It was so good to just be home today! I slept in because Lani didn't wake until 8:00 -- a miracle from God! What a beautiful, wonderful, lovely thing...I love just lying in bed and feeling the warmth of the fleece sheets (just had to bust them out before we left town last week because I was just too cold with the regular cotton sheets), the weight of the down comforter and the blankets that I pile on top of that: one from my mother-in-law (it is really heavy, plush, warm), one from long ago that I bought to be a throw for my couch (heavy chenille), and one from my dear friend Sara that is one of my favorite colors, a gorgeous, muted teal (a lightweight chenille with a basketweave pattern). Sara gave me the blanket when I was going through my cancer ordeal (now 7 years ago, I think). It was the perfect gift because I was always cold at work and I could wrap it around my legs or sit in my office chair and wrap my whole body in it if I needed to warm up. I just love to snuggle down into bed when it is cold outside and I can just stretch and wake up slowly. It is a treat.
I also got to go to yoga today, so I am an especially happy camper. Got my haircut this afternoon and while my mom was working on it, I tried to convince her to join me tomorrow and give yoga a try. I hope she does, because I think she will enjoy it. She cut Jon's hair, too, and then later, Dartagnan's. I think D got about 3 inches cut off and it is now out of his eyes. I kept telling him he was going to give himself whiplash because he was always jerking his neck to flip his hair out of his eyes.
Didn't study today...that is bad. I have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Test coming up early next week in PNS, I believe. Also, must put together the rest of our group presentation in Toxicology (3 more pages, single-spaced) and then from that have to create the PowerPoint presentation...should only take about 30 min. or so. Ha ha! Right! I wish!
Jon finished reading his Dan Brown book, "The Lost Symbol," that he borrowed from Win. He really wants me to read it. I told him I probably won't be able to until the PNS test has passed because I need to focus energy to that. He understands.
While we were out of town, I did a bit of shopping, but I was unable to find a dress coat to replace my very worn Banana Republic black peacoat I bought in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on my very first recruiting trip at my previous job. It is about 9 years old. I stayed behind to shop in Peoria while Jon brought D and Lani back home yesterday. I was just preparing to leave Peoria (without having found a coat I'd fallen in love with) and had stopped by Panera to get a sandwich so I could eat and drive home, when I was sitting at a light, waiting to go to the interstate. I was munching on my sandwich and waiting for the light to change and suddenly, I saw a red Dodge Durango spinning around in front of me and another red Durango looking like it was pushing the other one and they were both headed right toward me. There was nothing I could do and nowhere to go, so I just thought, "Oh, no, I'm going to get hit." I tensed up a little, and thankfully, the two vehicles began to lose momentum as they approached my car and then one hit my Honda Civic on the right front quarter panel and smashed it up. It stopped and two men jumped out and ran away. Very strange behavior. The other Durango came to rest right in front of my car, as though I was in line behind him at the light. Three people were taken away on back boards and I hope they are all OK. I was fine except BP was a little elevated, as was pulse. Jon's dad, Jeff, and Mariola, his wife, both came to see me from their ballroom dance lesson. Jeff checked out the damage and said it would be OK to drive after he bent out a piece that was rubbing on the tire. I'm glad I could get home, because I was really tired of being gone at that point. I finally arrived home by 9:00 and couldn't wait to fall in bed, but Jon and I had to unpack the car, which held our food and other bags that we split between his van and the car for the trip.
While we were in Peoria, Jenni, Jon's stepsister, gave Lani an ice-skating lesson. Jenni teaches at the local rink and is quite an accomplished figure skater. Lani loved it! I expected she might be on the ice for 15 min. or so, but she was out there the full 45 min. available and didn't want to quit when it was time. She's so fearless! We took pics and I am quite certain she is one of the most beautiful, fun kids in the world!
I still need to call my friends and catch up with them, but just felt like I needed a "decompress" day to myself first. I'll be on the phone tomorrow to return phone calls and e-mails.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Country Farmhouse Christmas
We have spent the past few days in the country, outside of Peoria (Jon's hometown is Brimfield, a small town just outside Peoria). We have been sharing a beautifully restored/updated farmhouse with Jon's mom and stepdad. It is really a great place; I'll try to link in photos if Judy, Jon's mom, has time to show me how tomorrow (I'll have to remember to ask, because she is really computer savvy! She sends us electronic greetings for every holiday that are so clever and beautiful.).
We had been debating about whether to drive to Florida for Christmas or not because Jon doesn't get to see his mom nearly as much as I get to see my parents. The situation worked out very well, though, when he located this great farmhouse on a home vacation rental site. It has only been in use as a vacation rental a very short time (beginning of November) and so is still in its "new" stage. The people who bought it live in California, but grew up across the street and always loved this house. When it went up for sale recently, they bought it and updated the things that needed it (the two bathrooms have new fixtures, tile, etc.) and restored the things that needed it (the hardwood floors are gorgeous). It is very nicely furnished: the rugs are beautiful and thick, most of the beds are super comfy with that memory foam on them, warm and cozy bed linens, including thick and soft blankets under pretty quilts.
We have really been enjoying all the family that have been to visit and dine with us here. Judy has been baking and cooking non-stop since she and Win arrived last Tuesday night from Florida. She is an excellent cook and baker and we have eaten quite a bit of delicious food. Quite a bit! I'm so thankful that we didn't need to make that drive to Florida after all and that we came here instead. It is really quiet and peaceful out here, and when there was a fresh snowfall last Thursday, it was just magical. I don't love snow; in fact, I want to live someplace that rarely to never sees snow, but I must say that I do really love when the snow is coming down, so gently, in big flakes (which are really clumps of snowflakes stuck together), especially when landing on evergreen trees, which surround this house. No matter which window you looked out on that day, it was just pastoral. It made me feel very much like we had just moved here when the house was built, over 100 years ago, and that we were very far from "civilization." I don't normally like that feeling of isolation, but it was actually nice for those two days.
I am not someone who can stay cooped up for a very long time, however, so today, Dartagnan and I headed out to take back the gloves I bought him for Christmas because they are not the pair he really wanted. We ended up buying him a winter coat to replace the one that has been lost, a pair of dress shoes (his first pair since our wedding three years ago), and some t-shirts (everything was on sale!). I went to lunch with him at Longhorn and my carnivore had an order of chili cheese fries, a 9 oz. steak, and root beer float. The loaded baked potato and mac n cheese side dishes were too much for him to finish, so we brought them back here with my baked sweet potato (yum!). I had a strawberry pecan salad, and we shared their warm, fresh bread. It was so good! After lunch, we headed out to the other mall (started at Grand Prairie and ended at Northwoods), and got a few more things. One of the funny things that happened was that I purchased perfume at Macy's and when I unwrapped it to show Jon tonight, found that it was not the scent I intended to buy: I wanted Eau Tranquility by Clarins and instead got something very similar, but not that. It turns out that I really love this new scent too, so I'm keeping it. That was a good "mishap!"
Well, I am absolutely wiped due to all the walking today, which felt so good to get out and move around more, so I'm headed to bed. Getting up early tomorrow morning to make fruited oatmeal in the rice cooker and have to get the towels out of the dryer in the basement to fold and put away.
We had been debating about whether to drive to Florida for Christmas or not because Jon doesn't get to see his mom nearly as much as I get to see my parents. The situation worked out very well, though, when he located this great farmhouse on a home vacation rental site. It has only been in use as a vacation rental a very short time (beginning of November) and so is still in its "new" stage. The people who bought it live in California, but grew up across the street and always loved this house. When it went up for sale recently, they bought it and updated the things that needed it (the two bathrooms have new fixtures, tile, etc.) and restored the things that needed it (the hardwood floors are gorgeous). It is very nicely furnished: the rugs are beautiful and thick, most of the beds are super comfy with that memory foam on them, warm and cozy bed linens, including thick and soft blankets under pretty quilts.
We have really been enjoying all the family that have been to visit and dine with us here. Judy has been baking and cooking non-stop since she and Win arrived last Tuesday night from Florida. She is an excellent cook and baker and we have eaten quite a bit of delicious food. Quite a bit! I'm so thankful that we didn't need to make that drive to Florida after all and that we came here instead. It is really quiet and peaceful out here, and when there was a fresh snowfall last Thursday, it was just magical. I don't love snow; in fact, I want to live someplace that rarely to never sees snow, but I must say that I do really love when the snow is coming down, so gently, in big flakes (which are really clumps of snowflakes stuck together), especially when landing on evergreen trees, which surround this house. No matter which window you looked out on that day, it was just pastoral. It made me feel very much like we had just moved here when the house was built, over 100 years ago, and that we were very far from "civilization." I don't normally like that feeling of isolation, but it was actually nice for those two days.
I am not someone who can stay cooped up for a very long time, however, so today, Dartagnan and I headed out to take back the gloves I bought him for Christmas because they are not the pair he really wanted. We ended up buying him a winter coat to replace the one that has been lost, a pair of dress shoes (his first pair since our wedding three years ago), and some t-shirts (everything was on sale!). I went to lunch with him at Longhorn and my carnivore had an order of chili cheese fries, a 9 oz. steak, and root beer float. The loaded baked potato and mac n cheese side dishes were too much for him to finish, so we brought them back here with my baked sweet potato (yum!). I had a strawberry pecan salad, and we shared their warm, fresh bread. It was so good! After lunch, we headed out to the other mall (started at Grand Prairie and ended at Northwoods), and got a few more things. One of the funny things that happened was that I purchased perfume at Macy's and when I unwrapped it to show Jon tonight, found that it was not the scent I intended to buy: I wanted Eau Tranquility by Clarins and instead got something very similar, but not that. It turns out that I really love this new scent too, so I'm keeping it. That was a good "mishap!"
Well, I am absolutely wiped due to all the walking today, which felt so good to get out and move around more, so I'm headed to bed. Getting up early tomorrow morning to make fruited oatmeal in the rice cooker and have to get the towels out of the dryer in the basement to fold and put away.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Friday/Funday!
Had so much fun with the girls at lunch! We went to Los Agaves and had margaritas and delish Mexican food. They were so kind to create a vegetarian version of chilaquiles verdes that I love. It was truly savory. The bell peppers and mushrooms were sauteed, but not overcooked and the flavors were such a wonderful compliment to the salty sweet Jose Cuervo margarita. Was fun to laugh about school, talk about where we are headed over break, where we might practice, funny things our children do/say...a very pleasantly passed two hours. Yep. Two hours we were there. And it didn't seem like it at all.
I came home and took a little nap. Really didn't feel like working on my Christmas present project, mainly because I blogged too long before going to judge the contest, so I didn't have time to get the things from the garage that I need. So Jon agreed to help me bring in the items needed in the morning so I can work on it first thing tomorrow. Not that either one of us is going to be excited about going out in the cold to carry things in from the garage in the morning any more than we were excited about the prospect of doing it tonight!
Lani has been coughing in her sleep. I hope she's not getting sick. Today she got pinched by another little girl at school. I told the director that I can't blame the other kids for wanting to get back at Lani because she can be so mean to them, hitting and kicking them. I didn't feel sorry for Lani, that's for sure! Maybe a pinch is what she needs so she knows it doesn't feel good to be on the receiving end of the abuse.
Jon is worn out. This week has been really stressful for him and I think he's relieved that it is over. When I came home from my restaurant outing, he was vacuuming the living room. I was so happy to see that! What a man I have!
Last night we hung out with my parents after classes and opened gifts. Was a really pleasant evening hanging out with them. My mom made tacos. They were excellent, as most everything she makes. She also found some brie infused with BLACK TRUFFLES! I love truffles and it was quite the treat! Lani wanted some on a cracker and ended up eating the brie off of the cracker and left a soggy cracker on her plate.
I spent time tonight looking at penny round tile pics online. Trying to find a color that is either a gray or brown/tan that would look good downstairs in that bathroom that we'll be building/remodeling very soon. Want to get some ideas...saw some things I really liked. We will probably put a white subway tile on the walls, about halfway up around the wet areas (wall and backsplash that the sink will be on) and all the way to the ceiling in the shower area. I am sooo looking forward to another bathroom in the house. Since the basement flooded/sewer backed up in '08, we've been without a basement bathroom and it wasn't much of one then; a toilet room/water closet (WC) in the European sense, a sink in the laundry room adjacent to the WC, and a shower that I never used, nor would have used next to it. Scary, not finished, cement. The WC wall's were some flimsy pieces of board that had been painted and weren't even framed in well. The plus is that Jon was able to demo the old stuff for hauling out pretty easily. Jon has already completed the busting up & moving things under the concrete floor in there. The perimeter drainage line hasn't been completed yet in the media room, but we'll get to it this Spring or sooner. I might spend part of this break down there digging up rock to bring up and haul outside. We'll see. It would be nice to get some projects done over break so we can move on to the next things on Jon's very long list.
Since I'm getting up early to work on the presents, I probably should head downstairs, put the load of laundry I washed earlier this evening into the dryer and start the load of dark colors/jeans, so my menfolk have something to wear this weekend on our visit to Peoria.
I came home and took a little nap. Really didn't feel like working on my Christmas present project, mainly because I blogged too long before going to judge the contest, so I didn't have time to get the things from the garage that I need. So Jon agreed to help me bring in the items needed in the morning so I can work on it first thing tomorrow. Not that either one of us is going to be excited about going out in the cold to carry things in from the garage in the morning any more than we were excited about the prospect of doing it tonight!
Lani has been coughing in her sleep. I hope she's not getting sick. Today she got pinched by another little girl at school. I told the director that I can't blame the other kids for wanting to get back at Lani because she can be so mean to them, hitting and kicking them. I didn't feel sorry for Lani, that's for sure! Maybe a pinch is what she needs so she knows it doesn't feel good to be on the receiving end of the abuse.
Jon is worn out. This week has been really stressful for him and I think he's relieved that it is over. When I came home from my restaurant outing, he was vacuuming the living room. I was so happy to see that! What a man I have!
Last night we hung out with my parents after classes and opened gifts. Was a really pleasant evening hanging out with them. My mom made tacos. They were excellent, as most everything she makes. She also found some brie infused with BLACK TRUFFLES! I love truffles and it was quite the treat! Lani wanted some on a cracker and ended up eating the brie off of the cracker and left a soggy cracker on her plate.
I spent time tonight looking at penny round tile pics online. Trying to find a color that is either a gray or brown/tan that would look good downstairs in that bathroom that we'll be building/remodeling very soon. Want to get some ideas...saw some things I really liked. We will probably put a white subway tile on the walls, about halfway up around the wet areas (wall and backsplash that the sink will be on) and all the way to the ceiling in the shower area. I am sooo looking forward to another bathroom in the house. Since the basement flooded/sewer backed up in '08, we've been without a basement bathroom and it wasn't much of one then; a toilet room/water closet (WC) in the European sense, a sink in the laundry room adjacent to the WC, and a shower that I never used, nor would have used next to it. Scary, not finished, cement. The WC wall's were some flimsy pieces of board that had been painted and weren't even framed in well. The plus is that Jon was able to demo the old stuff for hauling out pretty easily. Jon has already completed the busting up & moving things under the concrete floor in there. The perimeter drainage line hasn't been completed yet in the media room, but we'll get to it this Spring or sooner. I might spend part of this break down there digging up rock to bring up and haul outside. We'll see. It would be nice to get some projects done over break so we can move on to the next things on Jon's very long list.
Since I'm getting up early to work on the presents, I probably should head downstairs, put the load of laundry I washed earlier this evening into the dryer and start the load of dark colors/jeans, so my menfolk have something to wear this weekend on our visit to Peoria.
Break!
I was reluctant to get out of bed this morning. Yesterday my ribs were aching so much that I had to breathe shallowly. I slept OK, but really just wanted to snuggle back down under the down comforter for some more zzz's instead of going to PNS. I'm very glad that I did not snuggle back into my bed because we ended up getting a 2 point quiz in PNS today! That is really unusual. Dr. Schmiedel's past pattern is to give the quiz in the week before the upcoming exam. We just had our exam the first Friday of December and won't have the next until the second Tuesday after break. So we were very surprised and over half the class wasn't there. Two of my friends missed the quiz, sadly, because they are re-taking the class, too, and could have used the points.
I stopped by the Clinic after class to get adjusted. It took several attempts and methods, but my thoracics, which had subluxated anteriorly, finally cooperated. I am feeling better now, but am still craving a little more sleep...
I went to Wallace's Garden Center afterward and picked up a few of their Christmas items that were marked down to 20-40% off. I love going in there and just browsing for when I have time (which is not often). They have such creative people on their staff who put together beautiful displays. After blogging, I'm going out to the garage to pick up the things I'll be using to put together the gifts we'll be giving this year and I'll get that set up on the dining room table before I leave to head back to Palmer to judge the Admissions contest.
The prizes for the contest are great! One is a day off work, others are an overnight stay at the Radisson, half days off work. I wouldn't mind winning any of those and I'm sure that everyone who decorated her/his (more ladies than gentlemen in the department) cubicle will be delighted to win. It will be fun to be part of it!
Once the judging is over, I'm headed out with my friends Trine, Sheila, and Jen to celebrate Christmas, Jen's Birthday, the Break and some time off school. We are very much looking forward to hanging out together and having some girl-chat over Mexican food - yum!
When I get home, I'll get to work on the Christmas present project & I might go ahead and wrap the things I picked up at a garage sale for Lani this Fall. I remember that one of the items was a Melissa and Doug wooden "paper" doll set. The dolls & their clothes are magnetic and they have multiple outfits. I know she will have fun with that. And I also found some more train cars and figures to go with her Thomas the Tank Engine train set she has. She loves getting it out and setting it up and driving the train on the track. I can't remember what else was in the bag; I hid it about 3 months ago.
I have to get the laundry done today, too, because we'll be headed to Peoria sometime tomorrow morning for our Christmas with Jon's dad and stepmom. Will be nice to see everyone and visit. Looking forward to going. Jon hasn't decided if we'll stay the night or not. It doesn't matter to me either way, but it would be nice to get to go to our church on Sunday morning. If we don't, we can always go to the wonderful church that Jeff and Mariola attend. We really like it, too.
Headed out to the garage...brrrr!
I stopped by the Clinic after class to get adjusted. It took several attempts and methods, but my thoracics, which had subluxated anteriorly, finally cooperated. I am feeling better now, but am still craving a little more sleep...
I went to Wallace's Garden Center afterward and picked up a few of their Christmas items that were marked down to 20-40% off. I love going in there and just browsing for when I have time (which is not often). They have such creative people on their staff who put together beautiful displays. After blogging, I'm going out to the garage to pick up the things I'll be using to put together the gifts we'll be giving this year and I'll get that set up on the dining room table before I leave to head back to Palmer to judge the Admissions contest.
The prizes for the contest are great! One is a day off work, others are an overnight stay at the Radisson, half days off work. I wouldn't mind winning any of those and I'm sure that everyone who decorated her/his (more ladies than gentlemen in the department) cubicle will be delighted to win. It will be fun to be part of it!
Once the judging is over, I'm headed out with my friends Trine, Sheila, and Jen to celebrate Christmas, Jen's Birthday, the Break and some time off school. We are very much looking forward to hanging out together and having some girl-chat over Mexican food - yum!
When I get home, I'll get to work on the Christmas present project & I might go ahead and wrap the things I picked up at a garage sale for Lani this Fall. I remember that one of the items was a Melissa and Doug wooden "paper" doll set. The dolls & their clothes are magnetic and they have multiple outfits. I know she will have fun with that. And I also found some more train cars and figures to go with her Thomas the Tank Engine train set she has. She loves getting it out and setting it up and driving the train on the track. I can't remember what else was in the bag; I hid it about 3 months ago.
I have to get the laundry done today, too, because we'll be headed to Peoria sometime tomorrow morning for our Christmas with Jon's dad and stepmom. Will be nice to see everyone and visit. Looking forward to going. Jon hasn't decided if we'll stay the night or not. It doesn't matter to me either way, but it would be nice to get to go to our church on Sunday morning. If we don't, we can always go to the wonderful church that Jeff and Mariola attend. We really like it, too.
Headed out to the garage...brrrr!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Cervicals update
I am typing this post on my new laptop Jon bought me for Christmas! I love it! It is a Compaq Presario and the screen is nice and wide and it is a really sweet gift! Yea! It is exactly what I wanted. Now I just need to figure out how to download to my iPod...
Anyway, today's Cervical practical was really nerve-racking. I was very nervous and afraid I'd not remember anything. I remember enough. I scored 30 out of a possible 36. When I'm under pressure in the practical setting, I just feel like I'm not going to be able to remember anything at all. I did remember quite a bit more than I thought I would, but tended to mess up the little stuff, like keeping my arm close to my body. I was the last one to leave. Had Christin for my partner and she was really easy to work with. She's very good and went before me, so I was really thinking about my listings, which are handed out at the beginning on a card, to try to think through what the set ups and motions would be. Christin and I stayed a little after class and talked with Dr. Swanson and expressed our opinion that the class could almost use another hour each day just for practicing set-ups and thrusts to get them down better and to have professor feedback so we know if we are performing correctly. She agreed that it would be beneficial because of the sheer amount of information covered in the class.
I'm happy that that practical is over. Tomorrow I have one class, PNS, at 7:30 & I'm thrilled because then I'm officially on break! Planning to help judge the Karen's Kris Kringle Kubical Kontest in Admissions at noon and then going out to lunch (& possibly margaritas!) with some of my friends when they get done at 1. I think we'll have fun!
Anyway, today's Cervical practical was really nerve-racking. I was very nervous and afraid I'd not remember anything. I remember enough. I scored 30 out of a possible 36. When I'm under pressure in the practical setting, I just feel like I'm not going to be able to remember anything at all. I did remember quite a bit more than I thought I would, but tended to mess up the little stuff, like keeping my arm close to my body. I was the last one to leave. Had Christin for my partner and she was really easy to work with. She's very good and went before me, so I was really thinking about my listings, which are handed out at the beginning on a card, to try to think through what the set ups and motions would be. Christin and I stayed a little after class and talked with Dr. Swanson and expressed our opinion that the class could almost use another hour each day just for practicing set-ups and thrusts to get them down better and to have professor feedback so we know if we are performing correctly. She agreed that it would be beneficial because of the sheer amount of information covered in the class.
I'm happy that that practical is over. Tomorrow I have one class, PNS, at 7:30 & I'm thrilled because then I'm officially on break! Planning to help judge the Karen's Kris Kringle Kubical Kontest in Admissions at noon and then going out to lunch (& possibly margaritas!) with some of my friends when they get done at 1. I think we'll have fun!
Cervicals Practical
Today at noon is the Cervicals practical. I'm nervous. We have five set ups to perform, one motion palpation and we have to perform the thrust we would use in the air if asked. What happens is we are told a listing, and we have to set up a partner in position on the knee-chest bench, the cervical chair, the hylo bench, or the pelvic bench (http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gonsteadnj.com/images/img_2195a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://gonsteadnj.com/VirtualOfficeTourGonsteadNJ.html&usg=__CSkDQ4M27QlnP0i_CU2XPRlCzO8=&h=420&w=560&sz=79&hl=en&start=5&sig2=7yt6NAWHDb71gJlzCFE5gQ&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=qY2zhye4VPloSM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dknee%2Bchest%2Bbench%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DX%26tbs%3Disch:1%26prmd%3Div&ei=1ioKTbXqI9DAnweam4H_Dg this website shows 3 of the items, if you scroll down to Treatment Room #1 and the hydraulic table pictured just below is a hylo). After we put the patient on the appropriate chair/bench, then we have to position them as though he/she were to be adjusted with the listing information given. Then we have to hold that position until one of the three doctors comes to check our work and then they quiz us with questions concerning the set-up, such as: "What is DS (doctor stance)? What is CP (contact point)? What is LOC (Line of Correction)?" and we have to answer. Just thinking about it is making my stomach upset...
I have Tox next hour and will head home to review my Cervical notes & practice my thrusts on my speeder board (here's a pic: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.aecc-spinecentre.co.uk/system/cache/cms_site_products_images_3487-1-461_800_800_False.png&imgrefurl=http://www.aecc-spinecentre.co.uk/products/instruments-11/thuli-single-cushion-speeder-board-3487.aspx&usg=__WrQUU-MBfwV1caIWkzUmx70GMzs=&h=581&w=698&sz=454&hl=en&start=11&sig2=OWffWUpVJJ_wdXCUYWI-DQ&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=5HljEI1ClBqfMM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=139&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dspeeder%2Bboard%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DG%26tbs%3Disch:1%26prmd%3Div&ei=RSwKTYeQCor_nAeUqKGCDw). What is different about Cerv class than Toggle is that we practice thrusting while holding the speeder board in the other arm/hand. In Toggle, the speeder board was on the bench, so we used both hands in the thrust. Also, with Toggle, you are taught to recoil quickly from your thrust, but in Cerv, you are taught to thrust and hold. It can be a challenging transition.
I have Tox next hour and will head home to review my Cervical notes & practice my thrusts on my speeder board (here's a pic: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.aecc-spinecentre.co.uk/system/cache/cms_site_products_images_3487-1-461_800_800_False.png&imgrefurl=http://www.aecc-spinecentre.co.uk/products/instruments-11/thuli-single-cushion-speeder-board-3487.aspx&usg=__WrQUU-MBfwV1caIWkzUmx70GMzs=&h=581&w=698&sz=454&hl=en&start=11&sig2=OWffWUpVJJ_wdXCUYWI-DQ&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=5HljEI1ClBqfMM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=139&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dspeeder%2Bboard%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DG%26tbs%3Disch:1%26prmd%3Div&ei=RSwKTYeQCor_nAeUqKGCDw). What is different about Cerv class than Toggle is that we practice thrusting while holding the speeder board in the other arm/hand. In Toggle, the speeder board was on the bench, so we used both hands in the thrust. Also, with Toggle, you are taught to recoil quickly from your thrust, but in Cerv, you are taught to thrust and hold. It can be a challenging transition.
Monday, December 13, 2010
A Lovely Weekend
We had such a pleasant weekend. Got plenty of time to study, went to a Christmas party, made cookies, had a friend over for dinner, and watched a hilarious movie.
Friday afternoon, I had a practical in Phys Di and it went well. I forgot to describe the outer lips, mouth, and nose and lost 5 points, but remembered all the other things I was supposed to do. I got the bonus point for looking in the mannequin's ear and noting the finding of a cholesteastoma, so that brought me back to 36 out of 40, which I am very satisfied with. The practical covered the head, neck, ears, eyes, nose and throat and there was a lot to remember. Today is the written exam and I feel pretty good about it. Going to review during my morning break after Tox.
Was able to study quite a bit Friday afternoon after the practical. My cousin Tonya took Lani with her and her two children, Hannah and Gabe, to movie night at her sister Becky's house. All the kids were getting together to watch Christmas movies. "The Polar Express" was one that they were planning to watch and Lani really likes that one. Tonya said the movie reminds her of her sister Cretia who passed away about two years ago because it was the last movie they all went to see together at the IMAX before her death. Cretia and I weren't particularly close, but she was a really warm person and I miss her, too, because she was an anchor of stability & peacefulness in our family. She always hosted Thanksgiving dinner out in Walcott at their farmhouse and it was great because the house was big and could comfortably hold our very large extended family. She suffered a lot in the last three years of her life with recurring bouts of pancreatitis and from Hepatitis C, which she contracted from a patient in the ER at Genesis Hospital, where she was a nurse. Cretia had just completed the interferon treatment for Hep C when she was hospitalized again for something else and she passed away while there, quite suddenly and unexpectedly. It is still very sad to me that we lost someone so young, (40 yrs. old) so kind, so full of life, so giving, so fun. She left behind a wonderful husband, an upstanding son, and two beautiful daughters who all miss her so. She was very close to her sisters and they miss her deeply, too. She was very active in her church (one we, the cousins on my mom's side, all grew up in). Her funeral was one to aspire to: the number of people whose lives she touched was huge. There were so many people who came that they had to extend the visitation hours. She had a life that made a difference.
On Friday night, Dartagnan had a "date" with his girlfriend, Michelle. They went with a group of friends to see a movie, "Fair Game" I think, that none of them ended up liking, so they talked through the whole thing. I told him I hoped they weren't loud and disturbing other moviegoers and he said they weren't. He had fun and spent the night with his friend Trevon, whose mom kindly drove them to and from the theater.
Jon and I went to the Palmer Student Christmas party Friday night and had a great time. Jon was still not feeling so well, but I really wanted to go and he acquiesced. I think he ended up enjoying himself, but he was ready to leave when we did. The band, BBI, hired by Student Services, was excellent and played great covers that spanned the past four decades. They were energetic and their lead singer is fantastic. I've heard them perform before for past Homecoming events here at Palmer and they always do a marvelous job. Jon actually danced with me to two songs! He hasn't danced with me in a very long time...so it was fun to be grooving on the dance floor with my handsome man!
Saturday Jon made waffles (yum!) and we hung out at home. Got quite a bit of studying in; I had a lot of text reading to catch up on for classes; Jon was busy studying for his upcoming NMS II practical. Had fun playing with Lani, got some laundry done up, and got some housecleaning done. Also met with Jeni and Sheila to discuss our Tox project that will be due as soon as we get back from break. We divided up the work and I went and pulled some articles on our subject: Fosamax. Was at the Palmer library for about 3 hours. Had to run to WalMart to get a few things before heading home. Tried to put gas in my car at WalMart, but couldn't get the little door open because it was frozen shut (we had a blizzard warning). Oh well. Got home and cooked a risotto in my rice cooker and stirred in pistachio pesto my mom made with the last of her fresh basil at the end of summer, before serving the risotto for dinner. Was delicious with a glass of Riesling and a salad! My friend Janice, who recently graduated Palmer and is getting ready to open her practice in Rock Island, came for dinner after she got off work and we had a pleasant visit. Was really nice to catch up with her.
We watched "Despicable Me" last night and I have to say it was witty and that Jon and I were quoting it to each other after we watched it because it was just so funny. Steve Carrell's Russian/French? accent is hilarious and the way he leaves off words makes it even more funny. I definitely recommend it and we will definitely be buying it soon.
Friday afternoon, I had a practical in Phys Di and it went well. I forgot to describe the outer lips, mouth, and nose and lost 5 points, but remembered all the other things I was supposed to do. I got the bonus point for looking in the mannequin's ear and noting the finding of a cholesteastoma, so that brought me back to 36 out of 40, which I am very satisfied with. The practical covered the head, neck, ears, eyes, nose and throat and there was a lot to remember. Today is the written exam and I feel pretty good about it. Going to review during my morning break after Tox.
Was able to study quite a bit Friday afternoon after the practical. My cousin Tonya took Lani with her and her two children, Hannah and Gabe, to movie night at her sister Becky's house. All the kids were getting together to watch Christmas movies. "The Polar Express" was one that they were planning to watch and Lani really likes that one. Tonya said the movie reminds her of her sister Cretia who passed away about two years ago because it was the last movie they all went to see together at the IMAX before her death. Cretia and I weren't particularly close, but she was a really warm person and I miss her, too, because she was an anchor of stability & peacefulness in our family. She always hosted Thanksgiving dinner out in Walcott at their farmhouse and it was great because the house was big and could comfortably hold our very large extended family. She suffered a lot in the last three years of her life with recurring bouts of pancreatitis and from Hepatitis C, which she contracted from a patient in the ER at Genesis Hospital, where she was a nurse. Cretia had just completed the interferon treatment for Hep C when she was hospitalized again for something else and she passed away while there, quite suddenly and unexpectedly. It is still very sad to me that we lost someone so young, (40 yrs. old) so kind, so full of life, so giving, so fun. She left behind a wonderful husband, an upstanding son, and two beautiful daughters who all miss her so. She was very close to her sisters and they miss her deeply, too. She was very active in her church (one we, the cousins on my mom's side, all grew up in). Her funeral was one to aspire to: the number of people whose lives she touched was huge. There were so many people who came that they had to extend the visitation hours. She had a life that made a difference.
On Friday night, Dartagnan had a "date" with his girlfriend, Michelle. They went with a group of friends to see a movie, "Fair Game" I think, that none of them ended up liking, so they talked through the whole thing. I told him I hoped they weren't loud and disturbing other moviegoers and he said they weren't. He had fun and spent the night with his friend Trevon, whose mom kindly drove them to and from the theater.
Jon and I went to the Palmer Student Christmas party Friday night and had a great time. Jon was still not feeling so well, but I really wanted to go and he acquiesced. I think he ended up enjoying himself, but he was ready to leave when we did. The band, BBI, hired by Student Services, was excellent and played great covers that spanned the past four decades. They were energetic and their lead singer is fantastic. I've heard them perform before for past Homecoming events here at Palmer and they always do a marvelous job. Jon actually danced with me to two songs! He hasn't danced with me in a very long time...so it was fun to be grooving on the dance floor with my handsome man!
Saturday Jon made waffles (yum!) and we hung out at home. Got quite a bit of studying in; I had a lot of text reading to catch up on for classes; Jon was busy studying for his upcoming NMS II practical. Had fun playing with Lani, got some laundry done up, and got some housecleaning done. Also met with Jeni and Sheila to discuss our Tox project that will be due as soon as we get back from break. We divided up the work and I went and pulled some articles on our subject: Fosamax. Was at the Palmer library for about 3 hours. Had to run to WalMart to get a few things before heading home. Tried to put gas in my car at WalMart, but couldn't get the little door open because it was frozen shut (we had a blizzard warning). Oh well. Got home and cooked a risotto in my rice cooker and stirred in pistachio pesto my mom made with the last of her fresh basil at the end of summer, before serving the risotto for dinner. Was delicious with a glass of Riesling and a salad! My friend Janice, who recently graduated Palmer and is getting ready to open her practice in Rock Island, came for dinner after she got off work and we had a pleasant visit. Was really nice to catch up with her.
We watched "Despicable Me" last night and I have to say it was witty and that Jon and I were quoting it to each other after we watched it because it was just so funny. Steve Carrell's Russian/French? accent is hilarious and the way he leaves off words makes it even more funny. I definitely recommend it and we will definitely be buying it soon.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Upcoming Quiz, Tests, Practicals...
This week has been sooo busy! Lani vomited at school on Tuesday. Thankfully, she waited until 4:45 to get sick. That may sound really calloused, but the less class Jon and I have to miss, the better. So he picked her up from daycare because I was still in the Cervicals tutorial until 5:00. Jon was still fighting a bug on Monday and missed classes that day. Since Lani couldn't return to daycare the next day (there is a 24-hour rule to keep the kids from spreading bacteria and viruses around), Jon missed class again on Tuesday to stay home with her. Dartagnan was feeling lousy Monday and Tuesday and he was home both days too.
Lani was fine all day Tuesday, so she returned to school yesterday and was very happy to go back (home all day when we can't play with her because we are studying is boring for a 2-year-old). Dartagnan was also feeling better and so was Jon. Everyone went to school on Wednesday.
My friend Laura, who I've not seen in about a month, came over to chat and share some wine last night. She brought a great bottle of pinot noir and we sipped and caught up on each other's crazy lives for two hours. Was good to see her and spend a little time with one of my favorite people. Was needed for my mental health!
Today I have a quiz in Phys Di and tomorrow there is a practical in there. I'm not too nervous about the quiz, but am nervous about the practical. I'll be practicing the items we'll cover today in class again on someone (anyone who will let me run through it with them after the quiz), and again tonight on Jon or Dartagnan or both. Lani doesn't like to sit still for the ear and eye exams (normal behavior for her age!), so I won't be practicing on her. On Monday, we have the test over Unit 2, which is Head & Neck, Eyes, Ears, Nose, & Throat. There is a lot of reading for it. I'm currently reading the Eyes chapter and will hopefully finish the next chapter before class this afternoon.
Tomorrow I have a written test in Cervicals. Nervous about that because I feel like we've really flown through the material and I'm pretty sure I have not assimilated it yet. It would be nice to have more practice than one or two set-ups for each type of adjustment. It is so much less practice than Toggle...so I will be reading Cervicals and having Jon quiz me tonight, too.
I'm so glad that we are not going anywhere this weekend! I really need a weekend at home. Our friend Janice will be coming to dinner Saturday evening when she gets off work and I'm really looking forward to catching up with her, too. That is one thing that has been really hard about Palmer; I feel like I don't get to stay in contact with my friends the way I would like to because of time constraints. If not careful, relationships can be damaged due to it.
Time to head to Tox!
Lani was fine all day Tuesday, so she returned to school yesterday and was very happy to go back (home all day when we can't play with her because we are studying is boring for a 2-year-old). Dartagnan was also feeling better and so was Jon. Everyone went to school on Wednesday.
My friend Laura, who I've not seen in about a month, came over to chat and share some wine last night. She brought a great bottle of pinot noir and we sipped and caught up on each other's crazy lives for two hours. Was good to see her and spend a little time with one of my favorite people. Was needed for my mental health!
Today I have a quiz in Phys Di and tomorrow there is a practical in there. I'm not too nervous about the quiz, but am nervous about the practical. I'll be practicing the items we'll cover today in class again on someone (anyone who will let me run through it with them after the quiz), and again tonight on Jon or Dartagnan or both. Lani doesn't like to sit still for the ear and eye exams (normal behavior for her age!), so I won't be practicing on her. On Monday, we have the test over Unit 2, which is Head & Neck, Eyes, Ears, Nose, & Throat. There is a lot of reading for it. I'm currently reading the Eyes chapter and will hopefully finish the next chapter before class this afternoon.
Tomorrow I have a written test in Cervicals. Nervous about that because I feel like we've really flown through the material and I'm pretty sure I have not assimilated it yet. It would be nice to have more practice than one or two set-ups for each type of adjustment. It is so much less practice than Toggle...so I will be reading Cervicals and having Jon quiz me tonight, too.
I'm so glad that we are not going anywhere this weekend! I really need a weekend at home. Our friend Janice will be coming to dinner Saturday evening when she gets off work and I'm really looking forward to catching up with her, too. That is one thing that has been really hard about Palmer; I feel like I don't get to stay in contact with my friends the way I would like to because of time constraints. If not careful, relationships can be damaged due to it.
Time to head to Tox!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Wisconsin Dells
So we spent the weekend in the Wisconsin Dells. Thought we'd be doing quite a bit, but we found out when we arrived at the time-share that since we are not members, what was available to us without extra $$ was limited. That is OK, since we really just wanted to lounge and relax anyway.
Dartagnan ended up spending time with his father at another resort. His father also brought along Dartagnan's cousin Thomas and one of their mutual friends, Jacob. The boys had fun on Saturday at the indoor amusement park at their resort. They stayed up until 3 am goofing off and Dartagnan couldn't sleep so he was up again at 5.
It was very kind of Dartagnan's aunt to rent us two cabins with her time-share points for Dartagnan's 15th birthday, which was Saturday. The cabins were really nice, spacious and had a fireplace, flat-screen TV, DVD player, an equipped kitchen and two bedrooms.
Since it snowed while we were there, a beautiful blanket of snow covered everything when we woke up Saturday morning. The tall pines surrounding our cabins and the hilly landscape were so quiet and peaceful. I got Lani bundled up and took her for a walk. She had a blast stomping in the snow and busting up the large snowballs left by the plows. Lani wouldn't keep her gloves on, and kept grabbing the snow in her excitement, then giving me her hand to wipe off, "It's cold! Cold!"
Dartagnan and my mom stayed in the cabin next to us and walked over the next morning. Mom made yummy pancakes (D's and Lani's favorite) for us and then she walked back over to get D's birthday present. On her way back, she fell (it was still icy on the road between the two cabins) and hit her head really hard. That was scary. I'm still not sure if she is really all right, because her left eye has been watering the last two days. When I talked with her this morning, she was at the optometrist and I told her to tell him what happened. I've not heard back from her. When she fell, her glasses fell off her head and we found them later in the snow. Unfortunately, one of her lenses had fallen out, so she will be getting new glasses (hers were over two years old and she needs a new pair).
Got to head to Physical Diagnosis, which is officially my favorite class this term.
Dartagnan ended up spending time with his father at another resort. His father also brought along Dartagnan's cousin Thomas and one of their mutual friends, Jacob. The boys had fun on Saturday at the indoor amusement park at their resort. They stayed up until 3 am goofing off and Dartagnan couldn't sleep so he was up again at 5.
It was very kind of Dartagnan's aunt to rent us two cabins with her time-share points for Dartagnan's 15th birthday, which was Saturday. The cabins were really nice, spacious and had a fireplace, flat-screen TV, DVD player, an equipped kitchen and two bedrooms.
Since it snowed while we were there, a beautiful blanket of snow covered everything when we woke up Saturday morning. The tall pines surrounding our cabins and the hilly landscape were so quiet and peaceful. I got Lani bundled up and took her for a walk. She had a blast stomping in the snow and busting up the large snowballs left by the plows. Lani wouldn't keep her gloves on, and kept grabbing the snow in her excitement, then giving me her hand to wipe off, "It's cold! Cold!"
Dartagnan and my mom stayed in the cabin next to us and walked over the next morning. Mom made yummy pancakes (D's and Lani's favorite) for us and then she walked back over to get D's birthday present. On her way back, she fell (it was still icy on the road between the two cabins) and hit her head really hard. That was scary. I'm still not sure if she is really all right, because her left eye has been watering the last two days. When I talked with her this morning, she was at the optometrist and I told her to tell him what happened. I've not heard back from her. When she fell, her glasses fell off her head and we found them later in the snow. Unfortunately, one of her lenses had fallen out, so she will be getting new glasses (hers were over two years old and she needs a new pair).
Got to head to Physical Diagnosis, which is officially my favorite class this term.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Chest Pain
Two nights ago, I had a little scare. I started bathing Lani, which requires a lot of bending and reaching, in spite of the fact that I'm rather short, and my chest started hurting. I thought it was just the positions I have to contort myself into to reach my squirmy daughter to actually wash her hair and body while she obtinately insists on playing. Lani doesn't like to stop what she's doing to give me her arm or leg or head. She can't be bothered with what I would like for her to do. She still gets shampoo in her eyes because she won't put her head back when I rinse it because she might miss something with her toy boats in front of her. Bath time is fun!
After getting her out and dried off, Jon got her ready for bed. My chest was still hurting. The pain was on my left side, just above the xiphoid of the sternum and was concentrated around the ribs that attach there.
I checked out what I could find on-line, but I really already knew that we should probably head to the Emergency Room to get it checked out. The pain wasn't changing at all and I waited 40 minutes before I told Jon, "I think we better head to the hospital." You are only supposed to wait up to 5 minutes. I know it is possible to have a heart attack at a young age, but you just never think that it may be you.
We got there and they took me right back and ran an EKG right away and gave me baby aspirin in case it was a heart attack. Then they put in a hand catheter. My skin was being lifted 1/2 inch off my hand. It was very painful and I couldn't really believe how badly the nurse did. Once it was in, she did the saline push and that really hurt too. It just sat there. She tried to draw the blood they needed to check everything to make sure I hadn't had a myocardial infarction, but the blood wouldn't flow back through the catheter, so she was unable to use it. Next, got chest x-rays, P-A and lateral. Back to the room and an actual phlebotomist came to draw the blood. She was very good at her job and she minimized how painful it could have been.
Dr. Irving came in to see me intermittently, did heart sounds and lung sounds exam. He eventually came back & told us that all was fine, except for having borderline anemia (which is the norm for me, even before I became a vegetarian), and that my diagnosis was costochondritis, inflammation of the cartilage where the ribs join the sternum.
So, it is just a painful condition and nothing to be too concerned about. That was good news.
Got adjusted last night and almost every rib was out. Glad to have been in to the Clinic because I felt a lot better afterward.
Need to head over to Phys Di, so I'll write more later. By the way, it is snowing. The first snowfall. Big flakes, very delicately swirling in the slight breeze. Almost makes me like it a little. We are headed to the Wisconsin Dells for Dartagnan's 15th birthday this weekend, so a little snow will be fun on the snow tubing hill at the resort. I think he'll have a great time.
After getting her out and dried off, Jon got her ready for bed. My chest was still hurting. The pain was on my left side, just above the xiphoid of the sternum and was concentrated around the ribs that attach there.
I checked out what I could find on-line, but I really already knew that we should probably head to the Emergency Room to get it checked out. The pain wasn't changing at all and I waited 40 minutes before I told Jon, "I think we better head to the hospital." You are only supposed to wait up to 5 minutes. I know it is possible to have a heart attack at a young age, but you just never think that it may be you.
We got there and they took me right back and ran an EKG right away and gave me baby aspirin in case it was a heart attack. Then they put in a hand catheter. My skin was being lifted 1/2 inch off my hand. It was very painful and I couldn't really believe how badly the nurse did. Once it was in, she did the saline push and that really hurt too. It just sat there. She tried to draw the blood they needed to check everything to make sure I hadn't had a myocardial infarction, but the blood wouldn't flow back through the catheter, so she was unable to use it. Next, got chest x-rays, P-A and lateral. Back to the room and an actual phlebotomist came to draw the blood. She was very good at her job and she minimized how painful it could have been.
Dr. Irving came in to see me intermittently, did heart sounds and lung sounds exam. He eventually came back & told us that all was fine, except for having borderline anemia (which is the norm for me, even before I became a vegetarian), and that my diagnosis was costochondritis, inflammation of the cartilage where the ribs join the sternum.
So, it is just a painful condition and nothing to be too concerned about. That was good news.
Got adjusted last night and almost every rib was out. Glad to have been in to the Clinic because I felt a lot better afterward.
Need to head over to Phys Di, so I'll write more later. By the way, it is snowing. The first snowfall. Big flakes, very delicately swirling in the slight breeze. Almost makes me like it a little. We are headed to the Wisconsin Dells for Dartagnan's 15th birthday this weekend, so a little snow will be fun on the snow tubing hill at the resort. I think he'll have a great time.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thanksgiving
I am so thankful that we are out for a short break for a little while (4 days) for Thanksgiving! It has been so busy since I last blogged!
Today, I had a Cervicals practical & was very nervous. I read the material, but still didn't feel quite ready. The class I'm in is one where the prof expects you to read the material ahead and then be ready to apply what you've read, which is fine, but not all the profs are that way, so it is an adjustment. We start practicing the palpation, orthopedic-neurologic tests, and deep tendon reflex tests, as well as doing line analysis of x-rays to prepare for the practical today. We just went over it really quickly and it would have been nice to have a little more practice before being tested. I got 15 out of a possible 18 because I made some dumb mistakes.
I had a quiz, practical and exam in Phys Di last week. I keep forgetting to check my score on the exam. I'm happy to report that I received a 40 out of 40 on the practical. Yea! Definitely something to be thankful about!
This past weekend we went to Galena, IL, with our friends Paul and Sharon. We stayed at a historic property on the downtown Main Street, 305N (http://305n.com/). Was great! We dined at 111 Main (http://www.oneelevenmain.com/) & it was fabulous, as it has been in the past. I love walking along the Main Street and window shopping. One of the stores whose merchandise I liked best was "Sushi & Marley" which just opened in September this year. They carry great clothes by Tulle, Kind Like Love, and Free People. Also, the saleslady (possibly the owner?) knits great soft, thick scarves in bright colors, too. She was really helpful in recommending two restaurants for our next trip: Perry Street Brassiere and Fritz & Frites (we've eaten at the second one and really enjoyed it previously, but need to give the other a try next trip).
Really liked the great boho jewelry at Vintaj. Handmade. The encaustic paintings of birds on a wire in silhouette against colorful skies were really beautiful too. Oh! And I really liked all the handcrafted stationary, small journals, and notecards.
Slumber was another fave. Ended up buying for Delaney and me matching slippers. They are by Goody and are crocheted flowers in a bouquet on the toes. The stems are velvet ribbons and they are little beauties. Lani likes wearing hers, but her feet get warm, so she will wear them a bit and then has to take them off. I really loved their modal pajamas because they were both so soft and sustainable.
Stopped into Galena Candle & Bath and created an Eco Dotz candle (the wax is in little colored dots and you get an empty container with a wick to fill) scented with Petal, Ocean, Lilac, Egyptian Musk, and others...can't remember all the scents I put together! I liked the way the purples, blues and whites I picked looked and smelled together. Also picked up a Chocolate Cabernet candle that was marked down. I love a sale!
At Honest John's Trading Post (http://www.honestjohnsgalena.com/), I noticed Naot's (http://www.naot.com/cgi-bin/show_product.pl?yaleet_number=25021&cat=9 shown in brown; mine are black) in the window as we walked past and had to go in to check them out. I bought a pair at Tradehome last spring and they are some of the most comfortable and clinic-appropriate shoes I own. Ended up trying on a pair of Earth boots (http://www.earthfootwear.com/ourfootwear/ourfootwearproducts/tabid/65/language/en-us/p-353-lodge-2.aspx in caribou) and LOVE them! Will probably be wearing them every other day this winter! In fact, each one of us in our party bought a pair. Paul talked them into giving us a discount because we were purchasing 4 pairs! That was great! Jon loves his pair (http://www.earthfootwear.com/ourfootwear/ourfootwearproducts/tabid/65/language/en-us/p-353-lodge-2.aspx in black), and I think Paul liked his pair (http://www.earthfootwear.com/ourfootwear/ourfootwearproducts/tabid/65/language/en-us/p-345-junction.aspx)...Sharon liked her boots (we got the same design), but I think she was having a little buyer's remorse afterward. She's not accustomed to spending that much on shoes. But I told Paul when I saw him later on (he owns a property in my neighborhood and was over to check on it): divide the price of the boots by the number of years you wear them and it comes out pretty well. I bought a $250 pair of boots about 6 years ago and I have worn them quite a lot. They are some of the sexiest boots I own and they won't go out of style because they are beautiful but basic. Each year, at the end of winter, I take them to Bill's Shoe Repair and he re-heels them for me and shines them up. I put them in storage for the next season. They look brand new still. So that ends being about $50/year when you include cost of maintanence. I prefer to spend the $ on shoes if they are really great and get them re-heeled and shined professionally when needed.
They guys wore theirs until dinner and then couldn't hack it anymore because of the negative heel technology and the high arch supports that both found were really challenging their muscles. Sharon & I stuck it out. We were troopers in our boots...in fact, we kind of looked like storm troopers...
I am wiped & Lani finally fell asleep; she'd been fighting it, afraid she will miss something (normal 2-year-old stuff). Been doing laundry, washing dishes, tidying up, to get ready for Thanksgiving and will post again soon.
Just gotta say that I love Galena & Happy Thanksgiving!
Today, I had a Cervicals practical & was very nervous. I read the material, but still didn't feel quite ready. The class I'm in is one where the prof expects you to read the material ahead and then be ready to apply what you've read, which is fine, but not all the profs are that way, so it is an adjustment. We start practicing the palpation, orthopedic-neurologic tests, and deep tendon reflex tests, as well as doing line analysis of x-rays to prepare for the practical today. We just went over it really quickly and it would have been nice to have a little more practice before being tested. I got 15 out of a possible 18 because I made some dumb mistakes.
I had a quiz, practical and exam in Phys Di last week. I keep forgetting to check my score on the exam. I'm happy to report that I received a 40 out of 40 on the practical. Yea! Definitely something to be thankful about!
This past weekend we went to Galena, IL, with our friends Paul and Sharon. We stayed at a historic property on the downtown Main Street, 305N (http://305n.com/). Was great! We dined at 111 Main (http://www.oneelevenmain.com/) & it was fabulous, as it has been in the past. I love walking along the Main Street and window shopping. One of the stores whose merchandise I liked best was "Sushi & Marley" which just opened in September this year. They carry great clothes by Tulle, Kind Like Love, and Free People. Also, the saleslady (possibly the owner?) knits great soft, thick scarves in bright colors, too. She was really helpful in recommending two restaurants for our next trip: Perry Street Brassiere and Fritz & Frites (we've eaten at the second one and really enjoyed it previously, but need to give the other a try next trip).
Really liked the great boho jewelry at Vintaj. Handmade. The encaustic paintings of birds on a wire in silhouette against colorful skies were really beautiful too. Oh! And I really liked all the handcrafted stationary, small journals, and notecards.
Slumber was another fave. Ended up buying for Delaney and me matching slippers. They are by Goody and are crocheted flowers in a bouquet on the toes. The stems are velvet ribbons and they are little beauties. Lani likes wearing hers, but her feet get warm, so she will wear them a bit and then has to take them off. I really loved their modal pajamas because they were both so soft and sustainable.
Stopped into Galena Candle & Bath and created an Eco Dotz candle (the wax is in little colored dots and you get an empty container with a wick to fill) scented with Petal, Ocean, Lilac, Egyptian Musk, and others...can't remember all the scents I put together! I liked the way the purples, blues and whites I picked looked and smelled together. Also picked up a Chocolate Cabernet candle that was marked down. I love a sale!
At Honest John's Trading Post (http://www.honestjohnsgalena.com/), I noticed Naot's (http://www.naot.com/cgi-bin/show_product.pl?yaleet_number=25021&cat=9 shown in brown; mine are black) in the window as we walked past and had to go in to check them out. I bought a pair at Tradehome last spring and they are some of the most comfortable and clinic-appropriate shoes I own. Ended up trying on a pair of Earth boots (http://www.earthfootwear.com/ourfootwear/ourfootwearproducts/tabid/65/language/en-us/p-353-lodge-2.aspx in caribou) and LOVE them! Will probably be wearing them every other day this winter! In fact, each one of us in our party bought a pair. Paul talked them into giving us a discount because we were purchasing 4 pairs! That was great! Jon loves his pair (http://www.earthfootwear.com/ourfootwear/ourfootwearproducts/tabid/65/language/en-us/p-353-lodge-2.aspx in black), and I think Paul liked his pair (http://www.earthfootwear.com/ourfootwear/ourfootwearproducts/tabid/65/language/en-us/p-345-junction.aspx)...Sharon liked her boots (we got the same design), but I think she was having a little buyer's remorse afterward. She's not accustomed to spending that much on shoes. But I told Paul when I saw him later on (he owns a property in my neighborhood and was over to check on it): divide the price of the boots by the number of years you wear them and it comes out pretty well. I bought a $250 pair of boots about 6 years ago and I have worn them quite a lot. They are some of the sexiest boots I own and they won't go out of style because they are beautiful but basic. Each year, at the end of winter, I take them to Bill's Shoe Repair and he re-heels them for me and shines them up. I put them in storage for the next season. They look brand new still. So that ends being about $50/year when you include cost of maintanence. I prefer to spend the $ on shoes if they are really great and get them re-heeled and shined professionally when needed.
They guys wore theirs until dinner and then couldn't hack it anymore because of the negative heel technology and the high arch supports that both found were really challenging their muscles. Sharon & I stuck it out. We were troopers in our boots...in fact, we kind of looked like storm troopers...
I am wiped & Lani finally fell asleep; she'd been fighting it, afraid she will miss something (normal 2-year-old stuff). Been doing laundry, washing dishes, tidying up, to get ready for Thanksgiving and will post again soon.
Just gotta say that I love Galena & Happy Thanksgiving!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
1st Weekend
I was very happy to receive a phone call yesterday from Dartagnan's grandpa in MN. He said he'd be coming through Rochelle, IL, if we wanted to meet him there and pick up some of D's things that he had left at his Aunt Steph's house. He went up and stayed with her and went to school in Minneapolis in the Spring for the 4th quarter of 8th grade.
Dartagnan and I got on the road to meet Dick around 5:30 pm and reached Rochelle by 7:30. It was our first time seeing Dick since he lost his wife to cancer this summer. It was good to see him. I think he really misses Dorthe and so do we. I think about her often and how sometimes certain people really are the glue that hold a family together and she was that for their family. She loved children. I mean, she loved spending time with kids and was really great with them, too. She preferred them to adult company. She'd been a foster mother to several children through Lutheran Social Services and many of the children were special needs children. She was just excellent with them.
It also seems to me that Dick has taken over her role of keeping communication going between everyone too. He calls and asks about Dartagnan now; something he didn't do much when Dorthe used to do it. He's really seemed to become more social and talkative, too. We had a pleasant time chatting at the diner there at the truck stop where we met.
We've been back in class now for 4 days, since Tuesday. I found out the first day back that I would not be able to take the classes I had planned to take because I failed PNS for a second time. So I am now on Academic Warning, which means Palmer limits how many credits I can take this term. This is fine, because I was a little nervous about the schedule I'd planned to take, thinking it may just be too much for me to handle, especially adding PNS back in on top of it. So I am enrolled in PNS, Toxicology, Cervicals, and Physical Diagnosis. My favorite so far is Phys Di. I have Dr. Littrell and she is making the material so interesting. Her teaching style is very engaging. The class is so interesting because we'll learn how to take vital signs, interview the patient, etc. Feels like really getting into the stuff of practice!
I've been wrestling with which thermometer to purchase. Jon had already purchased all of our diagnostic equipment last term, so I didn't need most of it, but we have only a thermometer that is not terribly accurate, so I was doing so checking this week to see which I wanted to get to replace it. Found one for $20 at WalMart that goes in the ear (a tympanic thermometer) and does not need covers (you just clean it with an alcohol wipe after each patient). Hopefully it is a good model. The Welch Allyn one I really wanted is $300 at the Palmer Bookstore and I'm not sure we are ready to spend that just yet on our office equipment.
Toxicology will be interesting. I like the subject and Dr. Ansari is so nice. I enjoy Dr. Schmiedel, our PNS professor, however, I really didn't want to take his class a third time. This time, I'm going to attend the PNS tutorial as well. Perhaps that will help me out this time around.
Cervicals is moving at a very brisk pace. I'm planning to attend the tutorial for it and to also practice palpation on my family so I can start "teaching" my fingers what to feel. I practiced on Dartagnan the other night and he loved it. Delaney loves it too, when we just palpate her. Both sit very still as both are used to seeing a chiropractor. Lani's first adjustment was when she was 1 hour old!
Today we worked hard on the house and yard. I painted siding in the garage and got about 28 boards painted. Jon worked on putting the siding up and Dartagnan caulked it. When D and I were done with our work, we worked on raking and bagging leaves and weeds because this is the last week of free yard waste pick-up in Bettendorf (normally, you must put a sticker on each bag and the stickers cost about $1.50 each). So tomorrow I want to get the rest of the yard tidied up as much as possible. We are planning to get up early and head to church and then work on the house and yard the rest of the day. Fun!
Time to go and read some Phys Di!
Dartagnan and I got on the road to meet Dick around 5:30 pm and reached Rochelle by 7:30. It was our first time seeing Dick since he lost his wife to cancer this summer. It was good to see him. I think he really misses Dorthe and so do we. I think about her often and how sometimes certain people really are the glue that hold a family together and she was that for their family. She loved children. I mean, she loved spending time with kids and was really great with them, too. She preferred them to adult company. She'd been a foster mother to several children through Lutheran Social Services and many of the children were special needs children. She was just excellent with them.
It also seems to me that Dick has taken over her role of keeping communication going between everyone too. He calls and asks about Dartagnan now; something he didn't do much when Dorthe used to do it. He's really seemed to become more social and talkative, too. We had a pleasant time chatting at the diner there at the truck stop where we met.
We've been back in class now for 4 days, since Tuesday. I found out the first day back that I would not be able to take the classes I had planned to take because I failed PNS for a second time. So I am now on Academic Warning, which means Palmer limits how many credits I can take this term. This is fine, because I was a little nervous about the schedule I'd planned to take, thinking it may just be too much for me to handle, especially adding PNS back in on top of it. So I am enrolled in PNS, Toxicology, Cervicals, and Physical Diagnosis. My favorite so far is Phys Di. I have Dr. Littrell and she is making the material so interesting. Her teaching style is very engaging. The class is so interesting because we'll learn how to take vital signs, interview the patient, etc. Feels like really getting into the stuff of practice!
I've been wrestling with which thermometer to purchase. Jon had already purchased all of our diagnostic equipment last term, so I didn't need most of it, but we have only a thermometer that is not terribly accurate, so I was doing so checking this week to see which I wanted to get to replace it. Found one for $20 at WalMart that goes in the ear (a tympanic thermometer) and does not need covers (you just clean it with an alcohol wipe after each patient). Hopefully it is a good model. The Welch Allyn one I really wanted is $300 at the Palmer Bookstore and I'm not sure we are ready to spend that just yet on our office equipment.
Toxicology will be interesting. I like the subject and Dr. Ansari is so nice. I enjoy Dr. Schmiedel, our PNS professor, however, I really didn't want to take his class a third time. This time, I'm going to attend the PNS tutorial as well. Perhaps that will help me out this time around.
Cervicals is moving at a very brisk pace. I'm planning to attend the tutorial for it and to also practice palpation on my family so I can start "teaching" my fingers what to feel. I practiced on Dartagnan the other night and he loved it. Delaney loves it too, when we just palpate her. Both sit very still as both are used to seeing a chiropractor. Lani's first adjustment was when she was 1 hour old!
Today we worked hard on the house and yard. I painted siding in the garage and got about 28 boards painted. Jon worked on putting the siding up and Dartagnan caulked it. When D and I were done with our work, we worked on raking and bagging leaves and weeds because this is the last week of free yard waste pick-up in Bettendorf (normally, you must put a sticker on each bag and the stickers cost about $1.50 each). So tomorrow I want to get the rest of the yard tidied up as much as possible. We are planning to get up early and head to church and then work on the house and yard the rest of the day. Fun!
Time to go and read some Phys Di!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Break
Was so relieved to have finals completed. Got home from the last two on Wednesday and had to rest. Slept 4 hours! Super tired. Was happy to see the final grades for Sys Path and Rad II on Thursday: C and B, respectively.
Not worrying right now about how my financial aid will pan out for this next term as the house is foremost on our minds. We have been working as hard and long as we can, in spite of the rain Friday night, Saturday, and this morning. Wednesday, Jon tore off the aluminum siding. Since, we've been working on prepping the siding with primer, we got the blow-in cellulose insulation put into the walls and Jon and our neighbor Doug have been putting up 1" fomular board (more insulation!). It will be so much quieter once the work is done.
Jon and I have been discussing paint colors for the house. I would like a medium to darker blue color with a charcoal gray trim. The windows' trim is painted white and we will paint our front door white, too. Our door is at: http://www.pella.com/doors/explore-door-styles/features-and-options.aspx?PCode=SEDGFUL&PType=door#/exteriorpanelfinish/ Our windows have both the top and bottom panes with the 9-light prairie grilles: http://www.pella.com/windows/explore-window-styles/features-and-options.aspx?PCode=ASDHW&StyleID=3&PType=window#/hardware/ These are the same we already put in our dining room renovation over a year ago and they are beautiful. I'm so excited to see the house coming together and really looking forward to lower heating bills this winter. Our old windows are horribly drafty, so the new windows & insulation will really make a big difference to us.
I've been really tired from all the physical labor of blowing in the insulation and doing whatever little jobs Jon delegates to me, plus keeping up with feeding everyone, laundry (to keep us in paint/work clothes), and cleaning up the messes that are created in the house from the work outside. Pieces of plaster and plaster dust are all along the walls where there has been nailing and pounding going on. I love Jon's shopvac. What a useful tool! It really sucks! :) Big chunks of stuff, too!
Last night, we took time out from our reno to spend time having dinner with our friends Paul and Sharon. Sharon made a fabulous vegetarian dinner for us. Was great to catch up with them a bit. We also planned an overnight trip to Galena, IL, in November and are really looking forward to showing them the wonderful town. Will be fun to hang with them there.
Time to get lunch and clean up Lani's room afterward (with that awesome shopvac!).
Not worrying right now about how my financial aid will pan out for this next term as the house is foremost on our minds. We have been working as hard and long as we can, in spite of the rain Friday night, Saturday, and this morning. Wednesday, Jon tore off the aluminum siding. Since, we've been working on prepping the siding with primer, we got the blow-in cellulose insulation put into the walls and Jon and our neighbor Doug have been putting up 1" fomular board (more insulation!). It will be so much quieter once the work is done.
Jon and I have been discussing paint colors for the house. I would like a medium to darker blue color with a charcoal gray trim. The windows' trim is painted white and we will paint our front door white, too. Our door is at: http://www.pella.com/doors/explore-door-styles/features-and-options.aspx?PCode=SEDGFUL&PType=door#/exteriorpanelfinish/ Our windows have both the top and bottom panes with the 9-light prairie grilles: http://www.pella.com/windows/explore-window-styles/features-and-options.aspx?PCode=ASDHW&StyleID=3&PType=window#/hardware/ These are the same we already put in our dining room renovation over a year ago and they are beautiful. I'm so excited to see the house coming together and really looking forward to lower heating bills this winter. Our old windows are horribly drafty, so the new windows & insulation will really make a big difference to us.
I've been really tired from all the physical labor of blowing in the insulation and doing whatever little jobs Jon delegates to me, plus keeping up with feeding everyone, laundry (to keep us in paint/work clothes), and cleaning up the messes that are created in the house from the work outside. Pieces of plaster and plaster dust are all along the walls where there has been nailing and pounding going on. I love Jon's shopvac. What a useful tool! It really sucks! :) Big chunks of stuff, too!
Last night, we took time out from our reno to spend time having dinner with our friends Paul and Sharon. Sharon made a fabulous vegetarian dinner for us. Was great to catch up with them a bit. We also planned an overnight trip to Galena, IL, in November and are really looking forward to showing them the wonderful town. Will be fun to hang with them there.
Time to get lunch and clean up Lani's room afterward (with that awesome shopvac!).
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Finals. Nearly Finished.
Thank goodness that I have only two finals left, first thing, back-to-back, tomorrow morning. Really looking forward to being DONE.
So far, from the grades that are posted, I've passed Toggle (I was so worried about that one! And the test was a booger!), Nutrition (My best grade. Yea!), Public Health (Did better than I thought I would), and Renal Physiology (Did better on that one than I thought I could, too.). So I'm currently at one A, two B's, and one C.
Grades for PNS will be posted tomorrow...really hoping I did well enough to pass. Praying for a curve that includes me in the passing portion of the class. The test was hard, especially the regular multiple choice section. I really struggled with about 6 of the questions. The only way I could pass the class was if I missed 3 points or less (each question is worth only 1/2 point), provided he does NOT decide to curve the class (although half the class went into the final failing, so I'm hoping for a curve). With a curve, I have a greater possibility of passing. When I got to my car, I looked up the diagram for the ear that was on the test and found I'd labeled 3 things in reverse. I could remember a smaller cutaway and thought I was applying it correctly to the larger diagram, but I was not. So that was really distressing to discover. That's a possible 9 missed questions right there. So I'm very nervous to go see the posted grade tomorrow. I might not look. I might have Jon check it next time he's on campus so I don't have an anxiety attack. Wow, it is getting me a little uptight right now just considering it.
Took the Renal exam this morning and stayed up late studying (to 11ish, which is now late for me) AND got up early to review some more. Left the house early this morning (THAT never happens!) so I could get to the testing center and study some more before the test. Was nice to arrive early and review a bit more. So glad I spent all the time on it that I did. I'm sure that helped get me the better grade than I was expecting.
Came home and was just so tired. Have been studying so much and not keeping my regular sleep schedule. Studied Rad II for about two hours, until about 11:00 am, and then decided I needed to rest. Planned to only sleep for about 1 1/2 hours, but could not get up when the time was up. Reset my cellphone alarm and went back to sleep until 3! Obviously, I needed some sleep! Got about two hours of study time in until I had to go pick up Lani from daycare. She fell asleep in the car. No nap for her today at school. I had planned to drop her to my parents so I could have some more quiet study time, but since she was asleep, brought her home. She slept in my arms as I talked with my old neighbor & long-time friend, Paul, who was stopping by his now-rental house to check on something. We caught up and he checked out the work Jon was doing: pulling the siding off the house. We took delivery last week of our new windows and front entry door, and Jon is prepping the house for us to begin window installation and new siding in the next week during our "break" from Palmer. "Break" is not really what it is for us this time!
I got Lani settled in with a movie, "The Velveteen Rabbit" and prepared some organic mac-n-cheese (doctored with some sweet potato puree-yum!) and peas for her dinner. She was very whiny and told me her tummy hurt. She wanted me to "rub it." When my kids have had tummy aches that I suspect may be due to constipation, I massage their abdomens in a clockwise motion to help move things along. Lani's iron was low at last week's WIC visit (was only 9.8 and bottom of range is 11 & her previous visit 6 months ago was the same), so I started her on a liquid children's iron supplement this morning. Iron supplements are notorious for causing constipation, so I may have to start giving her the supplement in juice (which she hardly ever gets!) or just making sure she drinks more water. She already has plenty of actual fruit and veggies in her diet, so the fiber is not the issue.
She ate and made a huge mess. Was crying and upset when I went in to clean her up. Got her a bath right away and Jon got her ready for bed. He tucked her in and after I dealt with a "wardrobe issue"--she didn't like the footed pj's she was wearing and had unzipped them and asked me to rub her tummy again, so I put on some really soft fleece pj's without feet, that I found at a garage sale last Saturday, and that made her more comfy. Covered her back up and she was asleep very quickly. I hope she is feeling better in the morning.
I love garage sales! My mom and I went last Saturday. I needed a break from studying and have been finding that Lani's t-shirts are a little short (she has a long torso like her daddy). Didn't find any t-shirts. Found other great stuff, however. A beautiful pair of earrings that are signed by the artist on the back and have real semi-precious stones, an Abercrombie & Fitch shirt that I saw at the store last year and liked, but wouldn't pay that much for (was a steal at $2 at the garage sale!), a Gymboree winter coat for Lani, two sets of pj's for her, some long-sleeved t-shirts and stretch pants for Lani, some Thomas the Tank Engine pieces for her collection, a Melissa & Doug wooden "paperdoll" set where you dress the dolls in clothes (there is a magnetic component that makes the clothes stay on), many little books for Lani, and my favorite: a Melissa & Doug wooden Noah's ark with animals for Lani. I have wanted a wooden Noah's ark for Lani since before she was born and couldn't find one that was reasonable and kid-friendly. Got this one for $10, which was high for a garage sale, but I'm thinking it probably cost at least $50 new, so was still an excellent deal. Very happy with it and Lani loves playing with the animals. Two days before, I had stopped at a garage sale and bought a Hurley sweater hoodie for me (only $3!). It is oatmeal-colored and looks great with my Uggs. Warm and comfy, too.
Dartagnan went to the freshman football game at the high school tonight. Gabe, his cousin, was playing. It was an exciting game and Gabe made a touchdown, so that was really wonderful because it was the last game they play this season. I bet his mom, Tonya, my cousin, was proud of him.
Once Lani laid down, Jon and I had some leftover curry and chili for dinner. He quizzed me on Sys Path, which is my first final tomorrow morning. That was good. Helped. I still need to study/review for that class more. I feel better about it than I do Rad II and because I did so badly on the 2nd exam in Rad II, it is imperative that I do well on the final so I can pass. Classes that are considered to be essential to chiropractic are graded on a higher scale than foundational courses. Rad II has the higher grading scale, so you have to do better in it to get a good grade.
So, now that I've taken a little break from studying, I think I'll get back on it, because I'm pretty sure I'm not going to last until 11 tonight and I' pretty sure I'll be waking up early (between 4:30 and 5:00) to get some more reviewing in before the tests.
So far, from the grades that are posted, I've passed Toggle (I was so worried about that one! And the test was a booger!), Nutrition (My best grade. Yea!), Public Health (Did better than I thought I would), and Renal Physiology (Did better on that one than I thought I could, too.). So I'm currently at one A, two B's, and one C.
Grades for PNS will be posted tomorrow...really hoping I did well enough to pass. Praying for a curve that includes me in the passing portion of the class. The test was hard, especially the regular multiple choice section. I really struggled with about 6 of the questions. The only way I could pass the class was if I missed 3 points or less (each question is worth only 1/2 point), provided he does NOT decide to curve the class (although half the class went into the final failing, so I'm hoping for a curve). With a curve, I have a greater possibility of passing. When I got to my car, I looked up the diagram for the ear that was on the test and found I'd labeled 3 things in reverse. I could remember a smaller cutaway and thought I was applying it correctly to the larger diagram, but I was not. So that was really distressing to discover. That's a possible 9 missed questions right there. So I'm very nervous to go see the posted grade tomorrow. I might not look. I might have Jon check it next time he's on campus so I don't have an anxiety attack. Wow, it is getting me a little uptight right now just considering it.
Took the Renal exam this morning and stayed up late studying (to 11ish, which is now late for me) AND got up early to review some more. Left the house early this morning (THAT never happens!) so I could get to the testing center and study some more before the test. Was nice to arrive early and review a bit more. So glad I spent all the time on it that I did. I'm sure that helped get me the better grade than I was expecting.
Came home and was just so tired. Have been studying so much and not keeping my regular sleep schedule. Studied Rad II for about two hours, until about 11:00 am, and then decided I needed to rest. Planned to only sleep for about 1 1/2 hours, but could not get up when the time was up. Reset my cellphone alarm and went back to sleep until 3! Obviously, I needed some sleep! Got about two hours of study time in until I had to go pick up Lani from daycare. She fell asleep in the car. No nap for her today at school. I had planned to drop her to my parents so I could have some more quiet study time, but since she was asleep, brought her home. She slept in my arms as I talked with my old neighbor & long-time friend, Paul, who was stopping by his now-rental house to check on something. We caught up and he checked out the work Jon was doing: pulling the siding off the house. We took delivery last week of our new windows and front entry door, and Jon is prepping the house for us to begin window installation and new siding in the next week during our "break" from Palmer. "Break" is not really what it is for us this time!
I got Lani settled in with a movie, "The Velveteen Rabbit" and prepared some organic mac-n-cheese (doctored with some sweet potato puree-yum!) and peas for her dinner. She was very whiny and told me her tummy hurt. She wanted me to "rub it." When my kids have had tummy aches that I suspect may be due to constipation, I massage their abdomens in a clockwise motion to help move things along. Lani's iron was low at last week's WIC visit (was only 9.8 and bottom of range is 11 & her previous visit 6 months ago was the same), so I started her on a liquid children's iron supplement this morning. Iron supplements are notorious for causing constipation, so I may have to start giving her the supplement in juice (which she hardly ever gets!) or just making sure she drinks more water. She already has plenty of actual fruit and veggies in her diet, so the fiber is not the issue.
She ate and made a huge mess. Was crying and upset when I went in to clean her up. Got her a bath right away and Jon got her ready for bed. He tucked her in and after I dealt with a "wardrobe issue"--she didn't like the footed pj's she was wearing and had unzipped them and asked me to rub her tummy again, so I put on some really soft fleece pj's without feet, that I found at a garage sale last Saturday, and that made her more comfy. Covered her back up and she was asleep very quickly. I hope she is feeling better in the morning.
I love garage sales! My mom and I went last Saturday. I needed a break from studying and have been finding that Lani's t-shirts are a little short (she has a long torso like her daddy). Didn't find any t-shirts. Found other great stuff, however. A beautiful pair of earrings that are signed by the artist on the back and have real semi-precious stones, an Abercrombie & Fitch shirt that I saw at the store last year and liked, but wouldn't pay that much for (was a steal at $2 at the garage sale!), a Gymboree winter coat for Lani, two sets of pj's for her, some long-sleeved t-shirts and stretch pants for Lani, some Thomas the Tank Engine pieces for her collection, a Melissa & Doug wooden "paperdoll" set where you dress the dolls in clothes (there is a magnetic component that makes the clothes stay on), many little books for Lani, and my favorite: a Melissa & Doug wooden Noah's ark with animals for Lani. I have wanted a wooden Noah's ark for Lani since before she was born and couldn't find one that was reasonable and kid-friendly. Got this one for $10, which was high for a garage sale, but I'm thinking it probably cost at least $50 new, so was still an excellent deal. Very happy with it and Lani loves playing with the animals. Two days before, I had stopped at a garage sale and bought a Hurley sweater hoodie for me (only $3!). It is oatmeal-colored and looks great with my Uggs. Warm and comfy, too.
Dartagnan went to the freshman football game at the high school tonight. Gabe, his cousin, was playing. It was an exciting game and Gabe made a touchdown, so that was really wonderful because it was the last game they play this season. I bet his mom, Tonya, my cousin, was proud of him.
Once Lani laid down, Jon and I had some leftover curry and chili for dinner. He quizzed me on Sys Path, which is my first final tomorrow morning. That was good. Helped. I still need to study/review for that class more. I feel better about it than I do Rad II and because I did so badly on the 2nd exam in Rad II, it is imperative that I do well on the final so I can pass. Classes that are considered to be essential to chiropractic are graded on a higher scale than foundational courses. Rad II has the higher grading scale, so you have to do better in it to get a good grade.
So, now that I've taken a little break from studying, I think I'll get back on it, because I'm pretty sure I'm not going to last until 11 tonight and I' pretty sure I'll be waking up early (between 4:30 and 5:00) to get some more reviewing in before the tests.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The Countdown Begins...
OK, Finals begin Friday. Trying to not get too nervous, but definitely have a lot to do today to feel more prepared. Will be working on Nutrition and Public Health today because those are the Friday finals. Too make things just a tad more stressful, we'll be leaving for Peoria as soon as we finish our Friday finals because we have a family reunion on Jon's mom's side of the family to attend that day!
Yesterday, Jon and Dartagnan worked hard on the patio and have half of the bricks laid. They are doing a fantastic job. Jon's hips and back are really bothering him, though, from the standing, squatting, leaning, standing, etc. Today, to make this a little better, Dartagnan is stacking bricks next to where Jon will be placing them, so he doesn't have to get up every 2 bricks to go get 2 more to bring back to place. Once all the bricks are placed, then Jon will be working on the perimeter, which will be limestone set in a thin bed of concrete to help shore up the deck so it doesn't spread out over time. Once that is complete, then Jon will fill in the spaces between the bricks with sand. I'm hoping we have no rain until the patio is completely done, so that it doesn't settle or move the bricks from where they have so painstakingly been set.
Our friend Julie (a weight-lifting champion) helped Jon and Dartagnan on Friday afternoon. Jon had rented a plate compacter and got the first layer of gravel for the patio compacted. Julie and D helped get the second layer of gravel down so it could be compacted and that was completed Friday night. She helped Jon load the heavy & awkward compacter back into our van and he was able to get it returned Friday night, so one less thing to do on Saturday morning. We really appreciated her help!
I got laundry (3 loads!) done yesterday and have one in now. Made an egg bake for a late brunch since we went to the 8:00 am service & didn't eat breakfast before we went. Was really yummy with the leftover potatoes O'Brien I made a few days ago. Also made my signature smoothie, below.
Yesterday, Jon and Dartagnan worked hard on the patio and have half of the bricks laid. They are doing a fantastic job. Jon's hips and back are really bothering him, though, from the standing, squatting, leaning, standing, etc. Today, to make this a little better, Dartagnan is stacking bricks next to where Jon will be placing them, so he doesn't have to get up every 2 bricks to go get 2 more to bring back to place. Once all the bricks are placed, then Jon will be working on the perimeter, which will be limestone set in a thin bed of concrete to help shore up the deck so it doesn't spread out over time. Once that is complete, then Jon will fill in the spaces between the bricks with sand. I'm hoping we have no rain until the patio is completely done, so that it doesn't settle or move the bricks from where they have so painstakingly been set.
Our friend Julie (a weight-lifting champion) helped Jon and Dartagnan on Friday afternoon. Jon had rented a plate compacter and got the first layer of gravel for the patio compacted. Julie and D helped get the second layer of gravel down so it could be compacted and that was completed Friday night. She helped Jon load the heavy & awkward compacter back into our van and he was able to get it returned Friday night, so one less thing to do on Saturday morning. We really appreciated her help!
I got laundry (3 loads!) done yesterday and have one in now. Made an egg bake for a late brunch since we went to the 8:00 am service & didn't eat breakfast before we went. Was really yummy with the leftover potatoes O'Brien I made a few days ago. Also made my signature smoothie, below.
Kristi's Signature Smoothie:
Makes about 4 servings
(use as much organic as possible for best health benefits)
2 frozen wheatgrass squares
1 acai puree smoothie packet (Sambazon)
5 frozen strawberries
8 frozen blueberries
4 frozen blackberries
4 frozen cherries
3 frozen peach slices
4 frozen mango pieces
10 frozen red raspberries
1 banana
2 T. brown rice protein powder
2 T. ground flax seed (Barlean's)
1/2 cup vanilla soymilk
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup Naked Green Machine or other drink that has spirulina, chlorella, etc.
1/4 cup 50/50 Bolthouse Farms passionfruit/carrot juice
1/4 grape juice
1/4 goji juice
Blend well. Enjoy.
Freeze remainder if you like, in individual cups (plastic), cover with Press N Seal or waxed paper, and then top that with aluminum foil. Secure with a rubber band around top of cup. Perfect to take with you (don't forget to take a spoon!). Defrost in about 1-2 hours on their own.
Because we are vegetarians, I also add a powdered packet of B vitamins (supplement of 6 and 12) to our smoothie.
Because we are vegetarians, I also add a powdered packet of B vitamins (supplement of 6 and 12) to our smoothie.
Delaney loves that smoothie and has been drinking it since she began eating solid food. I love that it is full of good things our bodies need and that it tastes so yummy.
Called my best friend Trish this morning as it is her birthday. Pretty cool that it is 10/10/10. I wonder if she noticed that, too. Sang the birthday song on her voicemail. She was at church. Haven't been able to see her or my other best friend Laura for a while. Going to make some time over break to see them for sure. Really, really looking forward to break!
I really liked today's sermon at church. It was in reference to 2 Timothy 2 where Paul tells Timothy to act as though he is already approved. Pastor Marohl challenged us to think about what life would be like if we behaved as though we are already approved, or already accepted by God just as we are and stopped worrying about what other people thought of us and stopped actively seeking approval from those around us. He also challenged us to view each person around us in the same way: as accepted and approved of by God. Wow. That is really a deep thought. Would really help us shed being judgmental if we could operated that way. It is a good challenge.
Well, just laid Lani down for her nap, so I need to get to studying and using this time wisely.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Toggle
Just completed my CET practical in Toggle (Case Evaluation Thrust) about an hour ago. Was very nervous and really messed up two important aspects: I selected the wrong listing to adjust (I picked the C1 listing instead of the C2 listing) and I also should have decided, based on the information given, to NOT adjust instead of TO adjust. However, I did perform the thrust satisfactorily and got the points for that. The bad part of this is that it makes the final even more important in Toggle.
I've been trying to put most all of my time into studying for PNS. Trying to get the info into my brain in a way that I can recall it instantly. Hoping to quiz with friends this weekend and next to prepare for the final (not next Monday, but the following one). Have two finals next Friday that I'll need to review for as well this weekend.
Sadly, Jon's grandfather passed away Sunday evening. He will be missed; he was such a sweet man--you could really tell how much he loved Jon's grandmother. He had a great sense of humor too. We go to visitation tomorrow night and the funeral on Thursday. We'll miss most of our morning classes, and possibly our afternoon classes. Thankfully, we don't have tests that day, so it is not so much of a concern. I will be going to PNS that morning, because there is the possibility that Dr. Schmiedel will give the last quiz that day and I do not want to miss out on the possible 2 points, which could really make a difference for me. After I get home from that class, we'll hit the road to Galesburg, Illinois.
This past weekend, Jon and Dartagnan worked outside most all of Saturday and Sunday, digging out the base for our patio install. Sunday afternoon, they finally got the 9-inch deep, 14-feet by 14-feet area dug out completely and added the first crushed gravel layer, which comes about halfway up. Next weekend, Jon will rent a compactor and compact the first layer, then he will lay the second gravel layer, compact it, then the 1-inch sand layer, then the Purington Pavers http://www.historicalbricks.com/?gclid=CLvKjNaovKQCFQpV5wodL2cWxw get set into a really beautiful herringbone pattern on top. There will be no morter, just a bit of sand between the bricks. We are excited to have a patio with a little local historical significance. It will be really great to have the space for entertaining and for just enjoying the Spring and Autumn weather, too.
I harvested the rest of the tomatos from my plants. I had 3 areas with multiple plants that were all volunteers from last year (which is great, since I didn't have to buy plants again!). There was a really sweet yellow grape, a smaller, equally sweet red grape, and a pink Thai egg tomato plant. Delaney loves to just pop them in her mouth. They make a good snack for her when I am out of brilliant ideas.
I also pulled up all the tomato plants after harvest because the weather is changing and it has been cold enough to kill the really tender plants outside at night. I brought in our Christmas tree, our little (about 4-foot tall) Norfolk pine (which is really a tropical plant and can't handle our winters here) this weekend and put it in our sunroom. It really grew over summer. We decided that we didn't want to purchase Christmas trees anymore because it is not environmentally friendly, so we re-use our little tree each year as our Christmas tree. Dartagnan doesn't like that, because he grew up with a tree.
Also tried three new recipes this weekend from www.allrecipes.com: an awesome buttercup squash casserole (with apples, pecans, brown sugar and butter, oh my!), alla checca (tomatos marinated in fresh basil, garlic, salt & olive oil over hot angel hair pasta-we threw some tomato-basil reduced fat feta cheese on the finished product as well-YUM!), and oatmeal chocolate chip bars (added pecans and dried currants to the "adult" half and left the "kid" half without). The bars are especially delish warmed up for a few seconds in the microwave, then topped with a scoop of Breyer's chocolate chip ice cream. I'm making myself hungry!
Delaney is loving her Saturday morning swim lessons. She is a little fish, just like Dartagnan. He loved his swim lessons when he was little too.
Gotta go get a bit of lunch before I head back for Sys Path (last class of the day!).
I've been trying to put most all of my time into studying for PNS. Trying to get the info into my brain in a way that I can recall it instantly. Hoping to quiz with friends this weekend and next to prepare for the final (not next Monday, but the following one). Have two finals next Friday that I'll need to review for as well this weekend.
Sadly, Jon's grandfather passed away Sunday evening. He will be missed; he was such a sweet man--you could really tell how much he loved Jon's grandmother. He had a great sense of humor too. We go to visitation tomorrow night and the funeral on Thursday. We'll miss most of our morning classes, and possibly our afternoon classes. Thankfully, we don't have tests that day, so it is not so much of a concern. I will be going to PNS that morning, because there is the possibility that Dr. Schmiedel will give the last quiz that day and I do not want to miss out on the possible 2 points, which could really make a difference for me. After I get home from that class, we'll hit the road to Galesburg, Illinois.
This past weekend, Jon and Dartagnan worked outside most all of Saturday and Sunday, digging out the base for our patio install. Sunday afternoon, they finally got the 9-inch deep, 14-feet by 14-feet area dug out completely and added the first crushed gravel layer, which comes about halfway up. Next weekend, Jon will rent a compactor and compact the first layer, then he will lay the second gravel layer, compact it, then the 1-inch sand layer, then the Purington Pavers http://www.historicalbricks.com/?gclid=CLvKjNaovKQCFQpV5wodL2cWxw get set into a really beautiful herringbone pattern on top. There will be no morter, just a bit of sand between the bricks. We are excited to have a patio with a little local historical significance. It will be really great to have the space for entertaining and for just enjoying the Spring and Autumn weather, too.
I harvested the rest of the tomatos from my plants. I had 3 areas with multiple plants that were all volunteers from last year (which is great, since I didn't have to buy plants again!). There was a really sweet yellow grape, a smaller, equally sweet red grape, and a pink Thai egg tomato plant. Delaney loves to just pop them in her mouth. They make a good snack for her when I am out of brilliant ideas.
I also pulled up all the tomato plants after harvest because the weather is changing and it has been cold enough to kill the really tender plants outside at night. I brought in our Christmas tree, our little (about 4-foot tall) Norfolk pine (which is really a tropical plant and can't handle our winters here) this weekend and put it in our sunroom. It really grew over summer. We decided that we didn't want to purchase Christmas trees anymore because it is not environmentally friendly, so we re-use our little tree each year as our Christmas tree. Dartagnan doesn't like that, because he grew up with a tree.
Also tried three new recipes this weekend from www.allrecipes.com: an awesome buttercup squash casserole (with apples, pecans, brown sugar and butter, oh my!), alla checca (tomatos marinated in fresh basil, garlic, salt & olive oil over hot angel hair pasta-we threw some tomato-basil reduced fat feta cheese on the finished product as well-YUM!), and oatmeal chocolate chip bars (added pecans and dried currants to the "adult" half and left the "kid" half without). The bars are especially delish warmed up for a few seconds in the microwave, then topped with a scoop of Breyer's chocolate chip ice cream. I'm making myself hungry!
Delaney is loving her Saturday morning swim lessons. She is a little fish, just like Dartagnan. He loved his swim lessons when he was little too.
Gotta go get a bit of lunch before I head back for Sys Path (last class of the day!).
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tri is nearing the end...
I'm not doing well in PNS and after tutoring only got me 6 points higher on the second test (which I cannot blame on the tutor, because I didn't study enough on my own), I decided to see what I can get done on my own again. It is hard to set aside the time to study when so many other things/people are calling out for my attention. But I must. I must pass it this time.
Over the weekend, I worked on getting us organized in our filing again. So much was out of order and I had a stack of papers to sort (seem to build up over a month). Spent some time sorting out old files, shredding, putting together new files. Feels good to know where things are and have a system that makes some sense. While I was working on that and other things (did some cooking, cleaning, 3 loads of laundry, took Lani to her swim lesson), Jon was hard at work on Dartagnan's bedroom, priming and painting the trim. He alternated that with working outside on our berm. He's remodeling the earth to form really cool yin-yang type patterns (ariel view) so that there will be gravel pathways between for easy access to weed and plant and prune, etc. It is "shaping" up really nicely.
Sunday Jon and I dropped the kids to my mom & dad's and went on a 10-hour road trip. Jon's mom asked us to meet her in Milwaukee to pick up Jon's sister, Jani, and take her back home from her visit to Washington Island. Was so good to see family and have a leisurely lunch together. Jani was so animated on the way home and catching up with Jon. I was studying, mostly. :) Got quite a lot of studying done in the van that day, actually.
Before we left Sunday morning, Jon had finished the final touch-ups on Dartagnan's new room's paint. So when we arrived home Sunday night, Jon put together D's bed frame and we got his mattress moved from our sunroom floor downstairs. He finally got to sleep in his new room!
Had a test in Systems Pathology yesterday & am still feeling a little exhausted from it. It was a tough test. There was an entire section that I didn't review because I thought it was on the last test. Not sure how I did, but felt confident on the material I had reviewed.
I've had too much cheese/dairy products the past few days and feel a bit yuck. I think I'll make a double batch of waffles tonight to freeze and have for dinner.
Jon had to leave for Peoria late last night. A relative had a stroke and is in the hospital. Jon wanted to be there to support his family, of course. He will be back home this afternoon; I miss him, which is a little silly, since we are together almost all the time! But really, he is so laid back and great to be around, that when he's not here, it is weird. I was single for so long and never thought I'd feel that way about anyone, not even Dartagnan. Although I really do miss Dartagnan when he's not here too, even though he doesn't talk much now that he is a teen.
Time to head back to class. Systems Path. We'll see what funny stories Dr. Taylor has for us today. :)
Over the weekend, I worked on getting us organized in our filing again. So much was out of order and I had a stack of papers to sort (seem to build up over a month). Spent some time sorting out old files, shredding, putting together new files. Feels good to know where things are and have a system that makes some sense. While I was working on that and other things (did some cooking, cleaning, 3 loads of laundry, took Lani to her swim lesson), Jon was hard at work on Dartagnan's bedroom, priming and painting the trim. He alternated that with working outside on our berm. He's remodeling the earth to form really cool yin-yang type patterns (ariel view) so that there will be gravel pathways between for easy access to weed and plant and prune, etc. It is "shaping" up really nicely.
Sunday Jon and I dropped the kids to my mom & dad's and went on a 10-hour road trip. Jon's mom asked us to meet her in Milwaukee to pick up Jon's sister, Jani, and take her back home from her visit to Washington Island. Was so good to see family and have a leisurely lunch together. Jani was so animated on the way home and catching up with Jon. I was studying, mostly. :) Got quite a lot of studying done in the van that day, actually.
Before we left Sunday morning, Jon had finished the final touch-ups on Dartagnan's new room's paint. So when we arrived home Sunday night, Jon put together D's bed frame and we got his mattress moved from our sunroom floor downstairs. He finally got to sleep in his new room!
Had a test in Systems Pathology yesterday & am still feeling a little exhausted from it. It was a tough test. There was an entire section that I didn't review because I thought it was on the last test. Not sure how I did, but felt confident on the material I had reviewed.
I've had too much cheese/dairy products the past few days and feel a bit yuck. I think I'll make a double batch of waffles tonight to freeze and have for dinner.
Jon had to leave for Peoria late last night. A relative had a stroke and is in the hospital. Jon wanted to be there to support his family, of course. He will be back home this afternoon; I miss him, which is a little silly, since we are together almost all the time! But really, he is so laid back and great to be around, that when he's not here, it is weird. I was single for so long and never thought I'd feel that way about anyone, not even Dartagnan. Although I really do miss Dartagnan when he's not here too, even though he doesn't talk much now that he is a teen.
Time to head back to class. Systems Path. We'll see what funny stories Dr. Taylor has for us today. :)
Friday, September 24, 2010
Birthday
Well, today, Friday,September 24th, is my birthday. Has been a very pleasant day. Got up, got ready to go & when I came back to the bedroom, Jon had a card waiting for me. Was very sweet.
Went to PNS (is a 7:30 class). We're going over Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetics now, comparing and contrasting them.
After that, went to see Dr. Tatum & looked over my make-up Exam 2. Didn't do as well as I had hoped to do & mistakenly thought I had scored 32, when in actuality, was only 22 on regular portion of exam. The slide portion (there are slides that have to be interpreted, 12 on each test), was OK: score of 10. Mind you, this test was taken while I was still not feeling well: nose running, coughing, headache, etc.
Realized this morning that I actually feel good again! It has been one month of being sick. Glad I'm over it.
After reveiwing my test and seeing where my errors were, headed over to yoga at Indigo Wellness and was a very good session. A slower pace than what I'm used to, but still challenging. Felt so good and so relaxing.
Came home & got ready for lunch with my best friend since middle school, Patricia. We had lunch together at the Symposium Cafe. They have a delicious marinated mushroom wrap that is so hearty & filling. I was bad too: had the fries instead of salad. They were tasty, but my GI tract protested shortly after leaving the cafe. Just can't handle greasy/fried food well anymore. Really bothers me.
Was so good to see Patricia. Don't get to spend as much time as I want to with my friends anymore. It can be tough. We caught up and had some good "girl talk."
Came back home and finished editing/reformatting Dr. Taylor's next note set from his website: http://www.pathclass.org/ I don't like how they are posted on-line, so I make the font smaller (which can save up to 10 pages of print), & I also read through it to make it as succinct as possible and to use abbrev. & symbols when I can. Want to not only conserve paper, but to have just the info that is really relevant w/out having to sort thru the extra verbage.
Got that printed out before leaving for Systems Pathology. Ended up not needing it for class, because he didn't lecture that far.
I'm falling asleep writing this. So tired today...
We are headed to Crane & Pelican Cafe in LeClaire tonight for dinner & to a play at the Whittenmeyer Complex. Should be fun hanging out with our friends Paul & Sharon.
Went to PNS (is a 7:30 class). We're going over Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetics now, comparing and contrasting them.
After that, went to see Dr. Tatum & looked over my make-up Exam 2. Didn't do as well as I had hoped to do & mistakenly thought I had scored 32, when in actuality, was only 22 on regular portion of exam. The slide portion (there are slides that have to be interpreted, 12 on each test), was OK: score of 10. Mind you, this test was taken while I was still not feeling well: nose running, coughing, headache, etc.
Realized this morning that I actually feel good again! It has been one month of being sick. Glad I'm over it.
After reveiwing my test and seeing where my errors were, headed over to yoga at Indigo Wellness and was a very good session. A slower pace than what I'm used to, but still challenging. Felt so good and so relaxing.
Came home & got ready for lunch with my best friend since middle school, Patricia. We had lunch together at the Symposium Cafe. They have a delicious marinated mushroom wrap that is so hearty & filling. I was bad too: had the fries instead of salad. They were tasty, but my GI tract protested shortly after leaving the cafe. Just can't handle greasy/fried food well anymore. Really bothers me.
Was so good to see Patricia. Don't get to spend as much time as I want to with my friends anymore. It can be tough. We caught up and had some good "girl talk."
Came back home and finished editing/reformatting Dr. Taylor's next note set from his website: http://www.pathclass.org/ I don't like how they are posted on-line, so I make the font smaller (which can save up to 10 pages of print), & I also read through it to make it as succinct as possible and to use abbrev. & symbols when I can. Want to not only conserve paper, but to have just the info that is really relevant w/out having to sort thru the extra verbage.
Got that printed out before leaving for Systems Pathology. Ended up not needing it for class, because he didn't lecture that far.
I'm falling asleep writing this. So tired today...
We are headed to Crane & Pelican Cafe in LeClaire tonight for dinner & to a play at the Whittenmeyer Complex. Should be fun hanging out with our friends Paul & Sharon.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Boards
Thankfully, I am not taking Boards, the tests that are required for gaining licensure in the U.S. They are being held this weekend. Started today (I think) and Thursday and Wednesday were study days for students in 4th Tri and higher. So has been nice to have some time off, especially since I was still not feeling well yesterday.
Today felt a bit better and cleaned house and studied this morning. I got quite a bit done. Decided that since I had accomplished so much, that I would go to yoga at noon. Was so refreshing and relaxing. Went to Indigo Wellness www.indigowellness.com and Shannon, the teacher, was very calm and peaceful. I think I may have to get a card for multiple sessions.
This afternoon I had tutoring with Dr. Rogers and felt good about that. Picked up Lani and fed her dinner and got her bathed. She's watching "Peter Pan" and enjoying the songs immensely. I signed her up for ballet and swim lessons at the Y http://scottcountyfamilyy.org/bettendorf/default.asp She had fun last night at her ballet class. We had to then hurry to the high school, as it was Parent Teacher Conference night. Met with all of Dartagnan's teachers except one (we ran out of time) and then had to get him to his hip-hop dance class (lessons for him started this week too, like Lani) in Moline at The Academy of Performing Arts http://www.qcacademy.com/ He's exceited to be back in dance. He has Jazz/Ballet on Monday nights and wants to add in Ballroom and Salsa, but we have to find a place for him to take it that, as he says, isn't "scary" which really means, that it isn't just adults, but also some teens or just teens. This won't be easy to find in the Quad-Cities.
So in the morning, I'm planning to go to the Farmer's Market with my mom early (7:30 feels early on a Saturday), then later, at 10:15, take Lani to her swim lesson. After we get back home, I'll get ready to go horseback riding with my friend Callie, who has two horses stabled about an hour away from here. I've not been with her before, but I think we'll have a great ride. Callie's in Boards, so I know she will be welcoming the opportunity to get away from the books/Palmer for a bit. Might convince Jon to go out with Callie and her friends to dinner tomorrow night...we'll see if he feels like it. He will be working on Dartagnan's room tomorrow, getting it painted. (Yea!)
Think I'm going to put a load of laundry in the machine and read some Renal Physiology or write out some PNS pathways before I hit the hay. Jon is still out of town. He left earlier this afternoon to meet his mom and stepdad in Peoria and drop off a painting to them. He hasn't left yet but will come home tonight, I think. :) Dartagnan is staying the night at my mom's house and hanging out with his cousins (my sister-in-law and her two boys just moved back in with my mom and dad about two weeks ago while my brother is traveling in the Pacific for the Marines until December).
Today felt a bit better and cleaned house and studied this morning. I got quite a bit done. Decided that since I had accomplished so much, that I would go to yoga at noon. Was so refreshing and relaxing. Went to Indigo Wellness www.indigowellness.com and Shannon, the teacher, was very calm and peaceful. I think I may have to get a card for multiple sessions.
This afternoon I had tutoring with Dr. Rogers and felt good about that. Picked up Lani and fed her dinner and got her bathed. She's watching "Peter Pan" and enjoying the songs immensely. I signed her up for ballet and swim lessons at the Y http://scottcountyfamilyy.org/bettendorf/default.asp She had fun last night at her ballet class. We had to then hurry to the high school, as it was Parent Teacher Conference night. Met with all of Dartagnan's teachers except one (we ran out of time) and then had to get him to his hip-hop dance class (lessons for him started this week too, like Lani) in Moline at The Academy of Performing Arts http://www.qcacademy.com/ He's exceited to be back in dance. He has Jazz/Ballet on Monday nights and wants to add in Ballroom and Salsa, but we have to find a place for him to take it that, as he says, isn't "scary" which really means, that it isn't just adults, but also some teens or just teens. This won't be easy to find in the Quad-Cities.
So in the morning, I'm planning to go to the Farmer's Market with my mom early (7:30 feels early on a Saturday), then later, at 10:15, take Lani to her swim lesson. After we get back home, I'll get ready to go horseback riding with my friend Callie, who has two horses stabled about an hour away from here. I've not been with her before, but I think we'll have a great ride. Callie's in Boards, so I know she will be welcoming the opportunity to get away from the books/Palmer for a bit. Might convince Jon to go out with Callie and her friends to dinner tomorrow night...we'll see if he feels like it. He will be working on Dartagnan's room tomorrow, getting it painted. (Yea!)
Think I'm going to put a load of laundry in the machine and read some Renal Physiology or write out some PNS pathways before I hit the hay. Jon is still out of town. He left earlier this afternoon to meet his mom and stepdad in Peoria and drop off a painting to them. He hasn't left yet but will come home tonight, I think. :) Dartagnan is staying the night at my mom's house and hanging out with his cousins (my sister-in-law and her two boys just moved back in with my mom and dad about two weeks ago while my brother is traveling in the Pacific for the Marines until December).
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Peoria
Saturday night in Peoria, Jon's home (really, Brimfield, IL, is his hometown, but it is just outside of Peoria and his dad and stepmom live in Peoria currently). We are staying with Jeff, his dad, and Mariola, his stepmom.
This morning we spent some time with Jon's mom, Judy, and his aunt, Dreme, out at Dreme and Max's house in the woods. They are the same woods that Jon grew up running around in, playing with his cousins and brother. He grew up just down the drive from Dreme. His childhood home has been for sale for a while now, so when we pass it on the way to Dreme's, I think it makes him feel a little sad and a little bit nostalgic. He's more sentimental about some things than I am and was very fortunate to have had a very happy childhood, so he looks back on his childhood home as a very special place. Out of all the people I know, his childhood was probably the most idyllic. Really. He hung out with his grandpa next door, played in a pool all summer long, he ran about exploring the woods, he had an amazing dog that saved his life, he was surrounded by family that he loved being with and they loved being with him. He has great recollections of being a young boy.
His mom and stepdad, Win, came to Peoria for Josh's, Jon's little brother's suprise 30th birthday party that was this afternoon. Was good to see them, as they are on their way to Florida with a load of things from their Wisconsin home that was recently sold. They will be back in a week to go back and pack up more and have a garage sale to sell all that they don't wish to keep. Then will travel back down to Florida. It is a lot of miles of driving two completely packed Dodge Caravans.
The party was great--Josh really WAS surprised, which I thought was really quite a feat, considering how many people knew about it and didn't let it slip! There were many people in attendance, Kate and family made great food AND grilled too, and their new deck and newly remodeled and updated home hosted everyone very comfortably. The kids all had fun playing in the yard with bubbles and on the kid-sized John Deere Gator, just like Grandpa Zinser's--Kate's dad--big one. Josh had just finished building the deck this week, so it was just in time! It so nice to get to see everyone that we don't get to see often, including Jon's Grandma B and her husband Gene, who drove down from Knoxville, IL, near Galesburg, to come to the party, too. We also enjoy visiting with Kate's parent's, Doc and Christine Zinser. Doc was instrumental in Jon's decision to pursue chiropractic as a career. They are really fun people to be around.
Still sick. Today is Day 3 of my z-pack, so hope I am feeling much better tomorrow. Dartagnan is on Day 4 of his antibiotics, but he is still not feeling much better either. Maybe Sunday will be the turning point. Tired of coughing all the time. Tired of feeling tired!
Tomorrow morning we'll get to spend more time with Jeff and Mariola and hopefully see Jenni and her husband, Ed. Jenni is Mariola's daughter, Jon's stepsister. We didn't get a chance to visit with them yet.
Friday's Toggle mid-term exam was a killer. Wow. The CD that is included with the text is a good taste of what the questions on the exam will be like. They were definitely tough. I took 1.5 hours to complete the test. There was a matching section that gave the listing and then there were 5 possible statements that may or may not apply and you had to decide which statements DID apply and mark all that DID, so you could have A, B, D or B,C, E or other combo on your answer sheet. That was very challenging. I'm glad I spent the time that I did spend on studying that.
Spent some time today reviewing Rad 2 for the exam on Tuesday and reading some about water-soluble vitamins for Nutrition. I need to put some more time in to reviewing...
This morning we spent some time with Jon's mom, Judy, and his aunt, Dreme, out at Dreme and Max's house in the woods. They are the same woods that Jon grew up running around in, playing with his cousins and brother. He grew up just down the drive from Dreme. His childhood home has been for sale for a while now, so when we pass it on the way to Dreme's, I think it makes him feel a little sad and a little bit nostalgic. He's more sentimental about some things than I am and was very fortunate to have had a very happy childhood, so he looks back on his childhood home as a very special place. Out of all the people I know, his childhood was probably the most idyllic. Really. He hung out with his grandpa next door, played in a pool all summer long, he ran about exploring the woods, he had an amazing dog that saved his life, he was surrounded by family that he loved being with and they loved being with him. He has great recollections of being a young boy.
His mom and stepdad, Win, came to Peoria for Josh's, Jon's little brother's suprise 30th birthday party that was this afternoon. Was good to see them, as they are on their way to Florida with a load of things from their Wisconsin home that was recently sold. They will be back in a week to go back and pack up more and have a garage sale to sell all that they don't wish to keep. Then will travel back down to Florida. It is a lot of miles of driving two completely packed Dodge Caravans.
The party was great--Josh really WAS surprised, which I thought was really quite a feat, considering how many people knew about it and didn't let it slip! There were many people in attendance, Kate and family made great food AND grilled too, and their new deck and newly remodeled and updated home hosted everyone very comfortably. The kids all had fun playing in the yard with bubbles and on the kid-sized John Deere Gator, just like Grandpa Zinser's--Kate's dad--big one. Josh had just finished building the deck this week, so it was just in time! It so nice to get to see everyone that we don't get to see often, including Jon's Grandma B and her husband Gene, who drove down from Knoxville, IL, near Galesburg, to come to the party, too. We also enjoy visiting with Kate's parent's, Doc and Christine Zinser. Doc was instrumental in Jon's decision to pursue chiropractic as a career. They are really fun people to be around.
Still sick. Today is Day 3 of my z-pack, so hope I am feeling much better tomorrow. Dartagnan is on Day 4 of his antibiotics, but he is still not feeling much better either. Maybe Sunday will be the turning point. Tired of coughing all the time. Tired of feeling tired!
Tomorrow morning we'll get to spend more time with Jeff and Mariola and hopefully see Jenni and her husband, Ed. Jenni is Mariola's daughter, Jon's stepsister. We didn't get a chance to visit with them yet.
Friday's Toggle mid-term exam was a killer. Wow. The CD that is included with the text is a good taste of what the questions on the exam will be like. They were definitely tough. I took 1.5 hours to complete the test. There was a matching section that gave the listing and then there were 5 possible statements that may or may not apply and you had to decide which statements DID apply and mark all that DID, so you could have A, B, D or B,C, E or other combo on your answer sheet. That was very challenging. I'm glad I spent the time that I did spend on studying that.
Spent some time today reviewing Rad 2 for the exam on Tuesday and reading some about water-soluble vitamins for Nutrition. I need to put some more time in to reviewing...
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Sick...again
Dartagnan and I are home sick today. I had a rough night last night and so did he. I was waking up every few hours, taking cough syrup every 4 because I couldn't sleep due to how hard I was coughing. My chest aches. Dartagnan went to bed early last night, but woke up with fever off and on thru the night. Me too. Not running one this morning, but still feel awful and will be going back to sleep as soon as I finish this post.
Tuesday Dartagnan broke his finger trying a ninja move on his friend, who put his knee up to block it. So the proximal end of his middle phalange of the 4th digit is fractured (the center segment of his ring finger) on his right hand. I told him no more ninja moves.
This morning I had to take Dartagnan to get the splint fitted for his finger. He'll go back in a month to get another set of x-rays to see how the fracture is healing. While at the MD's office, I made an appointment for myself. Have had chest tightness, productive cough, & fever off and on since last Thursday or Friday. Just have not been feeling well.
Went to see the NP and she gave me an inhaler and a z-pack. If it is the start of walking pneumonia like it feels like, then the z-pack should take care of it. I had been waiting to see if it would just resolve on its own, but I've not been improving, so broke down and went.
The stress of this week hasn't helped much either. Tuesday was the Axis Practical in Toggle and the 2nd exam in Systems Pathology. Today I was supposed to take the Rad II 2nd exam, but will take a make-up on Tuesday, next week, instead. Tomorrow afternoon is the Toggle Mid-Term, which sounds like it will be a bear. I received private tutoring for PNS on Monday night for 2 hours and was feverish for the first hour and chilled for the 2nd hour. I learned a lot, but my head was a little fuzzy (has been, being sick), so was more than ready to leave when my time was up. I need tutoring because I'm don't want to fail the course a 2nd time. Also, a Renal group project (short problem) was due Wednesday, so our group met on Tuesday to work on it. Just seems like there has been so much this week.
Delaney has been really bad about desparately trying to keep herself awake as long as possible at night, too, and woke up today with sniffles...I hope she's not getting sick again, too. Last Friday, the preschool called us and we had to pick her up at noon because she was running a fever. She was fine by Sunday, but Saturday was sick all day.
I'm just ready for the weekend to arrive: we will be going to Peoria, IL, to visit Jon's family and it will be pleasant and relaxing. Sounds good to me! Now, I'm lying down and going to rest for a while...
Tuesday Dartagnan broke his finger trying a ninja move on his friend, who put his knee up to block it. So the proximal end of his middle phalange of the 4th digit is fractured (the center segment of his ring finger) on his right hand. I told him no more ninja moves.
This morning I had to take Dartagnan to get the splint fitted for his finger. He'll go back in a month to get another set of x-rays to see how the fracture is healing. While at the MD's office, I made an appointment for myself. Have had chest tightness, productive cough, & fever off and on since last Thursday or Friday. Just have not been feeling well.
Went to see the NP and she gave me an inhaler and a z-pack. If it is the start of walking pneumonia like it feels like, then the z-pack should take care of it. I had been waiting to see if it would just resolve on its own, but I've not been improving, so broke down and went.
The stress of this week hasn't helped much either. Tuesday was the Axis Practical in Toggle and the 2nd exam in Systems Pathology. Today I was supposed to take the Rad II 2nd exam, but will take a make-up on Tuesday, next week, instead. Tomorrow afternoon is the Toggle Mid-Term, which sounds like it will be a bear. I received private tutoring for PNS on Monday night for 2 hours and was feverish for the first hour and chilled for the 2nd hour. I learned a lot, but my head was a little fuzzy (has been, being sick), so was more than ready to leave when my time was up. I need tutoring because I'm don't want to fail the course a 2nd time. Also, a Renal group project (short problem) was due Wednesday, so our group met on Tuesday to work on it. Just seems like there has been so much this week.
Delaney has been really bad about desparately trying to keep herself awake as long as possible at night, too, and woke up today with sniffles...I hope she's not getting sick again, too. Last Friday, the preschool called us and we had to pick her up at noon because she was running a fever. She was fine by Sunday, but Saturday was sick all day.
I'm just ready for the weekend to arrive: we will be going to Peoria, IL, to visit Jon's family and it will be pleasant and relaxing. Sounds good to me! Now, I'm lying down and going to rest for a while...
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
And 4th Tri Continues...
I have been wanting to take Lani swimming all summer. Specifically, I wanted to take her to the really fun municipal pool in Bettendorf, Splash Landing (http://www.bettendorf.org/department/?fDD=29-0). So, when I got out of Systems Pathology yesterday, I planned to pick her up and take her there. One thing after another happened (Jon asked me to bring his shoes & socks back to Palmer for his adjustment - wearing flip flops for an adjustment is not helpful to your doctor, Dartagnan was texting me about what he was up to & might need a ride, I forgot the swim dipes & had to go back to our house for them, etc.) and by the time I arrived at Splash Landing, it was already 3:45 (pool is only open until 5:00), and guess what? It was already closed for the season! It usually is open until Labor Day, so I was surprised. Apparently, though, all their lifeguards headed back to college/university already, and all the schools around here started last week, so, they closed early this year. I was really disappointed because it was such a beautiful day and I just wanted to play with her in the zero-entry level pool and water features, maybe take her down the mini waterslide there.
Classes are going well...with the exception of PNS. Only scored 8 (out of 30) on my first exam and that is really bad. So, I am considering contacting the local DC that tutors for the course...Dr. Tonya Rogers. I've heard she really helps people understand and do much better on the tests and Boards.
Rest of my classes are good. I did well on my first Renal and Rad II exams (currently getting B's in both). Did OK on my X-Ray Analysis Test in Toggle, but ROCKED the Atlas Practical - perfect score! Very thrilled with that because I've not had a perfect score until that one at Palmer. It gives me hope. I don't feel as dumb because of it (and trust me, my idea of my intelligence level has taken a beating at Palmer). Took the first test in Nutrition today and should have spent more time reviewing the equations and how to find BMI, TER, BM, and also the signs of nutrient deficiencies. Still think I did pretty well on that and went into it with an A from previous quizzes and our Nutrition Lab assignment. Tomorrow I have my first Public Health test and think it will go well. Nervous about the Axis Practical in Toggle next week. Will practice set-ups on Jon and Dartagnan this weekend so I feel more confident. Fortunately the Axis adjusting is similar to the Atlas adjusting, so it is not like we have to learn a whole new set of information for it, which really helps.
Last weekend I hardly left the house. Just spent a lot of time studying. Did a lot of reading: Extremities Trauma for Rad II; Renal (NaCl & H2O Resorption); Fats, Sports Nutrition, and started Water-Soluble Vitamins chapters in text for Nutrition; Public Health (had to read a chapter about Environment's Impact on Community Health and do report); Toggle (Instrumentation). I wanted to go to church on Sunday, but we woke up late and also had to be at a birthday party for twins we know who turned 40 last week out in Walcott by 12:30, so ended up just getting ready to go to that & did a little house cleaning before we left (changed sheets, vacuumed). Only stayed at party for 2 hours and had to get going because it was WAY past Lani's naptime then and she was getting manic. Was sad to go because at least half the people were my relatives and friends and always like to catch up with them and see what is going on in their lives and get to see their kids growing so fast.
Jon & Dartagnan were out of town the previous weekend to Atlanta for a PI (Personal Injury) Seminar. On the way down, they stopped in Chattanooga for a little tourist activity: Ruby Falls (http://www.rubyfalls.com/). Because they had parked on an incline, Jon set the parking brake on my little Honda Civic. When they left Ruby Falls, he forgot about it, which is normal because we never use it. As they were traveling down Lookout Mountain, the brakes overheated and failed. Jon used to sell Nissans and took many driving courses as a salesperson. Thank goodness! I'm sure those courses helped him to safely plow the car into someone's berm instead of the telephone pole or their mailbox that flanked the berm. Fortunately, Jon and Dartagnan suffered no immediate ill effects and the car was not damaged. Unfortunately, he began having neck pain the next day, while completing the drive to the seminar. The irony of his getting whiplash on the way to a PI seminar was not lost on him.
Have recently watched, with Lani some really good movies: "Bolt," "Monsters Vs. Aliens." Lani loves both. The hamster in "Bolt" is hilarious. I like the blob monster in "Monsters Vs. Aliens." He falls in love with a jello mold! It is so silly. The reptile-like monster reminds me of one of our friends, Mo, especially when he is first introduced and does the little karate bit. Also Jon and I watched "Alien" and "Aliens" with Dartagnan this past weekend because they are classics. I forgot how much I enjoyed the movie "Aliens" and it has been long enough that I couldn't remember all of it, so it was suspenseful. While Jon and D were out of town, I watched "The Young Victoria" and it was excellent.
Jon just got home with Lani. Great news! She went potty in the big girl potty today at school - TWICE! Yippee! She's not done that at school before. She's not peed in the potty at home yet. Very exciting! A new chapter in potty training is launched!
Time to head over to dinner with my parents and my sister-in-law and two nephews who just arrived from California yesterday.
Classes are going well...with the exception of PNS. Only scored 8 (out of 30) on my first exam and that is really bad. So, I am considering contacting the local DC that tutors for the course...Dr. Tonya Rogers. I've heard she really helps people understand and do much better on the tests and Boards.
Rest of my classes are good. I did well on my first Renal and Rad II exams (currently getting B's in both). Did OK on my X-Ray Analysis Test in Toggle, but ROCKED the Atlas Practical - perfect score! Very thrilled with that because I've not had a perfect score until that one at Palmer. It gives me hope. I don't feel as dumb because of it (and trust me, my idea of my intelligence level has taken a beating at Palmer). Took the first test in Nutrition today and should have spent more time reviewing the equations and how to find BMI, TER, BM, and also the signs of nutrient deficiencies. Still think I did pretty well on that and went into it with an A from previous quizzes and our Nutrition Lab assignment. Tomorrow I have my first Public Health test and think it will go well. Nervous about the Axis Practical in Toggle next week. Will practice set-ups on Jon and Dartagnan this weekend so I feel more confident. Fortunately the Axis adjusting is similar to the Atlas adjusting, so it is not like we have to learn a whole new set of information for it, which really helps.
Last weekend I hardly left the house. Just spent a lot of time studying. Did a lot of reading: Extremities Trauma for Rad II; Renal (NaCl & H2O Resorption); Fats, Sports Nutrition, and started Water-Soluble Vitamins chapters in text for Nutrition; Public Health (had to read a chapter about Environment's Impact on Community Health and do report); Toggle (Instrumentation). I wanted to go to church on Sunday, but we woke up late and also had to be at a birthday party for twins we know who turned 40 last week out in Walcott by 12:30, so ended up just getting ready to go to that & did a little house cleaning before we left (changed sheets, vacuumed). Only stayed at party for 2 hours and had to get going because it was WAY past Lani's naptime then and she was getting manic. Was sad to go because at least half the people were my relatives and friends and always like to catch up with them and see what is going on in their lives and get to see their kids growing so fast.
Jon & Dartagnan were out of town the previous weekend to Atlanta for a PI (Personal Injury) Seminar. On the way down, they stopped in Chattanooga for a little tourist activity: Ruby Falls (http://www.rubyfalls.com/). Because they had parked on an incline, Jon set the parking brake on my little Honda Civic. When they left Ruby Falls, he forgot about it, which is normal because we never use it. As they were traveling down Lookout Mountain, the brakes overheated and failed. Jon used to sell Nissans and took many driving courses as a salesperson. Thank goodness! I'm sure those courses helped him to safely plow the car into someone's berm instead of the telephone pole or their mailbox that flanked the berm. Fortunately, Jon and Dartagnan suffered no immediate ill effects and the car was not damaged. Unfortunately, he began having neck pain the next day, while completing the drive to the seminar. The irony of his getting whiplash on the way to a PI seminar was not lost on him.
Have recently watched, with Lani some really good movies: "Bolt," "Monsters Vs. Aliens." Lani loves both. The hamster in "Bolt" is hilarious. I like the blob monster in "Monsters Vs. Aliens." He falls in love with a jello mold! It is so silly. The reptile-like monster reminds me of one of our friends, Mo, especially when he is first introduced and does the little karate bit. Also Jon and I watched "Alien" and "Aliens" with Dartagnan this past weekend because they are classics. I forgot how much I enjoyed the movie "Aliens" and it has been long enough that I couldn't remember all of it, so it was suspenseful. While Jon and D were out of town, I watched "The Young Victoria" and it was excellent.
Jon just got home with Lani. Great news! She went potty in the big girl potty today at school - TWICE! Yippee! She's not done that at school before. She's not peed in the potty at home yet. Very exciting! A new chapter in potty training is launched!
Time to head over to dinner with my parents and my sister-in-law and two nephews who just arrived from California yesterday.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Financial Aid Problem, Solution, & 4th Tri
OK, so in my last post, I mentioned that I wasn't sure if I would be blogging or not this term, so I had to wait to work to see what happened with my financial aid. Here's what happened to make that a question:
Last term, I passed all my classes (two with A's - yea!!!), except PNS (Neuroanatomy II). It is a notoriously hard class and I did not do well in it. Because it is such an important class and a huge amount of material is covered in it, I know it is just as well that I retake it so I can really get the material down (after all, what good is a chiropractor who doesn't understand/know intimately the nerve pathways!?).
But, because I'm already on a reduced schedule and take fewer credits than are "usual" (28-32), that doesn't leave room for any non-passes. I missed the required amount of credits passed by not passing PNS by 3 credits. PNS is worth 5. This meant that I could not have my federal financial aid for the term unless I had an approval by a review committee that asks the student to submit an appeal, explaining, in detail, why they did not meet the minimum requirements for passing the previous term. They don't meet until the second week of classes, so my financial aid was "up in the air" until they met and decided which way it would go for me.
Usually, the mitigating circumstances must involve the death of a loved one, a medical condition/illness of the student, or other unusual hardship. My appeal was 3 pages long and I pretty much had to explain all that went on in the past 3 years that pertained to my academic performance at Palmer (they ask for the past year) in order to really explain my situation and for it to be clear why I was now appealing for my financial aid to be restored.
Thankfully, the committee approved my appeal and my financial aid is restored for this term. However, appealing is a one-time thing. If I don't meet the requirements for financial aid for any term after this, I will have to obtain a private loan for that term, which means also finding someone to co-sign...that's the hard part. In other words, I really need to do all Ican to pass my classes with good grades.
So, this term, my goal is an A in Radiology II, Systems Pathology, Nutrition and Public Health. I think it is possible for me to get A's in those classes. I would like to get a B in Toggle and I hope to pass Renal and PNS. Seven classes is a lot for me. It is hard to juggle my time well, but I hope I'm getting better at it.
I am also trying to learn to make some new vegetarian dishes because I get bored with the same food, so I've picked up the ingredients to make a veg version of Moroccan Tagine (I'm planning to substitute dry-pan fried tofu for the lamb and add it near the end of the cook time rather than the beginning) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Moroccan-Tagine-2/Detail.aspx and Moroccan Couscous http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-and-Nutty-Moroccan-Couscous/Detail.aspx. The best Moroccan food I've had was in Paris on New Year's Eve 1998 with a group of students from St. Ambrose University. I was there for a History course. Anyway, the food was fantastic and I've always wanted to be able to reproduce it, so I'm hoping that it tastes great. Planning to try these two recipes this afternoon for our dinner tonight.
Also planning, after we go to church at 11 http://stpaulqc.org/ to work on my assignment for Public Health and to spend some time studying for PNS because the test is on Wednesday. Would also like to start reading for next section of Rad II - first test in there was last Thursday and and I think I did OK. Didn't do as well as I wanted on the Sys Path test last Tuesday, but have a chance to improve that considerably before end of term.
Last night, attended a birthday party for my friend Sheila at our friend Trine's house. It was a fun time of laughing and great conversation. I was considering not going in favor of more study time, but I'm glad I went. Was good to see so many friends from campus and get to chat with them outside of the "Palmer Bubble." It just seems that we really don't have much time to chat when we are at school, so was good to socialize outside that. We all need decompress time with friends. I think it really helps me to handle my stress better.
Well, need to rouse a sleepy teenager for church, so more later...
Last term, I passed all my classes (two with A's - yea!!!), except PNS (Neuroanatomy II). It is a notoriously hard class and I did not do well in it. Because it is such an important class and a huge amount of material is covered in it, I know it is just as well that I retake it so I can really get the material down (after all, what good is a chiropractor who doesn't understand/know intimately the nerve pathways!?).
But, because I'm already on a reduced schedule and take fewer credits than are "usual" (28-32), that doesn't leave room for any non-passes. I missed the required amount of credits passed by not passing PNS by 3 credits. PNS is worth 5. This meant that I could not have my federal financial aid for the term unless I had an approval by a review committee that asks the student to submit an appeal, explaining, in detail, why they did not meet the minimum requirements for passing the previous term. They don't meet until the second week of classes, so my financial aid was "up in the air" until they met and decided which way it would go for me.
Usually, the mitigating circumstances must involve the death of a loved one, a medical condition/illness of the student, or other unusual hardship. My appeal was 3 pages long and I pretty much had to explain all that went on in the past 3 years that pertained to my academic performance at Palmer (they ask for the past year) in order to really explain my situation and for it to be clear why I was now appealing for my financial aid to be restored.
Thankfully, the committee approved my appeal and my financial aid is restored for this term. However, appealing is a one-time thing. If I don't meet the requirements for financial aid for any term after this, I will have to obtain a private loan for that term, which means also finding someone to co-sign...that's the hard part. In other words, I really need to do all Ican to pass my classes with good grades.
So, this term, my goal is an A in Radiology II, Systems Pathology, Nutrition and Public Health. I think it is possible for me to get A's in those classes. I would like to get a B in Toggle and I hope to pass Renal and PNS. Seven classes is a lot for me. It is hard to juggle my time well, but I hope I'm getting better at it.
I am also trying to learn to make some new vegetarian dishes because I get bored with the same food, so I've picked up the ingredients to make a veg version of Moroccan Tagine (I'm planning to substitute dry-pan fried tofu for the lamb and add it near the end of the cook time rather than the beginning) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Moroccan-Tagine-2/Detail.aspx and Moroccan Couscous http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-and-Nutty-Moroccan-Couscous/Detail.aspx. The best Moroccan food I've had was in Paris on New Year's Eve 1998 with a group of students from St. Ambrose University. I was there for a History course. Anyway, the food was fantastic and I've always wanted to be able to reproduce it, so I'm hoping that it tastes great. Planning to try these two recipes this afternoon for our dinner tonight.
Also planning, after we go to church at 11 http://stpaulqc.org/ to work on my assignment for Public Health and to spend some time studying for PNS because the test is on Wednesday. Would also like to start reading for next section of Rad II - first test in there was last Thursday and and I think I did OK. Didn't do as well as I wanted on the Sys Path test last Tuesday, but have a chance to improve that considerably before end of term.
Last night, attended a birthday party for my friend Sheila at our friend Trine's house. It was a fun time of laughing and great conversation. I was considering not going in favor of more study time, but I'm glad I went. Was good to see so many friends from campus and get to chat with them outside of the "Palmer Bubble." It just seems that we really don't have much time to chat when we are at school, so was good to socialize outside that. We all need decompress time with friends. I think it really helps me to handle my stress better.
Well, need to rouse a sleepy teenager for church, so more later...
Monday, August 2, 2010
Summer '10 Break
OK. Has been a while since I wrote a blog. Quick version: we were super busy (& still are!).
Longer version: Came back to Palmer from a very busy break.
We traveled to Chattanooga, Tennesee, for a day and a half. We really enjoyed the food and the culture Chattanooga offers. Our hotel, which was so lovely, with a great staff and delicious breakfast http://www.stonefortinn.com/ When we arrived our first night, it was really hot out, but we didn't want to drive anymore, so we walked to a fabulous restaurant just a few blocks from the inn. Table 2 http://www.table2restaurant.com/ had mellow ambiance, but was definitely higher-class fine dining, with excellent selections. The chefs are very creative and the food was to be savored. We relished each bite.
We spent a day exploring the area, visiting Lookout Mountain Park http://www.nps.gov/chch/index.htm and http://www.lookoutmountain.com/ We did not "See Rock City" or "Visit Ruby Falls," but we plan to sometime when Dartagnan is with us, because he loves caves and when he was little, he loved rocks, too.
Most delightful was Fairyland Neighborhood. I have loved fairy tales all my life and loved seeing the fun homes off Red Riding Hood Lane, many built from the rock of the mountain. I also learned that it was the birthplace of mini golf: http://www.historicchatt.com/page.asp?PageID=102
We visited the Hunter Museum of Art http://www.huntermuseum.org/visit/, saw a fabulous exhibit of American artists' glassworks and Jon especially appreciated the Albert Bierstadt that was part of their permanent collection. While in the Bluff Art's District, we ate lunch at Tony's and it was excellent http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g54946-d476294-Reviews-Tony_s_Pasta_Shop_Trattoria-Chattanooga_Tennessee.html and after had wonderful dessert next door at Rembrandt's http://www.bluffviewartdistrict.com/subpage.php?pageId=140 What a beautiful area! On our way back home after our seminar, we had dinner at 212 Market, which uses local ingredients and has been in business for many years http://www.212market.com/.
We then traveled on to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend a seminar held by our practice manager, Dr. Pete Fernandez http://www.drfernandez.com/DC/Home/index.cfm, and it was very informative and encouraging. One of his speakers, Dr. Cannister, was particularly delightful and full of wisdom about how to "Be the Doctor." He reminded me of Dr. Fred Barge, who used to teach at Palmer (& has passed away), because he used to say something similar. We met some really successful and happy people while there and it helped me feel excited about the profession and the career again, especially hearing about some of the cases from other docs. They also offered up great advice and it was so nice to be surrounded by such positivity. The vibe was so good. I really needed that!
We also spent time in Peoria, Illinois, with Jon's dad and his family, which was relaxing and fun. Good to catch up with them, as they are also very busy too.
Near the end of the break we traveled with Delaney to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to pick up Dartagnan & his cousin Thomas and they joined us for a 9-day stay on Washington Island, Wisconsin http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/washington-island-wisconsin/Content?oid=915355 and http://www.washingtonisland.com/. They brought their bikes and spent much time exploring the island, including climbing the tower in the center of the island (on its highest point) and hanging out at School House Beach, swimming, skimming rocks, and probably flirting with girls a little. They also enjoyed riding their bikes to watch the fireworks on Independence Day at the island's baseball diamond. The boys often went to Albie's http://www.yelp.com/biz/albatross-washington-island to get a milkshake & burgers (since we are vegetarian and they aren't, this made them happy).
Jon and I enjoyed taking Delaney for a walk in her stroller up to Red Cup http://www.tripadvisor.ca/LocationPhotos-g60360-d609435-Red_Cup_Coffee_House-Washington_Island_Wisconsin.html and http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60360-d609435-r70070036-Red_Cup_Coffee_House-Washington_Island_Wisconsin.html I think it is sooo charming. If I owned a coffee shop, it would be very similar to Red Cup in ambiance, style, color. We did a touristy thing we never do: we actually bought t-shirts with their name on them! I usually hate to wear advertisements for a business, but the t-shirts were super-soft, lightweight cotton and had great design: Jon's is like the old snakeoil posters advertising that their product is a panacea for "all that ails you" (it is very funny to read) and mine is just the name "Red Cup" in large letters, "Washington Island" below. I like that it is a beautiful teal color, is form-fitting & has a peace symbol in the "P" of "Cup." They make a mean Americano and Chai Tea Soy Latte. :)
There is a great little bookstore next door, Islandtime Books, and I can never resist the urge to buy at least one (usually more!) book when I go in there http://www.indiebound.org/stores/islandtime-books-more This time I refrained from buying a book for me, but got two for Lani: "An Elephant & Piggie Book: I Am Going" by Mo Willems (very cute), and "Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story From Africa" by Jeanette Winter. I am a fan of Dr. Wangari Maathai. I was priviledged to hear her speak about her work in Montreal at a NAFSA (International Educators Organization) Conference a few years ago. She's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her environmental work carried out through the Green Belt Movement http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/ I want to be sure to surround Lani with strong women as role models as she grows up. Dr. Maathai definitely fits that description (she endured much to carry out her vision and help people and the earth). I like her story especially because it shows that with hard work and inspiration, you can accomplish much.
It was a very nice break and we enjoyed spending time with our family. Was long enough that I was ready to come back to school. I'll update soon on what happened when we returned to school and I was in a situation making me unsure of my financial aid situation. Have to go now because I have my first Systems Pathology test tomorrow and all my Nutrition Analysis papers are due tomorrow, too.
Longer version: Came back to Palmer from a very busy break.
We traveled to Chattanooga, Tennesee, for a day and a half. We really enjoyed the food and the culture Chattanooga offers. Our hotel, which was so lovely, with a great staff and delicious breakfast http://www.stonefortinn.com/ When we arrived our first night, it was really hot out, but we didn't want to drive anymore, so we walked to a fabulous restaurant just a few blocks from the inn. Table 2 http://www.table2restaurant.com/ had mellow ambiance, but was definitely higher-class fine dining, with excellent selections. The chefs are very creative and the food was to be savored. We relished each bite.
We spent a day exploring the area, visiting Lookout Mountain Park http://www.nps.gov/chch/index.htm and http://www.lookoutmountain.com/ We did not "See Rock City" or "Visit Ruby Falls," but we plan to sometime when Dartagnan is with us, because he loves caves and when he was little, he loved rocks, too.
Most delightful was Fairyland Neighborhood. I have loved fairy tales all my life and loved seeing the fun homes off Red Riding Hood Lane, many built from the rock of the mountain. I also learned that it was the birthplace of mini golf: http://www.historicchatt.com/page.asp?PageID=102
We visited the Hunter Museum of Art http://www.huntermuseum.org/visit/, saw a fabulous exhibit of American artists' glassworks and Jon especially appreciated the Albert Bierstadt that was part of their permanent collection. While in the Bluff Art's District, we ate lunch at Tony's and it was excellent http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g54946-d476294-Reviews-Tony_s_Pasta_Shop_Trattoria-Chattanooga_Tennessee.html and after had wonderful dessert next door at Rembrandt's http://www.bluffviewartdistrict.com/subpage.php?pageId=140 What a beautiful area! On our way back home after our seminar, we had dinner at 212 Market, which uses local ingredients and has been in business for many years http://www.212market.com/.
We then traveled on to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend a seminar held by our practice manager, Dr. Pete Fernandez http://www.drfernandez.com/DC/Home/index.cfm, and it was very informative and encouraging. One of his speakers, Dr. Cannister, was particularly delightful and full of wisdom about how to "Be the Doctor." He reminded me of Dr. Fred Barge, who used to teach at Palmer (& has passed away), because he used to say something similar. We met some really successful and happy people while there and it helped me feel excited about the profession and the career again, especially hearing about some of the cases from other docs. They also offered up great advice and it was so nice to be surrounded by such positivity. The vibe was so good. I really needed that!
We also spent time in Peoria, Illinois, with Jon's dad and his family, which was relaxing and fun. Good to catch up with them, as they are also very busy too.
Near the end of the break we traveled with Delaney to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to pick up Dartagnan & his cousin Thomas and they joined us for a 9-day stay on Washington Island, Wisconsin http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/washington-island-wisconsin/Content?oid=915355 and http://www.washingtonisland.com/. They brought their bikes and spent much time exploring the island, including climbing the tower in the center of the island (on its highest point) and hanging out at School House Beach, swimming, skimming rocks, and probably flirting with girls a little. They also enjoyed riding their bikes to watch the fireworks on Independence Day at the island's baseball diamond. The boys often went to Albie's http://www.yelp.com/biz/albatross-washington-island to get a milkshake & burgers (since we are vegetarian and they aren't, this made them happy).
Jon and I enjoyed taking Delaney for a walk in her stroller up to Red Cup http://www.tripadvisor.ca/LocationPhotos-g60360-d609435-Red_Cup_Coffee_House-Washington_Island_Wisconsin.html and http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60360-d609435-r70070036-Red_Cup_Coffee_House-Washington_Island_Wisconsin.html I think it is sooo charming. If I owned a coffee shop, it would be very similar to Red Cup in ambiance, style, color. We did a touristy thing we never do: we actually bought t-shirts with their name on them! I usually hate to wear advertisements for a business, but the t-shirts were super-soft, lightweight cotton and had great design: Jon's is like the old snakeoil posters advertising that their product is a panacea for "all that ails you" (it is very funny to read) and mine is just the name "Red Cup" in large letters, "Washington Island" below. I like that it is a beautiful teal color, is form-fitting & has a peace symbol in the "P" of "Cup." They make a mean Americano and Chai Tea Soy Latte. :)
There is a great little bookstore next door, Islandtime Books, and I can never resist the urge to buy at least one (usually more!) book when I go in there http://www.indiebound.org/stores/islandtime-books-more This time I refrained from buying a book for me, but got two for Lani: "An Elephant & Piggie Book: I Am Going" by Mo Willems (very cute), and "Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story From Africa" by Jeanette Winter. I am a fan of Dr. Wangari Maathai. I was priviledged to hear her speak about her work in Montreal at a NAFSA (International Educators Organization) Conference a few years ago. She's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her environmental work carried out through the Green Belt Movement http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/ I want to be sure to surround Lani with strong women as role models as she grows up. Dr. Maathai definitely fits that description (she endured much to carry out her vision and help people and the earth). I like her story especially because it shows that with hard work and inspiration, you can accomplish much.
It was a very nice break and we enjoyed spending time with our family. Was long enough that I was ready to come back to school. I'll update soon on what happened when we returned to school and I was in a situation making me unsure of my financial aid situation. Have to go now because I have my first Systems Pathology test tomorrow and all my Nutrition Analysis papers are due tomorrow, too.
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