lean and only in small amounts.
Today I needed to make a treat for tonight's family time. I "googled" the words vegan cake, Google then kindly found this little gem of a recipe for Chocolate Vegan Cake. It looks like cake, it smells like cake it even tastes like cake, for the most part. the texture is ever so slightly different but not off putting. The pickiest eater in the world (my 8yo) had two pieces tonight
The recipe calls for soy milk and canolaoil, I used coconut milk and olive oil as it is what I had on hand.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Some of my heroes....
I need to sleep, but I can't. Nothing bad going on just an allergic reaction to a newly prescribed medication has left my arms and legs covered in hives. Yay, for Prednisone! I don't want to gross anyone out with photo journaling this event . Lets just say that after the first dose of Prednisone I am able to comfortably knit again.
September 11th and all the meaning that goes with it has snuck up on me this year. It has double meaning for me this year.
- Tommy Peterson, my nephew, is one of my heroes. Tommy, who passed away three years ago from complications of a brain tumor, is being honored on the Cure Childhood Cancer website today. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Everyday Cure is honoring two children who have battled cancer. Another one of my heroes is my sister-in-lawTommy's mom. She and my brother made Tommy's last months full of love, fun and adventure. I am forever indebted to them for bringing this amazing child to this Earth and allowing me and my family to be know him and have him a part of our lives. Mysister-in-law is the one who wrote the entry honoring Tommy.
- I also like to take time to remember those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks on America. I know that there will be many memorial ceremonies going on around the country. I hope that this is a date that continues to be a day of solemn remebrance. I am continually grateful for the men and women who have made the sacrifice to serve their country and/or community whether it is in the Armed forces or other branches of community service. Special hugs and prayers for them and their families not just today but everyday.
I took this picture during a visit to my brother's family. A friend of my SIL had arranged a trip to a local Firehouse. Station#25 in Lawrenceville, GA. These firemen were great words cannot express how amazing they were to Tommy and his family
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Gift of Life
- 92% after 1 year
- 80% at 5 years
- 54% after 10 years
I think that means out of one-hundred people who receive a kidney transplant, in 10 years just over half of them will still be alive. Mom has had her transplanted kidney for 24years. It has survived her losing her eyesight, 2 hip replacements, a broken clavicle, and foot surgery. She has been alive to see me married, to cuddle grand kids and independently support her local yarn stores with all of her knitting projects.
Here she is showing here wacky sense of humor with the kids in some hats she knit them several years ago.
.
What prompted this long non-knitting post was a question I read in a Ravelry Forum thread. Part of the kintsib's post asked "Are you a donor?.......if something happened to one of your kids would you donate their organs?....Have you or do you know someone who has received a n organ transplant. i could answer yes to all these questions. The blog needed to know the story too so my children, friends and extended family would know what an amazing gift life is. Mom and Dad recently celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary. I love you Mom.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Vegas Elvii
You can't go to Vegas without seeing Elvis in one form or another, here they saw two versions of Elivis. Elvii = more than one Elvis at the same time
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Hi-ho,hi-ho its off to school they go
With my oldest child graduating from High school and my youngest just starting the process. I am reminded of of Robert Fulghum's "All I Really needed To Know I Learned in Kindergarten" . A fun essay that reminds me to keep life simple and basic, be nice, learn to say I'm sorry when I hurt someone and "When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together"
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
My Tan Line
The youngest dd's swimming lessons are now in the evening, at the pool where my oldest works. Its fun to watch him teach the little kids how to swim. This pool has a zero depth entry that gradually slopes to the 3-ft deep kiddie area. They manager of the pool let parents bring lounge chairs up to the edge of the Zero Depth area and so we can stick our feet in the water...All I have to do is close my eyes, smell the chlorine and pretend I'm somewhere exotic instead of a neighborhood city pool. Oh yeah, I can knit while I wait too.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Irish Dancing-Celebration of Kids
Irish Dancing-Celebration of Kids
Originally uploaded by dnaprice66
It was a fun evening, all the kids were adorable.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sewing Lessons
My 12yo son is mechanically inclined. When I sew, he watches with fascination trying to figure out how the machine works. The last couple of months he has been asking for lessons on how to work the sewing machine and to teach him how to sew.........I am not a patient woman and therefore not a very good teacher. I found a Kwiksew pattern for men's pajama bottoms, picked some fabric from my stash (yeah i have a fabric stash too)
Today we got started he learned:
- how to cut out a pattern
- reading pattern instructions
- winding a bobbin
- threading bobbin and machine
- pressing
- seaming
- finishing edges
- SAFETY first
- you cannot watch TV while sewing a seam with a sewing machine.
- Putting in a button hole
We got all the way through to one of the side seams in the leg
He just has three more leg seams, a waistband to turn under and seam finishing then he will be done. After working for three hours though, I thought we both needed some lunch and a break.
Now his sisters want a turn at the machine..........must relax first.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Huggable Triplet Hedgehogs
I named them after My Grandma and her two sisters she was closest to. Presenting Rita, Grace and Drucilla the Pinko Triplets. It was fun to knit them. I had to get them over and done with as quickly as possible; if I had thought about it too much I would have become overwhelmed. They're done and in the store and waiting for the "family reunion" in October before traveling to their new home.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Monsoon?
The storms here tend to be pretty localized. Where it might be raining over my house, less than a block away it can be bone dry. There was no rain at our house but we when we looked towards the South the dark cloud and lightning display was impressive. This storm pales in comparison to most of our "monsoon" storms. but it was the first of the season for me. I know storms can be dangerous but these storms have a certain beauty to them that I love.
Happy fourth of July!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Summer, swimming and science
Back to knitting. One of my favorite LYS Tempe Yarn and Fiber is spearheading a project for the local Ronald McDonald House. Author Tim Logan created background stories for members of a family of hedgehogs. I went to the shop saw what characters were left and chose a set of aunts called the Pinko Triplets. I finished knitting and fulled the first one yesterday and started the second one this morning. The pattern is Huggable Hedgehogs from Fibertrends, a well written pattern much and easier than the clogs I knit last year. I will post photos of my progress later.
Happy Summer! and Happy Birthday Coggietm!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
hmmmm
Friday, June 12, 2009
Mammoth Sunflowers and Why I shouldn't be allowed to bake cookies
Became this:
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Woo Hoo, Summer!
The last month has been kind of hectic. The oldest child graduated from High School, and the other kids had the usual end of the year concerts and awards stuff.
I've crocheted some super soft baby washcloths for baby gifts. The pattern is by Teresa Grant and super quick to crochet , and well received by the mommies -to be.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Happy Birthday buddy!
Happy birthday sweetie!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Like music to my ears.
My birthday will be in a few days. I don't mind getting older, its fun. To a point. My hormone levels feel like they are all over the place and I find myself crying over silly things, like my "baby" losing her first tooth, and my oldest getting ready to graduate HS.
I was checking out a swap partners blog, she follows Crazy Aunt Purl. It had been so long since I had read that blog. I went and had a peek. Crazy Aunt Purl's blog lead me to this video. It made me laugh and cry at the same time. Some days i wish life could really be like a musical. With people breaking out in song and dance, sharing the joy of music and life. I hope you enjoy it too.
Id forgotten how much I love reading that blog. She seems to find joy in everyday.
My swap partner in the Manic Purl kit swap has not received her package from me. I am going to give it until tomorrow. Then start putting together another package to send out. I feel bad and should have mailed things out earlier in April. I had no idea that it would take a month to get to Argentina. I feel bad . Hopefully the second package will get to her.