Conglomeration...

Oh, this post is going to be a whole mess of things.

First of all....an UPDATE from the NURSERY!

I had a chance to check in on *my* Warrior Baby a couple of days ago - as they get older and healthier we don't do as many draws - and she weighed in at 3 lbs., 15 oz.! Her twin sister got to go home Thanksgiving weekend. I'm sure that was a wonderful Thanksgiving for their family.

Remember the baby whose nurse thought makeup was more important than comforting a child? I've had orders to draw her several times this week. She's still having some serious problems with her lungs; but boy oh boy, has she ever gotten big! And, she's learned how to kick at your hands with the other foot, so she's becoming a challenge to get things drawn in a hurry!

One of our Warrior Babies came to the end of her fight a few days ago.:( Another angel earned her wings. For her, death came as a victory. She fought the good fight, and it was so hard for those of us who had to cause pain to her; she had gotten old enough to be able to smile at us...and also "cloud over" when she knew we were there to do something unpleasant. It broke our hearts to have to hurt her. She was one of those kids with a rare condition called Prader-Willi syndrome; not only did she have that, she was also born without kidneys. And that is what finally meant the end of her journey. She had been on dialysis. The dialysis lines went septic and had to be removed. Without dialysis, she could not survive, so ultimately that which was saving her life also ended up being the reason for her death.

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We're on the lookout for the first major winter storm tomorrow. The prediction is for rain changing to freezing rain changing to snow and then to rain.

Of course it's my weekend to work. Of course I get *off* work right when it's supposed to be weather at its worst. I'll say right now I'm not looking forward to the trip home.

I took Yama to the vet's today for a quick checkup to make sure all is well in case the rescue gets a new Sheltie in that we can foster. I missed taking one last weekend because I felt strongly that I wanted to know my own dog was in good shape. I'm glad I took her in; she had been coughing and sneezing a few days ago and she has a swollen tonsil, so she's on penicillin for a week. The vet said her temp was slightly elevated too, but figured that most of that was because Shelties are so darned high strung she just worked herself into a dither about being at the vet's office. Sounds about right.

While I was there, I checked out a new grooming tool, a shedding blade, called the Furminator. Anyone who's ever had a dog that carries a lot of coat will understand the desire to find something that will do the job. Then, multiply that by about ten when it's a former groomer looking at new "toys". I was like, "wow...I really think that would do the trick!"

Then I looked at the price. That simple little device was priced at almost $45.00! I nearly passed out! I came home and checked the item out in my wholesale books and darned if the vet is selling it 'cheaper' than wholesale. So, I'll probably go back and get it next week. *sigh* Yet, if it was a new pair of shears, I'd not have batted an eye up to $250 bucks.

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I saw the final report on my performance assessment and it was highly favorable. His only criticism of me was that I haven't completed the protocol he wants me to write on how to order supplies for the lab. I just need to sit down and do it. It won't take me more than half a day to finish the thing up; I just won't do it at work because I don't have a place to sit down and work on it uninterrupted. I'm sorry, but if hospitals want staff to do more than they were hired to do, they need to figure out that they've got to allow time for that project and not expect quality work if one is forced to do it through multi-tasking.

Another trip into town this afternoon saw me fighting though the masses at WalMart to get some more "string" for Christmas gifts. I say string instead of yarn because I'm making dishcloths out of cotton yarn. It's a quick project that I can do easily at work. And, this being my weekend to work I want something easy to put down.

Then I made a little detour into Coldwater Creek to see if they had any sweaters on sale that I liked - my email this morning told me that holiday sweaters were 30% off.
One of the things I'm trying to do since I make more money now is update my wardrobe with higher quality clothes. I'd like to think that the days of WalMart clothing is over...unless, of course, it's an item I don't need to last awhile!

My journey netted a couple of nice things. I found a sweater which resembles a shrug AND a shawl. I picked up a mock turtleneck in a shade of blue that picked up one of the subtle colors in the sweater. Not only did I get 30% off on the sweaters, but since the retail before the sale price was over $100, I got an additional $30 off. So, I got both items, retail valued at $150 for just under $75! I *like* that kind of shopping!

R and I went back into town early this evening to see if Menards had gotten in the Christmas garland/lights that I needed two more of. They did. And while we were there we checked on a humidifier since the one we had died last season. We found one, bought it, and brought it home. Upon pulling it out of the box, we found that the caps that are supposed to keep the water in the tanks were not in the box. So, R packed it all back up and he'll take it back to the store tomorrow and hopefully will get it exchanged for another one with ALL the parts. Once the cold weather hits, my skin begins to hurt! And of course, everything in the house gets static-y. The animals don't much like it when their noses get zapped!

BTW, did you know that you can pet your animals with a fabric softener sheet to de-static them? Kinda freshens them up, too! LOL!

Anyway, it's time for me to think about getting things finished up for the night and head for bed.

See y'all next time!