i forgot...

about blogs. until this morning. jennt said something about her blog or blogs or something and I remembered: 1. people have them. 2. i have one. 3. i haven't looked at it in over a month.

a run down in list form.
1. i've settled in here in CT.
2. i try to visualize some sort of a future here. i think i could wrap my head around it if i give it time. very unlike me.
3. the job is sometimes stressful with a month of eye twitching. they sign me up for more than one person can handle. i still really like one of the schools and it helps me make it through. overall i enjoy my time.
4. i made cookies for the favorite school on sunday night. all monday that's what people talked about. i loved it! i'm going to bake for them as often as i can. :)
5. kendra and i have beer and bitch fridays fairly often where we walk to the pub down the road, have a beer and catch up. school-psych-heather came last night. it was a cold walk/ jog home.
6. this winter is going to be hard. the northeast is chilly.
7. nate and maddie are doing well. she has some lungs and is growing fast. nate has entered his terrible twos even before his second birthday. potty training this winter.
8. i'm back in the gym rhythm. i setup a plan (behavior program...) for myself this month. the first five days earned the new john legend cd. the second five earned the new counting crows cd. i have 3 more times and i get a pair of shoes. yay!
9. beth lewis had her baby last night at 7:35pm. 6 lbs, 14 oz and 21 inches. she has blue eyes and wavy dark hair. she's going to be a heartbreaker.

i'll try to be more mindful of updates.

cold wind blows,
*jp

we get lost in the moment.

Nate and Maddie.

Random trips north

the baby is here!

as you can see her belly was huge. it felt like a medicine ball under her shirt. firm and all up front. last night i sat in the hospital room watching her belly move around. so weird. this was cristina yesterday while walking into the mall. we walked the maine mall for almost 3 hours after eating lunch at the olive garden. prior to that we were at the hospital... and left without a baby.

the process started sunday morning and was super hard on cristina. poor thing spent two nights in the hospital and woke up each morning to be sent home.

today at 6:47 or 6:57 tonight the baby was born. i got the call at 7:04. it's a girl. dave said he's ten feet off the ground. they really wanted a girl. dark hair and so cute, according to cris. once i have some pictures i'll share. she's going to be one tough cookie. or at least stubborn as hell. ;)


excited!
*jp
i'm excited.

i'm emotionally charged.

i got sad last night thinking about alabama. it's so strange for me to think i get 'homesick' for alabama. i think part of it was that i ranted to h for a long while last night. also because i feel like i'm overwhelmed, expected to do more than i'm able at a time and i'm being pushed into a corner. i have to write a behavior plan but i'm not going to find out the ACES way of doing things until tomorrow afternoon. i'm presenting the behavior plan thursday at 2. two more students were added to my case load today. i have 2 more behavior plans to write for next week. i have a student hitting himself. i'm constantly running from school to school. i also have a meeting thursday at 9am but i don't know what i did to warrent a meeting. i know the principal at 'hell elementary' asked the sp.ed. director to call the meeting with me and donn (guy i work for at ACES). i asked the secretary if there is an agenda for the meeting when she sent a message asking about 9am thursday... i didn't get a response. i don't know what i did and i don't like not knowing. and to top it off, i can't focus.

i got all veclempt when trying to fall asleep last night but moved past it and finally fell asleep. today sitting at the computer writing heather i did the same thing and had to breath. and then i was talking to a student's one to one (personal paraprofessional) and she started saying the change must be huge and asked how i was adapting and i jokingly made a sad face and fanned myself saying that i was actually struggling with that today and then i actually got a little upset. glossy eyes and a bit of a tight throat. she in turn got the glossy eyes. she's really sweet.

i need the following:
1. to get the bsp i need to present thursday DONE.
2. have the effing meeting thursday morning and get it over with. we all know i'm going to get worked up and leave shaking.
3. present the student's behavior support plan and get that dagum meeting over with.
4. have friday come... though i have an early morning parent meeting, supervision and a ppt meeting where i meet another family. oi.

i am greatful for:
1. h listening to my rants
2. you reading my rants
3. kendra accepting my random complaining text messages about throwing water balloons at school staff and drinking liquor from coffee cups during behavior leadership meetings (note: she suggested the drinking, i suggested the mixers to cover it, she is responsible for coffee cups to drink out of... not that it's happening).
4. also for the ladies coming this weekend. i'm really going to need it.
5. the gym to boost my moods. the people watching and the exercise is awesome.
6. butternut squash ravioli by lean cuisine. i had it for lunch and it's my favorite. i should learn to make something like it.
7. kerry d.(sp.ed teacher i have a desk next to) and heather (school psychologist) at the good elementary school. they are wonderful and listen well and talk about random things to keep me from freaking out. they're young, 30, and people i can trust. and heather goes to my gym and has the same love of starring at people while working out.

wednesday:
7:30 work on behavior plan
8am check in at high school
9am meet with teacher and the school psych (heather) about a student at good elem.
10-12 behavior plan writing.
12:30 daily kerry d. meeting
1-2 travel to north haven (it takes 40 minutes from madison)
2-4 behavior leadership meeting. BOO.
4-5 revamp behavior plan and pray an hour will be all i need.
5:45-8 gym!

i'm done. i think i'm going to get into bed really early tonight and maybe go to the gym at 5am to work off some anxiety before i start another day. send me those good vibes because Lord knows i need them.

good vibes!
*jp

i think i feel good. i feel good.

i'm going to make a list because i really like lists and i'm in a good mood.


cris: is very pregnant and lovely right now. i'm excited for the second pair of little running feet on their wooden floors. we get along so much better now. it's weird what distance did for us.


love: truth is... richie and rachael remind me of love and relationships and gives me that faith. and nate is just pure love. i think i'm in love with life. at least in the moment.


excitement: i like the possibilities in front of me. i had fun labor day weekend up in maine. saw melissa friday, the lavigne family and jennt most of the weekend and jennt's family sunday. i joined the gym here and started taking classes this wednesday. each day i try something new. i've taken 7 classes and have only one more i want to try out. this weekend kendra (also new to aces consulting team) and i are either going to go buy some shoes or check out the irish pub down the road. a pub in walking distance sounds kind of stellar. and! in two weeks the girls are coming for the weekend. it's like "ladies' lunch" but in a new state... and after 2.5 years jocelyn can come. excitement!


new digs: i like branford. it's this small 'gilmore girls' type town. this morning there was a blueberry pancake breakfast on the green put on by one of the churches. we have a town wide family picnic on the 13th. there is also a 'touch the truck' thing some time soon. and a road race possibly tomorrow in new haven. anyway, it's strange to be some where with little shops and places to eat, with people running and walking outside, and an awesome library system. all this after being in wetumpka where no one walks outside or rides their bikes or walks over to the local coffee shop... mostly because wetumpka wasn't set up that way. everything i need is in walking distance. people recycle. i have more to do. kendra lives within a couple minutes walk. ct life can be fun. oh, and the job is going well... lots going on, lots to do, lots of challenge already... one week at a time.

a shower and a stretch sounds good. also more 'house' (season 4) and more strawberries.

come do my laundry.
*jp

august 17th - 23rd

i've done some walking recently to get some exercise and get to know the area. i took pictures while walking. walking adventures.


flowers by the local high school.


one of the church doors on the green.


branford sign on the green.


stairs up to my place. i'm working the legs every day. maybe i should start running them. we'll see...


little church building by the yale site. it's where ministers got together to donate books to open yale.



trolly tracks out by some hiking trails.



the trolly yard. this one is actually a streetcar from nola.



i believe this is a river. i came across it on a hike one day.



stop sign in north madison area.



a house on the same road at the stop sign. i thought it was amazing but the picture just doesn't show that.



i found the train station here in town. one ticket to the city.



boat yard in branford.



flowers outside a corner store.



i loved this garden with the umbrellas.



and this fence color.



shoreline from short beach area. this was the halfway point on a long day of walking.

NOTE: i put this together a while ago but never posted it. enjoy some pictures.

*i'm an early bird... and, i'm a night owl. so i'm wise, and, i have worms... um...*

we've settled in and i've started work. i got me a bureau on wednesday and did some priming and painting on thursday. i'm going to start taking pictures of the apartment and town so people can see what it looks like. sarah j. stopped in on her way through today and agreed it looks like a town you'd see on tv or in a movie. 'gilmore girls' all the way.

for lunch today we went to a place called foe: an american bistro. mmmmm. we sat at our little table eating our lovely upscale-esque yet inexpensive food. the table was in front of a big restaurant front window that overlooks the green. oh, how great. next time we'll go for some ice cream.

the ladies that lunch are coming in september. rad!

ask for the address. come visit!
*jp

welcome north. where it rains. a lot.

the breakdown of the move....

we didn't take pictures of us moving stuff in wetumpka. it was too hot to think of things like that. h, michael and h's mother helped out. it was wonderful. we ate subway on the floor of the empty apartment prior to locking up and leaving. i can't wait for h and michael to come up for new years! happy birthday h!



dad took this part way through the trip. i'm not sure where it was but he felt that we needed proof of our 24 foot caravan. but the truck was attached... anyway. the car carrier was broken and we didn't have a left blinker.


August 2nd:
i actually didn't take many pictures the first day. other than the confederate park sign outside clanton, al; annabelle in the truck and two of flowers in the highway in north alabama. we ended up driving to knoxville and staying with the kitchin's for the night. dinner, shopping, wii and waffles. i need to get me a wii so i can practice before taking on pam (rachael's mum) again.



greeneville, tennessee. from the on ramp by the davy crockett travel center. east tennessee is pretty.


August 3rd:

some where in virginia.



dad driving. i didn't drive it at all after picking up the truck last friday. i couldn't really see over the steering wheel anyway.



around harrisburg, pa. we stayed in breinigville, pa the second night. the holiday inn there has a crazy obsession with america. everything was themed in that way and they said 'have a great day in america' when i checked out. we stayed on the presidential floor(3rd) but i think it was like the other floors. crazy people.



hersey, pa. it looks less dark out in this one than the last one... that's just weird.


August 4th:

the morning of the 4th. jersey. such a familiar smell... ha. i don't know how h missed that one when she was up.



when we got to the toll for the george washington bridge the woman told us the toll amount changed 2 months ago and it's now $8 per axle. we owed $32. wtf! i told her we had $22 in cash. dad asked if there was another way we could pay and she kind of acted surprised as if we should have known to take out a small loan prior to stopping at her toll. she let us go through without paying. i think it's cheaper to take the train to see jocelyn in philly.



i was already on my way to new england and didn't even know it.



we showered and went to ruby's for dinner. we ordered way more food than we could handle but it gave us lunch the next day.



nate and grandpap pushing the shopping cart at target. we were trying to get nate's energy out. nater loves his grandpap.



the running around target worked. lovely.


August 5th:

this was the morning after moving all that crap up to the 3rd floor. it was hot up here (in the apartment) and just all around tiring.



nate was put down for a nap and apparently he wasn't having it. he pulled the tool box into his pack 'n play and dumped it. watch out for this one...



dad really wanted nate to have a chance to ride in the rental truck before returning it. this was while cris put his seat in the truck. nate loves him some trucks and jennt loves her some pictures.



nater likes his ice cream.



he also likes sharing. which is good...



we indulged in some ice cream. i think cris was most excited seeing that she had been talking about ice cream since she got to ct.


August 6th and on:
Dad left on the train that morning heading to newark airport. cris, nate and jennt stayed until about noon before heading back to maine. my phone and jeep ended up dying that afternoon. i got a new phone, same phone number and got the jeep to a little shop down the road. everything is close enough to walk to. i've found my bank, auto shop, grocer's and post office all within a mile walk. there's also the assortment of doctors and churches right here. it's weird to see so many people around after living in wetumpka but the weather allows for it and its summer tourist season. only 3 more weeks of crazy weekend traffic. or at least i hope that's the case. i've been trying to unpack and organize things. i need to buy a few book shelves and other random things. i'm way better than i've been in the past and actually have a few things on the walls already. last time it took me 8 or 9 months before considering it.

i start work on monday. i'm sure there will be updates then.
*jp

goodbye, dirty dirty.

i'm moving in the morning. h and i picked up the truck today and started packing it. there isn't much left to load and just some light cleaning to do before taking off tomorrow. today.

i'm not quite excited about working where i'm going. i get anxious about working with new people. i'm also not fully excited about just living in ct. i do get those little bursts of happiness when thinking about seeing people more often. anything beats just seeing people in february and praying i can get back in june/ july. not to mention those i wasn't able to see this february... or jocelyn who no one has seen since christmas 2005. i just hope people will visit me as much as i'll visit/ want to visit/ try to visit them. that's the part that gets hard.

the new part starts again. so weird. i think i'm ready. part of me can't believe i've lived in random alabama for 3 years... as of this weekend.

i should be sleeping... but we know how that goes.
*jp

5 more to go.

i'm currently finishing 'the brave one' while waiting for h. we're going to montgomery to get our sno-balls and some pepper spray.

since last weekend i've been packing everything i own into weird smelling carboard boxes and any luggage that i own (which is actually a surprising amount). i'm almost done with 5 days of southern living to go. i don't like packing.

i've been running all my errands/ trying to get crap done and see people as this time expires. on saturday we had our last lunch at e's house. it was macaroni & cheese, cassroles and all around goodness. erin suggested trying to get together once a year like we've been doing for the last two years. hopefully that will happen, though my place was voted out as a destination. yesterday i was out on the lake with michael and h trying to ski. i think i improved a bit since the july 4th attempt but i still wasn't up and skiing around the lake like michael. man is he proud. my body is a bit sore today. and yesterday afternoon i met up with julie harris for food and shopping.

OH giant news. my computer crashed... you know? well, dad called last night to tell me he saved everything and is now reformating it. he is also putting everything back on when he's done as well as saving it to their computer for a little while. i was afraid of something happening to the pictures on there when i transfered them on to that computer and then it crashed. it's 3 years of pictures. so, while i go in search of a jump drive or something else to back them up, he is going to keep a copy. thank goodness! one less thing to worry about...

h should be here soon.

94° F feels like 104°.
*jp

sumina!

i was just cleaning annabelle's shell... pulling pieces off. she's growing. and just peed on me. i didn't even know she could do that.

thanks, little lady.
*jp

*it's the triange. sink, stove, prep.*

the last week has gone by fast.

saturday the 12th: sabrina and wes got married up in b'ham. the wedding was huge. 2 matrons of honor, 2 best men, 10 bridesmaids, 10 groomsmen. the wedding was a big deal, the reception was a bigger deal at a country club. i'd put up pictures but they're on my computer and that crashed sunday night. i enjoyed seeing people and had a chance to say goodbye to those i won't be seeing again before i move. the car conversation back was also worth the trip.

sunday: my computer crashed. i tried testing things. i ordered the recovery discs.

monday: i ran errands. i decided to register the jeep down here because it runs out in 2 weeks and i'd have to get everything (emissions test & ct state driver's license) done before registering it. so, i went to the tag office and did that. i also did other random things including walking over to special ed to tell them their phones are down and to borrow a laptop for the next couple weeks. man, i love that mrs. townsend let me take a laptop. no computer for a couple days is hard. no computer for weeks seems impossible.

tuesday: mum was flying through atlanta on her way back from florida and said she'd bring my computer up to the house for dad to fix so i drove out a few days early to spend time with aishah and bryce. i also (obviously) got to see mum for a bit while she had a layover. on the way out i tried the sonic banana split blast. it's 560 calories and delicious!

wednesday: i was with bryce and aishah in alpharetta. i took pictures while there that i need to get developed eventually. it's going to take some time. mostly because i already have 3 finished rolls of film sitting on my counter and i haven't attempted to bring them in yet.

thursday: the picture above is from that morning. we picked up a new big boy bike for bryce wednesday and we walked around their neighborhood thursday morning. the best part is the night before and that morning bryce sat on the couch with his helmet on watching 'bob the builder'. i didn't want to take a picture of him sitting there in his underwear, a tshirt and a helmet but it was cute.

i went to an awesome place for lunch that morning. www.sweettomatoes.com check it out. they're mostly out west. i also stopped in auburn and bought a couple things, picked up our last checks in tallassee and unpacked all my things once i got back.

today: up at 5am to call walmart back and was at walmart at 5:30 picking up my reserved boxes. slept between text messages seeing that i only got 3 hours before getting up for walmart. gym. shower. errands with h. pool for a couple hours with h. snack. packed about 15 boxes. oh my gosh, i was on a roll! went to walmart at 11:30 to ask for 20 more boxes. and here i am.

it's hot here in the black belt.
*jp

*all the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much.*

happy birthday, vanilla bear!

have fun dancing.
*jp

it's quantitative.

i just looked up the definition of 'romantic'. if someone were to ask you, 'are you romantic?' you would say.... i was reading something and then it made me question what 'romantic' means and went in search of a definition. am i really that nerdy?

*how come anything you buy will go on sale next week?* - erma bombeck

i feel a weird mood thing tonight. since about 6pm i've been in and out of it. remedy: i decided to take pictures of my new (as of sunday) shoes. i keep putting them on and walking around the apartment. new shoes makes me happy. i caught a sale in montgomery on sunday and had a hard time choosing what to buy and what to leave. i didn't leave anything and bought all three. the star ones are a gift from h and look really wonderful on my feet. after trying on every possible shoe i went over to east chase to walk the stores. ate some 'pick two' at panera. try the strawberry poppy seed salad. so good. and went to see 'the happening'. i hadn't heard much about it but i didn't want it to be spoiled.



i love the hounds tooth ones on the end. it is love. i'm going to wear them tomorrow.



july 4th: i met h and michael out at lake jordan to play in the water. michael did some water skiing. i attempted but couldn't get up in my couple tries. michael wants me to try again some time before moving. it's all very funny. i just need to convince myself i won't get hurt with the speed and maybe i'll feel more comfortable. i also took pictures with the manual camera of michael skiing and fireworks. i need to finish the roll and get it developed. i'll bring those in soon... we hope.

the mood: i think it's partly due to not sleeping more than 5 hours a night over the last week or more. i'm just not falling asleep at night. i've got to work on that. and i'll start now.

tomorrow is the last day of working on the project. we have a morning meeting, turning in our keys and transfering our computers, checking in with the teacher we've been working with, lunch with jl, state people meeting, cake with the office ladies and a closing meeting with the special ed. coordinator... which i hope involves more cake. thai and cake make for a fabulous and delicious last day.

it's almost summer vacation...
*jp