Show Us Your Life-Favorite Charities

I am participating in "Show Us Your Life" from Kelly's Corner

I do love philanthropy, however, I do not have a lot of extra time to actively volunteer for charities. I do contribute to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I work with sick people everyday, but children have the greatest ability to trigger my emotions. Adult life is so filled with worries, stress and tragedy; Childhood should be reserved for complete happiness. St. Jude is a wonderful organization that helps save children's lives while easing the financial burden to parents. I wish I could do more to help this wonderful organization.

http://www.stjude.org/

I am a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels and I do contribute to the Good Works program, which "provides financial support to Kentucky charitable and educational institutions and organizations".

http://www.kycolonels.org/

I work as a family nurse practitioner in a rural, Eastern Kentucky clinic. Our clinic staff raises money and volunteers for Relay for Life and March of Dimes. One of our biggest fundraisers of the past year was the selling of cookbooks, which were created by our clinic staff. Some recipes were also submitted by patients.

We also hosted a Halloween Carnival for children in our community in effort to raise money for our charities. Along with myself, we have three employees, who are cancer survivors--so Relay for Life is very important to us. The American Cancer Society Relay for Life is an opportunity for community members to celebrate those who have survived cancer, remember lives lost to cancer, and raise money to find a cure for the disease.

http://www.relayforlife.org/

March of Dimes is also an important charity for our clinic as one of our nurses is mother to a son, who was born prematurely. The organization promotes the health of babies by fighting to prevent "birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality".

http://www.marchofdimes.com/

Inhumanity

I found a news story, written by Emanuella Grinberg, on CNN.COM today that has really made me question the sanity and morals of people in our country. Meredith Emerson was a 24 year old hiker, who was brutally murdered in Georgia in 2008. Her body was found in a nude, dismembered, and decapitated state. A writer for Hustler magazine is now trying to obtain photos of her mutilated body to be displayed on the pages of Hustler. This has to be one of the most horrendous attempts at humiliation and degradation ever contemplated for the sole purpose of monetary gain. I am disgusted by this story. Thankfully, a judge has ordered the photos not to be released and the Georgia House Governmental Affairs Committee has passed the "Meredith Emerson Memorial Privacy Act" which would prevent certain crime scene photos from being released to the public. However, it was stated that Larry Flint & Hustler are exploring all legal options which may be available to them. What is wrong with this world?!!!!!! I pray for this young girl's family. Why would anyone torture this family and force them to fight in effort to protect her innocence?

Relapse

I do not work on wednesdays, however, this particular wednesday has been an extremely productive day at home. I started the day by cleaning a very messy house, then had a quick workout. Robby was also off today so I made him lunch, did some laundry, then went out for a much needed manicure. I returned home to make dinner. I made enough food for 10 people, soup beans and homemade buttermilk cornbread--Robby's favorite. It is so hard to cook for just two people. After dinner, we went to the tanning bed. I am so ashamed of myself. I am a former tanning addict and had not been in a tanning bed in over 1 year. I have also spent the last 6 months having laser treatments to reverse sun damage. I feel like such an idiot, I can't believe I relapsed!

I love having a day off from work-- I actually have time to be a real wife. I hope all the stay-at-home women realize how lucky they truly are.

Life Uncontrolled

I woke up late this morning and it seems as though I have been rushing to catch up all day. Work was extremely stressful. So many patients had to wait longer than usual. No one wants to wait when they feel bad, but sometimes waiting is inevitable when 20 patients show up at the same time. We all  try to work as efficiently as possible, but often people don't realize how hard we are truly working and they seem to think we are making them wait on purpose. I promise we are doing the best we can.

Sometimes, it seems life is traveling by so fast and spinning out of control. I am always rushing. I would love to have the opportunity to just step back and breathe, relax and enjoy life. Retirement cannot come soon enough!

I want to congratulate the Knott Central Patriots boys' basketball team. They won the 14th Regional title tonight and will be playing in the state tournament at Rupp Arena. I am a 1996 graduate of Knott Central--- the team had not won the Regional title since 1993.

The Oscars

I love watching the Oscars. I can only imagine what it must feel like to live such a glamorous life! I thought I would post some of my favorite looks.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (originally posted on Yahoo.com)

I thought Sandra Bullock looked the best last night. I loved her dress & the RED lipstick! I was also thrilled to see her win the award for Best Actress--her speech made me cry. I also shed a few tears when I saw her husband, Jesse James, with tears in his eyes.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (originally posted on Yahoo.com)

Miley Cyrus

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (originally posted on Yahoo.com)

Penelope Cruz

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (originally posted on Yahoo.com)

Cameron Diaz

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (originally posted on Yahoo.com)

Of course I had to post a picture of George Clooney. The only thing that could make this picture look better is if I could paste my head on his girlfriend's body. I love him!

The Worst Dress of the Night

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (originally posted on Yahoo.com)

Charlize Theron

I really think Charlize Theron is one of the most beautiful women in the world, but her dress was so weird. You couldn't help but focus on the funky design covering her breasts. The dress was really a distraction from her beauty.

I know there are more important things to discuss other than what people wore to the Oscars, but just thought it would be fun to post my opinion.

Show Us Your Life-What is Your Typical Day Like?

I am participating in "Show Us Your Life"

Link from Kelly's Corner

So I have to admit, my typical day is pretty uninteresting. Work is very hectic and takes up most of my day. Thankfully, I only have to work 4 days per week. Here is my typical schedule:

7:30 am- My alarm goes off for the first time. If it is a good day, then I will get up and workout for 30 minutes to 1 hour (this doesn't happen often). If it is a normal day, then I will hit snooze repeatedly until 8:30 am.

8:30 am- I shower and get ready for work.

10:00 am- I arrive at work. I work as a family nurse practitioner, usually seeing 20-25 patients per day.

1:00 pm- I usually eat lunch at work. It is too busy to actually go out for lunch, but luckily we often have drug reps bring lunch to us.

7:00 pm- I finally get to leave work if I am lucky. Over the past week, I have stayed at work as late as 9 pm because we have been so busy.

7:30 pm- In Spring, Summer, & Fall, I will do a quick evening walk before making dinner. In the winter, I usually start dinner after I get home.

8:00 pm- I am usually so exhausted by this time, I spend the rest of the evening lying on the couch with my husband (if he's not at work) & watching TV until 10 or 11 pm. I will also check emails, possibly post a blog, or do a load of laundry during this time.

11:00 pm- GO TO BED! (I love to sleep)