Today was a special occasion for me.

I had my first mammogram. And a half. They took a second set of scans of my left breast for thoroughness. I am not sure if they charge extra for that or not.

I now understand why women put this off. It sucks. It… Read full post »

 I wrote this a few weeks ago trying to help others know what it feels like for me when I am having difficulty dealing with Major Depressive Disorder. In my life, it's cyclic, but while the downward swing can be brought on by an event or situation, it can also come… Read full post »

Nurse’s notes - July 09

Recently I had one of those days that really got to me. I cared for a single, handsome young man with advanced lymphoma, pneumonia, uncontrollable fevers, and immune suppression. He is a patient that I will remember for a long time.

It wasn't … Read full post »

Our family travelled west for a family wedding in Oregon this past weekend. The wedding, reception, and other activities were fabulous. This trip also marked the first airplane ride for our three children, the smallest of whom is 3 years old. We flew through the Denver airport on Frontier airlin… Read full post »

 First installment here:

http://open.salon.com/blog/nurseliz/2009/05/13/the_orphan_part_1_fiction

A went to the coffee shop, bought her mocha and waited for B to show. She brought a notebook, today's newspaper, and some papers from the lawyer to pass the time while she waited. She nervous… Read full post »

*Adult Content* 

For the last two weeks, my secret best friend has been missing. I searched high and low, all over town, but the supply had run dry. I was used to a particular morning routine and when that best friend was gone, I was devastated. I barely made it to… Read full post »

In light of Kind of Blue's possible departure from OS, I thought it was time for some begging, and beautiful music.

Blues and jazz is the theme this time. 

These are some of my favorites to share with everyone.

Hope you like them!

My husband and I mused the other night on underappreciated music, which resulted in this post.  I think we can all use some musical therapy in these stressful times. These selections are classical in nature, but I will post more from other genres later.

I guarantee your mind and s… Read full post »

Looking out from the sandy cliff, I see the valley where I live. I haven't always lived here.  My grandfather lived north of here in the Sand Hills. There are so few people that live in this part of the state (other than the Scottsbluff area) that some counties do not have enough… Read full post »

My most boring post ever: 

Over the last several months, I have decided to put my sewing machine to good use. I have made a few handbags with varying success and I finally made my first quilt top for one of my daughters. She picked out some of the fabrics. (We were… Read full post »

Hey, something new, folks...

I am writing a story about a 30ish young woman on a personal journey.  Her adoptive parents are dead. She has a career/job that is not meaningful. She realizes she is a 30ish-year old orphan. (Her birth parents do not want to be contacted or are o… Read full post »

Writer Vixen wrote an interesting post about her top results when typing in her first name with needs and using  "The Google" to see what popped out.  She found her results to be almost like a psychic reading. Because I got put on call today with a honey-do list that is… Read full post »

This past weekend, I had yet another garage sale. It was nice to get rid of a lot of stuff I didn't need anymore: clothes our family had outgrown, toys, books, crafting supplies, gifts that didn't hit the mark, and so on.

Over the last 10 years, I have had… Read full post »

In the hospital where I work, people often come to my floor to die. Almost all of them have lived long lives, or at least their bodies have been used up to the very last drop.  The last breath occurs quietly, usually with a family member present (though not always) and then… Read full post »

Last Tuesday afternoon after my kids got home from school, I had the unfortunate experience of finding a lot of red spots on my 9-year-old son. I was standing on my front walk talking to another nurse, Sharon, who lives up the street from us. I initially noticed about 10 spots on… Read full post »

WARNING:  There is mature language used in this post in an immature fashion!

Confession: Okay, so I am one of those women who has horrible periods and wants to crawl in a hole and die once a month. I know plenty of other people who have similar problems, and actually my sister… Read full post »

Before our first-born genius began kindergarten, he was required to complete the obligatory kindergarten physical. I know all parents say their children are the smartest, the cutest, or the fastest, but my kids really are all of those things. At a minimum, they always seem to leave others with m… Read full post »

What we need right now is not more money, more bailouts, more “stuff”, or more talk. We need Thinkers, with a capital T.

To clarify a tad, we need Thinkers who can also Communicate so that the mess we’re in now doesn’t get any worse. I worry that within a few… Read full post »

the haiku speaks

concise, succinct, decisive

less is more, to me

(I have confirmed that the proper # of syllables is 5-7-5, so therefore I apologize for my previous entries of 5-5-5. Please accept this as my apology.) Read full post »

Soft wipes have come back

No more scratchy cloths

Soothing to the south

Colon prep last night

No bedside commode

Must call housekeeping