Where did it go?

My holiday break from work/weekend? It's missing, where did it go?

The last four days were a mere blur... then I woke up today thinking - oh shit, I have to go to work tomorrow. I am just not quite ready- Especially for school. Mr. Hottypants (btw, not nearly as smart as he appeared to be the first eve in class - big bummer) has got us writing papers left and right, one - the first which is due tomorrow and I have a SEVERE case of writer's block. Correction - make that writing school paper block, blogging seems to be coming very easily.

Painted living room- check

Put up Christmas Tree & inside decorations - check

Still need to find wrapping paper that appears to be MIA somewhere in the garage.

D has worked out of town lately and my mom kept me company yesterday. She inspired me to weed my front yard - yes, weed my front yard. While the sun is quick to shine and grow things, weeds are part of that lovely package. I took advantage of some nice cool weather and got my gloves on. Can I just tell you that I hate, really -really hate spiders. Well, not as much as I hate lice. I think I dislike lice more than spiders. After playing in the dirt, we decided to catch a movie and see Four Christmas'- highly recommended and they managed to save some funny parts for the movie. Go see it! Light, funny and very entertaining, not much else- however it was perfect for our evening.

This morning, I attended a party planning class at our local pottery barn with Jules. The highlight was sitting on a super comfy couch which is COMPLETELY overpriced and out of any normal price range. I could have taken a nap on it, completely enveloped me and reminded me of how much I can't stand our couch.




Ok - not much else to report. Here's wishing everyone a week filled with holiday cheer.

This week I start studying for the CSET - URGHHHHHHHH. I know your jealous.....

P.S. - If the economy gets any worse and I lose my job I have talked D into moving to Hawaii where we will sell all of our wordly possessions (I am going to have to keep a razor and still use my Fredric Fekkai shampoo and conditioner) and be high maintenance hippies - oh yeah with Vespa's and loads of sunscreen. I've already decided I want to work at the Grand Wailea, we stayed there for my dad's birthday 8 years ago and loved it. What could be horrible about working there?

Ripeness

The color of ripe wheat....

Last weekend, we celebrated our one year anniversary in our home. When we purchased the paint, a year ago, I sincerely thought we would have the entire inside of the house painted by summer - at the latest. This would put us right in line to start on the front yard which we plan to make into an outdoor living space or rather usable back yard because, well, we really have no back yard and the house absorbs much of the noise shielding the front yard from the busy street.

Back to painting, so D opened up the paint can of ripe wheat and we both went - URGHHHH - This color on the entire room? It's a large room and such a dark color. It has really nice natural sunlight so we wanted to go with something a bit lighter. So we dusted off the paint cans and placed all of them in a line trying to figure out what we were thinking when we picked the colors and what colors go to which rooms. We only have 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms left to paint and 8 cans of paint. Hmmph. This is the problem when you don't write the room location on the paint can.

So..... we came across Belvedere cream- a nice, rich, cream color. D had just finished the ceiling (white) so I started on the first wall and then shrieked.... it was the EXACT freaking color as what was already there. Using some strong and inappropriate language I was quick to let D know this was a bad idea. He reminded me that it would dry darker and in about 15 minutes I had simmered down realizing that a fresh coat of paint is better than looking at old walls.

Ripe wheat will go in our bedroom with a burnt copper accent wall (I think it's actually called copper mountain), project slated to start in January. No more home improvements till then. YAHOOO.

The Office is still a complete and total disaster - I hate being in here, which is where our one and only working computer resides. I need to find some kind of really cool, hip window covering. I've spent hours leafing through the smith+noble catalogue wondering what to put on this window.

The color - Belvedere cream by Williams-Sonoma, our walls are a bit darker.

As we painted the living room yesterday, in all of it's Belvedere cream glory, we talked about how we both reminisced about our lofty goals regarding the status of our home projects. Then we talked about what we accomplished this last year and we were able to realize why we were just now getting around to painting that room. We also talked about our goals, both personal and professional, for next year - that to me is always exciting.



The prospect of hope and change for a new year - suddenly, I am so over this one and ready to move forward.

Better, much better

Lest you think I spent all of yesterday running my extra black eyeliner from crying while dressed in goth garb, painted black nails and cranking the Morrissey- let me assure you that I did none of those. Wow, that last post was uh, ahem -quite sad.

Ahhhh, the roller coaster ride that infertility gives us. The rides seem fewer and fewer - I just need to remember to hold on tight when it gets going. Yesterday, was really nice. A bit gloomy (weather-wise) and that is fine by me, we see very few of those days here on the surface of the sun. The morning was spent visiting with some of D's family - his Aunt and Uncle, which was really relaxing and fun. Next stop was turkey time with my mom, her cousin +spouse from NC, my aunt, my Great Uncle and his wife and D. Again, a really fun and relaxing time. Final stop was seeing my dad, yesterday evening who threatened us with more food. I did pretty good yesterday and never let myself *go overboard* however - we came home with food from each place we visited yesterday.

Today, D and I will put the house we call our home back together. Painting, patching walls, replacing outlets in our living room will be our fun today. The contents of that room are sprinkled throughout the dining room and entry way so it literally looks like we are in the process of moving or an explosion has just occurred.

At some point, probably tomorrow - I will post about the goings-on for the past two weeks.

Promise.

OK - Ripe wheat (the name of our paint), here I come.....

Giving Thanks

Throughout the day, today, thoughts of those two sweet peas who entered our lives last Spring were everywhere. Thoughts scatter throughout our lives - weaved in and out of each day, here and there. Some details are small, some trigger memories that are quite large - almost overwhelming. Today was one a day of the latter.

The holidays are kid-centric times coupled with the fact that I just spent all of last weekend moving the office stuff out of their room. I still call it *the girls' room* and probably will for sometime.

I worry about how - this - here, depth of sadness feels and hope that by Christmas we are strong and brave to not miss out on all of the gifts our life is giving us.

Talking to a good friend tonight, I had to choke back tears and focus on my voice not shaking as I explained how I missed them - painfully. This conversation occured as I was inching my car through the crowded parking lot where I visit our Trader Joe's weekly, where we took them often to the Japanese restaurant, where I carried lg who had a fever into Walgreens, the parking lot where BG took note about all of the kids and parents out one sunny day- then squeezed my hand. Those are memories that cause pain and thankfulness.

Recently, D's best friend was in town visiting from Santa Cruz and wanted to see pictures of the girls. He got to hear us ramble on, complain, laugh and contemplate parenting. In the end, that is an aspect that so many of us look forward to - connecting with our closest friends and family about sharing our life with a child. Look - we did it too! Finally! We can do it - even though it was on a temporary basis. I have kept the photos in a special envelope but I think it might be time to place them in a nice scrapbook. I am sure it would help with some aspects of closure.

Sometimes I think we jumped too fast - with our agency, with saying yes on the day we were approved and then I remember - it wasn't jumping fast, it was jumping and thinking with our heart. Right now, I am thankful for those two sweet peas that entered our lives and help me see more of the charming, humorous, loving and sensitive side of the man in my life.

Happy 200

This is my 200th post which is amazing because I am big giant flake - as evidenced in my sudden hiatus. I wasn't planning to take 2 weeks off from blogging - life happened and blogging became increasingly difficult.

Instead of complaining about what has been happening the last 2 weeks (Lord knows, I have much to tell you) - I thought it would be nice to list 200 people/places/things I am most thankful for because this is Thanksgiving week.

EDIT****** - 200 - Cheese and rice - what the hell was I thinking? I could barely come up with 100.

Edit #2 - 19.5 is Anna :-) - sorry Annacyclopedia
Edit #3 - I also forgot Ally - sorry ladies. You are all in my top 100, you mean the world to me :-)

Here it goes.....

1. Duane
2. Mom
3. Dad
4. my brother
5. my sister-in law
6. my niece
7. my newphew
8. my dad's side of the family
9. my mom's side of the family
10. Jules
11. Raquel
12. Regina
13. Panda
14. Ashley
15. Veronica
16. Kate
17. Io
18. Emily
19. Emily
20. Barb
21. Anthony Bourdain
22. Ina Garten
23. Jamie Oliver
24. Rocco DiSpirato
25. good health
26. love for running
27. love for cooking
28. my doggies
29. Sprinkles cupcakes
30. My- Ipod
31. My car
32. hope
33. love
34. faith
35. yoga
36. love of teaching
37. books
38. flowers
39. Ireland
40. vanilla latte's
41. fresh baked bread
42. butter
43. chocolate chip cookies
44. tri-tip steak
45. mexican food- especially tacos
46. kettle corn
47. Ben + Jerry's - Cherry Garcia
48. candles
49. Pottery Barn
50. Williams-Sonoma
51. Nordstrom's
52. Gaiam
53. Christmas ornaments
54. snow
55. sunshine
56. John Denver
57. Duran Duran
58. Coldplay
59. The Beatles
60. Talking Heads
61. Bob Marley
62. Prince
63. Sheryl Crow
64. Miles Davis
65. Lenny Kravitz
66. Dave Brubeck
67. Ella Fitzgerald
68. Charlie Parker
69. Frank Sinatra
70. INXS
71. U2
72. Van Halen
73. Black Sabbath
74. Outkast
75. Snow Patrol
76. our local library (it's the one my mom took us to when we were little kids)
77. France
78. Italy
79. England
80. Germany
81. Belguim
82. Switzerland
83. my home town - Riverside
84. Paso Robles
85. Napa
86. San Francisco
87. A new President
88. A Democratic Senate
89. Seeing red states turn blue.
90. Organic food
91. hybrid vehicles
92. recycling
93. my clothesline that will be up next Spring
94. Flavored Mineral Water- Sparklett's Orange is my fave
95. Crab with butter
96. Oranges and Tangerines in December
97. The blogging community
98. freedom of expression
99. be an American
100. Having a job with great benefits, in this economy

What are you most Thankful for?

Lost

Where did this week go?

It seemed like yesterday (well, Tuesday) I was putting fingers to keyboard... The rest of the week was turbulent, interesting, emotional and exhausting or just a typical day in the life of any of us, no?

My first week back at school was, um, interesting. Let's start with class on Monday night and the teacher I like to call Professor Hottypants. Why, yes, I am - as Van Halen puts it "Hot for Teacher". He's a hunk, seriously - the man needs his own calender. Think of a cross between the hunky Eastern European doctor from ER combined with Andy Garcia. Professor Hottypants spent 4-1/2 hours rambling on about Theories and Interventions involving behavioral disorders and I know I took notes however the ink is blurry from the drool. In all seriousness, the dude is super smart and I am looking forward to his lectures. He did his undergrad at UCLA and his PhD at our very local UC - right here in Riverside. Our assignments seem interesting and thought provoking. We had an in-class assignment where we had to discuss our favorite/most meaningful teacher and assigned us a project where we need to identify a personal behavior we want to change and then analyze the process over the next 9 weeks. You'll never guess who was in the class. BITCHFACE - remember her? She was smart and kept her mouth shut. Let's face it, she was probably enthralled with Professor Hottypants.

Wednesday night D was working on a job out of town so I had the lovely privilege (are you picking up on the heavy sarcasm yet?) of attending the adoption appreciation dinner hosted by our agency. I talked my friend Regina into going with me, she was one of BG's teachers so I felt like she needed to be appreciated also. It was an awkward event, families with their adopted or foster children and me with my good friend Regina. Thankfully, Regina and I have been in some *funny* situations together (for example, let me tell you about the time we worked a fundraiser for Congressman George Brown and I gave a very cold and bitchy shoulder to then Secretary of Housing, Henry Cisneros- uh yeah, I wanted to die). The best way to summarize our friendship is to tell you about the day of my wedding where I realized I forgot to put deodorant on and my photographer Cean decided to get a picture of me holding up both of my arms and Regina applying it - she is that kind of friend. Priceless. She was my rock that evening (and always), making me laugh when I just wanted to sit there and cry. We couldn't leave quick enough, I don't know what I was thinking. Oh and R's crazy foster mom (little girl we got called about right after BG and lg) was there and wouldn't look me in the eyes.

Tonight, was the continuation of Professor Hard-ass that I had last term. She is a bird of a different feather - the classroom dynamics are alot different with less students and she seems to have mellowed out a bit.

Lots of homework ahead of me this weekend, urghhh.

Noise

I had today off and was ready to experience some peace and quiet when I heard the air compressor in the garage go full boar (I had forgotten that D mentioned he would be working on projects from home today), then our lawn lady showed up ( I know, I know - I said we were cutting back on spending) which led to the non-stop barking of Sydney and Foster. I envisioned me in a bathtub saying - Calgon, take me away.

I was able to get caught up on "stuff" - homework stuff, organizing stuff and random stuff. The highlight of my day was meeting my IRL BFF and her two sweet peas for lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe. Her oldest is just simply adorable and SO patient with her youngest who is at that toddler stage where you just want to nibble his ear because he is that cute. I can see J's beautiful eyes look back at me when I watch her youngest, I watch J's husband's extrovert spirit exude from her oldest son during his interactions. After lunch we ran down to the makeup area to *look around* . I needed some shampoo ( OK, I am just busting myself - left and right here, yep - I am back to expensive shampoo, it's a few bucks cheaper than the super expensive one) and there was no one but the cute, young salesgirl in the accessories department, I took J's oldest with me. I glanced around looking for J and spot her sitting on one of those high chairs, at the mercy of Smashbox saleslady who was in a flurry working those big fluffy brushes against J's face. I lifted her oldest up and said - Look, there's your mom. He looked back at me and said - Yeah, she's getting her face painted. That was just the cutest and funniest thing I think I've ever heard. Thanks J for making today a great day.

I came home to do more homework and while I was assembling chicken enchiladas I decided to make some homemade croutons with the extra sourdough bread we had leftover from last week. OMG, it was so super yummy. I called D to let him know I had a special snack waiting at home and sadly there was nothing when he arrived. The crouton fairy must have magically picked them up. I am sure the crouton elves will be placing the calories on my ass.

Lucky me...

The Reality

Day to day I don't think about *our girls*, instead thoughts pop in and out of my head in flashback mode. I guess the constant stream of flashbacks started during the week of Halloween because it's such a kid-centered holiday which also coincided to D picking up little girls car seat from my brothers house. Ryan and Tricia had a car seat in case they needed to transport all the kids while they were providing day care last summer. Anyway, back to Halloween - I started to think of what their costumes would be or contemplate on whether they even had costumes.

When we decided to paint/tile our home office we moved every piece of furniture, book and paper into the girls' room. I was happy to close the door on that room when guests came over - before our home improvement project and after the girls were reunified, it just looked so stark, empty and lifeless. So, the office has been completed for weeks now and I have used every excuse in the book to not step foot in the girls room - until today. I knew it would be tough... I had no idea I would bite my lip - so hard it bled- to fight back tears when I came across the following:

School papers with Big Girl's writing

A birthday card from Bio-Grandparents to little girl

Paperwork from the agency about getting approved for this process

Empty child size hangers in the closet

The diaper bag I used for little girl

I could go on... but I need to go to sleep. I am exhausted - mentally, physically - everything. Wednesday we go to a dinner hosted by our agency to celebrate National Adoption Month and we will be attending with our brave faces and torn hearts. I feel like I am at the very end of the frayed rope watching it unravel as our chances to parent decrease daily. Still no call for a placement.

Some good news... I spent Saturday driving all over San Diego getting items for my Grandpa and helping him to get settled. I arrived at his new place at 9:00 AM, he had just finished breakfast. I asked how it was, he replied it was great - "pancakes", he chimed, in an upbeat manner. Before I could comment and focus on his positive tone he then whined about the room being filled with a bunch of octogenarians. I sighed. He's 83, BTW. We put together a list of some things he needed like Scope, paper towels, dove soap - some of his favorite things and I got to check out his new place. He was in a temporary setting until his furniture arrived. My cousin Nichole and I ran to Target and we were commenting on how other residents had decorated their doors with personalized items. His neighbors hung fall-like wreaths and other little knick-knack things, very reminiscent of a college dorm. This is kind of funny because we were picking up dorm-like basics - minus the keg. Once we returned to Kappa Kappa Grandpa we joined other aunts, uncles and cousins to help unload and get him settled. The staff was really nice, firm but nice, the place is super clean and looks like an upscale hotel and his peers seem really nice. Other residents would smile and wave as we walked down the hallway. His new environment is more physically appropriate and there is a level of care associated. The staff comes by to "clean" his room in the morning (make sure he up and moving) then in the early afternoon they come by to remind him about dinner. It will be much easier to visit him in this environment, my only hope is that he embraces this change and as we know - change is difficult and often painful, especially when it involves the loss of personal independence.

I start school tomorrow night, the break was just too quick and I have Tuesday (Veteran's Day) and Friday (my 9/80) off. YIPPEE!

Make it great week :-)

Handsome + Smart

One of my fave photos of this week.

Confirmation

I didn't have doubts about my vote... however, seeing the first crush of my life supporting him, gives me the goosebumps and I realize I did make the right choice. I am taking it as a sign.

That would be John Taylor, from Duran Duran.

Tightening the belt

I hate money and I love money -don't we all feel that way?

Last January, in an effort to lose weight I decided I would only go to Starbucks once -every other week versus my 2-3 times a week habit. I immediately had a little bit of extra money and realized it was not only helping my waistline but my wallet as well. Additionally, I wanted to help the environment in some way, when I made these decisions as well (hence the clothesline I received from my in-laws, for my birthday that is still in the box, residing in our garage). It was around this time I started to talk D into buying me a Vespa ( I got so close, but being that I am super accident prone and have to travel quite a distance to school, he vetoed it - probably a really good idea in retrospect) - so we could save on gas.

Because D is self-employed, we rely on my paycheck for not only a steady income that pays the mortgage but medical/dental/vision insurance and a defined retirement plan. D's work cyclically slows during the holiday season so we are cautious on our spending. With recent economic worries, surprisingly (please knock on wood) D still has a steady stream of work and now we are more worried about my job. AAAAAACK!

So... we discussed, last night, what I would do if I lost my job - in kind of a humorous way because that was the only way we could muster the topic. We also talked about the cutbacks we have recently made so we won't feel blindsided *if* or rather when the other shoe drops.

We stopped the LA times (boo hoo), Netflix (super boo-hoo) and I phoned AT&T to ask about a few unexplained charges and got them to change our long distance plan, resulting in a $30.00 monthly decrease. I would also like to share with you that I am no longer using my $25 a bottle shampoo and $25 a bottle conditioner and this is probably where I feel the tightening in the belt the most - on my head, resulting in tangles. OUCH.

Today, instead of Starbucks I stopped at 7-11, where I purchased a grande size coffee, pack of gum, some hostess crumb doughnuts and 2 packs of gum all for 5 bucks. Usually, I make coffee at work but today I needed a treat. Oh and I bring my lunch to work, every day - usually last night's leftovers.

So I ask, in an effort to find ways to cutback - Where are you cutting back?

Motivation

Motivation came knocking this week when we came to work on Monday and discovered our "big cheese" had been let go. Without going into too much detail, or rather without giving myself enough rope to hang myself - I will just have to say that the reason presented to the group and the actual reason why he was let go - are very different, however, there are truths to both. Are you picking up what Iam putting down?

I guess we all get lackadaisical at our jobs, however, after learning about his departure and the ensuing budget problems that will result in decreases in our staff, then benefits and finally pay, everyone is suddenly*the model employee* which translates into some version of the stepford employee. It's almost like some sick reality show called "Who will be lucky enough to keep their job". Well, not everyone is motivated in that capacity- I am suddenly motivated to pass the CSET and become a teacher like never before. I guess it was the shot in the arm that I needed. I struggle with - well alot, but mostly because I have a great career and feel very settled in my job and in the evening I play teacher. It's a farce. It's hard and I can't keep up the charade.

I am tired.

I feel like once I can make the career change, I can then think more clearly about our path to parenthood. There are a million *what if* scenarios and I could list them here but why, really?

I think I am also motivated because for the first time in a really long time I have hope that life in our great country is going to change for the better. While my ideals differ about some critical areas, I pick up on a sense of genuineness and sincerity when I see Obama near his children and can't help but think that is part of his innate personality that will ultimately spill over to his career.

Here's to motivation. What motivates you? Is there a particular guru? Mantra? Life event?

History

Youth vote was the best turnout EVER.

Latinos who voted for Bush in the last election, voted for Obama.

Teachers will tell all kids in classrooms tomorrow that ANYONE can be President of the United States and now they will all believe it because it's the truth.

It doesnt get much better than this....It's hope and it's the prospect of change (I think we are all in agreement our great country needs).

Like Nike says...JUST DO IT

Save Second Base

I know, I know... it's been a few days since I last posted. My laptop has finally passed away and now I am faced with purchasing some stupid AC adapter when really I just want *this*. You know, because that money tree in my backyard is flourishing. HAHAHA.

I'll start with today and move back to Wednesday, the start of the worse business trip I have ever taken in my entire lifetime.

Months ago, D and I committed to participate in the run/walk for a cure - Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer event. D's good friend from high school - David, lost a sister to breast cancer and let me digress. Her funeral was one of the most beautiful tributes I have ever seen compounded with the fact that her brother -David, truly loved his sister. If my brother would show 1/8th of the compassion and sadness at my funeral, I will be shocked and well- shocked. So fast forward to today - San Diego's Balboa park to be exact and everything was perfect - weather, course and most people. Speaking of people, there are several in my life who I walked for today that have dealt with breast cancer and it was powerful, motivating and inspiring to be part of such an amazing event. I ran this event, with very little training and was amazed that I made it as far as I did (2 miles, baby steps - errr baby jogs). I have decided that I really need to get serious about training as it didn't go nearly as smooth as races I had participated in past times and I am sure that I will feel it tomorrow. Oh joy. What I will also be feeling tomorrow is happy to have been part of an event that raised $800,000+ for breast cancer research and awareness. Some of our favorite t-shirts we noticed today were Save Second Base and Save the Tata's.

Halloween was not too scary, just a few friends over and I made Taco soup, jalapeno cheesy cornbread and a yummy desert that I will have to post photos of. D and I reminisced about our November 1st anniversary - the anniversary of our first date, our friends enjoyed hearing us talk about that night. We had a very normal, dare I say boring, first date - dinner and movie. The zinger was in the days that followed. We never left each other's side from that day on and were living together by Thanksgiving.

Thursday was my first day back to work, plenty to do and I left at noon to meet with nice lady therapist. Nlt was supportive without being condescending, polite without being "too nice" and made me feel really comfortable. I will see her again (in December) to discuss our miscarriage and the loss of the BG and lg. After the appt I headed to the last night of Professor Hell's class, I have her next term so, I promise to deliver more horror stories. She is everything I hope to never be as a teacher - A bully, inconsistent and rude. I feel confident these are personality traits spilling over into her career, sadly. The poor kids that have to deal with her. It's over, not much to say about the class except - B's are for degrees. I need to get over the whole " I NEED AN "A" IN EVERY CLASS thing.

Wednesday - hee hee, the end of business trip hell and the beginning of my life resuming to a normal state. Our team, still camped out at the worst Marriott in Marriott history (Seriously, don't ever, EVER stay at the Marriott Villa's in Desert Palm Springs, off of Pinehurst Lane -HORRIBLE) packed up the car, attended our last workshop and I drove us back in record time. We were "released" for the day. Yes, big cheese - dumb boss used that exact word and then I popped a happy pill to deal with family drama.

Let me talk about this property - real quick. It was a timeshare and due to the overflow of the conference affecting vacancy at closer, better hotels we were forced to stay at this hellhole. First, I took a bubble bath and had to dry off with a hand towel (good times) and when I called to ask for more towels at 9:30 PM, I had to call back at 10:30 PM to remind them about the towels I ordered AND they delivered the towels at 11:15 PM. I am sorry, they delivered dirty towels with hair on them at 11:15 PM. I tossed them out on the patio, totally nasty. The following morning, I went to grab the hair dryer and guess what - yep, no hair dryer. This is a place that wants people to give large sums of money, it's a timeshare for God's sake and you don't have a freaking hair dryer? Seriously? The sheets didn't smell fresh and there was just a general film of dirt across everything, I made a stink with the housekeeping manager and returned to find the room spotless, shining and smelling pleasant. I am sure they used my toothbrush to scrub the toilet bowl.

Tuesday - After being at the conference ALL.DAY.MONDAY. my direct supervisor and I bumped into each other in the hall and decided that we needed to go find "a diversion". I was happy just to go sit out by the pool, she was looking for drinks. We left the hotel where our conference was being held and while we were headed to the hotel adjacent to the other property and a beautiful clubhouse. Within five minutes, I was drinking a glass of Chardonnay and she was working on a martini. Twenty minutes later those drinks were pushed aside and we were tasting $500.00 a bottle champagne - for free. J, my boss, is a cutie pie and there was some youngish dude representing Champagnes and trying to get the club house manager to purchase a few cases. The stuff was GOOD- it was a fun afternoon. Let me just tell you how "sobering" it is to have to provide an analysis of the classes you *supposedly* attended and hoping to make some sense.

While experiencing our libation filled afternoon, J and I were determined to ditch the other two individuals for dinner. Not a problem, I had previously mentioned the never-ending homework I had brought and she suddenly was not feeling well. The problem - how do we ensure that we will have wheels. We were so desperate to get out of having dinner we agreed, ahead of time, we would call a cab if one of the other member of the party we were ditching wanted the wheels. The sun was setting, it was dusk, I ran to the car like a 16 year old trying to sneak out of the house and drove over to J's place. Thirty minutes later we were here we were happy to discover that they offer half price on all bottles of wine, Tuesday nights. It was a LOVELY evening, seriously - we had a blast.

Monday was long, not really newsworthy. That was my last week in a nutshell...

Other news - I have decided to get a double master's, one will be in Special Education, Mild to Moderate and the other will be in Special Education, Moderate to Severe. Our school is one of the few in the area that has this specific program, I'll start in Spring 2009.

Have a great week. Tomorrow is my last night of class for my Fall I term, Fall II will start the week after next and I am ready for a break. I hate starting the week out exhausted.