Austin Conference

So, I thought I'd get there in time for the opening plenary, but no, spent 3 hours in Chicago waiting for my plane (instead of 1). As I arrived home in Seattle Sunday night, I thought to myself 'what if we were making these trips by covered wagon? We wouldn't be worrying about a 3 hour delay!' Anyway, as you could tell by Shannon's emails, Austin was WILDLY entertaining!! We walked the hoppin' streets both Friday and Saturday nights, crowded with people, music blaring from every doorway. Jason and I found THE BEST restaurant-Brazilian and Tex-Mex, we opted for the Brazilian side of the menu, and raved over the food. Our waiter said he loved it so much, he had married the chef!! And gained 50 pounds since their wedding 14 months ago, although he'd lost a little. Fabulous food, the first meal in ages that I really wanted to savor every bite.

The conference was full of information, many, many workshops, some good, some not so good, but I went for the complete audio recordings of the workshops (not the plenaries) that come with handouts, so if people want copies of any (or all) that interest them, let me know. I went to a workshop on Alzheimer's and emotional consciousness , forgiveness, children in family therapy, genetics of alcoholism, and skipped the multigenerational substance abuse to go see a movie presented by the Austin Film Festival that my nephew was in. Shannon went with, and we both agreed that he was the best part of the movie, even though he had a small part, he was so cute (even though he was supposed to be a little creepy during the first part of the film). It will probably never make it out of the festival circuit, but good exposure for him. He's in another that will probably get wider release called "Choose Connor", which should be out later this year or next.

So, in conclusion, the conference was good. The final plenary was Dr. Spencer Wells talking about his genographic research that shows we're all pretty much descended from a few people in Africa. I loved the slides of faces, showing how much we all look alike, even though we're different. At one point, he was showing ancient skeletons we could be related to, then put a picture of George W, the pres, on the screen, and said we could be related to him, too. Collective laughter and groaning.

The conclusion of the presentation on genetics, (which was a little too much research for my poor brain to follow), was that MFTs have a chance to intervene at critical stages of development (9-18 months and early adolescence) when genetic predisposition triggers parental reactions that can lead to later aggressive or depressive behavior, and we should jump on the wagon within the next 4 years to position ourselves in a positive relationship to these findings. (I think that was the conclusion.)

Saw Megan at the airport in Denver on the way home, she was nice enough to come out during my layover. What a treat!! And the next day got a call asking for reference for her, so I painted a glowing picture of all her good qualities. Hope it gets her her dream job!! She and Matt had just purchased a condo and today are heading for Maui for her brother's wedding. Fun!!

We are staying home for a week or two--amazing, after more than two months on the go constantly. I might actually get my desk cleared off. Hope all is well in the PLU-MFT world.

PLU MFT 2006

Going to the conference in Austin tomorrow...plane leaves at 6:15am and gets to Austin at 3:30pm...after going through Chicago...looking forward to getting up at 4am, yeah. At least, after being on the EastCoast last weekend, it should feel like 7am, right? I'm glad to be going somewhere warmer, and glad to be getting an infusion of Marriage and Family Therapy discussion and networking possibilities. I can't believe it's been only about 10 weeks since our internship ended! It feels like so much has happened.

We went to Cape Cod Sunday after doing family stuff with Bob's sister and cousins near New Haven...beautiful day, my first time on the beach at the Atlantic Ocean!!! Monday we drove through NW Connecticut on the way to the airport and saw some beautiful country and colorful trees.

It's snowing in Denver....

Hello all...
It's been awhile since I've posted.....I miss you all so much!! (can't wait to see you in Nov. at Kellee's wedding) Let's see-I"ll try to do my best at an update....
Matt has now been working happily at his job for about a month (I can't believe we've been down here for almost 2 months!!!-crazy) He's working as a project engineer for a huge construction company here (he's building a lot of walgreens and Sam's Clubs..among other things and he loves it) he talks every day of his boss "bob" who he describes as an old man who talks like Michael Douglas and Jack Nicholsen..Matt always talks about how he loves "old" people and he has a new story daily which is nice since my days consist of watching Larry sleep and then moving outside to watch Larry play....exciting I know.
I have been applying for jobs like crazy and am starting to get somewhat depressed because of the lack of interest in return for my brillant mind. I have been applying for a ton of mental health jobs as well as temporary office jobs just to support myself while I look-we'll see.....I promise to keep you all posted and if you happen to get a call as one of my references just lie and exagerate about what a genius in the therapy room I am!!! (maybe not a lie) lol....
Larry is the same...just took him to the Vet today again...second time in a week-so you can feel my pain in needing a job.....apparently he has arthritis in one of his legs that he hurt when he jumped out of Matt's g-d truck....he's only a year old-arthritis!!! so he is now on a regiment of pills for the rest of his life and I have spent more on him in the past week than I have on myself for a month and a half-I'm goint crazy just wanting to but one shirt...or a pair of socks...anything new-I'm so sick of what I have!!!!! I keep joking that I won't have money to buy myself sweaters now that it's cold here....
Speaking of which...we had our first snow day....there's about 5 in. on the ground right now...it's beautiful-Larry is a basketcase in the snow...keeps faceplanting beacuse he gets tangled up in his leash so his snout gets covered in ice...I keep looking at SUV's online...I'm needing a new car instead of my Mazda(as much as I love it..) Shannon will appreciate this-I am actually LOVING the Nissan Xterra's....
Matt and I have bought season passes for skiing this winter -you all will love this-Matt got the Colorado pass which lets him ski at A-Basin, Breckenridge, and Keystone all season plus 10 days at Vail and Copper Mt. for $400....and then there's me.....I got the "learn to ski" pass .....but it's awesome-I get three half day lessons and then a season pass like Matt for $260 (can't beat that...plus I'd like to learn how to board and I know Matt is looking forward to the three 1/2 days that I'll be occupied with 5 year old while he's off in the backcountry showing off.....)
Other than that-not too much is new-we've been a little slow to meet a bunch of people here only because we're not wanting to spend a lot of money right now and this is the first time in my life moving and trying to meet people as a couple....different than when you're single for some reason....we have met a lot of nice people from the gator club-one couple fits exactly with us-the girl is a loud mouth who is funny and enjoys a drink or two (sound familiar) and her boyfriend is somewhat quiet and responsible but also has fun-it's like a mirror image....

I am hoping to get pictures up on my website soon....www.delicatefew.zoomshare.com we went up to rocky mountain national park recently and It was beautiful....check it out-I'll update it this week.... keep the updates coming here-I check back every now and then and I'm so happy to hear how wonderful you all are doing-Janett-you're amazing....I love to hear that you working (and saving lives) and of course Suse....Christopher is so HANDSOME,.....Matt was asking if you or Greg would call his Chris....I took a guess that you wouldn't for awhile but I don't know...and I am just so proud to be a part of all of your lives....I promise you I don't take it for granted after moving and losing friends through the years-I do not want that to happen with us!!!! I love you all....I'll see you soon and I wish nothing but wonderful things for you....

Love,
Megan, Matt & Larry Dog

We're Home!

I had my brother send out an e-mail (hopefully everyone got it). I've been stuck in the hospital until today.

Christopher Rios Jenemann was born on Friday morning at 3:30 AM!! You can check my blog for pictures:)!! www.theblogofloki.blogspot.com

Love,
Susanne

Ooops!

Sorry guys! (This is Janett posting under Joy's name) I was just testing to see if I remembered how to use this thing! I just read Susanne's blog, eek, her and Greg are so close to little Christopher making his first appearance!!

So I have a job now, working part time in the Issaquah School District (who contracts with Friends of Youth) as a classroom therapist. It is quite interesting as the classroom I am in is self contained and has 8 boys, all with behavioral/emotional disturbances...but the highlight of my time there has been me performing the Heimlich maneuver on a choking kid! Successfully, I might add. Can you believe it? Me, either!! : ) Janett to the rescue!

Other than that, I have not been on any amazing, relaxing trips like Katherine has. Im jealous!

One of my favorite things about living in Redmond, in addition to the available rich men I havent met yet, is the squirrels!! They are so adorable, I squeal each time I see them in the yard. Shannon doesnt like them and wont let me feed them. She agrees with Carrie on Sex and the City as them being "rats with cuter outfits." But I happen to think thier outfits are pretty darn cute!! : )

Janett

Testing...

PLU MFT 2006

So it's been awhile since I've visited, having lost the link to the blog. Now I think I've gotten to the posting area. And I can change the color of my typing....but how do I add pictures? We backpacked for 4 days in Indian Heaven Wilderness and were surrounded by MILLIONS of blueberries. The berries were a month late because of late spring snow, so the fact that we were a month late getting into the mountains was perfect timing. No bears, no cougars, just birds, sun, beautiful lakes. What a great trip. I finished my last weekend of IFS (Internal Family Systems) training and said good-bye to the group...it was a great year, a great program, although I don't feel quite adept with practicing it as yet. We are off to Oregon this weekend for yet another birthday gathering, next weekend to Connecticut for Bob's dad's memorial gathering, then off to Austin for AAMFT conference. I have to find new renters for my house in Oregon by November 1st. Perhaps we will be spending some time down there to do some overdue house repairs, like a new rug and cutting and clearing trees and brush for fire safety.

I hope people are applying for those jobs at Greater Lakes. It makes me feel guilty and sad that I'm not ready to apply for the Child & Family position, but I hope someone from PLU gets it. Hope all goes well with the new jobs and new digs.