Airplane rambles

So those who I may talk to outside of my blog page may know that I have had some pretty fun airplane adventures lately. In fact, I thought I would write a list of all of the reasons I have been delayed on an airplane. You know, instead of facing the reality that my computer crashed last week, and I am still recovering files.


The list is categorized by trip so that things will look more dramatic.

Last weekend on my way back from Texas we got out to the runway, and were then directed to go back to the gate and let someone off because we were too heavy... so some dude got off with his bag, and 30 minutes later we were off.

On a trip to and from New Mexico in Jan :

This trip itinerary should have read "1:30 PM flight from RIC to DFW with a 1 hour layover then off to Albq, and return."

Instead it was as follows:

1:30 flight from RIC to DFW boarded and then canceled because defrosters were broken. Board a second flight around 6 which is delayed for weather.
11:00 PM flight from DFW to Albq delayed with a gate change because "plane out of service" Finally land in Albq at 1 am.
Our return flight Albq to DFW was delayed because it was thinking about raining in Dallas, then we missed our plane in Dallas resulting in an overnight stay.
Next day we are on the first flight out, we board, and the plane has another broken defroster, so we deplane and change gates... and then on the next flight we get out to the runway go to take off, and then the captain says "Ladies and gents, we are having some issues with the autopilot, I am checking the manual right now to see if we can fly without it." I reply..."UMMM... How about, NOOOO!!!?? " I was of course correct, we had to take a u-turn back to the gate, and the flight attendant comes over the loud speaker to say " Please stay in your seats with your seat belts fastened because we have no idea what we are doing." It was in that sweet flight attendant prosody which allows you to say words such as "lavatory," and "deplane" without anyone looking at you funny. So there we sat as we watched some repair guy drive up with a new part, then proceed to unscrew every part of the cockpit for as we waited with seat belts fastened for instructions.... we took off, and made it home just in time for 2.5 ft of snow.

Oh yeah, that almost tops the time we were on the way back from ASHA last year I was delayed because our flight attendant was "missing." Guess they found us another one because that was only a 30 min delay.


Ok that's all for now. Can't wait for the next trip!

First blog of 2010

Goodness, Internet!!! I really have not been an active blogger... or maybe the truth is that I don't really have too interesting of a life, and can only find things to blog about quarterly. Apologies for those readers (mom) who I may have left hanging in cyberspace for months!

Now comes the part where I update y'all on the not so exciting parts of my life. Of course in the spirit if winter we got more snow this winter than I care to discuss in a blog, or can really bring up without using language that would make this blog not so G rated.... I will briefly report that we now own "snow equipment" which is really an example of personal growth in the Evans family...we are now out of denial and moving through the grief cycle. Of course still mourning our loss of sunshine for 5 months a year.

On to more positive things.... we got to start the year with a super audiology extravaganza/nerd-fest in Chicago at the Worthington wedding. Seriously AWESOME event. I was honored to read the Irish blessing, and shake it on the dance floor with a room full of people with ear protection in their purses and pockets...

February was a month full of blessings including celebrating 2 years of marriage, and 7 years of cancer survivorship! What a blessing that my liver is still holding strong, and that Robert still puts up with all of my crazy!

I of course still pretend like I can run a business in 2 locations and keep my head on straight. What a learning curve and blessing it is to learn on the job, and google things like "how to hire someone......" (yes I actually did this, then asked "real" experts to confirm my google research findings). The good thing is that I have a crackberry now so I look professional when I google "how to run a business," or "how did I go to college for more than 7 years, accumulate a butt load of student loans, and not take one class on how to run a company"

Finally I will use the last part of this blog to congratulate the many friends who had babies/will be having a baby soon. Congrats to all the new editions, and sorry for my delay in internet love.

more bloggin to come!

Happy Ho-Ho-Ho to you!

What a great year blog friends. Despite the crazy snow business we got, there is nothing to complain about on this end.

The Richmond office is growing, now with a specialty clinic for children with hearing loss called the Hearing House. We have had several great events and parent trainings, and look forward to a great 2010 for all the Evans Family Speech & Hearing programs. Still working 60-70 hrs a week, but have a great team helping me out now, and hope to have a great new office manager help me out soon!

We had a crazy November but were so happy to spend Turkey day at home here in VA! We made a brown bag turkey it was so yummy.

More importantly the Frogs finished as BCS eligible so they are off to their first ever BCS Bowl game! SO PUMPED for TCU!

We spent the Christmas Holiday in Texas, and are now back in VA.... more later.... Robert says "I'm hungry, Let's go out to eat!"

H1N1 rambles

Well as many of you have heard I came down with that H1N1 business. Lucky for me I got Tamiflu and I am well on my way to healthville. The Dr. asked that I stay at home for 5 days which is in fact more time than I have probably been home this year, so I have really had the chance to catch up on sleep, TV, and internet. Formal internet love to all who have sent well wishes. I told Robert I thought I still looked pretty sick. He said "No actually, you don't look bad, you just look like Northwestern Grad school Christine, you know when you slept 2 hours a night wore the same clothing for 2 days, and didn't leave the house all weekend because you were studying." So to put that another way... "Grad school made me look like I had swine flu???"
That for sure gave some nice scary imagery in time for Halloween! In honor of this Swine Flu event we will likely carve a pig on our Halloween pumpkin....

Since Halloween is approaching I felt I should keep the blog themed. Should you care about the little life related updates, call, email, or complain on the blog comment and I will give the readers what they want!

So since I have been home watching TV there is a certain Dove commercial that seems to be very Halloween friendly. I find it to be a little scary. I wonder if any of you have seen it. The commercial is to the tune of "Do your ears hang low?" Here is the link http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Dove+Walmart&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#

Now where to start... let's get the lyrics in print in case you too were charmed by the tune and could not fully soak in the lyrics.
"Do your eyes sit wide
Does your nose turn to the side
Do your elbows kind of crinkle
Do your knees sort of wrinkle
Does your chest tend to freckle
Do you have a crooked smile
Do your eyes sit wide
Do your ears sort of wiggle
Does your hair make you giggle
Does your neck grow long
Do your hips sing a song
Do your ears hang low."

Is it just me, or did that commercial just not put you in the mood to go buy some Dove products? MY INTERPRETATION: "Dove is for the lady who has mutant features, and can't use other beauty products," or "If you use Dove, you will look like a mutant, if you don't already."

OK so I am all for that natural beauty thing, and fully see the argument that society has made us think that we need to be skinny lil' toothpick things that look like models to be "pretty," but I think Dove has taken their "true beauty " thing too far with this ad. See, if the argument is that we are all pretty and we don't need any product to change us, except Dove products of course, then wouldn't it just be best to associate Dove with total beauty and not perceived "flaws." Every girl has unique features, and yes Dove, I do agree that each of us is beautiful as God created us each as individual gifts from him..... HOWEVER, I am pretty sure none of us wants the product that claims to show off that little thing we are not too excited about you know like "a nose that runs to the side" or your "wide set eyes" That's what makes us human.... we are flawed, and we are always going to be looking for something that shows our perceived best, and on this end I don't really ask for much. I simply prefer to look human, and not like a member of the X-MEN.... so looks like there will be no Dove in my future.

OK sorry for the ramble more normal stuff later.

RED

Dreaming Big!

Welcome back everyone! (now including my sister, mom, Monica, Leslie, Carrie, Sarah, and Mandy). Bless you for pretending I am cool enough to blog on a regular basis.

As you may have noticed, I don't appear to have too exciting of a social life. If you scroll down, you may find that I really spend most of my time helping kids with hearing loss, helping their parents, or talking about helping with something related to d/hh. Although I find it to be the greatest thing in the world...it turns out others are not as excited as I am about the nerd talk.

In an effort to expand my horizons beyond my business, and my daily visits to the YMCA to workout, I decided to pay for some friends. Because nothing says exciting social life like an expensive women's social club. As of this month, I am now a new member of the Junior League of Richmond. This month I have already been to a couple happy hours, and a social. I have met some great girls... including another 20-something business owner, and someone who also works with ear related things, so I am sure to not have to talk about other things for too long! I will be sure to blog about this aspect of life in between my nerd blogs.

In other more important news. LOTS of people are going to be here to visit soon for TCU HORNED FROG FOOTBALL!!!! I am so pumped. The best part is Leslie will be here to hang out the entire weekend! YES! "Robert's people," or my "friend-in-laws" as I lovingly refer to them (for some reason they don't like it when I call them names), will be meeting in DC for some fun, and then joining us at the TCU at UVA game on Sept 12.

And finally, I will get to have my favorite kind of nerd fun in St. Louis over labor day weekend! I will be reunited with my Northwestern AuD buddies for Serena's wedding. I CAN'T WAIT!

That's all for now.

RED
PS- Say some prayers for an all clear at my annual cancer scans at MD Anderson on Sept 8 & 9. Here's to hoping my body has decided to take a holiday from tumor growing...

PPS- Stay tuned to the blog for a BIG announcement about an exciting new program we're starting as part of the business!

Good Day Plan

Hello Loyal Blog Readers and first timers....

I attended this session at a conference I spoke at recently, and it talked about ways to help with social emotional aspects of d/hh kid's lives. They talked specifically about helping kids make "Good Day Plans." These are supposed to be a way to have the kids identify the critical aspects of their day that keep them happy and calm, or to put the half empty spin on it... they things that may cause the kid to get all Nanny 911 on you if they don't happen. For example... "I may be all crazy like if I don't get my nap." Anyways, it got be thinking about the little things that make my "Good Day Plan." Of course for me is just turned into a list of random things that make me happy...

A Red Head's Good Day Plan:

1. A great run
2. Cereal for breakfast
3. A walk with the dog
4. Sweet voices of kids at work
5. Empowered parents
6. Free samples at the grocery store
7. Temp above 80
8. Friends to keep me company on the way home from Cville
9. Talking to people from Texas
10. Dinner with my Husband
11. Paying Cash
12. Reading before bed
13. Jam out session on the ride home from work
14. Watching some Disney Channel TV show


So there you go the recipe for an awesome day!

Summer!

What a summer!

It's been a crazy hectic summer, but it has been filled with blessings and big changes. After much prayer and consideration, Robert and I have decided to stay put here in VA for a while. As much as we miss Texas and our friends there, we both are filled with peace as we know this is where God wants us right now. The opportunities we both have professionally are so great here in VA that it is almost too much to take in!

Now for the updatin'....
A bulk of the summer has been spent expanding my business to Richmond, doing several presentations at area conferences, and doing contract work with several school districts. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the friends and families who helped me get started. I can't even begin to express how much it means to have your support!

Somewhere in the mix I managed to do a summer camp for children with cochlear implants with a fellow SLP buddy. "Camp Listen in the Kitchen" was quite possibly one of the most rewarding experiences I have had as a professional. All of the kids made such great progress, and they had a blast! It was bittersweet as it made me realize how few resources there are for oral deaf children in Virginia. The times are a changin', but it is still a slow process. I am glad I get to be a part of it!

In other news, my sister moved to VA a couple of weeks ago! We got a great visit from the Schmidt family including Mom, Dad, Ringo, Manda, and Kofi all under the same roof. Ralphie was so excited I think his tail is still wagging! We can't wait to have more Kofi and Mandi adventures!

And now for the REAL news.... I have discovered the coolest trick I get to play on people! I have learned through many comments over the course of the past few weeks that I look a little "youthful" for my age. As it turns out I seem to initially give people a brief awkward moment when they think a 12 year old will be teaching their kid to listen and talk, or give them a scholarly presentation etc. Yes, I will admit that it makes me want to shout at people, "I know I look 12, but I promise it will be OK!" In an effort to keep this positive, and not get annoyed, I have decided to start to accumulate the comments. I hope to try to find the best smart remark...Maybe I will take a vote. So I will end this blog with the ones from the last week or so:

- "When I saw you at the last meeting I was like either I'm getting old or Christine's getting younger... Honey you look 12!"

- "You know, all I kept thinking during your presentation was, How on earth could an 18 year old have already done all that schooling, and started a business?"

- "The first time I saw you at the meeting I seriously thought you were a high school student"

- "Our family just lovingly refers to you as "Doogie Howser, A-V"

- "Are you sure you are old enough to drive yourself to the office?"

Hope to keep you posted with more comments. Thanks for reading my rambles!

RED