Scheduled! (Note: Really Long Post)

After finishing school, WGH and I went on a weekend trip to the Eastern Shore, which ended up being a nice getaway for us. Our big trip, however, was going to Orlando, where we went on our honeymoon and where my sister and I own a timeshare.
The day we left for the trip, I got notice that I was able to schedule my national certification exam, which I promptly did. I am scheduled to take it Monday, May 23rd, about one week from now.
In the meantime, we left for Orlando after I "worked" half a day at the J-O-B. I don't know that I actually got much done that morning, but at least I was there.
We drove through the night and were able to watch the sunrise in St Augustine, FL, from Ft Marion. Unfortunately, there was some cloud cover on the horizon, so basically, we just watched it get lighter. We drove to Daytona using Rt 1 instead of the typical interstate, which makes for more interesting sight-seeing.

Uh-oh

Once we got back onto I-95, I realized that we needed to make a pit-stop before getting onto I-4, so we exited off the ramp for Ocala. While we waiting at the stoplight at the bottom of the ramp, we heard this HUGE crash and looked next to us (out the passenger side), where a pick-up truck had slammed into the back of a SUV. All the airbags were deployed in both vehicles and the young woman in the SUV was able to walk away after the paramedics checked her over. The driver of the pick-up, an older man, seemed confused and it appears that he may have been experiencing a some sort of medical event (diabetic? stroke? Alzheimer's?) and did not even try to stop at the light. According to one man who had seen him from the previous exit, he had already gone into a ditch and taken out a sign while getting back on the road. The other witness was on the phone with state police reporting his erratic driving and told them that the accident had occurred.
Also freaky about this event, was that there was a motorcycle rider, whom I had noticed before, who was sitting at the stoplight behind the SUV - on the passenger side. As the rider explained to me, the proper positioning of a rider is behind the driver, not the passenger. However, if he had been on the drivers side, we would have not been talking to this rider. The crash happened about a foot from him, and had he been in the proper position, we would have been finding pieces of him all over the road.
We stayed and waited until the police didn't need us any longer as witnesses and then proceeded to our waiting adventures in Orlando, albeit very freaked out and finding it somewhat difficult to get this out of our minds. What if we had been in the middle lane? What if the rider had followed protocol and been behind the driver? Needless to say, this won't be easily forgotten.
About an hour later, we found ourselves in Celebration, FL, sitting down to a scrumptious breakfast at the Market Street Cafe, where I had the best grits I've ever had. After breakfast we walked around a bit and then went exploring the Orlando around, seeing as how we had about four hours to kill until we could check in at the timeshare.
We got checked in and then went back out again to get the necessary groceries for the week and then came back and chilled out for awhile. Since we had been up for way over 24 hours, we ended up going to sleep early.
The next day, Sunday, we went swimming and then greeted my sister and hubby for their arrival. We had dinner and discussed about what we were going to do the rest of the week. It was mostly a "down" day. Meaning that we didn't do much. I love those days.

Monday

WGH and I went to Hollywood Studios at Disney. A long, hot day, but quite enjoyable. Highlights: the Indiana Jones adventure, the backlot tour, Prime Time Cafe with our waiter/brother Mark, and the extreme stunt show.

Tuesday

Mark, WGH, and I went to Universal's Islands of Adventure, where we got to experience the new Harry Potter world. Highlights: Dr Doom's tower, Poseidon's Fury, the Mystical Fountain, and Spiderman.

Wednesday

I treated myself to a day at the spa: hour massage, hour facial, 20 minute foot massage, and a& paraffin hand treatment. After all that pampering, I was able to walk so much better. For dinner that night, the four of us went to Universal's City Walk - to Emeril's restaurant. I had the short-ribs special (boneless!) and WGH had the filet mignon. For dessert, I had the vanilla bread pudding with cinnamon& ice cream. We were all quite full when we left.

Thursday

WGH and I went to Universal Studios, where "The Mummy," my favorite roller coaster, is located. It's not big like some of the others, but it actually tells a story and has some unexpected elements to it - besides the fact that it's an inside roller coaster and a good portion of it is in the dark. At Universal Studios, one thing to do to avoid lines for a couple of their more popular rides: get in the "Single Rider" line. You will get pulled to fill spaces left by groups of uneven numbers. For instance, on The Mummy, I walked up to where I was supposed to wait, but the attendant saw me coming up the steps and said, "Single Rider, line 4." I literally walked right onto the ride! WGHBeetlejuice Rock-n-Roll Revue, Twister, Jaws, and Disaster (formerly Earthquake).

Friday

We did nothing but hang out by the pool and in the pool.
Saturday morning, as we were getting ready to leave and still packing up stuff, the cleaning crew came in and began cleaning the other unit. I'm thinking - uh...we haven't even checked out yet. Can you give us a few? We checked out at exactly 10:00, the check-out time. And we had checked-in the previous Saturday at 4:00, the check-in time. I believe in getting my full vacation!
We met a lot of rain on the way home, and about 25 miles from home at 1:00 am, my mom called to say that she was stuck and needed help. Her blood sugar was down and she didn't have the strength to get herself to some food to bring up her sugar. She'd had a couple oreos that she keeps next to her for such occasions, but it wasn't enough. So, I pushed myself and got to her house and got her situated and back to where she needed to be. I certainly didn't need coffee after that adrenaline rush of getting to Mom.
After a tiring 14 hour drive, we finally got home, were greeted by the kitties, and then got to sleep.
My task this week is to study as much as I possibly can for the national exam in a week!

After School Special - Two Weeks Out

I'm in my third week of being out of school and spending my life on I-70 going to or from school. My original plan upon getting out of school was to study for my national exam every night for at least an hour, do my housework, and not plop myself in front of the television.
That worked great for about three days or so.
I have studied a little for the national, but the pressure is not there since I don't know when I will be taking the exam yet. I'll do better in studying, probably, when I know when I need to be ready.
I have caught up on a good portion of my housework, but as with any housework, it needs to be repeated. Often.
I haven't been watching that much television. However, my computer tends to get more action than it really needs.
I have been able to catch up with some friends that I haven't been able to see that much for the last year. In person! Not just on facebook!
There are still things on my master TO DO list (at least the one in my head) that need to be done. The room in my house known as my "office" has been sorely neglected for the last year or year and a half. It's about one step away from looking like the show "Hoarders" should be coming to visit. It's not something that can be tackled in one evening after work. It's going to take a whole weekend or two. But that will have to wait for a couple more weeks. Unless, of course, the people from the show come knocking at my door.
This coming Friday, WGH and I leave for Orlando, Florida for a week's vacation. Usually we do this kind of trip in January or February, but since I was in school, we waited until I finished and this is my big celebration trip. We're planning on going to Disney for a day, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for a day or two, and just doing whatever. You know - vacation!

Where Have You Been?

I'm so sorry for not keeping up with this blog for the last two weeks. I have been out of school since December 18th (clinic), which in my mind, means that there are no blog entries to make.
For a week, I got to go to work and come home and not have to worry about going to school. That's not to say that I sat at home during that time. I don't recollect exactly what I did, but it was not sit at home and watch TV, which was what I was doing right before starting school last April.
Maybe I was preparing stuff for Christmas.
I don't know what I had to prepare, since we were going to my sister's that day and all. At any rate, we had a lovely Christmas day.
The day after, my sister, WGH, and I set out for a week vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We didn't make it there that day due to bad weather conditions, but ended up staying at a Hampton Inn for the night.
We made it to our destination the following day and pretty well enjoyed the week of doing - well - next to nothing.
I have a few observations about winter vacations I'd like to make.
1) No matter how comfortable the bed, it's not your own so you don't sleep as well.
2) There isn't much you can do outside so you either just drive up and down the barrier island or you sit in the condo. If you get really ambitious, you go to the fitness center where they have an indoor pool. You have to drive because it's too cold to walk the mile it takes to get there.

3) You go out to eat any chance you get just to get out, including driving 25 or so miles just to get a French Toast Bagel.
4) You eat way too much and need to food detox the moment you arrive home.
5) You can get really addicted to watching things like 48 Hours: Hard Evidence, Regis & Kelly, or anything on the Food Network.
6) When you make a full pot of coffee, you have to drink it fast before all the coffee burns on the burner, unlike the thermal pot you have at home.
7) You can't get out of things like shoveling because the resort staff has so many units to take care of. Unfortunately, you have no snow shovel with you, so you have to use a broom. If you're on the bottom unit, you have to also sweep the unoccupied top unit's deck because otherwise, if you stand on your own deck, you get a shower from the melting snow.


8) It's 20 degrees when you arrive, but 68 degrees when you leave to come home.
When all is said and done, it was a nice trip, but I'm glad to be home. I'm also glad that I only have three and a half more months of school left. Then I can begin preparing for the certification exams and getting on with my new career.

Here are some pictures from the OBX Christmas Vacation Extravaganza!

Sonic!!! There are none around Frederick, so we tried to take advantage as much as possible  

Another trip to Sonic

Lighthouse in Manteo - Check out the snow!

Close-up of the Lighthouse

Perspective of sweeping the upper deck

Sun and Snow - What a vacation!

New Years Eve
We had a buffet dinner at Port O'Call

Guess Where!

The food was really good! We ate and got out!

Nothing like being closed for the SEAON THANK
(Note to self to find out what a SEAON THANK is)

Didn't get to see the wild horses of Corolla, but did see a wild pony of Wanchese.

Day 90 - Environmentally Healthy

A huge topic in the media these days is about being environmentally friendly and keeping the earth green. Businesses advertise their products as "being green" or "environmentally friendly" or "Made from recycled materials." Conscientious people are looking for more organic products, provided without the use of pesticides or hormone-enhancement or harsh chemicals.
In this evening's Pathology class, we discussed "Environmental Health" - basically things in our environment, whether by choice or involuntary exposure - and their effects on the body. Things like radon, carbon monoxide, smoking, alcohol, cocaine, and even delved into substance addiction. Quite eye-opening. We heard statistics like Baltimore has the highest heroin-addiction ratio in the US, with one out of ten people being addicted. I'm so naive when it comes to that stuff. I've never even seen anything "harder" than marijuana, "the gateway drug" - and I haven't even seen that for almost 20 years!
We also discussed some aspects of Pharmacology that we may need to know as Massage Therapists, as we need to understand what medications our clients are taking and the potential harmful effects massage may have on them.

Yes, your medications may affect your reaction to massage, so be careful and let your Massage Therapist know everything you're taking!

*Stepping down off soap-box now*
In other news, WGH has asked me what I want for a graduation present. I told him, "A Vacation."