in the groove...

so we've almost completed our first full week of school. schedule glitches have been ironed out, responsibilities have been correctly delegated, and i'm getting used to having an intern around for half the week. a big plus--my computer got an upgrade! i went from an iBook g4 to a MacBook, complete with built-in iSight camera and a bunch of new applications. i lost about half an hour the other afternoon exploring google earth and putting down little push-pins around the globe :)

mom's birthday party was quite a success, with lots of family there to visit and some wonderful home-cooked food. we had a great visit there, but headed back on saturday night to celebrate justin's birthday here at home. it was a quiet evening with take-out chinese and a movie, but the perfect way to celebrate after two weekends full of big parties.

we also have gotten started back up with fantasy football and are preparing for the beginning of real football season (both college and NFL.) justin's trying desperately to sell the mustang in order to fund the purchase of a new HDTV in time for the season opener, and i'm hoping to make it to as many pirate games as possible this year, even though tickets are supposedly sold out. there's something about this time of year that makes me miss the friday night football games terribly. i think i should adopt a local high school and go to all of the games for fun :)

finally, we're getting ready for a couple of trips during the next couple of months. the end of september, we're planning on heading up to WV for the annual "buckwheat festival" in justin's hometown, where you can eat buckwheat pancakes and sausage 24/7 and watch livestock shows, parades, and play bingo to your heart's content. then a couple of weeks later, i'll go on up to camp cheerio for the third time with my 7th graders. this annual trip has become one of my favorite activities, and i'm especially looking forward to it this year. we're trying to make this year a great one despite of all the changes around school.

that's about it for now. later, y'all :)

back to the grindstone

so it's been a crazy few days... let me enumerate:

1) after 170 questions, about 2 and a half hours, and a couple months of studying--i passed the clinical social work exam. quite exciting, though everyone's asking, "so, you're a fully licensed clinical social worker now?" no... still have about 2,100 clinical hours to log, which will take me about 2 years in my current setting. so, in a little over two years, i'll be fully licensed. this is just sorta a big hoop that i had to jump through. i'm very happy to have it over with, though.

2) i had planned to go out and purchase the new harry potter the moment i got back in greenville as my reward for passing the exam. fate was working for me, though, and i ended up getting it before then. i passed one of my coworkers on the highway as i was driving back home and called her up to chat while we were both on the road, following one another. i was telling her how excited i was to get back and buying the book, and she said, "don't do that! i have it in my trunk. pull over at the next exit." we pulled off at a little country gas station, she gave me the book, and i went straight home and started reading. the next afternoon, i was done :) soooooo good. so good, so good, so good.

3) we're back at school, and kids are coming in four days. this has become a comfortable routine now, but with new staff members and some changes around the school, it's not "same old, same old." i really like the new teachers we've hired, and i'm excited to see how the year starts out.

4) students are coming back to the university. i drove by college hill this week and saw colorguard auditions going on down at the field--made me miss it just a little bit (but not enough to be out there in the almost 100 degree heat). traffic is crazy, all of the stores are crowded, and parents are moving students in and stocking up on dorm/apartment supplies. as easy as it is to feel like a college kid still living in a college town, i realized today that i am getting past that point. i saw a girl today who was in the middle of shopping with her mom after moving in to the dorms. it was the middle of the afternoon, at least 95 outside, with a heat index of somewhere over a hundred. she was in target with a hooded ECU sweatshirt on. SWEATSHIRT. obviously an effort to wear something ECU for the move-in even though that was the only thing she had. i just had to shake my head and keep going.

5) we're celebrating justin's birthday tomorrow with family. it isn't until next friday, but this weekend worked better for everyone. we're grilling out, showing off the house, and having ice cream cake. doesn't get much better than that :)

alright, that's it for now. welcome back to school, everyone! bouquets of sharpened pencils and what-not... later, y'all :)

it's a little steamy out there...

so it's hard to believe that i have only a week left to enjoy the freedom of summer. i'd love to have just a couple more weeks... sigh...

but at any rate, here it goes:

i had the pleasure to take dinner to katie and nathan and seeing adorable rory (and got to hold her while they ate!) forgive me for the sideways photo, but i forgot to rotate it and blogger won't do it for me.

also got to enjoy john mayer/ben folds/james morrison. the first photo is john mayer (you can tell more by the screens, i guess) and the second is ben folds (big grand piano gives him away). awesome concert, and i had such a good time going there with my coworker kelly. the pictures aren't great, but i didn't bring the big zoom lens camera cause i thought they might not let me take it in.

and the other big event in the last two weeks...linda and brandon's wedding. this is only one of many photos that are up on flickr, so please hop over there and check them out. i have to say i'm quite proud of this girl and how calmly she handled the whole weekend. she was gorgeous, the ceremony was beautiful, and we had a rockin' time at the reception. it was also great to catch up with some old EC scholars friends--ashley and mark were there, as well as john and his new girl sarah. i can't wait to hear how their honeymoon went in st. lucia in a couple weeks...

and the day is finally set--i'll be heading to fayetteville on sunday night to take the LCSW exam on monday morning. i've gotten into heavy duty study mode this week, studying for a couple of hours each afternoon and reviewing lots of material. i'm feeling pretty good about it, but i don't want to be overly confident cause there's a possibility that i'll have to take it again in another few months... nope, nope, positive thinking. and when i pass it, i will run right out and buy the new harry potter because i've been holding off until studying time is done. then, it'll be two awesome days of reading for hours until i go back to work :)

i've been trying out a gym that's close to the new house and i'm really liking it. it feels good to get back into that routine, because even though i've been walking and doing light weight-lifting, it's nice to have access to all of the big weight machines and classes.

and i think that's about it...later, y'all.