7 Quick Takes...Volume 11

1. The word on everyone's lips in Seattle right now is S-N-O-W. Whether you love it or hate it, it's falling at a good pace outside my window and sticking on the grass. They're expecting between 2 and 6 inches by tomorrow...I'll be curious to see if the clinic is open or starting late. And just because snow is on the brain, from one my absolute favorites...



The current view from my window (and still coming down)...

From Drop Box

2. Work has been busy lately. I'm taking on more patients and nearly up to what would be expected of a full-time therapist. However, these last couple of weeks have been swamped with patient reports, equipment ordering (and writing the letters of justification that go with them), trying get reevaluations started and finished and of course daily notes and treatment planning. Amazing how you can feel just half a step behind, but slowly starting to catch up. A good but sometimes hard lesson in time management.

3. LA this weekend! I'm really excited for the course I'm taking and looking forward to integrating things I learn into my treatment sessions. I definitely feel like handling and positioning are areas I need to grow in and will really impact my sessions. The company this is through is well regarded by our staff which is always a good sign.

4. I spent last weekend in Seabeck for our adult retreat. What a fabulous weekend! The entire focus was on us recharging and refueling to give us the energy we would need in our ministry. Adoration was powerful, and our last activity focused on being honest with our team members about what we needed to make us complete and areas that we truly struggled with. That was an intense and very honest way to end, and it was perfect for bonding together as a group. It was a little cold and very windy but the sunshine and view of the Olympics was hard to beat! Just another reason why I love living in the Pacific NW!

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

5. How does your garden grow? Well, mine is just starting to germinate :) Last week's picture has become...

From Drop Box

planted here are mesclun, lettuce, spinach, tomato, onion, cilantro, thyme, basil, and swiss chard. I'm also planning on planting beans, peas and peppers, but that will be a little later on. I'll keep you posted on its progress!

6. Okay, so product plug coming. A couple of my coworkers have had this cool new water bottle for awhile and I just found them at Target. It's called a Bobble and has a carbon filter (like what you would find in a Brita) right in the lid. The size is just right for my purse, and I can fill up from any tap or drinking fountain if filtered water isn't available. Made from recycled plastic in the USA and BPA-free. The tree-hugger in me loves the idea of how many water bottles this will save!

7. Most of you know that I'm kind of a crafty gal, and people are always asking what I'm making, since a crochet or knit project is often found in my purse. I thought I would share some things that are on my hook/needles/spindle/beading board/embroidery hoop/sewing machine...well you get the idea, and let you see what I'm up to.

My current project is called the Pearl Cardigan and is designed by Kristin Omdahl in crochet. The pattern is currently free on Lion Brand Yarn's website and is originally from her book Crochet So Fine. My version brought the openings at the waist up so, I can tie a ribbon just below the bust...more of an empire waist. I'm also thinking about flaring the bottom for some shaping and making the sleeves 3/4. Here's what it looks like so far...

From Drop Box

7 Quick Takes...Volume 10

1. I'm thinking Wednesday will be the best day for the quick takes, since it's my day off, if I sneak a post or two in between, even better! The longer I'm at Valley, the more I'm appreciating my schedule. 10 hour days can be quite the long haul sometimes, but having Wednesdays off means that I never have to work more than two days without getting a break to recharge.

2. Speaking of recharging...this weekend our Life Teen Core, Band, Retreat and Outreach groups will be headed to lovely Seabeck for a recharging and reconnecting adult retreat. Those of you who work in youth ministry, or really any kind of ministry, know that right about halfway through the year, the burnout begins. It takes a lot of energy and planning, and often emotional investment and that can take a toll, especially if your own prayer and sacramental life isn't where it should be. I'm looking very forward to the weekend spent with friends. My Core Team small group has prepared a session for the weekend on current youth culture...should be interesting!

3. Finally booked my hotel this week for my continuing education class next weekend in LA! Before you get too jealous, just remember I will be inside most of the time taking classes. The weekend is on NDT handling for pediatrics.....which basically means ways to hold kids and help them move in good patterns, helping their muscles fire correctly to facilitate the movements you want. Mouthful enough? Anyway, I'm really looking forward to it and applying the techniques I learn to my kiddos!

4. Still waiting on word for moving into the condo I'm planning to rent, but already plotting what to do with the patio space.

From Drop Box

I've been doing some reading up on growing your own herbs and veggies in containers. I'm thinking of giving it a try and am planning on starting at least some seeds soon to be ready to transplant after last frost. I will be sure to post updates.

5. Last Sunday, my Core Team small group presented our revamped night on the Saints. We tweaked a prepared night with some of our own ideas and it went off great. Even better, we got some great feedback from the other Core members and are putting together a guide for the night so that it can be integrated into our Confirmation curriculum. I think it will be great as an active night, as several teens told me during their interviews that they had a hard time just sitting and listening, which I can appreciate. Also, I'm hopeful that this intro to the saints will better prepare them for selecting their Confirmation saint.

6. In more Confirmation news, and not from St. John's, my friend Val recently asked me to give a talk on the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit for her Confirmation Retreat for Bl. Teresa of Calcutta in March. It will basically be a repeat of a talk I gave for her while she was at St. Cecilia's a few years ago. Looking at the talk now, though, I have a feeling I'm going to change it around a bit though. Funny, how a few more years of youth ministry experience can change your perspective on how you organize things!

7. My friend Michelle, who I mentioned in my last post, is still on bedrest but doing great. Baby is still inside growing stronger, but keep sending those prayers her way!

7 Quick Takes...Vol.9

1. Hoping to use the 7 Quick Takes more regularly for keeping the blog updated. Can't always promise they'll actually be on Friday because of the work schedule (10 hour day) but hopefully close to every week.

2. We recently celebrated Confirmations at St. John's with our brand new Archbishop, J. Peter Sartain, what a blessing! One of my teens asked me to be his sponsor and as always it was a wonderful journey. I also taught on the Confirmation team and it was great to see the teens finally reach their destination. We had a wonderful group this year, and I feel like the majority were very invested in receiving this Sacrament. Our parish was Archbishop Sartain's first in the diocese, so I have had a chance to attend his installation Mass, first Ordination and first Confirmation - not too shabby!

3. Last weekend I visited Chicago for the first time. It was a very special occasion, celebrating the Baptism of my beautiful Goddaughter Siena Marie. Here she is in all cuteness...

From Drop Box

Chicago was also digging out from their huge snowstorm a couple of weeks ago...sufficed to say I have never seen this much snow in my life...

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

...unfortunately the cold temperatures also meant waiting on the runway for my plane to get de-iced - for an hour and a half. I ended up missing a connecting flight and spending an unexpected night in San Francisco. It made for a crazy Monday at work, since I headed over right after landing, but all worked out in the end.

4. Work is going well. I've recently picked up a couple of babies onto my caseload, so starting to work more with younger kids. Both are wonderful and as always, the strong mentorship is a huge help. The biggest thing right now is that we are preparing for a visit by the Joint Commission - this is a governing body that oversees hospital safety and regulation. They will be stopping by sometime this quarter, we just don't know when.

5. Prayers requested for my friends Lou and Michelle! They are expecting their first little one, and he tried to come early at 29 weeks. She is on bedrest in the hospital and being monitored, they are hoping to keep him until 34 weeks so he will be stronger but are watching for any signs of complications.

6. I got a chance to meet up with some old classmates a couple of weeks ago for our first book club meeting since last spring. We read "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford, which I would highly recommend. In takes place in the 80s in Seattle's International District with flashbacks to the 40s and the era of the Japanese internment told through the eyes of a then 12 year old Chinese boy. It made me want to explore the International District more closely!

7. Still working on the condo rental I had mentioned. It's pretty much a done deal, just waiting for the owner to get some repairs done and then I should be able to move in! I'll post pics once that's done. A recent trip to IKEA did result in the purchase of a coffee and side table... I can't wait to start decorating :)