Gummy Worms, Stickers and Lolly Pops.

I know this may make me sound like some sort of freak. But I am going to tell you all this little known fact about myself! My favorite age to draw blood from is without a doubt 7-11!!! Please don't think I am some of weird-o that enjoys sticking needles into children for no good reason. There is a reason behind my need to puncture their skin. Blood is needed to allow the Dr to know how make them feel better. This a little mind game we play as Phlebotomisits, it makes coming to work and making children cry a lot easier to swallow. You see we are helping them not hurting them.

So why is this select age my favorite? They are the most curious about what I am doing. They can be involved. Most of them think it is pretty cool to see their blood fill the tubes. They try so hard to be brave. Yet they still want mom and dad to be close by. They are still willing to let a Lolly Pop make us friends again. In their eyes a Princess or Spider Man sticker is a piece offering.

When I have a patient of this age group I love to let them help me. Don't go getting all excited...I never let them handle the needle. But I love to explain everything I am doing as I do it. They think I have the coolest job in the world. Please keep in mind this post is about most of them, some are going to hate every minute no matter what we do!

I tell them I want to look at their muscles as I am tying he tourniquet on. I them tell them I am going to look for a gummy work in their arm. Then once I have found a good one I let them feel it!!! They love to feel the bounce! I understand they are not feeling the same thing I am. But I would never tell them that! Then we talk about the poke..."it is like a really big mosquito bite!" Then I do the stick and when the blood fills the tubes they get excited. I love when they are a little bit nervous then feel a burst of confidence, roll their eyes and say "That did not even hurt!"

Believe me I know for a fact that not all kids of this age are like this. I have had my fair share of WWF wrestling matches in the draw room. However this age is my favorite because for the most part they just fun!

Don't get me wrong I love all my patients! Some more than others and some very little. But there is always some amount of love. Like for some I LOVE when they leave! :)

I love the babies because they are just sweet and darling. I love preschoolers because they need mom and dad so much. And they are some of the bravest humans on the planet. I love the Teenagers because they want to be so tough. Yet a large number of them pass out and leave in wheelchair!! This is mostly the boys and I figure it is good for their ego's! I love my middle aged patients because they seem to have the most interesting and busy lives. I LOVE my elderly patients almost as much as the little ones. These guys have lived so many years and are full of stories!! They will tell you the funniest things and never forget you! I love to see them at the store and have them remember me. It makes me feel special that of all the things they have stored in their heads they have found a spot for me! The elderly are for sure some of the COOLEST people I know!

I guess I just wanted you all to know that I love my job! I don't know of many jobs that allow you to inflict pain, charge for it, and have a large clientele to boot!!! Life is good! And my job is FUN! And Gummy Worms, Stickers and Lolly Pops just make the world a better place!

Stretching.

There are many things that can be stretched. Taffy, gum, rubber bands, a dollar, Stretch Armstrong, your checkbook, a bungee cord. The list could go on and on. But it is late and I need to go to bed at sometime this night. On the contrary there are things that are not meant to be stretched. Your waist, your limbs, your sanity and your values. There are also some that may not be the easy to stretch but we tend to give it a good effort! Like time, we all seem to want more of that.

Do you ever feel you are stretched to the limit? I am talking you can feel the threads fraying in your rope? Well that is about where I am these days. Please don't think I am about to loose it. And that that all inclusive trip the to BHU is in my near future. That trip will probably happen in this life. But I feel confident it is a far way off! At least I think it is...

I just feel like I have nothing left to give. I am pulled in so many directions all of the time. My job needs me, my family needs me, my calling needs me, my friends need me, my laundry needs me, my bills need me, my phone is often ringing with some one that needs me on the other end, my bed needs me, I NEED ME!!! Please don't get me wrong I love and appreciate all of these things. Some more than others. For instance my family, my church, my friends, my bed, and my job. I could do without the bills, voicemail, and some parts of my job.

Please tell me I am not the only person out there that would love a few days to be selfish! I want to think about me and only me for about a week! I want to get a hotel, watch cable, go to the ice machine and wear my pj's til noon without judgement! I want to spend lots of money on me without regard to the fact that I could spend in elsewhere! I want to get in my car and drive until I run out of music! I want to forget my cell phone and find that I have not missed X# of calls. But rather that it sat there lifeless for a while.

I guess it is time to say I need a vacation. I need to get away from my life and "chillax" for awhile. I know that most of the pressure I am feeling is warranted. But some of it is simply because I am being to hard on myself. And I simply spread myself to thin. If I CAN make things fit into my life to help others out I truly try to make it work. Sometimes I drive myself crazy! Maybe it is because I have been around myself for so long. I think it is normal to start to bug yourself after this many years! I know how I want things to work in my head. But getting them to work outside of my head is sometimes hard! The word NO is not one that is often in my vocabulary. However I need to add it soon.

Well I am feeling a little better. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest! I am sorry that the last couple of posts have not been the light fluffy stuff you are used to. Those post are about to make a come back into your world! But I just needed to vent for minute. And since the name of this blog is Aubrey's Outlet I will use it as such!

Thoughts...

Tonight I have a head full of thoughts all running about. Thoughts of all kinds funny, silly, strange, outlandish, sad, depressing, hopeful and even lame. But they are my thoughts and all I can do is try to sort them out! My life is in a sort of funk these days and I am not really sure why. Nor am I sure what to do about it. I have an amazing family, great friends, a good job, my dream car, roof over my head and testimony that my Heavenly Father is aware of and loves me. But...still things feel sort of BLAH. I try to be happy and upbeat all the time. But that is hard to do. I guess we all feel like this from time to time. I am just not used to it and to be honest I don't like it much. I don't feel it is a good look for me. Something like if I were to wear lots and lots of yellow. That is also not a good look for me. Maybe all of this has something to do with the number 28. Then again who knows 28 could become me new favorite number!!! But alas this is my life and I need to figure out a way to enjoy it...All of it! Now don't go getting all worried about me. I am fine I just needed to vent for a few minutes. Now I feel much better, and a little less funky! I think I need to go to bed. Like my mom as always said. Well 2 things...1.Things always look better in the morning. and 2. This to shall pass. I love my life I really do! Sometimes it is just hard to like it.

Hairballs, Heaving and Happenings!

We all know that there will come a time in our lives when we must purchase a bottle of Drain-o. This is not a purchase to be taken lightly. If you are at all like me then this may be a little glimpse into your own life... OK you there you are brushing your teeth or taking a shower. You notice the water is not leaving the premises as quickly as you would like. However is not taking so long that you feel there it is time to take measures toward fixing it! So you let it continue for a while, thinking it could have been a moment of insanity that caused you to think such foolish thoughts. You think to yourself that perhaps you were just in a hurry and impatient with said water. Then you let it continue a little bit longer, all the while getting rather annoyed. But now you know that you are not insane, but rather the water is truly starting to backed up. Now it is a matter of 2 things...1-Making a trip to the store to get a can of Drain-o. 2- Remembering when at the store to actually pick up said can of Drain-o. (I will admit it took me 3 trips before I remembered!) But then the time comes when you are not willing to put it off any longer. What is "The Moment?" I believe the breaking point for most people is very simple. There you are taking a shower, the water is hot, the soap is refreshing, all is well. Until you notice that your feet are taking a BATH! That is right there is now standing water in the bottom of the shower and something must be done NOW!!!

Instead of Drain-o Heather saved the day and come over with her Drain Snake!

You see I was there very thoughtfully looking over the many varieties of drain cleaner. Why must there be so many? If they all do the same thing why then do we need 12 options? It was at this point in my dilemma when Heather took pity on me. She said I could use her snake and take care of the problem. I told her SHE was more than welcome to come use her snake and take care of the problem. I told her I could not stomach it and there is no way I could dig things out of my drain! This is when she took pity on me once again and agreed to do the deed for me!

She came over tonight snake in hand and ready to take on the drain. I was doing OK being there watching her. That is until she began to pull and it just kept coming. It was like the handkerchief trick done by clowns across the world. But this was coming from the drain not a sleeve. I was actually sickened by the sight. I have to leave the room to avoid heaving! I must say this in our defense I do not believe the drain had been cleaned ever!

But now the drain is running smoothly! I am not out the money for a bottle of Drain-o that I do not believe would have done the job. I am positive that this was to much for that bottle of chemicals. I did however take Heather to dinner to pay her back! The drain-o may have been cheaper, but this way I was able to get a clean drain and dinner with Weasel!

In other news my job is going good. I am still not sure what I am doing most of the time. And I have noticed... Meeting, e-mails and "Can I talk you for a minute?" are never ending. I do not have the answers to most things, but I am willing to look into it. I know that working an 18 hour shift is really hard! Especially if you do that only 6 hours ofter a 10 hour shift. I am learning that saying no is not that hard. I am seeing how much stress I can handle. Much to my surprise it is more than I thought. It is nice to feel the respect and support form the team. I am enjoying most aspects of this new adventure. However it is OK to say I am looking forward to a vacation!

Oh and I have lost 16 lbs!!! Well on my way to reach one of my New Years Resolution's by my birthday! All in all life is good!