First Vet Visit

We hope that all of you had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was lovely. We had a nice quiet day with my family. The food was great and of course to end the day we watched Christmas Vacation, a family tradition. It was meant to snow but we did not see any snow on Thanksgiving. I am still waiting for a really good snow. One that lasts more than a day or two.

Charlie had his first vet visit last Wednesday. He was a bit apprehensive at first, but once he was in with the vet she gave him so much love that he warmed up really quick. He did not even notice when she gave him his vaccine. She gave him the Bordatella vaccine through his nose and some of it went on the table. He licked it up right away. The vet said she had never seen a dog do that before. He loves to eat everything, which makes me go into a panic. I am constantly pulling things out of his mouth. And no matter how much we keep things clean and vacuum he still manages to find things to eat on the floor or wherever.

Work is going well for Rick and I. Rick has his work cut out for him. He is working under a three year grant, the first year has already passed and not too much has been done with it. He is working on a schedule for the four different computer labs he runs so that the people that use the labs have some consistency and know when they can use the labs. Right now they are having difficulty getting people to come to the labs. Rick has to think of ways to get the people to the labs and get them using the computers. All of the computers need to be updated. They are all slow and need quite a bit of work. Needless to say he will be busy.

As for me, things are going well. The census has been low at the hospital and they actually closed our floor on Friday while I was working. We moved all of our patients down to the other med-surg floor and combined staff. The problem with this is that staffing gets cut so I may not be able to work all of my scheduled shifts. I don't want people to be sick, but I also need to work. So I am torn.

We are preparing for Christmas. I listen to more Christmas music then Rick would like me to, but it is only one month out of the year. We have the living room decorated and we are trying to decide now what kind of tree we are going to get...fake or real. It is Rick's year to decide. My vote is always for a real tree. That is what I grew up with. It is nice to have family around to go Christmas shopping with. My mom and I will be driving over to Bozeman on Monday to get some shopping done.

We hope that all of you are enjoying the holiday season. We love and miss all of you!

Correction

Just a little correction: Charlie was 8 weeks when we got him, not 8 months.

Latest Edition

Continued from November 14:
Saturday after church I tried to contact the lady who had the six month old border collie/blue heeler but could never get ahold of her. After a little while I remembered that my mom had written down the number for a couple who were selling border collies in Anaconda. I called them and found out that they had three male border collies left. (Rick prefers a male.) They said we were welcome to come over and take a look at them.

Rick agreed to go look, but that was it. However when we got there and saw them, played and snuggled with them we knew we had to take one home. Out of the three one just sat there and whined while we petted it, and the other was spastic and just wanted to play. We ended up with the third, a medium haired black and white puppy who seemed to like both play and cuddle time as he kept running back over to us for attention. He is 8 months old and we have named him Charlie. Here he is...

Just another day

So Monday when I got home from work Rick had some good news for me. He was called during the day by the public housing authority (where he had interviewed a few weeks ago and then received a letter saying they had hired someone else) and was offered a job. The job he had applied for. Apparently they were torn between him and another guy. The only reason they offered the job to the other guy was because he was a veteran. Now the guy accepted the job and then decided he was moving. Long story short Rick starts work this coming Wednesday. We are so excited, it is a great learning oppurtunity. He will be working in their computer labs and is encouraged to go back to school.

As for me, I survived my first week on my own. Monday was horrible. Only because there was a lot going on, giving blood, discharging, admitting, and people calling me for every little thing. I felt like all I could do was the basics. Thursday went a lot better, I am starting to get my routine down. I am enjoying the floor and getting to know everyone.

We went to the animal shelter today. They had posted a picture of a border collie/blue heeler mix. When we got there they said the dog had been adopted two days ago. She gave us the number of a lady who has a six month old border collie/blue heeler that she has to get rid of for financial reasons. So we may look into that. Jessie has some issues though, and we are not sure how she will do with other dogs.

Nothing else new is going on here, but just wanted to update everyone on the fact that Rick now has a job. Hope everyone has a great weekend/week.

Life in Butte

We have been wanting and meaning to post some pictures of our new home. Some of these are from when we first moved out here. Hope you guys enjoy them!

This is the Jessie dog after her hair cut:

These are a few of Bannack state park that I stole from mom until we get ours developed:

Both of those buildings were actual houses.

One of the days we got a bit of snow:

This was on our ride up the mountain to the waterfall:

Georgetown lake, about 20 minutes from home:

Let It Snow

Today I rode to Dillon with my dad to check out the hospital down there. It is a small hospital. Only 20 beds. I was just looking for a PRN (as needed) position. They have positions available, but now I need to decide if it is really worth the time to drive an hour to and from work. My hospital does not offer overtime. When I was in Charlotte I would pick up extra hours every once in a while just for a little extra money. Who can't use a little extra money? So now I can apply at this hospital or there are a few clinics in town that I am going to look into to pick up some extra work. Not fully decided one way or the other at this point in time.

After getting back from Dillon my Dad called me to look out the window. Snow was pouring down from the sky. Absolutely gorgeous. We didn't get the christmas lights put up yet, but hopefully we still have a little time.

In other news, I am off orientation and very happy! I work better independantly and if I need help or have a question I will ask. It is too frustrating working with someone constantly looking over your shoulder. There is enough stress with nursing to add something like that to the mix.

Thursday I take an ACLS (advanced care life support) class. It lasts all day and is not exactly easy. Hopefully all will go well.

Rick has a few new job leads. We are going to check one out today. He is still working with the guy from church, they are renovating a house. We both really want to volunteer at the animal shelter but have not gotten around to doing that just yet.

Coal has taken to a few of the empty boxes in the living room. He loves to hide in them and jump out when we least expect him to. He seems to be adjusting quite well to the move. As are we.

Hope all is well with you guys. We are sending lots of love!