Bloggin' from the Burg: October 2009

Come Here Often?

Well, apparently I don't come here often. Not much has happened since our last post on September 6th, but at the same time, a ton of stuff has happened since we last blogged regularly, which was July. So, in the following posts I'll try to update you with what we've been up to, but can't guarantee that the events will necessarily be chronological.

August

August was a busy month for us. I finished my first semester of graduate school. I'm doing my Master's in Social Work through Boise State. Classes are Mondays and Tuesdays in Twin Falls, which is a little less than 3 hours away. I also quit my job doing Partial Care/PSR toward the end of August. I enjoyed the experience and learned a lot. I'd do Partial Care again, but would avoid PSR, it just wasn't for me. I quit my job because I have to do a practicum (internship) for grad school.

I'm interning with the Department of Health and Welfare. Specifically I'm with the Region VII Behavioral Health Crisis Team. We work with clients who are at immanent risk of becoming homeless or committing suicide, or who have We provide group therapy, individual counseling and medication management. So far I'm enjoying it. This semester I'm doing a lot of observing and not a lot of real work. I observe initial assessments, counseling sessions, Designated Exams at the jail, assessments at the Behavioral Health Center (last stop before they're committed to the state hospital), and sit through meeting after meeting. Seriously, I've never sat on my butt at a job so much in my life! I do get to co-facilitate some of our groups and have run one or two on my own.

I'm required to do 20 hours a week, so I'm there Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8-5, but I usually leave early on Fridays. I forgot to mention that the DHW is in Idaho Falls. So, between driving to Twin Falls once and Idaho Falls three times a week, I'm averaging about 600 miles a week. That's a LOT of time in the car, by myself. But it has given me time to listen to a couple books on CD. Right now I'm listening to Truman G. Madsen's lectures on the Prophets series. I'm enjoying learning about each prophet individually.

The bad part of the internship is the fact that it's unpaid. For this reason, Jess and I could no longer afford the rent at our apartment. So, again toward the end of August, we moved in with Jess' parents in Archer. It's not our preferred living arrangement, but it's helping us get by without going into debt to pay rent. On the more difficult days we remind ourselves that it's only until May, when I'll finish grad school.

So, in a nutshell that's about all I remember from August. Sorry no pics for this post!

September

What to say about September? Well, Jess went back to work in September (may have been August, but oh well). This is her 6th year working in the library at the high school. She really enjoys her job, even though the administration and students can be frustrating at times. She really likes the head librarian and of course loves books! She also loved having a week off for potato harvest (which may have been during October, but I'm struggling to remember anything that happened in September). During homecoming week the school has theme days. Being the fun loving girl she is, Jess participated in a few of those days. Here she is on "Geezer Day."

I've been feeling terribly under-active lately. With being in Twin all day Monday and Tuesday and working full days (rare for social workers) the rest of the week, plus donating plasma on Wednesdays and Fridays which doesn't put me home until usually after 7pm, I just haven't had much time to be physically active or have any fun. In an effort to remedy this I've been taking four-wheeler rides in the evenings. It's a nice chance to get out of the house and enjoy the country-living Archer has to offer. Here are a couple shots I took one night while on a ride.

October

Things haven't slowed down any in October. Last week for my internship we held trainings for police officers to teach them more effective ways to work with people with mental illnesses. The trainings went well and hopefully will keep the officers and mentally ill safe (as well as out of jail). Here's a shot I took with my phone while driving to work on Friday.

Friday night we went to a magic show at BYU-Idaho. The magician was The Great Kaplan. It was a pretty good show, we enjoyed it. On Saturday we went to Idaho Falls for a concert with Jenny Oaks Baker (daughter of Elder Oaks and very talented violinist) and the Teton Chamber Orchestra, which Marinda, my sister-in-law, is in. This was also a great show.

Tonight, Sunday, we had a family Halloween party at Jess' grandma's. There is always a pumpkin carving contest at the party, but we didn't feel like carving today. Instead, Jess decided just to decorate a few of the mini-pumpkins that she and Lynne grew in the garden. I tried my hand at carving them.