Week 8 realizations.....

1. chicken is way cheaper down here.... I got 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts for $4.10 yesterday and that's not a sale price
2. telling your spiritual journey to a random group of people can be scary and humbling all at the same time
3. midterms aren't just tests in grad school
4. emailing the prof a suggestion can turn into a good idea and then you'll need to speak on the topic in class the next day...guess who introduced the class to DID? :)
5. loving Mario Party on the Wii
6. been invited to 2 Halloween parties
7. having patience issues with some in my class and my roommate
8. leaves are changing on the mountains and it's beautiful
9. Dulles airport is ridiculously busy and confusing
10. meeting with my advisor opened my eyes to a lot of things
11. a trip home re energized me so much....these next few weeks will be a lot easier because of it
12. I am a very passionate person and I'm learning to embrace that
13. 8 for 8 with crying in Techniques...sheesh
14. will I ever not fight crying?
15. looking forward to counseling tomorrow
16. I have a lot of work to do....editor in chief watch out
17. I have something planned each night for the next four nights all with different people.... YAY for friends!
18. don't let things sit, just address them and you'll feel so much better
19. the worst realization of my week.....the 3 hour midterm is only worth 10% of my mark... COME ON! I'm quite bitter about this midterm aren't I? However this may be the best realization depending on what my mark is :)

WOAH......

Holy crap I am pumped right now.....

So I decided to do some research tonight (you know because I have all of this spare time) to see if there was some specific dissociative identity disorder (DID) training that I could do. There is... so that's exciting....but what's even more exciting is this

This is a show on Showtime called The United States of Tara. It's about a mom (played by Toni Colette....love her) who has DID. Can I just tell you I had the biggest smile on my face watching this show. I was actually able to see what was coming next. It was so cool! I have such a HUGE passion for DID and I just know I'm going to be working with people who have been BLESSED by this wonderful coping mechanism. Anyways, I could go on and on but I need to get ready for tomorrow. I know some of you are going to be interested in seeing this so I'll keep my fingers crossed that you can find a website to watch it on there. I was able to watch the first episode here http://www.sho.com/site/order/preview.do#/US_Tara_s01_e01 hopefully that link will work for you.

AHHHHH I love my heart and the joy these moments bring me. I have tears in my eyes right now and I'm so thankful to be handed this precious gift of getting my Masters in Counselling so that I can attend to others in an authentic, empathetic, trusting way!!!!!

High and low.....

Positive about today: It's freaking 23 here today....I was able to pull out the flip flops yet again... whose jealous?

Negative about today: MY MIDTERM....that's right I said MIDTERM.... WAS FREAKING 3 HOURS LONG! Is that not insane? Arghhhh I'm freaking drained right now. My "A" streak may be over. I'll let you all know when I get it back, yes even if it's not a "A" :)

Although I'm tired I've got more work to do for tomorrow. Normally I just relax on Wed nights. However, spending time with Jason this weekend was important so some things got bumped. Good thing I get to type those assignments though. My poor hand cannot write anymore today!

Thank you all for your well wishes about my midterm..... I was a little stressed!

Quick post....

(man that title makes me think of accounting.....) Sorry I dropped you all on my count down, things got a little hectic towards the end....

I'm a little stressed right now so I don't have a lot of time. I'm just getting back to VA, it's been a long day, and I have a midterm tomorrow that I need to study for. However, I wanted to let you all know that I made it back safe and sound.

I'm so thankful for the weekend. Although it was short and quick I had loads of fun. Thank you all for your blesses and well wishes. Getting to see everyone, going to MY church, laughing, playing games, SEEING JASON, squeezing that cuddly puppy, etc, etc, etc, has given me the strength to go on for another 8 weeks. Hopefully before I know it I'll be doing another daily count down!

Now on to study professional identity, function and ethics..... I think I'm going to need some strong tea for this one......

3 days....

I'm so glad yesterday is over. I haven't cried that much in a long time. Why is it that when one thing happens in your life a million more things hit as well? And how is it that you can have the best of intentions but those are usually received wrong on the other end? Anyways, it's done and I have a session with good old Nate on Wednesday night so I'm all set :)

I'm feeling really stressed right now so I'm going to be mean and not put up a pic. I'm running out of time to get all my school work done. I've been working really hard because I don't want to do a single thing when I'm home this weekend. I'm almost at that place. Plus I have to go out this afternoon and get some final supplies to bring back with me (Deb I've looked every where for those candies and have not found them....maybe at CHristmas time). Someone has put in an order for a coat for Trooper :)

I do however want to post this quote. I'm not usually one for quotes but I love this one. I pretty much love anything and everything to do with counseling right now because that's my life and I'm freaking pumped about it!

"Pay attention, we are listening each other into being!"

4 days....

How come the closer it gets to me going home the harder this is getting? Sheesh I am a mess today! I REALLY need to see this guy soon!

ha ha this was Jason's reaction when he got to the top of the escalator at the PGA Pro Shop in St. Augustine, Florida. Can you believe that we actually left there without buying anything?

5 days....

So I'm getting quite weepy whenever anyone asks me where home is or gives me the whole "oh you poor thing" when they realize my husband is still there. I found last night particularly hard after watching The Office (hooray Pam and Jim FINALLY got married...it was so good). Then today with Thanksgiving, this is the first time that I haven't been with my family for that. I don't know, it was just weird.

However thankfully I have some people here who I am super thankful for. Thinking of these 4 main people right now just makes my heart fill up with joy (well actually there are 5 but I do not have a picture of Trevor...I'll have to work on that). Without them I don't know where I'd be.

(Christian and Erica)

(Kurt---the Canadian---Nathan, Eli and April)

Since I've focused on Erica and Christian before let's talk about April and Kurt. I've only known these guys for 4 weeks now but I have been at there house every week for those 4 weeks. Being at their house reminds me of when I'm at Mandi and Greg's (except I haven't hit the upstairs bathroom yet...ha ha ha). I feel so comfortable there. April and I cook and chat. The kids are wonderful. Nathan is special needs and melts my heart and Eli. Ha ha ha oh Eli. She is a diva with a capital D. I love it. She so reminds me of Katie when she was younger. Oh and another favorite thing at their house for me is this guy....

Miles greets me in the driveway every time I come. I love him and he loves me. I snuck him some turkey tonight so we'll be best buds forever :) He has one fang that's longer than the other and hangs out of his mouth. It's really cute but you've got to watch it when you're petting him. He gets so into it and starts rubbing his head all over you not realizing that the freaky fang can slice you open.

The other nuts thing is that Kurt and Jason are wayyyyyy too much alike. Since Kurt has been married longer he has all the things that Jason is still begging me for. Like a truck for example. Kurt just got a brand new truck and it just happens to be the same one Jason wants. I told Kurt this the first time I went over. So EVERY time I go over now guess who has a new reason for why I should let Jason get a truck? Yup you got it Mr. Kurt. It's like having a piece of Jason right here in VA :) Today we need a truck so that we can haul folding tables and chairs from the church for our big Thanksgiving get together. I told him that 1. I would never have that many people to my house for a meal and 2. I don't go to a church that has folding tables and chairs that I would need to put in a truck. Doesn't matter though, he'll have something else for the next time I go over.

Anyways, although I wasn't home for Thanksgiving it was a blast. I'm tired and stuffed to the max but it was so worth it. The warmth and love I felt tonight helped me make it through another day in this sometimes difficult, lonely journey. I'm so thankful to them for blessing me with their home and love. I went to their church for the first time today as well and it was the first time since I've been here that I really connected with God in a church environment. I have soooo missed that. So needless to say I'll be back. Anyways here are a couple more pics from tonight....

Lastly Eli wanted me to put this on my blog because "this is the sign for I love you". I showed her what I thought it was but she said "no this is it, I know sign language" :) So there you go folks, a little lesson from a very smart 5 year old!