School

School is going well, but it is really keeping me busy. I just completed a big group project, one down and two to go! I am working on a 30 page paper which is due Monday evening and I'm about half way done. My internship is going really well. I have learned so much in the past month. I am involved in one individual therapy session with an adult and two sessions with young kids. I didn't think I'd like working with little kids but it is actually pretty fun. I have been doing some reception work, but they are in the process of hiring a new admin person so I won't be doing that anymore and will be more involved in the clinical stuff. I have down 3 intakes so far, with my supervisor in the room. I will do another one again today and then I will be on my own, except for the diagnosis (which requires me to be a Master's level student) and assigning the client to a therapist.

Mike was gone to Florida for two weeks and he will be going back at the end of this month for at least a week, possibly two. He has a lot of traveling to do in the next 6 months. He likes his job but he really doesn't enjoy the traveling that much.

Chelsea is busy with marching band. It is football and competition season so they perform quite a lot. They won 1st in visual presentation and 3rd overall at a recent competition. They've revised their performance a little so hope to take 1st at the competition this weekend. As for soccer, they have only won 1 game so far this year. It's sad because they do work hard, but they just don't have the right strategy, I guess. I'm no expert at soccer even though I've been watching Chelsea play for 12 years, so I really don't know what they are doing wrong. I'm just a cheerleader, win or lose. Chelsea is doing well in school with a B+ average. I'm perfectly happy with that!

We are having a big party for her 16th birthday. Her birthday is actually on the 23rd, but we are having the part on the 11th. We are combining it with her friend's party. They are the two youngest kids in the 11th grade (Chelsea's the youngest!) and they are best friends. We expect to have about 50 kids here and will probably have a bouncy castle (yes, high school kids still like to play outside!) and of course Dance, Dance Revolution and Rock Band video games. We are having a Hawaiian theme so I need to figure out what we are going to serve this herd of kids. They only invited 5 boys, so that will be interesting to see. Chelsea's friend has a boyfriend but she's not inviting him because her parents don't know about him and wouldn't approve. As far as I know Chelsea doesn't have a boyfriend, but I told her if she did she could invite him and we would not embarrass him. So we'll see! :)

That's about it for the past two weeks. I'm sure there were other exciting things going on but I don't remember them because my brain is fried!

Busy, busy life!

I am so busy with my field placement, volunteer work, school, plus being a wife and mother! I love my placement! I have been able to sit in on a few intakes and in a few weeks I will be doing intakes on my own, up to the point of diagnosis, which I am not qualified to do. At that point my supervisor will come in, I'll brief her on the intake interview, tell her what I think the diagnosis will be. Then she will actually make the diagnosis. Sometimes I'll be right, sometimes I'll be wrong. Either way I'll be learning how to be a therapist!

Tomorrow night I sit in on my first individual therapy session (not counting my own therapy in 1995/96!).

In my volunteer setting I've had an opportunity to meet and talk with a transgendered client (she is biologically a male, however has always felt that she is a female, and now lives as a female). Very interesting, and also very enlightening.

Chelsea is doing well, playing Varsity soccer for her high school, and she's also in the school marching band. Mike and I went to watch her on Saturday at a marching band review. Later this month is their first competition. She looks so cute in her uniform!

I also have to brag about how smart she is. She took the ACT Plan test last year (it's a sort of pre-test for the ACT) and she scored in the top 10% in reading and science! We are so proud of her!

I am preparing to apply to graduate school and am very busy with projects for all of my classes.

Mike is in Florida for two weeks for his work. I just hope he doesn't run in to bad weather due to hurricanes. He has to go back again in October.

Scruffy is doing very well, and since we've kennel trained him again he hasn't pee'd on the floor for almost two weeks. I am really hoping he won't start again!

That's all for now, and thank-you, Carol, for getting me to update!

Happy Labor Day!

And have I been laboring! With my internship, school, volunteering and being a wife and mother I have busy!!! But it's all good. The other day at my volunteer location one of the residents overdosed on methadone. Very scary. I feel so bad because although the guy is 52 he looks like he's at least 75. Guess that's what a lifetime of drug and alcohol use does for you. The poor guy had been sober for 3 months but unfortunately a former resident came by the place the evening before and we suspect that is why he OD'd. The former guy was forced to leave the program because he kept telling other residents that the rules (staying sober, keeping your apt. clean and staying employed) were BS and he convinced several to drop out of the program. Of course they only get 3 chances at this program and some of them have lost all of their chances. Too bad, but I guess it is their choice in the long run.

My internship is going well. I attended my first group for women with borderline personality disorder which was very enlightening. The place I work is very nice and provides all the diet Pepsi I can drink along with lunch every Wed. for staff meetings. Not too bad. Oh, and all the people seem to be very nice also.

Mike took me to Rickenbackers for dinner on Saturday night for my birthday. It was really nice. Today he gave me a dozen roses and a really nice card. He leaves for Las Vegas tomorrow for the rest of the week, for work so I'll probably not see him tomorrow.

Chelsea just got back from spending time with two of her friends at Bear Lake, this weekend. She had fun, but wasn't too happy to see that I'd cleaned out her room while she was gone. Really, it was so messy that I just couldn't take it anymore! I put all of her misc. stuff in bags for her to go through but her room is clean, all laundry is done and put away and you can actually see the floor!

Mike cleaned out and reorganized the pantry, again! That is his pet peeve, a messy pantry. I try to keep it neat but sometimes I'm just in a hurry when I'm putting things away. Oh well, he enjoys organizing so I guess I'm just helping him get some enjoyment!

It rained like crazy last night and this morning. It was nice because we rarely get a lot of rain, and it's nice to have the temps go down for a change. I even turned the heater on for a few minutes this morning.

I took Scruffy for his first walk since his back problems started. He did just fine and is sleeping right now. Guess I wore him out. Tomorrow he takes the last of his steriods and hopefully is completely healed. One thing we discovered in all of this is that he LOVES Rachael Ray dog food. He can't have food with wheat in it, which is hard to find outside of prescription dog food. We've bought just about every kind of wheat free dog food (even some that is $50 for a 20 lb bag) and he hated all of it. While he was in the hospital I saw an add for RR dog food so thought I'd check it out. Not only does it not have chicken by products but it also doesn't have fillers like so many other dog foods. The best part is that Scruffy LOVES it! Every time I feed him he just scarfs it down. I'm glad to see he actually likes something that is good for him!

Mama Mia

Mike is such a good husband! Yesterday he said he wanted to take me to a movie since school was starting (today). He let me pick the movie. I chose Mama Mia. Chelsea and I saw it on Broadway when we went to NY last summer and we loved it. The movie was great too, however Pierce Brosnan just cannot sing! I liked that Meryl Streep actually looked like she could be old enough to be the mother of a 20 year old (and she is). She let all her wrinkles show, with very little make up, and she can actually sing. It as a good movie, but I'm not sure the message of having sex with 3 guys in a matter of a few days is such a good one, but it was the 80's so it probably happened more than people want to admit! After the movie was over Mike said he needed to watch a John Wayne movie to get his manhood back! He was the only guy in the whole theater! Mike has several business trips this fall and winter so I told him I was going to buy the DVD when it comes out, have some girlfriends over, make margaritas and we can all sing along to the movie! He just rolled his eyes and laughed.

Scruffy is doing better, however he still doesn't have complete control of his bladder so we have to cancel our trip to Seattle over Labor Day weekend. We really can't ask people to keep him for us if he's likely to pee on their floor.

Today was the first day of school for Chelsea and me. I also start my internship this week. I will be gone two nights a week with school and work. But I am looking forward to my senior year. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course I start my graduate program next fall so I really have 2 years left. It's all good though. I pretty much know everyone in my classes. Two of them require group projects, which I'm not a fan of, but fortunately I am in two good groups so I'm not too worried about it.

We are still alive!

I knew it had been a long time since I'd updated. Carol wouldn't let me forget! But I didn't realize just how long! So hear goes:

We went to South Dakota to visit Larry and Shelia, Matt and Woody. We hiked Harney Peak and saw Mt. Rushmore.

We spent July learning how to be a family of four. Chelsea and Harley got along just fine. Better than most 15 and 12 year olds. Probably because they only have to spend one month a year together. Harley celebrated her 13th birthday here, and her favorite gift was a cell phone, Envy 2, or something. Before this she had a pay-as-you-go phone and couldn't text. Now she has unlimited texting, and according to Chelsea (who gets lots of texts) Harley is putting her phone to good use.

The beginning of this month we celebrated my parents 50th wedding anniversary. It was a great celebration. I got to see some aunts and uncles I hadn't seen in many years. I also saw some cousins I hadn't see since I was about 11 years old! It was great to reconnect and everything went very well. My dad bought my mom a beautiful anniversary ring and they are going on an Alaskan cruise to celebrate.

Friday afternoon I heard my dog howling outside. I went to the back door to see what was wrong and everything looked fine, so I told him to come into the house. He put his two front paws on the step but couldn't get up on his hind legs. I went down and lifted him up and brought him in the house. I set him down and he walked into the living room and sat down. This seemed very strange to me because he always wants attention and if he does lay down it's on the couch (yes, he is spoiled). I went over to him and started talking to him, then I walked across the room and and called him to come to me. He tried, but couldn't get his hind legs to work. I freaked out and called my vet, and of course they were closed. Then I remembered that a family that I go to church with owns an animal hospital. I called there and they got us right in. By that time Scruffy was paralyzed from the waist down. I was crying like a baby, because he is my baby. The vet said she could try steroid shots since I'd brought him in so quickly, and if that didn't work he'd need surgery. Scruffy is only 7 years old, and a Cockapoo. They often live 15-17 years, and my sisters Cockapoo lived for 19 years, so Scruffy is still a young dog. We decided to try the steroid shots and also decided that if that didn't work and the surgeon felt there was a good chance the surgery would work we'd do that. Don't even ask how much that would be! You really don't even want to know how much the weekend at the hospital will be!

Anyway, we picked Scruffy up from the hospital this morning and he is doing very well. He is walking and wagging his tail and looks fine, although he has some recovering to do still. The vet expects a full recovery with the medical intervention and doesn't think surgery will be necessary. This is such great news for our family. We just love this dog and can't imagine life without him. Guess who is going to be totally spoiled (more than usual) in the next few weeks?!

School starts for me and Chelsea next week. I also start my internship working at a private practice which specializes in mental health issues such as depression, alcoholism, obsessive compulsive disorder, and other problems.

I am starting a volunteer stint at the homeless Veteran's home here this week. I need some volunteer hours to put on my master's degree application and this is a program I'm passionate about so its a win/win situation.

I started running again today after about a 3 week break. It felt really good to be out on the road again. I won't be ready to run the 10K race I wanted to run, but I do plan on getting at least one 5K under my belt before it gets too cold.

All in all, I've gained 2.5 lbs since I got to my goal weight this time last year. I am on track again and will lose that before the end of the month, I hope. At least that is the plan.

I am hoping it won't be another 1.5 months before I post again. I'll try to be better! Mary

Married!

For those of you who couldn't make the ceremony, here is a video of us exchanging rings and being pronounced husband and wife!





Here we are, husband and wife! You can see our daughters in the background, as we leave the sanctuary of my church.














Here we are again, after the ceremony.














Here are all my girls after the ceremony. Eline leaves this week and it makes me very sad to be losing one of my girls.









Here we are shoving wedding cake (cheesecake) into each others mouths.




I am exhausted after months of preparation and from the parties and dinners and everything and am ready to take a nap. But first I have to take a minute to especially thank my mother, sister Karin, sister Tammy, cousin Robin and brother Bruce for all the work they did during the reception. I love you all very much!

I'm still alive!

My friend Carol has been bugging me to update my blog and I was surprised to find that its been almost a month since I last updated. Before Mike and I moved in together I was pretty good at keeping my blog updated. Hmmmm.

Anyway, his surgery went well, he is recovering well and starts physical therapy on Wed. Chelsea is doing great. She has a rare salt deficiency which is the cause of her dizzy spells. Most people get plenty of salt in every day eating, especially with all the processed foods we eat. Female athletes are particularly susceptible to this disorder, but even then it is still pretty rare. So fortunately all she needs to do is add salt to her meals and drink sports drinks when she is physically active. I always just provided water for her but she is thrilled that now I have to buy sports drinks for her.

The wedding is less than two weeks away. I am excited and yet I am looking forward to it being over. I am sure I will run out of food at the party afterwards, that my dress won't fit or I'll trip going down the aisle. I have no idea what to do with my hair, I've never been good with make up and I want the photos to look good. I guess in the end the main focus is that I am marrying a man I truly love, who loves me and my daughters. We've been through a lot in the past several months and have come out fine, so I hope that's a good predictor of times to come.

Mike is back to work after being unemployed for 6 weeks. He works for a military contractor and there were problems with getting the contract re-let. When we decided to buy a house we decided to only spend what we could afford if all we had coming in were our two retirement checks. Little did we know we'd get to try it out so soon! Actually the time off was really pretty helpful because we got a lot done with the house. The new company he works for is much better than the old one, with great benefits and a large pay raise. Very nice!

I am back in school with two classes this summer. I know I'm crazy, however this will really be a good thing this fall. I start a 20 hour per week internship at a private therapy practice plus will have 4 classes. In the spring I'll have the same internship requirement and only 3 classes. If I didn't go to summer classes that would mean 5 classes in the fall and 4 in the spring. A pretty good payoff if you ask me.

Well, I have loads of things to do today so I'd better get busy. I'll do my best to update a little more often. :)