I've started a new quarter (7th quarter of 16). Board exams are in August and 9th quarter is the beginning of my clinical education, so it's nervous times right now. I'm starting to feel like a doctor, which is an interesting transition. My professors are starting to see us as equals, as colleagues, which is even stranger. Addressing a physician by his/her first name is still a novelty.
Beyond that, I'm coming to a new understanding of Naturopathic Medicine. I'm sure this understanding will evolve and change for the rest of my life.
Health is not a magic bullet or a cutting edge pill. It's a process. There's a time and a place for all of those cutting edge surgeries and theraphies, but for most of us health is as simple as being present in our body, paying attention to what it tells us. Drink eight glasses of water a day. Get 15 minutes of sun a day. Take a half hour walk four times a week. Sleep eight hours a night. Take a half hour every day for yourself to reflect on the wonders of this life (shit, if you do one thing, do this one) .
Do all those things, and do them right. That's medicine.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A Winning Season
My JV soccer season ended 2 weeks ago on a very high note. We won our last 5 games of the season to finish the year with a 7-6 record (my best coaching record yet!). My team of 19 girls (most of whom do not play club ball in the off-se
ason) really pulled it together and came out on top. I had a great time getting to know the girls and coaching them. We just had our end-of-season party tonight. It was so fun to get together at someone's house and share some laughs. We did a potluck and with all the cultures on my team, we had everything from pasta to tamales to shepherd's pie-- so yummy! Keeper did me a HUGE favor by making a tray of past
a and ordering the cake for the girls. The pic below is of me handing out awards (Soccer Olympics medals) to some of the girls. I couldn't have asked for a better group of girls. They were awesome!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
New Apartment
We have finally finished unpacking and getting things (mostly) put away. It has been a crazy 2 months since we signed the lease but it is definitely starting to feel like home. We love the new place!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Christmas Travels
Keeper and I have just returned from a 2-week jaunt around the northe
ast. We flew into BWI late Friday night on the 19th and spent a whole week at my parents' house. I got some quality running (training for th
e upcoming 1/2!) done with Joy & Andrew which included 2 x Triple Crown, 1 long run of 14 miles, and some 5-6 mile neighborhood runs thrown in there. Our nephew/ godson got baptized at my home church on Sunday, December 21st. His eyes were wide open and watching everyone during the service and no tears were shed! What a cutie!
On Monday Keeper and I
accompanied Jen and the little BB out to Somerset, PA to meet up for lunch with some friends who were visiting family in Ohio. Somerset was pretty much exactly in between us and in fairness to everyone, that's where we chose to meet. There wasn't much out there except a funny smell when we got out of the car...very mysterious.
We enjoyed the usual Christmas Eve festivities with my family. We had a big early Christmas Eve dinner with my immediate family (including husband
s & boyfriends), then off to church for the Christmas Eve service. Jill was in the Christmas play and she was fantastic! We loved it. After church, we headed up to my grandparents' house in Hanover for some late night goodies and visting with aunt, uncle, cousins, and their significant others. Christmas day was my long run and then the WHOLE family came up to my parents' house. We had delicious food and it was so good to catch up with everyone I hadn't seen since last Christmas!
On the 26th, Keeper and I headed up to Boston to visit his side of the family for a few days. We picked up Corbin at a train station in NY, then went to his oldest brother's house in Winchester. We were so excited to play with our neice and nephews for a few days. They are awesome! We also got a quality visit in with Keeper's mother, who was visting from
Florida. We did Christmas dinner with the Yimoyines on Saturday the 27th, then on Sunday I got a (short) run through Winchester in and Keeper and I headed into Boston to sightsee for a few hours.
We headed back to PA on Monday with a stop in NJ to visit and have dinner with Keeper's cousins and their kids. We had so much fun with them! We got to Jen's house late Monday night and stayed there until New Year's Eve. Keeper took a night off from my family to head into Brooklyn to visit an old friend and hang out with his brother again, while I stayed at Jen's and got to grab dinner and some shopping with my college roommate. Fun! I also got to spend quality time with the little BB.
We got back to my parents' house for New Year's Eve. We did our take-out Chinese food feast, followed by some games of Apples to Apples and a round of Master Detective Clue. Then, for the first time since college, I got up to my grandparents' house for New Year's day. We had pork, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes as well as a great visit with my dad's side of the family. Our last night on the east coast was spent packing and playing some games in front of the fire in my parents' basement. So cozy! We returned to AZ yesterday afternoon, despite a brief delay in Chicago.
ast. We flew into BWI late Friday night on the 19th and spent a whole week at my parents' house. I got some quality running (training for th
e upcoming 1/2!) done with Joy & Andrew which included 2 x Triple Crown, 1 long run of 14 miles, and some 5-6 mile neighborhood runs thrown in there. Our nephew/ godson got baptized at my home church on Sunday, December 21st. His eyes were wide open and watching everyone during the service and no tears were shed! What a cutie!On Monday Keeper and I
accompanied Jen and the little BB out to Somerset, PA to meet up for lunch with some friends who were visiting family in Ohio. Somerset was pretty much exactly in between us and in fairness to everyone, that's where we chose to meet. There wasn't much out there except a funny smell when we got out of the car...very mysterious.We enjoyed the usual Christmas Eve festivities with my family. We had a big early Christmas Eve dinner with my immediate family (including husband
s & boyfriends), then off to church for the Christmas Eve service. Jill was in the Christmas play and she was fantastic! We loved it. After church, we headed up to my grandparents' house in Hanover for some late night goodies and visting with aunt, uncle, cousins, and their significant others. Christmas day was my long run and then the WHOLE family came up to my parents' house. We had delicious food and it was so good to catch up with everyone I hadn't seen since last Christmas!On the 26th, Keeper and I headed up to Boston to visit his side of the family for a few days. We picked up Corbin at a train station in NY, then went to his oldest brother's house in Winchester. We were so excited to play with our neice and nephews for a few days. They are awesome! We also got a quality visit in with Keeper's mother, who was visting from
Florida. We did Christmas dinner with the Yimoyines on Saturday the 27th, then on Sunday I got a (short) run through Winchester in and Keeper and I headed into Boston to sightsee for a few hours.We headed back to PA on Monday with a stop in NJ to visit and have dinner with Keeper's cousins and their kids. We had so much fun with them! We got to Jen's house late Monday night and stayed there until New Year's Eve. Keeper took a night off from my family to head into Brooklyn to visit an old friend and hang out with his brother again, while I stayed at Jen's and got to grab dinner and some shopping with my college roommate. Fun! I also got to spend quality time with the little BB.
We got back to my parents' house for New Year's Eve. We did our take-out Chinese food feast, followed by some games of Apples to Apples and a round of Master Detective Clue. Then, for the first time since college, I got up to my grandparents' house for New Year's day. We had pork, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes as well as a great visit with my dad's side of the family. Our last night on the east coast was spent packing and playing some games in front of the fire in my parents' basement. So cozy! We returned to AZ yesterday afternoon, despite a brief delay in Chicago.
Friday, December 12, 2008
One Week to Go...
So it has finally begun to feel like the holidays are here! Despite the abundance of Christmas lights/decorations in dirt covered lawns across the Valley of the Sun, I just wasn't feeling it this year. Once again, Keeper and I are tree-less because a) we are going to be gone for 2 whole weeks and b) we are moving (starting tonight!). But I am finally getting REALLY excited about the trip back east and finishing up my first semester of teaching for the school year.
I will not say the semester has "flown" by, but it has picked up a little in the past few weeks. I am finished with my final exam preparations. The review packets have been handed out and the exams themselves are photocopied and ready to go. Grades are almost done. My letters of recommendation for my seniors are finished. I am *even* planning ahead to the first week back and would love to get my classroom cleaned up a bit before I leave for vacation.
We have two tough games next week for soccer. I somehow got suckered into the "Secret Santa" this year with the girls but the gift has been bought. Thanks to a not-so-great job by the athletic director of rearranging our schedule, my team had two whole weeks of no games (only to be followed by 2+ games a week for the whole month of January). I have a great group of girls this season and they are learning a lot and are a ton of fun to be around. Next Thursday's game is basically in Mexico (right next to it), so we are taking a charter bus for the 5+ hour drive down there as soon as finals are over on Thursday morning. We won't get back until after 1am and then I have to be back at school Friday morning for teacher checkout. Nice. I am even going to squeeze in a much-needed haircut and doctor's appointment before heading to the east coast next Friday.
We are so excited to spend time with family! Our godson is getting baptized next Sunday in PA and we can't wait to head up to Boston to meet the newest little Yimoyines after Christmas! I swear I won't even complain about the cold weather (much) when I get there. On a side note, I would like to say that winter in Phoenix is absolutely lovely. It's the perfect running weather. The sky is just amazing in the mornings and evenings (bright pink, purple, blue, orange). It's cool enough to wear a sweater or light jacket in the mornings/evenings, but you're still good to go with shorts and T-shirt in the afternoon. Love it!
I will not say the semester has "flown" by, but it has picked up a little in the past few weeks. I am finished with my final exam preparations. The review packets have been handed out and the exams themselves are photocopied and ready to go. Grades are almost done. My letters of recommendation for my seniors are finished. I am *even* planning ahead to the first week back and would love to get my classroom cleaned up a bit before I leave for vacation.
We have two tough games next week for soccer. I somehow got suckered into the "Secret Santa" this year with the girls but the gift has been bought. Thanks to a not-so-great job by the athletic director of rearranging our schedule, my team had two whole weeks of no games (only to be followed by 2+ games a week for the whole month of January). I have a great group of girls this season and they are learning a lot and are a ton of fun to be around. Next Thursday's game is basically in Mexico (right next to it), so we are taking a charter bus for the 5+ hour drive down there as soon as finals are over on Thursday morning. We won't get back until after 1am and then I have to be back at school Friday morning for teacher checkout. Nice. I am even going to squeeze in a much-needed haircut and doctor's appointment before heading to the east coast next Friday.
We are so excited to spend time with family! Our godson is getting baptized next Sunday in PA and we can't wait to head up to Boston to meet the newest little Yimoyines after Christmas! I swear I won't even complain about the cold weather (much) when I get there. On a side note, I would like to say that winter in Phoenix is absolutely lovely. It's the perfect running weather. The sky is just amazing in the mornings and evenings (bright pink, purple, blue, orange). It's cool enough to wear a sweater or light jacket in the mornings/evenings, but you're still good to go with shorts and T-shirt in the afternoon. Love it!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Holiday Visit
Posts are scarce because soccer started a month ago... but we had family visitor last week so I wanted to post an update and some pics.
Joy made her first visit out to Phoenix just in time for .... 2 days of rainy weather. It never rains here! She flew in last Tuesday afternoon (the 25th) and made it in time to see my team win the first game of the season! She came to school with me Wednesday for a half day and then we had the afternoon off to go for a run and hit up Pita Jungle for lunch. We ran a 10 mile race on Thanksgiving out in Peoria. The weather was weird for Phoenix, re
ally muggy and humid. Afterwards , Keeper treated us to a delicious wild boar leg for Thanksgiving dinner. It sounds kind of weird but it was DELICIOUS! I made the veggies and mashed potatoes and we opted for wine for dessert instead of pumpkin pie ( I couldn't top my Grandma's if I tried, anyway). Frida
y morning we all headed out to the Superstition Mountains and did some hiking in Lost Dutchman State Park. The hike wasn't too strenuous but we got some awesome views and Chloe was very well behaved around the other hikers and dogs. In the evening Joy and I went to Barnes and Noble for a few hours because the club I advise at school (NHS) was doing some gift wrapping as a fundraiser so we supervised that for awhile. We had a pretty low key weekend. I was happy to have some company on my runs and we both spent the better part of Sunday (after church) being lazy. Monday was back to school and Joy ran my practice for me. The girls weren't used to a tough practice but they learned a lot and we need more practices like that because are next game is against a really tough team. I am so glad she came out for a week to see us!In other news, Keeper is in the midst of midterms, I am in the last push before finals, and we are gearing up for a tough soccer game on the 15th. We are also signing a new lease next week for a new apartment. It's a nicer, newer, larger place in a better neighborhood. Let the packing begin!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)