Good Friday Morning!  Mine is going well.  It's been sunny here, sunny enough to run in just a sports-bra and get some vitamin D.  Scout has been benched from runs because a piece of her rough pad on her paw is missing...maybe from glass or salt on the streets.  But I just threw the tennis ball for a while and now she is relaxing next to me.  

Highlights of the Week

First, and foremost, Justin and I went to a Chuck Berry concert.  Chuck Berry is from St Louis and although he is 87, he still plays a concert once a month at a venue around the corner from the house called Blueberry Hill.  He has played over 100 times there and still puts on an awesome show.  The crowd was excited, especially the people standing next to us who had flown in from Georgia for the night to see the show.  Chuck Berry came out at 10pm sharp (he won't come on stage before 10) with his son, an electric piano, base guitarist, and a drummer carrying a backpack stuffed with drum sticks.  Chuck wore a sailors cap, a sequined blue shirt, and had a red electric guitar.

Chuck Berry and Charlie Berry

I know, the pictures are blurry but I didn't want the flash to go off during the concert.  He played a surprising number of songs that I new, but never knew who played them.  And he danced, told jokes, and came in just a half a beat late or sometimes just went "hmmmmmlaladola..." when he forgot a verse to his song.  It was a fun, St Louis night, with a dress, boots, and good-lookin' date!

Other highlights include long and more regimented runs (the marathon is in 8 weeks), warm weather, letters in my P.O. Box, good books, planning a spring break trip to the Smokey Mountains, studying at the coffee shops, phone calls to and from friends, working at the Emergency Room with nurses who don't mind teaching you how to give shots and administer medications, feeling good with Justin, and looking forward to spending the weekend out at his Dads place in the Ozarks.

Yesterday I had my first clinical rotation in the ER.  Meaning; I spent a twelve hours working/being trained in the Emergency Room of the Hospital.   I met a lot of people with all sorts of injuries and complaints.  While some of the patients give me the whoozes to think about now, when I was working, it was no problem at all.  There was poop, blood, bad breath, drooling geriatrics, knife wounds, kidney stones, crazy patients, and dog bites.   And the learning curve happened super fast.  I was giving shots, drawing blood, starting IVs and also on the floor cleaning up blood splatter.  So, from now on, I have 1 or 2 clinical rotations each week and that is where I will get the bulk of my skills and training.  

 School is finally turning up the heat and I feel like there is a job for me to do...YES!  We are studying the skin now.  Why do they show the most horrific pictures as examples of skin diseases?  For example;  if they are explaining about warts, they can't just show a picture of a wart of the back of the hand...it has to be a pile of warts on the genitalia to get the point across.  Good Night and Love from Adriana

Wet, warm feet.

This is on the banks of the Missouri River.

More Trail Still to Go!!!

Good Morning!  On Sunday I went on a snowy, muddy, wonderful run about 45 minutes outside of the city at Weldon Springs.  Last week in a coffee shop I overheard two people talking and one recommended Weldon Springs to his friend and I wrote the name down on my homework.  And it is really a great trail system along the Missouri river.  Unlike the Northwest, where there are deep, rich, green colors in the forest all year-round, Missouri becomes shades of brown in the winter, stark sunlight shines through 100% bare trees and crisp, dead oak leaves cover the ground.  It's a different kind of natural beauty... and I'll take any day trail running in it I can get. 

There was snow, mud, deer tracks, raccoon tracks and really not too much else on the trail.  Even though it was a Sunday, there weren't that many people out there.  After listening to music for the first hour of the run, I decided to take my earphones out and....there was wind noise, bird noises, Scout running through the trees noise and I left the earphones out for the rest of the run.   

Forest Park in Oregon

It's a cold and sunny Saturday and I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog.  It means a lot and I am so glad that friends and family have been checking this out.  I know how much I enjoy checking other peoples blogs so I'm glad that mines being enjoyed.   It feels so good to receive a message from somebody telling me they are reading the blog.  It makes me feel connected to the peeps I love so thanks.   

Also, I know that nobody loves seeing pictures of Scout as much as I do, but the thing is, if she is not in the picture, than nobody would be in the picture.  Since I am the one usually with the camera.  

Justin and I moved out of his Moms office and into our new room on the top floor of the new house.  The house is still under renovation so it is dusty, filled with boxes, construction tool, and unplugged appliances, but our room is done so the bed has been moved over there.  Now, it is off on a run around Forest Park.  St Louis has a urban park that is the second largest in the country...Portland, Oregons Forest Park being the largest.  Becca and Erin keep talking about these epic trips to the Gorge they are going on and it pulls on my heartstrings.  So much love and I hope everyone is happy, healthy, and warm.

Adriana 

Artistic Series with Uncooperative Sidekick

The middle picture makes me laugh every time I look at it.  These pictures were taken out at Justins Dads house in rural Missouri.  I walked down to the valley below his cabin and took these pictures.  It was a beautiful, sunny, 46+ degrees day.  

Now we are back in St Louis and Scout is in her safe zone under the desk while I write this.  Tomorrow is class, a test and we are (hopefully) moving into the new room in the new house this weekend!  Yes!  I will unpack my bags!  I am excited about mascara, face soap, my lotion, shoes, my robe and slippers.  I have been living out of one backpack since leaving Portland and, all in all, I haven't missed many of my material things.  Which is good given the situation.  

Much Love and Goodnight

Adriana

Today was the frozen Buns Run and I ran into second place in the womens category.  It felt good, sunny weather, I was actually really sweaty.  In the second picture I am showing off my new trophy, and in the first I am posing next to one of the many ice sculptures on display at the ANNUAL ICE FESTIVAL YAHOO!  This one was in front of a bookstore so it is about books.  The rest of the day was spent peeling wall paper off our new room.   And that was accomplished too!  Yes!  That was a bigger project than expected.  

Much Love

Adriana