25 Random Things

25. When I was a 13 I wanted to be an astronaut
24. When I get nervous I bite or pick the skin on my left thumb
23. I have recently started a blog and love it
22. I am a vegan
21. Since reading Twilight I have started reading more young adult books. I am getting in touch with my inner "teen". Yikes
20. I never thought I would move away from Arizona
19. I miss our going to dinner and a movie at the Bear Tooth (our favorite hang out in Alaska)
18. I love the Iditarod - It starts March 2nd mark your calendars!
17. Esteban and I met in PT school in 1997 and have worked together ever since. We are together so much we can finish each others sentences.
16. I love being my own boss
15. Sometimes I think about getting my Masters in Business Administration after I finish my Doctorate of Science. Yeah I must be taking crazy pills!
14. I loved being in PT school. Not only did I meet Esteban but I had a wonderful class and we were in Flagstaff what could have been better?
13. When driving through a one mile tunnel in Alaska I found out I was mildly claustrophobic. That was one long tunnel.
12. I talk and sing to myself a lot. Usually when I am alone but I have been caught several times :-)
11. I love working with chronic pain patients
10. I get very anxious in large groups of people
9. I am finally getting used to living in Kansas City
8. My parents are my heroes
7. Esteban always makes me laugh when he starts cracking himself up at his "jokes"
6. I practice Falun Gong
5. I am a very liberal Democrat
4. I have been blessed with a wonderful family. I am who I am based on what they have taught me
3. I believe in dualism
2. I believe in equal rights for people of all races, religions, and sexual orientation.
1. I married my best friend what's better than that?

Family

So this year E and I did our traveling for the holidays after the fact. It was different not being with our family during the holiday season. However, so far with this trip we have been able to spend more quality time with our family. For the past two days we have been staying with my brother Steve and his wife Jessica and their two dogs Cali and Rilo. We have had some wonderful meals, seen the sights of Gilbert, and shared a lot of laughs (many at my expense) :-). Below are some pics of the house Steve and Jessica have been doing some fabulous work restoring for us. In addition there are pics of their babies (the four legged kind).

Sorry Steve this was too much for me to pass up. Steve repainted all the doors in the house before we came. He did not have time to hang them all however. He did hang this one to provide them some privacy for their bedroom. However, after hanging the door he discovered it did not actually fit. I call this a room with a view! :-)

The view from the front door through the kitchen into the living room. Steve did all the floors! What a FANTASTIC job!

The office. Looks too pretty to work in. You will never see a picture of my office on here. Too many papers and too much clutter.

Rilo

Cali. I couldn't resist putting this pic on here. She was putting on a sad face waiting for a treat. Do they know how to manipulate us or what?

Waiting for more treats

Jess and Steve

Amy's Christmas Crafts

So for the past four years I have made the presents I give out for Christmas. My items are “bath” in nature. Each year I try different recipes. It is a lot of work but also a lot of fun. Plus I like getting handmade gifts and hopefully so do those who receive my gifts. I thought this year I would “share” a picture of my items with you. On the left side are my tubes and pots of lip balm (honey, beeswax and almond oil). The jars next to the lip balm contain a eucalyptus and lavender Epsom salt soak. The Ziploc containers are a sugar scrub with a citrus spice fragrance oil. The soap is a purple/bluish color and contains canola oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, castor oil, olive oil. Some of the bars have interesting shapes and some dents due to difficulty getting them out of the molds (That’s the fun of homemade gifts right?). Behind the soap are some heart shaped lotion bars (olive oil, beeswax, and cocoa butter). To the right of the soap in the Ziploc containers are lotion made with (cocoa butter, almond oil, avocado oil, apricot oil, palm kernel oil, jojoba). Behind those is a batch of milk and honey bath mix. I was a little late getting my stuff made this year and so I didn’t get pretty containers (hence the Ziploc containers).

Happy Holidays from the Azevedo's

Well I guess it goes without saying what I am doing on Christmas Day (updating my blog). Esteban and I decided to get a family picture last night before going over to our friends Susan and Kathy’s for Christmas Eve dinner. It will go on our Christmas letter when I finally get around to writing it, but I thought it would be great to post it today and send out some happy holiday wishes to you all.

Esteban, Bellini, and I would like to wish you all Happy Holidays! May the love, peace, and joy of this holiday season fill your hearts now and during the coming year.

Midwest Spinal Pain Christmas Party

So Modern PT does not have a Christmas party. Instead we do employee appreciation parties quarterly. However, the business next to us had a Christmas party this year and they invited our staff. They had a local jazz singer, Mama Ray, and her band come and play in our gym. This band is their nurse practioner's, Gretchen, favorite so it was a special treat for her. It was a great evening filled with food, music, and great friends.

Everyone listening to Mama Ray
Gretchen and Mama Ray drinking coffee

Elva and Jerry

Courtney, Gretchen, Kelly

Me and Kathy

Lisa and Wayne

Ben and Ashlee

Happy Anniversary

Today, December 21st, is the winter solstice. More importantly however it is my parent's anniversary. I can't remember how many years exactly. Which is bad for me as a daughter. I should keep closer track of these things. However, maybe it they would appreciate me not putting it on here as it may give a clue to their ages. :-) Anyway I would like to take this opportunity and wish them a very Happy Anniversary. I am sorry I can't be there in Arizona to celebrate with you. However, I am and will be thinking of the two of you all day!

In these stressful and troubled times it is difficult to find longevity with marriage. I want to thank you both for setting a great example for me with your marriage as well as your approach to life. You two are both a shining example of what it takes to make a marriage work in both good and bad times. I love you both so very much!

Work

I will always remember my interviews for physical therapy school and the numerous questions I had about how I dealt with change. At the time it was a mystery to me why this question was so important. However, to be fair, at this time in my life I had not experienced many changes. Since then I have moved from Alaska to Missouri, opened a business, and have expereinced so many changes that it is making my head spin thinking about them. Change truly is a constant in life. However, that does not make it any easier when it occurs. Which brings us around to today. This week we said goodbye to one of our therapists, Tara. She has only been with us a short time but will be missed by everyone in the clinic. I know that with this change Tara and Modern Physical Therapy both have wonderful futures in front of them full of new experiences, friends, and opportunities. However, today I am still coming to terms in dealing with this change and tomorrow a new adventure begins. I have attached a picture from the lunch we had for Tara on her last day of work.

Back row: Me, Esteban, Jerry, Dio, Lisa, Ashlee, Cheri

Front Row: Courtney, Tara, Mellannie