Come away with me

2009-02-03T21:25:00.002-06:00

So I just got around to going to the 4th Pic folder 4th picture..... Sorry Dinah. So this picture was taken In Oct 08 in Columbus, Miss in front of the Mississippi State College for Women sign. I had traveled down with my friend Emily to visit our friend Jessica Stephens and her family who had moved back to Columbus in the summer. MSCW was one of the schools my mom had attended in her undergrad years.

Pride comes before the fall.

2009-01-29T14:39:00.003-06:00

I know I know it has been a while..... so for a short mini update Chris moved to Lincoln, NE in August 08'. I did not. BUT..... at midnight on Dec 31st we got engaged and so I will be getting married on May 9th and then moving to Lincoln as well. I plan to do a this is 2008 blog with pics from the year and everything, but right now I am just going to provide a short story.

Over the last 5 months Chris and I have been traveling back and forth between Dyersburg and NE about every other week or so, and taking turns doing the traveling. I have gotten really good at getting airline tickets, knowing when to get the best deal and everything. The one thing I have strived for most is to get the A1 seat on southwest. Really the only way you are going to get it is to buy the business select ticket, which is a more expensive ticket, but sometimes it is only ten dollars more. You can check in 24 hours before the flight so get a good number for loading, so I have also become good at watching the clock and checking in. I once checked in at exactly 24 hours before and was given the A45 seat. So this is a skill you have to practice at. You see, I like to get my favorite seat on southwest..... the very back row next to the window because I want to be at the back of the plane if it crashes since you always see the tail sticking up in a plane crash..... so this is where i want to be. Also, there is a door close for a quick exit.

Well, when I purchased my ticket to come to Lincoln this weekend, the cheapest tickets were sold out and the business select ticket was at a reasonable price so I dished out the extra 6 dollars and then began my wait for the on-line check in time. Tuesday came and when I checked in......BAM A3 for the first flight then BAM BAM A1 for the second flight .....SCORE!!!!!!! I finally did it .... I got the coveted loading number .... group A person ONE... the first out of many!! So I fly out of Nashville and into Chicago Midway. I take my time, get some grub with a smirk on my face because I have the golden ticket ... I have A1.

When I get to the gate at boarding time I notice that there are a lot of people already in line to board, but wait, the group numbers are not even posted yet... "what is this, " I ask myself. I ask some of the people sitting, thinking maybe this is a previous flight that still hasn't left yet. Then I found out...... there was a flight before that had about 40 people on board who were through passengers, but for some reason they need to make a aircraft change and had the passengers get off in order to board another plane ...... my plane.... and these 40 were going to get to board first!! In 1 sec I went from A 1 to A 41. I was no longer first, but somewhere in the middle.

As I was standing there at the Marker 1-5 watching the 40 pass me by as they boarded before me I realized something, or more exactly, I opened my eyes to what God was saying to me at that moment. He used this tiny insignificant event in my life to show me that we may think we are numero Uno, and that it is all about numero uno, but in reality we are just one number in a billion numbers. We are just one in the middle of many. What we do with our position in life is up to us. I could have caused a scene and demanded I be boarded first, since I did have A1, I could have gotten all the other A 1-40 fired up and rushed the skyway, but I did not. not because I didn't want to, because part of me did, but for two reasons. Because I knew that I was not any more important, or my needs were not any more important than the "40 through passengers" and because if I did storm the plane I would not be here writing this now, but sitting in jail in Omaha.

MRIs, MRAs and Gabapentin

2008-09-18T19:43:00.004-05:00

So back in April I started having some sensation issues with the right side of my face along with some muscle twitching. I went to the MD back then and they thought I maybe had shingles without the break out. I got put on Gabapentin (Neurontin) and the symptoms seemed to go away. I was scheduled for an MRI but chose to see if the meds worked first. They did, so fast forward to July and i change jobs and run out of the meds. The symptoms come back and worse. Still no breakout. I finally had the MRI a couple of weeks ago and it turned out basically normal except for some "popcorn calcifications" in the right frontal lobe . There were 2 to be exact. Well, stupid me got on the Internet and typed in MRI and Popcorn calcifications......not a smart thing to do. I freaked myself out because apparently popcorn calcifications are seen in MRIs of people who have either migraines or MS- Multiple Sclerosis.....and I don't have migraines. Yesterday I met with the Neurologist and he walked in a said "You do not have MS." And I didn't even ask him that. I wanted to scream out " PLEASE tell me I don't have MS" when I was walking down the hallway and saw him going into another room, but I refrained. So Yay!!! I do however, they think, have shingles. I am going to have an MRA on the 30th to look at my vascular stuff and a couple of canals. He thinks the original diagnosis was correct and in my case I am just not having the break out, which is great since I do not want blisters on my face. God is great!

Seattle: or should I say Queen Anne

2008-07-07T16:47:00.004-05:00

So last week I went to visit my sister and brother in law in Seattle. I used my Honduras ticket since I did not go this year (I will post on that later). Mary and Mark have lived in Seattle for almost 3 years and I have not gone to see them, so I thought that this would be the best time since I had 2 weeks before I started my new job. I flew out last Wed (July 2)and Marked picked me up at the airport. Lets just say that Sea-Tac airport has not mastered the art of the luggage transport from the plane to the carousel. After waiting forever I got my one bag and headed out. Mark to me to see Alki beach. It remined me of Miami beach on a smaller note.We then headed to their apartment. They live in an area called Queen Anne Hill that over looks downtown Seattle. See Wikipedia.
On Thursday we walked around Queen Anne which is seriously straight up and down. It was soo beautiful though. The yards were in full bloom and the weather was just right. There is some amazing lavender growing. I have never seen lavender that tall and thick. I had to educate Mary on Lavender. After the walk we went to Mars Hill Grad school where they are go and to Pike Place Market. We went to the first Starbucks and saw the place where they throw the fish. That night we went to eat with Jeremy and Wells a couple that are friends of M & M's. We headed to a "Kroger" to gets supplies to make potato salad and I was introduced to a really really cool device. The parking garage for the supermarket is below so you have to take an escalator. Well there is a escalator for the buggeys. It reminded me of the a rollar coaster ride. The buggy goes in through some swing metal doors and is pulled forward by a track and is lowered down as you are going down yourself next to it in the people escalator. Its cool.
The 4th we ate breakfast at Pecos. I had eggs with salsa and black beans with corn tortillas .... awesome!! Then we went to a house party at a classmate's of Mark and Mary's and then watched the fireworks from the park above Mark and Mary's apartment. It was so beautiful. It was the first time since 2003 that I have been in the states for the 4th. There were fireworks going off all around the city.
The trip was short but I really enjoyed spending time with them and in Seattle. I already planning a return trip for longer.

WALL-E

2008-06-29T21:54:00.002-05:00

I went to see WALL-E the other night. I was a very good movie. For most of the movie there is no talking, which sounds dull, but was not due to the personalities of the robots. I suggest spending the money to see it.

Sex and the City

2008-06-16T08:14:00.002-05:00

I love the 'Sex and the City" TV series. Why you ask? Here is why.....I love SATC because it follows 4 friends who stick together and up for each other through it all. They all don't have the same views on life and relationships, but in the end they learn from each other. Plus, and this is a big one, you get to see NYC in the show. Ok, now onto why I started to blog about SATC. I went and dragged Chris with me to see the SATC movie a couple of weeks ago. It was good for a TV series gone big screen, but of course nothing equals the original. Here is what I gained from it. The soundtrack. For those of you who know me know that I love music and different kinds of music. I sometimes even come upon a track or two that I have to put on repeat and drive everyone crazy who is riding with me. So now I have a new one...actually a few. This soundtrack is great. It has stuff from Run DMC to Jennifer Hudson. It has old goodies like "Auld Lane Syne" with a twist. Jennifer Hudson performs a song called " Dressed up in Love." It is a very, totally rad, exceptional performance. It is on repeat on my IPOD. They even put the theme song on steroids and it is just a great piece. So, for those of you out there who do not care about seeing the show or movie at least check out the soundtrack. There are some good work out songs: Fergie's Labels and Love.
Peace out

NKOTB

2008-04-04T10:49:00.002-05:00

don't know about ya'll but I am way excited!!!

Block Watch: New Kids on the Block to Reunite
From: MSN Homepage

Following two months of reunion rumors, the five original members of New Kids on the Block made it official Friday with an appearance on NBC's "Today" show.

The group's "Today" segment confirmed the group's plans for both a concert tour and new studio recordings in the climax to a succession of media leaks that began in late June with an item published by People. People's Web site also tipped fans to the "surprise" NKOTB "Today" segment on March 31. Speculation that the Boston-based quintet (comprising Donnie Wahlberg, Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Danny Wood and Joey McIntyre) had spread following the earliest leaks.

A major redesign for the group's official Web site added more pronounced weight to the prospect of a rekindled career.

"The fan response to this has been incredible," band member Donnie Wahlberg told the Boston Herald.

Wahlberg said he was convinced to get back together with his former bandmates -- Joey McIntyre, brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight and Danny Wood -- when they decided to record new music. Wahlberg said he wrote 80 percent of the new material with McIntyre and Jordan Knight.

"I had no interest going out on a nostalgia tour and singing the same material," said Wahlberg, 38.

But he added, "We absolutely will do the old songs for sure."

At the height of their popularity, New Kids sold out world tours, marketed millions of dollars in merchandise and spawned a Saturday morning cartoon.

The group disbanded in 1994. Wahlberg has acted on television and in movies, while Jordan Knight, McIntyre and Wood released solo albums. Jonathan Knight became a real estate developer.

MSN Music has obtained new video interviews with members of the group, as well as a teaser trailer featuring clips of broadcast reactions to the prospect of their return. Conspicuous are giddy reactions from female celebs, including Elisabeth Hasselbeck, acting less than their age at the thought of junior high heartthrobs returning to active duty. The timing for a reunion is propitious: This year marks the 20th anniversary for "Hangin' Tough," the group's sophomore album release that established the group's commercial clout through hit singles such as "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)," "You've Got It (The Right Stuff)" and the title track.

A reunion for the platinum act marks a new twist to a time-honored "boy band" tradition that has reappeared for each generation since the 1950s. With the New Kids, it was Gen Y that largely fueled the screams and swoons, reacting to a videogenic group assembled by impresario Maurice Starr in the wake of his crossover strategy for New Edition. NKOTB's success in expanding Starr's teen R&B equation into an even broader pop, hip-hop and R&B mix established a template that would be emulated a decade later by the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and 98°.

Three cups of tea

2008-01-28T20:33:00.000-06:00

I am back from Guatamala. I spent four days down there with my company doing PT stuff. I went with another PT from STAR and a Orthpedic surgeon from Nashville. We saw a lot of patients, I watched a lot of surgeries in a very little, extremly hot room, and got to go to Antigua for dinner. I saw volcanos as well. Made a lot of new friends.

The Thursday before I was to leave on Sunday I came down with a stomach virus and so I did not feel well most of the trip, but in the end it was good and I would be glad to go back. As soon as I get pictures I will post them.

Also, while I was there I was reading a book called, "Three Cups of Tea." It is about a guy that got lost while climbing down from K2 in Pakistan and the people he met that changed his life forever. He has spend the years leading up to and post 9/11 in Pakinstan working to educate the children, boys and girls. I am telling you, this book is amazing. It ranks up there with "Redeeming Love," and everyone would be better off having read it. It will give you an insight about the Pakistani people and their lifestyle, as well as their commitment to the religion of Islam. Take the time to read it!

Also, having read this book I am now on a binge of biographical books about central Asia. I am now reading, "Soliders of God." I'll let you know about it after I am done reading it, Inshallah.

Peace Out!

Guatamala

2008-01-24T00:13:00.000-06:00

So I have been in Guatamala since Sunday night.

Coach Counce...Past and Future

2007-12-18T19:02:00.000-06:00

For those of you who attended Dyersburg High School from 1995 on you know who James Counce is. He took our football program from nothing to somthing in 3 years. I got to know Coach Counce first through our women's weight lifting class my senior year. Last years 06-07 football season I helped cover the Dyesburg games for the company I work for, and I got to see first hand how Coach Counce interracts with his players and with his assistant coaches.
At the end of the 06' season, Coach Counce retired from coaching to spend time with his wife who has had been battling with illness for a while. Sadly, she passed away soon after his retirement.
Coach Counce and his son James Jr. then went on to be assistant coaches for Montgomery Bell Academy outside of Nashville, while Dyersburg had already hired the Obion County head coach. Well, two Fridays ago DHS's coach annonced he would be leaving, but then on the following Monday..........we found out that Coach Counce and James Jr are coming Back!!!!!!!!!!
I cannot wait for the 08-09 Football season to start....and things getting back to the way they should be. Go Trojans!!

Christmas

2007-12-12T18:59:00.000-06:00

Christmas......how I love thee....Let me count the ways

5. Presents of course.Taking time picking out presents for our loved ones, and then watching the looks on their faces when they open them.
4. Christmas food...candy...sweets....ham.
3. House decorations: who doesn't love seeing the trees filled with lights, wreaths hanging in windows and the glow of the christmas tree shining through the windows onto the freshly fallen snow...oh wait this is west tn...forget the snow.
2. Christmas songs: I love them all!! Christmas movies! Christmas smells!
1. The reason for the season.....remembering that Christmas represents the birth of our Savior!
I love hearing the story of the birth read from the Bible on Christmas eve...nothing better.

A new stamp for my passport

2007-10-11T12:52:00.000-05:00

I got the call yesterday that I will be heading to Guatemala in January. I will be going with other STAR employees. Not sure on the details, actually I have no idea about anything yet. I just know I am going. I am really excited!!! Let ya know more when I do...
Peace out from Dyersburg.

Second verse same as the first

2007-10-08T20:11:00.000-05:00

Well so on Friday I had a patient come in on for an evaluation and lo and behold I thinks they have a DVT. After a few moments of, "should I send her to the ER or not" i decide ER it is. I was worried about the whole situation b/c I did not want her to go through the whole ER process with hospital bill included and not have a DVT because she had only like 2 out 4 DVT signs. Hers were swelling and warm, but not pain with Dorsiflexion and a squeeze (she did c/o calf pain) and no redness or glossy appearance. BUT I had a feeling..........well good thing I listened to my feeling.......she did have one. ALSO, here is a scary fact.....she saw her Ortho MD on that Monday and told him she was having calf pain, but he told her it was a normal response after surgery. Two for two, baby!!!

Honduras Journal

2007-10-06T22:05:00.000-05:00

Hear ye Hear ye Hear ye.........Honduras 2007 journal is now being updated. Day 2 has been poste, BUT except for the first pic there is a good chance that there will not be anymore photos due to my computer hating me.

The Great Pumpkin

2007-10-03T13:36:00.000-05:00

We are entering my favorite time of the year....Fall!!! It is a time of brisk air nipping at your nose, the changing of the leaves, long sleeve t-shirts and boots, sweaters, visits to Flippins, sitting around fire pits, hay rides, and PUMPKINS!!! I love pumpkins!! The church unloaded the pumpkin truck on Saturday to begin the pumpkin patch of 2007. One of my favorite things about the PP is working the pumpkin patch. Pumpkins also are a precursor to Halloween. I love Halloween. I am already thinking about what I am going to be, and what design I am going to carve in to my pumpkin. I wonder if I will see the Great Pumpkin this year.

Dyer County Fair

2007-09-03T10:57:00.000-05:00

I know that I have not been a very good blogger of lateI and I wish I had a good excuse but these willhave to do. My schedule at work has changed so I am working till 6pm most days and that with the drive leaves little time for eating, exercising, washing the Goodyear funk smell off, saying hello to chris and sleeping......Also, my laptop is rebelling against me. It does not like discs right now and I have a bunch if pics I want to upload for ya'll that are a must for the stories I have to tell. SO, I will list the upcoming adventures to be told.

-Van Buren, Mo: floating the current river, Big springs, and this waterfall I cannot remember the name to....oh, and the scary woods drive.

- Knob creek

- Great River Road Bike dragrace/BBQ cookoff

-Honduras 2007 (to be completed somtime before Honduras 2008)

BUT FIRST:
This is the first day of the DYER COUNTY FAIR!!!!!!
Check Out: http://www.dyercofair.com/ or www.stategazette.com for pics

I LOVE THE FAIR!!!!!!

Cara's wedding

2007-07-25T14:35:00.000-05:00

So here are so somewhat delayed pics from Cara's wedding. These are borrowed b/c I still have not gone to get mine developed. No Dyersburg is not in the techno past I just am. This is me posing.

Dislocations

2007-07-23T13:24:00.000-05:00

For those of you who were with me in Honduras you know that I semi-dislocated my SC joint (the joint where the collar bone meet the breastbone) or Sternoclavicular Joint.

The good news is I have pain meds...the bad news is that it cannot be relocated, which means I have to grin and bare it. Over the last week it has not been that bad actually. I have had some pain free days. WELL, Sunday morning I rolled over onto my right side to reach for the alarm clock and BAM it popped again. AND just a minute ago I was leaning on the island at work and had a momentary loss of thought and leaned onto my right arm and BAM...did it again. So pretty much have lost the progress over the last couple of weeks and am starting again. Here is a pic. The light is shining on the deformity. The puffy area should not be there.

I'm Back

2007-07-12T12:45:00.000-05:00

Well I am back from abroad. I had a really great time in Honduras and El Salvador this year. I will start my journal for this year soon and will post the link on this blog, on the right side.

I few into nashville last night about 11:20 and got home about 3 am. I didn't have to be at work today until 1 pm so I got to sleep in a little.

Honduras 2007

2007-06-29T10:18:00.000-05:00

Well it is that time of year again when I make my way down south...way down to central America...to the country of Honduras.

So I will be out of pocket for about 12 days, but you can email me...here is how

On the right side of this blog there is a section labeled "Blogs I read"
One is titled Terry Reeves-Torch Missions
Click on it and it will pull up the Torch Blog.
On the blog there will be a link: Email us
Click on it and you can email me, BUT remember this....whatever you email will be seen by others than just me. The "Web Master" will print out the emails and then hand them to us.
Sometimes the Internet connection is shotty (hello Honduras) so.....

The Torch Blog will have updates and pictures about what we have done and such.
See ya when I get back.

50 Things

2007-06-24T01:35:00.000-05:00

I want to give a shout out to Dinah Pigg who tagged me to write 50 things about myself. THANKS!!

1. I am 28 yrs old and am a Physical Therapist

2. I drive 40 miles to work

3. I have 2 cats, 2 dogs a horse and a bunch of cows.

4. I love mixed nuts!

5. I was born in Memphis, Tn. My mother ate a Big Max on the way and had to have me natural.

6. I love to read books. All genres but I love books about history. My favorite book ever is Redeeming Love by: Francine Rivers. I even have it on my IPod.

7. I love shoes!! I could go naked and just wear shoes.

8. I don't like to eat green things...except dill pickles or spinach dip.

9. I played softball in high school(out field) and in college (3rd).

10. I am a UT VOLS fan through and through.

11. I've lived in TX, Ark, FL and NY. TN too of course.

12. I am a HUGE Judds fan!

13. I love to travel and see new places. My goal is to one day fill up my passport.

14. I have one sister who lives in Seattle.

15. My favorite ice cream is Mint Choch. Chip, but my favorite dessert is Pecan Pie.

16. I love to be up early in the morning, but I hate the process of waking up.

17. One summer I worked as a cook at our church camp and had to crack then cook 300 eggs.

18. I have a love/hate relationship with flying.

19. My boss tells me I have a hypersensitive olfactory system. I am the only one at work who has to wear a face mask when going out in the plant so that I won't vomit from the smell.

20. I am leaving in 3 days to go to Honduras!!!! It will be my 4th yr to go and I am VERY excited!!!

21. I LOVE chocolate milkshakes from Penny Hill in Union City, TN.

22. I attended 4 undergraduate schools and 1 post grad school....so I know everybody from everywhere.

23. My mom used to make me be in pageants.

24. I am named after my mother's twin. (Jane)

25. Both of my parents are twins.

26. My favorite movie of all time is the Fox and the Hound..."Todd your my best friend"

27. My favorite TV show EVER is Gilmore Girls!!...and I want to live in Stars Hollow.

28. I cannot stand it when people pop their gum. It makes me want to poke my eyes out.

29. I hate running.

30. I have had music lessons for piano, trombone and guitar.

31. I can do a mean jazz hand! Thank you Fine Arts Warehouse.

32. I am a scuba diver...Scuba Steve! Night diving freaks me out a little bit..ok a lot of bit.

33. I love snow!!!

34. I like to give my animals really long names.....Tiffany Catherine Rosley Palmer.

35. I love movie theatre popcorn.

36. My sister and I used to make mud pies and put them on top of the dog house to dry.

37. My friend Cindy and I once dug out a stream of water coming through the levee out of the cow pond to make a bigger stream so we could slide down it......in February....when we where in high school.

38: I hate feet. I have to psych myself up to touch them at work...but I put on gloves.

39. I had a cadaver in anatomy with breast implants.

40. I love to get muddy!

41. I like to change my hair color...brown, blond, whatever.

42. My favorite Halloween costume I had growing up was Snow white. I looked cute!

43. My favorite season is fall. I love the changing of the leaves and the crisp air.

44. My favorite baseball team is the Atlanta Braves. Chop..Chop.

45. I have a REALLY sensitive gag reflex. I once threw up because I got like a drop of muddy water in my mouth. Ask Cindy about it.

46. I went to 2 NKOTB concerts, and would go again if they ever reunited. "You got the right stuff!"

47. I like to do laundry, but I HATE to put it away. I prefer my closet to be color coordinated and shoes in order according to style, but it never stays that way.

48. My cat sleeps with me...sometimes on my head.

49. Growing up my favorite color was blue, but now it changes from time to time...don't really have one now.

50. I retired my real estate license this year.

This was hard for me to do....It took multiple blogging sessions.

I now tag Cindy, the Jeremys', Leslie, Mark and Mary, and Amanda (just send an email out)

Top Ten

2007-06-21T21:34:00.000-05:00

Ok, so my life has been threatened if I did not get this list out soon so here it is.......

The 13 Things That You Need to Bring to the Dominican Republic at the Melia Tropical All-Inclusive Resort

13. Compass: In order to find north while your trying to read the chalk board sized map of the
resort.

12. English/Spanish dictionary: Cause playing charades doesn't cut it.

11. Forehead light: Cause its creepy dark after the sun sets.

10. Closed toe shoes for men and heels for the women in order to eat at the Al-a-carte
restaurants: "Senors, No shoes no eat!"

9. Body Reflector Vest: So yo ass don't get run over by the golf carts after dark cause its creepy
dark.

8. SPF 80: Anything less and the sun laughs at you.

7. Dr. Schouls shoe cushion inserts: Its a long way from your room to the Al-A-Carte
restaurants in heels.

6. TWO brands of Deoderant: Some don't work in the Dominican heat...Say NO to BO!

5. A watch set to the eastern time zone: To make sure your on time for your reservation at the
Japanese Al-A -Carte restaurant... "Senoritas, 10 minutes late, NO EAT!"

4. Pepto and/or Imodium: Need I say more?

3. 100% Deet: Anything less and the mosquitoes laugh in your face....as they are biting you.

2. Body Powder: One Word....Chaffing

1. Ankle braces: For when you twist your ankles walking in heels on the cobblestone walkway
from your room back to the Al-A-Carte restruant in the creepy darkness and
have to leap out of the way of a speeding golf cart that didn't see you cause you
didn't have a reflector vest on.

Next time: What All-Inclusive means

Give me Jesus

2007-06-03T12:55:00.000-05:00

It is Sunday afternoon and I am waiting for one of my loads of laundry to finish so that I can put in another load before I head to the Y to do some last minute fat burn before I head off to the the blue waters of the Caribbean.

As I am sitting here I thought I would share a little about my experience at church this morning. Mike, our senior minister, is on vacation and Jerry gave the message this morning. He was actually using John 15 as his vision, but I tend to scan the passages before and after when my attention span is walking toward the door. I noticed that I had previously underlined some passages in John 14. I would like to share this with you. John 14: 15-18 (in red letters), "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask my Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever---the Spirit of truth. The World cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

My thoughts: I absolutely love this verse. I am so relieved that God has given us the Holy spirit to be with us ALL the time. I am grateful that he watches out for us as we cannot do it ourselves, even when we think we can. I know that I need him in my life constantly to protect me and to open my eyes to the truth. I know I can get wrapped up in what the world offers, but I know that I have nothing without God and his love for me. At the end of the day my desire and my hope is that all I will desire and depend on is him.

Bebo Norman speaks it perfectly:

Take these hands and lift them up,
For I have not the strength to praise you near enough,
See I have nothing, I have nothing without you.

Take my voice and pour it out,
Let it sing the songs of mercy that I have found.
For I have nothing, I have nothing without you.

And all my soul needs is all your love to cover me
So all the world will see that I have nothing without you.

Take my body and build it up
Let it be broken as an offering of love.
For I have nothing, I have nothing without you.

All my soul needs is all you love to cover me
So all the world will see that I have nothing without you.
With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind and all my strength that I can find.

Take my time here on this earth and let it glorify all that you are worth,
I have nothing I have nothing without you.

Also, Jeremy Camp's rendition of "Give me Jesus":

In the morning when I rise (x3) Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus, give me Jesus. You can have all this world just give me Jesus.

When I am alone (x3) Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus, give me Jesus. You can have all this world, just give me Jesus.

When I come to die (x3) Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus, give Jesus. You can have all the world, just give me Jesus.

DVTs

2007-05-29T21:53:00.000-05:00

Of course I learned a lot in PT, or I wouldn't have my license, but I think the thing that stuck with me the most is CHECK FOR DVT. I remember sitting in the hallway at Belmont waiting to take many a lab practical.I would always be running through a mental check list of things I had to make sure to do in order not to fail. One of the things that was on my list was checking for DVT (deep vein thrombosis aka a deadly blood clot). It didn't matter what the lab scenario was....I was checking for DVT. If they had knee surgery - check for DVT. If they had Shoulder Sx - check for DVT. If they had a headache -- Check for DVT. Of course those last two are overkill but I was making sure I wasn't going to fail.

Also, we are taught to touch the patient...meaning the problem may be a simple as fracture that of course is painful to touch.

Today today those two principles came into play. One of my previous patients came into the clinic from the plant floor complaining of having a charlie horse in his calf for 4 days. I leaned down to touch it and knew immediately that is was not a cramp. I was sure it was one of two things: a blood clot or compartment syndrome. Both are not good and need immediate medical attention. The Goodyear nurse and I finally convinced him to leave work and go either the ER or to his primary physician. Later in the afternoon the nurse came to tell me that the patient was admitted to the hospital with a blood cot. The scary thing with those is they can dislodge and he could be dead within seconds.

So thank you Dr. KRob for failing us when we forgot to test for DVTs. Here is an illustration of a DVT and some common signs and symptoms.

When blood clots outside a blood vessel, this is a normal process which protects the body against losing blood. If the blood clots inside a blood vessel however (as with DVT), this can be dangerous.

Symptoms of DVT:
In most cases of DVT, the clots are small and do not cause any symptoms. The body is able to gradually break down the clot and there are no long-term effects.
Larger clots may partially or totally block the blood flow in the vein and cause symptoms such as:
1. Swelling of the calf

2.Pain in the calf: calf pain that is noticeable, or worse when standing or walking

3. Redness and/or a glossy appearance to the skin

4. Pain in the calf when squeezed

5. Warmth to the touch

These are not always a sign of a DVT, but if you experience them, you should seek medical advice. Like my patient today he only had swelling and pain.

Next: Car wrecks and 911 calls

MY FIRST VACATION ......

2007-05-22T11:05:00.000-05:00

In 14 days I will be going on my first vacation as a working adult.
I am very excited. Not only will there be blue water and white sandy beaches, but I will get to see one of my friends get married.
My plan is to sit, read and look at the ocean. Oh and eat too!

Her is the link to the resort we will be staying at:

http://www.meliacaribetropical.com/services/

I'll be the one in the blue swimsuit.

Goodbye Gilmore Girls

2007-05-15T20:21:00.000-05:00

So ..... THE BEST Tv show....ever is done. NO more Gilmore Girls. I cried my eyes out during and after the final episode.

WHY I LOVED GILMORE GIRLS

* The Townies: The characters provided the right recipe for success for this show. Mrs. Patty, Babet, Kirk, Sookie, Jackson, Mrs. Kim, Cesaer, Gypsey, Michel and Taylor that provided rediculus story lines that gave the show that added character, and gave the viewer a deeper insight to the life that Lorelai and Rory had in Stars Hollow. Sookie gotta love her. Remember her chasing Jackson down the middle of the street after he caught her looking at strawberries that he had not grown.

* Lane Kim: Rory's best friend. What I loved about Lane was her innocence to life, except when it came to music. GG amazing music references were best brought to life through Lane and her obsession to "rock."

* Richard and Emily Gilmore: Although there were times that I wanted to scream at them for being so bull headed when it came to Lorelai, yet so overboard in their love for Rory. I think that the episodes that were the best were the ones in which the grandparents had a more substantial role. If the writers had not included them we would not have known where Lorelai got her sarcasm.

* Luke Danes: Although he thought he was "normal" in comparison to Lorelai he was, in reality, just as insane. Example: Buying a building just to prevent Taylor from buying it, or building the ice skating rink in Lorelai's front yard.

*Lorelai and Rory: The best thing is the friendship they have, yet the respect for each other. I think one of my fav Lor/Ror moment was at the Stars Hollow movie theatre in the town library when they were on a double date and were watching Pipi Longstockings, and they sang the Pipi Theme songs, along with the who ha ha's and everything. And who can forget during season one when they had the "No, yours boobs are bigger" fight.

* The dialogue: I have not seen another show that can even compare to the pop culture references and wit of the writing. I liked how the writers did not dumb down the "jokes" but instead made us have to think or even research the references.

I was talking to Cindy after the final episode...well actually I was bawling and she was laughing at me. I didn't have a little tear rolling down my face I had the ugly face my cat just died/Harding cry going on. I couldn't breath through my nose and my face hurt. When I finally composed myself enough I asked Cindy why she thought GG ending was affecting me so much. What Cindy said, I think, nailed it on the head. She said, "Anna, over the past year you have gone from Nashville to Dyersburg to Florida to NYC and back. During that time you were away from family and at times (NYC) you were totally alone and without cable...so the Gilmore Girls DVDs kept you company and they became your family. So, Anna, tonight you were having to say goodbye to your family."

I know there are more important things in life, but I wanted to give this show a little send off of my own. So, Goodbye GG..goodbye Lorelai and Rory.. thanks for 7 great seasons...thanks for the laughs and thanks for the memories.

Here are some great quotes:

"How can I break up with you? I’ve never been out with you." "Well yeah, but that’s what today was supposed to be, a date." "A date where we need a secret plan and a two-honk drive by and a decoy cousin?" - Henry and Lane, "A Tisket, A Tasket"

"We have not been waiting forever."
"Godot was just here. He said ‘I ain’t waiting for Richard,’ grabbed a roll, and left. It’s been forever."
"When we gather as a family, we eat as a family. We don’t eat in shifts." "You know, you’re bound by the rules of the Geneva Convention, Mother, just like everyone else." - Emily and Lorelai, "Back in the Saddle Again"

"Rory, honey, do you understand, the Gilmores do nothing altruistically. Strings are attached to everything." "There are no strings... I just have to pay them back starting five years after I graduate, and I have to start going back for Friday night dinners." "Um, hello, Pinocchio, those are strings." - Lorelai and Rory, "Those Are Strings, Pinocchio"

"My mother - she was here. I can feel it. Smell that? The room smells like guilt and Chanel No. 5." - Lorelai, sensing Emily in Rory's room, "The Hobbit, the Sofa and Digger Stiles"

"Dating. It's a horror." "It's the only cure for the singleness thing, barring ordering a spouse off the internet." "If I had dated a lot, I'd still be single. I'd just have spent a lot of bad nights at Tony Roma's." - Luke and Lorelai, "The Fundamental Things Apply"

"That had all the tact of a Nazi storm trooper." - Rory, after hearing Paris break up with a boyfriend, "A Family Matter"

"Rory... right now is the point in the horror movie where the entire audience is yelling, 'Don't go in there.'" - Lorelai, bracing himself for a family dinner, "Afterboom"

The cats -- they know that I've broken up with Jason and that I'm alone and they've decided it's time for me to become a crazy cat lady... they can see it in my face. 'She's single again. She couldn't make it work again. She picked the wrong guy again.' - Lorelai, attracting cats, "Luke Can See Her Face"

Now here is one that I can relate to:

"Lesson number one - when your mom or your grandmother starts trying to pin down your specific whereabouts at a specific time and place, and she's smiling kind of weird, begin evasive maneuvers immediately." - Graham to Rory, "Last Week Fights, This Week Tights"

The end has come

2007-05-04T12:15:00.000-05:00

Today this was posted on the MSN homepage:

"Gilmore Girls' is ending after a seven-year run.'Gilmore Girls' to Wrap After 7 Years

I will post later after I collect my thoughts

And here it is....

2007-04-29T16:32:00.000-05:00

I FINISHED ANNA KARENINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It only took me half my life..

Not really that impressed..too many characters...too many story lines.

Big news to come

2007-04-26T20:16:00.000-05:00

I have a big announcement coming soon!! Stay tuned.

Stepping aside

2007-03-19T11:52:00.000-05:00

I have a question. It is not a new question...I have asked myself this question many times before, but here I am again.

How come itis hard to appreciate what is in front of us?

Whenever I am away from home and my family I tend to appreciate them more, yet after being home awhile I take them for granted, feel boxed in and cannot get away fast enough. When I am away the things I can't wait to do when I get home (walking the dogs through the fields) I hardly make time for when I'm here. (haven't walked the dogs since Sept)

For example, when I know I am going to be away for a while I will find myself standing in front of my bedroom window looking out to the backyard and the cow field trying to burn the image into my mind, or taking in a deep breath with my nose buried into my horse's neck trying to burn the smell in my memory.The best was when I was leaving for Sarasota last March (I had to go to work first though), I stood in the living room saying goodbye to my parents trying my best to hold back the tears without success (the ugly face cry) at 7am. I then proceeded to cry all the way to Jackson General Hospital. Although I was excited about my upcoming adventure it was really hard to say goodbye to my parents and my home.

Now let's fast forward to this weekend......
I have to give this disclaimer: I love my parents very much, but on sat. I felt like I was10. It seemed everywhere I went: in the house, outside or wherever I was being followed by either my mother or my dad asking 20 questions. I went to the kitchen to make supper (they were going out to eat) and my Dad was hovering over me like I needed help or something. I felt like screaming out, " I can pour my own glass of milk...THANKS." Let's just say the walls had claw marks.
Now I know my Dad loves me and was probably just trying to have a conversation with me, but I was in one of my "I don't want to talk to anyone, and the more you try to get me to talk the farther I will push you away" moods.

So, I was seconds from packing a bag and heading out of here for the night. I didn't care where I was going. I had no direction, but I was going.....but then I remembered the gas prices, so I went to the barn to hide.

So, why is it we can't appreciate what is in front of us all the time?
Why on Sat when I was coming down with parental-claustrophobia didn't I go out and walk the dogs in the snow or stand in the window and appreciate the view?

If you want me to

2007-03-14T20:40:00.000-05:00

The Pathway is broken and the signs are unclear,
And I don't know the reason, why you brought me here.
But, just b/c you love me the way that you do
I'm gonna walk through the valley if you want me to.

Cause I'm not who I was when I took my first steps,
And I'm clinging to the promise that your not through with me yet.
So if all of these trials bring me closer to you, then I will walk through the fire if you want me to.

It may not be the way I would have chosen, when you lead me through a world that's not my home
But you never said it would be easy
You only said I never go alone.

So when the whole world turns against me and I'm all by myself
And I can't hear you answer my cries for help
I 'll remember the suffering your love put you through
And I will go through the valley
If you want me to

"If you want me to" : Ginny Owens

I love the words to this song. Tonight at church Mike talked about (in my words) finding your faith, hope and trust when you have lost it, or in times where it is hard to trust, hope and have faith. It made me look back on the past few years. I remember the person I was in high school, the person I was at the end of undergrad, the person I was at the start and end of Grad school and the person that I am now.

Mike also talked about how we tend to daydream about good things that could happen to us, things we would like to happen, and how sometimes we turn those daydreams into prays, and when they aren't answered the way we thought they should have been we blame God instead of admitting that it was our dreams and not God's plan for our lives.

I can remember being in high school and I had BIG plans to be this POWERHOUSE for God. I loved people and I wanted to be there for them...to be able to let God use me however, but somewhere along the line I let life's business push aside my passion. I started making my own plans and started daydreaming. When I was a senior at UT Martin finally awoke and I heard this song.....and it scared me. When I heard the line "Cause I'm not who I was when I took my first steps, and I'm clinging to the promise your not done with me yet."I was sooo afraid that I had blown it....That I chose the wrong path....that God was done with me...that he couldn't or really wouldn't use me anymore.

I know there is not one perfect path to take..that in reality life is like the adventure book where there can be different paths that lead to the end. Like the song says, "It may not be the way I would have chosen" or really" Not the way I would have wanted, " but I Believe that God is not done in my life.

For the past few years I admit that I have been focused on school, even though I know this is the career God lead me into, that was not an excuse to not consistently nurture my relationship with God and allow him to take me where he needs me to go.

SO, even though the road has not always been a mountain top experience I know I have learned from my travels through the valley.

Hockey, Laughs, races and good times

2007-03-12T20:15:00.000-05:00

This past weekend my friend Emily and I decided we needed to take a break from the booming metropolis of Dyersburg so we headed out to Nashville to meet Judy and Margaret. On our way out of town we made a pit stop at The Java Cafe to get our coffee fix and then hit the road. Our ETA at Margarita's was approx 12:45pm, but along the way we had a detour. There was a major wreck around the 165 mile marker and the traffic was backed up past the TN river bridge. Emily and I decided to adventure out into the hills surrounding interstate 40 and make a new path to Nashville. Exit 143 was shut down so we had to take an obscure exit and somehow ended up on a gravel road. We quickly turned around b/c we were sure the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" house was around the corner. Rocks were sprayed as wheels spun.....and we were outta there.
We finally made it to the Reeves abode about 2:40pm.

Judy appeared soon after and the laughing commenced. I am sure Emily thought we were out of our minds. We soon headed out to the Mall at Green Hill's to do some shopping before we went to eat. Apparently the mall was testing a new idea of how to separate the weak shoppers from the determined b/c the air was NOT on and you would break out in a sweat riding the escalator. The bathing suit shop was hopping.

We made our way downtown and drove around in circles, even crossing the bridge once, before we decided on a place to park. Although there was some talk about taking the shuttle from the parking lot across from the Coliseum, but I think we might have had a long wait...the parking lot was packed.

We ate at Bailey's where Amy Fulbright came and met us and then headed over to the game. Oh yeah, the service at Bailey's is still very very slow.

The Preds won. My favorite part of hockey happened like 10 times...fights!!! After the game we tried to take some photos but my hair would not cooperate and Judy reminded Margaret that she needed to switch to filtered cigs.

Nate was working the street(Central Parking) over at the Symphony so we headed to see him and then headed back to the house.

Margaret kept everyone up late talking, and we finally had to tell her it was time for bed.

On Sunday we went to church and went to Brother C. Barrel's Sunday school class,where we met a lady who lost an hour of sleep.

I will not comment on the events that took place between church and Sunday school. I will say "RED...Yellow...GREEN" and they're off!!

I had a great time spending time with my friends on our Girls night out.....no comments Jenny!

Over the years I have had the honor of becoming friends with people from all over. Sometimes when I see someone I think I know I have to think about where I know them from.....what school....what city...
I almost never get to integrate pods of friends ( at least not more than a passing hello) but this weekend I really enjoyed seeing 2 of my "worlds" come together. And as in the words of Ozzie, " I love you all..more than life itself, but your all freaking mad!"

2007-02-10T18:24:00.000-06:00

Its Sat evening and I am laying on the couch. I am sick....AGAIN. This round is nastier than the last. Just a couple of weeks ago I had a cold that hammered me with a nonstop headache, zapped ALL my energy, took my voice but I could breathe. On Monday afternoon at approximately 4:00pm I could feel the another cold coming on. I was trying not to claim it but after Pilate's class I could not deney it. This time I can't breathe. All week I have been breathing through my mouth and no medicine can clear out my sinuses. The tip of my tongue has wind burn and is wind chapped. The one good thing about this round was that I has enough energy to go to the YMCA and workout....until today. I awoke with my right nostril packed with dry gunk that needed a chisel and hammer to get through and apparently I ran a marathon in my sleep b/c now walking downstairs wipes me out.

But on the bright side I invested in a Rubik's cube.....that is keeping me busy.

On a sad note: this week Goodyear lost two of its employees. The first happened last weekend when a young man was pulled up into his machine and was killed. The other was a young mother who passed away on her way to the hospital after suffering an aortic aneurysm. The Goodyear flag was lowered to honor them both.

Update

2007-01-28T21:38:00.000-06:00

Baby Smith came home today after spending 11.5 days in the hospital.

Last Sunday our church met in the new building and it was awesome. David even got out from behind the guitar/piano.

Today during worship we sang My Savior My God. I love this song. It took me back my summer in New York. I made a play list of songs that I would listen to on my IPod as a commuted back and forth to work. I listened to it as I made my way first from the subway station on 68th and down to 14th street, then from the 58th street station. Whenever I hear these songs I feel a wave of remembrance wash over me. I can see myself riding the subway, walking down Park avenue with Grand central in the distance, and looking out the window onto the street while exercising on the eliptical. SOOO many memories.

Goodyear, Births and hospitals

2007-01-19T20:37:00.000-06:00

Things have been kinda crazy around here the lately.....

First and most important..my friends Cindy and Katie had their babys.

Katie beat out Cindy on Dec. 28th with the birth of Kennedy Susan Oliff,

and then Jan 13th Cindy to Jospeh David Smith...

I know that Jospeh's pic is small but I took it with my phone ok.

Both Kennedy and JD turned into bathing beauties by spending some time under the Billi lights to take care of Juandice.

BUT, JD is still in the Hospital due to a staff infection. He will be at the hospital for at least a week to get antibiotics by IV.

On another note.....

Gracie is feeling better. Her wounds are healing and she has got a bounce in her step once again.

That pic only shows two of the wounds. If you look down on the left you can make out where there is only a line of hair then she is shaved again.

Goodyear is back at work after a 3 month strike. By the end of the strike we had very few GY patients left, but the census is quickly on the rise again. On Tues, Thurs and Fri the GY clinic opens at 6am, which means I have to leave my house by 5am to get to the clinic about 10 till 6. It really only takes about 35 min to get to union city but at GY you have to swipe a card to get in the gate and then walk into the clinic through part of the plant. You can walk in throught the front and bypass the plant floor, but when it is 23 at 6am, walking through the power house and tire room is warm.....although I have to wear ear plugs and keep my hands around my mouth and nose so I can breath in the rubber gunk in the air....lung cancer anyone?

All in all I like being at the plant. They just got a new plant manager and a local Italian grill sets up lunch across the hall from the clinic.

I awoke Monday to a nasty cold that has settle into my right tonsil. I sound like a man who has laryngitis and my throat hurts like a bad word. I asked my co-workers if anyone would cut out my throat with a butter knife..no takers.

I feel like I haven't gotten to talk to some friends lately so here is a shout out:

Amanda and Cara: WOO HOO about 4 months till beaches !!

Judy, Dinah and Kristen: I miss ya'll

Sarasota: Ken, man I am sorry I haven't gotten a chance to call you back yet. I hope that everything is going good. You realize that you and Joy need to move to nashville!

Joy: You need to move to Nashville, but keep your FL home for vacations!

Gracie-my cat

2006-12-31T14:09:00.000-06:00

Well, I was covering a Basketball game Thursday night and when I got home my dad informed me that there was something wrong with Gracie.

He said that she was not acting normal and she had been just laying around. I found her in the dining room and when I went to pick her up she went cute to mean in .001. As she tried to take my hand off I noticed that she was bleeding on her stomach, but since she has grey hair I could not really tell. As she limped into the kitchen I felt the tears coming But I held them at bay. Gracie was walking like an old women.

After finding more wounds and ruling out getting run over we decided that she must have gotten in a fight.With who we don't know...Tiffany? She didn't seem beat up at all..no scratches there.

A t the vets she got shaved to find most of the wounds and a pain shot. I am now giving her antiobiotics that make her foam at the mouth.

She seems to be feeling better.

Do you feel like Dancing today?

2006-12-16T19:55:00.000-06:00

Here is one
http://www.dancesisterdance.com/myvid/index.php?v=c4700b28759cc

Here is two

http://www.dancesisterdance.com/myvid/index.php?v=87511560788a6

Are you ready?

2006-12-11T17:55:00.000-06:00

The other day I was doing a very mundane chore..I was getting my oil changed. As I sat in the waiting room a man came in a sat RIGHT next to me...practically ontop of me if you will. He made small talk but I was not in the talking mood. I just wanted to sit and be quiet. He eventually got around to asking me if I was ready for Christmas yet. I responded, "Sure." The lady on the other side of the man chirrped in with some long explaination of presents and such. He started talking to her an forgot all about me. I guess I wasn't meeting his words spoken quota.
His question got me thinking though. How do you get ready for Christmas? I am sure he meant buying gifts, but just what if there are families out there who only celebrate the truy meaning of the Christmas holiday. How do they prepare for or get ready for Christmas?
So I am on a mission this year to figure out how to "prepare" for Christmas.

oh and by the way everyone google the word "failure" and see what pops up first.

A week of Defeats

2006-12-01T12:51:00.000-06:00

So the TROJANS lost last week to David Lipscomb 42-10.
It was a sad night.

Also, West Tn was suppose to get a good first snow this week....I was rooting the snowbird on, but I was defeated. I love snow !!
Let it snow let it snow let it snow

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EVERYONE

2006-11-25T18:57:00.000-06:00

I am officially the worst at telling my friends Happy Birthday on their birthday. I think I am 0 for 3this month. November should be an easy one for me since we have the triad for Dinah, Judy and then Kristen. Make that a quad...Jeremy too. I am planning on getting a smart phone and programming in alerts to remind me to call ya'll. Maybe there will be a fxn that will call for me with a pre-programmed message from myself. Do not pay attention if all birthday messages are the same every year from now on....it will be in your heads.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL, and to all A GOOD NIGHT!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-22T17:32:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving one and all!!

My family started feasting early this year.

My cousin Sam is playing baseball at DSCC this year and so on Monday night we all went to my Aunt Jane's to have a meal with Sam and his roommate Shawn. Aunt Jane's cooking was very good and I have to say this: I was once again made ice monitor. My job for the past 15 yrs has been to put the ice in all the glasses. No matter which family members house we are at or what Holiday......I fill the glasses with ice.

Tomorrow we are going over to Uncle John and Aunt June's house, and I am making the macaroni and cheese. Yeah baby yeah!

Gilmore Girls

2006-11-21T20:25:00.000-06:00

As many of you all know I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan

I started watching the show last Thanksgiving and by Dec 29th had watched all episodes of the first 5 seasons. And when season 6 came out on DVD in Sept I purchased and watched it as well. It has been very hard watching the season 7 in real time. Having to wait week to week is hard.

The end of season 6 and the start of season 7 have been rough. I did not agree to the way things have been going, and due to reports of a change in writers on the series ( and that this is the last yr) I have been afriad that the new writers would try and wrap it all up and not stick to the atmosphere that is "Gilmore Girls" I have to say that the last two episodes have left me mad, upset and a little angry.

I should have known last Thanksgiving when I was not able to stop watching the Season 1 dvds (an extremly long marathon) I was in trouble. I tend to let myself get wrapped up into shows. And even though I know it is just a tv show, I still find myself feeling real feelings.

I have been torn between whether I think Lorelai should be with Luke or Christopher for 7 seasons.....7. Just think if I had started watching the show from the beginning. That would mean I would have spent 6 and a half yrs battling this decsion. I am thankful that it has only been 1 yr.

I need help. I actually had the Ugly face cry after tonights show b/c I felt bad for Luke and sad that Rory's room is not hers anymore. I know I am slow to deal with change in real life, but man this is a show...with fake people. I need help.

Hi, my name is Anna and I am _______. I don't even know how to fill that in. Are there meetings for people like me?

Its Football time in West Tn

2006-11-17T22:53:00.000-06:00

I would like to say that I love football. All through my high school years our FB team maybe won a total of 3 games. The year I graduated they had a 10-0 regular season and went 4 weeks into the post season. I will not reveal what year that was. They have done it again. My Trojans (no snickering) won tonight against Covington and will meet up next Friday night with David Lipscomb High back here in Dyersburg.

DYE with a R, RSB with a U, URG with a DYE with a RSB with a URG with a DYERSBURG Whooooo!

GOOOOOO........TROJANS

The Leaves of Fall

2006-10-29T14:00:00.000-06:00

After reading Terry's blog about the fall leaves I went out and took some photos of the trees around my house....

Thanks Leslie Tummel

2006-10-28T09:33:00.000-05:00

Here is a link of a video Leslie had on her BLOG. You will laugh so hard you will cry...and if you have seen it before..here it is again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q31nA6LCMxE

I have also decided to add a new element to my BLOG..the Video of the week...this weeks is the same as the above link.

To Whom it may concern

2006-10-23T12:40:00.000-05:00

As I sat on my couch eating some fantastic bean dip Sat afternoon watching the end of the TN vs AL game I had to smile to myself. I had a smile on my face for different reasons(could have been the bean dip)...the main one being that TENNESSEE beat alabama!!! To pay tribute to my Vols I will write the rest of this in TN orange.

Over the past years I have dove into many a battle with Alabama fans....there has been taunting and jokes.....scraps and scars.....more jokes and more taunting...threats in other countries and so on and so on.

BUT the best feeling of all is the feeling of vindication........of seeing your team beat their team on a cool brisk Sat in the fall, and knowing that over the next 365 days you and your team are the Champions over their team.

http://utsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/gallery_index.html#

"Rocky top you'll always be home sweet home to me....Good ole Rocky Top...Rocky Top Tennessee"

Welcome Home to God's Country...Terry and Margaret!!!!!!

Catch up

2006-10-21T18:29:00.000-05:00

OK...SO...
Here is that past few weeks of my life:

Sept 28th: Took and pasted my state boards

Sept 29th: Jennifer's Bach. party at Pickwick, TN

Sept 30th: Emily's Bach party in Nashville

Oct 1-2: Watched Gilmore Girls season 6 to prepare for season 7 on Tues
nights.
Oct 5: Goodyear goes on strike (you'll see in a min)

Oct 6-7th: Emily's Wedding

Oct 9th: First day at work for STAR PT (suppose to work at Goodyear clinic, but am at the OP STAR clinic in Union City) See CSI:LV for details on Union City.

Oct 13-14th: Jennifer's wedding in Martin, TN

Oct 15th: Softball game (we came in 2nd)

Oct: 20th: Started sports coverage "training" with Ross at DHS football game in frosty the snowman weather....D-burg won!! AND as I was running to get some atomic "bomb" balm from the supply bag, I almost bit it in front of the stands, which was packed due to HOMECOMING...nice.

Oct 21st: Worked pumpkin patch at church from 12-2

I made it out of the weddings with only 1 person stating the phrase that almost got her thrown in the chocholate fountain.

Work is good....can't wait for 1st pay check

I almost froze a the game

TN beat AL !!!!!!!!!

Thats about it.

Peace out

OH...since oct is the month of never ending weddings...hence the Chapel of Love download.

Long time gone

2006-10-18T17:53:00.000-05:00

I know it has been awhile since I posted last, and this one will not be that exciting either. I started work on the 9th in Union City. Everything is going good...(busy).

This week end I will sum it all up.

peace out

2006-10-05T09:44:00.000-05:00

I PASSED........I PASSED.......I PASSED........I PASSED

2006-10-04T09:45:00.000-05:00

and WAITING

Still waiting

2006-10-02T19:27:00.001-05:00

I am STILL waiting

The Waiting

2006-09-29T13:16:00.000-05:00

I am going crazy waiting for the results of my exam. CRAZY!!!!!

The Count Down

2006-09-22T19:05:00.000-05:00

6 days. I have six days until I take the PT exam. I am getting very nervous and anxious.
Please pray for me over the next few days that God will place a sense of peace and calm within my heart.

Couple of things

2006-09-17T19:21:00.000-05:00

First, I have finally made a decision about work......
I accepted a job on Monday (FOR REAL) with STAR PT. I will split my time between Dyersburg, Union City and the clinic at Goodyear. I like this split thing b/c I tend to get bored being at the same clinic all day everyday. I will also get to do sports coverage of Dyersburg High. GO TROJANS!!!(no snickering)

Second, UT lost to Florida. I did not get to see the game b/c I was at a wedding shower. I have many a thoughts but will not express them for fear of not stopping. I still love them though. That will never change.

Am I a grown-up or just a kid with a grown-up job

2006-09-16T13:22:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I wonder what is going through peoples minds...
Like for instance...
Sometimes when I am around adults who have seen me grow up I feel like they still view me as that..just a kid.
I know that they do not mean to and I know that it is probably an unconscious action, but sometimes it really burns me up.

I am still waiting to get to eat at the adult table at Thanksgiving and Christmas. That could be a blessing in disguise though, b/c I have one relative who likes to ask me at family dinners (in front of EVERYONE) "So, Anna how is your Love life?"
Ok, those who know me know that there are certain things in my life that I only discuss with certain people, and would rather die than talk about in front of Aunts, Uncles and the whole gammot. And who refers to it as your "love life" anyway?

I have another family member who likes to try and set me up on dates with anyone...and I mean anyone. Once they tried to set me up with a missionary from Africa who came to do a presentation at their church. They actually went as far as giving them one of my realtor business card. Humiliation.
I mean REALLY.....who does that?
Would they do that if I was in my 40 or 50s?....probably not
What makes them think it is ok to do that at 20?

My parents do it as well...my dad more than my mom. This summer my dad, mom, Aunt June, Uncle John and I were standing in the driveway. They were about to go eat lunch, but I was just going to eat some leftover spaghetti that was in the fridge. Well, my dad made sure to inform me that I needed to heat it up in the microwave before I ate it...for at least a couple of min. Thanks dad...I would never have thought of that...glad you told me.
Here is another one...
It drives me up the wall to see that look of fear on new Mother's mothers' faces when they see that I am about to hold their newborn grandchild...(I'm talking about one of my Friend's mom who has known me since I was in 2nd grade). You know the look...the look of dread.... "Ok, Anna, this is how you hold them...place your hands here....do this...do that.." And then they stand there with their hand hovering below the child like your going to get bored in a second and drop the kid.
I have never said it but sometimes I have wanted to say..."You know I have a degree that allows me to physically treat children who have severe medical conditions....but your right, holding a sleeping newborn can be tricky....but I got it"

I love all my family, friends and their families...sometimes they just make good stories.

peace out

My rantings

2006-09-08T17:11:00.000-05:00

I am in the Land that Time forgot....
Don't get me wrong...D-burg is inching toward thinking about advancement...but if you are in your 20s and single here you are not going to have a life here...Unless you want to spend your nights at the local Bar "Checkers" where you can shoot pool with anyone from your high school teacher to your neighbors granddad.
You might have seen K-Fed there, pre-Brittany and post, cause lets admit it...he does his wife beater proud.

Dyersburg does have a Movie Theatre, but the town is too small to DARE going it alone. Why can't it be like NYC where catching a movie alone is the norm. Here you would be cast into the pathetic pool..but you have probably already been thrown in there if you are not married by the time your 22.
I think my favorite comment is: "Anna, who are you dating?" (me): "No one" (them): " Oh don't worry..your a pretty girl...you still have time."
TIME?!!...TIME?!!....time for what? Time left before I become baron? Time left before my grey hairs overtake my brown ones? Time before I am placed in the pathetic old spinster biddy pool. Bring on the cats..oh wait ...I already have that taken care of. Give me a break.

I am going to be in 2 weddings in Oct. I do not have a problem being a bridesmaid. I love my friends and will support them...BUT, the first person who pulls me aside and says, "Just think..maybe this could be you next year" is going to get thrown in the chocolate fountain...no wait they don't deserve the fountain..they will get thrown into the ginger ale, Sprite and orange sherbet punch bowl.
While I am on this subject.....
I am also annoyed by Church "Singles Class." Especially in small hometown congregations where you find a canyon between the participants ages that you would think your at the playboy mansion sitting next to Hugh.
What makes Leadership of the church think we would want to spend your time sitting in a room feeling like your on display in a storefront window.
You look to your left and see that your sitting next to the guy who taught your 5th grade Sunday school class..who came to the hospital when you were born.....that is niiiccce! Lets get real here...when you walk into a new congregation..and are bombarded with questions...as soon as they find out you are not permanently attached to a member of the opposite sex we all get herded in like cattle...some of us are willing participants but other are prodded with the electrostick. "Let's go Bessie..put your nice shiny bell on ...its time for market" It also seems that the topic of discussion always leans toward the newest best selling christian dating book by the lasted hot author. Why can't we discuss more meatier topics like the couples classes. A poorly run singles class is like quicksand and the only way out is to get hitched, then your allowed to mingle with the rest of the population. I'm sorry, if I wanted to be thrown into a vat of random aged singles I would go hang out at Checkers.

Has no one figured out that a mixed small group can benefit everyone....think about it...

And doesn't it seem like your married friends, the ones who don't know their like ability score will decrease as soon you see the look in their eyes of them scrolling down their list of available men/women they know, always like to pull you over to the "new guy or new girl" to introduce you. Like we don't know. My closest friends know that the way to get me fired up is try and set me up.

Oy with the poodles already!!!

Next topic: Am I an adult or just a kid who has a grown up job?

Why I will not treat family

2006-08-30T17:14:00.000-05:00

Over the past 3 yrs I have heard from our Belmont Professors that it would not be a good thing to treat family members, for various reasons. I have agreed, and this is my reason for feeling this way.....
I have a horse..her name is Contigo's SuperLove, but I call her a Haven. I got that name from her mom's name, which was Pinehaven SuperLove, but I called her Ginger. Anyways....Haven has had continuing problems with her feet...for different reasons, but last week she started limping. This time she was actually limping on the tip of her left hoove.
So I proceed to put her in her stall and try to figure out why she is
limping. Although I am not a Veterinarian, I did get my undergrad degree in Animal Science. That combined with my PT degree gives me an in site into the foundations of musculoskeletal conditions...even in animals..we are all pretty much the same. I was working my magic and by Sat evening she was walking around better....well my dad thought we could let her out into the small pasture....I said, "that is not a good idea...she will start running around and jumping." My dad said, "she will not since her foot is hurting her." I said" Yes, she will b/c she will excited to be out of her stall." GUESS WHAT? He let her out...she walked out....then trotted...then broke out into a run...then began bucking and jumping.....Fast forward to Sunday morning...Haven is back in the stall....worse.....
It is now Wed....she is not any better..no matter what I do....
That my friends and family is why I prefer not to treat family..and some friends.......b/c they DO NOT LISTEN!!!!!

A Blast from the Past

2006-08-28T12:45:00.000-05:00

This Sunday during church Mike talked about not waiting for the world to change....and during his sermon he told the story behind a watch that he wears. He received the watch from a family that were members at a church he was the minister at in Texas. The family had the watch engraved and gave it to him after the funeral of the family's mother, who had passed away from cancer. The engraving was Jeremiah 29:11. As Mike said the verse my Adult ADD kicked in and I started to look up the verse, instead of listening to Mike, who was actually reading the verse. As I turned in my bible to the verse I saw that I had already underlined it...sometimes I see that I have underlined verses in my bible but do not remember doing so, but as soon as I read it I remembered when and where I had underlined this verse.
Back in the last part of Feb 2003 (was 23) I was in St. Louis at a Christ in Youth conference for Jr. Highers called "Believe." I was on the trip as a sponsor. I was there to be there for the kids but that weekend my mind was occupied with a battle that was going on in my mind and with a decision that I had made the previous week. Cindy and Jan were on the trip too, and I talked with them about wheter I had made the right decision or not, but Marla, the children's minister, was not aware. I am not sure how the conversation started, but prior to Friday nights worship I was trying find peace about my decision while reading through my Bible, when Marla, who is sitting next to me, leans over and asks me, "What battle are you fighting up there?"..referring to my mind. I was taken aback. I filled her in on the situation...and then worship started. During the message Marla puts her Bible on my lap and points to Jeremiah 29:11, which reads, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I can not tell you what the speaker spoke about b/c I spent the service staring at that verse and tying other verses together (which I cannot remember where they are or find them at the moment). Here is what God revealed to me that night through scripture and through conversation....When you are truly seeking God in your life He will give you the desires of your heart, but as you seek him your desires and dreams in life transform into God's desires and dreams for you. Although the verse did not answer my question it provided the peace I was searching for.
My struggle began 3 weeks earlier when I found out that I had been accepted into both PT programs at Belmont University and New York University. I had until the Monday after the Believe conference to let NYU know if I was coming to there program or not.
My struggle was: Do I let go of my dream (my desire!).. .that God had blessed me with (b/c we all know He is the reason I even was accepted), OR accept the alternate route that God had also paved for me {by having Jon and Becca move to Dyersburg after grad from Belmont PT...working with Hope, my friend and youth minister's wife (Her own person though) and creating the opportunity for the conversation with them that led me to PT.}
I had chosen Belmont earlier in the week...I think to please my parents and b/c it seemed the safe choice, but that verse gave me the courage to..Stop..and seriously reconsider the decision I had made.
I remember on Monday morning I was in the computer room and found myself writing Belmont on one piece of paper and NYU on another. After 10 throws the outcome was......NYU-10 and Belmont-0.
I was also doing a lot of praying and listening.
I finally emailed NYU and told them I was not coming..that I was going to Belmont.
I wish I could say that God stood before me and said, "Anna, go to Belmont." He did not..I know you are surprised, but He did lay Belmont on my heart that morning.
Even after accepting Belmont I did not mentally accept it...I might have been a little bitter and not really excited about it, but over all I knew that even though He had given me my desire I needed to trust in his plan for me in Nashville, even if I didn't know what it was. I am not saying if I had gone to NYU I would have been going against God's plans for me, or never have achieved them...... I just feel that sometimes God's gives us our desires and also gives us a better option. Each are fine and He will use us no matter what.
So like the verse says, I didn't know the plans He had for me But I had to trust He HAD plans for me.

I don't know if that all made sense..

So, that whole struggle was what flooded back into my mind during church yesterday..just thought I would share how God provided me with a peace about the unknown and sometimes unwanted paths in life.

A lot happened over my 3 yrs at Belmont..a lot of people I might never have met and possibly a lot of places I might never have gone.

I love how God's word can grow with us..that it transends time...
I am again touched by this verse as I am trying to decide where to work. I know that anywhere I go I will benefit from the things that I will learn there. I just have to remember to seek God in this search, go forward with the knowlage of Jeremiah 29:11, and then trust He will place before me the desires of my heart.

The date is set

2006-08-24T12:38:00.000-05:00

TODAY I finally got comfirmation to schedule my exam...AND I scheduled it....after many weeks of waiting and hair pulling out....So you are wondering when I am taking the exam....well I will tell you...
September 28th at 10:30 am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am now very nervous and a little scared...ok alot scared.

I was planning to take it alot sooner but with the delay in scheduling the date kept getting farther and farther away, and also feel I could spend an extra week studying. Better safe than sorry.

If anyone out there has a special secret to making the last 3 years

A New Look

2006-08-23T09:45:00.000-05:00

I am doing all I Can do besides study for the Boards, so I thought I would update the look of my Blog. First I transfered my blog to blog beta, which is suppose to be better and easier to manage....it is...after you figure it out. At first I thought I lost all the previous blogs and pictures, but as you can see I did not. You actually have more freedom with the layout of your blog...like rearranging the order of your info, links you read and stuff like that.

On Sunday I got hooked into watching the last 3 episodes of Band of Brothers, which is a miniseries produced and directed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielburg. I have watched all the episodes before and I still get wrapped up into the story. For those of you who do not know, BOB is about the 101st airborne division during WWII. It follows the guys from basic training till after the end of the war. The story, the action, the actors are all amazing. There are 10 discs in the set, and each are about an hour. So, if any of you want to start a marathon or a quest to watch these, hold on to your seats....and when you hear the last line in the entire series call me.
DISCLAMIER: The TV verison has alot of the language edited out, but the real versions have not, so beware....when I rented it I watched it with my parents...and yes I was a little embarresed, but I telling you...this series is amazing...esp if you are a history buff.

Also on Sunday I did some studying, but better than that I washed the dogs b/c on Monday I was taking them to the vet for their annual checkup and shots, and I did not want my car smelling like wet pondy, cow manure. I did anyway after I took them, but probably not as bad if I had not washed them.

NYC pics

2006-08-19T16:50:00.000-05:00

Here are some more pics of NYC:
The angle fountain across the pond from the boathouse

The Statue of Liberty at weird angles

The original SOL flame that is located inside of the monument

A view of the SOL from Ellis Island

Ellis Island

George Washington on the Arch leading into Washington Square Park

A pond in Central Park

A close up of the Bull

The Downtown Skyline fromt the Boat that is going to the Statue of Liberty

Graduation Pics

2006-08-19T13:44:00.000-05:00

Here are some random pics from Graduation .
Dennis and I waiting to walk out of the auditorium

The Honduras crew

Kristen and I on the Fork lift

Judy and I waiting to walk

Justin and Cara

Kristen and Kevin at Laz Paz, the after party

2006-08-16T09:59:00.000-05:00

So, as many of you know I am a Gilmore Girls fan. I have seen all the episodes at least 3 times up till the beginning of season 6 b/c of school.
Well, this summer the WB has been replaying all of season six, and it seems that the only time I catch an episode is one that I have already seen. Well, yesterday I was excited b/c I was going to get to watch new episode, but not just any new episode, it was the first one of season 6, the one where we find out what happens after Lorali asks Luke to marry her. HOW EXCITING. Ok well, the first bit airs then the theme song and THEN our cable goes out. When our cable goes out, which it does reguarly, it out for the count. We are talking hours. So, I still did not get to see the first episode of season 6.
The devil is playing games, he was taunting me.

Wrapping things up

2006-08-14T17:06:00.000-05:00

Well, Graduation is done with!!!

Just call me Dr. AnnaJane

Also, I let the truth be known that I am NOT moving to Alaska. I was letting some friends from Sarasota (and some now of Nashville) think that b/c they LIED to me about thier Torch trip getting to go Roatan. I believed it for like a month. I had to let some innocent people believe it in order to make it believable. Sorry.
BUT, only 24 hrs after the truth came out, I got it back. I will NOT reveal how b/c that will give them credit.

I stayed in Nashville after Graduation to help Terry, Margaret and Nate move their things, and some how managed to be persuaded into staying until today. Fun was had by all. I now have been embarrassed in the Bellevue Walmart as well as know the feeling of cramming myself into the "bob the builder" coin truck inside of the Walmart. (sorry no photos)

Love to all

Dr. Palmer

GRADUATION

2006-08-08T17:42:00.000-05:00

I am back for NuwAuwlins and I am leaving tomorrow to head to Nashville for GRADUATION!!!
About time..I started my college career in 1997 at Harding, --> Dyersburg State --> Abilene Christian University-->University of Tennessee, Martin (B.S. in Agriculture) and then Belmont (DPT)
8 years and some a penny.

Friday Night 7pm Curb Center, Belmont University, Nashville TN
All are welcome

New Orleans

2006-08-01T09:01:00.000-05:00

I am going to New Orleans tomorrow, so I will be out of the pocket till Sat. I am going with Brett and Judy and the Faulkner Soccer team to do some relief work with Hill Top Rescue. Look it up. It is based out of Chalmette, LA, which I think is southeast of New Orleans. I haven't been there since before Katrina, so I am in anticipation to see how it looks and to see how things are movin along.

Crafty Corner

2006-07-30T13:59:00.000-05:00

I am trying to figure out how to make my profile pic larger, so bare with me through fuzzy
wuzzy wuz a bear. But here is a preview for coming attractions!

Random Pictures

2006-07-24T23:00:00.000-05:00

Here are some random pics...

My Dad and Maggie in the field behind the house Feb 2006

Some of the Cows hoping we will feed them some grain

A picture of the backyard looking into the big field, and the view looking across the field (from the north side of the house) to the hay barn.

a view from atop ahill in field behind our house looking at the shop, and back of the haybarn.

Priscilla in the field.

Alaska and other things

2006-07-24T22:46:00.000-05:00

Schools out for Summer
Schools out for summer

I am done with classes at Belmont
I am graduating in 2 weeks....August 11th 2006

I am done with classes!!!!!!!

The only thing I have to do now is study for my boards that I will take sometime in Sept.
I will have to study about 4 hours a day for about 6 weeks...yikes.

I have been looking for jobs with various companies. Some I've looked at are private companies and some are not, some are travel companies some are not.

I have looked into living in different states and in Tennessee

AND it has come down to this.....

To start I am accepting a job that will help me pay school loans off faster and allow me to start investing for my future.

I have always been an adventure type of person..and I am about to embark on the biggest adventure of my life.......

I have accepted a job in ALASKA!!! For a small community Hospital in Juno.

I know what ya'll are thinking...what am I thinking, but hear me out...

For signing a 3 year contract they are going to pay 75% of my loans back, and the salary in VERY competitive.

I know I have always said that I can live anywhere for a year, well let's see about 3 years.

Alaskan cruise anyone?

2006-07-23T17:08:00.000-05:00

I'll provide you with a clue ..
So that you can guess who went and got a tattoo.

She resides in LA
But when she goes home for a stay
Beneath the maple trees she walks in the fall
And listens to the sound of the Blue Bird's call.

Honduras 2006

2006-07-15T09:55:00.000-05:00

The link to my Honduras journal in on the right side labled torch 2006, along with other blogs I read

I'm back

2006-07-10T12:54:00.000-05:00

Well I am back. Got back into Nashville last night at 10pm and started class this morning at 9am.

I am going to create a link to my journal for this years TORCH trip sometime this week.

I have a ton of laundry and reading assignments this week so maybe this weekend I will get it started.

In and Out

2006-06-29T21:49:00.000-05:00

To continue with the previous blog....

I left the Tequilaria and headed to my gate only to find out is has been moved across the airport.

I lugg my bags at least 1.5 miles to gate D12 only to then be told it has moved to D4. Let me tell ya D4 is NOT near D12 and D4 is not near a concession stand. I make it to D4 and the counter lady tells me that the fight is booked solid and that she cannot tell me if I will get a seat or not. It is about 330 now and so I remember that I have a disc of Gimore Girls in my laptop!!! Things are looking up. I watch 2 min and my laptops battery dies. The only plug in around is being used so I pull out my newly charged IPOD and start listening to some tunes.

About 5 min in, an announcement is made that the gate has changed again to D2. So I pack up again and move. The lady at the D4 counter is at the D2 counter and I wait for her to leave and then I make my way tp the counter to ask it they know anything. The guy tells me there are plenty of seats available, but the plane is old and there is a weight limit and they will have to wait and see if it is already too heavy for me to get on..... RIGHT.
The plane is late arriving by 20 mins, but right before the planes starts boarding...I get a ticket AND when I arrive in Nashville my luggage is there as well!!!!

So tommorrow I leave for HONDURAS!!!!!!
Be back July 9th.

Come away with me

2006-06-27T12:49:00.000-05:00

Let me take you thoruogh my day so far.
So, my flight to Nashville was suppose to leave this morning at 6:30am. I got up at 3:30 to get to the airport an hour ahead of time. I got there at 4:30am. Well, the morning started out good with the car service being early and not late...that is the last thing that went right.
At the Airport the self check in computers were not working so it had to be done by hand.....then the earliest flight (5:50am) people were late arriving so the tickets people would only check them in and we had to wait 45 min to check in.....then when I got to the security check I had to cram my overstuffed purse into my already stuffed to the gills backpack (yes I know only two carryons but sometimes they do not care) Continental cares...only to 5 mins later have to unpack it to take my video camera out of the backpack to go through the scanner.
The plane leaves the terminal on time but we end up sitting on the runway for 2 hours b/c of some storm we never saw.
I get to Cleveland at 10:00, but SURPRISE my connection alreadyl left at 8:45am.
I am told to go to the customer service desk to get a new flight....I am on standby for the 4:30pm flight to Nashvagas, and if I don't get on that I have to spend the night here.
So, since I was starving and my stomach digesting my spine I made a beeline to Cinnabon, only to be told that it will be 20 mins for a bun. AGGGHHHHH
So, now I am sitting in Tequileria bar and grill. I have got some stuff done though. I checked my email and download some pics AND I am charging my IPOD that died 10 min into the 2 hours of runway sitting.
so, maybe I'll be home tonight in my own bed and maybe not.
Maybe I'll have my luggage when I get there and maybe not.
Peace out

More New York Photos

2006-06-27T12:04:00.000-05:00

These are a few of the suger packets I used to get through the Italy vs USA game
This is a picture outside of the TODAY show studio , plus Cambell Brown, Matt and Ann. Me and Judy in the NBC store with freinds.

Here is the Ed Sullivan Theatre where the Late Show with David Letterman is filmed and The Hello Deli where Rupert works.

Here is a view from atop the Belvedere Castle "as seen in the movie Step Mom". The view is looking northeast.

A little bit of everything

2006-06-22T10:09:00.000-05:00

Here is a pic from this past weekend with Judy and Brett. It is small so just use your memory to imagine our facial expressions. This is a pond on the east side of Central park around 70th street and 5th ave. It was HUMID and you can't tell but there are waterfalls pouring down our faces.
The hill in the background is a knoll that I prefer to study on, yet sometimes there are little green instects that like to fall on you, so I usually get frustrated and move to the hill to the right that you cannot see. On this particular day, on the hill you cannot see, the hill should have been called, "MY EYES....MY EYES!!!" b/c it was covered with persons who belong to the family of "Oh, you should NOT wear that bikini. Is that a spare tire?"

Brett, Judy and I walked all over Manhattan and I am now feeling the effects. I should say my Left foot is feeling the effects. My great toe is NOT happy with me.

Tonight I am going to the airport to pick up Mrs. Charlotte and Jaylin. They don't know it yet, but we are eating dinner at Serendipity and then Going to The empire State building!!! I printed out the tickets already so hopefully no 3hr wait this time.

REMEMBER: Tomorrow morning TODAY show!!!!!!

This Friday

2006-06-21T11:45:00.000-05:00

Watch the TODAY show this Friday morning. Mrs. Charlotte, Jaylin and I will be there. We will be there rain or shine.

2.5 days of Clinical Left....FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another week, another weekend

2006-06-18T17:13:00.000-05:00

Well,

one more week down here in the city....I am having mixed feeling about leaving.
Of course the whole experience started with a little drama, but after settling in it has been an amazing opportunity and experience.

I am ready to see my family and friends in TN whom I have not seen since March and Gracie as well, but I am definetly going to miss New York.

Why I love the city:
10. The people (everyone is there own person)
9. There is something always going on
8. The subway ( although there can be interesting smells there is something to say about
paying $2 to go 100 blocks)
7. The view from the empire state building (the view not the line you wait in)
6. The food (serendipity's frozen HOT chocolate)
5. Street vendors ( pictures, books, you name it it is there)
4. Book stores (they too are around every corner and the used ones are the best)
3. EVERyTHING is delivery (groceries can be delivered to your door)
2. Broadway shows
1. Central Park ( it is beautiful and full of life)

there are sooo many other things

2006-06-15T11:33:00.000-05:00

Here is Jeremy and I at the Yankees game
Here is a view to the south from Central ParkHere is a view from the Empire state Building
Jeremy and I on the boat ride to Statue of Liberty. The statue of Liberty, me looking up at it and me standing in front of it. Jeremy had to layon his back upside down to take it b/c he was only 15ft from me.

Jeremy and I in central park. See no muggers around.
Jeremy's cousin, Richard and I watching Jeremy take a pic of us. I look tired.

AND now the awaited photo.........Me bullriding on Wall street!!!!

PICTURES

2006-06-14T11:56:00.000-05:00

So jeremy sent me the pics but they are to big blogger will not down load them.
I will try again.

A busy weekend

2006-06-12T20:22:00.000-05:00

This weekend One of my friends from Belmont (jeremy) came up to the city with his cousin to "do new york"
They actually took a bus for Only $35 round trip from Washington DC.
On Sat we went to the Yankees game, wall street ( I sat on the bull) and ground zero. We ate at Pete's tavern and walked from Union Square to Times square.
On Sunday we went to central park, Lincoln square, columus Circle, The statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Battery Park.
I even found the names John Palmer and Anna Palmer on the list of immigrants on the wall of names at Ellis Island
I took video and pictures of it all. I was filming all the Palmers on the Ellis Island wall and THEN my camera had a glich and I lost it all. All the footage of the weekend...GONE. I can see the pics of the camera but I cannot finalize the disk to download them. I am waiting on Jeremy to send some of his photos so I can post them.

Judy and Brett are coming this Friday. Should be a very interesting weekend.

OH yeah....Both Katie and Cindy are "withchild"!!!!!!!!

I think I heard somewhere that Judy was as well. I wonder where I heard that?

I took a practice PT state exam and did NOT do so well 59% baby. But that was without studying. Better get to it.

Anna

I don't have internet at the moment

2006-05-30T11:39:00.000-05:00

So,
I am not in my new aprtment yet, but I will be there TONIGHT!! I promise.
But I do not have internet at the moment...I am at work so gotta keep it short.

I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sunday after Church and it was amazing. I saw Picasso, shich is also the name of my building, and Monet paintings.

I took pictures and will post them when I can!

Love you all..I loved talking to Everyone yesterday:
Margaret, Rick, Kevin and Ken...Terry was too good to talk to me though..I miss you!

Please sir......can I have some more?......Mooooooooore

My right gastroc is like a rock

2006-05-22T20:22:00.000-05:00

So, here is the goings on of the weekend.

I took the metro north train up to Westchester county New york to meet Jess.

The train ride was interesting...when the train came out from below I could see Harlem and then the Bronx. It still amazes me just how big Manhattan is. It only took about 35 min to get from 42nd street to the Tuckaho station, which is above the bronx in the burbs.

Jess met me at the train station and we went to the mall to walk around. For supper we ate at a mexican resturant and then went back to her place to watch a movie her CI has rented......"Brokeback Mountian." I need to make a discliamer: B/c of my faith, I do not agree with certain things, like adultery and murder, but I do not hate the people who commit these "sins" for each sin is the same in God's eyes. I hope you get my drift, so saying that and aside from all the hoodoo about the movie for it being a "gay cowboy movie" the movie STANK. Having seen the movie now, I can honestly say, "I did not like it." It could have been just your regula r sex before marriage/cheat on your spouse" type of movie and I would still have the same opinion.The time I spent watching it could be explained more akin to watching the scenery scenes in "Napoleon Dynamite." I would have had more fun watching paint dry.

Anyhoo,

On Sat I went with Jess to the training room at the local high school to practice taping ankles and Jess taped a couple of athletes.

Oh, on the way out of the house that morning, I locked the door in the garage behind us...well I was not suppose to, so when we got back we were locked out. I called a locksmith who claimed that they would be there in 20 mins....which came and went, so I decided to see if I could use name tag to break in....I succeded!!!!

Jess's parents came in and then we all drove into Manhattan to meet Jess's brother in law. We ate at a cute place that I can't remember the name of and then went to walk around the nearby Fort Tyron. It overlooked the Hudson River and you could see New Jersey and the Bronx and up state New York from the look out.

We left the fort and went to an Irish Pub and watched part of the Mets vs Yankees game and then headed downtown to eat Dinner.

We at a little Thai food place...i cannot remember the name of it...but they had amazing peanut dumplings. The best I've ever had...actually the only I have ever had..

After dinner we walked to Times Square where I left the group at the Westin Hotel ( a birthday present). It was great I watched TV (with sound) until I feel asleep.

Sunday afternoon I walked around the neighborhood of where I will be moving THIS Saturday!! And Eleana and I went to watch the movie The DeVinci Code. If you can go into the movie knowing that it is JUST a novel and not intended to be thought of as FACT, then you will enjoy this movie. It makes you think and use your brain.

Stayed tuned for New York 2006

The count down

2006-05-22T09:24:00.000-05:00

6 days until I move into my apartment!!!!

Tomorrow

2006-05-16T22:05:00.000-05:00

I am excited!!!!

It is May 16th......which mean that tomorrow is May 17th

My birthday!!! 27 baby

For as long as I can remember I have always done the birthday count down. I remember is high schoo Cindy, Katie and I would start the count down at the beginning of the month. 17 days till my birthday...10 days...5 days...its my birthday!!!!!!!

I admit, I still get very excited about my birthday.

Why you ask? well for many reasons..let count them shall we:
3. Presents..who does not love presents
I cannot recall my favorite present ever (which is why it is
#3)
- a cool one was driving aunt jane's maxima to
school when I turned 16

2. Parties:
- roller skating party
- Swimming party's at the country club (before we were
aware we had swim suites on)

1. The birthday cake......Dairy Queen's ice cream cake
(it has to be DQ's)

I have always been home for my birthday...I cannot remember ever not being home.....I'm not home, BUT I am still excited.

Tomorrow I am going to Carnegie Deli and am going to get a huge piece of Strawberry Cheesecake and take it to work to share with my fellow staff members... and the celebration will continue into the weekend...I am going to go up to take the train up to Westchester to meet Jess and we are going to hit the movies and get some grub, then on sat we are taking the train back in and going to Serendipity 3 for a frozen hot chocolate (better than...)(Judy that is for you) and play around the city (it better had quit raining by then) (hey Margaret..it IS raining).

Oh I cannot wait!!!!

The sun will come out tomorrow
Betcha bottom dollar that to..morrow there'll be sun
To...morrow To....morrow
I love ya to..morrow
Your only a daaaaayy aaaawayyy!!!!!!

My ponderings and random thoughts

2006-05-12T00:04:00.000-05:00

Currently I have alot of time on my hands at night to...sit and think...and ponder about...well alot of things:
Life in general
Where I'm going to live after graduation
Where I would like to live after graduation
What type of PT setting I would like to work in
Where I can get some good ole sweet tea
When I going to quit trying to plan it all myself

I also am listening to my ipod ALOT... while walking to the subway, on the subway, walking from the subway to work and then back home, while I am standing in line for coffee, standing in line for a hot dog ($1 hotdogs..ummm), standing in line for a big pretzel, while trying to go to sleep.

I like all kinds of music..from country to rap, and even a little ragae (just kidding)...but I have found that I can only listen to the "christian" genre whenever I feel unsettled (as my current situation) (I can listen to it others times as well, I meant that I find that other genres, like country, make me feel worse or they just don't do it for me) anyway, Here is another of my "Subway songs"

(Mercy Me: Bring the rain)
"I can count a million times the people asking me how I can praise you with all that I've gone through,
The question just amazes me, can circumstances possibly
change the person I am in you

Maybe since my life was changed, long before these rainy days
its never really crossed my mind,
To turn my back on you o Lord, my only shelter from the storm, but instead I draw closer through these times,

So I pray
Bring me Joy.. bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings you glory
And I know there'll be days when this life brings me pain,
But if thats what it takes to praise you,
Jesus bring the rain

I am yours reguardless of the clouds that may loom above,
b/c your much greater than the pain,
You who made a way for me..suffering in your dyestiny
So tell me..whats a little rain

With all my pondering I am sure of one thing, and that is....

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed...what God has planned
I only know at his right hand...stands one who is my savior
That he would leave his place on high and come to sin
My savior loves
My savior lives
My saviors always there for me
My God he was
My God he is
My God he's always gonna be
(Aaron Shust: My Savior My God)

With all the decisions looming ahead I know:

I need eyes to be my guide
I need a voice thats louder than mine
I need hope and I need you
Cause I can't do this alone

Grace I call your name
Oh won't you smile fall over me
I cry down on hands and knees
Oh sweet grace...rain down on me...I need your grace
(Phil Wickham: Grace)

Isn't it wonderful how a song can speak to your heart and touch you soul. How the words can wake you up or listen in a different way.

David knew it...

My song purging is done..until I need to share another with you.

Update New York

2006-05-10T22:54:00.000-05:00

Currently on my playlist is: Casting crowns "I will praise you in this storm"and "who am I", Sanctus real " I'm not alright" , Phil wickham "Grace" and Brian Littrell "In Christ alone"
There are others as well, but these songs are helping me get through a rough patch of uncertainty and change.

I have always been one to go on adventures, but I have learned over the years that my adventures seem to always take me away from what I know and place me in situations that I have to adjust to and create a life in.

Case in point: my undergraduate years. 4 different schools, 4 different lives, different friends, different churches, overall just different.

Even though I chose to go on my adventures, I was not and still am not a fan of change. But I know life is about changing, nothing ever stays the same.

There were some constants during those times:
1. Family-my family was always a call away
2. My child's friends - were always a call away (and sometimes would show up)

But above all else: God was always there. I didn't need to pick up a phone to feel his presence. He was there when I was home sick at Harding, he was there when I wanted to call home from ACU, he was there as I laid awake the night before PT school started, he was there as I drove away from home to go on my clinical and he is here with me now.

I am so grateful that God is with me through my trials. I believe the only reason I can find the courage to go, is knowing that God is here holding my hand as I step onto the subway, like a father holding his daughter's hand as he leads her into her classroom on her first day of pre-school.

Last week was tough emotionally, I won't pretend. I know myself, I know what leaving friends and family does to me...it tears at my heart... add on not knowing where I will be sleeping the next night....(sanctus real, "I'm not alright"):

I'm not alright
I'm broken inside, broken inside
But, all I go through..leads me to you...
Leads me to you

I know this sound soooo trivial and minor with all the hurt in the world. Here I was not able to get ahold of my emotions b/c of what : housing and fear of the unknown.
(casting crowns "who am I"):

Who am I
That the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt

Not b/c of who I am
But b/c cause of what you've done
Not b/c of what i've done
But b/c of who you are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still you
Hear me when I 'm calling
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling
And you tell me who I am...I am yours

Whom shall I fear...what shall I fear.....I am yours!!

I know that alot more change will come, and with it my own insecurities will rise up and the "fear feeling" may capture my spirit for a bit.......

I was sure by now
God you would have reached down
and wiped MY tears away..stepped in and saved the day.

But once again...I say amen
But it is still raining...
As the thunder rolls..I barely hear your whisper through the rain, "I'm with you"

And as your mercy falls
I'll raise my hands and praise the god who gives..and takes away

And i'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for you are who you are....no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried...you hold in your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart in TORN....I will praise you in this storm!!

My strength is almost gone...how can I carry on
If I can't find you
And as the thunder rolls..I barely hear you whisper through the rain, " I'm with you"

Where does my help come from...my help comes from the maker of heaven and earth

(Casting Crowns "I will praise you in this storm")

After the storm comes the rainbow
The rainbow is near...and one day I will drive through it :)

But the journey is not over and I can't do it alone...
I find it amazing the ways God brings light into our lives, and sometimes we find ourselves in darkness in order to provide light to others.

In christ alone,

I place my trust

And find my glory in the power of the cross

In every victory, let it be said of me

my source of strenth, my source of hope

Is CHRIST alone!!!!!!!

PS: Besides the obvious, there is a hidden song reference within the blog..can you find it?

Well so far it ain't been a picnic

2006-05-06T19:15:00.000-05:00

So how long Have I been talking about going to New York City? A long time my friends....3 years at least. And finally last Saturday it happened....I arrived.

Yet, with all my planning and dreaming things did not go so smoothly as I would have liked. So, sit back and I will fill you in on my week.....

Arrive sat and cannot get into my apartment or even the building b/c the brokers did not set up the key exchange with the super of the building....2 hours later I get in the apartment.
The apartment is NOT what I was expecting AT ALL, but I was determined not to let that get in the way of enjoying the expience. On sunday I decided to unpack and then things started going downhill. I found body hair in the drawers, the dishes in the cabinets were dirty and my bedroom door would not lock, but still I hung on to my wits and steamed ahead. I even went exploring down to Union Square.
THEN Sunday night I could not fall asleep..I tossed and turned and the "Harding I want to go home" feeling started arising, and when I awoke I found that during the night bed bugs had bitten me on my legs, feet and arms. When I got in the shower the warm water lasted about 3 secs and THEN I lost it.
I called Cindy to get her uncle's number to see if he knew a way for me to get out of the apartment lease.
After I got off my first day of work I packed my bags and went to Cindy's unlce's apartment to stay until I figured out what to do.
Well, it is now saturday and I am still here. My broker has another apartment but it will not be ready until May 27th. So, I am not sure if I am staying here until then or not. Everything is in kind of a limbo.

I have been so stressed out this week that I did not eat a complete meal until Thurday night and my face looks like a pizza.

So, I need prays for peace and joy. Peace so I don't always have a nervous stomach and Joy so I can enjoy my time here.

I am going to be honest here (Judy that is for you)......I am ready to be done with all this school stuff. I am ready to be in a place where I am settled in life and know surrounded by friends and family. I am ready to go to Honduras. I miss my freinds and I miss Terry and Margaret and the friends I made in Florida (I am homesick for 2207 Arden).
Don't get me wrong...I am not regreting coming..i just know it is going to be a challange mentally.

Tune in for the ongoing saga of where is Anna going to live this week.

The neon

2006-04-15T18:29:00.000-05:00

I forgot to tell you what happened with the neon. He stauledout at the start and everyone laughed in the stands as he turned on this overhead emergency light and poked down the lane.

A night at the races...

2006-04-15T18:26:00.000-05:00

Last night I went with Terry and Margaret to the Bradenton speedway for the once a month "open race night."

Terry brrought his level One roush mustang, rick brought his Level two roush mustang, another of their friends brought their dodge neon with emergency lights on top.

At the raceway it is $10 to get in and $5 to race. I rode with Rick for the first race. He won!! Sitting in the passenger seat at take off felt like sitting in the space shuttle at launch.

Margerat and I sat and watched for a while at the fence.
A crotchrocket went a quater mile in 6 seconds.

Terry got done racing and pulled up, AND asked if I wanted to drive his car in a race.....HECK YES.

So, I get in the driverseat and Terry in the passenger and we get in line. Let me point this out..the first time I have driven this car was from the parking lot to the queing line. As we get closer to the start I was getting nervous, my knee caps were even shaking.

So, the time comes and were up. The car in the othere lane was a BMW. I roll up to the starting line and wait for the lights to turn yellow, they do then bang its green, it surprised me that it turned that fast. Terry yelled go. I went. It was sooo fun. Flooring the gas pedal and blowing down the lane.
Of course I has to do it again..this time we were against another mustang with a V8, we lost again but I beat him off the line. I even spun the tires and my reaction time was .3 of a second. It was Awesome. I can't wait to do it again.
I am gonna get my X-terra out there next time.

Signing off..the dragster

NYC

2006-04-11T17:41:00.000-05:00

3 more weeks and I am New York City bound!!!

Tornado Alley

2006-04-04T20:12:00.000-05:00

Well,
Dyersburg got it again, or I should say Dyer County.

My immediate family is fine. No damage to the Palmer farms, but there are alot of people in Dyer county that are not that lucky.

Please keep them in your prayers.

2006-04-01T17:36:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures of the bay at Sarasota and at Lido beach.

More photos

2006-03-13T19:54:00.000-06:00

Here are some more various photos from the past semester...

KDela and Judy in the small classroom

Pics from "Girls _ _ _ camp 2006"

2006-03-13T16:57:00.000-06:00

Evelyn pondering life's big questions
This is Jan and Kate watching Paint ball

Kayla and Meagan playing around
This is one of the crowns the girls got during the "Wedding"

Evelyn Mrs. Terri and Kate

What been happening

2006-03-10T17:18:00.000-06:00

Ok, here is somemore details

First off, NO Mrs. Denise I will not be in Dburg before I jet to NYC.

With that said,

I am staying with Terry and Margarate in Sarasota Fl, a couple that I go to Honduras with during the summer.

It is about a 25 min commute to Venice in the morning andcabout 35 mn in the afternoon. My work schedule is 715am to 400pm. But somedays I get off around 3:30.

Venice, to me, reminds me of the shots of Laguna beach, except no hills. The hospital is on the island part of Venice.

I REALLY like the hospital and my co-workers, and am enjoying this rotation very much. FINNALLY!!!

I promise to post some pictures soon.

LOVE you all

Anna Jane

Soaking up the Sun

2006-03-10T16:46:00.000-06:00

Well, I just finished my first week here in FLORIDA.
Avg temp: 80 degrees baby

From the 4th floor of the hospital one can see the OCEAN.
And after work it is 2 min and I am walking the WHITE sandy beaches looking at the CLEAR BLUe water.

Moving on...again

2006-02-27T20:41:00.000-06:00

Well, I have been in the big D-burg since the middle of December. So, guess it is time to be moving on. My next stop is Sarasota, Fl where I will be living for the next 8 weeks while I do a clinical (acute care) in Venice, Fl at Venice Regional Medical center.

This past weekend I was blessed to attend a girls retreat with my church for the high school and Jr high school.
Since being in PT school for the past 3 years I have not had the opportunity to be around the kids and some of the adults for a LONG time. I had forgotten how much these girls and ladies mean to me. I am truly going to miss them while I am away. Here is a Shout out to: Jan, Mrs.Denise, Mrs. Charlotte, Marla, Mrs. Terri, Mrs. Nancy, Emily and Evelyn, Jaylin, Meagan, Chelsea, Lauren C., Lauren B. I love and respect each of you.

I think that I will have more time to blog...at least I hope so.

There should be some pics coming as well.

One more thing, I love curling!!!

Refer back to privious

2006-02-01T21:13:00.000-06:00

So, like I was saying in my last blog (which I noticed alot of spelling errors, so JUDY there is no need to point those out) I do not like having to say goodbye to patients.

Times out I need to make a disclaimer...As a student of PT, clinicals can be stressful times and clinicals can be feared or better yet dreaded, but in the end rewarding and time well spent....so saying that......some of my patients can make it all worthwhile.

Today my MOST favorite patient was discharged. I have been dreading this day for 2 weeks. This patient and their family have been a rush of fresh air for me at work, and they would make the hour and half I had with them seem like heaven.

I was always excited for their ( I say thier b/c this patient always had family with them) time slot to begin and hated to see it end. I got the pleasure of spending time with them getting to know their personal journey to this point in their lives. Tears were shed together and shouts of jubilations were shared when goals were achieved. To me.. they are family. Admiration can only begin to describe how I feel about this patient.

SO, like I said, I have been dreading this day. I had a fear as the day began that I would be tied up and not able to to give them a proper goodbye.....and my fears came true. I had to go to another floor and during this time they had to check out. I did not get to say goodbye. I do not know If I will see them again due to clinical schedules and well...life, so here is my goodbye:

(insert name) I am so blessed in having got to meet you and your family. Watching you each day strive to get back physically to who you were before has inspired me to live each day to the fullest, to make sure that I tell those close to me I love them (and to show it as well). I am rejoicing with you in where your hard work has gotten you, and I think I began to want it just as much as you. Remember, God WAS with you when you called out to him for help and he will always be there when you need him. I love you too!

Whats going on...

2006-01-27T21:55:00.000-06:00

Well, it is a new year and many things are going on.
First, I have moved back to D-burg and have started my clinical in Jackson, Tn. Yes, that is a 40 min drive.
It is going....all I have to say is I do not like having to tell my patients goodbye, since they become like family.

I am still looking for a place to live in NYC come May, but I am not worried..yet.

Gracie and Tiffany are still fighting

I have now watched all 5 seasons of the Gilmore Girls (seasons 3-5 in a week and a half) (22 45 min episodes) BUT can you believe this....I feel asleep during the first FRESH episode after catching up. The WB does not start here untill 10pm.
I have to say that I still think I like season 1 the best.

I am trying to figure out where I want to live after graduation, which makes me think about the boards comeing up, which freaks me out, which makes my chest start hurting, in which I have to stop thinking about it.

moving on...

I got the new license plates..I like it.

my lips are chapped...I need some lip chap.

I guess that is all that is going on here.