{busy bee}

wednesdays are CRAZY!  i get to work, go over the many consults that we have (currently everyone in the hospital is struggling with swallowing).  we triage all the consults and go visit the ones we think may really be having problems swallowing, and it's not due to teeth being pulled or mouth sores or something. then we go to  a briefing on some clients, then we come back, write up some notes on who we saw/schedule some modified barium swallow studies or schedule therapies. then there's therapy.  then we eat.  THEN on wednesdays, we get to go to the head and neck clinic for anyone in the hospital who either 1. thinks they may have a problem 2. we determined they have a problem and we're doing post op stuff or 3. they had surgery a while ago and we're doing follow up.

i really like this part.  i get to see tons of different types of problems in a period of 3 hours.  and it's constant work, which is actually sort of fun.  we either are taking case history and determining if we need to see them, or checking up with progress.  i get to talk to lots of people and practice my skillz, write some reports, and plaster my name all over reports.  who doesn't like to see their name on a medical note?  admit it... you would.

the only downside is i was so busy, i got a bit scattered.... i downloaded a fabulous app on my ipod that lets me look up medical abbreviations, because these notes are crazy full of them (some drs even just make them up themselves... talk about confusing!), and i got home and realized i don't have my ipod.  so it's either in the room we worked in which isn't the speech departments, or it's in my lab coat.  we're hoping for the latter.  or for the fact that the ppl in there were dr's and make enough money to not want to borrow my ipod.  luckily everyone there is super nice, so if it is there, chances are someone grabbed it to find it's poor, broke, college student owner.

phew!  busy days are crazy, but fun :)

{lord of the flies}

no, i don't have time to read, so this blog post can't be about that...

life is crazy busy.  i work a lot.  i love it very much.  blogging?  yeah... sorry.

just know that tonight, i have declared war on the flies in my house.  for whatever reason, our house attracts them.  i don't think we're stinky people or we have excess food for them, but they love our house.  and they think it is their own.  and my desire to kill them is currently at it's max.

call me cruel, call me unusual, i do not care.

i will win.

my house will be mine.

and the best part?

i have one of these

it zaps when i hit them.  SO SATISFYING.

i have one more... off to kill....

{water balloons!}

last night was the 4th 'world's largest water balloon fight'.

big congrats to the student leaders and staff of csf for another awesome fight!  175,141 water balloons and over 8,975 people.  the time, organization and man power to put this thing on is crazy, and i'm super proud of everyone.  especially the people who stayed after to clean up the 175,000 + little itty bitty shards of balloons.  i can say with confidence that csf people will have that field spotless.  way to go, guys!

i also got to see my 2 favorite kiddos who made their first appearance at the fight.  they both loved it.... caleb got wet from a stray water balloon and kept talking about it, and claire got to throw one.  goodness they are the most fun kids ever!  i miss seeing them so often... you can't help but crack up when you're with them.  and claire gets even funnier past her bedtime.

today has been deemed a relaxing day... ian's off getting a massage (jealous!) and i have to mow the grass, but then we are just sitting around and enjoying the fact we have nothing to do.

happy saturday!

{adventures in a hospital}

i am tired.  happy, well learned, but very, very tired.  and very happy tomorrow is friday!

i have learned quite a few new things while working at the va.  things i didn't think i would learn, as they don't actually pertain to speech.

#1.  if someone is on their iphone, get out of the way.  they seem to think they are in their own world, and do not actually watch where they're walking, they just walk.  just move and smile because they look so very silly.

#2. the hospital's #1 danger zone is not actually an er or a surgical suite, it is the many blind corners that medical professionals tend to fly around.  i have learned very quickly to not hug corners.  99.9% of the time i am the smaller, lighter individual, so guess who usually takes the brunt of the hit.  me.

#3. if you wear a lab coat, people automatically assume you know what's going on.  this, i like.  even in my lime green lab coat with my slightly annoying yellow student badge, i got asked by a med student today where he could find some doctor.  i had to tell him i was new to the hospital, BUT apparently i looked like i knew what i was doing (score for me!)


who knew the things i'd learn!?!?!?

{i'm a big girl now}

admit it, you just hummed the tune...

i've been at the va for 2 days!  life is officially insane.  my day has started at 6 am, i get ready, drive to uk, park, catch the shuttle, get to the va a little before 8, take a quick break for lunch around 12, get right back to work, get off at 4:30, then drive to ians because traffic getting down tates creek is terrible.  we then hang out for a few hours, and it's off to bed and i press the restart button.

working is really fun.  in 2 days, i've seen/learned/experienced so much and i have a feeling that it won't take long for me to get the hang of things and start to be able to make good therapy recommendations and implement actual techniques well!  that's really exciting to me :)

if you're ever walking around the va, look for me!  i'm the only 'professional' with a lime green lab coat ;)

{sick}

i hate being sick.  if i'm hurt, i usually brush it off.  if i'm upset, i cry and it's over.  when i'm sick, i turn into a whiny 3 year old.  and it lasts a long time.  and all i want is my mommy.

thursday i felt it come on.  isn't that the worst?  when you know you're getting sick and there is nothing you can do about it?  so when friday came around, i was a mess.  and all i wanted was soup.  i'm not the biggest fan of tomato soup, but my basil plant is going crazy, and i love basil, so i made tomato basil soup.  i had a can of stewed tomatos and got a can of crushed tomatos and whole tomatos.  i quickly sautéed some garlic in some olive oil, added the tomatos, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.  after that i added a handful of chopped basil, 1/4 cup of whipping cream and it was amazing.  for real, it was just what i needed.  and i ate off of it for 4 days.

fast forward to today... i'm still not feeling amazing, but whatever.  i had orientation at eku today, and tomorrow is orientation at the va.  i'm nervous to say the least, and i'm glad that i'll have one of the girls from my class with me, so at least i'll know someone!

tomorrow's post should be interesting.... say a prayer it goes well!

{sitting, thinking}

it's that time of the year again.... the time where new freshmen are making their way onto campus.  i helped move girls in last weekend, and just talking with a friend, we reminisced about being in that place 6 years ago.  6 years ago, i was nervous, excited, shy freshman who knew 3 people on campus and didn't know what i was supposed to do, where i was supposed to go, or how i was supposed to do much of anything.

fast track 6 years... here i am.  i am a very different person than i was then, and it is a direct cause of so many wonderful people in my life.  i'm about to start leading a bible study with my best friend, and i'm realizing that i'm about to be in the place that some pivotal people were for me.

this is a thank you to so many wonderful people... thank you for taking time out for me.  you didn't have to.  you chose to.  thank you for inviting me into your house, your apartment, taking me to get coffee, calling me on the phone, inviting me over for sleepovers, allowing me to hang out with your kids, listening to me cry after a bad test grade and being totally sure my life was over, and most of all, teaching me a different side of Jesus.  i have been blessed beyond belief with positive, Jesus-loving people in my life.

thank you for teaching me about opening your home.  thank you for teaching me the importance of loving people.  thank you for teaching me to love like a child.  thank you for teaching me what is important in life- people, serving, loving, a smile, honesty, and that it's ok to not have it all together.

from taking me under your wing when i was a little baby freshmen, to providing a place for me to live, to being blessed with the most amazing roommates, to knowing i always had people i could count on, thank you.

do not ever underestimate the power Christ has given you to impact a life.  especially with new freshman coming in, and going to a new work place, today is a realization that God blesses any situation and the most simple acts of kindness.  thank you for showing that to me, i hope that God can multiply that, and that He can be glorified.