To My Friend Kristin

I haven't posted yet about the fabulousness that was my friend Kristin's wedding, but it was, in a word, awesome! Kristin and I have been friends since junior high, and she is one of the more entertaining people you'll ever meet, plus a great artist, knows tons of good hot spots for the happiest hour you'll have, is super-outdoorsy, can draw cartoons of people that will have you laughing until you wet yourself, and can kick major booty on this awesome bar game called monkey barrels (one day, I will be a useful contributing partner in this game). 

The gorgeous bride, and her somewhat-behaving old friends

There's always time for dancing

LOVE these girls!!!

So, when Kristin got married, it was a Big Deal. And she was beautiful. I mean, see photographic evidence of the Hot Blonde, above. (The one in the white ;-))
Kristin has a special place in my heart. As some of you may know, about five years(?) ago I went through the hardest time of my life. It was the end of a long relationship I thought was going to be forever, and to say I was heartbroken and lost, is putting it mildly. Kristin boosted me up during the year of hard times that followed- she got me out of the house and back to the land of the living. After that painful time, she was the first one who made me laugh my guts out again. 

OOps, I accidently picked the photo where Adam is sticking out his tongue! Oh well the bride looks good!

Sadly you can't read the sign we stole, but Leah and I were definitely a private event! Her and Lisa were my dates since Jeff couldn't make it

...because it wouldn't be right to send Kristin off into the world of the marrieds without breaking a few rules

She stuffed me full of alcohol (but not in a bad, alcoholic way!) and got me dressed up and socializing again. She helped me to believe it was ok to have fun again, because at the time, I had a lot of guilt about all the things I wish I had done differently the previous 4 years. Anyway, what I am getting at is, Kristin, you are awesome. You deserve every happiness, and I am SO HAPPY FOR YOU! To imagine my life without my "partner in crime" is sad indeed! 
....aaannndddd even though we are now married to the most fabulous, loving, coolest husbands EVER, we must still have girl's night. I'll bring the pinot grigio and jell-o shots, you bring the mad monkey barrels skills.

The First Camping Trip of the Season!

I'm sorta what you might call a "fair-weather" camper. Give me sun and a warm body of water to lie next to, and I'm good. I never understood how people could not like camping, I mean, s'mores and bonfires and friends and the great outdoors? Awesome. However, I usually prefer the great outdoors NOT to be dumping buckets on me, which is exactly what it did for this season's first camping trip to Kalaloch, western washington coast. (Yes that is correct...in June. I didn't pick the destination although admittedly, it was very pretty. Maybe some other time in August or September?)

At the Beach...where apparently, you must be *very* careful not to get killed by beach logs....quite a random sign!

The attraction of the area- The Big Cedar Tree

Getting stuck while climbing Big Cedar Tree's little sister

Andie Lu and her future husband. And best friends turned relatives someday...?

Poulsbo

Camp food....yumm

We still had fun though, mostly because we got to see some awesome people! Even though on the way back the ferry was closed and we ended up having to find a hotel to stay in nearby, it is slim pickins' in Kingston so we went to Poulsbo. Oh well, at least we got to go to the Sluys Family Bakery! Here's to many more camping adventures this summer. Hopefully next time in the sun.

How You Know You're A Night Shift Nurse

...Because sometimes, you forget these things when you're exhausted after a 12.5 hour shift

1. You have to write yourself notes on the back of your hand to remember to pick up your kids



2. You discover after a long shift that you've parked your car half on the curb and half off



3. You've fallen asleep in the driveway



4. You notice in your charting (in the medical record) that you've typed "Nursing Sh*t Summary" instead of Nursing Shift Summary and "Beastfeeding" instead of breastfeeding



5. You cry when the traffic is bad and you don't have time to pick up your coffee before work



6. You forget to screw the bottles onto your breast pump and fall asleep while pumping, only to wake up to milk spilling all over your clothes



7. You have friends/family that don't understand why your lazy bum is still asleep at 1pm after working all night and getting to bed at 10am



8. You've cried when you see your patient assignment for the night



9. You've taken enough benadryl to knock out a horse in an attempt to fool your body into sleeping at odd times



10. You can do anything in the dark.









...Yep, done 'em all.









...and courtesy of allnurses.com, some more general, "you-know-you're-a-nurse-when" funnies~Sorry if it offends, us nurses have to either laugh or cry sometimes when the stress is overwhelming~
You occasionally park in the space with the 'Physicians Only' sign, and knock it over
You've ever told a patient to 'move toward the light.'
You believe that all the patient needs is some vitamin A (ativan)
You've ever run out of linens, syringes, IV fluid, meds, and patience all at the same time
In a critical situation, the most highly qualified clinician will offer the most advice and the least support.
You believe sick people don't *itch
You believe the more equipment you see on a nurses belt, the newer they are.
You believe when dealing with patients, supervisors, or citizens, if it felt good saying it, it was the wrong thing to say.
You believe: If the child is quiet, be scared.
You believe if the patient vomits in the ED, try to hold their head to the side of the stretcher with the disposable equipment, not the stuff you have to clean.
You believe any family member who is more drunk (or more stupid) than the patient, is the real problem

You believe that idiots that get into car crashes are the first ones to complain how bumpy the ambulance ride was
You never trust crash cart, drug box or airway bag to be fully stocked.

You believe there is no such thing as a "textbook case"
You believe just because someone's license date is before yours does not mean they know what they are doing.
You believe in the underwear theory of charting: Keep your behind covered!
You have seen more moons than the Hubble telescope.
To you the phrase "divide and conquer" means getting two co-workers to help you change the bedsore dressing in the crack of a 400 pound patient.

You ever, secretly, wanted to mix crazy glue into the lube while inserting a foley on a patient that has pulled out three catheters on your shift while restrained.
You own at least three pens with the names of prescription medications on them
You believe the best patients are SIR...Sedated, Intubated and Restrained
You never get into an argument with an idiot, because they only bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience
You ever had a patient die shortly after saying, 'Hey, watch this'
You no longer have a gag reflex.
You want to throttle anyone that states: Night shift must be so boring, all the patients do is sleep
You hope there's a special place in Hell for the inventor of the call light
You believe not all patients are annoying. Some are dead.

You believe the definition of stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet.
You think real friends help you move dead bodies
Your sense of humor seems to get more "warped" each year.
You have ever had a track ridden prego tell you not to ruin her veins when you try to find one she hasn't already used, to start an IV

You notice that you use more four-letter words now than before you became a nurse.

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong and if nothing has gone wrong, you've obviously don't understand the situation.

You've been exposed to so many x-rays that you consider it a form of birth control.

You think that Prom tickets should have coupons good for one free gastric lavage.

You avoid unhealthy looking COPDers in the mall for fear that they'll drop near you and you'll have to do CPR on your day off

You've ever had a patient with a nose ring, a brow ring and twelve earrings say, "I'm afraid of shots."
You automatically multiply by three the number of drinks a patient claims to have daily.
You can keep a straight face when a patient responds, "Just two beers."

You develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from constantly locking and unlocking the Narcotic Cabinet
You've ever eaten your lunch out of an emesis basin, and poured your drink from a Urimeter container.
You refer to a patient as having a high DBI (dirt bag index), which is calculated by the following formula: DBI = number of tattoos divided by number of missing teeth, multiplied by number of "tracks" added to estimated days without a bath!
You think "awake and stupid" is an appropriate choice for mental status

You've ever bet on someone's blood alcohol level
Discussing dismemberment over a meal seems perfectly normal
You believe in the aerial spraying of Prozac
You believe the lab should have a 'dumb sh#t' profile on the lab requisition slip
You have to leave the patient before you begin to laugh uncontrollably
You believe a book entitled 'Suicide: Getting it Right the First Time' will be your next project.
You believe a good tape job will fix anything
You automatically assume the patient is a drug seeker when they present with a complaint of migraine, lower back pain or chronic myalgia....and they list numerous allergies (except Demerol or Morphine)
You have ever referred to someone's death as a "Celestial Transfer"

You've ever had a patient look you dead in the eye and say, "I don't know how that got stuck in there"
You have ever restrained someone...and it wasn't a sexual experience
You believe a "Supreme Being" consult is your patient's only hop
Your bladder expands roughly to same capacity as a Winnebago's water tank
Your immune system is well developed that it has been know to attack and kill squirrels in the backyard
...and you know it's going to be a bad shift when...
Just as you're walking into the hospital for your shift, you hear "Code Blue" followed by your unit.
Eight of your patients have had 13 BM's, and it is not even the first hour.
All of your patients are restrainted and just happen to be related to Harry Hodieni.
Your coming on shift, and you see a patient from your unit making a break for the main entrance in their Birthday Suit followed by six nurses and two techs from your unit.
When the night shift (Or day shift) who doesn't smoke hands you a pack of cigarettes and says "Here, You'll need this."
During report on 605, night nurse laughs and refuses to tell you why.
When the night shift tells you good luck
You only have one patient at report.
When you hear a doctor go "Oops."
The the Alzheimers guy in 405 tries to climb into bed with Alzheimers lady in 406, insisting they are married
When your patient has 72 different meds to be given during the day
They put the psych patient who thinks he is Jesus right next door to the one who thinks he is Satan
...Like I said, you gotta either laugh, or cry!

Pear Jam

I have coveted my Grandma Lucy's friend's pear jam for some time. It is seriously THE BEST. I attempted to get it as close as possible to hers, and below I will include my recipe, (and you will thank me for sure!) Since we have a good-sized garden, and I try to eat at least some of our meals local/from scratch, I'm going to be doing a lot of canning this year. Homemade is just so much better. My goal is to not have to buy spaghetti sauce/pasta sauce, salsa, jams, or canned fruits next year. I got some strawberries and pears and made some delightful jam. The pear jam recipe is pretty simple, I consulted with my mom and this is what I came up with:

Some PEARS. Fresh, beautiful. Maybe about 9-12? I dunno, depends on the size of the pear. I did a combo of d'anjous and bartletts.

Peel and core, discard skins. (...not into the trash, silly! Give the peels to your chickens and they will love you and reward you with fresh eggs higher in omega-3's. Or compost 'em)

Then, you dice them up reeeaaalll small and mash them with a potato masher. Or, you can squish them with your hands. You can guess which I did. Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice and 1 cup of apple or white grape juice. Put in the pot and gradually add one packet of powdered fruit pectin, stirring.

Boil (bring to a boil that can't be stirred down). You can add 1/2 tsp (no more!) butter to reduce foaming. Then add sugar. I suspected that brown sugar might be just a little bit more delightful...and I was right. You can add 0-4 cups or so, I added one and a half. Return to boil and boil hard for 3 minutes. Now, while you were doing this you should have been preparing your boiling water canner, making sure that your lids and jars are hot and clean. If you need more info about boiling water vs. pressure canning, or other canning basics, let me know. This recipe just needs a boiling water method, which is basically a big pot with a rack in the bottom to lift out the jars and so that they're fully surrounded with water. Only I cheated and didn't use a rack and got lucky, all my jars sealed. Boiling water canners are for high-acid foods ONLY! Otherwise you need a pressure-canner to allow the food to get hotter. Anyways, after your mixture is ready to go, lift your jars out (with tongs....duh) and quickly fill jars, wiping the rims and then centering the lids over the jars. I added about 4 whole cloves to each jar...my mom and I agreed that this is where the magic happens. Leave 1/4 inch headspace. Keep it fast and hot and one at a time.Use new lids each time so that they seal, but jars and bands are reusable. Screw on band (not too tight!) and then return to hot water bath. Make sure water covers jars by 1-2 inches and return to a boil before starting timer and processing for 10 minutes. If water stops boiling or some boils off and you have to add more, pause timer until it returns to a steady boil again. Oh, and have the lid on. I took it off for the picture.

Turn off heat and let jars sit in water for 5 minutes. Then remove (Tongs!) and leave undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You may hear a popping noise, this is the jar sealing! If a jar hasn't sealed after 24 hours either reprocess or refrigerate and eat soon. You test the seal my pressing on the center of the lid; it shouldn't flex up and down. You can then remove the bands. Bands and jars are reusable, but if you have to reprocess, you need a new lid. Here are the strawberry and pear jams, all canned up:

See the cloves in the pear jam? It really does make the jam. And HERE is someone who is really likes her jam...

Waaaayyy better than the store, I promise.

We Only LOOK Like Rednecks ;-)

Cluckingham Palace, almost complete

...Our house, that is. In an attempt to make it ultimately better, we have made the place look like a hole: mud everywhere, chickens running around with a coop in the driveway, tarps lying out, cars and a boat parked in the yard, etc, etc. I keep expecting the realtor who is showing the place next door to show up with cash and beg us to clean the place up. Buuttt I think you will agree that you can finally see where we are headed here: it no longer looks just like a big mess, it looks like a promising future yard. Here's some pics of what is going down at Chez Sluys:

Front and back yard getting ready for grass: Jeff tractor-ed (is that a word?) out the weeds, rolled it, and now is spreading topsoil in preparation for the grass. The rock wall is done in the front and the box in the back is for a playset, so that the bark doesn't get in the grass. Next to that is going to be the trampoline and where all those rocks are is going to be a patio that leads into...

The garden. Which will also have grass where all the dirt is, and bark around the raised beds (8 of them). It's a pretty big garden. You can see a lot of it in the picture above. In the bottom one you can see the fruit trees. And now for some close ups of the plants:

Herb Wheel

Salad bowl- lettuces, radishes, marigolds for organic pest control

Sta-bees, as Aili says

Purple sprouting broccoli, cabbages, onion, garlic, cauliflour

Asparagus patch- since it is year one, we're letting it fern so that next year we get good spears

Trellised tomatoes, cucumbers, flowers

Purple bush beans, edamame, squash, and Aili's gerber daisies

 So if I was slow to return your phone calls, so sorry...we are working like crazy over here. But we miss everyone. And especially now that it is summer, we are ready for FUN. So give us a call....I promise I will call back :-)

Let's Play!

Thank goodness for sun. I think my green beans and corn actually screamed "hallelujah!" as they popped up in my garden. Every time the first summer sun starts beating down on our backs there is always the inevitable dilemma:

                        THIS:

 

or THIS: 

...I saw a clear winner.

my memorial day had lots of sunshine, did yours?




the proof, right here

  For memorial day Miss Aili went to Eastern Washington with her Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Dale. And I think she had a fine time too! Daddy raced in the ski to sea in Bham...maybe next year I'll actually get there before the very end of the race! Andie and I missed Aili and daddy (who also was at work most of the weekend)....but we played hard. And by that I mean, we:

       took naps in the middle of the day


ate junk food for breakfast (me: diet coke and tortilla chips w/avocados, andie; plum baby puffs)

         sang a lot of songs       
              danced to many a song...and shook our booty well

cuddled on the couch    
                   
                     stayed up waaayyy past our bedtime

                                    watched a Law &Order SVU marathon

had lots of kisses and hugs 
                     ....and wore our jammies all day.


We sure did miss this gal, though. Oh how I love my girls. They are just so sweet.