A Sweet Homecoming!

It's been over a year and a half since I have visited my beloved university home of Calgary! A year and a half!!! Thankfully, my dear friend Laura gave me good reason to come a visit...her wedding!! What a treat to celebrate Laura and Blair's wedding with them...and not only that - But to be in their wedding (bridesmaiding stint #6! I am very close to becoming an expert!)! It was a FABULOUS day! A little hot (29 degrees celsius!), but otherwise perfect! Beautiful ceremony, fun photoshoot...umm...photo session, and great reception/dance party!

Now, one might think that would be enough excitement...but oh, no! There was more to be had! Like reuniting with my dear friend, Heather Mowat (thanks to Facebook!), for a little breakfast at Nellie's (my favorite breakfast place...EVER!).

Aaaaand staying at the lovely Chez Andrea (my favority Calgary B&B), and dining with her, Darcie and Nicole at a FABULOUS new restaurant in Kensington with deligtful authentic Italian pizza, reminiscent of our time in Rome...but without the sardines and arugula this time (love it when the menus are in english!)

Then, of course, there was the inaugral Urban Summit - Calgary Chapter, with Amy and Alida, hitting the downtown scene on Wednesday night...now those will be some fabulous memories!

The rest of my days were filled catching up over many a coffee at Starbucks throughout the greater metropolis of Calgary, with more dear friends, like Teresa, Brad and Samantha. Oh I do love my Calgary home! But I left feeling like, for now, Victoria is the home for me. And that was a good feeling to part with!

I left my stethoscope(?) in San Francisco

Note to self: Must start setting time aside in schedule for regular blogging, so as to avoid two blog entries in one day.

FRIENDS! I confess, I have wanted to blog for almost a month now, but have been finding it hard to make the time between my lengthy hours spent on crackbook...err...um...facebook. So, I am going to reach back a few weeks now and relive possibly THE BEST day of my nursing career to date!

It all started at 4 pm one day, after I had returned home from my first mystic tan of the year (because life is better tanned!)...and I received a message from a family friend of ours, Bob Foster, who some of you may know. Bob is a flight paramedic, and very quickly becoming my new best friend! So, Bob calls and says "Hey - I'm flying down to San Francisco at 6 tonight to pick up an intubated patient in ICU and bring him back here. I need a nurse with a passport, you want to come?" Hmmmm...let me think...YES! Yes, I do!! Within 2 hours we arrive at the airport, with passport in hand, and board the Lear Jet with two pilots, a respiratory therapist, stretcher and all sorts of fun medical supplies! After a two hour flight we land in Oakland, are picked up on the tarmac by an ambulance and are whisked away across THE Golden Gate Bridge to the hospital. I confess, it was pretty hard for me to conceal the huge amount of giddy excitement I had. I suppose it's a little twisted to be excited about having to bring a sick patient back to Canada, but this is the stuff Rock Star Nurses' dreams are made of! Three hours later we had boarded the plane again with our patient and gear, this time headed to Nanaimo to deliver our patient to his hometown hospital ICU. And as we flew home to Victoria in the wee small hours of the morning, I couldn't help but marvel at the adventure I had between descending into San Francisco at sunset and descending into Victoria at sunrise. I love my job.

Barbie's Magic Hospital

Many of you know my love for Barbies. Even if you met me as an adult, you are aware that as a 28 year old I have Barbies in my house. As a college student, I had them displayed in my hallway. Creepy? A little. I prefer to think of it as quirky and comical...and prepared for little visitors, like my neice! The point is, I have always loved them. And it wasn't just the doll that I loved as a child, it was the elaborate story lines that I could create. Apparently the lack of drama in my own life spurred me on to dreaming up all sorts of soap-opera-esque plot lines at the age of 8. For instance, when we got our dog Taffy, a yappy, toy-poodle who had a taste for all things plastic, she managed to chew a hand or foot off the odd Barbie doll. So, to explain their disfigurement I would give them diagnoses. Usually cancer, which lead to the obvious limb amputation. My 8 year old brain apparently only knew one big disease. In my 7 years of nursing, I have yet to meet someone who has lost a limb due to cancer...but at least I scored some points for creativity!

Not only would my Barbies have a history of critical illness, but they would often develop acute exacerbations of some rare lung disease causing them to be on oxygen in the hospital. I would fashion some string into a small loop that fit around their nose and ears, like the oxygen tubing I now use everyday. (prophetic? maybe. hahaha) Not only that, but I would make ventilator noises to go with it. Now, I loved my Barbie Magic Voyageur, but if Mattel had come up with the idea of Barbie's Magic Hospital...oh man, I would have been in love!!!

So, today, as I was assessing my intubated patient in CCU (coronary care unit...basically an ICU for hearts) with the sound of the ventilator in the room, I couldn't help but smile and think back to my Barbie-playing days, sitting in my room, while Dr. Ken worked tirelessly to save Barbie's life so that they could ride off into the sunset together in their Grey Corvette with pink accents. And it made me think of just how intricately we are created, and how the dreams and little personalities we have as children shape us into who we are now, as adults. It makes me wonder, as I watch my nephews and neice play and imagine, what little parts of their distinct personalities will drive them and direct them to become the people they have the potential to be...

*sniffle*

I'm sick. I'm not sure with what, which is odd, because I am a nurse, so you'd think of all people I would be able to tell...but I can't. It's a weird, sore throat, now stuffy nose, no energy, wanna lie on the couch all evening, kinda sick. And all I want to eat is popsicles, ginger ale and carbs (Thrifty's raisin scones have been doing the trick). The only thing I like about being sick is the excuse to watch numerous movies in a row. And usually they're movies I've seen a million times, so it's okay if I fall asleep for 1/2 of it. Now, I haven't been able to get started yet, as most of my day of sickness was spent at clinical (ugh) (side note: I'm doing a clinical rotation for my course right now in the Coronary Care Unit, which is like the ICU for hearts...good times!), or watching good tv tonight (America's Next Top Model and One Tree Hill...I love Wednesdays!!). But I have big movie plans for tomorrow if the sickness is lingering.

And these movie plans will include my Top Movies to Watch While Sick:

1. The Little Princess (the one made sometime during the 1990s...there are a few out there)
2. The Princess Bride
3. Ever After
4. Sense and Sensibility
5. Pride and Prejudice
6. Narnia (warning: the battle scenes are a little loud for napping)
7. You've Got Mail

So, I'm gonna go to bed now, and will probably put in Sense and Sensibility to fall asleep to, only because I leant the first 3 out to a friend while she was sick. So next time you are sick, friends, send your friends or boyfriends or husbands to go get you a few Sick Movies...it makes those hours on the couch a little more bearable than daytime television.

The Poignant Words of Fred Penner

Disclaimer: This blog entry is pretty much about nothing. One might call it a Seinfeld Blog...but I couldn't help myself.

I have a new addiction as of late, as if coffee, all beverages fizzy, and ANTM weren't enough. I can't get enough of it. I've had it at least everyday for the last week...and I still want more. In the immortal words of Fred Penner "I love sandwiches". There. I said it. In fact I was singing it the other day at work, to which my coworker, not shocked at the fact that I was singing at work...again, looked at me quizzically and asked "what ARE you singing?"...poor soul had not been exposed to the lyrical genius of Fred Penner in her youth. I know what you're thinking "Did she grow up in cave?" No. But, let this be a lesson to us all to expose all children we know to fabulous songs about sandwiches, and magic dragons named Puff. But I digress...back to the sandwich...

Now today it was just your average turkey sandwich on nice, fresh whole wheat, with a little mayo, butter, lettuce, tomato and avocado...but Tuesday - I have to tell you about Tuesday. It was possibly the best sandwich I have ever made. Let's call it The Italian Tuna Melt. This sandwich will revolutionize how you see the Tuna Melt. Ingredients: tuna, a spoonful of pesto, chopped kalamata olives, diced tomato (without seeds...too watery), a splash or two of balsamic vinegar and feta cheese, on fresh bread. Now I used just some bakery whole wheat...but the ideal would be a paninni or ciabata bun...but the bread worked. Grill that baby up, and mmmmmmmm...tuna melt heaven, italiano style.

Just thought I'd share. And leave you with this:

Sandwiches are beautiful
Sandwiches are fine
I love sandwiches
I eat them all the time

I eat them for my supper
And I eat them for my lunch
If I had a hundred sandwiches
I'd eat them all at once...

(courtesy of Fred Penner's "Sandwiches")

I *heart* the West Coast

Oh it is a good day! Much of it is due to the fact that after five 12 hour shifts in a row, I don't have to go back to work tonight! But it is also due to greatness of loving the west coast as of late. I was going for a run this evening (feeling a little nervous about my 10km race plans this weekend), and couldn't help revelling in the greatness of west coast life. I may have even bounded a wee bit for a few steps!

This last week I have had some classic west coast moments! It all started with a little Gourmet Club Road Trip to Denmann Island. Denmann Island is just off the coast of Courtenay, about a 3 hour drive north of Victoria and a short little ferry ride. We stayed in a quaint, rustic cabin (an old logging house), sans le bathroom (insert nervous laugh here), about 50m from the beach! About 50% of our 24 hour trip consisted of eating fabulous food! The rest was filled with beach walks, hiking and bon fires. Big sigh! Is there any better way to spend a weekend?!

Now as if this wasn't enough west coast greatness for one week, Corporate Rowing Challenge also started this week!! What is Corporate Rowing Challenge, you ask? Well, here in Victoria they hold a rowing competition every year where businesses in town can put together a team (experienced or not) and you spend 6 weeks learning how to row, or improving your rowing. 4 West (my unit at the hospital) has put together its sophmore team: "How Sweet Eight Is", and practice began last week. I'm not sure what thrills my heart the most when we get that boat on the water - is it just being outside on Elk Lake? is it working as one with 7 other teammates? is it the nostalgia of years gone by when rowing consumed so many of my days? is it the feel of working hard in a graceful motion? Ah, it must be all of these...oh how happy my heart is in that boat! Plus, our handsome new coach makes things a little more exciting too!

And now, to top off the April West Coast Adventures of yours truly, there will be the Times Colonist 10k this weekend...wish me luck! I'm probably not as prepared to run it this year, as I have been previously, but it should be fun to run it with Andrea. We were tempted to register as Barbie and Midge Mattell...but decided not to in the end...maybe next time!

For those of you far away...really wish you were here to share this with. Make sure you register with Chez Elise and Kendal's B&B...we have a newly furnished guest bedroom waiting just for you and your west coast adventures...

Soooooo...

...this is what happens when Kendal and Elise try to study on a sunny, spring day...after eating too many mini-eggs...

Confession: I had written a more serious blog about my recent viewing of "The Passion of the Christ", and then had to delete it, as it felt too intimate to share blog style - so I opted for the above! But, if any of you have seen "the passion" I would love to chat about it! It's been 2 days, and it's still sinking in!

PS I think we look 12 in this picture!