My Nursing Degree

by Katy on March 13, 2012 · 171 comments

I have made a lot of decisions over the past 44 years–some good, some bad, but mostly pretty awesome. I married the right guy, I chose to have my kids, and I was somehow forward thinking enough to get a highly marketable college degree. Because yes, I am the proud owner of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

I was able to immediately parlay that degree into a satisfying and well paying job I’ve held onto for 17 straight years. Originally I had wanted to be a Certified Nurse Midwife, which would have required an additional master’s degree. But it turned out I found working as a labor and delivery nurse to be immensely satisfying!

My job is unique, as it requires my full focus. The patient I’m working with will remember the birth of her child for the rest of her life, so if I’m distracted and just go through the motions, it’s a big deal. I have to be safe, caring, supportive, a drill sergeant and educational–all the while keeping up with my charting and hospital protocols. (Difficult but possible.)

How I do my job as a nurse makes a difference. Being a hospital nurse is an extremely special career, as it at once all-encompassing yet can be left at the workplace. As the child of teachers, I know how unique it is to have a career that doesn’t take over your home life.

However, a nursing degree can be used in so many different ways. Don’t want to work in a hospital setting? Fine. You can work as a case manager for an insurance company, a drug rep for a pharmaceutical company, an employee health nurse for a company or in research. (All examples of where different friends have worked.) Essentially, you can go through an entire career change while still utilizing the same college degree!

I graduated from a University in New Mexico in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and immediately moved back to Portland. And despite having no professional connections, I was able to land a job as soon as I passed my nursing boards. Why New Mexico? Because my husband was getting a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography there.

So when BlogHer asked if I would be interested in writing up my experience of being a nurse, I was more than happy to oblige. I’m proud to be a nurse. In 1994 there weren’t any online schools (that I was aware of), but all of that has changed. Schools such as Capella University now offer a variety of degree opportunities (including Master’s and PhD programs) that work wherever you happen to be geographically located. They offer a rigorous and supportive learning community, making for an educational experience which can help you make a difference in the life of others. Your degree can change more lives than your own, if you let it! And if you wonder whether their students are able to find jobs, Capella’s website offers graduate stories, and there’s even a You Tube channel! Heck, they even have a Facebook page.

How about you? Are you happy with the career path you chose? Please share your stories in the comments section below. BlogHer is donating $1 for each comment left here (up to $500) to a charity of MY choice – The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! Let’s work together to raise money for a meaningful cause.

Rules:

No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total donation entries by leaving up to two comments in response to the prompt on this post.

This promotion is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

The Official Rules are available here.

This promotion runs from 3/13/2012 – 3/31/2012.

Visit the BlogHer.com Capella page to check out more blogger stories and for more donation chances!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

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This has been a paid review through Blogher. All opinions are my own.

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20 Things You Can Do Today To Live A Greener, More Frugal Life

by Katy on March 12, 2012 · 22 comments

The following is a reprint of a previously published post. Enjoy!

trinity-college-library-dub

  1. Use your library.

  2. Eat the food you’ve bought, and eat then your leftovers.

  3. Shop from your closet instead of buying new clothes.

  4. Give gifts that you already own, like a couple of great books or an admired knick-knack.

  5. Go for a walk outside instead of on a treadmill.

  6. Cook from scratch.

  7. Send your kids into the backyard instead of taking them to a movie or arcade.

  8. Repair items instead of replacing them.

  9. Turn the thermostat down in your house and add an extra layer.

  10. Plant a vegetable garden. It’s amazing what you can grow in even a small space. (We grow all our own lettuce for the summer in a single wheelbarrow.)

  11. Make your own cleaning products, or better yet, clean with water.

  12. When a friend wants to get together, go for a walk instead of eating out.

  13. Choose a simple close-to-home vacation instead of a can-only-get-there-by-flying elaborate trip.

  14. Bring your own bags to the grocery store. Always. And then make sure they give you that three cent per-bag refund.

  15. Minimize your garbage output, then go to a less frequent pickup service.

  16. Drive less, and then contact your insurance agent to get a discount.

  17. Hang-dry your laundry.

  18. Decline invitations to those Tupperware, Party-lite, Pampered Chef etc. parties.

  19. Buy used whenever possible. Better yet, join The Compact.

  20. Refuse to use credit cards for anything that’s not an emergency.

Did I miss something? Please add your list in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Easiest DIY Project Ever! — Faux Iron Grate from Rubber Mat

by Katy on March 10, 2012 · 10 comments

I bought this rubber mat at a garage sale last summer. I forget what I paid, but it couldn't have been more than $2. Sadly, it's a functional useless item, so I replaced it last fall.

 

But then I saw this DIY project on Pinterest. Yo, even I can do that!

 

So I set aside the *five minutes* necessary for this project and sprayed some of my leftover chrome lamp paint over the mat. I chose to not sand away the paint, as I'm pretty sure the paint will wear off naturally in time.

 

A couple of hooks from the front porch was all it took at hang my new "metal grate." I highly doubt anyone will ever guess the origins of my schwanky outdoor decor.

 

Thank you, Pinterest! And now I just need to flank the "iron grate" with a little something-something. (Sorry about the clothesline hangers, but that just how I hang. Nyuk, nyuk.) BTW, do you see that stone to the left? It's shaped exactly like the state of Oregon.

Thank you to the blog Salvage Dior for the inspiration!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Book Giveaways — “Easy Money: How to Simplify Your Finances and Get What You Want Out of Life” and “One Year to an Organized Financial Life”

by Katy on March 9, 2012 · 97 comments

It’s somehow been awhile since I’ve hosted a giveaway on the blog, so today I’ll be giving away two, count ’em two financial literacy books. And because I’m a big cheapo, they’re both from Multnomah County’s  Title Wave bookstore which sells used library books.

Both books are chock full of great financial tips, and who among us could not benefit from a little financial organizational inspiration? (I think I’ll reread these books while I wait to declare a winner!)

To enter this giveaway write something in the comments section about how you organize (or don’t organize) your finances. I will randomly choose a winner for both books on Monday, March 12th at 9 P.M. Pacific time. U.S. residents only, one entry per person.

Here, I’ll start it out:

I automate as many of my bills as possible. This way I never have to worry whether the bills are being paid on time.

Now your turn. What do you do?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Non-Consumer Mish-Mash –Cherubs, Paintings, Found Money & Thrifted Rugs

by Katy on March 8, 2012 · 42 comments

It’s time again for Non-Consumer Mish-Mash, where I write a little bit about this and a little bit about that.

Fishy Cherub Girl Finds a Home

For those of you who doubted that I actually bought the cherub riding a fish ashtray, here she is on my bedside table. Don’t you think the marble and glass pair well with my alabaster lamp and crystal, (okay, plastic) lampshade fringe?

I love her, she’s so deliciously tacky.

Goodwill Find of the Century

If you’re like me and love to haunt thrift stores, your dream is to find a priceless treasure priced at just a couple of bucks. Sure, I’ve bought $25 rugs and sold them for $100, and I once even found a collection of Sasha dolls for $20 that I later sold for almost $2000, but an elderly Florida man recently hit the jackpot.

The retired antiques dealer, (who says he visits his Goodwill four times per week!) came across an old oil painting that he knew was something. His daughter-in-law took it to Antiques Roadshow where it was appraised for $20,000 – $30,000, but when he put it up for auction, it sold for:

$190,000

Click HERE to watch the video.

And in case you think this guy was lucky, keep in mind that this man has been scouring for antiques for 60-odd years. Even so, he’s my hero.

Coin-Girl’s Found Change Challenge Update

So far I’ve found . . . $10.73 plus a number of foreign coins. My goal is to find $65.00 by the end of the year. (This is the cost of renting my friend’s beach cabin for a single night.) I’m a bit behind and need to step it up a bit.

Must add find more money on the ground to my to-do list!

Do I Need to be Turned into the Rug Enforcement Agency?

I ran an errand yesterday to try and find the perfect shade of green spray paint for my project chair, and treated myself to a quick stop into the enormous Salvation Army thrift store on S.E. 82nd Avenue. I mostly just wandered around, unmotivated by anything I saw, but then I spied two rolled up rag rugs. I unrolled them both and found them to be constructed from wool fabric and quite beautifully designed. (Rag rugs can be a bit hodgepodge.) I couldn’t find anything wrong with either of them, and a quick sniff test, (gross but necessary) revealed neither cigarette nor animal smells. I could tell from the fabric that these babies were antique.

A short conversation with an employee clarified their return policy, (basically you buy it you keep it) but at $8.99 apiece these rugs were a great deal with minimal investment.

I now have them both up on Craigslist, and should be able to quickly place them into new homes. Hopefully, before I bond with them too much.

Hello, gorgeous! What's a girl like you doing hanging out in a thrift store?

 

Hello, cutie, wanna come home with me?

 

Update: I just now sold the rugs through Craigslist for $100! The turnaround on buying/selling these rugs was less than 24 hours. I am *very* happy!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Goodwill — 99.99% Crap, .01% Treasure

by Katy on March 7, 2012 · 75 comments

Whenever I write about my Goodwill finds, I inevitably get comments  along the lines of “Your Goodwills are so much better than mine!” and “You have such a good eye, I never find anything at my Goodwill!”

I am here to tell you that although Portland’s thrift stores are pretty good, they’re not that much better than those in Albuquerque, New York, Idaho, Chicago and Ohio. (Places I have lived and thrifted.) And Portland Goodwills are not as good as their Seattle counterparts. (Seriously, Seattle Goodwills are crazy awesome and much, much cheaper than in Portland.)

And to prove my point about how all thrift stores are 99.99% junk and .01% treasure, I have some photographic evidence from the main Goodwill:

Shelves of lamps, but nothing I would want to bring home.

 

I think every thrift store in America has a collection of these disgusting decorative food in-bottle atrocities. Do they ever sell? Do people *want* botulism?

 

Heloooo, Oliver North! Are you selling weapon to Iran? Then let's put you on a commemorative plate!

 

Wait a minute . . . this vintage lamp is rather wonderful. And I have been keeping an eye out for a glass lamp that I could try doing a faux mercury glass technique with. And if this lamp hadn't been priced at $19.99, I would have brought it home. Instead, I left it at Goodwill for someone with deeper pockets than I.

 

Bobble heads and various knick-knacks. But do you see what I see?

 

A Ghostbusters "Stay Puft" figure. I once saw an entire shelf of these toys in a decor magazine and it looked way cool. However, it's not my thang, so I left it for someone else.

 

Good lord, do the knick-knacks ever end?!

 

And among the Trail Blazer bobbles, Barack Obama Chia heads and vintage owls I spied something special. Because when a vintage cherub is mounted on marble plinth while riding a fish and balancing an ashtray on her head, that *is* special! She's the Annie Oakley of cherubs. Quick, someone get her a rifle!

 

Perhaps I should have not bought the $5 cherub tschochke, and if I'd had a shopping partner she could used this little Goodwill item to "whip" some sense into me. Then again, my undersesa cherub ashtray is looking mighty fine holding rings on my bedside table.

There now, do you finally believe that my thrift stores are just as crappy as yours? Portland Goodwills are just as full of junk as anywhere else. Then again, they’re just as full of treasures.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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P.S. I was kind of embarrassed to stand alone and snap that picture of the used whip. It’s not exactly typical soccer mom behavior. Then again maybe it is. How would I know?


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How to Supplement Your Income

by Katy on March 6, 2012 · 52 comments

Goodbye, Morris chair! It turns out it’s more important to feel good than to look good.

As an experienced labor and delivery nurse, I make a good living. True, my sixteen-hour-per-week schedule will never make me wealthy, but it’s enough to pay the bills and have a little leftover for my Goodwill addiction habit.

But what about when I need money for extras like a trip to Japan or home improvement projects?

Well . . .  there’s always the option of extra work shifts, but I’ve learned that a key component in not burning out in my stressful job is to work enough, but not too much.

But an aversion to overtime does not mean that I can’t supplement my income. In fact, I really enjoy figuring out little tricks to bring in extra money.

Here’s how I supplement my income:

I keep an eye out at thrift stores for vastly underpriced items that have resale value. Examples include:

I also am a big fan of selling our unused household items rather than have them gather dust and clutter up our home. Examples include:

  • Our antique Morris chair, which looks fantastic in our living room, yet is so stiff and uncomfortable that no one ever sits on it. I bought it on Craigslist in 2006 for $250, and someone is coming by today to buy it for $250. (I probably should have asked more, as I got a number of immediate eager replies.) I am through with form over function if that particular item takes up a significant amount of space.
  • A stack of old Mary Engelbreit magazines that I sold for $41.00 on eBay.
  • A vintage tandem bicycle that my husband and I bought in 1990, and only rode occasionally. I forget how much we paid, but I sold it for $125.
  • Selling books at Powell’s bookstore. (Which you can also do online.)
  • Holding garage sales.
  • Listing unused sporting equipment on Craigslist.

I also help my mother run her Guest Cottage business. Mostly playing the role of cleaning lady between tenants, but lately also doing general management tasks. I think an important lesson here is that even though I’m a skilled nurse and mildly successful blogger, (not to be confused with “mild mannered” 😉 ) I am not too fine and mighty to earn money as a housekeeper.

We’re also currently renting out our spare bedroom to a Japanese college student. And even though we don’t charge much, it still adds to our Japan trip fund.

Money is money no matter how you earn it. Did you notice that nothing that I do requires any special skill or talent? Just the work and a willingness to put in the time.

What do you do to earn extra money? Please share your ideas with the Non-Consumer Advocate community in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Cleaning Out The Fridge Without Wasting Food

by Katy on March 4, 2012 · 47 comments

I don’t know about you, but my fridge has the ability to go from nicely organized to overwhelmingly crammed faster than you can say:

“What the h#%% was this?!”

So tonight I set a goal to use up as many containers of leftovers as possible. I prepared a meal whose only redeeming quality was it had many, many different ingredients. Actually, it was kind of three different meals, as I needed to appease the various different palates of my family members. (Normally I refuse to make different meals to cater to picky eaters, but tonight it was actually helpful to have to serve a couple different mini-meals.)

The main dish was a frittata, but I also cooked up a scrambled egg/sausage/cheese dish for my older son and the last of some grilled chicken over rice for my younger egg-averse younger son.

In all, I used up:

  • 2 sausages
  • A container of vermicelli noodles leftover from last night’s spring rolls
  • A small amount of leftover salmon steak.
  • Leftover shrimp.
  • Leftover grilled chicken.
  • Eggs (We somehow had two almost-full containers)
  • Leftover rice.
  • Last of an avocado.
  • 2 red peppers that started to go soft immediately after I bought them. (I cut off the mushy bits to compost.)
I think the reason why my fridge goes from feast to famine (and back again) is that my husband and I both pick up groceries, and we’re not the best meal planning communicators. Luckily, the crammed-full fridge situation did not result in any significant food waste, although I am going to give it a thorough scrubbing tomorrow, and I do expect to unearth a mystery container or two.

It’s really important to consider what’s already in the refrigerator when planning meals. Extra bits can go into soups, salads, casseroles, and yes, even frittatas. Of course, I also try to simply eat the leftovers as lunches and snacks.

Have you been working to minimize the food waste in your home? Please share your thoughts and tips in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Hello, Short, Sweet and Craftsman-y

by Katy on March 4, 2012 · 24 comments

Thrift stores are all fine and dandy, but garage sales prices can’t be beat! Just yesterday, my older son and I were out and about when a garage sale sign grabbed my attention. True, it was a sketchy garage sale in an empty lot behind a sketchy business; and true, the bulk of the merchandise consisted of mildewy looking stuffed animals, but then this gem caught my eye:

Sweet, tiny and with an antique craftsman vibe, this vase was doing nothing but coming home with me! And at 50¢, the decision was pain-free.

Perfect for forcing a few forsythia branches in my kitchen window.

Mwah!

Now, when does true garage sale season start?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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During, But Not After

by Katy on March 2, 2012 · 35 comments

Before and afters, we all love them. But real life is not a TV show. Projects take a lot longer than 30 minutes, which is why I am sharing my lamp project before it’s actually completed.

Remember my Goodwill lamp? I can't pinpoint why exactly I love this lamp so much, but the swirly curves just remind me of a bumper off a classic car, which is why I chose to paint it with a chrome spray paint.

 

I removed all the wiring, (which I'll replace with wiring from a lamp that my husband broke.) Here's the lamp base all sanded down and ready for the first coat of primer.

 

Here's the lamp base after one coat of primer. Note that the sky is cloudy.

 

After primer coat number two. The sky is now clear and blue. (Around twelve whopping minutes have passed.)

 

And here's the lamp after the first coat of "chrome" paint from the auto supply store. Note that the clouds are back.

 

Here's the second coat of paint.

 

And finally, here's the third and final coat of spray paint. Isn't it groovy? And guess what, the blue sky is peeking out again, and it miraculously didn't rain!

 

I’m really pleased with how the lamp base turned out, and I’m looking forward to reinstalling all the electrical works in a day or two. Then of course, it will be time to start looking for a lampshade that I can either tart up Pinterest style or perhaps even find as-is at Goodwill. Right now, I plan on using the lamp in the living room, where it will replace a very stately floor lamp that’s grandma-i-fying the room too much for my comfort.

I will certainly be sharing this project again when it’s completed, (which might take awhile, as playing with this lamp happens between my work days, family  commitments, general malaise and weather issues. ) Frankly I’m amazed that I was able to get five coats of paint on this lamp today without having to stop for rain!)

Do you find the timeline of TV projects to be laughably unrealistic? Have any lamp stories or suggestions to contribute? Please share your thoughts with the Non-Consumer Advocate community in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Twitter.

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