Fall Festivities

Hiking Harrison Trail

I can hardly believe we've been here almost a month already! Our days seem to fly by, but there are always moments where we think that getting to ND in December seems like an eternity away. Andy is watching the Twins/Yankees game, so it looks like it'll be a Kara blog tonight. :)

The past week and a half have been good at work. I am really starting to get the hang of things: documentation, what's due on which day, where things are at, etc. Almost all of the patients I see are in sub-acute so they stay for quite a while or are in the nursing home. Sub-acute is like swing bed where you stay for a while to received skilled services, which is usually lots of therapy. Most people we get have hip or ankle fractures, strokes, following breaks, surgeries, ICU stays, etc. My favorite part about it is that I get to know the patients I work with a lot better than in an acute care setting. I get to know about their past and present, their families, hobbies, etc. Not everyone likes to go to therapy everyday (as I'm sure you can imagine), so I really like coming up with different ways to motivate people or turn their interests into exercises or activities.

If you don't want to know what OTs do for a living, you may want to skip this paragraph--it may get long. Occupational therapists don't help people find jobs, which some people think. We work on a person's Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Pretty much everything you do during your day (aka occupations) that keeps you going. So that could be showering/dressing, working, bowling league, volunteering, feeding your cat, going to school, cleaning/cooking/laundry, playing, buying groceries, etc. So I get to work on a ton of things that you will do every day that you are having difficulties with. We also work on improving upper body strength/endurance, and decreasing upper body pain, as you need this to complete those ADLs. While we do all of these things, we are assessing how you sequence, problem solve, your vision, coordination, balance, endurance, etc. Some days I do things very similar with a lot of patients, while other days everyone is completely different. I love OT because it can be so many different things. Sorry for boring you to death there. :)

Ok, enough about that. So last week, Andy ended up getting a job at a software development and consulting firm in town called MetaXpert. They mostly develop apps (applications) for smart phones (Iphone, Android, Blackberry) and other devices. He is doing inside sales for them and is really learning a lot. His sales area is the East coast. One fantastic part is that they will allow him to work from any location, so he will be able to continue working for them as we travel from place to place. He may pursue another opportunity or two along the way, so we're excited to see what's coming up in his future.

I've been starting to apply for my Arizona license, and we are thinking about either looking for jobs in AZ or Texas for the winter. Everyone should attempt being a snowbird at least once right? :) Jobs will be easy to find at this time as snowbirds need therapists! I've heard that applying for an AZ license is a bit laborous, so it could get interesting.

We've been trying to spend time after work outside, but it's getting difficult since our days keep disappearing faster and faster. Last Saturday we drove north of Sandpoint a ways and hiked Harrison Trail which led to Harrison Lake at the top of the mountain. It was crystal clear and gorgeous all around! After we got to the Lake, Andy decided to keep climbing, getting to the complete top in about a half hour. I had no idea where he was until he yelled my name and I saw a little red dot at the top of this bluff....crazy guy! We didn't go to the orchard we were planning on for Sunday, but are hoping to do it this weekend.

Harrison Lake, at the End of the trail

Love the Water

Harrison Lake from above, courtesy of Andy :)

Andy's parents are coming to visit next weekend, so we are SUPER excited. We really miss our family and friends, and especially miss just seeing people we know. We're hoping for good weather, but will have a great time either way.

Haha, I have to add this, because we are arguing about it at the moment. This morning we went into town early so I could get to work by 7, and we saw a few bucks and does (which we see a lot of), as well as a WOLF!! (Andy swears it was a fox: it had a bushy tail, and I swear it was a wolf: it didn't have long pointy ears, was bigger, and was grayish.) So we might agree on a coyote or just agree to disagree. :-p We have also made friends with a family of turkeys that always seem to be walking along the road in the mornings. Sometimes I roll down my window and give them a little gobble gobble. I think they like us.

Hope you all have a great rest of the week! Happy October!!!!

Andy went to the top of that dark colored bluff toward the top/middle of the picture.

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