Hello my lovely readers 🙂  I hope that you had a nice weekend.  Mine was spent trying to overcome a sore throat and the sniffles.  Thankfully, I was able to go home early from work on Friday and get a head-start on some healing.  I hate being sick.  I’m about 50% better today.  I think part of the issue is how dry the air is here – Chris has started shooting sparks each time he walks across the carpet, so I’ve started running the humidifier.

This weekend had quite a few bright spots, despite being under the weather.  On Saturday, Chris and I made the 40 minute drive to my brother and sister-in-law’s house.  You probably don’t know that my sister-in-law, B, is a very talented person.  She’s so creative and has her hand in lots of different projects: she has her Master’s and teaches at a local high school, working with students who have learned English as a second language.  She also plays the violin, is involved in their church, works in some capacity with a local orchestra/symphony (I can’t remember which), and creates beautiful pieces of art and clothing.  I wanted to buy a few of her ornaments this year.  I’ve coveted wanted the ones that she made for my mom last year, and I was bound and determined to get some of my own this Christmas.  And so I did!

This is one of the ornaments that I purchased.  It’s made entirely from paper, and the design is Russian in origin.  I also really liked this one:

This is another one made entirely from paper with a pretty tassel at the base.  It’s a Japanese design.  Finally, I bought this ornament:

I’m not sure what this ornament has its origins in, but I really liked the combination of colors and the curling edges.  I may keep this one out all year long and hang it in front of my window.

And just to showcase a few of her other items, check out the ornaments that she gave us 2 Christmases ago:

B made these out of eggs that she hollowed out, then hand-painted.  They’re so delicate and I’m always afraid to open the box each Christmas for fear that they’ve broken!

If you’re interested in any of these ornaments, be sure to check out her Etsy shop: Magic Carpet Bag.

Adding to my weekend fun was the arrival of my giveaway winnings from Anna at Southern Champagne Wishes.  Anna sent out some of her favorite things, and I’m so glad that she did because they’re some of my favorite things, too 🙂

Included in the giveaway was a Tervis tumbler with lid, a gorgeous Banana Republic scarf, the Valentino DVD, and a pretty compact with lucidity powder from Estee Lauder.  That compact is so pretty that I’m reluctant to even use it, but I know that I will.  Thanks so much, Anna!

In other exciting news, I spoke with the nurse recruiter from New Zealand this evening.  She was very helpful, but also made it pretty plain that the odds of me getting a standard day shift position in a hospital in Auckland are virtually non-existent.  Apparently, hospitals there will not hire a nurse who only commits to one shift, unless it’s the night shift.  Otherwise, you have to rotate.  She couldn’t give me a ratio (e.g., 2 weeks of day shifts to 2 weeks of night shifts), but did say that if I really wanted a day shift, I could possibly find one working in a 9-to-5 Urgent Care type of setting.  I told her that I would be open to this, but that I would also be willing to do the rotations (ugh).

She mentioned three hospitals that would be good choices and gave me a bit of info about all of them.  She also said that since Chris has a job secured and I don’t actually need one in order to get a visa, it might be better to have her set up interviews for when I arrive rather than doing international phone calls.  I much prefer this option.  I’m a bit leery about committing to a hospital that I’ve never seen, especially one in another country.  She said that if I waited to do the interviews in May when I arrived, I would probably have about 3-4 weeks of time to settle in while going on interviews, clearing with employee health, etc.  That sounds ideal, since it would also give me the flexibility to look at housing options.  So, that’s what we’re planning to do.  I’m going to continue with my NCNZ RN application and hopefully get that sent off ASAP.  She recommended doing it quickly, because if there are any hitches it can really slow things down.  Also, I’m able to list their agency as having access to my application, which will allow them to check on it for me and make sure that it’s progressing as it should.  They’ll also be able to let me know sooner if there have been any problems.  That’s a big relief!