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

i scared the people at home depot so much they gave me a discount!

well, as promised yesterday, today i went to the dallas isd health fair. not because i was particularly trying to be healthy... see, the district had an initiative this year. if you are able to amass a certain amount of points, you will receive a $500 bonus. so i currently fall within the parameters, and should be receiving that check, now that i've gone to the fair.

so, the fair. i was given a card to take around to the various booths for initials. of course part of that involves talking to the people at the booths. every time i found a booth that was something i already do/have, it was like a wave of relief that they couldn't try to sell me something. (health fair anxiety). the only one that i was actually interested in was the chiropractic group. i actually set an appointment to go see them on the 26th, so hopefully they can help me out!

for going to the health fair, they discount it to $20 for the eval and consult

 so i checked out their site, and apparently they use space technology-what does that even mean? space technology for my back...hmm. what am i getting myself into? whatever-if it helps my back to get back to normal, they can have aliens come down and walk on it...just sayin.

 yes, they had give-aways. i will have to go through and look at the papers i received and see if there is anything worth looking into. and now i have a few more goodies to throw into our goodie box at school! they had some great kid things, some exercising going on, raffles-there were even some massage chairs! i wonder how many employees actually participated; it didn't look like many were there, but it is kind of an in-and-out event. i really hope several people attended, as it really did have some useful stuff!

 probably one of the best things they offered was the health screening. i don't get to the doc as often as i should. so now i know my blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure...woohoo! i had no idea when i got in that line that i was going to have my blood siphoned out of my finger. maybe before i went in for the cholesterol screening, i should have started my day with nuts and an avocado instead of two pieces of bacon and an egg! :-/  WAwahh.

what a prick!

on the way back, i stopped at home depot to get those materials for the garden!
i walked into the plant-area, looking for olla pots, and they had several terracotta planting pots, but no ollas. when i asked the girl at the cash register, and tried to explain what i was looking for, she looked at me like i was asking her for a lamborghini.. so she looked for another guy and said he might know, so he was looking for the planters...and the lady said, "oh, i think i know what you mean, i have one in my window sill with a plant in it!" and i was sorry to burst her bubble, but i shook my head and said, "no. no, you don't put plants IN it, you bury it in the garden bed and fill it with water and the water seeps out gradually and evenly into the soil around it." again she had the clueless look, and they decided that there was one person who might know of what i was speaking. so when i found her and asked, she knew what i was talking about, but unfortunately, they didn't have any of these receptacles. sad face.

so i went inside and got other materials i was in need of, and had martin cut some pvc to the right length for the beds. when i went up to the front to pay, courtney, the cashier was great. another employee was walking by and struck up conversation: looks like someone has some fun plans around the house! when i explained that i actually work for the school and we are always looking for volunteers to come help out, she said, "oh, you work at a school? like a teacher or something?" yep. so she told courtney to ring up an additional percentage off through a local group discount because they were gonna help out Cabell today! 

i'm pretty sure she felt sorry for me or was a little frightened of me. i say that only because when i went into the bathroom, while waiting for the rest of the pvc pipe to be cut, i looked in the mirror and scared myself. it was humid in dallas today...must i elaborate? my hair is riDIculous when it is humid out! and today was no exception-fly-away, frizzy! i believe the discount was an additional 10%; she probably would have liked to give me more because i looked beat up with that hair! so i made sure to fill out a survey and do a review for them. smiles. i am especially excited about the trimmers. i cannot wait to try them out!! i may go in early monday just for that! #gardennerd

and when i got home today, i did go back and try another glue/watercolor painting on canvas-i think i need to make two more to flank this one. i like the way it turned out.

yum

that kinda wraps it up-tomorrow will be much more relaxing than today-that makes me smile!

finish the weekend well!
julie

my food coloring is gnome-match for watercolors...and what's up with the affix resources?

tried some watercolor fun this week-tried using food coloring, but i wasn't impressed with the final product, so i purchased some liquid watercolor. tried out the glue/watercolor effect- i may try it again when i have a minute.

yep. gnome food coloring. his face was still on from the last experience...so i updated him.

this morning as i was on my way out the gate, i noticed this sign-they sell cheap pizza from picasso's in front of the main office on fridays. but the sign leaves something to be desired...like maybe.. an understanding of prepositions: - until= through until...how does that work? now, i haven't purchased their pizza this way, in fact, i usually try to avoid eye contact as i get my mail. a few weeks back the kid yelled over at me, "hey! sure you don't want some pizza?" we were in the middle of our weight loss challenge at school, so i yelled back at him. pretty sure it was something lame like, "i can't- i'm in a weight loss contest," but i'm pretty sure it would have been more interesting if i'd said something like, "why's everybody always picking on the fat kid?" or "when you fix your sign, i'll buy your pizza!" hmm.

one of these fridays

 i am currently in a slight dilemma. one of the items that we purchased to help students with their prefixes and suffixes looks like human anatomy..ok, let's just go ahead and say it. it looks a little like a big toe. um. who came up with these things? i am trying to figure out how i can manipulate the item to create something that looks less like...a big toe. kinda' at a loss. i fear our 3-5th graders will never forget what prefixes and suffixes are! and they will tell the story to their grandchildren around the campfire after singing kum-by-ya...

pretty sure whoever designed this concept did it right after they got their walking papers just to spite the company.

 thursday night i went to the last garden coordinator meeting of the year. it was really good. i loved the lesson. it was really about finding evidence and gathering as much evidence as possible if you wanted to come up with the best inference, or even to be able to prove your fact. really good, using trees and insects-two separate lessons.

they use these olla pots to water their gardens now. so we may be at the point soon where it would be wise to make the switch. 

 i need to go out this weekend to get some of the olla pots and some other things that we will be needing in the garden. i have some ideas. so that will be fun-we may have to have a fun garden day sometime in early summer before everyone takes off!

in other news, this has been a good letter month! what does that mean? well, i have sent off several letters, and this month, i have actually received a few choice cards. i love mail-i've said it before, but it bears repeating, there is something very endearing about the hand-written letter, as handwriting is a part of who you are there are certain aspects about handwriting that are tied to your personality, therefore, a letter is precious commodity! i treasure every note!

brandy, traveler that she is, not to mention artist, never fails to amaze with the beautiful cards and stationary, and rachel with my belated b-day card (LOVED IT! your heart always shines through)

 and today when i went to my mailbox, the only thing there was this letter-usually it's all junk mail, so to see a letter made my day!

indira, i cannot wait to meet your boys and just to visit houston and hang out with you!

for those of you in the houston area, i am just going to pass along this info-shameless plug! if you are looking to redo a room, or add on, check it out!

 so, to those of you on my list of letter recipients, thanks for being a part of the letter-writing experiment/adventure/journey! 

i need to purchase a new space heater..this little guy has been faithful, but is on his last legs (personification), the motor...his little heart almost stopped the other day-i let him rest, turned him on his side smacked him a few times, shook him, turned him upside down, and guess what...he worked the next time i tried...so the moral of the story: when you think your loved ones are on their last legs, beat them up  no...um...fight with them ...not it either...fight FOR them! yes, much better!

 it is a meat-locker in my office (hyperbole), if you don't keep moving, your blood might coagulate in there! so yes, i had to periodically put the heater on my lap to warm up today, because the hot air was getting cold before it would reach my core!

good thing the fire marshal didn't come in, he might accuse me of trying to be joan of arc...modern day-death by trying to climb into the space heater...(not as much about fighting for God, but...ok, so terrible analogy)

there really isn't much else to tell tonight, but i'm thinking there might be another weekend post, as i am going to the district health fair tomorrow, and you NEVER know what you're going to encounter when you have to go across town to a district-anything! i can guarantee i will be covertly capturing the best moments for documentation! bwahaha! (i am going, not because i am a health nut...far from...more like, because there is a $500 incentive tied to it and i have completed the other elements).

on that note, fare thee well,
julie