Actively searching elsewhere now

It's been almost a week since I applied for more positions at the hospital and I haven't heard anything yet. Since that's where I really want to be I gave them all the time I could, but times up. I still have hope (it just won't die!), but maybe that's not going to happen for me at this time in my life. I'm still obsessively checking my job page there for any changes though.
I'm researching other places to work more thoroughly and have started applying. I'm pacing myself to about 4 a day so the number grows steadily until A: I run out of places in a 10 mile radius; or B: I get a job. There are a ton of places here if I'm not to picky.
In the meantime, my dear husband and I have decided to take up yoga and got some disks for clearance to try out. I'm not very good at it yet, but it's only been about 6 days and I'm already noticing an improvement in my flexibility. Even my knee seems happier now.
I feel great when I do it and it lasts almost the whole day. Plus, the scenery they have in the background helps to pull me out of the tiny world I live in. I'm trying to do it for 3 days then take a day off, that way I don't over do and it seems to be working for me.
The little grasshopper is still here and I've named it Jimmy. I've found out that it's not full grown and will probably stay until it is. Today it's been raining all day and the little thing really seems to be loving it.

Jimmy likes the rain.

The chooks don't like the rain very much and every time I go check on them they are hanging out in their house.

Is it dry yet?

However they all come out to eat from my hand, well almost all of them.

Snack time run.

They gather eagerly under the overhang while I scoop some out, then they peck my hand empty before going back inside.

It is snack time!

All of them except Kate, who's normally the friendliest. I wonder if she's put off by the big, blue laundry basket on my head (I can't find my umbrella).

She's having none of this nonsense!

And the wait goes on.....

I'm still waiting on State Board for my number and it's driving me crazy. They say I need better fingerprints and they sent the packet on the 3rd. It's the 5th and it should have been here today if they had sent it that day, but it's not. This is after they sat on the unusable prints for a month or so. I really wish I knew what was going on there. I just have to keep being patient though, there's nothing else I can do. I have no power to make it go faster or better. I am at the mercy of the slow bureaucracy. Hopefully it will be in my box tomorrow and I can get it sent back fast.
On the plus side, my school is being really supportive and even tried to get the place I want to work to take me on without my number. It didn't work, but I appreciate the try. It also let me know that they still want me once this is done. It's good to be wanted! I'm also getting a good amount of writing done while I wait. I've been told that what I really want to do is a bad idea, and not very nice, so I'm making do the best I can.
I'm sure this will be over soon and I will once again be a useful member of society. Until then I'm hitting the ice cream!
Have fun!

What my mind feels like.

An update on waiting and aquaponics.

I'm still waiting and praying for my number from State Board. I'm hoping it will be soon, as in today would be great. In the meantime I'm learning how to cook tasty vegetarian food and it's a lot of fun. I made eggplant moussaka and it came out pretty tasty. Tonight I'm going to try to make a nice coconut curry.
I've got a ton of websites bookmarked for recipes and I think we even saved a bit of money when we went shopping. It's a win win so far!

Transplanted peppers

We had so many pepper growing in the aquaponics bin that we transplanted some of them outside. At first they were a bit floppy looking, but in a few days they got used to the dirt and are now growing happily. Soon we'll have to plant them in the ground, but for now they are happy.

Baby lentil plants!!!

I tried to sprout lentils and it didn't work. I followed the instructions, but after 4 days of rinsing twice a day and keeping them in a dark cool place all I had was a smelly jar of icky lentils. I had noticed that there was a small number of sprouts in there so we carefully got them out of the jar and sorted on a paper towel. We wound up with about 15 tiny shoots. We put some in the aquaponics and planted the rest in a pot. I haven't seen any in the aquaponics yet, but 2 of them are holding strong in the pot. I just moved them outside today and I hope they survive! I've found that I actually like lentils and can't wait to grow some!

Parsley and cilantro

We've added parsley and cilantro to the aquaponics bin. Rory love them and it's fun to try to grow things there. There's even some lettuce still growing too!

Tasty yet tiny.

The peppers are great but small. If we let them get red they get a bit of a bite. The seeds were from a bag of roasted pepper that I just tossed in to see if they would grow. Boy did they!

Lots of pepper plants!

The peppers in the bin are still cranking out like crazy. They are really tasty too! I really need to replant more of them now that the testers are doing great. When I get my fancy beans to plant I'm going to need room, but for now I don't have the heart to shock them that way. 

Everything is growing now so I'm happy. It's a real warm tingly to use food we grew in a recipe! And it tastes better too! 

All done! In more ways than one!

I went to school today to finish up the last of the paperwork that needed to be sent in to State Board. As long as everything is in order I'll have my number in 2-4 weeks. Then I can get a job! I can't wait, but I'll use this time to finish some of the things I've been neglecting while at school.

It's so pretty!

Sylvia's basket is finished and on her. I think it looks great and it doesn't seem to affect the handling at all. If anything it makes it a bit easier to turn her when going slow.  The wood came out really nice, I'm glad we went with a clear coat to bring out the grain without changing the color. My husband has really good taste in wood! There's about 7 coats on it so it should hold up for a while.

I'm making myself crazy

This is how I feel!

I took my state test and the waiting for the results is making me crazy. The testers were very nice people and my actor was a very sweet lady, but they couldn't tell me how I did. I just have to wait for my pass/fail to be posted online. It's been a couple of days, and I was told that it would probably be posted on Wednesday, but I'm going nuts. I've been trying to keep busy varnishing a board for the basket we got for Sylvia and writing and riding and other stuff, but it's not working.
Basically distracting myself is a waste of time, but there's nothing else to do.
I had been using a cute little basket we got at Fry's on clearance, but the welds kept breaking. I can't wait for the new on to be done and on her. She looks snazzy with a basket.

$2 basket that is soon to be replaced.

This morning on my little jaunt I was chased by this tiny dog and I swear it's yap was saying pass, pass, pass, fail. I had to make an emergency stop because the dog was a fast little thing and ran around the front of me. I almost squished it! Thank you husband for the brakes that actually work! As soon as I stopped the monster hopped back through the fence it had come out of. I'm glad I didn't kill it and took a different route home.
My mind is just going a million miles a minute and jump around is now it's theme song. (It's stuck in my head now too!) So this is just a brief update on what's going on in my world.
Have fun!

I did it!

Yesterday I passed my final exam for school!!! Tomorrow I go and do my mock state board test and find out when my test date will be. I can't wait to get my certification and get a job! This last month has been crazy busy with all the studying and practicing I got to do, but it was worth it to get this piece of paper. Now I just have to hurry up and wait for my actual board test, which means more practicing and studying. It's a good thing I like to do it.

Yay Me!

The second mod of school was harder than the first so it ate up all my free time. I had a lot of fun though and I may apply at the place I did my second round of clinicals. The staff there were great and I didn't see anything that was in violation there. It's a much better place than the first clinical site. 

It's funny, the first clinical site had a beautiful new building and lots of new gadgets, but the staff was horrible. I found so many violations both health and board that I told my teacher about, it was pathetic. 

The second clinical site could use a building redo and better lighting, but it was clean and not smelly. The staff were efficient and friendly. They worked as a team and even crossed units when it was needed. Even the nurses helped out when I asked them. 

They are both run by the same management group so I wonder why they are so different. The first is in a more affluent neighborhood and the second isn't. I wonder if placement is the key. 

Anyway, if I can't get the place I want I will definitely be applying to the second clinical site. I want to go back to the hospital, but it feels good to have an option 2 if I need it.

Wish me luck on getting scheduled soon for the board. The soonest test date is the 22nd and I really want to get this done! Until then I'll be studying and working on my next story.

Thanks for all your support! 

Have fun!!! 

I hate waiting!

Patience has never been my virtue and I'm currently waiting on two very important things so it's really driving me nuts.
I've had two interviews for the job I really want and now I have to wait until next week to see if I can move forward in the hiring process or if I failed and wasn't chosen. That's crazy making. At least there was a lot of laughter at the peer review, that's a good thing right?
I want Sylvia to be done and home, I hate the waiting to get her back. I have faith that they can get the hub to fit, but I'm still worried. I'm starting to wonder why I thought this was a good idea.
I decided to alleviate my worry by researching other bikes and that's been fun. If I do have to replace her I will probably save my pennies and go the custom route. I don't want to have to look forever again. I wish Linus made 8 speeds in my size.
I just got off the phone with a very nice man who gave me several tips on how to make her better. His website is DBC City Bike Design  and it would take a while, but I do like that he's worked with short people like me before. His Facebook has lots of great pics of bikes they've built as well as some of the neatest dishes. There's also a really great looking coffee table.
I just really hope I don't have to get a new bike and they don't break her by accident. It's taken me a year to get her this way and the thought of starting over sucks.  Well that's enough moping, I have bedding to hand sew for Rory because I killed the electric sewing machine and my treadle has decided that needles are more fun to break and shoot than sew with.
Have fun!

Rory likes his new ball.