Happy New Year to all!

I can't really believe that it's 2008 already, but at the same time, I have been so eager for it to come! Only 74 more days till I get married! I am so ready. But maybe you could have guessed that...

I celebrated the arrival of the new year by sleeping soundly through it. My work schedule got tweaked at the last minute and I ended up having to work both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, so that left pretty much no time for parties. Oh well. 2008 came just fine without my witnessing it, as I was most certain the case would be.

It seems like I have been working quite a lot recently. The environment at my work is still one of much change, and frequently, much stress. We have pretty much been in a state of constant turnover since the summer, which makes things a little difficult. It's hard to have adequate staffing when as soon as we get one person oriented, someone else leaves. There are currently 4 nurses in their orientation periods, 2 of whom are under my supervision. I was a little terrified when Dan approached me last week and told me he wanted me to coach 2 people simultaneously, but we talked through it, and I am hoping it will go smoothly. One of my orientees has already been with me for quite a while now, so she is pretty much independent. The other is a newly graduated RN, but she was an LVN before, so she has a very solid knowledge base. I have only worked with her one day so far, but she seems very competent and very eager to do well, so I doubt I'll run into much trouble with her. Also, their orientations will only overlap until the 21st of January, and then I'll just have one again. But seriously, by the time all is said and done, I will have been coaching people for like 5 solid months! Sometimes I don't even feel like I do anything when I go to work, because I have to let them do everything. I miss the doing things myself. But I know they need the experience, so I just follow along and watch and help as needed.

Right now I am sad because Charles left for Arlington this afternoon and will be gone for a whole week. :( Granted, I do have to work all but 2 of the days he will be gone, but still. I haven't had to go a day without seeing him since the beginning of August when Megan and I went to Las Vegas. I love being able to see him all the time. Did I mention I am ready to get married?

Exciting news!! Yesterday, Charles found himself/us an apartment!! The whole finding-a-place-to-live thing has been hanging over our heads for quite some time now, and I am so glad to have it resolved! At first, we were looking for a small house to rent, because we knew Emmy would be living there too, and we really didn't want to have to deal with a dog in an apartment. However, as the search progressed, we began to realize that all of the houses located in the area we want to live were either too expensive, falling apart, too huge, or too creepy. Also, we were having a hard time finding people who were willing to let us sign a 6 month lease or who were ok with the fact that we have a dog. By Sunday night, I had about had it. The more we talked about it, the more we came to realize that living in an apartment might be a better option after all. Most apartments are willing to offer 6 month leases, and most are ok with pets. Also, Charles and I both realized that we have been pretty spoiled by living in nice places all of our lives, and we weren't really thrilled about the prospect of moving into a dilapidated house, which is about all our budget would allow. So on Monday Charles set out to see about the apartment situation, and found us a great deal. There is a brand new apartment complex in Abilene that just opened in November, not too far from where I live now. They are really nice, and because they are so new and needing residents, and because of some holiday special they were having, we were able to get a really great deal on a 6 month lease. So, as of January 15 Charles will be living in our brand new apartment at Lexington Court, and Emmy and I will join him in March after the wedding. I am so excited!! I actually haven't seen the inside of the apartment yet, but we did drive by them the other day during our house hunting excursion, and they look really nice. Charles got to take a tour of one, and he assures me I will fall in love with it the minute I see it. Our lease runs through June 30, after which we will most likely be heading back to the Metroplex.

So many exciting things are coming up this year! I am hoping 2008 is going to be a really fantastic year!