Showing posts with label Rad II. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rad II. Show all posts

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!).

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.

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.

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...

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...

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.