Selective Eaters...

"Oh look, a picture of peas! Oh you looked at it! You looked at it and you didn't throw up! High five. "

"Look at this bowl of peas. You don't have to eat them. Just look at them. Hm. They're green. And round. I bet they'd roll if you put them on the table. Good job! You touched them without vomiting! High five."

"Look at this bowl of peas. You don't have to eat them, just look. I wonder what they feel like. Hey you touched them! Good work. Can you squish them? Can you put those squished ones on your cheeks? Ooh, good work. Here's a kleenex and a glass of water. Can you kiss those peas? You can wipe them off if you're feeling sick. You kissed the peas! High give."

And people wonder why speech pathologists are a little quirky. You would be to if the above conversation was a part of your daily life, as it is for the guest lecturer we had yesterday. :)

There's a month left in clinic, and as much as I've enjoyed it, I'm ready to be done. I'm at the point of tired now where I fall asleep on the LRT, I spill slurpees on my laptop (luckily Dexter is Ok), and I break glasses (fortunately I was holding it in a tea towel, so I didn't cut myself). Luckily this weekend is going to be very relaxing. We're definitely going out to the cabin (Robert, Aaron, Megs and myself) to be lazy and play games for most of the weekend. On Monday we're going to go to the Stampede finals, which should be very fun. Chris might meet us there, which would also be cool. I like it when my worlds collide a bit, and friends meet family meet boyfriends, etc. :)

I'm doing my solo adult session today, which means that I'm the only person in the room with my client. I'm feeling pretty good about what I've got planned, if a teensy bit nervous because I'm trying a trivia activity that we've never done before. However, if it doesn't go well, we can always just do some more oral-motor exercises instead. Back up plans are very comforting. :)

That's all that's new, friends.

Love,
Ela

Super Secret Sacks!

This week we're working on the /s/ sound, and so today we're having super secret sacks! These are paper bags filled with paper, and a small /s/ object (e.g., sock, sun, etc.). I was hoping to use shredded paper from the office, but they actually ship their shredding out. So I got creative, and stuffed the bags with toilet paper. :) Our client gets to dig through, find the object, name it, and place it in its spot on a sheet of paper. Some of the objects are extra fun. There's a sucker, a soother (the sour candy kind!), and a sour coke bottle candy. Once she's found all of the objects, and put them in their places, she gets to tell me "silly sentences," and I'll act them out. For example, "put Sam in the sock!" I think it's going to be fun.

I can't quite believe that it's Monday morning already. Friday afternoon, I went to Megs' for dinner, and on the bus there I commented that it felt like the weekend was already going by too quickly. Boy was I ever right. Megs' and I ate dinner (curry - so good!), baked brownies, and watched the rest of Firefly. Then on Saturday, Robert and I went out to his grandparents' cabin at the lake to help them get it ready for the summer. Robert was fixing a bunch of the plumbing, so I mopped up after him. :) Sadly, the plumbing wasn't totally finished by the time we left. We met up with Robert's good friend Aaron (who knows my good friend Elly, weird...), and spent the evening playing random word games and laughing hysterically. :) Sunday morning I taught Jr. Church, then Robert, Megs and I went out for lunch together. The waiter at Julio's was very concerned about Robert's choice of "nuclear" salsa... After lunch, Robert and I headed back out to the cabin, where he finished up the plumbing, and I cleaned the bejeebus out of the bathroom. We also got to spend some time visiting with his grandparents, whom I already love. :) We stopped in at my folks' place on our way back to the city, and he got to meet my grandparents. Highlight of the evening? My grandpa informing Robert that I am very precious to him. :)

And then the weekend was over! I can't believe how quickly it went by, and I also can't believe how ready I am for another. Like right now. Fortunately it's the long weekend this time around, and we've got a lazy one planned. Robert, Megs, possibly Aaron and I are all going out to the cabin, and then to the Ponoka Stampede finals. I think it's going to be a little bit more relaxed than this weekend was!! :D

Ooh, funny story. So, we all know that Shakespeare looooooooves Robert. (Apparently, he even likes him more than I do!). Well, Shakespeare has taken to trying to seduce Robert. The other evening, Robert and I were sitting on the living room floor playing crib. Shakes tried to get Robert's attention, but he was in the middle of playing a hand, so he ignored the cat. Shakes then sat down just out of reach. When Robert reached back to pet him finally, Shakes slid just a little further away. He pointedly looked off into the distance, then glance sultrily over his shoulder at Robert, and THEN he stretched out all luxuriously and sensuously. I think it's a good thing Shakes is going back to Al tomorrow... otherwise I think I'd have to fear for my life. After all, I wouldn't put it past a black cat to kill for love. :P

Ela

More Singing!

My friends are all feeling a titch irritated right now. It seems that somehow, someone got the song "I was made for lovin' you" stuck in their heads. WHO would do a thing like that? WHO would hear a random comment made in the grad lab about lovin' a certain activity, and suddenly belt out:

I was made for lovin' you baby/you were made for lovin' me.

WHO?

Me. Of course. Who else? I think that, in general, there should be more singing. And lately I've been in this wonderful, fantastic mood that leads to much singing. Also happy dancing. And my happy dancing is a sight to behold. Imagine a penguin... bold in her tuxedo, flippered and slightly awkward.
Now imagine that this penguin has some severe hemorrhoids, and an ingrown toenail. But she is joyful! Nevertheless, she is happy and she wishes to DANCE. That's me. Happy dancing! Fantastic. I imagine that the producers of "Canada's Got Talent" will beating my door down any day. I will be the next William Hung!

Anyhoo, that's all that's new. Have happy day!

Cheers,
Elizabeth

Stu, Stanley and Stella

Hey all!

We're working on s-blends with our pediatric client at the moment. Today, two giraffes (Stanley and Stella) have been stolen, and their friend Stu wants our client to help him find them. It's going to be very fun. :)

As you may have guessed, life continues to be ridiculously busy. Clinic is sort of a steady stream of things to do: sessions to plan, reports to write, materials to make. Now we've switched from our assessment class to our dysphagia (delays or deviances in swallowing) class, and it's shaping up to be to hectic, but wonderful. Nothing like starting out your morning with a little purulent sputum. :P We're about halfway through the spring session at this point, and I'm so ready for a holiday. I've gotten to that point where I can fall asleep anywhere, any time. Being in the car is almost impossible for me. Yesterday we drove from Knox to Eaton's City Centre, and I was asleep!

Robert had the unadulterated pleasure of getting to meet my family yesterday. Highlights include:
- my dad telling us about the time when he and his brother were kids, and sawed off the end of a shotgun. They then couldn't decide who would have to shoot it first, in case it blew up. They ultimately tied it to a tree, and pulled the trigger with a string. Don't we all long to date people with fathers who make SAWED OFF SHOTGUNS and fire them with PIECES OF STRING?
- my mother telling Robert that he should probably run now.
- my sister telling him that she and Brandon had basically decided to get married when they'd been dating as long as we have, and that we should really either get a ring or end it
- my mother welcoming Robert into the family after he demonstrated knowledge of a cunning plan involving a turnip.

All in all, it was actually a pretty good time, and I don't think that anyone was too disturbed by anyone else. This is good, right? :) Oh wait... everyone was disturbed when I mentioned our 'lunaversary....' I mean, we haven't been dating for a year, so it can't be an anniversary! But we have been dating for a month, so it's logical. Logical, I say!

Not too much else is new. I've started my new RA-ship, digitizing video clips into .wav files, and it's kind of fun. All the kids in the videos are from the south, and therefore have the cutest accents ever. I love hearing them say 'pie.'

Well, it's time for me to wrap this up, and go make sure Stu, Stanley and Stella are all wearing their nametags. It's a big day for them...

Love,
Ela

You know Elizabeth's tired when...

Yesterday I was hanging out with Robert (no, that's not really his name), and I was noticing that Shakespeare (my ex-kitty that I'm cat-sitting while while Al is on vacation) prefers to be with Robert than with me. That's right - my darling cat likes my boyfriend, whom he's only just met, better than he likes me, the woman who fills the food bowl and scoops out the kitty litter.

I stifled a yawn, turned to Robert and said"Hmmm, Shakespeare likes you better than I do.

There was a long silence, nigh unto a pregnant pause, then Robert replied "Maybe I should just go home now."


I sure hope that it wasn't a Freudian slip, or that Shakes REALLY likes Robert!!

Elizabeth

Muddled

Time makes no sense anymore. I look at my blog, it's been 10 days since I've posted, it feels like forever, and yet this semester isn't even half over. I'm confused! I'm also somewhat ready for a holiday, and a period of time full of sleeping in. :)

The whole clinic experience is very experiential. It is, in two words, gloriously tolerable. The glorious bits are those moments when your adult client spontaneously says 'hi' to another student clinician in the hallway - something he couldn't do when you first met him. It's glorious when your child client's mum tells you that she asks to come to speech every day. It's glorious when some task you're doing just isn't working, and you throw caution to the wind, try something random and new, and it works. There are many, many glorious moments. There are also a lot of tolerable moments: the long days, the course work, the $70 textbook that's the size of a magazine, the tasks that don't work, the sounds that I don't how to elicit... all tolerable.

I'm learning a ridiculous amount this summer. And it's not just about therapy for aphasia and phonological disorders. I'm learning how to work in a team (something I typically avoid like the plague), how to transfer theoretical goals into practical therapy, and how to counsel. The counselling portion of the course has been amazing. I'm boggled at the simple and practical techniques we can all use in all areas of our lives to improve our relationships. Have a friend that's constantly down in the dumps over everything? Everything is negative in a pervasive, permanent, personal way? "I'm never going to make any friends?" a comment you hear from them? Try reframing: "It's really tough for you to make friends at your new university right now, isn't it?" Without denying what they're saying, you're setting them up to be able to move forward, to feel empowered to make a change.

Anyhoo, it's time to go and brush my teeth and head to the dentist's. I finally caved and found one here in the city... I guess I'm really an Edmontonian now!!

Loves you,
Ela.

Shakespearean Hokey Pokey

O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke.
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release from heaven's yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the poke -- banish now thy doubt.
Verily, I say, 'tis what it's all about


I thought you all might like that. :) It's been another busy week, and one where I managed to get the essential stuff done, but failed to do anything beyond that. It's kind of a problem.... I suspect there might be a couple late nights trying to get caught back up!

But I had a woooooooonderful weekend, even though it's hotter than heck here in the city, and I don't handle the heat so well. :) Friday I found out that I've got the go-ahead from the department to start pursuing an international practicum placement, which is very exciting. Even if it doesn't happen, I still get to do a little planning and a little dreaming - both things that I love. Then Friday night a friend and I went for slurpees (or slurshees, as Jake and I call them) and for a walk in the river valley. It was so beautiful out. I adore living downtown, and being close enough to the valley to walk in it whenever I want.

A friend and I went out to Pigeon Lake on Saturday afternoon, and I had the almost pure, only slightly adulterated pleasure of laying in the sand and reading a good book. Sadly, the skeeters were out in full force, and I do be covered in bites! :P But it was wonderful nevertheless to bask in the sun and read. We ate dinner at a cute little cafe out there, and they had the best Greek salad ever. It was fabulous!

Today I met up with Chris and some friends of Chris to go to the Sunday afternoon symphony of Gershwin and Bartok. I was so tired that I was headbobbing, but the music was wonderful. Bits of the Bartok had me wanting to jump up and start dancing in the aisles, tired or not!!

And now it's Sunday evening, the most melancholy time of the week, and I've just had a cool bath, and am going to sit on the balcony with my book and some freezies and bask a little more.
Later days,
Ela

Because I have nothing to write...

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