It's Been A Rough Week

As you can just imagine, with sweet little Nancie's death on Saturday, this has been one emotional and unforgettable week. I've worked each day so I've been witness to the raw emotions her close friends, coworkers, and patients have displayed. She was a very loved young woman!

Nancie's best friend and coworker (also named Nancy by the way) works directly with me each day and she is just breaking my heart, yet I am so proud of her at the same time. I'm so proud of my coworkers who have been such a support for Nancie's mom and brother. They have been in constant contact Nancie's mom daily, have arranged to bring all of the food to the gathering after the funeral, and even plan on serving the food at the reception. They collected funds for the family and will also be holding a yard sale on Saturday with all of the proceeds going to the family as well. A former coworker of ours gathered pictures and made a 45 minute video montage which will be played at the funeral. What a gift for the family! Our employer and coworkers have helped to lift such burdens for the family at this terrible time. It's truly been a humbling experience and a beautiful thing to see.

I've been amazed at the love and support that Nancie's close friends at work have given. She had a core group of about 8 girls and let me tell you, these girls have taken this task on by storm. They loved their close friend like a sister and they've been there lifting up the family and each other every step of the way. They already had my respect as hard working young girls but they've taken it to a higher level. I stand in awe of the love, support, and honor they've shown their beloved Nancie.

The visitation and Rosary is tonight with the funeral tomorrow morning. If you get the chance, please keep these coworkers of mine in your thoughts and prayers. Everyone is pretty much exhausted, mentally and physically.

Living Room Wall Redo

Do you change your furniture, pictures, and accessories around often? I don't. In fact, once a nail is in the wall, it's there for good. Unless I'm in the mood to spackle and repaint that is.

Well, over the last few years, we've done some big household projects in order to update our home, and painting and spackling all of the interior has been one of them. It's been fun because it's been like a brand new canvas. Fresh new walls, fresh new decorating opportunities.

When we moved into our home 13 years ago, I hung 2 large prints on one of our living room walls. The pictures were perfect for the space and I loved them. Now fast forward 13 years and I've been itching to get rid of them.

Silly me didn't take photos of the wall before with the old pictures still hanging but I did remember to take photos of the 2 prints. I still think the prints and frames are pretty but not necessarily my taste or colors any more. Here is a picture of the 2 prints that I have been wanting to replace...


After keeping my eye out for new pictures that would work on the wall, I found 4 botanical type prints at a sidewalk sale that an interior decorator was having last fall. These were just what I had envisioned and I knew they would be the perfect replacements.



I'm not one to buy things haphazardly so I'm very glad I took my time and waited for the right prints to come along. I love how this wall turned out. So fresh and updated!

You Just Never Know...

When God is going to call you home.

I wasn't supposed to work today but volunteered since they were going to be short staffed (as usual!) Already, first thing this morning we were scrambling because one technician called in sick and one just didn't show up. We kept trying to reach Nancie, the one who didn't show up, but she never answered our calls.

When I say we were short staffed, trust me, we were short staffed! We were so busy the day seemed to fly by and by break time at 2:30 pm, still no one had heard from Nancie. Not showing up for work isn't like Nancie so we were worried plenty by this time. One tech (Gina) decided to go to Nancie's house on break but came back because she couldn't locate the exact house. Two others (Alisa and Lori) said they knew where Nancie lived and off they went. Nancie's car was in the driveway when they got there but everything was locked up tight in the house and they couldn't see in. They called us at work and by that time we had located Nancie's mom's phone number and address. They went directly to Nancie's mom's house which was just around the corner and as soon as they told Nancie's mom that she hadn't shown up for work, she started to panic and knew in her heart it was bad. Nancie is diabetic and had been having trouble keeping her blood sugar under control. There was good reason to panic.

Nancie's mom, brother, Alisa, and Lori entered the house and while Nancie's mom was turning off the house alarm, the others headed to Nancie's bedroom. It was terrible. Apparently, Nancie's blood sugar fell dangerously low during the night and she didn't recover. She was 28 years old!

We are a tight knit group and let me just say the place fell apart when we officially got the news, especially for Nancie's two best friends who were working and had been worried all day. Lots of crying, LOTS OF CRYING, and just plain shock and disbelief. She was just 28 years old!

Whenever I think of Nancie, I'll smile and picture her as Frankenstein this past Halloween! She was the best Frankenstein ever!


Rest in peace Nancie! Gone, but never forgotten!

It's Friday

And I'm nosy...

So here's the question: Do you read the obituaries?

I read the obituaries daily, mainly for two reasons...

1) I live in a fairly large city, but it has a small town feel. After living here for 20+ years, I've come to know alot of people. I read the obituary yesterday of a man that I went to church with years ago. He was only 54 years old, much to young to be leaving his wife and children.

2) Being a nurse, it's just something we nurses do.

Photo Resolution 2010 and Wordless Wednesday

14/52:

Beautiful wildflowers!

This post is linked to:
Wordless Wednesday at Embrace the Chaos

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Unfortunately, this past week I haven't been able to visit blogs or post as often as I'd like to. I worked last Friday and Saturday, went out of town on Easter (and didn't get home until 11:00pm), then had to work bright and early Monday and Tuesday. I also had to fit in physical therapy twice during those days so I've been busy, and tired! I'm now off work for a few days so hopefully I'll have time to catch up.

We've also been busy with a big project at home. Our pool redo finally got started. We've needed new tile and plaster for years and finally got around to having it done. They are about half way done with the project. It's not easy deciding on tile but it looks like we made a good choice. I'll post on the pool redo later, but for now, here's a sneak peek...

Easter Wishes

Have a wonderful, blessed Easter! I hope you get all the chocolate eggs (or peeps) your heart desires!

Happy Easter!

It's Friday

And I'm nosy...

So here's the question(s):

* Will you be making Easter baskets for your kids this year?

* Do you actually use baskets or do you use something else to put the goodies in?

* If your kids are older like mine, do you still make them Easter baskets?

* How old is too old for getting an Easter basket?

I say you're never too old to get an Easter basket! My kids are 21 and 24 and I still try and make the holidays special for them...and for the AZ college roommates too!

This week I sent off 3 Easter baskets wrapped in cellophane to Courtney and her roommates in Arizona, along with some other treats tucked into the shipping box.

My son isn't big on sweets anymore so I did something different for him this year. I purchased and sent him a new Bible, engraved with his full name on the cover. I'm sure he still only has the Bible from his high school years, if at all. I wrote a personal message inside just for him. I hope he likes it and keeps it for years to come. More than anything else though, I hope he uses it and finds comfort in it.

I'll be making some treats to bring into work on Saturday too. A co-worker of mine who is about 25 years old told me a few years back that she loved it when I brought in holiday treats because it made her feel special and like a kid again.

So here's another question: Don't we all just want to feel special and like a kid again! I say YES!


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I'm checking out something new today...