Christmas' galore and #100..

Christmas has come and gone. All four Christmas' to be exact. Our first celebration was with Jeff's extended family on the Sunday before Christmas. Lots of people and good food, and for an added bonus...the Chargers won! We had a sleepover with the Mitas family, and went out to breakfast at The Original Pancake House. I strongly recommend you go there if you ever get the chance. It was amazing! Be sure to bring your appetite though...the portions are definitely not on the skimpy side.

Then on Tuesday we headed down to Melissa & Derek's for an early Christmas celebration with them. Yay presents!



Then we went to the San Diego Zoo for Jungle Bells, where they light up the zoo with Christmas lights. It was freezing! Even the animals shivered under their heat lamps for warmth!


But it was still fun to see some of the animals and the pretty lights even though we were there for just a few hours.




Then we headed back to T.O. for even more Christmas celebrations! We even snuck in a visit with Jeff's grandparents and Uncle Larry! We spent Christmas Eve at my Oma's house for a yummy dinner of tamales and yet more presents. (No pictures on my camera of this one!)

Christmas day was spent at my parents' house, and the rest of the relatives came to us. We got to talk to my sister in the morning and hear about their celebrations. Good to hear from you Tori...we miss and love you! Then we opened stockings, ate yummy Kringle (we would have loved some of those Kolaches to go with it Melissa!), opened more presents (including my new camera which I still haven't used yet...oops!), stuffed ourselves with turkey, and opened the nativity that my Gam painted many many years ago. And guess who got the Baby Jesus?! Congrats Jeff! No pictures of this day on my camera either...get them from my mom!

Then Sunday Jeff and I parted ways again. He headed back up to SLO to attempt to meet his deadlines for the end of the year, and I am currently in Tustin and have started my 3rd rotation. The clinic I am working at is in Cypress by Knott's Berry Farm and is about a 15-20 minute drive from where I'm living. I'm about 5-10 minutes from Disneyland, and you can hear the fireworks every night! I am only 2 days into this rotation, but I can tell it's going to be very different from my other ones. On Mondays we do home visits or individual sessions, so yesterday we were at a park and only had 1 appointment...meaning I only had to work for 1 hour on my first day! Today we were at the actual center, and did group sessions since both our individual sessions cancelled for today...meaning I was done before noon! Woohoo! I know it won't be like this every day, but my CI doesn't work past 3:30 now that she has a daughter. Not a bad way to end my rotations! :)

And believe it or not, this is my 100th post! I can't believe I've written that many times! Thanks everyone for reading this and making it worth my while. I hope I've made it worth your effort to read it. You know I love all your comments! Here's to 100 more!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and have a fun, but safe, New Year! See you in 2010!

10 days 'til X-Mas...

This past weekend was Jeff's company x-mas party at the Madonna Inn. I'm sad to say this is the first time I've actually been inside the pink landmark despite living in SLO for so long. They did a wonderful job creating a winter wonderland, with shades of frosty blue and silver everywhere. They even took pictures like at prom which were ready for us by the end of the night, and had a musician/comedian. Here's our non-professional version...


And I also won our table's centerpiece. Meet Frosty!


Tomorrow I'll be heading back down to T.O. You'd think I'd have things packed up by now, but no. I've been running errands, wrapping presents, and being in complete denial that my time here in SLO is already over. I hope everything will fit!

Well, I guess I should get to packing. But I will leave you with this jewel of a video. For your holiday entertainment...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Catching up...

...and getting into the holiday spirit. So I know I kind of disappeared off the face of the earth for a little bit there so I'll try to catch everything back up.

Thanksgiving was spent with Jeff's family. 32 people and 3 turkeys with all the side dishes and lots of dessert. Coming from a small-ish family, these get togethers are often hard for me to wrap my head around simply because of the large head count. They always end up being a lot of fun and never seem to stress anyone out...or at least they hide it well. :) I must say Susie pulled off an amazing schindig and everything went off without a hitch, in spite of the 90º weather! Way to go Susie!


The rest of the holiday weekend was spent at Jeff's parents' house in Murrieta with Melissa, Derek and Grady. We even took Grady out to experience his first Black Friday, even though none of us scored any awesome deals. We tried to keep Jeff's dad company as he was recovering from his recent eye surgery. Hope you're feeling better Mike! And of course a lot of time was spent crawling around on the floor with that cutie of a nephew of ours.


Jeff and I also helped set up the (fake) christmas tree. Pre-lit trees sound like a good idea, but finding all the little cords to attach together again is not so easy! Nevertheless, it was a good way to jump start the holiday season.

Since I last posted, I have finished my second rotation. I can't believe how quickly these past 8 weeks flew by! I learned a lot and know that my manual techniques have vastly improved. I also got invited to the company xmas party, which was this past weekend. Of course I brought my camera and didn't take any pictures...story of my life. Being the 2nd student ever to be invited, I took this as a huge honor. I got a bunch of really sweet cards and presents from my patients too. All in all, I would consider this rotation a success, no matter which way you look at it!

My next rotation will be at a pediatrics clinic in Cypress near Knott's Berry Farm. I'll be staying with an alumni from our program who also helps teach some of the labs at school. He and his wife have generously offered to let me stay in their guest bedroom. They live about 20 minutes from the clinic, and I am so grateful for not having to find a place to live.

So this week I've been a lazy bum, and have been loving it! I could get used to not working! And it's been a good thing that I haven't had to go anywhere with the crazy downpours we've been having! I'll be heading back to T.O. sometime next week, schlepping all my stuff back down. Jeff's company xmas party is this weekend, so maybe I'll actually take pictures this time! :) So sad we're missing Bake Day again this year! I'll just have to bake on my own to make up for it.

Hope everyone is getting into the holiday spirit and getting all their shopping done...only 2 more weekends left! Since I don't get a tree up here in SLO (because I "won't be here to take it down"), I guess decorating the blog in holiday cheer will have to suffice. Happy December everyone!

Happiness is...

peet's coffee, a hot-out-of-the-oven cowboy cookie, wearing a t-shirt and driving with the windows down...




a week before thanksgiving...




how i love the slo life...

TLC, Triple-booking and Trojans...

This week by exceptionally slowly for some reason. It may have been due to Jeff being home sick until Thursday and me taking care of him until then. Lots of TLC on my part to try to get him better, including making German Pancakes. It may have been due to work being insanely hectic and being triple booked at times. Too many patients to see and not enough time to see them! Maybe I'm still adjusting to the time change...plus the 15º temperature drop. Who knows. But boy was I happy when Friday rolled around.

Speaking of work, my schedule is completely filled until after Thanksgiving. Not a single opening. In fact, we're double and even triple-booked at times. Talk about busy! I guess I should be thankful because it does make time go by faster. But I sure have been exhausted! I also can't believe I only 2 1/2 weeks left. I've been working on my inservice (kind of), which I'll be giving a week from tomorrow. Yuck.

We also had a moment of spontaneity yesterday. The owner of Jeff's work had tickets to the USC vs. Stanford game that he was giving away. And we happened to get some of them. So we headed out early Saturday morning with Jeff's roommate (Ace/Marc) and went to the game. Talk about sweet seats...11th row! The actual 11th row. Check out our view...


And that's not zoomed in either since the zoom on my camera has decided to stop working. It was a lot of fun, although it would have been nice if USC had decided to actually play and not get smashed into the ground by Stanford. Way to lose your Homecoming game! Oh well. Still fun, and better yet FREE!



Then we spent the night at Ace/Marc's parents' house in Valencia, and headed back up to SLO today. Sad that tomorrow is Monday already, but I'm happy that it's almost Thanksgiving! Yay for holidays that revolve around eating! :) Hope you're all staying warm!

A Week of Birthdays...

So this past week has been filled with a bunch of birthdays. Sunday was Jeff's Grandpa's birthday...sorry we couldn't be there to celebrate with you on your big day! Monday was both Jeff and my cousin Megan's birthdays. And then Tuesday was my dad's birthday...wish I could be there to celebrate today Daddy-o! And there are more birthdays yet to come in the rest of the month. Sheesh!

For Jeff's birthday he pretty much got spoiled rotten all weekend by me. He thinks he get's a "birthday week", which in his book means the week before AND after his birthday. I beg to differ and consider him lucky if he gets a week total of celebration. Anyway, I made him a baked pasta concoction that I whipped up on Saturday night. (Note: we did not have a single trick-or-treater) I also gave him his present early (the new Guitar Hero), and we played it all night and Sunday too. Sunday morning I made him monkey bread for breakfast, which was very tasty and in no way, shape or form healthy. I channeled my beloved Paula Deen and used a whole stick of butter (gag!), and enjoyed every bit of it too! Sunday night we went out to dinner at Tahoe Joe's with a couple of his friends. And on the big day I baked him a cake after I got home from work and he was still at his soccer game. And sadly, I have no pictures of all the spoiling either. Oh well.

Since then, said birthday boy has had a root canal (happy birthday to him!) and today is achy and not feeling well. Do I hear a flu coming on? So perhaps he'll get another weekend of spoiling out of me too.

The past two days at work my CI was not in the office so I had a schedule of my own. I was a little nervous about how it would all work out, but it ended up going very smoothly, even with double bookings! In fact, at the end of Thursday, the director of the clinic (whose wife happens to be the president of the company), told me that I did an outstanding job. To top that, he told me that he told his wife that he would hire me! Say what?! All resumes go through her to start the application process, and then are passed on to the directors of the clinics. Basically, that means that should I submit a resume after I'm finished with school, my resume would go to the top of the pile. Woohoo! I must say, I was floating on cloud nine for the rest of the day. Considering the number of PT clinics in the area, this is a HUGE deal. So now I just have to keep wowing him my last 4 weeks here.

That's this week's wrap-up. Hope everyone is enjoying the warm weather still. Who would've thought it'd still be in the 70's and 80's in November?! Love it! Time to get back to taking care of the sicky...Stay healthy out there!

Happy Halloween!

Alright, so another two weeks went by even though I said I wasn't going to wait so long to post again. What can I say, I've been busy. And my schedule wipes me out by the end of the week. So here goes...


Last weekend, Jeff and I headed up to Monterey for our anniversary trip from July. Our first stop was the aquarium, which is always a lot of fun. They have a special exhibit on seahorses right now. Some of them were pretty funky looking! My favorite is always the otters, and even though I know they can be really mean, those cute little faces get me every time! And yes, we even went through all the little kid sections too. How can you not feel like a kid at the aquarium!





After we were finished there, we walked around Cannery Row for a while before checking into our hotel. Our hotel ended up being only 2 blocks from Fisherman's Wharf, so we headed over there for dinner and had some delicious seafood...well I did anyway. We didn't stay up late...in fact, I apparently was out cold and snoring by 9:30. The next day we slept in (I believe I got 11 hours of sleep), enjoyed our complimentary breakfast, and then headed back to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch before heading out of town.


We decided to take the long way home along Highway 1. The water was absolutely gorgeous, with beautiful shades of turquoise blue. Even though it took us about an hour and a half longer, I'm glad we went that way. We stopped to see the elephant seals too. None of the big (ugly) males were there, but there quite a few juveniles who were in no rush to move further south. I wouldn't mind be lazy and laying out on the beach all warm and toasty in the sun. Sounds pretty nice to me. Although, I'll pass on being chased by killer whales and great white sharks! All in all, it was a terrific weekend and a fun getaway, and I'm glad we finally got to do it.




My rotation has been going well. I can't believe I've already finished 3 weeks. I've been taking more and more patients on by myself, and this next Thursday and Friday I'll have my own schedule while my CI will be out of town. I'm really enjoying this rotation (I was pretty sure I would), and I know I'm learning a lot and having to challenge myself...which is always good, although it sure does use a lot of my energy.

For Halloween, we've carved our pumpkins and bought candy, although we're not expecting any trick-or-treaters. We dressed up on Friday at work, with most of the staff dressing up as different color crayons. They even made a giant crayon box to pose with. Very cute. I bought a $5 trick or treat shirt from Target, and made a sign at work that said "Starving Student: Will give joint mobilizations for food."

In other news, my good friend Jocelyn and her husband Shaun just found out that they are expecting another baby. Congrats Wharton family! Abby will make a terrific big sister!

That about wraps things up. Don't forget to change your clocks tonight. Woohoo for an extra hour of sleep! Hope you have a fun and safe Halloween. Can't wait to see pictures of everyone's costumes!

The SLO life, and much more...

I am officially moved up to SLO and am living the grand SLO life. I moved up 2 weeks ago (sorry for the delay), and had a few days to run errands, unpack, and get used to living in the area again. I had forgotten about the onramp/offramp situation, which for any of you who have visited up here know what I'm talking about. It didn't take me long to get used to it again though.

The first weekend up here we went to Oktoberfest at the Old Vienna Restaurant in Pismo. I recognized a lot of songs from all the Oktoberfests I attended as a kid. They had this awesome polka band of 3 older guys called Trio Internationale that played traditional polkas, as well as covers of such songs as "White Wedding", "Shout", "Lowrider", and "You've Gotta Fight For Your Right...To Polka!" You can check out their myspace page here. I've gotta say they kept the dance floor packed all night. They definitely were the highlight of the night.




Then I started up my 2nd 8-week rotation at San Luis Sports Therapy. My commute is now only 30 minutes, with guaranteed no traffic. Sweet! My schedule is less than ideal, working 10.5 hours on Mon/Wed/Fri and 5.5 hours on Tues/Thurs, but the half days sure are nice!. My CI used to work with professional athletes in the Chicago area, and definitely has a lot of things to teach me. I have homework almost every night, which I'm not a fan of, but I know it's only making me a more well-rounded therapist. I can tell I'm going to gain a lot from this rotation, and should soon have my own schedule of patients. 1 week down already!

This past weekend my mom came up to look at a couple wedding locations and attend the Central Coast Bridal Fair/Expo. We visited two sites: Santa Margarita Ranch and Spanish Oaks Ranch, both in Santa Margarita. I had high hopes and good feelings about these two, so my fingers were definitely crossed on our way out to see them. I've been in contact with these two locations for quite some time now. Spanish Oaks ended up being a lot smaller than it appeared online (again, pictures are deceiving), and wasn't quite what we wanted despite being beautiful.

Santa Margarita Ranch (SMR) on the other hand was amazing! I really can't describe this place in its entirety, because you really just have to see it yourself. The ranch was a resting place between missions way back in the day, as well as a stop for the Wells Fargo Stagecoach. The barn (which can fit up to 300 guests) has the original stone walls inside, and has been built up/around it. There's an old movie theater sign, windmill, wishing well, oh yes...and a railroad...with old train cars from Disneyland! There's a gorgeous garden area to have the ceremony in, with a giant oak tree. SMR is actually a working cattle ranch and vineyard too. I really didn't think Jeff was going to like it because I'll admit, it's pretty darn country. But he actually said he liked it! Woohoo! The layout, history, and natural beauty of it all is sure going to be hard to beat, and to be honest, I'm not sure I really want to look at any other places. Now we just have to figure out if we can afford it. Ah, the life of budgets! My mom took pictures, but an old friend from dance, who now happens to be a photographer in the area (that we ran into at the bridal fair), recently shot a wedding there, which you can see the photos here: Chloe : Mike Larson Photography, Inc: Home on the Range: Andrew & Sara to give you a better idea of what it's like.

At the bridal fair/expo there were over 120 local vendors including DJ's, coordinators, locations, bakeries, caterers, photographers, florists, etc. A little overwhelming, but very nice to have it all in one spot. I found a DJ that I like a lot (in fact, after 2 other ones I stopped talking to the other DJ's because none of them seemed to compare...plus other photographers and caterers raved about him. SOLD!), a bakery with amazing cake (yes, there were some with not-so-amazing cake, which I think is a crime), and a florist who stood out from the rest. As far as caterers and photographers, well I'm just not going to worry about that yet. Too many options that I'll slowly have to filter through.

We also went to the pumpkin patch at the Avila Valley Barn, which is full of tractor rides, animals, home-made ice cream and pies, a hay maze, and produce (most of which you can pick yourself during the year). Jeff and I both said how much fun it would be to take Grady here. All the kids (big or small) love it! It was way too crowded when we went on Saturday, so we went back on Sunday morning when there were much fewer people. It's a popular place this time of year!


Alright, I should probably wrap this up. Lots to talk about. This should teach me not to wait so long to post next time. And the reason this is being written in the middle of the day is because I'm home from work with a cold. It's been a battle against a sore throat, stuffy/runny nose, and cough and I didn't really want to get the patients and co-workers sick. I'll go in tomorrow no matter what, but this morning when I still couldn't breathe and felt like my head was in a fog, I decided it was best that I stay home. Back to resting up, studying, and doing laundry...

Rotation #1...check!

Number of miles put on my car: 4800
Longest commute: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Shortest commute: 45 minutes
Number of Armenian phrases learned: 10
Number of pounds lost: 8.5
Number of times I passed out: 0
Number of days left: 0

It's official...I finished my first rotation! I can't believe how quickly it flew past, but I am very happy to be finished. I gained a lot of experience these past 8 weeks, building up my confidence and perfecting my skills. I will not miss the commute or waking up at the buttcrack of dawn. I don't think I've ever worked so hard physically, at least not in a while. The proof is in the weight loss up there. Hello jumpstart to the wedding diet! I can now count in Armenian (well, to 4 anyway), as well as some other phrases. Of all the languages in the world, I would not have picked Armenian to be the next one I'd be learning. On the last day, my CI brought in bagels, cream cheese and OJ and made me a good luck sign. It was a very weird day, with 6 patients either refusing treatment or not being able to be seen for one reason or another. It was surreal driving home, knowing that I wouldn't be driving back there on Monday morning. Surreal, but very satisfying. :) Now all that's left for me to do is turn in my paperwork, which I'll be dropping off at school on Monday.

This week I'll be moving up to SLO, which has served as motivation these past 8 weeks. I knew that once I got through this rotation, I'd get to be with Jeff for 3 months. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is! Now it's time to pack my stuff up again (didn't I just do this?!) and prepare to freeze my butt off. I know, I'm a wimp. But after living in triple digit weather for half the year, I am not used to the cool weather. I know I'll get used to it, but there will be lots of layers on me until then!

Yesterday my mom and I went to my friend Jocelyn's daughter's 1st birthday party. You may remember me talking about little Miss Abby. I'm her "auntie", and love spending time with the cutie pie. She will be the second flower girl in the wedding, accompanying Miss Sofia down the aisle (and Grady too!). She didn't really know what to do with the cake, and just picked at it and stared at everyone, wondering why all of a sudden watching her eat was so interesting. And she was more interested in the cards and tissue paper than the gifts themselves. Very cute, and I'm so happy I was actually in town for the celebration! Happy birthday Abby!

33 days down, 7 to go...

Hard to believe, but I only have a week and a half left of this rotation! CRAZY! Oh how time flies when you're working your butt off...and maybe having an ounce of fun every now and then. I will be giving an inservice (not by choice) next week on deep vein thrombosis, or DVT's, with the most current research and evidence. Now doesn't that just grab your attention. I'll be glad when it's over, and have been very slowly working on it in my pathetic attempt to avoid giving all together. It's not working...

Jeff came down last weekend, which was wonderful, as always. We didn't do much, in our typical fashion. But what we did do is watch some football on my parents' brand new 40 inch HD LCD! Although, it seems to be defective because both USC and the Chargers lost. They weren't losing on the old tv, so this is clearly the only explanation. It was a sad weekend in football for us, but we saw every drop of sweat being shed in their valiant efforts, and in HD no less!

I had missed watching football with Jeff. Him making fun of me yelling at the players for being stupid, or to run faster, or to throw the ball, or to watch out because they're about to get hit. Him laughing some more at me when I sing along with the Chargers song and dance around. And then me falling in and out of sleep during all non-USC or Chargers games, usually smooshing Jeff to death in my attempt to get every minute of snuggle-time in, only to be bolted awake when he would yell at the tv because of a bad call (or a good one for that matter). Good times. But really, this has been one of the things I have missed the most about being with Jeff. Being the bums that we are, watching football all weekend long, together, on the couch. Just being together. Pure bliss.

The weekend before that we were at a family friend's wedding in Somis at Hartley Botanica. I've grown up with this family since elementary school, and did dance with the bride for all those years. My mom is the one with all the pictures, so I will post some once I steal them from her. A beautiful wedding that was a lot of fun...there was a photo booth and candy station! Here's a pic of me and another family friend (we're sad b/c our sisters aren't there).

Congrats again Triona and Ryan! Hope you had a terrific time on your honeymoon!

That about wraps things up. I guess I should work some more on that inservice of mine. My next post will probably be after I'm finished with this rotation. Can't wait!

Too good to be true...

Well I jinxed it...yesterday it took me an hour and 40 minutes to get to work on my new "faster" route. SO not worth it! It's back to the out of the way, traffic-avoiding route. I knew it was too good to last!

I also forgot to mention that I got a Save the Date for my friend Kristin's wedding. I am super excited for her and Andrew. They were a big part of my Cal Poly days, and I've missed them since they moved to Washington. She and I lived on the same floor in the dorms at Cal Poly and then were roommates for the other 3 years. The wedding will be in April and would you believe it...in SLO! Maybe I'll get referrals from her! And the wedding wheels are turning...

Happy September?

Don't know about anyone else, but I can't believe it's September! Where did August go? Hmm...

Today we had a patient code on us right as we were going in to see him in the ICU. What does "code" mean? Simply put, his heart stopped working and he wasn't breathing. When this happens they page a "Code Blue" over the intercom and the nurses and doctors jump into action while we PT's try to stay out of the way. Think of all the TV and movie scenes with lots of people crammed around the patient and the horrible sound of a flatline (beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep), paddles out, yelling "CLEAR!". This is then followed by the pause where everyone holds their breath and hopes for the little blip on the screen that is a heartbeat. Fortunately, this man made it through, but now is in even worse condition than before. He has been in the hospital for well over the month and I have been working with him since the beginning of my rotation.

While all this was going on my heart was racing and I almost started crying because it seemed so surreal to be seeing this in live action instead of on the big screen. All I know is that someone was looking out for us, because the only reason we hadn't started treatment yet was because we were waiting to hear back from his nurse. Then we would have been blamed and possibly held accountable for what took place. Needless to say, we won't be treating him for a while.

This labor day weekend was spent at home, being a lazy bum and resting up. This rotation is hard work! I went shopping with my mom on Saturday and helped her spend her gift cards. I could get used to this! Thanks Mom! My dad and I saw "Julie & Julia" on Sunday, which was very cute and made me wish my blog was a little more interesting like the one in the movie. Sorry I don't have any pictures to put on here right now to spice things up. If you want cute pictures, you can pick from the many links on the left of this page (cute kids can be found on Jocelyn's, Melissa's, Betty's, and the Krills' blogs). I also caught up on laundry, finished my midterm review paperwork, and spent a lot of time researching for my inservice that I'll have to give in 3 weeks. Not a whole lot of excitement, but I think it's what I needed.

I've started getting brave and taking the 101-134-5 route to work (*gasp*). This all started when I had to leave extra early and via a different route due to multiple road closures surrounding the hospital for Michael Jackson's burial last week. A whole big to-do that inconvenienced a whole lot of people. Anyway, after encountering ZERO traffic that morning, I decided to give it another try, and again...no traffic. So this is my new route, which of course got jinxed this morning and I hit terrible traffic because of the water line breaking and resulting sink holes and road closures. I'll keep giving it a shot unless it gets worse.

Hope you all had a fun 3-day weekend and everyone is in good health. Hopefully tomorrow won't be as exciting as today...

Onto week 4...

I didn't realize how long it had been since I had written on here...my apologies! Although, strangely I find that I have less to talk about now that I'm not in class. Weird. Maybe it's the whole patient confidentiality thing.

Things have been going relatively well during my rotation thus far. I think I am starting to adjust to the fast pace of the hospital and getting more comfortable with working hands-on with patients. There have definitely been ups and downs, and every day is completely different. My CI and I have slight personality conflicts that I'm trying to work out. Things are getting better, but there are still some issues that have yet to be resolved. Thank goodness for the perma-grin! I've been most amazed by the fact that I am a minority at this hospital. 75-80% of the patients I see do not speak English. The majority speak Armenian, followed by Spanish. Yes, I am learning Armenian. I'm also quickly refreshing my Spanish from high school. The patients seem to find it funny that I'm even attempting to speak their language and laugh at me, but somehow I have to get through to them...no matter how terrible I sound!

Most memorable moments thus far (good and bad):
-Projectile neon green vomit (think exorcism)
-Wiping patients' butts because nursing is too busy (it's no fun for either party involved)
-Getting peed on
-VIP patient...sorry, I can't tell you who it was!
-Having lunch with the CEO of the hospital

Things I like:
-There's never a dull moment
-Every day is different
-I see a wide variety of patients...ortho, neuro, cardiac, you name it!
-Some of the other PT's there are awesome and have taken me under their wing
-Getting gifts from patients (baked goods, lotions, etc.)
-Being out of the classroom and putting my hard-earned (and expensive) knowledge to good use
-FREE TIME! I actually get to come home and do nothing, and I couldn't be happier. Plus, I have a weekend now that is actually a weekend and not non-stop studying. This means shopping, movie-going, wedding planning, baking...things that make me happy! :)

Things I'm not so fond of:
-The commute! I can think of a lot of things I would rather do with those 2 hours each day I spend in the car
-I only see patients for a few days and then they're gone
-The stress of having every thing I do being graded
-The constant feeling of being behind and having to play catch-up all day
-Being on my feet, climbing up and down flights of stairs, lifting 300+ pound patients...I am exhausted by the end of the week!
-Bodily fluids...enough said.

So other than working like the rest of the normal population, I've been enjoying my free time. It's been bloody hot and smoky from all the fires. It's really gross at the hospital. You can't even see the hills anymore. Hope everyone is doing ok and haven't melted yet. I'm going to go back downstairs where it's cooler. Can't believe I'm almost half-way through this rotation already! Then I'll be moving up to SLO...WOOHOO!

My middle name is chaos...

...or so it seems! The past few weeks have been a bit hectic to say the least. The end of the term was busy with projects, packing, and more. Finals week came and went. It wasn't a huge deal, except that we still had class and the finals kept getting switched around so we never got a lot of notice before we took them. We also had to say good-bye to each other, which was very surreal. After spending the past year and a half together, all day every day, it was weird to say good-bye for 7 months. None of us could really wrap our heads around not being in class for 13 hours a day or studying on what some people call "the weekend" or seeing different people every day. Well now that's just crazy talk! But we all said our awkward good-byes and wished each other well, and just like that we all left the nest of our insanely structured program. Then I had to pack up all my things and deep clean the house.

This past weekend, that wonderful Jeff of mine came down to help me move back in with my parents. We rented a Uhaul trailer and hooked it up to his truck. After several hours of heaving all my junk and then schlepping it up and down stairs, I was moved out. I was sad to move this time. Brian and Anthony (the boys next door) came over one last time and ran around our empty house. Brian looked in the door and shouted "What happened to your house?!?!" I told him that we were moving, and I'm not sure he really understood since they just danced around our empty living room like it was any other day. I hope whoever moves in there plays with them or has kids of their own that will play with them. They deserve it! And I will miss them...

Then Jeff and I went with my mom to the Ventura County Fair on Sunday because we were too pooped to go on Saturday night like originally planned. It was way more crowded than normal because it was Family Day and there was some popular Mexican band that was attracting even more people. But we ate yummy fair food...corn dogs, funnel cakes, cotton candy, kettle corn, cinnamon rolls...yep, there went the diet! But it was worth it!

Today was my first day of my first 8-week rotation. I'll be at Glendale Memorial Hospital working in an acute in-patient setting. After waking up way earlier than I wanted to in order to avoid traffic and getting lost in downtown Glendale, I finally made it. I'm not sure anything could have prepared me for this. The best way to describe it is pure and utter chaos. If the patient isn't there or hasn't gotten their medication or whatever random reason you would like to insert, you just move on to the next patient and so on until you find a patient on your list that you can do therapy with. I had one lady screaming at me, yelling "GET HER OUT OF HERE!" at the top of her lungs. Nothing like a warm welcome! One patient screaming out of pain unnecessarily loud...I know she was in pain, but she had already received a double dose of pain killers and my ear drums thought she was being a bit of a drama queen. One patient said I was cute. One patient said I was nuts if I thought I was getting him out of bed. The list goes on...basically a lot of running around, trying to find charts and nurses, running up and down the stairs while carrying around equipment, trying to decipher doctor's hand-writing (no wonder things get interpreted incorrectly!). The worst part of the day was a patient on our list died in the ICU while we were there today. It wasn't while we were treating him, but it was not exactly something I wanted to have happen while I was on this rotation, let alone on the first day. Oh well...it can only go up from here, right?! Only 39 more days to go!

I hope everyone is enjoying the ends of their summers. I will be busy running around the hospital and purging all my excess stuff that I've moved home and refuse to move again. Miss you all!

Busy, as always...

Yes, yes...I know I've disappeared for a while. I have been insanely busy with projects galore! We've had at least one, if not 2-3 projects due each week, along with quizzes and being in class for long lengths of time. I'm not sure why people thought this term was going to be easy, but it sure is time-consuming. I guess it's not so much difficult, as it is a lot of things to get done all at once.

I've also been busy going through my mounds of stuff that I've accumulated over the years and trying to purge some of it. It's a bit ridiculous. Now the problem I've been having is that I have emotional ties to items and have been pairing memories with things. I think it's a common thing to do this, but it makes it hard to let go of things. At least my roommate Carol has gone through a bunch of it and claimed it as her own, and the rest is going to Good Will. Better than throwing it out I guess.

Oh yes, and I went down to San Diego to get in some Auntie time with Grady...and of course see Melissa and Derek too! I can't believe how big he's gotten.



He's full of smiles and laughs now and kept staring at me, seeming to trying to figure me out. He can stare at me all day long! I wasn't there long, but I ran errands with Melissa on Friday and we even got Grady's birth certificate...he's official now! I also babysat while Melissa and Derek celebrated a friend's birthday. Course, when he's already asleep it makes the babysitting job a whole lot easier. On Saturday morning we all went for a walk around Lake Murray, and then checked something off of Melissa's "Things to Do Before Going Back to Work" list and went to the Lake Murray Cafe. Glad I could be a part of checking something off Melissa! I was only there for a short time, but I wanted to go down before I moved. Thanks Melissa and Derek for letting me come down...it was terrific to see you three!

Yes, for those of you who haven't heard, I'm moving back in with my parents starting in August. My two roommates were planning on moving out, so my options were to either find 2 new roommates or to move out. Since I'll be having a rotation up in SLO starting in October, I didn't think it made sense to find 2 roommates for 2 months. So I'll be commuting to Glendale for my first rotation and the potentially staying there for the rest of my grad school career. There's two other girls who will be living in the area, so we can all carpool together for the 15 weeks of class after our rotations.

So I think that just about catches up everything. It's been insanely hot...triple digits for about a week now, and predicted for at least another week. I'll be taking a load of stuff home on my way up to SLO this weekend. Other than that, just trying ti finish up this short term. And now back to the projects!

4 years...

Today is me and Jeff's 4 year anniversary. I cannot believe how quickly those years have flown by. I consider myself so lucky to have found someone that makes me this happy, and who is willing to put their life on hold while I pursue my dream. It stinks not being able to be together today, but hopefully this is the last time we're apart on our anniversary. It's pretty much impossible for me to put into words just how wonderful our time together has been, so here are some pictures to walk you through our adventures over the past 4 years.

I love you Jeff, with all my heart. Thank you for making me feel like I'm the only girl in the world. Here's to a lifetime of love and happiness together...

4th of July...

The first week of class came and went. It wasn't too terrible, other than the fact that I was going through a bitter/grumpy phase when it truly hit that I hadn't had a week-long break since April and won't be getting one until October. To some this may not seem like a big deal, but I rely on those weeks to help motivate me and get through each term. It didn't help matters that Jeff took the week off and was enjoying a vacation (that included time with Grady) without me. Jealous? Yes. Bitter? Definitely. Sorry to those who had to put up with my funk. Hopefully I'm over it now. My schedule (as of right now) is as follows:

Special Topics: Mon, Wed 8:30-12
Seminar: Tues, Thurs 9:30-12
Special Populations: Tues, Thurs 1-6
Diagnostic Imaging: Wed 5-10

Yep, I get Fridays off which I think is well-earned and deserved! Maybe I'll get a few weekend run-aways out of it. Any takers??? It's a quick 6-week term, so I know it's going to fly by and I can't wait to get out of the classroom.

For the 4th I went up to Kernville to spend time with Jeff and his family. I somehow managed to bypass terrible traffic and only took 30 minutes longer than usual. What a pleasant surprise! I got to hold my sweet little nephew for a little bit before Melissa and Derek left on Friday morning. Jeff and the boys went to the shooting range on Friday while I played with Sofia, Andrew and Jordan. Always entertaining! Saturday a bunch of them went white water rafting while I studied...it's a little too close for comfort for going out to the clinics and my fear of getting injured has greatly increased as the date approaches. We watched the fireworks from across the lake and even had glowsticks to play with while we waited for them to start. Here's a cool, yet creepy picture of Sofia playing with them...


Sunday we went for a sea-doo ride on the lake before heading out of town. I actually hit more traffic coming home than leaving town. Go figure. Then back to the grindstone and class in this yucky heat. Bleck! All in all a fun trip. It was great seeing everyone and getting away from the normalcy that grad school has become.

Oh yes...Jeff and I asked little miss Sofia if she would be the flower girl in our wedding. At first she said yes, then she said no and that Andrew could be the flower boy instead. Then I told her that the flowers were going to be pink, to which she gasped and exclaimed "YES!" Sofia promised to have the flowers fly all over me and make me look pretty. Love that kid! Although, I'm not sure who was more excited about it...Sofia or Betty! :)


Sofia will be joined by another little girlie near and dear to my heart, although I haven't asked her (more like her mom) yet. But I think the parties involved have a good inkling that it's coming. :) They will be absolutely adorable with Grady as the ring-bearer! Can't wait...just 2 more years! Haha!

Hope you all had a fun and safe 4th and managed to stay out of the heat. Now I should get some work done...

Comps...

Alright alright...I know I disappeared for a while, but let me tell you...I've been busy! So I will attempt to catch you up on everything. Let's see...

So "break" ended when I came back to school and began seriously studying for comps. And I mean seriously...12-14 hours per day of studying, practicing, quizzing, etc. You know it's bad when you realize it's 10 o'clock at night and you never ate dinner and didn't even notice. Lots of trying to remember information, laughing (nervously) when we came across something we never even remembered learning in the first place, and praying for the best outcome.

Monday was Neuro. They hired actors to be our patients, which I guess was a good idea. I had the unfortunate blessing of going in the first group, so my actor didn't completely have her story down yet and threw me for a little loop, but I just focused on what I knew and what I had figured out and tried to treat it as best I could. I was so nervous because I hate going first that I dropped my stuff on her when I went to introduce myself. Poor thing! The look on her (and my tester's) face was priceless. Oh yes, and Melissa...guess what the diagnosis was...MS! I thought of you! Anyway, I treated a Neuro patient with mostly Ortho techniques but completely justified it and proved that I was 75% competent. You should note that a 75% was considered passing throughout the week, so we kept saying that we only need to be 3/4 competent.

Tuesday was Cardio Pulm. We got to work with a partner for part of it, and although we're not sure if this was how it was technically supposed to be done, my partner (Heidi) and I didn't really let our professor direct questions to one of us specifically and helped each other out by finishing the other person's sentences. We treated our post-heart attack patient brilliantly and panicked when we got a "Do you think there's anything else you should do?". That's usually is a sign that you've forgotten something major and you better think quick. Turns out that what we did was too conservative, even though we followed it directly from the book, but it's always better to error on the conservative and safe side than to push the patient too far, so another passed test.

Wednesday was the written, which really is on a computer, but was a practice board exam. I ended up getting a 70% on it, which I'm quite content with since a 75% is what is required to pass the real board exam and I'm not even finished with school yet! Not to mention that with an exhausted brain, I know I made stupid mistakes, and really should have gotten a higher score. Plus they told us we should aim to get above a 60%...done and done.

Thursday was Ortho, which should have been my moment of glory. It was set up that you had to go through a bunch of different stations, and then eventually treat a patient which was your "partner" that you had to differentially diagnose and set up with a exercise program, etc. I got a patellar femoral syndrome patient, which probably means nothing to most of you. Should have been a cake walk, but then my tester decided to make me focus on the most random things and wouldn't let me do the standard treatment protocols. I made a slight error on one of the tests, merely a wrong hand placement, lost my confidence here and there and had to make pauses to think things out. At the end our tester asked my partner and I if we had anything to say for ourselves. Another panic attack...I told him that it was the end of a really long week and apologized for anything I had done wrong. Basically he told us that he understood how tired we were, but all in all was very impressed with our clinical knowledge and reasoning. So, in pure exhaustion, I passed the last one. Hooray!

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that they "accidentally" scheduled class with a lymphedema specialist during all this (I thought of you, Becky), so we went to class on Tuesday and Thursday from 2-6. We were not happy campers. She was a nice lady, and we learned about the massage techniques and wrapping to do with these patients, but it was still the last thing we wanted to be doing.

Then I ran off to SLO on Thursday night to get in some more time with Jeff since it had been cut short during our "break". Ashley happened to be down there again so we had lunch, got a pedicure, and caught up on our girl time while Jeff was at work on Friday. And she also popped some terrific news...she's going to be moving back to SLO! She plans on attending Cal Poly's teaching credential program starting in January, and I cannot wait to have her back again! I missed that girl. Jeff may not be too thrilled, but I sure am! Jeff and I didn't do much all weekend. A whole lot of bumming around. We went to see Transformers, watched the USA vs. Brazil soccer game, and I tried to just let my poor brain recover. On my way back down I stopped and spent some time with my dad to try to make up for Father's Day. Had a good chat and dinner, and then was back on the road to school.

I think that about catches everything up. I will post my schedule once everything is finalized. Comps were definitely not fun, and I definitely made mistakes that I shouldn't have, but am overall pleased with how I did and am feeling confident to go out into the clinics. I will leave you with this sad note...It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that one of Jeff's family's dog, Molly, had to be put down during my comps week. She was an absolute sweetheart, full of snuggles and kisses, and she will be greatly missed. It was hard to maintain my focus knowing what was going on and trying to keep Jeff happy during comps. It's so hard to lose a pet. Miss you Molly-moo! *sigh* Anyway, hope all is well with everyone, and stay out of the heat!

Wanted: Large (Secluded) Estate...

I survived finals...HOORAY! It was rough, and I know I could have done better on all of them, but with the time constraints we were put under for studying, I did what I could. After a good night's rest I was off to SLO, along with 8 binders full of notes and my comps study book. (Look back a couple posts for a reminder on that one.) I don't think I got the best gas mileage in the world with all that added weight, but it was a necessary evil.

I studied while Jeff was at work on Thursday and Friday. Thursday I also went out to Arroyo Grande to check out a wedding location (The Cypress Ridge Pavilion) I had found online that looked promising. I'm not going to say that this place is completely off the list, but I'm quickly learning that what you see online is not necessarily what you get. It was as beautiful in person as it was online, only smaller and a lot closer to houses than I thought. See...


It's not being completely scratched off because of this, I would just have to make sure that none of the pictures would have these multi-million dollar homes in the background. But, it's in our price range (something that is not easy to come by) and near the beach, which would make it a lot cooler in July than a lot of other places. Anyway, we'll see on this one.

Friday my best friend Ashley drove down from the Bay area. We lived together in the dorms and during our sophomore year at Cal Poly. Then she studied abroad our junior year and lived in the sorority house our senior year. We call ourselves "sisters separated in the womb" because since the first minute of knowing each other, we had an instant and inseparable connection. We haven't been able to see each other since we graduated 2 years ago, so this was a long overdue visit.

On Saturday she went out with me and Jeff to check out another wedding location (Fleur de Lis Estate) in Atascadero. Another possibility that's not completely off the list, but has some faults. 1) the next door neighbor is pretty close and had has a fairly run-down house with some run-down cars to decorate the yard. Some may call it art, but I don't think it's what I had in mind for the theme and feel of my wedding. 2) the train runs close by and honked it's lovely horn several times during our tour. Jeff and Ashley had to point this out to me because I never even heard it. Maybe living right next to the tracks has made me immune to it. We could have the train whistle instead of church bells...maybe not. The cool thing was you could rent out the place for the entire weekend if you wanted. Oh yea, and it had a barn! Again, we'll see.

Sunday I convinced Jeff to drive us out to Arroyo Grande so they could check out Cypress Ridge while Fleur de Lis was still fresh in their minds. We also drove up See Canyon to look for apple orchards and grand estates to rent out. No such luck. So we decided to have lunch in downtown SLO and Ashley and I hit up one of our most favorite places...Cowboy Cookies! I can remember going there as a kid with my parents and eating warm melting cookies by the mission. Yum! Potential favor idea???


Well, Ashley and I were very content with this stop! Sadly, Ashley had to go. But we found out that we're both going to be up there in 2 weeks. Go figure! 2 years without seeing each other and then we get to see each other twice in the span of 2 weeks.

Monday I had to pack my things up and head back down here to school. Now it's back to studying for comps and trying to not think about wedding stuff. Easier said than done. Sorry for all the wedding talk. Just thought I would update on all that for those of you are interested so I don't have to repeat myself a million times. The quest for the perfect location is still on, and if you know of anyone with a huge estate that wouldn't mind renting it out to a poor grad student for her wedding, send them my way! :) Hope everyone's enjoying summer. Maybe this June Gloom will go away soon...

June already?!

Sorry I haven't updated this in a while. I guess time has just been slipping away amidst the sea of papers and clinic days. The weekend up in Kernville was fun. We went whitewater rafting and quad riding. Jeff and I also accidentally tipped a 2-seater quad over while making a 3-point turn on what looked like a level surface. Apparently it was still on an incline, but fortunately since we weren't exactly moving quickly, we are both fine! And that, my friends, is why you wear all the claustrophobia-inducing (in my opinion) protective gear! The boys also went to the shooting range, and we saw Night at the Museum. The weather wasn't too hot either, which was nice. A relatively relaxing weekend, and a nice getaway. Thanks Mike and Becky for the ride!

This past week seemed to take forever to get through, even though it was technically only 3 days of actual class. Tuesday I went out to a peds clinic and helped during a treatment session. I'm figuring out more and more that I don't really think that peds is what I'm going to end up in. Yes, I know my insanely huge love for children would make you think otherwise, but there is a lot more work and energy that goes into moving some of these kids. I'm just thinking about my poor back and body and trying to keep myself income-producing for as long as possible. We'll see...you never know where life may take me. But as of right now, I'm sticking with ortho. More guest lecturers (read: more dressing up), and on Friday we had a really awesome patient day. We had some patients with prostheses come in and we split up into small groups and rotated through them, asking them questions, assessing their mobility, and checking out their awesome equipment. Some of their stories were pretty amazing. One of the patients was a Paralympic athlete who even ran outside for us. She is also an actress/singer and has been on My Name is Earl. You can check out her website here. You should check out the video under the running section on her website...she's a world record holder, which is pretty amazing! I found her, as well as all the other patients who came in, to be incredibly amazing and inspirational.

This weekend was spent studying. Yesterday we had a midterm in Pharmacology, which who knows how it went. I really am not a fan of that class. I understand its importance, but I don't like it. We have our final practical for Gen Med on Thursday and a few minor quizzes and papers due. I'll also go out to another peds clinic on Friday. Other than that, it's just gearing up for taking 4 finals in 2 days next week. YIKES! Peds and Pharm are on Monday and Gen Med and Prosthetics/Orthotics is on Tuesday.

Hope all is well. I can't believe it's June already! I'm not sure where May went. Sorry if I disappear for a little bit. I can't guarantee what kind of time I'll have to update this during this week. If you need me, come find me buried under all my books!

San Diego, studying, and more...

Last weekend I escaped down to San Diego to get in a quick visit with Melissa, Derek, and Grady. I got to be a huge Grady hog, and it was wonderful! I love that little guy! And I can't believe how big he's already gotten...Melissa retired 2 outfits while I was down there. He moves around a lot more (his arms and legs that is), and likes just staring at you taking it all in. He was a smiling, cooing, hiccuping snuggle bug. I can't wait to watch him grow up. I can already tell he's going to be a lot of fun! I didn't take that many pictures...it's a little hard when your hands are full with him! :) It was kind of spontaneous and last-minute, so thanks Melissa & Derek for letting me come on such short notice!



On a school note...only 2 months and 20 days until I start my first rotation! I couldn't be more excited. You can tell the whole class is getting the itch to get out of the classroom and into the clinic. We're getting a little stir-crazy, finding it hard to focus, and all-around are tired and burnt-out. We've been having guest speakers almost every day, which means lots of getting dressed up to sit in class. Fun. We're spending some time out in Peds clinics on various days, and I don't have any today...meaning, I get the day off! Of course there's studying to do, but that means I get to fulfill my urge to bake, and that sounds just wonderful. And meet my new friend...


This is my study book for comps, and I will be spending a lot of quality time with it. And the reason it looks so huge...because it is! Close to 1000 pages of review material, study guides, and practice tests. Woohoo! Hopefully it will be my ticket to success in passing these stinking tests. Only time will tell.

Alright, back to work. I'll be heading up to Kernville with Jeff and his family this weekend. Enjoy your BBQ's, beach trips, pool parties, etc. this Memorial Day! Have fun and be safe!

Our welcome home committee...

These are our neighbors' kids Brian (left) and Anthony (right) who are some of the cutest, sweetest, yet wild and craziest kids I've ever met. They yell goodbye to us out the window every morning when we leave for school and come running outside whenever we come home. Anthony even does a happy dance when he sees me and comes running up to give me a hug. They always want to know what we're doing and where we're going. It's like having a mini set of parents!

We try to play with them as much as we can, usually soccer in our shared driveway or just being goof balls and running around like different animals or power rangers (I'm always pink), but they also know what "we need to study" means. We can always count on them for a few laughs when we're getting stressed out or need a study break.

Brian asked me today if he could spend the night at our house. Too cute! They like to come inside and check out what we're doing. I sometimes humor them and turn on music and let them have a dance party, but they usually get a little wild, so that doesn't last too long. They are also really fascinated by my trunk for some reason. Anthony tries to climb into it and Brian likes to take stuff out of it for me...not always the things I want to take out, but at least he's trying to help.

Anyway, thought I'd share our little smiling greeters from next door. If you come and visit, you'll probably get to meet them...or at least hear them! :)

My Weekend Escape...

This week, for some reason, seemed longer than the past few. We had a Pharmacology test on Monday, which was nearly impossible. Fortunately, not just for me, but for the entire class. This professor just dropped to the bottom of our list. We also had 2 tests on Thursday (Gen Med and Prosthetics/Orthotics). Although neither one of them were too terrible, the amount of energy that goes into preparing for 2 tests on the same day is 10x more than if there's only 1. I don't know how this math of 10 times the amount of energy for twice the amount of work adds up, but Thursday night I was exhausted! Friday I had to get my titers drawn, but this lady was amazing. She got my seal of approval...no tears or passing out (on my part), and she only poked me once! Then I headed home to T.O. for the weekend.

Jeff came down for the weekend too, since we didn't get to be together on my birthday. Saturday was my mom's birthday, so we kind of did a joint birthday celebration...something we're both used to. Good thing we are sharing kind of people! We went to go check out a wedding location on Saturday that I had found online, but didn't really care for it in person (amazing what they can do to pictures online!) and it would have been too small for our wedding anyway. Thank you Jeff for going with us...that meant a lot! Jeff and I went to the movies and saw the new X-men movie. Then we checked out the mall since its recent remodel. Well, more like we walked in, went in to get my birthday freebie from Sephora, and walked back out. I didn't want to push my luck with Jeff! :) That night we went out to dinner to Wood Ranch, and went home for cake, ice cream, and presents. Who doesn't like presents?! (or cake and ice cream for that matter!)

For Mother's Day today, we picked up my grandma and went out to lunch at a deli in Ventura. It's always good to see her. Wish I could schedule in more family time, but that will have to wait until grad school is over...a common theme that I'm noticing. Then Jeff took off and headed back up to SLO. And I'm back at school, doing laundry, running errands, and trying to get back into study mode. A weekend is too much of a tease as far as spending time with Jeff. Just when I'm getting used to having him again, we have to go our separate ways. I much prefer when I get him for a whole week! Oh well...a weekend is better than nothing!

Well, I should get some groceries so I'm not really a starving student. Thanks Mom, Dad, and Jeff for a terrific belated birthday celebration! Happy birthday and Mother's Day again Mom! And everyone remember that the price of stamps goes up tomorrow by 2 cents...lame!

24 Candles...

Wow...I'm 24! How did this happen?! I'm not really sure where this last year went. Oh wait, yes I do...it went to APU! But I must have had some fun in between! Here's a little timeline from the year of 23...

May 2008:
-Lots of time spent at school, in the smelly cadaver lab, and studying in various locations.
-Memorial Day in Kernville...I studied while everyone else partook in activities I deemed "not worth the risk of getting hurt" (i.e. white water rafting, quadding, etc.)

June 2008:
-Learned that it's ok to have a little fun while we're in this program
-Successfully passed my second round of finals...YAY!
-Began summer term, our easiest term of the entire program.

July 2008:
-4th of July up in Kernville with lots of Jeff's family. Late night games, s'mores, sea-doo riding, and watching the fireworks out in the wind.
-Started (and finished) conducting our research project. Now all that's left to do is process all the data and write the paper!


August 2008:
-Sarah and Steve's wedding in Colorado
-ROADTRIP! Lots of fun memories on this one...10 mile hike, hummer ride, getting caught in a lightning storm, s'mores around the campfire, beautiful scenery...the list goes on!
-We find out Melissa is pregnant! Yay! I'm going to be an Aunt! :)
-2 week internship up in SLO (and they liked me!)

September 2008:
-Started Fall I...one of the hardest terms of the program
-5 year high school reunion, which I did not attend due to school consuming my life

October 2008:
-Ummm, my life was consumed by school.
-My friend Jocelyn had her baby girl, Abby...yay, I'm an Auntie!
-Managed to pass all my finals. Hooray!

November 2008:
-Got to be with Jeff on his birthday
-Tried to relax during my week off, but did do a little studying to get ahead for the next term. This is starting to get sick!
-Started Fall II...the other hardest term of the entire program
-Thanksgiving up in Kernville with Jeff's family


December 2008:
-2 weeks in Hawaii...a much needed vacation! Lots of fun zip-lining, golfing, kayaking, walks on the beach, watching the sunsets, snorkeling, oh yea, and plenty of study time too! Grad school doesn't really give you vacations!
-I'M ENGAGED! The happiest day of my life! I love you Jeff!

January 2009:
-HAPPY NEW YEAR!
-Got thrown back into school with 2 weeks before finals. Not fun! BUT, I passed them all and now have the feeling that I can conquer the world. At least the grad school world!


February 2009:
-Melissa's baby shower...Grady is almost here!
-Viva Las Vegas! APTA conference in Vegas for 4 days where I got LOTS of freebies!
-I am deathly ill. 2 trips to Urgent Care (which I just got the bill for...OUCH!), lots of drugs and antibiotics later, I'm FINALLY healthy again
-Crate & Barrel Wedding Party...fun and more freebies!

March 2009:
-Celebrated Tori's birthday. She turned 25, time for a quarter-life crisis! :)
-Jeff came down and we went to Disneyland to make up for Valentine's day, which I missed out on due to being sick
-Grady was born! Jeff and I are SO excited to be his loving Uncle and Aunt!

April 2009:
-Went wedding dress shopping for the first time with my mom, sister, and Jocelyn...found a possibility
-Bon Voyage party for my sister
-Easter with the family
-Tori left on the 16th for Botswana :(
-Got to meet Grady for the first time...LOVE him!
-Volunteered at a triathlon to raise money for people with disabilities

May 2009 (all 2 days before my birthday):
-Took a test big enough to be a final
-Went out to lunch with some of my study friends
-Went wedding dress shopping again with my mom...found another possibility
-Went out to dinner with my mom at CPK...YUM!
-Went to sleep for the last time as 23 years old

So there you have it. That was how I spent my year being 23. I may have been busy with school, but I managed to get in a fair number of terrific memories! Thanks for all who were a part of this last year. It was a fun ride! Now, off to study on my birthday, and eat my leftovers and birthday cake!