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!!