And now it's awkward...

Today I was at work treating a patient in her room. She was sitting in the chair and we were all chatting before I started my treatment. Then, she says to me, "honey, is it my imagination or is your fly down?"

Yes indeed.

The Army....

Mike made me dinner on Sunday night (awwwww.... so sweet) at my apartment and I was helping get ready for dinner. Then the following conversation took place that can only be explained with a picture:

Me: Where do you want to eat? Should we sit at the table?

Mike: Amy, there are ducks all over the table.

These are some of my favs (the princess ducks):
In other news, Mike really likes to take cheesy pictures with me!

No more debbie downer!

I feel like I've been a little bit of a debbie downer on here lately, but I am coming off of an excellent weekend and wanted to share my joy, despite the fact that it's hard to be joyful on Sunday nights when you know you have a stack of paperwork sitting on your desk and a full load of patients (uh-oh- she's back- wah-wah-wah).

Anyway, Mike and I had a great day on Saturday shopping, playing Wii tennis, and having dinner with some new friends! It's so much fun to find other people that you connect with and can hang out with occasionally! We also had a good Sunday when my parents surprised us at church and we were able to go out after church for lunch and enjoy a relaxing day.

So, with my Christmas shopping almost done, a lot of patient care to be done in the next few weeks, and anxiously awaiting the holidays, I wanted to be sure to update all of you!

Oh boy!

The other day when I was leaving for work, I seriously thought to myself, "I sure hope no one breaks in here and sees how messy this kitchen is!"

Yes, the correct reaction here is, "Are you kidding me?!?"

Guess what totally made my day?

And this is how I feel about this delectable treat:So thank you, person who shall remain nameless, for making my day awesome!!!!!

Thankfulness

I'm not feeling especially thankful right now, so maybe this is a good time to sit down and make my list of things that I am thankful for this year as Thanksgiving has come and gone so quickly:

-faith in a God whose plan is bigger and better than mine

-a family who is so wonderfully weird!

-my friends Stephanie and Charles (Charlanie) who set me up with ....

-boyfriend Mike!

-my profession- I love being part of a group of people who are willing to take time away from their own families to be with other people's family members. I love that I get to spend time with and help people every day! I love what I learn from them about them and also about myself!

-OneWorld Community Health Centers- practicing here bimonthly has truly changed the way I view healthcare and PT.

-the wonderful new friends I met yesterday at Thanksgiving dinner! (oh the ninety-nines!)

-my friends from past... and present...

-my co-workers who keep me on my toes every day (Seriously- where else can you work where you can think to yourself, "I think I have food stuck to my foot." Only in Aquatic Physical Therapy!

Happy Thanksgiving (I would have posted this earlier- was planning on it- but working today precluded that- love this profession!

That's no Consolation!?!

Today I was filmed at work for a news story.

Did I mention I work in a pool.... in a swimsuit?

I told my friend Laura about it tonight and she was so happy, then I said, "Yeah, but I was half naked in front of the metro area."

Her reply? "Paris Hilton has too."

Update

I know it has been about three weeks since I have posted, but I haven't been feeling very funny lately- and some not so funny things have been happening. But I will post the pumpkin pictures and Mike's birthday pictures!

We carved pumkins and then I put them on my balcony- so they turned into this amazing science experiment- so many colors of mold to behold!
Then we had Mike's birthday party at my parent's house. It was a blast- complete with a pinata! That's right- 28 years old and smashing a pinata. His brute force broke the smashing device so he ended up giving it the old elbow smash on the ground. :o)
It was one of the most beautiful days- and everybody enjoyed being outside. Then we went inside to play a very fun game and have cake- a good time was had by all!
Happy Fall!

Tag!

I've been tagged by Christy for this game... and I think it's pretty fun!

The rules of the first game are:

1) Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog

2) Share 7 facts about yourself, some random, some weird

3) Tag 7 more people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs

4) Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs

Fact 1:
Most people already know this, but I am an absolute freak about organizing and cleaning. It is so refreshing and life- giving for me. I've actually decided that for Christmas instead of giving my friends and co-workers a candle, I am going to give them 3-5 hours of my time to help them organize something in their homes.

Fact 2:
I am a morning person! When I wake up in the morning, everything seems right with the world. And if it is a crazy morning, all it takes is one sip of my morning coffee to make things right again.

Fact 3:
I drink 4 cups of coffee before going to work. I don't want to talk about it.

Fact 4:
I struggle with balance. I've decided that balance is not found in daily life, but in weeks or months sometimes. For example, the past two weeks have been incredibly work heavy as I worked last week, Saturday and then this week! Yikes!

Fact 5:
I never floss my teeth. Never.

Fact 6:
I've only ever kissed one boy.

Fact 7:
I am fiercely defensive of my family- I get upset about even perceived slights... which admittedly is a problem!

Okay, so now I am going to tag the following people:
1. Delanie
2. Natalie
3. Cris
4. Emily
5. Becky
6. Keri
7. Kelsey

Thanks!

More pics

Since that last picture in the post was so small, I will also post these pics that I found I was taking before I went to a wedding:

Also, I found the footie pajamas picture from last Christmas:
Oh the memories!

Memory Lane

I have been tagged for a blog game by Delanie. The rules are that I have to open the 6th file I have of pictures and post the 6th picture in that file hoping I remember what it is.


Here goes:
Wow. I do remember what is going on here. We had just gotten our jetski and we were trying out our apparrel. Oh, and my mom (who looks like a china doll in this picture) is sitting on the new tube (which is awesome!). I remember we joked around about making jetski safety look fun. Do we look like we're having fun?

This was fun- thanks Delanie. I tag Christy.

Breast Cancer Awareness

As all of you probably know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Last weekend, we had Race for the Cure here in Omaha and nearly 18,000 people came for the walk. Our Team ("Breast Savers") had 34 people this year, and it was awesome!

Why is this so important to me? Well, my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer when my mom was in college. She went through treatment and lived a full, long life. Cancer has affected my family.

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, just weeks before she was to go see my sister in Spain. That was the most difficult conversation I have ever had as I had to tell her when she called me in the middle of the night. She went through treatment and is doing great! Cancer again affects my family.

This Spring, my Uncle (mom's brother) was diagnosed with breast cancer. Yes, that's right- men can be affected as well. He has gone through treatment and is doing well. His wife (my aunt) was also diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago. Cancer continues to affect my family and probably me.

Now I'm sure I will get questions about whether or not I will undergo the genetic testing and prophylactic treatment. I don't know. That's the best answer I can give.

But just so you know, this blog will remain 'pink' throughout the entire month in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is a cause obviously near and dear to my heart. So when you see the pink things everywhere, think of my family and the thousands of families affected by this devastating disease.

Here is a picture of my mom and brother when they were young- how cute!

And here is the whole family. My grandparents and mom and uncle.

Oh Bag N Save

Tonight I was at the grocery store after work, and I use a 'cart helper' in my grocery cart, then I just have the checker load everything back into it and away I go (up four flights of stairs when I get home).

I always feel a little bit bad making them load everything into that bag instead of loading it into plastic non-biodegradeable fill the landfil bags (okay, maybe I don't), but so I tried an ego booster tonight:

Me: You are doing a great job!?!
Checkout girl: I like tetris.

Ode to Laura

This is my friend Laura! She is wonderful! These pictures were taken on our trip to Chicago in April (annual trip?).

The last few weeks have been stressful for some reason, but now fall is here! There has been a lot going on, but last week I finally was able to spend some time with Laura and I forgot all my problems for awhile.

A wise woman once said something that changed my life. She said, "I used to think my emotions were important becuase I had so many of them." This is how I have been feeling lately, but Laura made me feel so awesome and let me 'emotionally vomit' all over her (we will clean that up later).

Thank you, Laura, for being so good to me!

By the way, this is not emotional vomit clean-up. Laura stepped in poop and I was trying to get her to clean it off before we got into the car.

Open Fracture Wayne

So yesterday I was talking to my mom and she tells me that she and my dad spent the entire afternoon in the ER. I asked why and she said that my dad hit his finger instead of the nail while doing some home carpentry.

Apparently he took one look at it and suggested they go to the ER. My mom, a nurse, says, "Oh it's probably fine. Wrap it up in a towel." They went to the ER where he got stitches, a tetanus shot, antibiotics and a splint.

At the end of the story, she tells me that what she was most upset about is that he messed up her paint on the walls. This is why I love my parents (among many other reasons).

Courtesy of Hurricane Ike

My sister Allison lives in St. Louis. I've invited her to be a guest blogger because of her 'peculiar happenings' but for now I will post these pictures. She awoke Sunday morning to her street which was a river at that time.

The bad news is that her car was on that street/river. And now it's totaled as it was pretty soggy. Allison, so sorry!

Update

Well my leg is getting better. And I am finally finished with the antibiotics and no longer have an 'active infectious disease' going on on my leg. So... I can do my job at full abilities again! Yay! Thanks for all your concern.

Lately, things have been a little hectic with extra doctor's visits added in and a lot of sitting on the pool deck instead of getting into the water, so I have been a little busy lately, but not too busy for something weird to happen:

This morning as I was getting up to get ready for church, I heard someone trying to get something gross out of his throat outside my window in the alley! Then, he proceeds to throw up on the ground outside my window in the alley. I had to resist the urge to yell, 'Dude, people live here!' I never know what is better: try to ignore it or address it.

And as the 'mouth watering pre-throw up feeling' went away, I was reminded of all the blessings in my life lately! :o)

You can't take me anywhere!

This past weekend I flew to Phoenix with (from left below Kelly, me, and Mary). We also got to see our dear friend Stephanie (far right below):o)! As usual, it was sure eventful! Kelly and I got to the airport (arrived to the airport) 30 minutes before our flight left. The lady checking in our bags says, "We will do our best to get your bags on the plane." Yikes! But we made it and so did our bags...

We then headed to the mall to go to Lush (seriously awesome stuff!) and went to Oreganos for lunch. Now for those of you who know me well, you know about my heat intolerance.
We.Ate.Outside.
It was 122 degrees when we got into the car after lunch and I was very sweaty despite the misters (air blowing water, not men) and cooling machines. Additionally, I recommend the cookie with ice cream for dessert.

Kelly: "Look at all these succulent plants!" (she actually said that).

Kelly: "They put graffiti on cacti here."

Kelly: "It's so clean here." Amy: "Yes, because it's so hot the garbage just burns up-spontaneous combustion."

That's when it happened: MY LEG PROBLEM. I had this weird spider bite looking thing on Wednesday and Thursday, but it was really swollen and irritated after I got off the plane. It got worse throughout the day Friday and I had pitting edema by the evening. We considered going to Urgent Care/ER that night, but I got a prescription to try for that evening....

I wrapped it up and put ice on it because it was really hot (Arizona hot) and thought it would be better by morning: wrong.

So Saturday before the course, Mary and Kelly drop me off at Urgent Care in Mesa, AZ. As we pull up at 8am, I thought we would be the first people there, but there is a line OUTSIDE THE DOOR. As they are pulling off, Kelly says, "If a brawl breaks out, get on the side of the lady who is neck to knee tatoos."

I sit there in the waiting room and this guy walks in and gets on his phone to talk loudly to his mother about his rash.... he took a cold shower then a hot shower then a cold shower... oh and did you know he has a girlfriend in Florida.....

They take me back to this room and the doctor comes in and mumbles something about cellulitis, get it checked for infection when you get home, we'll give you more medicine and a shot. The nurse then comes in to give me the shot and I say, "now where is that going?" She replies, "In your glut." As I am laying down on the table, I mutter, "WORST. TRIP. EVER."

It did get a little bit better, and for those of you in the medical profession- I'm waiting for the results of the culture to see when I can resume doing my job fully....

Here is the view from our 'casita.' It was beautiful. And we got some great ideas for work:

Kelly: "How about a shark for our pool?" Amy: "It would really create a sense of urgency."

And we learned a lot of other things as well:

Kelly: "My gastric cholic reflex is kicking in. We need to leave NOW."

Baby Bangs

Hi Faithful readers (and by that I mean Cheryl and my family)!

Nothing really exciting has happened lately, but I do have a bit of a rant that I've been considering lately. I went to get my hair cut by a new hair dresser recently and she cut my baby bangs! You know, those little tiny bangs by your face that never really grow but just stay the same length forever and ever amen?

So now I have this one little gericurl by my face that isn't really part of my hair, but isn't really part of the baby bangs anymore since it has been cut!

Not real exciting, but something new to think about.... what are your thoughts, Cheryl?

Fourth of July

So the weekend was not as violent as this game would perhaps indicate (but seriously- who doesn't love a game with orange foam guns that you get to point at people?!?)

We, of course, made a trip to the ice cream store for some ice cream!

We did a lot of riding/driving/getting dragged around in the tube behind the jetski. We are still mastering the art of pulling it up to the dock without knocking into things. Mom and Dad each tried tubing with each of them claiming a head injury afterwards from the bumpy ride. Also, you should know that after I did this one time, I didn't quite clear the jetski and hit my backside on the edge. I then fell into the water screaming, "MY BUTT! MY BUTT! MY BUTT!" and my family was telling me to please be quiet because the neighbors were starting to become concerned...

Cousin Lindsey and Karen were in the tube for a very special ride!

What beauties!

Biggest catch of the weekend- catch and release of course- that's my boyfriend!

We all spent a lot of time in the fishing boat! Cousin Lindsey and Allison oblige me for a smile.

So serious about baiting that hook! All in all, it was a wonderful weekend! We had a blast and truly enjoyed being able to spend time with one another.

Too long!

So I know it has been a long time since I posted, and believe me- a 'photo blog' is coming soon as a reward for any faithful readers I may still have out there. It's on my to-do list. That's how committed I am to doing it this week.

I have been very busy lately vacationing and watching other people's chilren. Seriously- that's basically what I have been doing. I have one funny story that really actually made me think. I was watching these four wonderful children for 24 hours (and I needed a 24 hour nap after that), and I was trying to get everybody ready for church. I was helping the 4 year old get dressed and she was telling me the same story over and over and over and over and over....

I said, "Okay, it's time to focus on getting dressed for church." And she stopped, took a deep breath, and said to me, "Miss Amy, sometimes I just need to talk."

Indeed. Sometimes we just need to talk.

Things OTHER people think is funny

So yesterday a group of us met at a local restaurant for breakfast (we'll just say it's not the regional house of pancakes) and at the end of the meal, I noticed something crawling on the booth behind my friend Kelly. I gasped and she immediately started saying, "is it on me?" and covering her neck up.

A waiter came over and asked if we needed help (by this time I am standing besidie the booth) and Kelly said, "I think you have a little friend over there." He then squishes it and goes to the manager to say, "We have cockroaches again."

Then, tonight I went throug the drive-thru at Runza this evening for dinner. The girl hands me the bag and says, "Here's your bag of calories." I fake laugh and then ask for my drink.

And she says, "And here's your love handles to go. Have a great night!"

Is it bad that I wanted to punch her a little bit?

Gymbos

Lately I have been hitting the gym in the mornings to avoid the after-work crowd. But today I went after work to go to Turbo Kick Boxing (which always kicks my behind!)

So I had to get there a little early to get a spot in the back row... and I overhear this lady talking about her new baby WHO WAS BORN A WEEK AGO. This woman was going to do this class with us after pushing a person out of her 7 days ago. So, I was thinking to myself that she would need many rest breaks and water breaks. WRONG. She definitely did better than me.

And that is what I hate about the gym.

Also, (rant coming here) I hate it when people hog the machines! If you are going to do a set and then sit around for 50 minutes, that's great, but sit somewhere else.

And finally, there's macho man: that guy who thinks he needs to slam the weight stack down in order to actually be getting the most out of his workout. Well now I have a nervous disorder buddy!

But really the problem is me here: I can't turn the nerd/PT off in me. I am constantly wanting to run up to people and correct their technique or their posture or their running form. When we were doing jumping squats in class tonight, I nearly had to physically restrain myself from yelling, "don't let those knees go out over your toes!!!"

Nature Girl

This past Memorial Day Weekend, I went camping with some friends and this guy:
Web readers: introducing my boyfriend Mike! (full names withheld to protect the innocent). So, we went to my friend Eric and Delanie's lake for the weekend. We drove out Saturday morning. For many of you, this will come as a shock, but I'm not a real nature girl. I considered packing pop tarts to 'toast' on the fire. Delanie actually drove my car down the drive to the lake and this is what it looked like: This was 'home sweet home' for two days. Delanie and Madeline are in front of the camper:

And not even the littlest ones got out of helping out around camp. Here Lilly pumps water to help prepare dinner:

So on Saturday, we hung out and braved the wind. It was 30-40mph (or if you are using the 'Amy Exaggeration Algorithm' it was 70mph). Mike fished (and caught some fish) and I took a ride in paddleboat with Delanie and Madeline that could have been perilous if not for our strong quads... what wind! It was a really nice night though and s'mores were made! And apparently my 'burn and blow' method for roasting/burning marshmallows is not widely accepted by all! Who knew?

Sunday we went into Central City to Waffles 'n More... I was most excited about the flushing toilets (yes people- this was a 'pee in the woods' situation). I rode back with Delanie and Lilly, and we took one corner and slid into this mess:

So, we had to get towed out! The best part was when Eric had to lay down in the mud under the car to attach the tow rope! What fun! Sunday was more relaxing... more sunburning err... tanning. The guys went fishing again which turned into shooting crappie from the boat.... which turned into spearing them with a pitchfork. Ah... days at the lake. We came back on Sunday afternoon and got to stop in Lincoln for a shower (because I couldn't wait to get back to Omaha for one). And I know that I will regret this next move, but you have to see what I looked like after this weekend. Please note that the following comments were made about my 'fro:

1) "I didn't know the beehive was making a comeback."

2) "We should really warn people about Medusa."

Moon Boots and the Twist

Okay, so I have decided that strange things may only happen to me AT NIGHT.

Last night I was sleeping at about 2am. It was a nice night, so I had the windows open, but my sound machine (ocean waves if you must know) was turned up high.

I was having this dream- and in my dream, a man was standing on my kitchen floor in moon boots doing the twist (so now you know exactly what it sounded like). Then I woke up and realized IT'S HAPPENING... SOMEONE IS IN MY KITCHEN IN MOON BOOTS DOING THE TWIST! My heart was beating so fast I could hardly breathe or walk, but I then realized that mercifully the sound was coming from the alley outside.

So what do I do? I go in search of the sound. I realized that someone was trying to push in one of the air conditioners to get inside one of the lower-floor apartments. So I stood on the outer edge of my balcony in order to see better down the alley and realized it was my neighbor who lived in that apartment.

So I yelled down, "Do you need to get in the building?" He said, "I'm locked out of the building AND my apartment." I said, "Good luck with that." And he tried a few more times. I'm not sure if he got in or not, but I think he got the message that he was being loud.

I was so scared it took me almost an hour before I could fall asleep. My heart was beating so fast it was vaulting me off the bed.

And my most frightening thought before I drifted off to weird dreamland?

I sure hope I didn't let that bat back in when I went out on the balcony!!!

Tired of Reading about Chicago?

Cheryl, I'm looking in your general direction here...

I am so sorry for my lack of posting lately. I promise to post something new soon. I am still alive, and new post is pending...

Chicago!

Hello Everybody! I got back from Chi-town on Tuesday, and it has taken me until today to get these posted- so sorry! Laura (on the right in the picture below) and I went to visit my friends Maggie and Tennille (left to right) in Chicago and had a wonderful time!
This is just one of the many restaurants that we ate at while we were there. It's called 'kitschn on Roscoe' and it was fantastic! We thought we saw John Mayer there but it turned out not to be him.

Then we took a bike ride along the lake after Laura and I rented bikes. Maggie and Tennille even loaned us their new bike helmets. The skyline was beautiful that day. And it turns out we are giant goofballs!

It is also important to note that I conquered my fear of bikes. After the 1999 run in with the pedestrian, I will never be the same (and neither will she), but I got on a bike and rode it like a champ after some coaching from Tennille (thanks Tennille!). It was really fun albeit a little chilly. There was one frightening moment when a pedestrian walked across the path S-L-O-W-L-Y in front of me, but I didn't hit her!

There were so many memorable moments of the trip, so we tried to write them down. Here is the quote list from the Chicago trip:

At the airport at 5:30am:

Laura: 'Am I wearing two different shoes?!?'

(she wasn't, but isn't that something you check before you leave home?)

Laura's dad as he is dropping us off at the airport:

'Are you sure you don't want earplugs?'

'Last call for earplugs!'

Laura in the bathroom:

'I think I will sit in this one!'

Laura has a peanut allergy, so we are getting breakfast at the airport:

Laura: 'Do you think this has peanuts?'

Amy: 'Since we are boarding a plane, choose something you don't suspect has peanuts... unless you have an epi pen I don't know about.'

Walking to Security:

Amy: 'Ready for the cavity search?'

Laura: 'And I'm not talking about searching your teeth. Hey-oh!'

There was a runing theme of me taking my clothes off. But hey, for security- they really do make you disrobe quite a bit. Also, when I was in Chicago, we were leaving a Tapas restaurant/bar, and this drunk guy untied the back of my shirt. I didn't freak out- I just calmly re-tied it while Tennille gave the guy a death glare.

Throughout the trip, we had some interesting/new experiences like riding the El with luggage with 3 different transfers(we made it though!). Every time Laura felt out of her element, she could be heard muttering to herself under her breath, "be cool.... act normal...."

Laura: 'We are cool! And normal!'

Amy: 'Or maybe just cool.'

After the Cubs game let out on Saturday, the El was PACKED, and we had to stand the whole ride. Very close to this poor guy. Who was sitting. After we got out, Maggie said, " How awkward was it when Laura was giving that guy a lapdance?"

Maggie: 'Laura, your hands look like you work with wood.'

Maggie (later the next day): 'Laura- look there is Wrightwood Street... that's what she said. That's where you would live.'

Tennille: 'Wear my new helmet.'

Amy: 'But you're smarter than me- you should wear the new one.'

Tennille: 'I know, but I would feel bad if something happened.'

Maggie: 'Is it a bra? Is it a parachute? Is it a rubberband?'

Laura: 'There has got to be crack in these almonds... they are so good!'

Amy to Laura: 'Sometimes being with you is like knowing the circus.'

The other theme of the weekend was eating. If you ever go to Chicago, please eat at Sensational Bites!

Amy: 'I need to run off this carrot cake.'

Laura: 'Run off the cake- keep the carrots!'

And the pizza at Art of Pizza was wonderful!

Amy to Laura: 'It looks like you're making out with the pizza.'

Laura: 'And it's a good kisser.'

Later, in the middle of the restaurant...

Amy: 'What are you doing?"

Laura: 'Listening to my wedding song on my cell phone.'
Amy: 'Right now?!?'

And last but not least:

Amy: 'I have got to go to the gym tomorrow. We have been eating all weekend.'

Laura: 'The first rule of eating club is that you don't talk about eating club.'