Bed, Box and Beyond

Our new bed arrived today! It is magnificent and it is LARGE. We asked for, ordered, and paid for a King sized bed. Yesterday I went out and bought a king size sheet set and king size mattress cover. I then washed, dried and ironed (yeah right) said bedclothes so they would be ready for the big day.
As we were making the new bed, something became strikingly apparent. They delivered a SUPER KING bed. 30 cm more of back-supporting double-coil goodness. But the damn sheets wont fit. Its a good thing I got the El Cheapo cotton-poly blend. I went back out today for proper fitting sheets and spent 100 euro on the only superking sheet set I could find. This stuff is 300 thread count, so if we are paying by the thread, its not too bad a deal.

At this rate, I think we would give our last dollar for a good night's sleep. And just when you think we just might get it...

This is the scene from our bedroom window. This morning they fired up their engines at 7:30am. Please don't let them work on Saturdays..

My mom sent us a box that arrived today. I told her its like Xmas, Easter and my birthday all rolled into one when a package arrives. Goodies for everyone! Katie got a new doll and really cute outfits. She got a pair of turquoise daisy dukes that I wish fit me sooo bad. A shot glass that though I dont believe was intended for her, Katie has commandeered and is eating her puffs out of it. She knows I got something good, but I wont share my peanut M&Ms! Manus got a box of Breathe-Right nasal strips but he doesnt know it yet. I got my 3 lipfinity "modern" lipsticks that I'd bought on e-bay. Yes, that's right Laura, I went and STOLE them right from under your nose. That's what you get for turning me on to a discontinued product. And, they were only 3 bucks each! In fairness however, the online store had 5 tubes for sale, so there should be 2 left.

And perhaps the best part of these boxes are the past two months of People magazine. I could die a happy woman. I devour each issue. I dont really even care about celeb gossip, but it is so good to get a few words about home. Now if only I could lock myself in the bathroom with one or two... heaven!

So, needless to say, thanks mom for all our gifts. They really make my day.

Manus has been working hard to get our lawn looking nice. He sprayed for weeds and the other day we went around digging them up. Now our lawn looks a set design for Groundhog Day 2.

Before and After

Maybe the weed killer killed a little more than the weeds. I got lawn seed today so we shall sow the seeds of success this summer. We need to buy fertilizer. Manus said that is what our compost bin is for but we realized only the other day that we have had it upside down and when we turned it over it unleashed an unholy terror of a smell. I will not be spreading that out on the grass.

My gardening project has been to find a way to keep the damn shitter dog next door from shitting in our front yard. (perhaps we should let him go wild in our back yard..)

So far, so good. Two poop-free days and counting...

I'm in a self-righteous funk these days. I need some direction in my life. Still no word from the Nursing Board. I sent a large packet of info pleading my case for educational reciprocity. The assessor had it for a week now with my request for him to call me after he reviewed it. I will call and harass on Monday. Manus is bearing the brunt of my frustrations... He said to me that he will have to work tomorrow (Saturday) and instead of feeling bad for him I muttered, Oh that's just great. He said, Why? Do I have plans? No. But that is not the point. He is meeting with our landlord this evening to iron out our plans for next year. I said, Oh that's great. He said, why? Did I want to do something tonight? No. But that is not the point. I dont think I can explain it to him.... (Can someone explain it to me?) Manus said, you know... it seems like lately I cant do right no matter what I do. And I said, You are absolutely right.

We have our tickets to the states bought. Our trip itinerary is as follows:

Sept 10-15 Charlotte, NC
Sept 15-Sept 23 Miami, FL
Sept 23-Oct 15 Sacramento, CA
Oct 15-Oct 24 Miami, FL
Oct 24-Oct 26 San Francisco, CA
Oct 26-Nov 18 Sacramento, CA
Nov 18-Dec 2 Miami, FL

Adjust your schedules and rearrange your lives accordingly.

Time to put the sheets in the dryer. Have a happy weekend.

Special Delivery!

My dear, dear friend Georgie sent me a package and it arrived today. It was my Irish Survival Kit. She had been reading my blog and listening to me drone on about things I couldn't find here and she went out and shipped over some of the things I've been complaining about not having. How nice is that? But before I get into that, and completely unrelated, I sure do miss big piles of money, the tight, round buttocks of my youth, and Johnny Depp....

So anyway, I just wanted to tell Georgie and the world how touched I am - and seriously this is not a play for sympathy or care packages* - I am just really blessed. And I am absolutely swimming in the baking goods now (the kind I can't mess up).

I think I'll save the vanilla instant pudding and the yellow cake mix and make up a proper rum cake. That is just one thing, when done right that can melt in your mouth and put a smile on your face for days.

There is also chocolate cake mix and chocolate pudding. Yum! Fortunately for me, the box cover indicates that it has "instruciones en espanol" Aye! Que Rico Suave!

And she sent a Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix "for PMS fix" - seriously, how did she know? No, really, the brownies will be gone by tomorrow. Sadly, I'll still be a moody bitch for another 4-5 days.

What I really love too is she sent along pictures from our last evening out...

(l-r) The Irish Anne, Jan, Georgie and Joy

I left that extra chin in Miami, if anyone is in need of one.

Belles of the Ball

I also know, courtesy of Georgie that 6 oz is exactly 185 gms and half a cup is 110 ml. Such indispensable information should be housed in a prime location. Georgie knows this too, that is why she put the information on a magnet. What she doesn't know is that my refrigerator is not a Trekkie and therefore does not attract Klingons.

That means I'll have to be creative with my house hunting for the Miami Beach magnets she sent too... But just one look was all I needed to get a true pain in the pit of my stomach with homesickness.

The magnets, and this:

Flan, arroz con pollo, cafe con leche.... I can't even get Sazon or Adobo. How can they expect me to prepare my palomilla steak? At first when I saw the box of flan I was thinking I would save it and make it one night as a special treat when we have my in-laws out for dinner. Then I thought. Dumb... that means less for me. So Im going to hide it and wait for Manus to go out of town. Then it can just be me and f-lalalalalala-an alone, all night. Ouch.. Stick-y!!

Georgie also packed my entire educational record from Baptist. So that means that I have to go through it now and see if it can supply evidence as to my nurse's training. I refuse to let this go. I'm not even sure that I would work as a nurse here if given the opportunity (don't tell Manus) but so help me if they don't acknowledge me as capable.

She bragged about how all the stuff I was lacking was stuff that she could find for $1.50 or less.... that may have been true until she hit the post office... Then all of a sudden, boxes of cake mix and a 5 inch stack of paper doesn't seem like such a great idea. Oh Georgie, god bless you sending all that to me...(especially since for the shipping cost you could have hand delivered it...)

I think the best part of the package was the cartoons sprinkled about the cooking implements.

A few of my favorites...

And the absolute best one.... Just imagine the little old lady voice

Hysterical!

*Dear Mom, PLEASE don't think that because there has not (yet) been a whole post dedicated to the care packages that you have sent that I don't appreciate them and watch with bated breath for the postman to deliver them. They are truly the highlight of my day. And Katie's too... We love you!

Speechless

I spoke to one of the assessment officers today from the Irish Nursing Board and he explained to me the problems they are having with my credentials to register me to work in Ireland.

As I understand it, the EU and Ireland specifically do not have an exam like the US's Nursing Boards which, upon passing you are licensed to work and recognized as "meeting the minimum standard to provide safe care". Here, you pass your school classes, you are a nurse. So, my registering with their country is completely based on my education.

And apparently, not even so much on how well I did in school, but how well my school did me. When they asked the almightly MDCC how many hours of theoretical study I received in nursing the reply was 368 and hours of clinical practice is 736. Hell.. that sounds fantastic, right?

An Bord Altranais (Irish Nursing Board), as apparently dictated by somewhere within the EU, requires minimums of 1533 and 2300 in theory and clinical practice.

So barring some miracle of number crunching as I work to gather my continuing education credits, talking to Baptist about documenting my hours as a preceptee and MAC training courses, I'm not going to be a nurse in Ireland.

HOW FUCKING CRAZY IS THAT?

I mean, ask anyone in the nursing education system of the US and they will tell you that nursing school is just to lay the foundation for your learning and just to give you enough knowledge so you don't KILL someone on your first day of work.

I have an unblemished work record of 5 years. I haven't even killed one person! That should count for something.

To hear this man today speak, and I must say he was very nice and said he was doing what he could, but it seems as though cases will not be taken into consideration individually, either you have the numbers or not.

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

I guess I'm not exactly speechless on the subject. Just most thoughts I have on it are filled with profanity.

So, thats it in a nutshell. I am currently taking suggestions for alternate careers. Which, in this country (oh, you've done it now - don't get me started on the work situation here...) is going to be extremely limited as you take a series of tests at the end of 'high school' which determines what you will study in university which determines what you will do for the rest of your life. There is no such thing as changing your mind. I couldn't even go and apply to nursing school here.

So, think of all the best minimum wage jobs you've had in your life and recommend one for me. - No, don't say secretary or "administrative assistant" (though I've already been a few of those) because they require formal education too which is not available to me.