Oh Happy Day

To the quick observer, it would appear that I go through extreme highs and extreme lows on a regular basis. This may or may not be true. I refuse to investigate the observation further. Needless to say, this week (so far) is a high. It isn't an extreme high, but it is high enough. Today is a happy day.

First of all, Puxatony Phil saw his shadow. This isn't the best news in the world. Six more weeks of winter kind of makes me want to cry. That is because I'm such a summer baby. I'm literally wearing open toe high heels today IN THE DEAD OF WINTER. I'm doing this because I can pretend it is summer in my mind AND because black does not go with navy blue. My skirt is navy blue and all my closed toed shoes are black. Therefore, I'm minimizing the blackness of my shoes by wearing strappy heels (that are comfortable) just not practical for the weather.

Today I'm headed to St. Joe's University to meet the volunteers for the service learning project. Basically students from SJU get credit for doing a service project for a semester. I went last time with my partner in crime, but she is out on medical leave now so its just me. I hope I don't screw it up. Talk about the opportunity to be a young professional. I also have to network with local providers so I can make connections regarding supplies. (Last time I scored a bunch of school supplies).

After this meet and greet I have to teach my emotions class. We're still working on teamwork and team building. This week I'm making them draw for partners and then in teams of two build a bridge with the materials I provide for them. The catch is that each team gets a bag of different materials. The lesson is sometimes you have to work with what you have and with someone you wouldn't necessarily choose to work with. My kids are kids but hopefully they understand the lesson. The materials are pipe cleaners, cups, cardboard, straws, paper clips, foil and other various odds and ends. I'm excited to see what they come up with (pending them getting into the activity).

I'm cooking for the community on Weds. We're having pancakes both chocolate chip and plain, scrambled eggs and sausage. For our activity we're doing a sort of show and tell. Everyone is picking two items that mean a lot to them and they will share with the community the special-ness of each item. Even though we've lived together for over 4 months, we still don't know each other as well as we'd like to think. Hopefully it goes well.

So it is looking like a good week. Singles Awareness Day (Valentine's Day) is coming up. Fortunately it is on a Sunday so I shouldn't be too bitter. Although I am tempted to wear black and watch "My Bloody Valentine." haha

This past weekend was a lot of fun. Friday night I went out with Stephen to his friend's house party. His Jr. roommate from Notre Dame just moved back to Philly. So he had this sweet party. Fun fact: Stephen and I went to the WRONG party first. We heard a party next door to the house we were supposed to go to. Some people shouted from a car that we should go to 142, that is where the party is at. So we listened to them.

We opened the door and was greeted by at least 60 or 70 already drunk high schoolers and college freshman. They were clearly younger than us. Everyone was wearing white t-shirts because it was a highlighter party. Stephen and I walked from one end of the house to the other and up the stairs and back down. We could find no sign of his friend. So I asked a few drunk people if they knew where Tony was. Yeah...no one had a clue. That was when Stephen and I realized we crashed the wrong party. So we left, went next door, and was greeted by Tony's brother. This house was much nicer. They had two big screen tvs in the living room and a table that looked like a counter at the liquor store. The atmosphere was chill and we had a good time. At one point I was promoting a drink I invented called the "Starburst." It has lemonade, sprite, sour apple pucker and strawberry rum in it. A few people asked me to make it for them. I remember proclaiming I was a bartender in training.

Saturday night we went to the Mother house and played cards with some of the Sisters. That was a lot of fun and a good way to spend a Saturday night. Sunday I cleaned my room from top to bottom, did my community cleaning duties, and then went shopping for a bit. I scored a $5 dress, and two $7 shirts. Got to love Marshalls.

In my next post, I'll elaborate on a situation that happened to me yesterday. It was...interesting. So for now, life is good. I'm getting back to the normal swing of things. The only hard part is I keep wanting to call my grandmother and then I realize I can't. I think this will go on for quite some time. I have been wearing the jewelry she left me. I guess she is always with me. :)

Until next time....