Meeting Patty Duke!

Bill is on the board of the Children's Center here in Vancouver.  It is a mental health clinic for children and their families.  For this year's fundraising luncheon, Kim Hash was able to book Patty Duke to be the keynote speaker.  We were invited to go to a breakfast to meet Patty in a smaller venue and get our pictures taken.  It was such a delight to meet her.  I am a little young to remember her from her first "Miracle Worker" in which she won her Oscar for.  And a little too young for watching "The Patty Duke Show" as well.  But I have seen her in various roles on television over the years and was very much looking forward to meeting her.  She was so funny and down to earth. 

She didn't have any prepared remarks for the luncheon.  She spoke off the cuff.  She told stories of her struggles with bipolar disorder.  And about growing up as a child star and her children--Sean Astin and MacKenzie Astin in particular.  It was part comedy routine and part very serious and emotional for her. 

The lunch was a great success with almost 400 people attending--more than they have ever had attend.  It was wonderful to get so much good press and exposure for the Children's Center and their wonderful work.

The Big Wedding

I took my friend, Colleen, to Cinetopia today to see "The Big Wedding".  We normally go out for each others' birthdays.  Hers was last month so it has been way overdue.  But I finally had a free weekend now that my certification test is over with.

Cinetopia is my absolute favorite place to go see movies.  I have been in a different type of theater every time I have gone.  This time when I reserved a living room--it was different than I expected.  The living room that I have been in before was a smaller theater.  This one was actually a balcony in a bigger auditorium with the extra large screen.  But it did have the really comfortable chairs, ottomans and food and beverage service that I have come accustomed to.

The movie was very funny.  A little racy but very fun.  A lot of complicated relationships and secrets that all come out at the wedding.

So all in all a good day.  Got to see my buddy and see a really fun movie.

Certified

Today was a big day for me.  I have been working as an informatics nurse for quite awhile now.  Two years ago--I actually left perioperative services to join the nursing informatics department.  It was a bit of a scary move at that time--leaving the comfort zone of the operating room but my job was going away and I needed to move to that position.  I have a new more scary move coming up.  Our whole department will be looking for jobs soon.  The PeaceHealth system has decided that nursing informatics will become clinical informatics and will be system level jobs.  So we have to apply and interview for whatever jobs they decide to post--and we don't really know what they are going to look like yet.  So a lot of unknowns.

I have actually been working toward getting my certification for a year and a half now--taking lots of continuing education classes and prep courses to try to get ready for it.  I have been studying particularly hard the past month or so.  It was so important to me to get this.  I felt like I needed it to be competitive for the new jobs that will be posted.  So many of my co-workers have or are working towards their masters degrees.  And one of them is even working on her doctorate.  So I have been feeling like I needed to do something to make myself look more competitive.  At this point in my life, it was hard enough for me to devote my attention to getting this certification accomplished much less try to get my masters degree.  I just don't have the attention span for studying and writing papers anymore.

So happy to have this accomplished.  Now to start working on my interviewing skills.  Yikes.  I haven't interviewed for a job in 18 years and they didn't do behavioral based interviews back then.  I have been involved with interviewing others and have always thought--"Glad it isn't me--I don't think I could answer these questions."  So more work ahead but for today--it was a very good day.

Say Cheese

This is a pretty old photo--like 6 years old.  But I was trying to get a fun photo shoot with the cousins all together at the middle school playground in Tomah.  It was the very first time all these kids were together.  And sadly--with my kids being adults now--it may have been the last time--at least for awhile.

But I distinctly remember getting the little kids to "Say Cheese" so this was a fun kit to scrap this layout.  The kit name is "Snap Out of It" and it is currently available at from Polka Dot Pixels at thedigichick.com.

This week from Polka Dot Pixel

Available at The Digichick this week by our Emily AKA Polka Dot Pixels--three new kits.  Spree, Boy Oh Boy and About a Girl.  These are the layouts I did with those kits--a bunch of heritage album layouts.  Hope you enjoy them.

Moving to The Digichick

Two Peas in a Bucket has been my digital scrapbooking home for 7 years now.  It was with great sadness that we all learned that Two Peas did not value its digital customers and decided to disband its digital design and creative teams.  I have been a part of the Polka Dot Pixels creative team for the past two years now.  Emily started guest designing for thedigichick.com this month and has been taken on as a new designer.  So I will be changing my digi home to TDC as well.  I did a few layouts with the kits that she released this week at TDC.  Hope you enjoy these photos from the past. 

Hoppy Easter

We had a nice Easter Sunday.  I has been a long time since we have not had a rabbit on Easter so it was sad not to have Ranger around this year.  The week before Easter, I saw these bunny cookies at a bakery.  They were just too cute to pass up so I ordered up a few for us to eat for dessert on Easter.  I thought maybe they might cheer Chris up a bit.

Bill and I took Beverly to early church and then out to breakfast.  Chris went to late service.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous--in the 70's and sunny.  Mother Nature was teasing with us having such a nice day.  We enjoyed a lovely lamb dinner in the evening--and then our cookies of course.  Fairly quiet day but very pleasant.