Physical therapy, the SAT, Santa, concert performances for my mom, a date night for Curtis and me, Christmas decorating, ARD meeting, more physical therapy, Jenny’s 25th birthday, and family memories. What a great week.
Day 337 ~ Dry Needling
Friday, December 2nd, 2016
At physical therapy, I was having trouble fully contracting my quad while laying down. I could do it sitting up, but it was very painful to contract laying down. Dr. Katie suggested dry needling. It is kind of like acupuncture. She found three trigger points in my quad that were probably injuries from the fall. The muscle was knotted around nerves. The needles fully contract the muscle tissue and once they are taken out, the muscle can completely relax and let go of the nerve. It did help and I was able to fully contract my quad while laying down without as much pain. The procedure didn’t hurt at all, and the sensation of having the muscle contract without my doing anything is odd. I’m making progress!
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.8 | 1/200 | ISO 800
Day 338 ~ Anna with Santa
Saturday, December 3rd, 2016
On Saturday, Dominic had to go to the high school to take the SAT. Because his STARR scores (standardized state test) were so high, Duke University invited him to participate in Duke T.I.P. (talent identification program). Part of that process is taking the SAT as a 7th grader to identify areas of academic strength. Then next summer he can take some online (on campus at Duke!) classes that are geared toward his strengths. While Dominic was testing, Curtis took Anna to the high school PAC to see Santa. Santa was seeing kids and David Campos with Save A Memory Photography was there to capture the memories. Of course, we had to buy the photo! Later in the evening, a friend came to babysit Anna, Curtis and I dropped Dominic off at a friend’s house for a sleepover, then we headed to San Antonio for a date night. We ate at Paesano’s on the River Walk, then bar hopped. It was fun!
Image taken by David Campos, Save A Memory Photography.
Nikon D610 | 85mm | f/9 | 1/100 | ISO 400 | © David Campos
Day 339 ~ Faithful Companion
Sunday, December 4th, 2016
While working in my office Sunday evening, I look back and see Charlie laying in the corner chair, the light spilling over his dark fur and illuminating a few shadows. He looked so content laying there, so peaceful. He is such a good dog, a perfect snuggler, and has the calmest disposition of any dog I’ve ever known. When he saw me taking his picture, he lifted his head to make eye contact with me. I swear he knew what I was doing!
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/1.8 | 1/125 | ISO 1600
Day 340 ~ Dreary Day
Monday, December 5th, 2016
We’ve had some wintery weather here… it’s been rainy, gray, overcast, and cold. Monday morning, Anna’s ARD was reconvened. On the way to the meeting, I had to stop to get a coffee at On The Grind (Big Tex, nonfat, sugar-free) to help warm me up and give me some fortification for the meeting. We couldn’t come to consensus in late October because of transportation wanting to put her in restraints. This time we had already worked through our issues with transportation and had met ahead of time with the district head of special education, so there were no barriers to signing. Anna will be getting a new Functional Behavioral Analysis (FBA) and a new evaluation for occupational therapy. Her day is structured differently now too, with more time built in for transitions, the option of doing non-preferred work in a preferred environment, and time in the sensory room. She also has a new bus driver (with whom we’ve met separately and given him some tips). I’m the most optimistic I’ve been… but at the same time, they moved her caseworker and main teacher to a different program on Monday so Anna’s having to adapt to her former 1-1 now becoming her teacher. Currently Anna does not have a 1-1 but they are hiring two more paras for the class to start in the new year. This week has been pretty hard on her and she’s had some major meltdowns at school. Too much change for my little girl. This is so hard sometimes.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/3.2 | 1/1250 | ISO 200
Day 341 ~ She’s a Knockout
Tuesday, December 6th, 2016
Jenny and Chris came down for a couple of days to celebrate her birthday. When Anna’s bus pulled up, Jenny walked out with me to greet it. We could hear Anna wailing on the bus, “Jennyyyyyy!!!” She came running down the driveway, crying her little heart out. Anna hugged Jenny so tight, then grabbed Jenny’s face in between her hands and said, “I missed you so much, Jenny!” And she happy cried. A lot! It was a tearjerker! Jenny’s dad and stepmom came to New Braunfels to celebrate with us and we all met at a local Mexican restaurant called Herbert’s. I think Jen is so incredibly pretty. She’s been doing Weight Watchers this year and is down about 25 pounds!
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/1.8 | 1/160 | ISO 3200
Day 341 ~ Happy 25th, Mexican Style
Tuesday, December 6th, 2016
We are all about public humiliation in our family, so when we finished eating, Dominic got up and grabbed a tiny sombrero off the wall and plopped it on Jenny’s head. Then we all sang her Happy Birthday. She was a good sport about it. Happy 25th Birthday, my little angel on earth!!!
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/1.8 | 1/160 | ISO 3200
Day 342 ~ We Have the Same Eyes
Wednesday, December 7th, 2016
I very rarely get in the picture and since I don’t get to see Jenny very often, I asked Chris to snap a photo of us. I got my settings just right, gave Chris a quick tutorial on BBF, then handed my camera over to him. He did good! Our eyes are the same color, a dark denim blue. You can really see our Scottish heritage in her pale, luminescent skin tone.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/3.2 | 1/200 | ISO 800
Day 342 ~ Such a Cute Couple
Wednesday, December 7th, 2016
We took Jenny and Chris out to lunch at The Phoenix Saloon for lunch before they headed home to Hutto. Chris was just officially cleared as a paramedic this week. I am so incredibly proud of him. Jenny’s been working the night shift as a 911 Dispatcher for a few months now and really likes it. She has already gotten some commendations and recognition. They are rocking the adulting!!!
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.2 | 1/160 | ISO 2500
Day 342 ~ My Hearts Beats for Them
Wednesday, December 7th, 2016
Presenting my mom, my oldest daughter, and my son-in-law. I am so lucky to have such a large and loving family. <3<3<3 The kids are having hard weeks this week at school, but I’m still grateful that we had a lovely Thanksgiving and got to see Jenny on her birthday. I wish we could have seen our Ohio family too, it’s been too long. We were hoping to go at Christmas but we just couldn’t work out the right timing (wish flying were cheaper!!!).
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.2 | 1/160 | ISO 3200
Day 343 ~ Two Weeks Later…
Thursday, December 8th, 2016
The Christmas tree is finally done. This darn knee and being so busy has made decorating an excruciatingly slow process this year. There are two more strands of gold garland that I want to add to the tree but I’m sick of it, so this is it. It is heavily laden with ornaments. I decided to throw them all on there this year and Dominic placed quite a few as well. It’s sparkly at night. This year was the first time Dominic noticed and complained that his Christmas stocking isn’t finished. I’ve cross-stitched or made all of those stockings except for his and Chris’s. I have Dominic’s stocking sitting out to work on it (and have since last Christmas, eek) but haven’t picked it up in a long time.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/8 | 1/8 | ISO 500 | tripod
I really appreciate everyone who commented on my last blog post, here or on Facebook. Even if you didn’t agree with me, you were respectful and understanding… which I expected… but I still very much appreciate it. I am still not ready to go back to Facebook, each time I peek on there I get an anxious feeling. So I’m going to stay over here in my isolated happy place. Thanks for looking and for being my friend. <3
