News and Happenings...

So I spent the weekend in Columbus this past weekend learning about new ways to treat stroke patients. It was a 2 day conference on a Saturday and Sunday. It was well worth going to, but very long! I learned a lot of new techniques that I'm excited to start using with some of my patients. My work actually sent me to the conference so they paid the cost of the registration, which was awesome. It was 14 CEUs. I just got 3.5 from a conference last month, so I only have about 7 more to go and I will be all set for my renewal in 2012. However, I don't think I'll be going quite so far away for the last 7 CEUs. Columbus isn't too terribly far, but with the fact that it was a 2 day conference and lasted all day both days, I went with another girl from work and we stayed at her sister's house, which was about 20 minutes away from the conference. It's always awkward to stay at someone else's house, let alone someone you don't even know and have never met before. I felt really out of place. They were super nice though and that made it easier. All in all, I am really glad I went and even more glad that it's over.

However, I'm off work today, because I can't walk without shooting pain up the side of my foot. I haven't been able to walk well since Friday. I have no idea what happened. I went running on Wednesday, because I'm training for a 5K in June and a 1/2 marathon in October. I went 3 miles on Wednesday, came home, and felt fine. I was actually quite happy that nothing hurt when I got back. Thursday I felt fine. Then Friday at work I was pretty miserable with pain in my foot and ankle every time I walked (which is all day with my job). So I had one of the PTAs do a grade 5 joint mobilization on my foot, because I thought that would make it feel better... and it did.. for about an hour. After that, I was more sore than before and could barely hobble around Columbus all weekend. Luckily we got to sit down for most of the entire conference, but even just walking from the parking lot to the conference room about put me in tears. I made a Dr.'s appointment for today and went and got an x-ray. My foot isn't swollen or anything, so she's really not sure what is wrong with it, but it's possible that I might have a Marching fracture, which is caused by repetitive activity like running (or marching). So I should know by the end of the day what the x-ray results were. Needless to say, no one was very thrilled at work that I'm not able to work today. I called by boss last night to tell her and she found someone to cover for me, but they are still not very happy. Or at least they weren't when I went to go get my x-ray there. I guess we'll see what happens. My doctor was talking about having me wear a post-op boot to see if I can make it through the workday with that if the x-ray looks ok.

Nothing else much is new with me. Things are still going good with me and Ryan. It's been a crazy month with things going on. Basketball is just finishing up. I was in Columbus all weekend this past weekend, he is in Columbus all weekend this coming weekend, and then the next weekend is the Athletic Booster's banquet and reverse drawing, which we are obviously going to, then the weekend after that is another sports banquet and the weekend after that is prom, which I am now going to. I never thought I would get asked to prom at the age of 28, but what do ya know...haha. Ryan is the class advisor for the senior class plus takes pictures for the yearbook so he has to go so I get to go. Plus I want to be nosy and see what all the kids wear and what cars they are taking. I'm pretty sure one of Ryan's sons is going to take my Mustang this year, so that's a good excuse for me to get it detailed and looking nice. His son is taking my good friend's daughter, so it will be fun to see them go together.

So all in all, I am doing nothing today other than propping my foot up on some ice and popping Alieve every few hours. Keeping my fingers crossed that it feels better by tomorrow, because I really do not have a whole heck of a lot of sick time to take for this. Wish me luck.

I wouldn't wanna have it any other way.. I just can't get enough.

Wow, I've been busy.. It's been a while. Things are still going good for me for the most part. Work is ridiculously busy and stressful. I'm looking forward to some future low-census days. I worked yesterday, and with "springing forward" I feel like this is barely even a day off for me. Then I go on to work all week this week, have a conference in Columbus on Saturday and Sunday, then back to work another full week, so my next day off is not until a week from Saturday. I will have 1 day off for 3 weeks time. That really sucks. At least my work is paying for the conference. That's about the only positive factor in all of it.

The rest of my life is going quite well. It's hard to juggle work and a social life when you are the only one who has to work weekends and late hours, but I'm managing. It's a good thing I have today to get my house cleaned up though, because I've pretty much neglected it for 2 weeks straight and it was starting to look pretty bad. Hope I can get things at least halfway back in order before the next 2 weeks of craziness begins.

Overall, I feel very blessed to have the life that I have. Things are going great and I never thought I could be this happy :) Nothing in life is ever "perfect" but at least for once I feel like things are going my way and I have a reason to smile.

Hold on.. Never turn back.

Life's experiences definitely end up teaching valuable lessons for the future. I know my own life's experiences are becoming a huge factor in how I handle those in my current life. I never thought I would say that the things I went through during my childhood would ever be worth anything, but for once, all of that unhappiness is teaching me a lesson for the present time in my life. I'm more equipped to handle the current situations than your average person would be and for that, I am thankful. I am so blessed to have the most wonderful man in my life who knows exactly what to do at the exact right times to make me feel better. I don't know what I ever did to deserve something and someone so great. Maybe I just have a hard time believing that I deserve this. But this is real. This is something I have waited my whole life for.