first practicum site interview scheduled

I just received a call from Fuller Psychological Family Services to schedule an interview for a potential placement with them as a MFT Trainee. Yipee! I'll keep you posted!

me ziplining!

James took this picture of me ziplining in Costa Rica. We had a ton of fun!

practicum site search

Last Friday was practicum site fair day. It is a day for all the counseling agencies to come to our school, give a 3 minutes presentation and set up a both to talk to students and receives resumes. It was a little nerve racking but after all is said and done the worst is yet to come as we follow-up with phone calls, resumes, cover letters and many prayers for a call from an interview. There were a lot of great sites for many different reasons. Flexibility in schedule, theoretical orientation, private practice training, community mental health experience and the list goes on. It kind of feels like I just hope I get one. I could start seeing clients as early as April or as late as September. That is kind of crazy! All of the sudden it is here! Yikes! I am sure anxiety will continue to increase as that date becomes more of reality but until then I am just doing it day by day, assignment by assignment and class by class. I guess it'll go that I'll survive the responsibility of being a therapist client by client. That seems more manageable.

tired

Today was a tiring day. Tuesday's will be the tiring day for the rest of this quarter. Only six more to go! I start the day at 8am and the day ends at 9:20pm. The day is filled mostly with classes with a little work inbetween. I am catching up on some TiVo right now in an effort to wind down. I am about ready to call it a night!

The thing that brought me up today was James. We had played phone tag all day both having busy schedules but we finally talked after work. It wasn't long but just in the few minutes that we debriefed our day I felt my spirit lift. I love that just talking to him makes me feel better. I had a moment of insight and reflection in the middle of our conversation and just was thankful for him in my life. I didn't expect him to make my feel better and I didn't even ask him to cheer me up but it just happened and I caught it in a moment of self-awareness. There was even a moment in my day that I thought what would James say to me in this situation and I had a little talk with myself and felt better. His perspective on my life helps me keep me from going to places in my emotional life that are unhelpful. Anyway, I am extremely thankful for him and looking forward to all that is to come in our future!

Tomorrow is a bit of a lighter day. I have Clinical Foundations Lab in the morning and the rest of the day I am at work. I've got a 3 page paper to write and gotta memorize the chapter in the DSM on Delirium, Dementia, and Amnestic and Other Cognitive Disorders. Woo hoo!

James and I are visiting a reception site on Thursday evening. We are pretty excited about that. We gotta nail down a church and I need to make some follow-up and initial phone calls about that. I can't wait to get those details finished. We really look forward to being married. Yipee!

handsome man in costa rica

The next day was Costa Rica and that is were we zip lined! That was fun! Here's my handsome man with his helmet on as we are getting ready to let a cable suspend us 60 feet above the rain forest! Safety first!

the happy couple in panama

This is James and I on the boat about to disembark to explore Panama. We didn't get past much of the pier and a bunch of touristy shops but it was fun to be off the boat after two days at sea.

BIG news!

I'm engaged!

WOO HOO!

The wonderful Mr. James Holguin and I were engaged on January 2nd, 2007!

Here's the story:

We were in Florida awaiting to embark on a cruise to the Western Carribean. It was a family reunion of sorts as all of the Murphy (that's James' mom side) family was present and accounted for on this trip. We got notice in the afternoon of Tuesday, January 2nd that our trip was going to be delayed a day. James original plan was to ask me on the second night of the cruise and then changed it to the first night of the cruise because nerves were getting the best of him. Well, with this report of the trip being delayed, he couldn't take it anymore. Mind you... I have NO IDEA what is about to happen when we both agree to go take a walk around his aunt's property. So, we walk and we go off to this beautiful area that has a pond, green grass and a weeping willow looking tree that has spanish moss hanging off of it... it was beautiful. We stop there and James says to me "You have something in your ear." to which I respond, "Oh! Can you get it out?" I realize I am not the sharpest tool in the shed sometimes! And what he pulls out is... the ring! My jaw drops, my eyes are as wide as ever and I am in total shock! He says all these wonderful things about me and about us (I honestly can't remember because I was in state of shock!) and then drops on his knee and pops the question to which I respond, "Absolutely! Yes!" He puts the ring on my finger...and we're engaged! WOO HOO!

I am still floating on cloud 9 even in the midst of getting back into the swing of school and work (hence the delay in letting people know!). We are planning a wedding in December of 2007. We're still working on church sites and reception sites, etc. and then we'll have a specific date.

Anyway, we are both very excited and look forward to our day to be married and all that the future holds for us! Stay tuned for more details!