Settling in to my new work schedules

  I have finally gotten a handle on the new almost continual work hours. I am back at school M-F from 9-2. The hospital schedule is a bit more complicated. The work week begins on Sundays. I work at the hospital every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Beginning today I work every other weekend and when you work on Saturday (last day of the week) you also work on Sunday (first day of the week). On the week I work on Saturday I have Thursdays off (so I was off this last Thursday) and on the week I work on Sunday I have Tuesday off (so I will be off this coming Tuesday). Wash, Rinse, Repeat. Confused? You aren't alone. I actually had to put it  into my calendar to understand it. Labor Day is also my first holiday to work. You get every other holiday off, so I will be off Thanksgiving and work Christmas Day. I believe the new holiday calendar year starts on New Year's Day so I probably will work that as well. This way no one works every Christmas Day for example every year. And Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are not holidays (neither is Easter).
So on Thursday it will be 30 days under my belt. How do I like it? Well it is taking some getting used to.  I've been assigned to the Pediatric ER and the work is not demanding. Actually I would prefer to be a bit busier because the night sometimes drags but on the upside with working two jobs not demanding is a good thing.
And I have to say that first paycheck really made my bank account smile! Speaking of financial matters the issue with overtime pay at the school for the last two years has finally been settled. A deposit will be made in my checking account this coming Friday. I will pay off half the remaining balance on my car loan, pay back GF for the brake work he did on my car last month, and pay back two small loans from a couple of my kids that got us through August. The remainder will be in the savings account.
We are also saving money like mad on food. With school starting I've just been taking lunch leftovers to work at the hospital  for dinner . Adult son, college age son, and college age daughter have been fending for themselves. Now that I have a regular hospital schedule I will be able to sit down and make a modified dinner schedule for night's off and weekends. And next weekend I will do a little food shopping. We still have a ton of stuff in the freezer but do need fresh produce, dairy, and some odds and ends in the pantry.

A quickie

I am in my second week of training at the hospital and it is a wild ride. First off I have to say that my area (ER) is always busy so there is no chance of getting bored, lol. There has been a lot to learn and a lot to remember but I think I'm getting it down. Once I have access to the EVS closet and can swipe into my area all will be well. I even spent 15 minutes last night totally alone on the floor doing rooms due to a shift change and staff shortage. My one dread now is how my body is going to handle two jobs once school begins next week. I also need to get myself super organized so that I can keep up on things like laundry and meals to take to work. I had to buy a knee brace because my left knee was killing me after two days. Wearing this under my uniform is helping. I am also having nonstop lower back pain. I am doing stretches at home and wearing a back brace around the house as well as taking a hot shower when I get home from work but I think this is just something that will work itself out as my back becomes used to the movements I am now making. A reminder that I am not as young as I used to be and am really carrying around more weight than I should. However, this job may help the weight problem since by the end of the day I've been averaging just over 20,000 steps.. And that is without school starting.  I have also had to purchase a really good pair of shoes. I settled on New Balance with memory foam in them. Very comfy and was surprised when a new co-worker gifted me two pairs of clog type nurses shoes!
Training was initially supposed to be on the day shift but after one day of orientation, one day of online training, and one day of on the floor training they've switched me to my regular 2nd shift hours. This is good because it gives me an idea of how it will be before school begins. As for meals I've been creating a dinner to go just before making my lunch at  home. I will need a new plan for when school starts next Wednesday. Right now I expect to be working both Monday and Tuesday at the hospital (unless a supervisor tells me one of those will be a night off and puts me on the weekend schedule for that upcoming weekend) so this weekend which I know I won't work I will be putting together about three dinners that I can pop into the freezer for the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday after the beginning of the school year.
So far I have packed:  a roast beef sandwich (made with planned overs from dinner) with carrots w/ hummus, and a nectarine (my first online day), bought lunch (my second day, can't do that on nights because the cafeteria is closed), leftover chicken paprikash, peas, applesauce;  penne with sauce, salad, vanilla pudding; and last night a salad with steak & blue cheese on it with homemade dressing, and apple slices.
And now I am off to finish making today's dinner and have some lunch before grabbing a quick shower and getting ready to go in to the hospital!

Finally......

http://www.clker.com/cliparts/4/5/8/4/1402853364844279301nineteen-fifties%20people%20looking%20up%20and%20pointing.jpg After what has been a tremendously long wait it appears that things on the financial front are finally looking up! Last week I went for my job physical and strength test. I have to admit I was not optimistic about passing that test but I got the phone call yesterday that I am cleared to start my new position!! I will be working at a local hospital cleaning patient rooms after they are discharged, waiting areas, restrooms, break rooms if any on whatever area I get assigned to. It is a full time, 40 hours per week position from 3-11:30. It does mean working every other weekend and every other holiday (Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Years Day, Memorial Day). The money AND the awesome hospital system health benefits, life insurance, and retirement benefits make this a winning situation for me. I will continue to work (at least this school year) at my part time day cafeteria position (9-2 M-F). It will be a lot of work but since I get one weekday off from the hospital each week I will only work both jobs 4 days a week. And there are several no-work days as well as holiday weeks off from the school. AND as icing on the cake I was notified by the powers that be that I am owed back overtime pay from the school for all the hours I worked over 8 in any given day for the last two years!! Of course those responsible for cutting this check are taking as much time as they can before doing so. Eventually though they will have to send this to me. My goal for the future is simple, I will pay off my SUV as soon as possible, making double payments. I have 13 more payments to go so I hope to have this done in 6 or less (most of the overtime check will go towards eliminating this debt). I cannot describe the relief I feel knowing that I won't have to worry constantly about where the money will come from for groceries, for gas, or for anything repairs that may need to be done around here. I feel as if I've been hauling around a huge chunk of cement behind me that I am at last getting relief from.

Summertime catch up

 Not a lot going on around here in the last two weeks. A little bit of grocery shopping where I picked up some produce and milk. I decided that we really didn't need to hang on to the two drawers and one cabinet of VHS tapes any longer and cleaned those out. I was unsuccessful at finding anyone who was interested in taking these and finally just bagged them up and tossed them in the trash can. We have curbside pickup so this cost me nothing. I then determined to use the freed up drawer space for table linens (everyday and holiday) and the cabinet for storage of serving pieces I don't use that often. This cleared up two china cabinets and two drawers in the dining room. I must say the cabinets look so much better without so much stuff piled in them.
Other than that I 've been reading and taking advantage of our free month of Netflix as well as doing the necessary housework and yardwork.


I did receive a phone call from the hospital on the job. They have made me a job offer contingent on me passing the physical and the strength test. I am scheduled for those this coming Wednesday. I have no worries on the physical exam but I am a bit concerned on this strength test. I watched the video they sent me on this and I am hoping it all goes well. After that I have an appointment at HR to fill out all the necessary new employee tax papers. IF I pass the tests then my first day of official employment will be August 10th, an all day orientation day with two weeks of daytime training to follow. School starts August 26th. This is going to be cutting it VERY close.

Remembering to count....

my blessings today. Yes I currently have $2 in my savings and $67 in my checking account but I have this twice a month cleaning gig and will be paid today meaning I can put $25 of gas in the car (which will fill it up) and get milk and still put $100 in my checking account to give it a cushion for utility bills until the next paycheck is deposited (another blessing is having my check divided into 52 weeks). I also unexpectedly found a brand new large box of dishwasher detergent in the basement, stuck in a box I looked into hunting for something else, so I don't need to buy more.  I also noticed a bottle of dish soap stuck up on top of the stand up deep freezer, another item I was low on and will not have to purchase! Financial blessings for sure.


And then there are the blessings no amount of money can buy me, good health, a loving family, the GF,  and good friends.


God is good.


All the time.

Good Eats

 With the food budget having very little in it at the moment even though I will be cleaning tomorrow (need to fill up the gas tank and get dishwasher detergent and milk with that) I am concentrating on using up what we have on hand right now. So far this week I have had:
Monday:
Breakfast: Toast with cashew butter, banana, coffee (kids don't eat breakfast)
Lunch: treated to lunch by a friend I treated to dinner last time we ate at Cracker Barrel together
Dinner: grilled cheddar brats, buttered elbow macaroni mixed with peas (off the dinner menus but adult son asked for this)

Tuesday:
Breakfast: toast with cashew butter, nectarine, coffee
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwich, carrots and celery sticks w/ hummus
Dinner: Two cheese sticks, a plum, and a handful of pepperoni (all by myself and I just didn't feel like cooking anything)

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Blueberry muffin, coffee
Lunch: cottage cheese w/ homemade pineapple jam, plum
Dinner: Roast leg of lamb, beef rice a roni, salad , strawberry shortcake

Thursday:
Breakfast: Blueberry muffin, coffee
Lunch: grilled tomato-mozzarella Panini

This is my version of what used to be my favorite sandwich at Panera that they no longer offer. I took a ciabatta roll (from Aldi), split it, spread Sun dried tomato pesto (from Aldi) on both halves, topped each half with sliced fresh mozzarella, topped with slices of tomato and some sun dried tomatoes. Sprinkled it with basil then brushed the outside with melted butter and pressed in my Cuisinart 5-in-1 Grill/Griddle/Panini Press.

 This handy little tool is used so often I keep it on top of my microwave.

Dinner: Pasta Au Pistou, salad.  I've been trying something a bit different with my recipe for this. Instead of using my food processor to blend fresh parsley, fresh basil, parmesan cheese and olive oil together I am using jarred pesto sauce, mixing it with the sautéed chopped onion, canned diced tomatoes and brown sugar called for in the au pistou sauce. Just as delicious and half the work and expense.

 

Today I have had Cream of Wheat cereal and coffee for breakfast. Lunch will be leftover rice a roni  and salad

Dinner is going to be grilled pork chops, scalloped potatoes, and corn on the cob (slight change in menu plan due to having corn that needs to be cooked).

Update: Lunch turned out to be Chipotle, a treat from college age daughter for driving her around to do some errands! Dinner got tweaked a bit when I decided to make garlic & parsley redskin potatoes (at GF's house, need to use these up) and peas and carrots (another item in GF's freezer that needs using up).

 



Baking! Blueberry Muffins and Biscuits

 On my to do list today was some baking. I had a pint and a half of fresh blueberries and wanted to use some of these up in muffins. I turned to my all time favorite basic cookbook, The Joy of Cooking. On a food message board that I used to participate in there was once a discussion of the best version of this cookbook. The majority agreed that it was the early 1970s version, an opinion I sided with. My much beloved copy finally fell apart due to so much use and I reluctantly purchased the newest version which revised the version that updated the 1970s one. I have to say it is way more like the 1970s copy that I had than the awful updated one. Lots of my favorite recipes reappeared (like tuna noodle casserole).
Both the muffin recipe and the biscuit recipe are ones I have been using forever from this cookbook (which btw all my married/on their own children have received as a gift).
I used the basic muffin mix recipe and added 1 1/2 cups of blueberries (that I lightly floured to prevent sticking together).

Blueberry Muffins:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Mixed together
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup oil
added to the dry ingredients and mixed on low until blended
1 1/2 cup blueberries
folded into the batter.
Using my handy Pampered Chef scoop in the largest size they sell  I filled paper muffin liners with the batter:

 

I had preheated my oven on the convection baking setting to 375 degrees. They baked for 17 minutes and turned out looking delicious:

 

I upped the temperature on my oven to 400 degrees for the convect bake and turned to mixing up the biscuits.

 

Basic Rolled Biscuits:

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold butter

I mixed the flour, baking powder, and salt together and cut in the butter using my KA mixer. I then added:

3/4 cup milk

and mixed the dough together. I turned it out onto my marble pastry board which I had lightly floured and used my marble rolling pin to gently roll the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. I used my 2 inch biscuit cutter to cut the biscuits out:

 I placed the biscuits evenly spaced on one of my stoneware baking sheets and lightly brushed the tops with melted Smart Balance:

 

I baked these for 13 minutes and am very happy with how they turned out:

 

So we have blueberry muffins to snack on (minus four which are going to a friend as a small thank you for something she did for me) and the biscuits will be served topped with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert!