Sometimes you don't know what you don't know...

So today was day one of the school year... the first of two teacher days in the district....I not only met the staff in my building but saw the full district staff.  Amazing.  I will not remember the names of everyone, for a long time, but it is great to begin putting faces to names.  The question everyone keeps asking me is: Are you nervous? ... I'm not nervous... in fact I think I am the least nervous as I have ever been to start a school year... now, that may change between now and Tuesday, the first student day... but for now I am too excited to be nervous... and because I have been working since July 1st I feel like it really isn't day one for me... I have been in my office long enough that it feels like MY office... and I feel like this is where I am supposed to be... I had dinner last night with two of the women I was closest with in my old job... one of whom got teary a couple of times and said she wasn't sure how she was going to make it through the year without me... aww.... and while the 'gonna miss you' element is reciprocated... I truly cannot imagine going back to my other job... I listened last night to all they are doing... and I would just not be in a good place with it... they asked about what I am doing and I got to share that I have been meeting kids... the last several days has involved meeting quite a few kids... one girl who is going to really be a huge part of my year.. I just know it already... She's a kid who has burned many bridges... I emailed all of her teachers... and let them know that regardless of her reputation thus far, we are going to work hard to have this year be a success for her.  Failure is not an option.  But... she is going to be a tough nut to crack...

Word has been spreading... about the New Assistant Principal... who, according to all the talk is 7 feet tall!  Well six and a half feet tall, yes... One of the coaches/teachers today said her team was asking her all kinds of questions about me.  Tonight the other AP told me that it is nice to see kids approaching me, that I have a way about me that makes me approachable and that the person previously in my position did not have that.  I really am trying not to compare myself to her.. I didn't know her... and don't want other people to compare us either... same position yes, different people and what are I Am sure different approaches.


I was thinking today about something the assistant superintendent said on opening day... she said this is her second or third year in her position and she still doesn't know what she doesn't know... and I think I am probably in that position right now... I am sure there are things I don't know I don't know... but I am sure I will find out!  Tomorrow is another staff day and kids come next week.  I can't wait to have the halls alive with kids!

I have so much more to write, more that is swirling in my head, but I am tired.  Tonight, after being in meetings all day, I went back to the school to have a freshmen orientation, where I got to meet some freshmen and their parents... it was nice, but makes for a long day.

So... I am going to turn off the laptop, finish my laundry, pack for a weekend with Sis and the boys... and go to sleep.

good night...

A quick post...

Tonight's post is going to be brief... I am tired and want to get up early tomorrow.  Things on the home-front are coming along.  I am very excited about my new digs... Jill was here this weekend and she was very helpful and we had a great time together.  Here are a few pics... 

Home sweet home...

Sheldon sitting on top of the basement stairs... looks like s/he's sitting at a bar waiting for a beer! 

I took these last weekend when everyone was here... Dad is known to make funny faces at the right moment... 

Stella... very comfortable...

 Enjoying some sunshine and boxes...

My new mirror for my dining room!!! 

My new wine rack... now in the corner where the hutch was... I felt like the hutch made the space too crowded for when people were sitting around the table... so I moved it... I have never been a wine person... but had bought a few bottles to have for guests... but this weekend I found a couple of wines I liked... 

My couch, complete with new pillows and curtains!  I am so in love with the colors! 

I have to put some more things below the painting... but this is a start... the painting has been an amazing starting point to decorating!!! Still iin love with it! 

The dining room...

The wall is very big and there was a lot of space between the mirror in the dining room and the painting in the living room... so... I got some shelves... it was a pain in the butt hanging these suckers I will tell you that... got to use my level and tape measure... yes I CAN do it...and did do it...  but... (oh notice the pillows in the rocking chair... FUN!) 

Starting to fill in the shelves... 

It really is feeling like home, like my space ... and I am happy... Now I need to start on the upstairs!

Tomorrow my coworkers at my old job start their school year... it is strange to not be with them on opening day, but... I can't say I wish I was with them... Life is good! 

Here are some other pics that were on my phone, from when Sis and the boys were here. 

Ben... canasta... going out for the first time... look at that pride!

Ben's first canasta victory!

Oh... and had to sneak in a picture of Maria!

 I will check in again soon! 

It's Tuesday... and it feels like I have been here longer than just a few days... I am exhausted!  Wanted to give a quick update...

The cats..Lucy... had the hardest time... she has been very skiddish and at first would only come out at night... but she has been out and about the last couple of days, so I think she's better.  Stella has done pretty well... and Sheldon has been unphased..well at least after the first 12 hours...

Work... has been busy... Monday we had our leadership team meeting... and I had my first presentation... I had stayed up late working on it... and due to technical difficulties, wasn't able to do it... at least how I intended.. I ended up having to just talk... I think it worked out okay...

And today... Today I got to meet some kids!!! There is a program in my building that has gone through some transitions and the kids have had some anxiety, so I wanted to meet them... and invited them in with their teachers for pizza... just over 50% of the kids showed up, which was more than the teachers anticipated... and it was nice to meet the kids and the adults. I am so excited to be able to work with kids in a different way...

Tonight... after going to target again... seems like I have been there every day... today it was to get things like facewash, cable, remote batteries, magic erasers, some water filters for my purifier, etc... I decided to attempt to hook up my cable... which sounds like it should be simple... attache the box to the cable, then to the tv... well... when you have a dvd player and a vcr to hook into things too, it complicates it... lucky for me, the cable gods were smiling and it worked on the first try!  Yay!!!

So tonight, I am going to bed early... after watching some tv... more updates soon...

What just happened?

It's Sunday evening... about 7:10... and I have to get to work on a presentation for a staff meeting tomorrow... I need to introduce myself to the leadership team (department chairs) tomorrow and present some information to them about data... what a topic to start with, right? Well.... I have a handout that I am going to give them... on how they can find the data... so instead of boring them with a lot of data, I am going to show them where to locate the data and let them do some exploring on their own... at a later time... I want to show them that I know about the data, but also want them to know that I am going to help them access the data... and that I will create tools for them to use, quick references, for the things I expect them to be able to use... I hope it goes well.  So... I need to get to that.. but... wanted to do a little writing...about the move...

The move itself was pretty good... I have a lot of bruises, so I think I did more moving before and after the movers did their part than I realized... the pieces I had done were a lot of work, but it worked out well.  Having the boxes labeled was fantastic.  (Even though the movers would come in with a box marked living room and ask which room it went in...)  They arrived at my place around 9:10 and by 1:00 everything was unloaded where it needed to be... and while I wanted to start unpacking immediately, I knew that I should return to my old place and pick up a few things I had left behind, empty the freezer and fridge... so that I did not have to go back... so that's what I did... including emptying the garage of a few items ( a couple of book cases, some end tables, a big tent, and some other things)   that needed to go to the dump because they had been in the basement and were ruined because of the water that leaks in there... by the time I realized that, it was too late... so I went to the recycling center... and $9 later, had thrown it all away!  Then... I went and did something that signifies my adulthood... I bought, as in purchased, a new washer and dryer!  Whoa!  Then I came back home (HOME... did you see that Home means my NEW place!!!!)  and even though I was exhausted I couldn't relax...I knew Saturday meant a house full of people... Sis , Jacey, Dad, and Betty were planning on coming to help me unpack and get settled... so  I had a goal... to get my bedroom set up, to get the guest room set up and get the table cleared off so we could all have a nice meal together.  Mission accomplished... I even got the set of dishes my grandmother had left me unpacked and put in cupboards... I am finding that there are things like that...like the coffee table form my other grandmother... that are reminders of people in my life who have been very important... here with me, and I love that...

I woke up Saturday pretty early... the appliances were going to be delivered promptly... between the hours of 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.... So I got up and puttered... made a "Daddy-do list" which included removing a towel rack, installing a curtain rod in the bathroom, removing random nails from the basement stairwell and beam that is down there (always gotta be aware of what I may hit my head on...the beam would suck, but with nails in it, even worse... other than the beam I have good clearance in the basement, better than the old place!), remove a shelf and more nails from the pantry so I could get some shelves in there, replace a screen in a window where an air conditioner had been... and... oh yeah... hanging a vase on the side of a cabinet I have in the bathroom... So... Sis was the first to arrive... and she appropriately ooed and ahhhed... and we got a bit of a chance to chat, then Jacey arrived... and then within 30 minutes Dad and Betty arrived.. and the appliance guys had called to say they were on their way... so within about an hour and a half or two hours, I went from me to everybody!  I was a bit worried, to be honest, when I thought about having everyone here so close to the move... I was worried I wouldn't know how to have people help me... since that is something I am not good at... while the appliance guys did their thing, the fam gathered in the living room and visited... then Sis and I loaded a bureau into my truck (one that I had saved in case she wanted it for her new place for the boys, but she didn't) and Jacey, Dad, and I unloaded a hutch that Dad had been storing for me that matches my table (both had been one of my late aunt's) and Dad put it together while Sis and I took the bureau to goodwill...

Then we all walked to one of my all time favorite restaurants...yes I said walked!  It's so close to my new place!!!  Dad bought us all lunch, such a sweet guy! Then we came back here and it was amazing... Betty and Jacey took over the job of unpacking my kitchen and organizing my laundry room so that I can use it for storage and a utility place... Dad started on his list and Sis managed to get a lot of my work clothes hung up and a few other clothes unpacked...She also decided if there were boxes she wanted to use for her move and the ones she didn't want, she broke them down so I could easily recycle them... I can't believe it, but there is only two boxes left on the main floor for me to unpack!!! (One of which is waiting for Dad to return to do another job for me... installing things underneath my cupboards so I can hang wine and margarita glasses from them)   I need to hang up my decorations, but I am amazed that so much got done in such a short amount of time.  Wow... I felt really grateful... As people were working I ran around and took things to the basement.  Then, last night, in MY kitchen, I cooked dinner for my family.  Dad had made his famous spaghetti sauce so I just had to warm it up, cook some pasta, heat the garlic bread, and make a salad... I set the table and we enjoyed a meal together.  I love that this is a place where I can gather people around my table... people do not have to eat in the living room if I have more than a couple people over...

So... I have a few pictures to post... of how things look so far...Just the first floor... second floor will take a while to progress...

Looking from the dining room into the living room... 

The landing going upstairs... (This picture is for Jill... I am trying to decorate like Jill would... she would not do the doily, but the glass bowl with stuff in it is Jill's style!) 

Looking from the couch into the dining room... (PAINTING!!! It may move, but I wanted it off the floor so that's where it is for now.)  

Table and hutch... I have all the leafs in the table.. I need to play with it a bit and also with the spacing with the hutch to see where I want it to end up... the sunflowers were from Sara, Phil and Maria!  

This is the hutch... with many things I will use to decorate with... but until I know where I want everything, this is where they will stay! 

Looking into the kitchen...

And the half bath... 

More of the half bath... and MY washer and dryer... I feel so grown up! 

I am a very lucky person... 

Thank you to my family for being here in person to support me... and for those Friends and family who have been so encouraging and supportive from afar, thank you.  

Preview

So... here are a few pictures of my new place... more to come of course... but this gives you an idea... 

The Front..

Through the front door...(The door you see leads to the basement)

Looking back at the entrance from the dining room 

  

looking into the dining area from the living room area

I LOVE that there is so much natural light!

From Living room through dining room and yes, that's a deck... very small, but it's a deck!

Kitchen... a bit outdated, and I am not a fan of the blue... but may be able to paint it... in my free time... 

I am so excited to get moved in... and decorate and then take more pics!  

I will be busy the next few days, so... enjoy the weekend! 

Yuck...

I typically pride myself on being one of those women who can do things independently... not needing a man to help out.  But I have to admit that there are things that I would like to have a man around to do... I call them 'boy jobs'...
 Here is a list (not a complete list, by the way...) :
- Removing wooden shelves from the basement that have become mildewed because of the wet basement
-carrying bulky items from the basement to be packed and/or trashed, and take items to be trashed to the dump
- putting the trash and recycling out for tomorrow's removal
- washing the truck
- scheduling and taking said truck for oil changes and other maintenance....
hmmm... I expected that list to be a lot longer... maybe it should have just been a list of things about moving I have wished someone else would have done...

So... tomorrow is key day... yahoo!  I will go after work, get the keys and carry in a few boxes... Thursday I will go to work (briefly) and then come and take a bunch of items to the dump (finally found out where I can take things, for a fee of course!)  and take a few more items over to the new place... possibly my bed and possibly the cats... if I decide to spend the night there...and possibly go buy a washer and a dryer and arrange delivery...  then Friday, the movers come!!!  After the move I will come back here to clean, then I will start settling into my new place.  Sis is coming to help me unpack! I will post pics soon!  Well, when I get reconnected to the internet...

oh.. and another boy  job... researching, shopping for, and installation of... washers and dryers!

Moving... well at least the packing part...

Phew... Not much left to do here except have the movers move everything...  I am PACKED!  (except for the laundry in the washer and another couple of loads of laundry and my tvs & accessories)  Everything is in boxes and labeled!  

This is my porch.  Most of these boxes have been packed for about a year (books and photos)  I hope the movers are tall so they can reach the top boxes... ha ha ha... 

This is my spare room... more boxes... I tried to color code the boxes (labels) but the labels have not stuck as well as I had hoped so I had ro also write on the boxes which room they go in... I have a lot of stuff!  (Even with having thrown out a ton of stuff!) 

The other side of the spare room...also can't see in the pics, the bed leaned up against the wall...

The kitchen... where I used the corner table to put empty boxes and filled them... this stuff is all kitchen stuff. I may end up moving that stuff myself Thursday... but not sure... 

Lucy has been more uneasy in the last couple of days... when I am sitting, she is glued to me.  She seems to be nervous but relaxes when I do.  This box was right next to where I was packing so she was staying close...

This was the living room, in progress... I was putting everything in here that I didn't know where else to put it... 

Stella...apparently not stressed... crazy cat.  

Lucy again.  In a different box, watching my every move.  

The living room filled with boxes of clothing and bedding... oh and Lucy, again, staying close...

It is a HUGE relief to be all packed... the next part will be moving and then unpacking.  I am excited about that, even though I know it will be a lot of work.  I am going to unpack the necessities first and then get the first floor set up before I worry too much about the bedrooms upstairs... 

I do need to unpack a lot of the 'paper' boxes.  (boxes that paper comes in) These are the best moving boxes and I am hoping that I can give them to Sis after she helps me next weekend, and that she can use them to finish packing her place!  

Back to work tomorrow...