Wednesday Weigh In

Starting Weight: 320
Last week's Weight 238
Today's Weight 235

So I realized I did not do my weigh in last week so this three pounds is for the last two weeks, not just last week...but that's okay, I'll take it.  I can't say I've been really on track these past two weeks.  I have started my holiday baking....

this is never good.

However, this year I can't put away quite as many cookies as I've done in the past.

I'm hoping to not gain that 5-10 pounds over the holidays that I never get off and still lose....maybe not as quickly, but still lose.

So what, besides baking, have I been doing with my time since I haven't been blogging?

Making ornaments. 

I give a neighborhood ornament-exchange party every year to sort of kick off the season, and I try and make some fun party-favor ornaments to give away.  Some years they are complete duds, other years I do well.  I'm happy with this year's ornament.

For directions on these puppies -- if you are so inclined to be crafty -- can be found on my other blog, Zimmerhouse.  

Oh and then there's the kids' schedules....my goodness.  I'm glad they are both active boys who are interested in so many different things...but it's kind of exhausting for this mom at times.

We, and by that I mean Jason, are also in the midst of an IKEA-hack project where we are taking some 'billy' bookcases and making them look like built-ins. We started this in October, I really thought it would be done by now....but no....this is why it's taken us 5 years to remodel this house, it takes us forever to get anything finished....I shouldn't say remodeled like we are finished...we still have the basement and the back yard.

Oh, and an update, I didn't get the job I went for at the hospital.  They thought I was 'lovely' but I didn't have the skill set they were looking for and they needed someone up and running right away.  I'm okay with this (except that blow to my ego).  I've done a lot of thinking about this and my spiritual side is telling me that God's plan for me lies elsewhere.  I really do love my current job, the problem is that I don't get paid enough and Jason and I would really like to retire before we're 70.... I spent a lot of years out of the job market and need to do some catch up.  On the other hand this job is a good fit for our very busy family.  I also have wanted to try hospice off and on in the past couple of years.  Hospice nursing would be so rewarding and I'd be so good at it. So I think I'll stay put for this year and enjoy the benefits of school nursing -- hugs from the kiddos, autonomy, school hours and then this spring-summer begin to look around for hospice jobs.  Unless the school association (a less 'strong' version of a union...no unions in our district) can miraculously pull off a pay increase for the nurses that matches us with a teacher's salary....you all know how much teachers get paid, in our district the nurses are paid at almost the same level as the secretary staff -- who work hard -- but they only need a high school diploma to get their jobs, while we need a minimum of a BSN and have to be certified by the state. Just getting on the teacher-pay salary would be an almost 15k raise (master's plus experience would bump me up quite a bit on a certified pay scale rather than the classified one we are on).

I'm also up for my review next week.  I'm stressed out about it...a little..and here's why...I like to look good...and I'm not going to look that great at this review, I have a ton of stuff to do and haven't gotten a good handle on it...I'm managing 800 plus students and this is my first year in my own clinic (last year I followed one student).  I know I'm good at the relationship with the students and taking care of their immediate needs for care, but the paperwork...OMG, it's intense.  I still need to do vision screenings for half the students too.

So even though I'm okay with where I am, given my experience and the volume of my work...I'm not going to get distinguished marks...I'm going to get basic and proficient...and those would be accurate.  I just like to shine :D.

A big thanks to my friend, Martha, another nurse in the district, who came to help me (on the down low) in the clinic yesterday so I could get organized.

Wow, that's a lot more than I was planning on sharing....suffice it to say, yes it's been a stressful, emotionally topsy-turvy, busy couple of weeks.   Okay, now I'm off to make 4 dozen mini cheese balls (that party I mentioned above is in less than a week -- gah).

Have a wonderful Wednesday.