January's Gone

I took this photo a week ago or so. It was one of the first days we had in what seemed like forever, where the sun broke through the clouds. I thought I'd even catch a beautiful sunset with my lens. That didn't happen. The barn above, sits on the edge the Boise Bench just south of Eagle, Idaho. The property is subdivided there, all around this barn. The barn will be somebody's backyard view before long.

People handle stress in many different ways. Some people have to put down, holler and scream at others to get their point across. Others tend to clam up and try to avoid conflict all together, no matter the cost. Neither way is healthy. People should be able to talk their differences out, come to some understanding and/or compromise, if that's what it takes, in a civil manner, especially if they care for one another. I just felt I needed to get that off my chest. LOL

Last week I interviewed several people for another two positions in our billing office. One position is brand new. I've promoted from within the company for one of the positions, and offered the other job to an outsider who interviewed real well. Just a few weeks ago, I also hired a new A/P & Payroll person. It's going to be a few weeks before the dust settles. This last week was also our month end close, which takes most everything I've got to get done in the time frames I'm allowed. Also this week, I started the implementation of a new billing system for our hospital, coordinating the vendor with our payers and our corporate Information Systems. And, I've caught a cold. Argh.

I've been stopping by to visit Gramma at the nursing home, most every night. It's not out of my way, and she doesn't get any other visitors besides my parents. She has been insisting she could make it back at her Assisted Living facility. So, she was transported there Wednesday. Yesterday, they had to transport her back to the nursing home, she just cannot handle being so independent. Gramma cried. She will not be able to go back to assisted living, she will live the rest of her days in the nursing home. A year ago, she was walking with her walker, and now she cannot get out of bed without assistance. I do not know if a year ago, we had tried harder to get her back home and had assistance see her there in her home, if that would have worked. I feel bad that her home was sold and she has ended up in the "system," being transferred from one facility to another. It makes me sick.

I feel I've done well with my weight so far this week. As soon as I'm feeling better I plan to get back into my evening walks with Lucy, my walking buddy. (Lucy is my dog, in case you didn't know.) I have been watching the Wednesday night show on NBC, The Biggest Losers. What an inspiration those people are! I weigh in at Weight Watchers after work, on my way home on Wednesdays. And then, watch this show later that same night. Talk about encouragement! I really get excited after all that and want to do real good.

I just heard from my guy. He's been driving through snow since he got to Wyoming. Now he's driving across Nebraska, heading east and it's still snowing. The weather was so bad earlier today, he had to pull over and wait out the storm. A blizzard, he said. My heart just stops when I hear he's driving in weather like this. Before he stopped today, his truck was being blown across the road by the wind. With ice beneath his wheels, he was headed for the ditch. He was able to pull out of the slide and regain control. Thank God he's okay. I pray he makes it safely to his destination in Wisconsin Tuesday morning.

Before my guy left on this run, we went out to see, "Walk The Line." If you haven't seen it yet, do. I loved it. Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix, both do an excellent job. They both learned to sing and performed beautifully in this movie.