Learning how to breathe

Many of you know how hard and interesting this year has been for me. I have experienced three of life's greatest stressors, all in one year. I still have the days where it is hard for me to get out of bed. I still get the sensation that I can't breathe. But, with each passing day, it gets easier.

Last night, I attended Handel's Messiah at the Houston Symphony, by myself. It was a decision that I made earlier in the week. As I drove towards the symphony, the overwhelming sensation of not being able to breathe came back. I thought to myself, "what am I doing?" and had to call many friends to give me a pep talk.

I reached my destination, got out of my car and walked confidently towards the symphony hall. I picked up my ticket and proceeded to the bar, where I enjoyed a glass of white wine. I looked around and there were so many couples, families, groups, but no one alone. Instead of feeling sadness and anxiety, all of the sudden, the sensation of not being able to breathe went away. I sat between two couples, both of which kept asking me if "someone was going to join me." I confidently said "no."

The performance was wonderful. It had been years since I had been to the symphony. When I say years, I'm pretty sure the last time I heard an orchestra performance was when I was in the orchestra in high school.

The experience was exhilirating and liberating. I've always wanted my life to be perfect. Perfect isn't always extravagant. Last night, I conquered my fears. Last night was my perfect night, and it is all I really ever needed. Most importantly, I learned how to breathe again, by myself.

There's a SLP shortage??? Who knew......

Shortage of Speech Language Pathologists Reported on Local News

A parent in a school district north of Houston videotaped a therapy session with her son, and was unhappy with what she saw. It is later discussed how their is a nation wide shortage of SLPs.

http://www.khou.com/video/index.html?nvid=314761&shu=1

Antlers, Weather, Therapy Ideas and Cake Balls:)

Hello everyone! It has been too long. I need to be better about posting every chance I get, that way I'm not bombarding you with everything that has been going on!

The picture above is of my sweet Bella. She looks frightened, but she actually wagged her tail as I was putting the antlers on. I can't believe that she is 7 years old already. I got her a few months after I graduated from OSU and I hope she is with me forever:)

The weather in H-town has been very odd. It snowed here last week, was 80 degrees two days later and now is back to being cold and drizzly.

Sooooooooooooo, a lot has been going on since my last post. I have been toying with the idea of moving back home to T-town. I still don't know if it will happen, but it is in the works and I'll keep everyone updated.

As for work, it has been pretty good. I finally got my bearings and started feeling like I was competent enough to do the job. It's been difficult because not only am I learning the job, I'm learning the "cy-fair" way of doing things (cy-fair is the district I work for) and those are two completely different things.

This week, I'm working on a fun project for my preschool speech kids. I'm going to read one of my favorite books, "There's a mouse about the house" by Richard Fowler. Then, we are going to make little mice ornaments for them to take home and put on their tree. Of course, I will take pictures tomorrow and post them at some point.

My regular speech kids will be making cake balls and reading "Amelia Bedelia's Merry Christmas," which happens to be another favorite book of mine. Why the cake balls? Well, in the story, Amelia Bedelia is baking a cake. And, I had to some how get making/eating food incorporated into therapy:) The recipe for cake balls is:

1 package boxed cake mix (follow the directions, bake and then cool)
1 tub frosting
Melted almond bark

Take the cooled cake and break up into smaller pieces. Add tub of frosting and mix. Form balls from the mixture and set aside (really, you are supposed to freeze them so they set). Dip into almond bark and sprinkle favorite candies, sprinkles, nuts, etc... over them. Eat!!!!

I used red velvet cake mix, cream cheese frosting and the white almond bark. For garnishes, I had crushed oreos and christmas tree sprinkles.

I hope everyone has a great holiday. I'll write soon....

P.S. If you are a couponer or like to save money, make sure you clipped the Proctor and Gamble deal out of the Sunday paper. If you spend $50 on P&G products, you can get a free book of P&G coupons worth $120! That's a great deal!