March 22

March 22, 2013

Friday finally came, and we thankfully only had a half day. The OT Lindsey and I were shadowing went out of town Thursday night, so we hung out with the lady who was over all the rehab in the hospital. We learned a ton! Then we went home!

I was so excited to see Killer! And she was so excited I was home! I think she was expecting Brad to walk through the door, because when she saw me she just went crazy. I couldn't get her to stop licking me for probably about 20 minutes. She was crying and whining and licking, clearly excited I was home. It always makes you feel good to know you're loved. And the Killer pup definitely loves me. 

Brad got home a little while later, and he and Killer were both nice enough to take a nap with me. I was beyond exhausted. I slept until dinner, came home and slept until 10 the next morning.

Brad and I decided that me being home called for celebration. Instead of eating what I had planned on the meal calendar we went out to our favorite Mexican place down the street. We love it there. It's so good and so cheap. And, according to Brad, pretty authentic. 

It was so good to be home! I missed my little family tons. I really don't know how I'll survive for 3 months next year when I'm in Louisiana.

Courtney

March 21

March 21, 2013

My week in South Carolina for fieldwork was not what I expected. Without going into too much detail, Lindsey and I were both a little disapointed by our experience. We were so excited to go to this site and had our sights set high that it would be an amazing learning opportunity. We were let down greatly, but we did learn about how we would like to change the mental health field if we were ever to go into it.
Lindsey. I will never be able to say too many nice things about this girl. We hadn't really spent that much time together before this trip, so we both didn't really know what to expect Sunday night as we were making the 2 hour trip together. We quickly bonded over our mutual disdain for the unkempt apartment, the squeaky beds, (the lack of sleep we were getting because of them), and our ideas about life in general. As the week passed, and I learned more and more about her, the more and more I really liked her. She is seriously one of the most open and honest people I know. She is kind-hearted and tender-souled. She is funny, has an amazing work ethic, and doesn't let anything stop her.
On Thursday, the OT at the hospital we were at does this thing called "breakfast club" where the patients work together and make their own breakfast. It's pretty awesome. Definitely one of the highlights of the week. After breakfast was made, and we were all at our spots sitting around the table, the OT asked everyone to say something they were thankful for. Lindsey was one of the last ones to go. Her response took me by surprise. She commented on how thankful she was that she was able to spend the week with me. She said how she started off the week a little nervous because she didn't know what to expect, but she was so glad for the way it turned out. She was grateful I made all those freezer meals so that we never had to eat out while we were there. She said sweet thing after sweet thing. After her turn was over, one of the patients I was sitting by leaned over and said, "That was so nice. That was so nice." He was right; that was so nice.
I honestly probably would have been miserable that whole week in South Carolina if it hadn't been for my dear friend Lindsey. We definitely kept each other sane. I am so grateful I was able to get to know her better! Nothing like a dirty apartment and a bad fieldwork to bring you closer together. 

Courtney

 

March 20

March 20, 2013

The middle of the week hump needed a little pick-me-up. Lots of the patients suggested we head downtown and check out the great little candy shop there. Lindsey and I both LOVE candy, like serious obsession. Her's might even be worse than mine, and I didn't think it was possible for someone to have a bigger candy sweet tooth than me. But she may just take the cake.

This was a really great candy shop. I'm so glad we went! They had all sorts of old-timey candy, like candy buttons, taffy, and smartie pops (my favorite).

 The lady who ran the shop was just the sweetest! I told Brad about her, and he said, "Oh course, she's sweet. She runs a candy shop!"
There was a huge random purple gorilla just outside the shop. Couldn't pass up that photo op.

The downtown was so cute. There were tons of nice little shops, a big ship, and a great amphitheater area. There were also at least 10 or 12 of these swings. Perfect for sitting in and enjoying the ocean view.

Later on we stopped by a chocolate shop. While Lindsey was picking out something delicious for herself, I found this. It was ridiculously expensive or I would have bought it for Brad. So I took a picture instead.

This quick candy shop stop and walk around downtown totally got us through the rest of the week.

Courtney

March 19

March 19, 2013

Almost everyday in South Carolina Lindsey and I ate outside. The hospital cafeteria had a lovely little outside area where we really enjoyed sitting and taking in the scenery.

 I took this picture from our lunch table!

  

They also have these little bugs called no-see-ems. They're almost like little sand fleas, so tiny you hardly ever notice them, hence their name. They are everywhere, and if you can go outside and not get bitten you're a lucky soul. I wasn't so lucky. Right after I got bit my wrist started burning a little, then a few hours later it turned into an awful itch. So glad I only got one bite!

Courtney

 

March 18

I've obviously been beyond slacking on this blog. I somehow got behind in writing my March posts. So behind that it feels overwhelming to try and finish out the month of March at this point. But I have all the pictures nicely organized and ready to go, so I need to finish. I haven't wanted to write anything else until I finished these, so if not for any other I need to finish these March posts so I can write about other things that happen in our lives besides all those things from 2 months ago. Plus, what else is there to do when you're up all night with a new puppy.

March 18, 2013

 This was my first day of my mental health fieldwork. I was really excited about this one! I felt like I got a great placement, and I was really interested in the OT aspect of mental health care. There's a great housing program across the south (maybe the nation??) for health care students that's designed just for things like this. They have apartments that are reserved just for migrant students. So Lindsey calls them up, tells them will be coming, and they mail us a key. They great thing is that if you're a resident of the state you're doing your rotation in it's almost always FREE. Since we went to South Carolina, not our state of residence, we only paid $75 for the week. Not too shabby considering there's no way we could have gotten a hotel for this price AND we had a kitchen. I made freezer meals the Saturday before we left, so we not once had to eat out. It was great. Unfortunately, the apartment wasn't up to either of our cleanliness standards, the beds were uncomfortable and squeaked every time you moved, and our roommate was a weirdo. But really, it was $75. We couldn't complain.

Before we went into work the first day, we stopped and got our ID badges. Pretty exciting... 

That first day was a bit of a drag. They didn't have many patients, so there wasn't much for Lindsey and I to do. The OT we were shadowing took us a very unique tour of the hospital, to say the least. But at one point we found ourselves in the pediatric outpatient clinic, which had an AMAZING swing room. Seriously, what more could a kid need?!

 From hammocks to ziplines and tire swings. All themed fittingly for the jungle. I hope that if my kids ever need OT that they'll be able to go to a place with as many resources as this outpatient clinic.

Courtney

 

March 17

March 17, 2013

Today after church I started packing for my week-long fieldwork in South Carolina. I pulled out my big suitcase, and started laying out all my clothes on the bed. Killer always seems to know when we're going away without her, and she just cuddled up next to my clothes and moped. 

I threw my pillow in my suitcase just to get it out of the way, and next thing I know Killer's found a new spot to mope. Poor thing. I will certainly miss her and her daddy this next week.

Courtney

March 16

March 16, 2013

Just another typical Saturday. Brad studied. I took pictures of Killer. We made an awesome (and super healthy) smoothie, and then we counteracted it with a ginormous and calorie-filled burger with a huge side of fries.

 

Courtney

  

March 15

March 15, 2013

It was a gorgeous day outside. I didn't have class. And I spent the whole day making freezer meals for both myself and Brad since I was going to be away the whole next week. While I was in the kitchen, I left the back door open for Killer to come and go as she pleased. I hadn't seen her in a while so I quietly walked outside to see what she was doing, because I naturally assumed she was getting into trouble. I found her laying in one of our flower beds, soaking up the warmth that the black dirt radiated. 

 Well that was completely unacceptable. I couldn't have my sweet pup laying in the dirt. So I brought out some towels for her and laid them on the back porch. Before I could even call her over she came trotting to lay on the much more comfortable towels. She just laid soaking up the sun and getting her daily dose of Vitamin D for the rest of the afternoon, and I watched her through the open door as I worked in the kitchen. Perfect afternoon.

Courtney

March 14

March 14, 2013

Right next door lives a dog named Herb. He's a basset hound and loves to howl all day. Sometimes he escapes into the front yard through an open garage door, and usually when this occurs Killer also just happens to be out front as well. Killer really enjoys Herb's company, and Herb has quite the eye for her. Herb is a long dog with short stubby legs, and Killer loves it when he chases her around the yard, probably because he can never catch her. These two are just great friends.Whenever Killer is in the backyard and hears Herbie running around out there she immediately goes to this one place in the fence where some of the wood has broken away, and she and Herb can stick their noses through and greet each other. Occasionally I see Herb's little nose sticking through just waiting for Killer to notice him. Today I got a picture. I think it's so cute. Unfortunately, it's much easier to see this sweet scene in person, but if you look closely you can see Herb's snout on the other side of the fence.

Later in the afternoon Killer and I met Brad at the river and took a little walk by the waterfall once he was done with class. Killer loves loves LOVES the river trail. We usually let her off her leash when no one's around, and she really has fun running free.

I really enjoy days like these. I love that we live so close to such a beautiful trail that we can take our dog on whenever. I also love that I can just meet Brad after school and walk to a waterfall. I love how much fun Killer has running around, and I love how much she loves Brad. She is a daddy's girl through and through. I just love those two!

Courtney

March 13

March 13, 2013

Ok, so these first pictures were actually taken on March 10, but I just forgot to blog about them, so I'm doing it now. Being inspired by The Biggest Loser, we decided we would try and make spaghetti squash. They talk about it all the time on the show; we're never inspired to workout after watching, but we are inspired to cook. We bought a squash, we watched youtube videos on how to cook it, and we went to work. 

First, you cut the squash in half lengthwise. This is definitely the hardest part. These things are thick and dense and very difficult to cut. 

Then you place the two halves inside part down on a foil lined baking sheet. 

Cook for about an hour on 375. 

Pull them out of the oven and let cool for about 30 minutes.

Then go around the edges and pull the fruit out just tad.

Once you've gone all the way around you can just start scooping it out. It's really so so cool.

One of the videos we watched said you can just put it in a bowl with some butter and toss with Parmesan cheese. I'm sure this would be delicious, but we topped it with homemade marina sauce. I was beyond shocked at how it tasted exactly like spaghetti noodles, right down to the texture. We will definitely be making it again.

Ok. So now onto March 13. Nothing too exciting happened today, and by the time 9:00 rolled around I realized I still hadn't taken a daily picture to blog about. Brad decided he needed to feel a little smarter while studying, so he put on these fake glasses we love to play with. They definitely helped boost our studying power. Even Killer felt a little smarter.

Courtney

March 12

March 12, 2013

Tonight Brad and I caught up on The Biggest Loser. We really love this show, especially the first episode and the last episode. It's seriously so amazing how these people completely turn their lives around. I'm always awestruck at how different they look at the finale. Unfortunately, I'm never really motivated to get up and do something after I see the show. I guess I just workout vicariously through the contestants. Plus the whole yelling at you until you do what I want thing just doesn't really work for me. Anyways, after sending Amy home with half the pie we made and eating some more ourselves we had one slice left. So what did we do, we sat down and watched The Biggest Loser while eating apple pie and ice cream. 

 

Oh, and just for fun, here's a picture of Killer from earlier in the day. (Don't mind the orange Fanta is the windowsill. I was studying for my practical in the bed and that's the only way I could keep myself awake.)

 

Courtney

March 11

March 11, 2013

Today was one of the first absolutely gorgeous spring days we've had this year. I have a practical tomorrow that I really need to finish studying for, but I just couldn't pass up laying out in the backyard with my favorite pup. Granted I could have taken my flashcards outside and killed two birds with one stone, but seriously whats the fun of that? I'd much rather take pictures with Killer than study.

Killer just loves to be outside. More than anything. She'd sit outside all day and just watch the squirrels and birds and eat sticks if someone went out with her, but she gets a little nervous when we let her out and then close the door behind her. So usually what she does is whine to be let out then whine to be let back in 30 seconds later once she realizes no one has accompanied her out. Today she definitely got her fill of outside time with me.

She played and played with her golf ball and rocks and sticks and dirt, then I called her over and made her participate in this photoshoot. She looks miserable, but I know there wasn't anything she'd rather be doing :)

Courtney

March 10

March 10, 2013

Killer, almost daily, does this weird thing where she licks on her dog tags. She pulls her head down to her chest and licks and licks and licks on those things. I'm not really sure what she gets out it...maybe she likes the coppery taste of metal...who knows. We usually let her get in about 3 licks before we flip her collar around and put her tags on her back. 

Today she was licking, licking, licking, and she wouldn't stop when I told her to, so I got up and flipped her collar around.

After this happens she usually goes on her merry way and finds something else to do - chase squirrels, annoy us with her ball, just normal dog stuff. Not today. She just sat in a corner and cried. For a ridiculously long time. We tried to entice her with other fun things, but she just wouldn't have it. I guess she just needed some time to pout. Weird dog.

Courtney