Danger Danger!

Over at Ree's site today she's talking To-Do lists. And since I'm a chronic list-maker, I thought I'd join in the fun. Besides, I like the feeling of accomplishment I get when I actually get to cross things off. Makes me feel like I'm making some progress in life.

So here's what's on the agenda for this week:

• Clean out the fridge
• Clean the bathrooms
• Go to the gym at least twice
• Meet Brooke for coffee
• Send out email to friends/family about participating in the Susan G Komen 3-day walk in September
• Make dentist appts for son and myself
• Register son for swimming lessons
• Work on baby quilts for my cousin (she’s pregnant with quadrulets)
• Come up with some dinner ideas for hubby so he and the kiddos can have something to eat while I’m at work Mon & Tues nights.
• Oh, and watch tennis. The Australian Open is on!

How many of these things will actually get done, you ask? Hmmm, probably at least half and maybe even all of them. I think it's realistic. Of course, you throw in all the normal daily stuff not listed (like bathing, eating, sleeping, wrangling kids, shopping, cooking) and you know that the whole list could end up completely ignored if the "daily stuff" develops a kink. Something like a sick kid, or a kid who wakes up earlier than normal and remains cranky, a mommy who doesn't sleep well, a snow storm, or an exceptionally riveting tennis match that prevents mommy from leaving the house, much less the couch. All of these things pose a very real threat to my ability to accomplish the things on my To-do list this week.

Yep, it's a dangerous life I lead.

Quilting Bee

I recently purchased fabric to start a new quilting project and I got things started yesterday. I got all the fabric washed and ironed and got the strips cut out and a few pieced together. Already I can see that it's going to turn out pretty well. I really like my fabric choices. It's been a while - almost a year, in fact - since I've done any quilting so I'm having to remember and try to employ the proper techniques I learned in the class I took last year.

Anyway, I got looking through my Photobucket account, where I have pictures of some of the other quilts I've made, and I thought I'd share them. Trust me, the camera hides many mistakes, but I'm generally pleased with them.

This is the one I made for my friend Michelle when she was pregnant with her son, Alex. It's flannel and was so soft and snuggly.

This is one I made for my sister Kelly. My mom helped me pay to have this one professionally quilted and it turned out gorgeous. I love the Irish Chain pattern.

This is one I made for my sister's annual Christmas party gift-exchange in 2006.

This is one I made for my cousin's little boy, Jordan.

I learned some basics of strip quilting a few years ago and was immediately hooked. I still have a TON to learn about it, but I figure by the time I'm a grandma, maybe I'll have it down! I'm always in awe of the quilts I see entered in the Fair and can truly appreciate and admire them, knowing the amount of work that goes into them. They really are works of art. Mine? Not so much.

AT LAST!!

We received some very good news yesterday.

After 3+ years of trying to get my parents' property short-platted and jumping through all the hoops that the County Planning & Development throws up, they've FINALLY signed off on it and it is officially 4 separate pieces of land! What does this mean?? It means we can finally, FINALLY, get started trying to build. Now that we have parcel numbers for each piece of property, we can use those to apply for building permits and hopefully get started in the next few months. We actually COULD be living out on our land, in our new house, by the end of the year!

It has been such a dream of our's for so long now, that I can't even begin to tell you how excited, relieved, and a little in disbelief, that I am that we may actually see some progress soon. I mean, I know we've got a lot of hard work in between now and then, but to be able to actually see some tangible results of our efforts will be worth it.

Not only am I happy for myself and my family, but for my parents. They have been waiting for SO dang long to live out there that I'm so happy to see things happen for them too. It's not just a fulfillment of a dream, but also a chance for them to slow down and just enjoy life hopefully. They're not getting any younger and the nagging thought was always in the back of my mind that if the County didn't hurry up, my parents may not be around to enjoy it, or not able to pursue living out there. I just hope that the next months go by smoothly and we can see some houses start to rise out of the ground. Dad and I have a lot of plans and ideas and I can't wait to get to work on them!

Mt. Washmore

The Good News? These were all clean clothes. The Bad News? They were waiting to be folded and put away.

I am proud to say I have climbed and conquered Mt. Washmore. Never has it loomed so large in my home. It nearly occluded my hallway and threatened my physical safety whenever I dared to pass, not to mention the mental anguish of my guilt-addled conscious. I finally wrestled all 142 lbs of Downy-freshness onto my bed, vowing that I wouldn't sleep until the job was done. Hubby, sensing that his slumber was also potentially compromised, jumped right in to help, delivering all the neatly folded articles to their proper dresser drawers. In no time at all, we had reached the summit and freed our bed. Eureka! What a great feeling.

My work here is done.

For tonight anyway.

Heroes

The other night at work was kind of a rough one. The entire hospital is about filled to capacity, our unit being no exception. We have 39 beds. Two rooms were out of commission and the other 37 beds were full. It was crazy. The phones were ringing off the hook, the patient call lights were non-stop and my chart rack was never empty. By 7:00pm I was already tired and still had 4 hours to go. And then, a patient started having problems. Breathing problems. He wasn't getting enough oxygen. Next thing I hear is a Code Blue being called in his room. Crap. That's not good. Everyone starts running around and various people start running in from throughout the hospital. (When a code is called people respond: an ER Dr., pharmacist, respiratory therapist, ICU charge nurse, house supervisor, stat nurses, EKG, etc.) I went and positioned myself outside the room, waiting to do whatever needed to be done.

It was quickly determined that the man wasn't breathing and needed to be intubated (where a breathing tube is put down the throat). Then suddenly his heart either stopped or went into a bad rhythm and they started doing CPR. Seeing CPR done in person is nothing like it looks on TV, let me tell you. It is almost violent; the force that is necessary to artificially pump the heart is astounding. And it is hard work. A person can't do it for very long at the rate and force that is required.

To witness even part of that situation is enough to get your adrenaline flowing, but then I had things to do: order a chest xray, find suction canisters, get towels, get someone to locate a Doppler, run down two flights of stairs and to the other side of the hospital to retrieve blood and then take it back. And all of this done with a very real sense of life or death.

This isn't the first Code that I've witnessed and probably won't be the last. I'm always in awe when I witness the teamwork and orchestration that goes into saving a life. Everybody knows exactly what to do, how and when to do it. I realize that the techniques and knowledge required are learned skills, but to have the confidence, the fortitude and the tenacity to carry those skills out in such a high-pressure situation....wow. Honestly, I think they're heroes. It really is such an honor and a privilege to work with such people. I truly believe they're doing the work of the angels.

My newest appliance

For Christmas, my sister Kelly got us a indoor grill. Kinda like a George Foreman grill, but bigger and nicer. Well, after having the thing take up space on my counter for the week after Christmas, I realized that I probably would never use the thing. I have a cast iron grill pan that I love and I just didn't think I would ever even take the grill thing out of the box. This theory was further supported when I cleaned out my pantry and actually found a George Foreman grill that I've never used. (The George Foreman went into the "donate" box for the next time the Blind or whoever comes by. See? I'm getting rid of stuff!)

So I lugged the thing back to the kitchen store at the mall where she bought it and exchanged it for this:

(It's a panini grill, if you didn't know.)

Tonight was our first visit to Planet Panini . I bought all the fixin's and made Reuben Sandwich paninis (because I love the ones from Haggens). First I slathered two pieces of rye bread with butter, then on the inside I smeared a little horseradish. Then I piled on the pastrami, which was of excellent quality (thank you Trader Joe's), some sauerkraut, thousand island dressing and some swiss cheese. The top went on and into the grill they went. It didn't take but about 4-5 minutes and our sandwiches were done. The outside was so crisp and golden brown and everything inside had gotten all toasty warm and melty. Hubby had taken his sandwich out to the living room to finish watching some show on TV and I kept hearing him say "Boy, this is good." Usually he wolfs down his food so fast I often wonder if he even tastes it so it was a treat to get positive feedback. And you know if he's stopping to comment during the devouring, it HAS to be good.

Already my mind is racing with the possibilities of what to panini next. The combinations are endless! I mean, think of all the kinds of bread that there are: different textures, different flavors, different crusts. Then there are the fillings: deli meats, cheeses, vegetables, spreads. A margherita panini? Fresh beefsteak tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, fresh basil. A pizza panini? Spicy pepperoni, olives, sauteed mushrooms, cheddar. A greek panini? Fresh basil, olives, feta, gyro meat. Oh holy night.

I daresay we're going to get a bit more use out of this panini grill than we would have the other one.

I'm a blogging dummy.

So I'm trying to make my blog all pretty and stylish and I really have no dang clue. Yah, it looks all easy and there are a zillion free templates you can use, but to get them to work? You'd think it'd be easy. It's not. Bear with me. If anyone's reading, that is.