Level II fieldwork project

I can't believe that my first level II rotation is almost over.  These 12 weeks have been so great!

Every level II fieldwork site has their student do some kind of a project.  I decided to do mine on DIY adaptive equipment.

When I started at this site, I quickly noticed how much adaptive equipment they use.  Not only is this adaptive equipment expensive and take a long time to be ordered, it often needs to be customized for the child anyway.  I made a series of handouts on frequently used adaptive equipment that the therapist could use for themselves or give to teachers.

I organized the handouts and the research to support them on a google site (link posted below).

Feel free to use or share any information that could be useful to you!

https://sites.google.com/site/diyadaptiveequipment/

(P.S. This means only 12 weeks and boards are standing between me and becoming an OT!)


Thanks for reading!

Text-worthy Tuesday: Jealous much?

Kara and Jill were a little bummed they didn't get to come to San Diego with us.  They decided to take advantage of the time difference and wake us up on our days off.  I have to wonder how long they were planning this one.

Next time we will be taking them for sure.

Family Key:

Sullivan = Sarah

Karol = Kara

JoJo = Jill

Thanks for reading!

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

To all you traveling ladies out there, what is the worst thing about packing?
I know you all just responded, "Packing jewelry."

I completely agree.  Packing jewelry is a huge pain. Earrings get lost, necklaces get tangled, and you often can't find what you packed anyway.

I always say, "If it's not broken don't fix it."  But some situations call for the opposite. "If it's broken, you better doggone fix it."

I got the brainstorming and designing and made possibly the most functional jewelry case ever (I may be a little biased).  So far, it really has been the best thing for me since sliced bread.

 My apologies for the inside print being so busy that it's hard to see what's going on the inside.  Let me explain.
I knew that I wanted a case with multiple small pockets for bracelets, watches, statement necklaces, etc.  I wanted specific places for my rings and earrings to go and I wanted a way for thin chained pendant necklaces to be stored in the same place, but not get tangled.

I came up with the first designs on a plane ride back to Omaha.  I'm sure the people sitting around me thought I was crazy.  The design has changed quite a bit since then.

 Here are the close ups.

There are 4 different velcro and zipper pockets for my bigger jewelry.
The straps on the top with the snaps close the case.

Attaching your earrings to a ribbon is a great way to secure them for traveling.  They keep my earrings clean and paired together.
On the right, is the tube for my rings.  It unsnaps from the case to get them off and on.

This is my favorite part.  I have some pendant necklaces that always get tangled no matter how I pack them.  Here I made various slots for each necklace to slide into.  The chain of the necklace slides into the strap above to keep it from falling to the bottom of the slot.  My necklaces have stayed perfectly untangled.  

I took it on our trip to San Diego and it worked like a charm.

I would love to hear suggestions for the design or ways you have found to pack jewelry.

Thanks for reading!

#brickcampsister goes to San Diego

Last week was Sarah's and my last spring break ever.  We had to take advantage of this.  Stacey took a week off work and after much deliberating, we decided to take a trip to San Diego.  It was perfect.  The weather was so nice, our hotel was amazing, I finished two of the books on my "to read" list, we ate amazing food, and I came home slightly darker than when I went there.  Amazing, I tell you.  It was so nice to wear flip flops again, even if it was only for a little while.

We stayed at the Humphrey Half Moon Inn and this was our view from out patio.

Sarah and I were pretty excited about it.

And there were parrots at our hotel! 

After we got there, we took a little walk around the Island our hotel was on (Shelter Island...totally actually a peninsula, but you try telling the people living there) and found out we had some great views of the city.

The first day we went to a part of San Diego called "Old Town."  There was an amazing candy store next to our restaurant. 

So on day 2 (,and 3, and 4) we went to the beach.  Oh that glorious beach!  We went to the beach on Coronado Island right next to the Hotel Del Coronado (Also known to the locals and regulars as "The Del."  Anyone else think it's weird that the nickname means "The Of The?")  We spent the better parts of the afternoons sitting on the beach, looking around the hotel (which is supposedly haunted by the way), and getting our pretzels eaten by the birds on the beach.

On day 3, we drove to a beautiful place there called "La Jolla."  So beautiful.  These pictures do it absolutely no justice.   

There was a retirement home across from this view.  I guess I need to start saving.

"Mine" birds were everywhere. 

   

Here you can just come and hang out with the seals.

The baby seal (pup?) is waving at me! 

So. Many. Seals.

This may have been my favorite part of La Jolla.  It was a huge rock structure that had been beaten in by the water over time.  There were all of these little pools in it where tiny little fish were living.  It was so cool how the water would come and splash up onto the rocks.

An anemone!

And of course I couldn't leave without at least one cute bag.

Print of "The Del" and the crazy bridge you had to drive over to get there.

Neon and neutral clutch I fell in love with (Cotton On)

Can I just say that going on a trip with just your sisters is the best thing ever?  

Text-worthy Tuesday: Czech

This week's text-worthy Tuesday comes from Patrick :)
Making puns is one of his favorite things to do.

P.S. See my new blog banner?  He made it for me!  Isn't it great?!

DIY pattern pop tee

Hey there.  It's been a while. I just got back from a fabulous sister trip to San Diego for my spring break.  It was bomb dot com! I will be posting pictures soon.

In the meantime...
Have you seen these pattern pop tees from Anthropologie?

       

It's moments like these when I'm really upset that I didn't think of something like this first.

I have a bunch of clothes I finally sorted out of my closet, but I just can't give them to Goodwill yet.  I know I should, but it is just so hard to give old clothes away!  If I can't give them away, I can surely refashion them, right?

In this pile of 'need to go to Goodwill' clothes, I have all of these t-shirt that I love the colors of, but they are the fitted kind and I just don't wear those anymore.  I figured this project would be perfect for them.
The great thing about using your old clothes to make new ones is that I don't have to spend hours in the fabric store picking out fabric!

Exhibit A

I got this dress and Target a few years ago and the t-shirt is from Express.  I loved the fabric on both, but the fit just wasn't in style any more.  So I got to snipping!

I cut the back off minus the top portion.  

I used the piece I cut out to make a pattern for my patterned piece.  

I cut out the top first, sewed it, and then decided where to cut the sides.  

Cut the side on a diagonal so the bottom of the shirt is flowy and bigger than the top.  Sew the sides together and hem the bottom.  I hemmed it so the bottomed was rounded and longer than the front.  

The last touch was to make a pocket for the front from the leftover fabric.

And here's how it turned out.  I've even worn it a few times already.  I may be making more :)

If you're into refashioning this is great blog to check out: Refashionista

Thanks for reading!