Don't forget the positives.

When I got home today from school I started telling James about my day and by the end up it I realized that he was looking kinda upset. I asked him what was wrong, and he half smiled and said that I had just rattled off a list of the day's bad spots. I realized that I had completely forgot to mention the part about hanging my artwork in a group show, which went really well.

Lately, I have been getting so stuck on the negatives. For this particular occasion I think I may be coming down with a cold, or at least fighting it off. That always leaves me a bit drained. So I'm doubling up on my vitamin C and taking my vitamins and going to give myself some extra care.

In general though, I think it's just so easy to get stuck on the bad stuff of life, so over the next week I'm going to be paying careful attention to this, and hopefully can kick the habit. In life I think it's all about what you do with the bad stuff that helps determine where your life goes and the quality of it. I for one would prefer to have a happy life, so I'm not going to get stuck on the low points, but instead try to transform those moments. That's my goal at least . Stay positive.

Artwork Up.

Today I installed a piece of artwork at school for a group art show. It feels good to be doing something so familiar and something I know very well. I chose to display a piece that I think I wrote about earlier, the bindle stick or "hobo bag". The reception for the show is next week, so I will take a picture then and post it up.

It feels good to be focused on something other than my feelings for a change. I'm really looking forward to the end of the semester.

Therapist, I am not.

While it's been a while since I've written here, it has mostly been because I have been in a bit of a mental debate. I have decided to take next semester off from school to reconsider whether I want to be a therapist or not. While I feel like I had consider this before, there is nothing like the experience to show one the opposite.

Over the last 2 months I have been working at Tewksbury State hospital, which I was really excited about, until I started. And it was probably after I learned of the severity of the patients problems that I started to realize that I do not want to be trying to heal these people. While I do want to make the world a better place, I am not sure I want to do it this way. I am a very sensitive and emotional person and doing this work leaves me drained and depressed.

So my plan is to get a job after I return from Florida and to work and make art. I'll be staying in Boston because there are still a lot more opportunities up here than in Florida. In addition, this will give me the option to continue the program if I realize that it is where I want to be. I've also been looking at another program at my school called "Community Arts" which is a masters in Education. It's a shorter program and would redirect my work back to the type of work that I had been doing. I think education is a better place for me.

I'll keep you updated on the process. Right now I'm feeling really good about this decision, and everyone at school has been really supportive too. It was difficult at first to not feel like I had failed, but the truth is that I'm glad I tried it and would have never really known otherwise.

Ticket Booked.

Well, I have my ticket booked to return home for the holidays. I'll be making my departure down there on Dec. 18 and my return is expected (although not yet bought) Jan 1, 2009. So i should have about 2 weeks to spend time with all the people I love and miss from the SoFla area. I have to say, I'm rather excited. I've actually always wanted to be able to come "home for the holidays" so its pretty exciting to me.

As it gets closer I'll start talking to everyone to see what the best dates are to see people. I do know that I'm probably spending Christmas Ev, Day and Post in Orlando. So other than those days I'm pretty free.

I look forward to seeing everyone in December!

Finally Starting

On Tuesday I finally began my internship site. And by that I mean I went to orientation. It's interesting working for such a huge facility. I've never worked somewhere so large. The site, Tewksbury State Hospital is a government funded facility for those that need specialized long term care, or for those that have no benefits. It's an interesting place and I can already tell that I am going to learn a lot. I'm a little nervous about working with adults, but it was the same thing when I started working with kids, and I loved that. One thing is for sure, I'll either love it, or I'll go back to working with kids. I'm so interested to see how its all going to unfold.

I'm most excited about the space we have. My site supervisor is really nice and encouraging and I look forward to working with her. Just today I started to get excited about all the possibilites of the space and the site.

There'll be more updates as I learn more.

Apple Picking

(Our Bounty)

I've heard in these parts that a big part of fall time is going apple picking. Today James and I had some free time to get out on the bike and go out and try this festive activity. We picked a small orchid, but it had numerous types of apples: Gala, McIntosh, Honey crisp, Red Delicious and many more. We took home a peck, which is 10 lbs. of apples, the smallest you can take. To get to where the apples are you park your car (or in our case the motorcycle) at the farm stand and then they give you a hay ride out to the orchid. The best part was trying different apples as we walked along. Neither of us knew much about apples, but we got a good lesson today. It felt like being in the garden of Eden; picking from such an abundant selection.

(James and I on the hay ride out)

(Trying to decide which apples I want)
(James carrying our peck of apples in the orchid)

School Update

What to see what I've been up to in school? Come see my other blog, which is really for documentation purposes, but it gives you an idea of some of the work I've been doing.

http://arttherapyart.blogspot.com/

Here is a resent image of one of my last projects.
http://arttherapyart.blogspot.com/2008/09/bindle-stick.html

Other than making art, I do lots of reading. It's really great though, and I'm enjoying the whole experience.

Dad's Visit

Labor day weekend my dad came up to pay me a visit. I was really surprised that he made the journey since he doesn't like flying anymore. But as he promised, he flew up and spent 4 days up here. We had a great time.

The first day he arrived we just went to dinner and then he went back to his hotel (which he insisted on). The next day we went to the historical Minute Man Park in Lexington. He loved hearing about the history of this country (a true military man). The third day we spent driving around in Boston. Yes, we drove, which is crazy, because the streets are always full and Boston is known as a walking city. After seeing the sites we all made it an early day, and I said my good-byes. The last day dad prepared to leave.

I really enjoyed his company and so did James (my partner not dad). After my dad returned home he ordered us a table and chairs for the front porch of our house so that we could have somewhere nice to sit. What a sweet guy, thanks dad.

Arlington Town Day Festival

The event started Friday evening with an Arlington's Best Dog Show. It was quite a site. I've never seen a dog show in person before.

The evening ended with a beautiful fireworks display.

And the following day, on Saturday, the fun really began. There was an all day event . The town blocked off the main street, Mass Ave., for vendors of all kinds. Above is a picture of me at a historical site where there were historians in costumes. We also saw a K-9 demo from our neighbor who is a K-9 police officer.

We really feel lucky to live in such a nice little town.

Last year's project - Update

In an effort to spend half the year traveling James and I have been working on promoting our motorcycle journal website full of travel info. and motorcycle specifics. While the site is up, its still a work in progress. You can check it out at:
www.jjriders.com

Also, we put up a video we made from some of pictures from our cross country trip. If you haven't seen it yet, its pretty cute. I've watched it probably a hundred times now. Its also especially good if you like Jonny Cash. Check it out and enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyAxyoeVHoQ

Vermont in 3 days

We dashed out of Arlington, MA Thursday morning for one more last minute trip on the motorcycle before the responsibilities kick in on Monday. I woke up full of worry this morning, but all that didn't matter today because we were hitting the road. I really love that riding is about being in the present moment.

We head west across Massachusetts and around 100+ miles later we take our first break at the Mass Moca in North Adams. Its a large museum in what feels like the middle of no where. This town, North Adams, must have been a mining town, which has since had many of its building converted, including the building of the Mass MoCA. We saw some great exhibit with Jenny Holzer and Anselm Kiefer.

Time to get back on the road and get to our final destination: the Nordic Hills Lodge in Wilmington, VT. where we'll be staying for the night. This is a great spot that James found by chance on a solo trip he did last month. This great lodge is motorcycle friendly and has a lot for a smaller place and great price. I would defiantly recommend if your in the area. Its also at the bottom of Mount Snow, which I hear is a nice ski area in the winter. At the lodge there's a game room downstairs where we played air hockey and then some pool.

Fall was starting to show, but its still a little early and actually quite hot - 84 degrees F. I do hope the heat late in the season means that this will be an easier winter.

The following day we made it over to our friends Stewart and Jenny who just moved up to Vermont from FL. It was great seeing some familiar faces up here.

Today, Saturday, we drove back home in a hurry, trying to bet the tropical storm making its way up here. So weird. Anyways, we made it and Monday is back to school.

Tofu Scramble Recipe

(Pictured here is tofu scramble made with peppers and onions along with buckwheat pancakes and vegetarian sausage.)

Ingredients

• block of Firm Tofu
• Veggies of choosing (peppers, onions, zucchini, what ever you've got in the frig)
• 1/2 tsp. of tumeric
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast (from health food store or Whole Foods)
• parsley

Directions

1. Start by draining the tofu of all its water. I like to also use a towel and some pressure to dry it out. Remove as much water as possible. This will make the tofu more flavorful.
   
2. Next Saute your onions first, so that they get some caramelization happening.
3. Cut the tofu into 1" squares and crumble into the pan.
4. Throw the tofu into the pan for about ten min. or so. You want the tofu to brown and dry up a bit.
5. Sauce time. Add the rest of the ingredients above and your other veggies if any.
6. Cook a few more minutes and then enjoy!

Cape Cod

Today I unexpectedly found myself in Cape Cod with James on the motorcycle. Let me explain. I have been considering buying a motorcycle (to be discussed in another blog). We traveled to Wymouth about a half hour south of Boston to check out this cute little dual purpose enduro bike. It was nice, but I wasn't completely sure, so since we were already south of home, we thought lets keep going. It was probably a little after 11am, and with no pressing comittments and my freedom of flexibility slowly slipping away (classes start next Wednesday), we thought we should take advantage.

I have been talking about going to Cape Cod since I moved here; excited to see the ocean and this famous area. Finally today was the day, and just in time. It was good getting there on a week day, as I hear this area gets really crowded during the weekends. With a 35 mile stretch of one lane highway, I was glad there were few people out.

The ride out got more and more beautiful the closer we got. Towards the tip of the Cape appeared sand dunes (see photo above). It was unlike any beach terrain I had ever seen. The landscape reminded me of parts of Death Valley, but with vegetation. I really wish I would have brought my camera, but I did manage to find some photos on line, which are the photos above.

A hundred plus miles after leaving the bike we checked out this morning we had hit "P-town", which stands for Provincetown. This is the furthest point on the Cape Cod Bay. This was quite a ride considering we had no plans, no side cases and no lunch. We rode up route 6A looking for a lunch spot that had some fried seafood (we all get our cravings from time to time). We found a great little place called Pepe's Wharf Restaurant‎. It's right on the beach with a great view of the bay.

A few interesting things about Provincetown can be found here:
http://www.pilgrim-monument.org/t3/index.php?id=38
I'll tell you some of the most interesting. There is a monument there called Pilgrim Monument (see photo above). This is because this town is the first place that the pilgrims on the Mayflower landed in 1602. I know, crazy huh? I thought it was Plymouth Rock, which it was, but this is where they spent 5 weeks before heading up to Plymouth Rock. Interesting stuff.

The ride back went pretty fast but it was a little long probably due to the lack of water and too much sun. That can really zap your energy, and being tired on a motorcycle is the worst. A half hour out of Boston we stopped and got coffee to pep us up. This was a good move since we hit some traffic on the way home. We finally made it home by 7pm. Sometimes you never know where the day will take you.

Another successful day trip on the moto.

Internship - Update

So the word on my internship. Well, I applied to two sites, and I got calls from both. The site that I was really interested in is at Tewksbury State hospital in Tewksbury, MA. This is the oldest state hospital in the country, so it has a really good reputation and really interesting programs, so I was really excited when I found out I got it! Below there is a link that you can check out that explains one of the new technologies that is being used at the hospital to create music with individuals with varying disabilities. They also have visiting artists come throughout the year.

I'll be working with 2 different populations: medical rehabilitation and in-patient pysch. The first mentioned is the population that I'm most interested, but I also have the ability to learn even more at this site by having 2 distinctly different populations.

I'll be the 3rd intern that they will have this year. They normally only have 2, but when the supervisor saw my resume she said that she would make an exception in bringing me on too. I guess she liked me. Well, I am really flattered and excited about this opportunity. This will be a great addition to my resume.

I'm suppose to start the week of Sept. 22nd. So I'll keep you updated on how it's going. I will be working there 2 days a week.

Check out this video if you have a minute. It made me cry the first time I saw it because it was just so beautiful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj2QoLhfwew

Orientation

Just as all schools have, I had my orientation for my program of study last week. The only difference about mine is that it was held in New Hampshire at a camp called Sargent Camp, which is a beautiful place full of nature. As a child I never went away for camp, but this is exactly how I imagined it, and it many of the other people confirm that it was. For 4 days the school kept us held up in cabins with other members of our program and we all attended lectures, workshops and community meetings. It was a wonderful experience that really brought everyone together. After sharing bathrooms, eating areas and classes with people you really get to know them, and it was a great experience.

The entire program of Expressive Therapies includes 104 people of 4 different modalities: Art, Music, Dance and Intermodal which is a mix of all of them. I am in the Art section, which is why I will be an Art Therapist (just in case you forgot). There is a total of 5 men in the program, which I guess makes it women dominated. While most of the people are from New England, I met people from all over like India, South American, Korea, and everywhere in the country including Alaska. There are 37 people in my area of specialty and they're all great. We ended up having to chose 3 other people, a total of 4 people that would be our support system for the rest of the program to help each other out. This was a great idea and I made some friends with the people I picked. We four ladies have been emailing each other over the last week no stop and it's so helpful.

Other than the people that I met, and the fun and interesting classes and workshops we also got some free time. I had a chance to go swimming for the first time in a lake and also canoed and hiked some trails. If I haven't mentioned this before, I LOVE my school. They really emphasize community and self care, which are really essential in this field.

I can say so much about this experience, but I'll stop here and include some photos.

Here Comes Fall

Sorry for the delay in posts, but there have just been so many new things going on. The good news is that makes for lots on new posts soon to come.

Currently here in Boston the temperature is starting to drop. Last night it got into the 50's. I keep thinking that Christmas is just around the corner, but James reminds me that its still 4 months away. That reminds me, for those of you that I haven't mentioned this to, I will be home for the holidays. So I guess I'll see you in less than 4 months - yay! I've always wanted to come home for the holidays, but I always lived in my hometown.

Back to the change of the season. Last week I attended orientation (will be blogged about later) and many of the other ladies from New England were telling me that fall was here early. I had no idea. I did see some trees with yellow and red leaves but they have been few and far between, so I imagined that there was something wrong with these trees. Apparently that is fall approaching. They also mentioned some of the wonderful things associated with fall like hot apple cider and apple picking. Again, I had no idea. I've been looking forward to fall for the change in temperature and beautiful leaves, but apparently there's much more.

I think I'm really going to like this season change thing. And once Fall really kicks in there will definitely be pictures. Miss you all, especially the people sweating away down in Florida.

Forth of July

Our first Forth of July was a great time. Apparently it's a pretty big holiday here, like New Years Eve in New York City. There was a beautiful display of fireworks, music and thousands of other people that came out.


For the weekend, one of James's friends came up from NYC and stayed a few days. We had a blast showing Ivy around our new apartment and the city, as she was our very first guest. After she was all settled in we kicked off bar-b-q of veggies, tofu and veggie dogs. After stuffing ourselves we headed out on our bicycles to downtown Cambridge to see the fireworks over the Charles River.

Once the fireworks were over we began riding back home and thats when we realized just how popular this holiday was. The streets became flooded with people and we struggled to ride home with so many other people trying to do the same. An hour later we had all made it home, tired, but glad to have seen the spectacular display of fireworks. I recommend coming up for next year's display.

First Steps - Internship

As part of my graduate education I must fulfill an internship of 450 hours my first year and another 600 hours my second year. In trying to make the most out of my summer, I have begun the search for a site to do my internship at. Lesley University offers a large database, but it's best to start the search sooner than later to get your top pick.

Just over a week ago I started my search to find a site that would be of interest to me (you can choose different populations like homeless, women, addictions, developmentally disabled, medical rehabilitation and so on). I found 3 of interest, with other potentials, and I started sending my resume and calling around. My number one pick, Tewksbury State Hospital, just got back to me today and said that they were impressed with my resume and wanted to have me come for an interview! How exciting!

The whole process of finding a place to do the internship is very much like finding a job, so am excited that it's working out and going smoothly. I have 2 other sites that I still plan to visit, but I am really excited to meet with my top choice. My interview is next Monday, wish me luck.

New Hampshire Day Trip

Today is suppose to be the last sunny and beautiful day for the rest of the week. As you may or may not have read, yesterday was not the nicest day, but did offer some adventure. In a carpe diem moment, James and I decided to take off on a day trip for a few hours to visit New Hampshire. This being our first trip to NH, we were both blown away by it's beauty.

We left around noon time and an hour later we were in NH, but still another hour away from our destination: Dublin, NH. As we got closer to our destination the altitude got higher and the trees bigger and tougher looking. The trees we saw looked like they have out lived some of the coldest winters imaginable. One of the most surprising things we saw were Moose Crossing signs. I knew we were North, but I didn't think we were that far.

Once reaching Dublin we stopped in at a little store called Hedge House for a souvenir, as we collect magnets from every state that we have traveled through. I also bought a beautiful porcelain pencil holder and a piece of neon green Fenton glass, which was their specialty. We made one more stop for the bathroom and then headed back for home.

In living in the Northeast I have to keep reminding myself that this is such a special time of year and will not last. I often remind myself that this place will be freezing in a few months time, and the summer is a time to be enjoyed outdoors. This is a very different perspective than I had in Florida. The summers in Florida were a time to be feared for their heat, and lacked out door enjoyment.

Returning home I couldn't believe I had seen mountains today. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon! Make sure to check out some of our photos on JJriders.com (soon to be a fully operational site full of motorcycle travel info, but currently linked to our Flicker photos).

Stormy Bike Ride

The day started out with clear blue sky and a chance of afternoon showers. As part of new summertime exercise routine James and I decided to take an extended bike ride exploration together. Typically we will go off on our own expeditions on the bike, running errands and such, but today we figured we would combine our plans and spend the day together.

We road up to the next town north, Lexington, which is actually quite big. We encountered a Farmer's Market, stopped and bought a few fresh veggies for dinner. We sampled a few locally made items, and then got on our way. We were about 5 miles into the ride and had about 4 more to go. At the end of the Minute Man bike trail we stopped in at bicycle store for a look around. Now at about 3pm the day was going quick. We decided to get back on the trail and head back home. On the way back we made one more stop to have some water and use the bathroom. Now we where ready to make our way back home, as tonight was bike night (motorcycle type over in Lowell).

About 2 miles later the sky got dark and the rain came down. We pedaled on for about a half mile, maybe more, and then the rain just became too much. We detoured off the trail over to a little shop called Four Seasons. Unfortunately, they are for some reason closed on Tuesdays. Huddling under an awning we decided to wait out the storm. To our disbelief the storm got worse, the temperature dropped and then the hail began. I couldn't believe it, but right there in front of my eyes was pea-sized hail falling from the sky. Half crying and half laughing we patiently waited.

Finally, about a half an hour later the sun appeared. We made a break for it and headed home. With 5 miles to go we raced home, fearing that the storm was not over yet. We rode through puddles drenching ourselves even more, but we had to get home.

Soaked from face to toe (heads were covered with helmets), we made it home. Immediately following there was a hot shower, tea and fresh clothes. It reminded me of our cross country trip were we were repeated rained on day after day. I was officially initiated into the world of the cyclist. Thankfully we made it home just in time to miss the next round of rain and hail.

Green Monsters

As you may or may not know, "we" won the NBA Finals this week. Since being a resident James and I, have jumped on the band wagon and have been following the last few games. And if you were too, you know what a great game that last one was. What was it, a 40 point win? The final game we actually saw in NYC, so we missed all the rioting in Boston (just kidin').

The games in the Boston area are taken few seriously though. People come out wearing green and fill up the bars. It's quite an experience compared to Florida.

Today was the parade, which we didn't make it to, but what a great city for sports. And if you know me, I'm not much of a sports fan, but I could possibly become one up here.

Yay Celtics!

First Day of Class

This last weekend I had my first class. While I was a little nervous, since this was my first graduate class, I quickly felt reassured as class went on. This class is a weekend intensive, which is broken up over two weekends: one in June and one in July. The class is called Lifespan Developmental Psychology. This is actually one of the classes that I had to take at the undergraduate level to get into the program, but this class is much more in depth. I'm actually surprised at how much I'm enjoying it.

The books in the class are also really good too. Probably the best textbook I ever had to read: "Lives Across Cultures." And I'm just breaking into "Women's Way of Knowing." The class is focused on two areas of development that offend get over looked: cross culture development and women in general.

Today I received my first paper back in the mail. The topic was on Ecological Systems, and I received a B+, which I was happy about, but was really wanting that "A". My teacher has a great policy: we can rewrite any paper in the class to get a better grade. The emphasis is really on learning the material and not on test taking. Actually, we don't have any tests for this class. What a relief!

While the material is challenging, I welcome all of the debates and information presented. There are just so many smart people here. It's really great to be at such a good school.

Summer Time Recipe

Here's a really great recipe for Gazpacho that I just tried out. It's from the cookbook "Sunfood Cuisine". It's great for a hot day and it's a totally raw dish, which means it's good for you too. Enjoy!

Ultimate Gazpacho
2 cups tomato
1 cup cucumber
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 to 1 tsp. jalapeño pepper, minced
1 garlic clove

Blend. Place in a bowl.

Add:
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
2/3 cup cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup of cilantro or parsley, chopped

And that should do it. Enjoy!

One Month

It has just about been one month now since we have moved to the Boston area. Since we've been here we've been working on making this house our new home and exploring our neighborhood. I've also attending my first class, which was a weekend long intensive. I'm loving the material and the books that I've had to read for this class (Lifespan Developmental Psychology). And yesterday we officially became residents, as we went down to the RMV (Registry of Motor Vehicles) and applied for our licenses.

So, back to the house. We each have a studio/office space that has been very helpful for us both. It's a great feeling to be so close, but also being able to working on our own projects. I also have an area in the living room where I can get some reading done, if I'm not feeling the office space. Oh, and the kitchen, the coziest kitchen where we have been doing lots of good and healthy cooking. It turns out that all of that furniture that we bought the month before leaving actually fit. Many times when we come home from an exploration about town and we find ourselves saying, " Do we actually live here?" We both feel very lucky to have such a nice home.

Recently on one of our outings around we ended up in the heart of Cambridge down by Central Square. We found a little bar called The Field, which oddly enough is the name of a restraurant/bar in Fort Lauderdale that we really liked, but no relation. This neighborhood is a bit different than ours in that ours is a bit more suburban, but not in an isolating way. While there are a lot of families around, we are just a couple of blocks down from Arlington Center, where there are shops and restraurants. It's a much quieter environment being a little further from the center of things, which mostly Cambridge is. Although, we're only 1 mile North, so it's very easy to get to.

There are lots of great neighborhood events here going on all the time. There was the Greek Festival that we attended a last week, and the Veterans Day parade a few weeks back. And I'm sure we've both mentioned Spy Pond, where we had a great little picnic (thanks for the cooler dad). I'm looking forward to the forth of July, as I hear Boston has a great show down by the Charles River.

As summer comes rolling in I am reminded of Florida. Yesterday it was 94 degrees here and I longed for some snow, but I'm sure I'll be getting plenty of that soon. So for now I'm soaking up the heat and enjoying a season I know very well.