Energy Play List

37+0 weeks gestation today! Received permission from by GP that I can go into labor now at any time. Also learned that our monster baby is actually measuring appropriately! Hooray! Perhaps there is hope that my genetics will prevail and not my giant husband (only in regards to infant birth weight of course.) Baby has not dropped yet - which is all right, we still have time. However, I am presently working through some major house cleaning and rocking out to some great tunes while I do it. Would be nice if all the bee-bopping would help this little one settle down. I am also drinking red raspberry leaf tea by the gallon - served iced it is actually quite delicious in the heat.

Being off work the past few weeks has truly been the best thing which could have happened to me and our little family. I am happier, less stressed, sleeping better and actually getting to nest! Eric and I get to spend some couple time together before we are officially on parental duty and a few niggly little chores are getting completed. I really resisted coming off of work and was quite depressed and upset when I had too. I felt like I was letting our family down by not being strong enough to keep working. I know it really has nothing to do with personal strength, but that was what was going through my head. Jah know? 

I guess, as with everything, there is a purpose and grander plan which I am not privy too. Sometimes I get to glimpse the tiniest bit of what is to come, but mostly I am in the dark and to be honest - thank goodness! If I had known ahead of time what I would be asked to face in this lifetime I would be overjoyed, overwhelmed and dismayed all at the same time. I think the technical latin term would be 'non-copus'. I digress. Through it all, somehow we manage to continue to believe that we are not alone in this adventure and that ultimately it is not all for naught. If we do nothing more then believe in the adage "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger", well, Eric and I will be some pretty darn strong human beans. And that is comforting. Sort of.

Well, sounds like hubby is in from working on the truck. Good thing we love our Jeep...it's reliable all right. We can rely on something to always need fixing! 

I am currently working on learning a new photo editing software suite...bare with me as the next few pics I post will likely be unedited like this one...which badly needs some cropping :) 

Return and Snotty Pot

Yup, the Robin has returned in Calgary as well. I saw the cheerful little guy on Tuesday evening and have since been hearing them frequently "Cheer-upping" away outside. Awesome.

On a totally different tangent, I tried a Neti Pot. I think they could be more aptly referred to as Snotty Pots. Maybe Neti has some sanscript meaning I am not aware of - but everytime I look at it. I think of snot. Also, Snotty Pot has a bit of a ring to it, right?

Seriously...it's incredible to watch that much mucus pouring forth from your face. It's also really hard not to laugh out loud at the sight of yourself in the mirror with a teapot stuck in one nostril. Also, mad skill is required to use the Snotty Pot effectively and NOT drown yourself. For first timers, I recommend having a rag handy to clean the mirror as you will either: a) laugh out loud, b) sneeze, c) cough, or d) a combination of the above. In rapid fire sequence, your nose and mouth become a reservoir for a surprising amount of salty, mucuosy liquid which will fly from your face at the speed of roughly 12.5 miles/second, creating an intricate expectorant pattern all over the bathroom. It is quite lovely to behold. Especially at 0300 in the morning when you can-not-sleep-and-all-you-really-want-is-some-NeoCitran-but-can't.

Yes. The Snotty Pot. Odd, but effective.

Phallic shaped nostril plug hey? Makes me giggle looking at it...which is not helpful.

 

 

Rumor has it.

Rumor has that Robin's have been sighted. Glory be and Hallelujah! Although the snowflakes are falling gently outside my window pane, I can see the treetops have a subtle green hue to them and I am glad. My day lily's are struggling forth from the frosted ground and there is even a trefoil strawberry making an appearance. Woot.

As mentioned in my last post, it is with the coming of spring that I have promised to be true to myself again - to shake off the winter doldrums, quit living with dust bunnies and truly come forth and BE. So far things seem to be coming along well. I even picked up a pencil this evening and permitted myself to BE creative and draw, something I have not done in ages. Not that the picture itself is worth showing to ANYONE (an artist I am not) but I do need to try once and a while.

Another thing - I am listening to music again. Now for all those country haters out there, I don't want to hear it. To you I say "Pbbbbllllllllttttt". That is all. I happen to love it. I love many many musics, but there is something about Country music which resonates with me. Poor taste? Nah, just a little bit of gravel roads, spruce gum and bare foot therapy.

Aspelund Road Sunset

Ever onward I go again.

I had a dream.

I had a dream last night that I found Duncan and Annie's grave marker. They were together - and I cried as I slept because I was so glad. Many other thoughts flew through my mind last night, but I am struck with this memory.

It is coming to be spring again and my soul really does rejoice. I love the white, the crisp and the crunchiness of winter but spring is where I really live. I think it is the combination of the long walk this morning - taking in the very first that spring has to offer, and my memory of the dream that reminds me to come into myself again. To be faithful to who I am and trust that what I believe to be right, Is.

I ruminate and am rewarded by an internal physical acknowledgement of my presence. And of bean.
Goodness but it IS good to be here.

The Rose Tombstone

Rebecca & Maureen's Excellent Relative Adventure: Part 1

Duncan and Annie McLeod - we are on the hunt to find the graves of some of my dead ancestors. I will have more information to follow in future blogs regarding the specifics/pedigree, but in the meantime, what you need to know is this:

Mom and I are in Ontario.
We are staying with my Grandparents (who are awesome).
We fearlessly navigated the airport, twice - and rented a car.
My ancestors were originally from the Isle of Lewis.
Eric is home by himself - casserole donations are appreciated.

For now though, enjoy a few of the photos I have taken. Not many yet, but there will be more to come.

One of many tombstones to come...

My foot and Mom's foot!

This bridge was not over troubled waters...very calm. Very peaceful!

Some of my favorite things.

I'm still thinking on how best to commemorate a year of nursing through photos. It's not an easy task because I can't really just bring my camera to work. Other then the delicate nature of my area of practice (labour & delivery) there are other issues such as privacy, confidentiality, my general lack of medical supplies at home...essentially, no chance I would/could take photos at the workplace. Wow, I can only imagine the negative repercussions that would have!

What I can use for props are my stethescope, ID/swipe card, name badge, bandage scissors, clamp, pen (x2), sharpie, penlight, alcohol swab or two, pair of non-sterile gloves, OR hat, maybe a belly-band button if I have one, reference cards and a tourniquet. Hard to photograph, but I also always have my brain, my hands and my heart. These are the tools I carry with me wherever I go. It's actually part of my pre-shift routine - check each pocket to ensure all stuff that should be there is there. My scrubs are laundered at the hospital as I am expected to be able to enter our operating theaters at a moments notice - no outside clothing! My work shoes are black Birkenstock clogs with a non-slip grip and full back. They are nasty and will not be coming home with me. When they are worn out, they will be disposed of in a bio-hazard bag. No joke. The amount of 'stuff' that gets on them...let's just say the non-slip grip was a VERY good investment.

Other then that, I have my resources at home. They include:

• Penny Simkin's "The Birth Partner: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas and All Other Labor Companions" 3rd Edition
• Ina May Gaskin's "Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding"
• Ina May Gaskin's "Spiritual Midwifery" 4th Edition
• The work of Reva Rubin regarding the phases of motherhood
• The work of Jean Watson regarding her Theory of Caring
• Resources accessible from MOREOb (Managing Obstetrical Risk Effectively)
• Elizabeth Davis' "Heart & Hands: A Midwife's Guide to Pregnancy and Birth" 4th Edition
• Kathleen R. Simpson & Patricia A. Creehan's "Perinatal Nursing" put out by the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, 3rd Edition
• Wong, Hockenberry, Wilson, Perry & Lowdermilk's "Maternal Child Nursing Care" 3rd Edition
• Policies and Procedures developed and utilized by AHS

(You know, I feel guilty not listing these resources in APA format - how well conditioned am I?)

Huh. So. Now that I look at the list, there actually is a fair amount of material to work with. Now I just need to wait for the creative bug to bite and capture some images. Anywho, a snapshot for those who are interested about what I do/think/reference/use in a day at work.

And now for some other photos!

This was from  a set of photos I took back in January when I was first trying out the camera. This is a Christmas mug with honey-ginseng green tea. I was playing around with different angles on the kitchen counter to capture the light streaming through the window.

Early spring sky (April 30) taken just outside the Aspelund Community Hall in Lacombe County, AB.  Many good memories of this little hall. 

In another, completely unrelated, note. Eric is listening to a song in which the main chorus is "I breathe Air...yeah. I breathe Air...yeah. And you're taken' my air. I can't breathe."

Wow. Whoever wrote those lyrics must have an advanced degree in English Lit.

Why a pansy of course! Taken a day or two ago. Location: my front yard. Cheerful little thing isn't it?

 And if anyone needed a song to get them going in the morning, I particularly like this remix of ACDC's Thunderstruck by Crooker.

And that is all. For now. Carpet cleaning and reorganizing the office awaits me this afternoon. I will squeeze in time to harass the cats and pat the dog.

C'mon!

Once again, I'm sitting here with a Piper cat on my lap and my laptop balanced on the extreme end of my knees. What is different from the last post then? I'm listening to Tiesto and Diplo dual it out. Sweet.

Eric and I have been trying something new this week (don't worry, no reference to kinky activities will be made here). We are going for a walk every morning, including after night shifts for me. Admittedly, I was not very excited about doing MORE walking after shift, my feet throb and pulsate enough without recreationally adding to it. However, with commitment to our health in my mind; we did it. And it has been a wonderful thing. The opportunity for taking photos that early in the morning is tremendous! Especially with clear skies and that morning light - stunning. I have two photos from a set I took yesterday morning. There will be more coming, but I have not been inspired with the post-processing of them yet.

The other bonus of taking photos early in the morning is that you do not have people staring out their windows at you while you are capturing images of the flowers they have planted along their sidewalks. Don't worry, I'm not scampering around on people's private property - just imaging what is readily imageable.

I love this photo! I have been experimenting with different filters (this is an infrared one) and thought the result was eye-appealing. Some days I find myself thinking along the lines of a puritan - the photos I capture must be as close to the original image with minimal editing required. Then there are days like today where the photo couldn't be further then the original scene! I think it is important to dally and try and create; but when someone asks me which style I prefer or to define my photo preferences...I can't. Oh well. Too bad for them.

Hah! Eric's listening to a song now that sounds like the refrain is "Nancy...oh Nancy". Of course maybe it's "Pantsy...oh Pantsy". I personally would be very amused if they were singing about pants. There should be more songs about pants...

(passage of about three minutes)

...so I just googled "songs about pants" and found about 79,400,000 results in 0.14 seconds. I guess the world doesn't need any more songs about pants. Maybe there should be a song about Nancy pants.

(passage of about 45 seconds)

Yah I just googled Nancy pants. The Google monster had to work harder for this one, in 0.21 seconds we found (I use the pronoun 'we' as I feel I am a vital and valued part of our relationship [that is the relationship between Google and myself]) about 15,900,000 results.

(I'm textually {It smells [Did you like that brackets within brackets?] crazy!} challenged.)

According to the urban dictionary:
 

Nancy Pants (nah-nn-SEE PAH-nn-tss): A person in an organization (usually in sales) that is definitely a male, but has some very strange metro-sexual, gay, or effeminate traits.

Wild! The internet is just AWESOME.

This last photo is another one of the set I took while poking around Takaka falls in May. I love black and white photos. As I continue along my photography journey, I am learning that you can't simply just convert all color photos to black and white. Well, physically you can - but half of them look like crap. 

 Well, Piper has left my lap and the washing machine has finished washing - should probably get up. Maybe I'll go find Piper and sit on him...