Almost Spring!

Well, it has been quite awhile since I have posted. Nothing new has really gone on here. I am continuing my internship with CVSD, right now I am currently at the high school - it is quite different than being a school psychologist at an elementary school! One of the academic assessments that I give from the elementary level to beyond high school is completely different in terms of scoring and how far the kids will go in the assessment. I am used to using the academic assessment with elementary kiddos and to change to high school is quite different with how long the administration takes and scoring - - the essay and sentence composition are a pain to score. I am learning so much from my supervisor at the high school, she also went through the U of I CASP program so it is nice to have someone to relate to.

Currently on my to-do list is to finish up all information that is needed for the Education Specialist degree so that I can finish it by June and have that degree under my belt as well! I also have to sign up for the Praxis - yay another exam (ugh).

Right now I am also preparing myself for Hawaii this May! Zach's grandpa is renting a house on the beach for one month, so all Zach and I had to do was be able to get to Hawaii and everything (well, a lot of things will be provided by Zach's family)! We are extremely excited and we are so lucky that his grandpa is doing this! We get to go for 10 days, so hopefully I will have a lot of paperwork done by then from school so I am not worrying about it while on the beach getting some sun or while we are going on hikes. Also on my to-do list is to hit the gym AND HARD for the next 3 months - so I can be healthier, in shape and feel better about myself. And of course to look good while wearing a swimsuit and shorts!

It's hard to keep up with keeping healthy and attending the gym for me right now. There are honestly no excuses and I know attending the gym makes you feel better on so many different levels. However, right now I am getting up at 5 a.m. and in bed between 8 and 9; typically 8/830 I crawl into bed. By the end of the day I am incredibly run down and drained from learning continuous information and applying it throughout the day, so all I want to do is go home, review some more documents if needed, have dinner, watch a couple of shows (maybe) and then fall asleep! Anyway, the point I am trying to get across is that it is hard for me to have motivation at the end of the day to go to the gym! The Hawaii vacation should be motivation and inspiration enough to go, but I guess it hasn't been since we bought our tickets a month-two months ago and I have only attended the gym or done P90X about 4 times....whoops. I will just have to start holding myself accountable better! Zach and I went today, it was fantastic and now I am pooped out and will most-likely be sore tomorrow...which is a good feeling saying that I worked hard! WOO!

That's about all that I have on my mind right now...it's about my bed time! Hope all is well in everyone else's world right now!

End of Spring...onto Summer and Fall 2010

SPRING -

In the spring of 2010, I was able to complete graduate school and receive another degree, Master of Education in Counseling and Human Services. I am so glad to be done with that part and it feels great! Now on to the Education Specialist piece that will allow me to become a School Psychologist if I choose, or if I can find a job in the area!.

At graduation - Dad, Nick, Me, Aunt Robin & Mom

Zach and I at Graduation

SUMMER -

I hope that everyone is doing well. Not too much has changed in my world. This summer was very busy and so much fun! This summer was filled with Weddings (both of my littles got married), lots of days out on the lake and at the cabin, and lots of working! I worked on and am still working on the Coeur d'Alene Cruises, it is definitely harder than it sounds, and although most people think that it is easy, it's really not! I would definitely not work the job that I am working if I didn't love the people that I work with! Sometimes, we get great people on the boats, they are kind, polite and totally awesome.....other times I want to kick them off of the stern. So as I said, I wouldn't do this job if I didn't love the people that I work with! It's a great little summer job and it kept me so busy!

This is a picture that a couple of people drew in our shed at work; it's a picture of all the people that we work with! I'm on the bottom in the middle :)

I moved across town, just my fourth move in three years, no big deal. I am currently living with one of my best guy friends Pete and I love our house! We have a little decorating and painting to do, but we'll get there! We need some new house ideas, so if anybody has any, please let us know! Lola loves our new house also, and boy does she love Pete - thank goodness!

My roommate Pete is the one that I am standing next to; the other two are Brandon and Erin, two boat crew members :); Captain Brandon and amazing bar tending Erin!
Whitney's Bachelorette Party Dinner @ Bonsai

Whitney on her wedding day :)

In California for Jessica & Jordan's Wedding

Jessica on her wedding day

Auntie Kristi & Baby Aven on her Mommy & Daddy's Wedding Day

After all of the weddings, I came back to Coeur d'Alene to prepare for my best friend Nicole's visit from Reno! We had a lot of fun, we hiked on Tubbs Hill, we went to Sander's Beach and we went out to Zach's families cabin one night as well. It was so great to see her, it had been awhile since I had seen her, we had so much fun!

Nicole & I posing and being tourists with Mudgy and Millie-a tourist attraction for those who visit Coeur d'Alene.

After Nicole's Visit it was time for Car d'Alene, where are the oldies cars come to town; Friday night is the Cruise and Saturday and Sunday they close down Sherman & Coeur d'Alene Streets for all the cars to park and everyone to come and look at! There were OVER 400 CARS this year! We all went out Friday night for Katie's birthday and then the weekend my parents came up to look at the cars!

Jessica and I are Car d'Alene

Summer consisted of working frequently for Coeur d'Alene Lake Cruises, playing in the lake (even though nice hot summer days were few and far between this year) and spending time with friends and family. It was a great summer, I can't wait for next summer - and for it to be a warmer one! As most of Idaho is absolutely beautiful, I believe that Coeur d'Alene is an area that is particularly stunning. There are beautiful sunsets on the lake, I feel blessed for getting to enjoy the beauty of this place.

After dinner at The Beach House on the way back across the lakeZach and I after an afternoon of boating!

FALL -

Unfortunately, summer had to come to an end. And so began the fall semester of my internship. I was approved of doing an internship in the Central Valley School District in Spokane Valley, Washington. The people that I am working with and all of the information that I am learning is incredible - and at times mind boggling and overwhelming...but I guess that's just the life of a school psychologist! I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants every day with what request is going to come in to complete, IEP meetings, Evaluations to do, testing to complete, crazy parents to deal with! It is extremely exhausting, but I wouldn't change this experience at all. It is an amazing experience and I am so happy that I am able to continue with my education.

H-BOWL

The Vandals are going to the Humanitarian Bowl!!!

Humanitarian Bowl-Bound: Vandals and Bowling Green State Play Dec. 30

This is the first bowl game since 1998 and I am so stoked for them!! I am a Vandal through and through, I bleed silver and gold!

The Vandals will play Bowling Green State University in the Wednesday, Dec. 30, game at Bronco Stadium ( i.e. the smurf turn) at Boise. Kickoff for the nationally televised ESPN game is 1:30 p.m. P.T./ 2:30 p.m. M.T. The Bowling Green Falcons play in the Mid-American Conference and also are 7-5.

Vandal Fight Song - sing it loud and proud Vandals!!

GO, VANDALS, GO

Came a tribe from the North, brave and bold,
Bearing banners of Silver and Gold;
Tried and true to subdue all their foes!
Vandals! Vandals!

Go, Vandals, go,
Fight on with hearts true and bold.
Foes will fall before your Silver and your Gold
The victory cannot be withheld from thee;
So all bear down for Idaho,
Come on, old Vandals, go!

GO VANDIES!!!!!!!! WOOOOOO!

The Interview

Today I had an interview at a PSR Agency here in Coeur d'alene called A New Hope. PSR is Psychosocial Rehabilitation. What I would be doing as a PSR is helping an individual who has a psychiatric disability (usually a mental disorder) restore their community functioning and well being. We try to make changes in the person's environment and in their ability to deal with their environment. It is combining treatment, independent living and social skills training and some psychological support for the client and their family, help with housing, vocational rehab, social support, network enhancement and helping them with fun activities.

There are a number of people in my Graduate Program that are PSR workers, there is a lot of hype about how much people dislike it and then how much people do enjoy it...I always said that I would never do it...but this opportunity opened for me and I am hoping that I do get the job. I think I can grow a lot as a person and as a counselor/psychologist. I mainly need it to get hours towards my LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor), it requires us to have 1,000 hours .... after all of my interning this spring I will be a couple hundred hours short, so this will give me the opportunity to have more hours under my belt, as well as experience which is always needed. As a school counselor or school psychologist you are only seeing one aspect of that child's life, you are not seeing first hand what exactly they are experiencing when they go home or in their day to day life. I unfortunately only get to see a piece of their world. This would allow me to have insight into what these student's are dealing with in a different atmosphere, I would gain an entirely new perspective! Of course these wouldn't be student's that I am working with at school - who knows, maybe? But I would be able to apply what I am learning for my degree to my job and my job to my degree...it's kind of a win win.

Hopefully I will be hearing something soon......

Time to Start Blogging!

Well, I figured so many of my friends have a blog and that this would be a fun way for me to keep in touch with everyone in a simple way! As of right now it is definitely fall here in Coeur d'Alene and I absolutely love it here! I have lived here for over a year and a half now and have loved every minute of it. It is quite a change for me from living in Moscow my entire life but it was a needed change for my career. Attending graduate school has been a challenge, however I am learning more than I could have ever imagined and I cannot WAIT to be out in my career and not having to do so many classes! I graduate in May (hopefully....) with my Masters in Education School Counseling and a year long internship after that (hopefully paid, who knows the location yet?) and after that internship I will have my Education Specialist in School Psychology degree...I am also working on attaining my LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor). Needless to say I cannot wait until these huge tests are done, my brain is fried and I find myself finding other things to do all the time instead of studying...everyone needs a break sometimes though!

I have made a lot of amazing friends here in Coeur d'Alene and feel very very blessed. I also get to visit Moscow from time-to-time to visit family, friends and sorority sisters so that is very comforting as well, thank goodness for right now I only life an hour and a half (or less, pending on speed) away. I moved into a new house here in Coeur d'Alene - well the basement of it I guess. The rent is cheaper so that is definitely helpful for a poor graduate student! Lola - aka Lola Lo or "The Chunk" is doing good. She got sick a couple of weeks ago and I had to take her into the vet but she is better now..no more splotchy and swollen neck!!

I am interning at a High School this semester - YEAH A HIGH SCHOOL!!! It's definitely different from interning at an Elementary School - where I was last spring. I love the experiences that I am enduring there thus far! The counselors there are very good, intelligent and a lot of fun. They keep the day to day happenings interesting. However, what I severely dislike about interning at the High School is that I have been asked if I am a TA, where is my ASB card, I am told to get off of my cellphone (which is a no-no for the high school students) and hit on by the high schoolers....agh! No. I am almost 24 people. I mean, who wears nice slacks and nice shirts every day? High Schoolers? I think not!! Maybe by the end of this semester or if I am there next spring the teachers and students will finally realize that I am a counselor interning at the school and NOT a student! I guess time will tell on that one :)

The Vandals are 6-1 right now and we are going bowling!!! That's right!!! The Mighty Vandals are bowl-game eligible and we are all so stoked!!!! I couldn't be more proud to be a Vandal, I mean I have been a vandal for almost 24 years, I cheered for the Vandals and I try to attend all of the games for every sport that I can (living in CDA has it's limits now days)...Hopefully I will be able to attend the Bowl game, I think that is my dream right now.......

I-D-A-H-O IDAHO IDAHO GO GO GO!!!!

I can't really think of much else right now, but figured this would be a good start!