Thankful

Today I am thankful for -

I stumbled up Francesca after hearing "It's my Life" being played in the Jon & Kate Plus 8 finale commercials. I downloaded that one song and a friend asked me if I had heard her others.  I had not,so I did a bit of research.  I have been listening to her entire CD non-stop for the past few days.  It is that good!

If you like Christian music, I would highly suggest it for this holiday season :)

I have been enjoying my week off and I can't believe it's almost over.  I have done a whole lot of nothing.  I'm here by myself, but I have been enjoying it.  I've seen quite a few movies this week and it's been fun to entertain myself.

Only 2 more weeks of this semester left!

I changed my blog again, lol.  But this time, I did the whole template. I love it, but I did lose all my widgets in the process.  Hopefully I'll be able to get at least my bloglists back up soon.

Here's a link to a list of free blogger background/template sites: http://butterflygirlmsblogdesigns-designers.blogspot.com/

Mine came from: http://lenatoewsdesigns.blogspot.com/search/label/detailed%20templates

Overhaul

of this blog.

Learned about wordle over on Eyes Opened Wider.

My header is supposed to be all thew  words from the song, Hazel by Bob Dylan.

Hazel, dirty blonde hair
I wouldn't be ashamed to be seen with you anywhere
You got something I want plenty of
Ooh, a little touch of your love.

Hazel, stardust in your eye
You're going somewhere and so am I
I'd give you the sky high above
Ooh, for a touch of your love.

Oh no, I don't need any reminder
To know how much I really care
But it's just making me blinder and blinder
Because I am up on the hill and still you're not there.

Hazel, you called and I came
Now don't make me play this waiting game
You've got something I want plenty of
Ooh, a little touch of your love.

I don't know why it's not centered - but I guess it will do.
 

DFCS

Today I went to meet my field supervisor for next semester, I'll call her Leigh.

The drive over wasn't too bad.  It took me about 25 minutes, so while not the worse, I'll definitely be watching my money a little more closely next semester.  I was surprised to see a lot of the county offices on the same street. (Mental Health, Head Start(would have loved to be placed here!), DFCS, Sr. Citizens Outreach, etc.)

The DFCS offices are spread out over a couple of buildings and my supervisor was in the back.  She was a very sweet woman and graduated from my program about 5 years ago. She asked me if I was more interested in CPS or foster care/adoption and I told her foster care. 

She told me a little about their program and how it is heavily based on reunification and the integration of foster families and birth families.  In most cases foster families and birth families work together on issues concerning the child.  She also said they have come a long way in how many children they have in foster care. A few years ago it was around 200 and now it's down to about 60. 

I'll be shadowing people mostly.  Going out to inspect foster care homes, going to court, going to visit children in group homes or hospitals, attending treatment meetings, etc.  Possibly even going along for the removal of children from their homes...don't know if I'm ready for that! 

I'm very excited and I got a really good vibe from Leigh. I'll be there Thursdays and Fridays from around 8:30-5.  A few of those Fridays are furloughs, so yay! 

She mentioned that they were able to hire both their 2nd year interns from last year.  That sent a "Would I stay in this state if they offered me a job?!" through my head.  I don't think I want to stay here though. If it was the only offer I received, I guess it wouldn't be smart to turn it down. But I really want to move back to my home state when I'm done with this program.  That is a year and a half away...so I've got time!

November, you say?!

I can't believe I've made it this far!

First semester of school almost over.  Classes have been going well.

We were finally assigned our placements for next semester. I will be working in DFCS, in a county about 30 minutes away from where I live.  I'm excited, nervous, anxious, unprepared, etc.  I tried calling my contact yesterday with no luck.  I'll have to try back on Monday.  Quite a few of my friends are in DFCS as well, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of people the talk with.

Added a new member to the fam yesterday...hoping I don't regret this, lol! Fin is giving me a run for my money.

LCSW Exam

The thought of this exam terrifies me.

I'm attending school in a state that's not my home, but I plan on moving back home to work. I hope that won't be a problem when registering for the test/preparation.

None of our professors have talked too much about this test, so I need to do some research on it.  I didn't even know about this until about a month into the program! 

Self Injury

"We are male and female. We are artists, athletes, students, and business owners. We have depression, DID, PTSD, eating disorders, borderline personalities, bipolar disorder, or maybe no formal diagnosis at all. Some of us were abused, some were not. We are straight, bi, and gay. We come from all walks of life and can be any age. We are every single race or religion that you can possibly think of. Our common link is this: We are in pain. We self-injure. And we are not freaks."

I came across this quote on a facebook group tonight and it really touched my heart.

I was...am a self-injurer. I don't know if you've ever cured from it. I might be something I deal with for the rest of my life. I don't know. I haven't self-injured in probably a year, maybe a little more.

But the thing that got me about this quote is that I guarantee that 99% of the people I know don't know this about me and would NEVER guess it.

There is such a stigma around this issue. You hear 'cutter'

and a lot of people think: goth. dark music. moody. dark clothes. unpopular.

Or:  attention seeker. bored teenager.

Sure some may fall into that category, but not all of us.

I was the popular kid in school. I was the happy one. I was always laughing, always optimistic. I had plenty of friends. People liked me. And I was a cutter.

I didn't do it for attention.
I wasn't trying to kill myself.
I was not bored.

I had a crappy home life and no emotional support. I didn't know how to express my emotions and they came out by cutting. It was just the only way I knew how to feel and deal with what I was feeling.

The person who works next to you may be cutting. Your close friend might be. The teenager down the street. The dad at the grocery store. Your boss. The nurse. Anyone.

We never know what people are going through. Smile at everyone. Wish them a good day. Say thank you. Ask how someone is doing.  Simple words can do so much in someone's life. They may hold onto your kind words for hours, or days, or weeks, or months.  Just to know someone cared enough.

My first award :)

EVER!
Thanks so much Eyes Opened Wider. I am so thankful for your friendship!

 This award comes with a few rules; Copy and paste this onto a new post in your blog. Write your own answers to the questions below. Remember -you can only use one word answers! (It is just too hard for some answers!) Pass this along to 6 of your favorite bloggers by including their links! Post on your blog. Alert them that you have given them this award. Simple. So go ahead get started.... Have Fun!

___________________________________________

Where is your cell phone? Friend's.

Your hair? Messy

Your mother? Funny

Your father? Thoughtful

Your favorite food? Anything

Your dream last night? none

Your favorite drink? Tea

Your dream/goal? Family

What room are you in? Living

Your hobby? reading

Your Fear? Alone

Where do you want to be in 6 years? Married

Where were you last night? Movie

Something that you aren’t? Serious

Muffins? Sometimes

Wish list item? Wardrobe

Where did you grow up? South

Last thing you did? ate

What are you wearing? Tshirt

Your TV? TLC

Your pets? None

Friends? Love

Your life? Full

Your mood? Relaxed

Missing someone? yes

Vehicle? Clean

Something you’re not wearing? Pants!

Your favorite store? Target

Your favorite color? Yellow

When was the last time you laughed? GoldenGirls

Last time you cried? night

One place that I go to over and over? School

One person who emails me regularly? School

Favorite place to eat? Red Lobster

I'll nominate:

Anti-socialworker

Fighting Monsters

Everybody's Mom

Not sure that anyone else read's this ;)