yesterday it was ridiculously windy. so windy in fact that we had a wind advisory...with gusts up to 50 mph. it was the kind of strong wind that you could lean into and still be standing up. normally windy days don't bother me, in fact sometimes they can be fun, but this wasn't that kind of fun wind. it was cold, strong, and really just not convenient based on my plans. how dare the weather not cooperate with me right? lol.
baby O and i had to go to City Hall in Boston to pick up a copy of her birth certificate so we headed out in the windy weather. we got to City Hall Plaza and she was nearly blown over in her carriage. fortunately i was able to grab her and get to safety without her falling over and getting hurt.
now the dumb part, i could have avoided the entire windy ordeal had i realized there was a back entrance to City Hall!! I was on Congress Street (the backside of the building) and thought to get in I had to go up around the building which is where the wind cyclone was!! i ended up going back down and in the back door (can we just note how silly i felt at that point!) which was much easier. but man, did i feel like a fool...and the funniest part of the whole thing - olivia slept through the whole ordeal. clearly she really is like her dad - he sleeps through all sorts of stuff!!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
christmas time was here...
so it's over, the holidays are over. most of my friends are posting on facebook that they are taking down their christmas trees and putting decorations away today. sad. we didn't even put up a tree, but the holidays do go by way to fast for my liking! i love the holidays. i love the food, time spent with family and friends and the joy of the fact that we are about to embark on a new year full of new and exciting things!
Dave is not that big of a fan of christmas, mostly because of the way people materialize it and worry more about gifts than what the real meaning of the holiday is. which is funny since he is not a very religious man, but i can see his point. i look at the giving of gifts as a way to celebrate what Jesus gave us by being born and dying and all that stuff inbetween. I was raised Catholic and though I may not go to Church on a regular basis (story for another entry there...) I still believe in God and organized religion and the meaning of Christmas as well.
Now that it's over and we are gearing up for the new year, i am looking forward to all the fun exciting things that 2009 are going to bring - new experiences with Olivia, going back to work and grad school, learning how to be a better mom, wife, and daughter, celebrating weddings, babies, and birthdays with friends and family, finally taking our LONG overdue honeymoon, and even a trip to see our family in Nebraska.
So many gifts to be thankful for and look forward too - Merry Christmas!
Dave is not that big of a fan of christmas, mostly because of the way people materialize it and worry more about gifts than what the real meaning of the holiday is. which is funny since he is not a very religious man, but i can see his point. i look at the giving of gifts as a way to celebrate what Jesus gave us by being born and dying and all that stuff inbetween. I was raised Catholic and though I may not go to Church on a regular basis (story for another entry there...) I still believe in God and organized religion and the meaning of Christmas as well.
Now that it's over and we are gearing up for the new year, i am looking forward to all the fun exciting things that 2009 are going to bring - new experiences with Olivia, going back to work and grad school, learning how to be a better mom, wife, and daughter, celebrating weddings, babies, and birthdays with friends and family, finally taking our LONG overdue honeymoon, and even a trip to see our family in Nebraska.
So many gifts to be thankful for and look forward too - Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
bah humbug
i didn't put up a christmas tree this year. i decided that it'd be too much work for me. since i am home all day with Olivia i'd have to be the one to put it up and take it down and i just didn't want to deal with it. i also don't want pine needles all over the place. i am not in the mood to have to clean them up. next year we'll get a tree...this year i'm just not that into it.
if i want a dose of christmas cheer i go to my parents house. they have enough christmas decorations for everyone. their house looks beautiful, inside and out.
i am hanging up all the nice Christmas cards we've gotten though - i'm not a total scrooge.
if i want a dose of christmas cheer i go to my parents house. they have enough christmas decorations for everyone. their house looks beautiful, inside and out.
i am hanging up all the nice Christmas cards we've gotten though - i'm not a total scrooge.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
why i do what i do
last week Olivia and I went to the new Target in Stoughton. It's awesome quite honestly. It's so nice and big and clean. We had to get a few last minute Christmas gifts and it's always good to get out of the house so I bundled the little baby bug up and we headed out.
She was a doll at the store, she was awake for a big part of the trip, and fell asleep right as we were about to check out of the store so I decided I'd treat myself to an Eggnog Latte at the in-store Starbucks. I headed over to the counter and got in line. While in the line I noticed that there was only one employee taking orders and making drinks. I felt bad for him, how awful to be alone at the busy Starbucks counter as there were two people in line in front of me and about 3 behind me at this point. Despite the volume of customers, he seemed to be holding his own.
While there I noticed the manager of Target walk over and start looking around the cafe area. I thought maybe they had a shoplifter or something so of course I'm intrigued. I've been a stay at home mom now for nearly 3 months...I am clearly entertained very easily.
So I watched what was going on and realized what the manager had come over to see and I was shocked and almost upset. There was no shoplifter. There was a group of men, approximately in their late 40's/early 50's who were drinking coffee at some tables in the corner and they clearly were mentally handicapped. The man in line in front of me was also part of their group. It was when he turned around to ask me what time it was that I realized it. He got up to the counter and asked for a frozen drink that Starbucks didn't make, but he could get around the corner at the Pizza Hut, so his group leader came and got him and brought him to the correct counter. It was after he went around the corner that the Target Manager came over and told the Starbucks employee that everything was fine and if he has any further problems to talk to the group leader.
Clearly there must have been some sort of incident, but it reminded me why I left radio. I wanted to do something more than just give out prizes and plan events. I wanted to be part of something bigger than that. I will always love music and believe in the power of a good show, but to know that I'm working to help create meaningful lives for people who maybe can't make them for themselves really makes me feel good. Some of these men that I saw at the Starbucks could be students of mine someday and I hope that they are always treated well and given opportunities to do things just like everyone else without ridicule or judgement.
She was a doll at the store, she was awake for a big part of the trip, and fell asleep right as we were about to check out of the store so I decided I'd treat myself to an Eggnog Latte at the in-store Starbucks. I headed over to the counter and got in line. While in the line I noticed that there was only one employee taking orders and making drinks. I felt bad for him, how awful to be alone at the busy Starbucks counter as there were two people in line in front of me and about 3 behind me at this point. Despite the volume of customers, he seemed to be holding his own.
While there I noticed the manager of Target walk over and start looking around the cafe area. I thought maybe they had a shoplifter or something so of course I'm intrigued. I've been a stay at home mom now for nearly 3 months...I am clearly entertained very easily.
So I watched what was going on and realized what the manager had come over to see and I was shocked and almost upset. There was no shoplifter. There was a group of men, approximately in their late 40's/early 50's who were drinking coffee at some tables in the corner and they clearly were mentally handicapped. The man in line in front of me was also part of their group. It was when he turned around to ask me what time it was that I realized it. He got up to the counter and asked for a frozen drink that Starbucks didn't make, but he could get around the corner at the Pizza Hut, so his group leader came and got him and brought him to the correct counter. It was after he went around the corner that the Target Manager came over and told the Starbucks employee that everything was fine and if he has any further problems to talk to the group leader.
Clearly there must have been some sort of incident, but it reminded me why I left radio. I wanted to do something more than just give out prizes and plan events. I wanted to be part of something bigger than that. I will always love music and believe in the power of a good show, but to know that I'm working to help create meaningful lives for people who maybe can't make them for themselves really makes me feel good. Some of these men that I saw at the Starbucks could be students of mine someday and I hope that they are always treated well and given opportunities to do things just like everyone else without ridicule or judgement.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
some of my goals
since being blessed with baby O, i haven't had much time to really think about things...well i have had time to think, but mostly about my life with her and how i got to this point in my existence.
but lately i am thinking more about me and things I still want to do for myself (disclaimer - is doing ANYTHING for yourself even possible with a child?).
I'd still like to at some point in the next 20 years travel to Ireland, Scotland and Italy. My brother Mike and I would always talk about how we wished we could move to Ireland and just work in a pub somewhere. I can't really explain why we had that dream, but we did. I think we both just feel a strong pull there due to the fact that we have family there and for me I just think as Americans we sometimes just put the emphasis on the WRONG things and from what I've seen of the Irish people (do movies and books count?) they seem to have their priorities more in line than we do on certain issues. I figure if Dave and I really wanted to go we could take Olivia when she's like 15...because the Irish don't mind their teenagers joining them for a pint...
I'd like to get more fashionable clothing that fits and is better quality. Perhaps that stems from my obsession with TLC"s What NOT to Wear. I love the clothes they put people in and I am really interested in stepping up my look this winter. I got a wonderful winter coat from my mom and dad for Christmas all ready so that's a step in the right direction, but I will need to start looking for nicer pieces that actually fit me. I have a semi high profile job now being that I am the person who actually had to meet with families and state agencies on a regular basis so I think that I should look more polished and put together. Currently I feel like that frazzled mom you see with smudged eyeliner and raggedy clothes - I so need to work on that.
I would like to finish my Master's by May 2010 and then begin my next Master's the following semester. I really enjoy Grad school and I am loving learning about Special Education. It's bizarre to me how I changed my life so drastically (radio to education is a HUGE change, but it is worth it. I really enjoy what I do and this path allows me to help people, grow as a person, and have my summers and school vacations off to spend with Olivia.) When she is a teenager she won't like that i'm home all the time...though I will be good for rides I guess, until she gets her license anyway.
I really want to get back to my scrapbooking...i am so far behind...I'm still in May 2007!! I hope to get caught up someday, but from what I'm told I shouldn't hold my breathe on that now that the baby O is here.
I'd like to buy a house in 2010...not sure where yet...but I really want to own something...and I want to give Olivia a place that she can paint and decorate and feel like it's HER home, not just an apartment that we rent. We grew up in a variety of apartments until I was nearly 13 and honestly it was fine...but I loved that as a teenager I had my own room. It was so nice. I hope to give her the same thing.
My goals are so simple...kinda boring honestly but they are still mine and I hope to reach them someday.
but lately i am thinking more about me and things I still want to do for myself (disclaimer - is doing ANYTHING for yourself even possible with a child?).
I'd still like to at some point in the next 20 years travel to Ireland, Scotland and Italy. My brother Mike and I would always talk about how we wished we could move to Ireland and just work in a pub somewhere. I can't really explain why we had that dream, but we did. I think we both just feel a strong pull there due to the fact that we have family there and for me I just think as Americans we sometimes just put the emphasis on the WRONG things and from what I've seen of the Irish people (do movies and books count?) they seem to have their priorities more in line than we do on certain issues. I figure if Dave and I really wanted to go we could take Olivia when she's like 15...because the Irish don't mind their teenagers joining them for a pint...
I'd like to get more fashionable clothing that fits and is better quality. Perhaps that stems from my obsession with TLC"s What NOT to Wear. I love the clothes they put people in and I am really interested in stepping up my look this winter. I got a wonderful winter coat from my mom and dad for Christmas all ready so that's a step in the right direction, but I will need to start looking for nicer pieces that actually fit me. I have a semi high profile job now being that I am the person who actually had to meet with families and state agencies on a regular basis so I think that I should look more polished and put together. Currently I feel like that frazzled mom you see with smudged eyeliner and raggedy clothes - I so need to work on that.
I would like to finish my Master's by May 2010 and then begin my next Master's the following semester. I really enjoy Grad school and I am loving learning about Special Education. It's bizarre to me how I changed my life so drastically (radio to education is a HUGE change, but it is worth it. I really enjoy what I do and this path allows me to help people, grow as a person, and have my summers and school vacations off to spend with Olivia.) When she is a teenager she won't like that i'm home all the time...though I will be good for rides I guess, until she gets her license anyway.
I really want to get back to my scrapbooking...i am so far behind...I'm still in May 2007!! I hope to get caught up someday, but from what I'm told I shouldn't hold my breathe on that now that the baby O is here.
I'd like to buy a house in 2010...not sure where yet...but I really want to own something...and I want to give Olivia a place that she can paint and decorate and feel like it's HER home, not just an apartment that we rent. We grew up in a variety of apartments until I was nearly 13 and honestly it was fine...but I loved that as a teenager I had my own room. It was so nice. I hope to give her the same thing.
My goals are so simple...kinda boring honestly but they are still mine and I hope to reach them someday.
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