Any other requests?

Heidi has determined that I need to update my blog...so here goes. When Heidi made her demands, er...request yesterday, I told her that I would try to do it last night, but it did not occur. Let me tell you, I heard about it this morning! :)

The problem lies in the fact that I really don't have a very exciting life. Some of my good friends have just announced engagements and baby news, but I have none of those things to report. My life is busy, yes, but not exciting!

So, here's an update. Right now I'm taking "Mechanics of Movement" in Andover each Thursday evening. This is my last class that I need to take from Butler for my massage program. Mechanics of Movement is really just a fancy way of saying kinesiology for massage...needless to say, it has the possibilities of being a difficult class. Since I've had less than stellar experiences with my Anatomy/Physiology class experiences, and Mechanics of Movement relies on a lot of knowledge I SHOULD have learned in AP/Path, this will be an interesting semester. So far, I feel like I'm learning quite a bit, and that I may have actually learned more in AP/Path than I originally thought. We'll see how it all ends up.

I am still taking massage courses on Monday evenings in Marion from my tutor, Carolan. Right now we are concentrating on soft tissue release therapy. I've also recently added Hot Stone Massage to my repretoir, so you'll all need to come and enjoy one of those! Our specials this month at the clinic are a 90 min. Hot Stone Massage, or a 30 min. peppermint foot massage (20 minutes massage on the feet, then warm stones between your toes, and hot towels wrapped around your feet for 10 min).

I'm also working one evening each week at the clinic, as well as during the day on Saturdays. Between classes and working, the chores at home aren't getting done, but I suppose that isn't the highest priority since I'm the only one there.

Healthwise, I've been fighting a cold/influenza type of thing for the past 2 weeks. I've been on a round of antibiotics already, but my ears are still clogged. I'm a lucky one though, as our school is being hit hard by Influenza A and B, strep, staph, and mono. I'm taking lots of elderberry, additional vitamins and drinking lots of water/tea in order to get well, and to not catch any of the other crud floating around.

Our family has experienced a real miracle in the past few days. My Grandma Buller was taken by ambulance to Newton Medical Center last week, and then taken on to Wesley in Wichita. She spent several days in the hospital, and we were told that she had suffered from a heart attack. Her organs started shutting down, and we were told that she would die in a matter of days. On Sunday I went to Wichita and said my final goodbyes, which amounted to letting her know how much I loved her. On Monday, Grandma miraculously recovered and we were told that she would be able to go back to the home in Goessel. She went back to Bethesda last night.

I've experienced both ends of the emotional spectrum in a very short time! It was with great joy that I came back to school yesterday. I had already made some of the preparations here at school on Monday, laying the groundwork in case I would need to be gone (The children I work with do NOT do well with change--in this case an unexpected substitute. I had told them about Grandma and that I would most likely need to be gone, and wouldn't have the chance to warn them before I left.). The kids were so sweet yesterday when I told them that Grandma was doing better. One of the worst behaved children even went and told the PE teacher that Miss Buller had had a miracle and that things were going to be much better! :) Just an example of the fact that underneath all of those bad behaviors, this child really DOES care.

Please keep me in your prayers--the rest of the year will be defined by the end of the year chaos. April and May are notorius for the amount of meetings that are required, but my meeting (IEP load) is already starting now. I've got a mountain of paperwork piling up on my desk, and as of Friday of last week, I no longer have plan time. My plan time has been taken away (even though this is part of my contract), in order to work with a student full time in the resource room as his behaviors make it so that he no longer may be in the classroom. I'm trying very hard to keep a positive attitude about the whole thing, but at the same time, I rely on my plan time in order to get everything done. We also start State Testing and District testing in about two weeks, which means that no schedule stays the same, and I'm constantly juggling kids and paras, trying to figure out which direction they should go, and whose needs are most important. As sad as it sounds, I'm already counting down the days until summer vacation! :) I'm sure I'm not the only one though!

Love to all of you!

Erica's Zesty Chicken Soup

This was my contribution to our family Super Bowl Party. I don't normally cook with Velveta, but it makes this soup really creamy.

3-4 Chicken breasts, shredded--Save the broth/water from cooking and add to soup later

Saute 1 small bag baby carrots, 1 large onion, and 6 stalks celery (all chopped fine) in 1/2 stick butter.

In a large pot combine sauteed vegetables and shredded chicken. Add 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, broth from cooking chicken, 1 can Rotel, and 2 soup cans of milk. Add 1 lb chopped pieces of Velveta. Heat throughly, although don't allow it to boil.


Enjoy!