Christmas stories

Today I read two short Christmas stories that made my day off even better! A new one for me was The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It's a great story! Kid's books are the best.

The other book was The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans. I think I read it many years ago but had forgotten it.

I have to say, my all-time favorite is still A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I'm having fun telling the story through WhatsApp statuses this year.😄 My illustrated copy is displayed and referenced every year.

I want to give a shout-out to my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teacher Mrs. Schmidt for instilling in me a love for this book. She'd read it every year in her incredible way. I think it's probably safe to say that her many students remember it to this day!

As a side note, last year I found this wonderful wooden four piece Christmas Carol series at an antique store. It's one of those things that grabbed me instantly and I knew they belonged to me.

Scrooge and Marley

Scrooge's flat

Fezziwig Warehouse 

Cratchit's house

Back to Christmas stories. Another classic favorite is O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham is a humorous Christmas story.

Any more Christmas books I should read?

work, food, and Christmas plans

My weekend at work 

I was ready to collapse after working Saturday and Sunday. Weekends can be brutal because there's only a few people working and sometimes the workload is the same as a weekday. This weekend there were only 2 pharmacists and 2 technicians. I was the only one making all the IV's, which the blister on my hand from pulling syringes can verify. Wintertime is our busy season. There's a large amount of IV antibiotics being used, and on Saturday I had to batch a lot of them (106 bags) to get us through the weekend. In addition, there were several CCU patients who were on IV sedatives, insulin drips, vasopressors, and end-of-life pain management. My other weekend responsibilities include cleaning all the hoods, (where we do the sterile compounding - for more details see this blog) inventory of our stock of IV antibiotics  and making sure there are enough to last 24 hours, watching the label printers and filling orders, and 3 cartfills (large batches of IV's that print every day). I ended up staying 45 minutes late both Saturday and Sunday to get somewhat caught up. I keep thinking of a Jordan B. Peterson podcast I listened to where he said, "The bulk of the work is done by a small minority of the people. The square root of the number of people who are doing the job do half the work. So if there's 10 people, 3 do half the work. For 100 people, 10 do half the work." Using that formula, if there's 4 people, 2 are doing half the work. That seems about right as it relates to my job! I certainly felt like I did the work of two people. Thankfully I'm off today so I can recover.

Easy, delicious treats
Someone brought these tasty pretzel M&M hugs to our Swarey reunion and I wanted to make a batch for the holidays.

Mariah and Allie came over Friday evening while Charles and SaraBeth went caroling, and we made these together. It's a perfect project for little helpers! The combination of sweet and salty hits the spot. Plus, they're pretty and so easy to make! Click here for the instructions.

Christmas preparations 
It's hard to believe Christmas is only 9 days away! I guess Christmas cards and letters are a thing of the past for me. It looks like a few people still have me on their list though, as I've received 3 cards. My family isn't getting together this year. Some have other plans, so Shelby's and we decided to meet in the Smokies for a few days. I worked last Christmas so was able to get off this year, and managed to get a few extra days between Christmas and New Year's. Time off during the holidays is very limited, so I figured we should do something since I was lucky enough to get it this year! A vacation in the Smokies will be perfect.

and the winner is...

Tina Koehn

won the giveaway! Each person's name was written on a piece of paper and carefully mixed up before I closed my eyes and picked. Tina told me she couldn't decide which item to choose, so I'm still considering which one to order. 

If anyone is interested, the signs can be purchased on Etsy from Misty Hollow Product Co, one of my favorite small businesses. I've ordered custom signs several times and been very happy with each one. This one is on my mantle right now.

Thanks to all who participated in the giveaway! It was so much fun I might have to do it again sometime!

Giveaway!!

It's been almost a year since I started blogging. To celebrate, I'm doing a giveaway! The winner will be able to choose between this Katie Daisy 2020 planner

Or your choice of one of these adorable mini wood beverage signs. I have the "hot tea" sign and love it!

To be entered in the drawing, comment below on what you would pick if you are the winner. The drawing will be done on Sunday evening, December 15.

Blogging has opened up a new outlet I never imagined I'd enjoy. This past year has been enriched because of it!

memories new and old

This has been a pleasant week - a ten day respite from work and wonderful family time! Every three years the Swarey family has a reunion and this time it was in Linden, Tennessee over Thanksgiving. We left a few days early and our whole family went to Shelby and Kait's to help work on their house. It was interesting having our 17 person group in their small house! We ladies cooked and helped unpack and set up the house while the men worked on hooking up appliances, doing electrical work, and framing up the carport to add an extra room. They have a nice setting in Henderson, Tennessee, and we had good times there!

Our reunion started with supper Wednesday evening. Out of the 138 descendants of Abe and Elsie Swarey, 134 attended. Our dear 86 year old grandmother Elsie is still with us, although not as active as she once was. She still sings beautifully and her stubborn streak is intact! On Thursday we had a time of sharing and one of the uncles had an interview with her about how it was for them coming out from the Amish. I learned some things I had never known before of how difficult and dark a time that was. Many people expressed their thankfulness for the decision our grandparents made. I wonder where we would all be if they had not broken away from their families and the faith they were raised in? It's evident their progeny have been blessed by our grandparents' willingness to follow God. I personally feel blessed to be a part of the Swarey lineage and am thankful we keep in touch the way we do. Nobody wants to miss these reunions because they are always filled with memories, laughter, beautiful singing, and good food.

The reunion was held at a Baptist conference center and fit our needs very well. It was one of the nicest places we've been to for a reunion, with the one exception of not having a kitchen at our disposal. Nevertheless, we managed to put on 5 meals and had 3 in the camp cafeteria. Thursday afternoon most of the group drove to Uncle Mel's shop for a demonstration of the original feed grinder that Grandpa and the uncles used to go around and grind feed for customers. As we watched the five uncles in their 50's work together to operate the machine, we could almost see them as young men in the prime of life. One of my cousins made a super neat barrel train and took the children for rides on the "reunion railroad". He dressed up as an old-time engineer and his "engine" blew out smoke and honked like a real train. The cars were decorated up like a UPS truck, fire engine, Case tractor, horse and buggy, and more! The kids loved it and I even took a ride in the buggy with one of my nieces!😄

These are some of the best times in life. It's a blessing to have a family that loves each other and enjoys spending time together. I'm so thankful for my grandparents and the heritage they gave us!

Friday night reflection

Friday nights are the best! (If you have the weekend off). It's such a wonderful feeling to know the work week is over and there's no reason to get up in the morning. A warm house and cozy bed add even more bliss.

The last few days at work have been extremely busy, which is normal for this time of year. People are being kept in the ER because there's no beds anywhere else. When the census is high it can get crazy, especially if there's some really sick people who need extra interventions. We can hardly keep up with all the medication requests sometimes. One of the evenings I worked this week there was a fire alarm. We can't use the elevators while that's going on, and I was getting ready to leave the pharmacy with a cart full of IV's and other meds. My shift was almost over and it was time to get them out, so I grabbed a big bin, put as much in as I could carry, and headed up two stories. It was a workout! My arms are still slightly sore.

Last night around 9:00 I answered a call in the pharmacy and it was our night shift tech calling off. I could tell he was upset and hardly comprehended when he said the mother of his daughter had committed suicide. I don't know much about his personal life, but don't think he was ever married to this lady. What a tragedy! That kind of news feels like a punch in the stomach. Today a pharmacist was telling a story about something that happened to his son last week. He was walking out of the garage where he parks for work when he heard a "splat".  A person had jumped from 2 stories above and landed about 10 feet away from where he was standing. How awful to be a witness to such trauma! There's so much sadness and misery in our world.

I don't want to end on a bleak tone, so maybe I'll count a few blessings since it's almost Thanksgiving. 

Thankful for

• Online shopping and grocery pickup
• I'm off all next week!
• It worked out for me to take time off between Christmas and New Year's 
• A reliable vehicle 
• Family nearby - and that Derek & Camille are moving here! 💜

Five favorite beauty products

Blog inspirations have been absent lately so I decided to write about some of my favorite beauty products to go along with my posts on favorite home and garden tools and favorite kitchen tools.

rose clay face mask

This is something I tried for the first time yesterday. My awesome sister-in-law SaraBeth recently started making candles, lotion, and other skincare items and generously gives me samples of her products. My face felt clean and refreshed after using this mask, and I really think it made my skin glow! Check out Sarabeth's Etsy shop here. If you're local, she also sells her products at her house.

Aquaphor Healing Ointment

This works wonders for healing cracks on hands or feet. I even use it as a lip moisturizer. Last week I accidentally nicked my finger with a strong blast from the pressure washer, which peeled the skin off. I covered it in Aquaphor and put a bandaid over it for several days and it quickly healed.

coconut oil moisturizing cream

I use this on my hands every night before going to bed. It's creamy but not greasy, and has a pleasant scent. It makes my dry hands and arms feel soft and moisturized.

Melaleuca Affinia shampoo

Many shampoos contain sulfate and other chemicals that can damage your hair. I have really thin hair and try to do all I can to keep it healthy. I've used this sulfate free shampoo and conditioner for years, and if I ever use a regular shampoo like Herbal Essence or Pantene, I can't believe the difference. My hair has more body and is much more manageable with Affinia shampoo.

MaryKay Timewise Moisturizer

This is my favorite facial moisturizer. It doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy or cause breakouts.

three years at St. Joe's

This week I passed my 3 year work anniversary. Sometimes my job feels humdrum, then other days I'm reminded of all the reasons I love what I do. Although there's drawbacks and downsides to every workplace, I'm still happy to be part of the Penn State Health St. Joseph team. Our hospital is small enough that you get to know a lot of the employees. There's a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. Diversity is celebrated. I appreciate the fact that every morning, a prayer is said over the loudspeakers. My husband and I are provided with health insurance and savings for retirement.

Working in the pharmacy suits me very well. I'm involved in the medical field, which fascinates me, but don't have to do hands-on patient care. This means I don't have to deal with angry, difficult patients or family members. One of my nurse friends told me tonight, "I think you've found your niche." I have no idea what will happen in the next five years, but feel settled with where I am right now, even though some days I still long to be in the classroom or greenhouse.

This week we celebrated pharmacy week with various activities. I mentioned in another post how we vote on superlatives like "most helpful", "most likely to make you laugh", "pot stirrer", etc. I was given the "cool as a cucumber" award, which was flattering!

Often in the morning when I have to get ready for work I wish I didn't have a job and could have the pleasure of staying at home. But I'm so thankful I'm healthy enough to have a full time job. It's a blessing!

all things pumpkin

I love pumpkin season! There's so many delicious recipes to try and pretty pumpkins to pick and decorate with. I always like to do a pumpkin picking excursion but haven't yet this year. I did cook a pumpkin though, and tried a recipe I thought would be fun to share!

First of all, if you're going to cook a pumpkin, I highly recommend the Long Island Cheese variety. It has excellent flavor and is so much better than canned pumpkin!

Long Island cheese pumpkin 

Cut the pumpkin up in several pieces and remove seeds. Add a small amount of water to the roaster so it doesn't stick, and bake around 300 degrees for an hour or so, until it's soft when pricked with a fork. Let it cool, then remove any remaining seeds or stringy insides. Scoop out the pumpkin flesh and blend until it's nice and smooth. It can be kept in the fridge for quite awhile. This can also be frozen, but will be more watery once thawed, so keep in mind you might need to add more flour to a recipe if you're using frozen pumpkin.

This is my favorite pumpkin recipe so far. It comes from my sister Keela.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins 

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
16 oz. pumpkin
1 cup oil
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 cups chocolate chips

In large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add to pumpkin mixture; mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.

Makes 24 muffins.



Now for my favorite pumpkin quote.

And my favorite pumpkin poem.

Happy punkin' gathering and baking!

self love

I've been thinking about self care the last while and have more questions than answers. I'd really like to learn more about how to love yourself in a healthy way.

So often the thoughts directed toward ourselves are negative. Maybe it's not this way for everyone, but I think we all experience it to some extent. What would it feel like to be completely content with how we act, our clothes, body, skin, hair? Some ladies always look nice and wear the latest patterns, fabric, sweaters, and shoes. Others don't think as much about their appearance. I think we should all respect ourselves enough to be presented in the best possible way.

What if we treated our bodies like a plant that we carefully nurtured? Instead of hating our shape or size, how about thinking I want to take care of my body. It needs more fresh vegetables and fruits, water, exercise, sunshine, and rest. What if we were friends with ourselves and spoke kindly instead of feeding our mind with thoughts like You are fat and ugly, everyone else is prettier than you. You can't sew like that person and your dresses are old and plain. Your hair is a mess and that's an old-fashioned hairstyle. Your skin is too pale and blemished, you'll never have a nice complexion. Would you say those things to a friend? Or even an enemy?? Those kind of thoughts can become so loud and convincing we actually start believing them.

I'm not sure if I got my thought out correctly. I'd love to hear from anyone if you have wisdom or experiences to share on how to have a healthy view of yourself!

the in-between time

Weather really affects my mood. The end-of-summer feeling is dragging on, and true invigorating fall days are not yet here. It's hard to feel inspired in this in-between time.

Today was a good day though. After working until 11 last night, I slept late and lounged around all morning since it was my day off. It was the perfect gray rainy day for idleness. I continued in this manner all day, and didn't accomplish anything more than a trip to the grocery store, a load of wash, and cooking supper. The rest of my time was spent reading and napping. What luxury!

I'm trying to embrace having a day like today without feeling slightly selfish and guilty, but haven't fully accomplished it. We're so trained to make efficient use of our time and achieve a standard of being a good wife/homemaker/mother/employee and that can be exhausting. I've found it refreshing and uplifting to my mental health to have a day to completely relax without having a to-do list. But there's this little voice in the back of my mind that says, "You're slothful and lazy. You should've sewed/cleaned/done this or that instead of wasting the day away." Is this voice the truth? Or is it alright to practice self-care by occasionally doing exactly what we like? Mothers probably never even have a chance to experience a lazy day and that makes me feel even more convicted, but also privileged!

To chase away the seasonal blues, I sit on my deck and soak up the sunshine on a nice day. Getting outside and walking is another boost, but takes more effort. I faithfully walked for a month or so until I began having knee pain like I've never experienced. It was so painful it affected my energy at work so I've taken an extended break. I really want to try again soon, maybe with a knee brace. I guess I'm aging!

Tomorrow is back to work. The following quote is really quite true for me, so I will continue taking time for relaxation and self-care and try to look at it as a way to recharge and make my work even better!

Books worth mentioning

Although I read a lot, I don't very often come across books that I'd rate 5 stars. It has to be a book that I never forget to rank that high. There were a few recent reads that made a 4 star rating and fully interested me though.

I expected A Man Called Ove to be just another mediocre novel, but ended up loving it. Ove seemed at first to be a grumpy old man but when you stripped away the gruff exterior, there was a sweet, tenderhearted person underneath. At times it was truly funny how cantankerous and rude he acted. Thankfully Ove's heart of gold began to shine through and by the end of the book, he was a much-loved neighbor and friend.

Destiny of the Republic is a nonfiction book about a little-known President, James A. Garfield. It reminded me a lot of Bill O'Reilly's Killing series (Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, etc.) For history fans, this is a great book. It's very informative and tells in detail about the assassination attempt and astounding incompetence of Garfield's doctor, who could've saved his life if he had not been so ignorant.

A book I read several years ago did actually make quite an impression on me, even though I didn't realize it at the time I read it.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a true story about a poor, unknown black woman, and how cells taken from her body became one of the most important tools in medicine. I find it fascinating to think that those "immortal" cells are still alive, over sixty years later. Truly intriguing for anyone interested in science and medicine. The book is also a story about Henrietta and her family, which is just as interesting.

Gossip? or concern?

In this age of WhatsApp chats and statuses, news and information quickly gets passed around. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. I suppose it's some of both. However, I think it can quickly turn into gossip. 

Messages telling of a tragedy or someone's personal pain are passed around with "Let's keep them in our prayers." We need to be careful we're not using that as a pretense to spread news. If it's someone we're not personally acquainted with, does it need to be broadcasted? When not much is known about a situation and we contact someone who is more involved to find out details, isn't that just to gratify our curiosity? If we really are only passing the message around so that we can pray for the people involved, we don't need to know all the details. God knows the situation, and all we need to do is ask Him to be with them. He knows what the answer is.

Some people seem to thrive on negative news and being the first to know about happenings. It appears to bring them pleasure to tell someone else, "Did you hear about the accident/disturbing condition/wedding announcement in the _______ congregation?" Usually sentences that start with "did you hear" are followed by some kind of gossip.

Possibly I'm in the other ditch of not being interested in and talking about people enough. It never leaves me with a good feeling when I discuss someone else's failings though. I'm all too aware that I have my own problems and wouldn't want someone else discussing them unless they truly cared and wanted to help me. I don't have time for negativity and drama. What if we used all the energy we put into talking negatively about other people and used it to talk about the good in that person? Or better yet, tell the person themself what you admire about them!

It's tremendously uplifting to receive a genuine compliment and makes both the giver and receiver feel good. That's the kind of news that needs to be shared!

The gift of life

We had an intriguing case at the hospital this week. The way I understand, a woman in her 50's came into the ER having a heart attack. They were able to revive her and she was taken to critical care. After a day or so, it was determined she was brain dead - apparently her heart had stopped long enough that blood and oxygen were no longer flowing to her brain.

I was working evening shift when the pharmacist mentioned this lady passed away. Soon after, orders were coming through on the same patient, and the pharmacist realized they were keeping the patient alive so that her organs could be donated to Gift of Life. I made a few IV drips for her, and left soon after. Throughout the night more IV's were sent and she was scheduled to go to the OR the next day. When I came to work, we were sending drugs to the OR to be used during the organ recovery. This was so fascinating to me... I wonder what I'd have to do to watch a case like this! Gift of Life has their own team to organize and make all the arrangements, as well as harvesting the organs.

In this case, I don't know the details of what organs were donated.

What a beautiful way to live on after your body is dead! Although I've never been in a situation where I had to make this kind of decision, it seems it would take away some of the sting of death to know your loved one is giving someone else's loved one another chance at life.

I've heard some people say they don't want to be an organ donor because if they're in a critical condition, the doctors won't try to save them. This is a myth/conspiracy theory. Here is what the Gift of Life website says about this:

Organ and tissue recovery takes place only after all efforts to save your life are exhausted and death is declared. The doctors working to save your life are entirely separate from the medical team involved in recovering organs and tissues.

Also, organ recipients are not selected based on who can pay the most. Again, from the Gift of Life website:

You cannot pay to change where you rank on the waiting list. Patients are matched based on a variety of factors that include medical urgency, blood/tissue type and size match with the donor, time on the waiting list, and proximity between the donor and the recipient.

More than 114,000 people nationwide are waiting for an organ or tissue transplant. Every ten minutes, another person is added to the list.

If you're not already an organ donor, please consider it! For more information or to read stories from donor recipients, visit the Gift of Life website here.

Favorite kitchen tools

In an earlier post I listed some of my favorite home and garden tools. Although I don't spend a lot of time in the kitchen, I have a few favorite items. Here's that list!

11x15 inch nonstick cake pan
Slightly bigger than a 9x13, I love this pan for coffee cake. It turns out with the perfect thickness. I don't know what brand mine is and couldn't find it when I searched online, but this one looks to be similar.

Vapo-seal cookware
Since it's first use, I've been impressed with my cookware, a gift from my parents. One of my more recent "discoveries" was the Dutch oven. For years I only used it as a kettle, until I saw someone else using it as a Dutch oven. I have a huge magnalite roaster and a small splatterware roaster, so the Dutch oven is a perfect in between size.

Oneida silicone spatula 
This was a bridal shower gift from my mom and has been my favorite spatula for 15 years! It's the perfect size, flexible, and dishwasher safe. Alas, I don't think they are made anymore. All I could find was a picture of one that is similar.

Large cookie scoop
I don't know the exact measurement of this cookie scoop - it's the next size bigger than the one I use as a regular cookie scoop. It's perfect for shaping meatballs and muffins.

All the Tupperware 
From mixing bowls to microwave containers, Tupperware is hands down the most used item in my kitchen. Every day there's Tupperware containers in my lunch. We drink from Tupperware tumblers. If you removed all the Tupperware from my kitchen, there wouldn't be much left!