tick tock....tick tock!

I think my internal clock is changing... seems like just yesterday I could fall asleep before my head hit the pillow at 10:30 or 11 pm. Now, I'm lucky to get to sleep before midnight...and I wake up every night at 2 a.m. or 4 am....why is that? I've also been having very graphic dreams, none of which I can remember after breakfast. I used to always remember my dreams, I think I'm losing it.

But I will say that the once obnoxious phrase of "Just wait till you get older, time goes by faster than you can imagine"...is so true, it's scary.

I remember being in 5th grade, standing in the Wood's elementary playground in a crazed dead stare at Chaffin Junior High thinking 'I will never get there!' (for those of you not from Ft. Smith, Woods Elementary school, grades 1st-6th, was squished right up against the junior high school 'Chaffin' grades 7th-9th, on a huge acreage of land. I always thought it to be strange that they were so close to one another)

Thinking back, time seemed to stand still, especially 5th-6th grade, those years stand out as the most stagnant years of my life. I used to bring Jolly Ranchers to Ms. Douglas's 4th grade class everyday to pass the time (and mostly to rebel cause candy was not allowed). Each day I brought 4 of them. Why 4? Let me explain....well morning recess wasn't until 10:30....so from 8:00 -10:30 a.m. I would try to slip in a jolly rancher. Then after morning recess we had 2 more hours until lunch, which at the time seemed like eternity....so another chance for me to eat another jolly rancher to pass the time, from noon to 2 pm (afternoon recess) another jolly rancher, from 2:30-3:30 the last and final jolly rancher which meant only one thing- school was almost out for the day! This crazy A.D.D. obsession went on until the dreaded Mrs. Avery's class - 7th grade History....she was a freaking psychic! I literally would be attempting to put in the jolly rancher in my mouth and out of nowhere she would 'politely' yell at me to 'spit it out'. (she never was really that mean, she was disgustingly nice, actually) I'm not really sure how she managed to catch me, but I never got away with candy in her classroom. And if you can believe it or not, I never had a cavity until I was 22! Anyways, the point being to my story: Time Flies! Now I get to work, attend morning clinical report, see a few patients... look up and it's noon- 'what the heck'- go back to work, attend a family care conference, see a few more patients...look up- it's 5pm...everyday, the same thing, I'm constantly amazed by the speed of time.

Who would've known that 15 years later I would be begging to add a couple of hours to my day.

ODE to the UNDERDOG!

Ode to OSU, the eternal underdog....

"Ode to the underdog, how bittersweet you are

you frustrate me so, but my feelings are n'ver far

I scream and I cheer all season long

just to be let down when plays go all wrong

all season you allure us, from win to win

but let it be know, Bedlam is no friend

ode to the underdog, my beloved alma mater

my tears will forever roll, like flooding water"

Go Pokes.

Alamo bowl...pish.

For all of you out there who will always love OK.STATE

Forget the kids...the Elderly say the darndest things!

Many of you know that I love my job, I work in long-term care, mostly with the elderly: the hours are great and flexible, I get to go from building to building making each day different and new, it's the great!

AND if you know me really well you know that I want to put every lil' elderly pumpkin in my pocket and take them home. I cannot pass an old man in Walmart without tearing up, especially if they are alone!!! ugh that's the worst! My mom used to have to make up stories so that I could emotionally move on from dwelling on why the little old man in isle 12 was shopping alone. She would say 'Oh Missy, he's got a wife at home cooking away and she was out of sugar', although I always knew she was completely pulling the stories out of the air, somehow I could get back to reality.

Because of this true love I have for the elderly population, it is only fitting to share the most funny moments I have been able to witness while working in long term care.

*As a disclaimer:

MANY of the elderly I work with have dementia or Alzheimer's so I like to think of them as: us, with no social filter. If they think it, it's gonna come out!

**Also the patients names were changed for the stories

Mrs. Jones wheeled up to a CNA the other day and said "I don't know what to do with myself today". The CNA, responded well there's plenty to do; there are recreation activities, we could put on a movie for you, and lunch is coming up soon."

Mrs. Jones responded, "well that all sounds fine, but what I'd really like to do is take a comb to that nasty hair of yours"

hahaha!

Mr. Smith, who is what we like to call very 'pleasantly confused' man just an absolute joy to be around. Recently he went home with his wife for Thanksgiving and stayed the night in his own home rather than returning to the nursing home that night. The morning he returned to the nursing home, he was singing and carrying on with a love song (which he usually does, but he was much more chipper in his tunes). I asked Mr. Smith, "How was your Thanksgiving, did you have fun with your family?" He responded very loudly and animated "It was great, I didn't want to go upstairs to bed, but my wife did and I'm sure glad I did, WOW, VaaaVoooom!" Then he went back to singing.

hahaha!

Jeff came with me to one of my nursing homes for a fall festival recently. Now it's important to know that women make of the majority of the population in most facilities. In saying that, every time Jeff comes to work with me the 'older ladies' act even more kooky and crazy than normal. One patient in particular made quite the scene when Jeff showed up. Asking Jeff to dance with her, and making hilarious inappropriate jokes. After a few minutes the patient pulled out her pills and said "Well, I better take my birth control just in case this goes any further" (she's 92)

hahaha!

My last story actually took place at Methodist Nursing home in Fort Smith , AR where my nana lived for a couple of years. Last Christmas Jeff and I were in visiting my nana as we always did and the nurse came down and said "Santa is here and he's about to make a presentation for all the residents in the activities room you all should go"

So Jeff, myself, & my mom pushed Nana down in her wheelchair to the extremely filled activities room- probably about 60 patients and their families all awaiting Santa to come into the room and sing, etc...

Jeff being the social butterfly that he is, stopped Santa from going in so he could get a picture with Santa and Nana before the big presentation, and spent a couple of minutes talking and joking with 'Santa'.

Since there was no room in the activities room for us, we sorta squished in and stood at the doorway where Santa was going to enter the room, just as they announced to the patients "Here comes Santa"...Jeff grabbed him by the arm in the doorway and in front of everyone yelled "Santa, knock 'em dead"

My jaw hit the floor.

There are soo many more, but they require to much explanation.

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend!

With much love!

Nana

This blog is dedicated to one of the most kind, loving, god-fearing woman that I have ever had the privilege to love, Mrs. Mollie 'Jo' Tucker...aka...Nana

I lost her this year, on May 13th to be exact.

I forget she's not here though, isn't that the most terrify feeling....to think nothing of picking up the phone to call someone you miss, just to realize a phone will not reach them, that their voice on this earth is gone. My nana was my voice of reason, my provider of faith when mine was lost, and the reminder that there is in fact a another place other than this, she helped me to believe. Women like this are rare. And my Granddaddy spent his whole married life making sure everyone knew that my nana was a honorable woman of God.

I can still hear her answer the phone now "Well hi shug" ('shug' being southern slang for 'sugar'), she would listen for hours to my troubles and concerns- she could talk me through any situation. It's weird not having grandparents anymore. It's like a reminder that nothing on this earth last forever. As I have struggled with my faith recently, I try and wonder what Nana & Granddaddy would say to my questioning heart. Sometimes I wonder if I mostly believe in heaven because I cannot bear the thought that those I love are 'no more' after death. When I start to think like this, I reallllly miss home. Things I miss about the south: Church, the openness of faith, KLOVE radio, praise and worshiping with friends, bible studies. There is just something very nostalgic about living in an environment that welcomes conversations about faith- now I'm not knocking the Northeast- it is what it is- and somewhere down the road I'll be able to understand the value that it has given us...but for now, i'm struggling with it.

I want to share some old photos of my Nana & Granddaddy- because they are to precious to not share.

While her last 2 years on this earth were not pleasant, selfishly I was just happy that she was still here. The entire staff at Methodist Nursing home in Fort Smith, AR were incredible. They gave her some much dignity and peace her last few years, and I will never forget the efforts of those who cared for her.

It's amazing that the bodies we try so hard to perfect, will indeed fail us eventually.

I hope everyone has at least someone in their life, this special, to remind them of what is important. I can only pray that I can live up to an ounce of the woman my nana was.

Proverbs 31: 10-31- thank you for teaching me these things nana.

13 months later....

It's amazing what a job change will do to you...

Last October (2009) I quit my full time job at Aetna to pursue a full time job with the long term care company I was working with on the side. Since working at 4 nursing homes around the state requires much travel and go-go-go time, and less sitting in front of a computer time, I totally lost touch with my blog. (my apologies) Recently wonderful hubs gave me my first *Apple laptop so I have no excuse to stray away again!

Ooohhh...WHERE TO START?

The 13 months between my last post and today has brought much change. For starters, from Oct 2009-April 2009 Jeff was in pursuit for Grad school and was accepted into Columbia, UT, and UPENN in April of 2010. In May of 2010 Jeff and I decided UPENN was the best option for us (after many long nights of discussion & prayers)

Little did we know this was not the only decision we had to face:

The next few months were spent trying to decide if I should stay in New Haven or if I should go with Jeff to Philly- why you ask...well, the UPENN Architecture grad program is only 9 months long, and Jeff's employer in CT left an open invite to return after school. Being that I loved my job at the time and finally felt like I was making huge strides in my career, moving away was not #1 on my agenda. BUT, I felt like in order to be led by God I had to pursue every option to the fullest until his plan was revealed, so I did. I stayed 'mum' for 3 months at work- have you ever heard the expression "act like a duck: elegant on the surface, and fighting like hell under the water to stay afloat"- this was me. From May-August I let no one in my immediate world in CT know what was going on behind the scenes, for fear of losing my job. I applied for job after job in Philadelphia, not one equal to my current position. I drove down to Philly 1/2 dozen times to interview....oh my gosh the interviews-- they were brutal! I felt like I was living the biggest lie, going to work with a smile, staying up all night filling out applications and searching for anything that could support us in Philly. Meanwhile, we finally found an apartment in June, it was beautiful, new, and way out of our price range- but we splurged. We never splurge, we had lived so minimally for 4 years we just couldn't help ourselves. OH, to have a washer and dryer again-- AND a garbage disposal!!! I was elated! BUT... 3 months of interviewing, negotiating, compromising the jobs I was offered in Philly were never going to be able to support us for a year. We had to make the tough decision for me to stay in CT while Jeff was in school in Philly, so that we could make it.

So... apartment in Philly for Jeff (check), totally out of our price range (check), where the heck is Missy going to live....that was the next hurdle. With the end of July (and our current lease) nearing I was getting nervous. One morning a friend at work (one of the only people who knew my situation) told me of a women that wanted to rent out a room of her beach house and was pet friendly. It was music to my ears, I still remember the feeling I had when I drove up to her home, and met her, and instantly knew...this is actually going to work. Within a few weeks we moved Jeff to Philly, myself to my new rented room on the ocean and I still to this day have no idea how we got so lucky. God is good. It is not easy living away from your husband of almost 4 years. 'Displaced' is not a big enough word to describe it, but we are making it work and have one hell of a story.

Max and I try to visit almost every weekend and when jeff is able he takes the train up to CT to see us. The best part- Jeff is pursuing his dream, I got to keep my wonderful job and I can say that for a short time in my life, I got to live at the beach (which was my dream).

While there is so much more this is where I'll leave it for now... so glad to be back!

Back to life...back to re-a-lity

Hello blog world…long time no posts! Well I’ve had a whirlwind of a week/weekend.
After some long thought and stressful contemplating, last Monday I decided to give my 3 weeks notice at my current full time job. While my full time job has given me an immense amount of experience and responsibility- it’s time to move on.
If you know me, you know that for the last year I have been working 3 different jobs: a full-time job in Hartford and two part time jobs with local long term care facilities (about 70 hours a week) I’ve been working early mornings, late nights, and every weekend. While my job duties are completely different in each, the company who owns the long term care facilities (closer to home) offered me a full time position I just could not turn down.
So…as of October 26th I will no longer have to spend 2 hours a day in a car in terrible, relentless traffic driving to Hartford. Hooray! I will also no longer have to get up before the sun, or work late nights and weekends. HELLO LIFE… I’M BACK! Things that I will welcome back into my life:
-Working out
-Cooking
-Relaxing
-Getting home before 6 pm
-More time with family
-Weekends off
…and the list could go on…
Ultimately, I prayed, God answered, and I couldn’t be more excited.

This past weekend Jeff’s Grandmother and Aunt came up to Connecticut for a long weekend visit. We gave them the ‘Jeff & Missy CT tour’ of which I’ve memorized by heart. They had a wonderful time, and were very appreciative of everything- which is always nice! We went to the winery for a picnic, we picked apples and spent a good amount of time in the pumpkin patch picking out the best 2 ‘green’ pumpkins we could find- not going to lie, I’ve never seen green pumpkins before…but they were surprisingly cute. We took grandma and aunt Elaine to the top of the East Rock cliff, to Jeff’s work, and then to the Coast for a Sunday brunch

Now the view of the Sunday brunch was breath taking…however, the plastic I found buried in my food was also break taking- yet in a more ‘Oh my gosh, why is there plastic in my food’ kind-of way. Compliments to the Chef for the long thin piece of plastic he felt would add to my nourishment. I will say the waiter was very attentive and offered me another meal…but I’m just not the kind of person who can keep eating once I find non food objects in my food. (restaurant not given, because they are respectable and handled the situation appropriately)

We woke up this morning to a crisp 38 degrees…yuk yuk yuk!
Now, I know from all the facebook updates that it’s chilly down in the south this week, but for all of you who are cold in Oklahoma/Arkansas, you know that next week it will be 80 degrees down there. However, as for the Northeast- our fall/Autumn is here, and there will be no more warming up until May. Boo hiss.
In honor of the chill in the air, I will give out my ‘Spiced Cookie’ Hot Cocoa Recipe!

Spiced Cookie

1 package of Hot Cocoa (I prefer Dark Chocolate Sensation by Swiss Miss)
6 oz Hot water
½ shot Kahlua
¼ shot Peppermint Schnapps

Heat water, stir in packet of cocoa, add alcohol...be happy.

Grapes, Apples & Mohegan Sun

What a wonderful weekend we had! Saturday morning our friends Toby & Amy came up from NYC to hang out for the weekend. We started off the day with a trip to Gouveia Vineyard in Wallingford, Connecticut for some wine tasting and scenic views. For only $5 a person we got to try 6 different wines, and keep the wine glass! The views were beautiful and the weather was perfect (just enough fall chill in the air).

Toby, Amy, me, Jeff

We then drove up the road to Lyman’s Orchard to pick Toby up some ‘Apple Cider Donuts’, the line was long but it was well worth the wait! From there we drove back to New Haven’s East Rock, where you can see the entire city of New Haven and in the distance Long Island.

The wine was beginning to wear off so we just did a ‘drive-thru’ tour of Yale/New Haven downtown.
After about an hour of decompressing we took Amy & Toby to Barcelona, a Spanish Tapas’ restaurant, which was fabulous! After some Blood Orange Margaritas & Old Fashions’ we were ready for some couch time and a movie. Jeff & Toby decided on the movie “I love you Man!”, and after about 45 minutes Amy and I both crashed. So I guess the movie was okay (?)

We woke up Sunday morning and drove out to Mohegan Sun casino. Unfortunately, we were all on a losing streak, except Amy who won $6 on a Black Jack machine, haha.
But we did enjoy the staff of Johnny Rockets Burgers who sang ‘Respect’ to us while we chowed down on our greasy burgers. After some Ben & Jerry’s a few ‘free’ drinks (which actually were not free since we definitely lost more than the cost of the drinks) we decided to call it a day and drove back to New Haven. Amy & Toby packed up and made their hike back to NYC. We were sad to see them go, but great weekends like this make it much easier to be in the Northeast so far away from our family.