Friday Funny

Cooking Thursday

We had our small group from church at our house Sunday night, and I made a recipe another friend had recently shared with me.  It's a dip you can serve with crackers; it's quick and easy and everyone liked it!

Five Million Dollar Dip

5 green onions,chopped
8 oz cheddar cheese,shredded\
1½ cups mayonnaise
½ cup real bacon bits
½ cup sliced almonds

Mix all ingredients until combined and chill for at least 2 hours. 

Sprinkle a few almonds over dip just before serving and serve with your favorite crackers.

Wordless Wednesday

Purple!

Have you heard of purple?   It's a company that makes mattresses, and along with that pillows, mattress pads, sheets...
We had not heard of this brand, but were looking at new mattresses.  Bob's shoulders have been bothering him at night and I was waking up with a back ache every day.  A mattress is a hard thing to buy, because you really don't know how you'll like it.  Laying on one for a few minutes is nothing like a whole night!
Bob put something on facebook asking people what kind of mattresses they had and liked and several said purple, one of whom was his brother.  When we talked to him, he raved about how much better he and his wife were sleeping since they got this mattress.
So, we went online to check it out.  You order it online and it's delivered by UPS.  You can try it for 100 days and if you don't like it they will pick it up and refund your money.
We figured we wouldn't be out anything by trying it so the order was placed.  About 1 week later, this purple tube arrived.  It was very heavy, and interesting to open, remove the plastic that was sealing it and seeing it pop up to size!
We've used it for 2 weeks so far and I really like it.  It's different than other mattresses - somehow it feels soft and supportive at the same time!  Bob is enjoying it too, so I don't think we'll be sending it back.   We're hoping we get lots of good sleep on this mattress!

Tales from work!

Things at my work continue to be hectic.  We have a chronic shortage of nurses, and I hear from many others in the medical field that they are dealing with the same thing.  It seems that when it can't get worse, it does.  In the last month, we had a nurse fall and break her leg badly and she is now in our rehab unit.  Another is leaving to get married and move to Ireland, one has to have back surgery, and another suddenly got 2 small children added to her family when she thought she was done with those days, so now can only work occasionally.  It can be very draining, but then there are things that are so rewarding, there are fun times and the days that remind you of why you do what you do.
I thought I would share a few bright spots and funny stories that brought me joy this week.

I always clean my desk off before going home, but when I have a day off  I usually come back to find numerous notes and requests. This week someone left me this cheery little "welcome back" note, along with the other papers.   :)

Working with older people with dementia is a lot like working with kids.  They get into squabbles, go places they aren't supposed to, and say what they are thinking.  You can't take yourself too seriously or you will be in trouble!

This week we had two ladies wheeling down the hall. Suddenly one started yelling at the other one.  What was the problem?  "She was talking too much, and when I put my hand over her mouth to quiet her down, she bit me!"  The one that got bit hardly had a mark to show for it, but it did mean lots of paperwork for us, notification of families and reports.  The biting isn't funny, but the situation that led to it, is.

I was working with the Dr and he asked about the placement of some papers in the chart.  I went to the nurses station and was talking to our Social Worker and said something about the Dr not being able to find something.  We were talking about where would be a better place to put these reports and one of our residents, who is just a character wheeled closer and told her "shut up!"  I asked this lady what was the matter?  She said - "you are trying to help the Dr and this lady isn't listening.  Someone has to stick up for you!"  Good thing someone does, right?

One lady said to another lady - "You look so nice today."  The other one replied "What's the matter with me?  Do I look terrible every other day?"  She was mad and wheeled away.

When I get to work in the morning, I always go to each of our nurses stations to check on anything that may have happened since I left.  One nurses station is in a great room, with lots of tables, and there are always some of our early risers up and drinking coffee.  They tend to be the same few and they like to tease me - and I must admit that I tease them too.  I go around to their tables and chat with them, it's a nice morning routine.  Last week as I was doing this I came to one lady who always has a twinkle in her eye, and usually a smart comeback to anything I say.  So, I said to her "B, what do you have to say this morning?"  Her response - "I sure do love you!"   I gave her a hug and told her I loved her, and that she had left me with nothing to tease her about that morning.

These are all little spots of joy throughout the day, and the reason I love my job!

Friday Funny

This is me!

Cooking Thursday

I made an apple pie last week, using my favorite recipe.  I like apple pies best in the Fall when we can get fresh, local apples, but Bob likes pie anytime!  This is a Dutch Apple pie with a yummy, crumbly topping.  This recipe is a combination of two recipes - I liked the filling from one, and the topping from another, so I put them together.  :)

Dutch Apple Pie

Combine:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Press out any lumps. Ad 6 large tart apples, peeled and sliced. Toss well.
Place unbaked pie crust in 9 inch pie plate. Fill pastry shell with apple mix.
Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Stir together sugar and flour, then cut in better until mixture is crumbly. Spread over filling.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes or until browned.

Wordless Wednesday

Shower time!

I had fun this weekend at a baby shower for two babies!  The women's ministry team at our church has started having baby showers for our expectant moms.  Here's a few pictures of our fun event.

 We were welcomed by this cute sign.

 The tables were decorated simply, but it looked so nice!

 Our brunch was very good, and was decorated with kids books scattered throughout.

 There were lots of cute gifts to open.  One is having a boy, the other a girls, so there was an abundance of both colors!

 This was a fun way for women of all ages to mingle!

 Here's the whole group before we went home.

And here's the moms, along with the 3 ladies who did all the planning and preparation.

"Children are a gift of the Lord"

Psalm 127:3

More birthday celebrations!

Last week I told you about celebrating my Dad's 87th birthday.  This weekend, we celebrated my MIL's 87th birthday.  She is 5 days older than my Dad, so we always have a few birthday parties close together.
We went out with two of Bobs brothers and their wives, and took Mom and our stepdad out to their favorite restaurant.  It's also my Dad's favorite, so we were at the same place, 2 weeks in a row.  :)
After supper we went back to Mom and Rog's place for some cake.

Here's mom with 3 of her boys.  There are 6 kids in all, and there was one sister who died as a child.
Larry is on the left, he is the oldest, Bob is in the middle and is a middle child, Tom on the right, is the second to the youngest.
We had a good supper and a nice celebration!  It's always nice to celebrate together, and she enjoyed it too.

Friday Funny

Cooking Thursday

I've got another Instantpot recipe to share with you.  I got this one from a friend at church and I think this may be my favorite recipe so far; easy to put together, quick and good!  What more could you want?

Instantpot Burrito Bowls

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic minced or put through a garlic press
1 teaspoon chili powder 
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed  
1 cup long grain white rice uncooked
1 cup salsa
2 cups OR 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth 
1/4 cup chopped cilantro for serving, optional
1/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese for serving, optional


Set Instantpot to saute. Heat olive oil until it shimmers but doesn't smoke. Add the onion and cook until soft, about two minutes.
Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.
Add chili powder and salt. Stir to combine.
Add the chicken, black beans, rice, and salsa. Stir.
Pour chicken broth over the mixture.Lock the lid in place. Set a 10-minute cook time on high pressure.
Once the cook time completes, quickly release the pressure.
Open the lid away from your face. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
Serve with chopped cilantro and grated cheddar.

Wordless Wednesday

it's back...

Home and Cottage Show

Last weekend Bob and I went to the Home and Cottage show in Grand Rapids.  Bob's workplace always has a booth there, showing grills, patio materials and other outside living things.

Here's Bob's workplace booth, with his co-worker Rachel at work in it.


These shows are so fun to walk around in, especially in the Spring.  It's good to see greenery and flowers!

There was even this fun playhouse, that was built over a waterfall.  What kid wouldn't enjoy this?


Our favorite spot was a landscaper who had the center of the show.  His spot was set up with reminders of the Old Testament.

 There were paintings depicting some scenes, like this one showing the Red Sea opening for the Israelites to cross over.

The paving bricks, had bricks inset for each of the 10 commandments.


This landscaper is from our area, and gets a lot of supplies from the store where Bob works.  He asked Bob to make a sign for this display.

Here's the sign.  It was at the end of the display, after you walked through.   He Is Risen!
It was a beautiful display, with a message that isn't displayed publicly very often.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Sunday was my Dad's 87th birthday.  He's doing well, still lives in the house he and my mom built when I was 12, drives and goes bowling 3 times a week.  Here's something my sister Cheri wrote on Facebook which is exactly how I feel. 

" I am so blessed to have a father that lived his faith every single day. He taught us what hard work looked like but also what being mischievous and having fun looked like too! What an example he is to all of us!"

Most of the family was able to join us for a birthday outing on Saturday.

There were 21 of us at the restaurant - a pretty big crowd!

Here's my family at the end of the table.

 The girls had made cards for great grandpa, and brought him some gifts.

 They helped him open them up.

Ruby gave him some Smarties, because that's something he gives them whenever they stop over.

We had a nice evening together, celebrating someone who means so much to all of us!

Friday Funny

Cooking Thursday

Here's a recipe for a quick pizza supper.  It's easy because it uses frozen garlic bread instead of pizza crust, and the garlic adds some good flavor!

Garlic Bread Pizza

Individual frozen Texas style garlic bread, as few or as many as you want. (You can use plain, or the type with cheese)
Pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Toppings of your choice

Place garlic bread slices on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and spread pizza sauce over each slice, then sprinkle cheese over sauce.
Add toppings of your choice to each slice, then sprinkle a little more cheese over toppings.
Bake for 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Wordless Wednesday

Once Upon A Pancake

This past Saturday, the high school music boosters sponsored a breakfast fundraiser.  It was at a local restaurant and featured lots of Disney and other movie characters.  Laura and I went with Alaina and Ruby, and we had such fun!

Here we had just been seated and the girls were quite excited about some of the characters they had seen.  They were dressed up in their princess dresses, and all around us were other kids that were also dressed up.  We were greeted at the entry by a King and a princess.  When I went to pick up the tickets I had ordered, the lady told the girls they looked so nice, and asked who did their hair.  Ruby piped up "My mumma did, she's the best!"  I told Laura she needs to remember that praise!

We had a good breakfast; pancakes, eggs, sausage and hash browns.  The girls probably didn't even eat half of it, they were too busy looking around.

Elsa and Arielle stopped at our table.  Miss Ruby, who had been so excited, was suddenly very quiet!


After we ate we got to go downstairs where they have reception rooms.  They had more characters down there, along with games for the kids to play.

 They stopped for a minutes so I could get a picture of them.

They were greeted by Woody, from Toy Story.  They each got to pick out a new toothbrush!

 Here's some of the games they played - throwing a ball through Olaf, playing Plinko, ball toss and pin an eye on Mike.

There was a fishing game too.

The girls came with me for a little while, and we stopped at Great Grandpa and Grandmas house so they could see the princess dresses.
It was a fun morning!

A Day in my life

Here we are, in March already!  I had quite a hectic day on March 1 and didn't get many pictures taken, but I'll share a few and tell you about my day.
I was up at 6, and at work at 8.  It was a Thursday which is always my busiest day at work because it's the day our Dr makes rounds.
I start by reviewing all the orders and progress notes on all the residents in the last 24 hours, so nothing happens that gets missed.  I usually have some notes left on my desk regarding questions, things that need to be checked and that kind of thing so I take care of those too.
At 9am we have a meeting for all the managers.  We discuss admissions, discharges, any issues that may be happening and review all the residents who are having any health concerns.  That usually takes about an hour.
(By the way, we are finally completely done with the flu epidemic at work, and I hope we don'thave another one anytime soon!)
Then I start getting ready for the Doctor.
I pull all the charts of the people he is going to see, get vitals and a current weight, also recent blood sugars on our diabetic residents and lab results.

Here's his desk, with a bunch of the charts I was working on.
He is at another facility in the morning, and came to us around 11:30.  He eats lunch at his desk, signs paperwork and makes calls to his other facilities to check if they need anything while he is eating.  I eat my lunch at my desk at the same time and work on inputting any orders he's given while doing that paperwork.
After that he reviews the charts and we are off to see residents.  We come back to the office and he writes a progress note in the chart, I put one in the computer until we are done.  He left shortly after 4, and then I had to meet with a family whose mother is not doing well. The social worker, another nurse and myself updated them and talked about their wishes, should she continue to decline.  That meeting finished around 5.
I then called the families of anyone who had anything new ordered.  We try to keep our family members updated with everything that is going on with their loved one.  I had to print med sheets with the new orders and put everything away.
I left the facility around 6:30.

The sun was just setting and the sky looked pretty.  We were supposed to get hit with a big snowstorm that evening, but it went south of us, and all we got were clouds.

I had to stop at the store and pick up a few things to do some baking when I got home.

I got home a little after 7.  I had to make something for the staff on Friday, as it was staff appreciation day.  I also was making some bars for Friday evening, as Bob had his brothers and nephews coming over to make plans for Fall hunting.

Here's what I made!  On the left are Scotcheroos, which I brought to work.  On the right are Chocolate Streusal Bars which were for Bob and his brothers.

I was done with those a little after 8.  Bob works evenings on Thursdays, so he came home shortly after that and we had subs for supper and relaxed.
It was another good, productive day to start the month!

Friday Funny