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.

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!