instruments for subluxations, blood-pressure kit and a hanger for the car keys

well, i did it. i went to the chiropractor, and they took x-rays and used some equipment designed by NASA to detect heat spots in my spine-which indicate possible subluxations (pinched or irritated nerves). this particular day, i walked into the office, and there was no one there, except bradley-who, looks kinda' like big boy only with orange-ish hair. i hate to say it, but he kinda' drove me nuts.

main entrance-it's a fairly new practice

  when we were in the room where they pulled out the NASA equipment, it seemed like he was really trying to sell a used car. i said something that made him think of a joke, only it was from a stand-up comedian act, and when he tried to set it up and explain that part, then told the joke prefaced by "it was something like..." i should have known i would have to break out the fake smile and fake laugh. when he started to talk to me like a kid, i was really annoyed. he actually tried a CLOZE sentence with me, where he said something and trailed off at the end, leaning in to let me know i was supposed to fill in the blank. pretty sure he said: "so, if you know that it isn't helping, it's..._______" so i gave him my annoyed look and answered with my 'are you really doing this right now' voice: HARMING?. conversation didn't get better the longer he went on. finally the doctor came in to do the x-rays and she was normal.

what i noticed was that the appliques on the walls were slightly off centered or just 'not-quite straight' enough that a discerning eye would notice. not that i'm judging...but yes, i am kinda' judging. before i left, i was given the appointment card for the follow-up visit:

it's CRUCIAL to bring a spouse or a loved one! (not one of the three of us that showed up had a spouse or loved one with us...)

then i went back in to hear the recommendations and all goes along with that. it took a good 60-90 minutes. there were 3 other new patients, so the doc gave her introduction and like a powerpoint presentation of what chiropractic is, and how she got involved-her story, if you will. and then each person went back for the individual consultation. well...my x-rays showed what my body feels like, so i wasn't totally surprised.

i'd hoped that the back surgery a couple years back would've taken care of everything, but unfortunately during the past school year, my back has been getting progressively worse. 

all sorts of interesting stuff going on in there! anyhoo, she said i was a good candidate and thought they would really be able to help (of course, i am certain they say this to everyone). BUT at this point, i just need my body to agree with me. i think part of the reason i don't get out and do things i really enjoy is because my body has been working against me, and i've just resigned myself to that for too long. i have a pretty high threshold for pain, but it'd gotten to the point where bending over to put on socks or pick something up off the ground hurt- i'm too young for that-

i need to get back to doing the things i love again.

so i started to think about all of the things could have contributed to all of this...

• falling from the top of the tornado slide-kindergarten
• makeshift high jump in our backyard in teguc and i totally over-jumped the mat and landed flat on my back-wind knocked out of me. 
• various roller-blading spills
• 1 major car crash and 2 minor accidents (which messed up the cars)
• falling jumping from an 8 foot retaining wall on a rainy night and falling (first acl tear)
• missing my footing on a jump in a cave and falling on back from about 8-10 ft
• airlines-lifting, stacking heavy suitcases and trunks because no one can travel with bags lighter than the 50 lb limit...apparently
• being independent- getting a futon up to the 3rd floor alone, moving a love-seat down from the 3rd floor-and across the parking lot, rearranging/completely moving everything in the apt two times in two weeks when they did the floors...alone

i'm pretty sure there are other things i am missing, but that's probably a pretty good start. so i will be seeing the chiropractor regularly- it takes 20 minutes to get there, on a good day, and only 5 minutes for them to do their part...so yes, 40 minutes of travel for a 5 minute adjustment. worth it-the drive is relaxing for me.

so, they did the first adjustment the same day. the alternate doc was there, and he did the adjustment. he went in to ask dr. bri where the 'instrument' was. i'm sure this instrument has a name, but they just call it the instrument-i wonder if it just has a weird name, or they cannot pronounce it. i suppose if i were an inventor and could patent a device, i would call it something like the flickinbickenmcklickenspicken device...then people would always refer to it as 'THE DEVICE,' as well. 

so yeah, i did just look it up, and it's called the  impulse adjusting instrument ...anyhoo-hopefully the whole sock and tying the shoe thing gets better with the next few visits! 

new subject-bruno had his acl surgery! poor buddy...his leg looks like frankenstein's monster. he's doing pretty well. the good thing is that he is not a jumpy energetic one, so he's pretty good about lying down and resting, although there have been a couple of times that i've caught him contemplating a jump and stopped him. constant supervision. boys! so if i can't keep an eye on him, i have to cage him up. chaco may be a little jealous. "why can't i have a surgery?" "why can't i wear a cone?" i thought about going out and buying one for him so he doesn't feel so left out. not really, because that would be odd behavior...

tuesday is the final reveal for our secret pals at school-good times. it's been fun-i love doing stuff like this. there is something fun about giving. (only not when it's like giving taxes, or giving money to bruno's doctors)... 

and i decided to try the more minimalistic approach with dressing during the week for school. my own uniform, if you will. going with khaki/tan pants and black shirt. easy. so on monday, i found some pants that i really like the fit of at dress barn. unfortunately they only had one pair and they couldn't order online. so she checked some other stores in the metroplex and found a store with 2 pair, so they ordered them to be delivered. i then got in my car and went to walmart because the target had closed down and i wasn't aware. 

after pulling in, i got out of my car and was walking away and remembered i needed something from the trunk. so i reached for my keys to open the trunk...they weren't there. nope, once again-story of my life-locked them in my car! WHAT IN THE WORLD??! so of course, i had to stay with my car while i waited for the man to come and break into my car. it took him 45 minutes to get there and all of 1 minute and 42 seconds (approx) to unlock my door. boo. so i watched carefully and i think if i got myself a blood pressure kit, i could do the same thing. pump that sucker up, give myself the space to get a hanger in there and pop the lock! no problem-i could TOTALLY do it! they don't call me mcgeyver for nothing.

right there. there they are. just on the other side of that glass. just sittin there. STUPID KEYS!!!!

so i did use my time well-i took loose carts to the corral, and offered to take carts from people who were nearby to pass the time. when i wasn't being useful, i was leaning against the car trying to look cool. new trend-hanging out by your car at walmart-it's "IN." just ask the cool kids. so there was that. i got home much later than i had planned that night. double-boo. 

and i said i was going to try the whole liquid-water color paints- i decided to go with neutral shades...yes i do need to adjust the pics with a level. i was too lazy. like the peeps at the chiropractor office (only i don't have to unpeel these from the wall).

from my favorite song on the GARDEN STATE soundtrack

i made it through field day yesterday. i cannot believe i didn't get any pics! it was brutal. we did hockey shots in the gym. the pre-k kids had never held a stick, so it was a great little motor-skills event for them. i had on my fake smile and enthusiasm all day long... and that was exhausting!! BUT the kids had a blast, and that's what really matters! 

this thursday, it's off to berkeley, ca for our little teamsfest, teaching channel escapade! it should be really good for us- lots of valuable information and ideas for next steps and how to be really successful implementing this more personalized pd next year in a way that really benefits all of our staff. THAT is what i am looking forward to.

alright, enjoy your memorial day weekend, take time to honor those who have served and given their lives for our freedom-heroes.

julie

what's covered? hopefully all the important stuff!

i know i mentioned that bruno was limping since we had gone on spring break. he continues to not bear weight on his hind leg, so i took him into the vet, they sent him home, he kept limping...i took him back. they took x-rays yesterday afternoon and let me know that they couldn't really see anything in the knee, they would probably refer me to an orhto- do the mri, acl...like mother like dog....

but that wasn't all they saw in the x-ray, so they thought they should probably let me know that they saw bladder stones. looks like surgery. as i sit here reading about it, i am realizing that i need to get this done, like...next week, asap. (if the stones get caught in the wrong place, they can cause blockage and become a life or death situation. ugh). so it's a blessing in disguise that he had to have the x-ray! hopefully the pet-insurance i purchased will take care of the bulk of this and the knee thing...yikes. oh, and the tech said he would be on a special diet for the rest of his life... bruno asked if it could be ice cream and pupperoni...gross. 

because of the knee, the vet said crate-rest. so this morning, i put up the fenced area and placed a pee-pad, bed and small kennel inside, then closed the pen-with him and chaco inside. when i pulled up in the parking lot, i parked my car and with the car door closed, i could hear chaco barking. i thought, 'wow, does he know the sound of my car? why is he barking so loudly?' then i looked up to the 3rd floor window of the apt and saw bruno up there in the window..little son of a gun...he had shimmied and squeezed out of the bottom of the fencing because i didn't have the bungee cord tight enough. that will be fixed tomorrow. and of course, there was chaco inside barking like he was in pain...emotional distress-poor guy! he wasn't even supposed to be in there in the first place, he was just moral support for bruno, and bruno abandoned him. how rude. and i'm pretty sure it's going to be even worse tomorrow when i take bruno in, to the surgical place for his appointment.

i've had pet insurance since he was about 1, but i have yet to make any claims on it-although i should have many times over. that said, i am curious about how much will actually be covered-fingers crossed that it will be the majority.

did i mention that i looked EVERYWHERE for my care credit health card? i searched high and low yesterday and today, until finally i remembered that i had taken out all of my cards before i went to HONDURAS last summer and placed them in a pocket in one of the pieces of luggage that i left at mom and dad's and hadn't needed it since, so there it was still where i had left it. the worst of it, or rather the part that took so long was finding other things that distracted me...squirrel!

in other news, i would like to issue a public apology to everyone who was on I35E southbound between the minutes of 11:35 and 11:40 on friday march 27. i may or may not have cut across...6 lanes of traffic to get onto loop 12...and i may have been very rude, pretending it was everyone else's fault...when CLEARLY it was the fault of the lady in my phone. gps lady was not giving timely instructions. so yes, if you thought i was mouthing mean things at you, i was. pretty sure if the lady in my phone could've talked to me, she would've said that was uncalled for! thank God there is no 'attitude accountability' mode on my gps, because i'm pretty certain that the insurance people would stop replacing phones broken by sheer road rage at some point...

i got new address labels made, and the boys are super excited...and let's not lie, it kinda' feeds the desire to write more letters...it doesn't take much!

dapper young men!

we had our garden day last saturday. we got so much done!! thank you to bank of america, they sent volunteers who cam and worked SO hard! i was pretty excited about the pea plants and that they had survived the winter, but i went ahead and pulled them up so that we can plant more-i need to get some peas to 2nd grade so that they can come out and go through the process. 

peas!

the bulbs i planted last fall came up as well! that was a pleasant surprise! i actually planted 3 varieties of spring plants, but only the tulips and the other pretty flowers blossomed...perhaps next year the 3rd will show up!

i stopped by redenta's to get our reals school garden plants, and i was able to purchase some additional plants as well-they were precious cargo, so i was able to use the boys' car seats to transport them safely-here's hoping the boys don't get jealous.

ok, so back to boa. i was really glad that they showed up, because they really were helpful! had they not shown up, it would've just been dr. hughes, mrs. perez, sean, mrs. derse, one of our faithful parents, jose, and me! ouch. so i gave them the vision, and they headed off to conquer the garden! 

what all did we get done? well, i'm so glad you ask! we moved all of the tree cookies into the courtyard to create an additional sitting area under the tree (we being not me...thank you sean and other strong man with a good back). sean also dug a hole to sink the post for our weather vane! a group of 4 built the new raised vegetable bed (remember how it took me awhile, but i put one together awhile back? well, i tried to stay out of this and let them figure it out themselves...walking away is not always easy, but sometimes it's easier than sticking around to listen). the beds are weeded and chopped to size. the strawberries and other transplants had to be planted or else they were sure to die. another group took out the dead bushes that the district 'gifted' us. (i think they were on their last leg when they were given, because they were dead within weeks), and then they put up the bedpost that i found near the dumpster last fall. in front of it, they planted 2 honeysuckle bushes that will vine up and smell sweet as ever! i strategically had them placed near my office window...honeysuckle is one of those smells that accompanies pleasant memories of branson! what else? well, we got the pallets painted white so that we can put them up to pretend they are picket fences (they will receive a face-lift with flowers painted on them). and then there are the river stones that were "painted" white. i may need to go back and redo some of them for the project that i have planned. and last but not least, i got someone to turn the compost!!! woohoo! i almost forgot two very important projects, the pond pump got cleaned out and some brick and pavers got laid. (got laid out? well, regardless, there is now a huge square of bricks and pavers....with a little fence-thing that creates the aura of a headstone...? we're working on that!)

now, there's always a story. so, while we were out there, i was doing a lot of facilitating and pointing people in the right direction.  for some reason, and i truly don't know how it began, but every time i went near this one guy, he would allude to 'unbroken'-the movie...the book...i have not seen it, i have no idea what it is about. have you ever had the pleasure of working with someone who acts like a 16 yr old boy, but they are really 50-60-ish? well...i have. comments from, "i was driving through colorado last winter and i was really worried about the other drivers-they smoke marijuana...it's the mile HIGH state!" laughs at own joke. later, i showed him how to turn compost and layer it. "wow, this looks like poop. you know, dung beetles eat poop. can you imagine that? how gross is that? eating poop!" at this point, i really didn't feel like carrying on the conversation, but i did think about the boys and the fact that when they get bored, they eat poop...but i just didn't want to open up another can of worms."wow, this is really tiring! now i understand the term back-breaking work. i feel like one of the characters from unbroken...like i'm in a prison!" but i can't complain...the compost got turned and tiered! then as things were drawing to an end, he looked over and saw three drills which had been used in the building of the raised bed, and he said, "can someone follow me home and drill two holes in my wall? i just need two holes. i lost my recharging cord, and they were going to charge me $10 at home depot to rent one! i'm not paying $5 per hole!! seriously, will someone follow me to my place to drill two holes? or lend me a drill? i'll bring it back." that's really how it went down. no embellishments. i'll let you try to figure out who in the picture you think i might be talking about. i'll give you a hint...it wasn't the young boy.

and of course, if you work in a garden in texas, there are always the fire ants to deal with. 

pretty sure fire ants are a cross between regular ants and one of satan's cousins. little jerks.

all in all, the garden looks great, it is ready for the summer veggies, and while there are still more things that need to be done, it is manageable!

i did get mail recently, and it was such a blessing! i love being in touch with some of my former kampers still! they mean the world to me! so when i got this, kamp memories come flooding back, but more importantly, it is such a joy to see how they are doing! one of my favorite erins (and there are a few!) sent this one-so creative and such a neat story going on in her life! i love that i have had the opportunity to see these beautiful friends grow up and become amazing influences on others! 

oh, and of course, i must give a shout out to HONDURAS! while i was in springfield, i stopped at mama jeans market, and i saw this before i slipped out. i was thrilled! yea for HONDURAN products!! i love the anecdote!

and last but not least, i like my avocados, but i don't like it when i use a half and then the other half gets all brown and crazy. i've seen a couple of different solutions for this. one is to use oil, another said rub onion on it... i decided to try coconut oil. i mean...it's liquid and then it turns into a solid at lower temps. so when i put it in the fridge, it solidified into a little wax-like coating. it worked overnight, and the next morning, it didn't disgust me enough to deter me from eating it-good news! 

thank you, coconut oil!

 and now it is time to get to sleep so that tomorrow i can live another day!
julie