Ha, I haven't blogged since May 2012. Wow. We have a baby now and moved back to the Charlotte area...I should include more details, but that's not why I came to blog... I've been a mom for almost a whole year now so I consider myself a baby expert...hahahahahaaaaaahaaah. K, not even close, but I have learned a lot. Several friends are also becoming moms for the first time and I want to share my must-have items... This will not be fancy and there won't be links, but this blog is just the best format to make the list.

Also these are (obvs) based on our own personal experience...

a book that makes noise when you turn a page. be prepared to be fully annoyed by whatever song it is, but I enjoy the annoyance really because Hudson will sit there and do this over and over and over while I wash dishes or whatever...

ok, here's a link because toy is too hard to describe otherwise http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BNCA4K/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1# Hudson could play with this at around 3 months and he still loves it. one toy that keeps him happy for 9 months? yeah...that's a good one

an ipad kid's cover. not so he can play with it, but it's so great for Skype when he's on the move. makes it easy to carry and I don't hit all the buttons and screen on accident so I don't hang up on the grandparents!

porch swing. sometimes when he's fussy no matter what we do, just being outside makes him happy. our deck is splinter city, so I can't put him down yet so sitting in the swing is the best.

multiple favorite pacis. this has been a night saver. he sucks on one and twirls another. he MOVES in his sleep so sometimes he stirs and he has moved away from the paci, if there are a handful in there, he doesn't have to go far to find it and goes right back to sleep easily.

leads me to the next item...we know about the pacis because we watch him on the video monitor our first model, an actual video baby monitor, got dunked in some water (way to go, Mom), and replacing it was a $200+ cost we couldn't justify. so we went a month without it and I thought I was gonna lose my mind. So we got a basic home surveillance cam with smartphone app. it was half the price of a real baby monitor. you can't see the temp or talk to him, but I always thought that was a little creepy. I leave the ipad up on the nightstand to be able to see in the middle of the night.

jogging stroller. this is great for walks and for running, obvs, but it's also been so great at baseball games (Mike is coaching baseball now too). he can sit in that and there is a tray for dinner and pockets for all my stuff and I can roll him around when he gets bored. he's close to walking so he'll probably want out soon, but for now, it's perfect. also, baseball fields aren't usually near the parking lot, so it's nice to not carry him and all our stuff down a huge hill and back up afterwards

ergo. for the places that the jogging stroller can't go, or could but it's crowded, the ergo is a must. I've read a lot about the baby bjorn doing weird things to hip development and also that the other brands put major strain on your back. honestly, it's not the easiest thing to tote around, take on and off, but it is so worth it. the infant insert is annoying, I didn't really start to rely on it until he could hold his head up a little. it was so easy to get him plus stuff in and out of football games and he slept in it at football games. I love it for shopping...he can sit in the cart now, but I don't always get a cart. the hip position is his favorite now, he can see out that way and my arms don't go numb from carrying him. it was also great for air travel...

take and toss stuff. so cheap, so durable. the bowls with lids are the best for school lunch.

something to push. once he started cruising, he has spent at least half his play time pushing something around. doesn't matter what it is. he has a great little ride on car thingy and a gator toy made specifically to walk behind but he also pushed his music table and child sized chairs.

  the most important take away from this is the most important stuff is what makes mom and dad's life easier. Is that selfish? maybe. but he's so easy to please, there aren't many "must haves" for him...(other than you know food, diapers, and shelter)

ok, might as well continue.

 pampers swaddlers seemed to work best when he was littler...but he's a size 3 now and the Wal-Mart brand has been great (he even sleeps 11 hours a night). they are 20 bucks for 160 or something like that.

  we are lucky and he seems to have a tummy of steel and did pretty well on any formula we gave him. every time you go to the pediatrician, ask for a sample!! but we liked target and Walmart brand formula, but Costco was really frothy.

  now, I make most of his food and I have yet to use a "baby food recipe"...just grind it up (we use the food processor we already have) and throw in some pepper or cinnamon or garlic or basil/oregano. don't give up on a food after one try. I do enjoy having the infantino thing where you can fill your own pouch. after puree stage, just roast or steam, season, and dice. done. I buy pouches at the store sometimes for emergencies, but I have yet to buy a jar of food. I really like thinking about the money we've saved.

  hope that's helpful. if not for you, maybe it will be for me whenever we have another one, God willing. :)

I voted...

...for love. As my Jesus taught me. This old school Christianity madness has gone on long enough. As Christians, we are commanded to LOVE. period. nothing else. There are no rules for us to follow. If you do everything you do out of love, you will find yourself following the ten commandments. Other than that, the "rules" are arbitrary. I'm sad that there are Christians leaders who spin God's word and make it seem as if good Christians are only those who follow these strict crazy rules and oppress, judge, and hate others in the well-intentioned process. Unfortunately, I'm afraid there will be many that vote yes today, because a Christian leader mis-informed them and made them feel as if they were a bad Christian, going against the bible, if they voted no today. One of my most favorite sermons was about Jesus and the people he built relationships with. If a sinner invited Jesus to dinner, say, a prostitute, and offered Jesus meat on Friday (or whichever day that people think it's wrong), Jesus would have eaten that meat. By having a meal with that person, and having some meat, he built a relationship and was able to spread God's good word...which is LOVE by the way. For those of you that believe that homosexuality is a sin and that gay folks won't get into heaven...let's analyze how many adulterers you know, many even leaders within your church community. Shall you shun them as you shun homosexuals? Not usually. Pastors are accepted back to their churches ALL the time (as they should be). Why, WHY, WHY is it different with homosexuality? How is it different from any other of our perceived human sins? For those of you about to counter with "adulterers ask for forgiveness" or "murderers ask for forgiveness" and then never do it again, and THOSE people can be accepted back into God's arms....I give you this back... How many times today did you cuss? How many times today did you think even the slightest mean thing of another person? How many times in your life have you gone faster than the speed limit (even by five miles an hour?)? ALL SINS Murder, Lying, Stealing, Breaking the Law....there are no "small" sins. Sins are sins. So therefore, YOU, YOU, as a SINNER, have no right, no place, to place any judgment or oppression on others you perceive as sinners. God loves each of us and asks us to do the same.

Pancake Muffins

I love pancakes but hate making them...saw a random blurb for pancake muffins and thought it was genius!

Posting this here so I'll have a reminder for myself.

I adapted this recipe http://www.grouprecipes.com/30249/easy-pancake-muffins.html

I used bisquick: 2 cups mix, 1 egg, 1 cup soy milk, and added a splash of vanilla.

Baked for about 15 minutes...
Perfect in the middle but had to cut off the bottoms, the paper stuck... Wonder if that means I baked them too long?

I dunno how to post pics since I'm writing this on an iPad...will put pic on fb & twitter...

Ok, here's the link to the twitpic, we'll see if this works...
https://twitter.com/aceymorgan/status/158586209575256064

Coach Holmes

I am so proud of my husband, Coach Holmes.
It was God's sweet subtle moves that brought us to Candace and David, our across the street neighbors and newest good friends, and helped Mike get started in volunteering at Reynolds, but it was Mike's hard work that got him the job.
He worked harder and longer hours than even some of the paid coaches, not to show off or show up, but to show that he is dedicated. And it paid off. The head coach noticed, and appreciated, Mike's efforts.

Now that he is head JV coach and offensive backs coach for varsity, he is more tired than I've ever seen him but also happier than I've ever seen him, and if you know Mike, you know he's a pretty flippin' happy guy mist all of the time...
He's teaching Honors World History first block. He's got the textbook open and looks over his students' work every night he doesn't have a game. Games are Thursdays and Fridays (except when they're not, story to follow). JV Thursday at six (which I love attending-watching my husband work is a unique perk, not many wives get that opp, right Mir?) and Varsity-Friday at seven. You know I love football but high school people watching (kids AND parents) is so fun.

Not having him home til after 7 most nights and between 10-12 some nights has been a bit of a transition but it's so worth it knowing he's finally doing what he loves. I've been re-learning to cook and have time to actually be a wife (good riddance grad school!)

Reynolds JV is 1-2, Varsity is 2-1.

The most major change in our family as a result of all this is the laundry. The maroon and orange have almost completely been replaced with black and gold!

Ardmore is hilly

Grad school is over! We live less than a mile away from my work! This means...TIME. free time, spare time, hours to kill. I love it. As most of you know, my darling husband turned me into a beer snob. I love craft beer, drinking it and learning more about it.
I also love running. Imagine my excitement when I started following a writer on twitter named TheBeerRunner! He extended a challenge to run every day and drink a beer every day for a week. I decided to give it a shot...
The last semester of grad school plus a 45 minute commute for an 8-5 gig had drastically cut back the # of miles I was running, so I decided this might be a good way to slowly increase my mileage. I ran just one mile most days, no more than 3 once a week. Well, Ardmore is hilly, so while I was not pushing myself mileage or speed wise, I was (unknowingly) pushing myself cartilage-wise, too hard. One Saturday, after a relatively slow one mile followed by our housewarming lunch cook out, I noticed that my right knee looked inflated.

Went to the doc, he suggested rest, PT, then running on flat surfaces. He was convinced it's the hills I've been running that was causing then problem. I walk and stand for 75% of my work day, but I was a good patient and came home every day for two weeks and rested the leg. No running, not even walking. Nothing was changing, if anything I was noticing more short pain twinges than before. Found out PT was going to cost a ridiculous amount of money and decided I wanted more info first. Got an MRI. I have/had chondromallacia patella. All the cartilage under my knee cap was peeling back like paint and it was affecting my patellar tendon. Doc offered surgery as an option, saying that it would be pointless for a 50 yr old but I had a good chance of it actually making a difference (I'll skip the part where this made me realize I'm almost 31...)
Surgery meant at least a week and a half out of work, but he also said it is a "if not now, then later" situation, so Mike and I chose now.

Arthroscopic surgery, no big deal, outpatient procedure under local anesthetic. Got leave for work all figured out (which included two minor breakdowns because of scheduling mishaps and discovering it meant 2 days without pay) and showed up for the surgery. I went by myself at 9am. Outpatient with local anesthetic and in needed to do pre-op before, so I figured I wouldn't actually go back until 11 ish. Mike was at work ( I just had him drop me off on his way to work at 8) mom was in Mississippi, and I didn't see any need for Alan to come from Greensboro so early.
Turns out they took me back at 9:30. Still no big deal, had a friend from work come downstairs to pick up my stuff. Then the anesthesiologist came in and started talking about airways.

(At the hospital, at least twice a week, I do a swallow study on patients who have been intubated.)

It dawns on me that airways are only a concern if you are really knocked out. Slight anxiety sets in and I text mike, "general anesthesia". I was glad that I didn't know before hand because I would have so much more anxious going into it, but the surprise of it wasn't great either. Any who, they set my IV (ask for lidocaine), knock me out, and then I woke up.

I was shaking uncontrollably, like shivering hard, but I wasn't cold. Then I started sobbing. My knee hurt, but not the kind of hurt that makes you cry. Mike and Alan were there with me, but it didn't seem to help to calm me down. The nurse got me a vicodin for the pain (an 8) and shot me up with some demorol to control the shaking and crying. She said it was probably from the versed. Don't look it up, it's kind of frightening. She said I was hyperventilating but I couldn't help it. Having been NPO since midnight, I asked for vanilla pudding (we have the good Hunts stuff at the hospital) but they didn't have any on that floor. And they just switched our Graham crackers from the yummy honey ones to nasty cardboard flavor. But I took what I could get. However, my mouth was so very dry, the crackers turned quickly into dusty paste that I physically could not swallow. Water helped some, but not completely. My voice was so hoarse. Nurse said it was from the dryness because of the oxygen. LIES.
This is what they put in me
http://www.anecare.com/Products/images/LMA-brief1.jpg
Only the slightest improvement over actual intubation...sheesh.
The hoarseness and soreness fortunately went away the next day...

In addition to the cartilage issue we knew about, they found three thumbnail size holes in my medial cartilage, which they were also able to fix!

I'm making good progress. We're on day five...
I can't add pictures to the blog from my iPad...
Should be able to see them here
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150282220344436.339800.530494435&l=096e224b2f&type=1

I've been doing PT every day, a little more each day. Needed two crutches the first day to get to the bathroom. Barely put any weight on it. Next day, two crutches with some weight. Third day, one crutch with weight on it. Fourth day, no crutches but a major limp. Fifth day, no crutches and can stand on that leg briefly! I'm amazed at how much it gets better each day. Second day I was worried about going back to work next Monday, but today, I think I could go back early!!
My first real PT appointment is Thursday, so we'll see then!!

Doc says I should be able to run 3 miles a day in 3-4 months! No more every day running for me though...

Been a while

Oops...
A LOT has changed since May...
I started my new job and have loved every crazy minute of it. No two days are ever the same. Splitting my time between inpatient rehab and acute care is challenging but it's going really well. I continue splitting time until January, then I'm full time acute care. I should find out in December whether or not I get to keep this job past June.
We found a house in the Ardmore neighborhood of Wisnton-Salem and I adore it. I finally have a fenced in yard for Riley!!!! And a real spare bedroom, and a windowseat. I'm in love and I really hope we get to stay here.
Mike found a job! We live across the street from my supervisor-turned-goodfriend and her husband happens to be a history teacher! He helped Mike get set up to volunteer with the high school's football teams. Once that really got going, the head coach talked with the principal and Mike was able to secure a part-time teaching position (Honors World History). Since he was technically a school emmployee at that point, he could also be paid to coach and the head coach offered him the JV head coach position! Go Demons! Yes, the Reynolds Demons. Slightly scary, but at least the colors aren't red and black. He's loving every minute of coaching and teaching.

So that's us, sorry for the lapse, hope to keep this up!

Babies (not mine)

A dear friend, just had a baby late last night. She and her husband already had three children with no plans to have more, but Beckett surprised them and they are wonderfully happy about it. And in turn, I'm ecstatic for them. I hope to get to visit soon, they live in Charlotte.

Two of my best friends are also pregnant. One is having some minor complications, but has great potential to turn out just fine. It is so amazing to me how this is putting an even deeper hold onto our solid three-way friendship. Sharing such an amazing part of their life with them is so special. I can't express how glad I am that I'm able to be geographically close to them during all this. And I thought the Baptist externship was just good for my career! Oh their bellies are really showing and even though they won't believe me, neither of them look fat. Truth. They haven't gained weight in their faces...just those precious bellies housing a precious Peanut and a sweet Bean. I love touching them, and I'm grateful they don't just let me touch, but that they encourage it and show me where to wait for a kick or nudge. This time last year, I think I was longing to get pregnant...but I truly think that was because it seemed like a way out of grad school. I'm still not ready just yet. I'm so happy for my friends, but I have no desire to be in their position. Mike and I still have some settling to do, but I think the yearn will start to come back soon...

Transitions...

I am SO bad at them! Last night, I had a dream that I was in high school, but my teachers were my grad school professors, and I found out I had to work my new job (details to follow) as a co-op course during 5th and 6th period. Think my brain is a little confused about where I am in life?

Major things first. I got a J O B! I accepted an offer to complete my clinical fellowship at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem. I will be spending at least half of my time in the same department where I was an intern...which I loved, so I am thrilled. No pediatrics, all adults in mostly (hopefully) acute care, and possibly some in inpatient rehab. It's not that I don't want to work in inpatient rehab, I just prefer acute care. But the way they have created the position, I should get some experience in inpatient rehab as well, which is good for me, professionally.

In early April, I took a course to start my FEES certification and am about half-way through with that. The bonus to starting early is that I won't need supervision for as long. I get to wear scrubs (I despise business casual) every day with comfortable shoes. My co-workers are amazing clinicians as well as supportive people. My point is, I'm looking forward to it!!!

Details are still being worked out, so the plan for now is to move all our stuff out of the townhome in Midlothian (starting today) and into a storage space in Winston-Salem by the 16th. We have already started looking for places to live in Winston...we fell in love with a house yesterday, but they are still considering a lease option, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up (despite the fact that I mentally placed all of our furniture in the new house while trying to fall asleep last night). Until we find a place, we'll be living at Mom's, which we are forever grateful to be able to do.

I should start work either the last week in May or the first week in June.

Less major things in this crazy life...four close friends are pregnant. That number should be three...only of those sweet women should have had her baby yesterday, but that munchkin is being a little stubborn. We've been working really hard to give our nephew meaningful gifts (not just toys, he'll get plenty of those) and I hope to be able to continue with these four new babies...but it is hard sometimes! We've gotten our nephew, Jackson, a nice, framed print of the Stonewall Jackson monument in Richmond for his first birthday, a nice toybox for Christmas, and a child sized, real guitar for his 2nd birthday. I'm already running out of ideas (ok, so I ran out of ideas after the Jackson print, Michael thought of the other two). Hopefully, I'll get creative again soon...

Ok, now, I'm just rambling. Time to organize this house before we pack. Michael is thrilled about it. Well, he doesn't know about it yet, but he will be thrilled, right?

Post-COMPS, Post-Praxis

Well, they are over. If you are wondering "how did you do?", well, I wish I had an answer for you. I'm honestly a little clueless about how well I did. I'll know in four weeks. For the COMPs, I am sure all my information was correct; however, I'm not sure if it was exactly what they wanted or if it was enough info. The praxis on the other hand, there were at least five words I have never seen before in my life. So, surprisingly, I'm less confident about the praxis.

My placement is still going fabulously. I'm getting all my necessary pediatric hours and learning more and more how much I prefer the adult population! Whoda thunkit?

These days I like pretending I'm not in school anymore...I spend time with my husband, family, and friends without guilt over not studying. QT with the hubs is coming back in full force. I'm so blessed that he is so supportive, patient, and understanding.

Training has started back up again too. My foot is back to 100% and I'm aiming for a time goal in a 5k in May. I haven't decided on that time goal just yet. It won't break any records (not even personal ones) but it will be good for my overall performance ability.

My sweet husband has offered to let me pick out a destination marathon so I have something to do when I no longer have school to worry about! I am 90% sure I want to do the Las Vegas Marathon in December. Half of it is on the strip and it is at night this year! How much cooler can you get than running under the lights of Vegas?!?! My only concern is the four and a half hour time limit. I completed my first marathon in May 2009 with no intentions of a time goal and logged 5:29:30. That means I'm cutting an hour off my marathon time. If I had kept up that level of fitness for the past two years, I wouldn't be hesitant. But, I haven't, so I am quite hesitant. I'll see how this 5k training goes and decide by June 5th (before the price jumps up another $35).

I know these posts are sporadic and random, but hopefully I'll get more consistent with them soon!

COMPs aka my life for the past six months

This Saturday, I take COMPs. Longwood University administers comprehensive examinations to all graduate students, no matter what program they have been completing. For my program, there are three questions: an adult case study, a child case study, and an ethical case study. We have approximately three and a half hours to complete those three questions. It's pass/fail.

Speech-Language Pathology is a broad field. For the past two years, we have been studying material from nine areas. Speech, language (duh), cognition, hearing, social, fluency, augmentative/alternative communication, voice, and swallowing. All of those involve a level of study involving neurology and anatomy at the core. It is not an easy program. I am so grateful (for being laid-off???) that I was able to complete this program full-time.

These COMPs are, well, comprehensive. We must know everything about every area.

In August, I started reviewing terminology and basic concepts. I found old flashcards from midterms and finals, then filled in gaps with new ones. I also started recording myself reading those flashcards. I listened to those flashcards over and over and over again...while I was running, on commutes, anytime I could. I carried flashcards in my scrub pockets, took them to bars during Panthers game in VA, and to tailgates before Hokies games. Every week, I reviewed a different area, each of those nine; some twice.

Starting in January, I've been meeting with a classmate and friend. We've reviewed a praxis prep book and then started looking at all the information as a big picture situation. I've read every case study in every textbook I own. We've compiled fake case studies and borrowed case studies from other classmates. We've found case studies on websites. From each, we work through differential diagnoses, analyze assessment data, identify necessary next steps for assessment and treatment, identify referrals, and create treatment plans complete with prognosis, goals, and rationale.

After three straight full days of studying over this past weekend, I've decided I have done everything I can. I was fortunate enough to complete a real pediatric language eval on a child today, and I figure my report will be the best practice I can think of for the child case study. For the adult case study, my reports each day are the best practice of anything, I suppose.

So tonight, I watched House, skyped with some friends (mostly about school), and did NOT study. I will probably read some more case studies later this week (thanks to Carrie for finding some decent ones), but other than that...nada. I truly feel like I have done everything I can. If six months of dedicated and deliberate studying isn't enough, well, then, I'll just have to take it again.

Please send good vibes my way Saturday morning at 8am...then bring a collective sigh of relief with me at noon. My entire graduate school career will have culminated...

(note: I am not proofreading this post...my brain is fried...sorry for any errors)

I love what I do!!

I've been getting a lot of questions about what I'm doing every day at the hospital. It's a pretty detailed explanation, but I find it fascinating and that means everyone finds it fascinating, right? Of course!

I am 'working' (fo' FREE) four days a week in the acute care department and one day a week in the pediatric inpatient department at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. I follow my supervisor (an ASHA-certified speech language pathologist) around all day and participate when it's permissible.

In the adult acute care setting, we see any patient that has been admitted to the hospital that may also have cognitive, communicative, and/or swallowing concerns. We receive "consults" (orders from doctors) to complete evaluations on patients. The majority of these consults for swallowing evaluations. The next process is called a clinical swallow evaluation ("bedside" for short). We just have the patient take a few bites of food and sips of drink to determine if the patient can at least take in and manipulate food in attempt to swallow. If they can, we do a fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES). This involves my supervisor putting a tube with a camera on the end of it up the patient's nose and down into their throat. From here we can actually watch green dye-tinted food and drink travel from the back of the patient's tongue down into (hopefully) the esophagus. We spend 10 to 20 minutes or so watching the patient's vocal cords and making sure the food and drink goes where it supposed to and not into the windpipe. If you go to this website http://www.med.nyu.edu/voicecenter/resources/video.html and click "abnormal FEES study" you can see an example of what I look at every day.

If for some reason, the patient will not tolerate a FEES or we need more information, we can do a modified barium swallow study. This involves taking an x-ray of the patient while they eat and drink stuff with barium on/in it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf2kRD85zvc This is an entertaining version of what the MBSS looks like.

Once we have all our diagnostic information, we make recommendations about what a patient can and can't eat or drink, as well as make recommendations about therapy exercises. We are also consulted to do Passy Muir valve evaluations for patients with tracheostomys. A PMV is something a patient can use to produce voice with the trach. It's a really neat gadget. The company's website has fantastic videos. http://www.passy-muir.com/

We also work with patients who have had laryngectomees to learn how to use an electrolarynx. There is also a level of counseling we provide for these patients pre- and post-operatively.

We also see patients who have had brain injuries of many varieties for language and communication deficits. We have some short standardized testing we can do, but mostly our evals for these patients are short and informal, due to their medical state. Even these informal evals give us a lot of information about possible intervention for the patient related to language and cognition.

Whew...there's more. I'm doing all that four days a week. Once a week, and soon, two or three times a week, I'm with the pediatric inpatient SLP. Half of those days involved MBS studies with children of all ages, including preemies! The rest of those days, we do feeding therapy and oral motor exercises with the babies in the NICU and IMC.

I absolutely love this placement. I am learning so much and every bit of it fascinates me. It's challenging and interesting. Every day is different. I'm so grateful for this experience.

I have decided to start applying for this type of position. If you know of any hospitals that might have openings and especially if you know anyone I can talk to in the Speech and Hearing Departments, I would greatly appreciate the contacts! My resume is ready to be sent out!

Hacked?

I tried to sign into my blog this morning and got a notification that it had been removed. After a short panic, I logged straight into my (old) email and discovered it had in fact been shut down for "suspicious activity". I have no idea what happened, but if something sketchy happened on my blog, or if anyone received sketchy emails from my old email address (with my maiden name) I apologize profusely!

Post to follow about what I'm doing at the hospital!

DESTINY

This was part of a holiday letter from an old boss of mine. She is someone I admire professionally as well as personally and I really appreciated her sharing this. I decided to try and put myself up against these verses and see what I learned...


God knows that you have desires. You just have to endure so that you can reap them
and do not be limited by your sight. Just trust Him and allow Him to instruct you. Then new things that have not existed before will come your way. And when you say yes to Him it will start all over again.

D- desires (Ps. 37:4) Well, I certainly haven't been delighting in the Lord. Traveling has kept us from church and laziness has kept me from the Word. Shame on me to expect a loving God to give without receiving.

E- endurance (Heb. 12:1) Sheesh, I haven't been enduring or actively pursuing anything (spiritual, academic, or physical) since my last final. I have let laziness take over in most aspects of my life.

S- sight (2 Cor. 5:7) I am desperate to *SEE* an answer to our family's job situation, for both of us. I am struggling to just believe that the right things will happen, even though I've experienced that a number of times, specifically related to jobs.

T- trust (Pro 3:5) Hard to actively trust when I don't interact.

I- instruction (Pro. 8:33) Can't hear something if I'm not listening for it.

N- new (not existing before) (Lam. 3:23) I have to add verse 22 to that. Here comes the encouragement. It doesn't matter what I haven't been doing. (v22) "The STEADFAST love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end." I've got to get back into that mindset. He does His work. The only work for me to do is talk with Him and be open to doing His work.

Y- yes (Matt. 5:37) This passage is about taking oaths, making promises. The verse says to just come out and be straight about whatever it is. For me, I made my promise to God (however faulty) that I would be His child and work for His glory. Well, I seem to have forgotten my "YES" and settled for a "when it is convenient or easy".

My major struggle right now is routine. I've blogged about this before...I need structure, deadlines, and to-do lists. Things don't get done without those things. This goes for everything in my life, running, school work, cleaning, and spending time in the Word. I'm seeing now (again, for the millionth time) how this affects my whole life. Time to get cracking on being real with myself again. Laziness over. Prayers would be appreciated for perseverance, an open heart & mind, and faith. I'll ask for prayers for the specific stuff later, once I get back on track with this mess.

The Clumsy Baker

Last Thursday was my first day with absolutely nothing to do. No studying, no family dinner dates, nada.

So I decided to try baking again. And I made these http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/cranberry_honey_spice_pinwheel_cookies.html

and some of this cranberry orange bread http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/cranberry-orange-bread-2/Detail.aspx
I was so excited about not having anything to do, even shopping at Wal-Mart in the December madness was fun!

I am REALLY enjoying baking. But I am BAAAAD at it...here are a few examples of just how bad...


So, when I baked last week, I used every single prep bowl we own. Because I'm a smidge OCD/anal-retentive and it was fun for me. But the clean up was a bear, so this time, I decided to just go slowly and put everything into one bowl when prepping the bread. Flour, good. Sugar, good. baking powder, good...oh wait, that said three TEASPOONS, not tablespoons. Try to scoop white baking powder out of white sugar was difficult to say the least, so when I baked the cookies, I spread everything out into seperate bowls. Lesson learned.

Still on the bread, I decided to double the recipe. I paid close attention...and then apparently got distracted at some point. I got to the last step and started to fold in the fresh cranberries. I thought to myself, "well, this seems difficult" and "hmmmm, i don't think this batter is going to pour into the loaf pan like the banana bread batter did last time" So I double check the recipe...yep, I neglected to double the liquid ingredients. OOPS. So I picked 50 fresh cranberries out of the thick dough, added the liquid, mixed, and it was perfect!


For the cookies...I took my time and laid out every ingredient. I didn't have a single problem with these cookies! And let me tell you, if you have the time, you should really try these, they were so very good! So good, I'm going to make another batch today! It claims it makes 90, last time, I got about 50 out of the recipe...so I'm going to try to slice them more thinly today.

Off I go to the grocery store for ingredients...in the SNOW! I woke up this morning to a beautiful surprise of three inches of snow!

I'll probably post again later today or tomorrow about today's baking expedition!

I ... BAKED?!?!

I finished my final much earlier than I thought I would...

so I cleaned the house. my, how I LUH-UV a clean house....then I had an afternoon to kill before Holmes got home...

so I baked. haaaaaaaaahahaha. If you know me, you know that's funny.

I put on an apron and even used the mixer!

I decided to do banana bread with chocolate chips and walnuts. Chose a low-fat ish recipe and planned to just add some random amount of chocolate and walnuts at the end of mixing since they weren't in the recipe. Well, I have a tendency to screw up when following recipes, so I tend to get super meticulous about following it exactly as best I can. Including putting the bread in the oven without adding the chocolate chips and walnuts. About fifteen minutes later, I noticed the unopened bags on the counter. Well, I had gone out and bought the durn things special, so I pulled out the bread, stirred it (yes, it had definitely already started to form a bottom crust) and added the chocolate chips and walnuts. That's when I realized I wasn't gonna get my pretty light colored bread with dark chocolate dots through out... because the batter was already HOT. I'm a dolt. So it's a strange dark color. But it sure is tasty!

Next, I followed Neena's suggestion for flourless peanut butter cookies. Got everything together (all three ingredients, look out, it was tough...) and then read the recipe, "combine in mixer". First, I was disappointed, then I remembered that we DO have a mixer! So I whipped that out and um, well, had no clue what to do next. Fortunately, Miranda is as attached to her phone as I am, so I texted her this picture and asked which one to use. Whew, crisis averted. Finished those up no problem...I never realized how GREASY peanut butter is. I had to wash my hands three times. ick!
They are SUPER tasty though...

Snow, Tacky Lights, and Running

Today was unusual for a Saturday (not that I really know what a usual Saturday would be...)

I went to *work* this morning. I met up with my supervisor to observe her complete a swallow eval of a patient whose diet she was planning to change to NPO. This poor man took pudding in his mouth and tried tried tried to swallow, but it just wouldn't happen. The structures were all moving, but in a very uncoordinated manner. Then he started vocalizing (mostly jargon) and you could just hear the pudding coating his vocal folds and falling down into his trachea, oh it was awful. Gurgly does not even begin to describe the sound of his voice and breaths. My supervisor did an amazing job of counseling the daughter about the situation. They decided together than NPO was not the best choice and they settled on hospice. It was absolutely heartbreaking, but I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see it.

After that, I cleaned the house a bit (for some reason that always helps me focus on school work) and then I started on my take home cranio-facial final exam. It's essentially an 8 page paper. It's not terribly difficult, just incredibly time consuming. I worked on that for five hours and my brain started to rebel, so I quit. Only two more questions to finish tomorrow...

After shutting down the document, I bundled up in winter running gear, wrapped a headlamp around my waist, stuck the hat lamp on my hat, and headed out for a 34 degree run. IN THE SNOW!!!! It was sooooo pretty and peaceful, just seeing the snow fall through the brightness of my headlamp and in any lampost and car headlights. I had seen a house on my run Thursday that I wanted to go see, but it was a quarter mile down a road I don't normally take...so I worked it into my route tonight. Talk about tacky lights! For those of you not familiar with Richmond, every year, the city supports a tacky light tour. Houses all over the city go NUTS with Christmas decorations and people get groups together or take buses/limos, drive around, and look at all the lights. I personally think the driving part of it is incredibly obnoxious. There's always traffic near the houses, it involves way too much thinking as far as where to go first, next, last, blah blah. Anyways...on my run tonight I saw this home and another home that I think should be considered a tacky light house, but I couldn't find it on the website.

That kind of stuff has to be one of my favorite things about running. I experience stuff that I never would if I weren't a runner. I feel pretty confident that I enjoyed the mini-snowfall tonight more than most people in the area. I also enjoy the thought that people driving by think I'm an absolute loon for being out in that weather. If you aren't a runner, that might seem weird, but I know several runners who love being considered a nutter for running in the extremes.

Speaking of runners...I'm watching the ACC Championship game and they did a little preview for tomorrow's NFL pre-show. They will be "celebrating" the cold tub! Ice baths aren't just for runners, I guess!

Interstate Move #8

So, I'm moving back to NC... In January... In a few weeks...

My externship in the acute care department of Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem starts on January 11th. That's not all that far off...

I have planned absolutely nothing...fortunately, my Mom and Alan are gracious enough to let their 30 year old daughter move back home, so I don't have to find a place to live.

For those of you that I probably should have told by now, I do apologize...the issue was that for a while it was kind of a secret. I wasn't sure if it was going to happen at all and I didn't want to spread the word around, just to spread another word around about it not happening. By the time it became public knowledge, I'd forgotten who all I had told. And I've been kind of avoiding talking about it, because well, it's a bittersweet move.

I haven't hated Virginia. Not at all, but I haven't realllly loved it either. I am grateful for the move, I think it was a neat journey for Michael and I to have in the beginning of our life together...but to put it bluntly, I'm over it.

Reasons the move is sweet: NC is home, not to mention the greatest state in the country. The majority of my dear friends are there...and my dear friends are starting to have babies and I don't want to miss being there for that. My mom and Michael's mom are there...and whenever we decide to have babies, I don't want them to miss being there for that. The opportunity at Baptist is AMAZING. My supervisor already sounds fantastic. I'll be "working" 8-5 four days a week in the acute care center, evaluating and treating patients recovering from strokes, traumatic brain injuries, etc. Once a week, I'll be in the outpatient swallowing clinic and the NICU. I can't express how excited I am to spend some time in the NICU. This setting is high on my "settings where I really want to work" list. I plan to re-read my entire pediatric swallowing and feeding text over the break (I have Arvedson, if anyone has and wants to share their Wolf text, I'd be forever indebted!). Anywho, I'm looking forward to learning so much at Baptist.

Reasons the move is bitter: MICHAEL MIGHT NOT BE COMING WITH ME. this breaks my heart to even think about it, but that's life I suppose. He's been applying for jobs down there as well, but until something comes through, he'll be here in Midlo. See, this is why I've been avoiding talking about it. Now I'm crying. crap. oh well, it had to start sometime. Anyways, I've known a number of grad students who have spent more than a measly 3.5 months away from their husbands in the pursuit of a degree. I know we'll get through it. Most of the girls who have been in my position tell me I really won't notice (read back a bit, 8-5 5 days a week, did I mention the hour commute, online physics course and intensive COMPs studying?). We'll see. anywho.
Other reasons the move is bitter are obvious: missing family, and our new (and old) friends. I'll miss being around the other Holmes', the Hills, the Blochers, the Katai, and all my grad school girls (thank goodness for Carrie and Renee moving south too, I'm taking a little Longwood with me). I have a feeling I'm also going to miss the craft beer scene quite a bit. Cap Ale has almost become a second home...love those people (and their yummy drafts). It's also been nice visiting with my grandparents and some extended family on a regular basis.

Ok, now I'm just rambling. So there it is. I'll be back in Greensboro early January. As soon as COMPs (march 5th), the praxis (march 12th), and conferences (march 17th & april 9th) are over, I'll actually be able to enjoy it.

Update

These posts are few and far between...but grad school is a pretty good explanation for that!

This semester is almost over. 31 days until my last final is due. I can't believe it. This semester has been great, my two practicum placements have been interesting and fun. First I did a month at a middle school and high school. It was mostly language intervention, some articulation, and a little fluency. I learned a lot, mostly that I actually enjoy that population.

Since then, I've been at a continuing care retirement community. This facility has independent living, two levels of assisted living, permanent and temporary health care, and a memory care unit. I L O V E it. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this population, but I adore it. The therapy and evaluations are interesting and fun, while still challenging. We address swallowing problems, cognitive and memory decline, and voice problems.

My favorite part is getting to know the residents...all of them, not just our patients. My supervisor is an employee of Genesis Rehab and I'm really impressed with their company.

I've been working on a research paper in addition to my classes this semester. I've submitted it to two conferences, but I haven't heard back yet...
It's an evidence review on Cued Speech. I have learned a lot doing it. I have a love/hate relationship with research. I learn so much doing it, but sometimes its too frustrating. I have also learned that I would prefer to have research partners to brainstorm ideas and confirm thoughts, etc.

I'm running again! Slowly increasing my mileage and speed, but my hip is feeling great. I'm still doing PT exercises about twice a week. Holmes and I registered for a 5K in Charlotte, NC in December. He's been running three times a week as well. We also try to play tennis a couple times a week. Some weeks that's the only quality time he and I spend together...we've been trying to work in a date night at least once a week, just him and me, but sometimes that doesn't work out. I am grateful for my grad school opportunity, but holy smokes, I'm tired of it interfering with my ability to just be a wife. Fortunately, he is incredibly supportive and understanding.

Holidays are coming up and I can't wait. We are doing a little pre-Thanksgiving weekend in Pinehurst with the Holmes, then Thanksgiving in Atlanta with Alan's family (its been way too long since we've spent any time with them). Christmas will be out in Cali this year. It's a lot of travel, but we are used to that. Hopefully I won't be taking Physics online over the break...I'm working on finding an online course for the Spring.

Last big update: Early to mid January, I'll be moving back to my Mom's! I have been given an amazing opportunity to do my spring practicum in Winston-Salem at Wake Forest's Baptist Medical Center. I'll be in the Acute Care department, but will have opportunity to do some observations in the NICU there as well. Mike will be staying in Midlothian and we will be working out some sort of plan to see each other on weekends. It's only three and a half months...and, again, he is so supportive. There just isn't a comparable setting in Virginia for me to do a placement like this...I can't wait to get started!

100th Post

That's fun...thanks google dashboard, for giving a count of my posts.

Anywho...hopefully, you'll all be glad to hear that getting back in the habit of not being lazy was actually quite easy. I guess I'm fairly simple minded---dangle a carrot, I hop after it...

Carrots: One syllabus of two was posted earlier in the week and I met with one of my clinical supervisors to discuss my client load for the month of September (middle and high schoolers - AU, ID, HI, SLI, and LD).

Me hopping: planning lesson plans, creating goal pages, reading chapters, printing articles, and organizing notebooks. that also included getting up early to work out this morning before church. good bunny.

and once again our dining room table looks like this...


YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Friday afternoon, our department arranged a resume/interview tips seminar with Longwood's career center. It was kind of interesting...I was psyched to see that it is acceptable to put GPAs on a resume. I also learned that HR hates ring back tones. Seriously, the lady leading our seminar said she just hangs up when she's calling people for interviews. Doesn't matter what the song is...at least she doesn't discriminate. So job hunters, nix the ring back tones!

Eat Pray Love - SLP nerd-out

I read Eat Pray Love a few months ago. This past weekend, Mom wanted to go see it in the theaters, so we did.

It was slow, by the way, we didn't *love* it, but I know some others that really did enjoy it, if only for the scenery of the countries...

anywho...

I'm a nerd because as soon as Richard from Texas came on the screen and called Liz "groceries" for the first time-I found myself trying to transcribe the word in my head. Then I (over?)analyzed the way he said it and tried to determine (silently in the theater) if I say it the same way...then I started to wonder if I ever say it...

my efforts at transcription

starts with /gro/-that part is easy...i can even type it in IPA
this is the tough part...he has a strong 'sh' in there that leads straight into the /r/ which I think has to be vocalic, but I just don't feel my tongue make any vocalic movement for that /r/. and *WHY* is it an /sh/???
then /Iz/ no biggie.
two syllables? I think definitely when he says it, but if it is a vocalic /r/ then it has to be three syllables? and what about when I say it? I think I say three?

I missed most of the India part of the movie trying to figure all that out-which is ok, that part bored me in the book too.