A new post will be coming soon, but here is a little treasure for your viewing pleasure to enjoy upon my return from an unplanned blogging hiatus! In preparation for what you are about to see you may need to know a few things:
1. You may not spot me right away, but eventually I will make my "GRAND" entrance
2. This video is about 4 years old, but it always gives me a good laugh and a few tears
3. Once again...this is college and I cannot promise sobriety!
Enjoy this Sunday evening treasure and I promise I will return soon!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHUb9PVjGz0
(I am still new and naive to this, so you may just have to copy and past the link)
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
On a Serious Note
As I become adjusted to my new life and job, I think I am being shown each and every day why this was the path that I was meant to take. As I am coming up on what will have been one of the most difficult years of my life, my new role reminds me and makes me question, "Was it really as bad as I thought it was?" Or, had I just lost the perspective that I used to have.
When people ask me what I do...which I usually have to first provide an extensive explanation on what a child life specialist is...I usually hear the same response once I say that I work with children who have cancer and blood disorders. "Wow...how do you do that? It must be so difficult." I typically respond by saying, "You would be suprised! The kids I work with are a true inspiration and show me what it means to live life to the fullest." And as I have re-entered this world that resembles a bubble that no family wants to be surrounded by, it quickly shows me why my heart ached to slip back into that bubble.
In the last couple weeks I have been honored to meet so many children and families who are already faced with so much adversity and struggle each day for different reasons. Struggles that range from the obvious such as poverty or horrible family situations, to those that are not so obvious to the world around them. They have these struggles on a daily and ongoing basis, and then all of the sudden they have to add the heavy weight of your child, your own flesh and blood, being diagnosed with the beast we call cancer. Somehow these families find a way to do whatever is necessary to push through, to spend days/months/years in a small hospital room or coming to the clinic time after time. The most amazing thing is to watch them do it with a smile on their face and positive attitude that is filled with the will to fight. There have been countless times where families have shared with me all of the positives that they find from this nasty disease...families being brought closer together, a strengthened relationship with the Lord, or an appreciation for each second of life that we are granted. As a person on the outside of this bubble, who is able to support these children and families and learn from them, it has shown me that we shouldn't wait for something like cancer to start this change for the better. Life is too short to take a second for granted. In the last week I have met at least 5 or more families who were told the words, "It is cancer..," and I have been shown that we shouldn't wait until we here those words to learn the lessons that those in the bubble are teaching us.
So, I have been asking myself lately, "Was this year really as bad as I made myself think it was?" Or, did I just get wrapped up in the day to day activities outside of the "bubble," that caused me to lose the perspective that I once had. These thoughts are what has helped me to realize that a door opened at the right time. I was getting too comfortable and content in my day-to-day and letting myself focus on the negative and not reminding myself how much each second or day can count. Perspective can change so much!
I leave you with this...let is serve as inspiration when you feel like something is pulling you down!
Cancer is so limited...
It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot eat away peace.
It cannot destroy confidence.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot shut out memories.
It cannot silence courage.
It cannot reduce eternal life.
It cannot quench the Spirit.
When people ask me what I do...which I usually have to first provide an extensive explanation on what a child life specialist is...I usually hear the same response once I say that I work with children who have cancer and blood disorders. "Wow...how do you do that? It must be so difficult." I typically respond by saying, "You would be suprised! The kids I work with are a true inspiration and show me what it means to live life to the fullest." And as I have re-entered this world that resembles a bubble that no family wants to be surrounded by, it quickly shows me why my heart ached to slip back into that bubble.
In the last couple weeks I have been honored to meet so many children and families who are already faced with so much adversity and struggle each day for different reasons. Struggles that range from the obvious such as poverty or horrible family situations, to those that are not so obvious to the world around them. They have these struggles on a daily and ongoing basis, and then all of the sudden they have to add the heavy weight of your child, your own flesh and blood, being diagnosed with the beast we call cancer. Somehow these families find a way to do whatever is necessary to push through, to spend days/months/years in a small hospital room or coming to the clinic time after time. The most amazing thing is to watch them do it with a smile on their face and positive attitude that is filled with the will to fight. There have been countless times where families have shared with me all of the positives that they find from this nasty disease...families being brought closer together, a strengthened relationship with the Lord, or an appreciation for each second of life that we are granted. As a person on the outside of this bubble, who is able to support these children and families and learn from them, it has shown me that we shouldn't wait for something like cancer to start this change for the better. Life is too short to take a second for granted. In the last week I have met at least 5 or more families who were told the words, "It is cancer..," and I have been shown that we shouldn't wait until we here those words to learn the lessons that those in the bubble are teaching us.
So, I have been asking myself lately, "Was this year really as bad as I made myself think it was?" Or, did I just get wrapped up in the day to day activities outside of the "bubble," that caused me to lose the perspective that I once had. These thoughts are what has helped me to realize that a door opened at the right time. I was getting too comfortable and content in my day-to-day and letting myself focus on the negative and not reminding myself how much each second or day can count. Perspective can change so much!
I leave you with this...let is serve as inspiration when you feel like something is pulling you down!
Cancer is so limited...
It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot eat away peace.
It cannot destroy confidence.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot shut out memories.
It cannot silence courage.
It cannot reduce eternal life.
It cannot quench the Spirit.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Boxers or Briefs?
Meet Moxie, the dog, although I would consider him to be the main man in my life right now. He asked that I share some things about him...he was feeling a little left out lately! So please enjoy an interview with "the dog."
Me: What are some of your nicknames?
Moxie: Moxamillion, Foxie Moxie, Butt Face, Mox
Me: What is your favorite toy?
Moxie: My most prized possession is a stuffed platypus egg that my groomer girlfriend, Colleen, gave me. My mom thinks it is a tad bit perverted because I have to try and get the eggs out of the platypus's crotch. I don't get what is so wrong about it, but she thinks some would find it dirty, but not the dirty like I get when I roll around in the mud. I don't quite get it...guess I am too young.
Me: Do you prefer boxers or briefs?
Moxie: Neither...I prefer thongs or small socks. Occasionally I will pick a bikini if it is the only option. I really think that boxers and briefs are a little harder to swallow.
Me: Oh Moxie, I know you like thongs and socks, but I wasn't asking about which you prefer to eat, or rather inhale.
I should have known that Moxie would make an appearance in his traditional fashion early on in this blog. As you can tell from the last question, the dog really enjoys eating underwear and sometimes he will have socks as a snack. It's not even like he eats them, but he truly inhales them in one swift swallow. I don't understand how he does it. How did the girl that will gag brushing her teeth end up with a dog that has ZERO gag reflex.
Since moving to Atlanta a couple weeks ago, Moxie has officially ate his first pair of undergarments. (That is if you don't consider the sock that he ate the week before we moved that didn't reappear until we had already moved to Atlanta.) On Friday night I actually agreed to go to dinner and a movie with some of my new co-workers...wait...ok...go ahead and pick up your jaw now...it was very tough to actually make myself not resign to the couch for the night. Well needless to say, as I was trying to get out the door and change into non-work clothes, Moxie ate the sock that I had just taken off my foot. Since I saw him do it, it was time for a wet and exhausting battle to get a few big gulps of hydrogen peroxide down the dog's throat. Consider it an initiation in the bathroom. You would think that after having to drink hydrogen peroxide once, the dog would realize this is not worth eating the thong which I will just have to puke up or poop out later, but I guess it just isn't worth it to him. Luckily, after a stressful 15 minutes of me wondering, "Oh no...did I give him to much? Can hydrogen peroxide kill the dog?" the sock came back up (along with all the dinner that he just ate) and I was able to continue on my way to creating a social life.
I am just hoping that one day he will learn to leave it alone or let go when I tell him. I guess it would help just as much if I learned to put things where they belong right away...but I am much older than him, so I am going to go with the dog making the changes instead of me! Both could be a long shot!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
What a great show for any of us in our 20s/30s! This was probably one of the best PBS shows of all time...ok maybe it can't beat out LeVar Burton on Reading Rainbow...oh heck it can't even beat out Mr. Rogers and his neighborhood, but it was still a pretty great show! I think it was one of the few that my brother and I could actually agree upon together.
I have been in the ATL for 11 days total and the question still is more like "Where in the world is this girl?". I feel like I am on a cruel game show called try and find your way around this new city. When you think about any logically planned roads, or even the whole earth for goodness sake, things are planned out on a grid. If a ship is lost at sea it can look at GRID coordinates and send out the SOS telling EXACTLY where they are. Well, there is no SOS or coordinates that could save you in this new city I call home. Now, don't get me wrong, the scenery of hills and ridges are beautiful and quite a change from the flat lands of Houston, but it definitely makes for one confused and road raged new resident. I like to think that I have always had a pretty good sense of direction, meaning that I could drive/walk/ride/skip to a location one time with directions and then I was set. Well let me just get a little something off my chest...I am now completely dependent on my GPS. (Note: thank you outlandish shopping habits for convincing me to buy that black Friday deal a few years ago that I hardly ever used in the city that I had lived in for my entire life...I knew there was a reason for that purchase) Here in Atlanta I have learned that all the roads are on hills and ridges, there is no grid system, and roads change names here, there, and everywhere. Oh my...don't let me forget the most frustrating thing I have learned...the way you go to get somewhere is NOT AT ALL the same way you go to get home. For example, Lennox Square (big shopping/mall area), I can get home from it, but out of the 5+ times I have already been there, I have never once been directed by my Australian lover on the GPS to go the same way. So that means that me, the person who usually knows how to get to every mall in the city in which I live, cannot even get to the mall on my own here in this new city I am calling home.
Let me just mention a few other things that I have found very frustrating:
- NO TURN LANES. I feel like for my entire driving career, and remember I am a Texas driver, I have attempted to find the shortest lane to be able to move through traffic as fast as possible. Well I have quickly learned that the shortest lane in terms of the number of cars is DEFINITELY NOT the quickest route, as people sit in the left lane forever attempting to turn across nonstop traffic.
- NARROWEST LANES EVER. Every time I try to drive in the middle lane and begin to drive in between two cars, I immediately slam on my breaks because I honestly don't think all three of the cars can fit in all three of the lanes. I guess it is true that everything is bigger in Texas, including the lanes of the road.
- NO MEDIANS. Since there are no turn lanes at the stoplight I feel like they could at least give drivers a median to attempt turning from...just a thought.
I guess you could say I am still adjusting to life here, but it really is a beautiful city...ok maybe not the scenery that includes the homeless guy in the spandex shorts and tank with all that God gave him hanging out who stands in the same spot of my drive home everyday...but the big, old oak trees behind him are quite impressive! So for all of you who live in a city with a grid system, be appreciative and hope that the hills, twists, and turns lead me to the mall whenever I desire!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Let the Journey Begin
Welcome to the whirlwind that I call my life!
I figured now that I have moved from Texas to Atlanta...aka from the comforts of home, friends, and family to a city in which I know not a soul...I would give the blogging thing a try again. I do believe this is going to be my 3rd attempt at a blog. The first attempt in college never worked because a statement that I made about my oh-so-horrible potluck roommate situation. The blog was stalked by her boyfriend and sent to the Dean, and from there we had to make sure that I was not "hostile to the living environment...oh drama! The second, and most recent attempt, was when I started to train for a half-marathon, but the disease I have, called procrastination, prevented it from ever needing updating after the first training run.
Now, onto the present...
I recently left teaching 1st grade to return to my first and primary passion, a field called child life. I left my hometown, family, and newly bought house to pursue my hearts desire to work with children with cancer and blood disorders. This change brought me to Atlanta, Ga where I will be working at a major children's hospital, hopefully helping children and their families cope with their illness.
I hope that through this blog I am able to keep everyone updated on my new adventure and all the experiences that I encounter along the way. I am sure that some will be very entertaining at my own expense as I attempt to make new friends, have some resemblance of a dating life, and keep the dog from inhaling too many pairs of underwear in our new place!
I love you all and can't wait to share with you...at least all .5 of you that may actually read this!
I figured now that I have moved from Texas to Atlanta...aka from the comforts of home, friends, and family to a city in which I know not a soul...I would give the blogging thing a try again. I do believe this is going to be my 3rd attempt at a blog. The first attempt in college never worked because a statement that I made about my oh-so-horrible potluck roommate situation. The blog was stalked by her boyfriend and sent to the Dean, and from there we had to make sure that I was not "hostile to the living environment...oh drama! The second, and most recent attempt, was when I started to train for a half-marathon, but the disease I have, called procrastination, prevented it from ever needing updating after the first training run.
Now, onto the present...
I recently left teaching 1st grade to return to my first and primary passion, a field called child life. I left my hometown, family, and newly bought house to pursue my hearts desire to work with children with cancer and blood disorders. This change brought me to Atlanta, Ga where I will be working at a major children's hospital, hopefully helping children and their families cope with their illness.
I hope that through this blog I am able to keep everyone updated on my new adventure and all the experiences that I encounter along the way. I am sure that some will be very entertaining at my own expense as I attempt to make new friends, have some resemblance of a dating life, and keep the dog from inhaling too many pairs of underwear in our new place!
I love you all and can't wait to share with you...at least all .5 of you that may actually read this!
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