Thursday, November 29, 2007

We're Ready!

Just waiting for the girls to come home! And look who's already here......SANTA!!


Tuesday, November 27, 2007

just a suggestion

so you know how we were trying to come up with fun activities for the winter break?

well...i vote for racquetball!

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Whitley Thanksgiving

My thanksgiving was spent in Middletown, NY with Renae and the rest of the Whitley family. Thanksgiving preparations: Renae has this tradition of putting olives and pickles in the official olive and pickle tray. She pretty much freaked out when she thought someone had already done the job.
This is Dewey Mason Whitley IV (I think it's the fourth...). You might not be able to see it, but he is actually washing a deer liver in the kitchen sink... good times...
Renae and Katie, Dewey's fiance, getting ready to play some CARDS!!!! (I begged everyone to play cards with me EVERYDAY!!!)
Father Whitley and son Benjamin Whitley carving the ham. ("Wanna piece o' meat? Wanna piece o' ham?!")
Thanksgiving Dinner! (From L to R: Dewey, Katie, Ben, Aaron, Jules, Renae, Me, Father Whitley and Lillian. Not pictured: Mother Whitley)
Fat Woman and Fat Man, as they were so affectionately referred to.
Me and my coffee! FIERCE!!!
Me and the victorious hunter... all the boys went out hunting on Thanksgiving day and Ben got both of these. I was excited and also really grossed out. As you can see, I'm pretty attached to Ben... that's because I was about to vomit and wanted to block my view of the gaping hole of innards on both of these.
Cosmic Bowling at the Hoe Bowl. There were black lights... Things glowed. (My face is priceless.)
Ha! the Hoe Bowl. It was amazing.
I told Renae that I would get a 'livestock picture' before I left NY. She believed me when I made an evasive maneuver to pull off the side of the road when I saw this horse just chillin' in a field.
We like to pretend we are models... and the perfect place to do it is in a cemetery. :)
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS PICTURE:
The gang at Matt's house (Clockwise from Top: Long-Hair-Jay, Matt Notaro, Kati Negro, Me, Jess O., and Ray-Nay)

My Thanksgiving was amazingly fun and extremely tiring. I miss all you guys, but since I couldn't be with you guys I was definitely in the next best place. I LOVE the Whitley family and always love going to visit. Some more highlights of the trip include: playing Nerts (card game) until 2am with Tab and Maegan, playing Sixes (another card game) with Renae and laughing our heads off to the point that her mom had to ask us if we had had anything to drink that night, adventures to Wurtsborough & O'Toole's, Renae yelling "TURN LEFT HERE" about 10 feet in front of the turn @ around 55mph, playing the Nap Game at Matt's (just a 'game' where you take a nap), going to visit Jess O. and having her dad tell us that we look like we need a beer, going to Jess O's house and then breaking out in some sort of rash because of Kryst's pug licking me, taking mystery pills from Yana to clear up said rash, and absolutely CrAzY fOg on Wednesday night.

Another highlight (but not so high...): I got pulled over today on the way to Matt's house. This was my first time being pulled over, EVER. And I was super nervous. And Renae had just told me what the speed limit was and I was going a lot faster, because up there there really aren't many speed limits or speed limit signs at least... So, I had just started slowing down and then the light turned on behind me... GREAT! So, I got out my license and registration and stuff (good thing I cleaned out my glove compartment or I wouldn't have been able to find it :) ).

Police Officer: Do you know why I'm stopping you?
Jess: No
Police Officer: Wanna take a guess?
Jess: Speeding?
Police Officer: You got it.
Jess: How much?
Police Officer: 53 in a 30mph zone.
Jess: (jaw drop and mental 'doh!') Stink. I'm not from anywhere around here.
Police Officer: I can see that. (Hands back paperwork.) Just slooooww down (emphasis was placed on the 'slow').
Jess: Ok, thank you.

Police officer proceeds to get back in his car and pull away, while I on the other hand am shocked and sitting motionless in the car. Renae then told me that her friends have been stopped there for going 31mph before (only 1mph above the limit) and have gotten tickets. Craziness. Needless to say, I was driving around 28mph the rest of the way to Matt's house. Yikes!

I Love Ya'll!!! I absolutely must go to bed now cuz I am CRAZY TIRED.

<3
P.S.- Mandi!!!! Sorry we got disconnected today when you called. I didn't get back to a little bit ago and didn't call you back. I'm sorry!!! I will hopefully get to talk to you tomorrow though! I love you!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

thanksgiving in maine

matt getting ready to carve the turkey:

evan selecting some turkey morsels:

now the after eating shots, we were definitely too busy eating to take pictures. there was a lot of food. and we (there were 5 of us) ate most of it.
me and matt, lamenting our full conditions. some more than others:

sarah and erin, feeling full on the couch:

evan, who got hungry again very quickly, should probably become a professional eater and win competitions:

laurie ate elsewhere, so she self-moderated a little better:

matt was way too close to me to take my picture. i tried to communicate this, but instead just closed my eyes. because that will help.

dessert! the only thing that wasn't made from scratch was the raspberry cake in the front. we have some talented pie and cake makers in our midst up here:

after the sugar high, i think we got a little silly. me, laurie and erin decided it was couch time for the girls:

well...such was my thanksgiving in maine. the only thing you missed is a lot of football and a jay and silent bob movie later.

and now for something really different, i turned in my project for my composition class with pat on friday (yesterday) and she emailed me back last night (still friday) and called it 'amazing' and gave me an A on that and the class. yay! one class down, one to go. well, two if you can't my kids, fingers crossed on that one.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Thanksgiving

the Hedrick gang in the kitchen......... and in the sunroom......

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

precipitation

it snowed today for real. accumulation and everything. it was hot.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

three things

1. lately, it's been getting dark increasingly earlier. today it was dark at 3:30pm. it's harder to handle than you might imagine. very bizarre. i have to take myself to well lit areas (the library) and avoid windows and my apartment. if i don't, i have a strange way of getting ready for bed around 7pm and then just feeling odd.

2. per the usual, i've decided i'm a little bit crazy. in discussing this fact with mark, i asked him to diagnose me. he's very easily influenced, so he did. he believes that i'm suffered from a latent case of adult-onset fabulousness. do you understand the maine squeeze bit now?

3. i'm definitely teaching the jack the ripper books next semester. now that it's decided, i'm a little nervous. more about my walking practices than anything else. i mean it wouldn't be so bad if i didn't look like a 17th century british prostitute (that has got to be the worst insult EVER. why don't people use it?).

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Good times with Ms.Pac Man and Frogger

I came home tonight, tired and ready to hit the sack, only to be given a great surprise. Kiel's youngest brother, Daniel, gave Kiel a Sega Genesis game consul about 8 years ago. Kiel filed it away in the laundry room tucked carefully in a box and began collecting dust. Today, after an obvious burst of motivation, Kiel cleaned our laundry room. In it, he found the Sega game consul, along with about 20 games. I'm talking the classics; Frogger, Sonic vs. Tails, Aladin, Mortal Combat, Madden 94 (haha) MLS Soccer 92, MLB 93, Ms. PacMan, Looney Toones, and so many more. The only thing we're missing is Echo the Dolphin. I would have peed my pants if it had been in there. Here it is, 2 hours after arriving home, and the sega has become almost a drug of sorts, equally addicting. I just can't stop! I think that I'm going to play one more game of Frogger and call it a night.

I just had to share my joy over finding a lost relic. I had many a happy days playing Sega with Andrew. Back in the day, Sega was a big deal. And oh, for the record, I kicking the boys butts in Sega. No one has beaten me yet!!! :D

Can't touch this.....(arms waiving about)

I hope everyone is doing well. I'm doing ok! Started sleeping again, just working an extreme amount still. I love you all, and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I love you!!!! Jess, hope you're feeling better girlie girl!

<3
Tina

Saturday, November 10, 2007

the big picture blog!

and now, presented in full color, the pictures! these are all amy's pictures b/c you know i don't take them. i'm starting with the pre-semester get together at heather and craig's apartment, we'll end with the present (last night).

dim the lights, raise the curtain. enjoy.
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this is heather and craig's amazing apartment in old town. laurie is in the black dress to the left, brian is sitting on the couch to the right, beth is the headband on the floor in the back and i think everyone else is in later pictures.
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this is craig and viola. craig is in carla's class with me. viola is not.
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me. amy. heather (zara & viola). amy and heather are english tas too. alright, everyone is an english ta besides luke who you will probably not recognize later.
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ladies and gentlemen, i present my two loves: matt and mark. you wouldn't believe how much sarcasm can be found in that one sentence. anyway...matt with his back to us, mark sitting. and i love them, fine.
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alright, several weeks into the semester, mark (who used to teach gourmet cooking to underprivileged youths) cooked dinner for me and amy at her apartment. he, at this stage, was unable to produce any other look than 'this is my mugshot.' you'll see later, that he is getting better.
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umm...amy has a loft. and it's open to her livingroom. so, there you go. same night. mark was smoking on the porch at this point.
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for some reason, the kids up here don't understand my love affair with cake.
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me and amy at woodman's (the go to restaurant in orono) when her mom and aunt were visiting a few weeks ago.
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me and laurie, same night. we like hats :)
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and now, the maine event: halloween! i was a pirate treasure chest (silly pun, yes?). matt was a fairy godmother. hahaha... oh! and i made matt's skirt.
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this is luke. he lives at the house where we have poker night. and here you can see my full costume.
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this picture and the next were both taken last night at my first umaine hockey game. this is amy, but the most interesting bit here is the hotdog. in maine, they dye the hotdogs a bright red/pink. it's awkward and it comes off on the bun. it's not okay. in maine you can find the regular hotdogs, but it's tough. for some reason, they feel like hotdogs will be bettered by an inappropriate color change. eck...
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me and my maine squeeze, mark. (i'm just really trying to use "maine" as much as possible, clearly.)on the other side of mark, you can see mike. mike is an english ta too, but sometimes he kind of looks like a drug dealer or a crazy hippy. oh wait, he is a crazy hippy. :)

well...i hope you enjoyed my first few months of maine in pictures. hopefully i've given you a good representation of the people here; i think i got most people. well...some. alright, i'm out!

baby girl's gettin' sick...

to quote a very wise woman, "my sinuses have gone to poolin' at the back of my neck."

indeed, this is the case for poor little yessica.

so, i have been noticing that my throat has been a little scratchy for the past couple days and i wasn't sure what was going on... i mean, i obviously am getting a bit sick but then i remembered these words of ultimate wisdom from memaw and i knew exactly what was going on.



so... while i am sitting here at work, i can't help but long for some relief of this post -nasal drip. i love you guys. wish you were here. (not for the nasal drip part... but for the rest of nothing that's going on.)

<3

Friday, November 9, 2007

more 101 topics, if you will...

so...my friend the elvis fanatic is not going to be teaching the elvis books after all, so i'm on my own. if you would be so kind as to let me know which of the following topics you would be most interested in, i would be grateful.

1. elvis: did his manager help or hurt? was elvis a hero? was elvis successful? who is responsible for censorship? etc.

2. typhoid mary: was it right to exile this healthy carrier of typhoid? when she was allowed to return and continued to cook (infecting many people with typhoid) did she do it for revenge or pure lack of medical knowledge? was typhoid mary the most dangerous healthy carrier?

3. jack the ripper: there are 5 canonical victims (women that it is generally believed were killed by jack the ripper), choose one of these canonical 5 and argue for or against her inclusion in the 5 based on the method, location, etc. of her murder. patricia cornwall blaims a particular artist for the murders, does she make a good argument? who is jack the ripper?

4. fast food: was ray kroc (founder of mcdonald's) a hero? based on the new information presented in fast food nation, did ray kroc practice his stated belief in free enterprise? who is responsible for the horrible conditions of slaughterhouses? (gov't, consumers, fast food restaurants, slaughterhouse owners/operators) based on the movie supersize me, are children set up to make bad decisions due to the options they are provided in school, the media and so forth? who should be held responsible for the growing obesity epidemic?

5. salem witch trials: there are two theories here, one is that the girls were diseased, the other is that the trials came about because of warring groups within the salem community. argue for one theory over the other. (i don't remember the other questions for this one, but i think you can imagine.)

(can you tell which one i have already taught?) :)

i have to decide by thanksgiving, but then i will have christmas break to plan things. i'm really undecided at this point.

things i wish i could teach:

1. marilyn monroe: not sure, but she died mysteriously.

2. postsecret: would never work, but it would be fun.

3. cereal: as in the breakfast food. i just love it, that's all.

4. banned books: this might actually have some value to it. i might look into this one over the summer or something. they ban books like crazy, especially when it comes to adolescents and schools. that could be interesting if i could find books on banned books. the banned books themselves are incredibly easy to come by; you've probably read quite a few of them without knowing.

5. your mom: that's what she said.

thanks, kids!

p.s.-i know i do this every other day, but i really think i might have gotten through to my students today! hi-oh!

oh! and i went to my first umaine hockey game tonight. too much fun, but our team stinks :( or at least they did tonight. we waited outside in the freezy cold longer than we actually sat and watched the game. funny thing is, we almost didn't even get in b/c the student section filled up. we got standing room only tickets, but then just sat anyway. we're rebels.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

if you wouldn't mind

imagine this:

you are a first year student at umaine. you have one semester under your belt and are eagerly anticipating the start of the spring semester. bundled in your warmest clothes and accessories, you arrive at english 101 on monday at 10am. your english ta walks in (strikingly gorgeous, snappily dressed, sporting hair of the slightly pompadourian persuasion) and begins to explain the requirements of the course. you learn she has a hard ass policy regarding cell phones, late papers and class attendance; you think "this chick is short, but she's not playing around." then the interesting bit. she begins to talk about the course topic, the topic that will be the basis of all your readings and writings from january through april. the topic, young ones, is elvis presley.

thoughts?

Different variations of hair ties and matters concerning Restless Leg Syndrome..

Hey everybody. I just saw Jessica's away message and I think it's official. It's that time of year when everyone begins to struggle. I have been struggling myself here over the past week. The following story is somewhat funny. Everyone I have told has thought it was hilarious. It was in the beginning, and now I'm starting to think twice.

I don't know what prompted this, I really have no idea. However, I haven't slept AT ALL going on 5 days now. There's an interesting story that goes behind this, so here goes. Maybe I can attribute it to working so much. I have no idea what is causing it really, but all I know is this: Five days ago, I was going through my usual routine at bedtime. I was reading a book, trying to get sleepy, just worked a 14 hour day.... I felt sleepy, so I figured it was time to put my head to the pillow and call it a night. Now mind you, I haven't had a day off in a few weeks now. That's fine with me, but still... It begins to put a toll on your body. I put my head to the pillow and began to doze. All of the sudden, my legs started to twitch. Not just a little bit, but a lot. This twitching continued throughout the night. I turned my light out at 1AM. At 5 AM, I was still awake, very frustrated, and legs still twitching. Finally, around 7 I started to cry. It was really making me frustrated that I was so sleepy, but I couldn't sleep for the life of me. Sometime from 7 to 8, I must have dozed. At 8:30, I woke up very abruptly. Now, here's where the story is a little funny. I sleep walk, or so I've been told. I've been sleepwalking ever since I moved out of mom and dad's house. Before I had gotten into bed that night, I had done a load of laundry and put all of my laundry away. When I go to bed, I take my hair out of the ponytail that it's normally always in, this night was no different. Fast-forward to 8:30 AM.... I woke up, very disoriented, and my hair was pulled back. It wasn't pulled back completely like I normally do, it was very loose. I couldn't figure out why it was up again. I reach in my hair, only to find a THONG wrapped around my hair like a hair tie. I have no idea why I did it, or what prompted me to pull my hair up with a thong of all things in my sleep. Who knows, but as I'm discovering my new variation of a hair accessory, my legs are still twitching.



Now by this point, I'm thinking that the coming night will be different. I will sleep, and the previous night was an isolated incident. Boy was I wrong. 5 nights later, there is still no change. I have googled Restless Leg Syndrome, only to discover that if you have an iron deficiency (which I'm anemic) then this is a major contributor. So, three days ago, I started taking iron supplements. According to the Internet, it takes at least a week to really start working in your system. I HOPE SO, for my sake and for my sanity. When I get off work tonight, I am going to sleep. I have to.

SO, needless to say, I share in your struggles cousins and family. Poor Jessica sounded like she's really having a tough time. It's almost Thanksgiving break. Things will start to get better, I promise Jess and Manda. At least you didn't wake up with a thong for a hair accessory...lol :)

I love you all, and I hope this insomnia comes to an end soon.

<3

Tina

Monday, November 5, 2007

let's talk december

What are all the things we want to do when everyone's home? I vote for a game night. I would be open to playing the regular games whether it be dominoes or catch phrase. I could also be open to learning a new game. Has anyone heard of True Colors? I used to have it so maybe we've played it a long time ago. It's one of those games where you read a statement and secretly vote for the person in the game that most represents the statement. It can be very funny, eye-opening and occasionally disheartening. An example would be the time I was playing with Paul King in the group. The statement was something to the effect of who is most likely to eat steak with ketchup. Naturally, he got my vote along with several others......funny what upsets some people. Hhhhmmm, could we handle it? The other thing is that maybe we should be open to trying some new activities or going some new places. Whatcha think out there????

Sunday, November 4, 2007

i don't love maine so much today


i've already plastered it all over myspace, might as well pass it on.

halloween and playwicki park


I absolutely love this picture. It's from Playwicki Park. Our favorite place ever!



Being from a Bible school and all, I decided to recreate the scene from the Garden of Eden. Katie couldn't help but laugh hysterically. I guess she's not as Spiritual as I am... :)




See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil. Naturally.


So the leaf in my hair takes away a little of my street cred for being so fierce. It kinda reminds me of the girl on 'Little Miss Sunshine' with the growling business.


I do not know.


These were our silly faces. Hah!


Steph was a beautiful bride in Laura's wedding dress.


Renae-Nae was a hula girl.


I was Anita Frances, herself.


Katie and I like to do gymnastic-type things whenever we go to the park :)


Tree climbing/sitting


"Bigger, Bigger, Bigger!"- Laura's words of wisdom for my costume


Kati Negro was a 'sexy devil' and so was Ms. Callie. And yes, her outfit did, indeed, come out of Laura's 'Fun Box'.


The whole gang. We were so into Halloween!


HAHAHAHAhahahahahaa!!! So that's it. As usual, my pictures are all out of any type of order but they are all there. Hope you like them :) I gotta go now cuz I'm late for a date to the park!!!
<3 jess