The Daily Grind: Wife, Mommy and MT Student : Just for Fun

Pump Your Blood

Christine Volker — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:17:00 GMT

I know, it is sort of an odd title to a blog, but as I am learning all about the heart, it's all I can think about!

I grew up watching the television show "Happy Days" and a few days ago I came across something posted on the MTEC student forums that brought me right back to an episode that I had long since forgotten about. It was Episode # 142, "Potsie Quits School," where Potsie is in danger of failing his anatomy final and decides to use music as a tool to help him get though the exam. The song is called "Pump your blood," and if you've never heard it I encourage you to check it out here.

If you are interested in hearing the song with the lyrics provided, click here.

I was amazed at how many songs that I was able to find on You Tube in relation to the heart. So, a flashback to "Happy Days" has left me with a song that I can't get out of my head (or stop singing around the house!) and hopefully it will come in handy as I prepare for my exam soon.

I am beginning to feel the holiday crunch as I am still placing last minute orders and wrapping gifts as fast as I can. My daughter's latest trick is taking all of the presents from underneath the tree and stacking them in the living room on the coffee table. Luckily, I haven't had to re-wrap any as she shows absolutely no interest of opening them (we'll see how this plays out on Christmas morning!).
All in all, we've had a very productive week. My husband was on vacation and got several projects around the house completed, one of which was organizing the garage so that we could get both of our cars in for the winter season. That one made me particularly happy! My goals for the next week is to finish all of our holiday shopping, get out our Christmas cards on Monday and study, study, study! Knowing that I'll have a few days off with relatives visiting I need to cram in as much as I can next week.

As for today, I am off to the doctor's office again this afternoon to see if we can come up with a new game plan for getting rid of this cough once and for all!

Have a great weekend everyone and stay warm!

Welcome Autumn

Christine Volker — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:09:00 GMT

This is my favorite time of year--cooler days, chilly nights and the beautiful colors on the trees. Last week I pulled out all of my decorations for the season (my girlfriend thought I was crazy!) and set them up. The smell of my pumpkin spice candle has been filling the house ever since!

I am even more excited about this year because my daughter is at an age where a trip to the pumpkin patch will be so much fun! I loved those times when I was a child--going to the apple orchard to get apple cider and then the tractor ride down to the pumpkin patch to choose the perfect one to take home. I look forward to starting our own family traditions with our daughter.

The past week there have been many appointments, countless errands, the continuation of home renovations and a trip to the auto mechanic this morning (fingers crossed it will be a reasonable bill). I wasn't feeling well for a few days which didn't help my motivation to get my schoolwork done. I did a little each day but wished I had the energy to do more.

I did manage to start my Christmas shopping though! Thanks to the Internet, my shopping is done early each year. I very rarely shop in-store now as the online market has become so competitive. It really doesn't pay to take the time (and use any more gas than necessary) to drive to the store.

This weekend my husband and I will be attending a wedding. I am really looking forward to it, even though I will not know anyone there as this is a gentleman that my husband used to work with. I have noticed over the past couple of years that "dressing up" for me consists of jeans and T-shirt. I have definitely become very relaxed in my outfit selection each day as I spend most of it sitting in front of my computer. Needless to say, I bought a new outfit for this wedding and am looking forward to getting all dressed up! My husband and I had our wedding in the Fall as well--it really is a great time of year to get married.

After the festivities of the wedding, it will be back to studying and hopefully a quieter week ahead. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Allison!

Christine Volker — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:09:00 GMT

Today is my daughter's 2^nd birthday. It's hard to believe that 2 years have passed since she came into this world--the infant I once held slips away a little each day as she becomes a big girl. It has all gone by so fast.

This past week has been quite hectic as the party preparations for the weekend seemed never-ending. We had family stay with us and that is always fun! My daughter had a great time and within 5 minutes of gift opening, she had a box of alphabet letters and then it was all over. She took the box of letters to Grammy so that they could play and I was left to open the rest. I am looking forward to the birthdays where there is a little more participation with the opening! I made my first character cake and it was her favorite--Elmo! I was up until almost 10 p.m. the night before the party decorating it and was very happy when it turned out as planned. The weather didn't cooperate so we went to the backup plan--the garage! It worked out well and the kids were able to go play in the yard for part of the day.

Our family left yesterday morning so the rest of the day was spent trying to get back on track with our daily routine. I have felt so guilty for not touching my schoolwork in days so last night I hit the books again. I have started a new session, Gastrointestinal, which has proved to be quite interesting so far.

This morning my husband and I took our daughter for her 2-year checkup. She is doing very well and as predicted, she's going to be tall! She is 36 inches already--and catching up to Mommy very quickly. The running joke in our house is that our daughter will probably be taller than me by the time she's 6.

My little birthday girl will be up from her nap in a couple of hours and then my attention will shift to her, so for now, it's back to studying for me.

School Books, Crayons and Elmo!

Christine Volker — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:12:00 GMT

As I sit here at 10:30 p.m. taking a break from working on my practice dictations, I am reminded of my daughter who is sound asleep in her bedroom.

I look around at my desk and have to laugh at what I see in front of me--mixed in with all of my medical books and notes is an alphabet puzzle, about a dozen crayons, a stuffed animal and an Elmo laptop. Obviously, some of these things are not really going to help me to understand the Genitourinary System, but they are just as important in their own way.

I have begun to notice a pattern these past couple of weeks. The second that I leave my desk to do something, my daughter runs to my chair and takes over. She brings whatever is the "toy of the moment" with her and makes herself comfortable. Although there have been a couple of times where I've had to track down papers that I'm missing, most of the time she's just happy sitting in mommy's chair and playing with her toys. My program is very intense and sometimes the information can be a little overwhelming--and, there have been times when I'm thumbing through a book and I come across some scribbles in crayon that my daughter has left for me. Let me tell you, it always seems to come at the right time, when I need a little break and a moment to just smile.

There are many times during the day when I am working and she walks over to the computer, takes my hand and says "uh-mon Mama" (translation would of course be "come on Mama" --much cuter her way though!) as she tries to lure me away from my chair. It's really hard not to accept the invitation each and every time, especially after all of her pleas!

Once I am working things will need to change, but for now I am enjoying the toys scattered about on my desk and the frequent visits I get from my daughter. And, who knows, if my computer ever stops working there's always the Elmo laptop.