Thankful Thursday | She made it!
This week, I'm thankful:
that Lisey did make it here!
She was flying standby through her company, and of course that is always a little bit iffy. But she made her flight here and back without a hitch. Whew!
It was a super quick visit (less than 48 hours), but we took a little road trip to see my Uncle Ron and Aunt Kathy (the ones Lisey lived with during aviation mechanic school).
And we also visited with my parents.
that my Thanksgiving night shifts got switched
I somehow got auto-scheduled for nights on Thanksgiving and the day after; Thanksgiving IS my holiday to work, which is no big deal, but obviously I would rather not work nights.
Apparently the holiday shifts were scheduled back in January, which is before I begged my way out of night shifts. Ha. So, the scheduler moved me to days, and I am thrilled. I do not at all mind working Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday; I just want to sleep at night. 😉
that my ethics class is not crazy hard
It is largely reading, discussion posts, and a few exams. It's actually very nice to be in a class with fewer big projects and papers; my BSN classes are always assigning me long papers, and I am getting tired of writing them!
My one-credit health and nutrition class starts in a few weeks (also at the community college), and I imagine that one will be even easier.
that I am getting close to being approved for clinicals
There is a long list of vaccine/background check/physical exams/drug test requirements that I have to check off before I can do clinicals next semester and I have most of them done now.
My three remaining things are my CPR (which I told you is probably going to be resolved), my flu shot (which I will get at my hospital in October), and my hepatitis B titer.
Unfortunately, my Hep B immunity seems to be non-existent, even though I got vaccinated in 2023. I'm doing a two-shot series now; I got one last week, I'll get another in three weeks, and then I need a titer drawn another month or two after that.
So, as long as my body manages to produce some antibodies this time around, I should be all set for clinicals. Here's hoping I'm not a non-responder.
(I am trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, not to imagine what kind of headache my school is going to give me if I don't produce Hep B antibodies. Please, immune system, respond!)
that we're down to 11 weeks until winter break
Two more weeks, and we'll be in the single digits. Woohoo!
for my car
We're coming up on a year since I bought it, and my goodness, I still feel very, "Wait? This is mine??" when I walk out and see it.
It feels so crazy that I have something this nice to drive.
The 49 mpg is pretty sweet too. 🙂
for the joy of working part-time
I'm not very far into the two-shifts-a-week life (down from three, which is full-time), but I can tell that it is helping already.
You wouldn't think that going down just one shift would make a big difference, but it really does. My schoolwork is feeling more manageable now (even with an extra class), and I'm also a little less behind on stuff at home.
Heck, I'm even finding time to do a freezer challenge.
The actual work shifts feel easier too; each shift is either my first of the week or my last of the week! 😉
Going part-time was 100% the right decision for me.
that my ferritin levels are sort of normal
Ferritin is a blood protein that stores iron, and while my iron levels were fine last time, my ferritin was still too low.
I got that rechecked when I went in for my physical and my vaccine titers, and I'm happy to say I am out of the low range now. Yay! My iron levels are also good now.
Yay for seeing Lisey!
Thankfuls:
- I went to Sweden after work yesterday and caught up with a friend. I am very tired today but it was worth it.
- Sugar-free September is over! I did it imperfectly - I mostly cut out refined sugar, so continued eating fruit, and I'm sure I ate and drank some things with added sugar - but I didn't eat any chocolate or sweets, and, most annoyingly, I do feel better for it. The first couple of weeks were bad but then I felt a lot more balanced and there was a rise in energy levels. Having said that, I think I will still eat chocolate and sweets, but I will continue to reduce them.
- I went to the gym the other day and moved up to the next level of dumbbell weights. I can now lift 10 kg (22lbs).
- I'm going to see Practical Magic 2 with a friend tomorrow which I'm excited for. I love the first film and I love going to the cinema!
- I had an issue with my smoke alarm this weekend which resulted in it blaring non-stop for TWO HOURS. It wouldn't stop even after the smoke cleared (it went off when I burnt some toast) and there was no button to silence it. Eventually I managed to get hold of some out of hours caretaker who was able to turn it off. The whole thing was immensely frustrating (I may have cried) but I'm thankful it was actually able to be turned off and I didn't have to pay a fine. I went for a swim afterwards which fixed my mood. Speaking of which, I went for a swim after going to the gym the other day and then noticed I was surrounded by jellyfish! I'm thankful I didn't get stung!
We've been known to unscrew blaring detectors once the source of the alarm was identified.
Water here still late spring temperatures!
Unfortunately my neighbour told me there's a fine for unscrewing it!
Water is still lovely here too!
We have been in Switzerland for the last couple of weeks. Wonderful trip until first I and then my husband got sick. So while our travel partners flew home today without us until hubby is cleared to fly, we do have some thankfuls:
First, a little background: I got sick first and had a nighttime episode of not being able to breathe. Once I could speak, we called for an ambulance and because I was walking and talking, they told me to get a taxis to the large ER in Lucerne.(??) When we got to the hotel in Zurich 3 days ago, my husband apparently got the same viral infection but affected him differently. We went to the large medical clinic in the Zurich airport for him to be seen.
The kindness of the people here has been wonderful:
*A neighbor (whom we’d never met) at the Airbnb in Lucerne who stood out with us at 10:00 pm to make sure we got the taxi to the ER.
* When we needed to extend our hotel stay here in Zurich, the hotel manager went above and beyond to accommodate us.
* The medical professionals we saw were so kind and very careful to make sure we understood what they were telling us, even though their English was very good.
*The ticket agent at the airport who helped us rebook our flight.
*The server we’d had at the little hotel restaurant inquired if we feel better every day.
* And our travel partners (friends for 45+ years) who did whatever we needed and never once complained about all the changes in our plans.
* We have had an interesting look at “behind the scenes” and met real life people we would have otherwise never experienced.
Of course, we just want to be home, but in the meantime, we are thankful for this wonderful place.
I'm so glad you're both doing okay, despite the hard situation. I went to Lucerne and Zurich earlier this year and they were beautiful places.
I am sorry the behind the scenes was necessary, but glad the overall experience was one of care and kindness! Being ill is no fun, and being ill in a foreign country is worse.
A few years ago I got pink eye in Slovenia. I was astounded, as an American, as to the effeciency and cost of a hospital visit. I couldn't do a smaller clinic because of no local insurance, so off I went to the ER. After a small wait in a very controlled waiting room, an English speaking doctor examined me and wrote not only a prescription for me, but one for my traveling partner in case she caught it from me! Total cost was 26 Euros. They apologized for the cost and had to get the POS up and running because nobody had charged anything in a while. Then the pharmacy tech called an uber for me and wished me well. I'm still gobsmacked over that experience.
Rooting for those antibodies!
So glad Lisey could visit. It's fun to see the young adult version of her and notice the physical family resemblance. I love picturing how she is out there in the world carrying pieces of the wisdom and love instilled in her from being raised by you, also doing great things as a human for herself and those around her. So that's my first thankful.
- For really gratifying moments of validation in my work yesterday.
- For muscle rub when my back and shoulder are sore.
- For fall and October!!!
- For the roadside stand that had neat pumpkins and squash for great prices.
How wonderful that Lisey was able to hug your parents and aunt/uncle as well as yourself! Better than just videocalls, if they can be achieved. I hope she had a good flight back.
Thankfuls:
The water, the water, that is still so wonderful;
Having a few spare days to take things easy;
Learning new music, this time round a medieval song;
The pleasure of a soft knitting yarn through your fingers;
Our old kitty cheerful and vocal. If she needs me (wants me to refill kibble) in the middle of the night, she will sit close to my head and start purring. So much better than scratching the bed, as past cats used to do, to get my attention.
1. Grateful my cat came back this am after an evening adventure. He was feral when young, so once every few months is elusive at night which makes me distraught.
2. I am glad I have the financial means to pay for my son's root canal.
3. I am glad for the new IRS $1000 deduction for charitible contributions.
4. Grateful that I don't use much gas because it's crazy expensive.
6. Happy that the community garden keeps accepting my propogated plants. That way I can still play in the dirt and someone else gets the finished product.