My latest doilies

Here are my two latest doilies. Both are done in a light light pink. The color looks very washed out, but I promise they are pink. :)

This one is quite large, maybe 9 inches across.

This one is small, maybe 5 inches across.

One not so crafty bitch

The past few weeks have been very un-creative for me. I no longer have the time to devote to what I really love to do, create things. My work has become all I think about from the time I rise to the time I got to sleep. It has even made its way into my dreams...nightmares actually. I feel I am doing my best to learn everything they are throwing my way, but it is just so much. When did I start college again???!!!

I started a new doily earlier in the week and made it through several rounds but as I started another round, I found a boo-boo at the beginning of the previous round so I ripped it all out to start that round again. I haven't started back. Maybe I will work on it this weekend.

I now think that the toe is really broken. After two weeks, it is still swollen and tender. I can move it, but the motion is very limited and painful. I feel at times that it is a "ghost toe". It seems to not want to follow the movement of the rest of the toes. When I take my work shoes off, I find it kind of overlapping the toe next to it. Very odd. I have tried to spend any "free" time I have with the foot up but that hasn't helped one iota. About 97% of my workday is spent standing and running around, and I know that doesn't help. I have never had a broken bone, let alone a bad sprain, so all this discomfort, pain and immobility is new to me.

I even think I am developing some kind of arthritis or tendon issue in my right hand. This morning I had trouble grasping things. Mainly with my thumb and forefinger. When I tried to pick up something or turn my wrist, a dull pain would radiate through those fingers towards the wrist. Simple things such as picking up the Brita filter or turnng on a faucet makes it hurt. I am going to do my best to not over-exert and over-use the hand but that going to be a difficult task for me. I guess I will does up on ibuprofins. That should help both the toe and the wrist.

I got some sad news Monday evening. I knew it was coming and it was only a matter of time before it happened. My Oma died Monday morning. She has been in hospice for a few months and her health has been declining over the last 4 years. She has had several other problems over the past few months that actually should have killed her. She developed sepsis following a UTI and bladder infection that went unnoticed for a while. Somehow they got those problems under control with some hella-high dose antibiotic and she made it through. I think she just didn't wake up this time. I take comfort knowing that she isn't in pain anymore and is now with her beloved husband, my Opa, who died in 2002. SH and I are leaving for North Carolina tomorrow for the funeral.

*Oma is the german word for Grandmother. Opa is the german word for Grandfather. My brother and I started calling our grandparents this since we lived in Germany as children.

overworked, overwhelmed and underpaid

comic from: http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/

The past week at the new job has been exceptionally trying and exhausting. I have been thrown into the pit to so to speak and have been extremely overwhelmed. I don't have a problem working with the patients, I just am still not familiar with exactly what tests to do when and things like that. They are teaching us stuff but everyone does things differently and certain docs prefer certain forms/tests/ways of stating things. I really feel like Peterman from Office Space. I have found that the technicians that work alongside me do all the work and basically bring in all the money, but we don't get jack in return. We have those stupid morale/teamwork building meetings too. BOOOORRRIIINNNGGG. We even have our own Lumberg except there are two of them. Chris and Barbara. One is the gum nazi and the other is just a bitch. Neither of them works "the floor" or deals with patients. They are basically paper shufflers. They both work upstairs, wear suits, have nice offices and drive nice cars. They are the ones making all the money that should be ours. I found out yesterday that we have to stay late 3 times a month and have to come in EARLY too. Come on folks, I have to get up at 5:30 just to get there by 8. I seriously doubt I can get up much earlier and keep my sanity. Conversely, I get home at 6 even though I get off work at 5. Just what I want is to stay another hour at work!!! The pay seems virtually non existent once I fill my gas tank. I haven't made this kind of pay in over 10 years. I also didn't have nearly the workload, commute or stress. I think I am going to continue looking for jobs elsewhere. One of the new girls that started the same day as me shared some interesting news. Apparently "the test" to move up one notch on the ladder, will max out our pay at 12.50 an hour. Again, really not a lot of pay for all that the responsibilities and drama. She and I both had been at jobs that paid quite a bit more than now and we both are making commutes of at least an hour. It is funny how when I interviewed they made the job sound so much better. Enough griping about work...it is the weekend.

Back to the toe-lio, The bruising has oddly migrated to other areas of the foot through the week. After a full week on my feet, yesterday morning I noticed that toe was itching. I took off my sock and was shocked to realize it had swollen and looked like a vienna sausage. I vowed to stay off it as much as possible and keep it iced all weekend. Of course my new health insurance policy won't kick in until I am "off my probationary period" at work, which could be up to 90 days depending on how they think I am doing. Unfortunately because of this, I can't go to the doctor and have it looked at. I was supposed to go watch the Bama game today at a friends house but backed out to spend time with my foot up.

I even attempted to do some exercising this afternoon and realized how bad I am out of shape YET AGAIN. I am now only able to workout 3 days a week and with toe issue it makes it more difficult and I can only do pilates in the floor. I guess I will go back to being a lard ass.

On the crafty side, I haven't made much of anything lately. I did make a pair of earrings the other day to wear to work, but I have been so tired after work I have just want to eat and go to bed when I get home. I am contemplating pulling out some crochet yarn and get to hooking. :)

I noticed this morning that "little" Disco (aka Gigantor) grew overnight! We were weighing her on our bathroom scale. The last time we weighed her (with SH holding her in his arms), the scale wouldn't register. I assume it topped out. At last weight, she was 80 lbs. She is only 8 months and I think she will go through one more growth spurt. I can only imagine what the rest of her litter weigh since she was the runt.

Toe-lio

I don't think the toe is broken but I have one hell of a bruise. My old boss would say I have Toelio. :)

After the swelling went down a bit, the bruise started forming. I was then able to move things around a little and could tell where the initial injury was. The boo-boo is on the inside of the pinkie toe where it joins the foot. The skin isn't broken, I think somehow I pulled the toe away from the rest of the foot by getting it stuck in the wheel mechanism of the shopping cart. The bruise runs down the medial side of the toe and extends about 3 inches into the anterior side of the foot. (Nice use of medical jargon huh?) It looks like a puddle of purple on the top of my foot. It seems to get more purple every hour and I imagine it will molt into a lovely shade of greenish yellow, reminiscent of my lipo bruises. I have been doing my best to stay off it and keep it iced, but with weekend chores it has been difficult. I am going to see if there is something I can do tomorrow at work that will allow me to sit. Visual field tests maybe...... Walking hurts and I waddle when I do. That sucks. I really hate this happened within my first week of work!! I would show yall a picture but I don't want to scare you off. I don't mind my feet, I just hate the pinkie toenail. Sometimes I wish we didn't even have a nail on that toe because it is always misshapen and wierd looking. I have NEVER seen a pinkie toenail that was pretty.

The new job

I have been completely overwhelmed with oculary learning this week. It has been AGES since I dealt with eyes and eye related stuff. Even then it wasn't nearly as in depth as now because I worked with an Optometerist instead of an Opthamologist. I have been given a stack of handouts to read/study/learn. I will eventually take written tests on this information, in the event I want to get certified. I have taken pages and pages of notes and just this morning retyped them into a somewhat legible document. I have even gone so far as to get definitions for all the bolded words in my study guides. Retyping my notes has helped me become more familiar with the info too. As far as dealing with patients goes, I have been given the ok to start taking basic histories (Hx), acuities (VA) and such. We were in training all day yesterday and I really think my brain stopped working at about 3 o'clock. Too much information for one day!!!! I really hope that I learn as quickly as they want me to, and learn how to follow their procedures correctly. The staff is very friendly and almost all the girls on the floor with me are nice and easy to get along with.

Another good thing happened last week....SH got a call back from a job he applied for. He has an interview next thursday. I really hope he gets the job!!!!!!

I think I broke my toe!!!

I was walking through the parking lot at the grocery store when somehow I got my pinkie toe hung up in the wheel mechanism of the shopping cart. YOW!!! I still had more errands to run so I hobbled around to get everything done before going home. Walking on the foot is excruciating. I have been trying to bear weight more on the instep of that foot to help. I got home and iced the toe and checked it out a little better. It is very swollen and is starting to show bruising. Great. Just what I need right now. I don't even think my insurance at the new job has gone in yet. I just hope that I twisted/wrenched/sprained/pulled it instead of actually breaking it. I am on my feet ALL DAY LONG at this new job and a broken toe would be very bad news. NOOOOOOOOOO.

Less than 12 hours to go

before I start my new job! I am so anxious about it and obsessing about things that don't really matter. For example...which door do I go in?...front or back? Where do I park?...out front or on the side? Will I have a locker or will I have to leave my personal stuff in a drawer somewhere? I know everything will be ok and I will do well at the job. It is just the anticipation of the unknown, and my Worry-wart acting up.

I doubt I will have time (or access) to a computer at work so chances are good I won't be able to post during the week. Lord knows by the time I get home I won't want to do anything but eat dinner, relax and get ready for the next day. I really hope SH can find a job soon so we will be able to move closer to our work. It would save several hundred dollars a month in gas money and would return a couple of hours to my day. :)
I also have to take a test for a state job this weekend. I took another one last week and should have the results back sometime this week. Ya never know, something better may roll my way.