Break Time!

Bob and I have a little time off from work and are planning some fun time!  So - I'm signing off the computer for a little bit, but hope to be back soon and tell you all about it.  See you soon!

Cooking Thursday

Bob's workplace had a summer picnic/potluck recently.  One of the dishes that I enjoyed was an unusual coleslaw.  The woman who made it was happy to share the recipe and I made it myself for Labor Day.  It's a recipe that is simple to make, and is able to be made in advance.  I think you'll like it!

Pineapple Grape Cole Slaw

14 ounce bag coleslaw
20 ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 1/2 cups red grapes, halved
3/4 cup sliced almonds

Dressing:
1/2 cup real mayonaisse
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Stir together dressing ingredients and set aside.
In large bowl, mix the coleslaw, pineapple and grapes.  Stir dressing into mix.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Before serving, place almonds on top of salad.

Wordless Wednesday

 

These crates are seen a lot in this area.  They are used when harvesting pumpkins, squash, gourds, onions...  These are filled with onions.

Addition to our new walk

Here's the latest additions to the new path and flower bed that Bob put in.  He planted a knockout rose at the end of the bed. The adorable birdhouse was a gift.  Bob fixed up the post as a base and added it to the bed.  Next year there will be more plants around the base.  I think it looks so cute there!

Family Picnic

You may remember that a few weeks ago, we were going to have a family gathering, at a chicken BBQ, until a tornado stopped us!  We decided to try again this past Saturday.  My whole family met at a local park.
It rained much of the day, but by suppertime the sun was shining.  The temps had dropped and it was cool and windy.

Ruby saw great grandma coming and led her to the pavilion.

 This time the chicken was from KFC, but it was still good!

After supper there was time to play.  This tire swing was a highlight.  It had 4 tires that hung from a crossbar and then could swing around.  It's hard to see, but the big and little kids enjoyed it.

 My niece cut her hand and needed stitches removed.  I took the kit along to do it, but then decided it was too soon!  I told her she better wait, be don't need it to open up again!

 This is my brother, helping Ruby get her shoes back on.  She is often barefoot!

 My crazy nephew was being a dare-devil.  He was running across the table and jumping the fence. I was for sure have some injuries if I tried that!

It's a beautiful park, with a pavilion, playground equipment and lots of flowers.

We took a few pictures of us with the girls too.  Bob's the only one that wasn't having hair issues because of the wind!
It was a good time with family!

Friday Funny

Cooking Thursday

I love tomatoes.  They are good anytime, but the best in the summer!  If you have lots of tomatoes to use, I have a recipe that is awesome!  I quite often make this for lunch for myself on my day off.  It's such a treat!

Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes

Large tomatoes 

Minced garlic or garlic powder

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

salt

pepper

sugar

Oregano, thyme, basil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wrap a rimmed baking sheet with foil and line with parchment paper.

Cut tomatoes into 3/4 inch slices.  Remove seeds and juice. Poke holes in the bottoms of any end pieces.  Drain, cut side down on a paper towel or a few minutes.

Place tomato slices on prepared pan.  Sprinkle with garlic, then drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and sugar.

Place in oven for 20-25 minutes, until tomatoes are soft, dark and carmelized.

Sprinkle with herbs, allow to sit for a few minutes and enjoy!

Alaina and Grandma's day out

My sister Cheri's Mother-in-law has a tradition of taking her grandkids out and buying them a new pair of shoes before each school year.  Cheri mentioned it a few weeks ago and talked about what a nice tradition it was, thinking I might like to do it with Alaina.  I thought it was a great idea, so last week Alaina and I had our shopping day.  She starts school on the 6th.  She's too young for regular kindergarten since she doesn't turn 5 until the end of October, but will be Pre-K.

Here we are, ready to go.  Ruby wanted to join us for our picture.

Ruby also wanted to go with us.  This is her sad face when she found out she had to stay home.

 I told Alaina she could choose any place she wanted for lunch.  Guess where we ate?  McDonalds of course!

Going to the mall with a kid opens your eyes to things you don't notice regularly.  We were on the second floor and Alaina was fascinated by the view looking down at the bottom floor.  She kept stopping and looking down there.

And escalators?  They are like a ride!  We went up and down several times, trying the escalators in several stores!

 After checking a few places, we found some shoes.  They are actually short boots, which will be nice in the winter.  She was happy with them and I had to persuade her that it wasn't time to wear them yet.

 She was going to ride the merry-go-round in the mall, but a sign said the animals on it were "resting", so she took a little ride on this helicopter, and she enjoyed it.

There was also a cart selling balloon creations.  Alaina picked a flower and said she would share it with Ruby.

After we left the mall, we made a pit stop at Michael's to see Aunt Heather at work.  She thought she should go see Grandpa too, but that would have been too far out of the way.

We had such fun together and I'll be praying that she has a wonderful year at school.

Labor Day Picnic

Every year my Dad's family has a picnic on Labor Day.  This has been happening all my life, and we've met at the same park for all of those years.
My Dad was one of 10 kids; one sister died as a child.  There were 5 girls and 5 boys and my Dad was the 5th child.  Each member of the family still lives within 30 minutes of each other and have remained very close.  There are 7 siblings still living.  There's lots of teasing and laughter when they get together!

Here's my Dad and step-mom getting things set up,

Here's part of the group, enjoying lunch.

 After lunch, they decided to try and get some pictures.  My Dad and his sister are probably the biggest teasers in the family.  He is 85 and she is 83.  Instead of sitting where she was told to for the picture, she sat on Dad's lap.  :)

These are the 7 living siblings.  I think they range in age from about 70-87.

The park is just beautiful.  There are springs and a pretty little stream that runs through it.

 

After lunch there was lots of talking and catching up.

We had a special guest with us this year.  This little boy is 6 years old and is from Haiti. He's in the states through 'Healing the Children'.  He has some vision issues that they thought were related to cataracts, but now think there may be some other problems as well.  He's full of energy and doesn't let much slow him down!

This is my aunt. who he's staying with.  She and my Uncle have done this quite a few times and say it's very rewarding.  This little boy will have testing and treatment here, and will most likely return to Haiti with much improved vision.

I hope you all had an enjoyable day too!

Happy Labor Day

A Day in my Life

I think the months are going by quicker all the time!  How can it be September?  I am sad to see summer ending, even though it's been so hot this year.  I think Fall is beautiful, but I hate thinking of Winter following it.
I've had quite a day today.  Here's how my day went.  I think you'll understand!

6am - I'm up and on the treadmill.  I walk for 30 minutes every morning.  Then it's off to the shower and get ready for work.  Today my start time is a little later because it's Thursday.  Every Thursday I do rounds with our doctor so I start at 8am instead of 7.  It's nice because I get to sleep till 6 instead of 5!

 7:45 - on my way to work.  It cooled off last night and is 69 degrees and cloudy, but still pretty outside.

There is a small pond I drive past and there is frequently a bunch of ducks and geese next to it, this morning was no exception.

This is my view for most of the day - my fan, water bottle, my computer and books.  Before the Dr arrives I print off recent vital signs, any recommendations from social work, pharmacy, therapy... and get the charts ready for the patients he'll be seeing.  I also get our lab book ready for the next weeks lab draws, filling out forms and figuring out what labs are scheduled.  There are often forms that patients need to have filled out and signed by the Dr, med orders that have to prepared so he can sign them...   Although most everything is on the computer, we seem to have more paperwork than ever!

Our Dr arrives around noon.  I have all the charts piled up on a cart, so we have easy access to them.  He fills out all his paperwork first, and then we start seeing patients.  Today he saw 10 people, but also changed orders for several others because of things going on with them.  He's frequently interrupted by a phone call, his pager or papers faxed to us.  He's a very nice guy, easy to talk to and has a lot of common sense which seems to be hard to find in medicine today!  He's also a very good Dr - one that I would recommend to my own family.
He told me his schedule had opened up for tomorrow, and because we have been so busy at our building, he wondered if I was available to come in on Friday to help catch up.  I was supposed to have the day off, but this needs to be done, so I'm working tomorrow.
He finished his work at our building at 4:30.  He will now go to his office and do paperwork.
I now have to call all the families of the patients we saw and update them on any new orders.  I also have to print all the new orders off onto med sheets, write a summary of his visit to the other nurses, write out charting guidelines because of med changes and put all the charts away.
In the meantime, we got another new patient, so I stayed to help put in new orders and answer questions from the family.

This is our time clock.  We have to put our hands onto a part of it to punch out.  It's now 6:40.

I stopped in the parking lot to show you how nice our new addition is looking.

As I looked at the building, I saw this plane and banner flying by.  We are very close to Grand Valley State University.  They were preparing for their first football game.  The banner said "Welcome Freshmen".

 On my way home, I stopped at the grocery story.  I had to get ingredients to make 5 pounds of sloppy joe's for a church activity on Friday.

I got home about 7:40.  Bob was still at work.  He works one evening a week, and it just happens to be the one that I get home late as well.  I thought I shouldn't sit down, or I wouldn't want to get up.  I got the sloppy joe made and cleaned up the kitchen.  At 8:15 I was done and ready for supper.

Here's my supper - a chopped tuna salad from Subway.  It may not look that great, but it's a very good salad, and perfect for a night when I need supper for just me!
Bob got home at 8:30.  We are now relaxing and will soon be heading to bed.
Hope you all had a good day!