| Friday, November 27th, 2009 |
| 10:39 am |
have a survey
You know how sometimes people on your friendslist post about stuff going on in their life, and all of a sudden you think "Wait a minute? Since when were they working THERE? Since when were they dating HIM/HER? Since when???" And then you wonder how you could have missed all that seemingly pretty standard information, but somehow you feel too ashamed to ask for clarification because it seems like info you should already know? It happens to all of us sometimes. Please copy the topics below, erase my answers and put yours in their place, and then post it in your journal! Please elaborate on the questions that would benefit from elaboration. One-Word-Answers seldom help anyone out. 1. First Name: Shelly 2. Age: . 33 3. Location: a small town in western washington state because people always ask, I'm an hour and a half from Seattle. 4. Occupation: no actual job but I volunteer as a reading tutor at an elementary school. 5. Partner(s): I'm single unfortunately . 6. Kids: No 7. Brothers/Sisters: I have 2 brothers 1 older and 1 younger and an older sister who is a half sister that my mom placed for adoption. She found us ten years ago, but we no longer communicate. 8. Parents: mom and dad are still together have been married for 35 years. 9. Pets: my guide dog Ellie a black lab and a silver tabby cat named Tammany 10. List the 3-5 biggest things going on in your life:Well, not much going on right now. just bible study, volunteering at the school, the usual stuff. . I'm checking out new churches and praying about whether or not to leave my current church. in january I will begin attending a college level bible program. Current Mood:  good |
| Saturday, November 21st, 2009 |
| 10:09 pm |
quiet week
Its been a quiet week. Nothing happened Monday besides BSF. We are in John 6 and covered the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on the water. I volunteered on Tuesday. I didn't work with my first group of 2nd graders because they had a sub, but I worked with the second and third graders and that went well. I will enjoy that group. I've been getting there really early and might ask them if they can find something for me to do if I keep getting there almost 45 early. On wednesday I spoke with SEGD here is what I wrote to my guide dog list. i spoke with Heidi from SEGDI today. She watched the video I sent. She gave me some suggestions for handling the veering towards traffic. She had a lot to say about my handling just things i already knew she'd say like make sure she stops at all curbs don't forget you can check with your foot to see what's happening. She recomended going back to very very basic obedience on a short leash so she has less oportunity to be defiant and working her in the halty to regain her respect. As far as Ellie herself she said she looked good. She looks confident and happy guiding. I feel pretty good about our talk not neccessarily better as this is going to be a ton of work and I just am tired and don't know if I can do it. guess that's all. Shelly It has been raining and cold this week so I only worked Ellie twice not counting her guiding in the elementary school which isn't much. We did the shopping center both times. The first time she wore the halty and did marvelous the second time no halty i forgot it,. She did well, but went slow. I've gone back obedience in the apartment on short leash with some thrown in randomly throughout the day. the first 2 days were ok and yesterday was great. Thursday was therapy. We talked about a lot of stuff and it was good. Today I went to the assistance dog club meeting where the topic was dog body language. Now I'm just sitting here typing jthis up and listening to worship music on the radio and the rain outside. Not sure about all of next weekI will be checking out a new church tomorrow if I wake up on time. I'm running errands with Danielle and going to bible study on monday and volunteering Tuesday. I don't know what I'm doing for Thanksgiving. Dad is not doing well so my parents may not be going anywhere for Thanksgiving which means I wouldn't be either, but we'll see. Current Mood:  okay |
| Friday, November 6th, 2009 |
| 5:04 pm |
prayer request and update
Hey all, First off can you all please pray for my brother. He has been admited to the hospital with severe stomach pain. They have discovered fluid around his stomach. They are running tests to find out what's wrong. This weekend is the Washington Council of the Blind convention. It is the first time in several years that I have not gone. I just didn't have the money to go this year. Its strange not to be there. I was planning to listen to the stream over ACB radio, but it wasn't working until late in the afternoon. I did get to listen to a workshop on digital books. I hope the stream works tomorrow. If it does you can listen from 9 to 4:30 Pacific time. And then the banquet will be streamed at 7. Or you could listen to the Pennsylvania councel on a different channel of ACB radio as it will be streaming all day and the speaker for the banquet is the narrator from convention that I liked so much his name is once again escaping me. Or you could actually do something fun with your day LOL! My volunteer training went well. It was very brief. i will be with the same second grade teacher as last year apparently she asked for me. Not sure why since I was hardly there last year but whatever. I will be listening to the kids read deodable open court books. I found them on RFBD and have them all downloaded. i love RFBD! Anyway, I'll be with the second graders and then with the reading specialist listening to um what else but more kids reading LOL. I forgot to ask what grade it is though LOL. I will be going twice a week in the afternoon. I guess there's nothing else else to say. Current Music: PCB convention |
| Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 |
| 7:42 pm |
life update
I'm trying to think of things to do to keep myself awake. I always get sleepy this time of night if I'm not out somewhere for some reason. Anyway, I thought I'd waste some time by writing in here. So, how's the weather. Here its cold which makes jumping in my bed even more appealing. Actually its not at all cold. tell me says its 51 degrees with a slight breeze. I think the breeze is more than slight. I turned the heat on a few minutes ago, so hopefully it helps. For those who listened to my voice post this next bit will be boring. On Thursday my waterheater broke. Water went all over half my bedroom and in to my bathroom. They got atl east ten gallons of water out of my carpet. once again they brought in the big fans to dry it out. I left for my parents house late that afternoonl. I was very glad to get out of there as it was quite loud. on the voice post you can hear how loud it was. The time at my parents was fine. I came home on Saturday. I'll be out there again next week for a night as Ellie has a vet ap to check her paws. I went to work out today and one of the therapists comments on how good Ellie looked compared ot the last itme she'd seen her which was over a month ago. She said seemed much perkier. She is doing really well. yesterday I took her for a walk, but forgot to give her a pain med in the morning. I could totally tell a difference. We cut he walk short. The past couple Sundays I've gone to a small Baptist church here in town. It was a friendly place. I plan to check out 1 maybe 2 other churches over the next couple weeks. Tomorrow is my volunteer training the same one I have ot od every year. I'm hoping to find out what I will be doing and when. I've really been praying about this. I want to be useful working with kids who really need it I haven't yet filled out the application for faith bible institute although I'm pretty sure it is something I want to do I need to get that done by nov 15. I guess that's all I have to say. I think I'll go read for a while. |
| Thursday, October 29th, 2009 |
| 2:56 pm |
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| Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 |
| 8:36 pm |
life update
Thanks for all the prayers for my stomach. Its almost back to normal and i'm debating canceling my Dr.'s ap. Not even sure if I wrote in here or if i just tweeted that i'd made an ap with the Gi doc. Its for next Wednesday. Ellie began limping at the store on Monday, but that seems to have resolved. Her work has been quite sniffy probably because of the rain and she had a great deal of difficulty staying on the edge of the road last night but, pace has been good. She's played like normal a couple times, but remains pretty calm at home. On to what i've done this week. Sunday i went to visit a new church that is starting here in town. my church is doing a 5 week on managing your finances which does not interest me at all. So, I will be checking out other churches for the next few weeks. It was a very small church of older members, but it was a good service. Monday was BSF of course. Before the class we had what we call a fellowship which is a dinner. Usually at the dinners we talk about the lessons we've studied and what God is doing in our lives, but this time we went around the table and told about ourselves. It was fun to get to know the group a bit and we had the most yummy tortilla soup! I got less out of this then I have all year, but that's all right not every class is great. Tuesday I went to observe at a school to see about volunteering with the reading program they had there. I won't be going there because there would be nothing for me to do since the kids work as partners in this particular program. The next day I got a call from west hills telling me when the tutor training is. Its not until nov 4. they are certainly getting a late start this year. they are using read naturally and open court this year. i'm praying I can be given useful things to do. I also had a very nice conversation with the volunteer coordinator in the district.Nothing else has happened just the usual watching tv and reading listening to music that kind of good stuff. I'll write when something else happens. Current Mood: good |
| Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 |
| 9:45 pm |
return of the reflux
I feel like shit! I woke up this morning aggging with stuff in my mouth and its been bad since then. I feel as bad as I felt on my worst days last year. I'm scared. I can not go through this again! Current Mood: scared depressed sickCurrent Music: Ellie moving around |
| Sunday, October 11th, 2009 |
| 9:30 pm |
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| Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 |
| 10:18 pm |
my long day
I woke up this morning at 5:30. i managed to fall asleep at around 8:45 only to be woken up about an hour and a half later by the phone. Shortly after that phone Heidi from southeastern called and we discussed well obviously we talked about Ellie. She thinks I should get on the waiting list for a successor dog. I can always get off the list if Ellie fully improoves or pass a dog up if I just don't feel ready. Its not a step I want to take, but I probably will. This afternoon she only played a little and I was sad, but this evening she played more and she guided fast in the church tonight. I went to check out the bible college tonight. I will put my experience behind a cut so those who don't care don't have to read ( Read more... ) I should get off here and go to bed. tomorrow is going to be very long. i have a blood draw in the morning around 9. Then i leave for therapy around 11. I should get home around 4 and then my provider comes at 6. I don't know what we are doing, but I'll be tired by then. Goodnight |
| 7:13 am |
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| Sunday, October 4th, 2009 |
| 7:27 pm |
what I'm reading
Ok, in a better space so here's what I'm reading lately. In the fiction department I'm in 3 different books all part of different series 2 christian one sort of borderline that one is a Laurline McDaniel which is also young adult fiction . Its the third in the angels in pink series which which isn't as well done as some of her other stuff but still is good. I think I wrote or voice posted or something about being all excited aobut RFBD being available through windows media player. Well, I'm currently reading teaching literacy in kindergarten. its a very practical book and I'm enjoying learning about how to teach the various skills even though I will never teach kindergarten its still a fun read. I am sure you will all find it as enjoyable as me not! LOL But man RFB readers are almost as boring as listening to jaws! My TBR list of RFBD books has 15 titles on it! A book I do think many of you will find interesting is called the unlikely disciple . This is a book writen by a college student who leaves his nonchristian college to attend Liberty University conservative christian college for a semester. Oh, and he is not a Christian himself. This book is very respectful but honest. It is a fascinating look at christian culture from an outsiders perspective. So, that is what I'm reading. Current Mood: good |
| Friday, October 2nd, 2009 |
| 7:39 pm |
spoke with vet
So, the vet doesn't think its the medication. She is going back on the meds but only twice a day. I either missunderstood her saying her feet were worse or she didn't explain clearly or something. There are 2 toes still looking bad, but there's been enough progress that she felt we could decrease. She thinks the slowness is from pain so we are gonna put her on a pain med. I will see the vet in a month. If she's not improoved we'll hahve to try a different drug. She didn't mention anything about the lungs and I forgot to ask. talking or taking her to the vet is starting to get as overwhelming as when I was seeing all the specialists and stuff last year. Anyway, she only has had 2 times that I noticed her coughing and I haven't noticed the heavy breathing so I'm not gonna worrey about that right now. I guess that's my update. |
| Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 |
| 9:43 pm |
I'm now on twitter
apparently today is the day to join twitter LOL. So, I'm turtlechelle197. It was supposed to be 1976 but I forgot to write the 6 and it wouldn't let me change it. i don't know that I'll use it all that much but feel free to add me or not LOL. I promise i will not send my tweets to my lj LOL. I am more than capable of writing in two sepparate places if I write on twitter at all. In other news Ellie had a great day today. Two great routes nice and fast and she played more than she has in a long time. So, I'm keeping her off the meds we'll see what happens like I said before hope its not the meds, but we'll just see. It was really nice to have my dog back. Othewise things are quiet. I'm missing working with kids. I am ready to go back to school. really really ready! All right back to twitter to find more people to follow. Current Mood: good |
| Thursday, September 24th, 2009 |
| 4:41 pm |
results
Ellie's thyroid test came back normal. So, its eitherh er lungs, the medication she's on or pain causing the the slowness and the not playing. I'm very discouraged. Why can't I just have an easy fix? I'm feeling really down I don't want the problem to be the meds because the vet was pretty negative about the alternative and I can't imagine my dog living the rest of her life like this. I mean she's still a happy dog, but I mean the not playing that's so not her. I just want my dog back. I now feel awful for every time she wanted to play and I was to busy to play with her not that that was very often but I just feel awful. But if it isn't the meds then its pain or her lungs and htose options suck too. I don't want this for her. I want everything to go away! I think i'm going to go to bed for a while. I woke up at 4 to someone outside crying. Very strange and i couldn't get back to sleep until 7 than woke up at 8 for a half hour from a nightmare slept again until 9. I haven't done anything today. I mean i had therapy but nothing tiring, but I'm tired and depressed. and I should be doing my bible study questions, but I think I'll just sleep. Current Mood:  depressedCurrent Music: David Crowder band |
| Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 |
| 10:14 pm |
heard from vet
The specialist thinks Ellie might have bronchitis, but that it could be something more serious like polminary hypertension. He wants to see how she does off the meds and how hte thyroid test comes out though before we pirsue anything more with the lungs. So, not really an answer. I was gonna write more but I'm tired I'm gonna fall asleep reading my notes from bible study fellowship. Each week we get a CD or I do everyone else gets print but we get notes on the lesson we just did about 7 pages or so. So, I'm off. Current Mood: okay |
| Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 |
| 6:24 pm |
vet update
The vet says moree of Ellie's nails are abnormal, although there is healthy growth on a couple of them. She says dogs with this condition can have varrying degrees of pain and that could explain the some days being faster than others thing. But to be sure we are running a thyroid test. We are also pulling her off her meds for at least a week since I put her back on to soon the time before to see if she perks up when off them. I hope she doesn't because she has to be on these I mean assuming they work well enough. She was concerned about the heaviness of Ellie's breathing and after listening to her lungs decided to take an xray. Thank God she donated the xray. She said if anyone deserves donated services its us. She said to her Ellie's lungs look like those of an older dog and that it could be a sign of some kind of disease, but she decided to send them off to be looked at to be sure she isn't jumping to conclusions. I won't know anything about anything for a few days. I'm tired! and sad! and uncertain. Dad thinks the vet is just looking for things to be wrong. What do u all think? I really like this vet I think she's very thorough and not to quick to make a decision. I'm here at my parents gonna take Ellie on a play walk tonight and soak in the tub. Please continue to pray. Current Mood: sad, overwhelmed tiredCurrent Music: the tv |
| Monday, September 21st, 2009 |
| 11:54 pm |
tomorrow
Tomorrow as in Tuesday is Ellie's 2 month follow up at the vet to check her feet. I have several issues to discuss with the vet. I'd appreciate prayers. Her apt is at 3 PM I'm off to bed. Its been a long day. I had nightmares which woke me up multiple times last night. So, I feel like I didn't really sleep. Ellie did not have a good walk. she started out with a little below a little slower than her newly adopted average pace which is still almost 2 slow. And she slowed down as the walk progressed. at one point the harness was vertical in my hand. I just can't walk as slow as she was. So I heeled her and took Danielle's arm. I attempted to take her out of harness to see if I could get her to speed up, but she wouldn't. I was pulling her when I try speeding up so obviously we went at her pace. Ther'es something wrong. something beyond her just not wanting to work. Its hard to have had such a bad route after the awesome route of Friday. I hope the vet has some answers. I did a bit of shoppoing today and went to subway. I brought my food to our first BsF fellowship of the year. i think I'm going to like my new leader. The lecture was wonderful tonight with a lot of reminders that I needed. All right I'm off. Shelly Current Mood: sad worried |
| Saturday, September 19th, 2009 |
| 11:38 pm |
my week
This week has felt long. i have quite a bit to ramble about but don't feel like looking up how to do a cut. Sunday was church as usual. Pastor John is preaching for the next 4 weeks on christians and judging and I think it will be interesting.Monday Ellie and I did a half mile route and she had what has become her average slowish pace. I spent an hour that afternoon with RFbd tech support. we finally got my comp set with the right sicurity setting and other settings so it would license the book. And we got my media player working I'm now happily reading "teaching literacy in kindergarten" I have a listo f about ten books I've found on the site so far with more to come I'm sure. monday night was the first night of bible study fellowship. It was a lot of talk on rules and procedures with a lecture giving an overview of John how it relates to the other gospels. I know a lot of people from last years discussion group which is neat. Tuesday I did nothing besides go work out. I did not go to CR because my ride did not call. This might be the week she was on her trip I can't remember. Wednesday was a not so great day. I had dental work done to fix that back tooth I broke. It was really sore that day and the next but now it only hurts sometimes. On Thursday someone from the bible college came over and brought the books so i could see if they scan which they do. They do a lot of skipping around in the book which I wasn't sure how i would handle. Several people have given me ideas for how to deal with that. I'm going to go visit a class or whether classes since there are 3 classes held that one night. I hope to go the week after next. Next Tuesdya i'll be at my parents house. I didn't do anything else Thursday. Friday Danielle and Ellie and I went walking downtown. Danielle talked about everything we were passing. It will be going up as a podcast because it was requested smiles. Ellie's guide work was grreat only getting super distractedon one block though she was a bit mroe sniffy overall than I would have liked. but her pace was perfect. It was like having the old Ellie back. I love moving that quickly! The only sort of irritating thing was Danielle always telling me when it was safe to cross. I have only downtown to practice with lighted crossings. But I decided after the first crossing to just concintrate on enjoying my walk and my dog. There will be another time to practice. It was a bad day stomach wise. today has been as well. That afternoon we went over to Donna's so Ellie could play with her service dog in training and her therapy dog that she takes to schools Ellie did a tiny bit of running but mostly just walked around and sniffed. She did not seem at all bothered but the other 2 dogs playing around her. Today I went to Val's. It felt forever since I had seen her. I got to meet her 2 exchange students. It was a fun afternoon. Finally we have come to the end of my week! Next week is Ellie's vet ap on Tuesdya prayers for that would be appreciated. As i mentioned I'll be with my parents over night. Thursday I have therapy. And that is all the plans i have. Now I'm off to read and hopefully my allergies will calm down and i will be able to fall asleep. Current Mood: good |
| Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 |
| 6:38 pm |
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| Monday, September 14th, 2009 |
| 11:46 pm |
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turtlechelle's journal
