Band Camp!

This past week I volunteered as the nurse at Josiah's band camp. It was really fun, and sometimes dramatic! I am pretty much amazing! haha just kidding! It was kind of nice being there as a nurse. I got to use some of my skills. Although sometimes I really wanted to strangle the kids.

Literally, some of the kids would come in because they had bug bites all over their legs. Was I supposed to snap my fingers and make them go away? I have bug bites too. Then a lot of kids were nauseous and there were a lot of twisted ankles.

I had one girl come in on my last night who said that the tympani cart (that had the chimes on it too) rolled over her foot. She heard a crunching sound and it was hurting bad enough when she walked that it made her cry. I sat her up on my table and and it was swollen and bruised. When I touch it she cried out and pulled away. All the classic signs of a break. Oh goody for me. So after a lot of debate between me, the directors, her mom, and the other chaperones, we decided to call the squad and get her to the hospital for an xray. Mr McNutt (the head band director) didn't believe it was broken, but in my professional opinion it was a high possibility. Well Mr McNutt was correct. It was a "bad bone bruise". BUT I was right in the end because it was important that she get it xrayed before she put any pressure on it otherwise it could have required surgery.

Any way, Friday was their preview and I got some pictures of Josiah:

Sorry these are the wrong way I don't know how to rotate them.

I am so proud of him. He looked really good out there!!! Oh and on our way there I got a call from the Mount Carmel West Emergency Department giving me an interview. It was today at 9 am and it was a panel of four people. They were nice. I think I did okay. It wasn't my best but it's up to them now and it's in the Lord's Hands, (as it has been this whole time). Thanks for all your prayers!

God Bless!

OK lahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain

So today was quite a lazy saturday. I slept in until 11am and then I ate some breakfast. I worked out...yes exercise, it has done me well so far. I have been working out for two weeks now. I feel better, more energized and it gives me something to do for 35-45 minutes. Then I got online to find more nursing jobs.

After quite a bit of disappointments, I frustratingly typed: "why are hospitals not hiring new grads" into google and hit enter. To my surprise quite a lot of interesting articles and conversations came up. Apparently, with the recession, most hospitals don't want to hire new grads because we cost a lot of money, and training, and time. Overall, we are quite a nuisance to staff. It actually costs hospitals less to pay overtime to burned out nurses then to invest in fresh, not burned, new graduate nurses.

Then I found some site where people were blogging about where they could find a job and if they should go to nursing school. My findings for the places that will hire new grads were:

Upstate New York (no specifics, apparently nobody wants to say the names of the hospitals that are quote "still hiring new grads"--yeah I found this on two separate sites)

Rural places (but not Minnesota as a blogger begrudgingly and angrily posted)

Oklahoma

Texas

So I applied to Oklahoma City, OK, Tulsa, OK, and Midland TX. All of which start their pay 2-3$ less than anywhere over here in the East. Oh well, it's not about money anymore. I don't need money, I just want my one year of experience and then I will "get out". (one blogger wrote that you should "go to rural areas and states no one likes for one year and then get out")

How weird would it be if I got a job in Midland or Tulsa????? I am a city girl (or at least a girl of suburbia) not small town girl or boonies girl or scary country girl.....oh well God is placing me where I need to be!!!!

Just thought I would share.

He put a new song in my mouth...

It has been quite an awakening going through the book of Psalms. Before this challenge, most of my prayers to God always included some sort of "God I need this" and "God please give me this" or "God I could really use...". But now that I am going through Psalms, I am finding myself praising God with every word of my prayers. I have learned so much about myself and about God.



Yesterday I read Psalm 40. Which is one of my favorite Psalms. I really feel like I can relate to what David was feeling. I just get drug through the mire and muck of this world because of my sins, I feel lonely and all that I can do is cry out to God. And every time this happens, God always hears me and pulls me out. All I can ever give Him back is my 'sad little praise'. By the time I am finished praising Him, it's like I am back in the mud and muck all over again and I am crying out for His mercy and Love and Help.



My favorite part of the Psalm is the very end and it was what really got me the most:



Yet I am poor and needy;

may the Lord think of me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

O my God, do not delay.

I am really excited about this new endeavor. I really love this book and I feel so much closer to God already. I have a new outlook on life and I can find God in everything that happens (The title is Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi).

In other news, I still have not found a job...or I guess I have found many jobs, but the jobs have not found me! heh heh. But I really am not worried. I know that the right job will come at the right time. I am, however, tired of filling out applications! But oh well. It's been kind of nice to have all the time I want ( I have been working out for the past week and I have discovered new gameshows on GSN-Chain Reaction haha).

Oh and Congratulations to Brendan on the new job! That is so exciting!

Bye for now!