First Solo Presentation

The purpose of this post to document a milestone in my career!

I presented by myself at a national conference AND it was the first time I was "first author" - both of which are goals I have been working towards for a few years now.

C and I planned to drive to Atlanta yesterday morning, but the weather had other plans.  Thanks to winter storm "Thor," we ended up leaving Wednesday night after I got home from class.  (Side note - I find it ridiculous that we're naming winter storms now.)

We drove to Raleigh, arrived at the hotel around 2:30 am, slept for a while, and were back on the road at 9:30 am, heading to Atlanta.

Once we arrived, we checked in to the conference hotel and I checked in for the conference.  I spent the remainder of the evening doing homework and preparing for my presentation, while C watched "House of Cards."  Not the most exciting Thursday night we've ever had, but I did get a lot of work done!

My presentation was at 11:30 am yesterday and it really went quite well!  I was a little nervous, but once I began the presentation, I forgot all about being nervous and just focused on the task at hand.  It didn't hurt that right before my presentation, I had a flurry of texts wishing me luck, which bolstered my confidence.  I am so lucky to have such awesome people in my life!

I had 30 people attend, which may not seem like a lot, but was pretty much a full house.  To compare, at the presentation I did in Orlando last month with two professors, we had 16 people attend and we were thrilled.  So 30 was a pretty big deal for me!

The audience asked some good questions and I had several people chat with me afterwards.  Some of the very kind feedback included that the presentation was great because it was informative, well-organized, and that I had a natural, easy-going manner of speaking.  In all honesty, I was relieved to hear this because when I'm presenting, I worry about sounding like I'm tripping over my words or that I don't know what I'm talking about.  So that comment was really reassuring!

When I met C in the lobby of the hotel after I was done, I could not stop smiling - partly because It was done and I didn't have to think about it anymore, and partly because it went better than I had even hoped!

I look forward to opportunity to do more presentations at conferences in the future, and it feels great to have this first solo one under my belt!

Happy Tails to you!

Ginny...One Year Later!

It was one year ago today that Ginny had unexpected back surgery.  It was a very nerve-wracking ordeal, and we will be forever grateful to the doctors and staff at Bush Veterinary Neurology Service for everything they did for Ginny.  In addition to the outstanding medical care, everyone treated Ginny with such love before, during, and after the surgery.  They are absolutely wonderful.

You may recall that C and I went out of town two days after Ginny's surgery and left her in the very capable hands of my mom, who is nothing short of fabulous.  A year later, we think back to that trip with great fondness, and it would not have been possible without my mom devoting herself to Ginny's recuperation!

Ginny is doing exceptionally well - you'd never even know she ever had back surgery if you saw her today.  We are vigilant about not letting her jump up or down, but other than that, life for her returned to normal.  We are so fortunate to have this delightful, crazy, sweet gal in our life!  And that face!  Adorable!

Here are some photos of her since her surgery a year ago:

March 6, 2014 - the day she came home!

15 staples down her spine!!!!!

Duchess and Ginny - 11 days after the surgery

Healing complete, and back to her old self...

Chelsea and Ginny

Ginny and Chelsea

Maddy and Ginny

Ginny and Chelsea

Sadie, Chelsea, and Ginny

Maddy and Ginny

Ginny and Maddy

Ginny and Maddy

Maddy and Ginny

Ginny and Maddy

Selfie with Ginny

Chelsea and Ginny

Ginny and Sadie

Sadie and Ginny's legs :-)

Ginny and Sadie

Maddy and Ginny

Sadie and Ginny

Chelsea and Ginny

Happy Tails to you!

Celebrating Chelsea...again!!!

I wrote a post a year ago on the fifteen-year anniversary of Chelsea joining our family and here we are, 365 days later, and our beloved little dog is still going strong!  She's been ours for 16 years and counting...on one hand it seems like yesterday, and on the other hand, it seems like I can't remember a time when she wasn't our dog.

She is the most awesome dog - truly the standard by which we judge all other dogs, including our own!  I don't really have anything to add to what I wrote last year...there are only so many words and they all fail to capture the enormity of my love for this dog.

So instead, here are some recent photos of our little gal:

Sadie & Chelsea

Chelsea & Sadie

Ginny, Chelsea, & Maddy

Happy Tails to you!