Thanksgiving

One more day of Thanksgiving break left -sigh-. But it's been a good break. =)
Mom, Dad, Chris, Christie, and Ashley came to see me! Hooray! Very exciting. And all the rest of my stuff came up as well. A million thanks to my dad who drove the truck with all my stuff in it all the way up here. That is not a fun drive. =/
Hopefully we get the green light to occupy the house soon. Just a few things left here and there until we're there. We're supposed to be in by the first of December. But then again, we were supposed to be in by Halloween at one point in time. Ah well. All in good time. But, like I've said before, I am SO ready to be in my own space with all my own familiar things, sleeping in my own bed again. I am eternally grateful for having somewhere to live for virtually nothing all this time... But I'm ready.
Thanksgiving was fun. Lots of people, lots of food, lots of laughter. Friday I went to the Mountain Lake Inn with Christie, Ashley, and Chris. That's where they filmed Dirty Dancing! Had to drive up the side of a mountain, almost got killed by a tour bus, wandered around in a cloud in 34 degree weather plus wind chill, but it was totally worth it! It's just like out of the movie!
Also saw Harry Potter on Friday. I liked it quite a bit and this time there were no major plot points left out, such as entire battle scenes. Always good.
And.... My camera got a lovely workout! Finally! So, for your viewing pleasure... (Because Blogger was being awesome today, these are a little wonky in their alignment...)

The Intern aka The Future Housewife

So, not much going on this weekend, but I was feeling crafty this weekend. I've been working on a lap-sized afghan for some time now, and it's coming along nicely. I add on average one color stripe every day, which doesn't sound like much, but I'm really only working on it after dinner during Wheel and Jeopardy. Such a party animal I've become, I know. Anywho, I'm needing a bit of a break from it for a little while, so with the help of YouTube, I've mastered the Granny Square. Also, forget trying to decode crochet directions anymore... YouTube makes it SO much easier for those like me who need to SEE it being done. =) 

My very first Granny Square. This one has a round center.

Square Number Two- I did this one in twenty minutes flat. Super easy. Why have I not done these before?

The "LapGhan" if you will. Pretty straight forward ZigZag. I think I just now figured out how to make the ends look nice and neat... But hey, it's my first one of these, too. Oh, and if you look behind it, that's part of the T-shirt quilt I made this summer. 

I'm going through photography withdraw.

Rather Profound Thoughts from Rather Profound People

On occasion, my kids say some of the most amazing profound things. I have decided to share them with you, my devoted readers(...), to so enrich your lives as mine has been.

On hair growth:
MT: What grows on your head?
Pre-school Class: Hair!
Single Kid: Sometimes hair grows on your legs.

On Light and Darkness:
Preface: Student was making up a song about going to the doctor
Student: Then we went into a really dark room. But it was really dark, so we turned the light on.
MT: Then what happened?
Student: It wasn't dark anymore.

More to come, I'm sure. =)

A Different Perspective

I work with lots of kids from lots of backgrounds and I see lots of different kinds of kids all week. And sometimes you meet a kid who just breaks your heart. I can't use names or locations or details or anything else, but this isn't about that. This is about me being every so thankful for the amazing family I grew up in with a happy childhood and not a care in the world. Which is how it should be when you're a kid. Take time and be thankful for what you've been given. And if you didn't have such a great childhood, be thankful you came through it. Learn from the past, change the future.
And on a totally different note, I often how I can think to complain about things like a headache or something so trivial when I work with so many kids who are medical miracles. Just a different perspective.

The Intern: A few things I've learned

1. I have learned that I seem to have a certain talent for understanding those with severe speech impediments. And those who have developed their own language of sorts.
2. Changing the strings on a classical guitar is way more of a pain than my acoustic.
3. Guitar strings make your hands smell like old pennies. Yuck.
4. Cold in VA is so completely different than cold in SC. 37 degrees just doesn't feel as cold here.
5. I still don't like eating sandwiches everyday.
6. Pretty much everything can be played in D or A. Few exceptions.
7. My car and I still have a love-hate relationship. That is, we love to hate each other.
8. Driving on some of the back roads in the mountains makes me feel car sick. And I'm the one driving.
9. I like having my own kitchen. Or at least one that I do the majority of the cooking in.
10. If it weren't for Skype and AIM, I probably wouldn't be able to make it through this whole thing.
11. Even though they're hours and miles away, I still have some of the best friends I could ever ask for.
12. Even though I will probably never find a church like Summit, it's good to be getting involved in one here.
13. Whoever invented decaf coffee should be shot.
14. I really miss the convenience of free gym use and evenings with the elliptical.
15. Yes, I can lose 20 pounds. And I have. =)

The Intern: Day 40

I have completed eight weeks of my internship! Go me! Monday I (sorta) take on my own case load. I say sorta because I'm actually seeing everyone we see on Monday by myself. And Tuesday is a little funny as well, but that's ok. Today was a really good day. I've identified the student I'm going to be working with as a Case Study and I'm really looking forward to it. My case study in school was so different than this student and I think this will be more interesting and beneficial for me in the long run. Next week I'm tackling some journal article reviews. Easy-peasy. I've done so many of those I could do them in my sleep at this point. But, it must be done, so do them I shall.
Still not doing much to talk about on my weekends. It's a little difficult to meet people my own age. Even at church where I'm in Sunday School with my "peers", they all see each other more than once a week for an hour or so, unlike me. I do hope I can make a few connections with people. If not, well, I'm going to be watching a lot of movies and doing lots of craft projects. Such is life. But here's to hoping. =)
One thing that I really want to do but can't due to my lack of friends here is going out to take pictures. =( So much to photograph, no one to keep me from falling to my doom.
Well. 19 days until Thanksgiving break and with it come some of my very favorite people! And 50 days until Christmas, so 46 or so days before I get to go home for Christmas break. Huzzah.

A Gift for You this Tuesday Evening