And now?

So I've started my new job, still have two orientation shifts and then I start my position on the 18th. It's good so far, the staff is nice and I'll enjoy working there. It's very different than being attached to a hospital, there are not as many resources. I will be doing more within my scope as far as contacting doctors, transcribing orders etc, we were limited at Langley due to certain LPNs making a lot of errors, so I'm glad I will be able to use those skills. I finished my last shift at Langley on the 11th and have not been booked for any casual shifts yet. I'm all moved in but it's not all unpacked or put away yet, slowly but surely. Rob and I are continuing to talk and we will be going to couselling in the new year. It's very much a waiting game for us to see if we will be able to work things out, so you're prayers for patience and guidance are appreciated. The christmas season is upon us and I have done very VERY little shopping, due to unforseen circumstances and extreme business, so I'm just warning my family that I may never get my shopping done. I feel like I have not had a day off in two weeks, I have but they've been filled with running around and unpacking and just mundane things anyway, I'll squeeze gift shopping in somewhere. That's about all for now.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some good news!

So, I have found an apartment in Abbotsford, I'm moving in next week. Things with Rob and I are tenuous to say the least, but otherwise ok. The good news but also just another stressor is that I got a new job. I have been putting off job hunting, but finally went last Thursday. I applied to all the care homes in Abby. I went to Tabor home, handed my resume to the receptionist who called the Director of Care and I had an interview right then. She gave me tour of the place, then said they would contact my references. They had two positions open, a full time day and evening in the special care unit and a part time day and evening which rotates between the units. They called me Friday morning to offer me a job and I took the part time postion. I will stay casual at Langley, and will also be able to pick up shifts at Tabor Home. I also had an interview at Menno home and if they call I will be casual there as well. So the job thing is taken care which is nice, but getting used to a new place and staff can be stressful. So you're continued prayers and support are greatly appreciated!

Nothing fun to blog for a while.

So I have some rather upsetting and very sad news. Rob and I have separated. We both decided that our marriage is not working and it's better to go our separate ways. We do not hate eachother and are onspeaking terms, but none the less it still hurts the same. My family has been very supportive and I thank them for that, there is still a lot to settle, and so your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Tidbits

I have nothing new to write, but thought that it is getting rather boring going to my blog and seeing the same thing. Rob and I and his friend Barry went to Tulalip casino in Washington the other week, we hadn't even been back from Vegas for a week! We lost $40 but still had fun. Rob is enjoying his job, he said that last week there were in downtown Vancouver and had just finished at a bank and when they walked out, two people walking along the street, stopped and stared at him. Then out of nowhere one of them said, "Oh my goodness, you are hot!" Rob said thank you and again, they said, "Oh my goodness, you are so hot!" Rob said thank you again and the crazy thing was that the person saying it was a male! My husband got hit on by a guy! Who can resist a man in uniform carrying a gun, though, eh? I guess the answer is, noone! My work on the otherhand is not going well, they are redoing the positions and creating only vent lines in my unit and that is exactly what I don't want, to have to work in the vent unit permanently. I have only three choices, get a vent line and wait to see what happens in another unit and see if I can post into a position there, go casual and wait or quit altogther. Rob is still on probation and wants me to hang in there, but I don't want a job I dread going to, so I'm very stressed about what to do. I've been saying for a long time that I need to get out of there and I want to go job hunting, but I hate job hunting, it gets me so depressed, anyway, we'll see what happens.

The second!

Rob and I went on a last minutes trip to Las Vegas and got back yesterday afternoon! We have wanted to go since we started dating but it just hasn't worked out. It was perfect timing because he quit at the airport and wasn't starting at Brinks yet and I am on my five days off, so we just booked a flight and hotel and left on Wednesday! We had so much fun, it was my first time there, his fifth. We stayed at Circus Circus and then went to a lot of the hotels, we went on the gondola at the Venetian, very romantic! We walked through the Luxor, New York New York, Caesars Palace. I went on the roller coaster at New York New York, it was so crazy, it was all outside and you went upside down and I loved it! We watched the Bellagio watershow, it was so beautiful because when you looked across the street the Paris was all lit up and there was a full moon, it was just beautiful. The watershow was amazing! This was an anniversary trip and Rob booked a really nice dinner at Terra Rossa which is where Heather, the winner of Hells Kitchen works. We loved the show and wanted to see her, so when we went there, we could see she was working, it was surreal to be sitting at the table and watching Heather as she worked in the kitchen, it was so cool! After dinner, which was really good, they brought us a Tiramisu for our aniversary, then we met Heather, she was really nice, very friendly, we took our picture with her, she gave us an autograph and it was very fun! We also went up the Eiffel Tower, I like getting a birds eye view of places, gives it a different perspective. The highlight of the trip for me because I'm such a huge fan and have wanted to go to her show since it started in Vegas was going to Celine Dion! She was amazing, phenonmenol! It was very impressive , the dancers, the costumes, the dancing. She was great, such a powerful singer, I was sitting about 50feet from the stage in the center, it was all so great! We had a great time, Vegas is awesome!

Two exciting things, the first is ...

I want to say Congratulations to my husband as he got a new job and is very excited about it. He was working at the airport as a baggage handler and really enjoyed that, but recently got hired with Brinks, he will be a driver for their armored cars. He went through their classes and did all the required training and passed with flying colors. He got a perfect score on the shooting test and for the first time ever in the company he got a 100% on their written test, so needless to say I'm very roud of him! He starts this Monday, our two year anniversary! Congratulations, Rob, I love you!

Upcoming News!

I will have some new and exciting news to post this coming weekend, so please visit my blog again then, and no it has nothing to do with pregnancy.

A few wedding photos

Wedding album!

We finally have our wedding album, but it's in the foorm of a storybook and impossible to scan so I have a few pictures that I can scan, but you can also go to www.erikontheweb.com/lisarob, click on storybook and you can view it there. I realize it's already been two years, but I'm so excited that we finally have it!

And some more pain!

Have you ever experienced a shooting pain up your jaw when you eat? Well I have, it's happened on and off for a few years, but it would always go away, for the past week and a half it has continually gotten worse. It's behind my ear on the left side of my face where the jaw joint is. It started the same as always, a shooting pain when I ate, so I did what I always did, I applied pressure to it, only this time it stayed and it got worse. I went to a walk in clinic on Friday, the doctor couldn't feel anything, so he prescribed me an antibiotic and said to take ibuprofen. I thought I might have TMJ, but I don't which is apprently a could thing, cause it can be really painful and not easy to treat. Anyway, I had always been able to feel something behind my ear, a lump of some sort and I though it was getting bigger, so when the doctor said he couldn't feel anything I wanted to get a second opinion, so yesterday I went to a different doctor, he could feel something and said it was a swollen lymph node. Lymph nodes swell when they are fighting some sort of infection, he said not to take antbiotics because that would be a big "mess". So I haven't taken any anitibiotics but the pain is crazy intense, it's a constant sharp pulse. I can feel the node and how swollen it is, I'm just surprised at how much it is bothering me. I wonder if I should take the antibiotics, because it does not seem to be going away, so I guess I'll give it a few more days and continue to medicate myself with pain meds.

The PNE is...

My Aunt Lil from Colorado posted a comment saying I should clarify what the PNE is, so here goes: PNE stands for Pacific National Exhibition. It's where there are lots of display showcases, there's a huge marketplace selling everything from mops to hairclips made in South Africa. There are talent shows, an agricultural area, lots of different food stands and then there is PLayland which consists of over 50 rides and games. It's a good place to experience some new and interesting things.

A Wickedly Awesome Time!

So I should be going to bed seeing as I'm exhausted, but I've just had such a wonderfully fun day that I wanted to write about it before the excitement wore off. I went to the PNE today with a friend from work, Patricia. Now, I may know what you're thinking, the PNE? We've all been there, what's so great about it? Well it was different for me because I wasn't going to Playland, only the PNE so it was like I was discovering a whole new world. We had list of the Top Ten Things to do at the PNE, so we knew what we wanted to do, so when we got there around 11am, we looked at the schedule of events and decided where to go. The first things we did was to see the Superdog show, I'm not a big dog lover, but this show was so cool! They had at least 15 dogs who raced around an obstacle course and did a dancing concert and caught frisbees, I yelled so much and so loud that I'm sure I'm going to wake up with no voice tomorrow. It was such a blast! I highly recommend it! After that we went to the Motocross show, those guys are amazing with what they can do on those motorcycles, the flips and the tricks, they go up a ramp, fly 30 feet in the air and while in the air they perform very dangerous tricks, either doing a handstand on the bike or putting their legs over the handle bars, it's crazy! Definetly a heartattack in waiting for us nurses as I can only imagine what would happen if something went wrong, but none the less they are very talented and entertaining. We then saw the Sand Castle sculptures, the pig and duck races, went shopping in the marketplace, did a tour of the prize home, bought tickets for the prize home and saw two horse races at Hastings Race Track. Besides the dog show being a highlight, the most fun thing we did was take a virtual tour with the Snowbirds. We happened to find a simulator and decided to go on it, well, we had so much fun and laughed so hard, it was great! We sat in the back row and were the only two in there, it really felt like we were flying, we did twists and spins and rollovers and went upside down, so cool! The was the best thing because we just happened to find it and it turned out to be the highlight of our day! I've never had so much fun and been so excited and it was just a wickedly awesome time! Plus we ate all the amazing food, elephant ears, funnel cakes, BBQ chicken, mini donuts, donairs, all very yummy!

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was my parents 33rd Anniversary! Congratulations! I love you!!!

A sign?

So, about one month ago, when we were up at the cabin, I experienced some pain, not in my stomach, more in my bladder/uterus region. It was so painful I almost had Rob drive me to 100 Mile House Hospital, I guess you could call it cramping but it was a steady pain and every time I moved it got worse. It eventually went away, I slept it off and had not thought about it since then. Yesterday, I worked some overtime and when my shift ended, I all of a sudden got the same pain, it got worse as I walked, but I made it out to my car, came home and then Rob took me to a walk-in clinic. Seeing as pain is a sign that something is wrong and this was the second time I was experiencing it I figured I should get it checked out. So the doctor at the walk-in didn't really seem concerned, he said it could be uterine cramping, I don't have a UTI and no I'm not pregnant, so that was it, he didn't say take anything, so today was fine, but it still feels like an ache and certain movements make it seem like it will come back. I'm hoping it won't though.

Canim Lake

Here's Nathan and I having some fun in the lake!





This is Nathan and my father in law on the Wave Runner!



This is James, Rob's brother, Rob's Dad and Nathan and Josh.




Canim Lake at it's best!

Nathan and Josh!

These are my nephews, Nathan and Josh!

My one and only summer vacation?

Rob and I just got back from Canim Lake yesterday, we were there for 10 days. It's so hard to leave, it was hot, hot, hot! I think it got up to about 34 celsius! The first four days my Dad's family came up, they had never been up there before, so it was fun to be with them. Rob's Dad had also bought a Wave Runner, so we all learned to drive that and it was so much fun! After my family left Rob's Aunt and Uncle and cousins came up. They have little kids, so I played with them a lot, a lot of swimming, it's so beautiful up there. I'll put some pictures up. These are all taken by Rob. Rob and I love going up there and unfortunatley this was probably my one and only summer vacation for this year.

A Much Needed Little Vacation!

Rob and his family own a cabin on Canim Lake which is up by 100 Mile House, we go there at least once a year, but would love to go more often, it's a 6 hour drive. It's absolutley beautiful, with the lake, the mountains, the forest, so peaceful and relaxing. Rob and I made an impromtu trip up there on Wednesday seeing as we both had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off. I got all the groceries together, made a menu plan, put together as much as I could because Rob was working till midnight on Tuesday. So Wednesday comes, we load up the car, drive to his parents, switch cars because we are bringing up a bike and it doesn't fit in Rob's Passat. We are on the road by 10:45am, the drive itself is uneventful, long, but nothing interesting. We plan to just hang out at the cabin, rides bikes, go for walks maybe take the boat on the water, just relax, watch some tv maybe. We get to the cabin and start taking stuff in when Rob all of a sudden realizes that the satellite box is not there and we have no tv! On but my goodness, what are we going to do for three days with no tv? We so thought about going right back home, but we didn't! It turned out to be the most wonderful relaxing, just be together weekend, I learned things about him I didn't know, we had some great talks and lots of laughs. No tv turned out to be a huge blessing! We are going up there again in July with my family and then staying for a week with Rob's extended family. It's such a blessing to have a place so beautiful to go to and just be peaceful.

A little about my job!

Without breaking confidentiality, I thought I would elaborate a bit on my job as a Licensed Practical Nurse. As an LPN I can work anywhere, in any hospital, care home, home support, group home setting. As far as I know the only place we don't work is maternity and they are slowing phase us into acute and emerg. The difference between myself and an RN is the amount of schooling, RNs have a Bachelor of Science which is four years and the LPN course is a year. As far as medical procedures go, LPNs do not start IVs or dispense IV meds, we only assess the IV line and site. I prefer to work with the elderly. My main duties are to dispense meds, give injections, perform assessments and provide wound care, all of which I enjoy doing. I work on a unit that has 50 residents, four of which are ventilator dependent. This means they are on machines that control their breathing. The have tracheostomies for various reasons. When I was in school, we did not have any training for vented patients, so it was all new to me when I started working at Langley Hospital. Working in a vent unit is fast paced, be on your toes, hard work. We provide all personal care and I do all medical care, changing the trach, suctioning, meds. I don't know if I'll be able to do this for the next thirty years, but it definitely has provided me with experience, education and a lot of patience. These residents can not talk, so communication is a major factor in their care. They communicate with their eyes and eyebrows, eyes to the right mean yes and eyes to the left mean no, etc. They also have a communication board which has all the letters of the alphabet and the numbers and they spell out words which can be a big help if we can't figure out what they are trying to say with their eyes. It's a lot of work, but it is rewarding and overall I enjoy it.

My nephews and niece!

The last thing I wanted to post for today are some pictures of my nephews, Nathan, 5, Josh, 3, and Hannah, 3 months! They are Rob's brothers children, but I love them and they are so completely adorable!

Sample Cake!

Here is a cake I made in my cake decorating course, I definately enjoying doing this stuff!

Cakes!

Here's a picture of Joy's wedding cake!

Joy Got Married!

So, my sister, Joy, got married May21 at Saxe Point Park in Victoria. It was a very elegant and simple wedding, only immediate family. The park was beautiful it was right on the ocean. She has been dating Ryan for four and a half years, he's great, so much fun! They had the reception at an Italian restaurant. I made their wedding cake, it's officially my second wedding cake ever, we had a lot of fun. I'm very happy for them!

Rob and I

I'm back!

Well, I started a new blog and I hope to keep this one updated. Of all the other blogs that I've read there is a common theme, finding time to keep these things up to date. We'll see how I do, plus my life is pretty much work and that's not much to comment on! :-) As far as Rob and I go, there's nothing new, we're both just working hard and this takes up most of our time.