As of today I have exaclty one month until my vacation with my husband and his family.  Last May I graduated with my Associates Degree in physical therapy assisting and began working in June.  Looking back I am so pleased with how far I’ve come but honestly I am also completely drained.  I think it will all be downhill from here but I hope I don’t need drug rehab for being a coffee addict.  There have been many mornings I wouldn’t have made it without my cup of joe.  Anyways, my professional life has gone so well that I am truly thankful for it everyday.  But now, I’m ready for a vacation. 

I could really use a new yoga dvd.  I bought one a Wal-mart a few years back and I think its really cheesy.  I know that yoga is supposed to help you relax, improve flexibility, and decrease stress but the woman’s voice on my dvd just drives me crazy.  Of course I could just be making up excuses not to do yoga but I guess if I don’t like the dvd I have then I won’t be motivated to exercise.  Also, some of the moves were simple and did help me stretch but other moves I just couldn’t pull off.  Some of it was so hard I wanted to cry like a baby.  I don’t know when or if I’ll try yoga again but I think I’ll stick to weights and cardio for now. 

At lunch the other day I was browsing through a furniture catalog when a co-worker of mine told me about a nice park just down the street from where we work.  Since the weather is getting a lot nicer this will be a wonderful escape for me during my lunch hour.  The truth is, I don’t particularly care for the town I work in.  The town is dying.  It was once a booming manufacturing community with well paying blue collar jobs.  All of these factories are now gone and the skeletons of the once thriving manufacturing plants still stand as a reminder to all that has been lost.  The small city park I plan to visit this summer on many a lunch hour will help keep me sane.  I hope.       

I can’t believe my nephew will be 11 years old this July.  I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday.  He is truly a unique person and he amazes me everyday.  He is a deeply sensitive soul and doesn’t forget anything.  Of course, he is a typical boy who doesn’t want to clean his room and thinks passing gas is the funniest thing ever.  With his birthday coming in a few months he doesn’t really like toys anymore.  He’s more into playstation, ipods, NFL jerseys, and things that typically cost a lot more.  Grandma has claimed guitar hero as the gift she will get him so I don’t know what the rest of us will do.  I suppose we’ll have to ask him to make a list again like we did at Christmas.       

If you ever looked for a job you almost always see listed under job skills:  “detail-oriented person.”  This has always freaked me out just a little because I am seriously N.I.D., not into details.  Afraid that a company would pass me by I always lie and say that I am a detail-oriented person. 

But honestly you won’t find a decorating theme for every room in my house.  You’ll never catch me buying personalized baby clothes.  My husband and I had no bridesmaids or groomsman at our wedding.  I don’t have 100 different pairs of shoes to match every outfit in my closet.  Anyways, nothing against those that do I just don’t focus my efforts on details.  I guess it’s whatever makes you happy everyday.  I feel like I worry less when I don’t have details clouding my mind.  I’m always looking for ways to make life more simple.  Maybe one day I’ll get there.   

I just watched a new episode of Oprah that challenged two American families to use less for 7 days.  The whole idea of the show was exposing what a typical family wastes in a given week.  Things like leaving the lights on, food, gasoline, paper plates, and the most wasteful of all:  bottled water bottles.  The reason Oprah got this one right is because hopefully it will inspire families to take a hard look at what they waste in their households.  Oprah even set up a hidden camera in her own company to see why they go through so many paper cups in months time.  The hidden camera revealed that several people where using up to four paper cups a day and where even double cupping.  Shame on them!  Oprah has now banned paper cups for her full-time employees and they have to bring their own washable coffee mugs.  Excellent idea! 

As a self proclaimed tree-hugger I just loved this episode.  Everyday I try to find ways not to be wasteful.  Just last week I had the battery in my cordless power drill rebuilt by a battery speciality store instead of just buying a new one.  I really take pride in not wasting all the resources we have at our disposal.  Now if I could just save a little more and perfect my weight loss strategy that would be fantastic!   

Midwest Living magazine has their new Best of the Midwest travel guide out with literally hundreds of excellent destinations throughout Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and finally…Wisconsin.  If your looking for a midwestern road trip this guide is a must read.  It highlights the best scenic drives, the best beaches (yes there are beaches in the midwest), the best towns to visit, and even the best FREE attractions.  Its organized by state with the editors pics on where to stay, where to eat, and what to do.  I have so many new places I want to see now including the beautiful upper pennisula in Michigan and an excellent Branson property called Chateau On The Lake.  The best freshwater fishing and the most scenic drive emerge along Minnesota’s North Shore.  Also making the list are South Dakota’s famous badlands, black hills, and Mount Rushmore.  Perhaps a cold one at the Firehouse Brewing Company in Rapid City would sit well after a long day.      

Last week I treated a wonderful elderly woman with relatively advanced Alzheimer’s Disease.  Instead of driving the U.S. Interstates in a class A motorhome like everyone else her age she is stuck in a haze of confusion known as Alzheimer’s.  When I called her name in the waiting room she gave me a puzzled look and asked me why she was here.  Luckily she lives with her daughter who came along with her and helped me with her physical rehab.  After every exercise I instructed her to do she asked, “Why do I need to do this?”  She must have asked me this question 15 to 20 times in the course of 30 minutes.  

“Your legs are weak and we’re helping them get stronger,”  I said. 

“Oh, shit on it,”  she said.  She asked me the same question again, “Why am I doing this?” 

I decided to think of a different answer, “Something to do I guess.” 

“Oh shit on it,”  she exclaimed again.  Everything was “oh shit on it.” 

She walked into the clinic with a nice blue rolling walker with a seat and brakes.  When I had her doing exercises in the parallel bars I asked her how she was doing with her walker.  “What walker?”  she said.  When I pointed to the blue walker she walked in with she said she had never seen it before and didn’t know what I was talking about.  Later as we ambulated with the same blue walker she tried to run away from me and said that she walked more than me throughout any given day and didn’t need to walk anymore.  I smiled and gently agreed with her.  To get her to walk 2 more laps around the track at the end of our treatment I asked where she grew up.  She then began to tell me she grew up on a farm with her parents and two brothers.  Amazingly, as she talked about her young life on the farm the confusion was suddenly gone.

Next time I see her we’ll talk about the farm again.  Maybe she won’t run away from me.           

Thank God spring is finally here.  If you live in the Midwest then you know how extremely crazy the winter weather was this year.  We had too many exhausting and frustrating days driving on the icy roads.  Anyways, all of that is over now and we can look toward the arrival of summer.  Some of my favorite things about spring are the warmer weather and watching my lilly’s start to come out of the ground.  I also love to sit on the back patio in the mornings before work and drink my coffee when its quiet.  I’d really like to get some new patio chairs with an umbrella or maybe even some teak furniture for durability.  Whatever I decide to get I’m just glad its spring.