Another week down, and I've started doing some of the documentation. Therefore my days at work have gotten quite a bit longer, but hopefully I'll get in the rhythm and speed up soon! Still like my CI a whole lot. The combination of smart and nice has been quite refreshing!
I woke up on Tuesday, my day off, and saw this outside:
It was very pretty, and I'm glad it didn't ice over. It has really gotten cold this weekend, though! Yesterday, Amanda (the PT student roommate) and I went snow tubing in Indiana only about 30 minutes from Cincy. It's really odd, b/c the whole mountain/hill is man-made snow, but when it's 25 degrees out, it works really well!

You can definitely see where the man-made snow stops!

Some of the lanes...

It was a lot of fun, and they have skiing there, too. So we talked about going back another weekend to do that...we'll see!

Funny work story: A 4 month old baby with torticollis does not tolerate his stretches very well. Two weeks ago, his mom brought an MP3 player and played Taylor Swift. He immediately stopped crying and just chilled through the rest of the session. Again this week, he was screaming bloody murder. Mom forgot the MP3 player, but had one T Swift song on her phone. Ergo, we listened to "Teardrops on my Guitar" for a solid hour. At one point, the song stopped and he started crying again. As soon as we got it started back up, he was soothed. Unreal.

Austin Update

So last week was my first week with my CI. I really like her and think it will be a positive experience. She is an 06 grad from TWU Houston and is currently working on her tDPT from TWU. She had been to the Dallas campus several time and has been graced with the presence of some of our famous faculty members such as Wang and Thompson :-)

Fun story from Friday... Had a girl on the schedule by the name of "Starangel" Hmmm, my CI and I decided to hear her say her name first before we butchered it. During the session I tried so hard not to laugh when her mom called her "star-angel"! A freshman in high school! She had a sister in the room and I wanted so bad to ask what her name was!!! Any guesses!?! Sadly, she discharged so I will never know :-( But shout out to Laura... she went to Bassdrop high school!

Kieiwit District Meeting 2010

Well, another happening party has gone down for the Kieiwit gang. Never fails to impress, I was wishing ayll could've been there the whole time. This year, the spouses did some fun things that I missed: competition day with kiewit Nike dri-fit polos and kiewit sweat pants, free running shoe fitting and running shoes from New Balance (ugh, so bitter!), wine tasting at a cooking show, all kinds of door prizes and more. Then I missed the first nights festivities, 2 guys from Pete's dueling Pianos and a comedian from Last Comic Standing. The theme was Tailgate Bash, so you wore your favorite team's jersey. We did get to join in on Friday's fun with the live band, making flip books of us dancing crazy (I'll have to show it to yall), the famous kieiwit ice bar, tailgating food and candy, the "butt" drawing artists (we didn't get one), always many open bars, free kiewit jerseys, entertainers (this year it was 2 hyper cheerleaders), foosball tables. We had a great view from our room, there was a small lake, you could see downtown Dallas and Texas Stadium. I am sooo proud of Tim, so I've got to brag a little. He won the "Best Speaker Award" and I am not exaggerating when I tell you that 90% of the people that we talked to Firday night wither couldn't stop talking about how awesome his talk was or that they had hear d how great it was and they had really significant things to say about how it challenged and inspired them. Several people told him he needed to pursue speaking as his profession. So that was very encouraging for him to hear and I was just so proud of him. So, here are some of the pics (taken with Tim's iphone, can you believe I forgot my camera!?):

The room

Supper night 2: Filet Mignon, Steamed Asparagus and Grilled Bacon-wrapped Shrimp w/ Cream filled chocolate mousse with a gold flake on top and fresh fruit for dessert...not too shabby :)

Candy Centerpieces and surrounding candy tables, I ate ALOT of candy and it was sooo fun!!

The host, Jason Gumm and his getup and the cheerleaders. The guys playing foosball, our buddy Phil is the one on the far right- a very eligible bachelor...

Real tailgates were set up with stadium food: wings, brats, cheese fries, etc... Then the ice bar with the cool chutes.

Of course we had to sport our Saints gear...and here's a pic of one of the many other bars that all had flat screen TVs next to them replaying classic football clips.

The Bachelor

Hello ladies!

Well just a quick post to show you how I'm spending the evening... Tim has been invited to a dinner with some upper management at work at the Capital Grille in Uptown, no spouses allowed tonight. He just texted me to ask if he should get the Porterhouse or the Delmonico steak and said they just opened a $1100 bottle of wine. Of course he's not having any lol, but he did text me to say he wishes I was there, so that should make me feel better right? He won't be home till around 11, so I've been sitting on my butt, watching The Bachelor (did he seriously pick Vienna again!?), hanging out with my sleepy pups and eating chips and dip. And I rented a movie that I'm about to watch. I thought about getting out the chocolate fountain, but that'd be a little too indulgent! We should have a chocolate fountain party soon though (like maybe in 11 weeks)! Anyway, last night we ate with our small group and tomorrow evening he has his junior high small group, then we've got the annual Kiewit District Meeting Thursday and Friday, so be sure to stay tuned for pics and stories on that fun time. Oh and Tim is giving a speech on people, excellence and ethics to the company on Thursday or Friday, so be thinking of him! He's pretty excited, it involves a demo of crushing a cinder block with his sledgehammer, so it should be an eye-opener! lol. Should be interesting... At the end of the day today, some people in my office (Vikings fans) were slamming the refs at the game on Sunday and just saying some things that got me really fired up, so I literally had to leave for the day lol! I was soooo close to saying something, because their comments were just so ridiculous. I thought yall would be proud of me for leaving instead of confronting two higher staff members. :) Email addresses soon please!!!

Weekend Numero Uno

On Saturday, since the high was going to be 49 degrees, and I've been told that this "heat wave" will be leaving this week, I decided to go hiking at a nature preserve called Rowe Woods. So me, myself, and I set out and ended up spending about 2-3 hours walking around the different trails and exploring! It was really pretty and nice to be outside since I'm in the hospital for all of the light hours of the day (literally)! I can imagine this place would be even prettier when the leaves are green or when they're changing in autumn...but I'll take it now, too! Here are some of the pics...

Pretty waterfall

I saw 3 of these little friends randomly in the woods. I was glad Rach wasn't there to shoot her! :)

You can't see all of the mud on the path, but I was pretty dirty when I left.

A little pond that was still mostly frozen over...weird.

After coming home, I had thought I was going to do something with my male roommate and his girlfriend, but he ended up having to stay at work until around 9:30 at night. Ergo, I watched a movie, and the SAG awards while eating some spaghetti and salad.
And since I still had not talked to a human face-to-face the whole day besides saying "Hi, how are you?" "Doing well, thank you" I decided that I needed to treat myself to some ice cream. So I got dressed up in jeans, a sweater, and boots to have an outing. Ha. Graeter's is the famous ice cream from these parts, and I must admit that it did not disappoint!

Cherry Chocolate Chip...my Saturday night date!

Love you all and miss you a ton! Hope week 2 treats y'all well!! 1 down...11 to go!

APTA Week 1

Did I mention that there was a sign welcoming me to my cubicle? Things felt really good towards the end of the week. I had met with everyone to talk about 'education' or 'practice' and the projects I'd be working on. I would get invited to impromptu meetings to lean a little something. By Friday afternoon I had learned just about everything to get started on my projects. I am getting to read the e mails that get sent to the practice section - varied and interesting. I met with a PT who I'm working closely with on a practice management project. She has all sorts of initials after her name, and worked for the last 10 years between a free clinic and a clinic she owned with cash only performing arts patients. Cool, huh? I told her I played the French horn, and she was nice about pretending like that made a connection with what she was telling me about, haha. She is fired up about PTs 'practicing' not 'working' and has given me a new perspective for how I want to shape my practice. The environment is awesome, and has the surge of emotion and excitement that feels like summer camp or a big convention. Exactly what I would want the people directing the APTA to be like. :)

Anyways, enough long talk. Here are some quick funnies or thoughts from the week:

At one point I was sitting with two people. One was the past president of the PT board. The other was the current CEO/president of the PT Foundation. wow.

I am starving by the end of the day. Thinking I need to have a 2000 calorie diet for my 75% sitting and 25% walking 10 feet to sit again.

Done an ergonomic check on myself already. Good chair. Too excited about having a good chair.

Learning that they don't like to take things too seriously. The printer I print too is nicknamed Cinderella. Snow White is used by the Practice department.

My commute is now 40 minutes. I leave the house at 6am to park the car at seminary. Jimmy and I exercise (seems crazy, but it works). I take the bus from there. Learning to try to go to bed around 9...

LOFT sweater of the week: Boyfriend sweater.

Exciting news: officially going to CSM! Bought my plane ticket. staying with girls from TWU.

Other news: finally got the hospital bill. Prayers for open minds when my financial application is submitted to the powers that be.

This picture is kinda hard to see but this area is in the middle of the hospital... there are play areas connected to each floor that are great for therapy on nice days! I don't want to put specifics on here (internet) but yesterday was interesting to say the least. The PT I have been with all week was fired by one of our patient's grandmothers when we were trying to start therapy with her and she responded, "Thats ok, Morgan was going to work with her today anyways." Are you kidding me? So, I did the whole session... while the grandmother videoed me! Nothing went wrong, but I might be the first in our class involved in legal stuff... Ahhhh! Who would have guessed.

Pate is Great!!

So, I'm really loving Pate. The days go by pretty quickly and documentation is so much easier than most other places I've been. I've really enjoyed all of the patients. The staff are all really neat people and I can definitely see myself working here one day, although the traffic/commute is alot to deal with, but I can't complain like Maggie can lol. So yesterday, one of the feistier women I was working with in the gym started yelling, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME, GIRL!?!" As I attempted to keep from turning beet red I sat her back down on the mat (She had a CVA and has hemiparesis and was starting to lose her balance and I think she got embarrassed and tried to blame it on me, when really she would have fallen without my support). As soon and she sat, she looked over and me and said, "Rookie..." haha. So I was a little hurt of course that afternoon, but I've got to learn to not take those things seriously from certain patients. My CI is awesome, she's a TWU grad and was Vanessa's CI. She has a precious 5 month-old baby girl, Avery and she is also a dog lover. OMG, the first day I was there, we got to do animal therapy with a lab!!!!!! So of course I was freaking out and got to ask the handler a million questions. I spent 4 treatment sessions in the bathroom with patients today and had one pee on the mat during his eval and it leaked everywhere, so it's been exciting. I can't wait to tell yall more stories. Here are some photos of Pate and my desk (note my pic of yall and my learning objectives posted just as Dr. Luedtke asked lol). There is a neat walking trail (see left) with lots of differing terrain that you can see part of in the pic. Also, there are mini-ponds and fountains in the courtyard outside the entrance (see right). Then also, during our small group meeting Monday, another couple announced their pregnancy, so now 3/6 women are with child!! Very exciting, lots of baby rocking on the way! I'm loving yalls posts and I hope they keep coming!!! love, Rach

Oh, Cincy...

Saw a drug deal outside the office window at work today. Holla.

Good Ol' Dell

First... apologies for not blogging yet. I was a little discouraged after my first day and didn't know if blogging about it would be the right thing to do :-)

Laura- Thanks for all the pictures and stories. I am so glad you made it safe and can't wait to hear more about what you will be doing.
Maggie- Sounds like you are in the right place! Can't wait to read your article and hear more about your "best friend"! By the way... a 2 hour commute? Are you kidding!?!
Rachel- Can't wait to hear about how Pate is going!

So first a little about Dell... the hospital is only about 2 years old and is small (compared to Dallas Children's) but everything is very nice and new! The setup is really unique and kid friendly. And as you can guess... is filled with Dell computers :-) I love everyone I work with and have yet to meet my CI... will meet her Monday when she gets back in town.
Well on the first day, I realized that by "inpatient" Dell meant "Acute"... whoops! So now I am doing a pediatric acute care rotation for my last one... not exactly what I had hoped but I am determined to make the best of it! Oh and by the way... my first patient was wound care! I've seen some crazy wounds thus far and can't imagine what I'll see in the next 12 weeks... and on kids! So sad! Well... more to come later!

Day 1 APTA

I reflected about my day on the bus ride home through Old Town Alexandria while I watched the cute storefronts go by. I've decided that there isn't anything better than driving by an Ann Taylor Loft every day to make sure you see their latest sweaters. It made up for the 2 hour commute this morning.

My first day of my 6 week office internship felt just like that - a day at the office. I got there and walked into 1111 N Fairfax St to see two red phones and elevators. The task, if I accepted, was to pick up the phone and I was automatically connected to someone. Told them I was there to meet Jody, and a girl came to get me. It felt like (what I would imagine) the CIA or FBI. But funny. The girl, about my age, told me we were going to be best friends because she sits in the cubicle next to mine. Boy was that a relief.

Jody and Mary Fran, of course very powerful, smart, well respected therapists and APTA staffers, are nice, funny, welcoming, and all around happy to have me there. This made for a great morning. Got some free decaff while we talked about my goals and objectives. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be, and it looks like I'll be going to San Diego in February to Combined Sections Meeting. Along with some TWU Grad IIs...should be interesting.

I am still not exactly sure what I'll be doing on my rotation. But, I am for sure working on a professionalism module, accessed via internet, about evidence-based practice. Sensitivity and specificity have come back to haunt me...again! Maybe I'll really understand them this go around. By the end of my rotation, they also want me to write up an article in the student magazine (not the largest circulated magazine you'll ever run across, but still) and another fun Maggie piece.

Who else did I meet in the elevator on my way to lunch than the CEO, John Barnes. What did we talk about? College football. Also, I mentioned my interest in Woman's Health PT, and I have been introduced that way now to a few people. doh! I'm excited for what I'll learn. I already think they have pretty good resources for APTA members after one day!

I envy you girls getting to get up and walk around during your days. Sitting in a chair for 8 hours is hard!! I never thought I would think that! I think I'll make tomorrow exciting by drinking some tea in the afternoon. Oh, and a little perspective - Jody, my supervisor, took her position as Director of Education/Academic Affairs in 1984. The year before I was born. I have a lot to learn from her!

Pictures to come. P.S. Was getting an e mail address with @apta.org the most exciting part of my day? No. Finding out that I wouldn't have to answer the phones or respond to e mails? yes!

Cincy, Part 1

Ok, here's my first attempt at an update...I have a lot to share, but here's round 1:

The drive to Cincy was lengthy but fun. We got to stop in St. Louis and stay with my brother/sister-in-law/niece. While in the passenger seat, my mom always had at least 2 maps open on her lap, a Cincinnati guidebook (from which she read many random Cincy facts aloud), her crouchet project, and a Starbucks cup in her hand. I really appreciated her coming with me! The city of Cincinnati is a cool town thus far. It's got an older feel to it, but it still has a lot to offer (besides freezing temperatures).

Mom in all her glory

Mom and I were trying to find a place to eat lunch on Monday. Garmin looked up a restaurant that was only .8 miles from where we were (around the University of Cincinnati)...it was called Dunbar Cafe, so we thought it would be a cute, local place. Turns out .8 miles in the direction we went took us straight into the ghetto...and I mean GHET-TO. Dunbar Cafe had bars over the windows and looked like maybe the only thing sold in there was crack. We locked the doors and immediately asked Garmin to take us elsewhere!

My Welcome to Ohio sign from nature

The house is really neat. The neighborhood kind of reminds me of Lakewood area in Dallas b/c it's in Cincinnati but not downtown or anything...also has older houses that are really cute with a lot of character. The owner of the house (Dana) is really laid back and nice but is in and out of town with her job. The male "roommate" is a really outgoing and nice guy; however, you can put your raised eyebrows and hopes down...he has a girlfriend and sometimes spends the night at her place. Ergo, we'll just call it friends. Finally, the last roommate, Amanda, is another PT student and is from Minne-soh-ta. She has been very sweet and easy-going. It's weird living with all of these random people but nice to have others around!

My house!
The living room (the owner of the house is my age...sigh)

Lastly...my internship. Today was my first day and was just orientation, but the facility is incredible!! The outpatient area just moved into a new building about a month ago. They have every type of treatment room/gym that a PT or OT could want! Tomorrow I'll meet my CI and actually see what will be going down. But at least a neat start!

Gotta love happy pediatric signs!

And finally, I can't tell you the relief I felt when I found this store and walked in...weird what comforts me.

I love Target.

Mini Austin Apt. Tour...

So here are a few pics of the "put together" areas of my new apartment~ (Still on the hunt for my camera so sorry for the phone pics)

My Bedroom
My Bathroom


My Kitchen

Closet


So... it has been an adventure so far! Moving day was Wednesday and Michelle and I headed out with our two vehicles PACKED! First stop was Waco to drop off Tucker at my grandfathers and then on to Austin. We got to my apartment about 12:00 and the guy was here waiting on me to hook up my internet and I didn't even have a key! They are always early when you don't want them to be :-) I signed all the paperwork and let the guy in so I'm hooked up to the world. Michelle and I unloaded my car then went to lunch and my cousin Casey arrived quickly after that. The 3 of us girls then moved my bed up to my 3rd story room! (I gave up my princess crown right then and there!) AND we assembled the headboard to the frame ourselves! (Hope yall are proud.) At this point... we decided to drive to San Antonio to spend the night b/c I had no sheets/towels... ect. So drove to SA about 5:00 (just in time for Austin traffic) and got there about 7:00, showered and went to meet some of her friends for dinner. After dinner (about 11:00) we had the BRILLIANT idea to go to karaoke night at this bar down the street from her house! We were there until about 2:00 so long story short... it was a LONG day!

My mom drove down Friday night and we spent Saturday running errands and getting things together. Saturday night I drove to Waco and saw my family. Sunday Erin drove to Waco b/c we had not seen each other the entire break. We went to the movie last night and had a good time catching up. Drove back to Austin this afternoon, got my "first day" manicure and worked out... This is making me tired writing it!

So now its is time to prepare for tomorrow and pray everyone's first day goes smoothly! Please write tomorrow about your days! Can't wait to hear about everyone's experiences! Yall will all do GREAT!

Doe a Deer, a Female Deer

Well, we came to Ruston for the last weekend of gun season for deer hunting. Tim and Ruthie had been hunting every chance they got and hadn't gotten anything yet. Ruthie and I decided to go together this morning for some quality sister time. We got out there around 6:30, then around 7, Ruthie started feeling nauseous (probably from lack of sleep!) and around 7:30, she started puking out of the stand in the window in front of us, so I was patting her on the back and looked out of the window to my left. And what did I see, but a deer..so I whispered, "Ruthie, a deer!" And she looked over and whispered, "4 deer!". Well of course, I had been needing to pass gas and had been holding it, but I figured, hey if Ruthie's puking and the deer are coming out, I might as well get some relief! lol! So I think the key is puking and farting. It seems that every time Roo and I get in a deer stand, we'll have a story to tell (Don't know if you read my story about the mouse in the deer stand)! They were all doe and the one in front was the biggest, so I waited and watched for a while (sometimes a big buck comes out of the woods following the doe), but when she started to get close to the other side of the woods (to re-enter), I still hadn't seen any bucks, so I knew this might be my last chance to get some meat for the year. She sure was pretty to watch. So, while shaking, I took a deep breath...she was still walking toward me so I didn't have a good shot...so as soon as she turned sideways to step into the woods, I took a deep breath in and exhaled and pulled the trigger and she dropped! So, there was no tracking and it was a clean kill. Anyway, deer roast anyone? I've already been planning some recipes for Morgan ;). Tim and Ruthie are out at it again, so who knows when we'll get home tonight! P.S. Note my pearl earrings lol, gotta add a little class to the country!

Happy Hunting, Rach

made it to dc!

After two exciting plane rides (well, I slept through one) on Tuesday I made it to Regan National Airport in DC! I have been running errands and hanging out with Jimmy ever since. The house/room I'm staying at is really close to a metro stop and a mall.

(see red brick house, 2nd story)

Susan, who owns the house, graduated from West Point in the early '80s. Her house has a cool mix of military and West Point decorations mixed with Biblical paintings. She was in the army for 25 years, and is now in her 3rd year of seminary. She'll be back later this month. In the meantime, her parents will be staying with me a few days next week...haha.

The most exciting part of the week came on Wednesday. Maggie meets the closet. After neatly hanging everything up, squeezing clothes where there probably shouldn't be any, I go to set my last t shirts on the shelf. "clunk" "rip" The shelf came a tumblin' down. I'm sure she wanted to get rid of the excess stuff anyways, right? Feelings: awkward and embarrassed. So, tonight, we attempt to put in a new shelf.

Good news: I made it! Even took a mock bus ride from the seminary to my office. Had dinner with Cindy last night at a delish Thai restaurant! There were 6 tables in the restaurant. I hope the guy next to us enjoyed our conversation.

Other good news: Susan gets a new shelving system in her closet!

Atkins Christmas '09

Here are some of my highlights from the break:







Eating lunch with Dr. T and Dr. Medley with our research group.




















Tim's Kieiwit Christmas Party

























Going to Santa's Village in Richardson with Mason, Stephen, Ashley and Maliah- then decorating gingerbread cookies.

Dinner at Maggie's House (we missed you Morgan!)

Taking Mason to school to meet the Grad 1s.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at the church I went to while at Tech (and yes I snuck a photo during the service :)).

Opening Presents with the babies and Logan's first haircut.

Visiting with my grandpa, great aunt Mary Evelyn and Aunt Cathy in Natchez, MS in my great grandmother's historic home where grandpa grew up, getting told the stories once again from when my mom grew up playing there.

They had a 20 foot live Christmas tree in the great room that was more decorated than any tree I'd ever seen and made the whole house smell wonderful!

And then I'll end with my favorite: Hanging out with my best bud, Sarah who is pregnant!!!! We ate at the famous Straun's cafe near Centenary and had their famous Strawberry Pie! I also got to finally meet her Great Dane, Chaucer (he only wieghs 150) and hang out with her mom's parrot who sings, plays catch, talks and is just hilarious!!

And just so you know, I have about 1000 other pictures that I took that I'd love to share, but I tried REALLY hard to be selective...sorry for the long post!