Notes from the couch

So I was reading this article tonight about the health statuses of female nurses (it was from Canada, but I have a feeling the same applies here in the states). The study listed some startling statistics about the ~2ooo nurses surveyed:

-40.1% ate less than 5 servings of fruits and veggies per day
-47.2% are physically inactive in their leisure time and
-40.3% are overweight or obese
Also, 55.8% perceived "quite a bit or extreme" amounts of work stress

Read more here.

I "googled" this after eating my 3rd chocolate chip cookie of the night, while sitting in my usual spot, the sunken down middle cushion of the couch. It's no surprise that in January, after most people have given up on their New Year's resolutions I find myself...re-evaluating a few things about my own life:

Like how on my nights off, I sit on this couch cushion for HOURS straight, only getting up to use the restroom or get yet another snack from the kitchen. I read random blogs, search for jobs, and watch every bad tv show and infomercial out there. I have no energy or motivation to do anything more than that. On the RARE occasion that I feel like exercising, I quickly decide that there is no easy, quiet way to do so while Emily is sleeping in the next room.
So why not exercise earlier in the day, when I wake up, or before work for example? My most legit excuse of the moment is that it's winter. At least when it's warmer out (or at the very least, when I don't have to worry about slipping on ice and snow) I can go for walks (and occasional jogs) in the neighborhood. I've tried working out before work a couple times, but that just means that my body is physically tired when I go to work, and I usually end up with sore muscles by the end of the work night. Not good. When I get home it's usually all I can do to get my coat off before I fall into bed! And honestly, most of my "days off" are nights off, and I don't wake up until about 4 pm anyway. And exercise has never been something I enjoyed--in fact I'll go so far as to say that the thought of working out adds stress to my life, which is not something I want to do to myself on my days off. Stress leads to stress eating, and I never crave celery or apples--I always want potato chips, ice cream, or cookies. So, combined with my lack of movement...I am most likely at the un-healthiest I have ever been (the only time that might have been worse was some...intense party-going days in my college years) This could totally be a picture of me every night that I'm not at work:
With multiple swim-suit wearing vacations rapidly approaching (YAY), I think it is time for a change. But this rut I'm in is really more of a crevice, not just a rut.
Any creative ideas for how to climb out???

Reflections at 4am

Things that make me happy:
-Laughing so hard I cry (more than once) with my lil sis today!
- Getting some AWESOME stuff with my credit card reward points!
-Haggen Daz Mango Sorbet in personal portion cups!
-Writing vacations and friend's wedding dates in permanent marker on my calendar!
-Singing GLEE songs at the top of our lungs in the car!
-Our one surviving fish, little Barney, and how he wiggles with excitement when you get close to the tank!
-Surprise Bonus checks for working nights and being a "Key Contributor"!
-Being able to sit snuggled up warm on the couch while it snows outside!
-Going to visit a favorite patient and her three precious little babies!!!

So mom has once again informed me of my neglectful blogging habits.
What to update you on???
The holidays this years were low-key, and an all-too-real portrayal of my life in the future as a staff nurse in a hospital- working part, or all of the important days of the year. It was hard to feel grouchy about new babies being born on Christmas though. Lucky for me, many friends came back to town to see their family and coincidentally, spent time with me too! Yay!
Em and I got some fish, and then proceeded to kill most of them. Fish are high maintenance! 2 of the originals are still alive...and the second snail...
After the holiday rush ended, I booked yet another exciting vacation to distract me from the cold gray days of January. In June, Emily, her friend Kristi and I will be headed to
VEGAS BABY!!!!
We are going here:The Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. AND we are going to a Celine Dion Concert! SO EXCITED!!! In response to my vacation planning, I bought a new swimsuit (yikes) and got a "Bikini Body" workout DVD, which caused me a lot of pain yesterday. We'll see what happens.
Two months till the Bahamas! Counting the days!

Snow

And less than a week after booking a vacation to the tropics, this is the scene on William St:

While I do hate winter-it is kinda pretty. And peaceful.

VACATION!!!

Just booked a trip to THE BAHAMAS with good friend Julia in March! Super excited!

The Grind

So, wow- a whole month has passed since I last wrote--sorry! I feel like so much has happened, and at the same time, nothing at all. As a former co-worker and fellow blogger puts it:

"We are living our day to day lives...working the daily grind. That doesn’t provide for much blogging material. Also... when I have nothing exciting to blog about... I’m not going to blog."

One exciting thing (looking for small victories here) HARRY POTTER came out last night, and we went at midnight! The crowd was rowdy and good fun- it's a very cool thing to be a part of something that has meant so much to all different generations.

What else???

Weddings have happened. Since that last post, I have been to three weddings. My 6-8 of the year. Please understand this- I am VERY happy for my friends who have found their life partners, but it's getting a little hard to deal with. Most of the time I am busy enough not to notice how lonely I am, but I am. Lonely. In theory I have made the decision that while I am still living in Chambana, I am not interested in finding a boyfriend. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm also not turning people away just because they live here (if you really know the intimacies of my life, you're probably laughing--people? what people? She doesn't see any people!) True. Sorry to bum you out, just trying to be honest.
Work keeps me crazy busy as usual. The "Team Leader" position has been eliminated and now they are referring to us as "Charge Nurses". I am really enjoying being in charge, and usually think I do a pretty good job. Last week I had my first experience of..."being the boss" (as opposed to my usual m.o. which is to just be their normal friend and co-worker who also does a lot of behind the scene fire-extinguishing ans decision-making). I had to raise my voice, say something pompous like "I'm in charge, I call the shots, and this is how it's gonna be--deal with it!" It made me really uncomfortable, but it turned out ok I think. I'm a little bummed about the holidays. I was still on orientation last year so I didn't have to work any. This year, I work Thanksgiving night, Christmas night, and New Years Eve. With many nights in between. Which means no traveling and no family time. Lame. At least I have Christmas eve off. That's my favorite!
It's getting cold out...winter is not really something I enjoy...good thing I have friends who are willing to plan tropical vacations with me- something fun in March around my birthday is in the works! Trying to stay positive people! Thanks for the support!
And just so you aren't left picture-less: Miss Belle, who is turning 1 next month!!!

Influences

This week was a pretty good week. Friday night, I had a date with a farmer. He is the brother of a co-worker and she's been trying to set us up for months. Finally, I agreed to her giving him my phone number, so we have talked on the phone for the last few weeks. Friday he drove up (he lives on his farm in Pana, which is about 2 hours away), and took me to dinner, frozen custard, and a movie. And while I've since decided that it's not gonna work out, it was really fun to be taken out on the town like that!
Then I worked 4 nights in a row. The first night, I was team leader again, and it went really well. No emergencies, good patients, good teamwork. The next two nights, I got to be in the nursery. It was a relief, because I was a little worried that becoming team leader would mean that I could never be in the nursery anymore (since I'm needed on the floor). And on Tuesday night- I got to be in the NICU! Those of you who remember my early nursing dreams might recall that for years (probably 10+) I wanted to be one thing and one thing only--to be a NICU nurse! Then, since getting my current job, whenever I go down to the NICU with patients, I am only intimidated by the tiny, sickly babies, and many beeping monitors-nothing seemed appealing about it at all. So Tuesday, when I got to work and they asked if I was willing to float down there, I was hesitant. But it turned out to be really nice! I had three "feeder-grower" babies, which are exactly what they sound like- basically babies that are just too small to go home, but aren't really on oxygen, or ventilators, or anything invasive anymore. It was a really good night-at least until I got a lap full of breast-milk and had to go change my pants!Today I went in to talk to the scheduler about a day she needed me to switch around, and when I was leaving, she asked if I would rather be cross-trained to labor and delivery, but stay on nights, or stay on postpartum, but go back to days...no question- bring me back to days! (She didn't say anything more than that, but keep your fingers crossed!)
Now I get a few days off, and after a night catching up with my good friend Kim tomorrow, we will be off to the suburbs to party at the wedding of friends Mark and Jesse on Saturday! Yay!

I have to admit: Since basically all I do when I'm not working or sleeping is watch tv, I have come to the point where my mood is influenced by what I watch (sick I know). "Grey's Anatomy" tonight was actually sort of uplifting- ending with Derek telling Meredith to stop worrying about the future, and focus on enjoying the present. This is a huge problem for me. I am CONSTANTLY planning, plotting, and dreaming about my future and not really enjoying the present moment. Today, while running errands, I stopped for a minute and took a deep breath of the fall air. I had forgotten how much I truly love this season: the warm breezes, the dry air, the beautiful colors, the crisp cool night air- LOVE IT! And I'm really going to try to be more appreciative of the every day moments.