If a picture is worth a thousand words...

The pictures to follow are ONE HUNDRED PERCENT a joke!! Please don't forget that at anytime while looking at this post! We KNOW that we look ridiculous, but we did have a blast taking them :) Sarah works at JC Penney so we decided to go take some roommate Christmas pics!!

I'm going to do my best with the captions so you feel like you are actually there!

What an excellent start... I know I can't wink, YOU know I can't wink. Why must people constantly ask me to prove this fact? And why must my mouth be open like that when I try...?

What? Are we standing next to a beautiful white fence with perfectly snowy trees in the background?? This calls for a back-to-back picture for SURE!

She looks so pretty when she laughs!!

This REALLY is what my face (and hands) look like when a phantom Santa arm hands us a present! Codi is just ready to graciously accept the gift and get out of there!

Totally natural to have strings of ornaments around your neck. We were going for "be the tree" on this one. It IS my favorite one though!

Ummmmm I don't think words can describe this.

You have no idea how LONG this took us to set up. Maybe as long as it will take for me to get rid of that wrinkly chin!!

All I remember about this one is whining about being in the front...so we switched :)

Yeah, this is a totally natural looking pose for roommates huh? I feel like she should be feeding me grapes or something as a recline on the couch and she kneels behind me!

I believe right as this one was taken, Codi said: "Devery, a boy just brought you 24 roses to church!"

Don't judge. I really wanted that cookie apparently - even if it was a mysterious glove handing it to us!

See how excited I am?? I must have wanted it really badly!

I hope you enjoyed all of those picture. Thanks again to JC Penney Portraits for a good time and great pictures...well...at least a good time ;) Sarah you are the best!

Oh, and I almost forgot - we ALSO made Holiday greeting cards - so let me know if you would like one haha!!

Picture Update!

Okay, this is going to be quick - just pics with captions. I am definitely NOT feeling creative at all...not that I ever am...

I NEEDED a burger this day. So bad! So we went to Red Robin. Seven glasses of ice-less water and one Mount Olympus Burger (burger with spinach artichoke dip and garlic mayo) later, I was satisfied :)

This was the stoplight dance at the YSA conference in Rolla. The deal is that you wear green if you are single, yellow if "its complicated" and red if you are taken. We rebelled. And wore a stoplight.



Jorin and Jantzen after their play, Babes in Toyland. They were ADORABLE!! Both of them are so talented. They each and singing and dancing parts and did fantastic!

Yes, this picture is kind of...well...I will just say that I do not claim the double chin of the girl in the hat... It has a funny story though! Its when we are on our way to shop at walmart on Black Friday, at eleven o clock on thursday night. Don't even worry about it, we were at walmart in line until 5 the next morning. What an adventure!!

I really loved this book. (Since I didn't have much textbook guilt this semester, I decided to read a REAL book instead!) It made me really want to work as an SLP in a medical settting. It also really made me happy I decided not to be a doctor.


...I'm also glad I decided not to be a dolphin trainer...just sayin'

Holiday Weather!

This holiday season in Springfield MO has brought some pretty...uncharacteristic (at least for me) weather - especially for the END of November!
We've had:

• hail
• rain
• severe wind
• tornado warnings
• 75+ degrees
• coldish (cold enough to see your breath

Did you catch that, NO SNOW!! I'm honestly a little bit torn. I thought that I would be so so excited, but its getting hard to feel 100% festive when the weather is so crazy! Don't get me wrong, I still think that if I was in charge of the weather, I would only have it snow around Christmas...ok on Christmas Day...between the hours of 4 am and 10 am...only in front of the window :) Is that too much to ask??

When I got HOME from work at 7 this morning, my roommate had this playing (don't worry I had listened to it three, no, four times at work between 4 and 7). LOVE THIS SONG!!

A funny thing happened on my way out of Kinkos...

...but I don't remember what it was.

As much as I love Missouri...this is where I want to be right now!!

I miss temple square at Christmas Time!

Salus populi suprema lex esto (The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law)

On Saturday I went to the Arc of the Ozarks to do a few hours of service learning for my special pops class. At the Arc they do programs and recreational activities for kids and adults with special needs. Every time I have gone (all two times) it has been such a rewarding experience. Yesterday we took the adults (ages 15 to about 40) bowling. I realized while i was bowling that I haven't been bowling since Logan! It made me miss Logan SO BAD! You'd think after 2 years I'd be more over that...
Even though I miss Logan, there are other really awesome and some not-quite-so-awesome things that have happened here in the 417!

1. I think that I have mentioned this before...but on Friday it actually happened. We were sitting in my living room, around midnight, and the door opened (No...that's not the exciting part, plenty of doors opened in Logan too...). In walked this tall, blonde girl-so I assumed it was my roommate. When she got in I realized it wasn't her, so I assumed it was her friend and I waited for Codi to come in behind her...she didn't follow her in. So the door closes and this girl turns, stumblingly around in a circle. I just said..."Hi??" Then Ross said, "I think you have the wrong house..." So she looked at all of us, then turns and walks our. It was so SO weird! I have never had a drunk person just walk in my apt before! I'm pretty sure that never happened Logan. I mean, it was not uncommon for someone to just walk in the door, but that was generally because it was open, and USUALLY they knew at least one person who lived in the house...
2. Crazy Hair Styles! Well, so Rolla Missouri IS the home of the "Free Mullet Removal." There are some pretty wild hairstyles here. I decided to join them by doing something completely nuts...I parted my hair on the other side. Yes folks, its true. I tried for one day (ok I won't lie it was three days...) with my hair parted on the right instead of the left. I know, right? Bizarre! Alright, well it wasn't that crazy, no one actually noticed...but I think I got a head ache from constantly flipping my hair to keep my bangs over there.
3. Wedding Reception. You may disagree with me. It is NOT that I didn't have friends get married while I was in Logan, I did. 8 roommates to be exact. But I don't think that I ever attended a reception held in Logan UT. In this ward, there are going to be at least six before the end of February. I went to the first of the string of them last week - Congratulations Carissa and Steve!! (Ooh, side note. At the wedding, I got kinda-proposed to with the idea of a wedding cake. And no, I will not have a camo cake with deer heads on top).
   

Dang my life is exciting. Love it!

I am not embarrassed to tell you that I believe in miracles - Corazon Aquino

Its true. Miracles happen. Tonight in night class, I stayed awake-totally awake! It could be because I ate a Dillon's salad bar salad right at the beginning. Usually I wait and eat dinner after class...hmmmm, I'm going to try it next week too!! Honestly though, I am guessing that it is just a miracle. That never happens! I was more awake than I have been ALL semester!

Thanks Dillons!

"gotta get back to Hogwarts"..."It'll be totally awesome!"

A friend posted this one facebook. Its next to amazing. No, its straight up amazing...that is...if you like Harry Potter and musicals, which I do! The guy who plays Harry, Darren Criss, also plays Blaine on Glee.

Enjoy!!

**Disclaimer, it IS put on by a college and I haven't watched the whole thing yet. I am currently on Act 1 Part 7 so I know 1-6 are great!**

Names....

Maybe I should have been studying instead of looking up baby names. I could actually make a list of the things that I should be doing instead of researching meanings and popularity of various names...

• getting ready for the possible Dysphagia exam
• writing my TX summary...that I haven't started
• working on my thesis
• eating lunch
• writing SOAP notes
• working on my thesis
• writing session plans
• working on my thesis
• studying for the praxis
• working on my thesis
• writing that novel I am so close to finishing...

Basically, there are a lot of things that I should be doing instead. I'll just blame it on the fact that my group is not here yet.... (its never my fault when I am not productive :) )

P.S. My name doesn't have a meaning. I am happy with that. Maybe I should make up a meaning and send it in to the ...official name-meaning-website... Any idea?

Now for a name. I've got one! Octavius. But for short, we'll call you Gus. -Cinderella

Look hard enough, you'll figure it out!!
(if not, don't feel bad. Someone had to tell me about it...)

TSO

Enough Said.

Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind. ~Mary Ellen Chase

You may wonder if I have suffered some sort of time lapse (which wouldn't be too terrible a concern because I CAN, as you know, control time). This time I have not though. For me, the official start-date of Christmas music is October 31. Some people say that I am not paying proper respect to Thanksgiving...but find me a song (not written by Adam Sandler) about Thanksgiving and I will listen to it as well :) Alas, the Thanksgiving music genre is sadly lacking in songs... Since this is the case, I begin listening to Christmas Music on October 31!
My favorite Christmas music ever is Trans-Siberian Orchestra!! I will probably periodically post different videos...but for right now, my favorite is the one that is Wizards in Winter paired with an awesome light show!

Happy Holiday Music Listening!!

"I'll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween." Author Unknown

Its Halloween!! Honestly though, Halloween doesn't really hold much excitement for me. Although tonight I DID go to a fun party :)
It seems to me though, that Halloween is just one big excuse...

1. An excuse to eat wayyyy to much candy
2. An excuse to dress up in scandalous clothes. Apparently the shorter and lower the better??
3. An excuse to get incredibly drunk
4. An excuse to dress babies up in costumes that they actually hate wearing!
5. An excuse to put fake blood all over yourself

Ahh, but Halloween isn't all bad. I would sound very bitter and negative if I left it at that, so I won't! Halloween also brings so many great things too!!

1. You get to eat wayyyy too much candy!
2. You get to dress up! (If you like that kind of thing)
3. With Halloween comes fall, and with fall comes:

• Baking with pumpkin
• Jackets
• Colorful trees
• Soup
• Hot Chocolate
• Seeing your breath outside

4. Bonfires
5. Music like Thriller, Twilight Zone, and Ghostbusters
6. Very very cute children who really DO like their Halloween costumes

Okay Dev, okay, Halloween is actually kind of cool.... I'm going to go ahead and say that it doesn't make my list of top 5 favorite holidays, but I could definitely think of many more worse ways to spend a Saturday night :)

(I just hope that the highly intoxicated and very high people in my apartment complex will mind their own business as much as I am!! As of right now, two drunk people have tried to walk into our apartment. Thank heavens for good deadbolt locks!)

I May or May Not Have....

Ok...due to the fact that I have been SLACKING on my blogging...I'm going to give you the quick bulleted update on my life since my last post:

• Ross got his mission call!! Congratulations Ross! Utah Ogden! We were in Rolla at the YSA conference so he called us and put us on speaker :) Listen closely, I'm totally in the youtube vid. Ross I'm so proud of you!!
  

• Ah yes, the YSA conference. We had quite a blast, with our stoplight tees and everything! Pictures to come!

• Halloween!! Whats Halloween without pumpkin carving?! I would love to take credit for ET...but alas, that was Kristen - she is the pumpkin master. Woody doesn't look half bad though eh?
• A new niece!! (Why do all of these have exclamation points...?) Haley and Jon's newest, Isla Alyse, was born this month! She is so precious, and I cannot wait to meet her!!
• Thesis update: I am now on track to defend BEFORE THANKSGIVING!! As long as I can keep this pace up, I will be done with this blasted thing SOON!!!

• Dear Washington, Its been 5 long years since we've seen each other, but I am officially on my way back. Its official - I'm moving to Vancouver! I got my placements this week. Well, I know at least what school district I'll be in for the first 6 weeks (i'll learn which school this week hopefully), then for the medical placement I'll be in a subacute care setting (convalescent center) working with a lot of Dysphagia! I am so incredibly excited. I wish that you were not 34 hours away however. So close, but yet so far...nope, its actually just so far... Love Dev

• I am STILL loving work - and now I'm officially on the website! Check it out! Thanks Kiely for taking the picture - we had a blast!
  

Its coming...

I've always been one to countdown. I usually start at like, 93 days before Christmas, or something. Today, the countdown is short. Only one more day till ROOT CANAL WEDNESDAY!! Why, you may ask, am I counting down as if it was comparable to Christmas? Because, I may answer, if it takes away this dang pain it will be nearly as exciting as Christmas....but only NEARLY. For now, the pain medicine the dentist prescribed is doing the trick, but I am anxiously awaiting a more permanent solution :)

Speech Screenings

As a part of my clinical experience, I get to go to elementary schools and do speech screenings. This is basically where we pull each kindergarten and first grader out of their class, one at a time, and do a quick test to see if they need to be further evaluation for their speech or language, for speech therapy. This is the general gist of the test:

1. Articulation (repeat these words after me)
zipper table grapes bathroom thumb sock chair etc...

2. Syntax (say these sentences after me)
Is she still hiding in the tree house?
My Grandma started the car and took me bowling.
The dentist pulled my tooth etc...

3. Prepositions (name the location of the pen)
Under On Behind Front Beside

4. Use (what do you do with a...)
Pencil Knife Piano Soap etc...

5. Following Directions (do what I say after I say go)
Say your name, touch your toes, pull your ear
Stand up, touch your nose, put your hands on top of your head
Clap your hands, close your eyes, and wave at me

Oh my gosh, kindergarteners and first graders are SO SO SO SO cute!! I think I got someone adorable for every single section.
On the first section, there is a list of 24 words, collectively representing each of the sounds. Its so fun because you tell the child to repeat after you, so they will usually say it exactly like you say it. If your pitch goes up at the end, theirs will too. If you say one fast, they'll say it fast. If you say it slow and quiet, they'll say it slow and quiet, and so on...

On the second section, I got a few kids who answer the question.
Dev: "Repeat after me. Is she still hiding in our treehouse?"
K: "Ummmm, yes."

This next one, 3, is the most fun for kids. Most of them, at first, when you ask them where the pen is, start looking and find and say "Right there!!"

For section 4, my most favorite student was actually last year. When I asked him what you do with a knife, he went into this long story about how he hunts with his dad and you use a knife to cut the deer. It was amazing!

The last one, following directions, is the most difficult, but the kids are just so darn cute. Yesterday there was a little boy with a pearl snap shirt, tucked in only in the front, and cowboy boots. When I asked him to stand up, touch his nose, and put his hands on top of his head, he hesitantly stood up, looked at me, then proceeded to sing the entire song, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes...with the actions! Then he looked me for a long time (you know, like 5 seconds) and sat down. It was awesome!! I think he really thought thats what I was asking him to do! I counted it as following directions because he did touch his nose and head throughout that song. It was ok though, because he completed the other two tasks perfectly.

Oh my heck. Yet another day and I LOVE MY FIELD!!

Worth it?

Warning! Warning! Warning! Warning! Warning!

Cheesy-post-alert! Cheesy-post-alert! Cheesy-post-alert! Cheesy-post-alert!

Sometimes I think a little to much, and too deeply. This one may be overkill....

Recently I've been thinking. Thinking about worth. Definition of worth from PrincetonWeb:

• an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value; "10 dollars worth of gasoline"
• the quality that renders something desirable or valuable or useful
• deserving: worthy of being treated in a particular way; "an idea worth considering"; "the deserving poor" (often used ironically)
• French couturier (born in England) regarded as the founder of Parisian haute couture; noted for introducing the bustle (1825-1895)
• worth(p): having a specified value; "not worth his salt"; "worth her weight in gold"

Well I, of course, am not referring to the French couturier born in England, and I'm not even really referring to the specified value or indefinite quantity of something having a specified value. The second and third ones are really the most critical ones.

What gives something worth? What makes something valuable, or deserving? Is something just "of worth" to everyone, everywhere? I don't think that is the case. I know for a fact that the picture in my living room of the Osmonds and I, is not worth a penny to many (most) people. To me, however, I LOVE IT! My Little Mermaid pillowcase that I've had since I was three, is on the verge of either unraveling into nothing, or one nap away from a giant Devery's-head size hole, from use. But to me, I would rather have it than a brand new, 9000 thread count pillow sent from heaven. Oh sure, a million dollars is worth a million dollars to everyone...right now. But even the value of money changes over time.


Unfortunately, I've decided that the worth of something, to a person, can change. What was once worth a great deal may not stay the same way. Can someone change the worth of something on purpose? How many people does it take saying: "Its not worth it" for someone to believe it. Can other people even choose, or have an opinion, on what is or isn't "worth it?" How do they know? What does that mean anyway, "worth IT?" Worth what?? Money? Time? Energy? Worry? Conversation? Stress? Gold? Cows? Cakes?

And if you decide "they" ARE right, what steps have to be taken to deliberately change the worth of something? I think, as with the money, it takes time. With time, you can change the worth of something, whether you like it or not.

...and I think, the answer to the question, can other people choose, is yes and no. Sometimes, "they" do know if it is worth it or not. Sometimes "they" know better than you do. There are professionals who can determine, better than me, the worth of a dollar. They have a better understanding, or better picture, of the real worth.

SO...maybe after all this time, it really ISN'T worth it. You don't need to hang on to the worth of a dollar from 1850. Back then, 10 dollars could get you a lot more then it can now. If I try and spend dollars, and expect the 1850 value of something, I'm going to be sadly brought back to real life, in 2010. The question is, do I have the ability to intentionally change the worth of something. I think that I can. Especially for items that contain worth to just one individual.

Hmmm....things to ponder....

Flippin' your fins, you don't get too far. Legs are required for jumping, dancing.

I would just like to let you know, that TWO TIMES last week somebody told me that my bangs looked like Ariel's. Is it not every girl's childhood dream to have bangs like Ariel (especially redheads!)? I was so extremely excited!! I don't know that they actually looked like Ariel's...but it was on two different days by two different people. What a great week!!

"Hey Boo! Catch-up!!" "Mustard!!"

Don't judge. I do love scripture scouts. When I was thinking of a title for this post, and I decided it was kind of a catch-up blog...and this immediately came to mind. Due to the many many hours and hours listening to these blessed tapes (I think they're available on CD now...) I am often reminded of the many songs, stories, and quotes from them!
I apologize for it being more than a month since I posted! I will definitely do better during September. Because it has been so long since I have written, it will probably be a lot of reading - so bear with me! Here's what I have been up to over the past month:

1. Schooooool! School officially started August 23. It is my LAST fall semester of college ever! That may be close to the best news of all time. Naw, I do love school, but it is such a great feeling to be less than eight months away from graduation day! Oh yeah, and with the start of school comes the start of clinic! I am loving my clients and, once again, know that I am in the write program!
   
2. Kansas City. The weekend right after school started, Audrey Nash and I went to Harrisonville to pick up Ross (in the car, not lift him up...) then we went to Kansas City MO to see all the church history sites. I guess technically we were in Independence and Liberty, but close enough! I will say that not only were we greatly inspired and touched by all of the sites were got to see, but there is also a wonderful place called Sheridan's Frozen Custard that is as close to inspiring as custard can be! I recommend the blackberry sunday. Oh yeah, also, a piece of advice - don't try and eat out, even at taco bell, when you are gluten-free and when another person in your group can't eat anything that is cooked at all. Haha, it makes for an interesting adventure. **Here's my thank-you shout-out to the Independence Taco Bell for dealing with us, THANK YOU!!**Ross was a little bit nervous about the drive home from Independence. He didn't want anything to happen to him before his mission!
3. Externship!!!! I have been interviewing at a school and medical settings to figure out where exactly I will be placed. It is so real now! ...and I am starting to get nervous...but also excited!
4. New Roommate! (wow, I have a lot of exclamation points in this blog) After a month and a half of living by myself in my apartment, my new roommate moved in! Her name is Codi Keyser, she just graduated from BYU and is going to Missouri State now in the PT program. We have had a blast! Also, I didn't know there was anyone who could like cookie dough as much as I do (except Kiely...flashback to July when she filled a tupperware container full of it for lunch at school...) but she does! She also agrees with me that the chocolate chips in choc chip cookie dough are fine, but really, if you are going to eat cookie dough, the chocolate chips are just a waste of calories! Its like destiny! ;) Luckily we also have the same taste in movies so there have been plenty of chick flicks watched in our free time (what little free time we have)
5. Guitar. Skyler Barger moved to Utah and was basically selling everything but the clothes on his back, so I bought one of his guitars! Its not the highest quality instrument, so I decided to have my friend at work paint it! It will look very artsy, creative, stylish and trendy, just like me...(yeah that was a joke, feel free to laugh. Nothing about me is any of those things...see picture below and caption below...) But seriously, I am excited about the guitar. Pictures of the guitar to come later!!Okay, the reason this angle is so weird is because I tried to capture the entire essence of this outfit. Yeah, I wore scrubs that are too big, my I Heart BBQ shirt and a baseball cap...for two days in a row. (Hey give me a break, I didn't really leave my apt at all!) Don't you worry, the first and half of the second day I wore my USU hat, and the second half of the second day I wore my MSU hat. I didn't want either to get jealous. Hey, my hair was straightened, doesn't that count for something? Oh yeah did I also mention no makeup? Hmmm, I wonder if I should actually post this picture... ******Dear Future Spouse. I promise I usually wear makeup and I usually don't wear the exact same outfit two days in a row. A pair of jeans a few days in a row, yes, and maybe even a t-shirt twice in a week, but not the whole outfit! Don't worry!! Please don't make any long-term decisions based on this picture!******
   
6. Amycakes Bakery! The job is going SO GREAT! I love the people who work there, as well as the job in general! I also love that I'm starting to get some forearm muscle back from the giant rolling pin. I am basically responsible for making the cookies, bars, brownies, cinnamon rolls, and the occasional cake/cupcakes or danish. Stop in for a treat! You won't be sorry I promise!
7. The Banks have come!! Yeah sorry Meagan, I couldn't think of a good title for this one. I am so so so so happy that Meagan and her husband Jaron have moved to Missouri! I've been looking forward to it for so long! Jaron is going to chiropractic school in Chesterfield MO, which is just 3-ish short hours from Springfield, but 1.5 hrs. from Rolla! Wahoooooo! Take that, long distance friendship, Meag and I will show you whats up! Its kind of funny that we're sticking with our pattern of 3 hours apart though. It seems like since we were across the street neighbors in Rock Springs WY we haven't been able to live closer than three hours away from each other...weird...
8. Hair Cut! I almost did it. I almost went short(ish). But luckily, I didn't have the guts! By the time I got in there I asked her not to take any length off, but to just fix up the bangs and stuff. She ended up taking off WAY more than I thought (okay okay, it was like 2 inches) but its ok. I still like it. And I still like her. Here's a pic...You can kind of tell how short it is here...ummm, basically out of all the pictures I tried to take of my haircut, this one was the least embarrassing...but if you are dying to see a real picture of the hair, let me know. This can suffice as "the day Devery got her haircut and only wanted to show everyone half of her face."
   

Whew! I think that's about it! OH YEAH! What have I been doing day in and day out? Working on my THESIS!!! That can easily take up 3-5 hours of any given day. But I think its finally coming and starting to look good. I'm on page 35 right now (and I just finished up the Into and Methods sections), so keep your fingers crossed. It should be done by January!!

You want to see what my playlist has been this month?
(they're all hyperlinked so you can listen if you want :) )
Dynamite - Taio Cruz
Love Like Woe - The Ready Set
Haven't Met You Yet - Do I Even Need To Say?
Bulletproof - La Roux
Look Through My Eyes - Phil Collins
What a Feeling - Irene Cara
Come What May - Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor

Alright alright, I'm out of your hair. Sorry I was so long winded! Enjoy!!

P.S. The carrot on the right is a normal size baby carrot. The carrot on the left is the wonderful treasure I found in the last bag of baby carrots I bought. Score!! Someone in the checking the carrots for the appropriate size department isn't doing their job. This one is more like a teenager carrot!

Through a downtown bakery window...

So, I spend a lot of time looking at this view:
But... I kind of love it. Number one, the window decor is always SO CUTE! Right now its decorated for the bakery's first birthday. Also, The 3-4 hours a day I spend looking through my downtown window (ok, not my downtown window, but the one I look through) usually allows me to see a variety of things!! (By the way this is taken from exactly where I stand rolling out cinnamon rolls, making brownies/bars, making cookies, etc...

1. Business men. I love that I work downtown, and there are businessmen with briefcases walking around. Always very quickly, always with a purpose, and always looking at their cell phone.

2. Mothers with children. I am pretty sure I have seen this exact scene right outside "my" window, matching outfits and all. Often times they come up to the bakery, look at the "closed" sign, and walk away sadly :( ...now that I look at it though...I wish that mom was standing behind those kids!
3. Can I just tell you how many couples I see on dates downtown, especially on friday night! SO MANY!! I love seeing the ones like this who are all dressed up! When I do see them though, I walk quickly with my head down though, because at this time I usually look extra awesome with my hat or bandana, dirty jeans, and oil-stained shirt.
4. So far my favorite thing that I've seen is the truck pulling a trailer...full of watermelon...pulling out of the parking lot. I so badly wanted to grab one. And honestly, I'm not going to lie, I wondered what it would look like if the trailer tailgate had opened...could you imagine?? That would be amazing! (And terribly sad for the poor watermelon farmer at the same time.)

Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. - Father Larry Lorenzoni

I LOVE FOUR DAY BIRTHDAYS

Day 1: Saturday, July 31
My friends surprised me with a party in Rolla! We had dinner and a campfire and it was so so fun!

Ross even came down from Kansas City!


Day 2: Sunday, August 1
Jake gave me a cake stand so I just had to use it! Sarah and I made a layer cake - buttermilk with peanut butter frosting, with crushed golden oreos. That night a few guys came over who had recent birthdays so we all had birthday cake!Day 3: Monday, August 2
My real birthday!! That day I ran some errands in Springfield - went ot the restuarant supply store, wholesale food store, and teacher/education store. It was great! That night I went to dinner at Lamberts with Mary, Sarah, and Skyler-then went swimming at Mary's pool. After we swam I went HOME!

Day 4: Tuesday, August 3
Family Birthday Day! We went to elephant rock state park, and the Johnson Shut Ins State Park. Both of those places are a-ma-zing! We had so much fun climbing all over the boulders, swimming in the river, and playing in the pools/chutes etc...pictures to come later!

Thanks so much everyone for such a great birth...week!!

All great change in America begins at the dinner table. Ronald Reagan

Today, my dinner was delicious! Yes I made it, but no I'm not trying to brag! I though I'd share my "recipe." I call it, Spaghetti Squash with Pesto, Garlic, Onions, Tomatoes, and Parmesan Cheese. By the way, that title is copyrighted (what IS the past tense of that word?) so don't even try to take it.
Here it is:

1. Heat 1 tbl of olive oil, then saute 2tsp of minced garlic and some chopped onion in a pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add some pesto ( 1 tbl?) and some chopped up cherry tomatoes...I think I used 4 of the big ovally ones.
   
3. Heat through, then add some cooked spaghetti squash and cook till hot
4. Salt to taste and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Yummmmmm! I am enjoying it as I type. I LOVE IT!!

That's all I have the energy to type up tonight. I hope you like it!!

Yearbook day?

Its the last day of school!! Time for summer break!! (Maybe if I use enough exclamation points I will forget that I only get three weeks off!!!!) When I come back, I will have ONE more semester of school "on-site" before I move to VANCOUVER WA!
Clinic this semester was great - my clients were...an adventure...and I learned a ton from them and from my supervisors. I also got to do fun things like paint a cucumber and a tomato (yeah, for real, we did that).
I don't really have much else to say - I am hoping that I actually make it through the day. Its going to be a long, non-stop day including clinic, conferences, meetings, thesis work ( I mean, hanging out with Dusty), work, institute, Andys, and a movie with the girls! Ok, well I only need to make it through thesis work, and the rest is fun stuff lol.
So, if you don't hear from me for a while, its because I got stuck in the clinic, and please come save me.

This summer, my 21st summer in existence, I have become an OLD LADY!! Really, what the heck? I'm not even a cool old lady, just the kind that doesn't do anything.

• On any given night, including Friday and Saturday, your best bet will be to find me at my apartment, alone, not hanging out with anyone. (This is not a pity blog-I could have gone somewhere, I just chose to go home.)
• I have gone to bed early more times this summer than I have in a long time! There has been a few times when I have been in my bed a good 4 hours earlier than normal.
• I don't know if you know this, but I am really from the wrong decade. My choice of music on a regular basis is not music that is current...
• I'm known as the mother, or even grandmother figure among some groups of friends, because I cook/bake all the time, always have random things with me, and do things like...make butter in speech therapy sessions...who does that?
• My sense of style/fashion is so far from trendy, or even current, its not even funny. I was definitely put at the bottom of the list of stylish people. (again, not a pity blog - I just speak the truth Kye Browning)
  

Its funny that I feel so old these days because all of my friends at school are telling me how young I am! "Devery you're just a baby!!" Ok ok, yes, I'm not even 22 yet, but that doesn't mean I graduated in 2009!! (Cylie Cornell!!)

Here's another list - this is a running list that I will continue to add to.

Amazing Questions I Am Asked At School About Being Mormon:

• Do you celebrate Christmas?
• I heard that you believe when the statue falls off the temple in St. Louis, that the World ends...true?
• "We could rent a 14 passenger van" "Dev, could you hook us up with one of those?" "...did you just ask me that because I'm Mormon?" "Yeah...I was being totally serious."

Alright sorry for all of the random stuff - and that its been so long since I posted. In general its been an awesome summer, I am having a BLAST! Haha, last time I told someone that exact thing, they said "What's his name?" Nope, there's no "he" involved, unless you count Dusty, my thesis. (I had to name him because I'm spending so much time with him - and its a cowboy name because when I was little I wanted to be a cowBOY when I grew up. A thesis is pretty grown up right?)
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Ehhhh, the curse of not knowing how to end this blog...so its just going to stop.

7 year old client: "Do you have children?"
Me: "Nope, I don't have any kids."
"Are you even married?"
"No, no I'm not married."
"Do you have a boyfriend"
"...No, I don't have a boyfriend either."
"Devery, do you even have a crush?"
"...why are we talking about this? Wait, do you have a crush?"
"Well, I might be lying right now: No."
"Oooh so you do have a crush??"
"Ahhh ok ok, you're right, I do. But I don't want to talk about right now."
"Whats her name?"
"I cannot tell you that."
"Oh come on, you can just tell me her name."
"I might be lying right now..."
"No no, just tell me. At least what does it start with?"
"Its close to a 'z', and close to an 'l'."

...to be continued...hopefully. (I'm dying to know what letter is close to a 'z' and an 'l'...

If we are attacked we can only defend ourselves with guns not with butter

Yep, this girl just made butter. I was looking for an activity for my one of my speech therapy sessions with a 7-ish year old boy. I went on the Zoom website (yep, the pbskids tv show from WAY BACK WHEN! I loved that tv show soooo much! I hyperlinked the website btw so you can find the hundreds of exciting activities on there.) and was looking at different activities and came across homemade butter. It was so easy! 1. Put heavy cream in a jar 2. Shake the jar for 10+ minutes until it becomes butter. I thought...I can handle that. That is about as many steps as it takes to make a pop-tart!

This is not the butter we made, but it was similar!

I was a little bit nervous because I didn't know if my client would like it, but it turns out that it was the perfect activity. He is working on the /er/ sound, so /r/ at the end and in the middle of words. As luck would have it, buttER works!! So while we shook it, we talked all about butter and what you put butter on etc... (Anything to get him to say that word a lot to practice his good /r/ sounds. He had so much fun, and when we were done he said "Its like speech-made butter! Get it Devery? Get it? Speech-made!" I had baked some biscuits that morning so he ate it on a biscuit and thought it was so great. He was so proud of himself, so we decided to take some out to his dad and brother. I can now say that I have made butter from scratch! We had such a good time, and it actually tasted pretty good.

I love being a Speech Therapist! Some of my favorite activities we have done in sessions are the butter, making homemade pretzels, making beads then painting them, shadow puppets, marshmallow bowling, potato stamps, planting a flower, and video taping things and watching it. Holy cow I'm going to be getting paid to PLAY! Ok ok, its more than that, I promise. The activities are just kind of to "trick" the kids into learning to speak well. I have learned so much in grad school though. Our scope of practice is HUGE. It covers articulation (learning to say sounds appropriately), voice disorders, langauge disorders, swallowing disorders, laryngectomy rehab, acute care, long term car, cognition, TBI, Aphasia, accent reduction, reading, spelling, deaf/hearing impaired, etc... So much! It is such a great profession!

On This Day in History

Alright, not in history, but today.
Here's your bulleted list of Monday, July 5:

• Played Ultimate Frisbee and Soccer with the missionaries at 6:30 AM
• Worked on my thesis till noon
• Worked at the Bakery till 6:00
• Worked on my thesis from 7-10ish, and finished the Prospectus portion (well, a draft of it anyway)
• Went to bed BEFORE 11:00 pm. Ok, well that one technically has not come to pass as of right now, since I'm blogging...but it will, in less than 32 minutes!! I can hardly wait!

Yeah, thats all I've got today folks. Sorry its so uninteresting. It was actually a really good day, I love being busy (and not being at school too....)

Good night!!

Weekend Blogging

I think I'm going to try to do a weekly thing. I am going to post a "Mormon Messages" from YouTube every sunday...or very late Saturday night in this case. I found a great one for today. I remember loving this talk when he gave it, and it has such a good message!



Ooh, hey want to see a (hopefully positive) couch transformation?? This is the couch that I was given:

Yes I am very grateful for it!! I cannot not be grateful for a free couch! However nowhere in the rules does it say you can't call a free couch ugly...vomit-colored, if I may.
Three trips to wal-mart and one encounter with a staple gun later, this is what it looks like.


Its ok if you want to be impressed, I'm expecting a call from TLC later. I'll probably be the star of a new show. It will most likely be about interior decorating on a budget...or maybe 400 things you can do with a king size sheet and a staple gun...I'll keep you posted on the details.
But seriously, I know it doesn't look amazing and obviously homemade, but it looks better than it did initially yes??