Thanksgiving 2011

Our Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. We hosted 18 people in our new home and it went great. Our pictures from the actual day are on my Dad's camera, so I don't have them to share here now. I'll try to remember to get them soon!

I chose to do one long running table through our dining and living rooms. Great idea to allow for greater communication and no one got stuck at the "kids table." We had to do a bit of mix and match with the place settings, but I actually really liked the little extra pop of color from the blue plates.

The centerpieces were inspired by (where else?!), Pinterest. This is the original picture.

J thought this would be a fun project to do, so he grabbed his saw and went to my parents who'd just chopped down a cottonwood tree. He was also very excited to get to add to his collection of tools. 

This drill bit in the 1.5 inch size is perfect for tea lights. The project took make 30 minutes total to make me 5 logs that had 3-5 tea lights each. We plan to save them in the attic for use next year, too!

On Sunday our Pastor did an awesome thing, instead of preaching about Thanksgiving, he gave us many Biblical examples of times when God was praised with Thanksgiving, and then he invited us to partake in open mic. The people around us are so amazing. I sat through the service with tears in my eyes as people came forward and praised Jesus through the hard times and were thankful for the redemption they had found. It was truly inspirational.

Also, have you read Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation? He wrote it in 1863, in the midst of the Civil War. You can read the entire proclamation here. Here is my favorite excerpt: 

"I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens ... to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union."

Happy Thanksgiving to you all on a daily basis. I hope your hearts and homes are filled with love, happiness, and thankfulness throughout this Blessed Holiday season.

Follow-up to "Changes"

Changes

I wrote the post "Changes" back in November when my work-place went through a re-bid and lay-off process. I was reading Leah's blog today and realized that I never updated you guys on what happened.

First and foremost, I want to thank you all for the encouraging thoughts, positive messages, and prayers you sent my way. That was a very low time for me and you definitely lifted my spirits.

Prior to the re-bid, I worked 8-hour night shift and a 0.8 FTE, which means I worked 80% of full-time employment, or 32 hours per week. I worked my shifts all in a row, 8 nights on and 6 nights off.

The re-bid didn't affect us as much financially as I was expecting it to. Based upon my (very) low seniority, I received a position that was better than I expected. God is so faithful! My new position is now 12-hour night shift and a 0.75 FTE. This means that I now work 5 12-hour shifts in a 2 week period.

Change can be good! For me this means more nights at home, sleeping in my bed with my husband. Fewer days of fuzzy brain, and that dreaded so-so physical feeling. Many days I was used to feeling a light hangover from lack of sleep. NOT ANYMORE! Now, I go to work for 5 nights straight, then I flip back over to a day-time schedule and enjoy life for 9 days. We are eating better because I have more time to cook, the apartment is much cleaner, and the laundry isn't back-logged, plus I have more time and energy for exercise and relaxation with my friends. Which sounds a bit like I'm not too far off from some of my 2011 Goals.

Many of my co-workers did not fair as well, but we are all rallying together. The mood has brightened in the unit, and of all the people laid off only 2 are still without employment. Which is better than anyone expected in this economy.

Again, thank you for your support! You are all much appreciated.

Changes

Sorry for the brief hiatus. My world has been in a topspin of late and everything is off-kilter.

2 weeks ago today, a vicious rumor came out at work that lay-offs were coming. Mandatory staff meetings were already scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, where my boss completely blind-sided (despite the rumors) the entire staff with a complete re-bid for our positions as RNs in my unit. Oh, and they are taking away 8-hour shifts. Which doesn't bother me, but we have a lot of nurses who prefer 8's and some who can't work 12-hour shifts due to medical reasons.

This re-bid has spun out of control and a black cloud has settled over my workplace. Which, despite being NICU, is usually a happy place. And it is bringing out the best and the worst in people. Many nurses are banding together, and trying to have good attitudes, the doctors are bringing treats to us, etc; but others are so upset that they are acting like 3rd graders: only wearing black scrubs, wearing witch hats into work, dropping by my boss's office just to let her know how they feel, inappropriately.

My husband pretty much had to talk me into going to work all week long because I was having a really hard time handling all of the negativity. I am generally a happy person, but negativity effects me greatly and really drags me down.

Things are a bit better now, the shock has worn off, and management has heard our concerns and has agreed to compromise on a few things.

The process: A full re-bid essentially entails that a seniority roster and list of available positions is given to everyone. Management is offering fewer positions than we currently have people on the roster. The positions are nearly all 12-hour shifts, and the number of hours per week being offered may cause some financial strains for many of our staff, myself included. All part-time positions (anything less than 60% of full time) are being eliminated.

So, number 1 on the roster chooses her position, gets it, and it goes on to number 2, and so on and so forth until all positions are filled. Some people are choosing to leave, this will result in fewer lay-offs. I am safe from being laid-off based upon seniority alone, but I am pretty far down the list, so the positions that are left and available to me may not be enough hours or might be a terrible schedule.

I AM GRATEFUL TO HAVE A JOB. Hear me on this. I AM GRATEFUL TO HAVE A JOB.

I just had a higher sense of security because healthcare is generally a safe field to be in, especially as a nurse.

My heart goes out to my co-workers who will not have a job at the end of this, and to those who this change is putting a huge strain on their families.

More Sweetness

Jenn of First Comes Love...Then Comes Marriage just left me this sweet present.



I am so blessed that you think I have a great attitude! This really is a fabulous compliament!

And Living for the Little Moments also passed along some love with the Friendship Award.



Thanks, Ladies! You gals are awesome!

Santa was good!

I've so enjoyed all of your Christmas and New Year's recaps, and was reminded that part of the reason why I've been so lax at blogging is that my camera BROKE! *gasp!*

Fiance fixed that problem at Christmas. I am the proud new owner of the Canon PowerShot SX110 IS Digital Camera YAY! Thanks, Hun!

Isn't she Beautiful?! I'm in love. This little powerhouse is the largest of the "point-and-shoot" variety camera, but has a lot of the features of the DSL type camera. 9 megapixels and 10x optical zoom (the good kind--digital zoom is erroneous), I have MUCH better quality pictures than I could imagine, and it's not heavy and fits in my purse. Wahoo!

Mommie also is in the process of making a (small) dream a reality. I am soon to be the proud new owner of the Keurig Elite (B40) coffee maker! YES! I am so excited for this.

So Very Thankful!

This year, I have many things to be thankful & grateful for. I truly am so blessed.



Since last thanksgiving:

Engaged!


My Family (Big bro missing from pic)


Family trips



New niece




Graduating as an RN, BSN & Getting a NICU job right away!




Spending time with the littlest members of my family (whether they be happy or not)!


And of course, the bounty I'll be sharing in tomorrow!

For all you procrastinators

Do you need to bring a side to dinner tomorrow? Not sure what to do? Make Sweet Potato Souffle--it's the best dish ever!



Sweet Potato Souffle

3-4 Cups (per 4-6 servings) of cooked, skinned, mashed sweet potato or yams
1/2 Cup melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 Cup milk
1/3 Cup orange juice
Dash of cinnamon and nutmeg if you like

Pre-bake sweet potatos or yams, peel and mash. Mix potatos with butter, eggs, vanilla, milk, and orange juice.

Place in pretty flat baking dish or pie pan.

Mix up topping:
1 Cup brown sugar
1/2 Cup self-rising flour (regular is fine if you don't have self-rising)
1 1/3 Cup softened butter
1 Cup chopped pecans (if you like)
(Add mini-marshmallows, and coconut shavings on top if you like)

Sprinkle topping over potato mixture and bake for 30-45 minutes at 350*F. Topping should be nicely browned when done. Serve hot.