First Day of my Second to Last Semester

Today was an uneventful day, as first days of school usually are. I am going to soak in this semester because this semester we are learning about school aged children and adult's with neurological disabilities, my two favorite areas of practice. Next semester we have to do geriatrics. I am not looking forward to it.

Anyways, at school today we watched a video on Christopher Reeves, mostly so class wouldn't last 20 minutes. It was a really interesting documentary about how physical and occupational therapy helped Christopher Reeves make slight movements in his extremities that no one thought possible because of his injuries. Watching Christopher Reeves and his family and team of therapists smile and laugh and cry when he took steps in the pool after 6 years of therapy reminded me that I love, love, love what I am going to school for.

Friday we have to turn in where we want to do our internship next year. I still don't know what I should put down. This actually isn't true, I think I know what God wants me to put down, I'm just not sure that I'm happy with it. Say a couple prayers for me.

After class I went to work for a bit and then came home and watched Hills and played some Wii with my roommates. I love, love, love my roommates.

Tomorrow I have the day off from school, it should be wonderful.

Enjoying the day,

Jenna

Depression

I am utterly depressed that the Olympics is over. I need regular T.V. shows to start so I'll know what to do with myself. Also, tomorrow is my first day of fall semester. We start the day at 8 a.m. with a meeting of all the O.T. students and faculty to discuss student's recent "lack of professional manner". I'd like to skip to Tuesday please.

In other news, tomorrow I am going to time myself race walking 3 miles. I'll also get to spend some time playing the Wii. Maybe I'd just like to skip to 5 o'clock tomorrow.

In training,
Jenna

Big Announcement

So any who reads my blog knows that I am utterly obsessed with the Olympics. Tomorrow is the closing ceremonies, and I honestly don't know what I am going to do with myself. Probably suffer from withdrawals and try to curb those withdrawals with my new Wii.

Anyways, I'm getting off topic. Anyone who knows me also knows that I have a list of things to do before I die. It's a pretty hefty list and I do plan on completing most, if not all of them before I kick the bucket. One of the items on this list is to go to the Olympics, just to simply go and sit in the stands, because that would be fun and entertaining and a once in a lifetime opportunity. Originally, I would have liked to put win an Olympic medal on my list, but when the list was drawn up, I did not think this goal was attainable, and I did not want to set myself up for disappointment on my death bed when I couldn't cross that one off.

All that changed this weekend though blog readers, when I found out race walking is an Olympic sport. What is race walking? Well, to put in simply, its walking as fast as you can for a really long time. You can read more about race walking here.

At this point, I'm sure you're all laughing. Let me be clear, this is not a joke. I did some research tonight and to be one of the top 50 women race walkers in the country, all I have to do is walk a little over three miles in less than 45 minutes. To be the top woman, I have to do it 23 minutes. Maybe I'm cocky, but that seems pretty doable to me. Granted, to be one of the best in the world I have to do 12.5 miles (20k) in about an hour an a half, but I do have four years to train. I begin training Monday, and my first race will be October 25th in San Antonio. If I do terribly, then maybe I'll change my mind, but if not, then training continues.

Consider this my bid for race walking in 2012. London here I come.

In training,
Jenna

P.S. Does anyone know of a good, cheap race walking coach?

Ten Thoughts About the Olympics

1. I still love them.

2. I am so happy Shawn Johnson finally got a gold. I know life isn't fair, blah, blah, but it really isn't fair to keep competing and finishing in second by such a small margin, so good for her.

3. I'm really starting to like diving.

4. Did you know BMX racing is now an Olympic sport? I did not. They are getting rid of baseball and softball though. Logical? No, I don't think so. As silly as I think it is, I'll probably still watch. I'm hooked on the Olympics.

5. Today I read online that Spain had to change their swimsuits for synchronized swimming because they had lights sewn in, which was deemed an illegal accessory.
1. If they spent that much time getting the lights into the suits, I think they should be allowed to wear them.
2. More people would probably watch too.
3. Speaking of watching, why isn't synchronized swimming on TV? It's one of my favorites.

6. I feel bad for Sanya Richards. At least your fiance is 1st round draft pick, Super Bowl winning Aaron Ross, you still have that going for you.

7. One thing I don't like about the Olympics? The interviewers.
Dear Mr. Interviewer-
After an athlete finishes and they did not do as well as they had hoped, do not ask them what they were feeling when they lost. They were pissed that they worked for four years and then they screwed it up. They're disappointed, they're upset, and if I were them, I'd punch you in the face.

8. Another letter that needs to be written:
Dear Mr. Camera Man-
After LoLo Jones screwed up her chance at a gold medal on the hurdles and was still nice enough to give you an interview, do not go film her when she is crying. Clearly, she was trying to hide. Clearly, she did not want anyone to see her at such a low point in her life. To put that image up on national TV is just plain rude.

9. I might suffer from Olympic withdrawals when its over.

10. This has absolutely nothing to do with the Olympics, but everyone should go read my friend David's latest blog. It's incredible and I've never been more proud to call David my friend. You should be particularly interested to read this blog if you're a single lady. Anyways, click here

Lazy Days of Summer

This past week has been pretty lazy. No school, only worked about 18 hours. All I've really been doing is watching the Olympics and catching up on my scrapbooking. It's been pretty nice. This past weekend I went to visit Jaron so we could look at cars (which we didn't even do) and it was a weekend full of nothing, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I did get to do some cooking, and it was pretty good, if I do say so myself. Cooking will probably be my favorite housewife duty when I grow up.

Two big development in my life:

1. I went to the eye doctor this week. While my eye doctor is super nice and a family friend, I really hate going because every time I go, it reminds me of how terrible my eyes are. For example, you know the giant E on the vision test? Whenever they ask me to read that letter I say, "I only know its an E because its always an E," because I literally can't see it at all. They don't even try me on any of the other lines.
More big blows from the visit: 1. I've now developed an astigmatism in my right eye 2. My vision has gotten so bad in my left eye that the doctor says if it gets any worse I'll have to change brands because they don't make contacts any stronger than what I'm wearing in that brand. 3. I don't blink properly. I don't understand how you could do an automatic reaction improperly, but I do, and its causing dry eyes and damaged corneas.

My eye doctor did finally say that my eyes are ready for lasik! I've been asking her about it at every visit for as long as I can remember and although lasers around my eyes make me very nervous, I'm really excited! It would be such a blessing from God to be able to open my eyes and see without the use of glasses or contacts. It would be absolutely incredible actually. Anyways, right now, my cornea damage prevents me from getting the lasik, so I have to take fish oil and flackseed oil (both of which are the largest pills I've ever seen) and a bunch of different drops to prepare my eyes for the surgery (which will hopefully happen next summer). Anyways, if you could, say a pray for my eyes and their healing, because this surgery would mean the world to me.

Other big news, I bought a Wii this weekend. I found out that I got an A in all my summer classes, including pathology, and I figured I deserved a reward for missing four weeks of a 9 week class and still getting one of the only 3 As in the class (Dear Nic, I know the wages of sin is death and the only thing I deserve is death, but its just an expression). Jaron helped me pay for part of it as an anniversary present. Should I have spent so much? Probably not, my I think purchasing one would have been the only thing to curb the obsession I've had for the Wii lately. Now I won't have to force Merced to play with me. I anxiously await its arrival, and soon you can come over for Wii parties.

Much love.

My Almost Gymnastic Future

Today was pretty uneventful. I watched Merced and took him to his daycare, bowling, OT, and then hung out at home. I finally experienced what its like to have Merced run away in public. That kid is pretty speedy when he wants to be!

I'm going to continue to write about my Olympics obsession today. First of all, I love watching how good Micheal Phelps is at swimming. Tonight however, is really about the gymnastics. I love love love, as team spider monkey would say, gymnastics. I really don't know how the gymnasts do it, because I get so nervous whenever they let go of the bar or jump on the beam on whatever it is. Additionally, I do not think it is fair that both nights of gymnastics have occurred the night before I have to leave my house at 5:30 in the morning. It's really cutting into my sleep.

One thing you probably didn't know about me? When I was younger, I did gymnastics for a while, and I remember being pretty good, however, this could be misleading as I don't know if I really was. Anyways, my first time on the high beam I fell off and hurt my arm and got a minor concussion. I never did gymnastics again.

Whenever I watch the Olympics I think about how my life would be different if I hadn't quit. Tonight you might be watching Shawn Johnson and I competing for the gold.

Do I know that these thoughts are pathetic? Yes. I don't need you to tell me.

-later

p.s. I'm not buying that these girls from China are 16.

Back To Work

This morning, I took Martina to the high school to register for classes. We went through the whole schedule process, no problem, and then at the end, the counselor turns to me and Martina and says,"Would you like me to see if I can put you guys in some of the same classes?"

Embarrassing that I am now 21 years old and the woman that used to be my counselor still thought I was in high school? Yes. Yes it was.

Afterward, I took Martina shopping at the Round Rock Outlet Mall. Some of you guys know that I took a break from buying clothes after spring break to Mission Arlington. So far, I have kept that promise with the exception of the time I forgot to pack underwear when I went to visit Jaron and I had to go buy some.

Anyways, today I bought two shirts, they were cute, and on sale, but I am still slightly disappointed in myself. Still, 2 shirts in 6 months is pretty impressive if I do say so myself. There are a lot of boys that couldn't do that. Plus, the whole point of the ban was to cut back on spending, which is what I did considerably. I think starting tomorrow I shall take another break from shopping until Christmas. I'll have to buy something with all those Christmas gift cards.

-until next time

Call Me a Nerd

So I finally ended my streak of days in a row of blogging. I don't know how many days I went. Maybe four? I'm over it.

This weekend was wonderful. All I did was spend time with my family, our new addition, and Georgetown friends. Martina is wonderful and very sweet and funny and if you get the chance to spend time with her, you should.

Today we went to Austin to have dinner with my mom's side of the family. Everyone asks Martina the same five questions, and although she is too nice to say it, I think she is tired of answering them. Poor girl.

Now let's get down to what tonight's post is really about. Call me a nerd or whatever you want, but I am extremely fond of the Olympics.

I literally sit in front of the TV and keep it on NBC the entire time. I watch sports that I do not normally watch when the Olympics are not on. Cycling, swimming, shooting, track and field. You name it, I'll probably watch it. I almost feel bad for Martina because I think that she thinks that that is what Americans do most of the time.

I like seeing the different outfits. I like picking winners with my family. I like watching upsets. I like how excited the announcers get over things like table tennis. I like when the interviewers ask the athletes ridiculous questions after they win or lose (what was going through your mind when...). I like watching athletes get excited when they win. I like watching the overly dramaticized background stories. I like EVERYTHING about the Olympics.

In conclusion, during August, you'll probably find me tuned into NBC.

The End.

A Visual Plethora

Today was a good day, and to give it a little change of pace, I'd thought I'd include pictures from throughout the day to cleanse your visual palate.

I slept in really late because I was exhausted from the week of finals and babysitting. Afterwards, Ally, Martina, and I went and ran errands around town, and then went and visited my mom at her new work.

As some of you may know, when Ally and I get in the car, we like to jam out to songs, and when we jam out, we do it right. We both have microphones and a blow up guitar in our cars. In case you need a visual reminder, here it is:

We also like making other people jam in the car when they ride with us:

In keeping with tradition, we made Martina do a solo during "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey:

Afterwards, we made mom take a picture showing school spirit for her new school (the panthers), here's mom and Martina taking a picture with a panther claw:

I think Martina finds us to be little crazy, but who doesn't? Afterwards, we thought it would be a good idea to take a picture of all of us:

I can already tell that Martina is going to fit in really well, because when we took "ugly face" picture, she didn't even need to be told what qualified as an ugly face (sometimes people think just sticking your tongue out qualifies, it does not.)

Later, we all watched the Olympics, we all saw it, it was really awesome, so I don't think I need to give you a recap, but look at this picture I found online? Who do you think this guy looks like?

Jim Halpert with a mullet anyone? I think so.
Also, did anyone see the amazingly cute earthquake victim kid that walked in with Yao Ming? If his is an orphan, I think I will adopt him.

While I was watching the Olympics, I took an online CPR certification course because I need to be certified for work. The "certification" consisted of a series of pictures, 30 minutes of reading, and a test that consisted of questions like: "To see if an infant is unresponsive, you should slap him across the face, true or false". (This is not an exaggeration, although the question was a multiple choice question with slap across the face as a choice). I in no way recommend this course for someone who does not already know how to perform CPR, but it did its job. Here is an example of one of the pictures:
Anyways, I am now officially CPR, First Aid, Bloodborne Pathogen, and Cognitive A.E.D skills certified, and it only took me an hour, verses the four hour course I would have taken reviewing information I already knew.

The course even gave me a free wallet card to keep if emergencies arise, so if you're ever with me and cardiac or first aid emergency should arise, fret not, I am prepared.

Tomorrow consists of a whole lot of nothing.

-with love, Jenna

I don't really think I like that one.

Keeping It Going

Today is a much shorter blog than usual, because I am tired.

Today I babysat Merced and then drove to the airport in Austin to pick up our new foreign exchange student, Martina, (pictures to come soon).

After getting home we wanted to go eat and Martina said she had never had Mexican food so we took her to the best place in town, Dos Salas. She ordered a Ceasar salad, and I found that to be extremely disappointing. I am making it my personal goal to make sure she eats enchiladas, fajitas, tacos, and some good old Texas bar-b-que before she leaves.

Problem: Martina is allergic to garlic and most of the places we called in Georgetown use garlic in their bar-b-que sauce. Anyone know of a place near Georgetown that doesn't?

This part of the blog is dedicated to my good friend David, even though he wrote a mean thing about me in his blog. Tonight I added David to my blogger reader (thanks for teaching me that by the way Johanna!) and I tried to add him to my blog roll, because I skimmed his blog today and it was very funny. However, I am computer retarded, and I couldn't work it, so here is the link to David's blog: click me.

Tomorrow, I plan on doing nothing, except for maybe hanging out with my family and our new edition. It has been a while since I have done nothing, and I am looking forward to it.

-gots to go cuz im too fly

(that one was based on Jaron's recommendation, let me know how it suits you)

Monumental Moments

I think I am going to see how many days in a row I can write in my blog. Today is day number three.

Overall, three things occurred in my life today that are worth mentioning:

1. Today I took my make up test from when I was sick (p.s. my blood work came back and I'm totally back to normal), not only did I do really well, it also marks the end of summer school. This is monumental for two reasons: 1. I will never again spend my summer in a classroom. 2. I have officially completed my first semester of Master's work.

2. For the first time today, I tried to win something on the radio. I was driving from school to Kactus Kidz, and I was rather bored and the DJ offered free tickets to Schlitterbahn, and I thought why not?

Unfortunately, the phone number had letters in it, and my phone does not have letters the way a normal phone does, so I called the wrong number. Normally, the story would end here, but things actually got much more interesting. After calling the wrong number, the wrong number called me back! I didn't want to answer because answering and explaining that I can't work the letters correctly on my phone would have been a very loserish thing to do, so I ignored it. Then the number called three more times, left a voicemail, and sent a text asking if I was the girl he had sent his number to last night over MySpace (I wasn't), at which point I gave in and explained, over text, which I find much less embarrassing.

From this I learned four things:
1. I should only dial phone numbers that contain only numbers
2. God clearly doesn't want me to go to Schlitterbahn
3. Perhaps I should also stay away from radio contests
4. I am making it my life goal to never be so desperate for a date that I call and text a wrong number multiple times.

3. Continuing with my trend of trying new things, I also tried organic milk that my roommate bought today. Typically, I like other organic things, organic bread, organic fruit, organic pasta, but I was a little nervous about organic milk. It took three days of it sitting in the fridge for me to try it. Something about it says, "Hello, I came straight from the udder and now your drinking me". I'm sure this really isn't the case, but the thought of it just doesn't appeal to me. Good news though, organic milk is quite tasty, and I recommend it, because 1. Its good 2. Its good for you. 3. According to my roommate its only a few cents more than regular milk

However, I recommend you do not smell the organic milk before you drink it. I wasn't a fan of the smell, and I wouldn't want the smell to keep you away from this opportunity.

I can't believe I just spent that much time writing about organic milk.

Anyways, last thing and then I'm done. I've noticed that many people have a signature ending to their blog. For example, my friend Kelsey signs her name, Micheal Pittman "says see you on the W", or something like that. I am considering starting one as I become more active in blogging. Tonight I am trying "until next time". Let me know how it suits you, or if you have any better ideas.

Tomorrow I am babysitting for Merced and then going to get our foreign exchange student at the airport....should be an interesting day.

-until next time

I Find Titles Really Difficult

So two days in a row is probably a record for me.

Today was a pretty boring day full of finals. One make up test from when I was sick for tomorrow and then I am finally done with summer school. Then I get a 12 day break. School=crap.

When I got back from school I went on a walk. I used to do this often in high school. I find its a great way to clear my head from the day before starting all the things on my to do list once I get home. It also provides for a great few minutes to spend with God. I think that God likes me more when I am calm and peaceful and focused on Him and the creation that I'm walking in rather than rushing around trying to better myself and get things done constantly. That could just be me though.

Now that I have my iPod, I decided to throw a change up on my walk and listen to a Podcast. So today, Perry Noble and I went walking.

Today was How Do I Know God's Will? Here are a few things I liked:

1. You can't be in God's Will if you aren't in God's Word.

2. Have you ever found yourself complaining that the pastor of your church always talks about the same topic? That's God trying to get your attention about the way you are living in this topic area.

3. God wants you to take care of the right now before you start trying to take care of the future.

4. God doesn't want your stuff, your time, etc. God wants us to place ourselves in Him because when He gets us, He gets our stuff.

Until next time Blog readers.

Sticking to It

I'm really trying to stick to my commitment to be more blog active.

Tonight I watched a random T.V. show where celebrities bet on whether or not random people could do random stunts. There was a girl (who was also Miss Teen California) who admitted to spending close to $20,000 on SHOES a year. Think about that next time you want to make fun of me for being spoiled Mr. Burleson and Mr. Covey. Her talent was that she could be blindfolded, put on a pair of designer shoes, walk five steps in them, and then tell who the designer was. Hopefully, I'll spend my life and time on developing more useful talents.

Today it is really hitting me that Jaron is back in Stephenville for the school year. I hate to bring down the mood of the blog, but I feel that blogs are a place for honesty, and to be honest, I truly hate him being gone. Another thing I hate is the economy, because this year we are only seeing each other every other weekend because of gas prices.

I try to find positives in every situation, and I know there are some. For example, we will have more time to spend with our college friends before we graduate and head our separate ways. We will also have more time to focus on school (or at least I will). We will also have more time to work and save up money. Probably most importantly, we will have more time to grow as individuals.

Going over the positives in my head still doesn't make be apart any easier. I know its all part of God's plan, but to be quite honest, I'm not that happy with God's plan right now. At least I know it's all for the best in the end, and it's really only for 10 more months hopefully.

Anyways, sorry for being so depressing my many readers (all 5 of you, which I think might be a stretch) that's just something I needed to get off my chest.

I have a big final tomorrow, so pray for me. Also pray for me and Jaron during this school year, and pray that while I'm struggling with the separation that God will continually remind me that its for the best.