I have 3 weeks off with literally NOTHING to do. AMAZING!

So far I have had a wonderful break.

My break started off with a holiday (ugly sweater) party with my classmates. We all needed this!

DPT Class of 2014 and others

The next day, a few of us jetted (drove) to Vegas. This was my first time to Vegas, so I was extremely excited and kind of nervous. I survived and I am still recovering, but it was so worth it.

Me, Jenny, Jenna and Lauren drinking our alcohol slushies in the Venetian

Outside the Palazzo

At Bank in the Bellagio

Now for my goals over the next 3 weeks of mental relaxation:

1.) Catch up on my TV shows. Such as Dexter, Real Housewives of BH and House. (oh wait, I already did this)

2.) Read non-school related books. The Hunger Games and Stiff

3.) Get back in shape. So far I have done yoga twice and I am already so sore that I don't know if I can keep this up, but I will because come January 4th, exercise will be much harder to come by.

and most important...

4.) See lots of friends. Hit me up people. I am available, it is you who has the busy schedule.

One Down Eight to Go

So I didn't fail out of school, Yay! Actually I did relatively well.  But these past few months have definitely been pack full of stress, excitement, blood, sweat, and tears. Well, no tears, but they were emotional draining and I felt like I wanted to cry maybe once or twice. Plus, now I am out of shape (don't remember the last time I worked out), my back and neck hurts, I have increased the adipose in my camper's fascia (my stomach got fatter). I thought I was suppose to be healthy going into this profession?


But even with all those negative things, I have loved almost every minute of it. I can honestly say these past two weeks have been hell and I don't wish them on even my worst enemies. I have enjoyed getting to know my new friends that I spend a good 40 to 50 hours with a week. Luckily I like my classmates and hopefully I get to know and hang out with everyone even more coming up these next 2.75 years! Also, even though I bitch and moan, I love the information. I have become such a dork (probably a few of you may say, I have become dorkier), but I find the human body fascinating and I can't wait to learn more. 


There are a few things that I would like to work on for next trimester.


1.) Work out more
My body craves working out (exercise releases endorphins and endorphins make you happy), plus it helps me sleep better and counteract all the sitting that is required when I study.


2.) Regular sleep schedule with extra hours of sleep every night
I know that being sharp is important and that comes with more sleep. I just have to force myself to do it and See #1 above, will help me complete this goal 


3.) See old friends that live close by
I live so close to my sister and some of my best friends and I have only seen them 2 or 3 times since August. That is unexceptable. I need to take the time to see them, which would probably be helpful to my mental health and concentration.

Hanging out with old friends up in LA

My Sister and I

4.) Don't procrastinate
Although my procrastination was not nearly as bad as it could have been, I could have spent more time studying and less on Facebook. 


Tangent: Facebook is the devil. It is the ultimate procrastination tool for a student. I say I am only going to check fb for like 5 minutes and I end up going on there for like an hour...Bad!

My biggest procrastination tool

Here is to the next trimester! 

Maybe I should come home to Seattle more often

My first trip back to Seatown since mid August will forever be memorable. Although I fully planned on studying every single day that didn’t quite happen…

Saturday Christopher and I went to our good friends Shawn and Ana’s wedding. It was beautiful. Good food, dancing, and everyone got a little slithered. The bride threw the bouquet directly at me for some reason.

The Isle at Shawn and Ana's wedding

First kiss as a married couple 

I caught the bouquet, look at how happy Chris is. 

Some one has to get a pie in the face at every wedding. Sorry Mike, it was you instead of James this time. 

The guys having a good time

In the morning Christopher requested that I enter in an address to my GPS. Low and behold we ended up at Boeing field where he had chartered a helicopter flight over Seattle!!!!!

It was amazing; we saw Lake Washington, UW, Green Lake, the Space Needle and the glorious Seattle skyline all from 1000 feet in the air.

Chris and I on our impromptu helicopter ride 

Beautiful Seattle

Upon landing I was told to pack a swimsuit, a nice evening gown, and my passport  for our next adventure. I was intrigued to say the least.

I packed a few more items like my toothbrush and contacts and we were off for Canada I supposed.

As we approached the boarder, my anticipation was growing.

After checking in to our hotel, we dined at a fabulous German restaurant. The food was absolutely exquisite; schnitzel, mushroom caps, escargot, spatzel and good German beer.

We were upgraded to a suite! 

How handsome?

Enjoying our beer

Our delicious dinner 

After dinner we soaked in hot springs. It was a lovely evening.

Right before heading down to the hot springs for a dip

The next morning I was surprised with snow on the ground (a big difference from the warm So Cal weather) and most importantly, a massage. Actually a couples massage with my romantic man right beside me.  It was so relaxing.

Later in the day we enjoyed afternoon tea, an English/Canadian tradition. Christopher only had one cookie, so I knew something was up.

We took a walk in the snow and found a dock with a picturesque view of Lake Harrision and the surrounding mountains. He got down on one knee and proposed. I was so happy yet puzzled because he used the ring he had already given me. (THE DECOY RING)

The location of the proposal

Several hours later, discussing our life together over a couple of martinis, he pulled out the (ROCK).  I was speechless. The ring is STUNNING! 

Christopher wore a handsome grey suit and I slipped on a sexy black dress and we dined in a fancy restaurant named the Copper Room. We drank champagne, ate a three-course dinner and danced to a live band. What a weekend!!!!

Maybe I SHOULD come home more often ;)

Lack of Motivation

One month left of the 1st trimester of grad school and my motivation to study is slowly declining. It doesn't help that I have been fighting an illness for the past week (I will NOT get sick), my brain is too active to sleep and since I am tired and don't feel well, I can't work out. I literally dream about anatomy and physiology. How boring!

The stack of index cards of muscle that I have to know intimately (the pile recently got bigger too)

After our Anatomy Lab Midterm, one of my classmates, Jen, made delicious femur and skull cookies. At least I get some rewards for all my hard work!

Last week I did get a special treat! A few friends from out of town flew into LA to celebrate our friend Em's birthday. 

Sarah (out of town guest), Em (the birthday girl), me, Jeslyn and Gia(out of town guest) at a bar in Eagle Rock

I had an amazing time. We started the night at a sushi place in Downtown LA (I believe it was Zencu Sushi and Grill in Little Tokyo) that was amazing. I was sufficiently full and slightly drunk for $25. Plus it was awesome to hang out with old friends! We partied at a bar in Eagle Rock and then ended the night at a taco truck right down the street from the bar. It was the perfect night.

Since then I studied for an anatomy quiz, I am currently studying for a general medicine quiz (which is in two days) and excited to return to rainy Seattle for Thanksgiving.  I lead such an exciting life right now. Seriously, that is all I have done. So sad.

Here is something interesting that I learned.

Hamstring Stretching

Below are two ways you can get a good hamstring stretch. One way also stretches your nerve:
1.) When lying on your back (supine) to stretch your hamstring, if your leg is straight and you pull your toes towards your nose (into dorsiflexion) while in your stretch you are also stretching your nerve (tibial nerve to be exact). This is perfectly okay, but you will not get as deep of a hamstring stretch if that is your goal.

Hamstring and nerve stretch

Here is an example of just a hamstring stretch. If you are not as flexible, you can wrap a towel or a belt around your ankle or calf and it is perfectly okay to bend your knee. You will still get a good hamstring stretch.

Just a hamstring stretch

Next time you are stretching your hamstrings, you can pull your leg closer to your body if you keep your foot relaxed or even pointed. This is a great way to impress people with your flexibility. This also applies if you are sitting up with your legs straight out in front of you. But remember to always warm up first.

A Much Need Break...

Before my mental breakdown from studying on Monday. Which also happened to be Halloween. After an Anatomy test last Monday, a Lab midterm on Friday and a Physiology midterm on Monday (which means I have been studying nonstop since last summer), I felt that I deserved the night off from using my brain. So I dressed up as a beer maid and drank some bier (which is German for beer) with some of my fellow classmates.

Some of the ladies in the DPT class of 2014

Charmin Bear

Beetle Juice!

Poor homeless man

Some of the fellows in the DPT class of 2014

Max the Sheriff Dog

Tuesday morning was a little rough, but Halloween was very fun and definitely worth it.

I know I have complained about how much studying I have been doing and how it has taken over my life and that I feel like my brain hurts, BUT...I really do like the information. And I have been finding fun ways to learn it. I feel that arts and crafts are a great way to really understand something and truly learn it:

Lumbar and Sacral Plexus

The ever daunting brachial plexus

Peripheral nerve innerations

Intrinsic hand muscles

Intrinsic hand muscles as art

Right smack in the middle of completing my pre-reqs for this program, my knee hurt every time that I ran. Wouldn't you know it...I went to see a Physical Terrorist Therapist for the first time EVER. His diagnosis was that I had a weak gluteus medius (which is a muscle that is weak on almost everybody in the world - slight exaggeration). My PT showed me some exercises to strengthen my weak muscles, but I didn't really know why having a weak butt muscle would make my knee hurt when I ran. Well, now I know why. Exciting huh?

Do you want to know? Well sure, I'll tell you.

Your Gluteus Medius abducts your thigh at your hip joint, which means that when your legs are together, this muscle allows you to lift your thigh away from your body sideways

Thigh Abduction

Now, when you are running or walking, the action of this muscle is a little different. Instead of abducting (you learned a new word!) your thigh, you are stabilizing or drawing your opposite hip up when you are standing on one leg (which is typical of running or walking).

a weak glut med will cause this action:

A) is a normal or strong Gluteus Medius B) Shows a weak muscle that can not stabilize your hip

Thus another muscle will compensate to keep you from falling over, such as one of your quads. This is not their primary job and when muscles have to work overtime, they punish you by causing you pain. Just kidding.  But since this is not the quads normal job, it will become tight and pull on your patella and cause knee pain. Who knew the body was so complicated?

Well there you have it. Fascinating huh? 

I hope you had a fabulous halloween!

Half Way Through (the first trimester)

I just finished week 7 and I am sliding right on into week 8 of my first trimester of graduate school. My motivation is slowly dwindling as my sleepless nights role on. My brain is working overtime and I am scared I am going to see smoke coming out of ears soon.

The gross anatomy of the body is starting to make more sense (damn it is complicated), but I am starting to forget simple things like how to spell "except"(I spell checked it first) or even my name (so if I call you the wrong name, don't take offense to it, I can't even remember my own name). I guess our brain can only fit so much information into them. I just hope that I can fit the rest of the muscles that I have to know for my quiz on Monday into it.

Our fridge stocked with caffeine diet coke

A second box of diet coke  - don't worry, I am splitting these with my roommate

My diet consists of caffeine and chocolate and I am getting caffeine headaches at night (is that a bad sign?). My professors told us that if we didn't have a caffeine addiction before (which I did), we will definitely be addicted to caffeine by the time we are through with this program. I'm just scared that all the pop and coffee is going to stain my teeth. What do you think? Do my teeth look any different?

Just kidding...Those aren't my teeth. I floss every night!

Well with my new (diet) coke problem, back to studying OINFs (Origins, Insertions, Nerves and Function)! I am thinking that in subsequent posts I may try to write about my new knowledge. So if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. I am not good with the foot and I can't tell you had to fix it, but I MAYBE (and that is a big MAYBE) able to tell you what the problem is!

Phew...First Week of Hell Over!

This is week 6 of the rest of my life. And for some reason I am not tired and I only sleep about 5 hours a night (maybe less). I am waiting for that to change. For me to be drooling and snoring loudly in class. But till then, coffee and diet coke will be a staple in my diet.

These past two weeks have really tested my sanity. Let's see. I had...

1. Anatomy Quiz (these are no ordinary quizzes, these are mini tests from hell)
2. Lab Quiz (see italics above)
3. Biomechanics Online Quiz
4. Physiology Midterm (which I rocked!)
5. Developmental Anatomy quiz (at least this one wasn't too bad)
6. Anatomy Midterm (which was just hell)

Lauren and I sad because of our boredom studying

But I survived and I only have about 6 or 7 weeks till my brain gets a break. I did take a mini study break on Monday after my Anatomy Midterm. It was the first day I did not study 1 second since I started school. I think that I deserved a night off.

At Alcatraz Brewery after our Anatomy Exam

This is what happens when I need a study break

Although I did study tonight, I finally made it to Taco Tuesday. Which is awesome! So Cal has an abundance of restaurants with great deals on Mexican food. And many of these places have Taco Tuesday (which is fun because Tuesday and Taco both start with T, I think I might have to start a Margarita Monday). I had dinner and dessert for $5. 

Jalapenos Orange, CA - Delish and Cheap