Furniture comes tomorrow!

So yeah, I'll finally post some pics when we get our couch and chair delivered tomorrow! Last weekend, we also bought a rug from IKEA, a futon for the basement from IKEA, a low table-y thing to hold our CDs and Eric's record player and a little cart/extra counter space for the kitchen. The pics I took previously were mostly of empty rooms. So maybe I will post some before and after shots. Huh? How would ya like that?

Other thoughts of the day:
1. I wish my meetings after clinic didn't last two hours just because my supervisor talks a lot. She's super nice and I like her, but man, I have places to be!
2. I have a headache.
3. The 5-year-old client I see in one of the preschool groups brought a picture in for me today that he colored at home. It's a bionic man holding a balloon (which, by the way, was one of his homework words from Monday), and he has steam coming from behind him cause he's going so fast. That kid is so freakin' creative! I can't even handle it! Today, he earned little planets, the sun, Darth Vadar, Princess Leia and a rocket every few words he said with a good /l/ sound. Eventually, he got to make a mobile out of it. I am getting good at figuring out what motivates these little guys.

That's all I have time for right now. Need to work, then go home and play softball. Have a lovely evening!

Off the grid

This post is dedicated to Eric, who often talks about living off the land and being self-sufficient. Read this article from the Star Tribune about two women who did just that in Wisconsin: http://www.startribune.com/local/22919019.html?page=1&c=y. Amazing....and not something I would want to do. Camping is fun. Being green in normal life is nice too. Living in a cob hut and peeing a bucket? Not so fun.

Super long run

I have been so busy and have a million things I want to write about, but I don't have a lot of time today during the day. So just fyi, I will try to post pics of the house, write about my clinical practicum, update you on the family of bunnies that lives in our yard (and Indy's attempts to catch them) later tonight.

Right now, I just wanted to post this link and tell you to check it out. My boss at the Center for Spirituality & Healing has a daughter who is 17 and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes about a year ago. Well, she's a runner in high school and just decided that she wanted to try to run to Canada this summer...just for fun. Then, she thought about it some more and decided she could turn it into a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (Katy, you work there, right?). So that's what she's doing. She's leaving today and starting her 300-mile run to Canada from Minneapolis (leaving from her front door) and ending up near International Falls just across the border in Canada. Her mom created a blog (with the same cute format as mine), and they're planning to update it to keep people informed of how the run is going, post pics, etc. She'll have at least one parent with her following her every day, and I think her boyfriend and maybe some others will join her on different days. I just thought that was amazing. She's raised like $2,500 already! That's just pretty cool for a 17-year old. So check out her blog: http://megansruntocanada.blogspot.com/. It should definitely be interesting to see how she does. Hopefully she stays healthy along the way!

Have a good day. Hope to catch up with you all soon!

Dad and Beth's blog

Dad and Beth started a blog! And they said they weren't savvy enough for such things...nonsense! Check it out: http://bobandbeth1.blogspot.com.

Clinicals update

Busy, busy, busy. That's how I feel. Clinicals are going, well, okay. I'm surviving.

Had my first phonology group yesterday and felt like an idiot with the 3 year old. I need to make things way more fun for him because he was not so into learning /f/ with just flashcards of pictures and a mirror. However, he did like reaching into a magic box to pull out toys that start with /k/. The 5 year old loved me and everything we did, so I think he might be a little easier to plan for. I liked that I could also explain what we were doing to him and talk to him a little more like a person than the 3 year old. We'll meet again tomorrow morning, so I'm working on new session plans for them.

Some funny highlights from the group:

Preschooler #1: (grabs Preschooler #2's teddy bear)
Preschooler #2: (grabs it back and gives a mean look)
Grad student clinician: Maybe he'll let you play with his teddy bear if you ask him nicely.
Preschooler #1: (with mouth full of teddy grahams) Can I play with your bear?
Preschooler #2: (with attitude) He asked with his mouth full.
Grad student clinician: After you finish your teddy grahams, maybe you can ask him again.
Preschooler #1: (swallows) Can I play with your teddy bear?
Preschooler #2: (hands it over nicely...surprisingly)

If anything, these kids will make me laugh. :)

Friday, I start an Aphasia group (it's a group for adults who've had a stroke and I think we do conversation-type activities). I'll learn more Friday.

Next Tuesday, I will meet with my newest client, a 10 year old with Autism who I hear is super cute and fun. Need to make my session plan for that one this week too.

First session out of the way!

I met with my first client this morning, and it went pretty well. She is very cute and polite, and we had a great time. She's 12, so I was trying to think of things to do that wouldn't be too juvenile for her, so one of the activities we did was Mad Libs (remember those?). She had to think of words to fill in that included her two sounds she's working on, and then she got to read the stories afterward. I might have been more amused than she was at times (I tried to control my laughter, but I just love those things, and they were pretty funny!).

Anyway, I survived, and my supervisor said I did great. So I feel good that I got that out of the way. Now I just need to write up two more session plans for two little ones I'll start seeing next Monday. I have to have those turned in by end of day today....yikes! Those kiddos are 3 and 5, so it will be totally different -- a lot more play and games while trying to trick them into saying their sounds. :) So far, I'm thinking of doing some puzzles and building with legos while also working on their sounds. I feel like little boys that age would like that, right? We'll find out soon, I guess.

Okay, back to work and then need to write up those session plans! This has been such a busy week. The stress is causing my face to break out a bit (darn it!). But I did get an email from Eric saying that he is making lasagna for dinner tonight. How lovely that will be to go home and not have to make dinner! Thank you, Eric!

PS The moving went well, and we are still working on unpacking boxes, etc. We're getting a table soon! Once we have things more set up, I'll get some pictures up here.

Survey says...

I'm curious... Who reads my blog? Reply with a comment, please! I just never know if anyone's reading cause there aren't too many comments. Feel free to comment whenever -- I love to read them!

Moving on up

Hi, as you may or may not have heard...I am moving out of my current house and into Eric's new house with him in St. Paul. Yes, the parents know about this and there have been several long conversations that have delved into the future, plans, etc, etc. So.....after talking about this a lot over the past couple months, we are going for it! The closing takes place tomorrow starting with a walk-thru at the house and ending with Eric signing his life away. And then the moving starts on Saturday afternoon. We'll be focusing on getting all his stuff done first, and then we'll start getting my stuff. I'm not sure when I'll officially be out of my place, but I did go ahead and change the address with the post office to start next week. I can email it out to people soon (not sure how smart it'd be to post it on here just in case some wacko hacker decided to pay me a visit).

Anyway, we are both really excited about this. I'm sure we will welcome visitors anytime!

Streaming thoughts before hittin' the hay...

It's Sunday night, and I still haven't decided if I'm going to work in the morning. I only have to work 24 hours this week, so I'm leaning toward not working tomorrow. Well...at least not in the morning.

Anyway, I'm tired but felt like jotting down my random thoughts that seem to keep going and going through my head this Sunday night...

1. I really don't like my landlord and can't wait to move out.
2. Went furniture shopping with Eric today for the new house (he moves in on Saturday!). There are so many options. It's fun and also overwhelming.
3. I love Indy. She's the cutest dog in the whole world.
4. Saw Ms. Petticrew Lives for a Day today, and it was a good movie -- very fast-paced and fun. Recommend it!
5. It is unnecessary for our air conditioning to be on right now. I am the kind of person who would be fine just opening windows to keep it cool until it gets unbearably hot in the summer. Then you should turn the air on. I wish I knew how to change our system, but alas...I don't.
6. My friend Ashlee is in China right now visiting her sister. I wonder what time it is there and if she's having a good time.
7. Which days should I fit in my bike rides this week?
8. Made it through the Badlands in my roadtrip scrapbook tonight. Hopefully I will have it all finished this week. Unfortunately, the first page's punch holes already tore open more so the page can fall out of the book. I guess that's what happens when you buy a scrapbook that was made in the 1930s or 40s from an antique store.
9. I went grocery shopping tonight, but I just realized I didn't eat dinner. Maybe I was just full from late lunch and then popcorn and candy at the movies. Breakfast will be had fo' sho'.
10. Eric and I spent Saturday night playing about 50 games of Mancala and drinking some summery beers. It was lovely. I know, we are crazy. We'll try to be more tame next weekend. I love that we are both perfectly content to do that.
11. My brother just got out of an icky relationship and is having a hard time. I hope he's okay.
12. Haven't seen Ang and Liam in a while. Hope to get over there this week for some quality time.
13. Indy is sprawled out at the foot of my bed right now. I'm turning in. Hope you had a great weekend!

I rode my bicycle past your window last night...

...Oh how I miss that song. I need to find the CD Stacy made me for Christmas and put that song on pronto!

Speaking of bicycling...I'm quite proud of myself for my biking feats this week. I rode my longest bike ride to date on Sunday: 60 miles in the hilly countryside of Wisconsin. We rode from Hudson to Spring Valley to River Falls and back to Hudson again. It was a gorgeous ride with lots of pretty countryside, beautiful homes and of course, lots of cows. I greeted the cows with a "hey cows!" everytime, and most times, I got a cow to look at me! Mom says I must have been getting delusional at that point, but I say, how the heck else am I supposed to keep my spirits up during a long ride? Yes, we had 11 other people along on the ride, but we all go our own pace, so I wasn't right next to anyone most of the time. I'd mostly just see the next person about half-mile ahead or behind me.

Today, I rode 55 miles with my friend Hannah from grad school. She isn't even training for the ride. She's just hard core. We rode from St. Paul starting at the Mississippi River and Summit Ave. down Summit to downtown, then connected with the Gateway Trail, which takes you all the way to Stillwater. Whew! I'm tired. Today's ride wasn't hilly like Sundays, so it only took us 4.25 hours (versus the 5.5 hour ride on Sunday). We were bookin' it! When I got home, I took a shower, took an hour-long nap, ate lunch and then came to work. Here I am working and thinking that I need to eat more before heading to my softball game tonight at 7:15.

Serious question for you:
When you work out, do you crave burgers, fries and beer during the workout or do you crave more healthy things like a sandwich?

I was definitely craving a juicy lucy from Matt's Bar while riding today. Maybe I can make that happen sometime soon.

So, I guess overall, my training for the Red Ribbon Ride is going well. I think I seriously just need to eat more when I'm doing these crazy long workouts. My fundraising is 99% of the way there, so that makes me happy too! I have 6 weeks left to train for the ride, so I think I'm in good shape.