Pictures as promised....

View from the top of the CN Tower
Fearless....Grandpa and Jake on the glass floor!

All smiles on the trolley



At the Old Mill for lunch

The navigators...

Casa Loma

JQ Update!

This one is for you Steven.... here goes my super speed update of the past 2 and a bit months.

In September...
Dan and I moved into our new apartment. We are really enjoying living above ground (sounds strange?!?!?) and love our new neighborhood. Everything is at our fingertips as the intersection for the major subway lines is less than a 3 minute walk from our place. So far no rodents, crazy bugs, floods, break-ins etc. So things are looking up!

I started my final year of school and it is so hard to believe that in less than a year I will be a practicing SLP. This semester has been a tough one so far. Lots of exams and group assignments! I learned that I will be receiving an award in November for the best overall performance in my Child Language courses and internship. I was very proud and honored to find out that I will be receiving this award in particular because it is the area that I am eventually interested in practicing in.

I found out that my next placement for January and February will be at West Park Healthcare Centre in the AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) Clinic. I was originally disappointed as I had really hoped to get a placement in Sudbury which had additional learning experiences in the areas of interprofessional practice and Aboriginal healthcare, but think that the placement I received will be a great learning experience. I will be working mostly with clients who are entirely non-verbal for a variety of reasons and who need alternative means to communicate with others. It will be my third placement in a highly specialized area, so I am hoping that my final placement will be a more "generalist" experience.

We also had a lovely weekend visit with Dan's mom on her route to New Brunswick to visit her family. We enjoyed visiting with her and exploring Nuit Blanche in the evening.

My cousin Rodney also visited Toronto and was kind enough to deliver a package of things I forgot at home during the summer. I enjoyed a lovely dinner with him and his friends at Wayne Gretzky's restaurant.

In October...

I endured 6 weeks of exam....lets not go there!

AND THEN...
Grandma and Grandpa Dietrich came to visit me for a weekend and we had a lovely time seeing each other and enjoying some sightseeing. We rode the sightseeing tour bus and made stop-offs at the Hockey Hall of Fame, CN Tower, and Casa Loma. It was really nice to take in some of the sights that I wouldn't have necessarily went to on my own. I really had fun showing them around my environment and just enjoying their company. ( I will add pictures later)

In November...

not too much to report so far.... lots and lots of group projects and presentations!

I have been working feverishly on my research project that I am completing in my "spare time" with a professor in the SLP Department Alice Eriks-Brophy. The title of the project is Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution? Issues of Potential Bias in Communication Assessments of Aboriginal Children Residing in Remote Communities. What a mouthful.... It is a really interesting project. Definitely the best I have ever worked on before. Currently, we are working on a paper that will be submitted for publishing in a textbook on Crosscultural assessment. If all goes well, I am proud to say that it will be my second published work. So exciting! We are also going to present the findings in a work group session in March.

Mourning the loss of free cable...

While I am not much of a TV enthusiast, I must say that there is nothing more soothing after an impossible exam or mind-numbing day of lectures than sitting back and watching a little TV. It is mindless entertainment and sometimes that is just what I need. While Dan and I easily survived an entire year with a mere six channels we were recently re-introduced to the wonders of cable (and the preview channel...oh how I love the preview channel) when we moved into our new apartment. When the previous tenants moved out, Rogers conveniently did not disconnect the cable for a whole 2 months and a bit...so Dan and I have been enjoying the "large" selection of channels for quite some time now. We knew that it would have to end sometime, but I secretly hoped that the mistake would never be caught. Unfortunately I came home exhausted yesterday evening, much in need of a quick study break in front of the TV and was thoroughly disappointed when I turned on the TV and saw a blue screen....now we are back to 6 fuzzy channels and NO preview channel. I am sad...but like Dan said, "we have better things to spend our time doing than watching TV." Still I can't help but wonder what will happen on that next episode. At least I will still be able to watch my staple show, Grey's anatomy!

Summer Fun!

Well....what can I say I kind of fell off the blogging train for a while there, but can you blame me? I have been enjoying a wonderful summer filled with family, friends, and fun! So to hit the highlights of the past two months (in a blog that will not ramble on forever or make my fingers tired from typing) may be difficult....but I will try my best!

First of all, in June I completed my second placement at ISTAR which was an absolutely wonderful experience. I learned SO much and actually felt like a "real" SLP for the first time. That was pretty exciting. It made me think that fluency is an area that I could really picture myself working in.

During my time in Edmonton, I headed home to Lethbridge for a quick one day trip to attend the Dietrich family reunion...which was fun as always and full of drama! That one will not soon be forgotten by the Dietrich clan....did someone say "ponytail"?

Then at the beginning of July I headed home to Lethbridge for the rest of the summer. Only a few days after being home Mom, Nicole and I headed off for a road trip to Vegas to celebrate Nicole's 21st Birthday. We had a really fun trip together and I enjoyed the HOT weather and some relaxation by the pool.

After a week in Vegas, we headed home and I had a full two weeks of visiting and get-togethers which I loved. Although it seemed like a long time to be home, the time just flew by. It was great to visit with and catch up with friends and family. I especially enjoyed my time visiting with Emily, after we hadn't see each other for a whole year. We got together for a bachelorette and bridal shower for Lyndsay (as her wedding is coming up in September) which was a fun time for all!

In other exciting news, my family adopted a dog who we named Maxwell (Max for short) from the animal shelter. He is such a cutie and SO smart! He fit right in with our family and I really loved being there to welcome him home.

After a whirlwind of visits, I headed home to TO on Monday the 20th and started packing to move to our new place the day after that. Only 8 more days until we move and I cannot wait to be out of our current place.

So, that is the quick version of the past two summer months....I hope yours are going as well as mine!

My first team sports medal

This weekend I had such an amazing time at the Dragonboating Festival with my team, The Buccinators. We had our ups and downs, but it turned out to be SPECTACULAR! On Saturday, we placed 4th in our first race. We were pretty proud considering we were a boat of 20 first time rowers with only 4 full practices under our belt. We started out in dead last and made a comeback part way through the race to beat two teams. Our second race, was not our shining moment! We sort of fell apart and came in last. That was a crappy finish to the day...but we came back the next morning pumped to redeem ourselves...and that we did! In our morning race we missed 3rd place by less than 1 second against University teams (some of which were co-ed) and in the afternoon our hard work payed off when we won second place in the women's cup! We were SOOOOOO excited. I got my first team sports medal and it meant alot to me. I still cannot stop thinking about the race. We were neck in neck and our coach yelled, "If you want it, you can have it" and we all rowed as hard as we could. It was such a great feeling! Our victory lap passed all of supporters was so fun. It made me miss my family and friends from home. I wish you could have been there! Enjoy the pics! I will have to show you the videos when I come home!

As Promised...Pic's of the Buccinators!

Hiding from the SUN....

Well, I know that I have been a terrible blog author lately (judging by the requests for an update) BUT in my defense it has been just wonderful outside and who really wants to sit on a computer when they could be enjoying the outdoors? NOT ME! But...lucky for my faithful blog readers (and not so lucky for me) I got a terrible sunburn yesterday afternoon which has sent me indoors to hide from the blazing sun. Now although many people don't mind a sunburn because "it turns into a tan", I am not proud of my irresponsible sun exposure (I have to add that I was wearing SPF 30....but I forgot to re-apply). And anyone who has ever had the displeasure of my company when I have a bad sunburn knows that it is not a pretty sight...I just cannot stand the feeling. It makes me grumpy in a way that nothing else can! I don't know if this picture will accurately portray the redness of my face...but you can get the idea.

So, now I am housebound and it is probably a good thing since I have housework and schoolwork to do...and of course a blog to write.

I can't really think of what is new with me....being here is becoming routine so it seems boring to blog about my everyday events. I will have to take my camera with me more so that I can post pictures and write about them.

Right now I am half way through the summer semester. After this, I will be heading to Edmonton for my second placement at ISTAR (which I blogged about earlier). I am really excited for this placement and of course to go home for a visit. I have also been busy with our dragonboating team, "The Buccinators" (pictures coming soon). We were pretty terrible the first practice, but have dramatically improved in the past few weeks. Our race is on June 16-17 at Toronto/Centre Island here. The next few weekends will be busy with events like the bodybuilding competition that Dan is competing in (see picture below!) and the Gay Pride Parade (which I am so excited to attend and show my support!)

Other than that, I have just been enjoying the outdoors. There is a lovely little park that we discovered tucked away about two blocks from our house. It is wonderful to read a book at or have a picnic and I have been doing school work there alot as well.

That is all for now...

Back to the BOOKS!

Well, unfortunately I missed blogging for weeks 4-8 of my placement. It just flew by and now I am starting classes again tomorrow! I have two months of coursework and then I will be off to Edmonton for my second placement. I really can't believe how quickly this is flying by. I will really miss the kids at my placement sites, but it will be nice to get back into the classroom and see my classmates etc. As well, I will not miss the LONG commute everyday! It will be nice to be only a 20 minute walk from school.

Knowing that this weekend would be the last days that I will be able to relax for the next long while, I spent it watching documentaries and laying out in the sun at a nearby park. Although it didn't seem really hot here today I still managed to get a little sunburn and now I am regretting my choice to read in the sun! Oh yeah, I also spent a little time shopping...one of my favorite activities! I finally graduated to shopping at Eaton Centre. When I first moved here I couldn't shop there since it was so huge and intimidating to navigate. I have finally started to find my way around there now!

What else is new? I have really been reading up on "living green" practices and am trying to implement them one at a time. My new motto is, "If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem". After all, I really could stand to have my children asking me why I didn't do anything to help protect the environment sooner. I have been obsessed with following John Baird's new "green plan" My comment: what a load of crap! I noticed on the news that Albertan politicians are still opposing the watered-down plan. When will people wake up and realize that the economy will be nothing if there is no earth to live on. It is not even a question of which way to go...

Anyways, my recommends for documentaries are:
1. Who killed the electric car?
2. A crude awakening
3. An inconvenient truth

Also, I will be starting dragon boating tomorrow. We have our first practice after school, so that should be fun. I will post more on that later.

Well that was a random sampling of the parts of my life I have been meaning to blog about for the past little while. I hope you enjoyed it!

Long weekends make me a happier person !

Well...it is the last day of my long weekend and I have managed to get an enormous amount of work done and still have time for fun and relaxation. Honestly, if I had a long weekend every week or EVEN every other week I would be a happier person. Long weekends allow for the perfect mixture of accomplishment and laziness. I LOVE long weekends!

The past week was again a very busy one. I cannot believe it but my placement is half way over already. I have been spending alot of time researching, referencing and looking up information about clients, assessment tools, therapy strategies etc. etc. etc. and I am finally starting to feel like I am consolidating ALL of the theory (or at least some of it!) that has been thrown at me during lectures over the past months. One thing that I will definitely take away from this placement is the difference between theory (what we are taught in school) and reality (and all of the constraints imposed by reality). Quite a difference if you ask me.

Anyways, I hope that you all had a fantastic Easter. I know that I sure missed family dinners and get-togethers. BUT...I loved the Easter treats that I received from back home. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Although it didn't seem like much of an Easter here, I did still manage to color Easter eggs...which I always enjoy! Here are some pictures for you all to see....

Week 2 and 3: Just me and my roller bag!

Originally, I had intended to post on my blog after each week of my placement BUT the last two weeks were insane! I am now finally adjusting to the work schedule of my placement, commute and enormous amount of work each night. There were many nights last week where I woke up in the morning in my clothes from the previous day asking, "how did I get to bed last night?" It was that bad! This week and next are short weeks because of the Easter break, so I am looking forward to the extra work time then. To update you all on my last few weeks....

Before Mom and Nicole arrived, I finally entrusted my hair to a wonderfully sweet hairdresser at Tony and Guy Salon. I had been recommended to go to him by a random girl on the street (with a cute short haircut) and decided to finally take the plunge. Next door to Chanel, Louis Vitton and Prada I found his salon and was SO happy with the results that my mom even got her hair cut there. He was so sweet and great at what he does...but I still miss good old Doug who never let me down. I will always get my hair cut by him when I come home!

I had an excellent visit with my mom and Nicole. It was really nice to have them here for my birthday. We enjoyed the city, went skating,

went shopping, went to see broadway musical 'We will ROCK you!', went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade,

and just enjoyed each others company. As always, mom was such a MOM....spoiling me by cooking for me and doing my laundry. What a nice break! We spent the night of my birthday having dinner and cake at home. It was a fun time! Mom and Nicole even decorated my place for me.

The weekend after my birthday I had a joint birthday party with a classmate whose birthday was on the 25th of March. It was great because I hadn't seen my classmates in a while and alot of them were able to come. I had a few people over to my place before and then we went out to a club afterwards and OVER-indulged..oh well...it was so much fun! I haven't danced up a storm like that in a while.

Last bit of news that will finally make the title of this post seem sensical....I splurged with my birthday money and bought myself a lovely (and rather pricey) roller bag. I used to think that they were kind of geeky...but seriously when you a hoofing it 6 blocks morning and night carrying 3 binders, books, a lap top, games, and a lunch you need a roller bag. I must say that it may be one of the most useful things I have ever purchased. It puts a smile on my face as I wheel it down the street to the subway....

That is all for now! I promise to post after week 4! Until then.....

Week One= EXHAUSTION

Well, I have finished week one of eight....... and I am happy to have a week off to recoup!!! I definitely love the work, but it is exhausting being "on" all day. By "on", I mean mentally and physically going, taking in constant information, and being evaluated on an ongoing basis by my clinical educators (CE). The commute is also killer. Depending on the day I am leaving anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours before I start at 8:30. Definitely not used to that! I am glad to have this week to rest and prepare for the next 7 weeks.

My week is:
Monday- planning and report writing
Tuesday and Thursday- working at KELI (Kindergarten Early Language Intervention Program)
Wednesday and Friday- in the field (going from school to school over 5 elementary school, 1 junior high and 1 highschool)

I was amazed to find that the caseload of my field CE is anywhere from 70-100 children at a given time! That is crazy. Definitely a busy (but dynamic) line of work. It is nice that I have two CE's with very different work because I get two unique looks at the line of work.

Ridin' the Street Car....a.k.a. The GERM-MOBILE

Disclaimer: This is a really gross story! I am apologizing in advance for posting this...but I just needed to share!

I was just on my way home from my last final exam...feeling pretty relieved and excited to almost be done. I had a relaxing walk to the corner and then decided that rather than walk home I would take the street car. That way I would have more time to relax before I had to get to work on my last assignment. I got on to the streetcar, sat down and immediately realized that I had made a HUGE error in judgement. All I heard from about 2-3 seats behind me was what sounded like someone about to cough up a lung. It was the most grotesque sound I have ever heard (please forgive me if I am being rude...I really do feel badly for the person who was sick...but this was just gross). It started out as snorting phlegmy yuckiness into their throat, and then some noise that sounded like when people have choke chains on their dog and pull tight and the dog gasps for air (mean!) and then was just hacking like nothing I have ever heard. All the time I was thinking "ewwwwww". I contemplated getting off at the next stop and then I started noticing people sniffling, coughing, blowing their nose etc. all around me. It was like a symphony of sickness! I saw a women wipe her kids nose with her hand and then get up and hold on to the railing. Needless the say I am disgusted just writing this....but it gets worse. So I get close to my stop and get up to go and wait by the door and who comes walking up next to me. You guessed it...the "cougher"! I was thinking "don't breath in, don't breath in...." and then she snorted up a huge amount of snot and spit it right on the streetcar step. I just about barfed...seriously! It was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. Gross! I am traumatized right now! I came right home and washed my hands....twice.....surgical style!

Have a great (and healthy) day!

Soooooooo COLD!

It has been really cold here the past few days...colder than any weather I have ever experienced. Luckily, I purchased a "Montreal" jacket (long puffy down-filled jacket) just in time to brave the cold. Although it has been freezing lately, we haven't had much snow until Valentine's Day when we woke up and found that we were almost snowed in. Some people in the GTA were snowed in. It was crazy. I had the day off school and braved the snow to go to the mall (so, ME!)

A Tutorial for the Technology Challenged Members of my Family...

Hello Family!

I have noticed that a few of you have managed to figure out how to leave comments to my posts, but some of you have sent me emails saying that you were unable to leave a comment. So here is a simple tutorial to explain the process. It is really, really easy! Plus, I wanted to add that I love receiving your comments, emails, etc. to my blogs or just to tell me what you are up to.

Step ONE: Click on the word comment (located at the end of each post).

Step TWO: Type in the "leave a comment" box.

Step THREE: Under "choose an identity"- fill in the "anonymous" circle.

Step FOUR: Choose "publish"

I am looking forward to reading your comments!

A MUST SEE !

In the words used in the movie trailer, "If you love your planet. If you love your children. You must see this movie!" An Inconvenient Truth is an eye-opening look at the destruction we are currently doing to our planet which is resulting in devastating effects....a.k.a. global warming. One of the points made in this movie that I loved was the argument against the idea that we must make a choice between our economy and our environment....HELLO! It there is no environment (planet) we can live on there will be no use in having a great economy! I strongly recommend seeing this movie. The only bad part is that Canada is pretty much left out of the picture, but you can still get the idea of how it will affect us. Pass up the usual pick at Blockbuster this weekend and rent An Inconvenient Truth... you won't regret it (or maybe you will...it is pretty depressing.) Either way, it is an important film to see because ignorance isn't getting us anywhere. I hope it changes (even a little bit) the way you interact with the environment. For more information about what you can do go to http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/ There are very simple and practical tips that you can implement TODAY!

Look out Martha...

I have always been good at baking, but those of you who know me well can testify to the fact that I am not much of a cook. Usually I cook the same few meals over and over again. If I do attempt a new recipe, 9/10 times it is a flop! What can I say, I am just not that much of a domestic woman! However, after eating the same things for months on end, I resolved to spice up my diet and switched up the grocery list for out last trip to the Dominion. I was excited to try out some new recipes and was so ecstatic when one actually worked. I made "tasty lettuce wraps" from the rookie cookbook that my Grandma Q. gave me before I left. Mmmmmm.... were they ever good! I was so proud that I took a picture. It really doesn't do the meal justice, but I thought I should document the moment. Not to mention the fact that it was probably the first time Dan and I have sat down at the kitchen table to eat since we have moved here.

Skating at Nathan Phillips Square

Last week our class' wonderful sports coordinator Jordanna planned a skating trip to Nathan Phillips Square (an outdoor skating rink in downtown Toronto) for our Wednesday afternoon off. FYI we are all trying to fit more physical activity into our schedule this semester. Just ask our ABT (abs, but, and thighs) group! Between our figure skating lesson, stunt competition, and enjoying each others company we had a wonderful time! Dan and I have also been there skating at night, which is neat because the rink is all lit up. Not to mention, the plethora of yummy street meat vendors! Street meat dinner and skating- what more could a girl ask for! The not-so fun part was that on my way home I got lost for the first time in a while. I always use the CN tower as a landmark, but in the midst of all the tall buildings it was no where to be seen. Strangely I trusted my navigational instincts and found my way home.

My first placement....a truly multicultural experience!

I received my first placement yesterday and I must say I am very excited about it. I am sure it will be a truly challenging and learning-filled experience. I will be working at a school in the Toronto District School Board from March- the beginning of May. The school goes from pre-K to 5th grade and is one of the largest elementary schools in Canada. It will be a uniquely "Toronto" experience as the student population represents 47 different countries and 94% of the students do not have English as their first language. In the mornings I will be working with the KELI (Kindergarten Early Language Intervention) Program and in the afternoon I will be doing a field work position doing assessments, intervention, and teacher consultation for grades K-5. I can't wait!

Edmonton...here we come !

Good news everyone (in case you didn't already know) I was accepted to study for a clinical placement at the world-renowned Institute for Stuttering Research and Treatment in Edmonton this summer. I am really excited about this as it is a great opportunity and will be nice to be closer to home for a little over a month. Two of my classmates will be going too, which will be nice as I will find accommodations with one of them. My first real roommate situation...it should be fun! For more info about ISTAR check out their website at http://www.istar.ualberta.ca/html/home.html

Back at it!

Well...it was simply wonderful to be home for the holidays. I enjoyed seeing family and friends and a little bit of relaxation on the side. Oh yeah..and ALOT of good food! Although it was a little late, snow showed up for the holidays and we were able to enjoy some tobogganing at the Sugar Bowl! Here are a few holiday photos for your enjoyment...

Hailey the black-nosed reindeer

Dad and Nicole

Mom, Nicole, and I

I am also very excited for Danielle who moved to Vancouver over the holidays to start school. Good luck in the "big" city, I know you will do great!

Grandpa and his city slicker grandaughters

Unexpectedly, Dan ended up coming home...although not under the best circumstances. To all of the Romolliwas, you are in my thoughts during this difficult time (and always). I truly enjoyed spending time with you all. I can honestly say that I miss home more now than before !


The Romolliwa New Years

As a side note....I forgot how beautiful an unobstructed view of the horizon is. Luckily, I returned to Toronto with some of the comforts of home including a Scenic Alberta calendar to remind me of the scenery.

My travels were rather uneventful, despite my partial strip search on the way there. I was sure that I would finally learn a lesson when it comes to over-packing, but the fact that I could have had 10 more pounds in luggage just furthered my problem. How I left with 1 large suitcase and returned with 2 is beyond me (even despite the Chrsitmas presents).

It was also nice to return to TO, although cleaning our apartment (given Dan's sudden departure) invoked a few gags on my part! Let's just say that we had a few science experiments growing in the kitchen, but no critters...that is a good sign. My sealing of nooks and crannies was successful!

I had my first day of classes today and although it looks like an intense two months, I am looking forward to a semester that actually seems like a Speech-Pathology program rather than anatomy and physiology! It is hard to believe that in two short months, I will be training (working) as a real live SLP. It was good to see all of my classmates. It is crazy how we have all bonded, although I guess that is what spending everyday for 5 months together will do to a group!

P.S. You can now leave comments on my blogs without creating an account...so comment away!