Sunday, April 25, 2010

We are So Ready...

To graduate! We can't even be serious for a picture anymore. We had Charlie's Vet School banquet last night. It was so fun - dinner, speeches, skits, awards, a MUSICAL about vet school, and a dance. Everyone was so relaxed and happy. We took alot of pictures but these are some of the closest friends from vet school.



When will I ever wear this dress again?



I can't believe my short hair could actually make an updo



Jeremy & Nicola




Charlie & Jeremy



Cassie & Andy



Only 3 more weeks left ... I can't even comprehend how close we are to the end. It kind of feels like we're in fast-forward and I want to enjoy every moment!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Short Films

So I have always loved short stories, especially the ones we read in high school. They were always so meaningful and thought-provoking, not to mention short!

But I have only recently discovered the world of short films. It kind of started with that short piece that starts the movie Up! Like short stories, I find short films really meaningful and thought-provoking. And best of all you can find them on Youtube for free. I watched one that won an Oscar and then I wanted to watch all the winners from years past, then it just kept going.

Some of my favorites:
Father & Daughter
The Danish Poet
La Maison En Petits Cubes
The Man Who Planted Trees
For the Birds

I also watched the 2009 winner Logorama, which was definitely more edgy but really interesting.
I am posting "Father and Daughter" because it makes me think of my dad, but be warned that you may cry buckets!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Oral Exam ... the non-flossing kind

I am on Cloud 9



I passed my oral exam this past Tuesday. What a relief!! I can't even describe how nervous I was going into the exam. I don't like interviews very much, and this was like an interview on steroids. Thankfully, it only lasted about half an hour until they were "satisfied" with the knowledge that I had shown. Then they had me leave the room, talked for 30 seconds, and announced to me that I had passed. They said a bunch of stuff like "We're so proud of you," and "You are a fine representation for our school," but at the time I was just so overwhelmed I was trying not to cry.

Afterwards I wrote down some of the questions they asked me because I wanted to remember someday all the things I once knew, haha!

- Describe brain areas involved in attention - functional, anatomical and BA names
- Describe brain areas involved in music syntax
- What is the Rational Scientific Mediating Model, give an example for the sensorimotor domain, how are levels 1 & 2 related?
- What is rhythmic speech cueing (that's a music therpy technique) and how does it work? What populations would you use it with?
- Design and describe a research study you would conduct at your internship site (in full detail!)
- How do you use music therapy techniques with children when they're based on a rehabiliation model?
- How specifically is music a language?
- How do you know what research is good or just the latest fad?
- What if a technique doesn't work with a client, even if research says it will?
- What research have you come across that has had an effect on your practice?

I know no one reading this has the slightest clue what most of these things are, but you can probably appreciate getting something like this over with!

Christ is Risen!


Sunday morning we went to church and Rach directed the choir in the anthem. They sounded so beautiful.


Then we took some pictures outside. It had literally snowed half an hour before this picture was taken, and then it was sunny again. Colorado is so strange.



Rachel with voice student Emma. :-)


Charlie & his papa

Staging and Selling

Charlie's dad Robert came to help us paint, declutter, and stage the condo this past week. What we learned this week:

Step 1: Move extremely large objects to storage. Example: behemoth hockey goalie bag


Step 2: Test new neutral paint color.



Step 3: PAINT, PAINT, PAINT


Step 4: Pose in front of newly painted surfaces to make sure they look good.


Step 5: Continue decluttering and packing up stuff. Make several trips to Goodwill.

Step 6: Sell condo the first day on the market!! Yay!!