Friday Funny

People who take care
of chickens,
are literally
chicken tenders!

****************************

I know I'm just back from a break, but I am taking another one!

I'm leaving bright and early Saturday for a sisters trip. Our trips are usually a short and fairly close getaway, but this time we three are getting on a plane and flying to...   Texas!

My sister Cheri found a great deal for a trip to Waco, which is where Chip and Joanna Gaines and their Magnolia Market is located.  All three of us are fans, so our husbands said they would survive without us for a bit and are sending us on our way.  We anticipate having fun, relaxation and lots of laughs. After the last few weeks, I think this will be a good thing.

I'll be back in about a week and I'm sure I'll have pictures to share!

Fun at the mall

With all the busyness of life the last few weeks, we didn't get to have the girls over for several weeks.  Last weekend, we took them for supper and some fun at the mall.
They have these motorized animals you can rent and ride for 5 minutes.  We had done this last year, and Ruby couldn't figure out how to steer and drive them, so Bob had to ride with her.  This year she was able to do it on her own.

They had so much fun!

After that we saw a caricature artist who had a table set up.  We thought it would be fun to do a caricature of the girls.

 They had to sit for 10 minutes.  Alaina did good, but 10 minutes was hard for Ruby!

I don't know what happened to Ruby's smile here, she thought the picture was pretty cool!

Finished product!  I can't believe he could do that in 10 minutes.

Wordless Wednesday

There's just something pretty about rain on hosta leaves!

Back from a break

 I'm back after being gone for 2 weeks.  Before I left, I told you that I had to complete an online course on Infection Prevention.  It's done!
I also told you that the State had shown up on Mothers Day for our annual inspection.  They came on Sunday, they left on Wednesday and it was not fun, it never is.  We don't have our final report from them yet.  It takes a few weeks to show up.  They always find something though, some are valid, some are crazy and most are quite picky.  For example, the craziest cite I remember, was when we were cited for having trash on the table while people ate.  However, what they didn't say, was that the trash was a banana peel sitting next to a resident who had peeled the banana and was eating it.  We had to write up a plan, that staff would be watching and remove any peels from the table immediately.  The problem is, anyone looking at the report online would think we actually had trash on the table.
I also told you that Bob's moms health was really declining.  She passed away the day after Mothers Day.  She was in my facility, so this made having State there even harder.  My administrator said I didn't have to come to work, but I felt that I needed to be there to answer for my sections, so I came in.
Mom had told us all that she was ready to meet her Lord, and although we miss her, we are thankful for the promise of heaven and no more health issues for her!
The visitation was Thursday afternoon and evening.  One good thing is seeing people you don't get to see often.

Uncle Neal, Larry, Roger, Bob, Tom - in order of age.

This is Moms youngest brother with Bob and his brothers.  They told him that he could be their older brother because of the similar hairlines!  Only Tom has avoided losing his hair.  :)

Uncle Neal is 81 and retiring this week! He doesn't look or act 81.

All the kids before the funeral - Karla, Diane, Bob, Roger, Tom and Larry.  Bob was the 4th of these six, but there was another daughter who was the oldest.  She passed away at one year old.

The funeral was Friday.  Mom had planned a lot of it, including the Bible passage and songs.  One song was  'How Great Thou Art', and she also asked that the Hallelujah Chorus be played as the family exited.  Very touching!

After the funeral lunch, I got a few pictures of our family since everyone looked so nice.  Unfortunately, Ruby got up looking a mess that day, and Laura ended up coming by herself and Aaron stayed with Ruby and took her to the Dr.  She had pink eye.  So, Aaron is missing from the pictures.

 Here's Bob and Andy goofing off...

Laura, Heather and Andrew, Andy and Nikki

It was so nice having Andy and Nikki here with us from Kentucky too.  They stayed until Sunday morning when they headed back home.  So, it was a week of tears and laughter, good times with family and friends and lots of support and prayers from those around us.

This is a sign that was given to us instead of flowers, from our small group at church - a wonderful reminder of where Mom is, but it also applies to us still here on earth.

Thanks to those of you who heard about this and sent prayers and cards.  It was very appreciated!

Always Remember

Taking a break

I'm going to take a little break from blogging.  I have an online course I need to finish on infection control in a skilled nursing facility from the Centers for Disease Control.  It's about as exciting as it sounds, but it has to be done.  It consists of 24 modules and I've made it through 12.
Today I was called into work at 8:30 am because the state inspectors arrived for our annual survey.  When that happens, all managers have to come in and stay till they leave each day, so it's going to be a long week.  We couldn't believe they showed up on Mothers Day.  A lot of people had their plans messed up for the day...

Also, Bob's mom is doing very poorly.  You may remember that she came to my facility  for Rehab, but now is declining rapidly.  It's been a mixed blessing having her with me.  Bob's sister also works there as a dietician, so we are both able to check on her often.  It's hard though to see this big decline and then step back and keep working.  She is a Christian, so we know there is a much better place for her, and we are praying it won't be long.  

See you soon.

Friday Funny

Cooking Thursday

Usually when bananas get too brown around here, I make banana bread, but I do have another yummy treat to use those bananas for.  Try these - you will love them!

Frosted Banana Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Add salt, baking soda and flour to creamed mixture, then stir in bananas.
Spread into greased 15 x 10 x 1 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool.

For frosting - in large bowl beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually beat in enough powdered sugar to reach the right consistency and frost cooled bars.
Store in refrigerator.

Wordless Wednesday

Princess Party!

Saturday we had a Mother/Daughter Lunch at our church.  Heather has been busy, having just moved and wasn't able to come.  Laura came and took Alaina and Ruby.  The theme was a Princess Party with the reminder that we are daughters of the King.

 There were about 120 women and girls there.

Our lunch had a variety of pasta, which included macaroni and cheese.  This made Ruby happy because she had asked for it for breakfast and was sad when Aaron told her that wasn't on the breakfast menu!

 After lunch, the girls had their picture taken in this photo spot.

 They joined all the other girls to hear a story read.  It was the book 'God made you special' by Max Lucado.  The story reminds us that God made everyone special and unique!

 Then we played Princess Bingo.  The spots that are usually filled with numbers were filled with things that go with Princesses, Christian attributes and biblical queens.

There were 5 winners and Alaina was one of them.  She was so excited to take this flower home!

 They got to make wands with ribbons and stickers.

 The finished wands.

 Here are all the little Princesses gathered for a group shot.

Once they were all together, the little Princesses went on a parade through the room.

Before we left, we were served pink and purple cupcakes and ice cream.  Ruby was busy making sure she got the ice cream back to the table, and forgot her cupcake.  Alaina offered to get it for her.  Ruby said "Alaina is such a nice sister".  When Alaina came back with the cupcake, Ruby said "I love you Alaina,  you're my best friend".  Aww - melted my heart.

Ruby, me, Alaina, Laura

A Day in my Life - May 1

May is here - what a wonderful month!  The snow is gone, the temps are rising, flowers are popping out.  It makes me happy!
Here's how I spent the first day of the month.

I was up at 6 and left the house at 7.

This was my view as I left for work, dreary and lots of rain!


I started work a little before 7:30.  I have a little flip calendar on my desk that has a different  verse or quote for the day.  Here's what it said on May 1.

Good verse for my job!

It was a very busy day.  Shortly after I arrived, 2 nurses came from our corporate office to do a mock survey.  They do this every year to try to prepare for our annual survey with the state. This involves them watching lots of things like treatments, med pass, meal delivery...   They also look at a lot of charts and ask lots of questions.
I am the Infection Control Nurse for our building so I had to bring my book for this year in and go over everything with them.  I'm happy to say they found no issues and had no suggestions for anything that I should change.
In the beginning of the month, I review anyone that had antibiotics ordered for the previous month, make sure I had them all entered into a computer program, mapped out to see if anything could have been spread from resident to resident or staff to resident. I'm always happy to have all the reports done on that for another month.
Our Physician Assistant also came in and I rounded with him to see several people.
When any survey is happening, whether it is a mock survey, or the real deal, the managers can't leave until they leave for the day.  So - I was there until 6:30.

When I left, the rain has stopped, but it was still cloudy.

 You can see that it is getting more green!

 When I was almost home, I had to stop to let these turkeys pass the road in front of me.

Bob had a meeting at church that night, so he had already been home, ate supper and was on his way when I got home. I made some lunches, hopped into the shower and got my pj's on, then grilled myself a turkey, tomato and cheese sandwich.

It was 7:30 by the time I ate.  I did a little reading, then watched Survivor when I am a huge fan of.

Bob got home before it was done and we did a little catching up.

After that I spent a few hours reviewing these online courses I have to do for work.  There are 20 parts to this course, and I just keep plugging away - have to get it done fairly soon!
When I finished them, I was off to bed.

Another good day!

Friday Funny

Cooking Thursday

Today's recipe is one I've shared before, but I know more people have gotten Instantpots since then, so when I made it last week, I thought I would share again.
This is one of the easiest recipes to make, because everything gets thrown into the pot, you turn it on, and soon you have a yummy meal!  I made a batch of this for Heather and Andrew when they moved, because it reheats well and they both liked it.
It's called a burrito bowl, not sure why because it's not really like a burrito, but it's kind of like Chipotle's burrito bowl.

Instantpot Burrito Bowl

2 tablespoon minced onion
1  tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder 
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, 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


Stir together the minced onion, garlic powder, chili powder and salt in Instantpot.
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 cheese.