Inspired by Mondo #2

I might suggest reading the post titled "Inspired by Mondo" first ... and then scrolling back up to read this one.

It's Wednesday morning. My headache is gone. I have about 25 minutes before I need to leave for work. I figured now is as good of a time as any to keep updating this blog :) I covered Family and Travel last night.

WORK
I spent the first 5 months of this year living and working in Surprise, AZ. First of all, I love the name of the city! Surprise is just northwest of Phoenix. I was working in the school district's inclusive preschool. Basically, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with 3,4, and 5 year olds who benefited from receiving PT in school. I have always wanted to work with the pediatric population; however, I hadn't really considered this young of an age group until I had the opportunity to interview for this job. As a student, I had one of my clinicals in a school based setting, with K-12th grade. I loved each of them. I also love the 3-5 year old age group! I also had a wonderful team that I worked with at the preschool, and throughout the school district - from other therapists as well as the teachers that I interacted with on a daily basis! However, with any travel position, as well as any school year, there is a definite ending. With my contract and the school year ending, I needed to find another place to work. Insert a cross country drive from Surprise, AZ to Kingston, NY. I am spending the summer working in Kingston, NY in a skilled nursing facility. This facility is much like the ones I worked at in Niagara Falls, Bradford, and Lake Havasu City. However, it is double the size, and with that comes a larger rehab team to work with. I am enjoying working at this facility, but my daily hope is to return to Surprise this fall. My plan is to stay here for the summer, and then return to Surprise for the entire school year. However, nothing is set in stone: nothing ever really is, for a traveler, this far in advance. Additionally, the school district hasn't made any final decisions on who they are hiring back. I guess you've got to love the state of the economy and the budget cuts that school districts are being forced to make.

PERSONAL
I have been doing nothing short of enjoying life each moment that I get. While in AZ, in addition to the seemingly monthly traveling that I was doing, I spent quite a bit of time outside. I have become more and more passionate about hiking and biking (bicycle, not motorcycle) and AZ afforded me several areas to do both. The hiking and biking trails in AZ are about as vastly different from those in PA/NY as you get can. There are still mountains - just cacti, dirt and stones, instead of trees, grass, and brush. There are still so many places that I want to see / visit in AZ when I return. On the return trip from AZ to NY, my Mom and I stopped for a night with Becky and Matt. It was wonderful to see both of you and your house! Thank you so much for letting us stay, and for helping to secure my bike! Since I've been in Kingston, I have been filling my weekends with small trips to see friends and family. I spent a weekend with Erin, and we explored Boston - including going to an un-planned Red Sox game. Well, the game was planned. We just didn't plan on going to the game until we were in the city. Thank you, Jared! The following weekend I visited Jen, and we went to Buffalo to see her friend fight. Congrats on winning, Marc! I had the chance to go home for Father's Day, and surprise my Dad. He didn't know I was coming home until I pulled into the driveway! This coming weekend I am heading into New York City to visit with Amy. I've only ever spent 3 hours (midnight to 3 am-ish) in the city, so I am excited to see what it's all about. The weekend after that is the 4th of July .... which means that I will be at Jen's!!!! I also made a surprise visit to Buffalo for Daemen's graduation in the end of May. Although I think I spent as much time in airports / in the air as I did on the ground in Buffalo, I wouldn't have missed it for the world! Congratulations DPT '09! I even made it into the Buffalo newspaper! Haha! Most of the reason that I feel so compelled to return to Surprise in the fall (as opposed to any school district - with a preschool) .... is the fact that I made so many connections with people. Surprise truly came to feel like home for me, and that wouldn't have been the case if I hadn't met the people that I did meet and become friends with. I miss you every day!

There you have it: a brief update on the last 6 months of my life. My goal is to update this much more often. Mondo - hold me to it!!

Time for work!

Thanks for reading!

Inspired by Mondo

Hello to all of my family and friends!

Today's post is adequately titled "Inspired by Mondo" .... as she totally called me out on my lack of posting over the past .... 6 months ... YIKES!

Okay, a lot has happened over the past several months. I think I'll break it up into areas of my life to write little (or longer) updates on. I thought about doing a month by month, but realized that my "work" area of life goes across all months .....

FAMILY
Mom and Dad are doing well. Dad switched jobs a few months back, and is now working for a company who specializes in specialized / advanced GPS systems for construction equipment and sites. Think Jetsons style technology. Mom and Dad just celebrated their 31st (I think ....) wedding anniversary in May! Kristen, Jory, and Jennifer continue to do well, too. Kristen took a seasonal job with the Alleghany Forest, and the three of them moved to Warren. They will be there until October .... after that, I don't know. Jory continues to carry a full time job on the weekends at a facility north of Pittsburgh. Jennifer is growing day by day and is gaining new skills and freedom!! She recently discovered how to walk without holding onto anyone or anything. She's echoing words / phrases. My Mom said she recently pointed to a picture of me and IDed me by name! YAY! I miss seeing her as much as I did for her first 9 months of life, but it makes the times I do get to see her that much more special and meaningful!

TRAVEL
I've had a few traveling opportunities over the past few months. In January I drove with two of my friends to Huntington Beach, Cali to see two wonderful friends get married!! Congratulations to Kimberly and Greg!! In February I spent the better part of a week in Las Vegas for the annual PT conference. I had a great time with friends. My life long friend Renee flew into Phoenix from Texas. We drove to Kingman, AZ, met up with Vince, and the three of us drove into Vegas together. In March I flew to Mexico (pre Swine-flu) for a company paid vacation at an all-inclusive resort. I spent a day visiting the Mayan ruins, snorkeling, repelling, and zip lining. Wonderful!!! I also spent the better part of a week in the 814 during the spring break of the school system that I was working in. April I didn't travel ... which actually means I spent the first "major" (major = Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) holiday away from my family. I did spend it with one of my close friends, her boys, and her whole family in AZ. May took me across the country - from AZ to NY.

.........

I have been battling a headache all day. I am giving into it, and heading to bed. I will write more tomorrow ..... on my love for all things AZ.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!

Merry Christmas family and friends!

I'm taking a moment before heading to church with my family to wish everyone a very Happy and Blessed Christmas! I'm so excited for my niece's first Christmas!

Upcoming within the next few days:
~ pics of my new apt in Surprise, AZ
~ pics of tomorrow morning, starring Jennifer!

Sharing a few Pics!

So, I took two pics over the past 48 hours that are worth sharing:

This first one is supposed to be a cactus with blue Christmas lights decorating it ... I FOUND ONE, LAURA!! Its a little blurry, I know. I took it from my car, ... I couldn't come to a complete stop because there was a car coming up behind me on the road.


This other picture is of the sunset over the mountains in CA. I was on the phone with my Dad, and he asked if it was dark here (it was pitch black at home) ... and about 5 mins later, I was treated to this sight ... so I took a picture of it. The best part was, I was sitting in the parking lot of the church that I've been going to since being in AZ.



Enjoy! Have a great day!

Full Moon Friday!

So, I realize that I'm writing this on Saturday evening, but I needed a bit of time to collect my thoughts!


For anyone who cares to listen, this post is not going to contain any pictures, but rather update you on my past week. Its been rather ... challenging to say the least.

Fri the 5th -- went to the post office to pick up my AZ state license and to pick up a Passport application ... and I successfully locked my keys in my jeep. So, I called AAA (good thing my phone was in my pocket and my wallet was in my hand). My windows were all cracked about 1/2 an inch or so. While waiting for the guy, I call the post office (that I'm sitting outside of) to make an appointment on Wednesday for my passport at 2:00. The guy shows up in a timely manner and brings out this 1/4 in thick wire stick with a little hook on the end. He tries several times, unsuccessfully to either push the manual lock, or to hit the automatic lock, by going through the slightly cracked open window. Finally, I suggest trying to get my key out of the ignition - which worked! He was able to bring my key up through the opening in the window, and then we could unlock my jeep! And I was on my way!

Tues the 9th -- Its evening time, and I'm cleaning up from dinner, and it occurs to me that I have my passport appointment tomorrow. So I attempt to gather the following 3 documents: drivers license, filled out passport application, and original birth certificate. Drivers license is right where it belongs in my wallet - check. My passport application is sitting on the kitchen counter where it belonged - check. My birth certificate ... I can't find ANYWHERE! It was in my car Saturday, and now its NOWHERE! I tore my car and house apart 2 times each and each time with no success. So I went to bed ... confused, irritated, and upset.

Wed the 10th -- I woke up immediately thinking about my missing birth certificate, searched the house and my car again ...with no success. I went to work, and realized I couldn't keep my appointment at the post office for 2:00. I tried calling several times, but it was busy or just kept ringing. I left at 2:00 and stopped by the court house. The woman there gave me a phone number, a mailing address, a website, and a paper form - all of which I could choose from to obtain a duplicate original birth certificate from vital records. Of course, by now it's after 4:30 EST (since I'm in AZ) ... so I took myself home first. Once home, I told myself: Julie, you had your birth certificate Saturday. FIND IT! So, I started praying. And low and behold, wasn't it in an envelope that I had checked THREE TIMES!!! I immediately changed my clothes and ran back to the court house. She processed my passport and sent me to the post office to overnight it. I was feeling fabulous at this point. I had found my birth certificate. I had processed my passport. I stopped at the bank en-route to the post office and paid my car bill. Once at the post office, I was able to mail it over night. Life was back to being good. It was 75 degrees outside and sunny, which made it even better. And it was about 3:45. Perfect - I had just under 2 hours before sunset which gave me more than enough time to get myself to the local state park, go for a run, and explore the water front a bit. I started running at the trail head, and wasn't even a quarter of a mile in when there was a man walking a golden lab on a leash heading towards me. I slowed down like I normally do, reached out to pet the dog, like I normally do, and GOT BIT! The dog bit my arm! I wasn't badly hurt, but my skin was broken. Conversing back and forth with the man, he tells me his dog is caught up on all shots, and tells me he is going to leave his name/address/phone number on my windshield. We part ways, and I try to finish my run. That lasted for all of about 3 more minutes until I turned around and headed back. True to his word, his contact info was on my windshield. I called Jen to figure out what to do. Long story short (well, Julie short) ... I took myself to an urgent care. While there, I got a tetnis shot (OUCH), animal control came to talk to me, they cleaned and bandaged my arm, and I got a rx for an antibiotic and a pain killer. I got the prescription filled, headed home, took some meds and went to bed.

Thurs the 11th -- short story: the combo of meds and shots didn't sit well with me. I didn't get myself to work until 9:00 (I'm usually there between -7:30) and I left by 12:15 (usually not before 2:30 - except see Tuesday). I went to bed and didn't do much else.

Fri the 12th -- FULL MOON ... the guy who owns the dog got me proof of his up to date vaccines and I went to his house to pick them up. Before leaving, I put dinner (baked chicken and biscuits) in the oven. He only lives about 1.5 miles from me. I picked up the copy of his vaccines and then stopped at the gas station (light was on) ... and came home. At this point I realized that I had locked the man door from the garage into the house, and the front door, and both back doors ... and I didn't have the keys. So I was locked out of this house that I was living in, but was able to be in the garage (sun had just set) ... and my phone battery just dropped to only one bar left. .... And, my oven is on and dinner is ready at this point. Calls to Jen and Dad left me with suggestions but nothing that was working. I left a message on the "emergency line" at the real estate office that I'm renting from. I tried getting the door handles off with my tool kit - but the door handle screws were all on the inside, as were all door hinges. Every window was locked ... and I couldn't find the breaker box. I took myself next door in the hopes that maybe they had a spare key. Nice family ... but no keys. But, the wife was willing to help me try and break in and/or give me her couch until the real estate office opened in the morning. Luckily, she knew where the breaker box was (outside) and it was labeled, so she shut the range off - no burning down the house! We were able to pick the lock on the back sliding door, but there was a wooden block preventing the door from sliding that needed to be removed from the inside. Then ... she noticed that one of my spare bedroom windows was unlocked!!!! We were able to pop the screen out ... put one of her children (10 year old girl) through the window, and I was able to get into my house!

What a week!

Let's just hope this next week goes better - since I'm flying home on SATURDAY!!!

Cacti for Lauri (Laura)

So. the other night I was talking to my friend Laura and she said she wanted to see some pictures of some cacti ... possibly decorated for Christmas. I took a walk around my neighborhood last night and took some pictures. Unfortunately there weren't any cacti that were decorated, but I still think everyone will enjoy looking at these pictures!



This one to the L is a house just down the
road from me. It pretty much has a little
bit of everything! A "sampling" if you will.
Take note of the lack of a front yard!!!

The pic to the R is a decorated surf board! HAHA ... and with the Palm Trees, it looks like it should be in FL, not AZ!

And this picture shows a fire hydrant. I realize its neither cacti related, nor Christmas related, but it looks funny ... without the top on it that we're used to!



And this house has Santa in the front yard! Doesn't he look a little warm, with his red suit on in the middle of the desert!



A flowering cactus!

A non-flowering cactus!
These were the first ones we saw!











Rock pile in my front Larger green plant in Sunset from my back yard!
yard! my front yard!


That might be one of my favorite pictures (of the sunset) ... but it has nothing on the sunsets over the water!!

I realize there is water in this picture - but its not Lake Erie or Lake Ontario!


This is what I like to think of as a "cactus" ... the image that first pops into my head when I hear that word.


This picture is of a house across the street from where I work.


Notice the super tall garage door - for a boat / RV. Lot of people have this!


This tree looks like a giant Pineapple! HAHAHA!

Ok, I hope these pictures gave everyone a little idea of the "vegetation" that I have out here. NO ONE has a yard ... well, that has grass, anyhow. I guess one's water bill to have a grass yard is out of this world!!

Feel free to let me know you're reading by saying hi in the comments section!

Not sure when my next post will be or what it will be about. If anyone's inquiring mind wants to know, please say something!

Clockwise Loop 2:00 Start time

"I'm in a glass case of emotion!"

So, last Sunday my parents and I decided we couldn't be right across the Colorado River from CA, and not drive through a little snippet of CA!

But before heading to CA, we took a little detour to "London" .... The famous "London Bridge" is actually located here in Lake Havasu City, AZ! In the 1960s, it was moved brick by brick (stone by stone?), built on land over a peninsula, and then the ground was removed under it, creating a channel and an island. There's a quaint little "English" town at the foot of the bridge. Mom took lots of pictures :)


















So, we headed south into Parker, AZ, crossed into CA and headed north through the desert. When we were crossing the boarder, my Mom asked if I had asked Erin if we needed PASSPORTS to get into the state. I had forgotten!! LOL! Needless to say, we encountered a "check station" right after crossing the boarder ... we were all laughing! Unfortunately, I only have pictures of this on my phone. I had failed to charge my camera battery the night before, and after visiting "London" my camera battery died! We did stop at a gas station and Mom bought a disposable camera (which the lady at the register told her she needed to be 18+ to purchase it. I didn't know cameras had age restrictions on them!)

The drive through the desert was beautiful. We were driving in a valley with the "Old Woman" mountains to our west. I laughed at that!

The northern part of CA that we entered was a town called Needles. There wasn't too much there - at all. So we came back, crossing the Colorado again (heading east for the first time during our trip) near Kingman (future home of Vince) and headed south back to Lake Havasu City.

Fast forward from last Sunday to yesterday (12-06-08) ... They have a boat parade on the river to kick off the start of the Christmas season. For anyone who can't quite comprehend this - as I couldn't really - take the 4th of July feeling of people sitting in chairs and on blankets, people passing out glow sticks, 60-ish degree weather once it gets dark and now imagine a bunch of boats decorated for Christmas (think high school Homecoming Parade-esk). Place yourself in the desert. Put it all together. There you have it. I just felt like I needed to add some snow, and then everything would have been perfect!

Off to a local sports bar to try and catch the Steelers game!!!

Coming up sometime this week: Cacti for Laura!

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave me comments!
Julie