cozy in

The quest to create a little home library in our apartment has come to an end. Last weekend, Jeff and I cram-jammed 3 Ikea book cases into our mid-sized sedan and flew home, giddy about getting them assembled. (Disclaimer: transporting these bad boys involved scooting both front seats to their ultimate closest position to the dash. Having a width of less than one foot from kneecap to pedal, I had to smash behind the wheel and drive like a granny in an extra-small clown car home. I wouldn't recommend this practice to anyone greater than 5'6". Lesson learned: bring a truck to Ikea.) However, I'm quite in love with the results! Finally a place to store all of our (already) dusty college textbooks, a place to tuck all of my precious scrapbooks, a place to stash random knick-knacks, and a place to display Jeff's vast collection of films. It's so refreshing to have a delightful new surrounding to cozy in to after a long day (or night). Speaking of nights...Allow me to digress. Last night marked the last of my mean-streak of night shifts during and after orientation at the hospital. (For those of you just tuning in, I started my career as an R.N. last October in Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care.) I'm a pretty happy camper to be flipping back to days--starting tomorrow! Lessons learned having worked too many night shifts: 1. You'll be hungry at the oddest times. Whenever 3am rolls around, whether at work or trying to sleep the next night, you'll have an insatiable craving for Rocky Road ice cream. Ick. 2. No matter what, you can't get used to it. Up for 24 hours one day, sleep for 24 the next, it's crazy. 3. Naps don't help. Naps simply trick your brain into thinking you're a little better-rested. 4. Even though night shifts completely screw with your schedule, your life--you don't care, because you're getting paid more to have a slightly less-insane 12 hour shift. ;)