Something for everyone but the faint at heart. Critical care nursing vent-a-blog, on line dating after 40, animal adventures, cooking and gardening tips. Warning: May be offensive, crude and politically incorrect. Stories in the blog may be based on fact and may also be wildly exaggerated, at my will and imaginative discretion. The character names are changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent and to keep my ass from getting sued.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

failure to communicate

I'm not sure what to do. I've been dating this guy for a couple of months. I met him through an online dating site. We talked on and off for over 2 months before we ever met. He's quiet, stable, has a good job, hyper dog like mine, and comes from similar background. We've been going out once a week now, every week since we met. We both work nights and are off most of the same nights, but not quite. He lives about 1/2 hr from me and knows my area really well as he used to live right down the road from my house.
So whats the problem? I'm not sure how he feels about me. He is not one to call or text a bunch. He's just not that talkative. He's told me many times that he's just not good at calling and texting and for me to call or text him. He's not a planner, he does stuff spur of the moment. I am a planner and this bothers me when our weekend plans are made either the night before or that day. Like me he does most of his sleeping during the day, but I think when he is off, he sleeps more than I do. I only let myself sleep a few hours and then do the zombie act for the rest of the day, in the hopes I will sleep that night. I call it converting over to dayshift and I do it a couple of times a week.

When he's over, he is very attentive. I get good backrubs, smooches and hugs. He's a little slow advancing any further. (I haven't made up my mind if I should take the lead here...is that too slutty.) Anyway, last weekend he was going to come over on Saturday and join me and my daughter for dinner. This was after I saw him on Friday. I got a text from him saying his chewed off a valve in the bathroom and he had to fix the leak first. Then later I got another text saying he had to go to Home Depot. Then nothing. Finally, I sent him a text asking what was going on. No answer for awhile so determined for an answer I called. Oh, couldn't fix the pipe, special fitting, need special tool. Guess can't come after all. Hmmmmm.

I stewed on this awhile and sent him an email later, always being braver and more likely to stick my foot in my mouth with written words. I told him that it hurt my feelings that I had to call him to find out he wasn't coming over. I told him that usually when you don't hear from guys its because they don't want to talk to you...they are not interested. I said, I like you and enjoy being with you but I'm not not sure how you feel. I can't read your mind, I need some communication. You're not communicating is sending me a message, too. A bad one. Do you want me to leave you be? He called but I was in bad state and didn't want to answer the phone (one of those fuckin hormone crying episodes that I really didn't want him privy to). So I let it ring. He answered my email and said he thought about me all night and really wanted to see me but he just wasn't feeling good, couldn't get moving, and time got away from him. He said he thought he sent a text but it was saved in drafts and didn't go out. He always said to please be patient with him. ARGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH I know I need to be patient. I HATE being patient. I also don't want to blow it with him. I don't think I'm being unreasonable but I just don't know.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

what national healthcare gets us

What do we give up with National Healthcare? here's one thing from a Canadian

Sunday, August 9, 2009

goodbyes

Sometimes you just have to say goodbye and walk away. Even when it makes you sad.
A guy that's been in and out of my life for the past year got the Big Muah......been nice knowing ya kid. I like him, too much and its not returned. He's one of these, lets be friends kind of guy. I've gotten mixed signals from him or maybe I'm mixed up and wouldn't know a signal if it slapped me across the face. I won't hear from him for awhile, and write him off, then here comes an email. I was telling him I wanted to try skydiving and wondered where he went. He offered to go with me to another city for moral support. I had also asked him when he was going to take me for a ride on his bike. He told he would have to get permission, from his girlfriend. Huhh? He'd go with me to another city and jump out of an airplane with me but have to check with the gf for an in town bike ride? He's the type guy that tries to devote himself to one woman at a time....however, I'm still wondering why he was emailing me if he was so devoted.
Anyway, I told him last night I didn't want to hear from him when he was otherwise attached . I've known him long enough to see him through several of those attachments. I don't wanna see no more. Its no good for me. I believe in the saying that you should surround yourself with people that make you feel good, that bring good into your life and avoid those that make you feel bad. Lifes too short to hang with the bad. Right now, he's own the bad side of the equation so Adios.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

charge nurse with ADD

Worked last couple of nights with one of least favorite nurses, and she was charge. She is a hyperactive, disorganized, loud mouthed nurse that kicks herself and the whole unit into a frenzy. She thrives on drama. If there is none, she will make it. She is a single parent of a teenage son who has a learning disorder. Guess what? Yep, ADD...just like momma. Note to self: never ever be exposed to her whole family. It would be chaos.
Let me give you an idea of what it is like to work with this human tornado. She will yell out of a room, Hey Sallysue, Get me an IV start kit and a couple of 20 gauges. You say, OK and stop what you are doing and go across the room to supply room...when she just about plows you down, getting it herself. This happens all the time. She yells out for somebody to help her and then runs them down doing it herself. I try to ignore her most of the time; as helping her is an exercise in futility. She had our poor PCT running in circles last night. Poor guy didn't know what hit him.
I was helping another nurse get some blood started last night and I need a dynamap. There was one outside Ms. Charge's room so I inquired, Are you done with the dynamap? She said, Yes you can have it. Then she said, No I'm going to need it. As I've crossed the floor to get another dynamap, She's saying, You can have it, I'll get another. With me saying, I've already got another one Ms. Charge, it's ok, you keep that one.

Jeez, everything was mad cap, dash here, dash there. Glad to be off for a few. Please please ole great and mighty schedule master, please spare me from Ms. Charge's frenzy..make anybody else charge.

Friday, July 24, 2009

chickens

Thinking about getting some chickens. They'd be great for making on the spot fertilizer for my garden. haha can't imagine what my island neighbors would think of me having a chicken coop. I'm sure a rooster would be prohibited or shot on the spot. I couldn't let them run loose in the yard. My dogs would be chasin' chickens every time I let them out. Not to mention my kitty...now he would be thinking, mmmm chicken....I'll just dine in tonight.
I had chickens once. I had some red ones, a black one, a red rooster and a little bantam speckled chicken. It cost us more to feed them than it cost to buy eggs but we had a great garden. Some local folks have started a chicken club on facebook. In it they talked about what vets you could take your chicken to and how to humanely euthanize a chicken. They'd freak if they saw my grandma wring ones neck or chop its head off and watch it go running down the yard before it fell over.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

monsoon season and the garden is growing


Damn, it's getting hot here. I planted my garden on Good Friday and thought I'd have to water it because it was so dry. Then the monsoons hit.











Real palmetto pounding rain that lasted, heck I dunno, couple of weeks. My garden shot up like crazy, so did the weeds. Picked some green beans, okra, tomatoes, jalapenos, and squash this morning. mmmm can't wait for the big tomatoes to get ripe and make myself a juicy mater samich.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

sick magnet

Something about being a nurse attracts sick guys. At least in my age bracket. Let's see...I've had dates with triple bypasses, end stage copd, kidney/liver disease, and various other recovering surgeries. I did not meet any of these guys at work. Truthfully, we met online. But I'm wondering if while they were in the hospital they had fantasized about their nurses and then carried that fantasy to moi. Most of them do not fess up to their health problems until after I have met them and inquired about their sob (for those non nursey types I mean shortness of breath), or various skin coloring such as pale gray, bright pink, or dreaded the yellow cast. Maybe someone with a medical background just doesn't notice those kind of things. I'll admit it. I'm an obsessive assessor. I'll see people out and about and notice, oh that one can't breathe good he looks like COPD, or that one is all puffy heart problems?, or that one appears to be drinker - noticing the ascites or yellow cast to skin. Has nursing ruined my innocence or saved my ass from trouble?

New Orleans Dirty Rice, Chicken N Dumplins

mmmm I've been doing some fine cooking lately.
I made New Orleans style dirty rice last week. I'd made a citified version of it before, using mushrooms and pieces of white meat chicken instead of chicken livers. Man you don't know good dirty rice until you made it with chicken livers. I've had a cold so I made chicken and dumplings yesterday and mmmmmm still working on that pot.

Dirty Rice
4 cups lower sodium beef broth
1 t salt
4 bay leaves
2 cups uncooked long grain white rice
1/3 cup plain flour
1/3 cup canola oil
2 large onions - chopped
1 large green bell pepper - chopped
2 stalks celery -chopped
6 garlic cloves - minced
20 oz chicken livers - chopped
3 t dried thyme leaves
1 t cayenne pepper
1/2 cup minced parsley

Bring broth, salt, bay leaves to boil in large pan. Stir in rice, cover and let
simmer on low for 20 mins. Remove bay leaves.
In heavy (I use my cast iron) dutch oven, mix oil and flour. Cook, stirring often, over medium heat about 5 mins until roux is dark brown. Add onions, pepper, celery, and garlic and cook another 10 minutes. Add the livers, thyme, red pepper and cook about 10 more minutes until livers are pink, stir often. Add rice mixture & parsley to the roux/liver mixture. Makes about 12 servings. mmmmmmmm I garontee, Justin Wilson would approve.


This one is real easy
Chicken N Dumplins
2 - 32 oz boxes of chicken broth
1 pound chicken white or dark, chopped
6 carrotts finely chopped
1 large onion finely chopped
4 stalks celery finely chopped
3 T parsley
4 cans (cheap works good) canned buttermilk biscuits
Salt/Pepper
2 T canola oil
2 t minced garlic

In heavy large pot, Saute chicken oil. Add onions, carrotts, celery, garlic and saute until vegs are cooked. Add chicken broth bring to boil. Simmer about 10 mins. Turn heat down to medium low. Pinch off small bits of biscuit dough and throw them into the simmering pot. Continue through all the canned biscuits (this takes a little while but still easier than making your own dough). Try not to stir the dumplins much. let them simmer about 10 more minutes. Season with parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Allow it to sit a few minutes before serving. Yumm, best tasting cure for a cold.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

2nd verse - same ole shit

Funny how guys kind of circle back around and come back to me. Guess I should probably tell them off somewhere other than my blog, cause they seem to think I want to see them again.
Lets see, Liarliar is back, trying to profess his love for me. Yeah, he actually said he loves me and wants to marry me. No, I haven't seen him, just talked to him a few times. He's trying to worm his way back into my good graces. I haven't seen him in over a year. My guess is that he's horny. I might consider taking him up on that item as things have been kinda dry lately. He might be a liar but he was uh well endowed and good in that department. But he usually steps all over my heart whenever he's around, so I probably won't go for it. No O for me...SIGH

Also, older Motorcycle dude, a real nice guy that bored me to tears, who I dated last summer woke me up banging on my door last week. His idea of fun was watching the news. I might have been able to do something about the boring but his idea of good sex lasted less than 5 minutes. I wasn't even warmed up at that point. I even thought about getting out my vibrator after sex with him just to give him a hint that he just wasn't doing it for me. It's sad but his motorcycle did more for me down there than he did.

Then, believe it or not, tha shithead sent me an email wondering how I am doing. Guess the "one" he found, ain't really the "one" after all.

Oh dear, guess I'm not the only one looking for love in all the wrong places.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

varmit killin'

I have a friend that tries to be kind, all so kind, to all creatures...spiders, snakes, rats, you name it. We were talking the other day about alternative uses for household cleaners and I reminded him that he had once killed a rat with Windex spray. He felt awful about it although I figure rats are pretty much varmits and fair game for killin'. At least, if they come in my house and I catch them, they are goners. I'm not going to trap them humanely set them outside and let the little bastards come back in another day. Oh no.
Anyway, I was telling him about my recent snake encounter and thought I'd pass it along here. Used to be, any snake that appeared on my property was slated for death row. I don't like them and don't want them around. But my friend talked me into letting a couple go on their own way so I generally let pass unharmed outside. Inside is yet another matter.
I've tried my best to be kind to snakes, as he once tried to teach me but a couple of months ago, I had to take one out.
I heard my dog, barking on my screen porch. It was dark, so I turned on the porch light and went out there. There was my fat cat on one side and the terrior on the other side of a little multicolored snake. As the snake tried to strike at dog, the cat would take a swipe at him. Then the snake would try to bite the cat. They went back and forth like this while the dog barked his fool head off. I ran and grabbed a bucket with the plan to get the snake in the bucket and get him off the porch. When I couldn't figure out how to get the snake from point A to point B, I ran out to the garage and got my big scissor looking loooooooong handled hedge clippers.
I was going to kind of push him into the bucket then the little sob snake started striking at me. Add screaming to the barking noise and you got an idea of what we sounded like out there. Anyway, I resorted to giving him the big KABONG with the clippers, then picking the little bastard up and putting him into the bucket. Then since I'd already mortally wounded him, out of kindness and compassion, I filled the bucket up with water and drown him.
It looked like a baby rattler. I let him rot in the bucket before I touched that bucket again. You know, made sure he was dead. So I told my friend, don't be ashamed of windex story. Sometimes with varmits, you got to do what you got to do.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

January man of the month

I am still trying and met another Mr. Wrong. If anyone is looking for him, I know where he is and I can tell you where to find them. I think I have a wrong magnet or something.
No, this guy is a nice guy. Very ordinary on the surface, but a real southern Bubba kind of guy. He spends ALL of his spare time fishing, hunting, 4wheeling, motorcycle riding, camping, and going to Nascar races. Woohoo, what fun! Especially since he does this with his 2 cousins, I'll call them Ed and Fred, since I can't remember their names. Ed and Fred have wives, for the moment. Those wives are totally ignored. Ed and Fred spend all their non-working time out playing with Bubba-B. When they are not out running around together, they are on the phone texting or talking to each other. These are guys in their late 40s. Is this normal? My ex used to like to hang with the boys all the time. It's like I told my ex, you ignore us long enough and we will learn to live without you and like it. Bye Bubba-B, it's been real.