just a quick hey...

hey! Lol!

on my way out the door... holding down the pharmacy for the next few days ...some of my coworkers are out til next year.... i.e. Monday....


work, work, work......

Store Christmas Party!

Tonight was our Christmas Party for the store.... Rick & Ann (the boss and his wife) usually reserve us a dinner party each year for Christmas... this year we were able to enjoy the new room at our local favorite restaurant (The Junkyard Dog) and lets just say... YuM!!! Prime Rib... cooked to order.... baked potato ... choice of sides.... and chocolate cheesecake for dessert! Wow.... some great eating tonight! Thanks again to the Jones' for a wonderful dinner tonight!

Well, it has been a long time stranger....

Goodness! The time sure has flown since my last post. I have spent the majority of my time at the pharmacy getting ready, training and now working hard on the new computer system we had installed mid-October. (can we say OVERTIME!!!) It sure is different that the old system. I like it! Now that we are getting used to the new computer and starting to get all of it under control, I am now able to get home on time most nights and the schedule is starting to look normal again. I have practically lived at the pharmacy for the last 3 months. I believe the kids had actually forgot that I was a part of the family..... lol.

Now, the holidays are here! We are getting the house all decorated up.... found out most of my lights (they are like 10 years old) have decided not to work this year.... so we have budgeted for a few strands. Jed is so excited this year about Christmas. He saw that many people had their Christmas lights up right after Thanksgiving and he was ready to put them up that night!

We have been so blessed this year! We have paid off several of our bills over the last year! God has been so good to us. Our garden was a blessing this year to us and we have been blessed with so many finds at the thrift shops and hand-me-downs for clothes that were needed. Our life may be simple, we may not have much by the worlds standards but we feel so very blessed!

Goodness but....

I can't seem to keep on track with my blog here..... I really *want* to write daily..... but just don't feel like finding the time (cause that would mean getting up earlier than I already do...) for now know that I'm posting whenever I'm up to it.... been getting overtime pretty much each week this summer break so far and then with everything else on top of that I pretty much fall asleep before my head hits the pillows each night....seriously I fell asleep in about 30 seconds last night!!!!

I have some great stuff in my head to put down (or on rather) here but the motivation wagon has not stopped by here in a bit! Hoping that the motivation will come!

Be back soon!

Where is the Kleenex???

Well, it happened... I got the sniffles. Now to ensure that it doesn't turn into anything more!I think it is the weather at this time of year .... not that I really caught anything. We have a warm day of 70* then the next its 50* and raining. So going to medicate myself and pray that it doesn't turn into something else!

The work week calleth...

Hey there everyone... I had a great day off yesterday. I re-organized and cleaned the laundry room, caught back up on the never ending piles of dirty laundry, checked up on my mom (who is doing fine.... looks like it was just a pulled leg muscle), worked on my bedroom (goodness I had let it get right horrid!), was able to visit with a wonderful couple from our congregation yesterday with Eric while he was answering questions about their computer, printed the kid's speeches on index cards, cooked dinner, played with Jed some... and even had time to sit at the computer....whew! I think sometimes I still work more on my days off from the pharmacy.

However, now the work week is calling.... I will work the next 5 days at the pharmacy and I am hoping and praying that this week will be a much calmer week at work than last week was! Whew, didn't know everyone in town last week either had some stomach virus, the flu or this sinus mess with the weather changing around on us but it seemed that way with how busy we were!

Well, I best get off of here so I can get my socks and shoes on and be ready for my day at the pharmacy! Until my next post.....

Monday's Musings....

The strength of a man consists in finding out the way God is going, and going that way. -- Henry Ward Beecher


God is dealing with me on this.... you know.... following His will for my life. Being obedient to Him... serving Him where He puts me. But I grumble... I argue .... I say to God... are you sure you really want me for this???? Sounds like I've been taking lessons from Jonah.... huh?

I was so happy where I was... content to go along with my days. But perhaps God wanted more from me than just contentment. God wants me on His schedule...... doing His deeds..... learning to overcome the challenges He allows to cross my path by trusting in Him to see me through. Learning to be patient with my situation and humbling myself to Him and His calling on my life. I think that is one of the reasons that our life can seem to get "turned upside down".... and everything can seem to "pour right into our laps" ..... God is waiting for us to call out to Him to right our world and to take the burden from us.

You know there are some days ... some weeks even that I wonder why God wanted me back into the workforce.... I was so happy to be a stay at home mom.... I loved being here with the kids, cooking, taking care of the house.... having freedom in my schedule. And then there are days I have to thank the Lord for putting me in that pharmacy to reach out to those who may be hurting when a loved one is hurt or sick. I am able to stop and speak with someone who may be headed for surgery... or rejoice with them over a successful procedure....... I have found the blessings in my workplace and I am so humbled that God would ask this of me.

I am grateful for the time God allowed me to be home with the kids. I am also grateful that Eric is home with them now... and that we are able to live off of just the one salary. God has blessed us with a wonderful church family and great friends... we are blessed to be a part of many works for the Church and for new opportunities that come our way to work in new areas for Him. I am so blessed that our children are learning to be servants as well. God is so good to us in so many different ways!

Working on Saturdays...

So, one of the agreements that I made with my boss was to work every other Saturday. Now, I really like my Saturday's free and when I worked before had them off unless something came up and I helped to cover once in a while... but the new schedule is that I work every other Saturday.... let me say... he is great at letting me have most Mondays off so I still get a 2 day weekend... it works out fine. And the other thing is that I mostly only have to work a half day on my Saturdays to work... usually because if I work any longer I'll rack up some big overtime..LOL. So its not all bad. And.. on the Saturdays that I work... since there really are no extra workers to cover lunches well, most everyone takes only a half hour lunch.... with me leaving at 1.....so to help with lunches we usually plan and bring something to put a meal together... tacos, soups, etc....

And today its Lasagna. I'm making the bread, Emily is bringing the lasagna, Brandy is bringing salad... and Kim is bringing dessert. Not at all bad... and the boss man.... lets just say.. Rick eats good on my Saturdays...lol

just popping in...

Good Friday to all in blogland.... just popping in to say hello and that I am busy working away this weekend. Helping many people feel better during this flu/cold/allergy season!

Good Day .....Thursday's Thoughts

Oh, how I miss sitting at my computer in the mornings planning out the day. Now I sit here, reading through my email, facebook and blogs that I like to keep up with before I wisk away to a job that really has no way to plan for it..... its unpredictable..... always different..... no day is the same. Well, there are a few things that don't change.... but when you are dealing with the public ...... the SICK public.... well lets just say some days are an adventure.

God has shown me that although I really cannot plan my work day He is there with me..... when the day is hectic and chaotic .... He is my peace. When the day is full of trouble and heartache.... He is my comfort. When the day is long and hard ...... He is my resting place. There is no other like HIM .... He is all that I need and always there to be what I need. Every day is a Good Day with God.

Work pics

So, thought ya'll might like to see what it is I am doing now.....

Here is the front of the Pharmacy....







That is Diane... she is our front end manager... if it's on the floor... she knows it!




The front door....



And the pharmacy....










Our filling station....



The drug walls....


And me at the computer station....

So much going on....

Goodness the time has flown since I was on here last!


June has been a busy month. I'm working all the hours I can to support the family. Eric and the kids have put in 2 nice sized garden spots (will take some pics to load tomorrow!) and we have been busy with church activities as well! The older 3 just got back from a week at Mid-South Youth Camp (and 2 of the girls in our youth group were baptized into Christ! Whoohooo!) they have had so many stories to tell the last couple of days. Next Sunday Travis and Mia are headed off to Horizons and Travis is interning with our Preacher again this summer (he preaches the Sunday PM services on July 26th). Whew! And then there is so much else going on as well.... we are in touch with our friends in Russia about Travis and Mia going there... still not sure when, but they are both set on going in the next year! We were just informed in this morning's Bible Class that our next Mission Trip may be to New York City. (that is the plan for now... we will see)

Here at the house we are working to get the last of a large debt off of us (it will be paid off at the end of July if all goes according to plan! Yipee!) That will free us up some on our income. We are hoping to be able to get the passports needed for the Russia Trip in August. Then with our extra debt paid we are hoping to start building an emergency fund once again!!! Whoohooo!


I hope to post more now that I am having more time and my schedule at work is finally getting a routine to it. I was not able to walk to work as much as I had wanted due to weather... lots of rain then now its sooooo hot!!! Whew!!! But I am still glad that I am just about a mile from home..... in case I do need to walk in the morning or in the evening. Work is going well. I have picked back up on just about everything. Thankfully, none of the software had changed and it was much easier to get back onto the swing of things than I had thought would be the case. I do have to work long days (9 hours of standing is long no matter what you do I say!) but my body and mind are now getting back into the habit...lol.

Well, I'm off. I will post again tomorrow... gotta show off that garden!

pharmacy thoughts....

Okay everyone I have now been back to work for over 2 months... goodness time goes by quickly!

Now, I have a few things that I wish to say about pharmacy.... (sorry if I step on any toes)


First thing is that unless it is an emergency I believe you should only get your meds filled at ONE pharmacy ever. You should pick a pharmacy with Pharmacists and staff that you are comfortable with and trust and stick with them. Trying to save a few dollars here and there by switching pharmacies every other month is not worth it in the long run. Pharmacists need to be able to have a ready and ample drug profile for you so that they can help your doctors in your health care. When you constantly move your prescriptions to save a few dollars then you are at risk for some problems with drug interactions that Pharmacy "A" fills for you and the drug that Pharmacy "B" filled for you today because both Pharmacies do not have the full data required to see the possibility for problems between the drugs. Why risk your health? Build up a good relationship with your Pharmacy. Talk to the staff. Let the Pharmasist know what over the counter medications you are taking as well... including any herbal or natural medications. Let the pharmacist know of ALL your allergies. Some drugs are processed with peanut oil so it is important that a pharmacy have all of your allergies on file. If it is the money ... well, those that have insurances will always get the same co-pays not matter what pharmacy you use. And many pharmacies now are going to match prices with their competitors that it is not really an issue at the majority of pharmacies.


Second on my list of thoughts today is that getting your precription filled is not like driving up to a fast food resturant. We all know that it would be nice .... but hey, filling a precription order is not at all like filling an order for a burger and fries!!! Most pharmacies can get your prescriptions done in a fairly short time (about 15 to 20 minutes) however, there are issues that do make that time frame a bit longer. Insurance issues, clarifiying the prescription with the prescriber, high volume of traffic in the pharmacy, perhaps the pharmacy is low on staff.... any number of reasons that it may take more than the short amount of time you are willing to wait. If the prescription is something other than an emergency or needed for someone who is extremely sick, then standing and glowering at the staff because they are trying to get in touch with your insurance company to see why your new blood pressure medications is costing more than your card says your co-pays should be is not going to help. Believe me when I say the co-pays are not set by pharmacies.... if you have insurance that is who is setting the co-pay. Oh, and for refills.... well, use the automated line whenever possible.... it is okay to give refills to the technicians... for that you don't need to talk directly to a Phamacsist (techs do most of the filling these days anyway.), and give a full 24 hours before you pick up refills whenever possible. Keep track of your refills and how low you are getting on your meds.... most doctors will take refill requests for medications from phamacies, however they may (and in most cases do) require a 24 hour notice for that too. So call your refills in a day or two before you run out of meds. Don't blame the pharmacy and staff if the doctor has not called in your refill. They cannot control if your doctor calls or not.

Wow, guess I had more to say than I thought. I guess the gist of everything is that you should build a good relationship with your pharmacy. They are an important part of your providers in health care.

more about my job....

I have to say I was very blessed to return to my former place of work. I live just about a mile from work, and when the weather is nice I walk to work. It saves money on gas...is helping me to get back into some sort of shape other that a rolly polly (lol).... and it gives me time to myself for the 10 or so minutes it takes me to walk it. I am working between 35 and 40 hours weekly now and it is some long 9 hour days on my feet. So these last couple of months I have really been a zombie by the time I get home in the evenings! I am getting used to the pace once again and feel I am gaining endurance! LOL.

I do take my job very seriously, I mean we are dealing with people and their lives in pharmacy work. I try to give my best at each moment I am working. And like I told Eric, if I have to work... there is nothing I would rather be doing. I like being a pharmacy tech.


Now, for a bit of bragging on my family... Eric and the kids have been so wonderful. Eric has taken over the homeschooling of the kids and the day to day stuff of the house. The kids have taken on more chores and have been great! I feel so much less stress knowing that it is all being taken care of since I cannot do it all any longer. I have such a wonderful family!!!

Well, I'm off to finish getting ready for work.... hope everyone has a great day!

hey there....

Well since I spent most of last week on the Convention for Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes, I thought I would tell everyone today about work.....


I have gone back into the workforce as many of you now know.... I was thrilled to find that my former boss was in need of help in the pharmacy.... and so now I am working there again. I had let my certification as a technician lapse 3 years ago thinking I would not have need for it.... right...

So, that was a priority for me once I started working once more. I had purchased a review manual from Tech Lectures (Joe, I hope you don't mind the ad) and was thrilled that I had retained so much of the needed knowledge in my head!(by the way Joe, the manual is great!) Overall I studied a good month but did not do any real intensive studies until after we got back from convention and I had set my test date. I took a good 2 weeks of studying nightly after work and in any free time I found myself in and then headed off for the test. ....... Let me just say that wow! I was impressed with the new testing procedures. I liked that the test can be taken just about any time now... instead of the 3 or 4 times yearly that was the norm before. I also liked the fact that I was not crammed in a room full of 30 or more testers all testing for the same thing.... the testing facility that I took my test in this time was great! Quiet. Professional. And even though I was a bit nervous ... especially after the first few questions were a bit scary (lol) I got through with the test in under the amount of time given and had plenty of time to review my answers before finishing the test.


And then finding out if you pass or fail there on the spot was great.... I passed, by the way!

Now, I am a fully functioning Certified Pharmacy Technician once again!