Courage

Courage

Two years ago I quit my full time job to begin taking pre-reqs so I could apply for the Physical Therapist Assitant program at ACC. When I left my manager gave me this figurine and said it reminded her of me. The piece is called "Courage". I thought about that today and it is just in time! This week I take finals for a very challenging summer semester. I've been thinking about hope and faith in preparation for tackling the week, but I also want courage to go face it confidently. While I was driving home from church a hymn popped in my head.

Hymn #169 "As Now We Take the Sacrament", vs. 3.

As now we praise thy name with song, the blessing of this day
Will linger in our thankful hearts, and silently we pray
For courage to accept thy will, to listen and obey
We love thee Lord, our hearts are full, We'll walk thy chosen way

Yes, courage is what I want this week. Courage makes one confident. Confidence will help you face the unknown and tackle your fears.

May you have much love, faith, hope, and courage!

ps.- this is dedicated to my cousin who needs some confidence... this goes out to you. I love you!

SLOW DOWN!

Two-weeks ago today I was headed back from seeing NKOTB in Dallas. I was tired and had 2 tests to prepare for, however I decided I wanted to go to the gym. I had a nice 20 minute walk on the treadmill, than decided to run 2 miles to finish up. Two miles were up, I started to cool down. As soon as I did, my foot started aching. For the medical terminology proficent- it hurt at the base of my 5th metatarsal...aka.. the side of my foot about 3 inches below my pinkie toe. I iced it, I elevated it, I rested it. By the end of Sunday I was limping in a lot of pain.

I've been freaking out about money this semester and just couldn't bring myself to go to the doctor or have an x-ray taken of my foot. I resorted to my new skills and education (I am just an unlicensed student and not suggesting this is medical advice). If you take a tuning fork or Ultra Sound and place it over the bone where a fracture is suspected, it will hurt. My foot didn't when I did this. My range of motion was not painful. Touching it was not painful. It was slightly discolored, but not very swollen. Still I iced it and tried to stay off of it. Monday turned out to be a rotten day for various reasons. Luckily my visiting teachers caught wind of my day and brought me yummy homemade cookie ice cream sandwiches.

By last Friday I was still hurting a lot and I knew I needed to just give my body a break. Even though the tuning fork test was negative, I decided it might possibly be a stress fracture. I went to borrow crutches at school and one of my instructors basicall said- here, if you are going to go to extremes, try this boot. When I put it on the pain disappeared. So I told myself- someone is trying to tell you something- SLOW DOWN! I have been going a million MPH this summer and stressed to the max, so stress fracture or not, the boot made me take this week slow.

I spent all this week in the boot. Which meant no working out. What-no working out for a week? That was torture! Another lesson about slowing down. If I was freaking out by not going to the gym, I'm a bit more addicted than I'd like to be. I need to learn a better balance.

Yesterday things changed. I was at school for the incoming student orientation. Another PT faculty saw my boot. I told him my suspicions and he let me know he thought I was wrong. I think my exact words were- how do you know Mr. Know-it-all? He said even a stress fracture would hurt with the tuning fork. After making me walking around the classroom without the book, poking at my foot and applying some pressure, his opinion was that it is my cuboid bone out of wack. He showed me some mobilizations to invert my foot to try every 2 hours. I'm trying it and have been boot free since last night. I hope this a permanent solution.

My lesson in all this seems to be to slow down. I will wear myself out soon if I don't learn to find a better balance. I was reminded by a friend in my program that we learn stress is important on the body. For example in weight lifting the stress on the muscle fibers is important to building more muscle mass. However, rest is equally important. If you stress it and stress it, the body is going to become weaker. Spiritually, emotionally, and physically these principles all apply.

Lucky for me there are only 2 weeks left of school and most of it will just be learning and reviewing. "So relax and enjoy learing", I was told. Yes, I am going to do my best to slow down, relax, and just keep enjoying the ride.

Capes and Tiaras

"I am fairly certain that with a cape and a nice tiara I could save the world"

My friend shared this quote with me. I loved it! I'd so like to wear a tiara. Not that I think I am more special than anybody else! That's not it at all. If women all wore tiara's, maybe the world would see their inner beauty more easily. I also like how it doesn't say "rule" the world, it says "save" the world. Maybe if we all had a cape and tiara we could go out with more confidence serving and loving, and acting on our God-given capacity to nurture and make a difference in the lives all around us.

Part 3...Couldn't resist! NKTOB rocks!

I've been MIA for the past several weeks. School is keeping me busier than I ever imagined. It is harder than I ever imagined (in part because of the pressure I put on myself to do good). I am officially a "poor college student" since my bank account dropped to lower than it has been in years. Months ago I bought tickets to go see New Kids on the Block yet once again. Silly you say? I beg to differ. Although 3 concerts in one year is a bit over the top, if you could have seen some of the other woman at the concert, I am so under the radar when it comes to a crazy fan. I was a bit worried that going to the concert in the middle of the summer semester, right before 2 major tests, was a dumb idea. I was so stressed out though about school and life, it was probably one of the best stress relievers I could have found. I went with 5 other screaming fans. We screamed out heads off in our 26th row, stage right, with a perfect view of the 5 brothers from B-town, for 2 hours. I am sure all of us are still thinking of the night.


Our concert was special because it was the 2nd to last of this year long tour they have been doing, and it was taped live and could be seen online. They did songs that I hadn't seen at my other two concerts. For the ladies who know, Joe McIntyre solidified his spot as my favorite. He just seemed to give 110% into his songs. It was all a show I know, but he just seemed so in to it, it was fun to watch. They all looked like they were having a blast. One of the nice things about New Kids on the Block is that they were constantly thanking the fans for letting them tour again. I am sure their bank accounts are nice and fat from it also, but I think their gratitude was genuine. Here are some pics that my friend Kati took (she got to touch Jordan Knight! ), enjoy!!!


Probably signing "Hanging Tough" at the end. "Listen up everybody if you wanna take a chance. Just get off the phone and do the New Kids dance!" Stadium full of everyone waving back and forth. It was cool.


"I could just stare, at you forever..if you forever you were staring at me" Joey Joe- HOT!

Joe and Jordan...hamming it up! Did I mention Kati Uminski touched Jordan? She lept over the railing for her chance when they were in the crowd for "Single". She was thrilled!


Jon Knight- see how close he was when they moved out into the crowd? "Pretty mamma if you're single, single, you don't gotta be alone tonight...I'll be your boyfriend!"
Love it!
I really like the hats. This might have been "Please Don't Go Girl".

End with the best...Thanks for a great concert!