Our New Baby

This morning Bill and I brought home our baby. This baby is 42" long. We have named him Samsung Kenney. Of course I am talking about our new 42" plasma flat screen HD TV. We got up extra early this morning to wait in line at Kmart for a chance to get the TV for the unheard of price of $700 and we got one! After years of watching TV on a 20" screen, I don't know what to do with myself. I know we will have many years of TV watching with our new baby. :)

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! We have 14 people coming to our house! This year, I am thankful that I have a husband that cooks so I can sit around and do nothing...oops, I mean "entertain our guests" this Thanksgiving. Have a great holiday!

YES WE CAN!!!!

I am so proud of this country right now! Electing Barack Obama is the first step towards getting our country out of the mess it has been for the past 8 years. When it was announced that Barack Obama was the president elect, I got teary-eyed because I felt hope for this country. Barack Obama wont be a perfect president. He will make mistakes as all presidents do, but I feel that he is the first president in a long time that is on my side and is working for me and not corporations and lobbiests. I know Obama will do all he can to be not just be a president, but be a great president. I can't wait to see what changes are in store for us over the next four years. GOBAMA!

My Grandfather

I got news that my grandfather passed away this weekend. Most of you who are close to me might not even know that I had a grandfather who is living. I talk a lot about my grandmother but not about my grandfather (they got divorced before I was born). The truth is, I didn't really know grampy that well. I usually just saw him once a year at Christmas time. I never really understood this since he only live two or three miles from my parents. That's just the way it has always been and I've never really questioned it- not out loud, anyway. The last time I saw him was at Christmas time. He talked more on that day than I had ever heard him talk in 32 years. Maybe he knew his time on earth was coming to an end and was making one last attempt to reach out to all of us. This is what I found out that day- Grampy was a World War II Veteran. He got a Purple Heart because he was shot in the leg during the war. He told us about all the places he had been during the war. He and my grandmother got divorced when my mom was in high school. He went on to marry Isabelle. Isabelle was a nice woman who died last November. Mom and her brothers and sisters were with grampy when he died. In the end, he only wanted to be with Isabelle. As he was dying, he reached his hands up in the air, like he was reaching for her. I hope they are together now. Writing this blog is hard because I have always resented my grandfather for not being a part of me and J's life. I never understood why he didn't want to be. I'm sure he had his reasons. I'm sure there is a lot I don't know. I am grateful to him because without him, there would be no me. I just hope he is at peace now.

A Day of Rememberence

I just want to take a moment to remember the people who died in the terrorist attacks seven years ago today and their families. This day is a sad day for our country and thoughts and prayers need to be focused on the families of the dead. Keith Olbermann made an interesting special comment last night about how September 11th has been turned from a day of rememberence to a trademark used to justify certain policies and ideals. I usually think Keith's special comments are a little over the top but the one is right on. It is posted below.

Dissertation Update

This post may seem like a senseless promotion for a pat on the back...and it is. To update everyone, I just sent Chapter Four of my dissertation to my advisor on Sunday. Only one more chapter to go and I'm done. Unfortunately, Chapter 5 is the hardest to write and I'm ready to throw my ibook out the window. So, I need encouragement from you, my loyal readers (all four of you). Any praise you want to throw my way will be accepted and appreciated :)

Happy Anniversary

One year ago today I married my best friend. Everyone says that the first year of marriage is the hardest. If this year is the hardest, than the rest of our lives should go pretty smoothly. We've had a great year together in which we've built a strong partnership. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us. Happy Anniversary Baby! I Love You! SGK

Lessons Learned???

Almost exactly three years after Katrina hit New Orleans, the city is again bracing itself for another massive hurricane. Hurricane Gustav is supposed to hit ground on Monday as a category 5- the most powerful hurricane. To put things in perspective, Hurricane Katrina was only a category 3 hurricane. According to the coverage on MSNBC a mandatory evacuation order has been issued. New Orleans will not offer emergency services to anyone who chooses to ignore the order- those people will be on their own. Unlike last time, residents will not be allowed to take shelter in the Superdome. The only options for evacuation are to drive or take a bus north out of the area. According to coverage, most of New Orleans are choosing to leave. It is a good thing that Katrina wasn't so long ago that people have forgotten the devastation.

New Orleans is also offering options for people who might not leave their homes because of their pets. As an animal lover, some of the most heartbreaking scenes from Katrina for me were stranded animals. The stranded people were sad too, but they had a choice to stay or leave, the animals didn't. Anyway, New Orleans is offering an animal registration program. Pet owners can register their animals and leave them in a safe shelter. When they return to the city, they will be able to claim their pets. A lot of people did not evacuate during Katrina because shelters do not allow pets. This option takes away that excuse for people who are considering riding out the storm.

The major question in all the coverage seems to be, Will the levees hold? No one seems to know. We can only hope that they do. One the lighter side of all of this, it is reported that President Bush will be unlikely to be at the Republican Convention on Monday in order to respond to the hurricane. It does take a lot of time and energy to fly over a disaster area. I'm sure he needs that time to prepare for his flight :)

Has the area learned its lesson from Katrina? Only time will tell. My hope is that they have. Even though this post focuses on New Orleans, Jackson, Mississippi and Texas are also targeted to be hit by Hurricane Gustav. My thoughts and prayers will be with the people of that region this weekend.

Barack Obama Rocks!

Hi all. As I have said before, I am not a very political person but because it is an election year and the week of the Democratic National Convention, I have become more interested in politics. Living with an amateur political analyst doesn't hurt either. Some background on my political affiliation: I am a registered Democrat currently, but not by choice. Most of my views align with Democratic Party views but I have always registered as an Independent because I like to believe I can think for myself and vote on issues/candidates based on my opinion and not the opinion of a political party (party line voters are the worst form of evil- no matter the party). When I moved to Pennsylvania, I had to register as either a Democrat or a Republican to be eligible to vote in the primary. I chose the party that, in my opinion, was the lesser of two evils at this point in history. That being said, let me tell you why I think Barack Obama rocks! This is the first political convention I have ever paid any attention to because I am so captivated by Barack. He truly inspires me with his ideals and visions for this country. His speech tonight got me a little teary-eyed at points because I felt like he was talking about me and Bill- regular people who are struggling financially but striving to make our lives better for ourselves and any children we may (or may not) have. Regular people who are are racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans (me) and working 60 + hours a week without health insurance (Bill). For the first time I can recall, I feel like there is a politician who is on my side and will work for me and not CEOs and lobbiests. I feel proud of my country tonight for nominating such a great man. Hopefully, we will see him in the White House in January. If not, you can find me hiding under a rock for the next four years, or until McCain kicks the bucket, whatever happens first :)

My Day

Taking a day off from work because you're car broke down and you have no way to get there- 160 Dollars

Having a locksmith open your apartment door (after waiting outside for 1 1/2 hours in 90 degree heat) because you locked yourself out- 132 Dollars

Having Meineke take all day to replace a car battery that was just replaced two years ago- 232 Dollars

Having one of the worst days of your life- priceless.

Just a little taste of what my day was like. Hope everyone had a better one than me.

I'm a Klutz

Me and my brother (see his recent post on Jei's Japan Network) seem to have both inherited the klutz gene from our dad (sorry dad). Earlier this week my brother hurt his knee dancing at a party. Today I strained my back falling down our stairs. While my brother hurt himself partying it up and having a good time, I wasn't so lucky. I hurt myself rushing to get to work. At the top of our set of 20 steps that leads to our front door one of my heels got caught in the carpet and I fell forward. I tried to catch myself on the railing but both my hands were full and I missed and fell all the way to the bottom. Along with a severe case of rug burn, I also had really bad back pain when I landed at the bottom of the stairs. Fortunately, we only live 6 blocks from the hospital so I was able to drive myself there (Bill was already at work). I am happy to report that I have no broken bones, just broken pride. I strained my back so I will be laying around living on pain killers and muscle relaxants the next couple of days but should be back on my feet (and my high heel sandals) soon. My ER nurse told my I need to put my heels in retirement but when you're only 4' 11" you need all the help you can get!

Last Trip to Yankee Stadium

This week Bill, Mary, Jimmy, and I went to Yankee Stadium for the last time. It was a very bittersweet trip for me. I have a lot of memories in that old stadium and I'm not ready for it to be torn down. When me and J were kids, we went to Yankees games with our parents and Aunt Ricki and Uncle Pat. My Uncle Pat was the lone Red Sox fan in a family full of Yankees fans so we had a lot of fun teasing him. I remember being in awe of the stadium. I thought it was the greatest place on earth. Until I met Bill, Yankee Stadium was the only stadium I had ever been to. Nineteen stadiums later, Yankee Stadium is still my favorite. It may not have the bells and whistles that the newer stadiums have, but it has a history that most other franchises can't compete with. Every time I tell Bill that I don't want to stadium to close, Bill reminds me that Yankee stadium hasn't been the original stadium since they renovated it in the 70s. That is true, but the stadium they are tearing down is my Yankee Stadium. It is the stadium where I saw my first live ballgame, the stadium where me and my family have fun memories, and the stadium where Bill and I sat in the dugout as part of the tour. There are too many memories of that stadium for me to list here. The new stadium looks beautiful and I hope to make new memories there, but for me it will never be the same.

Remembering Gregory

I just got some sad news. Gregory, one of my former students, passed away yesterday. I had Gregory in my class for two years and he was a very special guy. He loved to laugh and joke around with me and my other students. One of the clearest memories I have of Gregory is one day when I was transferring him from his wheelchair to a bean bag chair (one of his favorite places to be) and he bit me. I had some aggressive students that year but Gregory was not one of them. Gregory had been in pain from a condition he had that year and when he hurt, he clenched his teeth. It just happened that when the pain hit and he clenched his teeth on this day, my arm was there. I was so surprised, I yelled out. When I got Gregory into the bean bag chair, the look of remorse on his face was plain to see. Gregory couldn't tell me he was sorry, but the look on his face made it clear that he was sorry. Gregory was like that. What he couldn't communicate in words, he communicated in smiles and facial expressions. Gregory made it clear whether he liked a person he was with by his facial expressions. Fortunately, I was one of the lucky ones that he liked. I will miss Gregory a lot and I hope that he is now at peace. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I've lost a student. In my line of work, it happens frequently. I just hope I made a difference with Gregory while he was still here.

Happy Birthday Baby (and Happy Birthday to me too)

Today is me and Bill's Birthday. One of the many odd coincidences we discovered when we started dating is that we share a birthday (although Bill is, and will always be, two years older). Today was also my grandfather's birthday. I never met my grandfather but he has always been a part of me so I would like to wish him a happy birthday in heaven as well. So Happy Birthday Baby! I hope we have many more happy birthdays together. A picture of us on our birthday last year is above.

My Month in Review

In an effort to avoid working on my dissertation, I decided to write about what I have been up to this month and other random thoughts. I have ideas of what I want to write on my blog almost everyday but I'm either too busy or too tired to actually type them out so here are my thoughts for the month in one blog:

My Parents Visit: In June mom and dad came to visit Bill and I for a week. We had a great time. I took them around Philly and to the zoo, and we caught a couple of baseball games. For pictures of my parents visit, see below:

Mom and Dad at a ballgame

My visit to Maine: When my parents went back to Maine, I went with them for a week. I love visiting Maine because I get to relax, get mom's delicious home cooking and go to all my favorite restaurants that are only in my hometown. I also got to visit with Mandie and Lisa. We had a girls day. We went to Margaritas which was our college hang out and went to the movies to see Sex in the City (awesome movie, by the way). It was nice hanging with my girls for the day. I also got to visit with two of my favorite people, my grandmother and Shellie (she lives at the group home I worked at in college) and my favorite canine (my parents dog, Mindy). I had a great time. For pictures of my trip to Maine see below:

My Parents dog Mindy
July 4th and Our Engagement Anniversary: I got back from Maine on July 3rd and we had a very laid back 4th of July. Mari and Ian game to visit and we went to see the Somerset Patriots minor league game. We didn't even go see the fireworks cuz it was cloudy and we were all too tired to leave the house. The 4th of July is a special holiday for my because in 2006, Bill and I got engaged on the 4th of July at RFK Stadium. For Bill's take on this see his July 3rd blog (I don't know how to make a hyperlink, so you're just going to have to find it yourself). Anyway, if you were able to read Bill's blog you find out that Bill had our engagement planned for a year. Here's our engagement from my perspective: I was convinced that we were never going to get engaged. Just the night before our engagement, I told Bill that I didn't think it was ever going to happen. I should have known Bill better and known that he would carefully pick out the date, location, and people with us when we got engaged. We got engaged during a Washington Nationals game on the 4th of July. The reason Bill picked the 4th of July is because in a weird coincidence, Bill and I both had engagements broken up on the 4th of July. We both kind of dreaded the holiday and Bill wanted to give us a good memory on the 4th of July (It worked, I never think of the break up on the 4th anymore). Bill got tickets for the 4th of July game for us, my parents (who didn't know I was getting engaged), his sister Mary, her fiance Jimmy, and her kids (now my nephews) Jeremy, and Josh. He also got tickets for Mari, Ian, and Sharon but as usual, they were late so unfortunately they were there when we got engaged. Bill had Screech, my favorite mascot, come down and get on one knee as Bill pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him. I was so surprised. Up until I saw the ring, I didn't know what was going on. I was so shocked I forgot to say yes for a few seconds (probably seemed like longer than that to Bill). I did immediately take the ring out of the box and put it on my finger through. I will always cherish that memory and the 4th of July.

Our Birthdays: Bill and I will be celebrating our birthday on Sunday. Bill will be 35 and I will be 33. It will be a quiet celebration compared to years past which will be a nice break from the hectic month we had.

Graduations

I had the honor of seeing two people I think the world of graduate this week. The first graduation was my sister-in-law Hillary's graduation from Dunmore High School. I met Hillary four months after Bill and I first started dating at the end of her eighth grade year in 2004. When I met her, she was a sweet teenager who immediately welcomed me as a member of the family. Over the past four years I have watched that sweet teenager grow into a caring and smart young woman. Hillary has been through more crap than a teenager should have to go through and I am so proud of her for graduating and going on to Penn College in the fall. Congrats Hillary, and as you move on to college remember ...you're Dunmore, it's what you do :) While I was in Dunmore for the graduation, I also got to spend some quality time with my nephews Josh and Jeremy when I took them to see Kung Fu Panda. Taking them to the movie was part altruistic (The boys wanted to see the movie and Mary did not want to see the movie) and part selfish (I wanted to see the movie). However, it was the first time I got to spend quality time with just me and my new nephews and it was really special to me. I also got to see my three month old niece Alanah. She is adorable! I know I'm biased but she is so smart already. Seeing her really got my biological clock ticking but before Bill and I have any babies, we have to have jobs where we can afford to take care of ourselves. Oh yeah, and then there's the small matter of convincing my loving husband that having a baby wouldn't be the worst thing since Nazi Germany. But that is a different blog for a different day...

The second graduation I went to was at Key Center, the school I taught at for four years. I went back to Virginia and Key because when I left four years ago, I said that no matter where I was I would come back to see my student Catherine graduate. Catherine is one of those once-in-a-lifetime students. When she was assigned to my classroom in the fall of 2000 she was 14 years old (same age Hillary was when I met her). Catherine was very shy and barely said two words the first half of that school year. Sometime after Christmas break that year, Catherine started talking up a storm. Now you can't stop her from talking! Her parents gave me a lot of credit after the graduation for Catherine becoming the social 22 year old she is now but I don't really think it was anything I did. I think she was just ready and it happened to be that she was ready when I was teaching her. I had Catherine in my classroom for all four years that I was at Key Center and it was a privilege to be her teacher. Congratulations Catherine! I know the people at your worksite will love having you as a worker as much as I loved having you as a student.

Here are some pictures of the two graduations and my cutie niece:



Hillary



Me, Jimmy, and the graduate



Bill, Me, and Baby Alanah



Catherine

I Love New York!

I have the best husband in the world. On Valentine's Day he surprised me with tickets to the Yankee Stadium tour and we went this Sunday. It was an incredible experience. Bill is the best husband in the world because he hates the Yankee's and still endured the tour because I love them. The tour started in the press box. We got to see where all the sports reporters work during the game. They have a great view of the field. We then went to Monument Park. I had been there before but it was nice to be in monument park when there wasn't hundreds of people milling around. Next we got to walk on the field and sit in the Yankee dugout. It was amazing sitting in the same place where my favorite players past and present have sat. Last, we got to see the Yankee locker room. They did not let us all the way into the locker room to respect the players' privacy but I got to see Derek Jeter's locker and Thurmon Munson's empty locker (from behind a rope) and that was really exciting for me. I was in awe the whole tour. Yankee Stadium has so many great memories for me. As a kid, my mom, dad, brother, Aunt, Uncle, and I went to many games there. We always had a great time. Although the new Yankee Stadium (right across the street from the old one) looks beautiful, it will lack those childhood memories that make the current Yankee Stadium so special to me. Hopefully, I will make more great memories in the new Yankee Stadium. Thank you baby, for giving me a chance to say goodbye to one of my favorite places on Earth! See pictures of us on the tour below:



The New Yankee Stadium



Me with the Babe Ruth Monument



Me on the field!



Bill and I in the dugout

Gas Prices

Ok. I know I'm probably sounding the alarm over something that everyone else has been panicing about for a while now but has anyone noticed that the price of gas is closer to $4.00/gallon than to $3.00/gallon? I haven't had to fill my gastank in over a month. Bill and I take turns driving our new car and our piece of shit focus and we always fill the tank before we switch cars. Because my commute is fairly short (especially compared to Bill's), I haven't had to put more than a 1/2 tank of gas in the car in over a month. Since I haven't had to fill the tank, I haven't really been paying attention to gas prices. In the month I haven't been paying attention, gas prices went up more than 20 cents a gallon. This week I went to King of Prussia and Wilmington so I actually had to fill up. I almost wet my self when I pulled into the station and saw that gas was $3.57/gallon for regular! It cost $40 to fill up our tiny, fuel efficient Focus! I can't wait till I graduate and can afford to get a Hybrid but in the mean time, what do we do about these gas prices???? If I could take public transit, I would but that isn't really an option where we live. There is no way the gas companies aren't making a profit. How are they getting away with this???

Dissertation Madness

I am in the home stretch of writing my dissertation now and a former professor sent me this link to a video. It reminds me exactly of what I'm dealing with now. It's pretty funny.

My Aunt Terry

I'd like to take a minute to remember my Aunt Terry who passed away on Monday. Unfortunately, I did not know Aunt Terry as well as I should have. She was the wife of my father's oldest brother who died the year I was born. Despite the death of her husband, Aunt Terry and her brother Buddy were regular fixtures at Grant family gatherings. I was happy I got to see her one last time at my bridal shower last June. Her failing health made it impossible for her to attend the wedding so it was great to have her there. I read her obitury today and found out that she was a talented singer when she was young. Its amazing what you find out about people after they're gone. The picture above is all the Grant woman at my bridal shower. Aunt Terry is the one on the right in white.

I Hate This State!!!!

Can I just say that I'm hating Pennsylvania right now? Or at least the people who voted in the democratic primary. I have to say that I like living in PA better than Northern Virginia. Its quieter and overall just a better quality of life. I could do without the rednecks but my theory on that is that I don't bother them and they don't bother me. But today the rednecks have pissed me off. I am not a very political person so you will not catch me writing very much on politics but I'm mad as hell right now. The only reason Hillary Clinton is winning this state is because of the gun totting rednecks in this state who would never vote for a black man. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that everyone who voted for Hillary is a gun totting, racist red neck. My husband Bill voted for Hillary. However, Bill has educated himself on the issues and honestly feels that Hillary would make the best president. For people like that, more power to you. Vote for Hillary all day, I don't care. However, 99% of the people who voted today have not educated themselves and voted for Hillary because: a) Hillary has touted herself as pro-gun in the past couple of weeks, or b) because they will not vote for a black man, or c) all of the above. I have no tolerance for that type of voter. I also totally agree with Barack's comments about people being bitter and clinging to guns and religion but I'd probably be run out of the state if anyone heard that! Also, I want to send out a very special "What the fuck?" to all the voters in Scranton with the exception of my sisters-in-law who have educated themselves on the issues. Voting for someone just because they claim they are "from" Scranton when in reality they just spent a month a year there is just pathetic.

Why the hell not

Every once in a great while I have something relevent to say so I'd thought I'd give this a try. Right now I have nothing relevent to say, however...