illinois art therapy conference

Hello all.

Yes! Still alive!

The Illinois Art Therapy Conference was fabulous. My professor gave me special recognition in class for attending (because only one other person attended from MMU, and she LIVES in Chicago). 

It was super-informative/interesting, and I met a lot of great people. 

Art therapists are the nicest.

It was also held at SAIC (School of the Art Institute of Chicago), which has always kind of been my dream school.

But I'd have to say that much prefer MKE to Chicago. 

Way less traffic/people/buildings/allsmooshedtogetherjustlikethis. 

MKE has more space, and it costs less to park. A LOT LESS.

And really, the IATC was only a part of a VERY wonderful Chicago weekend.

Ben and I drove in after my practicum fair on Friday. 

Took 3 hours to drive 75-ish miles, because Chicago rush hour traffic is HORRIBLE.

Especially when there is an accident.

It slows everyone down.

But the view of the city is always breathtaking.

But we made it just in time to have a quick supper with Matt, and then off to The Bad Plus concert.
They're a jazz group that Ben adores, and they happened to be playing at University of Chicago...which is where Matt happens to be attending law school.
So he happened to get us $5 student tickets.
It was AMAZING!

The next morning I was up at 6:30 am to head off to SAIC for the conference.

We stayed with good college friend Kelly, who lives a few blocks from Wrigley field, and the Red Line (metro system).

It was a simple 5 minute walk + 25 minute metro ride + 5 minute walk to SAIC. 

SO CONVENIENT! 

Afterwards, I returned to Kelly's by metro and we took the car to meet Ben and other friends for supper.

Can we ALL be super proud of me for conquering anxiety issues and actually driving in Chicago on more than one occasion? 

Not so bad, but not super-fun either.

Anyway, Meredith, Blaire, Matt, Kelly, Ben and I all went to the Jason Isbell concert after eating Costa Rican food (which included an oatmeal milkshake and plantains). 

Everything in that sentence was unbelievably amazing. 

We drove/fought through Halloween crowds while trying to find parking afterwards...we're taking the train from now on. 

On Sunday morning we met all of the previous friends for brunch at Ann Sather's.

Known for their CINNAMON ROLLS. (See top picture.)

There are TWO included in ONE SIDE. 

THAT is how you treat a customer well. 

We napped...because I needed it.

And then ended the evening by attending Kelly's sketch musical comedy show at Second City. 

We then drove back and made it home in 1 hr and 40 minutes...because that is how long it SHOULD take without heavy traffic. (Not 3 hours.)

Monday was a little tough to get through, but we made it.

AND THEN I woke up with a serious migraine on Tuesday morning.

The headache/nausea kept me in bed until 2 pm.

I talked to TWO people who also experienced migraines yesterday. 

Definitely allergies.

Weird.

I feel like I will never fully understand allergies/sinuses/migraines.

And tonight I secured a nannying job! 

Just something a little part-time because I feel bad for not making ANY money. 

A 4-year-old and a 1-year-old. 

Precious!

Their parents seem lovely too.

My Journal Article presentation was crossed off today! (see below)

Little by little!

I don't have it on the list, but I'm currently applying to/interviewing with practicum sites for THE WHOLE NEXT YEAR.

I'm aiming for 3 populations: community art center/nursing home/oncology unit. 

Spring/Summer/Fall.

I'm just going to plunge through all of that and not put it on the list.

Speaking of which, I'm going to go work on my resume....

CATE

- journal article review & presentation (Wednesday, 2 pages)

- career intervention & poster (Nov. 13, 5 pages)

- my life, my plan reflection paper (Nov. 20, 6 pages)

- career assessment, reflection & synthesis (Dec. 4, 6 pages)

EMILY

- psychotherapy/counseling draft (Nov. 14)

- psychotherapy/counseling paper (Dec. 12, 8-10 pages)

- painting (Dec. 12)

CHRIS

- materials draft

- materials paper (Dec. 4, 8-10 pages)

BRUCE

-media presentation (Nov. 18)

hot drinks

Made some hot cocoa this morning when I got up.

I needed some warm comfort...and sugar.

Made some loose leaf tea to sip in class as I worked on my midterm.

We had 10 questions to answer and we were allowed to type as much as we could muster for 3 hours. 

Fasted 3 hours ever.

I was exhausted by the end of it.

And so I made some coffee. 

I could really go for a nap, but I think I should work through it instead.

So I decided that I needed a big to-do list for my last 7 weeks of class...and of course I've added a few things that I could cross off immediately. It's all downhill from here. 

CATE

- journal article review & presentation (Wednesday, 2 pages)

- career intervention & poster (Nov. 13, 5 pages)

- my life, my plan reflection paper (Nov. 20, 6 pages)

- career assessment, reflection & synthesis (Dec. 4, 6 pages)

EMILY

- did I mention how glad I am that my presentation for this class is done?

- psychotherapy/counseling draft (Nov. 14)

- psychotherapy/counseling paper (Dec. 12, 8-10 pages)

- painting (Dec. 12)

CHRIS

- materials draft

- materials paper (Dec. 4, 8-10 pages)

BRUCE

-media presentation (Nov. 18)

I have the rest of October to start preparing for the mess of stuff coming up in November. 

I'm already starting to think about the coming semester, which will bring practicum!

I think I know where I'll be doing my practicum, but I will wait to announce that when it is confirmed. 

Illinois Art Therapy Conference in Chicago this weekend!

Going to see some friends, some concerts, some art therapists, and just have a great time in general.

color run

dynamic views

You'll notice a change in blog layout.
I decided to switch layouts because although the "dynamic view" style blogs were visually appealing, I couldn't read comments that people left.
I think it has something to do with google reader going down a little ways back.
Who knows.
Anyway.
New look.

And by the way, the chocolate cake I listed in the last post is a must-try!
Soooooo moist.
Make it.

relief!

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii......

I'm alive. I made it. 

My class ended about an hour ago and I already have a chocolate cake baking in the oven. 

THIS ONE.

Yes, it's vegan. 

I didn't even realize it until I finished putting all of the ingredients in. 

I did not pick it for health reasons (because if you look at the ingredients, you will see how NOT healthy it is for you).

It's a "that-cake-looks-good-so-I'm-gonna-make-it" cake.

Anyway, we got an 'A' on the presentation.

Glad my standards are higher than my professor's.

And now my crazy week is over!

I guess I have a mid-term on Monday, and a little baby paper due on Wednesday.

But those will be no problem.

The big stuff is out of the way...for now. 

Bigger papers coming up at the end of the semester, but at least I can take a little break first.

Having an assignment due %100 percent of the time is difficult. 

So our Michigan weekend!....

It was fabulous!

You can see Laurie and Chris above. 

The wedding was outside at this beautiful old house that was built in 1901 and is used for celebrations and events... such as weddings.

The weather was PERFECT.

All of the trees were changing colors and the leaves were falling all around us.

Could not have been more lovely.

And it was so amazing to see a bunch of my dearest friends again.

I'll get to see most of them in December for Cari's wedding too!

What a great year of weddings/get-togethers.

We rented a cottage in Grand Haven for 10 people, so we all got to hang out and talk way too late into the night.

We were about a block from the beach.

Grand Haven was beautiful.

I would absolutely go back there to visit. 

The ferry was amazing!

It tops out at speeds of 40 mph.

Way more room to walk around, space to spread out, tables to sit at, a galley to buy food (although we didn't). 

Much better than an airplane.

Except I got a little motion sick on the way back.

I didn't vomit. 

Just queezy and a little dizzy.

In order to distract myself from the mild illness, I drew my motion sickness (below).

Next time, Dramamine.

And here is my painting that was due on Monday.

The background was grey.

I took it to class and noticed that it should really be orange.

So I brought it home and painted it orange.

And now it's a gift for my sister, because I owe her a painting.

And also it makes sense to give it to her because I think she would be one of the few people to recognize mom's geraniums in her white pot. 

So (HUGE sigh of relief). It's felt like I was running a marathon this week...actually these past 2 weeks.

I'm meeting classmates at Colectivo tomorrow afternoon to study/talk about the midterm.

Then hopefully a little video Gchat with Em & Kez.

And then Saturday morning I look forward to running around for 30-ish minutes while getting covered in colorful starchy powder (Color Run). 

I've hit the midway point.

Only 7 more weeks of class!

It's flying by.

train advice

Almost done with the chaos!

I went to class and turned in my painting on Monday, despite the extreme sleepiness hangover from my weekend in Michigan. 

I helped "career coach" 6 freshman at the Milwaukee High School of the Arts on Tuesday morning. Kids have short attention spans...in case you forgot.

Today I turned in my genogram and paper.

Tomorrow is the big one. 

Group presentation in psychotherapy and counseling class.

I was going to go have coffee at Colectivo with the Mennonite church ladies, but there was a problem with the train crossing lights. 

Sat there for 20 minutes and decided to heed the train's advice and go home. 

So I'm about to get back to work on the presentation. 

I will be SO glad when it's over. 

I have a midterm on Monday, but it should be pretty easy, and I have all weekend to study for it. 

Back to the grind. 

I'll catch you up on the Michigan weekend when my sanity is back in its proper place. 

time out

I am RIDICULOUSLY BUSY THIS WEEK.

I have a painting, a paper, and a presentation due next week AND I have to go career counsel high school students for a few hours. 

Each one due on a different day: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. 

That means I am working REALLY HARD to get as much of that done this week as possible because I'll be in Michigan for a WEDDING this weekend!

Amidst all of that I'm turning in a TWENTY-FIVE PAGE PAPER IN TOMORROW!

Yes, I'm being over-dramatic and that sounds way more impressive than it really is.

Only 6 pages of that is the actual paper. The other pages have pictures, raw data, references and the title page. 

SO GLAD I'M HANDING IT IN TOMORROW.

So I'm exhausted (because I was working on it all day today), and I'm going to bed. 

I will talk with you all again sometime next week after I finish all of that stuff.

WISH ME LUCK!

mid-terms?!

Coffee-dyed quilt block for my 7 Day project. Used coffee in one art project everyday for 7 days. 

I guess next week we're half way through the semester.

I can hardly believe it. 

It's just flown by so quickly. 

We only have one mid-term in Bruce's class, and he's giving us a study guide, so I'm not terribly worried. 

 Tonight I start my PTSD/Veterans' Issues workshop. 6-10 pm tonight, 9-4 pm tomorrow, 9-1 pm on Sunday. Should be a good class and a busy couple of days.  

Very sad we couldn't make it to Fall Fest at Bethel this weekend. 

I thought this was gonna be the year where we finally make it back. 

Maybe next year. 

At least Schmeckfest is in the Spring. 

Fingers crossed that no school stuff interferes.

I didn't mention that Bruce gave us our papers back ALREADY on Wednesday.
I got an A on the paper and an A+ on the presentation.
Speaking in Spanish during a presentation will get you brownie points
So I'm glad that's over, but there is A LOT of stuff to do in the next two weeks.
Seriously, if you don't hear from me there are many good reasons.

And FALL is upon us!
Take a look at our street.
It's raining today.
Even more leaves on the ground.
Hope to get out of the city at some point to see all of the beautiful trees.