Week in Review 4-3-16

Monday my good friend and co-worker, Sue, was there.

She was teaching the Pharm class for that day.  She asked me to team teach with her, not because she needed help but she said that she just wanted me to be with her!  She is so cute!  So, I attended the class with the goal to pick up fabulous teaching strategies that Sue uses.  She is a fantastic teacher and it was great to watch her teach.  She is so animated!  We had lunch together at the Training Table which is right next door to Eagle Gate.  What a fun time we had!

That night Kalel and Rae joined me for another sleepover.  I declared that we were going to have a movie night so we all got PJ's on and climbed into my bed and watched "The Princess Bride".  Kalel declared that it was a great movie!  Even Rae liked it and quietly watched it until the end.  Score one for a fun grandma!  Of course it was an easy win because everyone knows how great that movie is!

Kalel is just pretending that he is asleep, the faker!

The next day at work I spent the majority of the day watching webinars and videos for continuing education.  One of the seminars was entitled:  Living Lectures: Alternatives to PowerPoint.  It was a great lesson on how to bring a classroom to life during lecture.  I learned a lot and hope to employ many of the presenter's ideas to my classes.  I am always looking for ways to make my class worth coming to.  I know that nursing students all lead very busy lives and I want to present information in a way that I have not wasted their time.

That night after arriving home I realized that it was time to go to choir practice for the Symphonic Choir.  I had a very difficult decision to make, one that I had been thinking about for a long time.  I really enjoy singing with the Choir, I enjoy the members, but I have not been giving very much back to the choir.  My attendance this year has been spotty at best, I had missed that last few weeks because of stress or babysitting or visiting Tasha.  Right now it feels more like a burden to commit to the choir than a stress-reliever.  I decided that I would give up the choir.  I just can't commit.

I used one of the ideas I learned when teaching my class the next day, and the students said that they really appreciated my taking the time to find time and ideas to enhance their learning.  I am going to continue to work on improving my teaching.

After to class I had to rush to Salt Lake for a multi-campus inservice meeting.  Surprisingly the content was on improving our classes to encourage the students to want to attend class.  I learned a little more and was even able to make some comments about the webinar I had watched.  

While I was at the Salt Lake meeting Shandra used my office to do some homework and also to do a mock interview.  I was very pleasantly surprised the next day to see this note from her:

I just LOVE getting fun notes from my girls!  I am so blessed to have such a good relationship with both of my girls.  I love spending time with them.

Thursday afternoon I attended a farewell party for Dr. Dibble and Raquel who have terminated their practice and are moving.  It was very bittersweet.  Dr. Dibble has been a valuable member of the community for many years.  He has literally delivered hundreds of babies here, including both of my girls.  He is a very skilled surgeon with an incredible ability to have a "gut instinct" that is almost always right.  Raquel has also been a great asset to the women in the community.  I worked for Dr. Dibble for almost 20 years.  Sure, we had some disagreements just like any family - and honestly it felt more like working with family than employers and co-workers for most of the time.  It was an incredible place to work, to learn medical as well as professional social skills.  I owe my success as a nurse to Dr. Dibble, for he encouraged me and vouched for me when applying for a job.  Dr. Dibble and Raquel took us on a wonderful cruise, taught us to scuba dive, and led our expedition to Cayman Brac.  I wish them both success and happiness as they embark on their next adventure.

Lisa, Audrey, Jody, Raquel, Dr. Dibble, Jackie, Jalyn, and Shantel

Since Eagle Gate is in the process of obtaining accreditation for the baccalaureate program all of the staff met at Sally's house for an all day meeting.  It was a great meeting, much was accomplished, and there was TONS of good food!  Carrie made a marvelous biscuits and gravy casserole that was yummy.  Tons of donuts, brownies, chips and salsa, as well as barbecue beef were served.  It is amazing how much can be accomplished when food is involved!

Saturday General Conference began.  Unfortunately I was interrupted many times throughout the day and didn't get to enjoy much of conference.  How blessed we are now to be able to go to the internet at any time to watch the sessions we missed, or even replay the ones we want to hear again.  I did get to watch and enjoy all of Sunday's session.  I colored while watching.  I just love coloring!  Tanja from work gave me this coloring book for Christmas.

Conference was very good.  Many talks I felt were directed at me.  Most of them reminding me that I should find a way to increase my temple attendance.  I really need to work on that.  I also loved Elder Holland's talk at the end of conference.  He reminded me that as long as I am trying and doing my best then the Lord is pleased.  He doesn't expect perfection, it isn't possible, He just expects us to keep trying.  It was perfect for me.


This weekend Ashley and one of her co-workers came over so that I could teach them how to use Photoshop Elements.  It is one of my very favorite programs and it is pretty easy, but there is so many wonderful things you can do with Photoshop Elements that it would literally take weeks or months to learn them all.  I was able to teach them the very basics and they will just have to practice them for awhile before jumping into the rest.  However, I do think it went well.  We celebrated by going to Peach City for lunch.

Finally the weather is nice so Ashley and Tristan decided that we needed to clear a path up the mountain on my property and make a spot for a picnic.  They came, I worked, they climbed the fence and took a hike, and then they worked with me for what seemed like an eternity.  Exhausted we decided to head into the house for some lunch.  Imagine our surprise when we learned that we had only been outside for less than 45 minutes!  Talk about WHIMPS!  I'm pretty sure our project is not going to get done any time in the very near future!

One of the "not so fun" things I did this weekend was to prepare our taxes.  I knew that we would have to pay this year, and  I put aside some money for that.  Imagine my dismay when I found that I had seriously underestimated what we would have to pay and that we will have to pay considerably more that I had anticipated.  Needless to say I am feeling quite depressed about my mistake - so much so that I literally laid down at 7:00 pm and slept until 7:30 the next morning!  12 1/2 hours of sleep didn't take away my distress, but I did feel more rested and able to deal with it.  Watching conference did help.

THIS WEEK I AM GRATEFUL FOR:  Having a living prophet who communes with God.  We are so fortunate that we can sit in the comfort of our own homes and have the opportunity to listen to President Monson along with his counselors and apostles as they teach us the things that will bring us closer to God.