endings and beginnings

Saturday, October 7, 2006 ended my lifelong claim of having never attending the Fall Festival in Evansville. It is (supposedly) the second largest street festival in the United States, ranking second only to Mardi Gras. It was...interesting. I'm now working on a plan to somehow get my future children to not want to go. It was an okay thing, but nothing really spectacular except the enormous amounts of fried food and the incredibly large number of people all around you. Natives of Evansville think it's the greatest thing ever though, I think. It's a topic of conversation year-round.

Anyway, Saturday we went to "crash" a yard sale. It was funny (actually, quite hilarious) to see Lisa ranting about all the stuff that Roger had brought to place in the sale. Her commentaries were worth the trip. I think that everyone was satisfied in the end with the amount of money they made. Saturday evening Andy was supposed to take engagement photos for a couple he knows. They couldn't meet until 6:30 p.m., so we were cutting it close with the sunlight. The couple was late showing up both because they got lost and because traffic was horrid due to the Festival in town. By the time they got there it was really too dark to take good pictures. While Andy and I were waiting for them to show up we decided we would take "senior pictures" and we tried a few poses. It was fun...and funny. So, I thought I'd share our new "senior photos" although, it was probably quite a bit more funny to be there. Sometimes it's hard to convey the silliness of the moment merely through pictures.

Actively Engaged in Life (i.e. staying busy)

So, Andy and I had Friday off and we slowly gathered our things, baked a pie, and headed on our way to St. Louis. We planned to stay there Friday night, drive with the parents to the reunion Saturday and head back to Evansville Saturday night...hopefully to arrive home around midnight. We ended up getting to St. Louis later than I had hoped...I'm beginning to think that I'm a "high-strung" individual, and that's something I'd really like to change. I enjoy the more laid back feeling...but I'm not sure that's something you can create and cultivate in yourself. Anyway, after some minor setbacks we stayed with the other set of Justisons at Barb's house. It was fun to talk and see each other again. Saturday morning we woke up, got our stuff together, baked a potato casserole, and headed on our way to the reunion. I think it's about a 2 1/2 hour drive from St. Louis. We arrived just around noon at the reunion (*just in time to eat*) and were greeted with smiles and the aroma of wonderful food...I only recognized a few of the people, but I've seen most of them four or five times. I ate, and it was good. Then, a few of the men grabbed their guitars and started playing a long medly of bluegrass hymns...I stayed for a while, but then I went and walked with Debbie to the creek to watch the kids play. I think we left around 5 or 6 to head back to St. Louis. Andy and I stayed and talked with his parents for another couple of hours before leaving and we actually did make it to Evansville just around midnight :) goal accomplished. In the mean time I'm teaching AWANA on Wednesday, watching a couple of girls after school on Wednesdays, co-teaching Sunday school with Andy, watching Andy work on the website, working a couple days a week at the hospital, and trying to keep up with my discipleship. Tonight I'm going to an At Home party that I was invited to. I've never been to one of those before, but it should be fun. I at least get to be with people :) I'm not as busy as Carey is, but I think this is a good pace for me right now...

a rainy, lazy day

Well, we'd had plans for today...to spend time at a cookout with the Terry's and their basketball team at the coach's house. But, we have had tons of rain...yes, some of our basement is wet, but not like lots of people around here. It's good we have that waterproofing...if it only would actually keep out all the water. Anyway, so it rained a lot on Friday and then Saturday too, so we had no cookout. Andy and I were lazy and just laid around and laughed at each other. We finally ventured out and got food from Chic-a-filet. We used two coupons, which is kind of exciting but probably no record. Anyway, we headed back home and worked on getting some pictures printed for Herb & Vicki (the wedding couple from last Saturday). In the meantime we've been playing the piano and laughing at each other some more. Because of all this laughter and insane amount of time inside the house, we've added a few things to the "quote wall" which is actually just a file saved on the computer that we add to every now and again. So, with that...I give you today's quotes:
"The internet's great 'cause you can go anywhere in the world in your pajamas." - amanda 9/23/06
"You'll blow your cartridges out of the water!" - amanda 9/23/06
"I'm pretty sure if it's less than $15, you can save money for the rest of your life" - amanda 9/23/06
"I'm only 24. I can't know about everything yet." -amanda 9/23/06
"It could be the bestest day in your entire life and you're already ruling it out." -andy 9/23/06

p.s. I'd like to add that even though I have more quotes today, Andy has more for the entire total of the "quote wall" which are all quite hilarious. Maybe someday I'll share those. :)

looking good...keeping busy :)

This past Saturday Andy was requested to take pictures at a co-workers wedding. He said "yes" and our thoughts drifted to images of ourselves -retired and having a photo studio. I could plan and organize our schedules and Andy would take the pictures. Anyway, this was a full mass catholic wedding...a different experience for me. But, it was a fun day to spend with my husband. And, speaking of my husband...he looked good :) We purchased him a new black suit, learned to tie a tie, and got a new pair of shoes to top off the whole thing. Anyway, it was the beginning of our busy and filled weekends. This coming weekend we're attending the Terry's basketball cookout at the coaches house, and then the Rowden Reunion the weekend after that. I know there's two more weddings to attend in October, and the missions conference at church is at the end of the month as well. In the mean time we're keeping busy with the church website, teaching and planning for Sunday school, my discipleship...I think I start teaching soon, leading AWANA, and tonight is Ladies night out. In our spare time we work, sleep, and eat....and miss being together. But, it's fun (this whole living thing) and we love each other lots :)

Herb & Vicki Thompson

September 16, 2006

What is a Nurse...and why am I one of them

Okay, so I spent four years of my life "becoming" a nurse -a registered nurse. I passed all my classes, made it into Sigma Theta Tau, and lived through what I thought would be some of the most stressful days of my life. And maybe they were. I think time has a way of making us forget what we thought we'd always remember. Anyway, I survived the four years of torture and I went on to pass the NCLEX -the national test that "proves" you know enough to get a license...and then you start to actually learn.
Webster defines a nurse as: "a person who cares for the sick or infirm; specifically : a licensed health-care professional who practices independently or is supervised by a physician, surgeon, or dentist and who is skilled in promoting and maintaining health"
Another source defines a nurse as: "a person trained for care of sick or injured."

These definitions are accurate enough, and I'm sure that if I'd lived during the Crimean War I wouldn't have kept up with Flo. But, I really hate going to my job. I have eight patients that at least six would be classified as ICU patients at smaller facilities...the point isn't that we're a bigger facility...the point is that I have to take care of more people that I can actually care for adequately. The cost of healthcare is so big, and for the few minutes that I spend with people...I'm not sure how they're getting their money's worth. What's a nurse? A nurse is someone who wanted to help take care of people and sacrificed time and money to earn the degree so that he/she could do that. A nurse is someone who realizes that in the hospital, you give the patient's pills, say a couple of nice things, and then try to get everything done that's supposed to get done...a nurse is someone who wants to have the time to just stand with their patient when they're scared about a procedure, or crying because they're dying, or worried that they'll never walk again...but the phone rings five times while the patient is distraught and "duty calls." A nurse is probably one of the unhealthiest people you'll meet because they never eat, sleep, or pee like normal people. A nurse is the eyes for the doctor and the ears for the patient. I think that being a nurse might be a good thing...but everyday I wake up and wonder why I'm a nurse. I know the original reasoning...and now it kind of seems silly, but what's done is done. I'm a nurse...and with that comes the brain that was trained and transformed to think like a nurse - and I'll never not be a nurse. But I want so bad to be something else.

MAD Day 2006

Well, before we graduated in 2004 Mary, Doris, and I agreed to create a MAD (Mary, Amanda, Doris) day. Two and a half years ago we randomly picked August 26th. Because of my trip to Maine, we couldn't meet then so we met this past weekend. This is our third year to not return to college...and the third time that we've met for MAD day. The past two years we've met near Louisville, and this year we decided it was time for a change. We met in Madison, IN. It was a nice small town with enough stuff to keep us busy. We found that we're not nearly as energetic as we were in college...we're becoming old. It seems that all of us like nursing, but none of us like being a nurse. We visited Clifty Falls, and we walked around to several shops downtown. We found an international festival Saturday evening, and we watched a movie in an old theatre downtown. It was good to get together...and I'm excited to get together again.

Mainely Driving

Well, we estimated that we spent about 60 hours in the car over about 3000 miles. That's a lot of together time, but it was great. Along the way we read part of Prince Caspian (from the Chronicles of Narnia) and the book of Acts. I looked and looked for a Moose, but I didn't see one. The land was beautiful, and it was actually quite refreshing to wake up in the tent to hear the animals and see the sun shining. Camping makes things be a much slower pace, and that's what I think I really need to relax. Before we got to Maine though, we stopped to see the sites in Boston and meet up with Austin and Sarah Lui. I liked visiting Boston, but I don't think that I'd want to live there. We drove through 10 states...so, we've got New England covered. Next up, the west -but first a mission trip :) Our destination remains unknown, but we're working on it. I really love these beginning years of marriage where we can travel and just hang out with each other. We ended our trip with visiting the parents in Anderson. It was really great to just see and be with our families. Dad wasn't feeling too good, but hopefully he'll get better and be his old self again. *no added emphasis on the old, of course :)* Andy and I both worked on Labor Day, and I just found out that I get to work Labor Day again next year -which means I have all the other holidays off. Even though we're not really excited about starting the work routine again and not seeing each other until the weekends, I do believe that we're glad to be home.