Ouch!

As we were settling into the Party Lite party last night, I got a call from my sister saying that she was on her way home to take Andrew to the emergency room because he was hurt at basketball camp. Apparently his face was pretty swollen and looked displaced and broken...the cheekbone, that is. So, off the went to Children's Hospital again for the manyith time in the last month (remember Grace's burn?). I talked to Andrew on the way to the hospital and asked him how his cheek was. He said it was fine, but that wasn't what he wanted to talk about. Okay then...

He went on to tell me that he had run six miles yesterday and took 12 minutes off his mile, along with running a five minute mile. Holy cow. If you know Andrew, you know he is built like a gazelle (did not get our genetics, apparently) and is tall and long. His ears would make the most drag on his entire body. He was pretty excited and said that he knew one thing: that he would never stop exercising again because it hurt too much to get started again. Yeah. No kidding.

Anyway, later last night I got the call from Michelle that he was okay. No breaks. No concussions. No fractures. Just a nasty bruise in the "fatty" part of his face that is rich in blood vessels. Because of all of the blood vessels, it is where the blood pooled and made it swell and bruise. It is going to get uglier before it gets better, but he should be fine. I asked him if the kid apologized and Andre said that he and his father were both very apologetic. It happened during a scrimmage and was a total accident.

In terms of Grace, her arm is healing well. The bandages are off and she now needs to keep a regular supply of lotion and sunscreen on it even if she goes outside for twenty seconds. They are saying that as long as they follow the rules, her arm will be only left with a faint scar. That's good news, too.

On this end, things with attempting to sell the house are MADDENING. It is so frustrating. At this point I don't particularly care of the damn thing sells or not. The woman (buyer) is a serious pain in the ass. Keep your fingers crossed that it sells, though.

I made it to the gym and got in a 5K on the treadmill this morning. Apparently the morning at the college is old folks time, since I was the youngest person there by like 40-50 years. I'm not kidding. Anyway, it made me look faster on the treadmill and I kind of liked that. Zoom zoom.

Okay....off to get a little work done. Not much, but at least a little.

What a creative week.

I have actually gotten much done this week....remarkably. I'm not sure what's wrong with me.

Work has been decent, perhaps because my nemesis is out of the office. I'll take it. I have gotten much accomplished, but have so much more to do before August rolls around. Yeah. I know. August is NEXT week...my nephew also turns 13 next week. Get out of here!

Anyway....I am getting a wrap on planning for our week of staff development in August. Came up with a decent idea to take the team to the Corning Glass Museum as a culminating event to make glass flowers or something along those lines.

Home is getting settled. We have officially finished the living room! Hallelujah! Curtains are hung (Okay valances). Trim has been painted and furniture has been moved backed to place. Best of all, the bird poop has been cleaned off the wall. It feels clean. A nice light blue with a creamy trim. Ahhhhh. As for the upstairs bathroom....wellll.......that's another story. Some day it will be complete, but for now we need a little break.

We are hosting our first gathering at the house tonight. One of my former assistant coordinators sells Party Lite and so we are hosting a show. I have no idea how many people will show up, considering I really don't know many people here and typically when I do have a party Katie and Cristin show up...rarely anyone else. Oh...and of course Eugene. If you see something online on the site, let me know and I can order it for you! We are going to need the sales.

So let's talk about the Chiropractic College for a moment. HOLY EYE CANDY, Batman. The ratio of males to females must be in favor of the females because I have seen very little of the X chromosome compared to the Y. That's all I have to say about that.

Work time. Hasta la bang bang.

I am tired...and it's only Tuesday.

The last few days have been busy (which seems to be the theme these days).

This past Friday I went to the University of Rochester to check on financial aid. My department had not forwarded my information to financial aid, so there was nothing on file for me. The counselor who deals with graduate financial aid was on vacation, but was to return yesterday. Hopefully, she will have something worked out soon so I can figure out just how much money I need to make fly out of certain areas of my body.

When I got home Saturday morning, I was in the bathroom and thought it would be a good idea to start stripping the wallpaper in the upstairs bathroom. This was a definite "What was I thinking?" moment. I had no idea it would be so much work. I really worked on it all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday with some help and it still isn't done. Amy was working on it yesterday and we are closer, but still a bit to go. The people who wallpapered did it before any of the fixtures were in, so it is next to impossible to get clean edges around the sink, etc. We are hoping to have it done before the end of the week, though.

Last night after work I went to the New York State Chiropractic College where I joined the fitness center. Let me just tell ya....it ain't the Y. I will miss the Auburn YMCA, but that might be all I miss from Auburn (expect Maggie). I ran two miles and then did ten minutes on the elliptical. From there I went home, had a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a PBJ and then started peeling the rest of the wallpaper border in the living room. By the way, we did not take any pictures before we started any of this work, but trust me...we are making big differences.

When Amy got home she wanted to know what she could do to help. She can't be on the ladder, so she decided to get out the paint and start low. We were only going to do one wall. At 11:00 last night we had finished the entire living room in Martha Stewart Porcelain Doorknob blue. It is a light blue and very pretty, but we probably should have done something a little darker. I guess we will have to see how it cures.

So, today here I am at work. I ate a great lunch and then ruined it with some ice cream and caramel sauce. It is my weakness. Actually they are my weakness - ice cream AND caramel sauce. Yum. Don't worry. I brought my stuff to hit the gym after work and I have a feeling I am going to need it. We have a big meeting today with one of our schools that is having problems adapting to the structure of the after school program. I don't want to be involved in the meeting.

Okay....I guess that's it for now. There is tons more happening and I am incredibly stressed out, but I will post that after it is all over...let's hope it is all over soon.

Thank God it's Friday!!

So here it is Friday morning and I am sitting on my couch in the living room. Life is good. This morning has been good. I got up, started some laundry (which I can wash here, but have to take it to the laundromat to dry), WENT FOR A RUN (did you catch that?), and am now crashing with a bowl of Kashi watching Coyote Ugly. I think I am going to like it here.

We have scheduled the summer so that we have almost every other Friday off, which has been great. It feels like I haven't actually been to work in forever, though. It all started with the five days of Schools Attuned training, then the week of moving, then the trip to Cornell....now I am home and trying to decide what to do for the weekend. It is the Balloon Rally in Wellsville and I need to decide if I am going down or not. I should probably go down and try to start clearing some things out of the attic.

I am going to the University of Rochester today to try to sort out financial aid options. Let's hope I have some. Something's got to give, right? I know it will be loans, but so be it. If I don't go now I never will.


And so now, meet BELLA! She is the little black one on top. She is now three weeks old. Just a few more to go! I am sure Maggie would approve. I would still rather have Mags, but since it is pretty obvious she is not physically coming back...
Can you even stand those little faces? Too much. I don't have a registered name for Bella Bean yet, but I am sure something will come along.

Okay. Off to the laundromat! Have a great weekend.

Well....

It's been a long time since I've slept in a dorm. Long enough that I managed to lock myself out of my room last night without shoes and in my pajamas. The nice girl from the campus center came and let me in. Thank you nice campus center girl!

It was a beautiful day to be up at the ropes course. Unfortunately, I am not feeling 100% and was a mere spectator this time around. They have a high element that is a mock bell tower that has a very long zipline. You shove off the platform at the top of the tower and zoom down the line. I wish that I would have done that.

Sadly, the food here at Cornell is still as good as I remember it to be. That means that I am eating too much. That also means that once I get back to Seneca Falls I am done messing around and getting back on the running track. I know I've said it before, but I am really feeling miserable.

By the way...if you are trying to reach me on my Cingular phone (last four digits 7706), there seems to be some issue here at Cornell that reception is very spotty. If you need to reach me, please use the 6820 number until Wednesday afternoon.

Okay, heading back to session. Good night!

The weekend has gone by far too quickly. Friday brought Amy moving in and all of the mess of boxes all over again. Yuck. It is pretty settled at this point, but we still have some definite details to get to. it will be fine, I am sure.

Friday evening I went to dinner with my friend Susan, her son Emre (13), her son Eren (20), her step-son Cori (pronounced Core-Eye, 33), and her step daughter Chidem (pronounced as it sounds....kind of like "cheat em", 28) at a great Italian restaurant in Seneca Falls called Henry B's. I am sure that I ate too much, and the situation was interesting given the family dynamics of the group. Susan lived in Turkey for 15 years and her son Eren (along with Cori and Chidem) all still live there.

Saturday morning I woke early and headed to Wellsville for a haircut, a visit with the realtor, and a concert at the Wellsville Creative Arts Center. I got a great haircut (as usual) and will continue to travel back to have it done there.

The house is (tentatively) sold. I signed the contract Saturday afternoon and am now just waiting for everything to go through. I am torn about the situation - glad that I won't have the responsibility of it anymore, but sad because of what I invested in the house, which was mostly emotional. I am fairly certain at this point that it is unlikely I will ever return to Wellsville to live, so it makes sense to let it go. Seriously....I could never live there without Maggie anyway. I wouldn't want to. I also made a stop to see Jeff and Linda and the kids. They are doing well and are busy, as usual.

The Buddahood played at the Creative Arts Center and we had a great time. They are incredibly eclectic and had a variety of sounds, styles, and rhythms all in one song. Good times.

I headed back to Seneca Falls early this morning. Amy and I managed to change our own lock, since uor landlord has not been responsive to fixing it. We would have to stand at the back door and fiddle with the key for sometimes near ten minutes to get it to work. We are sharing one key since copies do not work. It has been a nightmare. Today, we made the nightmare go away and fixed the lock our own damn selves.

I had to get packed since we are spending four days at Cornell University for an ACT for Youth leadership conference. Tomorrow we are on the high ropes course and that doesn't thrill me. Our facilitators over the next three days are representatives from Free the Children . I have high hopes the progam will be awesome, since I am not so thrilled about being away....again.

Next weekend is Balloon Rally and I am still deciding on whether I will head back to Wellsville or not. I guess part of it could depend on what is happening with the houses, both in Seneca Falls and in Wellsville. Amy is away next weekend, too, so it may be nice just to stay home and veg. I guess we will see.

Michelle is over the top in Disney planning. She has already posted her packing list on the Disney Message Board (including 12 pairs of underwear). Crazy. I am getting more exicted, but I feel like I have so many things to get through before I can even think about going. My brain is constantly running at warp speed and I am just tired.

I will check in tomorrow night after the high ropes course and a day of training.

Has it really been that long?

I can't believe my last blog was on July 5. How has time gone by so quickly? I guess that I have just been super busy...

I am all done with moving, but am still working on settling in. Most of my stuff is put away and when I get a new battery for my camera I will take pictures. I am so happy there, but am getting used to not having a roommate which will all change on Friday. if you need/want my new address email me and I will be sure to send it along. I don't want to post here because I really don't want strange people showing up on my doorstep.

In the seemingly never ending saga of the puppy hunt, I have officially sent a deposit. I was going to go with Snowcrest Labs, but called the other day to see if the breeding had taken and she still wasn't sure. I kept looking around and things fell into place. I will be going with Windswept Kennels

This is my new girl's dad, Mr. B. How much do you want to squish his face? His mom says he has a fantastic disposition and has been springing really great puppies.
The other really awesome part to this whole thing is that the puppy is in Wilkes-Barre and will be ready to come home the last week of August. That is perfect since mom and I are flying in and out of Wilkes-Barre for our trip to Disney World the last week in August. How wacky is that? I get to come home from Disney and bring a puppy home!!!! I will regret it for the first few months, but am so excited. Here are some of Mr. B's pups....I think that I have a name all picked out, but I am hesitant to say because Maggie's changed so many times. In any case, the new pup will be a black girl.

I am in negotiations in an offer on my house in Wellsville. The first offer that came in was incredibly low and I didn't even bother counter offering. The offer came up by $5000, but still was low. I countered and am waiting to hear where things are at. That was Monday, so I hope to hear something today. I will keep you posted. Keep your fingers crossed that something can be worked out.

Okay....I think that is all that has been happening? God only knows. Time is speeding by at a ridiculous rate of speed these days.

Almost done...

I am almost done with moving. All of the big stuff came yesterday in the back of a pick-up truck in the rain. It did not get soaked, but just a little damp. It is pretty much dry this morning. I did sleep at the house last night in a sleeping bag on my mattress on the floor. My shins are all bruised and pretty much every muscle on my body hurts to touch. My hands and arms (and apparently my elbow) are covered in oil based primer from painting my room. My hands hurt. Have I whined enough yet? I am just tired.

I do still have some things that I need to finish up with in Auburn tomorrow - like the cats. They are still at the apartment and I do need to go and get them at some point. Nala is all kinds of freaked out and is hiding from the world. Scout showed me his annoyance by pooping in the tub. All in a day in the life of cats. Crazy.

So, this morning when I got ready for work I realized that I am not in possession of my make-up, hair dryer, or deodorant at this point. I am sure the cats are having a great time using them at the apartment. I am a mess.

Moving....FINALLY.

I finally have my Jeep loaded with the first load to go to the new house. The apartment is WAY easier to pack than the house was last summer (as you can imagine). I am definitely using the Katie method of moving, which means that if I haven't touched it, worn it, eaten it, or used it within the last year it is going away. I don't care where it is going, it is just going. I also rediscovered my birth certificate this morning, which was a welcome surprise.

Okay. I just stopped in quick to check email and get a drink - since all of my glasses are packed.

Let's hope this move goes smoothly and quickly! Can you just imagine how happy the cats are going to be?

Alive and well.

This may be the longest break in my blog since I've started it. It was a busy week being out of the office all last week for a Schools Attuned training with Katie, Penny, and my staff. A fantastic training, but I did not come in the office for more than maybe ten seconds.

The weekend was a blur. Definitely drank too much Friday night and paid for it Saturday morning...twice. Lesson learned for quite some time, I am afraid.

I should have moved yesterday since the lease at the new house started then. The landlords are up, though, and are staying in the house. Yesterday was so beautiful and would have been perfect to have gotten it done. I now have NO idea when/how I will move and who can/will help. I am going to try to get some major packing done tonight so that I can start hauling stuff to the house. My apartment manager called me today and asked what the scoop was. I really just want to get it done!

Perhaps my most newsworthy note would be that I did something very impulsive and a bit crazy...okay, it really was not all that impulsive since I've wanted to do it for years. Literally. Last Tuesday night Katie finally got tired of hearing me talk about it and dragged me to the tattoo/piercing place to get...my nose pierced. Did it hurt? HELL YES. For the first day it was hell because it would not stay adjusted. Now that it is really starting to heal it is staying put and I really do like it. After three months or so I do plan to put something even smaller there. Currently, it is a small cubic zirconium. It really is not noticeable across the room. Mom and Dad were both okay with it, and that was what meant the most to me. My boss can't really look me in the eye, but I don't particularly care.

I register for fall classes today! I am having a bit of a problem getting that done since I need a permission code for the first class. That should be pending, though, since my adviser recommend that I take it.

That's about it for now!