Maybe we'd have world peace if...

We all just drank Russian tea. True, you may be surprised that world peace would come about by any way of Russian, but I feel confident in my theory... Who can resist the sweet, savory goodness of this holiday concoction? Who can sip this drink and not automatically be taken to place of nastalgia induced euphoria? I can't say it any better than RUSSIAN TEA IS SO GOOD.

It seems that I'm becoming increasingly more festive with each holiday spent as an adult (i.e. a married person). I was beside myself with excitement last year as Tyler and I bought our first Christmas tree, our first stockings, ornaments, etc... And this year, no amount of school work, thesis meetings, or finals stress can hold back my holiday cheer. I've been chomping at the bit to pull out my decor, but was able to hold out until Thursday. Once Thanksgiving hit, though, it was no holds bar. The first thing I did? Make a pot of Russian tea to snuggle up with while watching the parade.

Since then, we've hung ornaments, garland (to Tyler's dismay, I've already increased our collection of decor this year), placed candles, and we're already on our second pot of tea as we hunker down to watch some more great football (how 'bout that Husker game yesterday?)...or countless hours of B-list actor filled holiday movies on ABC Family's 25 Days Until Christmas (I have not yet reached my quota of Mario Lopez, Mimi Rogers, Heather Locklear, and Jason Priestly movies...). Tomorrow we get our tree to officially top off our weekend of holiday prep. So, pull out your Amy Grant Christmas albums kids! Christmas is officially here...

What?? You've never had Russian tea? You've never even heard of it?? Be still, my friend. Here is the recipe:

16 cups of water
2 cups of sugar (we use Splenda to cut cals)
1 small can of orange juice concentrate
2 lemons (juice only-- I just use the bottled juice you get for .99)
12 whole cloves
20 oz. pineapple juice (2 1/2 cups)
6 small tea bags (or 2 family size)

Place water in pot over heat. Once water is hot, add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add cloves and tea, remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Remove tea bags and add fruit juices. Make several hours ahead of time (whatever-- I drink it right away) and do not boil when re-heating.

Here's to world peace.

Alabama may be undefeated...

But my coach wouldn't be caught dead in that sweater...

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise until Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker." Psalm 95:1-6

This is Tyler and I's first big holiday spent in Virginia, just the two of us. We're still in our PJs and slippers this morning watching the parade and cooking up a storm. On the menu is maple bacon glazed turkey with bourbon gravy, smokey bacon biscuit stuffing ("Everything's better with bacon!" might as well be our family motto), green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, rolls, and pumpkin pie. A lot of food for two people! There's also a pot of russian tea on the stove and all of the boxes of Christmas decorations have been pulled out and are ready to be put up. We may spend time with friends this evening, perhaps ice skating at the Sculpture Garden or just taking in a movie.

We are SO thankful for all of our famiy and friends that we can't be with today. We miss you and are thinking of you. We have such a great, supportive, close family and so many friends whom we love. We wish there were a way to be in Arizona, California, Georgia, Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri, and Alabama today, but....we don't want to travel that much. :) We are also thankful for good health, a nice, warm house, income and food on the table, and a great church. We are truly blessed and wish not to forget the One to whom we owe it all.

We love you all, think of you, and thank God for you today. Happy Thanksgiving!

You can never have too many sisters!

As of last Friday night, I officially have another soon-to-be-sister! Charles popped the ever important question last Friday night and she said yes!! I have yet to see photographic evidence of the proposal or the ring, but I heard it was all beautiful. Charles proposed in his empty new apartment, which will be their first home, surrounded by candles, rose petals, and framed pictures of the two of them. So we'll be having another Way wedding next summer! Plus, there's a shortage of Mrs. Ways these days since all of us daughters are married off, so I'm happy to see the breed won't go into extinction. I love you both and am SO SO SO happy for you. You have so many fun, exciting memories in store to add to your collection. I can't wait to watch...

Birth Control

Tyler and I have two good friends who have two of the cutest girls ever, Corrie and Alex. Corrie is on the verge of being the world's smartest kid and Alex could easily be the spunkiest five year old I've ever met. We see the whole family fairly often at Nebraska game watches in DC, on flights back to Omaha, at various social gatherings... And I occasionally baby-sit Corrie and Alex because, let's face it, they like me. But last time I baby-sat, I brought Tyler with me and I was later told that they were pretty disappointed that I brought him because they wanted girl-only time. So with Tyler being in Africa all week, I decided I'd host the girls for a slumber party and give their parents a night off. I'm pretty sure I was just as excited, if not more, than the little girls were.

I had all kinds of, I thought, fun things planned for the night. Maybe ice-skating (turned out to be too cold), renting girly movies (they brought Kit Kittredge), decorating cupcakes, making personal mini-pizzas for dinner. I should have known from the ride over to my house things would be interesting. About five minutes from home, Alex starting shrieking at the top of her lungs because there was a bug inside of the Kit Kittredge DVD case. She hurled it at me (luckily we were at a red light) and I was equally freaked out a) by her screaming and b) by the bug...it WAS pretty big. It was freezing outside so we had hot chocolate when we got home while we watched the movie, which apparently tasted like "hot water with chocolate in it."

Corrie, who's seven, had no interest in making pizzas with me and Alex, who loved it, though neither of them had a bite once they were baked. As soon as Kit Kitredge was over, they immediately wanted to start it over which I was able to avoid. We watched Shrek instead...then Shrek 2, and since we didn't have Shrek 3, Corrie and I watched The Grinch. Alex went to bed pretty early and I was thinking we'd all be asleep around 10, but Corrie couldn't get enough movies, so we were up until midnight. Sure, I could've put her to bed at 9, but I was trying to be cool...

Alex climbed into bed with me and Corrie somewhere around 3 am, so I was hanging on for dear life on the edge of the bed and trying maintain sufficient duvet coverage. And dear Lord, I have never heard so much farting in my life! Seriously, who knew such gas could be passed from such cute little blonde girls?? Alex was awake by 5 (and one inch from my face staring at me). She played with her Leap Frog game (with the volume on HIGH) for awhile before growing bored, at which point I settled her down in the living room for round 2 of Kit Kittredge. I stole a few more hours of sleep before both girls were pulling me out of bed at 7:30.

We then enjoyed our third viewing of Kit Kittredge. Yay!! We also decorated the cupcakes since we didn't get to it the night before. This is apparently a form of childhood torture. "If I have to look at anymore of this icing, I think I'm going to be sick!" There was fighting over food coloring, pouring sprinkles allll over the room, squeezing tablespoons worth of food coloring ("Just one drop is enough!") into the icing after me repeatedly telling them it was my job to use the food coloring and then hiding in what I thought was a high cabinet, only to have Corrie monkey up onto the counter and take it out again.

Then there was more fighting, nearly tearing TWO sets of curtains off the walls, chasing each other around the house ("Girls, my floors are someone else's ceiling. You CANNOT run around like that!"), Alex getting pushed off the bed and pounding her head on the hardwood floor, refusing to brush teeth, and a lovely visit from my downstairs neighbor who looked like she was on her death bed and had been kept up all night. I apologized profusely to her (and took her cupcakes later) and at that point was no longer trying to be "cool" with the girls. I think they could also tell from the sound of the knock on the door and the look on my face when I came inside that it was probably time to stop playing.

I slept for two hours after they left and still feel like I'm lacking. Later this afternoon, I spent time working with Tucker, where I was further reminded that even when you decide to become a parent and start a family, things don't always turn out the way you planned...

Would I have the girls over again? In a heartbeat. As crazy as things were, I still had fun with them and I love them. But I quickly realized there's a fine line between being fun and being in charge. Lesson learned. And I, Kate Grassmeyer, in no way, am ready to be a parent. There's no pick-up and naptime when the kids are yours...

What I am ready for? Nieces. Bring 'em on sisters!

I have the World's Sweetest Husband...

Sorry, ladies... Your fellas are second runners up!

I'm pretty used to Tyler traveling. He takes frequent trips all of over the country to visit clients-- some of them just day trips, some of them taking him away for days at a time. Last night, he left for Africa (insert it's-a-hard-life comment here). I usually handle it pretty well when he leaves. Dare I say, I even enjoy a few days and night of solo time, but for some reason when we said goodbye yesterday after lunch, I was a little uneasy and fighting back tears on my way back into school. I told someone that afternoon, "I'm in a really bad mood today, but I'm not really sure why..." I'm thinking that was it, though.

He called at 2am to let me know he landed in London, called again this afternoon to let me know he was in Kenya, and we talked briefly tonight-- we talked more today than we usually do on a typical day in America! And tonight when I got home from small group, a bouquet of pink roses sat on my doorstep with a card from my devoted husband.

He was so excited for this trip and his safari. He bought all kinds of gear, clothes with bug repellent built into them, new hiking shoes, hats... As much grief as I give him about all of the fun trips he gets to take, I truly am happy that he gets such great opportunities (and we don't have to pay for them!) and am truly happy to see his excitement.

He is endlessly patient with me, sweet, understanding, supportive and lots of fun. I am so lucky to have him and so lucky to have time without him to remind me how great he is!

Politics Can Wait...

I spent an incredible amount of time locked at a computer this afternoon working on my thesis, so a wordy posting has been put on hold. I know, I know... I'm sure you're all very disappointed.

Tyler and I headed to trail near our house on Sunday to take advantage of the gorgeous weather while it's still gorgeous. The leaves have been absolutely beautiful for the last month or so, and we snapped a lot of pictures before they all fall. I thought I'd share... Enjoy!

Fickle II: The Heisman Watch

I've had two blogs floating around in my head this weekend, one about football and one about politics. Since today is Saturday, I opted for football. And because of its nature, I'm going to try to spit this out before the start of the Texas Tech/Oklahoma State game so you can all see what a great prognosticator I am.

So, here's what I've noticed this season in relation to the Heisman watch. For much of the opening season, all of the commentators were talking about Chase Daniel of Missouri. Chase Daniel this, Chase Daniel that, Chase Daniel will win the Heisman, blah blah blah. I didn't agree with this, but Missouri was undefeated at the time, so I couldn't make much of argument. Cut to week six: Missouri lost to Oklahoma State (and you heard Chase Daniel's name mentioned in the Heisman running for the last time.)

That same week, week six, Texas upset Oklahoma and won over Missouri the next. By week seven, Colt McCoy was the new best-player-of-the-season. Prior to this, I'd barely heard of Colt McCoy.

Don't get comfy though because Texas eventually lost to Texas Tech and low and behold, the commentators crowned a new Heisman hopeful! Yep, you guessed it. It was Texas Tech's QB Graham Harrell. No longer was McCoy being praised and paid homage to, it was the winner of the game that week.

Tonight, undefeated Texas Tech plays one-loss Oklahoma State. So who will be this week's best-player-of-the-"season"? Don't be surprised if OSU's QB Zac Robinson is in the buzz if they come home with the upset. Have you heard of him, the potentially best player in the country? I had to look up who their quarterback was.

Again, I know a lot can change based on how a team performs each week; they can lose a lot of support on the national front if they don't prove themselves week in and week out. But we're not talking about the national title (not that they're consistent there, either), we're talking about the most talented player of the season. And yes, a player can legitimately prove himself unworthy all on their own (cough, cough, cough, Chase Daniel, cough, cough)- I'm not suggesting the commentators predict a Heisman winner the first week of the season and stick with him. But if we're talking about the best player in the country, shouldn't we have heard about him before the seventh or eighth (or tenth) week into the season? Wouldn't they have picked up on best-player-in-the-country type of talent sometime earlier? Texas only lost to Texas Tech by six points and almost clinched it in the last few minutes of the game. If McCoy were truly the best player, would national focus have been completely shifted elsewhere because of a six point loss?

I'm just tired of the "experts" playing musical Heismans every week based on who won and who lost. Mark my words, using the same logic they've used all season, the Heisman winner may or may not be the best player of the season, but will most definitely be the QB (or running back) on whichever Big 12 team comes out on top. No expertise required.

Affirmation II

So, why is this thesis worth it? Because its completion will nearly mark my entry into the professional world of physical therapy. I still have a lot to learn, but I've had a lot of great experiences lately that continually encourage me and affirm me that I have made the correct career decision. As therapists, we have one goal: to help people. The heal them. To rehabilitate them. To bring them back to a state some thought they'd never return to, or even achieve for the first time. To encourage. To coach. To inspire.

I plan on working in pediatrics, namely with children born with a disabilities, whether neurological or neuromuscular, or suffered brain injuries. A lot of people question me in this decision, asking whether the emotional burden will be too much to bear. Yes, I fear emotional attachment to my patients. I fear the inability to leave my work at home. But I'm willing to take the risk. These are the ones who need it the most. These kids come into this world a step behind and will spend their entire lives trying to keep pace. I can't imagine a greater reward than working with these kids and I can't wait.

So, what's been going on lately? Well, not much with pediatrics, but still, things that have affirmed me. I started working with a stroke patient a few weeks ago. Every Sunday, I go and hang out with Joan and Don and work with Joan on maintaining her mobility and physical abilities so that she doesn't lose her gains from therapy on the weekends. They're such a sweet couple, I sincerely enjoy spending time with them, and every week I leave their house happy and confident I'm in the right field. What a lesson in marriage, as well! Don is so helpful, patient, and involved in his wife's therapy. It's the epitome of "in sickness and in health." And Joan is such a fighter! She's been set back, but she knows exactly what she wants and what's going on.

I also had a great day in the clinic this week. Each Tuesday I spend time at a clinic out in Fairfax observing and helping out with patients as a part of my clinical rotations. Farouk, my CI, is a little wacky (he introduces himself the Egyptian Magician and is not afraid to be inappropriate), but an awesome manual therapist and I've learned a lot from him. With my orthopedics classes and my time in the clinic this semester, I'm finally starting to get the big picture. I was working with a patient with fibromyalgia this week and Farouk was teaching me a skin popping technique. I was up on the table, straddling this women, literally separating fascia from muscles using this technique. It was very cool and I really felt like a PT.

Extreme Homemakeover is something else that lets me know I'm in the right field almost every week. So many of the families featured on the show have fallen on hard times due to outstanding medical bills and costs due to having a child suffering from a severe congenital or acquired health condition. Last week, a little boy named Job was featured who was fighting leukemia. He was so adversely affected by his treatments and medications, his whole face and body were swollen up like balloons, but was such a sweet kid and such a fighter (And he had glasses. Yes, Beck, I think I do have a thing for kids with glasses...). Some of the Makeover team members visited Job's pediatric OT/PT clinic and visited with the other children receiving treatment. These kids were so sweet. They need a chance, they need help. They're so deserving. Of course I was crying the whole hour... I kept telling Tyler, "That's who I want to help. These are the kids who need help" through my tears. (He was like, Yes, I know...please stop crying...) A few weeks prior to Job's makeover, they featured family with two daughters confined to wheelchairs because of spinal muscular atrophy. More affirmation...

And as I mentioned a few weeks ago, I attended the VPTA annual conference at the beginning of October and I attended a session on pro bono opportunities available for PTs. I was so inspired. A panel of seven or eight therapists shared their experiences with different camps around the country, mission opportunities around the world, as well more reachable opportunities like the Arlington Free Clinic, which our program is involved with. Apparently my excitement is apparent enough for my husband to verbally express concern that I'm going to quit whatever job I get to solely do pro bono work. While it would be awesome, we'll be sitting on $80k from my student loans, so I'm pretty sure I'll need a paycheck.

Lastly, I may start working with a little five year old boy who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a toddler. I've been swapping calls with his mom, so nothing is set yet, but I would be beyond excited if I could get some pediatric experience under my belt.

So things are good! I'm affirmed, inspired, and ready to go change the world. :) These are the things I must remember while I'm researching the effects of voluntary wheel running and forced treadmill running on the muscular integrity of dystrophic mice...

Affirmation

I'm on a short break between classes this morning, a time I use to rush and get as many things accomplished as absolutely possible. Getting research done, printing articles, printing lecture slides, responding to emails, etc... And what I should really be doing right now to get ahead of the game is to start writing my thesis. My research is done, our purpose statement and outlines have been submitted, reviewed, and accepted, so it's time to start writing. But I don't want to... Instead, I'll write a blog!

I'm not going to lie, this thesis is not may favorite part of the program. Sure, I'm getting a doctorate so it's all part of the game, but there are plenty of times where I think that it would be sooo much easier to have just gotten a master's, scrapped the whole title (which I probably won't use anyway-- unless I'm in the mood to one up my I'm-meeting-with-senators-today- and-then-flying-to-Africa-husband) and not have to dealt with the research side of things. I understand why it's important in the medical community, somebody's got to it, but it's not me... Research is a huge part of this program and it is not fun. In fact, it is downright boring. I am not interested.

When it came to picking our thesis, I submitted requests to be involved in any of them remotely related to or involving kids. If I have to do this, it might as well relate to the field I'm interested in and further my knowledge and experience on diseases I'll see everyday. Cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and stroke patients were my top three requests. I ended up in the MD group (I really wanted CP), but was still pleased that I'd be able to gain experience in pediatrics. The topic of the thesis I requested specifically mentioned children. Children.

So, I go to meet with my thesis advisor for the first time last spring and what does she start talking about? Mice. Little white rodents. Dystrophic little white rodents. These are our subjects. I sat there and politely smiled and nodded, all the while thinking, "What the heck?? I don't want to work with mice! This better be a mistake..." "Here Stuart Little...can you catch this ball?"

I can give you the whole shpeel (sp?) on why we have to do research on mice, the ethics behind not being able to experiment with certain interventions on kids, why it's actually really imporant to the medical community, etc...but it does not change the fact that I already had no interest in research and further, I REALLY don't have interest in working with mice. Needless to say, I am not motivated to start writing.

The original purpose of this blog was to write about the components of my field and my education that I am truly excited about, the things I've been experiencing lately in the clinic and with patients, the things that make writing a thesis worth it simply because it leads me to where I want to be in the long term, but this has gotten long enough and class started eight minutes ago. So, I'll be back later to make sense of the title "Affirmation." Stay tuned, I know you're on the edge of your seats.

When will my love be validated?

Just in case you forgot...

Today is the Georgia-Florida game... I don't think anyone has forgotten what happened last year and I can't decide if I think that's awesome or frightening. Who knew that our mild mannered Coach Richt would ever make a call that caused so much controversy! In trying to find commentary leading up to this year's game, I found articles in the New York Times, newspapers in Canada, California, and Connecticut-- all trumping up the intensity of this game. I. Cannot. Wait.

Who else is excited? Georgia's teachers. Clarke, Oglethorpe, and Madison counties (the counties that include and surround Athens) all cancelled school yesterday due to the overwhelming amount of teachers who call in sick on the Friday going into the Georgia-Florida. I don't feel so bad about having this game be so important to me that I might throw up from nervousness... I at least went to school yesterday.

Every commentator on GameDay and every prediction and spread I've read picked Florida. Urban Liar...I mean Meyer (did I say that?), put a gag on his players commentating on this game as to not provide us further motivation. Articles speak on Tim Tebow still having his feeligs hurt from last year. Florida fans are still up in arms about the celebration... Give me a break! A) for anyone who's cheered under thumb of STEVE SPURRIER to call Georgia unsportsmanlike or B) has watched the video of Mark Richt they've been playing nonstop on ESPN all week (or just followed him as a coach in general) knows that Mark Richt and his team are anything but tacky and unsportsmanlike.

The fact that the Florida players aren't allowed to talk about it, have had to do 188 push-ups at every practice for the last year (Moreno's yardage in last year's game), Urban Meyer wrote about it in his book, and Tebow still has his feelings hurt about it show that a year later, we're still under their skin. I'm still nervous. But I love it. I won't be shocked if we don't win, but if we do... I will be over the top, jumping on the couch, calling all of my family, just won the lottery, let's fly to Jacksonville to celebrate, let's go streaking excited. I believe we can do it. Let's actually do it.

Go Dawgs!