License Renewal Time

Time has breezed in quickly with birthday greetings again! I've renewed the car registrations only two days before my birthday anniversary, so the renewal stickers won't be here on time. But, like most everything else in life, if I don't make a big deal about it, others may not either. (The birthday and the late registration on September 3.)

The big research papers are done for school. (This term.) (Thanks for your superb help, Jim.) One major test is done. Others won't be for a couple days, so I'm breathing s sigh of relief and planning to sleep in just a little in the morning.

By the 'skin of my teeth', I passed the last microbiology quiz and hope to make the grade on the one last final that only covers four chapters instead of being comprehensive. My Microbiology professor says I'm "doing well" in that class. So, I'm trusting him that he knows the numbers!

My sister and I phone each other every day (and sometimes more) discussing the auspicious, exciting plans for our mini-family reunion in Tennessee starting in a couple weeks! Our families are sharing a cabin in the Smokey Mountains for a week. Both of us have a dog, so that may be our biggest challenge. Her little dog, Star, needs assurances that our big dog, Sheba, won't take her food dish. And Sheba needs to know that Star won't take her for a cat to play with. (Star comes from a family of cats, and they love to 'play". ha ha.)

We've already decided we aren't going to spend our days in the kitchen, and shopping is near the top of the list of fun things to do! Of course, we each have our little "stash" of cash that no one else knows about for our little vacation fun!

Since my last birthday, I've almost completed the RN program (four months to go!) and have enjoyed every challenge along the way! At the least, I know that I can physically and mentally accomplish this goal. I will never again wonder if I was 'smart enough"! I have been able to keep up with those who are 30-years younger than myself who have just finished high school chemistry, modern English and and microbiology!

While on vacation, I will officially celebrate my birthday surrounded by my two sons whom I haven't seen in many months due to the distance (Oregon and S. Carolina) and work (teaching) schedules. A tiny part of me hates that my boys will see a mother who is getting older and slightly slower, but I know they will see the "mom" who is always there in love for each one! My little sister, Sandy and our spouses will help mark this passage of time in a delightful, fun day!

During this last year, several of my dearest friends have lost jobs and run into poor health. My heart and prayers go out to them. Several members of our nursing class have experienced family health crisis and financial hardship since we started. Some have had to drop out. At least one will be dropping out after this term to help with an unexpected family illness. It makes me feel very thankful for good health and continued work opportunity for hubby.

I've made some new friends at school who are now a part of the meso part of my life. We have a new page on Facebook called "Bohecker RN January 2010". I just created that page and haven't informed the classmates yet, but hope to get everyone informed before break. This way maybe we can all keep in touch after graduation.

Happy car-tag renewal day - and many more to come!

Take Care on the Journey,

~Linda

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com
E-Mail: bestnurse@usa.com

Tests Out My Ears!

Flcker photo

For the next few days (weeks?), I'm swamped with end-of-term tests and papers to write. It all ends September 9. Hang in there with me. Thanks.

Take Care on the Journey,

~Linda

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com
E-Mail: bestnurse@usa.com

Kroger Triples and Tickles

Yep, tonight I saved $77 and spent $4 at one grocery store. That tickles me pink and makes hubby very happy!

He is quite proud of my 'second job'. He calls it that because it saves us so much money every week! He says I've become a professional at it, but it's not that much of a mystery or that much trouble once you get into it.

I've had so much fun tonight taking in some great deals at Kroger during the weekend of triple coupons (up to 50 cents). The best deal, of course, was all the absolutely free Pillsbury Grands and related breads. Hubby looked into the refrigerator at the loaded bottom shelf and commented, "Well, I do like biscuits with my meals." I don't consider Grands true biscuits, but I guess they are. Anyway, I used all my stash of Pillsbury coupons and now have a supply for Pantry 309 too! (I'm thinking of renaming it "Linda's Pantry". But, I want to encourage others to use coupons instead of expecting me to do the shopping. ha ha)

Another swell deal at Kroger was Suave shampoo and body wash. Using my 50 cent coupons that tripled to $1.50, I got bottles of shampoo and body wash for about 12 each!

Crest toothpaste is $4/2 at Kroger, but with the 50 cent coupon, the final price was 50 cents. Even though it cost me 50 cents, some of them also included a free 'travel size' tube of toothpaste. I could have bought a lot more because I have a big stash of Crest coupons, but at 50 cents, even that has a limit of spending. Too bad no one is requesting my extra coupons...Too bad they expire August 31. (But more always show up in the weekly inserts.)

Mustard would have been free, but I forgot to get it tonight. I still have Sunday, though. So are the Bic pens that I forgot to get.

Reese's candy bars are free along with another free one with a BOGO free coupon that you guys will see in Sunday's Red Plum or Smart Source insert. My husband and big John especially love those. I politely got only 10 of the Reese Dark Chocolate Candy Bars (new), but promised the boys more on another day! (Hey, I tried one. They are AWESOME!)

The very BEST deal was at Giant Eagle where I found Chef Michael (spelling) dog food (by Purina) on sale. There's a coupon for $3 off a bag in the Sunday paper (8/23), and it's on sale for 2/$7 making it only 50 cents a bag! Sheba loves it! I got several bags, but not wanting to look greedy in front of all my favorite cashiers, I went back a second time for three more bags.

Another great deal (if you're into it) at Giant Eagle are the Chinet plates and cups. Using coupons I saved for a sale from earlier, I paid only 50 cents for each set of plates and cups. Instead of paper plates, I got the clear plastic called 'crystal' plates and cups. I'm into that even though I'd never pay full price or even half price for them! (Sandy, let me know if you use these.)

For Edge shaving cream, I have to drive to another Giant Eagle but with the coupons, it's free too. We don't need so much, but hubby says if it's free, he will find a good hiding spot for it.

At both stores, the cashiers commented on what good deals I got. (Sometimes they sneer and make snide comments, ((mostly at other stores)), so a nice, positive comment is very much appreciated.) One cashier at Giant Eagle said, "I want my wife to talk to you about how to use coupons!" Another cashier was shocked, but excited with me when I saved $77 and spent only $4. (I gave her some dog food coupons too. She has several big dogs.) On a funny note, an older man cashier noted the first $3 off coupon and commented, "That's a good coupon. When the next one was also $3 off and the others were $2.00 off, he was more astonished with each one. It was funny to watch him checking out each coupon (but not checking expiration dates).

One thing I've noticed is that the grocery stores never check for expiration dates. At least not the two main ones that I go to. While I'm always very careful about using coupons that are not expired, I decided to try some paper towel coupons that expired this week because the paper towels are free with those coupons. So far, it's worked with five rolls. I have 12 more to go. Wonder if I'll get them all?

My wish is that more of my friends and family would learn this art of saving money on all of your favorite grocery and personal items. It really does not take that much time once you get yourself organized - especially if you only buy what you and your family use. Once you get a little stockpile of the specific items you use, then catch these items on sale and pick up two or three extra, that all it takes!

At the end of each month, I toss out a big grocery bag of expired coupons, and that doesn't count the hundreds that I don't cut out. I'm learning to cut only the basic things I like. I file the inserts in a big manila envelope by name and date and use the coupon blogs to discover other specials that I need additional coupons for. Most 'couponers' have their own special way of cutting and organizing coupons. Whatever works. I love my baseball card notebook because the baseball card slots are perfect for coupons. I label by alphabet. It cost about $5 for 30 baseball card pages that hold about 300 slots.

Of course as hubby says, if everybody used coupons, the shelves would be empty! It has to be something YOU want to do. I'm sure it's not for everyone, and that okay too. I still love ya!

Take Care on the Journey,
~Linda

HOME: http://goldencoupons.blogspot.com
E-mail: pantry309@yahoo.com or bestnurse@usa.com

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com
E-Mail: bestnurse@usa.com

Kroger Going to Triple Coupons Starting Friday, August 21, 2009

I just got off the phone with the Kroger in New Albany (near Columbus), and she confirmed they will start triple coupons August 21, 2009. She didn't know how high the triple would be (up to 50 cents or up to 99 cents) or how long the triple coupon special will be in effect. Last time they did this, they didn't have good sales on brand name items, so it was disappointing. This week, I have Pillsbury coupons, AND the Pillsbury Grands and rolls are on sale for 99 cents. If my 35 cent coupons triple, they will be a money-maker.

I'm going to start researching sales and coupons before Friday to see how good we can do!

My sister in Tampa always wishes she could come to Ohio for the double and triples because she says they never have that in Florida! Sorry Sandy. I'll bring you something.

Take Care on the Journey,
~Linda

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com
E-Mail: bestnurse@usa.com

Angels In The Night

(As also posted on my Coupon blog with tiny modifications)

Roused from sleep last night by a burning, choking, sensation in my chest and throat, I sat up on the side of the bed and reached for my bottle of Tums as I sometimes do when I have a GERD episode. Except this time I felt different! My lungs felt 'bubbly' when I coughed, and each time I coughed, my lungs felt more on fire and full of liquid. I wanted to reach over to alert hubby or grab the phone and call for help, but it took all my effort to remain calm and try not to cough. I couldn't speak, my breathing was getting worse, and my lungs sounded like I was blowing through a straw in water.

Believe it or not, just as I was beginning to wonder if I would die all alone at the side of the bed about 24-hours ago, hubby woke up with a start and asked if I was okay. C-A-l-l 9-1-1 was all I could force from the fire in my throat and chest full of bubbles.

He did what I asked without hesitation, and they came in full force with firetrucks, ambulance, and red emergency lights filling the cool night air. As I heard the sirens in the far distance coming closer, I reassured myself that if I was to quit breathing now, maybe they would get here soon enough to revive me.

The oxygen and professional group of paramedics crowded into our small living room, calmed my panic a little. They started oxygen, stuck my left hand with an lancet and checked my B/P on the other arm. A kind female paramedic listened to my lung sounds and heartbeat. As they loaded me into the back of the ambulance and started other procedures to ease my discomfort, I was able to give hubby a little reassuring wave through the back window.

I heard all the results of various tests they were doing. I understood the medical jargon of the paramedic as she notified the ER of our pending arrival. I knew from personal experience just what steps would be taken as they wheeled me into the tiny exam room of the ER. No I wasn't having 'chest pain' as in heart attack. (Even though they tested me for that.) Yes, they usually get a good vein in the left anticubital, but tonight it took two paramedics and three nurses and five needle sticks to finally get an IV going that eventually infiltrated. A cocktail of Maalox and Zylocain put out the fire in my throat. (Why can't I keep some of that magic stuff at home?) A breathing treatment opened some airways, and a chest x-ray and several blood tests were done. With hubby holding my hand, and nurses close by, I began to improve and slowly become able to breathe and talk again.

I'm home now. Still feeling washed out, and I have a really bad sore throat and tickle in my chest. I'm almost afraid to eat anything or lie down for sleep! I missed an entire day of class for which I'm not happy about! I had not been absent or even tardy this entire term!

But, I'm very thankful for my "night angels' last night. Including the one who woke up my husband! The professionally trained EMT's, paramedics, firemen, nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists. I appreciate even more, my loving, caring family. I just hope I tell them often enough!

Please take this message to always be ready; be kind to everyone you meet on your journey, and live your life so that when "your life flashes before your eyes', you will have no regrets.

Take Care on the Journey,
~Linda

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com
E-Mail: bestnurse@usa.com

My Home Town of Berrien Springs is in the NEWS

Police officer falls off bridge....Click HERE for the story.

Take Care on the Journey,
~Linda

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com
E-Mail: bestnurse@usa.com

MODA - My Son's Band in Portland, OR

(MODA photo from myspace website)

Hopefully, I've done a proper cut and paste of the link for my son's band. HERE

I like to think my time spent enforcing piano practice when Billy was too young for a regular job, helped create his interest in music. His first 'concert' was performed in his grandparent's barn in Benton Harbor, Michigan. I'm proud of the entire band and all its members who are hard workers and enjoy music in the background of their busy lives.

Take Care on the Journey,

~Linda

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com
E-Mail: bestnurse@usa.com

Pantry 309 Very Busy - Need A Logo

If you don't already get my postings for Pantry 309 by e-mail, click HERE for my most recent activity over there. Very exciting for all! I've had many great responses.

You can also click the links for all my blogs on the left-hand side of the Linda's Notebook blog.

If you can help me come up with a nice logo for Pantry 309, I'd love your suggestions.

See you at Pantry 309.

Take Care on the Journey,
~Linda

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com
E-Mail: bestnurse@usa.com

Let Me Be In That Number...

(Slightly edited 7-17-09)
Bureaucracy is... Allstate raising our car insurance rates because our zip code is different this renewal time - and we haven't moved an inch since we signed up with them!

Education is bureaucracy when... the microbiology lab test made me cry with frustration because I didn't ' see' the same thing in the microscope that others did; and the Nursing 250 comprehensive test over 10 chapters and 270 "big book" pages was something our instructor called 'impossible to do" - just before we took the test.

In Sociology, we're studying about bureaucracy and complex organizations.

To quote our book, "In popular usage, bureaucracy often has a negative connotation."

I'll pause while you roll on the floor with laughter!

Now I understand why it was probably not the thing to do when I entered the doors of Bohecker College and shouted, "Bring it on!"

Bear in mind, I love my instructors and professors! They are hard-working, caring, empathetic, sensitive, impassioned, creative, under-paid, men and women.

They also get frustrated, stressed out, weary, discouraged, and burned out.

Just like the rest of the world, you, me, our neighbors, family and friends who often feel the same way.

We're tired of hearing about Jon Gosselin stepping out with his 22-year-old girlfriend while ignoring the tears of his wife and eight children. We are fed up with the Florida slayings, the jet crashes, the stock market crashes and the great consumer crash of 2009!

That's why we sometimes enjoy reading about someone who can poke fun at themselves in this dysfunctional, bureaucratic society we live in

I'll poke fun at myself for not recognizing the difference between a 'segment' and a "spiral' inside a bacteria under a microscope for the lab test today. (I still think I saw a segment, but the final answer is a spiral.)

I'll poke fun at myself for thinking I had the right answer to the question of what the magnification is when it says 10X on a microscope. Nope, not 1,000, but 100. I'd love to argue that, but they said it's, 'how the question was worded'. I'm sure my notes say it should be 1,000X.

I'll poke fun at myself for thinking that Streptococcus and Staphylococcus have cell walls. Even if my reasoning is that they are gram-positive. See, I figured that gram-positive WALLS are thick, and gram-negative walls are thin. I must have messed up somewhere between all the negative and positives I bragged about understanding in my last posting.

Anyway, I 'failed' the lab quiz today. I laughed in class, but I cried on the way home. Gotta keep these things in prospective. I made 18 points instead of 25 that will be added to all the other points on September 11, 2009. (The last day of this term. That's 55 days from today, by the way! And, only two days before a planned, highly anticipated, family reunion with my sister and children in Gatlinburg, Tennessee!!!!!!!!!)

"Bring It On" and bureaucracy means:

Don't give me a gas card because I'm not part of a car-pool to Children's Hospital in Akron, Ohio, for the next two Saturdays. (You only get the $50 card if you car-pool.) Actually, I wanted to ask the the director of the school about that gas card and the Saturday thing, but a sign on his door said he was gone until next week. I went to see the person listed on the sign, but she sent me back to the director's office saying he hadn't left the building yet. By the time I got back to his office, his "out of town" sign was down, but he wasn't in his office.

Later, someone announced in class that gas cards would be in the office of the person who sent me back to the director's office, "after 1 p.m.". I went BACK to that office after 1 p.m. but there was another sign on her door indicating that she was in a meeting. No, I don't think I'm going to get that gas card, and I'm absolutely sure I won't car-pool in the back seat of a car with at least four other students because (as most of you reading this know), I HAVE REALLY BAD CLAUSTROPHOBIA. No gas cards for claustrophobics or those who won't car-pool in a bureaucratic world

"Bring It On" and bureaucracy also means: Forcing me to attend school on my Sabbath.

Surprisingly, many of you may not know that I'm a baptised member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church who celebrate the Seventh-day Sabbath from sundown Friday night until sundown Saturday night. When I signed up at Bohecker College, the indications were that this was a Monday-Friday program. But, like my church, Bohecker is constantly changing the rules. I'm not committing the unpardonable sin because, as a nurse, I've worked many 'Sabbaths", and I'm working as a nurse this Saturday. So, I'm not going any further down this Sabbath path. But, is it right for the school to make it mandatory for graduation?

"Bring It On" and bureaucracy means: Paying for school uniforms (new rule) when the school already charged me $250 for two sets of whites and a lab jacket that I could have purchased for about $50 at JC Penney Outlet.

I'm a little on the fence about his one because I think we're the only nursing class at Bohecker who can wear anything to school including flip-flops, tank-tops, short-shorts and red bras under white shirts. (Okay, the rules say you can't, but instead of enforcing the rules this time, it's easier to change them.) Not that I wear a red bra under my white shirt, though. I splurged on new jeans and Alfred Drummer outfits for school.

I'm still cringing at the absence of pure whites and nurses caps, but I would get laughed out of the classroom if I told anyone. But, perhaps because of the red bras, the school has decided we will wear professional scrubs after August 1. They haven't decided on a color yet, but knowing that information ahead of time would be just too cool for those of us who don't like spending big wads of money at the last minute on something that we shouldn't be paying for in the first place.

"Bring It On" and bureaucracy means: accepting whatever answer the instructor says is the right answer.

For instance, on one test last week there was a two-part question. The second part was "Why?". (Remember those questions? They know you will miss the "why" part.) When I answered the "WHY" PRECEEDED with the word "WHY" in great big letters, I got counted off two-points because I "didn't answer the why". This week there was a "how would you fix it?" second part to a question. In even BIGGER letters than before, I wrote "FIX IT" and gave my answer. Again, I got marked off two-points, and the instructor wrote in the margin, "why?"

I took the paper to her and argued, "You didn't ask for a why. You asked for a fix-it, and I answered that."

Her response, "I wanted to know why you wrote the fix it answer".

As I commented on the elevator to another student when that instructor got on and off, "I'm mad at her. She owes me four points".

This posting may take you all weekend and most of next week to read, but I have one more "Bring It On" and bureaucracy episode to report.

Remember the humongous 10-chapter test? In preparation, I started reading and reviewing the 270 BIG pages, weeks ago. I also went out an paid over $100 for two NCLEX books that our instructor said she was actually taking the test questions from. (There is a difference between the textbook and the NCLEX books, but that information doesn't count in bureaucracy). I read every chapter in the NCLEX books pertaining to this subject, and I read every handout she gave us on the subject of child birthing, and I read all 270 boring, complicated, pages of the textbook. (An area of nursing I'm never, never going to work!)

Yes, all my classmates were complaining and frustrated with this book/test/class experience. It's the lowest form of working bureaucracy because Bohecker has acknowledged that this book may be inappropriate, and plans are to replace it next term. As a side note, this book is so heavy that if I drop it on the floor at home, my husband has to help me pick it up!

In the meantime, when we finally dragged into class with the frustrated expectation of the test heavy on our minds this morning (minutes after the lab test - no time for tears), the instructor announced we were going to play the game of Jeopardy before we took the test.

Bless her heart. (I guess.) Afterward, we realized that had we not "played' this game, few of us would have passed the test no matter how many 'dad-gum' pages we had read. I didn't need to read the textbook for all those hours, nor did I need to spend all that money on NCLEX books, nor was it necessary to read all the handouts to pass this test in the end. But that's a good example of bureaucracy.

Perhaps we have learned more than we'll ever need to know about maternity nursing, but if you know someone who needs a non-certified midwife, direct them to anyone in my class.

Okay. before you get up off the floor, I want to tell you about something I got FREE in the mail today from WalMart. A roll of free toilet paper!!!!! I really can't do without that. I only have enough TP in the garage to last for two years! At last count, we had 96 rolls of (free) TP on the Pantry 309 shelves!

So, after you have that baby that my class is going to help deliver, we'll give you enough TP to toss up into the trees of your front yard to celebrate.

Please have a nice weekend and smile when you think of me getting up at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday to drive (alone) to Akron and report for duty by 7 a.m. After working 12-hours, (7a - 7p) I'll drive two hours back home to Columbus on Saturday night.

Maybe I should sing as I pass my classmates on the highway this Saturday night, "When The Saints Go Marching In ... Let me be in that number" ... (Graduation. Get it?)

Don't get me wrong, I'm preparing for the other 'big march of the universe'! But I'm here right now. Stuck in the rush-hour traffic of human bureaucracy

Take Care on the Journey,
~Linda

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com/ and http://goldencoupons.blogspot.com
E-Mail: bestnurse@usa.com

When All Else Fails....

...Go Shopping!

By the time you read this, I will have taken the dreaded Microbiology lab test and may have one more test to go for the day.

Because I've never taken a class that involved a lab, I've never used a microscope, or cultured a bacteria, or looked at a rod, or done positive staining, or known the difference between a positive stain and a negative stain, Or the difference between a gram-negative organism and a gram-positive organism.

I do know that a desmid is two-sided, and a Spirogyra looks like long strips with lines in them. (Also, used to be the name of a band, but that's not what this is.)

Anyway, I digress.

We're also having a big test on Wednesday (tomorrow) over 10 chapters in our nursing textbook. For those of us who counted the pages, that's 270 pages of different ways a baby can be born! I hope the most important thing I need to remember is that ROA or LOA are two preferred positions for the baby to pop out.

Actually, it all felt so overwhelming after school today, that I dropped the books on the floor and went shopping!

Just a quick little trip to the grocery store, but it was such a positively great rush to see the price drop from over $70 to $30 as it rang down with each coupon and store discount.

Of course, the trip was planned! I had a little list sticking out of my purse with the grocery items I wanted to buy - on sale and with coupons.

Lipton tea = 13 cents a box (for Denise)

Hamburger Helper = 50 cents a box

Quaker Granola bars - $1.00 a box

Keebler Cookies - $1.50 each (for Jim and John)

Cantaloupe = $1.25 each

Mentos - Free

There's more, but it's time to pick up the books again.

Hubby is asleep. The dog is outside barking. Books are calling!

Hey, many of my coupons will expire on July 31, so if you know of any or see any in the Sunday paper that you'd like more of, please let me know.

Run outside tonight (if it's not raining), and look up at the sky. See all those stars? I think I have more coupons than there are stars in the sky!

(flickr.com photo)

Sweet dreams,

~Linda

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com
E-Mail: bestnurse@usa.com