The Magic of an Ordinary Day

Pretty Kitty

Some belated pictures of Hannah on Halloween She was a kitty cat.

Before school... it was really cold out and so I had to put a sweater on her.  Spoiled the line of her outfit but oh, well..

Then later that night we went to the community center for trick-or-treat.  Since we live in the boonies, there is no door-to-door here. 

 
 
 
 
 

Pumpkin time

Here's some photos of my lil pumpkin and our pumpkin-carving day.  She got to draw on the face.

There was some serious discussion regarding how exactly I was to carve the face.  Good thing I take direction well.

When we got to taking out the guts, I ended up doing most of the dirty work, but she gave it a try.

And the finished product:

And we're all roasted pumpkin seeds now!  A couple of fun things to do on the "short day' from school.

 
 
 
 
 

The Chief

Here he is: the new Chief Flight Nurse at Medflight

They've restructured things since I left, and Dwayne will be able to do this job, work at the CCU and still schedule for flight shifts if he wants.  It seemed like they negotiated this forever, but I think everyone is happy where things are and I personally think it will be a good fit for everyone.

How strange, that we are working for two different flight companies, that I left a management position at one place to have Dwayne take a management position for them later.  But New Mexico is a small incestuous community of medical professionals and everybody seems to know everybody and we will all work together eventually it seems. 

I think he's going to rock it!! Congrats, babe!
 

Another project

Because that's just what I need: another project.  But if you know me, you know I always want to be trying something new and different.  Maybe that's good, or maybe it's a lack of focus: I don't know.  But I found something last week that was very intriguing.

It's called Around the World in 80 Dishes, a food blog that explores the classic dishes from around the world.  It's from my friends at Epicurious, which besides my dog-eared copy of The Joy of Cooking is my go-to source for recipes and inspiration.  So here's my idea: cook my way through the blog a` la Julie & Julia.  Except not every night.  And not cracking open bones and eating marrow and brains and stuff like that.  And not all that butter, I have to lose 20 pounds, remember?

I was thinking of a more relaxed pace, like once or twice a week when I have a decent schedule and my husband is actually home to share the meal with me.  I think it would be totally fun.

Looking at the list, there are several that I've made already and a couple that are already favorites:

Posole (favorite)
Pierogies (favorite)
Pad Thai (favorite)
Crepes (favorite)
Bouillabaisse (made before)
Paella (made before)
Cheese fondue (made before)
Risotto (made before)
Seviche (made before)
Empanadas (made before)
Ropa Vieja (made before)
Fish Tacos (made before)
Cedar-planked salmon (made before)

So I'll share when I start my project, which I would like to do this week.  I'm actually scheduled to do an all day Pierogi cook-off with my friend Jeffery next Sunday, so there's already one off the list without even trying!  You see how easy this all is?

Rotor girl

 

Things are going well at work.  After my first fixed-wing flight I was cleared off of third ride status and when I got to work yesterday I was told I could go on a inter-facility (hospital to hospital) run in the helicopter. The rotor side was getting hammered yesterday and I was eager to help out, and two scene calls came and went before we got an inter-facility.

It was great!  It was sunset as we headed across the mesas going west to a remote pueblo... the trees along the river beds a blazing yellow... just a wonderful way to make a living, I thought to myself.  The patient was a stable ICU transfer, and didn't require anything I hadn't done lots of times before on fixed wing. 

Some observations about my rotor flight, and this new job in general:

• It wasn't nearly as noisy as I thought it was going to be. 
• The helmet microphone has to sit right on your lip for it to be activated when you talk.  All I could think of is germs and be thankful we all have our own helmets.
• Living on base for 24 hours at a time is going to take some getting used to, but it's not entirely unpleasant.  I much prefer it to being "on call" and having to be 30 minutes from base all the time.
• The flight suit, assorted crap in it and helmet add 14 pounds to my weight!  And yes, I have to get weighed quarterly.  Time to loose 20 pounds.
• I'm sure it's because the crew is mostly men, but I have never heard a group of people talk about each other's gas so much in my life.  And I have brothers :-(
• Doing transports in a Lear Jet: passenger.  Doing transports in a helicopter: flight crew.  Big difference.
• Why does there always have to be one person there who is a total bitch?  Seems to hate life, hate getting activated to do her job, and thinks she should be paid to sit in the crew room and watch TV.  Note to self: schedule myself on opposite days and limit that negative energy. 
• I love busting out 24 hours of work at a time, and having the rest of the week to myself and my family.  I think this is working up to being the best gig ever.
• I never thought as a nurse I would be responsible for a protocol that includes "Try to get a description of the snake.  Do not delay transport to try and capture the snake."  I mean, really?
• "Safety naps" rock.
• The state of New Mexico needs to make H1N1 vaccines available to first responders like us.  We are (almost daily) flying influenza patients to tertiary care centers, yet there are no vaccines available for us.

Well after a 12 hour break, I'm back for more fun tonight... and I'm ready to fly!!!