Identity Crisis?

So, today I attempted to get a Pennsylvania driver's license. Let's just say that I still have my NC one and I have to try again! Long story or short??? Let me just spell it out. My parents (love you guys) named me Diane Michelle Wicker and, lovingly, decided to call me Michelle. This caused me some headache during school, but not a lot, it was manageable. When I married Blaine's dad, I dropped the Diane and was from then on, on EVERY legal document, Michelle Wicker Cooper. I kept that name after our divorce and had it for about 9 years, until Joe and I married in 2006. At that point, I was faced with another name change. I did not want to be Michelle Cooper Davis or even Michelle Wicker Davis. So, I decided I would add back in my first name as my middle name..Michelle Diane Davis. All was well, Social Security Admin allowed it, NCDMV allowed it, IRS is stil taking my taxes, etc! Fast forward three years to today. The state of Pennsylvania did not like this name switcheroo and said that it looks like I am two different people. My birth certificate says Diane Michelle Wicker. My SS card says Michelle Diane Davis. UGH! I did not have a copy of my marriage license with me at the time, but I am going to go back with it and try again. Unfortunately, I waited 1 1/2 hours just to be seen over there on a Saturday. That was way fun, as you can imagine! Whitney was an angel, thankfully. We left and headed down to the Valley Square Shops to have lunch with Daddy and shop for a bit. At least that part was fun. I got her some clothes at Gymboree (mega sale, plus $25 in Gym bucks). Bath and Body Works was also having a sale, so now I have good smelling room fragrance, body wash, and bubble bath! NY and CO did not impress, much to my dismay (this is usually my favorite shop). We did, however, buy some GIRL SCOUT cookies right in the GYMBOREE!

One more note: I have the greatest job ever! This is almost as good as teaching and working magic for my students in the classroom! I am going to PETE and C(Pennsylania Educational Technology Expo and Conference) in February. I did not have to ask, beg, or anything, my boss approached me and wanted me to go! It is in Hershey, which is a bigger bonus. I can't wait..it is going to be a thrill to go to meaningful workshops and know that I can take that knowledge and information back to the Intermediate Unit and use it for good! Among other projects, I am part of the Differentiated Instruction Technology Academy at the IU (I will be leading a session on podcasting), and I will be presenting in June on Teaching Math to Diverse Learners. Exciting, exciting! I know that it my job now as a Training Consultant, but it is SO cool to be able to do this ALL the time and be my primary focus instead of just something that I do sometimes, when I have the time and am not bogged down with something else. It is SO refreshing and fun to be a part of something bigger.

Happy Day~

Congratulations to my wonderful husband! Today, a list came out from the corporate office in Charlotte that outlined the top 30 sellers in the WHOLE company (all over the US). Joe was on that list! Keep in mind that he has only been taking pictures and selling for two weeks...that is pretty darn good! So, tonight, we will try to celebrate despite the long day, knowing that we have to get up and do it again tomorrow. This is a bright spot. CONGRATS again to my wonderful husband!

Married three years today!

Today we have been married THREE years! It doesn't seem that long at all to me. We celebrated today by working, yeah fun. I actually didn't work, but had a terrbile headache that kept me in bed most of the day and Joe had to work until 7:00 tonight.
We did exchange gifts....our joint Christmas and Anniversary present was the Nintendo Wii, which we got Sunday. For individual gifts, Joe gave me the most thoughtful and best gift ever---a gift card for 1 hour at Massage Envy! I cannot wait to go! I gave him the MARIO Kart game for the Wii, which he is playing now. We plan on going out to Red Lobster tomorrow night for an evening out. We will have Whitney, but at least we will be out together. Joe doesn't have to work Friday, but I do, of course, however I should be done by 4:00 and home by 5:00.
At the risk of sounding mushy, I have to say that I am so happy Joe is my husband. We haven't always done things the traditional ways, but it works for us and we are happy. He understands me, loves me, and makes me laugh. I can't imagine life without him, nor do I want to. I love you honey! Happy Anniversary! I hope we have 100 more!

My boss' blog

Check out my boss' blog, Kelly's Curriculum Corner. She has an entry about me and the new services I will bring to the intermediate unit. She makes it sound really interesting and fun and I am REALLY excited about it! She also has a lot of other really interesting things about curriculum and education if you want take a look at that.

SNOW Angel

Our little snow angel! All weather reports predicted about 4-6 inch snow today, but sadly we only got about an inch so far! Regardless, Whitney wanted to go out and play as soon as she got up. I managed to convince her to eat breakfast first,then we suited up and headed out. We soon learned that this snowfall was not the kind that stuck together well, so we could not make a snowman or throw snow balls. I had no idea what we could do, but leave it to a child to figure it out----we could make SNOW ANGELS! That is exactly what Whitney did! She made about 14 of them to be exact! She was actually quite good at it and looked especially cute too! We missed having Daddy there to play with, but it is possible that we could play when he gets home...if we turn the outside light on!

Chinese Buffet

One way to gauge our level of settling in...whether or not we can find a good Chinese Buffett restaurant. Well, it has been done! We found the Chinese Garden tonight. It is located, in of all places, the Walmart shopping plaza :) Joe and Whitney met me there after work...I had to work late because of staff development and Joe picked Whitney up from preschool...he had the day off. He will be working this weekend, we will be sad...but he may come home early...it is supposed to snow a lot!
I have attached some pictures of our apartment in Pennsylvania. It is not bad, kinda cozy actually. We like how everything is right where we need it, real close together and everything is on one floor....no stairs (except the ones to get up to the apartment).

Assistive Tech on Ning