It's a merry belated Christmas!

Twas the night before Christmas
and in the Arkansas fog
not a creature was stirring,
not even a dog.

The stockings were filled
with plush squeaky toys
that delighted the dogs
and filled rooms with noise.

I needed my coffee
there was no caffeine in sight
Poor Jenn hates the morning
cause she stays up all night.

We opened our presents
stacked under the tree
and examined them all
as we smiled with glee.

Then we piled up the wrappings,
to the trash they did go
and since it's Little Rock Christmas
I sure missed the snow.

The pictures were downloaded
to the desktop with care
and I posted them here
so my blog readers could share!

Yes, I know it's the 28th, but this morning was our family christmas. I worked nights all this week and I just couldn't imagine it being a "Christmas" without getting out of bed in the morning and opening gifts. BJ and I both did quite well with Santa this year which begs the question - how good are his sources for determining naughty and nice? Not to incriminate myself ... I'm just saying.

We all had stockings on the mantle, but all I mean us and the three dogs. For their Christmas breakfast, they each got a special canned dish as opposed to their normal kibble as well as a new toy in their stocking. Each dog took his/her toy and did their typical thing.

Oakley just held his in his mouth for hours
Cleo hoarded her's in her crate
and Tosca killed her's as quickly as possible.
The fur carnage will undoubtably be found in the carpet for days.

Of course the dogs weren't the only ones getting to play, we got some fun things as well. Some of the highlights include my furry dog slippers, BJ's new back massager, clothes for the both of us, candy, and a pretty red Kitchen Aide stand mixer!! (We've already used it to make cookies we were so excited to have it.) To see the rest of my album, click here. When it's all said and done, I feel that I've been very blessed this year by my family - including all the new additions!! - and my friends. It's been a very Merry Christmas indeed.

Happy Holidays to Everyone :)

Merry Christmas!

Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!

Can you name the movie? Come on, it's Christmas - it's almost a gimme!!! :)

I'm working nights all through the holiday, but I got up early this afternoon and BJ and I lounged on the couch and watched our TIVO'ed version of It's a Wonderful Life before I had to get ready for work. Nothing says Christmas to me like watching that wonderful, nostalgic, Frank Capra classic.

The ending reminded me of an excellent SNL sketch back from the
days of Dana Carvey, Dennis Miller and Phil Hartman. Merry Christmas to everyone and please enjoy the "lost" ending to It's a Wonderful Life!!!

Evil Genius Christmas

This is completely, utterly bogarted from JJM's blog, but I HAD to share! If only I had the money, I would totally send this to someone (one possible victim who would love the sheer genius is my cousin Travis). You've got to check out this ebay auction, it's the best thing I've seen in a while!

In traditional Jenn fashion, I've waited until the last possible minute to shop. This year my excuse is that we moved right before Thanksgiving and have spent a RIDICULOUS amount of money since moving. I kept wanting to wait until the next paycheck ... then all of a sudden realized there are no more paychecks. This weekend I'm at the in-laws to be in Fayetteville and BJ and I were quite pleased that it was relatively uncrowded at the new outdoor mall in Rogers. We've managed to finish all of our shopping - well WE have but I haven't. I still haven't got BJ anything, but in my defense we're not celebrating until the 28th and I'm thinking my money will go so much farther if I wait until the day after Christmas!

Job Woes

Sorry folks but today is a day that I have to vent.
As a travel nurse, one of the benefits is that in general I don't get too involved in the local politics of a hospital, the staff vs. management conflicts, day shift vs. night shift, physician vs. nurse ... basically the nitty gritty that you are invested in when you are a staff member and that's *your* unit. I've worked at places that gave excellent care, places that the staff were awesome and friendly, and places that were downright scary (please for the love of god don't EVER take your child there!) with evil co-workers. As a traveler, I always have known that after my 13 week contract - I decide in the words of the famous song by The Clash "should I stay or should I go?" I had a list of places I wanted to see, and from talking to other travelers, recommendations of great hospitals to work for.

Now I'm in Arkansas ... and I'm getting married.

It completely changes the dynamic of my career.

When I started traveling, I was getting burned out on NICU (neonatal or newborn intensive care) and I thought that traveling would give me a fresh perspective. Most of my burnout was related to the environment in the unit where I was working - a very patriarchal unit with no autonomy for the nursing staff, and a very ineffective nurse administrator. Traveling really has been an awesome experience because I've learned a lot, incorporated new skills into my practice, and recovered some of the joy I have for taking care of my patients. When I get the chance to help a new parent learn how to take care of their baby, or am the first to sit down and actually explain - in words they understand - what is going on with their critically ill child, I can tell that I'm making a positive impact.

My current problem is that now I know I'm stuck here. Don't get me wrong, as far as personal life goes - I've never been happier. But no matter how hard I've tried in the past, I have a difficult time seeing my work as just a job to pay the bills. I am passionate about what I do and why I do it. Without going into details, we'll just say that my current assignment causes a lot of frustration. There are times where I'm able to just let it go and spend my 36 hours a week giving the best care that I can to my patients and ignoring the issues around me. Then there are times where all of the politics creep in, and I get frustrated by having zero autonomy and being treated like an idiot by the medical staff. If I were still just traveling, I'd be looking at the end date of my contract and thinking ... hmmmm, where to next? Now I'm geographically limited and even more limited by being in such a specialized field .

So I'll do my best to accept the status quo for the time being, but I'm sure one of these days I'll get myself into trouble, because when you know what's right, what's wrong and what's good practice - it's hard to just sit by.

Oooo, Pretty Lights!

Is it just me or has Christmas really creeped up on us? I kept feeling like I had TONS of time for shopping and all of a sudden I realize that it's next week - YIKES! Of course I'm working all through the holiday - scheduled for night shifts on Christmas Eve, Christmas, and the night after. In lieu of that, BJ and I are celebrating after my three shifts so that I can actually enjoy it without being bone tired and needing to sleep all day.

This weekend we got in the holiday spirit by traveling down to Hot Springs to see the light display at Garvan Woodland Gardens. It was perfect weather for it, a nice wintry chill but no wind. We have been there before, but it was very cool to walk around and see all of the amazing lights wrapped around the landscape. They even had marshmallow roasting (they're always best if burned in my opinion) and hot chocolate and cider. Afterwards we drove through downtown Hot Springs - the lights there were anticlimactic after Garvan - then headed home and made microwave smores. The roasted marshmallows put a taste in my head that had to be fulfilled! Nothing is better than an almost exploding gooey marshmallow from the microwave ... I swear the irradiation make them even better!!

If you want to see the rest of the light pics, click here