Day 120: April's Over??

Is April really over? It's crazy that a third of the year is already over! After work today I came home and worked in the yard and enjoyed 80+ degree weather with Bailey! Steven made grilled cheese..on the GRILL it wasn't too bad! :) We went on a nice run/walk with Bailey and got home and relaxed the rest of the night! Tomorrow starts my birthday month! YAY!! May is packed with lots of plans, parties, weddings, and travels! Here we go!! 

Sitting on the deck and my view for supper! :) 

Day 119: Off Work Early..Spending it Together

Oh Mondays.. I'm not usually a fan. It's just so hard to transition to going back to work after the weekend and getting back into the swing of things. I got to work ready to start the day and noticed I didn't have too many patients on my schedule. This isn't a bad thing necessarily but I want to stay productive and keep busy. So I went to see about 4 patient and was 0 for 4 for seeing any of them by 930.. I was frustrated to say the least. So, when I a page came out to all the PTs saying that we were low census and able to potentially send 1 or more staff home I put my name in the "hat" to have the option of getting picked. We were quite slow today and were able to send multiple people off early..including ME!! I called Steven and let him know and he thought he might be able to get off early too and he was! We met up at Emo's Ice Cream Shack for lunch and a sweet treat, got him fitted for a new pair of tennis shoes, and then came home to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL weather at home--working in the yard and getting a start on mowing the yard. It was so nice to have the day to just spend together (and to make it even more special it's our 7 month anniversary--CRAZY!) I wish more days could be this grand! :) 

(Creepy EMO's Clown!)

 

 Come on now Steven..you know you want to smile!! 

Day 118: Sisterly Catch Up and MaryKay Goodies

Steven and I traveled to Flanagan today for church and then to visit family. My sister was home this weekend so was glad to get to visit with her. I am so PROUD of her!! She ran a half marathon at the University of Illinois yesterday and did AMAZING!! She's inspiring me to really push through and ROCK my own race--although much smaller--in just about 6 weeks. Here'a picture my mom took of her running yesterday!! WOOHOO!!

Jenna and I hung out at home while Mom and Aunt Joan had their MaryKay spring Open House. It was nice to just visit for a while and talk about school, life, and summer plans! She might be staying with us for a while if she ends up working in Peoria for part of the summer so that would be fun! I'll put her to work helping me decorate the house! :)

Since I was at mom's MK party, I got a few things I needed and a nice organizer tray to put all my makeup and face stuff in! It's been all over our bathroom-on the counter, in drawers, etc-so I decided to purchase a little caddy to put it all in! It's now all in one place, organized on the counter! :) Thanks MOM! 

Day 117: The House is the Boss

Today our house was screaming---give me some attention!! So we listened and spent almost the entire day working and getting caught up on some MAJOR cleaning!! We did lots of laundry, worked outside a bit, cleaned up the kitchen and did some much needed dishwashing! We went and helped our neighbors move out their living room couches because they were getting their new stuff delivered today. A lady was supposed to come yesterday to buy the old set off of them but never showed up. They asked if we wanted it--and offered a GREAT deal--so we decided to take them up on it and thought it would work good for our basement! It was easy enough moving over to our house--thanks to Steven's dad and brother for being in the area with the pickup. They came in the house just fine--and then there was the issue of getting it down the basement. The door frame was just too narrow and we first removed the door. Well, that still wasn't enough and the couch just couldn't budge down the steps. So the only option we had was to take the little bit of door trim off each side. Which helped just enough! The loveseat/chair went down the stairs and around the corner just fine, however the big couch was a different story. They went down one way first but couldn't get it to turn so had to come back up the stairs to get it turned around..well it got stuck on the way up! We eventually got it turned around and headed back down the stairs and it made the turn this time. A little paint scrapings off the wall later and the couches are set up downstairs (I wanted to paint eventually so now I'll have an actual reason too! :) They are really LARGE so we will keep working on the best arrangement but are happy with how it looks so far! (Maybe a rug for some color and some wall art and we'll be doing swell!)

Day 116: Neighborly Fun!

After we got off work we headed over to our neighbor's house for dinner, drinks, and fun! We've been hanging out a lot and it's definitely nice to have another couple to do things with! Plus, we like playing with the kids too!

Our yard is in full bloom too!! Trees are starting to bud and everything is so colorful!! :)

Day 115: Staying on Track

Thursday night are for Running--well with a group of people at least. Steven and I headed over to Washington for our training group thing. The group I was in last week did walk 3 minutes--jog 3 minutes which I really liked but surprisingly the pace was a little slow for me. So I was thinking this week I would bump up to the next group to pick up the speed a little bit but their plan was to run a mile--walk---run a mile. I thought that would be a little much so stayed with my original group. Tonight we walked 3--ran 5 which was nice but again I just felt like I wanted to go a little fast. Steven stayed with me because the fast group was all girls and he was struggling a little bit because he probably could have just sped walk and been at the same pace but I was happy he stayed with me.

When we got home we played with sweet Bailey for a while. Jenna got her this squeaky squirrel toy that she LOVES! She usually takes it down to bed with her and if not grabs it as soon as she comes upstairs! It's starting to get a few holes in it and is looking quite ratty but it's her favorite! PLUS--we've gone almost 2 weeks with no accidents in the house!! YAY BAILEY!!

Day 114: American Idiot?

After work today, Steven and I went to the Civic Center to a Rock Opera/Musical. It was called "American Idiot"  and was based on the  music of GreenDay! Steven LOVES them and I like them quite a bit myself. The musical was pretty good and we had really good seats--like 10 rows back from the front. I thought the crowd would be more people our age and not the typical play/musical crowd--but was surprised that it was a  good mix of ages and 'styles'. There was the older crowd that Steven figured had season tickets and just went to everything. The music was quite loud and a lot of language and the older couple in front of us flinched every once in a while but I think they enjoyed it too. There was this lady about 5 people away from us who talked almost the entire time and afterward was really rude about how she didn't like it and such.

http://www.americanidiotthemusical.com/about.php

Day 113: Flowers

 The Daffodils and other flowers that I don't know the name of are starting to bloom in the yard!! It's so nice to see the green yard and color of spring--even if it is later than usual! I had a little arrangement of flowers on the counter from Aunt Joyce that had Daffodils and Tulips from her yard. They are on their last day before being thrown out so took a nice picture of this one opened up! 

 

Day 112: Being Sick is NO Fun!!

I went to work today thinking it would be a typical Monday. I was excited to be on Rehab again and was covering for a PTA so was "in charge" of her student. Kind of weird being in the Instructor role, but it was fun! Crazy to think I know enough to actually teach someone else--although I still feel like I don't know anything at times! We were having a good morning and around 930 I started not feeling well and had a little "episode", got a severe headache and ended up throwing up at work! ugh It's really embarrassing to have it happen at work--all the staff has been really great about it. Helping me lay down and get me anything I need, but still, it should happen. Steven came and picked me up and I came home and slept for almost 4 hours. Still didn't feel the greatest the rest of the evening so hopefully I'll be better and able to go to work tomorrow. 

We had to drive back into Peoria to get my car. The whole town of Peoria is under severe flooding conditions--worse Peoria has ever had (so I've heard on the news). It's supposed to crest and be the worst tomorrow with lots of road closures and lots of business have already closed due to flood damage. We've had several of our church families affected and had to move out of their home because of water damage and may lose a lot before it's all over. This weather has been CRAZY for sure! 

http://www.cinewsnow.com/news/local/Birds-eye-view-of-Illinois-River-Photo-GalleryBirds-eye-view-of-Illinois-River-Photo-Gallery-204176301.html

Day 111: Outdoor Fun

After church today, we had our 20s and 30s group over for an afternoon of playing outside and enjoying the nicer weather. We had 10 adults and 2 little ones plus 1 dog so it we had a house full! It was so fun sharing the day with everyone--some played Bocci ball, others played with Bailey and played by the lake, and then we got the food ready on the grill! Bailey was on her best behavior almost the entire day--with just one little episode with the neighbor dog. Considering the amount of people that were here today I would say she did really well. She also found a special friend in the yard---a turtle! It was right up by the deck--quite a bit away from the lake or the running water in the ditch. Bailey wasn't sure what to think of it and we think she would have eaten it, so we put it back by the water hoping it would be okay! 

Day 110: Bridesmaid's, Yard Work and Family Time

Today I met my bestie of almost 20 years-Lindsay-at David's Bridal. She is getting married in December so it was time to go bridesmaid dress shopping! :) Her mom and her 3 other bridesmaids met us there and we went shopping for our dresses! We thought it would take forever because it was really busy when we walked in and the people didn't seem to have their schedules organized. Our lady was really nice and knew her stuff---we were got fitted for our dress, agreed on a style, and were out in about 30 minutes! 

My aunt Janice and Joyce, plus mom and dad came over in the afternoon. I had asked them if they would be interested in helping me in the yard--figuring out what all the plants/flowers were and the best way to trim them up. I am so blessed to have a supportive and loving family willing to come and spend time with me and teach me all they know! :) We got a lot done and were thankful the weather actually cooperated with us. We headed for dinner together before everyone left and just enjoyed each others company. 

Day 109: 90 Days

Today at work was my 90 Day evaluation. Crazy to think I've been a full time PT for 3 months! Everything went great and I'm officially out of the orientation period. Nothing really changes I just don't have to do any more competencies/quizzes--at least for a long while. This week was really long and BUSY so I was happy when I was done for the weekend and could spend the time with Steven. I am hoping to get our Bradley diploma's and my Iowa diploma in some nice frames to hang on the wall in our office. I already have my Bradley one in a frame but now I can't find similar frames to make them all match-or at least close, so I might have to get 3 new ones..hopefully not though. 

Day 108: Determintation

After raining all night, and most of the day-our yard is quite the mess but thankfully still no water in the basement. I was waiting on the weather to decide if  I was going to my running group thing tonight or not. It didn't look like it was supposed to rain from 6-7 so I decided I would brave it and go! It was quite chilly and windy at times but I was so proud that I went! Steven had to work a bit later so couldn't make it. We got divided into groups base on our time and kept a nice pace the whole time and did intervals between walking and jogging. I met a lot of people and it will be nice to keep in touch with them through this. We ran on a paved trail so it was pretty nice--except for the few places that water was completely over the road and we had to go through the grass. Well, my shoes got a bit muddy and my socks were wet! The leader today said that we'll add about .25 to .5 miles per week and will be up to 4 in plenty of time for the big race. 

I obviously didn't take the picture below--but I saw it on facebook a while ago.. and well.. it's me!! haha
 

Day 107: Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's been raining on and off all afternoon and then late this afternoon it just started POURING!!! I got home and had to figure out how to let Bailey out to go potty  with it raining with thunder and lightning! We waited awhile and there was a small break in the rain so we rushed out FAST! We have since found out that she is really scared of thunder! She hears it boom and then jumps up and runs all over the house like she's trying to figure out where it came from! The biggest problem with all this rain is our roof. We found out that there is a leak in the roof of the garage and we've been getting some water in the garage! We are hoping to get it fixed soon! Here is a picture of all the water we got! It came down the street, across the road, in the creek by our house and our backyard is a MESS!! 

Day 106: Dog Tag

Bailey's name tag came in the mail today! A pretty purple bone with her name, tracking number on her chip, and Steven's number on it! With her purple collar and leash everyone will hopefully know she's a girl! We went on a walk and she did much better with the other dogs we met! She got a little excited and pulled on the leash but didn't go after them like she had before! We played in the yard too off her leash and she came right when Steven called to her! We've had her 3 weeks now and she's doing so well!

Day 105: Fun Mail!

Ugh.. I definitely had a case of the Monday's! The day just dragged on..and on...and on.....I was happy to get home and spend some time with Steven before going back into town for Bible study. I got the mail when I got back home the second time and was very excited to see our wedding reception video in the mail! Our videographer has been sick for quite a while and so there has been a delay in getting our videos completed. We watched it tonight and it was so fun to see our reception and all the fun everyone had! We were able to see parts of the reception that we couldn't have because we were running all over the place!! It was nice to relive a little of it, and even better that it was unexpected! :) 

Day 104: Loving the Weather!

After church today, Steven and I headed home to work in the house and enjoy being outside in the nice weather! Bailey enjoys it too! We got a tie-out for the yard so that she can have some freedom to run but not get into trouble by running away! We looked into the underground-wireless fences but think that with how fast she runs she would just run through the "shock" and wouldn't really care! We don't really want to get an actual fence right now either--plus our yard is an odd shape and fencing it in would be a bit challenging. 

Day 103: SPRING FINALLY!

Although it was still a little chilly, the grass was GREEN and the sun was shining!! YAY for Spring! We worked in the house during the day and then took Bailey on a trip to PetSmart! She did pretty well, just gets pretty anxious when she saw the other dogs there. but she LOVES car rides so she was a happy camper! Then we had our neighbors and their kids over for supper and played outside and enjoyed the weather. There is a lake by our house and they wanted to have a picnic by it. It was still a little too cold for that but hopefully when the weather gets nicer we can do that and go fishing too! 

Day 102: TGIF!!!

I am SSSOOOOO THANKFUL today is Friday! I actually found myself humming that annoying "It's Friday..Friday" song throughout the day! After work, Steven and I went over to our neighbors to hang out for the evening and have supper. They had a 3 year old a 6 year old and one on the way! The 3 year old boy likes picking on Steven because then Steven picks him up and hangs him upside down! While the boys talked and played, us girls did some crafty projects! I was lame and didn't take any pictures of all the fun we had with yarn and glitter!! I taught Kennedy how to make what I think is called a "God's Eye"--I remembered making it at summer camp! She thought it was pretty cool!

Day 101: High School Memories

Today I was brought back to highschool--running the mile on a track! Reminded me of doing that in PE Class, absolutely hating it, and being almost--if not always--dead last. I remember being super read in the face for class periods after that and still having a hard time breathing which I just attributed to being lame and out of shape. Well since then, I've decided I have exercise induced asthma--mostly brought on with running a longer length of time. It was confirmed tonight at our Building Steam running group. We were challenged to run-walk-combo a mile for time to get us into the best group we could fit in. I wanted to try and run the whole thing--at a easy pace--and ended up just having to walk about 45 seconds. I was really proud of myself and finished in about 1130. Which isn't fast by any means but considering I almost ran 100% of it without stopping I called it a success. Only negative is that at the end, I couldn't catch my breath. I was wheezing really bad while I was walking my cool down lap and could feel my face on fire! I actually felt really good otherwise but had tomato face and wheezing. When we got home, I dug around in the bathroom to find my inhaler that I haven't used since last spring probably. From the time I stopped running and even after I used the inhaler, I was still wheezing and had crackly breathing for at least an hour. So, I was kind of bummed about that because it doesn't do it when I do run-walk intervals of short duration but when I tried to do longer it kicked it pretty bad. So, maybe as I keep doing it, it will get better, or I might need to get another inhaler (this one apparently expired in January! oops!) But, hey, either way, I ran a mile, and count it an accomplishment for today!

Day 100: Flying By

Anyone else think 2013 is flying by? It's already day 100! Crazy right? Well, although 2013 seems to be going fast in general, this week has not! I haven't had a week go this slow in a LONG time.. and definitely the longest work week since I started. I just had another long and exhausting day..full or running around, and not feeling like a made much of a difference. So, after work I stopped at the brand NEW Target and amongst other things got a new candle that smells wonderful! After dinner, I sat on the couch, smelling my new candle, and did absolutely nothing. It rained all evening so I wasn't able to go for my run/walk either, so in general this day has just been a bummer, crummy day.

Day 99: Nice Kicks!

I had an exhausting and CRAZY day at work today. I was in a new area of the hospital--what's going to be a longer term location for me, at least for a while. It wouldn't have been that bad except I was seriously RUNNING all over the place! It just got to be very frustrating and I was ready to get out of there at 4pm. I'm hoping tomorrow is different because today was the first that I felt this frustrated and I didn't like it one bit. :( 

After work, I went to a local running shop to get fitted for a new pair of shoes! A friend of mine recommended the place and said they did a really nice job of measuring and having you try different styles on and walk/run in them to see what fits the best. I paid more than I've ever paid for a pair of shoes but actually not as bad I was expecting. They have a lot of other running stuff there too--clothes, bras, socks, watches, etc. so I might be going back to check it out. I don't think there is any possibility of me becoming a SERIOUS runner but I wanted to invest in a good pair of shoes to help get me started. I went on another run/walk tonight when I got home and my feet feel pretty good! Steven and Bailey came with me although they were on a pace all their own--she gets really excited when she sees squirrels and thinks she will be able to magically jump up into the trees and get them! Oh my! 

Day 98: Running Around Town

Today at work I was expecting to be scheduled for a general medical floor now that my rehab orientation is over. I had finally accepted this transition and just hoping that it isn't a permanent spot and that eventually I can get back to rehab. I had already planned to say "hello" to my favorite patients at some point in the day. Well, I got to work to look at the schedule board, and one PT on rehab was gone so I picked up her schedule today--and had all my old patients!! I was really happy! I'm hoping that maybe once a week or two I'll get to be on rehab--although by that point I won't know the patient's as well but still be a good experience and keep my foot in the door to make a transition at some point. 

When I got home, I changed into some comfy clothes and tennis shoes and got my new Nike+ Running app all set for a run-walk. Steven and I went yesterday for about 30 minutes. I went today and ran a few little 2-4 minute bursts. I was pretty pleased considering I haven't run since probably August--and really wasn't running then.  I went 1.57 miles in 24 minutes--including cooldown. Average about 15 minute mile (fastest speed was a 10minute mile)--not too terrible for day 1.

Day 97: Rainbow Yummies!!

I feel like sickness just cannot leave our house! Between Bailey with the stomach bug, and Steven and I still trying to get over colds, we are hoping the change in weather will clear it out of the house! We stayed home most of the day, trying to just rest and get a few things done around the house. We went for groceries later in the day and I was bound and determined to get lots of healthy items so I could make some good lunches this week! I get so lazy and just go to the cafeteria which is 1. expensive and 2. not always the healthiest! What I came home with was rainbow assortment of yummies!! I have a lot of greens but didn't want my rainbow offbalanced! 

Day 96: Going to a Wedding

Today Steven and I headed to Champaign for a family wedding. It's the second wedding we've been to as a married couple. Crazy to think we've been married 6 months already! It was a nice day for a wedding--just a bit windy. The ceremony was short and sweet and the reception was loaded with good food and dancing! We initially were going to stay in a hotel and take Bailey with us but my parents were able to stop by and let her out so we just came back late at night. Steven started out driving but got extremely tired so we switched and I drove the rest of the way home.

Day 95: Day Off

Today I had the day off since I worked on Sunday. I was planning on enjoying the beautiful weather and getting alot done in the house. Well, it started off with Bailey getting sick--we are hoping it's just a side affect of her medicine and not something else. Then, later that morning I started not feeling so hot either, so we both just lounged around all day. So much for being productive! :( 

When Steven got home, he and I were getting ready to run into Peoria for game night at Jake's for his birthday. Bailey decided she wanted to come too and jumped right in the car and wouldn't get out! She's gone on several rides since we've had her and really like watching the cars go by. We finally got her out but had to give her a treat to do so! 

Day 94: Last Day

The last few weeks of work I've been on the rehab floor of the hospital. It's the area I was most looking forward to for my orientation period and I absolutely love it! I've made some really great relationships with patient's and it's extremely rewarding for me. Well, my orientation period is over tomorrow, and since I have the day off, today was my last day on rehab! :(  I told my supervisor that when a position becomes available I would really like to make rehab a more permanent spot but right now that's not an option. They are going to make me a fill-in when the rehab therapists are off because the other PTs for the hospital don't really care to cover it. So that will be nice! It might be as often as once a week and maybe for big chunks of time if someone takes a week off or something. I had to tell my patients that I wouldn't be there tomorrow and they all said "well you'll be back Monday, right".. and I had to tell them that no I wouldn't! We were all very sad! I'm really going to miss them! It's nice though that the rehab area of the hospital is by our main department office so I can still check in and say "hi" but it won't be the same.

After work, Steven and I had our first little session of Building Steam--the preparation/training group for the 4 mile race in June. It was just a little informative session about what to expect the next 11 weeks and no running involved, which was good because Steven came straight from work and only had his steel-toed boots! I'm hoping this group will help me stay on track and motivated to actually do this thing!  We were given a little training guide with suggestions for running intervals each week, etc. I hope I'm ready for the challenge!

Day 93: Playtime

When we went shopping for stuff before we picked up Bailey, Steven picked out a few different tug-a-war type toys in hopes that they would play together! Well, Bailey didn't really know how to play with them. Steven kept trying every other day or so, and tonight, she finally figured out how to play!! At first she just held on the the one end and Steven pretty much pulled her around--but then she figured out that it was more fun if she pulled back!! Steven and her played for quite a while! 

Do we have an alien dog?? Something with the flash made her eyes glow green!! 

Day 92: Medicine for Bailey

When I got to work this morning I saw on my schedule that I had my "refresher" new employee meeting--8-12, 4 hours! ugh I wasn't very happy about it because I really like working with my patients and didn't really want to sit and listen to a bunch of people talk for 4 hours! It ended up being okay though and another staff member was there to sit with. It's crazy that I've been working for almost 3 months and my orientation period is almost over!  

Bailey Update: When we took Bailey for her checkup last Friday they made us bring a poop sample!! oh gosh!! Well, it's good we did because she ended up having an intestinal parasite. We thought she might have something like that because of how often she's been going to the bathroom and hasn't been gaining weight despite eating all the time!! So, they called us today to tell us she has a little stomach bug and gave us medicine to give her. We have to clean all her bedding so that any bugs that were on it are gone. Hopefully in 10 days she'll be feeling better and this house will be over all the sickness!

Day 91: Lazy Night at Home

Busy day at work, plus still recuperating from my cold, left me tired and ready to crash on the couch! I picked up Bailey after work and met my mom halfway between here and Flanagan to pick up a few things. Bailey sure likes riding in the car and sticking her head out the window. She doesn't really understand that she can't have her face right by mine or sit on my lap, so I can't let her sit up front because she gets too excited! We made a quick, easy supper; went for a walk with Bailey; then curled up on the couch to watch a movie. Bailey has finally decided she likes her bed and fell asleep while we were on the couch!