Friday, December 12, 2008

2008 "Wrap Up"

This is what the holidays mean to me!
1. A time to share
2. A time to give of ourselves
3. A time to be with family and friends
4. A time to enjoy beautiful things
5. A time to love
6. A time to be grateful
7. A time to eat great food
8. A time to sing
9. A time to pray
10.A time to have fun.
What do the holidays mean to you?

School!
Well I have completed another successful semester at Oakton and am off for five glorious weeks. I would like to thank Jennifer Schroeder my tutor for helping me get through my first semester in my own place. She has a degree in social work and I am proud to know her. Who would have thought that my mom would have found such a wonderful person at Panera Bread? Thank you so much!
Aide updates:
Brenda who most of you know because she has worked with my family and I for eight years, now helps me at my apartment on Mondays and Wednesdays. She has definitely adjusted well to her new role in my life and has a can-do attitude. Thank you for all that you do!
Big News!
Amanda my nighttime aid who I talked about last month is staying with me and Norine through this new semester but then is leaving because she is pregnant. I have mixed feelings about this because I am happy for her that she will be moving on and starting a family of her own but I am also worried about finding someone good to take her place. I am also a little sad because I will miss her. Until Amanda leaves I am sure we will have fun with her and enjoy watching the baby develop. I want to thank mom ahead of time for looking for someone to take Amanda’s place. I know it isn’t easy and I appreciate it. If any of you can think of a possible candidate for the job I would appreciate it if you let my mom and or me know. Thank you in advance! You never know, the person just might be someone who already works for me…
Sleepover:
A few weekends ago my friend and sister Annie came over to the “purple goodness” for a sleepover. We had dinner and cocktails with our friends Eric and Phil at a nearby Mexican restaurant and then we came back and made ice cream sundaes at my place. That feels so cool to say, by the way. After they left we jammed to Tayler Swift’s new CD which is amazing and played Disney’s Scene It! We had so much fun that we lost track of time! I really recommend it! Annie, I hope you had a great time like I did and I hope we can do it again soon!
Follies:
I was supposed to go to the Follies with Norine, which is a talent show that the teachers put on every two years at my school around this time. It is so funny! Anyway since Norine couldn’t go I wanted sit with my lunch friends but there was no more accessible seating on their side of the auditorium so, Dr. Hammel this really nice professor helped me walk to a regular seat. On top of a great show, a big thanks goes to Dr. Hammel for helping me out so I could enjoy it with my friends, plus hewas really cute. I don’t normally think about having angels but in this case, he was one! Thank you all for reading and Happy Holidays!
Love
-Jessi

Friday, November 14, 2008

Giving Thanks 3x

I am thankful for many people in my life but there is one in particular person that I am thankful for. Her name is Amanda Huff. She is my nighttime aide during the week Saturday through Wednesday. However it is one thing to have a job and another to own it. Amanda definitely owns it. She has a good heart and wants the best for Norine and me. She has a great sense of humor and is always there for the good times and bad. As my mom says she has a can-do attitude and as my Nana says she is a doll. Now you feel like a real roommate even though you are hired to help us. Thank you for all that you do! You are helping my dream of living on my own become a reality and I appreciate it because I know it isn’t always easy

There are a lot of mean people in the world but apparently not on November 4th 2008. On election day, I started my day with my mom as my aide for work, because at this time we hadn’t yet hired a Tuesday PA. I roll in to the polling place to vote for only my second Presidential election. I have only seen these people four times in my life and before I can tell them what my name is, they seem to say in unison “Hi Jessica.” As if I have known them for years. Then they ask me, pointing to my mom, “Is this your aide?”
“No” I reply with a smile, “She is my mom.” When it is time for me to sign my name they ask me if I had my name stamp? At this point I want to laugh so hard. I replied, yes and mom pulls me up to the table so I could reach the table because I am holding the stamp and mom bumps my knees! One of the election judge sees what is going on and offers to put a book under the paper so it is easier for me. When I leave they give me a sticker and tell me that I am a good citizen and said they would see me next time. At first, I thought it was a little funny how friendly they were but then I thought how much nicer our world would be if people were just a little nicer to each other everyday. I think Mom could not believe it either because instead of walking out the exit door she walked through the door with the pews instead. If you haven’t figured it out, our polling place is in a church.

Thank you mom for working your butt off to find Jacklyn. So now I have Brenda on Mondays and Wednesdays and Jaclyn on Tuesdays and Thursday. Since we have been without help on Tuesdays and Thursdays, this has been hard on my family and especially my mom and me but I am hopeful that things work out well with Jaclyn and me. Brenda, next month I will talk about you.
Love
-Jessi

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Warm House


















Hi everyone
I want to start by thanking Chi Chi for coming in for not only my party but the holiday as well. it was so nice to have you Alli and Scott join us. I hope you got home safely!
For those of you that came to my party thank you very much. I feel so blessed knowing that I have such a wonderful family and group of friends that only want the best for me and want to see me succeed in all that I do. When I am having a bad day I just think of the fantastic relationships I have created with all of the people in my life and I just smile. I am so grateful to have met so many different people from so many different walks of life. You all care about me and have enriched my life for the better when I am at a party and you all are there in one room I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside because this is yet another reminder of how lucky I am and I start to squeal with happiness and excitement. Therefore, I don’t just think of you when I am having a bad day,you all are very important to me and thank you for sharing yet another milestone with me. For those of you who couldn’t come to this party I promise you there will be more to come in the very near future.
Lots of love!
-Jess

Sunday, September 28, 2008

New Chances

For those of you that are Jewish I would like to wish you a happy and healthy new year. This message that I am about to say I believe can be applied to anyone at anytime in their life not just Jewish people.

It is never to late to be happy!

It is never to late to say I am sorry to someone you love.

It is never to late to make a new friend and hang out with old ones.

It is never to late to make a phone call to someone near or far.

You are never to old or too tough to tell someone I love you or show them affection.

It is never to late to pray or to learn something new.

It is never to late to love your family friends and pets..

It is never to late to get a new job or make a career change. It is never to late to go back to school. It is never to late to have fun!

These are often things I forget about from time to time but I try to live by them to the best of my ability and I wanted to share them with you.

I figure if they help me to be a better person they probably would help you too.

Please let me know what you think.

Love to all!

Xoxo

-Jessi

Monday, September 15, 2008

Appreciation

Hi everyone,

I thought this would be a perfect quote for today and it
actually is very similar to how I have been feeling lately.

Stop pushing against anything or anyone, focus on what is right, what is
working, the positive aspects, and appreciate that.....as you give your
attention to what you desire.

Appreciation is the key!

Inspired by Abraham Hicks

I got a bracelet a few years back from my good friend, Hannah, who most of
you know or have heard about. It is helping me get through the hard times
of living on my own. I am going to write the words that are on my bracelet
and tell you how they relate to my life. They are:


Honor: I would like to honor the people that we have lost in 911, the people
that we have lost in Iraq, the people that we have lost in hurricane
Katrina, and the people that I have lost that are close to my heart.


Loyalty: I have realized over my life that it is important to have loyalty
toward the people I love.


Unity: An important virtue because it helps people stay connected to my
family and friends both near and far. That’s how I stay connected to my
family.

Passion :Dance is my passion; it helps me get through my days.

Joy: Being with my family and friends brings me joy as well as humor and
being in this new apartment.


Kindness: I have found that kindness helps me when I am trying to get my
needs met and that it is a powerful thing.


Love: I love all of you and I am so glad that you are in my life.


Hope: Helps me to plan for the future and to become a better person. I hope
that I have a good life in this apartment and I hope you all enjoy reading
this blog.


Humor : I like to joke around with family and friends and most of you know my
favorite comedian is Josh Blue from Last Comic Standing. Humor is what I
believe is what makes us have better lives. Without this we would have
pretty boring lives and nothing to look forward to.

Courage: The power of courage can take you really far in all aspects of your
life. It has for me.

Trust: Though it is hard to maintain trust with people, it is important for
someone like me who needs help with personal care, and I find myself always
struggling to maintain a sense of trust with people, especially when they
are knew.

Family: I am blessed to have such a wonderful family that always cares about
me, especially in this new phase in my life. You have all been there for me
asking me, “what can I do?”, “what can I bring?” to make you feel more
comfortable in your new home. Having so many wonderful family and friends
means the world to me and makes me feel all warm inside.

Truth : Though it can be hard to be truthful at times, I have learned that it
is better to be honest and truthful with people otherwise, if you are not
truthful with your family, friends and, in my case, people who help me, then
those feelings can get all bottled up inside. However, even though I am
saying this, I will also be the one to admit that it is a hard thing to do.

Charity: One thing that I am reminded of, especially in this time of trouble
with Hurricane Ike and wars in Iraq, is that it is important to give charity
even if it is not in the form of money.

I hope these words have helped you in your life somehow just as they have
helped me.

Love Jess

Saturday, September 6, 2008

2 Pieces of Mail, Junior and Shopping

Hi everyone,
I am back in Northbrook giving my aides a break and visiting my family and working until Saturday at three. I have enjoyed being at my apartment and experiencing the freedom of being on my own however, it still feels a little like camp or a hotel because I still come home a little bit.
Thanks to Chi Chi and Amazon, I received my first to pieces of non junk snail mail at my new address. It was so cool! Thank you Chi Chi I love snail mail!
Junior had a hard few days but I think he is doing better now. We had to give him doggie Valium because he was very anxious and out of sorts. Hopefully he will do better in the weeks to come.
One thing that Norine and I already learned about each other is that we eat very differently. For someone like me who doesn’t like to go to the grocery store I had a pretty good time. When we came back to the apartment my mom was there putting stuff away and she almost fell over laughing because both me and Norine came in with bags and bags of groceries wrapped around our chairs.
Now here comes the big news! The next day I went with my day time aide named Faith and we did what I have wanted to do since I turned twenty-one. I thought this would be a perfect time since I had no homework and my parents weren’t around. I bet you can guess what I did since you all know how much I love it! Yes you're right I bought my first twelve pack of beer! It was so exciting!
Cheers to everyone! Lol!
Love
-Jess

Monday, September 1, 2008

Moving Day

Hi everyone,

I have decided to create a blog so you all know what life is like for me as I enter this new phase of my l life.
Moving Day!
August 29th 2008.
Thanks to Mom and Dad, Nana and Papa the place is really shaping up and I couldn't have done it without you. Having your love and support made it even more special. You definitely have helped make it feel like home.
September 1st is the first official day I move in with Norine. I have a lot of emotions about that day, but mostly I am excited! My dream is coming true with the help of my parents, grandparents and Microboard. I want to also include the help of our two new aides, Faith who comes during the day and Amanda who comes during the late afternoon and evening.  My only hope is that my dog Junior begins to feel safe and secure there. I think the next time I will be writing you, I will be at the apartment. I can't wait for you all to see it! It really is a Purple Pad.
For those of you that want to, you can leave me a message on my blog or my new address is 
750 Pearson #607
Des Plaines, IL 60016
Home # 847/813-5152
Press 025 when you visit
My cell - call first is 847/254-1151
One more quick story then I promise I won't make my entries so long in the future.
Anyways, I was walking with my Nana through the garage to get to my apartment but we didn't realize we had walked so far and we walked right into the other apartment across the street from mine and all this time we were thinking ...why is the swipe card not letting us into the building??? Then a nice man let us in because at that point we thought we were in the right place. We went up to what we thought was my apartment building and at first I thought I was going the wrong way because I knew that the trash room was right next door to my place and I didn't see it.  Also, my door opener that my dad had just gotten for me a few days earlier didn't work, Hummm.  So my grandma knocked on 607 and a little old lady about my mom's size  answered the door and looked at us like we were crazy. We apologized and realized only then that we were in the wrong building! We were embarrassed but had a good laugh for the rest of the day and had a good story to tell. 
Love to all!
-Jess