9.29.09- Day 133

New arrangement?

I'm not sure what I think. I've been having a hankering for some change in our living room (and office for that matter!). I'm not sure if this will do the trick, but I definitely got in my evening workout tonight. Alan is at work and I moved everything multiple times trying to get a good arrangement!

Today: meeting with a student, her mom, and an interpreter, some quick treats at an elementary school, early release at elementary=work time at office, about 40 medicaid forms, some To Kill a Mockingbird, dinner with Alan, Panera with Lindsey, Home Depot browsing, and some crazy furniture rearranging.

9.28.09- Day 132

Today was a busy day running around to different schools. This is Clyde Miller Elementary. I didn't get out until about 30 minutes after school got out! Looks like there were a few teachers there with me! I also went on a walk and had coffee with Sarah. I miss seeing her all the time. I love hanging out with her and chatting with her. Don't ever leave me friend! Happy Birthday Stephanie! Even though I forgot how old you are on the phone, doesn't mean I don't love you so much! :). I did the math and you are indeed 23! I hope this birthday brings you many joys and much growth as you start the new adventure of being a wife, Louisianian, 2nd time student, and real grown-up. Enjoy every minute that you have. There is a country song that I really like (yes, country, I know, what is the world coming to?). It says, "You're gonna miss this. You're gonna want this back. You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast. These are some good times, just take a look around. You may not know it now... you're gonna miss this." I truly hope that you enjoy every minute of your 23rd year of life. And I hope that I can be there to enjoy a little bit of it with you. You are a real blessing in my life and one of my very best friends. I love you!

9.27.09- Day 131

I woke up this morning to my husband saying he was going for a run at 6 am. He had been up since 4:45! Poor guy. Night shift really messes with his sleep cycle. He's really awesome though and never complains. He just makes the best of it! (more than I can say about myself!). I woke up around 9 and decided to read some before getting ready for church. I got really carried away in my book (I was so close to being done) and ended up looking at my watch when I finished the book at 10:15 (church starts at 10:30) and hadn't gotten ready at all yet! I rushed around and was about 10 minutes late for church. Oops! Church was good though. I am enjoying the message series talking about what God says about work and our jobs. Very relevant.

After church, Alan and I ate at Noodles, I transplanted daylilies, Alan watched football, then we headed to Sarah, Sarah, and Carissa's house for nachos and Broncos. The Broncos actually did pretty well. They are now 3-0! Go Broncos! I also worked on a Mobility Assistance Program for teaching students how to safely push their peers in their wheelchairs around school. PT is sometimes 50% treatment, 50% education, communication, and connection.

9.26.09- Day 130

Every Coloradan (well, the real ones) must head up to the mountains every fall to see the changing Aspens. It is a beautiful site. As a native Arkansan, I must say that although the aspens and mountains are beautiful, they really don't compare to the thousands of colors in the Ozarks. We headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park with the Hunts on Saturday to see the aspens and celebrate Jamie's birthday. Although we hit a little before the peak, it was a beautiful day. I enjoyed spending time with the family and outdoors in God's creation.

9.26.09- Day 129

Today:
Really interesting conference during the day called Every Move Counts.
Football toss in the park with friends as the sun set (with Nigel running around like crazy).
Grill out and chat with friends, then eat brownies and icecream.
Several rounds of Mexican train with Sarah, Carissa, and Al.
Several more rounds with Alan (I won!)
Reading book club book.
Sleepy time!

9.24.09- Day 128

Serious...

Najibullah Zazi is a man from Aurora (living just a few minutes away from my house) who has been accused of making bombs to use in terrorist acts. It's been all over the news here. Don't know for sure if it's true, but it sounds like there was a lot of evidence.

Not so serious, but slightly related...

So, last night I was sitting, using the computer, about to go to bed. Suddenly my electricity goes out completely, but my all of my neighbors' electricity is still on. I decided that that it was the end. Some one had sliced my electrical wires. haha. I promptly chained my doors and then called my friend Becca who lives a few streets over. As I was telling her what had happened her electricity turned off. Then about 5 minutes later, my neighbors' electricity went out too. Weird, right? At least I felt better since I wasn't the only one without electricity. So, although my adrenaline had hit the ceiling, I had to go to bed so that I could get some sleep. I wasn't really scared for my own safety, but my mind started wandering. It eventually decided that the electricity going out must have been part of a terrorist plot (this is most likely due to all the talk about Zazzi) carried out all over the US. I decided that Alan, some of our friends, and I should gather up all of our food and head to Greeley so that we could eat the Hunts cattle over the winter. I didn't think we could make it to Louisiana, which was my other plan (because it is warmer there and there would be more food to eat). I thought through what I would take with me (because there would be looters of course!). It actually wasn't that hard to decide. Some books (because no electricity!), all of our food, our pictures (because we would probably never make it back to Arkansas again), our clothes, and tools. haha. I was happy that I wasn't going to have to go to work in the morning, since there was no electricity! I finally drifted off to sleep (I woke up around 2 when our electricity came back on).

Apparently I just love exposing how crazy I am on this thing! haha.

disclaimer: while thinking all of these things up, i didn't actually think they were true (mostly) :)

9.23.09- Day 127

I heart the Biggest Loser. (I'm watching it on Hulu 8 days after each episode airs because we have small group on Tuesday nights- oh the sacrifices I make!) Just saw the season premiere. Loved it!

I also had a kid walk down stairs alternating feet for the first time today! I helped calm a kid with behavior issues with shoulder weights. I got some paperwork done. I watched it rain. I kissed my husband. I made waffles for dinner. I did a yoga workout. I chatted with three of my favorite people, Stacy, Stephanie, and Bethany. I ate too many sweets. And, I am going to read before bed now.

9.22.09- Day 126

Welcome Fall! Too bad this picture is blurry. It is suppose to be the proof that my husband turned on the heat last night. (all on his own accord, might I add). Needless to say, it is still chilly in Denver. Drizzly and coat weather. We might even get a bit of snow tonight. The mountains have already been covered in snow. Good thing it will be 80 again by Saturday! I'm not ready for a final cold snap yet.

Today in one word snapshots... paperwork, kids, leftovers, kids, meetings, relaxing, KFC (nasty!), small group, conversation, icecream, blogging...

9.21.09- Day 125

Monday was a very chilly day. I think the high was hit around midnight at 50 degrees. It was in the 40's all day and drizzling! Today was also early release, so I worked in the office all afternoon. I got a lot done and got some helpful documentation information. In the evening, Alan and I had a date night in. We made pizza (very yummy, might I add) and watched our Netflix movie. The movie was Arlington Road, which I had never seen. HORRIBLE!!!! Okay, okay, it was a good movie, but I hated the ending. I need happy ever after endings. This was not that type of movie. To compensate for my discontent for the ending, we went to King Soopers and got a gallon of moosetracks icecream. Yum!

9.20.09- Day 124

Today... helped with Children's church, ate leftovers for lunch, watched the Bronco's game (go Bronco's- they won!), ate pasta with Alan, sent Alan off to work for the last of a 4 day stretch, watched some of the Emmy's, did a 30 minute yoga workout on the yogatoday blog, read, went to bed.

I just discovered that the yoga today blog has workouts too! They are a bit shorter than the workout videos posted on their main webpage. But, the workout I did was a good one, free, and by my favorite yoga instructor, Adi. There are quite a few to choose from, although the video is on a much smaller screen.

9.19.09- Day 123

Today started bright and early with a wedding of a friend from PT school. The people who were setting up got sick, so I helped Ben and Becca set up the reception hall and the ceremony site. It was a really pretty wedding and a beautiful day. One thing struck me during the ceremony. It seemed so empty without faith. The "minister" talked about how they should love each other and share their lives and that there is no more sadness or loneliness now that they are married and that marriage is a great thing because it shows that two people respect each other enough to share their lives. I didn't feel my heart beating faster in my chest at the words that promise to be all that your spouse needs. I don't think I could be married without God and his strength. I know better than the idea that there is no more loneliness or sadness after marriage just because you have another person in your life. It makes to stronger and helps you deal with these things, but it doesn't prevent every bad thing from happening. Sometimes, it makes life harder. Sometimes, it takes more strength than I can conger up on my own to be a loving wife. Sometimes it brings more joy and love than humanly possible.

I also ran with Nicole in the afternoon. It was a nice run. We actually kept a decent pace. (maybe I need a mimosa before running everyday!)

After making enchiladas and sending Alan off to work, I took Nigel for a walk. Then, I proceeded to vacuum, mop, and put the laundry away! I'm so proud! My house thanks me too. I could hear its little whisper, "clean me, clean me."

I rewarded myself with watching this documentary on Netflix. I actually visited the hospital in Ethiopia that it is about. The hospital treats women with child birthing injuries that cause them to be incontinent (urine, fecal, or both). It is an amazing place, made specifically for the physical and psychological healing these women need. It is heartbreaking that thousands of women in Ethiopia (and really many developing countries) are shunned and disowned because of their incontinence. This results after trying to give birth to a child when they are too young, small, and malnourished that their body cannot physically birth the child. On average, these women labor for 5 days before giving birth to a dead child. All it takes to fix them is a simple surgery. However, many of them believe they are the only person in the world that has their problem. They must also raise enough money to travel to Addis Ababa to go to the hospital. After these women are healed, they are given a new dress and the money to return to their village whole. It's a beautiful story and truly a beautiful place.

9.18.09- Day 122

So, Today I was looking at the Newsweek's Top 100 Book List. I really want to read books that have made a difference in culture and history. Highlighted are books I have read excerpts of (blue) and the whole thing (yellow). I figured up that if I was to complete this book list by reading all of the books that I have not completed, one book a month, it would take me 7 years to finish! I better get started. Good thing my book club is reading #14 in a couple months.

Newsweek's Top 100 Books
1.War and Peace-Tolstoy
2.Nineteen eighty four-Orwell
3.Ulysses-Joyce
4.Lolita-Nabokov
5.The Sound and the Fury-Faulkner
6.The Invisible Man-Ellison
7.To the Lighthouse-Woolf
8.The Illiad and the Odyssey-Homer
9.Pride and Predjudice-Austen
10.Divine Comedy-Alighieri
11.Canterbury Tales-Chaucer
12.Guillver's Travels-Swift
13.Middlemarch-Elliot
14.Things Fall Apart-Achebe
15.The Catcher in the Rye-Salinger
16.Gone with the Wind-Mitchell
17.100 Years of Solitude-Marquez
18.The Great Gatsby-Fitzgerald
19.Catch 22-Heller
20.Beloved-Morrison
21.The Grapes of Wrath-Steinbeck
22.Midnight's Children-Rushdie
23.Brave New World-Huxley
24.Mrs. Dalloway-Woolf
25.Native Son-Wright
26.Democracy in America-Tocqueville
27.On the Origin of Species-Darwin
28.The Histories-Herodotus
29.The Social Contract-Rousseau
30.Das Kapital-Marx
31.The Prince-Machiavelli
32.Confessions-St. Augustine
33.Leviathan-Hobbes
34.The History of the Peloponnesian War-Thucydides
35.The Lord of the Rings-Tolkien
36.Winnie-the-Pooh-Milne
37.The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe-Lewis
38.Passage to India-Forster
39.On the Road-Kerouac
40.To Kill a Mockingbird-Lee
41.The Holy Bible
42.A Clockwork Orange-Burgess
43.Light in August-Faulkner
44.The Souls of Black Folks-Du Bois
45.Wild Sargasso Sea-Rhys
46.Madame Bovary-Flaubert
47.Paradise Lost-Milton
48.Anna Karenina-Tolstoy
49.Hamlet-Shakespeare
50.King Lear-Shakespeare
51.Othello-Shakespeare
52.Sonnets-Shakespeare
53.Leaves of Grass-Whitman
54.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn-Twain
55.Kim-Kipling
56.Frankenstein-Shelley
57.Song of Solomon-Morrison
58.One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest-Kesey
59.For whom the Bell Tolls-Hemingway
60.Slaughterhouse-Five-Vonnegut
61.Animal Farm-Orwell
62.Lord of the Flies-Golding
63.In Cold Blood-Capote
64.The Golden Notebook-Lessing
65.Rembrance of Things Past-Proust
66.The Big Sleep-Chandler
67.As I Lay Dying-Faulkner
68.The Sun also Rises-Hemingway
69.I, Claudius-Graves
70.The Heart is a Lonely Hunter-McCullers
71.Sons and Lovers-Lawrence
72.All the King's Men-Warren
73.Go Tell it on the Mountain-Baldwin
74.Charlotte's Web-White
75.Heart of Darkness-Conrad
76.Night-Wiesel
77.Rabbit, Run-Updike
78.The Age of Innocence-Wharton
79.Portnoy's Complaint-Roth
80.An American Tradgedy-Dresier
81.The Day of the Locust-West
82.Tropic of Cancer-Miller
83.The Maltese Falcon-Hammett
84.His Dark Materials-Pullman
85.Death Comes for the Archbishop-Cather
86.The Interpretation of Dreams-Freud
87.The Education of Henry Adams-Adams
88.Quotations from Chairman-Zedong
89.The Varieties of Religious Experience-James
90.Brideshead Revisited-Waugh
91.Silent Spring-Carson
92.The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money-Keynes
93.Lord Jim-Conrad
94.Goodbye to All That-Graves
95.The Affluent Society-Gallbraith
96.The Wind in the Willows-Grahame
97.The Autobiography of Malcom X-Malcom X
98.Eminent Victorians-Strachey
99.The Color Purple-Walker
100.The Second World War-Churchhill

9.17.09- Day 121

So, I was reading Sarah Kropp's blog and she talked about this article in Christianity Today on promoting early marriage in the church. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/16.22.html. I read it and thought that it was really interesting. Basically the premise is that the church has taught purity and virginity so intently that they have forgotten to teach about marriage and how to know when you should get married. It promotes Christians marrying in their early 20's (if they fall in love with another Christian of course) rather than waiting until their late 20's to early 30's when they are more settled. The author talks about how we are created as sexual beings with an innate desire to be sexually active. This is all good for the single Christian if you get married when you are 20 years old and don't have to stifle that desire for the next 10 years. By the time that many believers get married currently, most have either lived with a boyfriend/girlfriend, had sex, or at least played around with some type of sexual activity. Also, for all those women who are wait on the perfect man through their 20's and into their 30's, the chances of finding a Godly man are already slimmer (there are 3 available Christian women to every 2 available Christian men at age 30.), and even more difficult to find is the man who has remained a virgin. So 1 out of every 3 Christian women who wants to get married will basically be forced to marry someone less spiritually active/interested than she is. Christians are also having fewer children. Not that the point of Christianity is to repopulate the world with our children, but there are fewer and fewer Christians (possibly in part due to less children being raised in Christian households.)

Anyways, all that to say, the author believes that the church should do a better job of advocating for earlier marriage, encouraging young Christians who are interested in each other to pursue a relationship, and by setting Christians up on dates with each other.

So, I'm not sure what I think. I think there is a lot of truth to what the author says. Alan and I got married young. It has worked fine for us. We have been able to learn how to be adults together. What do you say to those who haven't found the right one yet though? It's easy for me to advocate earlier marriage, but that's because I already have my husband. And, I hardly think that simply advocating getting married earlier will fix the marriage crisis that is currently affecting the church. Maybe this is one aspect of one solution, but every Christian young person will not find the right person in their early 20's, nor will they all be mature enough to get married or in a place where they can at that age.

Bottom line: the church needs to stand up and preach the sanctity of marriage, the way you determine who should be your mate, and how to go about finding a mate, rather than solely teaching adolescent Christians singularly about purity as virginity. They should pair purity with the teaching that sex within a Christian marriage is a viable solution to the sexual desires one has (quote Paul on that one- although he also says that the possibly more difficult calling is the one of singleness). The message is quite counter-culture. Isn't that what we're suppose to be though?

Read the article. I'm interested in what people think...

9.16.09- Day 120

New haircut... sort of. I took this picture for a handout on coming to stand for one of my students. But, you can kind of get an idea of my new haircut. I think I like it pretty well. I wish it angled down in the front a little more, but I really like the stack in the back (too bad you can't see that). Today was one of those day. I was just in a funk. I think I'm starting to feel the reality of my job. I still like it, but it's becoming daily life now. It's a good thing our church is doing a series on work. I think it is coming at just the right time for me. I want to glorify God and be a blessing to each of his precious children that I work with. That takes me being very intentional about my planning, interventions, and communication. Keep on keeping on!

9.15.09- Day 119

My new love at Dairy Queen. The Cookie Jar Blizzard. We were driving home from small group tonight and all of a sudden I realized we had passed our street a while ago. Immediately I thought Alan was zoning, so I asked him what we were doing. He was taking me to Dairy Queen for a treat! Thanks babe.

Blizzard + small group + free squash/zucchini from lindsey + relatively painless physical + cute kids + fairly productive day = I am thankful for my life.

9.14.09- Day 118

• Dear Swine Flu (and other flu strains), I'm not sure whether I should love you or hate you. You make my days quiet and calm. You allow me to get caught up on all my work. But, you keep my cute kiddos at home sick and make me wash my hands with the rigor of an OCD hygenist. Stay away from me. It's all I can ask. Sincerely, Susan.

• Dear APTA, Today you took $324 of my hard-earned money. Please continue to protect my profession and give me resources to become a better physical therapist. Help me network and find jobs as needed. Thanks, Susan

• Dear APS New Teacher Induction Classes, Why? Why do you think it is necessary to send a Physical Therapist to classes that teach about literacy and math assessment? Don't you think you are wasting both of our time? If you are keeping something from me, please, reveal your ulterior motives. (and if that motive is torture- it's working, but not a good enough reason). Thanks for the pizza anyways. Love, Susan

• Dear Better Homes and Gardens, I love you. Thanks for all your fun ideas, tips, and recipes. Also, thanks for a relaxing evening (forget my lack of productiveness). I heart you, Susan.
  
  

9.13.09- Day 117

(At Bob and Kyla's house watching the TiVo'ed Bronco's game)

• Church- I did the media for the service today. It was my first time on the new program. It definitely wasn't perfect, but I did my best!
• Lunch/Watch church flag-football game- I ate leftover Subway with Nicole while watching our men play flag-football with the other guys from church. It was a beautiful day (especially after our 50 degree and raining day yesterday!).
• Coldstone.
• Watching the Bronco's game at Bob and Kyla's. They have TiVo, so we could still see the game (since the boys missed it while playing flag-football and it was the season opener.) We won! It was pretty pitiful though. At least we can't go 0-13 now (is that how many games there are?).
• Sams. Spent a lot of money. Hopefully will last 2 months or more!
• Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Give Blood!
• Walmart. Yes, I did brave Walmart after going to Sams and on a Sunday evening. Both BIG mistakes. I'm never going back on a Sunday evening again. There were 5 lanes open (3 of those were 20 items or less). I was the 11th cart in line when I got in line. 30ish minutes and an Oprah magazine later, I was finally through the line. I almost left my cart there. 20 minutes of shopping should not equate to over 30 minutes in line! Walmart is so horrible in CO. It's just so cheap and familiar. That's what keeps bringing me back.
• Talking Anatomy with my husband. Nothing turns me on more (haha- jk). But, that is how we met and got back together (studying science).
• Blog updating.
• SLEEP!
  

9.12.09- Day 116

Lazy day. Well, I did get up and get my haircut at the Aveda Institute at 10, but it felt lazy because Aveda Institute haircuts take 2-2.5 hours! It's worth it for a nice spa/haircut experience for $15 (if you get a competent stylist). Luckily, I got someone that was better at cutting hair than my last stylist there. I will post a pic of my new haircut sometime soon. It was really awkward though, because she was not very talkative at all. It's REALLY awkward to spend 2-2.5 hours with someone and only say a few things to each other. I don't know if she's used to her clients just talking her ears off, but that's not me. I am friendly and can talk about the weather for a long time, but I need a two way conversation! Oh well, her head massage was nice.

In the evening, Al and I went to CiCi's (classy, I know) for dinner. We had a buy one get one free coupon, which made a really cheap meal even cheaper. And really, you can't beat their barbeque pizza and dessert pizzas. After that, we came home and watched The Jackal (which I think might be an older movie), but it was enjoyable. It was a good-guys-trying-to-catch-the-sniper-who-is-trying-to-kill-an-important-government-official type movie.

9.11.09- Day 115

Lazy weekend... literally! I haven't posted in almost 3 days! Sorry! I do have pics/images though.

I didn't have a normally workday today, but went to CPI training. Basically, I learned how to de-escalate children who become agitated, anxious, or violent. This included learning about communication techniques (verbal and non-verbal), as well as restraint training and self-defense. If you want any tips... let me know :).

This evening, Al was working and Eric was in OK picking up the Anderson's new car, so we had a girls' night at Sarah and Carissa's. It was really fun and relaxing. We ate together and then watched several episodes of Friends.

09.10.09- Day 114

Hmmmm... so much for previously mentioned cake... I made this YESTERDAY evening! Al and I are pigs! haha. My friend Becca also ate a piece, but seriously! I have the disease where every time you pass a piece of cake (or anything sweet and yummy) you have to take a bite. It just tastes soooo good and it's JUST a bite.

On another note... today was my last day with kids for the week. I am going to restraint training tomorrow. It should be interesting. And... tomorrow is Friday! I love short weeks.

9.09.09- Day 113

Isn't this cute? I got it for free at a garage sale this weekend. I'm going to use it for a tall kneel activity. I brought it over to the preschool today. I can't even really remember what I did today besides staying a little late at work and reading a bit before bed. Oh, I made a cake because I was craving chocolate and watched America's Got Talent. The cake was really yummy.

09.08.09- Day 112

Today, we had girls' night at Starbucks. It was so pleasant to sit outside and visit with some really fun girls. I especially love talking with Kyla, who is going to be adopting a little boy in a couple of months. She's so cute telling us about it, and I love getting in on the excitement. Sharing these parts of life is what it is all about.

I'm also thankful that my little sister, Stacy, is alive and well after her car accident going back to JBU from Russellville. She sure had angels around her since the wreck was in the rain and on the interstate. Stacy, I love you!

09.07.09- Day 111

Happy Birthday Sarah! You are such a good friend and encouragement to me. I love you friend!

Pic of me, Sarah, and Carissa at Sarah's bday party. We "played" volleyball, ate yummy food, played "water polo," and ate cheesecake. Fun evening! I made hummus!

Hummus recipe:
2 cans of chickpeas (with 1/2 of the liquid retained)
2 T minced garlic
6 T of lemon juice
4 T of plain yogurt (you can also use tahini, which is more traditionally used)
2 T olive oil
Salt, pepper, garlic salt, cumin, curry to taste

Blend chickpeas and garlic in blender or food processor until somewhat creamy. Add other ingredients. Blend more until smooth. You can adjust the consistency based on how much liquid/yogurt/olive oil/lemon juice you put in. Play with the seasonings until you get the desired taste. Enjoy!

9.06.09- Day 110

Yummy salad= Romaine lettuce, mandarin organges, turkey, chow mein noodles, craisins, cheese, and poppyseed dressing.

Relaxing afternoon= eating salad, while listening to pandora's classical music medley, sitting in the sun, and reading Wild Swans.

Relaxing evening= eating taco salad with Alan, watering the grass while taking Nigel on a walk, getting free toys for PT from a neighbor's garage sale, and drinking Chai at Barnes and Noble with a few magazines.

9.05.09- Day 109

Journey to Grays and Torreys Peaks: 9 mile hike, 3000 feet elevation gain, 14,270 ft!

We left my house at 4:30 this morning.
We arrived to the trailhead around 6:20 after piling in Sarah's X-Terra for a 3 mile ride up crazy rocks and bumps!
It was freezing! (about 45 degrees!)
After making a bathroom break and getting our things ready, we set out around 6:40.

You can see the sun rising over our destinations. Grays Peak is on the left and Torreys is on the right. We have a long way to go, but it is a beautiful morning.

Another pic of Grays and Torreys from the trail. It started warming up with the sun out.

Another beautiful view from the trail, looking back to where we have come from.

Top of Grays Peak. Alan and I did this one our first summer in Denver. It was just as beautiful (and a little warmer this time).

Friends. (Bethany also joined us at the top because she called to chat. I had 5 bars of service! I was so surprised to hear my phone ringing in the middle of nowhere!)


After climbing down the saddleback and back up again, we summited Torreys Peak. A new one for me! Gorgeous.

Beautiful view, but you can see the clouds gathering. We decided to head down pretty soon. We only got a tiny bit of snow/sleet on the way back.


Strong women! We did it!

After a lovely, tiring day of hiking, we stopped in Idaho Springs for some yummy Beau Jo's Pizza. Then we headed back to D-town. I even got to say bye to Alan for about 30 minutes before he headed off to work. Alan and I are now even on 14er count (both have done two- Me: Grays and Torreys, Him: Grays and Longs. Maybe Mt. Bierdstat next?

9.04.09- Day 108

So, this is a rough picture of our "motor" space at the CDC. We still haven't taken off the plastic from our stairs (that lead to nowhere). It's actually a pretty nice space.



Where I spent 1.5 hours of my evening on Friday night... Walmart. (if you can't tell, I'm standing in line. Walmart doesn't seem to be able to gauge customers (or is too cheap to) and therefore there are always long lines. Be thankful you Arkansas people. Walmart quality declines the further you get from the headquarters. Notice the dogfood. That's why I went.
Also today.... busy day at work again. Ran around like crazy. Got 2 new kiddos. One is really cute, one not so cute (sorry, but they can't all be cuties). Took Nigel for a walk. Bought some mums at Home Depot for $0.89 a piece. Went to Walmart. Went to bed early in anticipation of climbing 2 14ers in the morning!

9.03.09- Day 107

So, I think I have finally found a more needy dog than Nigel. Nigel is a people dog and is a bit ridiculous about it sometimes. He won't eat his food unless we're there, he used to jump over our fence- only to go sit on the front porch and see if we were there, he constantly comes over and lays his head in our laps or nudges our arms, etc. But... tonight at TAP room, I found out Stella, the Starr's dog, is even more needy! She did the funniest thing. She didn't want to be left out while we were praying, but she was really hungry. So, she would grab a big mouthful of dogfood from the other room, bring it back to the living room, spit it out on the floor and proceed to eat it without missing any action! How funny is that! She did it about 4-5 times in a row.

Also today...
Slow day at school. I had 2 kids that were sick and one that left school early for a MD appointment. But, I got a lot of paperwork done and even did some research. Tomorrow will be much busier, I think. Then... 3 day weekend!!!! Al was awake when I got home this afternoon, so we got to hang out for a couple hours before he went to work. It has been nice to have him around for quite a few days straight. I love that guy! Man, I need to go to bed- no one here telling me I'm up too late again on my blog. (I seem to always end my posts this way! haha).

9.02.09- Day 107

Book club meeting tonight! We decided on books to read for the next few months. This will be our first book. I am currently reading "Wild Swans," so I will have to finish it quickly so I can have time to read this Jodi Picoult book before the end of September. I'm excited to have motivation to read because I love it. I just don't have as much motivation when I'm busy. Plus, I will get to hang out with some cool folks at Book Club meetings. By the way... if you live in the Denver area and want to join, you totally can. We're just starting!

Also today... busy day in the school and with paperwork. Oh, I also got my Colorado Teaching Liscense application sent back to me in the mail today. I didn't send them my undergraduate transcripts (I thought for some reason that my Physical Therapy program transcripts would be good enough! Do I need to send them my high school diploma too?!)

On a more serious note, my heart is breaking today for a family, the Whitsons, that used to go to my church. (They left about a year ago when the husband got a head pastor position at a different church). They just gave birth to a child with anencephaly. She passed away a few minutes before birth. They are so strong, but have so much sorrow over the loss of their child. I have wept for them. Another blog I follow... Jody Landers' blog, also reminds me of the pain of being a parent to a child who is not whole (Quincy was born with his bladder outside of his body and some other internal deformities- he 4ish now and doing much better, but has lasting problems). It just breaks my heart to see the pain that they go through. It reminds me of the millions of mothers and fathers around the world who grieve for the losses of their children. For the parents who find so much joy in their children that they are forever changed. It scares me to take on the task of parenting someday. To become so vulnerable. To risk so much, but to have the greatest joy and love one can experience this side of heaven. So much trust in His infinite wisdom and love.

9.1.09- Day 106

Me posing like I'm cooking curry for small group (just an hour or two after everyone left)

Me attacking Alan because he won't stop taking pictures of my nostrils.

Slow morning. Busy afternoon. Got my first PT compliment. The nurse at my middle school told me she could tell I loved my job and that I was really good with the kids. Yay! I do love my job and enjoy working with the kids a lot. However, I was brought back to humility this afternoon when I went to the office and the PT's were showing each other their multi-page handouts for classrooms including colored pictures of the child and descriptions of all their positioning and equipment. Yikes! I hadn't even thought of that. Cooked/cleaned from 4-7 (naan takes a long time to make!) Enjoyed having people from our small group over. Bob and Kyla are adopting a boy (they just found out the gender)! Cleaned up- ahhhh... it feels so nice to have a clean house. (we cleaned it in anticipation of having people over.) I'm seriously considering asking for small group to be at our house every week. We would get so much done! Good day.
Good night.