Christmas is Over...

I always get a little depressed when I take down my Christmas decorations because every year it seems like Christmas comes and goes so quickly. This year, I decided I would make taking the Christmas decorations down a little more fun by making a blog post about a certain Christmas tradition in my family.

Every year, my mom buys my brother and I special Christmas tree ornaments. She started doing this the Christmas before we were born, and has continued it every year since. Every Christmas when we were kids, my mom would make us stand next to the Christmas tree holding that year's ornament. At the time, it was a painful experience (especially during those dreadful teenage years). But looking back now, it is one of my fondest Christmas memories. Some years the ornaments serve as a reflection of a big event that occurred during the year. Other years, my mom just found an ornament that she liked and bought it. I don't know if this was her original plan all along, but once my brother and I moved out of our parents' house and into our own places, my mom passed along each of our ornaments to us. Thus, I currently have 27 Christmas ornaments of my own--pretty much enough to decorate a whole tree! Here are some pictures of some of my most favorite ornaments through the years (I'm not going to bore you with all 27!):

1983 Ornament

(The Christmas before I was born)

(If you can't read what's written on the bottom of the ornament, it says "We were expecting baby #2")


1984 Ornament

(My First Christmas)

1989 Ornament

1999 Ornament

2003 Ornament

(The year my parents went on their first cruise)

2009 Ornaments

(2009 was a big year--my first cruise AND my first house--so there are two ornaments for this year)

2010 Ornament

Even Colby is getting his own ornaments!

My 2010 Christmas Tree

2010 in Review

As 2010 draws to an end, I have decided to take some time to reflect on all of the things that have happened this year. While not everything that has happened in 2010 has been great, I am fortunate that I have experienced far more great things than not-so-great things in 2010.


The Saints win the Super Bowl!

For as long as I can remember, my father has been a die-hard Saints fan. Even through all of those seasons that the Saints were the 'Aints, my dad always remained loyal to his team. So you can imagine how exciting it was for my family when the Saints won the Super Bowl this year. And I must admit, I have become quite the Saints fan this year.



Moving into the New WIC

In February, my co-workers and I said "Peace Out!" to our old digs and "Hello!" to the new Women and Infants' Center. The WIC is a pretty awesome state-of-the-art hospital, and after working in this building for over 10 months, I couldn't imagine going back to working in the old building. As you can imagine, Move Day was very busy as we moved over 60 premature and sick babies from the old building to the new building. Steph A. and I were on the receiving team on Move Day, and you can tell we worked very hard.





Backyard Landscaping Project

When Spring came along, I realized that yard work is an important part of homeownership. Luckily, my mom lives for yard work, so I had a lot of help. With my mom's help, my plain backyard was turned into a horticultural paradise. And surprisingly, I didn't kill too many of the plants! As a reminder, you can read the posts that detail my backyard landscaping project here and here.

Steph G.'s Michael Jackson-themed Birthday Party

It's no secret that the Stephanies (my co-workers) are huge "M.J." fans. On the one year anniversary of his death, which just so happened to also be Steph G.'s birthday, "M.J." made a brief return from the grave to celebrate with us. He performed a few numbers, and then just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone. But we were able to snap this picture with the King of Pop before he left:


You can read more about "M.J.'s return" here.

The New Pool

Over the summer, I made a big purchase and put in a pool in my backyard. I spent many a summer day floating...I mean sitting...in my pool while soaking up some rays. It was heavenly. Here's a picture of that awesome pool:



The Snake Incident

Well, I take that back. Not every summer day spent in my backyard pool was heavenly. There was the snake incident, where I almost ended up sharing the pool with a very un-welcome guest. But, my brave Colby stepped in and saved the day as I was being chased around my backyard by this snake. If you haven't heard this story, you must go here and read it.

Penelope, My Goddaughter

In August, I became Auntie Ann to a sweet little baby named Penelope. Penelope is the little sister of Piper, Henry, and Rosemary, three kids that I had the great fortune of caring for during the weeks that they spent in the NICU after being born prematurely. Shortly after Penelope was born, I was honored when her parents asked me to be her godmother. Penelope's Baptism was celebrated in October, and it was a very special day for all of us.


I am so proud to be Penelope's godmother, and I look forward to this special connection that we will always share.

Beach Trip 2010

The annual CCN beach trip occurred in August, and, as usual, it was a blast. There was good weather, good scenery, good tanning, good food, and good times were had by all. I am fortunate that many of my co-workers are also some of my most awesome friends. We like each other so much that we even hang out outside of work!


You can read more about CCN Nurses Go Coastal 2010 here.

Death of Tootsie

In October, Tootsie the cat passed away at the age of 17. Tootsie was my childhood pet. To put things in perspective, I got her when I was 9 years old. Tootsie lived a good, long life, which included two extended vacations out in the wilderness. On one wilderness vacation she was gone for 5 weeks, on the other she was gone for 3 weeks. Both times she just reappeared at my parents' house (much to my dad's dismay). Tootsie was a good pet, and she is missed (for the most part).



The Great South Bend Adventure

At the end of October, I finally built up enough courage to jump on a plane and go visit my friends, Kevin and Colleen, in South Bend, Indiana, after the Flying Fiasco of 2007. Some of the highlights of the Great South Bend Adventure included seeing Notre Dame's campus, going apple picking, and making a day trip to Chicago. I see no need to go into great detail now since I think I did a pretty okay job of that here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Rhonda, a Good Friend and Co-Worker

In November, CCN lost a great nurse and wonderful person. Rhonda, or "Momma Rhonda" as many of us younger nurses called her, was more than just a co-worker to so many of us--she was also a good friend. She died unexpectedly in a car accident on her way home from work. This tragedy was such a shock to all of us, and I don't think we'll ever fully recover from the shock. Rhonda's presence is definitely missed every day at work. But this tragedy has reminded us all how precious life is, and how we must live each day to the fullest. It has also brought my co-workers and I so much closer together. We have grieved together, shared our memories of Rhonda with one another, and we even celebrated Rhonda's birthday together a couple of weeks ago. I don't think any of us could have made it through this tragedy without our CCN family.

The Colby Containment Project

In recent weeks, I have discovered that my little dog is quite the escape artist. One night I came home from work to find him on the other side of my fence, in my neighbor's backyard. Colby has suddenly developed a new interest in escapology because a lion has moved in to the yard next door. Okay, maybe it's a Chow-Chow...but close enough, right? You'd think Colby would want to stay on the safe side of the fence. But no! My fearless dog has found a new playmate in this lion next door. In an effort to keep my dog on my side of the fence, a few weeks ago my mom and I undertook the Colby Containment Project. So far Colby seems to be outsmarted by our efforts, but I've learned to not put anything past my little escape artist. You can read more about the Lion Saga and the Colby Containment Project here, here, and here.


I hope you have enjoyed reading about my 2010. I'm looking forward to all of the new adventures that 2011 will bring. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Ann and Colby!

The Colby Containment Project

After a great deal of discussion, my parents and I developed a plan to keep Colby from digging under my fence to get to the Lion next door. Through the use of plastic chicken wire, 8-foot-long landscape timbers, and wooden stakes, we hope that we have outsmarted that little dog.











Let me see you dig your way out of this one, Colby.

The "Lion" Saga Continues

Colby has not stopped in his pursuit to get to the Lion on the other side of the fence. The other night when I got home from work, my dog was not at the door waiting to greet me. In fact, he was nowhere to be found in my house. I cracked open the back door and called him, and still nothing. At this point, I started panicking. I searched the house more closely, and still didn't find my dog. Finally, I stepped outside to the back yard and Colby came running up to me and started jumping all over me. And then I realized that my sweet dog, and consequently myself, were all covered in mud...again. I looked to see how big of a hole he dug this time, and was surprised by what I saw:



Yes, my little 15-pound dog split the wood of my fence in his pursuit to get to the Lion. Here's a look at Colby's damage, taken in broad daylight, so that you can get the full effect:



I must not have hidden how annoyed I was very well, because all Colby could do the rest of the night was hang his head in shame.



Despite the impressive damage Colby made, I still didn't think he was successful in getting to the other side of the fence. Until the other day when I went outside and found him like this:



He wasn't stuck, I just happened to snap the picture as he was making his way back to my side of the fence. It looks like he's done this maneuver a time or two before.

As it turns out, Colby and the Lion are good friends now. As much as I hate to break up this blossoming friendship, I'm just not crazy about the idea of my dog tearing up my fence and digging his way through it at will. With my parents' help, I am currently trying to figure out a way to outsmart my dog and keep him inside my fence. In the meantime, you can be sure that Colby's outdoor privileges have been revoked.

A Lion Moved In Next Door

Well, not really a lion. But he's big and he's mean and he roars like a lion every time I walk outside to my back yard. So Colby and I refer to him as the Lion.

So here's the new lion that lives next door:



Colby is not at all happy about the Lion. He does not appreciate the fact that he has to share one side of his fence with this new creature next door. Since both dogs are male, they spend hours upon hours having marking competitions along the fence. Lately, whenever I take Colby on his walks, I've noticed that he will just ignore the small dogs that pass us but then act like he wants to devour the dogs that are five times his size. So you can imagine how insane he acts whenever he sees the Lion.

One night last week, I came home from a long 12-hour shift at work and found my little Colby looking like this:



No, he did not decide to dye his hair red while I was at work. The muddy footprints all over my house were my clue that he had spent the day playing in the mud outside. However, when I ventured out into my back yard the next day, it became clear why Colby was so muddy.





Apparently he had had enough of the Lion and decided to get to him however he could.

A Week of Thankfulness: My Job

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, I will be spending my Thanksgiving taking care of some of God's tiniest miracles. Of course, I would be lying if I said I would rather spend my Thanksgiving at work than with my family. But if I can't spend Thanksgiving with my family, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather spend it with than some sweet little babies. Since I will be spending my Thanksgiving at work, I've decided to reflect on how thankful I am for my job today.

My job allows me to do what I love everyday, which is caring for some of the tiniest and most fragile human beings. I am always amazed by the strength of these tiny babies. My job also entails helping the parents of these tiny babies understand what is going on with their child and helping them learn how to care for their baby in the hospital and after discharge. I also enjoy this part of my job. One day last week at the end of my shift, I was telling a baby and her parents goodbye because I knew the baby would be discharged before I returned to work. The mother of the baby started crying and hugged me before I left. Moments like these remind me that what I do really makes a difference in other people's lives. I love that I have a job that allows me to make such a difference.

My job is not always easy. There are many days that I just wouldn't be able to make it without my co-workers. Whenever I am having a bad day, my co-workers seem to always be there to help me out, put a smile on my face, and make my day a little easier. In nursing, co-workers are often more than just co-workers--they become more like family. My co-workers and I have experienced this fact in a very real sense this past week as we have dealt with the unexpected death of a co-worker. This tragedy has brought us all so much closer as we have grieved together and shared so many memories of our beloved co-worker. I am thankful for my work "family", and I am so lucky that many of my closest friends are also my co-workers.

I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving, and I hope that you are all able to take some time during this Thanksgiving holiday to reflect on everything you have to be thankful for.