Fleur Deux
Back from CPR. All renewed. Certified to save lives. Went to a late lunch with the kids. Bought a few groceries to make a dinner, but we’re all to full to eat anything else. Went to buy bird seed but they rearranged the Menard’s by our house and we couldn’t find any. Came home. Put cozy clothes on. Kids are lounging. The girl finished all of her thank you notes from the party last weekend-ago. 11 days. Not too bad. Will mail in the AM. Laundry is laundering. Will finish the extra chores tomorrow. That will be the last day off for me before the kids leave to go to Kentucky like they do every year for the Fourth of July. My number one thing to do tomorrow is…dunt dunt dunt….The Benches!!
My son hates hates HATES doing this yearly walkabout. Hates it. Hates it. I could never type it enough. But I make him go because I am creating memories. This is what I am talking about:
The Village of Tinley Park decorates park benches every year with a different theme then places them out on a main road in front of the businesses for all the people to see. We go every year and take pictures of them. We go every year. We walk. And take pictures. It was a free, and what I thought was a fun thing to do, with the kids when we were very poor. It’s still free. But now we get ice cream or some food after we walk. Even so, my son hates it. Hates doing it. Hates walking. Hates stopping to take pictures. He complained almost the entire time we were out last year. And I do mean, literally, complained and pissed and moaned for the ENTIRE time it took to walk up and down that main street. My daughter just goes along. And it’s only one time. When we are done, we’re done. It’s not like I go see them every week. Such hard lives. Lots of people walk the area to see them. It’s not like I am the only one, dragging listless, whiny, crying near-adult-teenagers along behind me. Anyway, these (above and below) are from last year:
It’s nice right? And HA! I just double-extra-bonus posted. Flowers/Nature AND The Benches. (They have their own category to the right there. Just click on “Big Benches” or here, and you can see all the different ones throughout the years.) It is additional credibility for my argument to continue our fine tradition, these pictures, posted online, for everyone to see and enjoy. In case you can’t get out or live too far away. It’s a public service we are providing. Now my kids can’t say that I, “never put them on the site anyway, mom, so what’s the point??” Ca c’est fin. That’s the end. Later.
The Nature Series. Starting…Now!
I’m going for speed and agility. If I don’t say Stevie took the picture, then I did. I will try to post fast and with little comment. I have stuff to do. CPR starts in an hour. The boy is at basketball. The girl is sleeping. It just started raining. I just got another weather alert for flash flooding and gusty winds. Do not drive through standing water. The depth may be too much for your vehicle to drive through safely. Good advice. Good day for the grass and my flowers. Good day to post and do chores. As long as the power stays on. Later.
Day Off (Yesterday) With The Kids
Imagine how many pictures I can take of nature type things. Now multiply by 2. My daughter and me taking pictures all day?? Oh yea. There’s a lot. A. LOT. Just waiting for their moment to shine via the internet. Plus storm debris from the nasty little burst we had roll through here yesterday at exactly 6pm. Gotta go to work right now though. I mean, I have to work some of these days or the BF is going to kill me. And I will be off again for the next 2. (Sorry honey–I’ll call in a bit to explain!! Don’t be mad!!) But, I have to do CPR Re-Cert, so it’s still like work. That’s a lot of italics in a short post. I better go. More later.
Street Money Update
I couldn’t wait until tomorrow! You will all be happy to know I completed my HealthCare Provider CPR class with flying colors and am now suitably renewed to continue helping in case one of you mugs drops in front of me.
I went in feeling just a bit nervous. They always have these classes in the deepest, darkest, farthest, massively corridor-ed area of the hospital basement. But once I was in…everything was fine. This was the best CPR class I EVER took. The instructors were smart, funny, experienced, and genuinely interested in helping us learn the process. I came out feeling confident and ready for action.
I’m sure some of this good cheer was the result of the lucky PENNY I found right before class!
Please compress your way to the following link to see the year total so far. And breathe.
Feeling Yucky and Feeling Happy
I still feel a little gross. Throat hurts, but thankfully not as bad. I was at my sissy’s yesterday and there was a woman there with a worse throat than mine, really awful—hope she gets better quick!—so I promised I’d give up the complaining. I will only say that I am losing my voice. It’s not a complaint. I like my voice all gravelly and whiskey soaked.
The yucky is from being overwhelmed. I was just going over my school work to review the handouts and read some chapters when I realized that there is A LOT of reading and material to go over. And there are still 3 more weeks of handouts to learn before the Final.
Panic. Apprehension. Scaredy pants.
Starting in on the work is always the hardest. And I have a CPR class and test to take. I don’t know why it always makes me nervous to take that written test. It’s like the Driver’s Test. You know the material but you just have an awful feeling you are going to mess it up big time! Crazy.
Plus I bummed myself out a little bit with that previous post. Sad days.
I think I need pizza. Pepperoni Therapy with a Vodka Kiss on the cheek.
On the other hand, we had our first brand new non-metal, non-crank window installed today! Finally, the Modern World catches up to our house!
No more 50’s post-war row-house window for my kids! After 6, yes SIX, long years, they can finally OPEN a window in their room and get some fresh air. They won’t even know what to do with all this outside access!
I have to go and clean up the mess on the inside—happily!–and get it ready for a drywall patch and trim painting! I love it! It looks awesome!
Thank you John!!! You Rock!
Feast your jealous eyes below:
Outside!
Inside!
And now for a little break.
It is Tuesday at 11 am. I am home from school and my second test. Nervous, sweaty, fear does not describe my total feelings, but it’s a start. It is really hot again today. Summer did come in with its usual vengeance. Sudden and swift. The first day of 90 degrees actually started during the night. Yes, it got hotter as the night progressed. It makes no sense. I think about it, but I have to stop. How can the temperature rise despite the setting sun and darkness, when theoretically it should get cooler. I know it’s a weather question and I am going to be a nurse, so, who cares? I will when I’m working emergency and it’s 100 degrees and everyone is over heated and ticked off and people start doing crazy things that end them up in the ER for me to work on. And I say, “How can it get hotter???” I’ll be praying for bad weather. It keeps people indoors and off the streets!
Anytesting…Second one was today. I literally studied most of the day Saturday, some Sunday, and hours more on Monday. In the day and the night. I can’t imagine when I have to do paperwork and skills. I’ll be sticking everyone I see with needles and taking their blood pressures and trying to give them enemas. I kid.
Unofficially, I missed zero questions on this test. All correct. That is good news. Without details, know that it is essential to miss as few as possible to achieve passing, for one, and higher scores, in the A and B range, for another. But I was sweating. You only have so much time, and I try not to second guess myself, and I studied for, like, 15 hours! Pressure.
(Personal revelation to follow, if you care.) I’ve always been strong with the book skills and pretty good with the hands-on. But I still get too nervous. I have a CPR class to take in the next few weeks and I want to go in strong. I know the whole thing has changed again since I did it last, but it still makes me jittery. I’m not sure if there is any breathing now, or if it’s just compression. I stink at the breaths. Luckily, for someone out there; experience-only-unlucky for me; I’ve never had to do it on a real person and when I was EMT (many many many years ago—very briefly) we used a bag. No mouth contact. Anyway, I’ve only used lifesaving once on a baby, choking. And that was just taps on the back. That’s a good thing. With more experience comes more ease of care. So we’ll find out.
Anyway, there’s a few more weeks left of school for the summer and one Final Test. Yikes.
As celebration I got McDonald’s–yay! I haven’t eaten those delicious burrito’s in WEEKS! For shame! I should have celebrated by running a fast four miles. Oh well. Don’t want to get heatstroke. And, I had to wait for my humiliation! It’s those hash browns. They take forever. But, it cost less than 5 bucks so, fair trade for my fat butt.
Next up are the butterflies. I have pics from the party. You didn’t think I forgot did you? I really have been focusing on school. I love it. And I want to do good. Stay tuned!
just shy of pretty 