The Innkeeper

While I wait for my apartment to become available (in 2 weeks), I will be staying at The Innkeeper hotel in Jacksonville, NC. The hotel is nice and the staff seems to be helpful. The nice thing is, there is free continental breakfast daily starting at 6 am, so I don't have to make breakfast! It should be a good place to be for 2 weeks while I wait for my actual apartment to open up.

Lily

Here is a gorgeous lily that is blooming in my mother's front yard. The plant is at least 4 feet tall! I think lilies are so beautiful!

Grandpa's Rose of Sharon

When I arrived home yesterday, I saw the most beautiful flowering bush in the yard. This is a plant that my grandfather gave my mother a few years ago after he had taken a piece off his main plant and rooted it for her. Prior to planting this little thing, there was a huge rainstorm with flooding in the yard that sent the plant for a swim. I had to wade out into the yard in foot deep water to search the plant out. I finally found it and we temporarily potted it again. Once the waters cleared and the ground was ready, we planted it near the neighbor's fence. Last year, the bush really did not do much, and we were afraid that it might die (as there was a big drought and there was little rain water). This year, however, the bush is flourishing and is gorgeous. I just thought I would share the beauty.

Good Vibrations

For my last night in Pawleys Island, I went to see the Carolina Opry's second show called Good Vibrations. This show has all of the same performers, but highlights on popular hits from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The songs ranged from the song "Aquarius" from Hair to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" to "Proud Mary" to "Freebird" and many, many more. The Beatles started the show, there were even appearances by Cheech and Chong (with Michael Phelps coming out of their smoke filled car), the Blues Brothers, and Kiss. It was an action packed show and a lot of fun. It is definitely worth the time if you enjoy music and are in the area!

As for me, I packed up my apartment, and moved out today. I am now back home in North Carolina, and will be moving to Jacksonville, NC on Sunday.

Day 2 of Kinesio Tape

Here are some pictures of my legs from the second day of the kinesio tape. During the course, we also taped our shoulders, elbows, wrists, backs, etc (but I had already removed most of that tape and I wasn't driving down the road like that), so we went through a lot of tape. I learned a lot of great techniques today, and I cannot wait to actually try them out in the clinic in another week! Thankfully, my new clinic already has kinesio tape, so I won't have to beg them to order it. Oh yeah, kinesio tape comes in 4 colors, beige, "red" (that looks pink), blue, and black. We worked with the pink and blue tapes in class. I'm sure patients prefer the beige or black colors, but it is fun having bright colors on :)

Oh yeah, my last day at work in Murrells Inlet was Friday, so I have a week off this coming week, then I begin my new assignment in Jacksonville, NC on Monday, July 27th. It will be an outpatient clinic, much like the one that I am working in now.

Kinesio Tape

I went to the first part of the Kinesio Taping course today. This is the stuff that you may remember seeing on many summer Olympic athletes in the Beijing games (including the beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh). It is useful for many different purposes, but just like anything, it is not useful for everyone/every condition. It was interesting to begin learning about the tape and some general applications, but tomorrow, I will get to learn a bit more about it in the 2nd portion of the course. I am very excited to get to actually use this on some of my patients once I get back to the clinic in another week! The top picture is of the course book, the second is one of the many taping jobs we practiced today. This particular taping is to facilitate the rhomboids, as in many patients with poor posture this muscle is stretched and weak. The tape helps to provide sensory input to utilize the muscle and improve posture (among other things, but this is a simple explanation).

For a general description of Kinesio Tape, the website says: "Theoretically, KINESIO TEX^® TAPE will lift the skin to increase the space between the skin and muscle. This reduced localized pressure help promote circulation, lymphatic drainage and lessens the irritation on the subcutaneous neural pain receptors. As an end result, the Kinesio^® Taping Technique reduces pain, swelling and muscle spasm; and subsequently promotes the body’s natural healing processes. Additionally, the built-in stretch of the TAPE supports fatigued, weakened and/or strained muscles."

Happy 53rd Wedding Anniversary!

I just wanted to take the time to wish my grandparents a very Happy 53rd Wedding Anniversary! Unfortunately, we don't see many people lasting marriage that many years, so I am so happy that they have! For their 50th anniversary, we all took a family cruise to Alaska to celebrate the momentous occasion. I wish them many more years of happiness, and we'll all have to figure out a great way to celebrate their 60th Anniversary that will be only 7 short years away! Above is a picture of the happy couple at their recent Yellowstone trip a few weeks ago.

Ripley's Aquarium

I went to Ripley's Aquarium today and took advantage of the locals discount (like half price). It was a cute little aquarium, but no real comparison to some of the others that I've been to. I will say, it was worth the discount price, but not really full price. I did see some cute fish, and it was a fun (and cool way) to spend a couple of hours.

Market Commons

I went with some friends to dinner at a restaurant in Market Commons. Market Commons is a fairly new (about a year old) outdoor shopping center in Myrtle Beach. The grounds were so beautiful, and at night, it was very well lit and so pretty. The funny thing is as we were posing for the picture in front of the fountain, this guy grabs his friend and picks him up to race to the fountain, they wrestle for a bit, and as the one picked up was no match, his head was dunked into the fountain. Very funny! It was a great girls night out (and no, we did not plan to match), and I am really going to miss being here (as there is only one more week of work left). Hopefully, the people at my next assignment will be just as nice.

Happy late Independence Day!

Sorry for no post yesterday, but I was barely at home. I went over to a friend's for a day of festivities. It began by lounging by the pool, then going to watch a boat parade at Murrells Inlet. After, we came back to the house for a big party (with a band) and amazing food, and went back to the Inlet for fireworks. It was so much fun, and a great way to spend Independence Day.

Also, thank you to all of our troops who have served in the military to protect our freedom and independence!

Afternoon on a boat

After I got out of work, I went out on the Inlet and into the actual Atlantic Ocean for a bit with some friends. It was a lot of fun, and nice to be out on the water. Later, we went out to dinner at Drunken Jacks (I had some amazing She Crab soup, yum) and then to listen to a band at the Dead Dog...haha, gotta love the names of the Murrells Inlet restaurants!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Toby!

Today is Toby's 3rd birthday. Of course, he doesn't know what is actually going on, all he knows is that he got some yummy and new treats this weekend. Here is a picture of Toby playing with all of his toys recently and a picture of him and Macy (my stepdad's dog) from this past weekend. He will be getting lots of love and attention from me tomorrow...okay, so he gets that anyway!

Happy Birthday!