Sometimes a student doesn't even know how lucky it is that a particular counselor is given his or her application and essay to read. If they only knew how often their file fell into the perfect pair of hands, they would consider themselves to be extremely lucky. For example, when I get students from Hampden Acadamy, I wonder what they would think if they only knew an H.A. alum was reading their application and rooting for them to be admitted. Or the student who has a rough home life, and due to the situation is forced to behave in ways and pick up responsibilities that are far beyond their years. I wish these students knew how close to home their essays hit.
Today I read an essay that was meant to go to me. A student wrote three whole pages about how much she loves Spanish and Spanish class. She talked about how much she owes her Spanish teacher for bringing the language and culture into her life. She was overjoyed at how easily the language came to her. She wrote parts of the essay in Spanish, and discussed how she likes to set her dvd player to play all of her movies in Spanish, or at least watch them with subtitles. She talked about how much she loves the laid back Spanish culture, and how much she can't wait to study abroad some day. She talked about how learning Spanish is a gift. I could just see her beaming while she wrote this essay.
If only this kid knew how close to my heart his essay falls. Even without the essay she was admissible, but there's a little part of me that is proud that I was able to admit her, and I hope she brings her enthusiasm to USM.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
And this week's college admission essay of the week is.....
Congratulations to the student who wrote the essay about why USM is the perfect number TWO choice, and outlined all of the reasons she wants to go into the Navy instead of come to college.
::Scratches head and sighs::
::Scratches head and sighs::
Monday, January 19, 2009
The CC Surprise
If you're friends with me on Facebook, you often see me posting a status update of some sort proclaiming excitement over my CC girls. Yesterday we threw a CC surprise, and it was a blast. Before I go into the details of the day though, I thought I'd take the opportunity to clear up what CC is, and how it came to be.
When Jim and I first moved back to Maine in the summer of 2006, the transition was difficult for me. While Jim's closest friends all lived here in Portland, I didn't know anybody at all. All of my friends were back in Boston or up in Hampden. At the time, we were in the middle of planning the wedding, and I'd heard of the website theknot.com. I knew there were message boards on the knot, but always thought message boards were kind of corny and didn't really know what to do with them. There came a day though that I was bored in my new office job, and decided to pop on and ask for some recommendations for a DJ. From that moment on, I was hooked, and spent most of my free time on The Knot.
My experience on The Knot was a million times different from what I expected it to be. Instead
of a random post here and there, we all posted throughout the day, talking not only about our weddings, but our lives as well. Most of the girls I "chatted" with lived here in southern Maine, and before I knew it, we were all becoming a group of friends. "Knotties," as we call ourselves, are all over the country. The Knot has message boards that focus on different areas of your wedding, and are of a national scope, and also has local boards, hence my connection with other southern Maine brides. Most of the local boards participate in what we call "Get Togethers (GTG)." For quite awhile, the Maine girls were having GTGs once a month. We'd go out to Margaritas or Sebago for drinks, or even to the spa for an afternoon of manicures, pedicures, and wine. Laugh if you want, but this was the perfect way for me to make some new friends.
Last fall, as the 2007 wedding season was coming to a close, we decided to have another GTG. Many of the girls on the board had dogs, so we wanted to do a doggie GTG at a Knottie's house. I didn't have a dog, but really wanted to go, so I went along anyways. As it turned out, only 6 of us showed up to this GTG, (usually there were anywhere from 10-20). In the five or so hours that followed, we laughed more than I had laughed in a very very long time, and we all knew that this group was something different, and that we all clicked in a special way (and so did the pups I might add!). After a few glasses of wine, some hilarious conversation, and some very yummy appetizers, we decided to name ourselves. I won't tell you what the CC stands for (its incredibly silly, like a cheesy high school clique), but the name stuck, and so did the CC bond. Since that day, we have enjoyed more bottles of wine than should be legal, laughed more than even a doctor would prescribe, and formed a bond that I really think will last us a very, very long time.
So, let me formally introduce to you, my CC ladies. Here is a picture from our very first CC GTG. From left to right we have me, Annie, Skye, Jaime, Virginia, and Angie. We couldn't even get a picture without laughing hysterically.
And here is a picture from our CC birthday party in February. Everyone (except for me), was born in January or Feburary, proving to be a perfect excuse for another night of fun!
So, onto the story of the day, the CC surprise. Jaime (far left in the birthday picture) is 8 months pregnant, and expecting a little girl, Taylor, due next month! Of course, we are all excited to be aunties and welcome our newest CC member to the family. Jaime had expressed a few months ago that she and her husband Chris felt strongly that they did not want a shower for the baby. Given the economic times, they felt that it would be too much for their family and friends, and didn't want to put that sort of pressure on everyone. I'm telling you, they may be the nicest people I know. Now, while we all respect their wishes and desires, we didn't quite see it fit to not do something for Jaime, Chris, and Taylor. Jaime had mentioned that instead of a CC shower, she wanted to do a brunch at her house. We all thought that was a great idea, but warned her that if gifts showed up, it would be because it was what we all wanted to do, and we did not feel any pressure to give a "shower" per say.
So, as we started planning the brunch, it became apparent that if Jaime were to host, she would be doing too much for her own brunch. So we came came up with a devious plan. We told her that the brunch would be next weekend, the weekend of the 25th, but that in the sneaky manner we all love, it would actually be this weekend, on the 18th. We just needed to get her out of the house so we could sneak in, decorate, and surprise. Her hubby Chris was 100% on board and agreed to get her out of the house. As the date approached however, we realized that the weather was going to be less that perfect, and Chris owning a plowing business, would have to be out the morning of the shower. So on Saturday, I gave Jaime a very strict set of instructions. Leave your house at 9:45am. Leave it unlocked. Return at 11:00am and call for further instruction. Do not ask questions. I managed to convince her this was not the brunch, but some other surprise. She had no idea the whole group was involved.
So
yesterday morning, as snow was falling literally in inches by the hour, bless her, she did as she was told, and we all crashed the house. We brought food and drink, decorations, and gifts
. We spent about a half hour decorating her kitchen, and then patiently waited for her to arrive. When she got home, she was so excited and completely surprised. She said she could not figure out what was going on, and had no idea we were throwing the brunch that day.
The morning was a blast! We ate lots of yummy food, ooh-ed and ahhh-ed at the nursery, played silly games, and watched Jaime open the cutest gifts ever for little Taylor! We all agreed that it was too easy to shop for a new member of our crew!
Here are some pics from the morning. We are so excited for Jaime and Chris and absolutely cannot wait to meet Taylor next month!
This is the weather the day greeted us with! We ended up getting 14 inches of snow!
The table all set up!
Angie made this diaper cake..isn't it awesome?!
Chris loves John Deere, and Skye found this fabric and made a sleeper sack! I can't wait to hear what Chris thought about it!
Our new Momma showing off the goods
Toasting to our future CC girl (with non-alcoholic spritzers of course!) :)
When Jim and I first moved back to Maine in the summer of 2006, the transition was difficult for me. While Jim's closest friends all lived here in Portland, I didn't know anybody at all. All of my friends were back in Boston or up in Hampden. At the time, we were in the middle of planning the wedding, and I'd heard of the website theknot.com. I knew there were message boards on the knot, but always thought message boards were kind of corny and didn't really know what to do with them. There came a day though that I was bored in my new office job, and decided to pop on and ask for some recommendations for a DJ. From that moment on, I was hooked, and spent most of my free time on The Knot.
My experience on The Knot was a million times different from what I expected it to be. Instead
of a random post here and there, we all posted throughout the day, talking not only about our weddings, but our lives as well. Most of the girls I "chatted" with lived here in southern Maine, and before I knew it, we were all becoming a group of friends. "Knotties," as we call ourselves, are all over the country. The Knot has message boards that focus on different areas of your wedding, and are of a national scope, and also has local boards, hence my connection with other southern Maine brides. Most of the local boards participate in what we call "Get Togethers (GTG)." For quite awhile, the Maine girls were having GTGs once a month. We'd go out to Margaritas or Sebago for drinks, or even to the spa for an afternoon of manicures, pedicures, and wine. Laugh if you want, but this was the perfect way for me to make some new friends.Last fall, as the 2007 wedding season was coming to a close, we decided to have another GTG. Many of the girls on the board had dogs, so we wanted to do a doggie GTG at a Knottie's house. I didn't have a dog, but really wanted to go, so I went along anyways. As it turned out, only 6 of us showed up to this GTG, (usually there were anywhere from 10-20). In the five or so hours that followed, we laughed more than I had laughed in a very very long time, and we all knew that this group was something different, and that we all clicked in a special way (and so did the pups I might add!). After a few glasses of wine, some hilarious conversation, and some very yummy appetizers, we decided to name ourselves. I won't tell you what the CC stands for (its incredibly silly, like a cheesy high school clique), but the name stuck, and so did the CC bond. Since that day, we have enjoyed more bottles of wine than should be legal, laughed more than even a doctor would prescribe, and formed a bond that I really think will last us a very, very long time.
So, let me formally introduce to you, my CC ladies. Here is a picture from our very first CC GTG. From left to right we have me, Annie, Skye, Jaime, Virginia, and Angie. We couldn't even get a picture without laughing hysterically.
And here is a picture from our CC birthday party in February. Everyone (except for me), was born in January or Feburary, proving to be a perfect excuse for another night of fun!So, onto the story of the day, the CC surprise. Jaime (far left in the birthday picture) is 8 months pregnant, and expecting a little girl, Taylor, due next month! Of course, we are all excited to be aunties and welcome our newest CC member to the family. Jaime had expressed a few months ago that she and her husband Chris felt strongly that they did not want a shower for the baby. Given the economic times, they felt that it would be too much for their family and friends, and didn't want to put that sort of pressure on everyone. I'm telling you, they may be the nicest people I know. Now, while we all respect their wishes and desires, we didn't quite see it fit to not do something for Jaime, Chris, and Taylor. Jaime had mentioned that instead of a CC shower, she wanted to do a brunch at her house. We all thought that was a great idea, but warned her that if gifts showed up, it would be because it was what we all wanted to do, and we did not feel any pressure to give a "shower" per say.
So, as we started planning the brunch, it became apparent that if Jaime were to host, she would be doing too much for her own brunch. So we came came up with a devious plan. We told her that the brunch would be next weekend, the weekend of the 25th, but that in the sneaky manner we all love, it would actually be this weekend, on the 18th. We just needed to get her out of the house so we could sneak in, decorate, and surprise. Her hubby Chris was 100% on board and agreed to get her out of the house. As the date approached however, we realized that the weather was going to be less that perfect, and Chris owning a plowing business, would have to be out the morning of the shower. So on Saturday, I gave Jaime a very strict set of instructions. Leave your house at 9:45am. Leave it unlocked. Return at 11:00am and call for further instruction. Do not ask questions. I managed to convince her this was not the brunch, but some other surprise. She had no idea the whole group was involved.
So
yesterday morning, as snow was falling literally in inches by the hour, bless her, she did as she was told, and we all crashed the house. We brought food and drink, decorations, and gifts
. We spent about a half hour decorating her kitchen, and then patiently waited for her to arrive. When she got home, she was so excited and completely surprised. She said she could not figure out what was going on, and had no idea we were throwing the brunch that day.The morning was a blast! We ate lots of yummy food, ooh-ed and ahhh-ed at the nursery, played silly games, and watched Jaime open the cutest gifts ever for little Taylor! We all agreed that it was too easy to shop for a new member of our crew!
Here are some pics from the morning. We are so excited for Jaime and Chris and absolutely cannot wait to meet Taylor next month!
Skye working hard to get some streamers up!
This is the weather the day greeted us with! We ended up getting 14 inches of snow!
The table all set up!
Angie made this diaper cake..isn't it awesome?!
Jaime opening some gifts
Chris loves John Deere, and Skye found this fabric and made a sleeper sack! I can't wait to hear what Chris thought about it!
Our new Momma showing off the goods
Toasting to our future CC girl (with non-alcoholic spritzers of course!) :)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Sad State of the O'Brien Household
I don't think anyone can deny that being sick just plain sucks. But when both you and your spouse are sick at the same time, life is just difficult. Jim never gets sick. In the four plus years we've been together, I think I've seen him sick to the point of calling out of work once, and that's when he had mono. I on the other hand, always get sick. My immune system is about as easy to attack as a helpless stuffed animal in the same room as a puppy. So when Jim got a terrible head cold turned flu this weekend I prayed I wouldn't fall victim. Of course, the poor stuffed animal always loses.
Jim attempted work yesterday but only made it until noon, and survived the day today, but has landed right in bed as of 6:30pm because of it. I laid my bum on the couch all day yesterday and today and I may be going clinically insane.
I've learned in the past few years, that I have what people call a "Type A" personality. I can't sit still. I don't know how. Even if the house is perfectly clean, my family is comfortably fed, and things are calm, I have to be doing something. Make a snack. Organize the office. Sweep the floors. Surf the web while watching tv. So when I get a virus that seriously knocks me and my husband on our butts, I'm struggling. My back hurts. Heck my whole body hurts. Last night I had sciatic pain from laying down all day that kept me up most of the night. I'm not meant to sit still. I'm even at the point where we are expecting a big snow storm tonight and I'm hoping we DON'T have a snow day just so I can go to work (and flu or no flu I'm going to work)! I just pray to God that if I am ever blessed to be pregnant I do not end up on bed rest because I don't know how I would get through it.
So at any rate, if you were planning on visiting Casa O'B anytime in the very near future, you may want to wait a bit. Once I actually can stand up and do things again, I will be releasing three days of pent up energy into disinfecting this poor sick house. It has no idea what's coming.
Jim attempted work yesterday but only made it until noon, and survived the day today, but has landed right in bed as of 6:30pm because of it. I laid my bum on the couch all day yesterday and today and I may be going clinically insane.
I've learned in the past few years, that I have what people call a "Type A" personality. I can't sit still. I don't know how. Even if the house is perfectly clean, my family is comfortably fed, and things are calm, I have to be doing something. Make a snack. Organize the office. Sweep the floors. Surf the web while watching tv. So when I get a virus that seriously knocks me and my husband on our butts, I'm struggling. My back hurts. Heck my whole body hurts. Last night I had sciatic pain from laying down all day that kept me up most of the night. I'm not meant to sit still. I'm even at the point where we are expecting a big snow storm tonight and I'm hoping we DON'T have a snow day just so I can go to work (and flu or no flu I'm going to work)! I just pray to God that if I am ever blessed to be pregnant I do not end up on bed rest because I don't know how I would get through it.
So at any rate, if you were planning on visiting Casa O'B anytime in the very near future, you may want to wait a bit. Once I actually can stand up and do things again, I will be releasing three days of pent up energy into disinfecting this poor sick house. It has no idea what's coming.
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