Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Good Riddance, January 2007!

Here's looking forward to better months ahead! I'll be happy to see the clock strike the midnight hour in just over 4 hours. It started off on New Years Day with hours of delays and canceled flights in the Detroit airport on the way home, then my Dad's accident and his care, which took up the first couple of weeks of the month. Then, Jake's concussion, the Patriots loss, other crap going on, and losing one of my most favorite (but challenging) students today because he's moving to another city, all coming rapid fire .... and still under the growing shadow of the @#%%&@# ASSessment that has consumed me..... (and has caused me to feel guilty for even opening a magazine or picking up a book.)

On the upside... I still have my health, a beautiful family, and a job that I love (minus the @#%%&@# ASSessment) and my house is clean :-)

Still waiting on the snow that's yet to arrive... and looking forward to February vacation when I'm planning on painting my bathroom, working on You-Know-What, and hopefully PODCASTING... (something else that I love that hasn't been getting done of late...sigh...)

Labels: , ,

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Slack Break...

misc07 004
Taking a break from the dreaded ASSessment... grrr

Labels: ,

Football Free Sunday...

Seems kinda weird but there will be no football this Sunday.... no gridiron action to for anyone as it's the off-week between the Championship games and the Superbowl. Had things gone differently, I no doubt would be giddy with excitement about my upcoming trip to Miami... however it was not meant to be this year.

Instead, I've got an afternoon of ASSessment work to look forward to... and not much else... sigh....

Labels: , ,

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Sigh....

Sometimes looking at your To Do list, it's time to just say "Screw it!" Today is one of those days... nothing sounds better to me than the hottest shower I can bear then crawling into bed with a book, and it's only 8:45pm. This from the girl who rarely gets in bed and shuts the light before 12:30 on most work nights.

Call it lack of motivation, call it the effects of an extremely emotional week beginning with the anticipation of the game and the butterflies leading up to it, to Jake's concussion and the worry and concern, then relief at the outcome, to the highs of the game to the very lows which followed... Call it what you will.

Loss... I'm numb

So on this cold, cold night, I'm going to be daring: leaving the list untouched and heading in with a cup of tea and a book surrounded by nothing but down for a great big emotional hug....

Sigh.....

Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Your Life as a Soundtrack

Ok.. time for a break just for fun :-) I was reading my email and blogs and happened across this one from fellow podcaster Charles Cadenhead of Mostly News , who picked it up from CC Chapman's blog-tag game so I decided to take minute to do it too...

How to Play:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question below, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the nextbutton
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool …

Join in the fun and let me know if you do :-)

My Soundtrack:

Opening Credits:
I Am (Molly's Theme) by Munk

First Day At School:
What the World Needs Now by Burt Bacharach

Falling In Love:
No Such Thing by John Mayer

Breaking Up:
The Boys of Summer by Don Henley and Steve Porcaro

Prom:
This Too Shall Pass by Matthew Ebel

Mental Breakdown:
Too Many Fish in the Sea by The Marvelettes

Flashbacks:
The Lady Wants to Know by Michael Franks

Getting Back Together:
I Know You're There by Matthew Ebel

Wedding Scene:
Rocking Around the Christmas Tree by Ayla Brown

Final Battle:
Ocean by Lee Coulter

Death Scene:
State of Mind by Mike McGill

Funeral Song:
Per Te by Josh Groban

End Credits:
The Landing by Enigma

Finale:
Why Do I feel So Sad by Alicia Keys

Labels: , , , ,

Ups and Downs

Great news... Jake's all set and has been cleared to go back to school. He's not able to wrestle or take gym for a week but other than that he's ok. The doctor said he most likely may never remember that day and what happened but he's remembering new things so all is well.

On another note, I'm still in shock over the outcome of my beloved Pats in the AFC Championship and it hasn't completely sunk in yet. To be up 21-6 at the half then end up losing.... I'm incredulous. The gammet of emotions swirling around that day (between Jake, the party and the game) has left me spent.

I just got an email last night from someone whom I don't know to tell me the outcome of the game and that I need to update my website... I needed a day away from it all and I DO have a job and haven't had a chance yet but that is on my agenda for tonight.... sigh...

Time for work.. and I'm smiling as we finally got a dusting of the white stuff last night :-)

Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Can you tell me, just one more time..?

Sigh... last night, I got one of those calls. You know which kind I'm talking about. The ones that start off with "Mom... I'm not sure what happened but can you come and get me?" Naturally, the heart begins to pound and you say "Of course, be right there." So, turns out, he was outside playing manhunt with his buddies and there was some sort of a tackle somewhere, somehow, and he ended up whacking his head on the pavement. He went out for a few seconds and had trouble seeing when he came to.

I was washing floors, so Al went to pick him up to bring he home but when he got there and found out what happened, took him directly to the Emergency Room. Along the way, he had no recollection of what had happened and many other facts as well. They did a CT Scan and took bloodwork and determined that he had a concussion but was fine other than that.

When he got home, he asked over and over what had happened and was fixated on asking what month it was and when the Freshman State Tournament for wrestling was. We answered all of his questions and I got up every two hours to wake him to check on him, each time crawling into bed with him to answer his questions yet again. It was heartbreaking to see my young man (who will always be my baby) getting so frustrated and overwhelmed because he couldn't remember anything but knew something had happened as evidenced by his headache and hospital wrist band.

As of 6:00 AM he began remembering some things like the fact that it was January and could "guess" by process of elimation who the Pats were playing for the AFC Championship tonight, although he was shocked to hear that it was Sunday, thinking that it was Saturday because he lost all that happened after 5:00 pm. This morning, he slept until 10:00 and is up now, still not remembering anything about the incident and what happened since then but is reading the account of his day that I typed up at his request so that he can read and re-read as often as he wants to. He's still having trouble retaining new information.

So, tonight we have a crew coming over for the game, and I've got some cooking to do but all I can think of is my son and hoping and praying that he'll have a complete recovery. As I told him, he may never remember the incident itself but his ability to remember things will increase and he's already doing so.

It's ironic that I deal with inquiries of "Are we going to lunch?" the minute we get back from lunch all day long from one of my students who has a brain injury. I calmly answer him each time and tell him that we just went and to check his picture schedule. I look into his eyes and see that blank stare sometimes and wonder what's going on in there. I saw that blank stare last night, and eyes rimming in frustration at his inabilty to remember. Hopefully, this is very temporary for my Jake and that he'll be back to his old self soon. He's seeing the pediatrician tomorrow morning but until then, he'll lay low and rest.

Labels: , ,

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Assessments Suck....

Whoever was responsible for developing the RI Alternate Assessment for kids with significant disabilities obviously doesn't have a life and thinks that people who have to do them don't have lives either. I can bitch about all the reasons why I think the assessment itself is wrong and bogus but that's a topic for another time... (I'm already ripped enough about it so don't want to bring myself down even more by drudging it back up right here....) Point is... I'm in over my head right now because of it and although I've done a great job this month of getting back to writing out my lists of things to do and sticking to it, I'm so behind and feeling the crunch.

Random things I would love to be doing right now instead of this crap:
  • yoga
  • podcasting
  • reading some fiction
  • knitting a scarf
  • cleaning (yes... a clean house makes me happy!)
  • working on my website
  • surfing message boards and reading up on my AFC Championship game bound Pats!
  • cutting some clutter (goal for 2007... pare down the "stuff")
  • chatting in Second Life
  • a soduko or crossword puzzle

So... my strategy to make it through is to schedule in a set time each day for Assessment and also some of the good stuff listed above so that I don't totally freak out! At least there is some good news for the weekend which will help. Nothing on the agenda except the Club on Friday night, church Saturday night, and usual errands. Other than that, I don't have to leave the house! Have I ever mentioned that I love being home? I'll settle in to watch my boys win the AFC Championship then get online to book a flight to Miami on Sunday night and go to bed with a smile :-)

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, January 14, 2007

SIGHHHHHHH......

....that's the sound of me finally exhaling! WHAT A GAME!! It wasn't pretty but we put together some impressive drives and got the job done. I was so worked up I had to keep getting up and running across the room and doing the stairs a few times to get the energy out! Now on to Indy to take on the hated Colts... I must say, that of all our opponents, I view Indy as our arch rivals.

I still haven't processed all that took place yet but can you say Troy Brown?? Nice to see a vet play a major role in a huge game. Also, the significance of the 54 yarder that their kicker missed to tie up the game did not go without notice!

Post game, there were tons of phone calls and texts being shared: Erdo Ed, Zip (and crew) Stephanie, Robin, Mike, Karyn, and of course my peeps on the Skype chat... Time for one more Bruschi Brew then hanging out online while Big Al heads out to the smoking lounge (screen porch) for a victory cigar.

Looks like it will be New England Clamboil (lobsters, steamers, sausage, potatoes, onions, linguica, hot dogs) again to keep the mojo going...

I doubt I'll sleep much this week with the butterflies... Go Pats!!

Labels: , , , , ,

Butterflies

Up bright and early, showered, dressed, with a clean house, and I'm ready to dive into my school stuff... I've got butterflies in my stomach though in anticipaton of the Pats/Chargers game this afternoon. Last night I got a text from Karyn Paxton from the team hotel saying that they missed us and wished we were there. As I told her, if everything goes according to plan and the stars align once again we'll see them in Miami for the Superbowl in a few weeks. However, one game at a time.. and tonight is the one!

Go Pats!!

Labels: , ,

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Long Weekend.. ahhhh!!

It's been quite a week! Haven't had a chance to blog at all (or even read others') because I've been over my head busy. Coming home from the Pats/Jets game (Yeah Pats!) last Sunday night, I got a call that my dad had been hurt and was in the hospital. Life this week hasn't been the same! He's home and ok but I spent quite a bit of time making sure that he had everything that he needed and running back and forth to his apartment before and after work each day. I'm glad that I live so close and I was available to him... and that my schedule at work is flexible enough that I could sneak out on my free periods to do what I needed to do. Nice to see him today almost completely back to his old self :-)

So, I must say, I've been looking forward to this weekend for about a month. It's the first weekend that I didn't have things scheduled on my calender for the entire weekend. I'm smiling right now because I was able to finally take my tree down and put my decorations away and cleaned quite a bit today. (Silly me... things like a clean house are enough to make my day...hehe!) Tomorrow, we could have headed up to Zip's for the game but have decided to watch from home and make a New England Clam Boil instead. I so need a day at home on the couch to just watch and enjoy while still being able to get things done around here.

Monday is completely dedicated to working on that assessment project that I should have done during Christmas vacation but got sidetracked by my toothache. I also have an IEP to do as well so I already informed Al to pretend that I'm not even home... Monday is my work from home day! Times like this I wish I had an office... heck.. I always wish I had an office so that I could podcast whenever I want to without having to plan it just right when the house is empty.
Anyway, I'm thankful that my schedule worked out so well, and that the long weekend came at just the right time.

Ok... time to get to some more things on my list and cross them off!

Doing the happy dance....

Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Busy, busy, busy!

Back to the grind and well into My List for today.. Our return trip from Nashville was filled with delays and flight changes so we got home 5 hours later than expected. I'm back to work this week and thankfully, it's been going very well. The kids have been behaving and the schedule has been a good one.

On the homefront, I'm being diligent about planning out my days and making The List for the following day. I'm committing to getting things ready the night before and getting to bed at a decent hour during the week... now of course, decent hour is relative and for me it means if I'm asleep by midnight that's early. So far so good on the lists and schedules....

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get much accomplished on my website and podcast this week as I've had lots of other commitments such as Mommycab Duty (ie driving the boys to Wrestling practice), shopping, cleaning, and meetings. It's already Thursday night and I still haven't even updated since before going away. So, I HAVE to do an update tonight before going to bed so it's possible that I'll be violating my bed rule tonight. As for the podcast, it breaks my heart but more than likely it's physically impossible without pulling an all nighter. The only slight chance would be to pull a quickie tomorrow right after work... probably not feasible though, since I've yet to prep.

This weekend is chock full: The Madeira Club to eat on Friday night, lunch at Casserino's on Federal Hill in Providence, Wicked at PPAC on Saturday afternoon, then shopping and cooking on Saturday night for Sunday's game at Gillette against the Jets. Thankfully, that game is at 1:00 so we'll be home around 7:00pm.

Then of course, there's coming home with the mess and work next week and a pretty full schedule as well. At least next weekend's calendar is empty and (hopefully) will include just a playoff game on TV. With Monday being MLK Jr. Day I won't have school so that's a bonus day. YIPPEE!! Maybe by then I'll be able to take down my Christmas decorations... sigh....

Now... if I can just make it until then...

Labels: , , ,