2009 Christmas Can Cure 5K

Christmas Can Cure to benefit Wounded Warriors Project (Link)

Did this with 10 folks from CFLV.
27:25
Cold weather. Slight uphill the first mile, then flat for a mile, slight downgrade the third mile except the last 400m which was a relatively steep hill up around the park. I pushed the end, just to see how hard I could go at that point. Felt good to cross the finish line.

Breakfast at Egg Works afterwards. Very filling.

[pending pictures if Zach comes through]

Welcome Home Dinner

Ray surprised me on Thursday night.
Awesome view from the Top of the World at the Stratosphere.



A lovely meal, a great evening, wonderful company, nice welcome home.



and Happy Hannukka.

A Day at the Smithsonian

White House

National Christmas Tree









Washington Monument









WWII Monument









Air & Space Museum









Native American Museum









The Capital









Natural History Museum









National Archives









Spy Museum










TIRED!

Day of Remembrance

(for more pictures, see konashark's flickr

Getting Ready for a VIP

Laundry - check
Bed made - check
Diet Pepsi in the fridge - check
Workout:
5 rounds (individually times) - 250m row, 25 pushups, 25 box jumps (24")
1. 3:13
2. 3:40
3. 3:35
4. 3:57
5. 3:24
(60-180 sec rest between rounds)
Up to 15 pullups in a row using the blue band. Time to graduate to the red band.

Ready for Hubby to arrive!

It's Snowing

This morning when it first started.


Just after lunch.


Later this afternoon.

Wow, Just WOW! or "They Really Like Me"

As a reservist I'm not usually considered part of the flight. I show up a couple time a year, see patients or work on projects. Usually eat meals alone. Go back home or the lodging at night. Sometimes I do something social with the flight but I don't really know people that well. This time I noticed that something was different. From the first day the Nutritional Medicine Flight at Malcolm Grow Medical Center made me feel welcome, part of the team, a member of the family. When I was here at work, I didn't feel like a temporary employee, I felt like I was a full time member of the flight.









I had the pleasure of working with some very dedicated, enthusiastic diet techs who helped me leave a lasting contribution to the capital region. In less than eight weeks togther we got the clinic fully functioning (certifying a new tech to provide group classes and basic individual nutrition education in less than one month; considered record time in this career field), revised five group classes (two of them are now more effective six week programs), saw over 400 patients. In addition, I was part of the strategic planning team for our career field, a member of the medical nutrition therapy working group (so I've revamped 2 diet tech training modules and 4 diet tech clinical guidelines), created a dozen documentation templates utilizing the nutrition care process protocol, and help the population health team get their diabetes initiative off the ground.

Hey! This isn't our flight meeting!

I've never been given a goodbye party before. When I transfered my unit of assignment from Nellis to Travis, no one realized I was gone except the flight commander since he signed my paperwork. Despite five years at Nellis there was nothing to mark my leaving. When I put on Major (which is a big deal in the military) there was no pinning ceremony, no congratulations from a commander. Just a "go ahead and sew it on" and then when I showed up at Travis for the first time with the oak leaf it was "oh, you're a Major now. Nice." After three years at Travis the Reserve office decided they shouldn't have to pay for me to travel so far when there was a perfectly good military facility in my home town. So I was transfered back to Nellis. My last day at Travis was a 'tag-on' to someone else's last day party.....until the Squadron Commander pulled me aside privately and awarded me her Commander's Coin (Col McCann - thank you!).

Here at Andrews my job was only for 53 days (36 if you only count duty days). To hear the flight members talking it was like I'd been here with them for over a year. I was getting teary giving my thanks. But when one after the other got up to say something, I was flabbergasted. And to give me salutes? WOW! I really felt part of the 779th MDSS/SGSN Team all the way.

Thank you all for the opportunity to serve with you. It's been a pleasure and an honor. The people you feed and care for are in good hands. I'll always consider myself an honorary member of Team Andrews, the Face of Air Force Medicine.

Visit to the Pentagon

Took the Metro to the Pentagon with Public Health flight. We went on the offical tour. That place is amazing. 23,000 people work there! It's bigger than most towns in the US. Our tour was only for 60 minutes, just a few floors, two rings and 5 corridors. And the inner courtyard. There are museum and memorials along most of the walls. I could spend hours just going from corridor to corridor looking at all the photos and momentos.



Unfortunately cameras are not allowed inside. This was in the visitor center just before our tour briefing.

Hope to go back next Monday and see more of the exhibits.

Countdown?

3 days left and still so much to do.

All the data collection questionnaires are updated and electronic (the only set I didn't do was Pediatric, isn't that ironic).

Tomorrow we present our two new outpatient education programs to the department: Winning at Losing (weight management) and Healthy Heart Needs TLC (cholesterol).

The updated diabetes education sessions have been a big success with the Population Health team that is revamping their program. They are still looking for a CDE. Maj Chen approached me but I had to explain their protocol called for an RN-CDE, and I am looking forward to going back to my husband in Las Vegas.

The Diet Tech training module for Diabetes has been sent forward to the Working Group. The Hyperlipidemia training module is in progress (still working on the study guide). I still haven't looked at the Strategic Plan that I helped create last month.

More outpatients on Wednesday. On Thursday (after squadron PT in the morning) I am going on a tour with Public Health at the Pentagon! On Friday the returning dietitian gets to see all the upgrades and I get to show her the new documentation templates.

Don't tell the airmen who have been working with me in the clinic, but on Friday I'm going to present the two of them with AF Dietetics coins. Shhhhhhh.

Then 1 day to get rejuvenated before I get my hubby!!! He's flying out this weekend so we can be tourist for a couple of days before going back home.