Tour de Casa

As some of you already know I have moved from small-town Rexburg to the thriving metropolis of Idaho Falls. Believe it or not, there is quite a different feeling here in Idaho Falls compared to Rexburg. Besides not being in a bubble, Idaho Falls feels like a much larger city solely because of the mass amount of vehicles on the roads! It feels like it's always rush-hour. Ok, that might be a little of an exaggeration, but not by far. There's a lot of people here.

I moved to Idaho Falls in order to save money on commuting from Rexburg each day for work. Gas wasn't the only thing that my truck was guzzling. Being located in Idaho Falls for just one week has already proven to be wallet-friendly. I live just a few blocks away from the Idaho Falls Temple and the airport in a quiet neighborhood. This location is near the agency I work for as well as the clients I work with. Again, saving me some pennies.

I am renting a room in a split level home that houses three other females and four dogs. I found that renting a room that already included utilities, wireless internet, and a washer/dryer was much cheaper than finding a place of my own. So, here I am:

The front of the home that I am living in. The windows to the right of the front door are the kitchen windows. (Not pictured: two trees on the right side of the house that is perfect for setting up my slack-line!).

Walking in the front door and turning to your left you have a set of stairs going up and a set of stairs going down. I live in one of the two rooms downstairs. (Not pictured: The upstairs livingroom straight ahead from the front door and the kitchen to the right of the front door).

The bathroom, which is located on the left at the bottom of the stairs. Can you tell which side of the sink is mine? (Door of bathroom is pictured in previous picture).

Across the hallway from the bathroom is my bedroom. This picture was taken standing in my doorway. I love the large window in my bedroom that is ground level allowing LOTS of natural light into my room, which I LOVE. Each room in the house comes with it's own ceiling fan. A nice and needed feature since there isn't air conditioning.

Another nice feature of my bedroom, opposite my bed, is my double door full-size closet. The closet runs the whole length of wall in addition to the bedroom door.

Coming out of my bedroom and taking a right (or a left coming out of the bathroom) you enter the kitchen and livingroom area. Walking through the doorway (pictured on the left side of the above picture) the kitchen is to the left. It features a range that looks like it came from the 60's, a small refridgerator that barely fits two people's worth of food in it after great organizational efforts, and minimal cupboard space. (I thought I moved out of college housing....)

We have a lovely back porch table in the dining area that is opposite the range/refridgerator. We don't use it to sit and eat from, but it houses the microwave and other personal kitchen appliances. But a much grateful addition to the kitchen/dinning room is the pantry, which is behind the two doors shown in the right side of the picture. The far door has shelves whereas the forefront door is open for storage/broom and dustpan (for the carpeted kitchen/dinning room) and other oddities.

After walking through the doorway and looking to your right we have the livingroom. It features my camping chair, a back porch lounge chair and a little plastic table (which are used on very rare occassions). As useful decoration we have my mountain bike, longboard, and road bike. Can ones livingroom be more complete? The doorway seen in the above picture leads to the backyard....

Remember how this home houses FOUR dogs? I discovered upon walking out the downstairs doorway that the backyard is all four dog's bathroom. I don't think an open bedroom window or backyard lounging will be frequent, if at all. The odd yellow tube you see in the picture is a training toy for the dogs. The owner of the home is going to school to become a dog trainer. This is one of many other dog training toys in the backyard. It's a pretty backyard, but prefer not to expose myself to the natural dog aromas present there.

The whole house in carpeted with the exception of the upstairs kitchen and entry way. I'm not used to stepping out of the shower or walking into the kitchen and have carpet for the flooring. It is one of the many older homes that populates Idaho Falls.

I have also discovered after moving in that I basically have the whole downstairs to myself, besides the shelving/cupboards of the kitchen and bathroom that I share. My downstairs roommate spends her life outside of work in her large bedroom watching TV and movies with her dog, only coming out for food and bathroom breaks for her and her dog. I can count the number of times I have seen her on one hand and have only spoken to her once, where she 'laid the law' down about living downstairs. The other two girls upstairs (the owner and her cousin) are unseen beings as well. They also spend their time in front of the TV upstairs with the livingroom entry way door closed. All I hear from them is, "Ah ah ah ah, nooooo. Sit!" Or other very similar variations of their dog commands.

This being only a temporary living situation I have only unpacked the basics plus a few decorations to make it a little more homey. And for my own entertainment purposes I get on my bike and explore the area to discover places and things in Idaho Falls that are hidden treasures not seen from the roads and routes I take daily for work.

Lives On

In memory of a sweet friend who passed away. My heart, prayers, and love go out to the family.

Running for my Liberty

I had been contemplating running in the Rexburg 5K Liberty run for a couple weeks. I have found that it is easier and more motivational for me to participate in such activities when I have others doing it right along with me, but I have also realized that each time I have been involved in such activities over the past year or so I have found that there hasn't been somebody there with me, but that I have had to have my own motivational reason to participate, which is probably why I signed up for the race 2-days prior to the 4th of July. I finally made the decision to run, not because there was somebody to run with (because there wasn't), but to run for the cause of my freedoms that I enjoy in America.

I had no training behind me to run the 3.1 miles, but that distance is nothing compared to the half marathon I ran a year ago. Piece of cake, right? I must admit that I didn't have the same organ exploding feelings during my half marathon that I had running this 5K. Finishing the half marathon was a lot more exhilirating than the 5K, but that was probably because I didn't feel like all my organs were almost in complete failure. But, I am pleased with the time that I did run the 5K in; a lot faster than I had expected, especially having walked a couple times during my run.

34:05!

Despite the way our country has changed recently and the direction it is headed in, I am grateful for the liberties and freedoms that I enjoy. This country is truly a promised land.

Clear Waters

For my first hike of the summer season I made my way up a new trail that I have never hiked on before to the Lower Palisades lake. The Lower and Upper Palisades lake are located in the mountains that surround Swan Valley, Idaho. These lakes flow into the Palisades Reservoir, which (along with other reservoirs) supply all of Southeastern Idaho with water. Due to the constant rain we have been receiving for the last long-while Southeast Idaho is overflowing with water. The rivers are high. The canals are high. And all of the reservoirs are at their maximum capacity or greater.

The rivers and canals that weave in and out of the cities have turned into a chocolate milk color because of the level of the water and how fast it is flowing. Debris, and even logs, can often be see traveling downstream. It was refreshing and a joy to hike along this clear, aqua-green mountain river.




After a beautiful four-mile hike you come to Lower Palisades lake. This lake wasn't as big as I had envisioned it being, but it was nonetheless worth it. I was disappointed with how little lake-side access there was, but was content sitting perched on some boulders overlooking the shimmering lake. As I hiked around to the other end of the lake I was able to get down by the river's edge and skip some rocks.

View looking upstream

View from the other side - looking downstream

I wanted to make it to the Upper Palisades lake, which is a 9 mile hike one way, but I started my hike too late in the day to make it any further than the Lower Palisades lake. To make up for it I took myself on a drive to see the 16,000 acre Palisades Reservoir since I had never seen it before. It was a beautiful and peaceful scenic drive! It felt good to be by a large body of water again; a part of me misses the ocean I spent so many years living by.

All In A Daze Work

I have completed my first week of training as a Psycho-social Rehabilitation (PSR) worker with the Beehive Rehabilitation & Counseling agency I recently got hired on with. As I PSR worker I work with a number of different individuals who are struggling with one or more diagnosed mental illnesses including: Major Depression, Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Dual Diagnosis (combination of a mental illness and substance abuse/addiction), Bipolar Disorder, Panic Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

I discovered with Beehive Rehabilitation that the majority of the clients are adults with the average age being 50 years old. I was not expecting this since the two other agencies I interviewed with and the majority of other agencies I applied for work mostly with the young to teen age range. I was a bit disappointed when discovering this because my experience has been with the youth and I was wanting to continue working with that age range. But I am looking forward to working with these adults to gain new experience and to balance out the experience I already have. I do have one teenage client, which I am excited about.

My first week of training consisted of shadowing a number of other PSR workers each day. I was able to meet their clients, be exposed to their mental illnesses, and get an idea of how to work with these individuals to help them with coping/management skills and to meet their goals in a number of different areas including: Psychiatric, Health/Medical, Vocational/Educational, Financial, Social, Family, Basic Living Skills, Housing, & Community/Legal.

The first couple of days of training I felt like I was apart of a taxi company. I spent the entire day in a car as the clients got shuttled to and from places that they needed to go. There wasn't a whole lot of talking/discussing going on and so I didn't understand our purpose other than to drive people around. It wasn't until day three that I was able to understand that the driving around and doing specific things were apart of the goals that these clients had, even though it wasn't specifically talked about or addressed. Once I understood this I was able to grasp the job of a PSR worker better and begin to brainstorm the things I could do to help my future clients with their needs/goals.

The first week went by so quickly and each day I came home exhausted. With everything that I learned, with all the clients I met, and all that I was exposed to I felt like I was walking around in a complete daze; my head stuck in a cloud. So many things to remember. So many things to know. So many things to learn! I am once again re-learning how to not take work home with me. These individuals carry a lot of emotional baggage and can be really emotionally draining. I had forgotten this aspect of jobs like this, but as I once learned it at Anasazi I know that I can re-learn it with this job as well.

Nearing the end of my shadowing experience I was 'thrown to the wolves', one could say. I was given a client whose life has been turned upside down due to some family circumstances and has become one of the most challenging clients at Beehive Rehabilitation. I was also given a mother and daughter to work with as well. As I have spent several hours with these two my mind has been brought back to the week on the trail at Anasazi where I was able to walk with a mother and her daughter. It was one of my hardest weeks on the trail but it is proving to become a great tool as I am beginning to work with this mother and daughter. A new level of gratitude for that hard week on the trail has been gained.

I am on my own now. No more shadowing, but jumping in and getting my hands dirty. I am a bit nervous and apprehensive about my first week on my own, but as I have started this job I have been blessed with the peace that I can do it. It will take some time to smooth out all the wrinkles and rough edges, but I am excited to learn and to step up to the challenges and growing experiences.

I have decided to move to Idaho Falls because the cost of commuting back and forth each day will be money lost and money out of my pocket. I am hoping to do so within the next couple of weeks, but am still searching to find a place that is the best fit for me. The next few weeks should be an adventure....

Put On Your Dancing Shoes

Tonight I went dancing for the first time in a VERY long time. I am not much of a dancer. There is a reason why I played sports that didn't need very much coordination with your feet; I have very little! And it is obvious.

The young man I went with was very kind, patient, and gracious. He handled my inability to dance very well. I never understood why the lights at dances were always dimmed, until tonight. It is for the purpose of hiding the unskilled dancers whose faces are beaming red from embarrassment. I can attest to that.

Another thing that I learned about dancing tonight will probably stay with me for the rest of my life. As much as I love and wear Chaco sandals I will never wear them dancing again. I am sure they can be worn for less intense dancing, but for the triple step or polka they are out of the question. (But then again, it could have been caused by my poor attempt at trying to dance these different dance styles). Two abrasions and one large blister taught this to me, not to mention a few smashed toes from being stepped on. I had felt bad for him because of the huge gap between our dancing skills. I made it clear that if he never asked me to go dancing again I wouldn't be offended in the least bit.

But I admit, despite my battle wounds and my not so talented skill of dancing I still had a good time and enjoyed the company. Can't say I would volunteer to go and do it again, but I certainly wouldn't dismiss an invitation to go, if asked.